Parashat Balak
from Likutei Torah
by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Gedalia Potash and William Schecter MD
Friday June 25, 2021
This draft has neither been edited nor approved by Rabbi Potash
Parashat Balak recounts the strange story of Balak, King of Moab, who is concerned that the Children of Israel will be passing through Moab and will defeat the Moabites with the help of G-d as they did other nations. He hires a gentile Prophet, Bilaam, to curse the Jewish People so that the Moabites will prevail in battle. Bilaam, being a Prophet, can only utter the words put in his mouth by G-d. To Balak’s dismay, Bilaam blesses the Jewish People with some of the most famous and profound blessings given to the Jewish People. Two very famous blessings are: “There is a people that dwells apart, not reckoned among the nations” (Numbers 23:9) and “How Goodly are Thy Tents O Jacob, Your Dwellings Israel” (Numbers 24:5). The Elter Rebbe chooses to analyze another less well-known blessing of Bilaam using Kabbalah to expound on the process of creation. Let’s see what he has to say.
The Elter Rebbe begins his commentary by quoting the Prophet Bilham who spoke the words that G-d put into his mouth to Balak, the King of Moab: “Who can count the dust of Jacob, Number the dust-cloud of Israel?” (Numbers 23:10) The Torah uses the word רבע (Rova) which is translated as dust cloud in two sources which I examined but usually means “a quarter” in Hebrew as in the Jewish Quarter (HaRova Hayehudi). The Elter Rebbe then says that the word Rova has two possible interpretations. The first is that it represents a quarter of a portion and the second is the word Arba (ארבעה) meaning four. Israel, he says, has four attributes. The issue is written: כֹּ֚ל הַנִּקְרָ֣א בִשְׁמִ֔י וְלִכְבוֹדִ֖י בְּרָאתִ֑יו, יְצַרְתִּ֖י ואַף עֲשִׂיתִֽיו׃) All who are linked to My name, Whom I have created, formed, and made for My glory” (Isaiah 43:7) These are the attributes of Thought, Speech and Action. בְּרָאתִ֑יו (I created it) is the attribute of Thought which seemingly comes into existence from nil. יְצַרְתִּ֖יו (I formed it) has the attribute of Word ( or Speech) which draws the letters of the words in Thought. But עֲשִׂיתִֽיו (I made it) has the attribute of Action, for the Action is a thing separate unto itself and is not like the value of Speech vis à vis Thought which draws the letters of the Thought because that which a person thinks he speaks and, if so, the issue of material action is something separate from Thought and Speech.
Rabbi Potash commented: Thought is the beginning, an idea seemingly appearing from nothing. Speech forms the letters and the words of the vague concept of Thought which can add clarity to the Thought. Action is the implementation of the Thought expressed through Speech.
We can understand Thought, Speech and Action on a human level. But why does the quotation from Isaiah speak about G-d’s Glory? Rabbi Potash explains: Although Thought seemingly comes from nil, it actually comes from somewhere else – there is a reality and truth above the conscious mind. This reality is “truer” because the thought process distorts the truth to some extent. Why are we even describing Thought, Speech and Action to G-d? Isaiah says: “My thoughts are not your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8) and the Rambam (Maimonides) says: G-d “has no body” (Mishneh Torah, Foundations of the Torah 1:7). We speak of Thought, Speech and Action, says Rabbi Potash, for the simple reason that the Process of Creation is referred to as Dvar HaShem (The Word of G-d). G-d had this Thought and it came into being with His Word. There is a famous poem recited during the Morning Service: “Blessed is He who Said, and the World came into Being”. Until you share an idea says Rabbi Potash, it is only in your mind. When you share it with speech, other people are aware of it but it is still your idea. So too with Creation, we witness it when G-d said the Word, but it is still G-d’s Thought which He is expressing.
Rabbi Potash interprets the Elter Rebbe’s message explaining: the speech of a human being can be understood. It is a pure expression of air passing through the larynx—a pure energy flowing out of a person. It is this process of articulating each word as the energy passes through the larynx and is modified by the tongue, palate and lips that separates of each tone to create separate words. The initial thrust is a pure energy from the lungs. The second process is to subdivide this energy into sounds and words. The same thing occurs with G-d’s Creation of the world. Initially there is Maamar Echad—one word-- which animates the World. Then there is an analogous process where the initial energy is broken down into multiple parts.
Now the Elter Rebbe returns to his analysis of the word Rova (Cloud of Dust) but really a word based on the root רבע meaning four or a quarter. He says there is still another fourth attribute above the three (Thought, Speech and Action) previously mentioned and it is hinted at by the word רבע. The Elter Rebbe is talking about the word רבוי (ribui) meaning plurality, multiplicity, amplification. Notice that the first two letters of רבע are the same as those of רבוי. Another point that is not stated explicitly here is רבוי is above the other three attributes.
Comment: To convey this concept, The Elter Rebbe uses the Hebrew expression וגבוה ונעלה מהם (Gvoah vena’aleh mihem) which directly translates: high and we arise from (above) them. What does the Elter Rebbe mean by this expression. Rabbi Potash explains: Imagine an orange with a peel over the white rind which encircles the fruit below which is itself above the orange seed. The Elter Rebbe, says Rabbi Potash, uses this metaphor to explain energy being protected by higher energy. Life, says Rabbi Potash, is a pattern of layers of protection one over the other.
To explain this, we must understand the familiar concept that the purpose of the descent of the Souls to this World is their subsequent ascent (ירידה לצורך עליה—yerida letsorech aliyah). Prior to the descent of the Soul, it enjoyed the splendor of G-d’s Presence (Shechinah)—what is greater than this? And to contemplate well the issue of Thought, Speech and Action above which are their corresponding attributes of Creation, Formation and Action recognizing “My Thoughts are not your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8) and “He has no image of a body” (Mishneh Torah, Foundations of the Torah 1:7).
Comment: As we contemplate creation through Thought, Speech and Action, we have to realized that our limited intellect is incapable of truly grasping the full extent of these concepts.
Rather, the point is that the attribute of the exodus of the worlds from concealment to revelation is called by the name “the Word of G-d”. By way of example, man uses speech to express his thoughts to his fellow. Similarly, The World was created by the Ten Utterances of G-d (Let there be light, etc.) which have the attribute of combinations of letters which leave concealment to be revealed and then come into existence from nil. And with one word all the worlds can be created and with the breath of His mouth, all the Heavenly Hosts etc., meaning the breath of His mouth is the Supernal Void and this One Word encompasses all of Creation and as it is said (in our morning prayers) Blessed is He Who says and does with one utterance.
But the speech separates the Void into various combinations of letters which greatly increase the segmentation of the “thousands upon thousands” of worlds (Daniel 7:10), “Can His troops be numbered?” (Job 25:3). And this is what is meant by “בָּרְכ֥וּ יְהֹוָ֗ה מַלְאָ֫כָ֥יו גִּבֹּ֣רֵי כֹ֭חַ עֹשֵׂ֣י דְבָר֑וֹ לִ֝שְׁמֹ֗עַ בְּק֣וֹל דְּבָרֽוֹ׃ Bless the LORD, O His angels, mighty creatures who do His bidding, ever obedient to His bidding” (Psalms 103:20) For they live and exist from the attribute of the Word of G-d which is the attribute of revelation extracted from the G-d’s mouth to multiply the segments of His creations and the combinations of letters from which the creations live which are the attributes of names and they are the names of all the creations, each one according to his name like the Camp of Michael etc.
Comment: Rabbi Potash commented that the Camp of Michael refers to a group of angels who were subordinate to the angel Michael. I googled the term Camp of Michael (מחנה מכיאל) in both Hebrew and English but could find no other information about this term.
The names of all the creations, each according to its kind as it is written: and man will call the names and they are truly the attribute of the names, combinations of letters taken from G-d’s mouth and all of this is the attribute of the revealed worlds. And there are hidden worlds which are not revealed which are the source of the revealed worlds. And everything which is in the revealed worlds must be have a source in the concealed worlds as referred to in the Rabbis’ teaching: “you have no grass below without a Mazal above”.
Comment: The word Mazal (מזל) which we usually translate as luck (Mazal Tov) is based on the Hebrew root נזל (nazal) which means drip. For example, in modern Hebrew Nozlim (נוזלים) means intravenous fluids which drip into a patient with through the intravenous catheter (the British refer to the intravenous setup as a “drip”). Rabbi Potash comments that the Elter Rebbe is saying here that each living thing in our world is connected to its Source, its Mazal, which drips down vitality to each living thing from its Supernal Source.
And so, this source in the Hidden World is so far above the Revealed World as to reach the greatest heights as it is written: “one high official is protected by a higher one, and both of them by still higher ones” (גבוה מעל גבוה שומר וגבוהים עליהם.) (Ecclesiastes 5:7).
And here Israel ascended in Thought meaning the Hidden Worlds. How so? For example, Thought is the concealed attribute of Speech and Speech reveals and interprets the Thought. Thought is a brief glance which requires extensive interpretation in Speech because the attribute of the strength of Thought is far above the strength of speech. Thought is invested internally and unites with the Soul. It is the attribute of coming into existence from nothing and, if so, it is written “And man will call the names to all the beasts and the birds of the sky etc. (Genesis 2:20). They have the attribute of Angels with the face of the lion, ox, and eagle etc., and they are the names of Michael and Gabriel etc., that they are combinations of letters from which are drawn and created from nil to existence by the Word of G-d.
Comment: the angels with the face of the lion, ox, eagle etc. refer to Ezekiel’s vision describe in Ezekiel 1:10.
Rabbi Potash comments: If you are first looking at an idea from the vantage point of speech, you have much more that you have to analyze in order to understand the thought behind it. But if you approach it from inside, if you first analyze the thought, you can see if the speech reflects the thought. If you are reading the speech you have to read every word to get the point. Torah comes from the inside, it gives us the Thought first. Science is coming from the outside you have to read the entire text and analyze each word in order to understand the Thought. Another useful analogy might be the difference between inductive reasoning (science) verses deductive region.
But man did not find a helpmate. Meaning that Ezer (helpmate) is the attribute of a name meaning that the Soul, prior to its arrival in the world to be clothed by the body, is not called by a name at all for its Source is hewn in the attribute of Thought in the Hidden World which is not revealed. And what is called Abraham, Isaac etc. occurs after investment of the Soul by the body. And then there was one that was Abraham meaning that prior to the arrival of the Soul to his body there was the attribute of one, meaning the attribute of the Thought united with the Soul which are in the Hidden Worlds which are united with the Eternal Divine Light. All this occurs prior to the arrival of the Soul in the revealed worlds to be separate creations from the World of Separation etc. Therefore, in the First Man, there were 600,000 Souls with the attribute of One, meaning that the Source of all the Souls is far above the separation of the creations alluded to above.
Rabbi Potash comments: There was no name for the original man “Adam”—Adam couldn’t find a source, a gradual layer of system that could produce the unique “mankind” therefore man had to get his main source of energy directly from the original source—the Ain Sof – the Eternal Divine Light. So, every single Soul was included in the Thought of the one Adam—the original man. Without the process of Dibur (Speech)—the layers of development—moving the energy—there would be no separation of the 600,000 Souls.
In the past we have talked about the process of Hishtalshalut, the cascading of Divine Energy from Spiritual Layer to Spiritual Layer through an infinite number of Worlds until it reaches our World, the World of Asiyah (Action). During this cascading process of Hishtalshalut there is a parallel process of Tsimtsum (Contraction) diminishing the Divine Energy as it cascades down to our world because otherwise the level of Energy would be so high that it would consume everything. BUT, in today’s Drash, the Elter Rebbe says that this is not the case with the Divine Souls of Men. The G-dly Energy in each Divine Soul has not undergone contraction and reduction of energy but rather has a direct connection with its Supernal Source from which it is hewn—the Eternal Divine Light. By way of analogy, the G-dly Soul does not come in for a slow landing like an airplane gradually losing altitude prior to landing but rather parachutes straight down to earth. The only difference is that a direction connection remains between the G-dly Soul on earth and its Source as opposed to the absence of a direct connection between the parachutist and the airplane.
