Parashat Re’eh
from Likutei Torah
by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi
Friday August 6, 2021
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Potash and William Schecter, MD
This draft has been neither edited nor approved by Rabbi Potash
The Elter Rebbe begins his commentary by quoting the first passage of this week’s Parasha “Behold, this day I set before you a blessing and a curse: blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I enjoin upon you this day; and curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn away from the path that that I enjoin upon you this day and follow other gods, whom you have not experienced. (Deuteronomy11:26-28) The Rabbis of the Talmud commented that every place in the Torah that the expression “this day” is employed signifies that the issue refers not just to “this day” but it is also eternal (for future generations).
Rabbi Potash commented: G-d placed before Israel a blessing and a curse to give them free choice. They had to choose to have a relationship with G-d by following the Law placed before them at Mount Sinai. This choice is eternal as implied by the term “this day”, meaning that in each generation, each of us is faced with this choice as if we were all spiritually present at Mount Sinai.
The point is that within each and every Jew there is an attribute of internality and externality.
Comment: I asked Rabbi Potash to comment on the definitions of internality (פנימיות) and externality (חיצוניות). What is the Elter Rebbe saying here with these expressions?
Rabbi Potash responded: The word internality, פנימיות, is related to the word פנים meaning face. G-d, says Rabbi Potash, wants to have an intimate face-to-face relationship with His People and with each and every one of us. So, the word internality, פנימיות, refers to a deep intimate relationship with G-d. Externality on the other hand refers to a very superficial relationship if one exists at all.
As it is written “Face to face the LORD spoke to you (plural) on the mountain out of the fire” (Deuteronomy 5:4) because at the moment we received the Torah, the Divine Attribute was drawn down to each and every Jew with the attribute of their face with each spark of their Souls’
Comment: The translation of this last sentence from Hebrew to English is a challenge. I believe the Elter Rebbe is trying to say that at the moment the Torah was given to Israel an element of the Divine was drawn down within each Jew (here we have the word Face, Panim, and internality, Panimiut, functioning almost as synonyms). The spark of their Souls, I believe, refers to the G-duly Soul that is the core of each Jew surrounded by layers of materialism (externality?)
And the first of the Ten Commandments, “I am the L-rd. thy G-d” (Exodus 20:2) means that the Name of G-d enlightens and is revealed within you (singular) so much so that He will be called with your name, so that he will be your G-d as it is written elsewhere.
The explanation of this phenomenon is that the Attribute of G-d’s Name exists within each and every person. The Rabbis of the Talmud said that even completely evil people have regrets and thoughts of repentance because the evil person does not wish to be separated from G-d without reason and knowledge because this attribute comes from the attribute of Wisdom which has the attribute of nullification to G-d Who is above intellect, knowledge and concept and is called the attribute of the enlightened as it is written “מַ֝שְׂכִּ֗יל לְאֵיתָ֥ן הָֽאֶזְרָחִֽי׃ A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.” (Psalm 89)
Rabbi Potash commented: The last sentence requires commentary. In Hebrew, the word Maskil, משכיל, means an enlightened or person with great knowledge. In Biblical Hebrew, it also means a song or psalm. Most of the Psalms in the Bible are attributed to Solomon but some are attributed to Eitan Haezrahi (Ethan the Ezrahite). The word Ezrah, אזרח, means citizen or one who lives in a certain place. So, Eitan Haezrahi refers to a certain Eitan who lived in the land and was a poet. The phrase A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite preceding Psalm 89 indicates that Eitan the Ezrahite is the author of the Psalm. However, the word Eitan also means great strength. Let’s now follow the Elter Rebbe with this information in mind.
The meaning of this is that maskil (the enlightened person) is eitan (strong) coming from the word strength such as “Your abode shall be strong” (איתן מושבך) (Numbers 21:22). This is the attribute of strength in each and every Jew who is described in the Torah as “stiff necked”. The Elter Rebbe now quotes the Torah referencing the attribute of “a stiff-necked people”: “Moses hastened to bow low to the ground in homage, and said, “If I have gained Your favor, O Lord, pray, let the Lord go in our midst, even though this is a stiff-necked people. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your own!” (Exodus 34:8-9). As it is a simple desire without any reason, intellect or concept.
Comment: “It” refers to the desire to have a relationship with G-d.
Also, the letters of the word eitan (איתן) indicate the future because the future to come will be the attribute of Wisdom, the attribute of nullification referred to above in the revelation in each and every Jew.
Comment: This reference to the “future” refers to the initial comment of the Elter Rebbe that the words “this day” refer to the day that the Torah was given at Mount Sinai and to each day in the future.
Rabbi Potash commented: The relationship between the word Eitan and the future to come is related to Hebrew grammar. Each Hebrew word has a 3 consonant root. The future tense is formed by adding a prefix to the root. For example, if we take a simple verb כתב(write), we can form the future tense as follows: I will write (אכתב), You will write (תכתב), He will write (יכתב), We will write (נכתב). Notice that the first letters (the prefixes) of each word, if rearranged slightly, spell איתן (Eitan). For non-Hebrew readers the letters נ and ן (nun) are the same. The second form is written when the nun appears at the end of the word as in איתן (eitan). The Elter Rebbe is using this grammatical point to connect איתן (strength and the name of the author of Psalm 89) to the future to come.
Comment: We must also deal with the attribute of Wisdom and the concept of nullification.
Rabbi Potash explains: The three Kabbalistic Intellectual Attributes, in order of spirituality, are Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge. Simplistically, we can think of Wisdom as an Intuition, a Flash of Knowledge , akin to touching an object in a dark room but not really seeing it or perceiving it in its entirety. Understanding is internalization of this knowledge and exploring the knowledge in depth. The Attribute of Knowledge, the Intellectual Attribute with the lowest level of spirituality, can be thought of as implementation of the knowledge first intuited by Wisdom and internalized by Understanding.
Rabbi Potash said that if we apply these concepts to the question of the creation of the world, the origin is above even Wisdom. It is beyond human capabilities to understand. The Divine Soul desires to return to its Source, far above the Attribute of Knowledge, and be unified with It, thereby nullifying its own individual existence by being absorbed into and unifying with the Eternal Divine Light.
Our discussion ended at this point.
ראה אנכי נותן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה את הברכה וגו'. הנה ארז"ל כל מקום שנאמר היום הוא נצחי ולעולם גם היום הזה. ולהבין זה בכאן וגם מלת לפניכם דהוי ליה לומר לכם. אך הענין כי הנה יש בכל אחד ואחד מישראל בחי' פנימיות ובחינת חיצוניות (עמ"ש מזה ע"פ ויהי מקץ בדבור השני) והנה כתיב פנים בפנים דבר ה' עמכם כי בשעת קבלת התורה נמשך לכל אחד ואחד מישראל בחינת הוי' בבחי' פנים שלהם בכל ניצוץ נשמותיהם וזהו ענין קבלת הדבור אנכי ה' אלקיך פי' שיהיה בחי' שם הוי' מאיר ומתגלה בך כל כך עד שיהא נקרא על שמך להיות אלהיך אלהים שלך כמ"ש במ"א. וביאור ענין זה איך יש בחינת שם הוי' בכל אחד ואחד. הנה ארז"ל אפילו רשעים מלאים חרטות שנופלים להם הרהורי תשובה מחמת שאינו רוצה להיות נפרד מהקב"ה והוא בלי טעם ודעת מפני כי בחינה זו היא באה מבחינת חכמה שהיא בחי' ביטול אליו ית' שלמעלה מן ההשכלה והדעת המושג (כמ"ש בסש"ב פי"ח) ונקרא בחי' משכיל על דבר וכתיב משכיל לאיתן אזרחי פי' משכיל להיות איתן מלשון חיזוק כמו איתן מושבך כי בחינה זו היא בחינה חזקה שנתחזק בכל אחד ואחד מישראל מאד בבחי' קשה עורף כמ"ש כי עם קשה עורף הוא וסלחת וגו' כמ"ש במ"א לפי שהוא רצון פשוט בלי שום טעם ושכל מושג וגם אותיות איתן משמשות לעתיד לבא (שהן באין בראש התיבה להורות על שימוש הפעולה להבא אפע"ל יפע"ל תפע"ל נפע"ל) כי לעתיד לבא יהיה בחי' חכמה בחי' ביטול הנ"ל בהתגלות בכל אחד ואחד מישראל משא"כ עכשיו הרוח שטות מכסהו שדומה בעיניו שעודנו ביהדותו כמ"ש במ"א (ע' בסש"ב פכ"ד) וזהו האזרחי מלשון אזרח הארץ שיש בכל אחד ואחד בחינה זו מאז מעולם כי ישראל עלו במחשבה במקורא דכולא ובחינה זו היא בחינת יו"ד של שם הוי' ב"ה (עיין באגרת התשובה פ"ד ועמ"ש בד"ה ביום השמיני שלח בפי' וקדם צרתני ובד"ה יונתי בחגוי שהוא בחי' מחשבה הקדומה ועמ"ש בד"ה בשעה שהקדימו ישראל נעשה פי' וענין בקדמין וז"ש כאן מאז מעולם כו' ועמ"ש ס"פ שלח בענין ישראל לי ראש ועמ"ש בד"ה ה' לי בעוזרי בפי' כל האזרח בישראל כלומר מה שאני עתיד להזריח כו' ושני הפי' אמת שלעתיד יזריח ויאיר בחינה זו בגילוי בכל