Vaetchanan: Chapter 13

Sh'ma and 'Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever'

Synopsis

This section talks about the unification of the two names Yud Hei Vav Hei and Elohim, the first by the meditation "Sh'ma Yisrael" and the second by the meditation beginning "Blessed be the name." This concept is applied also to the Torah, which consists of the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, the first being general and the second being particular. The unification spoken of here pertains to the Torah, to the names of God, to the above and the below, to Zeir Anpin and Malchut, to 'remember' and 'keep,' to night and day and to right and left; it is the unification of everything. Finally we are told how the Tefilin relate to this topic.

Kingdom Meditation Sh'ma Yisrael Tetragrammaton Yud Hei Vav Hei (YHVH) Zeir Anpin

78. "Hear (Sh'ma), O Yisrael, Hashem our Elohim, Hashem is one" (Devarim 6:4) is one meditation (lit. 'unification'), and 'Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever' is another meditation, so that His Name, WHICH IS MALCHUT CALLED NAME, should be of the same secret. According to this secret of "Hashem, He is the Elohim" (I Melachim 18:39), YUD HEI VAV HEI, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, IS MALCHUT CALLED ELOHIM. This is written WHEN ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT are unified together. HENCE, "SH'MA YISRAEL" IS THE SECRET OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, AND, 'BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE GLORY OF HIS KINGDOM FOREVER AND EVER' IS THE ELOHIM.

78. שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְיָ' אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְיָ' אֶחָד, דָּא אִיהוּ יִחוּדָא חַד. בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד, הָא יִחוּדָא אַחֲרָא, לְמֶהֱוֵי שְׁמֵיהּ רָזָא חַד. וְרָזָא דָּא, יְיָ' הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים, דָּא כְּתִיב, כַּד אִינּוּן בְּיִחוּדָא חַד.

Meditation Sh'ma Yisrael

79. You may say that in that case THE MEDITATION OF SH'MA AND 'BLESSED BE...' resembles the verse, "Hashem shall be one, and His name One" (Zecharyah 14:9), which is not equal to, "Hashem, He is the Elohim." For had it been written, 'Hashem and His name shall be one' we would say so THAT IT EQUALS, "HASHEM, HE IS THE ELOHIM," BUT it is not written so but, "Hashem shall be one, and His name One." IN THAT CASE it should have said thus: 'Hashem is, the Elohim is,' and it would equal, "Hashem shall be one, and His name One." BUT SINCE IT IS NOT WRITTEN SO, BUT, "HASHEM, HE IS THE ELOHIM" IT IS NOT SIMILAR TO, "HASHEM SHALL BE ONE, AND HIS NAME ONE." HOW CAN WE CLAIM THAT THE MEDITATION OF "SH'MA" AND 'BLESSED BE...,' WHICH ARE TWO MEDITATIONS, LIKE "HASHEM SHALL BE ONE, AND HIS NAME ONE," IS EQUAL TO, "HASHEM, HE IS THE ELOHIM"?

79. וְאִי תֵּימָא, אִי הָכִי כְּגַוְונָא דִּכְתִּיב יְיָ' אֶחָד וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד, לָאו אִיהִי יְיָ' הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים, דְּאִי כְּתִיב יְיָ' וּשְׁמוֹ הוּא אֶחָד, הֲוֵינָא אַמְרֵי הָכִי, לָא כְּתִיב אֶלָּא יְיָ' אֶחָד וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד, וְאִצְטְרִיךְ לוֹמַר בְּגַוְונָא דָּא, יְיָ' הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים הוּא, וְיִתְחֲזֵי יְיָ' אֶחָד וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד.

Meditation Sh'ma Yisrael Tetragrammaton Yud Hei Vav Hei (YHVH) Zeir Anpin

80. HE ANSWERS, Everything is one; THE MEDITATION OF "SH'MA" AND 'BLESSED BE...,' THE SECRET OF "HASHEM SHALL BE ONE" IN "SH'MA" AND "HIS NAME ONE" IN 'BLESSED BE...' ARE ONE WITH "HASHEM, HE IS THE ELOHIM." For when these two names are unified - YUD HEI VAV HEI, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, TOGETHER WITH ELOHIM, WHICH IS MALCHUT, the one by one meditation, WITH THE MEDITATION OF "SH'MA YISRAEL," and the other by another meditation, NAMELY THE MEDITATION OF, 'BLESSED BE...,' or when the two names become one and are mutually included in each other and everything becomes one complete name, then IT IS WRITTEN, "Hashem, He is the Elohim." For then everything is included in each other to be one. But before they are unified each on its own, they cannot be mutually included to be all one, IN SUCH A WAY THAT "HASHEM SHALL BE ONE, AND HIS NAME ONE" IS NOT EQUAL TO "HASHEM, HE IS THE ELOHIM," BUT THE LATTER IS THE RESULT OF THE FORMER, AS EXPLAINED.

80. אֶלָּא כֺּלָּא חַד, דְּכַד אִתְאַחֲדָן תְּרֵין שְׁמָהָן אִלֵּין, דָּא בְּיִחוּדָא חַד, וְדָא בְּיִחוּדָא חַד, כְּדֵין תְּרֵין שְׁמָהָן אִלֵּין אִתְעָבֵידוּ חַד, וְאִתְכְּלִילָן דָּא בְּדָא, וַהֲוֵי כֺּלָּא שְׁמָא שְׁלִים בְּיִחוּדָא חֲדָא, וּכְדֵין יְיָ' הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים, דְּהָא כְּדֵין אִתְכְּלִיל כֺּלָּא דָּא בְּדָא לְמֶהֱוֵי חַד, וְעַד דְּאִתְיַיחֲדוּ כָּל חַד דָּא בִּלְחוֹדוֹי וְדָא בִּלְחוֹדוֹי, לָא אִתְכְּלִילוּ דָּא בְּדָא, לְמֶהֱוֵי כֺּלָּא חַד.

Holy Name Tetragrammaton Torah Yud Hei Vav Hei (YHVH) Zeir Anpin

81. The generality of the whole Torah, NAMELY THE WRITTEN TORAH AND THE ORAL TORAH TOGETHER, is surely that way, for the Torah is the Written Torah and is the Oral Torah. The Written Torah is as it is written, "Hashem," NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN; the Oral Torah is as it is written, "the Elohim," WHICH IS MALCHUT. Since the Torah is the secret of the Holy Name it is therefore called thus, THE ONE IS CALLED YUD HEI VAV HEI AND THE OTHER THE ELOHIM.

81. כְּלָלָא דְּכָל אוֹרַיְיתָא, הָכִי הוּא וַדַּאי, דְּהָא אוֹרַיְיתָא אִיהִי תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָּב, וְאִיהִי תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה. תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָּב, דָּא הוּא דִּכְתִּיב יְיָ.' תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה, דִּכְתִּיב הָאֱלֹהִים. וּבְגִין דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא אִיהִי רָזָא דִּשְׁמָא קַדִּישָׁא, אִקְרֵי הָכִי.

Torah Zeir Anpin

82. The Written Torah and the Oral Torah, the one is general and the other particular. THE WRITTEN TORAH IS GENERAL, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN, WHILE THE ORAL TORAH IS PARTICULAR, NAMELY MALCHUT. The general needs the particular and the particular needs the general. THE ONE CANNOT REACH PERFECTION WITHOUT THE OTHER UNTIL THE TWO ARE JOINED, they unite with each other and everything becomes one. Therefore the generality of the whole Torah is the generality above, ZEIR ANPIN, and the generality below, MALCHUT, since that name exists above and that name exists below. The one, THE WRITTEN TORAH, is the secret of the supernal world, ZEIR ANPIN, and the other, THE ORAL TORAH, is the secret of the lower world, MALCHUT. Hence it is written, "To you it was shown, that you might know that Hashem He is the Elohim" (Devarim 4:35), WHERE BOTH ARE ONE. This includes everything, ALL WORLDS. All that we said one should know in this world.

82. תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב וְתוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה, דָּא כְּלָל, וְדָא פְּרָט. כְּלַל אִצְטְרִיךְ לִפְרָט, וּפְרָט אִצְטְרִיךְ לִכְּלָל, וְאִתְיַיחֲדוּ דָּא בְּדָא, וַהֲוֵי כֺּלָּא חַד. וְע"ד כְּלָלָא דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, אִיהוּ כְּלָלָא דִּלְעֵילָּא וְתַתָּא, בְּגִין דִּשְׁמָא דָּא לְעֵילָּא, וּשְׁמָא דָּא לְתַתָּא. דָּא רָזָא דְּעָלְמָא עִלָּאָה. וְדָא רָזָא דְּעָלְמָא תַּתָּאָה. וְע"ד כְּתִיב אַתָּה הָרְאֵתָ לָדַעַת כִּי יְיָ' הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים, דָּא כְּלָלָא דְּכֺלָּא, וְכָל דָּא דְּאַמָרָן, אִצְטְרִיךְ ב"נ לְמִנְדַּע בְּהַאי עָלְמָא.

Tetragrammaton Torah Yud Hei Vav Hei (YHVH)

83. You may ask where the commandments of the Torah are in this inclusion, WHETHER "HASHEM, HE IS THE ELOHIM," INCLUDES EVERYTHING. HE ANSWERS, The one, YUD HEI VAV HEI, is 'remember,' while the other, THE ELOHIM, is 'keep.' All the commandments of the Torah are included in these in the mystery of 'remember' and the mystery of 'keep.' 'REMEMBER' INCLUDES THE 248 POSITIVE COMMANDMENTS AND 'KEEP' INCLUDES THE 365 NEGATIVE COMMANDMENTS, and everything is one.

83. וְאִי תֵּימָא, פִּקּוּדֵי אוֹרַיְיתָא אָן אִינּוּן הָכָא, בִּכְלָלָא דָּא. אֶלָּא דָּא אִיהוּ זָכוֹר. וְדָא אִיהוּ שָׁמוֹר. וְכָל פִּקּוּדֵי אוֹרַיְיתָא בְּהָנֵי כְּלִילָן, בְּרָזָא דְּזָכוֹר, וּבְרָזָא דְּשָׁמוֹר, וְכֺלָּא אִיהוּ חַד.

Arvit (Evening Prayer) Evening Prayer (Arvit) Minchah Morning Offering, Daily Prayer Sacrifice Sh'ma Yisrael

84. Rabbi Yosi opened with, The fact that we learned that Arvit (the evening prayer) is obligatory is surely so, because the Holy One, blessed be He, is unified at night THROUGH THE THE SH'MA READING, just as He is unified during the day. The quality of night is included in day and the quality of day is included in night, and unification takes place. Whoever says it is optional, it is BECAUSE THE PRAYER WAS COMPOSED to correspond to the portions of the sacrifices and the fatty parts that are consumed AND BURNED at night, WHICH ARE NOT OBLIGATORY. FOR SHACHARIT (THE MORNING PRAYER) AND MINCHAH (THE AFTERNOON PRAYER) CORRESPOND TO THE TWO DAILY OFFERINGS, WHICH ARE OBLIGATORY, BUT THE EVENING PRAYER CORRESPONDS TO THE PORTIONS OF THE SACRIFICES, ETC., WHICH ARE OPTIONAL. We have already explained it.

84. פָּתַח ר' יוֹסִי וְאָמַר, הָא דְּתָנֵינָן צְלוֹתָא דְּעַרְבִית חוֹבָה אִיהוּ, וַדַּאי בְּגִין דְּק"ש דְּעַרְבִית חוֹבָה, וְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא אִתְיָיחָד בְּלֵילְיָא, כְּמָה דְּאִתְיָיחַד בִּימָמָא. וּמִדַּת לַיְלָה אִתְכְּלִיל בִּימָמָא, וּמִדַּת יְמָמָא אִתְכְּלִיל בְּלֵילְיָא, וְאִתְעָבֵיד יִחוּדָא. וּמַאן דְּאָמַר רְשׁוּת, בְּגִין אֵימוּרִין וּפְדָרִין דְּמִתְעַכְּלֵי בְּלֵילְיָא. וְהָא אוֹקִימְנָא.

Love Meditation Sh'ma Yisrael

85. It is written, "And you shall love (Heb. ve'ahavta) Hashem your Elohim" (Devarim 6:5). We have explained this verse, and so did the friends. But we should ask: If everything, right and left, is included in this meditation of "Sh'ma Yisrael," why it is then written, "And you shall love," WHICH IS THE RIGHT, and, "And it shall come to pass, if you hearken (Heb. vehayah im shamo'a)" (Devarim 11:13-17), WHICH IS LEFT, if they were already included in the meditation OF THE SH'MA READING? AND HE ANSWERS, There, IN THE SH'MA READING, it is part of the general, WHERE THE RIGHT AND LEFT OF DA'AT WERE COMPREHENDED INTO A GENERAL PRINCIPLE, and here it is of the particular: AT FIRST IT IS WRITTEN, "AND YOU SHALL LOVE" IN ITSELF, WHICH IS CHESED, AND THEN "AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, IF YOU HEARKEN," WHICH IS GVURAH. And so it should be.

85. דִּכְתִּיב וְאָהַבְתָּ אֶת יְיָ' אֱלֹהֶיךָ, הַאי קְרָא אוֹקִימְנָא, וְאוֹקְמוּהָ חַבְרַיָּיא. אֲבָל אִית לְשָׁאֲלָא, אִי בְּהַאי יִחוּדָא דִּשְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, אִתְכְּלִיל כֺּלָּא, יְמִינָא וּשְׂמָאלָא, אֲמַאי כְּתִיב לְבָתַר וְאָהַבְתָּ, וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמוֹעַ, דְּהָא בְּיִחוּדָא אִתְכְּלִילוּ. אֶלָּא הָתָם בִּכְלָל. הָכָא בִּפְרָט. וְהָכִי אִצְטְרִיךְ.

Hands Head Meditation Sh'ma Yisrael Tetragrammaton Tfilin Yud Hei Vav Hei (YHVH)

86. In the secret of the meditation we remarked on, the meditation OF THE SH'MA READING is like THE MEDITATION OF the head Tefilin and the hand Tefilin. In the head Tefilin there are four passages, which we have already learned, and here IN THE SH'MA READING there are three names, YUD HEI VAV HEI, OUR ELOHIM, YUD HEI VAV HEI. There, there are four passages, each on its own, and here there are only three names. What is the difference between them?

86. וּבְרָזָא דְּיִחוּדָא דְּהָא אִתְּעַרְנָא בֵּיהּ, יִחוּדָא אִיהוּ כְּגַוְונָא דִּתְפִלִּין דְּרֵישָׁא, וּתְפִילִּין דִּדְרוֹעָא, בִּתְפִילִין דְּרֵישָׁא ד' פַּרְשִׁיָּין, וְהָא אִתְּמַר. וְהָכָא ג' שְׁמָהָן אִינּוּן. הָתָם אַרְבַּע פַּרְשִׁיָּין, וְכָל חַד וְחַד בִּלְחוֹדוֹי. וְהָכָא ג' שְׁמָהָן, מַה בֵּין הַאי לְהַאי.

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