Part 1 · Chapter 36

Learning the Letters: From למד בית to למד ואו 0:07

One of the amazing things here is how on some of these chapters, I wouldn't be surprised if on if on other ones also it's just that we don't know it, but like, you know how למד בית is לב? Right.

You know, now we're on למד ואו, says והנה כתיב אלה. Right. אלה תולדות יעקב יוסף. Right. And this is the ואו זעירא, and it also says that אלה means six times six, יוסף. יוסף is the six יוסף is the sixth ספירה. Right. So it says אלה תולדות יעקב יוסף. Right. And it says אלה, and it explains, and I think it's I think I saw it in the זוהר that that's אלה is talking about the six ספירות of of זעיר אנפין, the sixth ספירה יוסף, which also has six ספירות.

And that's אלה, למד ואו. Right. You know, so this the the book is is very amazing, you know, it's it has these little things in it that that you know, it's like was it was written by, you know, by the מיטעלער רבי. I mean, it was written by God, let's put it that way, you know. Right. And things like this can't just happen, you know. You know, לב is למד בית, and אלה is למד ואו.

Right. You know, so אלה תולדות יעקב יוסף שהוא בחינת יסוד, בחינת צדיק עליון וכולי, והוא הנקרא ואו זעירא וכולי. וביאור הדברים ידוע בענין כי כל בשמים ובארץ, לך השם הגדולה והגבורה והתפארת והנצח וההוד, כי כל בשמים ובארץ זה יסוד, לך השם הממלכה. ותרגומו דאחיד בשמיא ובארעא, that he he is the connection between the heaven and the earth, meaning between the מדות and מלכות, שהוא בחינת אור השפע, this is a צדיק עליון נקרא חי העולמים, חי העולמים, וכולי, ועל דרך משל מי שמבין אור השכל לעצמו, אבל אין לו כח להביא אור השכל וההשפעה לחוץ למקבל, הרי זה עדיין בבחינת עצם השפע הזה.

תבונה’s Shape Mirrors ו‑או: Inner to Outer 2:33

And this is very close to תבונה. That's why תבונה is the same shape as a ואו. It's a it's a לאנגע נון.

But תבונה means to bring it down from the inner שכל out to the outside, and this is to bring it from himself out to the to the other guy, but it's basically the same ענין in a way, that's why it's exactly the same shape except one is longer.

הרי זה עדיין רק בבחינת עצם השפע הזה כמו שהוא בעצמו. אבל מי שיוכל להעביר ולהשפיע בגילוי להמקבלין, הוא הנקרא בבחינת יסוד. That's the צדיק. The whole thing of a צדיק is that he can bring it to others.

Right. And that's the whole ענין of יסוד, that not only he has it, but he can bring it to others. והוא הנקרא כולא דאחיד, that the צדיק he he holds one side of him is in heaven and the other side is in earth.

And that's like there's a thing what they say, I think it's also in זוהר, but says what משה רבינו says איש האלקים. Right. He was half man, half God. Right. He was a צדיק. The צדיק is half half of him is up up with God and other the other side is down here. And he holds in both places, in in heaven and in earth. Right. And this by the way what they say about about I think it was the צמח צדק said about the מיטעלער רבי, is the מיטעלער רבי was the בחינה of בחינה of איש האלקים.

צמח צדק, מיטעלער רבי, and the איש‑אלוקים Concept 3:58

Right. הוא הנקרא בבחינת יסוד, והוא הנקרא כולא דאחיד that he holds the heaven and the earth וכולי, שנמשך מן המשפיע להמקבל. כמו שנאמר אור זרוע לצדיק. וכתיב באור כי טוב. And the light, it says, the אייבערשטער saw כי טוב, שבחינת יסוד נקרא טוב. He saw that the light that it was יסוד, טוב. מטבע הטוב להיטיב. What does it mean להיטיב? It's a לשון of דווקא. What does it mean he's a good guy?

You can't be good in just good inside of yourself, that טבע הטוב is להיטיב to somebody else. Like if you say he's a good guy, but say what do you mean he's a good say he never did nobody a favor in his life. Right. You know, so they say what kind of a good guy is this? Yeah, but inside he's good. So they say, forget it. If he's never did anybody a favor, what do they say even American says anybody who don't like kids and dogs, you know, he runs around shouting at the kids and kicking all the dogs, how good could he be?

Right. Oh, he's a good guy, he's a חסידישע guy, he's really meditates, you know. So what? He shouts at all the kids. Right. נקרא צדיק וטוב. על כן בחינת יסוד נקרא צדיק וטוב because he's משפיע to the to the other guy, כמו שנאמר: אמרו צדיק כי טוב. Say to the צדיק that he's good. וצדיק, צדקות אהב. What does mean צדיק? That he liked צדקה, to to help people.

Right. וכולי להחיות רוח שפלים, to be מחיה the spirit of the lowly people, people who don't have. כמו שנאמר: טוב ה' לכל, that the אייבערשטער is משפיע to everybody.

וטוב בגימטריא י"ז, which is that's the number of יוסף. Right. והוא A-H-V-H. 17

is A-H-V-H adds up to, if you add it up, you'll see that it's 11 and 6 is 17. ראשי תיבות of the את השמים ואת הארץ. Right. דהיינו דאחיד בשמיא וארעא, that means he's holding the heaven and the earth, וכולי, שזהו בחינת התקשרות המשפיע במקבל כידוע. ומבואר במקום אחר, also by יוסף it says יוסף was 17 years That's what it says, יוסף was 17 years old. Right.

Joseph’s Age, the Number 17, and Genealogy 6:59

And then he was away from his father for 17 years,

and I think then his father was with him for another 17 years. Doesn't it say that he lived יעקב after he came he lived another 17 years, no? Mhm. So, this is all the the the 17 is the number of יוסף. דאחיד בשמיא וארעא, שזהו התקשרות המשפיע במקבל כידוע, ומבואר במקום אחר, ונקרא גם כן שלום וברית. Oh שלום, שלום וברית. It's also called peace and and the ברית.

כמו בפינחס: הנני נותן לו את בריתי שלום, כמו שמבואר במקום אחר. וההפרש שבין פנימיות יסוד ז"א, כי יוסף, לחיצוניות יסוד שהוא בחינת נח צדיק תמים, כמו שנאמר בזהר, היינו ו' דז"א. So, the same thing, like he said, there's ישראל and יעקב, יוסף is like in יסוד the ענין like ישראל is by תפארת. Right. And נח is like the ענין of יעקב. Okay, now you say, "Well, that that that seems like a much bigger difference."

Because יעקב and and ישראל is the same guy. Right. And יעקב is called יעקב is who's called יעקב is the one that's called

ישראל. Right. Over here, יוסף, not only that, between יוסף and נח there's a big difference. Even though you say, "Well, it's not really It's not really that one is Jewish and one is not Jewish, because יוסף really was a בן נח, the same like נח." Right. "And as far as the Jewish soul, נח also had the Jewish soul."

Right. But יוסף was on a higher level because he was a מהול. נח was born מהול. Yeah, but it makes no difference. He didn't have a מצוה. נח was born מהול, but יוסף had a מצוה. יוסף was also born מהול, by the way. But יוסף had a מצוה, so he had to have a הטפת דם, you know? Right. It's a It's a whole different thing, somebody who has a מצוה and somebody who doesn't have a מצוה.

Right. דהיינו ו' דז"א שהוא בחינת הקיבוץ ואסיפת אור ושפע של המדות דיעקב הנ"ל, וזהו אלה תולדות יעקב יוסף, בחינת התולדות למדות על ידי יוסף דוקא, שהוא אור, זרע, צדיק חי עלמין, that the whole תולדה of the מדות into action has to go through יסוד. וכתיב: צדיק כתמר וכולי, כתמר יפרח כארז בלבנון ישגה, ששרש יסוד ז"א, כתמר, הוא ביסוד דאריך אנפין ועתיק יומין, שלמעלה מן השכל. That's why the צדיק can bring down to, the whole thing that it explains that only a חכם מופלא can bring down the חכמה that has the חכמה all the way to its source.

Right. So the יסוד of ז"א, in order to really be משפיע to other people, it has to have its root in יסוד of אריך and עתיק, which is totally higher than the שכל. It's not enough to just understand the שכל itself. Right. You know, it's תחילתן בסופן.

Why בינה Stops at הוד and Needs Action 10:43

Not only that, this is also the reason why it says, מכל מלמדי השכלתי, I learned more from my students than from my teachers. Right. That is דווקא when he teaches to others, then he has to reach higher than the שכל itself. When he understands for himself, he only has to

understand the השכלה as it is. Right. The lower he reaches, the higher the lower he goes, the higher he has to reach. Right. Right, but דווקא when he teaches to others,

he has to then it's an ענין of יסוד. Right. And since it's an ענין of יסוד, so therefore, he reaches higher. Not only that, in terms of בינה and תבונה, it's דווקא this that activates the תבונה. There's other ways of act- activating the תבונה. One of the ways of activating the תבונה, basically it says that התבוננות activates the תבונה. But the basic thing, like there's a whole long thing in the חלק רביעי about התבוננות from up to down, from down to up.

When he's doing התבוננות for himself, it's it's it's basically activating the בינה, and it's possible that even though he's כולל it, even the תבונה will be only for the בינה itself. Right. In other words, that the things that he'll bring up, נו, משלים, but they'll still be only in his own era. Right. Because nobody ever asked him such a thing. Right. Which, in other words, nobody ever asked him a stupid question.

Right. And it's דווקא when he has to explain it to somebody else that it activates the לאנגע נו"ן of תבונה to come really down.

Okay, where is this? ושם מאיר דיוסף דווקא זה אצלו בחינת חי עלמין, כדכתיב צדיק כתמר, כאילו בבני יששכר, ששרש יסוד ז"א ביסוד דאריך ועתיק, שלמעלה מן השכל כולי. ונודע דתחילתן בסופן, כי יסוד נקרא סיומא דגופא כולי, ועל כן עיקר התענוג בכלות השפע דווקא. That's the main תענוג that people like is when the שפע comes out from the יסוד. That's that touches the עצם of the תענוג. Right.

In in terms of physical in terms talking in terms of physical pleasure, the biggest physical pleasure that everybody runs after is when the שפע comes out of the יסוד. וכנודע בענין ויכל אלקים כולי that when the end of the שפע what happened, then he said כי טוב מאד. Right. והיינו then he had a big enjoyment. והיינו שהיה יוסף יפה תואר, that יוסף was was was very handsome, מעין שופריה דיעקב.

Physical Pleasure: שפע Emerging from יסוד 13:16

He was like the beauty of יעקב, meaning תפארת דז"א, that יסוד is the same like תפארת דז"א, ושופריה דיעקב מעין שופריה דאדם קדמאה. And it says that that יעקב's beauty was like the beauty of of of אדם הראשון, meaning אריך and even א"ק. In other words, the whole thing of the משפיע, to משפיע to other people, he has to be משפיע the אריך, that's a regular משפיע has to be at least to be משפיע the אריך means that the main thing to be משפיע, what does it mean to be a משפיע?

To be משפיע doesn't mean to teach somebody mathematics, or even in חסידות, it doesn't mean to teach somebody the intellect of חסידות. That's not a real משפיע. A משפיע means that he's משפיע the רצון. Right. That he can take this guy, you give him this פוץ, and he can turn him into a guy with a רצון for חסידות and for דרכי החסידות.

Right. And So, אריך and א"ק. A real

משפיע, so like even the rabbi, he has some kind of a השפעה on his congregation. Right. You know, to be משפיע, you know, that they should walk in the right דרך, whatever their דרך is. But Right. But the the main השפעה is not so much the השפעה of just learning intellectual stuff with them, it's השפעה of אריך. Right. But a big משפיע, there's there's a צדיק and there's a צדיק.

True משפיע: Beyond Intellectual Teaching 18:13

A big משפיע is that he can משפיע א"ק, that he could take a person and turn his whole א"ק around. Right.

And this is by the שלוחים of the רבי. And really, by the רבי himself, he could really go even higher than that, because really there's even higher. The יסוד can go even higher. He can go all the way to the יסוד of of אין סוף. ומה שנאמר אלה תולדות, היינו, oh, he says it right here, בחינת ו' קוון דזעיר, and that's the that's the number of this chapter, ל"ו, שכול, כל אחד מו', ש-אלה בגימטריא אלה.

Right. 36. אך אין תולדה בלא תוספת מוחין חדשים מאבא על ידי בחינת הגדלות דכתר חב"ד שבזעיר כנ"ל. It's דווקא through the גדלות of כתר חב"ד that it goes all the way into the פנימיות התענוג.

Like as far as a physical תולדה, if it doesn't go into the פנימיות התענוג, there won't be no תולדה. Right. He won't have any children. The only way you can have children is it has to go into the פנימיות התענוג, and like he explains in תניא that the טיפה comes out of the brain. Right. You know? That the the the the טיפה comes out of the brain, and that's why it has the encoding in it, you know, and therefore he can be מוליד.

It's not just that he's מוליד, it's not the same like explaining to somebody else, but it's ממש brings over the עצמות. Not just a, not just the the ideas in the brain, but the ממש the physicality of the brain. ובזה יש גם כן בחינת התבוננות אחת כוללת מהרבה פרטים, בכלל אחד, שהוא מיסוד דמלכות דאין סוף, like we said before, that by the רבי, it really can go all the way to, and even higher really, because מלכות of אין סוף, like we know that it really goes even higher, all the way to יחיד.

Right. עד בחינת יסוד ז״א. It really goes from מלכות of, the יסוד of מלכות of אין סוף, in other words, the השפעה of the אויבערשטער, that the אויבערשט- it's the אויבערשטער that wanted to be משפיע to the world. So therefore, this comes down to יסוד ז״א.

על דרך הנ״ל בז״א בכלל, the same like we said in chapter 33 in ז״א in general, שהוא סוף עולם האין סוף, כולו. That's in chapter 33. So that's in general. In particular, יסוד ז״א comes from יסוד דמלכות דאין סוף.

כמו שנאמר וידבר שלמה מן הארז אשר בלבנון, בעצם התענוג הפשוט שבעצמות אור אין סוף, לבנון בלובנו, בלבנון. Right. Like אור צח ומצוחצח, you know. Right. בעצם התענוג הפשוט שבעצמות אור אין סוף, שעלה ברצונו הפשוט אנא אמלוך, כולו, עד בחינת האזוב אשר בקיר, means that שלמה also read this book, and therefore he could tell you all the way from הארז אשר בלבנון עד האזוב אשר בקיר. שהוא בחינת וא״ו זעירא.

The אזוב is is יסוד of ז״א, and the קיר is the מלכות. Right. שהוא בחינת וא״ו זעירא דקטנות יסוד ז״א, בהשפעה זו והתקשרות זו במלכות שנקרא קיר, כמו שנאמר ויתפלל כולו אל הקיר. He davened to the wall. What does it mean he davened to the wall? What kind of עבודה זרה is that? דכן נעשה עליות קיר, שהוא בחינת המלכות, כמו שמבואר בזהר, דהיינו צדיק כתמר יפרח, דסליק לע׳ שנין דא״ק.

What does it mean that the צדיק, the משפיע has to

יפרח, he has to grow bigger? What does it mean grow bigger? That he has to go up to the 70 years of א״ק. Otherwise, what kind of משפיע is he? Right. In other words, even by a רב of a con- a רב of any congregation, he's trying to be משפיע to the people on their whole 70 years. Right. Otherwise, he's not a משפיע. It's not that he's משפיע, well, you say, "Well, did did did did it work?"

You say, "Yeah, I was משפיע on him for five minutes." And what happened afterwards? "Well, afterwards, you know, what's, you know, I'm a five-minute משפיע." So if you're a five-minute משפיע, you're not a משפיע at all. Right. A real ענין of משפיע is the 70 years of א״ק, that he has to sli- דסליק, that he goes away, me- goes up to the 70 years of א״ק. דשם, and when he's over there, כארז בלבנון ישגה, מבחינת אין סוף ממש, ודי למבין.

There, it's totally infinite. The השפעה, when he goes up to א״ק, then the השפעה becomes totally infinite. And that's the ענין of a רבי really, what that that, that in other words, in, in like people like the rabbis of the congregations, they they they don't really ממש go up there.

They they just get from א״ק how א״ק goes through אריך and how אריך goes through the שכל really. Right. So so, but the שורש is still has to be in in in in א״ק, the שורש. There has to be a שורש in א״ק, otherwise he's not a משפיע.

But in a real צדיק, what you call a צדיק, you say a צדיק, like the רבי is a צדיק, he goes ממש up to to there, and over there, it says כארז בלבנון ישגה, then he goes even past there, all the way to the אין סוף. וגם עוד מבואר במקום אחר שיוסף נקרא יתום מאמו ולא מאביו, כולו, ראשי תיבות יתום:

יפה תואר יפה תאר יפה מראה. יפה תאר יפה מראה. What is it? That's ראשי תיבות יתם, יפה תאר... Yeah, יפה תאר ויפה מראה. יפה תאר וכו׳, right, יפה תאר ויפה מראה. וכו׳ וכו׳. And what does it mean? That he was a יתום from his mother, but not from his father.

והענין יתום מאמו, what does it mean יתום מאמו? היינו לפי שבחינת יסוד אמא קצר ומסתלק ונעלם בתולדות המדות. כנראה בחוש שבהתפעלות המדות מסתלק השכל וכו׳. וזה אמרו דבינה רק עד הוד דז״א פשטה, ולא עד יסוד דז״א. What does that mean? That the בינה, that that the power of the explanation רק עד בחינת ההודאה שבאה מצד השכל. ולא בבחינת יסוד דז״א שהוא בחינת התקשרות עצמו שבלב, שבא ומאיר מבחינת יסוד אבא, בחינת התקשרות בעצם אור המושכל קודם שבא להשגה.

And this, in terms of understanding it in terms of an actual thing, how how the בינה only goes to הוד, you can see this from Richard Simmons.

Yeah. You know who Richard Simmons is? Yeah, he makes a lot of money. Right. Why does he make a lot of money? Because בינה only goes to הוד. What does it mean בינה only goes to הוד? It means, who goes to him? A bunch of fat ladies. Right. They want to get skinny.

Right. Why do they want to get skinny? Because they understand that it's good for their health, and if they get skinny, they'll look pretty, and they'll be able to buy their clothes for a third of the price, and all the reasons. They understand this fine. That's why they go to him. Right. If they understand it so good, why don't they do it? Because בינה only goes to הוד.

Or like a guy that goes to one of these places to help him to stop smoking. Why does he want to stop smoking? Because he understands that it's bad for him, and all the ענינים.

Or a guy that wants to build up his muscles, and he has to go to a muscle-builder guy.

So if the guy understands that it's good to be on a diet, and to build up his muscles, or to stop smoking, or to get skinny like the ladies, and you can see it all over the place, all of these self-help books and stuff like that, why don't they do it? They understand fine. Not only that, they understand fine to the point that they're מודה that I I they they tell you, the guy tells you, "I know,

I know I got to stop smoking," or the fat lady tells you, "I I I I I really got to I I really got to lose some weight. I shouldn't be eating this piece of cheesecake."

So, what what do you mean, "You shouldn't be eating this piece of..."? So why are you eating it? Why? Because the the intellectual הבנה, that they understand this intellectually, only goes to הוד, that they're מודה that they should do it. Right. מצד that the שכל, הכרעת השכל, but it's not enough to bring it out. יסוד goes The יסוד goes into מלכות.

It doesn't go into יסוד, so therefore it doesn't come out into השפעה, into the outside. Right. Why? Because the בינה only goes to הודאה.

And it has to be in a way of seeing. When it's in a way of seeing, that does affect the יסוד. So like one of the ענינים that you could you an example of this is by smokers,

when they go to these special seminars or whatever you want to call them, that help them to go from הודאה to action, Right. one of the things is they do one one thing they do is they show them pictures of a smoker's lung Right. and a healthy lung.

And they say a lot of times, when people see this with their eyes, that's the ענין of חכמה already, when you see it. You say, "Wow!"

And this affects them to Change over. Right.