Parshas Devarim and Shabbos Chazon - Who Are the Keini, Kenizi, and Kadmoni Nations?

00:00 This was in the year 5585. The Mitteler Rebbe was in Germany at the time, and around the month of Tammuz he visited the great Torah scholar Rabbi Akiva Eiger, as well as the great Torah scholar Rabbi Moshe of Nikolsburg. He was staying in Karlsbad and visited them from there. There is an interesting letter from the Mitteler Rebbe in which he relates a number of details about what happened and what he and Rabbi Akiva Eiger discussed. He says that, on the one hand, Rabbi Akiva Eiger was a great figure among the Jewish people, and on the other hand, he conducted himself with simplicity and humility—utter simplicity even in his approach to material matters. The world in general was of no importance to him whatsoever. The Mitteler Rebbe also describes how warmly he received him. They spoke about Chassidus, and Rabbi Akiva Eiger held the Mitteler Rebbe in very high regard. As you know, this was reflected later as well. Chassidim tell a story about Rabbi Akiva Eiger’s grandson, Reb Leibel Eiger, who later became one of the chassidim of Kotzk and founded the Lublin dynasty. Reb Leibel Eiger was the son of Rabbi Shlomo Eiger and the grandson of Rabbi Akiva Eiger. And as you know, Rabbi Shlomo Eiger was not so comfortable with Chassidus. His son, however,

01:41 Reb Leibel, became a chossid. They tell this story: When Reb Leibel Eiger returned, his father was angry with him for becoming a chossid. Rabbi Akiva Eiger asked, “Why are you angry with him? How does he wash his hands in the morning? How did he wash them before, and how does he wash them now?” He had begun using plenty of water. “What sort of tallis katan did he have before becoming a chossid, and what sort does he have now?” A larger tallis katan, made of wool. Before, he put on only Rashi tefillin; now he puts on both Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam tefillin. Rabbi Akiva Eiger said to him, “Why are you angry with him? Not only has he not become any less observant—he has become more devout, more G-d-fearing. Surely that is a good thing.” In any case, it is told that when the Mitteler Rebbe visited Rabbi Akiva Eiger, they discussed Torah. Rabbi Akiva Eiger shared Torah insights with him, and the Mitteler Rebbe shared insights from the inner dimension of Torah, from the teachings of Chassidus. The same happened with Rabbi Moshe of Nikolsburg: they discussed Torah there, too. The details of the story, what took place, and several of the Torah insights they discussed are recorded in the Mitteler Rebbe’s Igros Kodesh. And there is a maamar that, according to tradition, is one of the maamarim

03:01 the Mitteler Rebbe delivered while he was in Germany, to Rabbi Akiva Eiger or Rabbi Moshe—one of those great scholars. He spoke about this subject, which is connected to the parsha we are studying these days, these weeks, the subject that was discussed [unclear]. In any case, we will focus on one point from the maamar. It is a long maamar, as is characteristic of the Mitteler Rebbe. And as the Rebbe once said, it is hard to say that the Mitteler Rebbe delivered this entire maamar to Rabbi Akiva Eiger. Certainly not all of it; perhaps he said just a word, a single point, and afterward delivered and wrote out the entire maamar at length. But we will discuss only one point, because it is a central and important point, and a subject the Rebbe addressed often. Especially now, during the Three Weeks, Bein Hametzarim and the Nine Days, when we need to strengthen the practice of living with the Geulah, living with Moshiach. We can clearly see in this maamar that a foundation is laid in [unclear] for the Geulah. By way of introduction, consider what we find in today’s parsha—specifically, in the parsha read during these days of the Nine Days, the Three Weeks, Parshas

04:16 Parshas Matos, Parshas Masei and Parshas Devarim deal with the lands across the Jordan and with the conquest of the land in general. This brings us to Shabbos Chazon. All three parshas discuss the conquest of the land, along with several other matters. The holy Shelah explains that these parshas contain a number of subjects connected with exile and Geulah, with the cities of refuge and the like. One subject that recurs in Parshas Matos, Parshas Masei and Parshas Devarim is the conquest of the land, but also what still lies outside the land. In Parshas Devarim, the Torah recounts the sequence of events described in the earlier parshas, beginning with Parshas Chukas. But here we need to know a few more details. When they reached the border of Moav, they would have had to pass through Moav. Hakadosh Boruch Hu said: Do not encroach on the territory of Moav. Why did they not provoke Moav? This is discussed in the Midrash. The Baal Haturim connects it to the fact that Rus would come from Moav, and Moshiach would descend from her. That is why they did not provoke them. The same then happened with Ammon: Hakadosh Boruch Hu said not to start a war with them. The same was true of Edom. These are three kingdoms, and they still lay outside the land. To enter Eretz Yisroel by a shorter route, they would have had to pass through the lands of Edom, Moav and Ammon. Hakadosh Boruch Hu said not to touch them; they had to go around. This made the entire journey through the wilderness longer, but they did not provoke those three kingdoms. Who are these three kingdoms and three nations? That is what we will discuss now.

06:12 The whole matter appears in Parshas Chukas and is then repeated in Parshas Devarim. In particular, Hakadosh Boruch Hu says not to touch them. This is explained in the Midrashim. The holy Ohr Hachayim, in Parshas Devarim, raises the point: Hakadosh Boruch Hu had promised these three lands, these three countries and nations, to Avraham Avinu. They are the Keini, Kenizi and Kadmoni. In Parshas Lech Lecha, at the Covenant Between the Parts, Hakadosh Boruch Hu promised Avraham Avinu the lands of ten nations. He promised that his descendants would receive their lands. Yet when we look at the account, we see that they received the lands of only seven nations. That is what it says in Parshas Mishpatim and several other parshas. They received the lands of the seven nations: the Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite, Perizzite, Hivite, Girgashite and Jebusite. But they did not receive the lands of the Keini, Kenizi and Kadmoni, the three nations mentioned in Parshas Lech Lecha. The Midrash explains that these three lands and three nations are Edom, Ammon and Moav. The Keini, Kenizi and Kadmoni are those three peoples. At that time, their lands had not yet been conquered; the Jewish people did not enter those three countries. Hakadosh Boruch Hu said not to touch Moav, and likewise Ammon and Edom. The promise is that they will receive those lands in the days of Moshiach.

08:03 This appears in Parshas Shoftim: “When Hashem your G-d expands your borders.” When will the time come for Hakadosh Boruch Hu to expand the borders? The Torah says: “As He swore to your forefathers.” The Rebbe discusses that oath and says that the promise refers not only to the seven Canaanite nations, but also to the other three lands: Edom, Ammon and Moav. It says: “From the wilderness and Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates.” In other words, the borders of Eretz Yisroel will extend to the Euphrates, including the lands of the three nations, the Keini, Kenizi and Kadmoni. But the question is: What is the significance of this? The seven nations were in Eretz Yisroel, and Eretz Yisroel is a holy land even now. What about the three nations, the Keini, Kenizi and Kadmoni? Only in the future will their lands also become part of the Holy Land. What is the difference between the seven nations and the three? The Rebbe explains this along the lines of the distinction between the soul’s faculties discussed in Tanya and Chassidus. [unclear]

09:48 Ten nations. They correspond to the ten faculties of the soul. And the Rebbe explains in Tanya that “G-d has made one corresponding to the other.” In the realm of holiness there are ten faculties of the soul, divided into two groups: chochmah, binah and daas, the three intellectual faculties, and the seven emotional faculties. These are the faculties that make up a person. In holiness, in the G-dly soul, there are chochmah, binah and daas, whose role is to understand the greatness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, followed by the emotional faculties: love of Hashem and fear of Hashem, compassion—all of a person’s emotions. These are the seven holy emotional faculties. And “G-d has made one corresponding to the other”: there is another realm, the realm of kelipah and impurity. There, too, are ten. In Tanya, the Rebbe calls them “the ten crowns of impurity”—the ten powers of impurity. In the realm of impurity, too, there are two groups. There are seven negative emotional faculties of kelipah: chessed of kelipah, gevurah of kelipah. These are the seven nations. Each nation represents one of the seven negative emotional faculties. Desires and pleasures are chessed of kelipah, misplaced love. All these forms of love are the “one corresponding to the other.” This is called the Canaanite. “Canaanite” alludes to love and desire. As explained in mussar teachings, “Canaanite” refers to submission to kelipah and to desires. These are aspects of chessed of kelipah. “Hittite,” from the word chet, or sin, corresponds to fear—the fear of the opposing side, fear of things that have no substance, of imagined things and of what weighs on a person’s heart, all kinds of fears.

11:36 Undesirable things. Then there is the aspect of tiferes of kelipah, called the Amorite, from the expression “all evildoers boast,” a term of glory and greatness. This is the pride and self-importance of kelipah. And similarly with each of the nations. The Hittite, the Amorite—and there is the Perizzite. This represents throwing off the yoke, as suggested by the name Perizzite. The Hivite, from the word chivya, “serpent”—loathsome creatures. This too is kelipah. The Jebusite represents aspects of yesod of kelipah. So it says in the books of Kabbalah. Each nation alludes to one of the seven nations, through the Girgashite. The Girgashite corresponds to malchus of kelipah; its name suggests feeling, and this refers to the lowliness and sadness of kelipah. Sadness in holiness is the opposite, and these are the aspects of the Girgashite. These, then, are the ten nations, the ten negative traits. So the ten nations are divided into two groups: they came to conquer the land of Israel from the seven nations. As we have already discussed, this is the work called avodas habirurim, the work of refinement, in the language of Kabbalah and Chassidus. The work in this world begins when the soul descends here below and becomes clothed in a body and an animal soul. And there are, as we said, ten negative traits, corresponding to ten positive traits. The work in this world, throughout a person’s life—the seventy years, which are ten times seven—is to correct, transform and refine all ten nations, the ten negative traits. To work on desire, anger, and the

13:18 trait of self-glorification, as well as the drive to win. With each of the ten traits, this is the work in this world: to refine it, transform it, correct it and separate out the good. This is the work involving the ten nations, and this is how the ten nations of the land of Israel are conquered. This is the general work at the present time, as was already said in [unclear]. The Kenite, Kenizzite and Kadmonite represent aspects of intellect in this world. The intellect of this world is secular wisdom. As explained in Chassidus, Moav is the place of chochmah of kelipah, which is why it is called Moav: the name Moav contains av, “father,” and chochmah is called “father.” The Alter Rebbe says in Tanya that “father” and “mother” are chochmah and binah. So Moav is chochmah of kelipah. All wisdom is found there, but that wisdom is the exact opposite of chochmah of holiness. Chochmah of holiness is koach mah—humility and self-nullification. Chochmah of kelipah is pride and self-importance: the wiser a person is, meaning the more wisdom he has, the more [unclear] he becomes, the more coarse he becomes. This is the wisdom of Moav, Moav of kelipah. Similarly, Ammon is binah of kelipah. Ammon suggests noam, pleasantness. Binah is where pleasure resides. Pleasantness comes when a person understands something through binah, and it becomes a geshmak, a pleasure, for him. That is noam, Ammon. And that is binah of kelipah. So Ammon and Moav are the chochmah and binah of kelipah. They were born as the sons of Lot, who went with Avraham. And Lot represents the dross, the waste

14:55 that had accumulated. So the mundane and the holy became mixed, and from this came the levels of Ammon and Moav, chochmah and binah of kelipah. The levels of Ammon and Moav of kelipah are explained in Kabbalah and Chassidus. And we see that it was precisely from there that the Geulah of Moshiach emerged: Rus came from Moav and became King David’s great-grandmother; and Naamah the Ammonite came from Ammon, and from her came the Davidic dynasty, as related in Tanach. These are the levels of Ammon and Moav, chochmah and binah of kelipah. Then there is the level of Edom, which is keser of kelipah. In any case, since we are speaking about keser, chochmah and binah, it seems to me that, broadly speaking, these are the intellectual faculties. The intellectual faculties of kelipah are indeed difficult to refine at the present time. Matters of intellect are harder to refine than matters of character traits. Why? Because with character traits, their coarseness is generally visible. With character traits, you can see what is good and what is bad; it is more apparent in physical terms. Intellect is subtle, and because of its subtlety, you do not see its materiality; you do not see what is going on. When it comes to a person’s intellect, you cannot see what is wrong with it. The Rebbe holds, and it is written in Tanya, that the wisdom of the nations is much harder to refine, because

16:23 the waste is mixed in so subtly. A person studies secular wisdom, and you cannot see what is wrong with it. But as it says later, regarding the [unclear] in the intellect, as it says later, in the end it is much harder, G-d forbid, to get rid of it. And often the issues in the intellect are so fine and subtle that you do not even realize anything is wrong, and it appears there is nothing wrong at all. That is why so much was done and said about the need to always [unclear] guard against secular wisdom, because it can distance a person completely from G-dliness. This is explained in Tanya, chapter 8, and at length in the maamarim of Chassidus that deal with this subject. That is why they say that the intellectual faculties cannot be refined to complete perfection at the present time. Only in the future will the work of refining the intellectual faculties take place. In other words, the main purpose of our work in this world, at the present time, is to refine our character traits. Everyone knows the negative traits within them: desires, anger, murderousness, jealousy, the pursuit of honor and the like—all the negative traits each person has in their soul. This is what the work must focus on now, throughout the exile: the seven nations, refining the seven traits. Each person must refine all their traits, transform them into holiness, and make them into

17:44 the land of Israel. This is the well-known saying of the Tzemach Tzedek: “Make the land of Israel here.” Each person must transform the negative traits within their soul and make them into the land of Israel. But in the future—when will it be possible to refine the intellectual faculties as well? With the revelation of Moshiach, when “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea.” The revelation of knowledge, the revelation of the intellectual faculties, the revelation of the wisdom of a “new Torah”—all these will open up a new kind of understanding, a new perspective, for Jews. Through it, it will be possible to see the subtle evil within the intellectual faculties and to correct the three aspects of the Kenite, Kenizzite and Kadmonite as well. This is what is meant by the promise that in the future “Hashem your G-d will expand your borders”: then the intellectual faculties will be refined, and consequently they will be revealed. There will therefore be a revelation of a new Torah, the Torah’s secrets. As Rashi says in Shir Hashirim, in the future the secrets will be revealed—the mitzvos of Israel, the [unclear] of Israel, the greatest secrets of the Torah’s inner dimension. Then it will also be possible to refine and correct the dross and waste in the intellectual faculties of the opposing side. This is the conquest in the world: to conquer the materiality of the Kenite, Kenizzite and Kadmonite, to take the keser, chochmah and binah—the chochmah, binah and daas of the opposing side—and turn them into holiness. And this was [unclear] in recent years. This concerns

19:01 the Mitteler Rebbe and the study of Chassidus. Never, never has there been [unclear] as there is now. And the Rebbe revealed in recent years, particularly in 5750–5751, and in [unclear]—the Rebbe spoke on Shabbos Parshas Shelach Lecha, and during that period, in the month of Cheshvan, there were very rich sichos in which the Rebbe spoke about this subject. The Rebbe said that, as I mentioned, the Rebbe spoke in that later period about our generation being the generation of the Geulah, the generation that completes the work of refinement and is already preparing for the revelation of Moshiach. Consequently, in our generation there is already a greater emphasis on the world of the intellectual faculties, because the world is ready for the revelation of Moshiach. So we must already prepare to enter Moshiach’s world. Therefore, if until now the work involved not only character traits but also the intellectual faculties—the Kenite, Kenizzite and Kadmonite. The Rebbe once said that this is why so many books of Chassidus were printed, maamarim of our Rebbeim. Many of the maamarim, particularly those of the Mitteler Rebbe, deal with the intellectual faculties in their own right. The Rebbe said: desire, matters of faith, [unclear], the profound matters of Chassidus—now, as we approach Moshiach, it is not enough just to correct our character traits. There must also be the work of correcting the intellectual faculties, through the straightforward study of Torah, Chassidus, the Torah’s inner dimension, and—

20:22 Through the give-and-take of students and the fellowship of friends, with depth, breadth, and a thorough grasp of the subject—to delve deeply into the teachings of Chassidus and explore them at length. This is what the Rebbe meant for us at that time. And one more thing: I mentioned earlier [unclear] during the Three Weeks. The Rebbe cites the Tzemach Tzedek, who says that when this period arrives, these days are connected with the Keini, Kenizi, and Kadmoni. These three nations are also connected with the haftaros we read during these weeks. The first three haftaros are the three of calamity, followed by the seven haftaros of consolation. We read all seven from Tisha B’Av until Rosh Hashanah. The Tzemach Tzedek says that these correspond to all ten nations. The seven of consolation correspond to the seven nations we have already received; that is why they are the seven of consolation. But the three of calamity—the Three Weeks in which we read the difficult haftaros, haftaros of rebuke and calamity—correspond to the three intellectual faculties. So our task is to transform the three of calamity through studying the inner dimension of Torah, through the three intellectual faculties. And what does the Tzemach Tzedek say? That from this—

21:42 It follows that, on the contrary, the Three Weeks should, at their source, represent something far loftier than the seven. The seven are the seven emotional attributes, whereas the Three Weeks are connected with the three intellectual faculties. And this itself explains why the joy is concealed: they have not yet been revealed. As we said, the three intellectual faculties have not yet been refined; they are still concealed. Our task is to transform and reveal these three faculties—chochmah, binah, and daas. And this is done only through studying Chabad Chassidus. This is what the Rebbe spoke about at that time: that precisely during the Three Weeks, we must devote ourselves with even greater strength and vigor, with diligence and vitality, to studying the inner dimension of Torah—to studying the three intellectual faculties, chochmah, binah, and daas. We must study in depth, delving into the teachings of Chassidus. And this, specifically, transforms the darkness of exile into light. This is also alluded to in the fact that 5 Menachem Av, in the middle of the Nine Days, is the yahrzeit of the holy Arizal, who revealed the secrets of the inner dimension of Torah. Precisely 5 Menachem Av, in the middle of the Nine Days, is the Arizal’s yahrzeit. The Arizal’s mission was to reveal the inner dimension of Torah and prepare the world for Moshiach, as discussed [unclear]. He had within him a spark of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and so on—all—

22:58 The greatness of the Arizal. And so we say that the Arizal is associated with 5 Menachem Av, the fifth day of the fifth month, like Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, [unclear] the fifth sefirah, the fifth week, hod shebehod. So too, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and the Arizal—hod shebehod. Accordingly, the time calls for it: now, in this period, in these days, we must strengthen ourselves and transform darkness into light and bitterness into sweetness. And together with this, in the parsha, which speaks about the Keini, Kenizi, and Kadmoni, we must bring light and bring the complete Geulah. Moshiach is coming, and we must prepare. And this will be [unclear], a great and wondrous thing that we will see with our physical eyes. The means to do so is studying the inner dimension of Torah, and particularly the matters of the Keini, Kenizi, and Kadmoni: studying Chassidus through chochmah, binah, and daas, and then refining our own emotional attributes as well. This will bring us, immediately, in our days, the true and complete Geulah, with the coming of our righteous Moshiach. Then there will be [unclear], and may we see it at once, with joy, with our physical eyes. May these days be transformed into days of gladness, joy, and festive occasions.