Explanations of the Prayer - Hodu - Part 6

00:00 All the sparks that are elevated through refining the body and the material world, and the discussion of the verses by the Jewish people. “Do not touch My anointed ones, and do no harm to My prophets”—this refers to the souls of the Jewish people, who are the ones who bring Moshiach. That is why He also calls them “My anointed ones.” In Chassidus, “My anointed ones” has several interpretations. One is that young schoolchildren are called “My anointed ones” because they used to be anointed with oil. That was the custom in earlier times: when children went to school, they would anoint them with oil, and so they were called “My anointed ones.” That is why the Gemara says of this verse that it refers to young schoolchildren, in whose merit the entire world endures. But the straightforward meaning of “My anointed ones” relates to Moshiach. The Rebbe explains in one of the sichos that this also connects to the chapter as a whole. Since it speaks here about the work of the Jewish people—refining the world and the sparks among all the nations of the world—bringing that about is ultimately the work of Moshiach. And how is it brought about? By revealing the spark of Moshiach within each and every person. In this respect, every Jew is called one of “My anointed ones.” This follows the well-known teaching cited in the name of Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl, brought in the Chassidic work Me’or Einayim, that every Jew has a spark of Moshiach. In Chassidus, this is called the yechidah. When each person brings his own spark of Moshiach to fulfillment and reveals it, Moshiach will come. The Rebbe speaks about this extensively in the sichos, and that is why the Jewish people are called “My anointed ones” here. Through this work, in which Jews prepare to reveal their spark of Moshiach and thereby refine the world, they are connected with Moshiach. “And My prophets” also refers to the soul, which is called a prophet, because, as it says

01:58 in Chassidus, the word navi, “prophet,” is related to the phrase niv sefasayim, “the utterance of the lips.” That is why a prophet is called a navi. A navi conveys the utterance of the lips, the word of Hashem. The soul receives from G-dliness, receives the word, and is called a prophet. So when Hakadosh Boruch Hu says, “Do not touch My anointed ones, and do no harm to My prophets,” it means not only that the nations, the opposing side, the animal soul, and kelipah cannot rule over a Jew—“Do not touch My anointed ones.” On the contrary: when a Jew is in the world, he elevates it and makes it a dwelling place for Him. Therefore, the culmination of all this is: “Sing to Hashem, all the earth; proclaim His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonders among all the peoples.” This will be in the future, when the nations themselves will not merely cease to hinder the Jewish people; they themselves will be elevated. As we explained, “sing” is related to ascent. We spoke earlier about “Sing to Him, sing praises to Him”—song is an ascent. Song is cleaving to Him and rising upward. So the whole earth, the entire world and all its peoples, will also be elevated, and they too will see Hashem’s greatness, the G-dliness within the world. “For Hashem is great and greatly praised; He is awesome above all elohim.” As we explained, this entire passage speaks about the Name Havayah, which specifically is unlimited. The Name Havayah expresses Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s boundlessness. It is not only the name Elokim, which is associated with contraction; rather, the Name Havayah is “great and greatly praised,” and “awesome above all elohim.” Havayah is higher than every level of Elokim. Elokim is commonly understood here to mean idols, but according to Chassidus, it can refer even to the name Elokim, a holy name. So “awesome above all elohim” means above all the levels

03:43 of the name Elokim and all the levels of limitation. He is great above all elohim: Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s greatness is seen to be above everything associated with Elokim, contraction, and limitation. The Name Havayah is a revelation of the unlimited. Why do we see that all this is revealed through our work—through refining and purifying the world and refining the animal soul? Because that is the reason. And what does “awesome above all elohim” mean? “For all the gods of the nations are idols, but Hashem made the heavens.” What does that mean? The straightforward meaning of the verse is that all the nations’ gods are idols. They are nothing. Idols have no power and no control. By contrast, Hakadosh Boruch Hu made the heavens. Chassidus gives a deeper interpretation of “all the gods of the nations are idols.” Even “the gods of the nations” can refer to the name Elokim, because it is the name Elokim that gives life to the seventy heavenly ministers of the seventy nations. As explained in Chassidus, all the nations draw their sustenance from the name Elokim. The Jewish people, specifically—“For His people are Hashem’s portion”—belong to the Name Havayah. So “all the gods of the nations are idols”: everything associated with the gods of the nations is, in relation to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, as nothing. Yes, even the name Elokim. Why? Because “Hashem made the heavens.” In relation to the Name Havayah, the essential Name of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, in relation to His boundlessness, even the heavens are something made. Even the heavens, which are the loftiest things. The heavens allude to all spiritual matters and all the levels. But even for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the heavens are something made. They fall within the category of making. In other words, He is entirely above all the nations.

05:45 So that is one subject up to this point. He has explained the first point: the role of the Jewish people in relation to the Jewish people. That is, in a more immediate sense—what a Jew is, the refinement of the animal soul, the refinement of the sparks, and all of that. Through this, he brings about the indwelling of the Name Havayah. The verses that follow—“Splendor and majesty”—and several more verses, up to approximately “Exalt,” speak about the revelations of the days of Moshiach, more in keeping with what is brought in the text. These can be explained as applying now as well, but at present these matters are more concealed. Now, these matters are as described here. In the verses that follow, they are more revealed. All the things written in those following verses will be revealed, and we will merit to see them with our physical eyes. He writes here about the entire world’s submission to Hakadosh Boruch Hu: “Splendor and majesty are before Him,” and so on, “in His place.” Again, everything we are discussing here relates to the Name Havayah. In the flow of the passage, “Make His deeds known among the peoples”—everything discussed here follows from the explanation of the Name Havayah. It comes from a Jew’s recognition of the Name Havayah, in light of which the whole world is nullified before Hakadosh Boruch Hu. It says, “Splendor and majesty are before Him.” What are splendor and majesty? Chassidus explains that hod and hadar—“splendor” and “majesty”—are two similar words. Both speak of light, of radiance. Hod is radiance. Hod is, as they say, splendor—a particular kind of radiance. And hadar is also radiance. But the difference between hod and hadar is that, in their order, hod is a radiance, it is, it is

07:51 It indicates strength. Hod is a kind of radiance that brings about self-nullification in another person. That is why, when speaking about a king, we use the word hod: “royal majesty.” The king’s majesty is revealed when he appears with his throne, and that brings about a sense of submission among the people. So hod is related to hoda’ah, acknowledgment, which involves self-nullification. The king’s majesty evokes a response of acknowledgment and submission among the people. That is also why, among the sefiros, Hod is on the left side. There are Netzach and Hod; Hod is on the left, more closely associated with Gevurah. In other words, hod is a revelation of the king that brings about self-nullification in those receiving it below. Hadar, by contrast, means beauty. It is a splendor associated with beauty, like Tiferes. In general, as explained in Chassidus, the difference between hod and hadar is that they are two ways in which G-dliness is revealed. One revelation brings about bittul hayesh, the nullification of the ego; that is hod. Another brings about bittul b’metzius, a deeper self-nullification; that is hadar. Hadar is a higher level than hod. “Majesty and splendor are before Him,” right? When the name of Hashem is revealed, when Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed in the world, that revelation of G-dliness is called “before Him”—His inward aspect. When Hakadosh Boruch Hu shines forth, there is hod and there is hadar, and this brings about self-nullification. For some people, it takes the form of hod, bittul hayesh. For others, it brings about a deeper, more inward self-nullification than hod. These are two levels of self-nullification. “Strength and joy are in His place.” What does “strength and joy are in His place” mean? It means that in the place of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, wherever He is, there must be strength and joy—simchah. Now, what is “His place”? In Chassidus, what do our Sages say? He is

09:57 “the place of the world, but the world is not His place.” If so, “strength and joy are in His place” means everywhere. Where is the place of Hakadosh Boruch Hu? He is the place of the world. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is the world’s place. So where is there joy? Precisely in His place, wherever He is. And where is He? Everywhere. That is why Hakadosh Boruch Hu is also called Hamakom, “the Place,” because He is the place of the world. On Pesach we say, “Blessed is Hamakom, blessed is He.” He is the place of the world. Sometimes “His place” is explained more specifically as Malchus, the sefirah of Malchus. But in terms of avodah, “His place” means everywhere, because Hakadosh Boruch Hu is everywhere. And of that place it says, “Strength and joy are in His place.” The Alter Rebbe cites this in Tanya as one of the explanations. The Alter Rebbe says in Igeres Hakodesh that this is why a Jew must be joyful and must not be sad. It is well known how strongly the Alter Rebbe, in Tanya, distances us from sadness. That is indeed the approach of Chassidus: sadness is utterly out of place. One must serve Hashem specifically with joy. One of the foundations for serving Hashem with joy is what it says here: “Strength and joy are in His place.” Wherever Hakadosh Boruch Hu is, there must be only joy. There is no room for the opposite of joy. And since a Jew believes that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is everywhere, that He is unlimited and is the place of the world, it follows that there must be joy everywhere. If a Jew is in a state of sadness, then, Heaven forbid, it is as though he is distancing Hakadosh

11:37 Boruch Hu from himself. This is a practical point in “strength and joy are in His place”: wherever a Jew is, in every situation and at every moment, he must always have a joyful outlook. Serving Hashem must be done with joy and inward sincerity.