Explanations of the Prayer - Hashem Malach - Part 1

00:00 These two passages that we say in davening, “Hashem reigned” and “Hashem will be King”—we say them standing. Yes, we need to stand for them. It says in the writings of the Arizal that this passage is considered to be on the level of Atzilus. In general, the parts of davening for which we stand belong to the world of Atzilus, and that is why we stand. Not absolutely every part for which we stand is on the level of Atzilus, but most passages like this one are. Similarly, there are certain parts of davening for which we stand because they are on the level of Atzilus. In other words, this part of davening belongs to the world of Atzilus, even though we are still in the world of Asiyah. If we were following the order of the ladder, it would be Asiyah, Yetzirah, Beriah, Atzilus. From Hodu until Baruch She’amar, we are still ascending through Asiyah; only at Baruch She’amar does the stage of Yetzirah begin, [unclear] and judgments. Nevertheless, each world has, so to speak, its own Atzilus. Even while we are still in the world of Asiyah, there is something of the light of Atzilus. There is a certain exaltedness and bittul of Atzilus that shines even while we are in Asiyah. It is like what the Tanya says: even the most wayward Jew has mesirus nefesh, the Jewish spark, bittul and faith. Sometimes it simply comes to light. The same is true in davening. We see that although we are still at a lower stage of davening, the light of higher levels is already present in certain passages. One example is “Hashem reigned.” These verses belong to the world of Atzilus, yet we say them before Baruch She’amar, because the light of Atzilus shines while we are still

02:07 at the beginning of davening. That is why we need to stand for this passage. Also, according to our custom, when the chazzan stands and says “Hashem reigned,” we do not say it along with him as the Sephardim do. The Sephardim begin saying “Hashem reigned” out loud together with the chazzan. We do not say it with the chazzan, but we do stand. That is the Chabad custom, as the Rebbe Rashab wrote here in his notes on the siddur. Our custom is that when the chazzan says “Hashem reigned,” everyone should stand, at least [unclear], because this is connected with Atzilus. It says in the Midrashim that every day an angel—I don’t remember which angel it is—announces in Heaven, “Hashem reigned, Hashem reigns.” Then all the heavenly hosts stand as well. That is why we say it every day in davening. But what is the content of what we say here? It goes like this: “Hashem reigned, Hashem reigns, Hashem will reign forever and ever.” What does that mean? That Hakadosh Boruch Hu was King, is King and will be King forever and ever—past, present and future. Now, that is not a verse. There is no verse in Tanach that says, “Hashem reigned, Hashem reigns, Hashem will reign forever and ever.” Tanach only says, “Hashem will reign forever and ever,” a verse in Chumash, in the Song at the Sea. The words “Hashem reigned” and “Hashem reigns” are gathered from other places. Three verses were joined together: “Say among the nations: Hashem reigns”—that is where the words “Hashem reigns” come from. And there is “Hashem reigns; He is clothed in majesty.” “Hashem reigned” comes from—ah, I don’t know, another verse, right? “Hashem is King forever and ever,” yes. So they joined three verses: “Hashem reigned, Hashem reigns, Hashem will reign forever and ever.” What is the content here, the essential point? Kingship. The point of these verses is kingship. “Reigned,” “reigns”—

04:20 that itself we say twice. “Hashem reigned, Hashem reigns, Hashem will reign forever and ever.” We say it twice. Then we conclude: “And Hashem will be King over all the earth; on that day Hashem will be one and His name one.” Okay? So first we say that, and then we conclude, “And Hashem will be King over all the earth; on that day Hashem will be one and His name one.” That is, in a sense, an explanation of what we said before: “Hashem reigned, Hashem reigns, Hashem will reign forever and ever,” referring to the kingship of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And Hashem is Elokim, as we said: the kingship of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is enclothed in the world and rules it, but in a way that will be “forever and ever.” What does “forever and ever” mean? It is connected with the revelation of Moshiach. As Rashi says on the verse “Hashem will reign forever and ever,” this will be when Moshiach comes, when the kingship of Hakadosh Boruch Hu will be eternal in the world. That is what we mean when we say, “And Hashem will be King.” When Moshiach comes, Hashem will be King over all the earth. The kingship of Hakadosh Boruch Hu will be revealed throughout the world, without any concealment. Then, “On that day Hashem will be one and His name one.” Until now, although we know the truth—that Hashem is Elokim and that everything is really one—that is only true inwardly; it is not so in what is revealed. That is why the name Havayah is written, but we do not read it as Havayah. We read it as Adnai. We do not pronounce Havayah. “I am not pronounced as I am written.” Havayah—no, no. It is written as Havayah and read as Adnai. Why? Because the reading represents what is revealed. The name Havayah is present, but it is not revealed. What is revealed is the name Adnai: nature, the world, tzimtzum.

08:32 When Moshiach comes, “Hashem will be one and His name one”: His name, too—what is revealed—will be Havayah, revealed in the world. This is also the meaning of what is written, that it will be Yud-Kei-Yud-Kei. It will not be Yud-Kei-Vav-Kei, but Yud-Kei-Yud-Kei. In other words, the Vav-Kei part of the name will be like Yud-Kei. This is the elevation of nature: Havayah will be revealed within nature itself. All right, in the next class we’ll explain this verse in more detail.