Explanations of the Prayer - Ashrei - Part 6

00:00 The Baal Shem Tov says that this is the plain meaning: “Hashem is great and exceedingly praised, and His greatness is beyond measure.” Hashem’s greatness is so great that it cannot be bounded or grasped. That is the plain meaning of the verse. But then something is not understood: why the repetition? It could have said, “Hashem is great and exceedingly praised, and is beyond measure.” His greatness has no limit; we cannot reach the end of our understanding of it. Why does the verse return to it and say, “And His greatness is beyond measure”? [unclear] explains that these are really two different matters. “Hashem is great and exceedingly praised” is one matter, and “His greatness is beyond measure” is another. This is the difference between the light that fills all worlds and the light that encompasses all worlds. “Hashem is great and exceedingly praised” refers to the light that fills all worlds. This is a light that contracts and enclothes itself within limits. Yet even of this light we can say, “Hashem is great and exceedingly praised.” In other words, there are abundant revelations even in the light that fills all worlds—wondrous, exceedingly lofty things, even in Hashem’s light as it enclothes itself in a world of limits. That is what we see: the multitude of limits, [unclear]

02:17 [unclear] All around us is the light that fills all worlds, with its multitude of limits. That includes human beings, who are limited too. This is what “fills all worlds” means: a multitude of limits. [unclear] A multitude of worlds and limits. Yes, an abundance. A multitude of limits, one limit after another. [unclear] All of this comes from the light that fills all worlds. The first part of the verse, “Hashem is great and exceedingly praised,” speaks of the greatness associated with that light. This connects with another verse in Tehillim: “Hashem is great and exceedingly praised in the city of our G-d.” It is the same idea as “Hashem is great and exceedingly praised” here, except that the other verse gives more detail. When is He “great and exceedingly praised”? As our sages put it, when is He great? When He is “in the city of our G-d”—specifically there. A city suggests multiplicity, like the multitude of worlds. A city is a place with many [unclear], many stones and all sorts of things—stones, houses, and so on. All that multiplicity belongs there, and from it comes a multitude of limits. Each letter [unclear], and from this comes a multitude of [unclear], a multitude of limits—all of it within the light that fills all worlds. Of this we say, “Hashem is great and exceedingly praised”: it is the greatness of that light. Then the verse says, “And His greatness”—that is a different kind of greatness. It is Hashem’s greatness. Notice that it says “His greatness,” not the greatness of the heavens. It speaks of His intrinsic greatness, the greatness of

04:17 what is above all the worlds—Hashem’s intrinsic greatness, which is beyond what He does in all the worlds. Of this the verse says, “And His greatness is beyond measure.” All the greatness we see in Hashem’s creation of the world belongs to “Hashem is great and exceedingly praised.” It is the greatness of the light that fills all worlds, a greatness with which we can engage and which we can grasp to some degree. But “His greatness” is His intrinsic greatness. Of that, the verse says, “It is beyond measure.” We have no understanding of Hashem’s true greatness, of how great He is in Himself. In other words, Hashem’s greatness is not only what we see through the existence of the world—the multitude of created beings and their [unclear]. That is a greatness within limits. His intrinsic greatness, though, is beyond measure; we have no grasp of it at all. So that is the explanation of this verse: it speaks of two aspects of Hashem’s greatness, the greatness of the light that fills all worlds and His own intrinsic greatness. As I said, this is in [unclear]. The Rebbe discusses it at length, explaining the details of the verse over several pages. So far, it has spoken of Hashem’s praises and greatness, including His greatness in Himself. After that it says, “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and they shall tell of Your mighty deeds.” Having spoken of both aspects of Hashem’s greatness—the greatness of the light that fills all worlds and His intrinsic greatness—the verse turns to created beings. Created beings cannot grasp Hashem’s true greatness. Nevertheless, to the extent that they can grasp it, each one, according to his level, praises Hashem’s works.

06:07 “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and they shall tell of Your mighty deeds.” The verse is saying that every generation praises Your works and tells the next. From generation to generation, they praise Hashem’s works. Each tells another of Hashem’s praises, “and they shall tell of Your mighty deeds”—they recount Hashem’s mighty deeds. That is the plain meaning. But what is the point here? What does this verse add that the previous one did not say? According to Chassidus, continuing what we said before, the previous verse spoke about greatness. This one speaks about might, which is the opposite of greatness. Greatness is associated with chesed, while might is associated with contraction, the opposite of chesed. So what does it mean? The previous verse, “Hashem is great,” speaks of Hashem’s greatness, His attribute of chesed. As we say in Shemoneh Esrei, “the great, mighty G-d”: “great” refers to chesed. More specifically, it refers to the power of chesed, of illumination and revelation—Hashem’s extending Himself without limit. And within that there are two aspects: the greatness that is above and the greatness that has a connection to the worlds. This verse, however, speaks about contraction. It tells us that all the praises each generation can offer Hashem are, in truth, only an expression of His might, of gevurah. They are a contraction of Hashem’s greatness. It is like what our sages say: “Where you find His greatness, there you find His humility.” What we think of as greatness is, in truth,

07:57 This too is Hakadosh Boruch Hu. It has to do with gevurah, with contraction. So that is what “generation to generation” means. It follows an order, from generation to generation. It is not only a matter of time. “Generation” can also mean a row, one after another. It refers to levels: a generation is like a level. So there is one generation after another, one level after another. [unclear] Sometimes people say that someone is only [unclear]. On a mountain, too, there are [unclear], and each one is called a “generation.” That is the deeper meaning here: “generation to generation” describes an order. According to the deeper meaning, then, “generation” also refers to levels. What does “generation to generation” mean? That it proceeds in an order, from one level to the next. Each level has its source, and it brings forth and reveals on the level after it the radiance of the sefiros. In other words, the verse is speaking about how, when the infinite light emanates from above, it descends through contraction. It descends from generation to generation, from level to level, from one attribute to another, until it gradually reaches our world. So it does this in a precise way. Everything we are discussing here, then, has to do with gevurot and contractions. The word “they will tell” is also precise. There are several similar expressions here—“they will tell,” “they will recount”—but it specifically says “they will tell.” “They will tell” suggests a continuation, as does aggadah. Aggadah comes from a word meaning

09:59 continuation. Why is it called an agudah? In the Mishnah, in a tractate, it refers to a continuation. So aggadah, and “they will tell,” also indicate something that continues and is drawn down from above to below. That too is connected with contraction. For example, in the human body there are the veins. The veins carry blood from one part to another. They too are vessels of contraction, channeling vitality and bringing it to an organ. So the particular expression “they will tell,” like aggadah, indicates contraction. The point is that created beings can apprehend only a contracted light. That is “they will tell”: something drawn down through contraction. Then he says, “Of the splendor of the glory of Your majesty and the words of Your wonders I will speak.” Here he turns to the subject of the Jewish people. Until now, it was about all created beings. Created beings receive only a contracted light: through gevurot and contractions, the G-dly light is contracted so that it can reach us. But now we come to Knesses Yisroel, the collective soul of the Jewish people. We too belong to an ordered progression, but here the subject is the holiness of Knesses Yisroel. [unclear] About this he says, “Of the splendor of the glory of Your majesty and the words of Your wonders I will speak.” On the plain level, the wording seems repetitive. What does the verse mean? “The splendor of the glory of Your majesty”—splendor means beauty, the beauty of Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s glory. And when I read these verses here, it sounds almost

11:52 the same as the previous verse. But according to the deeper meaning, a new point emerges. Before this, it spoke about all created beings and the gevurot. Their entire connection is through contraction: they receive a contracted light, revealed to them as a limited light. Not so with Jewish souls. That is why it says, “The splendor of the glory of Your majesty.” “Splendor” refers to the essential light, not to light that comes through contraction. It indicates a revelation without contraction or limitation. That is the meaning of “splendor.” So “the splendor of the glory of Your majesty” refers to the inner dimension of malchus, malchus as it is in essence, in the attribute of splendor and majesty. Then it says, “And the words of Your wonders I will speak.” That is why it says “I will speak”—I. Earlier it said “they will tell,” not that he himself would speak. Now he says “I will speak”; he is speaking himself. In other words, created beings have a connection only within limitation and contraction. But that is not what I am speaking about here. Jewish souls have a connection to G-dliness, to Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself, beyond contraction. So we say, “The splendor of the glory of Your majesty.” For us, there is a revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu that is beyond contraction and limitation, and therefore, “The words of Your wonders I will speak.” We can speak of Your wonders—the wonders revealed from the inner dimension of malchus. That is the distinction. The natural world exists within limitation, and the light comes through contraction so that it can be enclothed in nature. That is a matter of limitation. But

13:47 we see the wonders. For the Jewish people, “Your wonders” are revealed through the inner dimension of malchus, beyond the screen of nature. Through this, Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s wonders—what lies beyond nature—are revealed. And so, “The words of Your wonders I will speak.” I can converse about them, recount them, speak of Your wonders. Why does he use the particular expression “I will speak”? That, too, is precise. For all created beings he said “they will tell,” an expression associated with contraction, as we said earlier. Here, by contrast, the wording reflects what is revealed to us: we see actual wonders, not only nature. Within nature we see what is beyond nature—the miracle, the wonder within nature. That is why he says “I will speak.” Why that particular expression? One meaning of the word “I will speak” is movement. It suggests setting out on a new search, moving and wandering. It conveys motion, a shift. Or think of someone swimming in the sea: he swims, travels, moves. In other words, he is in motion. Or consider the verse—how does it go?—“And Yitzchak went out to meditate in the field.” So the expression “I will speak” suggests movement. The Rebbe explains this in connection with these ideas. The verse, the verse—well, here, on the words “I will speak.” You saw that he said there is a difference between two kinds of speech. There the Rebbe explains that speech, sicha, also suggests movement. That is why prayer is called by the expression

16:00 “I will speak” is also one of the expressions used for prayer. It implies movement, a shifting. In the same way, here too he writes, “I will speak of Your wonders.” It is not just that I tell of them, that I speak and converse with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Rather, “I will speak” implies a shift: something moves, a shift takes place in nature, in the ways of the world. In other words, the world as it is on its own, without the souls of the Jewish people, is limited and constrained. From that comes the manifestation of nature, where things are always the same. Every day is the same; the sun has to rise, and so on. The whole idea of nature is that things do not change. But when a Jew contemplates and sees what transcends nature, it brings about that “speaking,” which effects a shift. You gain the strength to go beyond the limits of nature as it is revealed. There is a contrast here between speaking and shifting, between what is above and what is limited. [unclear] That is precisely the point of “speaking.” “They will speak of the might of Your awesome deeds, and I will recount Your greatness.” The Rebbe continues: “They will speak of the might of Your awesome deeds.” “Might” means strength, force. “They will speak of the might of Your awesome deeds.” The point is the force of Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s awesome deeds. “They will speak” means, he says, that it will reach everyone—all created beings, yes? They will speak of the might of Your awesome deeds, of the force of Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s awesome deeds. “And I will recount Your greatness.” I will recount the greatness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. What is the verse saying here? It already spoke about greatness earlier. Earlier, though, it spoke of greatness and used the expression “they will tell.” Ah, no, it did not say that earlier. Earlier it said, “Hashem is great and exceedingly praised, and His greatness is beyond searching.” Now, suddenly, it says, “And I will recount Your greatness.” After the earlier line,

18:20 “and His greatness is beyond searching,” here he says that yes, “I will recount it”—I am going to tell of it. In other words, once the souls of the Jewish people reveal the wonders through their “speaking,” this also brings to light matters that until now were in the realm of splendor, matters that were not accessible to us at all. Now they too are revealed. That is why it says, “And I will recount Your greatness”: it can be recounted. “Recount” is also related to sapphire, to radiance and revelation—the revelation of greatness. In other words, through the souls of the Jewish people, even those matters of which it was previously said, “His greatness is beyond searching”—matters beyond revelation and beyond comprehension—are brought to “I will recount it.” They can be spoken of, revealed, and brought into the open, even these aspects of greatness.