Concepts in Chassidus - Part 10

00:00 “And he spread it before him”—that is what the Zohar says, “spread it before him.” They introduced a vessel so it could contain what they were telling him. An example is what we learn in [unclear]. We’re learning it now in [unclear], so everyone knows about the partition there—the curtain between the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place—and the whole subject of the paroches. So we take that partition in the Beis Hamikdash, the partition between the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place. In the Beis Hamikdash, there was the paroches, or the wall, with all its details. Chassidus uses this as an analogy for the parsa between Atzilus and the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, according to one approach. There are also several ways of explaining Atzilus in general. But according to this explanation, if the Holy of Holies corresponds to the world of Atzilus, then the sanctuary corresponds to the world of Beriah, and the courtyard to Yetzirah and Asiyah. That is one way of describing how the structure of the Mishkan corresponds to the worlds. Accordingly, the partition between the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place is like the parsa between Atzilus and the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. What is the purpose of this parsa? As explained through the analogy of a curtain, the curtain interrupts the light. If there is a window, some sunlight comes in—not much, but the difference is only in quantity; in quality, it is the same light. If you put up a curtain, though, the curtain creates an interruption, a barrier. The light that then reaches the room is of a different quality; its very nature has changed. Compared with the light outside the house, the light entering the room has

02:02 also undergone a change in its nature and has been interrupted by the curtain. It is then considered a kind of derivative, to use the language of Chassidus. It is as though this light is no longer of the same kind or quality as the original light. Another analogy Chassidus gives for this is a mashal, a parable. What does a parable do? It clothes an idea. It is a garment through which you no longer see the idea in its pure form. You see the garment, and through the garment you see the idea—a change in quality. The same applies here. Since Atzilus is G-dliness and not created existence, a created being cannot exist there. The aim is to create a world of beings that experience themselves as existing beings, not merely as garments for G-dliness. That is why there is a parsa, an interruption between Atzilus and the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, where the order of created beings begins. This parsa is also called—here I’m getting into terminology—by several names in Chassidus. Sometimes Chassidus treats the parsa and Malchus of Atzilus as one and the same: Malchus of Atzilus is the parsa. Often, Chassidus does not distinguish between them. We should say, though, that they are not quite the same thing. Malchus of Atzilus is one of the sefiros of Atzilus, while the parsa is a garment. It is not exactly the same. But because the purpose of Malchus is to bring created beings into existence, and to do so it needs a parsa—it cannot bring about created beings without one—Chassidus often discusses Malchus and the parsa together. In truth, though, the parsa is like a garment for Malchus, something in which Malchus clothes itself. What is this garment? We often find

04:01 in Chassidus the concept of letters: the parsa is described as letters. In many maamarim, the parsa is explained in terms of letters. Malchus, after all, is speech, and speech consists of letters. But when you see letters, you do not necessarily see the meaning of what they say. If someone speaks a language you do not understand, you hear the letters, as it were, but you do not grasp what is being said. So, on the one hand, letters reveal the meaning, while on the other hand, they conceal it. That is why the parsa is often described as letters. There are different kinds of letters. The letters of the parsa are letters that conceal. There are letters like engraved letters, which reveal, and there are other letters. An analogy often given for the parsa is a jumble of letters—what is called “letter soup.” Sometimes letters are mixed up, and you have to find the words among them. There are games where many letters are jumbled together, and you have to find the right ones; there are questions, too, about where to find the letters or the way through them. In other words, there is a certain confusion here, and you have to work at it. You do not immediately see the idea; you have to exert yourself to uncover it. Chassidus sometimes uses this as an analogy for the parsa. There are parsos whose letters reveal, such as the parsa of the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, and the parsa mentioned in [unclear] in chapter ten. And there are parsos that you can look at without understanding what they convey. By contrast, the analogy given for the parsa between Atzilus and the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah is jumbled letters. That is one analogy sometimes given. Another is a heap

05:52 of stones. A heap of stones is an analogy for the parsa. Where do we find a heap of stones? With Yaakov and Lavan. In one explanation, Yaakov Avinu represents Atzilus, while Lavan represents the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. It says that Yaakov made a heap: “They took stones and made a heap.” What is a heap? It is a collection of various stones. That is why the parsa between Yaakov and Lavan is called a heap. The stones represent letters, as explained in Chassidus. A heap of stones is like jumbled letters, and that creates the distinction between the two sides. So these are two more descriptions used in Chassidus for the parsa, including a heap of stones. Another name for the parsa in Chassidus is shoes. Shoes are a covering for the Shechinah. Have you ever seen a maamar speak about the shoes of the Shechinah? “How beautiful are your footsteps in shoes.” The footsteps refer to the chariot of Atzilus—to the feet. A chariot is associated with feet, and the shoes are the parsa over those feet. There is also an angel associated with the shoes, an angel called Sandal. In the maamarim, the name is also written as Sandal. The name is shortened out of respect; they do not say the whole name, but say “Sandal.” I don’t know how this is treated and cited in the maamarim of [unclear]. There is the angel called Sandal, and the angel Metat. These are the two angels. Both the angel Metat and the angel Sandal are revelations of two aspects of the same angel.

07:51 Yes, because the parsa is called a sandal—a shoe. What is a sandal? On the one hand, a shoe helps the foot, but it also covers it. It covers the foot while enabling it to make contact with the ground. There is a barrier here between the foot and the ground. In the same way, for Atzilus to be able to become clothed in the world, it has this garment of the parsa, this shoe. Through it, the light of Atzilus can influence the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah by way of a barrier, so that there will not be an open revelation of G-dliness. That is the concept of the shoe and of the angel called Sandal. This is also connected with the angel Metat—the well-known angel associated with Chanoch. He is also called the prince of the world. He is the prince of the world, and he is the one referred to by “I was young, and I have also grown old,” because sometimes he is young and sometimes he is old. This refers to the angel Metat. It relates to this parsa: at times, when he descends into Yetzirah, he is considered young; when he ascends to Atzilus, he is called old. So this angel, too, is associated with the parsa. The angel Metat is sometimes called Sandal. His role is to be a shoe for the Shechinah. He serves as the garment that separates Atzilus from the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. He creates that barrier, bringing the lights of Atzilus into those worlds without an open revelation, so that there can be a place for created beings and they can experience themselves as created beings. And this is connected to something in the Midrash as well.

09:48 Who was the angel Metatron? Huh? Where did the angel Metatron come from? What was he before? Chanoch. Yes, Chanoch. The Midrash says of Chanoch, “Chanoch was a shoemaker.” So what was Chanoch’s work? He made shoes. Yes, Chanoch was a shoemaker, and with every stitch he would make mystical unifications. It says that he made shoes, and with every stitch he would make great unifications. Those shoes refer to this: the supernal shoes, through which the parsa—the partition between Atzilus and Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah—came to be. There are all sorts of details to this. It leads to the parsa between Atzilus and Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. There may be more details, but those are a few points. All right, after that come the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. No, we don’t have time for that now. So I’ll make one point before we go into them. How do we pass from Atzilus to Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah? On the one hand, we see that the parsa is necessary for created beings to exist. Without a parsa, there would be no created beings; everything would be nullified in the revelation of G-dliness. I cannot exist in the face of a revelation of G-dliness. On the other hand, for created beings to come into being, they need Divine power. Without G-dliness, created beings cannot come into being. We’re talking about what it says in Tanya: “I, Havayah, have not changed.” First, without the name Havayah, creation cannot take place. What kind of creation comes from the name Havayah? It is there from the outset. On the one hand, a covering is needed; on the other hand, there must be a revelation of G-dliness that reaches Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. There is a phrase [unclear]. It is very important to lay this out: the keilim are in Atzilus, and the light of the kav is still present in the keilim of Atzilus. As we said, the kav extends into Atzilus. Yes, the kav reaches Atzilus, and the parsa interrupts it.

11:55 So there, in Atzilus, is that pure and enduring light. Igeres Hakodesh in Tanya speaks of the thirty keilim of Atzilus. [unclear] in Atzilus, as in Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. That is the wording in Igeres Hakodesh. In other words, there is the upper part of a sefirah, which receives from the preceding sefirah; the middle part of the sefirah itself; and the lower part, which conveys influence downward. Beginning, middle, and end. So beginning, middle, and end, multiplied by ten, gives us thirty keilim. More specifically, these are the thirty keilim in Malchus of Atzilus. Malchus of Atzilus itself has ten sefiros, and each has a beginning, middle, and end—making thirty keilim in Malchus of Atzilus. From there come the ten sefiros of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. From the inner part of the keilim of Malchus of Atzilus come the ten sefiros of Beriah; from the middle part come the ten sefiros of Yetzirah; and from the lower part come the ten sefiros of Asiyah. Those are the ten sefiros of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, yes? So it says there, “They pierce the parsa.” These thirty keilim are the powers that convey influence. They are, so to speak, the soul of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. They are the life, the soul, of those worlds: the ten sefiros found in each world. They are, so to speak, the central pillar. In the coming classes, this will help explain what the ten sefiros of each world are. In any case, the ten sefiros are, so to speak, the soul of each world. This is called the soul of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. How do they become that soul? The thirty keilim of Atzilus pierce, so to speak, the parsa. It is as though, on a certain level, they break through the parsa. “They pierce the parsa, and the kav goes with them.” What does “goes with them” mean? It means that the kav is there. The kav is in Atzilus, but since the thirty keilim shine into Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, the kav shines into those worlds through the keilim. In the words of the Arizal, it “shines in them in Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah.” That is, the kav does not shine directly into those worlds, because then there would be no

14:13 created being. It shines in the keilim. Those keilim become the ten sefiros of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. The kav shines in them, in the keilim, and through the keilim there is a connection to Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, making the existence of created beings possible. So on the one hand there is the parsa, which conceals the light so that there will be no revelation; and on the other hand, the keilim also pierce the parsa. Through this, there can be a foundation for the eternal Geulah. All right, with Hashem’s help, next time we’ll explain in more detail the difference between Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, what each one contains, and the principal powers in each one. [unclear] Then we’ll get into it.