שלהבות של אמונה כ״אFlames of Faith 21
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1THE SEVEN EMOTIONS:
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2Chagat Nehim
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3The seven emotions are divided into two categories and are known by the acronym of their names, Chagat Nehim. The first class contains chesed, “love,” gevurah, “restraint,” and tiferes, “harmony.” The second group is composed of netzach, “dominance,” hod, “submissiveness” or “empathy,” yesod, “continuity” or “foundation,” and malchus, “kingship.”
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4The First Emotion Is “Giving”
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5The most powerful human emotion is chesed, the desire to love. Chesed is the desire to give of oneself, to extend outward and empty myself into another person. The key word for this feeling is hispashtus, which means, “spreading out.” The seven days of creation are in truth manifestations of the seven lower Sephiros that are the roots of the seven emotions within man. On the first day God created light. Light spreads. Enter a dark room and turn on a flashlight, the light will instantaneously move from the bulb throughout the darkness.
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6Ahavah, “love,” is an amplification of chesed, as in the verse in Jeremiah.
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7Koh amar Hashem zacharti lach chesed neurayich, ahavas kelulosayich.
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8So says the Lord, I have remembered for your sake the chesed of your youth, [it is] the ahavah, “love,” of your marriage (Jer. 2:2).
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9Ahavah has at its root the word hav, “give,” for love is the desire to give to someone else unconditionally.369Rav Wolfson in Emunas Etecha to Parashas Naso (pg. 120) explained Rashi’s lesson that an individual who withholds the payments he owes the priest will eventually bring his wife to the priest for the straying wife test, in light of the linkage between love and giving. “A man who refuses to give the gifts to the priest is displaying a self-centeredness; all he cares about is his own benefit. He does not wish to give to others. Such a man will definitely treat his family in the same manner, he will demand his own benefit and ignore the needs of his wife. This attitude will cause him to bring his wife as a sotah to the priest, for where there is no peace between the couple, the wife might look elsewhere.”
The Stitchiner Rebbe explained the relationship between loving (ahavah) and giving (chesed) in the following manner. Love is in the internal and emotional realm of man what giving is in the external dimension of behavior. Giving is spreading myself and what I possess outward, these acts reflect an inner reality. My soul seeks to spread toward the recipient. Giving is when I spread myself out into the recipient and feel a part of myself within the recipient.370Frequently, we give to those who we feel are an extension of ourselves, who are united with us. See further Rabbi Shimon Shkop’s introduction to his work Sha’arei Yosher. Rabbi Shkop explains that the Torah’s demand of love to our neighbors is really a requirement that man have an expansive view of self. A lowly person sees his body as the extent of his being. A higher understanding recognizes that my soul is part of who I am, and I must act in a manner that helps my soul. I cannot only further the desires of my body. An even higher level sees the “I” as encompassing all the members of my family. A spiritual person sees the “I” as totaling his entire nation. He does kindness to a fellow man for his friend is connected to him, just as all the branches are extensions of and connected to the same tree.
We usually think it is love which causes giving, because we observe that a person showers gifts and favors on the one he loves. But there is another side to the argument. Giving may bring about love for the same reason that a person loves what he himself has created or nurtured: he recognizes in it part of himself. Whether it is a child he has brought into the world, an animal he has reared, a plant he has tended, or even a thing he has made or a house he has built—a person is bound in love to the work of his hands, for in it he finds himself (Rabbi E. Dessler, Strive for Truth, pgs. 126-127).
The Stitchiner Rebbe explained the relationship between loving (ahavah) and giving (chesed) in the following manner. Love is in the internal and emotional realm of man what giving is in the external dimension of behavior. Giving is spreading myself and what I possess outward, these acts reflect an inner reality. My soul seeks to spread toward the recipient. Giving is when I spread myself out into the recipient and feel a part of myself within the recipient.370Frequently, we give to those who we feel are an extension of ourselves, who are united with us. See further Rabbi Shimon Shkop’s introduction to his work Sha’arei Yosher. Rabbi Shkop explains that the Torah’s demand of love to our neighbors is really a requirement that man have an expansive view of self. A lowly person sees his body as the extent of his being. A higher understanding recognizes that my soul is part of who I am, and I must act in a manner that helps my soul. I cannot only further the desires of my body. An even higher level sees the “I” as encompassing all the members of my family. A spiritual person sees the “I” as totaling his entire nation. He does kindness to a fellow man for his friend is connected to him, just as all the branches are extensions of and connected to the same tree.
We usually think it is love which causes giving, because we observe that a person showers gifts and favors on the one he loves. But there is another side to the argument. Giving may bring about love for the same reason that a person loves what he himself has created or nurtured: he recognizes in it part of himself. Whether it is a child he has brought into the world, an animal he has reared, a plant he has tended, or even a thing he has made or a house he has built—a person is bound in love to the work of his hands, for in it he finds himself (Rabbi E. Dessler, Strive for Truth, pgs. 126-127).
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10The Jewish nation has been blessed with seven great shepherds, or leaders, who helped frame our national consciousness, According to the Zohar, the spirits of these men visit the Jewish sukkah on the different days of Sukkos. They are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. Each one of these leaders excelled at feeling the Heavenly form of one of the seven emotions, reaching God through a different focus of service.371The sukkah (ceremonial tabernacle) that Jews sit in during the seven days of the holiday is meant to recall the miraculous clouds of glory that surrounded Jewry while we traveled through the Sinai Desert after leaving Egypt. There were seven clouds of glory around Israel; on the right (south), left (north), front (east), behind (west), above and below, and a seventh that traveled before them to flatten hills and smooth the terrain. These seven clouds were manifestations of the seven lower Sephiros. They displayed these Heavenly Lights in the dimension of place. Perhaps the sukkah that commemorates those clouds recreates their holiness. The seven shepherds who visit the sukkah are revelations of these seven in the realm of soul (man), and the seven days of Sukkos reveal these forces in the realm of time. See further Lesson Two for a discussion of holy concepts that appear in three dimensions.
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11Abraham was the paradigm of chesed. In the Torah we learn of the extent of Abraham’s willingness to pour himself out into others. Even after a surgery at the age of ninety-nine, Abraham went out of his tent and sat at the doorway waiting for guests, When he saw a trio of pagan earth-worshippers, he ran out of his tent and begged them to come to his home for refreshments. Furthermore, when God told him that He planned to destroy the wicked inhabitants of Sodom, Abraham prayed with utmost dedication and entreated God to save them. Abraham’s giving was unconditional. Absolute love motivated him to perform favors even for sinners and pagans who opposed his life’s mission of teaching ethical monotheism.372The Da’as Tefillah writes:
The purest form of giving has no admixture of harshness or justice. A giver who gives endlessly, with a disregard of the worthiness of the recipient, is connected to Heavenly giving. Hence the lesson of Maharal, “The chesed of God spreads to all…. It has no measure or limit. For chesed comes from Him, from the fact that He seeks to do good.” Pure kindness is done because the giver is innately good and seeks to spread himself out, not because of the recipient (Da’as Tefillah pg. 92).
That is why Abraham who was connected to Heavenly levels of generosity sought to benefit even those who did not deserve favors.
The purest form of giving has no admixture of harshness or justice. A giver who gives endlessly, with a disregard of the worthiness of the recipient, is connected to Heavenly giving. Hence the lesson of Maharal, “The chesed of God spreads to all…. It has no measure or limit. For chesed comes from Him, from the fact that He seeks to do good.” Pure kindness is done because the giver is innately good and seeks to spread himself out, not because of the recipient (Da’as Tefillah pg. 92).
That is why Abraham who was connected to Heavenly levels of generosity sought to benefit even those who did not deserve favors.
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12Our world is filled with attraction.373According to the Midrash, even the earth has desires. The ground was called eretz for she desired to fulfill the will of her Maker (Bereishis Rabbah 5:8, Yalkut Shimoni, Parashas Bereishis, lesson 8). The mystics teach that the ground desires to be used for observance of God’s precepts. The cement in front of the yeshivah is whispering, “Please walk on me to go study God’s Torah.” And Jeremiah wrote that the “paths of Zion are in mourning,” for her children no longer visit during the festivals (Rav Wolfson’s lessons about prayer). There are masculine trees and feminine trees, male animals and female animals, and the force of attraction between genders can be overwhelming. The reason why this force is so potent is that attraction is a form of chesed. The foundation of the world is chesed. Consider the verse, olam chesed yibbaneh, “The world will be built on Kindness” (Ps. 89:3). A deep analysis of the Divine creation reveals that God’s purpose in creating us was to perform an act of love, to give pleasure to mortals.374Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan writes:
God had absolutely no need to create the world. God Himself is absolute perfection, and He has no need for anything, even creation. Thus, to the best of our understanding, we can say that God created the universe for the purpose of bestowing good upon man. God Himself calls His creation an act of goodness. It is for this reason that, at the end of the first six days of creation, after making man, the Torah says, “And God saw all that He had made and behold it was very good” (Gen. 1:35). We are being told that the creation of the universe was an expression of His goodness (Innerspace, pg. 9). Since love is God’s purpose for this world, all forms of love, the righteous forms such as generosity to the poor or love for God, and the wicked forms like lust and selfish pleasure-seeking, are potent.
God had absolutely no need to create the world. God Himself is absolute perfection, and He has no need for anything, even creation. Thus, to the best of our understanding, we can say that God created the universe for the purpose of bestowing good upon man. God Himself calls His creation an act of goodness. It is for this reason that, at the end of the first six days of creation, after making man, the Torah says, “And God saw all that He had made and behold it was very good” (Gen. 1:35). We are being told that the creation of the universe was an expression of His goodness (Innerspace, pg. 9). Since love is God’s purpose for this world, all forms of love, the righteous forms such as generosity to the poor or love for God, and the wicked forms like lust and selfish pleasure-seeking, are potent.
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13The Jewish nation bears the mission of humanity, revealing the holiness that is latent within the physical world. The physical world’s first pillar was God’s love. The first patriarch of the Jewish nation, who established the character of its children, was Abraham, a personality who embodied and practiced Godly Love.
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14The Opposite of Chesed
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15The opposite of love is gevurah—strong restraint. This emotion has several names; it is also called yirah, “fear,” and din, “justice.” When I am afraid I recoil and withdraw. Justice also demands a withdrawal. The judge must stay within the bounds of the law and prevent his feelings of compassion from bursting out of his heart and tainting his legal decisions.375Rabbi Kaplan writes further:
Gevurah, “restraint,” parallels din, “law.” In interpersonal relationships of chesed and gevurah, if one person relates to another with chesed, he could pour out his most personal feelings. If he related to his friend with din, however, his relationship with him would become totally structured and restrained within very narrow limitations. A judge, for example, cannot say, “I like this man and I want to do him a favor. I want to be altruistic to him.” A judge cannot be altruistic; he has to be very delineated. Hence, gevurah, “restraint,” is din, “judgment” (Innerspace pg. 62). Love is focused on others; it is the desire to spread out. Fear is the opposite movement, focusing on oneself and pulling all inward. A being that is fearful or induces fear in others bears a trace of this Sephirah.376Gevurah literally means strength. One might question why restraint is called strength. Why isn’t it called tzimtzum, constriction? Couldn’t love have also been called strength, for sometimes you must overcome inhibitions and obstacles to practice giving? The answer is that restraint conflicts with the core of creation. The essence of creation is something from nothing, namely it is a process of revealing Divine forces into an empty space. Restraint is a process of hiding one’s self and personality, the opposite of the very nature of existence. To embody restraint one must go against the grain of existence, hence the term gevurah—it requires added strength (heard from the Stitchiner Rebbe).
Gevurah, “restraint,” parallels din, “law.” In interpersonal relationships of chesed and gevurah, if one person relates to another with chesed, he could pour out his most personal feelings. If he related to his friend with din, however, his relationship with him would become totally structured and restrained within very narrow limitations. A judge, for example, cannot say, “I like this man and I want to do him a favor. I want to be altruistic to him.” A judge cannot be altruistic; he has to be very delineated. Hence, gevurah, “restraint,” is din, “judgment” (Innerspace pg. 62). Love is focused on others; it is the desire to spread out. Fear is the opposite movement, focusing on oneself and pulling all inward. A being that is fearful or induces fear in others bears a trace of this Sephirah.376Gevurah literally means strength. One might question why restraint is called strength. Why isn’t it called tzimtzum, constriction? Couldn’t love have also been called strength, for sometimes you must overcome inhibitions and obstacles to practice giving? The answer is that restraint conflicts with the core of creation. The essence of creation is something from nothing, namely it is a process of revealing Divine forces into an empty space. Restraint is a process of hiding one’s self and personality, the opposite of the very nature of existence. To embody restraint one must go against the grain of existence, hence the term gevurah—it requires added strength (heard from the Stitchiner Rebbe).
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16The second day of creation revealed this force. God then created a barrier, the firmament in the Heavens, to divide the spiritual waters from earthly waters. He pulled the spiritual into its domain, and the physical recoiled into its dimensions. The personality who inculcated fear of God into the Jewish soul was our second father, Isaac. Isaac’s relationship with the Almighty is called in the Torah, Pachad Yitzchak, “the fear of Isaac” (Gen. 31:42).
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17Abraham was creative, while Isaac excelled in staying within the bounds of the behavior his father had modeled. Isaac dug his father’s wells that the Philistines had sealed. During famine he did as his father did—he traveled to Gerar and presented his wife as his sister. Isaac’s finest moment was when his father brought him atop Mt. Moriah377The Temple Mount in Jerusalem. to be bound and offered as a sacrifice. Abraham had heard a command from God to offer his son. Isaac had not heard such a decree, and nevertheless Isaac held himself back. He displayed enormous strength and restraint when he did not stir with a single protest as his father tied him for slaughter.378Rabbi Kaplan writes:
Concerning the relationship of the Patriarchs with the Sephiros, we saw that Abraham is the paradigm of chesed, “love.” He is the pure altruist. Isaac is the person who totally subjugates his ego. In fact, you see this to such a degree, that after being bound upon the altar, Isaac’s life becomes a perfect parallel of Abraham’s life. He digs the same wells that Abraham dug; he goes down to the Philistines and calls Rebecca his sister, just as Abraham had done with Sarah. The reason for this is that Isaac is a person who totally gives up his ego. Abraham is the initiator; chesed is essentially initiating a new idea. Whereas Abraham initiates the new movement, Isaac sees himself as a transmitter. He is a perfect disciple (Innerspace, pg. 63).
Concerning the relationship of the Patriarchs with the Sephiros, we saw that Abraham is the paradigm of chesed, “love.” He is the pure altruist. Isaac is the person who totally subjugates his ego. In fact, you see this to such a degree, that after being bound upon the altar, Isaac’s life becomes a perfect parallel of Abraham’s life. He digs the same wells that Abraham dug; he goes down to the Philistines and calls Rebecca his sister, just as Abraham had done with Sarah. The reason for this is that Isaac is a person who totally gives up his ego. Abraham is the initiator; chesed is essentially initiating a new idea. Whereas Abraham initiates the new movement, Isaac sees himself as a transmitter. He is a perfect disciple (Innerspace, pg. 63).
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18In religious practice, chesed and gevurah find expression in Judaism’s twin pillars of service, love of God and fear of Heaven. Abraham is the first father of all Jewish souls. He filled himself with absolutely divine chesed, and all Jews have within their souls an innate desire to love God as a genetic endowment from him. As descendants of Isaac all our souls harbor an innate fear of Heaven. Jewish practice does not demand behaviors that are foreign to one’s nature. All one must do is draw forth feelings that are latent within the Jewish personality.
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19Displays of Chesed and Gevurah
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20Water emerged from the Sephirah of chesed, Heavenly giving. Pour water onto your table, it will spread out. Warmth is also from chesed; heat the table and the water will bubble and evaporate spreading its tiny particles over a greater area. Cold weather emerged from gevurah, as it causes one to recoil and draw inwards. Remove the heat in the room by adding a blast of frigid air, and the water will not spread anymore—it will turn into a solid block of ice.
כ״א
21A lion is a creature that engenders fear in others. He causes others to retreat and withdraw. The Hebrew word for “lion” is aryeh. These letters also spell the word yirah, for this creature’s essential nature is connected with fear since it emerged from the Sephirah of yirah, or gevurah.
כ״ב
22According to the prophet Elijah, the right hand is the part of the human body that corresponds to chesed, while the left hand corresponds to gevurah. The right hand is usually more active, and since chesed is linked to spreading and doing, it is represented with the right. The left hand restrains, that is why it is associated with gevurah. For example, when I cut meat, my right hand will wield the knife while my left hand will hold the steak in place.
כ״ג
23In Jewish law the right is preferred to the left. For instance, when performing the service in Jerusalem’s temple the priest had to turn to the right side whenever he ascended the altar. Furthermore, when arising in the morning, we begin the process of washing our hands with our left hand serving the right through pouring water on it. When getting dressed we are to first put on the right shirtsleeve and right shoe. Since the right symbolizes chesed, preferring the right is a reminder to ourselves, and a prayer to God, that love should dominate fear.379Perhaps this was the symbolism of the binding of Isaac. Abraham, the paradigm of love, had to assert supremacy over the limitations of fear, so that more Divine Love would flow to this world than Divine Recoil. The reason why the first Mitzvah in the morning is washing the hands with water might also be an expression of the supremacy of love. Water emerged from the Sephirah of chesed; pouring water over the hands is a symbolic act that arouses love to become manifest and proceed before all other emotions (Rav Wolfson).
כ״ד
24In the Torah, the direction south was the right side since the individual would stand facing the east.380According to the Midrash, Adam was created with his face to the east. There are several Torah sources that prove the importance of the east. In Biblical Hebrew, kedem, the word for “beginning,” also means, “east,” and the direction panim, “faceward,” is “east,” while achor, “behind,” is “west” (Heard from the Stitchiner Rebbe). See further Rashi on Exod. 19:2 s.v. neged ha-har. Thus Abraham, who personified chesed, is frequently found traveling to the south for he was attracted to a place that had the spiritual force of giving.381Heard from the Stitchiner Rebbe. See further Pri Tzaddik of Rabbi Tzadok Ha-Cohen, Parashas Pinchas, Lesson 8. Colloquially, the south is usually a place of greater warmth, and chesed is associated with warmth.382Heard from the Stitchiner Rebbe. The north represents gevurah, harsh withdrawal. Cold weather is found in the north. When the Torah delineated the borders of the Land of Israel it began with the south, for in the Jewish perspective, kindness is primary and paramount (see Num. 34:3).383Heard from the Stitchiner Rebbe. See further Rav Wolfson in Tzion Ve-Arehah pgs. 145-149. He provides an alternative explanation for the borders of Israel beginning with the south. When waving the four species during Sukkos, a Jew first waves to the south, the right, and then to the north, as a further manifestation of this norm.
כ״ה
25Many secular cultures prefer the left to the right. Mystically, their natures prefer harsh limitations and laws to the generosity of kindness. That is why in some societies their shirts button left over right, to place the left as supreme above the right. Furthermore, they produce maps in which you face the west, north becomes affiliated with the right, the most active hand, showing that restraint, harshness, and self- absorption are the usual and preferred modes.384Even though these thoughts might not have been the conscious motivation for these actions they may well have been the reason why their souls guided them to arrange their maps and clothes in this manner. See further Megillah 3a, and Rashi there s.v. mazaleihu.
Since Judaism focuses on giving, the Torah only speaks of obligations. Secular society’s focus on itself leads to a concentration on rights that all should receive. For more about the difference between the Jewish perspective and secular perspectives about giving and kindness see “The World of Obligation” by Rabbi Akiva Tatz in Worldmask pgs. 99-113 (ZR).
Since Judaism focuses on giving, the Torah only speaks of obligations. Secular society’s focus on itself leads to a concentration on rights that all should receive. For more about the difference between the Jewish perspective and secular perspectives about giving and kindness see “The World of Obligation” by Rabbi Akiva Tatz in Worldmask pgs. 99-113 (ZR).
כ״ו
26Tiferes
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27The combination of chesed and gevurah together produces a third emotion, tiferes, “harmony,” which is more than just the sum of the first two. When generosity sweetens restraint, harmony is the feeling of pleasure that emerges. Harmony emerges from the blend of opposites. Imagine a choir: the high-pitched voices that are difficult to produce might be viewed as gevurah. The deep low voices can be considered sounds of chesed. The merger of both together is tiferes. Sugar is sweet and desirable, it is from chesed. Lemons are tart, and tasting them causes one to withdraw from further ingestion, thus they have a trace of gevurah. When you mix the sugar and lemon juice in a perfect blend to produce the new taste of lemonade you have discovered tiferes. There is a certain transcendent sweetness that you feel when you encounter harmony or perfect blends and balances of opposites. Consider a master painting: the beauty lies in the merger of the different colors to produce a satisfying feeling in the heart of the beholder. That feeling is tiferes.
כ״ח
28Our forefather Jacob is the paradigm of tiferes. He merged together within himself the kindness and originality of Abraham together with the discipline and restraint of Isaac. His personality was a balanced blend that was greater than the sum of the two.385According to the Zohar, Jacob is Tushbechasa she-ba-avos, “the greatest of the three Patriarchs.”
“Take pure white and pure black. Pure white would be chesed—love— and pure black would be gevurah—restraint. There is no harmony or beauty in each one by itself, but as soon as I take black and white and mix them together I can make all kinds of beautiful pictures, not by merging, which would just give grey, but by a blending of the two. Again with pure chesed, you can take a whole pail of paint and just pour it on the canvas. With pure gevurah you hold a brush in your hand and you are unable to touch the canvas. Tiferes means you are able to harmonize and blend these two extremes. In terms of the human body, chesed is the right arm while gevurah is the left arm. Tiferes is not both hands together, however, but rather the torso with all its complexity,
Whereas chesed—light—was created on the first day, and gevurah— firmament—was created on the second day, on the third day, God separated the seas and the dry land. In other words, the third day set boundaries: not all sea, not all dry land, but a balance between the two. In addition, plants were created on the third day. A plant grows, so that you have the element of chesed. Yet a plant is enclosed; it has a barrier between itself and the outer world, which is the element of gevurah. A plant is like a controlled, aesthetic growth (Innerspace, pg. 62-63).
“Take pure white and pure black. Pure white would be chesed—love— and pure black would be gevurah—restraint. There is no harmony or beauty in each one by itself, but as soon as I take black and white and mix them together I can make all kinds of beautiful pictures, not by merging, which would just give grey, but by a blending of the two. Again with pure chesed, you can take a whole pail of paint and just pour it on the canvas. With pure gevurah you hold a brush in your hand and you are unable to touch the canvas. Tiferes means you are able to harmonize and blend these two extremes. In terms of the human body, chesed is the right arm while gevurah is the left arm. Tiferes is not both hands together, however, but rather the torso with all its complexity,
Whereas chesed—light—was created on the first day, and gevurah— firmament—was created on the second day, on the third day, God separated the seas and the dry land. In other words, the third day set boundaries: not all sea, not all dry land, but a balance between the two. In addition, plants were created on the third day. A plant grows, so that you have the element of chesed. Yet a plant is enclosed; it has a barrier between itself and the outer world, which is the element of gevurah. A plant is like a controlled, aesthetic growth (Innerspace, pg. 62-63).
כ״ט
29In the lesson of Elijah the right hand and arm displayed chesed. The left hand and arm manifested gevurah. The torso, in which the right and left are blended together, is the location of tiferes.
ל׳
30The Tetragrammaton, Y-H-V-H, reflects the fact that God is the source of all love (chesed). The name Elokim represents the fact that He is a strict judge (gevurah). When the two names are written together as Hashem Elokim, it teaches that He is the source of the balance of both in harmony.
ל״א
31Males are associated primarily with the Sephirah of chesed.386In the biological process of creating life the male gives to the female. The feminine bears a strong trace of gevurah.387To foster life, the female is empty and receives. That is why in the halachic ceremony for marriage the man must give the ring that the woman receives. If a woman gives a ring to a man, halachic marriage is not created, for it is a duty upon the male to manifest chesed and for the female to withdraw and display gevurah. Marriage is a merger of love (male) and restraint (female) and is a paradigm of the balance and harmony of tiferes. Hence, the verse states:
ל״ב
32Ke-tiferes Adam lasheves bayis. The beauty [tiferes] of mankind [is] the established [harmonious] home (Isa. 44:13).
ל״ג
33A harmonious home is not just a place where there is an absence of friction. The ideal home contains an atmosphere in which each individual is true to himself and herself. The blend of the differences creates a feeling of transcendent beauty and harmony.388The word shalom, “peace,” shares a connection with the word shalem, “com-plete,” and “whole.” Furthermore Rabbi S. R. Hirsch on Num. 25:11-13 explains that Pinchas’s act of violence was in fact peaceful since it restored the harmony of forces. Rabbi Wolfson in Emunas Etecha on Parashas Pinchas has a differ-ent explanation for why Pinchas’s violence merited a reward of Divine peace.
ל״ד
34Initially the world was created with harshness, as a result, the name of God that is employed in the story of creation is Elokim, the name of restraint. However, in the tale of the first human marriage the name of God is expressed differently: Va-yomer Hashem Elokim lo tov heyos ha- adam le-vaddo e’eseh lo eizer ke-negdo, “And Hashem Elokim said it is not good for man to be alone I will make for him a helpmate opposite him” (Gen. 2:18). Marriage is a display of the harmony emerging from the blend of opposites, which is why it is introduced with a Divine appellation that recalls the attribute of tiferes.
ל״ה
35Why Emotions May Lead Man Astray
ל״ו
36The seven lower emotions are also called sheva kefulos—the seven doubles—for these feelings can be intrinsically holy or sinful. For instance, one can employ the innate human drive of generosity to give money to the poor. Alternatively, a loving person might misdirect innate goodness and love a prohibited woman, such as a sibling or a woman married to someone else. If the emotion of fear engenders fear of performing a sin and harming our relationship with the Divine, it is being used correctly. However, if a judge allows fear to inhibit him from stating a controversial truth, then he is lowering fear into the realm of evil (kelippah). Art, music, and poetry are expressions of tiferes, which can be used to increase one’s service of God,389Poetry that is sung on Shabbos as a zemirah and religious poetry that is filled with love of God, such as the poems of Rabbi Yehudah Ha-Levi, inspire love of God and His service (Rav Wolfson). or heaven forbid, to arouse an abdication of holiness.390There is a form of music that is empty of meaning, rock music. This music has no wisdom, it does not display great harmony; rather it is a cacophonous collection of noises that stimulate man towards lust, violence, and a general rejection of all limits and laws (Rav Wolfson).
ל״ז
37The Keys to Leadership:
ל״ח
38Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchus
ל״ט
39Netzach, “dominance,” and hod, “subservience,” or “empathy,” are represented by Elijah with the right and left foot respectively. The feet allow an individual to stand; these two behaviors represent two modes of survival, how to remain standing despite challenges. They are the two ways of dealing with adversity, fight or flight. For instance, if a man is walking to his destination and suddenly a devastating winter storm attacks. If he continues walking, unbent, fighting through the elements, overwhelming the enemy, he is embodying netzach—dominance or victory. If he stands off to the side, or if he crouches and waits for the storm to pass before he continues, he is acting with hod—survival through submission. When a storm wind blows and a stout tree stands upright, seeking to defeat the gales, it is a picture of netzach. The grass that bends with the wind waiting for the opportunity to rise again when the tempest passes is a paradigm of hod. The word hod shares a root with the term modim, meaning, “they admit.” It represents a withdrawal of self and acceptance of the other person’s viewpoint. Hod can be viewed as empathy, because empathy is an experience where I entirely accept the needs of the other.
מ׳
40There are two types of leaders. Some overpower their followers with charisma or message, others are seemingly overwhelmed by their people. Moses was a paradigm of forceful leadership; he was the personality of netzach. When he descended Sinai and found the nation cavorting before the Golden Calf, he immediately stopped the party, crushed the idol, and killed the ringleaders of the idolatrous group.
מ״א
41Aaron is a paradigm of hod leadership. He was an accommodationist, allowing whatever he could. When the people demanded a Golden Calf, Aaron did not fight them. He did not attempt to frighten them into submission. He took his cue from the nation as to what it wanted, and then he went along with their plans, seeking to derail them through obfuscation and delay.391See further Innerspace pg. 42. To walk one must use both legs as it is impossible to walk with one leg. However, if one has only a right arm, such an individual can still use it to give charity, its primary purpose. Netzach and hod always work in tandem, while the other forces, such as chesed, can exist inde-pendently. Of the seven shepherds, all the other leaders occupied their own moments in history while Moses and Aaron were leaders during the same era. The Jewish nation always needs both modes of leadership, some individuals can thrive under a Moses; others resent his forcefulness, and for their sake there is a need for Aaron-like leadership.
The two legs are outside the core body, thus netzach and hod come into play when someone extends himself past his body. An individual who has a certain truth has tiferes (which is also called “truth”). When he educates a student he is extending this truth outside of his body, then netzach and hod are utilized. The netzach teacher overwhelms his student. If the student is doing something wrong he will tell him off or overwhelm him with criticism. The hod teacher, however, will smile at the disruptive student, so as to keep the student within the community to eventually bring him back to observance. Hod literally means, “glow.” It is an external light, for the glow is the external aspect of the sun. A teacher who is hod-like might be churning internally when he sees his student’s infractions, yet externally he presents a smile, acting as if the student is controlling the dynamic (heard from the Stitchiner Rebbe).
The two legs are outside the core body, thus netzach and hod come into play when someone extends himself past his body. An individual who has a certain truth has tiferes (which is also called “truth”). When he educates a student he is extending this truth outside of his body, then netzach and hod are utilized. The netzach teacher overwhelms his student. If the student is doing something wrong he will tell him off or overwhelm him with criticism. The hod teacher, however, will smile at the disruptive student, so as to keep the student within the community to eventually bring him back to observance. Hod literally means, “glow.” It is an external light, for the glow is the external aspect of the sun. A teacher who is hod-like might be churning internally when he sees his student’s infractions, yet externally he presents a smile, acting as if the student is controlling the dynamic (heard from the Stitchiner Rebbe).
מ״ב
42Yesod, “foundation,” is a blend of all the feelings that preceded it. It is the channel of blessing. It is a most holy force, the ability to procreate, to produce another human who also has the ability to sire future generations. Yesod literally means “foundation.” The ability to sire descendants blessed with fruitful capabilities of their own is the pillar of continuity.
מ״ג
43This ability and force are concentrated in the organ of the body through which man creates a new life. Tzaddik yesod olam—the tzaddik is the foundation of the world—because he is an embodiment of the holiness of yesod. A tzaddik such as Joseph used yesod in the perfect manner.
מ״ד
44Marital intimacy is a realm of enormous holiness, which is why the temptations in this regard are so difficult. The greater the potential for good, the more difficult it is to attain that good. Joseph was the embodiment of holiness in this realm, as evidenced in the fact that he ran away from the allurements of Potiphar’s wife.392In Gen. 39:6-20 the Torah relates the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. Joseph had been sold as a slave to an Egyptian nobleman. The nobleman’s wife sought to seduce Joseph for a long time. Once, they were alone in her home, and she grabbed his shirt and asked him to sleep with her. He ran outside the house to escape her entreaties and left his garment with her.
מ״ה
45Just as tiferes was born of the merger between chesed and gevurah, yesod blends netzach and hod. A tzaddik is a master leader who knows when to employ netzach and when to employ hod; he balances and blends both in a perfect balance.
מ״ו
46Joseph was the paradigm of this attribute. He was a great manager who knew how to lead subjects in the correct manner. Yesod led him to step forward and assert his views and to step back and absorb the needs of others, each at the appropriate time.393Heard from the Stitchiner Rebbe.
מ״ז
47Yesod means perfectly balanced giving. I might earn five hundred dollars in one week. If I only had the force of generosity (chesed), I would give it all away to help the poor. If I only possessed restraint (gevurah) I would give none of it to the poor and keep it all for myself. Harmony (tiferes) would lead me to a balance; I would give something, but not everything. I would give ten percent, a personal optimum. If I give fifty dollars to an alcoholic who needs ten dollars for his rent, I am overwhelming him (netzach). The extra cash will probably cause a deepening of his chemical dependency. If I were to give the fifty dollars to someone who needed five hundred thousand dollars, my giving would disappear, and be overwhelmed in the face of need (hod). Yesod would be where I give my fifty dollars to an individual who needs fifty dollars. Such a gift is a true blessing; it is balanced, both from the perspective of the giver as well as the perspective of the recipient.394Rabbi Kaplan writes:
Rabbi Kaplan writes:If I am dealing with another person, it is not just a question of giving or holding back, because essentially, the more I give (chesed), the more I am changing this person, the more I am overwhelming him (netzach). The more I restrain myself (gevurah), the more I give way to the needs of another, the more I allow him to assert his own individuality (hod). What is required is a harmonious balance between Dominance and Empathy, and it is this that leads to a perfect yesod-relationship.
The word netzach comes from menatze’ach meaning to “conquer” or “overcome.” One can see this implication in a male-female relationship. Some men in a relationship feel that they must totally overwhelm the woman, who is not left with much personality of her own. Some women also have a netzach-relationship with their husbands, where they have to dominate them in every way.
Hod—empathy—is just the opposite. It is a relationship where I to-tally give in to the other person. In hod—empathy—I essentially annul myself and lose all account of myself. For instance, if a person allows himself to be seduced, this would be the ultimate hod relationship (In-nerspace, pg. 65-66).
The idea of netzach and hod is a question of asserting your identity on the one hand, or total compliance with the other person’s identity, on the other. The perfect yesod relationship is of course the balance between the two. What is important to emphasize is that this rule holds true both in the relationship between man and God as well as between man and woman (ibid.). Joseph was a master giver, history’s best distributor of scarce resources in times of distress.
Rabbi Kaplan writes:If I am dealing with another person, it is not just a question of giving or holding back, because essentially, the more I give (chesed), the more I am changing this person, the more I am overwhelming him (netzach). The more I restrain myself (gevurah), the more I give way to the needs of another, the more I allow him to assert his own individuality (hod). What is required is a harmonious balance between Dominance and Empathy, and it is this that leads to a perfect yesod-relationship.
The word netzach comes from menatze’ach meaning to “conquer” or “overcome.” One can see this implication in a male-female relationship. Some men in a relationship feel that they must totally overwhelm the woman, who is not left with much personality of her own. Some women also have a netzach-relationship with their husbands, where they have to dominate them in every way.
Hod—empathy—is just the opposite. It is a relationship where I to-tally give in to the other person. In hod—empathy—I essentially annul myself and lose all account of myself. For instance, if a person allows himself to be seduced, this would be the ultimate hod relationship (In-nerspace, pg. 65-66).
The idea of netzach and hod is a question of asserting your identity on the one hand, or total compliance with the other person’s identity, on the other. The perfect yesod relationship is of course the balance between the two. What is important to emphasize is that this rule holds true both in the relationship between man and God as well as between man and woman (ibid.). Joseph was a master giver, history’s best distributor of scarce resources in times of distress.
מ״ח
48Balance is needed to truly create new life.395Innerspace pg. 66. A master teacher creates new life as his students are his children. A master teacher ideally embodies yesod. His balanced presentations allow for the message to be conveyed. Joseph was a master teacher. He succeeded in teaching his children, Menashe and Ephraim, how to maintain the traditions of Jacob, despite living in an Egyptian society that was their theological antithesis.
מ״ט
49An expert teacher pays special care to remain a source, one who influences, and he does not become a product, a subject who is influenced. Good teachers transform their disciples. If the students are pulling the teacher to the lower level, the teacher will not remain a great pedagogue. There are grade-school teachers who are wonderful; they relate to the children and have a great impact upon their young charges. Sometimes, these teachers invest so much of their own thought into the world of the child that they become immature themselves and talk with the cadences and vocabulary of elementary school students. These teachers did not maintain yesod. Yesod leads the master teacher to be totally tied to a heightened spiritual level that is truly appropriate for him. Since he is rooted in realms above, he can descend to domains below and maintain his integrity and stature. In Kabbalistic literature, this concept is expressed with the phrase Achid bi-shmaya u-bi-ara’a, “United with the Heavens and the earth.” The personality of yesod has an iron bond with heights of service; as a result, he can engage the material world fully, for it will not have an impact upon him.396The Stitchiner Rebbe explained that eating is an example of netzach, hod, and yesod. Eating is outside of the body. Some people conquer the desire of excess food ingestion through netzach. These individuals meditate on the fact that food is really no better than excrement, and that the only important part is the Godly spark within the food. Too much concentration along this line of thought will overwhelm a person, who won’t be able to eat at all (hod). The personality of yesod, though, is totally rooted in the realm above. Since he is so secure in his spiritual connection, the tzaddik engages in the material world and eats without any fear that he might be corrupted.
נ׳
50Malchus is a difficult concept to define. It too is a composite of all the earlier feelings. It is an empty vessel that receives the gift from all the other six feelings. Malchus is associated with revelation; it receives the other feelings and reveals them.
נ״א
51For man, the concept of a vessel connotes the ultimate degree of humility, emptying oneself fully in order to receive. According to Elijah, the organ of malchus is the mouth. The mouth reveals the thoughts of man, and the observant Jew uses his mouth to recite Shema Yisrael and thus accept upon himself the yoke of Heaven’s rule. The obligations upon the Jew are absolute. When I use my mouth to recite the Shema, I am totally humbling myself. Ideally, I should desire and commit to fulfilling whatever demands God may make of me.
נ״ב
52Malchus literally means “kingship.” The ideal Jewish king is an individual who personifies nullification of self. He feels that he is merely a vehicle for the revelation of God’s kingship. He turns his authority over to Heaven, feeling, “Whatever I accomplish, it is God who is truly doing the act.” The honor of God is his paramount concern. King David is the seventh shepherd of the Jewish people, and he embodied this concept, that is why he said of himself, Ve-anochi tola’as ve-lo ish, “I am a worm not a man” (Ps. 22:7).397See also Chullin 89a. The Talmud teaches that God loves Israel for when he gives its leaders, such as Abraham, Moses, Aaron, and David, greatness they humble themselves more. King David’s rule is compared to the moon,398Rema on Orach Chaim 428:2. for the moon merely reflects the light of the sun. King David felt that he was a mere reflection of Divine power with no innate right to honor or power.399The Stitchiner Rebbe explained that malchus is an externalization, a ray off of the sun. Malchus is associated with the mouth, for through the mouth and my speech I reveal myself. What I reveal, though, is a fraction of my essence— the depths of my being. Relative to who I really am what I say is meaningless. The physical world is a manifestation of malchus for it is a mere ray from the Divine, relative to His infinite Light, we would vanish. A true king is someone who has fully internalized the fact that he is a mere ray from the Almighty, he demands no honor for himself and is entirely subservient and nullified before the Almighty. The kelippah of malchus takes itself too seriously. Secular kings feel that that they deserve regard and respect for they are truly special individuals with enormous worth. The root of their error is that they look at rays while ignoring the source. See further Da’as Tefillah pgs. 321-384.
נ״ג
53Monarchy implies having followers, subjects who obey the decrees of the king and do not follow the whims of their own hearts. Secular kings and Gentile rulers seem to be authorities, to have others nullified, and fully committed to them. In truth that is an external commitment. Their subjects fear punishment so they listen to the king’s edicts. Internally, at the core of their character the citizens of most lands are not followers. They usually hate their king and curse him in their hearts. External leadership is appropriate for the manifestations of the kelippah forces, the evil copies of the saintly realm. Malchus of holiness entails total nullification, or truly absolute leadership. When someone I respect, such as a Torah scholar, or King David, merely reveals his will, I am so subservient that I follow him for my inner being is committed to following him. The organ of malchus is the mouth, for an ideal Jewish leader does not need a stick to keep his people in line; he merely expresses his wishes with his mouth and the nation flows in that direction.400Heard from the Stitchiner Rebbe. See further the Vilna Gaon’s Kol Eliyahu on Parashas Vayeishev, quoted in Da’as Tefillah pg. 321.
נ״ד
54The Sephiros and God’s Name
נ״ה
55The pattern of the universes and the letters of God’s name is the same as the pattern of the Sephiros. Keser—innate will—is the expression of one’s very identity. It emerged from the apex of the letter yud, the soul part yechidah, and the world of Adam Kadmon, “Primordial Man.” In some Kabbalistic writings this level is called Atik, representing ancient grandfatherly wisdom. Chochmah is called abba—fatherly inspiration that corresponds to the soul part chayah, the letter yud, and the world of atzilus, where life begins adjacent to God. Binah is imma—mother— which corresponds to beriah, the soul part neshamah, and the first heh. Chesed, gevurah, tiferes, netzach, hod, and yesod are called ben, “son,”401In some sources these six Sephiros are called ze’ir, “small face.” and correspond to the vav402Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan points out that the gematria of the letter vav is six, and this letter is the Hebrew term for connection. The six Sephiros of chesed through yesod are hinted in this letter, for they enable perfectly balanced giving. Thus, perfect connection between people is accomplished through the interplay and weaving together of these six concepts. (See further Innerspace pgs.42-43.) and the universe of yetzirah, emotions. The final heh produced the world of asiyah and the Sephirah of malchus as well as the soul part nefesh. This is called by the Kabbalists, bas, “daughter.”403Heard from the Stitchiner Rebbe.
נ״ו
56There is no letter for da’as, nor is there a “family member” to represent da’as. Apparently, da’as is not to be considered as a discrete concept. Da’as is linked in an intrinsic manner with keser. Thus the apex of the yud and the concept of Atik include da’as as well. What is the nature of this link? Why is da’as part of keser?
נ״ז
57Lesson Twenty-Two will further refine the definition of da’as and thus explain the link between internalization and will.