Chof and Chof-Daled Teves*
1. Chof (20) Teves — the yom hahilula of the Rambam1 — and Chof-Daled (24) Teves, the yom hahilula of the Alter Rebbe2, fall out in a number of years (as in the calendar arrangement of this year) in the same week — the week of Parshas Va'eira.
Now, according to what is known — as the Alter Rebbe himself (the baal hahilula) explains — on the day of the histalkus (of a tzaddik), "כל מעשיו ותורתו ועבודתו אשר עבד בה כל ימי חייו" ("all his deeds, his Torah and his service in which he served all the days of his life")3 are gathered together and ascend on high, and this "מתגלה ומאיר בבחי׳ גילוי מלמעלה למטה" ("is revealed and shines forth in a manner of revelation from above to below")4;
— and just as this is so at the time of the histalkus, so too is it on the day of the yahrzeit every year, as is also understood from the customs of the yahrzeit each year, which are, after all, connected with the histalkus —
it is understood (in light of what is known5, that all the matters and events of the week are alluded to in the parshah of that week) that the content of "his deeds, his Torah and his service," both of the Rambam and of the Alter Rebbe, is alluded to in this parshah — "Va'eira"6.
2. In the matter of "his deeds, his Torah and his service," we find points held in common by the Rambam and the Alter Rebbe7.
As is known from the annals of Jewish history, the Rambam made great efforts and undertook great activity for the good of the Jewish people, with mesirus nefesh, to uplift the condition of the Jewish people both materially and spiritually8 — to bring Jews close to G‑d and to His Torah9. As he writes in one of his responsa10, when he came to Egypt "מצאנו נגע עון גדול אשר פשט ברוב הציבור בעונותינו והוא כי . . שכחו דיני תורתנו והקילו מאוד כו׳" ("we found a plague of great sin which had spread through most of the community, because of our sins, namely that . . they had forgotten the laws of our Torah and were very lax, etc."), and he (began to set these matters right and) rectified them.
And similarly with the Alter Rebbe: while still young in years, he helped Jews (particularly with the money he had received as a dowry — before he engaged in earning a livelihood) simply, in material matters11, and likewise he raised the glory of the Jewish people spiritually, as is well known from the annals of his life — concerning all the enactments that he instituted12, his work in making baalei teshuvah13, and more.
The same is true regarding the Torah of the Rambam and of the Alter Rebbe: both of them illuminated the world in nigleh, the revealed part of the Torah, down to final halachic rulings; and similarly regarding "הנסתרות לה׳ אלקינו" ("the hidden things belong to the L‑rd our G‑d")14 — in the knowledge and service of G‑d:
With the Rambam — in nigleh, in his work the Yad HaChazakah, the Mishneh Torah, which is "מקבץ לכל תורה שבעל פה כולה" ("a compilation of the entire Oral Torah")15, as he explains at length in his introduction to the Mishneh Torah; and in nistar, the hidden part of the Torah16 (to the extent that the matter of Maaseh Merkavah and Maaseh Bereishis17 could come down in a revealed manner in the Rambam's time18) — in the first chapters of his Mishneh Torah, and at great length in his Moreh Nevuchim19.
And with the Alter Rebbe: in nigleh — his Shulchan Aruch20; and in nistar — in the Tanya, which is the Written Torah21 of the teachings of Chassidus — and in the many maamarim, both before the Tanya and after it.
In both of them, both these matters are also expressed in their names (for "שמו אשר יקראו לו" ("the name by which he is called") indicates, as is known, the essence of the person22). As is known23 regarding the name of the Alter Rebbe, "Schneur" (his first name) is composed of two words, "שני אור" ("two lights")24, which means, as the Baal Shem Tov said25, that the Alter Rebbe would illuminate the world with the two lights of nigleh and nistar.
And similarly regarding the name of the Rambam — Moshe, for "תורה צוה לנו משה" ("Moshe commanded us the Torah")26 (the entire Torah, both the revealed and the hidden); and as in the well-known saying about the Rambam: "ממשה עד משה לא קם כמשה" ("From Moshe to Moshe there arose none like Moshe")27.
It is also worth noting: it is a Jewish custom that when one writes the name of the Rambam as an abbreviation, the first mem is an open mem and the second is a closed mem28. And there is a known statement of our Sages29 that the open mem and the closed mem allude to "מאמר פתוח מאמר סתום" ("an open saying, a closed saying") — the revealed dimension of the Torah and the hidden dimension of the Torah.
3. What the works of the Rambam and of the Alter Rebbe (mentioned above) have in common is evident in many, many details:
a) In the reason for and purpose of their composition: concerning the Yad, the Rambam elaborates in his introduction30 how in his time "תקפו הצרות יתירות ודחקה השעה את הכל ואבדה חכמת כו׳ לפיכך אותם הפירושים כו׳ נתקשו בימינו ואין מבין עניניהם כראוי . . ואין צריך לומר הגמרא עצמה כו׳ שהם צריכין דעת רחבה כו׳ וזמן ארוך כו׳ ומפני זה נערתי . . וראיתי לחבר דברים המתבררים מכל אלו החיבורים כו׳ כולם בלשון ברורה ודרך קצרה עד שתהא תורה שבעל פה כולה סדורה בפי הכל בלא קושיא ולא פירוק, לא זה אומר בכה וזה בכה, אלא דברים ברורים קרובים נכונים כו׳ הלכות הלכות" ("additional troubles have intensified, the hour has pressed upon everyone, and the wisdom of [our wise men] has been lost, etc. Therefore those commentaries, etc. have become difficult in our days, and none understand their matters properly . . and needless to say the Gemara itself, etc., which requires broad knowledge, etc. and a long time, etc. Because of this I girded myself . . and I saw fit to compose matters clarified from all these works, etc., all in clear language and in a concise manner, so that the entire Oral Torah will be set in order in the mouth of all, without question and answer, without 'this one says thus and that one says thus,' but with clear, accessible, correct statements, etc., law by law").
Similarly, regarding the composition of the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch, the Rabbis, the sons of the gaon the author, of blessed memory, write in their introduction to the Shulchan Aruch: "ומפני שצרכי ישראל מרובים ובפרט בצוק העתים הללו כו׳ וע״כ דעתם קצרה לבוא בארוכה31 בעיון ים התלמוד והפוסקים לידע כו׳ וגם לגדולים אשר להם יד ושם בתלמוד תכבד עליהם העבודה להכריע בין הפוסקים לאסוקי שמעתתא אליבא דהלכתא . . כי ברוב המקומות יש דיעות מחולקות זה מקשה וזה מפרק כו׳ אשר על כן כו׳ משמיא אסכימו . . למצוא איש אשר רוח אלקים בו להבין ולהורות הלכה ברורה מתון ומסיק אליבא דהלכתא הלכות בטעמיהן . . בלשון צח . . להוציא לאור תמצית ופנימית טעמי הלכות הנזכרים בכל דברי הראשונים והאחרונים זקוקים שבעתיים כל דבור על אופניו בלי בילבול ותערובות ופסק ההלכה המתברר ויוצא מדברי כל הפוסקים עד חכמי זמנינו" ("Because the needs of Israel are many, and especially in the straits of these times, etc., their minds are therefore too limited to enter at length into deep study of the sea of the Talmud and the halachic authorities, to know, etc.; and even for great scholars who have attained distinction in the Talmud, the task is heavy of deciding among the authorities and arriving at the final ruling in accordance with the halachah . . for in most places there are divided opinions, this one asks and that one answers, etc. Therefore, etc., Heaven consented . . to find a man in whom is the spirit of G‑d, to understand and to rule a clear halachah, deliberating and concluding in accordance with the halachah, laws together with their reasons . . in pure language . . to bring to light the essence and inner meaning of the reasons for the laws mentioned in all the words of the early and later authorities, refined sevenfold, every word in its proper place, without confusion or mixture, together with the halachic ruling that emerges clearly from the words of all the authorities down to the sages of our time").
[And as has been discussed a number of times, although the order of the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch does not follow the order of the Yad, but rather the order of the Shulchan Aruch of the Mechaber, its style and language are nevertheless close to the language of the Rambam32.]
b) Also in the opening of these works: just as the Rambam begins his work with the words "יסוד היסודות ועמוד החכמות" ("The foundation of foundations and the pillar of wisdoms"), whose initial letters spell the Name Havayah33 — as is known34 from the words of his grandson Rabbi David HaNagid, "כי משנה תורה שחבר זקנו הרמב״ם מתחיל בשם המפורש" ("that the Mishneh Torah which his grandfather the Rambam composed begins with the Explicit Name")35 — so too the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe (in the Mahadura Tinyana36) begins with "יהודה בן תימא אומר" ("Yehudah ben Teima says")37; among the reasons that may be given for this is that the name Yehudah is "כולו על שמו של הקב״ה" ("entirely in the name of the Holy One, blessed be He")38 — the entire Name Havayah is contained in it.
c) So too with regard to the content of the opening of these works: in the Rambam — "לידע שיש שם מצוי ראשון והוא ממציא כל נמצא וכל הנמצאים משמים וארץ ומה שביניהם לא נמצאו אלא מאמתת המצאו" ("to know that there is a First Being, and He brings into being all that exists; and all the beings of heaven and earth and what is between them exist only from the truth of His being").
Similarly, this is the content of the first seifim in the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch: (akin to "The foundation of foundations, etc., is to know that there is a First Being" —) "כלל גדול בתורה" ("a great principle in the Torah")39 . . as it is written, "שויתי ה׳ לנגדי תמיד" ("I have set the L‑rd before me always")40 (on which the Alter Rebbe elaborates41); "הוי עז כנמר וקל כנשר רץ כצבי וגבור כארי לעשות רצון אביך שבשמים" ("Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer and mighty as a lion, to do the will of your Father in Heaven")42. As was once discussed at length43, the fact that these traits (bold . . light . . swift . . mighty) are learned specifically from animals comes to emphasize how the entire existence of a leopard, an eagle, a deer and a lion (and likewise of all things in creation) is ("the truth of His being," and consequently) for the sake of the Jewish people and for the sake of the Torah44 — so that Jews, in accordance with and by means of the Torah, should use them in order "to do the will of your Father in Heaven."
4. Just as there is common ground between the works of nigleh of the Rambam and of the Alter Rebbe, so too regarding their works connected with "the hidden things belong to the L‑rd our G‑d":
a) "ארבעה פרקים אלו" ("These four chapters") — the first ones of his Yad45 — and, at length, the content of the Moreh Nevuchim, are not merely meant to add knowledge of G‑dliness and the like; rather, their purpose (especially that of the Moreh Nevuchim — as the name of the book says) is to be a "guide for the perplexed," to bring clarity and light to those who are perplexed in matters of belief46. Something similar applies to the Tanya: even one whose "שכלו ודעתו מבולבלים ובחשיכה יתהלכו בעבודת ה׳" ("intellect and understanding are confused, and they walk in darkness in the service of G‑d") (and who therefore cannot learn a path in the service of G‑d from other books)47 — it becomes light for him through the Tanya. As the Alter Rebbe writes in the introduction48: "וכולם הן תשובות על שאלות רבות אשר שואלין בעצה כו׳ בהן ימצא מרגוע לנפשו ועצה נכונה לכל דבר הקשה עליו בעבודת ה׳" ("And all of them are answers to many questions on which they ask for counsel, etc.; in them he will find rest for his soul and correct counsel for every matter that is difficult for him in the service of G‑d").
b) To note and to add49: the same applies to the verses that the Rambam cites at the beginning of his work, in Sefer HaMadda: "משוך חסדך ליודעיך וצדקתך לישרי לב" ("Extend Your kindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright of heart")50; and in his Moreh Nevuchim51: "הודיעני דרך זו אלך כי אליך נשאתי נפשי" ("Make known to me the way in which I should walk, for to You I have lifted up my soul")52, "אליכם אישים אקרא וקולי אל בני אדם" ("To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of man")53, "הט אזנך ושמע דברי חכמים ולבך תשית לדעתי" ("Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, and set your heart to my knowledge")54 — something akin to and resembling their content is found at the beginning of the Tanya:
On the title page, the Alter Rebbe writes55: "לבאר היטב איך הוא קרוב מאד בדרך ארוכה וקצרה" ("to explain well how it is very near, in a long and short way") — resembling the content of "Extend Your kindness" and of "Make known to me the way in which I should walk," the way of Torah and mitzvos. He begins the introduction with the verse "To you, O men, I call" (the second verse in the Moreh Nevuchim); and afterward he continues (with the verse56) "שמעו אלי רודפי צדק מבקשי ה׳" ("Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, who seek the L‑rd") — akin to the theme of the third verse in the Moreh Nevuchim: "Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, and set your heart to my knowledge"57.
5. On the basis of all this, we can explain the connection of the two days of hilula of the Rambam and of the Alter Rebbe — 20 and 24 Teves — with Parshas Va'eira:
The Jews in Egypt were in a state of exile of the knowledge of "My Name Havayah"58, a state of perplexity, walking in darkness. As the Rambam writes in his work59: "עד שארכו הימים לישראל במצרים וחזרו ללמוד מעשיהן כו׳ וכמעט קט הי׳ העיקר ששתל אברהם נעקר וחוזרין בני יעקב לטעות העולם ותעיותן" ("until the days grew long for Israel in Egypt, and they returned to learn their deeds, etc.; and in a very short time the root that Avraham had planted would have been uprooted, and the children of Yaakov would have returned to the error of the world and its strayings"). And G‑d sent Moshe60: "אמור לבני ישראל אני ה׳ והוצאתי אתכם מתחת סבלות מצרים גו׳ וידעתם כי אני ה׳ אלקיכם גו׳" ("Say to the children of Israel: I am the L‑rd, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt, etc., and you shall know that I am the L‑rd your G‑d, etc.").
The "burdens of Egypt" from which the Jews suffered were not only physical but also (and primarily) spiritual — and G‑d sent Moshe Rabbeinu to redeem them from these very "burdens."
How did the Jews come to the spiritual redemption, given that "לא שמעו אל משה מקוצר רוח ומעבודה קשה" ("they did not listen to Moshe, because of shortness of spirit and hard labor")61? This too is alluded to in the name of the sidrah — "Va'eira" ("And I appeared"), which in its simple sense means that there was a revelation of G‑dliness in the manner of sight, to the point that "נודעתי כו׳ כמדת אמיתות שלי" ("I was known, etc., according to the measure of My truth")62.
This is also the intent of the plain meaning of the verses in which G‑d told Moshe63 that to the Avos He appeared "בא־ל שד־י ושמי הוי׳ לא נודעתי להם" ("as E-l Shad-ai, but by My Name Havayah I was not known to them"), whereas to him, in order to take the Jews out of Egypt, there was the revelation of "אני הוי׳" ("I am Havayah")64, which is higher than "E-l Shad-ai."
Therefore, although in terms of their own level at the time of this statement to Moshe the Jews were still in exile (of knowledge) in Egypt, nevertheless, by virtue of the revelation of "I am Havayah" in "the measure of My truth," the revelation had its effect and illuminated the Jews even as they were under the burdens of Egypt, and they were redeemed from there.
6. It may be said that the same applies to the works of the Rambam and of the Alter Rebbe: they are in the manner of "Va'eira," a special revelation.
The accomplishment of the Torah of the Rambam and of the Alter Rebbe mentioned above lies (not only in the fact that their works were written by them personally and not by their students, but) in the fact that matters belonging to the category of the Oral Torah came down through them in the manner of "(Torah that is) Written" — near, prepared and ready for everyone:
Before the Rambam wrote his Mishneh Torah, most matters of the Oral Torah (including the works and commentaries from the time of the Gemara until the time of the Rambam) remained, for most people, in the manner of an Oral Torah — because of the multitude of opinions and disputes, question and answer, "this one says thus and that one says thus," it was not prepared and revealed for everyone, as the Rambam elaborates in his introduction65. In the Rambam's work, by contrast, these are "matters clarified from all these works, etc., all in clear language and in a concise manner," in such a way that "the entire Oral Torah" became "set in order in the mouth of all," and "כל הדינין גלויין לקטן ולגדול בדין כל מצוה ומצוה ובדין כל הדברים שתיקנו חכמים ונביאים" ("all the laws are revealed to small and great — the law of every single mitzvah and the law of all the things that the Sages and Prophets instituted"), to the point that one does not need to come "לחבור אחר בעולם בדין מדיני ישראל" ("to any other work in the world for any law of the laws of Israel"). That is why he named his work "Mishneh Torah": "לפי שאדם קורא בתורה שבכתב תחלה ואחר כך קורא בזה ויודע ממנו תורה שבעל פה כולה" ("because a person first reads the Written Torah, and afterward reads this, and knows from it the entire Oral Torah")66.
— Then the entire Oral Torah, which had previously been revealed only to "מעט במספר" ("a few in number")67, became accessible to every single person, like the Written Torah.
That is to say: although the Oral Torah was written down from the days of Rebbi, since on account of "עת לעשות לה׳ הפרו תורתך" ("It is a time to act for the L‑rd; they have made void Your Torah")68 the restriction69 of "דברים שבע״פ אי אתה רשאי לאומרן בכתב" ("matters transmitted orally you are not permitted to say in writing") was lifted — nevertheless, because of the decline of the generations after the time of Rebbi, even the matters that had been written down remained akin to, and in the manner of, an Oral Torah — not known and revealed to every single person "שילמדוהו במהרה ולא ישכח" ("so that they may learn it quickly and it will not be forgotten")70.
And just as this is so regarding the Rambam, so too and in a similar way it is regarding the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch (in relation to the halachos and authorities before him, back to the Rambam), as cited above (section 3) in the words of the introduction of the Rabbis, the sons of the gaon the author, of blessed memory: in the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch, "the words of the authorities down to the sages of our time" (that is, of the Alter Rebbe's time) came in the form of "a clear halachah . . laws together with their reasons."
This is even more understandable regarding their teachings of nistar. As the Rambam himself writes in his work71 concerning "להשיג הדברים על בוריין" ("grasping these matters clearly") and concerning "לטייל בפרדס" ("strolling in the Pardes"), and at length in the opening of the Moreh Nevuchim72: "היותי מתירא הרבה מאוד לחבר הדברים אשר ארצה לחברם בזה המאמר מפני שהם ענינים נסתרים לא חבר בהם כלל ספר זולתי זה באומתנו בזמן הגלות הזה, אבל נשענתי על שתי הקדמות האחת מהם אמרם בכמו זה הענין עת לעשות לה׳ הפרו תורתך (והשנית אמרם וכל מעשיך יהיו לשם שמים)" ("I was very greatly afraid to compose the matters that I wish to compose in this treatise, because they are hidden matters on which no book at all has been composed in our nation in this time of exile other than this one. But I relied on two premises: the first is what they said in a similar matter, 'It is a time to act for the L‑rd; they have made void Your Torah'; (and the second is what they said, 'And all73 your deeds shall be for the sake of Heaven')") — and in this work he revealed also the hidden matters which had previously been in the manner of (Torah transmitted) orally, for select individuals.
And all the more so regarding the Alter Rebbe's Tanya
— it should be noted that the Moreh Nevuchim (in its entirety) is not for everyone74, and in this very work the Rambam wrote a number of matters only by allusion75; the Tanya, by contrast, is a book suited to every single person (as will be explained below at length, section 12ff.) —
in that the deep matters of the inner dimension of the Torah (the teachings of Kabbalah and of Chassidus) came down in the Tanya in the manner of a final halachic ruling, and all the way to "לעשותו" ("to do it"). The Tanya became the "Written Torah" of the teachings of Chassidus: it was revealed, and in a manner of understanding and comprehension, so that every single person can grasp it with his intellect, and from this it should come out into his heart, until it becomes "קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו" ("the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it")76.
7. The novelty in our parshah is that, in addition to the fact that a higher revelation came — "I am Havayah" — it brought about "וידעתם כי אני ה׳ אלקיכם המוציא אתכם מתחת סבלות מצרים" ("and you shall know that I am the L‑rd your G‑d, who brings you out from under the burdens of Egypt"), so that this became their own "knowledge," although the Jews, in and of themselves, were still in exile.
Similarly, it may be said regarding the works of nistar of the Rambam and of the Alter Rebbe, that the "and you shall know that I am the L‑rd" which is revealed through the Yad (the first four chapters of Sefer HaMadda), the Moreh Nevuchim and the Tanya, is not only for those who were worthy of it by virtue of their level beforehand, but for every single Jew.
8. This will be understood by first noting that regarding the Moreh Nevuchim77 we seemingly find a limitation concerning its study (unlike the Yad, which is for everyone — "כקטן כגדול" ("small and great alike")):
Concerning the Moreh Nevuchim the Rambam writes: "כוונת המאמר הזה להעיר איש בעל דת שהורגלה בנפשו ועלתה בהאמנתו אמתת תורתנו והוא שלם בדתו ובמדותיו ועיין בעיון בחכמת הפילוסופים וידע עניניהם כו׳" ("The purpose of this treatise is to arouse a religious man in whose soul the truth of our Torah has become habitual and has been established in his belief, who is perfect in his religion and in his character traits, and who has studied the wisdom of the philosophers and knows their subjects, etc.")78; "המאמר הזה דברי בו עם שנתפלסף . . וידע חכמות אמיתיות והוא מאמין כו׳" ("In this treatise my words are addressed to one who has philosophized . . and knows true sciences, and who believes, etc.")79; "שיאות לאחד המעולה ולא יאות לעשרת אלפים הסכלים" ("that it suit one excellent person and not suit ten thousand fools")80. He also writes several warnings about how to study the book.
Nevertheless, from the very fact that the Rambam published his book, and in such a way that it (by Divine Providence) reached all Jews, one is compelled to say that it is also relevant to every Jew.
As we see regarding a number of laws in Sefer HaMadda, and especially at the beginning of the Laws of the Foundations of the Torah: the Rambam himself placed them in his Yad HaChazakah because, in order to learn the laws of the Torah, it is necessary first to know these concepts (the laws of the foundations of the Torah). Therefore81 he explains them in Sefer HaMadda, so that the Torah one learns should be as it ought to be, upon its foundations82, "ולא ישליכו ידיעת השם אחרי גום אבל ישימו השתדלותם הגדולה וזריזותם על מה שישלימם ויקרבם אצל בוראם כו׳" ("and that they not cast the knowledge of G‑d behind their backs, but rather place their great effort and diligence in what will perfect them and bring them close to their Creator, etc.")83 —
it is understood that the same applies to a number of chapters in his Moreh Nevuchim, especially those in which the subjects of Sefer HaMadda are discussed (only with additions — with proofs, etc.).
And as we see, a number of matters in the Moreh Nevuchim84 are foundations in the knowledge of G‑d and of prophecy, of angels and of the explanation of the verses, etc., which are not addressed specifically to one who "is perfect in his religion and his character traits, and has studied the wisdom of the philosophers and knows their subjects, etc., and has remained in perplexity and confusion," but to everyone85.
All the more so since the Moreh Nevuchim is (a book of — and a part of) Torah86, and regarding Torah it is said87, "התורה היא נצחית" ("the Torah is eternal"), and it is relevant to Jews in all generations88. We even find in a number of halachic authorities that halachos are derived from the Moreh Nevuchim89, and the Rema90 begins the Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim (the first seif of the first siman of the first part of the Shulchan Aruch) with matters from the Moreh Nevuchim.
Perhaps it may be said that the expressions of the Rambam mentioned above, which seemingly indicate limitations, are not meant as a limitation, but on the contrary: they are meant to accomplish even more and to have an even greater effect on every single Jew, as will be explained below.
9. The explanation of this will be understood in light of a responsum of Rabbi Moshe Chagiz91 (in reply to what he was asked) concerning the oath of the Rambam, of blessed memory, at the beginning of the Moreh92, "ואני משביע באלהי ישראל" ("And I adjure, by the G‑d of Israel")93, anyone who reads this treatise, etc. — "איך תחול השבועה כשאין הנשבע עונה אמן" ("how can the oath take effect when the one adjured does not answer Amen?").
He explains that he had the same question regarding the words of Rabbi Chaim Vital, of blessed memory94, who also adjured "כעין שבועה זו ובעו״ה לא ענו אמן וכמה פורצי גדר נמצאו נכשלים ורובצים תחת גדר שבועות אלו" ("with an oath like this one, and because of our many sins they did not answer Amen, and many who breach the fence are found stumbling and lying under the fence of these oaths"). He explains that the Rambam's oath is like the oaths of Yehoshua and Shaul, about which, as the Rosh writes95 (concerning the oath in the incident of the concubine in Givah), such an oath is not an oath, "אלא גזרת חרם ונידוי על דורות הבאים" ("but a decree of cherem and niddui upon future generations"). He continues, "וממנו למד הרח״ו ז״ל" ("and from him Rabbi Chaim Vital, of blessed memory, learned"), that this is not an oath but a "חרם ונידוי שהי׳ לאל ידם לגזור על הדורות הבאים למגדר מילתא" ("cherem and niddui which they had the power to decree upon future generations as a protective measure"), and for this no consent or answering of Amen is necessary.
However, his explanation seemingly requires examination and clarification:
a) We see in practice that, despite these words of caution and limitations of Rabbi Chaim Vital, people do study the matters of the wisdom of Kabbalah. Not only do they study them, but in accordance with the words of the Arizal that now "מצוה לגלות זאת החכמה" ("it is a mitzvah to reveal this wisdom")96, it is revealed and publicized — to the point that there is the directive of "יפוצו מעינותיך חוצה" ("Let your wellsprings spread outward") — even though the "outside" has not yet reached all the requirements and conditions that Rabbi Chaim Vital writes.
And similarly regarding the Moreh Nevuchim: people study it without being careful about all the limitations, etc., of the Rambam there97.
b) Why did the Rambam and Rabbi Chaim Vital write their warnings and limitations in the language of an "oath," and not in the language of niddui and cherem?
10. It may be said, as a possible explanation, that one question is resolved by the other:
To begin with, regarding Torah study in general:
Regarding Torah study in general, it is said that the Torah must be studied properly: "מה להלן (בשעת מ״ת בהר סיני) באימה וביראה וברתת ובזיע אף כאן כו׳" ("just as there (at the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai) it was with awe, with fear, with trembling and with quaking, so too here, etc.")98; in Torah study one must remember that it is G‑d's Torah that one is learning, and there must be "ברכו בתורה תחלה" ("reciting the blessing over the Torah first")99.
Nevertheless, it is stated in the Torah (in the Midrash)100: "הלואי אותי עזבו ותורתי שמרו" ("Would that they had forsaken Me but kept My Torah"), because (even then) "המאור שבה מחזירן למוטב" ("the light within it brings them back to the good").
That is to say: this is indeed not the desired order of Torah study, but nevertheless even then there must be Torah study101, because ultimately that person too will come to proper study — the Torah itself "brings them back to the good."
Similarly regarding the manner of Torah study: although one must study Torah lishmah (for its own sake), nevertheless it is said that one cannot wait until one reaches the level of lishmah; rather, "לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ומצות אע״פ שלא לשמה שמתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה" ("A person should always102 engage in Torah and mitzvos even not for their own sake103, for from [engaging] not for its own sake one comes to [engage] for its own sake").
The same applies to the study of every part of the Torah after it has been revealed — including the wisdom of truth, the teachings of Kabbalah: the study of Torah reveals and strengthens a Jew's bond with the Creator. Through the revealed dimension of the Torah, the revealed dimension of the soul is joined with the revealed dimension of the Holy One, blessed be He; and through the hidden dimension of the Torah, the hidden dimension of the soul is bound with the hidden dimension of the Holy One, blessed be He104. In order for the wisdom of the hidden to accomplish this, the Jew who studies it must be a pure vessel. That is why Rabbi Chaim Vital warns of all the conditions and requirements that must precede the study — because only then does the study have its proper effect.
On the other hand, it is desired — the Torah desires — that every single person study the teachings of nistar, as was said, "it is a mitzvah to reveal this wisdom," and in the words of the Alter Rebbe in his Shulchan Aruch, in his Laws of Torah Study105: "שכל נפש צריכה לתיקונה לעסוק בפרד״ס כו׳ צריך לבא בגלגול עד שישיג וידע כל מה שאפשר לנשמתו כו׳ הן בפשטי ההלכות הן ברמזים ודרשות וסודות" ("that every soul needs, for its rectification, to engage in Pardes, etc.; [otherwise] it must come back in a reincarnation until it attains and knows all that is possible for its soul, etc., whether in the plain meaning of the laws or in allusions, homiletical interpretations and secrets"). Upon this depends the coming of Moshiach106, and no one should hold himself back from studying this Torah until he secures all the limitations.
For this very reason, Rabbi Chaim Vital did not write, G‑d forbid, in the language of niddui and cherem, for then it would, G‑d forbid, have taken effect, and one would not be permitted to study until one reached the level that Rabbi Chaim Vital writes there.
He therefore wrote in the language of an oath, which does not take effect (without the answering of Amen). The intent of this is that when there come straitened times107 and not everyone can reach the limitations, one should study the wisdom of the hidden in any case — but with the prior knowledge108 that the desired study is when one has all the limitations before the study.
The goal, however, is that the study should have its effect109, for which it is necessary that one actually become a pure vessel for this study. Therefore Rabbi Chaim Vital wrote "אני הכותב משביע" ("I, the writer, adjure"), and by this very act he imparted a power (as is known regarding the concept of "משביעין אותו" ("they adjure him") as related to the word "שובע" ("satiation")110) so that in every study of the wisdom of Kabbalah there can be, and there will be in a revealed manner, "the light within it," which binds the hidden dimension of the Jew with the hidden dimension of the Holy One, blessed be He — in such a way that ultimately he comes to conduct himself so in a revealed manner as well, and reaches, at the time of study, what Rabbi Chaim Vital demands.
11. Something similar applies to the Moreh Nevuchim — both with regard to the oath, "ואני משביע כו׳ שלא יפרש ממנו אפילו דבר אחד ולא יבאר ממנו לזולתו אלא מה שהוא מבואר מפורש בדברי מי שקדמני כו׳" ("And I adjure, etc., that he not interpret even one thing from it, nor explain any of it to another, except what is clearly explained in the words of those who preceded me, etc."), as we see with a number of the commentators on the Moreh, who explain and interpret his words,
— and similarly with regard to what he writes, that it is "to arouse a religious man in whose soul the truth of our Torah has become habitual and has been established in his belief, who is perfect in his religion and in his character traits," etc. —
namely, that the desired study of the Moreh Nevuchim is when one is strong in faith, etc., "perfect in his religion and in his character traits"; but because of straitened times, when one studies the book even before being perfect in his religion and in his character traits — yet with the prior knowledge that the desired study is after one is perfect in his religion and in his character traits — the study of the Moreh itself helps him to reach that point: it brings him to comprehension of G‑dliness and to strength of faith111, etc.
12. Similarly we can explain the wording of the Alter Rebbe in his introduction to the Tanya. To begin with:
Regarding the holy book of Tanya: besides the fact, which is understood and obvious, that it is one of the "ספרי היראה אשר יסודותם בהררי קודש" ("books of reverence whose foundations are in the holy mountains")112 — the Tanya contains, in a special way, such directives and matters as are essential foundations in the service of G‑d for every Jew. As the Alter Rebbe himself writes on the title page of the book (which describes its essence and purpose): "מיוסד על פסוק כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו לבאר היטב איך הוא קרוב מאד בדרך ארוכה וקצרה בעזה״י" ("Founded on the verse 'For the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it' — to explain well how it is very near, in a long and short way, with the help of G‑d") —
for it is obvious that the verse (and the word "to you") speaks of every single Jew — and this pertains to every single Jew, in whatever state he finds himself. That is why the book is called by the Alter Rebbe himself "ספר של בינונים" ("the Book of the Intermediates"), and regarding the level of the beinonim the Alter Rebbe emphasizes113 that "מדת הבינוני היא מדת כל אדם ואחרי׳ כל אדם ימשוך" ("the level of the beinoni is the level of every person, and every person should strive after it").
13. Regarding an additional virtue of the Tanya, the Alter Rebbe writes an expression that could be interpreted as if this extra quality were not applicable to everyone:
To the claim of the Chassidim that (with all the virtues of "reading books," of books of reverence) "אינו דומה שמיעת דברי מוסר לראי׳ וקריאה בספרים" ("hearing words of moral instruction cannot be compared to seeing and reading in books")112 — and for this reason the Chassidim wanted to hear from the Alter Rebbe at yechidus the matters that pertained to each one of them personally — the Alter Rebbe assured them in the introduction to the book that the Tanya also has the special virtue of "hearing words of moral instruction" (of yechidus), because "ביודעי ומכירי קאמינא" ("I am speaking of those who know me and are familiar with me")114 (who "גילו לפני כל תעלומות לבם ומוחם בעבודת ה׳" ("revealed to me all the hidden things of their heart and mind in the service of G‑d")114 — and knowing all their questions, he placed in the book "כל התשובות על כל השאלות" ("all the answers to all the questions") that "כל אנ״ש דמדינתינו תמיד" ("all our fellow Chassidim in our country constantly") ask114). From this one might seemingly conclude that those who are not among "those who know me and are familiar with me" do not have the virtue of hearing and of yechidus.
However, since the Alter Rebbe printed this very point (that the Tanya takes the place of yechidus) as part of the Tanya, in the introduction to the book, it became part of "the Torah is eternal," which pertains to every Jew. Consequently — in addition to the fact that the study and the directives of the Tanya pertain to (and are necessary for) everyone — it is also understood that everyone can derive from the Tanya "all the answers to all the questions," and can derive "correct counsel for every matter that is difficult for him in the service of G‑d"114 (as do "those who know me and are familiar with me").
Only one thing is required and must be present on his part — "ובחרת בחיים" ("and you shall choose life")115,
the same requirement as with everything in the Torah of life and its mitzvos, regarding which it is written116, "ועשה אותם האדם וחי בהם" ("which a person shall do and live by them").
14. To add explanation to this — along the lines of the above:
By placing in the Tanya the introduction in which he writes "I am speaking of those who know me and are familiar with me" (meaning that the book takes the place of yechidus), the Alter Rebbe gave the power (and thus also the possibility of having its virtue [OCR unclear]), and also brought about that everyone who studies the Tanya becomes one of the Alter Rebbe's "those who know me and are familiar with me." Then, even if in himself he is at the level of "walking in darkness" (and therefore cannot derive from other books of reverence the "אור כי טוב" ("light that is good")117 that is hidden in them), the study of the Tanya has its effect on them, and in the manner of "Va'eira": the Alter Rebbe shows them and illuminates for them, so that they see the true path, and together with this, a clear and correct path of how "the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it"; and that there should be "וידעת היום" ("and you shall know this day") — the knowledge of G‑dliness — and that from this it should come down so that there will be "והשבות אל לבבך" ("and you shall take it to your heart"), until he finds in the Tanya "correct counsel for every matter that is difficult for him in the service of G‑d"118.
15. And when one has the necessary preparation of studying the inner dimension of the Torah as it was revealed in the teachings of Chabad Chassidus through the Alter Rebbe, one can then derive also from the Moreh Nevuchim the matters of the knowledge of G‑d in harmony with the teachings of Chassidus119, and it becomes revealed that "משה ותורתו אמת" ("Moshe and his Torah are true")120, both in nigleh and in nistar,
and through this we come to the days of Moshiach in actual reality, when "כל ישראל נביאיהם וחכמיהם" ("all of Israel, their prophets and their sages")121 . . "ימצאו להם מרגוע" ("will find rest for themselves")122, "וירבו בחכמה כו׳ שבאותן הימים תרבה הדעה והחכמה והאמת" ("and will increase in wisdom, etc., for in those days knowledge, wisdom and truth will increase") — as the Rambam says in Sefer HaMadda123 (near its end). With this he also concludes and seals the entire Yad: "לא יהי׳ עסק כל העולם אלא לדעת את ה׳ בלבד ולפיכך יהיו ישראל חכמים גדולים ויודעים דברים הסתומים וישיגו דעת בוראם כפי כח האדם שנאמר כי מלאה הארץ דעה את ה׳ כמים לים מכסים" ("The occupation of the entire world will be solely to know G‑d. Therefore the Jewish people will be great sages and will know the hidden matters, and they will grasp the knowledge of their Creator according to human capacity (Chabad124), as it is said125, 'For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the L‑rd, as the waters cover the sea'").
(From the sichos of the eve of 13 Nissan 5738 and of 24 Teves 5741)
Notes
*) Regarding their connection with Parshas Va'eira — see below, section 5 (and on).
1) So it is in Shem HaGedolim by the Chida (Maareches Gedolim, entry "Rambam," at its end) and in the biography of the Rambam (printed in Responsa Birkas Avraham by Rabbi Avraham, son of the Rambam) — the letter of Rabbi David HaNagid, the Rambam's grandson (and so too in Seder HaDoros, year [OCR unclear]); the wording of the tombstone (which was erected some sixty years ago); and elsewhere. In the book Tzemach David (Part One — year 964 of the fifth millennium), he writes that he passed away on 24 Teves; but he explicitly states his source: "as written in the book Meor Einayim, chapter 25." And in Meor Einayim there it says "20 Teves" (and so too in Seder HaDoros cited above, which cites the date 20 Teves from Meor Einayim, ch. 25). Moreover, Meor Einayim itself writes this on the basis of the manuscript of Rabbi David HaNagid at the end of Tractate Rosh Hashanah, which is the very source cited in Shem HaGedolim by the Chida and in the biography of the Rambam printed in Responsa Birkas Avraham (cited above). From all this it appears that what is written in our editions of Tzemach David, "24 Teves," is a copyist's error.
2) The histalkus (in the year 5573) also took place on the night before Sunday of Parshas Va'eira. However, the wording of the Tzemach Tzedek (printed in "Maaneh Lashon" and at the end of the Tzemach Tzedek's Piskei Dinim (Kehot 5732), 442a; and in the 5752 edition, 411b) is that it was on Motzaei Shabbos of Parshas Shemos — see Likkutei Sichos vol. 16, p. 33ff., and the notes there.
3) Iggeres HaKodesh, sec. 27 (147a–b).
4) Ibid., sec. 28 (148a). And see also sec. 27 (ibid., b).
5) See Shelah, the section on the Written Torah, beginning of Parshas Vayeshev. And see Likkutei Sichos vol. 16, p. 33, and the notes there.
6) See at length Likkutei Sichos vol. 6, p. 35ff., on the connection of the hilula of the Alter Rebbe with Parshas Va'eira. Similarly in Likkutei Sichos vol. 16, p. 56; vol. 21, p. 52ff.; and below, p. 40ff.
7) Note also the letter of the Alter Rebbe (his Iggros Kodesh — Kehot 5740 — end of letter 34), in which he compared the controversy in his days over the teachings of Chassidus to the controversy over the Rambam. Note that he concludes there: "אך כאשר חלפו ועברו ימים רבים כו׳ וידעו כל ישראל כי משה ותורתו אמת וכו׳ וכה יהי׳ לנו במהרה בימינו אמן" ("But when many days had passed and gone by, etc., all of Israel knew that Moshe and his Torah are true, etc.; and so may it be for us speedily in our days, Amen").
8) This is emphasized especially in his letters — the Epistle to Yemen and the Epistle on Forced Conversion.
9) See also Shem HaGedolim, cited in note 1 (s.v. "Ra'isi biTeshuvos"), and the books on the history of the Rambam.
10) Responsa of the Rambam, Leipzig edition, part 1, sec. 149.
11) See in detail Sefer HaToldos of the Alter Rebbe (Kehot 5727, and several times thereafter), ch. 1, end of ch. 2, and ch. 9 (in the 5746 edition: vol. 1, ch. 3, p. 87; vol. 2, ch. 20), and the sources cited there.
12) See Sefer HaToldos, ibid., ch. 9 (ch. 20).
13) See Likkutei Dibburim vol. 4, 755a–b; 756b.
14) Nitzavim 29:28. And see the introduction to the Tanya (4a, beginning); ibid., beginning of ch. 44; and elsewhere.
15) As opposed to his Commentary on the Mishnah, Sefer HaMitzvos, his responsa, etc. (besides the fact that Sefer HaMitzvos is an introduction to the Yad).
16) As the Rambam wrote in the opening of the Moreh Nevuchim, that what he explains in his book are hidden matters. And see his wording in the Treatise on Resurrection, end of ch. 2: "שדברי תורה יש להם נגלה ונסתר ולזה יקראו הנסתר סתרי תורה" ("that the words of Torah have a revealed and a hidden aspect, and therefore the hidden is called the secrets of the Torah"). And there [he says] that this is what he explained in the Moreh Nevuchim.
17) See at length the Rambam's opening to his Moreh Nevuchim.
18) Note Sefer HaSichos 5701, p. 154, on the manner of the transmission of Kabbalah and the teachings of nistar. There it says that the Rambam begins his book with an allusion to the four-letter Name, that in the glosses of the Raavad [allusions to] Kabbalah are frequently hidden [OCR unclear], and that the Ramban and Rabbeinu Bachya write in their commentaries in the way of Kabbalah. And see also Sefer HaSichos Summer 5700, p. 41 (sec. 10).
19) So it is in the Rambam's opening to the Moreh Nevuchim, near the beginning (in our printed versions): "ולזה נקרא המאמר הזה מורה הנבוכים" ("and therefore this treatise is called the Guide for the Perplexed"). And so it is in the Kapach edition, and elsewhere; and so it is called by a number of Rishonim. But in many places the usual abbreviation is "Mo"N."
20) The Laws of Torah Study were printed first of all (Shklov 5554), and likewise the Laws (Table) of Blessings on Enjoyment (5555 — Iggros Kodesh of the Previous Rebbe, vol. 10, p. 117) [and he also began writing the Shulchan Aruch before writing the Tanya — see the introduction of the Rabbis, the sons of the gaon the author, of blessed memory, to the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch] — just as with the Rambam, whose book of halachos, the Yad, he wrote and published before his Moreh Nevuchim.
21) A letter of the Previous Rebbe in Kitzurim VeHe'aros LeTanya (p. 118ff.); Iggros Kodesh of the Previous Rebbe (vol. 4, p. 261ff.). And see Likkutei Sichos vol. 20 (end of p. 183ff.), that it is the Written Torah not only of the teachings of Chabad Chassidus but also of the teachings of general Chassidus — of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid, who preceded the Alter Rebbe (for they themselves did not write their books). This is akin to the Rambam's Yad (and Moreh), which came as a written form of the entire Oral Torah that preceded the Rambam, as he elaborated in his introduction, as mentioned above. And see below, section 6.
22) That is why Rabbi Meir would pay attention to names (Yoma 83b). And see Likkutei Sichos vol. 7, end of p. 35ff., and the sources cited there.
23) See at length Likkutei Levi Yitzchak — Letters, p. 218ff.
24) See Yam Shel Shlomo, Gittin ch. 4, sec. 26. And see (also regarding what follows) Likkutei Sichos vol. 7, p. 37ff., and the sources cited there.
25) Likkutei Dibburim vol. 1, 83a, beginning. And see also the sources cited in Likkutei Sichos vol. 7, ibid.
26) Berachah 33:4.
27) See Shem HaGedolim by the Chida, entry "Rabbi Moshe Gaon," and elsewhere. The wording of the tombstone mentioned above (note 1): "פתגם חכמי דורו עליו ממשה עד משה לא קם כמשה" ("the saying of the sages of his generation about him: From Moshe to Moshe there arose none like Moshe"). And see the letter of the Alter Rebbe (cited in note 7): "and all of Israel knew that Moshe and his Torah are true."
28) Although in an abbreviation there is no necessity for the last letter to be a final letter; moreover, in many places we find it written "הר״מ ז״ל" ("HaRam, of blessed memory"). Note also that in many places in the Rishonim the second mem is also an open mem.
29) Shabbos 104a, and Rashi there. And see Shelah, Beis Gadol, at its end (36b ff.); the maamar beginning "Me'eimasai" 5642 (Kehot, 5725); and elsewhere.
30) Near its end.
31) So it is in the first printings of the Shulchan Aruch; in the later editions it reads "בערוכה" ("in an arranged manner") [OCR unclear]. Seemingly this is a printing error.
32) And see Sefer HaSichos Summer 5700, p. 111, what they asked the Tzemach Tzedek: "זקינכם הגאון הנה בכל מקום וענין הוא מביא את לשון הרמב״ם וברוב הסוגיות ופסקי הלכות הוא הולך כשיטתו ומפני מה כו׳" ("Your grandfather the gaon — in every place and matter he cites the language of the Rambam, and in most topics and halachic rulings he follows his approach; why then, etc.").
33) For the explanation of this, see at length the "Hadran" on the Rambam's Mishneh Torah (Kehot, 5745), sec. 7ff.
34) Seder HaDoros, cited in note 1; Shem HaGedolim by the Chida, cited in that note.
35) And see also the "Perush" on the Rambam, beginning of the Laws of the Foundations of the Torah: "כונתו היתה לזכור השם המפורש ברמז בתחלת חבור זה" ("his intention was to mention the Explicit Name by allusion at the beginning of this work").
36) Regarding the Mahadura Kamma — see below, note 41.
37) This is also the beginning of the Tur. But in the Tur, it is his way to cite the statements of Chazal in the name of the one who said them; this is not the way of the Alter Rebbe in his Shulchan Aruch.
38) Sotah 10b; 36b.
39) The wording of the Alter Rebbe in the Mahadura Tinyana, beginning of seif 5. And see note 41.
40) Tehillim 16:8.
41) See the Mahadura Tinyana, ibid., seif 4ff. In the Mahadura Kamma, the content of this matter comes immediately in seif 1 (ff.) there. Note that the source of these words is in the Moreh Nevuchim (part 3, ch. 52).
42) Mahadura Tinyana, at its beginning.
43) See Likkutei Sichos vol. 21, p. 283ff.
44) Rashi on the verse "Bereishis" (s.v. "Bereishis," second explanation).
45) Rambam, Laws of the Foundations of the Torah, ch. 4, halachah 13. Note that there (halachah 10) he explains that the first two chapters are Maaseh Merkavah and the two chapters after them are Maaseh Bereishis (see there) — corresponding to the distinction between the four letters of the Name Havayah.
46) See at length the Rambam's opening to the Moreh Nevuchim. And see also the Rambam's letter to his student Rabbi Yosef, which precedes the opening of the Moreh Nevuchim.
47) The Alter Rebbe's introduction to the Tanya (3b), regarding reading books. See there.
48) 4a.
49) Note also that the Tanya, as printed by the Alter Rebbe himself, had three parts, like the Moreh Nevuchim.
50) Tehillim 36:11.
51) Before the opening.
52) Tehillim 143:8.
53) Mishlei 8:4.
54) Mishlei 22:17.
55) For these words of the title page are the Alter Rebbe's own — so I heard from the Previous Rebbe. And see Sefer HaSichos 5700, p. 114.
56) Yeshayahu 51:1.
57) The two details in this verse — "Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise" (i.e., the words of the sages before the Rambam, which he cites in his book) "and set your heart to my knowledge" (that of the Rambam) — have a parallel in the wording of the Alter Rebbe: "Listen to me" corresponds to "set your heart to my knowledge"; and what he continues in the introduction, that the book is compiled "מפי ספרים כי וקצת מהם .. באגרות הקודש מרבותינו שבאוה״ק כו׳" ("from books [OCR unclear], and some of them . . from the holy letters of our masters in the Holy Land, etc.") corresponds to "hear the words of the wise." And see the commentators on the Moreh there, on the explanation of the verses.
58) Likkutei Amarim of the Maggid, sec. [OCR unclear]: "במצרים הי׳ גלות הדעת" ("In Egypt there was the exile of da'as"). And see Ohr Torah, our parshah, [OCR unclear] (26c).
59) End of ch. 1 of the Laws of Idolatry.
60) Our parshah, 6:6–7.
61) Our parshah, ibid., 9.
62) Rashi on our parshah, 6:3.
63) Our parshah, ibid., 2–3 (and Rashi there).
64) See Torah Ohr, our parshah (56a–c); Ohr HaTorah, ibid. (pp. 126, 132, 144ff.); and elsewhere.
65) This is in addition to the main point, that "אותם הפירושים וההלכות והתשובות שחברו הגאונים כו׳ נתקשו בימינו ואין מבין עניניהם כראוי אלא מעט במספר. ואין צריך לומר הגמרא עצמה הבבלית והירושלמית כו׳ שהם צריכין דעת רחבה ונפש חכמה וזמן ארוך ואחר כך יודע מהם כו׳" ("those commentaries, laws and responsa composed by the Geonim, etc., have become difficult in our days, and none understand their matters properly except a few in number; and needless to say the Gemara itself, the Babylonian and the Jerusalem, etc., which require broad knowledge, a wise soul and a long time, and only afterward does one know from them, etc.") (the Rambam in his introduction to the Yad — quoted above, beginning of section 3).
66) The Rambam in his introduction, ibid.
67) The Rambam's wording there regarding understanding the works of the Geonim (as mentioned above, note 65). It is understood from the Rambam that regarding the Gemara, etc., and the Tosefta, there are not even "a few in number" who know "הדרך הנכוחה"* ("the straight path"), etc.
*) So it is in our printed editions of the Rambam. Some versions read "הנכונה" ("the correct [path]") (see Sefer HaMadda — Jerusalem 5724 — in the variant readings).
68) Tehillim 119:126.
69) Gittin 60a–b; Temurah 14b. Note that the Rambam in his introduction to the Yad cited neither the prohibition nor the permission on account of "It is a time to act for the L‑rd," but only their content: "ולמה עשה רבינו הקדוש כך ולא הניח הדבר כמות שהי׳ לפי שראה שתלמידים מתמעטין כו׳" ("And why did our holy Rabbi do this and not leave the matter as it was? Because he saw that the students were diminishing, etc."). But in his opening to the Moreh Nevuchim he did cite the matter, as quoted below in the text.
70) The Rambam's wording in his introduction, ibid., on the reason why our holy Rabbi composed from everything "חיבור אחד (משנה) להיות ביד כולם כדי שילמדוהו במהרה כו׳" ("one work (the Mishnah), to be in everyone's hands, so that they may learn it quickly, etc."). And see Jerusalem Talmud, Berachos 5:1: "הלומד . . מתוך הספר לא במהרה הוא משכח" ("one who learns . . from a book does not quickly forget").
71) Laws of the Foundations of the Torah, end of ch. 4. And see below, note 77.
72) In the "Instruction regarding this treatise," at its end. The wording quoted in the text (and likewise further on in the sichah, both in the text and in the notes) is copied from our edition of the Moreh Nevuchim printed with the commentaries (Shem Tov, Efodi, etc.) — Warsaw 5632, and a photo-offset of it. In Kapach's translation it appears with a number of differences.
73) Avos, ch. 2 [mishnah number OCR unclear] (in the Alter Rebbe's Siddur).
74) See below in the text, section 8.
75) See his words in the opening (5a, beginning — in the edition cited in note 72, and likewise below): "כי כוונתי שיהיו האמיתיות מושקפות ממנו כי תעלמות מהמון העם כו׳" ("for my intention is that the truths be glimpsed from it, and then be hidden from the masses, etc.").
76) Nitzavim 30:14.
77) And similarly in the first four chapters of the Rambam — regarding a limitation [OCR unclear] on them (see the Rambam's wording, Laws of the Foundations of the Torah, ch. 4, halachah 13; and see the sources cited below, end of note 82).
78) In the opening of his book, near its beginning (4a).
79) In the opening of his book (7a).
80) At the end of the "Instruction regarding this treatise" (9, end of side a ff.), before the introduction. And see the Rambam's letter to his student Rabbi Yosef (printed before the opening of the Moreh Nevuchim), at its end: "ועוררתי פרידתך לחבר המאמר הזה אשר חברתיו לך ולדומים לך ואם הם מעט כו׳" ("Your departure aroused me to compose this treatise, which I composed for you and for those like you, even if they are few, etc.").
81) As he writes in the Treatise on Resurrection, ch. 2.
82) Therefore it is understood that the study of the Laws of the Foundations of the Torah must precede the study of the other laws in the Rambam, in the order in which the Rambam himself arranged them, with the Laws of the Foundations of the Torah coming at the beginning of his work. From the Rambam's own words it is understood that one should not skip them. Also known is the rule regarding the Yad, that the Rambam relies on what he wrote before but not on what comes after (Yad Malachi, Rules of the Rambam, sec. 200). And see at length the Hadran cited in note 33, sec. 1, and the notes there; and below, p. 122ff.
83) Treatise on Resurrection, ibid.
84) As is known, the controversy and opposition were directed against both books (Sefer HaMadda and the Moreh Nevuchim) alike.
85) And see the Rambam's opening to the Moreh Nevuchim, in the "Instruction regarding this treatise" (9b): "כי כל מתחיל מבני אדם שאין לו מאומה מן העיון יקבל תועלת בקצת פרקי זה המאמר" ("for every beginner among men who has no knowledge whatsoever of speculation will derive benefit from some of the chapters of this treatise"). And see Abarbanel in the opening there (5a), on what the Rambam writes there (4b), that he explains nothing "זולת ראשי פרקים" ("except chapter headings") — i.e., in part of the subjects of the Moreh, not all the subjects.
86) Note that in many places his words are cited by the Alter Rebbe, in the Tzemach Tzedek's Ohr HaTorah, etc. — with a citation of the source. And see below, notes 111 and 119.
87) See also Responsa of the Rema, sec. 7 (cited in Likkutei Sichos vol. 23, p. 36, note 42, and the sources cited there).
88) The words of the author of Avodas HaKodesh are well known. This is the way of the Torah: these declare pure and these, etc.; "these and these are the words of the living G‑d." And see [OCR unclear], ch. 7 (83a): "in the Pardes of the Ramak, of blessed memory." And see the Tzemach Tzedek's Sefer HaMitzvos, the mitzvah of belief in G‑dliness, ch. 3–4. See there at length.
89) And see Tzafnas Pane'ach by the Rogatchover (especially in the compilation on the Moreh Nevuchim) for a number of reasonings and opinions in the Moreh Nevuchim with regard to halachah. And see also Likkutei Sichos vol. 16, p. 529, in the note.
90) And likewise the Alter Rebbe (in his Mahadura Kamma) — see above, note 41.
91) In his book Shtei HaLechem, sec. 35.
92) In the "Instruction regarding this treatise" (9, beginning of side b).
93) So it is in Responsa Shtei HaLechem, ibid. In our edition of the Moreh (the printing cited in note 72): "באלהי ית׳" ("by G‑d, may He be exalted"). In Alcharizi's translation: "בא-ל יתעלה" ("by G‑d, may He be exalted"). In Kapach's translation: "בה׳ יתעלה" ("by the L‑rd, may He be exalted").
94) In the (third) introduction of Rabbi Chaim Vital, printed at the beginning of Etz Chaim (Warsaw edition).
95) In his responsa, klal 5, sec. 4.
96) Iggeres HaKodesh, sec. 26 (142b).
97) See Narboni's commentary on the Moreh, in his introduction: "וצריך לחלוק כבוד לרב ולקיים מצותו ולבלתי עבור על השבעתו" ("One must give honor to the Master, fulfill his command, and not transgress his adjuration"). Note also the commentary Amudei Kesef on the Moreh (by Rabbi [Yosef] ibn Kaspi), at its beginning (and in the appendix there, "Menoras Kesef" — partially reproduced in "Toldos HaRav HaMechaber" at the end of the book Amudei Kesef, p. 4).
98) Berachos 22a, and the sources cited there.
99) Bava Metzia 85b, beginning (and see Rashi there). So too in Nedarim 81a (and see the Ran there, in the name of Rabbeinu Yonah).
100) Eichah Rabbah, Pesichta 2. And see also Jerusalem Talmud, Chagigah 1:7, and Korban HaEdah there. Cited in the Alter Rebbe's Laws of Torah Study, ch. 4, seif 3.
101) See the Alter Rebbe's Laws of Torah Study, ch. 1, end of seif 4 — cited below in the text.
102) Pesachim 50b (and the sources cited there); the sources cited in note 100; Rambam, Laws of Torah Study, ch. 3, halachah 5; the Alter Rebbe's Laws of Torah Study, ibid., seif 4 (and in the Kuntres Acharon there).
103) And see Rambam, end of the Laws of Repentance; and in the Commentary on the Mishnah, in his introduction to Perek Chelek (s.v. "VehaKas HaChamishis"), where he elaborates on this. And see below, note 108.
104) See Zohar III, 73a. The two explanations of this are well known — and see the letter of the Previous Rebbe (HaTamim vol. 4, p. 48 [378]ff.; his Iggros Kodesh vol. 3, sec. 533ff.).
105) Ch. 1, end of seif 4. And see also there, ch. 2, seif 2.
106) See at length the introduction of Rabbi Chaim Vital to Shaar HaHakdamos (the first introduction), printed at the beginning of Etz Chaim (Warsaw edition), and at the end of Kuntres Etz HaChaim by the Rebbe (Rashab), nishmaso Eden.
107) It may be said that after the decrees and persecutions, may the Merciful One spare us, which befell the members of the recent generations, they have already become refined and fit for this study. And see Shaarei Teshuvah by the Mitteler Rebbe, part 1 (5b).
108) Note the explanation of "מתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה" ("from not for its own sake one comes to for its own sake"): that the core and inner dimension (the "toch") of the "not for its own sake" is "for its own sake" (see Likkutei Sichos vol. 20, p. 50ff.).
109) For no matter departs from its plain meaning: the reason why a person should always engage [in Torah] even not for its own sake is because he "comes to for its own sake" — i.e., its core comes to be revealed, and consequently he actually comes to "for its own sake." And see Likkutei Sichos, ibid., p. 48, and the sources cited there.
110) See the maamar beginning "Mashbi'in Oso" in Kitzurim VeHe'aros LeTanya; Likkutei Perushim LeTanya, ch. 1; and elsewhere.
111) See Sefer HaSichos Toras Shalom, p. 244, that when the students of the Maggid came to the Maggid, they had gone through the Moreh Nevuchim. And see there the reason: that there must be knowledge of G‑dliness. And see Sefer HaSichos 5702, p. 4ff. And see below, note 119.
112) The wording of the Alter Rebbe in his introduction to the Tanya (3b).
113) Tanya, beginning of ch. 14.
114) The wording of the Alter Rebbe in his introduction, ibid. (4a).
115) Nitzavim 30:19.
116) Acharei 18:5.
117) Bava Metzia 38a, beginning.
118) As explained in the Tanya, part 2.
119) See Sefer HaSichos Summer 5700, end of p. 40ff., that the Alter Rebbe studied the Moreh Nevuchim with the Tzemach Tzedek in the way of Chassidus, and that "besides the study itself, the grandfather — the Alter Rebbe — intended through this study a certain rectification." See there. And see Sefer HaChakirah by the Tzemach Tzedek (65b ff.), explanations on the Moreh Nevuchim. Note also Ohr HaTorah, Chukas (p. 976; vol. 5, p. 1627). And see Hayom Yom, 19 Sivan, "שהצ״צ למד עם המהר״ש ספרי מחקר . . מורה נבוכים . . ע״פ תורת החסידות" ("that the Tzemach Tzedek studied with the Maharash books of philosophical inquiry . . the Moreh Nevuchim . . according to the teachings of Chassidus"). And see Toras Shalom, at its beginning; Chinuch LaNaar, p. 28; and above, note 111. This is not the place to elaborate.
120) See the letter of the Alter Rebbe (cited above, note 7).
121) Akin to what is said (Yirmeyahu 31:33), "כולם ידעו אותי למקטנם ועד גדולם" ("they shall all know Me, from the smallest of them to the greatest of them") (for then too there will be differences of level — small and great).
122) Akin to the wording of the Alter Rebbe in the introduction to the Tanya (cited above, section 4), "in them he will find rest for his soul." And note what is known (see Likkutei Sichos vol. 16, p. 282, and the sources cited there), that the teachings of Chassidus are a "foretaste" of the Torah of Moshiach.
123) Laws of Repentance, ch. 9, halachah 2.
124) See at length the Hadran cited in note 33.
125) Yeshayahu 11:9.
Key Lesson
The Rambam and the Alter Rebbe brought the Oral Torah and the hidden dimension of the Torah down into a clear, written form — a "Va'eira" revelation that reaches every Jew, whatever his spiritual state. One should not hold back from studying the inner dimension of the Torah until one feels worthy; studying it, while knowing what the ideal is, itself refines the student and leads toward the knowledge of G‑d that will fill the world in the days of Moshiach.