Parshas Bo[1]

1^st Mamar “Betzem Hayom Hazeh Yatzu Kol Tzivos Hashem …”

1. Betzem Hayom Hazeh Yatzu Kol Tzivos Hashem:[2]

See Volume 1 of our Chassidishe Parsha Torah Or Series under Parshas Shemos where we covered the following matters of this Mamar in detail:

1. The Divine name of Tzeva-os
2. Hashem is above all names and forms of character
3. The Divine names and their meaning
4. The root of the positive and negative commandments in the Sefiros of Atzilus
5. The difference between Moshe and the later prophets
6. Meaning of the name “Tzivos Hashem”

2^nd Mamar “Leman Tehiyeh Toras Havayah Beficha …”

2. Leman Tehiyeh Toras Havayah Beficha:[3]
3. The love of water and love of fire:

There exist two different forms of love, one being a love of fire and the second being a love of water. The form of love that is compared to water refers to a love that can never extinguish and that continues forever like a channel of water. It however continues without any qualitative change to it and remains the same without addition or subtraction. A second form of love is a love of fire. This love is a love which fluctuates and sways all the time, from being passionate to being calm and vice versa. It is a love of Rato Veshuv. These two forms of love are dependent on two different aspects of personality found in the soul of a Jew. The first aspect is the aspect of the soul of the Jew being the son of G-d, as it states in scripture “and you are the children of Hashem your G-d.” The love between a son and father is calm and constant without interruption. It does not go through periods of fluctuation, from rapturous passionate love, to calm and serene feeling. It does not have a tide, and is similar to a lake. This is the love of water found within the soul of a Jew. The second type of love of fire derives from contemplation of G-d as the creator and that He has dismissed all of the higher spheres and chosen to dwell below in the lower realms, so that His infinite intellect be grasped within the physical constraints of the world. All this He did out of His great love for the Jewish people as infatuation and love causes one to do things that compromise on one’s pride or assets.   

1. Returning the love to G-d:

Just as Hashem has put His greatness and pride aside due to his love for the Jewish people for the sake  of dwelling within them, so too a Jew is to put aside his wills and worldly passions for the sake of G-d. The love G-d shows us should be reciprocated with a love that we have for Him, and is expressed in our willingness to sabotage our foreign lusts and desires for the sake of connecting to Him.

1. How G-d who is merciful punished the Egyptians:

It states in scripture that G-d took the Jewish people out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Now the Talmud states that whenever it states hand in Scripture it refers to the right hand. This poses the following question: The right hand represents kindness, and the way the Jewish people left Egypt left the Egyptian land destroyed and many of their people dead. How is this synonymous with the kindness of G-d? The answer is that G-d performed this act of severity towards the Egyptians because of His great kindness and love for the Jewish people. Out of love for the Jewish people G-d was willing to suppress His natural disposition towards mercy and compassion to all of His creations to which He desires to do only good. This is similar to a father who is very kindhearted but forces himself to become angry and take vengeance against those who are harming and causing pain to his son. This is also why it states in Scripture “And the Torah of G-d shall be in your mouth because He took you out with a strong arm,” as the Exodus from Egypt express G-d’s deep love for the Jewish people, and hence we should reciprocate that by desiring to love G-d back by cleaving to Him through the study of His Torah which contains His wisdom.

1. Why the depths of the Torah will not be understood until the future era:

The entire purpose of Hashem descending His Torah into this physical world is so it be comprehended by the human mind. For this to occur Hashem had to contract His wisdom so that it fit within the comprehension of the physical world. It is for this reason that the depths of the reasons behind the Mitzvos have not been revealed, as it is not possible for these reasons to be comprehended by the human mind until the messianic era.

1. The effect of bribery and the vulnerability that comprehension has towards emotion:

The Torah prohibits the giving of bribery to a judge, and this prohibition applies even if the judge is certain that he will only rule in accordance to the law and will not swerve from it one iota. The reason for this is because as much as intellect and comprehension seems unbiassed, based on logic, it is highly vulnerable to influences from our emotions. Meaning, if one has a fond liking to an individual, then his intellect will subconsciously be drawn towards comprehending the case in a way that is beneficial towards the subject whom he is fond of. The judge himself may not even notice that his comprehension has been skewed by emotional bias, and can be fooled to think that the judgment was given solely based on the presentation of the case and the law that he promised to uphold.

1. Why we are commanded to study even the sections of Torah that are no longer in practice:

We are commanded in Scripture, in the book of Joshua, that we should be involved in Torah study day and night. This command applies to all sections of Torah, including those that are no longer practiced in today’s times or that are not relevant for the individual. What is the reason that Hashem commands us to study even the sections of Torah? The explanation is because G-d desires to dwell within the lower realms which is within the human intellect, and for this purpose Hashem demoted and descended and contracted His divine wisdom into the Torah of below. Hence, one is to study and comprehend G-d’s Torah irrelevant of its practicality or applicability to the person as through doing so one attaches to G-d and makes Him an abode below.

1. Why scripture at times records G-d’s command to Moses and at times not:

We find an interesting anomaly in Scripture, that at times prior to a command being given it states that G-d spoke to Moses and instructed him to tell the command to the Jewish people. On other occasions however it makes no mention of the instruction from G-d to Moses and the command is simply recorded from Moshe to the Jewish people. Why the contrast? The explanation is that this matter depends on the quantity and quality of G-dly revelation found within the command and as to whether the Jewish people are able to comprehend it without a further contraction. Each command from G-d to Moshe and then from Moshe to the Jewish people represent another contraction. It is revealed before G-d as to which commands need less contractions to be able to be comprehended by the Jewish people and which need more. Based on this is the contrast of whether the command of Hashem to Moshe is recorded by a particular Mitzvah or not.

[1] Torah Or pp. 60a-b

[2] Torah Or pp. 60a-b

[3] Torah Or pp. 60b