Likutay Moharan - Volume 2 - Torah-teaching 39

Likutay Moharan II, Torah 39: Come, Behold the Works of Hashem

“Come, behold the works of Hashem, who has made shamos [desolations/names] in the earth” (Psalms 46:9)
For in truth, the matter is very wondrous and awesome, that Hashem, blessed be He, created the entire beriah [creation], which has many, many very, very wondrous and awesome things. “How manifold are Your works, Hashem” [see Psalms 104:24]. And even in this world alone, the wonders of Hashem are great, who created domemim [inanimate things] and tzomechim [growing things], and so forth. And who can estimate the greatness of Hashem that is in the creatures of this world, how much more so the other worlds. And everything, as everything, was created only for the sake of Israel. And Israel themselves, the main purpose of their creation is for the aspect of Shabbos [Sabbath], which is the tachlis [purpose]. For Shabbos is the tachlis of the work of heaven and earth, which is the aspect of the world of neshamos [souls] (Introduction to the Zohar, folio 1; Zohar, Terumah 136), which is a world entirely Shabbos. And there they will attain Hashem, blessed be He, as is fitting, without any masach [separating veil] and without any hindrance. For then there will be complete achdus [unity], and each one will point with his finger: “This is Hashem, we hoped for Him”, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Taanis 31) [1]. And this is the tachlis, for which Hashem, blessed be He, created the entire beriah.

And therefore, there is certainly in every single thing that was created in the world the aspect of the tachlis [purpose]. For in every single thing there is a beginning and an end, that is, the beginning from the place where it was emanated in the hishtalshelus [chain of emanation] until it was materialized and formed in this form and likeness. And there is also in it the aspect of the tachlis and the end, for which it was created, that is, that Israel can deepen their contemplation and know and understand the details of the beriah: in the structure of the limbs and the building and stature and likeness, and so forth, of every single thing, to contemplate in them the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, and to serve Him, blessed be He, through this. And so higher and higher, until the tachlis. For every single thing has a connection to the tachlis, for which it was created, that through this thing, Israel can attain Him, blessed be He, and serve Him until that tachlis, where that thing is completed and connected to the tachlis.

And every single one must deepen his contemplation in this, to know and recognize the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, in every single thing, in its structure and likeness, in the details of its limbs and its building, and the like, and to serve Him, blessed be He, in this, until he comes to the aspect of the tachlis of that thing, which is the aspect of Shabbos, the world of neshamos, and so forth [2]. And behold, the baalei seichel [people of intellect], who have great intellect, they can do this. But people of lesser worth like us today, who are all in a very low level in the aspect of raglayim [feet, lowest spiritual level], how can we come to this knowledge? And therefore, we must yearn and long and greatly desire, who will grant that we have a leader of the generation, a faithful shepherd, who will have this power, that he can illuminate even in us, in the aspect of raglayim, the knowledge and attainment mentioned above, that we may merit to come to the tachlis, like Moshe, our teacher, peace be upon him, who, due to the greatness of his virtue, was able to illuminate even in the lowest of the low, even in a maidservant, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Mekhilta, Beshalach, Parsha 6; Rashi, Exodus 15; Zohar, Beshalach 55, Vayikra 22): A maidservant saw at the sea what Yechezkel the prophet did not see [3]. Behold, even Yechezkel, who was such a great prophet, did not see what a maidservant saw in the days of Moshe. And all this is due to the greatness of the virtue of the leader, who was Moshe, our teacher, the leader, and he was able to illuminate even in the aspect of raglayim. That even the raglayim, which are far from the moach [mind], even so, they too can attain and know the tachlis, through the works of Hashem that He created in this lowly world, as mentioned above. For through the greatness of the leader, he can draw the moach even to the raglayim. And then it can be that these raglayim are greater than another moach.

And this is: “Come, behold”. Lechu [come] specifically, that is, the aspect of raglayim, which are the instruments of walking, even they shall behold the works of Hashem who has made shamos in the earth. That is, the deeds of Hashem that He placed in this earth, that is, in this lowly world, that through the works of Hashem in this lowly earth, one can know and attain the tachlis. And this is: “Who has made shamos in the earth”, that is, the tachlis, which is the aspect of שֵׁמוֹת [names], the acronym: תַּchlis מַaseh שָׁmayim וָaretz [purpose of the work of heaven and earth], in the aspect of: “A living soul, it is his name” (Genesis 2:7), [and as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Berachos 7): “Do not read shamos [desolations], but shemos [names]”]; that is, the world of neshamos, which is the tachlis, is clothed and connected to this lowly earth, that through this lowly world, specifically through it, one is compelled to attain the tachlis, as mentioned above. And in truth, it is a very wondrous and awesome innovation that the attainment of the tachlis, which is such a lofty thing to attain Him, blessed be He, depends specifically on the creatures of the lowly world. And all the neshamos are compelled to pass through this world to attain the tachlis. For Moshiach ben David does not come until all the neshamos in the body are exhausted (Yevamos 62) [4]. For all of them are compelled to come to this lowly world to attain the tachlis through it, as mentioned above. It is found that all of them are the aspect of needing the creatures, that they need the creatures of the world to attain the tachlis through them, as mentioned above.

And it is fitting for us to say this with bechiyah [weeping], with a third of tears, to weep and to long, to request and beseech before Him, blessed be He, when will we merit this, that we will have this daas [knowledge/consciousness], that we can know and recognize the Creator, blessed be He, from every single thing of this world in its detailed particulars, as mentioned above, until the tachlis, as mentioned above. And according to our lowly level now, and all of us, our faces are not beautiful at all [5], we need that Hashem, blessed be He, have mercy on us to give us a leader, a faithful shepherd, who can illuminate in us the knowledge mentioned above, so that we can serve Him, blessed be He, as is fitting and come to the tachlis, as mentioned above.

The six days are the beginning, in which everything was created, and Shabbos is the end and the tachlis, and so forth. And certainly, there is a difference between the creatures, for certainly there is a difference between what was created earlier and what was created on the sixth day, which is closer to Shabbos. And it is stated in books (Zohar, Vayakhel 204) [6], that “Six days Hashem made the heavens and the earth” (Exodus 31:17), that even the six days themselves were created, and they are in the secret of a circle to the inner point, which is Shabbos. But even so, there are differences.

What our Sages, of blessed memory, said: It is better for a person not to have been created than to have been created (Eruvin 13), and similarly what is written: “And better than both is he who has not yet been” (Ecclesiastes 4:3)—the matter is astonishing: If so, why was he created? And certainly, these things are said only regarding this world, that according to the troubles of this world and the yissurim [sufferings] that people endure in this world, every single one, certainly it would have been better if he had not been created at all. But in the World to Come, certainly it is better that he was created, for through this specifically, one comes to the tachlis, as mentioned above. And even in this world—one hour of repentance and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come (Avos, Chapter 4).

Nisan is the New Year for kings (Rosh Hashanah 2), and then all the kings above are appointed, and certainly, gifts are given to every single one who is appointed. And may Hashem, blessed be He, give us also a king and leader, a faithful shepherd, who can illuminate in us, and so forth, as mentioned above. And we are the people who are at Your feet—those who follow Your counsel, who conduct themselves after the leader. And who will grant that we have a leader like Moshe, our teacher, peace be upon him, and so forth, as mentioned above. (All this pertains to Torah 39.)