Likkutei Sichos Vol. 35 – Bereishis 2
1. After the account of the creation of the world, of man and so on, Parshas Bereishis tells of the offspring and descendants of Adam's two sons, Kayin and Shes. On the plain level, they are opposite extremes. Kayin represents the opposite of building the world: he killed Hevel and became "a wanderer and a fugitive in the land." From Shes, on the other hand, the world was founded (hushtas), for after the Flood the world was rebuilt through Noach, a descendant of Shes.
And here we find something remarkable: each of them had a descendant named Chanoch — Kayin's son, and one of Shes's descendants — and in each, the Torah stresses something opposite to his forebear. Of Chanoch the son of Kayin it says, "And he (Kayin) was building a city, and he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Chanoch." Of Chanoch the descendant of Shes it says, "And Chanoch walked with G‑d, and he was no more, for G‑d had taken him." That is, regarding Chanoch the son of Kayin the Torah stresses "building" and permanence (the opposite of what Kayin represents), whereas regarding the Chanoch who came from Shes it states explicitly the opposite of permanence (the opposite of the world being founded): "and he was no more."
This also needs explanation. Obviously, all the details the Torah relates and spells out in the account of "the generations of Adam" bear on the continuation of Adam's line through the generations that followed. Put simply: since the Torah tells only these particular details out of what happened over more than a thousand years — although many things happened during that time — it is clear that only these details matter for the continuation of the generations. On this basis, a question arises. That the Torah specifies of Chanoch, a descendant of Shes, "And Chanoch walked with G‑d, and he was no more, for G‑d had taken him," is understandable on the plain level (in addition to the exposition of Chazal), since this is part of the account of the succession of those generations, of each of whom it says, "And all the days of… were… and he died." It therefore specifies regarding Chanoch that with him it was different: "and he was no more, for G‑d had taken him." But what is said about Chanoch the son of Kayin — "And he was building a city, and he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Chanoch" — is not understood: how does this bear on the continuation of the generations of Adam?
[The Midrash on this verse says that here too the verse comes to tell of Kayin's disgrace ("Their inward thought is that their houses shall last forever… What do the wicked think?…"). Likewise, according to several commentators on the Torah, this indicates his evil deeds ("for it does not say 'and he built a city,' as it says 'and he built Nineveh,' and so on, for all his days he was building the city, because his deeds were cursed and he built little with toil and labor, and he wandered and roamed from that place," and so on). But at first glance, the plain sense of the verses does not imply this. Nor does Rashi's wording — he says simply, "And Kayin was building a city, and he called the name of the city in memory of his son Chanoch" (although in many places in the parshah he explains why various details are told) — imply that this is part of the account of his disgrace and failing; on the contrary, it is a matter of building.]
All the more so according to the Zohar, that "Torah" means "instruction" (hora'ah): clearly this too holds an instruction for all generations.
2. On the plain level, one could say:
This verse, "And Kayin knew… and she bore Chanoch, and he was building a city…," follows the account of Kayin's teshuvah — he said, "My sin is too great to bear" — and of his punishment and so on: "And Kayin went out from before G‑d…," meaning that he went out joyful, for his teshuvah had been accepted.
This is what the verse teaches by telling of the birth of his son Chanoch and the building of the city: in the avodah of teshuvah it is not enough to confess and acknowledge the sin ("My sin is too great to bear"), nor even to suffer the punishment G‑d decreed — up to exile: "and he dwelt in the land of Nod — the land where all exiles wander," "for exile atones for sin, because it causes him to be humbled and become meek and lowly of spirit." Rather, one must take action, "to do some mitzvah that is the opposite of the sin he committed… for thereby his wrong is set right." Having destroyed one life, he brought another life into the world: "And Kayin knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Chanoch."
Moreover, he went on to build the world: "And he was building a city, and he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Chanoch." He thus emphasized and publicized the order of teshuvah: it is not enough to "cry out constantly before G‑d with weeping and supplication," and so on; one must also bring about "building" in the world outside oneself — which calls for a movement opposite to the humility and lowliness of spirit of the baal teshuvah.
And just as we learn from him the very idea of teshuvah (as the Midrash says, Adam HaRishon learned "the power of teshuvah" from Kayin), so too the content and continuation of this verse teach the way of teshuvah.
On this basis, the contrast in the second Chanoch (the descendant of Shes) is also explained: "And Chanoch walked with G‑d… and all the days of Chanoch were… and Chanoch walked with G‑d, and he was no more, for G‑d had taken him." Here the verse teaches us that when a person's conduct is only avodah for himself, it is not the desired avodah, since it has no effect on the world — to the point that his own days were shorter than those of other people at that time; he was taken before his time.
3. This lesson, however, comes from interpreting the verses in their plain sense, as speaking of teshuvah for Kayin's very grave sin. But according to the inner dimension of things, (the root of) the aspect of Kayin is very lofty from the moment he was born — he was called Kayin after "I have acquired (kanisi) a man with G‑d" — and the whole account of Kayin from his birth, as the verse relates it, since "the Torah speaks essentially of the higher realms," is on a very lofty level.
One may therefore say that the lesson of these verses regarding Chanoch the son of Kayin, and regarding Chanoch the descendant of Shes, applies not only to the avodah of the baal teshuvah but to the avodah of every Jew, in every place and at every time (and this also bears on the fact that both were named Chanoch). This is all the more so according to what the Tzafnas Pa'neach writes on the verse "This is the book of the generations of Adam": "Everything that happened then is forever — so in the individual man, as in the general man… for everything written is not for its time only; rather, every moment it is a new reality."
4. The explanation:
In creation as a whole we find two eras: the era before the Flood, which had no permanence — "all existence was wiped out" — and the era after the Flood, when permanence was established in the world, in the manner of "they shall not cease." Similarly, within the period after the Flood itself there are two eras: the generations before the Giving of the Torah and those after it. Before the Giving of the Torah the world was in a state of "the earth feared"; after the Giving of the Torah it entered a state of "and was still."
We find the counterpart of these two eras (and states) in the avodah of the Jewish people after the Giving of the Torah as well [moreover, all this is part of "This is the book of the generations of Adam" told in the Torah — that is, it is an eternal instruction for every Jew until the end of all generations]. In the service of G‑d there are, in general, two paths: avodah like that of Ben Azzai, who did not engage in sustaining the world — he did not marry, and said, "What shall I do? My soul desires Torah" — and the avodah of those who engage in settling and sustaining the world. In the language of Chassidus: the avodah of ratzo ("running" — going beyond the bounds of the world) and the avodah of shov ("returning" — coming back to engage with the matters of the world).
For although the proper order of the service of G‑d is to engage in settling the world (and "whoever does not engage in being fruitful and multiplying… is as if he sheds blood and diminishes the Divine image"), nevertheless "this is only the counsel of the Sages, who direct a person to the right path to choose for himself; but there is no prohibition at all in the matter if he wishes to study Torah all his days and not marry at all, like Ben Azzai." Thus this conduct, too, is in keeping with the Torah.
In more detail, the service of G‑d as a whole contains these two lines and movements, as we find in all three pillars — Torah, avodah (prayer) and acts of kindness (mitzvos):
In Torah: there are two ways of studying Torah. Study in the manner of "to make the Torah great and glorious — expound and receive reward," and study in order to arrive at the practical conclusion of the halachah.
In finer detail: studying Torah for its own sake, "so that our souls become bound up with the essence, spirituality and holiness of the source from which the Torah issues… cleaving to its holiness and to His Shechinah" (as the Bach explains at length on the meaning of the blessing over the Torah), and studying for the sake of fulfilling the mitzvos — "to know the deed that they should do."
In prayer: one of the essentials of prayer is the intention that a person "see himself as if he stands before the Shechinah," and "the pious and men of deeds would seclude themselves and concentrate in their prayer until they reached the divestment of physicality and the ascendancy of the intellectual spirit, until they came close to the level of prophecy." The content of the mitzvah of prayer is to ask the Holy One, blessed be He, for one's needs — that He fill one's lacks and grant one's requests, down to one's physical needs: "Who heals the sick," "Who blesses the years."
In mitzvos: fulfilling the mitzvos for their own sake, to give pleasure to one's Maker — "that I commanded and My will was done" — up to the ultimate perfection in this, the avodah of "with all your might (me'odecha)," beyond measure and limit; and fulfilling the mitzvos "to refine the creations," for the sake of the refinement and purification of the world — an avodah that must be done in an orderly way, in keeping with the bounds of the world.
The source of these two modes of conduct, in their positive sense, lies in the two lines of the generations of Adam — in their positive sense — Kayin and Shes:
Kayin and his descendants had no permanence; he is the root and general source of the state of the world before the Giving of the Torah, and of avodah like that of Ben Azzai, which is above the order and settlement of the world. Shes and his descendants — from whom the world was founded through Noach, of whom it says, "This one will comfort us from our work…" — are the root and general source within "the generations of Adam" of the state of the world after the Giving of the Torah, and, within the service of G‑d itself, of the avodah of settling and sustaining the world.
5. On this basis we can explain the lesson of the fact that Kayin had a son named Chanoch and built a city by that name, while among the descendants of Shes there was also a son named Chanoch, of whom however it says, "And Chanoch walked with G‑d, and he was no more, for G‑d had taken him." We learn from this that each of the two movements above must include the avodah of the other kind as well. With Kayin, whose way is going beyond the bounds of the world, there is the avodah of "building a city" — the order of building. And in the order of Shes, from whom the world was founded, there is also the avodah of "And he walked… with G‑d, and he was no more" — above the world.
The explanation, in Torah, prayer and mitzvos:
Even one whose main study is in the manner of "to make the Torah great and glorious — expound and receive reward" must also study to arrive at the practical conclusion of the halachah. Likewise, together with occupying oneself with Torah in order to cleave to its holiness, there must be study in order "to know the deed that they should do" [similar to the general principle regarding Torah and mitzvos, that "whoever says, 'I have only Torah,' does not even have Torah"; rather there must be Torah and acts of kindness]. And conversely, in avodah that proceeds in order and by stages — in study to arrive at the practical halachah and study in order to know the deed — there must be a felt element of studying to make the Torah great and to cleave to its holiness, and so on.
So too in prayer: even at the height of attachment and divestment of physicality in prayer, the aim must be to have an effect on the world outside oneself. As is known from Chazal's teaching that one who prays should direct "his eyes downward and his heart upward": even at the height of attachment and ratzo in prayer, the aim must be that his avodah and the powers of his soul should have an effect as he is down below after prayer — "his eyes downward." And likewise, when asking for one's needs in prayer, one must feel the utmost bittul and attachment of one who stands before G‑d "like a servant before his master."
The same is true of mitzvos. Even when one performs mitzvos with mesirus nefesh and with the great love of "with all your might," one must fulfill the mitzvos physically and in an orderly way. And conversely, even while engaged in orderly avodah — refining and purifying one's animal soul and refining the world — one must feel the ratzo of "with all your might."
6. On this basis we can also explain the allusion in the name "Chanoch":
"Chanoch" is related to chinuch, education. Outwardly, education is not a goal and end in itself — as with the mitzvah of chinuch, where the aim is that the child grow up and then fulfill the mitzvos as one obligated in them. Yet inwardly, education is the foundation of a person's whole life, as it is written, "Educate (chanoch) a child according to his way; even when he grows old he will not depart from it." For the true meaning of education is not only that the child learn, but that he become accustomed to and enter into holiness — that his soul become bound to holiness and to the Holy One, blessed be He. Therefore, "even when he grows old" and rises in the service of G‑d and the fulfillment of the mitzvos, "he will not depart from it"; this gives permanence and strength to his fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos in every situation.
That is, the avodah of settling and building included within the avodah of ratzo in Torah, prayer and mitzvos (the aspect of Kayin), and conversely, the avodah of ratzo ("And he walked… with G‑d, and he was no more") included within the avodah of settling the world (the aspect of Shes), is not merely a detail secondary to the main avodah. It is the very foundation of one's avodah, and it is what gives permanence to one's avodah — like education.
For although these are two opposite movements — a movement of relating to the matters and bounds of the world (study in order to know the deed, asking for one's needs, refining the world), and a movement of ascent, attachment and ratzo — which cannot both exist together in a person, nevertheless, since each depends on the other, it is clear that in practice they can exist together. This is not by virtue of the created being, but by virtue of the Creator's power within this avodah — like education, whose inner content is bittul and an essential bond with the Holy One, blessed be He.
7. The explanation of this:
Arriving at the halachah — reaching the practical conclusion of the halachah — happens when one reaches a higher level in the study and understanding of Torah. And in avodah as well: to arrive at the halachah, one must have bittul to G‑dliness, as Chazal say, "and Havayah is with him — the halachah is in accordance with him": specifically the Name Havayah, which is higher than the Name Elokim, brings it about that "the halachah is in accordance with him." As is explained elsewhere, to arrive at the halachah in actual practice one's study must proceed from perfect yiras Shamayim.
So too with prayer. The necessity that even while asking for one's needs one be in a state of bittul is not because bittul and the like is one thing that assists and strengthens another thing, but because in its depth and inner meaning it is a single thing. As the Maggid explains on "One may stand to pray only in a solemn frame of mind": "Although he asks for his own needs, his intention should be that the thing not be lacking Above, G‑d forbid, for the soul is a part of G‑d Above and is one of the limbs of the Shechinah, and this is the essence of the request — that it be filled and bestowed Above." And as is explained elsewhere, the fact that in asking for one's needs one must feel that the aim is that G‑d's will be fulfilled and the lack of the Shechinah be filled — these are not two things; rather, the fulfillment of one's request for one's needs comes about through the filling, as it were, of the lack Above, since one is truly a part of G‑d Above.
So too in fulfilling the mitzvos. The effect on one's animal soul and on one's portion in the world, in refining and purifying them, is complete when one feels that one's true place and level is not below but above — as the soul is "embraced by You and cleaving to You," and has no connection whatsoever with the needs of the body and the world (not even for the sake of refining them). Specifically then does one's avodah in fulfilling the mitzvos have the power to affect the animal soul and the world, refining and purifying them.
And just as in the avodah of shov, for its completeness and proper permanence it must contain the feeling of ratzo, so too the other way: the fact that in the movement of ratzo, the utmost attachment to G‑dliness, there must also be the movement of shov is not only so that the ratzo should have permanence (for without it one could leave one's vessels entirely in order to cleave to G‑d, and no effect in Torah and mitzvos would come of it). Rather, it bears on the very movement of ratzo itself. For the touchstone that one's running toward G‑d is genuine — and not merely because "the nearness of G‑d is good for me," to quench one's thirsting soul — is when together with it there is the movement of shov: one tears oneself away from one's great attachment to G‑d and descends below to fulfill the will of the Holy One, blessed be He. In Torah, this is study to arrive at the practical halachah, "to know the deed that they should do"; and likewise in prayer and mitzvos, to work with one's body, one's animal soul and one's portion in the world, refining and purifying them.
Moreover, this is not only the touchstone of the soul's attachment; through it, the ratzo and one's attachment to G‑d are elevated and perfected — and the soul even ascends higher than it was before its descent below.
8. These two matters are especially connected with Parshas Bereishis, which speaks of the creation and coming into being of the world. For the word of G‑d that gives life to the worlds at every moment, too (as in the well-known teaching of the Baal Shem Tov on the verse "Forever, O G‑d, Your word stands firm in the heavens": Your word that You said, "Let there be a firmament…," stands and endures forever within the firmament of the heavens to give them life, and so in all the created beings in all the worlds, higher and lower) — its attachment to its source is in the manner of ratzo and shov. As explained in many places, the G‑dly power that brings the created beings into being and gives them life is a "separate" power, since G‑dly life-force that is attached to its source and is not a thing unto itself cannot produce any effect, all the more so be invested in created beings and bring them into being. Therefore creation comes specifically from the Ten Utterances, which are the G‑dly power as it has become separate, as it were, from its source. On the other hand, a separate power does not have the ability to create something from nothing, for creation of something from nothing is only within His power and ability, since He has no cause or reason that preceded Him, G‑d forbid. Therefore, in order to bring the created beings into being and give them life, its source in G‑dliness must be felt in it, as that source is above giving room for creation. That is, its attachment is in the manner of ratzo and shov, and thereby it is constantly renewed from its source.
Here too, these are not two different matters that are connected with each other, in the sense that the ratzo affects the level of the shov. Rather, when the word of G‑d from the Ten Utterances is invested in all created beings to bring them into being and sustain them — although on the one hand its nature is a separate power that creates — at the same time it is felt within them that their true place is not as they are a separate power bringing created beings into being, but as they are in their source; and that they are invested below in created beings is only because of the intention of the Essence. It turns out that within the very "place" and state of separation, their attachment to their source is felt.
9. In light of all this, the connection between Parshas Bereishis and Simchas Torah is also understood:
On Simchas Torah the Jewish people are after the avodah and the revelations of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkos, when they rise from ascent to ascent, from below upward; and there is also an inner drawing down from above to below through taking the Four Kinds on Sukkos.
Therefore on Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah the Jewish people are in a state of attachment: they rejoice with the Torah with joy and dancing entirely beyond measure and limit — the level of "Israel and the King alone."
But together with this, and continuing from it, we read Parshas Bereishis — "In the beginning G‑d created the heavens and the earth" — to show that the true attachment of the Jewish people to the Holy One, blessed be He, is in the shov: the Jewish people go out into the world to make for Him a dwelling place in the lower realms, so that the glory of His sovereignty be revealed in the whole world — "and G‑d will be King over all the earth; on that day G‑d will be One and His Name One" — and a new heaven and a new earth will be made, with the coming of Moshiach, speedily and truly in our days.
(From a talk of 20 Menachem Av, 5732)