Likkutei Sichos·Vol. 30·Noach·Sicha 1לקוטי שיחות·כרך ל·נח·שיחה א

It is stated in the Midrash:

"From the beginning of the creation of the world, the praise of the Holy One, Blessed be He, ascended only from the water",

and after the generation of the Flood arose and rebelled against Him,

.

the Holy One, Blessed be He, said, 'Let these depart and stand, and let those come

that dwelt in them previously.'

This is what is written:

'And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.'

According to this it is understood,

that the state of the world when it was flooded with the waters of the Flood is similar to its state

at the "beginning of its creation",

for then "the entire world was water within water",

which is an elevation that is extremely great

— a world that praises

the Holy One,

(for "the praise of the Holy One" ascends from the waters specifically).

And seemingly, this requires explanation:

How does this matter fit

with the simple content of the matter of the waters of the Flood,

that they came "to destroy all flesh"?

In Rashi's commentary we find,

"When He brought them down, He brought them down with mercy; if they would repent, they would be rains of blessing,

and if they did not repent, they became a flood" —

behold, that the bringing down of the waters was "with mercy," so that they would be "rains of blessing."

Indeed,

this was only at the beginning and in the manner of a condition —

if the people of the generation of the flood would "repent" and do teshuva

(then the waters would not destroy the earth, but would be "rains of blessing"),

and since they did not repent, the waters were not "rains of blessing"

but floodwaters;

whereas according to the words of the Midrash it emerges,

that even in actuality, when the floodwaters covered and flooded the world, there was in this a matter of elevation.

It is also known the explanation of the Alter Rebbe,

that the waters of the Flood came

not only to punish the generation of the Flood,

but also in order "to purify the earth",

like purification through a mikveh

[therefore the rain descended forty days, like a mikveh

whose measure is forty se'ah].

Although also according to this explanation,

behold the action of the waters of the Flood —

the purification of the world —

is connected with the sins of the generation of the Flood,

who brought impurity into the world,

and through the Flood

the world was purified from this impurity;

But according to the Midrash,

that the state of the world when it was covered by the waters of the Flood is similar to the state of the world at the beginning of Creation,

when "the entire world was water in water" —

the Flood acts not only as a negation and removal of impurity,

but also a positive matter which is inherently good and holy —

and just as the state of the world ("the entire world was water in water") was at the beginning of its creation,

which was not connected to any matter of sin (nor was it purification from sin),

for there was not yet any existence of sin in the world,

and its entire matter was only "the praise of the Holy One, Blessed Be He".

b. And it can be said,

that in these words of the Midrash

is hinted a foundational and general concept

pertaining to the Torah

— and by way of introduction:

It is known the statement of our Sages

that the Torah is among the things that "preceded the world",

and as they stated: "Two thousand years did the Torah precede the world".

That is to say,

although a verse never loses its plain meaning,

and the "plain meaning" of the words of Torah is specifically as the Torah is learned in this physical world —

nevertheless, "the Torah preceded the world",

for in every single word of the Torah there is (also) an inner, spiritual interpretation,

as the Torah is learned in upper, spiritual worlds

(which are far above physical matters).

And it is understood,

that this general rule applies

not only to the commandments of the Torah,

but also to the narratives of the Torah.

For even though

every narrative in the Torah occurred simply in all its details as recounted in the Torah,

nevertheless,

since the Torah preceded the world,

it must be that even the narratives of the Torah contain spiritual content

in accordance with the reality of the Torah in the upper worlds.

And on the contrary

as the known saying is

that the Torah "speaks primarily of the higher realms and is alluded secondarily in the lower ones":

not only

that words of Torah can be interpreted

also according to their spiritual content

(just as the Torah is "in the higher realms"),

but rather the reverse:

the source and beginning of the Torah is "in the higher realms"

(as it is written: "And I was with Him etc., as delights etc."),

and as our Sages of blessed memory said: "A hidden treasure that was hidden for You," and others),

and from there the Torah "descended" and cascaded down below and into physicality

(in the language of Scripture: "From the heavens I spoke with you"; "From the heavens He made you hear His voice" etc.),

and therefore,

the Torah "primarily" speaks of the higher and spiritual realms,

except that when it "descends" below to this physical world,

it was given to be interpreted in its simple meaning as it is "in the lower realms".

And we find ourselves learning an additional concept:

since with the Holy One, blessed be He,

"no evil shall dwell with You"

— therefore it must be,

that even these matters in the Torah whose simple explanation ("in the lower realms")

are undesirable matters

(improper deeds, punishments, and the like),

behold, in the Torah as it is in the upper realms

(in which the existence of evil is impossible)

they are interpreted in a manner that all of them are holy and good.

And to note from the words of the Rambam

that "There is no difference between...

And Timna was a concubine,

and between I am the Lord your G-d and Hear O Israel,

for everything is from the Almighty (mi-pi ha-gevurah),

and everything is the Torah of the Lord, perfect, pure, holy, and true":

even though the simple intent in these words ("Timna was a concubine")

is to a woman who was at the ultimate descent, etc.,

(to the extent that her birth was in a manner opposed to the fulfillment of the seven Noahide laws (mitzos bnei Noach)),

— the absolute opposite extreme from the holiness of "I am the L-rd your G-d" —

nevertheless, this does not affect the holiness of these words as they are written in the Torah,

to the point that there is no difference at all between the holiness of these words and the holiness of the words "I am the L-rd your G-d",

since "Everything is the Torah of the Lord, perfect, pure, holy, and true."

For the subject of discussion is not the reality of "Timna",

rather the discussion in the Torah concerning her, and this discussion that is in the Torah is perfect, pure, holy, and truly so.

And all the more so, a fortiori, just as the Torah is "in the upper realms",

where the matter of "Timna was a concubine" from the very beginning

is only a spiritual matter

found in a world that is entirely holiness

(since there "evil shall not dwell with You").

3c.

this foundation also explains a story,

seemingly puzzling,

concerning the reading of the "Tochacha"

(in Parshas Ki Savo)

by the Alter Rebbe:

It is related:

Rabbeinu HaZaken himself was the Torah reader.

Once,

he was not in Liozna on Shabbat Parshas Ki Savo,

and the Mittler Rebbe heard

— being still a boy before bar mitzvah —

the reading from another.

The anguish from the curses in the tochachah

brought him to heart pain,

until on Yom Kippur

Rabbeinu HaZaken

was in doubt whether he could fast.

When they asked the Mittler Rebbe,

behold, every year they read this parshah,

he answered:

When Tatya reads, "Hearken not to any curses."

And seemingly this requires explanation:

when Rabbeinu HaZaken read the Torah — with the ultimate precision in all the words and the letters with the vowels and cantellation marks etc. —

certainly the content of the reading was heard according to its simple meaning (in accordance with the rule "a verse never departs from its simple meaning") —

—

and what, therefore, is the explanation in the words of the Admor HaEmtza'i

"when Father reads, one does not feel (hertz zich nit) any curses"?

And the explanation - according to the above:

the matter of the curses in their simple meaning is only as the matter is learned below in the world of Peshat.

However, as "the Torah speaks in the realms above",

in a world that is entirely holiness, which has no connection to the reality of evil (and consequently also not to punishment for evil) -

behold, even these matters (the curses),

their content is solely holiness and blessing.

And as the Alter Rebbe explains regarding the curses in Parshas Bechukosai,

that "in truth they are only blessings",

and the Tzemach Tzedek brings an example of this from the story brought in the Talmud,

that Rashbi sent his son to the Tanaim who happened to be in his place that they should bless him,

however they blessed him "in the language of a curse"

and he was pained by this.

And when he repeated the words of the Tanaim before his father,

he said to him, "all of these are blessings".

And therefore,

when the Alter Rebbe was reading in the Torah,

there was heard in his reading

(by the Mitteler Rebbe)

the content of the explanation of the matters

as "the Torah speaks in the higher realms",

that there (even) the Parshah of Rebuke

is fundamentally a matter

which is entirely good and blessing.

And it is sweetened / according to

what the Alter Rebbe (Admor HaZaken) explains the expression

"reading in the Torah" —

"that through the occupation with the Torah (of a person),

he calls out to the Holy One, Blessed Be He, to come to him, as it were,

like a person calling to his fellow

that he should come to him,

and like a young child calling to his father to come to him to be with him together (b'tzavta chada)"

— and likewise in our matter,

that through the Torah reading of the Alter Rebbe,

he called and drew down the Torah as it is in the higher realms,

by the Holy One, Blessed Be He

(where "evil does not dwell with You", as mentioned above).

And similarly

is the explanation

in the words of the Midrash

concerning the waters of the flood:

This that the Flood came to punish the people of the generation of the Flood,

and also to purify the earth from the impurity of the sins of the generation of the Flood,

this is only as the matter is below and according to its simple meaning;

however, since the matter of the Flood is recounted in the Torah —

it must be said that the matter of the Flood with all its details exists also in the Torah

as it is "in the higher realms", in a "world"

to which no matter of evil and sin pertains.

And this is what the Midrash teaches us,

that the reality of the waters of the Flood

upon the face of all the earth

is also a matter that is entirely holiness --

a parallel to "the beginning of the creation of the world",

when "the entire world was water within water",

for "the praise of the Holy One, Blessed be He, ascended only from the waters".

And one may say,

that this is the inner content

in explaining the aforementioned Alter Rebbe,

that the waters of the Flood were like a mikveh

—

for so we find immersion in a mikveh

that it is only for an addition of holiness

(and not in order to purify from impurity)

[like the immersions of the High Priest on Yom Kippur,

that after the first immersion he was already purified from any concern of impurity,

and all of them are only for an addition of holiness,

that he ascends from level to level in holiness itself],

and so it may be said regarding the waters of the Flood,

that they are analogous to a mikveh:

that the Flood came to purify the earth

from the impurity of the sins of the generation of the Flood,

is only as the matter of the Flood cascaded from above and descended and was found "in the lower realms",

but its matter in the "upper realms" (in a world that is entirely holiness)

is —

the immersion required for ascending from a level in holiness

to a higher level.

A simple example in human life,

even of those who are not of Bnei Yisrael, in this physical and material world:

a father's love for his son --

which is in its truth and strength in the father's heart

and is entirely love and goodness.

When the son sins --

there unfolds from this love that he punishes the son with a rod,

and the greater the love grows in the father's heart --

the greater the son's punishment.

"And whoever spares the rod hates his son."

5.

The explanation of the elevation

of the waters of the Flood —

in greater detail:

The Rambam wrote at the end of Hilchos Mikvaos

that the waters of the mikveh allude to "the pure waters of knowledge";

and just as through immersion in water a person is entirely covered by the waters of the mikveh

until nothing is seen except the waters of the mikveh,

so too it is with the "allusion" in the mikveh: bringing the soul into the waters of knowledge,

that there must be submersion in the "waters of knowledge"

in a way that a person's existence is not seen,

rather only that of the "waters of knowledge" in which he is submerged.

And this is the spiritual content of the matter of the Flood

(when the entire world is covered with water) —

that the entire earth is "submerged" in the waters of da'as

until the existence of the earth is not seen

other than that of "the waters of da'as".

And similarly this is the spiritual content of the waters of the flood in the days of Noah

-

that they came \"to destroy all flesh\"

\"to destroy the earth\"

-

meaning to nullify (\"destroy\")

with a total nullification (of \"fleshiness\" and \"earthiness\")

in the \"waters of knowledge\" (mei daas),

until no reality is seen aside from Him, blessed be He.

And regarding the state of the world in the time to come (le-atid la-bo),

and as the Rambam says at the conclusion and seal of his book,

that "at that time,

there will be no occupation in the whole world other than to know Hashem exclusively."

As it is said, "For the earth is filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea" —

that the state of the world in the time to come (le-atid la-vo) is likened to a "flood" ("as the waters cover the sea"),

that the occupation with "knowing Hashem" ("waters of knowledge") will be in a manner of "the earth is filled with knowledge"

(to the extent that "there will be no occupation in the whole world other than to know Hashem exclusively").

And in this level was the state of the world at the beginning of creation,

when "the entire world was water in water",

and "the praise of the Holy One, Blessed be He, ascended only from the water" —

meaning that the world is not seen at all as an independent reality

(akin to something immersed [the letters of b'vatal] in water),

rather its entire reality is solely the Divine power that brings it into being and sustains it.

And truly,

according to the explanation given regarding the content of the matter of the Flood

(as it is "in the higher realms") —

conversely:

since the matter of the Flood indicates such a great elevation

(that the entire earth is nullified in the "waters of da'at") —

what is the inner content ("in the higher realms")

of the oath of the Holy One, Blessed be He, that "I will not add"

and "there shall not be another flood to destroy the earth"

(and since this oath was written in the Torah, it is understood that it negates

(also, and indeed — truly)

the matter of the Flood according to its aforementioned spiritual content)?

And it can be said

the point of explanation in this:

This that at the beginning of the creation was

"the entire world was water in water" --

it is because still was not created the reality of the dry land;

whereas the matter of the Flood is,

after already was created the reality of the earth,

and as it is in its reality --

cover it the waters.

And the difference between them

(in spiritual terms):

The elevation of "the entire world being water in water"

at the beginning of the creation of the world —

that the world did not appear as an independent reality of its own,

but was nullified entirely to the Divine power sustaining it (as mentioned above) —

was not felt as the world's own reality

(because it was not yet fit for this),

and the elevation of "the entire world being water in water"

was only because of this,

that the dry land (the earth) had not yet been created;

Indeed, the ultimate intent is,

that this nullification be drawn down and activated in the reality of the earth itself.

And this is the precise wording of Scripture

(regarding the future to come):

"The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of Hashem, as the waters cover the sea".

Meaning, not that the earth will be turned into "water",

rather, just as it is in the reality of earth, it will be filled

with "the knowledge of Hashem, as water (with thekaf of comparison) covers the sea".

That is, that the elevation of "as the waters cover the sea"

is within the earth itself.

but in order to bring about this elevation in the earth itself,

there must be the preparation

of the "immersion" of the earth in the "waters of the flood" —

"to destroy the earth",

to temporarily nullify the reality of the earth

until it is completely covered by water;

and this nullification is what gives the power,

that even when afterwards "the earth is dry"

("it becomes a clod as is fitting"),

this nullification is drawn down into the dryness of the earth itself.

And this is also the meaning

of the waters of the Flood (according to their spiritual content)—

that they came to prepare the reality of the world

that it be a "vessel" for this nullification

that will come to revelation in the time to come,

when "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of Hashem, as the waters cover the sea".

Based on this, it is also understood what is written in the Midrash on the verse:

"And the offering of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasing to Hashem, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years" —

"As in the days of old — as the days of Noah".

For it seems astounding:

The verse "And it shall be pleasing to Hashem, etc." refers to the time of the true and complete Redemption, when the world will be in the ultimate state of perfection,

and if so, how is it possible to say that it is "as the days of old — as the days of Noah"?!

Indeed, based on the above, it is understood —

that the beginning of the world's preparation and making it ready for its perfection in the era of Geulah

("full... as water covers the sea")

was in the days of Noah,

through the waters of the Flood that covered the world.

7. According to the above, this is also explained:

that the Holy One, Blessed be He, swore

that "there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth."

The ultimate intent is

that the reality of the world itself,

"He created it for habitation",

and in a manner of "they shall not cease",

just as the world is in its reality, it will be

a vessel for all the most sublime matters,

as mentioned above.

Therefore the Holy One, Blessed be He, did not want the world to remain in the state of "water upon water"

— even though at that time "the praise of the Holy One, Blessed be He, was ascending" —

rather, the Holy One, Blessed be He, restricted this revelation until "the dry land appeared"

— the world as it appears to our eyes.

And since this preparation

and this power were already given in the world

through the immersion in the waters of the Flood,

there is no longer any need "to destroy",

to nullify its existence,

and therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, swore

that "there will never be another flood"

(for, on the contrary, the ultimate intent is that there be the existence of the earth).

Well known are the words of the Shlah,

that in Rashi's commentary on the Torah are hinted "wondrous matters".

And in our matter:

the spiritual elevation of "dry land" (when there is the reality of the earth)

relative to the spiritual elevation of "the waters of the Flood"

(which is along the lines of the elevation of "water in water" at the beginning of Creation)

— is hinted in Rashi's language on the verse "dry land" —

"it became completely dry land":

The waters of the flood allude

to the level of Torah ("waters of knowledge")

as it is still above the reality of the world;

whereas "let the dry land appear"

is the Torah as it descended below

and clothed itself in the matters of the earth —

this world.

And specifically through this " descent" (of the Torah)

to this world

is revealed the part of Halachah in the Torah.

As is known that the Torah is not in heaven,

and the ruling of Halachah can only be through a soul in a body specifically.

For the matter of Halachah is —

the knowledge of how to behave in actual deed,

Halachah for practice.

And so — the matter of the Halachos is

to act upon the world,

in the language of the verse "The ways (halichos) of the world are His",

"Do not read halichos but halachos",

meaning,

that the action of the Torah in the world — "the ways of the world",

is through the Halachos that are in the Torah.

Until the world becomes a pathway.

And it can be said that this is the hint

in Rashi's phrasing

"It was made properly (kahalatchah)"

— from the expression halachah,

that this is the elevation of "dry land"

relative to the waters of the Flood that preceded them,

that through "dry land"

they reach the ultimate intent in the matter of the Torah,

which is the action in the matters of the world

through the halachic portion of the Torah ("properly (kahalatchah)").

9.

The explanation given regarding the Flood

applies also

to the time of year in which Parshas Noach is read

— the beginning of the month of Cheshvan.

The month of Tishrei,

which is "abundant in holidays",

is akin to and elevates the matter of the Flood "in the higher realms":

therein man is submerged and immersed (and nullified)

in matters of goodness and holiness,

to the point "that he forgets" his physical affairs,

and since his thought is solely in spirituality —

even the man's existence (who thinks) is in spiritual matters,

And when we go out from the month of Tishrei to the month of Cheshvan

we read in the Torah the story of the Flood and its conclusion,

to teach us, that the purpose

of the matter of the "Flood" of the month of Tishrei and its completion,

is the state of "dryness of the earth" afterwards,

meaning, that he should draw this nullification

of the "waters of the Flood" into the dryness of the earth.

And simply,

that the purpose of the appointed times of the month of Tishrei is

to draw down the holiness, etc.,

that they drew in this month

into the life of day by day

throughout the entire year "in the land,"

until the service of God

will be (also) in all one's physical matters —

"All your actions shall be for the sake of Heaven,"

and "In all your ways know Him."

And through this service we will merit

the earlier fulfillment of the prophecy

"For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of Hashem, as the waters cover the sea"

very soon indeed.

(From the sichah

of the first

day of Rosh Chodesh

Cheshvan

5746)