Chasidut · Breslov

Likutei Halakhot, Orach Chaim, Laws of Morning Conduct 1:4/ליקוטי הלכות·אורח חיים·הלכות השכמת הבוקר א׳:ד׳

אוְאָז כְּשֶׁנִּתְרַצָּה הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ לְמשֶׁה עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁמָּצָא טוֹב בְּכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲפִלּוּ אַחַר מַעֲשֵׂה הָעֵגֶל כַּנַּ״ל, כִּי מֹשֶׁה הָיָה כֻּלּוֹ טוֹב, בִּבְחִינַת (שמוֹת ב, ב): ״וַתֵּרֶא אוֹתוֹ כִּי טוֹב הוּא״, וְעַל־כֵּן הָיָה לוֹ כֹּחַ תָּמִיד לִמְצֹא הַטּוֹב בְּכָל אֶחָד אֲפִלּוּ בְּהַפּוֹשְׁעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כַּנַּ״ל, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה נִתְרַצָּה הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ כַּנַּ״ל, וַאֲזַי צִוָּה לָהֶם עַל מְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן, שֶׁיָּבִיא כָּל אֶחָד נִדְבַת לִבּוֹ לִמְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן, כִּי הָיָה מְעוֹרֵר הַטּוֹב שֶׁבְּכָל אֶחָד, וְכָל אֶחָד כְּפִי הַטּוֹב שֶׁהָיָה לוֹ – הֵבִיא נִדְבַת לִבּוֹ הַטּוֹב לִמְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן.

1CONSTRUCTING A MISHKANReb Noson concludes his explanation of Moshe’s ability to find good even in the least worthy Jew, and how Moshe then used those good points to construct the Mishkan as a tikkun for their sin with the golden calf.And so HaShem became favorably disposed towards Moshe as a result of his finding good in every Jew even after the incident of the golden calf. For Moshe was the embodiment of good, as expressed in the verse “She saw that he was good.”²⁴ And therefore Moshe had the inherent ability to always find the good in everyone—even in the willful sinners of the Jewish people. Through this HaShem was placated, and then He commanded the Jewish people regarding the construction of the Mishkan as a tikkun for their sin. Each Jew was to contribute towards the Mishkan’s construction according to the generosity of his heart. For Moshe would rouse the good in each person, and each person, commensurate with his good, contributed to the construction of the Mishkan according to the generosity of his good heart.

בכִּי הַמִּשְׁכָּן נִבְנָה מִכָּל הַטּוֹב שֶׁנִּתְבָּרֵר מִכָּל אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת (שמות כה, ג-ד): ״זהָָב וָכֶסֶף וּנְחשֶֹׁת וּתְכֵלֶת וְאַרְגָמָן וְתוֹלַעַת שָׁנִי וְכוּ׳״ – שֶׁהֵבִיא כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד כְּפִי הַנְּקֻדָּה טוֹבָה שֶׁלּוֹ, כִּי זָהָב וָכֶסֶף וּנְחֹשֶׁת וּתְכֵלֶת וְכוּ׳, הֵם בְּחִינַת הַגְּוָנִין עִלָאִין, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת הַטּוֹב שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּכָל אֶחָד מִיּשְִׂרָאֵל.

2For the Mishkan was constructed from all the good that had been refined from every single Jew. This is the significance of the Torah’s enumeration of their gifts as “gold and silver and copper, and sky-blue and dark red and crimson.” Each person brought a gift that was congruous with his own good point. Kabbalah teaches that “gold and silver and copper, and sky-blue …” allude to the supernal colors,²⁵ (10:1), Rabbi Moshe Cordovero teaches that these colors represent the sefirot, the Divine attributes through which the infinite and unknowable God makes Himself known to His creation. They are called “colors” because each holy attribute has its own distinct characteristic and hue; each sefirah reveals a different dimension of HaShem as He relates to this world. Therefore revealing the supernal colors reveals Godliness, which, as we have seen previously, is synonymous with the good points inside each and every Jew. which are themselves representative of the good inside each and every Jew.

גשֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת ״יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר בְּךָ אֶתְפָּאָר״ (ישעיה מט, ג), שֶׁהֵם כְּלוּלִים מִגְּוָנִין סַגִּיאִין (סימן כה), הַיְנוּ הַנְּקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּכָל אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁהֵם כְּלוּלִים מִגְּוָנִין סַגִּיאִין, כִּי יֵשׁ בְּכָל אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל נְקֻדָּה טוֹבָה, אֲפִלּוּ בְּהַפְּחוּתִים שֶׁבָּהֶם, מַה שֶּׁאֵין בַּחֲבֵרוֹ, כַּמְבֹאָר בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר (לקוטי מוהר״ן חלק א׳ סימן לד). וְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ מִתְפָּאֵר בָּהֶם כַּנַּ״ל.

3This is the import of HaShem’s praise for the Jewish people, “Israel, in you etpa’er.” The Hebrew term for “pride,” pe’er, also connotes “splendor,” especially as it manifests through the beauty of color.²⁶,פאר splendor) of the supernal colors—i.e. the Jewish people’s good points— I take ,אתפאר) HaShem says, “Israel, in you etPa’ER pride). Pe’ER is also etymologically similar to tiPhERet beauty). The sefirah of Tiferet, because it is ,תפארת) inclusive of all the colors, is called “encompassing beauty” (Sefer Gerushin #38). See also LM I, 25:4 and II, 67:5. HaShem takes pride in the Jewish people because they are made up of a multitude of colors. These are the good points inside every Jew, which are likewise inclusive of many colors. For each Jew, even the least worthy among them, has a good point that is unique, and so not found in his companion. As Rebbe Nachman has explained elsewhere, on account of each Jew’s unique good point, his unique color, HaShem takes pride in all of them—i.e. in the splendor of their encompassing beauty.²⁷

דוְזֶה בְּחִינַת הַגְּוָנִין שֶׁהָיוּ בְּבֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ וְהַמִּשְׁכָּן, בְּחִינַת ״זָהָב וָכֶסֶף וְכוּ׳״, שֶׁהֵבִיא כָּל אֶחָד מִנִּדְבַת לִבּוֹ הַטּוֹב, כִּי שָׁם הָיוּ כְּלוּלִים כָּל הַנְּקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת גְּוָנִין עִלָּאִין שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּכָל אֶחָד מִיּשְִׂרָאֵל.

4This relates as well to the colors that were in the Beit HaMikdash, and before that, in the Mishkan—the concept of the “gold and silver …” that each Jew contributed according to the generosity of his good heart. For all the numerous good points, which are synonymous with all the different supernal colors inside every Jew, were included there.

הוְעַל־כֵּן אַחַר מַעֲשֵׂה הָעֵגֶל שֶׁאָז הֻצְרַךְ מֹשֶׁה לְחַפֵּשׂ וְלִמְצֹא הַנְּקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּכָל אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל כַּנַּ״ל, עַל־כֵּן אָז דַּיְקָא נִצְטַוּוּ עַל מְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן, כִּי הַמִּשְׁכָּן נִבְנָה מִזֶּה, מִנְּקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת הַנַּ״ל, כַּנַּ״ל. וְזֶהוּ: ״שְׁחוֹרָה אֲנִי – בְּמַעֲשֵׂה הָעֵגֶל, וְנָאוָה אֲנִי – בִּמְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן״, הַיְנוּ בַּנְּקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת שֶׁאֲנִי מוֹצֵא בְּעַצְמִי שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת מְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן כַּנַּ״ל.

5Therefore it was specifically after the incident of the golden calf, when Moshe had to search out and find the good points that exist inside every single Jew, that they were tasked with constructing the Mishkan.²⁸ 31:18 comments, “The incident of the golden calf preceded the commandment to erect the Mishkan by many days.” He explains there that it took Moshe from the Seventeenth of Tammuz, the day he broke the Tablets, until Yom Kippur to reconcile HaShem towards the Jewish people. On the day after Yom Kippur they began collecting the people’s contributions for erecting the Mishkan. For the Mishkan was built from these good points, as in the midrashic teaching cited above, “‘I am black’—because of the incident of the golden calf—‘but I am pleasing’—because of the construction of the Mishkan.” That is, by virtue of the good points I still find inside myself, which conceptually are the materials for the construction of the Mishkan.

ווְכֵן מוּבָן בְּדִבְרֵי רַבֵּנוּ זַ״ל הַנַּ״ל – שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי הַטּוֹב שֶׁמּוֹצְאִין בְּכָל אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה נִבְנָה הַמִּשְׁכָּן, וְעַל־כֵּן זֶה שֶׁיָּכוֹל לִמְצֹא כָּל הַטּוֹב שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת חַזָּן כַּנַּ״ל, הוּא יוֹדֵע כָּל הַבְּחִינוֹת שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּעִנְיַן הַמִּשְׁכָּן שֶׁל כָּל אֶחָד מֵהַצַּדִּיקִים הַנַּ״ל, עַיֵּן שָׁם, כִּי עִקַּר בִּנְיַן הַמִּשְׁכָּן הוּא עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה, עַל־יְדֵי הַטּוֹב הַנַּ״ל.

6Likewise, it is understood by the Rebbe’s words in his lesson that through the good found in every single Jew, a mishkan is constructed. And so, that tzaddik who is capable of finding all the good that exists in the entire Jewish people— who conceptually is the chazan, as explained above—he can comprehend all the concepts related to the mishkan of each of the generation’s tzaddikim. Study the Rebbe’s words there, that this mishkan is constructed primarily from that aforementioned good.

זוּבָזֶה מְקֻשָּׁרִים הֵיטֵב דִּבְרֵי רַבֵּנוּ זַ״ל הַנַּ״ל, עַיֵּן שָׁם הֵיטֵב.

7With this the Rebbe’s words in the opening section of his lesson, where he discusses finding the good points, are well-connected with what he teaches at its end about constructing a mishkan. Study there well.Reb Noson has shown that “dawn” represents a person’s good point, which, once roused, is used by the tzaddik to build a “mishkan”—a dwelling for the Shekhinah in this world, and a source for the pure breath that enables a person to study Torah in purity and holiness.