And the additional radiation and effluence is first bestowed upon [the Sefirah of Chochmah, which is] the first of the Ten Sefirot.
וזה הוא: וכובע ישועה בראשו
This is the meaning of [the above-quoted phrase], “and a helmet of salvation (ישועה) upon his head.”
ישועה הוא מלשון: וישע ה׳ אל הבל ואל מנחתו
For ישועה shares a root with וישע, which is the verb in the phrase,18 “And G‑d turned toward Abel and his gift.”
The word yeshuah thus means “turning toward” and (by extension) “drawing down.”
והוא ירידת האור והשפע דש״ע נהורין שבזוהר הקדוש
This alludes to the drawing down of the light and abundance of the shin-ayin nehorin, the “three-hundred-and-seventy lights” spoken of in the holy Zohar.19
This light is much loftier than the Ten Sefirot of Atzilut: The letter shin, whose numerical value is 300, alludes to the three intellectual faculties of ChaBaD insofar as they exist at the spiritual level termed “hundreds”; the letter ayin, whose numerical value is 70, hints at the seven emotive attributes, each of which incorporates ten elements. This lofty illumination — the “helmet of salvation” — is drawn down upon the “head”, i.e., the beginning, of the Ten Sefirot.
וכמו שכתוב: יאר ה׳ פניו אליך
As it is written,20 “May G‑d make His Face (i.e., His inner being) shine upon you” — upon His people in this lowly world.
יאר פניו אתנו סלה
[It is also written]:21 “May He make His Face (i.e., His inner being) shine with us forever.”
אתנו: הוא על ידי מעשה הצדקה
[That which ensures that this Divine light be] “with us,” is the practice of charitable deeds.
וזה הוא: זורע צדקות מצמיח ישועות
And this is the meaning of the phrase,22 “He who sows tzedakot (‘charities’) brings forth yeshuot (‘salvations’)”; i.e., the distribution of charity results in the salvation brought about by the light of the above-mentioned shin-ayin nehorin.
* * *
וככה יאר ה׳ פניו אליהם
So23 may G‑d make His Face shine upon you,
צדקתם עומדת לעד
and24 “your tzedakah shall endure forever.”
That which is revealed now as a result of an act of tzedakah is merely the “fruit”; the essence of the reward is revealed only at the Time to Come, at the time of the Revival of the Dead — and until that time it remains concealed. Only then will the light of sovev kol almin truly permeate and clothe itself within this world, as explained below in Epistle 32.
וקרנם תרום בישועת מצמיח קרן ישועה, צמח צדקה מהכובע ישועה הנ״ל
May your horn (i.e., power) be exalted by the salvation (yeshuah) of the One25 “Who causes the horn of salvation to sprout” — by a sprouting of the tzedakah [which G‑d does for His people], from the “helmet of salvation” mentioned above,
כנפש תדרשנו
as26 is the wish of one who seeks Him.
——— ● ———
Footnotes
1.Yeshayahu 59:17.
2.The Hebrew word means both “charity” (its primary meaning in this work) and “righteousness”.
3.“This recalls the Alter Rebbe’s interpretation of the teaching, דע מה למעלה: ממך — ‘Know [that] that which is Above [comes about] from you’ (HaYom Yom, entry for 13 Iyar).” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
4.Bava Batra 9b.
5.“As explained below, in Epistle 29.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
6.Parentheses appear in the original text.
7.Ch. 48.
8.“Cf. [Tanya] Part I, ch. 41. However, we cannot say that [the Alter Rebbe] intended to indicate this chapter, for if this were so he would have added ‘in Likkutei Amarim,’ as he had just done in this same epistle with regard to sovev kol almin.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
9.See below, Epistle 29.
10.Kiddushin 39b.
11.“[The level termed ‘Body’ is] infinitely lower than its soul — the Ein Sof-light.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
12.“The reference is evidently to Part II, chs. 8-9, which furnishes a more extensive explanation of this subject than is offered here. Even less explanation than here is offered in the Alter Rebbe’s Note to Part I, ch. 2; it is thus clear that the above reference cannot be to this source. It is true that in Iggeret HaTeshuvah, ch. 4 (and elsewhere), the Alter Rebbe when applicable specifies ‘Part II’ of Likkutei Amarim — but this is done only where he wishes to cite an exact location, as we see from his concluding words (‘ch. 11’). This is not the case here.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
13.Kiddushin 40a.
14.
“It would seem that the Alter Rebbe omitted [the Sefirah of] Netzach. Furthermore, what does he mean by ‘etc.’?“
The above alignment evidently follows Zohar II (98a-b, cited in Tzemach Tzedek on Tehillim 104:1), in which majesty (hod), splendor (hadar) and gladness (chedvah) correspond respectively to [the three Sefirot of] Netzach, Hod and Yesod. (According to what is stated there we may also understand why the Alter Rebbe used these three appelations rather than Netzach, Hod and Yesod.) As to the concluding ‘etc.’, this possibly refers to the Sefirah of Malchut, which is the end product — the ‘etc.’— of the foregoing Sefirot.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
15.Tehillim 48:2.
16.Parentheses appear in the original text.
17.See above, Iggeret HaTeshuvah, ch. 4.
18.Bereishit 4:4.
19.See Zohar I, 4b; III, 133b; et passim.
20.Bamidbar 6:25.
21.Tehillim 67:2.
22.Liturgy, Morning Prayers.
23.
“Here begins the Alter Rebbe’s request to those who received the letter — those who were to give the charity.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
In the original, the recipients of the letter are here addressed in the polite third person of classical Hebrew — “upon them,” “their tzedakah,” and so forth.
24.Cf. Tehillim 112:3.
25.Cf. Liturgy, weekday Shemoneh Esreh.
26.Cf. Eichah 3:25.
