Chasidut к Дварим 4:39

They pay no attention to that which the Torah admonishes us (Devarim, 4:39), “You shall know this day and take unto your heart that Hashem is Elo-him,¹²This famous verse expresses the deepest mystery of life, and is among the central tenets of the Hasidic movement. Although this verse was taught by Moshe on the very last day of his physical life, to the Hasidic master, the words are eternally relevant: “know this day.” This knowledge is not merely of the fact of revelation, but the very ongoing act of revelation. Thus, the knowledge is not merely intellectual, but mystical. It is the awareness that the Transcendant God is also immanent, and that the All-Powerful has the capability to reveal something of Himself through the vessels of finite creation. For R. Gershon Henokh, this verse is also the source of faith, which, to the Hasidic masters, was a trans-cognitive faculty that enabled one to breech the opposites of God and reality, infinity and finitude. As R. Gershon Henokh will explain below, faith is the realization God’s mercy and compassion, represented by the ineffable name YHVH is itself E-lohim, representing God’s judgment. God’s Judgment is God’s Mercy. Faith in God’s Goodness in the midst of adversity is the sign of a truly believing person. For God to ask man to know that Hashem is E-lohim requires man to know that there is a spiritual wisdom beneath or beyond the surface of the hard facts of life. This depth of belief opens up the ability to know mysteries of God and the Torah. The notion that God’s judgment is God’s mercy is termed in the Zohar as, “the mystery of faith,” as will be more fully discussed in chapters seven and eight. in the heavens above and on the earth below, there is no other. And you shall guard his statutes …”¹³In other words, knowledge of God’s unity, in heaven and earth, in good and bad, leads one to guard His statutes.

And therefore, when we are waking from sleep, we must wash our hands with water. Water represents knowledge, as in, "the earth will be filled with knowledge as the waters cover the sea bed". Isaiah 11:9. We must evoke the waters of knowledge to evoke order and banish impurity, which is attached to disorder, which has become attached to the hands. The entire power of the forces of evil is only from disorder, when a person is not receiving perfect sustenance from order. This is represented by the darkness of night, by sleep, when the body, which corresponds to night, remains without sustenance from the intellect, which corresponds to day. During this time, the forces of evil are sustained from there, from disorder, become attached specifically to the hands. This is because the above rectification of binding and bridging disorder into order is represented by the Yud, which corresponds to the Kaf, which represents the hands, as in, 'you formed me backward and forward and placed your hand upon me', as brought on the verse "Open your hand". The entire world compared to G-d is in the category of disorder. G-d is exalted beyond all spiritual worlds, and all the worlds are in disorder before Him, since all the worlds are guided by Malchut as explained in the lesson as mentioned above, and the Malchut corresponds to disorder, and said above. This corresponds to "the world was created in the month of Tishri". Rosh Hashanah 27b. Tishri represents tav-shin-resh-kuf, disorder, Malchut. The world was created mainly so that we come to know G-d Zohar II 42B, so that we acquire perfect knowledge, which is knowing G-d. That is the true essence of knowledge, and only that is considered knowledge, as written, "you shall know today and restore to your heart that G-d is the Lord". Deuteronomy 4:39. The main purpose of creation was to bring disorder into order, to elevate all worlds to their root, so that disorder, representing the totality of all worlds, will become brought into order, which is knowledge, specifically the knowledge of G-d. That is the main purpose and what will remain at the very end. Everything else will become nullified into it. But how does one achieve this, binding and elevating all worlds corresponding to disorder, to the roots, into order, which is wisdom and knowledge? This is only possible in this world of action, by means of observing the practical commandments of the Torah. The Torah, as a whole, is held in the hands, which are the tools of action, as in "today to do them". Deuteronomy 7:11. This is alluded in "the two tablets of the covenant are in my two hands". Deuteronomy 9:15. Torah, represented by the two tablets of the covenant, is held within the two hands, which represent the tools of action, for the hands place all things where they are needed. This is true regarding the world as a whole: by means of the hands, the tools of action corresponding to the totality of the Torah, we take all the worlds, corresponding to disorder, elevating them and bringing them to G-d, so that they are absorbed within their root in order. This is why the Zohar tells of Rabbi Eliezer who lifted his two hands as he was about to die and said "woe that two Torahs are about to disappear from the world". Zohar I 99a. The two hands represent the totality of the Torah, represented by the written Torah and the oral Torah, which is why holiness is evoked mainly through the sanctity of the hands. This is represented by the washing of the hands in the morning. When we sleep, the life sustenance disappears and the forces of evil that are attached to disorder become attached specifically to the hands, for they are always seeking to be nourished from holiness. And since holiness – bringing all worlds to the root, bringing disorder into order - is by means of the hands, the main attachment of the forces of evil that always seek division and to separate disorder from order is specifically to the hands, the main site of sanctity. The hands are the main tools by means of which we are able to bind and elevate disorder into order, and therefore, they are also the main place where the forces of evil are attached. That is why we must wash our hands with water immediately upon awakening, to evoke the waters of knowledge and evoke order, so that the forces of evil attached to disorder will be banished. This is what our Sages said, "the evil spirit that rests on the hands as a princess and is particular not to leave unless the hands are washed properly". Shabbat 109a. This force of evil is rightly called a princess, for it is attached to a blemish of the Malchut caused by separating Malchut and saying 'I shall rule', which causes everything to be disordered, which is the source of judgments and evil forces. That is why it is called a princess.

This is the meaning of the line: ‎ולא יחללו את קדשי בני ישראל ‏‎, ‎‎“so that they will not desecrate the sacred contributions of the ‎Children of Israel.” On this verse, (22,15) Rashi comments ‎that the desecration referred to is that of feeding sacred portions ‎to non priests. Verse 16 then takes up this theme and adds what ‎would happen if that law were violated is: ‎והשיאו אותם עון אשמה‎, ‎‎“the people having fed these sacred contributions to non priests ‎would burden the people eating same with a guilt which is liable ‎to keep getting more serious.” This is the meaning of the unusual ‎expression ‎והשיאו‎, “it will grow higher and higher.”‎
The reason why consumption of sacred contributions – other ‎than the ones specifically commanded to be eaten by the non ‎priests as part of “their” offerings- are forbidden, is to protect ‎these people against burdening themselves with a serious sin if by ‎eating them they would inadvertently err in the place or time or ‎state of ritual purity, all of which are prerequisites even for the ‎priests who are commanded to eat those portions.‎
The priests, who being the elite of the people, were familiar ‎with all the potential pitfalls that could cause desecration of these ‎sacred portions, could be trusted not to commit any of these ‎errors.‎
The subject of the holiness of the Tabernacle/Temple is ‎fraught with so many potential transgressions that every person ‎is exhorted to practice humility, i.e. not to flatter himself that he ‎is on such a high spiritual level that he can “ascend” -in the ‎allegorical meaning of the word- spiritual platforms for which he ‎has not yet qualified. If an individual sincerely feels that he has ‎excelled in the performance of some commandments, and that ‎this is proof of his belonging to an elite of the Jewish people, he ‎should instead of looking down on others, look up to those ‎individuals whose entire life revolves around serving G’d to the ‎exclusion of any “private” concerns. We have explained this in ‎greater detail on Deuteronomy 4,39 ‎וידעת היום כי ה' הוא האלוקים ‏בשמים ממעל ועל הארץ מתחת‎, “know therefore this day and keep in ‎mind that the Lord is alone in heaven above and on earth below.” ‎In earthly matters, although most people who have amassed, say ‎a million dollars, keep looking forward to the day when they can ‎double this, Jews are asked to make do with modest acquisitions ‎and not to chase values they cannot take with them to the world ‎beyond death of the body; concerning spiritual matters however, ‎we are asked to constantly look upwards and to forever ‎accumulate more merits, as these will stand us in good stead in ‎regions where money would not help us at all.‎
Our sages, in interpreting the verse quoted, understand the ‎words ‎בשמים ממעל‎,“ in the heaven above,” as an allusion to the ‎soul, whereas they understand the words ‎ועל הארץ מתחת‎, “and on ‎the earth below,” as an allusion to our bodies. Accordingly, the ‎overall meaning of the verse is that the expression “in the ‎heaven” refers to the requirement in heaven, i.e. the needs of the ‎soul, i.e. how the soul can best serve the Creator, and the answer ‎is to “look at those creatures,” i.e. the righteous, that are on a ‎higher level than we are and try to emulate them; and in looking ‎at earth, never to forget that there are poor people who are far ‎worse off than we so that we will not make the amassing of more ‎material wealth a priority in our short life on earth.‎

The Purpose of the Mystery of Faith
Having established that true knowledge is the knowledge of God’s revelation on earth, the author now shows how this to be the meaning of the Shema Yisrael prayer: “Hashem Elo-heinu, Hashem Echod.” That is, Hashem, the Transcendent God, is also Elo-heinu, the imminent God. In R. Gershon Henokh’s eyes, this defines the mystery of faith, for true faith is the ability to perceive God’s light and providence in each detail of creation. In the chapter following this one, R. Gershon Henokh refers to this knowledge as Ma’aseh HaMerkava, “the Workings of the Chariot.”⁴⁷In Hebrew, merkava is related to the word markiv, meaning “to join or assemble.” Thus, the “Work of the Chariot” means a perception of the union of God and creation. This was a term coined by the Sages of the Talmud in references to Yehezkel’s vision of a supernal throne, carried by angels, on which sat an image of the Divine. Talmudic mystics, who delved into the depths of this topic were known as “Descenders of the Chariot.” However, R. Gershon Henokh defines Ma’aseh HaMerkava in a novel way.⁴⁸In keeping with other teachings from the school of Izhitz. The merkava is not the chariot in Yehezkel’s, but the entirety of creation, which, when viewed through the lens of faith, becomes a dwelling place for the revelation of God in the world.
Concerning the meaning of the Shema Yisrael the Zohar writes (Terumah, 160b): The two words Shema Yisrael (Hear O Israel) express a unification of three sides, which are the three words Hashem Elo-heinu Hashem (Hashem is our God, Hashem), since it is all one. Further in the Zohar, it is written (Terumah, 161a): Rabbi Hiya spoke after him and said (Devarim 4:35), “It was shown to you, so you may know that Hashem is God, there is none other besides Him”; (Devarim 4:39) “And you shall know this day, and take into your heart, that Hashem is God, in the heavens above and on the earth below, there is none other.” The entire mystery of faith depends on these words. From this one can know the secret of all secrets, the most hidden of all mysteries, which is that “Hashem Elo-him,” is one full name, and it is all one. And in the Zohar (Pekudei, 260a): One who knows how to combine similar things (min b’mino) – to make connections, connecting chamber to chamber, level to level⁴⁹Meaning, he possesses the wisdom necessary to unite the effect with its cause. In this way, he unifies this world with the upper worlds. – has a share in the world-to-come, as we have established. Therefore, it is the completeness of all. And when the levels are completed, one joined to the other, then it is all one action, and the completeness that comes out of this combination (min b’mino) is called Ma’aseh Merkava,⁵⁰The root of the word, “to assemble, to combine” (הרכבה)and the word for chariot (מרכבה) is the same. the workings of the Divine Chariot. This is the secret of (Bereshit, 2:7), “and Hashem Elo-him formed man.” “Hashem Elo-him” is one complete name, and the resulting action of combining the two names into one is the formation of man. In this way we say, “Hashem is Elo-him.” This is as the Zohar states above, that the mystery of fatih is found in the commandment: “And you shall know this day, and take into your heart, that Hashem is God (which is the same as saying Hashem is Elo-him), in the heavens above and on the earth below, there is none other.”

We have already spoken in Hakhsharat haAvreikhim, chapter 10, of the meaning of “The Lord is God in Heaven above and the Earth below, there is no other”⁴⁷¹Deuteronomy 4:39.—not only is there no other divinity besides Him, there is no existence besides Him. There is no existence other than divine existence, and nothing happens which God has done made happen. Everything is divinity and every occurrence, God has made. The avodah of the Israelite is to see, reveal, and expand His divine illumination- inside himself, in his surroundings, both exalted and lowly. There should be nothing in them other than His divinity, will, and instruction/Torah. As in says in Beit Aharon to Sukkot, “I have heard of R. Menakhem Mendel of Baar [a disciple of the Besht] that he would always pray with his eyes cast downwards, because he was searching for a very low place, for there as well is His divinity and lifeforce, ‘and there is no place free of Him.’”

Advanced student, I am concerned that you have been startled by my words here. Up until now, you thought that the improvement that we demanded of you before, and about which we said that you are not free and exempted, was only [regarding] how to cleanse your character traits and how to remove the poisonous dust that we just mentioned - and that this would be enough for you to do, in order to climb to the level of being a true Jewish adult - and that you understood us. But this can no longer the case; since even after the cleansing and improvement of bad traits, we are still demanding that you elevate yourself and come closer [to God]. We are demanding that you elevate yourself greatly - such that your whole being approaches God. Yet this is something [optional] in your eyes; something that only the most spiritual people and the great tzaddikim need to make efforts towards reaching, whereas every other simple Jew is exempt. [But then] you have made a big mistake. It is true that the closeness [to God] and elevation of the souls of the great tzaddikim is much greater than that of the simple Jew. Yet even every simple Jew - however he may be - cannot possibly be a Jewish servant of God with a dry heart and an old and covered over spirit. Hence he must raise himself, at least occasionally - above himself and above the whole world. Our teacher, Moses, said to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 4:35), "You have been shown, to know that the Lord is God; there is none else beside him." He did not say this to his generation alone. For the Torah is eternal and our teacher, Moses, is our eternal leader. So even now is he announcing and making it known to all Jewish hearts and spirits, "You have been shown, to know that the Lord is God; there is none else beside him." It is not enough for us to have the knowledge that God, may He be blessed, is found above, outside of us. Rather, you have been shown to know - what is central is that you sense and feel Him, may He be blessed. And you, advanced student, have already been shown a little bit to know this. And if you will not sense the Divine Presence of His glory in front of your eyes like the prophets and the great tzaddikim - our teacher, Moses, already hinted to us [what to do, when he said] (Deuteronomy 4:39), "And you shall know this day, and you shall set it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God, in the heavens above and on the earth below; there is none else." "And you shall set it to your heart" - so set it to your heart, and know that "the Lord, He is God, etc." For please note the nature of your trembling in your heart for God and your yearning for Torah, the commandments and true prayer. And why is it that when you think about how great it would be for me if I could be a great tzaddik that is close to God, like the tzaddikim of earlier days; and how happy I would be if I could make my prayers like those of the Maggid of Kozhnitz, may the memory of the tzaddik be for a blessing for life in the world to come, and I would be united with God in great purity through them - your heart trembles so much, and your entire body quakes from this yearning that is like a torch fire inside of you? From where does all of this come to you, if not from that which your spirit is struck by being in front of the Master, the Lord of hosts? It is for Him that you yearn and melt. "And you shall know this day, and you shall set it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God" - when you set [the matter] to your heart, then you will know that the Lord, He is God!

Deuteronomy 4,39. “You will know this day and keep it ‎in mind that the Lord alone is G’d in the heaven above and on ‎the earth below; there is no other.”
Most of you are ‎familiar with the disagreement between Rashi and ‎‎Rabbeinu Tam concerning the order of the four parchments ‎containing excerpts from the Torah in the phylacteries that are ‎worn on the head. [Since Rabbeinu Tam was only 5 ‎years old when his grandfather Rashi died, the former was ‎not aware of a disagreement with his grandson. Ed.]‎
One of the “proofs” cited by Rabbeinu Tam that he was ‎correct, is based on the wording in the Talmud Menachot 34 ‎according to which the order is: ‎קדש, והיה כי יבאך,‏‎ on the right, ‎and ‎שמע,‏‎ plus ‎והיה אם שמוע‎ on the left. [The Talmud there ‎immediately quotes a baraitha saying the opposite. ‎Ed.] The word: ”on the right,” is understood to mean “on ‎the right side of the reader.” If the meaning had been “to the ‎right side of the person wearing the phylacteries,” the order ‎would have to be the reverse, as is Rashi’s opinion. ‎‎Tossaphot there rules according to the former view, ‎claiming that if the latter version were correct the wording of the ‎first opinion quoted should have been: “‎קדש‎ on the right and ‎whatever follows (sequentially in the Torah) on the left,” or: the ‎first three paragraphs should be arranged on the right with the ‎paragraph commencing with the words: ‎והיה אם שמוע‎ on the left ‎outside.‎
Why do the two opinions both require that two of the four ‎paragraphs be paired, i.e. the two paragraphs from the Book of ‎Deuteronomy appearing next to one another in the order in ‎which they are written in the Torah? According to a number of ‎codifiers the paragraph commencing with ‎שמע ישראל‎, is perceived ‎as our accepting the Uniqueness of the Creator, whereas the ‎second paragraph represents our acceptance of the yoke of the ‎commandments written in the Torah.‎
The author lists different views on this and tries to explain ‎the divergence of opinions as being based on whether the author ‎views us collectively as on the level of receiving unclear visions as ‎opposed to clear visions, as we explained on 4,5.‎
‎[I have abbreviated as the author is lengthy, and it is ‎not really his style to devote so much space to a discussion of the ‎text as if the halachah were truly based on the text rather ‎than our oral tradition. Ed.]‎