ושאבתם “And you shall draw water with happiness from the wellsprings of salvation.” Yeshayahu 12:3. [Our Sages1 associate this verse with the water libation brought on the holiday of Sukkos. Sukkos is followed by Shemini Atzeres, concerning which] it is written:2 “On the eighth day there will be an assembly for you.”
פי' To explain: Throughout the year, bulls, rams, sheep, and goats would be offeredon the altar. Fire from Above would descend on the altar.
In the Mishkan (the Sanctuary that accompanied the Jews in their wanderings through the desert, Vayikra 9:24), the First Beis HaMikdash (II Divrei HaYomim 7:1), and in the Second Beis HaMikdash (Yoma, 21b), fire descended from heaven to consume the sacrifices.
It would appear like a crouched lion3 and consume [these offerings].
And in that way, elevate the material substance of the sacrifices being offered — and by extension, the entire realm of physicality — and bond them with G‑d.
On Sukkos, water would be poured on the altar on each of the seven days.4
This offering is not explicitly mentioned in the Torah, but alluded to in its letters and elaborated upon by our Sages (Shabbos 103b).
[Each of these offerings represents a different spiritual quality.] On the eighth day, [Shemini Atzeres,] there was an assembly of all these qualities.
According to Chassidus (see Likkutei Torah, Devarim, pp. 88d, 91a), atzeres, translated as “assembly,” is interpreted as “ingathering” (see the Targum). Implied is that the spiritual influences that were revealed by the offerings brought previously will be gathered in and internalized.
וביאור To elaborate: In the present age, [since] we do not have a Beis HaMikdash or an altar, every person must [carry out such spiritual service] in his own soul. [It is thus necessary] to understand how these sublime attributes are expressed in Divine service in every person’s heart. In every generation, a person is obligated to find within his soul [a parallel to] the fire that would burn and consume the sacrifices — the bulls, rams, and sheep — [a parallel to] the water libation on the [Sukkos] festival, and [a parallel to] the ingathering of these qualities on the eighth day.
The Alter Rebbe uses the term “is obligated,” because every person is obligated to fulfill the 613 mitzvos on the level of thought, speech, and deed (see the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, Hilchos Talmud Torah 1:4 and the sources cited there). In this era, when the mitzvos associated with the Beis HaMikdash cannot be observed on the level of deed, they must be observed in speech and thought (see Kesser Shem Tov, sec. 393).
והנה Our Sages state:5 “The [daily] prayer services were instituted in place of the daily offerings.” The concept can be explained as follows. [Our Sages comment:6 “What is meant by] ‘service of the heart’?7 Prayer.”
For prayer is not merely the recitation of words, but an internal process in which our emotions — our hearts — are transformed. Rather than being focused on material concerns, they become directed toward G‑d.
The heart corresponds to the altar.8 Just as [in the Beis HaMikdash] there were two altars, the inner altar and the outer altar,
The outer altar, positioned in the courtyard of the Mishkan and the Beis HaMikdash, was originally made of copper and later made of stones, with lime, pitch, and molten lead poured over them. On it were offered the sacrifices, meal offerings, and libations. The inner altar was positioned in the Sanctuary building itself and was made of cedar wood coated with gold. Except on Yom Kippur, when blood was sprinkled upon it, it was used only for the incense offering.
These concepts have parallels in our individual Divine service. For there are two general dimensions to a person’s emotions: a) feelings that may indeed be powerful — accompanied by “thunder and fire” (cf. I Melachim 19:12) — but are merely external, touching only those aspects of the person that relate to others; and b) inner feelings, matters that touch a person in his heart of hearts, “the still, slight voice” (ibid.) that is not projected outward (the Tzemach Tzedek’s notes to this maamar and the maamar entitled Atem Nitzavim {Likkutei Torah, Devarim, p. 44a, translated in this series}).
The Hebrew term for sacrifice, korban,relates to the word karov, meaning “close.” The sacrifices represented a process in which a person drew close to G‑d. Therefore their place was on the outer altar. The Hebrew term for the incense offering, ketores,means “bond” and represents the inner connection shared between a Jew and G‑d. Hence they were offered on the inner altar (the series of maamarim entitled BeShaah SheHikdimu, 5672, Vol. 1, p. 429, sec. 212ff.).
so too, there are two dimensions in the heart, an inner dimension and an external dimension, as is well known.i Just as all of the sacrifices — bulls, rams, and sheep — were offered on the outer altar, so too, every person must arouse the natural love [for G‑d] within his heart. This [arousal] merely corresponds to the outer dimension of the heart.
I.e., the love must be aroused to the point where a person feels powerful emotions, his heart actually beating faster with love for G‑d. Since the emotions are given outward expression, they reflect only the external dimensions of his heart.
It should burn with flames of fire, with the heart [expressing its feeling] in a revealed manner. [This love] corresponds to the fire from Above that would descend in the form of a lion to consume the sacrifices.ii
This love is referred to as “the fire from Above” because it is granted to a person as an inherent, spiritual tendency. It is not the product of man’s own effort, but a heritage implanted within his soul from Above.
והוא [This love is intimated by the verse:9 ] “They will follow after G‑d, roaring like a lion.”
We have translated the verse according to its meaning in the maamar. It could be translated differently in its original context. See the maamar entitled Atem Nitzavim (Likkutei Torah, Devarim, p.44a, translated previously in this series) where this verse is discussed.
This refers to love that blazes and flames in a person’s heart when he brings G‑d to mind. For he does not wish to be separate [from G‑d], Heaven forbid. It is written:10 “G‑d, your L‑rd, is a consuming fire”; “fire that consumes fire”;11 i.e., [the person’s love for G‑d] burns and destroys all fires that are not directed to G‑d and which are called foreign fire.
Foreign fires refer to the burning desires a person feels for material matters.
[As a result,] the only fire [in a person’s heart] will be directed to G‑d.
ולכן For this reason, our Sages rule12 that it is forbidden to eat before prayer. When a person desires to eat something, for example, physical bread, he must [elevate] himself to a level higher and greater than the bread so that, due to this greater level, it is appropriate for him to rule over the bread and partake of it.
As explained in many sources (see the maamar entitled Sheishes Yomim Tochal Matzos, sec. II, translated in Vol. II of this series), eating is not merely a physical activity that enables a person to sustain himself. Instead, ideally, it is a process in which the food is elevated and refined and the G‑dly energy it contains given positive expression through our Divine service.
To explain: In every entity, there are sparks of G‑dliness that bring it into being and maintain its existence. Nevertheless, due to various processes of self-concealment, that G‑dly energy is subordinated to the material substance of the object whose existence it maintains. When a person uses that entity for a spiritual purpose, e.g., he eats with the intent of serving G‑d with the energy from that food, he elevates the G‑dly sparks invested in the food and connects them with their source in the spiritual realms.
Nevertheless, for this process to be achieved, the person must highlight his own spiritual potential and bring it to the surface. This is achieved through prayer when he fans his love for G‑d and brings it to the forefront of his mind.
[When, however,] he has not yet prayed, he has not had his [desire for indulgence] consumed by fire from Above
Which is, as mentioned previously, accomplished by arousing his inherent love for G‑d.
and he is bound by worries concerning his sustenance. He is bound to this material plane and has fallen to the level of other material entities. Thus he is on the same level as the bread that he is eating and it is not appropriate for him to rule over it and partake of it.iii
וזהו This [is the purpose of] a person’s Divine service in prayer: to consume his worries about his livelihood. [This is reflected in] the offering of wheat flour that was brought on the altar for the meal offerings.
I.e., just as wheat flour, from which bread is made, was offered on the altar and consumed by its flames, so too, all of a person’s concerns about earning his bread and sustaining himself should be eliminated during prayer.
ולא [The intent is] not to [put all thoughts of] one’s livelihood [out of his mind], because [earning a livelihood] is necessary. Indeed, it is praised by Scripture, as it is written:13 “When you eat the labor of your hands, you are praiseworthy.” However, the worry — the agony and anxiousness a person feels — [is unnecessary and undesirable].
The elimination of worry and anxiety is alluded to by the wording of the verse itself. One’s livelihood must be “the labor of your hands” alone. His heart and his mind must be directed to G‑d.
It [stems] from the element of fire and the heat in his animal soul. This is “foreign fire.” It must be consumed by “the fire from Above” in prayer, as explained above.
Summary
Our Sages associate the verse: “And you shall draw water with happiness from the wellsprings of salvation” with the water libation brought on the holiday of Sukkos. The water libation and all the other sacrifices have parallels in our individual Divine service.
In the Beis HaMikdash, there were two altars: the inner altar and the outer altar. On the outer altar, sacrifices were offered. They were consumed by fire that descended from heaven. That fire corresponds to the innate love possessed by a Jew within his heart. This fire consumes all other fires; i.e., all of a person’s material desires and concerns, including those involving earning his livelihood.
