Editing Tzva'ot (name)

The name Tzva'ot is one of the seven names that cannot be erased. This name was first used by Chanah, and it appears most frequently in the Prophets.

In Kabbalah it is explained that this name corresponds to the sefirot of Netzach and Hod. When the Holy One, blessed be He, clothes Himself in the attributes of [[Netzach]] and [[Hod]], He is called by the name Tzva'ot, and through this name comes the concept of prophecy.

== Its meaning ==
The Sages said that from the day the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, there was no person who called the Holy One, blessed be He, "Tzva'ot" until Chanah came and called Him "Tzva'ot." This name is not mentioned in the Five Books of the Torah, nor in the books of Yehoshua and Shoftim, but only in the books of the Prophets.

== In the aspect of Netzach and Hod ==
It is explained that the names of the Holy One, blessed be He, correspond to the sefirot of the world of Atzilut, with each name corresponding to a different sefirah. The name Tzva'ot corresponds to the sefirot of Netzach and Hod of the world of Atzilut. When the Holy One, blessed be He, clothes Himself in the attributes of Netzach and Hod, to influence the worlds through this attribute, He is then called by the name Tzva'ot.

The concept of the sefirot Netzach and Hod is that they are "outside the body," corresponding to the two thighs, and their function is external influence. The function of the sefirot Netzach and Hod of the world of Atzilut is to descend and give life to the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah.

== "He is a sign in His hosts" ==
The term "Tzva'ot" means armies. These are the battalions of souls and angels of the world of Beriah, which are innumerable and are created and renewed from absolute nothingness to existence. They are not Divinity at all, unlike Atzilut which is actual Divinity. Nevertheless, the Prophets drew down that the Infinite Light should clothe itself in them in perfect unity, just as it is clothed in the vessels of the world of Atzilut to the point of "He and His vessels are one." To the extent that the Infinite Light clothed in them is called by the name Tzva'ot, which is a descriptive name, meaning that He Himself is actually the aspect of the hosts, as in the concept of "He and His vessels are one" in the world of Atzilut, where He Himself is the Knowledge, etc. Similarly, through the name Tzva'ot, He unites with the vessels of the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah to the point where He Himself is the hosts. Not that they are separate entities that are nullified to Him, but rather that He unites with them completely.

The name Tzva'ot means "He is a sign in His hosts," meaning that all the armies of angels below, a thousand thousands to one battalion and His battalions are without number, all of them come into being and receive life only from one letter.

Our Sages said about Chanah, from the day the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, there was no person who called the Holy One, blessed be He, "Tzva'ot" until Chanah came, etc. That is, she was the first to call the Holy One, blessed be He, Havayah Tzva'ot, and the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Your son will be the first to begin prophecy with this name," as it is written, "And Shmuel said, 'So said Hashem Tzva'ot, I have remembered, etc.'" The later prophets prophesied with this name, especially Chagai, Zechariah, and Malachi, more than all the others.

== Reason why this name was needed ==
Moshe Rabbeinu merited that the Torah would be given through him, that is, because he drew down the clothing of the Infinite Light in the vessels of Ze'ir Anpin. And from there the Torah was drawn down as mentioned above. And from there came his prophecy, for the essence of his prophecy was from Atzilut, only that by way of transition it was drawn through Beriah. But he did not draw down that there should also be a clothing of the Infinite Light in the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah in the way that it unites with the vessels of Atzilut. And he did not need this because he drew down the Torah from the aspect of Atzilut itself. And there the Infinite Light unites with the vessels to the point that "He and His vessels are one." This is not the case in the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, where there is no revelation at all in the vessels (and "He and His vessels are not one" in them, as is known).

But the prophets who came after him drew down the Infinite Light so that it would also clothe itself in the vessels of the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, which was not the case in the days of Moshe Rabbeinu. And this is the meaning of our Sages' words, that Chanah was the first to use the name Tzva'ot, and all the prophets followed her, for the concept of this name indicates the clothing of the Infinite Light in the vessels of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah to unite with them, which was the work of the prophets.

The reason they needed this was because in the days of Moshe Rabbeinu, whose prophecy was from Atzilut, he drew down the Torah to them below from there, from the aspect of Atzilut, and he was the word of Hashem in the mouth of Moshe, and Israel fulfilled the Torah, etc. But in the days of the prophets who came after him, when Israel was not doing the will of Above, and the prophets needed to rebuke them. The difference between the rebuke given by a prophet and any other rebuke is that with the prophet, the rebuke is the word of Hashem that clothes itself in the speech of the prophet, so it is the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself who is rebuking.

For this reason, it was necessary to draw down the Torah from Atzilut to Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah so that Israel would fulfill the Torah, for when it was in Atzilut as in the days of Moshe, the Israelites in the days of the prophets after Moshe's generation were not fulfilling it because it was too lofty for them, and the Torah was by itself and man was by himself. Therefore, the Torah needed to be clothed from Atzilut to Beriah, and the word of Hashem was drawn there in the mouth of the prophet to warn Israel to fulfill the Torah, etc. And through this, the rebuke came to them from the word of Hashem itself, which clothed itself in the vessels of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah and from there to the mouth of the prophet, etc.

And although no prophet is permitted to introduce anything new, this is not an innovation or addition to the Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu. It is merely drawing down the Torah without addition or subtraction from Atzilut to Beriah.

== Sanctity of the name ==
Unlike the other names that cannot be erased, the name Tzva'ot is used by some people literally even in secular matters.

The Rebbe brings in a maamar that the name Tzva'ot is the only one among the seven names of the Holy One, blessed be He, that is pronounced as it is even outside of prayer. This is explained there simply, that the meaning of this name does not necessarily refer to the hosts of the Holy One, blessed be He, but also to the armies of a king of flesh and blood.

== For further reading ==

* The maamar "B'etzem Hayom Hazeh" on Parshat Bo in the book Torah Or
* The maamar "Bati L'gani," 10 Shevat 5740
* The Jewish people as Tzva'ot Hashem - adapted from the Rebbe's talk, Likutei Sichot volume 36, page 53