אֱגוֹזִים הַנִּקְרָאִים לוּזִים, הֵם רוֹמְזִים לִבְחִינַת לֵאָה
The Luz: From the Three Weeks to Nachamu
Nuts called luzim hint at Leah, the aspect at the back of the neck, through which one enters the Holy Temple, as Luz was the way into Beis-Kel. The twenty-one days of the Three Weeks match the luz tree and the egg eaten before Tisha b'Av, and the luz bone at the back of the neck, which remains and from which the body will be rebuilt at the revival of the dead. That is our true comfort, 'Nachamu, nachamu', which equals 'kadkod'; and 'oref' equals the initials of Shabbos Nachamu.
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1-minute recap
Explainer
Full shiur
הַמָּקוֹר · Original text
אֱגוֹזִים הַנִּקְרָאִים לוּזִים, הֵם רוֹמְזִים לִבְחִינַת לֵאָה, שֶׁהִיא בָּעֹרֶף, שֶׁהִיא נֻקְבָּא רִאשׁוֹנָה, וְאַחַר־כָּךְ נִכְנָסִין לְבֵית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת: יַעֲקֹב קְרָאוֹ בֵּית־קֵ-ל (פסחים פח).
וְזֶהוּ שֶׁפֵּרֵשׁ רַשִׁ"י (שופטים א), שֶׁדֶּרֶךְ לוּז נִכְנָסִין לְבֵית קֵ-ל.
וְזֶהוּ (ישעיהו מ׳:א׳): נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ. שְׁתֵּי פְּעָמִים "נַחֲמוּ" גִּימַטְרִיָּא "קָדְקֹד", שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת עֹרֶף, שֶׁעַל־יָדָהּ נִכְנָסִין לְבֵית קֵ-ל.
וְזֶהוּ שְׁלֹשָׁה שָׁבוּעוֹת שֶׁהֵם עֶשְׂרִים וְאֶחָד יוֹם שֶׁבֵּין הַמְּצָרִים, וּכְנֶגְדּוֹ בְּאִילַן לוּז. בִּשְׁבִיל זֶה נוֹהֲגִין לֶאֱכֹל בֵּיצָה בַּסְּעֻדָּה הַמַּפֶסֶקֶת בְּתִשְׁעָה בְּאָב, כִּי הַבֵּיצָה נִגְמֶרֶת בְּעֶשְׂרִים וְאֶחָד יוֹם, כְּמַאֲמַר חֲכָמֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (בכורות ה): תַּרְנְגֹלֶת מוֹלֶדֶת לְעֶשְׂרִים וְאֶחָד יוֹם וְכוּ', וּכְנֶגְדּוֹ בְּאִילַן לוּז. וְזֶהוּ הָעֶצֶם לוּז שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּעֹרֶף אָדָם, שֶׁיִּשָּׁאֵר אַחַר כִּלְיוֹן הַגּוּף, וּמִמֶּנּוּ יִתְחַדֵּשׁ בִּנְיַן הַגּוּף בִּשְׁעַת תְּחִיַּת־הַמֵּתִים.
וְזֶהוּ עִקָּר נֶחָמוֹתֵינוּ, בְּחִינַת נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ כַּנַּ"ל, כִּי עַל הַגּוּף נֶאֱמַר (רות ג׳:י״ג): שִׁכְבִי עַד הַבֹּקֶר, שֶׁהוּא עֵת הַתְּחִיָּה. וְהִנֵּה בַבֹּקֶר וְהִנֵּה הִיא לֵאָה (בראשית כ״ט:כ״ה) – הַיְנוּ עֶצֶם לוּז הַנַּ"ל, שֶׁעַל־יָדָהּ נִתְבַּנֶּה הַגּוּף.
וּבִשְׁבִיל שֶׁכָּל כַּוָּנָתוֹ שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב הָיָה בִּשְׁבִיל רָחֵל, נֶאֱמַר בִּבְנֵי רָחֵל, דְּהַיְנוּ יוֹסֵף: וּלְקָדְקֹד נְזִיר אֶחָיו (בראשית מ״ט:כ״ו), וּבְבִנְיָמִין כְּתִיב (דברים ל״ג:ט״ז): וּבֵין כְּתֵפָיו שָׁכֵן. רֶמֶז, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי בְּחִינַת לֵאָה שֶׁהִיא רִאשׁוֹנָה, יָכוֹל לָבוֹא לִבְחִינַת רָחֵל. קָדְקֹד וּכְתֵפָיו זֶה בְּחִינַת לוּז הַנַּ"ל.
עֹרֶף גִּימַטְרִיָּא ש"נ – רָאשֵׁי־תֵבוֹת: שַׁבַּת נַחֲמוּ, רֶמֶז לְהַנַּ"ל:
Hebrew text: Likutei Moharan Tinyana - rabenubook.com via Sefaria (Public Domain) · Sefaria. Names of Hashem are written in the customary form.
Transcripts
1-minute recap
Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah eighty five: the luz, from the Three Weeks to Nachamu.
Nuts called luzim hint at Leah, at the back of the neck. Through her one enters the Holy Temple, just as the city of Luz was the way into Beis-Kel.
The twenty-one days of the Three Weeks match the luz tree, and the egg eaten before Tisha b'Av, which takes twenty-one days to form.
And the luz bone remains after the body is gone; from it the body will be rebuilt at the revival of the dead. That is our true comfort: Nachamu, nachamu.
Our own reflection: after every loss, something remains, and from it Hashem rebuilds.
Explainer
Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah eighty five. A short, Kabbalistic teaching on the luz, and the comfort that comes after the Three Weeks.
Nuts called luzim hint at Leah, the aspect at the back of the neck, who comes first. Only after her does one enter the Holy Temple, just as the city of Luz was the way into Beis-Kel.
Nachamu, nachamu: comfort, comfort. Twice nachamu is two hundred and eight, the same as kadkod, the crown of the head.
The Three Weeks are twenty-one days, like the luz tree, and like the egg we eat before Tisha b'Av. And the luz bone remains after the body is gone; from it the body will be rebuilt at the revival of the dead.
That is our main comfort. And in the morning, behold, it was Leah: at the morning of the revival, the body is rebuilt from the luz.
Through Leah, who comes first, one reaches Rachel, Yaakov's true aim. And oref equals three hundred and fifty, the first letters of Shabbos Nachamu.
Some reflections of our own, not a quotation. Even after destruction, something small remains, like the luz bone. From it Hashem rebuilds everything; that is the real comfort of Nachamu.
Full shiur
— Part 1: The Luz, Leah and the Comfort of Nachamu —
Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah eighty five. A short shiur in one part: the luz, Leah and Rachel, and the comfort of Nachamu.
Gold is Rebbe Nachman's own words, from Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah eighty five. Grey is a verse or teaching he quotes. Green is our own explanation. The Hebrew is the public-domain text from Sefaria; the English is our own paraphrase.
He begins: Nuts called luzim hint at the aspect of Leah, who is at the back of the neck, the oref; she is the first feminine aspect. And afterwards one enters the Holy Temple,
which is the aspect of the verse: Yaakov called it Beis-Kel, the House of Hashem. This is what Rashi explains: by way of Luz one enters Beis-Kel.
This is 'Nachamu, nachamu', comfort, comfort. Twice 'nachamu' equals 'kadkod', the crown of the head, in gematria; and this is the aspect of the oref, through which one enters Beis-Kel.
Our explanation of the numbers. Nachamu is fifty, eight, forty and six: one hundred and four. Said twice, it is two hundred and eight. Kadkod is one hundred, four, one hundred and four: also two hundred and eight. The double comfort is the kadkod, the way in at the back of the head.
Section two. And this is the Three Weeks, the twenty-one days between the straits, and their counterpart among trees is the luz. That is why it is the custom to eat an egg at the last meal before Tisha b'Av: an egg is completed in twenty-one days, as our Sages said, a hen gives birth after twenty-one days, and its counterpart among trees is the luz. And this is the luz bone in the back of a person's neck, which remains after the body has decayed; from it the body will be built anew at the revival of the dead.
And this is our main comfort, the 'nachamu, nachamu' mentioned above. For of the body it is said, 'lie here until the morning', which is the time of the revival. 'And it was in the morning, and behold, it was Leah': that is, the luz bone mentioned above, through which the body is rebuilt.
Our explanation. One word, luz, ties the whole teaching together. The luz tree and the egg take twenty-one days, like the Three Weeks of mourning. The city of Luz was the way into Beis-Kel, the House of Hashem. And the luz bone is the small part that never decays, from which the body rises again. The mourning itself holds the seed of the comfort.
Section three. And because all of Yaakov's intention was for Rachel, it is said of Rachel's sons, that is Yosef: 'on the crown, kadkod, of the one set apart from his brothers'; and of Binyamin it is written, 'and He dwells between his shoulders'. This hints that through the aspect of Leah, who is first, one can come to the aspect of Rachel. Kadkod and 'his shoulders' are the aspect of the luz mentioned above.
And a last short note. Oref, the back of the neck, equals three hundred and fifty in gematria, the letters shin and nun: the first letters of Shabbos Nachamu, a hint to all of the above.
Our explanation, step by step. The Three Weeks are twenty-one days of mourning, matching the luz. The luz is what remains when everything else is gone, and from it everything is rebuilt. And so the mourning leads straight into Shabbos Nachamu, the Shabbos of comfort, hinted in the oref itself.
Some reflections of our own, not a quotation. Even after loss and destruction, something small remains, like the luz bone. From that small point Hashem rebuilds everything; that is the true comfort of Nachamu.
This has been Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah eighty five.
Sources for this Torah
Texts used
Hebrew: Likutei Moharan Tinyana (Part II), Torah 85, edition 'Likutei Moharan Tinyana – rabenubook.com', public domain, via Sefaria — https://www.sefaria.org/Likutei_Moharan%2C_Part_II.85
English: our own paraphrase of the Hebrew, written for these videos. It is not copied from any published translation.
Verses and teachings of the Sages appear only as Rebbe Nachman quotes them inside this Torah.
How the text is shown
The Divine Name is shown as ה' and voiced as Hashem. Other Names are written in the customary form (אֱלֹקִים, קֵ-ל, קָהּ, שַׁ-דַּ-י, אֲדֹ-נָ-י, אֶקְיֶ-ה, צְבָקוֹת). No full Name is written or voiced.
Parenthetical source references inside the printed Hebrew are left off the screen to save space; the citation line names the source instead.
Long paragraphs are shown in consecutive pieces. Every Hebrew word on screen is from the edition above; nothing is reworded.
Cards labelled EXPLANATION (green), and every line marked 'our own reflection — not a quote', are our own words, not quotations.
Notes
Part 1, scene 3: The verse that ends the line (Yaakov named the place Beis-Kel, Pesachim 88a) is voiced, not shown, because it carries a Divine Name.
Every on-screen quotation in the full shiur, by part
Part 1 — The Luz, Leah and the Comfort of Nachamu
Scene 3 · LM II:85 §1 · paragraph §1.1
אֱגוֹזִים הַנִּקְרָאִים לוּזִים, הֵם רוֹמְזִים לִבְחִינַת לֵאָה, שֶׁהִיא בָּעֹרֶף, שֶׁהִיא נֻקְבָּא רִאשׁוֹנָה, וְאַחַר־כָּךְ נִכְנָסִין לְבֵית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ,
EN (our paraphrase): Nuts called luzim hint at the aspect of Leah, who is at the back of the neck, the oref; she is the first feminine aspect. And afterwards one enters the Holy Temple,
Scene 4 · LM II:85 §1, on Rashi, Shoftim 1 · paragraph §1.2
וְזֶהוּ שֶׁפֵּרֵשׁ רַשִׁ"י, שֶׁדֶּרֶךְ לוּז נִכְנָסִין לְבֵית קֵל.
EN (our paraphrase): This is what Rashi explains: by way of Luz one enters Beis-Kel.
Scene 5 · LM II:85 §1, on Yeshayahu 40:1 · paragraph §1.3
וְזֶהוּ: נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ. שְׁתֵּי פְּעָמִים "נַחֲמוּ" גִּימַטְרִיָּא "קָדְקֹד", שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת עֹרֶף, שֶׁעַל־יָדָהּ נִכְנָסִין לְבֵית קֵל.
EN (our paraphrase): This is 'Nachamu, nachamu', comfort, comfort. Twice 'nachamu' equals 'kadkod', the crown of the head, in gematria; and this is the aspect of the oref, through which one enters Beis-Kel.
Scene 7 · LM II:85 §2, on Bechoros 8a · paragraph §2.1
וְזֶהוּ שְׁלֹשָׁה שָׁבוּעוֹת שֶׁהֵם עֶשְׂרִים וְאֶחָד יוֹם שֶׁבֵּין הַמְּצָרִים, וּכְנֶגְדּוֹ בְּאִילַן לוּז. בִּשְׁבִיל זֶה נוֹהֲגִין לֶאֱכֹל בֵּיצָה בַּסְּעֻדָּה הַמַּפֶסֶקֶת בְּתִשְׁעָה בְּאָב, כִּי הַבֵּיצָה נִגְמֶרֶת בְּעֶשְׂרִים וְאֶחָד יוֹם, כְּמַאֲמַר חֲכָמֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה: תַּרְנְגֹלֶת מוֹלֶדֶת לְעֶשְׂרִים וְאֶחָד יוֹם וְכוּ', וּכְנֶגְדּוֹ בְּאִילַן לוּז. וְזֶהוּ הָעֶצֶם לוּז שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּעֹרֶף אָדָם, שֶׁיִּשָּׁאֵר אַחַר כִּלְיוֹן הַגּוּף, וּמִמֶּנּוּ יִתְחַדֵּשׁ בִּנְיַן הַגּוּף בִּשְׁעַת תְּחִיַּת־הַמֵּתִים.
EN (our paraphrase): And this is the Three Weeks, the twenty-one days between the straits, and their counterpart among trees is the luz. That is why it is the custom to eat an egg at the last meal before Tisha b'Av: an egg is completed in twenty-one days, as our Sages said, a hen gives birth after twenty-one days, and its counterpart among trees is the luz. And this is the luz bone in the back of a person's neck, which remains after the body has decayed; from it the body will be built anew at the revival of the dead.
Scene 8 · LM II:85 §2, on Rus 3:13 and Bereishis 29:25 · paragraph §2.2
וְזֶהוּ עִקָּר נֶחָמוֹתֵינוּ, בְּחִינַת נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ כַּנַּ"ל, כִּי עַל הַגּוּף נֶאֱמַר: שִׁכְבִי עַד הַבֹּקֶר, שֶׁהוּא עֵת הַתְּחִיָּה. וְהִנֵּה בַבֹּקֶר וְהִנֵּה הִיא לֵאָה – הַיְנוּ עֶצֶם לוּז הַנַּ"ל, שֶׁעַל־יָדָהּ נִתְבַּנֶּה הַגּוּף.
EN (our paraphrase): And this is our main comfort, the 'nachamu, nachamu' mentioned above. For of the body it is said, 'lie here until the morning', which is the time of the revival. 'And it was in the morning, and behold, it was Leah': that is, the luz bone mentioned above, through which the body is rebuilt.
Scene 10 · LM II:85 §3, on Bereishis 49:26 and Devarim 33:12 · paragraph §3.1
וּבִשְׁבִיל שֶׁכָּל כַּוָּנָתוֹ שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב הָיָה בִּשְׁבִיל רָחֵל, נֶאֱמַר בִּבְנֵי רָחֵל, דְּהַיְנוּ יוֹסֵף: וּלְקָדְקֹד נְזִיר אֶחָיו, וּבְבִנְיָמִין כְּתִיב: וּבֵין כְּתֵפָיו שָׁכֵן. רֶמֶז, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי בְּחִינַת לֵאָה שֶׁהִיא רִאשׁוֹנָה, יָכוֹל לָבוֹא לִבְחִינַת רָחֵל. קָדְקֹד וּכְתֵפָיו זֶה בְּחִינַת לוּז הַנַּ"ל.
EN (our paraphrase): And because all of Yaakov's intention was for Rachel, it is said of Rachel's sons, that is Yosef: 'on the crown, kadkod, of the one set apart from his brothers'; and of Binyamin it is written, 'and He dwells between his shoulders'. This hints that through the aspect of Leah, who is first, one can come to the aspect of Rachel. Kadkod and 'his shoulders' are the aspect of the luz mentioned above.
Scene 11 · LM II:85 §4 · paragraph §4.1
עֹרֶף גִּימַטְרִיָּא ש"נ – רָאשֵׁי־תֵבוֹת: שַׁבַּת נַחֲמוּ, רֶמֶז לְהַנַּ"ל:
EN (our paraphrase): Oref, the back of the neck, equals three hundred and fifty in gematria, the letters shin and nun: the first letters of Shabbos Nachamu, a hint to all of the above.
Hebrew phrases in the Explainer
Scene 2 · §1.2: וְזֶהוּ שֶׁפֵּרֵשׁ רַשִׁ"י, שֶׁדֶּרֶךְ לוּז נִכְנָסִין לְבֵית קֵל.
Scene 3 · §1.3: נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ. שְׁתֵּי פְּעָמִים "נַחֲמוּ" גִּימַטְרִיָּא "קָדְקֹד",
Scene 4 · §2.1: וְזֶהוּ הָעֶצֶם לוּז שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּעֹרֶף אָדָם, שֶׁיִּשָּׁאֵר אַחַר כִּלְיוֹן הַגּוּף, וּמִמֶּנּוּ יִתְחַדֵּשׁ בִּנְיַן הַגּוּף בִּשְׁעַת תְּחִיַּת־הַמֵּתִים.
Scene 5 · §2.2: וְהִנֵּה בַבֹּקֶר וְהִנֵּה הִיא לֵאָה
Scene 6 · §3.1: רֶמֶז, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי בְּחִינַת לֵאָה שֶׁהִיא רִאשׁוֹנָה, יָכוֹל לָבוֹא לִבְחִינַת רָחֵל.
Hebrew phrases in the 1-minute recap
Scene 2 · §1.1: אֱגוֹזִים הַנִּקְרָאִים לוּזִים, הֵם רוֹמְזִים לִבְחִינַת לֵאָה, שֶׁהִיא בָּעֹרֶף, שֶׁהִיא נֻקְבָּא רִאשׁוֹנָה, וְאַחַר־כָּךְ נִכְנָסִין לְבֵית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ,
Scene 3 · §2.1: וְזֶהוּ שְׁלֹשָׁה שָׁבוּעוֹת שֶׁהֵם עֶשְׂרִים וְאֶחָד יוֹם שֶׁבֵּין הַמְּצָרִים,
Scene 4 · §2.2: וְזֶהוּ עִקָּר נֶחָמוֹתֵינוּ, בְּחִינַת נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ