Tree_of_Life_1-21

The Way to the Tree of Life

Jewish practice entails fulfilling many laws. Our diet is limited, our days to work are defined,

and every aspect of life has governing directives. Is observance of all the laws easy? Is a

perfectly righteous life close to our heart and near to our limbs? A righteous life seems to be an

impossible goal! However, in the Torah, our great teacher Moshe, Moses, declared that perfect

fulfillment of all religious law is very near and easy for each of us. Every word of the Torah rings

true in every generation. Lesson one explores how the Tanya resolved these questions. It will

shine a light on the infinite strength that is latent in each Jewish soul. When that unending holy

desire emerges, observance becomes easy.

Lesson One: The Infinite Strength of the Jewish Soul

The title page of the Tanya states:

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רפס

םירמא יטוקל

ןושאר קלח

םשב ארקנה

םינוניב לש רפס

ע״נ ןוילע ישודק םירפוס יפמו םירפס יפמ טקולמ

ךיפב דאמ רבדה ךילא בורק יכ קוספ לע דסוימ

ותושעל ךבבלבו

הרצקו הכורא ךרדב דאמ בורק אוה ךיא בטיה ראבל

י״הזעב

A Collection of Teachings

PART ONE

Titled

The Book of the Beinonim

Compiled from sacred books and Heavenly

teachers, whose souls are in paradise; based

upon the verse, “For this matter is very near to

you, it is in your mouth and heart to fulfill it;”

and explaining clearly how, in both a long and

short way, it is exceedingly near, with the aid of

the Holy One, blessed be He.

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From the outset of his work therefore Rav Shneur Zalman made plain that the Tanya is a guide

for those he called “beinonim.” Beinonim, derived from the Hebrew bein, which means

“between,” are individuals who are in the middle, neither paragons of virtue, tzadikim, nor

sinners, rishoim. Beinonim are a unique type, deserving of their own book, which is the Tanya.

Tzadikim have a different book that includes other lessons and counsel.

A person with the status of beinoni was created with limited abilities. He can’t become a

tzadik, but this in no way diminishes his value. In fact, he is no less important in Heaven than a

tzadik, as he fulfills the will of Hashem, and gives as much pleasure to Hashem as a tzadik.

Hashem loves human effort and toil, and many individuals who reach the tzadik level no

longer strain to achieve holy behavior. A beinoni must always exert effort. The special struggle of

the beinoni makes him more treasured than many tzadikim, who always are perfect, as it gives

the Almighty pleasure to see effort exerted on His behalf. Therefore, if you are a beinoni, as all

of us can be, realize that you have a special role in the kingdom of Heaven, embrace it, and learn

the Tanya to glean insights how to improve your service of God, Avodas Hashem.

Ways to reach Hashem

The title page of the Tanya states that it is based on the verse “Ki karov elecha hadavar mi’od

bificha ubilvavcha la’asoso,” (Devarim 30:14) “For the matter of serving Hashem is very close

to you, it is in your mouth and heart to fulfill it,” and on sacred teachings that explain in a “long

and short way” how service of Hashem is truly very close to us. One might think that it is very

difficult, almost an unattainable feat, to fulfill all the commandments of the Torah. The Tanya

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Chassidim teach that the holy work Noam Elimelech is the guide book for tzadikim.

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will show us that this is not the case; it is rather very close to us, and very attainable. Through the

Tanya’s concepts we will be able to see that complete service of Hashem is very accessible to us.

The Tanya details a long way of arriving at the proper service of Hashem, but also a

shorter path as well. Its form is to begin with many questions and then, beginning with the

second chapter and then throughout the rest of the book, provide answers. In its first chapter the

Tanya reads:

We learnt in a baraisa (a Rabbinic text from the second century that was not included in the

Mishna, the corpus of traditional Rabbinic legal writings of that era) at the end of the third

chapter of tractate Niddah (the last tractate in the Babylonian Talmud) that when the soul comes

into the world it is led to recite an oath to "Be a tzadik, and not a rasha.” Then it accepts a

second oath, "And even if the whole world tells you that you are tzadik, you are to view yourself

as a rasha, an evil doer.”

The lesson here is that you must not be at all fazed by the “world.” A Jew must have the strength

to ignore what society says, and know that sometimes one must stand against the entire world.

Even if the entire world tells you they consider you to be a tzadik, in your eyes feel that you are a

rasha.

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Our sages teach that Abraham was called Avraham Ha’Ivri because he had the courage of convictions in that he

was willing to stand alone against the pagan thinking of the entire world. One of the great works of twentieth

century Chassidic thought is Shem Mishmuel, an eight volume collection of lessons composed by Rav Shmuel

Bornstein, (1855-1926) the great Rebbe of Sochatshov. Shem Mishmuel is unique for his masterful combination of

intellectual rigor, emotional impact, and Chassidic breadth. With Hashem's help, his insights will appear frequently

in these notes throughout this book.

Rav Bornstein teaches that the first step in holy achievement is Azus Dkdusha, holy brazenness. Holy achievements

begin when one stridently progresses towards Hashem with a sense of confidence bordering on arrogance! He

taught that every city in the land of Israel had a special quality to its atmosphere and would encourage a different

holy character trait. The city Shechem, Nablus, led to a feeling of confidence and holy brazenness. When we first

entered Israel we had to first travel to Shechem as Avraham did when he first entered Israel, for at the initiation of a

Mitzvah campaign, there is nothing better than confidence and strength so as not to be swayed by the naysayers and

cynics! (See Shem Mishmuel, parshas Vayishlach pages 12-13.) In his comments to Parshas Bamidbar (page 5) he

points out that Jews are counted before a war, for before a battle each Jew must feel Azus Dkdusha, for only with

great confidence will we be victorious. A warrior cannot hesitate, be fearful, or meek! Yet when the Jews were not

about to face a war, a census was forbidden, for when not engaged in struggle too much confidence and self

assuredness leads to arrogance and sin.

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The Tanya further explains that logic would negate the baraisa we just learned from Niddah that

one should view himself as a rasha.

It does not seem reasonable that one should always adopt a worldview that will inhibit mitzvah

observance.

And if considering himself a rasha does not bring him down, he might fall into a state of apathy,

and make light of service of Hashem, Heaven forbid.

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this must be understood, as it seems to

contradict a mishna in Avos chapter two

which says, "Do not view yourself as a

rasha."

If a person is a rasha in his own eyes, he will

be depressed, and unable to serve Hashem

with joy.

עשר יהת לאו [ב"פ תובא] ןנת אהד ןיבהל ךירצו

ךמצע ינפב

בצע היהיו ובבל ערי עשרכ ויניעב היהי םא םגו

בבל בוטבו החמשב םשה דובעל לכוי אלו

ידיל אובל לוכי הזמ ללכ ובבל ערי אל םאו

ח תולק"

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Instead of viewing himself as a rasha, an evil doer, one must always find good “points” about

himself,

and serve Hashem with simcha, profound joy. So how are we then to understand the

baraisa in Niddah that one should always consider himself as if he is a rasha?

There are five levels: tzadik vitov lo, a righteous man who has good, tzadik vira lo, a righteous

man who has bad, rasha vitov lo, a sinner who has good, rasha vira lo, a sinner who has bad,

and beinoni, the middle one.

The simple meaning of the term “vitov lo” is someone who has a good and pleasant life in this

world, and “vira lo” is someone who has a difficult life in this world. The Tanya will not use the

simple explanation; rather he will follow the explanation of the Zohar Hakadosh.

The Talmud explains that a tzadik

vitov lo is a tzadik gamor, a

completely upright person. A tzadik

vira lo is a tzadik sheaino gamor, a

righteous man with flaws. In the

Ra’aya Me’hemna in parshas

Mishpatim, it is explained that a

tzadik vira lo is a tzadik who has evil,

but it is his possession, for it is bent to

his goodness.

He has a yetzer hara, an evil urge,

however his urge for holiness is stronger and more powerful. His evil inclination is overruled by

his desires for holiness. In later lessons we will discover that, in truth, these two explanations

work together; a tzadik who has a yetzer hara “has it bad” in this world and vice versa.

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קידצ .תוקולח 'ה ארמגב וניצמ הנה יכ ןינעה רואיב ךא

.ינוניבו ול ערו עשר ול בוטו עשר ול ערו קידצ ול בוטו

קידצ ול ערו קידצ רומג קידצ ול בוטו קידצ ארמגב ושריפו

ול ערו קידצ 'יפ םיטפשמ 'פ אנמיהמ איערבו רומג וניאש

וכו בוטל ףופכ ובש ערהש

Rav Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) was a great Tzadik whose Torah thought was presented in poetic and

emotionally impacting imagery. See his Likutey Moharan lesson 282. Rav Nachman teaches that one must see the

good in others. Through judging others favorably one spiritually elevates them and helps them return to Hashem.

One must also see the good in himself, for one must always be in an emotional state of simcha, true joy, and through

discovering the good in oneself, one elevates oneself, and one can defeat depression and maintain true joy.

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אנא ןוגכ הבר רמא 'וכו ןטפוש הזו הז םינוניב ןטפוש ר"הצי םיעשר 'וכ ןטפוש ט"צי םיקידצ תוכרבד ט"פס ארמגבו

ינוניב

The Talmud in the end of the 9th chapter of Brachos says as follows: Tzadikim are judged, or

told what to do, by the yetzer tov; reshaim, evil doers, are judged by the yetzer hara; beinonim

are judged by both the yetzer tov and the yetzer hara. Rabba said “I, for example, am a beinoni,”

The yetzer tov and the yetzer hara express their “opinions” equally within me.

וכו הירב לכל ייח רמ קיבש אל ייבא ל"א'

Abaye (Rabba’s student) responded that Rabba “has left no life for any living creature.” If

Rabba, such a great and holy man, is a beinoni, then what is everyone else?!

בטיה ראב הז לכ ןיבהלו

We must understand all of this with a complete explanation.

First of all, the Tanya wonders, how could Rabba say that he is a beinoni? He seems to be

violating the baraisa in Niddah that says that one must view himself as a rasha! The Tanya will

ask other questions also.

ןיבהל םגו .רמאק אל עשרו קידצ אהו 'וכ 'יעשר תארב 'יקידצ תארב ע"שבר [א"פ ב"ב] בויא רמאש המ ןיבהל םגו

אלד עדונו ינוניב אוהש רמול ומצעב הבר העט ךיא כ"אש תונוע הצחמו תויכז הצחמ וניא יאדובש ינוניבה תגרדמ תוהמ

ו"ח תונוע הצחמב תועטל לוכי היה ךיאו וב טולשל לוכי היה אל תומה ךאלמ 'יפאש דע אסריגמ הימופ קיספ.

We must understand a statement of Iyov (recorded in the Talmud in Bava Basra), “Master of the

world, You created tzadikim and You created reshaim,” that seems to imply that there is no free

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will and rather that Hashem predetermines who will be a tzadik and who will be a rasha.

However, we know that the Talmud says just the opposite – that Hashem does not preordain who

shall be a tzadik and who a rasha!? We also must understand the essential spiritual level of the

beinoni, as it certainly is not one who has half mitzvos, righteous deeds and half aveiros, sins. If

such an assumption were true, how could Rabba possibly mistake himself for a beinoni? We

know that he never stopped learning Torah, to the extent that the Angel of Death could not take

him – so how could he possibly think that he had done as many aveiros as mitzvos, Heaven

forbid it!

One cannot suggest that Rabba was being modest. Many people are under the false impression

that humility means fooling oneself into believing that “I am no good,” even though, in truth, one

is a tzadik. This is a mistake. Our Torah is a Toras Emes, a truthful guide, and the seal of Hashem

is truth. Every aspect of serving Hashem must be with emes, truth. The Master of the world

created man with a natural attraction to truth because it is a good thing, the right thing. Humility

does not demand that we deceive ourselves or others.

Proper humility is completely truthful. So,

when Rabba said that he is a beinoni, he felt that he truthfully fell into that category. We

therefore must realize that the definition of the beinoni is something other than a person who has

half mitzvos and half aveiros, for indeed Rabba knew that he had a great majority of mitzvos.

רוסיא לע רבועה וליפאו [רומג קידצ ארקנ הבושת השע כ"חא םאו] רומג עשר ארקנ תונוע השועש העשב ירהש דועו

עשר 'קנ החימ אלו תוחמל ודיב שיש ימ וליפאו הדנד ק"פבו תומביד ב"פב אתיאדכ עשר ירקמ םירפוס ירבד לש לק

וילעש קסוע וניאו הרותב קוסעל ול רשפאש לכ ומכ המייקל ול 'שפאש ע"מ וזיא לטבמב ו"קו ש"כו ['ועובשד ו"פב]

וב ןיא ינוניבה כ"ע כ"או ןנברד רוסיא רבועמ יפט עשר ירקמד אטישפו 'וגו תרכת תרכה 'וגו הזב 'ה רבד יכ ל"זר ושרד

ינוניב אוהש רמול ומצעב הבר העט ה"שמו הרות לוטיב ןוע 'יפא

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In his classes to Messilas Yesharim, Path of the Just, the classic work of ethical improvement authored by the

eighteenth century sage Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato, our Rebbe explained that while one should recognize his

spiritual achievements, he still should feel humble due to the fact that he may not be realizing all his spiritual

potential, and that relative to the Almighty, even the most successful person is absolutely infinitesimal and

meaningless.

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Further one who violates any aveira, even a seemingly “light” Rabbinic prohibition, or refrains

from fulfilling any mitzvah which he has the opportunity to fulfill, even one who does not study

Torah at a time that he is able, is called a total rasha. And when he does teshuva, repentance, he

is called a tzadik gamur, a complete tzadik. If so, certainly a beinoni is one who does no aveiros,

he does not even waste a moment of time which he could use to learn Torah. This explains how

Rabba could mistakenly believe that he was a beinoni.

Yet our initial question remains: What is a beinoni? If one who violates a law is called a

rasha, an evil doer, and then when he does teshuva he is called a tzadik, where does the beinoni

fit in? Also, if he commits no aveiros, sins, why is he not a tzadik?

ןודנש יפל שנועו רכש ןינעל לאשומה םש אוה קידצ ירקמ תויכז בורו ינוניב ירקמ הצחמ לע 'צחמד אמלעב 'ירמאד אהו

תוקולח תוגרדמו תלעמ לש הלעמהו ראותה םש תתימא ןינעל לבא ןידב הכוזש רחאמ ונידב קידצ ירקמו ובור רחא

אלש ימ לכ לבא תינעתב וגרה יכ ר"הצי ול ןיאש יברקב ללח יבלו 'אנש ןטפוש ט"צי םיקידצ ל"זרא םינוניבו םיקידצ

ה"בקה האר שרדמב ל"זרא ןכלו ללכ קידצ תגרדמו תלעמב וניא ויתונוע לע םיבורמ ויתויכזש ףא וז הגרדמל עיגה

םלוע דוסי קידצו ש"מכו 'וכו רודו רוד לכב ןלתשו דמע םיטעומ םהש םיקידצב

The Talmud in Tractate Rosh Hashana, which says that one who has half mitzvos and half

aveiros is called a beinoni, and that one who has a majority of mitzvos is called a tzadik, does

not contradict this lesson. That Talmudic lesson is using those words as borrowed terms in

relation to a person’s judgment in the heavenly court, but not as a true description of his spiritual

level. The true tzadik is called by our sages a person whose heart has been emptied and he has

no evil urge for he has destroyed it. One who has not reached this level is not yet a tzadik. This is

why our sages taught in the Midrash,

“The Almighty saw that there were few tzadikim and that

is why he implanted a few in each generation… As the verse taught, the tzadik is the pillar of the

universe.”

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Midrash refers to the body of literature that contains Rabbinic homiletic and legal expositions on Biblical verse

from a century before the common era to the tenth century. Many of the Midrashim contain lessons from the great

Sages whose legal lessons appear in the Mishna and Talmud. Virtually all later Biblical exegesis draws on insights

found in Midrash.

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The tzadik has no urge for evil at all. A tzadik gamur is someone who completely nullifies

the evil within him and changes it to the side of holiness so that it advocates holy behaviors. A

tzadik she’aino gamur is one who still has a small residue of attraction to evil, although he has

transformed his yetzer hara, evil inclination, almost completely. Both of these individuals never

sin at all. A sinner has another name, a rasha (at least until he does teshuva). A tzadik she’aino

gamur is not fully perfect, while he has continued attraction to evil deeds he always succeeds in

refraining from performing evil.

The Beinoni

Still the question persists: what is a beinoni? The Tanya will explain that there are souls that

Hashem created who will never alter their yetzer hara into good. They do not have the capacity

to become angelic mortals. Their purpose instead is to serve Hashem their entire lives by fighting

a constant battle with the yetzer hara. No matter how much the beinoni fights, his yetzer hara

will not be conquered. In fact, his yetzer hara is strengthened from all the physical acts in which

the beinoni must involve himself, such as eating, drinking, and similar physical activities that if

overindulged lead to sin.

Encouragingly though, the Tanya mentions that the routine of consistently battling the

yetzer hara day after day creates a sort of second nature within the beinoni that makes the

struggle easier. Nonetheless, the yetzer hara remains strong within him for his entire life in this

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world.

But as we saw earlier, the beinoni gives as much nachas ruach, pleasure, to Hashem as a

tzadik. He fulfills the will of Hashem as completely as a tzadik, and he has no reason to be

envious of the tzadik. (Note that in our everyday parlance and experience, we may call such a

person a tzadik. To our sages, however, he fits into the separate category of a beinoni.)

Elevated consciousness

An interesting phenomenon occurs when the beinoni is in a state of gadlus hamochin, elevated

consciousness, which he may reach for example when enjoying Shabbes, when he prays, or

while he is learning Torah. During these moments, a beinoni experiences life as a tzadik. He

might reach then an elevated spiritual state where the evil urge temporarily abandons him. A

beinoni cannot stay in a state of gadlus hamochin for it is not his true level. When he exits this

elevated state his yetzer hara returns, but not before he gains several invaluable moments of

solace without the incessant harassment of lowly urges.

The entire Tanya is devoted to supplying the beinoni with aitzos, practical advice, on how

to constantly battle and defeat the yetzer hara. His advice charts a path so that even the beinoni

will find that he is “karov me’od,” very close to conquering the yetzer hara and serving Hashem.

The Tanya will answer its earlier questions with these concepts in mind. With respect to

the baraisa in Nidda that we previously learned that taught to be in your eyes as a rasha, the

Talmud is telling us that even a person who serves Hashem constantly, and is considered by

everyone to be a tzadik, and in truth does no aveiros, must always be wary that his yetzer hara is

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Every rule has exceptions, at special times some beinonim merit to reach the level of tzadik. For example, a

beinoni can merit receiving a soul of a tzadik from previous generations. This soul will enter him as a reward for his

toil and lift him to the heights of a tzadik’s experience. In general, however, throughout his life, a beinoni will find

himself in a state of constant battle with his animal instincts in order to serve Hashem.

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still there, as strong as ever. He must view his yetzer hara as the evil inclination of a rasha. A

person may achieve extended moments of solace when he does not feel his instincts for animal

pleasure only because he is constantly learning and praying and thereby pushing the yetzer hara

away. His yetzer hara, nevertheless, may remain, as strong as ever.

Through this we can now also understand the puzzling Talmud about Rabba that we

learned earlier in which he defined himself as a beinoni. Rabba was always involved in learning

Torah, as the Talmud said, lo pasak pumei migirsa, his mouth never stopped reviewing Torah

laws. He was in a constant state of gadlus hamochin. This, he thought, was why he didn’t feel his

yetzer hara. Yet he believed that his yetzer hara remained, and if he were to stop learning for one

moment he would experience the yetzer hara in its full strength.

Abaye disagreed, because he felt that a man such as Rabba was certainly a tzadik gamur,

and that even if Rabba were to stop learning and descend from his state of gadlus hamochin, he

still would not have a yetzer hara.

This understanding of the beinoni and the tzadik also explains what Iyov meant when he

said to Hashem, “You created tzadikim and You created reshoim.” Iyov’s claim to Hashem was

that He created people who will never be able to become tzadikim because they will always have

a yetzer hara as strong as that of a rasha. Hashem had therefore determined an individual’s fate

and Man should not be held to account for his deeds. After all, Hashem gave some a more

difficult nature than others.

But this is obviously not a valid claim. Yes, each of us has different natures and abilities,

but each of us can fulfill the unique mission these natures and abilities grant us! Hashem created

beinonim with a specific purpose in this world, this purpose is no less worthy than the purpose of

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the tzadikim, and there are specific eitzos, suggestions, which the beinoni can use to help fulfill

his purpose. The Tanya’s objective is to supply the eitzos to help the beinoni elevate himself.

Each of us is willing to die for Hashem!

The general, overall principle for the suggestions the Tanya proposes is the concept of “the

hidden love.” The Tanya establishes a fundamental truth: every single Jew has a hidden love for

Hashem, a natural attraction that pulls him towards Hashem. This concept is the basis of the

dictum “yisrael af al pi shecha’ta, yisrael hu,” no matter how much a Jew sins, he is still a

Jew. (Sanhedrin 44a)

This law seems to be difficult to understand. If a Jew behaves like a gentile or even

worse, why should he still be considered a Jew? When he does teshuva and returns to

observance, why shouldn’t he require complete conversion? The answer is that he does not have

complete control over himself. There is a certain part of his being that he has inherited from his

forefathers. This element is called Yisrael and he can never lose it.

With this concept we can also understand another difficult topic. When we pray we say

“Elokei Avraham,” as if to say, “Hashem, listen to our request in the merit of our father

Avraham.” If we don’t behave at all like Avraham avinu, our father, then what type of claim are

we making to Hashem? Avraham was a tzadik. What does he have to do with this descendent of

his, who is not a tzadik? But when we say elokei Avraham we are not claiming to be a tzadik like

Avraham. Rather, we are referring to that spark of Avraham that we each have inside ourselves.

On a deeper level, when we speak of our father Avraham we appreciate his

impact. Avraham was a fundamental, all encompassing soul, and included in himself a trace of

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every Jewish soul that would ever enter the world. Therefore, when Avraham proved his faith in

Hashem through the test of the binding of his son Yitzchok every Jewish soul passed that test and

showed its complete faith in Hashem. Fundamentally, we all already have proven ourselves as

loyal and completely devoted servants of Hashem. The task of all the souls after the patriarchs is

simply to reveal our inner core.

Our inner love is not a matter of mazel, luck. It is not that we just happen to be lucky to

have been born as Jews and the poor, unfortunate gentiles are simply “unlucky” to have not been.

That would be a complete contradiction to the concept of free will, upon which Creation is

based! The fundamental concept of free will implies that Hashem wants us to earn our rewards

and not simply take them in a shameful way. If He had wishaid otherwise then He would have

placed us all into paradise without having to first spiritually thrive in the physical world. The

created, physical world is the means through which everything must be earned.

So it is with the hidden love as well. We should not think for a moment that one’s

innermost nature is not earned and is instead a Divine gift! Truthfully, we did earn our hidden

love. It was a product of choice. The choice of Avraham! For we were in him! We withstood all

the tests of Avraham avinu, since our neshamos, souls, were part of his. The “souls” of those who

do not have a hidden love, on the other hand, were a part of some other ancient figure. Perhaps

they were in Nimrod

or some other personality from those generations.

From this we see that the innermost core of the gentile differs from the innermost core of

Yisrael, Jews. The gentiles’ ancient root was a contemporary of Avraham, while only yisrael

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Nimrod was a great opponent of Avraham. He was a descendant of the lowliest son of Noah (Baereishis, 10:6-10).

He fooled people and enslaved his subjects. He reveled in the use of violence and would use others for his own self

aggrandizement (see the commentary of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch to the earlier cited verses). When Avraham

discovered the truth of Hashem, Nimrod had him thrown into a blazing furnace to try and burn him alive.

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were part of him. (The contemporary human core is deeply impacted by the deeds of all the

people from those earliest generations because they had tremendous “root souls” that included

within them many souls of all the later generations.

)

Because of the choice of Avraham, every Jew has a hidden love for Hashem. He has no

choice about this inner urge and it can never be fully extinguishaid. This aspect of his neshama

has a tremendous thirst and longing to be attached to Hashem. He might not even be aware of

this great love that he has for Hashem because it is covered up, but it exists. Deep in a Jew’s

heart he has a great thirst, a yearning to connect with Hashem! He loves Hashem just as the

fathers of our nation, giants like Avraham, loved Him!

Our sages tell us that every Jew must ask himself, “masai yagiu ma’asai lima’asei avosai

Avraham, Yitzchok, ViYaakov?” “When will my deeds reach those of my forefathers Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob?”(Tanna Dbei Eliyahu Rabba chapter 25) How can we even consider asking of

ourselves such lofty levels of spirituality? Are we like the avos, fathers, who are called “the

chariot of Hashem” because they completely nullified themselves to His will every moment of

their lives?

How can we be like them when we are so far removed from any portion of their

loftiness?

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The Torah teaches that individuals those earlier generations lived much longer lives than what we are accustomed

to today. For example, most of the pre-flood individuals mentioned in Bereishis, lived for almost a thousand years,

and Avraham avinu lived for 175 years. This is because those individuals had root souls that could have a great

impact.

"Our Sages teach (Midrash Bereishis Rabba 47 on the verse Vayaal Elokim mei’al Avraham, And God arose from

atop Abraham), “HaAvos hen hen hamercava” the patriarchs were the chariot. See also the comments of the Maharal

in his Gur Aryeh on Lech Lecha (17:26). Maharal explained, “For through them the Divine presence rested on

earth. The Shechinah was on them. This is why they were the seat of the Divine presence and its chariot.” There are

deep matters here. The little we can grasp is that the patriarchs merited to fully connect their minds, hearts, and

existence to God with no barrier at all! Their existence was handed over to Him! They did not leave any independent

will to themselves! All their thoughts and actions were displays of service to Hashem! In all their statements and

movements, even in seemingly prosaic matters, the holiness of the Divine and His Shechina were revealed! It was so

pronounced that He linked His name with theirs as we say, “Elokai Avraham, Elokai Yitzchak, V’Elokei Yaakov, God

of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob." (Michtav Me’Eliyahu volume 2 page 160).

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The answer lies in the fact that each of us has, in the root of his soul, a small part of the

souls of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, the three forefathers of the Jewish nation. When a Jew

is able to connect with that root in his neshama, his hidden love for Hashem is revealed, and he

may attain the spiritual level of touching the patriarchs, yagiu ma’asai lima’asei avosai.

Why Jews In Moments Of Truth Might Bond With Hashem

The Tanya explains that we sometimes find a Jew who is very far from Hashem. He never really

thinks about Hashem, and may even transgress most commandments. And yet, when faced with a

choice of surrendering his life or worshipping idols, this same Jew will give up his life rather

than bow to avodah zarah, paganism. We have seen this many times in our history, even during

the Holocaust. When people on a very low level of religious observance – they might have only

barely been aware of the fact that they were even Jewish – were confronted with the choice of

either dying or doing something that was blatantly against Hashem, they chose to give up their

lives.

Rav Shimon Huberband

(Hashem yikom damo, May God avenge his murder) recorded the

following stories

“Between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur in the year 5700 (September 1939) a car filled with

German officers approached the shul, synagogue, in Piotrkow, Poland. The officers removed all

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Shem Mishmuel (see note 1) points out that the language of the mandate is that we must touch the level of our

forefathers. We must slightly resemble them. We reach this point whenever we push ourselves beyond the normal

limits of service.

He was a young prodigy who, despite his martyr’s death at Treblinka in 1942, helped Emmanuel Ringelblum

(May God avenge his murder) create an archive of historic record during the Holocaust. Rav Huberband was a Torah

scholar who was sensitive to the uniquely religious lessons in the stories he recorded. His writings were discovered

after the war and published in 1969 under the title, Kiddush Hashem, Sanctification of the Name.

Selections are taken from the book Kiddush Hashem as quoted in the journal Oraysa Volume 21, Pages 109-11

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the Torah scrolls, more than thirty, from the synagogue and placed them in the yard in front of

the sanctuary. The yard was surrounded with a wooden fence. Two sides of the fence delineated

the streets Pilsudski and Yrzulymske and the other two walls of the yard were homes and

buildings that belonged to Jews. Along the fence on the Pilsudski street side there was a small

door. The Nazis stationed an armed guard there to ensure that Jews not enter the yard and grab

their Torah scrolls back.

“Day after day passed and finally the holiday of Sukkos

arrived. It started to rain, and

The Torah scrolls remained exposed to the elements. They were sinking in the mud of the yard

and getting ruined from the filth and water. Jews who walked by the yard and saw the

desecration of Torah, the terrible Chillul Hashem, desecration of God’s name, felt their hearts

pound with rage and their eyes mist with tears. They clenched their fists in their pockets but did

nothing.

“This desecration of the sacred deeply affected Avraham Weisshoff . He had served for

many years as a member of the town leadership and was one of the pillars of the Bund (a

socialist Jewish political organization in Poland which campaigned relentlessly against religious

Orthodoxy and Zionism) in Piotrkow. One day Mr. Weisshoff organized friends from the Bund

and while the guard stood at the doorway on Pilsudski street they entered the yard through the

home of a Jew on the other side. Virtually under the nose of the guard they quickly gathered all

the Torah scrolls and escaped the way they entered. When the guard later entered the yard he

could not find a single scroll.”

Rav Huberband related the following event as well.

“Dr. Gonshar was deputy Governor of the Kozhnitz region and a veterinarian. He would speak

about Jews with disdain and scorn. The leaders of the community would avoid meeting with this

‘anti-Semite’ for any need and would always seek to meet with the Governor himself. There were

rumors though that he was an apostate and that his wife was Jewish. His facial appearance

strengthened the suspicions yet no one had the brazenness to determine the truth.

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The festival during the Jewish month of Tishrei that is characterized as zman simchaseinu, the time of our joy.

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“On the day after Yom Kippur of 5700 (Sunday, September 24, 1939) the Germans

arrived in Kozhnitz and began to kidnap Jews for forced labor. Dr. Gonshar was walking down

the street when two of them approached him and asked, ‘Are you a Jew?’

“Dr. Gonshar did not hesitate for a moment and responded with pride, ‘I am a Jew!’

The Germans seized him and took him with the ‘other Jews’ to the Gestapo.

“They brought a Torah scroll, put it before Dr. Gonshar, and ordered him, ‘Tear it and

burn it!’

“His face turned white as plaster and he said with pride, ‘No! I would never do such a

crime!’

“They immediately began to hit him with murderous blows and torture him terribly until

it seemed that he was dead from the pain. In fact he survived.

“After that event he told his wife he could not stay anymore in Kozhnitz for he was

ashamed. He decided to travel to Zelichov.

“As he was traveling he was stopped by the guard at a bridge and was told he would only

be allowed to cross the bridge if he would say ten times: ‘I am a Jew – a pig.’

“He said, ‘I am a Jew, not a pig.’

“They beat him, they made him bleed, and eventually they allowed him to cross. He

arrived at Zelichov and he poisoned himself. He lived for a bit after that. They transferred him to

the hospital in Kozhnitz. The Jews of the city tried their best to save him from death but they were

unsuccessful. He breathed his last in the hospital.

“Before he died he asked that they say Viduy, the confessional prayer, with him and bury

him in a Jewish grave. The Jews of Kozhnitz fulfilled his request. He was buried in the cemetery

near the tomb of the Maggid of Kozhnitz…”

“It is possible that psychologists and those who study the Jewish character will someday

be interested in this historic story. For us it is no longer relevant whether Dr. Gonshar lived his

life as a Jew should, for us it is important to record the main thing, the wicked ones tortured Dr.

Gonshar and he gave up life and comfort like the holiest of the holy…

After his passing, his wife also returned to her nation and roots…”

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Recent history also provides many examples of this truth. In 1973, in the midst of the Yom

Kippur War, a group of Jewish Israeli soldiers were taken into captivity by the Egyptians. While

in jail in Egypt they were tortured terribly. The sadistic Egyptians would beat them into pulps of

blood and bone almost constantly. They were interred in solitary confinement and told that any

communication with other Jewish prisoners would cause severe punishment. One day while in

his cell, Rav Hillel Unsdorfer, Of Blessed Memory, was whispering words of tefilla, prayer, when

he heard a scratch on his wall.

“ ‘Hillel do you hear me?’

“He did not want to respond. He still remembered the torture of the morning. He did not

want to risk his life.

“After more knocks and further fevered whispers of his name, Hillel took the risk and

whispered, ‘Who is it?’

“ ‘Chipopo.’

“Chipopo had been a soldier together with Hillel along the Suez Canal. He was a light-

headed individual who always had a joke ready and rarely took anything seriously. Now, Chipipo

asked, ‘What are you doing all day?’

“ ‘I am praying.’

“ ‘Praying all day???’

“ ‘Yes.’

“ ‘Hillel, can you pray aloud? That way I will be able to pray with you.’

“ ‘I can’t. The Egyptians will beat us. I can’t take the risk.’

“ ‘Please Hillel, please, I want to pray to Hashem.’

“Hillel started to recite Shma Yisrael aloud, and Chipipo repeated it after him. The

guards burst in and started to beat the two of them with metal sticks. They only left once Hillel

and Chipipo had collapsed in pools of pain and blood.

“Then again Hillel heard a soft voice.

“ ‘Hillel, it was worth it…’

“ ‘I was hit.’

“ ‘I was also hit but it was worth it…’

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“Hillel realized then the nature of the soul of a simple Jew. Prayer gives to the Jewish

soul so much joy that even the pain of torture is not equal to the pleasure inherent in the gift of

prayer.”

How are these realities comprehensible? On the one hand, when many Jews are faced with a

much easier test where they must forgo some physical pleasure, such as a piece of non-kosher

food, failure is often the outcome. On the other hand, when it is a test where they must give up

their lives, a pain that is much greater than that of abstaining from any physical desire, they are

willing to do so immediately, with no need for preparation. What is the explanation for this

glaring contradiction?

As the Tanya explains, the Jew always wants to be attached to Hashem, even while he is

doing terrible aveiros. He does not want to sever his connection to Hashem even as he ignores

His commands. When a Jew violates a Divine command it is due to a temporary spirit of

insanity! The yetzer hara fills man with a ruach shtus, spirit of insanity, and convinces him that

he could do an aveira and still remain connected to Hashem.

The Tanya explains that every sin is rooted in avodah zarah, paganism, and that a person

who sins is serving his yetzer hara instead of Hashem, but the ruach shtus fools him and blinds

the sinner to this reality. When he is faced, however, with a test involving literal avodah zara,

where he is asked to blatantly defy Hashem and literally tear himself away by bowing to a false

god, then there is no way for the ruach shtus to fool him! He realizes that he is about to

disconnect from Hashem, his inner voice rises up in protest, and he willingly sacrifices himself

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This account was taken from page 65 of Lirot Vliro’t, To shoot and to see, a collection of testimonies of Israeli

soldiers and spies about times they witnessed the hand of the Almighty while standing in harm’s way trying to save

Jewish lives. It was published by the Chassidim of Belz and their organization dedicated to communicating Torah to

not yet observant Jewish brethren, Tzohar. It was authored by Yosef Sherber.

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for the sake of Heaven. Thus a person who banishes the ruach shtus will never sin! Such a

person would look at every sin as a form of pagan practice, and consequently avoid sin in all its

varied forms.

A great treasure of love for Hashem exists deep within our hearts. All that we need do is

reveal it! Given these hidden treasures, the Tanya explains, Torah rightfully states “Ki karov

elecha hadavar mi'od.” “The matter is indeed very close.” The Tanya dedicates itself mostly to

providing advice on how to help remove temporary insanity from our lives so as to enable us to

reveal the hidden love within each one of us, and thereby help us stay attached to Hashem.

The Two Souls

עשר דחאו קידצ דחא לארשי שיא לכלד [ב"פ 'נ רעש ח"עבו] השודקה רעשב ל"ז ו"חרה ש"מ יפ לע ןינעה רואיב ךא

םדב תשבלתמה איהו ארחא ארטסו הפילקה דצמ תחא שפנ תושפנ יתש ןהש יתישע ינא תומשנו ביתכד תומשנ יתש שי

איה םדב רשבה שפנ יכ ביתכדכו ףוגה תויחהל םדאה

The explanation of the matter is based on what Rav Chaim Vital wrote in Shaar Hakedushah

work of mussar, inspiring discipline, written by Rav Chaim Vital, Of Blessed Memory,) that each

member of the Jewish nation - both the righteous and the wicked - have two souls. As it is

written, “And souls I made.” These create two life forces, one life force from the side of the evil

husks, the sitra achra, the Other Side, and this piece of the soul clothes itself in the blood of the

person to enliven the body, as it is written, “For the soul of the flesh is in the blood.”

The Tanya begins its answer with a citation from Shaar Hakedusha in which Rav Vital

taught that each Jew was created with two souls: nefesh bahamis,an animal spirit, and nefesh

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See also Etz Chaim, gate 50, chapter two

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Elokis, a Godly life. One soul advocates a physical, limited, life. The other, calls for a Godly,

infinite, life.

Speech And Breath

The physical world and its components were created with Divine speech, for example “Vayomer

Elokim yehi ohr” “And God said let there be light” (Bereishis 1:3) and “Vayomer Elokim naaseh

Adam” “And God said let us make man” (Bereishis 1:26). There was however one creation that

was not commanded to appear, but was rather crafted by Him in a unique manner. This is the

soul which appeared when “Vayipach biapav nishmas chaim” “Hashem blew into man a living

soul” (Bereishis 2:7). What accounts for this difference? Why was Adam’s soul created with

breath?

To answer we must first ask, what is unique about Adam’s soul? Every animal, not just

man, has a soul of some kind. In fact, the Kabbalists teach us that even inanimate objects, such as

rocks, have a life force. Yet, we only find the language of “Vayipach biapav nishmas chaim”

about Adam. Why?

Furthermore, why does the Torah continue after saying “naaseh Adam,” Let us make

Adam, to add the details of “vayipach biapav nishmas chaim,” that Hashem blew into him a

living soul. What is the Torah adding with this verse?

The answer is as follows: Everything in Creation was created through speech, as the

Mishna in Avos says, “The world was created with ten utterances.” (5:1) (Obviously, when we

say that Hashem created the world through speech we must understand that this is only a parable;

the “speech” of Hashem is not physical speech like that of man.)

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What do we mean by “speech?” The life of a person is his breath. The phrase “nishmas

chaim,” soul of life, is related to the word nishima, which means breath. Our sages teach that

when the Torah refers to the death penalty – misa – without specifying in which form the

sentence is to be executed, it always is referring to chenek, strangulation, because strangling is

the most direct way of killing, as it takes away the breath. (Other ways of killing are more

indirect. Stoning, for example, kills by breaking the body until it cannot hold life. The body

becomes a broken vessel and therefore dies. Strangulation, in contrast, is an assault on life

itself.)

When a person speaks he expels breath, which hits upon the vocal chords, and the five

sections of his mouth divide his breath into letters. Essentially, speech is breath clothed in letters.

Through this physical image we are able to draw a comparison and understand creation: Hashem

made the world with utterances means that creation is a contraction of His essence. Hashem’s

“breath” (G-dly Life), clothed itself in the letters of the ten utterances of creation.

The entire physical world, the realm created by Divine speech, is not unlimited essence of

Hashem! Rather it is limited forms of His essence.

Now, we know that we cannot truly speak about the essence of Hashem. Any

descriptions that we use regarding Hashem are only referring to the way that Hashem expresses

Himself in the world, but His essence is completely beyond any description. For instance, when

we say “Keil Rachum,” Merciful G-d, we are not describing Hashem’s essence, but rather the

way that He interacts with us.

Through all of creation, Hashem never revealed his essence. On the third day, when

Hashem said “Tadshei ha’aretz deshe” “Let the earth spawn lawns and grass,” (Bereishis 1:12)

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the grass and all the plant life were created in the physical world. In the higher realms, “deshe”

“lawns and grass,” had other meanings. According to the Zohar “deshe” actually refers to angels,

who were created on the third day, along with everything else that is rooted in and manifests the

Divine attribute of Tiferes, Godly Beauty. However, this is only a revelation of a middah,

attribute, not “etzem Elokus” (Hashem’s essence). Each of the ten statements of creation has

many meanings and therefore contained within these ten utterances are all the details of all the

worlds, both physical and spiritual.

Man Is Unique

When Hashem said “na’aseh adam bitzalmeinu kidmuseinu” “Let us make man in our

image and form,” (Bereishis 1:26) man was created in the “image of G-d.” On the physical level,

that means that man walks with an upright posture, he is very intelligent, and he has the ability to

“rule over much of the natural world.” We find these attributes in the gentiles, as well, even

though they do not have a G-dly soul.

As noted above, however, Jews have two souls. One of these souls is a G-dly soul. This

G-dly soul is not physical and was not created by one of the ten utterances, by which we mean

Divine speech, which as explained above is a limitation of His essence. A Jew’s G-dly soul was

instead created by pure, Divine breath! The nefesh Elokis is unique among all the creations of the

world! Relative to other creations, it is like the unlimited relative to the limited! Thus after

Hashem says, “Let us make man” - physical man, the Torah tells us - “Vayipach be’apav nishmas

chaim” “And He blew into his nostrils a soul of life.” Hashem blew into man a pure breath, not

one limited in letters to endow man with a G-dly soul.

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This is because this breath came from “etzem elokus” itself. As the Ramban

writes,

“mon dinafuch metochyuso umipnimyuso nofach” “One who blows, exhales from his inside and

essence.” Hashem’s essence cannot be limited and clothed in letters, as it says, “No thought can

grasp it at all.” The nishmas chaim, soul of life, which is a “piece of Hashem’s Essence,” is the

G-dly soul of the Jew! (The verse that begins “vayipach” refers to the Jew. As our sages tell us,

the word “adam” refers specifically to Jews.)

When a neshama is davuk to Hashem (clings to Hashem), this dveykus, attachment, is

beyond any understanding or explanation because the neshama itself is beyond explanation.

There is no way to describe this dveykus because it is a natural light that shines into the neshama.

It is not comparable to any emotion.

One might think that dveykus, or ahavas Hashem, love of G-d, is comparable to the love

and awe that an individual experiences when he comes in contact with a very great person. When

this great, noble person expresses his love towards a simple man, that simple man feels a

tremendous feeling of love back toward the greater man. (The Tanya, in chapter 46, actually does

use a similar parable, but this is merely a tool to help the physical body go along with the

neshama. The body only understands physical terms and parables, but those words could not

describe true dveykus of the neshama to Hashem.)

Dveykus, however, is not like that. Dveykus is not a form of love which is comparable to

yet stronger than the love one human being may have for another. No! Dveykus is a light that

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Rav Moshe Ben Nachman, known as Ramban, was born in 1194 in Spain and left this world in 1270 in the land of

Israel. The Ramban was the greatest Torah giant of his generation. He wrote important works of Jewish law and

Talmudic commentary. His commentary to the Bible is one of the classics. He was a physician as well as a Torah

giant. In 1263 he was forced to defend the Jewish faith against the claims of the heretic Pablo Christiani that the

Jews should abandon our faith and accept the Christian way. While the Ramban won the dispute, he was later exiled

from Spain because of church complaints against him. The Ramban then traveled to the land of Israel. He restored

Jewish life to Jerusalem while in Israel, where he eventually returned his soul to its Maker.

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shines into the soul and fills it with an overwhelming drive for “k’los hanefesh,” a pining soul

filled with an urge for transcendence. A Jew inspired with feelings of attraction to Hashem feels

that he is willing to surrender physical life for all he desires is to return to his ultimate source –

the Divine essence! The dveykus of a neshama with Hashem is not expressed through letters,

like the rest of creation. It is a dveykus of etzem, essence. The etzem of the soul is davuk with the

etzem of Hashem.

Judaism Is About The Soul And The Transcendent!

The topic of the Jewish soul is strongly connected with the holiday of Chanukah.

We know that Greek philosophers and scholars appreciated the wisdom of the Torah.

They recognized the greatness of the Torah and even that of the Jewish nation. So what was it

that caused the Greeks such a passionate hatred toward Jews?

Their profound agitation arose from Jewish practices and beliefs that extend beyond the

intellect.

They were upset that the Jews are a soulful people. They rejected Judaism’s notions of

spirituality and its attempt to connect to Hashem with a dveykus that is completely above all

intellect. The Greeks could not grasp “nishmas Yisrael,” the soul of Israel, and they responded

with a terrible fury directed toward it. The Greeks attempted to make a secular Torah, and a

secular Beis Hamikdash, Temple, one void of holiness.

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

In the prayer devoted to thanks for the Chanukah salvation, we recall how the Greeks sought lihaaviram

meichukei retzonecha, to remove them from the chukim, statutes, of Your will. There are many mitzvos, some are

called mishpatim, laws of justice, and others chukim, laws that transcend human logic. In the prayer of Chanukah,

we stress that the Greeks opposed chukim. Since mishpatim are comprehensible to the human mind, the Greeks did

not fight them. However, since the chukim transcend human understanding the Greeks fought against their

observance. The Jews displayed messirus nefesh, sacrifice of self that transcended the normal limits of human

rational benefit analysis and as a result overcame the Greeks who sought to make the mind supreme.

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Essentially, their claim was that the mind is incredible, and that therefore the intellect is

all that man needs, and there is no need for neshama. They sought to deny the reality of the soul.

Yet the joy of Chanukah is that the neshama of the Torah was revealed! The Kohanim,

Temple priests, were “neshamadik” people, and they fought to keep the bais hamikdash like

Israel – as a place of holiness, not mere intellect! The miracle of Chanukah was made by

Hashem with intention with the lights of the menorah, which specifically represents the

neshama! In Proverbs King Solomon taught, “Ner Hashem, nishmas adam.” “The lamp of G-d is

the soul of man.” (20:27) The soul of Klal Yisrael, the Jewish people, was shining, and its

reflection in this world were the shining flames of the menorah in the Temple!

Every year on Chanukah there is a new chanukas habayis (dedication of the bais

hamikdash), and the whole bais hamikdash is built upon dveykus. Each Chanukah the ohr

haganuz (the hidden light that Hashem saved for the tzadikim) shines through the darkness of

Greece, the denial of neshama, and illuminates our neshamos with a great light.

Our world is filled with great wisdom. Hashem has created a sophisticated world. Each plant,

cell, and corner of reality reveal wonders of wisdom and genius. Divine service also requires

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great wisdom. Lesson Two explores why wisdom is found throughout the creation and what is

the essential difference between holy and secular wisdom.

Lesson Two: The Power of Wisdom

At the conclusion of lesson one we mentioned that the Tanya quotes Rav Vital as saying that all

Jews are born with two souls. The full quotation from the Tanya is:

עשר דחאו קידצ דחא לארשי שיא לכלד [ב"פ 'נ רעש ח"עבו] השודקה רעשב ל"ז ו"חרה ש"מ יפ לע ןינעה רואיב ךא

םדב תשבלתמה איהו ארחא ארטסו הפילקה דצמ תחא שפנ תושפנ יתש ןהש יתישע ינא תומשנו ביתכד תומשנ יתש שי

איה םדב רשבה שפנ יכ ביתכדכו ףוגה תויחהל םדאה.

This matter can be explained based on a teaching of HaRav Chaim Vital o.b.m.

found in the

book Shaar Hakedusha, the Gates of Holiness. He writes that every Jew, no matter if he is a

tzadik or a rasha, has two souls (neshamos) as the verse states, “And I created souls.” These are

the two life-forces (nefashos). One is from the side of the “kelippah”,the husks, the “Other

side” (the side of evil), and it is clothed in the blood of man to sustain the body, as the verse

states, “For the soul (nefesh) of the flesh is in the blood.”

Nefesh habehamis, “the animal soul,” is man’s physical life force. Every animal,

including man, has an “animal soul,” an animating life force. This animal soul is a non-spiritual

soul; it is physical in nature.

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When mentioning a righteous person traditionally we invoke a blessing, thus after quoting the Rabbi the addition

of the letters o.b.m. represents the sentiment that he is Of Blessed Memory.

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To understand the concept of an “animal soul,” we must clarify the term “physical” as

opposed to “spiritual.” Generally, anything which cannot be experienced through one of the five

senses falls into the category of the spiritual, and anything that can be felt with the five senses

falls into the category of the physical. This is not a complete definition, but in a general sense it

is true.

תואתו .הלעמל הבגנש שאה דוסימ הואגו סעכ ונייהד הבש םיער תודוסי עבראמ תוער תודמה לכ תואב הנממו

.חורה דוסימ םילטב םירבדו תוראפתהו תונצילו תוללוהו .גונעת ינימ לכ םיחימצמ םימה יכ םימה דוסימ םיגונעתה

רפעה דוסימ תובצעו תולצעו.

And from it (the animal soul) stem all the evil attributes, from the four evil foundations that are

contained within it. They are: Anger and Haughtiness, from the foundation of Fire, which flares

upwards. Desire for physical pleasures, from the foundation of Water, as water nourishes many

enjoyable delights. Frivolity, Mockery, Self-Glorification, and speaking words of no purpose are

rooted in the foundation of Wind. Finally, Laziness and Depression are from the foundation of

Dust.

The Tanya is referring here to the “Four Foundations,” the basic elements that make up

the physical world: fire, water, wind and dust. These four foundations represent the four letters in

the shem havaya, Hashem’s name of being, ק-ו-ק-י, which Hashem used to put His “seal” on

creation. This is a display of the great depth and wisdom found in the natural world. In order to

understand these four yesodos, foundations, of the physical world, we will first explore a number

of spiritual concepts found in Torah. As we shall see, the external world reveals Hashem’s great

wisdom.

The more we learn and understand the Torah, the better we are able to understand the

following words of our Sages that are recorded in the Zohar: “Histakel kudsha brich hu

bi’Ooraisa ubara alma” “Hashem looked in the Torah and created the world.” Everything that

we see in the world we find in the Torah, and all of Torah can be found in the world. The wisdom

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of creation is incredibly deep. Man’s purpose on this earth is to reveal the wisdom and G-dliness

evident in each and every aspect of this world. Man’s purpose is to realize and proclaim to all,

“Milo kol haaretz kvodo!” “The entire world is filled with Hashem’s splendor!”(Yeshayahu 6:3)

Everything that Hashem created, He created with chochmah, wisdom. In every minute

detail of the universe astounding and deep wisdom can be discovered. Since the main way that

Hashem reveals Himself is through the attribute of Chochmah, wisdom, it follows that the best

way for man to connect with Hashem is through his own human intellect. A person who wants to

experience Elokus, G-dliness, must contemplate the wisdom of the creator. And how is it

possible for a human to contemplate the Chochmah of Hashem? Only through the Torah.

The Ramban o.b.m. explains (in his introduction to the chumash, the five books of the

Torah) that there are forty nine shaarei binah, gates of understanding. These are the forty nine

different facets of creation that one can study. Such study and deep contemplation of the

greatness of creation is one way a person may connect with Hashem.

Another path available to the Jew is to learn and understand the Torah in a deeper way.

Through the wisdom of the Torah, a Jew will be able to comprehend the wisdom of creation in

detail. The Ramban continues beyond the forty-nine gates and says that there is a fiftieth gate,

the shaar ha’nun, and it is pure G-dliness.

The holy Zohar has a fascinating translation of the verse “kulam bichochmah asisa” You

created everything with wisdom. (Tehillim 104:24) According to the Zohar it should be rendered

slightly differently, as “kulam bichochmah isbiriru,” everything became purified through

chochmah, wisdom. To fully understand this part of the Zohar, we must first understand a few

introductory concepts.

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Presently everything in creation consists of a mixture of good and evil. The “good” part

reveals G-dliness in this world while the “bad” part hides this Holiness. Hashem allows this evil

to exist so that there should be free will. Through chochmah a person is able to separate the good

part of creation from the bad, and thereby reveal G-dliness in the world. In other words, the

attribute of chochmah reveals G-dliness in the world – “kulam bichocma isbiriru.” Just as

Hashem “purified” everything through chochmah, we must also use our chochmah to purify and

separate the evil part of creation that hides G-dliness. When a person learns the Torah and

immerses himself in its wisdom, Hashem reveals the secrets of the Torah to him. As he devotes

himself to the Torah more and more, the secrets of the entire world become revealed to him.

For the truth is that we live in an incredible world. It is one in which a man can choose to

live in a Gan Eden, basking in the wellsprings of the wisdom of the Torah, or he can choose to

live a simple, animalistic life, perhaps even lower than an animal.

Floods Of Wisdom

The wisdom of the Torah reaches very far, and very deep.

The holy Zohar describes the flood of Noach as “the opening of the gates of wisdom.”

What does this mean? The Torah speaks of a flood that destroyed the entire world, and the Zohar

refers to this event as the opening of the gates of wisdom?! What is this relationship between the

Torah (wisdom) and the flood? Is there really a connection between the two? According to our

sages, there is.

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Our sages tells us that when Hashem was giving the Torah to the Jewish people, the

nations of the world, sensing that something extraordinary was happening, went to Bilaam

and

asked “Hashem lamabul yashav?” “Is Hashem bringing another flood to the world?” (Tehillim

29:10)

Bilaam answered, “Hashem oz l’amo yitein,” “Hashem is giving the Torah to His nation.”

(Tehillim 29:11) Our sages also note find that the mabul lasted forty days, just as the Torah was

transmitted to Moshe over forty days. But wherein lies the connection? The explanation is as

follows. Chochmah is a tremendously powerful force. When used properly, it is a wondrous tool,

an antidote for all ailments. However, if, Heaven forbid, chochmah is not used appropriately, it

can become the polar opposite. The Chovos Halevavos

calls misused wisdom “a plague which

has no cure.” Hashem gives each of us the ability to choose. We can use chochmah in the right

way and fill the world with good, or we can do the opposite, chas v’shalom, heaven forbid.

Herein lies the connection made by the holy Zohar between the mabul, flood, and the

gates of wisdom. The time of the flood was a time marked for a down-pouring of wisdom into

this world. If the world had been worthy this would have been manifested in the simple form of

chochmah, a tremendous revelation of wisdom. But the world was not ready, and a flood of

destruction was released instead, representative of the destruction caused by misused chochmah.

Modern Wisdom

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The prophet of the nations who tried to harm the Jewish nation while we were in the wilderness.

Duties of the Heart, a classic thirteenth century work of Jewish ethics, authored by Rabbeinu Bachya Ibn Pekuda.

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The holy Zohar tells us that just as the gates of wisdom opened in the year 600 of Noach’s life,

so too they shall open in the year 600 of each millennium, especially the sixth and final

millennium. Thus 5600 (or 1840 according to the secular calendar) was a time for a down-

pouring of wisdom.

And, in fact, 1840 marks the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. This was the start of

a chain of developments that completely transformed the face of the world. In 1840 the “flood”

of technological advances, which we are still experiencing today, was unleashaid. Today, the

average person’s day-to-day life bears little resemblance to the life of a person who lived only

one hundred years ago. If a man who lived in the 1800s would walk into a simple home of the

21st century he would feel as if he were dreaming. Can you imagine his astonishment at being

able to pick up a small piece of plastic (without any wires) and speak to someone on the other

side of the world? What about email? Do you think he would believe it possible to sit in front of

a machine, type a few letters, press a few buttons, and viola, a moment later his communication

is received by a friend who lives thousands of miles away???! Awesome is the power of

chochmah!

We are all witnesses to the power of mere secular, superficial wisdom to instantly change

the entire world. When we shall merit to experience the revelation p’nimiyus ha’chochmah, of

chochmah in its essence, then we will find Godliness in every detail of creation. We will realize

that the world is filled with the wisdom of the Torah, and see how every single aspect of the

universe corresponds to its source in the Torah. The explosive advances that the world has seen

in the areas of technology and all areas of secular wisdom are like a “peel” that covers and

precedes the uncovering of the hidden and internal essence of the “fruit,” which is the essential

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G-dly chochmah. As long as superficial chochmah is revealed without this essence it is not in a

perfected state. It contains a great mixture of evil along with all of the good.

For example, a car is a wonderful invention. It provides a great convenience to many

people. On the other hand, hundreds of people are killed everyday in car accidents. Every

advance in technology produces new risks. Only when the essential chochmah is revealed shall

the superficial chochmos be purified, and the deficiencies contained in secular chochmah be

perfected.

Perhaps the clearest example of this truth is the discovery of nuclear power and

weaponry. Had Hitler or Nebuchadnezzar

yemach shemam, may their names be blotted out, had

such weapons, the world would have been destroyed long ago. Even today the world only exists

through constant miracles, for we know that at the push of a button it could be destroyed chas

veshalom, heaven forbid. This is what the holy Zohar meant when it referred to the flood that

destroyed the world as the opening of the gates of chochmah. The revelation of wisdom has the

power to destroy the world.

In the time of the Ben Ish Chai

a revolutionary invention was brought to the world: the

train. He was asked the following question: “If Shlomo Hamelech, King Solomon, was the wisest

of all men, why didn’t he invent the train thousands of years ago?!” The Ben Ish Chai answered

that, in truth, Shlomo Hamelech understood the depths of all the wisdoms of the world and

actually could have invented the train in his days. But he didn’t because Hashem did not allow

him to do so as a means of protecting the world, for when wisdom is given to the side of

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Nebuchadnezzar was the wicked Babylonian tyrant who destroyed the first Temple in Jerusalem after we had

lived in the land of Israel for 850 years.

Rav Yosef Chaim (1834-1909), the chief Rabbi of Baghdad during the nineteenth century who authored many

important works of Jewish law, Biblical interpretation, and Kabbalistic thought.

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Holiness, it comes with specific guidelines that correspond to what the world is able to handle

responsibly. Had Shlomo invented the train in his days, it would have started a chain of

developments, which by the time of Nebuchadnezzar may have already reached the atom bomb,

and that would have meant the destruction of the world.

We know as well that the mishkan, the Tabernacle in the desert, was a microcosm of the

world. The Talmud in tractate Brachos (55a) tells us that Betzalel (the appointed builder of the

mishkan) knew how to combine the letters with which heaven and earth were created and that he

used those combinations to build the mishkan. Betzalel needed the wisdom that Hashem used to

create the world to know how to build the mishkan.

And this is precisely why we find that the verses that describe the building of the mishkan

repeatedly use the word chochmah. Just as “kulam bichochmah asisa” (“Hashem, you created all

through chochmah”), (Tehillim 104:24) so too the builders of the mishkan and all of its holy

vessels needed to possess great chochmah. We are told that the beis hamikdash, the Temple, was

built by King Shlomo, “chacham mikol adam,” the wisest of all men. The chochmah of Shlomo

encompassed all of the secrets of the world, as they are all contained within chochmahs haTorah,

the wisdom of Torah.

This level of chochmahs haTorah, chochmahs Shlomo, was almost completely lost with

the destruction of the beis hamikdash. The Vilna Gaon

o.b.m. says that all of the wisdom of

Torah that is known to us is merely a skeleton compared to the chochmah of Shlomo.

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Rabbi Eliyahu son of Rav Shlomo Zalman Kramer of Vilna (1720-1797) was one of the greatest Torah giants over

the last five hundred years. He was an exceptional master of all areas of Torah and a source of great Torah

achievement and inspiration.

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Now, that having been said, we do still have the holy Torah in its current state, and even

the levels of Torah that have been lost can be revealed to select individuals. One who immerses

himself fully in Torah study and completely devotes himself to the Torah with a desire to bring

himself closer to Hashem will merit to experience the light of the Torah. Hashem shall open the

Torah before Him, and reveal its secrets.

Serve Hashem With Chochmah

We have now learned of the great power of chochmah on a global level, but the topic is also very

relevant to each person in his individual service to Hashem.

The benefit of serving Hashem by using our intellect can be understood through a parable

of two farmers. The first farmer, Farmer A, was raised on a farm. His family had been farming

for generations, and naturally he feels a deep connection to the land that he inherited. He works

the land in the good old-fashioned way that he learned from his father, who learned from his

father. The oxen plowed the fields, and the farmer planted the crops.

The second farmer, Farmer B, spent years studying modern agricultural techniques and

learned that production rates could be multiplied one hundred fold by nourishing the land with

minerals. He also learned that the amount of human labor needed to produce crops could be

drastically reduced by using tractors and other machinery.

One day, Farmer A looked over at Farmer B with all of his new contraptions. “Surely he

will not succeed,” Farmer A thought to himself. “After all, he is so lazy. He just sits on his tractor

and drives around all day, while I devote my heart and soul to the land. Certainly, I will reap the

fruits of my back-breaking labor.”

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When harvest season arrived Farmer A was appalled to find that Farmer B’s crop was a

hundred times larger than his! “Where is the justice?!” He fumed.

But he was wrong. Justice lies in the fact that Farmer B worked with his chochmah, his

human intellect, while Farmer A worked like an ox.

The same concept can be applied to our service to Hashem. We find people who say, “I

am a simple Jew. I serve Hashem with all my heart. I daven intensely, with all my strength. Why

should I confuse myself with all the deeper levels of Torah? I will serve Hashem with

simplicity,

with all my strength, and certainly Hashem will raise me to greater levels of

dveykus

than all these ‘mystics!’ ” We see, however, that they are mistaken!

The ones who study Torah in depth, and delve into the deep Torah of chassidus and

Kabbalah (assuming that they do so with a pure heart and proper intentions) reach much loftier

levels of dveykus baHashem! Through chochmah one realizes the root of the mitzvah and has a

far more powerful spiritual experience. The explanation of this phenomenon is simple. Hashem

created man to be a great chochom, a creature of wonderful intelligence. One who immerses

himself in chochmah is called an adam, Man in his true form. The verse says about Shlomo

Hamelech, “vaHashem aheivo” (“And Hashem loved him.”) ( Shmuel 2 12:24)We do not find

this language anywhere else throughout Tanach, the Hebrew Bible. Why? Because Shlomo was

the epitome of a true Man - a great chochom – and therefore he was loved.

Chochmas HaMalchus - Chochmas Shlomo

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In truth, there certainly is a time for serving Hashem with simplicity, and one must understand when and how to

apply that aspect of service to Hashem. This apparent contradiction requires greater clarification, we will address

this issue in other lessons.

Connection. Discussed in greater detail in lesson one.

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The holy books tell us that there are two aspects of chochmah: chochmah ila’a and

chochmah tata’a, the higher wisdom and the lower wisdom. The higher chochmah is represented

in the first letter yud in Hashem’s name spelled ק-ו-ק-י , and the lower chochmah is represented

by the last letter of the Hashem’s name spelled י-נ-ד-א, which is also a yud.

What is the meaning of these terms? Lower chochmah is the understanding of how

Hashem expresses Himself in His world, a wisdom that involves many detailed concepts. Lower

chochmah pertains to this world and is contained in the laws and concepts of the Torah, which

essentially reveal the wisdom of Hashem through worldly actions. This is chochmah tata’a.

Higher chochmah, chochmah ila’a, on the other hand, is the “understanding” of elokus, G-

dliness, itself. Chochmah ila’a is about transcendence, connecting to what is above and beyond

this world.

But you ask, “Isn’t Hashem completely beyond our understanding?” In truth, chochmah

ila’a is not a wisdom that is understood with human intellect. Rather, this type of connection to

elokus is only through the G-dly soul of a Jew, which is itself a “part” of Hashem so to speak, as

we discussed in lesson one above. Chochmah ila’a is the eitz haChaim, the tree of life.

The chochmah of Shlomo was of the first type, chochmah tata’a, or chochmahs

hamalchus, literally the wisdom of kingship. The difference between chochmahs hamalchus and

chochmah ila’a is comparable to the difference between the wisdom of a great king who

successfully manages his country and the wisdom of a great philosopher. The wisdom of the

philosopher is generally at a higher and more abstract level, and the wisdom of the king is more

involved with the pragmatic details of everyday living. The king expresses and reveals his lower

wisdom through his actions in the physical world. The philosopher, on the other hand, must

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generally remove himself from the physicality of the world to express and reveal his higher

wisdom.

Chochmah ila’a can only be attained through a high level of dveykus. Chochmahs

hamalchus can be revealed through everyday life, as in a simple conversation. With chochmah

tata’a, for example, one can speak about a mundane object, like a piece of wood, and reveal the

deepest secrets of the Torah that are contained in that mundane object. This was the chochmah of

Shlomo.

Shlomo wanted to reveal Torah to the entire world. He wanted to be mashiach, the

messiah! (In fact, he fell short of the level of mashiach only by a hairsbreadth. The holy Zohar

says that Shlomo actually revealed too much and in doing so stepped beyond his boundaries.)

Shlomo was involved in the work of mashiach. All the greatest and wisest kings of his time came

to learn from him, to hear his words of deepest wisdom. Through Shlomo we have been given a

glimpse of the mashiach, for as the Rambam writes, mashiach will be a great chochom, greater

than Shlomo Hamelech. The prophets further tell us that all the islands of the world will yearn to

hear the wisdom of mashiach. The nations of the world can appreciate chochmas hamalchus.

When they see how Jewish kings have a deep understanding of each matter of the physical world

they become inspired.

The “flood” of secular wisdom that is pouring through the world in our times is quite

astounding, and this is a sign that the world is being prepared for mashiach. Once people are

familiar with superficial wisdom, it will be possible for them to understand the essential wisdom

that is the root and source of this secular, external wisdom. Secular wisdom, the wisdom of the

physical world, is merely a set of meshalim, parables, for the true chochmah. This is the meaning

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of the verse which says that Shlomo Hamelech said “three thousand parables.” Shlomo revealed

how everything in the physical world is a parable for the spiritual world.

Shlomo HaMelech And The Menorah

This chochmah of Shlomo, chochmahs hamalchus, is revealed through the lights of the menorah.

The Greeks establishaid seven categories of wisdom. (In fact, the seforim tell us that the verse

“kulam bichochmah asisa” (“You created everything with chochmah”), (Tehillim 104:24)is a

holy source for this concept because creation took place in seven days, with each day

corresponding to one of the seven chochmos.) The seven branches of the menorah in the beis

hamikdash represent these seven chochmos.

Shlomo Hamelech made ten additional menorahs aside from the menorah that stood

always in the beis hamikdash. He did this because he wanted to have seventy branches of

menorahs (seven branches for each of the additional ten menorahs) to correspond to the seventy

nations of the world, each of which receives spiritual nourishment from a specific spark of

chochmah. Lighting the seventy lights represented making the seventy nations subordinate to the

true chochmah. When the kohein gadol would light the menorah in the beis hamikdash, the

minds of klal yisrael, the entire Jewish people, would also become illuminated with the light of

the Torah. (In our times, we are still able to catch a glimpse of this great light through the

Chanukah candles. Hashem has given us a bright spark in the middle of the dark winter to

illuminate us with the light of the Torah.)

We find yet another connection between Shlomo Hamelech and the menorah. When the

Torah describes the construction of the menorah, the verse says that it was made from one solid

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piece of gold, “ad yireicha, ad pircha,” from its base to its ornate blossoms. Rashi explains that

the base is the largest part of the menorah, and the blossom is the smallest. Similarly, with

respect to Shlomo Hamelech, the verse ( Melachim 1 5:9) says that he spoke about everything

“from the cedar tree of Lebanon to the hyssop branch growing on the wall.” In other words,

Shlomo had an all encompassing chochmah, which included the loftiest of concepts as well as

the smallest and most basic. The Talmud in tractate Sukkah (28a) discusses the greatness of the

sage, Rav Yochanan Ben Zakai. It teaches that he was an expert in every davar gadol, great

matter, and davar kattan, small matter. The Talmud then teaches that “every great matter” refers

to the secrets of Torah, maaseh merkavah, the beginning of the book of Ezekiel which teaches

about the Heavenly realms, and “davar kattan” means the discussions of Jewish law of sages

such as Abaye and Rava. Since in the Torah there are great matters and small matters, in the

world there are great matters and small matters. Shlomo knew from the Torah the great and the

small and therefore he knew in the world the great and the small. This is apparent in the three

books of the Bible attributed to Shlomo: Koheles, Mishlei, and Shir Hashirim Eclestiastes,

Proverbs, and the Song of Songs.

The language of Koheles is very different from that of any book in the Torah. It sounds

almost like philosophy, as if Shlomo was considering whether to follow the path of the Torah or

another path, Heaven forbid. This is difficult to understand since the Torah tells us what we must

do and must not do; there is no room for wondering whether we are to obey the Torah or not. We

believe with complete faith that it is the word of Hashem! So how could Shlomo have been

considering an alternative path?

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The answer is that in Koheles Shlomo is speaking to the cold intellect of man. Koheles

enters a world void of emunah, faith, and shows the truth of the Torah by way of philosophy. The

book ends with the words, “sof davar hakol nishma, es haElokim yirah” “At the end of all

matters all is heard, fear G-d” (Koheles 12:13) showing that the Torah is the true path. This is a

book for the nations.

The next book, Mishlei, speaks in a loftier language, it speaks in the language of the

Jews. Here we find Shlomo Hamelech addressing a Jew who believes in the Torah and observes

the mitzvos. The basic purpose of Mishlei is to advise the G-d fearing Jew, and to guide him in

his path of avodas Hashem, service to G-d. This is the second level of the wisdom of Shlomo.

The third, and most exalted, book is Shir Hashirim. The Torah of Shir Hashirim is the

Torah of complete dveykus and ahavas Hashem, love of G-d. This is the deeper level of Torah

that will be revealed li’asid lavo, at the end of time. As Rashi comments the beginning of the

book on the verse, “Yishakeini minishikos pihu,” “He will kiss me with the kisses of His

mouth.”(1:2) “Al shem shenassan lahem Toraso vidibeir imahem panim el panim viosam dodim

odam areivim aleihem mikol shashua, It is because He gave them His Torah and communicated

with them face to face, and those affections are still more sweet to them than any delight,

umavtachim mei’eeto lihofia od aleihem livaeir lahem sod taameha umistar tzfunoseha And they

have been assured by Him that He will appear again upon them to explain to them the secrets of

Torah’s reasons and her hidden treasures umichalim panav likayem divaro vizehu yishakeini

minishikos pihu, and they are awaiting His face to fulfill His promise and this is the wish of “Let

Him kiss me from the kisses of His mouth.” Shir Hashirim speaks the language of a world

without the yetzer hara, a world of unity between klal yisroel and Hashem. This is the world of

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sodos haTorah (secrets of Torah), of kulo tov, complete good, and it is one Hashem promises he

will reveal to klal yisroel in the future.

Finally, these three levels of Shlomo’s chochmah are represented in the menorah. The

two outer branches correspond to Koheles, the middle two to Mishlei, and the two innermost

branches to Shir Hashirim. The middle branch represents chochmah ila’a, from which the six

branches are illuminated. It represents the inner Torah, this is why it faced the holy ark and the

Torah links it to the aron hakodesh. An allusion to this connection between Shlomo, his three

books and the lights of the Chanukah menorah can be seen in the word “miksha” השקמ (a

reference to the menorah being constructed from one solid block of gold, which is an acronym

for Mishlei, ילשמ, Kohelles תלהק, and Shir HaShirim םירישה ריש.

Just as with Shlomo, his Torah wisdom was the source for his knowledge of the physical

world, the four letters of Hashem’s name ה-ו-ה-י are the source for the four foundations of the

material world and the human psyche.

Lesson Three reveals some of the depth of the natural world. A deeper understanding of nature

shows us marvelous Divine patterns in the foundations of physical life. These patterns appear in

items and in personalities. Underneath the patterns stands the innermost, and deepest life,

represented by the top of the Yud from Hashem's name. These insights should fill our spirits with

excitement once we internalize that at our core we have enormous holiness, holiness that can

only be compared to the force that keeps subatomic particles bonded and in motion.

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Lesson Three: The Four Elements

Evil Then Good

As described in lesson one, according to the Tanya (citing Rav Chaim Vital), all Jews have two

souls, the nefesh habahamis, an animal soul, and the nefesh haElokis, a G-dly soul. The Tanya

first teaches us the makeup of the nefesh habahamis and only afterwards the makeup of the G-

dly soul, an order that seems counterintuitive, as surely one should begin with that which is

holiest first.

The commentators explain that the Tanya chose this order to teach us the way of the

world, in which the evil urge always comes first and the urge for good, second. The peel appears

first on the tree and only after can we find the fruit inside. Similarly, in the creation narrative in

the Torah we were told repeatedly, “vayehi erev vayehi boker” “and it was evening and then it

was morning.” The darkness of the night, which begins the twenty-four hour day, precedes the

light. The Tanya follows this order and thus first explains the nefesh habahamis and then turns to

the nefesh haElokis, the G-dly part of man.

The Tanya teaches that corresponding to the four foundations of the physical world – fire,

water, wind and dust - the nefesh habahamis is comprised of four natural foundations, and these

foundations spawn evil attributes.

תוללוהו .גונעת ינימ לכ םיחימצמ םימה יכ םימה דוסימ םיגונעתה תואתו הלעמל הבגנש שאה דוסימ הואגו סעכ ונייהד

רפעה דוסימ תובצעו תולצעו .חורה דוסימ םילטב םירבדו תוראפתהו תונצילו,

Anger and arrogance are from the element of fire, which ascends. The desire for pleasures is

from the element of water, which causes all pleasurable things to grow. Empty joy, cynicism,

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See Tractate Shabbes 77b

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bombastic pride, and empty words are from the element of wind. And laziness and depression are

from the element of earth.

The ancients referred to the four elements making up the foundation of the entire natural

world as fire, wind, water, and earth. In the modern world we have our own such classification,

and we talk of four types of matter: energy (plasma), gasses, liquids, and solids. These elements

manifest themselves in the human psyche. Fire, whose nature is to rise, is the source of arrogance

and anger, both of which stem from an elevated sense of self. Water, a source of pleasure, is the

root of our desire to experience physical and sensory delights. Wind is empty, and thus gives rise

to the empty and frivolous matters in this world in which we engage. Depression and laziness,

which are characterized by a lack of movement and vitality, emanate from the element of earth.

'פילקמ איה הפילקד וז שפנ לארשיב יכ הנממ תואב ח"גו תונמחר ומכ םתודלותב לארשי לכ עבטבש תובוט תודמ םגו

תואמט תופילק ראשמ ןה םילולג ידבוע תומוא תושפנ כ"אשמ :ערו בוט תעדה ץע דוסמ איהו בוט כ"ג הב שיש הגונ

אתיאדכו ןידבע והיימרגל םילולג ידבוע תומואה ןידבעד וביט לכו ג"פ ט"מ רעש ח"עב ש"מכ ללכ בוט ןהב ןיאש

וכ רהייתהל אלא ןניא ןישוע םילולג ידבוע תומואש דסחו הקדצ לכש תאטח םימואל דסחו פ"ע ארמגב'

And even the naturally good attributes that Jews have in their natures, such as compassion and a

desire to perform acts of kindness, emerge from the animal soul.

Jews are born with certain good attributes. They are naturally merciful and kind, for

example. These character traits, albeit positive in nature, also emerge from the Jew’s biological,

animal soul. The Jew’s animal soul is able to emanate these positive characteristics because of its

source:

The Jewish nefesh habahamis, animal soul, comes from kellipahs nogah, the nogah husk. This

Kellipah, husk or shell, has some good inside of it as its source is the Tree of Knowledge, which

is comprised of both good and bad. The nefesh habahamis of the gentiles, however, comes from

other impure kellipos, and therefore the good they do is for themselves. They are not motivated to

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perform altruistic good. As the Talmud teaches, the gentiles perform acts of kindness to earn a

good reputation. Their kind acts are not truly performed for the sake of good.

The Tanya refers to a verse in Yechezkel

to explain the concept of the Kellipahs nogah.

The verse describes the obstacles Yechezkel had to go through to arrive at a vision of Hashem.

First, he had to break through four walls: an igniting fire, a stormy wind, a heavy cloud, and a

nogah, a thin filament, which surrounded the Almighty’s chariot. The filament was translucent

enough that one could see that there was light on the other side, but is was impossible to see

c l e a r l y t h r o u g h t h e b a r r i e r .

Exile Has An Advantage

Yechezkel had his vision of holiness outside the land of Israel. He was a refugee from Israel in

Babylon and there, on the banks of the Kevar river, the heavens opened and he saw amazing

sights. Arguably, his vision of holiness surpassed those of all the prophets who preceded him in

the land of Israel, as no other prophet described the Divine chariot in as clear detail as Yechezkel

did. Why did he – and no one else - merit to reveal such treasures? The Zohar explains that when

the Jews were entering the exile of Babylon, the time of Yechezkel’s vision, they were completely

despondent and this vision was needed for support and encouragement.

The first exile was a devastating shock to the Jewish national psyche. Since the Jews had

left Egypt and become a nation, they had never been exiled. Before this exile, it was completely

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The prophet Yechezkel, Ezekiel, was a prophet of the Jewish nation at the end of the period of our first temple. He

began to converse with the Almighty while in the land of Israel, however the bulk of his prophecies occurred once

he was already in exile in Bavel, Babylonia. Yechezkel begins his book with a detailed description of the prophetic

experience and the Heavenly realms. This vision, called Maase Merkava, the account of the Divine Chariot,

contains all the secrets of Jewish mysticism, and the nature of the Heavenly dimensions of reality. In this vision

Yechezkel described the barriers he had to overcome to see the Divine. Those barriers are called in the mystical

literature, Kellipos, the husks that hide Divinity.

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inconceivable to the Jews, and the rest of humanity, that G-d might destroy His own home. No

one had believed in such a possibility. Thus, in predicting the loss of the temple, our prophets

said:

םילשורי ירעשב ביואו רצ אבי יכ לבת יבשוי לכו ץרא יכלמ ונימאה אל

All the kings of the world and residents on earth could not believe that an enemy and foe would

enter the gates of Jerusalem. (Eicha

4:13)

To them, the possibility of losing the Beis Hamikdash, The Temple, was a nightmare, not

a realistic fear. You can see this in the book of Eicha. When you read Eicha, you feel the

overwhelming despair of the Jews: their shock at the enormous loss and destruction, the extent of

which they had never imagined or thought possible. Their disbelief may be compared to our own

thoughts about the coming of mashiach, the messiah. While we all believe theoretically in the

coming of mashiach, to actually picture mashiach and imagine our world with the return of such

personalities like Moses, Moshe Rabbeinu, and the tzadikim of earlier generations among us is

really beyond most people’s imaginations. At best, the image may serve as a dream.

The lesson is: In the face of terrible pain, shock, and despair, the Almighty Himself

descends and encourages. It was in the face of terrible pain and despair that Hashem revealed to

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Eicha, Lamentations, is the book of mourning authored by the prophet Jeremiah to grieve over the loss of the first

Temple.

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Yechezkel the great secrets of the Divine chariot! These secrets encouraged the Jewish nation and

showed them that the Divine presence was coming with them into exile.

At a deeper level, it may also be that such secrets can only be apprehended in exile, in a

reduced spiritual state. Exile enabled the Jews to reach levels of understanding that were

unattainable in their prior state of redemption.

The Talmud discusses the difference between the book of Yechezkel and the book of

Yeshayahu, Isaiah.

Both prophets describe the heavenly realm, although in strikingly different

fashion. Yechezkel’s descriptions contain a multitude of details, while Yeshayahu’s descriptions,

in contrast, contain hardly any details.

The sages explain that Yechezkel was like a villager coming to the city who sees the king

and his palace for the first time, but Yeshayahu was like a resident of the capital who regularly

sees the king. The villager is very impressed by whatever he sees. He is amazed! He never saw

such sights! He is so impressed with the sight of each treasure that he later describes everything

that he saw in great detail.

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Rav Moshe Wolfson teaches in his work, Emunas Etecha, that even earlier in our history at moments of great

emotional collapse and weakness Hashem Himself descends to provide encouragement and strength to an individual

or to the nation. With this idea he explained the words of the Talmud that when Joseph was about to accept the

entreaties of the wife of Potifar and sin, the image of his father appeared. Where did it come from? Why did it

appear then? Rav Wolfson explained that our sages teach that Yaakov’s image was etched on the Divine Throne of

Glory. Usually the Almighty does not bring His presence down into the lowliest of realms. However, on Chanukah

where nights are long, and the forces of evil seem ascendant, Hashem lowers great holiness into the lowly realm to

provide encouragement. Yosef was in a very vulnerable and lowly state. Hashem therefore on Chanukah brought

His Divine Throne all the way down to earth. Since Yaakov’s face is etched on the Throne, Yosef saw his father’s

image, it provided him with the strength and encouragement to overcome the urges for sin. See further Emunas

Etecha parshas Vayeishev page 123-125.

Yeshayahu was one of the greatest Jewish prophets. He began to speak prophetic words the year the Judean king,

Uziyahu, passed away, 757 before the common era. His prophecies warned the Jews about the probable loss of our

temple due to our sins and he predicted messages of great consolation as well. Yeshayahu described the Heavenly

realm, however, his description is far less detailed than Yechezkel's.

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The resident of the capital, however, is used to seeing the king and his palace. He often

comes to the king’s house for business. When he is granted entry into the palace, he is not

amazed or overwhelmed with its beauty and treasures. He has seen these sights on numerous

prior visits. The prophet Yeshayahu lived with a Beis Hamikdash, at a time of revealed

Godliness. Therefore, when he saw G-dly visions, he was not so impressed and moved. As a

result, he merely described them briefly.

Yechezkel, on the other hand, was a prophet during the time of exile, when there was no

Beis Hamikdash. G-dly revelations in his time were not a common occurrence. Accordingly,

Yechezkel was like the villager who was most impressed with everything that he saw, and

therefore described his vision in great detail. It is in this way that the state of exile enabled a

greater appreciation of holiness.

There is yet an even deeper level of analysis.

Exile Enables Us To Appreciate The Vessels

Details and adjectives are vessels carrying G-d’s light. The lack of details in Yeshayahu’s

prophecies might be therefore due to the fact that because he was prophesying at a time of

redemption, he could see the light of Hashem, the soul of the matter directly! As a result, he

could not notice the vessels containing that light!

Yechezkel, on the other hand, prophesying at a time of exile, when there was no revealed

Godliness due to the absence of the Bet Hamikdash, could only see the Divine light through a

barrier, through the Kellipas nogah, the nogah husk. Precisely because Yechezkel could not attach

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himself directly to the light the vessels were revealed much more clearly. Since he could see the

vessels, he described them!

To help us understand this matter better, consider what is told by Lubavitch Chassidim .

They teach that when the great Rebbe, Reb Ber,

would teach, his student Reb Zeesha

would be

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so inspired that he would feel his soul leave him. In this state, he could not pay attention to

anything other than Godliness. He was unable to attend to the vessels that held the Godliness- the

verses and their interpretations, as taught by Reb Ber. He would only feel attachment to the light

of the tzadik.

In contrast, the greatness of Rav Shneur Zalman, the author of the Tanya and another

student of Reb Ber, was that while he appreciated the light of the Rebbe, he was able at the same

time to attend to the Rebbe’s words - the vessels that held the light. Thus after the lesson, the

author of the Tanya was able to recite the thoughts of Reb Ber: the verses, their interpretations,

and the Rebbe’s method of bringing down to this world the religious experience.

Thus, on one level, Yeshayahu was at a higher spiritual level than Yechezkel in that

Yeshayahu only saw the light - the soul of the matter - while Yechezkel was mired in the details of

the vessels. On the other hand, by appreciating and seeing the vessels, Yechezkel could reveal

their truth so that those who were farther away could also apprehend holiness. For clarity and

explanations are needed to bring revelation to those individuals who are less spiritually

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Rav Dov Ber, The Maggid of Mezrich (1704-1772). He was the successor to the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of

the Chassidic movement. During his lifetime Chassidic practice spread from a successful local phenomenon to a

movement that encompassed a significant portion of European Jewry.

Rav Meshulam Zeesha of Anipoli, he was born at the beginning of the eighteenth century and passed away in the

year 1800. He was one of the great students of Rav Bov Ber and the brother of the great Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk,

(1717-1787) the author of the classic work, Noam Elimelech.

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advanced. The light by itself is not always sufficient. Thus, in terms of spreading the G-dly

lesson, Yechezkel was greater than Yeshayahu.

In short, Yechezkel, was a villager, a peasant unattached to the king. Yet it was precisely

this distance that gave him the ability to appreciate and reveal outward appearances, even though

he was also able to see the Divine light.

Maaseh merkavah, the account of the Chariot, is the wisdom of the vessels. Pure elokus,

Godliness, is a light above comprehension, beyond infinity, beyond explanation or definition. It

can only be experienced as dveykus, the cleaving of one’s soul to something truly sublime

beyond all intellect.

Most of us, however, are far from this level. To touch holiness, we require the vessels -

expositions about Godliness, lessons that speak of the G-dly attributes and other details, such as

partzufin elyoniom, G-dly Archetypes. Through the revelation of these vessels and other tools of

explanation provided by Hashem, a measure of G-dly experience and comprehension can be

brought down into this world.

The Four Kellipos

In order to preserve free will, Hashem created the world in pairs of even measure. In order for

free will to exist, the world must be an even world. What exists in holiness must be found in

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corresponding measure in the opposite realm. “Zeh liumas zeh asah haElokim” “G-d made one

paralleling the other.” (Koheles 7:14)

Thus, opposing a Yaakov, Jacob, stands his evil twin, Esav, Esau.

Against Moshe

Rabbeinu stands a Bilaam.

Humans are thus always presented with equally appealing

alternatives, so that man may freely choose whether to perform a mitzvah.

We see this pairing even in G-d’s name. Hashem created in the realm of sitra achra, the

Other Side, the side of non-holiness, the four negative kellipos we spoke about earlier, and these

correspond to the holy four letters in His name of being, ק-ו-ק-י. Yechezkel had to break through

these kellipos, barriers or husks, in order to reach holiness.

The Zohar explains that the verse, “El ginas egoz yaraditi”“ I went down to the walnut

garden” (Shir Hashirim 6:11) refers to these four kellipos. Just as a walnut has four layers of

shells to prevent a person from reaching the nut, so it is with all matters. Three of the shells

surrounding the walnut are inedible; the fourth is a thin filament that can be subsumed and eaten

with the nut. Similarly, there are four layers of skin that are affected in circumcision. Three are

cut off, while the fourth is separated and pulled back. This fourth layer of skin corresponds to the

fourth shell in the walnut, a thin layer that can be eaten with the fruit.

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Jacob was the son of Isaac who was studious and pious. Esau was the son who was a hunter and killer. The

Roman ruffians who devastated our temple and persecuted our nation for centuries were descendants of Esau. Jacob

is the father of the Jewish nation.

Bilaam was a spiritual leader in the gentile world during the days of Moses. He was a vicious anti-Semite who

according to Jewish tradition advised Pharoh to try and kill all Jewish babies. He was a sorcerer who tried to curse

the Jewish people and cause our demise. He was also a prophet of Hashem with whom the Almighty conversed.

Rav Avraham Yitzchok HaKohen Kook wrote that just as the evil deeds of Bismarck, who created the modern

Germany with its militarism and cruelty, had intellectual foundations in the heresies of Spinoza, who denied Hashem

and created a worldview of materialism which led to the idea of “might makes right.” The Amalekite anti-Semites of

antiquity tried with actions to wipe out the Jews and their intellectual root was the wicked Bilaam.

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Yechezkel broke through three opaque barriers. A fourth was nogah, a permeable wall,

much like the fourth layer of skin of a baby’s circumcision, and the fourth shell around a walnut.

Items and deeds prohibited by the Torah (like pork and shaatnez

) are all bad,

completely evil. They emerge from the three impure kellipos, and must therefore be cut off like

the foreskin at the time of circumcision.

Matters that emerge from nogah, however, are not completely bad. They are permitted by

the Torah, but can make man more materialistic and physical, and thereby alienate him from

Godliness. In fact, it is safe to say that a gluttonous person will inevitably become overly

materialistic and detach himself from Hashem, even if the only food that he eats is strictly kosher.

Permitted matters come from the tree of good and evil and like the tree have a mixture of good

and bad natures such that a person will be led by them depending on how that person engages

with them. If like a tzadik you eat to have the strength to serve Hashem in all of your ways, then

your eating will be a mitzvah. The glutton's stuffing, in contrast, is a spiritual failure.

However, a person who eats without the right intentions yet uses the energy derived from

his food to perform mitzvos may elevate retroactively his earlier act of eating to a mitzvah as

long as the food that was eaten was permissible in the first place. The eating of forbidden items

like pork, for example, cannot be raised to a mitzvah even if the energy derived there from is

used for a mitzvah, because the act of eating pork is a sin. The permitted physical world on the

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The prohibition to wear a garment that has threads of wool and linen mixed together in it. This law is repeated

twice in the Torah and it is one of the paradigmatic chukim, laws that transcend usual human reason. According to

Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch the law is a reminder to man not to mix the plant part of his being, his desires to eat and

procreate, with the animal part, his intellect and will. Man must take care that his plant instinct not take over and

control his intellectual abilities. Linen is a product of the flax plant, while wool is from a sheep. Thus linen

represents the plant element while wool the animal.

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other hand is a Kellipahs nogah, a slight barrier. Through the nogah, you can see Godliness,

though not clearly.

Interestingly, parshas kedoshim has nogah pesukim, 64 verses, for the message of

parshas kedoshim is to purify Kellipahs nogah.

Along the same lines the Talmud in the

beginning of the tractate Pesachim teaches that the term ohr mentioned there refer to nagha.

nagha is then defined as night, even though in the city where Rav Huna lived nagha meant day.

This similarity between the words “nogah” and “nagha,” and the multiplicity of meanings that

“nagha” has had over the years, teaches us that nogah can be light or night, depending on the

person. Nogah can be translated as light/holy or night/evil. Our actions determine its fate!

We can now also understand the verse, “Umaltem es arlas levavchem viarpechem lo

takshu od”“And you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart and do not continue to harden

your neck.” (Devarim 10:16) The three impure kellipos in your heart must be entirely detached.

The Kellipahs nogah, however, should remain and be transformed to good. Hence the close of

the verse “viarpachem lo takshu od”“Do not continue to harden your neck.”

Jew And Gentile

It is natural for parents to pass their own character traits onto their children. In all creatures,

offspring usually resemble their parents. The middos, ways of behaving, that we naturally inherit

from our parents come from the nefesh habahamis, the animal soul we discussed earlier. There

are families in which every member is generous, others that have great scholars, and yet others

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According to Ramban, the first commandment in Kedoshim, “kedoshim tihyu“ “Be holy” (Vayikra 19:2) is a call

for kadesh atzmecha bimuttar lach, reach sanctity in all permitted matters through avoiding physical excess.

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whose members are all non-materialistic. These are inherited traits! Parents passing to their

children pieces of their natural souls.

The nefesh habahamis is a physical matter. It is a beast, like an animal. The nefesh

habahamis of the Jewish nation comes from kelippas nogah: from the palaces in heaven that give

life to all things Hashem has permitted. Non-Jews get their animal soul life-force or nefesh

habahamis from the palaces in Heaven that give life to the forces of tumah, the prohibited things.

This difference between the source of a Jewish and a non-Jewish soul started with the

generation of dispersion.

The difference is not absolute, however. There can be a gentile who

performs completely altruistic acts because in the future one of his progeny will emerge as a geir,

a convert. That Jewish soul is in him now in a latent state, and as a result he has truly good parts

in him. In addition, there is also the concept of chasidei umos haolam, the very pious of the

nations of the world. The chasidei umos haolam are not from the three impure kellipos. Their

nefesh Elokis is like a Kellipahs nogah of a Jew. They are tafel, affiliates, to Yisrael, the Jewish

people, and this can also lead them to do real good.

The Tanya though teaches us that when a gentile does an act of kindness normally it is

done simply to feel good. The gentile gives charity so that he can sit and eat his own supper

without feeling guilt. The ideal way to give, however, is to ignore one’s own pleasure and give

because it is the correct thing to do.

The mind tells the non-Jew as well what is good and bad but his nefesh does not want to

listen. He must then order his nefesh to listen to his mind to avoid feelings of guilt. The reason

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This refers to the generation that lived at the time of the destruction of the First Temple and was exiled to

Babylon, also discussed earlier.

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for this dynamic is that the nefesh habahamis of the goy comes from the three obscure kellipos.

These kellipos are completely rah, evil, without any good mixed in.

On the other hand the nefesh habahamis of Yisrael emerges from the Kellipahs nogah. It

thus has some good in it. It is the job of the Jew to transform his entire Kellipahs nogah into

good.

Cosmic Patterns Of Four

Based on teachings from the Zohar, the Tanya teaches that there are four elements. These four

elements make up physical creation, and thus are the source of the nefesh habahamis as well.

The traits of the animal soul manifest these elements.

Why four? Why not five or ten elements? Because there are four letters to Hashem’s

name of havayah, and lihavdil zeh liumas zeh, there is always an opposite of the holy realm.

Thus, there are four kellipos and four physical, earthly elements!

The four basic elements are earth, water, wind and fire. The Rambam talks about this at

length in his work Mishne Torah in the section of “hilchos yesodei haTorah” “Laws of the

Principles of the Torah.” The Rambam explains that the earth element, yesod haafar, is every

item which is solid; the water element, yesod hamayim, is every liquid item; the wind element,

yesod haruach, are items like gasses; while the fire element, yesod ha’aish, is fire or energy.

Electricity, for example, is not a liquid, solid or a gas. It is energy. Atoms are also held together

with energy. There are many things that are not a solid, gas or a liquid. All of these items

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generally are displays of the element of fire. (All matters more spiritual than gas are to be called

aish.)

As we discussed earlier, there are four kellipos, three of which are all evil and the fourth

of which is nogah - a mixture of physical and soul. So it is with the elements. Three of the

elements are very physical. You can touch them with your hand and you can feel them with your

body. The fourth, however, is hardly physical, it is rather more spiritual. While you can see the

impact and results of electricity and energy, you cannot see the energy itself. Energy is not

tangible or visible. Thus, we have a similar pattern - yesod ha’aish is the nogah of the physical

realm, a physical matter in which a spiritual root glows.

The Fifth Element

According to some there is a fifth element, and this requires an explanation.

The Rambam called the fifth element koach hagalgalim, the force of the spheres. Simply

put, this means that there is a sun and a moon and there is a sphere which makes them move in

circles. The Rambam likely took this concept from the Greeks, as we know that he accepted

much of the ancient Greeks’ scientific understanding. (He probably did not have the tradition of

the Kabbalah, as it was a secret during his life.)

But the Rambam is still the Rambam! He was a baal Ruach Hakodesh, a possessor of

Divine inspiration! He was constantly helped by Hashem! If the Rambam included the force of

the spheres in his work, there must be an explanation in Torah for these matters.

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Furthermore, the Kuzari

teaches that the Greeks got their wisdom from King Shlomo

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by way of the Persians, who had taken it from the Babylonians, who had taken the wisdom from

the Jews, who although they lost their Temple still possessed the traditions from Shlomo. As the

wisdom migrated, it was perverted and corrupted, yet the root of the wisdom was still King

Shlomo.

Therefore, we believe there is a Torah root to the Greek concept of the force/element of

the spheres. The Chovas Halevavos also quotes the Greeks as saying there is a fifth element, the

galgalim, although he disagrees with it.

Why is this concept in such dispute?

According to Rambam, the galgalim are the source of motion and change. In this world,

changes in form are the norm. Solids become liquids, which become gases, which turn into

energy. Solids are closest to the element of earth; they fall to the earth because their root is deep

inside the earth. When you heat up a solid, you are bringing it closer to yesod haish, the highest

state of physical items. Flames move up because their root is above in the Heavenly realm. When

you heat up a solid, it melts into a liquid, thus rising to a higher form than it was in its original

solid state. If you add even more heat, the liquid will move to an even higher state; it will

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Kuzari is the name of a classic work of Jewish philosophy that was authored by the great Torah leader and poet,

Rav Yehuda Halevi. Rav Yehuda Halevi was born in either 1070, or 1080 in Toledo, Spain. He was a doctor, poet,

and great Torah expert. In 1140 he attempted to move to the land of Israel. According to traditional Jewish accounts

he arrived in the holy land and was greatly moved. When he arrived at the gates of Jerusalem, he tore his clothes

and started to roll in the dirt, bemoaning the terrible destruction of the Temple. An Arab horseman rode by at that

moment and in jealousy of his great attachment to the land trampled him to death. In recognition of the historic

privilege we now have to freely visit our holy places in Jerusalem the steps leading to the Western Wall have been

named Ma’alot Rav Yehuda Halevi, the steps of Rabbi Yehuda Halevi. In Kuzari he presents the basic beliefs of

Judaism as part of a conversation with a heathen king who is seeking the truth and wishes to follow the true faith.

King Solomon, David’s son and the third king of ancient Israel.

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evaporate and become a gas. All of this is because of the spheres. (Hilchos Yesodey HaTorah

4:5-6)

We need to explore these matters more fully, for they contain lessons from the Torah on

how to serve Hashem.

The whole world reflects the light of the Torah. The more passionate your service, the

higher the level! Just as fire can raise the level of physical matter, so too can spending time with

a passionate Jew raise one from a level of depression and slothful practice to a higher level of

service.

But how can there be a fifth element if there are only four letters in the name of havayah,

ק-ו-ק-י? The answer is that there is a kutzo shel yud, the top of the letter yud, in the four letter

name Havaya. This top of the yud is the fifth level. That is why this element is disputed. Just as

once the letter yud is written one no longer sees the kutzo, the drop at the top, this fifth element is

not really visible and some therefore feel that it does not really exist!

However, support for its existence can also be found in the fact that there are five books

of the Torah, not just four! Shmos

begins the story of the Jewish people, “veileh shmos bney

yisrael habaim mitzaryim“ “And these are the names of the Jewish people coming down to

Egypt.” This is the beginning of the books that correspond to the four letters of the name of

havayah, for the Jewish people represent and are represented by the Almighty’s name, ק-ו-ק-י.

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See Shem Mishmuel parshas Shemini who explains that the way to inspire those who are cold in their religious

observance is to bring them into the presence of passionate Jews who are filled with burning love for Hashem!

Exodus, the second of the five books of the Torah.

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The very first book of Torah , Bereishis,

is the book of the roots. It talks of creation and

the patriarchs, of the foundations of the Jewish people, and it represents the kutzo shel yud. It is

the root to all the others.

In terms of the Sefiros, G-dly attributes, the kutzo shel yud in the Almighty’s name ק-ו-ק-י

is the Kesser, the crown. The letter yud is Chochmah, wisdom; the letter keih is Binah,

understanding; the letter vav, which has a gimattria, numeric value, of six, represents the six

Sefiros of Chessed, Gevurah, Tiferes, Netzach, Hod, and Yesod (giving, strength, harmony,

dominance, empathy, and foundation); and the final letter keih is the last attribute, the middah of

Malchus, royalty.

The kutzo shel yud also plays a role in, and is found within, the physical world. It is the

hidden letter and opposite it stands a physical force higher than energy and scarcely perceptible.

The Element Of Spheres Is The Force Of Attraction

The motion of the planets is due to the dragging force of gravity.

Yet what is the force of gravity? Why does earth attract objects to itself? The Ohr

Hachaim

explains the verse “״ץראהו םימשה ולכיו״”, Vayechulu hashamayim vihaaretz “And the

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Genesis, the first book of the five books of the Torah.

Rav Chaim Ibn Attar (1698-1743) was the author of the commentary to the Torah called Ohr Hachaim. He was

born in Morocco, he later moved to the Jerusalem in the land of Israel. In Jerusalem he establishaid two Yeshivos,

one for the study of the revealed Torah and the other for the study of the secrets of Torah. The founder of Chassidus,

the Baal Shem Tov, is reputed to have told his students that Rav Chaim possessed a part of the soul of Mashiach, the

ultimate redeemer. The work Ohr Hachaim is a classic of traditional Torah commentary and especially beloved to

the Chassidic community.

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earth and Heavens were completed” (Genesis 2:1) as teaching us that the force of attraction is

what keeps the world alive. The whole world is built on this hidden element - the force of gravity

and attraction. The Ohr Hachaim explains that vayechulu is related to the word klos, pining for

and pulling towards something. The world is filled with souls pining and longing.

This force of attraction is also what underpins atomic science. Between the tiny particles

of atoms there are magnetic bonds, forces that attract one particle to another. Atoms are spheres

that rotate like the moon and stars, with the speed of their rotation determining their form in this

physical world. Thus, whether at a particular point in time an object manifests itself as a solid or

a liquid depends upon the speed at which its spheres are rotating. When the spheres rotate very

quickly, it is a liquid; if they move slowly, the item is a solid.

What makes them rotate and move? The force of attraction! Gravity! The kutzo shel yud

makes them rotate.

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Shem Mishmuel, Bereishis page 20, teaches that the power of longing is what keeps the world, and it entered

creation on Shabbes. With respect to the verse “vayechal Elokim bayom hashvii …” “And Hashem completed on the

seventh day…” Rashi asks, "Is this possible that He performed work on the seventh day for Him to cease on the

seventh day?!" In the Midrash, (chapter ten), the sage Gneiva answered, it is to be compared to a king who made a

bridal canopy and decorated it. What was missing? The bride! So too what was the world missing? Shabbes!

According to the Shem Mishmuel, the explanation of this Midrash is that for the six days the created items were

expanding outward as the Midrash (chapter five) explains. In tractate Rosh Hashana, it is said, "All the creations

were created willingly." Apparently the ability and will to expand, move afar, and become materialistic was given to

each creature. A bride is called a kallah, which is derived from the phrase “kalsa nafshi liHashem “My soul longs

for God!” This refers to the longing from below to Above. This means that on Shabbes the creation receives the

force of attraction and longing to return to the Source, the opposite of the will it had during the six days of creation,

which was to get far away from its Source and to cause the descent from Above to below. Thus, “vayechal Elokim

bayom hashvii melachto asher asah” “And God completed on the seventh day the work which he made” means that

on the seventh day God brought the kallah - the power of attraction from below to Above - to creation. The term

vayechal means He made it a kallah.

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We have learnt that the kutzo shel yud relates to Kesser, the source of will and desire. The

force of spheres is really the power of attraction which makes objects rotate and move from one

state to the next. G-dly life is united with this force. What gives an item life? Hashem’s word.

The kabbalists have long explained that even a stone has life! The word of Hashem gives

it life and makes it move. The word of Hashem that gives an object its life is clothed in the most

spiritual and elevated physical matter. It is clothed in the force of attraction – the fifth element.

Until the galgalim matter is physical, but once we arrive at the galgalim and all the matters

above them, they are filled with G-dly qualities that give them life.

Human Applications Of The Four Elements

As we discussed earlier, man’s nefesh habahamis is comprised of four elements.

Earth, the yesod haafar, is manifest in man when he has very little life and movement. A

person under its influence wants to stay in one place; he wants to sleep and do nothing, and

generally shows signs of depression.

A person who feels a bit more life seeks pleasures and

enjoyments. He looks to enjoy and excite his physical senses. The nefesh habahamis of such a

person is manifesting the element of water, for water is related to pleasures. A person involved

with superficial and frivolous items is manifesting the element of wind, which is empty. A person

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On several occasions, our Rebbe has explained that the crime of negative speech, lashon hara, is related to

depression. The Talmud links negativity to the serpent who enticed mankind to sin. Hashem punishaid the snake by

declaring afar lachmo, dust is his bread. Since dust in the psyche is depression, the serpent seeks that which is

depressing, deathly, and sad. With the sin of the tree of knowledge, the serpent became part of man, zahamas

hanachash. Man struggles with the urge to be negative, for zahamas hanachash, the earth part, seeks negative

thoughts, negative speech, and depression.

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filled with anger is manifesting the fury of fire. Anger is far more life than pleasure seeking,

empty talk, and depression. These four elements are the source of all the bad middos.

The reason our Jewish nation must experience four exiles is so that we eliminate the

negative manifestation of these four elements from within us! The exile of Bavel, Babylon, was

for the cure of arrogance, as the Talmud teaches that Bavel took nine of the ten measures of

gaava, arrogance, that came to the world. Ruach, mayim, and aish are the Persian, Greek, and

Roman exiles, respectively. There was also a fifth exile, just as there is fifth element,

corresponding to the kutzo shel yud - galus mitzrayim, the Egyptian exile. This was the root of all

subsequent anti-Jewish hatred.

The seforim, holy books, explain that the verse “vayakatzu mipnei bney yisrael” “And

they were revolted in the presence of Israel” (Exodus 1:12) refers to the Egyptian opposition to

the Jewish nation because of the kutzo shel yud within each one of us. Our slavery in Egypt was

for the purpose of being mevarrer, clarifying and bringing to light, this hidden kutzo shel yud

within each and every Jew. Kesser is ratzon, will. It is the root of the person. The Egyptians

could not stand the Jews because their inner will was the opposite of the Jewish will, ratzon. The

purpose of the exile in Egypt was to reveal this inner ratzon of the Jewish nation.

As of mattan Torah, our receipt of the Torah at Mount Sinai, we have the rule that

“yisrael af al pi shechata yisrael hu”“A Jew remains a Jew even if he sins,” (Tractate Sanhedrin

44a) reflecting the fact, as we discussed earlier, that there is a certain G-dly essence within each

Jew that can never be destroyed. As the Tanya teaches, every Jew has a ratzon hapnimi, an inner

love and will geared towards Hashem that even his sins cannot damage or weaken. It is the

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revelation or refinement of that will which we achieved in leaving Egypt. We became yidden,

Jews, when we left Egypt.

The Torah states right before the splitting of the Red Sea that “Ki’asher raisem es

mitzrayim hayom lo tosifu lirosam od ad olam” “You will never see the Egyptians again” (Shmos

14:13) (because the achievement gained by the Jewish nation through the Egyptian exile can

never be lost (and thus need not be learnt again)! The inner essence of the Jew left exile! This is

why the inner essence of Egypt was opposed to the Jew. The Jew feels that his life is attachment

to Hashem, his will is pining for that, while the Egyptian lived for earthly pleasures.

There are things in life that one wants but that do not reach his very essential life. The

kesser is the ratzon for those things that are most meaningful, the matters one feels are literally

the reason for life. This is why at Sinai there was a hate that came down, and our Sages interpret

the Hebrew word Sinai as being to related to the Hebrew word for hate, sinah. This hatred was

the unending hate of the other nations towards the Jewish nation. At Sinai, we acquired our

Jewish essence, the will of what to live for, the will to live for those things that give life, the

Torah. This distinction between the Jew and Egyptian, the Jew and all other nations, all came

down at Sinai.

Accordingly, the Shabbes on which we read parshas Shmos, the first reading of the book

of Exodus, has a special significance, as it speaks of the exile that affected the essential point

within each Jew. When you learn this parsha, it has a segula, an almost miraculous power to

shine into your soul lights that will strengthen your inner essence and provide you with the

spiritual boosts needed for your inner and innate will to be attached to Hashem. The more Egypt

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tried to afflict and enslave, the more the Jews were freed, the more their inner points were

revealed. “Kaasher yaanu oso kein yirbe vichein yifrotz,” “The more they afflicted the Jews, the

more the Jews increased and succeeded.” (Shmos 1:12) So too the more we read of the travails

Israel suffered at the hands of Egypt, the more we will be able to appreciate the challenges set

out against our inner will, enabling our inner will to strengthen and reveal our true inner essence.

The Shabbes on which we read parsha shmos has the power to bring the kutzo shel yud

out of exile and take our ratzon out of galus, exile. We must prepare for this Shabbes. Get ready

for the great days of Adar

. Prepare for real joy, the inner joy of the soul. For such a joy, one

must prepare! The atzmiusdike, deepest essential, happiness of ohr tzadikim yismachu, that light

of the righteous which makes them rejoice, needs suitable preparation!

The days of shovavim, when the first six Torah portions of the book of Exodus are read, is

a time to become personally holy and as individuals to leave our subjective states of sin and

exile. Thus it is a time to toil in learning, to put in effort to understand the Torah so that you will

merit to reach the great lights that come during the great days of the four parshiyos, Purim, and

Pesach.

Prepare yourself in the days of shovavim. Make yourself into a worthy and ready vessel

to absorb the great spiritual lights that are coming.

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Adar is the last Hebrew month of the year. It is the time when the great Purim miracle occurred and the Jews

were saved from annihilation in Persia. The entire month is a time for joy and spiritual growth.

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One of the principles of our faith is that Hashem’s mind is unlike our own. We are mere mortals,

with limited intellectual capabilities, while He is an infinite, singular, and united Being. We

cannot fully grasp His nature or His mind and thought. Lesson Four explores this theme. What

is it that makes a human a human? Where in heaven is the source of human intellect? Why can’t

the human being grasp the thoughts of the Almighty? What is the nature of true leadership and

rule? Lesson Four concludes with a call to overcome the body and acknowledge the soul as

primary.

Lesson Four: Emulate the Almighty!

לארשיב תינשה שפנו

And the second Jewish soul

Only Jews have this second soul.

'יפ חפנ היכותמ חפנד ןאמ רהוזב ש"מכו יב תחפנ התאו םייח תמשנ ויפאב חפיו ש"מכ שממ לעממ הולא קלח איה

חכב ותחיפנב איצומ םדאבש תויחה תוימינפו תויכותש ותוימינפמו ותויכותמ

Is a piece of the Divine itself, as it is written, “And He blew into his nostrils a breath of

life” (Bereishis 2:7)“And You blew it into me.”(morning liturgy) And the Zohar teaches, one who

blows sends breath from his innermost essence, for the innermost essence of one’s life force is

emitted when one forcefully exhales.

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The world was created with maamaros, Divine utterances, for Hashem clothed His life-force in

His words. The meaning of this is that while the world was created with G-dly life, this life was

not a display of His innermost, essential life. Rather it was life clothed in letters.

When describing the creation of man the Torah does not merely state that G-d

commanded that man appear. Rather we are told that “He blew into His nostrils.” This refers to a

higher life-force: essential G-dliness. G-dliness that cannot be grasped by mind or clothed and

limited within words was sent into man!

לארשי תומשנ מ"דע ךכ

לכ תמשנ לוכיבכ ךכ באה חוממ ךשמנ ןבהש ומכ 'יפ םכיהלא 'הל םתא םינב לארשי ירוכב ינב ביתכדכ הבשחמב ולע

אוהש ם"במ רה ש"מכו 'א ותמכחו אוה אלא אעידי המכחב אלו םיכח והיאד 'תי ותמכחו ותבשחממ הכשמנ לארשי שיא

אל יכ ביתכו אצמת הולא רקחה ביתכדכ 'וכ וירוב לע וניבהל םדאה תלוכיב ןיא הז רבדו 'וכ עדויה אוהו עדמה

וגו םכיתובשחמ יתובשחמ'

So too it was taught as a parable, that the souls of Israel rose in His thoughts, as it is written,

“My son, my firstborn, Israel” and “You are children of G-d Your Lord.” The meaning of this is

just as a son is drawn from the mind of the father, so as it were the soul of each Jewish person

was drawn from the thoughts and wisdom of the Blessed One. He is wise but not with wisdom

that He knows rather He and His wisdom are one, as the Rambam wrote, “He is the knowledge,

and the knower etc.” This is a matter that a human does not have the ability to correctly

understand, as it is written, “Can the understanding of G-d be found?” and “My thoughts are

not your thoughts etc.”

G-d’s wisdom is higher than our sense of wisdom. His wisdom is a G-dly matter, beyond our

comprehension, but there is a parable to it: wisdom here on earth. What we call chochmah is a

parable to the high, heavenly level of celestial wisdom.

Maimonides taught us a principle about Divinity, that G-d is the knowledge and the

knower. A human knows matters that are not united with his essence. He is one being and what

he knows is a separate and distinct reality. Hashem though is the knowledge and the knower.

Yet this is a level that is beyond our comprehension, our mind cannot truly grasp it. Let us

explain why this is so.

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What Makes Us Human

Man was created in the image of G-d. “Bitzelem Elokim bara oso!” “In the image of G-d He

made man!” (Bereishis 1:27) What is the meaning of bitzelem Elokim? It means that man

resembles the Almighty. With all his features man resembles Hashem

For example we find that our sages say that “liasid lavo asidin lomar al hatzadikim

kadosh - mah hakbah kayam laolam - af tzadikim kayamim laolam,” “In the future they will say

of the righteous, ‘they are holy’ because just as G-d is holy so are the pious holy. Just as the

Creator exists forever the righteous will live forever.”

While the Talmud points out other points of resemblance between tzadikim and Hashem,

the truth is that we learn this from an explicit verse, “kdoshim tihyu ki kadosh ani Hashem

elokeichem” “Be holy because I, Hashem your God, am holy.” (Vayikra 19:2) (The Midrash says,

“yachol kmoni etc” “Is it possible that one must be like Me?” And it ultimately states, “kedushasi

limaalah mikdushachem” “My holiness is more exalted than your holiness.” Yet this still proves

that man’s holiness resembles the holiness of the Divine. Only because man at his core resembles

Hashem can it be thought that man might be obligated to be holy like Him!)

Becoming G-dly Is The Definition of Humanity

What is a man? What makes a man? Consider a person with three ears. Is he still human? In the

eyes of the law, can he count toward a minyan, a quorum of ten men for reciting holy matters? Or

is he not a man?

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See Likutey Oros page 367

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Certainly he would count as a man! He might have a deformed face, but he is human. He

might look different, but this is not relevant to the definition of his essential identity.

What about someone who looks like an animal? Would he be considered a person? If he

had the body of a cow, but talked and understood as man does, would he be a person?

This is a big question for the poskim, the halachik, legal, authorities. Maybe we should

examine the way he talks? Maybe we should explore if he can choose freely and conquer his

urges?

In other words, it is hard to determine what makes a person a human. What is the etzem

Adam, the essence of man? What parts of a man relate to his essence, and which parts do not

relate to his essential identity?

The essence of man is adamaeh laelyon, I will resemble the one on high. A person who

cannot resemble the One on high is not a human! One who can resemble G-d is a person who at

his core already resembles the Almighty. All he must do is bring out this that is within him. He

must translate the potential to the actual. The person who can pull from the latent within himself

and actualize G-dliness - make himself into a G-dly person - is a human being. One who does not

have the potential to transform himself into a G-dly being is not a human! Thus a person who in

his essential definition resembles Hashem is a human being.

The Maharal asks, why did G-d form man from the earth and name him Adam, as this

name resembles the word adamah, earth? He answered that just as the nature of earth is to draw

out of the seed all its potential and make it actual, so is it man’s nature to draw out of himself all

his potential and make it actual. Man is called Adam, for he was created to take his hidden

abilities from the potential to the actual.

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“Achor vakedem tzartani” (Tehillim 139:5) “Last and first You formed me” The midrash

explains, Achor limaaseh Bereishis vkedem limaaseh Bereishis” “Man can be considered the last

of the created items and man can be considered the first of the creations.” Man can be the first of

the creation or the last. Man is awesomely great! He has great abilities! When he draws them

from the potential to the actual he is kedem limaase breashis, before the rest of creation. If he

does not draw them from the potential to the actual he is achor limaase Bereishis, after the rest of

creation.

The Limited Contains the Infinite

Hashem is infinite, “leis machashava tefisa beih klal” “no thought can grasp Him at all.” We

have no words to talk of Hashem. We cannot describe the essence of the Almighty with any

description. He is above whatever we say. Yet through dveykus we can connect with Him.

Hashem wanted to be revealed. He had a thought anah emloch, I will rule. He wanted to display

authority and display Himself. He wanted a creation.

What after all is revelation? He wishaid to come down into the limitations of boundaries.

Hashem wanted that the light of leis machshava tefisa bei klal should descend and express itself

in the limitations of gevul, boundaries and limitations, and through limited vessels the infinite

would be sensed.

For example, He wanted to put the infinite light in the vessel of chachoma, wisdom, so

that when a person grasps chochmah, he will hold onto the ohr Ain Sof, the light of infinity. One

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Shem Mishmuel explains that man has a soul, a piece of the Divine, and a body, from the earth. If man makes his

soul his primary definition of self he was created before the rest of creation, for the soul preceded the material realm.

Yet if man makes his body his primary definition of self, then he is achor limaase bereishis, the last of the creation,

for his body was created last; even the mosquito was created before him!

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can grasp the earthly vessel of wisdom and when one does so a G-dly wisdom (that he would not

otherwise be able to comprehend) is hidden within it.

In other words, the infinite light clothed itself within holy chochmah. When you grasp

Hashem through a point of wisdom you are holding onto a level that is higher than wisdom. You

are holding a bit of the level that leis machshava tefisa beih klal! So it is with binah,

understanding.

All the Sefiros, characteristics of the Almighty, in fact are vessels that allow one to have a

bit of a dveykus and connection to the G-dly concept that no human thought can truly grasp at all.

All the Heavenly middos, attributes, are vessels so that through them one can have a bit of

dveykus with the ohr Ain Sof.

What is Dveykus?

There are no real words to describe dveykus, it is a type of experience that is higher than

comprehension. The only word we can say is that it is dveykus, a being unites with Hashem!

All creations desire this, it is our reason for living, for dveykus is the highest experience

possible. This is the greatest perfection one can acquire.

A creature needs a vessel for dveykus; only through a vessel can it grasp dveykus.

The ideal man will truly resemble the One above. The ultimate destination of each person

is this state of resemblance. We will all be davuk with Hashem at the time of complete tikkun,

fixing of the physical, although there will be different levels of attachment according to how a

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See Messilas Yesharim and our Rebbe’s lessons on the Messilas Yesharim as well as Rav Aryeh Kaplan’s lessons

about life and its purpose in chapter two of his book Innerspace, and in his pamphlets about belief in G-d printed in

the Aryeh Kaplan Reader.

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person worked on himself. (The real and best dveykus is called dveykus of the world of Atzilus,

nobility.)

The Universal Parts of Man

There are four universes, Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirahh, and Asiyah, and these four universes

correspond to the four letters of the Divine name havaya.

Where do we find these four universes in man? (After all a human being encompasses the

entire creation.) Man has four parts. (We are talking here of a man of holiness. In a man of sitra

achra, the Other Side, there are also four parts, because Zeh liumas zeh asah haElokim, G-d

made this one opposing this one.(Koheles 7:14)) The concept of dveykus corresponds to and is at

the level of the world of Atzilus.

The ability to think and comprehend in man corresponds to the Olam Haberiah, Universe

of Creation. The soul is the source of all actions and abilities of man. Without a soul one dies.

The body has tools that channel particular soul parts. Thought is a piece of the soul brought our

by the mind. We are talking here of holy thoughts, thoughts that contain in them a G-dly light,

such as thinking of the grandeur of Hashem or other holy matters. When thinking these thoughts

you sense that dveykus to Hashem lies hidden within them because you are awakening the holy

Olam Haberiah within you.

If you would enter the world of Beriah, you would see thoughts! Just as in this world a

table, due to the fact that our five senses access it, exists and is real, if you enter the world of

Beriah, you would sense an analysis of the Rambam’s thinking as a real object. In our universe

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reality is physical things; in a higher realm, where matters are less material, one can grasp

matters that are more spiritual. Human thought is the world of Beriah in man.

Beneath cognition stand emotions. The domain of feelings and celestial beings is the

world of Yetzirahh, the world of feelings and middos, character traits.

(Angels for example are

related to feelings, as the job of angels is to sing and song is the language that expresses the

heart’s emotions.) In man the heart manifests the feelings of the soul. This world is strengthened

and felt through speech.

Speech seems related to thought for we concretize our thoughts with words. That is due

to the mind part in it. However, the essential definition of speech is that words and the mouth

draw out emotions from the soul and are the Olam HaYetzirah in man.

After this we have the ability of man to do. The Asiyah of man - when he chooses to do

something, to move a limb, and all the doing of man - is the world of Asiyah.

Corresponding to these four worlds are four different parts of the soul. Nefesh is from

Asiyah, Ruach is from Yetzirahh, and Neshama from Beriah, while the level of Atzilus and

dveykus is called Chaya. And the realm of the kutzo shel yud

is the fifth level, the level of

Yechidah.

From all this we see that the soul works with a vessel, such as the power of thought. The

soul needs a vessel to emerge from potential to actual and the tool for this can be thought, for

thought is where Hashem is clothed.

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The heart is needed for respiration, speech is limited breaths. Emotions are based in the heart. Good character

traits are described as a good heart. As Rabbi Elazar Ben Aruch taught in Pirkei Avos (chapter 2 mishna 9) the most

important good middah is a good heart. Emotions, good character traits, and speech relate to Yetzirah. Good

utterances have a unique way of causing improved character, even more so than good actions.

Discussed in lesson three.

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In the world of Beriah, there is much G-dliness revealed through thoughts, but it is not

united with its vessel. And so it is with the world of Yetzirahh. Just as the soul clothes itself in

feelings not one with the soul, in Yetzirahh G-dliness is not one with its vessel. And this is

certainly so as well in the world of Asiyah, in which we see trees and other physical things

clothing the chochmah that Hashem has made.

In all of these three worlds we see Hashem’s G-dliness in a vessel. Therein G-dliness is

not revealed in its purest sense. In all of them there is rather a vessel and a light, not pure G-

dliness, for Hashem is achdus pashut, absolute oneness. So if there are two matters - light and

vessel – it is not one and it is not a place of a real and perfect experience of Hashem. The light

was not revealed in its right way if it needed a vessel to reveal it!

Only the world of Atzilus is different, and truly G-dly! In other words, when we talk of

the part of the soul that is not clothed in thoughts (rather the essence of the soul at the level of

chaya, the neshama to neshama) we ask how one connects to it? We answer: with the essence of

the soul! In the Zohar we read: “Olam HaAtzilus ihu vigarmohi chad behon” “In the world of

Atzilus, He and His light are one therein.” It is a level where the vessel became one with the

light. There is still a vessel (for without a vessel there can be no attachment to anything) but the

light and the vessel are one. ihu vigarmohi chad behon!

I have no words for dveykus. If you were to ask me to explain attachment, if you asked,

“What is dveykus, what is G-dliness?” I would answer, “You are a being who is immersed in

thoughts, speech and actions. You are not a perfect being, since you are a being of thoughts you

wish to comprehend, for your thought is a vessel, and this vessel can only connect to a light

through understanding and comprehension.”

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But when you get higher than the vessel of thinking, you reach a point that is higher than

understanding, a higher attachment. Understanding is not the only way to connect, it is not the

greatest birrur, clarification. Above understanding you get to a level of essential attachment.

This is the level of Atzilus, where there is a dveykus to the essential light. In Atzilus ihu

vigarmoyhu chad bihon!

Man is supposed to be adame laelyon - to resemble Hashem. Just as Hashem is one, man

must become a united and unitary being. Man has to reach a level of ihu vigarmoyhu chad

behon, he and his vessel have to become one. The soul of man and the body of man have to

become one.

The physical body of man has fallen many times since the sin of the tree of knowledge,

but the essence of the body is that it is a vessel. The soul is a light and the body is a vessel, and

they must become absolutely one, and then man will absolutely resemble the elyon! This will

occur in the realm of tikkun, fixing, when man will have an experience of ihu vigarmoyhu chad

bihon! He will resemble what is above!

When Hashem wanted to reveal Himself in our world, the world of limits, He wanted a

man who would resemble the One above, a man who would resemble the highest of levels. A

being who would be one with his vessel, just as the highest levels of spirituality is the world of

Atzilus where He is one with His vessels. This is the level that is needed, the level of the real and

correct man, where the light and vessel truly unite and become one.

The Rambam stated that we cannot truly comprehend G-dliness, for just as we cannot

grasp His essence we cannot grasp His thoughts, as He is the knowledge and the knower.

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The explanation of this is that we comprehend concepts with thought. Thought is a vessel

from the realm of Beriah. In Beriah the light and the vessel are two entities. In Beriah light is

clothed in a vessel not united with the vessel. Thought does not become one with the essence of

a matter, rather it understands as much as it can. G-dly wisdom is different in that it is a reality of

absolute oneness between the knowledge and the knower.

So the tool of Beriah cannot truly connect with Godliness which is a different type of

entity! It is through dveykus, attachment with Hashem, through utilizing the force of chayah and

the world of Atzilus, that one can connect with G-dliness, for from oneness one can connect with

oneness.

And this is what the Rambam means. The revelation of Olam HaAtzilus is that He is the

knower and the known. The light which is called the knower and what it is clothed in, the

known, is all one! And just as the light in its essence cannot be understood without a vessel, so

too when the light and the vessel are clothed and united – they cannot be comprehended and

understood! You cannot understand the machshava elyonah, Heavenly thoughts!

The Rambam writes of G-d’s knowing and how it conflicts with G-d’s granting of free

choice, and the Rambam says that just as we know that thought cannot connect to the essence of

Hashem, so too it cannot connect to the thoughts of Hashem, for those thoughts are also essential

G-dliness.

When we talk of “He blew into man the breath of life” we are talking of the way the soul

should be, we are talking of the level of oneness.

The soul is perfect. It did not come to this world for its own sake. The soul is a reality of

oneness with its vessels: in the soul you see all the ten Sefiros as united in a oneness of pure G-

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dliness. When the soul enters the body it is in vessels that are not one with the soul, and the job

of the soul is to work through Torah and mitzvos to transform the body until the entirety of the

person will be on the level of Atzilus, and then the soul and the body will unite fully and be one.

At this level there is no death! And this true oneness will happen in the future when all of

man will be a soul. This is the level of blowing into him a soul of life. Just as the essence of G-d,

pure G-dliness, is absolute oneness, so is the soul an absolute oneness. This is the real man. Yet

man also has a body, and the body is dirt from the earth, adamah. Hence man has to pull out of

this dirt its hidden forces and potentialities, to transform the body into soul!

The Struggle Of Man

All souls were once in the soul of adam harishon, the first man. All the souls of the Jewish

nation were encompassed by adam harishon. Know that when we talk of the souls of the Jewish

nation we are talking of the G-dly life in all the worlds, for there is no G-dly life in any realm of

existence without Jewish souls. All the life in the world - in the plant, living, and other kingdoms

- are sparks from the collective soul of Israel.

The difference between a spark and a soul is that a spark is a perat, an individual force or

a detail, while the soul is a collective force. The soul is a komah shleimah, it has a complete array

of forces. Man must raise the sparks, he must elevate the sparks to include them into souls, to

make them part of an Adam.

The G-dly life in the universe is the collected life of all Jewish souls. This general and

collected life has many names, and at its root it is called the Shechinah, Divine presence. When

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there is a giluy, revelation of, shechinah, the holiness that is revealed is the same holiness that

encompasses all the Jewish souls.

The Shechinah is also called the middas hamalchus of Hashem. When Hashem said Ana

Emloch, when He wanted to be revealed in the realm of limits, the Ain Sof (of which no words

can be said) wishaid to reveal itself, that there should be a place in gvul that can grasp G-dliness.

Who is a real king? One who reveals himself!

Some would say a king is one who leads a country. The person who cannot be told what

to do, can do whatever he wants, is the master of the police and the army… In short, the king.

Such a view is superficial and false.

One who rules because he has an army and people are afraid of him is not really the ruler.

He rules over actions, but not hearts. People are afraid of him, so their actions conform to what

he mandates, but their hearts are not attached to him. They have not accepted him. When they

close the shutters of their windows they ignore his commands! They think whatever they wish to

think! In the realm of thought he is not the ruler at all. He is only the ruler in the external realm

of action.

This is not real rule. This is the rule of sitra achra, the Other Side. It derives nourishment

from the true concept of rulership but is merely a copy and a model. It takes a stick and

intimidates people into following. But one who leads in this way does not rule the innermost

realms of his subjects.

(There is a real rulership in sitra achra, and that is when a wicked gentile listens to sitra

achara. Since his essence agrees to the wishes of sitra achra he is truly ruled by the forces of

evil.)

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Now, we are in exile, and non-Jews rule over the Jewish people. This too is a yenikah, a

drawing of nourishment. Drawing nourishment from the fallen sparks of the concepts of holy

rule they are able to enslave the Jewish nation. However, the real essential rule does not exist in

the sitra achra. Real rule is inner obedience.

Why would a subject annul himself? Think of a student who is battel, annulled, to his

rebbe, to a great tzadik. Why does he annul himself and follow the tzadik? This tzadik has an

elevated, purified soul, and he has the ability to reveal the great achievements that are in his soul,

and so his revelations lead others to follow him!

He may reveal himself in different ways. Some tzadikim reveal themselves with their

words of Torah, others in the way they pray. For still others simply their presence, sitting in a

room with them, triggers holy feelings in a person, for they reveal their holy achievements when

people are with them.

If the tzadik did not have the ability to reveal the strengths he has within himself people

would not follow him. But when he reveals himself other souls, rooted in the same source, are

drawn to follow him.

All Jewish souls are naturally attracted to holiness, and this tzadik might have a great

degree of love of Hashem. When other souls are in his presence, they feel this great love of

Hashem, are drawn to express a similar love of Hashem, and follow his lead. The tzadik is the

real ruler. Our Sages declared, man malkhey rabbanan, Who are the kings? The Rabbis.

The rabbis, are the true kings. They rule in the inner realm through revealing the great

holiness that is within them. Their rule is from the great love and fear of G-d that is in them.

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They are not imitators of royalty, but true kings. The other rulers are imitators. The rabbi is a

ruler in the inner realm: he rules in the hearts and people are drawn to his rule.

Others might have armies and thousands bowing, but in the inner realm they are not

ruling at all. While rabbis externally might have a small following, they are the true rulers, for

they rule in the inner realm. When Hashem said, Ana Emloch, it was in this sense.

Ana Emloch means “I will reveal” or “I will show infinity.” In sum, “I will reveal ohr Ain

Sof, the light of infinity, to such a degree that people will completely annul themselves when they

experience this light!” People of gvul, limits and boundaries, will surrender completely! They

will annul their existence and with complete obedience will accept Divine authority and wishes.

They will be ready to break all walls that might divide us from the Divine and shatter all evil

urges. They will succeed in all trials and tests solely to connect to His high light they have now

experienced! Ana emloch - I am the king because I reveal!

Once He has revealed His mahus, inner nature, and atzmus, inner essence, all creatures

will be attracted and drawn to Him because all creations will know that they receive their life and

existence only from His life and existence. Therefore all beings will annul themselves to Him

and truly accept Him as their king.

This attribute of ana emloch is called the shechinah. When we say that there is a moment

of giluy shechinah, we mean that there is a moment of revelation of ana emloch. At the moment

of giluy shechinah in the Beis Hamikdash Jews accepted on themselves ol malchus shamayim,

the yoke of Divine authority! Why did they accept His yoke then? For the general life of all the

worlds, the life of all the Jewish souls, appears when Hashem declares ana emloch and such a

revelation attracts Jews to accept the yoke of Heaven.

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Adam harishon, the first man, displayed the collective soul of Israel, the general life of

all the universes. Adam was a human being, but he also encompassed all that existed in a

concentrated form. The root of all lives was in his body in a small measure. The life for all the

universes and the souls of all Jews in all the generations were included in Adam harishon.

Had Adam harishon not eaten from the tree of knowledge and instead eaten from the tree

of life it would have meant that all the souls of history would have acquired perfection in a very

short time. Not eating from the tree of knowledge would have been the equivalent of keeping all

the mitzvos lo taaseh, the Torah’s prohibitions. It would have caused an absolute separation from

all the forces of evil. Eating from the tree of life would have been the equivalent of the study of

Torah, for Torah is also called eitz chayim, a tree of life. The study of Torah encompasses all the

mitzvos of the Torah, and in this way all souls would have quickly arrived at the state of tikkun.

After the sin of the tree of knowledge there was a great confusion and mixture. Just as

there is an Adam of holiness, ana emloch of kedusha, there is also Adam bliyaal, a man of the

netherworld, all the forces of evil, with the serpent as the head of these forces. There is evil in all

these body parts: the head, legs, eyes and hands, for this is a full Adam of rah, evil.

Once Adam ate from the tree of knowledge these evils entered him, and he then had

Adam bliyaal mixed inside of him. This frightening mixture, Adam of kedusha and Adam

bliyaal, thus became a part of each person. Man has one foot in kedusha, accepting the yoke of

heaven, and one spiritual leg of impurity, a force of unholiness, and it is a great job - a labor of

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six thousand years - to separate the holiness from the unholy, to wrest holiness from the cover of

Adam bilayaal in every part of one’s being.

Makkos In Egypt As A Lesson For Personal Spiritual Growth

Parshas Vaeira relates the beginning of the Jewish departure from Egypt. This departure is told

in two portions, parshas Vaeira and Parshas Bo. The ten makkos, plagues that hit the Egyptians,

separated the holy middos from the evil forms of the ten statements of creation.

When the Jews left Egypt there was a separation between the evil, the Egyptians, and the

holy souls, those who left. Vaeira has seven makkos. And as we know there is a classical division

among the attributes of Hashem. There are seven middos , feelings and attributes, and then gimel

rishonos, three Supernal Intellects, or components of thought: Chochmah, binah, and daas.

The seven middos, feelings and attributes, parallel the seven plagues discussed in the

parsha. They also correspond to the seven days of the week and the seven shepherds.

We must

also realize that there are two worlds: the alma diisgalya, revealed world, and the almah

diiskasya, hidden world, and that these seven middos are from the almah diisglaya, which is why

the parsha is called Vaeira, “and I appeared.”

The three Intellects are from the alma diiskasya, the hidden realm. In this parsha each

makkah took the Jews out of one Kellipahh and the corresponding attribute ascended. Thus,

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In the Nishmas prayer we declare, ki chol peh licha yodeh, for every mouth will thank You, vichol lashon licha

tishava, and every tongue will pledge loyalty to You, vichol ayin licha titzape, and each eye will look to You, vichol

berech licha tichra, and every knee will kneel to You. How can we say this? There are many who do not

acknowledge or serve Hashem! The Satmer Rebbe explained that the deeper meaning of ayin, berech, peh, and

lashon is a channel for the holy ayin, berech, peh, and lashon of adam dikdusha. One who uses these organs for

different purposes has bodily organs but they do not deserve the Hebrew and holy names for they are not connected

to holiness.

Avraham, Yitzchok, Yaakov, Moshe, Aharon, Yosef, and David.

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blood took us out of the malchus of Kellipahh and brought us to the malchus of holiness. Frogs

were the yesod of holiness, and so on for all the other middos as well until hail, which was a

fixing of chessed.

In Parshas Bo we also have three plagues. Bo אב in gimattria is three, and these three

plagues corresponded to the three Intellects. (Interestingly, the Hebrew word “bo” is made up of

two letters: a beis, which has a numeric value of two, and an alef, which has a value of one.)

Choshech, darkness, and arbeh, locusts, correspond to Chochmah and binah. The Zohar says

that Chochmah and binah are two friends that never separate, terei rei'in dlo misparshin, so, too,

both plagues are hinted in the same letter. The alef in Bo is for makkas bechoros, for the kesser,

crown, of holiness. Kesser is the beginning, the reishis.

Thus this is a parsha of fixing the middos. During shovavim,

the way to fix middos is

with makkos. The evil urge may not understand lessons from the mind. You have to beat the

yetzer hara by not spoiling your body. The Midrash says about the body, “A master who treats a

slave too generously might find the slave as his ruler.” Break your body now. Learn for hours on

end. Do not give your body all of its urges. Stay away from honor, and other things the body

would like, and be careful with your words. Even if it is not a sin, teach yourself to conquer your

yetzer hara. He cannot be spoiled! He needs to learn basic respect, derech eretz! Then, once the

body learns, you will derive much pleasure from him.

In the story of the Jewish exodus we read, Kaved lev Paroh, Pharaoh’s heart was

hardened. The Hebrew word Kaved can mean heavy or it can refer to the liver. Pharaoh’s

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The six weeks of the year when Jewish communities read during the Torah reading the story of the exit from

Egypt and our subsequent receipt of the Torah and its laws, are knows as the weeks of Shovavim. Shovavim is the

acronym of the names of the Torah portions, Shmos, Va’eira, Bo, Bishalach, Yisro, Mishpatim. These six weeks are

a time for personal redemption from sins in general and in particular for the sins of excess material pleasure and

youthful indiscretion.

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thoughts were like the liver: the body might be kaved, and so is the opposite of the mind, and

will not appreciate the mind. It needs some blows to understand.

This is the job of the days of shovavim: the body needs to learn lessons in order to respect

the neshama. The neshama is a great light. How dare you bother it with laziness and taavos,

instinctual urges? Teach your body by denying it some of its pleasures to display derech eretz to

the neshama, and so that the body might listen to it.

The verse declared, Lihafnos elecha kol rishai eretz, To turn to you all the wicked of the

land. People are quick to see everyone else as sinners. The challenge is to direct critique toward

oneself. I am the sinner, my body is the sinner and I must conquer it and teach it some lessons.

The Chozeh

would always teach that lihafnos elecha kol rishey aretz means we are to realize

that we are the rishoim, and so turn all the rishaei aretz to ourselves. We are kirasha, like a

sinner: beat yourself up a bit, oppose your body.

We all want to teach others to respect us. Instead, let’s teach our body to have respect for

the soul. This is the message of Vaera: G-dliness is revealed through giving blows to Pharaoh.

And when Pharaoh and evil are beaten up limaan teidah ki liHashem haaretz, So that you will

know that the earth belongs to G-d, (Shmos 9:29) the whole world hears G-d. Everyone sees that

Hashem made them, and the light of soul is revealed.

May we merit that the body be dimmed and the heavenly soul light up and guide the

world. May Hashem help us to internalize the message of Vaera so that we can arrive at Bo and

then Beshalach and Yisro and then Shekalim and Pesach! Let us merit to keep getting higher and

higher with only ever increasing levels of spiritual light.

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Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Horowitz (1745-1815), he was called the Chozeh of Lublin, the Seer of Lublin. He was

one of the greatest Chassidic Rebbes in Poland.

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What is the difference between Jewish and non Jewish spirituality? Judaism believes that the

Almighty knows the future and controls all and it also believes that man has been granted

freedom of choice. How are we to live with this paradox? In Lesson Five these questions are

explored and answered. The realm of the Divine is above the reach of human thought. What to

us seems a contradiction can in fact be true if Hashem revealed that it is so. There is a time for

viewing the world as the arena of choices and a time to view the world as the domain where the

Almighty knows and controls all.

Lesson Five: Divine Knowledge and Free Choice

יבגל תושפנ ןכו ה"עו ןומהה תומשנ יבגל חומו שאר 'יחב םה םהיתומשנש לארשי יפלא ישאר שי רודו רוד לכב ןכו

המשנו חור שפנמ הלולכ שפנ לכ יכ תושפנ

So too in each generation there are the leaders of multitudes of Jews whose souls are like the

head and the mind relative to the souls of the masses and the ignorant ones. The souls of the

masses are like feet and heels relative to the leaders. There are mind souls relative to other leg

and heel souls. For each soul is comprised of a nefesh, action, part, a ruach, spirit, [translate]

part and a neshama, cognitive soul, part.

The Makeup of Jewish Souls

The soul has three parts: nefesh, which produces actions; ruach, which produces speech and

feelings; and the neshama, which is the source of thought. The nefesh itself also has parts that

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model these three parts: nefesh dnefesh, nefesh of nefesh; ruach dnefesh, ruach of nefesh; and

neshama dnefesh, neshama of nefesh in the nefesh. This pattern continues further and further and

appears everywhere. There is nefesh dnefesh dnefesh, and ruach dnefesh dnefesh, and neshama

dnefesh dnefesh. Even when we speak of the world or the Jewish people, the entire nation and

the universe is like one great soul, and as a soul it has a nefesh, ruach, and neshama part.

Some souls were the head of this soul, and others were the hands of this soul. Thus

generations of great understanding were the head (neshama) souls, while those of great

accomplishment were rooted in the hands of this great soul (nefashos).

There is an important lesson we can derive from the fact that all Jewish souls are part of

one great whole: each soul is needed. Just as every part in a human body plays an integral role,

each Jew has an important task to fulfill. Each soul has its tests, and its way to give pleasure to

Hashem. What it can do no one else can do. If it will not fulfill its mission there is a weakness in

entire body of Israel! Therefore, ultimately, every soul must reach its tikkun, perfect

completion.

Some will get there easily. Some through diligent labors. However, every soul must

ultimately arrive at a state of tikkun and holiness. For if a soul does not arrive at a state of tikkun

one can ask, why was it created?

The yedia, knowledge, of Hashem knows the future. He knew that a certain person

would sin. Why then did He create that man knowing that he would ultimately fail? Even though

there is freedom of choice, we believe that the Almighty also knows the future. (This is borne out

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by prophecy and by many verses and logical claims.

) If He knows that a man will sin, why

create such a man? Why try and fail? The deep answer is that no one will ultimately fail!

Eventually, every soul gets fixed. Each detail accomplishes its mission! Hashem’s knowledge

dictates that eventually, every soul fixes all its sins and ultimately reaches a state of tikkun.

Some will have a tikkun through punishments in this world, some through suffering in

gehenom, the realm of the afterlife where sins are punishaid. Others arrive at tikkun through

their children doing mitzvos that will be a merit for them. (Although a tikkun gained through

others is only short term.) Eventually though the soul itself will go through different processes

until the neshama has a tikkun. Every neshama must reach a state of tikkun.

What is the mission and perfection of a soul? What is needed to reach a tikkun? Every

soul must give Hashem nachas, deep pleasure. Each soul must give Hashem enjoyment in at

least some measure. Maybe it will be only a slight move or gesture, but it must in some way give

Hashem nachas ruach, pleasure of spirit.

If you give Hashem some nachas then you will arrive

at tikkun. Hashem does not necessarily demand a large quantity of pleasure. He looks only for a

true point of devotion.

The Mishna teaches that “kol haose mitzvah achas meitivin lo umaarichin lo

yamav” (Kiddushin 39b), “anyone who does even a single mitzvah is granted blessings and a

long life.” So if he does even one mitzvah the right way he gets the benefit of eternity. Why so

much for so little? The answer is that even a single mitzvah brings the soul to its tikkun! He has

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If Heaven forbid the Almighty would not know the future then He would be limited and imperfect, ideas that are

heretical!

See the Rebbe's kuntres lag baomer, 5768.

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done sins as well, so he needs punishment, but since sins are not the essence of the person (rather

just the external yetzer hara) punishments wipe them away. The inner soul that was attracted to

mitzvos arrives at eternity through the few mitzvos it performed.

Bilaam’s Lesson

The following was taught by Bilaam

The Talmud (Bava Basra 15a) says Moshe wrote both the Torah and the tale of Bilaam.

The tale of Bilaam is part of the Torah, why divide the two when discussing them? Isn’t the

parsha of Bilaam in parshas balak, Numbers 22-25, and therefore a part of the book written by

Moshe? The simple answer is that all the parshios, sections, in the Torah are related directly to

Moshe for he witnessed them or taught them. But for Bilaam episode Moshe was not there. He

did not see it. No Jew saw it. Hashem revealed it to Moshe after the fact and told him to write it.

Hence it is Bilaam’s parsha, not Moshe’s.

There is a deep reason why Moshe was not there. The parsha of Bilaam revealed the

roots of Gentile spirituality, hence Moshe, who is the teacher of the Jewish way of service, was

not to be there.

Let us understand. To receive a free gift is anathema to the sacred sensibility. The

middah, attribute, of holiness is to avoid being a taker. Yisrael always seek to earn Divine gifts

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Bilaam was a prophet of the gentiles. Despite his abilities to communicate with the infinite and know the future,

he was an immoral person. He tried to curse the Jews who had left Egypt, yet God did not allow him to do so. Each

time Bilaam opened his mouth to curse Israel, God made words of blessings emerge. The story of Bilaam is found

in the book of Numbers, chapters 22-25.

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through service. This is the deeper concept of nahama dikisufa, bread of shame. G-d did not

leave us in Heaven but placed us in a physical realm to struggle and serve Him so that we earn

our reward and do not have to eat the bread of shame. Hashem is a mashpia, He gives. Since we

have a piece of Hashem in us, we too seek to be mashpiim, givers. The soul deeply desires to be

active and giving. Only the body is willing to take and receive. We really want to be givers!

Taking is only from the fact that we are also created beings, but from the G-dly part of us we

want to be givers! We want to give to Hashem nachas, deep pleasure and satisfaction. The

greatest gift is to give away one’s life, messirus nefesh. The soul in its essence finds that to give

everything away for Hashem, messirus nefesh, is the greatest pleasure. For such displays of

devotion are the times when the person experiences the G-dly part of his being.

Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk (1717-1787) wrote a small letter of instructions how to serve

Hashem. In this letter the theme of sacrificing all to Hashem is prominently stressed in three

different ways:

1) At every time when you are not engaged in Torah, especially when you are idle in a room by

yourself or lying in bed unable to sleep, concentrate on the positive commandment, “And I shall

be sanctified amongst the children of Israel.” (Vayikra 22:32) It is a mandate to even give our

lives for Hashem. Imagine a frightening fire burning before you, reaching to the heart of heaven,

and resolve that you are willing to overcome your natural instinct and cast yourself into that fire

to sanctify G-d’s name. G-d considers a good thought as a deed, and as a result you are not idly

sitting or lying, but fulfilling a commandment of the Torah.

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2) When reciting the first verse of the Sh’ma and the first blessing of the Amidah, have the same

thought in mind. Also have in mind that if all the members of the nations of the world were to

torture you in every possible way, skinning you alive in an attempt to force you to deny G-d’s

unity, you would withstand all suffering and not give in, heaven forbid. Imagine that they were

actually doing this to you, and you will then fulfill the obligation of Sh’ma and Amidah

according to the law.

3) When you are eating, also keep the above in mind. Whenever you begin to feel any physical

pleasure picture the above imagination. With your mind and lips declare that you would have

more joy and delight from observing the commandment of “I shall be sanctified” as described

above, than from the physical pleasure, which is from zahamas hanachash, (the filth man has as

part of his nature from the serpent that induced sin while man was in the garden of Eden).

Say to yourself, “Fulfilling the commandment of ‘I shall be sanctified’ in the above manner is

a greater delight and pleasure than this. Proof of the fact is that if murderers were to grab me in

the middle of the meal etc. and torture me, I would have more joy from sanctifying G-d's name

than from this physical pleasure.

The Deeper Meaning To Prayer

We pray and ask for things from the Almighty. From the body’s perspective we can understand

why we should pray. It is to appreciate that everything comes from Hashem. But from the soul’s

perspective prayer’s purpose is not to ask for things we need. The soul does not want any favors

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Translated By Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan in his book Chasidic Masters page 63.

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or gifts! Rather since it gives Hashem pleasure to give to us, and we want to give Him that

enjoyment, we ask for things in prayer. Our motivation is to give him the pleasure He will feel in

granting our needs. Holiness is giving.

The Ari

teaches that the reward of the world to come is to raise earthly matters to

Hashem through our devotion to him! Gan Eden is not a place to sit and enjoy the light of

Hashem. Such an image is a mere parable to the truth that in Eden there will be deep pleasure.

But the real pleasure of the soul is to be mosser nefesh for Hashem, to give to Hashem! In the

world to come we are maaleh man, we lift up to Him man, ן״מ which stands for messirus nefesh!

Imagine that we are jumping into a fire for Hashem’s sake and enjoying it, to conceive of

the Ari’s image of the world to come! The point is not enjoyment – though dedication to G-d is

enjoyable. The world to come is tasted when the nature of the soul expresses itself! The soul's

nature is to give to the Almighty.

To better imagine the joy of giving think of baalei chessed, masters of kindness, in this

world. These are individuals who love to give. They enjoy helping out and benefiting others.

Such is also the nature of the soul: it is a baal chessed, a master of kindness.

The nations and the sitra achra, the other side, forces of evil and impurity, are takers.

This is why our sages say gehenom says hav hav, “Give me and give me.”

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Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572) was one of the greatest mystics of Jewish history. He lived in Israel in Safed. His

lessons were the inspiration for the Chassidic movement. His insights in Jewish thought, prayer, and observance

have transformed the Jewish nation.

See the Rebbe’s Torah about charity, Agra Dikallah letter 21, and see also Michtav Me’eliyahu, kuntres

hachessed, Strive for Truth, Treatise on Lovingkindness.

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There are several verses that demonstrate this. Consider for example Proverbs 30:7

ןוֹה ה ָרְמאָ אB שֵׁאְו םִיַמּ הָעְבָשׂ אB ץ ֶרֶא םַח ָר רֶצֹ עְו לוֹאְשׁ , the gehenom is a swallower and is never filled.

The core of the sitra achra is a deep void, a sense of lack, a feeling that something is

missing, and a constant desire to take. The paragon of the holder of such a worldview was

Bilaam, and he was himself the root of the sitra achra.

There are sections of the Torah that seemingly contain trivial information. One such

section is in the book of Genesis in chapter 36 verses 31-40. There at the end of parshas

Vayishlach, the Vayishlach Torah reading, we are told about the Edomite kings who ruled before

a king ruled in Israel. Why do we need to know these seemingly irrelevant facts of the ancient

past? The Ari writes that the story of the seven kings of Edom at the end of parshas Vayishlach

contains the secret of the shattering of the vessels. In future lessons we will further explain the

meaning of the vessels and their implosion, but for now it is sufficient to note that the shattering

of the vessels was the root of all evil, from the collapse of the vessels the sitra achra was

formed. The first of these kings was Bela ben Beor (the Ari teaches that this king shared the same

soul as Bilaam, hence the similar name) who was a bolea, a swallower. The first king of evil

wants to swallow all! He wishes to take in and absorb. He always wants to get, never to give. A

baal taava, a hedonist, similarly wants to get. The very nature of one consumed by the

materialistic and the physical is to be a taker and a receiver, not a giver and a mashpia.

Why Choice Is Meaningful

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In our realm Klal Yisrael, the Jewish people, works to give Hashem nachas ruach. This is

because Hashem made us into sources.

Just as Hashem is the source, He is the first: He does not receive existence from chas

vishalom, Heaven forbid, something higher. He exists for He is mechuyav hametzius, He has to

exist. He starts everything.

The gift of choice – given to humanity, a piece of His own essence - grants us the chance

to be first, and so is Hashem’s way of giving us the ability to also be a source.

Who did this mitzvah? There was no earlier cause that forced me to do good or bad, I did

it from my choice! Through bechira, freedom of choice, I am the source, I am the first stage.

Besides man everything else in the world is a taker and recipient. Even high angels get

life from a higher angel. Only a baal bechira is a reishis, a true beginner! Man is mechadesh tov,

initiates a new good, or mechadesh rah, starts a new evil.

Now, why is there this new good in the world? Because the tzadik has made this good.

Ani rishon viani acharon (Yeshaya 44:6), I am first and I am last. The tzadik reveals the ani

acharon. Just as from above to below there is a first, so there is chain from below to above, and

the tzadik is ani acharon: the source to be mevarrer, clearly exhibit, the G-dliness from below.

This is because he is a chelek elokah mimaal mamash, literally a piece of the Divine! Man’s

divine nature is the basis of the power of bechira.

Divine Knowledge And Free Human Choice

Free choice is not a contradiction to Yedia, Hashem’s knowledge of the future. Both are true.

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Rambam asks, how can man have free choice if Hashem already knows what man will

choose, for He knows the future? He answers that the resolution of this question is beyond us.

We have limited minds. Our limited minds cannot grasp the resolution. Yet there is a resolution.

Through many sources the Torah clearly indicates that there is yedia and there is bechira.

Yedia is a holy concept, a concept from which sparks fell into the sitra achra, and these

fallen sparks are the source of life for the religiosity of the nations. To explain, the concept of

yedia seems to imply that one who becomes a tzadik does not do so on his own, but this fate was

rather determined for him, since Hashem always knew it was to come to pass. Yedia in this sense

fated him to be a tzadik. He was a mekabel, a recipient, of a gift determined by another Being.

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(The nations of the world are primarily mekablim, takers that derive nourishment from the

concept of Divine knowledge.) Yedia implies that even the tzadik is in essence a taker.

This requires further explanation.

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Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch pointed out that many Jewish symbolic acts stress our ability to

choose, while gentile religious acts stress man's inability to choose. The Rebbe's insight is the

reason for these divergent religious traditions. As soulful individuals Jews want to be givers.

The root of the nations is the passive deterministic view, hence their spirituality stresses man's

inability and his need to rely exclusively on Divine favor.

For instance, many Christian rituals take place at night. Night is a time when man is not active,

rather he is passive and asleep. In Judaism circumcision and other practices must occur by day,

this is to stress that our religion is one of freedom and action, we can choose, and we do in

actuality freely serve Hashem!

"So-called religions which stem from man's feelings of dependence direct man towards the

night. Man is called to find God at the point where he loses himself...In this perspective man is

helplessly bound to his physical fate unless redeemed by the saving grace of religion. Typically,

they erect their temples over the graves of the dead. They celebrate their most sacred mysteries

at night, and their most fervent prayers are cries pleading for deliverance from the power of the

evil one in the world. Such is the passivity, the dark aspect of human existence, which these

"religions" employ to bind man to the Divine.

Judaism is not a "religion." Judaism summons man into the full, bright light of day and shows

him that he is master over the world outside himself as well as over the world within him. It

makes him aware of his free-willed Godly power with which he can subdue both the world

around him and the world within his own heart. It shows him the One, unique, true, free,

almighty God Who, in His omnipotence, has created the world around and within man...Judaism

reveals to man the clear, free spirit that dwells within his own heart, and it shows him the One

unique, true God from Whom he has derived that clear, free spirit. It shows him the One Who

has imparted to him this light and this freedom as a spark of His own free, almighty Essence.

With this spark God has raised man above all else that lies bound by blind necessity and that

must operate and behave according to mindless coercion, and has placed man in His immediate

proximity...

Judaism builds its sanctuaries upon the shining heights of life. Death and decay are kept far from

the halls of its temple...

The "night gods" of so called religions are םילילא, "powers that negate,"םיבצע, powers that make

themselves felt in the "pain of renunciation." The God of Judaism is ׳ה, He who "grants ever

new, vigorous existence," םלוע ךלמו םייח םיקלא, "the God of life and the King of the Universe."

His religion is called "Law" and "the Teaching of Life." The Collected Writings of Rabbi Samson

Raphael Hirsch, Volume 3, Jewish Symbolism, pages 88-90

See Introduction to Horeb by Rabbi Grunfeld pages 116-120.

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The Jewish people are the children of Hashem. We are primarily givers. We therefore

derive most of our inspiration from the concept of bechira, free choice.

Bilaam was a gentile prophet sent by G-d to reveal the secret of Divine knowledge.

When you appreciate this mystery in the right way it is a great hassaga, spiritual understanding,

and it can help Divine service a great deal. Bilaam revealed the secret of G-d's knowledge, and

deterministic fate.

The Midrash says that a verse in Proverbs is an apt description of Bilaam’s blessings.

The verse states, “Hamevarech es reieihu bikol gadol baboker hashkeim kilala teichashev lo,”

“One who blesses his friend with a loud voice in the morning it is considered a curse for

him.” (Mishley 27:14) Apparently Bilaam’s words were like a curse for the Jewish nation.

The simple meaning of the Midrash is that to publicly broadcast the strengths of another

is in a sense to harm that person by giving him a misplaced sense of confidence. Bilaam spoke of

the greatness of Klal Yisrael, he spoke of our strengths, but these praises became curses because

the Jewish people believed them! (We can see this clearly in the Jews’ sins with gentile women

and idol worship following the “blessings” of Bilaam.) They were too confident in their

goodness and they did not summon the reservoirs of strength needed for the battle with the evil

urge, so they fell prey to him and sinned with the daughters of Midian and their G-d, baal paor.

But there is a deeper depth here. Bilaam’s revelations were a curse and weakened the

Jewish fighting spirit for they led the Jews to focus on yedia, creating a sense of fate and

predetermination and thereby sapping the fighting spirit of the Jewish nation.

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Bilaam’s revelation was that every Jew, according to the understanding of fate derived

from the Divine yedia, is a tzadik. Even if the Jew is now acting like a Bilaam he is a tzadik for

he will eventually be a tzadik! Bilaam was the yodeah daas elyon, knower of the knowledge of

the One above, he spoke of the daas, knowledge; he said that lo ish eil viyachzev, there is

nothing wasted from G-d, nothing can exist and not reach its purpose. Halo amar vlo yaase,

would He say and not fulfill?

Hashem said naase adam, let us make man, (Bereishis 1:26) a statement about His great

aspirations for humanity. Adam reminds us of man’s calling in the phrase adame laelyon, I will

resemble the One above. If Hashem said He would make an Adam, He will certainly make a

successful spiritual giant! It certainly must work out this way! The Jew will reach his tikkun!

About the final redemption Bilaam said, “Arenu vlo ata, ashurenu vlo karov,” “I see it

even though it is not now,” I can see him though he is not close. He said it is not close for there is

still much work to be done and many tikkunim yet to accomplish, but it certainly will eventually

occur. Bilaam revealed that Jewish destiny must happen.

To do this, Bilaam drew from daas.

Moshe was the daas of holiness and Bilaam was achorayim, the behind, of daas. Bilaam

was daas of sitra achra and Moshe was daas of kedusha. “Vlo kam navi od biyisrael kiMoshe

asher yedao Hashem panim el panim,” (Devarim 34:10) “No prophet arose in Israel like Moshe

whom G-d had known face to face.” Our tradition teaches, biyisrael lo kam aval baumos kam,

among the Jews there was no one like Moshe, but among the nations there was one who

resembled him.

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Our sages say Bilaam was the one like Moshe. He too had a connection to yedao, to the

daas of Hashem, to yedia. He knew things from yedia and he revealed things from yedia, things

that Moshe could not reveal he revealed.

Moshe was the world of tikkun, hence he would not reveal matters that might harm

avodas Hashem. But these matters were revealed by Bilaam. This is why Hashem left Moshe out

of the story, and it is instead the parsha of Bilaam.

The Benefits Of Divine Knowledge

If these ideas are dangerous, in fact they contributed to the failure with baal paor, why did

Hashem send Bilaam to reveal these secrets? There is also a great benefit to the secret of

Divine knowledge. When you use it in a way that it does not conflict with choice it can be

extremely beneficial and useful. Do not think of yedia before you do something, for then it

conflicts with bechira. You cannot introduce yedia into the realm where there is choice.

Rather think of yedia once a thing is done and it is no longer possible to exercise bechira.

Now look at the world with the lenses of yedia!

If the act is done already, you may feel, “Who says I will have a tikkun? And even if I get

a tikkun, Hashem did not want a tikkun in this way, Hashem wanted me to be a tzadik from the

beginning and I did not behave so! Maybe I messed up and I am bidieved, second choice-like. I

am not a lichatchilah, first choice, person. My life is from now on in a state of bidieved. I can do

teshuva and fix the broken vessels but I will never be a lichatchila person.”

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A person does not even realize how much such thoughts weaken the soul! It is

debilitating for the soul to believe that it is bedieved and second rate! To feel that you are a

bidieved will enfeeble you when you face the evil urge.

If you talk to baaley teshuvah, individuals who came to observance later in life, you will

see their pain because of this conundrum. Here is the blessing in the revelations of Bilaam.

Hashem knew it would be this way, so you are not a bedieved. From the perspective of yedia

this is the way He wanted it, He knew it would happen and from yedia’s perspective it had

to be this way! If I committed a sin, with the lens of yedia I am to say, “Hashem knew I

would do the sin and there is no other way He wanted it.” Once the sin is performed arouse

the world of knowledge and say to yourself, “G-d knew that the sin would happen and therefore

it was a lichatchila that this act of sin should be performed by me. I am therefore a lichatchila

person.” From this perspective emerges that principle “livilti yidach mimenu nidach,” (Shmuel 2,

14:14) “No soul will fail.” Every soul will ultimately arrive at tikkun. No soul is bidieved, as

yedia knows how it will arrive at tikkun.

Now, this is a very dangerous concept one can use to justify a life of sin, which would

then contradict the world of choice and its responsibilities. This is the meaning of the Midrash

that Bilaam’s revelation was a curse. You must stay within the rules, and only use the perspective

of yedia after a matter is done.

Yet since parshas Bilaam is a parsha of Torah, there is a place for yedia. After an event is

done, when there is no longer an interaction with the world of choice, then yedia should be

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deployed. G-d knew all and wanted what happened to happen. Therefore we are still on a level of

a lichatchila.

Why did G-d reveal the concept of Yedia, that He knows all? Why did the Rambam write

it down in hilchos teshuva? (See chapters five and six.) The Raavad

criticized the Rambam for

doing so. He said, “If you do not have a comprehensible answer as to how Divine knowledge and

human free will coexist, do not mention the concept of Divine knowledge!” Yet the Rambam did

write about this issue even though he wrote also that full resolution of the paradox between

human freedom and Divine knowledge is beyond mortal comprehension. Rambam wrote about

this truth, because it is necessary for the penitent to feel, "I am first rate. I may have sinned but

my sins were fated to happen. I am still the ideal."

Chassidim relate that the Rebbe of Sadigura, in the early mornings, would sweep the streets in

front of his home in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. Someone once saw him and asked him about his

strange practice. He explained with a story.

"During the 1930's I lived in Vienna, Austria. When Hitler annexed Austria and Nazi beasts

marched into Vienna, I, together with the other Viennese Jews, saw my freedom and dignity

disappear. The Nazis decreed that Jews had to clean the streets of Vienna. They forced us Jews

to our hands and knees, gave us rags and buckets of water, and decreed, "Dirty Jews, you have

made beautiful Vienna filthy, now clean its cobblestones!" I felt terribly humiliated at the time. I

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Rabbi Avraham Ben David, 1125-1198, of Posquieres, France. He wrote classic critical notes

to Maimonides' magnum opus of Jewish Law, Mishne Torah. Rabbi Avraham was known by the

acronym of his name, Raavad. He was one of the leaders of European Jewry. Despite many

difficulties, for instance he was imprisoned by a French lord who wishaid to steal his wealth, he

always maintained great fealty to tradition and great levels of Torah learning and scholarship.

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started to feel depressed and sad. Then I caught myself. I realized I cannot do anything about my

situation. Were I to resist the Nazis would kill me. It was no longer the time to think of choice, it

was time to view the world the lenses of yedia, G-d's knowledge and determined fate for

mankind. I said to myself, "Who is this Nazi? If G-d would not want him to speak, would he be

able to say anything? Certainly Not!" So it is not the Nazi talking, it is Hashem telling me,

"Clean the streets of Vienna!" Then I realized another step, "Who owns Vienna? Does Hitler

own Vienna? No! The whole world belongs to the Almighty! Vienna is also His city!" Then I felt

great joy, the Almighty was telling me, "Clean my city." Suddenly I was not a slave to Nazis and

anti semites, I was serving Hashem by cleaning His streets! I felt a great joy. Then I turned to the

Almighty with a prayer, "The Land of Israel is the place where it is easy to realize that the streets

belong to You. Of the Land of Israel, You said, “The eyes of Hashem are on it from the beginning

of the year to the end of the year.” (Devarim 11:12) If you bring me to the Land of Israel, to

remember Your kindness, there I will gladly clean Your streets! That is why here in Tel Aviv I

clean the streets."

The Sadigerer Rebbe was displaying how the revelation of Yedia, in the right setting, can be a

source of great religious inspiration and encouragement.

Another recent story, where thinking of yediah, that Hashem knows all and directs all, created an

awesome sanctification of the name of Hashem and engendered great displays of love between

Jews occurred in the year 2009, during Israel’s war with Gaza terrorists who had been trying to

kill Jews, called Operation Cast Lead.

On the tenth of Teves 5769, when he was twenty six years old, Captain Yonatan Netanel fell in

battle. He was the victim of a terrible mistake. An Israeli tank had fired at the wrong target, and

Yonatan fell from that fire. During the shiva, seven day mourning period, his father, Rav Amos

Netanel had the religious strength and faith to write the following letter on behalf of himself,

Yonatan’s mother, his wife and daughter and Yonatan’s siblings:

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“To crew ...from company...brigade...

You who are turning your nights into days with heroism and sacrifice of self for the sake of the

nation and the land:

It is known to us that our son Yoni, may Hashem avenge his blood, fell as a part of a great battle

from the fire of our forces and we felt a deep inner need to tell you with all the living forces in us

that we love you and hug you tightly!

To be wounded from the fire of our forces is a basic part of all Israel’s wars and it is part of our

ability to overcome our enemies on the field of battle and knowing this Yoni went out to this war

and we as his parents sent him to these battles.

You did not harm Yoni!

Yoni died sanctifying the name of Hashem at the time that it was decided in Heaven that he had

completed his mission in this world and you were the pure angels to bring this about.

It is comforting to us that your pure hands touched him and not the impure hand of the enemy

who is the most wicked on earth; for no impure hand would ever defeat Yoni.

It is important for us to tell you that we love you with all the warmth of our hearts. You are like

our children and like many other children who in these moments find themselves in the midst of

battles.

We beg of you, please continue Yoni’s spirit. Continue his spirit of faith, heroism, strength, and

love and in this way we will know that Yoni continues to live in you...

Our final request,

Please come to our home when the battles end so we will hug you tightly and tell you how much

we love you.

We are praying for your safety with all our might,

Amos, Malki, Tziona and Maayan, and Yitzchok, Sheri, and David”

Rav Amos Netanel had the superhuman strength, to utilize the lenses of Yediah. He wrote to the

soldiers that all that happened was the will of Hashem. Therefore the soldiers who were toiling

to save Jewish lives should continue in their efforts and not despair from the terrible losses. Rav

Amos‘s letter had a huge impact, people throughout the land heard of it and were brought closer

to each other and to Hashem because of it.

Moshe Rabbeinu and Yedia

Moshe Rabbeinu glowed from this concept. He was the opposite of Bilaam, yet he also was

connected to daas: Moshe asked for “viedaacha” “let me know You.” But he insisted “limaan

emtza chein bieinecha” “so that I find favor in Your eyes” (Shmos 33:13) along with the desire

for knowledge. It was as if he said to Hashem, “I do not want to have the knowledge of yediah in

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a way that will lead me to not find favor in Your eyes. I want to know this in a way that will not

lead me to sin. I would like to know the secret of yedia to improve my avodah, Divine service.”

“Ureeh ki amcha hagoy hazeh” (Shmos 33;13) “See that this nation is your people!”

Here, Moshe aroused a bit of yedia, as if saying, “They are Your nation so they must have a

tikkun. Show how they are guaranteed success!” Hashem granted this request.

Our Sages teach that in response to this request the Almighty revealed to Moshe the the

thirteen attributes of mercy: revelations of how G-d brings about a world of yedia and a

guarantee of tikkun in a way that does not conflict with the force of bechira. This is why Hashem

revealed the thirteen attributes when He gave the second set of luchos, tablets, with the Ten

Commandments.

Yedia was the key to the second set of tablets. One can ask, what is gained with the

second set of tablets? Maybe these tablets would be broken with another sin, as the first set had

been? The answer is that the second luchos came with the revelation of the thirteen measures of

mercy. The teshuvah of Klal Yisrael was so strong during the yemei ratzon, days of favor, in

Ellul, that they caused G-d to run the world in a new way and a hanhaggah, Divine mode of

directing the world, of thirteen measures of mercy appeared.

Moshe had asked for a revelation of holiness that had not been in the world before,

(“hareeini nah es kvodecha,” (Shmos 33:18) “please show me now Your honor”) and this

revelation is a hanhagga that works with bechira and is a light from yedia. The Jews caused this

through their teshuva: a guarantee that G-d will not let their sins reach such a point that the

second set of tablets must also be destroyed.

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A similar dynamic appeared earlier in history. Consider the flood during the days of

Noach. After the flood Hashem guaranteed there would never be another flood. This is a

revelation of the yedia of Hashem. Due to the service of Noach and the yissurim, suffering, the

world went through Hashem swore that there would not be another flood, using a rainbow as a

symbol of His promise. But of what worth was the rainbow and Hashem’s promise in light of

man’s ability to choose? Maybe people will sin and the world will be flooded and annihilated

again? The answer is that a revelation of yedia appeared, a level of Hashem knowing and man

not having the choice, man cannot sin so much to destroy the world again! The Almighty won’t

let man do so!

The Thirteen Attributes: Hashem’s Pride

The Zohar calls the thirteen attributes, Geius Hashem, the pride of the Almighty (Tehillim 93:1).

Yud gimell michilin dirachamim di’inun geius Hashem, thirteen measures of mercy which are the

pride of the Almighty. What is the meaning of this phrase? What makes these attributes a display

of pride?

Nothing is hard for the Almighty. He can do everything. With a little letter that is easily

expressed He created all universes. Only the wickedness of the rasha gives Him a hard time

with, as a Midrash says.

The world of bechira is one in which G-d has removed Himself and given a place where

you are the master, where man is the boss. In a place where He has limited His abilities, we

cannot say it is easy for Him, for it is easy for Him with His strength, but His strength is not

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here! But even though He does not do what He can, and it seems that man is in charge, in truth

He is in charge and He is the boss! The thirteen attributes display that He is really in charge!

This is why these attributes are called geius, pride! This is a geius to seemingly surrender

power but really not to give up any of the strength. Man is the boss yet ultimately G-d is the

boss, and this is geius! He shows that He does as He wills, even where you think man and not G-

d is doing, really He is the one determining the goal.

“Hashem malach geius laveish,” (Tehillim 93:1) “G-d ruled, He wore pride.” Hashem

malach, but maybe people will be wicked and not accept the malchus shamayim, the rule of

Heaven, and this is why we answer geius laveish! He has geius, meaning that ultimately He is in

charge.

Maybe this is why we say this particular pasuk at the end of kabbalas Shabbes, the prayer

welcoming the Shabbes, for the end of the week parallels the end of time. It closes a period of

service, at the close of a period of labors for the Almighty we sense that everything will have a

tikkun. We may think, “How can this be? What about choice? Maybe some will choose the

wrong path?” And then we hear: geius laveish, He wears geius! He is the real authoritarian, He

will ensure that all will arrive at a tikkun! All neshamos before the yom shekulo Shabbes, the

Messianic era of an extended Shabbes, will have a tikkun! At the very least they will all be

corrected enough that it will be clear that eventually they will merit yom shekulo shabbes, day of

an extended Sabbath, the emmese, true, tikkun. This is the meaning of Hashem malach geius

laveish: it is a model for the yom shekulo shabbes and therefore we say it on the eve of Shabbes

as we enter into Shabbes.

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The Parts Of Man

All neshamos are one komah, structure, in adam harishon, the first man, and therefore,

תושפנ יבגל תושפנ ןכו

So too nefashos to other nefashos

המשנו חור שפנמ הלולכ שפנ לכ יכ

for each nefesh is made up of a nefesh, ruach, and neshama part

םוקמ לכמ

Nevertheless

המשנו חור שפנה לכ שרש

The root of every nefesh, ruach and neshama

ןיגרד לכ ףוס דע תוגירדמה לכ שארמ םלוכ

From the highest level to the lowest stage

םילקבש לקו ץראה ימע ףוגב שבולמה

That is clothed in the bodies of the willfully ignorant and the light-headed of the cynics

לוכיבכ האליע המכח איהש ןוילעה חוממ ךשמנ

As it were, is drawn from the Highest mind, which is Chochmah ilaah, the Wisdom from Above.

הדריו םאה ןטבב םישדח העשת התייהש י"ע שממ וז הפטמ ווהתנ וילגר ינרפצ 'יפאש באה חוממ ךשמנה ןבה לשמכ

םינרפצ הנממ 'ווהתהלו תונתשהל הגרדמל הגרדממ

As a parable consider a child. He is fully drawn from his father’s mind (which produced the seed

that created him), even the nails of his feet came literally from this drop of seed through its

gestation over nine months in the mother’s womb, where it descended from level to level to

change and even produce nails.

In other words even the nails, hair, and body parts with very little life in them, eivarim pechusim,

were once in the single drop from the moach haav that included all. So too all neshamos were

once nichlal, included in incipient form, in Chochmah ilaa, the Wisdom from Above.

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באה חומ תפט התיהש ןושארה התומצעו התוהמב םוצעו אלפנ דוחיב תדחוימו הרושק הנדוע הז לכ םעו

Despite all the changes, the body parts are still now deeply connected to their original essence,

aspects of the drop from the mind of the father,

שארבש חומהמ תכשמנ םתויחו םינרפצה תקיני ןבב וישכע םגו

And even in the child they are presently drawing life from the mind in his head

םינרפצו תומצעו םידיג ונממש ןבול [םש הדנ] 'מגב אתיאדכ

As the Talmud (Nidda 30) teaches: the father contributes the white bile out of which emerges the

sinews, bones, and nails

[הנובת חומ 'יחבמ םינרפצ ויהש ןדע ןגב ןושארה םדא לש םישובל דוסב למשחה רעש ח"עב ש"מכו]

And as is explained in Etz Chaim, Shaar Chashmal, about the secret of the garments of Adam

harishon in Gan Eden, whose nails were from the concept of moach tevunah, the mind of

understanding, an intellect of binah

The Ari explains in the section quoted by the Tanya, that there is a constant need for a levush, a

garment, so that the chitzonim, superficial external beings, not be yoneik, suck life, from the

adam dikdusha, the Holy Adam. There are three parts to a man’s outer vessels, keilim chitzonim:

muscle, sinews and bones, bassar, giddin, atzamos. Man also has keilim pnimiym, inner organs,

with three parts: liver, kaved, heart, lev, and mind, moach.

In the inner vessels the innermost is the mind, and the middle is the heart, and the liver is

the most external. The Ari did not only mean the mind in the head. There is a mind part in each

limb. The brain sends messages through nerves to impact all the limbs. This is a mind-part in

limbs. The heart sends ruach, oxygen, which comes from breathing, to the heart and blood and

through it to all the limbs. The liver gives mazon, nutrition, to the blood that then goes to all

limbs. Thus each limb has a bit of mind, (neshama) heart (ruach) and liver (nefesh). These are

eivarim pnimiyim that impact the inner realm and correspond to nefesh, ruach, and neshama.

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In the eivarim chitzonim we have bassar, muscle matter; gidin, sinews; and atzamos,

bones. Atzamos are the pnimius, innermost realm, of the eivarim chitzonim, the giddin are the

middle, and the bassar are the chitzonim. Above this we have the levush, a garment. The skin of

man is a levush over these matters.

Again we see here a pattern of four. There are four elements (earth, water, air, and

energy), four types of creations (domeim, tzomeiach, chai, midaber, inanimate, plant, animal, and

speaking kingdoms) four worlds (Atzilus, Beriahh, Yetzirahhh, and Asiyahh), and here too we

have four, skin corresponding to malchus, and then muscles, sinews, and bones.

Olam habinah is above the realm of man.

Originally the Almighty sent down a skin from this realm to cloak Adam so that

chitzonim would not be yoneik from him. This is the deeper meaning of the Midrash that before

eating from the tree of knowledge all of Adam’s body was covered with a hard clear shell, like a

nail.

The Tanya is teaching that after his sin this elevated garment remained in the tzipornayim,

nails, of the first man.

ידי לע הגרדמל הגרדממ ותדיריב הלעמל לארשי תוללכ לש המשנו חור שפנה לכ שרשב לוכיבכ שממ הככו

תישע המכחב םלוכ ביתכדכ 'תי ותמכחמ ע"יבא תומלועה תולשלתשה

So it is with the root of the nefesh, ruach, neshama of the entire nation. It came down from level

to level from His wisdom, as it is written, “All were made with wisdom.”

םוצעו אלפנ דוחיב תודחוימו תורושק הנידוע הז לכ םעו ךרעה יתוחפו ץראה ימע לש המשנו חור שפנ ונממ ווהתנ

האליע המכח תכשמה איהש ןושארה ןתומצעו ןתוהמב

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Out of this wisdom came the souls of the willfully ignorant, and those of low worth, and they are

still connected and united with an awesome union to their initial essence, which is an extension

of the Supernal Wisdom!

לארשי ינב ישאר םימכחהו םיקידצה לש המשנו חור שפנמ אוה ץראה ימע לש המשנו חור שפנ 'ויחו תקיני יכ

םרודבש:

For nourishment and the life of the nefesh, ruach, neshama of the willfully ignorant is from the

nefesh, ruach, neshama of the tzadikim and wise ones who are the heads of the Jewish nation in

their generation.

The Tanya teaches here that the Jewish nation is like a human body. All Jews must connect to the

tzadik just as every body part must connect to the mind. What is the depth of this lesson? How is

a tzadik like the mind and others like limbs?

When we speak of a full komah, structure, of a man, the lowly people, the amei haaretz

would be called nails or heels, for they have limited life. They are still part of the earth from

which they sprung. They too derive their life though from from the neshama in the mind. Each

person gets chius, life and vitality, to all his body parts, even his legs, from the neshama

shebimoach, soul in the mind. The nerves are in all parts of the body and bring life to each part

of the body. The nerves link all limbs together, they are the force of feeling in the person and this

hergesh, sensitivity and feeling, comes from the chius in the matter, from the life in the person.

The chius is what enables feelings! As long as a person has chius he feels and responds, the chius

hapnimi, inner life, in the neshama clothes itself in the ability to feel and sense. Doctors know

this, too: a person feels pain becomes the nerves tell the mind and the mind sends back the

feeling of pain.

The roshei hador, the heads of the generation, the tzadikei hador, are the mind of the

generation, and they give chius to the rest of the body. All individuals get chius from the mind.

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“M’pi elyon lo teietzei haraos,” (Eicha 3:38) “Nothing bad comes from Him.” Hashem

sends a hashpaa, a stream of blessing, which is aidel, delicate and holy, to the tzadik. With this

hashpaa one can serve Hashem the right way. Sometimes Hashem will send a hashpaa of

ashirus, wealth. The wealth from the heichalos hakedusha, the Divine palaces of holiness, will

first go to the tzadik, to the oveid Hashem, who will utilize this hashpaa in the right way, and

then it will be easier for the others, who are mekabel hashapaos from the tzadik, to use this

hashpaa in the right way also. (Since this hashpaa was with the tzadik it will come to the world

in a way that helps avodas Hashem.)

Let us define: a tzadik is a great oveid Hashem. The point though is that he is ready for

messirus nefesh, to sacrifice his life for G-d. Not only does he fulfill mitzvos constantly, there is

nothing that will hold him back from ratzon Hashem, the will of G-d, as his will is completely

annulled to ratzon Hashem. If there is something that the tzadik cannot do, a point where he

cannot break his taava, desires, and do ratzon Hashem, then he is not a tzadik. A bechinas tzadik,

relatively tzadik like, maybe, but not a full tzadik!

Why? A tzadik is a person completely subservient to Hashem’s will, a person who is

completely mosser nefesh, sacrificing his life, for Hashem, and there is nothing he would not do

for Hashem. Every moment he is ready to do His will. ( He would even take all the travails of

Iyov, Job, if that is the ratzon Hashem!) Battel ritzoncha mipney ritzon, annul Your will to His, is

the definition of the tzadik. Therefore the tzadik impacts this hashpaa, and that makes it a gift

with which it is easy to fulfill ratzon Hashem.

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In the book Megillas Setarim of the Komarna Rebbe, the fact that one reaches a tzadik

level through willingness for complete sacrifice of self is mentioned in several contexts. He

related there about his experience of Rosh Hashana 5607(1837):

“On the first night, I had a long dream. In it I saw that there were many judgement

against me. Then I saw myself walking amidst the hairs on my head, and I realized that these

hairs are certainly a sign of judgements. In the morning I gave away my life. I prayed with

tremendous joy. When they lifted the Torah scroll I saw the verse, “And you will see it and pass

away to your nation” (Bamidbar 27:13) I payed no attention to this verse at all. I prayed the

mussaf prayer with a feeling of clear light. On the second night I had another dream. Now the

crown from above appeared with its enormous mercy and all the judgements were

sweetened.”(Entry 39)

Despite the ominous messages of the dream of the first night, and the verse he saw during

the prayers, Rav Safrin as a great tzadik was moser nefesh, he gave away his sense of self. He

rejoiced with the Almighty on the birthday of the world, that caused the difficulties to be

sweetened.

After being impacted by the tzadik, this hashpaa comes to Klal Yisrael. Ameich kulam

tzadikim, your entire nation are righteous individuals. Each Jew is a tzadik with a deep will to

fulfill ratzon Hashem. Most of us have yet to be motzi it from the koach el hapoel, to express our

potential. Hence when a Jew receives the hashpaah with the tzadik quality it arouses his inner

tzadik and he will easily use the gift for Hashem’s will.

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For example, imagine a person whose successful business starts to fail. Costumers stop

arriving, his revenue falls, and he cannot pay his debts. When things were going well he learned

at a shiur, a permanent Torah study session, every night in the beis midrash, Torah study hall, for

two hours. Now that business is not going well, he decides, “I need more time at the office,” and

he stops his regular learning.

If his business now succeeds nature will be giving him the parnassa, livelihood, not

service to Hashem! Hishtadlus, human effort, will give him the livelihood, not “viavadetem es

Hashem elokeichem ubeirech es lachmecha umeimecha etc.,” “and you shall serve G-d your lord

and He will bless your bread and water.” (Shmos 2:25) Such parnassa, that comes withou

emunah and bitachon, faith and trust, is not going to come from the tzadik! He might become an

osher, a wealthy man, but it will be osher shamur libaalav liraaso, wealth waiting to harm its

possessor to his detriment! Such funds will attract him to material and physical matters and not

to holiness! They may have judged him in heaven that he was “worthy” of getting hashpaos from

the sitra achra! Someone else might have merits and therefore such neglect of Torah will not

make his business succeed and it is therefore really a blessing that he is being saved from being

dependent on the sitra achra!

On the other hand, someone else, who is not even a great tzadik, when he sees that

business is not going well, might say, “I must have sins, and that must be why my business is

failing. I need to fix things! From now on I will say more pirkei tehillim, chapters of Psalms, or I

will say tehillim with more kavanah, feeling.” This is a hishtadlus, effort, that is more related to

the tzadik. He is not a tzadik, he is not ready to be killed for Hashem every moment, but he broke

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something here, he broke teva, his nature and connected in a deeper way to the Almighty. This

attitude connects him strongly to the tzadik and he receives a hashpaa from the tzadik.

True Connection To A Tzadik

People think that if they go to the tzadik and give him a kvittel, a note asking for a blessing, they

are attached to the tzadik and now will have all good things and can do whatever they want. They

can conduct their business with gneiva and gezeila, burglary and theft, diminish their learning,

can do what they want, and the tzadik is a magician: if they are connected to him, it will all work.

While there is a positive that people who behave this way do believe in something, their

behavior is a contradiction. The tzadik gets the hashapaa from the side of holiness and they act

in ways that are the opposite of sanctity, so how can they receive any such hashpaa!!! Their

actions annul their bond with the tzadik! A kesher, connection, to the tzadik is not derived mostly

from physical proximity to him. A kesher means to be spiritually connected, for me to be a small

tzadik as he is a big tzadik. Only then can I get from him madreigos and mochin, spiritual heights

and religious thoughts, because only then am I truly attached to him.

This mistake I just described is widespread. Many people think that because they are

around a tzadik and taking care of the needs of the community he leads they are therefore

connected. This is wrong. It is superficial. The young married man who sits in the corner and

rarely talks to the tzadik but is oveid Hashem like the tzadik is oveid Hashem, and who receives

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hissorerus, inspiration, from the tzadik, is mekabel hashapaos from the tzadik. He is the real

chasid! The attendant has politics, not flow of blessings from the holy person!

Remember that every matter has a Kellipah, a chitzonius, even his’karvus tzadikim,

closeness to tzadikim, has a Kellipah. In every holy matter there is a chitzonius that does not

allow us to get close to the Kedusha ; a lahat hacherev hamis’hapeches, a revolving sharp blade,

in front of the etz hachaim, the tree of life. In each davar shebikdusha there is a chitzonius that

does not make it easy to come to the kedusha.

Sometimes there are kashas, questions, on the tzadik. Sometimes the tzadik himself does

questionable things to arouse kashas and discourage people from coming too close. Sometimes

there are gabbaim, attendants, around a tzadik that make it hard to get to the tzadik. The tzadik

might even know about this and feel he can't do anything about it. For if it would not be this it

would be something else: there must always be a barrier. Around the prophet Elisha

there was a

wicked student, Geichazi.

. In the Garden of Eden, after man ate from the tree of knowledge,

the Almighty put an angel with a revolving blade to guard the path to the tree of life. Each tzadik

is a tree of life. Around each tzadik there is an emissary of the Almighty with a revolving blade

in his hand to keep all from approaching the tzadik. Geichazi was the lahat hacherev

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In the book of Melachim there are several chapters devoted to the prophet Elisha. He was the primary student of

the great prophet Elijah. He performed feats and miracles that were double the level of Elijah.

Geichazi is featured in several of the stories about Elisha. See chapters 4-8 in the second book of Melachim.

According to our tradition Geichazi was a sinful person. He was not modest, he was greedy, and he was dishonest.

Ultimately, he betrayed Elisha. The Syrian general Naaman was stricken with a skin disease. Elisha cured him in a

miraculous manner. Naaman offered Elisha wealth, Elisha refused to accept any gifts and instead encouraged

Naaman to give thanks to Hashem. Geichazi dishonestly approached Naaman and claimed Elisha had changed his

mind and desired silver and clothing. Naaman gave the requested items to Geichazi. Elisha cursed Geichazi for the

betrayal, the skin disease of Naaman afflicted Geichazi, and the Talmud teaches that Geichazi lost his portion in the

world to come.

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hamishapeches around the tzadik Elisha. He was Elisha’s gabbai, attendant. Without his

permission you could not get close to Elisha. Elisha was pi shnayim biruchacha, double the spirit

of prophecy than Elijah, he was a great miracle worker. in Tanach there is almost no one who

performed as many wonders as Elisha. Yet when a person would approach Elisha they would

meet up with Geichazi.

The king of Yisrael asked sapru nah hagdolos asher asah Elisha, please relate the

wonders Elisha performed, and Geichazi could tell many stories. Naaman came to be healed and

Elisha did not want to take the pidyon, the monetary redemption,

for he felt it was a chillul

Hashem, disgrace to G-d. So Geichazi took the pidyon shlo al pi reshus rabbo, without the

permission of his teacher, Elisha felt he made a chillul Hashem, and distanced himself from him.

After he sent him away our sages teach that many, many students came to Elisha, for

Geichazi had been keeping them away. Apparently when Geichazi was Elisha’s gabbai there

were many who did not want to come close to Elisha, for they had questions that stopped them.

They probably said, “What is going on here? How can Elisha have such a gabbai?” And as a

result they did not want to be close to Elisha. For there was a lahat hacherev hamis’hapeches

around him. (See further Melachim 2, chapter five.)

Reb Shamshon Ostroplier once wrote about this, “I cannot discuss this at length because

of sakkanas nefashos, danger to my life.” His meaning was that there were many more

talmiddim, students, after Geichazi left than there had been before when he was still Elisha’s

attendant. The navi, prophet, (Melachim 2 chapter six) describes how there was not enough space

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When tzadikim are given a kvittel to read, it is customary to leave some money called a pidyon, as a gift to the

righteous man.

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for all the talmidim, so they asked Elisha if they could go down to the Jordan river to cut down

wood to make benches. Elisha said yes. They asked him to accompany them and he did. When

one student was cutting the wood the metal blade fell off the axe and into the river, and the

student called out, “Oy this is a borrowed axe!” Elisha threw in the wood to the water and the

metal miraculously rose.

Reb Shimshon Ostroplier explained this episode by writing that the tumah, impurity, of

osso ish, the founder of the Christian faith, wanted to get close to Elisha. Osso ish was a type of

neshama and he was a talmid of Reb Yehoshua ben Perachya. When Elisha threw the wood into

the water, he was mechavein the kavvanos, concentrated on the thoughts, to push this tumah

away. This was necessary for now there was no Geichazi, who had pushaid so many away. (This

included osso haish, since osso haish was never sincere in his spiritual pursuit and was looking

only for kavod from Elisha; only the most sincere came close to Elisha then.) But once Geichazi

was gone this tuma came close to Elisha and he had to be meyached yichudim, to keep this tumah

away.

Here is another lesson: the concept of his’karvu tzadikim, getting close to Tzadikim. The

key is to seek the pnim, inner reality. In other words, the Tanya is teaching here that if you work

lishem shamayim, for the sake of heaven, you can get close to tzadikim. He says that the yenikah,

nourishment and chius, life of amei haaretz, ignorant people, are from the tzadikim of the

generation. This is when people act in a way that they are truly connected to the tzadik!

הקיבד י"ע יכ שממ הניכשב קבדנ ולאכ בותכה וילע הלעמ ח"תב קבדה לכש וב הקבדלו קוספ לע ל"זר רמאמ ןבוי הזבו

'תי אוהש האליע המכחבש םשרשו ןושארה ןתוהמב תודחוימו ץראה ימע לש המשנו חור שפנ תורושק םימכח ידימלתב

שפנ לש םיירוחא 'יחבמ םהלש המשנו חור שפנ תקיני םימכח ידימלתב םידרומו םיעשופהו] 'וכ עדמה אוהו 'א ותמכחו

ח"ת תמשנו חור]

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This explains the comment of our sages on the verse, “And to cleave unto Him”— "He who

cleaves unto a scholar [of the Torah] is deemed by the Torah as if he had become attached to the

very shechinah, Divine presence.” For, through attachment to the scholars, the nefesh, ruach and

neshamah of the ignorant are bound up and united with their original essence and their root in

the Supernal Wisdom, He and His wisdom being one, and “He is the Knowledge…” (As for them

who willfully sin and rebel against the sages, the nurture of their nefesh, ruach and neshamah

comes from behind the back, as it were, of the nefesh, ruach and neshamah of the scholars.)

The truth is everyone is yoneik from the tzadik, even the rasha. But the rasha is like sitra achra:

they are yoneik from the concept of achorayim, the non desired back.

ןיאש םושמ ונייה 'וכ ץראה ימע ינב כ"אשמ אקווד שימשת תעשב ומצע שדקיש יולת רקיעהש שדח רהזבו רהזב ש"מו

עפשה 'יפאו 'וכ שובלה ותוא י"ע לכה השועש תוצמה לכו ומאו ויבא תומצעד שפנמ שובל הל ןיאש המשנו חור שפנ ךל

הלודג המשנ איה וליפאו ונב תמשנל שודק שובל ךישמי ומצע תא שדקי םאו הז שובל י"ע לכה םימשה ןמ ול םינתונש

לפשו הזבנ םדא לש ונב תויהל אב ץק ןיאל הובג םדא תמשנ םימעפל הנה המצע המשנה לבא 'וכ ויבא שודיקל הכירצ

תישארב 'פ תוצמ ימעטבו אריו 'פ הרות יטוקילב הז לכ ל"ז י"ראה ש"מכ 'וכ

As for what is written in the Zohar to the effect that the essential factor is to conduct oneself in a

holy manner during marital union, which is not the case with the children of the ignorant, and so

on, it is to be understood as meaning that since there is not a nefesh, ruach and neshamah which

has not a garment of the nefesh of its father’s and mother’s essence, and all the commandments

that it fulfills are all influenced by that garment - and even the benevolence that flows to one

from heaven is all given through that garment - hence, through self-sanctification, one will cause

to descend for the neshamah of one's child a holy garment, and however great a soul it may be, it

still needs the father’s sanctification... But as for the soul itself, it sometimes happens that the

soul of an infinitely lofty person comes to be the son of a despised and lowly man... All this has

been explained by Rabbi Isaac Luria, of blessed memory, in Likutei Torah, on parshas Vayera,

and in Ta'amei ha-Mitzvot on parshas Bereshit.

This inyan we will have to speak about in the next lesson for it is a wonderful inyan: the matter

of the levush of the neshama.

Hashem Brings Us Close

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Parshas Bo is a wonderful parsha.

The Chozeh of Lublin

would say that he would literally

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feel a glow from Pesach during Parshas Bo. Tzadikim would say about the Talmud’s declaration,

“mitzvah bo yoseir mibishlucho,” “better for the mitzvah to be performed by him (Bo) than by

the representative,” also means that the light one can feel during Parshas Bo is even more than

what one feels in parshas Beshalach.

For Parshas Bo is like the first night of Pesach, the

beginning of yetzias mitzarayim, the Exodus from Egypt, while parshas beshalach is like shvii

shel pesach, the seventh night of Pesach! On the first night of Pesach all the mochin, intellectual

inspirations, come through isorrerusa dileila, an arousal from above, in a speedy way. The

spiritual gifts of Pesach arrive in an unusual pattern. In a transmission above normal order. This

illumination, haara , touches each of us on this Shabbes, and with this Shabbes we can merit the

taste of yetzias mitzrayim derech dilug, in a way of skipping over usual preparations, and kefitza,

jumping beyond the usual requirements.

Hashem said bo, come to me. He was approaching us to bring about geula, redemption.

Chassidim used to answer the question why Hashem said bo and not lech el paroh, Go to Paroh,

by saying that with lech we would not be able to have the acronym shavavim.

The Gerrere

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The Rebbe delivered this lesson during the week in which Parshas Bo was read.

Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Halevi Horowitz (1745-1815) was one of the great Chassidic Rebbes. He helped establish

Chassidus in Poland. He was known as the Chozeh, the Seer, due to his miraculous abilities of perception. He

could see what was not apparent to the normal naked human eye.

In Bo the last of the ten plagues, the slaying of the first born, is imposed on the Egyptians, and the Jewish people

leave Egypt. In Beshalach the Jewish people are pursued to the Red Sea, which Hashem splits to allow them to cross

and then closes on top of the pursuing Egyptians, destroying them.

Shovavim refers to the first six weeks of Torah readings when reading the book of Shmos. It is the acronym of the

names of those six Torah readings. It is a time of repentance, especially to repent for the sins of the flesh and to

achieve an attitude that will focus on spiritual matters and serving the Almighty and not physical pursuits.

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Rebbe explained, “Bo means come, it is warm and encouraging terminology, while lech means

go, it is more remote and distant.”

To succeed in shovavim we need bo, we need to feel that Hashem is bringing us close!

This is a week of bo el paroh, lashon his’karvus, terminology of endearment. Attach yourselves

to this haara of Pesach that comes down this Shabbes. With it you can accomplish great spiritual

heights!

Some bodies are delicate and only advocate minor sins. Others are coarse and advocate terrible

misdeeds. The urges of the body are manifestations of the unique garment of the soul that each

person possesses. Lesson Six explores this garment that serves as the bridge linking body and

soul. Where does this garment come from? What is its nature? Which mitzvos strengthen the

garment? What prayer thanks G-d for the garment of the soul? Lesson Six will reveal secrets

about the garment of the soul and the character of man.

Lesson Six: The Garment of the Soul

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At the end of chapter two the Tanya spoke of the levush, garment, of the soul. The Tanya had

previously pointed out that the greatness of the soul is not dependent on the level of the father

and the mother who gave birth to this soul. The soul is a piece of Hashem itself, it comes from

atzmius Elokis, the essence of the infinite, it emerges from Chochmah i’laa, transcendent

wisdom, it has no real connection to the level of the parents.

But the Tanya also mentioned that there is a garment for the soul that is determined by the

parents. The garment the parents draw down is similar to the spiritual level the parents have

reached.

Let us explain.

The soul is a piece of Divinity and therefore it is the opposite of the body. It cannot have

a connection to the body. It cannot clothe itself in the body, for the two are extremely distant

from each other. Hence the need for an intermediary. Levush haneshama, the garment of the soul,

is a delicate garment. It is not as spiritual as the soul nor is it as physical as the body, but is

somewhere in the middle. The soul can relate and connect to this levush, and once it is clothed in

the levush the levush can be clothed in the body. This is how the person has life.

Since the sin of Adam harishon, the levush is not pure Divinity, but is from Kellipas

nogah, the nogah shell, that only has sparks of G-dliness. Nogah is tov and rah, good and bad, it

is not complete and pure elokus. The bad part of the levush is the yetzer harah, evil urge, of a

person. The yetzer tov, drive for holiness, is the good part of the levush.

Man’s mission on earth is to work on the levush that has clothed the soul. The tzadik can

turn the yetzer harah into tov. The beinoni, though he cannot transform the yetzer harah into tov,

can constantly refuse to follow the yetzer harah and instead fulfill the dictates of the yetzer tov.

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Parents bring down the levush for the neshama to fill. Once a garment has been created a

soul can come into the world for it has a garment to fill. A great tzadik certainly draws down a

special levush. There are people who are simply not attracted to very low levels, they are not

attracted to truly horrific sins, they are more sensitive, and delicate people. Sometimes it is clear

that this emerges from their very nature: they were born with delicate sensitivities. Delicate

sensitivities come from the levush received from the parents. Such individuals have a delicate

yetzer harah, not a gross and lowly yetzer harah. This is what they were born with.

On the other hand, some children, who have yet to be educated, are already attracted to

anger or greatly material matters. They have a lowly levush.

We see both in the Torah and in the world that sometimes great souls come from great

parents! A tremendous tzadik will in fact bring great souls into the world. Consider the Belzer

Rav,

or the Satmer Rav,

who had more sensitive bodies, yet even more so had great

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neshamos. When they would learn they would open the wellsprings of wisdom and reveal

insights of Torah that were thousands of times more special than what regular people could

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Rav Aharon Rokeach (1880-1957) was the fourth Belzer Rebbe. Even before World War two his fame was world

wide. He was known as the "wonder" Rabbi for the many miracles that would occur in his presence. When the evil

Germans invaded Poland, they posted posters with pictures of the Rebbe, seeking him in order to harm him. Despite

their plans the Almighty saved the Rebbe. With many miracles and exceptional devotion of his chassidim, the

Rebbe was smuggled during the war from Poland to Hungary to the Land of Israel.

The Rebbe lost his entire family during the war, (he and his wife had five sons and four daughters). He also lost

thousands of cherishaid disciples. After the war he would not recite kaddish on the yahrtzeit or ever talk about those

he lost. His behavior was explained to a historian by his principal assistant in the following way, "because those

who had been killed by the Nazis for being Jews were of transcendent holiness; they were beyond our

comprehension. Any words about them that we might utter were irrelevant and perhaps even a desecration of their

memory."

The Rebbe was an exceptional man. He had a great love for fellow Jews. He would not allow a negative word to be

said about another Jew in his presence and he demanded of himself great levels of devotion to the Almighty and

personal piety.

Rav Yoel Teitelbaum (1887-1979) was one of the great giants of the twentieth century. He had served as a Rabbi

and Yeshiva head prior to world war two and was widely respected throughout the Chassidic world as one of the

greatest Torah geniuses of his generation. After miraculously surviving the Nazis, he was even able to keep his beard

while in the concentration camp of Bergen Belsen, he eventually came to the United States and greatly strengthened

observance of Judaism in America. Some of his many Torah insights are found in his books Divrey Yoel.

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accomplish in that amount of time with a similar degree of effort and intellectual ability. When

they prayed they would reach levels far above what others can dream about. Such spiritual

achievements were a result of the great souls that they possessed.

Was it merely by chance that such a great soul came to a family of such tzadikim? No, it

was related to the parents. The Almighty is The Great Matchmaker. When a delicate, holy levush

is brought down by the parents the Almighty will match it with a very special soul. Since the

parents of the Belzer Rav and the Satmer Rav drew down a sensitive levush, Hashem paired it

with a great neshama.

Rav Yitzchok Eizik Yehuda Yechiel Safrin, (1806-1874) the great Rebbe of Komarna

chassidim, wrote a fascinating work about himself, called Megillas Setarim. In it he writes about

his soul and how it entered this world:

“When my father, the tzadik, was at our teacher and master, the holy and Godly of Israel,

from Lublin (the Chozeh of Lublin), he entreated him to ask Hashem to grant him a male child

(he already had two daughters). The Chozeh answered, “If I decree that you have a son, you will

have one, however, you will not be able to live long after the birth for you and he are not to live

together in this world.” My father accepted this on himself. The Chozeh then taught him an

awesome meditation of unification, a Godly name to put together at the moment of conception, in

order to bring down my soul. He then told him that, “You will have a son who will be a great

light...”

“On the third day after my circumcision, in my birthplace Samvor, one of the students of

the Baal Shem Tov came to visit. Many of the townspeople came to him as did many of the

women with their children. His way was as is the norm with the holy men of our generation, to

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bless each Jew, small one and great one, with soulful love of Israel, the holy nation. Among

those who came was my mother with me so that the tzadik would bless me. When he put his hand

on my head, he shouted loudly in Yiddish “Lo! This young child has a singularly great mind and

an awesome soul!” My mother was shaken from the shout. He assured her by saying, “Do not

fear, this child will be a great light.”

“From when I was two to the age of five I was blessed with awesome sights. I reached

Ruach Hakodesh, divine inspiration, and I said prophetic things. I could literally see from one

end of the world to the other. My teacher and uncle, the holy and awesome man of God, Rav

Tzvi of Ziditchov would give me two reinish each week so that I would tell him matters and

answer his questions. I spoke clearly and answered all that he asked of me and I distributed all

the money I was given to charity.”

“The primary root of my soul is from the root of the holy Ari...my holy uncle was from the

root of Rav Chaim Vital (the primary student of the Ari) and now it was reversed and I learned

from him. This is the reason there was such a great soulful love between the two of us.”

“Had I not been in this lowly generation, and I therefore must fix many souls through a

broken and submissive heart, I would have merited reaching several of the levels of the holy Ari,

but I rejected many spiritual achievements. For my only goal is to give pleasure to the Creator,

truthfully, and with a full heart.” (Megillas Setarim entries 4-15)

In these entries it becomes apparent that Rav Safrin had a great soul. Only a great soul

would merit to know its root, prior lives, and be able to reach divine inspiration at a young age.

Yet this soul was drawn down by his parents. Through the meditation his father engaged in when

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conceiving him, a holy levush was drawn and Hashem paired an elevated levush with an

elevated soul.

Why People Differ

The levush is also connected to the root of the soul. A soul rooted in the realms of

heavenly chesed will have a levush that is also related to that root, to the concept of chesed. That

is why kehunah, priesthood, is an inherited position. Kohen parents draw down a garment of soul

from the Kohen root. Because the levush is a levush of kehunah this person gets a soul of

kehunah and then he is a Kohen. So it is with kings. Since the father was a king, and the external

abilities of a king are from the levush, he draws to his son a levush from the root of royalty, and

G-d then clothes a soul of a king in this levush.

The length of a person’s life depends on the amount of sparks contained within his

levush. Our sages taught, “yitzro shel adam mischadesh alav bichol yom,” “The evil urge is

renewed each day.” Why is the yetzer harah renewed every day? Because in each day there is

another part of the levush that has to be purified. That is why every day has a new yetzer harah

and a new yetzer tov, each day we access a new part of the soul. Each new part has its own evil

urge, hence the lesson that on each day we contend with a "new" evil urge. Each day we must

defeat the yetzer harah of that day.

That is why each morning we recite the blessing of “elokai neshama shenasata bi tihorah

hi,” “My G-d the soul you have placed in me is pure.” Each day there is a new part of the soul

that is revealed. The levush is renewed every day, which is why we recite the blessings of

hamalbish arumim, He clothes the naked, and hanosein layaef ko’ach, He gives to the exhausted

strength, for in the morning there is a “new” levush that the soul has to work with. When a

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person wakes up in the morning he feels fresh because he receives a new levush and new soul in

the new morning.

If you ask, why if one does not sleep does he not feel the freshness of a new day, since,

after all, the new day should reveal a new part of the garment? The answer is that there is a

natural order to how the soul is renewed, and part of it is that man must sleep. Sleep is not only

something physical. Sleep creates tikkunim, spiritual corrections. These tikkunim are necessary to

enable the renewal of the levush and soul for the next day.

The quantity of nitzotzos, G-dly sparks, that the levush contains determines how long

one’s life will be, as well as its quality. Arichus yamim, length of days, also refers to quality.

Years during which one can accomplish much are defined as times of arichus yamim, and this is

all dependent on the levush.

The Torah demands that we honor our father and mother. The honor is both because of

the soul - as their souls are connected with your soul – and in gratitude for giving you a levush to

help in the service of G-d. You have to thank them for getting you a levush that enables you to

give Hashem pleasure in this world.

On a deeper level, kavod, honor, means that a branch must give honor to its root, each

branch must honor its source, and this is why honoring parents is like honoring Hashem

(Kiddushin 30b). My levush is an extension of my parents’ who drew down this levush. I am a

branch to my parents’ root. If I give honor to my root, and my parents to their root, then we

would ultimately reach Adam harishon, whose father was G-d. He was created by the Almighty.

He would continue the chain and give honor to his root, to the Almighty. Through honor one is

attached to his father and then since his father has given honor to his father he becomes

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connected to his grandfather and this continues till one gets to honoring Hashem. For this reason

our sages teach about honoring parents, “hukshu kvodam likvod Hamakom,” “Their honor was

compared to the Honor of the Almighty.”

The Evil urge and The Holy Urge

Esav also honored his father. Why? Esav represented the yetzer harah and he was honoring the

root of his yetzer harah - his father who gave him both a yetzer harah and a yetzer tov. Yaakov

also honored his root - he honored the levush yetzer tov that he received from his father. There is

kibbud av, honoring the father, of Yaakov and kibbud av of Esav. An honor that emerged from the

yetzer harah, and an honoring that emerged from the yetzer tov. There is a good kibbud av and a

bad kibbud av.

We learn kibbud av from the gentiles. For example in tractate Kiddushin (31a) the Talmud

relates the story of Dama Ben Nesina. He would not wake his father when the sages wishaid to

purchase a precious stone from him and the key to the box holding the stone was under the

pillow on which his sleeping father was resting his head. We learn the levels of honor and the

rewards of honoring one’s father from this behavior of Dama ben Nesina. The Talmud interprets

the verse “yoducha Hashem kol afsei aretz ki shamu imrei picha,” “All the edges of the world

will acknowledge You O G-d, when they will hear the commands of Your mouth.” to mean that

when Hashem commanded the mitzvah of kibbud av all the nations of the world accepted Him.

Before this command, they had claimed “kavod atzmo hu doresh,” “He is demanding

honor for Himself. ” Once they heard that He commanded the mitzvah of honoring parents they

accepted the Divine nature of His laws and directives. Why is this? Because the nations are

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performing the kibbud av of Esav. They are acknowledging and connecting with their root. Their

ultimate root is the nachash hakadmoni, the serpent of Eden, the root of the Other Side.

The reward for kibbud av is limaan yarichun yamecha, so that you will have length of

days. Because you honor your root, you can get more strength from it and you merit arichus

yamim, which is a further feeling of the levush.

The present exile was started by the Romans, the descendents of Esav. This exile has

been the longest of all the exiles, this is the arichus yamim of Esav. Do not despair though.

Yaakov is equal to Esav! Rivkah, the mother of both Yaakov and Esav, said, “lamah eshkol

shneichem yom echad,” “Why should I lose both of you in one day?” (Bereishis 27:45) This

sentence is also interpreted to mean that Esav and Yaakov are a single day. Esav is the yetzer

harah hamis’chadesh alav bichol yom, while Yaakov is the yetzer tov hamis’chadesh alav kol

yom. Both occur during the same day. They are one day. Esav is the darkness, “Vayehi erev

vayehi boker.” “There was evening and then there was morning.” (Bereishis 1:5) First there is

night and then there is day. As the Talmud says in tractate Shabbes (77b), “Why do the goats go

before the sheep? Kibriyaso shel olam, like the creation of the world, chashocha vihadar nehora,

first darkness and then light. As it is written, Vayehi erev vayehi boker!” Esav’s lengthy rule

during the exile is a hopeful sign for the lengthy world of the Messianic age, which will be the

day to Esav’s night.

Furthermore, we must transform the night into day. Each day should be a bit of the future

when Layla kayom yair, night will be as illuminated as day. (Tehillim 139:12) We have to

transform the yetzer harah to yetzer tov to make it into yom echad, a single day. Vayehi erev

vayehi boker yom echad, first comes the evil urge, vayehi erev, then the good urge, vayehi boker.

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Transform the night into one long day, make it into a single unit of wholesome goodness, yom

echad.

The prophet Zecharia predicted the future with the words, “vhaya yom echad, hu yivada

laHashem lo yom vlo layla, vhaya lieis erev yihyeh ohr,” (Zecharia 14:7) “There is a single day,

known for G-d's salvation, not day and then night, rather as the time of dusk approaches there

will be light!” This is our job to turn the evil urge into a source of light, to unite the body and

soul and transform body into soul! Yaakov took the bechorah, the role of first born and the

blessings, from Esav for it is the job of the side of good to completely take all the sparks from

the side of evil and transform the person into a unified being of complete G-dliness! When

Yaakov purchased these rights he said “michra kayom es bchorascha li,” “Sell your

firstbornhood to me like the day.” What he meant to express was that you are night, sell your

strength to me and let there be only day! He was trying to acquire the eternal sunshine, the age of

the yom shekulo arokh, that very long day.

When one kills someone he takes away his levush. A person who is alive has a levush

with many nitzotzin, and thus he has a long time to live to uplift these many sparks. If someone is

killed he can no longer find his nitzotzos in the world for his levush was taken away and

separated from the soul. The Torah (Genesis 25:29-30) says that Esav returned from the field in a

state of being ayef, tired, and Rashi comments that Esav had committed murder that day for ayef

refers to death, “ki ayfah nafshi lihorgah,” “My soul was exhausted due to murder.” What does

Rashi mean? A person who is tired is by definition a murderer? Does the blessing of hanosen

layaef koach mean that we were murderers because we were ayef? We have already learnt that

this blessing is a thanks for the renewal for the levush.

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Each day the levush was active, nitzotzos were raised or lowered. When all the sparks for

that day are uplifted or lowered, a person becomes tired and exhausted. In the morning he gets a

new piece of garment to work with so he is renewed with strength and energy. The punishment

for a person who takes away someone else’s levush is that G-d does not give him a new levush.

He does not die immediately, because the sitra achra gives him a new levush. (All gifts of life

can come from the Other Side as well.) Yet from the side of holiness he is exhausted for his holy

garment is not renewed.

The Torah defined Esav as a constantly tired one, an ayef person: Vhu ayef, not “He was

tired,” for which it would have said vhu haya ayef. After Esav killed he became an exhausted

one: he was forevermore tired for the holy soul was no longer ever renewed. He was a murderer

whose life was coming from the Other Side. Yaakov realized that Esav was a murderer without

any levushim from holiness, so he asked that Esav sell to him the holy bechorah kayom - so that

there would only be daylight, a levush of holiness.

The Garments of Each Land

We are all outside of the Land of Israel, and here each levush is earthy and lowly. Outside Israel

each levush must have a connection to the nation among whom we live. Each gentile nation has

its angel in Heaven and its unique yetzer harah. The angel of the nation is the source of all the

evil urges of that nation. For example the English are very arrogant: they take pride in only doing

things that are proper and fitting. We live in the United States and we should study its evil urge to

better understand this culture and its challenges.

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In America one of the foundations is freedom. Whatever you do is ok, everyone is fine,

there is no respect for authority, everyone can do whatever he wants, all are free, everyone has a

right to do their will. Lust for money is also a big part of this nation’s yetzer harah. Those of us

who were born in this land were born under a particular Heavenly angel, and we have a yetzer

harah in our levush that relates to this land. Our nitzotzos are to be found in that domain and we

have a unique mission to raise these nitzotzos and use them to serve G-d.

This is why each country has a different way of serving Hashem and a different way of

studying Torah. The Ashkenazim have one way of learning, the Sefardim a different approach,

the Polish Jews a third way. It is highly likely that this is related to the unique garments of the

soul that enter each country and determine the unique nature of its residents. A country filled

with brilliant intellectuals has Jews who serve Hashem with deep levels of learning Torah.

Because the yetzer harah has a unique levush in that country the yetzer tov must counterweigh it

with a similar form of good. Different communities of Jews lift sparks up from their garments in

different ways.

Raising sparks in a country relates to using its items in the right way, for all the gifts of a

country contain the nitzotzos of that country. To access those items one needs money. The

coinage of a country enables one to purchase all the items in that country. It is the key to the

hashpaos, the gifts, of that land. Thus all the sparks of the country are rooted in the currency of

the country. On the coins the nations make a levush, they etch a form, usually a picture of a man.

For it is in the levush that the nitzotzos are found! This picture is the idol, it is the tzelem, the

image, of the country.

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The tzelem is a superficial picture of the ideal, a chitzonius, an imitation, a form of how

things should be. Just as an idol represents an external image of a person, the nations enjoy idols,

for their ideals would only create an externally ideal world. The Jewish people on the other hand

have soulful ideals. A life of fulfilling mitzvos such as eating kosher and keeping Shabbes truly

creates a wonderful life. The nations also have laws, they have national holidays, and ideals, but

these have no inner life, they are just superficial forms of an ideal man. Hence the statues and

etchings of people on their currency.

Consider the United States. A minted coin in the US has a picture on it of one of the great

leaders of the country. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and others are on the coins for they

establishaid the culture and laws of this country, and the society is reminded by them to try to

live up to what they represented.

When the Jewish nation is involved in the material life of the country, such as business

and trade, they must deal with the nations. In this country one would have to talk English and

deal with the non Jews to engage in commerce here. In this way Jews are mivarer, they clarify

the holiness, they raise nitzotzos. Raising sparks is the parnassah, the livelihood of the country.

Jews get parnassah in a physical way, and they give in a spiritual way parnassah to that

country. To bring out nitzotzos is what gives holy life to holy souls.

Now this requires that one earn money in the right way! A person must be honest in

business, set time for Torah study, and trust that all comes from the Almighty. Then through his

business successes he is raising nitzotzos.

There is a nitzotz tov in the concept of freedom and that has to be utilized for good and

must be elevated. Through going into the nation and dealing with them we are lifting up the

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sparks of that nation, and this is why after a period of time the Jewish people leave one place and

go to another in exile, or they leave one profession and enter another, for once all the sparks in

this part of the country have been elevated, Jews must enter into another part of the economy to

elevate the sparks that are there.

The Talmud says that Rabbi Menachem Bar Simai was bnan shel kedoshim, the son of the

holy ones, and he did not gaze at the form on the coins. (Pesachim 104a) What is the connection

between being the son of holy ones and not looking at coins? Should it not have said instead that

the men of great trust in G-d never looked at coins? Now we understand it. Bnan shel kedoshim

means that the father brought a very holy levush and that is why he did not want to look at the

levushim of the nations! He did not want to look at the idols that are on the coins. He need not

enter into the tough business world to raise sparks. He is the son of the holy ones. He is more

delicate and will raise sparks through Torah and mitzvos, not through being involved in business,

the culture of that country, and utilizing coins!

With these lessons we understand the Tanya’s disclaimer that while the level of soul one

has is a direct gift from Hashem, and even sinners can have a son who has a transcendent soul,

parents do impact their child. The holiness with which the parents act when they conceive the

child is what determines how holy a levush, is drawn down for this child. As Jews born in

America we also have an American levush, let us endeavor to raise the sparks that we should

from this culture and land.

Chapter three in the Tanya reads:

ןהמ ולשלתשנש תונוילע תוריפס רשע דגנכ 'יחב רשעמ הלולכ המשנו חור שפנ ולא שלשמ הגרדמו 'יחב לכ הנהו

תולופכ עבשו תומא שלש ןהש םיתשל תוקלחנה

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And behold each aspect and level of these three, Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshama, is composed of

ten components that parallel the ten Elevated Sefiros, for they devolved from them, and they are

divided into two, the three sources and the seven doubles.

The Tanya is speaking here about each soul-level – nefesh, ruach, and neshama – and each part

is filled with concepts from the ten Sefiros, G-dly emanations. Adam is adameh laelyon, man is

in the image of G-d, he has within him a chelek elokah mimaal mamash, a literal piece of

Divinity. So just as G-d emanated ten Sefiros, each part of man’s soul has ten aspects in the

image of the ten Sefiros! The ten Sefiros are divided into two parts: the three sources and the

seven derivative attributes.

וכ תראפת הרובג דסח ןינבה ימי תעבשו תעדו הניב המכח 'יפ'

Meaning Chochmah, Binah, and Daas, and the seven days of building, kindness, strength, and

harmony etc.

The first three Divine emanations, the gimmel rishonos, are sometimes called Chochmah, Binah,

Daas, and sometimes they are called Kesser, Chochmah, Binah. The seven lower attributes are

called seven days of building for they are the deeper meaning of the seven days of creation.

Hashem made everything on the building blocks of the seven lower Sefiros, the seven middos.

The first three Sefiros are called the almah di’iskasyah, the hidden universe. They were

not well revealed in our world. In our world the seven days of creation were revealed.

The Difference Between Chassidus and Kabbalah

The entire wisdom of chassidus and Kabbalah is built on the concepts of the ten Sefiros. We must

dwell on them for without understanding these principles you cannot grasp any Chassidic work.

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Just as you cannot make a tune without knowing the seven notes of music, one can have no

comprehension in serving Hashem without knowing the ten roots of serving Hashem. Serving

Hashem is all about putting together the Sefiros. This is not Kabbalah; this is chassidus.

There is a big difference between chassidus and Kabbalah. To understand how the Sefiros

function in the Heavenly realms is Kabbalah, but to understand the person, to know oneself in

the Torah way or to see these concepts in the Torah and how our sages utilized them, is

chassidus. It is Torah study that is accessible to all and each of us should engage in it.

Ten Not Eleven

First, let us address a problem. Aren’t there four roots? There is kesser, Chochmah, binah, and

daas. After that there are seven middos. There seems therefore to be a total of eleven Sefiros.

Why then did the Tanya talk of ten?

The answer is that eleven is a number of the forces of evil. The sitra achra has eleven

forces, while holiness has ten. We see this in ketores, the special incense offered in the Temple.

It had eleven spices. The samech mem, the angel of evil and death, gave the secret of ketores to

Moshe Rabbeinu to stop plagues. The meaning of this is that the life of evil is the eleven spices

of ketores. Everything needs some holiness to give it life: the holiness of the ketores is the sparks

that animate it. The samech mem revealed to Moshe how to raise this life from the forces of evil

and thus stop the plague.

When there is a plague, what is happening? There are destructive agents that carry out the

decree. What must be done? They have to be killed. How do you kill them? By pulling away

their life with the ketores. Ketores means to likasher, it ties the life back to its root, it pulls all the

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holy life from the destructive agents and then they die. The mission of the Jewish nation when

we traveled through the desert during the Exodus from Egypt was akin to an offering of ketores.

The desert was a place of kellipos, an arena of death. Through the good deeds the Jews

performed as they traveled they connected the sparks back to their holy source and broke the

powers of death and destruction. Hence the verse in the Song of Songs, “mi zos olah min

hamidbar kitimros ashan, mekuteres mor ulevonah mikol avkas rocheil,” (3:6) “Who is this one

who arises from the desert like a pillar of smoke, with an incense of myrrh and levonah, better

than all the perfumes of the master cosmetician.” Since the journey through the desert was a

ketores-like experience, the length of the trip was an eleven day journey to correspond to the

eleven spices. “Achad assar yom meichoreiv derech har saieer,” “Eleven days from Horeb was

the path through Mount Seier [to Israel.]” (Devarim 1:2)

This is why there were eleven alufei Esav, princes of Esav. In the tabernacle in the desert

the cover called mishkan had ten yerios, tapestries, and on top of the mishkan another cover to

correspond to the realm of Kellipah, external shell, and it was made up of eleven yerios izzim,

goat-hair tapestries. Izzim is a sign of the Other Side. Just as the Talmud says that Esav was ish

sair, a hairy man, sair is to recall also the sair liazazel, the goat sent to the wilderness. Esav is

symbolized by the goats in the Talmudic passage that teaches, “Why do the goats go ahead of the

sheep? Because so it was in the creation of the world, first darkness and then light.” (Tractate

Shabbes 77b)

Even the word aiz זע teaches this lesson: through gematria it has a numeric value of

eleven times seven, the seven days of creation impacted by the eleven of impurity. Yud alef א״י in

its miluy gematria form, spelling out the name of each letter, ףלא דוי equals לאמס samech mem

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alef lamed (131) the name of the angel of evil. We could adduce many other proofs that eleven is

related to the life of the Other Side.

The reason for all this is holiness has ten, while in the opposite of holiness there are

eleven, for in holiness kesser and daas are united, while in sitra achra they are divided into

two separate concepts.

Now we will just explain in a very general way. There are mochin, parts of the mind, and

middos, emotions. Let us first explain Kesser, Chochmah, and Binah then we will see how

Kesser is related to Daas and they are two sides of one essential quality.

The Core of the Soul

Kesser means ratzon, will. Every nefesh, every neshama, has a particular ratzon, and everything

that happens with the soul is related to this will. The soul wants something. The soul itself does

not know or understand this ratzon. For knowing and understanding is possible with the abilities

of Chochmah, Binah, and Daas, but Kesser is higher than Chochmah, Binah and Daas! It is a

will that cannot be comprehended. One cannot comprehend the root of the ratzon in a person. It

is hidden. Hashem gave us 613 mitzvos and they are ratzon haelyon, the Highest Will, rooted in

His ratzon. They are the revelation of what Hashem wants, what gives Him pleasure. Since there

are also seven mitzvos dirabbanan, Rabbinic commandments, there are in total 620 mitzvos that

Hashem wants!

The seforim call them the 620 lights, תורוא ךרת. There are 620 letters in the Ten

Commandments to correspond to these 620 mitzvos, for these are the 620 extensions of the

ratzon haelyon. Of these actions Chazal, our sages, say “Nisaveh hakba”h lihyos lo dira

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batachtonim,” “Hashem desired to have a residence in the lowly realms.” (Midrash Tanchuma

Naso siman 16) The sages do not say He deliberated and then decided or thought it would be a

good idea to have a residence down on earth. Rather they say nisaveh, He wanted. He has a

taava, a desire. In other words, He possesses a ratzon.

The Almighty wants the mitzvos, and wanting is higher than understanding. It is rooted in

the root of essential G-dliness, atzmius Elokis! Atzimus Elokis states, “I want a residence on

earth” and each mitzvah of the 620 reveals this will for each mitzvah makes a residence for Him

in the earthly realm. If Hashem wants something it must take place and be fulfilled. The holy

realm is all true. The Highest Will is accessed when any of the 620 mitzvos are fulfilled.

Each soul has this ratzon for the soul is a mirror of G-dliness. Each soul has a hidden

desire and will to make for Hashem a residence down here in the lowly realms. Each soul has a

deep desire to fulfill mitzvos, to bring His presence into this earthly realm.

This will is so exalted that it is hidden in the person. It is above Chochmah and binah, it

transcends understanding, hence the statement ain taam laratzon, there is no reason for will.

Reasoning is a display of Chochmah and binah. Will cannot be grasped by vessels that are lower

than it, and no one can explain why and how each particular act of mitzvah draws the Divine into

this world. The deep truth is that will is a display of the essence of a person, the atzmius and

mahus nefesh, intrinsic essence of soul.

This should give us great pleasure when we perform mitzvos. When we shake a lulav on

Sukkos, or express heartfelt words of tefilla, prayer, the essence of our soul rejoices, the pleasure

we feel is born of the discovery of delight when the core life of our souls touches us.

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“Zeh liumas zeh asah Elokim,” “G-d made one opposite the other.” (Koheles 7:14) The

body also has hidden wills, and it desires, in a hidden way, pleasures. The body enjoys honor and

eating because these relate to the very mahus of the nefesh habahamis. There are many times

when a person is not even aware that his actions are influenced by deeper desires. There is a part

of the mind which man himself is unaware of. The scientists call it the subconscious, but the

Kabbalists knew of it long before them, and they called the subconscious sharashei

hamachashavos, the roots of thoughts.

When a person fulfills a mitzvah he reworks his ratzon. He purifies his will through the

actions of mitzvah. The hidden ratzon of the body is the opposite of the ratzon of the soul. When

a person breaks the ratzon of the body and fulfills the will of Hashem, in a hidden way he refines

his will, he draws holiness to the root of ratzon in himself. The etzem of himself gets filled with

G-dliness, he gets to see the desires of the body fall away and he becomes a merkavah, seat, to

the ratzon haelyon. The inner will of holiness is a kesser, crown.

A crown is a symbol of the hidden abilities of the king, strengths that are above his

wisdom and understanding. A holy king is appointed by Hashem because he has a high degree of

hidden intangible holiness that emerges from the levels above mere wisdom and understanding.

Every person accesses these abilities when he connects to his inner will, hence the name for will

is crown.

Song and the Hidden Abilities

This week is Shabbes shira, when we read the song we sang after the splitting of the sea. This

Shabbes is the completion of yetzias mitzrayim, the Exodus. It occurs this year on the eleventh

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day of the eleventh month. This is related to transforming the sitra achra, to take the forces of

eleven and bring them to the holiness of ten.

We find that the Jews left Egypt and thought that Pharaoh, who had tried to rush them

out, would never again try to harm them. But then they arrived at the Red Sea and discovered

that he was pursuing them. What was left? Why did Pharaoh still chase them? The Torah stresses

that all the idols of Egypt were decimated during the final plague except for one idol - baal tzfon,

which was left standing. This was why Pharaoh pursued the Jews one final time. There remained

a need to smash his false ideology. Hashem wanted to defeat this last false faith, so he had

Pharaoh come to the sea.

Chazal say that one of the names of the evil urge is tzfoni. Tzafun means hidden, and baal

tzfon represents a hidden urge for idolatry. The evil urge in each of us has a hidden manifestation

called tzfoni. Pharaoh may not even have been aware that he had this yetzer harah. It had to be

revealed.

When a person discovers within himself forces that he never knew he had, he feels that

he is standing in front of a new world, and then he must sing a song. When the kochos hanefesh,

the abilities of the soul, suddenly emerge there is a great pleasure, the heart feels that only song

can give such delight a suitable expression. Hence the song when we crossed through the sea.

Yam, a sea, is called the alma diiskasya, the hidden world. When the sea split, the Jews

went into the alma diiskasya and they merited to find their own hidden realm revealed, and then

they sang. How were they revealed? Through subduing baal tzfon! Zeh liumas zeh! One

parallels the other! (Koheles 7:14) Pharaoh had a hidden hatred of Jews. When the Jews arrived

at baal tzfon this hidden hatred bubbled up and was renewed, and then our hidden abilities were

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revealed. “Mah rav tuvcha asher tzafanta liyireiacha,” “there is a great deal of good that you

have hidden away for those who fear you!” (Tehillim 31:20)

The personality who represents the hidden strengths of the Jewish nation is Yosef

Hatzadik. Yosef is also called tzafnas pe’anai’ach, literally, the deciphering of the hidden. Our

sages teach, Mah raah vayanos, What did he [the sea] see to flee? Raah arono shel Yosef, it saw

the coffin of Josef. (Midrash Tanchuma parshas Naso siman 30) Once it saw tzafnas

pe’anai’ach, the hidden strengths, it then split. It saw the kesser, it saw the mah rav tuvcha asher

tzafanta liyireiacha, the great goodness that is recessed in the soul.

Tzafnas תנפצ through gematria has the same numeric value as רתכ kesser (620) and חנעפ

pe’anai’ach (208) equals רוא ohr (207) with the kollel (another one). The sea saw the ohr kesser,

the light of kesser, and the miracle ensued. We sang for the hidden abilities of the soul appeared

and this gave us great pleasure, for this was the completion of leaving Egypt. This Shabbes is all

song and kochos hanefesh! It is all pleasures.

May Hashem help us to truly appreciate this Shabbes!

Lesson Seven reveals that the core of man is not intellect, rather it is will. The deepest point

within the person is will that transcends reason. Will that extends the essence of the soul and

discovers what is truly pleasurable. Study of Lesson Seven will reveal why some matters impact

us and what gives the soul the pleasure of feeling its essence.

Lesson Seven: The Three Intellects

The third chapter of the Tanya begins:

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ןהמ ולשלתשנש תונוילע תוריפס רשע דגנכ 'יחב רשעמ הלולכ המשנו חור שפנ ולא שלשמ הגרדמו 'יחב לכ הנהו

ךכו 'וכ תראפת הרובג דסח ןינבה ימי תעבשו תעדו הניב המכח 'יפ תולופכ עבשו תומא שלש ןהש םיתשל תוקלחנה

וראפלו ותאריו ודחפו 'ה תבהא ןה תודמהו .תעדו הניב המכח ללוכ לכשה .תודמו לכש םיתשל תקלחנש םדאה שפנב

ד"בח תודלות ןה תודמה יכ תודמל רוקמו תומא וארקנ ד"בחו 'וכ

Now, each distinction and grade of the three - nefesh, ruach and neshamah - consists of ten

concepts, corresponding to the Supernal Ten Sefiros from which they have descended. The ten

concepts are further subdivided into two. The three “mothers” and the seven “multiples:”

Chochmah, binah and daas; and the “seven days of creation:” chesed (loving), gevurah

(restraint), tiferet (beauty), etc.

The ten Sefiros are divided into two sets: gimmel rishonos, the first three, also known as shalosh

imos, three mothers; and sheva kefulos, seven doubles, or shivas yemei habinyan, seven days of

creation. So too the person has an intellectual side that corresponds to the gimmel rishonos and

an emotional part that corresponds to the shivas yemei habinyan, seven days of building.

The seven days of creation are at their root seven middos, attributes. The Creator revealed

seven middos and this is creation. A day, defined in an inner way, means a revelation of a midda.

During the seven days of creation Hashem revealed seven middos. All that exists in the world

since the seven days of creation emerges from and is rooted in the seven middos of Hashem:

chesed, loving; gevurah, restraint; tiferes, beauty; netzach, dominance; hod, glory; yesod,

foundation; and malchus, royalty.

There are many sevens in our world. Seven days of the week, seven weeks of sefiras

haomer, the counting of the omer,

seven years in a shemitah cycle,

and seven shmittos in a

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On the second day of Passover, when we had a Temple in Jerusalem, we were obliged to offer to the Almighty a

special sacrifice, a portion of newly cut barley that was burned on the altar. This offering was the minchas haomer.

We then were to count the next forty nine days, so that we would count seven full weeks. This count is the sefiras

haomer. After the weeks were completed, on the fiftieth day, we would celebrate the holiday of Shavuos, in which

we recalled the receipt of the Torah at Sinai. Even though today we no longer offer the minchas haomer since our

Temple has not been rebuilt, we still count the sefiras haomer from the second day of Passover until Shavuos.

Shmitta is the sabbatical year. Israel must display the sovereignty of the Almighty. Therefore agricultural labors

may only be performed for six years. On the seventh year the land is to rest. The seventh year is called the shmitta

year.

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yovel;

these are all expressions of the seven middos. Whatever is connected to seven is in this

world, what is above seven is from a higher world.

In sefiras haomer we have seven weeks of sefirah and after them the festival of Shavuos.

During Shavuos the first three middos are revealed. These three intellects are an emanation from

the world to come, they are a bit and a model of the world to come. The hidden world, the world

to come, was revealed when Hashem gave the Torah at Sinai. The Torah was given on such an

"eighth" day, after the seven times seven days of sefirah. Again the rule: the number eight is

always related to that which is higher than this world, to the realm of the gimmel rishonos.

The gimmel rishonos are sometimes called Chochmah, binah, daas and sometimes they

are called kesser, Chochmah, binah. First a general explanation is in order, then we can move to

the details.

Will Is An Extension of Essential Life

Last week we began explaining the concept of kesser. Kesser is ratzon and, as I explained, there

are 620 letters in the Ten Commandments and 620 mitzvos: 613 mitzvos from the Torah and

seven mitzvos from the rabbis, for these are the 620 extensions of the ratzon haelyon, the Divine

will. These are hamshachos, extensions, of the ratzon haelyon.

Ratzon haelyon means mitzvos. The Almighty wants the mitzvos, the pleasure of the

Almighty is felt when man fulfills His mitzvos. There is no other pleasure for Hashem other than

the mitzvos. He fully reveals His will through them.

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After seven sets of shmitta cycles the fiftieth year is the yovel year. During yovel the land must rest and the

bondsmen return to their families, and ancestral lands return to the families that inherited them when the Jews first

entered Israel in the days of Joshua. According to the deeper wisdom of Torah during yovel there is a special

spiritual emanation from the Divine that enters our world and this spiritual force creates the unique features of yovel.

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Since above there is a concept of will, so too below man has within him a will. The will

of the G-dly soul, the nefesh Elokis, is a mirror of the ratzon haelyon. The ratzon haelyon draws

down G-dliness, and reveals G-dliness, through the channels called the 620 mitzvos. Each

mitzvah is a type of shleimus, perfection, and these perfections are expressions of ratzon

haelyon. Each mitzvah is another way to reveal the Highest will. The ratzon of each soul is to

attach to the ratzon haelyon, to fulfill the mitzvos. The neshama wants this giluy, revelation. This

is the hidden ratzon in the soul.

Ratzon is hidden, since it is the kesser, crown, above Chochmah and binah. It is above

mind, hence the phrase ain taam laratzon, there is no reason for will. Chochmah and binah are

middos of understanding. They are part of the mind, but ratzon is higher. What a soul truly wants

in a hidden way is not based on understanding that it should want this, rather it is related to the

very mahus, essence, of the nefesh. The atzmiyus hanefesh is revealed in what he wants with

his ratzon. The ratzon is nothing more than a vessel that draws out the atzmiyus hanefesh,

the essence of the soul. The enjoyable taanugim of a nefesh are its atzmiyus. One wants what

gives the being pleasure. The pleasure that the soul feels when his will is satisfied is the

pleasure of the atzmiyus haadam, the essence of the person.

The phrase hu urtzono echad, He and His will are one, should fill us with great joy when

we fulfill mitzvos. Etzem Elokis is revealed in His ratzon. Thus when we perform a mitzvah we

are revealing and connecting with His essence.

Whatever is in the camp of holiness also exists in the camp of the opposite of holiness. In

the book Koheles it was revealed that our world is a balanced one, with equal forces on the sides

of holiness and sin. Zeh liumas zeh asah Elokim, one to oppose the other G-d made (Koheles

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7:14). The body also has hidden wills, and it wills in a hidden way pleasures. The body enjoys

honor and it enjoys eating because these are the atzmiyus of the guf! These are not desires

that emerge after deliberation and consideration. These are expressions of the etzem mahus of the

nefesh habbahamis, animal soul. The animal in man enjoys these pleasures and seeks them.

There are many times when a person is not even aware of his ratzon. This is the part of the mind

which man himself is unaware of, the subconscious.

When a person performs a mitzvah he transforms and purifies this part of the mind.

Taamei Torah lo nisgalu, the reasons for mitzvos were not revealed. There are no real reasons for

mitzvos. The taamei mitzvos offered by rishonim, early commentators, are not the real taam.

They are pieces of the taam that can be grasped by the mind. The real reasons for mitzvos cannot

be grasped with the mind. The brain is a vessel of wisdom and understanding. Mitzvos however

relate to the transcendent will! Therefore they can transform the innermost wishes of the physical

part of man.

The pleasure that the soul feels when performing the mitzvah is the reason for the

mitzvah. When doing these acts one feels his atzmiyus hanefesh! He feels deep pleasure! He

feels life! This life is the real reason of the mitzvah. Schar mitzvah mitzvah, the reward of the

mitzvah is the mitzvah, in doing it one feels the pleasure inherent in it (Pirkei Avos, Ethics of the

Fathers 4:2). The metzius Elokis, G-dly reality, which is higher than mind is revealed through

mitzvos. Just as hu uritzono echad, His will and is His metzius are one, and just as His metzius is

above explanation, mitzvos are above explanation! Therefore when doing the mitzvah there is a

feeling of life, and this life is the mitzvah, for the soul and the mitzvah are really united. There is

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no need to explain to the soul the matter of a mitzvah, just as there is no need to explain to the

body why it must eat. The mitzvah is above explanation.

When doing a mitzvah the force of taanug, the level above the mind, is being purified

and this helps the person acquire a perfection, to be mamshich Elokis to the entirety of the

person. This is kesser.

Wisdom And Understanding

Chochmah is the ability to know facts. Man has the ability to know things without an

explanation. This is the force of Chochmah. Obviously, when a man knows something he does

not make anything through this knowledge. Objects that already exist are grasped with

knowledge. Man accepts the things Hashem has made.

However, the Chochmah of the Ribbono Shel Olam, the Master of the universe, is more

powerful. Once Hashem knows of a creation, He makes the creature! Since a matter has come to

His Chochmah , the Chochmah makes the thing. Hashem’s wisdom does not function at the level

of learning about what exists. Before anything existed He did not know it. The moment His

Chochmah knew of it, it existed. At the moment of its creation He came to know of it. One

cannot say something existed and Hashem did not know of it. Chochmah המכח is made of the

letters for ko’ach mah המ חכ, the force of matter, it makes things. It is the power of making

things. King David declared in Psalms, Kulam biChochmah asisa, all were made with Your

Chochmah (104:24).

Chochmah in Kabbalah is called abba, father, for just as a child comes from the father

and the tipa, drop of seed, is a kelaliyos generalization of the child, so it is with Chochmah .

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When the Chochmah Elyonah knows of a matter, the ko’ach mah makes a metzius and this

existence encompasses all that it will eventually become.

Binah means understanding all the details of a matter. After knowing the matter in a

general way (Chochmah) we have binah to understand all the details.

Chochmah and binah are described in the Zohar as two friends who never separate. Think

of a person. It is not possible to know a reality and not understand it at all. Certainly I may not

know all the details, but to know a reality I must understand it somewhat. It is possible that after

I hear all the details I will say, “Relative to how I understand it now I did not understand it then,”

but this is a mere relative assessment, for basically there must be understanding with Chochmah.

To know of something and not understand it at all is impossible. If I know of something, I

understand implied points.

For example, if I know that I have a table here, I know some things about a table. I know

what a table is, I know it takes up space, I know it can be felt, I have an understanding of some

details. Every element of wisdom has to have some understanding of details attached to it. These

two are therefore never separated, trei reiin dlo misparshin. Chochmah cannot exist alone from

binah: if you know a matter you also understand it, at least somewhat.

In Kabbalistic terminology, Chochmah is the father and binah is the mother, the eim.

Why is binah the mother? The drop of seed from the father is like Chochmah. In the womb of the

mother this drop is developed and all matters emerge mikoach el hapoel, from potential to actual.

All 365 sinews and 248 limbs emerge in the womb. All the matters that were in a latent state in

the tipa the mother pulls out and makes real.

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So it is with binah. The Chochmah is the first knowledge and the binah pulls out of it all

the potential details and makes them actual. In a Heavenly sense when Hashem made the world

and kulam biChochmah asisa, this was a general reality, a metzius kelali. There was a common

denominator to all existences, a unity. As the Chovos Halevavos

teaches, we see in the world a

great common denominator in that it is all filled with a great Chochmah. Everything in the world

has infinite wisdom. Nothing has more Chochmah than anything else; even small things have

tremendous Chochmah. For the Chochmah of Hashem gave a metzius kilalis to the world.

In details one is a bird, and the other is an angel. Words are applicable due to binah,

which was involved in making the details. But Chochmah is the generalization, so in all there is a

great Chochmah, for it is related to the metzius kelalis, the general reality.

The metzius, the existence, and the reishis, the beginning, of any matter are related to

Chochmah, because the beginning is the beginning of something’s existence. In chassidishe

seforim, reishis is frequently the term used to refer to Chochmah. The reishis has a hidden reishis

and this is the ratzon. The ratzon haelyon is a hidden reishis. The ratzon is the taanug elyon to

make a creation and this taanug elyon is the root of the creation. But it is hidden.

We said earlier that the delight of the One above is expressed in the 613 mitzvos. So this

is the creation. The entire creation is really an expression of the 613 mitzvos. There is nothing

else that exists.

Miracles And Nature

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Chovos Halevavos, Duties of the Heart, is a classic work of Jewish Ethical thought. It was authored by Rabbeinu

Bachya Ibn Paquda in the last third of the eleventh century. It is a work filled with guidance and inspiration to live a

holy, ethical life.

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There are two hanahagos, ways of directing the world: the hanhaga of nes, miracle, and the

hanhaga of teva, nature. Sometimes Hashem guides the world with miracles and sometimes He

guides the world with nature. Hashem made a condition with the act of creation to perform

certain miracles, for there are times when Hashem wants to run the world with miracles. There is

a hanhaga kevua, a set way, that at certain times there will be nissim, miracles. Under certain

conditions, G-d suspends the rule of nature and then there is a realm of miracles.

Displays of this dynamic occurred when we left Egypt, when we crossed the sea, when

the mikdash was in existence, and even in our day in the presence of tzadikim. There are times

when there is an eis ratzon, a favorable time, for nes, for Hashem has set up an establishaid norm

that at certain times and under certain conditions the hanhaga of nes should appear.

The roots of these two ways of guiding the world are the foundations of creation. We

have learned that G-d’s Chochmah is at the root of the world, and G-d’s Ratzon Ha'elyon is at the

basis and root of the Chochmah. There are two beginnings: a hidden beginning, to want to make

a world, and a revealed beginning, the Chochmah that made the world a reality. The hidden

beginning, the Ratzon Ha'elyon, is expressed in the guidance of nes. The hanhaga of teva, which

is called a hanhaga of seder hishtalshlus, order of devolution, is from the realm of Chochmah.

Nes is limaala miseder hishtalshlus, higher than the normal order of devolution.

Hishtalshlus means cause and effect. For instance, since earth draws things to it, matters

are dragged down. Why is this a cause for that effect, why are there laws of nature? Kulam

biChochmah asisa! The Almighty’s wisdom decided and set these rules! At a certain point the

reason for a rule of nature is that the wisdom of the Almighty felt it should be this way. All

gidrey, boundaries, and hilchos hateva, laws of nature, are establishaid by Chochmah Elyonah.

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We can say the same about the holy Torah. The Chochmah Elyonah has determined

all the laws of Torah and their details. His wisdom determined all of these things. The deeper

wisdom of Torah reveals that shaking the four special plants on Sukkos creates a unique spiritual

result. Shaking of Lulav on Sukkos can bring lights to unite Kudsha Brich Hu, our transcendent

spiritual feelings, and Shechintei, feeling the immanence of the Divine, to draw from daas elyon,

supernal knowledge, to neve apiryon, the glorious palace, limchon beis elokeinu, to the residence

of our Lord. This is a hamshacha to bring the pnimus chassadim didaas, inner aspects of loving

in knowledge, to build Malchus, Hashem's attribute of revealing His rule. Why is the lulav in

particular the reason for this result? Why does it rebuild Malchus in this way? Because this is

what the Chochmah Elyonah decided! This is the root of the matter. Beyond this we cannot

understand: at a certain point of inquiry we say we cannot understand more than what the

Chochmah decided and knew. The root of all was the wisdom of the One above.

Ratzon is higher than Chochmah. Ratzon wants us to fulfill the 613 mitzvos, to create a

world of mitzvos. Ratzon is revealed through Chochmah Elyonah. Ratzon is clothed in

Chochmah, and the Chochmah is the first revealed stage, while the Ratzon is hidden within it.

The hanhaga of Hashem running the world without His will being clothed in wisdom engenders

miracles. The hanhaga of nes means that the Ratzon Ha'elyon is working without getting

clothed in Chochmah Elyonah at all.

Let us explain.

Why did the sea split? What was the cause? The answer is that this is what Hashem

wanted! It is a revelation of the very will without the will being absorbed and clothed in any

order. It is pure ratzon impacting the creation!

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In nature there is an order of hishtalshlus. One cause led to the next that led to the next

until the event occurred. When a miracle is revealed the ratzon haelyon functions directly

without any order; it was just the will of the One above!

The root of the Hebrew word for will becomes significant here. Ratzon is related to the

word ratz, which means to run. To run is to go out of order. The way of miracles is to break

nature; it is not the way of seder hishtalshlus. The ratzon that created yesh meayin, something

from nothing, decided to split yam suf, the Red Sea! The ratzon that created the greatest spiritual

matter of the world determined that there should be a miracle here that violated all the normal

order of hishtalshlus!

In Torah as well we can have miracles. A horaas shaa, a momentary suspension of law,

like Eliyahu offering a sacrifice on Mount Carmel, is a Torah-like miracle. (Normal Jewish law

mandated that when the Temple stood no sacrifice could be offered outside of the Mikdash.) Here

too the will is expressed without the levush of Chochmah elyonah. According to the order of the

Chochmah elyonah one is not allowed to offer shechutei chutz, offerings outside the

Temple. Eliyahu’s offering was pure ratzon to sanctify the name of Hashem without any levush.

There are two reishis, beginnings: the reishis of seder hishtlashlus (called Chochmah)

and a reishis called ratzon, which is not a part of the seder hishtalshlus. Nes is rooted in ratzon

haelyon in kesser. Teva is rooted in the reishis of Chochmah.

Kesser, Chochmah, binah, and daas are rishonos for they are the roots of the middos.

What Gets Taken to Heart

Let us talk of daas.

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We said last week that in sitra achra daas and kesser are separated. This is why there are

so many elevens in the realm of sitra achra, like the eleven spices of ketores which is the life of

the other side; the eleven yerios izim, goat skins above the Tabernacle; the eleven Amalekites of

the Purim story, Haman with his ten sons; and the eleven day journey through the desert from

Sinai to Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel.

However, in holiness there are always ten middos and not eleven. We explained earlier

that kesser and daas are counted as one in kedusha. Let us now understand. It seems that there

are eleven middos, for you have kesser, Chochmah, binah and baas, and then another seven

middos, but the answer is that daas and kesser are one. Therefore, sometimes they are called

Chochmah, binah, and daas, and at other times we speak of kesser, Chochmah, and binah, but we

always have a total of ten.

Daas is the ikkar of man, the primary force of bechira, free choice. Our sages say daas

kanisa mah chasarta, if you have acquired Daas you lack nothing. Daas chasarta mah kanisa, if

you are missing daas you have not acquired anything. Kol mi sheyiesh lo deiah kiilu nivneh beis

hamikdash biyamav, anyone who has daas it is as if the Mikdash, the Temple, was built in his

days. (Sanhadrin 92a) The Beis Hamikdash here means building the seven middos. The Mikdash

was the building of the world, a Beriahs olam. Just as the world was created in seven days, so too

was the Mikdash a mini-world.

The Midrash teaches that Betzalel, the builder of the first Mikdash, knew how to combine

the letters of creation. It says in regards to king Shlomo, vayivneihu sheva shanim, he built it

seven years. The Zohar points out that it does not state vayivneihu bisheva shanim, he built it

over seven years, rather vayivneihu sheva shanim, and the Zohar explains this to mean that what

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he built was seven years, for the Temple was a revelation of the seven middos. He built the seven

shanim, the seven revelations. Building the middos is the building of the Beis Hamikdash.

Thus nivneh Beis Hamikdash biyamav means the building of the seven middos, and this

is dependent on daas. Kol mi sheyeish bo dieah kiilu nivneh Beis Hamikdash biyamav, for daas

is connected to certain concepts and builds all the good middos from that attachment.

For example, some hear a lesson of ethics or chasidus and understand the lesson yet do

not become changed by it the lesson for it is not nogeah, truly relevant, to them. Others will hear

the lesson and take it to heart and become entirely new people from the experience. Why is this?

Those who change feel that the lesson was relevant to their very lives! A person who did not

feel it was very connected to him might hear another, different matter of holiness and that one

will in fact change his entire being. Sometimes it has to be a higher davar shebikdusha, holy

matter. There can even be a person who is not impacted by words of holiness but is drawn to

some lashon hara, gossip, that he internalizes and makes part of his being.

What determines what will be truly internalized? Why are some changed by this and

others by that? It is all a function of the daas of the person. Daas is an extension of the hidden

ratzon. Daas is not a real middah on its own. Proof of this is that in Kabbalistic imagery there is

the father, Chochmah; the mother, Binah; the son, Zeir, six middos; and the daughter Nukvah,

Malchus but there is no place for Daas. Why?

Because daas links the mochin, intellects, to the middos. It does not stand independently.

Daas changes a person when he attaches to a certain topic. Daas also is related to separating

from something. Im ain daas havdalla minayin, If there is no daas how will there be any

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separating? Knowing what is truly relevant and meaningful to me, and what is not and that I

should therefore disconnect from, is the force of daas.

Another illustration. Imagine you have two friends who are working out the pshat, the

plain meaning, of a comment of Rashi. One says the meaning is one way, one says the other

way. How do you know what is the pshat? One brings a strong proof, the other has ten proofs for

his pshat, but they are all very weak and tenuous. The winner of the argument is the one who can

say my proof is better for it is from the very core of the sugya, the portion of text that Rashi

commented on. All the other proofs taken together are not as compelling. In other words, he is

arguing about daas. One proof was truly nogeia, relevant, while the other proofs were really not

nogeia to this topic.

This is true in all areas of avdus Hashem. We must have the daas to know what is truly

important and focus on that!

I was in a minyan once with a thousand chumros, stringencies, but no one davened there.

They had all the trappings, they had a shiur, lesson, before davening and after davening, but they

did not daven at all during davening! The main thing in prayer is to pray with feeling, and no one

was praying there with any feeling.

Chassidim focused on this point: identify ratzon Hashem, what matters most! There

were chassidim that were meikel, lenient, on many matters to be makpid, careful, for those

matters that are really nogeia. Chassidim have traditions about what is really nogeia. Kedushas

hamachshava and kedushas eynayim, holiness of thought and sight, are eivarim shehaneshama

teluya bahem, limbs the soul depends on, and we can sacrifice many matters for these inyanim!

Hislahavus, passion in serving Hashem, and acting lisheim shamayim, for the sake of heaven, are

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essential matters. Especially kedusha. Look in the Zohar, there is not one page in the Zohar that

does not speak of shemiras habris, preserving the covenant, for this is the essence of Yidishkeit.

This is something so important! According to pnimius this is the ikkar of Yidishkeit! Elevate the

thoughts and the eyes! Daas decides that these are the really important areas. They are nogeia, so

daas of kedusha is immersed in them and is machmir in these areas.

In regards to prayer the essence is kavana, devotion, in prayer. In the Shulchan Aruch’s

chapter 98, which teaches the laws of kavana, we see the most important halachos for prayer!

This is what daas tells us.

There is a famous story about Reb Chaim Brisker. They asked him who they should

choose to serve as the baal tefilla, prayer leader, for the yamim noraim, the High Holidays. One

fellow davened well, but was young and had few worries in his life. The other candidate had all

the strengths our legal texts advise for a baal tefilla for yamim noraim: he was forty years old

and had children and a family, but just did not daven well. Reb Chaim answered that the

Shulchan Aruch in the laws of a baal tefilla for Rosh Hashana assumed that all candidates were

capable to serve as a baal tefilla, yet here one is not a baal tefilla at all. Reb Chaim was

displaying daas. Identify what is essential! Focus on the essence!

Kavanas hatefilla is something existential to what tefilla is. The Shulchan Aruch rules

that tefilla should lead us to close to hispashtus hagashmiyus, detachment from the physical! You

need to prepare and be misbonein, think deeply. You need a good yishuv hadaas, settled spirit,

beforehand to have a good tefilla, to reach real tefilla.

Daas is the skill of evaluating matters to know what really matters and what is most

essential.

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Daas Leads To Acceptance Of Torah

We find that prior to receiving the Torah there is always a war with Amalek

. At the end of

parshas Beshalach before parshas Yisro we read first of the war with Amalek. On Purim the

receipt of the Torah was renewed, haddar kibluhu biratzon biymei Achashveirosh, and again we

struggled with Haman an Amalekite. In the Torah, the section of remembering Amalek is taught

right before the section about bikkurim, the first fruits, since bikkurim is a reminder of chag

habikkurim, namely Shavuos, the holiday that marks our receipt of the Torah. Before we relive

the receipt of the Torah, we mention the war with Amalek.

Why is this so?

Amalek is the daas of sitra achra.

What is the daas of sitra achra? The Torah says of Amalek, asher karcha baderech, Who

met and cooled you down on the way. Our sages explain that all the nations were afraid to fight

with us for the world was boiling with excitement after the miracles of the Exodus, and yet

Amalek jumped in to the boiling tub to cool down the waters. In other words Amalek lightened

the import of all the miracles. It did not allow the soul to be inspired by miracles by emphasizing

the voice of the body.

Miracles excite every soul at its core! Yet, Amalek amplified bodily concerns so that

souls ignored the miraculous. Amalek is a Kellipah that cools down the daas of holiness.

At Sinai, Hashem told Moshe, “I will say a few words as a test to see if the people are

baalei daas.”

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Amalek is the nation of complete evil. They tried to annihilate the Jewish nation. In the Torah we are

commanded to remember their crimes forever.

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Atem raisem asher asisi limitzrayim vaesa es’chem al kanfey nesahrim, vavi eschem elai, viata

im shamoa tishmau bikoli vihiyesem li segula mikol haamim, ki li kol haaretz etc. eleh hadavraim

etc.

You have seen what I did to Egypt, how I carried you on the wings of eagles and brought you to

me, and now if you will listen carefully to my voice, you will be my treasure from amidst all the

nations for the world belongs to Me etc. (Shmos 19:4-6)

Hashem is telling us that Torah will only be given to baalei daas. People who might hear the Ten

Commandments and then go back to being the same people they were before will not in fact

receive it! Only people who have good ears and will hear matters well can get divrey Torah!

People might go home and say, “We got an offer. Should we take the Torah or not?

Moshe proposed the Torah to us, what do you think?”

“Let’s have a meeting.”

“I can take a hundred mitzvos but I cannot do 613, that is too much.”

“No! If Hashem said it is good, let us say yes.”

Is this what happened? Could this happen? No! Such people would not get the Torah! To

receive the Torah we were in a state of ama peziza, a rash nation. We heard fire! Atem reisem,

You saw. Viatem tihyu li mamleches Kohanim vigoy kadosh, You will be for Me a kingdom of

priests and a holy nation. The infinite, the Ain Sof, was talking to them!

Viavi es’chem elai! I brought you to Me! Look at the Ohr Hachaim on this parsha: “I do

not see any harsh words in the messages from the Almighty, only words that give life to the

soul!” The people felt that they were hearing life itself! No one proposed meetings and

evaluations. They said kol haam yachdav, the whole nation together, with a passion. Kol asher

dibeir Hashem naaseh, Whatever Hashem commanded we will do!

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No meetings!

No deliberations!

Why? For there was a revelation of daas and the hidden ratzon was expressed! Daas

dikidusha was expressed! They were in a state of ama pezizah. It was the passion of Am Yisrael,

the Jewish people! The essence was attached to Hashem!

It is in this state that a Jew learns Torah! The Talmud describes an interaction between

the great Sage Rava and a heretic, a Sadducee.

The Sadducee was shocked that Rava learnt

with such passion that blood dripped from his fingers and he did not even notice. A Sadducee

learns Torah in a cold way. He cannot understand how Rava would learn with such passion that

he would bleed and so he accused him of being part of an ama peziza, a rash nation. Rava

answered, Anan bichavivusa talya malsa, we are dependent on love. Rashi explains: kiderech

osim biahava, like those who do out of love. We learn the Torah with love! Torah is given to

people who feel it is life!

Amalek is a cold daas. Amalek wages war against the daas dekidusha of Klal Yisrael.

Purim And Passion

On Purim the ama peziza emerges from latent to actual state. Purim is a holiday of actions that

are seemingly not reasonable based on daas, for on Purim the soul expresses itself! The ama

peziza expresses itself! Purim is a time of the neshama expressing itself.

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The Sadducees were followers of Tzadok. Tzadok denied the eternity of the soul and the existence of the world

to come. His followers claimed that there was no oral tradition of Torah. They were popular during the times of the

second Temple and afterwards.

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Daas is a hisgalus of kesser, which is usually clothed in Chochmah. Then there is an

order, a seder hishtalshlus, but inside that order there must be a great passion and fire, a feeling

of ama peziza, above the order! Purim is a time messugal, opportune, for this. We received the

Torah with ratzon and we then defeated Amalek! It is a time messugal to internalize what is my

life. It is a time to approach Torah with passion.

Torah is my life itself. Do not approach it with cold calculations. When we feel that

something affects our existence we do not wait or deliberate! When a person is sick, chas

vishalom, he will spend everything to try and save his life. Look at people who come to the

United States from Eretz Yisrael and need to go to doctors. They have no money yet somehow

they raise it. People respond to their need, for there are no deliberations when it is a matter that

affects life. Kol mah laish yitein biad nafsho, whatever a person has he will give for his life.

There are no hesitations when it is a matter of life and death. So too: Im yitein ish es kol hon

beiso beahava boz yavuzo lo, If a person would give all the wealth of his home instead of love,

they would mock him. (Shir Hashirim 8:7) Ahava is worth more than kol hon beiso. When it

comes to the love of Torah there is nothing to hold back. It is a matter of eternal life.

Daas evaluates what is really relevant, what affects my very life. It becomes part of my

atzmiyus and this changes me.

The reason why some matters change me is that these lessons reach my daas. The

nekudas habechira, the point of making decisions, is in the daas. The essence of a person is in

his ratzon and his ratzon is in his daas. These are matters that reach my very essence and change

the rest of my being.

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Eleven Not Ten

In the sitra achra there are eleven. Asher karcha baderech. They have Amalek’s daas, for the

sitra achra has no ratzon of its own. What in fact is etzem metzius, real reality? Ratzon is etzem

metzius. Sitra achra has a reality just because the ratzon haelyon wants to give it life. There is no

real life of its own to the sitra achra. It exists only because ratzon haelyon wants it to exists. It

does not have its own right to life.

Sitra achra cannot have a ratzon of sitra achra for ratzon is reality, metzius, and sitra

achra does not have a real metzius! The ratzon that animates the sitra achra is not really a part of

the sitra achra! The levona in ketores, the loven haelyon, the Supernal white, gives life to the

sitra achra! Therefore the daas of the sitra achra has no connection to the kesser, for the kesser

is a stolen element from a different source, a ratzon from somewhere else.

This is why sitra achra has eleven. The ratzon haelyon wants there to be a sitra achra. In

each midda of the sitra achra there is a nitzotz that gives this midda life, and this nitzotz is

attached to this midda, but this is not connected to the ratzon.

The ratzon is that there should be a sitra achra, but then the sitra achra has its

components. The daas of sitra achra is not united with this ratzon of Hashem. The daas is part

of sitra achra!

In holiness the daas draws from kesser and ratzon. It is a mere revelation of kesser and

ratzon. Kedusha has an etzem metzius, so it has also ratzon and daas. All the middos continue

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this kesser. Daas is always an extension of the ratzon in kedusha. The sitra achra is therefore

eleven, while holiness is ten.

Lesson Eight defines the seven lower Sefiros. Our world of seven days to a week, and a nation of

Israel with seven founding shepherds, is filled with displays of forces that emerged from these

seven. A deeper appreciation of chesed, gevurah, tiferes, netzach, hod, yesod, and malchus is

essential for understanding Chassidic Torah and for living a meaningful life.

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See the Rebbe's Gilyonei Divrey Torah 5769, pages 185-192, the Rebbe there explained the themes of this lesson

in greater detail. He suggested that we find order and disorder in parshas Bamidbar, the Torah portion we read

before Shavuos, the holiday that marks the receipt of the Torah. On the one hand the nation is counted, each person

is assigned to his tribe and each tribe given a flag. All were assigned camping locations around the mishkan. The

revelation of the Torah at Sinai also entailed great order, the mountain was set apart and all were warned to stay in

the locations correct for them and not to come to close. Yet, parshas Bamidbar is out of chronological order. It tells

the story of the second month of the second year in chapter one and in chapter nine tells the story of the first month

of that year. While at Sinai we were all in set places we accepted the Torah with a passion characterized as ama

peziza, a rash nation, not the hallmark of order. The answer is that the generation that received the Torah was העד רוד

the generation of daas. Daas requires order, yet at its root stands ratzon, kesser, taava, and taanug, therefore it has

passion in the cloak of order!

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Lesson Eight: The Seven Middos

We have started to speak of the three rishonos, the first of the three Sefiros. They are

called imos, mothers. After them come the seven middos, ethical attributes: chesed, gevura,

tiferes, netsach, hod, yesod, and malchus; Loving or Kindness, Restraint, Beauty, Dominance,

Glory, Foundation, and Kingship. All the middos are really included one in the other, as we find

during the counting of the omer the first day is actually chesed shebi’chesed, Loving in Loving,

not merely the day of chesed.

The truth is even deeper. Chesed shebi’chesed has a chesssed shebi’chesed shebi’chesed

and a gevurah shebi’chesed shebi’chesed and a tiferes shebi’chesed shebi’chesed. This

hiscallelus, uniting together, continues to no end.

Loving and Giving

Let us explain the middos.

Chesed can be translated as loving or kindness, the most precise definition is hispashtus,

spreading out. It is the attribute of extending the soul outward. It allows the energies within the

soul to express themselves. The middah of chesed is that the person spreads himself out in action

.and gives to others. More deeply, the reason for this giving is love. Love is an internal

spreading. My inner soul-powers are drawn to and seek to have a relationship with someone else.

These expanding feelings manifest themselves as actions of giving to others

The seven days of Sukkos attract the souls of seven Biblical guests, the seven ushpizin,

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aharon, Joseph, and David and they visit each Jewish Sukkah,

with a different guest on each day. Each of these Jewish leaders was the merkavah, the chariot,

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for one of the seven holy attributes. For example Abraham displayed divine levels of chesed,

and Yitzchok divine levels of gevurah. These leaders also correspond to the ananei hakvod, the

seven clouds of glory that surrounded the Jewish nation while we traveled through the Sinai

desert.

There were clouds on all six sides as well as one that went ahead of the camp to clear the

way. The different sides are the six middos. Mizrach, east, is the beginning. The sun starts in the

east (the term for sunrise is zericha) and ends in the west, so panim, face, and kedem, before and

first, are terms for mizrach, east. Achor, rear, is the term for maarav, west. Therefore the right is

darom, south.

Avraham was always traveling to the Negev, looking for the south because south is the

yemin, right, and the yemin is chesed and Avraham’s middah was chesed. We find this in the

settlement of the world as world. When we think of the south of the United States, we think of

places like Texas and Florida, where the weather is warmer than up in the north in places like

Alaska. The south is warm, while the north is cold, for the south is the side of the right, the side

of chesed, and chesed is connected with warmth.

Tzafon, north is gevurah. Mizrach is tiferes, above is netzach, below is hod, west is

yesod and the inner point is malchus. Thus the clouds of glory that were on all six sides

correspond to six middos, י״הנ ת״גח, and the cloud that lowered hills was a representative of

Malchus.

Making Potential Actual Is The Meaning Of Creation

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The Zohar says that the first cloud encompassed all the others and that the ushpiza of

Avraham comes with all the ushpizin on each day. The verse states, “ViHashem holeich lifneihem

biamud anan yomam,” (Shmos 13:21) “And G-d traveled before them in a cloud by day.” The

Zohar explains the sentence to mean that the one constant cloud was yomam, the day of chesed.

Chesed on its own goes with all the middos, because a middah is the taking of something

from the potential to the actual and taking something from potential to actual is spreading out

and hispashtus is chesed. Chesed is yoma diazla im kula yomah, the day that accompanies each

day.

Gevurah is the opposite of chesed. We have defined Chesed as a spreading out, a

extension of self, all actions are spreading out of the self. Gevurah can be translated as heroic

strength or restraint. Why should actions of restraint be called Gevurah, aren't all actions a form

of Chesed? The answer is that the nature of gevurah actions is tzimtzum, self constriction. To

pull something into oneself. Just as chesed emerges from a love, the midda of gevurah emerges

from a hatred, a pulling inward and away from someone else. The opposite of ahava, love,

causes the opposite of chesed.

The term gevurah has connotations of heroic strength, just as a gibor is a mighty warrior.

Why are actions of withdrawal associated with great strength? We must say that there is a deep

reason why constriction is called gevura, for frequently one must overcome obstacles – one must

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Recent studies about marriage have confirmed this Kabbalistic truth. The most dangerous behavior in a marriage

is not anger from one member of the couple to the other. The most dangerous point of marriage is disconnection and

alienation. When one member of the couple no longer cares for the other, when he or she stonewall and do not wish

to share anything with the spouse, the marriage is in grave danger. Marriage is built on chesed, inner spreading of

the psyche to the other which leads to acts of kindness from one to the other. When there is a gevurah dynamic,

when one member is withdrawing inward and uninterested in giving or caring about the other, the marriage is grave

danger. For further reading see Dr. John Gottman's, The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, page 46.

After decades of research he found that marriages in danger usually exhibit the following four behaviors in the

following order, criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling.

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be misgaber, overcome with strength - in order to give and to be kind! Why then do we not say

that chesed is gevurah? Let kindness be called strength! The answer is that the normal way of a

middah is hispashtus. The meaning of all middos is that G-d’s intent is to give. Hispashtus is the

meaning and purpose of creation.

The Ari explains that until creation G-d was a rachum bikoach, potentially merciful, for

there was no person with whom Hashem could show rachamim and chassadim! Creation enabled

Hashem to bring His middos of rachum and chanun from potential to actual. Therefore the

normal way of a midda is to move mikoach el hapoel, from potential to actual. Tzimtzum,

however, is the opposite of normal, it is to restrain and not reveal. Therefore restraint is called

gevurah, strength.

A Beautiful World And A Beautiful Torah

Chesed is hispashtus ahava and chassadim while gevurah is the opposite: tzimtzum and sinah,

hate. Tiferes is the middle between chesed and gevurah.

Yaakov is described in the Torah as ish tam yosheiv ohalim, a wholesome man who

resided in tents (Bereishis 25:27). Avraham was chesed and Yitzchok was gevurah, while Yaakov

displayed a different quality: synthesis and harmony. To have the sense to know when to do

chesed and when to do gevurah and to synthesize between chesed and gevurah is tiferes, beauty

or harmony. The beauty of a picture is in its harmony, in the balance and synthesis of all the

colors. When everything is in its correct place there is a beauty to the picture. Another name for

this middah of Yaakov is emmes, truth.

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The truth requires that at times we do things in one way and that sometimes we do things

in a different way. The letters of Yaakov’s name - בקעי - can be divided to two parts, the first

letter and the following three: בקע ׳י. Yud, the first letter, represents the aseres hadibros, The Ten

Commandments themselves, and eikev, the remaining three, represent the 172 words within The

Ten Commandments. Yaakov is also related to learning Torah, for the way of Torah is the

moderate way.

For example, consider eating food. The Torah does not want us to fast too much: the

Torah wants us to enter into the physical world and to elevate the sparks within the world. The

Torah characterizes the nazir

as someone asher chata al hanefesh, who sinned against his life

(Bamidbar 6:11). In general one should not fast, but to heal the yetzer hara, and as a form of

aveirah lishmah, a sin for G-d’s sake, there is a need sometimes for a fast. The destruction of the

Beis Hamikdash, which caused a great degree of evil, causes us to fast several times.

These fasts are not in the five Books of Moshe, the Torah. In the din dioraisa, Biblical

law, representing the ideal level, man would only fast once a year, on Yom Kippur! While the

Torah prohibits certain foods, it allows for the eating of many delights and kosher foods if a man

needs such a diet for his yishuv hadaas, to feel settled. Kedoshim tihyu, (Vayikra 19:2) be holy

and ascetic, the Torah says, yet the Torah itself also allows man to indulge in many areas.

Furthermore, the Torah allows a man to marry and to keep most of his money for himself. One is

not urged to give away all his money! The way of the Torah is the way of moderation!

There is such beauty to the Torah! The nations of the world have been swayed with so

many different ideologies yet it is clear that all these ways are silly and nonsense. They have

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A nazir was an individual in ancient Israel who took upon himself special vows of restraint, such as refraining

from drinking wine or cutting his hair.

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afflicted themselves with so many chitzoni things and all of this is the opposite of Torah, for

Torah is the tiferes of kedusha!

The Maharal points out that the Torah chooses that which is in the middle. This is true

about the Jewish calendar as well. The months of Nissan, Sivan, and Tishrei are times of

balanced weather and also the seasons of the yamim tovim, holidays. During the months of

extreme heat or cold, we do not have yamim tovim, we have taaneisim, fast days! (Chanukah, an

exception as it falls in winter, is only midrabanan, from the rabbis, not from the Torah.) The

same can be said about geography as well. Eretz Yisrael is the middle of the earth!

Tiferes is the inyan of Torah, to live a life of beauty, synthesis, and balance. Among the

colors, green is the color of tiferes. Green is balanced, not too dark and not too light and it is in

the middle of the colors of the spectrum. Most of the world is green. Consider leaves and grass.

For this is the color of tiferes: it is the color of beauty and it gives beauty to the world.

The middle way is the middah of Yaakov. We know that rebbi hakadosh, Rabbi Judah the

prince who authored the Mishna, was the soul of Yaakov avinu. Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi was Rabbi

Judah’s formal name, and nasi אישנ is an acronym for nitotz shel Yaakov avinu, בקעי לש ץוצינ

וניבא, a spark from our father Yaakov. Just as Yaakov avinu lo meis, Yaakov never died, rebbi lo

meis, Rabbi Yehuda hanasi never died, and every Friday night he would return to say Kiddush.

The Talmud says that just as Yaakov lived in Egypt for seventeen years, rebbi read that pasuk to

refer to himself for he lived in Tzipori for seventeen years as well.

We also know that Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi is called rebbi hakadosh, the holy rebbe, and

the third blessing in shemoneh esrei which corresponds to Yaakov is the blessing of viata

kadosh, and You are holy. In Pirkei Avos, Ethics of the Fathers, rebbi states “Eizehu derech

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yeshara shayavor lo haadam? Kol shehi tiferes lioseha vitiferes lo min haadam,” “What is the

correct path a person should choose? Any way that is tiferes to the one who performs it and a

source of tiferes to him from others.” Rav Ovadia Bartenura explains that this refers to the

derech hamimutza, the ideal of keeping the middle path.

We know that Rav Yosef Caro

would rule in the Code of Jewish Law based on the

majority opinion of three earlier deciders, the Rambam, the Rif, and the Rosh. Maimonides thus

is one of those who set halacha, Jewish law, for us. In Shulchan Aruch there are no hilchos deios,

laws of ethics, so apparently the Rambam is the Shulchan Aruch for hilchos deios. The Rambam

rules we should all adopt the derech hamimutzah in regards to all deios so this is the definitive

halacha. The middle path is the path of Yaakov avinu.

Models of Influence

Netzach and hod correspond to Moshe and Aharon. In Pasach Eliyahu, a passage in the Holy

Zohar that describes the Sefiros, the middos are divided according to the parts of the body. The

right arm is chesed, the left arm is gevurah, the torso is tiferes, the right leg is netzach, and the

left leg is hod. You can do many things with one hand, while to walk you need both feet.

That is why Moshe and Aharon lived in the same era and together guided the Jewish

people. As legs netzach and hod represent going outside of the body.

Consider a rebbe and a talmid. The rebbe knows the truth, while the talmid is not yet at a

state of knowing the truth. The rebbe has to conquer him, the rebbe has to make the talmid into a

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Author of the Shulcan Aruch, a very important source of Jewish law.

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vessel that can accept and receive all the truth that the rebbe has to give to him. The rebbe must

impact the talmid and conquer him.

So it was with Moshe. He would overwhelm and dominate. Moshe conquered the natural

world! He took the Jews out of Egypt. Pharaoh was limited by the tzimtzumim, limitations, of

teva, natural laws. He said mi Hashem asher eshma bikolo, Who is Hashem that I should listen to

His voice? (Shmos 5:2) Pharaoh only saw the fact that Hashem had been mitzamtzeim Himself

into levushim of nature and kishuf, black magic, and he thought these tzimtzumim were all that

was. To take the Jews out of Egypt Moshe rabbeinu had to break all the tzimtzumei hakishuf and

of teva. Moshe was the one who was to teach the Torah to the Jewish people and he is the great

milamed Torah to klal yisrael.

Had we been worthy we would not have needed all the miracles of leaving Egypt. A nes

is necessary for a low person who needs to be impressed with a miracle. An ideal human, a ben

adam, changes through hearing words of Torah alone. Only ktaney hadaas, those with weak

daas, need nissim. Moshe rabbeinu and the nissim of leaving Egypt were necessary in order to

prepare the Jews to enable them to learn Torah.

For example, when a melamed, a school teacher in the cheder system of old, would teach

children if they did not want to learn he would use a stick. (When I was a child the melamed had

a stick and he would give a petch. Today’s generation is very weak and no one should ever use a

stick on students.) What was the role of the stick? It was to conquer the yetzer hara in the talmid!

The miracles of leaving Egypt were the stick Moshe used to break the world of nature in order to

teach the Jewish people Torah. Netzach can be given not only with a stick. It can also be to give

so much hashpaa, influence, that the yetzer hara is annulled on its own. Netzach is on the right

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side because chesed is a hispashtus and netzach is to be mashpia to those who are livar migufa

with a great hispashtus.

Hod is on the left and it is connected to tzimtzum, limits. Sometimes you cannot be

mashpia so much to a talmid. If you are trying to dominate him the talmid might run away. This

is why you must be mitzamtzem what you give to the talmid and you limit the hashpaa and give

a hod, a shine, or a chitzoniyus, an externality. You limit yourself to the level of the talmid and

give accordingly.

We always need these two together for one needs the other. Moshe was the one who

would defeat the opposition while Aharon would smile at evil. This smile at evil behavior was

chitzoniyus, only superficial: the inside of Aharon rejected the sin. Yet Aharon would not reveal

his inside. He would only show a smile so that the people looking at him would stay attached and

eventually be brought back.

When the Jews asked for an eigel, a golden calf, Chur rebuked them harshly, and they

killed him. What did Aharon do? He used the attribute of hod. He smiled, “Yes I will make an

eigel … just one little thing, I will do it tomorrow and not today.” This was to try and delay until

Moshe would return so there would be no eigel. This is the behavior of hod. “Nachisa catzon

amecha biyad Moshe viAharon,” (Tehillim 77:21) “You guided your nation as sheep in the hands

of Moshe and Aharon.” Hashem sees to it that the Jewish nation always has these two styles of

guidance. Some teachers are netzach, and others are like Aharon: they smile and change students

through tolerating misbehavior in order to bring people back to the correct path.

Perfected Balance Is The Key to Education And Creating Life

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Tiferes is between chesed and gevurah, and yesod is between netzach and hod. Yosef is

between Aharon and Moshe. He is the middle who knows when to use netzach and when to use

hod. Yesod is the perfect way to influence: he knows when to spread out and when to withdraw.

Netzach and hod go out of the body, while yesod is the primary way of going outside of oneself.

When a rebbe teaches talmidim (and this is true of every mashpia to nishpaim) he needs great

gevurah not to lose his level. He must always remain a mashpia, one who impacts, and not

become a mushpa, one who is impacted. A rebbe must be careful not to be brought down to the

level of his talmidim. After all he is engaged continually with the students, so they might

influence him.

You have probably seen this dynamic. A melamed spends his whole day with young kids,

and he becomes influenced by them to talk in immature and childlike cadences. You see this in

the physical world as well. When we are involved in material matters there is a great danger of

being drawn after the olam hagashmi, physical world, and being influenced by it. Yesod knows

when to pull back from hod, to avoid being influenced.

On the other hand, it also knows when not to employ netzach. When you are involved in

a great level of kedusha over the gashmi world this is netzach, but sometimes one has to be

careful not to go too far in this type of nitzuach. For example, if you focus too much on the idea

that food is really meaningless and that it is like tzoah, excrement, and the only thing that exists

is the nitzotz hakadosh, the Divine spark, you might truly be revolted by food and might come to

a bad place. You need to temper your netzach with hod, you need to allow space for your true

level. The middah of yesod is the perfect balance: to be involved in a physical matter and to

still be tied to one’s root. To teach but not be overwhelmed by those you are trying to influence.

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The seven middos are referenced in the verse, “licha Hashem hagdula vihagvura

vihatiferes vihanetzach vohahod, ki chol bashamayim ubaaretz, licha Hashem hamamlacha”

“Yours Hashem is kindness, strength, beauty, dominance, and glory, all that is in the heavens and

on earth, to You G-d is Sovereignty.” (Divrey Hayamim Alef 29:11) The phrase ki chol

bashamayim ubaaretz, all that is in heaven and earth, is a reference to this level of yesod. A

tzadik should be both fully involved in the material world and attached and davuk to his root, still

tied, to G-d. Yosef hatzadik went to all the low places in Egypt and still remained attached to

Hashem! Yosef was in Egypt and he still did not feel the galus at all, he was still on this same

high level. Wherever he was he was attached to Hashem. He was always connected to the ohr

haganuz, the hidden light.

He was a very pnimi person and because he was so internal wherever he was did not

matter! He could be in exile and he felt that he was attached to Hashem! He fulfilled shivisi

Hashem linegdi tamid, I have placed the Almighty before me, and the external realm, the

external forces, meant nothing to him! He was not mispael, impacted, at all from the chitzoniyus.

Yosef was always bisimcha, happy, and to such a great degree that in jail he asked the sar

hamashkim and the sar haofim, the incarcerated butler and baker, “Madua pneichem raim

hayom, (Bereishis 40:7) “Why are you looking so downcast today?”

Amazing! In three days it will be Pharaoh’s birthday and he will judge people and

prisoners might be killed, yet to Yosef there is no reason to be sad and depressed. He is surprised

that someone has a bad mood on his face! When Yosef was in charge of the jail he in fact brought

a tremendous joy to the prison, no one was depressed there! “Vayehi Hashem es

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Yosef,” (Bereishis 39:21) “Hashem was with Yosef,” there was a giluy shechinah there! There

was constant joy in the beis haasurim! This is the level of yesod and Yosef.

Use Malchus Correctly

Malchus is the last middah and it receives from all the other middos. The middah of hashpaa,

the middah of yesod, is in a certain way the opposite of malchus.

Malchus denotes revelation. The part of man that he reveals is his malchus. In other

words, when a person reveals a part of himself he is only revealing an external fraction of who

he truly is. When Hashem reveals something from Himself it is a mere ziv, a mere glow relative

to the light of Ain Sof, His essence. The glow hardly exists, it is not tofeis, occupy, any makom,

space, relative to the essence! The glow of the sun is nothing relative to the sun itself.

So it is that the part of man in which he reveals himself is merely his malchus. The

person himself is much more internal! He has more metzius than what is revealed! Since a

minimal fraction of essence is revealed, malchus is characterized as leis leih migarmei klum, it

has nothing of its own! Just as in the world the way something appears in the inside, as a G-dly

display, is the atzmiyus, true essence, the way it is revealed is just a ziv, a mere haara, radiance,

from the atzmiyus of Hashem. So too the middas hamalchus of a man is not tofeis makom,

relative to his true essence.

A good matter to help us clarify this thought is honor. Many of us have a taava to look at

ourselves through the eyes of others. Our primary focus is how will others think of me. Imagine

a man who is famous and he has ten thousand students in his Yeshiva. He might feel, “I am an

honored person because ten thousand people honor me.” Tomorrow something might happen

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and he loses the Yeshiva and he is no longer the Rosh Yeshiva. Even if it happens bi’ones,

against his will, he might be a deflated person. Say he meets someone who does not hold him in

esteem now that he has no Yeshiva, he feels bad.

Why should he feel bad? He knows in himself that he is the same person that he was, he

knows as much today as he knew yesterday! What happened? Someone else no longer thinks of

him as highly. But he is the same person!

He is deflated for he has conflated ray with essence! He has gone to live in his ziv! He

lives in his reputation instead of in his essence. The reputation is a small part of his atzmiyus, the

small glow that can be revealed! The correct way is to just ignore the ziv and haara and to treat it

as it truly is.

Now we are close to Purim, when Haman was asked by the king“Mah laasos baish asher

hamelech chafeitz biyikaro,” “What should be done with the man the king wishes to honor?”

Why did he ask for something as silly as wearing the clothes of the king and riding a royal horse

for a day? Such gifts would not last long! Why not ask for money or a country?

He was looking for some kavod! He will ride on the horse, people will look at him, cheer

for him, and talk about how important he must be; there will be great honor that he will receive.

The truth is however that the all of kavod is meaningless. It is only for a day and then everyone

will forget about it.

There are people today as well who live in an imaginary world, a reality of “I am what

others think of me.” This is a false world, this is Haman, he wants to be in the front page of the

newspaper, he wants people to honor him. Haman was depressed when he carried Mordechai

around even though Haman was still the prime minister! Haman was devastated, for he lived in

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the newspaper. If it was in the newspaper it was real otherwise it was not a reality! That is the

way Haman lived. This is the awesome falsehood of the kavod hemdume, imaginary honor.

Malchus is leis leih migarmei klum, has nothing of its own, it receives all. Malchus

dikdusha is a person who is completely not moved at all by kavod and then can shine a real light

from himself. He is aware that he is only a light and a glow from the light of the Ain Sof! Leis lei

migarmei klum!

The root of evil is when the ziv is a metzius. Good is the opposite, when a person has a

clear understanding of the concept of malchus: what is a mere glow and what is internal and true

reality.

Lesson Nine reveals secrets of the letters of the alef beis. Some letters represent the roots of

reality, others the middos, and others the dimensions of the physical realm. A Jew must aspire to

greatness. Thinking about the awesome nature of the Infinite Creator can arouse feelings of

genuine attachment with Hashem. Each of us can reach truly great heights we need to merely

truly desire them!

Lesson Nine: Unity Is The Uniquely Jewish View!

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ןהמ ולשלתשנש תונוילע תוריפס רשע דגנכ 'יחב רשעמ הלולכ המשנו חור שפנ ולא שלשמ הגרדמו 'יחב לכ הנהו

עבשו תומא שלש ןהש םיתשל תוקלחנה

וכ תראפת הרובג דסח ןינבה ימי תעבשו תעדו הניב המכח 'יפ תולופכ

Behold, each concept and grade of the three— nefesh, ruach and neshamah— consists of ten

components, corresponding to the Supernal Ten Sefiros from which they have descended. They

are divided into two, the three “Mothers” and the seven “Multiples.” Chochmah, Binah, and

Daas are the “Mothers” and the “Multiples” are the “seven days of creation:” chesed, gevurah,

tiferes, and so on.

The Three Parts Of The Alef Beis

The middos are called in the Tanya the sheva kefulos, “the seven multiples.” The Ari usually does

not refer to the middos as the kefulos. This term comes from the Sefer Yetzirahh.

Sefer

Yetzirahh divides the letters of the alef beis. And there in that division there is a discussion of the

middos as kefulos. (If you study Bney Yissaschar

you will see this quoted often.)

According to the Sefer Yetzirahh, there are three imos, root letters of the alef beis: alef,

mem, and shin; together שמא, emesh. They represent sound, kol. Sound is from avir, mayim, and

eish, wind, water, and energy. Kol produces each letter sound. The first letters of שא םימ ריוא, avir,

mayim, eish produce שמא, emesh. The shin is eish for the alef is silent.

These letters represent right, left, and middle, Chochmah, binah, and daas. Avir is daas,

the middle one. The moisture in the voice is Chochmah, the right, and the aish, which is from the

left, is binah. Emesh represents the roots.

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Sefer Yitzirah is a very early work of Kabbalah. According to some sources it was written by our father Avraham.

It deals with the secrets of creation and great insights that can be derived from the letters of the alef beis.

Bney Yissaschar is a classic work of Chassidic thought. It was written by Rav Hirsch Elimelech Shapiro of Dinov

(1783-1841). He was a student of the Chozeh of Lublin and Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rimanov. He was filled

with love for all Jews and would sign his letters with the words, "The loyal lover of each Jew who seeks the welfare

of his nation." In the work Bney Yissaschar he taught insights into the spiritual meaning of each month and its

festivals.

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The Ropshitzer Rav

points out that Lavan

said to Yaakov, “Vielokei avichem emesh

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nigla elai leimor hishamer licha midaber im yaakov mitov ad rah etc.” (Bereishis 31:39). “The

G-d of your fathers appeared to me, emesh, last night, saying do not dare to speak with Yaakov

whether for good or for evil.” Why mention emesh? For we read in the Passover Haggada

“Lavan bikesh laakor es hakol,” “Laban wanted to uproot all the way at the root.” The root is

represented with the word emesh. He wanted to uproot the emesh. To defeat him there was a

root-like revelation, a hisgallus from the letters emesh, and Hashem said with the revelation of

“Emesh hishamer licha midaber im yaakov mitov ad rah,” “Watch out, do not speak with

Yaakov, any good or any bad...”

The Letters Of The Seven Sefiros

The Sefer Yetzirahhh teaches that there are double letters, the multiples: letters that sometimes

have a dagesh, a stress, and sometimes are rafa, soft without any hard accent. They are begad

kifras תרפכ דגב. These letters are doubled. They represent the seven middos.

They are doubled for they are counted in two possible ways: either in an ohr yashar, the

regular order; milmata limaala, from below to above; or as an ohr chozeir, a top to bottom order.

One is biderech hashpaah (ohr chozer), the way of an influence from Hashem, and the other way

is the way of avodah, human service to G-d, (ohr yashar). To correspond to the begad kifras we

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Rav Naftali Horowitz of Ropshitz (1760-1827) was one of the great tzadikim of his time. He was a student of Rav

Elimelech Lizhensk, the Chozeh of Lublin, and Rav Menachem Mendel of Rimanov. He was born the day the Besht

left this world. He authored Zera Kodesh and other classical works. The Stuchin Chassidus was led by descendants

of the Rav of Ropshitz.

Lavan was the uncle of the patriarch Jacob as well as his father in law. After Jacob labored for his father in law for

twenty years he saw that Lavan was filled with hatred and envy toward him. He took advantage of the wool cutting

season to leave with his family. Lavan pursued him to try and do him harm. The night before their fateful meeting

the Almighty appeared to Lavan and warned him not to harm Jacob.

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have seven days of the week and the seven kochvei leches, the seven stars that go around the sun.

They are shabsai, tzedek maadim, chamah nogah kochav and levana. Rashi quotes this concept

in his commentary to tractate Shabbes of the Talmud.

Twelve Letters For Twelve Months

After this we have twelve simple letters. These letters are pshutos, for they do not have a dagesh

or a rafah to impact how they would be pronounced. They parallel the twelve months and the

twelve mazalos, stellar constellations. The Sefer Yetzirahhh also calculates twelve primary limbs

that correspond to them.

In Kabbalah this is called the twelve parts of tiferes, for middas tiferes can be divided into

twelve parts, and that is why our patriarch Yaakov who is tiferes had twelve sons. The Bney

Yissachar explains the letter for each month. He deals with the otiyos pshutos, the simple letters:

heh, vav, zayin, ches tes yud, lamed, nun, samech, ayin, tzadik, and kuf. These are also the twelve

gvuley alachson, the twelve boundaries. Simply this means that if you take a box, there are

twelve lines: four on the bottom, four on the top and four connecting top to bottom. Thus eight

lines - the ones above and the ones below - correspond to the sons of the geviros, the primary

wives of Yaakov, Rachel and Leah. The four lines that connect top to bottom correspond to the

sons of the shefachos, the maid women married to Jacob: Bilha and Zilpa. In other words, tiferes

means shleimus and perfection.

Perfection in space can be divided into twelve parts. To fully complete something that

takes up space twelve boundaries are necessary. The twelve tribes are also a complete array

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representing the twelve ways to reach Hashem. There are twelve gates to Hashem and twelve

nuschaos hatefillah, versions of the prayers.

Ultimately the twelve end up with the one. The sons tell Yaakov, “Ein bileibeinu ela

echad,” “We only have the One and Only in our hearts.” This is even clear in the letters for the

word one in Hebrew: echad, דחא. There is an alef, with a gimatria value of one, then the ches

representing eight sons from the primary wives, and the daled is the four from the shefachos.

The fact is that they are united and become one.

In Aramaic the word for one is chad. There is no alef. The reason for this is that in the

language of the gentiles, the alef of echad is not revealed, only in Hebrew is the alef,

representing achdus, oneness, the level of Yaakov, revealed.

Yaakov encompasses all three patriarchs. He is called the best of the avos. Each of the

avos, as a source for the nation, is represented by shem havaya, the tetragrammaton, the Divine

name of creation, which is a “father” to all the other descriptions of the Almighty. Shem havaya

ה-ו-ה-י has four letters. There are three shem havaya’s to correspond to the three avos, and Yaakov

is three times shem havaya. Three times Shem Havaya is twelve letters. These twelve letters

correspond to the twelve constellations that parallel the twelve shevatim, the twelve parts of

Yaakov. The word mazla, אלזמ, or mazal, לזמ, constellation, with the collel, (adding one to the

gemattria total for the collective has an added value of one) equals three times havaya, 78. In

other words, when the mazalos are united it is a oneness of all three havayos, and we have a

mazla.

Some years we have a month of Ibbur, a thirteenth month. This month corresponds to the

alef in echad, the one that unites the twelve. The added month is the month made by a beis din, a

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Jewish legal court. In this month there can be no kishuf, black magic. The holy works state there

are also no kochos hatumah, forces of impurity in it, for it is the alef of echad, the one that unites

all twelve.

Anti-Semites Hate Achdus And They Hate Thirteen

Haman wanted with his lot to fight the unique, united nation of Israel, the am echad. He said to

Achashveirosh, “Yeshno am echad etc.,” (Esther 3:8) “There is one nation” that is not loyal to the

king. We are the one nation, for we reveal the achdus, oneness, in the world.

Haman also threw his lots on the thirteenth day of Nissan. In Nissan each nasi, leader of

a tribe, donated sacrifices to inaugurate the altar, because Nissan is the head of all the other

months, as the first twelve days correspond to the twelve months and each nasi corresponds to a

month. The thirteenth day corresponds to the thirteenth month, chodesh haibur, so Haman threw

his goral then, “Bishlosha asar yom lachodesh harishon,” (Esther 3:7) On the thirteenth day of

the first month Haman wanted to uproot the unity, he wanted to uproot the alef of echad, he

wanted to uproot the oneness, the point that makes it all one.

We also know that Haman had a soul-spark of Esav while Mordechai had a spark of

Yaakov. Haman wanted to destroy and uproot Yaakov. He was very happy when the mazal, luck,

which determines a goral, lot, came out on the thirteenth day of the thirteenth month. He thought

this was an omen. He had in fact waited to cast his lots for the thirteenth day of Nissan. The

goral had come out for the thirteen of the thirteenth! He seemed about to uproot the achdus, the

unity that is represented with the number thirteen. We all know that many goyim claim the

number thirteen is unlucky, it is not mazaldike, for this is the mazal of the Jewish people! What

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for the nations is ain mazal, unlucky, for us is the mazal! They sense that they do not have a

mazal in the realm of the thirteenth. For us it is achdus and they therefore oppose it.

The Oneness of Shabbes

Thirteen times thirteen equals 169 and this is the real echad, the real oneness. If you calculate

how many hours there are in a week, you come out to168 hours. Thirteen times thirteen is one

more than 168, this is echad based on tosefos Shabbes, adding to Shabbes.

We all add to Shabbes. The Ari says that you should add six hours before Shabbes,

namely from chatzos, midday, and then you should continue after Shabbes another hour, to have

thirty-one hours to shabbes. The primary tosefes shabbes is the hour at the end, that is the raava

diraavin, will of all wills, it is an eis ratzon, a time of favor. The course of Shabbes travels from

the lowest to the highest level, therefore the raava diraavin is the highest level of Shabbes.

I once thought that the statement of Rabbi Yosi in the Talmud, “Yehi chelki mimachnisei

shabbes bitverya umimotzai shabbes bitzipori,” “May my portion be among those who begin

Shabbes in TiBeriahs and complete it in Tzipori,” (Shabbes 118b) refers to this concept.

TiBeriahs is low while Tzipori is high, Shabbes is a climb, we start at the lowest level and by the

end we are on the highest point of Shabbes. When you add an hour of Shabbes you add an hour

to the week: an hour of Sunday that is still Shabbes. It is, as it were, limaala min hazman, above

the limitations of time! You have gone to a place that is above time to add another hour to

Shabbes! Once you have added this hour, shaa achas, the week has 169 hours. This is thirteen

times thirteen, echad times echad, this is the full oneness of the week! One sixty-eight is not yet

full oneness. Only once you add the 169

hour do we have the full echad.

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This is why at mincha on Shabbes we say Ata echad vishimcha echad, You are one and

your name is one. The raava diraavin is when we attach ourselves to the levels of ata echad

vishimcha echad, this is the time when the echad is revealed! The Chidushei Harim

explains

the statement of our sages, “Yafah shaa echas biteshiva umaasim tovim biolam hazeh mikol

chayei olam haba,” “Better one hour in teshuva and good deeds in this world than all the life of

the World to Come,” refers to this hour of tosefes Shabbes. This hour is the moment of achdus, it

is a moment of achas, this is the primary tosefes shabbes.

' ותאריו ודחפו 'ה תבהא ןה תודמהו .תעדו הניב המכח ללוכ לכשה .תודמו לכש םיתשל תקלחנש םדאה שפנב ךכו

ד"בח תודלות ןה תודמה יכ תודמל רוקמו תומא וארקנ ד"בחו 'וכ וראפלו:

And the human spirit is also divided into two, intellects and emotions. Chochmah, binah, daas,

are the intellects, while the middos entail love of Hashem, awe and fear toward Him,

appreciating His beauty, etc. The intellects are the mothers for they are the source for the

middos.

ה"מ ח"כ המכח םשב ארקנ רבד לכ ליכשמה אוהש 'לכשמה שפנבש לכשה הנה יכ ןינעה רואיבו

The explanation of the matter is that the power of the mind to grasp matters and know them is

called Chochmah, and Chochmah is the koach of knowing things. [With G-d] it is what creates

matters, koach mah, the force of the matter. In the human it merely grasps matters

ארקנ ולכשב לכשומה המכח רבד הזיא ךותמ וקמעלו ורושאל רבד ןיבהל ולכשב ןנובתמש לעופה לא וחכ איצומשכו

הניב

And when man actualizes his potential, delving into a matter to understand it fully to its depth,

this is binah. With Chochmah one knows matters in a general way, to know something in detail

requires binah. To grasp the full picture is Chochmah to spell out what is included in this is

binah.

ודחפו ותאריו 'ה תבהא תודילומה םאו בא םה ןהו

And Chochmah and binah are the av and the eim, the father and mother, who give birth to love of

Hashem and fear of Him.

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Rav Yitzchok Meir Alter (1799-1866) was the author of the work Chidushei Harim. He was a student of Rav

Menachem Mendel Morgenstern of Kotzk and of Rav Simcha Bunim of Pshis'cha. He was a great master of Torah

and service who started the Gerrer Chassidus.

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The middos are banim, they are the children of this father and mother. We know that the seven

days of creation are the revelation of the middos of Hashem. Light was a display of His Chesed

and the rakia, firmament, a manifestation of His Gevura. “Hashem biChochmah yased

erets,” (Mishlei 3:19) “G-d establishaid the world with wisdom.” There is great Heavenly

wisdom in creation, yet we only see it through the seven middos. The real Chochmah as it is in

its root has not been revealed. We apprehend wisdom only through the middos.

In the future there will be ten musical notes, as King David predicted, “Elokim shir

chadash ashira lach binevel asor azamer lach,” “Lord I will sing for you a new song on a ten

string harp.” (Tehillim 144:9) While in today’s music there are only seven notes. Now, there are

only seven notes in music for we are in a physical world, with seven middos. In the future there

will be ten musical notes, binevel asor azamer lach, we will sing with an awareness of all ten

levels. All wisdom today is only wisdom in the clothing of middos. The true Chochmah is a

level that will be revealed only in the future.

ןימלע לכ בבוסו ןימלע לכ אלממ אוה ךיא 'ה תלודגב דאמ קימעמו ןנובתמשכ תלכשמה שפנבש לכשה יכ

For the mind in the comprehending soul when it delves into great depth about the grandeur of

Hashem, how He fills all world, mimale kol almin, and transcends all worlds, soveiv kol almin

בישח אלכ הימק אלוכו

And how all are as nothing before Him,

'ה דחפו תילכתו ףוס הל ןיאש 'תי ותלודגמ ששובתהלו אריל ותבשחמו וחומב תוממורה תארי תדמ הררועתנו הדלונ

תולכ איהו ה"ב ףוס ןיא תלודגל הקקוש שפנו הקושתו הציפחו הקישחב שא יפשרכ הזע הבהאב ובל בהלתי בושו ובלב

שפנה

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finds born and aroused in his mind and thoughts an attribute of awe of transcendence, and he

fears and is embarrassed by His greatness that has no end, and the fear of G-d is aroused in his

heart, and then his heart will be excited with a strong love, like flames of fire, with longing,

desire, and thirsting heart for the greatness of the blessed Ain Sof, and this is called klos

hanefesh, the pining of the soul

דוסימ אוה ןואמצהו 'וגו ישפנ ךל האמצ ביתכו 'וגו םיהלאל ישפנ האמצ ביתכו 'וגו ישפנ התלכ םגו הפסכנ ביתכדכ

ח"עב ש"מכו חומהמ תוחילהו םימה רוקמו בלב אוה שאה דוסיש ח"עב ה"כו םייעבטה ש"מכו תיהלאה שפנבש שאה

ש"מכ ןהיתודלותו הבהאהו האריה יפנע ןה ןלוכ תודמה ראשו תיהלאה שפנבש םימ ארקנש המכח 'יחב איהש 'נ רעש

רחא םוקמב

of which Scripture speaks, as “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth...” and “My soul thirsteth for

G-d…” and “My soul thirsteth for Thee…” This thirst is derived from the element of Fire, which

is found in the Divine soul. As students of natural science affirm, and so it is in Etz Chayim, the

element of Fire is in the heart, while the source of [the element of] Water and moisture is in the

brain, which is explained in Etz Chayim, Portal 50, to refer to the faculty of Chochmah, called

“water of the Divine soul.” The rest of the middos are all offshoots of fear and love and their

derivations, as is explained elsewhere.

The Tanya here says that if the mind delves into the fact that Hashem fills the world and

transcends the world, religious feelings will awaken. The Zohar says that people do not think

about all that they should. But we should think about this, what is mimale kol almin and soveiv

kol almin.

Religious Thoughts

Milo kol haaretz kvodo, the whole earth is filled with His glory. (Yeshayahu 6:3) Think of this

room - it is all G-dliness! This is a great hassaga, apprehension! We can think with parables and

other ways, but there is no physical world in reality, there is really only a life of dvar Hashem!!!

The whole world is the word of G-d! The Divine command gives life to all that is in the world!

This is the idea of mimale kol almin. He gives life to all that is in the world.

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Soveiv kol almin is a different point. It tells us that there is an illumination in this world,

a haara, from the level that is above this world. It is not clothed in the world, it works as a haara

above impacting matters in the world. Soveiv kol almin.

For example think about the concept of Ain Sof. We so often think of limits that we do not

usually consider the Ain Sof. Ain Sof is a matter that transcends any type of sof, end. Ain Sof is a

type of such a great light that you can think about it for an entire year, you can reach deep

hassagos each moment, and yet reach nowhere near the end!

Think of how much space light will travel through in a single year. In one second light

can go around the world six times. Imagine if you would travel that amount of space in a

moment and keep traveling at that speed for five hundred years. Imagine these details as much as

you can. How far will you travel? Five hundred light years! Even after so much travel we would

say you are still no closer to gedulas Ain Sof, the greatness of infinity, than before these last five

hundred light years! For Ain Sof has no limits! You could travel that far and still be as if you had

just started! Travel for another five hundred years and you have still not yet begun, for Ain Sof

has no limits at all! And now when you say a blessing, boruch ata Hashem, Blessed are you O’

G-d, you are talking to Ain Sof! Despite the fact that Hashem is Ain Sof, with no limits, He still

lowers himself enough so that a human being can literally talk with Him!

This is a meditation that can arouse love and fear. Learning Torah is better than all

hisbonenus, meditations, for He is one with His wisdom, Hu vichachmaso echad!! We should

still take the time to fulfill the mitzvah of “Viyadata hayom vihasheivosa el levavecha ki Hashem

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Rav Yisrael Salanter would tell his student to imagine a huge courtyard filled with poppy seeds. Once a million

years a bird comes and takes a single seed. If you can imagine how long it would take for the entire courtyard to be

emptied you still have not begun to imagine the years of eternity, the Ain Sof relative to time. (Tenuas Hamussar,

Volume 1, page 241 footnote 21, Trails of Triumph page 377 records Rav Yosef Leib Nendyk of Kletzk Yeshiva

employing this illustration to great effect.)

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hu haElokim bashamayim mimaal vial haaraetz mitachas ain od,” (Devarim 4:39) “Know it

today and bring it to your heart that Hashem is the Lord in the heavens above and on the earth

below, there is no other!” If you internalize these meditations you will fulfill mitzvos in a whole

new way!

You have to be a person who is aware, you have to find the time to think about how great

in the real world is the realm of Heaven.

Do not only think about the nonsense of this world,

which is a joke. Think instead about all the angels! Chazal teach us that in gedud echad, a single

battalion, ribo rivavan mishmshasei, ten thousand ten thousands serve Him!

Ligedudav ain

mispar! And to his battalions there is no number! In other words, numbers cannot limit how

many gedudim there are. A number usually encompasses the entire set at once, such as a million

or a billion, is kollel all the many things in one phrase. But there are numbers that you cannot

use, there are matters that are not encompassed by a number, ain ligdudav mispar! This is all in

the realm of Yetzirahh!

And the worlds of Beriahh and Atzilus are much more! Think about all this and remember

what we say in our daily liturgy, this Almighty has loved us with a great love! “Ahava rabba

ahavtanu Hashem elokeinu,” “With an awesome love You have loved us Hashem our Lord.” He

gave us His Torah and when you do a mitzvah you are attached in an awesome yichud,

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Another meditation that can arouse such feelings would be to consider current atomic theory. If one would fill a

grapefruit with nitrogen atoms, and then inflate each atom to the size of a blueberry, the grapefruit would be the size

of the globe! Within the atom the nucleus is its tiny center. To see the nucleus of the atom, you would have to inflate

the blueberry to the size of a football stadium, and then the nucleus would only be the size of a small household

marble. The mass of the atom is overwhelmingly in its tiny nucleus. The rest of the atom is filled with huge regions

of empty space. The nucleus has enormous density. If you took pieces of cardboard, and made a box one foot long,

one foot wide, and one foot high, and then took all the nuclei in a car which weighs two tons, and stuffed them into

this box, you still would not have the correct density of a single nucleus. You would have to take the nuclei of 6.2

billion cars and stuff it into this box to get the density that exists in a single nucleus of a single atom! Hashem who

has compacted so much into such tiny spaces is the one we address directly when we pray!

See Talmud Tractate Chagiga 13b

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unification, with Ain Sof mamash, for hu uritzono echad, He and His will are one! This dveykus

will be revealed in the future when you will see how when you did mitzvos you were involved in

truly great matters: attachment with the infinite.

The Chovas Halevavos

pointed out that a person born and raised in a jail cell has no

idea of what the world is like! Due to katnos hamochin, limited intellectual capabilities, we live

in a jail and darkness and we do not know what is going on outside! We imagine that there is no

real freedom, we think the whole world is a jail for that is all we have experienced, but we

should not let it be so! Use your imagination to create a small sense of greatness and grand

measure and start to connect to these awesome levels. This is what the Tanya is encouraging

when he says yisbonein bidaato, man has to use his mind to arouse himself and begin to reach

the depths of understanding that his soul can reach. Use binah lihavin davar mitoch davar,

understanding to infer one matter from the other, and immerse yourself in thoughts of

elokus. This is the obligation of man, to be misbonen in gadlus, and make it part of the person

himself! Make it part of your atzmiyus, essence, and it will effect a transformation; it will sire

holy love and awe.

All ovdei Hashem, servants of G-d, in all generations were immersed in this to truly

acquire the real madreigah, stage, of dveykus haborei, attachment with the Infinite. They were

always thinking how they could truly connect to dveykus with Hashem. The Besht

taught that

this was the purpose of all chassidus: to acquire true dveykus haborei, attachment to the Creator.

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A classic work of Jewish ethics written by Rabbeinu Bachya at the end of the eleventh century.

Rav Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, 1680-1760, the founder of the Chassidic movement.

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It is true that we live today in a low generation, so now is a time for chizuk, stepping up

with strength. In Ethics of the Fathers we are taught “Bimakom sheiain ish hishtadel lihiyos ish,”

“Where there are no men try to be a man!” (Avos 2:6) And the main thing is to make this your

life. Take this seriously and open the gates for dveykus haboreih and true spirituality. The key is

to realize: “I am alive for this.” As Messilas Yesharim

writes, “Ma hi chovaso she adam

biolamo,” “Know what is your purpose, why you are living and what you are living for.” In this

way you will come to the level of lidavkah bo, you will realize: “I was created to reach this level:

dveykus baborei.”

The Pleasure Of Dveykus

When you reach this level you taste eternity here on earth! The taste of eternity is so

pleasurable! Once you grasp it you know, “This is why I live on earth!”

Life is filled with pain and difficulty - the pain of death for example is the worst

imaginable pain that man knows - and sometimes a person thinks, “Why was I created? What

does Hashem want from my existence?” We need to remember: ki tov Hashem! All He has made

is for the good, so why is there the pain of death? The key here is that “taamu ureu ki tov

Hashem,” “Taste and you will see Hashem is good!” When you taste eternity all questions are

answered.

The answer is King David’s words: “Mi haish hachafetz chayim,” “Who wants to taste

eternal life?” Who is oheiv yamim liros tov, loves days to see good? Every day has a hidden

goodness.

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Messilas Yesharim, Path of the Just, was written by Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzato (1707-1746). It is a work of ethics

and philosophy. It is literally a Code of Jewish Law for how to serve Hashem with love, fear, and attachment.

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As the Zohar explains, man is looking for this tov and the pasuk gives us ways to break

the barriers to get to the real tov, the tov haganuz, the hidden good: Netzor lishoncha mera,

Guard your tongue from evil, usfasecha midabeir mirma, and your lips from uttering falsehood,

sur mera, leave evil, vi'aseh tov, and do good, bakesh shalom, seek peace, viradfeihu, and pursue

it. Through mitzvos you will taste a taste of eternal life! This is such a great tov that it answers all

questions. Once you have tasted this good, the questions will no longer bother you!

Our sages say about Acher

that it would be worthwhile for him to have the pain of

gehenom so that he could enter olam haba, the World to Come. Even though gehenom is a great

pain, all the pain of Iyov is less than the pain of gehenom, yet the determination was that it is

better to have some gehenom in order to get the tov of olam haba. You can taste this taste of

olam haba in this world! If you want to taste the taste of olam haba, make seeking Hashem your

life!

Especially as a young man consider your purpose in living! A young bochur works on his

roots. Afterwards you can return to these roots, but now is the time to work on your roots, these

years fashion the shorashisdike chelkei hanefesh, the foundational parts of your soul. If you wait

until later – imagine perhaps until after twenty years old - to start working on your roots, it will

be very hard! You will need to go back and uproot the roots you have created in order to put

other roots there.

If you try to make thinking about Hashem and dveykus in Hashem a true part of your

essence now you can taste olam haba in this world! That taste of life is the answer to all

questions! It resolves all challenges! It makes everything worthwhile! Learn Torah and do

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Acher literally means the other, this was the name given to the apostate second century sage, Elisha Ben Avuya,

after he became a heretic and ceased to observe the Torah's laws.

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mitzvos in such a way that it becomes your core! Learn stories about tzadikim and tell yourself,

“This is me, I will become such a tzadik, I will reach that level.”

Keep Growing Closer to Hashem

Know that tzadikim were also bochurim. They also had yetzer haras. When they were younger

they were mamash nichshal, they truly fell.

A human is a human.

But they did not give up. They kept striving and growing. We do not talk of these failures

because of their honor, but they were nichshal when they were younger and their yetzer hara

conquered them. They may have wasted time in Yeshiva. They spoke devarim beteilim, empty

words, and politics, yet they did not give up. They kept striving and growing until they reached

very high levels and they became tzadikim of whom we all speak.

Rav Yitzchok Hutner (1906-1980) wrote a letter to a student encouraging him despite religious

failures. (Pachad Yitzchok, Igros Ukessavim page 217)

“Rosh Chodesh Iyar 5723

My Dear Beloved,

Peace and Blessings!

I received your letter. Your words touched my heart. Know my dearest that the very existence of

your letter rejects all the descriptions that are found in it. Let me explain this sentence. There is a

terrible illness of ours that when we deal with the aspects of perfection of our giants, we deal

with the final conclusion of their greatness. We talk of their greatness while we skip over the

inner struggle that was waged in their souls! The impression one receives from our talks is that

the giants emerged from their Maker’s hand in all their glorious greatness. All speak and are

amazed about the Chafetz Chaim’s purity of speech, but who knows about all the wars, the

struggles, the failures, and the retreats the Chafetz Chaim had in his war with his evil urge!?

This is merely one of a thousand examples. A wise one like yourself can derive from the detail a

general truth about many. The result of this is that when a young man with spirit, aspirations,

and a stormy nature finds himself stumbling, failing, and falling he considers himself one who is

not “Firmly planted in the house of G-d.” For according to the fantasies of this young man to be

“Firmly planted in the house of G-d” means he sits in tranquility on lush pastures, along

pleasant streams, and he enjoys his urge for holiness, like the tzadikim enjoying the glows of the

shechinah with crowns atop their heads in the parties of Gan Eden. On the other hand, not to be

afflicted with the storms of the yetzer hara, as in the verse, “the dead are free.” (Psalms 88:6)

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Know this well my dearest, the root of your soul is not the tranquility of the goodness, rather the

war of the urge for good! Your precious, heartfelt letter testifies like a hundred witnesses that you

are a loyal warrior in the armies of the yetzer tov. In English they say, “Lose a battle and win the

war.” Certainly you are failing and you will fail yet again (this is not a wish for your

misfortune). In many future battles you will fall wounded and defeated. But I promise you that

after losing battles you will leave the war with the crown of victory on your head and the

defeated game between your teeth. Lose battles, but win wars. The wisest of all men said, ‘Sheva

yipol tzadik vikam,’ ‘The tzadik will fall seven times and rise.’ The fools think he meant to say,

even though this tzadik fell seven times nevertheless he got up. But the wise ones know well that

the nature of a tzadik’s rise is only through his seven falls! And He saw all that He had made and

behold it was very good, (Bereishis 1:31) good would refer to the yetzer hatov, very good to the

yetzer hara. (Midrash Rabba Chapter 9)

My beloved, I am holding you tightly against my chest, and I am whispering in your ear, ‘Had

your letter told me about the mitzvos and good deeds of yours I would say, “I received a good

letter.” Now that your letter tells about collapses, failures, and obstacles, I say, “I received a

very good letter.”’ Your spirit is storming upward seeking to become a gadol, a giant. Please do

not picture to yourself the giants as individuals who are united with their urge for good. On the

contrary, picture the greatness of the giants of the world with letters of an awesome battle with

all the lowly urges. When you feel in yourself a storm from the yetzer hara, know that you are

resembling the giants then more than when you are in a state of tranquility that you so desire. It

is from the places where you find yourself falling the most, it is in those places where you will

become an exceptional vessel for Hashem’s honor!”

The Komarna Rebbe in his work Megillas Setarim revealed some of the struggles he contended

with:

“When I was twelve years old ... My father went to his eternal reward, on the twenty first of Av,

in the year 5578 (1815)...

Then I was raised in the home of my holy uncle, the brother of my father, whose soul is in Eden.

There I studied Torah in great poverty and distress, all my joy was due to the great sweetness of

the awesome lessons that my holy uncle revealed. He revealed to me awesome matters...

After this, I had a short period when the forces of evil overcame me greatly. I did not watch the

gaze of my eyes. Before me there were two paths, one led to Eden and the other to Gehenom.

The good awakened, and I once entered the synagogue alone, and I shaid tears like a gushing

spring, before the Creator. I begged him to forgive me. I fainted. I then heard them declare the

verse, “And I will pay consolation to him!” (Yeshaya 57:18) From that day until today, twenty

five years, I have not gazed not have I even seen in a passing glance the form of a woman. The

heavens protect me, that it not even happen by mistake. And I returned to serving my Maker with

Torah study and prayer.”(Entries 19-20)

After he married he had a period of spiritual elevation and achievements. He then realized that

his spiritual achievements were not truly earned and he was still far from truly serving Hashem:

“I then separated myself from all material matters. It was in the year 5583 (1823), at the

beginning of the winter. I had a special room, it was extremely cold, it had not been warmed

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even once during all the days of winter. I was in the habit of sleeping only two hours out of every

twenty four. I would spend the rest of the time (in that room) immersed in studying Torah,

Talmud, Legal Writings, Zohar, the writings of the Ari, and the writings of Rav Moshe Cordevero.

“Then I fell from all of this. I was in a very limited state of mind for more than three months.

Many tough, and bad kellipos stood against me. They tried to entice me to leave my Torah study.

Worst of all they dropped a depression upon me. My heart became a rock. I did not enjoy

anything during those days. I only ate a little bit of bread and water each day, I had no pleasure

in the learning and praying that I was doing. The cold was very difficult, the kellipos became

very strong, I was literally caught with two paths before me. I was very embittered from all these

enticements. It was literally worse than a thousand deaths.

“After I overcame all these enticements, suddenly in the middle of the day, when learning

tractate Yevamos for the sake of the Almighty above, to adorn the Shechinah with all my strength,

a great light fell upon me. The whole house was filled with an awesome light, the glow of the

Shechinah! This was the first time, that I truly tasted a bit of His light. This time there was

nothing mixed in to the light, there were no deceptions, it was a wonderful delight, a very, very

sweet experience, the imagination cannot begin to grasp it. From then and on, I entered into

Divine service with a great light, without seeking any heights, and I no longer had those

enticements for evil, as I formerly had.

“Then I fell again for a time. I realized I need to travel to tzadikim so they would draw on me

some of the light of the Almighty, for I had a very refined vessel. I traveled to Mezhibuzh to our

holy master and teacher, the Godly man, Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel...”

(Entries 21-26)

I heard from the Amshinover Rebbe that one of the tzadikim, a student of the Rebbe Reb Bunim,

once had mamash, literally, a terrible nefila, fall, he committed a real sin. As a result he could not

keep up with the chevreya, the holy students, and it was Shavuos. All the tzadikim were

preparing for Shavuos and he could not reach their level. That group contained the Chidushei

Harim, Reb Yitzchok Vorke and others, and they were reaching great mochin, intellectual lights!

When they were talking about the Sinai revelation, he could not stand there, for he was not on

the level of their words!

He went to the Rebbe Reb Bunim with a complaint that the friends were pushing him

away. It was not true. They were not distancing him, he just was not at their level. The Rebbe

Reb Bunim said nothing. On the eve of Yom Kippur, the Rebbe Reb Bunim came to his student

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and said, “I am not worth anything and you are not worth anything, let us now do teshuva

together to enter into the holiest day.” He did teshuva. He became mamash one of the greatest

disciples of the Rebbe Reb Bunim, one of the great tzadikim. The Amshinover Rebbe told us this

story but he would not relate who it was because this is the story of one of the great tzadikim.

You must remember that tzadikim had real nefilos, real downfalls, yet they kept

struggling and they overcame eventually. You see this in the Torah itself. You see it throughout

Tanach. Know that Hashem accepts teshuva and that one can become a great tzadik. The main

thing is that you have to make this your real ratzon, will, your ikar, essence, has to be to truly

attach to Hashem, that you want to become a person of “Naase adam neemar baavurecha,” “Let

us make man was said for your sake!” Wish to be a true oveid Hashem, servant of G-d. Always

desire to be davuk in Hashem!

There can be different levels based on different roots of neshamos, but the nekuda,

essential point, must be the same: to truly fulfill ratzon Hashem so that one is davuk in Him!

We Can Get Close To Hashem

In this week’s Torah portion it says, “Viyikchu li terumah,” “And they should take for Me a

donation.” Moshe says that afilu echad mehem yechol laasoso, even one of them can make the

sanctuary. Even though the Heavens cannot contain Hashem, a single Jew can make a residence

to Hashem as long as yidvenu libo, he is sincerely generous. If he is willing to give away all for

avdus Hashem, Divine service, he can make for Him an abode!

Your thoughts should only be about avodas Hashem! When you go to sleep, when you

wake up, even when you walk in the street, you can serve Hashem! Think about learning or think

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about gadlus haboreih, think about Hashem constantly! Do not live an empty life, be an oveid

Hashem! If you are a person who is yidvenu libo, if you are someone who donates his heart,

someone who is truly seeking Hashem, then you can merit to become heichal Hashem heichal

Hashem heima, the palace of Hashem, the palace of Hashem is who they are! (Yirmiyahu 7:14)

You can become a personal sanctuary for Hashem’s presence!

The deeper understanding of Torah provides a new definition for sacrifice. Sometimes we

view our obligations to sacrifice our physical comforts to fulfill Divine law as demands of a strict

and unyielding law. Lesson ten opens a new perspective to messirus nefesh, self sacrifice.

Judaism always advocates life and pleasure. It reveals that true life is attachment with Hashem,

sometimes physical life conflicts with true life. Our faith demands that we trade up, and replace

our physical sensations of life, with truer and stronger life, attachment with Hashem!

Lesson Ten: Chochmah Is Life At Its Essence

Daas Is A Connection To Life

עקתיו דואמ קזחו ץימא רשקב ותעד רשקמש תורבחתהו תורשקתה ןושל אוהו הוח תא עדי םדאהו ןושלמ אוה תעדהו

רשקי אל םא הנה ה"ב ס"א תלודגב ןובנו םכח אוהש ימ ףא יכ ותעד חיסמ וניאו ה"ב ףוס ןיא תלודגב קזוחב ותבשחמ

אוה תעדה ןכ לעו אוש תונוימד םא יכ תיתימא הבהאו הארי ושפנב דילוי אל הדמתהבו קזוחב ותבשחמ עקתיו ותעד

היפנעו האריו היפנעו הבהא 'יפ הרובגו דסח ללוכ אוהו ןתויחו תודמה םויק

Daas, the etymology of which is to be found in the verse: “And Adam knew [yada] Eve,” implies

attachment and union. That is, one binds his mind with a very firm and strong bond to, and

firmly fixes his thought on, the greatness of the blessed Ain Sof, without diverting his mind from

Him. For even one who is wise and understanding of the greatness of the blessed Ain Sof, will

not— unless he binds his knowledge and fixes his thought with firmness and perseverance—

produce in his soul true love and fear, but only vain fancies. Therefore daas is the basis of the

middos and the source of their vitality; it contains chesed and gevurah, that is to say, love with

its offshoots and fear with its offshoots.

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The Tanya is speaking here about the matter of daas.

We have explained previously that daas is the ability to know what is truly relevant, what

is nogea. To be able to evaluate the things one knows, measure relevance, and thereby realize

whether they should be internalized. Daas is the connection between mochin, intellects, and

middos, behaviors and emotions. It gives birth to ahavas Hashem, love of G-d, and yiras

shmayim, fear of heaven. Daas means connection and daas connects the intellects with the

middos.

Daas is very important within man. You should know the primary nature of a man is

daas. “Daas kanisa mah chasarta, daas chasarta ma kanisa,” (Midrash Rabba, Koheles parsha

Seven) “If you have acquired daas, what are you missing? If you are missing daas, what have

you acquired?” Daas is essential: in halacha as well one needs daas to acquire something and to

be obligated in mitzvos.

Generally we talk of Chochmah, binah, and daas and we usually consider daas a middah

like any other middah. Chochmah is a middah, binah is a midda, and daas is a middah. In truth,

however daas is different.

Chochmah is a moach, it is a high level of mochin. It is comprised of the letters of koach

mah. It is knowledge of the etzem mahus. When a man realizes the essence of a matter, when he

has knowledge of the very mahus, the very root of something, this is Chochmah. After

Chochmah, binah appears as the facts that emerge through analysis out of the Chochmah. Root

knowledge is Chochmah.

Later the Tanya will teach that when the Chochmah of the nefesh Elokis is revealed then

even the kal shebekalim, the man who takes religion very lightly, is ready for great sacrifices for

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Hashem. Chochmah will annul his ruach shtus, his temporary insanity, and he will be willing to

be moser nefesh, to give his life up for the sake of observance and mitzvos.

What is the reason for this? The reason is that Chochmah tichayeh baaleha, wisdom will

give life to its possessors, Chochmah is the essential life of a thing, the chiyus of a matter is the

Chochmah. Chochmah is koach mah, it is knowledge of the matter as a metziyus. Chochmah

touches the etzem, the essential life! Chochmah elyonah made the etzem of the matter. When the

Chochmah of man is revealed he sees the real chiyus of his life! His mahus and atzmius emerge!

Generally people do not feel their real life. The neshama is hidden in the guf, body, and in its

kochos, abilities. The soul is obscured and covered by the body and its forces. There is a life of

the body. There is chiyus haguf. But the guf is the olam hagashmi, the physical realm, it is

merely nitzotzos, sparks, of Chochmah. A heavenly chochmah which fell into a physical state

and now gives life to the physical world.

Chochmah chitzonis, external science, seems to be the life of the world because the

material it is concerned with devolved from the Supernal Wisdom. Man is frequently fooled as to

what is his real life and what is life. Man is waylaid by physical vitality. When the chochmah

from the nefesh Elokis is revealed man now realizes where his life comes from and what is true

life! In a hassaga higher than understanding man experiences his real life and chiyus. It is higher

than binah and that is why it cannot be explained!

The truth is that man has no choice in questions of life or death. No one wants death.

Man does not desire death. Man’s choice is to determine for himself what life is. He has the

choice of actualizing real life or leaving it hidden. Once he has revealed to himself what life is

then it is clear to him to be mosser nefesh, sacrifice, for Hashem.

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There are many stories that illustrate this truth:

Rabbi Yosef Wallis, director of Arachim of Israel, told Project Witness about his father, Judah

Wallis, who was born and raised in Pavenitz, Poland, and how he met his mother:

“While he was in Dachau, a Jew who was being taken to his death suddenly flung a small bag at

my father, Judah Wallis. He caught it, thinking it might contain a piece of bread. Upon opening

it, however, he was disturbed to discover a pair of tefillin. Judah was very frightened because he

knew that were he to be caught carrying tefillin, he would be put to death instantly. So he hid the

tefillin under his shirt and headed for his bunkhouse.

“In the morning, just before the appel [roll call], while still in his bunkhouse, he put on the

tefillin. Unexpectedly, a German officer appeared. He ordered him to remove the tefillin, noted

the number on Judah’s arm, and ordered him to go straight to the appel.

“At the appel, in front of thousands of silent Jews, the officer called out Judah’s number and he

had no choice but to step forward. The German officer waved the tefillin in the air and said,

‘Dog! I sentence you to death by public hanging for wearing these.’

“Judah was placed on a stool and a noose was placed around his neck. Before he was hanged,

the officer said in a mocking tone, ‘Dog, what is your last wish?’

“’To wear my tefillin one last time,’ Judah replied.

“The officer was dumbfounded. He handed Judah the tefillin. As Judah put them on, he recited

the verse that is said while the tefillin are being wound around the fingers: ‘Ve’eirastich li

le’olam, ve’eirastich li b’tzedek uvemishpat, ub’chesed, uv’rachamim, ve’eirastich li b’emunah,

v’yodaat es Hashem—I will betroth you to me forever and I will betroth you to me with

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righteousness and with justice and with kindness and with mercy and I will betroth you to me

with fidelity, and you shall know Hashem.’

“It is hard for us to picture this Jew with a noose around his neck, wearing tefillin on his head

and arm — but that was the scene that the entire camp was forced to watch, as they awaited the

impending hanging of the Jew who had dared to break the rule against wearing tefillin. Even

women from the adjoining camp were lined up at the barbed wire fence that separated them from

the men’s camp, forced to watch this horrible sight.

“As Judah turned to watch the silent crowd, he saw tears in many people’s eyes. Even at that

moment, as he was about to be hanged, he was shocked. Jews were crying! How was it possible

that they still had tears left to shaid? And for a stranger? Where were those tears coming from?

Impulsively, in Yiddish, he called out, ‘Yidden, don’t cry. With tefillin on, I am the victor. Don’t

you understand, I am the winner!’

“The German officer understood the Yiddish and was infuriated. He said to Judah, ‘You dog, you

think you are the winner? Hanging is too good for you. You are going to get another kind of

death.’

“Judah, my father, was taken from the stool and the noose was removed from his neck. He was

forced into a squatting position and two huge rocks were placed under his arms. Then he was

told that he would be receiving 25 lashes to his head — the head on which he had dared to

position his tefillin. The officer told him that if he dropped even one of the rocks, he would be

shot immediately. In fact, because this was such an extremely painful form of death, the officer

advised him, ‘Drop the rocks now. You will never survive the 25 lashes to the head. Nobody ever

does.’

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“Judah’s response was, ‘No, I won’t give you the pleasure.’

“At the 25th lash, Judah lost consciousness and was left for dead. He was about to be dragged to

a pile of corpses, after which he would have been burned in a ditch, when another Jew saw him,

shoved him to the side, and covered his head with a rag, so people didn’t realize he was alive.

Eventually, after he recovered consciousness fully, he crawled to the nearest bunkhouse that was

on raised piles, and hid under it until he was strong enough to come out under his own power.

Two months later he was liberated.

“During the hanging and beating episode, a 17-year-old girl had been watching the events from

the women’s side of the fence. After liberation, she made her way to the men’s camp and found

Judah. She walked over to him and said, ‘I’ve lost everyone. I don’t want to be alone any more. I

saw what you did that day when the officer wanted to hang you. Will you marry me?’

“The rest is history. Rabbi Yosef Wallis’ parents (for this couple became his parents) walked over

to the Klausenberger Rebbe and requested that he perform the marriage ceremony. The

Klausenberger Rebbe, whose kiddush Hashem is legendary, wrote out a kesubah by hand from

memory and married the couple. Rabbi Wallis has that handwritten kesubah in his possession to

this day.”

When a person is immersed in this world and he thinks that it is all of life he may be

drawn to physical matters. These are the dimyonos, fantasies, of the olam hagashmi, but once he

clarifies to himself what his life is, when the Chochmah of the nefesh Elokis is revealed, he

appreciates that his life is really attachment to G-d! At this point he is willing to give up

everything for G-d because he feels that G-d is life.

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Aveilus Is Only From The Point Of View Of The Body

Man is told to remember the day of death. Why do we need a reminder? Because our nature leads

us to avoid death and stop thinking about death, for we deeply desire life. The greatest desire is

the desire to live. For man to exist he must live. Man is a metzius, reality, who lives. Life is

essential to the definition of man, so he does not like death or wish to think about death. Man

always tries to forget death. In our literature death is connected to forgetting. “Gezeirah al

hameis shetishtakach min haleiv!” “There is a decree that the dead will be forgotten from the

heart!” (Pesachim 54b)

Death is deeply connected with forgetting. Life equals chochmah. When man dies the

part of chochmah that gives life to the body leaves. Without wisdom there is no memory!

Therefore, gezeira al hameis shetishtakach min haleiv!

Even when man is alive the dead part in him leads him to forget. When man ate from the

tree of knowledge he caused zahamas hanachash, the filth of the serpent, to enter him. The snake

is associated with dust. G-d told the snake, “Viafar tochal kol yemei chayecha,” (Bereishis 3:14)

“And you shall eat dust all the days of your life!” When man dies his body literally becomes

dust, for his snake part returns to dust, its element. Because of man’s sin, G-d decreed, “Afar ata

vel afar tashuv,” “You are dust and to dust you shall return.”(Bereishis 3:19)

There is a luz bone in man that is eternally vibrant and does not decompose. This bone is

the kusta dichiyusa, the meager measure of life, that remains even after death. This meager

amount of life will be used to bring the person back to life in the future. Most of man however

decomposes. At the moment of death most of the sparks of chochmah leave the body. Once life

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has left, the body reverts to its snake-like quality, it merges into the realm of death, and

decomposes. The dead part in man, the body of man, is associated with forgetting.

You can remember that which is connected to your very life. If something has little life in it, then

you forget it. The body that is dead has limited life, as a result it is forgotten, it slips from the

mind.

The Talmud teaches that olive oil is a segula, it miraculously helps, for memory. Oil is

light, it brings light to the world. It is a symbol of chochmah. That is why it helps memory, for

memory is linked to Chochmah and life.

The guf, body, is innately in a place of missa, death, and therefore gezeira al hameis

shetishtakach min halev, there is a decree about the dead that they will be forgotten from the

heart.

When a person passes from this world one mourns. He may have been a friend, one he

had a physical connection to, and the physical connection misses his presence. My body still has

a soul, and his soul is not in a body, hence our bond is broken and we mourn for a time.

However, after twelve months we stop mourning, for after these months have passed so

too has our physical connection to our friend’s body passed. Gezeirah al hameis shetishtakach

min haleiv!

But from the perspective of the soul, from the soul-connection, the pnimiusdike kesher,

there is no mourning at all! That soul bond was never severed! The soul relationship was never

lost. Spiritual connection allows for no mourning! Of this spiritual bond there was no gezeirah

shetishtakach min haleiv! For this slipping from the mind is a further element of the death of a

person. But it only applies in the physical realm. In the spiritual realm there is no such thing as

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forgetting or loss. The extent of aveilus, mourning, is a function of the nature of the bond

between us: whether it was a physical bond or a bond of souls, a link of neshamos.

The Soul Of Torah And The Body Of Torah

Reb Tzadok

uses this principle to explain the difference between the seventh of Adar and Lag

Baomer.

Lag Baomer, the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai,

is a Yom Tov, a holiday. The

Ari relates how one of his students said nachem, the mournful prayer of the ninth of Av, on Lag

Baomer and the Ari told him that Rashbi (the acronym for Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai) was upset

because it is a hillula, a chasunah, a wedding, and one should not say nachem on his day of joy.

Rashbi says that his yahrtzeit is “yom simchasi,” my day of joy! Yet the seventh of Adar, the day

Moshe Rabbenu died, is a fast day. Why the difference?

Rashbi was nishmasa dioraisa, the soul of Torah. His wisdom was a wisdom of soul.

Moshe Rabbeinu, in contrast, revealed to us the gufa dioraisa, the body of Torah. In Moshe’s

revelation we have halacha, the simple meaning of text and the Torah for the body. To the

entirety of the Jewish people Moshe revealed the nigleh, revealed part, of Torah. The revealed

Torah entered Moshe’s body so on the day that Moshe’s soul left his body we mourn.

Rashbi though is only the neshama of Torah. From the neshama perspective there is no

such thing as aveilus! Our connection to him was only on the level of soul. The soul is not

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Rav Tzadok HaKohen Rabinowitz of Lublin 1823-1900 was a brilliant Torah scholar and master teacher of

Jewish thought. Unfortunately we lost many of his writings in the Lublin ghetto during the holocaust.

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was a second century sage and student of the great teacher Rabbi Akiva. He was the

author of the book of Zohar, the primary text of Jewish mystical thought.

The Way to the Tree of Life

affected by death; on the contrary, the day the body dies, the soul is freed and rises higher.

Rashbi’s day has no aveilus. It is a day of joy.

The bottom line is that chochmah is the secret of life. It is the eitz hachaim, the tree of

life, the existence and deepest life of the person.

Ultimately at techiyas hameisim, the revival of the dead, the Chochmah tichayeh baaleha

will be true on the level of body as well as soul. The body will be purified and we will see the

chochmah elyonah that is in the body as well. At techiyas hameisim, both body and soul will be

alive and eternal, for the Chochmah in the body will be revealed, it will unite with the soul and

both will be eternal. This requires a longer explanation for another time. In short: the Chochmah

in the guf will be revealed and it will unite fully with the Chochmah that is in the neshama.

Purim Is A Time Of Life!

Shabbes zachor, the Shabbes of remembering the war with Amalek, has a profound message. It is

the time to nullify the places of death and forgetting! Man wants to forget the day of death

because the soul does not want to go to the places of no life! The soul wants life!

On a deeper level, to remember the day of death is also to be aware that we need not fear

death! Death will only affect the external, the body, but the soul will continue in a place of true

life! And even more the body will have a little life left in it so eventually it can rise to techiyas

hameisim. Death is necessary to be mevarrer, to purify, the zahamas hanachash, the filth of the

serpent, so that a new body will be able to arise, the body of techiyas hameisim. The yom hamisa,

day of death, is a preparation for techiyas hameisim. It is really a day of joy!

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Techiyas hameisim is the greatest joy in the world, the day when the Chochmah elyonah

hamechaya es haguf will be revealed. “Umacha Hashem dimah meal kol panim,” “And Hashem

will erase tears from all faces,” (Yeshayahu 25:8) at the time of techiyas hameisim!

“Umechabeish liatzvosam,” “He who heals their depressions,” (Tehillim 147:3) the Zohar says

refers to techiyas hameisim. All sadness is histalkus hachiyus, a loss of vitality, a mini-form of

death. Yisurim, suffering, is also histalkus hachiyus. It is a bit of death. Umechabesh liatzvosam,

Hashem heals all death and sadness. He is mechaye meisim.

In fact we find that in the Torah (Bereishis 25:11) after we are told of the passing of

Avraham the verse states that Hashem blessed Yitzchok. Rashi explains the blessing in two ways:

that Hashem consoled Yitzchok and that he blessed Yitzchok since Avraham had not, fearing that

to do so would mean He would also bless Esav.

What is the meaning of these two explanations? Both are really parts of a single whole.

We must ask, if Avraham did not want to bless him because Esav would be blessed also, why did

Hashem bless him? In depth the blessing of Hashem on the day that Avraham left us is a spirit of

consolation for the bereaved. Hashem gave Yitzchok a hassaga of techiyas hameisim. The only

nechama from the pain of death is a taste of techiyas hameisim, an illumination from the future.

For that is all that can console, nothing else can provide comfort. On this day Hashem blessed

Yitzchok with a taste of techiyas hameisim, and on the same day Esav went and denied techiyas

hameisim. He said, “Hinei anochi holeich lamus,” “Behold I am going to die.” (Bereishis 25:32)

Our sages explain that he was denying the concept of eternal life, techiyas hameisim.

Esav was a material person, the shav shebarasi biolami, the waste I have created in my

world. He was filled with the filth of the serpent. He had no faith in techiyas hameisim. Esav was

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a very gashmi being. He denied that there is a ruchniyisdike realm! The Zohar says that we are in

galus until the tears of Esav are exhausted, for the tears of Esav are the tears about matters of this

world. To cry about olam hazeh matters is to cry the tears of Esav.

The truth is there should be no aveilus for we should not cry about a material loss. The

Torah permitted the practices of mourning like a sair lazazel, a concession to the evil realm, but

in essence there should be no mourning. Hashem blessed Yitzchok with birchas aveilim. He gave

Yitzchok a little bit of techiyas hameisim and once this level was revealed Esav disconnected for

Esav has no connection to techiyas hameisim, he has no attachment to kedusha. Now Esav will

not draw from the blessings of kedusha for he is in another place.

Thus the two explanations of Rashi complement each other. Avraham would not bless

Yitzchok for he feared that Esav would be yoneik, derive nourishment, from these brachos.

Hashem blessed Yitzchok with consolation, a bit of techiyas hameisim. Esav then denied techiyas

hameisim, and this is why Hashem could bless him now and earlier Avraham would not bless

him. As long as Esav was still connected Avraham did not want to bless him for he did not want

to give him something he could be yonek from. However with the atmosphere of techiyas

hameisim Esav disengaged from our community. Thus Hashem could give this blessing to

Yitzchok.

Parshas Zachor is the parsha when we should remember that which should be

remembered and therefore we should not fear yom hamisa. Why do we avoid the day of death?

Because we think it is a time of loss! We are focused on the material! From the spiritual

perspective we need not fear death!

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Amalek And Esav

Amalek is the primary inheritor of Esav. He too denies techiyas hameisim, and since he denies it,

he will also have no techiyas hameisim. He is the opposite of life,we are enjoined, timche es

zecher Amalek, eradicate every vestige of Amalek, (Devarim 25:19) there is no memory left, no

zechira left, there is no kista dichiyusa, remnant of life, left from him. He is the shav shebarasi

biolami! He is to be completely wiped out, and since he is death, he has no life at all. He has no

connection to truth. Amalek hides life, he denies chayim, life, for he denies the chayim

nitzchiyim, eternal and real life.

Yaakov is truth and Yaakov aveinu lo meis, our father Yaakov never died. Yaakov is the

opposite of death. Esav is shav shebarasi biolami, while titen emmes liyaakov, truth is given to

Yaakov. Yaakov is emmes and Yaakov avinu lo meis.

On Purim we feel that the body and the soul connect to eternity. Purim is when the point

of Chochmah that is in the body is revealed again and we are reminded that we will stand again

for techiyas hameisim. The Chochmah shebanefesh is revealed!

Chanukah is for the soul, but Purim is a yom tov for the bodies!

Purim and Mattan Torah

At mattan Torah, the giving of the Torah, “Kafah aleihem hahar kigigis,” “He held the mountain

over them like a barrel.” “Hadar kibluha biyemei achashveirosh,” “They later accepted the Torah

willingly during the days of Achashveirosh.” (Shabbes 88a) At Sinai there was such a great

revelation of soul that we had no choice. The body was conquered by the great light of

Chochmah elyonah that appeared at mattan Torah. We felt the Chochmah of Torah, we felt that

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real life is Torah. We experienced a willingness to give up everything, to be mosser nefesh, for

the sake of Torah. The body was battel, annulled, at mattan Torah. It realized that relative to the

life of the neshama it is nothing.

This is the parcha nishmasan, their souls flew out of them, of mattan Torah. Kafah

aleihem har kigigis, the body realized that its life is nothing relative to the chius of neshama. But

if the guf is not battel then it is different. On Purim the body is not battel, and even then the guf

was willing to be mosser nefesh! The Chochmah in the body was revealed! The body too felt that

its life required dedication against an aveirah. This is the greatness of Purim! This is the depth of

ad dlo yada, one must drink wine on Purim until he does not know the difference between

Mordechai and Haman. A person who is drunk tefillaso toeva, his prayer is an abomination, for

he has lost his daas and he is all body.

But on Purim one must drink ad dlo yada, one must lose his daas and be left only with

the body. Then the body as body will accept the Torah! For the etzem life of the body will be

revealed! The saying arrur Haman, cursed is Haman, is about the body. It is the body that is

cursed, but ad dlo yada bein arrur Haman libaruch Mordechai, means that the body itself will be

on the level of boruch Mordechai, blessed is Mordechai. The body itself will be mosser nefesh to

Hashem! This greatness of Purim is this revelation of Chochmah within the guf.

Our sages teach that of Purim it was said, “Vizichram lo yasuf mizaram,” (Esther 9:28)

“Memory of the days will never leave their children,” to mean that even when all the other

festivals will be annulled, we will still celebrate Purim. The explanation is that the laws of

mixtures teach that a true min bimino, something with another of its kind, is really not battel, lose

its identity. This is why a davar sheyeish lo matirin, something that can become permitted, is not

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battel when it falls into a mixture. For when two things are of the same type they are the same

thing, and you cannot have any loss of identity.

The Taz,

explains that when a small measure of prohibited milk falls into large amounts

of permitted milk there can be a loss of identity even though it seemingly is a mixture of min

bimino, an item with its own type, because the fact that one is prohibited and one is permitted

makes them two types, but in a davar sheyeish lo matirin, a prohibited item that can be

permitted, that is min bimino, it is a true min bimino and therefore it is not battel. There cannot

be battel when there are two parts of one thing for it is one thing.

The Ramban explains the verse “Vlo yomru od chai Hashem asher heela es bnei yisrael

meieretz mitzrayim kee eem chai Hashem asher heelah vasher heivee es zera Beis Yisrael

Meieretz tzafona umikol haaratzos asher hidachtim sham...,” “They will no longer say, ‘Live G-d

who has raised Israel from Egypt,’ rather, ‘Live G-d who has elevated Israel from Babylon and

the northern countries” (Yirmiyahu 23:7-8) to refer also to the exit from Babylon and the

construction of the second Temple. Now, the simple pshat of this pasuk is that it is referring to

the days of mashiach. (See the Talmud in Berachos about this pasuk that explains it in this way.)

But nevertheless the Ramban says in Parshas Bo when he talks of the names of the months that

we brought from Babylon that it refers to the second temple as well. He explains there that

initially the names of the months were linked to Nissan. When we left Egypt and in the Torah

and the Prophets the names of the months were first, second, third, etc. from Nissan. So why did

we change the name of the second month to Iyar and the first to Nissan and other names from

Babylon? The Ramban answers that it is the fulfillment of this pasuk: vlo yomro od etc.

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Rav David Halevi Segal (1586-1667) was a great master of Jewish law. He wrote a commentary to the Code of

Jewish Law called Turei Zahav, known as Taz.

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Now this is a difficulty. Ramban said that according to the Talmud this pasuk was talking

about the future redemption? How could it also refer to the second Temple if it is about the third?

Apparently, according to the Ramban, geulas bavel, the redemption from the Babylonian exile,

which is the miracle of Purim, is a bit of yemos hamashiach, the days of the messiah!

Mashiach is the preparation for techiyas hameisim. His path is to bring holiness into the

body! Yemos hamashiach means to bring the shechinah, the Divine presence, into the matzav,

situation, of this world. There is even an opinion of the Rambam that “Ain bain yemos

hamashiach lizman hazeh elah shiabud malchius,” “There will be no difference between the

Messianic era and our times other than subjugation of the empires.” Either way mashiach’s role

is to bring kedusha into the body, into this world!

Therefore Purim cannot be battel for it is min bimino with the future. On Purim we have a

taste and a feeling of the glow from the future, we feel the chai Hashem, we feel the life-feelings

of the body. Chai Hashem asher heela es yisrael mimitzrayim is a spiritual life: to enter the

desert and survive on manna. Yemos hamashiach is different. It is taste of the shechinah

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The prophet Zechariah was given messages about the second temple. In chapter four of his book, he was shown a

vision of a menorah of complete gold. He could not understand the meaning of the picture. Hashem then explained,

“Zeh dvar Hashem el Zerubavel leimor lo bichayil vlo bikoach ki eem biruchi amar Hashem Tzvakos” “This is the

message of Hashem to Zerubavel: not with soldiers nor with strength rather with My spirit says Hashem master of

the hosts.”(Zechariah 4:6) Rav Chaim Soloveichik o.b.m. explained the meaning of this chapter. Zechariah knew

that his vision would be about the second temple. However he could not understand the picture of a golden menorah.

In the times of the second temple the Jewish nation was poor. How could they afford a golden menorah? Hashem

answered that this was really a vision of the third temple. The gold would be appropriate for then. The second

temple was the foundation and beginning of the third temple. Rambam rules that while Israel was sanctified by

Joshua when he conquered the land, that sanctity was lost when the Babylonians defeated the Jewish kingdom.

However, the second Jewish commonwealth sanctified the land by means of settlement and that holiness was never

lost. Commentators wonder, but even the sanctity of settlement should have been lost once the Romans expelled the

Jews from the land and tore down our settlements. Explained Rav Chaim, the second commonwealth was rooted in

the presence of Hashem. It began with the construction of the second temple and the drawing down of the

Shechinah. Since the Shechinah never leaves, the sanctity on the land that was drawn from it, also never leaves.

Thus the second temple was the beginning of and the foundation for the ultimate redemption. This was all included

in Hashem’s words to the prophet, “Not with soldiers or strength,” the sanctification of Joshua based on soldiers will

not last, “Rather with My spirit,” the sanctification of the second commonwealth was based on Hashem’s spirit,

hence it lasts and serves as the beginning of the ultimate redemption.

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bitachtanim, the Divine presence down below! The life of Purim is the feelings of that future! To

feel the great life that is within the body! The body which is holy feels holiness. We taste on

Purim the taste of mashiach. Chayav enosh libsumei bipuriya ad dlo yada, one is obligated to get

intoxicated on Purim to the point of not being able to distinguish, so that yetzias mitzrayim’s taste

will not interfere with this taste of Purim.

It is said that Mordechai annulled Pesach the year of Purim because he was arousing the

idea of asher lo yomru chai Hashem asher heela es yisrael mimitzrayim. But he was instead

arousing a new gate and a new influence of holiness. This is a higher gate than yetzias mitzrayim.

Vayaavor Mordechai, he went to the future, he went to the future that will be opened in the future

times.

This is the Chochmah that is revealed on Purim: the holiness within the guf. The guf

becomes chayim nitzchi. We need not forget the matters of the body. Amalek and Esav are

forgotten. You, though are not. When Amalek is gone, then the Jewish guf is all filled with and

displaying Chochmah!

Chochmah And Daas

Let us return to our subject.

There are really four mochin in Chochmah. There is Chochmah of Chochmah, binah of

Chochmah, chassadim didaas of Chochmah and gevuros didaas of Chochmah. These are all

levels of Chochmah and they are all mochin. So it is with binah as well. There are four mochin

dibinah, chochmah dbina, bina dbina chassadim didaas dibina and gevuros didaas dbinah. In

kesser as well there are four mochin.

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In daas however there are not four mochin. For daas is not a moach. It is only a perat, a

detail in Chochmah and a perat in binah. Daas is the connection to the Chochmah and the binah.

Moshe Rabbeinu is called the daas of the Jewish people. Which daas, though, is he? The daas of

binah or the daas of Chochmah? Moshe gives us the Torah, he teaches us Torah. As Hashem

said, “zichru toras Moshe avdi,” “Remember the Torah of My servant Moshe.” He is the daas in

Chochmah. He is called yesod abba, and this refers to daas of Chochmah. This means (we have

already explained that Chochmah is life) that when it becomes clear to a person what is life, and

daas is a connection to make it part of the very essence of the man. Concepts become a part of a

person through connecting to them with daas. Moshe is the koach for the Chochmah to become

part of the person and have an impact on him.

The Unique Nature Of Purim

Mikrah megilah, reading the scroll of Esther, is the light of Mordechai, hearas Mordechai. Al

mikra megilla is called by the mekubalim haaras Mordechai and this is also called yesod abba,

the koach hadaas in Chochmah! This is also the daas of Chochmah!

It is called the light of Mordechai and not the light of Moshe for the following reason: the

revelation of Moshe comes through the learning of Torah. This is the normal order to get this

haara. Zichru toras Moshe avdi is the norm. When this light appears in a different way, in a

miraculous way, the mochin in other words did not appear through learning Torah, it is haaras

Mordechai.

In the days of Mordechai and Esther the Jews were on a very low level. Haman was

mikatreig, drawing attention to flaws, on earth and above in Heaven. He claimed that Israel was

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“Mefuzar umforad bichol haamim bichol medinos malchusecha,” (Esther 3:8) “Scattered and

dispersed among the nations in the states of your empire.” It was a time when Jews did not feel

the life, they did not feel the life in Holiness, they were exactly the opposite of the level of

Mordechai. We find that Mordechai risked his life in not bowing to Haman “Lo yichra vlo

yishtachave,” (Esther 3:2) “He would not kneel nor bow.” He was mosser nefesh even for a

matter that legally he did not have to be mosser nefesh, for the bowing was just a sign of honor to

the king, and the avdei hamelech, servants of the king, in the megilah refers to the ehrliche

yidden, sincere Jews, who were telling Mordecahi, “Madua ata over es mitzvas hamelech,”

“Why are you violating the command of the king?” You are violating the mitzvah of the king, of

Hashem, you are giving your life when you are not obligated to do so so! You are in essence

committing suicide! (One does not have a portion in olam haba if he commits suicide! The

ehrliche yidden were accusing Mordechai of making this mistake!)

We find in Tractate Avoda Zara (18a) that Rabbi Chanina Ben Teradyon taught Torah

even though it was punishable by death. Reb Yose Be Kisme was sick and deathly ill, and when

Rav Chanina Ben Teradyon came to visit him Reb Yose said to him, “How could you defy the

Romans?! Ee ata yodeia sheuma zu min hashamayim imlichuha, Don’t you know this nation has

been enthroned by the Almighty? Viani shamati alecha sheata makhil kehillos kehillos barabim?

And I hear about you that you are gathering masses and teaching them Torah!”

Reb Yose was worried for Rav Chanina. The Romans had prohibited the public

dissemination of Torah. He felt that Hashem had enabled the Romans their success and Rav

Chanina was therefore not halachically allowed to flout their laws and teach Torah, for they

would kill him.

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“Amar lo min hashamyim yirachamu,” Reb Chanina told him, “They will have

compassion from Heaven.”

“Amar lo ani omer licha devarim shel taam viata omer min hashamayim yirachamu,”

Reb Yose answered, “I am telling you thoughtful matters and you are saying, ‘They will have

compassion from Heaven?’ Chosheshani shema yikchu os’cha visefer Torah bichekcha viyaalo

o’scha biaish, I suspect they might take you with the Torah scroll in your lap and they will light

you and it on fire.”

Reb Chanina asked if he would merit olam haba if that were to happen and Reb Yose

answered “Klum maaseh bah liyadcha? How did you act in a questionable mitzvah situation?”

He answered that he once mistakenly mixed Purim funds (that he had planned to use for his own

meal) with the money for charity and after he realized the error he still gave all the money to the

poor and did not reimburse his losses from charitable funds. “If so,” Reb Yose told him, “you

will merit the world to come.”

This whole Talmud is difficult. Reb Chanina Ben Teradyon was a tzadik. Why would he

think that he would not merit olam haba?

The answer is that he thought that since he was not obligated to be mosser nefesh in

teaching Torah despite the Roman restriction against it that maybe he was committing suicide

and losing olam haba, as the Rambam in fact rules that a mosser nefesh when not obligated loses

his portion of eternal reward. But since he had had an illumination of Purim he could be mosser

nefesh, as Mordechai, who was mosser nefesh even though he was not obligated to, had been.

In other words, a tzadik connected to Purim earns the power to be mosser nefesh even when he is

not mandated to be mosser nefesh! When the generation has fallen and they do not feel life where

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they should feel life, they are not mosser nefesh the way they should be, then the tzadik of the

generation must engage in an awesome messirus nefesh, more than the normal. Mordechai, as we

saw in his own time and for his own low generation, lo yichra vlo yishtachave in order to bring

the ohr messirus nefesh, light of self sacrifice, to Klal Yisrael.

The remez of Reb Chanina was that for him all year he had a light from Mordechai and

he always had a sense of the special messirus nefesh of Purim, for he had in his money coins of

Purim.

In that generation the light was lost, people were not mosser nefesh. In the days of Purim

it was abnormal how the light of yesod abba appeared. Usually it appears in Torah, but in the

realm of Torah there is a limit as to when there should be messirus nefesh. Messirus nefesh is

limited in the halacha and in the toras Moshe avdi. But here where there was a messirus nefesh

that is not mandated by halacha this is the new life of Mordechai, this is the haara of messirus

nefesh even when the Torah does not mandate it, and this light reaches even the amei haaretz,

ignorant Jews. Even the very lowly have a connection with this light of messirus nefesh.

This is why mevatlin Talmud Torah limikra megi, we are to annul our study of Torah and

hear the reading of megilah. Many ask where is the bittul Torah? Well, megilah is also Torah!

The answer is that bittul means that the light of megilah is higher even then the light of Torah. It

reaches the amei haaretz, it is yesod abba that appears miraculously! The haaras of the Torah

appears miraculously!

We need to prepare ourselves for these days, Shabbes zachor is here, to prepare us for

Purim. The leitzanus, light headedness, in these days is a sair liazazel, a little something which

we give him. Focus on the depth of the time!

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The Ari says that ad dlo yada is to say boruch on Haman. The simple meaning is it is a

sair liazazael, we need to give him a bone. When a great light appears we need to make sure we

give the sitra achra a bone so that he will not be battel totally for assur lidchok es hakeitz, we

may not hasten the arrival of the redemption before its time.

Yet children of Torah must realize that Purim is a great light and when we connect to this

light we have a reliving of haddar kiblahu biyimei achashveirosh, they reaccepted Torah during

the days of Achashveirosh, and yemei hapurim lo yaavru mitoch hayehudim, these days of Purim

will not leave the Jews. We taste eternal life, that both the body and the soul feel this life, this is

the great taste of the future. On Lag Baomer one is all soul, but on Purim the body is also all

soul! Peleg, גלפ, unites Purim with Lag Baomer. It is an awesome taste, the taste of yismach

Hashem bimaasav. Hashem will rejoice with His creations, the real simcha of the future. May

Hashem help us feel this haara of Mordechai!

Lesson Eleven reveals what is the essential distinction between angels and humans. Angels are

more attached to the limits. Humans can attach to the inner essence, to fulfilling the will of

Hashem. The external beings try to find fault with the inner beings. Only human service can

achieve the union of worlds, uniting the physical and the spiritual.

Lesson Eleven:

Souls and Angels: Internal and External

Chapter four

השעמב םייקמ םדאהשכש הרותה תוצמ ג"ירת לש השעמו רובד הבשחמ םהש םישובל השלש תיהלא שפנ לכל שי דועו

גישהל ול רשפאש המ לכ גישמ אוה הבשחמבו ןהיתוכלהו תוצמ ג"ירת לכ שוריפב קסוע אוה רובדבו תוישעמ תוצמ לכ

תושבולמ ושפנבש ד"בח 'יחב תוטרפבו הרותה תוצמ ג"ירתב םישבולמ ושפנ ירבא ג"ירת תוללכ ירה הרותה ס"דרפב

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ןהיפנעו הבהאו הארי ןהש תודמהו .הלעמל ושפנ שרשו ותגשה תלוכי יפכ ס"דרפב גישמ אוהש הרותה תגשהב

הנממו ע"מ ח"מר לכ שרש איה הבהאה יכ ןלוכ דגנכש ת"ת אוהש רובדבו השעמב תוצמה םויקב תושבולמ ןהיתודלותו

רשפא יאו תמאב וב הקבדל ץפחו 'ה םש תא בהואה אוה תמאב ןמייקמה יכ יתימא םויק ןהל ןיא הדעלבו תוכשמנ ןה

שרש איה האריהו רחא םוקמב ש"מכ לוכיבכ אכלמד ןירבא ח"מר םהש ןידוקפ ח"מר םויקב םא יכ תמאב וב הקבדל

ה"בקה םיכלמה יכלמ ךלמב דורמל ארי יכ השעת אל ה"סשל

In addition, every divine soul, nefesh Elokis, possesses three garments: thought, speech and

action, [expressing themselves] in the 613 commandments of the Torah. When a person actively

fulfills all the precepts which require physical action, and with his power of speech he occupies

himself in expounding all the 613 commandments and their practical application, and with his

power of thought he comprehends all that is comprehensible to him in the Pardes (literal, hinted,

interpreted, and secret aspects) of the Torah— then the totality of the 613 “organs” of his soul

are clothed in the 613 Commandments of the Torah.

Specifically: the faculties of ChaBaD in his soul are clothed in the comprehension of the Torah,

which he comprehends in Pardes, to the extent of his mental capacity and the supernal root of his

soul. And the middos, namely fear and love, together with their offshoots and ramifications, are

clothed in the observance of the commandments in deed and in word, namely, in the study of

Torah which is, “the equivalent of all the commandments.” For love is the root of all the 248

positive commands, all originating in it and having no true foundation without it. One who

fulfills them in truth, truly loves the name of G-d and desires to cleave to Him in truth. For one

cannot truly cleave to Him except through the fulfillment of the 248 commandments which are

the 248 “Organs of the King,” as it were, as is explained elsewhere; whilst fear is the root of the

365 prohibitive commands, fearing to rebel against the Supreme King of kings, the Holy One,

blessed be He; or a still deeper fear than this— when he feels ashamed in the presence of the

Divine greatness to rebel against His glory and do what is evil in His eyes, namely, any of the

abominable things hated by G-d, which are the kelipos and sitra achra, which draw their nurture

from man below and have their hold in him through the 365 prohibitive commands [that he

violates].

The etzem nefesh Elokis, the core of the G-dly soul, is a chelek eloka mimaal, a piece of the

Divine. It is Elokis mamash, literally G-dly. The soul is a ziv and a haara, an emanation and

glow, of ohr Ain Sof. The infinite drew into creation a bit of a revelation of the Ain Sof. This is

the chius, the life of the creation, and this is nishmos Yisrael, Jewish souls, the inner life of

creation.

There are angels and souls. Malachim, angels, are chitzonius, the external aspects, and

neshamos, souls, are pnimius, the internal essence, of creation.

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The Role Of Angels

Why did Hashem create malachim, angels?

Malach means a shaliach, an emissary of Hashem. All hashpaos, flows of blessing, that

come from above come from the Ain Sof. The hashpaos must come to certain madreigos and

olamos, steps and worlds. They must reach the correct destination. Some to one world, others to

even lower worlds.

The malachim fill a key role in this process. The spiritual shefa comes from Ain Sof, i.e.

Hashem sends a hashpaa of chochmah to olam haYetzirahh. This chochmah, when it emerges

from the source, from Ain Sof, is very high and pure. This hashpaa must descend to a lower

madreiga for olam haYetzirahh to accept it. Olam haYetzirahh cannot accept this flow in such a

high form. It comes to an angel and then to a lower angel, and then to an angel lower than him.

Each angel is megasheim it, makes it more material.

In other words, the part of the hashpaa that is more spiritual stays with the higher angel,

and the lower angel takes the more gashmi part of the hashpaa. This is the meaning of the verse,

“Gavoha al gavoha shomer ugvohim aleihem,” (Koheles 5:7) “Higher over higher with a

watchman (over them) and higher ones over them.” The angels are levels each higher than the

next. Their purpose is to serve as Divine agents who bring all the hashpaos down from one level

to another level.

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“Angels are the intermediaries in bringing shefa, Divine bounty, from the higher world to lower realms. The

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lower realm does not have the strength to accept the gift with all the spiritual plenty it has in the higher universe.

Only through the angels does the bounty become a separate and material item so that it is acceptable in the lower

realms.” Shem Mishmuel Bamidbar page 8

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We know that there are chilukei madreigos in olamos, that there can be a higher and

lower level in a particular universe. For instance, in our world there are tzadikim, who are of a

particular type. They are all tzadikei emmes, truly righteous. Tzadikei emmes is a great level. A

true tzadik never commits a sin. According to the Tanya he does not even have a desire for

aveira, he is ready to do whatever Hashem would want from him. Ready to do all for Hashem,

he does all for Hashem. He never falters. Even an akeida, a sacrifice of one’s own son, if it is

asked for by Hashem, he is ready to do it.

Even so, within this level of tzadikei emmes there are different levels. All the levels share

a common denominator, but there are different heights of tzadik emmes for different neshamos

reach different points. We can even say that within the level of tzadikei emmes there are those

who are higher and those who are lower.

The Difference Between Steps Within A World And Moving From One World To The Next

There are different worlds: Atzilus, beriya, Yetzirahh and Asiyah. There are certain definitions for

olam haAtzilus, others for olam haBeriahh, but each thing in its world is of a certain type.

Different levels within a world are all of the same type.

Hashpaos descend with a seder hishtalshalos, a sibba and mesoveiv, a cause and an

effect. This higher angel is the reason for the lower angel. He gives the hashpaa to the lower

angel, from one step we get to a lower steps, for they are all of one world. In other words, from

the lowest step in a world I can appreciate where something came from. I know that this led to

this and that to that, for they are all of one type. These are called hashpaos that came down

biseder hishtalshalus. There was an order, and Chochmah elyonah organizes the seder

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hishtalshalus, that this should cause this and that that. You can figure it all out because the source

of this seder is Chochmah.

But when the hashpaa goes from one world to the next things are different. There is a

barrier from one world to the next, a parsa. Hishtalshalus does not allow a hashpaa to get to the

next world. It gets to the next world biderech dilug, through a leap. Ratzon haelyon, Hashem’s

will, makes the miracle that a hashpaa can move from one olam to the next!

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Two Types Of Growth

An example. Say a young man learns on a certain level. This type of learning will lead to a

higher level of learning. Learning leading to a higher spiritual level is natural, cause-based

growth.

Sometimes we see a shelo kiseder hishtalshalus, non cause-effect order, change. It can

happen that a person chooses good and thereby arouses his power of bechira, choice. Or he has a

powerful experience and becomes a Beriahh chadasha shelo al pi seder hishtalshalus: yesterday

he was one person, today he has become a wholly new person! You could not have predicted that

yesterday would have led to today! The ratzon, the innermost will in his nefesh, was aroused and

caused a shinuy, change, shelo al pi seder hishtalashalus, not in a cause-effect order! You could

not have seen his past leading to this step!

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Rav Nachman of Breslov applied this lesson to Divine service. One might find himself progressing from one

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achievement to the next. Suddenly he finds himself without inspiration. He might get depressed thinking he has

fallen from his gains. It is not so. He has reached the end of a spiritual world. It is time for a new spiritual world.

Between each spiritual world there is a barrier. He has not fallen, he has reached an apex. The lack of inspiration

proves he is standing at a barrier in front of a higher world. He must reach for his innermost will, leap above the

barrier, and reinvigorate his Divine service as if he were standing in an entirely new universe!

The Way to the Tree of Life

You see this in the world as well. Sometimes there is a shelo kiseder hishtalashalus, and

this comes from the nekudas haratzon, point of will. What is shelo kiseder hishtalshalus has

nothing to do with an angel! An angel of Yetzirahh cannot bring something to Asiyah. A parsa, a

barrier, separates one world from the next and this wall prevents the hashpaa from arriving in the

next world! However, there is a window in each barrier.

Each world has a Beis Hamikdash, a Holy Temple, or an even shesiya, a foundation

stone. Each world has a nekuda emtzais, a central point. Each world has an etz hachaim, a tree of

life, of the Garden of Eden of the world. There is a center to each world and this place is the

pnimius, inner point, of that world. Angels are chitzonim, while nishmos yisrael are pnimius

haolamos. If you ask, where are the souls of nishmos Yisrael of each world? the answer is with

the foundation stone of that world. This is also called the shechinah, Divine presence. Hashraas

hashechina and Beis Hamikdash mean the kelal of all the chius of the world - the kelal of all

nishmos Yisrael of that world - is in the Temple of that world.

There is a an exile of the Divine presence when the Temple is destroyed, but to get

anything from a higher world to this world, to get from Yetzirahh to Asiyah, it must go from the

Temple in Yetzirahh to the Temple of Asiyah, for the Temple is the center of the world and there

is a window there. From one world to the next, there is a window in the parsa between the

worlds. From the Temple you can get to Ain Sof mamash for there is no chiluk bein haolamos.

Once you travel through the makom hamikdash, you can go through world and world until you

arrive at infinity itself.

The Inner View Unites!

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Go deeper, for the difference between one world and the next is a chitzoni difference. When you

get to the pnimius to the ratzon haelyon there is no difference between one world and the next!!

For example, when I teach students, what am I doing? I am involved in middas hachessed

for I am transmitting Torah to students. Then I go in the street, meet a poor person, and give a

coin to him, and I am fulfilling mitzvas tzedakah and then too I am doing chesed. But one chesed

was clothed in the outfit of teaching Torah and the other chesed was clothed in mitzvas tzedakah.

If someone is a baal daas, he will say, he teaches Torah for he is a baal chesed and since

he is a baal chesed he gives gifts to the poor. But a fool will say, “He did two different things.”

In one instance he handed money to someone and in the other he spoke to people. Why is the

second analyst a fool? For he is a chitzoni: he is only looking at the external act! The key is to be

internal and to realize what is really going on here, which is that a baal chesed is someone who

does favors for others regardless of the exact content of those favors.

So, too, the difference between a gashmi world and a more ruchni world is merely

superficial. It is like the difference between giving to the poor and teaching. The pnimius of all

olamos is the same ratzon haelyon! The taryag mitzvos, 613 commandments, are the pnimius of

all worlds! Oraysa kudsha brich hu and Yisrael echad hu, Torah, the Holy One Blessed be He,

and nishmos Yisrael are one!

What is Torah? Ratzon haelyon, Hashem’s will! Ratzon haelyon makes no distinction

between olam haAsiyah and olam haAtzilus. A person who takes a red cow and fulfills the

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mitzvah of para adumah

here is the same thing as a mitzvah in olam haAtzilus! When we want

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to bring a hashpaa from a higher world to a lower world it comes through a channel called

ratzon haelyon. We move the hashpaa from being more spiritual to more physical. This is shelo

kiseder hishtalshalus, but ratzon haelyon says it makes no difference. The chiluk,

distinction,between one world and the next is only chitzoni, but in pnimius it is the same.

The Key To Sacrifice

The Beis Hamikdash would arouse the inner light, it was miorer ohr hapanim , the ratzon

haelyon. When Jews would come to the Temple their ratzon would be aroused and they would be

mosser nefesh at the altar for they would reach ratzon haelyon.

What is the meaning of messirus nefesh, sacrifice? To go from one world to the next! The

body has zahamas hanachash, he wants to live a gashmi life, and he does not want to climb high.

He wants physical pleasures. Messirus nefesh means to leave the body behind so that the

neshama can rise to a higher world. The dynamic of the mizbeiach represents souls ascending

from below to above. In the place of the aron, the holy ark, the hashpaos come down from one

world to the next.

The External Tries To Tear Down The Internal

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The mitzva of the red cow was the ultimate law that transcends reason. Hashem has commanded the Jewish

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nation to take a completely red cow that is not blemishaid, has never been worked, and has never carried a burden,

and to slaughter it outside the temple. The animal is then burnt into ashes. Those ashes when mixed with pure

spring water can remove tumas meis, impurity due to contact with dead bodies. While the red cow can purify the

worst impurity it's details transcend logic as those who handle it and sprinkle its ash on the impure individual

themselves become impure.

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Angels are chitzonim, they cannot grasp how gashmius and ruchnius can be the same thing. This

point is incomprehensible to a malach. There are malachei shalom, good angels, even though

they do not understand they are battel to the person. When Moshe came to get the Torah other

angels said, “Mah leyelud isha beineinu, Why is a child of mortal woman among us?”

They

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did not appreciate that a human being can connect to ratzon haelyon and that there can be a bond

between gashmius and ruchnius. They say mah enosh ki tizkerenu, what is man that you should

mention him? “We are awesomely holy, but man is a mere enosh,

a lowly forgotten creature,

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why consider him great?”

The greatness of man is that he has a nekudah binafsho, a point in his soul: ratzon. He

can comprehend ratzon Hashem! He can appreciate the key point Hashem wants from him:

Hashem’s will! He can be mechavein shmaatisa aliva dihilchasa, develop the lesson for the

halachic answer.

The Talmud in Sota (21a) tells a parable. “If a man was lost in the forest he faces many

dangers: bandits, thorns, and losing his way. A candle saves him from some dangers, a torch from

more, daylight from even more, yet higia liparashas derachim nitzal mikulam, if he has arrived

at the crossroad during the day, he is saved from all of them.” The Talmud then asks, what is the

meaning of the crossroads saving man from all dangers? Multiple answers are suggested. One

that it refers to man’s day of death, yom hamissa, and a second is that it refers to a talmid

chacham aliba dihilchisa, a Torah scholar who develops the law to its correct conclusion.

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Talmud Messeches Shabbes page 88

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In his commentary to the Torah, Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch expounds on the meaning of the term enosh.

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"Enosh signifies man in decline as opposed to Adam, the pure state of man...שונא, then, denotes man who does not

live up to the name םדא. Adam is a representative and deputy of God; he works in God's service, and thus leads the

world to healthy development. Enosh by contrast, misuses his position and seizes power for himself. Through

violent and coercive means, he brings mortal illness upon the world."(Bereishis 4:26 pages 146-147)

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Both answers are in fact the same thing, for messirus nefesh, sacrifice, is the avoda of

yom hamissa. The service of leaving this world is the point of getting to the ratzon pnimi, of

realizing the ratzon Hashem! Leaving the false and external definition of living! This is also

halacha! Halacha is milashon halichos olam, to go from one world to the next! Through the

ratzon pnimi, halichos olam lo, through halachos we go from one world to the next.

This is why Elijah the prophet taught that anyone who reviews Jewish laws each day

merits chayei olam haba as it says halichos olam lo! Elijah the prophet taught how you can go

from one world to the next with the body! (See the Ramban on vichai bahem, you will live

through them - that Elijah is the highest level of vichai bahem.) Elijah was mamshich another

type of life: a chius that changed the body into neshama!

The angels are chitzonim, as some said mah enosh ki tizkerenu! They see so much

chitzonius that does not fit with the olam haruchnius! Man’s job is to stay in this world and not

be fooled by the olam hachitzoni! He must remain in the inner realm and be mamshich hashraas

hashechina, draw the Divine presence, into this world and make sure that the gashmius has no

impact at all! From this nekuda pnimis come all the good hashpaos!

Hashem took these angels who said mah enosh ki tizkerenu and had them fall into this

world. When you go through the Beis Hamikdash you do not fall. There is a ladder like the one

Yaakov saw. But Hashem made the malachim fall into this world, and the angels saw a gashmi

world.

A neshama on the other hand sees a ruchni world here. As far as it is concerned, nothing

has changed. King David declared, Ger anochi baaretz al taster mimeni mitzvosecha, I am a

stranger to this world do not hide from me your mitzvos (Tehillim 119:19). “I came from the

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realm of ruchnius, now that I am in a chitzoni realm, I feel at home only at the place of ratzon

where we are one with the ruchnius! The place of fulfilling mitzvos!” In truth, the innermost

pnimius haratzon is only in this world!

For example, someone who can understand a dvar chochmah well can explain it in a way

that even lowly people can comprehend. (As Reb Chaim Soloveichik

said, “A chisaron in

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hasbarra is a chisaron in havana,” “Deficiencies in explanation are deficiencies in

understanding.”) If you understand something as well as King Shlomo did, you can give many

meshalim, parables, so that all can understand. So too the Torah that is in this world is from the

midda elyona that can explain Torah. To take a para aduma and in it there will be ratzon

haelyon! This is from a place that is not mis’pael from the chitzonius, so it can come to this

world and still see ratzon haelyon here. Malachim need a higher level to grasp anything, while

here we can understand the ratzon better.

Malachim are mikatreig, declaring fault, for they are chitzonim and they do not

understand that man is a pnimi. We find that many tzdaikim might be involved in devarim

gashmiyim, and chitzoni people will have kashyos, questions, about the tzadik and not understand

what he is doing. They do not appreciate the great maala of the tzadik that he can do something

gashmi and in it there will be a nekuda of ratzon haelyon.

The Unique Role Of Yosef Hatzadik

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Rav Chaim Soloveitchik was one of the greatest Torah thinkers and leaders of the last century. He was born in

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1853 in the city of Volozhin where his father taught in the famous Yeshiva there. He eventually became the senior

teacher in the Volozhin yeshiva. Later he served as the chief Rabbi of the city Brisk, then in Russia, now in Belarus.

He revolutionized the study of Talmud and Jewish law with his method now known as the Brisker Derech, way of

study. He was brilliant but also an exceptionally kind man. It was known that children whose parents could not

raise them would end up in Reb Chaim’s home and he would raise them and take care of them. He passed away in

1918, and his son Rav Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik succeeded him as Rabbi of Brisk.

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Yosef Hatzadik relative to his brothers is like a man relative to angels.

Yosef Hatzadik’s midda is yesod, also called tzadik.

The ikkar nekuda of a tzadik is to combine one world and the next. A tzadik is constantly

seeking to fulfill the ratzon haelyon! He connects one world to the next! He does an avoda

gashmis and combines an olam hagashmi with an olam haruchni! In Divrey Hayamim, (1 29:11)

King David mentioned the seven lower Sefiros in the following way: “Licha Hashem hagedula,

vihagvura, vihatiferes, vihanetzach, vihahod, ki chol bashamyim ubaaretz, licha Hashem

hamalacha,” “To You Hashem is the greatness, the heroic strength, the beauty, the dominance,

the empathy, and all that is in the Heavens and the earth, to You Hashem is the kingdom.”

The Targum, classical translation of scripture, renders the sixth phrase, which

corresponds to yesod, as achid bishmaya ubiaraa, one in Heaven and Earth. Apparently a tzadik

is one who connects the world above with the world below! He does an avoda gashmis, physical

service while being mechavein lishem shamayim, intending for the sake of Heaven! He connects

one world to the next. Ameich kulam tzadikim, all Jews are tzadikim! Inherently, each of us seeks

to fulfill the ratzon haelyon.

Yaakov is the truth, and Yosef extends the truth. “Eile toldos Yaakov - Yosef,” “These are

the descendants of Jacob - Joseph!” The seforim point out that in the first Mikdash the yam shel

shelomo omeid al yud beis bakkar, mobile water basin resting on twelve oxen, represented the

malchus of Atzilus resting on twelve angels from beriya. Twelve was for the twelve gevuley

alachson, edges of physical things, and the twelve degalim, flags. Gevul is always twelve.

Yosef becomes the thirteenth. We find that Yosef is divided into Efraim and Menashe, he

represents twelve rising to thirteen. He is nezir echav, the prince of his brothers. In one way he is

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part of the shevatim, tribes, but from another bechina, aspect, he is with the avos. He was

described as misham roeh even yisrael. Rashi says even, ןבא teaches ןב בא, av ben, father-son. He

connects fathers with children! The avos are olam haAtzilus, the shevatim are Beriahh! The yam

shel shelomo is the malchus of Atzilus, the level of patriarchs that brings hashpaa into Beriahh.

How can you combine avos with shevatim, when one are avos and the other are

shevatim? The answer is that it is the same ratzon haelyon!

For the avos hen hamercava, patriarchs who were the chariot for the Divine, matters were

achieved in a more spiritual way. While Yosef was roeh es achav batzon, he pastured sheep with

his brothers, he was connected to the lower level, he was with the children of Bilha and Zilpa.

But even so, in this avoda gashmis there was a haara of the avos! “Viyisrael ahav es yosef mikol

banav,” “Israel loved Joseph more than all the brothers!” He was the nezir echav for he was

connected to an inner madreiga!

The angels are mekatreig on man who is a pnimi. The kitrug, finding fault, is not only

when man was created - there are always kitrugim against man! That is why it is so chamur,

severe, not to speak lashon hara, negative speech. Negative remarks about others awaken these

kitrugim! The kitrugim are only bichitzonius.

We see when a person passes away everyone stops speaking lashon hara about the

person. Why is this? Why at a levaya, funeral, do people not say this man was a shoteh, fool, or a

battlan, lazy one? For when he was alive there were kitrugim against him in heaven and they

would arouse lashon hara, but once he is not alive there are no longer critiques above and no

angels arousing one to speak negatively about him.

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The kitrug is from jealousy. Each mitzvah causes yichud kudsha brich hu and shechintei,

union of transcendent holiness with imminent holiness! The melachim do not know how this

happens and they are jealous of it all, hence they are mekatreig on the person. The negative

speech of the brothers about Yosef was this dynamic in a slight measure. Yosef's siblings, the

shivtei kah, were a mercava to malachim, they were chitzonius relative to Yosef Hatzadik. “Vlo

yachlu dabro lishalom,” “They could not speak peacefully to him”

Shalom means to unite the higher worlds with the lower. They could not appreciate or

understand how Yosef was accomplishing the union of above and below! To overcome this kitrug

we had to go down to Egypt and be enslaved until we came to mattan Torah, and even there too

there was a kitrug of tnah hodcha bashamayim, place Your glory in the heavens

! But through

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the avoda of mattan Torah we overcame this.

The Special Power Of The Mitzvah Of Parah

This Shabbes, parshas Parah, is messugal for this avoda! The para aduma has no taam, logical

explanation. It is the ratzon! It reaches and channels the innermost will!

This Shabbes can light up the nekudas ratzon of the person, which creates yesh meiayin,

something from nothing! This is why it is metaher, purifies, from missa, death! It is a nekuda of

techiyas hameisim, to create new life! Even after death there is a nekuda that survives, the etzem

luz. This corresponds to the nekudas ratzon and from this point new life can emerge!

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See Talmud Shabbes 88a

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This is the last Shabbes of the year for chodshey hashana, months of the year, for Rosh

Chodesh Nissan will begin a new year. We arrive at the ratzon and then next week we are

mis’chadesh with parshas hachodesh! A whole new life!

There are 122 pesukim, verses, in parshas Vayakhel and there are 122 pesukim in parshas

Ki Savo. Ki Savo is the last Shabbes of the year in the order of Rosh Hashana. We read the

tochacha, verses of rebuke, then for tichle shana vikiloleseha, let a year and her curses end.

ןיא ayin and ani ינא, nothing and me, have the same letters for we need to be battel,

annulled as an ןיא, and then we merit a his’chadshus, a new existence of ינא. Ayin plus ani equals

122. The Ari explains this is the meaning of the mishnah, im ain ani li mi li, יל ימ יל ינא ןיא םא, If I

am not for myself who will be for me.

We need to be both ayin and ani! From bittul to ani! This Shabbes we get to the ratzon, to

the bli taam, to the level of shelo kiseder hishtalshalus, to become a new creation! From ratzon

comes an ani that is made new on Rosh Chodesh Nissan!

The purpose of creation was so that the Almighty would have an abode on earth. Lesson

twelve will reveal the great import of fulfilling mitzvos. Each good deed is really a vessel that

gets filled with unending light.

Lesson Twelve: How Learning Torah

And Performing Mitzvos Add Holiness To The World

Middle Of Chapter Four

םתלעמ הלדגו ההבג הז לכ םע המשנו חור שפנל םישובל םיארקנש ףא היתוצמו הרותהמ ולא םישובל השלש הנהו

ונוצרו ותמכח איה אתיירואד 'יפ דח אלוכ ה"בקו אתיירואד רהזב ש"מכ ןמצע המשנו חור שפנ תלעמ לע ףוסו ץק ןיאל

ם"במרה םשב ליעל ש"מכ 'וכו עדמה אוהו עדויה אוה יכ דח אלוכ ומצעבו ודובכב ה"בקהו ה"בקה לש

Although these three “garments,” deriving from the Torah and its commandments, are called

“garments” of the nefesh, ruach and neshamah, their quality nevertheless is infinitely higher and

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greater than that of the nefesh, ruach and neshamah themselves, as explained in the Zohar,

because the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are one. The meaning of this is that the

Torah, which is the wisdom and will of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His glorious Essence

are one, since He is both the Knower and the Knowledge, and so on, as explained above in the

name of Maimonides.

The Tanya teaches that even though Torah and mitzvos are called garments for the nefesh ruach

and neshama, and they express these parts of the soul, nevertheless they are really much higher

than the parts of the soul, for Hashem is one with His wisdom, with His Torah. Unlike man who

knows things that are separate from his essence, Hashem is one with His wisdom, the Torah and

its mitzvos.

רקח ןיא ביתכדכ ותמכחו ונוצרב ןכו ללכ היב אסיפת הבשחמ תילו רקח ןיא ותלודגלו ףוס ןיא ארקנ ה"בקהד ףאו

לש ותלודג אצומ התאש םוקמב ורמא הז לע הנה םכיתובשחמ יתובשחמ אל יכ ביתכו אצמת הולא רקחה 'יתכו ותנובתל

ך"נת תויתוא יפורצבו ןהיתוכלהבו הרותה תוצמ ג"ירתב ותמכחו ונוצר ה"בקה םצמצו ותונתונע אצומ התא םש ה"בקה

ןמייקלו התעדב ןגישהל לכות םדאה ףוגבש שפנו חור וא המשנה לכש ידכב ל"ז ונימכח ישרדמו תודגאבש ןהיתושרדו

ולא םישובל השלשב היתוניחב רשע לכב שבלתת הז י"עו הבשחמו רובד השעמב ןהמ םייקל רשפאש המ לכ

And although the Holy One, blessed be He, is called Ain Sof (“Infinite”) and “His greatness can

never be fathomed,” and “No thought can apprehend Him at all,” and so are also His will and

His wisdom, as it is written, “There is no searching for His understanding,” and “Canst thou by

searching find G-d ?" and again, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts.” Nevertheless, it is in

this connection that it has been said, “Where you find the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be

He, there you also find His humility.” For the Holy One, blessed be He, has compressed His will

and wisdom within the 613 commandments of the Torah, and in their laws, as well as within the

combination of the letters of the Torah, the books of the Prophets and the holy writings, and in

the exposition thereof which are to be found in the Agados

and Midrashim of our Rabbis of

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blessed memory. All this in order that each neshamah, ruach and nefesh in the human body

should be able to comprehend them through its faculty of understanding, and to fulfill them, as

far as they can be fulfilled, in act, speech, and thought, thereby clothing itself with all its ten

faculties in these three garments.

The Tanya is saying that when a person is involved in Torah and mitzvos a person is getting

clothed with G-dliness. For He is one with His wisdom. For even though the root of His wisdom

and will cannot be grasped, nevertheless they descend into a garment, like a mashal, parable,

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with a nimshal, lesson. The nimshal goes to the mashal, a low level, that can be grasped, and

thereby we grasp the lesson.

The truth is that in the mashal which is Torah you have G-dliness, so the fact that you can

grasp the parable is in itself a grasping of G-dliness. This is what the Tanya now explains.

איהש הדובכ םוקממ הדרי הרותה ךכ ךומנ םוקמל הובג םוקממ םידרוי םימ המ םימל הרותה הלשמנ ןכלו

רתסב הדריו העסנ םשמו .ללכ היב אסיפת הבשחמ תילו דח אלוכ אוה ךירב אשדוקו אתיירואו ךרבתי ותמכחו ונוצר

תוצמ בור ןהש הזה םלוע יניינעו םיימשג םירבדב השבלתנש דע תומלועה תולשלתשהב הגרדמל הגרדממ תוגרדמה

ידכ םיבותכו םיאיבנ הרותבש םירפס העבראו םירשע רפסה לע וידב תוימשג תויתוא יפורצבו ןהיתוכלהו םלוככ הרותה

ןהב תשבלתמו ןהב אסיפת הבשחמ תגרדממ הטמלש השעמו רובד 'יחב 'יפאו ןהב אסיפת הבשחמ לכ אהתש

הרורצ הלוכ ירה הלגר דעו השארמ הירבא ג"ירת לכו שפנה 'יחב רשע לכ םישיבלמ היתוצמו הרותהש רחאמו

ןוצר הנצכ ביתכו וב הסחא ירוצ ש"מכ הלגר דעו השארמ השיבלמו הפיקמ שממ 'ה רואו שממ 'ה תא םייחה רורצב

היתוצמו ותרותב םישבולמה ךרבתי ותמכחו ונוצר אוהש ונרטעת.

This is why the Torah has been compared to water, for just as water descends from a higher to a

lower level, so has the Torah descended from its place of glory, which is His blessed will and

wisdom; [for] the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are one and the same and no thought

can apprehend Him at all. Thence [the Torah] has progressively descended through hidden

stages, stage after stage, with the descent of the worlds, until it clothed itself in corporeal

substances and in things of this world, comprising almost all of the commandments of the Torah,

their laws, and in the combinations of material letters, written with ink in a book, namely, the 24

volumes of the Torah, Prophets and Writings; all this in order that every thought should be able

to apprehend them, and even the faculties of speech and action, which are on a lower level than

thought, should be able to apprehend them and be clothed in them.

Thus, since the Torah and its commandments “clothe” all ten faculties of the soul with all its 613

organs from head to foot, it [the soul] is altogether truly bound up in the Bundle of Life with G-d,

and the very light of G-d envelops and clothes it from head to foot, as it is written, “G-d is my

Rock, I will take refuge in Him.”

And it is also written, “With favor (ratzon - will) wilt Thou adorn him as with a shield,” that is to

say, with His blessed will and wisdom which are clothed in His Torah and its commandments.

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When a person is involved in Torah and mitzvos it is as if he is now enveloped with the light of

Hashem Himself. The Tanya now adds that that is why the rule is, "yafeh shah achas," "better a

moment" "biteshuva umaasim tovim" "performing repentance and good deeds," "mikol chayei

olam haba" "than all the life of olam haba, the world to come." Olam haba is a mere glow from

the light of Hashem, while through Torah and mitzvos one is truly enveloped in Hashem and His

honor. When a person learns Torah he is hugging Hashem.

יזמ ןינהנש אוה אבה םלוע יכ אבה םלוע ייח לכמ הזה םלועב םיבוט םישעמו הבושתב תחא העש הפי ורמא ןכלו

םשב ארקנ ןכלו 'ה רואמ הראה וזיא םא יכ גישהל םינוילעהמ 'יפא ארבנ םושל רשפא יאו הגשהה גונעת אוהש הניכשה

היתוצמו הרותב תשבלתמו אסיפת רשאכ םא יכ ללכ היב אסיפת הבשחמ תיל ומצעבו ודובכב ה"בקה לבא הניכשה ויז

השבלתנ הרותהש ףאו .דח אלוכ ה"בקו אתיירואד שממ ה"בקהב תשבלתמו .ןהב תבית אתיל י"כב ןהב אסיפת איה יזא

וקבחמ ןיב ךלמב ותוקיבדו ותוברקתה תלעמב שרפה ןיאש מ"ד ךלמה תא קבחמכ הז ירה םיימשג םינותחת םירבדב

םג ועורזב וקבחמ ךלמה םא ןכו .םכותב ךלמה ףוגש רחאמ םישובל המכ שובל אוהש ןיב דחא שובל שובל אוהשכ

םימו דסח 'יחב איהש ןימימ הנתנש הרותה איהש ינקבחת ונימיו ש"מכ וישובלמ ךות תשבולמ איהש:

Hence it has been said, “Better is one hour of repentance and good deeds in this world than the

whole life of the world to come.” For the world to come is that state where one enjoys the glow

of the Divine Presence, which is the pleasure of comprehension, yet no created being— even

celestial— can comprehend more than some reflection of the Divine Light. That is why the

reference is to “Glow of the Divine Presence” ( Ziv ha-Shechinah). But as for the essence of the

Holy One, blessed be He, no thought can apprehend Him at all, except when it apprehends, and

is clothed in, the Torah and its mitzvos. Only then does it truly apprehend, and is clothed in, the

Holy One, blessed be He, inasmuch as the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are one and

the same. For although the Torah has been clothed in lower material things, it is by way of

illustration, like embracing the king. There is no difference, in regard to the degree of closeness

and attachment to the king, whether while embracing the king the latter is then wearing one robe

or several robes, so long as the royal person is in them. Likewise, when the king, for his part,

embraces one with his arm, even though it is dressed in his robes, as it is written, “And His right

hand embraces me,” which refers to the Torah which was given by G-d’s right hand, which is the

quality of chesed and water.

In summary the Tanya seems to say that Torah and mitzvos are G-dliness in clothing. Hashem

enters keilim, vessels, this is Torah and mitzvos. Hashem is an ohr Ain Sof, infinite light, there

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are no words about Hashem. (We know what He is not, but there are no words to describe what

Hashem is.) Yet Hashem has put Himself into vessels, Torah and mitzvos, and through these

vessels we can grasp His essence for “Hu vichachmaso echad,” “He and His wisdom are one.”

In other words, G-dliness is revealed through the ten Sefiros, which are the klal, the

encompassing principles, of the entire Torah. There is nothing in the world other than displays of

the ten Sefiros! The whole world is the ten Sefiros; nothing else. There are different

manifestations of these roots, and different combinations of these roots, but the world is just

these basic elements.

A parable to this is music. In music there are only seven notes. There are innumerable

tunes produced from these notes. For there are many different forms of the notes and different

combinations of notes and how you combine these notes creates all the music in the world. So

too there are only ten Sefiros and yet how you combine them and which details you reveal from

the Sefiros set up the entire world. Just as out of 22 letters we have all the words in the world, so

it is with the ten Sefiros and the ten middos. The 613 mitzvos of the Torah are the ten Sefiros in a

very perfect way, in the purest way.

Fulfilling the Torah in its truest way, by the way, does not mean that we fulfill Torah in

the absolute purest way, for only Hashem performs Torah in the most perfect way. For example,

as we know, Hashem puts on tefillin. He gave us a way to fulfill mitzvos the way we can and

when we do so, as best as humanly possible, it causes Hashem to fulfill mitzvos His way.

Hashem has made His fulfillment of mitzvos dependent on our fulfillment of mitzvos.

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When Hashem fulfils a mitzvah it means that He is drawing ohr Ain Sof into a keli. The

ten Sefiros are the ten keilim to reveal the ohr Ain Sof! The ten Sefiros are the klal of all the 613

mitzvos.

There are many, many details of halachos, and collectively they make up the komah

shleima, complete structure, of man. This is the adam al hakisei, Adam on a throne, that

Yechezkel saw. An Adam is ten Sefiros together. Yechezkel saw this klal of all ten Sefiros. Our

man below arouses this revelation of man above! Adam limata is miorrer the Adam lieila. When

man does a mitzvah as much as a neshama can he causes Hashem to draw a light of the infinite,

a great overflow of life, into vessels, into the ten Sefiros! Once the light has entered the ten

Sefiros above that causes the infinite light to enter into the Sefiros down below as well.

This is the purpose of the creation to bring the infinite light down to earth, “Nisaveh

hakadosh boruch hu laasos lo dira batachtonim” “G-d desired to have a residence in the lowly

realms!” (Midrash Tanchuma Naso siman 16) Hashem made a world so that infinite light would

appear down below. When we fill our person, our ten sefiros, with holiness, He fills His Sefiros

with infinite light and this causes the universe which as a whole is displays of the ten Sefiros to

be filled with His infinite light.

The pasuk says “Es Hashem heemarta hayom lihiyos lachem leElokim vilaleches

bidrachav vilishmor chukav umitzvosav umishpatav vilishmoa bikolo. ViHashem haamircha

hayom lihyos lo l’am segula kaasher dibeir lach vilishmor kol mitzvosav etc.” (Devarim

26:16-17) “You have distinguished Hashem on this day, to be your ruler, to emulate his ways,

keep his laws, commands, and ordinances and to listen to His voice. And Hashem has made you

unique on this day, to make you a treasured nation unto Him, as He has spoken to you, and to

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keep all His mitzvos.” Simply understood, the last clause is difficult. First, the verse spoke of

the obligations we have to Hashem. Then what Hashem has done for us, why mention to "keep

all His mitzvos" in the section speaking about what He does? Shouldn't "keep His mitzvos"

belong in the first part of the verse? In light of our lesson though we can understand the verse.

Apparently lishmor kol mitzvosav applies to Hashem, for He too fulfills mitzvos! Part of what He

does for us is that He fulfills His mitzvos. How does He fulfill mitzvos? He draws a shefa,

overflowing abundance of life, from above into His Sefiros! This shefa moves from above to

below and it descends all the way down to our world, to the realm where we can feel His

presence.

The Talmud asks, “Tefillin dimara alma mah ksiiv beih?” “What is written in the tefillin

of the Almighty?” “Mi kiamcha yisrael goy echad baaretz?” “Who is like your nation Israel a

singular people on earth?” (Divrey Hayamim 1:17) Apparently the tefillin of Hashem go all the

way down, all the way to us, to the level of who is like Your nation Israel, a singular people on

earth!

Hashem’s mitzvos, His Sefiros, are total perfection.

The sections of the creation and the components of the soul

According to the Ari, there are different machtzavim, different arenas. There are Sefiros -

all G-dliness; then neshamos, souls, inner realms or pnimiyus (we explained this term last week);

then there are olamos, worlds, the realm of angels who relate to chitzonius; and finally choshech,

the realm of darkness and evil. This is very similar to the definitions of the four universes, for

there is one basic pattern and it appears in both universes and machtzavim. In each universe there

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is a similar classification. The relationship between neshamos and olamos is like beriyah to

Yetzirahhh. It is the same thing, just in a different bechinah.

Nefesh ruach neshama chaya yechida, parallel the worlds with the kutzo shel yud, for this

too is like this to that. The arena of Sefiros is like Atzilus, it is totally elokus. The arena of

neshamos is like beriyah. (There is a little bit of evil in beriyah, it is not a mixture of evil but

there is a little of rah, and this is like neshamos. A neshama can do evil even though evil stands

outside it. It is almost all tov.) Then there is the arena of olamos, a parallel to Yetzirahh. The

realm of darkness parallels olam haAsiyah, a physical realm which is rubo rah, mostly evil.

When a soul does a mitzvah he brings holiness to the arena of neshamos. This is what a

neshama achieves through doing a mitzvah. A man has a body in addition to having a soul. Thus

when man fulfills a mitzvah he is also bringing divine light to the arena of darkness. The body

has chitzonius and choshech. When man does a good deed he is drawing holiness to the places

where G-dliness was hidden and he is transforming the darkness into light. When man does a

mitzvah he transforms the choshech into ohr. This is the purpose of the creation: to increase

Elokis in the place where He was hidden. Prior to man, Hashem was revealed in the realm of

Sefiros; but through a man doing a mitzvah he brings Elokis to the realm of neshamos and to the

realm of olamos and even to the realm of choshech!

How does this happen? Through doing a mitzvah he adds to the world more levushim in

which Hashem is clothed in. “Hu uritzono echad” “He and His will are one.” The levushim with

which G-d clothes Himself are brought to the arena of souls and even to the realm of darkness

through this Godly act of giving tzedakah, or any other good deed! Hashem is shoreh in his act

of tzedakah!

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When there are more keilim there is more ohr, for when he makes more keilim he causes

them to also be filled with Elokis. Hashem also fulfills His mitzvos based on human deeds. You

did a new mitzvah, so a new light from Hashem enters the Sefiros realm and this added light

overflows into the realm of souls etc. and hence there is now a greater revelation of Godliness in

the world.

This is really very basic: when you do Torah and mitzvos you are doing G-dly things.

You are doing here the same things that Hashem does in His realm. And this is especially

meaningful in this low realm, where there is so much that is not G-dly. To become Godly here is

very meaningful. If you act in a G-dly way you cause an increase of G-dliness in the world.

Man must constantly make these G-dly vessels, Torah and Mitzvos, to bring Hashem into

this world.

To Bring Godly Light To The World Is The Uniquely Jewish Mission

There were once great souls here on the earth. They populated the world during the shney alafim

tohu: the two thousand years of emptiness

that preceded mattan Torah. Just as there was a

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realm of tohu before the creation and then a realm of tikkun after it, this same pattern repeated

itself after the world was created. There was tohu and then tikkun, the years of Torah. We need to

remember that “Mah shehaya hu sheyihyeh ... vain kol chadash tachas Hashemesh” “What was

is what will be ... and there is nothing new under the sun.

” Everything that occurs later was

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already establishaid in the first roots of the creation of the world.

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The Talmud in messeches Rosh Hashana teaches that the plan of the world was that the first two thousand years

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were to be a time of tohu, confusion. The next two thousand years were to be years of Torah. The final two thousand

years were to be the days of mashiach.

Koheles 1:9

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Wise people can see the matters of this world and show how they were set in place in the

secrets of the processes that existed before the appearance of this world. Those roots set the tone

for all that would follow later. Those were the shorashim, roots, for what happened later. One

might ask, “Isn’t there choice? How can the past determine the future?” There is choice, but the

roots that would set the terms of the choice have happened already.

While we have choice, our choice is somewhat limited. We do not have the ability to

choose like earlier generations did. For example, after the flood bechira of man was limited. Man

can no longer be so evil as to destroy the world. The men of the flood however could destroy the

world! But now man’s choices can no longer bring about a destruction of the world, for Hashem

swore after the flood that He would not create another flood!

How could He swear this way when man could be as sinful as he was before the flood?

Apparently the kochos hanefesh, abilities of the soul, cannot do as much as they could before the

mabul. A great soul can cause great damage. Avraham avinu said bameh eidah ki eerashena,

“How can I know I will inherit the land?” (Bereishis 15:8) and out of this came galus mitzrayim,

the Egyptian exile. Indeed, every movement of the avos was powerful. Look at Yosef, who tried

just to move his father’s hands onto Menashe and Efraim, about which the Midrash says, "these

hands defeated an angel, they defeated a third of the world, how dare you move them!"

Now the Midrash was talking about Yosef the tzadik, who was a memutza, intermediary,

between the avos and the shevatim. Yosef was not so far from the level of the avos. He had a

status of bechor, first born son, who gets double for he is a bit of the father. Even so Yosef was in

the shevatim, not one of the avos, and so had no right to move the hand of Yaakov, who was one

of the avos. “Yad sheheizia shlish haolam!” “These are powerful hands!”

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When Yitzchok gave a bracha it affected all generations. When Yaakov got the brachos

he knew he was getting something that would impact millennia. Even Esav recognized the power

of his father and as a result screamed and cried for missing out on blessings. These cries caused

all the powers of Esav through exile. The descendants of Esav became the Romans, the

crusaders, and inquisitors, why did Esav had so much strength? Only because of the blessing that

Yitzchok gave him! Again and again we see that the earlier generations were very great. As a

result they had great bechira and their bechirah could have great impact.

For another example, take the era of the first Temple. It was a time of great choice: there

was a yetzer for avoda zara, a yearning for idol worship, and since the evil was so great it was

possible to become a navi, prophet. People could reach great levels.

We, though, are small people. We have choice. All worlds need our good choices, for the

creation needs help from great people and from small people. Nevertheless, our bechira today is

only a model from what was earlier. We can do differently, we have bechira, but until we do so

we are only going to continue the pattern based on what was done already. Our reality is based

on what was achieved in earlier generations.

During the two thousand years of tohu each soul could have worked on itself and become

Avraham avinu. Each soul could have worked on itself and become the root of Klal Yisrael, the

source for the chosen nation.

Those were powerful souls, they were avos souls, but in those days there was a great

mixture of good and evil. Every great soul was mixed in with a lot of rah. Even Avraham avinu

as a child worshiped idols and was in a pagan society. The Ari says he was ben niddah, Avraham

was born with a tumas niddah, impurity of niddah. He had a great mixture of tov and rah, yet

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Avraham worked on himself. He passed the ten tests, separated the rah from himself, so that he

could become the root of Kal Yisrael.

Noach also worked on himself, separated the tov and rah, and helped establish the world

so that it should not be destroyed again. He was a tzadik tamim bidoraosav, a completely

righteous man in his generations, a tzadik yesod olam, righteous foundation of the world, and he

was able to reestablish the world in a way that it would never be destroyed again. Because of

Noach, the world no longer has the option of destroying itself.

There is a bit of Noach in each non-Jew. That is why they are all called bney Noach: they

are all related to him and all have a piece from him. Hashem was not meyached His name on

Noach, He did not unite with Noah, we do not say elokai Noach, for Noach did not reach such a

level. Had he reached such a level, each goy would be able to daven and say elokai Noach, for

the piece of Noach in him would enable him to connect to such a holiness. Each goy is a ben

Noach, his root was Noach, for Noach was a formative person, someone who was establishing

the foundations. As a result no man can destroy them and that is why no current human sin can

set off another destructive worldwide flood.

This is not so simple. It sounds from this idea that non-Jews in their actions cause a

yichud elyon and they bring a shefa which helps maintain the world, but this is not true. Goyim

do not bring life to the world, only the Jewish people do. (Later we will explain why it is not true

and how it all came about.)

After the flood man's years become less, people lived less, for the people became lesser

individuals. Great people have long lives for there is much that they can and should repair.

Smaller people are given less time, for there is less they can fix and achieve.

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After the flood, Noach built a mizbeach, an alter. There is a nekudah, point, in the soul of

bringing a reiach nichiach, sweet smell, to Hashem. There is a nekuda in the nefesh, of sacrifice,

messirus nefesh, to Hashem. Man has a yetzer hara, the body is sinful, but that is not who he

truly is: he has a nekudah that is good. Man is essentially good, he merely has a yetzer which is

rah minurav, bad from youth.

After Noach we had Avraham, and Avraham natal sechar kulam, he took the reward all

the other individuals could have earned for he worked on himself to be the source of the chosen

nation. Had everyone in those days fixed themselves then all humans would have been part of

Klal Yisrael. The whole world would have been one nation. Had Adam never sinned we would

all be children of Adam and we would all be part of Klal Yisrael.

Essentially, there should be no difference between goyim and Jews. There is a mixture of

good and evil, and from the good the evil draws nourishment. Yet if there would be a

clarification, if the good would be taken out of the rah, then the rah would fall apart and die.

That should have been the mission of all mankind.

The non-Jewish world is a mixture with a lot of bad. Its good really belongs to Klal

Yisrael. It does not really belong to the goy and it must ultimately return to Klal Yisrael, and

once it returns to its lawful place their life of sinfulness will collapse.

Had the generations before the flood worked on themselves their good would have

stayed with them and they would have a portion in working to fix the world. But they did not

work on themselves, only Avraham did!

Jews And Others

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Avraham avinu came during the time of dor haflaga, a gathering of all the nations that came to

rebel against the plan of creation. They fought against Hashem. They did not want the plan

Hashem had set out for the created world.

At that point Avraham took all the good that the goyim should have been doing. All that

goyim should have been doing is now done by Klal Yisrael. Raah vayater goyim, the Almighty

took away the obligations of the nations to perform the seven mitzvos bney Noach. Even if a goy

does them they now only get the sechar, reward, of an aino metzuveh vioseh, one who is not

obligated yet fulfills. In other words, the part of Noach that they had, the seven mitzvos, amad

vihitiran, has been taken from them and given to the Jewish people. This happened at the time of

haflagga for haflagga means separation.

Hashem has separated the nations from the tikkun habriah, fixing the creation. They are

under the seventy angelic ministers and have nothing to do with the kingdom of Heaven.

Malchus shamayim is the shechinah. This is the tikkun habirah, the fixing of the creation, the

task of Klal Yisrael.

In truth, had the nations not sinned and been part of Klal Yisrael we still would not all be

the same. Even within the Jews there are differences: Kohanim, Leviyim, and Yisraelim, priests,

Levites, and ordinary Jews. Even within the nation of Israel there are levels of avoda, service.

Had the nations not sinned the Jews would have been the Kohanim of the world. Even without a

dor haflagga the children of Avraham would be special.

Avraham was a Kohen, as it says “Ata Kohen laolam” “And you are a Kohen to the

world.” (Tehillim 110:4) The holiness of kehunah really belongs with all of Klal Yisrael. But

because the Jews have taken the avoda of the nations there are Jews who do the avoda the non-

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Jews should do and only a small group are Kohanim doing that which originally was intended to

be the task of Klal Yisrael.

Yichudim And Kohanim

The avoda of the Kohanim is the subject of Torah secrets!

It is a service of yichudim, unifications.

It is a level that is like Adam harishon before the sin. When you have a level of paska

zuhamasan, loss of the serpent's filth, like at mattan Torah or Adam in gan eden before the sin,

the avoda is all holy names. It is an avoda of yichudim, an avoda without any zhamas

hanachash, serpent's filth.

Sheimos hakdoshim, holy names of Hashem, are great lights. They are dveykus, a very

high avoda. Adam was sent away from gan eden, which meant he was sent away from the etz

chaim, the Tree of Life. Reb Chaim Vital called his book Eitz Chaim, for it is a haara,

illumination, of the eitz chaim that in in the center of Eden. Adam was sent away from the avoda

of yichudim.

When the Kohen in the Mikdash, temple, did the avodas hakodesh, Divine service, he

would be meyacheid yichudim elyonim. Kodesh means yichudim of sheimos. These yichudim

bring great oros.

This is why Kohanim are exempt from working the land and live off terumos, gifts, and

maasaros, tithes. They do not have the curse Adam was given when he was exiled from Eden,

bizeias apecha tochal levhem, By the sweat of your brow you should eat bread, (Bereishis 3:19)

which was the result of the sin of the tree. They are more removed from the chet etz hadaas, sin

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of the tree of knowledge, than other Jews so they are supported through terumos and maasros.

This is why they also are not to come into contact with tumas meis, the dead, for they are

removed from missa, death, which was also a result of eating from the tree of knowledge.

This is what should have been the avoda of all the Jewish people. In the future it will be,

which is why Rashbi - the person of the secrets of Torah - argues that a person should not do

work in the material realm and says rather all of you are Kohanim and this is how it will be in the

future when Mashiach will come. We will not have the zahamas hanachash and as a result we

will be supported without the avoda gashmis, physical toil. The world is not ready for soddos

haTorah this is why the Talmud teaches harbe asu kirashbi vlo alsa biyadam Many tried to

follow this approach of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and did not succeed. (Berachos 35b) Leviyim

are a memutza, intermediary, between the levels of Yisrael and Kohen: through singing they

achieve a bit of the realm of the next world and a bit of avoda gashmis!

Now we can understand the lashon hapasuk, terminology of the verse: “Viatem tihyu li

mamleches kohanim vi goy kadosh.” And you will be for Me a Kingdom of priest and a holy

nation. First Hashem told us that we are the “Segula mikol haamim” “The treasure of all

peoples.” We have all the good from all the nations and the pasuk explains itself ki li kol haaretz,

for the whole world is Mine. All should have been loyal to Hashem, everyone should have been a

Jew, yet they did not want this privilege and therefore Hashem sent them away to the seventy

ministers and they are no longer connected to the real plan of the world, to the malchus

shamayim, the Kingdom of Heaven. Raah voyater goyim. You are a segula because you took the

level of the goyim. What is your essential level? “Viatem tihyu mamlekhes kohanim vigoy

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kadosh.” You have the avodah of Kohanim, to be a people who are kadosh, who are engaged in

avodas hayichudim!

The Special Kedusha Of Pesach

This week is parshas Hachodesh when we read about the month of Nissan and the mitzvos of

Pesach. In the Haggada it says, “Yachol meirosh chodesh etc.” Perhaps we should start telling

the story of the exodus at the beginning of the month? The Rama Mipanu

teaches that each

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hava amina, initial thought has a place. There is a place where already on Rosh Chodesh there is

a haara of Pesach. The Torah states “Hachodesh haze lachem rosh chadashim.” "This (first of

the) month, is the head of the months for you," (Shmos 12:2) even though it is the first day of the

month the Torah calls it hachodesh, the whole month. We find this also in the Mishna in Rosh

Hashana: that Rosh Chodesh Nissan is Rosh Hashana lirigalim, the beginning of a year in

regards to festivals. One can ask, the festival of Pesach starts on the fifteenth of Nissan, how is

the first of Nissan then the beginning of a cycle of festivals? Apparently the light of Pesach

appears already during Rosh Chodesh Nissan. So this Shabbes we have the light of Pesach.

Man is meshubad, obligated, to many bonds. Man is enslaved to his habits and his

behaviors, he follows a certain approach, this is the way he davens, this is the materialism he is

used to. Man who is by nature lazy cannot pull himself from laziness. We each feel enslaved to

our norms. When Hashem pulled us out of Egypt there were great lights which come out of

order. Now these great lights are appearing again in great measure. The whole nature of the

miracle from Egypt was chipazon, great speed. Gadlus came before katnus, elevated

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Rabbi Menachem Azarya of Panu (1548-1620) was known as the Rama Mipanu. He was a prominent Rabbi, a

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great authority of Jewish law, and an expert of Kabbalah. He was considered the greatest Kabbalist in Italian Jewry.

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consciousness preceded small consciousness, even though usually the limited intellects precede

the elevated. Chamets is the achizah, point of attachment, of Egypt. When we left,“Lo hispik

bitzeikam lihachmitz ad shenigla aleihem melech malchei hamlachim vigoalam.” "Their dough

did not have the time to rise before the King of all kings appeared before them." (Haggadah shel

Pesach) When Egypt wanted to latch onto Klal Yisrael Hashem revealed a great and awesome

light. With this sudden great light the Jewish nation left Egypt and the Egyptians had no hand on

us. There was a great light that was revealed, and this light was an awesome holiness that the

materialism just could not latch on to, and the Jewish souls went free! We went out with a rush,

in a sudden burst. (Had we gone slowly the tumah of Egypt would have caught us.)

There was a way of tzadikim to daven quickly. They explained that they did so that the

shekatzim, the rodents, the machshavos zaros, foreign thoughts, would not reach them. They

would have a great light and quickly another great light and this is why they would daven

quickly. Each of us is like such a righteous tzadik on the night of Pesach. There are bombs of

oros that appear. Charoses and Matzah and four cups. These are all very great matters. The

haseiba, reclining, and Jewish customs are great lights that come bichipazon: they grab the soul

and the man leaves Egypt.

Leaving Egypt is a very high matter. The high roots of man’s soul go out of Egypt on the

night of Pesach. Man might not be aware of it and only years later will it be revealed to him what

happened to him on Seder night. When you say the blessing thanking the Almighty for keeping

you alive to reach Pesach, shehichiyanu, there is much to be thankful for. This night helps Jews

in all generations! And lights from this great revelation can help a person break out of bad habits

and bad behaviors. Many matters can go far smoother through a Pesach, because Pesach is

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leaving mitzrayim. You get rid of all the habits that make it so hard. You can break your lack of

emunah and bitachon, faith and trust. You can reach humility and patience. This is a great night.

You have to grab it.

“Yachol merosh chodesh.” The Hava Amina, initial thought, teaches that the lights of

Pesach are already there on Rosh Chodesh.

This year Shabbes and Rosh Chodesh fall together. There is a great ribbui oros, increase

of lights, as a result of this.

May we merit to receive these great lights and to learn all the matters to merit to move

meafeila lor gadol, from darkness to a great illumination.

rev We are limited beings. Our minds produce limited thoughts. The limited cannot grasp the unlimited.

Thus our thoughts cannot grasp Hashem’s essence for it is unlimited. Lesson thirteen reveals that faith,

attachment to Hashem, and prayer are the means through which finite man can connect to the Infinite!

Lesson Thirteen: The limitations Of Thought

When Trying To Grasp The Divine

Chapter Five:

ךב אסיפת הבשחמ תיל והילא רמאש אסיפת ןושל בטיה ראב רואיב תפסותלו]:

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Let us explain further and fully elucidate the expression tefisa (grasping) in the words of Elijah,

"No thought can grasp Thee at all...

“Leis machashava tefisa beih klal,” “No thought can grasp Him at all.” In other words, thoughts

cannot grasp atzmiyus Elokis at all. Music is not experienced with an eye. It is not that my sight

is not strong enough to appreciate a niggun, tune, rather eyes are completely irrelevant to an

auditory experience. Just as a melody has nothing to do with sight, mind has nothing to do with

essential G-dliness!

It is not that my wisdom is too limited for atzmiyus Elokis, but rather that atzmiyus Elokis

has nothing to do with machshava, thought. Chochmah is related to matters that are limited. It

can comprehend how Hashem clothes Himself, but atzmiyus Elokis is without any limits at all

and as a result thought cannot comprehend it at all.

Thought can say, “Whatever I understand, this is not Hashem.” We can understand what

Hashem is not. For example, thought can see nothingness and can say, “That is not Hashem.”

Things that are under the control of thought can be understood. I understand what is gornisht,

lack of existence, and gornisht is not G-dliness for Hashem is existence, and He made existence.

Something cannot come from nothing. Creation came from a metzias haborei, the existence of

the Creator, from that which is the opposite of ayin, lack of existence.

An Existence That Must Be

Hashem is actually mechuyav hametzius, an existence that must be.

Everything else on earth has a reason and a source for its existence. Everything has a

source and a reason it was made. Everything has a reason and its reason had a reason. When you

get to the highest matter and ask about it, “Why this? Where did this come from?” you find that

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here there is no prior cause, this is the source itself, the makor, atzmius Elokis. All is dependent

on Him and He is not dependent on anything. He is the ilas kol hailos, cause of all causes. What

is not mechuyav hametzias, must exist, we can understand and all that is not mechuyav hametzius

is not the Creator. The Creator though is mechuyav hametzius, not dependent on anything else,

and He does not get His life from anything else.

Man’s thoughts can only understand what is not Hashem and have no positive conception

of what Hashem is. Thought knows only what He is not.

Leis machshava tefisa beih klal. The greatest scholar and the greatest fool have the same

understanding in the positive sense of what Hashem is. For it is impossible for thought and

wisdom to grasp in a positive sense the mahus and atzmus of Hashem.

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A hidden force in the soul can connect with atzmiyus Elokis. Man must reveal this force,

which is higher than Chochmah: emunah, the leap of faith.

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What is emunah? Emunah is the light that shines in a hidden koach hanefesh. It is

connected to those areas that are not connected to Chochmah. Emunah is the force that emerged

from the hidden part of the soul that shone to the person. With this force an individual connects

to Hashem. He believes in Hashem. It is a power like prophecy. He feels the light of Hashem

even though he does not understand the matter. He feels that he came from there. He is drawn to

Hashem, for he feels that Hashem is his source.

Since the soul is a chelek elokah mimaal, a piece of the Divine, the soul is not really a

baal gevul, limited being, and it connects to Hashem’s mahus and atzmus, which is not a baal

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Perhaps some of the wonderful aspects of temimus that Shem Mishmuel details are manifestations of this thought.

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Temimus implies wholesomeness, complete devotion, child-like sincerity and attachment with Hashem. These are all

displays of enormous faith and trust in Hashem, emunah. Temimus draws from the levels that are above this world,

for emunah is the only way to truly apprehend that which is beyond all limits.

In Shem Mishmuel Moadim he explained the Midrash that our father Yaakov saw the angels of different empires

climbing up and then descending a ladder. Hashem told Yaakov to also climb the ladder. Yaakov was too afraid.

Hashem then told Yaakov, “Because you did not follow my directives, your children will be enslaved to those

nations you saw.” Shem Mishmuel explains Yaakov’s thought:

“The explanation of the matter is that the nations fall because they climb the ladder. When they ascend they become

arrogant. They do not acknowledge the Source of their elevation! They become independent entities. This is idol

worship. Then they become further disconnected, and as a result they fall. This is the meaning of the verse, “If you

will ascend like an eagle etc. from there I will lower you.” Precisely “from there.” In other words, from the ascent

comes the descent of the nations etc.

Yaakov did not trust himself or his descendants that they would not become arrogant like the others and therefore

collapse terribly. However, the level of Yaakov was that of an ish tam, a wholesome man, for him this was

considered a sin. Since Hashem told him to ascend, he should not have attempted to “outsmart” the will of Hashem.

He should have accepted the directive of Hashem with temimus, he should have had emunah that it will be good etc.

Had Yaakov trusted fully in Hashem and ascended the ladder the attribute of temimus would have become a part of

his very essence, he would have genetically endowed it to his offspring, and then the Jews would never have

descended from the heights!”(page 11)

“When a person acts with temimus and throws away from his thoughts the yoke of calculating matters and instead is

drawn to follow daas Torah, the knowledge of the Torah, as a result the essential will, ratzon, and hidden love, deep

in the depths of his heart is awakened, which is the matter of Eretz Yisrael. These are also the ideas behind the

mitzvos of shamor, guard, and zachor, remember, of Shabbes.

As Shabbes enters one adopts a perspective of complete trust in Hashem, all the work is done, and then the inner

point, the zachor is revealed.” (Shelach page 283)

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gevul. The mahuso and atzmus of the soul is a chelek eloka mimaal mamash. The root of the soul

is atzmiyus Elokis.

The True I

When man says he does not comprehend Hashem he is saying, “I am I and I do not understand

Hashem.” This is not accurate. It means only that he is unaware of who he really is.

People think that the person is only made of the things that are under man’s thought, but

in truth there is a different I to the man. The real I of a man is the fact that he is a cheilek eloka

mimaal mamash, literally a piece of the Divine! Man’s soul is the real ani.

The seforim say Rebbe, Rabbi Judah the prince, could say “Omer ani,” “I say,” for

regular people are not connected to the real ani. Only Rebbe was connected to the chelek elokah

within himself. Only he could say ani!

Most of us do not know the real ani. We only know imitation. Pharaoh said “Ani paroh”

for he thought he was a god. The real ani though is the fact that Hashem is in us. The real ani ינא

is the letters ayin ןיא. One has to be mevatel, annul, all he has to G-dliness and to the degree of

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this bittul he feels the true I, the real ani.

Where does the power of this bittul come from, the

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real ani sends a light to the false yeshus in the person and because of these lights he is drawn to

this root and this creates emunah. Emunah means to follow the lights that the soul sends to the

person, to feel a real life and annul the false ani.

Emunah means to be drawn to Hashem.

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Tefillah and davening mean connection. Through tefillah a person reaches the root of emunah

and in this way he reaches dveykus. This is the root of emunah.

Lidavka bo, to cleave to Him, is the root of emunah.

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Shem Mishmuel explains the words of the Talmud that since the shofar is a reminder to Hashem it cannot be

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from a material that would remind the Almighty of the sin of the golden calf, for ain kateigor naase saneigor, the

prosecution may not serve as the defense. He asked, “Aren’t all mitzvos reminders?”

The verse states, “Adam ubeheima toshia Hashem,” “Man and beast will you save G-d.” The Talmud in Chullin,(5b)

explains it to refer to people who are sophisticated with their knowledge yet they make themselves like beasts. They

fulfill commands even when they do not understand the reasons. Even though they are sophisticated in their

understandings generally, they realize the reasons for the mitzvos, yet they annul those reasons and fulfill mitzvos

out of a spirit of temimus, simplicity and wholesome faith. They do it only because Hashem commanded! It would

make no difference to them if they did not understand or if they did comprehend.

This is what the shofar represents, to annul our intellect and as simple animals follow the directives of Hashem!

“The sin of the golden calf was that they did not follow G-d’s directives without trying to think too much. Since they

were a generation of understanding they failed in this test etc. The opposite of their sin is the shofar, this is why

when Moshe ascended the mountain to get the second set of tablets, he first blew shofar, to remind all of the

message. Throw away all the calculations, follow Hashem with complete faith like a beast, then you will not sin

again!”

The strength of Israel is when it follows Hashem in total faith. The nations of the world make their mind supreme.

They will do only what they understand. Israel’s nature is to be drawn to Hashem fully and to rise above logic. The

shofar reminds the Almighty of the true nature of the Jews. This is why especially the shofar cannot be a reminder of

the golden calf, for the golden calf was when Jews were not true to their essence and instead thought of logic and

limited intellectual thoughts. (Moadim pages 29-30)

The Rebbe once used this concept to help define the nature of Chanukah. "Life that is not eternal is not really

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life. Life means lasting existence. What ends and disappears is not lasting existence! Materialistic life, life of the

body and the animal soul, eventually end and disappear. Therefore they are not life. The purpose of the entire Torah

is that man should feel that he is a soul, and the body is merely a cloak for the soul." The Rebbe explained that

when one is aware what is true life, he will gladly surrender imitation life to maintain and strengthen true life. Thus

we can resolve a famous conflict. Many sources, especially Nachmonides and his students, teach that the aron, the

holy ark, was the essence of the sanctuary. On the other hand, Maimonides in laws of Beis Habechira taught that

the altar where sacrifices were offered was the center of the sanctuary. The answer is that the ark and altar were

linked. The ark transcended the limits of physical space, channeled further prophetic revelation, and recreated the

feelings felt at Mt. Sinai. It made us feel what was true life and inspired the altar, the sacrifice of material life for

the real life of soul.

Chanukah was the time when the menorah was relit. The menorah in the Temple had seven branches to correspond

to the entire physical world which was created in seven days. It faced the holy ark. For it too was reflective of this

truth, feeling eternal life and therefore redefining the physical, elevating it and being willing to gladly surrender non-

elevated material life. (See further Otzar Gilyonei Divrei Torah 5769, pages 57-66)

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What Is Dveykus?

It is to be attached to mahuso and atzmuso yisbaruch. For the bechinas atzmuso and mahuso of

the neshama connects to the mahuso and atzmuso yisbarech.

The mahuso and atzmuso yisbarech mean the kolellus, totality, of nishmos Yisrael, Jewish

souls, and this is called the shechinah. When a person is davuk the kedusha of hashraas

hashechinah is chal on him and he is then a G-dly person.

You can see how such a person is an entirely different person. He has G-dly senses. He

becomes a new person entirely. For he reaches a level of dveykus and his real ani is revealed. He

davens in a special way, he has Ruach Hakodesh, he has G-dly senses for he has become another

person. We find with Shaul that it says, “Vinehepachta liish acheir,” “You will be transformed to

a different person.” When Shaul became a navi he became a new person entirely. Dveykus causes

the hashraas hashechinah which makes man into a new being completely. For the real hidden

ani emerges then.

“Leis machshava tefisa beih klal,” “No thought can understand and comprehend Hashem

at all.” With thought you cannot reach Hashem. It is like taking the wrong road. To get to know

what Hashem is not you can take the road of thought. To get to mahuso and atzmuso yisbarech

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you cannot take the road of thought. You have to take the road of dveykus: a different path than

the way of the mind and thought.

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Prayer

Prayer is amazing. It has a segula power to attach a person to mahuso and atzmuso yisbarech.

Tefilla means hischabrus, tefilla means connection. Tefilla means that in a sense Hashem is far

but in another way Hashem is the closest of the close. Prayer reveals how close Hashem truly is

to us. To be masig mahuso, grasp His essence, means to reveal how close He is. To reveal

mahuso is not to think I was investigating and now I found Him. It means rather that until now

we did not know that Hashem is here, but now we understand that Hashem is and has always

been very close.

In tefilla we say boruch ata Hashem, Blessed are you Hashem. We talk to him directly.

In many seforim it is taught that the more intimate one is with Hashem, the more one speaks as a

close friend, the greater the tefilla. Many times we are to speak with distance as a way of giving

honor to one who is greater than us. Tefilla is different. It is all about getting close to Hashem.

“Mi goy gadol asher lo Elokim krovim eilav kiHashem elokeinu bichol korainu elav?” “Who is a

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Perhaps the thoughts of the Shem Mishmuel on parshas Va’aira 5679, relate to this. Shem Mishmuel explains that

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nefesh, ruach, and neshama are clothed in limbs and correspond to Asiyah, Yetzirahh and beriya, realms where

Hashem’s light is clothed in vessels. However chaya is a makif, it is above limbs. It corresponds to Atzilus. Mitzvos

are physical acts, they purify nefesh, ruach, and neshama. To reach chaya though we need something above mitzvos.

We need bittul of the ego. Messirus nefesh is the key to reaching the experience of chaya. He explains there that the

highest messirus nefesh is to even give up spiritual gifts for the sake of Hashem’s honor. Moshe did that when he

protested to Hashem to try and save or spare Yisrael. Therefore Moshe merited chaya, and thereby he merited to

bring about miracles that were fully above the realm of nature. The avos fixed the nefesh, ruach, and neshama of

Adam harishon. They were people of mitzvos and their messirus nefesh was giving up of the body for the soul, not

sacrificing mitzvos for Hashem’s glory.

This is why they were primarily connected to the revelation of Keil Shakai, a name that implies a world for it means

He told the world enough. While Moshe through total messirus nefesh brought the realm of Atzilus and chaya, a

realm fully above the physical, down, and was able to engender miracles that broke all the rules of nature. Moshe

was thereby attached to the name of Hashem, Havaya, which was there before there was a world, and is thus

independent of the world.

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great nation who has powers close to him like us with Hashem our Lord who whenever we call

Him He is near?” (Devarim 4:7)

The Midrash

contrasts tefilla with a mikvah that is not always open. In other words one

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cannot always reach purity, but tefilla is always accessible, Hashem is close bichol koreinu elav,

whenever we call to Him. One who endeavors to become pure may not become pure

immediately, while in prayer “Mi goy gadol asher lo Elokim krovim elav kiHashem elokainu

bichol koreinu eilav.” “Who is a great nation who has powers close to him like us with Hashem

our Lord who whenever we call Him He is near?”

The seforim explain that a prayer for avdos Hashem, a prayer to be able to serve Hashem,

is like aseres yimei teshuva, the ten days of repentance, and He is always close and open to

agreeing to those requests.

The pshat is we can and we should ask all from Hashem! We should talk to Hashem as

friends! We find this in sefer Tehillim. Whatever is in one’s heart is included in sefer Tehillim!

When we are at the level of tefillah we can reach real dveykus and mahuso and atzmuso

yisbarech. This is the real dveykus.

The mishnah teaches, “Hamehaleich biderech yechidi ... harei zeh mis'chayeiv binafsho,”

“One who walks on the path alone ... he has obligated his life.” (Avos 3:4) Rav Nachman

explains this to mean that one who walks alone with Hashem and speaks to Hashem in personal

terms through hisbodedus, meditation, he becomes mischayev binafsho- a necessary soul, a

mechuyav hametzius for he attaches to Hashem's essence which is the existence that must be.

Tefillah can bring a person very close to Hashem. It is a tremendous power.

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Devarim Rabba parsha beis siman yud beis See also Shem Mishmuel vaeschanan who explains this Midrash.

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'. ספתנ לכשומהו ולכשב ופיקמו לכשומה תא ספות לכשה ירה לכשומ הזיא ולכשב גישמו ליכשמשכ לכש לכ הנה

םדאשכ מ"ד ולכשב וספותו וגישמש העשב לכשומב שבולמ לכשה םגו וליכשהו וגישהש לכשה ךותב שבולמו ףקומו

התואב הב שבולמ ולכש םגו התוא ףיקמו ספות ולכש ירה הירוב לע הרושאל ארמגב וא הנשמב הכלה וזיא גישמו ןיבמ

העש.

קספה היהי ךכו ךכ ןועמשו לשמ ךרד ךכו ךכ ןבואר ןועטישכש ונוצרב הלעש ה"בקה לש ונוצרו ותמכח איה וז הכלה

ךכש רחאמ םוקמ לכמ ולא תועיבתו תונעט לע טפשמל אבל םלועל הזה רבדה היהי אלו היה אל םא ףאו ךכו ךכ םהיניב

הז קספ ולכשב גישמו עדוי םדאשכ ירה ךכ קספה היהי ךכ הזו ךכ הז ןועטי םאש ה"בקה לש ותמכחו ונוצרב הלע

הבשחמ תילד ה"בקה לש ותמכחו ונוצר ולכשב ףיקמו ספותו גישמ הז ירה םיקסופ וא ארמג וא הנשמב הכורעה הכלהכ

אלפנ דוחי אוהו םהב שבולמ ולכש םגו ונינפל תוכורעה תוכלהב םתושבלתהב םא יכ ותמכחו ונוצרב אלו היב אסיפת

הנפו דצ לכמ שממ םידחוימו םידחאל תויהל תוימשגב ללכ אצמנ וכרעכ אלו והומכ דוחי ןיאש

Now, when an intellect conceives and comprehends a concept with its intellectual faculties, this

intellect grasps the concept and encompasses it. This concept is [in turn] grasped, enveloped and

enclothed within that intellect which conceived and comprehended it.

The mind, for its part, is also clothed in the concept at the time it comprehends and grasps it with

the intellect. For example, when a person understands and comprehends, fully and clearly, any

halachah (law) in the Mishnah or Talmud, his intellect grasps and encompasses it and, at the

same time, is clothed in it.

Consequently, as the particular halachah is the wisdom and will of G-d, for it was His will that

when, for example, Reuben pleads in one way and Simeon in another, the verdict as between

them shall be thus and thus; and even should such a litigation never have occurred, nor would it

ever present itself for judgment in connection with such disputes and claims. Nevertheless, since

it has been the will and wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He, that in the event of a person

pleading this way and the other [litigant] pleading that way, the verdict shall be such and such—

now therefore, when a person knows and comprehends with his intellect such a verdict in

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accordance with the law as it is set out in the Mishnah, Talmud, or poskim (codes), he has thus

comprehended, grasped and encompassed with his intellect the will and wisdom of the Holy One,

blessed be He, Whom no thought can grasp, nor His will and wisdom, except when they are

clothed in the laws that have been set out for us. [Simultaneously] the intellect is also clothed in

them [the Divine will and wisdom].

This is a wonderful union, like which there is none other, and which has no parallel anywhere in

the material world, whereby complete oneness and unity, from every side and angle, could be

attained.

Why Learning Torah Is So Special

The Tanya says that the mind surrounds each thought, while the thought surrounds the minds.

For example, when a person understands a matter his mind envelops the matter and the matter

envelops his mind when he thinks of it. The Tanya says an example of this is when a person

understands a halacha: on the one hand it is in his mind and on the other hand it surrounds his

mind.

Let us explain this. What does the Tanya mean that the idea is in the mind and the idea

surrounds the mind?

The simple explanation is that the mind has a koach, power, of comprehension. The

seichel, intellect, can comprehend. This power to understand is matter without form, chomer bli

tzura. For example, wood is matter and it can take on a tzurah, it can be shaped. The essence of a

table is wood yet it is in the tzurah of a table if I cut it in the right way. In other words, the wood

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is in a levush of a table. The tzurah of the wood is table, so the wood is encompassed with a

garment: the fact that it is a table. The levush is how you describe something.

So too the mind, the power to comprehend, is like a raw piece of wood. When the mind

thinks about Torah then it is in a levush Torah. The davar hamuskal, comprehended matter, takes

the mind, for it is malbish, clothes, the mind. The Torah is the levush or the tzurah for the mind.

It limits the mind’s thoughts. This is the first aspect of the mind.

The second aspect works in the precisely opposite way: the davar hamuskal enters into

the mind.

For example, the mind thinks, “I am traveling from Hebron to Jerusalem.” The mind

takes in this matter of walking from Hebron. Imagine if this matter was a matter we could not

think about, for there are matters that we can’t think about. Maybe the taste of a food or the

feeling of a tune, these are matters that thought might not be able to grasp. So imagine if the

inyan of going from Hebron to Jerusalem was similarly a matter people could not think about.

Once it enters the mind it becomes a davar muskal, comprehended matter. mind now defines it,

it is clothed by the mind!

One point is that the seichel now has a tzura of this matter, and a second point is that this

matter now has a tzura of a davar muskal. It is now graspable to the mind.

When mind thinks about something that is understood, there is a great unification. The

mind is thinking about something and this matter is now something the mind can understand and

grasp. We have learnt that Hashem’s essence is beyond the grasp of thought. Torah though is

Hashem’s essence clothed in thoughts. When a man thinks about a matter of Torah, about a

halacha in the Torah, what is he thinking about? He is thinking about Hashem Himself! For a

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halacha is chochmahso and ritzono yisbarech, and hu vichochmahso echad, and this is really

attached to mahuso and atzmuso yisbarech! Once we think about Torah we are grasping His

atzmus! And grasping with the mind, where there is an awesome yichud!

The ritzono and chochmahso are attached to His Torah, and you might have thought that

man should not go there, for our mind cannot grasp Him, so how dare we try to grasp Hashem?

Yet when man does as he is told and thinks about Hashem’s Torah, there is an awesome unity for

the mind becomes one with halachos that draw out a degree of mahuso and atzmuso yisbarech!

The mind becomes defined by the matters of Torah, and the Torah, which is mahuso and

atzmuso, becomes a matter that the mind can grasp. An awesome unity on both levels. This is a

frightening and awesome yichud. Know that such thought causes great things. It changes the

person! When learning Torah we are engaging with mahuso yisbarech!

When man thinks about Torah, the power of thinking and understanding is transformed,

the power to comprehend is cleansed, it is sanctified and it gets closer to the mahus and atzmus

of Hashem. The koach of thinking is sanctified and is completely cleansed and sanctified, for it

unites with a light that holds Hashem Himself!

The Deeper Torah Is The Most Impactful Torah

You might ask: If a person is transformed by learning, then should not understanding a single law

make him into a G-dly being?

The answer is that truthfully if one would understand a halacha of Torah the right way he

would become G-dly from one thought of Torah! A single halacha would change him, for he

would become one with mahuso and atzmuso yisbarech.

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Unfortunately man does not truly understand a matter of Torah in the right way. The

reason why man does not understand correctly is that man has many parts to his ability to

comprehend and some of these are under the pollution of the serpent. As a result he does not

truly become one with Hashem. These parts do not unite with the matter of Torah.

For example, take the statement from tractate Kessubos, “Besula niseis liyom harivii.”

"The virgin gets married on a Wednesday." Ordinarily we understand this statement in a simple

way. However, this idea is really a levush for a secret, which is in turn a levush for an even

deeper secret. We are understanding chochmahso yisbarech that is clothed in levushim. It is not

in a pure G-dly state.

The four parts of Torah (pshat remez drash and sod)

correspond to the four universes.

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The part that relates to pshat is like the world of Asiyah which is rubo rah, mostly evil!

It is not elokus gamur, pure G-diness! Elokus gamur is in it, but relative to the other parts

of Torah it is not completely pure elokus. That is why our understanding does not affect a

complete transformation. The understanding of sodos haTorah is the way that can bring one to a

real yichud! Sodos haTorah is not our way of learning Kabbalah. It is the food of the neshama in

the Garden of Eden. It is levels higher and higher. You get to a higher level and then realize that

relative to this level the last level was like pshat.

Nevertheless the shoresh hainyan, the root concept, is that through the understanding of

Torah a person becomes attached to mahuso and atzmuso yisbarach through chochmahso

yisbarach.

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According to our tradition every verse and word of the holy Torah can be understood on four levels. The level of

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pshat, the simple and literal meaning, remez hinted connotations, drash homiletical interpretations, and sod, the

secrets.

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. 'יפאו תוישעמ תוצמה לכ לע התגשהו הרותה תעידי תוצמב רשא ץק ןיאל האלפנו הלודג הרתי הלעמ תאזו

תא שיבלמ ה"בקה השעמו רובדבש תוצמה לכ י"ע יכ רובדבש הרות דומלת תוצמ לע 'יפאו רובדב תויולתה תוצמ לע

המ וברקב 'ה תמכח םג הנה 'ה תמכחב שבולמ לכשהש דבלמ הרותה תעידיבו .הלגר דעו השארמ 'ה רוא הפיקמו שפנה

ותגשהו ותעידי חכו ולכש יפכ שיא הרותה תעידימ גישהלו סופתל ול רשפאש המ ולכשב ףיקמו ספותו גישמ לכשהש

שפנה ןוזמו םחל םשב תארקנ ןכל םכותב תפקומו ולכשו םדאה שפנב תשבולמ הרותה הרותה תעידיבש יפלו .ס"דרפב

םייקתיו היחי יזאו ורשבכ רשבו םד תויהל םש ךפהנו שממ וברקו וכותב וסינכמשכ ףוגה תא ןז ימשגה םחלהש ומכ יכ

םידחאל ויהו ומע תדחאתמו ולכשב תספתנש דע ולכש ןויעב בטיה הדמולש םדאה שפנב התגשהו הרותה תעידיב ךכ

ךותב ךתרותו ש"זו הברקבש ותרותו ותמכחב שבולמה אוה ךורב ףוס ןיא םייחה ייחמ הברקב םייחו שפנל ןוזמ השענ

הזה םלועב וקסעש תומשנל ןוזמה איה הרותהו תוצמה ןה ןדע ןגב תומשנה ישובלש ג"פ ד"מ רעש ח"עב ש"מכו יעמ

ש"מכ ולכש יפכ שיא הרותה תגשה י"ע 'הל ושפנ רשקל ידכ ונייה המשלו י"ר ףד להקיו רהזב ש"מכו המשל הרותב

יפל תוצמה לכ דגנכ לוקש הרות דומלתש ל"זר ורמא ןכלו םיפיקמ 'יחב םישובלהו ימינפ רוא 'יחב איה ןוזמהו] ח"ערפב

בלתמש תלכשמה שפנל שובל םגו ןוזמ איה הרותהו דבל םישובל ןה תוצמהש

ח"ערפב ש"מכ ףיקמ רוא 'יחב השענ רובדה לבהש רובדב ויפב איצומשכ ןכש לכו הדומילו הנויעב הב

Hence the special superiority, infinitely great and wonderful, that is in the commandment of

knowing the Torah and comprehending it. It is over all the commandments involving action, and

even those relating to speech, and even the commandment to study the Torah, which is fulfilled

through speech. For, through all the commandments involving speech or action the Holy One,

blessed be He, clothes the soul and envelops it from head to foot with the Divine light. However,

with regard to knowledge of the Torah, apart from the fact that the intellect is clothed in Divine

wisdom, this Divine wisdom is also contained in it, to the extent that his intellect comprehends,

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grasps and encompasses, as much as it is able so to do, the kowledge of the Torah. Every man

according to his intellect, his knowledgeable capacity, and his comprehension in pardes.

Since, in the case of knowledge of the Torah, the Torah is clothed in the soul and intellect

of a person, and is absorbed in them, it is called “bread” and “food” of the soul. For just as

physical bread nourishes the body as it is absorbed internally, in his very inner self, where it is

transformed into blood and flesh of his flesh, whereby he lives and exists— so, too, it is with the

knowledge of the Torah and its comprehension by the soul of the person who studies it well, with

a concentration of his intellect, until the Torah is absorbed by his intellect and is united with it

and they become one. This becomes nourishment for the soul, and its inner life from the Giver of

life, the blessed Ain Sof, Who is clothed in His wisdom and in His Torah that are [absorbed] in it

[the soul].

This is the meaning of the verse, “Yea, Thy Torah is within my inward parts.”

It is also stated in Etz Chayim, Portal 44, chapter 3 that the “garments” of the soul in

paradise are the commandments, while the Torah is the “food” for the souls which, during life

on earth, had occupied themselves in the study of the Torah for its own sake. It is [similarly]

written in the Zohar. “For its own sake” means to [study with the intent] to attach one’s soul to

G-d through the comprehension of the Torah, each one according to his intellect, as explained in

Peri Etz Chayim.

(The “food” [of the soul] is in the nature of Inner Light, while the “garments” are in the

nature of Encompassing Light. Therefore our Rabbis, of blessed memory, have said, “The study

of the Torah equals all the commandments.” For the commandments are but “garments”

whereas the Torah is both “food” as well as “garment” for the rational soul, in which a person

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is clothed during learning and concentration. All the more so when a person also articulates, by

word of mouth, for the breath emitted in speaking [the words of the Torah] becomes something in

the nature of an Encompassing Light, as is explained in Peri Etz Chayim.)

The Tanya explains that there is a certain advantage to the mitzvah of learning Torah that

makes it superior even to the performance of mitzvos, for through the learning of Torah there is a

great yichud that is unmatched in any other realm.

Here is the way I understand this lesson of the Tanya. When a man does a mitzvah, as has

been explained earlier, the levush of a matter is the tzurah the matter takes on. When a man does

a mitzvah, the power of acting, maaseh, has taken a levush of ratzon Hashem! Man could do

other things, but the fact that his present act is a mitzvah means his act has taken a garment of the

will of Hashem! His actions are therefore the will and thought of Hashem!

Yet there is a great difference between mind and action. When one does a mitzvah it is

not as related to the essence of action as a thought is to the power of thinking. The power of

acting (the essence of doing is a koach to do) is a spiritual matter, but here he did an act that is a

physical matter. I can see the act. He gave tzedakah.

On the other hand, in regards to intellect, a thought is very close to the power of thought.

What the mind thinks of is spiritual. It becomes a matter that is comprehended, it becomes mind,

it becomes intangible, to become one with the power of comprehension. When you do something

though the hand maybe did something, but the power of doing is still something different. It is

something spiritual, not physical.

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Rav Hutner in his introduction to Pachad Yitzchok taught that there is an advantage to Torah lessons about

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worldviews and middos over lessons about Jewish law. Jewish law details actions. There is great distance between

mind and action. Worldviews and middos are in the mind and heart, Torah lessons about these subjects are close to

their destination and therefore reach their intended purpose faster than lessons about changes in behavior.

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Thus, in doing the power to do takes on a levush, yet the act performed is not one with

the koach. At the same time in mind, in thoughts, there is a unity of the matter that is

comprehended simply through that act of becoming a matter of thought and thus there is an

absolute unity in the realm of thought much more than in the realm of mitzvos. (This formulation

does not work as well in the language of the Tanya, who says in a maase mitzvah there is a unity

from one side, while in thought there is a unity from both sides. In light of our explanation it is

really that in an act of a mitzvah there is no unity on any level. But I still think this is what he

means that in Chochmah there is a degree of unification which does not exist in the doing of a

mitzvah.)

In a practical sense, we see that when a man thinks thoughts of Torah the entire essence

of man becomes transformed. A person who only does and never thinks is not transformed in the

same way. Machshava transforms the person. The holiness of a talmid chacham, a good student,

is completely different than the nature of a person who is an am haaretz, an ignorant Jew. For the

Torah has an impact on the soul of the talmid chacham that transforms his mind. Chochmah

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binah daas impacts the middos.

Through thinking about Torah the entire person is

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transformed!

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Mitzvos improve a person, but not to the same degree. The difference between a talmid

chacham and an am haaretz is much sharper than the difference between an am haaretz who

does mitzvos and an am haaretz who does not do mitzvos, because Torah transforms the core of

the person!

Therefore it is very important to understand well what you learn. To understand

something clearly requires a great attraction to the matter. There is a need for a feeling of

pleasure in the matter. For example, the Talmud says one should always learn mah shelibo

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Rav Morgenstern expounded on the thought that intellects sire emotions and that the mind is the key to complete

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transformation.

“The Tzemach Tzedek wrote in a letter that one should be certain that each midda one has, such as depression or

happiness, is rooted in a moach, an intellect. If a person feels sad he must have in his thoughts conceptions that are

causing feelings of depression. Those thoughts are parents who create children, the feelings of depression in the

heart. The same is true with wasting time. If a Yeshiva man wastes time it is because in his mind he does not truly

appreciate the value of every moment of learning Torah and hence he wastes time.

The solution to this is to regularly learn works that talk about joy as an antidote to depression. Even if this

learning does not have an immediate impact, since the emotions are still rooted in earlier conceptions, when he

regularly, day after day, is immersed in these studies, by definition, ultimately the intellects will change the

emotions!

This was the foundation of the way of Rav Yisrael Salanter. He taught that each midda one must fix can be

changed through intensive learning, with great concentration, of the matters of this midda. Then the mind will

change the midda, even though this does not happen right away and it takes much time.

It is said in the name of Rav Avraham the brother of the Gra that the way to become an intensive learner of

Torah is to spend several months learning holy works that speak about the greatness of learning and he should repeat

and review the ideas many, many times, for Torah is a matter that one must continually strengthen. When he

constantly learns this matter eventually he will find his heart filled with passion for learning.” (Yam HaChochmah

5769, page 479)

In Trails of Triumph (page 279) a story is told about the great Rabbi Yisrael Yaakov Lubchansky, mashgiach of

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the Baranovitch Yeshiva. He once saw the students taking positions near where Rav Dovid Rappoport was slated to

deliver a class half an hour before the shiur. He approached them and reminded them that they still had a half hour

to learn with their study partners and it was not yet time for the class. The boys said they would return to their

studies but did not. He got upset with them and raised his voice telling them to return to their seats. That night his

wife entered the Yeshiva at a late hour, for her husband was missing. The boys went to find Rabbi Lubchansky. They

found him in a secluded area repeating to himself again and again, “Anyone who gets angry it is as if he worships

idols.”

Even though his anger had been for the sake of Heaven. Even though the boys had not been respectful to

him, he still was disappointed in himself for having lost his temper. He wishaid to change his intellectual thoughts.

Hence he lost himself in repeating again and again the horrors of anger, so that his mind and then his actions would

change.

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chafetz, what his heart desires. Why do we not say here that “Yakuf es yitzro adif,” “Better to

coerce one’s urges.” The answer is that mah shelibo chafeitz is part of the act of truly learning

Torah. The yichud and the taanug are one matter. The mind must become one with the matter.

The mind becomes one with a matter, when he cannot leave the matter, when he enjoys a matter.

That is the yichud of Torah!

When you get to a good sevara and you cannot leave it, when there is the awesome

pleasure of looking at the truth and you cannot let go, this is the yichud of Torah. This yichud

transforms the mind and the person!

You have to learn those parts of Torah that you enjoy, those parts that you are drawn to,

those matters you can unite with your wisdom. The pleasure of Torah comes from iyun, when

you work hard on a matter and you reach a real sevara of truth that you cannot leave. This is the

truth of Torah: when you feel a great pleasure that you never want to leave.

It takes work. Especially, in the young years, we need to work to reach these levels. We

know that now is the time to prepare for the Torah. During the sefirah

we must prepare

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ourselves to learn Torah in a way of understanding the truth in Torah! In a way that we will feel

that we cannot disconnect from Torah. We need to be mekabel the Torah!

I have seen tzadikim that were immersed in learning and could not stop learning. It was

not in the way of kabbalas ol, accepting an obligation, it was in the sense of lifrosh mimenah eini

yachol, I cannot separate from her! It was in the sense of ki heim chayeinu! For the words of

Torah are life! They got life from Torah. It was in the feeling that haporeish mimcha kiporesih

min hachaim! One who separates from You is separating from living! It was the feeling of Im

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The seven week period from Passover to the holiday of Shavuos during which we count each night and try to

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improve our character to become worthy of reliving the giving of the Torah.

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yitein ish kol hon beiso biahava boz yavuzo lo, If a man would give all the wealth of his house in

place of this love, they would scorn him. (Shir Hashirim 8:7) All their bones were filled with the

sweetness of Torah. They drew life from Torah. Reb Tarfon said that to leave Rebbe Akiva is to

leave life. They felt this learning was life itself.

We need siyata dishmaya for this level, we need to break the middos to reach this

sweetness and to merit this level of truly connecting to Torah and to its understanding. Shavuos

is the time for this, and now during sefirah we have to use these days likadsheinu, to sanctify us,

and litaharienu, to purify us, to truly appreciate Torah. Haskein atzmecha lilmod Torah! Prepare

yourself to study Torah!

We need to learn a lot now, and we need to daven a lot now, so that we can reach the true

yichud, unification, available on the day of mattan Torah. And we should know that learning

Torah helps a lot in regards to this union. It helps us break our taavos, as well, and now is the

time, to grab this time and prepare for this great yichud of the holiday of Shavuos.

When you say words of Torah the Tanya adds that you have the maalah of an act of

mitzvah together with the awesome unity of the thoughts and immersion into Torah.

May Hashem help us to prepare during the days for tahareinu and kadsheinu

bikdushascha haelyonah, our purity and holiness in Your great holiness!

Some differences are incidental others are essential. It is part of the essential character of holiness

that in the sacred the mind leads. Part of the essential definition of the unholy is that it begins with lusts.

The Tanya seems to teach that evil urges are a function of the mind. How can this be? Lesson fourteen

reveals that due to our exile the forces of evil have taken some of the qualities of the holy.

Lesson Fourteen: Holiness Integrates All While Evil Separates

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Chapter Six

םישובל השלשב תשבלתמו תושודק תוריפס רשעמ הלולכ תיהלאה שפנש ומכ יכ םיהלא השע הז תמועל הז הנהו

תודמ עבש ןהש אתובאסמד ןירתכ רשעמ הלולכ םדאה םדב תשבולמה הגונ תופילקמ ארחא ארטסד שפנה ךכ םישודק

ןה תודמה יכ תודמה רוקמ תעדו הניב המכח ןהש שלשל קלחנה ןדילומה לכשו ל"נה םיער תודוסי עבראמ תואבה תוער

רתוי םירקי םירבד גישהל רצקו ןטק ולכשש יפל ךרעה יתוחפ םינטק םירבד בהואו קשוח ןטקה יכ לכשה ךרע יפל

תודמ ראשו תוראפתהב ןכו םינטק םירבדמ ףצקתמו סעכתמ ןכו .םהמ

“The Almighty has created one thing opposite the other.”

Just as the divine soul consists of ten holy Sefiros and is clothed in three holy garments, so does

the soul which is derived from the sitra achra of the kelipas nogah, which is clothed in man's

blood, consist of ten “crowns of impurity.” These are the seven evil middos which stem from the

four evil elements mentioned above, and the intellect begetting them which is subdivided into

three, viz., wisdom, understanding and knowledge, the source of the middos. For the middos are

according to the quality of the intellect. Hence a child desires and loves petty things of inferior

worth, for his intellect is too immature and deficient to appreciate things that are much more

precious. Likewise is he provoked to anger and vexation over trivial things; so, too, with

boasting and other middos.

The Tanya now explains that the nefesh haadam is in the blood, which in a Jew comes from

Kellipahs nogah, from the eser kisrin dimisaavusa, the ten crowns of impurity. Kisrim

dimisaavusa is a parallel to the ten Sefiros.

The Tanya explains that all comes from the mind. Just as in holiness the mind sires the

holy middos, so too in sitra achra does the seichel sire middos raos, terrible behavioral traits.

Seichel is the source of the middos and the middos are according to the nature of the seichel.

Thus a young and immature person who cannot understand great matters will get excited about

small things and will get angry about small things. He will have pride about small things since he

is young and has a limited mind. So we see that in the realm of evil, the middos raos are also

linked to the mind.

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Let us explain this matter. How can the Tanya teach that evil emotions emerge from evil

thoughts? In holiness we understand that the mind is what gives birth to ahavas Hashem and to

yiras Hashem. The mind, through thinking about holy matters, gives birth to ahavas Hashem and

yiras Hashem. Without thinking one would not get ahavas Hashem and yiras Hashem. (True

there is a hidden love of Hashem, but we are not talking here of that love. Here we are talking of

the revealed love, which only emerges from hisbonenus in ahavas Hashem and in yiras

Hashem). Yet isn’t evil always characterized as lusts? Most evil acts seem to emerge from drives

that are independent of the mind. What is the meaning of evil thoughts siring evil emotions? Are

there some evil thoughts that beget evil emotions? We see that it is not so. The realm of evil

seems to be a realm where emotions impact the mind! While it is true that the degree of ahava

and yirah is dependent on what level of mind one has, nevertheless, you cannot say in evil that

mind creates the taava, lust? One person with a small mind desires small things and another with

a big mind wants big things, but the person who desires evil on a large scale has the same desire

for evil as the one who desires evil on a small scale. In both cases the essential desire is the same.

The mind creates difference in terms of what the person wants, but the desire itself is not born in

the mind!

There is a need here for a deep and complete explanation, so let us begin.

There is a great difference between sitra achra and holiness. Zeh liumas zeh asah Elokim

means that there is a similarity in all areas yet there is also a basic difference: one is holy and one

is sitra achra. Therefore, in all matters relating to this core difference they are different, yet in all

other matters they are the same. There are matters that our teachers reveal relate to the very

difference between kedusha and sitra achra. One of these matters is that holiness is called reshus

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hayachid, the domain of the individual, whereas sitra achra is the domain of many, reshus

harabim.

The United Realm

In a reshus hayachid all work together. In holiness all attributes work together. In

holiness all attributes of holiness are part of one plan, each midda has to fit with the others, and

there is a set order for how the middos are to work, a shiur komah, complete structure. For

example, in holiness one might do chesed, yet he will only do chesed in a way that conforms to

the mandates of gevurah. He will not do chesed if it is against the mandates of gevurah or the

purpose of the chesed. “Kol mi sheain bo deiah assur liracheim alav,” “Anyone without daas,

good judgment, one may not have compassion on him.” You might want to have rachmanus on

him, but the Torah says there are some to whom you should not display mercy!

Sometimes you cannot do chesed if you are truly a man of the realm of holiness. For

example, say there is a student who says a pshat in the Talmud and he comes to me and I know

that the pshat does not work and is incorrect. The student is making this mistake because he did

not learn enough. If I tell him the truth, “This is wrong you need to put more effort into your

study,” he will feel bad but he will then learn and grow from this experience. If I tell him, “This

is a great pshat,” he will not learn the way he should. Now I might have a natural desire to do

chesed, I cannot bring myself to cause people to feel bad, I do not want to cause anyone to ever

feel bad, I do not want to ever see people in pain. Then I do chesed because that is my nature and

I am not thinking of the big picture, but then I will compliment the student and not accomplish

the goal! If I merge chesed with gevurah in this instance I will tell the boy you are wrong and

you have to work harder, and thereby accomplish the plan, the goal of holiness. In truth this is a

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much deeper chesed than the chesed of the compliment, because when I tell him, “You did not

learn as you should,” he will walk away feeling bad but he will learn now and grow to become a

talmid chacham!

In holiness man is a complete structure. Man has mochin and middos. In holiness if you

ask who should rule, the moach or the middos, the answer is that the moach of the man should be

the ruler over the middos. This is the plan of man. The shleimus of man is that the moach should

rule over the heart. The mochin should impact the middos more than the middos impact the

mochin. This is the meaning of Hashem telling Eve about Adam vhu yimshol bach, And he will

rule over you. Intellect must rule emotion, the ish must rule the isha, the mochin must be

sovereign over the middos! In holiness ahavas Hashem and yiras Hashem only come from the

mochin! The mochin are the av and the middos are the ben, the child.

The Brazen Realm

Sitra achra is reshus harabbim. Sitra achra is alma diprida, the world of division. In

sitra achra each element works for itself. In sitra achara, chutzpah yasgei, brazenness is

ascendant. Man has chutzpah within himself: the lower forces assert themselves despite the

higher forces. Man has bad kochos hanefesh. He has middos raos. These middos have no derech

eretz for the mochin. These middos say ana emlokh, I will rule. Ahavos raos think they can rule

over the mochin as well! In evil the middah might not start with the mochin, for in sitra achra the

definition of evil is that each is his own ruler, there is no derech eretz and there is no order of

respect. Each works in its own realm, the mochin and the middos.

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However, there must also be a resemblance to the realm of holiness and this is why the

nature of the middos conforms to the nature of the mind. The fact that in sitra achra middos are

not born from the mochin is related to the very difference between rah and tov.

The evil in the world has become very extensive. It is the result of many pegamim,

deficiencies. First the sin of the tree of knowledge followed by many other sins lead us to say

that, especially after the destruction of the Second Temple, we live in an abnormal world. The

way the world should be is a world with a Beis Hamikdash. Chazal tell us that after the loss of

the Beis Hamikdash there were those who did not want to have children any more. They were

overruled, yet the concept is true: without a Beis Hamikdash there should be no world. The

world should have a Beis Hamikdash. Since its loss, evil has become much greater and the world

has been devalued and destroyed.

No one believed the Beis Hamikdash could be destroyed, to the extent that they wanted to

kill Yirmiyahu the prophet for predicting it. When the Jews of the time saw the eventual

destruction they thought the world was coming to an end and that there was no longer a reason to

keep mitzvos. Hashem said to them, “I will rule over you with a strong hand. You must continue

to observe.” Apparently evil was really strengthened after the destruction of the Beis

Hamikdash.

Now there is a shita of rah. Now evil is an ideology! Before the destruction of the

Temple, evil was not at such a strong level. Now there is a komah of rah. Now rah, the middos

raos, will emerge from the mochin. Now you can have a philosopher and he creates ideologies

and thoughts that spawn middos raos. This is because evil has taken the concept of komah

shleimah from us once the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed.

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Our tradition teaches that Jerusalem, representing holiness, and Tzor, Tyre, representing

the unholy are in an inverse relationship. Tzor was built up from the ruins of Jerusalem (Rashi,

Bereishis 25:23). This statement is more than a physical reality of the gentiles taking

Jerusalem’s treasures. It is a spiritual reality. On the simple level, when Jerusalem fell, Bavel

took much wisdom from the Jews who had wisdom from Shlomo. The Persians took wisdom

from them and the Greeks from the Persians and the Romans from them. It is also true in

another sense. Evil now has a shita of rah. Once the binyan, building, of kedusha was destroyed

evil took this power of binyan, a complete structure, and now they created a shita, ideology, of

tumah and rah. Today evil thoughts lead to evil emotions, for the power of a structure has been

taken from holiness with the fall of Jerusalem.

The Mission of Exile

The Talmud teaches that Klal Yisrael went into exile to get converts. This means the

Jewish people went to exile to remove the good part from the nations, this leads to gentiles from

that nation converting and then that nationality would be left with just pure evil, which will not

last.

For example, take the French. Perhaps their good part is that they are happy people. With

this joy they are a strong nation. When the Jews go into exile in that place, Jews have a

relationship with those people. Furthermore the air of a country, based on the sar, guardian

angel, of that country, creates a particular levush that all native born children in that land possess.

French people are therefore born with a natural urge for the joy that the goyim of that country

have. A Jew born in France has a mission. He is to be sincere and modest and reveal what is real

simcha. He displays simcha of holiness and shows what is false simcha: he is mevarrer, clarifies,

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the real simcha. The goyim do not need to all know what Jews are accomplishing in a land. The

point of exile is that the essential good of a country should be misbarrer, become refined.

In other words, ever since the dor haflaga, generation of dispersion, the goyim are not

part of malchus shmayim, the Heavenly kingdom. They are rather part of the sar of their nation.

What is important is that the matter of the nation rise. Once the matter is raised, many non Jews

of that country will convert. In the case of France, the gentiles there would not convert from

sadness. They will convert from encounters with genuine holy joy, for joy is their ideology and

therefore once we raise the nitzotz, spark, in that country to its rightful place many converts will

join us. “Lo galu yisrael ela cdei shiyatvasfu aleihim geirim.” “Jews only went into exile to add

converts.”

Yet this all happened because of exile. Had we not sinned in Israel there would have been

such wisdom that we would have had no need to go into exile to raise sparks.

Consider the days of Shlomo. There was enormous wisdom and the nations came to us to

be inspired. Due to our sins we no longer have the spiritual strength in Jerusalem to subdue the

forces of evil. The forces of evil have taken sparks from us. We now need to go to the nations

and we need to hold strong with holy actions and in this way the nations will be impacted and

elevated and will return to holiness.

Kabbalah Is A Great Light

In the days of Rashbi it was mesugal, fortuitous, to clarify matters.

The Torah of Rashbi is a part of Torah that the sitra achra cannot draw nourishment

from. A goy cannot really learn the true matter of the secrets of Torah. “Uchvodi liacher lo

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etein,” “I will not give my honor to others.” “Ani Hashem hu shmi uchvodi liacheir lo aten.” “I

am Hashem, it is my name, and I will not give my honor to others.”

If the sitra achra wants to hold onto this level, the holiness will leave. Chillul Hashem is

the name for the void felt when holiness leaves. The hidden secret of Rashbi is hidden in Jewish

souls.

We may not reveal too many of the secrets of the Torah. If these secrets would be

revealed it would be like bittul bechira, nullification of choice, for the rah would be battel. If a

man or a tzadik would reveal this inner holiness he would destroy the evil and then there would

be no bechira. Wherever there is a matter of bittul bechira, there is a great kitrug, prosecution,

against it, for Hashem allows the mikatreig to fight against these matters. For Hashem wants a

world of Bechira.

There are some souls, like Rashbi, who have no fear. Rashbi had no fear of any kitrug and

he could reveal the secrets of Torah. Hashem allows a Rashbi to reveal the secrets even though

these matters are like a bittul bechira because there is a liumas zeh, there are powers of rah that

are very, very potent. Once someone overcomes this rah he can become a part of the realm of

holiness. Rashbi was one of these great souls: he could reveal the secrets of the Torah with no

fear.

Lag Baomer is Rashbi’s day, and so this day has the same quality. This day has a different

type of sun, for the sun did not want to set on this day. It wanted Rashbi to reveal more and more

on this day. On this day Rashbi is the baalebas, master of the house. So on this day one can

connect to the light of the secrets of Torah. The light of the secrets of Torah is like a level of no

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choice, it is like mattan Torah of paska zuhamasan, when the filth of the serpent ceased, it is like

Adam harishon before the sin! This light appears on Lag Baomer.

On Lag Baomer, there was a gathering, a knesiya, around Rashbi. Why a gathering?

Because the holy realm is a reshus hayachid, all are united and working together! Each of the

different students of Rashbi is a different middah, and the primary revelation of Rashbi, in all the

derushei hazohar, lessons of Zohar, is to reveal how everything works together, how the entire

structure is united and part of one whole. The section of Zohar called idra is the komah,

structure, of how all levels unite to be one reshus hayachid.

This is the idra rabba where each student was told what to reveal according to his

middah. On Lag Baomer it is idra zuta. Now Rashbi himself speaks. Rashbi is a yachid who is

kollel all the others, and he reveals great secrets.

Rashbi is talking about the world from the head to the heel. He is revealing the middos of

Adam harishon. For Adam unites all the middos and employs them in tandem. From the top to

the heel it is all one. Since we say that we, our generation, are linked to the heels we must ask,

what are heels? A middah: the legs are nehi, netzach,hod yesod, dominance, empathy, and

foundation, the ankle is nehi of nehi the heel is nehi of nehi of nehi.

We know that Reb Yochanan Hasandler

is buried next to Rashbi. He is the one who

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teaches in Pirkei Avos that “Kol knessiya shehi lisheim shmayim sofa lihiskayim,” “Any

gathering for the sake of heaven will ultimately last.” (Avos 4:11) He is a shoemaker. He would

fix the legs, symbols of the lowest levels. He goes to Rashbi’s grave and testifies, “This

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Rav Yochanan Hasandler was from the fourth generation of sages called Tannaim. He was a student of Rabbi

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gathering reaches even the heels!” He is saying that this light and unity touches all, even the

heel, even to the generation before mashiach. For this is a gathering lishem shamayim.

We need to connect to this light. If the yetzer hara fights this light know there is a rule,

zeh liumas zeh, this one is opposite this one, and with this light you can conquer the yetzer hara.

Secrets of Torah is a light of depth and with this light of Rashbi we can overcome the sitra

achra.

יישעמה חכו ויפבש ורובדו וחומבש ותבשחמ ירה השוע וא רבדמ וא ןהב בשחמ םדאשכ תואמטה ולא 'יחב רשעו

וא רובד וא השעמ תעשב ןהב תושבלתמש תואמטה ולא 'יחב רשעל ובאסמ ישובל םיארקנ וירביא ראשו וידיבש

וריבת ןהש חלשב רהזב ש"מכו חור תוערו לבה לכה רשא שמשה תחת םישענ רשא םישעמה לכ םה ןהו הבשחמ

רחא דצ 'יפ ארחא ארטס ןושל 'יפ והזש ותדובעלו ונוצרלו המה 'הל אל רשא תובשחמה לכו םירובדה לכ ןכו 'וכ אחורד

רבד לע אלא הרוש ה"בקה ןיאו ה"בקה לש ותשודקמ הכשמהו הארשה אלא וניא השודקה דצו השודקה דצ וניאש

יבגל שממ לטב תויהל וחכבש הטמל לארשי שיא לככ חכב ןיב םינוילע םיכאלמכ שממ לעופב ןיב 'בתי ולצא לטבש

הרשע יב לכו 'וכ היורש הניכש הרותב קסועו בשויש דחא 'יפאש ל"זר ורמא ןכלו .'ה תשודק לע ושפנ תריסמב ה"בקה

לש ותשודקמ תויח לבקמ וניא ומצע ינפב דרפנ רבד אוה אלא 'תי ולצא לטב וניאש המ לכ לבא םלועל אירש אתניכש

הגרדמל הגרדממ םידרויש םיירוחא 'יחבמ אלא המצעבו הדובכב התומצעו התוהמו השודקה תימינפ 'יחבמ ה"בקה

רחא טועימ תויחהו רואה ךכ לכ טעמתנש דע םיבר םימוצמצו לולעו הלע ךרד תומלועה תולשלתשהב תוגרדמ תובבר

תויהל רוזחי אלש שיל ןיאמ ומייקלו ותויחהל דרפנה רבד ותוא ךות תולג 'יחבב שבלתהלו םצמצתהל לוכיש דע טועימ

ארבנש םדוקמ הלחתבכ ספאו ןיא

'יפס רשע ןה ולא הישעד 'יפס רשע ךותבו ג"מ רעש ח"עב ש"מכו השודקד הישעד 'יפס רשע וכותב תויה םע ההגה

לכ אלמ ה"ב ס"א רוא אצמנו ה"ב ס"א רוא ןכותבש תוליצאד 'יפס רשע ןכותבו האירבד 'יפס רשע ןכותבו הריציד

םילוגלג רפסבו ב"פ ז"מ רעש ח"עב ש"מכ ע"יבא תומלוע עבראד 'יפס רשעב ותושבלתה ידי לע הנותחתה וזלה ץראה

כ קרפ':

ןיאו ירמגל תוערו תואמטה 'ופילק שלש איה הנותחתה הגרדמה וזמ הטמל וז תוגרדמ יתשל תוקלחנ ןה תופילקהש אלא

ידבוע תומוא לכ תושפנ תוכשמנו תועפשנ ןהמו 'וגו לודג ןנעו הרעס חור לאקזחי תבכרמב וארקנו ללכ בוט םהב

תורוסא תולכאמ לכ תויחו םויקו םפוג םויקו הליכאב םירוסאו םיאמטה םייח ילעב לכ תושפנו םפוג םויקו םילולג

לכ לש הבשחמו רובד השעמה לכ תויחו םויק ןכו ו"פ ט"מ רעש ח"עב ש"מכו 'וכ םרכה יאלכו הלרע ומכ חמוצהמ

ה"פ ףוס םש ש"מכ ןהיפנעו השעת אל ה"סש:

Now these ten unclean categories, when a person meditates in them or speaks them, or acts by

them, his thought — which is in his brain; and his speech—which is in his mouth; and the power

of action— which is in his hands, together with his other limbs— all these are called the “impure

garments” of these ten unclean categories wherein the latter are clothed at the time of the action,

speech or thought. It is these that constitute all the deeds that are done under the sun, which are

all “vanity and striving after the wind,” as interpreted in the Zohar, Beshallach, in the sense of a

“ruination of the spirit...”

So, too, are all utterances and thoughts which are not directed towards G-d and His will and

service. For this is the meaning of sitra achra— “the other side,” i.e. not the side of holiness. For

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the holy side is nothing but the indwelling and extension of the holiness of the Holy One, blessed

be He, and He dwells only on such a thing that abnegates itself completely to Him, either

actually, as in the case of the angels above, or potentially, as in the case of every Jew down

below, having the capacity to abnegate himself completely to the Holy One, blessed be He,

through martyrdom for the sanctification of G-d.

That is why our Sages have said that “Even when a single individual sits and engages in the

Torah the shechinah rests on him,” and "On each [gathering of] ten Jews the shechinah rests”

always.

However, that which does not surrender itself to G-d, but is a separate thing by itself, does not

receive its vitality from the holiness of the Holy One, blessed be He, that is, from the very inner

essence and substance of the holiness itself, but from “behind its back,” as it were, descending

degree by degree, through myriads of degrees with the lowering of the worlds, by way of cause

and effect, and innumerable contractions, until the Light and Life is so diminishaid through

repeated diminutions, that it can be compressed and incorporated, in a state of exile as it were,

within that separated thing, giving it vitality and existence ex nihilo, so that it does not revert to

nothingness and non-existence as it was before it was created.

Consequently, this world, with all its contents, is called the world of kelipot and sitra achra.

Therefore all mundane affairs are severe and evil, and wicked men prevail, as explained in Etz

Chayim, Portal 42, end of ch. 4.

Note: To be sure, there are contained in it [this world] the ten Sefiros of Asiyahh, action, of the

side of holiness, as is written in Etz Chayim, Portal 43, and within these ten Sefiros of Asiyahh

are the ten Sefiros of Yetzirahhh, formation, and in them the ten Sefiros of Beriahh, creation, and

in them the ten Sefiros of Atzilus, emanation, in which abides the light of the blessed Ain Sof.

Thus the light of the blessed Ain Sof pervades this lower world through being clothed in the ten

Sefiros of the Four Worlds, namely those of aitzilus, Beriahh, Yetzirahhh and Asiyahh, as

explained in Etz Chayim, Portal 47, ch. 2, and in sefer ha-gilgulim, ch. 20.

However, the kelipos are subdivided into two grades, one lower than the other. The lower grade

consists of the three kelipos which are altogether unclean and evil, containing no good whatever.

In the “chariot” of [the prophet] Ezekiel they are called “whirlwind,” “great cloud…” From

them flow and derive the souls of all the nations of the world, and the existence of their bodies,

and also the souls of all living creatures that are unclean and unfit for consumption, and the

existence of their bodies, as well as the existence and vitality of all forbidden food in the

vegetable kingdom, such as orlah and “mixed seeds in the vineyard...” as explained in Etz

Chayim,, Portal 49, ch. 6, as also the existence and vitality of all actions, utterances, and

thoughts pertaining to the 365 prohibitions and their offshoots, as is explained ibid., at the end of

ch. 5.

Holiness Equals Surrender

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Sitra achra means the other side is already evil. Sitra achra means there is no middle.

Either you are on the side of holiness or you are on the side of the opposite of holiness. There is

no middle. Either it is gan eden or gehinnom.

The Tanya explains if it is battel to Hashem it is good. If I am not battel to Hashem, if I

do something because I want it, then it is bad. There is no such thing as my own will, “what I

want.” Our only wish should be to fulfill the will of Hashem. How can I say “I do this because I

want to?” Milo kol haaretz kvodo! His glory fills the world! (Yeshayahu 6:3)

I should only do that which is ratzon Hashem. I should not be doing what I want to do. All that

should exist for me should be ratzon Hashem! Either it is good or bad. The Chovos Halevavos

talks about this as well.

The Tanya explains that when you have ten Jews there is shechinah, for in the hidden

realm of these Jews there is bittul to Hashem. The shechinah is only revealed - there is a giluy

shechinah - where there is bittul to Hashem. And so when the ten are together there is a bittul to

Hashem and that causes a revelation of shechinah. For Hashem is in truth everywhere, but He is

only revealed in a place where there is bittul to Hashem.

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A Soul Ascending

Rashbi spoke about Yom Kippur. The last words he spoke about were about Jews entering

into the Holy of Holies. When the Kohen gadol went into the Holy of Holies it was a bechinah of

the tzadik going into a higher world. It was like a tzadik reaching the level of Adam harishon

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For example, Shem Mishmuel on Bamidbar (5670) page 6 points out that to succeed in battle the warrior needs

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self esteem and confidence. Yet what can divide man from Hashem is ego. םכיניבו םשה ןיב דמוע יכנא, (Devarim

chapter 5) “I was standing between Hashem and you” the feelings of ego and self importance serve as the barrier

between a person and Hashem. Ego is a root that spawns poisonous plants. “The correct advice is to consider and

internalize that a person is an emissary of God. From Him comes all greatness and courage. The more one has

surrendered to God the greater his success will be!”

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kodem hachet, Adam before the sin. We see that Reb Yishmael Kohen gadol in the Holy of

Holies had an aliyas neshama, elevation of soul.

When Rashbi died he said that that place was “ki sham tzivah Hashem es habracha,” “For

there Hashem has commanded blessing.” He was not able to say the words chayim ad olam, life

forever, but he ended with the words sham tzivah Hashem es habracha.

Lag Baomer is a time for brachos and parshas Kedoshim is a time of this bracha and this

holiness. May Hashem help us that the Kohen gadol should enter the kodesh kodashim, the Holy

of Holies, and we should merit chayim ad haolam.

Our world is filled with bridges between opposites. For instance night seems to be the opposite of

day. Yet the twilight period between day and night is a bridge linking day and night. Bridges create unity.

Our world is an arena where holiness can come to life, where there can be unity. Lesson fifteen delves into

the realm of the permitted and prohibited matters and what role unity is to play.

Lesson Fifteen: Achdus, Unity And Its Importance

Chapter 7

ל"נכ םדאה םדב תשבולמה הפילקה דצמש לארשיבש תימהבה תינויחה שפנ ךא

On the other hand, the vitalizing animal soul in the Jew, that which is derived from the aspect of

the kelipah, which is clothed in the human blood as stated above

ןכו הליכאב רתומה חמוצה לכו םמודה לכ תויחו םויקו הליכאב םירתומו םירוהט םיגדו תופועו תויחו תומהב תושפנו

ז"הוע יניינעב הבשחמו רובד השעמה לכ תויחו םויק

רוסיא דצ םהב ןיאש

and the “souls” of the animals, beasts, birds and fish that are clean and fit for [Jewish]

consumption, and also the existence and vitality of the entire inanimate and vegetable world

which are permissible for consumption, as well as the existence and vitality of every act,

utterance and thought in mundane matters that contain no forbidden aspect.

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The Tanya first speaks of objects of Kellipahs nogah and then about actions from this form of

physicality.

וצפחו ףוגה ןוצר אלא םימש םשל ןניאש קר ןנברדו אתיירואד ןהיפנעו השעת אל תוצמ ה"סשמ ףנע אלו שרש אל

יפידע אל ופוגב 'ה תא דובעל ידכ םימש םשל הניא ותנווכש אלא שממ ותויחו ומויקו ףוגה ךרוצ אוה 'יפאו ותואתו

תופילקבש תינשה הגרדממ ךשמנו עפשנ לכל רשאכ לכהו המצעב תימהבה תינויחה שפנמ ולא תובשחמו רובד השעמ

טעמ קר ער ולוככ ובור הישעה םלוע ארקנה הזה םלועבש הגונ תפילק תארקנה תיעיבר הפילק איהש ארחא ארטסו

שלש ןיב תעצוממ 'יחב איהו [ליעל ש"מכ לארשיבש תימהבה שפנבש תובוט תודמ תואב הנממש] הכותב ברועמ בוט

השודקה תגרדמו 'יחב ןיבו ירמגל תואמטה תופילק

Being neither root nor branch of the 365 prohibitive precepts and their offshoots, either on the

explicit authority of the Torah, or by Rabbinic enactment— yet are not performed for the sake of

Heaven but only by the will, desire and lust of the body, and even where it is a need of the body,

or its very preservation and life, but his intention is not for the sake of Heaven, that is, to serve

G-d thereby — all these acts, utterances and thoughts are no better than the vitalizing animal

soul itself. And everything in this totality of things flows and is drawn from the second gradation

[to be found] in the kelipos and sitra achra, namely, a fourth kelipah, called kelipas nogah. For

in this world, called the “world of Asiyahh (action),” most, indeed almost all, of it [the kelipas

nogah] is bad, and only a little good has been intermingled within it (from which come the good

qualities contained in the animal soul of the Jew, as is explained above.)

This [kelipas nogah] is an intermediate category between the three completely unclean kelipos

and the category and order of holiness.

The Tanya speaks of the nefesh hachiyunis, the life of physical matter, which is in a Jew. He

teaches that this soul is not from the three kellipos hatemeios, rather it is from kellipos nogah, the

nogah barrier. The Tanya explains that matters which are forbidden from the Torah are from the

three totally impure kellipos, while matters that are permitted yet not mandated are from

Kellipahs nogah. A person has many physical needs yet when fulfilling them his kavvana,

intention, might not be lishem shamayim, for the sake of Heaven. Such actions are from the

nefesh hachiyunis, which is from Kellipahs nogah. Nogah is mostly bad, just as this world is

mostly bad with a little bit of tov mixed in to it.

Bridges And Intermediaries Help Unite

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Kellipahs nogah is an intermediary. It is not all bad and it is also not all good. It has parts that are

good and it has parts that are bad. You should know that all opposites need an intermediary. Why

did Hashem make intermediaries? Hashem is one, and “Bayom hahu yihye Hashem echad ushmo

echad,” “On that (future) day Hashem will be one and His name will be one.” (Zechariah 14:9)

This means all must arrive eventually to a level of achdus, a state of being one. Night is dark and

it is the opposite of day. Day is light, yet at one point layla kayom yair, night will shine like day,

they will become one. In other words, the matter we call choshech, darkness, will be revealed as

really being an ohr, a light. The choshech is a darkness lierkeinu: it seems to us to be dark, but in

truth there is a light there. When we arrive at the future this hidden light will be revealed and

layla kayom yair.

We know that for bad things we bless Hashem with “Boruch dayan haemes,” “Blessed is

the true judge.” For good tidings we say a different blessing, “Boruch hatov vihameitiv,”

“Blessed is the Good One who provides benefit.” The Talmud teaches that in the future it will

only be hatov vihameitiv, for in the future the fact that Hashem echad will be revealed.(Pesachim

50a)

Now too Hashem is one. Yet now He is hidden. Basically we should always say hatov

vihameitiv, we do not do so now for this fact has yet to be truly revealed. Had it been revealed

there would be no punishments and there would be no choice. Therefore in our realm it is hidden.

Even one who accepts yisurrim with love does not feel that pain is the same as when Hashem

reveals tov hanigleh, revealed good. Our reality does not display complete oneness. In the future

there will be a revelation of echad, the One. This is the peace that is coming to the world. It is the

unity and oneness of the opposites.

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This is the secret of “vigar zee vim keves,” “the wolf will live with the lamb,” (Yeshayahu

11:6) and “Viaryeh kabakar yochal teven,” “And the lion will eat hay like the cattle,” (Yeshayahu

11:7) and “Efraim lo yikaneh es Yehudah,” “Ephraim will not fight with Judea.” (Yeshayahu

11:13) All of these are opposites and in the future they will be united and become one. This is the

plan in the creation: to bring about a state of oneness. Shabbes is a me’en, a bit, of the future. It is

a time of the secret of one. The fact of oneness and bringing about a unity between opposites is

one of the foundations of the world.

We know that “Mutar lishanos limaan hashalom,” “One may change the truth for the

sake of peace.” Emmes, truth, is so necessary: holiness is all emes. Yet shalom is so important

that we can change matters for the sake of arriving at this oneness and shalom. Certainly the

shalom has to be a matter of truth to reach the true level we should be at, namely Jews in peace

with each other.

Because unity is so important the world is filled with bridges, with beings that are

intermediaries to bring the opposites together.

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In parshas Beha'alos'cha the Jewish nation complain about the manna and lack of meat. The manna could taste

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like meat, why were they upset they did not have physical meat?

Shem Mishmuel answers that the world needs bridges. After slavery in Egypt, we had manna in the desert. To

transition from slave food to angelic food we needed a bridge, an emtzai. The matzos we took out of Egypt were

physical food, yet they had the taste of manna. Thus they had an element that was Egypt-like, physical food, and an

aspect that was heavenly, the taste of manna, and they served as a transition to the level of manna. Thus too we find

a transitional food as we enter the holy land. In the desert each day we had new manna. It would not stay fresh past

one day. When we entered Israel from the desert we had old manna for a period of time. This manna was the

memutza between the food of the desert and the food of the holy land. The Jews in parshas Beha'alos'cha thought

they were about to enter the holy land. They knew they would have different food there. In the desert we ate manna

food that was all chesed. Israel also has din. To prepare for the land of Israel, they asked to have real meat, a food

that displays G-dly din, as evidenced from its red color, in addition to the manna. This way they thought they would

have a transition to Israel whose food will display din. They sinned in a lack of temimus. The logic was correct but if

Hashem did not command eating meat and manna they should have trusted Him. (page 176)

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Bridges That Unite

For example domeim, inanimate objects, have little life. Tzomeiach, growing plants, have more,

for they grow. In chai, living animals, there is even more life, it is a higher level of life. And then

you have medabrim, humans, whose life is so powerful that you cannot compare other levels of

life to them. This corresponds to the four letters of Hashem's name havaya. There is also a fifth

level, the life of Yisrael, which corresponds to the level of the kutzo shel yud.

Between each level there is a bridge that unites. We always need a bridge. Between Jews

and non-Jews we have geirim, converts. They have no portion in the land, so in a certain way

they are not fully part of the Jewish nation. Yet they are not non-Jews. They are obligated in

mitzvos. They have some qualities of this side and others of the other side. They are an

intermediary, a bridge that brings the two opposites together, a mimutza.

(Seforim say that you always have two intermediaries: one from your side and one from

the other side. So from the Jewish side the intermediaries are geirim, converts, and from the non-

Jewish side they are chasidei umos haolam, the pious of the nations, who have a portion in olam

haba. I am not sure of this point, yet I would suggest it.)

The memutza between living animals and people is the monkey, who is the most

intelligent of the animals. Then you have plants and living creatures and the middle between

these two is what is called adney hasadeh, a living creature that is a type of animal yet is also

rooted in a set place. There are also birds that grow in trees, so they are also a memutza between

tzomeach and chai. In the next level of domeim and tzomeach there is also a memutza: silver,

although I do not remember exactly how silver is the memutza.

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Shabbes is the opposite of the days of the week. Motzai Shabbes, the escort of Shabbes,

and tosefes Shabbes, adding to Shabbes on Friday, are the memutzaim between Shabbes and

yemos hachol. After Shabbes we have some holiness of Shabbes left over and that is the memutza

between Shabbes and the days of the week. Chol hamoed as well is the intermediary between the

holiness of yom tov and the holiness of the week.

Take mishnayos and gemarah as well.

Between them you have a baraisa that if it is

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bilashon hamishna, in the language of a mishna, it has the status of a law of mishna. (Apparently

if it is not phrased in that way it has the status of Talmud.) In the world as well you have the

sadeh, fields, and you have the ir, cities, and then you have the migrash ha’ir, the yards around

the city.

So too in all areas you can find a middle man, because all is one. The entire world

eventually must reveal the matter of oneness. Water and dust are opposites and the memutza is

the rekak, the mud. In all different matters there is a memutza.

Kellipas Nogah Is The Bridge That Unites The Physical And The Spiritual

Kellipahs nogah is also a memutza. It is the intermediary between good and bad. It shines into

both realms. There is good in the world and there is bad in the world. The Kellipahs nogah is a

shine of good that shines into the realm of evil. There is a light of good which shines into the

realm of rah. And there is a choshech that hides this good. Because of this darkness there is only

a shine of light.

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The Mishnah is the basic text of Oral Law. It is a collection of tractates filled with short lessons of Jewish law.

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It was compiled by Rabbi Judah the prince around the year 200 of the common era. Legal texts that were not edited

by Rabbi Judah but were from the same era are called baraisos. The gemarah is the Babylonian Talmud. It contains

about 2,700 folio pages of analysis of Mishnayos. It was completed by Ravina and Rav Ashi in Babylon around the

year 500 of the common era.

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There are four letters of havaya. Let us say the first three correspond to the three avos and

the fourth to the level of malchus. Now malchus we have explained is a glow. So too we have

three kellipos of rah and then nogah, which is not really bad. Rather in nogah the rah enters the

realm of tov, or the tov enters the realm of rah. It is not a realm of real rah, and thus it is the

bridge between tov and rah. It is not a realm of etzem. It is a realm of hispashtus.

So too alos hashachar: the time before the sunrise is the bridge between day and night.

Bidieved, in the worst case scenario, you can fulfill all the daytime mandates at this time. Yet

since the sun has not yet risen it is not really day.

Yemos hamashiach, the days of Mashiach, are the connection between the hayom liasosam,

today fulfill them, and the limachar likabeil scharam, tomorrow receive their reward. The Torah

does not talk of the lemachar likabeil scharam because all is truly one.

In depth the hayom liasosam is one with the limachar likabeil s’charam. They are all one,

and the real reward is to do the mitzvos. The days of mashiach are the bridge between these two

points. In the days of mashiach we will still have the mitzvos for “Zos haTorah lo tehe

muchlefes,” “This Torah will not be replaced.” However, we will be in a state of “Yamim asher

ain bahem cheifetz,” “Days that are not desired.” We will not accomplish as much with our

mitzvos for we will not have a yetzer hara on the same level. So it has elements of the limachar

likabeil scharam already.

Kellipahs nogah shows that rah will eventually be turned into tov.

The Spiritual Source For Evil Things

Now we have a deep matter. The Tanya talks of this in Likutei Torah.

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We know that evil gets its life from Hashem because ain od milvado, there is nothing

other than Him. Rah does not have its own life. It too gets kium, existence, from Hashem. This is

difficult to understand. We have said that nogah is a mixture of good and evil while the three evil

kellipos are completely evil and that is why we must avoid them. But this is difficult. How can

evil acts and things have life if they have no spark of good in them? How can matters that are

tamei and bad have life? If they do have a good spark in them, in what way are they different

from the Kellipahh of nogah?! Why can we not raise these sparks and be involved in them?! If

they have a davar tov here, then let us do these acts, connect with the tov therein, and elevate the

tov!

The answer is that while there is tov in the three kellipos hatmeios it does not relate to the

very core of the matter. The good is not part of its very essence. In nogah, the good, to some

degree, is the thing itself. In rah the life is from one place and the matter itself is something else.

In tov the chius is the thing itself. In tov the kedusha that is mechaye the matter is the thing. In

rah the chius is one thing while the bad thing is something else.

This is still difficult to understand. What is the thing itself in rah? If it has life it must be

good! It must have some good matter which gives it life. If something exists it has life, so then it

must have good?!

Let me just say that to understand this matter one needs a great hassaga, apprehension, of

G-dliness.

There are hassagos of Elokis that require great levels to reach them. There are levels we

can reach through the negative, we are massig derech shelilah, and to understand the issue at

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hand - the G-dliness in evil - we must understand levels of G-dliness that are only accessible

through shelila, negating a matter.

What is the hassaga Elokis that we are massig derech shelila?

When we say Hashem is kind we are speaking derech chiuv, in a positive and direct way.

The real truth is that Hashem is more than kind! In a true sense when we say “Hashem is kind”

what we are really saying is that He is not unkind. He is the opposite of rah, so we say He is tov.

He is a chacham, a wise one, in the sense that he is the complete opposite of a fool. When we say

He is gibbor, a mighty being, what we really mean is that He is the opposite of chalash, a

weakling. Gibbor is a gevul, a defined term, so how can you say, “He is a gibbor?!” That would

limit Him! The positive points we say about Hashem is based on His malchus, an illumination

from Hashem that is clothed in letters and limits in this world. Of that light we can speak

biderech chiuv; the emanation can be characterized.

Yet when we talk of atzmiyus Elokis, essential G-dliness, that which is above the ziv of

Elokis, we cannot speak biderech chiyuv. We can only speak honestly biderech shelila, to be

sholel the inaccurate from Hashem.

In the realm of chiyuv, Hashem is connected to things that are tov. All the things that are

tov are appropriate descriptions of Hashem. You can be mechane, nickname, Him as tov, good;

rachum, merciful; and chanun, gracious. He performs chesed so He is called the baal chesed,

master of kindness. He wants us to fulfill mitzvos for the light of G-dliness: the haara of Elokis

enters into the vessels of the Torah and mitzvos and this is the life of all the good things. The life

which gives life to good things comes from the chiyus Elokis of which we can speak biderech

chiyuv.

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Yet when we speak of rah these are matters Hashem does not meyached, unite, with. He

tells us not to do these things. From where do these matters have life? They have life from the

chelek Elokis that we cannot speak of biderech chiuv! “Hashem is not in this keili” in the sense

that Elokis is not in the keili: this is where the rah is yoneik from. The chius Eloki that is not a

hamshacha into a keili is the part of Elokis that gives chius to matters that are rah. (These

matters have life from the fact that there are things that Hashem is not described by. These

matters relate to rah for rah relates to the level that is higher than hamshacha into keilim. Rah

relates to the fact that Hashem is not in the kelim and this G-dliness only relates to shelila and is

higher than definition and keilim.)

Let us explain further. The Zohar explains the verse, “Hanistaros liHashem elokeinu

vihaniglos lanu ulivaneinu,” “The hidden matters are for Hashem our Lord, while the revealed

matters are for us and our children.”(Devarim 29:28) Hanistaros connects to the yud keh of

havaya: almah diskasya, the hidden realm. The niglos are the vav keh, the alma diisgalya,

revealed world, of havaya. “Zeh shmi liolam,” “This is My name forever,” “Vizeh zichri lidor

vador,” and this is My appellation from generation to generation.

Shem םש with 15 (the gimmatria of yud י and keh ה) is 365, while zichri ירכז with 11 (the

gimmatria of vav ו and keh ה) is 248. The Zohar explains that the yud keh represent the negative

commandments, things you should not do and that the vav keh represent the 248 positive

mitzvos, the things you should do. In other words, the 365 lo taaseh, things you should not do,

all the devarim temaim and assurim, draw life from a level that is higher than the level of the 248

positive mitzvos! They are yoneik chius from such a high place that we cannot apprehend it!

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As we said earlier about boreih choshech: chosheich comes from a higher level than ohr,

which is only yotzeir. On our level, these levels look to be darkness but in truth they are a higher

and brighter light. Just as we explained the phrase borei chosheich (for boreih is higher than

yotzeir yet we say yotzeir ohr and borei choshech) it looks to us as darkness but in truth it is such

a high light that it looks dark to us. It draws from such a place of G-dliness where we cannot

speak in positive terms. We can only speak of what He is not, a level where He is higher than all

the definitions. This is a level of G-dliness with which we cannot talk biderech chiyuv. This

level, that is so high, can give chius to all devarim temaim. It can be mechaye a matter that is

totally not related to it.

Chiuv and comprehension have nothing to do with rah, for rah is the opposite of this. But

rah is related to shelila, to what we grasp from being sholel matters. Therefore the Tanya says

this also has a hassaga. To clearly understand “He is not this” represents a hassaga and

comprehension.

The Rambam says in Moreh Nevuchim on the verse “UMoshe nigash el haarafel asher

sham haElokim,” “And Moshe stepped to the cloud where the Almighty was” (Shmos 20:17) that

this was when Moshe reached a clear hassaga in the matters we know through the shelila. To

clearly reject from Hashem matters that we comprehend.

For example, taking up space is an essential part of items that are real to us. We know

with our physical senses that what exists takes up space. Yet we know that some items do not

seem to take up space. Think about a song, or electricity. Even though they exist, they do not fill

space. Only if we think in a more physical way do we make the mistake of thinking that all

things take up space. Hashem is real. He exists. Yet to think that Hashem takes up a certain

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space is ridiculous! If a person thinks Hashem takes up space then he is being megashem

Hashem!! A person who realizes with clarity that Hashem is entirely not tofeis makom

understands Hashem better. He reaches Hashem through shelila! Through understanding clearly

that “Hashem is mamash not like the chacham I know” I am massig Hashem derech shelila.

The Tanya explains that to grasp Hashem biderech shelila I must be poreish, step away,

from certain actions, hence the prohibitions of negative commandments. Through the act of

separating from lo taaseh I reach levels through shelila, through perisha.

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Shem Mishmuel points out that the Zohar explains the great honor given to Sarah in the Torah to be a result of

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Sarah maintaining her purity when she was taken by Pharaoh. Why is this her primary merit? Why not mention her

great levels of prophecy?

“The holy Zohar teaches that to the degree a person flees from and distances himself from the sitra achra to that

degree he reaches in holiness. This is how it interpreted the verse, “Vayivrach Moshe mipnei Paroh,” “And Moshe

fled Pharaoh,” the malchus of evil, therefore “Vayeishev al habe’er,” “And he settled at the well,” this means he

received the malchus of holiness. This is the lesson of the Zohar about Sarah: that her great merit was her purity in

the house of Pharaoh. Had she been defiled by him she would have been completely attached to Kellipahh and it

would have been very difficult to ever leave the realm of evil. Through resisting him she received a corresponding

measure of holiness, a kedusha that filled all her limbs. Her holiness did not come from aseh tov, doing good, rather

it emerged from sur mera, leaving evil.” In a similar vein he explains that each Jew receives the holiness on Friday

night through emotionally and intellectually leaving the worries and sins of the week. Through detachment we are

blessed with corresponding attachment! (page 207-208)

He also explained the Midrash which interprets the sentences of the aishes chayil, woman of valor, poem to refer to

Sarah with the principle that detachment leads to attachment. According to the Midrash, zam’ma sadeha

vatikacheihu, she plotted for her field and purchased it, refers to Sarah’s purchase of the cave of Machpela and it’s

field. This is very difficult. How could Sarah have purchased the Machpela? The Machpela was purchased by

Avraham after her death in order to bury her!

“The Zohar explains that the four hundred silver shekels used to purchase the Machpela cave truly refer to four

hundred universes of spiritual longing. The meaning of this is that the only way to merit four hundred universes of

spiritual longing is through detaching from the desires and attachments of this world, in equal measure to

detachment from the physical one merits attachment to spiritual universes! The four hundred shekel Avraham paid

are a hint to the hundreds of levels of physical desire Avraham gave away to be blessed with exclusively spiritual

longings. This is why Avraham only tried to purchase the Machpela cave now... After the akeida, binding of Isaac,

Avraham became aware of how he was willing to give away all his desires for Hashem, for Yitzchok was the

culmination of all his pleasures and deepest wishes... Then he knew he could acquire the cave of Machpela which is

dependent on four hundred universes of spiritual desire, for once he had sacrificed all his physical wishes he

received corresponding levels of spiritual desire...The approach of reaching holiness through detachment from

desiring this world was the essence of Sarah and she imparted this ability to her descendants...Avraham also got this

ability from her. Therefore whatever Avraham achieved in this realm is due to her, hence it can be said that she

acquired the Machpela field, zam’ma sadeha vatikacheihu!" (page 212-213)

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Nechemyah haamsoni used to interpret every word es in the Torah. He was poreish from

all his drashos when he got to “Es Hashem elokecha tira,” “Fear Hashem your Lord.” (Devarim

6:13) He explained “Kisheim sheani mikabel sechar al hadrisha ani mekabel sechar al

haperisha,” “Just as I got reward for the interpretations I will get reward for separating from

interpretations.” (Pesachim 22) He was connecting to an awareness of Hashem that can be

reached only biderech shelila.

Es Hashem elokecha tira. The question was, is it possible to have something associated

with Hashem, a bit of Elokis that is tafel, secondary, to Elokis, that deserves fear like Him?

Biderech chiuv we cannot reach this point! In ahava we have positive commandments, we have

hamshachos, so there we have true passages. But yirah represents negative commandments,

which cannot be grasped derech chiuv. Es Hashem Elokecha tira is related to derech shelila. So

here he was massig derech shelila and then he was mekabel sechar al haperisha.

The Future Enables Us To Grasp Positively What We Can Now Only Infer From Negatives

In the future, we will merit to be massig all things derech chiuv. In the future we will

have revealed the part of G-dliness which gave life to all evil. The rah will become tov. We will

understand matters as they are in their root. We will understand all biderech chiyuv and the rah

will be comprehended in a positive sense.

A small light of this future, to be massig derech chiuv matters that now we can only be

massig derech shelila, comes through teshuva. Teshuva is to return evil to good. It causes zdonos,

willful sins, to become zachuyos, merits. It causes the evil to become good and it enables matters

that till now were accessed through shelila to be reached biderech chiyuv.

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Yom Kippur is the day of teshuva, return to Hashem. On it we bring rah to tov. We do

not eat or drink that day for it is a bit of olam haba. On Yom Kippur the high priest would enter

the holy of holies. Generally, “Vial yavo bchol eis el hakodesh,” “He may not come at anytime

to the holy.” (Vayikra 16:2) First there must be a sense of reward for separating, there must be a

hassaga biderech shelila, al yavo bichol, for “Bianan eiraeh el hakoperes,” “I appear in a cloud

over the ark.” First a hassaga biderech shelila, first mekablin sechar al heperisha, a holy

rejecting. Just as when Moshe ascended Sinai, at first he confronted darkness. There was an

arafel, a cloud. “Umoshe nigash el haarafel asher sham haElokim.” There is a hassaga biderech

shelila and after this comes the level of comprehending a matter biderech chiyuv and “Bzos yavo

Aharon el hakodesh,” “With this Aharon can enter the holy.” (Vayikra 16:3) The whole year

Aharon stayed away from the kodesh hakadoshim and reached this level of Elokis through

shelila.

On Yom Kippur he enters the Holy of Holies with ketores. He is massig Elokis derech

chiuv! The ketores is the life of the sitra achra being returned to tov. This is why the samech

mem, the angel of death, taught this secret to Moshe. (Shabbes 89) This means reaching the

hassaga of alma diiskasya biderech chiyuv. This is also the second set of tablets of the Ten

Commandments which Yom Kippur celebrates.

All the great revelations of the thirteen attributes of mercy only came about through the

teshuva following the sin of the eigel, calf. After the great return Moshe was able to ask

“Hareini nah es kvodecha,” “Please show me Your glory,” (Shemos 33:18) and a he was given

the gift of a new apprehension, “Ureisem es achorai,” “You will see that which is in the

back.”(Shemos 33:23) How would we have achieved these levels without the sin of the eigel and

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the subsequent teshuva? The answer is that all the hassagos could have been achieved at mattan

Torah. Mattan Torah was the teaching of the mitzvos. The positive commandments are matters

we get derech chiuv and the negative commandments are the levels we get derech shelila. Had

we not fallen with the golden calf, we would have comprehended in a positive way that which

today can only be accessed through a rejection, at the end of the forty days when Moshe returned

with the tablets and brought the Torah to this world. We would have had a correct acquisition in

the hassaga of mattan Torah and then we would have reached all the levels that now we reach

through shelila bederech chiyuv.

Before we received the Torah there were three days of separating, when the men

separated from their wives. The Jews were also told during this time, “Don’t come close to the

mountain.” These days were called shloshes yemei hagbalah. Moshe could get very close but the

rest of us were held back during the three days of hagbala. Why call them days of hagbala? Why

not three days of prisha? (Their essence was to separate from the women, perisha, and hagbala

means to stay away from the mountain.) Why are they called days of hagbala? The answer is

that hagbala is the same as perisha. These were days where the levels we do not comprehend

biderech chiyuv we achieved biderech shelila.

Al tigshu el isha, Do not near a woman (Shemos 19:15) means to avoid evil and the yetzer

hara. If a person tries to reach these sparks that are reached through shelila, through chiyuv, it is

like violating a negative commandment. Someone who tries to be massig matters derech chiuv

that can only be reached derech shelila in depth is like someone trying to raise a spark in a

negative commandment by performing the act that is sinful! There are matters that we must be

poreish, separate, from! The three days of hagbala are three days of separating from the rah.

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Someone who violates this boundary and tries biderech chiyuv does not understand Hashem! He

is distorting Hashem! These were three days of staying away. This was the time for the great

hassaga through shelila. Someone who says biderech chiyuv, “Hashem is a chacham like us” is

being megashem Hashem! You cannot say that about etzem Elokis! You can say it about the ziv

from Hashem, the malchus that shines into the Chochmah, but to say this about the etzem Elokis

is forbidden! “He is a chacham” is a hagshama, making Hashem physical! To say this is to say

that Hashem endorses the rah that are prohibited by negative commandments!

In regards to the light from Hashem we can talk in positive and absolute terms. However,

in regards to atzmiyus Elokis we can only talk in terms of shelila. To do otherwise is kitzutz

netios, cutting saplings from their roots. It is a hagshama of Elokis. To be megashem Elokis is

like saying - heaven forbid - that Hashem cares for rah.

To say Hashem is a chacham and that this chacham is mechaye the rah and that therefore

this chacham is associated with the rah is one thing. But if we say that Hashem is above

chochmah then He can be mechaye rah and not really care for this rah. Being megashem

Hashem is like violating a negative commandment. The three days of hagbala are three days of

being poreish from rah.

After these three days Moshe went to the cloud. First, he reached hassagos in the way of

shelila. Then Moshe received the tablets, the Torah. With the tablets he brought the arafel asher

sham haElokim down in the tablets to Klal Yisrael. Had we merited and not sinned with the

golden calf we would have a Yom Kippur on the 17

of Tamuz. We would have been massig the

light of the arafel in a way of chiuv without having to sin first! Teshuva is a type of light and we

do not always need a sin to get to this light. We would have the light of teshuva and the light of

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teshuva is a light of bringing the rah back to tov! This light does not require that you do bad.

Teshuva is the light of Reuvein who is the tribe of the month of Tamuz of whom it was said “Reu

mah bein bni libein chami,” “See the difference between my son and the son of my mother in

law.”

When the Jews came to the mountain they traveled from Refidim with the light of

teshuva. “Vayisu merifidim vayavau midbar Sinai, mah biasan limidbar Sinai biteshuva af

nessiasan MeRifidim biteshuva.” “And they traveled from Refidim and came to the Sinai desert,

just as they arrived at Sinai in a state of teshuva, they left Refidim in a state of

teshuva.” (Shemos 19:2 and Rashi’s commentary to the text) We repented from Refidim. “Rafu

yedeihem midivrey Torah,” “Their hands weakened from words of Torah.” All Jewish hands have

to hold on to the tablets when rafu yedeihem min haTorah! The Jews were not holding on to the

tablets as they should have and at that time “Vayichan sham Yisrael kiish echad bilev echad,”

“Israel camped (at the foot of Sinai) as one man with one heart.” This lev echad was the

returning of the rah to tov. When the rah becomes tov then you have the real achdus. We have

two hearts: a yetser hara and a yetzer tov. When it was bilev echad there was only one heart for

the rah became tov!

We sinned the sin of the eigel, but a roshem, an impression, of mattan Torah remained.

Reb Yose would say about Shavuos, “Without this day kama Yose ika bishuka?” “How

many Yoses would there be in the market?” (Pesachim 68b)The Talmud says we must give honor

to a scholar who forgot his learning for luchos and that shivrei luchos, broken tablets, are in the

aron. Apparently we must honor the broken luchos and this is why Rav Yose would celebrate

Shavuos. He forgot his learning (the level of broken luchos) and Shavuos is the day of the first

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luchos, which were broken but still deserved honor. Apparently a roshem was left and therefore

we still mark a yom tov on Shavuos, the day of the luchos rishonos, the first tablets.

So Reb Yose who forgot his learning, and a talmid chacham who forgets his learning, are

both shivrey luchos, broken tablets. They would both appreciate Shavuos, for it is the day that

proves a roshem should be appreciated. Either way Shavuos leaves a roshem. The roshem of the

teshuva with which we left Refidim was a roshem of returning the rah to tov.

This is related to Kellipahs nogah. Nogah enables us to unite the rah and the tov and thus

to bring the rah back to the level of tov. Nogah is in the middle to help us unite the rah and the

tov. And we find in Shavuos that we read of converts and all agree that Atzeres, Shavuos,

requires lachem, your material enjoyment. Namely that there is a need for Kellipahs nogah on

Shavuos because it is yom shenitna bo Torah, the day the Torah was given. In other words, on

Shavuos we must turn the rah to tov and understand all in the way of chiyuv.

The hassaga of boreih rah is also in the Torah. The Talmud discusses wether holidays

and Shabbat should be celebrated with spiritual enjoyments or with physical enjoyments. The

Talmud teaches that "Hakol modim dibaatzeres bainan lachem." "All agree that on Shavuos the

material must be enjoyed." Even the kofrim, the heretics, must admit on Shavuos that there is

only tov and there is no rah. Achdus is revealed on chag hashavuos.

Prepare For Shavuos With Unity

We find in the days of sefira that there was not enough unity between the students of Rabbi

Akiva. “Lo nahagu kavod zeh bazeh,” “They did not treat each other with respect.” At mattan

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Torah we stood ki’ish echad bilev echad. Everything is about achdus, for the way to reach the

great hassaga of Shavuos is to strengthen our sense of oneness.

Following lag bomer the gates are sealed, for before we come to the level of ilas hailos,

the source of all sources, there is a smallness. We need smallness before the greatness. Now the

shechina is busy getting ready for mattan Torah. We now need to dedicate our thoughts to

prepare all the jewelry for the shechinah. We need to fix our middos so that we might merit to

reach a great hassaga in knowing Hashem, a great hassaga in understanding Hashem.

The Kozhnitzer maggid

explained that kids are allowed into the room where the queen

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prepares. In the same way in these days we must lower ourselves and think about the coming

great days and try to prepare ourselves for the great unity of anochi Hashem elokecha. All our

thoughts should be about mattan Torah to find favor in the eyes of Hashem, so that Hashem will

be mashpia a high level of hassagas Elokis, a high level of mattan Torah. And if we are small in

our eyes and not tofeis makom, Hashem will allow us in to appreciate the kishutey kallah.

Our world presents complex choices. Some matters are mitzvos others are sins. Man is also challenged

with actions that are permitted. Permitted matters emerge from Kellipahs Nogah and man's intent can

cause these matters to either rise or fall. Lesson Sixteen explores this concept. Why did the Almighty create

a realm dependent on intent? Lesson Sixteen reveals that the Almighty wanted to challenge us, a world of

only apparent good and obvious evil would make our choices too clear. Therefore we have a truly complex

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Rav Yisrael Hofstein (1736-1814) was known as the Maggid, preacher, of Kozhnitz. He was a student of the

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Maggid of Mezeritch and Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk. He was one of the great tzadikim and leaders of the early

nineteenth century.

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world that has difficult challenges. Even tzadikim have complex choices to make when they must choose

between two ways of Mitzvah. Much prayer is needed to merit to know what Hashem wants us to do.

Lesson Sixteen: Why Not Only Mitzvos?

In chapter seven the Tanya explains that while Kellipahs nogah can become part of the

realm of kedusha, holiness, it can also become part of an opposite realm. It all depends on the

kavanah, the intent and purpose, why one engaged in this act of nogah.

תללכנ איהש םימעפו [רהזה םשב ד"פ שיר ט"מ רעש ח"עב ש"מכ] תואמטה תופילק שלשב תללכנ איהש םימעפ ןכלו

השודקב ללכנו הלועו רבוגו ערהמ ררבתנ הב ברועמה בוטהשכ ונייהד השודקה תגרדמו 'יחבב הלועו

Hence it is sometimes absorbed within the three unclean kelipos (as is explained in Etz Chayim,

Portal 49, beginning of ch. 4, on the authority of the Zohar) and sometimes it is absorbed and

elevated to the category and level of Holiness, as when the good that is mixed in it is extracted

from the bad and prevails and ascends until it is absorbed in Holiness

ותרותלו 'הל ותעד ביחרהל םשובמ ןיי התושו ארותד אנימש ארשב לכואה מ"ד ןוגכ

Such is the case, for example, of he who eats fat beef and drinks spiced wine in order to broaden

his mind for the service of G-d and His Torah

אחירו ארמח אבר רמאדכ

as Ravah said: "Wine and fragrance [make a man's mind more receptive],"

הלועכ 'הל הלועו הגונ תפילקמ עפשנ היהש ןייהו רשבה תויח ררבתנ יזא ט"יו תבש גנע תוצמ םייקל ידכ ליבשב וא

ןברקכו.

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or in order to fulfill the command concerning enjoyment of the Sabbath and Festivals in such a

case the vitality of the meat and wine, originating in kelipas nogah, is distilled and ascends to G-

d like a burnt offering and sacrifice.

החמשב תויהל םיכירצש ותדובעו ותרותלו 'הל ובל חמשלו ותעד חקפל אתוחידבד אתלימ רמואה ןכו

So, too, when a man utters a joke in order to sharpen his wit and rejoice his heart in G-d, in His

Torah and service, which should be practiced joyfully,

ןנבר יחדבו הלחת אתוחידבד אתלימ םהינפל רמאש וידימלתל אבר השעש ומכו

as Ravah was wont to do with his pupils, prefacing his discourse with some witty remark, to

enliven the students.

A joke usually seems to be an expression of the physical element of wind and not a holy matter,

yet we see here that when used correctly a joke can be elevated.

Permitted Matters Rise With Correct Intent

Mitzvos are essentially holy. Kellipahs nogah are permitted matters such as a milsa dibidichusa,

a joke, that assists learning. The pleasure one has from this laughing matter is not at its core

good. This pleasure of the well-intentioned is the same as the pleasure that a person who is not

being michavein lishem shmayaim feels in a joke. If the same thing for one person would be a

mitzvah and for another it would not be a mitzvah means that at its core this thing – a joke - is

not definitively something good. Rather it is not inherently good nor is it inherently bad. If one is

mechavein lisheim shamayim, that it should help in avdus Hashem, this is what makes it good.

Through the kavanah lisheim shamayim it becomes something holy.

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Why did Hashem make things whose goodness is dependent on the intent of their use?

Further, what is better: a joke or a pure mitzvah? Presumably a mitzvah. Why did Rabba start his

class with a joke? Why start with something that is only good through the intent one has in its

performance? Why not start with words of Torah that are intrinsically and innately good?

The challenge of good judgement

Let us realize that Hashem wants man to acquire a great perfection. Human life is a big

job. Heaven puts man in challenging situations. He must work through things in order to fulfill

the mission Hashem sent him to do. It is not supposed to be simple and easy. If it would be

forbidden to enjoy muttar items, if all jokes would be assur and all enjoyments of food enjoined,

then the service of Hashem would have been to avoid all devarim muttarim and only do mitzvos.

While it would be very hard to fight nature and avoid things that are naturally pleasing to us in

this way, in a certain way it would be easier. Why? Because we would always easily know what

we must do and what we must avoid! We would have bittul to ratzon haelyon and avoid

everything not mandated!

But Hashem wanted us to reach a higher holiness! Therefore Hashem gave us a world

where there is much gray and few clear boundaries and definitions. We do not have clear

guidelines of what to do and what not to do to be a tzadik. The Shulchan Aruch, Code of Jewish

Law, only guides man to a simple level of shleimus, perfection. But for the higher level of

shleimus, to achieve the holiness of permitted matters, we do not have a Shulchan Aruch. We do

not acquire shleimus on on a truly high level with what is set in the Shulchan Aruch! This is the

real challenge of avodas Hashem.

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Man now must eat, and it is not clear to man when he can enjoy the food and when he

should not. Sometimes in order to succeed in avdus Hashem we should do permitted things, such

as joking and eating permitted foods. Sometimes the devarim muttarim are themselves avodas

Hashem! To be upbeat one must do the devarim muttarim!

For example, enjoying food. In general most tzadikim did not push themselves to only

eat food that was unpleasant. They did not only eat straw and tasteless foods. True, they limited

their intake of food, they did not stuff themselves, but they would eat food even when it was

tasty.

The reason for this was that the yishuv hadaas, settlement of mind, of man needs the

taam, taste, of food. The creation of man is such that enjoying edible delights helps man feel

settled and then serve Hashem better. Even more, tzadikim are maale nitzotzin, elevate Divine

shards,when they eat physical food.

If you ask, would it have been better not to make a joke at the beginning of the shiur, the

answer is that had man been created differently it would have been better not to make the joke.

However, since the nature of man is that man needs jokes, the right thing is to make jokes lishem

shamayim.

Rav Yitzchok Hutner in his letters, Pachad Yitzchok Igros Uksavim, addressed a student who was

having a hard time with serving Hashem in the permitted realm.

"My beloved and adored friend!

I received your letter from after your return to chutz laaretz, the exile. In truth I enjoyed your

letter a great deal. There were two sources to this enjoyment. 1) The content and form of your

words displayed thought and wisdom. 2) You openly expressed the struggles in your soul. Let me

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tell you, in my opinion, the difficulties with which you struggle are all based on a mistaken

assumption about the subject. The general impression one gets from your words is that it is clear

to you that a "secular career" is a "double life." Obviously, I would never agree to lead a

"double life." One who rents one room in a house to settle in, and rents another room in a hotel

as a guest, lives a "double life." However, one who rents an apartment with two rooms has a

broad life not a double life.

I remember once visiting the hospital of Dr. Wallach shlit"a in Jerusalem and I saw him

approach a patient who was about to enter the operating room and he asked him for his mother's

name so he could pray for him before the surgery. When I related this to one of the unique giants

of Yerushalayim o.b.m. he said, "How jealous one should be of this Jew who has such a great

opportunity to be a serving vessel for the cause of kvod shamayim, Divine honor!" Please tell

me the truth, my beloved and adored friend, is the recital of psalms for the welfare of a patient by

his doctor who is about to operate on him a double life?

And you, my beloved and adored friend, forbid it from yourself from seeing yourself in the double

lenses of a double life. Anyone who extends the echad, one, (of the Shma prayer) merits that his

days and years will be extended! On the contrary your entire life should be a form of extending

the echad! One not two! It pains me greatly about you if this point is hidden from your eyes.

Many scattered points, one under the other, are certainly a mass of many, yet those same points if

they are arranged around a single center point in an arc, are all parts of one circle! This my

friend is your obligation in living, to make the One the center of your life and then you need not

worry about any doubles! Any new point you acquire will merely expand the circle but the unity

will not leave its place. I am pained that you did not understand this point till now. Out of pain I

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judge you favorably that a momentary mood put in your mouth the words you expressed in your

letter. Be strong and brave my friend, ascend and succeed my precious one. Ride on the matter

of justice and make all your successes a foundation for increasing the honor of Heaven!

The one praying for your success,

Yitzchok Hutner"

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If it is needed for avdus Hashem it must be done and moreover if it is not done then it is a sin.

A person needs shikul hadaas, good judgement, to know when to make a joke and when

not to make a joke. It is a difficult kind of service to know how much of divrey reshus to

include. There is no Shulchan Aruch here, and you need to judge well for yourself. This is the

avoda kasha shebimikdash, the most difficult sacred service.

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For example, consider jokes. You might need to laugh to have the joy to learn and to

daven. But if someone makes a joke and it is not lisheim shamayim, for the sake of Heaven, he

could have served Hashem without this joke. Then it is a sin: it is the rah shebinogah, though that

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Pachad Yitzchok, Igros Ukessavim, pages 184-185

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Rav Yitzchok Hutner in Maamarei Pachad Yitzchok, Sukkos, discusses the theme of the challenge of divrey

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reshus.

"There are two ways of divine service 1) literal mitzvos 2) divrey reshus. The first is a realm where the will of God

is already clear as to what actions will increase the honor of heaven. The second is unclear. Man must determine

what will increase the glory of Hashem in this realm. Man must think thoughts how to squeeze out the most glory to

Hashem from his actions in all the permitted matters that have been given to man to use for his own needs. As our

sages taught, kol ma'asecha yihyu lisheim shamayim, all your actions should be for the sake of heaven.(Avos chapter

two) ...

Paralleling the difference between these two realms is the distinction between a simple Torah scholar, a talmid

chacham, and a talmid chacham sheyeish bo da'as, a scholar with good judgement. Through his study of the

essential parts of Torah, the talmid chacham sheyeish bo da'as is filled with the passion and the judgement to know

how to maximize the glory of heaven from divrey reshus. A simple talmid chacham though has acquired much

knowledge of Torah yet he does not know how to graft that knowledge into the realm of permitted actions. He does

not know how to decide in the realm of the permitted. To use a common cliche, "A talmid chacham is an expert in

all four parts of the Shulchan Aruch; a talmid chacham sheyeish bo da'as is an expert in the fifth part of the

Shulchan Aruch as well." (page 69) He then explained why King Shlomo taught about celebrating the completion

of Torah when he celebrated his receipt of a gift of wisdom. The beginning is the Torah itself, the completion of

Torah is the talmid chacham sheyeish bo da'as level. When Shlomo received divine wisdom he received the ability

to exercise correct judgement in the realm of divrey reshus, hence his celebrating this wisdom was a rejoicing about

a completion of Torah! (page 71)

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sounds harsh. In a way, it is an aveira but in another way it is not as bad as a sin, for a matter like

a joke can easily rise and be used for Hashem.

Does Hashem truly judge all permitted matters as sins if they were not necessary and not

lishem shamayim? In truth they are not the same as a sin but rather have the character of an

unredeemed permitted matter. Therefore if, ultimately, a joke helped in the service of Hashem

(for example the humor helped the person serve Hashem with joy, even though when he made

that particular joke it was not lisheim shamayim) they are raised and lifted.

This is what the Tanya says. If one ate shelo lisheim shamayim and if afterwards he uses

the energy he gained for his learning, then this act will have an aliyah. Since this is a matter that

has a chomer bitchilaso, a difficulty at the beginning, that Hashem put man in a world with no

Shulchan Aruch, or clear rules, and man must exercise his good judgement, therefore Hashem

was meikil bisofo, lenient at the end, and allowed for easy retroactive elevation.

Another leniency in an act of nogah shelo lisheim shamayim: it is very easy to do teshuva

for it. Furthermore the Tanya will explain that chibut hakever, the suffering one feels with

death due to the excess material pleasures in this world, atones for the flaw of not utilizing divrey

hareshus in the right way. However full sins are only cleansed after life through the pains of

Gehenom.

There is no clear Shulchan Aruch in these areas in order to enable us to work through this

very difficult service and reach a tikkun for our souls. Therefore Hashem has added many

leniencies to this area of service.

'יחב אוהש תימהבה ושפנו ופוג תואת תאלמל ןיי יאבוסו רשב יללוזב אוהש ימ ךא

העש יפל ללכנו וברקבש ןייהו רשבה תויח דרוי הז י"ע הנה הואתה תדמ ונממש הבש םיערה תודוסי עבראמ םימה דוסי

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'ה תדובעל רוזחיו םדאה בושי רשא דע העש יפל הבכרמו שובל ןהל השענ ופוגו תואמטה תופילק שלשבש רומג ערב

'ה תדובעל ובושב ומע תולעלו רוזחל םילוכי ךכל רשכ ןייו רתיה רשב היהש יפל יכ ותרותלו

תולעלו רוזחל לכוי אלש םינוציחה ידיב רוסאו רושק וניאש רמולכ רתומו רתיה ןושל והזש '

On the other hand, he who belongs to those who gluttonously guzzle meat and drink wine in

order to satisfy their bodily appetites and animal nature, derived from the element of water of

the four evil elements contained therein, from which comes the vice of lust— in such case the

energy of the meat and wine consumed by him is degraded and absorbed temporarily in the utter

evil of the three unclean kelipos, and his body temporarily becomes a garment and vehicle for

them, until the person repents and returns to the service of G-d and His Torah. For, inasmuch as

the meat and wine were kosher, they have the power to revert and ascend with him when he

returns to the service of G-d. This is implied in the terms "permissibility" and

"permitted" (mutar), that is to say, that which is not tied and bound by the power of the

"extraneous forces" preventing it from returning and ascending to G-d.

With a light teshuva it can return to Hashem.

סא תואיבו תורוסא תולכאמב ןכ ןיאש המ ןמקל ש"מכ רבקה טוביחל ףוגה ךירצ ןכ לעו ףוגב ראשנ ונממ ומישרהש קר

םמוי אבי יכ דע םשמ םילוע ןיאו םלועל םינוציחה ידיב םירושקו םירוסא םה ירמגל תואמטה תופילק שלשמ ןהש תורו

יכזכ ול ושענ תונודזש ךכ לכ הלודג הבושת השעיש דע וא ץראה ןמ ריבעא האמוטה חור תאו ש"מכ חצנל תומה עלוביו

'הל ושפנ האמצו 'תי וב הקבדל הקקוש שפנו הקישחו הבר הבהאב אבלד אקמועמ הבהאמ הבושת איהש שממ תו

תילכתב 'ה ינפ רואמ הקוחרו ארחא ארטסה איה תומלצו היצ ץראב ושפנ התיה הנה דע יכ תויהל היצו הפיע ץראכ

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Nevertheless, a trace [of the evil] remains in the body. Therefore the body must undergo the

"chibut hakever" as will be explained later.

Such is not the case, however, with forbidden foods and relations, which derive from the three

kelipos that are entirely unclean. These are tied and bound by the Extraneous Forces for ever,

and are not released until the day comes when death will be swallowed up for ever, as is written:

"And I will cause the unclean spirit to pass from the land;" or until the sinner repents to such an

extent that his premeditated sins become transmuted into merits, which is achieved through

"repentance out of love," coming from the depths of the heart, with great love and fervor, and

from a soul passionately desiring to cleave to the blessed G-d, and thirsting for G-d like a

parched desert soil.

In teshuva meiahava, the rah is transformed to tov and it has an aliyah, which is a greater

elevation than the elevation of a person who serves Hashem with the strength he gained from

eating shelo lisheim shamayim. When he served Hashem with that strength he merely elevated an

act, but in teshuva meiahava a sin becomes a mitzvah. (By the way it is not a full mitzvah. A

mitzvah does not need infusions of life. Reb Elimelech explained that an aveirah transformed

due to teshuva me'ehava becomes a zechus that needs a constant infusion of life. The meaning

of this is that the sin caused the added strength of the baal teshuva. The sin caused him to realize

the added power of light due to the darkness, so the very sin is bad but it caused something good:

to appreciate holiness more. Therefore you have to always remember this darkness of the sin and

constantly use the inspiration that came from the sin. In other words, he has to constantly give

life to the aveira, so it is a mitzvah on condition of the former sinner always giving it

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life. However in an action of mitzvah, the deed is essentially good, it does not need added energy

to make it good, thus it is at a higher level than a transformed aveirah).

The challenge Tzadikim face

With tzadikim there is an even higher level of choice. For simple people there is no Shulchan

Aruch for the matters of reshus and each must evaluate whether it is the right thing or not. Ye t

the righteous must choose between two matters that are holy. There is an inyan, concept, of

mavdil bein kodesh likodesh, to distinguish between holy and holy.

For example, you might have a tzadik, he is young, he has eloquence and he can explain deep

things in a simple way. He has a way in which he talks to others that can inspire divine service.

On the other hand, the moment he starts dealing with people he gets kavod, honor, and loses out

in hatzneah leches im elokecha, walk humbly with Hashem your God. (Michah 6:8) He also

loses time with which he could acquire a great level of shleimus that now he will not have time

for. What should he do? Should he be a hidden tzadik attached to Hashem, or should he become

a teacher? There is no Shulchan Aruch for this!

Even more you might not be able to ask for advice on this. When one travels to a tzadik

and asks for advice, the tzadik might declare, "Do this," because Hashem gave the tzadik a

feeling and when you follow the tzadik you are doing the ratzon Hashem. One hundred percent it

is avdus Hashem. But many times in questions like the one facing the eloquent speaker, the

tzadik will not get a feeling from Above!

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The tzadik has siyata dishmaya and he might give you an aitzah, advice. In these

questions these aitzos take the place of the Shulchan Aruch. No two people are the same in this

question. The normal answer that a tzadik gives to our question of whether it is better to do for

others or to do for oneself will be to do for the community. Chovas Halevavos says this as do

others. This would be the normal aitza and the tzadik would tell you this unless he was given a

different horaa min hashamayim, guidance from Heaven.

However, many times Heaven wants for this tzadik to do for himself and not for the

community! The pesak, halachic ruling, is that he should not do for the community. This is a

great test for tzadikim and they must put in great effort and pray a great deal to merit to know

how to choose between two forms of good in order to truly fulfill the will of Hashem.

The seforim say that sometimes a tzadik reaches a certain level of holiness and that he is

given a bit of a spiritual gift that challenges him. Will he satisfy himself that he has achieved this

gift or will he keep pushing himself to grow and reach higher levels?

The Rav zt”l once told a story to illustrate the point that a tzadik should leave this level in

order to continue growing in avodas Hashem. In the story, Reb Meirel Mipremishlen

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given a madreiga that he could know the sins of an individual. So he revealed to the Apter (Rav

Avraham Yehoshua Heschel, 1748-1825) how the slaughterer was really a sinner. When the

Apter heard this he responded with the following point: “I once had a madreiga where I could

know everything about a person once I would shake their hand, but I begged Hashem I should

lose this spiritual gift for I saw that it was interfering with loving other Jews.”

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Rav Meir of Premishlan was born in 1780 and left this world in 1850. He was a great tzadik and miracle

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worker. He was a student of the Baal Shem Tov. He was a righteous man who gave enormous amounts to charity,

he loved Jews and would always defend the actions of Jews.

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If someone were to ask a Rebbe for counsel about this, “Hashem gave me a madreiga to

know all a person’s sins, should I daven to lose it so that I not lose ahavas yisrael?” the answer

of halacha would be: do not give it up! This madreiga is a special gift! Every giluy, revelation,

above nature strengthens emunah! With it you can inspire many people to emunah and show

there is a Hashem in the world. The Shulchan Aruchdike eitza would be to not give it up!

Nevertheless, the tzadik might feel in his soul that for his avodah it is not correct to have this

madreiga! He must instead focus on ahavas yisrael and overcome this madreiga! A tzadik must

daven a great deal to merit to realize what is the ratzon Hashem for him. We have to pray a lot

and toil much to merit to understand what is our avoda and how to be mavdil bein kodesh

likodesh.

Many times when you ask such a question to a tzadik he will encourage you to work on

yourself in order to be able to answer this question yourself. This is a very high level. You have

to search for Hashem, then search more, and more, and then daven for vihaer eineiynu

bitorasecha, vidabeik libeinu bimitzvosecha, please illuminate our eyes in your Torah.

You should know that Shavuos is a good time for this prayer. Hoseif moshe yom echad

midaato, Moshe added a day on his own. (Shabbes 87a) This was a trial for Moshe. Hashem told

Moshe vikadashtam hayom umachar, Sanctify them today and tomorrow, (Shemos 19:10) yet

Moshe added a day! He delayed mattan Torah by a day! (By the way there is a great chiddush in

this matter, for the Chasam Sofer

taught that the mistake of making the golden calf emerged

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from the hoseef yom echad midaato. Clearly it was not so simple to add a day here and delay

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Rabbi Moses Sofer, 1762-1839, is called the Chasam Sofer, due to his book by that name. He was a great giant

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of Torah scholarship and kindness. He was a forceful advocate for maintaining traditional Jewish practice and a

strong opponent of the attempts to radically reform the practice of Judaism. His Yeshiva became the most influential

Jewish center of learning in Central Europe and produced hundreds of leaders for Hungarian Jewry.

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mattan Torah.) The whole world was waiting to receive the Torah, yet in this trial Moshe added

a day. Great damage could have emerged from delaying this union, but Hashem agreed to the

delay! In other words Hashem agreed it was the right decision. Moshe was mechavein to ratzon

Hashem. This is a madreiga of tzadikim!

This is the bechira of tzadikim: to choose from two correct alternatives. To choose

between receiving Torah earlier or having more purity. Both are good options. It might be that

the halachic answer would have been to receive Torah earlier. Hashem said two days. Why add?

Yet here Hashem wanted Moshe to do the particular and individual thing, to add a day. Hiskim

hakadosh boruch hu al yado, Hashem agreed to his decision! There are several aspects of

avodas Hashem where a great shikul hadaas, judgement, is needed to determine what ratzon

Hashem really is in this situation. This is the service of tzadikim. Shavuos is a time to pray for

help in this illumination.

'וכ םידמוע הבושת ילעבש םוקמב ל"ז םרמאמכ םיקידצה תושפנ ןואמצמ זע רתיב ושפנ האמצ תאזלו

האמ אלש הבושת לבא וז הבר הבהאל אב הז ידי לעו ליאוה תויכזכ ול ושענ תונודזש ורמא וז הבר הבהאמ הבושת לעו

'הו הנוכנ הבושת איהש ףא וז הב

חצנל תומה עלוביש ץק תע דע ירמגל הפילקהמ םילוע ןיאו תויכזכ ול ושענ אל םוקמ לכמ ול חלסי.

For inasmuch as his soul had been in a barren wilderness, and in the shadow of death, which is

the sitra achra, and infinitely removed from the light of the Divine Countenance, his soul now

thirsts [for G-d] even more than the souls of the righteous, as our Sages say, "In the place where

penitents stand, not even the perfectly righteous can stand." It is concerning the repentance out

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of such great love that they have said: "The penitent's premeditated sins become, in his case, like

virtues," since through the sins he has attained this great love.

However, repentance that does not come from such love, even though it might be true repentance,

and G-d will pardon him, nevertheless his sins are not transformed into merits, and they are not

completely released from the kelipah until the end of time, when death will be swallowed up

forever.

A person who was once in the place of darkness has a teshuva with a great love and this love

causes the sins to be transformed into merits.

הבושתב םשמ הלוע וז ירה תואמטה תופילק שלשב הללכנו הדריש ףא הלטבל ונממ ואציש ערז תופטבש תויחה ךא

ותטמ לע עמש תאירק ארוקה לכ ארמגב זמורמו ל"ז י"ראהמ עדונכ הטמה לעש עמש תאירקב המוצע הנווכבו הנוכנ

.ח"יל עודיכ םהמ תויחה הלועו תופטבש תויחל שובל ושענש םינוציחה תופוג גורהל 'וכ תויפ יתש לש ברח זחוא ולאכ

האמוטה יוברו תולדגה 'יחבב ונוע לודגו ןהמ רומחש ףא תורוסא תואיב ללכב הרותב הלטבל ערז ןוע רכזוה אל ןכלו

תויחו חכ ףיסומ תורוסא תואיבבש קר תורוסא תואיבמ רתוי הלטבל ערז תאצוהב דאמ דאמב הברמו דילומש תופילקהו

הבושתב תויחה םשמ תולעהל לוכי וניאש דע רתויב האמט הפילקב:

'יחב םש ןיאש הלטבל ערזב כ"אשמ השודקהמ תויחה תטלוקו תלבקמה הפילקד אבקונד דוסיב הטלקנש ינפמ) ההגה

ח"יל עודיכ תופטבש תויחל םישיבלמ היתולייחו היתוחכש קר הפילקד אבקונ):

לכוי אלש תוועמ והזיא ל"זר רמאמ ןבוי הזבו תויכזכ ול ושענ תונודזש דע ךכ לכ הבר הבהאמ הבושת השעי כ"אא

השודקל תויחה תולעהל ול רשפא יא ךכ לכ הלודג הבושת השעי םא םג זאש רזממ דילוהו הורעה לע אבש הז ןוקתל

םדו רשב ףוגב השבלתנו הזה םלועל הדרי רבכש רחאמ

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Yet the vitality which is in the drops of semen that issue wastefully, even though it has been

degraded and incorporated in the three unclean kelipos, nevertheless can ascend from there by

means of true repentance and intense kavanah during the recital of the Shema at bedtime, as is

known from our master, Rabbi Isaac Luria, of blessed memory, and is implied in the Talmudic

saying, "He who recites the Shema at bedtime is as if he held a double-edged sword,.. ,"

wherewith to slay the bodies of the Extraneous Forces that have become garments for the vitality

which is in the drops [of semen], so that this vitality may ascend, as is known to those who are

familiar with the Esoteric Wisdom. Therefore the sin of wasteful emission of semen is not

mentioned in the Torah among the list of forbidden coitions, although it is even more heinous

than they; and this sin is greater because of the enormity and abundance of the un-cleanness and

kelipos which he begets and multiplies to an exceedingly great extent through wasteful emission

of semen, even more than through forbidden relations. Except that in the case of forbidden

relations he contributes strength and vitality to a most unclean kelipah, from which he is

powerless to bring up the vitality by means of repentance,

Note: The reason being that this vitality has been absorbed by the "female" element of the

kelipah, which receives and absorbs the vitality from the holiness. Not so with wasteful emission

of semen, where there is obviously no female element of kelipah, and only its powers and forces

provide the garments for the vitality of the [wasteful] semen, as is known to those familiar with

the Esoteric Wisdom.

He may however repent with such great love that his willful wrongs are transformed into merits.

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From the above, one may understand the comment of our Sages: "Which is 'a fault that cannot be

rectified?'— Having incestuous intercourse and giving birth to a bastard." For in such a case,

even though the sinner undertakes such great repentance, he cannot cause the [newly created]

vitality to ascend to Holiness, since it has already descended into this world and has been

clothed in a body of flesh and blood.

Shmiras Habris, Dignity, and secrets of Torah

Now the Tanya adds a point about hotzaas zera livatala, emission of seed in vain. It explains that

even though through this sin the zera is caught in the shalosh kellipos hatmeos, three impure

husks, through kerias shma sheal hamita, the prayer of Shma before sleeping, one can free this

spark from the clutches of the Kellipahh.

In the sodos haTorah there is not one page in the Zohar that does not talk of tikkun habris,

fixing the covenant, and shemiras habris, guarding the covenant. For the inyan of tikkun

hanefesh, fixing the soul, pgam habris, damaging the covenant of Abraham, is a very severe

matter. The Shulchan Aruch says that pgam hayesod, damaging the foundation of future life

through emission of seed, is a terrible pgam, yet the soddos haTorah stress this pgam much

more. The world of pnimius hanefesh, inner soul, finds pgam habris to be one of the greatest

tragedies. Pgam habris is more than literally damaging the covenant, it represents a worldview, It

really means that we must keep our thoughts elevated. We are to be immersed in spiritual

heights not coarse physicality!

Out of man's control

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You should know that Hashem forgives a coerced failing, onnes rachmana patrei, The

compassionate one exempts the forced. If through no fault of your own, you had a failing in this

realm, you need to be purified in a mikvah but you should know that there is no damage to the

spirit in the matter. You need not make an eisek, business, from it at all! There is no pgam from

an onnes. If something happened against your will, if you do not think of it, you will quickly find

it gone. As much as possible one must work hard to keep his thoughts elevated and not be drawn

down.

The main way to do this is to be immersed in Torah. As the Ramabam rules, ain hirhurei

aveira mitzuyin ela bilev hapanuy min hachochmah, fantasies of sin are only found in an intellect

empty of wisdom. The best protection is to be immersed in thoughts of Torah. Your entire power

of thinking should delve deeply into and have pleasure in learning Torah. Find the depths of

Torah! This is the main antidote. See that man has some very special parts of his being. The

Atzilus hanefesh of the person: there is a light to the soul of man.

The great parts of a person should lead to a vayigba libo bidarkei Hashem, And his heart

rose in the ways of Hashem. (Divrey Hayamim 2 17:6) Geius dikedusha, holy arrogance, should

reach these parts, and these parts can truly appreciate the depths of Chochmah. Kavod

chachamim yinchalu, the wise inherit honor. (Mishley 3:35)Choc hmah is naturally honorable, all

of creation honors real Chochmah! We are to recite a blessing even when seeing a gentile wise

man! A person who is wise among the nations, is yoneik, draws nourishment, from psoles,

sediments, and achorayim of holy Chochmah, and still gets a bracha of asher chalak

michochmahso libasar vidam, who has apportioned from His wisdom to flesh and blood. There

is a also a bracha of asher chalak mikvodo libassar vidam, who has apportioned of His honor to

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flesh and blood, for these two, wisdom and honor, are a pair that are linked to each other! Kavod

means that the Atzilus hanefesh of the person is revealed! When the highest heights within the

person express themselves then there is kavod. When the elevated portions of man reveal

themselves then there is honor.

A man who deserves kavod is completely non-animalistic. When a man allows the yetzer

hara to turn him into an animal he loses his maalos, advantages, the great maalos of an adam.

He loses his Chochmah. Comprehension of the secrets of the Torah comes from a very high

level within the person. The chaya shebinefesh or the yechida shebinefesh must express itself for

a person to grasp the light of Hashem of sisrei Torah. Allowing oneself to be dragged down and

become animalistic is therefore most severe. Even a small pgam of not being uplifted causes a

loss in the realm of the inner Torah. So if a person dwells on hirhurim raim there is no worse

pgam other then apikursos. Especially for pnimius haTorah, tzadikim have revealed this is the

focus and on this matter great strength and effort are necessary.

Even if we are nichshal, stumble, we should not give up. Hashem has indicated that there

would be great temptations.

Why our generation finds Shmiras Habris so hard

Now is the time of ikvasa dimishicha, the footsteps of Mashiach. In the near future the ohr

haganuz will be revealed. The great light of the secrets of Torah will soon be revealed. Now the

yetzer hara is fighting this light and this is why it fights to bring into the Jewish home all sorts of

things that will debase the holy house! If the yetzer hara puts such efforts to lower us then this

shows us that here is the main struggle in our generation.

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Hashem will give us strength. We must arouse force within ourselves. We must have an

awesome shmiras einyaim, guarding of the eyes. We must distance ourselves with the greatest

distances. If we do so, it is a great merit.

G-d has a special list for the shomrei habris. A person who does this in the right way is

listed in this book of memory. The Zohar says there is a sefer zikaron lifanav for the shomrei

habris, and one who is listed in this book has the verse “Pischu shearim viyavo goy tzadik

shomer emunim” “Open your gates and allow the righteous who loyally preserves the faith to

enter.” (Yeshayahu 26:2) All the gates of heaven open for the tzadik who is shomer habris.

The truth is that there are two gates: emunah and shemiras habris. One is yesod and one

is malchus and this is the meaning of the Talmud in Brachos liolam yikaneis adam shney

pesachim viachar kach yispallel, man should always enter through two gates and then pray. (8a)

Matters of holiness need two seals: emunah and shemiras habris. Emunah is the gate for success

in niglos haTorah, revealed Torah. To enter into pnimiyus haTorah, inner Torah, the main gate is

shemiras habris. For the ohr haganuz litzadikim, the light hidden away for the rightoues, the

main gate is shemiras habris.

Now, if you go into the street and something happens do not get depressed. Heaven

knows it is hard now. Yet we should still strengthen ourselves and know that all of Judaism is

dependent on this and know that the main solution is to deeply immerse yourself in Torah. Then

all these things are not tofes makom, take up any space, and do not count at all. To be immersed

in Torah is the only thing.

All these hirhurim, evil thoughts, come from the zahamas hanachash, filth from the

serpent. At mattan Torah we merited the level of paska zuhamasan, their filth left them, and the

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gate of the secrets of Torah opened. When the depth of pnimiyus haTorah was revealed and

reached and a level of paska zuhamasan was revealed, we were ashamed of these low levels.

Livaavur nasos es’chem bah haElokim limaan tihye yiraso al pneichem livilti techtau, It is to test

you that God came so that His fear will be on your faces and you will not sin.(Shemos 20:16)

This yiraso al pneichem is the embarrassment to be enthralled to urges, to function as a baal

taavah. A person who runs after his animal desires is a beast, he is a mechutzaf, and he will see

how at one point the bney adam rise and the beasts fall. Ruach habaheimos yoredos limata

viruach haadam ola limaala, the spirits of animals descend below and the soul of man ascends

on high, (see Koheles 3:21)there is no greater pain for the soul. The person might be able to run

around for sixty or seventy years as an animal but the soul will be held to account for its failures.

Therefore as we approach Shavuos the sitra achra is trying to lower us and now we are to

misgaber with a vayigba libo bidarkei Hashem, and his heart grew tall with the ways of Hashem,

and to raise ourselves to the levels of the soul and to act as a person who has a piece of G-dliness

in him. Rise up and laugh at all the donkey acts of the nations. When you see preetzus, improper

dress or behavior, in the street know that this is an animal acting in this way. The whole world is

a chevra chamorim, a donkey pack, and I must be higher and not pay them any attention. When a

person merits to be a shomer habris and feels a G-dly piece within one will merit to feel the light

of holiness and kedusha. Make a leitzanusa diavoda zara, laugh at the silly world that makes

such a big deal out of taavos. When the pnimius hanefesh is revealed one is sensitive and he feels

oros ruchniyim in a Shabbes and in other holy matters! This is a very important matter.

Now this is a matter best left unsaid, the less said about this topic the better. Yet you

should know that the shemiras habris is the foundation of yidishkeit and the more that we are

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strong in this the more we are connected to the light that Hashem has set aside for the tzadikim.

One of the great Jewish thinkers revealed that both a tzadik and a sinner have faith. The

defining difference between them is in the power to imagine and draw vivid images. The tzadik’s

imagination makes holy pictures real and sensory. The power of imagination can contribute a

great deal to holy living. Lesson seventeen explores the different powers of fantasy found in man.

Lesson Seventeen: The Blessing of Imagination

Chapter eight of the Tanya begins:

רוסיא םשב םיארקנ ךכלש תורוסא תולכאמב תאז דועו

And there is another feature as to why prohibited food items are called issur.

איהה הליכא חכב 'ה דובעל םימש םשל עדוה אלב רוסיא לכאמ לכאש ימ ףאש ינפמ

Even for one who ate the forbidden thing by mistaking it for a permitted item and ate it with pure

intent to serve Hashem through this eating

רתיהה ומכ הלפתהו הרותה תוביתב תשבלתמו הלוע הבש תויחה ןיא איהה הליכא חכב ללפתהו ארקו ןכ השעו לעפ םגו

תואמטה תופילק שלשמ א"סה ידיב הרוסיא ינפמ

and later in fact did just that - learning Torah or praying with the energy derived from the

forbidden things he ate - the life in the food will not ascend and clothe the words of Torah and

prayer as life from permitted things because they are assur, bound, to the Other Side, the three

impure Kellipos.

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The Tanya explains that even one who eats something forbidden lishem shamayim (in other

words, he did not know it was forbidden, he thought it was kosher, and he ate with a holy

motivation, to have strength to serve God) and he then actually used that strength for a mitzvah

will not merit to raise the spark. Prohibited items are called assur, which means bound in the jail

of the three kellipos that are completely dark. Therefore, the life from the permitted food item

will not ascend and fill the letters of Torah and mitzvos. Since it is tied in with the realm of evil,

this life cannot enter into the words of kedusha of mitzvos. In other words, no holiness can fall

onto the life that came from a forbidden thing.

Without question in the gashmi, physical, world there are rules of nature. In a

gashmiyusdike sense physical life from a forbidden food was used for an act of mitzvah.

Nevertheless, the Tanya is talking here of the holiness of the letters of the mitzvah. This is not

part of the rules of nature. Here there is a difference between food that was allowed and food that

was prohibited. Only food that was allowed can become part of holiness. Food of issur cannot

become part of holiness for it is tied and bound into the realm of Kellipah. Assur really means

assur biyad hachitzonim: it is bound and jailed to the external realm.

.וכ הרות ירבדמ רתוי םירפוס ירבד םירומחש ןנברד רוסיא אוה 'יפאו

And this is true about Rabbinic prohibitions as well, for Rabbinic prohibitions are more strict

than Torah prohibitions.

This applies to things prohibited by the Rabbis as well. Every dirabbanan, Rabbinic law, is really

a dioraysa, Biblical obligation. If the Torah would not want us to follow the Sages there would

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be no point in listening to them. There is certainly a Biblical command of lo tasur min hadavar

asher yagidu licha, do not deviate from the matter they tell you. (Devarim 17:11) The dispute

between Rambam and Ramban about Rabbinic law is how to conceptualize the concept of

rabbinic authority. Is it that when I light a Chanukah candle I can say Hashem is telling me to

light this, for Hashem wants me to listen to the sages and their laws are the equivalent of Biblical

law? Or maybe no. Though the Torah wants me to follow the Rabbis, I cannot make a bracha that

He commanded that I light a Chanukah candle for they cannot make a law that is the same as

Biblical law. Yet in a general sense I still must listen to them. In terms of blessings I can make a

bracha that He commanded me to listen to the chachamim, not that He told me to light Chanukah

candles. But certainly I must listen to all Rabbinic edicts, because in the Torah I am told to listen

to them.

םהיתושפנש ג"וע תומוא לש ערה רצי אוהש ןיארכונ ןידשמ דש אוה םירוסאה םירבדל הואתמה חכו ערה רציה םג ןכלו

יפל ןיאדוהי ןידשמ דש אוה ותואת תאלמל םירתומה םירבדל הואתמה חכו ר"הציה כ"אשמ תואמטה תופילק שלשמ

ליעלדכ השודקל רוזחל לוכיש

Therefore the evil urge, the force of desiring matters that are forbidden, is a shaid nuchri, a

gentile demon, for it is a non-Jewish evil urge, just as the animal nefesh of the Gentiles is from

the three impure Kellipos. While the evil urge to satisfy one's urges with permitted matters is a

Jewish shaid for it can easily return to holinesss, as has been explained.

There is a shaid Yisrael and shaid nuchri. We once spoke about this: that each soul has a levush.

A soul needs a particular levush when it comes to a body and all the dimyonos of a person, all his

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fantasies, come from this levush. The yetzer hara represents false fantasies and the yetzer hatov

represents a good power of imagination.

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Imagination and prophecy

You should know that a perfected imagination makes one into a navi, prophet. The koach

hanefesh of the person of imagination - if it is used in the right way - becomes nevuah, prophecy.

Nevuah takes effect on a particular soul capability.

What is the difference between Ruach Hakodesh, divine inspiration, and nevuah? We

today do not have nevuah but we still have Ruach Hakodesh. Ramchal

explains that nevuah

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uses imagination. When a person has a perfected koach hadimyon, power of imagination: he can

see pictures and forms and these forms do not work with the mind but are rather things that the

navi sees. The nevuah falls onto the power of imagination. This is how the rishonim, early

commentators, explain the verse about a false prophet that states, “Ki yakum bikirbecha navi oh

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In our Rebbe’s classes on Rav Nachman of Breslov’s Likutey Moharan, he taught further about the shaidim,

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demons. “There are shaidin Yehudain, Jewish demons, and shaidin nuchrain, gentile demons. So too there is a

Jewish yetzer hara and a gentile yetzer hara Yetzer hara is connected to false fantasies which are identified with the

shaidin. Our sages teach that the demons look human but do not have human feet. They have no legs. This is like

falsehood about which our sages say, sheker ain lo raglayim, lies have no feet. (Shabbes 104a) The Zohar teaches

that shaidin sometimes appear as males and sometimes as females. They constantly change form for they are a wind

based creature. There is little solid to them and hence they constantly change. The Ramban teaches that the demons

have the elements of wind and energy but not the elements of earth and water. Like a fantasy which is not based on

reality, the demons constantly change for there is no solid basis to their reality. The urges of the evil urge are like

fantasies, they will not truly provide lasting pleasure, they also constantly change form. Once he desires this and

then he desires that. The holy Ari taught that man is rooted in this world for he has three parts: a soul, body, and a

levush, a garment that combines body to soul. The root of these three elements is three forms of Hashem’s name e-

h-y-eh. Hashem’s name ה-י-ה-א can be filled out in three primary ways. אה-דוי-אה-ףלא ,יה-דוי-יה-ףלא, and

הה-דוי-הה-ףלא. The numeric sum of all three of these forms equals 454, the word םתוח, the seal of holiness. A

demon, only has two names that animate him, the first two. The numeric value of there two names is 304, the same

as the word דש,shaid, demon. Since he lacks the third name he is unable to actually enter a body in this world and

he is a creature of the air and heavens which is not grounded in reality.” (Shiur about maamar 28 in Likutey

Moharan, delivered Wednesday evening parshas Chayei Sarah 5765)

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Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzato is known as Ramchal, the acronym of the letters of his name. He was born in 1707

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and left this world in 1746. He was a giant of Torah knowledge and ethical direction. He explained many of the

ideas of Kabblah in his many writings. His work of ethics, Messilas Yesharim, the Path of the Just, is one of the key

texts guiding a person to serve Hashem.

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choleim halom,” “When there will arise among you a prophet or a seer of dreams, (Devarim

13:2) and he tells you to worship idols, the Torah has a punishment for this lying prophet.

The Ramban and Ibn Ezra

ask, how can the Torah say that yakum bikirbecha navi, a

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prophet will rise among you, he is not a navi, he is a liar! Why does it not say ki yakum

bikirbachu shakran, when a liar will arise among you? The rishonim answer this is a person who

is using the ways of nevuah! The Rambam explains that a person only has the status of navi

sheker if he is acting in the way of nevuah. In other words he is a person who seems deserving of

nevuah. He is porush midarkei haolam, detached from the ways of the world. He is not

immersed in material matters, he is attached to high matters and is an elevated person. He has all

the behaviors that the Rambam ascribes to a true prophet. Then he says a nevuah which turns him

into a navi sheker, and he then has the status of a false prophet. In other words, nevua is a koach,

a force, the navi sheker is using this koach, the koach fell on him but he is making a mistake. The

nevua came to him from sitra achra.

Why then is he guilty?

There are rules in nevuah. Guidance is given on how to distinguish a nevuah from

Hashem from a nevuah that emerged from sitra achra. There are rules how nevuah works. There

are rules to distinguish between a navi emes and a navi sheker, for a navi sheker gets his nevuah

from the heichalos hatumah, the heavenly palaces of impurity, and therefore there is a law that a

false prophet who was too lazy to reject the impure imaginary picture is to be killed.

Nevua is a koach. There used to be yeshivos to train prophets. There were bney neviim,

prophets-in-training. See what happened to Shaul. People said “Hagam Shaul baniviim,” “Is

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Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra was born in 1089 and passed away in 1167. He was a great poet, philosopher and Torah

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commentator. His commentary to the Bible is one of the most classic interpretations of the text. Ramban frequently

quoted his work and critiqued it.

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Saul among the prophets?” (Shmuel 1 10:11) People knew that he had never studied with the

bney neviim, so they were surprised when he started to prophesize. There were preparations to

reach nevuah, joy and music as well as meditations of holy names, Sheimos hakdoshim. When a

person did these things the power of nevua would be rest on him. This dynamic would take

effect on the power of imagination.

Contemporary Uses Of Imagination

We do not have nevua, yet we can use the power of imagination for a great degree of

good. For example a person can imagine what mashiach would be like. The Talmud in tractate

Shabbes teaches that after our life in this world, we will be asked, tzipisa liyeshua, Did you

anticipate the redemption? (Shabbes 31a) If you imagine what the world will be like in the time

of mashiach you get a taste of it now. You know that reality might not ultimately align with your

imagination, but still it draws you nearer to what mashiach will be.

We need to draw for ourselves the picture of what it will be like when the whole world

will scream Hashem hu haElokim, Hashem is the Almighty, we will have Kohanim bringing

sacrifices and Liviim biduchanam, Levites singing on their platforms, and we will have awesome

music in the Beis Hamikdash. This is very good: use the imagination for holy matters. Use your

power of imagination to picture great things. For example, think of gadlus haboreih, the

grandeur of the Creator. The Rambam says that if you think how far one star is from the next you

will be amazed by the gadlus haboreih.

Another use of the imagination is to think about the speed of light and how much space is

covered by one ray of light in a year. When you start picturing these things you might begin to

have a bit of an inkling about gadlus haboreih. All things need pictures and illustrations:

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imagine it and that will help you understand so much. Realize that all the stars relative to the

world of Yetzirah are like one drop relative to the whole ocean, and the Ribbono Shel Olam who

made all this wants us to talk directly to Him and we can say Boruch ata Hashem. Blessed are

You Hashem.

Ruach Hakodesh emerges from intellect

Ruach Hakodesh works differently. It does not use imagination. It uses seichel. An

elevated force falls on a toiling mind. It is not like the power of seeing. Imagination sees. Ruach

Hakodesh is the mind that understandings. It is like revealing a deep insight, a tiefere sevara.

The mind first comes up with a higher understanding. And with this seichel, cognitive thought,

one merits to reach Ruach Hakodesh.

Now when you use the mind you need not lose the senses. For the tziyur elyon of nevuah

you must lose the senses. Ruach Hakodesh is different, for it is based on seichel and therefore

does not require a loss of sensory feeling. We may no longer have nevua, but we still have the

power of Ruach Hakodesh in the Jewish nation.

In imagination you can draw pictures of holiness, yetzer tov, and pictures of evil, yetzer

hara. Now there is a Jewish yetzer hara and a gentile yetzer hara. The shaid yehudi creates

illustrations of kellipas nogah and the shaid nochri creates pictures of fantasies of the shalosh

kellipos hatmeios. The holy books relate shaidim to leitzanus, scoffing. The shaidim are called

leitzim, scoffers. For laitzanus is all dimyon. Why does a person laugh? Pure imagination and

fantasy. Comedy is all about the opposite of seichel: it is pure dimyon.

We see this is the fact when we want to annul a matter of seichel. The yetzer hara uses

leitzanus, leitzana achas dochah meiah tochachos, a single wisecrack pushes away a thousand

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reproofs. (Messilas Yesharim chapter five) Many times a person cannot help himself and he

laughs even though he does not want to. A joke pushes away an obligation.

The mind is accountable. One and one is two in seichel, yet in jokes one and one can be a

hundred, for in jokes the more illogical the better. If a person is filled with leitzanus it does not

pay to correct him. A person who turns all of holiness into jokes the leitzim make him into a joke

in the next world as his punishment. The shaidim laugh at him. For the soul this is very painful,

because the soul is all seichel and daas.

There are non-Jewish jokes, goyishe shaidim, and then there are jokes that are a bechinah

of kellipas nogah. A goy’s animal soul and joke is the shalosh kellipos hatmeios. A Jewish joke

is kellipas nogah: it can be used and brought to the realm of holiness.

The word yeitzer רצי is related etymologically to the word tziyur רויצ for the yetzer

represents the pictures of fantasy.

The yetzer hara fills the blood. The Hebrew word for blood is dam םד which is related to

the word ןוימד dimyon. The Torah when it prohibits eating blood says vlo yizbachu od es

zivcheihem lasiirim asher heim zonim achareihim, And they should not offer sacrifices to the

goats they stray after. (Vayikra 17:7) In other words if one offers a sacrifice outside the sanctuary

he is adding strength to the seirim, to the shaidim, the dimyonos. People used to offer such

sacrifices to strengthen the shaidim and to draw down spirits of false prophecy. Through

strengthening the fantasies in their souls they would have a tumah form of prophecy.

These demons are called goats for the Talmud says that Dam gdi damo dome lidam adam,

The blood of a goat is similar to the blood of man. (Bereishis Rabbah 84:19) So shaidim are the

dimyonos of man and look like goats for the blood of goats is like the blood of man and blood is

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related to dimyon. The Torah is therefore telling us to stay away from the dimyonos ra’im, and

that all korbanos have to be lishem shamayim, for the sake of heaven, so as not to increase the

power of dimyonos.

הפילקו א"ס אוה השודקל רזחש םדוק מ"מ ךא

But nevertheless before it has returned to the realm of holiness it is Sitra Achra and Kellipahh

ףוגה ךירצ ןכלו ורשבמ רשבו םד ףכית השענ הקשמו לכאמ לכמ יכ תויהל ףוגב קובד ראשנ ונממ ומישרה כ"חא םגו

כ"אא ןיאדוהי ןידשו הגונ תפילק תאמוטמ ויגונעתו הזה םלוע תאנהב לביקש ותאמוטמ ורהטלו ותוקנל רבקה טוביחל

שודקה וניברכ וימי לכ ז"הועמ הנהנ אלש ימ

And afterwards the impression of excess material indulgence stays attached to the body, for the

food becomes the flesh and blood of the person, and this is why the body needs chibut hakever,

the beating in the grave, to cleanse and purify him from the impurity he received from enjoying

this world, the impurity of kellipas nogah and Jewish demons, unless he never enjoyed this world

like the holy Tanna, Rebbi.

Chibut Hakever

After the sin of the eitz hadaas, the tree of knowledge, the law of chibut hakever was established.

This is part of the punishment of afar ata vel afar tashuv, dust you are and to dust you shall

return. (Bereishis 3:19) We were all part of the sin of eitz hadaas and for that we enjoy physical

things. That causes us to need chibut hakever, except for uniquely special individuals.

Chibbut hakever does not mean that physically the angels take a man and hit the body so

that he is cleansed from his enjoyment of the world. If you put a camera in a grave you would

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not see angels come and take the body and hit it. G-d does not want our world to have open

miracles, and such a chibut hakever would be an open miracle.

During the first Jewish commonwealth there were open miracles and the challenge of

choice was about paganism, but in our days the primary challenge is from heresy so there is no

norm of miracles. Only tzadikim have miracles. But today if chibbut hakever meant the body

itself getting hit, there would be an open miracle and that would interfere with the choice that our

generation needs.

Therefore chibut hakever means that the nefesh haadam, spirit of man, is beaten. There is

a piece of nefesh haadam in the grave and it feels things, and in the grave this nefesh is beaten in

order to be cleansed. A person who was hardly immersed in this world hardly gets any such

punishment. This punishment is given due to excess taanugey olam hazeh diheter, permissible

delights of this world.

עלקה ףכב הלוגלג י"ע וז הפילקד וז האמוטמ ושפנ רהטל ךירצ דומלל לוכי וניאש ה"ע ןוגכ רתיהב םילטב םירבד לעו

ט"נ ףד חלשב 'פ רהכב ש"מכ

As for innocent idle chatter, such as in the case of an ignoramus who cannot study, he must

undergo a cleansing of his soul, to rid it of the uncleanness of this kelipah, through its being

rolled in "The hollow of a sling," as is stated in the Zohar, Parshat Beshallach, p. 59

[ודבל] עלקה ףכ ןיא ירמגל תואמטה תופילק שלשמ ןהש םהב אצויכו ערה ןושלו תונציל ומכ םירוסא םירובידל לבא

םנהיגל דריל הכירצ קר שפנהמ ותאמוט ריבעהלו רהטל ליעומ.

But with regard to forbidden speech, such as scoffing and slander and the like, which stem from

the three completely unclean kelipos, the hollow of a sling (alone) does not suffice to cleanse and

remove the uncleanness of the soul, but it must descend into gehenom [Purgatory].

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םישנוע קר הככזלו הקרמל ושפנל ליעומ ודבל עלקה ףכ ןיא םילטב םירבדב קסועו הרותב קוסעל ול רשפאש ימ ןכו

ראובמכ גלש לש םנהיגב תולצע תמחמ ע"מ לוטיב לכל יללכה שנוע דבלמ תוטרפב הרות לוטיב לע םישינעמש םירומח

א"מב

So, too, he who is able to engage in the Torah, but occupies himself instead with frivolous things,

the hollow of a sling cannot itself effectively scour and cleanse his soul, but severe penalties are

meted out for neglect of the Torah in particular, apart from the general retribution for the neglect

of a positive commandment through indolence, namely, in the Purgatory of Snow, as is explained

elsewhere

הרות דומלת תוכלהב ש"מכ הרות לוטיב ןוע ןינעל בשחי םילטב םירבד ללכב םילולג ידבוע תומוא תומכחב קסועה ןכו

תודמה קר אמטמו שיבלמ וניאש םילטב םירבד תאמוט לע םילולג ידבוע תומואה תמכח לש התאמוט הרתי תאז דועו

וז הפילקבש ערה חורה דוסימ םיאבה םילטב םירבדבש הגונ תפילק תאמוטב תיהלאה ושפנבש שודקה חורה דוסימ

.ןכ רבדל םילוכי ה"עו םיטושה םגש תורובו תוטש ירבד םהש רחאמ ושפנבש ד"בח 'יחב אלו ליעלדכ תימהבה ושפנב

תומכחבש הגונ תפילק תאמוטב תיהלאה ושפנבש ד"בח 'יחב אמטמו שיבלמ אוה םילולג ידבוע תומואה תמכחב כ"אשמ

םודרק ןתוא השוע כ"א אלא ןח יעדויל עודיכ השודקד המכח לש םיירוחא 'יחבמ 'ילכה תריבשב המש ולפנש ולא

לש ומעט והזו ותרותל וא 'ה תדובעל ןהב שמתשהל עדויש וא 'ה דובעל חוירב ןהמ סנרפתהל ידכ ונייהד ןהב ךותחל

ןהב וקסעש ןתעיסו ל"ז ן"במרו ם"במרה:

Likewise, he who occupies himself with the sciences of the nations of the world is included

among those who waste their time in profane matters, insofar as the sin of neglecting the Torah

is concerned, as is explained in the Laws Concerning Study of the Torah. Moreover, the

uncleanness of the science of the nations is greater than that of profane speech, for the latter

informs and defiles only the middos which emanate from the element of the holy ruach within his

divine soul with the contamination of the kelipas nogah that is contained in profane speech

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which is derived from the element of the evil ruach of this kelipah in his animal soul, as

mentioned above; yet he does not defile the [intellectual] faculties of ChaBaD in his soul, for

they are but words of foolishness and ignorance, since even fools and ignoramuses can speak

that way. Not so in the case of the nations' science whereby he clothes and defiles the intellectual

faculties of ChaBaD in his divine soul with the contamination of the kelipas nogah contained in

those sciences, as they have fallen through the "shattering of the vessels" out of the so-called

"hinder part" of Chochmah of Kedushah, as is known to those familiar with the Esoteric Wisdom.

That is unless he employs [these sciences] as a useful instrument, viz., as a means of a more

affluent livelihood to be able to serve G-d, or knows how to apply them in the service of G-d and

His Torah. This is the reason why Maimonides and Nachmanides, of blessed memory, and their

adherents engaged in them.

A person who never learned because he could not and instead immersed himself in permitted

speech must purify himself with kaf hakela, the hollow of a sling. However for dibburim

asurim, prohibited speech, and aveiros, sins, one must go to gehenom to achieve purity.

However, kaf hakela is not enough for someone who could learn but did not, and he will require

greater punishments. Wasted words only damage ruach, yet shallow wisdom comes from

kellipas nogah which comes from the sheviras hakeilim, shattering of the vessels. This affects

the chabad of the soul and is very bad unless it is used for good as the Rambam did.

External Wisdom

What is this chochmah chitzonis? Is the Tanya referring to natural wisdom? The Almighty made

nature and all that He made He made with His wisdom, so this should simply be a Godly pursuit,

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chochmas Hashem!? How is it kellipas nogah? Chochmas Hashem is a good thing. How can it

be kellipahs nogah?

The truth is however that you can ask this about taavos, urges, too. For example the

desire to eat. Who made the taava of eating? Hashem. So then why is it bad? If Hashem made it,

it is good!

The answer is that if the wisdom of Torah would be brought all the way to the chochmas

hateva, as Shlomo did, if all wisdom came from Torah and through Torah one knows nature and

you would see how the aspects of nature are connected to Torah, then through studying the

world you would understand the wisdom of Hashem and it would be part of the holiness of

Torah. It would not be a study of nature then, rather it would be a learning of Torah!

For example, if you could find a pasuk in the Torah to explain why fire rises then it is

chochmas haTorah.

Since the days of Shlomo the ability to connect nature to Torah has been forgotten. Now

there is a wisdom where we do not see the connection between nature and Torah. The scientists

do not truly understand nature for they do not connect it to its source. Since their understanding

is without true depth, they only get to a surface understanding of nature, and therefore they mix

many false ideas into their understanding. They build their ideas on lies. So today natural

wisdom is not Torah.

There were many commentators who explained verses through the science of their day

and these explanations are hard for us to comprehend today. For the scientists have changed their

mind on these things. You should know that all the Rambam’s ideas are based on Ruach

Hakodesh and even so for some of the things that he relied on the scientists for today we cannot

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understand, for science has changed. Understandings changed for the science of his day had

much falsehood to it.

Therefore science today is kellipas nogah. It can be used for the sake of heaven to have a

means of earning a livelihood or to be mekareiv rechokim, bring near those who are far, in order

to show people that you can be wise in science and still be observant. It is a display of kellipas

nogah. When used for holy purposes it is raised and elevated, but it is not Torah, it is nogah.

How there could be a wisdom of nature that is not attached to the wisdom of Torah relates to the

matter of sheviras hakeilim.

It is a lengthy matter. With Hashem’s help we will work on it in the next lesson.

Our physical realm slides easily into sins. It is very hard to truly live a holy life. Why is this so?

What is the root of the physical world? What is the key to reaching the Divine and connecting with Him?

Lesson eighteen reveals insights about the very essence of our world.

Lesson Eighteen: Sheviras Hakeilim, the Shattering of the Vessels

At the end of chapter eight the Tanya taught that studying external wisdom possibly

defiles one’s chochmah with kellipas nogah. For wisdom fell into the realm of the kellipos during

the shattering of the vessels. Thus external wisdom is a derivative of the aspect of the back,

bechinas achorayim, of Holy Wisdom.

Shattering of the vessels is a very broad matter, a difficult and deep subject that many

might not understand but now we need to learn the basics of this topic. For this is a great key to

understanding many matters in Chassidic works and to helping us arrive at a living of depth.

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The importance of studying the inner Torah

You will appreciate a deeper view of the world if you understand this concept.

You should know that Hashem has given us a very deep Torah. It is amazing! Do not fear

deep matters of Torah. Certainly there is a great wisdom and many lights in the revealed Torah

and yet you must internalize what the Zohar says several times: the main hassagos,

apprehensions, of Torah are in the inner Torah! The Ari Hakadosh and Rav Chaim Vital speak

about this at length! They teach that the main chochmah in Torah is to be found in the pnimiyus

haTorah. This is the Torah that we will truly merit to grasp when mashiach will come. When

mashiach will come we will primarily be involved in this, the inner realm, the pnimiyus

HaTorah. This is the Torah Hashem gave to Adam in Gan Eden before the sin. Hashem told

Adam he was to work and protect the garden. Spiritual activities were the way to fulfill this

mandate of liavda ulishamrah. Study of this Torah was the way to develop and safeguard the

realm of Eden!

Here you have the wisdom Hashem has given to man! The ohr Eloki, G-dly light, is

found here. When you understand the Chochmah Elokis you can connect to Hashem! When

a man grasps the depths of the pnimiyus haTorah he totally annuls evil. The Talmud teaches

that the Torah is the tavlin, the spice, to the yetzer hara, the urge for evil. Revealed Torah is

gufa dioraysa, the body of Torah, and it helps annul the attraction of evil, through making

the body more sensitive. However, the light of pnimiyus haTorah, is nishmasa dioraysa, it is

a light of the soul and it annuls the desire for evil entirely.

Therefore we must have a desire to acquire in a true way an understanding of pnimiyus

haTorah. Especially young students need to have this aspiration. To reach this comprehension we

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must dedicate our days - especially our young years - to working on ourselves to rise above sin,

and especially focus on kedusha, holiness, and shmiras habris, in order to gain a grasp of the

inner realm of Torah.

The Stutchiner Rebbe taught us that all of the bnei aliyah, men of ascent, he knew had

developed themselves during their years of youth. Without question one can be a baal teshuva,

master of repentance. Yet to reach the level of a master of ascent, to truly be close to Hashem, to

be a person who is really elevated, it is most helpful to work as a young man. Push yourself to

avoid sin, especially chet hayadua, the known sin.

To become a person that Hashem will take

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pride in, you have to work hard in your younger years. The main thing is breaking the chomer,

breaking the taavos. Do not run after desires. Work hard in Torah and then when you get older

Hashem will help you and your soul will shine and you will have a connection to what Hashem

wants from you. You will grasp why Hashem made man, what He wants from us, and why He

gave the Torah to the Jewish nation. The connection to Hashem is through Torah. Torah has

different levels. There are different stages of connection to Hashem. The more one understands

pnimiyus haTorah the more you will connect to Hashem! This is a very important matter.

We will discuss now a matter that is in chassidus and that is found in the works of

Kabbalah as well, yet we will talk about its chassidic aspects, not its kabbalistic components. We

will discuss how it appears in a person. How can a person apply these lessons to service? We will

not focus on Partzufin, how these concepts appear in the Heavenly realms, or what sheimos,

Divine names, are involved here. Any lesson about man is not the Kabbalah part. It is a lesson

how man should work and live.

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Violations of the covenant of Abraham, such as immodesty between men and women.

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Imperfect realms, Edomite Kings

There is a section at the end of Vayishlach where the Torah talks about the kings of Edom before

there was a king in Israel (Bereishis 36:31-40). This is a very difficult section of Torah. Why tell

us about these kings? What does the Torah want us to learn from this? There are many histories

in the world, and there were many kings. Why do we need to hear about eight kings who ruled in

Edom before the Jews had a king in Israel?! And furthermore in Divrey Hayamim we again hear

about these eight kings. Lifney miloch melech livney yisrael there was Bela ben Beor etc. and the

question is again what is the nafka mina, what is the lesson in these kings?

The truth is that this question can be raised about many verses in the Torah. The answer

to these verses will apply to all of those as well. Great secrets are hidden in the seemingly

unimportant verses. About these verses in Bereishis, the Zohar speaks at great length. Ramchal

explains that we have in these verses the main sodos haTorah! In a pasuk where it seems that the

discussion is not that important that is where the Torah clothes the greatest secrets of the Torah!

Where you would not think to find the secrets that is where Rashbi was allowed to reveal secrets.

The Ari explains that in regards to seven of these kings it says that he ruled and then died,

and then a different, unconnected, person ruled. We do not find that the son took over. In fact

Chazal say that Edom is bazuy miod, very disgraceful, for they do not appoint as king,someone

who is the son of a regent. Seven kings are listed as ruling and then dying with no continuity,

while of the last king, Hadar, the Torah states that he ruled but the Torah does not mention

vayamos, and he died.

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The Ari explains that this is the secret of Borei olamos umachrivan, Hashem made worlds

that He destroyed. The Midrash states that G-d made worlds that He destroyed. After those

realms were ruined He made our world, a world of tikkun, a corrected and lasting universe.

Those worlds are hinted at in the phrase “Kings of Edom who ruled before there was a king for

the sons of Israel.” In other words melech Yisrael is the realm of tikkun. Melech libney Yisrael is

a world where through creation you can see malchus shmayim. A world where Hashem is

revealed as the king of bney yisrael is the realm of tikkun!

The realm of destruction and creation of worlds contains the roots of evil. There was an

incomplete creation before we arrived at the olam hatikkun. At the very beginning of Bereishis

this is referred to in the first two verses. Bereishis bara Elokim es hashamayim ves haaretz.

Vihaaretz haysa sohu vavohu vichoshech al pnei tehom viruach Elokim mirachefes al pnei

hamayim. "In the beginning of God's creating the heavens and earth. When the earth was

astonishingly empty, with darkness upon the surface of the deep, and the Divine presence

hovered above the waters.” (Bereishis 1:1-2) These refer to the worlds He made and destroyed.

The third verse, "And God said, "Let there be light etc." refers to the olam hatikkun. The

discussion of the kings of Edom who died before there was a king of Israel also symbolizes these

primordial realms.

Clearly the order of creation is that there were first ruins and destruction and then a

corrected realm.

Midrashim explain that tohu, vohu, and choshech refer to the exiles - the Babylonian,

Persian, and Greek etc. for this was a realm of destruction, a realm of churban, which was the

root of all the evil in the world, including the exiles and destructions of the Jewish people.

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The seven kings who ruled in eretz Edom represent seven middos. We see in the realm of

tikkun seven days of creation. The seven days are really seven attributes of holiness. Yom means

a middah. Each physical day of creation was a time when a particular middah was revealed.

For example, on the first day of creation Hashem revealed the attribute of Chessed,

Divine love. Since the world was created with seven middos, we also have seven shepherds to

visit us in the sukkah to reveal these seven middos, and seven branches to the Menorah. All

sevens reveal the seven attributes. Zeh liumas zeh asa HaElokim, G-d made one opposite the

other. (Koheles 7:14) The world is balanced. Therefore, there are seven middos raos, character

traits of evil. These are the roots of evil, the seven malchei Edom. The seven kings of Edom refer

to the seven middos of evil. It says in regards to each of these kings vayamos, and he died, for

they are the roots of evil.

Hashem revealed a middah such as a middah of chessed or gevurah, and then it died.

This is a very broad matter that we can hardly understand. Let us therefore try and limit

ourselves because this a great key to understanding creation and many other things. Let us

begin with King Shlomo.

Appreciate the limitations!

When Shlomo built the temple he began with prayer, asking for hashraas haShechinah, the

presence of the Shechinah. He began by declaring that G-d could not possibly be on earth,

“Hinei hashamayim ushmei hashamayim lo yichalkiluhu,” “Behold the heavens and the height

of the heavens will not contain You.” (Melachim 1 8:27) In other words G-dliness is so great that

nothing can possibly contain it, even heaven cannot contain Him. This is really a question about

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creation: Hashem made a world so that He could enter it and reside there, but Hinei shamayaim

ushmai hashamayim, even the highest heavens, the greatest universes, lo yichalkilucha, cannot

contain Him! Hashem is infinite, so how can creation, which is by definition limited, tolerate

and contain Hashem?!

Then Shlomo makes the question even more difficult by asking, af ki habyis hazeh, could

this house I built hold you? And Shlomo does not really seem to answer this question. He just

states as fact that there will be hashraas haShechina. But what is the answer to his question?

How can a limited home hold the infinite that even the heavens cannot hold?!

The explanation is that Shlomo asked a question that inherently answers itself. This

question is necessary to achieve the answer. To have the Divine presence in the world requires

that we first understand well how it is impossible to have the Divine in the world! There is a way

to have hashraas haShechina in the world, but as long we do not understand that we should not

be able to have hashraas haShechina we will have no hashraas haShechina. Shlomo first

explained why there could not be hashraas haShechina. Understanding this point well was the

preparation to truly merit hashraas haShechinah in our world!

Shlomo was teaching that man and all we know is baal gevul, limited, whereas Hashem

has no limits. No limits is the opposite of that which is limited. That which has no limits cannot

be grasped and contained in a limited realm. The limited being must clearly understand how and

why the unlimited cannot be contained by the limited.

A parable: say there is a person who is wise and he is limited in his chochmah. He has a

vessel of chochmah, a skill of chochmah, and he thinks that with this skill he will connect with

Hashem. How will he connect to Hashem? Through chochmah. He understands all deep matters

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so with his vessel of understanding he will understand depths of G-dliness! Through his

chochmah will grasp the ohr Ain Sof. If a person thinks that with his chochmah he will have a

true grasp of Hashem, he has not understood Hashem at all! He is being megasheim Hashem,

making the Infinite corporeal, with his understanding. What he understands is not Hashem! It

cannot be Hashem! Hashem is above human chochmah!!! You cannot bring the atzmiyus of

Hashem into the vessel of chochmah. Because G-dliness is not a matter of haskallah. Haskallah

can be understood with chochmah, but Elokus is not haskallah!

Take a person who is a good runner. This has nothing to do with wisdom! Does the

ability to run make him able to grasp knowledge?! So too G-dliness is not a fit for the power of

understanding! A davar muskal, comprehensible matter, can be grasped with chochmah, but G-

dliness is not a matter that is muskal.

Elokus has clothed Himself in a great vessel in the vessel of chochmah, and therefore all

matters that Hashem has revealed to the world He revealed in the cloak of chochmah. But

chochmah is not Elokus! Chochmah is still just a garment, a mere levush. But if you think that

you might be tofeis Elokus with the power of chochmah you are not grasping Hashem but rather

degrading Him. You are not worshiping God, you are a pagan who makes God something

tangible and graspable!

Therefore before a chacham begins using chochmah for Elokus he must know with

clarity that a correct apprehension of Elokus will not come through chochmah. G-dliness is

above chochmah and it is impossible for mere mortal wisdom to grasp Him. Once one knows

this clearly then he can start using his chochmah.

Annul All To Hashem

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Now that he has this understanding when he uses the chochmah he still will not grasp

Elokus with his chochmah. Rather chochmah will help him grasp holy thoughts until he reaches

the point where he can be battel, annulled, to Hashem! He will grasp with chochmah matters that

came from Hashem, a ziv and haara of Elokus, and these lights that came from Elokus will give

him the strength to annul himself entirely before Hashem. He will realize that he is battel to

Hashem and that his chochmah is not tofeis any makom relative to Elokus. Even his chochmah

cannot grasp Hashem! The more one is battel to Elokus, the more one does not take up any space

relative to Hashem- the more one will feel a light from Atzmuso Yisbarach, His blessed Essence.

Atzmuso yisbarech is higher than limits, and the more he is mevatel matters that are limited the

more this light can enter him. We do not need to analyze now whether this illumination is an

inner light or an enveloping light. The glow of Elokus comes from the bittul to Elokus. The way

to grasp Elokus and atzmuso yisbarach is through bittul. Bittul is the only way to grasp

Elokus!

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The portion that enters the keilim is just a force to help me annul myself. For example,

here we are saying a derush that we should be battel to Elokus. Now had I never learned the

works with Ari’s Torah, such as Etz Chaim, I would not know these ideas. Since we learn

something we have a tefisa in a Godly realm where the conclusion of it is bittul. A chacham who

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Shem Mishmuel to Parshas Va’eira asks how Hashem answered Moshe’s question of why things got worse after

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he was sent to Paroh? In one of his answers, 5674, he explains that Moshe embodied complete bittul to ratzon

Hashem. Thus when Moshe became the leader of the Jewish nation, he imparted this ability and proclivity to the

entire nation. The nation then needed a miruk and birrur, a purification, of this force. This is why they then needed

to withstand the decree of no raw materials. This deprivation created a sense that there was nothing other than

working for Paroh available. When we withstood the challenge we received the feeling of being willing to do

whatever Hashem asked and there is nothing other than serving Hashem that was possible or desired. See also Rav

Dessler’s article about why the Avos were the merkava, for they were fully battel to the ratzon Hashem. Shem

Mishmuel on Parshas Va'eschanan explains that the language of Chanina is very effective in prayer, for the essence

of prayer it attachment to Hashem. One who asks for chanina, has fully annulled himself, he only asks for unearned

gifts, hence he is the most attached to Hashem. He is completely battel to Him.

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learns with wisdom understands through his wisdom that a baal gevul has no connection to

Elokus. His wisdom shows him he has no connection to Elokus. He is then battel to Elokus and

truly feels Elokus. The wisdom teaches us correct truths that lead us to bittul to Elokus.

G-dly wisdom teaches holy truths. The holy truth is that what a person grasps is not

possibly Elokus! Man must annul his ideas to Hashem! What happens when a person is mevatel

himself to Elokus? Consider, before Hashem made the world this whole place was infinity,

kivayachol Ain Sof and it was all melo kol haaretz kvodo, His glory fills the whole world,

(Yeshayahu 6:3) in a revealed way. (The truth is from His side creation has not changed anything,

but from our side we can say there was a difference between what is now and what was before

the creation.) Now we see tables and chairs in a classroom. We see people and objects. When a

person annuls matters he reaches the awareness that relative to Hashem I am not here. If I am

mevatel, if I say it does not really exist, then what does exist: Hashem, as He was before the

world was created! The more I remove myself, the more my wisdom is not here, the more

Hashem is here! If I say I have no chochmah then I understand that the chochmah in me is

Hashem’s Chochmah. Through being mevatel the matters of gevul the level that is above gevul is

revealed!

This was Shlomo's intent. He was saying that even while he was making an awesome

sanctuary, the key was bittul.

All the vessels of the holy temple are like the body parts of a tzadik: channels to reveal

the Almighty. For example, the menorah with seven branches represented the seven gates of the

head (two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, and the mouth), the ark represented the mind, the inner

altar the inner part of the heart, and the external altar the outer part of the heart. All the vessels of

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the Beis Hamikdash were like holy limbs. Holy limbs are really middos kedoshos, holy

behavioral traits. As we know, the right arm is the manifestation of the Divine attribute of

Chessed, and the left Gevura, and all the limbs are really channels for Divine attributes. Parts of

the Temple, parts of a tzadik, or holy middos are all vessels in which Elokus, Divinity, resides!

Shlomo was the wise man whom God empowered with the ability to make the keilim that

Hashem would reside within. Shlomo began by saying these vessels cannot possibly contain

Elokus in them! To say, “Here in my heart’s feelings is the Creator,” or “The Creator is in my

mizbeiach,” or, “I have the Ain Sof in my heart,” is a falsehood! One who says such a statement

does not have Hashem in him at all! Vessels cannot tolerate Elokus, Hinei hashamayim ushmei

hashamayim lo yichalkilucha! Af ki habayis haszeh asher banisi! No vessel can encompass the

infinite! What the vessel grasps is not the infinite. Once I know this, once I have been mevatel

the bayis, then there is a revelation of Elokus! The more man is mevatel, the more man knows he

can not touch or comprehend any matter of Elokus, the more a person feels he is nothing, and he

is mevatel himself, in that measure he has a connection to Elokus! Hashem resides in the limited

realm based on the bittul of the limited realm. The more a person annuls his ego, the more he has

a bond with true G-dliness.

The Source Of Evil

The root of rah is yeshus, a sense of independent existence. Yeshus equals siluk Elokus, removal

of Godliness, and it is the root of evil. Ego is also called the Kings of Edom. The Kings of Edom

say anah emloch, I will rule, I want to rule. The melech libney yisrael is like David Hamelech.

He is an ani, poor man, and an evyon, destitute individual, he is battel to Elokus. The koach of

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bittul to Elokus is called melech livney yisrael. The Malchei Edom think ani viafsi od, I and my

remnant are more. Ani ינא, I, is the letters of ayin, ןיא, nothingness. The more a person makes

himself into an ayin the more the real ani, the ani from Hashem, falls on to him.

The ani is a contradiction to the ayin. Hashem is the real ani. He described Himself as

Ani in the verse, “Ani yotzei bitoch mitzrayim,” “I am going out in the midst of Egypt.” (Shemos

11:4) This ani only appears on a person who is an ayin, a person who is battel umivutal, null and

void.

The middos haelyonos prior to the realm of tikkun were revealed in a way that is the root

of rah. In this iteration first a middah would be revealed. Take for example the first King, Bela

ben Beor. The Ari explains that it is the same kellipah as Bilam ben Beor and the Ari calls this

the Melech of daas of Kellipah, Bela is the king of daas.

You might ask, but aren’t the seven kings from chessed to malchus? How is daas one of

them? The Ari says that netzach and hod are one midah in this count. Thus the Kings begin from

daas.

This middah that was revealed became an existence, there was a universe with this

concept. The vessel of daas, the vessel of Bela, felt ana emloch, I will rule. He thought that in

himself he could grasp Elokus.

Let us realize that Hashem gives each person a middah. One person has the skills to

become a success in derush, homiletics, another has the ability to become a great success in

depth of halacha analysis, someone else has the skills to acquire a very broad amount of

knowledge of Torah, another an ability to reach holy awareness through deep meditations,

someone else his primary middah might be fixing his character, tikkun hamiddos or chessed, and

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for someone else it might be awe and mussar. Klal yisrael is very broad and there are many

types of tzadikim in the world. You cannot say about any tzadik that Hashem is limited only to

his middah! In other words a big learner cannot say, "I have Hashem in me and there is no other

real avdus Hashem other than my middah. No one else can reach Hashem for they are not big

learners." A person who would say, "No one understands the sugya as well as me, the Chazon

Ish of our generation, therefore the big masters of prayer or the generous givers of charity do not

have Hashem, for they do not grasp the gemarra as deeply as I do." Such a person is trying to

limit the infinite light into his vessel.

My vessel should define and limit Hashem?! How dare I say that? Hashem is infinite,

ohr Ain Sof. Just as there is a vessel of learning there are 613 other vessels! The vessels of the

mitzvos! Someone who thinks, "My middah, my matter, the matter I am good at, this is the only

way to reach Hashem" is guilty of a form of anah emloch! This is connected to Malchei Edom!

He is not part of holiness at all. This attitude comes from a yeshus. It is not bittul, it is not

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holiness. A learner must realize I have to serve Hashem. I learn in order to serve Hashem. And

there are other ways to get close to Hashem.

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It is possible that a tzadik will look at a generation and say, "In our generation the way to

serve Hashem is through a particular mitzvah or middah." He is teaching that in our generation

we must focus on one way, and this is fine. This emerges from an analysis of the needs of a

generation, not a certain person's middah. But what we are saying is that to claim that a

particular middah - which is the one that a person is most drawn to - is the only way to reach

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Rav Morgenstern shilt"a (Yam HaChochmah 5769) among his shiurim to Tanya taught:

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"Each Jew has a different midda, for example, one may be from Chessed, the other from Gevurah. One who

possesses the attribute of Chessed usually seeks to rule in the lenient fashion, to think of innovative Torah thoughts

that enliven his friends and to do favors to his friends. The one who possesses the attribute of Gevurah tends to rule

in the stringent fashion and usually is more exacting and upset. It is said in the name of the Holy Kamarna that the

great tzadikim who followed the ways of the Baal Shem Tov were usually possessors of Chessed, which was their

primary emphasis in serving Hashem through love. (Even though some of those righteous people who maintained

the world were from the Attribute of Gevurah.)

The primary stumbling block and challenge from this is that the forces of evil use these differences to try to cause

disunion of the hearts. Since individuals are rooted in opposing sources, different from each other like fire and

water, the Other side causes individuals to think "Only my way is correct and true" the way of the other sage is

heresy and blasphemy, because it stems from attributes that are the opposite of his. The fact that one is from chessed,

while the other is from gevura, can cause a complete disconnect and inability to understand each other at all. This

causes Tohu, confusing void, and destruction of the Mikdash, the Temple, even among Jews who set out with pure

motivations to fulfill the will of Heaven sincerely.

In truth all Jews are part of a single organism! Hashem's will needs all the aspects! He desires kindly and strict

souls! There is no point in trying to reveal and justify one's personal viewpoint, rather the goal must be to unite as

brothers and together reveal the malchus, sovereignty, of Hashem. Oseh Shalom Bimromav, He makes peace in His

elevated realms. The Talmud explains that the Almighty makes peace between fire and water, so too we must unite

two individuals who emerge from opposing perspectives and character traits." (page 457)

On the next page Rav Morgenstern added that only one who seeks peace may enter into the realms of the inner

Torah. The students of Rabbi Akiva were not allowed to understand the secrets of Torah because they did not treat

each other with respect. They did not pursue peace. Only one who pursues peace and unity even in the midst of

Torah disputes with his fellow may be granted permission to understand the secrets of Torah which are the path of

peace.

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Hashem, emerges from an anochius, selfishness, or a yeshus, independent existence. It comes

from an ana emloch!

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King Bela ben Beor thought there was only daas. So he brought into his universe many

lights of daas. He was only involved in daas. It was a world populated exclusively with

philosophers. There was no chessed, no gevurah. They only did matters of daas. The Ari says

that due to this focus on daas they brought great lights. In fact the word Bela is to swallow, the

root of all the seven Kings of Edom is to draw into oneself, to bring the lights into oneself.

Bela takes into himself and he does not give anything out. He only wants to absorb and take,

vayamos, and he died.

While the last of the Edomite Kings was not the ideal, he was close to the realm of tikkun

and he did not not die. He was named King Hadar, which means return. He who gives back

light does not die. One who realizes "What I got from Heaven is not mine, I must give it back to

Hashem, for it is really Hashem's," is the one who can live. Bittul of the selfish and personal

vessel leads to genuine religious attachment. Bela died because the Ari explains that he took so

many lights into himself that he could not hold the light and the vessel broke. This is the

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Perhaps this idea that when one tries to limit Hashem it is arrogance, and that true spirituality is only accessed

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through bittul, annulling, all to Hashem, informs the following lesson of the Shem Mishmuel. "When the spiritual is

in a measure that is greater than what the physical can contain, then the spiritual overcomes the physical in a manner

similar to the shattering of the vessels. This is why the wife of Manoach declared, (Shoftim 13) "We will surely die

for we have seen the Divine." She assessed that she was not worthy enough to see an angel. This is the meaning that

each time the term hashkifa appears it is for evil except for when it appears in the context of gifts to the poor.

Hashkifa means a connection, similar to the verse, (Tehillim 104) You will add to their spirit they will die. However

gifts to the poor change hashkifa. Isaiah declared that the Almighty says, (chapter 57) I will reside with the

depressed. A poor person has a broken heart, therefore he is a vessel who can absorb greater measures of holiness

and G-dliness. For it is the way of the Almighty to use broken vessels, and through gifts to the poor, the giver

connects to the poor. Therefore, he too can hold greater measures of holiness, once he can contain the greater

measures of Divine light, the holiness does not cause a collapse and tragedy, rather it causes increased amounts of

blessings. Hence the words of our sages that gifts to the poor transform anger into compassion." (Shem Mishmuel,

Parshas Vayeira, pages 147-148)

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meaning of what the Torah says, vayamos. Light needs a vessel. When the vessel shatters the

light leaves and all that is left is the broken vessel.

Light is another term for soul. Death is when the soul leaves and the body remains. When

we learn of vayamos in the context of Malchei Edom it refers to a breaking of the vessel with the

light, the soul of the matter leaving and only broken shards remaining.

These broken vessels from melech Bela are the evil in the world. The force of rah that

has daas comes from the broken vessel of daas, from melech Bela. We must fix this dead daas.

Our mission is to fix the broken, dead body of daas. When the vessel shattered there was sparks

that went with the vessel. Even in death there is a kista dichiyusa in the body that is deceased.

These are the nitzotzos that give life to the realm of rah. The Ari teaches that there are 288

sparks that remained with the broken and dead keilim. He found this hinted in the verse that

taught about the worlds created and destroyed. It ended with the words, viruach Elokim

mirachefes al pnei hamayim, And the spirit of G-d was hovering over the waters, (Bereishis 1:2)

mirachefesh תפחרמ spells reish peh ches meis, תמ ח״פר this refers to the 288 sparks that are in the

broken vessels. It is our mission and task to give life to these dead vessels. We must lift up these

sparks and in this way bring these vessels back to life. When we are raising the sparks from the

broken vessels we are fixing them. In this way we are causing a techiyas hameisim!

We are giving life to the broken keilim. The physical world is the broken keilim. We

made this lesson very simple. This is a very broad matter. The whole creation is based on these

principles. Knowing these ideas can explain why we are on earth. What does Hashem want from

man? Why put us in this world where there are so many difficulties and so much to do? Koheles

asks this question: what is the benefit of life in this world? Clearly we need emunah. We must

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believe that our mitzvos matter to Him. Emunah is the gate to Hashem, Tzadik beemunaso

yichyeh, the righteous man lives with his faith.

Yet even after the emunah, we should understand matters! Learning subjects such as the

shattering of the vessels opens our eyes to understanding why the world is the way it is and

knowing what are the key attitudes and ideas needed to lead a meaningful life! Hashem has

revealed many things for us to understand. And once we understand we will know why we are

working. We get a light from the future and we then feel now I know what I am working for.

We live in a realm of many taavos and much chumriyus and Hashem gave us a Torah of life. This

Torah opens our eyes and with it we can enjoy Hashem and reach higher and higher. If you

merited to be in the company of tzadikim you will see how their faces shined with the ohr Elokus

and in this way you will understand why man was created and that this is this learning, the

learning of the pnimiyus haTorah. These hassagos of Torah illuminate Jewish souls.

This is really this week’s parsha of Bihaaloscha. Aharon was told "when you lift up the

flames." Aharon brought apprehensions of the Torah to Jews when he lit the menorah. When he

lit the menorah in the hidden realm, each Jewish soul felt his soul shining with the hidden light,

and this hidden light lifts up each Jewish soul and gives it a taste of meaning and eternity!

The Shattering of the Vessels was the result of a self assertion, and ego. Lesson nineteen reveals that

the key to a world of perfection is flexibility. A focus on the light and not the vessel that leads to the light,

enables the integration and wholesomeness of holiness.

Lesson 19: Sheviras Hakeilim Part Two:

The World of Tikkun

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In lesson eighteen we learnt about the seven kings of Edom, each of whom had a middah that

thought ana emloch, I will rule. Each attribute wished to take to itself all of the infinite light and

make itself the king. This is not the correct way to try and connect to Hashem. This is not the

correct dveykus in Hashem. Hashem is not limited to a single limiting attribute. As a result,

there was an explosive shattering, the sheviras hakeilim.

What is the world of tikkun? What is the correct way for a creature to appear? What is

the right way for creation?

The greatest good

Hashem is Ain Sof, He has no limits, even thought cannot grasp Him, leis machshava tefisa bei

klal, no thought can grasp Him at all.

How does the infinite appear in a limited realm? How can a limited creature have a

relationship with He who has no limits? We need this relationship. The purpose of creation is to

attach to and have a relationship with God, to cleave to Hashem!

The purpose of creation was liheitiv, to do a favor for the creations. The greatest favor is

to be attached to Hashem. In other words created beings can contain His goodness. What form

does this goodness take?

The depth of the matter is that schar mitzvah mitzvah, the reward for the good deed is the

good deed. We attach to Him when we perform mitzvos in this world with our physical bodies!

Heavenly reward is not that I work hard in this material dimension, conquering my urges,

studying Torah, praying, and overcoming tests, and therefore G-d then pays me with an eternal

reward in the next world. This is a very superficial and shallow perspective, even though many

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elderly people think this. Unfortunately they never matured past the ideas they were taught as

children. They think Hashem does not want us to feel bad receiving gifts for no reason, nahama

dikisufa, bread of shame, and therefore He created a realm of many challenges to demand

difficult labors so then when we receive eternity we will not be shamed.

This is a shallow perspective. If this would be true the reward would not be the mitzvah

itself, and we know that our Sages taught schar mitzvah mitzvah! Furthermore if the goal is to

give us a reward and make sure we enjoy it as an earned achievement and that is why we

struggle with an opposing evil urge, why give us six hundred thirteen commandments? Why not

give us a single difficult commandment, say chopping wood in a wintry forest, and then give us

eternal candy as a reward that was earned?

The deeper meaning of life is that a man working on himself in this world is the eternal

perfection and good man can reach. Hashem has given man the room to make an impact in the

world. Only man can reveal Hashem. Hashem has revealed Himself but He has left space

where man can acquire perfection, real and true perfection, when mortal man reveals eternal G-

dliness! Man in this world does not see what he is doing while he lives in this world fulfilling

mitzvos; in the next world, at a state of aliyas olamos, elevation of universes, it is revealed to him

what he has done.

Schar mitzvah mitzvah, the reward of a mitzvah is the mitzvah. The real joy and pleasure

of the soul is to see the tov that it wrought. In the future we will see what we achieved, and our

labors themselves are the reward! Shleimus, perfection of good, is a delight for the soul. The

liheitiv means Hashem has given some of His shleimus to a creature. A nivra can also have some

of His wholesome perfection.

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We must fulfill all the 613 mitzvos because Divine perfection in the realm of limits

equals 613 mitzvos! Leis machshava tefisa beih klal, even thought cannot grasp Him at all, yet

when Ain Sof enters gevul He takes a form of good! All good matters are G-dly! This good is

the 613 mitzvos! The essence of man is also the 613 mitzvos. He has 248 limbs and 365 sinews,

representing the 248 positive commands and the 365 prohibitions. Koheles declared, "Es

haElokim yira ves mitzvosav shmor ki zeh kol haAdam." "Fear Hashem and fulfill His

commands for this is all of man." (Koheles 12:13) Zeh kol haAdam. This is the entirety of

Adam! A true man, deserving of the title Adam, is one who fulfills all the mitzvos, a person who

is associated with all the G-dly good. A human who does not fulfill all the mitzvos is not a true

Adam!

Edom does not observe the commandments, he is domeh, resembles, an Adam but he is

not a real Adam. He is a yordei dumah. He is descending to silence! He has no life! Life exists

in an Adam. An Adam has the shleimus of Hashem.

Why Free Choice

Man must acquire this perfection on his own. Why? Because man must be a source.

Hashem is a source. Hashem did not receive life from anyone! If waters enter a

mikvah

from a vessel instead of being located in their natural spring, in the eyes of the Halacha

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they are not mayim chaim, living waters! If it is not from itself, if the water came from

somewhere else, it has no life! Someone who gets from others is not truly alive! He is not a

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A mikvah is a gathering of pure water. There are various forms of tumah, ritual impurity, the common

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denominator to the removal of all forms of impurity is immersion in a mikvah, a gathering of waters that have not

been sullied by transport in a vessel. Some forms of impurity only leave once there was an immersion in mayim

chaim, the living waters of a spring, which are a higher form of a mikvah.

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source! Adam means Adameh laelyon, I will resemble the One Above. Just as Hashem is His

own source so too an Adam has to be a source of life, a fount of chiyus nitzchi, eternal life. Man

must be a makor of tov.

The deeper meaning of the "bread of shame" concept is that man was given choice so

that through choice he will be a source. Hashem has removed Himself, as it were, to enable man

to be the source of his own behavior, and when man is a source he is literally like the Creator.

Adameh laelyon, I will resemble the One above. Mah hu af ata, just as Him so should you be.

(Shabbes 133b) Hashem is the source of compassion and you are to be a source of compassion!

The Talmud (Bava Basra 75b) says that about tzadikim it will be said in the future that they are

kadosh, holy, for they will resemble Hashem. The ultimate aspiration is to resemble the

Almighty. Man truly resembles Hashem and connects with Him when he freely chooses all the

good!

Consider our father Yaakov. Yaakov was a shleimus! Hakadosh Boruch Hu koroh keil,

God called Him with His name, Keil. (Megillah 18a) Yaakov fixed the sin of Adam Harishon

and as a result he was literally domeh to Hashem, and therefore Hashem called him Keil! The

Midrash teaches "Mi kaKeil? Yeshurun," "Who is like the omnipotent? Yeshurun ( a name for

Yaakov)." Yaakov resembles Hashem, as it were. Another Midrash says, "Mi Borach mi

yotzrach? Yaakov!" "Who is your creator and fashioner? Yaakov." Did Yaakov create the world?

The Midrash is teaching this lesson! Tzadikim do create worlds, as it were! Their good deeds

create spiritual worlds of good! Hashem has given them the ability to resemble Hashem! This is

the good that Hashem has given to baalei gevul!

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When Ain Sof appears in limits, it is complete goodness, it is all the middos tovos. What

is the reason that Ain Sof is here in all the good? The depth is that rah, evil, really has no reality.

Evil is just a mirage, it has no real metzius. Ultimately it will be revealed that evil was a mere

fantasy. Tov exists rah is an illusion. We know that Esav’s name was to refer to the fact that he

was the shav shebarasi biolami, the falsehood I created in my world. (Bereishis Rabba 63:8)

Rah is like darkness. The verse says "Yotzeir ohr uboreih chosech oseh shalom uboreih rah,"

"He forms light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates darkness." (Yeshayahu 45:7) The

prophet equated light with peace, and rah with choshech. Darkness is lack of light, it is not an

existence, it is not a metzius!

So it is with rah. Bad is a negative reality, it is lack of good. Good is a positive

experience. Hashem is metzius, and when existence appears in this world it is tov. The Ain Sof is

revealed in all the possible good things. This is Hashem's created world. Therefore man who

wants to be a merkavah, chariot, to Ain Sof, who aspires to reveal the Ain Sof through himself

(and this really means he wants to resemble Hashem) must include within himself all the good

things that exist in the world.

Man cannot be a perati, a detail. He cannot say, "I have this detail, I have this middah, I

am Mr. Charity. I do not daven or learn, I donate funds." Such a perspective would connect man

to the seven kings of Edom! Man must include all the good middos. Why? Because the Ain Sof

is all. All in the realm of gevul is all the matters that are tov. Therefore a man who seeks to

connect to the Ain Sof must encompass all the good middos.

Man has choice and through choice he can do all good things.

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The verse says this explicitly (Bereishis 11:6) "Viata lo yibatzer meihem kol asher yazmu

laasos," "And now they will be able to do whatever they wish." Unlike an animal man can do

whatever he chooses to do. An animal can only act in one way. A person though has freedom of

choice and can respond to the same situation in two different ways. An animal is a perati. There

are rules for how it will act and it will always act in these ways. You can make a trap and it will

keep falling for the bait. Even though the animal is very sharp, it is a detail, it has its nature and

it is limited to its nature. Man though can do everything. Man has free choice for man is a

metzius kelali, a general existence, man is kollel all that exists in creation.

Consider the food people eat. Animals eat certain foods, while humans can eat anything,

because man is a creation which is kelali. Since man is kollel all he is an Adam.

Men who are not Adam

Edom is an incorrect Adam. But the real Adam is the one who is kollel all, he is not interested in

the middos, (this relates to lesson 18) rather he is interested in the light of Ain Sof that is residing

in the middah. G-d is not limited to any middah. Man who wants to be domeh laelyon does not

limit himself to only one attribute. The Ain Sof is not limited only to Daas! A perfect man is

therefore not interested in Daas, he is interested in the infinite! The Ain Sof when He entered

limits can do all types of good and in fact is doing all the forms of holy action. In other words

the Adam seeks the ohr, he seeks the shleimus. The Ain Sof is not in a perat. The Ain Sof is a

kelali. The one limitation is that the Ain Sof has entered into gevul, but here in the realm of gevul

he is doing all the middos! The world of tikkun, the right way for life to appear, is to be a person

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who seeks the light and not merely the vessel, one who is drawn to all good matters in pursuit of

shleimus.

The greatness of Yaakov

Yaakov is the shalem. Yaakov is characterized as yosheiv ohalim, residing in the tents. (Bereishis

25:27) In other words Avraham is chessed and Yitzchok is gevurah, while Yaakov will do either.

When gevurah is good he displays strength and when chessed is called for he performs acts of

kindness! He is not attached to a middah. He is attached to tov! He does what is right. He is not

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metzumtzam to a midda.

A person who is attached always to chessed will do chessed for

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wicked people as well. But then he will not merit to have Ain Sof with him. Ain Sof in gevul is

found in tov.

What makes one thing tov and another thing rah?

When this middah fits with the big picture, when it fits with all the other middos and

conforms to the purpose, it is tov! When it does not conform to the real purpose and does not fit

in with all the other middos then it is rah.

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Rav Yitzchok Hutner (1906-1980), in Pachad Yitzchok on Sukkos, wove these themes together to form an exquisite tapestry.

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"1) The deeds of the fathers predict the fate of the children. Our sages of truth have revealed to us that the root of the holiness of

Sukkos for the children is set in the actions of our father Jacob about whom the verse mentions the word sukkah, in V'Yaakov nasa

Sukkosa, And Jacob traveled to Sukkos...(Bereishis 33:17) We are attempting to explain this matter despite our lowly levels of

comprehension.

2) We must merge together two postulates.

The first is that our Sages explained that when the angels ascended and descended the ladder in Jacob's dream, they

were noticing that Jacob's face was engraved on Hashem's throne of glory! It is known that this level was unique to Yaakov...The

depth of this matter is that Avraham was set in his attribute of Chessed, through Chessed he toiled to reach the level of making the

created resemble the Creator. Yitzchok was set in his middah of awe and fear of Hashem. Through this attribute he toiled to

show how a created being would resemble the Creator and manifest Heavenly awe. Yaakov was different! Yaakov did not have a

set midda! Making the created resemble the Creator was his midda! For Yaakov both Chessed and Yirah are merely ways to

actualize making the created resemble the Creator!

For Avraham and Yitzchok, love and fear were parents, resembling the Creator, children. For Yaakov, resembling the Creator was

the source, and love and fear the offspring. For this reason the "measure for measure" reward for Yaakov was that his image was

engraved on the throne of the Creator. This is the first postulate.

Now the second postulate. Sukkah commemorates the Divine clouds of glory. The simple explanation is that this refers

to the clouds of glory that escorted Israel immediately after we left Egypt. However, in the words of the Gr"a on the verse

"Meisharim aheivucha" (Shir Hashirim 1:4) we are taught that it refers to the clouds that returned after they had left due to the

sin of the golden calf. The explanation of the matter is based on the words of Bava Kama 55a that in the first tablets the words ki

tov, it is good, do not appear for they were destined to be shattered. It then emerges that the second luchos in which the word tov

does appear can never be broken. Thus the covenant we entered into with the second luchos is greater than the union of the first.

Just as the first tablets could break, their covenant was dissoluble, while the second covenant was a bond that can never be

interrupted! Just as the second set of tablets can never shatter! This is the view of the Gr"a: The essence of the sukkah is

s'chach, serving as a shelter - protecting the Jewish nation as in the sentence, shomer amo yisrael la'ad, He guards His nation of

Israel forever. Therefore the sukkah must be a reminder to the clouds that returned at the time of the second tablets as an

appeasement after the rage that followed the golden calf. For as long as breaking the tablets is not an impossibility there is no

forever protection hovering above the nation! This is the second postulate.

4) Now from the postulates we transition to their merger. The uniting beam of the two lessons is the law of eternal protection.

This law teaches that any matter that acts with a particular middah cannot last forever in all situations! For it is possible that a

certain situation will conflict with the middah. Then the matter will end due to the clash between the situation and the middah.

Only when a matter is directed from a place above particular attributes, when it is like hakol yachol vikolelam yachad, Able to do

all and uniting each one together, will that matter be eternal and appear in all situations. Based on the lesson of the Gr"a we gain

a new depth in the words of our sages that Sukkah is to remove us from all permanent dwellings. (Tzei midiras k'va v'sheiv

b'diras arai, Leave the permanent dwelling and reside in a temporary hut.) The Sukkah channels the second covenant, the tablets

that cannot break. Therefore the sukkah must represent a holistic, all encompassing approach, a hakol yachol vikolelam yachad

way, which prevents any permanence in any particular middah. This was the nature of Yaakov's service! Yaakov was devoted to

the general theme, the created resembling the Creator, and Yaakov was not limited to any particular middah. For Yaakov each

middah was a temporary dwelling relative to the general ambition of making the created resemble the Creator! It is these two

qualities that enable the sikuch-forever-guarding nature of the sukkah...This is the reason why Yaakov represents the holiday of

Sukkos. ViYaakov nasa Sukkosa!" (page 235-238, See also Maamarei Pachad Yitzchok, Sukkos, 21-22)

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A matter which is kallul with all the middos is tov. The only tzimtzum the Ain Sof accepts

is gevul and gevul is tov, for tov is the reality. Other than that He is still unlimited. So too those

who resemble Him cannot be limited to one middah.

For example why does a person do chessed? What is the purpose of the chessed?

Presumably it is to help a poor person. In other words, if I give charity to a poor person, this is a

good thing. Unfortunately there will always be poor people on earth, and the poor person is not

responsible and guilty for his poverty for the mazal, Divine fate, causes it. Even someone who

is responsible for his own poverty, based on middas harachmanus, the attribute of mercy, we

should have compassion on him just as Hashem has compassion on him and, we should give him

charity. Hashem has compassion even for the sinner, so too we should have rachmanus on all.

When Hashem treats someone with rachamim it is because this generosity will lead to

eternal good! If a person knows though with clarity that "If I do not give this person tzedakah

he will do good things; if I give him tzedakah he will use the funds for sins," it is not a good

thing to then give him money! It is not a chessed! It would be better not to hand him funds!

If a person cannot stop himself and says to himself, "I cannot tolerate to see someone

suffer, I am a rachman therefore I must give to him." He knows it is not for his ultimate benefit;

he will be punished for such tzedakah! An Adam shalem is kollel chessed with his gevurah!

The truth is that every good middah has in it all the other middos. In chessed there is gevurah and

tiferes and all the other middos. A person who will only do chessed and never merge it with

gevurah is not acting in the way of the Torah. All middos need tzimtzum and they must be mixed

with all the other middos.

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Imagine a person who is a very intense learner. He reaches deep understanding and he

applies himself a great deal in learning, he is a real masmid, constant student. Then there is a

situation of pikuach nefesh, a danger to a life and it is a mitzvah only he can fulfill, ee efshar

laasosa al yedei acheirim. If he says “I want to sit and learn, I am a masmid,” and he continues

and learns such a person is terrible. He is not learning to resemble Hashem. He is learning just to

learn. He is missing the tov, he is not looking for the tov. He is learning for his selfish and natural

attraction to learning, he is not learning for the real purpose! This is not a middah tova!

The real shleimus is to be a kelali, that everything should be kallul in the person. A

person who is kallul of all the good middos is a merkavah to Hashem and he has tov! He will not

shatter.

When someone learns Torah lishmah with hiskalelus it will be holy learning, he will feel

a chiyus Eloki in the learning. Yet someone who does not learn in this way will be missing out on

this feeling of chiyus.

We find with the Malchei Edom that vayamos, and he died, and then vayimloch, and he

ruled. In other words no middah could rule in tandem with others. Each middah would rule after

the other middah died. Each was alone: it was alma diprodah, the realm of separation. This is

why there are so many fights in the world, because Malchei Edom is the opposite of the tikkun.

The real shalom is when there will be a hiskalelus hamidos. Without this hiskalelus there will be

constant wars among the nations.

The present peace in the world is deceiving. The peoples are all united in a false way, it is

not a unity of Avraham avinu! They are like the Tower of Bavel! It is unity for the purpose of

opposing Avraham! It is a unity for idol worship. Moshaich will bring real peace. He will bring

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hiskalelus hamidos and this emerges from the bittul to the ohr Ain Sof. The sense of bittul to the

ohr Ain Sof is what will bring real shalom to the world.

Litaava yivakesh nifrad. The detached seek desires. (Mishley 18:1) In the realm of taava

all are separated one from the other. Each desire is different and so there is nothing to unite

them. At the end Yispardu kol poalei aven, All the wicked people will separate. (Tehillim 92:10)

Evildoers cannot stay together and last, their union is a knessiya sheiana lisheim shamyaim Ain

Sofa lihiskayeim. A gathering not for the sake of Heaven will not end up lasting. (Avos 4:11)For

each middah has its I and its desire to be king and as a result it cannot last long.

The nations of the world have such a love of I. They want to build up their ego. People

want to feel, "My city is great. I am great." This is the nature of evil. Rah is all about me. Ani

viafsi od, I and my remnant are more. Holiness leads to real peace.

Tzadikei emes, they look for shalom, they do not compete, there is no I in tzadikim.

Nosnin biahava reshus zeh lazeh lihakdish liyotzram binachas ruach. They lovingly grant

permission to each other to sanctify to their Maker in a pleasant spirit. (The Siddur) Together

they give Hashem pleasure.

Olam Hatikkun is a world of integration. Each part of the creation fills a role and all are

needed. The physical world is very integrated and this is what keeps the world alive. The sun is

very hot, but it is tempered with the cold weather so that the world not overheat. The whole

world is balanced and tempered. All middos work together. The characteristic of the olam

hatikkun is that the different forces of the world are integrated and offset each other.

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Each star has its impact. One star has a particular energy and a different star another

energy. Hashem has arranged them so that they will supplement and balance each other! The

secret of olam hatikkun is that each middah should be nichlal with others.

Why the urge for evil is stronger than the desire for holiness

Now we ca understand why the yetzer hara is stronger than the person. The Talmud states that

the yetzer hara is misgabeir alav bichol yom, overwhelms him each day, mivakeish lihamiso, it

seeks to kill him, and ilmalei Hakadosh Boruch Hu ozer lo eino yachol lo, if not for Hashem

helping him he would not succeed. (Sukkah 52a) We say in the prayers, Ki padah Hashem es

yaakov ugealo miyad chazak mimenu, G-d redeemed Jacob and saved him from the hand of the

one who was stronger than him. Why is the evil urge naturally stronger than man?

Evil is focused on one matter. He is a perati. A holy being has to include all so he does

not have the same virulence as the yetzer hara. The yetzer hara comes with the force of nature,

he has a great degree of force. He is not someone who comes with many taavos, he attacks with

one taava at a time. At the moment of temptation he makes the person think there is nothing else

in the world that could provide pleasure. The tzadik has to use gevura and chessed and tiferes, he

is diffused and spread out, hence he is naturally at a disadvantage.

Hashem though helps him to enable him to overcome the yetzer hara. Good ultimately

triumphs for since the chacham of kedusha becomes a merkava of Elokis, he then gets a special

strength from Hashem and this hashraas haShechinah, Divine presence, is the winning factor.

This is the main point I wanted to mention, next lesson we will complete it.

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Sheviras Hakeilim was because of details, because attributes focused on themselves and

detached from the source. Our task of life is to fix sheviras hakeilim, to elevate all the middos of

teva, all the broken shards and to make out of them an Adam.

We find in this week’s parsha's story of the Jewish fear to enter the land of Israel a

display of the great virulence to the forces of evil. The meraglim, spies, got involved in the

matters of the Canaanites, based on the deeper wisdom of the Torah. They did not want to enter

the land for they saw the Ki chazak hu mimenu. He is stronger than us. They felt that the rah

was stronger than the tov. But Kalev said "Aloh naaleh viyarashnu osah," "We will go up and

inherit it." (Bamidbar 13:4) he revealed that if one is a mercava to holiness, with the koach elyon

from the kedusha, we can conquer the external evil ones.

The mistake of the spies was like the mistake of the tribes when they betrayed Yosef.

Yosef in fact accused his brothers of being spies. He told them, "Miraglim atem liros es ervas

haaretz basem," "You are spies, you came to see the nakedness of the land." (Bereishis 42:9) The

sin of the spies was that they saw the nakedness of the land.

The meaning of these links is that when the spies went out during the days of Moshe it

was a moment when they could have fixed the sin of the tribes who sold Yosef. The souls of the

sons of Yaakov entered the spies of the desert so that they would fix the sin of selling Yosef.

Selling Yosef is like a shattering of the vessels.

Yosef is like Yaakov, "Eleh toldos Yaakov Yosef," "These are the generations of Yaakov -

Yosef." (Bereishis 37:2) Yaakov is emes, truth, and Yosef is shalom, peace. What truth is in the

spiritual realm, peace is in the physical realm. Yosef brings the middah of Yaakov to the physical

world. He resembles Yaakov. The sale of Yosef is the sheviras hakeilim. Even though all the

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tribes were holy, Yosef was a kelali while relative to him the other shevatim were peratiyim. To

criticize Yosef is to misunderstand the realm of tikkun.

Therefore the meraglim who did not understand the matter of hiskallelus hamiddos, who

thought holiness was weaker than the individual forces of evil, therefore repeated the mistake

that led to shviras hakeilim. "Vayeilchu vayavou," "They went and returned." (Bamidbar 13:26)

Rashi, quoting the Talmud in Sota 35a, says they went with bad plans and returned with bad

plans. The Ari explains though that it means the shevatim left the spies. Since the spies were

planning evil, the souls of the tribes left them, for they would not rise to the opportunity of fixing

the sin of the shattering.

When a person sees that ki chazak hu mimenu, we see that the yetzer hara is very strong,

and we feel “ilmulei Hakadosh Boruch Hu ozro aino yachol lo,” “If Hashem would not help him

he would not be able to overcome the evil urge!” "How will I overcome this force?” You must

have bitachon, trust, and hold on to Hashem. The yetzer hara is stronger, but it is a mere storm!

It must reach a vayamos! It is a particular force and cannot last. We can link up with Hashem

and He will enable us to overcome.

Each of the Kings of Edom ends up dying!

This is the key of the matter. Do not be awed by the yetzer hara and the forces of

impurity. Know that if “Chafetz Hashem banu,” Hashem desires us, we will certainly defeat the

yetzer hara and be victorious. Hashem wants us to win. We need to hold on to His ways, include

all, and then we will ultimately be victorious. Pray, keep the holiness of Shabbes, learn and do

not get intimidated at all from the enticements of evil, and you will reach ever higher and higher

heights!

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The Shattering of the Vessels was the result of a lack of unity, an inability to see past one’s particular

strength. Lesson twenty reveals the role of Yosef, the role of a tzadik. The tzadik is to take the particular

and bring it to the realm of the general. He is to apply to the holy realm the singular focus and drive of the

particular. The tzadik who must elevate sparks, must have a single-minded focus in a particular part of

Jewish service.

Lesson Twenty: Sheviras Hakeilim Part Three: Full Tikkun

Yosef and Yaakov: Good deeds are integrated, wholesome acts!

We have spoken about the matter of tikkun and the universe of tikkun. Tikkun is all about

hiskallelus - all middos are included in each other. A davar tov reaches the real purpose. The

real purpose is when all things that are good come together. Tov is a merkavah to Ain Sof. Good

is real. There is no reality other than tov. Bad does not have a metzius, so to be like Ain Sof you

must be embody and express all the good matters.

Now everything that is good is within a person. And each good deed should be

performed as an Adam, meaning that each act should be performed with all the other middos

included with it. Each feeling and act should be fitting for an Adam. In other words, it should not

conflict with any part of the person so that everything fits. Each act should display that an Adam

did this act, and it is therefore a general and integrated act.

For example, a person should give tzedakah in a way that does not conflict with any other

positive element. He will give tzedakah, but not so much to impoverish himself. He will give

tzedakah in a quiet way to preserve humility, so the charity is a part of the general and all-

encompassing perfection of the entire person! He is aware of the complete perfection of man

and makes sure that tzedakah fits in to the other parts of holiness. He does the same for learning

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Torah: He will learn without any arrogance. In other words he is not a particularist. Tov is the

parts of the person that are inclusive and integrated.

Since Hashem is one, so too must man who is tov be one. If in each detail you have all

elements, than man is also one. If certain aspects of man are in dissonance with others, man is

not a one. He might instead be ten or eleven aspects in a single body with no unity between

them.

In gimattria Adam, םדא, is mah, המ, which has a value of forty-five. Mah literally means

"what" and stands for bittul, negation of the self. You must negate the self for each middah to the

other middos so that the shleimus hakelali, general perfection, of the person will emerge.

There is shalom in tikkun because of this. There is shalom between different tzadikim. For

just as a person needs many parts and each part integrates with others so it is with the nation.

There are members of the nation who are generous contributors of funds, others who are Torah

students, and still others who are baalei yirah, masters of religious awe. But in each element all

the other elements are represented. So financial contributors also learn and their tzedakah is

balanced by their learning. Similarly, Torah students give tzedakah. This helps build unity within

the nation. The fact that each member has all the elements of the nation in him and the fact that

each recognizes the needs and the strengths of others builds Jewish unity. And where there is

oneness Hashem can be found. “Vehaya Hashem echad. Vehaya Hamishkan echad. Raza

dihashem echad ushmo echad.” “And Hashem will be One (Zecahriah 14:9). And the Mishkan

will be one (Shemos 26:6) This is the secret of Hashem is One and His name is One.” Hashem is

not felt in a place of disunity. In a place of echad,oneness, Hashem is felt. When down below it is

one, the realm below becomes a chariot for the One Above.

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In olam hatohu, the universe of confusion, and almah dichruvin, worlds of destruction,

you have the yetzer hara. (As we have previously learned man is mah, he is kollel all the middos

while the yetzer hara is focused on a single matter.) That is why in some measure the yetzer hara

is stronger than the yetzer tov. The Chasam Sofer points out that in our liturgy for Chanukah we

stress the miraculous nature of our victory over the Syrian Greeks. We say it was “Rabbim biyad

miatim,” “Rishoim biyad tzadikim,” and “Zeidim biyad oskei Torasecha,” “Many in the hands of

the few,” “Wicked in the hands of the righteous,” and “Deliberate sinners in the hands of those

immersed in Your Torah.” It is in fact a miracle that the many would fall to the few, but why is it

necessarily a miracle when the wicked fall to the righteous? Perhaps the wicked are weaker?

The answer is that the wicked are normally stronger for they have a single minded focus. The

righteous have to balance many elements. A wicked person though can choose his evil and

ignore all other matters.

A group might decide to make a revolution and they will kill tens of thousands of

innocent civilians to gain power! They will not limit themselves! For the Communist revolution

they might lie and steal and never restrain themselves at all. In holiness though if I wanted to

bring about a new government I would be very limited for my holy urges would also insist that I

not kill innocent civilians. The oskei torasecha are therefore always weaker than the zeidim, and

it was a miracle that the deliberate sinners lost to those immersed in Your Torah.

The yetzer hara goes with a natural taava which is a perati so it has tremendous strength.

The evil urge does not ask daas, which examines all matters. It moves based on an instinct that

has no restraints and considerations other than satisfying itself.

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The Greatness Of Yosef

I mentioned that the shevatim did not appreciate Yosef as they should. Yosef relative to the tribes

was a generalist to particularists. The brothers had particular forms of service. Let us explain

this matter.

Yaakov is emes, truth. Our Sages teach that Yaakov’s face resembled the beauty of

Adam. He does everything in its true way, he does everything in the integrated way. Derech

Yeshara sheyavor lo haadam, the straight path a man should choose. (Avos 2:1) Yaakov does not

sway, he is the path which is straight. He is exactly in the middle, kol shehi tiferes loseha and

tiferes li min haadam, A way that is a glory to the one who fulfills it, and a glory to him from

others. (Avos 1:2) Esav, though was named for his hair. Like hair he is filled with division, for

in hair each blade is separate. Esav is seir, a term of hair. He is ish sair, the hairy man, meaning

that he fights with yaakov. Esav is also like a storm. Seir also recalls the phrase ruach seara, a

stormy wind, he makes a storm that is very strong at one moment and then passes and later

appears in another storm coming. Vayikrau oso esav, And they named him Esav (Bereishis

25:26). “They named him,” it was a plural group that named him, for he is pirud, separation and

division. The yetzer hara has seven names for there are many separate forces of Esav.

Yosef is the flame that goes down into the realms of Esav. Yosef goes down into the

realm of pirud, into the realm of Esav. Yosef is the middah of yesod: tzadik yesod olam. Yosef’s

attribute displays enormous courage and self sacrifice.

A tzadik is a moser nefesh. He would do whatever it is that ratzon Hashem calls for. A

tzadik will never violate ratzon Hashem. The key point of a tzadik is this messirus nefesh: he

will give anything up to fulfill Hashem’s will. There are big tzadikim and small tzadikim, yet they

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are all called tzadikim for the essence of a tzadik is the same. A man with great kochos can do

great things for Hashem, and a man with smaller hasagos or abilities will do less, but both are

tzadikim for both would be moser nefesh to fulfill the will of Hashem. This is the level of Yesod,

this is Yosef.

Tzadik is the yesod, foundation, for all avodas Hashem! Tzadik yesod olam, Tzadik is the

foundation of the world, this is the real םימש תוכלמ לוע תלבק, acceptance of the yoke of Heaven.

The middah of yesod goes down into the material realm and is willing to sacrifice all to

hold on to Hashem. Yesod is identified with the covenant, for a bris, a covenant, means a

commitment that nothing can stand in our way to fulfill the will of Hashem! Rashi explains that

it is the way of those who enter into a bris to tear apart an animal and walk between the pieces.

Why such a seemingly unusual ritual?

The message of a bris is that nothing will stand in the way of this commitment! It means

that, "I am willing to walk through walls in order to fulfill the will of Hashem!" Yosef has a

kerisas bris with Hashem. The middah of yesod is also called bris.

When we will have full tikkun and loss of the evil urge, bittul yetzer hara, the strength of

single minded focus will rise to the realm of holiness.

The tikkun hashalem, the bittul of the yetzer hara, will mean the following: we have

mentioned that the yetzer hara has a strength over the holiness, for it is more focused. In our

realm daas limits a man of holiness and he does not learn Torah the way a baal taava would run

to do taavos. The nature of Yaakov does not lend itself to the great passion we have seen in

tzadikim, for Yaakov is associated with daas and daas is measured. Daas reduces passion. The

Yaakov way would make all mitzvos integrated and measured. But we find that tzadikim do

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mitzvos differently! We have seen tzadikim who have an awesome desire when they do a

mitzvah. They do a mitzvah with delight and drive as if it was a physical urge and desire to do

this mitzvah! From the Yaakov attribute this would not happen, this comes from the power of

Yosef! For the attribute of Yosef is to take the strength of a perati, particularist, and bring it to

holiness.

The holy works state that the tikkun hashalem will be that the oros of tohu will enter the

keilim of tikkun. In the future we will merit that the keilim can hold these great lights of tohu and

not break. This means that when the tikkun arrives we will do a mitzvah with a feeling that this is

the only mitzvah in the world, as if it is a perati. We will be generalists though. When the

second mitzvah comes up we will also do it with a feeling that it is the only mitzvah. In other

words the koach hataanug, force of delight, the strength of the yetzer hara, will be made into a

force of kedusha.

Yosef, Yaakov, and the Shevatim

Yosef goes to great distances. The shevatim are peratim. Thinking about each shevet as a perat

is similar to the way we think about the yetzer hara. Yosef includes all the peratim and makes

shalom between all. He is the middah of shalom. Yaakov is emes and in emes everything is

calibrated not to conflict with anything else, everything goes with the emes. There is no dispute

when you have emes.

Yosef needs shalom. He enters into each perat as if it is a perati and conflicts with

others, but Yosef goes into the inner reality and in the pnimiyus he brings the Yaakov reality!

Eleh toldos yaakov yosef. These are the generations of Yaakov- Yosef. (Bereishis 37:2) Yosef

performs shalom from that which seemed to be a machlokes! He shows that in the pnimiyus it is

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the emes liyaakov. When the rebbe is dancing on Simchat Torah, his mind filled with great

thoughts, he nevertheless still pays attention to a little child and that does not take him away

from what he is trying to accomplish. With the focus and passion on one matter he also sees and

works on the other matter. This is the inner Yaakov within the external Yosef. Yosef goes into

the olam hatohu with the shleimus of Yaakov and he transforms the olam hatohu!

Yosef is sitno shel Esav, the opponent of Esav, and he enters Esav's realm and through

taking the power of particularism, he defeats him.

Shalom 376 םולש equals Esav 376 ושע in gimattria, for Yosef goes into the realm of Esav

and brings a tikkun out from there. This is why the verse says about the brothers and Joseph, Vlo

yachlu dabro lishalom, They could not speak with him peacefully. (Bereishis 37:4) Yaakov does

not go down. While Yosef goes down to the level of the lowest brothers he is mivarer, purifying,

the lower levels. When the shevatim were trying to attach themselves to the high level of the

forefathers Yosef argued that they should attach themselves to him, and go to the Malchei Edom,

go to the low levels with a great strength and be mivarer the low levels. The shevatim felt that

Yosef was trying to go to a low level so he was in the category of death, for as we learned when

the vessel goes to a lower level this is called vayamos. The Zohar explained that the vayamos of

Malchei Edom means that through the sheviras hakelim there are the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah,

and Asiyah, where it is not Atzilus and it is not all Godliness, so it is a lower level, and it is called

vayamos.

For example, King Bela was the middah of daas. When it broke the pnimiyus of this

vessel went to the universe of Beriah, the middle to Yetzirah, and the externals of this vessel

went to Asiyah. This is the vayamos, a descent to lower levels. With our machshava, thoughts,

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dibbur, speech, and maaseh, actions, that correspond to these three worlds we are mevarrer these

vessels to the point that eventually they will become one with the soul so that we will be Ihu

vigarmoihu chad bihon, He and the vessel are one in them, which is the realm of Atzilus.

Vayamos means nachis midargei, it went down from its level: the vessel went from Atzilus to the

lower realms of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. The shevatim are the realm of Beriah, while the

seventy souls who entered Egypt was Yetzirah and the full six hundred thousand Jews represent

the realm of Asiyah.

We find that Shlomo made a yam, basin, which stood on twelve cattle. The yam displayed

malchus of Atzilus. The lowest level of the higher world, the Malchus of a high level, goes down

and becomes the heights of the lower realm. So the yam shel Shlomo, the Malchus of Atzilus,

was standing on twelve cattle on the shevatim who are at the top of Beriah. Thus the Shevatim at

the level of Beriah wanted to be connected to a higher realm. They wanted to be attached to the

Avos, patriarchs, who are the level of Atzilus. The shevatim wanted to be connected to Atzilus,

and what could have connected them? Yosef Hatzadik.

Yosef draws the light of Atzilus into the realm of Beriah and through him in Beriah there

is a point from Atzilus. So an attachment to Yosef is really an attachment to the realm of Atzilus!

So long as we have not arrived at the world of tikkun we need the role of Yosef. We must enter

into the realm of tohu and there in the world of pirud have a light of tikkun. In the separate realm

we need tzadikim who drawn a light from tikkun and Atzilus. In our realm we need a Yosef.

Nowadays we need the power of the perat, the focused energy!

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I may have once given this parable before, but it is worth repeating to explain the nature of a

Yosef, the difference between a general and a particular strength. Sometimes there is a general

success and sometimes a particular success. Today we know there is a great need to be mevarer

the last nitzotzin, Godly sparks, prior to the coming of mashiach.

Imagine a doctor who is a very successful man. He knows how to organize an office, how

to talk to people, how to talk to patients and how to run a business well and he knows all the

normal illnesses, including the correct medicine for them, and he might even know what other

doctors do not know and he might make a lot of money. He is very successful.

There is another doctor who is a shlemazal. He does not know how to run a business or

run an office. But he understands the wisdom of medicine with all the roots, he understands why

this person is sick and what is the process why a particular medicine should work. He is so

immersed in the chochmah of healing and in a detail of chochmas harefuah, the wisdom of

medicine, that he is a shlemazel in other matters, and he might have a moment of great success

where he realizes a new treatment to an illness for he reached the root of this illness. Once he

arrived at the root he found the cure. Then all the text books will give this doctor credit. This

type of success is a hatzlacha peratis, a particular success.

The degree of success of the specialist is greater than the achievements of the generalist,

for the perati discovered new approaches. The world can have many good generalists but this

perati makes a real contribution.

So it is with serving God. In avdus Hashem each tzadik is mechadesh chidushim, reveals

new insights. Each tzadik has his own way, and each one performs all the mitzvos. But in a

relative sense there are tzadikim we can call bechinas mah, the practitioners of tikkun: they are

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good in all things in general. And then there is a tzadik who is a perat. His importance derives

from the fact that he was mechadeish a nekudah, point, in avodas Hashem or an approach to

learning Torah. Relative to these other tzadikim, he is a perati.

In other words one is a Yaakov and the other is a Yosef. Yosef goes into the olam hatohu

and brings about a tikkun perati. He seeks the depth of the olam hatohu and in this way he

succeeds. It says of Yosef, “Vayehi Hashem es Yosef vayehi ish matzliach,” “And Hashem was

with Joseph and he was a successful man.” (Bereishis 39:2) for it was a chidush that Yosef would

succeed. Olam hatohu is the opposite of success. The olam hatikkun is the realm of success, but

Yosef was an ish matzliach! He was successful in the realm of the perati of tohu. A successful

one does everything yet Yosef can succeed with a single minded focus. This is the perati Tzadik!

We see nowadays that there is a need for expertise in one area of Talmud Torah. It was

once the case that a talmid chacham knew everything. The reason for this is that it is needed

now to raise sparks, to find revolutionary breakthroughs, to raise one spark in an area. This is

why today many tzadikim are experts in one area of Torah and they are not experts in everything.

Once a Rav knew every area of Torah. Today though you can be a Rav and not know everything.

Hashem has arranged it this way, and there are so many books that we can look things up in

them. If we have a question we can call experts and if they do not know we can call bigger

experts and you can call Rav Elyashiv

with your questions! Hashem had made it this way to

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enable focus and greatness in particular areas of service to Him!

So it is with Torah that today you can be an expert in one area, and so it is with avodah

you can be an expert in one area of avodah. In learning you might reach expertise in Nezikin,

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Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, 1910-2012, was one of the great Torah giants of our generation, he was considered

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the Posek Hador, the Halachic Decider for the time.

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monetary matters, or in lomdus, Talmudic analysis, or in Halacha or in another area. We should

realize every Jew is meyuchad, dedicated, for greatness and greatness today means expertise in

one area of Torah or avodah.

You should know that in Chassidim we had the concept of Rebbes and the Lithuanians

have mashgichim, spiritual guides, and baalei mussar, masters of rebuke. Once the gadol was

everything. He knew all of the Talmud and he was the big tzadik. In later generations it is not so.

The mashgiach is certainly a talmid chochom yet he might not be the greatest sage of the

generation. His primary expertise is in fear, mussar, devout prayer, and tikkun hamiddos, fixing

character traits. This is true about Rebbes in chassidus as well. You should know that he might

be an expert in avodah and he might not be as great a talmid chacham as the person who is

constantly learning. He is a tzadik emes for his expertise in the hidden realms or in service and he

need not also be the expert on halacha. We see that in our generations, the final doros, there is a

need for birrur nitzotzin so there is a focus on detailed successes, on a success in the realm of

perat, in the realm of detail, one expertise. The oros of tohu must shine now in the vessels of

tikkun.

Achorayim

The Tanya says here that chochmah chitzonis fell in the sheviras hakeilim from the achorayim of

chochmah. There is a problem here of kabbalah. We explained that sheviras hakeilim was in the

middos, it started in daas as the beginning of the middos, but it did not reach the three intellects.

Here he is talking of chochmah, one of the gimel rishonos, so where is the shattering here?

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The answer is that even in chochmah there was a matter which can be called similar to

sheviras hakeilim. Usually we do not call it sheviras hakelim but it was similar. Sheviras

hakeilim is that the middos fell into a lower realm. Kesser, Chochmah, and Binah did not fall, but

the achorayim, rear-parts of Kesser, Chochmah and Binah, the Nehi (Netzach, Hod, Yesod) of

these levels fell. It was still from Atzilus but it fell, so the Tanya when he says the achorayim

from chochmah fell in sheviras hakeilim is referring to this point of achorayim that had a fall.

In other words, chochmah on its own, when it is not influenced by the middos, has no

bad. Chochmah is all good. Chochmah that has become a part of kellipas nogah in part became

chochmah raah. This part is bad wisdom and heretical ideas, because of the influence that the

middos raos have on chochmah. But had the middos not had any impact on the chochmah then it

would have stayed good. There is a part of chochmah which is impacted by the middos. This is

the achorayim of chochmah which fell.

A time for great growth

Now during the bein hamitzarim, the three weeks during the summer when we mourn the loss of

the two Temples, one can reach chidushim, novel insights, in avodas Hashem. Like that doctor

we have seen many young men who have reached many heights during these days, and Hashem

has arranged that in these days everyone goes to a new place and this is so that in a new

environment a person can more easily become a new person. We have to take advantage of these

times. We have to use the time to reach elevations. To have a new hassaga and a new cheishek,

desire, in avodas Hashem. While it is a time that we can reach great heights we also know that it

is possible during this time to be distracted and to fall.

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Rosh Hashana was a day of great joy, it was the day when Hashem enjoyed His world.

Each year, Rosh Hashana recreates the delights Hashem had when He made Adam, but it is

“Bakesse liyom chageinu.” “Hidden on the day of our festival.” (Tehillim 81:4) Why must we

hide the joy? For on the first Rosh Hashana the satan came and disturbed the joy. This is why he

is called satan. His nature is that when man needs to go up he comes to disturb and distract.

In the summer you will all be in camp. Camp is an opportunity but also a challenge. At a

time when we should go up the satan comes and disturbs. In camps the satan disturbs unity, he

causes us to lose the maalos of hisbodedus, meditation, he causes kalus rosh, light-headedness.

Use the time of hisbodedus, that you will have in camp during the summer. Use friendship for

holiness, talk about tzadikim, be connected to others to serve Hashem. Create a unity whereby

all work together. If each one goes his own way and will not serve Hashem together with others

it is the opposite of tikkun. Talk about all the types of tzadikim, learn from each one. If there is

pirud levavos, divided hearts, there is no kedusha there. Kedusha is all about achdus.

You have no reason not to have achdus! You are all bnei Torah! You are all serious! Be a

misboded! Get together for avodas Hashem! Talk about tzadikim and stay away from the kalus

rosh that sometimes occurs in social settings. Stay away from haughtiness and division. You

should know this has to be used to be a time for elevation otherwise it can go the other way God

forbid. In camp you can do much chessed. Maybe someone else came late to supper, and you

can make sure he has chicken. Be careful to conduct yourself at night in a way that will enable

others to sleep. Be involved in the love of others, and in this way you will merit to use this time

to truly rise. Fight against selfishness. Do not think I have to get the best room or bed, man was

created to not think about himself, he was created to annul himself to be a mah and think of

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others and do for others. See to it that others take the better room and bed. Work on not being

an I. This is a place where you can do kindness for each other. In all areas you can work on

yourself. So work on yourself and bezras Hashem you will have a great aliyah in these days and

hopefully hashem will help to transform these days to sasson, joy, and to simcha, happiness.

The righteous do not have an evil urge. Yet an urge for evil is part of the human condition. How

can there be people who do not have an evil urge? The root of the evil urge is limitations and judgements.

In the righteous the evil urge takes the form of judgements. Rebuke is a holy and elevated form of the evil

urge. The task during the month of Ellul and Rosh Hashana is to sweeten restrictions and limitations.

Lesson twenty one explores these themes.

Lesson Twenty One: The nature of the evil urge

Chapter Nine:

םד אלמ אוהש ילאמש ללחב בלב אוה לארשי שיא לכב הגונ תפילקמש תימהבה שפנ ןכשמ םוקמ הנהו

The place where kellipas nogah, the kellipah which pulls man to all material matters, not

to prohibited matters, is in the left ventricle of the heart which is filled with blood,

שפנה אוה םדה יכ ביתכו

As it is written that blood is the nefesh

שארבש חומל הלוע םגו ףוגה לכב תוטשפתמ ןה בלהמו בלב ןה ןהימודו סעכו תוראפתהו תואתה לכ ןכלו

שארבש חומהל הלוע םגו םירבאה לכל טשפתמ בלהמו בלב ורוקמ םדהש ומכ ןהב םכחתהלו ןהב רהרהלו בשחל

Hence all lusts and boasting and anger and similar passions are in the heart, and from

the heart they spread throughout the whole body, rising also to the brain in the head, so as to

cause us to think and meditate about them and become cunning in them, just as the blood has its

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source in the heart and from the heart it circulates into every limb, rising also to the brain in the

head.

The Tanya teaches that the animal soul that emerged from kellipas nogah resides in each

Jewish soul in the left ventricle of the heart that is filled with blood. As it is written, ki hadam hu

hanefesh, for the blood is the soul. (Devarim 12:23) Nefesh in the verse refers to Nefesh

habahamis, for the human being has physical life like an animal. And this soul is like the blood.

The blood spreads from the heart to all the limbs of man. Similarly the physical urges such as

anger and lust emerge from the Nefesh habahamis and then spread out to the entirety of the

person.

The Nature Of The Evil Urge

Since the source of evil urges is the heart, not the mind, and since the yetzer harah is

from dam, from the term dimyon, fantasy, the evil urge is illogical and animalistic. It is filled

with fantasies and nonsensical imaginations, it is dimyon and not daas. It is written, “Rak chazak

livilti achol hadam,” “Just be very strong and do not eat blood.” (Devarim 12:23) Rashi has two

comments on this verse. One, if Hashem had to say “Be strong to not eat blood” you see that the

Jews were immersed in eating blood. Others say, “Lo bah hakassuv elah lihazhircha

ulilamedcha ad kamma ata tzarich lihitchazek bimitzvos” “The verse only comes to warn you

and teach you how much you must strengthen yourself in mitzvah observance” “Im hadam shehu

kal lihashameir mimenu, sheain adam misaveh lo hutzrach lichazkecha biazharaso kal vichomer

lishaar mitzvos” “If blood which is easy to avoid since man does not naturally desire it, the verse

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had to strengthen you to overcome the urge to eat it, certainly one needs strength to fulfill other

mitzvos.” A person’s soul finds blood revolting, yet the Torah gives reward. Certainly this must

also be the case then for avoiding misbehaviors that we desire to do.

We see that a normal man would be revolted by blood, so what attracts man to eating

blood, why did the Torah need to tell us “strengthen yourselves”? Apparently to most people

ingesting blood is nonsensical but there are some whose blood attracts them to perform the

illogical, hence the need for the Torah to insist, “rak chazak” “Just be strong.” Such is the

manner of all misdeeds. What is desirous to one, another will recognize as nonsense and

disgusting. All evil urges are nonsense. Yet we will receive reward for avoiding these

nonsensical desires.

When the Torah taught about blood it taught about the nature of the evil urge. You may

not know what is a challenge for you. And you should realize that all evil desires are nonsensical.

From a more enlightened perspective you will realize that they are folly.

Consider the desire for honor. Honor is such a silliness. What is honor? Total insanity.

The honor given to people is meaningless. Take a groom who is given honor who feels

enjoyment from it. Will it last? Is it unique? Everyone will be a chosson and get that type of

honor! We think that we are great because we get kavod?! This is nonsense!

Even about those urges that a person desires one should look deeply and realize that they

are nonsense. Then a person should ask himself, “Do I want to be a fool?”

Say someone’s reputation improves, does that make him a better person? Do you serve

G-d more because people talk about you? Are you a better person because you become a son-in-

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law of a Rebbe? How can you look for this honor? Is this honor helping the ultimate goal,

Lidavkah bo?

G-d says Hashamayim kisii vhaaratz hadom ragley vel zeh abit el ani uncheh ruach

vichared al devari,” "The heavens are my throne, the earth my footstool, but to this I look, to a

poor man, weak of spirit, who trembles at My word." (Yeshayahu 66:2) God tells us that the

broken, poor person who is trying to serve G-d is the person we should connect ourselves to, not

the arrogant, wealthy or famous individual! What matters is kvod hashem. So why do we run

after honor and money? It is like an animal that runs to eat straw. We are running after nonsense!

What To Live For

The evil urge is silly. It should make us feel embarrassed about ourselves. Each of us has

moments like those of King Solomon, when we can ask of G-d whatever we desire and He will

grant it. At those moments we should ask for attachment to G-d. When we pray on Rosh

Hashana we should ask for what really matters, dveykus bahashem. Attachment to G-d is really

the only thing that matters. We have to be stubborn in this insistence that the only thing we are

looking for is to be attached to G-d. We are to hope exclusively for “Shivti biveis hashem kol

yemei chayay lachazos binoam hashem ulivaker biheichalo,” “To sit in the house of Hashem all

the days of my life, to see the pleasantness of Hashem and to discern in His palace.” (Tehillim

27:4)

King David was a monarch who saw all the many different types of people and their

missions. He taught us that the one thing to ask for is to sit in the Almighty’s Home and to study

His Torah. Real success is not becoming a famous Rosh Yeshiva, it is rather to be a simple Jew

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sitting in the corner of a Beis Midrash and learning from a stack of Seforim. No one knows this

Jew, but he is the picture of achievement.

Where are we going with our lives? We are going to G-d. We have to keep reminding

ourselves that the purpose of life is to enjoy G-d (Messillas Yesharim). The purpose of man is

lihisanag el hashem. Once an individual’s service to G-d is such that he is misanag al hashem,

once he reaches the point that he is enjoying G-d through his service of Hashem, then he knows

he has reached the appropriate level of service to G-d.

There is a certain pleasure felt in Avodas Hashem that is unparalleled. It is a joy of

dveykus bahashem. Our mission in life is to work for G-d. Once we are feeling the taanug eloki

in our service we will be aware that our service has reached the level that it should.

Remember the basics

When we stop thinking about the basic principles that truly matter to a Jew then we get

all caught up in nonsense. The Baal Shem Tov lit up Jewish souls with a great light after they

were already aware of the basics of Judaism. Today people forget about the high levels and the

basics.

What is a Jew? What the Messilas Yesharim taught in the beginning of his work! Man

must remember his mission to serve G-d and to reach a level of service to G-d where one enjoys

His Presence. Work hard. In this generation to truly think about Hashem will be very much

appreciated in the next realm. There is a special help from Above to those who are sincere and

heartfelt in this generation! You can merit levels that earlier generations could not get.

It says about the future, “Vihaya hanishar biTzion vihanosar biyerushalayim kadosh

yeameir lo,” “It will be that every one who is left in Zion and Jerusalem will be called

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holy.” (Yeshayahu 4:3) This verse seems to imply that in light of the great temptations and

challenges in our realm, one who stays a simple Jew will be considered a holy one like Reb

Elimelech of Lizhensk was considered a holy being. Rav Nachman of Breslov added that the

verse should be read as a rhetorical question. Kadosh yeiamer lo?! In light of the great darkness

before Mashiach's arrival, those who are simple Jews in these times are so holy that even the

term Kadosh is insufficient to describe them! In these days to be a simple loyal Jew who wishes

to serve G-d is a truly amazing feat! The verse is declaring "Can one call him holy?!" He is

much more than sacred!!! We have been given the privilege that we can accomplish these feats.

We can be the ones who are still standing in Zion!שמו שארבש ןיחומב אוה תיהלאה שפנ ןכשמ םוקמ ךא

ונימיל םכח בל ש"מכו םד וב ןיאש ינמיה ללחב בלב םגו םירבאה לכל תטשפתמ ם

םירבדב םחומב רשא םתעדב םיננובתמו םיניבמה םיליכשמ בלב תבהלתמ תבהלש יפשרכ 'ה תבהא איהו

הבהאה תא םיררועמה. But the abode of the divine soul is in the brains that are in the head, and from

there it extends to all the limbs; and also in the heart, in the right ventricle wherein there is no

blood, as is written, "The heart of the wise man is on his right." It is [the source of] man's fervent

love towards G-d which, like flaming coals, flares up in the heart of discerning men who

understand and reflect, with the [faculty of] knowledge of their brain, on matters that arouse this

love

The Nefesh Elokis is concentrated in the mochin shebrosh and then it extends downward

to the right half of the heart. Thus the mind tends to the Nefesh Elokis and the heart can go either

way (the left half tends to the animal while the right leans to the G-dly) and the liver is all blood

and leans to the physical and the animalistic.

ונואג רדהו 'ה תראפתב בבל תחמש ןכו

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רקח ןיא דע ותלודג תראפתו אכלמד ארקיב םילכתסמ ותניבו ותמכח חומב ושארב רשא םכחה יניע רשאכ

רחא םוקמב ראובמכ תילכתו ףוס ןיאו

Also [of] the gladness of the heart in the beauty of G-d and the majesty of His glory

[which is aroused] when the eyes of the wise man, that are in his head, i.e. in the brain

harboring his wisdom and understanding, gaze at the glory of the King and beauty of His

greatness that are unfathomable and without end or limit, as explained elsewhere

Notice the language of the Tanya. There is a joy in recognizing the truth. This is the joy

of appreciating the Tiferes of the Ribbono Shel Olam. There is an enormous joy in the heart that

comes from the chabad in the mind that appreciates the absolute truth.

ןיחומבש ד"בחמ ןה בלבש תושודק תודמ ראש ןכו.

as also the other holy affections (middos) in the heart originate from ChaBaD [wisdom,

understanding, knowledge] in the mind.

The chabad in the mind sires all the holy middos.

דחא לכש תחא ריע לע םימחלנ םיכלמ ינשש ומכו הנטק ריע ארקנ ףוגה יכ ץמאי םואלמ םואלו ביתכ הנה ךא

יתש ךכ .םהילע רוזגי רשא לכב ותעמשמל םירס ויהישו ונוצרכ היבשוי גיהנהל ונייהד הילע ךולמלו השבכל הצור

אהתש הנוצרו הצפח תיהלאהש וירבא לכו ףוגה לע וז םע וז תומחלנ הפילקהמש תימהבה תינויחהו תיהלאה תושפנה

שובל ויהיו הילא הבכרמו ירמגל הלצא םילטבו התעמשמל םירס ויהי םירבאה לכו ותגיהנמו וילע תלשומה הדבל איה

םכותב רז רובעי אלו םדבל םהמ אלמ ולוכ ףוגה היהיו ףוגה ירבאב םלוכ ושבלתיש ל"נה הישובל 'גו היתוניחב רשעל

ו"ח

It is written, however, "One nation shall prevail over the other nation." The body is called

a "small city." Just as two kings wage war over a town, which each wishes to capture and rule,

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that is to say to dominate its inhabitants according to his will, so that they obey him in all that he

decrees for them, so do the two souls— the Divine and the vitalizing animal soul that comes from

the kelipah— wage war against each other over the body and all its limbs. It is the desire and

will of the Divine soul that she alone rule over the person and direct him, and that all his limbs

should obey her and surrender themselves completely to her and become a vehicle for her, as

well as a robe [instrument] for her ten faculties and three garments mentioned above, all of

which should pervade the organs of the body, and the entire body should be permeated with them

alone, to the exclusion of any alien influence, G-d forbid.

The human being is a small city and there is a war ongoing for rule over the city. This is

the war between the yetzer tov and its opposite.

ותלודגב ןנובתהל ותניבו 'ה תמכח איהש תיהלאה שפנבש ד"בחמ םיאלוממ ויהי שארבש ןיחומ תלת ונייהד

יפשרכ ובלב הרעוב שאכ 'ה תבהאו ובלב 'ה דחפו וחומב האריה תעדה ידי לע ןהמ דילוהלו ףוס ןיאו רקח ןיא דע רשא

אבלד אקמועמ דאמו שפנו בל לכב ה"ב ס"אב וב הקבדל הציפחו הקישחב ושפנ התלכ םגו הפסכנ תויהל תבהלש

םיערה םימה דוסי א"סל איפכאל ילאמשה ללחל םג טשפתתש דע שודגו אלמ הבהא ףוצר וכות היהיש ינמיה ללחבש

כ 'ה תבהאל הזה םלוע יגונעתמ הכפהלו התונשל הגונ תפילקמש הואתה איהש הבש

That is to say, that the three brains that are in the head shall be permeated with ChaBaD

of the Divine soul, namely, the wisdom of G-d and the understanding of Him, by pondering on

His unfathomable and infinite greatness; and from them shall be born, through the daas

(knowledge), awe in his mind and dread of G-d in his heart, as well as a love of G-d that shall

flare up like a glowing fire in his heart, like flaming coals, so that his soul shall yearn and long,

with passion and desire, to cleave to the blessed Ain Sof, with his whole heart, soul and might,

from the very depths of the right ventricle of the heart. The latter would be so thoroughly

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permeated with love to overflowing so as to inundate the left side as well, to the extent of

subduing the sitra achra with its element of the "evil waters" (namely, the lust stemming from

kelipas nogah) changing it and transforming it from seeking the pleasures of this world to the

love of G-d.

First there is iskafiah, coercing, and eventually it becomes is’hapcha, transforming. At

its root the Yetser hara is a malach kadosh, a holy angel. It comes from gevuros and through the

many tzimtzumim it becomes a yetzer harah. At its root the evil urge is the holy angel of great

stringencies.

There are tzadikim who do not have a yetzer hara. The goal of a person should be to

become a person who is all good. Seforim explain tzadikim do not have an animal-like urge. But

an evil urge is part of the human condition! For these tzadikim the Yetzer hara is non-sweetened

gevuros.

Holiness means being all good

A person ultimately must arrive at the level of all tov, without gevuros. He should be a person

who can never get angry, punish, and hurt.

Rabbi Yekutiel Yehuda Halberstam o.b.m., the Klausenberger Rebbe, related several stories

about Rav Aharon Rokeach, o.b.m., the Belzer Rebbe, how this tzadik was filled with good. “I

remember that they once related to my father o.b.m. how when the Tzadik Rav Aharon of Belz

was in Munkatch policemen came and tried to jail him. They hit him and pushed him. They

treated him very roughly. He could not stand their wickedness any more and he blurted out,

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"They are a bit very strange these goyim." For him this was already a very harsh statement

about antisemites. I remember that when they told this to my father he smiled. This is the way of

the holy tzadikim, only goodness!"

I heard it said in the name of the Tzadik Rav Aharon of Belz o.b.m. that when he arrived to the

holy land he said, "It is wondrous and awesome that here in the land of Israel even the goyim are

Yidden!"

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Let us explain. What is punishment? It says “Tiyasreich raaseich,” “Your evil will punish

you.” (Yirmiyahu 2:19) The idea is that evil itself punishes. Mipi Elyon, lo teitzei haraos

vihatov,” “From the One on high, evil and good will not emerge.” (Eichah 3:38) Hashem does

not mete out punishment. In other words, the sin itself is mechaye, gives life, to the mechabel,

the angel of damage, and this angel delivers the punishment. As it punishes, the angel gets

weaker, for the malachei chabala lose their nitzotzin and then they disappear. The punishment

fixes the damage of the sin. In other words, the sin brought holy life into exile, sparks entered

the angel of destruction, and the angel of destruction gets permission to do damage. (The angel

seeks to destroy for that is its essence and it seeks more such experiences.) Destruction can come

not only from angels but also from gentiles and both these destructive agents get life from our

sins. Once their urge to destroy is spent out, they stop existing.

Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk interprets the verse about the Jews at the Red Sea,

“Hashem yilachem lachem viatem tacharishun,” Hashem will fight for you and you are to be

silent, (Shmos 14:14) to mean: Hashem is fighting you. The bit of Hashem that is with the

Egyptians is what the Jews had to fight. But atem tacharishun, you can uproot and dig it out.

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Why wait for a punishment to expunge the good spark from the evil? You can repent! Through

your teshuva you will uproot this life that your sins have embedded in the forces of evil! You can

then be secure without a punishment!

This is the meaning of the concept that no punishments come from Hashem. Holiness is

all good, meito lo teitzei raah! From Him evil will not emerge!

There are some tzadikim who punish sinners. They get upset and they punish. Of them it

says, Gam enosh latzadik lo tov! It is not good for the righteous to punish! (Mishley 17:26) Just

as with Hashem there is a concept of me’ito lo teitzei raah, a tzadik should be someone who will

not punish. Say there is a tzadik who conveys mussar, and pushes demands that we must be

sincere and heartfelt, a person who hears it will feel, “Wow, these are obligations!’ But this is

not punishment!" Righteous people look for such challenges. Mussar calls are gevuros kedoshos!

Holy restrictions. These are positive ways that get us to a good place.

Consider, a punishment fixes the soul, yet we pray to not be punished. Why do we make

such prayers? Do we not want our soul to be fixed? It is because we would like the tikkun to

come in a good way, in a way of tov. We would never pray that we should never hear rebuke,

mussar. Even though mussar is gevuros and some people feel bad when they hear mussar, we

never pray not to hear it! For mussar brings us to a tikkun hanefesh in a way that is not a

punishment, in a way that is tov. It is gevuros that are tov! A tzadik must try to be like Hashem, a

being who is all tov! If he must correct others, he should do it in a way that is tov and not in a

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way of punishments! To give mussar which a sincere person finds inspiring and a source of life

and needed direction!

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Avigayil and David

We find in Tanach that when David went to take revenge against Naval Hacarmeli,

Avigayil went out to ask him not to punish Naval. She said, “Vihaysa nefesh adoni tzerura

betzrur hachaim es Hashem Elokecha,” “And the soul of may master will be bound in the bond

of life with Hashem your God,” (Shmuel 1 25:29) therefore do not commit this sin. What is she

saying? Is she saying,"You will ultimately go to Heaven and reconnect to Hashem so do not sin

now?" This is true about all sins! Why say this now?

She was saying, "You are a tzadik. You will unite to the level of a day of all good in the

world to come! You are supposed to be connected to a high realm where gam anosh latzadik lo

tov, a level of only goodness! Es hashem Elokecha! With Hashem your God! The high place

you are to reach is a place that is all good with no punishments. Therefore since you will be

united with with Hashem Your God, in bonds of life, this is why you should not do this act of

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In his first shiur to Messilas Yesharim (5769) the Rebbe pointed out that the word mussar

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shares an etymological bond with the word yissurim, suffering. The easiest way to force a

change in behavior is to inflict yissurim. In divine service as well yissurim coerce a person to

bend to Hashem's will. But this is not the ideal! Hashem created a world filled with good,

liheitiv, to benefit creations. Hashem never wants to afflict people. There is a way of kindness

that coerces divine service. This is the wisdom of mussar connected to yissurim. Through

mussar serious people grasp lessons of how to serve Hashem and feel obligated to adopt these

behaviors! Therefore instead of needing physical suffering to force spiritual growth they achieve

the same spiritual results through ideas of mussar, and therefore he does not need any physical

pain. Mussar is holy yissurim! Unfortunately the cynic who refuses to internalize words of

improvement is causing yissurim to himself. Our sages therefore taught, kol hamis'lotzeitz

yissurim baim alav! A cynic brings suffering upon himself. (Otzar Giltonei Divrei Torah, 5769,

page 674)

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harming Naval Hacarmeli!" Kedusha is kulo tov. In great tzadikim, the yetzer hara is just

gevuros that are not sweetened.

Moshe when he said, “Shimu nah hamorim,” “Listen you rebels,” (Bamidbar 20:10) had

a little unsweetened gevuros, and this was his sin. For from these broken gevuros the yetzer hara

and aveiros emerge.

הזע הבהא תגרדממ הרתי הביחו הבר הבהא תגרדמל עיגיו אביו הלעיש ונייהו ךירצי ינשב ךבבל לכב ש"מכ

גנעתמה לכשו המכח חומב אוה גנעהו אבה םלוע ןיעמ 'ה לע גנעתהל םיגונעתב הבהא בותכב תארקנה איהו שא יפשרכ

בוטל תכפהמה תיהלאה שפנ תשודקבש עורז רוא ערזו םימה 'יחב אוהו ותמכחו ולכש תגשה יפכ ותעידיו 'ה תלכשהב

ערהש רהזה םשב 'ג קרפ 'נ רעש ח"עב ש"מכו הלחתמ ז"הוע יגונעת תואת ואב םהמש תימהבה שפנבש םימה 'יחב תא

ראש ןכו םהב שבולמ אוהש ז"הוע יגונעת םהש ונממ םיאוצה םידגבה ריסהב שממ בוט רצי ומכ רומג בוט תויהל ךפהנ

ןמ םיאלוממ ויהי חומבש הבשחמהו הפבש רובדה חכ לכו ודבל 'הל ויהי הבהאהו האריה יפנע ןהש בלבש תודמה לכ

הימופ קיספ אל םויה לכ ותחיש תויהל ותרותו 'ה תבשחמ ןהש הדבל תיהלאה שפנ לש רובדהו הבשחמה ישובל

ךא תיהלאה שפנ לש ישילשה שובל אוהש דבל תוצמה השעמב היהי וירבא ח"מר ראשו 'ידיבש יישעמה חכו אסריגמ

הנחצניו הילע רבגתיש םדאה תבוטל שממ ךפהל הנוצר הפילקהמש תימהבה שפנ

ק"הזבש הנוזה לשמכ

Thus it is written, "'With all thine heart— with both your natures." That is to say, that the person

shall steadily rise to attain the degree of "abundant love," a supreme affection surpassing that of

"ardent love" that is comparable to burning coals. This is what is called in Scripture "love of

delights," which is the experience of delight in G-dliness, of the nature of the world to come. This

delight is in the brain of wisdom, in the intellectual pleasure of comprehending and knowing G-

d, to the extent that one's intellect and wisdom can grasp [Him]. This is the element of "water,"

and "seed," i.e., light that is sown in the holiness of the divine soul that converts to good the

element of "water" in the animal soul, from which the lust for mundane pleasures had been

previously derived.

Thus it is written in Etz Chayim, Portal 50, ch. 3, on the authority of the Zohar, that the

evil is converted into and becomes completely good like the good nature itself through the

shedding of the soiled garments, the pleasures of this world, in which it had been clothed.

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So, too, shall the other middos in the heart, the offshoots of awe and love, be dedicated to

G-d alone; and the faculty of speech that is in his mouth, and the thought that is in his mind,

shall be entirely and solely the instruments of the "garments" of thought and speech of the divine

soul alone, namely, meditation on G-d and His Torah, which shall be the theme of his speech

throughout the day, his mouth ceaselessly studying [it]; and the faculty of action centered in his

hands, as also in the rest of the 248 organs, shall function exclusively in the performance of the

commandments, which is the third garment of the divine soul.

However, the desire of the animal soul, which is derived from the kelipah, is the very

opposite— and it is for the good of man that he may prevail over her and vanquish her, as in the

parable of the harlot in the holy Zohar.

Judgments and their sweeteners

From the sweet waters of lihaseneg al Hashem, enjoying Hashem, the yetzer hara is to be

transformed. It says in Yechezkel that in the future water will come from the Beis Hashem, then

more, and more, will come out, until they reach the oceans and sweeten their salty waters. The

inner meaning of this is that all physical matters are called salty waters.

When Hashem separated the waters on the second day of creation, (Bereishis 1:6-8) the

waters below became all the taanugim gashmiyim, physical delights. These taanugim gashmiyim

are crying, they are the meaning of tears. Judgements that are not sweetened produce tears,

mayim meluchim. Tears are salty water.

There are two types of judgements, dinnim, and they are both sweetened with shofar, רפ

par dinnim (280) and (320) shach כש dinnim.

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Tzimtzum, contraction, always entails dinnim, judgements. When chius Eloki needs to

enter keilim – even into the vessels of thought - there is a need for tzimtzum. There are dinnim in

the chius Eloki that enable the chius Eloki to shrink and enter the keilim of thought. The vessels

of thought are called lamed beis בל nessivos hachochmah. Sefer Yetzirah says Hashem made the

world with these thirty two paths of chochmah, for in the account of creation the name elokim

ם-י-ה-ל-א is mentioned 32 times. Elokim is dinnim, tzimtzumim. 32 times ten is 320. Ten is the

number for the letter yud י and ten is the number for all matters of kedusha, thus we have 320

dinnim, the shach dinnim. The sum of five times the word din, ןיד, also equals 320, 5*64=320.

We multiply the word din by five because there are five letters in the name elokim (each letter is

another aspect of din), and they represent the five gevuros. If you add an alef to each letter, an

alef to each din, we get 325, the sum of shacha, הכש. Alef ףלא represents the ןוילע אלפ, Pele

Elyon, the wondrous will of above that sweetens judgments. Shacha represents sweetened

judgements, as in the phrase about the waters of Noah’s flood, “Vayishochu hamayim,” “וכושיו

םימה,” and the waters settled down. (Bereishis 8:1) Similarly we have “Vichamas Hamelech

shachacha,” “הככש ךלמה תמחו.” “And the anger of the King settled down.”(Esther 7:10)

(There is a kavvana that employs this point. When you say in the amidah

prayer

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Hashiva shofteinu kivarishona, הנושארבכ ונויטפוש הבישה, focus on the word headings, הכש,

shacha. For a prayer for the restoration of correct justice among the Jews is in depth a plea that

the dinnim be sweetened. When there is a din limata there is no din above, for when we have

justice on earth we sweeten the judgments above. From din we should have Hashem's name,

י-נ-ד-א. Five names of God, adna, from five dinnim. For each din should be sweetened. Hashem

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The silent prayer of eighteen blessings which is the main prayer of all our services.

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י-נ-ד-א sfasai tiftach upi yagid tehilasecha, God open my lips and may my mouth say your praise,

is also part of this kavvana. י-נ-ד-א is alef that has sweetened the term din. This sentence is

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repeated five times a day as a tikkun for the five gevuros, a fixing of the five restraints

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Then we have the par רפ dinnim. The par dinnim are from the letters mem nun tzadi peh

chaf in their end of word form (ך,ף,ץ,ן,ם). These letters represent din, since they are at the end of

the word, and limit the word. When you see an end mem you know the word is not going further.

There are five letters of mantzepach, and they correspond to the five motzaos hapeh, sound

sources from the mouth. Just as thought needed a tzimtzum, dibbur needs a tzimtzum. There are

tzimtzumim to enable the chius Eloki to enter the keilim of thought (shach dinnim) and there are

dinnim to enable the chius Eloki to enter vessels of speech (the par dinnim, the mantzepach

letters). Shach represents thought and par speech.

Through the Divine service of Rosh Hashana we fix these dinnim to bring life to the

whole year. There is something called mossaros hadinnim, excess judgments. When there are too

many dinnim the Other Side is able to attach itself to human life. When there is an overwhelming

stream of Godly life, there are kitrugim, complaints, who claim, "Who says he deserves this

life?" The mossaros of these dinnim must be sweetened, otherwise they would not allow the

chius Eloki to come down to the world.

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The sentence recited as a heading to the silent amidah.

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Bney Yissaschar, Maamarei Chodesh Tishrei, maamar beis letter chaf alef quoted the holy Rav Pinchas

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who further detailed these lessons.

"Shoteh,הטוש, the Hebrew word for fool, equals in gimmattria 320, this is why the holy Tanna (Akavia ben

Mehaleil) said mutav li lihikarei shoteh kol yamai vlo leiasos shaa achas rasha lifnei Hamakom, Better I be called a

fool all my days then to be a wicked person for a moment before God. (Eidiyos 5:6) For this is the sweetening of the

dinnim when a person considers himself a fool and nothing before the will of the Almighty." When a person

discounts his own honor, he will frequently utter the sound, "aaa!" This is the letter alef being added to the word

din, sweetening it into י-נ-ד-א. When five alef's are added to five din's, shach ךש becomes הכש, this is how the Ari

interpreted the verse, Ashrei ha'am shekacha הככש lo, Fortunate is the nation that can turn ךש, shach, into הכש,

shacha.” (page 4)

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The Talmud says that Hashem dropped two tears into the ocean after churban beis

hamikdash, the destruction of the Temple. The meaning of this image is that these are dinei

shach and dinei par, and it is from these two dinnim – from the salt of His tears – that the ocean

becomes salty. There are two eyes, the right and the left, and they correspond to dinei shach and

dinei par, the two judgments that must be sweetened.

Tears sweeten judgements

When a person cries he feels a bit better, for the mossaros haleicha shebimoach, excess

moisture of the mind, is relieved by the tears. There is a hamtaka because the mossaros haddinim

have been expunged. In this week’s parsha a verse says about the eishes yefas toar, the captured

beautiful bride, “Uvachsa es avia ves imma yerach yamim,” “She will cry for her father and

mother for a full month.” (Devarim 21:13) The Rambam explains in Moreh Nevuchim that the

reason for this mitzvah is rachmanus. People feel better through crying, allowing the eishes yefas

toar to cry for a month lets her feel better. Crying makes us feel better for it sweetens the dinei

shach and dinnei par! The mossaros hadinnim exit a person through his tears! The tears of

Ellul

are a Vachsa es aviha vies imah yerach yamim, through them we are mamtik dinei shach

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and dinei par.

The Ari teaches that sweetening these types of dinnim is a major plank of Rosh Hashana

service. We say during our prayers on Rosh Hashana, Hayom haras olam, today is the birthday

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Ellul is the month before Rosh Hashana. It is a time for repentance. As the year draws to a close the Almighty

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makes Himself available so that His children will return to Him and merit a judgement of blessing for the coming

year.

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of the world. In gimmattria, תרה, haras(605) is par (280) and shach (320) plus the five roots of

the dinnim, the heh, ה, thus causing a hamtakkah of the dinnim!

This is also the kavvana for shofar, רפוש. The letters Par רפ in the word shofar are the par

dinnim. Shin vav, וש, together with a hand that holds the shofar, די, yad (14) equals shach for

blowing shofar is a hamtakkah of these dinnim. (The five fingers of the hand also remind us of

the five dinnim.) We start sweetening the dinnim of shach and par through our tears during Ellul

as a preparation for Rosh Hashana.

Let us explain.

Speech is a very holy force. Bris krusa lasfasayim, there is a covenant to the lips and

what comes through them. The pleasantness of diburei kedoshim grants great strength to the

soul! Yet there are dinnim to prevent these warm feelings. The dinnim metamtemim koach

hadibur, defile the power of speech, so that one will speak but not feel chius. We beg Hashem,

י-נ-ד-א sfasai tiftach ufi yagid tehilasecha, open my lips so that my mouth will say your praises;

sweeten the judgements!

Holy thoughts are also amazing. They give you a feeling of gan eden. Yet there

nevertheless are dinei shach to prevent these feelings. If someone cries with real longing to merit

to feel holy thoughts and words, he cries because of how far away he is from Hashem. By doing

so he takes away the dinei shach and par from himself, he sweetens them, and then the chius

Eloki appears in his speech and thoughts! Seforim explain “Viraisa bashivya eishes yefas toar,”

“And you will see among the captives a woman of beautiful appearance.” (Devarim 21:11) This

is the Shechinah. She is called eishes yefas toar, eishes yefas תפי תשא is roshei teivos for י-נ-ד-א

חתפת יתפש, Hashem sefasai tiftach, and ךיתלהת דיגי יפ pi yagid tehilasecha, this is what eishes

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yefas hints at. You will see in captivity the eishes yefas toar, the power to think and speak holy

thoughts will be in exile, and the solution is to cry for thirty days, ubachsa es aviha ves imah

yerach yamim.

Arouse rachmanus on yourself. When you have rachmanus on yourself it arouses from

Heaven a shefa of rachmanus on you and then you merit blessings. Have rachmanus on yourself

for the great distance that you are from Hashem, and that will arouse the rachmanus of Hashem,

who will renew you on Rosh Hashana to be a new person.

Rosh Hashana is a great day, so great that it contains an entire year. It is the day of the

creation of Adam. A man who reached from edge of heaven to edge of heaven. The Ran

asks

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what is the reason that man is judged on Rosh Hashana? He understood why fruits are judged on

shavuos, for that is chag hakatzir, the time when fruits are picked. Sukkos is the time of rain, so it

makes sense for it also to be a time of judgment regarding water. But why should Rosh Hashana

be the time of judgment of man? The answer simply is that since all are judged when they are

mis'chadesh, renewed (fruits are mis'chadeish around Shavuos so that is the time when they are

judged) if man is judged now it proves that man is renewed now and on Rosh Hashana he

becomes a beria chadasha, a new being!

Remember if you are a man of nefesh habahamis, and you think of taavos and your

nefesh elokis is asleep you are not connected to Rosh Hashana! Rosh Hashana is the day of

“Vayipach biapav nishmas chaim,” “And He blew into his nostrils a soul of life.” (Bereishis 2:8)

it is the time of the nefesh Elokis. Prepare for Rosh Hashana. Now in Ellul the main job is to

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Rabbeinu Nissim (1315-1376) was a student of Ramban and one of the greatest commentators to the writings of

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Rav Yitzchok Alfasi (1013-1103).He was an expert physician, philosopher, and Torah scribe in addition to his

primary achievement of greatness in Jewish law and understanding of the Torah.

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arouse rachamim. What rachmanus?! Consider how dark a world we live in! Think, G-d is my

light, Hashem Ori. This should define the Rosh Hashana experience. And yet we feel so far from

the Almighty! What a pity!

Arouse rachamim on how far we are from Hashem and then we will merit to become a

new creation, a being who is renewed on Rosh Hashana!

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