Likkutei Amarim Chapter 6 · 5781

00:00 Speaker 1 To study in both Hebrew and Ladino.

00:03 Speaker 2 Good, baruch Hashem.

00:04 Speaker 4 Until you switch completely to Hebrew.

00:06 Speaker 1 Yes.

00:06 Speaker 4 I think so.

00:07 Speaker 1 No, I’ll still need both.

00:09 Speaker 4 Yes.

00:09 Speaker 1 Hebrew is easier than Ladino. Little by little, I’m getting used to Hebrew too.

00:14 Speaker 2 Come, let’s begin. Today we’re up to chapter 6; we’re starting to learn chapter 6. It’s a short chapter, and not difficult either. As we’ve discussed, it’s always worth recalling that the opening chapters of Tanya discuss the two souls, the G-dly soul and the animal soul—their faculties and their garments. The Alter Rebbe spent three chapters discussing the faculties of the G-dly soul: it has ten faculties and three garments. And there is a special garment, the garment of... the garment of thought, through which, by studying Torah, we unite with Hakadosh Boruch Hu inside and out. So after discussing the G-dly soul, it’s now the animal soul’s turn. That is what chapter 6 deals with, as do the next two chapters, which discuss further aspects of the animal soul. Regarding the G-dly soul, the Alter Rebbe went into detail: he devoted an entire chapter to explaining its faculties. Remember? It has three intellectual faculties and seven emotional attributes, the relationship between them, and how the intellect influences the emotions. A whole chapter, and another chapter—or two chapters—on the garments. Here, with the animal soul, we already know in general what faculties and garments are. So in this chapter the Alter Rebbe explains both its faculties and its garments. Let’s look inside. Chapter 6: “G-d has made one corresponding to the other.” For everything that exists in holiness, Hakadosh Boruch Hu created something corresponding to it on the opposite side. “For just as the G-dly soul comprises ten holy sefiros and is clothed in three holy garments”—those are thought, speech, and action.

02:06 Speaker 4 Bring a book. Thank you.

02:08 Speaker 2 Holy thought, speech, and action in Torah. Right? “So too, the soul of the sitra achra, from kelipas nogah—from kelipas nogah—which is the soul clothed in a person’s blood,” as we learned in the first chapter, “also comprises ten impure crowns.” We already mentioned in the first chapter that the Alter Rebbe taught that the animal soul is the person himself. When a person thinks, reflects, feels, and produces all the things that make up his life, he lives through his animal soul. What is that animal soul? It is the soul that gives life to the body.

03:02 Speaker 4 No, I don’t mind, thank you.

03:06 Speaker 2 And there he explained... We discussed this at length there: the Alter Rebbe’s novel point is that the negative forces, the forces that draw a person toward evil, toward transgressions and bad things, aren’t merely forces within the person. They are the person himself. Remember how extensively we discussed that? People commonly say that you have to destroy Amalek, in the spirit of Purim. We’re around Purim now, so: “I’m fine; it’s just that I have an Amalek, and that Amalek gets in the way of my coming close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So I have to eradicate the Amalek within me.” In chapter 1, the Alter Rebbe says that Amalek isn’t someone you have to eradicate. Amalek is me myself. Amalek is me. It’s not that I’m fine but have some yetzer hara, some Amalek I need to fight, some bad character traits I need to fight. Those bad traits are me myself, not somebody else.

04:24 Speaker 1 This is actually the first time I’ve seen that.

04:27 Speaker 2 Weren’t you here when we learned the first chapter?

04:29 Speaker 1 I’m not sure.

04:31 Speaker 5 It was dark during the first chapter.

04:33 Speaker 2 Ah. So that’s what he says. The Alter Rebbe says, very, very briefly, that a person has two souls. What does that mean? It’s very well known that the Alter Rebbe says a person has two souls. What does it mean to have two souls? It means that each soul has intellect and emotion, as well as the soul itself. What is a soul? A soul is the life force; it’s a whole person. So within us there is a whole person who belongs to holiness, and a whole person who belongs to kelipah. And the person I experience in my everyday life is the person of kelipah. That’s the one I feel. When do I feel the G-dly soul? When I do something holy—study or perform a mitzvah—then I feel the G-dly soul. But in the ordinary course of the day, who am I? Who is this “I”? I am... I am Amalek. That’s me. That’s the essence of... So he said that since... since... No, not “since.” What is this soul? The nature, or essence, of this soul is that it feels its own existence. The G-dly soul—what is the difference between the G-dly soul and the animal soul? The G-dly soul is in bittul, in bittul to G-dliness. It doesn’t feel itself. There is... “There is nothing else besides Him.” It feels only Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The animal soul is exactly the opposite. It feels only itself. In other words, when a person feels, “This is good for me, this isn’t good for me, I want, I need”—right? All kinds of wants, all kinds of... The “I,” meaning my self-awareness—what do they call it today? My sense of “I” is the animal soul.

06:22 Speaker 1 Is that not good?

06:23 Speaker 2 What?

06:23 Speaker 1 Is that not good?

06:24 Speaker 2 We haven’t yet discussed whether it’s good or not good. It’s me. The Rebbe is introducing us to ourselves. Later, in the coming chapters, we’ll see how to deal with it. Yes, well, the Alter Rebbe said that, for example, even the good character traits natural to all Jews from birth, such as compassion and acts of kindness, come from the animal soul. The fact that all Jews are compassionate, the children of compassionate people, doesn’t come from their G-dly soul. The animal soul has good things in it too. We didn’t say it was entirely bad. Its existence is centered on “I”; it doesn’t feel Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Because a person feels himself and is not nullified to G-dliness, all kinds of things follow from that. First of all, there are four negative elements, giving rise to anger and arrogance. If I’m focused on myself, then, “How could that person do such things to me?” Right? Laziness and sadness: “I’m comfortable, I’m uncomfortable; this is good for me, this isn’t good for me.” Frivolity, scoffing, boasting, idle talk. Right? All the negative elements, all the bad character traits—what is their root? Where do they begin? They begin with that Amalek: “I.” Once there is an “I,” everything starts from there; that’s where the whole story begins. So in the first chapter, the Alter Rebbe spoke about the soul’s essence: it is a complete soul whose essence is “I,” and it has four negative elements. Here in this chapter, the Alter Rebbe explains it in more detail. Just as the G-dly soul has ten faculties and three garments, so too the soul of the sitra achra, the soul of kelipah, the animal soul, has corresponding faculties and garments. That’s just a bit of background so we’re clear about what we’re discussing. All right? Let’s look inside. “G-d has made one corresponding to the other. For just as the G-dly soul comprises ten holy sefiros and is clothed”

08:28 Speaker 2 “in three holy garments, so too the soul of the sitra achra, from kelipas nogah, which is clothed in a person’s blood, also comprises ten impure crowns.” What’s the translation?

08:42 Speaker 6 Impurity.

08:42 Speaker 2 Ten impure crowns. What are those ten impure crowns? They are the seven negative emotional attributes that come from the four negative elements mentioned above, which we discussed.

09:09 Speaker 6 Thank you very much.

09:09 Speaker 2 Should I repeat that, or is it...? Hm?

09:12 Speaker 6 No, go on.

09:20 Speaker 2 “And the intellect that gives rise to them, which is divided into three—Chochmah, Binah, and Daas—the source of the emotional attributes.” So here we see two major differences between the animal soul and the G-dly soul. This is the basis for everything that will be described and explained later. First of all, we said the G-dly soul has ten faculties. What did we call them? They derive from the sefiros. Right? Ten sefiros, ten faculties that derive from the ten sefiros. That was the wording there. Here, regarding the animal soul, he says it also has ten faculties. Just as the G-dly soul has chessed, love, the animal soul also has chessed and love, one corresponding to the other. This soul has awe; that soul has the attribute of awe as well. This soul has intellect; that soul has intellect as well. They correspond to each other. What’s the difference? When speaking about the G-dly soul, the Alter Rebbe said it has ten faculties that derive from the ten sefiros. When speaking about the animal soul, the Alter Rebbe says it also has ten faculties, but those ten faculties are not... What?

10:39 Speaker 6 They are impure crowns.

10:40 Speaker 2 They’re called impure crowns. They’re not, they’re not... Yes?

10:46 Speaker 6 Why crowns, specifically?

10:48 Speaker 2 First of all, why crowns, specifically? And second, you might have said that they derive from the crowns. No—they themselves are crowns. So although the animal soul looks like an ape mimicking a person, looks like the G-dly soul, there is a difference. What’s the difference between a crown and a sefirah?

11:09 Speaker 6 It’s transcendent, isn’t it?

11:11 Speaker 2 Hm?

11:12 Speaker 6 A crown is transcendent.

11:15 Speaker 2 A crown—before we get to its being transcendent, which is true—why is it transcendent in the first place? Before that, what is it? Why is it there? What is its purpose, its essence? What do we need it for?

11:27 Speaker 6 Symbolizes.

11:28 Speaker 2 Hmm?

11:28 Speaker 6 Symbolizes. It is the source. The general keser—keser is something that...

11:33 Speaker 2 In the language, the language of... Thank you very much. In the language of the writings of the Arizal in Pri Eitz Chaim, keser is an intermediary between the Emanator and the emanated beings. The Emanator is infinite. The emanated beings are limited. For the infinite to be able to connect with the finite, for there to be a transition from the infinite to the finite, there has to be an intermediary. The function of keser is to be an intermediary between the infinite and the finite. That is what keser is. There is the general keser. Never mind now; we won’t count all the... We won’t get into the whole zoo of all the levels of keser. There is the general keser, and a more particular keser, and a still more particular and smaller one, even within the worlds themselves. For example, we know there is an order of worlds in the chain of descent: Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah. Right? So how does Beriah suddenly emerge from Atzilus? Atzilus, relative to Beriah, is infinite. Atzilus is G-dliness. Beriah is created beings. How do created beings emerge from G-dliness? There has to be an intermediary. What is that intermediary? Malchus of Atzilus, the lowest level in Atzilus, becomes a surrounding level, a keser, for the world of Beriah. So Malchus is the keser of the world of Beriah, yes? And it is the intermediary between Atzilus and Beriah. Similarly, there is a keser between Beriah and Yetzirah, and so on. All right? So first of all, the function of keser—what I wanted to say here is that keser functions as an intermediary. All right? Why are the powers of the animal soul called keserim? We’ll see later that the animal soul comes from kelipas nogah. Kelipas nogah is an intermediary between holiness and the kelipos. There are three completely impure kelipos; we’ll see that at the end of the chapter. And there is the side of holiness. The animal soul is an intermediary, and this also relates to what you—what was your...

13:39 Speaker 7 Dina.

13:39 Speaker 2 Dina, you mentioned earlier that it also has good things in it. How can it have—since it seems to come from the kelipos, how can it have good things in it? Because it is an intermediary. As an intermediary, it has a little of this and a little of that.

13:50 Speaker 7 So why are they nevertheless...

13:51 Speaker 2 Wait, we’ll get to that. All right? So first of all, the powers of the animal soul are called keserim because it itself is an aspect of keser, an intermediary. All right? There are a few more things to say about this, but I don’t want to go on at length over details that don’t add to our understanding of the subject. So that’s one difference we see between the G-dly soul and the animal soul: the G-dly soul comes from the sefiros, and the animal soul comes from keserim.

14:33 Speaker 7 [unclear] Like a drip, right?

14:41 Speaker 2 Maybe. It’s hard for me to hold back. This isn’t explained in Tanya, but in general, the distinction between kelipos and holiness doesn’t begin in this world. It begins above, in the higher worlds, already in worlds far, far above Atzilus. In the keser above the worlds, above Atzilus, there are two sides. There is...

15:20 Speaker 7 Tohu and Tikkun.

15:21 Speaker 2 Tohu and Tikkun. Yes, there is keser, and alongside it, so to speak, there is the world of Tohu. In the world of Tikkun, intellect is primary, and emotion develops from intellect. In the world of Tohu, the middos, the emotions, are primary. What is the difference between a person whose main faculty is intellect and a person whose main faculty is emotion? A person whose main faculty is intellect is measured, calm; everything is...

15:52 Speaker 7 Measured, quiet.

15:53 Speaker 2 Right, he doesn’t get carried away. Yes? You can see this even more clearly in an animal. An animal has no intellect at all; it has only middos. So there, they have tremendous force.

16:07 Speaker 7 Excuse me a second. [unclear] I’ll go this way.

16:18 Speaker 2 Why? Why, when someone—why does intellect—why, where there is intellect, is there less force? Where there are middos, there is force; where there is intellect, there isn’t. Why? Intellect calms things down. Intellect says: True, you want it this way, but it has to be otherwise. Right? True, you want this very, very much, but you can understand intellectually that there is room for the other side too. When only a person’s emotions are at work and intellect doesn’t guide him, he wants what he wants right now, here and now. Have you ever seen a child shouting? A child wants something.

16:59 Speaker 7 Yes.

16:59 Speaker 2 A baby.

17:00 Speaker 7 Gets excited.

17:00 Speaker 2 It says that intellect enters a person gradually. Intellect reaches maturity only at age thirteen, and even later than that. So when he is little, he doesn’t yet have intellect—he doesn’t have intellect. His middos are very... Not that he has no intellect at all, right? But his intellect doesn’t influence his emotions. So his middos are very, very forceful. As his intellect develops, he becomes more... yes? So, generally speaking, the world of Tikkun is a calmer, weaker world. The world of Tohu is a more forceful world. Incidentally, this is also useful advice; so it says. Sometimes a person is unsure: he has a feeling, he very, very much wants to do something, and he isn’t sure whether that desire comes from holiness or from the sitra achra. Have you encountered anything like that? Have you ever had that kind of uncertainty?

17:49 Speaker 7 What was the first thing you wanted?

17:51 Speaker 2 No, that’s another...

17:55 Speaker 7 That’s also an aside.

17:56 Speaker 2 That’s another matter. The point is this: if you want something with tremendous force, so much that you can’t stop yourself, it doesn’t come from holiness. That kind of force cannot come from holiness.

18:12 Speaker 7 But if it’s for something...

18:14 Speaker 2 What comes from holiness, what has its source... Mesirus nefesh is something else. Something whose source is holiness cannot come with that kind of force. That’s a sign.

18:28 Speaker 7 Why? Why?

18:30 Speaker 2 Because what comes from the G-dly soul has its basis, its source, in intellect. And something rooted in intellect also makes room for the other side. If a person isn’t interested in doing anything...

18:48 Speaker 7 [unclear] and all kinds of Jewish strength and such—that is strength that comes from holiness.

18:54 Speaker 2 You have to exercise that strength according to intellect, even though I don’t particularly want to and don’t particularly feel it.

19:04 Speaker 7 You do it well.

19:07 Speaker 2 All right, what about [unclear]? This is written in the explanations of, uh, Esterman—Shmuel Gronem Esterman. We spoke about him once. I’ll just mention briefly that all our study of Tanya, of Chassidus in general, for our entire generation, begins with Shmuel Gronem Esterman. He was the mashpia at the yeshiva in Lubavitch that the Rebbe Rashab established. And from him—from him came all the Chassidus, huh?

19:38 Speaker 7 He left his mark.

19:40 Speaker 2 Yes. There is a small book he wrote. All right, we’re just going on at length here for no reason. So one difference between the G-dly soul and the animal soul is that the G-dly soul is weaker and comes from the sefiros, which make room for one another. The animal soul is an intermediary between the kelipos and the Jewish people, and that is why its powers are called keserim. A second difference, he adds, is that... the keserim, those keserim of the impure soul, are the seven evil middos that come from the four evil elements mentioned above, and the intellect that gives rise to them. When we spoke about the G-dly soul, what did we say? First there is intellect. A person contemplates and thinks about Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and then love of Hashem and fear of Hashem arise in him in accordance with his contemplation. The emotion is born as a result of the intellect. The animal soul doesn’t need intellect in order to be drawn to something; its primary faculty is the middos. First of all, it wants. This is good for it, this feels pleasant, it is drawn to this, it doesn’t like that. It has middos first. So what is the role of intellect? Intellect helps the middos. What do you want? If it’s a small child, all he can grasp intellectually is toys, so he very, very, very much wants toys. Later he grows a little and understands that money is better than toys, so he very, very, very much wants money. Later he grows a little more and understands that acquiring wisdom is much more important than money. So he very, very, very much wants that wisdom; he wants to learn. And there can also be someone who understands that the main thing, the perfection of a person, is to be a good person, a holy person, a tzaddik. So he very, very, very much wants to be a tzaddik. That comes from the yetzer hara—the same yetzer hara.

21:52 Speaker 8 Essentially.

21:53 Speaker 2 The same soul, the same animal soul. Right? Because the desire is the same desire; it’s the same animal soul. At first his intellect directed it here; now his intellect... So this is what it means that the middos correspond to the level of the intellect. The intellect does not create the middos; the middos already exist.

22:13 Speaker 8 But we wrote that intellect gives rise to them.

22:15 Speaker 2 Hmm?

22:16 Speaker 8 Intellect gives rise to them.

22:17 Speaker 2 So what does “gives rise to them” mean? Here it means...

22:20 Speaker 8 It directs the desire.

22:21 Speaker 2 It... More precisely, the middos correspond to the level of the intellect. If his intellect is limited, the middos that emerge will be smaller, or directed toward smaller things. So the intellect that gives rise to them is also divided into three, just as on the side of holiness: Chochmah, Binah, and Daas, the source of the middos, because the middos correspond to the level of the intellect, because...

22:42 Speaker 8 We didn’t say why they’re called impure keserim.

22:44 Speaker 2 Hmm?

22:45 Speaker 8 We didn’t say why they’re called impure keserim.

22:47 Speaker 2 We still haven’t explained why these are impure, because we haven’t explained the concept of impurity at all yet. “Because his mind is too small and limited to grasp things more valuable than these, and he likewise becomes angry and upset over small things, and the same applies to boasting.” The other traits of children are like that too: because his mind is small, he gets excited and enthusiastic and boasts about small things. So these are the ten faculties of the animal soul, and these ten impure faculties, when a person thinks through them, speaks, or acts—that’s already talking about the garments: the garment of thought, the garment of speech, and the garment of action.

23:39 Speaker 8 That’s the G-dly soul—the action, speech, and thought, no?

23:43 Speaker 2 No, it’s the same thing.

23:47 Speaker 8 Okay.

23:47 Speaker 2 I just want to emphasize that there’s a difference between two completely different things. If a person simply has a love, a desire for something... he realizes, he knows that this thing is very, very good, then that’s in the heart. Afterward, he thinks about how to get it; that’s already thought. And when he talks about it, afterward he also takes action to get it. So thought, speech, and action are the garments that clothe the emotion, the character traits in the heart. “Then the thought in his mind, the speech in his mouth, and the power of action in his hands and other limbs are called garments of impurity, impure garments for these ten impure faculties, which become clothed in them at the time of action, speech, or thought. And these are all the deeds done under the sun.” So the Alter Rebbe adds an emphasis here. Without these words of the Alter Rebbe, we wouldn’t think this way. We wouldn’t think: What is impurity? Impurity is the opposite of holiness. Right? Yes or no?

25:02 Speaker 9 Yes.

25:03 Speaker 2 Yes.

25:03 Speaker 9 It’s the opposite of purity.

25:04 Speaker 2 So if holiness means doing mitzvos, what is impurity?

25:07 Speaker 9 Sins.

25:08 Speaker 2 Sins. Right? What does the Alter Rebbe say here?

25:12 Speaker 9 That it’s—

25:13 Speaker 2 That these are all—

25:15 Speaker 9 Deeds that are done—

25:17 Speaker 2 “These are all the deeds done under the sun, for everything is vanity and striving after wind.” And as it says in the Zohar, in Parshas Beshalach, all the deeds done under the sun are “a breaking of the spirit”—they break the spirit. “Breaking” means to break. They break the spirit of the G-dly soul. What are we talking about? Even when a person does things, and speaks and thinks about things, that have nothing to do with a sin. He’s hungry; he wants to eat, not out of desire, but because—because—because he’s hungry, because he needs to eat. Right? He wants to raise children, he wants... he wants to be healthy, so he exercises; he wants to be healthy. He needs to earn a living. He goes to work because he needs to earn a living. Right? He has friends; he wants to talk to them. He sits and talks to them; he isn’t committing a sin. They talk about things—they talk. A person does things that have no element of prohibition in them, not even neglect of Torah study, not neglect of Torah study. These are things a person needs, things he has to do because he has a body and needs to take care of it. He isn’t committing a sin at that time; he needs to do these things properly. The Alter Rebbe says that all the deeds done in the world are impurity. Anything that isn’t a mitzvah—

26:44 Speaker 9 So exercising is impurity.

26:47 Speaker 2 Anything, without exception. There are no exceptions. Anything that isn’t holiness—

26:54 Speaker 9 Is impurity.

26:55 Speaker 2 Impurity. If it isn’t holiness, then what is it?

26:57 Speaker 9 Impurity. I think there’s no intermediate kelipah, nothing in between—

27:01 Speaker 2 “And these are...” We’ll soon see that there are different levels.

27:05 Speaker 9 No, but within kelipah itself.

27:09 Speaker 2 Anything at all that a person does without an intention of holiness. It could be—and we’ll see this later too—that a person does what you mentioned, exercising. He does it to be healthy so he can serve Hashem. Then he’s already serving Hashem. But if he does it without thinking about that, it’s impurity. Even though it’s—

27:34 Speaker 9 Intention.

27:34 Speaker 2 Even though it’s... Yes, and if he doesn’t have that intention, even if it’s something his body and life require, something he can’t live without. If he doesn’t go to the doctor, then G-d forbid. Right? You need to have the right intention in everything you do, and if he doesn’t, then it’s impurity. There’s no zero, no middle ground. If it isn’t holiness, then it isn’t holiness, and what isn’t holiness is impurity. He continues with this: “And likewise, not only deeds, but all words and even all thoughts that are not for Hashem”—not for Hashem’s will and His service. “This is the meaning of the term sitra achra.” We’re always saying and hearing this term, sitra achra. What is sitra achra? It means “the other side,” which is not the side of holiness. “The side of holiness is nothing other than the resting and extension of the holiness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu rests only upon something that is nullified to Him.” Very interesting. The Alter Rebbe explains what the side of holiness is. What is the side of holiness? What is nullified to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and so on—that is the side of holiness. What is the sitra achra?

28:53 Speaker 10 Everything that isn’t that.

28:54 Speaker 2 He doesn’t explain it. He doesn’t explain it. Why doesn’t he explain it?

28:58 Speaker 10 Because it’s obvious.

28:59 Speaker 2 Not because it’s obvious, but because there is no other side.

29:04 Speaker 10 Well, that’s obviously it.

29:09 Speaker 2 The fundamental premise the Alter Rebbe wants to instill in us is that it should be clear to us that there is nothing besides Him. Apart from Hakadosh Boruch Hu, there is nothing. “I am the first and I am the last, and besides Me there is no G-d.” There is nothing besides Him. The only true reality that exists in the world is Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So if it isn’t the side of holiness, it isn’t the side of Hakadosh Boruch Hu—it doesn’t exist. It doesn’t exist. It simply doesn’t exist. So there’s nothing to explain about a side that isn’t the side of holiness. If it isn’t the side of holiness, then it’s on the other side. It’s on the side of nothingness, of zero, of absence, of darkness. “The side of holiness is nothing other than the resting and extension of the holiness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And Hakadosh Boruch Hu rests only upon something that is nullified to Him, whether in actual practice,” like the higher angels, who are nullified to Hakadosh Boruch Hu all day and sing songs and feel the holiness, become inspired, and are nullified to Him, “or in potential.” What does “in potential” mean? Like every Jew down here: although right now he isn’t doing any mitzvah, because he has the potential to be truly nullified to Hakadosh Boruch Hu by giving up his life to sanctify Hashem’s name, he does have a degree of self-nullification. That’s a fundamental difference. In chapter 1, the Alter Rebbe said of the nations of the world that “they have no good in them whatsoever.” Now we understand what “they have no good in them whatsoever” means. Good means the side of holiness, self-nullification to G-dliness. A non-Jew cannot be nullified to G-dliness. He doesn’t have a G-dly soul. A non-Jew’s soul is an animal soul alone; he has no G-dly soul. The animal soul has its source and root in the kelipos, in the sitra achra. There’s nothing there that can be nullified. There simply isn’t. Even if he does things for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, whatever he tries to do, he cannot become nullified to G-dliness. It isn’t there.

31:31 Speaker 10 But there are people who are good to one another.

31:32 Speaker 2 Certain people do things because they understand that it improves the world; they understand that it’s good. Ultimately, the calculation is personal. A non-Jew’s starting point, the way he sees the world, is “me.” That’s where it begins. A Jew, even if in practice, consciously, he doesn’t observe mitzvos at all—he doesn’t observe mitzvos, and he even tries to do all sorts of things to other Jews—has a G-dly soul, and his G-dly soul is nullified, and he has the potential to be nullified to G-dliness. There’s a well-known story about the Alter Rebbe: when he was imprisoned, the non-Jews there asked him twenty-two questions.

32:18 Speaker 10 Question twenty-two.

32:21 Speaker 2 He answered twenty of the questions orally. Question twenty-one was: How can you say about the sovereignty of sovereignty that it’s the lowest level? Sovereignty, sovereignty. Russia is the greatest kingdom in the world. You’re saying that we’re the lowest? How can you say such a thing? To that, he gave a long written answer. Question twenty-two was: How can you write in Tanya that there is no good in us whatsoever? They say that the Alter Rebbe didn’t answer that question. He smiled, and they didn’t ask him about it again. What does the Rebbe explain? What was he trying to tell them with that smile? I answered twenty-one questions for you. You accepted the answers. You saw that I’m not talking nonsense, right? Are you sure you want me to explain this to you too?

33:17 Speaker 10 Let’s leave it at that.

33:19 Speaker 2 Let’s leave it at that. Apparently they understood, because they really did stop asking him questions and let him go. He didn’t actually explain it. But the point being explained here is that a non-Jew, because his soul comes from the kelipos and he does not have a soul that comes from kedushah, cannot be battel. A Jew, even if he is not battel in practice, can be battel. He has that potential. He has a G-dly soul. That is why our Sages said that even when one person sits and studies Torah, the Shechinah rests there, because there is now a certain revelation of G-dliness. And “wherever ten are, the Shechinah rests”—wherever there are ten, even if they are not engaged in holy matters. Why specifically ten? That is another subject. But wherever there are ten Jews, even if perhaps they don’t know they are Jews, the Shechinah rests there. Ten Jews are, you know, standing at a bus stop waiting for the bus. The Shechinah rests there.

34:20 Speaker 10 Wow.

34:22 Speaker 2 Why? They don’t know anything about it. That doesn’t matter. They have a G-dly soul in potential. They can be battel, and that is enough. “But anything that is not battel to Him, may He be blessed, but is a separate entity in its own right, does not receive vitality from the holiness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu through the inner aspect of holiness, its very essence in all its glory, but only from the aspect of its ‘back.’” The animal soul and all the other things in the world that are not holy receive their vitality only from the aspect of the “back.” What does that mean? First, let’s understand the idea of the “back.” We’ve learned several times about one person giving something to another. How does a person pay when he is fined? He has to pay. Or a water bill arrives—not even a fine. A municipal bill, a regular bill. He pays it. Does he have a choice? He has to pay, so he pays. Yes, but he doesn’t give the money willingly. He gives it because he has no choice. That is called giving from the aspect of the “back”—as though turning away. Yes. So first of all, all the forces of evil receive their vitality from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. There is no other place from which vitality can be received. If they exist, Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives them life. But how does He give them life? Not willingly—from the aspect of the “back.” And not only is it from the aspect of the “back,” but it descends from level to level through myriads of levels in the chain of worlds, through cause and effect and contractions. There are various kinds of contractions, until the light and vitality are diminished more and more, so much so that they can be contracted and enclothed, as though in exile, within that separate thing to give it life. So there is a lengthy description here of the—

36:16 Speaker 10 Let’s explain how—

36:17 Speaker 2 The description of the order of the chain of worlds. No, we won’t dwell on all the details now. That aspect of the “back,” after all the contractions and descents, is ultimately what gives it life and sustains its existence from nothingness, so that it does not return to being nothing at all, as it was before it was created. But without any G-dly vitality, of course, it cannot exist; nothing can. The Rebbe continues: “Therefore, this world and everything in it is called the world of the kelipos and sitra achra.” Why is this world called the world of the kelipos and sitra achra? What is there in this world? What is there in this world?

37:02 Speaker 10 Nothing.

37:04 Speaker 2 Here and there, there are people who keep mitzvos. One person here, another there, studies Torah. But the entire world—inanimate things, plants, animals, human beings, millions of people—and even the Jews themselves: what are they occupied with day and night, all the time? For thousands of years, the whole world has been occupied only with sitra achra: how to live, how to get things, and… that I should feel good, that I should be comfortable, that I should have money, that I should have honor. The whole reality of this world is kelipah, one great kelipah. “Therefore, all the acts of this world are harsh and evil.” We said earlier that the kelipos have greater force than kedushah because they come from the world of Tohu. Remember we said that at the beginning of today’s class?

37:59 Speaker 10 Yes.

37:59 Speaker 2 Did we say it or not?

38:01 Speaker 10 Yes.

38:01 Speaker 2 Yes. So “all the acts of this world are harsh and evil,” because this entire world draws its sustenance from the kelipos, and the nature of the kelipos is forcefulness. “And the wicked prevail in it.” Why do the wicked prevail in it? Because where does this world draw its sustenance and vitality from? From the kelipos. As it says in Eitz Chaim, Gate 42, at the end of chapter 4. So up to this point, from the beginning of the chapter, the Alter Rebbe has explained in general that the whole world is kelipah and sitra achra, draws its sustenance from them, and is the opposite of kedushah. And not just the whole world, but even my own soul, even my very being—my sense of myself as alive, thinking, reflecting, speaking, acting. Everything I do and feel, all of it, all of it, is sitra achra—unless I am fulfilling a mitzvah at that moment.

39:00 Speaker 10 Presumably, if you are careful to keep a mitzvah because Hakadosh Boruch Hu said so.

39:10 Speaker 2 Yes. Now, at the beginning of the chapter, the Alter Rebbe did speak about how the animal soul, like the G-dly soul, has its faculties, its crowns, and its garments. Right? We spoke about that at the beginning of the chapter. Now the Alter Rebbe is going to say that… it is not the same kelipah. There is a difference in the degree of impurity between the animal soul itself and thought, speech, and action. Which is more impure?

39:46 Speaker 10 Or more severe.

39:47 Speaker 2 The feelings and intellect, which are impure, or thought, speech, and action?

39:52 Speaker 10 Thought, speech, and action.

39:53 Speaker 2 Why?

39:54 Speaker 10 Because, well, because it comes from kelipas nogah, which does contain good. The actions, as it were, are conscious—more conscious.

40:02 Speaker 2 What you’re saying is right, but let’s explain it. First, to understand what it says here, let’s introduce something. In my own understanding, which is worse? Which is more severe: that I hate someone or get angry with him and my whole heart is boiling, or that I actually say something to him? On the face of it, speech is only… I spoke, I did something. That isn’t me myself. Right? That’s how it seems. Yes or no? The way we feel, without Tanya. Do you understand what I mean? Yes? On the face of it, according to our understanding, our feelings, our ordinary human sense as decent people, the main thing is who I am inside. Who am I? What I understand, what I feel—that’s me. Then there’s what I do. I do this, but that’s not it; I could do it one way or the opposite way. We treat action as secondary compared with what is inside us. Right?

41:17 Speaker 10 Yes.

41:18 Speaker 2 Yes. The Alter Rebbe now comes to explain that in practice it is exactly the opposite, as she said. What does “the opposite” mean? That actions—actual deeds in the world—are much worse than the soul. Yes, the impurity of the world, the physicality of the world, is much more impure, much further from kedushah, than the animal soul. Let’s look at it inside the text. He says: “The kelipos are divided into two levels, one below the other. The lower level consists of the three utterly impure and evil kelipos, in which there is no good at all.” What does “no good at all” mean? It means there is no revealed good in them at all. If there were no good in them whatsoever, they wouldn’t exist. “These three kelipos are named in Ezekiel’s vision of the Divine Chariot”—in the Book of Ezekiel, in the vision he saw in prophecy. There they are called “a storm wind”—that is one kelipah—and “a great cloud,” and so on. The third is “a flashing fire.”

42:36 Speaker 10 Why isn’t it written there?

42:37 Speaker 2 Hmm?

42:37 Speaker 10 Why isn’t “a flashing fire” written there?

42:40 Speaker 2 Because there’s no need. Everyone knows the verse. They know the third is “a flashing fire.” Then you could ask why it does say “a storm wind.”

42:50 Speaker 10 Yes.

42:51 Speaker 2 Hmm? Why does it say “a great cloud”? If it had only said “a storm wind,” you might have thought there were a few more words in between that he was skipping over. The verse says that it came from the north, so you might have thought that “north” is also a kelipah. That’s why he has to mention the second one—

43:07 Speaker 10 North isn’t a kelipah.

43:09 Speaker 2 That’s the Rebbe’s answer. Someone once asked exactly that question. In any case, the three kelipos are “a storm wind,” “a great cloud,” and “a flashing fire.” What are these three kelipos? What is wind?

43:32 Speaker 10 Wind is pride. It’s the element of wind, all the self-aggrandizement and things connected with pride.

43:38 Speaker 2 So there are only three here.

43:40 Speaker 10 Hmm?

43:40 Speaker 2 There are only three here.

43:42 Speaker 10 Apart from the—

43:43 Speaker 2 Fire, water, wind.

43:44 Speaker 10 Without water. Oh, no.

43:46 Speaker 2 The cloud is water.

43:48 Speaker 10 There’s no earth.

43:49 Speaker 2 There’s no earth. The cloud is water, wind is wind, and fire is fire. Fire, water, wind. What are fire, water, and wind?

43:57 Speaker 10 The angels, no?

43:58 Speaker 2 Right, left, and center. Water is on the right side—chesed, correct? Fire is gevurah, on the left, and wind is the middle line, tiferes. That’s in general; there’s another explanation too. “From these three kelipos are drawn and bestowed the souls of all the nations who worship idols and the continued existence of their bodies; the souls of all animals that are impure and forbidden to eat, and the continued existence of their bodies; and the existence and vitality of all forbidden foods from the plant kingdom, such as orlah and mixed species in a vineyard, etc., as stated in Eitz Chaim, Gate 49, chapter 6.” So there are various impure things in the world. First of all, the world contains inanimate things, plants, animals, and human beings. Right?

44:48 Speaker 11 Yes.

44:48 Speaker 2 Who are the impure ones among human beings?

44:50 Speaker 11 The non-Jew.

44:51 Speaker 2 The non-Jew. So where do both the souls and the bodies of non-Jews come from? From the three impure kelipos. There are forbidden things among plants. What are forbidden things among plants?

45:04 Speaker 11 Among animals.

45:06 Speaker 2 Hm?

45:06 Speaker 11 If we’re going in order, what about animals?

45:08 Speaker 2 Among animals. Sorry, what are the forbidden things among animals?

45:11 Speaker 11 Non-kosher animals.

45:12 Speaker 2 Non-kosher animals. Some animals are permitted to eat, and some are forbidden to eat. What makes an animal forbidden to eat? It’s what the Torah says is forbidden. So where do their souls and the existence of their bodies come from? Also from the three impure kelipos. And there are forbidden things among plants, such as—

45:30 Speaker 11 Orlah.

45:31 Speaker 2 Tevel, produce of Sheviis, orlah, kilay hakerem. Yes. So again, we don’t say that a plant has a soul, but the existence and vitality of a plant that is forbidden to eat also come from the three impure kelipos. So you can already hear that among plants, animals, and human beings, there are things that come entirely from the three impure kelipos, and there are things that aren’t forbidden, so they apparently come from somewhere else. We’ll see that later. All right?

46:03 Speaker 11 An example that—

46:04 Speaker 2 And what about inanimate things? What about inanimate things?

46:07 Speaker 11 An inanimate thing itself is an inanimate kelipah.

46:10 Speaker 2 What about inanimate things? He doesn’t discuss them. Why doesn’t he discuss them?

46:14 Speaker 11 Because that depends on us. An inanimate thing doesn’t have a soul.

46:20 Speaker 2 Can you think of an inanimate thing that is inherently forbidden?

46:26 Speaker 11 An idol.

46:27 Speaker 2 No, a person made it forbidden.

46:29 Speaker 11 Oh, it depends on us. Yes, even if it’s forbidden—

46:36 Speaker 2 There’s no such thing. None.

46:39 Speaker 11 Wow. We’re saying that the inanimate is higher than—

46:42 Speaker 2 Among human beings, animals, and plants, there are things that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created impure. They come from the three impure kelipos; He made them impure. Yes, a fruit that grows and is now orlah—you can’t bring it into holiness. It’s impure. There’s nothing you can do with it. Yes. Among inanimate things, there’s no such thing. There’s a reason for that too, but not now.

47:08 Speaker 11 Because the inanimate is higher than—

47:09 Speaker 2 Hm? No, because of what it is—because of the sparks that fell into it; that’s from Malchus. It’s not relevant right now. Ah, “And so too the existence and vitality of every act, word, and thought of all 365 prohibitions and their offshoots, as stated there at the end of chapter 5.” So even among the Jewish people, even for us, there are things that come entirely from the three impure kelipos. What are they?

47:36 Speaker 11 The acts, words, and thoughts of—

47:37 Speaker 2 All the prohibitions. So in this chapter, the Alter Rebbe spoke in general about the animal soul: it has faculties and garments corresponding to those in holiness, but they differ greatly—in their nature, their concerns, their order, and their desires. They only look very similar on the outside. The animal soul looks like the G-dly soul in exactly the way a monkey looks like a human being. It has two hands, legs, fingers, and so on, yes, but that’s where the resemblance ends. They merely correspond. Then he explained that to understand the animal soul, its faculties, and its garments, we need to know that everything in the world is impure except Torah and mitzvos. Everything is impure, but there are two levels of impurity. He explained that the lowest level of kelipos is the three impure kelipos. All the prohibitions and utterly forbidden, impure things receive their vitality from there. And in the next chapter, he’ll finally explain the animal soul itself, which comes from kelipas nogah. That needs explanation. It’s a whole chapter, a very interesting explanation.

49:02 Speaker 3 Really?

49:03 Speaker 2 It’s long, and—and you need to—there’s a lot to understand there, uh...

49:06 Speaker 3 A chair?

49:07 Speaker 2 There’s a great deal there to understand in practical terms. Yes. How you can use it and elevate it to holiness, when it descends into the kelipos, when and how it is on its own. It’s a full and interesting explanation. And afterward, uh, we’ll finally be able to set the animal soul against the G-dly soul—to have them start fighting each other—and we’ll see who wins in the end.

49:37 Speaker 3 Yes.