Likkutei Amarim Chapter 17 · 5781

00:01 Speaker 1 That’s it.

00:08 Speaker 2 Him too?

02:37 Speaker 1 So there are two levels here. Right, there is someone who never even has thoughts of teshuvah. He really is—there is also a wicked person who does have thoughts of teshuvah. He tries, but he doesn’t succeed. Sometimes his yetzer hara may let him keep a little of this or that, daven, say a brachah, keep Shabbos. There are things the yetzer hara allows him to do. But the moment the yetzer hara decides it wants a particular desire, he cannot overcome it.

03:12 Speaker 2 There is a wicked person in the Torah, on a higher level, for whom, so to speak, that doesn’t happen. So the whole—sort of the point that...

03:18 Speaker 1 So, okay, fine, there are levels in this, one level above another. Right. There can be a wicked person whose yetzer hara doesn’t take control of him all the time, but only on rarer occasions. But even as the Alter Rebbe said there, when he discussed the wicked person in chapter 11: even if a person is only on the level where, once in a while, the yetzer hara causes him to stumble in a transgression. What does it mean that it causes him to stumble? It’s not that it just happened. He tried, he understood, he knew it was forbidden, and he fell. He couldn’t overcome himself. That doesn’t happen to a beinoni. The third type of Jew is a beinoni. A beinoni is a Jew whose yetzer hara cannot overpower him. On the one hand, he is not a tzaddik; he has a yetzer hara that draws him toward the affairs of this world, and even toward transgressions, if he is a beinoni on a lower level. On the other hand, his mind rules over his heart. He never stumbles. Not only does he never stumble in a transgression, he also never neglects a mitzvah. He is attached to Hakadosh Boruch Hu and His Torah in thought, speech, and action. He has to work very hard on himself. Then the Alter Rebbe discussed how a person can reach such a level. Well, through contemplation during davening and before davening; during davening, he arouses love of Hashem in his heart. Afterward, it shines within him all day, helping him overcome his desires and his impulses. Then, in chapters 15 and 16, the previous two chapters, he said, first, how this comes about through contemplating the greatness of Hashem. When a Jew contemplates the greatness of Hashem, that is what kindles his love. For every person who... Remember how we discussed this at length? Yes, do you remember how we discussed this at length?

05:43 Speaker 1 When we speak about the greatness of Hashem, we understand how good Hakadosh Boruch Hu is, how good G-dliness is, and how foul the affairs of this world are. Then an emotion naturally awakens in the heart. So when a Jew—a beinoni—contemplates the greatness of Hashem and the lowliness of this world, it arouses his love of Hashem, and consequently he does not stumble in a transgression. Then the Alter Rebbe told us: know this great principle in serving Hashem. It is hard work, very hard work, and it lasts a lifetime. You never defeat the yetzer hara once and for all. So that brought us up to the previous chapter, chapter 16. Having understood the beinoni’s work—that he can control his yetzer hara, but must fight it every single moment—and, in fact, the Tanya devoted an entire chapter to emphasizing that this work is difficult, grueling, and never-ending, each of us immediately has the question with which the Tanya began. How does the Torah say, “For the matter is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it”? How is it very close? I could understand your telling me it’s close in my mouth. Fine, I’ll keep my mouth shut. Tell me it’s close in action. Fine, I won’t actually commit transgressions. But “in your heart”? Is it very close for everyone to turn their heart toward love of Hashem? What is the Torah saying here? So listen: after everything we have explained so far about what a beinoni is and what serving Hashem entails, the Alter Rebbe introduces something new in chapter 17: what it means that it is also very close and very easy for every Jew to serve Hashem fully in the heart, not only in speech and action. Perhaps we should first raise one more question. The verse, “For the matter is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it,” is a little strange. Usually the Torah speaks in order, right? So what is the order here? If it were going from above downward, it should have begun with

08:13 Speaker 1 the heart, right? The inner part. Then speech, then action. But that’s not the order. If we said the Torah was going in the opposite order, it would begin with action, then speech, then the heart. That’s not the order either. So what does the Torah actually mean by this verse? First, we don’t understand how loving Hakadosh Boruch Hu can be very close even “in your heart.” Second, the order is unclear. The Alter Rebbe teaches us something new. Let’s look inside, chapter 17. “And with this”—meaning with everything we have learned—“we will understand what is written: ‘For the matter is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.’ For seemingly”—he immediately asks—“‘in your heart’? This is contrary to our experience.” If you said “in your mouth,” “to do it,” fine. But what is “in your heart”? It’s contrary to our experience. How is it close? And the Torah isn’t speaking about a particular group; it’s speaking about everyone. “It is contrary to our experience, for it is not very easy to turn one’s heart from the desires of this world to a true love of Hashem.” How can the Torah say it is very close? “And as it says in the Gemara”—the Gemara itself says—“Is fear such a small matter?” The Gemara itself says that fear is difficult to attain. So how can the Torah say this is very easy? “And all the more so love.” Why “all the more so”? What is the reasoning here?

09:49 Speaker 5 Fear is easier—being afraid is easier than loving.

09:52 Speaker 1 Fear is easier—being afraid is easier than loving. Right. Why?

09:56 Speaker 5 First of all—

09:57 Speaker 6 Fear is something...

09:57 Speaker 5 You can’t be with both, sort of...

10:00 Speaker 6 Fear is something distant, while love is something close. And from our perspective, Hakadosh Boruch Hu is distant. It’s harder to love.

10:08 Speaker 1 What you’re saying is very true, but it goes deeper than that. Fear is caused by something external—by whatever makes me afraid, makes me feel awe. There is fear in the mind and fear in the heart, but its cause is something external. Even fear on its highest level, awe of greatness, awe of a tzaddik. What makes me feel awe of a tzaddik? I am near him; I feel awe, I feel shame. I didn’t work to achieve that. It comes on its own. Love isn’t something that comes from outside; it’s something internal. If I don’t love him, then—if I don’t think about it, contemplate it, and arouse myself to it, it won’t come on its own. So if the Gemara says that fear, which is seemingly something external and more connected to the outer dimensions of the soul, is difficult to attain, how can you tell me—how can the Torah say that loving Hashem “in your heart” is also very close? And our Sages also say, “The hearts of tzaddikim, specifically, are under their control.” You’re talking to me about speech and action. Fine. But what does it mean that it is close to you “in your heart”? Tzaddikim have control over their hearts. My heart is not under my control; that’s only true of tzaddikim. Here the Alter Rebbe introduces a wonderful insight: “‘To do it’ means a love that leads to the performance of the mitzvos alone.” In other words, the verse isn’t speaking about three levels—“in your mouth,” “in your heart,” “to do it.” The verse is speaking about only two things: the matter is very close to you in your mouth, and it is very close to you to arouse a love that will lead you to action. There are only two things here. It isn’t action as a separate item; it is love that leads to action. Actually transforming the heart, gaining control over it—that really isn’t close. That really is only for tzaddikim. But arousing a love that is not openly felt in the heart, only a love that leads me to the performance of

12:52 Speaker 1 The mitzvos. That is within everyone’s reach. What kind of love brings me to do the mitzvos? The love we discussed in the previous chapter: re’usa deliba, the desire of the heart. Re’usa deliba hidden in the depths of the heart, even though it is not revealed in his heart like flames of fire. He does not actually feel a burning love for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. His heart does not start pounding, his pulse does not rise the moment he thinks about Hakadosh Boruch Hu. No. But he reaches a decision. He contemplates the greatness of Hashem until that contemplation brings him to the conclusion and decision that he wants to draw close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and his heart agrees. It is not revealed love, but his heart agrees and wants it. That is enough. For observing the mitzvos, it is enough. If he has made the decision in his mind and his heart agrees, he will observe the mitzvos. Nothing more is needed for that. Obviously, it is a very lofty thing when a person serves Hakadosh Boruch Hu and observes the mitzvos with love and fear. Fine. But even if he does not have that revealed love and fear, what is demanded of a person? What does the Torah demand of a person? To observe the practical mitzvos in actual deed. That is the demand. If a person fails in that, he is punished; if he observes the mitzvos, he is rewarded. Everything beyond that—observing the mitzvos with vitality, with love and fear—as we will see later, is very important and very lofty, and it is necessary and obligatory. All true. But that is not the definition of a beinoni. For a beinoni, it is observing the mitzvos in deed. You can contemplate the greatness of Hashem, because your mind is under your control, and that will bring you to a decision in your mind and agreement in your heart. Re’usa deliba, as he calls it here. That is enough. You will observe the mitzvos, and that is something

15:08 Speaker 1 everyone can do, and it is very close. “This matter is indeed very close and easy for every person who has a brain in his head.” What does “who has a brain” mean? Who does not have a brain in his head?

15:23 Speaker 7 The one you said doesn’t know.

15:24 Speaker 1 Aha.

15:26 Speaker 7 Hashem. Go ahead.

15:28 Speaker 1 We will see later—we will talk about this more toward the end of the class, in the summary—that there are Jews who are beinonim, true beinonim, even on a very high level, who do not have “a brain in their head.” We will see that later. But “has a brain in his head” means a Jew who can contemplate, and whose contemplation is enough. He has enough intellectual strength, enough capacity to concentrate on this thought until he reaches a decision and agreement in his heart. That is who we are talking about here. “For his mind is under his control, and he can contemplate with it as much as he wishes. And when he contemplates the greatness of the blessed Ein Sof, he will, at the very least, give rise in his mind to a love for Hashem, to cleave to Him through observing His mitzvos and His Torah.” True, there will not be love felt in the heart. But love in his mind, whose conclusion is to cleave to Him through observing His mitzvos—yes, there will be that. So in the first section of chapter 17, the Alter Rebbe has summed up the essence and purpose of Tanya. How can I, an ordinary person, serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu completely? By contemplating the greatness of Hashem—my mind is under my control—and that will give rise to a decision and agreement in my heart. Consequently, I will not want to commit aveiros. And if I do not want to commit them, I will not commit them. That is it. You might say it is hard work. True, it takes constant effort, but it is possible, and because it is possible, do it. So what is the problem? Your mind is under your control. You have to fight? Fine, then fight. But you can do it at every moment. It is very close. And do not say that serving Hashem only in actual deed, without love and fear in the heart, is a small thing. A person might say, “Well, that is all I can do,” and despair. He says no. So he immediately continues: “And this is the whole purpose of man.”

17:55 Speaker 1 This is what man was created for. For it is written, “Today, to do them.” There in the book of Devarim, in the summary, it says, “I have given you all the statutes and ordinances”—I do not remember the wording—“which I commanded today, to do them.” So our Sages said about this in the Gemara: What is the Torah telling us? That all the statutes and ordinances Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave us are “today, to do them,” and tomorrow, to receive their reward. When is “tomorrow”? There is Gan Eden, there is the World to Come, there is the Resurrection of the Dead. Moshiach is tomorrow. “Today, to do them”—that is the entire demand. Today is specifically the world of action, and tomorrow is, as is written and explained elsewhere. “And the mind, by its nature and from birth, rules over the left chamber of the heart.” And not only over the heart: it also rules over his mouth and all the limbs that are instruments of action. Consequently, through contemplation, a person can attain completeness in observing Torah and mitzvos and be a beinoni. So from today, we are all beinonim. Agreed? Is it hard or not? Yes, it is hard, but is it close or not? After this explanation, a Jew cannot come and say, “I can’t.” He can say, “It’s hard for me,” fine, but he cannot say it is not close to him. It is close. Think—

19:42 Speaker 8 It is very possible.

19:44 Speaker 1 “Close” means—yes, it is possible. Not just possible in theory. “Possible” means possible and close. True, you have to stay focused. You cannot let yourself off the hook. You have to know all the time that if I stop thinking about the greatness of Hashem for even a moment, or for a day, then it will immediately slip away. But nobody is stopping me. There is nobody preventing me from thinking. I will think about the greatness of Hashem, and it will give rise to love of Hashem in me. Fine, so I will not have a burning love of Hashem in my heart. That is okay. It is not necessary, as he said in the previous chapter. It will give me an awareness, an understanding of the greatness of Hashem and the importance of observing the mitzvos. I will want to observe the mitzvos. I will be afraid to commit aveiros. So I will observe mitzvos and not commit aveiros. That is all. It is hard. It is hard because there is something that gets in the way. But everyone can do it. Who can? A beinoni. There is someone who cannot: one who is truly a rasha. What does “truly a rasha” mean? If you say a person’s mind is under his control, what does it mean that there is someone whose mind is not under his control? Man was created with the mind ruling over the heart. That is the nature of creation. How can there be a person whose mind is not under his control, whose heart rules over his mind? What kind of creature is that? That is not a human being. In an animal, the heart rules over the mind; in a human being, the mind rules over the heart. How can there be a human being whose very nature is animal-like? So he says: “Except for one who is truly a rasha, as our Sages said: The wicked are under the control of their hearts, and their hearts are not under their control

22:00 Speaker 1 at all.” And that is a punishment. It is a punishment.

22:10 Speaker 9 What is?

22:11 Speaker 1 Huh?

22:12 Speaker 9 That is their punishment?

22:13 Speaker 1 It is a punishment. It does not come from their nature; it is not a natural result. It is a punishment. When a Jew commits aveiros, enough aveiros—

22:26 Speaker 9 Then he receives the punishment? Meaning, what—

22:28 Speaker 1 Then his punishment is that his power of choice is taken away to a certain extent.

22:35 Speaker 9 Less of a tzaddik.

22:38 Speaker 1 That is exactly what the Rambam writes, and that is the example he gives. Right, about Pharaoh. Because he had sinned so much, Hakadosh Boruch Hu took away his power of choice. This is not only with Pharaoh; it can happen to a Jew too. How does a person become a rasha who tries, knows what he is supposed to do, and yet cannot overcome himself? Because he committed so many aveiros that it was taken away from him—

23:08 Speaker 9 So children raised without a Jewish education, then, sort of...

23:09 Speaker 1 What?

23:09 Speaker 9 Do children raised without a Jewish education also become resha’im?

23:10 Speaker 1 No. Children raised without a Jewish education do not receive punishment.

23:13 Speaker 9 No, I mean the ones who commit the aveiros.

23:15 Speaker 1 No.

23:16 Speaker 9 No, children who really...

23:17 Speaker 1 What?

23:18 Speaker 9 If they did not do teshuvah.

23:21 Speaker 1 No, no. A child raised without a Jewish education is something entirely different.

23:23 Speaker 9 Are all resha’im punished?

23:25 Speaker 1 What?

23:25 Speaker 9 Are all resha’im punished?

23:27 Speaker 1 Well, there are layers of depth to this. Generally speaking, the plain meaning of Tanya is all resha’im, yes? But there is certainly a fine distinction—a very nice distinction—that the commentators on Tanya discuss. Shmuel Gronem, the commentators on Tanya. Everything we have on Tanya comes from Shmuel Gronem. So the deeper meaning is in the words “one who is truly a rasha.” Someone who is a rasha vetov lo. Again, these are two levels, two ways of looking at it. Generally speaking, his being a rasha is a punishment. More specifically, even among resha’im, someone who is a rasha vetov lo, who still has thoughts of teshuvah, is not yet called “truly a rasha.” “Truly a rasha” is someone for whom it has been completely taken away.

24:21 Speaker 9 If I am not mistaken, he simply cannot be a tzaddik.

24:23 Speaker 1 What?

24:23 Speaker 9 He cannot be a beinoni. If I am not mistaken, he simply cannot be a beinoni.

24:26 Speaker 1 That is how it seems. The Alter Rebbe will answer that question in a moment. It is an obvious question.

24:35 Speaker 9 But perhaps you know.

24:37 Speaker 1 What?

24:37 Speaker 9 In chapter 11, they said there has to be something that leads the rasha. The rasha to...

24:46 Speaker 1 Chapter 11 explains what a rasha is, and the difference between a rasha who has good in him and a rasha who has evil in him. So let’s sort out the different kinds of resha’im.

24:53 Speaker 9 That the light contains special qualities. To do teshuvah, you need something from outside.

24:57 Speaker 1 He doesn’t talk about teshuvah there. I don’t remember anything like that. Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, King of the universe, by Whose word all things came to be. “And this is a punishment for the enormity and severity of their sin. The Torah does not speak of the dead—those who, even in their lifetime, are called dead. For in truth, it is impossible for resha’im to begin serving Hashem unless they first do teshuvah for the past.” So there is a way out. Resha’im do have a way out. What is the way out for a rasha? He has already received his punishment, and yet, if he presses his way in... What does “presses his way in” mean? If he does teshuvah. Even a person who... even a Jew who has fallen into the pit of destruction still has a G-dly soul. True, that G-dly soul is in exile. More than that, it gives strength and vitality to the kelipos, as we may see in a few more lines. But even in that state, a Jew can do teshuvah: “To break the kelipos, which are a separating screen and an iron partition dividing them from their Father in Heaven.” When a Jew becomes a rasha—descends to that level through his sins—his sins create a screen separating him from his Father in Heaven. Then, even when he very much wants to feel the G-dly light, he cannot. And how? How does one do teshuvah? “By breaking his heart and feeling bitterness of soul over his sins, as it says in the Zohar concerning the verse, ‘The sacrifices of G-d are a broken spirit; a broken heart,’ and so on.” Because there is a straightforward meaning of the verse, which is not the Zohar’s interpretation. The straightforward meaning of “The sacrifices of G-d are a broken spirit; a broken heart”—what does the verse mean plainly? What are “the sacrifices of G-d”? Today we have no offering; we have no Beis Hamikdash. So what are “the sacrifices of G-d” today? A broken spirit, a broken heart. When a person breaks his heart and draws close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, it is as though he has sacrificed his yetzer. Right? He—

27:39 Speaker 1 Now he has broken himself. He offers himself as a sacrifice to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That is an aspect of an offering.

27:45 Speaker 9 So how does that work? How is prayer in place of an offering if...

27:49 Speaker 1 Wait, wait, wait. That’s the straightforward meaning, right? But the Alter Rebbe says here that he doesn’t mean the straightforward meaning; he means the interpretation in the Zohar. Right? What does the Zohar explain? How does the Zohar explain the verse? That through a broken heart, the spirit of impurity of the sitra achra is broken. So what are “the sacrifices of G-d”? It isn’t the person who is broken. It’s the spirit of the sitra achra that is broken. When a person, through teshuvah, breaks the spirit of the sitra achra—that is “the sacrifices of G-d.” And because the spirit of the sitra achra is broken, the partition is broken. Then the G-dly soul can return, ascend, and cleave to its source and root, and once again the mind will rule over the heart and everything will be all right. See there, Parshas Pinchas, page 240; Parshas Vayikra, page 8, page 5a. That is the Rema’s interpretation. The Alter Rebbe continues from here to the end of the chapter, another few lines, to explain what that teshuvah of bitter—of a broken heart is. And it is that—wait, let’s—sorry. Something is missing here. What emerges from this, generally speaking, without going into the details, is a very important point in serving Hashem. A Jew—one of us, any one of us—might come to the Alter Rebbe with a complaint. He’ll say, “Listen, you tell me it’s very close. You explain that it’s very close, but I know that here and there I fail and commit sins. How can you tell me it’s very close when I know that I do—I know that I really try. I know that I really want to. I know that I really reflect on these things. Why do you tell me it’s very close? I don’t find it very close. In practice I commit sins, and I don’t want to commit sins. How can you say it’s very close?” So he tells him, “Yes, that’s true.

30:03 Speaker 1 There is such a thing. You should know that you haven’t reached the level of a beinoni yet. For a beinoni, the mind rules over the heart. If a person feels that he’s try—he really is trying, but hasn’t managed to overcome himself, that is the state of a rasha. And if he is in the state of a rasha, he needs to stop here, open Igeres Hateshuvah, do what it says there, and then go back to the beginning.”

30:39 Speaker 10 Okay, so shall we go there?

30:41 Speaker 1 Huh? We’re not going there, because there is a directive from the Rebbe, and it even says in the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, “We are workers of the daytime.” We need to add light. That is why the Alter Rebbe, too, ultimately placed the ideal form of avodah at the beginning of Tanya—what ought to be. At the same time, you know you have a personal problem, so work on teshuvah as well. But a person’s daily avodah in our generation, in the later generations—already from the Alter Rebbe’s time—is not about bitterness and teshuvah, neither higher teshuvah nor even lower teshuvah. Rather, our task is simply to do what needs to be done: to move forward, add light, fulfill mitzvos, make an effort, contemplate Hashem’s Torah, learn Chassidus, spread Chassidus, bring Moshiach, and illuminate the world. That is our avodah: to illuminate the world and illuminate our inner world. Do you need to do teshuvah? No problem. Do teshuvah. Go home, close the blinds, turn off the light, and do teshuvah. But the regular, ongoing avodah is—as Chazal put it, also in the Zohar—“There is no service like the service of love.” No service compares to the service of love. It is an avodah of light, an avodah of love. You need to know that the other thing exists too. You need to know that if you don’t succeed and you fail from time to time, there is a reason for it and it needs to be addressed—but put it aside. Address it when you have time, or set aside time for it. What is that lower teshuvah? What is that lower teshuvah? Wait, one more word. Sorry. This was already mentioned here in one of the classes. In one of the earlier classes, someone mentioned that the Rebbe says we also need to be tzaddikim. Right? Do you remember that being said? I think she said it. It was mentioned here. First of all, it’s true. First of all, it’s true. The Rebbe says—

32:51 Speaker 1 This is how it is. What does it mean that we need to be tzaddikim? That is exactly the point here. Our avodah is the avodah of tzaddikim. We need to know that this is the avodah of tzaddikim, and we need to strive to do it. It does not mean that we are tzaddikim in our essence. A tzaddik is someone who has driven out the evil. I’m not even talking about someone who has transformed his evil into good. A tzaddik is someone who has no yetzer hara. He doesn’t have one. He has no yetzer hara. Each of us knows that this is not our situation. I don’t know about you, but...

33:28 Speaker 11 The level of a tzaddik, not the avodah of a tzaddik. Why the level of a tzaddik?

33:31 Speaker 1 That we need to strive for the level of a tzaddik too. That’s all true, that’s all fine, but a person doesn’t need to deceive himself.

33:40 Speaker 11 But if the Rebbe says it, then why not?

33:45 Speaker 1 Because there is what we need to do—the avodah. How we should conduct ourselves, how we should look at ourselves, how we should view our avodah, what we should aspire to, where we should be—a person is where his thoughts are. Right? So if a person is constantly stuck on “I’m messed up”... “I’m with the Rebbe right now.” Well, in my thoughts I’m with the Rebbe, but in practice I’m not there. A person needs to be immersed in light, immersed in holiness. Call it the avodah of a tzaddik, call it the level of a tzaddik. I’m not familiar with the sichos, but fine, it’s not out of the question. Right? There is such a thing. At the same time, I need to know that I’m not there. That is not who I am in my essence.

34:33 Speaker 11 But we aren’t beinonim either. We need to strive to be beinonim. So why is a tzaddik different?

34:37 Speaker 1 No. A beinoni is a level attainable by every person, and every person should strive for it. Being a beinoni is basic; it’s the foundation. And there are many levels of beinoni. A beinoni in the simplest sense is a Jew who doesn’t commit sins. That’s all. In practice, it’s within reach of every Jew, every single person. There is no Jew who cannot be a beinoni. Keep your mouth shut, think about what you’re supposed to, fulfill mitzvos, and don’t commit sins. That’s all. There is no one for whom this is out of reach. Unless he has committed such sins that he’s prevented from... Come on, none of us is in that position. Those of us sitting at this table—none of us has committed such sins that, if an opportunity to sin came along now and we had a moment to consider it, we would choose evil. There’s no such thing. None of us. If it comes down to a choice, we’ll choose good. If we don’t think and just... fine, at that moment we didn’t think, and we fell. But it’s not possible for us to have a struggle between the heart and the mind and have the heart win. That doesn’t happen to any of us. So we’re beinonim on a very low level. Fine.

36:06 Speaker 11 But—

36:06 Speaker 1 On the border between a rasha who has some good and a beinoni who has some bad. I don’t know, but fine.

36:10 Speaker 11 Why can’t we say that the Rebbe said this? Then why do we need to be tzaddikim? Why isn’t that—

36:16 Speaker 1 Because becoming a tzaddik is a gift one receives from Above.

36:19 Speaker 11 But if the Rebbe says... that you aren’t a tzaddik, then how can you say otherwise?

36:28 Speaker 1 I’m not saying it’s impossible. In practice, we see that it doesn’t happen.

36:34 Speaker 11 So why shouldn’t it happen?

36:36 Speaker 1 I’ll tell you a story. Maybe you know it. There’s a Jew—I consider him a tzaddik. I don’t think he knows me. I met him once in my life, many years ago. I wasn’t married yet. It must be thirty or forty years ago. On the seventh day of Pesach, I was staying with my brother in Bnei Brak, and we went somewhere for a Moshiach’s Seudah. We arrived at a shul. My brother had said it was nearby, so we’d go there. When we arrived, someone was already sitting there—a Chabad chossid, holding a Moshiach’s Seudah for them in the shul. I don’t remember whether they were chassidim or Sephardim; I don’t remember anymore. He was sitting there, with the whole shul around him—all kinds of Jews, ordinary Jews. He was farbrenging with them about Moshiach. That picture was etched in my heart. It seemed so strange to me. Here was a Chabad chossid: he looked like one, spoke like one, and sat down with these fellows who, even though they were dressed for Yom Tov, didn’t look connected to any of it. He farbrenged with them about the Rebbe, about Chassidus. He spoke with them about kingship. They were all captivated. By what? It made a tremendous impression on me. This was many years ago. I didn’t remember his name. His name was Zalman Landa. Only after many, many years—just this past year, in fact—I heard lots of stories about him that I hadn’t known then. All those years, I really hadn’t known. This Jew farbrengs a great deal, and at his farbrengens he’ll often say, several times, “The Rebbe told me this,” and “Yesterday I saw the Rebbe,” and...

38:42 Speaker 11 They say he saw the Rebbe all the time.

38:45 Speaker 1 He constantly says that he sees the Rebbe, and that the Rebbe told him to go here, and the Rebbe told him... What? One of the stories I heard about him when I was at the Rebbe’s two weeks ago—it happened many years back. He had traveled to the Rebbe, and there was a young man there who... had no family, had been on a kibbutz, and so on. In short, the young man wanted to take his own life. He decided he would do it in the mikvah.

39:18 Speaker 11 Wow.

39:18 Speaker 1 So he went to the mikvah early at night, at a time when he knew no one would be there. And when he entered, to his surprise he saw Zalman Landa standing in front of him. As soon as he walked in, Zalman Landa said to him, “The Rebbe told me to come here and tell you not to take your life.”

39:44 Speaker 11 How many years ago was that?

39:45 Speaker 1 Many years ago. I don’t know. Would I say he’s a tzaddik? I believe he is.

39:57 Speaker 11 Just from what...

39:58 Speaker 1 So it’s not that such a thing is impossible. Of course there are tzaddikim. Of course there are. But it isn’t something within everyone’s reach. It isn’t an everyday occurrence.

40:11 Speaker 11 So how can we understand that? I mean, how do we know it isn’t within everyone’s reach?

40:15 Speaker 1 What isn’t?

40:16 Speaker 11 If I see that anyone can reach that level and help, then it isn’t within everyone’s reach?

40:22 Speaker 1 Because in practice we see that it isn’t within everyone’s reach.

40:25 Speaker 11 How do we see that in practice?

40:29 Speaker 1 You know what? Fine.

40:34 Speaker 11 What would such a person look like? How...? After all, we’re talking about souls; that has to do with...

40:38 Speaker 1 A person who has no yetzer hara, no pull toward evil. I don’t know; to me that’s a little hard to imagine. What can I tell you? I have no problem if you believe it and even see people like that—good for you. I don’t know.

40:54 Speaker 11 But it’s also not something you can see.

40:55 Speaker 1 Huh?

40:55 Speaker 11 But from what you’re saying, it’s possible to reach that level, I mean.

40:59 Speaker 1 No, whether it’s possible to reach it is another matter. It’s possible to reach it... It says explicitly that becoming a tzaddik is a gift one receives from Above. It says so explicitly. A person cannot reach it through his own efforts. That’s what it says. That’s settled. What a person can attain is for the soul of a tzaddik to enter him. Fine, all the better. There’s a book called MiYom LeYom. Have you ever heard of it? The first book the Rebbe wrote. No, before Hayom Yom. Half a year or a year before Hayom Yom, the Rebbe wrote MiYom LeYom. It’s also a calendar of sayings. It wasn’t intended for Chabad chassidim, but for American students who attended public schools, and it, too, has a saying for every day. It’s very interesting. That calendar is now being translated into Hebrew properly for the first time.

42:07 Speaker 11 They’ve published it now?

42:09 Speaker 1 Hmm?

42:09 Speaker 11 They’ve published it now?

42:10 Speaker 1 They’re publishing it now.

42:11 Speaker 11 In Hebrew.

42:12 Speaker 1 Huh?

42:13 Speaker 11 It was published—

42:13 Speaker 1 It was translated in 5771, but that translation is also poor, even on a literal level.

42:20 Speaker 11 Was that the first time it was translated?

42:21 Speaker 1 Huh?

42:22 Speaker 11 Was that the first time it was translated?

42:22 Speaker 1 In 5771, someone translated it and it was published by Kehot. The Rebbe wrote it in Hebrew, but Nissan Mindel translated it into English, and it was published in English. We don’t have the Rebbe’s original.

42:35 Speaker 11 Wow.

42:37 Speaker 1 So in 5771 or 5772, someone translated it into Hebrew for Kehot, and Kehot published it. The translation is very poor, and there are also many mistakes—real mistakes. Now, for the past three years, one of my sons has been working on a project to translate it into Hebrew. It comes out every day.

43:04 Speaker 11 Ah.

43:06 Speaker 1 You can get it on WhatsApp. For now, there’s a WhatsApp group where he posts it every day. Anyone interested can join. Anyway, what’s very interesting about this calendar relates directly to the question. It’s very interesting to see what the Rebbe expects of American children who attend public school and go to Sunday school. That is, once a week, on Sunday afternoon after school, they come for an hour of Jewish education. What does the Rebbe... Almost every day there’s a question. The Rebbe asks them questions about the weekly parsha. For example, “Can you name all the righteous women in the Torah?” Or questions about Avraham Avinu’s family—things like that. That’s the level at which the Rebbe addresses them. It’s amazing to see. The calendar was published for two years. There’s a lot to say about it. In short, why did I mention the calendar? Because even a wicked person can become a tzaddik. In the saying for today, the Rebbe asks whether we know who the women Rachav, Tzipporah, and several others from the Torah were—I don’t remember all the names. So the Rebbe lists Rachav as a righteous woman. I saw that in the calendar and said, “What do you mean, Rachav was a righteous woman? Our Sages didn’t exactly praise her for—”

44:46 Speaker 12 In the end she married Bilaam.

44:49 Speaker 1 No. In fact, our Sages relate in the Gemara that Rachav did teshuvah and then converted. She became so righteous that Hakadosh Boruch Hu instructed Yehoshua to marry her. He married her, and they had children. They had several daughters, and among their descendants were a number of prophets in later generations. So it’s not impossible. Even someone like her can become a complete tzaddekes.

45:27 Speaker 12 It’s part of the curriculum; we also have to continue with the rest of Rachav’s story, and with the rest of [unclear].

45:32 Speaker 1 Especially since it says so explicitly in the Gemara, and the Rebbe cites it.

45:36 Speaker 12 By the way, a question.

45:42 Speaker 1 So of course it’s possible. If it was possible then, it’s certainly possible in our generation. All of that is true, [unclear].

45:46 Speaker 12 Dafna, maybe I’m a little lacking in faith.

45:48 Speaker 1 Well, look, we can’t see into someone else’s heart. We can look at what’s written. So what is this level? Teshuvah—teshuvah that breaks the iron barrier between the Jewish people and their Father in Heaven. So the Rebbe says here, on line nine: “This is the level of lower teshuvah: raising the lower hei, lifting it from its fall into the external forces, which is the secret of the exile of the Shechinah.” These are wonderful words, full of holy light. Let’s try to unpack a little of what’s written here. Are you familiar with this? I’ll put it briefly. Later in Igeres Hateshuvah in Tanya, the Alter Rebbe sets out to explain what lower teshuvah and higher teshuvah are. To explain those, he first has to explain what teshuvah itself is. What is teshuvah? He begins by explaining that the word teshuvah can be read as “return the hei.” Right? Which hei? And where does it need to return? He explains that the four-letter name of Hashem, Yud-Hei-Vav-Hei, contains the letter hei twice. When the first hei, next to the yud, falls and is brought back, that’s called higher teshuvah: the higher hei, the first hei, returns. And when the second, final hei, next to the vav, falls and is brought back, that’s called lower teshuvah. That’s the language of the Zohar. Then he explains what it means, how to understand it—what it means for us. What are we talking about? Hashem’s name... Why is Hakadosh Boruch Hu called by the name Yud-Hei-Vav-Hei? Because it relates to havayah, bringing the worlds into being. How does He bring the worlds into being? Why does this particular name express the creation of the worlds? Because the worlds come into being through a process in which the Divine light is first contracted, like a yud; then it spreads out, like a hei; then it extends downward, like a vav; and then it spreads out again, like a

48:32 Speaker 1 hei. That’s the general idea. It follows that the first hei is the source of life for the higher worlds, and the lower hei is the source of life for the lower worlds. Or, in terms closer to us: the first hei is the root of the soul as it is above, and the second hei is the root of the soul as it is down here, inside our bodies. Now, when a person commits a sin, how does he do it? He takes his body, his hands, his feet, and does something with them. Right? What moves the body? The animal soul. The animal soul operates the body. But Hakadosh Boruch Hu has placed the G-dly soul within the animal soul. What is the G-dly soul? That very letter hei. So when the animal soul commits a sin, the G-dly soul is there inside the act and takes part in the sin too. It has no choice. The animal soul overpowered and defeated it, and compelled the body to say—or think or do—things that are forbidden. And the G-dly soul is there inside. What can it do? So it becomes a partner to the sin. Because it is involved in the sin, its vitality—the Divine vitality of that hei, that root of the soul—is now giving life to the sin, to the kelipos, to the sitra achra, against its will. It is in exile. It is trapped within the kelipos. It cannot get out. What does teshuvah mean? Teshuvah means that a Jew breaks down the walls of that exile, and then his G-dly soul returns to its source and root. And when the animal soul tries to pull it along, it says, “Sorry. I’m not there. I don’t agree. I’m not going there.” That’s what teshuvah means. So lower teshuvah means that a Jew returns to his former state, as he was before the sin. He sinned; he

50:54 Speaker 1 broke through the barriers and returned to his former state. Now he is pure, clean and refined. What is higher teshuvah? Higher teshuvah means that the higher hei descended. It’s like the difference between being united with G-dliness and becoming one with it. Do you know the difference between “one” and “singular”? Hmm?

51:20 Speaker 3 So...

51:23 Speaker 1 “One” can be followed by two, three, four, five. It’s the first in a series. Right? That’s called a countable one. “One” can also mean one person: I have two legs, a nose and a head, yet I’m one. So “one” is made up of parts; it isn’t something simple. “Singular” means singular. There’s nothing to divide.

51:44 Speaker 3 Hmm? Singular in itself—

51:46 Speaker 1 Singular is singular. There’s no—“one” is either made up of parts or the first in a series; either way, it’s part of something. Singular is singular. When the G-dly soul—when a Jew—does lower teshuvah, he returns to being united with G-dliness. I’m a person who is united, connected, with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Higher teshuvah means that he isn’t merely united with Hakadosh Boruch Hu; he becomes one with Him. He and Hakadosh Boruch Hu become a single thing, one thing. Not merely united, but truly part of Him. So that’s lower teshuvah and higher teshuvah. That’s what he says here: when a person feels anguish over his sin, this is the level of lower teshuvah, which raises the lower hei, lifting it from its fall. How did it fall there? Into the external forces, in the secret of the exile of the Shechinah, as our Sages say, “When they were exiled to Edom, the Shechinah went with them.” When a person acts like Edom, the Shechinah—the G-dly soul—is there with him. That is, when a person acts like Edom, he brings down and draws into the kelipos the Divine aspect and spark that gives life to his nefesh, ruach and neshamah. These are clothed in his animal soul, which comes from the kelipah in his heart, in its left chamber, and rules over him while he is wicked. It governs his “small city,” and his nefesh, ruach and neshamah are held captive in exile with it when he sins. When his heart breaks within him, that breaks the spirit of impurity and the sitra achra, and then “all workers of iniquity are scattered,” and so on. The G-dly soul rises from its fall and stands upright, as he discusses elsewhere. Then he can begin to serve Hashem. “Elsewhere” means in Igeres Hateshuvah. All right, let’s sum up what we had here in chapter 17. Chapter 17 sums up all of Tanya from the beginning until now. After understanding what a tzaddik, a beinoni and a rasha are, and why it seemed to us that being a beinoni was very difficult—no, it is very close. Why is it very close? Because the mind rules over

54:10 Speaker 1 the heart. Ah, there are people whose minds don’t rule over their hearts. True; do teshuvah and it will be all right. So from the beginning to here, we’ve essentially seen the answer to Tanya’s opening question: How is it very close to every Jew, “in your mouth and in your heart, to do it”? We’re not talking about a burning love in the heart, but about a love that leads to fulfilling the mitzvos. Everyone is capable of that. What now? What comes next? We’re past chapter 17, and there are still many chapters in Tanya. We’ll see how the Alter Rebbe builds it from here. The Alter Rebbe begins Tanya at the top, with the ultimate goal—the pinnacle of serving Hashem—and goes down and down and down and down, all the way to the lowest person. What we’ve learned in this chapter is a complete way of serving Hashem. There is a person with a strong intellect—he has a head on his shoulders—and a strong, healthy heart. He lives in a healthy environment, and when he contemplates G-dliness, the effect genuinely follows, and a love of Hashem is born in him. At least he comes to an agreement in his heart, and that is enough. But there are Jews like those he begins discussing in the next chapter: someone whose capacity for understanding is limited. What can he do? Hakadosh Boruch Hu didn’t endow him with intellectual ability, or he lacks the ability to concentrate; concentrating is hard for him. It’s not that he commits sins. Earlier, we spoke about someone who is wicked. We’re not talking about a wicked person. Let’s say he isn’t wicked; he’s a beinoni, an ordinary person, but his mental faculties simply don’t allow him to do the work of a beinoni as we’ve described it. So how can it be “very close” for him? He can’t do the work we’ve just discussed—contemplate G-dliness and develop a love of Hashem. He can’t; he can’t contemplate. I think each of you

56:34 Speaker 1 can think for a moment about your friends, and very quickly you’ll be able to identify people whom you know cannot contemplate, even if they... They can’t do it. They simply can’t. What are they supposed to do? So from here, from chapter 18 through chapter 25, the Alter Rebbe develops an approach over eight chapters: how even such people can serve Hashem fully.

57:11 Speaker 4 Is contemplation also connected to learning, or is it only—

57:14 Speaker 1 What?

57:14 Speaker 4 Is contemplation also connected to learning?

57:16 Speaker 1 Very much so. If he doesn’t learn, what is he going to contemplate?

57:21 Speaker 4 Because, I mean, there are people who can’t contemplate but can learn.

57:27 Speaker 1 There are people who can’t contemplate because they lack intellectual aptitude. And there are people who simply never learned; they weren’t in yeshivah, and later they have to work. What are they supposed to do? They didn’t learn when they were young, and now they don’t have time to learn. What are they supposed to do? So they will—

57:40 Speaker 4 Children too, and teenagers too.

57:41 Speaker 1 Everyone, everyone, everyone. Yes. So we’ll see later that even a Jew like that—who doesn’t have time or strength, and can’t, and he doesn’t—it's not that he doesn’t want to. He does want to, but for some reason he can’t. For some reason, his mind cannot rule over his heart, through no fault of his own. He too can serve Hashem fully, and for him too, it is very close. Thank you for the coffee.