Likkutei Amarim Chapter 22 · 5781

00:00 Speaker 1 Okay, good evening.

00:02 Speaker 2 It won’t run out again.

00:07 Speaker 1 Tonight we’re learning chapter 22, the last of the three chapters that explain the oneness of Hashem and idol worship. The Alter Rebbe began explaining how to awaken the hidden love. First, in two chapters, 18 and 19, he explains what that hidden love is, what it wants, what our G-dly soul is, and what it longs to do. To reveal it, bring it into our daily lives, and use it, so to speak, we first need to understand, as an introduction, what the oneness of Hashem and idol worship are. He hasn’t yet explained why. So let’s look at what the oneness of Hashem means. In chapters 20 and 21, he devoted two chapters to explaining two aspects of it. In general, the oneness of Hashem means not just that there is no other G-d besides Hakadosh Boruch Hu—that’s obvious and doesn’t need to be ruled out—but that “there is nothing else besides Him.” What does that mean? In chapter 20, he explained how there is nothing else besides Him. There are worlds, but they have no value or significance relative to Him; they count for nothing beside Him. So He alone exists. Then, in chapter 21, he went on to explain that although the worlds have no value or significance relative to Him, there is still a world here. If you aren’t looking at them relative to Him, then yes, they do have an existence. So he explained that even the existence they have—the fact that we seemingly see worlds—is not a true existence. The true reality of the worlds is that they are utterly nullified. You remember all this, right? We’ll get to it again in a moment. The Alter Rebbe explained both points using an analogy of speech... Let me put that better. Both points

02:15 Speaker 1 the Rebbe explained with an analogy of speech—two analogies drawn from speech. One point about speech is that it has no value compared with the essence of a person’s soul. Speech is nothing at all compared with the soul’s existence. Likewise, all the worlds are nothing at all compared with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And the speech of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, with which He creates the worlds, is not like human speech as we ordinarily perceive it. It is like human speech while it is still in its source and root, in the essence of the soul, where it has no existence of its own at all. So the worlds not only have no value or significance; they have no independent existence either. That was the subject of chapters 20 and 21: what does belief in the oneness of Hashem mean? Perhaps one more word on this, which I don’t think we mentioned. Here the Alter Rebbe explains, briefly, what the oneness of Hashem is in two chapters. Why do we say “briefly”? Where is it explained at length?

03:28 Speaker 2 Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah.

03:28 Speaker 1 Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah. There the Rebbe explains those same two points, that same subject of the oneness of Hashem, in twelve chapters. What he explains here in two chapters, he discusses there with many, many more details and finer points. Incidentally, even Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah is only a “gateway” to oneness and faith. A gateway is just where you enter a city; it isn’t the city itself, only the entrance. Oneness and faith are explained in much greater depth in many other places. One place people like to point to is a maamar by the Alter Rebbe in Likkutei Torah called “Pesach Eliyahu.” It’s the same “Pesach Eliyahu” that is recited on Erev Shabbos, for those who say it: “You brought forth ten configurations, and we call them...” and so on. That passage describes the order of the creation of the worlds. In Likkutei Torah, the Alter Rebbe has a maamar in which, following that passage, he explains within the words of “Pesach Eliyahu” how all the worlds are nothing at all compared with Him. That is already a long maamar. On that maamar of the Alter Rebbe’s in Likkutei Torah, there is a maamar by the Rebbe Rashab—if I’m not mistaken—called “Glosses on the Maamar ‘Pesach Eliyahu.’” When the Rebbe Rashab studied the Alter Rebbe’s maamar in Likkutei Torah, he had comments, so he wrote glosses—notes on the Alter Rebbe’s maamar. Those notes make up a book of several hundred substantial pages on the maamar “Pesach Eliyahu.” Now you’re really entering the city, the whole inhabited expanse of oneness and faith. There is oneness and faith, and here I’m only mentioning the subject briefly. All right, we’ve spent a long time on something that isn’t

05:34 Speaker 1 our subject at all today. In chapter 22, the Rebbe begins explaining idol worship. What is idol worship? The Alter Rebbe also explains idol worship through an analogy drawn from human speech. In other words, just as he explained the oneness of Hashem through speech, he also explains its opposite through speech. Chapter 22: “It is only that the Torah speaks in human language, and in the Torah the speech of the Blessed One is called ‘speech.’” When I say the word “speech,” what do I mean? Speech that I hear. True, if you think about it deeply, you understand that speech has no value compared with the soul and that it is contained within its source. You can understand that. But ordinarily, when you say “speech” in human language, you aren’t thinking about the essence of the soul, and certainly not about how speech is contained within its source and root. You mean speech as we perceive it, as something separate—as we normally understand speech. So if the Torah calls the creation of the world “speech,” we have to say that there is something else about the creation of the worlds besides their nullification and so on. There is another aspect of creation related to speech, not as speech relates to the essence of the soul or as it is nullified within its source and root, but as speech is understood plainly: as something separate. How can it be separate if its entire nature is to be nullified? With me, with a human being, those are two different things. There is the reality of speech—what it is, how it comes into being, where it comes from—and there is how it goes out toward someone else, how it appears in the world. But

07:57 Speaker 1 with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, those aren’t two different things. As we saw in the previous chapters, His speech is He Himself. So how can the speech with which He creates the worlds be separate? What exactly would be separate? His speech isn’t separate from Him. The Alter Rebbe explains in chapter 21, from the next line: True, relative to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, speech is not separate. But we don’t see Hakadosh Boruch Hu. To us it appears separate, and we feel that the creation of the world is separate from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So let’s look at it inside. “In the Torah, the speech of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is called ‘speech,’ just like human speech, because that is indeed how life-force descends and is drawn down to the lower realms”: the lower realms, all the worlds, receive their life-force through many immense contractions, various kinds of contractions, so that many different kinds of created beings can come into being from them. Since Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted to create many kinds of beings—all kinds of people, plants, animals, and so on—an enormous variety of types and species of created beings, He made many kinds of contractions. Among other things, Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah explains what “different kinds” means. Speech is made up of letters and words; every word is made up of letters, and every syllable is made up of letters. Right? Each letter indicates a particular way in which G-dly life-force is drawn down. A yud is a sort of point. A vav is a point with a line extending downward. A hei already extends in length and width, and the yud is... and the alef. Every letter, the shape it has when written in Hebrew, shows how G-dly life-force descends into the world. When there is a word, the letters that make it up are the source of its life-force. For example, the Alter Rebbe gives the word “even,” stone.

10:33 Speaker 1 A stone. What does that mean? It’s a certain thing created by Divine life-force. First there was a flow of life-force through the letter alef, then through the letter beis, and then through a final nun, and that created the thing we call a stone—an even. What are substitutions? Substitutions are when letters are exchanged. According to the Torah, there are 231 ways for letters to be exchanged with one another. These are called the 231 gates. We know a few of them, including some very well-known ones. For example, Atbash. Everyone knows what Atbash is, right? You’re familiar with it? Alef is paired with tav. So, for example, if instead of the alef at the beginning of even there were a tav, it would be an entirely different word. But the tav now at the beginning receives its life-force from the alef. That’s a substitution, a kind of change or exchange. There are 231 kinds of substitutions like that. By exchanging the letters in all sorts of ways—substitutions and substitutions of substitutions—all the countless created beings in the world come into being. But even if Hakadosh Boruch Hu created countless beings, they wouldn’t feel separate. Even if He created countless beings, He created them, and because He created them, they would sense that He created them. Each created being, on its own, would sense that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created it. It wouldn’t be sitra achra; it wouldn’t oppose Hakadosh Boruch Hu. It would sense its source and root. For created beings to have free choice, there has to be concealment and hiding, so that they won’t sense Who created them. That’s what he says in the next

12:58 Speaker 1 line: “The contractions and higher concealments of the Divine countenance became so intense that even impure things, kelipos, and sitra achra could come into being and receive their life-force and existence from the word of Hashem and the breath of His mouth—not with a shining countenance, but through concealment of the countenance and a descent through levels.” For a person to have free choice, two options have to be placed before him. If everyone knows Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and the person himself knows and senses Him, where would choice come in? There has to be some hiding and concealment. So besides many kinds of contraction, Hakadosh Boruch Hu also made hiding and concealment. Is the difference between contraction and concealment clear? It’s a fundamental difference. Contraction means taking only part of something, taking a little, making a summary. But after I’ve made the summary, what have I summarized? There was a long passage, and I made a short passage out of it, but it’s the same thing. It isn’t something else. Right? Concealment means putting up a screen.

14:24 Speaker 3 Hiding it.

14:24 Speaker 1 Hiding it. Take a parable. What does a parable say? A parable about Hakadosh Boruch Hu tells of a king who had an only daughter. What does that mean? Hakadosh Boruch Hu isn’t a king, He has no wife, and He doesn’t have children. In essence, there’s no connection between the parable and what it represents. A parable is a kind of screen. If you know it’s only alluding to something, you’ll think about it and understand that its imagined details can teach you something about what’s above. But the parable itself tells—when you tell children a parable, right? The parables of our Sages—does a child think of what the parable represents? He hears a nice story. Right? The parable on its own doesn’t tell us what’s hidden within it, what lies behind it. Maybe we can give a clearer example, one we’ve mentioned before. When I want to explain something to someone else—suppose a person wants to explain an idea to another person. If he explains it in a language the other person doesn’t know—he doesn’t speak English, and I explain it to him in English—he won’t understand a thing. Why doesn’t he understand? Because he doesn’t speak—I didn’t speak his language. The speech itself hides and conceals. An idea is put into the speech, but the words are a screen; they separate and conceal. So there’s an enormous difference between contraction and hiding and concealment. There are created beings—all the beings created according to the will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. They were created through all kinds of different forms, through a flow of life-force of this kind and that kind, in this form and that form—an endless variety of created beings. But there are also beings created not through kinds of contraction, with the life-force flowing in different forms, but through hiding and concealment. How were they created? By concealing Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And about this he says

17:04 Speaker 1 in the first line on page 100: “Therefore they are called ‘other gods.’” Why is idolatry, the sitra achra, called “other gods”? Because its sustenance and life-force do not come from the aspect of the countenance, but from the aspect of the back of holiness. Why did Hakadosh Boruch Hu create them? He didn’t create them because He wants them. Hakadosh Boruch Hu doesn’t want the sitra achra. Hakadosh Boruch Hu hates the sitra achra. If He hates it, why did He create it? It’s needed so that there can be free choice. He doesn’t want it for its own sake. He wants the sitra achra for a purpose that comes afterward: so that a person will have a choice. All right? So it’s called “other,” because that refers to the “back”: when a person gives something to someone he hates against his will, he tosses it to him over his shoulder, turning his face away from him out of hatred. When a person has to pay a fine to a police officer, he has to hand over money. And sometimes it’s a large sum. How does he give him the money? Willingly, with a shining face? “Take it and go.” That’s called giving from the aspect of the back—giving because he has to, not because he wants to. So too Above, the aspect of the countenance—the countenance of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, His innermost will—is what He truly wants: “the inner dimension of the supernal will and His true desire, with which Hashem desires to bestow life-force.” On whom does He bestow it? On all who are close to Him, on the side of holiness. But Hakadosh Boruch Hu doesn’t want the sitra achra and impurity. It is “an abomination to Hashem, which He hates.” If so, how does it actually exist? If Hakadosh Boruch Hu hates it and doesn’t want it, how is it sustained at all? How was it created in the first place? “He does not bestow life-force upon it from His inner will and true desire, as though He desired it, G-d forbid, but rather like one who throws something over

19:22 Speaker 1 his shoulder to an enemy, against his will.” Why does Hakadosh Boruch Hu do this? “Only in order to punish the wicked and give a good reward to the righteous who subdue the sitra achra. This is called the aspect of the back of the supernal will, blessed be He.” Period. Up to here—from the beginning of the chapter to this point—the Alter Rebbe has explained why idolatry is called “other gods.” Why is it called “other”? Because all its life-force and existence come from the aspect of the back. Hakadosh Boruch Hu doesn’t give it life because He wants it. He gives it life contrary to His will. If it’s contrary to His will, how can it exist at all? That is precisely what’s meant by the aspect of the back. He sustains it not because He wants it, but because He needs it for something else—for free choice. That’s called the aspect of the back. What does this mean? The supernal will, the aspect of the countenance, is the source of life that gives life to all the worlds. How can a world exist at all? Hakadosh Boruch Hu sustains it. The things Hakadosh Boruch Hu creates—how do they live? Where do they get their soul? Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives them a soul. So the source of life—what does a person want more than anything else? There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that compares to life. A person’s greatest pleasure is being alive. He’s prepared to give up every other pleasure to have that pleasure. A person is prepared to give things up in order to live. He’s prepared to give up money, desire, honor—everything, even health. The main thing is to live. Life is the greatest pleasure. Who gives it? Where is its source? The source of life is Hakadosh Boruch Hu. From the aspect of the countenance, He wants to give life, and He gives life. But the sitra achra, which He doesn’t want—why does He give it life? Only because

21:50 Speaker 1 Because there’s no choice. What kind of life is there? So the sitra achra is called the place of death. Hashem doesn’t want it; He doesn’t give it life—only the bare minimum, because we have no choice: we need it. And since the inward aspect of the Supreme Will does not rest upon it—it does not rest upon the sitra achra at all; the inward aspect does not rest upon the sitra achra whatsoever—and the external aspect of the Supreme Will, from which it does receive its life, is not actually invested within it. On the inward side, where Hakadosh Boruch Hu shines His countenance upon something and wants to create it, He not only creates it but also gives it life generously, with a shining countenance. The sitra achra, which Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not want, receives, first of all, only from the external aspect. And even that only encompasses it from above. That is why it is the place of death and impurity, may Hashem protect us. Why is it the place of impurity? Because the tiny amount of light and life that it does manage to draw and receive into itself from the external aspect of the holiness above is in a state of actual exile within it—the mystery of the exile of the Shechinah mentioned earlier. Do you remember where we spoke about the exile of the Shechinah? “Mentioned earlier” means we already spoke about it. Ah, yes. Do you remember, Leah, when we spoke about it? When we began this subject. We began it, and now we’re holding in chapter 22. When we began explaining how to awaken the soul in chapter 19, that’s where he said—ah, Rumi said chapter 19? I didn’t hear. Right. So there, at the beginning of the discussion, the Alter Rebbe explains that as long as the G-dly soul is in exile within the animal soul, it cannot express itself; it cannot come out. What is this exile of the G-dly soul within—what is exile? In simple terms, in our world, not in the spiritual sense. Let’s bring this down a little

24:19 Speaker 1 to earth. The Jewish people are in exile. Jews are living in some country where there are decrees against them, and the people who run the country, the people who—this is how it was throughout the generations. The Jews sustained the economy, ran commerce, paid the taxes. They were the ones who—throughout the generations, wherever there were Jews, wherever there were many Jews, the country prospered. Why did it prosper materially? Because Jews are hardworking people who work and do what needs to be done, so the whole economy grows and flourishes. Throughout the generations, in many places—a different country in each generation—wherever there was a large concentration of Jews, that country’s economy enjoyed great prosperity. How did those countries treat the Jews? They humiliated them utterly. Decrees and—

25:22 Speaker 4 There was some kind of—[unclear] they sought them out.

25:25 Speaker 1 At first, yes, but it always ended.

25:28 Speaker 4 Ah, yes. There’s jealousy.

25:31 Speaker 1 And why? Right. And why jealousy?

25:36 Speaker 4 Because the Jews succeed.

25:38 Speaker 1 Because—yes. And then it began—right. Why do you impose decrees on them? Why do you persecute them? Why do you hold them back? They’re the ones giving you life. All the life of the country comes from them, yet the whole country is against them. It defies logic; you can’t understand it, right? That’s called exile in—what is the exile of the soul? The exile of the aspect of holiness. When that tiny amount of G-dly life, which comes from the external aspect—and even from there it is only drawn indirectly—reaches and gives life to the sitra achra, to that entity, to that, well, wicked non-Jew. Let’s not call him a wicked Jew, all right? G-d forbid. That wicked non-Jew is now being sustained by that G-dly life. So he’s alive. He doesn’t deny that he’s alive. The wicked non-Jew is alive. Of course he’s alive. What do you mean? Not only is he alive, he can even harm Jews and harass them. He feels very much alive. Where does his life come from? What does he think? Where does he think his life came from? If he knows that his life comes from Hakadosh Boruch Hu, he won’t harm a Jew. He couldn’t do that. So he denies the source of his life. He says his life does not come from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Now, he accepts that there is a great Hakadosh Boruch Hu in the world, that He created the whole world. He doesn’t deny that. It doesn’t bother the non-Jew, the wicked non-Jew, to say that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world. That doesn’t touch him personally. Why should he mind saying it? It doesn’t bother him to say that the whole world, in general, was created by Hakadosh Boruch Hu. But my life—I don’t feel that Hakadosh

27:48 Speaker 1 Boruch Hu created me. I don’t feel that Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives me life. I feel like an independent person. I think what I want. I feel what I want. I do what I want. He doesn’t feel obligated to anyone.

28:02 Speaker 4 But there’s the—

28:03 Speaker 1 That’s called exile: he denies the source of his life. The G-dly light gives him life, and what does he feel? Not just what does he say—he actually feels it: “My river is mine, and I made myself.” That is what it means that light and life are drawn from the external aspect—a life that it draws into itself from the external aspect of the holiness above—in a state of actual exile within it, the mystery of the exile of the Shechinah mentioned earlier. That is why it is called “other gods”: it is actual idolatry and a denial of the oneness of the King of kings, Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So here—I don’t know if you noticed—the Alter Rebbe has moved to a second interpretation of “other gods.” The first interpretation was: Why is idolatry called “other gods”? Because it receives from the external aspect. The second is: Why is it called “other gods”? Because it feels separate. It does not feel connected to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. It does not feel nullified; the G-dly life within it is in exile. There’s an emphasized line and parentheses here. Yes? That’s not in the Tanya; I added it. It wasn’t in the original. It’s there to emphasize the point and explain it more fully. From here, the Alter Rebbe opens a parenthesis. In the original there are no parentheses, but he now begins to explain the word “oneness.” In other words: What does the sitra achra deny, in the Alter Rebbe’s words? “Actual idolatry and a denial of His oneness.” The sitra achra does not deny Hakadosh Boruch Hu; it denies the oneness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Why? Why does it not deny Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself, but does deny His oneness? What is His oneness? We learned in the previous two chapters that the oneness of Hashem means “there is nothing besides Him”; there is no existence apart from Him. The sitra achra has no problem with the fact that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world. But the fact that, even after He created the world,

30:21 Speaker 1 “He is one and His name is one”; there is nothing besides Him, no other existence, nothing apart from Him; there is no... I, too, am not an independent existence—that the sitra achra is unwilling to acknowledge. So it does not deny Him; it denies the oneness of Hashem. That is what he explains in this parenthetical section. “For since the light and life of holiness are in a state of exile within it, it is not nullified at all before the holiness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu.” It’s like that country that lives off the Jews. Just because they provide all my livelihood and sustain the entire economy of the country, does that mean I have to respect them? Of course not. I can impose decrees on them, and they’ll keep paying taxes. To them, there’s no contradiction. That is exactly how it is with the G-dly life that sustains the sitra achra. “It is not nullified at all before the holiness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, who gives it life. On the contrary, the sitra achra raises itself like an eagle, saying, ‘I, and nothing besides me.’ And as it is written, ‘My river is mine, and I made myself.’ That is why our Sages said that arrogance is equivalent to actual idolatry. For the essence and root of idolatry”—what is the essence of idolatry?—“is considering oneself an entity in one’s own right, separate from the holiness of the Omnipresent, not a complete denial of Hashem.” Idolatry does not necessarily mean saying that there is no Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That might be one particular form of idolatry. In general—we spoke about this in our first class two weeks ago—when you ask people, in the Jewish world, “Do you believe in Hakadosh Boruch Hu?” “Yes, of course.” “Do you believe that Hashem is one?” “Yes, certainly.” “What does it mean that Hashem is one?” “That all the other idols don’t exist.” Any religious person you ask will say that. A religious person who has not studied Tanya or Kabbalah will never tell you that believing in the oneness of Hashem means there is no world. Nobody will say such a thing. The Alter Rebbe says: that is called

32:47 Speaker 1 Idolatry. That is called sitra achra. What does idolatry mean here? The statement “there is no other G-d” rules out the existence of another god. The statement about Hashem’s unity means believing that only Hakadosh Boruch Hu is the one true G-d. The Alter Rebbe says that anything else is idolatry. Do you hear what he’s saying? That is why our Sages said that arrogance—as it says here—yes, that arrogance is equivalent to idolatry. Actual idolatry is denial of G-d. But when a person feels himself to be an independent existence, he does not feel that “there is nothing besides Him.” He feels that there is something besides Him: Hakadosh Boruch Hu exists, and I can decide whether to do what He wants or what I want. That is what subtle idolatry means. Idolatry, idolatry. It means he does not feel that “there is nothing besides Him.” He does not feel that “You are the same before the world was created, and You are the same since the world was created.” He is not nullified before G-dliness. Being nullified before G-dliness, believing in one Hashem, means believing that there is nothing besides Him. No existence besides Him. As the Alter Rebbe explained in chapters 20 and 21, anyone who does not feel that there is nothing besides Him has, in a subtle way, an element of idolatry. That is why our Sages said that even simple arrogance is equivalent to it. This person believes; he even studies Chassidus and Tanya, he thinks about it and he believes. He believes in this idea too, that there is nothing besides Him, but he is arrogant. And because he is arrogant, he feels himself to be an independent existence. If he feels himself to be an independent existence, we are back where we started. Once again, it is sitra achra; once again, it is idolatry. Because what is the essence and root of idolatry? Considering oneself something in one’s own right, feeling separate from the holiness of Hakadosh Boruch

35:08 Speaker 1 Hu: He said one thing, but I have other important things in my life. There are things I need to do, too. There are things I want, too. I know, it’s very important, and it matters to me personally to merit Gan Eden, so I very much want to keep the mitzvos. But everything has its price. For this, I’m not prepared to give that up. That is called arrogance. That is called being separate from His holiness. That is called idolatry—not complete denial of Hashem. It is not only denial that counts as idolatry. It is also when a person feels himself to be separate. As the Gemara says, they call Him “the G-d of gods.” They, too, acknowledge His greatness, but they also consider themselves independent beings. Actually, we put the parentheses in the wrong place there. They should have come after the words “independent beings,” before “and in this way they separate themselves from His holiness.” There’s a place for them there. The words “and in this way” refer back to the... Turn for a moment to pages 24, 26. It continues the sentence from before the parentheses: “Therefore they are called other gods, for actual idolatry is a denial of the unity of the King of kings, Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and in this way they separate themselves from His holiness.” Yes, do you see how it fits into the sentence? They do not deny Him; they deny His unity. By denying His unity, they separate themselves from His holiness. The Alter Rebbe suddenly inserts a long, long, long parenthetical passage, and then, without warning, returns to... returns to the beginning of the sentence. Yes. “Since they are not nullified before Him, blessed be He, for the supreme holiness rests only upon that which is nullified before Him, blessed be He, as stated above. Therefore, they are called turei deperuda in the holy Zohar.” Turei deperuda in Hebrew?

37:16 Speaker 5 Ridges.

37:17 Speaker 1 Huh?

37:18 Speaker 5 Ridges.

37:19 Speaker 1 What does it mean?

37:21 Speaker 5 Mountains.

37:21 Speaker 1 Mountains, mountains. Tur means a mountain. Turei deperuda: separate mountains. A mountain is a metaphor for something that is...

37:30 Speaker 5 High.

37:31 Speaker 1 “I, and nothing besides me.” It raises itself above the surrounding ground: Look at me! That is how it lifts itself so high. So the sitra achra is not just mountains; it is separate mountains. By contrast, there are also mountains of holiness. There is the verse, “His heart was uplifted in the ways of Hashem.” Of Avraham, who is called the beloved of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, it says, “He called Him a mountain.” So there are mountains of holiness too. But there are mountains whose whole elevation is arrogance. Those are called turei deperuda, separate mountains. “And this is a denial of His true unity.” The truth of Hashem’s unity is that there is nothing besides Him. By feeling himself to be an independent existence, a person denies His unity: “a denial of His true unity, for everything is considered as nothing before Him and is utterly nullified in its existence in relation to His speech and the breath of His mouth, blessed be He, which constantly bring them into being from nothing.” In other words, the true reality is that Hakadosh Boruch Hu brings all the worlds into being, gives them life and sustains them from nothing at every moment, anew. But he does not feel that. He feels himself to be an independent, separate being. So in the last three chapters, the Alter Rebbe explained what Hashem’s unity and idolatry are. He explained them through three analogies. The subject of speech—in other words, within speech the Alter Rebbe found three analogies, and on their basis he explained three aspects of Hashem’s unity and idolatry. Hashem’s unity means that the world has no worth or importance in relation to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and also that it is utterly nullified in its existence—more than having no importance, it is utterly nullified before Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And the fact that our speech becomes separate from us is an analogy for the way created beings feel separate from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That is what Hashem’s unity and idolatry mean. How does this help us? Why did the Alter Rebbe, you might say, stick

39:33 Speaker 1 this subject in the middle of Tanya? After all, we are discussing how to awaken love of Hashem. How do we attain perfection in keeping the mitzvos? How do I get to a point where my mind can gain control over my heart? Why are you starting to explain Hashem’s unity and idolatry here? You’ve brought in deep subjects. Wait until Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah; explain the foundations of faith there. Explain the sub—why is he explaining this here, in the middle? So far, we have not received an answer. The Alter Rebbe said at the outset: Listen, first I need to explain to you what Hashem’s unity and idolatry are. Then we will continue. In the next two chapters, the Alter Rebbe will connect the subject of Hashem’s unity and idolatry to all the mitzvos. Why? Because in chapter 18, when we began explaining this, the Alter Rebbe showed that when the essence of a Jew’s soul awakens, when mesirus nefesh awakens within a Jew, he is ready to give his life for anything. He is truly ready to give his life for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, even if before that he was someone as distant as east is from west. The moment his Jewish spark awakens, he is ready to give his life. Suddenly, he is ready to do everything for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Nothing else matters to him, not even his life. Nothing. When does that point of mesirus nefesh awaken? The Alter Rebbe explained: when a person is backed against the wall and told, “Listen, we are going to separate you from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Either you convert to another religion now or we kill you.” Often he will choose to die al kiddush Hashem. And what awakens that point in the soul? Touching it on this very issue: now we are going to separate you from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. In the... in the last three chapters, the Alter Rebbe explained what it means to be

41:43 Speaker 1 Separate from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. What does it mean to be one with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and what does it mean to be separate from Hakadosh Boruch Hu? He will explain that in the next two chapters. Now I’ll show you that this isn’t just about the oneness of Hashem and idol worship. Every positive mitzvah is a direct extension of the oneness of Hashem. Every prohibition is a direct extension of the prohibition against idol worship. They are the details. Hakadosh Boruch Hu took the mitzvah of the oneness of Hashem and divided it into 248 individual details. He took the prohibition against idol worship and divided it into 365 individual details. The entire Torah and all the mitzvos, from beginning to end, are about the oneness of Hashem and idol worship. The Alter Rebbe will explain this in the next two chapters. And it follows, as he will explain later, that since the entire Torah and all the mitzvos are about the oneness of Hashem and idol worship, and when a Jew’s connection to the oneness of Hashem or idol worship is at stake, the essence of his soul is stirred—then whenever a Jew faces a test... We’ve already moved ahead to chapters 24 and 25. Whenever a Jew faces a test, he just has to remind himself: “Listen, right now I’m about to worship an idol.” That, he is not prepared to do. The moment he reminds himself of that—[unclear]—it really is connected. It’s not just a figure of speech; that really is what’s happening. So that is enough for a person. He doesn’t have to think deeply and contemplate each time, as we had earlier, when he needed to awaken his love of Hashem through [unclear]. He needed to contemplate at length until, with effort, he succeeded. But that is a long path—“a long and short path.” No, it’s enough for him to remember, just to remember that this transgression he is about to commit is idol worship. And if you miss this mitzvah—

43:53 Speaker 1 you lose the oneness of Hashem. He doesn’t need anything more than that. That alone will be enough to awaken his readiness for self-sacrifice, to give his very soul for every single detail, throughout the day, all the time—every day and at every moment.