Likkutei Amarim Chapters 36–37 · 5785

00:01 Speaker 1 Let’s start with chapter 36 after all. We’ll go back a little in the discussion.

00:08 Speaker 2 These pages.

00:09 Speaker 1 Yes, these pages, yes.

00:10 Speaker 2 Yes?

00:10 Speaker 1 Yes. We’ll start after the... after the note. Where it says, “And it has already happened, and it has already happened in times past.”

00:24 Speaker 2 Which page?

00:26 Speaker 1 It’s on page 46, opposite the note on the right, after the period on the left: “And it has also already happened in times past.” But let’s remind ourselves... where was I? The whole Tanya is divided into sections. Tanya is one subject, but the Alter Rebbe built it out of units of content. There’s the overall content of Tanya, and within it there are two branches of sorts, and each branch is divided into several smaller branches, and so on. Now, when you learn Tanya from the ground up, chapter after chapter in sequence, you have to remember the connection—what the discussion is about. Every detail of every chapter and every subject within a chapter relates directly to the broader subject, and then to the still broader subject, all the way up to the content of Tanya as a whole. There’s a well-known story, by the way, since we’re talking about this. Once the Maharil, the Alter Rebbe’s brother, I believe, came in and saw him deep in thought. He went over to see what was happening, and the Alter Rebbe told him that for six weeks—six weeks—he had been thinking, deliberating. He was writing the Book of the Beinoni, and it had to be precise. For six weeks, a month and a half, he had been deliberating whether to write one word with a vav or without a vav. When the Rebbe told this story, the Rebbe said it was like the wording at the beginning of chapter 41: “And behold, the beginning of the service, and its essence and its root.” The Alter Rebbe deliberated for a month and a half whether to write “the beginning of the service, its essence and its root,” or “the beginning of the service, and its essence and its root.”

02:23 Speaker 2 Over a vav.

02:24 Speaker 1 Yes, with the connecting vav or without it. And the astonishing thing—first of all, even an ordinary person thinking about it: all right, say you have one argument and another argument. How long does it take you to decide? You delve into it and study it and understand it... Well? Half an hour, an hour, two hours. A month and a half! The Alter Rebbe. And that’s astonishing in itself, but the most remarkable part of the story isn’t that. It’s the less familiar part, which the Rebbe also related on that occasion: what the Alter Rebbe added afterward. The Alter Rebbe added that whenever something like this came up in Tanya—a vav like that, or a yud, or something he was deliberating whether to write or omit—why did it take him so long? Because he would think about how it fit, how it connected, how it suited the content of the whole Tanya. He would go through the entire Tanya. How did that letter vav fit with everything written in Tanya from beginning to end? He did this for every letter in Tanya. Because ultimately, the book of Tanya is one single point. What does Tanya explain? How a beinoni should serve Hashem. That’s what it explains from beginning to end. So every broad subject, every detail, down to each individual letter, has to fit the entire book. Now, as we learn this subject, what we’re discussing in our chapters spans three chapters—35, 36, 37. Three chapters that explain, that begin to explain the...

04:16 Speaker 1 Service of Hashem by a beinoni in the matter of fulfilling mitzvos. “For the matter is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.” In general, when a person... We spoke about this last week. Let’s review it briefly. An ordinary person knows what serving Hashem means: fulfilling mitzvos. Chassidus explains: No. What is serving Hashem? It isn’t simply fulfilling mitzvos. Serving Hashem is inner work—work with the mind and the emotions, love of Hashem and fear of Hashem. The aim and purpose is that if you love Hashem, you will naturally fulfill the mitzvos and refrain from transgressions. But the work is inner work. If so, if that’s the whole depth of it, if serving Hashem is entirely inner work, why does it say “to do it”? It should have said, “For the matter is very close to you”—close to your heart. What does it mean that it’s close to you “to do it”? So the Alter Rebbe comes to explain, at great length, that there is service of Hashem in the act itself, in the mitzvos themselves. Not only in how to reach the point of acting and refraining from transgressions. There is work in the act itself. At first glance, that’s surprising. What work is there in the act? Either I do it or I don’t. I have respect, I have love of Hashem, and eventually I get to the act itself: lighting candles, building a sukkah, making Kiddush on Shabbos, and so on. I do it. But work—work is something internal. What inner work, what heart and mind, are there in carrying out the act? What’s the work here? That’s what the Rebbe comes to explain in the chapters from chapter 35 through the end of chapter 45: the beinoni’s service of Hashem, inner work in the matter of performing mitzvos. So, to explain

06:05 Speaker 1 this, he begins with our three chapters, 35, 36 and 37. They provide an introduction on the basis of which he will later explain what the work itself is. What does he explain by way of introduction in these three chapters? The importance of fulfilling mitzvos. Because throughout the first part of Tanya, up to chapter 34, what was the discussion about? That you need to have love and fear of Hashem. What for? So that your fulfillment of mitzvos will be complete. And why do you need love and fear for your fulfillment of mitzvos to be complete? There’s a reason: so that the mitzvos will be complete. Well, what if I only have love and fear, I’m attached to Hashem, and I’m a complete tzaddik? Isn’t that good enough? No. You also have to fulfill mitzvos in practice. Why? What is the point of actually fulfilling mitzvos? That’s what he explains in these three chapters. The Rebbe answers that question here: What is the purpose for which Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world? Hakadosh Boruch Hu didn’t create the world for spiritual matters. He didn’t create the world for love and fear of Hashem, or for attachment to Him. He doesn’t need the world for Divine revelations; He has those Above. Hakadosh Boruch Hu created this world because He wanted a dwelling in the lower realms. Down here, where there is concealment, is where He wanted His dwelling. And a dwelling in the lower realms is made by fulfilling mitzvos. All right? So that’s the subject of these three chapters: a dwelling in the lower realms. What is the advantage, the importance, of practical mitzvos, such that a dwelling for Hakadosh Boruch Hu in the lower realms is made specifically by fulfilling them? And he divides this subject itself into three. It’s a lengthy subject,

08:01 Speaker 1 so he divided it into three chapters. Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, King of the universe, by Whose word everything came into being.

08:08 Speaker 10 Amen.

08:15 Speaker 1 Am I saying things you all already know, or...? Huh? I need this for myself too, to get into the subject. It’s not just for you.

08:25 Speaker 10 Look, another Dudu[unclear] will arrive too; that’s also a detail.

08:37 Speaker 1 So where did he begin? What was the first part? Chapter 35. In chapter 35 he explained the advantage—no, not the advantage, the nature—of practical mitzvos. What happens when a Jew fulfills a practical mitzvah? Fulfilling a physical mitzvah, a mitzvah in actual practice, causes Hakadosh Boruch Hu to rest upon the person fulfilling it. Do you remember learning that? With the illustration from the Yenuka about “a wise man’s eyes are in his head”? Yes. What does “his eyes are in his head” mean? That he is always looking, always thinking about the fact that when he fulfills a mitzvah, the Shechinah rests upon him. That’s the meaning of “a wise man’s eyes are in his head.” He explained at length, with several details, that the resting of the Shechinah comes specifically through practical mitzvos, and he also explained why: because the mitzvos are completely nullified, and so on. Do you remember that or not? Yes? That through the soul it’s something, uh—

09:37 Speaker 10 That was important; I wrote it down.

09:38 Speaker 1 Yes. Even the soul of a perfect tzaddik, who loves Hashem with love, awe, and delight—to use the Alter Rebbe’s language—is not nullified the way a mitzvah is nullified. A mitzvah is Hashem’s very will, so it is more completely nullified to Him. That is why bringing down the Shechinah requires specifically mitzvos; a mitzvah is nullified in this way, while even a tzaddik’s soul is not. He explained this over a whole chapter, with many details, but that was the substance of it. Then what? Then he went on to explain in chapter 36: Fine, now we know that the Shechinah rests specifically through practical mitzvos. But who says the Shechinah needs to rest in the physical world? What if it doesn’t? What would happen? Would something be wrong? A Jew could serve Hashem spiritually and cleave to G-dliness, without bringing down the Shechinah. Why should it matter to me whether the Shechinah rests here or not? What good does that do? Right? That is the question that comes up after you learn chapter 35: mitzvos bring down the Shechinah. You immediately ask, “Wait, but why do we need the Shechinah to rest here? Who needs that at all?” It sounds very beautiful. Young children won’t ask that question. You tell them, “Do you know what a mitzvah is? Through a mitzvah, you bring down the Shechinah,” and they need no further explanation. That is enough. But someone with a bit of understanding will ask, “Who says we need that?” So, to understand this, he gives one more introduction. That second introduction is chapter 36. What does chapter 36 say? It says that the reason Hakadosh Boruch Hu created

11:23 Speaker 1 the world is that He wanted a dwelling place in the lower realms. So he leaves the subject of mitzvos and begins explaining what a dwelling place in the lower realms means. What did he explain about “the lower realms”? I don’t know if we explained this point last week. Maybe we should clarify it. He said that we must say—those aren’t his exact words, but that was the substance—that Hakadosh Boruch Hu did not create the worlds for the sake of the higher worlds. Right? Why not? Because for them, it is a descent from the light of His countenance. So why did He create them? For the sake of this lower world. That is what it says. You remember, right? Let’s think about that for a moment. Let’s stop here. Hakadosh Boruch Hu did not create the world for the sake of the higher worlds. Why? Because for them it is a descent. Right? So what did He create it for? For the sake of the lower world. Isn’t the lower world a descent? What have you explained? Do you hear the question? In the higher worlds, there is still something. Yes, each one is a descent, but there is still something there. In this world, there is nothing. What does it mean that there is no revelation in this world? When a person sees a stone, he sees a stone. Say he’s a Mexican non-Jew born in Thailand, or something. He sees a stone. Would it occur to him that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created it, or creates it anew from nothing at every moment?

13:22 Speaker 11 No.

13:23 Speaker 1 No. Why not? The stone doesn’t tell him. You can’t see it on the stone; even if he cut it open, broke it apart, and searched inside, he would find no proof, evidence, or hint of it. Right? So take—you know what? Not a stone. Take a plant, the most intricate, largest, most beautiful plant in the world. Does that plant tell you that Hakadosh Boruch Hu creates it anew from nothing at every moment, and that there is nothing besides Him? The plant doesn’t either. It conceals Him far more than a stone does, and tells us nothing about Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Does an animal? A human being? No. Nothing in this whole world—the inanimate, plant, animal, or human—reveals anything at all about Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Absolutely nothing. That is what it means to say there is no revelation. A person sees a tree; he sees a tree. That’s it. He sees no revelation of G-dliness. Nothing in this world—no physical thing, and no spiritual thing either—tells us, reveals, shows, or even hints that someone created it. That is what it means to say that this world, as a whole, conceals Hakadosh Boruch Hu: not merely by revealing less, but through complete concealment. Now, if Hakadosh Boruch Hu did not create the higher worlds for their own sake—because they represent a descent from the light of His countenance—then what? Does that mean the purpose of creation is this world? Isn’t this a descent from the light of His countenance? What is he trying to say? The key point is what “because for them it is a descent from the light of His countenance” means. The Alter Rebbe does not mean that He did not create the higher worlds because they

15:44 Speaker 1 have less in them. No, that is not what he means or what he says. It is easier to explain with an example, an analogy. This is a spiritual matter, but an analogy often makes it easier to understand. Think of light. How do I know which is stronger, the light of a candle or the light of the sun? A candle can illuminate five meters away, while the sun can illuminate millions of kilometers away. Right? The farther the light can reach, what does that show? What does it show?

16:23 Speaker 11 About the light.

16:24 Speaker 1 It shows how far away the place is. It shows how great the light is. Right? What is the point of the higher worlds? Hakadosh Boruch Hu made the world of Atzilus. Atzilus is right there with Him, so it is no surprise that the Ein Sof light is revealed there. But even when there is concealment, a screen, and a parsa separating one world from another, He can still be revealed there. That shows even more of the greatness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Then there are another ten sefiros, another parsa, and the world of Yetzirah, where things already have a definite form—and He can be revealed there too. Another parsa, another ten sefiros, more concealment, and the world of Asiyah—and He can be revealed there too. Spiritual Asiyah, yes? So the greater the concealment in the spiritual worlds, what do those worlds reveal all the more?

17:22 Speaker 11 Hakadosh Boruch Hu.

17:22 Speaker 1 They reveal all the more how great He is. Right? So what is the point of the higher worlds? Are they there for their own sake? The point of all the spiritual worlds is not the worlds themselves, but that they reveal how great He is. They are not the goal and purpose; their goal and purpose is to reveal how great He is. He is the goal and purpose. They are only a means through which more and more of His greatness is revealed. He can be revealed even here, even here, even here, even here. Wow—what an immense Ein Sof light that is! Can you say that about this world? It reveals nothing. Right? So if it reveals nothing, why was it created? You cannot say that this world was created to reveal how great the Ein Sof light is. Why? Because it does not reveal it. So it was not created to reveal something about Him. Why, then, was it created? It is the purpose. He created it for its own sake, not for something else. The higher, spiritual worlds are a means of revealing something else. Their whole point is revelation. This world is not a means to something else; it is itself the purpose. Understood?

18:54 Speaker 11 Mm-hmm.

18:55 Speaker 1 Yes?

18:55 Speaker 11 And the purpose is—

18:57 Speaker 1 And that’s what they ask, that’s what they ask: that’s its whole purpose? So the point is a little difficult, a little abstract, but it’s understandable. You understand the point, the idea, right? Now, the moment you grasp that the purpose of this world is not to reveal Him, but that the purpose lies in the world itself, the moment it clicks, what question do you jump to? “This is why He created it?” Is this what Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants—a place where...? Did Hakadosh Boruch Hu want a place whose whole character is a lack? Is that what He was looking for? The higher worlds, at least, I can understand why He wanted them. There’s some purpose to them, some goal. There’s something there. Right? Not for no reason—for something else. But there’s a reason they were created. What about this world? What for? What does it give? What does it give Hakadosh Boruch Hu? It gives Hakadosh Boruch Hu nothing, a lack. It gives Him zero. What does it give Him? It gives Him a place where He won’t be revealed. Why does He need that? Right. And that’s what chapter 36 is about. So what really is the answer? How many of you were here when we studied the maamar “Gadol Yihyeh”? A year ago? A year ago, two years ago, we studied it.

21:17 Speaker 12 I don’t know if I was here. I remember.

21:19 Speaker 1 Have we forgotten?

21:23 Speaker 13 The house, my wife.

21:24 Speaker 1 “Gadol Yihyeh Kevod Habayis.” Yes, yes, yes.

21:26 Speaker 13 She said that’s also what we studied last year.

21:28 Speaker 1 Yes.

21:29 Speaker 13 She came back to us this summer. I think it was the same maamar.

21:32 Speaker 1 So there’s only one like that.

21:34 Speaker 13 Huh?

21:35 Speaker 1 There’s only one maamar like that. Only one like that.

21:37 Speaker 12 A long one.

21:39 Speaker 1 It’s fairly long, but it’s one of the foundational maamarim for understanding Moshiach, Geulah, what will happen in the future. It’s the...

21:50 Speaker 12 The soul rejoices.

21:53 Speaker 13 Maybe she remembers that too.

21:56 Speaker 1 What for? That’s chapter 36. What is Hakadosh Boruch Hu looking for here? What does He want here? Why does He need such a thing? What does it give Him? So the point, the explanation—there are many explanations involved, and you have to think about it a great deal. It really is a difficult idea to grasp. Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted—wants—wanted to have a dwelling place in the lower realms. That’s the answer. What does “a dwelling place in the lower realms” mean? “Lower”—he explained this at the beginning of the chapter, if you remember—means a place where He is not revealed, a place that has its own existence. Right? Now, when Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed, can there be an existence of its own? All existence comes from Him, after all, and the only reason we can see a world is that He is concealed. I’m sorry, but that’s the point of the chapter. We have to understand it. So even if we don’t get to chapter 37, we have to understand this point. A person thinks a thought, an idea—something very simple: one plus one equals two. Right? That’s an intellectual idea. Or: tomorrow morning I need to drink coffee before I leave for work. He thinks a thought, an idea, something. Right? Before he thought it, where was it? It was contained within his intellect. If it came from the intellect, where did the thought come from? From his understanding, right? And where did the understanding come from? From the intellect. So if this thought came from there, it was there even before he thought it, right? Yes or no? We have to say so. Right. Now, if a person—or someone else, it doesn’t matter who—were to look into that intellect, would he see the thought there? Not that thought, and not any other thought. The intellect isn’t made up of lots and lots of thoughts

24:12 Speaker 1 all packed together. Right? It’s a capacity, the capacity to think thoughts and understand things. Right? So when the thought is within the intellect, before he thinks it, does it have an existence of its own or not? It has no existence of its own. What does that mean? If it’s there in its source and root, then of course it exists, but its existence is nullified within the existence of the intellect. You could look and you wouldn’t see it. Right? Sunlight within the sun, before it emerges from the sun: is there light there or isn’t there? If the light comes from the sun, well, if it reaches so far, it must certainly be there inside the sun, right? The closer it is to the sun, the stronger it is. So wouldn’t it be there inside the sun? Is there light inside the sun? There’s the body of the sun; there’s no light there. How can there be no light? That’s where it comes from! Certainly it has much greater intensity there. But what gives it that intensity? The fact that it’s nullified within its source. It has no independent existence. Everything it has comes from its source. Right? This world was created from... the word of Hashem. Right? So before it was created, it was contained within its source. What does “contained” mean? Contained the way a thought is, the way light is contained within the sun. It doesn’t exist as a separate thing. Right? You can’t see it; it isn’t an existence of its own. Now what are we told? We’re told that even after this world was created, it is still contained within its source, just as it was before it was created. There is no difference at all. What’s the only difference? A screen has been put up so that we can’t see the source. So to us, the world appears to have an existence of its own. Why? Because we don’t see the intellect—the G-dliness within which it is contained. So we feel ourselves to be

25:52 Speaker 1 an existence of our own. Right? What does that mean? How is that possible? That’s the idea. Is it clear? At least nod your heads. Is it clear? Yes. If that’s the reality, now let’s say the barrier is removed, and “Your Teacher shall no longer be hidden.” One day, Hakadosh Boruch Hu—Moshiach will come—will take away the barrier, the thing that conceals His essence from us, the screen. He’ll lift the screen. When He lifts the screen, what will happen?

26:27 Speaker 14 Revelation.

26:30 Speaker 1 What does “revelation” mean? It will go back to being as it was before—as it was contained within its source before. It’s contained within its source now, and it will be then too, except that then, as before, it won’t feel anything.

26:38 Speaker 14 Then that doesn’t fit.

26:39 Speaker 1 Wait, wait.

26:40 Speaker 14 Okay.

26:42 Speaker 1 Just as before. What did the world feel before it was created? Did it feel like nothing, like zero? It didn’t even feel that. The moment the barrier is lifted, it will be the same thing again.

26:54 Speaker 14 But that’s not what He—

26:55 Speaker 1 That’s clear.

26:57 Speaker 14 So that’s what’s supposed to happen.

26:59 Speaker 1 That’s what’s supposed to happen. So that’s what he’s asking: what does “a dwelling place in the lower realms” mean? If it’s a dwelling place, then it isn’t lower. Why is it lower? Because it isn’t a dwelling place. If He is revealed there in all His essence, if it’s a dwelling place, then it isn’t a lower realm; it’s contained within its source. Right? What—what? It simply doesn’t seem possible. Is it clear why it doesn’t seem possible?

27:35 Speaker 14 So what does Hashem want—

27:37 Speaker 1 So in the first part of the chapter, it says what Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted: a dwelling place in the lower realms. He explained what “lower realms” means. They’re lower because you can’t see Him there. Then he explained what a dwelling place in the lower realms means: He is revealed in the lower realm. And immediately everyone jumps in and asks: “Excuse me, what does it mean for Him to be revealed in the lower realm? That can’t happen.” The Alter Rebbe answers that in the rest of the chapter: how it can happen. What’s the explanation? There is Torah. There’s something magical called Torah—a magic wand. The Torah gives a person, the world, reality itself, the strength to remain an existence of its own even after the screen has been lifted. That’s why the Torah is called oz, “strength.” That’s why the Torah is called koach, “power.” Right? Ah. Now it’s starting to make sense. Right?

28:39 Speaker 15 What do you mean, “that’s why”? That’s why—um—strength and power.

28:43 Speaker 1 Hmm? The Torah—why is the Torah called “strength”? Because it gives strength. It gives the world the strength to withstand the revelation of Hashem without losing its own existence. But then what? So that much is clear, right? Let’s finish the thought, and then we’ll start chapter 37. Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted—and we saw this; we won’t go over the whole subject again—everything that will happen in the future to come about through man’s avodah. That includes the revelation of the Infinite, the dwelling for Him in the lower realms. That, too, is to come about through man’s avodah. Now that we understand what we’re talking about, what does that mean? Can I remove the concealment? What does that have to do with me? Can I bring Hakadosh Boruch Hu down here? What does that have to do with me? What does it mean that in the future, “Your Teacher will no longer be concealed”? Hakadosh Boruch Hu will lift the curtain and reveal Himself in His Essence, and we’ll have the strength to receive that through the Torah. What does that have to do with me and my avodah? Right? Do we understand the question? But the Alter Rebbe explains that this has happened before. Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave us the strength for this, too. Where did He give us that strength? At Matan Torah. What happened at Matan Torah? It says that Hakadosh Boruch Hu revealed Himself, gave His very Self, His Essence, in the Ten Commandments. It says—the Alter Rebbe brings this later in the chapter—that when Hakadosh Boruch Hu said, “I am Hashem your G-d,” the Zohar says He spoke to them from every direction: “There was no place from which He did not speak.” They heard the voice coming from the east and the west, the north and the south, from above and from below. The entire world cried out together, “I am Hashem.” And they saw it; they didn’t hear it. It says they “saw the sounds.” What does that mean? What—

30:55 Speaker 1 Was it some kind of miracle where suddenly they heard the sounds coming from all sorts of places? Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted to make an impression on them, so He did a sort of trick where they heard it from every direction at once—stereophonic, from every direction. They saw it in stereo. No, it wasn’t a trick. Hakadosh Boruch Hu was revealed as He will be revealed in the future. What will happen in the future? All of existence will cry out, “I am Hashem your G-d.” There is nothing besides Him. That is what was revealed. The heavens cried out, “There is nothing besides Him.” The east and west, north and south, above and below, the trees and the stones—and of that it says that the whole world fell silent. The entire world was nullified and silently cried out, “I am Hashem your G-d; there is nothing besides Him.”

31:44 Speaker 15 Like radio waves that they didn’t hear, while at the same time they heard others.

31:52 Speaker 1 No. I hear the analogy. I’ve used that analogy myself before. It isn’t right. It isn’t right to put it that way.

32:04 Speaker 15 Never mind. It’s radio waves, right? That’s what people say.

32:09 Speaker 1 Radio waves are one thing. What kind of analogy is that? It’s a good analogy—I don’t even want to mention that name. Radio waves are an analogy for what? What? What do people say? What? In Chabad there’s no such analogy. Not in any sicha of the Rebbe. Radio has been around for at least 150 years, and it doesn’t appear in Chassidus—or at least I haven’t heard of it. What are people trying to say? That if something is passing through the air and you don’t have the instrument, you can’t see it; if you have the instrument, you can? Yes, that can be an analogy for all sorts of things. But here the issue isn’t that we lack an instrument. The issue is seeing the thing itself. There’s a curtain. When people bring up radio waves, what are they saying? Why can’t I see it? Because it’s something so lofty that I’m unable to see it. That’s not what we’re saying here about G-dliness. I don’t see G-dliness because He conceals it, not because I’m not a vessel for it. I’m not a vessel for it now, I won’t be a vessel for it later, and I’ll never be a vessel for it.

33:24 Speaker 15 Ultraviolet isn’t relevant either.

33:27 Speaker 1 What he’s saying here is not that the world will become refined. Hakadosh Boruch Hu will reveal Himself. It depends on His revealing Himself, lifting the curtain, and giving us the strength of the Torah so that we can withstand it without losing our own existence. So how does that depend on our avodah? He answers that there was such a situation at Matan Torah. At first Hakadosh Boruch Hu revealed Himself to everyone in such a way that their souls really did depart, the world fell silent, and the entire world was nullified. Then, our Sages say, Hakadosh Boruch Hu restored their souls with the dew He will use to revive the dead. What dew? The dew of Torah. The revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu in the world comes through the Torah. And what gives the world the strength not to be nullified? The Torah.

34:18 Speaker 15 In other words, when we say that the decree was annulled, it means that the upper realms didn’t leave their level, but they did descend below, and—

34:25 Speaker 1 Yes. What is that connection? Yes, yes.

34:26 Speaker 15 So that’s the idea: it’s not that we lack a vessel to receive it. The upper and lower realms remain as they are, and yet they connect.

34:33 Speaker 1 Yes, that’s the idea of connecting the upper and lower realms. “Lower” means concealment; “upper” means revelation. How can they connect? If it’s revealed, it’s no longer concealed. If it’s concealed, it isn’t revealed. How can the two go together? The moment it’s revealed, the concealment is nullified. How does it remain concealed, remain an existence, and yet become revealed? Through the Torah. The Torah makes the connection between the upper and lower realms. All right? So he explained that, and... No, let’s move on to chapter 37. All right? We can read it inside. In chapters 35 and 36, he explains what a mitzvah accomplishes: the resting of the Shechinah in the physical world. Right? What does he explain in chapter 36? Why do we need it? Because that’s not the question of why we need it.

35:32 Speaker 15 Here, I have... No, but that one doesn’t have all of it. I have the—

35:38 Speaker 1 What did I do? I made eight of those—

35:40 Speaker 15 Here it is—

35:42 Speaker 1 Who? No, that isn’t 37.

35:44 Speaker 15 They’re all in order.

35:45 Speaker 1 And it starts. That’s only at the beginning.

35:47 Speaker 15 Of course.

35:48 Speaker 1 A blank page at the top, yes. No, no, that’s all from last week.

35:52 Speaker 15 All right, all right. I got mixed up about what’s here.

35:56 Speaker 1 What’s missing from the explanation? We already know that chapters 35, 36 and 37, as we said, form one unit explaining what? That the purpose of the world is to be a dwelling for Him in the lower realms. Right? What was the first part? What do mitzvos do? They bring about the resting of the Shechinah. What was the second part? Why—what is the ultimate purpose? What do we need that for? What’s the goal? A dwelling in the lower realms. What’s missing? The connection. What does my avodah have to do with a dwelling in the lower realms? The first chapter spoke about mitzvos, right? Mitzvos bring about the resting of the Shechinah. What did he discuss in the second chapter, the one we just learned? That Hakadosh Boruch Hu reveals Himself, and the strength to receive that comes through the Torah. Right? But where is my avodah in this? Where’s the connection? What do I do to bring down the Shechinah so that it will be revealed in the lower realms? Where’s my part? That’s where chapter 37 comes in. It connects chapters 35 and 36. It’s one of the longest chapters in Tanya, but it’s a very easy chapter. There’s no particularly deep point here that we need to grasp. We can read it quickly. Let’s focus. Come on, let’s start learning. What time is it now?

37:19 Speaker 16 Nineteen.

37:21 Speaker 1 Well, let’s start and see. Chapter 37: “Now this ultimate perfection of the days of Moshiach and the Resurrection of the Dead,” which we discussed in chapter 36—the revelation of the light of the Infinite, blessed be He, in this physical world, the connection between above and below—“depends on our deeds and our avodah,” especially our deeds and avodah throughout the time of galus. Why? How does it depend on us? Because the mitzvah itself brings about its reward. When we talk about reward, there are two kinds. In one, a person works and receives a salary at the end of the month. In the other, as the saying goes, “Whoever toiled on the eve of Shabbos will eat on Shabbos.” In physical terms, you prepare a salad, so you’ll have a salad on Shabbos. If you didn’t prepare one, you won’t. Right? What’s the difference between the two kinds of reward? With the first, ordinary kind, there’s no inherent connection between the work and the reward. A person might do all kinds of different jobs, and in each case be paid money, coins. The same thing. The coins or banknotes, or whatever is deposited in his account, aren’t connected to what he did. Is that clear? Yes?

38:59 Speaker 16 Why aren’t they connected?

39:01 Speaker 1 He receives the equivalent value, yes, but it isn’t... He made shoes and received coins, [unclear]. You see what I mean?

39:12 Speaker 16 In the past they would receive the same thing. Like, you exchanged milk and received milk.

39:16 Speaker 1 That would be the second kind of reward. Actually, no. Understand what—

39:20 Speaker 16 When they produce the things, then they really do receive...

39:22 Speaker 1 A person grows a field and harvests it, and afterward he has it ground and has wheat. So the wheat—the bread—is the reward. It’s the result of his work. If he hadn’t had it ground, it wouldn’t be there. He prepares salads on Friday, and then on Shabbos there are salads on the table. If he doesn’t make them, they won’t be there. Right? So there’s a reward that’s of equivalent value but isn’t connected to the thing itself, and there’s a reward that results from the thing itself. Right? So what did our Sages say? That the reward for a mitzvah is the mitzvah itself. The reward we receive for mitzvos is the second kind of reward. You might think—and many people do—that Hashem very much wants us to keep mitzvos and learn Torah, so the harder you work, the bigger a prize He’ll give you. You’ll get to rest in Gan Eden some more, another room, another treat there, I don’t know what. He’ll give you something extra... No. The reward is the reward of the mitzvah itself. The Torah you learned here—that’s what you’ll learn in Gan Eden, its secrets and its inner dimension. The mitzvos you fulfill here—we said in chapter 35 that a mitzvah draws down a revelation of G-dliness, the indwelling of the Shechinah. Right? That’s the nature of a mitzvah. A mitzvah does that, and he also explained why. Since the mitzvah is nullified to G-dliness, when you fulfill a mitzvah, G-dliness is drawn down because of that nullification. Right? So G-dliness being drawn into the world is a natural result of fulfilling a mitzvah. Right? Now you’ll fulfill many, many, many mitzvos. What’s the reward? The reward is that G-dliness will be revealed in the world. What does it mean for G-dliness to be revealed in the world? A dwelling place in the lower realms. Yes. Understood? That’s what he says: The mitzvah itself brings about its reward, for by performing it, a person draws down a revelation of the light of the blessed Ein Sof from above to below, to be enclothed in the physicality

41:28 Speaker 1 of this world, in something that was previously under the dominion of kelipas nogah and received its vitality from it. What are these things that are under the dominion of kelipas nogah and receive their vitality from it? We already know from chapter 6 of Tanya, which we learned not long ago, that they are all the pure and permissible things with which a practical mitzvah is performed. We spoke earlier, at the beginning of the class, about how everything in this world—the inanimate, plants, animals, and people—doesn’t reveal G-dliness, right? If they don’t reveal it, then where do they get... How do they exist at all? Where... Anything that exists has some vitality, some G-dliness that sustains it.

42:17 Speaker 17 If it’s from Hashem, they don’t reveal that.

42:18 Speaker 1 What?

42:19 Speaker 17 They perceive it.

42:20 Speaker 1 Yes. What does it mean that something receives its vitality but doesn’t reveal it? Is that kelipas nogah? He said at the beginning of Tanya, in the first chapters: What is holiness? Holiness is something that is nullified to G-dliness, and sitra achra is something that isn’t nullified to G-dliness, that feels itself to be an entity. Kelipas nogah is like that. It doesn’t oppose Hashem. It feels itself to be an entity: I’m a tree, I’m a stone, I’m a person, I’m a lion, I’m a cat, I’m a mosquito. It feels itself to be an entity. Right? Everything in this world feels its own existence and doesn’t sense Hashem. Why doesn’t it sense Him? Because it isn’t nullified. Why isn’t it nullified? Because it receives its vitality from kelipas nogah. That was explained at length in chapter 6. We’re talking about pure things, not impure things, but they still feel themselves to be separate and don’t feel themselves to be nullified. Why? Because their vitality comes from kelipas nogah. That’s the reason. That’s the whole nature of kelipas nogah: on the one hand, it doesn’t oppose; on the other hand, it doesn’t reveal. And when he takes these things that are pure and permissible—even pure things in this world receive their vitality from kelipas nogah. A cow is a pure animal. A person touches a cow and doesn’t become ritually impure. Right? Even a dead cow doesn’t make a person ritually impure. A cow doesn’t impart impurity, but it isn’t holy. But when he takes permissible and pure things and performs a practical mitzvah with them, such as the parchment of tefillin, a mezuzah, or a Torah scroll—as our Sages said, “Only the hide of a kosher animal is fit for sacred work”—then when he takes these permissible and pure things, or an esrog, provided it isn’t orlah, or money that he gives to tzedakah, provided it isn’t stolen, and so on,

44:28 Speaker 1 and the like. So when he takes the thi—

44:30 Speaker 3 An esrog that... that... you’re saying could be orlah?

44:34 Speaker 1 Of course.

44:35 Speaker 3 All right. You can’t use an orlah esrog at all?

44:41 Speaker 1 I... We can learn the note if you want, but I skipped it.

44:46 Speaker 3 Oh.

44:50 Speaker 1 Let’s read the note: “Orlah is from the three completely impure kelipos, which can never be elevated, as stated in Eitz Chaim. Therefore, any mitzvah that comes through a transgression, G-d forbid...” Do I need to explain further?

45:05 Speaker 3 No, it’s not the point. You won’t see—

45:07 Speaker 4 It’s a positive and a negative commandment; he made some basic ruling here.

45:10 Speaker 1 But really, it’s because of that question that the Rebbe did include the note.

45:13 Speaker 4 But what about, um... All right.

45:16 Speaker 1 We need to learn this note here too, but...

45:19 Speaker 4 No, but say, what about shatnez, which you can’t... in the Beis Hamikdash, or—

45:22 Speaker 1 That...

45:23 Speaker 4 That the kohanim can wear.

45:26 Speaker 3 Tzitzis too.

45:27 Speaker 1 So?

45:28 Speaker 4 Then it is prohibited. M-m-maybe it wasn’t prohibited to begin with; maybe it did become prohibited, but...

45:34 Speaker 1 There it isn’t prohibited. Here it’s a mitzvah, here it’s prohibited?

45:37 Speaker 4 But say, orlah—we eat the esrog.

45:39 Speaker 1 What?

45:40 Speaker 4 No, you’re not allowed to eat orlah.

45:41 Speaker 3 But maybe there’s a concern that people will come to do that.

45:44 Speaker 1 The same One who said it’s permitted here said it’s prohibited there. Here it receives its vitality from holiness; there it receives its vitality from the impure kelipos; and here it receives it from kelipas nogah. A person takes meat from a kosher cow, right? If he commits some transgression with it—there’s no shortage of transgressions he could commit—then that same meat now receives its vitality from the impure kelipos. And if he performs a mitzvah with it, that same meat now receives its vitality... The meat looks exactly the same; there’s no difference. Where does it get... How does it live? What sustains it, what brings it into being from nothing at this moment? It can receive its vitality from holiness, from kelipas nogah, or from the impure kelipos. There’s how it was created, and there’s what a person does with it. We saw that in the first chapters of Tanya. So when a person takes something that, on its own, receives its vitality from where? From kelipas nogah. G-dliness isn’t visible in it. And now he uses it for a mitzvah. What does that mean? He’s now using it for G-dliness. What does it mean to use it for G-dliness? The very thing that previously concealed G-dliness now reveals G-dliness. What did we discuss at the beginning—at the beginning of the previous chapter? At the beginning of chapter 35: why does a mitzvah draw down G-dliness? Because it is nullified. This is Hashem’s will—Hashem wanted such and such, right? So when a person fulfills the mitzvah, here it is: this is His will; it is He Himself. Just as a person’s will expresses his essence, so too, as it were, Hashem’s will is His essence. When a person performs a mitzvah, He Himself is revealed here, in physical reality, in my hands. When I love Him and fear Him, He can’t be revealed within me; in the mitzvah, He can.

47:39 Speaker 1 Yes, it can be revealed. Not only can it be revealed; on the contrary, a mitzvah connects to and reveals His very essence, the light of the Shechinah itself. Right? So when a person takes something that until now received its vitality from kelipas nogah, and through that very thing now reveals G-dliness—even more than the soul of a tzaddik does—what happened here? A dwelling in the lower realms. The lower thing itself became a dwelling. Okay? How does he continue? “For the vitality within them”—within those things with which he performs the mitzvah—“ascends, is nullified, and is included in the light of the Ein Sof, blessed be He,” which is the light of His infinite will clothed in them. Why is it clothed in them? Because now, at the moment he performs a mitzvah with this thing, there is no concealment of His light there at all. Nothing conceals it. On the contrary, it reveals; it does not conceal. And it is not only the thing with which the mitzvah is performed. “And likewise the power of the vital, animal soul in the limbs of a person’s body.” How does a person perform the mitzvah? Through his body, and his body performs the mitzvah through the animal soul. Where do the body and the animal soul receive their vitality from? From kelipas nogah. And now, when he performs a mitzvah, the power moving his hand to perform it, and the limb of the body performing it, become a vehicle for G-dliness, nullified to G-dliness and united with G-dliness. So that power is clothed in the action as well. In other words, the physical thing with which the mitzvah is performed, the limb of the body, and the power of the animal soul clothed in that limb—all of them ascend from kelipah and are included in the holiness of the mitzvah, which is itself His will. Consequently, the power of the animal soul, the limb of the body, and so on, are nullified in the light of the Ein Sof, blessed be He. Right?

50:00 Speaker 1 Nu, then why do we need to study Torah at all?

50:06 Speaker 5 They say the Torah only gives us the power to connect it.

50:16 Speaker 1 And what if it isn’t revealed? Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted a dwelling in the lower realms. The moment a person performs a physical mitzvah—a mitzvah in the physical world—it becomes a dwelling in the lower realms. Right? That’s what we explained. So I don’t feel it. The world wasn’t created so that you would or wouldn’t feel it. Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world so that He would have a dwelling in the lower realms. You performed a mitzvah; it became a dwelling in the lower realms. So why do we need Torah? What is it for? To study? To understand? What?

50:53 Speaker 5 To know what to do. Otherwise we won’t perform the mitzvah.

50:56 Speaker 1 So he says no. “Even with the mitzvos of Torah study, the recitation of Shema, prayer, and the like, although they do not involve actual physical action.” In other words, the purpose of the world—Hakadosh Boruch Hu created us and the entire world to make Him a dwelling. So yes, that point is correct: Torah is not like a mitzvah, not like a physical mitzvah. You cannot sanctify the physical world, the lower realm, with Torah. Torah is a spiritual matter. A person’s thought and understanding are spiritual. Something spiritual cannot sanctify the physical. Right? But it can, to some extent. Why can it do so to some extent, even though Torah, Shema, and prayer do not involve actual physical action? Do you want to continue, or leave it for next time? I don’t know; it seems we’re out of time. I don’t mind.

51:53 Speaker 5 Finish it to the end.

51:55 Speaker 1 You want me to finish, to the end of this section here?

51:59 Speaker 5 Yes, to the end of the section.

52:01 Speaker 1 Then a few more minutes. Although Torah and all these spiritual things do not involve actual physical action, [unclear] kelipas nogah, nevertheless, we hold that thought is not equivalent to speech, and a person has not fulfilled his obligation until he articulates the words. And we hold that moving one’s lips constitutes an action. In the Alter Rebbe’s laws of Torah study, in the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, he emphasizes this strongly. Torah study must be spoken aloud. If you haven’t said the words with your mouth, you haven’t fulfilled your obligation. You understood it, understood it very well—but if you didn’t say it aloud, you haven’t fulfilled your obligation. I need to tell myself that, but... The mitzvah of Torah study is through speech, because speech also involves some degree of action. It isn’t quite an action performed with the hands, but the Gemara calls it a minor action. It counts as an action too. The Gemara in Tractate Kerisos discusses liability for kareis, which applies only if a person performed an action. So the Gemara asks: If someone committed a transgression through speech, why is he liable for kareis? He didn’t do anything; he only spoke. He only said something—“I only said it.” He didn’t act. Why should he be liable for kareis? What happened? The Gemara says that he is liable. Why? Because moving one’s lips is also... Speech also involves an element of action. The Rebbe says that this is true: Torah study does not sanctify the world or turn it into a dwelling in the lower realms. It isn’t like an actual mitzvah. But the person speaks. There is something there.

53:51 Speaker 6 Say, for someone who needs to, I’ll say it aloud. I don’t speak when I read, but I do study it. Does that not count as my study?

53:58 Speaker 1 So, as I said, I’m guilty of this too, not just you. You’re fine; I’m the one who isn’t doing it right. There are laws of Torah study.

54:07 Speaker 6 Wait—the mitzvah of Torah study. Technically, is it only through speech?

54:13 Speaker 1 In the morning we make the blessing over the Torah, and that blessing covers the whole day. So immediately after making it, to ensure it isn’t a blessing in vain, you should at least study something, some short passage. At least say something. Right? If you don’t say anything aloud, the blessing is in vain, no matter how much you understood.

54:33 Speaker 6 So why do you [unclear] anyway?

54:36 Speaker 7 Remember, that applies to studying the teachings about the soul as well.

54:39 Speaker 6 Okay, we only say Torah for the second year.

54:42 Speaker 1 Fulfilling the mitzvah of Torah study, Talmud Torah.

54:45 Speaker 7 That’s why you [unclear].

54:46 Speaker 1 All mitzvos need to be performed through action.

54:49 Speaker 7 Even when studying Tanya, it needs to be done that way.

54:53 Speaker 1 I don’t want to say “unfortunately,” because one mustn’t be distressed, but...

54:58 Speaker 7 So that is study.

54:59 Speaker 1 It’s halachah. The law is explicit in the Shulchan Aruch: Torah study must be spoken aloud. We can open it and see what it says, but how is that relevant right now? It is relevant, yes, but that isn’t the point we’re discussing. Why? Why does this count as Torah study too? Because “the G-dly soul cannot express itself through physical lips, mouth, tongue, and teeth except by means of the vital, animal soul clothed in the actual limbs of the body.” We’ve said several times already that the G-dly soul cannot act upon the body without the animal soul. So it’s true that the G-dly soul is the one studying Torah. But because it cannot act upon the body without the animal soul, ultimately it is the animal soul that moves the lips and drives the thoughts, or whatever. So yes, there is some holiness here.

55:47 Speaker 6 So it does count as a good deed, but I haven’t drawn anything down through it. I haven’t brought in Hakadosh Boruch Hu.

55:51 Speaker 1 What?

55:52 Speaker 6 So if I very much want to speak, then yes, I’ve done a good deed, but I haven’t drawn down Hakadosh Boruch Hu. I haven’t achieved my goal.

55:58 Speaker 1 Wait, wait, this chapter isn’t over yet. It isn’t over yet. What we’re discussing here is the purpose: Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world to make Him a dwelling in the lower realms. What was explained in the two previous chapters? What conclusion emerged from them? At the beginning of this chapter, he summed up those two chapters: If that is the purpose, then perform mitzvos. Why do you need Torah—specifically in relation to sanctifying the physical? You want to sanctify the physical, which is the purpose of the world? Torah study is good too. That’s fine. Why? Because it also involves a little action. That’s what he said. We’ll see more as we go on; it doesn’t end there. “And therefore, the more forcefully one speaks”—meaning that one studies Torah with vigor, putting in enough effort that it disturbs his sleep—“the more he clothes the powers of the vital soul in these words.” This is what the verse means by “All my bones shall say”: one’s study should be in a manner of “All my bones shall say,” studying with one’s whole body. And this is what our Sages said: “If it is arranged in all 248 limbs, it is retained; if not, it is not retained.” Our Sages said that when a person studies and, as he speaks, moves his whole body—studying with his hands like this—he remembers what he learns. Otherwise, they said, he forgets it. Both points are explicit.

57:37 Speaker 8 This is more formal study, where you tell the students to study in...

57:42 Speaker 1 And here the Alter Rebbe explains why. Why? Where does forgetfulness come from? If a person had only a G-dly soul, would it forget? Forgetfulness comes from concealment. Right? What conceals? The animal soul. Right? Now take the animal soul and tell it: “Yes, now you’re going to get excited, speak, shout, and move your hands.” It’s doing something now. Yes, it’s at work. What is it doing? Right now, it’s submitting to G-dliness. Aha. Suddenly you’re no longer concealing. Suddenly you’re submitting to G-dliness. Yes. The very fact that the animal soul is now submitting to G-dliness means it isn’t doing what it wants. What does the animal soul like? Eating, drinking, playing. It likes enjoying this world. It has no interest at all in studying Torah. When a person studies Torah, the animal soul has to give way. This isn’t its time. No, this isn’t its moment. Right? And if the G-dly soul now takes control of it to the point that it makes it get excited, then just as, with a physical mitzvah, the physical matter of this world submits to G-dliness and reveals Hakadosh Boruch Hu, now his animal soul reveals G-dliness. An animal soul that has revealed G-dliness won’t conceal so strongly afterward. He’ll forget less. It’s simple logic. And this is what our Sages said: “If it is arranged in all 248 limbs, it is retained; if not, it is not retained. For forgetfulness comes from the kelipah of the body and the vital animal soul, which are from kelipas nogah, which is sometimes included in holiness.” When? When he exhausts his strength and puts all his strength into the holiness of Torah. He makes himself study with all his strength, exhausts his strength as he puts it into the holiness of Torah and prayer. And then... So what’s the summary of

59:52 Speaker 1 the first part of the chapter, chapter 37? That a person’s avodah is what brings about a dwelling for Hashem in the lower realms, primarily through mitzvos, but also through Torah and even prayer.

1:00:07 Speaker 8 Prayer more than Torah?

1:00:09 Speaker 1 What?

1:00:09 Speaker 8 Is prayer more than Torah? Like Torah—

1:00:11 Speaker 1 Prayer is actually even more spiritual than Torah. I mean, prayer is more spiritual. That means it has less of an effect on the world.

1:00:18 Speaker 8 Why?

1:00:20 Speaker 1 Not here. What does prayer have to do with it? Who prays? The animal soul prays.

1:00:24 Speaker 8 Yes, because it’s through Hakadosh Boruch Hu.

1:00:25 Speaker 1 Shh... We haven’t gotten there yet. Why is this chapter so long? What haven’t we explained yet? You see, there’s almost another whole chapter here. From this point, a new topic begins, sort of. See? From here to the end of the chapter, there’s what looks like a blank line separating the sections, and...

1:00:45 Speaker 8 What’s the point? “Not only that, but furthermore.”

1:00:48 Speaker 1 “Furthermore”—as if to say, not only that; there’s something else entirely, but on the same subject, in the same chapter. What’s missing? What have we explained up to this point? Everything explained since the beginning of the chapter is that through Torah and mitzvos—mainly mitzvos—a person makes a dwelling for Hakadosh Boruch Hu in the lower realms. Where?

1:01:11 Speaker 8 In this world.

1:01:12 Speaker 1 No.

1:01:13 Speaker 8 In the World to Come.

1:01:14 Speaker 1 Here! In me, in my body.

1:01:16 Speaker 8 Okay.

1:01:20 Speaker 1 So why did Hakadosh Boruch Hu create the world? To have a dwelling for Himself in the lower realms. What are the “lower realms”? The whole world. Right? How will I transform—how will my avodah here transform into holiness a non-Jew in China, or, I don’t know, the sand in a desert that no human being has ever seen, or the water at the bottom of the sea? What does my avodah have to do with the entire world? All we’ve explained here is that through his avodah, a person can make himself holy—his soul, his body, even the things he touches and uses. What does that have to do with the whole world? That’s what the rest of the chapter addresses.

1:02:11 Speaker 8 Chani, there’s another page here.

1:02:12 Speaker 9 My brother?

1:02:13 Speaker 8 There’s another page here.