Likkutei Amarim Chapter 38 · 5785

00:00 Speaker 1 Let’s begin.

00:01 Speaker 2 Yes, we’re going to begin chapter 38. Chapter 38 really is a new beginning, the start of a new subject. Until now, the Alter Rebbe has spoken about intention and action as two separate things. That is, up to chapter 34, he discussed how intention—meaning love and fear of Hashem—brings a person to perform the mitzvos. What was intention for? What was the point of love and fear? If a person has love of Hashem and fear of Hashem, he’ll keep the mitzvos and won’t commit transgressions. So love and fear weren’t goals in themselves; they were a means of bringing a person to keep the mitzvos. Along the way, the Rebbe also explained the great value of love and fear of Hashem in their own right. But the overall thrust was this: What does it mean to be a beinoni? Someone who doesn’t commit transgressions. So if you have love and fear, you won’t commit transgressions. An intellectually developed love, a natural love—that was the subject of the beginning of Tanya. Then, actually, that itself raises a question. Is the whole purpose of love and fear, of feeling, to bring about action? Why do we need action? Why is action so important? To us, it would seem that what matters most is a person’s spiritual life—his intellect, his feelings. Whether I actually did something or didn’t do it, the physical act seems far less important to us than our inner faculties. That’s how we feel, right? So after the Rebbe explained at length how love and fear are needed to keep the mitzvos fully, he began to explain why

02:15 Speaker 2 action is needed at all. What’s so important about actually doing the mitzvos that all this love and fear is directed toward it? What is there in action that we work so hard for it? So, in the three chapters we learned recently, he explained that action, specifically, is the ultimate purpose. It is the purpose for which the world was created—not intention. Intention, feeling, intellect, contemplation: these are very lofty things. But Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world because He wanted a dwelling place in the lower realms, and bringing the light of Hashem into the lower realms happens specifically through observing practical mitzvos, not through intention. So until now, the Alter Rebbe has discussed intention and action as two separate things. Intention has no purpose of its own—or, primarily, its purpose is to lead to action.

03:14 Speaker 1 If everyone is here.

03:15 Speaker 2 Yes?

03:16 Speaker 1 Yes.

03:19 Speaker 7 Oh, I’m not—

03:21 Speaker 1 No, no, no. It’s all right.

03:22 Speaker 7 Getting cold.

03:23 Speaker 1 No, it’s all right. I’m fine with the fan. If you’re hot, turn it on, but if I’m the only one who’s hot, I’m fine with the fan.

03:31 Speaker 7 No, I—

03:33 Speaker 1 Sit over there so you don’t get cold. No, so you don’t get cold. It’s all right. She’s used to it from home. Her father turns on the air conditioner first thing in the morning.

03:42 Speaker 7 Oh, wow, that’s—

03:50 Speaker 2 So until now, the mitzvos and the actions, and intention and feeling or contemplation, were two separate things. There was a spiritual element whose whole purpose was to lead to action, but that spiritual element itself wasn’t so closely connected to the action. And then there was the action itself: the value of the action wasn’t connected to the feeling that led to it. From here, from chapter 38, the Alter Rebbe begins a new subject: intention within action. That means not intention that leads to action, but the importance of keeping mitzvos with love and fear. “And with all the above”—after the previous chapters explained the great value and importance of action, that it is the purpose of creation—“with all the above, the ruling of the law set out in the Talmud and the halachic authorities will be well understood: thought is not equivalent to speech.” Thinking is not like speaking. The Gemara discusses this, and the halachic ruling is that if a person only thinks about or intends to perform a mitzvah but doesn’t actually do it, the thought doesn’t count as fulfilling the mitzvah. “And if he recited Shema in his mind and heart alone, with all the force of his intention, he has not fulfilled his obligation.” Because what matters most is—he might have had the intention, with all the intentions one is supposed to have. And notice the Alter Rebbe’s precise wording here: he recited Shema “in his mind and heart.” What would it mean to recite it in his mind but not his heart? A person could think the letters without intending anything, without understanding. He could go over the letters in his mind, right? The Alter Rebbe says no: he didn’t just think the letters of Shema. He meant it with all his intention, in his mind and heart, “with all the force of his intention,” and still did not fulfill his obligation. Why? Because he didn’t say the words. Seemingly, the whole point of Shema is the oneness of Hashem—we discuss that at length, right?

06:18 Speaker 2 Bittul. Why does it matter so much whether he spoke or not? The main thing is that he did the mitzvah itself: he had the intention, he contemplated, he reached a love of Hashem. He actually has love of Hashem, burning like fire in his heart. No. If he didn’t say the words, it doesn’t count. Why? “Thought is not equivalent to speech.” The action is what matters most. And why is action what matters most? As we said in the previous chapters, because that is the purpose for which the world was created. He goes further: he must go back and recite it. “And likewise with Birchas Hamazon, which is a Torah obligation.” Birchas Hamazon, too, is a blessing—and saying it is a mitzvah from the Torah, like reciting Shema. But there’s a difference. With Shema, it says, “And you shall speak of them.” The Torah says “speak”; there is a commandment to speak. With Birchas Hamazon, it doesn’t say “speak.” It says, “And you shall eat and be satisfied and bless.” It doesn’t say whether to bless aloud or in your heart, right? So seemingly you could say: Fine, with Shema, where the Torah emphasizes “you shall speak,” you have to speak. But with Birchas Hamazon, what matters is the intention, so there should be no need to speak. Our Sages say no: “Thought is not equivalent to speech.” Even with Birchas Hamazon, where it isn’t stated explicitly, if he didn’t say the words aloud, he has not fulfilled his obligation. And not only with Birchas Hamazon, which is a Torah obligation, but also with other blessings instituted by the Sages. Yes, our Sages established the same rule for blessings of rabbinic origin: one must articulate them. And the Alter Rebbe goes even further: even with prayer. If a person prays in his mind, even though, seemingly, what is prayer about? The whole mitzvah of prayer is deveikus with Hashem. Why do we pray? The whole point of the mitzvah of prayer is for a person to contemplate the greatness of Hashem and awaken love and fear of Hashem within himself. And that

08:24 Speaker 2 he did. Yet here, too, he has to speak. Why does he have to say the words? Because—and this was already explained in the previous chapters—the whole purpose for which the world was created is action, and preparing the world for Moshiach happens specifically through practical mitzvos. With this mitzvah, the only way to take part in action is through speech. So if you prayed with full intention but without speaking, you haven’t fulfilled your obligation, even if it is only a rabbinic obligation, and even though intention is the main point. If he didn’t say it aloud, he hasn’t fulfilled his obligation. So based on the previous chapters, all this is understood. But if he did say the words, he has fulfilled his obligation after the fact and doesn’t need to repeat them. That is, if he—this is the reverse case. If he didn’t have intention, he doesn’t need to repeat it, except for the first verse of Shema and the first blessing of the Shemoneh Esrei prayer. As it says at the beginning of chapter two of Berachos: “Up to this point, intention is required; from this point onward, recitation is required.” There are two special exceptions where we say that if you didn’t have intention, you haven’t fulfilled your obligation. But apart from those exceptions, what matters everywhere is speech. Why? Because the soul does not need to be perfected for its own sake through mitzvos. So why did the soul descend into the world? To draw down light, to refine the vital soul and the body through the letters of speech that the soul articulates through the five organs of the mouth.

09:52 Speaker 8 So how does all this relate to gilgulim?

09:54 Speaker 2 Hmm?

09:55 Speaker 8 How do gilgulim fit in, if the soul, like—

09:57 Speaker 2 To refine the body. Whatever the soul did not refine, it has to come down again. That is why it says that a person comes down in successive gilgulim—until when? Until he finishes fulfilling all the practical mitzvos. Apart from general mitzvos, such as the mitzvos of a Kohen Gadol or a king. We do not wait for every soul to become a Kohen Gadol or a king. There are people who serve the community as a whole and fulfill those obligations on behalf of all of us, and through them, we too have fulfilled those mitzvos. And just as this is true of mitzvos that depend on speech, which he mentioned here at the beginning of the chapter, it is also true of practical mitzvos that the soul performs with the other limbs of the body. So up to this point, the beginning of the Alter Rebbe’s chapter looks like a summary of the previous chapters: based on what was discussed there, we can understand why our Sages placed so much importance on action, even in mitzvos where, seemingly, the main thing is the intention. But in fact, the Alter Rebbe brings this here not as a summary of the previous chapters, but as an introduction to what we are about to learn. “Nevertheless, they said that prayer or another blessing without intention is like a body without a soul.” If the main thing is the mitzvah—the main thing is actually performing it—then what does it mean that a mitzvah without intention is like a body without a soul? What is a body without a soul?

12:05 Speaker 8 Nothing. As though it isn’t alive.

12:06 Speaker 2 It isn’t alive; it’s dead. Yes. A mitzvah without intention is like a dead body. How can we say that? What have we explained until now? That with all the meaning, all the intention, all the spirituality and all the contemplation, the main thing is the action. So how could our Sages say that a mitzvah without intention is worth nothing? How do those fit together? That sounds like it needs an explanation. So here is the explanation. What did our Sages mean when they said that a mitzvah without intention is like a body without a soul? Clearly they did not mean that a mitzvah without intention is worth nothing. That is clear. After all, everything explained earlier was that the action is the main thing. So when our Sages said that a mitzvah without intention is like a body without a soul, they meant something else, not the straightforward meaning we might assume. The meaning of that saying is not what we think. What did they mean? Here is the explanation: “Just as all the creatures in this world that have a body and a soul...” There is a “that” here. “All the creatures in this world that have a body and a soul.” What does that tell you? That there are creatures in this world that have a body without a soul. That is the implication here, right?

13:45 Speaker 8 Right. Like inanimate things, for example.

13:47 Speaker 2 Yes. So that is apparently what it means: inanimate things and plants. The inanimate and the—

13:52 Speaker 8 Plants—with today’s research, they say there is some kind of soul there, or something.

13:57 Speaker 2 Certainly plants have some kind of life. They grow.

14:02 Speaker 8 Yes.

14:02 Speaker 2 But all the—

14:02 Speaker 8 That they use, that they—

14:05 Speaker 2 All the life in a plant, the soul in a plant, is a soul for the sake of the body. It doesn’t—it doesn’t think. Not only does it not speak, it doesn’t feel, it doesn’t want. It doesn’t...

14:22 Speaker 8 It isn’t really spiritual. It’s more—

14:24 Speaker 2 It’s some kind of—

14:25 Speaker 8 There’s the sensitive mimosa nowadays: when you touch it, it sort of bends down.

14:29 Speaker 2 Because it hurts, because it doesn’t like it. Not because it’s embarrassed. It isn’t embarrassed about anything.

14:38 Speaker 8 Yes. They just gave it a nice name, as if it were.

14:43 Speaker 2 The life in a plant is life intended simply to make it grow. It has nothing beyond growing, making its body bigger. In other words, even its life is bound up with the body. With animals—and all the more so with human beings, but even with animals—an animal can feel hurt. Have you ever seen a dog whose feelings were hurt? You can see it. You can see it on its face, really. Or fear. Animals have feelings; they have intelligence. Intelligence—how to get their food. Somehow they know what they need to be afraid of and what they need not fear. They have intelligence and feelings. That intelligence and those feelings are not there to make the body grow. They are not something that grows the body. There is a spiritual dimension to them. So the Alter Rebbe says that all the creatures in this world that have a body and a soul—that is, animals and human beings—what kind of soul do they have? “The soul of every living thing.” And sometimes their soul is called a “spirit”: “the spirit of all flesh, man...” “Man” here does not mean...

15:58 Speaker 8 A human being.

15:59 Speaker 2 A human being, like...

16:01 Speaker 8 It means—

16:02 Speaker 2 “Man”—what is the word for it? An entity. As it says of the keruvim, “Their faces were turned, each toward his fellow.” Does that mean human beings? People? “Each” here means—

16:11 Speaker 8 The faces of—

16:12 Speaker 2 What?

16:12 Speaker 8 Maybe because of the faces.

16:13 Speaker 2 “Each” means an entity.

16:16 Speaker 8 No, but when you read it, you think it’s because—

16:19 Speaker 2 Huh?

16:19 Speaker 8 No, there are people [unclear] faces.

16:21 Speaker 2 Oh, all right.

16:23 Speaker 8 The eyes.

16:25 Speaker 2 “And the soul of all that has the breath of life in its nostrils, of all living creatures.” So the soul—the spiritual part, the soul of animals—is sometimes called a nefesh, sometimes a ruach, and sometimes a neshamah. The Alter Rebbe also brings three verses here, three sayings of our Sages. In other words, they have a body and they have a soul, or a spirit, or a nefesh. “And Hashem gives life to them all.” What does “them all” mean? Both their bodies and their souls. “He constantly brings them into being from nothing.” What does He bring into being from nothing? Both the body and the soul. I hope it is clear to everyone that an animal’s body does not come into being from its soul. It has a body that comes into being as a body.

17:23 Speaker 8 Our bodies don’t come into being from our souls either.

17:24 Speaker 2 Correct. But here he is speaking about animals first.

17:27 Speaker 8 Oh.

17:27 Speaker 2 Simply put. Later he will discuss the difference between animals and human beings. But first, all those that have a soul, all the creatures that have a body and a soul. Yes? So they have a body and a soul. Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives life both to their bodies and to their souls. “Constantly, through the light and life-force that He bestows upon them, so that even the material body, and even stones and earth, which are utterly inanimate, contain light and life-force from Him, may He be blessed, so that they do not revert to nothingness as they were before.” This is explained at great length in Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah. We have learned it; we will learn it, with Hashem’s help. “Nevertheless”—what does “nevertheless” mean? Although Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives life both to the body of an animal and to its soul, “nevertheless, there is no comparison whatsoever between the light and life-force that shines in the body and the light and life-force that shines in the soul.” We would have thought—seemingly—

18:32 Speaker 8 That is difficult.

18:33 Speaker 2 If Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives life to both the body and the soul, is there a difference? He creates one anew from nothing every moment, and if He stopped, it would cease to exist; and exactly the same is true of the other. Yet we see a difference between body and soul. No one needs to explain the difference between body and soul to us. Here there is life, and here there is no life. Right? So what is the difference? If He gives life to both of them equally, why do we see a difference? What accounts for the difference between body and soul? “Nevertheless, there is no comparison whatsoever between the light and life-force that shines in the body and the light and life-force that shines in the soul.” He gives life to them all equally, but there is a difference in how much of that light shines forth. In the body, the G-dly life-force does not shine forth at all; it is an inanimate body. In the soul, the G-dly life-force shines forth a little; it is revealed to some extent. The difference is not how much life He gives, but how much He is revealed. In the body, the G-dly life-force is not revealed, or is barely revealed; in the soul, the G-dly life-force is revealed incomparably more. Here you see something alive, breathing, thinking. “There is no comparison whatsoever between the light and life-force that shines in the body and the light and life-force that shines in the soul, which is the soul of every living thing. And although in both of them it is one and the same light, concealed in the same manner and through the same garments, in which the light is hidden, obscured and enclothed—for both belong to this world, throughout which the light and life-force from the breath of His mouth, may He be blessed, is equally concealed, through concealment and the descent through the levels of the chain of worlds, from one level to the next, by means of many immense contractions, until it becomes enclothed in kelipas nogah to give life to the whole of this material world.” So why do we say that the G-dly life-force shines more in the soul and less in the body? When we look at a soul—and by “soul” here we mean the soul of an animal.

20:48 Speaker 2 Right? Do you see G-dliness in it? You don’t see G-dliness in it. When you look at a body, you see G-dliness in it to exactly the same extent as in its soul—no less and no more. Right? So what does it mean that here it shines more and there it shines less? The life-force shines more or less. But the revelation of G-dliness is the same in both. In other words, the Rebbe was speaking here about three things. There is the way Hakadosh Boruch Hu brings created beings into existence from nothing. That is the same in all of them; there is no difference. Right? There is the way He gives them life, and here there is a great difference between body and soul. And there is the way He reveals Himself in them—or, more precisely, the way He conceals Himself in them.

21:41 Speaker 9 So in the body there will be greater tzimtzum.

21:43 Speaker 2 In the way He conceals Himself in them, there is also no difference. He is concealed equally in both. In terms of how He creates them from nothing, He creates the body and the soul in the same way: He creates both from nothing. The extent to which He conceals Himself and is not revealed in them is also the same. You don’t see Him in this one, and you don’t see Him in that one. Right? But in terms of life-force, there is already a great difference—an incomparable difference. This is a body, which is inanimate, while in the soul life-force shines and is revealed. Life-force is revealed, but it is not revealed that this is G-dly life-force. All right? So there are three aspects. Where is the difference? The difference is in how much of the life-force is revealed, how far the life-force extends. Yes, it descended and evolved through many tzimtzumim until it became enclothed in kelipas nogah to give life to this entire material world. That is, all the permitted and pure things in this world draw their sustenance from kelipas nogah, and from it and through it, even the impure things receive their influence. For kelipas nogah is an intermediate level, as explained above. Therefore, there is no revelation of G-dliness at all in this world, because everything in this world, both physical and spiritual things, receives its life-force from kelipas nogah. Kelipas nogah means concealment; it hides G-dliness completely, so it cannot be seen at all. Nevertheless, although the concealment is the same, the radiance—the flow of life-force that shines and gives life through this garment—is not the same in all of them in terms of contraction and expansion. The concealment is the same, but the extent of the life-force is different. All right? For in a physical, truly inanimate body, such as stones and earth, the radiance is contracted to an extreme degree, and its life-force is so slight that it does not even have the power to grow. In vegetation, the radiance is not contracted quite so much. In general, they are divided into four levels: inanimate, vegetative, animal, and human. So in terms of contraction and expansion there are four levels, but in terms of concealment it is

24:12 Speaker 2 all one level. Why four levels? Corresponding to the four letters of Hashem’s name, from which they receive their influence. The human being receives his life-force from the letter yud, the animal from the first hei, vegetation from the vav, and the inanimate from the final hei. And just as the radiance and flow of life-force in the inanimate and vegetative cannot be compared to the radiance and flow of life-force enclothed in animals and humans—even though in all of them... The Alter Rebbe groups the flow of life-force in the inanimate and vegetative together here: it is not comparable to the radiance and flow of life-force in animals and humans. In other words, although there are four levels, broadly speaking they divide into two: inanimate and vegetative, and animal and human. Why? Because in the inanimate and vegetative, the main thing is the body. True, there is some G-dly life-force there too, but the main thing is the body. They do not really have a soul. In animals and humans, the main thing is the soul. And the flow of life-force in the inanimate and vegetative cannot be compared to the radiance and flow of life-force enclothed in animals and humans. Even though in all of them there is one light, in a state of concealment of the Divine countenance—in terms of that concealment they are all the same, and nothing is felt: that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created it, creates it, and gives it life. And it is enclothed in the same garment in all of them, the garment of kelipas nogah. So just as there is no comparison between the inanimate and vegetative and animals and humans, there is likewise no comparison at all between the radiance and flow of the light of the Ein Sof, blessed be He—His inner will, without any concealment of the Divine countenance or garment whatsoever—which shines and is enclothed in actual, practical mitzvos. He adds in parentheses: not only actual, practical mitzvos, but also mitzvos that depend on speech and articulation, performed without intention. That is, there is no comparison between all the mitzvos performed in actual deed or speech—even speech without intention is considered an actual deed, as explained above—and the radiance and flow of the light of the Ein Sof, blessed be He, that shines and is enclothed in the intention behind practical mitzvos. So why did our Sages say that

27:13 Speaker 2 a mitzvah without intention is like a body without a soul? Not because fulfilling a mitzvah without intention is worth nothing. That is not the point. Rather, it is to emphasize that the light and life-force—the G-dly life-force revealed in the intention—is incomparably higher than the G-dly life-force revealed in the mitzvah, like the difference between a soul and a body. All right? So first he explained the analogy at length. What is the analogy? That each person should reflect on the enormous difference we can see with our own eyes between body and soul. And the Alter Rebbe says: draw the inference. Just as you can see that the life-force in the body is in no way comparable to the life-force in the soul, so too the G-dly life-force in the practical fulfillment of a mitzvah is in no way comparable to the G-dly life-force in the intention behind the mitzvah. Exactly like soul and body. That is what is meant by “mitzvos without intention are like a body without a soul”: the G-dly life-force revealed in the intention is incomparably higher than the G-dly life-force revealed in practical mitzvos. So yes, the deed is the main thing, and to make the world a dwelling place for Hashem in the lower realms, you have to take it and actually perform mitzvos. But where is the G-dly light revealed? In the intention behind the mitzvah, not in the deed. The deed is like a body.

28:55 Speaker 10 So nothing is revealed in the deed. No...

28:58 Speaker 2 Like a body. Nothing. Compared to... No, it doesn’t extend—

29:06 Speaker 10 It’s not that there isn’t... It’s incomparable. It does have—

29:08 Speaker 11 No, you draw down the light of the Ein Sof. When you do a mitzvah, you draw down the light of the Ein Sof.

29:13 Speaker 2 You draw it down, but the light of the Ein Sof that is revealed... We’ll get to that in a moment; we’ll touch on that too. The light of the Ein Sof revealed in the intention is incomparably higher than the light of the Ein Sof revealed in the practical fulfillment of the mitzvah. Only it is exactly the reverse.

29:37 Speaker 10 What?

29:41 Speaker 11 What?

29:41 Speaker 2 When we spoke about the... The reverse of this world, not the reverse of what we explained. When we spoke about the world... about what the analogy refers to, it is the reverse of the analogy. What was the situation in the analogy? Although everything receives its life-force from kelipas nogah, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed in neither one—neither in the body nor in the soul—there is nevertheless an incomparable difference in the life-force, in how far it extends. In what the analogy refers to, it is the reverse. What did we learn about what the analogy refers to, about mitzvos? Why is sanctifying the world accomplished specifically through a practical mitzvah? We learned that in the last... the previous chapters. Because anything that is created can be bittul to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, but ultimately it is also... it is a created being. It has an existence of its own. It cannot be united with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Even the lofty angels, who do not have this world before their eyes, who are holy and pure and exist in the higher worlds, and whose entire existence consists only of love of Hashem, fear of Hashem, and contemplation of Hashem’s greatness—they have nothing else in their lives. That is their whole existence. But they, too, are some sort of being that contemplates and loves, with love or fear. Right? So their bittul is not absolute bittul. They are not one with G-dliness. They are a distinct being that becomes bittul to G-dliness. A lofty being, with a very lofty degree of bittul, but still some sort of being with bittul—bittul to G-dliness. Since they are a being with bittul, Hakadosh Boruch Hu is not revealed in them completely. They are... they are separate, an existence in their own right. They are created beings. Right? And for that reason the Rebbe said—the Alter Rebbe said—that even a perfect tzaddik who loves Hashem with love, fear, and delight is not completely bittul. He, too, needs to fulfill mitzvos. Why? Because mitzvos are Hashem’s own will. Mitzvos are not something created. They are not something that becomes bittul to Hashem’s will. They are Him.

31:53 Speaker 2 Hashem’s will. Torah isn’t something that—it's Hashem’s wisdom; it is Him Himself. It isn’t something that is subordinate to... It is itself the reality of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Right? And that’s why he explained that Torah and mitzvos have no concealment at all. Anything that isn’t Torah and mitzvos, even the loftiest thing in the world, involves some concealment, some contraction. It is separate; it isn’t G-dliness. The only thing with no concealment whatsoever, and where there cannot be any concealment, is Torah and mitzvos. Why can’t there be? Because this is Him, Him Himself. Is that clear? So Torah and mitzvos turn out to be the exact opposite of kelipas nogah. What is kelipas nogah? The whole nature of the kelipos in general—nogah in particular, and the impure kelipos—is that G-dliness isn’t felt at all. There may be a great deal of expression or very little, a great deal of vitality or very little. G-dliness isn’t felt. And what is the whole point of Torah and mitzvos? That there is no concealment at all; He is completely revealed. Torah and mitzvos—or practical mitzvos and the intent behind them—are the complete opposite of this world, of the kelipos. Right? So in what sense is there no comparison? What is the analogy, and what does it represent? In terms of the revelation of G-dliness, the analogy fits: just as the revelation in the soul is incomparably greater than in the body, so the revelation in the intent is incomparably greater than in the act of the mitzvah. But in terms of concealment, it’s exactly the opposite. In mitzvos, what is revealed is an incomparably greater revelation of G-dliness. It is revealed—far more than in the actual performance of mitzvos. It’s a simple calculation. All right, is that clear?

34:22 Speaker 12 In what sense?

34:27 Speaker 2 Torah and mitzvos are a revelation of G-dliness. They aren’t concealment; they’re revelation. And the point is that the revelation is incomparably greater in the intent than in the act.

34:44 Speaker 12 In practice, we need to perform the mitzvos, okay? I’m starting with the intentions. I’m not—

34:47 Speaker 2 What we’re trying to explain here is exactly the opposite. From here to the end of Tanya, the further we go, the more and more and more the emphasis is on the intent. This is where it starts.

34:58 Speaker 12 Oh, wow.

35:03 Speaker 2 Here he is only beginning to explain the advantage of intent. It starts in this chapter, and there are three chapters devoted just to explaining the advantage of intent. Then he begins another ten chapters explaining how to reach it. All right, let’s start with the point there. “And likewise with mitzvos that depend... And likewise with mitzvos that depend on speech and the articulation of the lips without intent, which is considered an actual deed, as stated above, in comparison with the light of the Ein Sof, blessed be He, that shines and is invested in the intent behind practical mitzvos, when a person intends, in performing them, to cleave to Him, may He be blessed, through fulfilling His will—for He and His will are one. Likewise, in the intent behind prayer, Shema and its blessings, and the other blessings over all the mitzvos: through his intent in them, his intent in the mitzvos, he binds his thought and intellect to Him, may He be blessed, incomparably more than through performing the mitzvos.” The Rebbe comments here on the question you asked earlier. “It is not that the attachment of a person’s thought and intellect to Him, may He be blessed, is intrinsically superior to the attachment achieved through actually performing practical mitzvos, as will be explained below.” In other words, we might have thought: Of course—with intent I feel it, I cleave to Him, I’m closer. Intent is in the heart and in the mind. No, no, no. You’re a human being, a created being, and to Hakadosh Boruch Hu your intent and your action are the same. There’s no difference. The reason G-dliness is more revealed to you, more felt by you, when you have intent isn’t that you’re such a tzaddik, and it isn’t that intent is so much more important than the mitzvah. It’s because that is what Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted. “Rather, because this too is His will, may He be blessed.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu didn’t want only that we cleave to Him by performing mitzvos. He didn’t want only that we sanctify the world by performing mitzvos; He also wanted us to cleave to Him through

37:15 Speaker 2 our intellect and thought, and the intent behind practical mitzvos. Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted two things. He wanted a dwelling in the lower realms, which we make by performing practical mitzvos, and He wanted that dwelling to be illuminated, to have light in it. He wanted the light too. He wanted the intent too. He didn’t want just the dwelling, just the house. Regarding intent, he writes of Shema and its blessings: “And the radiance of this supernal will that shines and is invested in this intent.” The radiance of this will that shines and is invested in this intent. What other kinds of intent are there? What intent are we talking about here?

37:58 Speaker 13 For its own sake.

37:59 Speaker 2 Intent to do it for its own sake. You perform a mitzvah in order to cleave to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. A simple intention. What other intentions are there?

38:09 Speaker 13 [unclear]

38:11 Speaker 2 Oh, there are all kinds of yichudim, intentions, and all sorts of intentions from Kabbalah texts—gematrios, spiritual worlds, and all kinds of Kabbalistic intentions. Right. So when we say that Hakadosh Boruch Hu, that G-dliness, is revealed to a person through the intent behind a mitzvah, what intent are we talking about? If he starts concentrating on the intentions of the Kabbalists, nothing is revealed there. Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants this intention: that we want to cleave to Him. He wants us. He doesn’t want the grand and important matters. Where is there a revelation—

38:57 Speaker 13 What’s that?

38:57 Speaker 2 G-dliness is revealed incomparably more through intent than through the mitzvah itself—through this intent.

39:01 Speaker 13 So when they have those intentions, the Kabbalists and so on—

39:04 Speaker 2 Those are important matters.

39:05 Speaker 13 It’s for the sake of Hashem’s will.

39:06 Speaker 2 It’s for the sake of Hashem’s will. Those are important matters and so on, but they don’t have this radiance that is incomparably greater than what is in the body. That is found only in the simple intention. “And the radiance of this supernal will that shines and is invested in this intent is infinitely greater, far, far beyond the radiance of the supernal will that shines and is invested in the performance of the mitzvos themselves, in deed and speech without intent—just as the light of the soul is vastly superior to the body, which is a vessel and garment for the soul.” Here the Rebbe answers another question. He began the chapter: To understand the meaning of what our Sages said, that mitzvos without intent are like a body without a soul—which doesn’t seem to make sense after everything we learned earlier. So what did he explain? He explained that this isn’t about a body without a soul being dead at all. The point is only to emphasize that the revelation of G-dliness in the intent behind mitzvos is incomparably higher than the revelation of G-dliness in performing the mitzvos. The Rebbe asks a simple question: Do you need an analogy of body and soul for that? There are plenty of things that differ beyond comparison. Use an analogy of the sun’s radiance, its light, and the sun itself. If you want an analogy for something beyond comparison—the revelation of G-dliness in the intent is incomparably higher than in the mitzvah—use any analogy that shows that. Why choose body and soul? So he says: Yes, there is a connection here to body and soul too. Why? Because the intent is invested in the mitzvah. Just as the soul is invested in the body, the intent must be invested in the mitzvah. If a person just... And this relates to what we learned earlier. What was discussed throughout the first part? That a Jew can have intent without performing a mitzvah, right? Love and awe through contemplation, a love like flames of fire, a great love, love burning openly in his heart—all those expressions, right? That’s all well and good, but if it isn’t invested in a mitzvah, then just as a body without a soul is worth nothing, then

41:24 Speaker 2 Intention without a mitzvah isn’t worth anything either. Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants it to be clothed in something. Not that it’s worth nothing, right? Chas veshalom. This radiance, which is incomparably higher, comes specifically when the intention is clothed in the mitzvah, which serves as a vessel and garment for the soul, just as the body of the mitzvah itself is a vessel and garment for its intention. And although in both of them—in the mitzvah and in the intention—one simple will is clothed, utterly simple, without any change or multiplicity, chas veshalom. Hashem’s will: there is only one Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and Hashem is one and His name is one, and He has only one will. It’s not that He wants this and also that. He wants only one thing, but that one thing is revealed to us both in the performance of mitzvos and in the intention behind them. When a father has a child—a good father who educates him, cares for him, considers his son’s education important, and loves his son very, very much. An essential love, a father’s love for his son, right? Sometimes he brings him close, smiles at him, learns with him; and sometimes he reacts differently and gets angry with him, right? Both ways the father relates to his son express the same father and the same love. They aren’t two different things. In one situation, his love is revealed through a smile, and in another, it’s revealed in the opposite way. It isn’t a different father, a different will, or a different love. It’s just one thing. The same is true here. Hakadosh Boruch Hu has one simple will. But as it’s revealed to us, it appears in the performance of practical mitzvos and in the intention behind mitzvos. At its source, at its root, it’s one thing—utterly simple, without any change or multiplicity, chas veshalom, united

43:43 Speaker 2 with His essence and being in absolute unity. Nevertheless, the radiance isn’t the same in terms of contraction and expansiveness. Simply put, as it’s revealed here as radiance, in the performance of a practical mitzvah it’s very contracted, while in the intention it’s revealed far more expansively. So the Rebbe brings a proof for this from Eitz Chayim. We’ll skip that note. It’s simply a proof from Eitz Chayim. When we spoke about—wait, let me start again. Up to here, it’s clear. All right? Everything’s fine. When we first discussed the analogy, before he spoke about the body and soul in general—what’s it called?—inanimate, plant, animal, and human. At first, he said that there are, broadly speaking, four levels. Right? So the Rebbe now begins to explain that just as there are four levels in the physical world—meaning two general categories, each divided in two—so too in the spiritual realm there are two general categories, each divided in two. In the physical world, there’s the body, which divides into inanimate and plant, and the soul, which divides into animal and human. So by way of analogy, the same applies to what the analogy represents. What does that mean? The body is the mitzvos, and the soul is the intention. So the body, the mitzvah, also has two parts, corresponding, so to speak, to inanimate and plant; and the intention, the soul, also has two parts, corresponding to animal and human. All right? Now he begins explaining this. They, too, divide—meaning the mitzvah and the intention divide into four levels: two levels in the mitzvah and two in the intention. What are the four levels, or the two that become four? The bodies of the mitzvos themselves have two levels, corresponding to inanimate and plant: actual practical mitzvos, and mitzvos that depend on speech and thought. It’s interesting that the Alter Rebbe counts mitzvos involving thought as practical mitzvos.

46:34 Speaker 14 What, Mushka?

46:35 Speaker 3 Why speech and thought?

46:36 Speaker 2 Huh?

46:37 Speaker 14 Hello?

46:38 Speaker 3 Why are speech and thought in that category?

46:42 Speaker 2 Because all the practical mitzvos—all the mitzvos, all 613 mitzvos—are carried out through the three garments of the soul. There are no mitzvos—perhaps apart from “You shall love Hashem your G-d,” I don’t know, the mitzvah of belief in Hashem. There are a few mitzvos. Most mitzvos, almost all of them, are practical mitzvos. Practical mitzvos are performed with a person’s means of action.

47:11 Speaker 14 So thought fits more easily with intention.

47:13 Speaker 2 What are a person’s means of action? Action, speech, and thought. Yes, thought is also one of the three means. It isn’t part of the soul; it’s part of the body.

47:25 Speaker 14 So intention and thought go together more naturally, like... It flows more naturally.

47:29 Speaker 2 We’ll see in a moment. Give me one second. So regarding these three garments of the soul—thought, speech, and action—he says that mitzvos performed through action are of the inanimate type. Mitzvos performed through speech and thought are of the plant type. Just as a plant has some life in it, some movement, right? Speech has something like that too, and thought in its own way. But thought isn’t understanding. It’s clear that thought isn’t understanding. Can you think without understanding?

48:13 Speaker 14 Yes.

48:16 Speaker 2 You can read letters in English without understanding a single word. Yes, you can. You read the letters; you know how the AL joins with the O, but what does it say here? You don’t understand a thing. Or even Hebrew texts that are hard to understand, like passages in Tehillim. A person reads them but doesn’t understand them. Yes, you can think without understanding, because thought is only a means, only a garment; it isn’t... And more than that, the letters of speech arise from thought.

48:49 Speaker 14 And can’t he read Tehillim without thinking about it, while thinking all sorts of other thoughts?

48:55 Speaker 2 He can think other thoughts, yes.

48:57 Speaker 14 No, but—

48:58 Speaker 2 No, it’s not that understanding is impossible. But there can also be thought without understanding.

49:04 Speaker 14 Thinking about what you’re reading without understanding it?

49:07 Speaker 2 Without understanding the content.

49:10 Speaker 14 Mm-hmm.

49:11 Speaker 2 Hmm?

49:11 Speaker 14 Because you’re thinking about the words; you’re not thinking anything—

49:13 Speaker 2 I see a magician perform a trick. I see it with my eyes, I think about it, I picture it, and I don’t understand how it’s done. A person has no problem thinking without understanding. I can think the sentence “five plus five equals a hundred.” I have no problem thinking it, but I can’t understand it. Understanding is clothed in thought, and then thought is clothed in speech. But thought in itself is entirely separate. It’s something practical, an action—an action of the body. It isn’t part of the person’s essence.

49:49 Speaker 14 Could you call it a kind of instinct? As opposed to understanding, where you sort of mean it.

49:55 Speaker 2 What’s that?

49:56 Speaker 14 Thought is sort of...

49:59 Speaker 2 Usually it’s hard—

50:00 Speaker 14 Automatic, sort of—

50:01 Speaker 2 It’s very hard for us to separate them. We can’t stop thinking because we—

50:06 Speaker 14 That’s just it—

50:07 Speaker 2 We can’t stop thinking, and we can’t stop understanding. So they always seem connected to us. But when you examine it, it’s quite easy to reach the conclusion that they’re two completely separate faculties. Understanding is part of the person’s very essence, while thought is something that serves him. It belongs to the body, not to the soul. So there are mitzvos that... Let’s return to our subject. What are the two levels in the inanimate—in mitzvos? Actual practical mitzvos, and mitzvos that must be carried out through speech or thought, such as Torah study, the recitation of Shema, davening, bentching, and other brachos. And the intention behind the mitzvos is the animal and human levels. The intention behind mitzvos—to cleave to Him, may He be blessed—is like a soul to a body, and it, too, divides into two levels, just like the two levels of soul in physical bodies: animal and human. Just as the soul of an animal cannot be compared to the soul of a human being, so too the two levels of intention in a mitzvah cannot be compared. This is already a novel point. As long as we’re talking about two levels within the mitzvah—mitzvos performed through action and mitzvos performed through speech and thought—I understand the difference. Right? But when we’re talking about where Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed in the intention, rather than in the practical performance—what intention? The simple intention to cleave to Him, may He be blessed. I want to cleave to Him. Why do I perform the mitzvah? I perform it because I understand that through the mitzvah I draw closer to Him. I perform the mitzvah with the thought and the desire to cleave to Him. That’s the intention. He says there are two levels within that intention, and the difference between them is like the difference between animals and human beings. Quite astonishing. Do you understand what’s astonishing about that?

52:30 Speaker 4 I sort of understand that you’re making—

52:32 Speaker 2 He’ll explain. Wait, he hasn’t finished. I’m only introducing it so we understand what we’re talking about. How can that be? Oh, are we already out of time?

52:50 Speaker 4 I see that we could sort of...

52:52 Speaker 2 What?

52:52 Speaker 4 There isn’t much left.

52:56 Speaker 2 Ah, I have no problem. It’s, it’s, it’s another quarter of an hour.

53:01 Speaker 4 I have no problem. Go ahead and take care of it, that’s fine.

53:04 Speaker 2 Hmm?

53:05 Speaker 4 That’s fine.

53:06 Speaker 2 Do you want to continue?

53:09 Speaker 4 Yes.

53:09 Speaker 2 It’s a slightly long chapter, but it isn’t...

53:11 Speaker 4 But don’t make it longer.

53:12 Speaker 2 I’m not making it longer. I just want you to understand. No, no. I feel awkward when I’m talking and I can see that you don’t understand.

53:24 Speaker 4 You’re recording, right?

53:28 Speaker 2 Yes. So he explains. What is it, really? It’s quite remarkable, because the Alter Rebbe wants to say that within the simple intention of cleaving to Him, blessed be He, there are two levels. Before we read it inside, what really is the difference between an animal and a human being?

53:46 Speaker 4 Intellect.

53:47 Speaker 2 What?

53:48 Speaker 4 More intellect.

53:50 Speaker 2 An animal also has—

53:51 Speaker 4 A brain—

53:51 Speaker 2 An animal also has intellect. It understands; it knows how to find its way back to a place. It understands. It does. Not on such a high level, but it understands.

54:00 Speaker 4 Limited.

54:01 Speaker 2 It feels, too. So what’s the difference? What’s the essential distinction? It’s clear to all of us that the difference isn’t quantitative. It’s not that if you took a lot of cats and put their brains together, you’d get a human being. It’s a different kind of soul. It’s not the same... It’s not a quantitative difference; it’s a qualitative difference. That’s clear to everyone. So what’s the difference? The difference is that an animal’s intellect... Let’s put it this way. An animal doesn’t have daas, so its intellect follows its emotions. It’s hungry, so it figures out how to get food. Right? It’s hot, so it—

54:48 Speaker 4 Human intellect.

54:49 Speaker 2 The whole purpose of its intellect is only—

54:53 Speaker 4 That’s a human being.

54:53 Speaker 2 It’s only to serve its emotions and operate its body. Right? It can’t change its nature. It has a nature. A raven is born cruel, an eagle is born compassionate, and so on. That’s the nature it was born with, and all the intellect it has is meant to serve that nature. A human being has daas. With that daas, a person can choose to change their nature. They can restrain themselves, change something, shift something within themselves. An animal can’t do that. Right? So the essential difference between an animal and a human being isn’t intellect. Both have intellect. Emotion? Both have emotion. There may even be animals with more feeling than some people. The difference is daas. Right? So... if that’s the difference in the analogy, then we must say that the same applies to the intention we’re discussing: I love Hashem and fulfill the mitzvos out of a desire to cleave to Hashem. There’s a desire like that with daas, and a desire like that without daas. All right? That’s what the Alter Rebbe is getting at. Let’s look inside. “For one whose daas is capable of knowing Hashem and contemplating His greatness, blessed be He, and of giving rise, through their understanding, to a higher awe in their mind and a love of Hashem in the right chamber of their heart, so that their soul thirsts for Hashem, to cleave to Him through fulfilling the Torah and mitzvos, which draw down and reveal the light of the Ein Sof, blessed be He.” They understand that by fulfilling mitzvos, the light of the Ein Sof, blessed be He, will be revealed in their soul. That’s why they want to cleave to Him; that’s why they want to fulfill the mitzvos. And with this intention they study and fulfill the mitzvos. With this intention they also daven and say blessings. This intention is, by way of analogy, like the soul of a human being, who has intellect, choice, and daas, and speaks with understanding. Let’s read the second part first. “But one whose daas is too limited

57:22 Speaker 2 to know and contemplate the greatness of the Ein Sof, blessed be He”—their daas is limited. They contemplate, but no love or awe is born from it. “Their understanding has not given rise to love revealed in their heart, nor to awe in their mind”—they can’t manage it. “And fear of Hashem in their heart”—it doesn’t work for them. They contemplate; they make an effort. They have intellect, like an animal has intellect, but their intellect doesn’t give rise to anything. They lack daas. Their intellect doesn’t give rise to love and awe, not even in their mind. So what do they do? How do they serve Hashem if their daas is limited? Do you remember how a person with limited daas serves Hashem? We discussed it a long time ago, in chapters 18 through 25 of Tanya.

58:12 Speaker 5 A long time ago.

58:12 Speaker 6 Sorry, second Rebbe.

58:13 Speaker 5 Our daas is limited.

58:15 Speaker 6 I’m with you.

58:18 Speaker 5 So maybe we need to read it?

58:21 Speaker 2 We learned—no, you remember. I’m just joking. When I talk like that, I’m only confusing you. We learned at the beginning of Tanya, right near the start, in chapters 16 and 17, that there is a love of Hashem born through contemplation. Then we begin chapter 18: “One whose daas is too limited, who contemplated but nothing was born from it.” So what then? They can reveal the hidden love. Then there are eight chapters. Eight—how many is that from eighteen? Eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Yes, eight chapters. How do we reveal the hidden love? So there are two chapters on how to give rise to love in the heart through contemplation, and then eight chapters on how to reveal the hidden love. You do remember that, right? That there was such a thing—yes or no? Do you remember that?

59:11 Speaker 5 Write it down again from here.

59:13 Speaker 2 There is a love that we give rise to, and there is a hidden love. Right? Good. What’s the difference between them?

59:21 Speaker 5 One comes through contemplation, and the other is a natural love.

59:23 Speaker 2 That’s how they come about. A natural love. Right. Love. No, that’s correct, but it’s not what I meant.

59:34 Speaker 5 Hmm?

59:36 Speaker 2 Let’s put it differently.

59:39 Speaker 5 We, as they say in this world, I mean, that’s not what we’re, we’re—

59:43 Speaker 2 No, no, wait, wait, just a second. You know it, and you remember it. It’s all right. One second; I need to find the words. One second. It’s simpler than it... Sometimes we use lofty terms and it sounds intimidating. When a person loves something, wants something—anything, not Hakadosh Boruch Hu, just anything—there are two kinds of attraction, of love, you might call it. Here’s one: Why do I want this? Because it’s good.

1:00:12 Speaker 5 Attractive.

1:00:13 Speaker 2 I want something good. Right. Before I knew it was good, I didn’t want it, correct? When did I start wanting it? When I found out, learned, and understood that it was good. Now I want it. Right? That’s called a love born because I understood, and therefore I want. Right? There’s another kind of love. There’s something a person wants not because they understand it, but because it’s who they are. I want to live, not because I thought about and contemplated how good it is to live and therefore decided I want to. It’s... yes. It’s me; it’s my very existence. I can’t separate myself from it. Right? Does a person want to eat because they understand that something will happen to them if they don’t eat now? They’re hungry, so they want to eat. Right? That’s them; that’s who they are. This is called something natural. There are things a person wants naturally. Why do they want them? What does it mean to want something naturally? It’s their nature; they can’t help it. A person naturally likes to eat cooked soup. Give it to, I don’t know, a squirrel, and it won’t eat it. It has a different nature. It doesn’t like it. Right? Natural love is something that exists in one’s nature. And we say that the same is true of G-dliness. There is a love of G-dliness that comes from asking why. Why does the person love Hakadosh Boruch Hu? In fact, they don’t love Hakadosh Boruch Hu, but they contemplate Hashem’s greatness until they explain to themselves how good it is, how great Hashem is, how He gives life to the worlds, and... Then, suddenly, Hashem’s greatness sinks in. The wonder of Hakadosh Boruch Hu sinks in, and they begin to feel drawn to it. That’s called a love that is born, an intellectual love. A love, a love that was born.

1:02:04 Speaker 2 In the heart, as a result of contemplation. He loves Hakadosh Boruch Hu because he now understands that it is good. Right? Is that clear? There is another kind of love. A person has a G-dly soul. The G-dly soul, by its very nature, is literally a part of G-d above. Just as a person feels—as I feel my own life and cannot separate myself from it, right?—the G-dly soul feels the same way about Hakadosh Boruch Hu. It cannot separate itself from Him. Why can’t it separate itself from Him? Because it is—it is Him. A part of G-d above—a part of Him. Right? Is that clear? Two kinds of love. Just as on a physical level there are two kinds of love—love because I understand, and love because this is my life—the same is true spiritually. I love Hakadosh Boruch Hu because I have come to understand, or I love Hakadosh Boruch Hu because the essence of my soul has now been revealed. Right? What does he say about these two kinds of love in those chapters? The love that comes when a person contemplates until he understands that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is great and therefore he should love Him—and as a result actually begins to love Him—is within everyone’s reach. Anyone who contemplates will come to have that kind of love. If he contemplates enough, it will sink into his heart, and he will have it. Right? But the second love, the natural love, cannot be revealed. It is something so deep, so lofty, so extraordinary, that it cannot be revealed. True, among great tzaddikim, when it is revealed, it is called ahavah rabbah, great love. Great tzaddikim merit to have the G-dly soul revealed in them. In us, it is not revealed. All right, so what does it mean to serve Hashem with hidden love? If it cannot be revealed because it is the love of the G-dly soul, because it is the essence of the soul, the yechidah of the soul—I don’t know what they call

1:03:49 Speaker 2 it, and it doesn’t matter what they call it—it is not revealed because it cannot be revealed, because it is far too lofty for my level. So how can I serve Hashem with it? He explains there, in those eight chapters, that you do not need it to be revealed. It is enough to remember that you have such a thing, and already you will not commit a transgression. That is the point of the explanation. Right? Do you remember this? A person reminds himself that he has a hidden love. He reminds himself that he has a soul. I have a soul—can I commit a transgression? If I were put to the test over Hashem’s word, I would give up my life. So would I commit a transgression over this? He just has to remember that he has it. It does not have to burn within him; it does not have to be revealed in him at all. Right? Based on this, the Rebbe says, yes, that is precisely the difference between the two levels of intention. If a person serves Hashem through contemplation, he does so like a human being, someone with understanding and judgment. He contemplates, and love of Hashem is born. But if he serves Hashem—he fulfills mitzvos—with what intention? His understanding is limited. He is not functioning like a thinking person; he is like an animal. His intellect cannot awaken love in his heart. Why does he fulfill the mitzvos? Because he has decided that he has a G-dly soul, and therefore he fulfills mitzvos. So what is at work within the mitzvah now? Which love is at work in him? Natural love. Hidden love, right? Well, natural love is like an animal’s nature. All right? Let’s read it inside now, and it will be very, very clear and easy. Where does it start? Um, “But one whose understanding is too limited to know and contemplate the greatness of the Ein Sof, blessed be He,

1:05:44 Speaker 2 so as to give rise through his understanding to fear and love revealed in his heart, or even in his mind”—he cannot develop love of Hashem in his heart. He cannot. So what can he do? “He merely recalls and arouses the natural love hidden in his heart and brings it out from the concealment of the heart into revelation in his mind, at least.” What does “revelation in his mind” mean? Not that the hidden love is now revealed in his mind, but “that the will in his mind and the hidden depths of his heart agree and consent with complete, genuine willingness to give up his life.” All he does is remember that he has a G-dly soul, and he decides to give up his life over anything concerning the oneness of Hashem, “so that his G-dly soul and its garments may cleave to Him and be included in His oneness and unity.” So now he fulfills a mitzvah because, “I want to unite with Hakadosh Boruch Hu.” He does not understand or feel anything. The very fact that he is willing, that he has firmly decided to keep the mitzvos no matter what and not to commit a transgression no matter what—that itself is natural love. “Which is the Supernal Will clothed in Torah study and the fulfillment of mitzvos, as explained above. And fear is also included in it: accepting His sovereignty so as not to rebel against Him, G-d forbid. With this intention”—that is, with this natural intention—“he turns away from evil and does good, studies, prays, and recites blessings, understanding only the meaning of the words, but without fear and love revealed in his heart.” He cannot do that. “Or in his mind. This intention is, by way of analogy, like the soul of a living creature, an animal that lacks intellect and choice, and all its emotions—its fear of things that harm it and its love of things it finds pleasant—are merely natural to it.” He serves Hashem with natural love, like an animal, “and they do not come from its understanding and knowledge. So too, by way of analogy, are the natural fear and love hidden in the heart of every Jew, for they are an inheritance from our forefathers, like a nature within our souls, as mentioned above.” So, as an introduction

1:07:39 Speaker 2 to the second part of Tanya, which discusses fulfilling mitzvos with love and fear, he first devotes three chapters to explaining what love and fear are all about, after we have spoken so much about the importance of action. First, in this chapter, he explains what intention is in the first place. First of all, you should know that intention is where G-dliness shines and is revealed incomparably more than in the performance of the mitzvah. True, the main thing is to do it, but the revelation of G-dliness is in the intention. And when it comes to intention, there is a distinction. At the end of the chapter he added a whole explanation that there is a great difference, an enormous difference—like the difference between animals and human beings—between fulfilling a mitzvah with love and fear born of contemplation and fulfilling mitzvos with natural love and fear. Later, in the next chapter, he will also explain the place of this love and fear in the spiritual worlds, and how they affect the mitzvos. There are several more details to it. After that, he also begins to explain what contemplation is and how one reaches it. Yes.