Igeres Hateshuvah Chapter 10

00:00 Speaker 1 Okay, we’re up to chapter 10. Chapter 10 continues the discussion of teshuvah ila’ah, higher teshuvah, through the end of Igeres Hateshuvah. He began discussing teshuvah ila’ah in chapter 8. After “the spirit has passed over them and purified them,” when a person has been cleansed of his sins and transgressions and they no longer cling to him, he can begin to feel Divine holiness. He concluded there that teshuvah ila’ah is connected with binah, “ben Y-H.” A person’s whole being becomes absorbed in G-dliness, and because of his intense longing, he feels G-dliness. He becomes… it’s not just dveikus, attachment; he feels G-dliness. Even his feelings become—yes—G-dly feelings. G-dliness shines within him; the light of Ein Sof shines within him openly. Then, in chapter 9, he explained that the main aspect of teshuvah ila’ah comes through Torah. In other words, because he so deeply wants to attach himself to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and he knows that the Torah is Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s wisdom, when he studies Torah he truly feels Hakadosh Boruch Hu revealing Himself to him. He studies Torah, and he feels it. I don’t know how to describe a feeling. A feeling isn’t something you can express intellectually, but he feels G-dliness. He feels light; he feels close to Hashem. But that isn’t enough. As he says there in chapter 9, if that feeling is truly teshuvah ila’ah, it has to take hold of the person’s entire being. It isn’t enough for it to remain only in his intellect. It has to penetrate his feelings, his middos, and his thought, speech, and action—all the way down to action: acts of kindness and tzedakah. Even when he performs mitzvos, particularly giving tzedakah to the poor… He says that our Sages asked: What does it mean to attach oneself

02:14 Speaker 1 to the Shechinah? How can one attach oneself to the Shechinah? Rather, attach yourself to the Shechinah’s attributes: just as He is merciful, you too should be merciful. So when a person gives tzedakah, he thereby attaches himself to Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s attribute of mercy, and so on. But when we’re talking about giving tzedakah in the spirit of teshuvah ila’ah, it isn’t giving tzedakah because one has to give tzedakah. He connects to Hakadosh Boruch Hu even through his power of action. That is a much greater innovation. If we say that a person connects to G-dliness through understanding, comprehension, and Torah study—fine, there Hakadosh Boruch Hu is openly present. I understand; that’s something intellectual and spiritual. But when the feeling of G-dliness penetrates him so deeply that even in the practical performance of mitzvos, even when he gives tzedakah, it brings him a sense of excitement and inspiration—there, now—that is the mode of teshuvah ila’ah. That is where he begins in chapter 10. After explaining at length in chapter 9 what teshuvah ila’ah is—that it takes hold of a person’s entire being, so that he feels G-dliness in everything he does, from top to bottom—he adds another dimension to teshuvah ila’ah in chapter 10, another level of teshuvah ila’ah. “Now, this teshuvah ila’ah is the attachment of spirit to spirit through Torah and acts of kindness.” That is, from Torah, which engages the higher part of the soul, down to acts of kindness—action, the lower part of the soul. So in all his actions and conduct, he feels G-dliness in everything he does. This teshuvah ila’ah, then, is a drawing down from above to below. In other words, how is the light of Ein Sof revealed within him? How does he feel G-dliness? It isn’t that he has suddenly changed. He remains the same person. He longs for G-dliness, and then he studies Torah. Hakadosh Boruch Hu really is present in the Torah, but because of his longing, he feels it. He performs mitzvos; the mitzvos truly are

04:15 Speaker 1 Hashem’s will, but because of his longing, he actually feels it. So the revelation of G-dliness in his soul essentially comes from above, not from within himself. Right?

04:28 Speaker 2 Right.

04:29 Speaker 1 The person hasn’t changed.

04:30 Speaker 2 The person hasn’t changed, but he’s the one who wanted it, who had the longing.

04:33 Speaker 1 He’s the one who wanted it. But what brings it about? The revelation of G-dliness from above. If he only wanted it, but there were no Torah and mitzvos, he could go on wanting it indefinitely and wouldn’t feel anything. Right? So we’ve actually discussed this several times: with a revelation from above, even though the revelation is very, very lofty—it’s infinite, it comes through Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s power, the light of Ein Sof is revealed within him, and he experiences attachment, longing, love, and awe. He really is there. But it isn’t his own; he hasn’t changed. It shines upon him from above. So it’s true that, as he said, when he studies Torah as he should, its effect then extends throughout the day. But it only affects the whole day. It’s not that he… Yes?

05:21 Speaker 2 But he works on himself.

05:22 Speaker 1 He hasn’t changed.

05:25 Speaker 2 An impression remains.

05:27 Speaker 1 The point is that this teshuvah itself is a revelation from above, a drawing down from above to below: “For the word of Hashem to be truly in his mouth.” It’s true that he speaks words of Torah, as it says, “And I placed My words”—I don’t know how to pronounce it—“in your mouth.” So he speaks words of Torah and feels that they are Hashem’s words, “and His right hand embraces me” through acts of kindness, for “kindness is the right arm,” and so on. Do you remember where we spoke about Torah and mitzvos being an embrace and a kiss?

06:02 Speaker 2 With the Torah, with the Torah of…

06:05 Speaker 3 Chapter 4 to 5.

06:06 Speaker 1 In chapter 5 we discussed how Torah is both an embrace and… But we didn’t use the words “embrace” and “kiss” there. We said that it is both encompassing and internal. That was regarding Torah.

06:15 Speaker 3 They always give the example that it’s like a king—

06:17 Speaker 2 It really remains with the Torah.

06:19 Speaker 1 But yes, a king. Yes, a king.

06:20 Speaker 3 Sides.

06:21 Speaker 1 Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Where was that?

06:24 Speaker 2 Chapter 5.

06:27 Speaker 3 Six to seven. Well rehearsed.

06:31 Speaker 2 Four to seven.

06:32 Speaker 1 I’ll mention it just as a reminder, not because it’s directly relevant here.

06:38 Speaker 3 At the end of chapter 4.

06:40 Speaker 2 The end of chapter 4.

06:41 Speaker 1 For the merit of Hila bas Rosa Firuza, and…?

06:43 Speaker 3 And Mazal bas Kadia.

06:45 Speaker 1 Mazal bas Kadia.

06:46 Speaker 3 Yes, and, to distinguish, for the elevation of the soul of Zechariah ben…

06:53 Speaker 2 Zechariah ben… Do we say the mother’s name or the father’s?

06:55 Speaker 1 I don’t remember.

06:58 Speaker 2 Ah, Sephardim say the mother’s name; Ashkenazim say the father’s.

07:05 Speaker 3 Chapter 4.

07:06 Speaker 1 One of the things we emphasized very, very strongly—and this was quite a while ago—is that the main avodah of the beinoni is to contemplate the tremendous kindness Hakadosh Boruch Hu did for us: He descended from His place of glory when we were lying in the refuse, in Egypt, “the nakedness of the land.” It’s like a king who goes down to someone lying in the refuse, lifts him up, washes him, embraces and kisses him, and brings him into the innermost chamber. Do you remember that discussion?

07:49 Speaker 2 That comes later.

07:50 Speaker 1 So that was chapter… We started with chapter 46, and from chapter 46 through chapter 49—four entire chapters—the Rebbe spoke about this subject. At the beginning of that discussion, it’s explained that Torah and mitzvos are an embrace and a kiss. That’s the analogy the Alter Rebbe gives: Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the King, embraces and kisses us. He kisses us through—through Torah, which is internal. A person understands it; it’s like a kiss. And He embraces us through mitzvos, which encompass the person. That’s there at the beginning of chapter 46. This is just an aside to remind us of the point. So that is from above to below. But the person down here must proceed from level to level, from below to above, because if he doesn’t change and doesn’t become a vessel for this revelation,

08:43 Speaker 4 the light will have to be brought down.

08:44 Speaker 1 this revelation won’t remain; it won’t take hold, and perhaps it won’t even be revealed within him as fully as it could be. So the ascent from below to above is a form of teshuvah ila’ah and an attachment of spirit to spirit through heartfelt concentration in prayer. So Torah and mitzvos, and teshuvah ila’ah, have two directions. There is teshuvah ila’ah that comes from above to below, through Torah and mitzvos, and there is teshuvah ila’ah that comes from below to above: prayer. Because what is prayer about? Prayer is truly about the attachment of spirit to spirit. The whole point of prayer is that it is the time when a person thinks about Hakadosh Boruch Hu, prays to Him, contemplates His greatness, and awakens his love for Him. And in prayer, this isn’t something external. He himself contemplates; he himself thinks. Here, his own heart is at work—his mind and his heart, with heartfelt concentration in prayer. So, in general, prayer involves purification… This too is teshuvah ila’ah, but from below to above, and particularly in Shema and its blessings. Now, it’s true that we always say the Amidah is the high point. Prayer culminates in the Amidah. True, a person is in a state of bittul.

10:06 Speaker 4 Everything we receive, everything we learn—why specifically “Shema Yisroel”?

10:09 Speaker 1 Right. And why “Shema Yisroel”?

10:11 Speaker 4 Because “Shema Yisroel” is from below to above, from below to above.

10:16 Speaker 1 That’s also true. But prayer—Shemoneh Esrei is bittul, utter self-nullification. In practice, we ask for our personal needs. According to the mystical teachings, and according to “their feet were a straight foot,” it all fits. But the place where a person truly pours out his heart to Hakadosh Boruch Hu is Shema. That isn’t prayer. To say “And you shall love... with all your heart and with all your soul...” in complete truth—that is the higher teshuvah that comes through prayer, when a person changes his very being from below. And likewise, “And these words shall be... and you shall speak of them...” So yes, it’s not quite... More to the point here: by pouring out his heart to Hakadosh Boruch Hu in prayer, he comes to learn Torah. Then he will have higher teshuvah from above downward: he will feel G-dliness. “And you shall speak of them”—so that the word of Hashem will truly be in your mouth. And there is no truth but Torah. So for his Torah study to truly be an expression of higher teshuvah, and for him to feel the G-dliness in it, prayer must come first: Shema and its blessings.

11:41 Speaker 4 Lower teshuvah.

11:43 Speaker 1 No. Higher teshuvah from below upward.

11:46 Speaker 4 Okay.

11:47 Speaker 1 Lower teshuvah is for transgressions.

11:49 Speaker 4 Ah, okay.

11:49 Speaker 1 We’re not talking about transgressions here. Higher teshuvah begins after “a spirit passes over them and purifies them.” As long as there are transgressions, they envelop a person. No matter how much Torah he studies, how many mitzvos he fulfills, or how much he prays, he won’t feel G-dliness in his soul. Something is blocking it. First there has to be lower teshuvah, which breaks the kelipah and the sitra achra—breaks the kelipos—and then higher teshuvah.

12:21 Speaker 4 So wait, Shema is actually service from below upward, because it relates to—downward from above?

12:26 Speaker 1 Yes, but both are within higher teshuvah.

12:28 Speaker 4 Okay. No, it’s not that... But again, we come back to the point that you act from below and then receive from above.

12:33 Speaker 1 Yes, yes. So prayer leads to Torah, and afterward, likewise, to fulfilling all the mitzvos, as it says, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments, Who has sanctified us with His commandments.” The point of mitzvos is holiness. When I fulfill the mitzvos, I feel that holiness. As it says, “He has sanctified us with His commandments” doesn’t just mean that the mitzvos are holy. When I fulfill a mitzvah, I become holy. “He has sanctified us”—He makes us holy. But for us to truly become holy, to feel Divine holiness, there first has to be higher teshuvah from below upward. First you have to awaken the desire, the longing, the love. Then it can be revealed in Torah study and even in fulfilling mitzvos. What does it mean—like—what does “Behold, you are consecrated to me” mean? “Consecrated to me,” in relation to mitzvos: the mitzvos are an aspect of the supernal holiness, denoting separation and distinction, which cannot be enclothed within the worlds. And why can’t the supernal holiness be enclothed within the worlds? Because “everything before Him is considered as nothing.” We learned at length in Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah that G-dliness itself cannot be revealed in the worlds. If it were revealed, there would be no world. We want there to be a world. So what does “Who has sanctified us with His commandments” mean? That although it cannot be revealed, it is revealed.

14:12 Speaker 4 The exact opposite.

14:15 Speaker 1 “He has sanctified us with His commandments” means holiness, the sacred. The sacred is—

14:18 Speaker 4 Separation.

14:18 Speaker 1 Transcendent light, sovev kol almin. Whatever you call it—the Ein Sof light. I don’t know what to call it. The Supernal Will. “He has sanctified us” means that when I study Torah and fulfill mitzvos, the supernal holiness rests upon me. And it doesn’t just rest upon me; it is revealed within me. That is higher teshuvah. That is its whole point: I feel something that is not part of the world. What is cleaving to G-dliness? A Jew is here in the world, in a physical body, a soul in a body, and feels Hakadosh Boruch Hu, Who is above the world. He cannot be enclothed within the worlds, because “everything before Him is considered as nothing.” Rather, He is in the aspect of sovev kol almin, the blessed Supernal Will, and so on, as explained in Likkutei Amarim, chapter 46, which we mentioned earlier. And it isn’t only during prayer itself that we speak of Torah and mitzvos. After prayer, too, we say, “To You, Hashem, I lift up my soul,” during Nefilas Apayim, which follows prayer.

15:29 Speaker 4 We say Nefilas Apayim in the other prayers too.

15:31 Speaker 1 Hmm?

15:31 Speaker 4 Nefilas Apayim in the other prayers too.

15:35 Speaker 1 So this higher teshuvah continues throughout the day, not only during prayer but afterward as well. That is, “to cleave spirit to Spirit” all day, and so on. And where does all this come from? Through contemplating the greatness of the blessed Ein Sof with deep concentration during the two blessings before Shema, or during Pesukei Dezimra. Of course, higher teshuvah from below upward means that he actually comes to love Hashem. But for that to happen, he first needs to contemplate during the blessings of Shema, and before that, during Pesukei Dezimra. You need the whole order, the whole process. So when do you do lower teshuvah?

16:25 Speaker 4 Bitter of soul.

16:30 Speaker 1 Since prayer is an aspect of higher teshuvah, it must be preceded by lower teshuvah. Because we said higher teshuvah is possible only once there are no transgressions. So how are you going to pray if you’re still entangled in your own issues? This is what our Sages said in the Mishnah: “One should stand up to pray only with a solemn frame of mind.” Rashi explains: “Submission.” This is the aspect of lower teshuvah: to arouse compassion, as discussed above. The true and proper path to lower teshuvah is to arouse compassion for one’s soul and humble it, and so on. When should that be done?

17:11 Speaker 4 Before prayer.

17:11 Speaker 1 What?

17:12 Speaker 4 Before prayer.

17:14 Speaker 1 In the morning, before prayer. Because if you want higher teshuvah to awaken, for G-dliness to be revealed, you must first have lower teshuvah. So in the morning, with a solemn frame of mind—as the Gemara there derives from the verse, “And she was bitter of soul.” Chana was bitter of soul, and then she stood and poured out her heart.

17:43 Speaker 4 No, so does that also go before... before prayer, then?

17:45 Speaker 1 Yes.

17:47 Speaker 4 Ah.

17:48 Speaker 1 Hmm?

17:48 Speaker 4 Chassidus before prayer.

17:50 Speaker 5 Well, what is that in Chassidus?

17:58 Speaker 4 It’s not—

18:00 Speaker 1 We’ll get to that shortly. It’s a good question, and of course we wouldn’t dismiss it. But first let’s look at what the Alter Rebbe says. The Alter Rebbe says that—the logic is very simple. Prayer is higher teshuvah from the start. So every morning, before prayer, a person needs to be “bitter of soul.” He must do lower teshuvah, and lower teshuvah is no game. It isn’t Chassidus, and it isn’t... it isn’t done joyfully or anything of the sort. It means being bitter of soul, feeling bitterness over one’s transgressions, humbling oneself, and arousing abundant compassion for one’s soul. Everything we’ve discussed needs to happen in the morning before prayer.

18:46 Speaker 4 Okay. Or perhaps people used to do it at Tikkun Chatzos and simply carried that feeling over from Tikkun Chatzos.

18:53 Speaker 5 Oh, wow.

18:54 Speaker 1 Hmm? We haven’t finished the chapter yet. For now, strictly speaking, that’s what needs to happen. But in the beraisa there, the Sages taught: “One should stand up to pray only with joy.” So in that same passage of the Gemara, the Mishnah says, “One should stand up to pray only with a solemn frame of mind,” while the beraisa says, “One should stand up to pray only with joy.” How can you do both?

19:23 Speaker 4 After the solemn frame of mind, you arrive at joy.

19:27 Speaker 1 So first you should be—that’s the simple answer. Have a solemn frame of mind before prayer. Yes, feel bitterness and so forth, and afterward: that’s it. Go pray, put it all aside; now I’m joyful. In practice, that’s a little complicated. Say a person has just spent—not two hours, let’s say—ten minutes contemplating his sins and what’s wrong with him, until it hurt him, until it truly hurt. Now tell him to flip a switch.

20:02 Speaker 4 Teshuvah with joy.

20:04 Speaker 1 Uh... That doesn’t work.

20:07 Speaker 4 And I’ll enter another chamber.

20:09 Speaker 1 That doesn’t work.

20:10 Speaker 4 Teshuvah with joy, I mean.

20:13 Speaker 1 So the Alter Rebbe says this: “But now, in this orphaned generation, not everyone can instantly turn their heart from one extreme...” “Orphaned generation” doesn’t refer only to our generation. The Alter Rebbe says that even then, he already called his chassidim an orphaned generation.

20:32 Speaker 4 Well, then we’re certainly not like them—

20:35 Speaker 1 Just kidding. What does that mean? What kind of strange expression is “orphaned generation”? That’s the phrase you chose to throw at us?

20:45 Speaker 4 Why?

20:46 Speaker 1 Say, I don’t know, “a lowly generation.” What’s an “orphaned generation”? What kind of expression is that? Does a generation have a father? Does it have a mother? What does it mean?

20:58 Speaker 4 Someone who—yes, someone who guides it.

21:00 Speaker 1 Huh?

21:01 Speaker 4 Someone who guides it.

21:01 Speaker 1 Well, it has that, doesn’t it? I understand: it has a father, and it has a mother too.

21:06 Speaker 4 Ah, it has a mother too.

21:07 Speaker 1 Huh?

21:10 Speaker 4 It doesn’t feel... [unclear]

21:11 Speaker 1 We learned—

21:12 Speaker 4 Neither a father nor a mother.

21:13 Speaker 1 Very good. Very good. He only says Chochmah and Binah.

21:19 Speaker 4 It’s hard to... [unclear]

21:22 Speaker 1 We just learned that Chochmah and Binah are the father and mother that give birth to the middos. So there is a generation with mature intellectual faculties: a person contemplates something, and certain feelings are awakened. Then, the moment he decides to contemplate it differently, the opposite feelings can be awakened in an instant, from one extreme to the other. But because of the decline of the generations, we are an orphaned generation. We don’t have the—we don’t have a father and mother. Our intellectual faculties can’t make that flip-flop. So we’re called an orphaned generation, and that’s why it’s impossible. “The advice, then, is to first undertake the level of teshuvah tata’ah at Tikkun Chatzos, as explained above.” As you said earlier—

22:10 Speaker 4 Let’s say how it flows.

22:11 Speaker 1 Huh?

22:13 Speaker 4 I said, how am I going to pour out the lesson?

22:15 Speaker 1 Yes. I said, this chapter really—it just follows naturally. Every sentence leads right into the next point of understanding. But the Alter Rebbe presents it in a way that also makes it very easy to remember. “And whoever cannot do this every night should, at the very least, not do it less than once a week.”

22:37 Speaker 4 Thursday night.

22:39 Speaker 1 Huh?

22:40 Speaker 4 What’s the practice now?

22:41 Speaker 1 Before Shabbos, on Thursday night. “As is known to those familiar with this, Shabbos is a level of teshuvah ila’ah,” and Shabbos can be read as “return, man”—the language of teshuvah. In fact, we also see this in the order our Sages established for us: before any day associated with teshuvah ila’ah, they established a period of teshuvah. Before Yom Kippur, there are the Ten Days of Teshuvah. Before Shabbos, there is Thursday night and Tikkun Chatzos, whose main observance is on Thursday night. Before Rosh Chodesh, which is also associated with teshuvah ila’ah to a certain extent, there is the eve of Rosh Chodesh, called Yom Kippur Katan, and so on. And similarly—

23:28 Speaker 4 That’s why on Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh, the worlds ascend to the higher worlds.

23:33 Speaker 1 Right, and that’s exactly what I was about to say. Why are these days particularly connected with teshuvah ila’ah? Because we said that teshuvah ila’ah means, “And the spirit shall return to G-d Who gave it.” The spirit returns to the place from which Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave it, above, to its source and root, where it is above the world and united with G-dliness. What happens on Shabbos, or Yom Kippur, or Rosh Chodesh? It is a time when the worlds ascend. The worlds rise; their inner life-force rises and is absorbed into its source and root. So on that day, at that point in the year or the week, when the inner life-force—the entire state of the whole world, of all the worlds—rises and returns to its source and root, it is a fitting time for each person to be in that same state of mind. On an individual level, each day’s prayer is the Shabbos of that day. This is written in Chassidus. In the morning, in the first hours of the day, Hashem’s kindness is revealed. That is why we pray then, and why, when a person is in a state of teshuvah ila’ah then, it can truly have an effect on his soul. On a deeper, stronger, broader level, with a greater effect on the soul, there is Shabbos. On Shabbos, a person should not waste his time on all sorts of talk, activities and thoughts. Instead, he should truly concentrate on prayer, think about the words, think about Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and awaken within himself a longing for G-dliness. When he undertakes this teshuvah ila’ah at a time when the life-force of all the worlds is rising anyway—no, not “anyway.” At a time when the life-force of the worlds is rising to its source and root, it will truly affect him and become part of him. For Shabbos is the ascent of the worlds to their source, all of it, and particularly on Shabbos itself. All of Shabbos is a time of the worlds’ ascent, especially the Shabbos prayers, certainly. As is known and written in Chassidus, within Shabbos itself there is the time of Maariv, Shabbos night, and afterward, and after—

26:01 Speaker 1 Then Shacharis and Minchah, an ascent within an ascent. Until we reach Raava DeRaavin. Until we reach Raava DeRaavin, exactly. The Rebbe concludes... What, so then we don’t fall anymore? What? What, so we don’t fall? No, then we don’t fall. We don’t fall. We come down into the world with teshuvah ila’ah, to make the world holy. Ah. If we fall, that’s a sign the ascent wasn’t really an ascent in the first place. If the ascent came only from Above, then afterward it is possible to fall. But if it comes through a person’s own efforts, he doesn’t fall. It stays with him. Yes. He lives with it, how shall I put it, afterward... And then throughout the day. He lives with it all day. Quite simply, in the most straightforward sense. When a person goes about his week, goes about his day, walks down the street, as they say, right? He’s busy with his affairs, but he constantly keeps his eyes open and looks for an opportunity to do something connected with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Where can I reveal G-dliness within myself? He simply looks for a way to bring... Where is there a Jew here to whom I can say a kind word? Is there someone I can give tzedakah to? Is there a mitzvah I can do here? Where can I help? Where can I do something? Where can I move something forward? That is what he lives with. That is teshuvah ila’ah: what drives him all the time, day and night, is teshuvah ila’ah, the desire to come closer to G-dliness. He knows that the way to come closer to G-dliness is through Torah and mitzvos. That’s what he’s looking for all the time, and when he does it, that’s what he feels inside. “And with this we can understand,” the Alter Rebbe concludes in parentheses, “what is written.” There’s a verse in... where? In the Prophets, in... Yeshayahu, what is it? Yeshayahu, Yeshayahu. Ah, “Return to Me, for—

28:02 Speaker 1 I have redeemed you.” A very strange verse. Why should you return to Me? Because I have redeemed you. What’s the connection? But now, after explaining the matter, it becomes very clear. We said that through teshuvah, a person is redeemed from his transgressions. He goes free; he breaks through all the barriers and everything surrounding him, and then he can return to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Ah, the meaning is: “For since I have wiped away your transgressions like a cloud”—meaning the removal of the sitra achra—“and I have redeemed you” from the external forces by arousing mercy from Above, prompted by an awakening from below through teshuvah tata’ah, as explained above, now “return to Me” through teshuvah ila’ah can take place.

28:54 Speaker 6 So what he’s basically saying is—

28:55 Speaker 1 You have to do teshuvah tata’ah. But when you do teshuvah tata’ah, I break down the barriers, and once you have no barriers, you can return through teshuvah ila’ah.

29:05 Speaker 6 Right.

29:06 Speaker 1 And teshuvah ila’ah itself has two levels, two aspects that are two levels. They come one after the other, and each requires the other. First, a person has to make himself into a vessel, to awaken in his heart the desire, the longing, the love of Hashem. That is done in prayer, especially in Shema. Then he draws it down below: the true revelation, the revelation of the Infinite Light that is above the worlds, through Torah, and further and further down, through mitzvos. And we also have to remember, and keep reminding ourselves, that the Rebbe men—the Rebbe said this more than once in the previous chapters, in several ways: we now understand better why teshuvah ila’ah is not something that stands on its own, but a stage of teshuvah tata’ah. Because if a person only remains in that state—okay, you broke down the barriers, he was genuinely remorseful, it truly hurts him. Now he accepts the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, and already... What will ensure that it doesn’t happen again? Why wouldn’t that connection fall apart?

30:20 Speaker 6 The connection is twofold.

30:22 Speaker 1 What?

30:22 Speaker 6 That’s the part of “do good.”

30:25 Speaker 1 Teshuvah tata’ah also concerns doing... both “turn away from evil” and “do good.”

30:30 Speaker 6 Well, but “do good” means that, as it were, after he does teshuvah, he... and then—

30:36 Speaker 1 Broadly speaking, you could say that lower-level teshuvah corresponds to “turn away from evil,” and higher-level teshuvah to “do good.” You could say that in general, but that’s not the point. The point is that in lower-level teshuvah, a person regrets and feels sorrow over his sins—and those sins can involve both turning away from evil and doing good. After he feels sorrow and regret, arouses great compassion for his soul, and breaks his own self-centeredness, Hakadosh Boruch Hu truly breaks down the barriers, and his G-dly soul truly returns to its place. But its return is only a beginning. Just as he sinned the first time, he could sin again; he could fall again. But if he goes on to the next stage, if he now awakens within himself a longing to draw close to G-dliness, and does that in prayer, and then spends the whole day looking—in Torah, in mitzvos, and in the way he conducts himself in the world—for ways to draw closer to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, then that is what occupies him, what drives him, what moves him all the time. That is higher-level teshuvah. Then he won’t need lower-level teshuvah again. He won’t get to that point; he’s not there. That’s not where he belongs. He can’t fall even by mistake. So the Alter Rebbe says—already when he began this subject in chapter 1, there was something hidden there in the words. We spoke about how the word teshuvah contains two levels of teshuvah. Teshuvah can be read as “tashuv hei”—the hei will return. The lower hei refers to lower-level teshuvah, and the higher hei to higher-level teshuvah. Who was talking about higher-level teshuvah at that point? In chapter 1, the Alter Rebbe is speaking on the plain level, according to the revealed dimension of Torah, about a person who committed sins. Why does he suddenly mention higher-level teshuvah? What does it have to do with the subject?

32:34 Speaker 7 So that he won’t need another—

32:35 Speaker 1 Because even while doing lower-level teshuvah, he needs to know that the goal and purpose is to reach higher-level teshuvah. Without higher-level teshuvah, lower-level teshuvah isn’t enough. That’s chapter, uh, chapter 10. And that was essentially the overall content of the chapter... But we’re still missing one thing, one question that was asked and that we haven’t discussed. This matter of feeling bitterness, of lower-level teshuvah, of becoming embittered and breaking oneself. So, as was said—you said it, and others here said it too—that was appropriate in the past. It’s not that we don’t need it today. Today, too, a person sometimes needs to think about the wrong things he has done and break himself. That needs to happen from time to time, but not as it did in the past—every day, or at a set time each week, as the Alter Rebbe writes, making it a regular practice. We don’t do those things. In our generation, the Rebbe sim—

33:50 Speaker 7 Let me—

33:50 Speaker 1 There are sichos of the Rebbe—many, many sichos, including ones in which the Rebbe mentions this chapter—where the Rebbe says that in our generation, everything needs to be done with joy. In our generation, we aren’t vessels for that kind of breaking. Our generation—we’re so low that if we break ourselves, nothing will be left. There’s nothing underneath. I don’t know how to put it, but those are my crude words, yes.

34:17 Speaker 7 There’s nowhere for us to break down to, so that—

34:19 Speaker 1 In our generation, even lower-level teshuvah needs to be done with joy. A person needs to break himself and know that now he is doing what he needs to do.

34:29 Speaker 7 That elevates them—the fact that they are close to the Geulah.

34:34 Speaker 1 Uh, but that’s one point we needed to note. Now, within Igeres Hateshuvah itself, after the Alter Rebbe explained what lower-level teshuvah is, what higher-level teshuvah is, the order of things, the two levels within higher-level teshuvah, what comes first and what comes afterward, how to do it, and so on—in the next chapter he introduces another level of higher-level teshuvah.

34:58 Speaker 7 So is it two or three?

35:00 Speaker 1 What?

35:00 Speaker 7 Is it two or three?

35:02 Speaker 1 It’s a level that doesn’t apply as readily to everyone. Even in the Alter Rebbe’s time, it probably didn’t apply as readily to everyone. It’s an even higher level of higher-level teshuvah, where bitterness and joy can exist at the same time.

35:19 Speaker 7 Okay.

35:20 Speaker 1 Although in an orphaned generation that’s impossible, and so on, in the next chapter he introduces another level of higher-level teshuvah where it is possible.

35:29 Speaker 7 And what’s in chapter 2?