Igeres Hakodesh Chapter 7

00:00 Speaker 1 Okay, good evening. We’re in Igeres Hakodesh 7. The previous letters spoke mainly about tzedakah. And after we’ve heard about one virtue of tzedakah, and another, and another, we pause for a moment and say: “How fortunate we are, how good is our portion, how pleasant is our lot.” So this is a letter placed here, in the middle of the letters about tzedakah. The sons of the Alter Rebbe inserted a letter here that explains what a Jew’s good fortune is. “How fortunate we are, how good is our portion, how pleasant is our lot.” That wording, “How fortunate we are,” comes from the siddur. We say it in the morning prayers before Hodu. Yes?

01:04 Speaker 2 That’s yours.

01:05 Speaker 1 Not related.

01:05 Speaker 2 What?

01:05 Speaker 1 Not related.

01:05 Speaker 2 What’s happening to me?

01:12 Speaker 1 After we speak about, after we contemplate how all the nations are as nothing, while You gave a soul only to us—only we are Jews, only to us did You give Torah and mitzvos—we proclaim: “How fortunate we are, how good is our portion, how pleasant is our lot,” and so on. Right away, if someone looks at the words, a question arises: What does “our portion” mean? What is our portion? How fortunate we are that You gave us a soul. But what is this “portion”? What does the word mean? So the Alter Rebbe brings a verse that explains the word “portion”: “Hashem is my allotted portion and my cup... You uphold my lot. The lines have fallen to me...” “In pleasant places,” it says there in Tehillim. In other words, when a Jew says, “How fortunate we are that You gave us a portion,” what is that portion? King David, peace be upon him, says in Tehillim, “Hashem is my allotted portion”—the portion I was given, that I merited, is a portion of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. “Hashem is my allotted portion.” He goes on there in Tehillim: “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places,” and the commentators explain there that “lines” refers to a lot. So every Jew has a portion and a lot, and we need to understand what “How fortunate we are” means. What do “our portion” and “our lot” mean? What does it mean that we have a portion in Hakadosh Boruch Hu? To understand that, we first need to understand the familiar wording of our Sages: “He has no portion in the G-d of Israel.” What needs explaining? He has no portion; he has no portion. What is there to understand?

03:02 Speaker 2 One.

03:02 Speaker 1 Yes?

03:04 Speaker 2 Sinners.

03:05 Speaker 1 About the sinners of Israel: “He has no portion in the G-d of Israel.” If he did this, or this, or this, then he has no portion. What needs explaining? Because, incidentally, at first glance the term “portion” doesn’t apply to G-dliness at all. G-dliness cannot be divided into parts, G-d forbid. How could it? What would it mean—could you divide Hakadosh Boruch Hu into parts and give everyone a part, or take a part of Him and give it to the Jewish people? What does “portion” mean? The Alter Rebbe is questioning the whole wording of “How fortunate we are, how good is our portion.” We say it all the time; we’re used to saying it. But how can G-dliness be divided into portions at all? And to understand this, he explains as follows. The point is as it says about Yaakov: “And he called it El, the G-d of Israel.” The preceding verse there says that after Yaakov was saved from Lavan, “He built an altar there,” and then, “He called it El, the G-d of Israel.” Some commentators explain that after Yaakov was saved from Lavan, he named the altar after Hakadosh Boruch Hu; he called Hakadosh Boruch Hu “El, the G-d of Israel.” But the plain meaning of the verse—good evening—the plain meaning isn’t so simple. First, what is the connection? Yaakov calls Hakadosh Boruch Hu “El, the G-d of Israel.” What does that have to do with the altar? Because you’ve just built an altar, you now call Hakadosh Boruch Hu “El, the G-d of Israel”? What’s the connection? Second, why does the verse suddenly use the name Israel for Yaakov? Why does it say “the G-d of Israel” and not “the G-d of Yaakov”? Throughout the parsha until now, he’s been called Yaakov. Suddenly here he’s called—

05:20 Speaker 1 Israel. What is the particular connection—

05:22 Speaker 5 It’s after he received the name, isn’t it?

05:22 Speaker 1 Hmm?

05:23 Speaker 5 It’s after he received the name, isn’t it?

05:25 Speaker 1 Yes! Of course, of course it’s after he received the name. But what does that have to do with this point? Until now he was called Yaakov. Why suddenly call him Israel here? And there are several more questions, things in the verse that aren’t clear. So the Alter Rebbe says: I have an interpretation according to the inner dimension of Torah, and through it we’ll gain two things. First, the verse will make sense. And besides understanding the verse, we’ll also understand what it means to have a portion in G-dliness—“our portion and our lot.” So he begins to explain the verse, “El, the G-d of Israel.” Now, in truth, Hakadosh Boruch Hu is just as His name says. What does “just as His name says” mean? We call Him Hakadosh Boruch Hu—the Holy One, blessed be He. That means He is holy, He is blessed, and He is He Himself. Just as His name says. What does that mean? So he begins by explaining what it means that He is holy. Although He “fills all worlds,” upper and lower, from the highest levels to beneath this physical earth, as it is written, “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” “I” literally. There is also a verse that says, “The whole earth is full of His glory.” But another verse says, “I fill the heavens and the earth.” Who is “I”? “I” means His essence and being. It is not His glory, not His extension, not an emanation—it is He Himself. And since it is He Himself... He Himself, with all His holiness, is present in heaven and on earth. That is, His very essence and being, so to speak. Maybe I should point something out here, because this is a little confusing. It says, “Although He fills all worlds.” Usually, when we speak about the light that “fills all worlds,” are we talking about His essence or an emanation from Him?

07:18 Speaker 5 An emanation.

07:19 Speaker 1 Only an emanation.

07:20 Speaker 5 And, in fact, only that can become enclothed.

07:22 Speaker 1 Because if something becomes enclothed—if we’re talking about enclothement, it has to be commensurate with what it becomes enclothed in, so it can only be an emanation. It cannot be His essence. Here, then, the Alter Rebbe uses the expression “fills all worlds” not in the sense of filling and becoming enclothed, but in the sense of being present everywhere. So the expression “fills all worlds” here refers to His essence and being. That is, His essence and being, so to speak, and not merely His glory. Nevertheless, although He is everywhere—in the upper and lower realms, in heaven and on earth—He is holy and separate from the upper and lower realms. What does “holy and separate” mean? You just said He is present within heaven and earth. So how is He holy and separate? Because He is not contained within them at all, G-d forbid. Although He is present, He does not become enclothed here. Even in physical terms, something can be present here without any connection to what is here. For example, radio waves are passing through this room all the time. They don’t affect our reality; we don’t receive them. Right. So He is present, but He does not become enclothed. The G-dly light that gives life to the worlds, brings the worlds into being, and so on—that is only an emanation from Him. His essence and being, although present here, are holy and separate. He is present, but separate from the worlds. The worlds do not perceive Him. And although He is present everywhere, He remains holy and separate from the upper and lower realms and is not contained within them at all, G-d forbid. And this is not like the way a person’s soul is contained within his body, for example, as explained elsewhere at length. The truth is, this goes deeper. I don’t know if we need to get into it now... The way G-dliness gives life to the worlds is not like the way the soul gives life—

09:47 Speaker 1 to the body. The soul—ultimately, the fact that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is everywhere is what brings the worlds into being and gives them life. Right? So how can you say this is not through enclothement? He is the One who brings the worlds into being and gives them life. What does it mean that it is not through enclothement? There are actually two ways this happens. The higher way, in which His essence and being give life to the worlds, happens as a matter of course. He is not contained within them.

10:16 Speaker 6 That’s through speech, isn’t it?

10:17 Speaker 1 What?

10:18 Speaker 6 That’s through speech, not sound waves, as it were. You can’t say that sound waves are contained within something, as it were.

10:23 Speaker 1 No, I’m looking for a way to explain it. There could have been a way for the world to come into being where Hakadosh Boruch Hu, Who can do anything, wants to bring the world into being. He says it, and there is a world. Right? If Hakadosh Boruch Hu had created the world that way, there would have been no connection at all between the world and G-dliness. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is there, and He created a world here. How can He create something outside Himself? He can do anything; He can do that. It’s no problem for Him. All right? But if Hakadosh Boruch Hu had created it that way, the world would have had no connection to G-dliness. Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted a dwelling place in the lower realms, which means that it would happen through enclothement. There’s a whole lengthy discussion about that—not here, not now. So in practice, Hakadosh Boruch Hu did create the world through enclothement. But even when He brings the world into being and gives it life, the G-dly light that gives the world life and brings it into being is G-dly light, and the world is a world.

11:31 Speaker 6 So all the G-dly light, the fact that G-dliness is present in every corner—is that because G-d sends a flow of life into creation?

11:39 Speaker 1 Yes. We’ve spoken several times about an analogy. There are better analogies, but this one is very, very easy to understand. A person stands in front of a mirror, and his image is reflected in it. The image in the mirror isn’t a person. It isn’t the person himself; it’s only his reflection. Right? But without the person, there’s no image in the mirror. That’s what it means that He brings the worlds into being. The worlds are not Him. He is not contained within them. It isn’t like the way the soul gives life to the body.

12:13 Speaker 6 But that’s not how it is. Because we say that it is G-dliness, don’t we?

12:18 Speaker 1 No.

12:21 Speaker 6 You’re saying it isn’t G-dliness?

12:23 Speaker 1 Correct.

12:24 Speaker 6 Then what is it?

12:25 Speaker 1 It’s something Hakadosh Boruch Hu created—a physical world.

12:29 Speaker 6 And what will happen in the days of Moshiach? What will become of it?

12:31 Speaker 1 G-dliness will be revealed within it, but that’s a separate matter. Hakadosh Boruch Hu created something from nothing. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is not a “something.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu is not an entity. He created an entity. Before He created existence, there was no existence, and the existence He created is something outside Himself.

12:53 Speaker 6 What, were there only spirits?

12:55 Speaker 1 There was only Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself. Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, King of the universe, by Whose word everything came into being.

13:02 Speaker 6 Amen.

13:02 Speaker 1 All right, we’ve gone into this too much already. These are subjects we’ve discussed and gone over at length in Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah. We won’t go back into them now. In any case, there are two ways Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives life to the world: through enclothement and through—through something that follows as a matter of course. Here we’re talking about the fact that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is everywhere: “I fill the heavens and the earth.” That doesn’t mean He is contained within the entire world. Even though He brings the world into being, gives it life, and is present within it, He is not contained within it—not like the way the soul gives life to the body. Therefore, because He is not contained within the worlds, they could not receive their life from His Essence and Being alone, so to speak, because they have no connection to Him. So, in order to exist, they receive their life only from the extension of the life-force with which Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives life to the higher and lower realms. And this extension of life-force, from which the worlds receive their life, is, by way of analogy, like a radiance that shines from His blessed name. So Hakadosh Boruch Hu has His name, which is already a radiance from Him, and a radiance from His name descends and gives life to the worlds. His name is united with Him, and a radiance from the name gives life to the worlds. As it says: “For His name alone is exalted; His splendor is upon earth and heaven.” Even Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s name is too exalted and lofty to give life to the worlds directly. Only a radiance from it gives life to the worlds.

14:50 Speaker 6 Wait, it says, “He and His name are one.” So in a sense, they are two things: He and the name. A name is one thing.

14:57 Speaker 1 His name is united with Him.

15:00 Speaker 6 What does it mean that His name is united with Him?

15:06 Speaker 1 Do you remember? In chapter 7 of Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah, we studied this at great length. That chapter took us two or three classes. We learned about malchus, the sefirah of malchus. A king’s function is to reign. To reign, he needs someone to reign over. He can’t reign over his children. A king needs someone outside himself, someone separate, to reign over. In other words, the whole nature of kingship requires someone outside it. Right? The other faculties of a person’s soul—and similarly Above—are different. Take love, for example. I need another person only so that my capacity for love has someone to act upon. But the capacity exists regardless of the other person. Right? It’s an inner faculty of the person. The same applies to the other faculties, intellect and emotion; they are inner faculties of a person. With kingship, if there is no one else, the faculty doesn’t exist. Its whole existence depends on someone else. Malchus of Atzilus is called His name. It is only a radiance, only a glimmer; it is the lowest sefirah and receives from all the others. It is the source from which a glimmer and radiance emerge to give life to all the worlds. But malchus itself, on the one hand, is only a name. On the other hand, it is one of the ten sefiros of Atzilus. It is united with Him. Both sides are explained there at length. So he continues here on line fifteen: “And this radiance”—the radiance, after it has become a name and a radiance from the name—“actually enclothes itself within the higher and lower realms to give them life.” It is already contained within them through—and even this happens only through many intermediaries and many immense contractions, in the chain of levels from cause to effect. So that is the order. There are two ways Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives life to the world. One is that He Himself is everywhere, and as a result the worlds exist as a matter of course. “He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and they were created.” He didn’t do

17:28 Speaker 1 anything to create them. He spoke, and it came into being on its own. And there is a mode of creation connected to the G-dly light that descends, enclothes itself within the worlds, and gives them life through radiance, contractions, and so on. Of the Essence of G-dliness, he says that it is holy. Now, this radiance that gives life to the worlds—although Above it shines and extends without limit or end, giving life to hidden worlds without end or limit, as it says in the Idra Rabba—the G-dly light descends below. Malchus, malchus of Ein Sof, descends lower and lower through descents, contractions, partitions, and so on. It enclothes itself within the worlds to give them life, and its extension is infinite, giving life to infinitely many worlds. What does “infinitely many worlds” mean? We know only Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. What are infinitely many worlds?

18:31 Speaker 7 There are worlds within those.

18:33 Speaker 1 We’re talking about the infinite worlds, the worlds above Atzilus, and perhaps Atzilus is included too. The infinite worlds—and there really is infinity there. So this radiance, although it is only a radiance, descends lower and lower. It is a G-dly radiance, and because it is itself infinite, it gives life to hidden worlds without end or limit. Nevertheless, when it descends below through many contractions to give life to beings of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah—when we’re speaking of how it gives life to those worlds—then it is already divided. Here the concept of parts begins. When the G-dly light gives life to the infinite worlds above Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, it does so infinitely. There are infinitely many worlds, and each world is infinite, so it makes no sense to speak of parts there. There are no parts there. Everything is infinite. Every single thing is infinite, so there are no parts. When do we begin to speak of parts in G-dliness? When the G-dly light descends to give life to beings of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. And this radiance is then divided, in general terms, into the number 613, corresponding to the 613 mitzvos of the Torah. So the first general division of that G-dly radiance is into 613: 613 kinds of extension of this radiance from the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, to shine upon the human soul, which comprises 248 limbs and 365 sinews. Or, to put it another way, why is this G-dly radiance divided into 613 parts? Because its entire purpose and goal is to give life to the human being, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted the human being to comprise 613 limbs and sinews. Since Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted the purpose of all creation—

20:35 Speaker 8 248 limbs?

20:37 Speaker 1 248 limbs and 365 sinews. All right, in general terms. Since the purpose of creation is the human being—the physical human being, with 613 limbs and sinews—the soul also comprises that number. And therefore the Divine radiance that gives life to all the worlds also comprises that number. For the sake of the human soul, the primary purpose of this radiance is to descend and be drawn down to all beings in the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, lower and lower. The purpose of them all is the human being. That is why this radiance comes in 613 parts. Now, this number of parts in the Divine radiance, as it is divided among the worlds, is in general terms.

21:37 Speaker 8 Is it fixed?

21:38 Speaker 1 Hmm?

21:39 Speaker 8 Is it fixed, or does it generally change?

21:42 Speaker 1 In general terms, as an overall structure. The completeness of creation is a human being. Completeness means having a whole form: head, body, and legs. Right? The head has its particular form, the body has arms, and there are legs, and so on. The head itself divides into Chochmah, Binah, and Daas, and the body divides into seven—the seven middos—and the legs, and so on. So in the broadest terms there are three parts: head, body, and legs. More specifically, it divides into ten: ten sefiros, ten faculties. And in still greater detail, there are 613—613 channels of Divine flow, 613 parts. But even those 613 are still a general framework. A very broad one. In detail, though, each mitzvah of the 613 divides into countless particulars. These are the specific bodies of halachah within each mitzvah, and they have no number. In general terms, we speak of 613 mitzvos corresponding to the 613 limbs of a person’s soul. But in detail, every mitzvah has a vast number of halachos, extending to infinity. Why infinity? Because this radiance comes from the Infinite. So even when it divides into 613, and even when it divides into a single particular mitzvah, its infinity is apparent there too.

23:21 Speaker 8 Even if you already have many halachos.

23:23 Speaker 1 Hmm?

23:24 Speaker 8 Even if you already have many halachos.

23:25 Speaker 1 New halachos are constantly emerging, every day. Yes. Take any area of Torah you like—it doesn’t matter which—and you can see that from generation to generation, more books are published, and more books, and more books, and the discussion continues. And truly, new questions arise every day, quite literally. All of that falls under the heading of that same mitzvah. These are the specific bodies of halachah within each mitzvah, and they have no number. As it says, “Sixty are the queens”—the sixty tractates, and so on—but “maidens without number” are the halachos, and so on. The halachos are channels through which the supernal will is drawn down, and so on. In Torah, everyone can see plainly, even in its physical form, that there are 613 mitzvos, and each mitzvah divides into tractates, and each tractate into chapters and halachos, truly without number. Just as it is in Torah, so it is in the human soul. The very same thing. Where do we see this? All the souls in the world were included in Adam HaRishon. How many parts did his soul have? His soul, too, had 613 spiritual limbs. In general terms, his soul divided into 613: 248 limbs and 365 sinews. But in detail, the soul of Adam HaRishon divided into countless sparks. These are the souls of all the Jewish people, from the days of the Patriarchs and the tribes until the coming of Moshiach, inclusive—including everyone who will be born when Moshiach comes. So just as the general flow of the 613 mitzvos in Torah divides into particulars without end or limit, so too the general flow of Adam HaRishon’s soul divides without end or limit. Where do we see it? In the souls of the Jewish people throughout all generations.

25:35 Speaker 9 Aren’t the souls of the future part of Adam HaRishon’s soul?

25:39 Speaker 1 That’s another matter. It says that in the future, souls will be revealed that were not in Adam HaRishon’s soul. That’s another matter. And this includes the time when what is written will be fulfilled. When Moshiach comes, the verse will be fulfilled: “The number of the Children of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted for its multitude.” So even all those souls that “cannot be measured or counted for their multitude,” who will exist in the future—even all of that was included in Adam HaRishon’s soul. Truly infinite. Now, why is all this relevant to us? To explain the verse, “And he called Him El, the G-d of Israel.” Now, the beauty of Yaakov—the word shufrei means beauty; it is related to improvement, to being made beautiful—is akin to the beauty of Adam HaRishon. In what way is Yaakov’s beauty like Adam HaRishon’s? Yaakov rectified Adam HaRishon’s sin, and his soul, too, included all the souls of Israel for all time, like Adam HaRishon’s. And Yaakov was a vehicle for the Torah above, just as Adam HaRishon was a vehicle for the Torah. So the Torah in its completeness was present in Yaakov, in the completeness of his limbs. What does it mean that Yaakov was a vehicle for the Torah? Yaakov is an aspect of man. Man has 613 limbs. The Torah above also comprises 613—613 aspects, 613 channels of Divine flow. We spoke about this once, didn’t we?

27:40 Speaker 9 About everything.

27:41 Speaker 1 About how the ten sefiros... Why are there specifically 613 mitzvos? We worked out the calculation once, didn’t we? The way the sefiros are interincluded. I just referred to it as though it were something understood. I thought we had spoken about it.

27:59 Speaker 9 We may have spoken about it, but most of it is already...

28:01 Speaker 1 When the sefiros are interincluded with one another, there are nine sefiros involved, because Malchus is concerned with giving outward, not with being interincluded with the other sefiros. So we have nine sefiros without Malchus, and each is interincluded with all the others together. That comes to eighty-one: nine times nine. And since in every sefirah there is the sefirah itself, its essence, as well as its inner and outer dimensions—the beginning, middle, and end of the sefirah—eighty-one times three is 243. Then there are the five chassadim that expand them, which bring about all this interinclusion. So that comes to 245. 248. Two hundred and forty-three plus five—248. That is, um...

29:10 Speaker 10 248.

29:11 Speaker 1 Those are the 248 positive mitzvos. So why is the Torah called “man”? Because the Torah comprises 248 limbs, just as a person comprises 248... You could say it the other way around: a person comprises 248 limbs, just like the Torah. It is the same idea, the same thing. What does it mean that Yaakov Avinu was a vehicle for the supernal man? The supernal man above the throne is the Torah as it exists above: the 613, the 248 and the 365, as they exist above. Yes. The Torah above is the spiritual man, and Yaakov down here—his soul was a vehicle for it. That means that the world of Atzilus was revealed within him. So, since Adam HaRishon comprised 613 and Yaakov comprised 613, Yaakov was a vehicle for the Torah above, which also comprises 613. That is why the Torah above is called “man,” as it says, “And upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness like the appearance of a man.” What, is Hakadosh Boruch Hu there? Does He have some kind of face above? Rather, the world of Atzilus—the world above the throne... The world of the throne is the world of Beriah; the world above the throne is the world of Atzilus. The world of Atzilus has the appearance of a man because it comprises 613. As it says, “And this was formerly in Israel”: in Yaakov, when he is called Israel, the inner dimension is revealed within him. What is that inner dimension? It is the Torah. That is what the verse means by “And this was formerly in Israel.” “This” refers to the Torah, and so on: the Torah was included and vested in the soul of Yisroel Saba, Yaakov Avinu, which included all the souls. Now that we understand what it means to be a part of Divinity—that the Divine radiance, as it descends to give life to created and formed beings, is called... and that it divides into parts—into how many parts does it divide? Into 613. Why? Because that is the overall... because the interinclusion of all the sefiros comes to the number 613. And where is that revealed? In Yaakov Avinu. When is it revealed in Yaakov? Only when he is at the level of Israel. When Yaakov Avinu is at the higher level, the level of...

31:40 Speaker 1 Israel, when he is a vehicle for the Torah above, then the Torah above—which is the portion, the parts, the part of Divinity—is vested in his soul. And this is “And he called Him El, the G-d of Israel.” Its meaning, as the Alter Rebbe explains, is not the plain meaning—that Yaakov Avinu called Hakadosh Boruch Hu “El, the G-d of Israel.” Rather, Yaakov, our father Israel, called to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, calling Him to come. And how did he call Him? Through “El, the G-d of Israel.” El refers to drawing down radiance from the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, from concealment into revelation. What did our father Israel do by building an altar after going through all those trials? He drew the Torah as it exists above down here into the world.

32:41 Speaker 11 Could you put it this way? It might sound like “he called to”—that he called out to Him, as it were...

32:45 Speaker 1 Yes.

32:45 Speaker 11 The G-d of Israel.

32:46 Speaker 1 Yes, yes.

32:47 Speaker 11 Is that the point?

32:48 Speaker 1 Yes, yes. Exactly.

32:49 Speaker 11 So that also sounds as though, after you told me that “El,” as in “El Yisroel,” there’s something else here—

32:55 Speaker 1 The simple meaning, the simple meaning is that he called Him that. He gave Hakadosh Boruch Hu a name. What is Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s name? El Elokei Yisroel.

33:03 Speaker 11 Okay, that’s what I—

33:04 Speaker 1 That’s the simple meaning. The Alter Rebbe explains that “called” means an illumination.

33:11 Speaker 11 An illumination that he called to come, you mean?

33:13 Speaker 1 No. The verse says, “And he called Him El”—he called the illumination to come.

33:19 Speaker 12 For me, that brings up the biggest question: the drawing down here into the world.

33:26 Speaker 1 Yes.

33:26 Speaker 12 Does that come from Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s name, or from the calling by which He, as it were, determines everything in the world?

33:33 Speaker 1 Which drawing down are you talking about?

33:35 Speaker 12 When we said that Hakadosh Boruch Hu determines the...

33:38 Speaker 1 Creates the beings?

33:40 Speaker 12 The G-dliness in the world, I mean. Is that through speech, or through His... or through His name? What is it about His name, about Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s name, that brings G-dliness?

33:55 Speaker 1 There’s—don’t mix them up. There’s the physical existence of the world, and there’s the revelation of G-dliness in the world. The world’s physical existence is constantly being brought into being anew. It... it exists all the time. Hakadosh Boruch Hu says—

34:13 Speaker 11 How does it exist?

34:13 Speaker 1 Hmm?

34:14 Speaker 11 How does it exist—through saying something?

34:16 Speaker 1 Through saying something.

34:17 Speaker 11 Okay.

34:18 Speaker 1 Yes. But the revelation, the content, the G-dliness—the fact that G-dliness is felt in the world—that comes through the avodah of the Jewish people.

34:25 Speaker 12 But saying something doesn’t... doesn’t bring about G-dliness? Hey, I feel like... come on, come on—

34:38 Speaker 1 It’s like... it’s like in the physical world, with us. A person can speak without feeling, just talk. I can read a text without understanding what it says.

34:50 Speaker 12 Because when we speak, we don’t create anything through speech.

34:54 Speaker 1 Our Sages called it speech because it’s a precise analogy. What is the analogy? We need to understand which aspect of the analogy applies here. When a person speaks, he can take a text and read it. He speaks, he says the words. Or he can say things filled with powerful feeling, so that someone hearing him hears his emotion and is moved. And there can also be speech into which he puts profound intellect. In other words, speech in itself doesn’t necessarily mean that he speaks with emotion, or that his inner self is expressed in it. A person who wants to express himself uses speech, but speech in itself doesn’t necessarily contain the person.

35:53 Speaker 12 Through speech, Hakadosh Boruch Hu brings the world into being. That means it expresses Him completely.

35:58 Speaker 1 No. Hakadosh Boruch Hu speaks words that create the physical reality of the world.

36:06 Speaker 12 Doesn’t that convey Him? Doesn’t it express the One who created it?

36:09 Speaker 1 Of course.

36:10 Speaker 12 No—how is that obvious?

36:11 Speaker 11 It doesn’t make sense.

36:12 Speaker 12 Why doesn’t it make any sense?

36:14 Speaker 11 Just because I say something doesn’t mean that I’m the one who, like—

36:17 Speaker 12 But you’re creating a world here! Doesn’t that mean you have a part in it?

36:23 Speaker 1 I can explain this very simply. I can. The point is actually very simple.

36:28 Speaker 12 What?

36:29 Speaker 1 Look at it this way. A non-Jew—and even a Jew—who doesn’t know, who was never told anything about Hakadosh Boruch Hu, lives like a non-Jew. He can simply look around and go through his whole life in this world without ever dreaming that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created him.

36:50 Speaker 12 Okay.

36:51 Speaker 1 Why? Because He isn’t revealed. If a person thinks and studies and contemplates, then—wow! There He is, right here! But that’s after he contemplates. The world doesn’t tell him that on its own. The world doesn’t shout, “Here is Hakadosh Boruch Hu!”

37:09 Speaker 12 Fate.

37:10 Speaker 1 What?

37:10 Speaker 12 There’s fate here.

37:11 Speaker 1 What do you mean?

37:12 Speaker 12 There’s fate here.

37:15 Speaker 1 I don’t know what you mean by “fate.”

37:17 Speaker 12 No, you can look at this—

37:20 Speaker 1 A person can also be an atheist, not believe in fate, and live well his entire life. The world doesn’t... I know plenty of people who are levelheaded and intelligent, who work with technology, and who don’t define themselves as nonbelievers.

37:40 Speaker 12 Okay.

37:40 Speaker 1 They don’t, they don’t. They live well; they have no problems, no inner dilemmas or doubts or anything troubling them in life. No, they live well, everything’s fine. Why? How can that be? Because Hakadosh Boruch Hu isn’t revealed. But there can be a situation where Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed—when a miracle happens. Suddenly the waters of the Sea of Reeds stand like a wall. Listen, if I were standing there...

38:13 Speaker 12 There’s something going on here.

38:14 Speaker 1 You’d be amazed! You suddenly realize there’s someone here who—

38:19 Speaker 12 There’s something here.

38:20 Speaker 1 There’s something here that isn’t ordinary. But even then, a person can come and see such a thing happen. You know what? Let’s take something more... You know, even the splitting of the Sea of Reeds: “Wow, Moshe Rabbeinu can do some amazing tricks. I have to learn how he does that trick.” A person can look and not see Hakadosh Boruch Hu; he sees the water standing. He can imagine that it’s some kind of illusion—or maybe not an illusion, but that Moshe knows how to do some trick. I don’t know, but a person can imagine such a thing. Because even when the water stands there miraculously, a person can still think that way. He doesn’t see Hakadosh Boruch Hu; he doesn’t feel Him.

38:58 Speaker 11 With all of today’s technology.

39:00 Speaker 1 He doesn’t feel Him. To feel Him means that G-dliness is revealed—that I feel it’s Him. No one needs to explain it to me, show it to me, or prove it to me, or even show me miracles. I truly feel it. That isn’t revealed. Speech doesn’t reveal it. It really depends on a person’s avodah. What is the avodah that brings about the revelation of G-dliness in the world? We’re told it’s Torah and mitzvos. Torah I can understand: you study His wisdom, you learn, you understand, and something happens inside you. But how do mitzvos cause G-dliness to be revealed?

39:42 Speaker 12 Look at how people—

39:43 Speaker 1 Yes, but intellectually, why should a person pick some fruit from a tree—specifically an esrog? No, a lemon won’t do. Here, take one that looks the same, put drops of water on it—that won’t work. Take this one in your hand, shake it, and now G-dliness will be revealed. Where was it revealed? What was revealed? Who was revealed? Where? What? Who? The act itself doesn’t do anything. Mitzvos draw G-dliness into the world because that’s Hashem’s will. But that’s happening now, and I don’t feel it. In the future it will be revealed. For now, I’m only told about it; I don’t feel it. Okay? So there are two... Come on, let’s focus here. There are two ways in which Hakadosh Boruch Hu acts: He brings the world into being and gives it life so that it exists, and then there’s the revelation of G-dliness. The revelation of G-dliness in the world comes through... That’s the purpose of the world’s creation, and it comes through the avodah of Jewish souls. So he began explaining this with Adam Harishon. Adam Harishon’s purpose was “to work it and guard it”—to reveal G-dliness in Gan Eden. And afterward, “Yaakov’s beauty was like Adam Harishon’s beauty.” Just as Adam Harishon included all souls and embodied the complete drawing down of G-dliness into the world, so did Yaakov. And how was that expressed? In Yaakov calling Hakadosh Boruch Hu “El Elokei Yisroel.”

41:22 Speaker 3 Why specifically El Elokei Yisroel?

41:24 Speaker 1 Because “El” refers to drawing down the light. What light? The light that is divided into portions—the G-dly light that gives life to the world, bringing it from concealment into revelation. It shines openly in a person’s soul—not just that it is there, but that it is revealed. What does “revealed” mean? When something is revealed, I see it and feel it. As it says, “G-d is Hashem, and He has given us light.” And afterward, it does not remain only with Yaakov Avinu, but extends to all the upright of heart. Who are the upright of heart? Well, among other things, the letters of “Yisroel” can be read as “yashar El,” upright toward G-d. So every Jew is upright of heart. For all the upright of heart who engage in Torah and mitzvos, the light of Hashem, the blessed Ein Sof, shines openly in their souls. So, in general, it was Yaakov who drew the G-dly light into the world as a whole and revealed it. But on an individual level, all the souls throughout the generations that are included in Yaakov Avinu’s soul—sparks of his soul—have the task of fulfilling all the Torah and mitzvos, the Torah and mitzvos of Yisroel Avinu, which draw down G-dliness and reveal it in the world. And this revelation is especially strong and powerful, shining in their minds and hearts at the time of prayer, as explained elsewhere. So up to here he has explained what “portion” means. “How fortunate we are, how good is our portion.” What is so good about our portion? That we have a soul. That is exactly what we say in the passage before Hodu. What are we giving thanks for? That we have a soul. We are not like the nations of the world. We have a soul. “How fortunate we are, how good...” Why are you so happy that you have a soul? What makes us so fortunate? Why is it called “our portion”? Because I have a soul, I have a portion in G-dliness, since the soul’s entire purpose is to draw down a portion of G-dliness

43:38 Speaker 1 into the world.

43:39 Speaker 3 Chaya, what about a non-Jew who observes the seven Noahide commandments?

43:41 Speaker 1 What?

43:43 Speaker 3 A non-Jew who observes the seven Noahide commandments.

43:45 Speaker 1 Now, he cannot draw down G-dliness.

43:47 Speaker 3 So what is he doing? Nothing?

43:48 Speaker 1 I don’t know. Good question. I don’t know right now. This is only explaining what “portion” means.

43:56 Speaker 3 That’s why you call them mitzvos.

43:57 Speaker 1 What? Why are the mitzvos called mitzvos?

44:01 Speaker 3 Why are the Noahide commandments called mitzvos if he isn’t drawing anything down through them?

44:05 Speaker 1 Because Hakadosh Boruch Hu commanded them.

44:09 Speaker 3 That’s the definition of a mitzvah.

44:11 Speaker 1 Simple, no? What is a mitzvah? Something Hakadosh Boruch Hu commands.

44:15 Speaker 3 Another, like—

44:16 Speaker 1 What, what—

44:17 Speaker 3 A mitzvah is something that is His will—

44:18 Speaker 1 I don’t know right now what their mitzvos accomplish. Whether they do accomplish something or not, what does that have to do with this? What is being explained here—that through Torah and mitzvos we draw down G-dliness and reveal G-dliness in the world—is what a Jewish soul accomplishes. What does it accomplish for non-Jews? I don’t know. Someone can look into it. I don’t know.

44:41 Speaker 3 What?

44:42 Speaker 1 Someone can look into it. What does it accomplish for their souls? I don’t know. Maybe it is explained, maybe it isn’t. I don’t know. Anyway, this only explains what “portion” means.

44:53 Speaker 3 What, then, is “lot”?

44:54 Speaker 1 What is “lot”? Here—

44:57 Speaker 3 What is “inheritance”? Ah, inheritance is something mediated—

45:00 Speaker 1 Although this revelation through engaging in Torah and mitzvos is generally the same for every Jewish soul, because we all have one Torah and one law. Everyone is obligated in the same 613 mitzvos. There’s no difference. Nevertheless, in particular, not all the souls, spirits, and higher souls are equal in this respect. Why? Because it depends on the time and circumstances of their reincarnation and their arrival in this world. As our Sages explicitly said: “Which mitzvah was your father especially careful about? He said to him: Tzitzis.” So one Tanna asked his colleague, “Which mitzvah was your father especially careful about?” And he answered, “My father was especially careful about tzitzis.” It isn’t that his father did not fulfill the other mitzvos. He fulfilled all the mitzvos, but he was especially careful about this one. And similarly, every person has his own particular mitzvah or his own special area of Torah and mitzvos. That is his task, to draw down this particular thing. That is what is called a “lot.” “Our portion” means a portion. When do you divide something up? You make a division, right? So that everyone gets the same thing. That’s a division, a p-p-portion, something equal. That is Torah and mitzvos, which are the portion we all share. They are the same for everyone.

46:43 Speaker 3 A lot is something specific.

46:44 Speaker 1 But a lot is something that one person—we, how do you say it, the one who wins the lot.

46:51 Speaker 3 Like the allotment of the tribes, something specific.

46:52 Speaker 1 Yes, that’s it. Only his soul merited the task of drawing down this particular thing, and that is what his soul merited. So every soul, besides having its portion—meaning it must observe all the Torah and mitzvos; that is the foundation—also has a lot, some particular aspect of G-dliness that is its task. That is why his soul descended into this world, and that is where he must be especially careful. And since every aspect of G-dliness comes through Torah and mitzvos, you can clearly see that every single person has some mitzvah that really lights him up. You can see someone who gets very excited when Sukkos comes around, someone who is very involved in the mitzvah campaigns, someone in Torah study, someone in nigleh, and someone in Chassidus. And even more specifically, within nigleh, one person is drawn particularly to halachah and another particularly to Gemara. More specifically still, one is drawn to this tractate, another to that tractate, and so on. Each detail is guided by Divine providence. What is that thing a person feels drawn to? That is his lot. That is why his soul descended into the world.

48:11 Speaker 3 They say it is דווקא what is hardest for him.

48:14 Speaker 1 Or what is hardest for him, on the other hand. Both—both sides. Right. It can be either way. That, too, depends on his lot: whether what fell to his lot is something he must draw down through challenges or by a straightforward path.

48:30 Speaker 3 Yes, yes.

48:30 Speaker 1 And likewise, not all generations are equal. Just as each of a person’s limbs has its own particular function—the eye sees and the ear hears. So although a person is one person, each limb has its own task. In the same way, every Jew and every individual soul has its own task, what it must do for the Jewish people as a whole. Thus, in every mitzvah, a particular, distinctive light from the blessed Ein Sof shines. And although every Jewish soul must return through reincarnation to fulfill all 613 mitzvos—that is what the Arizal wrote—nevertheless, each soul needs to show special care and diligence, far greater and stronger, many times beyond its care with the other mitzvos, in that one special matter. That is what the Tanna meant when he said, “Which mitzvah was your father especially careful about?” “Especially” is the key word. Not “Which mitzvah was your father careful about?” but “Which was he more careful about?” It isn’t that he did not fulfill the other mitzvos. You see, this advantage of a particular light for particular souls is not something that can be grasped by reason and understanding. No one can explain why he is drawn to this thing, or why this thing presents him with more difficulties than other things. It does not depend on intellect, understanding, or comprehension, but is beyond intellect: that is how it arose in His blessed thought. Its counterpart below is an actual lottery. So this matter—that each of us feels there is something he is more drawn to, or, conversely, something that is harder for him to do—that itself, yes, that itself indicates something. Why is this harder for you than other things? Here Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants you to—

50:28 Speaker 3 Is that also about liking something? Something you like doing more?

50:31 Speaker 1 Mm?

50:31 Speaker 3 Is that also about liking something—something you like doing more?

50:35 Speaker 1 Yes. Yes, absolutely.

50:37 Speaker 3 You also like doing it, and it is also harder.

50:40 Speaker 4 No, either you really like it or it is something that is very, very hard for you.

50:43 Speaker 1 It can be either way. It can also be a combination of the two.

50:47 Speaker 3 That’s interesting.

50:48 Speaker 1 What?

50:49 Speaker 3 That it’s hard for you to do it. Something you like doing is sort of easier to do.

50:56 Speaker 1 But, but, but—

50:57 Speaker 4 Why would someone like—

50:59 Speaker 1 But you can encounter—encounter difficulties, right?

51:01 Speaker 4 It depends on what the difficulty is. From my perspective, if he has no strength, he can’t.

51:07 Speaker 1 W-why? Why? Yes, there can be something a person very, very much wants and longs to do, but he does not succeed. It is hard for him.

51:21 Speaker 4 Well, there are things—

51:21 Speaker 3 But I don’t know if I—I mean, if it’s really a difficulty, it’s as though he can’t manage to do it.

51:27 Speaker 1 So this is Igeres Hakodesh 7: “How fortunate we are, how good is our portion, and how pleasant is our lot,” which—

51:32 Speaker 3 Why specifically “good is our portion” and “pleasant is our lot”? That is already something else, a different matter. That’s already a way—

51:38 Speaker 1 I think it has to do with what it says in Tehillim. Ah, what is the wording there? He quotes it at the beginning. “The cords have fallen for me in pleasant places.” “Cords” can also mean portions. Here in the verse, “cords”—

51:54 Speaker 3 So with “cords,” there you already have—

51:55 Speaker 1 In that verse, “cords” does not mean hardship and sorrow, but portions. “The c-c-cords have fallen for me—”

52:03 Speaker 3 “In pleasant places.” So it should have been “pleasant is our portion.” We’ve already heard that “cords” means “lot,” so it is “pleasant is our lot.”

52:09 Speaker 1 “Chevel” here means a portion. Hashem gave me portions in pleasant places.

52:16 Speaker 3 So what is pleasant about my lot?

52:19 Speaker 1 The portions. That’s why the verse repeats the idea.

52:23 Speaker 3 Okay, so another question—

52:24 Speaker 1 How, how? “Hashem is my allotted portion and my cup; You uphold my lot.” What is that “my lot”? “Portions have fallen to me in pleasant places.” The point about the lot is that it’s a portion associated with pleasantness. So apparently this is good, and that is good, and it’s pleasant.

52:48 Speaker 3 There’s another one. We found that.