Shiurim on Kuntres Ha'avodah - Part 4

00:00 Speaker 1 It says here that prayer is a matter of teshuvah: the soul becoming immersed in G-dliness. And this immersion of the soul in G-dliness has all the levels—nefesh, ruach, and neshamah. First, there is the avodah of nefesh, which is the section of Hodu. Then the nefesh rises to ruach, the level of Pesukei Dezimrah, of love and awe. And when a person reaches Pesukei Dezimrah, the beginning of the level of ruach, the nefesh also rises to ruach. We’ll explain the difference between the prayer of nefesh, in Hodu, and the prayer of Pesukei Dezimrah to which the nefesh rises. Now he continues with the next part of the discussion. The real inner work is the avodah of ruach through the power to refine. The power at work in Pesukei Dezimrah, the ruach within ruach, works with the middos in a genuine way. So what does it mean for ruach to rise afterward to the avodah of neshamah, which is G-dliness of Beriah? In other words, what does it mean to reach the level of neshamah, the third level of prayer? Neshamah is G-dliness of Beriah. What is the avodah of neshamah, of G-dliness of Beriah? What does that avodah in prayer consist of? As we said earlier, there is G-dliness of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, corresponding to the three levels of nefesh, ruach, and neshamah. Nefesh is connected with G-dliness of Asiyah, in the avodah of Hodu in prayer. Ruach is connected with G-dliness of Yetzirah; in avodah, that means feeling—love and awe, the middos—in Pesukei Dezimrah. Neshamah is G-dliness of Beriah. There, as he says here, the avodah is intellectual. That is its primary avodah. As it says, in G-dliness of Beriah there dwells the aspect

02:21 Speaker 1 of binah. It says that in Beriah, the binah of Hakadosh Boruch Hu shines. Therefore, its primary avodah is intellectual, in the blessings of Shema. That is the level of neshamah. The prayer of neshamah is Nishmas; the point is that Nishmas is associated with binah, and in that passage we learn about the level of neshamah, which is connected with Gan Eden. So he says here that the primary avodah of G-dliness of Beriah, the avodah of neshamah, is intellectual. In prayer, that is the blessings of Shema and Shema itself. This is an interesting point about the blessings of Shema and Shema itself: they are primarily the avodah of neshamah, intellectual avodah, G-dliness of Beriah. He goes on to say, “and also in the prayer of ruach.” It says here, too, that ruach is included in neshamah. As we said earlier, nefesh is included in ruach when a person rises to the level of ruach, so the nefesh, too, rises to the prayer of ruach. And here, when a person rises to the level of neshamah, ruach also rises to that level, because we have reached Yetzirah and Beriah. As we say regarding the worlds, each world is included in all the worlds; when one rises to Beriah, Yetzirah also rises into Beriah. So too in the avodah of prayer: when a person rises to the blessings of Shema, to intellectual avodah, the avodah of neshamah, ruach also rises to the level of neshamah. That means there is love and awe—the middos, ruach—in Shema as well, but on a higher level. As we said earlier, Pesukei Dezimrah also contains the aspect of Hodu, only Hodu is there on a higher, more developed level. So here too, Shema contains love and awe, the aspect of ruach, but ruach rises to a higher level. There is an interesting point here: he says that ruach rises, but does not mention nefesh. He writes only that ruach rises to the level of neshamah.

04:30 Speaker 1 But let’s look at the Rambam’s index. The Rambam’s index is on the first page—the previous page, one page back. The Rambam made an abridgment. He said there are two abridgments: the Rambam’s abridgment and Rabbi Shemaya’s abridgment. In the Rambam’s abridgment, he writes [unclear] “nefesh and ruach”—both of them refer to neshamah. Although the wording here mentions only ruach, it is clear that it does not mean only ruach; nefesh is meant as well. In other words, Shema, where the level of neshamah of Beriah is found, contains not only love and awe but Hodu as well. The aspect of Hodu is present there too, only at the higher level of neshamah. Let’s continue. Here he begins a whole discussion. Until now he has spoken generally about three levels: nefesh, ruach, and neshamah. Nefesh is the aspect of Hodu; ruach is the aspect of middos; and neshamah is the aspect of intellect. His new point was that each of them contains the whole picture. In other words, ruach does not mean only the level of ruach; nefesh is there too, and so is neshamah. Each level is present, but at each stage one is the dominant aspect. That is what he has discussed until now regarding the three levels. The distinction between nefesh, ruach, and neshamah is itself [unclear], and it follows that whenever a person rises, the preceding level rises with him. Here Rabbi Hussein[?] begins a detailed discussion to explain this. How does it show itself in serving Hashem? What exactly is the difference between one level and another? In this connection,

06:31 Speaker 1 he cites Tanya, Likkutei Amarim, chapter 39, on the distinction between natural love and awe in the world of Yetzirah. What does that mean? What we mainly want to understand here is what these three levels are, and especially the difference between love and awe in the world of Yetzirah and love and awe in the world of Beriah, to which the level of neshamah is said to rise. What is the difference? He says that in Tanya, chapter 39, we see that natural love and awe rise to the world of Yetzirah, while intellectual love and awe are in Beriah. In other words, there are two kinds of love and awe: natural love and awe, and intellectual love and awe. He explains that natural love and awe are connected with the world of Yetzirah, while intellectual love and awe are connected with the world of Beriah. When we learn the plain meaning of Tanya, it would seem that intellectual love and awe come through contemplation. The simple reading of Tanya suggests that these are the two categories. What are natural love and awe, and what are intellectual love and awe? The point is how the love is aroused. There are two levels of love and awe, and both are feelings in the heart. But one feeling of love and awe in the heart comes from revealing the hidden love, while the other comes from contemplation. That seems to be the meaning in Tanya. That is how one would ordinarily understand Tanya, chapter 39. Some of you probably still remember it. We learned it in the classes before Tishrei; we learned these chapters, 39 and 40, in our Tanya class during the year. There the Alter Rebbe explains—in chapter 40, the whole subject of intention, love and awe—that they must be like a body and soul, that love and awe must be present in the person’s soul.

08:31 Speaker 1 So the Alter Rebbe explains there that there are two levels of intention. Just as there are two levels in action, like the inanimate and the plant, there are also two levels of intention, like the animal and the human. There the Rebbe divides them into the inanimate, the plant, the animal, and the human. The inanimate and the plant are two levels of action: a mitzvah performed through action and a mitzvah performed through speech. One is considered inanimate, and the other is considered a plant. When it comes to the intention behind a mitzvah, there are also two levels: intention on the level of the animal soul and intention on the human level. It is like the difference between an animal and a person. What is the difference? An animal also has feelings, love and fear, but an animal’s love and fear are natural; they arise by instinct. It does not have to produce them through its own effort. A person’s love and fear, on the other hand, can be intellectual: love and fear that come through contemplating the greatness of Hashem. That is the difference between the animal and the human levels. In a person’s love and fear, there is a difference between awakening the hidden love and fear—which is the animal level, and is accessible to everyone, even a person without developed intellectual faculties—and something more. Every Jew has a hidden love and fear that we inherited from our forefathers. We need to awaken it. This is called natural love and fear. It, too, enables us to fulfill the mitzvah, but in terms of its level, it is the animal level. When love and fear are intellectual, you contemplate the greatness of Hashem, and that contemplation awakens some measure of love and fear. This is the human level, a higher level of love and fear. So that is the higher level. Now, the plain meaning in Tanya is what is brought here. What, then, is the difference between the level of ruach and the level of neshamah? In other words, the difference between Yetzirah and Beriah is that in the world of Yetzirah, love and fear

10:16 Speaker 1 are natural love and fear. That is also why this is connected with the angels, who are indeed called living beings. The angels’ love and fear are natural love and fear. And in a person’s soul, too, this applies when his love comes from the hidden love. That is connected with the world of Yetzirah. When his love and fear are intellectual—that is, when they come through contemplation—he is in the world of Beriah, the realm of intellect, [unclear], where the garments are associated with intellectual love and fear. Do you remember this? You studied it; we studied it in chapter 40 of Tanya. So the Rebbe explains here—but for now I am giving the plain meaning. On the plain level, this is what Tanya means: the difference between the world of Yetzirah and the world of Beriah is whether love and fear are natural or intellectual. But the Rebbe says that when we look more deeply into Tanya, its meaning appears to be broader. So let’s see. And the fear—that is, what is the idea of the world of Beriah? What does “intellectual human” mean? What sort of love and fear does a person attain through it? Love and fear felt in the heart, revealed through contemplating the greatness of Hashem. But if we look more deeply, we can see more clearly what is meant by “intellectual human.” That is, [unclear]. It seems that by “intellectual love and fear,” he means something far higher than what we would ordinarily understand by love and fear—a higher level. And what level is that? Love and fear that come about on their own from contemplating the greatness of the Infinite. Intellectual love and fear means love and fear that arise on their own from contemplating the greatness of the Infinite. You do not need to produce the love and fear; rather, they

12:15 Speaker 1 come about on their own from the contemplation. And only love and fear that come about on their own from contemplation are called intellectual love and fear. What does that mean? He now goes into several fine points to show his evidence, but first, let me explain the basic idea a little, so we can understand what is happening here. This is a brief introduction to help us understand what the Rebbe is going to explain throughout this chapter and its continuation. When we set out the different levels of love and fear, we spoke just now about natural love and fear and intellectual love and fear. That is what was mentioned in Tanya, in that chapter. [unclear] There is love and fear that are natural, while love and fear that come through contemplation are intellectual. Now, as we go further into the subject, even intellectual love and fear have two levels. In other words, even within love and fear that come through contemplation, there are two levels. And as we will see in more detail, there are actually more than two; there are several levels. But generally, as presented in the maamarim, there are two levels of intellectual love and fear. What are they? In the language of Chassidus, they are called mochin d’katnus and mochin d’gadlus. They are also called middos d’katnus and middos d’gadlus. They have various names. Sometimes they are called concealed love and fear and revealed love and fear. Those are the terms. Let’s look at what they mean. What is the difference between these two kinds of intellectual love and fear? There is the ordinary way: a person contemplates the greatness of Hashem, and after contemplating the greatness of Hashem,

14:23 Speaker 1 love and fear do not immediately awaken in him. In the usual course of things, when a person contemplates the greatness of Hashem, love and fear still do not awaken in him. After the contemplation, he needs to do specific work to bring it down into his heart. This is what it says in Parshas Vaeschanan: “And you shall know today, and take it to heart.” Knowing is not enough. A person can contemplate the greatness of Hashem even tomorrow and still have no love or fear. Why? Because he has not brought that contemplation down into his emotions. After contemplating, he needs to take a further step, called in the language of Chassidus making a b’chein. B’chein means something like a takeaway. After contemplating the whole subject, the greatness of Hashem, a person has to ask: Well, what follows from all this? He has to draw a conclusion from the entire contemplation. The b’chein of the contemplation is what it should bring about in him, what it means for him. He takes the contemplation and brings it close to himself, makes the understanding real to him, right? From that b’chein, love and fear will then come. This relates to what Chassidus calls the narrow passage of the throat, because intellect and emotions are two different modes. The world of intellect is a cool, composed, theoretical, objective world, let’s call it. The world of emotions, by contrast, is a world of feeling and excitement, right? It is a completely different kind of reality. So to bring the idea, to bring the contemplation down from the world of intellect into the world of emotions, a whole process is needed. It passes through what is called the narrow passage of the throat, as though there is a point that is neither intellect nor emotion. That is the b’chein: leaving the world of intellect and descending into the world of emotions. Then the emotions can awaken. And in the narrow passage of the throat

16:23 Speaker 1 We know about Pharaoh’s three officers—the chief butcher, the chief butler, and the chief baker—and the [unclear] that prevents the middos from being aroused even when a person tries. That’s the whole complicated discussion there. But generally, in the order of avodah, this is called love and awe that come from mochin d’katnus, or middos d’katnus. In other words, the person has to do something; it doesn’t happen on its own. There is another level, called middos d’gadlus. In this case, a person doesn’t have to take a special step to arouse the middos. There is a kind of contemplation in which a person concentrates so deeply, on such an elevated level, that the contemplation brings him to the middos automatically. He doesn’t have to take a separate step of drawing a conclusion. He contemplates the subject so deeply and on such an elevated level that the middos emerge on their own, without his having to bring them about. That is what he means here when he says that the middos come automatically. There is no separate action involved; he is simply contemplating. But when he contemplates genuinely, in what is called an inward way, nothing further needs to be done for him to reach the middos. He reaches them automatically. And of course, when the middos come automatically, they are on a much higher level than when they have to be brought about. So those feelings of love are more enduring. The middos are different from the intellect, so one has to descend from the world of intellect to the world of middos, because it is another world. Those feelings of love are coarser, more tangible. But when love comes automatically, then a person—then those feelings of love are

18:45 Speaker 1 actually on a much higher level. They are feelings of love on the level of bittul, just as the mochin are. That is one kind of love: love characterized by bittul, like the mochin.

18:58 Speaker 2 What changes in the middos?

19:01 Speaker 1 Huh?

19:01 Speaker 2 What changes in the middos?

19:02 Speaker 1 The difference is between [unclear] and the middos, and [unclear] and the middos.

19:05 Speaker 2 No, no, not like that. The middos...

19:09 Speaker 1 Which middos?

19:12 Speaker 2 Katnus and gadlus.

19:13 Speaker 1 If it comes from mochin d’gadlus, then middos d’gadlus follow automatically. It is a different kind of understanding. It is a different understanding, and here “automatically” means something different. What is the difference between them? Later in the maamar, in stages six and seven, he will explain it explicitly. For now, I’m only giving you the terms. But this is the point the Rebbe Rashab is coming to explain here: what does the Tanya actually mean? What is the nature of love and awe? When the Rebbe says that intellectual love and awe—dechilu u’rechimu sichliyim—belong to the World of Beriah, he does not mean love and awe that come from the external aspect of the intellect. Those are still considered part of the level of ruach, not neshamah, and not Beriah. What is the true meaning of intellectual love and awe? It is when love and awe come from mochin d’gadlus, from the inner dimension of the intellect, and therefore arise automatically. That kind of love and awe belongs to the World of Beriah. That is the point he is explaining here.

20:35 Speaker 3 I’ll answer here, huh?

20:38 Speaker 1 Huh?

20:38 Speaker 3 Here, if that also includes [unclear].

20:41 Speaker 1 No. The order of avodah is the order described in chapter 3 of Tanya. As we said earlier, there is the matter of knowing about Yetzirah and Asiyah, and then there is love and awe. That includes two things: both natural love and awe and intellectual love and awe. But intellectual love and awe that come from the faculties of the soul—that is, from its powers, from the outer edge of the intellect—are all included in the World of Yetzirah. What, then, is the World of Beriah? It is when a person reaches a level at which the intellect produces love and awe in him automatically. That is the meaning of intellectual love and awe. That is the level of the World of Beriah.

21:19 Speaker 3 The World of Yetzirah.

21:20 Speaker 1 Huh?

21:21 Speaker 3 I didn’t hear, sorry.

21:23 Speaker 1 How do you know? Did you look it up?

21:25 Speaker 3 No.

21:26 Speaker 1 Huh?

21:27 Speaker 3 Maybe we’re talking about things happening automatically.

21:31 Speaker 1 Well, try it. You’ll see—it’ll work automatically.

21:34 Speaker 3 There’s no other question. What’s his name? In Bnei Brak?

21:36 Speaker 1 Yes, it depends. It depends on what he contemplates. We’ll certainly understand it later in the maamar. The difference between these two levels depends on what he contemplates—what subjects he contemplates—and also on the nature of his understanding. It depends on several conditions: what subject he needs to contemplate, and how he contemplates it. It is a different kind of understanding altogether. Let me give you just one point, so you aren’t left up in the air about this. The difference between these two categories is something like the difference between ohr, light, and shefa, an imparted flow. What does that mean? Intellect and middos can function in a way of shefa, or they can function in a way of ohr. What is the difference between ohr and shefa? [unclear] The difference is that with shefa, the one imparting something enters into the recipient’s world. Shefa involves a recipient. There are two distinct people, a teacher and a student—two worlds. The teacher descends into the student’s world, so the teacher’s intellect has to adapt itself in order for the student to understand. Ohr, by contrast, does not descend. The light is revealed from its source, and its reaching below happens automatically. The light does not have to busy itself with bringing about an effect. Huh? That’s related too, yes, but these are two different ways. Shefa works by taking action, through a kind of enclothement. Ohr works automatically. Light is light by its nature; it does not need to enclothe itself. The intellect’s effect on the middos can therefore happen in two ways: as shefa or as ohr. In one way, the intellect and middos are two worlds for a person. The world of intellect is a distinct world, defined in a certain way, unlike the world of middos. So its effect comes through shefa. Intellect is one world and middos another. For the intellect

23:37 Speaker 1 to affect the middos, it has to leave the world of intellect and enter the world of middos through an action. The fact that a person understands intellectually that something is good does not yet compel his middos. He has to take the further step of descending into the world of middos so that he actually feels love and awe. That is when intellect affects the middos by way of shefa, if you follow me. But intellect can also work by way of ohr rather than shefa. When it works as ohr, the truth shines within a person. Divine light illuminates his intellect as light, and then the truth shines within his middos. Since light is not confined to one boundary, it reaches all of a person’s middos automatically. Nothing has to be done separately for it to affect them. The middos follow automatically, like light that shines. The moment there is light, you see that this is how things are. Its effect is automatic. When the intellect shines as light, it does not have to take a separate step with the middos. The middos automatically follow what shines. That is what he means by “automatically”: the mochin affect the middos in the manner of light, so the middos naturally follow the intellect. It is not like one thing acting upon another. And this is love and awe—fully love and awe. This love and awe are [unclear] the middos. It is a different kind of love and awe, and specifically this, as he explains here, is what is called intellectual love and awe, which belongs to the World of Beriah. So I’ll just read a few lines, as you can see, because here he is only bringing proofs that this is so. He says, “[unclear].”

25:12 Speaker 1 In an Egyptian café. Now, what he says there also uses entirely different wording. Still, it is certainly the spirit of the tzaddikim. But some people think it is another fairly ordinary, natural story, it seems, and here [unclear]. We note that... This means that, from the precise wording there, in the language of the Tanya, it is clear that he is addressing all these arguments. But I won’t go into that now. Of course, you have to study chapter 29 to know exactly which wording he is analyzing and what precisely he learns from it, but that is not our subject here. Anyone who wants can take a Tanya and check, and understand what he means here. So let’s get to our point—that is what he is about to explain. He will now explain the whole subject of nefesh, ruach, and neshamah on the basis of this explanation. The result is a much higher understanding of all three—nefesh, ruach, and neshamah—much higher than what we explained earlier. Earlier, we explained that nefesh is kabbolas ol, ruach is love and awe, and neshamah is intellectual love and awe. Now a much higher explanation emerges. According to the Tanya, a new understanding emerges of what nefesh, ruach, and neshamah are. Nefesh is present in nefesh, in ruach, and in neshamah. All three involve union, as well as love and awe, and kabbolas ol. And now, as he is about to explain, we will see the difference between these three things.