Concepts in Chassidus - Part 9

00:00 Speaker 1 The truth is, I wanted to start talking a little about the four worlds: Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, because that is really where we do our work, and that is what these classes are about. Just two general markings of what we have learned so far, so we know where we are working. Yes. The big circle. Yes, all of this is before the... Yes. This is the big circle, which represents the encompassing light... And this is the space; inside here is the empty space and vacant place. As the expression goes, an empty space and vacant place remained. Here is where there has to be the concealment, the limitation. Sometimes this is called the reshimu, yes. And here you can see the kav entering. That is the kav—okay, sorry, I drew it without any width. I mean width. Okay. Then, as we said, there is the circle of Adam Kadmon. Yes. After that there is Adam Kadmon. Then there is Akudim. Then there is Nekudim, which is also connected with Tohu. Yes. And all of that is in this area. Yes, up to here is what relates to what we have been discussing. Here begins Atzilus, which is also called Berudim and also called Tikkun. Yes. Most of what we discussed in the previous classes had to do with the worlds before Atzilus. We touched on Tikkun in order to put it all together, because it was connected with Tohu. Yes, with Tikkun. But today we will start talking a little about Atzilus. We all know how we keep referring to the four worlds: Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. The truth is, I made a mistake earlier in explaining Kabbalah: the kav ends in Atzilus. Yes, the kav ends in Atzilus. So this kav that we drew inside ends in Atzilus, and here, below Atzilus, is the parsa. This is the parsa between Atzilus and Beriah. First we will talk about Atzilus, and afterward we will talk about the subject of

03:38 Speaker 1 pleasures. What?

03:44 Speaker 2 What about the parsa between Adam Kadmon and Atzilus?

03:46 Speaker 1 He is asking whether there is a parsa between Adam Kadmon and Atzilus. So the answer is yes, there is a parsa between Adam Kadmon and Atzilus, but it is not the parsa. In other words, Kabbalah does speak of a parsa between Adam Kadmon and Atzilus, but the parsa from Adam Kadmon to Atzilus does not conceal; it reveals. It is not a parsa that conceals. Ah, if it does not conceal, what is it doing there? No, we are not working on the parsa now. With Hashem’s help, one day we will discuss the parsa and put the subject in order. Today we will talk about Atzilus. What exactly is the world of Atzilus? What is its role, and what are we talking about? You can see that Atzilus has three names. It is called Berudim—that is, in the sequence of Akudim, Nekudim, Berudim, it is called Berudim. Sorry, I did not draw it properly, but Berudim follows those two names. Yes, its own name is Atzilus, and it is also called Tikkun in relation to Tohu. Essentially, the world of Atzilus is the ideal world that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created. In other words, the goal of the entire structure that came before was to arrive at this state, the world of Atzilus. That is why it is called Tikkun. It is the ordered world that Hakadosh Boruch Hu made, in the most perfect form, you might say. In other words, everything that came before—Adam Kadmon, Akudim, Nekudim—was an introduction and preparation for reaching the state of Atzilus. Atzilus is the goal of the entire progression of worlds before it. I am not saying it is the goal of the entire seder hishtalshelus. Afterward there is also the creation of [unclear], and there are other matters. But within the structure of seder hishtalshelus, where is the G-dly light found in its most perfect, ordered form? In the world of Atzilus. Even though before that

06:01 Speaker 1 there is abundant light and few vessels. There is encompassing light. That is not the precise intention. It is needed, because of course it has a purpose, and so on. One day we will also discuss the purpose of all that, but it is not the ideal goal. For example, all these things can be understood from a person’s own experience. A person goes through various preparations. Say someone is preparing for a wedding. Or take someone preparing to enter yeshivah, preparing for the yeshivah schedule. There are all sorts of things he does in preparation. He has to want it and feel motivated, and take various steps—all kinds of things a person does to prepare himself. In a person’s inner life, yes, in order for me to do something: I want to learn. So there is wanting to learn, and there is getting everything I need to prepare myself. Being in the right frame of mind. Not being tired, being ready. All kinds of preparations a person makes. But then there is the learning itself. Everything else is preparation. When do you reach the point itself? So here, too, that is the idea. In other words, all the stages that came before, all the levels in seder hishtalshelus, were introductions leading to this goal. The goal is Atzilus, [unclear]. Atzilus is a world of sefiros. The world of Atzilus is not yet a created world. It is still a G-dly world. There are not yet any created beings there. We are talking about a world whose entire existence is G-dliness, a revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu—but a revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu in a form that has boundaries, in the form of sefiros. In other words, Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself is infinite, and His revelation is also infinite. Just as He Himself

08:22 Speaker 1 is infinite, so His revelation is infinite. That was the meaning of “He and His name are one.” This is what we discussed regarding the state before the tzimtzum: Hakadosh Boruch Hu as He is in Himself and in His revelation—“He and His name are one.” He is completely infinite; the existence of boundaries and sefiros and all such things has no place there. But when Hakadosh Boruch Hu came to reveal Himself in a world—He wanted to reveal Himself in a world—His light would have to be revealed in a limited world, have an effect within a limited world, and form a connection with a limited world. For that to happen, Hakadosh Boruch Hu conceived, envisioned, emanated—whatever precise word we use—the ten sefiros. True, He Himself is without limit; He is infinite and can be revealed in infinitely many ways, each of them infinite. But because He wanted there to be a limited world, and consequently for His influence in that world to be suited to its capacity, Hakadosh Boruch Hu, so to speak, emanated from Himself, revealed within Himself, ten sefiros. These ten sefiros begin at their source. Even before they take form, they are within Hakadosh Boruch Hu, even before the tzimtzum. There are the ten hidden sefiros, also before the tzimtzum, as an intention—a plan, like an idea. They are not yet an actual reality. Afterward there are the ten sefiros as they are revealed in Akudim and Nekudim, until we reach Atzilus. The ten sefiros as they are revealed in Atzilus are where they are revealed in a complete way. In other words, let us put it in terms of light and vessel: the ten sefiros are revealed in the most complete way, in a form suited to reaching the worlds. That is the nature of this reality. In other words, the ten sefiros of Hakadosh Boruch Hu in the earlier stages are not yet defined or limited in a particular, deliberate form. Hakadosh Boruch Hu has

10:37 Speaker 1 It is, but it is still not defined and directed. To understand this: we spoke about it once before in a class, using the example of a person’s soul. Even before I use my intellect, I do kindness, I feel, I love, I fear, and so on. The soul has all sorts of qualities, all its faculties. The soul is full of faculties; we’ve spoken about this several times. I have an intellectual faculty, emotional faculties, a G-dly faculty. They are present even before I express them, but at that stage they are not yet defined. In other words, all the faculties are there, together, but not yet defined. What is chesed? Chesed is not yet chesed, and so on. It isn’t defined. Or, if it is already defined, each faculty stands on its own, as we said: each one is concerned only with itself and has no room for the other. That means the complete structure of the ten sefiros is missing. We see this in the soul as well. The soul has a G-dly faculty; it has [unclear]. It has faculties as they come [unclear]. As long as the faculties have not been invested in the organs in an orderly way, with each organ receiving its faculty, shaping it and giving it its particular qualities—what is chochmah, what is binah, what is daas, what distinguishes one from another, and how does one complement and receive from another?—that whole structure comes about only when the faculties are invested in the organs. The same applies to the sefiros of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. It is true that in the supernal will, even before the tzimtzum, there is already Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s will to reveal Himself and extend His influence into the world. But there it is concealed within Ein Sof. That is called concealed. And even at the levels after the tzimtzum, through Nekudim, it is still considered concealed. So what does that mean?

12:21 Speaker 1 There are several ways this can take form. What does “concealed” mean? We’ll discuss the details another time. But even in those details, it is still concealed. In other words, these are not yet the faculties of Hakadosh Boruch Hu as they are ready to affect the world. The faculties are still included in Ein Sof; that is still felt within them, because they have not yet taken on a defined form. That is why even in Nekudim, after several tzimtzumim, there is Tohu. What is Tohu? The sefiros come with abundant light and limited vessels. We discussed in earlier classes how this caused the breaking of the vessels: they lacked the capacity to contain the light. The world of Atzilus, by contrast, is the world of Tikkun. There, the sefiros of Hakadosh Boruch Hu are revealed in their complete form. There is not so much light; the light has been limited and contracted to the degree that the world can receive it. And the vessels are broad enough to contain the light they can receive—the vessels, meaning the way the sefiros express themselves. All of this needs explanation. For now, I’m explaining only the general principle. There is a great deal to explain here; I’m giving the general picture so we can understand what the idea actually is. There, the structure of the faculties of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is fully defined: the lights are contracted enough to be ready to affect the world, and the vessel is broad enough. That is, the vessel is made and structured so that it can receive the light within it and respond to it as well. Each vessel is chesed, but not only chesed. Chesed, too, contains the completeness of gevurah, tiferes and netzach, so that every faculty can receive from the others and influence the others. We can understand all these things through the term “adam.” This is one of the classic explanations in Chabad teachings for the world of Atzilus and its human-like structure. And therefore Atzilus—

14:17 Speaker 1 One of the names of Atzilus is also Adam HaElyon, the Supernal Man. That is because Atzilus is like a person. Adam Kadmon, too, is called adam, but it is kadmon, primordial. We spoke about this: it is still primordial. In other words, it is an adam that has everything but has not yet taken on a particular defined form. It is called adam because it has everything, but kadmon because everything is still in a simple, undifferentiated state. It is still primarily in the light of will. We spoke about this in the classes where we explained the idea of a vessel. Adam HaElyon is different. Here there is already a defined structure for each and every sefirah. Each light is in its own vessel, and each also influences the others and receives from them readily. Precisely this is the complete form from which influence can subsequently reach Creation; we’ll discuss that another time. That is the idea of Atzilus. Now, what exactly is the purpose of the world of Atzilus? What is its role? Why did Hakadosh Boruch Hu make Atzilus? We see that Atzilus is, in a sense, the engine of the entire structure. There are several expressions used about Atzilus that give us some understanding of its purpose. It is often written that the world of Atzilus is—and this description gives us some direction—an intermediary between the Emanator and the created beings. The world of Atzilus is called an intermediary. In other words, its role is to serve as the intermediary, so to speak, through which Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s influence reaches created beings. On the face of it, Hakadosh Boruch Hu and created beings have no common ground. Hakadosh Boruch Hu, as He is in Himself, is without limit, Ein Sof. Created beings are limited—not merely limited, but limited as created beings, truly finite, with a distinct existence. Atzilus has this capacity, this completeness: it is an intermediary between—

16:29 Speaker 1 Ein Sof and created beings. In a certain sense, it has the capacity and completeness to receive from Ein Sof and influence created beings. Generally speaking, this is what is meant by “lights and vessels.” In terms of its lights, Atzilus receives from Ein Sof. It has light, a revelation of Ein Sof, but that revelation is already in a form that can relate to something else. The light itself is essentially unlimited; light in itself is without limit, but here it has already been contracted, so to speak. On the other hand, Atzilus has vessels, and vessels are defined and limited. But theirs is not the limitation of an independent existence; they are not created beings. Atzilus is not a created being—Atzilus is G-dliness. Yet because Atzilus is the extension of light into vessels, it serves as an intermediary between Ein Sof and created beings. Let me put it another way. There is a question that Jewish sages explored, mentioned in [unclear] in several places. It is a question they examined for generations without reaching a conclusion about how to explain it—the familiar question: How does multiplicity emerge from absolute simplicity? The Tzemach Tzedek discusses this at length in [unclear], bringing together several other places that address it. The familiar question is: How does multiplicity come from the simple One? Created beings are many. There is multiplicity of forms and limitations, a whole range of quantities and qualities and all sorts of things. Yet Ein Sof is utterly simple—the simple One, completely simple, beyond every definition and form. How does the multiplicity of created beings emerge from that simplicity? Jewish sages discuss it and debate it in various places. The teachings of Kabbalah revealed this secret. The Zohar, and later the Arizal and the Ramak, revealed this great secret called the ten sefiros. In fact, it is written in the Gemara as well.

18:35 Speaker 1 The Gemara says: “With ten things Hakadosh Boruch Hu created His world.” That is in Maseches Chagigah. The Gemara does not use the term “sefiros,” and it does not call them by exactly the same names. It uses other names: wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, and then terms like strength and rebuke. But as the sefarim explain, this is what they are called in the revealed dimension of Torah. The names are different, but the subject is the ten sefiros. It is already in the Gemara. Later, the ten sefiros are revealed in the Zohar, where more is disclosed. The sefarim also explain something remarkable: Why does the Gemara call them “things,” while Kabbalah calls them “sefiros”? Why these different names? I’ll explain briefly, at least. The difference between “things” and “sefiros” is that “things” suggests entities—something with a distinct existence. The word can also suggest things that were spoken. In other words, calling them “things” indicates that we are speaking of something that is not, so to speak, Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself. “Ten things”: Hakadosh Boruch Hu took ten particular things; they are not Him. This emphasizes how incomparable the sefiros are to Ein Sof. “Sefiros,” on the other hand, suggests radiance and revelation. A sapir shines. Since the sefiros are in Atzilus, which is an intermediary, Atzilus has two aspects. On the one hand, Atzilus has limits and is incomparable to Ein Sof. On the other hand, as an intermediary, Ein Sof is present there as well. So from the perspective of Atzilus being united with Ein Sof—

20:31 Speaker 1 —it is called “sefiros.” From the perspective of Atzilus having its own defined existence, it is called “things.” So in the revealed dimension of Torah, the emphasis is more on their distinctness, and they are called “things”; in the hidden dimension, the emphasis is more on their connection to Ein Sof, and they are called “sefiros.” It is very interesting that the Ramban touches on this. The Rambam also mentions it in [unclear], in connection with the book of hidden matters he wanted to write. [unclear] “ten things.” So that is the idea. Now, back to our subject: Atzilus is an intermediary between Ein Sof and created beings. That is why it has both of these aspects, enabling it to stand between Ein Sof and created beings. As we said earlier, Hakadosh Boruch Hu emanated—revealed—the ten sefiros. Although He Himself is infinite and utterly simple, He emanated the ten sefiros, which have a defined limit. The very fact that there are ten and not fifteen is a limit, and each sefirah has its own definition. This creates an intermediary through which Ein Sof can relate to created beings: Atzilus, with its defined limits. Now, there is a great deal more to say about this. You could say that understanding Atzilus is fundamental to understanding all the foundations of faith. It is not just some abstract notion. Some people think, “Atzilus, Atzilus, Atzilus—why does it matter so much?” But understanding Atzilus and the sefiros is fundamental to understanding all the foundations of faith. When we begin thinking about the foundations of faith—the thirteen principles, which every bochur knows, at least—we need to know them. Even in Chabad, where we do not make the thirteen principles the focus, we still need to know—

22:38 Speaker 1 —them. We do not acknowledge them only for that reason, or come to them only for that reason. We learn about them inwardly, not just as words. But we do need to know the thirteen principles. There seem to be contradictions among them. On the one hand, we say that Hakadosh Boruch Hu knows everything. On the other hand, we say that He is utterly simple. But if He knows everything, knowledge seems to imply multiplicity: knowing everything that happens involves many distinct things to know. That brings us to this question. On the one hand, you say that Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not change in any way. On the other hand, you say that He brings the world into being. To create a world, wouldn’t you have to change? How can you do something and remain the same? You also say that Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives reward and punishment. That means it matters to Him whether you do something or not, and therefore you receive a reward. If something matters to Him or does not matter to Him, that too seems to imply change. So how can you say it causes no change? There are many such questions about foundations of faith that seem not to fit together. It seems to have to be one or the other. Only by understanding this principle can we address them. Let’s take another simple example: two foundations of faith. How can they both be true? You say that Hakadosh Boruch Hu brings you into being at every moment, that the word of Hashem is present within you at every moment, as the Baal Shem Tov says. So how can He, at the same time, be utterly simple? These are the kinds of questions that arise.

24:09 Speaker 1 How can you say “May it be Your will” in davening? We say, “May it be Your will.” How can you bring about a change in His will? It does not mean that you change the will above. How could you change His will? Only by understanding the ten sefiros can we gain some grasp of how this works. On the one hand, there is utter simplicity—the light, which is simple. On the other hand, there are the keilim, which serve as an intermediary: the light affects the keilim, and through them it affects creation, giving rise to all its details. So although He is the One who brings about all the forms and all the details, He nevertheless remains utterly simple with respect to the light. How exactly this works is a long and serious subject in its own right. But at least we can see that Atzilus is a very fundamental concept. It gives us some understanding of the relationship between the Creator and the world, between the Creator and created beings, and among created beings themselves. It is specifically through understanding Atzilus that we gain some sense of this. Well, this was only an introduction, of course, to give some sense of what Atzilus is. With Hashem’s help, we will learn the details in the next class.