Likkutei Amarim Tanya - Chapter 4 - Part 9

00:00 Look one more up, on the second line: “One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come.” After that, the Rebbe explained what Torah and mitzvos are. What is a revelation of G-dliness? Torah and mitzvos, which are the will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. His will is not merely about meeting the needs of each person down here. So what about the physical? Through observing Torah and mitzvos, we have the Essence here. Based on this, the Rebbe explains the Mishnah, “One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come.” There is something in that Mishnah that all the commentators stop to examine closely. The Mishnah says, “One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come.” And the next Mishnah says, “One hour of spiritual delight in the World to Come is better than all the life of this world.” Seemingly, we have a contradiction here. On the one hand, you say there is something in the World to Come that is worth more than all of this world: one hour of spiritual delight there is worth more than all the life of this world. On the other hand, you say that one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come. So how does that work? And more generally, the commentators ask, what does it mean that one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come? How can you say that one hour in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come? In that same Mishnah, or perhaps the one before it—I don’t know exactly where it says it—it says earlier, “This world is like an antechamber before the World to Come.” So how can that be? “Prepare yourself in the antechamber so that you may enter the banquet hall.” This whole world is only like an antechamber, like, what do you call it, a corridor, a passageway before you enter

02:09 the living room, the house. In other words, the main purpose is the World to Come. And here you’re saying that one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come. What is the reasoning? So the Rebbe says that, based on what we explained, it makes sense. How can we say that one hour here is better than all the life of the World to Come? Why? Because the World to Come—what is the World to Come? It is where souls enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah. What defines the World to Come? It is a place where they enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah. That means it is only the radiance, not the Shechinah itself. There is a radiance, a light of the Shechinah, from which the soul derives pleasure by comprehending G-dliness. Through that, it experiences pleasure—G-dly pleasure. That is the pleasure the soul gets from its comprehension of G-dliness. What does this mean? What is the reasoning? As explained, the World to Come generally refers to the World of Beriah. That is where Gan Eden is. The World of Beriah is even the location of the higher Gan Eden. The lower Gan Eden is in Yetzirah or Asiyah. Even the higher Gan Eden, the loftier one, is in the World of Beriah. And what is the World of Beriah? It says, “Binah nests in Beriah.” The sefirah of Binah is found in the World of Beriah. And it says that Chochmah shines in Atzilus, Binah shines in Beriah, the middos shine in Yetzirah, and in Asiyah... So since Gan Eden—even the higher Gan Eden—is in the World of Beriah, Binah shines there. The world of Binah is the world of comprehension. So the soul’s relationship to G-dliness there, in Beriah, is through Binah, through comprehension of G-dliness. Put simply, the soul as it exists in Gan Eden is a created being of Beriah. The soul is in the category of a created being: “You created it.” It is no longer in Atzilus; it is already in Beriah. And here we are speaking about the soul as it is

04:27 in the World of Beriah—“You created it”—where the soul is a created being. The deepest connection a created being can have with G-dliness, from its standpoint as a created being, is a connection through comprehension. There is the connection through Torah, which is not a matter of being a created being. But from the standpoint of a created being, the extent to which it can receive G-dliness is through comprehension. That is what happens in Gan Eden. The soul is in Gan Eden, even the higher Gan Eden, and there it comprehends G-dliness. Through that comprehension, it delights in the radiance of the Shechinah—that is, through comprehension. So it follows that everything the soul comprehends is measured and limited by the capacity of comprehension. No created being, not even angels, can comprehend more. Since we are saying that the soul in Gan Eden, in the World of Beriah, is a created being—even though it is a created being in a higher world, it is still, ultimately, a created being—a created being cannot comprehend G-dliness itself. No created being, not even angels, can comprehend anything more than a certain glimmer of the G-dly light. All that a created being can comprehend in Beriah is the light. That means only something that can be enclothed within a created being, light that can be enclothed within it. But a created being cannot possibly comprehend the Essence of G-dliness in any way. As we said earlier, there is no comparison between a created being and the Creator. So it is impossible for a created being to comprehend the Creator. What can it comprehend? A light that is enclothed according to the limits of a created being. That it can comprehend, and that is the soul’s pleasure in Gan Eden. This is why it is called the “radiance of the Shechinah.” That is why we call this level, the revelation in Gan Eden, “radiance”: it is light that can be enclothed within a created being. But Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself cannot be grasped at all. We are speaking of the very Essence of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, not His radiance—His Essence,

06:26 the very Essence of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Of that we say: it cannot be grasped, and there is no way to comprehend Him. There is no way to grasp Him, even in Gan Eden, even when the soul is without a body. So that is what the Rebbe explains. What does “One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come” mean? Why is one hour of teshuvah and good deeds better than all the life of the World to Come? He explains that what exists in the World to Come—even in the higher Gan Eden, in the World of Beriah—is comprehension. The soul’s connection to G-dliness there reaches the maximum that a created being can grasp of G-dliness, and a created being can grasp only the light of G-dliness, the radiance of the Shechinah. That is as far as a created being can grasp. That is the World to Come. Grasping His very Essence is not possible at all, except when the soul grasps and is enclothed in His Torah and mitzvos. But when G-dliness is enclothed—when Hakadosh Boruch Hu is enclothed in His Torah and mitzvos—then the soul grasps them and is enclothed in Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself. When it grasps and is enclothed—I’m speaking about the soul—when the soul grasps Torah and mitzvos, by grasping them it becomes enclothed in Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself. So there you have an actual grasp. There are two aspects here: the soul grasps them, and it is enclothed in Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Here there is a direct connection between the soul and Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself through Torah and mitzvos. Why? Because “the Torah and Hakadosh Boruch Hu are entirely one.” And this is precisely what we can attain down here: specifically down here we have the Essence, whereas in Gan Eden the soul comprehends only the radiance of the Shechinah, the light of Hashem. Down here, by contrast, the soul attains and grasps the Essence. Through what? Through

08:27 Torah and mitzvos. This raises a question asked in Chassidus. If so, we have a very strong question: it turns out that the soul receives no reward for observing Torah and mitzvos. The whole idea of Gan Eden is reward. So where is the reward for observing Torah and mitzvos? If you say that the most the soul can receive of G-dliness is only the radiance of the Shechinah, while through Torah and mitzvos it has the Shechinah itself—it connects with the Essence—then the answer is: here in this world. That is the meaning of “One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come”: the World to Come is what a created being can grasp, whereas here you have the Essence. So where is the reward for observing Torah and mitzvos? It is a difficult question. An even stronger question: the Rebbe Maharash explains in other words what “one hour is better” means. The Rebbe often cites this in maamarim. What does “One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come” mean? The Rebbe Maharash explains it this way: the delight that Hakadosh Boruch Hu takes in Torah and mitzvos is the delight of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Who takes delight in the Torah and mitzvos that we do down here? Hakadosh Boruch Hu does. “It is gratifying to Me that I spoke and My will was done.” That is the Creator’s delight. Who delights in the World to Come? We do. Souls delight in the World to Come. In other words, the delight of the World to Come is the delight of a created being. The delight in Torah and mitzvos is the Creator’s delight. So which is greater, the delight of a created being or the Creator’s delight? Certainly the Creator’s delight. The Creator’s delight is higher than the delight of a created being. That is the meaning of “One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come.” For teshuvah and good deeds bring the Creator delight; what one experiences in the World to Come is the delight of a created being. So the question is even stronger now. What does that mean? If so, it turns out there is no, no, no, no reward. There is no reward. There is a lengthy discussion of this.

11:09 One explanation—the Rebbe discusses it at length in Likkutei Sichos. Anyone who wants to look it up can find it in Likkutei Sichos, volume 5, Parshas Vayigash, and in several other places as well. It all comes down to the point that there is no comparison. The delight of Gan Eden, the delight of the World to Come, is the delight of a created being. But that is Gan Eden as it is in its own right. There is another dimension: the Creator’s delight. In the future it will be revealed; in the future it will be revealed. Beyond what Gan Eden is in its own right, the delight that Hakadosh Boruch Hu takes in Torah and mitzvos will be revealed, and that itself will be revealed to me. Yes. In other words, the true reward for observing Torah and mitzvos is not Gan Eden itself, but what will be revealed in Gan Eden—or, better, in the days of Moshiach, in the days of Moshiach. The delight that Hakadosh Boruch Hu takes in Torah and mitzvos will be revealed. That itself will be revealed in the future. And that is the meaning. If so, amazing! If so, it makes sense that the reward will be the revelation of the Creator’s delight in Torah and mitzvos. But then, on that basis, the question arises: why do we say, “One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come”? If you say that ultimately the Creator’s delight will be revealed in the World to Come, then the question returns: why say “one hour is better”? The explanation is that through Torah and mitzvos, we bring about the Creator’s delight. We produce the Creator’s delight. In the future, there will only be the revelation of that delight. In other words, let’s say that now is the cause and the future will be the result. Now we cause the delight, and in the future that delight will be revealed. That is the result of the delight. The cause is higher than the result. Yes, meaning that observing Torah and mitzvos, which brings about the Creator’s delight, is

13:22 more hidden than the revelation of it that will take place in the future. But on that basis another question arises. You keep going; you don’t go back. What is there to explain? If so, the question returns from the other direction. If so, it turns out that there is no true reward for observing Torah and mitzvos. For everything in the future is only the revelation of what has been accomplished; the thing itself is accomplished now. So again, it turns out there is no reward for Torah and mitzvos. There is an explanation from the Rebbe, a wonderful explanation that the Rebbe gave in 5749, in a sicha on Parshas Eikev. The Rebbe went through the entire subject and pressed the question to its conclusion. Then the Rebbe said that the real answer is not any of this. What is the real answer to the question of what the true reward for a mitzvah will be in the future? The Rebbe explained that the Mishnah says, “The reward for a mitzvah is a mitzvah.” In Chassidus, how do we explain “The reward for a mitzvah is a mitzvah”? That the reward for the mitzvah is closeness and union. The reward for the mitzvah is the bond with Hakadosh Boruch Hu that you gain, which will be revealed in the future. The reward is the Essence itself. But you certainly have that already, so in the future there is only its revelation. Here you have the Essence. So the Rebbe explains it literally: “The reward for a mitzvah is a mitzvah,” literally. What does that mean? The reward for the mitzvah is that you will have the opportunity to do more mitzvos. That is the greatest possible reward for a mitzvah. When a Jew does mitzvos, do you know what reward he receives? That in the merit of the mitzvah he did, he will have the opportunity to do more mitzvos. In the future, as the Rambam says, there will be no hunger, no war, no strife, and none of all kinds of turmoil. So a Jew will be able to do mitzvos without limitations. There will be nothing at all to hold him back, and that is

15:20 the reward for the mitzvah. In other words, the reward for the mitzvah is not Gan Eden, or revelations, or all those things. The reward for the mitzvah is the very fact that we will be able to do mitzvos. Anyone who was waiting for money to grow on trees will be disappointed. What is the reward for a mitzvah? Doing the mitzvah: that Hakadosh Boruch Hu will give us opportunities in the future to do mitzvos without any limitation whatsoever. On the contrary. So it does not mean that the reward will be some revelation of G-dliness that is yet to come. It cannot be. No revelation can be a reward for doing a mitzvah. What can be a reward for doing a mitzvah? Doing a mitzvah. That we will be able to do more mitzvos. Because that is the highest thing there is: closeness and union. The command itself, the bond with Hakadosh Boruch Hu formed through doing the mitzvah. And that is—that is what it is. That concludes this explanation. Anyone who wants to study it at length can look there, in Parshas Eikev, where the Rebbe develops this remarkable point. In any case, the Alter Rebbe says: “And therefore they said…” Now, the Alter Rebbe gives us a principle: it is specifically on the basis of the explanation we have learned here in Tanya, which gives us a true understanding of what Torah and mitzvos are, that we can understand what “One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come” means. Without the Alter Rebbe’s explanation, it never makes sense. After all, the World to Come is a revelation of G-dliness; here you do not have that. But specifically on the basis of the Alter Rebbe’s teaching, after this whole explanation, we understand that Torah and mitzvos draw down the Essence. So we understand that specifically here below, we have more than all the life of the World to Come. Now the Alter Rebbe continues: “And although the Torah has been clothed in lowly, physical things…” Here the Alter Rebbe continues with a question. The question arises: after all, the Torah has been clothed in lowly, physical things. What

17:29 The problem? He already explained it. The Alter Rebbe already answered it. He said, “Where you find His greatness, there you find His humility.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu contracted Himself into wisdom and into physical mitzvos, and that is the whole point: He can invest Himself in physical things. The Alter Rebbe already answered the question. So why raise the same question again? Rather, here the Alter Rebbe is asking a different question. Granted, I understand that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is infinite, that He invests Himself in things and can descend. That is all well and good from Hashem’s side. But ultimately, a person asks: You’re telling me that what I have down here is even better, because here I have His very essence. Yes, but ultimately the person is asking from the perspective of down here. In practice, I’m dealing with physical things. When I hold the tefillin, I’m holding leather, and when I hold this esrog, it’s a physical object. What am I actually occupied with? With physicality. Above, on the other hand—fine, granted, I don’t have the essence; I have a revelation. But what I do have is a revelation. I have it. I can grasp it. What I can grasp is G-dliness; I apprehend G-dliness, understand G-dliness, delight in G-dliness. So I have revealed G-dliness. That, then, is the argument from the perspective of down here. Ultimately, the Torah has been invested in physical things. So what? Ultimately, something is still missing here. If you’re saying that this world is better than all the life of the World to Come, what is this world? Ultimately, you’re grasping physical things. I’m not dealing with revealed G-dliness, only with physical things. This is what he comes to clarify here: “And although the Torah has been invested in lower, physical things.” So there is a drawback here, because I’m grasping physicality.

19:21 In Torah and mitzvos. The Alter Rebbe says: What’s the problem? “It is like embracing the king, by way of analogy.” The Alter Rebbe gives a simple analogy that explains the idea: it’s like someone embracing the king. The king represents the very essence. The king is present in the tefillin. The king is present in the tzitzis, and likewise in every mitzvah. The king is here—Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself—and you embrace the king, you embrace Hakadosh Boruch Hu. “It is like embracing the king, by way of analogy: there is no difference in the degree of his closeness and attachment to the king whether he embraces him when he is wearing one garment or several garments, since the king’s body is within them.” Since we’re talking about reaching the king, you have the king here. So someone embraces the king. Does it matter to him whether the king is wearing one garment or three? An embrace is an embrace, a connection is a connection. There is the bond of an embrace, a bond of love. Say a child embraces his father. Let’s give an even simpler example from everyday life. A child embraces his father—is there a difference if the father is wearing a jacket or not? If the father is wearing several layers or just one? What difference does the manner of dress make? The king is here. Is he embracing the garment? He is embracing the one inside the garment. The Alter Rebbe says the same thing here. What is the whole drawback you see in these things? What’s your argument? There’s a problem because it’s physical, physical. I’m not grasping G-dliness itself in a revealed way, because I’m grasping it in physical form. But the king is here. So you grasp the king through a garment, through a garment. Don’t look at the physical object as something separate. Look at it as the king’s garment, the king’s clothing. And so when you embrace the tefillin, Hakadosh Boruch Hu is present in them. You perform the mitzvah.

21:22 “Since the king’s body is within them. And likewise, if the king embraces him with his arm, even if it is through his garment.” The same applies here: the king embraces him. We said before that a mitzvah has two sides: through it, I grasp Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and through the mitzvah, Hakadosh Boruch Hu reveals Himself in me, in the person performing the mitzvah. So here too, “the king embraces him with his arm,” even if it is through his garment, as it is written, “And His right hand embraces me.” But the king is here. What difference does it make if He is there through... [unclear] We need to explain this, at any rate. Here’s the point: there is the story about the Berditchever and the esrog, a well-known story. The Berditchever was so eager for the esrog that he waited all night. They tell this story because it shows the extraordinary love he had for a mitzvah. They say he would keep kissing the sechach as Sukkos approached. He couldn’t wait for Sukkos to arrive. He would stand there kissing the sechach or kissing the sukkah. And when it came time for the mitzvah of esrog, he sat up all night, waiting and waiting and waiting for morning to come so he could perform the mitzvah. When morning came, he reached out to take the esrog, but there was glass there. He didn’t notice and broke the... His hands were injured and bleeding. But he was so absorbed in performing the mitzvah that he didn’t notice anything happening around him. And this idea that the Tanya is expressing here means that a person looks at a mitzvah in the right way. One who “embraces the king” doesn’t look at a mitzvah as something dry. He looks at the mitzvah and sees that the very essence and being of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is here. When I hold

23:34 tefillin or hold tzitzis, when I hold them, there is that love for the mitzvah: I’m grasping Hakadosh Boruch Hu, grasping His very essence. “Embracing the king.” But it’s physical? The king is here. The very essence of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is here. This way of looking at a mitzvah is what the Rebbe is trying to explain to us here: how a Jew should look at it. Although we’re talking about something physical—a physical fruit or physical money—the very essence and being is here. The king is here. This is no small thing. Now the Rebbe concludes here. He says, as it is written, “And His right hand embraces me.” So the Rebbe examines what “right hand” means, you know? He says this refers to all aspects of Torah, because the Torah is called “right hand,” since it was given from the right hand—kindness and water. What do “kindness and water” mean here? As we explained in previous classes, the Alter Rebbe introduced two ideas here: there is kindness and there is water. Kindness—the right hand. First of all, the Alter Rebbe wants to explain “right hand.” “Right hand” means