Likkutei Amarim Tanya - Chapter 19 - Part 3

00:00 Speaker 1 And what are we discussing here in Tanya? The Alter Rebbe is speaking here about the G-dly soul, and he explains the nature of the hidden love. These are chapters 18 and 19. The Alter Rebbe sets out to explain how every Jew can be a beinoni: “For this thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.” Every Jew has the ability and the strength to be a beinoni in thought, speech, and action—and “in your heart,” to have love and fear of Hashem—and to fulfill all 613 mitzvos and the mitzvos of the Rabbis. This is so even if he does not have much knowledge, insight, intellect, or understanding; even if his mind is small and limited, and so on, and he lacks a heart that understands. Nevertheless, he can serve Hashem with complete love and fear. How? By awakening the hidden love and the hidden fear. The Alter Rebbe asked in chapter 18—if you remember, we learned it before Pesach—four questions: Where does this love come from? How can it be inherited? What is the aim of this love, what does it seek? And what is the fear included in it? The Alter Rebbe explained in chapter 18 that because the Patriarchs were themselves a chariot, they had self-nullification before G-dliness. It was not merely love. If it had been only a superficial love, it would not necessarily have passed on to every Jew. Because the Patriarchs’ love was an essential love, expressed as self-nullification, like a chariot, it is inherited. Every Jew who has a child brings a soul into the world. Some souls may be lofty and some may be lowly, but that child must have a soul. And even if it is the lowest soul, belonging to the most frivolous and sinful of Jews, ultimately all souls are connected to one another. As the Alter Rebbe says, the very lowest levels of Asiyah are connected to the wisdom of Atzilus, “and there the Ein Sof, blessed be He, shines. ‘Hashem founded the earth with wisdom,’”

02:04 Speaker 1 And so every Jew has the point of chochmah within the soul. The Alter Rebbe explained that this chochmah within the soul is the simple faith that every Jew has. We discussed at length what chochmah has that binah does not: the light of the Ein Sof, blessed be He, shines in chochmah. That is the difference between chochmah and binah. Binah is intellectual comprehension, and comprehension already entails a sense of self. Chochmah, by contrast, is koach mah—the capacity for “what am I?”—because chochmah is self-nullification. That is why the truth of the Ein Sof as it is shines there, and two things come from it. One is simple faith: every Jew has simple faith in G-dliness and needs no evidence or proofs for it. That is why even simple, unlearned people have simple faith in G-dliness, with all its force. The second thing he discussed—and we will come to the subject of mesirus nefesh—is that we see that even the most frivolous and sinful of Jews, the moment he faces a test of faith, is prepared to show mesirus nefesh, even to give his life for the sanctification of Hashem’s name. The main thing is not to be separated from G-dliness, because a Jew cannot be separated from G-dliness. Why is that? For the same reason: because the truth shines within his soul so clearly and so powerfully that it is simply obvious to him that being separated from G-dliness is impossible. That is the point of the mesirus nefesh and simple faith that every Jew has. The Alter Rebbe explained in chapter 19 that this is why we say, “The soul of man is the lamp of Hashem”: the soul is like a flame. A flame seeks to be completely nullified. Its nature is to be absorbed into the element of fire beneath the sphere of the moon. Even though, intellectually, you might ask: What will it gain from that? The moment the flame is nullified, it will rise, rise to its source

03:54 Speaker 1 and be considered nothing and naught. There it has no substance, no importance, no standing whatsoever. Its existence is completely nullified. Nevertheless, that is its nature, its spiritual nature. The nature of fire is to be absorbed into its source and become nothing and naught. In the same way, “The soul of man is the lamp of Hashem”: what does a Jew, by the nature of his soul, want? In other words, what is it seeking? That was one of the questions the Alter Rebbe asked. What is its aim? What is its aim? What does the soul’s love for G-dliness seek? It is a love through which the soul wants to cleave to G-dliness with complete self-nullification, even though it will become absolutely nothing and naught. That is the soul’s nature: it wants to become nothing and naught. It wants the utmost self-nullification. This is the nature of the soul. It is beyond reason and understanding, and that is what we mean by “nature”: something that has no intellectual explanation. The soul, by its nature, wants to be absorbed into the Ein Sof. That is what we have learned until now about the chochmah within the soul. The Alter Rebbe continues—and we are back on page 24b—that it is hidden within the soul. The Alter Rebbe explained that this concept, this point we have explained here—chochmah, the koach mah, the capacity for self-nullification in the soul—is actually the whole meaning of holiness. It is not just a particular aspect of the soul; it is a general principle, an overarching definition. Here the Alter Rebbe is giving a general definition. This is one of the foundations of Tanya, one of the great insights the Alter Rebbe revealed in Tanya: this point we are discussing, the point of self-nullification, the sense of being nothing and naught within the soul, provides a general definition. What is holiness? It is the difference between holiness and kelipah. We speak about holiness and kelipah. Now, holiness and kelipah are not concepts the Alter Rebbe introduced; people spoke about them before as well. The whole of Tanya

05:46 Speaker 1 speaks about holiness and kelipah. In the weekly parsha we are studying Parshas Kedoshim, and the entire parsha speaks about this. As we read there in Parshas Kedoshim: “You shall be holy”—there must be holiness. “You shall be holy, for I, Hashem your G-d, am holy.” After that, the subject of holiness comes up again and again. Its opposite is impurity: “You shall become defiled by them,” and so on. There is holiness, and there is impurity. In the language of Tanya, that is holiness and kelipah. So what is the definition? What defines holiness, and what defines kelipah? When you study Chumash, it is not entirely clear. From Chumash, you might think holiness means good things: mitzvos, good deeds, and so on. Everything the text says to do is called holiness. “Each of you shall revere his mother and father, and you shall keep My Shabbosos.” The Jewish people have seventy mitzvos in this week’s parsha, all of them mitzvos, and the point of all the mitzvos is holiness. There are many different matters involved. Of course, it also includes everything about “the practices of the land of Egypt” and “the practices of the land of Canaan.” Those are matters of impurity, and Parshas Kedoshim comes to tell us what we must do, what we must be careful about: not to follow undesirable ways. So what defines holiness and impurity? When you study Chumash without Chassidus, impurity means all the bad things—things that are forbidden, corrupt, filthy, impure—and holiness means everything Hashem wants. Here in Tanya, the Alter Rebbe gives a very fundamental definition. It is foundational to all of Chassidus for understanding the difference between holiness and kelipah. Let’s look inside at the Alter Rebbe’s words: “And this is a general principle throughout the side of holiness.” The point we are learning here is a general principle, the essence of the entire side of holiness, which consists only of... What is holiness? “That which is drawn from chochmah.” The defining feature of holiness is that it comes from chochmah.

07:44 Speaker 1 which is called the supernal holiness. Chochmah Above, the chochmah of Hakadosh Boruch Hu—that sefirah, chochmah, is called the supernal holiness. Chassidus explains that chochmah is called holy. Why is chochmah called holy? “It is completely nullified within the light of the blessed Ein Sof that is clothed in it, and is not an entity unto itself at all.” But why, specifically, is chochmah called holy? Because holiness means being set apart. That is the plain meaning of “holy.” When we speak of a holy person or a holy day, we mean that it is set apart. A holy person is on a higher level than other people. Shabbos is called a holy day because it is set apart from the other days. So chochmah is called holy because it, too, is set apart. But in what way is chochmah set apart? Why is it specifically chochmah, and not binah, daas, chessed, or gevurah, that is called holy? The distinction lies in this point of bittul we are discussing: chochmah is completely nullified. The difference between chochmah and all the other sefiros is that in the other sefiros there is already a sense of self, a sense of being an entity. From binah downward, that sense begins. Binah is comprehension, and comprehension means, “I understand.” I exist, and I understand. Certainly with daas there is even more of an “I,” and likewise with chessed and gevurah. The farther down you go, the stronger that sense of self becomes.

09:50 Speaker 1 Chochmah, by contrast—what did we say chochmah is? Bittul. Chochmah is the opposite of a sense of self, because chochmah is about bittul. That bittul, that absence of a sense of self in chochmah, is what sets it apart. In the classes before Pesach, we explained at length the analogy of fire, if you remember—the analogy of a candle. We saw how the element of fire differs from all the other elements: the others tend downward; they do not naturally rise. Fire alone has a nature distinct from all the other elements: it is always moving upward. What is the basis for that? In essence, it is not physical; in essence, it belongs to a higher world. And because it belongs to a higher world, its nature is to seek to rise still higher, toward greater bittul. In that respect, it is set apart from all the other elements. Along these lines, there is the phrase “holy anointing oil.” Chassidim also discuss this: holy anointing oil. Matters of holiness are associated with oil. The anointing oil was used to consecrate all the vessels of the Beis Hamikdash, the Kohen Gadol, and kings. Oil was placed upon them—holy anointing oil. Why? Because oil, too, has this nature. Oil and fire are connected. Like fire, oil has a tendency to rise: it floats above other liquids and does not mix with them. It remains separate. That is the point here about holiness. So the Alter Rebbe says that this is the general rule on the side of holiness. What defines the side of holiness? Holiness means bittul, and that bittul is what makes it holy. That is what sets it apart

11:41 Speaker 1 from all matters of the world. For the world is characterized by a sense of self; the Hebrew word for “world,” olam, is related to he’elem, concealment. A sense of self defines the world and created existence, while bittul defines holiness. Let’s look again at the wording of Tanya: “This is a general rule throughout the side of holiness: it possesses only what it receives from chochmah, which is called the supernal holiness.” Chochmah is the supernal holiness. “It is completely nullified within the light of the blessed Ein Sof that is clothed in it.” Chochmah is completely nullified, and therefore the light of the Ein Sof shines within it. That itself accounts for its holiness, for what sets chochmah above all the other sefiros. It is connected to the Ein Sof; it is above the worlds. “And it is not an entity unto itself,” as we said. Holiness is found wherever there is this bittul, where something does not sense itself as an entity unto itself. It stands in a state of bittul. That is what defines holiness, and that is why chochmah is called chochmah. This is the bittul of chochmah—koach mah, the capacity for bittul. And it is the very opposite of kelipah and the sitra achra. What is at the other extreme? Its opposite is kelipah. What defines kelipah? A sense of self.

12:54 Speaker 2 As he sees it, bittul.

12:58 Speaker 1 Because we have chochmah in the soul. That is what the Alter Rebbe said earlier. The soul has chochmah, and through that faculty a Jew has the capacity for bittul. And because “chochmah gives life,” because chochmah is the essence of life, the foundation and the point from which all the other faculties extend, the bittul of chochmah can affect the entire person. We will soon see that sometimes it may not have that effect—when a person is in a state of sleep. The Alter Rebbe will explain that shortly. For now, he is explaining the general principle: this is the difference between holiness and kelipah. So how do we define them? Holiness is bittul. Wherever there is an awareness that “there is nothing else besides Him,” that is holiness. But where there is a sense of self, a sense of being an entity, there is its very opposite: kelipah and the sitra achra, from which the souls of the nations of the world come. That is the basis of the nations of the world. In other words, the Alter Rebbe wants to say that this point we are discussing—the distinction between holiness and kelipah, between bittul and a sense of self—is essentially the point of difference between a Jew and a non-Jew. In essence, a Jew is chochmah, and bittul is part of a Jew’s essence. The kelipah of a non-Jew, by contrast, is essentially a sense of self, a sense of existing as an entity. This sheds light on chapter 1 of Tanya. There, the Alter Rebbe said that the souls of the nations of the world come from the three completely impure kelipos, whereas the soul of a Jew is “a part of G-d Above.” But when you learn chapter 1, there is no explanation there; those are just the words. They need explaining. “The three completely impure kelipos”—what does it mean to call a non-Jew “impure”? The word “impure” sounds like something very

15:07 Speaker 1 dirty. The words “impurity” and “holiness” make it sound as though impurity is something bad, dirty, unclean, while holiness is something lofty and elevated. That can be hard to explain. Often, someone learns chapter 1 of Tanya and starts talking to another person. You tell him that a non-Jew comes from the three completely impure kelipos, and you translate it into Spanish. It sounds quite harsh: a non-Jew is “impure.” What is tumah? “Impure”? I don’t know, but the word sounds like “dirty.” Whereas “holy” sounds sacred, elevated. And the person asks, “Wait, what are you trying to say about yourself?” Now we can understand. Here the Alter Rebbe gives us an explanation, a deeper definition. Impurity does not mean bad, and holiness does not mean good. This is not a question of good and bad, or dirty and clean. It is not a question of being lofty. It is an entirely different point: bittul versus a sense of self. A non-Jew is, in essence, a self. Am I saying that having a sense of self is bad? It can also be good. It does not mean bad. The point is that his essence is a self. That is what defines him; that is his essential nature. It is the nature of created existence: a self. A Jew, by contrast, has something unique—the chochmah of the soul—and consequently bittul is part of his essence. The Alter Rebbe says, “They act for their own sake.” How does that sense of self express itself? We say that a non-Jew, in essence, belongs to kelipah, meaning a sense of self. That sense of self is expressed in the fact that even when he does something good, he will think, “What will I gain from it?” For his own sake. Because, essentially, he is a self. That is what defines him. It is not a sin he committed; that is how he exists, how Hakadosh Boruch Hu created him. He was created with a sense of self, and because he is a self,

17:09 Speaker 1 even when he does something good, he will think, “What can I gain from this good deed? Why am I doing it? What benefit will I get?” So even in the good he does, at its root, at its essence, deep down, the underlying motivation will always be “I”—his own sense of self. That is the meaning of “for their own sake.” “And they say, ‘Give, give,’ and ‘Feed me.’” What does he say? The non-Jew says, “Give, give”—give me, give me—“Feed me.” These are two verses. “Give, give” is a verse in—where is “give, give”? Who knows the verse “give, give”?

17:49 Speaker 3 Esav. That’s not a verse.

17:50 Speaker 1 A verse. I wanted to ask where that verse is. But it is a verse. Yes, it’s a verse. If I’m not mistaken, it’s in Koheles. Bochurim don’t learn Koheles, so they don’t know. Wherever they say it is. Has anyone seen Koheles? Maybe there’s a Koheles they don’t even know about. [unclear] Koheles. King Shlomo says, “The leech has two daughters: Give, give.”

18:18 Speaker 3 Mishlei.

18:19 Speaker 1 Mishlei. Sorry. Thank you very much. I was... Right, I already need to review. Mishlei, right. “The leech has two daughters: Give, give.” What does that mean? “The leech has two daughters: Give, give.” A leech is a creature that sucks blood. [unclear] It’s a kind of creature that attaches itself to the body and draws out blood. “The leech has two daughters.” The two daughters are two tubes it has. This creature has, as it were, two—on its body. It attaches itself like this, and that’s how it sucks the blood out. So it’s as though it says, “Give, give.” It doesn’t actually say it, but it’s as though it says, “Blood, blood—give me some.” Its whole concern is: Give me. It wants something for itself; it wants blood. It gives nothing, only takes. In the same way, this is an analogy for kelipah. Kelipah, too, sucks blood; it draws out vitality. It wants to draw life from holiness. So it says, “Give, give—give me.” Similarly, there’s the expression “Feed me.” Who said “Feed me”?

19:42 Speaker 3 Esav.

19:43 Speaker 1 Esav. Good. Esav said, “Feed me.” What’s the point of that expression, “Feed me”? Fill my stomach. Esav was hungry. He came home and said, “Feed me.” But the point of using Esav’s expression, “Feed me,” is that it symbolizes kelipah. Kelipah comes and says, “Feed me. Fill me up. Give me.” In other words, its entire existence is what we call egocentric. It sees only itself and its own concerns, and it wants everything for itself.