Igeres Hakodesh, Letter 11, "Lehaskilcha Binah" - Part 5

00:00 The Alter Rebbe says here: “But one who believes will not be troubled by any suffering in the world, and in all worldly matters, yes and no are truly equal to him.” A person who believes has no fear of suffering, and in all matters of the world, whether he has something or does not have it, yes and no are truly equal to him. It makes no difference to him whether he has it. So, as we said in the name of the Baal Shem Tov, “I have set Hashem before me always.” Once Hashem is before him, and Hashem’s name is bringing him into being, he is being brought into being at every single moment. Once a person feels this point—that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is bringing him into being from nothing at every moment—then everything is equal to him, because everything is G-dliness. And therefore everything is good, and there is no... as he said earlier. “And one to whom they are not equal”—a person for whom they are not equal—“shows himself to be of the erev rav.” We spoke about this at length in the previous class. What is the nature of the erev rav? It is that “they act for their own sake.” What is the erev rav looking for? He is not looking for truth; he is not looking for G-dliness. He is looking out for himself. He wants things to go well for him, to receive something, to gain something. As the Rebbe explains at length in the maamar beginning “Bayom Ashtei Asar,” this is the difference between holiness and kelipah. Kelipah seeks what is good for me, whereas holiness seeks the truth. So the defining feature of the erev rav is that everything he does, even the good things he does, is for his own sake. It is for his own benefit and to bolster his sense of self. But he lacks self-nullification to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So here too, since

01:50 this person complains, it means he is lacking in self-nullification to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. He wants to serve Hashem, but he wants an Eibershter who makes his life good. An Eibershter who... who... serves his own interests, so that his sense of self can gain from it. “And he loves himself, wishing to leave Hashem’s hand.” He loves himself and wants to leave Hashem’s hand. He wants things to be good for him—according to his own understanding of what is good for him. “And to live the life of the nations out of self-love.” He wants to live the life of the nations. What does he mean by “the life of the nations”? Heaven forbid, he does not mean that literally. Here the Alter Rebbe is speaking on a subtle level. The meaning is to live as the nations do. We also said in Tanya, chapter 1, that the Alter Rebbe says the character traits of the nations of the world come from the three completely impure kelipos. And as our Sages say, “All the good that the nations do, they do for their own sake.” That expression is said about the nations of the world: they act for their own sake. In other words, the essential nature of the erev rav is that even though they left Egypt and went with the Jewish people, on a subtle level they remained non-Jews in their souls. They remained non-Jews in their way of thinking: everything they sought was for their own benefit. So when a person complains about things because they are not equal to him, it means that his ego is at the center. That, on a subtle level, is called “the life of the nations”—acting for one’s own sake. “And therefore he desires physical life, children, and sustenance.” He wants life—health—and he wants children and sustenance. He wants these things for their material side, for their physicality, because they are good for him. He does not want them because of G-dliness, because

03:48 Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants them. He wants them because they are good for him, good for his animal soul, good for his life and his sense of self. That is why he wants them. He wants life, children, and a livelihood to enlarge his sense of self, not for the service of Hashem. That is exactly it: they are good for him. The Alter Rebbe is brief here. Earlier, nearby in Igeres Hakodesh, section 9, the Alter Rebbe explained this. It is very interesting there in section 9; I turned to it to understand what he is saying here. Because one could mistakenly think that I should not want life, children, and sustenance at all. That is not right; that is not the intention here. The Alter Rebbe explained earlier, in section 9, that a Jew has the Shulchan Aruch. According to the Shulchan Aruch, according to halachah, there are laws requiring a person to provide for his children and his household. In other words, the Torah explicitly calls for providing for one’s family. So life, children, and sustenance do matter. But the Alter Rebbe says the question is: Why do you want them? Do you want them for your sense of self, or because providing for them is part of serving Hashem? That is essentially the question the Alter Rebbe is asking here. The question in this maamar is: Am I serving Hakadosh Boruch Hu because I am seeking Him, or am I seeking myself? And the same applies to life, children, and sustenance. A person needs them and wants them. If it is for the service of Hashem, that is one thing; but if it is for his sense of self, then

05:40 that is the issue. “I desire”—this is the precise wording the Alter Rebbe used at the beginning of the chapter: “I desire physical life.” Desire is something inward; it is your will. Your innermost desire is your will. Where is that inner desire of yours directed? Is it focused on serving Hashem—Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants there to be life, children, and sustenance, and therefore you need all these things? Or is what you desire physical life itself? That is what the Alter Rebbe is ruling out here. And so he says: “Because it is good for him.” Why does he want life, children, and sustenance? For himself, for his own desires. “And it would have been more comfortable for him had he not been created.” The Alter Rebbe says that of such a person, we say it would have been more comfortable for him had he not been created. Why? As the Alter Rebbe is about to explain, since, as we said, the purpose of the world’s creation is to serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu, this person is not fulfilling his purpose. That is why we say it would have been more comfortable for him had he not been created. The whole reason Hakadosh Boruch Hu created you in this world is, as the Alter Rebbe said at the beginning of the chapter, for “the fundamental faith for which man was created.” Man was created for this faith. So when it is missing, the essential thing is missing. That is why we say it would have been more comfortable for him had he not been created. We will come to this wording and see how precise every detail in Tanya is. This expression, “It would have been more comfortable for him had he not been created,” is well known from the Gemara. The Gemara says that Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel disagreed over whether it would have been more comfortable for man to have been created or not to have been created. Afterward, it says,

07:32 “They took a vote and concluded that it would have been more comfortable for him had he not been created.” That is what the Gemara says: “They took a vote and concluded that it would have been more comfortable for man had he not been created than having been created.” So what happened here? What exactly was their disagreement? It says they sat for many years discussing this. Beis Shammai said it would have been more comfortable for man had he not been created. Beis Hillel said it was more comfortable for him to have been created. They took a vote and concluded it would have been more comfortable for him had he not been created. “And now that he has been created,” and so on. What was the disagreement? There is an interesting explanation. In Likkutei Torah on Parshas Re’eh, the Alter Rebbe cites these words of our Sages and asks a very simple question: How can the Gemara say it would have been more comfortable for him had he not been created? That is the ruling. They took a vote and concluded that it would have been more comfortable for him had he not been created. How can they say that? It contradicts a verse in Parshas Bereishis. The Torah says, “And G-d saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” The Torah explicitly says it was very good. Hakadosh Boruch Hu says, “And behold, it was very good,” yet our Sages, Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel, reach the opposite conclusion: No, it would have been more comfortable for him had he not been created. That is the Alter Rebbe’s question there in Likkutei Torah, Parshas Re’eh. The Alter Rebbe gives a wonderful explanation, and it bears on this chapter. That is why I am bringing it up here. You can see how precise every word in Tanya is. What does the Alter Rebbe explain? He explains that these are two different things. It says “more comfortable for him”; it does not say “good.” It says it would have been more comfortable for him had he not been created. In Parshas Bereishis it says, “And G-d saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” Those are two different things: there is what is good to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and there is what is comfortable for man. What does that mean? The Alter Rebbe gives a very interesting example, and it is very simple. He says: You have animals,

09:38 Horses, donkeys, animals. A person might have animals at home; some people use animals. Less so today. It used to be normal. People used animals. A person had a horse, a donkey, animals he used at home. Now, when you have animals at home, the owner needs them. Why does he have them? Because he needs them: a horse to ride, a donkey to carry loads. He needs chickens for various things. He keeps them because they’re useful. But if we ask the animal whether it wants to be with its owner, what would it prefer? Of course the animal doesn’t want that. If you asked it, it would prefer to be free, to live in the field, without anyone... without having to be in anyone’s home. In practice, the owner takes it and puts it to work, and gives it food and all kinds of things. He gives it everything. But ask the animal what it would prefer. It would be more comfortable not having to live in anyone’s home. Ask the owner, though, and he wants the animal there. It’s good for him, because the animal serves his purpose. The Alter Rebbe says the same is true of the soul. If we ask the soul whether it wants to descend into this world, it doesn’t. It’s much better off Above. Why does it need the burden, all the effort, and all the battles with the animal soul, with materiality, with food, with desires, and the whole mess? Above, the soul enjoys the radiance of the Shechinah and is connected to G-dliness. So it would have been more comfortable for it not to have been created.

11:33 From the soul’s perspective, what would be more comfortable for it? Not to have been created. It would be much better off, much more comfortable. In other words, the soul would rather remain in Gan Eden than descend into this world and toil. But “G-d saw all that He had made”—the Eibershter—certainly, for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, it is very good. Hakadosh Boruch Hu sees that through the soul’s descent, the purpose of making a dwelling place for Him in the lower worlds is fulfilled, and through it the greatest elevation is reached. So that is “G-d saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu sees the “very good.” But if you ask the soul, from the soul’s own perspective, is it comfortable for it? No. So what do we understand from this? This is a tremendous insight the Alter Rebbe teaches us here. It’s a wonderful insight. It follows that if I’m thinking about myself, I wouldn’t necessarily want to be down here. But if I surrender myself to Hakadosh Boruch Hu and ask what He wants, then on the contrary—it’s very good. Then you are in this world with joy and a glad heart, fulfilling His purpose. It’s interesting that the Alter Rebbe uses this expression from the Gemara: “It would have been more comfortable for him not to have been created.” Here the Alter Rebbe uses it in another context. Here he is saying that for someone so caught up in his own sense of self, who wants children, life, and sustenance only because of his own desires, “it would have been more comfortable for him not to have been created.” That’s why the Alter Rebbe brings it here. But the underlying idea is the same. In other words, the question in all of this—the general question, the question of our lives—is: What am I living for? Am I living for myself, or am I living for Hakadosh Boruch Hu? There are many levels to this. What are they?

13:21 There’s what you might call the life of a non-Jew, thinking only of himself—the Erev Rav, yes? And among them, too. This can also happen in serving Hashem: a person serves Hashem for what he’ll get out of it. And it applies to children, life, and sustenance, when he wants them for himself. So it exists on many levels, in material matters and spiritual matters, but the common question is: Is it for oneself, or is it for G-dliness? So the Alter Rebbe says that when a person feels sadness, it’s because his service of Hashem lacks bittul, self-surrender. That is why it would have been more comfortable for him not to have been created. For man was created only to be tested with these tests, “to know what is in his heart.” The Alter Rebbe says: What is the main purpose? Why did Hakadosh Boruch Hu create a person down here in this world? To test him with these tests. The whole purpose of Creation, of Hakadosh Boruch Hu bringing a soul down into this world, is precisely this test: “to know what is in his heart.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants to know what is happening in your heart: whether it will turn to other gods, meaning the desires of the body. When I come down here, will the body’s desires take hold of me, so that I want things for myself, want my own world, want material things? I want life that is drawn from the sitra achra, all of it driven by desire. The body receives its sustenance from the sitra achra, and those are the things it wants. Or is his desire and will for Hashem alone, to live a true life that flows from the living G-d? Even if he cannot. Look, he adds another point here: “even if he cannot.” Even though, in practice, you might not be on the level

15:16 of complete bittul, of utter self-nullification. But the question is, what do you want? This is a very deep principle. I’ll get to it in a moment. “Even if he cannot” is a tremendous insight. But before “even if he cannot,” what is the Alter Rebbe saying? There’s a fundamental point the Alter Rebbe teaches us here in this chapter of Tanya about the entire purpose of Creation. A person asks himself: What is the purpose of Creation? The Alter Rebbe says: The entire purpose of Creation is that Hakadosh Boruch Hu puts us to the test. A person’s whole life is one great test. What is the test? It is: What do I desire? Do I want Hakadosh Boruch Hu, or do I want myself? This is a tremendous, fundamental point. In other words, according to what the Alter Rebbe teaches us here in Tanya, this is the overarching question of life. What, the Alter Rebbe asks, is the foundation of everything we’re discussing here in chapter 11 of Igeres Hakodesh? We speak about accepting suffering with love, about accepting it with joy. What is the point? The point is something fundamental and universal in a person’s life. A person was created in this world to sense the oneness of Havayah. So, in other words, we are constantly facing a test before Hakadosh Boruch Hu: What is at the center of my life? Is my “I” at the center, and is that what I live for? My “I” can take many forms. There’s the physical “I,” the material “I,” the “I” of kelipah and sitra achra. And there’s also the “I” that serves Hashem in order to get all kinds of things out of it. Then the “I” still remains at the center; that is its essence. Or is Hakadosh Boruch Hu at the center? Is the oneness of Havayah at the center, with my entire

17:13 existence devoted to serving Hakadosh Boruch Hu, to connecting with the oneness of Havayah? So that is the test. That is why a person lives in this world. This is explained in Chassidus, in other maamarim. There’s one by [unclear], or from 5665. In Sefer Hamaamarim 5665 there’s a maamar. The maamar begins... Well. There’s also one in Shemos: “You gave those who fear You a banner to be raised.” It speaks about tests there, very powerfully. The Rebbe Rashab explains there that there are five kinds of tests, and for the deepest test he cites this Igeres Hakodesh. He discusses all kinds of tests. There are different kinds of tests, but what I’m saying is that one of the loftiest aspects of a test is the one we’re discussing here: that a person’s whole life is a test. For what? What is the service, the service in general? Chassidus teaches us that a test is not a problem. But people in the world look at it this way: a test is what they call an obstacle. There’s a problem, I have difficulties, there are problems, and that’s a test. I have to overcome the obstacle. Chassidus explains that a test is actually the opposite. The Hebrew word for a test, nisayon, is related to raising a banner, to lifting something up. A banner is raised. That is the work of a test. Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants to elevate us. So here’s the point: What is the deepest elevation a person can reach? To uproot the notion that life and the world are anything other than the oneness of Havayah in truth, so that a person’s whole life revolves around this point. What do I want? Do I want myself? Do I want Hakadosh Boruch Hu? What is at the center of my life? And the Alter Rebbe adds the words “even if he cannot.” At first glance, those words, “even if he cannot,” give

19:36 Now we can understand why we said at the beginning that this is a chapter the Alter Rebbe writes for all chassidim. It’s a general chapter that concerns every chossid. When you first learn it, you say: The Alter Rebbe is speaking here about a very, very high level, about great chassidim who aren’t bothered by what happens to them. What does equanimity mean in simple terms? It means that “yes” and “no” are equal to you. That’s a very, very high level—the level of Nachum Ish Gam Zu, the level of Reb Zusha of Anipoli. But what does that have to do with us, ordinary people? So the Alter Rebbe comes here with these words: “even though I cannot.” Seemingly, that “even though” is there to add something. In practice, if the requirement is that you reach a level of complete self-nullification, that won’t work. The question is: Where is your goal in life? What are you striving for? What are you working on? Where do you stand? What direction are you heading in? Is the direction toward the “I,” or is it toward G-dliness, the oneness of Hashem? That is what a chossid needs to live with throughout his life. My direction needs to be the true oneness of Hashem. That needs to be the goal; that needs to be the direction. This is why the Alter Rebbe says here, “even though I cannot.” There’s a parenthesis here that needs further study. In some manuscripts [unclear], “even though I cannot”; another version reads: “Or if his desire and wish, even though I cannot, is to live a true life,” and so on. [unclear] it seems that “I cannot” is also implied. In any case, there are various versions, but what does that suggest? Were there versions that didn’t have the words “even though I cannot,” and versions that did? But seemingly the main point of “even though I cannot” is precisely that it goes a step further. Yes. In other words, even if you don’t actually reach that level, this still needs to be the fundamental aim of chassidim—of a Jew. This needs to be

21:28 my life. Yes: to seek to have my life revolve around Hakadosh Boruch Hu, rather than around my own sense of self. And if we think about it, we’ll see that this is what much of Chassidus and all the sichos are about. Everything revolves around this point: What is at the center of my life—G-dliness, or my title, my own self? Everything follows from that. And how does it show up in our avodah? Here, in the matter of joy. Why is a chossid always joyful? This is what the Alter Rebbe says: Why is the trait of sadness so strongly rejected? Sadness is self-centeredness. There is sadness over transgressions, sadness over a material lack, and sadness over a spiritual lack. But the negative side of sadness is that I’m focused on myself, on my own sense of self, and that is why I’m sad. Joy is self-nullification. Joy comes when you are with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. There is no sadness in the presence of kings. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is joy. A person can be joyful in any situation, and that is why Chassidus places such emphasis on serving Hashem with joy.