Likkutei Amarim Tanya - Chapter 35 - Part 5

00:01 Speaker 1 That is, even the body. What does the Alter Rebbe now want to explain in the second part of the chapter? Let’s go into a little more detail, in general terms. Up to this point, the Alter Rebbe has explained very well why Torah and mitzvos specifically are necessary. Why aren’t love and awe enough? The Zohar says that through practical mitzvos—specifically through good deeds—a person connects even the body with Hashem, with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Good deeds are needed for that. But why, seemingly, good deeds specifically? Why isn’t the soul enough? Especially in the case of a tzaddik, whose soul has completely permeated his entire being, to the point that his whole essence is love and awe accompanied by delight. Why isn’t even that enough? The Alter Rebbe explains that any kind of spiritual service, any service of love and awe, is ultimately still a form of selfhood. There is some element of selfhood in it, however subtle, so it cannot be a vessel for the indwelling of the Shechinah. The Alter Rebbe explained at length earlier what the indwelling of the Shechinah means: a manifestation of G-dliness. G-dliness means the oneness of Hashem. The oneness of Hashem means that nothing exists apart from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So the indwelling of the Shechinah means the revelation that nothing exists apart from Hakadosh Boruch Hu—the revelation of the true oneness of Hashem. And whenever any sense of selfhood, any self-awareness, still remains, it contradicts that oneness, and that oneness is not present there. Therefore, whatever kind of love and awe a person may have, since some separate existence is still felt there, this is what the Alter Rebbe says: even a tzaddik’s love of Hashem, since it

02:25 Speaker 1 is not utterly nullified, still contains an admixture—there is someone here who loves Hashem. So the oneness of Hashem cannot be revealed there. Torah and mitzvos, by contrast, are not something a person does of his own choosing, something he created. Rather, Hashem “sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave us Torah and mitzvos, and His innermost will is present in them—His will without any doubt. So here the oneness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed as it truly is. That is the point, and that is why the indwelling of the Shechinah is found specifically in Torah and mitzvos. That is why the Zohar says there must specifically be good deeds. So far, so good. According to this, the Alter Rebbe has already explained everything very well. What is still missing from the explanation that he now comes to give? We began last time to discuss how the Alter Rebbe now comes to explain the advantage mitzvos have over Torah. Until now, we have spoken of Torah and mitzvos as one category—Torah and mitzvos in general, both Torah and mitzvos. What they have in common is that both are the wisdom and will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Neither Torah nor mitzvos are an expression of a person’s own separate existence. So when a Jew is nullified to Hakadosh Boruch Hu in this way, the Shechinah dwells there. The oneness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed there. Why, then, does the Alter Rebbe nevertheless say that, in this very respect, a mitzvah has an advantage over Torah? Why does that matter? On the plain level, it matters for understanding the Zohar’s wording. The Zohar emphasizes “good deeds”; it does not simply say “Torah and mitzvos.” It stresses that it is specifically through good deeds that the Shechinah comes to dwell. So

04:22 Speaker 1 we see a special emphasis here on action—deeds, actual action, good deeds. So we need to understand why action specifically. In terms of the point we have explained until now—the nullification found in Torah and mitzvos—both have the same nullification. Both are the wisdom and will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Why does it emphasize action specifically? Another point: why does the Alter Rebbe emphasize action in what he is now coming to explain? Because he began the chapter by further explaining the word “to do it” in the verse “For it is very close to you.” We see that the main emphasis in the verse is on “to do it”: “in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.” As we explained in the previous chapters, the main service of the beinoni is not a matter of the heart, of heartfelt emotion. Rather, the beinoni’s main achievement lies in “in your heart, to do it”: that the heart’s emotion should lead specifically to action. The main thing is actual action. And even his thought, as we heard, was not about perfecting thought for its own sake, but about thought leading to action. The main thing is what one actually does. So there, too, the same question arises: why “to do it”? What is explained next comes to answer that question. It explains the wording “to do it”—why action specifically is required. So we need to understand the advantage of action. Seemingly, the advantage of nullification is also found in Torah, in Torah study, not only in the practical performance of mitzvos. This is the point the Alter Rebbe now comes to explain: action has an advantage over Torah. That is the explanation of how we learn chapter 35, on both the plain and deeper levels. But as we explained at the beginning of chapter 35—it has been quite a while, so many of the bochurim have forgotten, even if they were listening. Some weren’t listening in the first place, but among those who were, some have probably forgotten too. So we need to recall that when we began

06:13 Speaker 1 chapter 35, we explained that there is a third issue here, one the Alter Rebbe raises at the beginning of the chapter. The Alter Rebbe asks: What is the purpose of the beinoni’s descent into this world? The purpose of his descent is unclear, because, as the Alter Rebbe asks, the beinoni never succeeds in completely transforming the entire nature of his body and animal soul. Desire will always remain within him; he will not be able to eliminate it throughout his life. So the question arises: What am I living for? It is a question a Jew asks: What is the purpose of life? I will never finish the battle anyway. So what is my life for? That is the question the Alter Rebbe asked at the outset. Seemingly, if we understand that question according to the plain meaning of the Alter Rebbe’s words—he is asking what the purpose of the beinoni’s life is if he cannot transform his nature—then the Alter Rebbe has already answered it. We already have the answer here. What is it? The answer is that this is the main thing: Torah and mitzvos. What brings about the indwelling of the Shechinah? Not thought. The indwelling of the Shechinah is brought about specifically through Torah and mitzvos, because they contain nullification to the supernal will. So the purpose of the beinoni’s life is clear. The beinoni comes and cries out: “What am I living for? I will never finish the battle!” That concerns your inner self. But that is not the purpose. The main aim, to bring about the indwelling of the Shechinah in a dwelling place in the lower realms, is accomplished primarily through what comes into actual practice—the performance of mitzvos, Torah and mitzvos—because that is where the Shechinah dwells. So this answers why the beinoni is in the world: the main thing, Torah and mitzvos, is available to the beinoni as well. And as for that question, it has already

08:05 Speaker 1 That has been answered up to this point. For the beinoni, there is no need to understand the advantage of action over Torah study, because a beinoni can have both Torah and mitzvos. But that is if we understand the question there at face value. As we explained when we began chapter 35, the Rebbe gives a much deeper explanation. The Rebbe explains that the Alter Rebbe’s question is not: Why is a beinoni in this world if he cannot completely transform his character traits? The Alter Rebbe already answered that in chapter 27. There he said that Hashem derives two kinds of satisfaction from two kinds of souls. There are souls of tzaddikim and souls of beinonim. As he said, “He created tzaddikim; He created resha’im”: there are souls of tzaddikim whose task is to bring about transformation, and there are souls to whom “He created resha’im” applies, from whom Hashem wants iskafya—subduing their impulses. That is the satisfaction Hashem derives from their iskafya. As the Alter Rebbe explains there, Hashem derives immense satisfaction and great delight from the bitter and salty foods—the avodah of the beinoni. So the Alter Rebbe already answered the question earlier: even if you never manage to finish the work and transform the body and its desires, Hashem wants to see a person as he is. He has desires, and he has to fight them. That itself is the delight—the delight in overcoming the yetzer hara. [unclear] So what is the Alter Rebbe asking again in chapter 35? As we explained, the Alter Rebbe’s question is not about the very descent of the beinoni’s soul

09:54 Speaker 1 into this world. Rather, the question is why it must become enclothed in the animal soul. That is the Alter Rebbe’s wording: “its descent below and enclothing itself in the animal soul”—enclothing itself in the animal soul of kelipah. The Alter Rebbe’s question is not about what the beinoni does, but about how he does it. We see that with a beinoni, not only does the G-dly soul descend into the world, it also becomes enclothed in the animal soul. The beinoni’s struggle is not merely to stand firm in his own concerns, matters of holiness, and overcome the opposition. What is demanded of the beinoni is that he also engage with the animal soul and fight it, bringing about some change within it. After all, that is the purpose of the soul’s descent. So the question is: What is the point of this? The beinoni does not succeed in transforming it. If the entire aim were only the satisfaction Hashem derives from iskafya itself, the G-dly soul would not have needed to become enclothed in the animal soul. It would only have needed to stand firm in its own concerns. In practical terms, to put it simply: if the entire avodah is as described in chapter 27, then the beinoni’s service of Hashem is a matter of overcoming opposition. His whole avodah should therefore have been not to engage with the animal soul, not to work with it and bring it along, but to work only with the G-dly soul: to serve Hashem in holiness, to stand firm in holiness, and not to engage with the body at all. Not to engage at all with the body and the animal soul; to stand firm in matters of holiness and mitzvos, and to reject the reality of the body and animal soul. Not to join with it or work together with it. That is the question. But on the face of it, we see otherwise. After all, the

11:41 Speaker 1 G-dly soul of the beinoni is also enclothed in the animal soul. It works with it and tries to subdue it. So the question concerns this very process of enclothing: What is the purpose of the G-dly soul becoming enclothed in the animal soul if it will never succeed in subduing it? That is the question the Alter Rebbe asks here, and he has not yet answered it. He now comes to answer it in the second half of the chapter. When the Alter Rebbe explains the advantage that performing a mitzvah has over studying Torah, we will understand it very well. Let’s look inside. “Now, when a person engages in Torah study”—here the Alter Rebbe begins explaining the difference between what Torah study accomplishes in the soul and what performing a mitzvah accomplishes in it. “Now, when a person engages in Torah study.” When a person studies Torah, what happens within him at the very moment he studies? “His soul, which is his G-dly soul, together with only its two inner garments, the faculties of speech and thought, are absorbed into the light of Hashem, the blessed Ein Sof.” When a person studies Torah, what happens during that study? Torah study affects the soul, the G-dly soul. It is the G-dly soul that connects with the Torah. Torah is Hashem’s wisdom. It is the G-dly soul that understands and grasps matters of Torah. And what else does he say? Not only the G-dly soul, but also the garments of the G-dly soul. There are the intellect and emotions of the G-dly soul that I use when I study. I use my mind to understand; that is the G-dly soul itself, its intellect and emotions. And there are the garments. Which garments? In Torah study, a person uses only the inner garments of thought and speech, which are the more spiritual garments of a person. “Only its inner garments,

13:50 Speaker 1 the faculties of speech and thought, are absorbed into the light of Hashem, blessed be He.” They connect with Hashem and are united with Him in complete unity. Not only are they absorbed; they connect in complete unity. The G-dly soul, which is a part of G-dliness, together with the garment of thought and the garment of speech, connect and unite with G-dliness in complete unity. That is the wondrous effect of Torah study. A person may not feel it, because he has no sense of it. It is not like the love and awe, and all the things we spoke about earlier. But when a Jew studies Torah, because Torah is Hashem’s wisdom and will, at the very moment he studies, his G-dly soul, together with his thought and speech, unites with G-dliness. It becomes one with G-dliness. “And this is the resting of the Shechinah upon his G-dly soul.” That is what is called the resting of the Shechinah upon the G-dly soul. It says that when a Jew studies Torah, the Shechinah rests upon him. This is what happens. This is what the resting of the Shechinah means: a Jew’s connection with Hashem through Torah study. As we said earlier, what does the resting of the Shechinah mean? The revelation of Hashem’s oneness. The resting of the Shechinah means the revelation of Hashem’s oneness, of G-dliness. Where is that revelation of G-dliness revealed? Within the person—in his G-dly soul, in his thought and speech, while he studies Torah. Since Torah is Hashem’s wisdom, there is nothing else there. There is only G-dliness, Hashem’s wisdom. So the G-dly soul, together with thought and speech, connects with the Ein Sof. What do our Sages say? “Even one person who sits and engages in Torah study—the Shechinah is with him.” This is what our Sages mean when they say that even one person

15:40 Speaker 1 When a person studies Torah, yes, the Shechinah is with him then too. Now, what does “the Shechinah is with him” mean? It means what we just discussed: the resting of the Shechinah, the revelation of G-dliness that comes through Torah. But where? Only in the divine soul, and only in its inner garments, thought and speech. To draw the Shechinah down upon the body and animal soul as well—to bring G-dliness into the body and animal soul—Torah study, which is intellectual, is not enough. The animal soul is actually clothed in the body. Torah does not accomplish that. Torah is spiritual; Torah is wisdom. So Torah does not have that effect on the body and animal soul. That is why one must perform practical mitzvos. Torah study is not enough for this; there must specifically be the actual performance of mitzvos, deeds done with the physical body. Practical mitzvos are performed specifically with the body, and it is this that causes the Shechinah to rest upon the body too. “For then the body’s actual power involved in this action is included in the light and will of Hashem and united with Him in complete unity, and it is the third garment of the divine soul.” So when a person connects with G-dliness through practical mitzvos, his body too becomes united with G-dliness. The body’s power involved in that action is the third garment, the garment of action. If we look closely at the wording, the Alter Rebbe is actually identifying two advantages that come through performing mitzvos. What advantages do mitzvos have over Torah? Two. First, with regard to the body: Torah affects only the divine soul, which is spiritual, so it draws the resting of the Shechinah only upon the divine soul. Mitzvos, by contrast, are performed with the body, and so they draw G-dliness upon

18:06 Speaker 1 the body too. That is one distinction. The second is that the Alter Rebbe emphasizes here the third garment. Torah affects only the inner garments of the divine soul, whereas a mitzvah also involves the third garment, the outer garment, the garment of action. So there are two advantages of mitzvos over Torah: one concerning the divine soul and one concerning the body. With regard to the divine soul, Torah affects only its inner garments. Mitzvos also affect its outer garment—action, the divine soul’s power of action. And the second point is that Torah affects only the divine soul, while mitzvos also affect the body. Those are the two things the Alter Rebbe says here. He says that the body’s power involved in this action becomes completely united, and he adds, “and it is the third garment of the divine soul.” What is he adding by saying that it is the third garment? He is emphasizing that mitzvos have an advantage over Torah even with regard to the divine soul, not only with regard to the body. Those are the two points here. So we already have the beginning of an explanation of the purpose for which the beinoni was created. From this point, the Alter Rebbe answers three questions. First, he explains the emphasis on action specifically. He focuses on action because Hashem’s primary purpose in this world is specifically the performance of mitzvos, even more than Torah study. Why? Because through mitzvos we draw G-dliness all the way down to the body. Second, this also explains why the Zohar emphasizes specifically “deeds of Torah”—not Torah alone, but specifically deeds and action: to bring that unity upon the body. That is the whole point, to bring it into the body, into the physicality of the body. This is accomplished specifically through mitzvos, more than through Torah. And this also leads to the third point, the purpose of the beinoni’s creation in this world. He has not yet finished

20:36 Speaker 1 the explanation. But at least he begins to explain that the beinoni also affects the body and animal soul. It is not as people might think, that the beinoni affects only the divine soul. Although the beinoni does not reach the point of transforming the animal soul, when he performs a mitzvah, the body and animal soul also take part—as he explains later—and the Shechinah rests upon them too. The body and animal soul participate as vessels. So ultimately, through his avodah, the beinoni also brings the body and animal soul into holiness. He draws the resting of the Shechinah upon the animal soul as well. And now we understand why the divine soul is clothed in the animal soul. If it were not, the divine soul and the animal soul would be two separate things. Then, by performing mitzvos, I would draw that unity only upon the divine soul, while the animal soul would remain outside it. But the divine soul is clothed in the animal soul, and only together can they perform a mitzvah. You cannot perform a mitzvah with the divine soul alone. Performing a mitzvah requires not only the powers of the divine soul, but also those of the animal soul. This causes the animal soul too to become a vessel for that unity, so that the Shechinah rests upon it as well. This is the explanation, the reassurance the Alter Rebbe gives the beinoni: [unclear]. Through the beinoni’s avodah, and primarily through performing mitzvos, the Shechinah rests upon the garments, upon the animal soul and divine soul, and upon the body too.

22:30 Speaker 2 When you say “the resting of the Shechinah,” is that the same thing Reb Yehuda Ashkenazi said?

22:40 Speaker 1 Yes. Yes, certainly. It is all a continuation. Why would it be something else?

22:43 Speaker 2 No, what you said.

22:44 Speaker 1 Huh?

22:45 Speaker 2 The resting of the Shechinah.

22:47 Speaker 1 I said earlier that the resting of the Shechinah means bittul. There are distinctions, but we will explain them in another class. I do not want to explain everything now. There are several distinctions between the effect on the divine soul and the effect on the animal soul, and those distinctions are reflected in the wording. We will explain that, with Hashem’s help, next time. I just want the basic idea of the explanation to be clear. That is the point under discussion here, and it is the foundation for the chapters that follow. Now I will take it further and explain in detail why it matters so much to affect the body and animal soul, and so on—the whole subject. But the foundation the Alter Rebbe establishes here is the key to understanding the entire purpose for which the beinoni was created. So first, there is the first half of the chapter, where the Alter Rebbe explains the general principle: the whole purpose is to draw down the unity of Hashem. And the unity of Hashem is drawn down specifically not where I am, but where Hakadosh Boruch Hu is. And where is Hakadosh Boruch Hu? In the performance of mitzvos. Therefore, the goal in life should not be to look for where I feel good, where I have certain feelings, but where the effort itself is needed. What does Hakadosh Boruch Hu want? In that respect, performing any mitzvah is the same. Then there is the point of the second half of the chapter: within this itself, a mitzvah has a special advantage, because through a mitzvah we draw that unity upon the body and animal soul. We bring the unity of Hashem all the way down—not only into the soul, but into the body and animal soul as well. That is the ultimate purpose, and it is accomplished specifically through mitzvos. This is an interesting thing to know. It is interesting that in Tanya, if you learn Tanya the way it should be learned, you notice something interesting: there are several places in Tanya where the Alter Rebbe speaks

24:49 Speaker 1 About Torah and mitzvos, about the distinction between Torah and a mitzvah, we see something remarkable. In the previous chapters, the Alter Rebbe said the opposite. He explained that Torah is higher than a mitzvah. Chapter 5 of Likkutei Amarim—everyone knows it, right? What does the Alter Rebbe say there? That Torah is far higher than a mitzvah. It is “a wondrous union, the like of which, or anything comparable to it, is not found at all in the physical world: to become one and truly united from every side and angle.” The point is that this union is specifically in Torah, not in a mitzvah. The Alter Rebbe explains that a mitzvah involves only the 248 limbs, whereas Torah brings about an inner union. So the union in Torah is much greater than in a mitzvah. Similarly, in chapter 23, where the Alter Rebbe explains the whole idea of “a limb of the King,” he also explains that Torah is higher than a mitzvah. A mitzvah is called a limb of the King: a limb is a vessel for the soul, but it is not the soul. Torah, on the other hand—“the Torah and Hakadosh Boruch Hu are entirely one”—is truly one with Him. Here the Alter Rebbe begins to explain the opposite: the advantage of a mitzvah over Torah. But there is no contradiction. We are talking about two different points. If the question is the nature of the union—where is there greater oneness?—Torah has the greater union. With a mitzvah, there is a person and there are instructions and directives; the person has limbs, and so on. He performs a mitzvah, but something is lacking in the union. With Torah, my mind is engaged with the mind of Torah. These are not two separate things; my mind becomes part of the very substance of Torah’s wisdom. A mitzvah is a person carrying out his teacher’s instructions. So in terms of union, Torah has an advantage over mitzvos. There is greater union in Torah than in mitzvos. But now we are talking about a different point: how far down that union can be drawn—bringing it lower and lower. This is

26:45 Speaker 1 the idea of the lower realms: drawing it down. Where does it reach? Specifically there, it penetrates lower and lower, even below Yesod. That happens specifically through a mitzvah. Torah lacks this drawing of the union downward. Hashem’s oneness does not reach every part of the person. There is a place it does not reach—the body and the animal soul—which remain outside that oneness. With mitzvos, by contrast, Hashem’s oneness is drawn into the body, into action. These are two different things. There, we are discussing the nature of the union, and Torah brings about a higher level of union. But if we are asking how deeply the union penetrates a person—which levels of the person’s physical existence it reaches—then certainly a mitzvah goes further than Torah. A mitzvah reaches the lower realm. Torah does not penetrate the lower realm to the same extent. That is the point: reaching the lower realms. So in that respect, mitzvos matter more than Torah. Similarly, as we speak now before Gimmel Tammuz, this is a time when everyone needs to make a personal reckoning about connecting to the Rebbe and preparing for Gimmel Tammuz. Here, too, we see these two points. On the one hand, we find in various places, including Hayom Yom, statements that the main way to connect is through studying Torah. At other times it says that the connection comes through what? Through the established practices, through carrying out the Rebbe’s instructions. These are the two things: Torah and mitzvos. There is a connection through Torah. You study a maamar of the Rebbe, you study a sicha of the Rebbe, and you connect with the Rebbe’s Torah, with the Rebbe’s mind. When you study Rambam, Hilchos Nefashos, you connect with the Rebbe’s actions. So which is higher? What is the main way to connect? Here, too, it depends on the same point. If we are talking

28:26 Speaker 1 about an inner union with the Rebbe, that comes specifically through Torah. It is the Rebbe’s wisdom; here is the Rebbe himself. It is “I have written down and given over my very self.” The Rebbe’s wisdom and will are found here, in his sichos and maamarim. By contrast, when you carry out the established practices, you are doing something the Rebbe instructed you to do. In terms of union, that remains something outside of you. But if the question is which parts of me are connected to the Rebbe, then suppose I connect to him only on the higher level, through maamarim and sichos, and am satisfied with that. What happens then? My mind is connected to the Rebbe, but my actual physical self—my body and limbs—is somewhere else. That is why it is so important to know what the Rebbe wants of me in practice, and to do it: to go out, to walk, to move my limbs, to move my hands and feet, to keep the established practices, instructions and directives. Then the connection penetrates all 248 limbs and 365 sinews.