Likkutei Amarim Tanya - Chapter 36 - Part 4

00:01 The Alter Rebbe brings here the teaching of our Sages that Hakadosh Boruch Hu desired... The Alter Rebbe brings the teaching of our Sages that Hakadosh Boruch Hu desired to have a dwelling in the lower realms. First, let’s explain what “lower realms” means. In relation to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the whole concept of “lower” does not apply. Things are “lower” only in relation to those receiving the revelation. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed in each world through garments, and each garment is another world. The many garments bring about many tzimtzumim, until, through all those tzimtzumim, there comes to be a world in which nothing G-dly is revealed at all. That is this lowest world, where concealment reaches its fullest extent. And not only that. The Alter Rebbe says something more: this world is not merely a place where light is absent; it is a place of darkness, a place of kelipah and sitra achra. It is full of kelipah and sitra achra. The Alter Rebbe explains that the purpose of the higher order of hishtalshelus cannot be the higher worlds, because they, too, represent a descent from the light of His blessed countenance. The higher worlds are a descent from the light of Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s countenance. As we just explained, the garments conceal the light of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and each world is a descent from what came before it. You cannot say that the ultimate intention lies in a descent—that Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s intention would be in something that is, in essence, a descent from Him, chas veshalom, a moving away. This physical world, by contrast, is not simply another descent. Something new happens here. This physical world is yesh me’ayin, creation from nothing. It is a creation, not a descent through hishtalshelus. Here there is something new: a constant creation from nothing, a renewal. And as we explained

02:22 in the previous class, renewal can come only from His very essence. Here we see why this is not considered a descent, and why a person’s avodah here is also a work of bringing something new into being. A person’s avodah is not connected with a descent, with a revelation of light that is itself only a descent. A person’s avodah here is something new. What is new about it? Transforming darkness into light. A person takes something in the world that is, by definition, darkness—a reality of darkness, of kelipah—and breaks its hold through iskafya. He subdues the sitra achra. More than that, he reverses it: he transforms the darkness into light. That is something new. And so, it arose in His blessed will that this would bring Hakadosh Boruch Hu nachas ruach: iskafya, subduing the sitra achra, and transforming darkness into light. Precisely through this, what is revealed is not a revelation that represents a descent. His essence is revealed here. His essence and being are revealed here. As we explained, this is what it means for a new light to be revealed out of darkness. That is the point we have discussed so far in chapter 36. There are still a few details we have not explained. Here is one of them. The Alter Rebbe says that the purpose of the entire hishtalshelus is this physical world, where it arose in Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s will that He should have nachas ruach from subduing the sitra achra and transforming darkness into light. Now there is something interesting here. On the one hand, the Alter Rebbe offers a rational explanation. He is speaking in terms of logic and reason. There is a special advantage in light that comes from darkness, whereas in the higher worlds there is no darkness. So all the avodah there concerns revelations alone. That is a descent.

04:24 Here, by contrast, it is something else. In this physical world there is something special: taking the darkness and turning it into light. That brings nachas ruach. Light has an advantage when it comes from darkness. When darkness is transformed into light, there is a special pleasure in it, a special quality. That is why it gives Hakadosh Boruch Hu a special pleasure, and why this is the ultimate intention. So this is a rational point, a particular reason. On the other hand, the Alter Rebbe’s wording is, “It arose in His blessed will,” right? So that’s interesting. Huh? You already know? Huh? You already know? No, if you’ll excuse me, it’s the opposite. It’s a challenge. Well, we have a contradiction. So, in short, here is the point. On the one hand, the idea that subduing the sitra achra will bring Him nachas ruach has a reason behind it. On the other hand, the Alter Rebbe says, “It arose in His blessed will.” That means it is not a matter of reason. It is a matter of will, of a decree: this is what arose in His will. How do we explain that? The explanation is simple. In truth, the entire reasoning behind light’s advantage over darkness is not at all self-evident. We have a principle that makes sense to us: when you take darkness and turn it into light, the light is more elevated—light has an advantage when it comes from darkness. That principle works once darkness has already been created. I mean, look: once darkness exists, we can understand the idea. So what do we say in our world? Ordinary light is not so exceptional. When light comes out of darkness, it is a higher kind of light. We have all sorts of examples and explanations for this. But all of that can be said within the created order. When we speak of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, He is not bound by the categories of human reason.

06:35 So who says that the principle of light’s advantage over darkness matters there, too? Because we have to say that light has an advantage when it comes from darkness, does that bind Hakadosh Boruch Hu? Chas veshalom. He is beyond all of this, beyond the bounds of reason. That is one question. The second question is this: we said that, in relation to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the world is not “lower” at all. It is lower only in relation to us. The Alter Rebbe himself says earlier, at the beginning of the chapter, that Hakadosh Boruch Hu transcends all the worlds equally. So in relation to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, there is no concept of darkness at all. The world is called “lower,” or a place of kelipos and sitra achra and doubled and redoubled darkness, only from our perspective, as we see it. But in relation to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, “darkness does not darken for You.” The light is everywhere. So for Him, there is no question of light having an advantage over darkness. That raises the question: what do you mean when you say that Hakadosh Boruch Hu derives nachas ruach from light’s advantage over darkness? For Him, there is no darkness. That is why the Alter Rebbe explains that “it arose in His will.” The foundation is not reason. The foundation is that it arose in His will. In relation to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, this is not really a rational matter. It arose in Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s will; it is a matter of will. In the language of Chassidus—sorry, in the language of the Midrash—“He desired.” Desire is beyond reason. That is the root of it. As is well known, the Alter Rebbe said—and this is cited... and the Rebbe repeated it dozens or hundreds or thousands of times—in any case, “You cannot ask a question about a desire.” When it comes to desire, a question does not apply. We spoke a little about this at the beginning. It is not a matter

08:20 of reason; it is a matter of desire. This is what arose in His will. That is the foundation. It is a matter of will: it arose in His will. What arose in His will? Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted darkness to matter to Him. On the contrary, because He is the Essence, and no limitation can be ascribed to the Essence, no limitation can be placed on what He wants, either. Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted darkness to matter to Him, and He wanted darkness to become a source of pleasure. Hakadosh Boruch Hu placed Himself, as it were, within these terms, so that He would have nachas ruach from darkness being transformed into light. That itself is a kind of desire, beyond reason. Afterward, it is also clothed in a reason that we need to understand, but in essence it is something that arose in His will. It arose in Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s will to relate in this way to created reality, and so on. The analogy for this, brought in Chassidus, is that of a talking bird. Yes, a bird that talks. There is such a kind of bird, called a parrot in Hebrew; in Spanish it is called a loro. Yes, there is such a creature, a bird, and people teach it to say words. It can say those words, and people in general take great pleasure in it, because they enjoy playing with it—even great kings do. So when people wanted to bring a king nachas ruach or pleasure, they would bring him the talking bird, even though its speech has no value at all. The bird’s speech is nothing compared with the king’s wisdom. But the novelty of a bird talking gives pleasure. It is something new, something out of the ordinary. So that novelty gives pleasure: that there is something which, by its nature, does not speak, and nevertheless it has some

10:18 Words. So even though what the bird actually says is of no significance, there is something special in the novelty of it. This is also explained in the books of Chassidus: the point is not that the higher worlds have more revelations, greater significance, and loftier levels in serving Hashem—states of being, cleaving to Him, and all sorts of other levels—while here there is only iskafya sitra achra, subduing the other side, which is a lowly form of service. Rather, the novelty of it brings Hashem pleasure. But seemingly, as we said earlier, Hashem is utterly beyond all this. A flesh-and-blood king may take delight in a talking bird, but what does that have to do with Hashem? Does Hashem, too, need to take delight in a talking bird? Rather, it is because Hashem has, so to speak, contracted Himself. That is the whole meaning of “thus it arose in His will.” It arose in Hashem’s will that all this should matter to Him. He therefore clothed Himself in these terms, so that the service of the talking bird—our service, our revelation, what we do—should matter to Him and bring Him pleasure. And it is specifically through this that the essence is drawn down, that the dwelling place in the lower realms is brought about. That is the precise meaning of the words “thus it arose in His will.” But then we can ask the question from the other direction: If it is a matter of “thus it arose in His will,” why is a reason also given for it afterward? Why doesn’t it remain simply a decree, a matter of “thus it arose in His will”? In particular, the whole idea of light’s superiority over darkness is something the intellect can understand. We have proof and an example for it; there are explanations drawn from the world. The whole idea of darkness, that is, can also be understood intellectually. If the entire foundation remains a matter of His will, why is it also presented in terms of reason and understanding? So—

11:57 The Rebbe explains a further point here. Part of the idea of a dwelling place in the lower realms is that Hashem wanted that dwelling place to come about in a way the lower realms could grasp. As we discussed in the previous class, a dwelling place in the lower realms includes several details. It is not just that Hashem wanted a dwelling place in the lower realms. He wanted the lower realms to be vessels for it—that it should fit their terms, their capacity, and their understanding. The more the lower realm can receive it on its own terms, the more fully the intent is realized. That is one detail of the intent behind a dwelling place in the lower realms. So if the entire matter were only a decree, with no place for our understanding, it would seem that, from the world’s perspective, it has no basis and no content at all. The whole thing really ought not to be this way. What’s a decree, huh? Did I miss a joke or something? So really, it ought to be otherwise, only—what can I tell you?—that’s how it is. If so, in terms of our intellectual capacity, we are not vessels for it, and the dwelling place in the lower realms is not complete. Its completeness means that the lower realm itself is a vessel for it, and that is why a reason is also given in the text. There is a somewhat deeper explanation of this, if we go further into it, but I’ll leave it at that. There is discussion back and forth in the sichos, where all these points are explained. Yes, there are explanations for everything. So we’ll get to the practical point, that’s clear, and to the Rebbe’s wording. [unclear] By the way, just to finish this part, there is a maamar of the Rebbe in Melukat, beginning [unclear]. Whoever wants to can look there. The Rebbe offers a new explanation there.

13:40 What is written here in Tanya, [unclear], “and darkness is transformed into light,” is discussed in other maamarim as a matter of will that is beyond reason. In other words, here it is will as it has become clothed in a reason. There is also a level of will that remains beyond reason. The Rebbe explains there that these are two levels: will as it becomes clothed in a reason, in the transformation of darkness into light, and will itself, which is beyond reason. In any case, this needs to be explained and understood. I’m mentioning it only to complete the point. Whoever wants to can study the subject further. Now there is another point here that we still need to explain. The Rebbe says here that the purpose of the worlds’ chainlike descent—in the Rebbe’s words, “Now, the purpose of the chainlike descent of the worlds, and their descent from level to level, is not for the sake of the higher worlds.” In other words, the purpose is not the physical world. When you first learn this, you don’t stop to think about it. So what is the Rebbe saying here? There are higher worlds, there are lower worlds, and there is this lowest world, beneath which there is none. So we have a question: What is the purpose? Is the purpose the higher worlds, or is it this lowest world? The Rebbe explains to us, on the basis of the Midrash, that the purpose is this lowest world. The purpose is a dwelling place in the lower realms, in this lowest world. But if you read Tanya carefully, that is not what the Rebbe says. The Rebbe says something else. He does not merely say that the purpose is this lowest world. The Alter Rebbe says that the purpose of the chainlike descent of the higher worlds is this lowest world. That is another point entirely. It is one thing to say: I see higher worlds and I see this lowest world, but I don’t know which is the purpose. Then someone explains to me—

15:29 The purpose is not the higher worlds; it is this lowest world. But there, this lowest world is the purpose as a matter in its own right. Here you see something more: the entire chainlike descent of the higher worlds is for the sake of this lowest world. In other words, it is not only that the intent is this lowest world in its own right. The intent of a dwelling place in the lower realms is also the purpose of the higher worlds. Why did Hakadosh Boruch Hu create the world through a chainlike descent of higher worlds? Why was that entire order created? Why were all the higher worlds created? They were created for the sake of a dwelling place in the lower realms. What is the explanation for that? Why did Hakadosh Boruch Hu need to create higher worlds in order for there to be a dwelling place in the lower realms? He could have created the lower realms directly. If creating the lower realms means, as we said earlier, the sitra achra and kelipah, He could have directly created the reality of a lower realm, one beneath which there is none, without creating the entire chain of descent in between. What is the purpose of the higher worlds? Their purpose is to serve the intent of a dwelling place in the lower realms. In brief, the explanation, as discussed in maamarim in a number of places, appears concisely in the maamar [unclear], and also in other places in the Rebbe’s teachings. It is discussed at greater length in the maamarim. One of those places is also the well-known sicha about bar mitzvah. Many bochurim studied it for Shavuos—the sicha in which the Rebbe explains the whole subject of bar mitzvah, bas mitzvah, and so on. The Rebbe explains this point there as well. What is the central idea of the explanation? It is that, for the intent to be fully realized—

17:09 of a dwelling in the lower realms, the creation of one level from another is not enough. We also need the entire seder hishtalshelus in between. Why? As we said earlier, for there to be a dwelling in the lower realms, the intention is that it be made by the lower realms themselves. In other words, the lower realms must become vessels for G-dliness. The lower realm must be able to reach G-dliness through its own avodah. If creation had taken place without seder hishtalshelus, without the whole sequence of one level emerging from another, there would be no graduated progression in G-dliness. Physical existence would have been created directly from Atzmus, and Atzmus and physical existence are utterly beyond comparison. So how could it happen? Through the power of the One Who can do anything. By virtue of that power, He can bring an independent existence into being. But how does that existence become a vessel for G-dliness? How can the lower realm become a dwelling for Hakadosh Boruch Hu? It is, after all, beyond comparison with Him. Atzmus has unlimited ability, so He can create an independent existence. But the lower realm is not a vessel. How, then, will it become a dwelling for Hakadosh Boruch Hu? The lower realm is an independent, limited existence, with no connection to G-dliness. It and G-dliness are beyond comparison. Atzmus can bring it into being, but how will that existence become a vessel for Atzmus? It would seem, then, that the lower realm cannot become a dwelling. You might say that just as Atzmus can bring it into being, He can also make it a dwelling. But then it would not be a dwelling made by the lower realms; Atzmus would be making it. That is not the intention. The intention is for the lower realm to become a dwelling for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. For that to happen, we need the entire seder hishtalshelus, through which

19:04 the lower realms have a closeness to G-dliness. That is the whole point of hishtalshelus: closeness. It creates a relationship between a created being and G-dliness. It begins at lower levels, but from there one can rise, level by level, until becoming a dwelling for Atzmus. Of course, this is extremely brief. We would need to understand in detail how seder hishtalshelus relates to reaching Atzmus, and so on. Chassidus discusses this at great length, but we will not go into the full explanation now. We are only touching on it to see how the Tanya encompasses all of Chassidus. What the Alter Rebbe writes here in a single word, in a single line, is later expanded upon in many maamarim, many sichos, and many, many series of maamarim that enrich and explain these words. Here it is one line; elsewhere in Chassidus, it becomes a vast body of teaching. This whole subject of a dwelling in the lower realms is discussed in shorter series of maamarim, in Hemshech 5672, in maamarim for Shavuos, and in many maamarim of the Rebbe. The largest, well-known series that explains everything on the basis of the central point of chapter 36 is Hemshech 5666, beginning with the Yom Tov of Rosh Hashanah 5666. The entire series addresses this teaching of our Sages. After explaining the Rosh Hashanah verses, it takes up their statement: “Hakadosh Boruch Hu desired to have a dwelling in the lower realms.” All of Hemshech 5666—ninety-one lengthy maamarim delivered over three years—is devoted to explaining this chapter, this point of a dwelling in the lower realms. So here we are only stating the point briefly, to understand what

20:40 we are discussing. So what does this mean here? This is what the Rebbe says. The Alter Rebbe is not only telling us that the ultimate purpose, Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s intention, is a dwelling in the lower realms. He is saying that this is the purpose of all hishtalshelus. In other words, the higher worlds do not exist for their own sake. Their purpose is to serve as the means through which the lower realm can come into being and fulfill its purpose. And when a dwelling is made in the lower realms, they too ultimately benefit. The Rebbe explains in a bar mitzvah sicha that when the lower world is elevated, the higher worlds are consequently elevated as well. Since they serve as the means to fulfill the intention of a dwelling in the lower realms, when the lower realm becomes a dwelling for Atzmus, that purpose will ultimately be drawn into the higher worlds too, because they served as its means. There are further maamarim of the Rebbe on this. One could draw endless insights from it. There is another insight of the Rebbe’s here. The Alter Rebbe’s wording—there is another point to note. The Alter Rebbe says, “The ultimate purpose of the hishtalshelus of the worlds and their descent from level to level.” What is the significance of “the hishtalshelus of the worlds and their descent from level to level”? The Rebbe points to those words. The question the Alter Rebbe is addressing is: Why does it take the form of a progression from level to level? So the question is not only about the very existence of hishtalshelus. It is also

22:36 why the order is that the lower world was first included within a higher world and then descended. “Descent from level to level” means that this entire physical world was already included within a higher world, which was itself included within a still higher one. Hishtalshelus means that the lower world is included in the higher world and develops from there. That is the process of hishtalshelus: the lower level is included within the higher one and then emerges from concealment into revelation. Ultimately, though, its creation is something from nothing. So why not bring it into being from nothing right away? Why must it first be included within its source and only afterward emerge? This is a major insight. The Rebbe explains that since the ultimate intention is a dwelling in the lower realms—for the lower realm to become a vessel for the Ein Sof, blessed be He, a vessel for revelation—it comes into being through hishtalshelus, becoming progressively more substantial. Because it was included within the higher world, it can later rise toward it. In other words, it already has a subtle connection to that higher world. This, too, is a whole new insight. There is a story about a heretic who once asked the Tzemach Tzedek three questions. His first question was, “Can Hakadosh Boruch Hu make a stone that He cannot lift? Can Hakadosh Boruch Hu make another Hakadosh Boruch Hu? And can Hakadosh Boruch Hu make the purpose of creation lie in the higher worlds rather than in this world?” The Tzemach Tzedek told him that the three

24:50 questions were not three different questions. They were the same question in different words. To say that Hakadosh Boruch Hu can make another Hakadosh Boruch Hu is to say that there is another existence besides Him. To ask whether He can make a stone that He cannot lift means the same thing: you want there to be another existence besides Him. To say that He can make His intended dwelling in the higher worlds is likewise to say that there is another existence besides Him. Why? Because the higher worlds represent a descent from Him. So to say that His intention lies in that descent is as though you were saying that His intention is for there to be another existence besides Him. That is the difference between the higher worlds and the lower world. The higher worlds, being a descent, are an existence apart from Him. Physical existence, by contrast, is not a descent; it is something utterly new, and so it comes from Him Himself. It is not a descent; it comes from Him Himself. So, in a subtle sense, this is the same point as saying that the intention is a dwelling in the lower realms: the intention concerns something of Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself, not something else apart from Him. There is much more to say about this, so we will leave it here.