Likkutei Amarim Tanya - Chapter 36 - Part 5

00:00 So what have we learned here in the end? That the whole point is a dwelling in the lower realms. This is what Hakadosh Boruch Hu desired: that He should have nachas. And what gives Hakadosh Boruch Hu nachas? When a person subdues the sitra achra and transforms darkness into light. Through this, the light of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed in the place of darkness and sitra achra in this world. That is the idea of a dwelling in the lower realms, a dwelling for His very Essence. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed here in the world with greater intensity and power than He shines in the higher worlds, where He shines through garments so that they will not be nullified. Here, by contrast, Hakadosh Boruch Hu will, so to speak, be revealed without any garments. But since we have said that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed without any garments in this world, the question arises: Didn’t the Rebbe himself say earlier, “For no man can see Me and live”? At the beginning of chapter 36, we learned that Hakadosh Boruch Hu cannot be revealed in the world in a way that a person could receive without garments. If there is a higher revelation without garments, then “no man can see Me and live.” And not only man—even angels, even seraphim and chayos, cannot receive the Divine light without garments. So there must be garments in this world and in every world, even the highest world. How, then—well, how is it that here, in this physical world, Hakadosh Boruch Hu will be revealed without any garments? That is what the Alter Rebbe now comes to explain: how Hakadosh Boruch Hu can be revealed in this world without garments, and yet the world can continue to exist and not be nullified. For this, Hakadosh Boruch

02:00 Hu gave the Jewish people the Torah. That is why Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave us the Torah, which is called strength and power. The Torah is called “strength” and “power.” What do our Sages say? There are several teachings of our Sages showing that the Torah is called strength and power. For example, in the Mishnah, at the very end of the Mishnayos, in the last Mishnah of Tractate Uktzin, it says: “Hashem will give strength to His people; Hashem will bless His people with peace.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu found no vessel capable of holding blessing for the Jewish people other than peace, as it says, “Hashem will give strength to His people; Hashem will bless His people with peace.” And “strength” refers to Torah. We have that as well. In any case, “strength” refers to the Torah. The Torah is called strength, and similarly we find the word “power” used in connection with Torah. The Rebbe also brings this from teachings of our Sages, from Midrashim that use the word “power,” where Torah is described in terms of power—“each person according to his power”—and various other teachings of our Sages that use that word in connection with Torah. So why is the Torah called strength and power? The Alter Rebbe explains that the Gemara, our Sages, say that Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives the righteous the power to receive their reward in the future. Through the Torah, Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives us the strength and power to receive that reward, that wondrous reward that will be revealed in the future: the revelation of His very Essence without any garments. To be able to receive that reward, we need the Torah. The Torah itself is the power that enables us to receive the revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu without being nullified out of existence. The created being will not be completely nullified before the light of Hashem that will be revealed in the future without any garment. That is how Hakadosh Boruch Hu will be revealed—without any garment. So to be able to receive the light of Hakadosh

04:05 Boruch Hu without any garment, Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave us the power of Torah. With the power of Torah, we can receive the light of Hakadosh Boruch Hu and still not be nullified out of existence. But what is the significance of the precise wording “without any garment”? What does the Alter Rebbe mean by it? Throughout this chapter, the Alter Rebbe is speaking about a dwelling in the lower realms. He is discussing what is accomplished when a Jew makes a dwelling for Hakadosh Boruch Hu in the lower realms. Through that act—what happens? Light gains an advantage from the darkness, and it is revealed down here. But what the Alter Rebbe does not say explicitly here is that we are speaking about His very Essence. In all the maamarim that discuss a dwelling in the lower realms, it is stated explicitly that this means a dwelling for His very Essence, the revelation of the very Essence of Hakadosh Boruch Hu—not merely a revelation. As someone asked in a previous class: Why does the Alter Rebbe keep using the word “light”? “The infinite light,” “light”—he constantly uses terms of light. The Alter Rebbe does not say explicitly that the revelation will be a dwelling for His very Essence, that the Essence of Hakadosh Boruch Hu will be revealed. Yet the maamarim do say this, including the Alter Rebbe’s own maamarim: a dwelling in the lower realms, a dwelling for His very Essence. In a dwelling, the king is present with his entire being, not merely his glory, as when he is present in the city. This is a matter of Essence. But, generally speaking, the Alter Rebbe does not say that here. There are several explanations for why the Alter Rebbe does not say it in Tanya. In general, the Alter Rebbe does not speak in Tanya about levels beyond the order of hishtalshelus, nor does he use terms for such lofty levels. Even when he speaks about the highest levels, he gives them names associated with revelation. This is well known, and we see it in many places in Tanya: the Alter Rebbe uses the simplest possible words to define these concepts. Even when discussing the powers of the soul, the Alter Rebbe does not speak about chayah and yechidah. He does not speak about reaching a level where one is free of anger, either. He does not use names for levels before the tzimtzum—tzimtzum, reshimu, or levels before the tzimtzum, the level of [unclear]. No, he frames everything within levels that relate to this world. So here, too, he does not explicitly speak about the whole concept of Essence. But the Alter Rebbe does allude to it. It is known that, in the allusions he placed in Tanya, the Alter Rebbe included the Written Torah of Chassidus. All the concepts of Chassidus are therefore found in Tanya. Tanya is the Written Torah of Chassidus, so it includes everything. Thus, when the Alter Rebbe says here that Hakadosh Boruch Hu will be revealed “without any garment,” he is alluding to Essence. What does that mean? In general, there are two kinds of garments. Some garments conceal. There are ordinary garments made to protect a person from cold and heat, and to cover the person. But there is another kind of clothing: garments that actually beautify a person. Quite the opposite of concealing him, they bring out all his beauty. Take a king’s garments, for example. When the king wears his royal clothing, his special garments do not conceal him. On the contrary, they reveal all

05:57 his beauty, all the majesty of the king. Similarly, in the order of hishtalshelus there are also two kinds of garments. There are garments in which Hakadosh Boruch Hu clothes Himself in order to be revealed in the worlds; there, a garment obscures and conceals. But there is another kind of garment, even before the tzimtzum, on the highest levels. There, a garment does not conceal; it is a garment through which Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed. In other words, the whole concept of the Infinite, of boundlessness—the infinite light before the tzimtzum—is also a kind of garment. Even the infinite light is a garment. Every revelation is a garment, because a revelation is also a kind of garment. But what kind? A garment that reveals, not one that conceals. That is what the Alter Rebbe is alluding to here: there will be a revelation “without any garment.” Not only will there be no garments that conceal Hakadosh Boruch Hu; even garments whose very purpose is to reveal will not be there. That is what we mean by a dwelling for His very Essence. It will be the Essence itself, like a person in his own home—the king. Not only is the king not wearing ordinary clothes; in his own private room, he can even be without clothes at all, neither royal garments nor ordinary clothes. Similarly, we say that the revelation will be without any garment. But how will we be able to receive this—how can the very Essence of Hakadosh Boruch Hu be revealed and we still be able to receive it? That is the role of the Torah: the Torah gives us the power to receive

08:04 The beauty, all the splendor of the king, of the king. And accordingly, in the order of hishtalshelus too, there are two kinds of garments. There are garments in which Hakadosh Boruch Hu clothes Himself, through which He becomes clothed as He is revealed in the worlds. There, a garment conceals and hides. But there is another kind of garment, even before the tzimtzum, on the highest levels, where the garment does not conceal; it is a garment through which Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed. In other words, the whole concept of the Ein Sof, the boundless—the Ein Sof before the tzimtzum—is also a kind of garment. Even the Ein Sof is a garment. Every revelation, revelations in general, are garments. As we said, revelation is... and so revelation too is a kind of garment. But what kind? A garment that reveals, not one that conceals. That is what the Rebbe is alluding to here. No, there will be revelation without any garment at all. Not only will there be no garments that conceal Hakadosh Boruch Hu; even garments whose purpose is to reveal will not be there. That is what is meant by a dwelling for His very Self. It will be the Essence itself, like a person in his own home, in his own home. The king. It is not just that the king is not wearing ordinary clothes. In his own home, the king can be without clothes altogether—not in royal robes, and not even in ordinary clothes. The king is in his private quarters. He can be there without any garment, in his own private room. Similarly, we say that it will be without any garment at all. But how will we be able to receive this, when the very Essence of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed? That is where the Torah comes in: the Torah gives us the strength to receive it.

09:46 To experience the revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu without being nullified out of existence. For it is written, “Your Teacher will no longer conceal Himself.” What does “Your Teacher will no longer conceal Himself” mean? The Alter Rebbe explains that “conceal” here means that He will not be hidden from you by a garment or covering. A “wing” in the Hebrew wording is the edge of a garment, part of a garment. So “Your Teacher will no longer conceal Himself” means that there will no longer be a garment or covering over your Teacher. “Your Teacher” is Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is called our Teacher; He is the one who will reveal all these revelations to us. So the verse says He will not be concealed—He will be without a garment, without a covering. “And your eyes shall see your Teacher.” That is the continuation of the verse: Hakadosh Boruch Hu will no longer be concealed, and then we will be able to see our Teacher. And it is written, “They shall see eye to eye,” and so on. When Moshiach comes, we will be able to see Hakadosh Boruch Hu eye to eye. And it is written, “The sun shall no longer be your light by day,” and so on, “for Hashem shall be your everlasting light,” and so on. We will no longer need the light of the sun, because Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself will be our light. The word “day” here, too, points to the sun, which represents the level of seder hishtalshelus, whereas “Hashem” means Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself. So all the verses the Alter Rebbe brings are proof that there will be a revelation of G-dliness without any enclothing, any garment, or any tzimtzum—Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself, as He is. Why does the Alter Rebbe

11:36 bring three verses? Of course, everything in Torah is precise. You see three verses, so each one must be explaining something. There are two explanations here. One is from the Rebbe’s father, Reb Levi Yitzchak, and the other is an explanation by the Rebbe that has come to light recently. The Rebbe’s father, Reb Levi Yitzchak, explains it this way: The number three appears here several times. There are the three verses we just mentioned, and earlier the Alter Rebbe also gave three expressions. At the beginning of the page, when the Alter Rebbe says that the light of the blessed Ein Sof will shine in the place of darkness, “this entire world in its entirety,” he uses three words in Hebrew. He could have said “this world.” Instead, he says “all of this world,” and then “all of this world in its entirety.” So there are three emphases: “this world” is one; “all of this world” is two; and “all of this world in its entirety” is three. Three points. Later, too, he speaks of “the superiority of light over darkness”—again, three points, three instances of superiority. Then the Alter Rebbe also brings three verses. Reb Levi, the Rebbe’s father, says this is because the whole matter is transforming darkness into light. Its entire revelation depends on transforming darkness into light. Since darkness has three aspects—the three impure kelipos, the world of kelipos, which is this world—therefore, in transforming darkness into light as well,

13:41 there are three levels: “this world,” “all of this world,” and “all of this world in its entirety.” There are three levels of transformation because there are three levels of darkness. That is also the idea of superiority: three kinds of superiority corresponding to the darkness. And that is why there are three verses. Those three verses describe the revelation of G-dliness brought about through this transformation. But since darkness has three levels, the revelation, too, will have three levels, and so he brings three verses corresponding to them. That is Reb Levi’s explanation. There is also an explanation from the Rebbe himself. In the Rebbe’s Reshimos that have recently been published, his notes on the Tanya, the Rebbe writes another point. He writes that in chapter 49, the Alter Rebbe says that, broadly speaking, there are three types of tzimtzum—three great, general tzimtzumim: from Atzilus to Beriah, from Beriah to Yetzirah, and from Yetzirah to Asiyah. The whole concept discussed in the maamarim is expressed here in the language of the Tanya. As we said earlier, in the Tanya the Alter Rebbe discusses everything in terms of the levels of this world. But as the subject is explained more extensively in other maamarim, there is the light of the Ein Sof before the tzimtzum and after the tzimtzum; then there is the progression from the light of the Ein Sof to Atzilus, and from Atzilus to Beriah—three types of tzimtzum. So, since the tzimtzumim as a whole comprise three general types, the creation of this world required passing through three general types of tzimtzum. Therefore, since the Alter Rebbe wants to explain that in the future the tzimtzumim will be nullified and the Ein Sof will be revealed without any tzimtzumim, he brings three verses, each corresponding to

15:37 one tzimtzum. That is the explanation the Rebbe adds there. It is a different point: there is a precise explanation for why there are specifically three verses. Now let us come to the verse the Alter Rebbe brings here: “And your eyes shall see your Teacher.” Of course, the Alter Rebbe is speaking here about seeing Hakadosh Boruch Hu. But it is well known that this verse also alludes to seeing a Rebbe: “And your eyes shall see your Teacher” applies to the Rebbe. The Rebbe spoke about this several times in his sichos. There was one occasion when I was there. It was in ’74, on Parshas Ki Seitzei, and the Rebbe said that everyone needs to have “your eyes shall see your Teacher.” It is not enough to study the Rebbe’s Torah; a person must also see his face, look at the Rebbe’s face. I remember the Rebbe saying then that it was not enough to study Likkutei Sichos. It was unusual to hear the Rebbe speak about himself, as it were, but the Rebbe said: “S’iz nit genug”—it is not enough to study the Likkutei Sichos of our generation; one also needs “your eyes shall see your Teacher”—actually seeing, looking at an image of the Rebbe. That is why one should look at a photograph. The Rebbe spoke at length about the need to look from time to time. Today, in our generation, there is video through which we can see the Rebbe. We should know that this is a very lofty matter: “Your eyes shall see your Teacher.” Looking has a much deeper, more inward effect than hearing or studying alone.