Likkutei Amarim Tanya - Chapter 36 - Part 8

00:01 On page 46. At the bottom of page 46, four lines from the bottom. The Alter Rebbe explains here where the revelation of the future will come from. What is the revelation that will take place in the future? It is the idea of “the glory of Hashem will be revealed, and all flesh will see together”—a revelation of His Essence down here, without any coverings. So the Alter Rebbe says here that this revelation has already happened. When? At the Giving of the Torah. He brings various verses and teachings of our Sages showing that at the Giving of the Torah, people saw the true reality of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, in a way that “there is nothing else besides Him.” In other words, His Essence was revealed in this lower world. The Alter Rebbe continues—and this is where we are, four lines from the bottom, on the line beginning “Vehaיינו,” after “etc.” Why do we say that at the Giving of the Torah there was a revelation of His Essence in a way that “there is nothing else besides Him”? What does that have to do with the Giving of the Torah? The Alter Rebbe explains: “This was because His will was revealed in the Ten Commandments.” The will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is present in the Ten Commandments, which encompass the entire Torah. What is the significance of the Ten Commandments? They contain the entire Torah in general terms. As we know from the teachings of our Sages in the Midrashim, the whole Torah is included in the Ten Commandments. It is not just ten commandments; they encompass all 613 mitzvos, down to every detail. Rashi also brings this, in Parshas Bereishis or Parshas Yisro. He says that the Ten Commandments contain 620 letters—or words? Letters, 620 letters. No, who knows? He writes that there are 620 in the Ten Commandments. I don’t know whether he means words or letters. He writes that they correspond to the 613 mitzvos and the seven rabbinic mitzvos. And Rav Saadiah Gaon explains how all

02:34 613 mitzvos are alluded to in the Ten Commandments. He wrote Sefer Ha’azharos—the book by Rav Saadiah Gaon is here in the library—and he discusses it there. He shows how all 613 mitzvos are alluded to in the Ten Commandments. In any case, the 613 mitzvos are included in the Ten Commandments. That is what the Alter Rebbe says here: the Ten Commandments encompass the Torah. The Alter Rebbe also said earlier, in chapter 20, that “I am Hashem your G-d” and “You shall have no other gods” encompass the entire Torah. But here we are not talking about those two commandments; we are talking about all Ten Commandments. So he presents the idea along the lines of what Rav Saadiah Gaon writes: that all 613 mitzvos are alluded to in the Ten Commandments. Since the Ten Commandments encompass the entire Torah, and the Torah is His innermost will—how so? What is the Torah? The Torah is the innermost will and wisdom of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and there is no concealment there at all. Nothing is hidden there. The innermost being of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is actually revealed there, as it says—and as we say in the wording of the prayers—“For in the light of Your countenance You gave us a Torah of life.” “The light of Your countenance” is within the Torah; the innermost being of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, His innermost will, is present in the Torah of life, as we also explained earlier in chapter 35. The Alter Rebbe explained in chapter 35—remember? We studied chapter 35 earlier—that the special quality of Torah or a mitzvah is that Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself shines there. The truth that “there is nothing else besides Him” is revealed there, because it is the innermost will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. In the Torah, Hakadosh Boruch Hu shines as He is, without tzimtzumim, without coverings, without any of that. So since the Ten Commandments encompass the Torah, and there the innermost being of

04:11 Hakadosh Boruch Hu is present without any tzimtzumim. It is interesting that the Alter Rebbe quotes the wording of the prayer here: “For in the light of Your countenance You gave us a Torah of life.” Yet the prayer actually says, “For in the light of Your countenance You gave us, Hashem our G-d, a Torah of life.” The Alter Rebbe leaves out the words “Hashem our G-d.” The Rebbe comments on this in the notes on the text here at the end. On a simple level, there is a point explained in several places in Chassidus: when verses are quoted in Chassidus, the Divine Names are often omitted. Verses are quoted, but the Names are not included when they are not relevant. Here in particular, we can understand why the Alter Rebbe specifically does not write the Names. He wants to emphasize the opposite point about the Giving of the Torah: that there was a revelation of His Essence. This is the revelation of a dwelling place for Him in the lower worlds, the revelation of His Essence, which is above names. So he does not want to emphasize “Hashem our G-d” here. Thus the wording is “You gave us,” without the Names, without that limitation. Yes. So what is present in the Torah of life? “The light of Your countenance”—the “face” of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, so to speak, which is the idea that “there is nothing else besides Him.” It is a revelation of Himself, and therefore they were utterly nullified. This explains why it says that at the Giving of the Torah there was utter nullification. It is very straightforward: at the Giving of the Torah there was a revelation of His Essence, and that is a revelation that “there is nothing else besides Him.” We heard about this earlier: when Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed without coverings, it brings about nullification. As we said earlier, Reb Meir says that even angels cannot see Hakadosh Boruch Hu without coverings, because a revelation of G-dliness without coverings brings about utter nullification. So that is what actually happened at the Giving of the Torah, when Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself was revealed

05:56 through that revelation. There was a revelation of Himself without any coverings, worlds, or concealments. That brought about utter nullification in all created beings—complete nullification. For what does the Zohar say? That with every utterance, their souls departed, and so on. Every utterance that came from the mouth of Hakadosh Boruch Hu at the Giving of the Torah caused the souls of the Jewish people to be utterly nullified, to the point that their souls simply departed. Why? Quite simply, because when Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed without coverings, we have no capacity to contain it, and there is complete nullification. But Hakadosh Boruch Hu restored their souls with the dew with which He will revive the dead. The Gemara asks in Tractate Shabbos, in its discussion of the Giving of the Torah: If their souls departed at the first utterance, how could they hear the second? It is a simple question. If we say their souls had already departed at the first utterance, what does it mean that their souls departed with each and every utterance? If their souls departed at the first, they were no longer there and could not hear the second. The Gemara answers that each time their souls departed, Hakadosh Boruch Hu revived them with the dew of the Resurrection of the Dead. Hakadosh Boruch Hu restored their souls through a special dew that was revealed. Dew means the great flow of light that will be revealed in the future, with which He will revive the dead. That dew shone at that moment during the Giving of the Torah, with every utterance. So the Alter Rebbe is telling us that, in terms of their own capacity, this is what had to happen—and what actually happened was that their souls departed. The revelation of His Essence at the Giving of the Torah brought them to utter nullification; their souls departed. They had no capacity to contain it. But Hakadosh Boruch Hu then gave them the strength to return: He revived them, bestowing upon them a new flow through the dew

07:49 who will revive the dead. And the rabbi adds: What is this dew? It is the dew of Torah. But look, he explains that this dew that revives the dead also comes from the Torah. There is a remarkable insight here. Sorry, there are two things here. On the one hand, the rabbi said earlier that the revelation of Torah, because Torah is the revelation of His very self, of His innermost will, brings about bittul, the nullification of one’s independent existence. On the other hand, the Alter Rebbe says that the Torah itself has the dew of Torah, a revelation from within the Torah itself, and that gave them the power for the resurrection of the dead. In other words, what do we see here? That there are two things in Torah. On the one hand, Torah brings about bittul, because it reveals the innermost will, and that naturally brings about a person’s bittul. On the other hand, the Torah itself has the power to enable a person to exist, to have a distinct existence—the resurrection of the dead. That is what the Alter Rebbe is saying here, because the Gemara does not explicitly say that it was the dew of Torah. The Gemara says there that He restored them with the dew of resurrection. That is what it says in Tractate Shabbos. The Alter Rebbe connects this with another teaching of our Sages, where it says that the dew of Torah is what brings about the resurrection of the dead. It simply says “the dew of Torah,” which is called... There is a teaching of our Sages: “Whoever engages in Torah, the dew of Torah revives him,” and so on. It says in that teaching of our Sages... Hm? Read it. Yes, when a person engages in Torah, then the dew of Torah... Does it say “the light of Torah” or “the dew of Torah”? How does it read? Hm? We need to look it up. The Rebbe quotes it in the maamar. There are several levels in Torah. There is the dew of Torah, the light of Torah, and the rain of Torah. There are several aspects to Torah: the revealed dimension of Torah and the inner dimension of Torah. There are many inner levels. Within Torah itself there are secrets and secrets of secrets. Several

09:35 levels in Torah. What does this mean? In any case, there is a difference between rain and dew. Here we will talk about dew. Chassidus explains the difference between rain and dew: rain comes through effort from below upward. For rain, we have to pray and ask. It does not fall all the time. Dew, by contrast, is a gift from above. So he concludes that this is like the difference between the inner dimension of Torah and the revealed dimension of Torah. A person can reach the revealed dimension of Torah through his own efforts. It deals with matters connected to the physical world, with the human intellect. The inner dimension of Torah, by contrast, has to come as a gift. That is why the inner dimension of Torah is called the dew of Torah, something that comes from above. This is the idea of the secrets of Torah, which are received from above—Kabbalah. That is why it is called the dew of Torah. That is what it means when it says, “The dew of Torah revives him.” It refers to the inner dimension of Torah, from which comes the power to bring about his resurrection. Because what is the resurrection of the dead? The resurrection of the dead is also a revelation from above. It, too, is like dew. What is the idea of the resurrection of the dead? Chassidus discusses what is written concerning the resurrection of the dead: “All Israel have a share in the World to Come.” Regarding Gan Eden, it says that not everyone receives a place there. One needs to meet the standard of “Who may ascend the mountain of Hashem, and who may stand in His holy place? One whose hands are clean and whose heart is pure.” One needs merits to reach Gan Eden. By contrast, concerning the resurrection of the dead, it says that all Israel have a share in the World to Come. The question arises—and I am explaining this because the resurrection of the dead is higher than Gan Eden—how can it be that Gan Eden, which is only the level of memalei kol almin, is something not everyone reaches, while the resurrection of the dead, a much loftier revelation, will be for everyone?

11:09 The answer here is just the opposite. Gan Eden is the level of memalei kol almin, an inward revelation, so one has to be a vessel for it. It requires a special refinement. Not everyone can receive it, much like rain, which requires special effort to bring it down. Rain does not always fall. We need prayer, we need teshuvah, and so on; it depends on Heaven. Dew, by contrast, comes from above without restrictions. The same applies here to the inner dimension of Torah. The resurrection of the dead will come as a gift. That is why the resurrection of the dead is connected with dew. Just as dew comes as a gift from above, without restrictions, so too the resurrection of the dead will come from above without restrictions. “All Israel have a share in the World to Come.” That is what the rabbi is saying here. What is this dew that revives the dead? This dew also comes from Torah. The dew of Torah comes from the Torah itself. In other words, Torah contains two opposites. There is something in Torah that brings about the nullification of independent existence, and there is also something in it that, on the contrary, enables a person to endure and to exist. It is similar to what we say about Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Here, too, we say the same thing. Hakadosh Boruch Hu has the power of infinity, and from that perspective, independent existence is nullified. On the other hand, just as Hakadosh Boruch Hu has the power of infinity, He also has the power of limitation, which allows for the ordered unfolding of the worlds. These are two aspects of G-dliness: the power to limit and the power to expand, the power of infinity and the power of limitation. These are the two aspects. It says

12:39 in Chassidus, in the maamarim that discuss this subject, that the power of limitation is deeper than the power of infinity. For the power of infinity is an expansion, whereas the power of limitation involves contraction. On the contrary, limiting something takes more power than letting it expand. To limit it. In other words, you have revelations, and you have to limit them and give them an ordered form. For that, you have to draw on a much deeper, more inward power than the power of revelation itself. Similarly, Torah has two aspects. Torah has the aspect of “the light of Your countenance”—the countenance of Hakadosh Boruch Hu—where the infinite shines forth, and that certainly brings about the nullification of independent existence. On the other hand, Torah also contains something even deeper from Hakadosh Boruch Hu, which makes it possible not to be nullified by His countenance. On the contrary, the world can exist and at the same time be a vessel for the infinite light. These are the two aspects of Torah, and this is what it means that both were present at the Giving of the Torah. On the one hand, there was the revelation of His essence, which caused their souls to depart—the nullification of their existence. On the other hand, from within the Torah itself, from the dew of the Giving of the Torah, came the revelation that gave us the power to exist and to receive it. Both of these aspects will be present in the future. That is what the Alter Rebbe is saying here, and what he derives from this. And at the Giving of the Torah in the future, both aspects will likewise be present. On the one hand, in the future there will be the revelation of His very self without any coverings. As we said earlier, [unclear], there will be a revelation of every kind of blessing, and a revelation of His very self without any coverings. On the other hand, this will not happen in a way that nullifies the world. In the future, the world will

14:14 continue to exist and at the same time be a vessel for that revelation. Both of these things come from the Torah itself. So at the Giving of the Torah there was a foretaste of this; in the future it will be complete. That is what the Alter Rebbe says here as he continues. The Alter Rebbe says: But—at the Giving of the Torah there was already a foretaste of both aspects. There was already the revelation of His very self, and also the dew that allows the world to exist. But afterward, sin intervened. The Alter Rebbe explains that at the Giving of the Torah it lasted only for a short time; it did not endure. Afterward there was a sin: sin caused them to become more coarse and physical. After the Giving of the Torah there was the sin of the Tree of Knowledge—forty days later. So because of the sin, they and the world became more coarse and physical. What does that mean? Sorry, it was the sin of the Golden Calf. After the Giving of the Torah came the sin of the Golden Calf, and that caused the world to become more coarse and physical. Our Sages said that when the sin of the Tree of Knowledge occurred, impurity descended into the world—a kind of filth. This impurity clung to the world, a sense of independent selfhood. Then, when the Torah was given, their impurity ceased. Afterward came the sin of the Golden Calf, and their impurity returned. That is the meaning of “they and the world became more coarse and physical.” In other words, the Jewish people became more coarse and physical, and consequently so did the world, until the end of days—the coming of Moshiach, which is called “the end of the right hand.” “The end of the right hand” means that then the right hand of Hakadosh Boruch Hu will be revealed; His right hand expresses His revelation, the right hand of kindness. “The end of the right hand”—meaning that the concealment of the right hand has an end. Then it will be revealed, and the physicality of the body and the world will be refined in the future, after all the work of refinement and purification carried out over the thousands of years since the sin of the Golden Calf until now,

16:10 All the refinement and purification of the world. The world will then be so refined that the physicality of a Jew’s body will be refined, and Jews will be able to receive the revelation of Hashem’s light that will shine upon them through the Torah, which is called “strength.” Then they will once again be able to receive the revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu with both aspects together: there will be a revelation, and they will be able to receive it without being overwhelmed. Of course, as we said in the previous class—we explained yesterday—this does not mean that it will simply be the same as it was at Matan Torah. Matan Torah was only a foretaste of this. What does that mean? We explained that at Matan Torah it came as a gift from above, because the world had not been refined. That itself is why sin could follow. It was not internalized; it came only from that illumination, from the revelation, from above. So yes, there was a revelation, and everything was there. But because it came as a gift, sin could follow, and the impurity returned. By contrast, through our work during the time of galus—all the refinement and purification we do in the world—the world becomes more and more refined. There is a process of refining creation, and it becomes progressively more refined. We do not see it, though, because Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not want to show it to us until Moshiach comes. If we could see how the world was being refined, we would all be tzaddikim. We would already know exactly when Moshiach is coming, and we would already be doing the work. Hakadosh Boruch Hu places concealment before us. He does not let us see the process by which the world is refined. But in any case, since the sin of the Golden Calf, the world—through Torah and mitzvos, through all the refinement

17:42 and purification throughout creation, throughout the entire period of galus—has been growing more and more refined all the time, until Moshiach comes. Then there will be a revelation of Atzilus, as at Matan Torah, but it will not come from above downward. It will come from within the world itself, and therefore it will be permanent and continuous, so that sin will no longer be possible afterward. That is what it means for the physicality of the world to be refined: not nullified, but refined. The world will not be overwhelmed by the revelation; it will become refined and be a vessel for it. And from the abundance of light given to the Jewish people, it will reach the nations of the world as well. The Alter Rebbe now explains that this revelation will not be only for the Jewish people; it will also reach the nations of the world, but not equally. When we say that Hashem will have a dwelling in the lower realms, one might think that the entire world will be the same, since Hashem wants the whole world. So what will be the difference between a Jew and a non-Jew? The Alter Rebbe stresses that this is not so. The main revelation is specifically for the Jewish people. And from the abundance of light—from the fact that it will shine among the Jewish people—the light shining upon them will also reach the nations of the world. They too will receive from it. Simply put, this is because the whole world was created for the Torah and for the Jewish people, and the nations serve as a means of helping the Jewish people. So when there is a revelation of G-dliness to the Jewish people, the nations will receive it too, but not in the same direct way. The Jewish people are the inner purpose, so the revelation will shine primarily among them. But since the nations of the world also have a part in serving that purpose, they too will receive it indirectly—that is, through the Jewish people.

19:36 It will shine for them too; they too will receive His revelation. No, there will also be a revelation of G-dliness among them. This is one of the things the Rebbe explains at length in Likkutei Sichos, in several sichos on this subject. What exactly will happen? What will be the status of the nations of the world in the future? There are wonderful sichos of the Rebbe on this question. What will the status of the nations of the world be in the future? Will they have an existence of their own? In what way will they experience a revelation of G-dliness? What exactly will the relationship with the nations of the world be? There is a well-known sicha in volume 23, on Parshas Balak, where the Rebbe explains this wonderfully. He explains the whole matter of Bilam’s prophecy, where it says that Moshiach “will break down all the children of Sheis”—that he will nullify the entire existence of the nations of the world. What does it mean that he will nullify them? That there will be no non-Jews? No, G-d forbid. There are statements of our Sages indicating that there will be non-Jews, and there are all the verses saying, “Nations will walk by your light,” and “Many nations will join.” So the Rebbe explains the whole matter. “Nullification” means that they will not exist as an entity unto themselves; their entire existence will be expressed only as something secondary to the Jewish people. What exactly will their status be? There are several views. Rabbi Yechezkel[?] says—he has an approach to how the Jewish people’s existence will be. The Rebbe explains the approach, but we will not go into the whole matter now. So the Alter Rebbe explains here that, for the nations of the world, the revelation of G-dliness will not be independent. Rather, it will come through the Jewish people. And it says, “Nations will walk by your light,” and so on. It says, “House of Yaakov, come, let us walk in the light of Hashem.” Who says this? The nations say to the Jewish people: House of Yaakov, come, let us walk together. That means the nations will walk alongside us. And it says, “Many nations will join”

21:15 and “All flesh will see together,” and so on. “All flesh” means even the nations of the world, as explained elsewhere—not only the Jewish people. “Flesh” means even physical flesh, even inanimate matter—the whole of creation. And it says: “They will enter the clefts of the rocks and the crags of the cliffs, from fear of Hashem and from the splendor of His majesty,” and so on. The very revelation of the future will bring such a sense of bittul to the nations of the world that they will flee into holes and rocks and hide, out of fear of the revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Or, as we say in the Rosh Hashanah prayers: “Hashem will be King over all the earth; on that day Hashem will be one and His name one,” and so on. This is the request we make in the Rosh Hashanah prayers: we ask Hakadosh Boruch Hu for the revelation of Moshiach. The whole theme of Rosh Hashanah is asking that His kingship be accepted, that Hashem be crowned King, that His reign be like it will be in the future, when the revelation itself will be manifest. So we say that Hashem will be King not only over the Jews but over the nations of the world as well; they too will experience a revelation of G-dliness. There are five verses here. The Rebbe’s father, Reb Levi, explains this according to Kabbalah. He writes: Why are there five verses here concerning the refinement of the nations of the world? Because the existence of kelipah comes from the gevuros. Gevuros are what bring about constriction, and they are what give life to the nations of the world. How, then, will the nations of the world be refined in the future? Through the sweetening of the gevuros: the gevuros will be transformed into chassadim, and then there will indeed be a revelation for the nations of the world as well. And regarding the sweetening of the gevuros, it is known that there are five gevuros. That is why we

22:53 use five willow branches on Hoshana Rabbah, corresponding to the five gevuros—to sweeten them, as we say in the Yehi Ratzon recited on Hoshana Rabbah. Yes, the five gevuros that are rectified. So those five rectified gevuros are alluded to by the five verses here: they correspond to the five gevuros that are sweetened, bringing about a revelation of G-dliness for the nations of the world. That is one explanation. Another explanation is that there are actually only four verses here. The fifth is not a verse; it is from the text of the prayers. Accordingly, the four verses correspond to the four kelipos—the three kelipos and nogah. That is another discussion. But the explanation of the Rebbe’s father fits better. And there is a point the Rebbe makes here about why the Alter Rebbe adds all these verses. The Rebbe says there are two things: what the nations of the world will receive as secondary to the Jewish people, and a revelation to the nations of the world themselves, in their own right. That is why the last verse says, “Hashem will be King over all the earth on that day.” In the earlier verses it does not say that there will be a revelation to the nations of the world. Wait—what do the earlier verses mean when they speak of a revelation to the nations of the world? That the revelation will be to the Jewish people, and the nations will receive what flows from it. But the later verses imply that the revelation will be to the nations of the world themselves, not merely as something secondary. This relates to the whole idea of a dwelling in the lower realms: the lower realms must themselves be a dwelling for Hashem, not merely secondary to something else. There is no time to go into this at length.