Likkutei Amarim Tanya - Chapter 37 - Part 8

00:02 Speaker 1 Rabbi Azriel[?], Rabbi Chaim, shalom rav. “It itself requires no rectification at all,” etc. Says the individual with the rabbi.

00:10 Speaker 2 Rabbi Chaim.

00:10 Speaker 1 In this whole discussion, he says that the soul’s entire descent is not for the soul itself, but for the animal soul, the body, and the world—to rectify the world. This is written in Eitz Chaim. Eitz Chaim says that the soul itself requires no rectification at all. The soul, for its own sake, needs no rectification. As Eitz Chaim explains at length there, in the order in which Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world, the whole sequence of ... the G-dly soul is already rectified. The G-dly soul is, in essence, in the World of Atzilus. There it has already become fully rectified, and the G-dly soul itself lacks nothing; it has no blemish or deficiency. It is already rectified in the World of Tikkun, which is the World of Atzilus. So why does the soul have to descend into this world? ... [unclear] all the problems down here. Eitz Chaim says—and this is all the wording of Eitz Chaim—“Nor did it need to become enclothed for this,” etc. The G-dly soul does not need to descend into the world for its own sake; it is already rectified. It descends only “to draw down light to rectify them.” Eitz Chaim says that the soul’s sole purpose in descending into the world is to draw down light and rectify the body, the animal soul, and its portions of the world, etc. He continues: “And it is precisely like the exile of the Shechinah to refine the sparks,” etc. Eitz Chaim says: What example do we have of this? Precisely the Shechinah. The same is true of the Shechinah. Surely everyone understands that the Shechinah is rectified. The Shechinah has no blemish in itself. The Shechinah is the Shechinah—it is G-dliness. It is already rectified. We say that the Shechinah descends into exile, “the Shechinah is in exile,” as the Gemara says: “Wherever the Jewish people were exiled, the Shechinah went with them.” They were exiled to Bavel, exiled to Eilam, exiled to Edom—the Shechinah is in exile too.

02:05 Speaker 1 So when we say that the Shechinah descends into the world, descends into exile, the Shechinah certainly does not go into exile for its own sake, to rectify itself. It is already rectified. The whole purpose of the Shechinah’s descent into the world is to refine the sparks, etc. There is the concept discussed at length in the writings of the Arizal and in Chassidus: the 288 sparks in the world. At the beginning of creation, Hakadosh Boruch Hu brought about the shattering of the vessels, resulting in 288 sparks—288 sparks of holiness that fell, exceedingly lofty sparks of holiness that fell into the kelipos and the sitra achra, and so on. That is how the whole mixture of good and evil came about. It began with the shattering of the vessels, and afterward, too ... Then, through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, the whole state in which there is no good without evil and no evil without good came about. Everything in the world contains a mixture of sparks of holiness. That is why the Shechinah is in exile: to carry out the work of refinement, to refine the sparks. So, just as we say that the Shechinah does not descend for its own sake, but to refine the sparks that fell into the three kelipos and kelipas nogah—that is why it descends—the same is true of the soul. The soul, too, is rectified in itself. In its aspect of “pure,” it requires no rectification at all. The whole purpose of the soul’s descent into the world is to refine the body, the animal soul, and its portions of the world. This verse is brought in the Midrash; he says it is written in the verse. Eishes Chayil, which we recite every Friday night, relates to Malchus of Atzilus, the Shechinah. Throughout the week it is engaged in refinement and involved with the world; then, on Shabbos, Malchus ascends together with all the things refined during the week. Malchus rises upward. And there it says:

03:53 Speaker 1 “She gives food to her household and an allotment to her maidens.” “She rises, and she gives food to her household and an allotment to her maidens.” It says “food”—teref. The numerical value of teref, including the word itself, is 288, referring to the 288 sparks: “She gives food to her household and an allotment to her maidens.” This refers to the refinements, followed by “she rises”: when Malchus ascends together with the things it has refined, it rises back up to Atzilus. In any case, the point is that the Shechinah descends into the world not for its own sake, but to refine the sparks in the world. The same is true of the soul: it descends into the world not for its own sake, but to rectify the body and the animal soul. According to what is explained in the maamarim, and also in Tanya, in Igeres Hateshuvah, these are not really two different things. They are essentially the same thing, one on a general level and one on an individual level. The Shechinah and the soul are the same thing. After all, what is the soul? The soul, too, is part of the Shechinah. The whole concept of the soul is that it is “an actual part of G-d above.” It is Malchus of Atzilus. As the Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya, the soul is the letter hei of the name Havayah, which is essentially that same level: Malchus, the Shechinah. The difference is that an individual soul is one particular instance. When we speak of the Shechinah, we speak of the Shechinah as a whole, but the two are essentially connected. When we say that the Shechinah descends into exile to refine the sparks, on an individual level this is also what every single soul does. All the souls are connected with Malchus. All the sefiros ... descend into the world to accomplish the refinement of the sparks. But the Rebbe has a comment here. The Rebbe asks: Why say here that this is an example of the exile of the Shechinah? What is the Alter Rebbe’s purpose in adding this?

05:33 Speaker 1 Why does the Alter Rebbe connect the two? What does he want to tell us by saying that it is precisely like the mystery of the exile of the Shechinah? What does that mean? How is it relevant to us? Fine, the Shechinah does this too, but why is it relevant here in Tanya to say that the soul’s descent below is like the descent of the Shechinah? What is he trying to tell us? So the Rebbe explains in one place that the Alter Rebbe writes this to answer a question that seemingly arises when we study this passage. There is a simple question here. How can we say this? It does not make sense intellectually. The soul is an actual part of G-d above. The soul is something exceedingly lofty—“an actual part of G-d above,” “You are children of Hashem your G-d.” It is a part of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the Chochmah of Atzilus. The body and the animal soul, by contrast, belong to kelipah; they are lowly, material, inferior. So how can you take something lofty and bring it down? And for what? To affect something lowly. Now, if we were to say that the Shechinah—that the soul—descends so that the soul rises to a higher level, then the descent would be worthwhile for the soul, because through it the soul rises to a higher level. That we could understand. Yes, sometimes it is worth descending for a time in order to reach a higher ascent. But here the Alter Rebbe explicitly says no. The soul does not need rectification for its own sake. Quite the opposite. So why does it do this? To elevate the body and the animal soul. How can we say that? It does not make sense intellectually. How do you take something so high and lofty—the soul—and use its powers? For what? To elevate something lower. It is like saying

07:27 Speaker 1 For a person to invest a million dollars to bring in ten dollars—a person doesn’t invest a million dollars to bring in ten dollars. Investing a million dollars to bring in two million dollars, yes. But investing a million dollars to bring in ten dollars isn’t normal. It’s crazy. The return is completely out of proportion. The same applies here. So that’s the question: How can we say that the G-dly soul is taken, its powers are drawn out, it is made to undergo a descent and exile—and this is not for its own sake? What is it for? To rectify what? Something incomparably lower: the body and the animal soul. So the Alter Rebbe says that this parallels the “secret of the exile of the Shechinah.” The Shechinah is something exceedingly lofty, yet it descends into the world to refine sparks within this physical world. So the same question arises there: How do you take something so lofty and bring it down? But we see that despite all its lofty qualities, the Shechinah descends. And for what purpose? To refine sparks within this physical world. The same is true of the soul: a soul so lofty is brought down for the sake of the body and the animal soul. Ah, but what kind of answer is that? You’ve taken the question about the soul and transferred it to the Shechinah. The question remains the same. The Alter Rebbe answers it with the word he uses: “the secret of the exile of the Shechinah.” He calls it a “secret.” This is a matter of a secret, not of reason. In other words, by reason alone, it truly cannot be understood. It is

09:05 Speaker 1 in the category of a secret. That is precisely the wording here: “the secret of the exile of the Shechinah.” Why begin with the word “secret”? Why not simply say it is like the exile of the Shechinah? Why does the Alter Rebbe use the expression “the secret of the exile of the Shechinah”? Because the exile of the Shechinah is not understandable to our human reason. Why would the Shechinah go to the trouble of descending? With all its greatness, it descends to something so low. So what is the answer? It is a secret, something beyond our understanding. It is a matter of “thus it arose in thought”—a hidden matter whose meaning only Hakadosh Boruch Hu knows. Likewise, the soul’s descent is in the category of a secret. Why must such a lofty soul descend to something so low? That is a secret. Of course, this subject is explained at length in Chassidus. On the one hand it is a secret, but it is nevertheless explained in the maamarim. One of the explanations given in Chassidus concerns the sparks: as is known, higher sparks are found in lower things. Likewise, the body and animal soul contain sparks whose source is in the world of Tohu. But the Alter Rebbe does not want to go into that here. He says it is in the category of a secret. Why doesn’t the Alter Rebbe want to go into it? We’ll understand that shortly. First, let’s ask another question, one that concerns the plain meaning of the Tanya. There is a general question that arises when learning this passage. This passage in Tanya is very well known and widely quoted. It appears in many maamarim and many sichos: the soul descends into this world not for its own sake, but to rectify the body, the soul

10:51 Speaker 1 and the spirit. There are thousands of maamarim in Chassidus, across the teachings of all the Rebbeim—and particularly in the Rebbe’s maamarim—that repeatedly quote this wording and refer to chapter 37. It is one of the fundamental things Chassidus revealed. We’ll soon see why it is so fundamental. But there is a simple question about the very principle the Alter Rebbe states here. We know that Chassidus itself says explicitly in many maamarim—dozens of them—that the soul… The question is asked in almost every other maamar, or every maamar. The Alter Rebbe asks the familiar question: Why does the soul descend into the world? Throughout Chassidus they ask: What is the purpose of the soul’s descent below? Why does the soul descend into the world? And they answer that the descent is for the sake of an ascent—the opposite of what the Alter Rebbe writes here. Here the Alter Rebbe says that the soul does not descend for its own sake, for it needs no rectification at all; the entire descent is to rectify the body and animal soul. Yet many maamarim say explicitly the opposite: What is the whole purpose of the soul’s descent into the world? They say it descends for the sake of an ascent. Through descending into the world, the soul rises to a level beyond where it was before. And there are many explanations of what that ascent is. What ascent does the soul experience? Tanya says that through this it reaches Atzilus; through its descent it rises to Kesser. The soul was… And how is this called rectification? Through this it rises to [unclear]. There are all kinds of explanations of precisely what ascent the soul experiences. There is the baal teshuvah; in this way, the tzaddik becomes a baal teshuvah. Thousands of explanations. Deeper powers within the soul are revealed through it. So these teachings seemingly contradict one another. How can both be true? By Divine providence, tonight is 9 Kislev. Divine providence.

12:49 Speaker 1 And there is a well-known maamar for 9 Kislev in which the Rebbe discusses precisely this: the Rebbe’s well-known maamar of 9 Kislev, VeShavti BeShalom. It is the long one included in Sefer HaMaamarim Melukat, and the Rebbe discusses this subject there. There is also a brief explanation of it in the maamar itself. There is a sicha in Likkutei Sichos, volume 15, based on the same subject. The sicha treats it at greater length and a little more broadly. That sicha, also on VeShavti BeShalom, is in volume 15. It is a very long sicha, and [unclear]. This is the foundation of the sicha. It says that the sicha is based on the maamar VeShavti BeShalom. There the Rebbe makes a very, very interesting point in explaining the matter. First, before I explain it, just one introduction. In one of the Mitteler Rebbe’s maamarim, he writes that when Tanya says the soul does not need rectification, that means it does not need rectification—but it does need an ascent. He distinguishes between the words “rectification” and “ascent.” The Alter Rebbe also writes in Tanya that the soul does not descend into the world for its own sake, because for its own sake it needs no rectification at all. We are talking about rectification. Rectification means there is something that needs to be fixed. The soul needs no rectification; it is in a state of complete perfection. There is nothing in it to rectify. But an ascent means rising to a higher level, and that does apply to the soul. So these are two different things. When Chassidus says the descent is for the sake of an ascent, it is talking about the soul’s ascent. That still does not answer the question. It only explains that these are two different things: the soul does not need rectification, but it does need an ascent. The question remains the general question we are asking here. The Alter Rebbe writes

14:53 Speaker 1 in Tanya that the entire purpose of the soul’s descent is solely for the body and animal soul. Yet the maamarim seem to indicate otherwise—that there is also a purpose in the soul’s ascent. The key to the explanation is that we find a similar example concerning the creation of the world. Just as we find two explanations regarding the soul—one that it descends not for its own sake but for the body and animal soul, and another that it descends for the sake of its own ascent—we find the same thing regarding the creation of the world. We ask about creation the same sort of question we ask about the soul: What is the purpose of the creation of the world? Just as we ask, what is the purpose of the soul’s descent? What is it for? So too we ask about the world: What is the purpose of its creation? What is the answer? Here too, we find various answers. One well-known answer cited in Chassidus is that the whole purpose of the world’s creation is “so that His powers and actions should be revealed”—that Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted to reveal His perfection through creation. Elsewhere it says, “so that He should be known.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted His greatness to be recognized, for Him to be known. So various reasons are given for the creation of the world. Yes, there is the well-known reason that Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted the souls of the Jewish people to attain [unclear]. Various reasons are given for creation.

16:15 Speaker 1 After that, we know that the Rebbe writes that the entire purpose of the creation of this world is only for Hakadosh Boruch Hu to have a dwelling in the lower realms. What does that mean? There’s no reason for it? A dwelling in the lower realms. Why did Hakadosh Boruch Hu want this? It wasn’t because “He desires kindness.” It wasn’t so “that they should know Him.” So what was it for? As the Alter Rebbe says, it’s a desire. You don’t ask questions about a desire. There’s no advantage in it, no benefit, no revelation, no perfection. It’s simply a matter of desire. And what is the desire? Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted a dwelling in the lower realms. So here too we find two extremes. On the one hand, we say that the purpose of creating this world is some particular perfection. There’s a reason for it, there’s logic to it, there’s some perfection through which a revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, His greatness, is revealed. Or Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted to do good for souls and give them all kinds of good things above. All kinds of reasons. On the other hand, we say, no, Hakadosh Boruch Hu didn’t make the world for any such reason or rational purpose. Rather, it’s a matter of desire. For the sake of the goal—what does He want? A dwelling in the lower realms? This is brought in Chassidus. Seemingly, it’s a contradiction. These are two different things. What’s the well-known answer in Chassidus? That we’re speaking about two different levels. The reasons for creation—“He desires kindness,” “so that they should know Him,” and all the reasons written in various sefarim—are on the level of revelations. When we speak about revelations, we’re asking about Hakadosh Boruch Hu as He is already within the realm of revelation, in His attributes, not in His Essence—in His light and revelations. So regarding the revelations, we can ask what the purpose is, what benefit there is in creation. And the answer is that from the perspective of this level, the attribute of kindness, the purpose

18:10 Speaker 1 of creation is that reason. From another perspective, the reason is something else. But if we’re speaking of Essence, not revelation but Essence, that is beyond every definition, description and reason. There you can’t say why. Essence is beyond every form and every definition. There you can’t ask why; there it is a desire. Essence is beyond intellect, beyond comprehension, beyond perfection. You can’t say that something gives Essence any perfection. That is why we speak of Essence and say “desire”: Hakadosh Boruch Hu desired to have a dwelling in the lower realms. It’s not a matter of saying, “This is what Hakadosh Boruch Hu is like.” What does He want? It’s a matter of desire. What is the desire? That the lowest realms, than which there is nothing lower, should be a dwelling for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This is what Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants, without any consideration of advantage or perfection. That’s what He wanted; that’s what He wanted. Now, as we learned in chapter 36, the same applies to the soul. Since the soul descends into the world to act, to fulfill the purpose of creation, just as in creation there are these two aspects—creation as seen from the perspective of revelation and creation as seen from the perspective of Essence—so too, the soul has both of these aspects. There is the soul as it is connected to revelations, and there is the soul as it is connected to Essence. When we speak of the soul as it is connected to the revelations of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the soul as it is rooted in levels of revelation—in Atzilus, in Havayah and in other revelations—the soul has a root at various levels in seder hishtalshelus. So when we speak of the soul as it is rooted in the realm of revelations, we can ask what the soul gains. And then the answer is in terms of revelation. Of the soul as it is on the level of revelations, we say that through its descent it reaches a higher level. Through the descent, a higher revelation comes about within it; it rises to a higher level. Through its awakening from Tikkun, it rises to Tohu; from Atzilus, it rises to Kesser. From one perspective or another, these are matters of revelation. Powers higher than it are revealed. Through its descent it faces a test, and then the infinite is revealed. There are all kinds of explanations that apply only to the soul’s level of revelations. But the soul’s root, as it is rooted in Essence—the soul’s true root is beyond all revelation, in Essence. So just as regarding Essence we say that the purpose of creation is not some matter of perfection but a dwelling in the lower realms, so too here, when the soul’s root in Essence is felt, we say that the entire purpose of creation is a dwelling in the lower realms. And this is what the Alter Rebbe says here in Tanya: the entire purpose of the soul’s descent below, like the exile of the Shechinah, is not for its own sake, but only to refine the body and the animal soul. But what does it gain? What’s the benefit? It’s a matter of desire. Here it isn’t relevant to ask what the soul gains. This comes from Essence and the desire for a dwelling in the lower realms. The intent is precisely that the body and animal soul should become a dwelling for the Ein Sof. So that is how we reconcile the two; that is the answer to the question. In other maamarim, when the questions about the soul are discussed, they explain that the soul’s descent is for the sake of ascent, because those maamarim are discussing what advantage the soul gains on the level of its revelations. So the soul’s revelations attain all kinds of higher revelations, and that too is part of the ultimate purpose, because the soul also has an aspect of revelation, just as there are revelations in the dwelling in the lower realms. That is why, from the perspective of revelations, we also ask what the soul gains: its descent is for the sake of ascent. But

19:52 Speaker 1 It reaches a higher level. Through its descent, a higher revelation comes about within it; it rises to a higher level. By rising from Tikkun, it reaches Tohu; from Atzilus, it rises to Kesser. In one way or another, these are all matters of revelation: powers higher than its own are revealed within it. Through the descent, it faces a test, and an unlimited power is revealed. There are all kinds of explanations that apply only to the soul’s revealed dimensions. But the soul’s root, as it is rooted in Hashem’s Essence—the soul’s true root is above all revelation, in His Essence. So just as, with regard to His Essence, we say that the purpose of creation is not to attain perfection but to make a dwelling place in the lower realms, so too, when the soul senses its root in His Essence, we say that the entire purpose of its descent is to make a dwelling place in the lower realms. This is what the Alter Rebbe says here in Tanya: the whole purpose of the soul’s descent below, like the exile of the Shechinah, is not for its own sake, but solely to refine the body and the animal soul. But what is gained? What is the benefit? It is a matter of desire. Here, it makes no sense to ask what is gained, what the soul will gain. This comes from His Essence and the desire for a dwelling place in the lower realms. The intent is precisely that the body and animal soul become a dwelling place for the Infinite. So that is how the two explanations fit together; that is the answer to the question. In other maamarim, when discussing questions about the soul, it is explained that the soul’s descent is for the sake of an ascent, because those maamarim are discussing what advantage the soul gains in its revealed dimensions. Those dimensions do indeed attain various revelations, and that too is part of the ultimate purpose. The soul, too, has an aspect of revelation, just as there are revelations in a dwelling place in the lower realms. So from the perspective of revelation, we also ask what the soul gains. The descent is for the sake of an ascent. But

21:33 Speaker 1 when we speak here in Tanya, continuing what we discussed in chapter 36, where the Alter Rebbe explains the ultimate purpose of creation not in terms of any advantage of revelation but in terms of Essence—Essence and a dwelling in the lower realms—then from this perspective we say that the soul, too, descends into the world not for its own sake. It descends to bring about a dwelling in the lower realms.