Likkutei Amarim Tanya - Chapter 37 - Part 13

00:00 At the end of this chapter, the Alter Rebbe speaks about the unique quality of Torah study. Although, from the standpoint of making a dwelling for Hashem in the lower worlds, we said that the main thing is specifically the performance of mitzvos, when it comes to the soul’s connection— a person’s connection with Hakadosh Boruch Hu—it is the opposite: the soul’s primary connection with G-dliness is specifically through Torah study. For in Torah study, a very great light of the Ein Sof shines. And as he concludes here, this is called “calling through the Torah”: through the Torah, a person calls, so to speak, to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. In other words, through Torah study, a person becomes united with Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself. He calls, so to speak, to Hakadosh Boruch Hu to be together with him, like a son calling to his father, or someone calling to his friend. Yes, that is the meaning of “calling through the Torah.” He calls to Hakadosh Boruch Hu through the Torah. So, with prayer, for example, we say that it is like—ah—“Hashem is close to all who call upon Him,” but it is not “those who call upon Him in truth.” Calling upon Him in truth is specifically through the Torah, because that is where His essence is found. Let’s continue with the Alter Rebbe here, down at the end. We’re going back to the very last two lines. After the Alter Rebbe explains this, he also says that when someone calls to Hakadosh Boruch Hu without Torah, it is like a person simply calling out, “Father, Father!” But something is missing: through that, he does not bring Him close; he does not connect with His essence. Specifically through Torah study, it is “calling upon Your name.” There, Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself is found. What is the explanation for this? He concludes here at the end. Actually, the Alter Rebbe explains it more fully later in Tanya, at the end of chapter 40, I think.

01:58 The Alter Rebbe gives the example of a person standing and shouting, “Water, water!” There he gives a different example. Look at the difference between prayer—prayer alone, prayer without Torah—and this: it is like a person standing at a distance from water and shouting. He is near the water; there is water there, and he is thirsty, but he shouts, “Water, water!” So the prophet says, “Ho, all who are thirsty, go to the water.” Water refers to Torah. What is the prophet telling us here? “All who are thirsty”—if we are talking about someone who is thirsty, we are not talking about thirst for physical water. We are talking about thirst for Torah, aren’t we? So if he is thirsty for Torah, why does the prophet need to tell him, “All who are thirsty, go to the water”? What is he telling him? Go and drink? He sees water, he is thirsty—of course he will drink. Rather, “all who are thirsty” means a person who thirsts for G-dliness. He thirsts for G-dliness, so he stands in prayer and contemplates, and that contemplation awakens within him a feeling of love, and so on. To him the prophet says: “All who are thirsty”—you really are thirsty for G-dliness. So don’t just shout, “Father, Father!” Yes, “Water, water!” Are you thirsty for G-dliness? Drink the water. And drinking the water means studying Torah. Prayer itself is only the cry of “Father, Father!” But if you truly want to quench your thirst, to connect with Him in earnest, to bring Hakadosh Boruch Hu to you, then you need to drink the water. That means Torah study specifically. That is the point. This is the quality of Torah study: through it, a person brings Hakadosh Boruch Hu to himself. The Alter Rebbe continues: “From this, the discerning person will understand how to draw upon himself great awe while engaged in Torah study,” as stated above in chapter 23. From this point, a person

03:50 who contemplates this matter will be awakened to great awe while engaged in Torah study. The Alter Rebbe refers to chapter 23 above. In other words, the Alter Rebbe is saying here that when a person contemplates this point—the tremendous, wondrous quality of Torah study, through which a person calls to Hakadosh Boruch Hu and connects with Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself—there is a revelation of the very essence of the Ein Sof. The essence of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed within him, revealed to him through Torah study. This will move a person to study Torah with great awe, so that while he studies, he feels great awe of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. What does “great awe” mean? Great awe is yirah ila’ah, higher awe. As is well known, there are two levels of awe. Broadly speaking, there are many levels, but in general we speak of two. There is yirah tata’ah, lower awe, which is fear of sin. This awe is a prerequisite for performing a mitzvah. It comes before everything else. It is the first, basic level of awe. The Alter Rebbe will speak about this later, in chapter 41: you see that one must keep it constantly in mind—“the beginning of divine service, and its core and root.” This is the awe that precedes all divine service. It is simple, basic awe: fear of sin. But there is also great awe, yirah ila’ah, which is awe at the highest level of perfection in serving Hashem. Yirah ila’ah comes when the great light of the Ein Sof shines for a person. What he senses is no longer merely the basic idea that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is King and we must obey what He says. He now senses the wonder of the Ein Sof, the greatness and exaltedness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This awakens in him a feeling of shame, of self-nullification before the Ein Sof present here, before the glory of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This is called great awe, higher

05:37 awe. So the Alter Rebbe says that the explanation given here of the quality of Torah study—that Torah draws down the Ein Sof, and not merely that it draws down the Ein Sof, but that through Torah we have, so to speak, Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself—will awaken great awe in a person while he is engaged in Torah. In general, this is well known in Chassidus, and that is why the Alter Rebbe refers here to chapter 23. In chapter 23, the Alter Rebbe discussed this same point. We see there that he speaks about something very similar. Nevertheless, as the Rebbe explains here—the Rebbe has a note here—there is a major difference between chapter 23 and chapter 37. In chapter 23, what does the Alter Rebbe explain? He explains the difference between Torah and mitzvos, but there he explains it somewhat differently from what we learn here in chapter 37. Incidentally, the distinction between Torah and mitzvos appears three times in Tanya. There is an explanation of Torah and mitzvos in three places in Tanya. In chapters 4 and 5, the Alter Rebbe explains the whole subject of Torah and mitzvos at length, including the advantage mitzvos have over Torah and the advantage Torah has over mitzvos. It appears in chapters 4 and 5, in chapter 23, and here in chapter 37—37, 48, in these chapters. Yes, three times in Tanya the Alter Rebbe discusses the whole subject of Torah and mitzvos. Which is higher, Torah or mitzvos? Which is more elevated? In one respect, this; in another respect, that. This is a whole subject that needs to be understood. It is a very fundamental matter for understanding our entire connection with Hakadosh Boruch Hu through Torah and mitzvos, and the differences between them. There is

07:23 This is also discussed in Likkutei Sichos. Everyone knows that the Rebbe also speaks about this at great length in a sicha. The Rebbe develops the subject in a remarkable way. In any case, let’s get to our point. What does chapter 23 say? In chapter 23, the Alter Rebbe explains that the difference between Torah and a mitzvah is that the mitzvos are called “the limbs of the King”: “The 248 commandments are the 248 limbs of the King.” That is said about the mitzvos. About Torah, by contrast, the expression is, “The Torah and Hakadosh Boruch Hu are entirely one.” In other words, a stronger expression is used for Torah. Mitzvos are called “the 248 limbs of the King.” Limbs, too, are something remarkable, because they are completely connected with the soul. We know that the limbs and the soul are united: the limbs are a garment intimately united with the soul. The body and soul are one to the extent that the body does nothing without the soul. As soon as the soul wills a movement, the body moves immediately, without delay and without needing to be commanded. This shows that the body is completely nullified to the soul. Likewise, a mitzvah is the Supernal Will and is nullified to Hakadosh Boruch Hu; that is why the mitzvos are called limbs. But ultimately, limbs are not the soul. A limb is united and connected with the soul, but it is still an entity in its own right. Body and soul are two different things, incomparable to each other: one is a spiritual soul and the other a physical body. So what happens? When the soul connects with the body, they are like one thing, but in their essential existence they are two things. The same applies to a mitzvah. A mitzvah is, in itself, an act—an action in the world. But that action is nullified to the Supernal Will. So the limbs are on a lower level. Torah, by contrast, says the Alter Rebbe, is described as “The Torah

09:14 and Hakadosh Boruch Hu are entirely one.” It is not an action I perform in the world in accordance with the Supernal Will; it is itself the Supernal Will. Torah means the Supernal Will. What I am speaking about—what I am saying—is the Supernal Will. It is the wisdom and the will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu; it is the light of Torah. That is why we say of Torah, “The Torah and Hakadosh Boruch Hu are entirely one.” The Alter Rebbe demonstrates and explains this at length: for this reason, the union achieved through Torah study is greater than that achieved through any of the mitzvos. In this respect, the Supernal Will itself is present there. It is even greater than the service of prayer and awe. Therefore, someone whose Torah study is his occupation is exempt from prayer, because the union achieved through Torah is higher than the union achieved through prayer. After all this explanation, the Alter Rebbe concludes chapter 23 by saying that when a person contemplates this, he will experience great awe. This is the same point the Rebbe makes: when a person contemplates this matter, he can draw down great awe upon himself while engaged in Torah study. A person contemplates that when he studies Torah, his entire being is truly united in the most complete union with the Infinite Light, with the Supernal Will, before which all the worlds are completely nullified. He can study Torah and connect with the Supernal Will, and as he studies, a very great awe will come over him. That is the Alter Rebbe in chapter 23. So what is the difference here? The Rebbe says that, when we examine it, there is a very great difference. Although the Alter Rebbe says “as explained in chapter 23” and refers us there, something is nevertheless being added here. That is obvious: otherwise, why would the Alter Rebbe need to say it? Right? The Alter Rebbe is coming to add something here.

10:58 So he says that the Rebbe explains it this way: previously, in chapter 23, the entire advantage of Torah over a mitzvah concerned the aspect of will. A mitzvah is an action, a deed, a limb, right? A limb that is nullified to the will—but it is still a limb. Torah, by contrast, is the will itself. But ultimately, the subject is still will. It concerns will, revelation, something drawn down. Here, the Rebbe introduces something deeper: “He calls Him by His name”—he calls Hakadosh Boruch Hu. When you study Torah, you call Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself, not just His will. For all the greatness of will, will is ultimately also something drawn forth. A person’s will is an expression of his soul; it is not the soul itself. Likewise Above: these are the wills of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, but there is the One Who wills, Who is beyond will. Here, the Rebbe teaches that when a person studies Torah, it is “he calls Him by His name,” like a son calling to his parents. When you call your father, you are not calling just your father’s will. You are calling your father himself; you want your father to be with you. The same applies to calling a friend. If so, this is something far higher. It means that the connection formed through Torah study is not only with the will, but with Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself, the One Who wills. That is what Torah draws down. It follows that the awe is much greater. Certainly, if a person contemplates that the Supernal Will is present in Torah study, it will inspire awe in him, because will, too, is very lofty. Will is sovev kol almin, and sovev kol almin is boundless, and so on.

12:41 All of that is also said about sovev kol almin. So it, too, brings about great awe, supernal awe, as he says there. Nevertheless, it is ultimately still a level within the order of hishtalshelus; it is only a revelation. Sovev kol almin, too, is a revelation. But when you contemplate that Torah study is like a son calling to his parents—that Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself is here, not just His will, that He Himself is present in Torah—then certainly the awe this produces will be far greater. Ah, if so, the Rebbe asks, why does the Alter Rebbe refer us back, saying, “as explained above in chapter 23”? After all, it is not the same as what was explained above; chapter 23 spoke about something else, while here he is speaking about something far higher. The Rebbe answers that “as explained above in chapter 23” refers only to the general point, not to its details. What is the general point explained there? That Torah study must be accompanied by great awe, and that the awe associated with Torah study is even loftier than the observance of mitzvos. He already explained both points in chapter 23: Torah requires great awe, and that great awe comes from contemplating Torah’s advantage over mitzvos. In that sense, it is as explained in chapter 23. But the particular contemplation discussed here in chapter 37 is far loftier than what he discussed earlier. Now, though, a broader question arises. What does any of this have to do with our subject in Tanya? Why does the Alter Rebbe bring it in here at all? What does this whole discussion of great awe have to do with this passage? It does not seem to follow from the discussion; it does not seem

14:25 relevant. Here in Tanya, the Alter Rebbe is trying to explain the advantage of the beinoni: that the main thing for the beinoni is the performance of mitzvos, which brings about the ultimate revelation of His unity below. To explain that, throughout chapters 35, 36, and 37, he discussed making a dwelling for Hashem in the lower realms. From this we understand that although the beinoni does not completely overcome his yetzer hara, nevertheless, in terms of the purpose of making a dwelling in the lower realms, the action is precisely the point. So the beinoni need not feel bad that he has not transformed his entire inner being, because the main thing here is actual deeds, good deeds: the thought and the action, the actual performance of mitzvos. That was the point of the chapter. But then the Alter Rebbe concluded by saying that there must also be Torah study—and, indeed, Torah has an advantage over mitzvos. That, too, is relevant to understanding the beinoni. But what is relevant here? We understand the advantage of Torah and the advantage of mitzvos; we have already explained that in the preceding lines. But how is the point at the end—about awe—relevant here? What does it add, and why does he add it? The Rebbe asks essentially the same question about chapter 23. So the explanation the Rebbe gives there can also be applied here. About chapter 23, the Rebbe asks the same question: why does the Alter Rebbe bring in the whole subject of awe there? The Rebbe explains that since the Alter Rebbe wants to explain, “For this matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it,” he cannot address only the doing. After all, the verse also says “in your heart.” That means the beinoni is required not only to act, but to perform the action with his heart: “in your heart.” In your heart.

16:01 This is a matter of love and awe. So the Alter Rebbe also adds that this brings about awe. In other words, since the beinoni is expected to fulfill “with your heart” as well—and “with your heart” means love and awe—the Alter Rebbe tells him that contemplating the greatness of Torah study and the fulfillment of mitzvos will help him attain higher awe. Then his performance of a mitzvah “with your heart” will also be more complete. The same applies here. It may be that throughout these chapters, the Alter Rebbe’s main explanation of making a dwelling in the lower realms is about what to do in practice. Nevertheless, ultimately the intent of making a dwelling in the lower realms is not only that there should be action, but that the action should make a dwelling. As we discussed in previous classes, it is not enough for there to be a dwelling in the lower realms; it must be a dwelling filled with light, one in which Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed. That happens when our service is not just dry action without life. On the contrary, the action has to be done with life, with feeling, with love and awe. So the Alter Rebbe adds here that knowing Who commands the mitzvah brings about higher awe, greater awe, and consequently brings more life into the way one acts. There is a story about the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezritch. The Rebbe also told it several times. It took a long time before the Maggid first came to the Baal Shem Tov. The Baal Shem Tov tried all sorts of ways to draw the Maggid to him, but he did not succeed. He tried various approaches, until eventually he persuaded the Maggid to come. But when the Maggid

18:56 finally came to the Baal Shem Tov—there are several stories about this—the Baal Shem Tov promised to heal him. The Maggid had a condition affecting his leg. One leg was larger than the other, and all his life he was, how do you say, lame; he walked with crutches. That is well known. The Maggid walked with crutches all his life, and the Baal Shem Tov said he would heal him. There are several stories about it. In any case, the Maggid came to the Baal Shem Tov and spent Shabbos with him, and so on. In the end, the Maggid was not particularly impressed and wanted to go back. After the Maggid had left, the Baal Shem Tov called him back and brought him into a room. He took a book—I think the story says it was Eitz Chaim, Rabbi Chaim Vital’s book on Kabbalah—and asked him to explain a passage. “How do you understand this passage, this page?” So the Maggid began explaining it as he understood it. The Maggid was already a great man, an exceptionally learned Jew. Even before he came to the Baal Shem Tov, he was a genius in the revealed teachings of Torah, in Kabbalah, and in everything else. In any event, the Maggid told the Baal Shem Tov how he understood the passage. When he finished, the Baal Shem Tov told him, “Your explanation is correct, but that is not how one learns it. Try learning it.” So the Maggid said, “Well, tell me how you learn it.” The Baal Shem Tov took the same chapter, the same passage, and began learning it with tremendous fervor and vitality. And suddenly the Maggid began

20:59 to tremble, as the story goes, from sheer awe. He felt that with every word the Baal Shem Tov read, he could see what it described before his eyes. He was not just hearing it read from a book; he was seeing it before him. Everything was revealed to him there, before the Baal Shem Tov. Reb Feivl [?] said—he simply felt that he could actually see it with his own eyes. Everything was revealed to him. At that moment, he decided to become attached to the Baal Shem Tov and became his chossid. The Maggid said that he then felt what the Jews had felt at the Giving of the Torah, because that was the feeling at Mount Sinai. That is what he felt then. When the Jews stood at Mount Sinai, they heard Hakadosh Boruch Hu say, “I am Hashem your G-d,” and heard the Ten Commandments. Now, there is a well-known question: the Ten Commandments contain simple things. Yet what does the verse say about what happened afterward? “All the people saw the sounds; the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood at a distance.” What happened there? It was not merely what was said. They felt Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the Divine Essence present in [unclear]. They saw Hakadosh Boruch Hu through the words. They did not just hear, “Do not steal, do not steal.” Stealing is forbidden—that is straightforward; there is nothing startling about it. But when you see within “Do not steal” the Divine Essence present in it, Hakadosh Boruch Hu present in “Do not steal,” that is something else entirely. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is here. The Maggid said that when the Baal Shem Tov learned, he felt in that learning that Mount Sinai was here. Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself was saying

22:57 those words. That is what led the Maggid to become a chossid of the Baal Shem Tov. So this is what it means to engage in Torah study with higher awe. Of course, we are not on those levels, but at least we talk about them. We learn about them. We know such a thing exists. So at the very least, we should learn Torah with simple yiras Shamayim. We are not talking about higher awe, awe before G-d’s greatness, but at least a person studying Torah should have a little respect. He should learn with simplicity, without putting on airs—with respect for the Torah he is learning. When he learns, he should not bring his own coarseness or his own assumptions into it, and so on. Everyone understands that learning Torah with yiras Shamayim is a completely different kind of learning.