Likkutei Amarim Tanya - Chapter 40 - Part 1

00:02 Chapter 40. It continues chapter 39, but it also brings to a close the entire subject of action and intention, which the Alter Rebbe has discussed over several chapters. This is a fundamental issue in serving Hashem: how do you bring together these two things? On the one hand, you have to be careful about what you actually do; action is primary. On the other hand, we say that intention is primary. The Alter Rebbe began discussing this in chapter 35 and continues through chapter 40, where he concludes the subject. What was chapter 39 about? What was the main point we learned there? We need to review it to understand what the Alter Rebbe is about to explain in chapter 40. In chapter 39, the Alter Rebbe discussed three levels of intention in mitzvos, three levels in serving Hashem that correspond to the three worlds of Yetzirah, Beriah, and Atzilus. All three involve intention when a person fulfills a mitzvah out of love and fear of Hashem. Intention here means love and fear: a person feels love and therefore fulfills the mitzvos out of love for Hashem, and out of fear of Hashem he fulfills Hashem’s will. But there is also natural love and fear. Every Jew has love and fear by nature; the question is whether he awakens them. If he does, this is called intention arising from natural love and fear. When a person fulfills mitzvos out of natural love and fear, his Torah and mitzvos ascend to the world of Yetzirah. And then there are

02:40 two things. As far as the soul is concerned, the soul itself ascends to the world of Yetzirah, to its chambers and levels. But the Torah and mitzvos he fulfilled with intention ascend to the ten sefiros of the world of Yetzirah. Not merely to the world—these are two different things. There is the world, and there are the ten sefiros, which are the concentrated core of that world. That is the distinction: the soul itself ascends to the world of Yetzirah, while the Torah and mitzvos he fulfilled with the intention of natural love and fear ascend and unite with the ten sefiros of Yetzirah, its concentrated core. From this the soul receives the Gan Eden of Yetzirah—the experience of “delighting in the radiance of the Shechinah.” That is one level. The second level is when a person fulfills Torah and mitzvos out of intellectual love and fear. This comes through contemplating the greatness of Hashem, which awakens intellectual love and fear. Then his Torah and mitzvos, and his soul, ascend to the world of Beriah, the higher Gan Eden, the level of souls. Again, the soul itself ascends to the world of Beriah, to the Gan Eden of Beriah, the level of souls. But the Torah and mitzvos he fulfilled out of intellectual love and fear ascend to and unite with the ten sefiros, the concentrated core of the world of Beriah. From those sefiros—the G-dliness of Beriah—the souls in Gan Eden receive the radiance of the Shechinah in which they delight. Then there is a third level, when a person serves Hashem as a chariot. This too is connected with Chabad—with chochmah, binah, and daas—but the difference is that here the emphasis is not on intellect. Here the emphasis is on bittul, self-nullification. There are two aspects. There is Chabad in which the intellect—chochmah, binah, and daas—is more prominent; this is the G-dliness of Beriah. There is also Chabad of Atzilus, but there

04:55 G-dliness shines openly, and so the soul’s service is like that of a chariot. In other words, the main thing is not love, not a feeling of love, but bittul—the chariot’s complete self-nullification. When someone serves in the manner of a chariot, or in the manner of a servant, there are tzaddikim who have reached this level. Their souls ascend to and dwell in Atzilus. And not only that: their Torah and service also unite with the sefiros of Atzilus. But about this the Alter Rebbe says, “We have no dealings with hidden matters.” Wait, is that the wording? “We have no dealings with hidden matters.” The Alter Rebbe brings it to explain that such a level exists, but he says that it is not what we are discussing here in Tanya. We explained in the classes that the Alter Rebbe mentions it because every Jew has some connection to it, at least in essence. That is why the Alter Rebbe says there are times, such as Shabbos, when there can be an ascent to that level as well. After all, every Jew has some connection to all the levels, and particularly to tzaddikim who are in the manner of a chariot. But generally, that is not the order of our service. The order of service is the first two levels: either natural love and fear, through which one ascends to the world of Yetzirah, or intellectual love and fear, through which one ascends to the world of Beriah. These are the two levels of serving Hashem, corresponding to the categories of living being and speaking being. This is serving Hashem with intention, lishmah—for its own sake. Then, at the end of the chapter, the Alter Rebbe discussed what happens when a person acts not lishmah. Here, too, there are two levels. With a mitzvah performed not lishmah, one level is when a person does

06:54 things without any particular intention that is not lishmah. He does them because he is used to it, out of habit. In other words, there is a way of serving Hashem that is not lishmah: he does not consciously intend love and fear, but neither does he have some other personal motive. Rather, his father, mother, parents, or teachers accustomed him to serving Hashem. As the verse says, “Their fear of Me is a commandment of men learned by rote.” This is called “not lishmah, but not for a motive contrary to lishmah either.” What happens to this service that comes from habit? The Alter Rebbe says it does not unite with the ten sefiros, because there was no intention of lishmah. He is not doing it for Hakadosh Boruch Hu; he is doing it out of habit. Can we say, then, that his mitzvos unite with the ten sefiros of Atzilus? They do not. About this the Zohar says, “Without fear and love, it does not soar upward and cannot ascend and stand before Hashem.” So these mitzvos do not unite with the ten sefiros of Atzilus. But where do they remain? In the external aspect of a world—only in its external aspect. As we said, this means they can remain in the worlds of Beriah or Yetzirah, but in their external aspect, not in the sefiros. We said that some mitzvos ascend to the world of Yetzirah and some things ascend to the world of Beriah, but not to the sefiros—only to the chambers. For example, as it says later in Tanya, there are mitzvos connected with the world of Asiyah, practical mitzvos. Then there is Torah study. The Oral Torah is connected with the world of Yetzirah. When someone studies Torah lishmah, it ascends to the world of Yetzirah, but only to the world, not to its sefiros. That is what it means to say it remains there, and that is the meaning of “it cannot ascend and stand before Hashem.” That is when a person.

09:02 That is when a person studies without any particular intention—neither for its own sake nor for an ulterior motive. Then there is a second level of “not for its own sake”: when he studies with a personal motive. When a person studies with a personal motive, it remains down here; it does not ascend to the World of Asiyah at all. It does not ascend to any world. So the Arizal says it remains here. Not only that—it remains in the domain of the kelipos. What, then, can be done with it? Since it is Torah, and ultimately it is a mitzvah, even though he is doing it not for its own sake—ultimately, we are talking about Torah and mitzvos that he performed—there is a way to elevate it. How is it elevated? Here, too, there are two ways. If it was study that was neither for its own sake nor for an ulterior motive, just studying out of habit or the like, then to elevate it he does not need to do teshuvah. Rather, by studying the same thing again for the sake of Heaven, he also elevates the Torah he studied earlier. If it was a case where he studied with a personal motive—let’s recall the wording: he studied simply to show off; he had a personal motive in his Torah study—then we say that studying it again is not enough. For it to be elevated, he needs to do teshuvah. When he does teshuvah, it enters holiness, and all the Torah and mitzvos he studied ascend. “Teshuvah brings healing to the world.” So the Torah he studied before ascends together with him. On this basis, the Arizal says that a Jew must study Torah in every situation. This is what our Sages mean when they say, “A person should always engage in Torah and mitzvos even not for their own sake.” There are two interpretations of this. One interpretation is that he should study ordinarily, even if

10:54 I do not yet feel love and awe. I still need to study, to study without any particular intention. Why? After all, it does not ascend on high. Nevertheless, we are told to study. Why? Because when he later studies it again for its own sake, he will elevate it. That is according to the interpretation that means studying neither for its own sake nor for an ulterior motive. Or there is a stronger interpretation: even when it really is not for its own sake. Even when he studies with a personal motive, such as simply to show off or the like, we still tell him, “Always study.” Why? Because “none of them shall be cast away.” Ultimately, every Jew will do teshuvah, so we are certain that he will rectify what he did, and it will be released from there. That is why the Arizal says Torah study must continue in every situation; even a thoroughly wicked person must study Torah. The Alter Rebbe also writes this in Shulchan Aruch, in Hilchos Talmud Torah, in almost the same words—even more strongly than here. Even a person who studies in order to provoke others, even a thoroughly wicked person of whom our Sages said, “But to the wicked, G-d said: What right have you to recount My statutes?” The Gemara says that the Torah becomes like a deadly poison for him, and all those things. Nevertheless, he says: Do not stop him from studying Torah; let him continue to study. Why? Because “the light within it brings him back to the right path.” Ultimately he will do teshuvah, and when he does teshuvah, he will also elevate all the Torah he studied into holiness. [unclear] So, in any case, that was the foundation and central point of chapter 39. That was the content, the entire content of chapter 39. Before we go on, say amen. Just one more point to add. We have come to this idea that “a person should always study

12:36 not for its own sake, for from studying not for its own sake one comes to study for its own sake.” We know that the Rebbe gives a well-known explanation of this, in several sichos. The Rebbe explains the meaning of “A person should always study Torah not for its own sake, for from studying not for its own sake one comes to study for its own sake.” The Rebbe explains this at length: the Gemara is not speaking after the fact; the Gemara is saying that this is how it should be from the outset. It is not as though the Gemara says, “If you studied not for its own sake, well, so be it.” The Gemara says, “No, this is how it should be from the outset: a person should always study Torah not for its own sake, for from studying not for its own sake one comes to study for its own sake.” The Rebbe explains that, first of all, this is simply the reality. The reality is that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created a person in such a way that he cannot begin by studying for its own sake. You cannot go up to a person and tell him, “Study Torah for its own sake.” That is how it is. It has nothing to do with the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, or with any... This is the nature that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created. You go to a young child. Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the child so that he does not yet have a sense for spirituality, a sense for G-dliness. He is a child. Everything he understands is physical. That is how Hakadosh Boruch Hu created a person: an awareness of spiritual and lofty matters comes after the age of thirteen. Before that, he has no awareness of G-dliness. So if you say that studying not for its own sake is acceptable only after the fact, that simply contradicts the reality in which Hashem created him. The healthy nature with which Hashem created a person is that he cannot begin by studying for its own sake. But if you wait until the age of thirteen, it will already be too late. So it must begin specifically not for its own sake. That

14:32 is the proper order. “A person should always study Torah not for its own sake.” In other words, we tell a person that this is how it should be from the outset. After all, Hakadosh Boruch Hu created you in such a way that you would study Torah not for its own sake, so you need to study not for its own sake. But that itself raises a question: Why is it this way? How can a person be created unable to serve Hashem for His sake? The Gemara says, “For from studying not for its own sake one comes to study for its own sake.” What does that mean? The Rebbe explains that within “not for its own sake,” its inner core is “for its own sake.” This is one of the beautiful explanations the Rebbe gives of this teaching of our Sages. When a Jew studies not for its own sake, that is external; it is not the truth. Even if a Jew comes and says, “I am studying to become a Torah scholar; I am studying to succeed,” that is not the truth. It is external. Deep inside, he studies because he wants to serve Hashem. Outwardly, he thinks he is studying for another reason, but what does he truly want deep inside? The Rebbe explains this on the basis of a teaching of the Baal Shem Tov. There is a well-known teaching of the Baal Shem Tov on the verse, “Hungry and thirsty, their soul languishes within them.” A person is hungry and wants to eat. A person is hungry and wants to eat. As is known, and as brought in the Siddur, why does a person want to eat? The real reason is that the G-dly soul wants the spark. As is known, the Siddur explains that everything in the world contains a G-dly spark, and that spark is of a very high level. So much so that the source of the spark in food is higher even than the source of the spark in a Jew, in a human being. This follows the principle that what is higher descends lower. So the sparks in plants are higher than the sparks in human beings, and therefore a person wants to eat, because

16:32 the soul wants to receive life from the G-dly spark. But the problem is that the body does not feel this. The body. So how, how, how can a person come to refine a spark if the body does not feel it? The Baal Shem Tov says this is the meaning of “Hungry and thirsty, their soul languishes within them.” When a person feels hungry for food, he thinks he is hungry for the physical food. But what is the truth? “Their soul languishes within them”: the G-dly soul is inside. The G-dly soul is wrapped within the body, and the G-dly soul cries out that it wants G-dliness. But the body does not feel that, so the body feels that it wants to eat. Yet the inner meaning of that desire is not food. He wants the spark so that he can refine it. Of course, the Torah demands that a person also see this openly and feel it, and that it become his whole focus. That is indeed what is demanded: “Let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven”; “Know Him in all your ways.” A person needs to work on himself so that this becomes manifest. But the truth is that, at the heart of the matter, this is the meaning of “Hungry and thirsty”: even when he wants to eat because of the food, that is his external side. Deep inside, what he wants is G-dliness. On this basis, the Rebbe explains many matters. This is an approach the Rebbe takes in a number of areas: although outwardly something appears one way, inwardly—since the Rambam says that a Jew, deep inside, wants to do G-d’s will—even if outwardly it seems to have another motive, the inner reality is the inner reality. That is what is meant here, too, by “From studying not for its own sake one comes to study for its own sake.” In truth, a Jew deep inside wants to study Torah. The fact that there is also this outer layer of studying not for its own sake is merely his external side, and therefore, from within

18:17 Not for its own sake—but for its own sake. The moment he studies Torah, sooner or later what is inside him will come to light. And when it does, it will grow stronger and prevail, and then the external motive will fall away—the reason he had for studying not for its own sake at the beginning. Another point about what he says here. Let’s get to the subject of studying Torah for its own sake. In Chassidus, there are several levels within that, just as there are many levels of studying not for its own sake. As we said, there is someone who simply studies without any particular intention. There is someone who studies to become a scholar, to be considered wise, and there are other reasons a person studies. There are many ways of studying not for its own sake. So too, Chassidus speaks of several levels of studying for its own sake. So much so that when Chassidus discusses Torah study for its own sake, a level that counts as “for its own sake” relative to one level counts as “not for its own sake” relative to a higher one. What do I mean? Chassidus explains: What does it mean to study Torah for its own sake? One answer is that you study Torah to fulfill the mitzvah of studying Torah. There is a mitzvah to study Torah, and you study in order to fulfill it. That is one level. There is another level of studying Torah for its own sake: studying in order to connect with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, to bind your soul to Hashem. Look at what the Alter Rebbe says in chapter 5 of Tanya: a person studies Torah for its own sake—meaning, to bind his soul to Hashem. That is not just about fulfilling the mitzvah. It is something higher. Torah, after all, is higher than mitzvos. There is the aspect of the mitzvah, and there is an aspect of Torah that is higher than mitzvos. As the Alter Rebbe explains at length in chapter 5 of Tanya, the union achieved through Torah is higher than the union achieved through mitzvos,

21:03 for it is “a wondrous union, the like or equal of which is not found at all in the physical world: to become one and united from every side and angle.” The greatest union a Jew can have with Hakadosh Boruch Hu is through Torah study. So this is about connecting to Hakadosh Boruch Hu through studying Torah, binding one’s soul to Hashem. Then there is an even higher level. He studies Torah for its own sake—and this is the highest level. Why does he study Torah for its own sake? Because it is the Torah of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. For the sake of the Torah itself. Not for the mitzvah, and not even to bind his soul to Hashem through Torah. He is not thinking about himself at all. That’s it. That is the point here. It isn’t, “Hakadosh Boruch Hu commanded me to study this, so I have a mitzvah to do so.” Nor is it, “I want to connect to G-dliness.” None of that enters into it. There is only one thing: this is the Torah of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That settles it. For the sake of the Torah itself. That is called “for its own sake.” That is why it says “for its own sake,” not necessarily “for the sake of fulfilling a mitzvah”: for the sake of the Torah. It is the Torah of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. “So what will I gain from it?” What kind of question is that? No, that is no longer relevant to him. He has reached a place where he sees that it is the Torah of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and so he wants to study Torah. That’s all. Chassidus explains this distinction in relation to something our Sages said: “When a person acts, he acts with himself in mind.” What does it say at the end there? I don’t remember. Yes, at first a person studies with himself in mind. What does “with himself in mind” mean? On the simple level, it means he studies for his own benefit, so that he will feel good, so that he will

23:07 gain something too. In Chassidus, “with himself in mind” means that he studies in order to connect to G-dliness. He wants to bind his soul to Hashem. But in a subtle sense, that too is considered studying not for its own sake. Why? Because he is seeking his own connection to G-dliness. He is still looking for something for himself in his relationship with G-dliness. So, in a very subtle sense, that is also considered not for its own sake. What counts as truly studying for its own sake? When he is not thinking about himself at all—only about the Torah of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That is the essence of Torah study. I heard a story about this from Reb Yoel. It is a long story, and I won’t tell all the details now. It is probably well known, but I’ll tell the part that relates to what we’re discussing here in Tanya. He related that the Rebbe once sent him to give a Tanya class. This was in the early days of those trips. In those first years, he would travel to give a Tanya class, I think in Lakewood or somewhere like that. In any case, he had a group there that studied Tanya, discreetly, of course. There was a young man there who was the outstanding scholar in the yeshiva. There is such a thing as an ilui, a brilliant student. Well, he was the ilui of the group. He was always studying, and so on. In short, Reb Yoel wanted to reach him. He was an intelligent young man, and Reb Yoel wanted to get him to study Chassidus. He tried and tried, but it didn’t work. The young man wasn’t interested. He sat and studied Gemara all the time, and even laughed at the idea. What happened in the end? The point of the story is that at some stage the young man himself asked for, or wanted, a yechidus with the Rebbe. He had some question, some matter he wanted to discuss. So Reb Yoel tried to seize the opportunity: Aha, he wants a yechidus with the Rebbe—maybe this would be the chance for him to ask about Chassidus.

25:05 In short, they arranged for him to go in for yechidus. He was with the Rebbe for a long time. When he came out, Reb Yoel asked him what the Rebbe had discussed with him. He was very upset. He said, “I’m never coming back. I’m never coming back here.” He was furious. Many years went by. He left the yeshiva, then went astray and left the path of Torah observance. A great deal happened to him. After many, many years, Reb Yoel met him again in a kollel. He told Reb Yoel his whole long story—what had happened to him and why he had gone astray. The details don’t matter right now. Then he told him what had happened in that yechidus. He had come to ask the Rebbe a question. I don’t know whether it was a question in Nigleh or a personal matter, but it was something he wanted to ask the Rebbe. Instead, the Rebbe began speaking to him about the need to study Chassidus. Not only that: the Rebbe told him that he needed to study Chassidus for several hours a day. The Rebbe told him explicitly that if he wanted to be a G-d-fearing person, he needed to study Chassidus for several hours a day. Several hours. He began to argue. Then the Rebbe told him what happens when a person does not study Chassidus. The Rebbe began describing such a person: at first he studies very well, and he is happy when he comes up with novel insights. When he shares an insight, he is pleased that people respond and that everyone listens to him. But slowly, things begin to change.

27:04 One time, things don’t go quite as he said; someone disagrees with him, and he gets angry. Then, as he gradually sees that people are no longer listening to him, his pride takes a hit. He stops studying and loses his desire for it, until he leaves the yeshiva, starts wandering the streets, starts spending time with girls, and then… The Rebbe gave him a whole list like that. That is what happens when he does not study Chassidus. But if a person studies Chassidus, he can study Torah for its own sake. Then the Rebbe asked him, “Do you know what it means to study Torah for its own sake?” What does it mean? After davening, a person approaches a Gemara and takes hold of it like a little child who has not seen his father for years. Think of the love and the embrace with which that child holds his father. That is the kind of love a Jew has when he studies Torah for its own sake. “Have you ever seen someone study Torah like that?” the Rebbe asked him. He was brazen and said, “Well, has the Rebbe?” The Rebbe told him, “Yes, I have seen it. And it is specifically Jews who study Chassidus who can attain that appreciation.” That is what the Rebbe said. In short, the yechidus ended. He came out somewhat angry: why had the Rebbe spoken to him so sharply? Then he told Reb Yoel that everything the Rebbe had told him, from beginning to end, had come true word for word, in exactly the order the Rebbe had described. There is a whole story after that about how, thanks to the Rebbe, he returned to Torah observance and became a full baal teshuvah, a chossid, and so on. Today he is a truly wonderful Chassidic Jew.