Likkutei Amarim Tanya - Chapter 41 - Part 2

00:01 Still, the Alter Rebbe says here that the beginning of all service of Hashem, its very foundation, is that a person must awaken the sense of natural fear. “The beginning of the service, and its essence and root, is that a person must awaken fear of Heaven within himself.” What kind of fear of Heaven? Natural fear of Heaven. What does that mean? A person must bring himself to recognize that he does not want to rebel against the King. By nature, a Jew does not want to rebel against the King. It is in the nature of his soul. “A Jew does not want to, and cannot, be separated from G-d.” A Jew does not want to, and cannot, be separate from Him or opposed to Him. This expresses itself in the Jew’s natural desire, this feeling that he cannot rebel against the King of kings, Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This is like the Rambam’s well-known ruling in the laws of divorce: a person wants to do Hashem’s will and does not want to act against it. That is why the Rambam rules that he may be beaten until he says, “I want to,” because he truly does want to. This is the whole point the Alter Rebbe makes about our service: every Jew naturally has an inner fear, a natural fear, of rebelling against the King. So we need to awaken that fear, to bring it out. How do we awaken it? The Alter Rebbe says it needs to become revealed in his heart, so that his heart feels this fear. It is there by nature, but it may be hidden. We need to awaken it so that it is revealed in his heart. Or, the Alter Rebbe says, it should at least be in his mind. Sometimes a person cannot bring his heart to feel it, but at least he needs to understand it in his mind. The idea that he does not want to rebel against the King must be clear to him in his mind. How do we reach that point? The Alter Rebbe explains this

02:15 now: “That is to say.” How do we come to awaken this fear? “He should contemplate it in his mind, at least.” There needs to be contemplation. The Alter Rebbe explains what kind of contemplation: contemplation “in his mind, at least.” What does that mean? The contemplation here is not what we usually mean when we speak about contemplation. In the preceding chapters, the Alter Rebbe discussed contemplation, and he also discusses it in the chapters that follow: deep contemplation, inward contemplation, at length and in depth, as part of one’s service. Here the Alter Rebbe emphasizes that to awaken fear of Heaven, deep contemplation is not necessary. It is enough to contemplate it in one’s mind. In other words, it is enough simply to think about the ideas we are about to learn. You just need to think about them. You do not need to delve into their depths or work through them in depth. It is enough to think about the ideas, to take note of them—to pay attention, as they say. Pay attention. And what does he say? “The greatness of the blessed Ein Sof.” Contemplate the greatness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, “Whose kingship is the kingship of all worlds, upper and lower.” The kingship of Hakadosh Boruch Hu extends throughout all the worlds, both the upper worlds and the lower worlds. “He fills all worlds and encompasses all worlds.” Here the Alter Rebbe adds another point. Not only is Hakadosh Boruch Hu a King whose kingship extends over all the upper and lower worlds; He also fills the worlds. There can be such a thing as a king: in the physical world, for example, a king governs an entire country, but the country and the king are two separate things. The king governs the country and gives instructions about how it should be run in practice, what people should think, and what they should do. But ultimately, the king and the country are two separate entities. So the Alter Rebbe adds: Hakadosh Boruch Hu is not only a King whose kingship extends over the upper and lower worlds. More than that, the kingship of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is what “fills all worlds.” It is present within them; it gives life; it

04:21 gives vitality to all existence, to every detail of the world. This is also explained in the maamarim: the difference between kingship Above and kingship below. A flesh-and-blood king below merely governs the country, and nothing more. By contrast, the kingship of Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives life, vitality, and continued existence. The very existence of the country—of every world—comes from it. So “He fills all worlds.” Then he adds, “and encompasses all worlds,” which is a second idea. There is the vitality that gives life to each particular detail of a created being. This has a special quality: it emphasizes the individual connection, the particular vitality of Hakadosh Boruch Hu that becomes invested in every detail of creation. On the other hand, it describes a light that is contracted or limited to suit the created being. So the Rebbe also adds “encompasses all worlds”: the vitality from Hakadosh Boruch Hu is present in two ways—both in a contracted, individual manner suited to each particular created being, and in a general, boundless manner that encompasses all the worlds equally. All this describes how Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed in relation to the worlds: He is the King, and He not only reigns but also gives life, both in a way that fills the worlds and in a way that encompasses them. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” Both the heavens and the earth—Hakadosh Boruch Hu is King; “I fill.” More precisely, “I fill” refers primarily to the encompassing light. Yes, the word “I” refers to the encompassing light, and with regard to that encompassing light, heaven and earth are spoken of equally. With regard to the light that fills the worlds, there is a difference between heaven and earth. In heaven there is one degree of revelation, and on earth another. Heaven has a higher revelation, and earth a lesser one. But when we come to the encompassing light, the verse says, “the heavens and the earth”—“I,” the essential “I” that encompasses them.

06:09 So He is above both heaven and earth. But although he uses the expression “reigns,” he is referring to the higher level, generally to the encompassing light. Sometimes it is explained that he means both aspects together. The Rebbe specifically cites this verse because it includes both the light that fills the worlds and the light that encompasses them. Yes, with the word “reigns,” too, he means to include both qualities together, but generally, most of the maamarim seem to indicate that this verse refers specifically to the encompassing light. So far, the Rebbe has explained one further point in the contemplation: a person needs to contemplate the greatness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu—how His kingship is of the greatest, broadest scope, extending through all the worlds, with all the details we have just discussed. That is point one. Now the Rebbe brings another point, point two, the second stage of contemplation through which one can reach fear of Heaven. The Rebbe continues: “And He sets aside the upper and lower worlds.” Although Hakadosh Boruch Hu is King of all the worlds, in every detail, He nevertheless sets all the worlds aside. All the upper and lower worlds are not what interests Him. As it says in the sefer, that is only [unclear]. That is not where His interest lies. The desire of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is not for any of the worlds, neither the upper nor the lower. So He sets aside the upper and lower worlds and “devotes His kingship”—where? Where does He focus it, concentrate it? Yes, concentrate—how do you say it? Where does He invest Himself inwardly? Where does He truly wish to be King? He devotes His kingship to the Jewish people as a whole, to the Jewish people in general, and to him in particular. Not just in a general way: on the one hand, there is the Jewish people. Hakadosh Boruch Hu sets aside the upper worlds

08:04 and the lower realms, and concentrates His kingship on the Jewish people. The Jewish people as a whole, as one body, one complete stature—all of the Jewish people. But that is not enough. In contemplating this, we also need to emphasize “and on him in particular.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants to be King over the individual person too—over me in particular—and to bring me close to Him. Yes, we also explained a sicha of the Rebbe on this. There is a well-known sicha of the Rebbe cited in the lesson on Tanya here, in chapter 41, and it appears in Likkutei Sichos, volume 5, Parshas Noach. There the Rebbe gives the full background to this explanation and emphasizes “and on him in particular.” A person might think that if he contemplates only the general idea—that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is the King of Israel, not merely King over the whole world, but that He sets aside the upper realms and focuses on the Jewish people as a whole—he could still ask: Why does it matter whether I accept the yoke of Heaven? There is the Jewish people as a whole; the community is what matters. Everyone says, “our G-d, King of the universe.” So what if things are not as they should be with one individual? That isn’t the point. There’s me, and there’s the majority. What difference does my individual part make? That is why it goes on to say—and we explained this—that it is not only about the whole, but “and on him in particular.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s kingship, what Hakadosh Boruch Hu actually wants, is not only over the Jewish people as a whole. Hakadosh Boruch Hu also wants every single person, individually, to come close to Him. And all of this is part of the contemplation meant to awaken within me fear of Heaven, so that I will not rebel against the King. For Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants me in particular; what I do personally matters to Him. In the Rebbe’s Reshimos, published in recent years—the Rebbe’s notes on Tanya—the Rebbe also points out here

09:47 that the Tzemach Tzedek refers to a verse from which we learn this. Where did the Rebbe get the idea that Hakadosh Boruch Hu sets aside the upper and lower realms and concentrates His kingship on the Jewish people as a whole? The Rebbe brings a verse as its source. The verse says, “Thus says Hashem, the King of Israel.” We say it in the Rosh Hashanah prayers: “Thus says Hashem, the King of Israel and its Redeemer, Hashem of Hosts: I am the first and I am the last, and besides Me there is no G-d.” What does the verse mean? It says, “Thus says Hashem, the King of Israel.” Yes, although “I am the first and I am the last,” He is the King of Israel, and “besides Me there is no G-d.” In other words, even though “I am the first and I am the last, and besides Me there is no G-d”—He fills everything and extends through all the worlds—nevertheless, what is He called? The King of Israel. It does not say, “Thus says Hashem, King over the whole world,” but “Thus says Hashem, the King of Israel,” even though it then says, “I am the first and I am the last, and besides Me there is no G-d.” That is where this comes from. This verse is the Rebbe’s source for the idea that although Hakadosh Boruch Hu is “the first and the last,” filling and encompassing all worlds, He nevertheless sets aside the upper and lower realms. And what is He called? The King of Israel specifically. “Our G-d,” and only afterward, “King of the universe.” First and foremost He is our G-d, our King. It is the Jewish people in particular who matter to Him. And within that itself is “and on him in particular.” Where did the Rebbe get “and on him in particular”? We learn generally that He is the King of Israel. But where does the individual come in? Within the Jewish people themselves, Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants each person in particular. So the Rebbe himself brings the proof: “For every person is obligated to say, ‘The world was created for my sake.’” The Rebbe brings the Mishnah as proof.

11:31 In Sanhedrin, it says that a person must think, “The world was created for my sake.” This is the meaning of “on him in particular”: a person must constantly feel and think that the entire world was created for his sake. In other words, the whole matter of the world, of the entire Jewish people, depends on me. Not merely that I matter; I must feel that the whole world depends on me. If I do mitzvos, I bring about an ascent in the worlds; if not, I bring about a descent. And here the Rebbe adds his explanation. In that same sicha, as we discussed, the sicha in which he presents this passage of Tanya, the Rebbe explains why the Alter Rebbe brings the Mishnah as proof. Why did the Alter Rebbe specifically cite the Mishnah’s words, “Every person is obligated to say”? Because they emphasize just how significant “on him in particular” is. When you say “on him in particular,” a person might still think: What does that mean? There is a whole and there are individuals; many individuals make up the whole. So I am one individual among the whole. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is King not only over the whole but also over the individual—but I am just one part of a complete whole. So what if one part is missing? That isn’t good. True, the individual is important, but ultimately, how important am I? I matter as one part. I matter as an individual, but I, personally, do not matter to the entire world. So the Rebbe adds here: It is not only that you matter, that your fear of Heaven and your thought and speech matter as one individual within a whole. You matter to the entire world. “The world was created for my sake.” The entire existence of the worlds depends on this individual, on this point, on the conduct of this particular person. And what is the proof of that? What is the reasoning behind it? What proof is there that one individual matters? Where is the proof in the Mishnah that an individual person matters?

13:21 Not only does he matter as an individual; he matters to the entire world, to all of creation. The proof is in the Mishnah in Sanhedrin. What does the Mishnah say? It says: “Therefore, Adam was created alone, to teach you that every person is obligated to say, ‘The world was created for my sake.’” And, I don’t remember, [unclear]. What is the Mishnah telling us? “Therefore, Adam was created alone.” Why did Hakadosh Boruch Hu create Adam alone? Adam was created in the world, and he truly was alone. He was not merely one individual within a group. Adam was alone because he was created without any company, without any group, without any larger community. Adam alone was created—not even a wife or anyone else. He was alone. Only afterward did Hakadosh Boruch Hu make Chava from him. That all came later. At first, only Adam was created, alone, with no one else. And Adam was the one human being on whom the entire world depended. Quite simply, if Adam did good, he brought about an ascent in all the worlds. When Adam said, “Come, let us bow down and prostrate ourselves; let us kneel before Hashem our Maker,” he had an effect far beyond himself, bringing about an ascent in everything around him. Conversely, when Adam sinned with the Tree of Knowledge, he brought about a descent and a lowering of everything around him. He brought about a descent in every respect. So this is what the words “The world was created for my sake” tell us. A person must think of himself like Adam: not merely as one individual within a whole—an important individual whose actions matter. No. He matters to the entire world. When I conduct myself as I should, I bring about an ascent in all the worlds.

15:16 And, G-d forbid, the opposite: when a person does not conduct himself as he should, he brings about a descent throughout the world. That is the main point added by the words “The world was created for my sake.” The Rebbe once spoke about this at a gathering of shluchim. It was sometime around 5744 or 5745; I don’t remember exactly. At that gathering, the Rebbe spoke about the story of Yonah, what is written in the Book of Yonah. Yonah the prophet was on a ship, and he fell asleep. Then a great storm arose at sea. When they came to wake Yonah and asked him who he was, he told them the whole story. Yonah the prophet said to them, “It is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.” Yes, Yonah told them that he knew the entire storm had come because of him. The Rebbe explained what was happening here. There is this vast sea, with millions of people and countless things across the whole world—not just one person in Israel. There are thousands upon thousands of people, and a storm has arisen in the world. Surely other people had sinned too. Was Yonah the prophet the only one who had sinned? Others had also failed to behave properly. But it was obvious to Yonah: “It is because of me that this great storm has come.” The moment he saw a storm in the world, turmoil in the world, he knew: this storm is because of me, because I did not go as Hakadosh Boruch Hu had instructed me when He sent me on a mission. I did not carry out the mission. And so the Rebbe said then that when we see what is happening on the other side of the world, [unclear]. The Rebbe spoke about this at length: when we see Hamas in the world, problems, or politics, terrorism,

17:12 Things. Someone might say, “What do I care about what’s happening in Afghanistan, in Iraq, or in communities that have nothing to do with me?” So the story tells us, “The world was created for my sake.” A Jew needs to see that the world was created for his sake, and that his conduct, wherever he may be in the world, can uplift his entire surroundings. Absolutely. This also came up during the time of the trial. I remember it was before Gimmel Tammuz, when the trial was beginning, around Chanukah. The Rebbe spoke about this in a sicha on Parshas Mikeitz. The Rebbe discussed the words, “Indeed, we are guilty.” When the brothers had those difficulties with Yosef, they did not know that Yosef was the ruler. He had told them, “You are spies.” The brothers then said to one another, “Indeed, we are guilty,” because we had no compassion for our brother. The Rebbe asked: What is happening here? If you think about the story, the sale of Yosef had taken place twenty years earlier. Twenty years had passed, and they had no idea this was Yosef. Yet the moment something went wrong, they immediately said, “Indeed, we are guilty.” They immediately understood that what was happening was because of the sin they had committed. On the one hand, the Rebbe said, look: we see that for twenty years they had committed no other sin. The only sin they could point to was the one from twenty years earlier. But on the other hand, the Rebbe said, a Jew has this quality: if something bad happens in the world, he does not immediately look for someone to blame—“Not me, not me; it was someone else.”

19:05 He immediately points to himself: What can I do to put things right? The Rebbe spoke about this as well. It was a sicha for children; the Rebbe spoke about what Jewish children should do. Every child needs to think: What can I do to put the situation right? Even if it seems completely unrelated—twenty years had passed! But that is the whole point of “The world was created for my sake.” If some news reaches me, if I hear about something, then it depends on me. I need to do something to put it right. All of this is part of the contemplation the Rebbe emphasizes here: how much a person’s true relationship with Hakadosh Boruch Hu matters. This contemplation, in turn, is meant to awaken yiras Shamayim. So, up to this point we have had two points. First, to contemplate the greatness of the Infinite One, blessed be He, and His kingship over all the worlds, and so on. The second point is that, nevertheless, He sets aside the higher and lower worlds and makes His kingship particular to His people, the Jewish people as a whole. The Rebbe then explains a third point. This third point is also part of the contemplation, but it is its result. What is the result? “And he, too”—all of this means that a person needs to reflect that, in light of everything we have said, I, too, accept the yoke of His kingship and obey His laws. A person must take that yoke upon himself. In other words, until now we have been speaking about what Hakadosh Boruch Hu does: He sets everything else aside and makes His kingship particular to us. So what must I do? I, for my part, must accept His kingship, obey His laws, serve Him, and do His will in every kind of service a servant performs. I must accept the kingship of Heaven. Hakadosh Boruch

20:47 Hu is my King, and I must serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu and do everything He wants of me, down to all its details. That is the acceptance involved. On one side, there is what comes from above: Hakadosh Boruch Hu sets everything else aside and makes His kingship particular to us. But afterward, there also has to be acceptance on the person’s part. That is the mitzvah when we put on tefillin: a person needs to accept the kingship of Heaven. That is what the Alter Rebbe is telling us here: he, too, needs to take this upon himself. He agrees to accept the kingship of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, to give himself over to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and to do what Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants of him. The Alter Rebbe continues, “And behold, Hashem stands over him.” This seems to begin a different point. On a straightforward reading, you can see that he is adding another point. Up to now, it has been about kabbolas ol. All three points we have discussed so far concern kabbolas ol. Here, though, he adds something else: this is also meant to awaken yirah. Kabbolas ol and yirah can be two different things. Sometimes I may accept the yoke of Heaven: I understand that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is King over everything and that He makes His kingship particular to me, and so I accept His kingship. That is all well and good; it is kabbolas ol malchus Shamayim. But it does not necessarily have an element of yirah. Here the Alter Rebbe adds an explanation meant to awaken yirah as well. In other words, for kabbolas ol to be complete, it must also contain some measure of yirah, as we said earlier. So

22:26 what is this yirah? He explains: “And behold, Hashem stands over him.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu is right there, over him. This is the wording of the verse about Yaakov Avinu, but the Alter Rebbe applies it here to every Jew: at every moment, Hakadosh Boruch Hu stands over each and every one of us. “And His glory fills the entire earth.” What does that mean? The Rebbe explains that, although there are several interpretations, here it means that throughout the world it is only His glory that is present. “His glory fills the entire earth”—His glory is the light, as though all that fills the world is the glory of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. As we said earlier, the world as a whole is not where Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s particular interest lies; there, it is only His glory, His light. But with regard to a Jew, He “stands over him.” It is not merely His glory. With regard to a Jew, Hakadosh Boruch Hu is present personally: He relates to him and cares about him. He looks at what a person does. This is one of the ways the Rebbe explains “and looks at him.” What does Hakadosh Boruch Hu do as He stands over him? He looks at him. He looks to see how and what we are doing—whether we are serving Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And the Alter Rebbe goes further: “And He examines the kidneys and heart to see whether he serves Him properly.” He does not just look; He also examines what is inside. Hakadosh Boruch Hu looks not only at what we do, but also at how we do it. These are two things: “He looks at him”—Hakadosh Boruch Hu looks to see what a person does, whether he performs mitzvos or commits transgressions. That is what the Rebbe adds.

24:14 It is not enough that Hakadosh Boruch Hu looks at the outward act, so I perform mitzvos outwardly while inwardly thinking other thoughts. Rather, He not only “looks at him,” but also “examines” him. Hakadosh Boruch Hu looks inside to see whether a person is doing it sincerely, with feeling and enthusiasm—how he is doing it. Hakadosh Boruch Hu looks and examines; He cares, at every moment, “whether he serves Him properly,” whether a person serves Hashem as He should be served. Here, too, the Rebbe adds a very distinctive point in the sicha, in his explanation of the Tanya. This follows what the Rebbe said earlier about the world as a whole and each person’s particular world: it all emphasizes how all the worlds depend on a person, how much my conduct matters. Everything I do has an effect on me and on the entire seder hishtalshelus, all the worlds. And, G-d forbid, when I commit a transgression, I can bring about destruction throughout the seder hishtalshelus. But it does not only affect the worlds; it also matters to G-dliness. That is the novel point the Rebbe explains in the Alter Rebbe’s addition: “And behold, Hashem stands over him.” Why does the Alter Rebbe bring this verse? He does not cite verses for no reason, and Tanya is not a book in which the Alter Rebbe quotes beautiful verses simply to illustrate a point. When he cites a verse, it is because that verse is connected to the subject. Why does he use this particular wording? Because the Midrash on the verse says there is a difference between the Jewish people and the nations of the world. It says that the nations “stand over their gods.” They stand, they exist, over their gods. What does that mean? So

26:02 He explains the plain meaning, as it says about Pharaoh: “And behold, he was standing over the Nile.” Pharaoh’s idol was the Nile. That was his idol: “And behold, he was standing over the Nile.” What sustained Pharaoh? The Nile. He drew all his life from the Nile. But with tzaddikim, their G-d is sustained by them. That is, Hakadosh Boruch Hu is, as it were, sustained by the tzaddik. And where do we see this? “And behold, Hashem stood over him,” as the verse says. What does it mean that Hashem—that G-dliness—“stood” over him? “Stood” means endured. How does G-dliness endure? It endures through him, through the Jew. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is, as it were, sustained through the person, through the tzaddik. What does that mean? It means that the responsibility we are discussing here—that through his conduct a Jew affects all the worlds, the entire order of worlds—doesn’t concern only the worlds. It also concerns the G-dliness within them. Hashem—all the G-dliness revealed in the world—also “stands” over him. It endures through the person. When a Jew fulfills a mitzvah and conducts himself as Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants, G-dliness is revealed in the world. There is a revelation of G-dliness in the world. And, G-d forbid, when Torah and mitzvos are lacking, when he commits transgressions, he causes, as it were, the Shechinah and G-dliness to withdraw. So that is what it means that Hashem “stands” over the Jew, that G-dliness is present through him. This is the explanation the Rebbe adds here. Continuing what we said earlier, it is not only the worlds; G-dliness, too, stands over him. So where—what have we explained? The Rebbe adds that Hakadosh Boruch Hu “stands over him, and looks upon him and examines his heart and innermost thoughts to see whether he is serving Him properly.” And after all these explanations, what is the practical result? That is why it says here: “He must therefore serve Him with awe and fear, like one standing before

27:51 the king.” There must be awe and fear—yiras Shamayim—when a Jew serves Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And it must be as though he were before the king, like someone standing before the king. What does that mean? Not merely someone who is in the king’s country, while the king is in one place and he is somewhere else. In light of all these explanations, it means being before the king, with the king right there in front of him. And naturally, that is an entirely different kind of yiras Shamayim. This is the point the Rebbe makes: this is the beginning, the core, and the root of serving Hashem. Every person needs to reflect on it in order to awaken the natural yiras Shamayim we already have. It is simply hidden, and to awaken it through the mind, we need to reflect on all the things we have just discussed. And this is what the Rebbe writes in Chiddushei Kesuvim, section 8, and in several places: everyone needs to know this chapter by heart and think about it, reflect on it every day, walk down the street with it in mind, think about it before davening, afterward, and at all sorts of other times. We need to live with it, because it is the foundation of every aspect of serving Hashem.