Likkutei Amarim Tanya - Chapter 46 - Part 5

00:01 Speaker 1 It’s also been some time since we last learned. We’ll start again from the last line at the bottom of page 65. The Rebbe begins explaining “As water reflects the face to the face”—how this applies to Hakadosh Boruch Hu and Knesses Yisroel. We discussed the analogy the Rebbe brought here: “As water reflects the face to the face, so the heart of one person reflects another.” When a person approaches water, the face he sees in it is his own face looking back at him. The same is true of one person’s heart toward another: when someone loves another person, he awakens love in that person, and that awakens love in return. The Rebbe said this is a natural response, something everyone recognizes, even when the two people are equal in stature. So the Rebbe says it is all the more so when the two people are not equal in stature. If one is... This itself is the point: the Rebbe speaks of the greatest possible distance between them, from one extreme to the other. One is a great king—not merely great, but a great and mighty king. The other is a person in the lowliest state, whom the Rebbe describes as “the lowliest of men, degraded and brought down to the dust”—all sorts of descriptions of lowliness. And yet, the great and mighty king comes down to this ordinary person with all his ministers, takes hold of him himself, brings him out of the refuse, lifts him up and brings him into the king’s chamber. More than that, he brings him into the innermost chamber, where only the king is found. He brings him specifically there and draws him close with the strongest embraces and kisses. Surely this will awaken tremendous love in that ordinary, despised man, to the point of his soul yearning to leave his body. Even if he has a heart of stone, it will affect him too. He only

02:05 Speaker 1 needs to take it to heart. He needs to pay attention to the fact that this is happening, not have his mind somewhere else. That was the analogy the Rebbe brought. Now the Rebbe begins to explain its details, starting again: “And behold.” “And behold, all these things, and this entire vision—and infinitely greater, many times over—our G-d has done for us.” It is not just like the analogy; it is far greater, many times over, without end or limit. Hakadosh Boruch Hu has done the same for us, for the Jewish people. So we need to explain all the details of how this applies Above. First he will explain how it resembles the analogy. Then he will add that it is infinitely greater, many times over. The Rebbe will show here, through the analogy, how it is not only like the analogy but far beyond it. So the Rebbe begins by explaining the greatness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, for His greatness is beyond searching. The greatness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is such that we cannot grasp it. It cannot be understood. It is a greatness beyond our capacity to comprehend. “He fills all worlds and encompasses all worlds.” The greatness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is such that He fills all the worlds and encompasses all the worlds. We explained this in the previous class, in the earlier classes, when we spoke about... The emphasis there was on greatness. There are various levels. There are also the lower realms and degrees of greatness, including how it descends into this world. But all of that, first and foremost, concerns greatness. Now the Rebbe also speaks about vast numbers: “And it is known from the holy Zohar and the Arizal...” As in the analogy, where we mentioned two things—a great king and also a mighty one, with a vast realm, many, many

03:53 Speaker 1 lands and all sorts of things—here, too, we will now speak about vast numbers. “And it is known from the holy Zohar and the Arizal...” It all comes together here: there are many worlds, many chambers, and in each world and chamber there are countless myriads of angels, without end or limit. What is in each world? In each chamber there are countless myriads of angels, without end or limit. So there are many worlds, and within those worlds themselves there are many angels. The difference between a world and a chamber—just to understand it simply—is this: a world is the overall reality. We say “a world” to refer to the reality as a whole, to the level as a whole. For example, we speak of the World of Atzilus, the World of Beriah, the World of Yetzirah. When you say “world,” you mean the general name for a world that contains many different things. Similarly, when we say “this world,” this world includes many things: inanimate objects, plants, animals and people; the earth, what is outside and what is inside, heaven and earth. Everything is included under the general term “world.” Likewise, when you speak of higher worlds, there is the world as a whole. By “world” we mean the overall reality, the level, that reality called the World of Asiyah, the World of Yetzirah or the World of Beriah, which includes all its details. A chamber is already something specific, a particular feature within each world. What is a chamber? According to the explanation in Chassidus, the definition of a chamber is something like an area, a place—as in the physical world. What is a chamber? It’s a hall, a room where people are found. So the chamber is, so to speak, a place. The chamber itself is just a hall, just a room. It encloses a particular space, as it were, where various things happen. There might be a hall where weddings are held, and a hall where classes take place. A chamber is something like

06:06 Speaker 1 an encompassing space, an area, so to speak, in which a particular thing is found. So in Chassidus, “chamber” refers to the particular level where an angel is found. After all, every world has many angels, many souls and all the various levels. A chamber is, as it were, the particular dimension associated with a given angel. For example, there is the group of the angel Michael, right? The angel Michael has millions of angels—186,000 myriads. Those are the numbers given for the angel Michael. So the angel Michael’s group has its chamber. The chamber is like the surrounding room in which the kind of existence associated with the angel Michael is revealed. Chassidus explains the whole idea of a chamber at length. A chamber is like a space that, on the one hand, conceals: it creates an enclosure, so that something is here and not there. That is a kind of concealment. On the other hand, it makes this space the place where a particular dimension is found, where something specific is revealed. Chassidus explains at length all the details of how this point is expressed in the concept of a chamber: it is, as it were, the place, the particular level, associated with each individual angel. Every level of angels, every group of angels, has a chamber in which its particular existence is revealed. There is a verse we say on Shavuos. We just said it in the haftorah for Shavuos, on the second day: “And Hashem is in His holy sanctuary; let all the earth be silent before Him.” Yes, that was the first verse of the haftorah for the second day of Shavuos. “And Hashem is in His holy sanctuary”—in Chavakuk—“let all the earth be silent before Him,” the prayer in Chavakuk, the whole subject. What does “And Hashem is in His holy sanctuary” mean? As explained, a chamber is like a room, like a space. And “Hashem is in His holy sanctuary” refers to the revelation of Havayah, to how Havayah is concentrated and revealed in the chamber, in the place

08:14 Speaker 1 this, in this reality, in a particular place. So a heichal, a chamber, is already a kind of concealing element, a kind of defined reality. Yes, it is a framework of reality within which the revelation of Havayah appears. That is why Chassidus says that the word heichal has the same numerical value as Adnai. Heichal has a numerical value of sixty-five, the same as Adnai. That is the meaning of “Havayah is in His holy chamber”: Havayah revealed in a chamber, Havayah revealed in Adnai. Adnai is a name associated with defined reality, with the idea of a chamber. Adnai is the name of Malchus, a name associated with judgment. The letters of Adnai can be rearranged to spell dina, as in “the law of the kingdom is law.” It is a framework of contraction and judgment. That is a chamber. And into that chamber a revelation of light is drawn: “Havayah is in His holy chamber,” through “Let all the earth be silent before Him.” Has, “be silent,” also has the same numerical value as heichal. Yes, the same value. Has expresses bittul. When Havayah is drawn into the chamber, there is silence; there is bittul. “All the earth”—earthliness means materiality. In any case, how does this relate to our subject? This is what the Alter Rebbe writes here: that there are a great many chambers. He emphasizes chambers because he is discussing the individual angels, so he also mentions the chambers. And in all these chambers there are myriads upon myriads, thousands upon thousands, and so on. That is what the Gemara says. “Is there a number to His troops?” Yet it also says “thousands upon thousands” and “myriads upon myriads.” Here it cannot be read that way. One verse says they have no number, right? That is the question: “Is there a number to His troops?” Another verse gives a multitude of myriads. So the Sages ask: isn’t that a contradiction? Myriads upon myriads is a finite number. And the Gemara answers: “thousands upon thousands” and so on is the number of the troops in the chambers, but His troops themselves have no number. Each troop contains a number of angels—thousands upon thousands—but how many troops are there?

10:08 Speaker 1 There is no number, no limit. There is no number or limit to how many troops Hakadosh Boruch Hu has. So what are “troops”? Troops are like groups. A troop means a group. But what does “group” mean here? The point is that these are different levels. That is the meaning of “troop”: levels, different kinds, different places. Just as among people there is love, and there are those who serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu through kindness, through strength, through love, or through awe. Each is a particular kind. That is what “troop” means: a particular part, a particular level of service. There are angels whose level is love of Hashem, and others whose level is awe of Hashem. So when we say that “His troops” have no number, we mean that the groups, the different levels among the angels, are of innumerable kinds. But within each individual troop, there is a number of angels. This is also connected to what we learned last week, in Parshas Bamidbar. It says this in the Zohar and in the Midrash, and it is explained at length. That is where the meaning of the banners comes from. The Midrash says that the Jewish people asked for the banners: “Each man by his banner, with the signs of his father’s house.” The whole idea of the banners came from what the Jewish people saw of the heavenly chariot. At the Giving of the Torah, they saw the supernal chariot above. They saw that the angels of the supernal chariot were arranged in troops, group after group. Each group had its own level and its own character. That is the idea of banners. Seeing this inspired the Jewish people: they wanted to have that arrangement too, and from this came the banners below. So that is what it means here when it speaks of a troop. The Zohar says that all these numbers also correspond. They are not just the numbers

11:59 Speaker 1 written in the plain account in Bamidbar. It says that the banner of the camp of Yehudah, on the right-hand side, numbered 186,000. Yes, 186. 186. 186. There were 186,000 people. This corresponds to the camp of Michael, which also has 186—the same number. But there it is not in thousands; it is in myriads and thirty millions. It is a far greater number, but it still has that particular figure of 186. There is significance to the number 186, which belongs to the side of kindness, and so on. The same applies to the other numbers mentioned there, for the four groups: the banner of the camp of Yehudah, the banner of the camp of Dan, the banner of the camp of Ephraim, and the banner of the camp of... I do not remember who is there. Well, who? Reuven? So those four banners. The number given in Tanach for each banner is the same number that exists above, though above it is on a scale of thousands upon thousands. So what do we see here? On the one hand, each troop contains a number of angels. But when it comes to the troops themselves—the different levels among the angels—there is no number. What is the point of emphasizing this multitude? We see that above, in G-dliness, there are also the same two aspects that we find below. In the analogy we spoke of greatness and multitude—greatness, multitude, and quantity. Above, in G-dliness, there are also these two things. There is the greatness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, which is beyond searching out, and there is the multitude. What is this multitude? The many worlds, the many living beings, the many angels all around Him, through whom the greatness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu extends. Now the Alter Rebbe adds another point. In the analogy, the Alter Rebbe said that above, everything is infinitely greater, many times over, without end. Whatever we say about what is above, there it is all

13:57 Speaker 1 infinitely greater. So far he has been speaking about the same things, but saying that above they are without end. Greatness: above, that greatness is beyond searching out. Splendor refers to multitude: above, that multitude is beyond counting. In other words, the same ideas we described in the analogy exist above on a far greater scale, without limit. The same goes for multitude. Now the Alter Rebbe adds a new point here, one that is not in the analogy at all. Let us look inside. “And all of them,” says the Alter Rebbe—all these angels, all these worlds, all these troops—“are truly considered as nothing before Him.” All the levels we have discussed until now have no standing or significance at all in relation to the Ein Sof, to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. They are “truly nullified in their existence, like the nullification of a single word in relation to the essence and being of the speaking soul, while that word was still within its thought, will, and intention, as explained above at length.” That is how all the troops and angels are nullified. It is such a complete bittul, like that of a single word in relation to the essence and being of the speaking soul. And how is the word nullified? As it is when the word is still within thought, and even more so within will and intention, as explained above at length. What does he mean by this? The Alter Rebbe explains it at length in chapter 21, and he also explains it more briefly in chapter 43, which we discussed a few chapters ago. Interestingly, and perhaps someone can find an explanation for this, the Rebbe [unclear] cites only chapter 43. The main lengthy discussion of this subject is actually in chapter 21, but the Rebbe cites specifically chapter 43. Presumably there is a particular reason for that. It needs looking into. I will leave it to the bochurim who sit and learn day and night, day and night; presumably they will find an explanation for this too. But in any case, if we get to—hmm? Did someone want to suggest an answer? All right, I am ready to hear it. Hmm?

16:06 Speaker 1 No, I will take a look.

16:31 Speaker 2 Hmm?

16:33 Speaker 1 I will take a look.

16:33 Speaker 2 I’ll take a look.

16:34 Speaker 1 Ah, okay. Good. You’re absolutely right. Fine, that’s how it should be. In any case, let’s get back to our subject. So what is the explanation given in those chapters? It’s about the idea of “as though they are of no account”—the bittul of having no significance. The Alter Rebbe does something very interesting in chapter 21. When he explains this lack of significance, he starts from the bottom up. First, the Alter Rebbe speaks about the insignificance of one utterance compared with the entire power of speech. He makes a simple point: the power of speech is unlimited. In terms of your capacity and potential for speech, you can go on speaking endlessly. But here you speak just one utterance. So if you compare one utterance with the power of speech, it has no significance at all. Speech is unlimited, and one utterance is only one. One compared with the unlimited has no standing whatsoever; it is as though it is of no account. Yes, that’s one utterance compared with the power of speech. But after all, the power of speech is a power to speak. There is a connection between them: both have to do with speech. Not in quantity, but in quality—they are of the same kind. Now the Alter Rebbe goes further, to the power of thought. One utterance compared with thought—that’s what the Alter Rebbe says here too. Thought is even further beyond comparison. It isn’t just one compared with the unlimited; it’s thought compared with speech. The distance between thought and speech is of an entirely different order. Thought is spiritual; speech is physical. Thought consists of spiritual letters; speech consists of physical letters. It is a different kind of garment altogether. So much so that thought is the life of speech. In other words, they are like body and soul, which are incomparable to each other. Thought is, so to speak, the soul, the life, while speech is like the body in relation to it.

18:18 Speaker 1 It’s like the relationship between life, soul, and body. So the distance between them is also one of quality. If you compare one utterance with the power of thought, the connection is much more tenuous. It isn’t only a matter of quantity—one compared with the unlimited. They are also different kinds of existence. This is thought and that is speech, but ultimately there is still a relationship between them. A relationship—thought and speech, yes? A different kind of relationship. Thought is spiritual, but they have something in common: both belong to the category of garments. Now, if you’re speaking not about thought but about the essence of the soul, its faculties rather than its garments—what is the relationship of speech to the soul’s faculties? The faculties of the soul are far beyond it. Thought, after all, is also a garment. Why? It is a spiritual garment, but ultimately it is still a garment. In that respect, thought and speech have something in common; they can be compared. But a faculty is something different, an entirely different essence. There is the essence of the soul, there is a garment of the soul, and there is the body. And beyond that, we are not speaking merely of a faculty of the soul, but of the heart’s desire and longing. Desire and longing of the heart are themselves faculties of the soul. This is not even at the stage of a connection to letters. It is still desire and longing of the heart, an encompassing faculty. This points to an even higher level within the soul itself. So what is the analogy here? Take one utterance, one word, one letter, and place that letter within the heart’s desire and longing—as though that single utterance were included within the level of the soul’s very essence and the heart’s desire and longing. There it is utterly null and nothing. It is

20:02 Speaker 1 null and nothing both in quantity, because it is only one utterance, and in quality, because it is speech, not thought. More than that: speech is not a faculty of the soul at all. Not only that, it is not the soul’s life-force, and certainly not the soul’s desire and longing. That is why there is such a lengthy discussion of all these distinctions. Whichever aspect you consider, it has no significance whatsoever. So the nullity, the bittul, of one utterance within the essence and being of the soul is complete bittul. The Alter Rebbe says that this is the kind of bittul of what? Of all the angels, all the worlds, all the palaces, the angels, the trees of the six thousand years, and all the hosts, in relation to the Creator of the worlds, Who brings them into being and gives them life at every moment. That is the bittul he is speaking about. Now, this point is absent from the analogy of a king. With a great and mighty king, you cannot say that. A great and mighty king has many ministers, many servants, a large people, a large army, and all the rest. On the contrary, it is through all of them that the king becomes great. They express his greatness. So here you cannot say that they are of no account. How could you say they are of no account? What would that mean? On the contrary: the greater the king’s people and the larger his country, the greater he becomes. You cannot say that they have no significance in this respect. So there is some relationship between them. That shows that the king is not so far beyond the entire reality of his army and his realms. But when you say that they are all of no account—that all the hosts and worlds have no significance or relationship whatsoever in comparison with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, that they are utterly nullified—that expresses something

21:51 Speaker 1 further in this lengthy explanation. What is the point the Alter Rebbe wants to address? The king’s utter transcendence. All the worlds are here, but the Alter Rebbe wants to emphasize just how extraordinary this is: we are not speaking of an ordinary king. We are speaking of the King of kings of kings, Who is on the loftiest level. And from that loftiest level, He descends to the Jewish people, to the people of Israel in the Land of Israel, and brings them out of Egypt. So the Alter Rebbe wants to emphasize how incomparably greater the greatness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is. There are three points the Alter Rebbe makes here. First, greatness without end or limit. Then, multitudes without end—countless hosts. And then there is a third point, which is absent from the analogy altogether: in the analogy, the king has a relationship with his entire army and realms. In our case, they are all as though they are of no account. They are utterly nullified. This expresses the king’s utter transcendence even more. And nevertheless, He descends here below, into the earthly realm, and enclothes Himself among the Jewish people, as we will continue to discuss later in the class, with Hashem’s help.