Likkutei Amarim Tanya - Chapter 46 - Part 16

00:00 Speaker 1 Okay, we’re at the end of chapter 46, and we began discussing the last section. Let’s read it again, because we still need to understand what the Alter Rebbe wants to add here. At the end of the chapter, the Alter Rebbe discusses the verse, “I was foolish and did not know; I was like beasts before You, yet I am always with You.” The verse says that although “I was foolish and did not know; I was like beasts before You”—like an animal, I do not feel it. I have no daas. That is the nature of an animal: it has no daas. Daas means feeling. I have no feeling; I do not sense how, through fulfilling mitzvos, the Infinite, the holiness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, is revealed within me. That is the difference with a tzaddik. A tzaddik has a refined body, a body he has refined so thoroughly that when he fulfills a mitzvah, he feels the Infinite. So he experiences love and awe, delight, joy, and all kinds of spiritual things. By contrast, I am like an animal: although I fulfill a mitzvah, I do not feel the union that comes about through it. Nevertheless, the verse says, “Yet I am always with You.” The union is the same union. There is no difference in the essence of the matter, in its ultimate truth. So an unlearned person, too, has that same union and sovereignty within him, although he does not feel it—even when he neither senses nor feels it. That is why the same halachah, the same ruling, and the same holiness apply to an unlearned person as to a complete tzaddik. That is how it is in halachah. The laws of stoning and kares are among the examples one could give. About this, the Alter Rebbe asks at the end of the chapter: If so, why does it say “beasts” in the plural? The entire verse is in the singular. “I was foolish and did not know” is in the singular. So it should also have said “an animal” in the singular: “I was like an animal before You.” Why does it say “beasts” in the plural? So the Alter Rebbe explains—and let’s read it again inside:

02:07 Speaker 1 What is written, “beasts,” in the plural, alludes to the fact that before Him, may He be blessed—speaking in relation to Hakadosh Boruch Hu—even the level of supernal daas, which encompasses chesed and gevurah, is like beasts. Even supernal daas, which encompasses chesed and gevurah. This is what we said earlier: a tzaddik has daas, and the daas a tzaddik has encompasses chesed and gevurah. Daas means feeling, and because he feels the Infinite, feels G-dliness, chesed and gevurah—love and awe—arise within him. The Alter Rebbe adds the word “supernal” here. He does not simply write “daas”; he writes “supernal daas.” The Alter Rebbe means not only the tzaddik’s daas, but also the daas in the world of Atzilus, which is the source of the tzaddik’s daas. He does not mean the distinction between higher daas and lower daas. We need to understand that here. Some texts discuss higher daas and lower daas, but the Alter Rebbe is not referring here to one of those levels. He means daas above. Even daas as it exists above, in the world of Atzilus—the very source of the tzaddik’s daas. The very fact that a tzaddik has daas is because it descends from the daas above. Above, there is a level of daas that encompasses chesed and gevurah: the daas of Atzilus. From there, it descends into the souls of tzaddikim, souls of Atzilus, which also have daas—the source of chesed and gevurah, love and awe. The Alter Rebbe says that in relation to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, even a tzaddik who has daas—and beyond that, even the daas of Atzilus, even daas as it exists

04:17 Speaker 1 within Atzilus itself, and this is the new point—is like beasts and physical action in relation to the Infinite. It is considered like an animal and like physical action in relation to the Infinite. It is like an animal—but not just an animal. There is also the idea of action. We said in the previous class that action is lower than an animal: action is inanimate, while an animal is alive. So an animal still has a certain advantage over the inanimate. The Alter Rebbe adds that the daas of Atzilus, in relation to the Infinite, is not only considered like an animal; it is considered even like physical action, like something inanimate in relation to the Infinite. As it is written, “You made them all with wisdom.” Even wisdom—supernal wisdom, the wisdom of Atzilus—is “You made them”: it is on the level of physical action in relation to the Infinite. So what is the Alter Rebbe adding here? He is adding that even the daas of Atzilus is considered like an animal in relation to the Infinite, because the Infinite is utterly beyond comparison even with the daas of Atzilus. Therefore, in relation to the Infinite, even the daas of Atzilus is considered on the level of an animal. What does “animal” mean? It means an absence of intellect. Earlier, we spoke about “animal” in reference to an unlearned person, who is like an animal because he is below the level of intellect. That is the straightforward meaning. The unlearned person is in an animal-like state. Why? Because he lacks daas, lacks feeling. So he is like an animal in the simple sense. The new point the Alter Rebbe makes here, which the verse alludes to, is that even if you have daas, that too is like an animal in relation to the Infinite. In relation to the Infinite, it is not only a lack of daas that cannot connect you to the Infinite. Even if you do have daas, it is still like an animal in relation to the Infinite, because daas cannot reach the Infinite. The Infinite is utterly beyond comparison. Not just like an animal—even like action,

06:18 Speaker 1 which is lower still. And this level of “animal,” referring to the tzaddik who has daas but is called an animal in relation to the Infinite, is called, the Alter Rebbe says, a “great beast,” as explained elsewhere. This level is called a great beast. What is a great beast? It is an animal on a lofty level. There is an ordinary animal, simply an animal—that refers to an unlearned person, and certainly to frivolous and unlearned people. That is an animal on a very low level. But there is also a level of “animal” that is above daas. In the language of Chassidus, the animal above daas is called a great beast. There is, for example, the story recorded in Hayom Yom. I think Hayom Yom does not tell the whole story, only half of it: the Shpola Zeide came to visit the Alter Rebbe, and the Alter Rebbe said of him, “Shlomo was a fiery man, for the Baal Shem Tov once placed his hand on him.” The story of the Shpola Zeide appears in Hayom Yom. But there is a continuation brought in [unclear]: when the Shpola Zeide came to visit the Alter Rebbe, it was in the year 5571, something like that. It was toward the end of his life—around 5579, around 5571. The Shpola Zeide came to visit the Alter Rebbe, and the Alter Rebbe went out to greet him. So the Shpola Zeide said, “I’m an old animal.” That is what he said: “An old animal.” “Why did you come out to greet me?” He spoke of himself so disparagingly: “An old animal.” So the Alter Rebbe said, “Yes—a great beast.” That is what the Alter Rebbe writes here. An “old animal” is a great beast. In other words, this is the level he writes about here in Tanya, the level of a great beast: there is an “animal” that is very lofty. What does this mean in terms of souls? There is the soul of [unclear], which is a level of “animal”

08:45 Speaker 1 below this kind. Generally, in the established terminology, this is called “the seed of beasts.” Souls of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah are called the seed of beasts. In Parshas Mishpatim, in Likkutei Torah, in Derech Mitzvosecha, [unclear]—yes, there is a level of soul called the seed of beasts. There is a level of soul called “the seed of man”: a soul of Atzilus, a soul that has daas. That is the level of man. “Adam,” man, has the numerical value of Mah, the divine name spelled out to equal Mah. But there is also a level of “animal” above Atzilus. These are souls in which, despite their having daas, it shines and is felt within them that in relation to the Infinite, even daas is nothing; it is like an animal. So this is a very lofty level of “animal.” Although the person has daas, [unclear], nevertheless the truth shines within him that in relation to the Infinite, he too is truly like an animal. That is the “great beast” we are speaking of now. It is the divine name Ban, whose numerical value equals that of “behemah,” animal, and which precedes Atzilus. This is the level called the name Ban, numerically equivalent to “behemah,” which precedes Atzilus. What does that mean? In general, we know that there is the name Mah and the name Ban. Mah has the same numerical value as “adam,” man, and Ban has the same numerical value as “behemah,” animal. These are two ways of calculating the numerical value of the name Havayah. If you write the name Havayah with alefs in the expanded spelling—that is, yud, hei, vav, hei: you spell the hei with an alef, hei-alef; the vav as vav-alef-vav; and the final hei as hei-alef—it comes to Mah, forty-five. If you write yud, hei, vav, hei in an expanded spelling with heis—the hei as hei-hei, the vav as vav-vav, because you cannot put a hei into the vav, and the final hei again with a hei—the numerical value is fifty-two, which is Ban. Now, as for Mah and Ban: Mah has the numerical value of “adam,” man, and Ban has the numerical value of “behemah,” animal.

10:57 Speaker 1 Which is higher? Which name is higher—Shem Mah or Shem Ban? There are two ways to look at it. If we look at the number, which one has the higher number? Shem Ban. So Ban is higher. Yes. They go in ascending order: Mah is forty-five, Ban is fifty-two, then there is Shem Sag, sixty-three, and then Shem Av, seventy-two. So if you go by the number, Shem Ban is higher than Shem Mah. Each successive name is higher. Nevertheless, if you look at it from the perspective of tikkun, Ban is on a lower level.

11:48 Speaker 2 Ban has the same numerical value as Eliyahu.

11:51 Speaker 1 Eliyahu. You mean Eliyahu, of blessed memory, [unclear].

11:56 Speaker 2 Eliyahu Hanavi.

11:57 Speaker 1 Ah. In any case, Ban represents a lower level. Also, if you look at the name itself, at its letters: when the letters of Hashem’s name are spelled out with alefs, their numerical value is Mah. When they are spelled out with hehs, their numerical value is Ban. Of the letters alef and heh, alef is higher than heh. When we speak about levels associated with the letters, alef is generally connected with Chochmah and Kesser. Alef suggests wisdom; its letters also spell peleh, “wonder.” The letter heh is generally connected with Malchus. So there is an argument in either direction. And therefore, what do we find in Chassidus when it speaks about Shem Mah and Shem Ban? Generally, in most maamarim, Shem Ban is lower. Chassidus usually speaks of Shem Mah as corresponding to the world of Atzilus. Shem Mah is the world of Atzilus, as we say in the prayer before Shema, while Shem Ban corresponds to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. Or sometimes the discussion is within Atzilus itself: Shem Mah corresponds to one level, and Shem Ban to Malchus. In other words, Ban is lower. That is also why you will always see the names listed in maamarim as Av, Sag, Mah, Ban. Ban always comes last, after Mah. As explained at length in Kabbalah and Chassidus, although Ban has a higher numerical value, it descended lower—in keeping with the principle that whatever is higher falls lower. This is connected with the shattering of the vessels of the world of Tohu. Shem Ban is actually higher at its source: it is the spark of the world of Tohu, and Tohu is a higher world than Tikkun. So at its source, it is higher. But through the fall, the shattering of the vessels, it fell lower, into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. That is why, down here, it is lower. This is the point

14:14 Speaker 1 explained in Chassidus, which reconciles the two sides. Why do we see, on the one hand, that Ban is higher than Mah, and on the other, that Ban is lower than Mah? Because Shem Ban relates to the sparks of the world of Tohu. At its source it is higher, but in actuality it descended lower. Here the Alter Rebbe speaks about this in relation to the soul. In relation to the soul, these are the two aspects of the “beast,” the two aspects of Ban. There is the Ban that precedes Atzilus—the “great beast” that precedes Atzilus, the level at which even supernal knowledge is considered utterly like a beast. And there is the beast below, the one the Tanya spoke about earlier in the chapter: a physical body that does not sense, know or recognize that everything begins with G-dliness. That is the beast below. What is the Alter Rebbe trying to tell us by bringing this up here? Why does he introduce this point? It seems entirely tangential. The Alter Rebbe is not setting out to interpret verses for us. The Tanya is not a book of interpretations of verses. There are other books for that. But here we have the Tanya, a book about serving Hashem. How does this fit in? You might say there is a question about why the verse uses the plural, but that is not relevant here. Why does the Alter Rebbe insert this point in the middle of the Tanya? It must be relevant to the whole course of the chapter. The answer is straightforward. If we consider the central point of the chapter, we see that the Alter Rebbe is actually adding greater depth to it. The whole point of the chapter is, “As water reflects a face to a face, so does the heart of a person to a person”: how great and tremendous is Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s love

16:14 Speaker 1 for an ordinary person, lowly and despised. Hakadosh Boruch Hu, with all His greatness, honor and exaltedness, nevertheless descends. Where does He descend? To the lowest and most despised world. That is the whole point of the chapter. And in every mitzvah we do, that connection is present. Whenever anyone fulfills any mitzvah, whatever the mitzvah and whoever the person, there is an utterly wondrous union of Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself with a person who is lowly and despised. Now, when you reach the end of the chapter, you see that the Alter Rebbe distinguishes between an ignorant person and a tzaddik. You might think: Ah, at the end of the chapter it sounds as though it is specifically the ignorant person who is so far from G-dliness, whereas someone on a higher level does sense Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That is how it appears from what he writes near the end of the chapter, before the parentheses. What does that imply? That a tzaddik, whose body is refined, has knowledge and understanding; for him, G-dliness shines inwardly and openly. By contrast, an ignorant person is on a level where G-dliness does not shine within him. He has a physical body. So the novelty is that, nevertheless, Hakadosh Boruch Hu reveals Himself to the ignorant person. But someone could still think that there is a distinction between the way Hakadosh Boruch Hu reveals Himself to a great tzaddik and the way He reveals Himself to a simple person. Yet look at what he writes here at the end of the chapter: in truth, from Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s perspective, there is no difference. From His perspective, even the tzaddik is lowly and despised, because in relation to Hakadosh Boruch Hu,

18:15 Speaker 1 even supernal knowledge is truly like a beast. So from the perspective of infinite G-dliness, just as a simple person is as distant from Hakadosh Boruch Hu as a beast, so too is the tzaddik like a beast. Accordingly, just as Hashem’s love is revealed when He reaches the simple person and unites with him despite his being like a beast, the same is true of a tzaddik. What does this add? It gives us a much deeper sense of Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s exaltedness. When we understand that even a complete tzaddik, who has knowledge and a sense of G-dliness, is nevertheless like a beast in relation to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, it shows us all the more how great and exalted He is. We have been speaking all along about two points. On the one hand, we want to emphasize how great and exalted Hakadosh Boruch Hu is. On the other, we emphasize how He shows His love to someone lowly and despised. Those are the two points of this chapter. So knowing that even a complete tzaddik is like a beast in relation to the Infinite gives us a fuller understanding of both. On the one hand, it deepens our understanding of “lowly and despised”: even a complete tzaddik is truly lowly and despised in relation to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. On the other hand, it deepens our understanding of the King’s exaltedness. The King is so exalted that even a complete tzaddik is considered like a beast in relation to Hakadosh Boruch Hu—literally like a beast. And yet, despite being such a lofty, great and exalted King, before Whom not only the ignorant person is lowly and despised, but even the complete tzaddik and even supernal knowledge are truly like a beast, He nevertheless shows His great and tremendous love, and He descends

20:14 Speaker 1 and reveals Himself not only to the complete tzaddik, but also to the person who is lowly and despised. So this is not merely a tangential point where the Alter Rebbe wants to explain the meaning of “beasts.” Rather, understanding the deeper meaning of “beasts”—that even a complete tzaddik is counted among them, alongside the beast below—adds to our understanding of “As water reflects a face to a face” in both respects: our recognition of the greatness of the exalted King, before Whom even a complete tzaddik is truly like a beast; and our understanding of Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s descent and His great and tremendous love, through which He descends so very far, both to the tzaddik and to the beast—to a simple person who is truly lowly and despised. That is the point here at the end of the chapter, where the Alter Rebbe concludes the discussion of “As water reflects a face to a face.”

20:57 Speaker 3 It is written in parentheses.

21:00 Speaker 1 Because, at the end of the day, this is not really essential to the explanation of the chapter. It is just an addition: through this understanding, the feeling becomes more apparent. The point here is to explain something. We are talking about a beinoni. I’m not talking about tzaddikim. And for a beinoni, on the contrary, the whole chapter began by saying that there is a direct path for a person, and that it is very, very close. So he is speaking here to people who do not feel it, and they do not need this explanation. What is written in the text is enough. But to emphasize even more how wondrous “as in water, face reflects face” is—so that this will further awaken a person’s heart to love Hakadosh Boruch Hu—because that is the whole point, as you can see at the beginning of the chapter. So the more we understand how wondrous it is, the more it helps, and that is why he brings it here at the end of the chapter.