Likkutei Amarim Tanya - Chapter 47 - Part 2

00:01 I’ll start chapter 47 again. “And behold, in every generation, and on every day, a person is obligated to see himself as though he had left Egypt today.” The Rebbe says here that the Exodus from Egypt is something that applies in every generation. The Haggadah says that every year. But the Rebbe adds that every single day, too, a person is commanded to see himself—that is, to feel—as though he left Egypt today. By the way, why does the Rebbe say this? As we explained in the previous class, the Rebbe says it as a continuation of what he said in the previous chapter about how a person comes to love “as water reflects the face to the face.” It is by contemplating the great and immense love that Hakadosh Boruch Hu showed the Jewish people at the Exodus from Egypt: He took them out of a place of filth and impurity, out of Egypt, and raised them up. He brought them close to Him at the giving of the Torah, into the innermost chamber, with closeness and kisses—which refers to Torah and mitzvos. So the Alter Rebbe comes to explain in this chapter that this is not only something that happened in the past. Contemplating how Hakadosh Boruch Hu took us—our ancestors—out of Egypt and gave us the Torah, even though we were not worthy of it, also arouses love, because that too shows the greatness of His love. But as we explained in the previous class, that is a general matter, and it is also something that happened in the past. So the Alter Rebbe now comes to explain how this applies to each person individually, in the present, every single day. In this chapter, then, the Alter Rebbe will explain what the Exodus from Egypt means, and consequently what the giving of the Torah means every day. The Alter Rebbe explains: What does it mean to have left Egypt today, as it were? Where is the daily Exodus from Egypt in a person’s soul? It is the departure of the G-dly soul

02:11 from the imprisonment of the body, the “skin of the serpent.” The Exodus from Egypt within the soul is the G-dly soul’s departure from the imprisonment of the body, the skin of the serpent. The body is called the skin of the serpent. What does “skin of the serpent” mean? It means a snake’s skin. Skin—with an ayin. Yes, we learned this in chapter 45 as well. There too, the Alter Rebbe said that the body is called the skin of the serpent. What does that mean? As we explained then—and we’ll go over it again now—the serpent refers to the primordial serpent. It is called the primordial serpent. The primordial serpent is selfhood, the root of selfhood and kelipah, and the serpent’s skin is the skin of the primordial serpent. What is significant about the skin of the primordial serpent? With a snake, its skin is, on the one hand, not actually part of the snake, but nevertheless it is the snake’s skin. As we explained then, in terms of halachah, a snake’s skin does not have the same status as the snake itself. The snake itself, its flesh, is susceptible to tumah. There are measurements for how much of a snake is susceptible to tumah and various laws of tumah concerning the flesh of an impure animal. A snake’s skin is not considered susceptible to tumah. With some animals the skin is like the flesh, but with a snake, the skin is not like the flesh. There is a distinction between a snake’s skin and its flesh. In any case, according to the inner explanation, this is the difference between the impure kelipos and kelipas nogah. There are things that belong to the actual impure kelipos—that is like the snake’s flesh. And there are things that belong to kelipas nogah—that is like the snake’s skin. That is one explanation.

04:08 Why is the body called the snake’s skin? Because a Jew’s body does not belong to the impure kelipos. A Jew’s body belongs to kelipas nogah, as the Alter Rebbe said earlier in Tanya, in chapter 7, and that is why it is considered like the snake’s skin. Nevertheless, even if it is kelipas nogah, kelipas nogah is not holiness either. It too is in Egypt. After all, kelipas nogah is also kelipah; it too involves selfhood. That is one explanation we gave. A second explanation of why the body is called the snake’s skin is the plain meaning: just as skin is a garment for the flesh. Skin—el cuero, skin. It is the garment of the flesh. In the same way, the body is the garment of the soul. So, in the straightforward sense, we compare a person’s body to the skin of the snake. The intention here is not necessarily to emphasize kelipas nogah specifically, as opposed to the other kelipos. The point is the general comparison: the body is called a snake’s skin because skin serves as a garment. That is what defines skin: it is a garment. In this sense, the body too is a garment, and that is why it is compared to skin. But the point here is to emphasize what kind of skin it is: a snake’s skin. In other words, it is connected with kelipah. It follows that the G-dly soul is inside the body, within the constraints of the body and the animal soul. So the G-dly soul is in a place of kelipah, the place of the primordial serpent. This brings us back to what the Alter Rebbe said earlier. What did the Alter Rebbe say about Egypt? How was Egypt defined? What did we learn in chapter 46? How was Egypt defined? As a place of filth and impurity. The body is the same. The body too is a place of filth and impurity, since the body is the skin

06:09 of the primordial serpent. In terms of its bodily concerns, then, the body is in a state of being the skin of the serpent; it is associated with filth and impurity. In particular, there is the well-known statement frequently cited in the teachings of our Sages, and in Chassidus too, that the serpent came to Chavah and imparted filth to her. This whole concept of filth is said in connection with the primordial serpent: he brought the filth into Chavah, and afterward into Adam, along with the whole matter of impurity and evil. That very word, “filth,” was used there. The term the Alter Rebbe used earlier here is the term used in connection with the primordial serpent. So what is Egypt for each individual? It is the body and the animal soul. That is Egypt, the place of filth and impurity. The G-dly soul thus leaves the constraints of the body, the skin of the serpent, “to become included in the unity of the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, through engaging in Torah and mitzvos in general.” When a Jew observes Torah and mitzvos, at that moment the G-dly soul leaves the materiality of the body and animal soul, the filth and impurity, and connects with Hakadosh Boruch Hu through Torah and mitzvos. “And particularly through accepting the sovereignty of Heaven during the recitation of Shema.” The Alter Rebbe says that this happens through Torah and mitzvos in general. But more specifically, there is a particular mitzvah in which the Exodus from Egypt is felt more openly. That is when one accepts the sovereignty of Heaven during the recitation of Shema, when one accepts the yoke of Heaven upon himself entirely, through this declaration of unity, expressly saying, “Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One.” Among all the mitzvos, Shema has something distinctive: the Exodus from Egypt is present in Shema more than in other things. Why? Because Shema is also the time when one actually accepts the sovereignty of Heaven. With the other mitzvos, a person is occupied with a particular action. He puts on tefillin, so he is occupied with putting on tefillin. He puts on tzitzis, so he is

08:08 occupied with a particular action. Granted, there is the general intention one has before performing mitzvos, but the mitzvah itself is a particular action. So the movement of leaving Egypt is not openly apparent in every mitzvah. A person is occupied with something specific. Of course, through every mitzvah you connect with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and so you leave the constraints of the animal soul. But in the mitzvah of prayer it is open; in the mitzvah of reciting Shema it is open. In Shema, a person explicitly says, “Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One.” And what does he contemplate? What is the intention of the mitzvah of reciting Shema? To contemplate that Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One: that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is the true reality, that He is our G-d, that He is my G-d, and that I accept and draw down the holiness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu upon my soul. That is the Exodus from Egypt openly. So the Exodus from Egypt is present especially in Shema. “Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One.” What, then, is the Alter Rebbe saying here? He is saying that every Jew, every single day, has both experiences: the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah. In the previous chapter, the Alter Rebbe spoke of the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah as two separate things, and that was indeed the order in the plain sense. The Exodus from Egypt was one event, in the month of Nissan, and the giving of the Torah was in the month of Sivan. What is the difference between the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah? The Exodus from Egypt was primarily about leaving evil. That is the Exodus from Egypt: the Jews fled the filth and impurity, fled Egypt. It was a departure from evil. Then, after forty-nine days, came the moment of the giving of the Torah, when there was a connection, a union, a bond with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. In the parable of the king, these are the two parts of the parable: he takes him out of the refuse, a filthy, despised, lowly man lying

10:03 In the garbage heap. The king takes him out of the garbage heap—that is the idea of the Exodus from Egypt—and afterward brings him from one inner chamber to another, in closeness and embrace. So these are two things: one is the Exodus from Egypt, and the other is the Giving of the Torah. But in our daily service, in the service of prayer, and in observing the mitzvos generally—particularly in reciting Shema during prayer—these two things happen together. When a Jew performs a mitzvah, at that moment he leaves the confines of his body and his animal soul, his lowly material state. That is the Exodus from Egypt. And at that very moment, by performing the mitzvah, he also connects with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This is especially true when reciting Shema, as he says. So here we have both the Exodus from Egypt and the Giving of the Torah: both leaving a place of filth and impurity, and uniting and connecting with the King of kings, Hakadosh Boruch Hu. As explained above, “our G-d” is like “the G-d of Avraham,” and so on. The Alter Rebbe also said this earlier in chapter 46. That is why we say “our G-d.” The Alter Rebbe cited several verses. We say “our G-d.” What does “our G-d” mean? “I am Hashem your G-d,” “our G-d”—all these expressions are like “the G-d of Avraham,” and so on. In other words, what did we explain in the previous chapter? Avraham Avinu is called “the G-d of Avraham.” What does that mean? After all, Hakadosh Boruch Hu is the G-d of the entire world. Rather, “the G-d of Avraham” means that this union was revealed in him. For Avraham Avinu, G-dliness and Avraham were one. Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s union with Avraham Avinu—or, the other way around, Avraham Avinu’s union with Hakadosh Boruch Hu—was openly apparent. Avraham was a vehicle for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, so when you looked at Avraham, you saw “the G-d of Avraham.” Avraham and G-dliness were one, and that is

11:55 what “the G-d of Avraham” means on an inner level: Hakadosh Boruch Hu relates to Avraham Avinu inwardly, in a special way. The same is true of every Jew. When I recite Shema, I say, “Hear, O Israel, Hashem is our G-d.” What exactly does “our G-d” mean? That He lives with us; He is my G-d, and I give myself over to Him. So this is the idea of the Exodus from Egypt, and what happened with Avraham: becoming one with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This is the idea of the Exodus from Egypt and the Giving of the Torah—leaving filth and impurity and connecting with the King of kings, Hakadosh Boruch Hu, until one becomes truly one with Him. What was it like for Avraham Avinu? The Alter Rebbe says: Why is “the G-d of Avraham” written about Avraham? “Because he was nullified and included in the oneness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu.” Avraham Avinu was nullified and included in the oneness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That was Avraham Avinu’s distinction: he nullified himself, gave himself over entirely to G-dliness, and was included in the oneness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That is why we say “the G-d of Avraham.” He became one with G-dliness—“the G-d of Avraham,” Avraham’s G-d. So too, when every Jew recites Shema and says, “Hashem is our G-d,” he becomes one with Him. The Alter Rebbe adds that there is a difference between Avraham Avinu and each of us. “Only Avraham merited this through his deeds and his holy journey from level to level.” Avraham Avinu attained all the levels he reached, including this state, through his deeds and his holy journey. Avraham Avinu had to work through the deeds he performed, all the mitzvos Avraham Avinu observed, and through the path he traveled. In this way he went from level to level, as it says, “And Avram journeyed, traveling steadily southward.” Avraham Avinu

14:01 had to toil and work on himself through his deeds and his holy journey until he reached the level of union with G-dliness. “But for us, it is an inheritance and a gift.” We received it as an inheritance and a gift. What is the Alter Rebbe telling us here? We know that Avraham Avinu lived before the Giving of the Torah, so everything he accomplished came through his own efforts. Avraham Avinu attained everything he attained through his own service. As explained in the sichos and maamarim, Avraham Avinu lived before the decree separating the higher and lower realms was abolished, before “Hashem descended upon Mount Sinai.” So his service had to begin from below. He had to toil on his own to reach what he reached. Now, notice that the Alter Rebbe says several things here. First, “through his deeds.” Avraham Avinu attained all these things through his deeds. In plain terms, his deeds mean his acts of kindness: Avraham Avinu kept his home open to those in need, along with all the other good deeds he performed. Then the Alter Rebbe adds, “his holy journey.” What does “his holy journey” mean? Going from level to level. So he cites the verse, “And Avram journeyed, traveling steadily southward.” If you look in the Chumash, travel is mentioned several times in connection with Avraham Avinu. Lech Lecha begins, “Go forth from your land,” and then it says, “Avram went as Hashem had told him.” After that it says, “And Avram journeyed, traveling steadily southward.” Later it says, “He went on his journeys.” Travel is mentioned again and again in connection with Avraham Avinu. The Rebbe pointed this out several times in connection with the Baal Shem Tov, who was the Avraham Avinu of Chassidus. Just as we see travel in Avraham Avinu’s life, we see it with the Baal Shem Tov. The Baal Shem Tov traveled a great deal. Time and again, almost all the stories about the Baal Shem Tov begin with the Baal Shem Tov setting out on a journey, after Shabbos and so on. That too is the idea of travel. Travel played a part in Avraham Avinu’s life. So what does it mean in a person’s feelings? It has to do with the soul. And what does it mean spiritually? Does the Torah tell stories for no reason? Every detail in the Torah is precise. So when it says, “And Avram journeyed, traveling steadily southward,” it is not speaking only about physical events; it also means something spiritual. Avraham Avinu journeyed spiritually. What does a spiritual journey mean? Journeying means ratzo, a striving upward. When a person travels, it is not just a physical move from one place to another. It means that he advances and rises, going from one level to the next. Journeying expresses movement, an inner progression. As we are learning now in tonight’s maamar, there is the idea of ... going. The idea of going. Avraham Avinu’s journey was “southward.” What does “southward” mean? The south is the right-hand side. When we speak of the four directions, east is the front and west is the back. Yes, because when a person stands facing east, east is the front of the world. West is the back of the world, where the sun sets. And of the two sides, the right is south and the left is north. What is the difference between right and left? Right is love, and left is awe. So when it says of Avraham Avinu, “traveling steadily southward,” south means the right-hand side, the quality of love. In other words, Avraham Avinu’s service—his progress, his journey from strength to strength—followed the path of love. These are the two things the Alter Rebbe mentions here. He performed deeds, acts of kindness,

16:01 The stories of the Baal Shem Tov almost always begin with the Baal Shem Tov setting out on a journey after Shabbos, and so on. That, too, is a matter of journeys. Avraham Avinu also had this matter of journeys. So what does it mean on an inner level? It has to do with the soul. And what does it mean spiritually? Does the Torah tell stories for no reason? In the Torah, every detail is precise. So when it says, “And Avram journeyed on, traveling southward,” it is not speaking only about physical matters; it also means something spiritual. Avraham Avinu journeyed spiritually. What does a spiritual journey mean? A journey means ratzo, a yearning to rise. When a person travels, it is not merely something physical, going from place to place. A journey means that he keeps moving and ascending from one level to the next. The idea of a journey expresses movement, movement within the soul. As we are learning now in tonight’s maamar, there will be the idea of ... going. The idea of movement. Avraham Avinu’s journey was “southward.” What does “southward” mean? The Negev is the south. In the secret of ... the south represents the right side. When we speak of the four directions, east is the front, and west is the back. Yes, because when a person stands, he faces east. East is the front of the world. West is the back of the world, where the sun sets. And of the two sides, the right side is south and the left side is north. What is the difference between right and left? Right is love, and left is awe. So when it says of Avraham Avinu that he “journeyed on, traveling southward,” south means toward the right side, the quality of love. In other words, Avraham Avinu’s avodah—his movement, his journey from strength to strength—was along the path of love. These are the two things the Alter Rebbe mentions here. He was involved in action, in doing acts of kindness,

18:13 That, too, is the right-hand approach, but expressed in actually doing kindness. At the same time, his spiritual service also took the form of “journeying southward”—the path of love. These are two things: kindness and love. One is action, and the other is a feeling of the heart. With Avraham Avinu, both the action and the journey were the result of his own efforts. Through the work he did on himself, he became a vehicle for Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s attribute of kindness. So much so that we can say, “the G-d of Avraham.” He became a vehicle for G-dliness, for the Divine attribute of kindness. That is why we say “the G-d of Avraham.” Avraham Avinu attained this. With us, says the Alter Rebbe, it comes as an inheritance and a gift. Hashem gave it to us at the Giving of the Torah, when He gave us Torah and mitzvos. Now, at first glance, when we learn what is written here, what does the Alter Rebbe seem to be emphasizing? The distinction of Avraham Avinu: he reached his union with G-dliness through his own work, while we do not have that merit, that level of Avraham Avinu. For us, it comes as a gift and an inheritance. So it seems to emphasize what Avraham Avinu had. But how does that belong here? Why does the Alter Rebbe need to tell us this? What bearing does the distinction between us and Avraham Avinu have on this point in Tanya? It seems incidental. But when we think about it, the truth is just the opposite: the Alter Rebbe brings this up to emphasize our distinction even more, not Avraham’s. What the Alter Rebbe wants to emphasize here

20:19 in this passage is our distinction, the idea of “as water reflects a face to a face.” It is all a continuation of the central point of the previous chapter. Again: we said that chapter 47 continues chapter 46. In chapter 46, the Alter Rebbe explains how a person can awaken love for Hashem through the principle of “as water reflects a face to a face, so does one person’s heart reflect another’s.” When Hakadosh Boruch Hu shows such great love for a Jew, great love for Hakadosh Boruch Hu will naturally awaken in that Jew. Okay, so when the Alter Rebbe explains here the distinction between Avraham Avinu and us, he is adding to the explanation of “as water reflects a face to a face.” The fact that we received our connection to Hakadosh Boruch Hu as a gift and an inheritance actually shows something much greater about that principle. And there are three aspects to this. In what ways is what we have now greater than what Avraham Avinu had? There are three aspects of “as water reflects a face to a face.” What exactly are they? I want to remind you of what we learned in the previous class. We spoke about three things in explaining this principle. First, there is the general principle of love: when one person shows tremendous love to another, it causes the other person to love him too. That is one point. Then the Alter Rebbe added in the previous chapter that when this involves a king showing love to a lowly, contemptible person, rather than just one ordinary person loving another, “as water reflects a face to a face” applies all the more strongly. Yes, when the person is lowly and contemptible: the lower he is, the more powerfully this principle is expressed. Even a contemptible,

22:47 lowly person is moved all the more by it. Then there is a third point: the greatness of the king. The greater the king, the more wondrous this reflection of love becomes. He is not just any king, but a mighty, great king. Those are the three points the Alter Rebbe discussed in the previous chapter regarding “as water reflects a face to a face.” If we think about it, we will see that in all three respects, there is an advantage after the Giving of the Torah over the time of the Patriarchs. Why? First, regarding the love itself. Avraham Avinu was a good Jew. He worked hard, he toiled, he did many good deeds. He had love for Hashem; he journeyed along that path. Yes, he was a good Jew. So it is understandable that he would be loved. Loving someone who works and does all those good things does not demonstrate any extraordinary love. Where do you see truly great and powerful love? Precisely when someone has not done those things, and yet you love him. We did not work for this; we did nothing to earn it, and yet He loves us. That expresses genuine love, boundless love. Even though we did not have all those merits, Hakadosh Boruch Hu nevertheless gave it to us as a gift and an inheritance. That is the first point: the depth of this great love is expressed more after the Giving of the Torah than it was with the Patriarchs. With the Patriarchs, you might think it was because of their virtues and so on. Second, we come to the idea of being lowly and contemptible. This, too, is emphasized more strongly. Avraham Avinu was not lowly and contemptible. As for us, we are told that, in fact,

24:49 we have not earned it. In other words, that emphasizes the idea of being lowly and contemptible: you did nothing; you have not earned it. Yes, lowly and contemptible—and yet Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave us an inheritance, a gift. So the lowliness is more pronounced: after the Giving of the Torah, a Jew can be in a far lowlier state than the Patriarchs were, and nevertheless Hakadosh Boruch Hu draws us close. Then there is also the third point: what level of the King draws close to us? Here the Rebbe explains a novel point in his sichos. What level of the King was revealed to Avraham Avinu, and what level of the King do we receive through our Torah and mitzvos? Avraham Avinu lived before the Giving of the Torah. Hashem gave him G-dliness and connected with him. But what level connected with him? The level a created being can reach through his own powers. Right? As is well known from what is written in Chassidus, no matter how much a person toils and works, his own efforts cannot take him beyond the limits of what a human being can reach. A human being is finite and limited. The highest he can reach is the source of created beings, and no further. The same was true of the Patriarchs. Even though they performed all the service they did and reached the loftiest levels—the Patriarchs observed Torah and mitzvos, performed acts of kindness, and did everything they did—how far could they reach? Only as far as a created being can reach, which is a limited level. For the G-dliness revealed through a person’s service is limited by how far that service can reach. An awakening from below can reach only a corresponding awakening from above, one that is in proportion to it—

26:43 in other words, a level of G-dliness that is in proportion to a created being. That is not the case after the Giving of the Torah. Since it came as a gift, it is not limited in that way. A gift is measured according to the giver, not the recipient. So at the Giving of the Torah, G-dliness was drawn down on a level far beyond what the soul’s service could reach. It follows that precisely because what we have comes as an inheritance and a gift, a level of G-dliness is revealed to us that is utterly beyond comparison: that level of the King. So in this respect, too, there is an advantage after the Giving of the Torah over before it. Which level of the King is revealed to the simple person? After the Giving of the Torah, it is a far higher level. These, then, are the three points that help us understand what the Alter Rebbe is saying here. I got the hint. All right, tell him. Yes. So those are the three points the Alter Rebbe is making here. Yes, we will get to that. Those are the three points. That is why the Alter Rebbe brings this up. He is not simply trying to explain a distinction between the Patriarchs and the Giving of the Torah. It matters for understanding and contemplating the extent to which “as water reflects a face to a face, so does one person’s heart reflect another’s.” When a person reflects on how, after the Giving of the Torah, even though I have earned nothing, Hakadosh Boruch Hu nevertheless gives me this as a gift and an inheritance—and what does He give me? He gives me a level that even Avraham Avinu could not reach. He gives me His very Being and Essence, as the Rebbe will explain further on. That awakens all the more powerfully this reflection of one heart in another.