Likkutei Amarim Tanya - Chapter 25 - Part 1

00:02 First, let’s review the chapters up to chapter 25 so we can understand what the Alter Rebbe wants to explain in chapter 25. Chapter 25 is where the Alter Rebbe concludes a discussion he began in chapter 18. Chapters 18 through 25 of Tanya form a single unit, a group of eight chapters in which the Alter Rebbe develops one point. What are these chapters about? The Alter Rebbe comes to explain how every Jew, without exception, has the ability to be a beinoni. Even a person who does not have much understanding or intellectual ability, and cannot contemplate the greatness of the Creator deeply, can nevertheless be a beinoni in thought, speech, and action—not only in practice, but also in his heart. That means with love and fear as well. In the chapter before chapter 18, chapter 17, the Alter Rebbe asked: How can it be “in your heart”? How can we say to every Jew, “For the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it”? How can we say that every Jew can not only attain complete perfection in thought, speech, and action, but that it can also be “in your heart,” with the fullest love and fear? That seems to run counter to experience. It is not easy to awaken love of Hashem, and it is not easy to awaken fear of Hashem. So in chapter 17, the Alter Rebbe said that the way to do this is through contemplation. Since every person can contemplate the greatness of Hashem, and his mind is under his control, he can use his mind to study and contemplate Hashem’s greatness. That will awaken love and fear of Hashem within him, because the mind rules over the heart, and as a result,

02:19 he will also be able to serve Hashem and have love of G-d, as the Alter Rebbe explained in those chapters. That was chapter 17. The Alter Rebbe then continued in chapter 18: Even a person who cannot contemplate the greatness of Hashem, and who does not have all that knowledge and understanding, can nevertheless come to serve Hashem with love and fear of Hashem. How is that possible? The Alter Rebbe explained that every Jew has a natural love hidden in the heart of every Jew. We inherited it from our forefathers. So every Jew has a love for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and that love is so strong that, because of it, a Jew would even be prepared to give his life in order to remain connected to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. A Jew loves Hakadosh Boruch Hu so much that he is prepared to surrender himself completely, even to the point of self-sacrifice. When a person contemplates that love and thinks about it, it enables him to be a beinoni. The Alter Rebbe explained this throughout the chapters from chapter 18 until now: how to bring that love into practice, into the service of thought, speech, and action. Because in everyday life, as the Alter Rebbe explained at the beginning, that love is generally not revealed in the soul. Most of the time it remains hidden; it is not out in the open. There is a spirit of folly that conceals the truth, and a person is in a state of [unclear], of exile and sleep. So the love is not revealed. Nevertheless, throughout these chapters the Alter Rebbe explains

04:16 how to bring that love from concealment into revelation. That is what chapters 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24 were about. In chapter 18, the Alter Rebbe explained the source of the hidden love that every Jew has, which we inherited from our forefathers, and how it is rooted in the faculty of chochmah in the soul. Chochmah is characterized by self-nullification, and that is why a Jew has simple faith, even to the point of self-sacrifice. In chapter 19, the Alter Rebbe explained the meaning of “The soul of man is the lamp of Hashem”: by its very nature, the soul wants to be absorbed into the Source of life, even if it will thereby become nothing at all. That is the nature of the soul. He then explained that a spirit of folly conceals this. But when the moment of self-sacrifice arrives, that spirit of folly falls away, and every Jew is prepared to give his life rather than be separated from G-dliness. This is the love every Jew has, and when that love is revealed, all the kelipos—everything—falls away. The Alter Rebbe also added a very important point in chapter 19. All these points will bring us to chapter 25, where the Alter Rebbe concludes the discussion. At the end of chapter 19, the Alter Rebbe adds that it is not only love; there is fear as well. By nature, a Jew does not want to be separated from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That is not only an expression of love. There is also an element of fear: a person is afraid of being separated. A Jew has this fear. It is a fear included within love. Because I love Hakadosh Boruch Hu with such tremendous love, because I want to be connected to Him and do not want to be separated, I also come to fear being distant from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That is why a Jew is afraid to touch even the edge of impurity, G-d

06:02 forbid, if he senses that it might separate him from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. By nature, a Jew fears being separated from G-dliness. The Alter Rebbe then explained how this carries through and applies to all 613 mitzvos. In chapters 20 and 21, the Alter Rebbe explained that the entire Torah and all the mitzvos are expressions of the oneness of Hashem. True Divine oneness means that the One is present throughout the world, throughout creation, and there is nothing besides Him. That is the subject of Hashem’s oneness, which the Alter Rebbe explained in chapters 20 and 21. And in—what is it?—chapter 22, the Alter Rebbe explained the concealment: the kelipos and sitra achra conceal the truth of Hashem’s oneness. This is what makes it possible for a Jew to fall into various sins and forms of impurity; he falls into that concealment. That was the point of chapter 22. Then, in chapter 23, the Alter Rebbe explained what happens when a Jew performs mitzvos. By performing mitzvos, you connect with Hashem’s oneness. In that context, the Alter Rebbe explained the distinction between a mitzvah and Torah: a mitzvah is like a limb of the King, whereas Torah and the will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu are entirely one. The unity attained through Torah is greater than the unity attained through mitzvos. So when a Jew performs a mitzvah, as it says in Chumash, and when he studies Torah, he becomes completely one with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This is the true oneness of Hashem attained through every positive mitzvah, and particularly through Torah study. On the other hand, when a person commits a sin, he becomes separated from G-dliness, and then he actually becomes like a kelipah, G-d forbid. Moreover, as the Alter Rebbe explains, he does not merely become like a kelipah, G-d forbid; he becomes even worse. For Hakadosh Boruch Hu created all the kelipos and all evil as they are, and they cannot go against the word of Hashem. A Jew, by contrast, becomes separated from G-dliness when he commits a sin, and then he becomes worse even than the animals. Animals and all the kelipos cannot go against His will. The Alter Rebbe brings various verses and teachings of our Sages showing that animals and all created beings have no ability to go against His will. They must fulfill Hashem’s will. It is specifically the human being to whom Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave free choice, so that he can choose to go against His will. That is why sin and wrongdoing are so serious. If a person knew the truth—that every sin and wrongdoing separates him from G-dliness, making him like an actual kelipah, or even worse—then he could overcome every test and every concealment. That is the point of all the chapters we have studied until now. And here, in chapter 25, the Alter Rebbe comes to the conclusion of the discussion. Chapter 25 is a very, very fundamental and important chapter, because here the Alter Rebbe helps us understand how every single Jew has the ability to be a beinoni in thought, speech, and action. Based on everything we have learned until now, we can understand the wonderful power Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave every Jew: through his own efforts, a Jew has the power to overcome both in turning away from evil and in doing good, and he can be a beinoni. And that depends on each and every person, based on this principle: when a person awakens the hidden love that he has

07:57 Hashem created evil that way. They cannot go against His command. A Jew, by contrast, becomes separated from G-dliness when he commits a transgression, and then becomes even worse than the animals. Animals and all the kelipos cannot go against His will. The Alter Rebbe brings various verses and teachings of our Sages showing that animals and all other created beings have no ability to act against His will. They must carry out Hashem’s will. It is specifically human beings whom Hashem gave free choice: they can choose to go against His will. That is why sin and wrongdoing are so serious. If a person knew the truth—that through every sin and wrongdoing he becomes separated from G-dliness, separated from G-dliness like an actual kelipah, and even worse than that—then, knowing this, he could overcome every challenge and every concealment. That is the point of all the chapters we have learned until now. Here, in chapter 25, the Alter Rebbe brings the discussion to a close. This is the conclusion. Chapter 25 is an especially fundamental and important chapter, because in it the Alter Rebbe helps us understand how a Jew—each and every one—has the ability to be a beinoni in thought, speech, and action. From everything we have learned until now, we can understand the remarkable power Hashem has given every Jew. Through his own efforts, a Jew has the ability to overcome challenges both in turning away from evil and in doing good, and he can be a beinoni. This depends on each and every person, on the basis of awakening the hidden love that he has

09:47 in the soul of every single Jew toward Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So chapter 25 is essentially a summary of all these chapters. At the same time, it is a very foundational chapter in serving Hashem, because here the Alter Rebbe gives the beinoni his direction: how a person, by feeling that he is a Jew, gains the ability to be a beinoni in thought, speech, and action. That is, in fact, the aim of the entire Tanya. There is a well-known letter connected with chapter 25 from Reb Levi, the Rebbe’s father. He wrote to the Rebbe before his wedding that on the day of the wedding he should study chapter 25 of Tanya. In that well-known letter about the Rebbe’s wedding, Reb Levi writes that he should study it with feeling, rather than in depth. Before the wedding, he should study the chapter not so much for its intellectual content, but chiefly with feeling—with his soul and his heart. That is what Reb Levi wrote to the Rebbe, and from there it became customary for grooms to study this chapter on their wedding day. In any case, we can see that this chapter is very foundational for life, because it sets out the basis of mesirus nefesh. The Alter Rebbe teaches that a Jew, by nature, always has mesirus nefesh. The question is: How do I bring that mesirus nefesh to expression not only, G-d forbid, when faced with danger to life, with sanctifying Hashem’s name, or with a test of faith, but at every moment and in every detail of turning away from evil and doing good? Then the power of mesirus nefesh operates in everyday life, and through this a Jew can be a beinoni in thought, speech, and action. The Alter Rebbe says in chapter 25: “And this is the meaning of the verse, ‘For

11:38 the matter is very close to you’: At every time and every hour, it is within a person’s power and control to remove the spirit of folly and forgetfulness from within himself, and to remember and awaken his love for the One Hashem, which is certainly hidden in his heart, without any doubt.” So this is what the Torah is saying here: “For the matter is very close to you.” There is a point to notice here. “The matter” means the whole of Torah and mitzvos. We are told that it is close to you, close to each and every person. And not only is it close; we are told that it is very, very close. The Alter Rebbe is now saying that, based on what we have learned until now, we can understand how this is true for every single person. As we explained, at every moment every Jew has the possibility, the ability, to take himself in hand and decide not to listen to the spirit of folly and forgetfulness within him, and to awaken his love for Hashem. That will enable him to be a beinoni. The Alter Rebbe is, as it were, summing up everything we have learned so far: at every time and every hour, at every moment, a Jew has this ability. To do what? Both to turn away from evil—he says, “to remove the spirit of folly”—and, on the positive side of doing good, to awaken the hidden love for the One Hashem in his heart. Without any doubt, it is there in every single Jew at every time and every hour. If you remember when we studied the previous chapters, there is a distinction here. The Alter Rebbe specifies “the spirit of folly and forgetfulness”—two things, the spirit of folly and forgetfulness. There are two things the animal soul does to a person. The spirit of folly confuses him in his head, in his mind. It tells him that nothing will happen, that he will still remain a Jew. Even if he commits a sin, he will not become separated from G-dliness. That is the spirit of folly produced by the animal soul. And then there is

13:48 forgetfulness. This means that a person forgets his hidden love. After all, a Jew has a boundless hidden love for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, but the yetzer hara makes him forget that he loves Him. It is not that he forgets the love itself. The love is there, but he forgets that he loves. He is not paying attention to the fact that he loves. His mind is on something else. He is looking elsewhere, so he forgets that he has this love. These are the two things the yetzer hara does: it brings a spirit of folly, confusing him and telling him that even if he commits a sin, nothing will happen. At the same time, it also makes him forget. And once a person forgets that he has this love, he can fall. So the Alter Rebbe says: This is the power every Jew has. A person can be consistent when he keeps this firmly in mind and remembers what is at stake. He can certainly reach the point of both removing the spirit of folly and forgetfulness from within himself and, on the positive side, awakening the love for Hashem that is in his heart, without any doubt. “And this is the meaning of ‘in your heart,’” says the Alter Rebbe. Based on this, we can also understand why the verse “For the matter is very close to you” explicitly says “in your heart.” The Alter Rebbe asked in chapter 17: On the face of it, “in your heart” seems to contradict what we see. How can you ask a Jew to be a beinoni in his heart as well? In practice, in his outward conduct, that is one thing. But to have it in his heart too, with love? Based on what we have explained, we can understand this as well. “And this is the meaning of ‘in your heart,’ and this also includes fear.” “In your heart” refers to the hidden love every Jew has. That love is called “in your heart.” It is love in the heart, except

15:45 that it is hidden, so it can be revealed. That is what the Alter Rebbe has just said: every Jew can reveal his love for Hakadosh Boruch Hu at every time and every hour. But what else does he add about “in your heart”? He says that it includes fear as well—not only love of Hashem, but fear of Hashem too. Because in serving Hashem we need both: we need love and we need fear. So fear is also present within this love. What is this fear? As we said earlier, the Alter Rebbe says at the end of chapters 18 and 19: “That is, not to be separated in any way from His blessed unity and oneness, even at the cost of actual mesirus nefesh.” A person fears separation from Hakadosh Boruch Hu so much that he does not want, and is afraid, to be separated from Him in any way—to the point that he is prepared to give his life rather than be separated from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And this mesirus nefesh that every Jew has, says the Alter Rebbe, is “without any reason or comprehensible understanding.” It is not mesirus nefesh based on reason, arising because he contemplated the greatness of Hashem. That was the first interpretation of “in your heart”: through contemplating the greatness of Hashem, a person awakens a love based on understanding. We spoke about that in chapter 17. Here we are talking about a different love. It is not a love connected with contemplation, but a love that comes without any reason or comprehensible understanding. It does not come from appreciating the virtue, the loftiness, or the greatness of G-dliness. Rather, from what? From “a G-dly nature.” Those are powerful words: a G-dly nature. The soul has a G-dly nature. On the one hand, it is a nature—a nature. That seems to emphasize that it is part of the soul’s very makeup, its essential character. It is not something brought in from outside; it is its nature. On the other hand, when we say

17:36 “nature,” G-d forbid that we should think we mean nature in the ordinary sense. So the Alter Rebbe emphasizes: it is a G-dly nature. The soul has a nature, but what kind of nature? A G-dly nature. It is not something human to begin with; it is something G-dly. That is because the soul is “truly a part of G-d above.” The soul’s faculty of chochmah shines within it; the light of Ein Sof shines within it—“He alone, and there is none besides Him.” That light shines down into the soul. Therefore the soul has a G-dly nature, a natural pull toward being absorbed in Ein Sof. That is why it fears being separated from G-dliness and desires to be included in G-dliness. From this, a Jew can fulfill all 613 mitzvos with complete perfection in thought, speech, and action. Why? The Alter Rebbe explains: “How much more so is breaking one’s nature easier than the suffering of death; it is close to him to overcome his yetzer.” What is the “how much more so” here? If I say that a Jew naturally has a love and fear through which he wants to be included in the light of Ein Sof and does not want to be separated from G-dliness, that means he is prepared even to give his life and die for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The Alter Rebbe says: How much more so here, where no one is asking you to die. No one is asking you for actual mesirus nefesh. What is being asked of you is not literally giving your life, but only breaking your nature. We are talking about an ordinary person; no one is killing him. All he needs to do is overcome his desires. Break his nature. He wants to sleep, but instead he needs to get up and serve Hashem. He wants to eat something, but he restrains himself and does not eat it. And so on. In other words, what is being demanded of him is not the suffering of death. What is demanded of you is only breaking your nature. Breaking your nature is much easier than the suffering of death. So

19:29 If you are prepared to endure the suffering of death rather than be separated from Hakadosh Boruch Hu, then conversely, to be united with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, a person is prepared to undergo actual mesirus nefesh. All the more so in life: if all that is needed is to give up a few ingrained habits, breaking one’s nature is much easier. So it is certainly within everyone’s power—it is easier than the suffering of death—and the matter is close to him: to overcome his yetzer, both in turning away from evil and so on. The Alter Rebbe will now continue to explain how this idea, this line of reasoning, this contemplation, affects a person and enables him to be strong in serving Hashem overall, both in turning away from evil and in doing good. First, the Rebbe will explain what turning away from evil means as a result of this line of reasoning. Then, later on, the Rebbe will also explain how it affects doing good—the particular kind of doing good that follows from this line of reasoning. In other words, by contemplating the fact that a Jew is prepared to go to the point of mesirus nefesh to remain connected to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and that he has a fear of being separated from Hakadosh Boruch Hu, one can take this idea and extend it so that it affects a person’s thought, speech, and action—in the way of “in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.” That is the foundation of chapter 25. Now the Rebbe will go into detail and explain the particular contemplation involved in turning away from evil, and how, by contemplating mesirus nefesh, a person brings himself to turn away from evil completely. And likewise with doing good: what does doing good mean, and how, through contemplating all of this, does a person bring himself to serve Hashem and do good in the fullest sense? This is what the Rebbe

21:12 is now going to explain.