Tanya Chapter 32 - Part 3

00:01 We’re here in the continuation of chapter 32, which begins, “From great to small, for who knows…” The Alter Rebbe is now explaining how a person can truly bring himself to have genuine love and fellowship for every Jew, from great to small—so that the love is not just love, but “as yourself,” literally as yourself. The Alter Rebbe says, “For who knows…” His body has become loathsome and repulsive to him, while the soul… As we discussed in the previous chapter, a person has worked on himself so that his body becomes loathsome and repulsive to him. But as for the soul and spirit, who knows their greatness and distinction, and their root and source in the living G-d? So from the perspective of the body, it is loathsome and repulsive. From the perspective of the soul and spirit, which he has brought to the fore within himself, he has worked—through contemplation, through joy, through everything we discussed earlier—to elevate the soul above the body. So if we’re speaking from the perspective of the soul, since the soul has become the main thing for him, then who knows the greatness and distinction of the soul and spirit, and their root and source in the living G-d? How can you say you’re greater than someone else? Maybe he’s greater than you? What does that mean? What have we been explaining? We want to bring about a love that is “as yourself.” We’ve explained that, by human nature, love “as yourself” is impossible. Why? Because by nature, a person looks at someone else and sees his outward reality. He sees the person as he appears externally. He sees his intellect, his character traits, his body, his clothing, what he has. He sees the more external aspects of him. And so, by nature, we always measure ourselves against others—and others against ourselves. Where, in what area, on what point, can I connect with

02:16 this other person? What can I receive from him? What can I give him? What can I— in what way am I greater than him? And so on. Similarly, when you look at several people, you compare one person to another, as though examining their personalities, and on that basis you decide whom to connect with and how. That means there cannot be true love, because of all these calculations: you see yourself as greater than someone else on this external level, or you look at two people and see one as greater. So there is someone great and someone small. You say, “This person has more understanding, so I love him more. This person has more virtues; he serves Hashem more”—whatever it is that each person looks for. So I consider him great, and I’ll have a better, closer connection with him. The other person has less; he is small. When does this apply? When you’re looking at externalities. But once you connect with your own soul and spirit, you have worked to rise above externalities, because you’ve come to see that, on the external level, the body is loathsome and lowly. By “externalities,” we mean the whole outward aspect of the person, not just his physical body. You see, the Alter Rebbe uses the word “body” here, but he doesn’t mean only the body. By “body” he means all the external aspects, everything about a person that is visible from the outside. That is called the body. So from the perspective of the body and bodily matters, what appears outwardly is not the true reality. That is why he says, “Who knows their greatness and distinction, and their root and source in the living G-d?” If we’re speaking from the perspective of the neshamah, which is rooted in the supernal sefiros, then the way a person behaves down here does not necessarily show whether his neshamah is lower or higher.

04:11 The Alter Rebbe has said this several times already in Tanya, beginning in chapter 2: sometimes souls from the loftiest heights descend into the body of a loathsome, lowly person. In other words, with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, things work the opposite way from how they appear to mortal eyes. A person may be loathsome and lowly down here, but his neshamah comes from a much higher place. And when the Alter Rebbe alludes to this there, he points to Parshas Vayeira. These are matters explained in the Torah: the very highest souls can emerge precisely from what appear to be the lowliest circumstances. Kabbalah discusses the whole episode of Lot and his daughters—that it was precisely from there that the soul of Moshiach emerged. The same applies to Yehudah and Tamar. There are several accounts in the Torah where, precisely from situations that outwardly seem to be something lowly, the loftiest souls were drawn down. This is part of the hidden mysteries of souls. That is why the Alter Rebbe says, “Who knows their greatness and distinction, and their root and source in the living G-d?” In general, this is what is often said, and the Rebbe speaks about it a great deal: when you see someone facing more challenges, more concealment, it is because his neshamah comes from a higher level and he has greater strength. That is why Hakadosh Boruch Hu places him in a more complicated, more difficult situation. It actually shows that his neshamah comes from a loftier place. The soul of Rabbi Akiva—and as is explained, the soul of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, Shmuel bar Shilas, descendants of Haman. We’re studying the maamar here: as the Gemara says, “Descendants of Haman taught Torah in Bnei Brak”—Shmuel

06:05 bar Shilas[?]. The greatest Tannaim came precisely from the lowliest places. So the Alter Rebbe says that this is a straight and easy path, when a person works on himself and comes to this realization after chapters 29 and 30. He has come to recognize his own state: although outwardly he is a beinoni—the Alter Rebbe is speaking about a beinoni, a person whose thought, speech, and action are all as they should be—he has nevertheless come to see himself as loathsome and repulsive. So much so that, as we learned in chapter 30, he genuinely feels himself to be worse even than the most frivolous of people. As the Alter Rebbe explained in the previous chapter, he is “lowly of spirit before every person,” in absolute truth. So this is a straight and easy path. Once you elevate the soul above the body and look from the perspective of the soul and spirit, who knows their greatness and distinction at their root and source in the living G-d? That is one point. But it still doesn’t actually explain how the love can be literally “as yourself.” It only explains how a person can understand that there is no clear distinction here between great and small. It only rules out the idea of “from great to small.” Until now, I thought this person was great and that one small because I measured them by their outward conduct. Now I understand that someone considered great down here may be small Above, and the reverse may also be true. It’s like the well-known Gemara in Pesachim: “Those who are above are below, and those who are below are above.” Someone who appears elevated down here may be lowly Above. Someone who appears lowly down here, and so on. The point is that the higher world is often the opposite of the lower world. So you can’t make that judgment. You can’t look at him as great

07:58 And he may be smaller in terms of his soul—you don’t know; perhaps it’s the other way around. But that’s still not the full explanation. It’s only the beginning of the explanation, showing why you can’t say, “This one is greater and that one is smaller.” But how do we arrive at “as yourself”? The Alter Rebbe continues: “And furthermore”—“and furthermore” is an expression of [unclear], yes, it means something like “more than that”—“and furthermore, they all correspond.” There is a deeper point here that is not about greatness or superior qualities. There are levels of greatness and superior qualities, but there is a higher level in the root of the souls, where we say that they all correspond: all souls are, in essence, on the same level, and “we all have one Father.” That is the straightforward explanation. In a moment we’ll see that there are several ways to understand the passage, but first let’s learn its simplest meaning: “They all correspond.” There is a level of the soul on which all souls are essentially on one level. There is no greater or smaller at all. And he explains why they all correspond: because “we all have one Father.” There is a level on which we are all children of one Father. And because we are all children of one Father, then within the Father, from the Father’s perspective, the souls are as they are rooted in the Father’s mind. In the Father’s mind, there is a level where there is no higher and lower, a level where there is one essence, one point. That is the straightforward meaning. Of course, the Alter Rebbe is referring to what he explained in chapter 2 of Tanya. Look, in chapter 2 we learned that “the second soul in a Jew is truly a part of G-d above.” There, the Alter Rebbe asked: How can all souls be truly a part of G-d above, all souls deriving from the wisdom of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, when there are differences in level from one extreme to the other? As it says, “One high above another,” without end; there are souls of the generation of the footsteps of Moshiach. The Alter Rebbe discusses this at length in chapter

09:57 2. What does the Alter Rebbe describe? He says: Nevertheless, the root of the soul of every Jew, even one on the very lowest level, is rooted in the supernal mind of Chochmah Ila’ah. And Chochmah Ila’ah, as it exists there, has no higher and lower; there it is one point. It’s like the analogy he gives there of the drop: there is a point of essence where everything is, in essence, one point, one essence. That is what the Alter Rebbe is saying here, and it is even loftier. From this perspective, “as yourself” really is possible. When a Jew comes to recognize that all souls, in essence, are in a place where “we all have one Father,” a place where we are all one point, one essence, then the love with which I love myself and the love with which I love you are not two loves. Both are part of the same love—the love of a Jew. After all, I am a Jew and you are a Jew. So in the essence of our Jewishness, we are one point: the point in the Father’s mind, the point of unity. “That is why all Jews are called actual brothers.” This is also why, when speaking about the Jewish people, a number of verses use the word “brothers.” “For the sake of my brothers and friends, let me speak of peace within you.” There are several verses in Tanach that speak about Jewish souls and call them brothers. And the Alter Rebbe adds “actual.” The verse doesn’t say “actual,” but just as the Alter Rebbe adds the word “truly” to “a part of G-d above”—the verse says “a part of G-d above,” and the Alter Rebbe adds “truly”—so here too, the verse doesn’t say “actual,” and the Alter Rebbe adds “actual.” What does that mean? Because

11:38 there are many commentators who want to explain that when Jews are called “brothers,” it is a metaphor, a figure of speech, an expression of affection and love. Like in Shir Hashirim: “My sister, my beloved, my dove, my perfect one.” These are all expressions of affection, expressions of love with which Hakadosh Boruch Hu refers to the Jewish people. But in Chassidus, there is no such thing as merely an expression of affection. If it says something, then that is truly what it is. It is the thing itself. Yes, in Chassidus we want to know, with every word that is written, what its actual meaning is, what the point is, what its essence is. So here too, when the Alter Rebbe says that Jews are called brothers, it is not just to explain that Ahavas Yisroel exists because we are together, because one Jew helps another—external things. Rather, it means actual brothers. Why “actual”? That is the explanation. As we learned in chapter 2, he explains it briefly here: “Because of the root of their souls in the one Hashem.” Since all Jewish souls are rooted in the one Hashem, the unity there is an actual unity, without division. It is an essential unity. Simple unity is a unity beyond division, and all the souls are there. So because of their root in the one Hashem, they are actually brothers. In other words, just as with brothers—there are several aspects here—even down here, brothers are each a separate body, a separate person. Nevertheless, there is a bond between brothers that is an essential bond. The Alter Rebbe discusses this in Likkutei Amarim: when you look at the love between brothers, it isn’t an overt love, a love bound up with emotion. It can be a cool love, but it is love. In fact, brothers may sometimes quarrel with each other. I shouldn’t say

13:29 that they quarrel, but yes, everyone knows what happens in their own home. Brothers can sometimes disagree, argue, and so on. That doesn’t make them less brothers, or more brothers. That is the bond between brothers. It is a kind of bond that has nothing to do with excitement. Why? Because it is an essential bond. That is what connects them. It begins with one source. Since they come from the same father and mother, there is something essential that connects them. So when they are together, it may not be apparent at all. They can argue, disagree, and so on. When does it become apparent? Either at a difficult moment, sometimes, G-d forbid, or sometimes at a joyful moment. There are certain moments when this whole bond awakens. But in general, the love of... So this is the point the Alter Rebbe makes here: Jewish souls, the Jewish people, are called brothers. Since all the souls are rooted in the one Hashem, and there, in the mind of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, in Chochmah, they are one essence, we are therefore all one. Up to this point, that is the simple translation of the words of Tanya. “Only the bodies are separate.” All the division that exists comes from the body. But what is the Alter Rebbe trying to convey with this whole lengthy explanation? At first glance, the Alter Rebbe is speaking here about two levels. We already discussed in the introduction that he is speaking about two levels of Ahavas Yisroel: Ahavas Yisroel when there are differences in level, and Ahavas Yisroel on a level where there are no differences. More specifically, if we learn it more deeply and look more closely, there are three levels here. On closer examination, there are three levels. This is discussed by Reb Levik, by the Frierdiker Rebbe, and in the Rebbe’s teachings. They discuss this passage in Tanya. If

15:35 we study it and look more closely, there are three levels. Reb Levik explains it in more Kabbalistic terms [unclear]. The Frierdiker Rebbe presents it in his own way, and then the Rebbe explains it in Likkutei Sichos. There are the explanations in the Rebbe’s own words. We need to understand these three levels. First we’ll talk about two levels, and afterward about three. The general idea of the two levels is very interesting. I’ll start with what Reb Levik says. Why? Because Reb Levik’s notes relate directly to the wording of Tanya. They show us just how precise the wording of Tanya is. Reb Levik says that the difference between the first approach and the second is the difference between Binah and Chochmah. The root of the soul above is in the mind of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and that is where the souls come from. The souls come from—everything in Chochmah Ila’ah comes from the level of the mind—but within that itself there are Chochmah and Binah. What is the difference between Chochmah and Binah? In the sefirah of Chochmah, everything is a point. You know, Chochmah is a point; there is no division. Binah, by contrast, is expansiveness, details. That is the difference between Chochmah and Binah. Therefore, Chochmah corresponds to the name Havayah, and Binah to the name Elokim. Elokim itself—“the living G-d.” This is the precise wording in Tanya. If you look inside, it says “the living G-d.” With Chochmah, it is the name Havayah: he says “the one Hashem,” and he says “the living G-d.” When he speaks about the first approach regarding the Jewish people—“the soul and spirit: who knows their greatness and stature?”—there he emphasizes that there are differences. It’s just that, who knows them? But there is greatness and stature; some souls are higher, some lower, because that is how it is from the perspective of Binah. From the perspective of the soul as it exists in the sefirah of Binah, Binah is a place where

17:42 There are distinctions, and consequently there is a higher and a lower. So there are souls on higher and lower levels. Some souls correspond to an arm, and some to a foot. There are many levels, and this is the level called Elokim Chayim, the living G-d. Chassidus explains that Elokim in general refers to malchus, to gevurah and tzimtzum. But when it says Elokim Chayim, rather than simply Elokim, it refers to binah. It is Elokim on the one hand, because binah involves distinctions, but these are distinctions as they exist on the level of intellect—a higher level of distinction. That is why it is called Elokim Chayim. Elokim alone is Elokim Chayim, Elokim in a way— And that is why this is written about the tribes as well. Because of their distinctions, it is called Elokim Chayim. By contrast, we come to the second level: all Jews are equal, “one father for all of us.” This is the root of the soul in chochmah. And there is another nuance: the verse says, “Who knows?” What does “Who knows?” mean? It is known in Chassidus that “who” refers to binah. We find “who” in the context of Egypt and the Exodus from Egypt, [unclear], and “Who created these?” The level of “who” is the level of binah. Why does “who” refer to binah? Because “who” is a question, and questions belong to the sefirah of binah: that is where one investigates and seeks to understand. Also, the numerical value of “who” is fifty, corresponding to the fifty gates of binah. There are a number of explanations in Chassidus. So it says of the soul and spirit, “Who knows?” Pay attention to the precise wording: “Who knows?” At the level of “who,” the level of binah, that is where this matter exists. At that level there is a higher and a lower. But we do not know that, so from our perspective we cannot make calculations about who is greater and who is lesser. This is Rabbi Leibowitz’s [?] explanation. The Rebbe adds an explanation to this, along the lines of what we have already discussed.

19:46 We discussed this earlier as well. There are well-known sichos—the Rebbe discusses this in many sichos. One of the most significant places where the Rebbe addresses the subject is in the earlier volumes of Likkutei Sichos, volume 4, Parshas Nitzavim. It is a very well-known sicha in which the Rebbe explains “You are standing today.” On the one hand, the verse says “all of you”; on the other hand, it lists distinctions: “your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers.” There he discusses two kinds of Ahavas Yisroel, in the distinctive style of Likkutei Sichos. There is also a sicha later on, toward the end of Likkutei Sichos, volume 34, on Beshalach, a well-known sicha concerning [unclear] Moshe Rabbeinu. There too the Rebbe discusses this idea in greater depth and breadth, particularly in explaining the Tanya. There it is even clearer that this is the plain meaning of the Tanya; the Rebbe is explaining the plain meaning of the Tanya. In any event, we know that Ahavas Yisroel has two aspects. There is Ahavas Yisroel based on the fact that you are a Jew—that is the point we share. A Jew. This is on the level of the essence, as we discussed in the sicha on Vayakhel 5752, concerning the half-shekel. I am a Jew, you are a Jew; in essence, we are one, a single point. That is one kind of Ahavas Yisroel: we are all part of one essence. From that perspective there are no distinctions at all, and that is “all of you.” But there is also the Ahavas Yisroel explained in Derech Mitzvosecha, in the mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel: the Jewish people are like a body, with a head and a foot. This is also explained in Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim. The Alter Rebbe brings this analogy there. In Derech Mitzvosecha, he adds, based on the Arizal, that all souls are rooted in Adam Harishon. After all, we are all

21:38 rooted in Adam Harishon, who had a soul, a head, a foot, and a body. From there came all the souls, each in its place: there is a soul corresponding to the head and a soul corresponding to the foot, all the way down to a soul corresponding to the fingernails. In Adam Harishon’s body, all the souls exist as one entity. So when we look at the human body, there is a head and a foot; there are 248 limbs and 365 sinews. Yet they form one body. In other words, it is precisely all these limbs together that make a human body, and each needs the others. But there are distinctions. You cannot say there are none. Certainly the head has the advantage of being the head, and the foot has the advantage of being the foot. Each has its own advantage. But together they form one body, and each needs the other. In the Alter Rebbe’s words in Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim, when it comes to walking, the foot is called the head. In terms of intellect, the head is the head. But for walking, the head needs the foot, so the foot is called the head. Each therefore gives and receives in this relationship. This is Ahavas Yisroel that includes distinctions, and this is why the Alter Rebbe speaks here about two ideas: he wants to teach us that there are two levels of Ahavas Yisroel. In other words, it is not just that the Alter Rebbe proceeds here from below upward—first explaining why one should not consider oneself greater than another, and then explaining “as yourself,” as we discussed. There are also two kinds of Ahavas Yisroel here, on two levels, and both are needed. There is Ahavas Yisroel in which you love a Jew for his particular qualities. As the Rebbe explains in those sichos, that too has an advantage. There is

23:15 a special advantage in knowing how to unite with another Jew not only at a level where his individual character is absent—where there is just the essence, the soul, the Jew, and we are all equal. That is wonderful. It has a great advantage: bittul, one essence, all of us one point. But there is also a special advantage to connecting on the level of our individual qualities. Each person has their own advantage, and even there, each recognizes the need to connect with the other. That is a distinct kind of Ahavas Yisroel, and in a certain respect it is deeper. What is its advantage? It does have an advantage. The Rebbe discusses this in volume 4, in the sicha I mentioned. So here too, the Rebbe is explaining the plain meaning of the Tanya. And now we come to the point that, more specifically, there are three levels here. There is a level higher than chochmah: keser. We have been discussing chochmah and binah, but there is also the level of keser, and the soul is rooted in keser as well. What is the difference between keser and chochmah? Chochmah is only a point, but it is a point from which further levels develop. Chochmah is the source of binah. Within chochmah itself, it is perceived as a single point, but concealed within that point—as chapter 2 says, all 248 limbs are present in the father’s drop. They are not perceptible; they are all included within it, but they are there. Similarly, the Rebbe says, chochmah is the idea that we are all one point, but it is a point from which distinct details subsequently develop. So it does have a connection to those details. Ahavas Yisroel in its truest sense is on the level of will, where no such progression exists. In keser there is no progression at all. There is true simplicity, true boundlessness, and consequently we are, in essence, literally one essence.

25:20 This explains the precise wording of the Alter Rebbe here: “All are equal, and one father for all of them.” According to this explanation, these are two levels. “All are equal” is on the level of will, the level of keser. There, “equal” means literally equal. “One father for all of them” is chochmah. Chochmah, you see, is also a single point, but it is a father: the distinct details will later emerge from it. So there are three levels of Ahavas Yisroel: Ahavas Yisroel on the level of binah, Ahavas Yisroel on the level of chochmah, and Ahavas Yisroel on the level of keser, which is Ahavas Yisroel at its highest. This is what the Alter Rebbe wants to emphasize here: the deeper a Jew’s perspective and focus become, and the more deeply a Jew succeeds in awakening and connecting with his soul, the deeper his Ahavas Yisroel becomes. Then “as yourself”—the true meaning of “Love your fellow as yourself”—is literally “as yourself,” in the fullest sense.