Tanya Likkutei Amarim, Chapter 41 - Part 2

00:00 So we’re at the beginning of chapter 41. We learned the first few lines, and now we’re continuing. The Alter Rebbe comes here to explain what is meant by “the beginning of the service, its essence, and its root.” As we explained in the previous class, the expressions “beginning,” “essence,” and “root” all indicate that we’re talking about the foundation. It’s about laying the foundation. As it says elsewhere, in Kuntres HaAvodah, chapter 2, the Rebbe Rashab, of blessed memory, writes that this is a foundation—the foundation that supports the entire building. Through kabbolas ol of the kingdom of Heaven and yiras Shamayim, what the Alter Rebbe is about to explain is the foundation on which the entire edifice of serving Hashem stands. So the Alter Rebbe begins to explain what this means. The Alter Rebbe says: “Now, although fear is the root of turning away from evil, and love is the root of doing good, nevertheless, it is not enough to arouse love alone in order to do good.” The Alter Rebbe begins by explaining that although, as we said earlier, fear is the root of turning away from evil and love is the root of doing good, nevertheless, it is not enough to arouse love alone in order to do good. A person needs—as he goes on to say—“at the very least, first to arouse the natural fear hidden in the heart of every Jew.” Arousing love in order to do good isn’t enough; one must first arouse fear, at least. What does the Alter Rebbe mean here? First, let’s explain a little what he’s referring to. How does this follow from what came before? What does it mean that fear is the root of turning away from evil and love the root of doing good? The simple explanation is that the Alter Rebbe is referring to what he wrote in chapter 4. Near the beginning of Tanya, in chapter 4, the Alter Rebbe said that love is the root of doing good,

02:17 and fear is the root of turning away from evil. What does that mean in simple terms? In serving Hashem, in observing the mitzvos, there are the 248 positive commandments and the 365 prohibitions. In other words, Torah and mitzvos have two aspects. One part of Torah and mitzvos concerns the negative side, turning away from evil, which includes the 365 prohibitions. And another part is the positive side, doing good. As explained elsewhere in Chassidus, in Likkutei Torah on Parshas Balak, the Alter Rebbe gives the analogy of building a house for a king. The whole purpose of Torah and mitzvos, after all, is to make a dwelling for Hakadosh Boruch Hu in the lower realms. When you build a dwelling, a house, there are two things to do. One is to remove the dirt, clean the house, and take out everything undesirable. Then comes the second task: bringing in furnishings and other things to make it a beautiful home that the king can enter. Broadly speaking, these are the two aspects: the prohibitions are the cleaning, so that the world won’t be a dirty place, G-d forbid. And the 248 positive commandments make the world a place where G-dliness is revealed; through them, we bring in Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Now, the Alter Rebbe says in chapter 4, what is the root? In other words, what moves a person—what is the driving force that leads a person to turn away from evil? It’s fear. When a person has yiras Shamayim, the fear that makes him unwilling to rebel against Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the fear of rebelling against the King of kings, that keeps him from doing things contrary to the will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The 365 prohibitions cover all the things that go against His will. So when a person has

04:15 fear, that fear is what drives him to turn away from evil, not to do wrong, not to do things that can cause harm. Love is the root of the positive commandments. Why? Because when you love someone, you want to do things for them. When you have love, you don’t merely refrain from doing wrong; you want to do good. You look for things the other person likes, ways to honor them, to treat them well, and so on. That’s why the 248 positive commandments come through love. As the Alter Rebbe says there in chapter 4, a person who loves Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants to cleave to Him, connect with Him, and draw close to Him. That’s what love is: closeness. A person wants to draw near to Him, to be close to Him. And how can one draw close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu? Through the 248 positive commandments, the “248 limbs of the King.” That is how a Jew draws close to and embraces Hakadosh Boruch Hu: through the mitzvos. So, on the simple level, that is what it means that fear is the root of turning away from evil and love is the root of doing good. But the Rebbe points out an interesting precision here. The Rebbe notes that the Alter Rebbe does not write “the 248 positive commandments” and “the 365 prohibitions.” He writes “turning away from evil” and “doing good,” and that wording is precise. Why does the Alter Rebbe put it that way? The Rebbe offers an interesting insight. He says that both positive commandments and prohibitions can be approached either as turning away from evil or as doing good. A person can observe a mitzvah for either of two reasons. He may observe a mitzvah because he doesn’t want to do wrong, rather than out of the love that motivates doing good. With any mitzvah, even a positive commandment—say a person puts on tefillin, which is a positive commandment—there can

06:19 be two reasons. He might put on tefillin because he doesn’t want to rebel against the King. That is a reason rooted in turning away from evil: “If I don’t put on tefillin, I’m doing something wrong. I’m rebelling against the King, and that’s why I put on tefillin.” So putting on tefillin is a positive commandment, but its character, in this case, is turning away from evil. There’s another way: he puts on tefillin because tefillin draw down G-dliness and bring the heart and mind into submission, as discussed in the maamarim, along with all the other aspects of the intent behind tefillin. Those are two different approaches. The same applies to every mitzvah: both positive commandments and prohibitions can be observed with either of these two intentions. On this basis, what the Alter Rebbe says has a much broader meaning. When he says that fear is the root of turning away from evil, he’s speaking about all 613 mitzvos. A person can observe all 613 mitzvos from a place of turning away from evil, through fear. If you arouse fear, and your entire service is motivated only by fear—you don’t want to rebel against the King; you fear Hakadosh Boruch Hu—then you’ll observe not only the 365 prohibitions but also the 248 positive commandments. But why do you observe them? To turn away from evil, because you don’t want to do wrong. And love is the root of doing good. When I love someone, I will likewise observe all 613 mitzvos—not only the 248 positive commandments, but also the 365 prohibitions. But why do I observe the 365 prohibitions? Out of love. Because I love you, I don’t want to do anything that bothers you; because I love you, I’ll do what you want. And this is how the Rebbe understands the passage here in Tanya. In a

08:01 moment we’ll see that this applies to one’s entire service. It isn’t just a clever interpretation; it goes to the heart of the Alter Rebbe’s new teaching in chapter 41. The Alter Rebbe is emphasizing a remarkable point here, and we’ll soon see why. So that’s the first point. According to the Rebbe’s explanation, “turning away from evil” refers to all of Torah and mitzvos, and “doing good” also refers to all of Torah and mitzvos—all 613. What is the distinction? When a person approaches them from a place of fear, all his Torah and mitzvos take the form of turning away from evil. All he feels in observing them is that he doesn’t want to do wrong; he doesn’t want to rebel. But when he approaches them from a place of love, his whole aim is to draw down G-dliness. He wants to do good—he wants to do good. In Likkutei Torah, in “And What Is Good,” the Alter Rebbe adds another point about the meaning of “and do good.” It’s very interesting; that is actually the source of this idea. “And do good” doesn’t refer only to the 248 positive commandments. It means that everything you do comes from a positive motivation: you want to do good. So the Alter Rebbe says there that the word “do” also has a connotation of compelling oneself. It implies exertion and effort. Serving Hashem means that a person serves Him beyond his usual habit. That is what “do” means. And “good” also refers to light, to drawing down kindness and light. In other words, the precise meaning of “and do good” is that a person wants to serve Hashem beyond his usual habit, and his aim is good: to draw down kindness and light, to draw down kindness [unclear]. For that, he needs love. Because when he serves Hashem

09:48 That is only on the side of fear, so you will do only what is necessary. If my whole concern is that I don’t want to rebel against the King, so that I turn away from evil, then from the standpoint of turning away from evil you will observe everything, including the positive mitzvos, but only to the extent necessary not to rebel against the King. I’ll do only what halachah requires. Why should I do it in a more beautiful way? Why should I do more than I have to? I’ll do what is required. By contrast, when you have love, that love will lead you to “do good”—to do more than you usually do, to do more than... like reviewing something a hundred and one times. And to do it as “good,” with the intention of drawing down revealed light, not merely to prevent evil or unwanted things. This is written in Likkutei Torah, “And how good.” But there is something interesting here. The Alter Rebbe says that although fear is the root of “turn away from evil” and love is the root of “do good,” nevertheless, “it is not enough to arouse love alone for ‘do good.’” What do those words mean? How do we understand them? “It is not enough to arouse love alone for ‘do good.’” What does the Alter Rebbe mean here? “It is not enough to arouse love alone for ‘do good.’” What is the Alter Rebbe saying? There are two ways to understand the Alter Rebbe’s words. One way is: “It is not enough to arouse love alone for ‘do good.’” In other words, since we said that love is needed for “do good,” the Alter Rebbe says: Know that arousing love is not enough for doing good. You also need fear. Yes, that is the meaning. In other words, even for “do good,” you need fear. Not only love; it is not

11:45 enough to arouse love alone for “do good.” A person says: I understand that fear is needed for “turn away from evil,” but why would I need fear for “do good”? For “do good,” love is enough. So the Alter Rebbe is teaching us something new here: No. Even for “do good,” you also need fear. That is one interpretation of the Alter Rebbe’s words. A second interpretation of the Alter Rebbe’s words, another way to read this passage in Tanya—and some commentators do read it this way—is that the Alter Rebbe is saying a person might think he doesn’t need fear at all. Why do I need fear at all? I can serve Hashem with love alone. “It is not enough to arouse love alone for ‘do good.’” In other words, a person might think: Why do we need fear at all? I can serve Hashem solely out of love, by doing good. After all, seemingly there is no question here. What do I need fear for? Love, as we said, does more than help a person not rebel against the King; it leads him to serve Hashem in a way of “do good” as well. So why do you need fear at all? In other words, one might think that serving through fear is a lower form of service, while serving through love is a greater form of service. So if I can serve Hashem from the outset with love, that is enough. Why do I need fear at all? Some want to explain the passage in Tanya here that way too, as what the Rebbe is explaining. And that is what seems to be implied in several places in Chassidus. But here the Rebbe understands it according to the first interpretation we gave. In other words, there are places where it is explained one way and places where it is explained the other way, but according to

13:46 the Rebbe’s explanation, as we will see, the Rebbe understands it in the first way. The Alter Rebbe is teaching something new here in Tanya, a remarkable insight. This is really the central point of Tanya chapter 41. The Alter Rebbe is teaching us: Fear is needed not only for “turn away from evil,” but for “do good” as well. The Alter Rebbe wants a person to know that fear is needed for good deeds too. Fear is needed not only to turn away from evil, but also to do good deeds. That is what the Alter Rebbe is explaining here. But we need to understand why, and we will understand that later in the chapter. So I want to explain what we just said once more, because it has a direct bearing on our service of Hashem. I want to explain the two interpretations: the usual interpretation, my friends, the plain interpretation, and the Rebbe’s new insight. What is the plain interpretation, and what is the Rebbe adding here? So let’s explain the plain interpretation. This is a very fundamental point. It applies to every one of us too. Good. There is service motivated by fear, and there is service motivated by love. So, simply put, with service motivated by fear, as we said, a person does not want to rebel against the King. He fears Hakadosh Boruch Hu because He is the King, and out of that fear he does not want to rebel. We are not talking here about fear of punishment, right? We are talking about awe of the King. Yes, the person is afraid; he does not want to rebel; he fears the King. So that leads you to “turn away from evil,” as we said: not to do wrong. You observe all the mitzvos, but you do so from the perspective of “turn away from evil.” Then there is service through the power of love. Love leads you to do much more. You want not merely to avoid rebelling against the King, but to act, and so on. So, seemingly, the conclusion is that serving out of love is a much more enjoyable kind of service. Love is a much higher form of service. With love, I serve

15:46 Hakadosh Boruch Hu with vitality, with pleasure. I serve Hashem beyond my usual habits, and I bring light into the world, and so on. So if a person can serve Hashem with love, why does he need fear at all? That is what seems to be implied in several places. And if a person is at the beginning of his service, well, he does not yet have love of Hashem, so he says: Fear of Heaven is relevant to me. But if I can serve Hashem through the power of love, why do I need fear? Love is much more enjoyable, much more elevated. This is what the Alter Rebbe rejects. The Alter Rebbe says: No, there must be fear at the beginning of one’s service; there must always be fear; fear must be present as well. One cannot serve Hashem with love alone. What is the reason? This is explained in several places. In Kuntres HaAvodah, the Rebbe Rashab discusses it at length. There are several reasons. Let’s mention one, for example: If a person relies only on love, if he serves Hakadosh Boruch Hu only out of love, he will not always observe the mitzvos in the same way. Things may vary. There is a difference between the path of fear and the path of love: love fluctuates. Everyone sees this firsthand. With love, sometimes you are in a loving frame of mind and sometimes you are not. Love is not always the same. Fear does not fluctuate in that way. Why? It is very simple: Fear does not come from my mood. Fear comes from the King. There is a King, and if there is a King, you must do what He says. So it makes no difference whether today I am in this mood or that mood. Once you have come to recognize that there is a King and that He is your King, when He asks something of you, you have to do it, as with the mitzvos. So if

17:40 a person serves Hashem only through love, without fear, then today you may be in the mood to serve with enjoyment and pleasure, and you love Hakadosh Boruch Hu. It is sweet. But the next day you wake up in a bad mood. Today your heart is dry; you have no enjoyment, no vitality, and then you won’t read, you won’t learn, you won’t daven, you won’t do anything. So that is one reason fear must be there at the beginning of one’s service. Why is fear important? It is fundamental, because fear ensures that a person’s observance of mitzvos remains constant. That is one explanation. There is another explanation: When we talk about love, a person feels himself in that love. There is a sense of self in it. Look, it is love of Hashem. But in love of Hashem, the person himself is present. I—I love myself. I love Hakadosh Boruch Hu because it feels good to me. So there is a measure of self-awareness in it, a feeling of self. With fear, by contrast, there is more bittul, more self-nullification. That is another advantage fear has over love. We will soon see that this is a central point in this chapter. So this point the Rebbe makes is extremely important for understanding this chapter of Tanya. That is another reason fear is necessary. Serving Hashem with love is not enough. Another point mentioned in the seforim is that when a person serves Hakadosh Boruch Hu out of love, he may not be careful about every detail. He loves Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So of course, “I love Hakadosh Boruch Hu; I’ll do everything for Hakadosh Boruch Hu.” But sometimes, out of his great love for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, he may also make mistakes. “No, no, it doesn’t matter. The details—what difference does this detail make? This detail is more physical, it is

19:50 Right. So often the finer details don’t seem to matter so much. When a person serves Hashem out of fear, that fear leads him to do exactly what the Shulchan Aruch says. With fear, you’re not looking for the geshmak, the enjoyment; you’re not looking for love. You’re trying not to rebel against the King. So you’ll be careful with the smallest and the most serious matters. You’ll pay close attention to what the Shulchan Aruch says about how to fulfill a mitzvah, and you’ll do it precisely. But a person who loves wants the geshmak of the thing, and then, with certain details, he might, might, might even fail to be careful, because of... This is one of the teachings that’s written about. The Rebbe would repeat it many times. There’s a teaching about what it says in Parshas Behaaloscha, where Aharon the Kohen lights the lamps. What does it say there? “And Aharon did so.” Rashi says, what is the meaning of “And Aharon did so”? “To tell the praise of Aharon, that he made no change.” Aharon the Kohen made no change. The Rebbe asks: What does that mean? Would we have thought Aharon the Kohen did something different? What do you mean? Hakadosh Boruch Hu told him to do it a certain way. Who would think Aharon the Kohen would do otherwise? What is Rashi telling us by saying, “To tell the praise of Aharon, that he made no change”? So the Rebbe once said—and the Rebbe said this a number of times—that Aharon the Kohen had love for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Aharon the Kohen was a man of kindness, a man of love. He was filled with love, and he was lighting the lamps, and he knew the full power of those lamps: he was kindling the souls of the Jewish people. The whole situation—transformations were taking place here. So when Aharon the Kohen lit the lamps, he could sometimes become so enthusiastic that he might do it in a way that wasn’t quite precise. Not a major change, just a tiny bit more, so that

21:52 it would be a certain way. What difference does it make? Right now he’s engaged in something much higher. His greatness was that when he lit the lamp, he did it precisely as Hakadosh Boruch Hu had said, without changing anything. For that, you need fear. So these are different explanations. Why are we saying this? Because that follows the simple reading of what it says above: “For although fear is the root of ‘turn away from evil,’ and love is the root of ‘do good,’ nevertheless, love alone is not enough for ‘do good.’” A person can’t say, “I’ll serve with love alone, and that’s it. Once I have love, that’s much higher.” No. You must arouse fear, because without fear you have all the shortcomings we’ve just discussed. But as I said, the Rebbe offers another explanation here. The Rebbe says there is something deeper in these words. The Alter Rebbe is making a much deeper point. He’s saying: No, this person does have fear—not as we were thinking just now, that he lacks it. A person has fear, and he uses that fear to turn away from evil. His fear makes him careful in every respect not to rebel against the King. That isn’t enough. Fear is needed for love as well, and for doing good too—excuse me. That is the difficulty here in Tanya. “For although fear is the root of ‘turn away from evil’” seems unnecessary. Why did the Alter Rebbe begin that way? He could have gone straight to love: “Although love is the root of ‘do good,’ nevertheless, there must also be fear.” But the Alter Rebbe says: “For although fear is the root of ‘turn away from evil,’ and love is the root of ‘do good,’ nevertheless, fear alone is not enough for ‘do good.’” The Alter Rebbe is saying that even if you have fear of Heaven, if your fear of Heaven is only for turning away from evil,

23:39 that isn’t right; it isn’t enough. Fear of Heaven must also be present in the service of doing good, in the service of drawing down G-dliness. Both in the service associated with fear and in the service associated with the path of love, it must all be built on fear. Fear is the foundation not only of turning away from evil. Fear is also the foundation of doing good. That is the Alter Rebbe’s innovation here in Tanya. And why, in fact, is fear the root of doing good as well? The reason follows from the principle we mentioned earlier: love is connected with a sense of self, while fear is connected with bittul, self-nullification. So if, when a person comes to the service of doing good, he does it only out of love, with no element of fear at all, then it lacks bittul, and it won’t draw down G-dliness either. For my service to draw down G-dliness—for it to truly be “do good,” to have an effect and reveal G-dliness in the world—even in the positive side of service, even in doing good, there must always be that element of fear, that element of kabbolas ol. So that is essentially the principle written above. The Alter Rebbe is explaining why it matters so much that fear is the beginning of the service, its core and its root—not only its beginning, as we explained in the previous class, but also its core and its root. That means that every aspect of serving Hashem—not only the service of turning away from evil, but also the aspects connected with doing good, the service of love, the service of drawing down G-dliness, even when a person is already engaged in the positive side of service, in matters of revelation and so on—all of these must have a foundation of fear, a foundation of kabbolas ol.

25:32 Why? As we’ll see in a moment, because fear contains the sense of being a servant of the King. A Jew must always remember, in every detail of his service, that his foundation is that he is a servant of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. His foundation is: it isn’t about me; it’s about Hakadosh Boruch Hu. With love, the foundation is me: I love; it feels good to me. With fear, the foundation is that there is a King, He chose me, and I am His servant. So the movement is one of bittul. That is what enables not only turning away from evil, but also doing good—all the ways of drawing down G-dliness into the world.