Tanya Chapter 32 - Part 2

00:01 We’re here in the continuation of chapter 32: “Their root, from great to small—for who can know?” The Alter Rebbe is explaining how a person can truly bring himself to feel genuine love and brotherhood for every Jew, from great to small—love that is not just love, but “as yourself,” literally as yourself. The Alter Rebbe says: “For the body is despised and loathsome to him, while the soul and spirit—who can know their greatness and stature, and their root and source in the living G-d?” As for the body, we already discussed in the previous chapter how a person has brought himself to regard it as despised and loathsome. And as for the soul and spirit—who can know their greatness and stature, and their root and source in the living G-d? So from the body’s perspective, it is despised and loathsome. As for the soul and spirit, which have become revealed to him, through contemplation and through joy—everything we discussed earlier—he has managed to raise the soul above the body. Now that we’re speaking from the soul’s perspective, since the soul has become the main thing for him, “who can know their greatness and stature, and their root and source in the living G-d?” How, then, can you say that you are greater than someone else? Maybe the other person is greater than you. What does that mean? What have we been explaining? We want to bring about love that is “as yourself.” We’ve explained that, by human nature, loving someone “as yourself” is impossible. Why? Because by nature, when a person looks at someone else, he sees that 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 the person. So by nature, we always measure ourselves against the other person—and the other person against ourselves. In what respect, in what area, can I connect

02:16 with this other person? What can I receive from him? What can I give him? In what way am I greater than him, and so on? Similarly, when you look at several people, you compare one to another. You’re examining each person’s character, as it were, and on that basis you decide whom to connect with and how. That cannot produce genuine love, because of all those calculations. You see yourself as greater than the other person in external respects, or you see one person as greater than another. There is “great” and there is “small.” You say: This person has more understanding, so I love him more. This person has more virtues; he serves Hashem more—or he has more of whatever it is that each person values. So I consider him great, and I’ll have a closer, better connection with him. The other person has less; he is small. When is this true? When you’re looking at externals. But once you connect with your own soul and spirit, you have brought yourself above those externals. After all, from the external perspective, you came to see yourself as despised and lowly. By “externals,” I mean the whole dimension of kelipas nogah in a person, the person’s outward self—not just his body. Look, the Alter Rebbe uses the word “body” here, but he doesn’t mean only the physical body. He means all the external aspects of a person, everything about him that is visible from the outside. That is called the body. So from the perspective of the body and its concerns, what is visible on the outside is not the true reality. That is why he says, “Who can know their greatness and stature, and their root and source in the living G-d?” We’re speaking about the soul, and the soul is rooted above, in the supernal sefiros. So the way a person behaves down here does not necessarily show whether his soul is lower or higher.

04:09 The Alter Rebbe has already said this several times in Tanya. Let’s start at the beginning, chapter 2. The Alter Rebbe said that sometimes infinitely lofty souls descend into the body of a despised and lowly person. In other words, with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, things work the opposite way from how they appear to our eyes of flesh. A person may be despised and lowly down here, while his soul comes from a much higher place. The Alter Rebbe brings an allusion to this there—from Parshas Vayeira—and brings examples mentioned in the Torah. It is precisely from seemingly lower circumstances that the loftiest souls emerge. Kabbalah discusses the whole episode of Lot and his daughters: it was specifically from there that the soul of Moshiach emerged. The same applies to Yehudah and Tamar. There are a number of episodes in the Torah that outwardly appeared to involve sin, something lowly, yet it was precisely there that the loftiest souls were drawn down. This is part of the whole mystery of souls. That is why the Alter Rebbe says, “Who can know their greatness and stature, and their root and source in the living G-d?” In general, this is something we often say. The Rebbe speaks about it a great deal: when you see that a person has more trials, more burdens and concealments, it is because his soul 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. That very fact indicates that his soul comes from a loftier place. The soul of Rabbi Akiva, as mentioned; Rabbi Meir Baal Haness; Shmuel bar Shilas, a descendant of Haman. The students are learning the maamar here—you remember. “Descendants of Haman studied Torah,” and it mentions

06:04 Shmuel bar Shilas there. Some of the greatest Tannaim came precisely from the lowliest places. So the Alter Rebbe is saying: yes, this is the direct and easy path, when a person works on himself and comes to this recognition. After chapters 29 and 30, he has come to recognize his own condition. Even though outwardly he was a beinoni—the Alter Rebbe is speaking about a beinoni, someone whose thought, speech, and action are all as they should be—nevertheless, he has come to regard himself as despised and loathsome. To such an extent that, as we learned in chapter 30, he feels that he is worse even than the most frivolous of the frivolous. Truly and sincerely. As the Alter Rebbe explains in the previous chapter: “Be humble before every person,” truly and sincerely. So this is a direct and easy path. Once you raise the soul above the body, then, from the perspective of the soul and spirit, who can know their greatness and stature in the living G-d? That is one point. It still doesn’t, in itself, explain how someone can be literally “as yourself.” It only explains how a person can understand that there is no fixed distinction here between great and small. It only rules out that distinction. Until now I thought this person was great and that person was small because I was measuring them by their external conduct. Now I understand that someone considered great down here might be small above, and the reverse can also be true. As in the Gemara in Pesachim—you know the well-known passage there—“Those above are below, and those below are above.” A person who appears lofty down here may be lowly above. A person considered lowly down here may be lofty above, and so on. The upper world is often the opposite of the lower world. So you cannot—you cannot look

07:57 One is great and one is small. From the soul’s perspective, you don’t know—perhaps it’s the other way around. But that still isn’t the full explanation. It’s only the beginning: why you can’t say that this one is great and that one is small. But how do we get to “like yourself”? The Alter Rebbe continues. “And also”—that’s the wording in Tanya, yes? “And also” means there’s something more. “And also, they are all equally suited”: there is a deeper point here. It isn’t a question of their greatness and stature, where there are different levels of greatness and stature. Rather, there is a higher level in the souls’ source, where we say they are all equally suited: 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 plain meaning here, but first let’s learn the simplest reading: they are all equally suited. There is a level of the souls at which all souls are essentially on one level. There is no great or small at all. And he explains why they are all equally suited: because we all have one Father. There is a level at which we are all children of one Father. And because we are all children of one Father, within the Father—where the souls, so to speak, are rooted in the father’s mind—there is a level at which there is no higher and lower. There is a level at which it is one essence, one point. And 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 a part of G-d above, how can all souls be the wisdom of Hakadosh Boruch Hu? After all, there are differences in level from one extreme to the other: there are the souls of the great ones of the holy nation, and there are souls of the generation at the heels of Moshiach. That is the whole point the Alter Rebbe discusses at length

09:56 in chapter 2. What is the Alter Rebbe’s answer? The Alter Rebbe says that, nevertheless, the root of the soul of every Jew, even one on the very lowest level, is in the supernal mind of Chochmah Ila’ah. And in Chochmah Ila’ah as it is there, there is no higher and lower; there it is one point. It is like the analogy he gives there of the drop: there is an essential point where everything is, in essence, one point, one essence. So that is what the Alter Rebbe is saying here. This is even higher. From this perspective, it really can be “like yourself.” When a Jew comes to recognize that all souls, in essence, are in that place of “we all have one Father,” in 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 contained in the same love—the love of a Jew. After all, I am a Jew and you are a Jew. In our Jewish essence, we are one point: the point in the father’s mind, a point of G-dliness. “Therefore, all Jews are called actual brothers.” That is also why, when Scripture speaks 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 other verses in Tanach that speak of the Jewish people and call them brothers. That is what brothers are. So the Alter Rebbe adds “actual.” The verse doesn’t say “actual,” but just as, with regard to “a part of G-d above,” the Alter Rebbe adds the word “truly”—the verse itself doesn’t say “truly”; it 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.” In other words, many commentators

11:40 want to explain that when Jews are called brothers, it is a metaphor, a figure of speech, an expression of affection and love, and so on. As in Shir Hashirim: “My sister, my beloved, my dove, my perfect one.” These are various expressions of affection and love with which Hakadosh Boruch Hu describes Knesses Yisroel. But in Chassidus, there is no such thing as merely an expression of affection. If it says it, it is actual; it is the thing itself. Yes, in Chassidus we want to know, about every word written, what it actually means, what the point is, what the essence of the matter is. So here too, when the Alter Rebbe says that Jews are called brothers, it is not just to explain Ahavas Yisroel by saying that we are together as one people and one helps another—external things. “Brothers” means actual brothers. Why is it actual? This 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 Hashem, Who is one, the oneness there is truly one, without [unclear]. After all, this oneness is essential oneness. Absolute oneness is a oneness beyond comprehension, and all the souls are there. So because of their root in the one Hashem, they are actually brothers. In other words, consider brothers: why are they really brothers? There is something essential in that, too. Even down here, each brother has a separate body and is a separate person. Nevertheless, there is a bond between them that is an essential bond. That is what the Alter Rebbe comes to explain. Think about the love between brothers. It is not necessarily a visible love; it is not a love tied to emotion. It can seem like a cool love, not an [unclear] one. But it is love. Brothers can even quarrel sometimes. I shouldn’t say it, but they do quarrel. Everyone

13:32 knows what happens in their own home. Brothers can sometimes argue and fight, and that doesn’t make them any less brothers—or any 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 thing: because they come from the same source, something essential binds them. And when they are together, it may not show at all. They can fight and argue. So when does it become apparent? Either at a difficult moment, sometimes, G-d forbid, or at a happy moment. There are certain moments when the whole thing awakens. But generally, the love of... So that is the point the Alter Rebbe is making here: the souls of the Jewish people. The Jewish people are called brothers because all the souls are rooted in the one Hashem. There, in the mind of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, in His wisdom, they are one essence, and therefore they are all one. Up to this point, that is the simple translation of the words of Tanya. It is only the body that has differences; all differentiation comes from the body. But what does the Alter Rebbe want to convey with all this discussion? If we look at the first slide, the Alter Rebbe is speaking here about two levels. We spoke about this in the introduction as well. The Alter Rebbe speaks here about two levels of Ahavas Yisroel: Ahavas Yisroel on a level where there are differences in spiritual standing, and Ahavas Yisroel on a level where there are no such differences. More specifically, if we study it more deeply and look more closely, there are three levels here. Reb Levik discusses this, and so do the Frierdiker Rebbe and the Rebbe in his explanation. They discuss this point in Tanya. If you study it and look more closely, there are three levels.

15:39 Reb Levik already explained it, in my opinion, more in terms of Kabbalah itself. The Frierdiker Rebbe presents it in his own way, and then the Rebbe explains it in Likkutei Sichos. There are the explanations in which the Rebbe puts it in his own terms. We need to understand the three levels. First let’s speak about two levels, and then 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 explanation is tied directly to the wording of Tanya. It shows us just how precise Tanya’s wording is. Reb Levik says that the difference between the first approach and the second is Binah and Chochmah. The source of the souls above is in the wisdom of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That is where the souls come from; their source is there. It all comes from Chochmah, from this level. But within this itself, there is Chochmah and there is 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 differentiation. Binah, though, is the opposite. Binah is breadth and detail. That is the difference between Chochmah and Binah. And that is why Chochmah is associated with the name Havayah, and Binah with the name Elokim—Elokim specifically, “the living Elokim.” That is the precision in Tanya’s wording. Look inside: “the living Elokim.” And for Chochmah, it uses the name Havayah: it says “the one Hashem,” and it says “the living Elokim.” When it speaks about the first way of looking at the Jewish people—“the nefesh and ruach: who knows their greatness and stature?”—it emphasizes that there are distinctions there. It’s just that, who knows? But there is greatness and stature; there are souls that are higher and others that are lower, because that is how it is from the perspective of Binah. From the soul’s perspective, as it exists in that sefirah, it is Binah. Binah is a place where there is differentiation, and consequently there is higher and lower. And therefore there are souls

17:46 Some are higher, some lower; there are souls on the level of the head and souls on the level of the foot. There are many different levels, and this is the level called “Elokim Chayim.” It is explained that the name Elokim generally refers to malchus, to tzimtzum. But when it says “Elokim Chayim,” rather than just “Elokim,” it refers to binah. Elokim Chayim is binah: it is Elokim because binah involves differentiation, but it is differentiation that is still on the level of intellect. It is differentiation on a higher level, and that is why it is called Elokim Chayim. There is ordinary Elokim, and there is Elokim Chayim. And the plural wording, “Chayim,” is also because of that differentiation. By contrast, on the second level, where all Jews are compatible with one another and so on, the root of all our souls is in chochmah, on the level of “father.” There is another detail here: why does it say “Who knows?” What is meant by “who knows”? We know that the level of “who,” mi, refers to binah. This comes up in the maamarim on the Exodus from Egypt and in many other places: “Raise your eyes on high and see who created these.” The level of mi is binah. Why? Because “who” is a question, and that belongs to binah, the place of questioning, investigating and understanding. Also, mi has a numerical value of fifty, corresponding to the fifty gates of binah. There are several explanations. So when it says, “And the nefesh and ruach—who knows?” the Alter Rebbe is precise: “Who knows?” On the level of mi, the level of binah, that is where this distinction exists. At that level there is higher and lower, but we do not know it, so from our perspective we cannot make calculations about who is greater and who is lesser. That is the Rebbe’s point. The Rebbe adds an explanation, which relates to something we discussed earlier. There are well-known sichos in which the Rebbe discusses this at length. One

19:51 of the most substantial places where the Rebbe addresses this subject is in the early volumes of Likkutei Sichos: the very well-known sicha on Parshas Nitzavim in volume 4. There the Rebbe explains “You are standing today.” On the one hand, the verse says “all of you”; on the other, it lists distinctions: “your heads, your elders, your officers.” That sicha discusses two kinds of Ahavas Yisroel, in the distinctive style of Likkutei Sichos. Later, toward the end of Likkutei Sichos volume 31, there is also a well-known sicha on Parshas Beshalach about the song of Moshe Rabbeinu. There the Rebbe discusses this more deeply and at greater length, particularly as an explanation of Tanya. There it is much clearer that this is the plain meaning of Tanya; the Rebbe is explaining the plain meaning of Tanya. In any case, we know that Ahavas Yisroel has two aspects. There is Ahavas Yisroel based on the fact that you are a Jew—a point we share. That comes from the essence. It is like we discussed in the sicha on [unclear], regarding the half-shekel: I am a Jew, you are a Jew. At our core we are one, a single point. That is one kind of Ahavas Yisroel: we are all part of one essence. In that love there is no differentiation at all. That is “all of you.” But there is also an 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 on Nitzavim, where the Alter Rebbe gives that analogy. In Derech Mitzvosecha, he adds, based on the Arizal, that all souls are rooted in Adam Harishon. Within Adam Harishon, the souls occupied different levels: some were on the level of the head, some on the level of the foot, and some on the level of the body. From there, all

21:45 the souls came into being: a soul on the level of the head, a soul on the level of the foot, down to a soul on the level of the fingernails. In Adam Harishon’s body, all the souls existed as one entity. So, too, the human body has a head and a foot, 248 limbs and 365 sinews, yet it is one body. In other words, it is precisely all these parts together that make a human body, and each needs the others. But there are distinctions. You cannot say there are none. The head certainly has the advantage of being a head, and the foot has the advantage of being a foot. Each has its own advantage. Yet together they form one body, and each needs the other. In the Alter Rebbe’s words in Likkutei Torah on Nitzavim, when it comes to walking, the foot is called the head. In matters of intellect, the head is the head; but for walking, the head needs the foot, so the foot is called the head. Thus each one gives and receives. This is Ahavas Yisroel that includes distinctions. And these are the two aspects the Alter Rebbe is discussing here. The Alter Rebbe wants to teach us that there are two levels of Ahavas Yisroel. It is not only that he proceeds here from below upward: first explaining why we must not judge who is greater and who is lesser, and then explaining “as yourself,” as we discussed. There are also two aspects, two levels, of Ahavas Yisroel here, and both are necessary. There is an Ahavas Yisroel in which you love a Jew as the particular person he is. As the Rebbe explains in those sichos, that too has an advantage. There is a special advantage in knowing how to unite with another Jew not only at a level where his individual identity is not present—the essence of a Jew, where we are all equal. That is wonderful.

23:28 There is a great advantage to that: bittul, one essence. We are all one point. But there is also a special advantage to unity that includes each person’s individual identity, where each has his own strengths, and where each recognizes that he needs the other. That is a special kind of Ahavas Yisroel. In a certain sense, it is deeper. Each has its own advantage. The Rebbe discusses this in several of the sichos I mentioned. So this is also how the Rebbe understands the plain meaning of Tanya here. Now we come to the point that, in detail, there are three levels. Above chochmah is a higher level, keser. We have been speaking about chochmah and binah, but the soul is rooted in keser as well. What is the difference between keser and chochmah? Chochmah is like a point, but it is a point from which further levels unfold. Chochmah is the source of binah. In itself, chochmah is a point. But concealed within that point—like the Alter Rebbe says in chapter 2, that all 248 limbs are contained in the father’s drop of seed—it is not perceptible; everything is included there, but it is there. Similarly, the Rebbe says, chochmah is the idea that we are all one point, but it is a point from which the details later unfold. So it does have a connection to the details. Ahavas Yisroel in its truest sense is on the level of ratzon, where there is no differentiation whatsoever. In keser there is no differentiation at all. There is simplicity in its truest sense, and boundlessness in its truest sense. So there, we truly are one and the same essence. This explains the precision of the Alter Rebbe’s wording here: “They are all compatible, and we all have one Father.” According to this explanation, these are two levels. “They are all compatible” is on the level of ratzon, the level of keser. There, “compatible” means truly equal.

25:32 “We all have one Father” refers to chochmah. Chochmah, too, is a single point, but it is a father: from it, the details will later emerge. So there are three levels of Ahavas Yisroel: Ahavas Yisroel stemming from binah, Ahavas Yisroel stemming from chochmah, and Ahavas Yisroel stemming from keser, which is Ahavas Yisroel on the highest level. This is what the Alter Rebbe wants to emphasize here: the deeper a Jew goes in his connection with G-dliness, the more deeply he 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 fulfilled literally, in its fullest sense.