Tanya Chapter 32 - Part 4

00:00 We’re in the middle of chapter 32 of Tanya. The Alter Rebbe brings what Hillel said. Hillel the Elder said about the mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel, “This is the entire Torah; the rest is its explanation.” Yes. In other words, he said that Ahavas Yisroel is the entire Torah. We know that Rabbi Akiva said something similar. Rabbi Akiva said, “‘Love your fellow as yourself’ is a great principle in the Torah.” But Rabbi Akiva said it was a great principle in the Torah. He didn’t say it was the entire Torah. So we could still say, yes, that makes sense, since a very large part of the Torah is connected with Ahavas Yisroel. But Hillel went further. Hillel said it is the entire Torah, which is much stronger. That raises an apparent question: What does it mean? There are many matters in the Torah that seemingly have no connection with Ahavas Yisroel. Most of the mitzvos between a person and G-d aren’t connected with Ahavas Yisroel. So the Alter Rebbe explains this in two ways. We discussed the first approach in the previous class, and now we’re up to the second. In any case, briefly, what was the Alter Rebbe’s first explanation? It concerned elevation. The whole of Torah and mitzvos, every aspect of serving Hashem in this world, is directed toward elevation. A Jew must elevate the world, elevate the physical, refine the world and transform it into a more elevated place. He must connect the physical with the spiritual—in the language of Chassidus, turn something into nothingness, into bittul. That is the general purpose underlying all of our service. To accomplish this, to elevate the material and give it form, one must overcome

02:17 the material and give precedence to form over matter. The first step in this work is for a person to move beyond his own materiality, beyond his own sense of self. And in which mitzvah does a person elevate form over matter, the spiritual over the physical? In Ahavas Yisroel. As we explained here, Ahavas Yisroel is a mitzvah that can be fulfilled only when the body is secondary and the soul is primary. True Ahavas Yisroel is possible only when a person places the soul above the body. So when a person has true Ahavas Yisroel, that is the cornerstone of his entire service of Hashem. In other words, it expresses the general purpose of all Torah and mitzvos. All the other mitzvos are particulars. Each mitzvah brings about a particular refinement. Some mitzvos refine a person’s hand, others his foot. There are mitzvos connected with the hands, mitzvos connected with the feet, and mitzvos connected with the eyes. These are individual mitzvos through which a person brings about refinement in a particular area. Ahavas Yisroel contains the overall principle: elevating form over matter, the spiritual over the physical. And the Alter Rebbe himself describes this in two parts. He says to elevate the soul above the body, as we said before, and adds, “to the Source and Root of all worlds.” Not only must one elevate the soul above the body; one must work on this all the way to the Source and Root of all worlds. Because someone might rise above the materiality of the body. Once a person works on himself so that physical things no longer carry weight for him—as we discussed earlier, when matters of the body become lowly and distasteful to him and matters of the soul become primary—he elevates the soul above the body. Through this, he

04:23 can make the physical spiritual throughout his service of Hashem. But here the Alter Rebbe adds, “to the Source and Root of all worlds.” What does he mean by those words? This follows from what the Alter Rebbe said earlier. Even in the unity of souls there are levels. We spoke about three levels, as we learned in the previous classes. The Alter Rebbe discusses three levels of Ahavas Yisroel here. There is Ahavas Yisroel from the perspective of the name Elokim, [unclear], where one recognizes another person’s greatness and virtues. There is a higher level, from the perspective of the soul’s root in Chochmah, where all souls are one essence. And then there is a still higher level, an aspect of Kesser where there is no division to begin with—within “Havayah is one.” That is what the Alter Rebbe is saying: The more deeply a person reaches into unity through Ahavas Yisroel, through contemplating the soul, the closer he comes to recognizing that the soul is rooted in “Havayah is one.” He then relates to the soul as it is rooted in “Havayah is one,” which is the Source and sustaining root of all worlds, beyond all worlds. This is the level of the name Havayah, “Havayah is one,” where all souls are truly one. So when a person reaches true unity in Havayah, and his Ahavas Yisroel is connected with that true unity, all his Torah and mitzvos achieve their purpose. The purpose of all Torah and mitzvos in the path of elevation is to lift up all physicality, this entire world, and connect it with “Havayah is one,” with the true unity of Havayah. Through which mitzvah is this accomplished? Through Ahavas Yisroel. That is the first explanation of Hillel’s statement, “This is the entire Torah.” Now the Alter Rebbe gives a second explanation. Let’s return to the text. Look at page 41, at the line

06:23 “surrounds all worlds.” The Alter Rebbe continues: There is also a second aspect of this service, the purpose of all 613 mitzvos: to draw the light of the blessed Ein Sof into Knesses Yisroel. There is also a goal involving the movement of drawing down. As we know, Chassidus constantly speaks about ascent and drawing down. All of a person’s service has these two movements. In the language of Chassidus, they’re called ratzo and shov, ascent and drawing down. There are various names for them: direct light and returning light, and so on. In our service there is a movement of ascent—to elevate the physical, to lift up the world. That is one movement. And there is the opposite: drawing G-dliness down below. We know that the whole concept of making a dwelling place in the lower realms, the purpose of creation, is to draw G-dliness down here. Both movements can be seen throughout Torah and mitzvos. This is explained in the maamarim about the red heifer. A similar idea appears in Chassidus in the maamarim about the red heifer. Why is the red heifer called “This is the statute of the Torah,” a statute encompassing the entire Torah? Because the red heifer involved both fire and water. Its mitzvah involved fire, in burning the heifer, and water placed in a vessel. The difference between fire and water is that fire represents ascent and water represents drawing down. Therefore, all of a person’s service is connected with the red heifer. Among the mitzvos, some are more in the path of ascent, while others are more in the path of drawing down. In fact, every mitzvah contains both ascent and drawing down. If we look at the details, each mitzvah has the element of intent, which is more connected with ascent—the spiritual element, the intent, the inner dimension. And it has the actual performance of the mitzvah, which is connected with drawing down. But generally, we know there are mitzvos whose main theme is ascent, such as the offerings, a “pleasing aroma.” The main purpose of an offering

08:34 That is an ascent. And there are mitzvos whose main purpose is to draw down, like tefillin and tzitzis. But more specifically, as is known and written in Chassidus, even among the offerings themselves there is the offering and there are the libations. “Anyone who recites Shema without tefillin is as though he offered a sacrifice without libations.” Reciting Shema is an ascent, because its main focus is the intention, the contemplation, the oneness, the encompassing light, the soul’s yearning from below upward. And the main purpose of tefillin is to draw down. So Shema without tefillin is like a sacrifice without libations: the sacrifice is an ascent, and the libations draw down. The red heifer, in particular, is a comprehensive mitzvah in which the whole mitzvah is made up of fire and water, ascent and drawing down. So here the Alter Rebbe comes and says that when Hillel the Elder said Ahavas Yisroel is the entire Torah, he meant both aspects: the path of ascent and the path of drawing down. The first explanation was about ascent; the second is about drawing down. That is what he means when he says that to draw the Infinite, blessed be He, into Knesses Yisroel, we need to draw G-dliness down here below. We know that Knesses Yisroel refers to the sefirah of malchus. In Chassidus, Knesses Yisroel always means the sefirah of malchus. The sefirah of malchus is called Knesses Yisroel. Chassidus explains, in various places, the distinction between Yisroel and Knesses Yisroel. Yisroel refers to Zeir Anpin. Knesses Yisroel receives and gathers everything in. It is the aspect of the sefirah of malchus, the sefirah called... So Knesses Yisroel always refers to the sefirah of malchus. Hakadosh Boruch Hu and Knesses Yisroel, in general terms, are Zeir Anpin and malchus. More generally, this refers to the Infinite, to the encompassing and indwelling lights. Sometimes it refers to all the worlds. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is the light that fills all worlds; malchus is called Knesses Yisroel. And what is the purpose of our avodah? Its purpose is that a Jew must draw the Infinite

10:42 into Knesses Yisroel. That is the idea of making a dwelling place in the lower realms, the union of the encompassing and indwelling lights. As we say before every mitzvah—though we don’t actually say it before every mitzvah; we say it before the morning blessings—“For the sake of the union of Hakadosh Boruch Hu and His Shechinah.” Chassidus explains that this whole union of Hakadosh Boruch Hu and His Shechinah means drawing the Infinite into malchus: drawing down Hakadosh Boruch Hu into Knesses Yisroel. The Alter Rebbe writes here: “That is, into the source of the souls of all Israel.” For this to happen, it must be specifically in a state of oneness. How do we bring about this drawing down of the Infinite into Knesses Yisroel? The union of Hakadosh Boruch Hu and His Shechinah, so that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed below, comes about through... being one within one. What does that mean? There is a passage we say every Friday night, Kegavna. What do we say in Kegavna? It says there is an oneness above and an oneness below: “Just as they unite above in oneness, so too she unites below in the mystery of oneness.” What does that mean? There is the oneness of Hashem above, in the Infinite, among the higher sefiros. There, the oneness of Hashem is “Hashem will be one and His name one.” This is called the higher unity. It is the unity as it exists among the higher sefiros in the world of Atzilus, in the higher worlds. There is true oneness of Hashem. But there is also “so too she”—in the feminine, referring to malchus. Malchus descends into the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and here there is the lower unity. This is not the higher unity but a lower level of unity, the nullification of independent existence. So we say, “Just as they unite above in oneness, so too she...” Just as the sefiros unite above, there is also unity in “she,” in malchus, in the feminine, in the sefirah of malchus, Knesses Yisroel. And the passage of Kegavna goes on to say: above, one within one,

12:57 “Hakadosh Boruch Hu, who is one above, does not sit upon His throne of glory until she, too, becomes one.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu above—the Infinite—is not drawn down here below until there is oneness in malchus down here, until there is the lower unity. The higher unity is not drawn down when there is separation below in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. This is the idea of Shabbos, which is why we say it on Friday night. On Friday night, this takes place in creation, in the worlds. On Friday night, the kingship of Hakadosh Boruch Hu comes into its own, and the oneness of Hashem is revealed in malchus—the lower unity. Then, when unity is achieved in the sefirah of malchus, Knesses Yisroel, Hakadosh Boruch Hu is drawn down as well, and there is a union above in oneness, the union of Hakadosh Boruch Hu and His Shechinah. That is the idea of Shabbos. And then all the kelipos flee. That is what the rest of Kegavna says. We need to know what we are saying there. Kegavna is a very important prayer; the whole foundation of Shabbos is in that prayer. In any case, what is the point? What do we see here? We see that the condition for drawing the oneness of Hashem, the Infinite, down below is that there be oneness in the sefirah of malchus. Above, there is a union in oneness. Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not sit upon His throne until she, too, becomes one. Until there is oneness in malchus, the Infinite light does not come down here below. And what does this mean in our avodah? The sefirah of malchus is the soul. So that is what the Alter Rebbe is saying: as long as there is no unity among the souls, the unity of malchus, Knesses Yisroel, is lacking, and consequently the Infinite is not drawn down below. And since, ultimately, the entire Torah and all the mitzvos are for the sake of the union of Hakadosh Boruch Hu and His Shechinah—every mitzvah aims to bring about that union—then, in order for there to be a union of Hakadosh Boruch Hu and His Shechinah,

14:58 there must be unity among the souls. If unity among the souls is lacking, the higher oneness of Hashem cannot be drawn down. So this is another explanation of why Hillel said Ahavas Yisroel is the entire Torah: it is essential to drawing the Infinite down below. The condition for drawing the Infinite down below is unity among the souls. That is what the Alter Rebbe says: “Above, a union in oneness specifically.” The union of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed when there is unity below, not when, G-d forbid, there is separation among the souls. If there is separation, there cannot be oneness of Hashem. There cannot. Consequently, the purpose is not fulfilled by any mitzvah. There cannot be a union of Hakadosh Boruch Hu and His Shechinah if Ahavas Yisroel is lacking. That is why Ahavas Yisroel is essential to drawing the Infinite down below. And he adds an explanation here of why unity among the souls is so vital to drawing down the oneness of Hashem. Why does it matter so much? The Alter Rebbe explains: “Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not dwell in a blemished place.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not rest, shine, reveal Himself or dwell in a blemished place. In other words, if there is a flaw in the recipient—if the receiving world is blemished—the Infinite is not drawn down. It is straightforward: “Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not dwell in a blemished place.” The meaning, as the maamarim generally explain, is that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is the perfection of all. G-dliness is perfection. In a place that is flawed, perfection cannot—Hakadosh Boruch Hu is not drawn down; He is not present there. Only once there is wholeness can the Infinite light be drawn down. Chassidus explains this with several examples. One example concerns prophecy. The Rambam says that a prophet had to be whole in order to receive

17:11 Prophecy required all kinds of conditions. A person had to be complete in wisdom, sound in body—all kinds of things. There had to be a certain completeness of both body and soul. Only then, if Hashem wished, would the spirit of prophecy rest upon him. In other words, the recipient had to be complete. If he was a flawed place, lacking that completeness, the Infinite Light would not be drawn there. So this is the point the Alter Rebbe is making: Ahavas Yisroel and Jewish unity are the condition that enables the purpose of Torah and mitzvos to be fulfilled—to draw the Infinite Light down here below. Here the Alter Rebbe emphasizes the reason in the negative: if it is a flawed place, the Infinite Light cannot dwell there. Elsewhere in Chassidus, the positive reason is explained as well. It is not only that the Infinite Light cannot dwell in a flawed place; unity is also a vessel for unity. That is the positive side. An awakening from below brings an awakening from Above, and the awakening from below has to resemble what it arouses. Since Hashem is one, the vessel for drawing down the oneness of Hashem is the unity of the Jewish people. It is not only that a flaw prevents the light from being drawn down. Unity itself is the vessel that allows it to be drawn down. The awakening from below has to resemble the awakening from Above. When there is unity among souls, that becomes a vessel for the oneness of Hashem. This brings us to the well-known saying the Rebbe quotes in Hayom Yom. The Alter Rebbe was asked which is higher, Ahavas Yisroel or love of Hashem. The Alter Rebbe said that Ahavas Yisroel and love of Hashem are one, because one loves what one’s beloved loves.

19:14 Every Jew... Ah, I don’t remember the exact wording, but Hayom Yom discusses this at length, and says there that Ahavas Yisroel is the vessel for love of Hashem. That is one of the expressions used there: Ahavas Yisroel is the vessel for love of Hashem. And that is what the Alter Rebbe is saying here in Tanya as well. Unity among souls is the vessel that enables the Infinite Light to be drawn down here below. The Alter Rebbe adds, “As it is written”—or, as we say. Actually, it isn’t a verse; it’s in the prayer: “Bless us, our Father, all as one, with the light of Your countenance.” As it says, and as we say at length, in the text of the prayer: “Bless us, our Father, all as one, with the light of Your countenance.” What are we asking for in the prayer? We want G-dliness to be drawn down. “Bless us, our Father.” As Chassidus explains, the word “blessing” also means drawing down. “Bless us, our Father.” We want Hashem to bless us, to draw down “the light of Your countenance.” The light of His countenance is a revelation of the Infinite Light. What is the condition, the vessel, for “Bless us, our Father, with the light of Your countenance”? It is “all as one.” Look how straightforward that is. Through “all as one,” through the unity of souls, we bring about “Bless us, our Father.” The Rebbe spoke about this a great deal: when there is “all as one,” there is “Bless us, our Father.” There is a story brought in the addenda to Tehillim. In the addenda to Tehillim there is the Tehillim collection. Hm? No, no, I don’t know exactly which one right now. In any case, there is a teaching there. It relates a story from the Alter Rebbe’s time. Someone came to ask for a blessing—a woman whose child had fallen ill. The chassidim said, “For this, you need a Rebbe. A Rebbe can help.” Then the Alter Rebbe stood up. The Alter Rebbe said, “Don’t you remember what we heard in Mezritch from the Maggid—that a note fell

21:36 from heaven saying that a chassidisher farbrengen can accomplish more than the angel Michael?” That is the well-known ruling: a chassidisher farbrengen can accomplish more than the angel Michael. The Alter Rebbe said this. In a note below, it adds Rabbi Hillel of Paritch’s explanation of the saying. What does it mean? Why does a chassidisher farbrengen have such great power? Rabbi Hillel said that when a father sees his children living together in brotherhood, love, and unity, it gives him the greatest pleasure, and then he gives them all kinds of gifts. When a father sees his children fighting with one another, it causes him distress, and he has no desire to give them blessings. So when chassidim sit together at a farbrengen, it is a time of love and unity, and that is the vessel for all blessings and for everything drawn down from Above. This, in fact, is what the Alter Rebbe is also saying here in Tanya: “Bless us, our Father, all as one, with the light of Your countenance.” If we want Hashem’s blessing to be drawn down, it comes through “all as one.” Ahavas Yisroel and Jewish unity are the greatest vessel for drawing down blessing from Above. The same applies to the bond between Rebbe and chossid. Yes, we want to bring about “the light of Your countenance,” to merit seeing the Rebbe as well. We know that the greatest vessel for meriting to see the Rebbe “with the light of Your countenance” is for chassidim to live together in unity, like one family. The Rebbe spoke about this many, many times. In any case, this is the point the Alter Rebbe explains to us here in Tanya: there are two explanations for why Ahavas Yisroel is the whole Torah—one relating to the ascent from below, and one to what is drawn down from Above. Ahavas Yisroel is the foundation of all Torah and mitzvos. That is why it is called “the whole Torah; the rest is its explanation.”