Igeres Hateshuvah Chapter 4, Part 11

00:00 We are in the middle of the explanation in Igeres Hateshuvah, discussing the four letters of the name Havayah. We spoke about the letter yud and the point at its tip—really, about the first letter, the yud, and the point at its tip. The yud represents Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s chochmah. A yud is a point with no extension, which conveys concealment: Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s chochmah is hidden and concealed, beyond extension and beyond worlds. The point at the tip of the yud is even higher. It represents keser, the will, which is higher still, far above. We explained this in previous classes. Now we’ll move on to the first hei of the name Havayah. The Alter Rebbe says: “And afterward, to the level of expansion and revelation of comprehension and understanding to the hidden worlds.” After chochmah comes expansion, the revelation of comprehension and understanding. In other words, chochmah reaches binah. Binah is understanding and comprehension; it involves expansion. What does this mean above? It means that the Divine light expands and is revealed to the hidden worlds. Worlds. There are concealed, lofty worlds called almin setimin, “hidden worlds.” That is, the world is concealed—worlds that are utterly nullified to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This “is included and alluded to in the letter hei, which has a dimension of expansion.” What is the letter hei? What does it contain? The hei has this quality of expansion and breadth. “It expands widthwise, indicating and alluding to a fuller explanation and understanding, and also lengthwise, indicating the drawing down and transmission from above to below, to the hidden worlds.” It has both length and width. Width is expansion into many details, while length is the descent from above to below, as it becomes enclothed in the hidden worlds. What does that mean? Let’s explain.

02:17 The Alter Rebbe tells us: Now we come to the letter hei. The hei corresponds to the sefirah of binah. Binah has length and width. Just as the physical letter hei has length and width, so too, above, the sefirah of binah has length and width. What is the difference between width and length? Physically, width runs from right to left, from side to side. It remains on the same plane, in the same place, and simply spreads out widthwise. Length, by contrast, expresses descent. Length runs from above to below. So width is expansion on the same level; it becomes broader. Length is a descent from one level to another. We see this in the human body. The width of the body, from one side to the other, stays on the same level. Take the shoulders, for example: they run from right to left. The only difference is that one person has broader shoulders and another has narrower shoulders. That is a matter of quantity, of details. Width spreads out into details on the same level. Length, by contrast, relates to quality: the head above, then the heart, the body below, and the legs. So length is a descent from level to level—from the world of the mind to the world of the heart, to the liver, to the legs. There is a descent here. The same applies, in a manner of speaking, when we speak about Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The point of the yud is the point of chochmah. There, the infinite light shines, beyond worlds and beyond expansion. It is a concealed point, above revelation. When that point reaches the hei, when Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s chochmah is enclothed in binah, two things happen. Width is what the Alter Rebbe describes as the expansion into details. That is, the idea comes with greater breadth; the details are already present. It is no longer a single point. It now

04:30 comes as an expansion into details. There are many details, and then there is length: it descends from above to below. What does “from above to below” mean in G-dliness? When we speak of details in G-dliness, what do we mean? We mean that the same Divine concept can exist as a point or in an expanded form, with many details. It is like the maamar we are learning here now, which the bochurim are learning here during Tishrei. There is the central point about created beings—“You made them all with wisdom”—and then there is the elaboration in binah. There is one central point about all created beings: they are all brought into being from nothing. They all share the one point of G-dliness that brings them into existence. Then that point appears in detail: inanimate, plant, animal, and human life, and each individual creation. There is the central point concerning created beings, and there are the many details and their elaboration. That is called width—the breadth of many details. But it is all the same point expanding into many details. Length, on the other hand, means that the concept descends from level to level. What does it mean in G-dliness for something to descend from level to level? This is what the Alter Rebbe says about almin setimin. There are higher worlds, worlds called almin setimin, hidden worlds. These are worlds that exist, so to speak, within thought. We know that a person has thought and speech. Thought is for oneself; speech is for someone else. The letters of thought are part of the person. They are contained within the soul. Only I know about them. The letters of speech, by contrast, reach another person and affect them. The same applies, in a manner of speaking, above. With Hakadosh Boruch Hu, there are two kinds of worlds. There are worlds that are, so to speak, within Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s thought. This is connected with the sefirah of binah. Binah is thought. Binah is

06:33 part of chochmah and binah, matters connected with the mind and intellect. Above, with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, this too is G-dliness that transcends the world, and there are worlds there as well—the world of thought. But these worlds are hidden. That is, they are worlds in which G-dliness is revealed, so the world is completely nullified. These are hidden worlds, and this is the idea of length: the leg descends from above to below. But what is “below” here? It is the hidden worlds. We have not yet reached the revealed worlds, because those relate to the letters vav and hei. So those are the two things he says here. Afterward, when influence is drawn down from there, there are almin de’isgalya, revealed worlds, below. There is a further descent from the world of thought to the world of speech—from alma de’iskasya to alma de’isgalya, from hidden worlds to revealed worlds. In other words, it is a descent to worlds that are revealed, worlds that have an existence of their own and are not completely nullified to G-dliness. It is like a person who wants to reveal his wisdom to others through speech, for example. That is the nature of speech: I want to reveal my ideas to someone else, someone outside of me. So these are called almin de’isgalya, worlds of speech—something that is outside, which the message has to reach. In a manner of speaking, the same applies with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. There are worlds that are completely nullified to Him. Those are the worlds within the sefirah of binah. And there are worlds that are not completely nullified, worlds with an existence of their own. These are the almin de’isgalya, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu descends to them through the faculty of speech. That is the lower hei. But to reach alma de’isgalya, this is included and alluded to in the name Havayah by the vav. Here the Alter Rebbe comes to explain the vav. The vav is the way in which

08:33 The Divine light descends into a different kind of worlds—worlds that are alma d’isgalya, the revealed world. So first there has to be a vav, which represents a drawing down from above to below, and then comes the final hei, representing how, after that tzimtzum and drawing down, the light becomes invested in alma d’isgalya. Why do we need both a vav and a hei? Why, seemingly, isn’t the hei alone enough? As we explained earlier, the hei itself has a downward extension, as well as an expansion in width and length. So seemingly there could have been a hei, a yud, and then another hei. What is the vav doing in the middle? Why is it needed? The first hei is alma d’iskasya, the concealed world. The lower hei is alma d’isgalya. That is the difference between the sefirah of binah and the sefirah of malchus. Binah is thought, alma d’iskasya; malchus is speech, alma d’isgalya. They are two kinds of worlds: worlds that are nullified to Divinity, and worlds that have a sense of independent existence. What does the vav do between the upper hei and the lower hei? That is what the Alter Rebbe is coming to explain now. The Alter Rebbe explains that the vav indicates a drawing down from above to below. The point of the vav is that there has to be a drawing down from above to below for there to be alma d’isgalya. There has to be a drawing down between alma d’iskasya and alma d’isgalya. There has to be this process of drawing down—the vav—which brings Divinity down to a lower level. And this drawing down, too, is through His attribute of kindness and goodness and His other holy attributes, which are generally counted as six. How does this drawing down take place? How does this descent happen—from Divinity as represented by the yud, from Divinity in its concealed state? For worlds to exist in a revealed state, there has to be the vav, meaning the middos, through the middos of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This drawing down is through

10:42 His attribute of kindness and goodness and His other holy attributes, which are generally counted as six. The numerical value of vav is also six. So the shape of the vav indicates a drawing down. It is the drawing down through the middos—the middos of Hakadosh Boruch Hu—through which Divinity descends from level to level, from alma d’iskasya to alma d’isgalya. And the numerical value of vav is also six, corresponding to the six middos through which Divinity descends in the order of hishtalshelus. Now, in the verse, “Yours, Hashem, is the greatness,” and so on—yes, there are six things listed there: “Yours, Hashem, is the greatness, and the might, and the glory, and the victory, and the splendor, for all that is in heaven and on earth.” Those are six things, corresponding to the six middos, and so on, up to “Yours, Hashem, is the kingdom”—up to that point, but not including it. It goes up to malchus, but malchus is a separate “Yours,” because malchus is already the lower hei. What is the Alter Rebbe explaining here? Let’s explain what this means. What is the Alter Rebbe coming to explain? What is the role of the vav? Let’s put it this way. In the entire explanation the Alter Rebbe is giving us here, there is a yud and there is a vav. Yud and vav are letters of one four-letter Name, the Name Havayah. Nevertheless, the difference between yud and vav is very, very great—from one extreme to the other. So much so that in the prayer we say, “For the sake of the unification of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah, to unite Yud-Hei with Vav-Hei.” In other words, there is something here that needs to be joined together, implying that they are not inherently joined. We need to unite Yud-Hei with Vav-Hei. What is the explanation? Here the Alter Rebbe explains that Yud-Hei is essentially alma d’iskasya. Even the worlds that come from Yud-Hei are a different kind of worlds. It is a different league, a different level, something entirely different. These are worlds that have no sense of independent existence at all; they are nullified. Vav-Hei represents a different kind of worlds. It is

12:43 Divinity as it comes in a revealed state, and the difference between them is very great. What exactly is the difference, and how does it come about? The Alter Rebbe explains that this is the significance of the vav. There is Yud-Hei, which is chochmah and binah, and for the lower hei—malchus, which is alma d’isgalya—to exist, there has to be a vav in between. There has to be a particular drawing down from above to below, a different kind of drawing down, and that is the drawing down through the middos. What is the explanation for this? We all know the distinction, as it is illustrated in a person’s soul, between the world of intellect and the world of middos. What is the difference between them in a person’s soul? It’s simple. The world of intellect is a world unto itself. In the world of intellect, a person is with himself; other people can even be a disturbance. A person wants to learn. If there is commotion, it’s hard for him to learn. If you want to delve into something, you need to be by yourself. Other people are good when it comes to sharing, to having friends, to giving, to... But to learn—to study something carefully and learn it well—a person needs to withdraw, to be alone, to be with himself. Because the whole definition of intellect is understanding a matter as it is in itself. That is what intellect is. Middos, by contrast, are the opposite. A middah is directed toward someone else. The whole point of a middah is that there is another person. As explained in the bar mitzvah maamar, using Avraham Avinu as an example: Avraham Avinu looked for guests. If there are no guests, the middah has no expression. He needs someone to whom he can give. So all the middos need someone else. The difference between the world of intellect and the world of middos is exactly the difference between alma d’iskasya and alma d’isgalya. In the world of intellect, only the one above exists, something as it is in itself. In the world of middos, there is a relationship with someone else. Similarly,

14:43 so to speak, with regard to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. When we speak of the wisdom and understanding of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the sefiros of chochmah and binah, that is wisdom and understanding. That is Divinity as it is in itself. There, the Divine light is revealed as it is above worlds. That is why Yud-Hei is called “the hidden things”—“The hidden things belong to Hashem our G-d.” There, aspects of Divinity shine as they are in themselves. So even when this descends and worlds come into being from it, it is the world of thought. It is alma d’iskasya. These are worlds in which no separate existence is felt, worlds that are utterly nullified. That is alma d’iskasya. Not so with the six middos. Their purpose is for there to be a world with an existence of its own, a world that is not nullified to Divinity. For such a world to come into being, there are the middos. That is the significance of the letter vav. That is what the Alter Rebbe is saying. The vav represents the six middos. The six middos bring about a relationship with something other. Once there is chessed, there is gevurah—“In six days He made...” Through these six middos, there can be something other; there is a relationship with it. Then the sefirah of malchus can come and create something truly separate. So the letter vav is the intermediary that brings about the drawing down, the descent from above to below, from alma d’iskasya to alma d’isgalya. That is what the Alter Rebbe is explaining here. Malchus, though, is another matter. This is the significance of the letter vav: vav is a drawing down from above to below through the middos. Through it, a relationship with something other comes about, but it is not yet completely separate. After all, even though a middah involves a relationship with someone else, it is still I who am relating. There is already chessed, gevurah, tiferes—the relationship of Hakadosh Boruch Hu to the world and to created beings, His desire to give to them, and so on. But ultimately, even in the middos, the other person is

16:45 still connected to me. Because I am a good person, I want to do you a kindness. So it is true that the act of kindness involves someone else, but the middah of kindness itself is still an extension of something within me. Because I am kind, I give to you. All the middos are, in essence, an expression of the person. The same is true Above. The middos do not yet bring about something truly separate, because what is still felt is His greatness, His might: “Yours, Hashem, is the greatness, and the might, and the glory, and the victory.” Seemingly, this is His greatness, His kindness, His might. It is all part of the direct expression of the greatness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So a truly independent existence will not yet emerge from that. That is why, after the vav, there has to be a hei. Malchus is another level. That is what the Alter Rebbe says: “For the attribute of His blessed kingship is called ‘the word of Hashem.’” The lower hei is the sefirah of malchus. Malchus is speech, and speech is directed entirely toward someone else. That is the difference between middos and speech. A middah needs someone else in order to be expressed. If I want to do a kindness, there has to be a poor person. If there is no poor person, there is no one to give to. For the middah to be put into action, it needs someone else. But the middah itself is awakened from within the person. The middah itself is something in the soul, something in the person. So it does not leave me completely. It is still part of me, still an extension of the soul’s influence. The same applies Above to the middos of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This is a world in which Divine light still shines. Speech, by contrast, is entirely for someone else. Speech is not about me at all. Its whole purpose is for someone else, to convey something to that person. That is why the sefirah of malchus is the world of speech.

18:38 From this comes the existence of a created being in alma d’isgalya, the revealed world. And ultimately, “where the word of a king is, there is power”: a king rules through speech, exercising authority over a people who exist apart from him. All of this is alluded to in the final hei of the name Havayah. It is connected with the final hei because that hei represents speech, as we said. The upper hei is binah, alma d’iskasya, the hidden world. The lower hei is speech, alma d’isgalya, the revealed world. Chassidus also explains this whole subject of the upper and lower hei in connection with a number of other ideas. One of them is the sea and dry land. Chassidus discusses souls called “souls of the sea” and souls called “souls of the land”—Livyasan and Shor Habar. What distinguishes them? What do Livyasan and Shor Habar represent? There are souls from alma d’iskasya, and there are souls from alma d’isgalya. Some souls are completely nullified to G-dliness, like fish in the sea—the ultimate degree of bittul. Others have a sense of separate existence: they feel the body and the physical world, and they need to refine them. Chassidus speaks a great deal about these two kinds of souls. So this, too, is connected with the two levels, alma d’iskasya and alma d’isgalya. Souls of the sea are called alma d’iskasya because in the sea you do not see the living creatures; you see only the water. The creatures are within the water, nullified to it. Take them out and they cannot live. They are entirely, as Chassidus puts it, contained within the sea; their own existence is not visible. Similarly, created beings associated with the sefirah of binah are utterly attached and nullified to G-dliness. That is alma d’iskasya, the upper hei. By contrast, there are souls whose existence is

20:35 a yesh, a separate entity. They have a body and an animal soul, and they need to struggle with it and refine it. This is called alma d’isgalya: their existence is apparent, and their bittul is only the nullification of a separate entity. Chassidus similarly explains the difference between Rachel and Leah. It says, “The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.” Our forefather Yaakov had a wife, Leah, who was the older one. Chassidus explains that “the older” refers to the large hei, while “the younger” refers to the small hei. Leah is the older one; the large hei represents the world of thought. That is why Leah had six sons, corresponding to the six emotional attributes. The emotional attributes are born from binah, and these are the six sons Leah bore. Chassidus also says that the meaning of the name Leah is connected with thought and contemplation; there is a connection to that word. Rachel, by contrast, represents malchus, the world of speech, which is the idea of “the younger.” That is Rachel. This is why she is called Rachel, a ewe: “Like a ewe before her shearers, she is silent.” This relates to the sefirah of malchus descending into Beriah and allowing its wool to be shorn, and so on—the whole idea explained in Chassidus. So this is what the Alter Rebbe is explaining to us: these are, so to speak, the four letters of the name Havayah. All of this was brought in order to understand that just as it is so in G-dliness, it is also so in the human soul. But the Rebbe will continue and shortly explain how these four aspects exist in the human soul. We will see that there is a difference between the analogy and what it represents; they are not identical. With Hashem’s help, we will discuss that next.