Chapter 6 - Part One

00:00 Today we’re starting a new chapter, chapter 6 of Tanya. Until now, the Alter Rebbe has spoken entirely about the G-dly soul. Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5—four chapters in which the Alter Rebbe spoke at length, each time explaining another aspect of the G-dly soul and its structure. Chapter 2 discussed the essence of the soul, “an actual part of G-d above.” He explained what the G-dly soul is. In chapter 3, he discussed its ten faculties, the intellectual faculties and the emotions. In chapter 4, he discussed the garments of the G-dly soul, and how those garments—where the whole matter of Torah and mitzvos, and all the revelation of G-dliness in the garments, are found—elevate the soul, because they contain the will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Then, in chapter 5, he discussed what Torah adds beyond the mitzvos: there is something special about Torah, a wondrous union unlike any other. On that basis, he explained that the difference between Torah and a mitzvah is the difference between food and clothing. That is what we learned in these chapters. Now, in the next three chapters—chapters 6, 7, and 8—the Alter Rebbe will explain the animal soul: what the animal soul is, what it has, and what it brings. So let’s begin chapter 6 inside the text. The Alter Rebbe says—and this is how he begins here—“G-d made one opposite the other.” That is a verse in Koheles, said by King Shlomo. Chassidus uses this verse to explain the G-dly soul and the animal soul: one opposite the other. The verse tells us not only that there is holiness and there is also kelipah, that there are

02:10 two worlds, but that they are similar. There is a very strong resemblance: one opposite the other. It is as though Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the form of kelipah to resemble the form of holiness. They are built from the same kinds of elements—of course, on opposite sides. It is like the expression sometimes used, “like an ape before a human being.” For example, regarding kelipah, the expression from the Midrash is sometimes brought that kelipah and holiness are like an ape and a human being. We know that a human and an ape are very similar. Yes, there is a great resemblance, but nevertheless, this is a human being and that is an ape. They are two complete opposites. And as is known, according to the Midrash, apes were once human beings. Yes, human beings became apes—the opposite of what the fools say, right? According to the Midrash, we know that they were originally human beings, and in the generation of the Dispersion, Hakadosh Boruch Hu punished a third of the people and turned them into apes. In any case, we know that humans and apes are “one opposite the other”: they look alike, and yet they are two completely opposite worlds. In the same way, “one opposite the other” is said here to tell us, as we will learn in the coming chapters, that everything found on the side of holiness is also found on the opposite side. But what is the difference? On the opposite side, it is reversed. “For just as the G-dly soul comprises ten holy sefiros and is clothed in three holy garments, so the soul of the sitra achra, from kelipas nogah, which is clothed in a person’s blood, comprises ten crowns of impurity.” So the animal soul, too, which comes from the sitra achra, as we learned in chapter 1—as we learned, a Jew’s animal soul does not come from the three completely impure kelipos; it comes from kelipas nogah. But kelipas nogah is a kelipah. Ultimately, nogah is not one of the three

04:22 completely impure kelipos. It is not absolute evil, but in the end it is called a kelipah. It has the defining feature of kelipah, as the Alter Rebbe will explain later in the chapter: What does kelipah mean? Why is it called kelipah? What is its essential character? In any case, what is the Alter Rebbe saying? That the animal soul has the same elements. It “comprises ten crowns of impurity.” It, too, has ten faculties, the faculties of the animal soul, and these are called the ten crowns of impurity. Here we need to pause and explain why they are given a different name: “ten crowns.” Earlier, when we discussed the ten faculties of the soul, the Alter Rebbe called them “ten sefiros.” That was the name. The Alter Rebbe says there are ten sefiros, from which the soul’s ten faculties derive. So he calls them ten sefiros, ten faculties. When he comes to the animal soul, though, the Alter Rebbe uses a new name: “ten crowns.” He could have called them ten sefiros or ten aspects. Why specifically call them crowns? The reason kelipah is specifically called “crowns” is well known. These are two opposite names, and the names themselves express the difference between holiness and kelipah. What is that difference? One of the main differences is the way G-dliness gives each of them life. After all, everything in the world must have G-dly life-force; without G-dliness, it cannot live. Kelipah, too, needs G-dly life-force, as the Alter Rebbe will explain later in the chapter: the kelipos also live from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. But one of the main differences is that, in holiness, the G-dly life-force unites with what it gives life to. It is invested within it, and they unite so that the vessel receives the light and the light is received by the vessel. As a result, the thing itself becomes something elevated,

06:25 something holy. With kelipah, by contrast, the G-dly life-force there is in exile. It does not give it life from within. How does it give it life? In a surrounding manner. In other words, it remains separate; it does not truly unite with it, but remains at a distance. If it did unite with it, the kelipah would lose its separate existence. It would no longer be kelipah. For something to exist as kelipah means that it is not nullified. That is possible only when the higher light remains separate, remains at a distance, remains surrounding. Then there can be something that opposes it, something that is kelipah, something that sees itself as an independent entity. This is the difference between the word “sefirah” and the word “crowns.” “Sefirah” suggests radiance and clarity. That is how it is in holiness: the higher light is present in the vessels in such a way that the vessel unites with it and becomes radiant and clear. The vessel reveals the light and unites with it. In kelipah, by contrast, the higher light does not unite with it, so they are called “crowns”: the light remains surrounding. That is why the Alter Rebbe calls the sefiros of kelipah “ten crowns of impurity.” He does not call them ten sefiros or ten faculties. He calls them ten crowns. Reb Levik, the Rebbe’s father, adds another point, also concerning the roots of these matters, as is his way. He says that at their root, as is known, the root of kelipah within holiness is the world of Tohu. The distinction between holiness and kelipah is that of Tohu and Tikkun. And in the world of Tohu, as is known, the sefiros there are also called crowns. In other words, in the world of Tohu, the sefiros were, as is known, at the height of their forcefulness. Each sefirah wanted to be king—to reign as king. As it says in the maamarim, each sefirah wanted only to say, “I am king,” and none made any room at all for inclusion with another. So

08:32 That is also why he calls them “crowns,” because their root is in the world of Tohu, where each is forceful in its own right. When the Alter Rebbe says, “The seven evil middos that come from the four evil elements mentioned above”—what are the traits that come from kelipah? The Alter Rebbe says that these, too, are seven middos. Just as there are seven middos in holiness, there are seven middos in kelipah, coming from the four evil elements mentioned above. In chapter 1, the Alter Rebbe divided the evil middos according to the four elements. He said that just as everything physical has four elements, the soul also has four spiritual elements: fire, air, water, and earth. There, the Alter Rebbe associated various evil traits with those four elements; he divided them up differently. He spoke about fire as the source of arrogance and anger; water as the source of the desire for pleasures; air as the source of things that are airy, like frivolity and mockery, and so on. And then he spoke about earth as the source of laziness and sadness. So that was a division according to the four elements. But there is another division, according to the seven middos. Both divisions exist in holiness and in kelipah. Everything in the world can be divided into four or into seven. There is a division into four, as we see here in the physical world: fire, air, water, and earth; or inanimate, plant, animal, and human. Everything in the world is divided into four categories because this is connected with the four letters of Hashem’s Name. Since creation comes from the four letters of Hashem’s Name, the entire world is divided into four. That is one way. There are also divisions into seven. This is connected with the seven middos. That is why there are the seven days of creation, the seven days of

10:30 the week, which are connected with the seven middos. So the things of this world, too, can be divided in two ways. There is the division according to the four elements. That is what the Alter Rebbe discussed in chapter 1: fire, air, water, and earth. And there is also a division according to the seven middos. Just as the seven middos in holiness are chesed, gevurah, tiferes, netzach, hod, yesod, and malchus, there are seven middos in this world as well. As is known, this is the idea of the seven nations: the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, and the Hivite. In short, Chassidus explains that each of the seven nations alludes to one of the seven middos. The Canaanite is chesed of kelipah; the Hittite is fear of kelipah, gevurah of kelipah; the Amorite is tiferes of kelipah; and so on. It is explained how each nation, and the meaning of its name, is connected with one of the sefiros and one of the middos. So that is what the Alter Rebbe says here: this world also has “the seven evil middos that come from the four evil elements mentioned above, and the intellect that gives rise to them, which is divided into three.” There are also the intellectual faculties of kelipah, divided into three: chochmah, binah, and daas, the source of the middos. These intellectual faculties are the source of the middos, because the middos correspond to the level of one’s intellect. The middos are connected with the intellect. Now let’s pause for a moment and notice something very interesting. One thing that stands out here in Tanya—and students know that everything in Tanya is precise—is the difference between the way the Alter Rebbe explains it in chapter 3 and the way he explains it here in chapter 6. In chapter 3, when the Alter Rebbe discusses the ten sefiros of holiness, the ten faculties of holiness, he first explains the intellectual faculties and then the middos. He puts intellect before the middos: first he explains the three intellectual faculties, and then the seven middos. Here it is the opposite. He first puts the middos, and only

12:34 then the intellectual faculties. That is one difference. There are other differences, but let’s first discuss this one, because it is the main and most noticeable difference here in Tanya. Simply put, the reason expresses the difference between holiness and kelipah. Reb Levi points this out, and it is clear from a straightforward reading of Tanya. One of the most fundamental differences between holiness and kelipah—that is, between the divine soul and the animal soul—is that the animal soul is primarily about middos. The animal soul is driven by desires. Its essence is middos: it has desires, wants, and all kinds of inclinations. It uses its intellect to obtain what it desires. Its primary reality is middos, because middos are about selfhood: “I love,” “I want,” “It’s good for me.” That is its whole essence, and the intellect serves the middos. With the divine soul, though, it is the opposite. The divine soul primarily wants to know the truth. It wants to understand. Its concern is intellect and understanding; it seeks the truth. In other words, it is prepared, first of all, to rise above itself, to step outside the “I” and seek what is right, what the right thing is, what is truly good. Then, what the intellect tells it and what becomes engraved upon the heart will also change its middos. So when we speak about the divine soul, its primary reality is intellect: understanding and seeking the truth. We begin with the intellectual faculties and then come to the middos. With the animal soul, by contrast, it is the opposite. Its essence begins with the middos, and the intellectual faculties come afterward to serve the middos. So that is one difference we see. That is why the Alter Rebbe puts the middos before the intellectual faculties here, whereas with the divine soul he puts the intellectual faculties before the middos. There is another difference, something interesting if you look inside. There is another interesting distinction here.

14:27 He says, “which is divided into three.” That is the Alter Rebbe’s wording: “divided into three.” In chapter 3, the Alter Rebbe’s wording is: “The intellect comprises chochmah, binah, and daas.” Rabbi Levi also points out the precision here. “The intellect comprises chochmah, binah, and daas,” as opposed to “is divided into chochmah, binah, and daas.” These are opposite words. “Comprises” suggests integration; “is divided” suggests separation. This, too, is the difference between holiness and kelipah. In the divine soul there is integration. Because of the nature of holiness—bittul and unity—the middos work together in an integrated way. The intellectual faculties do, too; there is integration throughout. With the animal soul, by contrast, everything is separate, because it is kelipah. As we said, in Tohu each middah stands on its own, each aspect on its own. That is why he says “divided into three”—the word is “divided.” The Rebbe also notes that in chapter 3, the wording says that the middos are “born” from the intellect. Here the Alter Rebbe says that the middos “correspond to the level of the intellect.” He explains that this, too, expresses something very fundamental about the difference between holiness and kelipah. Holiness gives birth; kelipah does not give birth. This is a well-known principle. Those who have studied [unclear] know that the Rebbe Rashab discusses it at length there. It is the difference between holiness and kelipah with regard to daas. In holiness, the faculty of daas gives birth to middos. Through contemplation, there is the power of daas. It has the intellectual capacity through which it gives birth to middos. Kelipah does not have that power of birth, because it does not have the power of daas. Kelipah does not really have daas. Kelipah is essentially external, while daas is inward—it involves deep inner investment. Holiness has that inner investment, while kelipah does not; everything is external, just what appears on the outside. The eye sees desires or sees beautiful things, and so it

17:10 He immediately runs after it. There is no inner investment there, and so there is no birth of middos there either. These are external middos that come from the world, so you cannot call that a birth. That is why the Alter Rebbe is precise in his wording and says that the middos are commensurate with the intellect—not that the middos are born from the intellect. In other words, the middos are not really born; the intellect does not give birth to genuine middos. These are external desires: the eye sees and the heart covets. There is no real inner investment in the matter, and so there is no genuine birth. What happens instead? He uses his intellect, and then the middos become stronger, more expansive, more forceful. But there is no genuine birth here. That is also why the Alter Rebbe does not elaborate here on daas. The Alter Rebbe will speak about contemplation, but not about daas as it exists in holiness. We spoke about daas and kelipah. The Alter Rebbe barely addresses it here: he mentions the word daas, but in chapter 6 he does not explain it at all. Because in kelipah, the whole concept of daas—meaning a person’s ability to bind himself to something loftier, to connect with something beyond the external appearance of things—is essentially absent. When you see something on the surface, you do not need daas; it is right before your eyes. Daas is the ability to connect with something more spiritual. Why, for example, do we say that a child becomes a bar daas at thirteen? He may have intellect before that, but daas means connecting with something, having an inner bond with something deeper. That requires a particular maturity. In other words, the intellect has to reach a certain level for him to truly connect with things he cannot see right before his eyes. That takes a particular depth. In kelipah, then, because its very nature is an external sense of self,

19:10 there is no real daas. There is an external kind of daas, but it is not genuine daas; it is [unclear]. It is not something that will truly elevate a person and bring something new into being within him. I mention all this simply to show how, in Tanya, although the text is concise, the Alter Rebbe put great depth into every word. Later, the series of maamarim discuss these ideas at length, expanding and explaining them. In any case, what are we learning here? In short, we are learning the difference between the G-dly soul and the animal soul. On the one hand, the animal soul has all the things that the G-dly soul has. It, too, consists of intellect and middos, and in general they follow the same pattern. The Alter Rebbe continues: “For the middos are commensurate with the intellect. A small child desires and loves small, worthless things, because his intellect is too small and limited to grasp things more valuable than they are.” With a small child, we see that the middos—even the middos of the animal soul—follow his intellect. As the intellect grows, the middos grow too. Because he is a small child, he loves small things. “Likewise, he becomes angry and upset over small things.” The same applies to the attribute of gevurah: a small child gets angry over small things. “And likewise with pride and the other middos.” The same applies to pride, which is a kind of sense of self—arrogance, as it is called—and so on. Up to this point, the Alter Rebbe has explained the general parallel between the two sides: just as there are ten powers of the soul in holiness, there are also ten crowns of impurity and kelipah. The Alter Rebbe will go on to explain the garments as well, and we will get to them. Just one point to add to what we are learning here: as is well known, Chassidus explains the significance of the number eleven. It is sometimes written that kelipah is associated with eleven,

21:17 the eleven ingredients of the incense, corresponding to the eleven crowns of kelipah. We often find in Chassidus that kelipah is associated with eleven. For example, the chieftains of Esav in Parshas Vayishlach number eleven. There are other instances, too, in which the number eleven is associated with the opposing side. So Chassidus explains: why eleven? For the same reason. Because the G-dly light does not truly unite with kelipah, there is an eleventh level, an encompassing light. In addition to the ten sefirot, there is an eleventh level, called pure frankincense. This is an aspect of G-dly light. In holiness, too, there is light, there is holiness, and there are ten sefirot. But in holiness, the light is in a state of bittul. It is not counted as part of the ten sefirot, because it is on an entirely different level. It is the inner light of holiness. With kelipah, by contrast, all its vitality comes from there. Since that vitality does not unite with it, it becomes an eleventh level—the encompassing light, the pure frankincense. That is how kelipah can receive vitality from holiness. When that is nullified, its entire existence is nullified. That is why the Rebbe speaks so much in the sichos about eleven, and about the eleven in holiness, which is the inner vitality of holiness. In the maamarim of Tefillah LeMoshe as well, the Rebbe discusses the eleven of holiness that nullifies the eleven of kelipah. In any case, let us get back to the point. What are we learning here? We have begun chapter 6, in which the Alter Rebbe explains “one corresponding to the other,” so that we can understand the struggle between holiness and kelipah: what the two sides are, and the difference between the G-dly soul and the animal soul.