Tanya (Likkutei Amarim) Reader

It has been taught [Niddah, end ch. 3]: An oath is administered to him [before birth, warning him]: “Be righteous and be not wicked; and even if the whole world tells you that you are righteous, in your own eyes regard yourself as if you were wicked.”1 Niddah 30b. The “oath” is also explained in terms of a delegation of power to the soul so that it be able to fulfill its destiny in life on earth. Cf. Kitzurim V’Hearot L’Sefer Likkutei Amarim, ed.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch (Kehot, 1948; 1989), pp. 66f. This requires to be understood, for it contradicts the Mishnaic dictum [Avot, ch. 2], “And be not wicked in your own estimation.”2 Avot 2:13. Furthermore, if a man considers himself to be wicked he will be grieved at heart and depressed, and he will not be able to serve G–d joyfully and with a contented heart; while if he is not perturbed by this [self-appraisal], it may lead him to irreverence, G–d forbid.3 The apparent contradiction between the two sources is explained in ch. 13.

The meaning of both the Baraita and Mishnah is expounded in chs. 13, 14, 29, and 34. However, the matter [will be understood after a preliminary discussion]. We find in the Gemara4 Berachot 7a; cf. Rosh Hashanah 16b. five distinct types—a righteous man who prospers, a righteous man who suffers, a wicked man who prospers, a wicked man who suffers, and a benoni (an intermediate person).5 The author borrows this term for the alternative name of his work, Sefer shel Benonim, but he uses the term in a different sense.

It is there explained that the “righteous man who prospers” is the perfect tzaddik; the “righteous man who suffers” is the imperfect tzaddik. In Raaya Mehemna, Parashat Mishpatim6 Zohar II:117b. it is explained that the “righteous man who suffers” is one whose evil nature is subservient to his good nature,7 This is a play on the words rendered literally “the evil (belongs) to him,” i.e., he is master of the evil nature in him. and so on.

In the Gemara, end of ch. 9 of Berachot,8 Berachot 61b. it is stated that the righteous are judged by their good nature…and the wicked by their evil nature, while the intermediate are judged by both, and so on.9 Cf. beg. ch. 9. Rabbah declared, “I, for example, am a benoni.” Said Abbaye to him, “Master, you do not make it possible for anyone to live,” and so on.10 Since there was none greater than Rabbah, it would mean that there was not even one tzaddik in the world, and all who are of lesser stature than Rabbah would be placed in the Book of the Wicked to be condemned to immediate death (Rosh Hashanah 16b).

To understand all the aforesaid clearly an explanation is needed, as also to understand what Job said [Bava Batra, ch. 1], “Master of the universe, You have created righteous men and You have created wicked men…,”11 Bava Batra 16a. for it is not preordained whether a man will be righteous or wicked.12 Niddah 16b. The answer to this question will be found in ch. 14. It is also necessary to understand the essential nature of the rank of the benoni.

Surely that cannot mean one whose deeds are half virtuous and half sinful, for if this were so, how could Rabbah err in classifying himself as a benoni? For it is known that he never ceased studying [the Torah], so much so that the Angel of Death could not overpower him;13 Cf. Bava Metzia 86a. how, then, could he err to have half of his deeds sinful, G–d forbid? Furthermore, [at what stage can a person be considered a benoni if] when a man commits sins he is deemed completely wicked [but when he repents afterward he is deemed completely righteous]?

Even he who violates a minor prohibition of the Rabbis is called wicked, as it is stated in Yevamot, ch. 2, and in Niddah, ch. 1. Moreover, even he who has the opportunity to forewarn another against sinning and does not do so is called wicked [ch. 6, Shevuot].14 Shevuot 39b. All the more so he who neglects any positive law which he is able to fulfill, for instance, whoever is able to study Torah and does not, regarding whom our Sages have quoted,15 Sanhedrin 99a. “Because he has despised the word of the L–rd…[that soul] shall be utterly cut off….”16 Numbers 15:31.

It is thus plain that such a person is called wicked, more than he who violates a prohibition of the Rabbis. If this is so, we must conclude that the benoni is not guilty even of the sin of neglecting to study the Torah.17 The reiteration of the sin of neglect of Torah study is due to its prevalent nature and the difficulty of avoiding it completely (cf. end ch. 25). The author is emphasizing that the benoni is innocent even of this and certainly of transgressions more easily avoidable.

Hence Rabbah could have mistaken himself for a benoni. NOTE: As far what is written in the Zohar III, p. 231: He whose sins are few is classed as a “righteous man who suffers”;18 The contradiction is in the implication that “few sins” are not inconsistent with the rank of tzaddik. this is the query of Rav Hamnuna to Elijah. But according to Elijah’s answer, ibid., the explanation of a “righteous man who suffers” is as stated in Raaya Mehemna on Parashat Mishpatim, which is given above.

And the Torah has seventy facets [modes of interpretation].19 Hence the reason for Rav Hamnuna’s query. Otiot d’Rabbi Akiva: comp. Bamidbar Rabbah 14:12. And as for the general saying20 Cf. Maimonides, Hilchot Teshuvah 3:1; Rashi, Rosh Hashanah 16b. that one whose deeds and misdeeds are equally balanced is called benoni, while he whose virtues outweigh his sins is called a tzaddik, this is only the figurative use of the term in regard to reward and punishment, because he is judged according to the majority [of his acts] and he is deemed “righteous” in his verdict, since he is acquitted in law.

But concerning the true definition and quality of the distinct levels and ranks, “righteous” and “intermediate,” our Sages have remarked21 Berachot 61b. that the righteous are motivated [solely] by their good nature, as it is written, “And my heart is a void within me,”22 Psalms 109:22. that is, void of an evil nature, because he [David] had slain it through fasting.23 Cf. beg. ch. 9. But whoever has not attained this degree, even though his virtues exceed his sins, cannot at all be reckoned to have ascended to the rank of the tzaddik.

This is why our Sages have declared in the Midrash, “The Holy One, blessed is He, saw that the righteous were few, so He planted them in every generation…,”24 Cf. Yoma 38b. [for,] as it is written, “The tzaddik is the foundation of the world.”25 Proverbs 10:25. The explanation [of the questions raised above] is to be found in the light of what Rabbi Chaim Vital wrote in Shaar HaKedushah [and in Etz Chaim, Portal 50, ch. 2] that in every Jew, whether righteous or wicked, are two souls, as it is written,26 Hebrew text should read וכדכתיב instead of דכתיב as amended (see Luach HaTikkun), because the Biblical text is here only loosely interpreted, for the word “souls” refers to the collective noun, not to two souls.

“The neshamot (souls) which I have made,”27 Isaiah 57:16. [alluding to] two souls. There is one soul which originates in the kelipah and sitra achara, [and] which is clothed in the blood of a human being, giving life to the body, as is written, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood.”28 Leviticus 17:11. From it stem all the evil characteristics deriving from the four evil elements which are contained in it.

These are: anger and pride, which emanate from the element of Fire, the nature of which is to rise upward; the appetite for pleasures—from the element of Water, for water makes to grow all kinds of enjoyment; frivolity and scoffing, boasting and idle talk from the element of Air; and sloth and melancholy—from the element of Earth. From this soul stems also the good characteristics which are to be found in the innate nature of all Israel, such as mercy and benevolence.

For in the case of Israel, this soul of the kelipah is derived from kelipat nogah, which also contains good, as it originates in the esoteric “tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.”29 Cf. Zohar I:12b. The souls of the nations of the world, however, emanate from the other, unclean kelipot which contain no good whatsoever, as is written in Etz Chaim, Portal 49, ch. 3, that all the good that the nations do is done from selfish motives.

So the Gemara30 Bava Batra 10b. comments on the verse, “The kindness of the nations is sin”31 Proverbs 14:34.—that all the charity and kindness done by the nations of the world is only for their own self-glorification, and so on.

The second soul of a Jew is truly a part of G–d above,1 Job 31:2; cf. also Psalms 16:5; 73:26; Jeremiah 10:16. as it is written, “He breathed into his nostrils a soul of life,”2 Genesis 2:7; comp. Nachmanides’ Commentary, ad loc. and “You have breathed it [the soul] into me.”3 Liturgy, Morning Prayer. Berachot 60b. And it is written in the Zohar, “He who blows, blows from within him,” that is to say, from his inwardness and his innermost, for it is something of his internal and innermost vitality that man emits through exhaling with force.

So, allegorically speaking, have the souls of Jews risen in the [Divine] thought,4 Cf. Bereishit Rabbah 1:4. as it is written, “My firstborn son is Israel,”5 Exodus 4:22. and “You are the children of the L–rd your G–d.”6 Deuteronomy 14:1. That is to say, just as a child is derived from his father’s brain, so—to use an anthropomorphism—the soul of each Israelite is derived from His thought and wisdom, blessed be He.

For He is wise—but not through a knowable wisdom,7 Tikkunei Zohar, Introduction 12b. because He and His wisdom are one; and as Maimonides says NOTE: And the Sages of the Kabbalah have agreed with him as is stated in Pardes8 Shaar Mehut VeHanhagah, ch. 13. of Rabbi Moshe Cordovero. Also according to the Kabbalah of the Arizal9 Rabbi Yitzchak Luria Ashkenazi, of blessed memory (1534-1572). this is substantiated in the mystic principle of the “clothing of the light” of the En Sof,10 En Sof: The Endless, or Infinite.

A term frequently used in the Zohar and later Kabbalistic works to indicate the Unknowable G–d. blessed is He, through numerous contractions within the vessels of chabad11 ChaBaD is an acronym formed of the initial letters of the Hebrew words chochmah (“wisdom”), binah (“understanding”), and daat (“knowledge”), the first three of the ten sefirot. The corresponding faculties of the soul are defined in ch. 3. of [the world of] Atzilut (Emanation), but no higher than that.12 Above the World of Atzilut, the Unknowable G–d cannot be defined.

For, as is explained elsewhere, the En Sof, blessed is He, is infinitely exalted over, and transcends, the essence and level of chabad, which in relation to Him are regarded as a material action,13 Accordingly, in terms of the Kabbalistic scale, Maimonides had nothing to say about G–d except from the World of Atzilut and “down.” It is in the world of Atzilut where Kabbalah and Maimonides first meet, so to speak. as is written, “You have made them all with wisdom.”14 Psalms 104:24. that “He is the Knowledge and Knower…and this is not within the power of any man to comprehend clearly…,”15 Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 2:10. as it is written, “Can you find G–d by searching?”16 Job 11:7.

And it is also written, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts….”17 Isaiah 55:8. And though there are myriads of different gradations of souls (neshamot), rank upon rank, ad infinitum, as with the superiority of the souls of the Patriarchs and of Moses our Teacher above the souls of our own generations who live in the period preceding the coming of the Messiah, which are as the very soles18 A play on the word עקבתא, “soles.” of the feet compared with the brain and head, so in every generation there are the leaders of the Jews, whose souls are in the category of “head” and “brain” in comparison with those of the masses and the ignorant.

Likewise [are there distinctions between] nefashot and nefashot, for every soul consists of nefesh, ruach, and neshamah.19 Cf. Zohar I:206a; II:141b, etc.; also Shnei Luchot HaBrit I, 9b. Nevertheless, the root of every nefesh, ruach, and neshamah, from the highest of all ranks to the lowest that is embodied within the illiterate and the most worthless, all derive, as it were, from the supreme mind which is chochmah ilaah (supernal wisdom).20 The doctrine that all souls are related in that they all come from the same source was given much emphasis by the founder of Chasidut, the Baal Shem Tov, and was a major issue of contention between the protagonists and antagonists of Chasidut.

The author elaborates on it in ch. 32 (לב). [The manner of this descent is] analogous to that of a son who is derived from his father’s brain, in that [even] the nails of his feet come into existence from the very same drop of semen, by being in the mother’s womb for nine months, descending degree by degree, changing continually, until even the nails are formed from it. Yet [after all this process] it is still bound and united with a wonderful and essential unity with its original essence and being, which was the drop [as it came] from the father’s brain.

And even now, in the son, the nails receive their nourishment and life from the brain that is in the head. As is written in the Gemara [Niddah, ibid.],21 Niddah 31a. “from the white of the father’s drop of semen are formed the veins, the bones, and the nails.” [And in Etz Chaim, Shaar HaChashmal, it is likewise stated, in connection with the esoteric principle of Adam’s garments in the Garden of Eden, that they [the garments] were the “nails” [derived] from the cognitive faculty of the brain].

So, as it were, is it actually true of the root of every nefesh, ruach and neshamah in the community of Israel on high: in descending degree by degree, through the descent of the worlds of Atzilut (Emanation), Beriah (Creation), Yetzirah (Formation) and Asiyah (Action) from His wisdom, blessed be He, as it is written, “You have made them all with wisdom,”22 Psalms 104:24. the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah of the ignorant and unworthy come into being.

Nevertheless they remain bound and united with a wonderful and essential unity with their original essence and entity; namely, the extension of chochmah ilaah (supernal wisdom), inasmuch as the nurture and life of the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah of the ignorant are drawn from the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah of the saints and sages, the heads of Israel in their generation. This explains the comment of our Sages on the verse, “And to cleave to Him”23 Deuteronomy 30:20.—“He who cleaves to a scholar [of the Torah] is deemed by the Torah as if he had become attached to the very Shechinah (Divine Presence).”24 Ketuvot 111b. For, through attachment to the scholars, the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah of the ignorant are bound up and united with their original essence and their root in the supernal wisdom, He and His wisdom being one, and “He is the Knowledge….”25 See above, note 15. [As for those who willfully sin and rebel against the Sages, the nurture of their nefesh, ruach, and neshamah comes from behind the back,26 I.e., ungraciously, or unwittingly.

The concept is more fully explained in ch. 22. as it were, of the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah of the scholars]. As for what is written in the Zohar27 Cf. Zohar II:204b ff.; III:80-82. and in Zohar Chadash,28 Bereishit, p. 11. to the effect that the essential factor is to conduct oneself in a holy manner during sexual union, which is not the case with the children of the ignorant, and so on, it is to be understood as meaning that since there is not a nefesh, ruach, and neshamah which has not a garment of the nefesh of its father’s and mother’s essence, and all the commandments that it fulfills are all influenced by that garment…, and even the benevolence that flows to one from heaven is all given through that garment—hence, through self-sanctification, one will cause to descend for the neshamah of one’s child a holy garment; and however great a soul it may be, it still needs the father’s sanctification….

But as for the soul itself, it sometimes happens that the soul of an infinitely lofty person comes to be the son of a despised and lowly man…. All this has been explained by the Arizal9 in Likkutei Torah on Parashat Vayera and in Taamei Hamitzvot on Parashat Bereishit.

Now, each distinction and grade of the three—nefesh, ruach, and neshamah—consists of1 Elsewhere (e.g., Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 1a; 51b; Shir Hashirim 16d) the author makes it clear that the soul does not “consist” of the ten faculties, but rather manifests itself through them, since the soul itself is essentially unknowable. ten faculties, corresponding to the supernal ten sefirot (Divine manifestations),2 The ten sefirot are more fully discussed by the author in the fourth part of the book, Iggeret Hakodesh, sect. 15 and elsewhere. from which they have descended, which are subdivided into two, namely, the three “mothers” and the seven “multiples,” namely, chochmah (wisdom), binah (understanding), and daat (knowledge); and the “seven days of Creation”: chesed (kindness), gevurah (power), tiferet (beauty), and so on.3 Ibid.

Similarly is it with the human soul, which is divided in two—sechel (intellect) and middot (emotional attributes). The intellect includes chochmah, binah, and daat (chabad), while the middot are love of G–d, dread and awe of Him, glorification of Him, and so forth. Chabad [the intellectual faculties] are called “mothers” and source of the middot, for the latter are “offspring” of the former. The explanation of the matter is as follows: The intellect of the rational soul, which is the faculty that conceives any thing, is given the appellation of chochmah—כ“ח מ“ה—the “potentiality” of “what is.”4 Zohar III:28a; 34a. A play on the Hebrew word חכמה—כ“ח מ“ה.

It is also to be understood as “pure” or creative reason in potentia. When one brings forth this power from the potential into the actual, that is, when [a person] cogitates with his intellect in order to understand a thing truly and profoundly as it evolves from the concept which he has conceived in his intellect, this is called binah. These [chochmah and binah] are the very “father” and “mother” which give birth to love of G–d, and awe and dread of Him.

For when the intellect in the rational soul deeply contemplates and immerses itself exceedingly in the greatness of G–d, how He fills all worlds and encompasses all worlds,5 I.e., both immanently and transcendency. Zohar III:225a. and in the presence of Whom everything is considered as nothing6 Zohar I:11b.—there will be born and aroused in his mind and thought the emotion of awe for the Divine majesty, to fear and be humble before His greatness, blessed be He, which is without end or limit, and to have the dread of G–d in his heart.

Next, his heart will glow with an intense love, like burning coals, with a passion, desire and longing, and a yearning soul, toward the greatness of the En Sof, blessed is He. This constitutes the culminating passion of the soul, of which Scripture speaks, as “My soul yearns, indeed it pines…,”7 Psalms 84:3. and “My soul thirsts for G–d…,”8 Psalms 42:3. and “My soul thirsts for You….”9 Psalms 63:2.

This thirst is derived from the element of Fire, which is found in the divine soul. As students of natural science affirm, and so it is in Etz Chaim, the element of Fire is in the heart, while the source of [the element of] Water and moisture is in the brain, which is explained in Etz Chaim, Portal 50, to refer to the faculty of chochmah,10 Water descends from high places. It is symbolically identified with chochmah, the highest of the ten sefirot, and also with chesed, the first of the middot. called “the water of the divine soul.”

The rest of the middot are all offshoots of fear and love and their derivations, as is explained elsewhere. Daat, the etymology of which is to be found in the verse, “And Adam knew (yada) Eve,”11 Genesis 4:1. implies attachment and union. That is, one binds his mind with a very firm and strong bond to, and firmly fixes his thought on, the greatness of the En Sof, blessed is He, without diverting his mind [from Him].

For even one who is wise and understanding of the greatness of the En Sof, blessed is He, will not—unless he binds his knowledge and fixes his thought with firmness and perseverance—produce in his soul true love and fear, but only vain fancies. Therefore daat is the basis of the middot and the source of their vitality; it contains chesed and gevurah, that is to say, love with its offshoots and fear with its offshoots.12 Love and fear (awe) are two basic emotions latent in the soul, which are produced by contemplation.

The faculty of daat stimulates these higher emotions to seek an outlet through the three “garments” of the soul, discussed in the following chapter.

In addition,1 Having outlined in ch. 3 the intrinsic faculties of the soul, the author goes on to explain how they express themselves through the three outer “garments,” or instruments. every divine soul (nefesh elokit) possesses three garments, viz., thought, speech, and action, [expressing themselves] in the 613 commandments of the Torah. For, when a person actively2 All italics are the translator’s. fulfills all the precepts which require physical action,3 Note that “action” is put first. and with his power of speech he occupies himself in expounding all the 613 commandments and their practical application, and with his power of thought he comprehends all that is comprehensible to him in the Pardes4 Literally meaning “orchard,” it is taken as an acronym of the four Hebrew words פשט, רמז, דרוש, סוד, meaning: plain sense, intimation, homiletical exposition, and esoteric meaning, respectively, the four levels of Scriptural interpretation. of the Torah—then the totality of the 613 “organs” of his soul5 The physical organism of the human body consists of 248 members and 365 blood vessels, corresponding to the 248 positive and 365 prohibitive commands (Tanchuma Hakadum, Teitzei; Makkot 24a).

The soul contains the spiritual counterparts of these 613 “organs.” (See below, ch. 51.) are clothed in the 613 commandments of the Torah. Specifically: the faculties of chabad in his soul are clothed in the comprehension of the Torah, which he comprehends in Pardes, to the extent of his mental capacity and the supernal root of his soul. And the middot, namely fear and love, together with their offshoots and ramifications, are clothed in the fulfillment of the commandments in deed and in word, namely, in the study of Torah which is “equivalent to them all.”6 Mishnah, Peah 1:1.

For love is the root of all the 248 positive commands, all originating in it and having no true foundation without it, inasmuch as he who fulfills them in truth truly loves the name of G–d and desires to cleave to Him in truth; for one cannot truly cleave to Him except through the fulfillment of the 248 commandments which are the 248 “organs of the King,”7 Tikkunei Zohar 30. as it were, as is explained elsewhere;8 Below, ch. 23. while fear is the root of the 365 prohibitive commands, fearing to rebel against the Supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed is He; or a still deeper fear than this—when he feels ashamed in the presence of the Divine greatness to rebel against His glory and do what is evil in His eyes, namely, any of the abominable things hated by G–d, which are the kelipot and sitra achara, which draw their nurture from man below and have their hold in him through the 365 prohibitive commands [that he violates].

Now these three “garments,” deriving from the Torah and its commandments, although they are called “garments” of the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah, their quality, nevertheless, is infinitely higher and greater than that of the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah themselves,9 The soul itself, as the subject loving and fearing G–d, must remain apart from G–d; it is only through its “garments” that it attains true identity with G–d, as further explained in ch. 35. as explained in the Zohar,10 I:24a; II:60a. See below, beg. ch. 23. because the Torah and the Holy One, blessed is He, are one.

The meaning of this is that the Torah, which is the wisdom and will of the Holy One, blessed is He, and His glorious Essence are one, since He is both the Knower and the Knowledge, and so on, as explained above in the name of Maimonides. And although the Holy One, blessed is He, is called En Sof (“Infinite”), and “His greatness can never be fathomed,”11 Psalms 145:3. and “no thought can apprehend Him at all,”12 Tikkunei Zohar, Introduction 17a. and so are also His will and His wisdom, as it is written, “There is no searching of His understanding”13 Isaiah 40:28. and “Can you find G–d by searching?”14 Job 11:7. and again, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts”15 Isaiah 55:8. —nevertheless, it is in this connection that it has been said: “Where you find the greatness of the Holy One, blessed is He, there you also find His humility.”16 Megillah 31a. This is interpreted to mean that G–d combines the powers of expansion (“greatness”) and contraction (“humility”), which come into play in the process of tzimtzum.

Cf. Zohar I:140a; II:99a; III:58a, 159a. For the Holy One, blessed is He, has compressed His will and wisdom within the 613 commandments of the Torah and in their laws, as well as within the combination of the letters of the Torah, the books of the Prophets and the Writings, and in the exposition thereof which are to be found in the Aggadot and Midrashim of our Rabbis of blessed memory. All this in order that each neshamah, or ruach, and nefesh in the human body should be able to comprehend them through its faculty of understanding, and to fulfill them, as far as they can be fulfilled, in act, speech, and thought, thereby clothing itself with all its ten faculties in these three garments.

Therefore has the Torah been compared to water,17 Bava Kama 17a. for just as water descends from a higher to a lower level, so has the Torah descended from its place of glory, which is His will and wisdom, blessed be He; [for] the Torah and the Holy One, blessed is He, are one and the same and no thought can apprehend Him at all. From there [the Torah] has progressively descended through hidden stages, stage after stage, with the descent of the worlds, until it clothed itself in corporeal substances and in things of this world, comprising almost all of the commandments of the Torah, their laws, and in the combinations of material letters, written with ink in a book, namely, the 24 volumes of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings; all this in order that every thought should be able to apprehend them, and even the faculties of speech and action, which are on a lower level than thought, should be able to apprehend them and be clothed in them.

Thus, since the Torah and its commandments “clothe” all ten faculties of the soul with all its 613 organs from head to foot, it [the soul] is altogether truly bound up in the Bundle of Life with G–d,18 I Samuel 25:29. and the very light of G–d envelops and clothes it from head to foot, as it is written, “G–d is my Rock, I will take refuge in Him,”19 Psalms 18:3. and it is also written, “You will envelop him with favor (ratzon—will) as with a shield,”20 Psalms 5:13. that is to say, with His will and wisdom, blessed be He, which are clothed in His Torah and its commandments.

Hence it has been said: “Better is one hour of repentance and good deeds in this world than the whole life of the World to Come.”21 Avot 4:17. For, the World to Come is that state where one enjoys the effulgence of the Divine Presence,22 Berachot 16b. which is the pleasure of comprehension, yet no created being—even celestial—can comprehend more than some reflection of the Divine light; that is why the reference is to “effulgence of the Divine Presence” (Ziv haShechinah).23 I.e., the “glow” of the Shechinah, not the Shechinah itself.

Note the author’s interpretation of זיו in this context as a remote gleam, a mere reflection. But as for the essence of the Holy One, blessed is He, no thought can apprehend Him at all, except when it apprehends, and is clothed in, the Torah and its mitzvot; only then does it truly apprehend, and is clothed in, the Holy One, blessed is He, inasmuch as the Torah and the Holy One, blessed is He, are one and the same.

For although the Torah has been clothed in lower material things, it is by way of illustration, like embracing the king. There is no difference, in regard to the degree of closeness and attachment to the king, whether while embracing the king, the latter is then wearing one robe or several robes, so long as the royal person is in them. Likewise, when the king, for his part, embraces one with his arm, even though it is dressed in his robes; as it is written, “And His right hand embraces me,”24 Song of Songs 8:3. which refers to the Torah which was given by G–d’s right hand,25 Deuteronomy 35:2. which is the quality of chesed and water.26 In Kabbalah, the “right” hand or side is the side of benevolence. Chesed and water are synonymous of Divine benevolence. See note 10, ch. 3.

“G–d has made one thing opposite the other.”1 Ecclesiastes 7:14. In general, things in the realm of holiness have their opposite in the realm of the profane, or “the other side” (sitra achara). Similarly, everything in the physical world has its spiritual counterpart from which it derives its existence and vitality—a popular concept in Chabad, as in Kabbalah generally. Cf. Zohar III:47b. Just as the divine soul consists of ten holy sefirot and is clothed in three holy garments,2 Thought, speech, and deed. so does the soul which is derived from the sitra achara of the kelipat nogah, which is clothed in man’s blood, consist of ten “crowns of impurity.”3 Cf. Zohar III:41a; 70a. These are the seven evil middot which stem from the four evil elements mentioned above,4 End of ch. 1. and the intellect begetting them which is subdivided into three, viz., wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, the source of the middot.5 Here, unlike ch. 3, the middot precede sechel to indicate the secondary role of the intellect in the animal soul, where passion predominates.

For the middot are according to the quality of the intellect. Hence a child desires and loves petty things of inferior worth, for his intellect is too immature and deficient to appreciate things that are much more precious. Likewise is he provoked to anger and vexation over trivial things; so, too, with boasting and other middot. Now these ten unclean categories, when a person meditates in them or speaks them or acts by them, his thought—which is in his brain; and his speech—which is in his mouth; and the power of action—which is in his hands, together with his other limbs—all these are called the “impure garments” of these ten unclean categories wherein the latter are clothed at the time of the action, speech, or thought.

It is these that constitute all the deeds that are done under the sun, which are all “vanity and striving after the wind,”6 Ecclesiastes 1:14. as interpreted in the Zohar, Beshalach,7 II:59a. in the sense of a “ruination of the spirit….”8 A reinterpretation of רעות רוח. So, too, are all utterances and thoughts which are not directed toward G–d and His will and service. For this is the meaning of sitra achara—“the other side,” i.e., not the side of holiness.

For the holy side is nothing but the indwelling and extension of the holiness of the Holy One, blessed is He, and He dwells only on such a thing that abnegates itself completely to Him, either actually, as in the case of the angels above, or potentially, as in the case of every Jew down below, having the capacity to abnegate himself completely to the Holy One, blessed is He, through martyrdom for the sanctification of G–d.

That is why our Sages have said that “Even when a single individual sits and engages in the Torah the Shechinah rests on him”9 Avot 3:6. and “On every gathering of ten [Jews] the Shechinah rests”10 Sanhedrin 39a. always. However, that which does not surrender itself to G–d, but is a separate thing by itself, does not receive its vitality from the holiness of the Holy One, blessed is He, that is, from the very inner essence and substance of the holiness itself, but from “behind its back,” as it were,11 Cf. note 25, ch. 2. descending degree by degree, through myriads of degrees with the lowering of the worlds, by way of cause and effect and innumerable contractions,12 Cf. ch. 48; Iggeret Hakodesh, ch. 20. until the light and life is so diminished through repeated diminutions that it can be compressed and incorporated, in a state of exile as it were, within that separated thing, giving it vitality and existence ex nihilo, so that it does not revert to nothingness and nonexistence as it was before it was created.13 Evil is thus conceived as a creation ex nihilo, like everything else, except that it was not created for its own sake; hence it is merely tolerated.

The monistic aspect of creation, despite the apparent dualism in the world, is thus emphasized, particularly in ch. 24, below. Consequently, this world, with all its contents, is called the world of kelipot and sitra achara. Therefore all mundane affairs are severe and evil,14 Cf. ch. 24. and wicked men prevail, as explained in Etz Chaim, Portal 42, end of ch. 4. NOTE: To be sure, there are contained in it [this world] the ten sefirot [of the world] of Asiyah (Action) of the side of holiness, as is written in Etz Chaim, Portal 43, and within these ten sefirot of Asiyah are the ten sefirot of Yetzirah (Formation), and in them the ten sefirot of Beriah (Creation), and in them the ten sefirot of Atzilut (Emanation), in which abides the light of the En Sof, blessed is He.

Thus the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, pervades this lower world through being clothed in the ten sefirot of the Four Worlds, namely those of Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, as explained in Etz Chaim, Portal 47, ch. 2, and in Sefer Hagilgulim, ch. 20. However, the kelipot are subdivided into two grades, one lower than the other. The lower grade consists of the three kelipot which are altogether unclean and evil, containing no good whatsoever.

In the chariot of [the prophet] Ezekiel they are called “whirlwind,” “great cloud”….15 “…and a flaring fire.” Ezekiel 1:4. From them flow and derive the souls of all the nations of the world, and the existence of their bodies, and also the souls of all living creatures that are unclean and unfit for consumption,16 Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14. and the existence of their bodies, as well as the existence and vitality of all forbidden food in the vegetable kingdom, such as orlah17 First three years’ harvest of fruit of a tree.

Cf. Leviticus 19:23. and mixed seeds in the vineyard,18 Cf. Deuteronomy 22:9. and so on, as explained in Etz Chaim, Portal 49, ch. 6, as also the existence and vitality of all actions, utterances, and thoughts pertaining to the 365 prohibitions and their offshoots, as is explained, ibid., at the end of ch. 5.

Behold, when a person fortifies his divine soul and wages war against his animal soul to such an extent that he expels and eradicates its evil from the left part—as is written, “And you shall root out the evil from within you”1 Deuteronomy 21:21.—yet the evil is not actually converted to goodness, he is called “incompletely righteous” or “a righteous man who suffers.”2 צדיק ורע לו—see ch. 1, n. 7.

That is to say, there still lingers in him a fragment of wickedness in the left part, except that it is subjugated and nullified by the good, because of the former’s minuteness. Hence he imagines that he has driven it out and it has quite disappeared. In truth, however, had all the evil in him entirely departed and disappeared, it would have been converted into actual goodness. The explanation of the matter is that “a completely righteous man,” in whom the evil has been converted to goodness and who is consequently called “a righteous man who prospers,”3 צדיק וטוב לו—i.e., “possessing (only) good.” has completely divested himself of the filthy garments of evil.

That is to say, he utterly despises the pleasures of this world, finding no enjoyment in human pleasures of merely gratifying the physical appetites instead of [seeking] the service of G–d, inasmuch as they are derived from and originate in the kelipah and sitra achara, for whatever is of the sitra achara is hated by the perfectly righteous man with an absolute hatred, by reason of his great love of G–d and of His holiness with profuse affection and delight and superlative devotion, as is stated above.4 Ch. 9.

For they are antithetical one to the other. Thus it is written, “I hate them with the utmost hatred; I regard them as my own enemies. Search me, [L–rd,] and know my heart….”5 Psalms 139:22, 23. Hence, according to the abundance of the love toward G–d, so is the extent of the hatred toward the sitra achara and the utter contempt of evil, for contempt is as much the opposite of real love as is hatred.

The “incompletely righteous” is he who does not hate the sitra achara with an absolute hatred; therefore he does not also absolutely abhor evil. And as long as the hatred and scorn of evil are not absolute, there must remain some vestige of love and pleasure in it, and the fouled garments have not entirely and absolutely been shed; therefore the evil has not actually been converted to goodness, since it still has some hold in the filthy garments, except that it is nullified because of its minute quantity and is accounted as nothing.

Therefore such a person is called a righteous man, in whom the evil is subjugated and surrendered to him. Accordingly, his love of G–d is also not perfect, with the result that he is called “incompletely righteous.” Now, this grade is subdivided into myriads of degrees in respect of the quality of the minute evil remaining [in him] from any of the four evil elements, as well as in relation to its proportionate abnegation by reason of its minuteness, such as, by way of example, one in sixty, or in a thousand, or in ten thousand, and the like.6 In halachah, in cases of a mixture of a nonkosher element into kosher articles of human consumption (solids or liquids), the nonkosher element is deemed nonexistent if its proportion is less than 1/60th, 1/100th, etc., as the case may be.

Cf., e.g., Chullin 97b ff. Such are the gradations of the numerous righteous men who are to be found in every generation, as mentioned in the Gemara, viz., “Eighteen thousand righteous men stand before the Holy One, blessed is He.”7 Sukkah 45b; Sanhedrin 97b. However, it is with regard to the superior quality of the “completely righteous” that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said, “I have seen superior men (benei aliyah), and their numbers are few….”8 Ibid.

The reason for their title of “superior men”9 Literally, “men of ascent”—בני עליה. is that they convert evil and make it ascend to holiness, as is written in the Zohar in the Introduction,10 Zohar I:4a. that when Rabbi Chiya wished to ascend to the hechal (heavenly shrine) of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, he heard a voice come out and say, “Which of you, before coming here, has converted darkness into light and bitter taste into sweetness? [Otherwise] do not approach here,” and so forth.

A further explanation of the title “superior men” is that their service in the category of “do good,” in the fulfillment of the Torah and its commandments, is for the sake of the Above, the ultimate of the highest degrees, and not merely in order to attach themselves to G–d so as to quench the thirst of their [own] soul, which thirsts for G–d, as is written, “Ho! All who thirst, go to water,”11 Isaiah 55:1. as is explained elsewhere.

Rather [their service is,] as explained in Tikkunei Zohar, “Who is kind?—He who conducts himself with benevolence toward his Creator—toward His nest,12 This homily is based on a play on the words חסיד־חסד, קונו־קנו. The text reads: איזהו חסיד המתחסד עם קונו — עם קן דיליה, לייחדא קודשא בריך הוא ושכינתיה בתחתונים. uniting the Holy One, blessed is He, and His Shechinah within those who dwell in the nethermost worlds.”13 Tikkunei Zohar, Introduction 1b. Cf. Zohar II:114b; III:222b; 281a. As also explained in Raaya Mehemna on Parashat Teitzei, “In the manner of a son who ingratiates himself with his father and mother, whom he loves more than his own body and soul…and is prepared to sacrifice his own life for them, to redeem them…,”14 Zohar III:281a. and as is explained elsewhere.15 The absolute altruistic worshipper is not motivated by a desire to save his soul, or to gratify its longing for unity with the Deity, but by pure love and a desire to please G–d and make His presence felt everywhere. [And both interpretations are complementary, for through acts of refinement of the good out of the nogah, one elevates the “feminine waters,”16 “Male” and “female” are terms used in Kabbalah to denote “giver” and “recipient,” respectively.

“Feminine waters” therefore denotes benevolent acts, self-inspired, rising from man to G–d, while “masculine waters” denotes the flow of Divine influence and grace from G–d to man. causing “supernal unions” to bring down the “masculine waters”17 See previous note. which are the flow of [Divine] kindness contained in each of the 248 positive precepts, all of which are in the nature of kindness and “masculine waters,” that is to say, the flow of holiness of His G–dliness, blessed be He, from above downward, to be clothed in those who live in the lower worlds, as explained elsewhere.]

“One is the opposite the other”1 Ecclesiastes 7:14.—the “wicked man who prospers” is antithetical to the “righteous man who suffers.”2 Defined in the previous chapter. That is to say, the goodness that is in his divine soul which is in his brain and in the right part of his heart is subservient to, and nullified by, the evil of the kelipah that is in the left part. This type, too, is subdivided into myriads of degrees which differ in respect of the extent and manner of the nullification and subservience of the good to the bad, G–d forbid.

There is the person in whom the said subservience and nullification are in a very minor way, and even these are not permanent or recurring at frequent intervals; but on rare occasions the evil prevails over the good and conquers the “small city,” that is, the body—yet not all of it, but only a part of it, subjecting it to its (evil’s) discipline, to become a vehicle and a garment wherein one of the soul’s three garments mentioned above3 Ch. 4. is clothed, namely, either in deed alone, in the commission of minor transgressions and not major ones, G–d forbid; or in speech alone, in the utterance of something that borders on slander and scoffing and the like; or in thought alone, in contemplations of sin, which are more serious than actual sin,4 Yoma 29a. Cf. Chiddushei Aggadot Maharsha, loc. cit.; Netivot Olam, Netiv Haprishut, ch. 2.

The reason why “contemplation of sin is more serious than actual sin” is that of the three “garments” of the soul (thought, speech, and act), thought is the innermost and closest to the soul; hence the contamination strikes closer to the core. or even when he does not contemplate committing a sin but indulges in contemplation on the carnal union between male and female in general, whereby he is guilty of violating the admonition of the Torah, “You shall guard yourself from every wicked thing,”5 Deuteronomy 23:10. meaning that “one must not harbor impure fancies by day….”6 “…so as not to defile himself by night” (Ketuvot 46a). or, when it is a fitting time to study the Torah, but he turns his heart to vain things, as we have learned in the Mishnah in Avot, “One who is awake at night [or travels alone on the road], and turns his heart to [idleness, indeed, he endangers his life].”7 Avot 3:4.

For by reason of any one of all these things, and their like, he is called wicked at such time that the evil in his nefesh prevails over him, clothing itself in his body, inducing it to sin and defiling it. Presently, however, the good that is in his divine soul asserts itself, and he is filled with remorse, and he seeks pardon and forgiveness of G–d. Indeed, G–d will forgive him if he has repented with the appropriate penitence according to the counsel of our Sages, of blessed memory, namely, the threefold division of atonement which is expounded by Rabbi Ishmael,8 End of Tractate Yoma. as is explained elsewhere.9 Iggeret Hateshuvah, ch. 1.

There is also the person in whom the wickedness prevails more strongly, and all three garments of evil clothe themselves in him, causing him to commit more heinous and more frequent sins. But intermittently he suffers remorse, and thoughts of repentance enter his mind, from the quality of good that is in his soul that gathers strength now and then. However, he has not enough strength to vanquish the evil so as to rid himself entirely of his sins and be as one who confesses and abandons [his evil ways, once and for all].

Concerning such a person, the Rabbis, of blessed memory, have said, “The wicked are full of remorse.”10 Nedarim 9b. These represent the majority of the wicked, in whose soul still lingers some good. But he who never feels contrition, and in whose mind no thoughts of repentance at all ever enter, is called the “wicked who suffers,”11 רשע ורע לו i.e., “possessing (only) evil.” for the evil that is in his soul has alone remained in him, having so prevailed over the good that the latter has already departed from within him, standing aloof, so to speak, over him.12 Thus the good that is in the soul is in a state of “suspended animation”—paralyzed, yet not destroyed.

Hence, even the “completely wicked” individual can, through a paramount effort, reactivate the good, and repent, for “the gates of repentance are not closed to anyone.” Therefore the Sages have said, “On every gathering of ten [Jews] the Shechinah rests.”13 Sanhedrin 39a. That is to say, even if they are wicked, the Shechinah rests upon them.

The benoni (intermediate) is he in whom evil never attains enough power to capture the “small city,” so as to clothe itself in the body and make it sin. That is to say, the three “garments” of the animal soul, namely, thought, speech, and act, originating in the kelipah, do not prevail within him over the divine soul to the extent of clothing themselves in the body—in the brain, in the mouth, and in the other 248 parts1 “Brain”—thought; “mouth”—word; “the other limbs”—act.—thereby causing them to sin and defiling them, G–d forbid.

Only the three garments of the divine soul, they alone are implemented in the body, being the thought, speech, and act engaged in the 613 commandments of the Torah. He has never committed, nor ever will commit, any transgression; neither can the name “wicked” be applied to him even temporarily, or even for a moment, throughout his life.2 Though the benoni has never committed a sin in his life, he is still not deemed a tzaddik as long as his natural impulses have not been completely sublimated, as explained further in this chapter.

On the other hand, past offences need not preclude one from attaining the rank of benoni, if there was proper repentance. At any rate, the rank of benoni, as defined in the Tanya, is far superior to the rank of tzaddik as defined generally when it is applied to one whose good deeds exceed the bad. Cf. above, ch. 1. However, the essence and being of the divine soul, which are its ten faculties,3 Above, ch. 3. do not constantly hold undisputed sovereignty and sway over the “small city,” except at appropriate times, such as during the recital of the Shema or the Amidah, which is a time when the Supernal Intellect is in a sublime state;4 מוחין דגדלות i.e., the supernal sefirot of chochmah, binah, daat (chabad), are in a state of greatness. and likewise below, this is a propitious time for every man, when he binds his chabad (intellectual faculties) to G–d, to meditate deeply on the greatness of the En Sof, blessed is He, and to arouse the burning love in the right part of his heart, to cleave to Him by virtue of the fulfillment of the Torah and its commandments out of love.

This is the essential aspect of the Shema, the recital of which is enjoined by the Torah5 Maimonides, Hilchot Keriat Shema 1:1. and of the blessings which precede and follow it, which are a Rabbinical enactment,6 Ibid., 1:7. the latter being the preparation for the fulfillment of the recital of the Shema, as is explained elsewhere.7 Reference is made here to the text of the blessing in the daily liturgy, which are designed to inspire surrender and ecstasy.

Cf. below, ch. 49. At such time the evil that is in the left part is subjected to, and nullified in, the goodness that is diffused in the right part, from the wisdom, understanding, and knowledge (chabad) in the brain, which are bound to the greatness of the En Sof, blessed is He.8 The evil nature is then temporarily repressed, but not sublimated. However, after prayer, when the state of sublimity of the Intellect of the En Sof, blessed is He, departs, the evil in the left part reawakens, and he begins to feel a desire for the lusts of the world and its delights.

Yet, because the evil has not the sole authority and dominion over the “city,” it is unable to carry out this desire from the potential into the actual by clothing itself in the bodily limbs, in deed, speech, and persistent thought to the extent of concentrating his attention on the enjoyment of the mundane pleasures as to how to satisfy the lust of his heart, because the brain rules over the heart [as explained in Raaya Mehemna, Parashat Pinchas]9 Cf. Zohar III:224a. by virtue of its innately created nature.

For this is how man is created from birth, that each person may, with the willpower in his brain, restrain himself and control the drive of lust that is in his heart, preventing his heart’s desires from expressing themselves in action, word, or thought, and divert his attention altogether from the craving of his heart toward the completely opposite direction, particularly in the direction of holiness.10 The doctrine of the inherent supremacy of intellect over emotion is one of the basic, though not original, tenets of Chabad.

Comp. Maimonides, Guide 3:8. Thus it is written, “Then I saw that wisdom surpasses folly as light surpasses darkness.”11 Ecclesiastes 2:13. This means that just as light has a superiority, power, and dominion over darkness, so that a little physical light banishes a great deal of darkness which is therewith inevitably superseded as a matter of course and necessity, so is much foolishness of the kelipah and sitra achara [as, indeed, our Sages say, “A man does not sin unless a spirit of folly enters into him”12 Sotah 3a.] inevitably driven away by the wisdom that is in the divine soul in the brain, whose desire is to rule alone in the “city” and to pervade the whole body, in the manner already mentioned,13 Above, ch. 9. by means of her three garments, namely, thought, speech, and act of the 613 commandments of the Torah, as explained earlier.

Nevertheless, such a person is not deemed a tzaddik at all, because the superiority which the light of the divine soul possesses over the darkness and foolishness of the kelipah, wherewith the latter is expelled forthwith, exists only in the aforementioned three garments, but does not extend to its very essence and being in relation to those of the kelipah. For in the benoni, the essence and being of the animal soul from the kelipah in the left part remains entirely undislodged after prayer.

For then the burning love of G–d is not in a revealed state in his heart, in the right part, but is only inwardly paved with hidden love that is the natural adoration in the divine soul, as will be explained later. Therefore it is possible for the folly of the wicked fool to rise openly in the left part of his heart, creating a lust for all material things of this world, whether permitted or, G–d forbid, prohibited, as if he had not prayed at all.

Nevertheless, in regard to a forbidden matter, it does not occur to him to actually violate the prohibition, G–d forbid, and it remains in the realm of sinful thoughts, which are more serious than actual sin,14 See ch. 11, n. 4. and which can be forceful enough to rise to his mind, to distract him from the Torah and Divine service, as our Sages said, “There are three sins against which a man is daily not safeguarded: sinful thoughts, distraction in prayer….”15 “…and slanderous gossip.”

Bava Batra 164b. However, the impression [of prayer] on the intellect and the hidden [i.e., innate] fear and love of G–d in the right part [of the heart] enable one to prevail and triumph over this evil of passionate craving, depriving it from gaining supremacy and dominion over the “city,” and from carrying out this desire from the potential into the actual by clothing itself in the bodily organs.

Moreover, even in the mind alone, insofar as sinful thoughts are concerned, evil has no power to compel the mind’s volition to entertain willingly, G–d forbid, any wicked thought rising of its own accord from the heart to the brain, as discussed above.16 Beg. ch. 9. But no sooner does it reach there than he thrusts it out with both hands and averts his mind from it the instant he reminds himself that it is an evil thought, refusing to accept it willingly, even to let his thoughts play on it willingly; how much more so to entertain any idea of putting it into effect, G–d forbid, or even to put it into words.

For he who willfully indulges in such thoughts is deemed wicked at such time, whereas the benoni is never wicked for a single moment. So, too, in matters affecting a person’s relations with his neighbor, as soon as there rises from his heart to his mind some animosity or hatred, G–d forbid, or jealousy or anger, or a grudge and suchlike, he gives them no entrance into his mind and will. On the contrary, his mind exercises its authority and power over the spirit in his heart to do the very opposite and to conduct himself toward his neighbor with the quality of kindness and a display of abundant love, to the extent of suffering from him to the extreme limits without becoming provoked into anger, G–d forbid, or to revenge in kind, G–d forbid; but rather to repay the offenders with favors, as taught in the Zohar,17 I:201a. ff. that one should learn from the example of Joseph toward his brothers.

Therewith will be understood the commentary of our Sages1 Berachot 61b. that “intermediate people are judged by both [the good and evil natures], for it is written, ‘When He stands at the right of the destitute to deliver him from the judges of his soul.’”2 “Judges”—in the plural, allegorically interpreted to refer to the two impulses which motivate man’s actions. Note that they did not say “ruled” by both, G–d forbid, because where the evil nature gains any control and dominion over the “small city,” even though but temporarily, one is at such times deemed “wicked.”

The evil nature [in the benoni], however, is no more than, for example, a magistrate or judge who gives his opinion on a point of law, yet it is not necessarily a final decision to be implemented in deed, for there is another magistrate or judge who is contesting this opinion. It is, therefore, necessary to arbitrate between the two, and the final verdict rests with the arbitrator. Similarly, the evil nature states its opinion in the left part of the heart,3 The “seat” of the passions.

Cf. above, ch. 9. which thence ascends to the brain for contemplation. Immediately it is challenged by the second judge, the divine soul in the brain4 The intellect is the forte of the divine soul. Ibid. extending into the right part of the heart, the abode of the good nature. The final verdict comes from the arbitrator—the Holy One, blessed is He, who comes to the aid of the good nature, as our Sages said, “If the Holy One, blessed is He, did not help him, he could not overcome his evil inclination.”5 Kiddushin 30b. The help comes by means of the glow radiated by the Divine light, which illuminates the divine soul, that it may gain the upper hand and mastery over the folly of the fool and evil nature, in the manner of the excellence of light over darkness, as stated above.6 Ch. 12.

Yet, inasmuch as the evil in the [heart’s] left part of the benoni is in its innate strength, craving after all the pleasures of this world, not having been nullified in its minuteness in relation to the good, nor having been relegated from its position to any degree—except insofar as it has no authority and power to diffuse itself throughout the limbs of the body, because the Holy One, blessed is He, “stands at the right hand of the poor man,” helping him and irradiating his divine soul—such a person is likened to a “wicked man.”

In the words of our Sages, “Even if the whole world tells you that you are righteous, in your own eyes regard yourself as if you were wicked”7 Niddah 30b.—not as actually wicked.8 Here is the answer to the question raised in the beginning of ch. 1. The clue is in the word כרשע (not רשע). But one should consider oneself to be a benoni and not accept the world’s opinion which would have him believe that the evil in him has been dissolved by the good, which is the category of a tzaddik.

Rather should he consider himself in his own estimation as if the very essence of the evil is in its full strength and might, in the left part, as from birth, and that nothing of it has ceased or departed; on the contrary, with the passing of time it has gained strength, because the man has indulged it considerably, in eating and drinking and other mundane pursuits. Even one whose whole aspiration is in G–d’s Torah, which he studies day and night for its own sake, this is still no proof whatsoever that the evil has been dislodged from its place, but it may still be that its essence and substance are in their full strength and might in its abode in the left part, except that its garments—the thought, speech, and act of the animal soul—are not invested in the brain, mouth, and hands and the other parts of the body, because G–d has given the mind supremacy and dominion over the heart.

Therefore the divine soul in the intellect rules over the [entire] “small city,” i.e., all the parts of the body, making them a garment and vehicle for her three garments, wherein to be clothed, to wit, the thought, speech, and act of the 613 commandments of the Torah. However, in its essence and substance, the divine soul in the benoni has no preponderance over the animal soul, except at the time when his love for G–d manifests itself in his heart on propitious occasions, such as during prayer and the like.

Even then it is limited to preponderance and dominion alone, as is written, “And one nation shall prevail over the other,”9 Genesis 25:23. that is, when one rises the other falls, and vice versa. Thus, when the divine soul gains strength and ascendancy over the animal soul, in the source of gevurot which is binah,10 Chochmah corresponds to chesed; binah—to gevurah. through pondering on the greatness of G–d, the En Sof, blessed is He, thereby generating intense and flaming love of G–d in the right part of his heart—then the sitra achara in the left part is subdued.

But it is not entirely abolished, in the case of the benoni; it is so only in a tzaddik, concerning whom it is said, “My heart is void within me.”11 Psalms 109:22. The latter despises and hates evil with a consummate hatred and contempt, or without quite such complete hatred, as is explained above.12 Ch. 10, with reference to the two types of tzaddik. But in a benoni it is, by way of example, similar to a sleeping man, who can awaken from his sleep.

So is the evil in the benoni dormant, as it were, in the left part, during the recital of the Shema and the Prayer [Amidah], when his heart is aglow with the love of G–d, but later it can wake up again. For this reason Rabbah considered himself as though he were a benoni,13 See ch. 1. though his mouth never ceased from study, and his desire was in G–d’s Torah, day and night, with the passionate craving and longing of a soul yearning for G–d with overwhelming love, such as experienced during the reciting of the Shema and Amidah.

Hence he appeared in his own eyes like a benoni who prays all day, as, indeed, our Sages have said, “Would that a man prayed the whole day long!”14 Berachot 21a. Now, this quality of love of which we speak in the case of the benonim (intermediates) which is attained at the time of prayer by virtue of the preponderance of the divine soul, etc., is, in comparison with the degree attained by the tzaddikim who serve G–d in perfect truth, not called “true service” at all, since it passes and disappears after prayer, and it is written, “The lip of truth shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.”15 Proverbs 12:19.

Nevertheless, in relation to the rank of the benonim, it is regarded as a truly perfect service in terms of their [level of] truth, in each man relative to his standing in the ranks of the benonim. For in their case, too, their love, during their prayers, may be termed “the lip of truth shall be established forever,” since their divine soul has the power to reawaken this kind of love constantly, during its preponderance in time of prayer day after day, by means of an appropriate [mental] preparation, each soul according to its intrinsic quality and rank.

For truth is the attribute of Jacob, who is called16 Zohar I:1b; 224a. the “middle bolt which secures [everything] from end to end,”17 Comp. Exodus 26:28. from the highest gradations and degrees to the end of all grades. And in each gradation and plane it fixes its bolt through the most central point, which is the point and quality of its attribute of truth. The attribute of truth is an unbounded inheritance which has no limit upward to the highest degrees, while all lower gradations and degrees are as nothing compared with those that are superior to them. [As is known to the students of Kabbalah, that the quality which is, as it were, the “head” and “intellect” of lower grades is inferior to the so-called “soles” and “feet” of the grades above them. Compare the statement of our Sages, “The feet of the Chayot measure up to them all.”]18 Chagigah 13a.

This, then, is the important principle regarding the Divine service for the benoni: The essential thing is to govern and rule the nature that is in the left ventricle [of the heart] by means of the Divine light that irradiates the divine soul in the mind.1 Cf. above, ch. 13. That is to say, to rule the heart by means of meditation in the mind on the greatness of the En Sof, blessed is He, whereby his understanding will create a spirit of knowledge and fear of the L–rd in his mind to make him turn away from the evil condemned by the Torah, or by the Rabbis, even from a minor Rabbinic prohibition, Heaven forbid; and [at the same time arousing] the love of G–d in his heart, in the right part, with a fervor and desire to cleave to Him through the fulfillment of the precepts of the Torah and of the Rabbis and through the study of the Torah, which is equivalent to them all.

Furthermore, one must know an additional important principle in the service of the benonim (intermediates). This is that even if the capacity of one’s intellect and the spirit of one’s understanding do not attain to the level of producing a revealed love of G–d in one’s heart, to make it glow like burning coals with a great desire and yearning and heartfelt passion to cleave to Him, but the love is hidden in one’s brain and in the recesses of one’s heart, NOTE: The reason for this is that the vitality of this person’s intellect and nefesh, ruach, and neshamah is derived from the so-called ibbur (“gestation”) and concealment within the [supernal] understanding, and not from the quality of birth and revelation—as it is known to the students of Kabbalah. that is to say, the heart comprehends, with the spirit of wisdom and understanding in the brain, the greatness of the En Sof, blessed is He, in relation to Whom all else has absolutely no reality, for which reason it is due unto Him, blessed be He, that the soul of every living creature should yearn for Him, to cleave and be absorbed in His light; likewise is it fitting for the nefesh and ruach2 Neshamah is omitted here, for it is already alluded to in the “hidden love in the brain and the recesses of the heart,” just mentioned. within him to languish for Him, with a fervent desire to emerge from their sheath, which is the body, in order to cleave to Him; except that they dwell perforce in the body and are bound up in it, like deserted wives;3 Cf. below, end of ch. 50. and no thought of theirs can grasp Him at all, except when it grasps, and is vested in, the Torah and its commandments, as in the example of embracing the king, mentioned above;4 Ch. 4. therefore, it is proper for them to embrace Him with their whole heart, soul, and might, which means the fulfillment of the 613 commandments in act, speech, and thought, the last being the comprehension and knowledge of the Torah, as explained above.5 Ibid., and ch. 5.

Consequently, when [the benoni] ponders this subject in the recesses of his heart’s and mind’s understanding, with a unanimity of mouth and heart, in that he upholds by word of mouth, that which has been resolved in the understanding of his heart and mind, namely to direct his desire toward the Divine Torah, meditating on it day and night in oral study, while his hands and other bodily organs carry out the commandments in accordance with the resolution of his heart’s and mind’s understanding, then this understanding is clothed in the act, speech, and thought of the Torah and its commandments, providing for them, as it were, intelligence, vitality, and “wings” wherewith to soar on high.

It is the same as if he practiced them with real fear and love as revealed in his heart [with a desire, fervor and passion that are felt in the heart and soul thirsting for G–d, by reason of the glowing embers of love in his heart, as mentioned above], inasmuch as it is this understanding in his brain and heart’s recesses that is instrumental in leading him to engage in them, and had he not so delved in it, he would not have occupied himself with them at all, but with his physical needs alone. [And even if he is naturally disposed to be an assiduous student, nevertheless he would naturally love his body more.]

Our Sages, of blessed memory, hinted at this when they said, “The Holy One, blessed is He, unites a good thought to the deed.”6 Cf. Kiddushin 40a. One would have expected them to say that the Torah regards the good thought as if it had been put into practice.7 As the Talmud continues, “Even if a man intended to fulfill a commandment, but was forcibly prevented, Scripture ascribes it to him as if he had performed it.”

The question is, why the difference in expression? The answer is that each statement conveys a different meaning. The explanation, however, is that it is the revealed fear and love in the heart that are clothed in the act of the commandments, giving them vitality to soar on high, inasmuch as the heart is also corporeal, as the other parts of the body which are the instruments of the action, except that it is internal and their source of vitality; therefore it can clothe itself in their act, to be their “wings,” elevating them.

However, the abovementioned fear and love that are in the intelligence of the brain and the recesses of the heart are of an infinitely higher order than that of “action” and they cannot clothe themselves in the performance of the commandments to become their intelligence and vitality, as it were, to uplift them to soar upward, were it not for the fact that the Holy One, blessed is He, fuses and unites them together with the action; hence they are called “good thought,” for they are not actual awe and love in a revealed state in the heart, but only in the intelligence of the brain and in the recesses of the heart, as mentioned above.

NOTE: Thus it is also written in the Zohar and Etz Chaim that תבונה (intelligence) contains the letters בן ובת (“son and daughter”), referring to awe and love;8 The affections (fear and love) are “born” of the intellect (chochmah and binah). Cf. above, ch. 3. and sometimes it descends to become the intelligence in the feminine principle of z’eyr anpin,9 “Small image”—a Kabbalistic term, corresponding to the seven Divine middot (chesed, gevurah, etc.).

The “feminine” principle is to be understood (as in all Kabbalistic terminology) in the sense of recipient of the flow of Divine influence. represented in the letters of the Torah and the commandments, as the initiated will understand. But the Holy One, blessed is He, produces this coalescence in order to elevate the performance of the commandments and study of the Torah—which are carried out under the influence of the said good thought—into the world of Beriah, the abode to which ascend the Torah and commandments that are performed through intelligent awe and love which are truly revealed in the heart.

But even without this they still rise to the World of Yetzirah, by means of the natural fear and love which are latent in the heart of all Jews from birth, as will be later explained at length.10 Chs. 38, 39, 44.

With the above in mind, one can understand the Scriptural text, “For this thing is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, so you can fulfill it.”1 Deuteronomy 30:14. At first glance, [the statement, “For this thing is very near to you…] in your heart” seems to be contrary to our experience [yet the Torah is eternal2 Maimonides, Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah, ch. 9; Hilchot Teshuvah 3:8; Commentary on the Mishnah, Sanhedrin, ch. 10.].3 Hence it could not refer to the time of Moses only, but must hold good for our time as well.

For it is not a “very near thing” to change one’s heart from mundane desires to a sincere love of G–d. Indeed, it is stated in the Gemara, “Is fear [of Heaven] a small thing?”4 Berachot 33b; Megillah 25a. How much more so—love. Moreover, the Rabbis also said, that only tzaddikim have control over their hearts.5 Bereishit Rabbah 34:11; 67:7. But the words “so you can fulfill it” refer to a love which merely leads to the performance of the commandments, this being the hidden desire of the heart (רעותא דלבא), even if it does not glow openly like flaming coals.

This thing is very near, and it is easy for any person who has brains in his head, for his brain is under his control, and he is able to concentrate it on anything he wishes. If, then, he will contemplate with it on the greatness of the En Sof, blessed is He, he will inevitably generate in his mind, at least, the love of G–d to cleave to Him through the performance of His commandments and Torah. And this constitutes the whole [purpose of] man, for it is written, “This day to do them”6 Deuteronomy 7:11.—“this day” referring specifically to the world of [physical] action,7 Eruvin 22a. while “tomorrow” [i.e., in afterlife] is the time of reward, as is explained elsewhere.

The mind, in turn, by virtue of its inherent nature, is master over the left part of the heart and over the mouth and all the limbs which are the instruments of action, except in him who is completely wicked, as the Rabbis said, that the wicked are under the control of their heart, but their heart is not at all controlled by them.8 See above, note 5. This is a punishment for the enormity and potency of their sin.

But the Torah does not speak of these “dead” who in their life are called “dead.”9 Berachot 18b. Indeed, it is impossible for the wicked to begin to serve G–d without their first repenting for their past—in order to shatter the kelipot, which form a sundering curtain and an iron partition that interpose between them and their Father in Heaven—by means of contriteness of heart and bitterness of soul over their sins, as is explained in the Zohar on the verse, “The sacrifices of G–d are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart….”10 Psalms 51:18.

For through breaking one’s heart the spirit of uncleanliness of the sitra achara is broken [see ibid. on Parashat Pinchas, p. 240, and on Parashat Vayikra, p. 8 and p. 5, and the commentary of the Ramaz11 Rabbi Moses Zacuto (1625-1697). thereon]. This is the category of “lower repentance,” whereby the lower [letter] hey12 Referring to the second letter hey of the Name of Havaya. Teshuvah (spelled תשוב-ה) implies the return of the hey.

Cf. Iggeret Hateshuvah, chs. 4, 7, 8. is raised up from its fall into the forces of evil, which is the mystery of the Shechinah in exile, as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, state, “When they [the Israelites] were exiled into Edom, the Shechinah went with them.”13 Megillah 29a. That is to say, when a person practices the acts of “Edom,”14 Edom is here understood allegorically as the embodiment of evil. he degrades and brings down there the Divine spark which vitalizes his nefesh, ruach, and neshamah that are clothed within him in the animal soul of the kelipah, which is in the left part of his heart, which reigns over him as long as he remains wicked, dominating his “small city,” while the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah are forced into exile under it.

But when his heart breaks within him, and the spirit of uncleanliness and of the sitra achara is broken, and [the forces of evil are] dispersed, then [the Shechinah] rises from its fall and remains upright, as is explained elsewhere.

To explain more adequately and more precisely the word “very” in the verse, “For this thing is very near to you….”1 Deuteronomy 30:14. It should be recognized with certainty that even the person whose understanding in the knowledge of G–d is limited, and who has no heart to comprehend the greatness of the En Sof, blessed is He, to produce therefrom awe and love [of G–d] even in his mind and understanding alone2 I.e., without emotional sway.—however, it is a “very near thing” for him to observe and practice all the commandments of the Torah and the “study of the Torah which counterbalances them all,” in his very mouth and heart, from the depths of his heart, in true sincerity, with fear and love; namely, the hidden love in the heart of all Jews which is an inheritance to us from our Patriarchs.

However, we must, first of all, preface a clear and precise explanation of the origin and essence of this love, how it became our inheritance, and how awe is also incorporated in it. The explanation is as follows: The Patriarchs were truly the “chariot” of G–d,3 Bereishit Rabbah 47:6; Zohar III:252a; Torah Or 23d ff. This expression signifies absolute self-abnegation and submission to G–d and the Divine will (just as the chariot is totally submitted to the will of the charioteer), thereby becoming a vehicle for Divinity on earth.

Cf. below, chs. 23, 29, 34, 37. and therefore they merited [the blessing of] transmitting to their descendants, coming after them forever, a nefesh, ruach, and neshamah from the ten holy sefirot of the four worlds of Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, to each according to his station and according to his works. Even the most worthless of worthless men and the sinners of Israel are thus endowed, at the time of marital union, with, at any rate, a nefesh d’nefesh of malchut d’Asiyah (royalty in world of Action), which is the lowest grade of holiness [in the world] of Asiyah.4 Malchut is the lowest of the ten sefirot in each of the Four Worlds; nefesh is the lowest aspect of the soul.

Thus a nefesh of the nefesh of malchut is the lowest order of a soul. Nevertheless, since the latter is of the ten holy sefirot it is compounded of them all, including chochmah d’Asiyah (wisdom of the world of Action), wherein is clothed chochmah d’malchut d’Atzilut (wisdom of royalty in the world of Emanation), incorporating chochmah d’Atzilut (wisdom of the world of Emanation) which is illuminated by the actual light of the En Sof, blessed is He, as is written, “The L–rd has founded the earth with wisdom”5 Proverbs 3:19. and “You have made them all with wisdom.”6 Psalms 104:24.

Thus it comes to pass that the En Sof, blessed is He, is garbed, as it were, in the wisdom of the human soul, of whatever sort of a Jew he may be. [In turn,] the soul’s faculty of wisdom, together with the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, that is vested in it, spreads throughout the entire soul, animating it “from head to foot,” so to speak, as is written, “Wisdom gives life to those that have it.”7 Ecclesiastes 7:12. [At times sinners of Israel may even bring down very lofty souls which had been in the depths of the kelipot, as is explained in the Sefer Gilgulim.]8 Book on Transmigration, by R. Chaim Vital.

Now, chochmah (wisdom) is the source of intelligence and comprehension, and it is above binah (understanding) which is intellectual understanding and comprehension, whereas chochmah is above them and their source. Note the etymological composition of the word חכמה כ“ח מ“ה—(“the potentiality of what is”), that which is not yet comprehended and understood or grasped intellectually;9 Above, ch. 3. consequently there is vested in it the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, Who can in no way be comprehended by any thought.

Hence all Jews, even the women and the illiterate, believe in G–d, since faith is beyond understanding and comprehension,10 Where knowledge ends, faith begins. for “The simple believe every thing, but the prudent man understands….”11 Proverbs 14:15. But with regard to the Holy One, blessed is He, Who is beyond intelligence and knowledge and Who can in no way be comprehended by any thought—all men are like fools in His presence, blessed be He, as is written, “I was a boor and did not understand, like an animal was I with You.

Yet I was always with you…,”12 Psalms 73:22. meaning that “because I was a boor and as an animal, I was always with You.”13 Communion with G–d could never be fully attained through intellectual comprehension because G–d is incomprehensible. It is through faith which transcends comprehension that man can feel true closeness with G–d. Therefore even the most worthless of worthless and the transgressors of the Israelites, in the majority of cases, sacrifice their lives for the sanctity of G–d’s Name and suffer harsh torture rather than deny the one G–d, although they be boors and illiterate and ignorant of G–d’s greatness. [For] whatever little knowledge they do possess, they do not delve therein at all, [and so] they do not give up their lives by reason of any knowledge and contemplation of G–d.

Rather [do they suffer martyrdom] without any knowledge and reflection, but as if it were absolutely impossible to renounce the one G–d and without any reason or hesitation whatsoever. This is because the one G–d illuminates and animates the entire nefesh, through being clothed in its faculty of chochmah, which is beyond any graspable and understood knowledge or intelligence.

To elucidate still further, it is necessary to clarify the meaning of the verse, “The candle of G–d is the soul (neshamah) of man.”1 Proverbs 20:27. What it means is that the souls of Jews, who are called “man,”2 Yevamot 61a. are, by way of illustration, like the flame of the candle, whose nature it is always to flicker upward, for the flame of the fire intrinsically seeks to be parted from the wick in order to unite with its source above in the universal element of fire which is in the sublunar sphere, as is explained in Etz Chaim.

And although it would thereby be extinguished and emit no light at all below, and even above, in its source, its light would be nullified, nevertheless this is what it seeks in accordance with its nature. In like manner does the neshamah of man, including the quality of ruach and nefesh, naturally desire and yearn to separate itself and depart from the body in order to unite with its origin and source in G–d, the Fountainhead of life, blessed is He, though thereby it would become null and void, completely losing its entity therein, with nothing remaining of its former essence and being.3 This passage does not mean extinction of the soul, only its cessation as a distinct entity.

Nevertheless, this is its will and desire by its nature. “Nature” is an applied term for anything that is not in the realm of reason and comprehension. In our case, too, the inference is that this will and desire of the soul are not within the realm of reason, knowledge, and intelligence that can be grasped and understood but beyond graspable and comprehensible knowledge and intelligence, for this nature stems from the faculty of chochmah found in the soul, wherein abides the light of the En Sof, blessed is He.

Now this is a general principle in the whole realm of holiness—it [holiness] is only that which is derived from chochmah called קודש העליון (“supreme holiness”), whose existence is nullified in the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, which is clothed in it, so that it is not a thing apart, as is explained above; therefore it is called koach mah [power of humility and abnegation]. This stands in direct contrast to the so-called kelipah and sitra achara, wherefrom are derived the souls of the gentiles who work for themselves alone, demanding, “Give, give!”4 Proverbs 30:15. and “Feed me!”5 Genesis 25:30. in order to become independent beings and entities, as mentioned above, in direct contrast to the category of chochmah.

Therefore they are called “dead,”6 Berachot 18b. for “Wisdom (chochmah) gives life,”7 Ecclesiastes 7:12. and it is also written, “They die, without wisdom.”8 Job 4:21. So are the wicked and transgressors of Israel before they face the test to sanctify G–d’s name. For the faculty of chochmah which is in the divine soul, with the spark of G–dliness from the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, that is clothed in it, is, as it were, in exile in their body, within the animal soul coming from the kelipah, in the left part of the heart, which reigns and holds sway over their body, in accordance with the esoteric doctrine of the exile of the Shechinah, as mentioned earlier.9 Ch. 17.

For this reason, this love of the divine soul, whose desire and wish is to unite with G–d, the Fountainhead of life, blessed is He, is called “hidden love,” for it is hidden and veiled, in the case of the transgressors of Israel, in the sackcloth of the kelipah, whence there enters into them a spirit of folly to sin, as the Rabbis have said, “A person does not sin unless the spirit of folly has entered into him.”10 Sotah 3a. However, this exile of the faculty of chochmah refers only to that aspect of it which is diffused throughout the nefesh and animates it.

Yet the root and core of this faculty of the divine soul remains in the brain and does not clothe itself in the sackcloth of the kelipah in the left part of the heart, in veritable exile, but it is, as it were, dormant in the case of the wicked, not exercising its influence in them so long as their knowledge and understanding are preoccupied with mundane pleasures. Nevertheless, when they are confronted with a test in a matter of faith, which transcends knowledge, touching the very soul and the faculty of chochmah within it, at such time it is aroused from its sleep and it exerts its influence by virtue of the Divine force that is clothed in it, as is written, “And the L–rd awoke like one who had been asleep.”11 Psalms 78:65. [On such occasion the sinner is inspired] to withstand the test of faith in G–d, without any reasoning, knowledge, or intelligence that may be comprehended by him, and to prevail over the kelipah and temptations of this world, whether permitted or prohibited, to which he had been accustomed—even to despise them, and to choose G–d as his portion and lot, yielding to Him his soul [to suffer martyrdom] in order to sanctify His Name.

For, even though the kelipot had prevailed over him all his life and he was impotent against them, as the Rabbis have said that “the wicked are under the control of their heart,”12 Bereishit Rabbah 34:11. yet when he faces a test challenging his faith in the One G–d, [a faith] which has its roots in the uppermost heights of holiness, namely, the faculty of chochmah of the divine soul, in which is clothed the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, then all the kelipot are made null and void, and they vanish, as though they had never been in the presence of the L–rd.

So it is written, “All the nations are as nothing before Him…,”13 Isaiah 40:17. and “Indeed your enemies, O L–rd, indeed your enemies shall perish; [all evildoers] shall be scattered,”14 Psalms 92:10. and, again, “As wax melts before fire, [let the wicked] perish,”15 Psalms 68:3. and “The mountains will melt like wax.”16 Psalms 97:5. The force of the Divine light of the En Sof, blessed is He, that is clothed in the soul’s chochmah is great and powerful enough to banish and repel the sitra achara and the kelipot so that they could not even touch its garments, namely, the thought, speech, and act of faith in the One G–d.

In other words, [it enables one] to withstand a test of self-sacrifice to the extent of even refusing to do some single act that is contrary to the faith in the One G–d, such as, for example, to bow to an idol, even without acknowledging it in his heart at all or to utter any false notion, Heaven forbid, regarding the unity of G–d, be it merely by way of rendering lip service only, while his heart remains perfect in the belief in G–d.

This is called “fear that is contained in love,” the natural love of the divine soul that is found in all Jews, the intrinsic desire and will of which is to be attached to its origin and source in the light of the En Sof, blessed is He. For by virtue of this love and this desire, it instinctively recoils in fear and dread from touching even the fringe of the impurity of idolatry, Heaven forbid, which denies the faith in one G–d, even where such contact involves only its outer garments, namely, speech and act, without any faith whatsoever in the heart.

It is well known that the commandment and admonition1 The positive and prohibitive aspects of the injunction, respectively. concerning idolatry, which are contained in the first two commandments of the Decalogue—“I am”2 Exodus 20:2. and “You shall not have any other gods”3 Ibid., v. 3.—comprise the entire Torah.4 The first (“I am”) is the positive, and the second (“You shall not”) is the prohibitive aspect, both ruling out idolatry; the first implicitly, the second—explicitly.

For the commandment “I am” contains all the 248 positive precepts, while the commandment “You shall not have” contains all the 365 prohibitions.5 Cf. Shnei Luchot HaBrit, beg. Parashat Yitro. Zohar II:276a. That is why we heard only “I am” and “You shall not have” directly from the Almighty, as our Sages say,6 Makkot 24a. The other eight Commandments were relayed by Moses. “because these two are the sum total of the whole Torah.”

In order to elucidate this matter clearly, we must first briefly refer to the subject and essence of the Unity7 The discussion of this subject is carried over into the following chapter; cf. also ch. 33. of the Holy One, blessed is He, Who is called One and Unique, and “all believe that He is All Alone,”8 Liturgy of New Year’s Day and Day of Atonement. exactly as He was before the world was created, when there was naught besides Him, as is written, “You were [the same] before the world was created; You are [the same] since the world has been created….”9 Liturgy, daily Morning Service.

This means exactly the same without any change, as it is written, “For I, the L–rd, have not changed,”10 Malachi 3:6. inasmuch as this world and likewise all supernal worlds do not effect any change in His Unity, blessed be He,11 Not to mention His essence. by their having been created ex nihilo. For just as He was All Alone, Single and Unique, before they were created, so is He One and Alone, Single and Unique after they were created, since, beside Him, everything is as nothing, verily as null and void.

For the coming into being of all the upper and nether worlds out of nonbeing, and their life and existence sustaining them from reverting to nonexistence and nought, as was before, is nothing else but the word of G–d and the breath of His mouth, blessed be He,12 See Psalms 33:6. that is clothed in them. To illustrate from the soul of a human being:When a man utters a word,13 Hebrew text should read דבור instead of דבר. this utterance in itself is as absolutely nothing even when compared only with his general “articulate soul,” which is the so-called middle “garment,”14 Of the three garments: thought, speech, and act. namely, its faculty of speech, which can produce speech without limit or end;15 Physical incapacity (or death) does not limit the soul’s potential capacity for speech, which is intrinsic to it. all the more when it is compared with its so-called innermost “garment,” namely, its faculty of thought, which is the source of speech and its life-force, not to mention when it is compared with the essence and entity of the soul, these being its ten attributes mentioned above,16 Ch. 3. viz., chochmah, binah, daat (chabad), and so on, from which are derived the “letters” of thought that are clothed in the speech when it is uttered.

For thought can as much be defined in terms of “letters” as speech, except that in the former they are more spiritual and refined. But the ten attributes—chochmah, binah, daat (chabad), and so forth—are the root and source of thought, and, prior to their being clothed in the garment of thought, still lack the element of “letters.” For example, when a man suddenly becomes conscious of a certain love or desire in his heart, before it has risen from the heart to the brain to think and meditate about it, it has not yet acquired the element of “letters”; it is only a simple desire and longing in the heart for the object of his affection.

All the more so before he began to feel in his heart a craving and desire for that thing, and it is as yet confined within the realm of his wisdom, intellect, and knowledge, that is, the thing is known to him to be desirable and gratifying, something good and pleasant to attain and to cling to, as, for instance, to learn some wisdom or to eat some17 Hebrew text should read איזה instead איזו. delicious food.

Only after the desire and craving have already found their way into the heart, through the stimulus of his wisdom, intellect, and knowledge, and then ascended once more back to the brain, to think and meditate on how to translate his craving from the potential into the practical, with a view to actually obtaining that food or acquiring that wisdom—it is here that the so-called “letters” are born in his mind, such “letters” corresponding to the language of each nation, employing them in speech and thought about all things in the world.18 Continued in next chapter.

Yet, since “the Torah employs human language,”1 Berachot 22a. the “word” of the Omnipresent, blessed is He, is actually called “speech,” like the speech of a human being, for in truth it is so, by virtue of the descent and flow of the life-force to the lower planes, by means of many and powerful contractions of various kinds, in order that many diverse creatures be created from them. Indeed, so great and powerful are the contractions and concealment of the Countenance that even unclean things, kelipot and sitra achara, can come into being and be created, receiving their life and existence from the Divine word and the breath of His mouth, blessed be He, in concealment of His Countenance and by virtue of the downward gradations.

Therefore are [the kelipot] called2 Hebrew text should read נקראים instead of נקרא. “other gods” (אלהים אחרים), for their nurture and life are not of the so-called “Countenance” but of the so-called “hinder-part” (אחוריים)3 A gloss based on the words אחוריים – אחרים. of holiness; “hinder” exemplifying the act of a person giving something unwillingly to an enemy, when he throws it to him over his shoulder, as it were, having turned away his face from him since he hates him.

So, on high, the term “Countenance” exemplifies the inner4 A gloss based on the words פנימיות – פנים. quality of the Supernal Will and true desire, in which G–d delights to dispense life from the realm of holiness to everyone who is near to Him. But the sitra achara, and unholiness, is “an abomination unto G–d which He hates,”5 Deuteronomy 12:31. and He does not give it life from His inner will and true desire as if He delighted in it, Heaven forbid, but in the manner of one who reluctantly throws something over his shoulder to his enemy; [He does so] only to punish the wicked and to give a goodly reward to the righteous who subjugate the sitra achara.

This is [why it is] called the “hinder-part” of the Supernal Will. Now, the Supernal Will, of the quality of “Countenance,” is the source of life which animates all worlds. But since it is in no way bestowed on the sitra achara, and even the so-called “hinder-part” of the Supernal Will is not actually clothed in it, but merely hovers over it from above, therefore it is the abode of death and defilement—may G–d preserve us!

For the tiny amount of light and life that it derives and absorbs into itself from the so-called “hinder-part” of the supernal holiness is, as it were, in a state of actual exile in it, as an aspect of the esoteric doctrine of the exile of the Shechinah, referred to above.6 Ch. 19. Therefore, also, it is termed “other gods,” since it constitutes actual idolatry and denial of the unity of the Supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed is He.

For inasmuch as the light and life of holiness are, as it were, in a state of exile, within it, it does not surrender itself in any degree to the holiness of the Holy One, blessed is He. On the contrary, it surges upward like an eagle, saying, “I am, and there is nothing besides me,”7 Isaiah 47:8; Zephaniah 2:15. or as the utterance, “My river is mine, and I have made myself.”8 The quotation is a combination of Ezekiel 29:9 and 29:3.

That is why the rabbis, of blessed memory, said that arrogance truly compares with idolatry,9 Sotah 4b. for the essence and root of idolatry is that it is regarded as a thing in itself, sundered from the holiness of the Omnipresent; it does not imply an outright denial of G–d, as is stated in the Gemara that they [the heathens] call Him “the G–d of gods,”10 Menachot 110a. thus only presuming themselves also to be entities and independent beings.

But thereby they separate themselves from the Omnipresent, blessed is He, since they do not surrender themselves to Him, blessed be He. For the supernal holiness rests only on what is surrendered to Him, blessed be He, as is explained above.11 Ch. 6. Therefore they are called in the holy Zohar12 I:158a. “peaks of separation.” But this constitutes a denial of His true unity, where everything is as nothing compared with Him and truly nullified before Him, blessed be He, and before His will, which animates them all and constantly gives them existence out of nothing.

In the light of all that has been said above, we can better understand and more fully and clearly elucidate the statement in the Zohar1 Cf. I:24a; II:60a. that “the Torah and the Holy One, blessed is He, are altogether one” and the commentary in the Tikkunim that “the 248 commandments are the 248 ‘organs’ of the King.”2 Tikkunei Zohar 30. The commandments constitute the innermost will of the Supreme One and His true desire which are clothed in all the upper and nether worlds, thereby giving them life, inasmuch as their very life and sustenance is dependent upon the performance of the commandments by the [creatures], in the lower world, as is known.

It follows that the performance of the commandments and their fulfillment is the innermost garment of the innermost will of the Supreme One, since it is due to this performance that the light and life of the Supernal Will issue forth to be clothed in the worlds. Hence they are called “organs” of the King as a figure of speech, for just as the organs of the human body are a garment for its soul and are completely and utterly surrendered to it, as evidenced from the fact that as soon as a person desires to stretch out his hand or foot, they obey his will immediately and forthwith, without any command or instruction to them and with no hesitation whatsoever, but in the very instant that he wills it; so, by way of example, is the life-force animating the performance of the commandments and their fulfillment completely surrendered to the Supernal Will which is clothed therein, becoming in relation to it like a body to a soul.

Likewise the external garment of the divine soul in the person fulfilling and practicing the commandment—this being its faculty of action—clothes itself in the vitality of the performance of the commandment, thus also becoming like a body in relation to the soul, the “soul” being the Supernal Will to which it is completely surrendered. In this way, the organs of the human body which perform the commandment—in which the divine soul’s faculty of action is clothed at the time of the act and fulfillment of the commandment—truly become a vehicle for the Supernal Will; as, for example, the hand which distributes charity to the poor or performs another commandment or the feet which carry a person toward the performance of a commandment; similarly with the mouth and tongue engaged in uttering the words of the Torah or the brain engaged in reflecting on the words of the Torah or on the fear of Heaven or the greatness of G–d, blessed is He.

This is what the Sages meant when they said that the Patriarchs were truly the “chariot” of G–d,3 Cf. above, ch. 18, note 3. for all their organs were completely holy and detached from mundane matters, serving as a vehicle solely for the Supernal Will alone throughout their lives. As for the thought and meditation—in the words of the Torah—that are in the brain, and the power of speech—engaged in the words of the Torah—that is in the mouth,4 I.e., the faculties of thought and speech as distinct from action. these being the innermost garments of the divine soul, not to mention the divine soul itself which is clothed in them—all of them are completely merged in perfect unity with the Supernal Will and are not merely a vehicle.

For the Supernal Will is identical with the very subject of the halachah wherein one thinks and speaks, inasmuch as all the laws are particular streams flowing from the innermost will of the Supreme One itself, for so it arose in His will, blessed be He, it that a particular act be permissible, or a food ritually fit for consumption, or this [person] inculpable and that entirely innocent, or the reverse.

So also are the letter combinations of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings a promulgation of His will and wisdom which are united with the En Sof, blessed is He, in perfect unity, since He is the Knower and the Knowledge, and so forth. This, then, is the meaning of the abovementioned quotation that “the Torah and the Holy One, blessed is He, are altogether One,” and not merely “organs” of the King as are the commandments.

Now, since at such time as a person occupies himself with the words of the Torah, the Supernal Will, united as it is in perfect unity with the En Sof, blessed is He, is completely manifest and in no way obscured in the divine soul and its innermost garments, i.e., its thought and speech—it follows that the soul and its garments are also at such time veritably united with the En Sof, blessed is He, in perfect unity, like the union of the “speech” and “thought” of the Holy One, blessed is He, with His essence and being, as mentioned above.5 Ch. 21.

For there is no separate thing except through “concealment of the Countenance” as explained there. Moreover, their union is even of a higher and profounder order than the union of the Light of the En Sof, blessed is He, with the upper worlds, since the Supernal Will is actually manifest in the soul and its garments when they are engaged in the Torah, because it is identical with the Torah, while all the supernal worlds receive their vitality from the light and life that are derived from the Torah, which is His will and wisdom, blessed be He, as it is written, “You have made them all with wisdom.”6 Psalms 104:24.

Thus, His wisdom, i.e., the Torah, is above them all, and it is identical with His will, blessed be He, which is described as “encompassing” all worlds, i.e., that aspect which cannot clothe itself within the worlds, but animates and illuminates in a transcending and encompassing manner.7 Further discussion on the immanent and transcending aspects of the Divine emanation will be found in chs. 41, 46, 48, and 51.

Yet, it [this very light] does clothe itself in the human soul and its garments in a truly manifest form, when the person occupies himself with the words of the Torah, even though he does not perceive it…8 Cf. Megillah 3a. [—this is what enables him to endure it, because he does not perceive it; it is otherwise, however, in the case of the upper spheres9 …where there is no such obscurity as in the physical world.].

With the above in mind, it becomes clear why the study of the Torah excels so much over all other commandments, including even prayer, which is the unifying force of the upper spheres. [As for the ruling that one, whose study of the Torah is not his entire occupation, must interrupt his study for prayer,10 Seemingly indicating that prayer has priority over study. this is only because he pauses and interrupts his studies anyway11 Shabbat 11a; Maimonides, Hilchot Tefillah 6:8; Rabbi Schneur Zalman, Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 106:4..]

From this the intelligent man will be able to draw a sense of great awe as he occupies himself with the Torah, considering how his soul, and its “garments” in the brain and mouth, are truly merged in perfect unity with the Supernal Will and light of the En Sof, blessed is He, which are manifest in them, compared with which all the worlds, supernal and nether, are truly as nought and as a nonentity and nullity, so much so that the Divine light is not actually clothed in them, but merely surrounds all the worlds in a form of “encirclement,” as it were, in order to provide their essential source of life; only some glow which they can bear is clothed in them, in order that they should not revert to nought altogether.

This is the meaning of the verse, “And G–d commanded us [to do] all these statutes, in order to fear G–d….”12 Deuteronomy 6:24. In the quotation the word לעשות (“to do”) is missing. [Regarding this “great fear” it was said, “If there is no wisdom, there is no fear,”13 Avot 3:17. and in relation to it the Torah is called “a gateway to the courtyard,”14 Shabbat 31b; Yoma 72b—see Rashi there. as is explained elsewhere.]

However, not every mind can sustain such fear; yet even he whose mind cannot bear such fear at all, whether in whole or in part, because of the inferiority of his soul’s level in its root and source in the lower15 Hebrew text should read תחתונות instead of תחתונים. gradations of the ten sefirot of the World of Asiyah, nevertheless the lack of such fear is no obstacle to performance, as will be explained later.16 Ch. 41.

Truly this should be made known as a cardinal principle, that as with a victory over a physical obstacle, such as in the case of two individuals who are wrestling with each other, each striving to throw the other—if one is lazy and sluggish he will easily be defeated and thrown, even though he be stronger than the other, exactly so is it in the conquest of one’s evil nature; it is impossible to conquer it with laziness and heaviness, which originate in sadness and in a heart that is dulled like a stone, but rather with alacrity which derives from joy and from a heart that is free and cleansed from any trace of worry and sadness in the world.

As for what is written, “In every sadness there is profit,”1 Proverbs 14:23. which means that some profit and advantage would be derived from it, the phrase, on the contrary, indicates that sadness in itself has no virtue, except that some profit is derived and experienced from it, namely, the true joy in the L–rd G–d which follows from genuine anguish over one’s sins at propitious moments with bitterness of soul and a broken heart.

For thereby the spirit of impurity and of the sitra achara is broken, as also the iron wall that separates him from his Father in Heaven, as is commented in the Zohar on the verse, “A broken and a contrite heart, G–d, You will not disdain”;2 Psalms 51:19. then will be fulfilled in him the preceding verses: “Let me hear joy and gladness…. Restore to me the joy of Your deliverance, and uphold me with a spirit of magnanimity.”3 Ibid., vs. 10, 14.

This is the simple reason why the Arizal4 See above, ch. 2, note 9. instituted the recital of this Psalm after the Midnight Prayer,5 Tikkun Chatzot. before commencing study, in order to study with the true joy in G–d which succeeds remorse. For such joy has an excellence similar to that of a light emerging from the very darkness, as is written in the Zohar on the verse, “And I saw that wisdom surpasses folly, as the light surpasses darkness.”6 Ecclesiastes 2:13.

The emphasis is on the words מן החשך—literally “from the darkness.” Note there, and it will suffice for him who understands. Furthermore, Scripture states it explicitly: “Because you did not serve the L–rd your G–d with joyfulness…”7 Quoted in Shaloh, Asarah Maamarot, Maamar 3:4. See Igrot Kodesh by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, vol. 19, p. 351.—and everyone is familiar with the commentary of the Arizal on this verse.8 Deuteronomy 28:47.

The following is sound counsel as to how to cleanse one’s heart of all sadness and of every trace of worry about mundane matters, even about children, health, and sustenance. Everyone is familiar with the statement of the Rabbis that “Just as one must recite a blessing for the good, [one must also recite a blessing for misfortune].”9 Mishnah, Berachot 9:5. In the Gemara it is explained that one should accept [misfortune] with joy, like the joy of a visible and obvious benefit, for “this is also for the good,” except that it is not apparent and visible to mortal eyes because it stems from the “hidden world” which is higher than the “revealed world,” the latter emanating from the letters vav and hey of the Name of Havaya, whereas the “hidden world” represents the letters yud and hey.

Hence the meaning of the verse, “Fortunate is the man whom You chastise, O L–rd10 The Name of the L–rd is spelled here יה—yud-hey. Thus the “misfortunes” are blessings in disguise, originating in the “hidden” worlds..”11 Psalms 94:12. Therefore, the rabbis, of blessed memory, commented12 Yoma 23a. that it is to those who rejoice in their afflictions that the verse refers: “But they that love Him shall be as the sun going forth in its might.”13 Judges 5:31.

For this is the joy of desiring the nearness of G–d more than anything in the life of this world, as is written, “For Your kindness is better than life…,”14 Psalms 63:4. and the nearness of G–d is infinitely stronger and more sublime in the “hidden world,” for “The concealment of His strength is there,”15 Habakkuk 3:4. and “The Most High abides in secrecy.”16 Psalms 91:1. Therefore, [the man who accepts affliction with joy] merits [to see] the “sun going forth in its might”—in the World to Come, i.e., the sun emerging from its sheath in which it is enclosed in this world.17 Cf. Nedarim 8b. But in the World to Come it will appear out of its covering, meaning that then the “hidden world” will be revealed and will shine and send forth light in a great and intense revelation to those who had taken refuge in Him in this world and had taken shelter under His “shadow”—the shadow of wisdom (chochmah), i.e., in the sense of “shade” as differing from light and revealed goodness.

Suffice it for him who understands. As for the sadness which is connected with heavenly18 I.e., failure in matters of the spirit. matters, one must seek ways and means of freeing oneself from it, to say nothing of the time of Divine service, when one must serve G–d with gladness and a joyful heart. But even if he is a man of commerce and worldly affairs, should there enter into him any melancholy or anxiety about heavenly matters during the time of his business affairs, it is clearly a machination of evil impulse in order to lure him afterward into lusts, G–d forbid, as is known.

For were it not so, whence would a genuine sadness, which is one that is derived from love or fear of G–d, come to him in the midst of his business affairs? Thus, whether the melancholy enc­roaches on him during Divine service, in study or prayer, or not during Divine service, he should tell himself that now is not the time for genuine anxiety, not even for worry over serious transgressions, G–d forbid.

For, for this, one needs appointed times and a propitious occasion, with calmness of mind to reflect on the greatness of G–d, against Whom one has sinned, so that thereby one’s heart may truly be rent with sincere contrition. It is explained elsewhere when this time should be, and it is there explained also that as soon as his heart has been broken during these specific occasions, he should forthwith completely remove the sorrow from his heart and believe with a perfect faith that G–d has removed his sin in His abundant forgiveness. This is the true joy in G–d which comes after the remorse, as mentioned above.

There is yet an additional aspect that the benonim must contend with, namely, that occasionally and even frequently they experience a dullness of the heart, which becomes like a stone, and the person is unable, try as he might, to open his heart to the “service of the heart,” namely, prayer.1 Taanit 2a. Also, at times, he is unable to wage war against the evil impulse, so as to sanctify himself in the things that are permissible,2 See above, ch. 27, where a limited form of abstemiousness is highly commended. because of the heaviness that is in his heart.

In this case, the advice given in the holy Zohar is, as the president of the Heavenly Academy said in Gan Eden: “A wooden beam that will not catch fire should be splintered…a body into which the light of the soul does not penetrate should be crushed….”3 Zohar III:168a. The reference to the “light of the soul” is that the light of the soul and of the intellect does not illuminate to such an extent as to prevail over the coarseness of the body.

For although he understands and contemplates in his mind on the greatness of G–d, this is not apprehended and implanted in his mind to a degree that would enable him to prevail over the coarseness of the heart because of [the nature of] this coarseness and crassness, the cause being the arrogance of the kelipah, which exalts itself above the light of the holiness of the divine soul, obscuring and darkening the light thereof.

Therefore one must crush it and cast it down to the ground, that is to say, by setting aside appointed times for humbling oneself and considering oneself despicable and contemptible,4 A play on Psalms 15:4. Note the reinterpretation. as is written, “A broken heart, a broken spirit”5 Comp. Psalms 51:19.—this is the sitra achara, which is the very man himself in benonim (intermediates), in whose heart the vital soul which animates the body is in its native strength; hence it is the very man himself.

Whereas with regard to the divine soul within him it is said, “The soul which You have given within me is pure.”6 Morning Liturgy; Berachot 60b. Note the words “which You have given within me,” implying that man himself is not [identified with] the pure soul—except in the case of tzaddikim, in whom the contrary is true, namely, that the “pure soul,” i.e., the divine soul, is the man, while their body is called “The flesh of man.”7 Exodus 30:32.

Compare the statement of Hillel the Elder to his disciples, who, when going to eat, used to say that he was going to perform an act of kindness to the “lowly and poor creature,”8 Vayikra Rabbah 34:3. by which he meant his body, which he regarded as if it were foreign to him. Therefore he used the expression that he was “performing an act of kindness” toward it in giving it food, because he himself was nothing else but the divine soul, since it alone animated his body and flesh inasmuch as in the tzaddikim the evil that was in the vital soul pervading his blood and flesh, had been transformed into good and absorbed into the very holiness of the divine soul.

With a benoni, however, since the substance and essence of the vitalizing animal soul, which is derived from the sitra achara and pervades his blood and flesh, has not been transformed into good, it surely constitutes the man himself. If so, he is removed from G–d with utmost remoteness, for the lusting drive in his animal soul is capable of lusting also after forbidden things which are contrary to His will, blessed be He, even though he does not crave their actual fulfillment, G–d forbid; yet they are not truly scorned by him as by the tzaddikim, as explained above [ch. 12].

In this he is inferior and more loathsome and abominable than unclean animals and insects and reptiles, as is mentioned above9 Ch. 24. and as is written, “But I am a worm, and not a man….”10 Psalms 22:7. [Even when his divine soul gathers strength within him to arouse his love of G–d during prayer, this is not altogether genuine, since it is transient and vanishes after prayer, as has been discussed earlier, end of ch. 13.]

Especially so, if he calls to mind the contamination of his soul with the sin of youth, and the blemish he has wrought in the supernal worlds—where everything is timeless, and it is as if he had caused his blemish and defilement this very day, G–d forbid. And although he had sincerely repented already, yet the essence of repentance is in the heart, and in the heart are found many distinctions and gradations, and everything is according to what kind of a man he is and according to the time and place, as is known to the knowing.

Consequently now, at this time, when he regards himself and sees that “the light of the soul does not penetrate into him,” it is evident that today his repentance has not been accepted, and his sins [still] separate him, or that it is desired to raise him to a more sublime level of repentance, coming more deeply from the heart. Therefore King David said, “And my sin is always before me.”11 Psalms 51:5.

And even he who is innocent of the grievous sins of youth should set his heart to fulfill the counsel of the holy Zohar to be of the “masters of accounts,”12 Cf. Zohar III:178a. that is to say, he should keep a reckoning with his soul regarding all the thoughts, utterances, and actions that have come and gone since he came into being and until the present day, as to whether they all came from the direction of holiness or from the direction of impurity—the L–rd deliver us!—these being all the thoughts, utterances, and actions that are not [dedicated] to G–d and His will and service, for this is the meaning of sitra achara, as has been explained above [ch. 6].

And it is known that every time a person thinks holy thoughts, he becomes at that time a “vehicle” for the hechalot (chambers) of holiness, whence these thoughts originate, and vice versa, becoming at that time an unclean “vehicle” for the hechalot of impurity, whence all impure thoughts originate. So, too, with speech and action. In addition, he must earnestly remember that most of his dreams are vanity and affliction of the spirit,13 See above, ch. 6. because his soul does not rise upward, as it is written, “Who may ascend the mountain of the L–rd?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart.”14 Psalms 24:3, 4. But “those originating from the evil side, come and attach themselves to him and report to him in his dreams of mundane affairs…and often mock him and show him false things and torment him in his dreams,” and so on, as stated in the Zohar on Vayikra [p. 25a, b]. See it there discussed at length. The longer he will reflect on these matters in his thoughts, delving deeply also into books, in order to break down his heart within him and render himself shamed and despised in his own eyes, as is written in the Scriptures,15 Psalms 15:4; see above, note 4. so utterly despised that he despises his very life—the more he despises and degrades thereby the sitra achara, casting it down to the ground and humbling it from its haughtiness and pride and self-exaltation, wherewith it exalts itself over the light of the holiness of the divine soul, obscuring its effulgence.

He must also thunder against it with a strong and raging voice in order to humble it, as the Rabbis state,16 Berachot 5a. “A person should always rouse the good impulse against the evil impulse, as it is written, ‘Rage, and do not sin.’”17 Psalms 4:5. That is to say, one must rage against the animal soul, which is his evil impulse,18 Elsewhere (e.g., Torah Or 38b) the author does not identify the evil impulse with the animal soul, defining the former as the attributes of the latter. with stormy indignation in his mind, saying to it: “You are truly evil and wicked, abominable, loathsome, and disgraceful,” and likewise with all the epithets by which our Sages, of blessed memory, have called it,19 Cf. Sukkah 52a. “How long will you conceal the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, which pervades all the worlds; which was, is, and will be the same, including also this place where I stand, just as the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, was alone before the world was created, without any change, as is written, ‘For I, the L–rd, have not changed,’20 Malachi 3:6. for He transcends time, and so forth?

But you, who are repulsive, and so forth, deny the truth, which is plain to see, by physical sight, that everything in His presence is truly like nothing at all.” In this way he will help his divine soul to enlighten her eyes with the truth of the unity of the light of the En Sof with a perceptive vision and not merely by cognition alone, as it were, as is explained elsewhere that this is the core of the whole [Divine] service.

And the explanation is that in truth there is no substance whatsoever in the sitra achara, wherefore it is compared to darkness which has no substance whatsoever and consequently is banished in the presence of light. Similarly the sitra achara which, although it possesses abundant vitality wherewith to animate all impure animals and the souls of the nations of the world, and also the animal soul of the Jew, as has been explained,21 Above, ch. 6. nevertheless has no vitality of its own, G–d forbid, but [derives it] from the realm of holiness, as has been explained above.22 Ibid.

Therefore it is completely nullified in the presence of holiness, as darkness is nullified before physical light, except that in regard to the holiness of the divine soul in man, the Holy One, blessed is He, has given [the animal soul] permission and ability to raise itself against [the divine soul] in order that man should be challenged to overcome it and to humble it by means of the humility and submission of his spirit and his abhorring in himself that which is despicable.

And “through the impulse from below comes an impulse from Above,” to fulfill what is written, “From there I will bring you down, says the L–rd,”23 Obadiah 1:4. namely, depriving it of its dominion and power and withdrawing from it the strength and authority which had been given it to rise up against the light of the holiness of the divine soul, whereupon it inevitably becomes nullified and is banished, just as darkness is nullified before physical light.

Indeed, we find this explicitly stated in the Torah in connection with the Spies who, at the outset declared, “For it is stronger than we”24 Numbers 13:31.—“Read not ‘than we,’ but ‘than He,’” etc.,25 Arachin 15a; Sotah 35a. The Hebrew word ממנו permits both interpretations. for they had no faith in G–d’s ability. But afterward they reversed themselves and announced, “We will readily go up….”26 Numbers 14:40.

From where did their faith in G–d’s ability return to them? Our teacher Moses, peace unto him, had not meanwhile shown them any sign or wonder concerning this. He had only told them that the L–rd was angry with them and had sworn not to allow them to enter the Land. Why should this have influenced them, and of what avail was this to them, if they did not believe, Heaven forfend, in the L–rd’s ability to subdue the thirty-one kings,27 Cf. Joshua 12. for which reason they had no desire whatsoever to enter the Land?

But undoubtedly, since the Israelites themselves are “believers, the descendants of believers,” except that the sitra achara—which is clothed in their bodies—had risen against the light of the holiness of their divine soul, in her impudent haughtiness and arrogance, without sense or reason—now, therefore, as soon as the L–rd had become angered against them and thundered angrily, “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation….

Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness…. I the L–rd have spoken, I will surely do this to the entire evil congregation,”28 Numbers 14:27, 29, 35. their heart was humbled and broken within them when they heard these stern words, as is written, “And the people mourned greatly.”29 Ibid., v. 39. Consequently, the sitra achara toppled from its dominion, from its haughtiness and arrogance, leaving the Israelites to their inborn faith.

From the above, every person in whose mind enter doubts as to [his] faith can deduce that they are nothing more than empty words of the sitra achara, which raises itself against his soul. But the Israelites themselves are believers….30 …the descendants of believers. Furthermore, the sitra achara itself entertains no doubts about faith, except that she has been given permission to confuse man with words of falsehood and deceit in order that he may acquire greater rewards, as the harlot seeks to seduce the king’s son with falsehood and deceit, with the king’s approval, as [in the parable] mentioned in the holy Zohar.31 See above, ch. 9, n. 21.

This also a person must resolve in his heart to fulfill the instruction of our Rabbis, of blessed memory, “And be humble of spirit before every person.”1 Avot 4:10. This you must be in true sincerity, in the presence of any individual, even in the presence of the most worthless of worthless men. This accords with the instruction of our Sages, “Do not judge your fellow man until you have stood in his place.”2 Ibid., 2:4.

For it is his “place” that causes him to sin, because his livelihood requires him to go to the market for the whole day and to be one of those who “sit at the [street] corners,” where his eyes behold all the temptations; the eye sees and the heart desires,3 Rashi, Numbers 15:39; Bamidbar Rabbah, 10:2. and his evil nature is kindled like a baker’s red-hot oven, as is written in Hosea, “He burns like a flaming fire….”4 Hosea 7:6.

It is different, however, with him who goes but little to the marketplace and who remains in his house for the greater part of the day; or even if he spends the whole day in the market but is possibly not so passionate by nature—for the evil inclination of all people is not the same: there is one whose nature…,5 For more on this subject, see, e.g., Likkutei Torah, Vayikra 2d; Va’etchanan 5a. as is explained elsewhere.

In truth, however, even he whose nature is extremely passionate and whose livelihood obliges him to sit all day at the [street] corners has no excuse whatsoever for his sins, and he is termed an utter evildoer (rasha gamur) because there is no dread of G–d before his eyes. For he should have controlled himself and restrained the impulse of his desire in his heart because of the fear of G–d Who sees all actions, as has been explained above,6 Chs. 12, 19. for the mind has supremacy over the heart by nature.

It is indeed a great and fierce struggle to break one’s passion, which burns like a fiery flame, through fear of G–d; it is like an actual test. Therefore, each person according to his place and rank in the service of G–d must weigh and examine his position as to whether he is serving G–d in a manner commensurate with the dimensions of such a fierce battle and test—in the realm of “do good,”7 Psalms 34:15.

That of “turn away from evil” will follow later. as, for example, in the service of prayer with kavanah (devotion), pouring out his soul before G–d with his entire strength, to the point of exhaustion of the soul,8 Sifrei on Deuteronomy 6:5—עד מיצוי הנפש—literally, to the extent of “wringing out” the soul. while waging war against his body and animal soul within it which impede his devotion, a strenuous war to beat and grind them like dust, each day before the morning and evening prayers.

Also during prayer he needs to exert himself, with the exertion of the spirit and of the flesh, as will be explained later at length.9 Ch. 42. Anyone who has not reached this standard of waging such strenuous war against his body has not yet measured up to the quality and dimension of the war waged by one’s evil nature which burns like a fiery flame, that it be humbled and broken by dread of G–d. So, too, in the matter of Grace after meals and all benedictions, whether those connected with the partaking of food or with the performance of precepts, [to be recited] with kavanah, to say nothing of the kavanah of precepts “for their own sake.”

So, too, in the matter of one’s occupation in the study of the Torah, to learn much more than his innate or accustomed desire, and inclination, by virtue of a strenuous struggle with his body. For to study a fraction more than is one’s wont is but a small tussle which neither parallels nor bears comparison with the war of one’s evil impulse burning like fire, he is called utterly wicked (rasha gamur) if he does not conquer his impulse so that it be subdued and crushed before G–d.

For, what difference is there between the category of “turn away from evil” and that of “do good”?10 Sins of omission are as reprehensible as sins of commission insofar as disobedience is concerned. Both are the command of the Holy King, the One and Only, blessed is He. So, too, with the other commandments, especially in matters involving money, as the service of charity (tzedakah) and the like. Even in the category of “turn away from evil,” every intelligent person can discover within himself that he does not turn aside from evil completely and in every respect where a hard battle at a level such as described above is called for, or even on a lesser level than the aforementioned: for example, to stop in the middle of a pleasant gossip, or in the middle of a tale discrediting his fellow, even though it be a very small slur, and even though it be true, and even when the purpose is to exonerate oneself—as is known from what Rabbi Simeon said to his father, our saintly teacher, “I did not write it, but Judah the tailor wrote it,” when his father replied, “Keep away from slander.” [Note there, in the Gemara, beginning of ch.10 of Bava Batra.]11 Bava Batra 164b. The same applies to very many similar things which occur frequently, especially with regard to sanctifying oneself in permissible things, an enactment based on the Biblical text, “You shall be holy…”12 Leviticus 19:2. and “Sanctify yourselves….”13 Leviticus 20:7.

Moreover, “Rabbinic enactments are even stricter than Biblical enactments,”14 Eruvin 21b; Mishnah, Sanhedrin 11:3. Berachot 3b; Avodah Zarah 41a; See also Rosh Hashanah 19a; Taanit 17b; Yevamot 85b. and so forth. But all these and similar ones are of the sins which a person tramples underfoot and has come to regard as permissible in consequence of repeated transgression, and so on.15 Avodah Zarah 18a. In truth, however, if he is a scholar and upholds the Law of G–d and wishes to be close to G–d, his sin is very great and his guilt is increased manifold in that he does not wage war and does not overcome his impulse in a manner commensurate with the quality and nature of the intense battle mentioned above, than the guilt of the most worthless of worthless men of the corner-squatters who are removed from G–d and His Torah, whose guilt is not as heinous—in not restraining their impulse which burns like a fiery flame by means of the dread of G–d, Who knows and sees all their deeds—as the guilt of the person who is ever so close to G–d, His Torah, and His service.

As the Rabbis, of blessed memory, said about Acher, “For he knew My glory….”16 Eyn Yaakov, Chagigah 15a. (Comp. Hagahot HaBach 4, ad loc.) Therefore the Rabbis declared in regard to the illiterate that “deliberate infringements [of the Law] are regarded, in their case, as inadvertent acts.”17 Bava Metzia 33b.

Even if by prolonging the deep concentration on the aforementioned matters for an hour or two in order to acquire a humble spirit and a contrite heart, the individual will lapse into a profound dejection, he should not worry. For although sadness stems from the realm of kelipat nogah and not from that of holiness, since in regard to holiness it is written, “Strength and gladness are in His place,”1 I Chronicles 16:27. and “the Divine Presence (Shechinah) abides only in joy…as is the case also in the study of halachah,” and so on,2 See Shabbat 30b. except that if the sadness comes from reflections about celestial [i.e., spiritual] things, it is derived from the realm of goodness that is in nogah [hence the Arizal3 See above, ch. 2, note 9. wrote that even worry about sins is only fitting during confession4 In the Prayer Before Retiring to Bed. but not during prayer and Torah study, which should be conducted with joy derived from the side of holiness, exclusively]— Nevertheless, the method of subduing the sitra achara is on the latter’s own ground, as the Rabbis of blessed memory have said, “From the forest itself is taken the axe wherewith to fell it,”5 Sanhedrin 39b. and “He met his equal.”6 Shabbat 121b. With regard to this it is written, “In every sadness there is profit,”7 Proverbs 14:23. the profit being the joy that follows the sadness, as will be explained later.

In truth, however, a contrite heart and the bitterness8 The author makes a distinction between עצבות (“sadness,” bordering on depression or melancholy) and מרירות (“bitterness”). of the soul—because of its remoteness from the light of the Divine Countenance and its being clothed in the sitra achara—are not called atzvut (dejection) in the sacred tongue, for atzvut implies that the heart is dull like a stone and is devoid of vitality.

But in the case of merirut (bitterness) and a broken heart, the contrary is surely true—there is vitality in the heart fermenting agitation and bitterness, except that this vitality stems from the attribute of the holy gevurot (severity), whereas joy comes from the attribute of chasadim (kindness), for the heart is comprised of them both. Thus it is sometimes necessary to awaken the attribute of the holy gevurot in order to ameliorate the stern judgments, arising from the animal soul and evil nature, when triumphing, Heaven forfend, over man.

For the stern judgments can be sweetened only at their source.9 See below, chs. 40 and 41. Therefore the Rabbis, of blessed memory, said that “a person should always rouse the good impulse,”10 Berachot 5a. that is, whenever he perceives in his soul that he is in need of it. But the propitious time, which is the time specifically fitting for the majority of people, is when one is in any case troubled by mundane worries, or, simply, without apparent cause.

Then is the appropriate time to transform the sadness by becoming one of those “masters of account” mentioned earlier11 Ch. 29. and to act on the counsel of the Rabbis that “[a person should] always rouse…,” as has been mentioned above. Thereby will he rid himself of the dejection occasioned by mundane affairs. Following this he will attain true joy when he will reflect in his heart and gain a double measure of comfort, in view of what has been said above in truth, saying to himself: “Truly and without doubt I am far removed from G–d, and I am abominable and loathsome, and so on.

Yet all this is myself alone, that is to say, the body with its vivifying soul. Yet, there is within me a veritable part of G–d, which is found even in the most worthless of the worthless, namely, the divine soul with a spark of veritable G–dliness which is clothed in it and animates it, except that it is, as it were, in [a state of] exile. Therefore, on the contrary, the further I am separated from G–d, and the more contemptible and loathsome, the deeper in exile is my divine soul, and the more greatly is she to be pitied; therefore I shall make it my whole aim and desire to extricate her and liberate her from this exile, in order to return her ‘to her Father’s house as in her youth,’12 Leviticus 22:13. before she was clothed in my body, when she was absorbed in His light, blessed be He, and completely united with Him.

Now she will again be thus absorbed and united with Him, blessed be He, if I will bend my whole aim toward the Torah and the commandments, to clothe therein all her ten faculties, as mentioned above, especially in the precept of prayer, to cry to the L–rd in her distress of exile in my despicable body, to liberate her from her prison, that she may attach herself to Him, blessed be He.” This is the essence of “repentance and good deeds,”13 Comp.

Avot 4:11. the latter being the good deeds which one performs in order to restore the portion of the L–rd to the Source and Root of all the worlds. And this shall be his service all his life in great joy, the joy of the soul in her release from the despised body and “returning to her Father’s house as in her youth,” when engaged in Torah and prayer. Indeed, the Rabbis, of blessed memory, have said that one should be in a state of repentance throughout one’s life.14 Shabbat 153a. For there is no greater joy than the escape from exile and imprisonment, as in the example of the king’s son who was kept in captivity, turning the millstone in prison and becoming covered with filth; then he is liberated and he returns to his father’s royal house.

And although the body is still in its contemptible and abominable state—it is referred to in the Zohar as “the skin of the serpent”—inasmuch as the essence and substance of the animal soul have not converted to good, so as to merge into holiness, nevertheless his soul will become more precious in his eyes than the despised body, and he will rejoice in her joy and not confound and confuse the joy of the soul with the misery of the body.15 Cf. below, ch. 33.

This [release of the soul from her exile in the body] is in the nature of the Exodus from Egypt, in connection with which it is written, “The people had fled.”16 Exodus 14:5. At first sight it is strange that it should have happened in this way. For had Pharaoh been requested to liberate them forever, would he not have been compelled to let them go? But because the evil in the souls of the Israelites was still in its strength in the left part—for not until the Giving of the Torah did their impurity cease17 Shabbat 146a.—yet their aim and desire was to free their divine souls from the exile of the sitra achara, which is the “defilement of Egypt,” and cleave to Him, blessed be He, as is written, “The L–rd is my strength and my fortress and my refuge in the day of affliction…,”18 Jeremiah 16:19.

“My high tower and my refuge…,”19 II Samuel 22:2. “and He is my escape…,”20 Liturgy, Adon Olam. [so, too, was the physical exodus from Egypt in a manner of escape]. Hence in the time to come, when the L–rd will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth, it is written of it, “[You shall not go out in haste], nor go by flight, for the L–rd will go before you….”21 Isaiah 52:12. The quality of this repentance will be stronger and more intense, from the depth of the heart, and likewise the joy of the soul will be with an added measure of light and joy, when he will reflect in his heart with knowledge and understanding to console himself from his distress and sorrow, saying, as above: “Truly and without a doubt…”—“but it was not I who created myself.

Why, then, has G–d done such a thing, to cause a portion of His light, blessed be He, which fills and encompasses all worlds, and before Whom everything is of no account, to descend and to be clothed in a ‘serpent’s skin’ and in a fetid drop? It cannot be otherwise than that this descent is for the purpose of an ascent—to raise up to G–d the whole vital animal soul, which is of the kelipat nogah and all her ‘garments,’ namely her faculties of thought, speech, and action, through their being enclothed in the act, speech, and thought of the Torah.” [As for the meaning of this ascent—how this is the ultimate purpose of the creation of the world—it will be later explained at length.]22 Chs. 35, 36, 37.

“If this is so, there is one thing for me to do, and this will be my sole aim all the days of my earthly life, to fully occupy therein the life of my spirit and soul, as is written, ‘To You, L–rd, I lift my soul,’23 Psalms 25:1. that is to say, to bind my thought and speech with His thought and speech, blessed be He, which are the very laws which have been set before us, and likewise my action—in the performance of the commandments.”

For this reason the Torah is described as “restoring the soul,”24 Psalms 19:8. i.e., [restoring it] to its source and root. Concerning this it is written, “The precepts of the L–rd are right, rejoicing the heart.”25 Psalms 19:9.

Acting on the suggestion mentioned above—to view one’s body with scorn and contempt and finding joy only in the joy of the soul alone—is a direct and easy way to attain the fulfillment of the commandment “You shall love your fellow as yourself”1 Leviticus 19:18. toward every soul of Israel, both great and small. For, whereas one despises and loathes one’s body, while as for the soul and spirit, who can know their greatness and excellence in their root and source in the living G–d?

Being, moreover, all of a kind and all having one Father—therefore, all Israelites are called real brothers by virtue of the source of their souls in the One G–d; only the bodies are separated. Hence in the case of those who give major consideration to their bodies while regarding their souls as of secondary importance, there can be no true love and brotherhood among them, but only [a love] which is dependent on a [transitory] thing.2 Avot 5:16.

This is what Hillel the Elder meant when he said in regard to the fulfillment of this commandment, “This is the whole Torah, while the rest is but commentary,”3 Shabbat 31a. and so on. For the basis and root of the entire Torah are to raise and exalt the soul high above the body, reaching to the Source and Root of all the worlds, and also to bring down the Light of the En Sof, blessed is He, upon the community of Israel, as will be explained later,4 Ch. 41. i.e., into the fountainhead of the souls of all Israel, to become “One into One.”5 Zohar II:135a. This is impossible if there is, G–d forbid, disunity among the souls, for the Holy One, blessed is He, does not dwell in an imperfect place,6 Zohar I:216b. as we pray, “Bless us, our Father, all of us as one, with the light of Your Countenance,”7 Liturgy, Amidah. as has been explained at great length elsewhere.

As for the Talmudic statement8 Shevuot 30a. to the effect that one who sees his friend sinning should hate him and should tell his teacher to hate him also, this applies to a companion in Torah and precepts, having already applied to him the injunction, “You shall repeatedly rebuke your friend (amitecha),”9 Leviticus 19:17. meaning “He who is with you in Torah and precepts,”10 A play on the word עמיתך: עם-אתך.

See Kitzurim V’Hearot, p. 36. and who, nevertheless, has not repented of his sin, as stated in Sefer Charedim.11 By Rabbi Eliezer Azkari (16th century). But as for the person who is not one’s colleague and is not on intimate terms with him, Hillel the Elder said, “Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving the creatures and drawing them near to the Torah.”12 Avot 1:12. This means that even in the case of those who are removed from G–d’s Torah and His service and are therefore classified simply as “creatures,” one must attract them with strong cords of love, perchance one might succeed in drawing them near to the Torah and Divine service.

Even if one fails, one has not forfeited the merit of the precept of neighborly love. Even with regard to those who are close to him, and whom he has rebuked, yet they had not repented of their sins, when he is enjoined to hate them, there still remains the duty to love them also, and both are right: hatred because of the wickedness in them, and love on account of the aspect of the hidden good in them, which is the Divine spark in them, which animates their divine soul.

He should also awaken pity in his heart for [the divine soul], for she is held captive, as it were, in the evil of the sitra achara that triumphs over her in wicked people. Compassion destroys hatred and awakens love, as is known from the [interpretation of the] text, “To [the house of] Jacob who redeemed Abraham.”13 Isaiah 29:22. See Torah Or 51a-b. [As for King David, peace unto him, who said, “I hate them with a consummate hatred,”14 Psalms 139:22. he was referring to [Jewish] heretics and atheists who have no portion in the G–d of Israel, as stated in the Talmud, Tractate Shabbat, beginning of ch. 16.]

This, also, will be the true joy of the soul, especially when one recognizes, at appropriate times, that one needs to purify and illuminate one’s soul with gladness of the heart. Let him then concentrate his mind and envisage in his intelligence and understanding the subject of His true Unity, blessed be He: how He permeates all worlds, both upper and lower, and even this world is filled with His glory, and how everything is of no reality whatsoever in His presence, and He is One Alone in the upper and lower realms, as He was One Alone before the six days of Creation and also in the space wherein this world was created, the heavens and earth, and all their host—He alone filled this space; and now also this is so, being One Alone without any change whatsoever.

For all things created are nullified besides Him in their very existence, as are nullified the letters of speech and thought within their source and root, namely, the essence and substance of the soul, which are its ten faculties, chochmah, binah, daat, and so on, wherein the element of letters is not yet found prior to their embodiment in the garment of thought [as has been explained at length in chs. 20 and 21, note there], and as is explained elsewhere by means of an illustration from nature, namely, the nullification of the sun’s radiation and light at their source, the orb of the sun in the sky.

For surely its radiance and light glow and spread forth there, too, and even more strongly than in the space of the universe, but there [in the sun] the light is nullified within its source, as though it were nonextant at all. Exactly so, figuratively speaking, is the world and all that fills it dissolved out of existence in relation to its source, which is the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, as is there explained at length.

When one will deeply contemplate this, his heart will be gladdened and his soul will rejoice even with joy and singing, with all heart and soul and might, in [the intensity of] this faith which is tremendous, since this is the [experience of the] very proximity of G–d, and it is the whole [purpose] of man and the goal of his creation, as well as of the creation of all the worlds, both upper and lower, that He may have an abode here below, as will later be explained at length.1 Ch. 36.

Behold, how great is the joy of a common and lowly man when he is brought near to a king of flesh and blood, who accepts his hospitality and lodges under his roof! How infinitely more so is the [joy in the] abiding nearness of the Supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed is He. And so it is written, “For who is this that engaged his heart to approach Me? says the L–rd.”2 Jeremiah 30:21. For this reason it was instituted to offer praise and thanks to His Name, blessed be He, each morning, and to say, “Fortunate are we!

How good is our portion, how pleasant our lot, and how beautiful our heritage!”3 Liturgy, Morning Prayer; introduction to first Shema. In other words, just as a person rejoices and is happy when an inheritance of an immense fortune, for which he had not toiled, falls to him, how infinitely more should we rejoice over our heritage that our fathers have bequeathed to us, namely, the true Unity of G–d: that even down here on earth there is naught else besides Him alone, and this is His abode in the lower worlds.

This is what our rabbis, of blessed memory said,4 Makkot 24a. “Six hundred and thirteen commandments were given to Israel…. Came Habakkuk and based them [all] on a single one, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by his faith,’ ”5 Habakkuk 2:4. that is to say, as if there had been no more than one commandment, namely, faith alone. For by faith alone will he come to fulfill all the 613 commandments.

In other words, when his heart will exult and rejoice in his faith in G–d’s Unity, in perfect joy, as though he had but this one commandment, and it alone were the ultimate purpose of his creation and that of all the worlds—then with the force and vitality of his soul which are generated by this great joy, his soul will ascend ever higher above all internal and external obstacles which hinder his fulfillment of all the 613 commandments.

This is the meaning of the words “shall live by his faith,” with the emphasis on shall live, as at the Resurrection of the Dead, by way of example; so will his soul revive with this great joy. This is a doubled and redoubled joy, for apart from the joy of the soul apprehending the nearness of G–d and His dwelling with him, he will doubly rejoice with the joy of G–d and the tremendous gratification rendered to Him by virtue of his faith, whereby the sitra achara is verily subdued and darkness is changed into light, i.e., the darkness of the kelipot of this corporeal world, which obscure and conceal His light, blessed be He, until the End, as is written, “He sets an end to darkness”6 Job 28:3. [which refers to the end of days, when the spirit of impurity will be banished from the earth,7 Zechariah 13:2. and the glory of the L–rd will be revealed, and together all flesh will see;8 Isaiah 40:5. as will be explained later9 End ch. 36.].

This is particularly so in the Diaspora, where the atmosphere is unclean and filled with kelipot and sitra achara. For there is no joy before Him, blessed be He, like the light and joy of the particular excellence of light that comes out of darkness. This is the meaning of the verse, “Let Israel rejoice in its Maker,”10 Psalms 149:2. that is to say that everyone who is of the seed of Israel should rejoice and be happy in the joy of G–d, Who is pleased and glad to dwell in the lower spheres, which are of the order of physical Asiyah.

That is why the Psalmist uses the plural osav [“its makers”], referring to the corporeal world which is full of kelipot and the sitra achara and is called “public domain”11 רשות הרבים in the sense of “multiverse.” and “mountains of separation.” And these are transmuted to light and become a “private domain”12 רשות היחיד in the sense of “universe.” for His Unity, blessed be He, by means of this faith.

It is a well-known Rabbinic statement that the purpose of the creation of this world is that the Holy One, blessed is He, desired to have an abode in the lower worlds.1 Midrash Tanchuma, Nasso 16. But surely with Him the distinction of “upper” and “lower” has no validity, for He pervades all worlds equally. The explanation of the matter, however, is as follows: Before the world was created, He was One Alone, one and Unique, ruling all space in which He created the universe.

It is still the same now insofar as He is concerned. For the change relates only to those who receive His life-force and light, blessed be He, which they receive through many “garments” which conceal and obscure His light, blessed be He, as is written, “For no man shall see Me and live,”2 Exodus 33:20. and, as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, have explained it, that even angels, who are called Chayot,3 An interpretation of the word וחי. cannot see Him….4 Sif-rei, end of Parashat Behaalotcha; Bamidbar Rabbah, end of Parashat Nasso.

This is the concept of the hishtalshelut (downward gradation) of the worlds and their descent, degree by degree, through a multitude of “garments” which screen the light and life that emanate from Him, until there was created this material and gross world, the lowest in degree, than which there is none lower in the aspect of concealment of His light, blessed be He; [a world of] doubled and redoubled darkness, so much so that it is full of kelipot and the sitra achara which actually oppose G–d, saying: “I am, and there is nothing else besides me.”5 Isaiah 47:8, 10; Zephaniah 2:15.

Clearly, the purpose of the hishtalshelut of the worlds and their descent, degree by degree, is not for the sake of the higher worlds, because for them this is a descent from the light of His Countenance, blessed be He. But the ultimate purpose [of creation] is this lowest world, for such was His will, blessed be He, that He shall have satisfaction when the sitra achara is subdued and the darkness is turned to light, so that the Divine light of the En Sof, blessed is He, shall shine forth in the place of the darkness and sitra achara throughout this world, all the more strongly and intensely, with the excellence of light emerging from darkness, than its effulgence in the higher worlds, where it shines through “garments” and in concealment of the Countenance, which screen and conceal the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, in order that they should not dissolve out of existence.

For this purpose, the Holy One, blessed is He, gave to Israel the Torah which is called “might” and “strength,”6 Shir Hashirim Rabbah 2:10; Zohar II:58a; III:269a; cf. Zevachim 116a. as the Rabbis, of blessed memory, have said7 Sanhedrin 100b. that the Almighty puts strength into the righteous in order that they may receive their reward in the hereafter, without being nullified in their very existence, in the Divine light that will be revealed to them in the hereafter without any cloak, as is written, “Your teacher shall no longer be concealed from you [literally: He will not conceal Himself from you with robe and garment]…but your eyes shall see your Teacher.”8 Isaiah 30:20.

It is also written, “For they shall see eye to eye…”9 Isaiah 52:8. and “You shall no longer have the sun for light by day…for the Lord shall be to you for an everlasting light….”10 Isaiah 60:19-20. It is well known that the Messianic Era, and especially the time of the Resurrection of the Dead, is the fulfillment and culmination of the creation of the world, for which purpose it was originally created.

NOTE: The receiving of the reward is essentially in the seventh millennium, as is stated in Likkutei Torah of the Arizal.11 See above, ch. 2, note 9. Something of this revelation has already been experienced on earth, at the time of the Giving of the Torah, as is written, “You have been shown to know that the L–rd is G–d; there is none else aside from Him”12 Deuteronomy 4:35.—“have been shown” verily with physical vision, as is written, “And all the people saw the thunderings”13 Literally: “voices.”

Exodus 20:15.—“they saw what is [normally] heard.”14 Mechilta, on the verse. And the Rabbis, of blessed memory, explained, “They looked eastward and heard the speech issuing forth: ‘I am,’ etc., and so [turning] toward the four points of the compass, and upward and downward,” as is also explained in the Tikkunim that “There was no place from which He did not speak to them….” This was so because of the revelation of His will, blessed be He, in the Decalogue constituting the epitome of the whole Torah,15 Rashi, Exodus 24:12; Zohar II:90b. which is His innermost will, blessed be He, and His wisdom, wherein there is no concealment of the Countenance at all, as is written, “For by the light of Your Countenance You gave us the Torah of life.”16 Liturgy, Amidah Prayer.

Therefore they [the Israelites at Sinai] repeatedly expired out of existence, as the Rabbis have taught17 Shabbat 88b. that at each [Divine] utterance their souls took flight…but the Holy One, blessed is He, restored it to them with the dew with which He will revive the dead. This is the dew of the Torah which is called “might,” as the Rabbis have said, “Everyone who occupies himself with the Torah is revived by the dew of the Torah….”18 Ketuvot 111b. Later, however, the sin [of the Golden Calf] caused both them and the world to become gross again—until the end of days, when the dross of the body and of the world will be purified, and they will be able to apprehend the revealed Divine light which will shine forth to Israel by means of the Torah, called “might.”

And, as a result of the overflow of the illumination on Israel, the darkness of the gentiles will also be lit up, as is written, “And the nations shall walk by your light…,”19 Isaiah 60:3. and, “House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the L–rd,”20 Isaiah 2:5. again, “And the glory of the L–rd will be revealed, and together all flesh will see…,”21 Isaiah 40:5. and, “To go into the holes of the rocks, and into the clefts of the boulders, for fear of the L–rd and for the glory of His majesty.”22 Isaiah 2:21.

And as we pray, “Reveal Yourself in the majesty of Your glorious might over all the inhabitants of Your terrestrial world….”23 Liturgy, Amidah, High Holidays.

This culminating fulfillment of the Messianic Era and of the Resurrection of the Dead, which is the revelation of the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, in this material world, depends on our actions and service throughout the duration of the galut. For what causes the reward of a commandment is the commandment itself,1 See Avot 4:2. because by virtue of performing it the person suffuses a flood of light of the En Sof, blessed is He, from above downward, to be clothed in the corporeality of the world in something that was previously under the dominion of the kelipat nogah, from which it had received its vitality.

These are all those things that are [ritually] clean and permissible, wherewith the precept of action is performed, viz., parchment used in the tefillin, mezuzah, and Torah scroll, as taught by the Rabbis2 Shabbat 28b; 108a. that nothing is fitting for a sacred purpose which is not clean and permissible for consumption; similarly an etrog which is not orlah; NOTE: For orlah is one of the three completely impure kelipot that can never ascend [into holiness], as explained in Etz Chaim.

Similarly, the performance of any precept involving a transgression, G–d forbid. so, too, money given to charity which had not been dishonestly acquired; and similarly with other things. Thus, when a person performs the Divine commandment and will, by means of these [“clean” things], the vitality that is in them ascends and is dissolved and absorbed into the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, which is His will, blessed be He, that is clothed in them, since therein there is no concealment of Countenance whatsoever to obscure His light, blessed be He.

In like manner, the energy of the vital animal soul which is in the organs of the body of the person performing the commandment is also clothed in this performance, and it rises from the kelipah and is absorbed into the holiness of the precept, which is His will, blessed be He, and is dissolved into the light of the En Sof, blessed is He. Likewise in regard to the commandment of Torah study and the recital of Shema and Prayer, and similar precepts, although they do not involve physical action in the strict sense, such as would be dominated by the kelipat nogah.

Nevertheless it has been established that meditation cannot take the place of speech3 Berachot 20b. Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 62:3. and that a person does not fulfill the commandment until he has uttered [the words] with his lips. And it has been established that the articulation by the lips is deemed as “action.”4 Bava Metzia 90b; Sanhedrin 65a. For the divine soul cannot express itself through the lips and mouth and tongue and teeth, which are all corporeal, except through the agency of the vital animal soul, which is clothed in the organs of the physical body.

Hence the more strength one puts into his speech, the more of the vital soul’s energy does he introduce and invest into those words. This is the meaning of the verse, “All my bones shall declare….”5 Psalms 35:10. This also is what the Rabbis meant when they said, “If the Torah reposes in all the 248 organs, it will be preserved; but if not, it will not be preserved.”6 Eruvin 54a. For forgetfulness comes from the kelipah7 Zohar I:193b; Pardes, s.v.

Shikchah; Rabbi Chaim Vital, Shaar Hamitzvot, beg. of Va’etchanan. of the body and vital animal soul, which are of the kelipat nogah that is sometimes absorbed into holiness, which is accomplished when one weakens their power and transfers all their strength into the holiness of the Torah or Prayer. Furthermore, the vital soul’s energy which is clothed in the letters of speech in Torah study or Prayer, or the like, or in the precepts of performance, derives its entire growth and vitality from the blood, which is of the kelipat nogah itself, namely, all the foods and drinks which the person has eaten and drunk and which have become blood, having been under its dominion and having drawn their nurtures from it [the kelipat nogah].

But now it is converted from evil to good and is absorbed into holiness, by virtue of the energy of the vital soul that has grown from it, which has now clothed itself in these letters or in this action which actually constitute His innermost will, blessed be He, without any concealment of Countenance. And their vitality is also absorbed into the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, which is His will, blessed be He.

And with their vitality, the energy of the vital soul is absorbed and elevated. Thereby will ascend also the totality of the kelipat nogah, constituting the general vitality of this material and gross world, when the whole neshamah and divine soul of all Israel, which is divided into 600,000 particular offshoots, and each particular soul will fulfill all the 613 commandments of the Torah:— The 365 prohibitions, to restrain the 365 blood vessels of the vital soul in the body, so as not to receive nurture or vitality through that sin from one of the three completely unclean kelipot, from which are derived the 365 prohibitions in the Torah together with their offshoots as laid down by the Rabbis, for the vital soul would no longer be able to ascend to G–d if it had been defiled with the impurity of the three unclean kelipot, which can never be elevated but must be completely nullified and annihilated, as is written, “And I will remove the unclean spirit from the land”;8 Zechariah 13:2. and The 248 positive precepts, in order to draw the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, earthward, so as to raise up to Him and bind and unite with Him, the totality of the vital soul which is in the 248 organs of the body, with a perfect union, to become truly one, as it was His Will, blessed be He, that He should have an abode among the lowest creatures, and they become a “vehicle” for Him, as were the Patriarchs.9 See above, ch. 18, note 3.

Thus, when the totality of the vital soul of the community of Israel will be a holy vehicle for G–d, then shall the general vitality of this world, now constituting the kelipat nogah, emerge from its impurity and filth and ascend to holiness to become a vehicle for G–d, through the revelation of His glory, “And together all flesh will see,”10 Isaiah 40:5. and He will reveal Himself upon them with the majesty of His glorious might,11 See Liturgy, Amidah, High Holidays. and “The whole world will be filled with the glory of the L–rd,”12 Numbers 14:21. and Israel shall behold [it] eye to eye,13 Cf. Isaiah 52:8. as at the Giving of the Law, as is written, “You have been shown to know that the L–rd is G–d; there is none else aside from Him.”14 Deuteronomy 4:35.

In this way, all three unclean kelipot will be completely destroyed and annihilated, for their present nurture and vitality from holiness comes to them through the medium of the kelipat nogah, which is the intermediary between them. It follows, therefore, that the whole fulfillment of the Messianic Era and of the Resurrection of the Dead—which is the revelation of His glory and G–dliness, blessed be He, and the banishment of the spirit of impurity from the world—is dependent on the suffusion of His G–dliness and of the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, over the vital soul of the community of Israel in all its 248 organs, through its fulfillment of all the 248 positive precepts, and on the banishment of the spirit of impurity from it through its observance of all the 365 prohibitions, so that its 365 veins do not derive nurture from it.

For the community of Israel, comprising 600,000 particular souls, is the [source of] life for the world as a whole, which was created for their sake.15 Cf. Rashi, Genesis 1:1. And each one of them contains and is related to the vitality of one part in 600,000 of the totality of the world, which [part] depends on his vital soul for its elevation to G–d through its own [the soul’s] elevation, by virtue of the individual’s partaking of this world for the needs of his body and vital soul in the service of G–d, viz., eating, drinking, and the like, [his] dwelling and all his utensils.

Yet these 600,000 particular souls are roots, and each root subdivides into 600,000 sparks, each spark being one neshamah; and so with the nefesh and ruach in each of the four worlds—Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah. And each spark descended into this world—although it is indeed a profound descent and a state of true exile, for even if one be a perfectly righteous person, serving G–d with fear and a great love of delights, he cannot attain to the degree of attachment to G–d, in fear and love, as before it came down to this gross world, not a fraction of it, and there is no comparison or similarity between them at all, as is clear to every intelligent person, for the body cannot endure, and so on, nevertheless [each spark] descended into this world, to be clothed in a body and vital soul, for the sole purpose of mending them and separating them from the evil of the three impure kelipot, through the observance of the 365 prohibitions and their offshoots, and in order to elevate his vital soul together with its portion that belongs to it of the totality of the world, so as to join and unite them with the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, which the person draws into them through fulfilling all the 248 positive precepts through the agency of the vital soul, the very one that fulfills all the active commandments, as has been explained above.

It has also been stated in [Etz Chaim, Portal 26] that the soul itself [neshamah] needs no perfecting at all…and there is no necessity for it to be embodied in this world…except in order to bring down the light to mend them…and this is exactly similar to the esoteric exile of the Shechinah for the purpose of elevating the sparks…. In the light of the above, one can understand why our Rabbis, of blessed memory, so strongly emphasized the virtue of charity,16 Bava Batra 9a. declaring that “it balances all the other commandments,”17 Ibid. and throughout the Jerusalem Talmud it is called simply “the commandment,” for such was the usage of the language to call charity simply “the commandment,” because it is the core of the precepts of action and surpasses them all.

For all [precepts] are only intended to elevate the vital soul to G–d, since it is she [the soul] that performs them and clothes itself in them, thereby being absorbed into the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, which is vested in them. Hence you can find no commandment in which the vital soul is clothed to the same extent as in the commandment of charity: for in all [the other] commandments only one faculty of the vital soul is embodied, and then only at the time of the performance of the precept, while in the case of charity, which a man gives out of the toil of his hands, surely all the strength of his vital soul is embodied in the execution of his work or occupation by which he earned the money; when he gives it for charity, his whole vital soul ascends to G–d.

Even where one does not depend on his toil for a livelihood, nevertheless since with this [charity] money he could have purchased necessities of life, for his vivifying soul, hence he is giving his soul’s life to G–d. Therefore our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said that it [charity] brings the Redemption nearer.18 Ibid., 10a. For with one act of charity a person elevates a great part of the vivifying soul, of whose powers and faculties he cannot elevate in the same measure by performing several other active precepts.

As for the statement of our Rabbis that “the study of the Torah is equivalent to them all,”19 Mishnah, Peah 1:1. this is because Torah study is effected through the faculties of speech and thought, which are the innermost garments of the vivifying soul; also the essence and substance of the faculties of chabad (chochmah, binah, daat) of the kelipat nogah in the vivifying soul are integrated into holiness itself when one occupies oneself in Torah with concentration and intelligence.

And although the essence and substance of the emotion attributes (middot)—chesed, gevurah, tiferet, and so on—cannot be mastered by benonim (intermediates) so as to be converted to holiness, this is because the evil is stronger in the emotion attributes than in the intelligences, by reason of its greater nurture from the holiness of the middot, as is known to the students of Kabbalah. Furthermore, and this is the most important aspect of all in the pre-eminence of Torah study over all other commandments, based on the abovementioned20 Ch. 23. quotation from the Tikkunim that “the 248 commandments are the 248 ‘organs’ of the King”: Just as in the case of a human being, by way of example, there is no comparison or similitude between the vitality that is in his 248 organs and the vitality that is in the brain, i.e., the intellect which is subdivided into the three faculties of chabad, exactly analogous, by way of example, yet removed by myriads of distinctions ad infinitum, is the illumination of the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, that is clothed in the active precepts, compared with the illumination of the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, in the chabad aspects of the wisdom of the Torah, in each man according to his intelligence and mental grasp.

And although his apprehension is only in its material aspects, yet the Torah is likened to water, which descends from a high level…, as has been explained above.21 Ch. 4. Nevertheless, the Rabbis declared, “Not study, but doing, is the essential thing.”22 Avot 1:17. It is also written, “This day to do them.”23 Deuteronomy 7:11. And [it has been ruled that] one should interrupt the study of the Torah in order to fulfill an active precept that cannot be performed by others.24 Moed Kattan 9b. For, “This is the whole man,”25 Ecclesiastes 12:13. and the purpose of his creation and his descent to this world, in order that He have an abode here below especially to turn darkness into light, so that the glory of the L–rd shall fill all of this material world, with the emphasis on material, “and together all flesh will see,” as has been discussed above.

On the other hand, when the precept is one that can be performed by others, one does not interrupt the study of the Torah,26 Moed Kattan 9b. though the whole Torah is, after all, only an explanation of the active ordinances. The reason is that [the Torah] is, as it were, the chabad of the En Sof, blessed is He, and when a person is engaged in it he draws over himself the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, of an infinitely higher order and splendor than the illumination and influence obtained through the commandments, which are “the organs of the King.”

This is what Rav Sheshet [meant when he] said, “Rejoice, O my soul! For you did I learn Scripture; for you did I learn Mishnah,”27 Pesachim 68b. as is explained elsewhere at length. This influence and illumination which man, by means of his occupation with the Torah, draws from the reflected light of the En Sof, blessed is He, and causes to shine on his soul and on the souls of all Israel, which is the Shechinah, Keneset Israel, the fount of all the souls of Israel, as will be explained later28 Chs. 41, 52.—is termed “keriah” (“calling”); hence korei baTorah [“calling by means of the Torah”].

This means that through one’s occupation with the Torah one calls to the Holy One, blessed is He, to come to him, to use an anthropomorphism, like a person calling to his companion to come to him, or like a child calling his father to come and join him, so that he should not be separated from him and remain alone, G–d forbid. This is the meaning of the text, “The L–rd is close to all that call upon Him; to all who call upon Him in truth,”29 Psalms 145:18.

The word באמת is here translated not as an adverb (i.e., “truthfully”), but as a noun—instrument—“by means of (that which is) Truth,” namely, the Torah. and “‘Truth’ applies only to the Torah.”30 Tanna Dvei Eliyahu Zuta, ch. 21. The meaning is thus rendered in the sense of calling to the Holy One, blessed is He, specifically through the Torah. It is different, however, when one does not call Him through occupation in the Torah, but merely cries: “Father!

Father!” as the prophet laments over him, “And no one calls in Your name…,”31 Isaiah 64:6. “The Torah is His Name,” Zohar II:90b; III:73a. as is explained elsewhere. The intelligent person should ponder on this in order to inculcate into himself a great reverence at the time of his occupation with the Torah, as has been previously explained [ch. 23].

It is also for this reason that the angels are called Chayot (beasts) and Behemot (cattle), as is written, “And the face of a lion on the right side…and the face of an ox on the left side…,”1 Ezekiel 1:10. for they have no freedom of choice, and their fear and love are their natural instincts, as stated in Raaya Mehemna on Parashat Pinchas. Therefore the quality of tzaddikim is superior to theirs, for the abode of the souls of the righteous is in the world of Beriah, whereas the abode of the angels is in the world of Yetzirah.

NOTE: This refers to ordinary angels, but there are higher angels in the world of Beriah, whose service is with intelligent fear and love, as is explained in Raaya Mehemna, ibid., that there are two kinds of holy Chayot, instinctive and intelligent, as also explained in Etz Chaim. The difference between them is that in the world of Yetzirah only the middot of the En Sof, blessed is He, shine forth, namely the love of Him, and the dread and fear of Him…, as is stated [in the Tikkunim2 Tikkun 7. and in Etz Chaim]3 Seder ABYA ch. 3. that the six sefirot nest in [the world of] Yetzirah.

Therefore it is the constant service of the angels, resting neither by day nor by night, to stand in fear and dread…, these being the whole camp of Gabriel on the left, while the service of the camp of Michael is with love….4 Zohar III:118b; Tikkunei Zohar 70. But in the world of Beriah shine forth the chochmah, binah, and daat of the En Sof, blessed is He, which are the source of the middot and their “mother” and root, as stated in the Tikkunim5 Tikkun 7. that ima ilaah (“supernal mother”)6 Synonymous with Binah. nests in the three sefirot, in the [Divine] throne which is the world of Beriah.

Therefore this is the abode of the souls of the righteous who serve G–d with fear and love, which are derived from the understanding and knowledge of the greatness of the En Sof, blessed is He. For this love is called re’uta d’liba (“heart’s desire”), as has already been mentioned.7 See above, ch. 17; also below, ch. 44. And from this “heart’s desire” is produced a garment for the soul in the world of Beriah which constitutes the Higher Garden of Eden, as will be explained later, and as is written in the Zohar on [Parashat] Vayakhel.

But this applies specifically to neshamot, which [possess] a great cognition, as it were, of the En Sof, blessed is He. As for the category of ruach of the righteous, as also all other souls of Israelites who have served G–d with the fear and love that are latent in the heart of all Jews, these do not ascend there, except on Shabbat and the New Moon by means of the pillar that rises from the Lower to the Higher Garden of Eden, i.e., the world of Beriah which is called the Higher Garden of Eden, wherein to take pleasure in G–d and derive enjoyment from the splendor of the Shechinah.

For the intellect of a created being can have no enjoyment or pleasure except in what it conceives, understands, knows, and apprehends, with its intellect and apprehension, what is possible for it to understand and grasp of the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, by virtue of His wisdom and understanding, blessed be He, which shine forth in the world of Beriah. As for the reason that these souls merit to ascend higher than the angels, even though their service has been with no more than natural fear and love, it is that through their fear and love the sitra achara which was clothed in their body was subdued, both in the realm of “turn away from evil”—by subjugating and breaking the passions—and in the realm of “do good,” as discussed earlier.8 Ch. 38, end.

See also above, ch. 16. For they had the freedom to choose evil, G–d forbid, yet they chose the good in order to subdue the sitra achara, thereby elevating the glory of the Holy One, blessed is He…, “As the excellence of light…,”9 Ecclesiastes 2:13. Above, ch. 12. discussed above.10 Ch. 27. However, all this is concerned with the abode of the souls and their station, but their Torah and service are actually absorbed into the ten sefirot which are a category of G–dliness and with which the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, unites itself in perfect unison; that is to say, in the ten sefirot of Beriah—through intelligent fear and love, and in the ten sefirot of Yetzirah—through natural fear and love.

In them are clothed the ten sefirot of Atzilut and are completely united with them, while the ten sefirot of Atzilut are absolutely united with their Emanator, the En Sof, blessed is He. The souls, on the other hand, are not absorbed into the G–dliness of the ten sefirot, but are stationed in the hechalot (palaces) and abodes of Beriah or Yetzirah, enjoying the effulgence of the Shechinah, the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, which is united with the ten sefirot of Beriah or Yetzirah, it being the glow of their very Torah and service [see Zohar, Vayakhel, p. 210],11 Zohar II:210a ff. for “the reward of a commandment is the commandment itself.”12 Avot 4:2.

The world of Atzilut, however, is beyond the intelligence, comprehension, and understanding of a created intellect, because the chochmah, binah, and daat of the En Sof, blessed is He, are united with it therein in perfect unity, a profound and wonderful unity which infinitely excels, in degree and form, that which is found in the world of Beriah, for in the latter they descended to give light by means of tzimtzum, so that created intellects should be able to receive from them chabad (chochmah, binah, daat), to know G–d and to understand and apprehend something of the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, to the extent possible for created intellects which are limited and finite, without their being dissolved in their existence and ceasing completely to exist as created beings, only to revert to their source and root, namely, G–dliness itself.

It is this tzimtzum that is the cause of the glow of chabad of the En Sof, blessed is He, illuminating the souls in the world of Beriah. It is different in [the world of] Atzilut, where they [chabad] are not subject to the same extent of tzimtzum; consequently it is impossible for created intellects to apprehend them. That is why no thought of the [created intellects] can apprehend anything there.

Hence it is the abode of the great tzaddikim, whose service supremely transcends even the quality of fear and love which are derived from the understanding and knowledge of His greatness, blessed be He, just as the world of Atzilut is far beyond the understanding and knowledge of a created intellect. Indeed, their service has been truly in the nature of a “vehicle” to the En Sof, blessed is He, being nullified to Him in existence and absorbed in His light, blessed be He, they and everything they possessed, through the fulfillment of the Torah and commandments, in the way which has been said of the Patriarchs that they were truly the “chariot” of G–d, because throughout their lives this was their service.

But as for him whose soul’s root is too small to contain such perfect service, so as to be nullified and absorbed in His light, blessed be He, by constant service, but only at such intervals and times which are propitious on high, viz., during the prayer of the Amidah which is in Atzilut, especially when making the genuflexions,13 There are four genuflexions in the Amidah. for genuflexion characterises Atzilut [as explained in Pri Etz Chaim on the prayer of the Inauguration of Shabbat], since it symbolizes self-nullification in His light, blessed be He, to be accounted as nothing at all before Him—in such a case, therefore, the principal abode of his soul is in the world of Beriah [and only occasionally, at propitious times, does his soul ascend to Atzilut, by virtue of the “feminine waters,”14 מ"ן – מיין נוקבין.

See above, end ch. 10. as is known to the students of Kabbalah]. “The reward of a commandment is the commandment itself” means that from the reward we know its essence and rank. But we do not concern ourselves with esoteric matters, which are [related to] the great tzaddikim who are at the level of a “vehicle.” Our concern is with matters that are “revealed to us,” to which every man should aspire: to know with certainty the essence and quality of Divine service, with a conscious fear and love in one’s heart, stemming from understanding and knowledge of the greatness of the En Sof, blessed is He, which has its place in the ten sefirot of Beriah, and of service with the natural fear and love in the mind, [which is] in the ten sefirot of Yetzirah.

But a service without the inspiration of fear and love even in the mind, in a conscious state, that is to say, without arousing the natural love which is hidden in the heart and bringing it out of the concealment and recesses of the heart into the consciousness of the mind and the latency of the heart at any rate, but it remains hidden in the heart as at birth, as it was prior to the service—such a service remains below, in the world of “separateness,” called the externality of the worlds, having no power to rise and be absorbed in His Unity, blessed be He, in the ten holy sefirot, as is written in the Tikkunim that “Without fear and love it cannot soar upward, nor can it ascend and stand before G–d.”15 Tikkunei Zohar 10.

This is so even if the service is not strictly “not for its own sake,” that is, for some ulterior motive, Heaven forfend. It also applies to the service which is described as “Their fear toward Me has become [like] a trained human precept,”16 Isaiah 29:13. that is to say, it is a matter of habit to which the person has become accustomed since infancy, having been habituated and trained by his father and teacher to fear G–d and to serve Him, but he does not really do it for its own sake.

For [performance] truly for its own sake cannot be without arousing at least the innate fear and love and bringing them out from the concealment of the heart into the consciousness of the mind and the latency of the heart, at any rate. For just as a person does nothing for his companion in carrying out the latter’s will, unless he loves him or fears him, so one cannot truly act for His Name, blessed be He, just to carry out His will, without recalling and arousing any love or fear for Him in his mind and thought and the latency of his heart, at least.

Nor is love alone called “service” without at least the lower fear (yirah tataah), which is latent in every Jewish heart, as will be later amplified.17 Ch. 41. However, when a person is engaged [in service] truly not for its own sake, but for some personal motive, with a view to his own glorification, as, for example, in order to become a scholar and the like, then that motive, which originates in the kelipat nogah, clothes itself in his Torah, and the Torah is temporarily in a state of exile in the kelipah, until he repents, since “[Repentance] brings healing to the world.”18 Yoma 86b. For with his return to G–d, his Torah also returns with him.

Therefore the Rabbis of blessed memory declared, “A man should always occupy himself [with Torah and precepts, even if not for its own sake], for from motives of self-interest he will come [to study and observe] for its own sake”19 Pesachim 50b; Nazir 23b.—[this they state] with certainty, for ultimately he is bound to do repentance, whether in this incarnation or in another, “Because none is rejected by Him.”20 II Samuel 14:14.

On the other hand, if a person acts without any particular motivation, neither “for its own sake” nor for selfish reasons, then it is not contingent upon repentance, but as soon as he, once again, learns this subject “for its own sake,” then even that which he had learned without any particular intent conjoins and attaches itself with this study and ascends on high, since it had not yet been invested with any kelipot nogah.

Therefore “A man should always occupy himself….” The same is true of prayer without kavanah, as is discussed in the Zohar.21 Cf. Kuntres Acharon, Essay 3.

One must, however, constantly bear in mind the beginning of the service and its core and root. By this is meant that, although fear is the root of “turn away from evil” and love—of “do good,” nevertheless it is not sufficient to awaken the love alone to do good, but one must at least first arouse the innate fear which lies hidden in the heart of every Jew not to rebel against the Supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed is He, as has been stated above,1 Ch. 4; set also end of chs. 19, 38. so that this [fear] shall manifest itself in his heart or, at least, his mind.

This means that he should at least contemplate in his thought on the greatness of the En Sof, blessed is He, and on His Kingship, which extends to all worlds, both higher and lower, and that “He fills all worlds and encompasses all worlds,” as is written, “Do I not fill heaven and earth?”2 Jeremiah 23:24. Yet He leaves both the higher and lower [worlds] and uniquely bestows His Kingdom upon His people Israel, in general, and upon him in particular, as, indeed, a man is obliged to say, “For my sake was the world created.”3 Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:5.

And on his part, he accepts His Kingdom upon himself, that He be King over him, to serve Him and do His will in all kinds of servile work. “And, behold, G–d stands over him,”4 Allusion to Genesis 28:13. and “The whole world is full of His glory,”5 Isaiah 6:3. and He looks upon him and “Searches his reins and heart”6 Jeremiah 11:20. [to see] if he is serving Him as is fitting. Therefore he must serve in His presence with awe and fear like one standing before the king.

One must meditate profoundly and at length on this thought according to the capacity of apprehension of his brain and thought and according to the time available to him, before he occupies himself with Torah or a commandment, such as prior to putting on his tallit or tefillin. He should also reflect how the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, which encompasses all worlds and pervades all worlds, which is identical with the Supernal Will, is clothed in the letters and wisdom of the Torah and in the tzitzit and the tefillin, and through his study or donning these latter he draws over himself His light, blessed be He, that is, over “the portion of G–dliness from above” which is within his body,7 See above, beg. ch. 2. that it may be absorbed and nullified in His light, blessed be He.

Specifically, in the case of the tefillin, [he should intend] that the attributes of wisdom and understanding which are in his divine soul may be nullified and absorbed into the attributes of wisdom and understanding of the En Sof, blessed is He, which are clothed, in particular, in the chapters of קדש and והיה כי יביאך.8 Two of the four parchment scrolls contained in the tefillin are inscribed with the portions of Exodus 13:1-10 and Exodus 13:11-16; the other two are mentioned below.

That is to say that he should use his wisdom and understanding that are in his soul only for G–d alone. Similarly that the attribute of daat that is in his soul, which includes both chesed (kindness) and gevurah (sternness), i.e., fear and love, in his heart, be nullified and absorbed into the attribute of the Higher Knowledge, which contains chesed and gevurah, which is clothed in the chapters of שמע and והיה אם שמוע.9 Deuteronomy 6:4-8 and Deuteronomy 11:13-21.

See note above. This is what is written in the Shulchan Aruch:10 Orach Chaim 25:5. “That he make his heart and brain subservient to Him….” And while putting on the tzitzit he should bear in mind what is written in the Zohar, namely, to draw over himself His kingship, blessed be He, which is the kingship over all worlds…to bestow it particularly upon us through this commandment.

And this corresponds to the subject of “You shall surely set a king over yourself.”11 Deuteronomy 17:15. In such a case, even though after all this [contemplation] no fear or dread descends upon him in a manifest manner in his heart, nevertheless since he accepts upon himself the Kingdom of Heaven and draws fear of Him, blessed be He, over himself in his conscious thought and rational volition, and this submission is beyond doubt a sincere one—for it is the nature of all Jewish souls not to rebel against the Holy King, blessed be He—then the Torah he studies or the commandment he performs because of this submission and because of this inspired fear in his mind are termed “perfect service,” like all service [performed] by a slave to his master or to his king.

On the other hand, if one studies and performs the commandment with love alone, in order to cleave to Him through His Torah or commandments, it is not termed “service of a servant,” which is what the Torah demands, viz., “And you shall serve the L–rd your G–d…,”12 Exodus 23:25. and “Him shall you serve…,”13 Deuteronomy 13:5. as explained in the Zohar [Parashat Behar], “Just like the ox on which one first places a yoke in order to make it useful to the world…so, too, must a human being first of all submit to the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven…and if this submission is not found in him, holiness cannot rest on him….”14 Zohar III:108a, with slight changes. [See also Raaya Mehemna, ibid., 111b] that every man must be of two categories and levels, namely, the category of a servant and that of a son.

And although there is a son who is also a servant, it is not possible to attain to this degree without the prerequisite of yirah ilaah, as is known to the initiated. Furthermore, even in the case of him who in his mind and thought feels no fear or shame on account of the poor capacity of his soul, originating in the lower degrees of the ten sefirot of Asiyah, nevertheless since he is intent in his service to serve the King, it is a complete service, for fear and service are accounted as two commandments of the total of 613, and they do not deter each other.

But as a matter of fact, he also fulfills the commandment of fear in that he introduces the fear into his thought, for at this hour and moment, at any rate, there rests on him the fear of Heaven, at least like the fear in the presence of an ordinary mortal, even not a king, who is watching him, when he would restrain himself from doing anything unbecoming in the other’s eyes. This is termed fear, as Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai said to his disciples: “May it be G–d’s will that the fear of Heaven be upon you like the fear of a human being…for you know that when a person commits a sin, he says [to himself], ‘May no one see me….’”15 Berachot 28b. However, such fear is termed yirah tataah (“lower fear”) and yirat chet (“fear of sin”) which precedes wisdom,16 Avot 3:9. while the higher fear is the fear of shame…,17 See above, ch. 3.

“For there are two kinds of fear….”18 Tikkunei Zohar, Introduction 5b. Without any fear at all, however, it does not soar on high through love alone, just as a bird cannot fly with one wing, for fear and love are the two wings [as has been explained in the Tikkunim]. Similarly, fear alone is but one wing, and one’s service cannot ascend on high with it, although it is termed the “service of a servant,” for there must also be the filial quality, in order to awaken, at least, the natural love that is hidden in his heart, to become conscious of it in his mind at any rate, to be aware of his love of the One G–d in his thought and desire to cleave to Him, blessed be He.

This should be his kavanah when occupying himself with the Torah or the particular commandment, that his divine soul as well as his vivifying soul, together with their “garments,” shall cleave to Him, as has been explained above.19 Chs. 23, 35, 37. See also ch. 14. Yet in fact the Rabbis, of blessed memory, have said that a man should never separate himself from the community.20 Berachot 49b; here in a figurative sense.

Therefore he should intend to unite and attach to Him, blessed be He, the fount of his divine soul and the fount of the souls of all Israel, being the spirit of His mouth, blessed be He, called by the name Shechinah,21 See above, ch. 37. because it dwells and clothes itself in all worlds, animating them and giving them existence, and is that which imbues him with the power of speech to utter the words of Torah, or with the power of action to perform the particular commandment.

This union is attained through the drawing forth of the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, here below by means of occupation in the Torah and the commandments wherein [the light of the En Sof] is clothed. And he should be intent on drawing His light, blessed be He, over the fount of his soul and of the souls of all Israel to unite them. The meaning of this union will be discussed at length later on, note there.22 Ch. 46.

This is the meaning of “For the sake of the Union of the Holy One, blessed is He, with His Shechinah, in the name of all Israel.”23 Text of this declaration, introducing the Morning Prayer, is to be found in the Siddurim following the Lurianic custom. NOTE: Thereby the gevurot will, of themselves, also be sweetened by the chasadim through the coalescence of the middot and their union by means of the revelation of the will of the Supreme One, blessed is He, which is revealed on high through the impulsion from below, namely, its revelation here below in the occupation in the Torah and commandment which are His Will, blessed be He.

Thus it is written in Idra Rabbah and in Mishnat Chassidim, Tractate Arich Anpin, ch. 4, that the 613 commandments of the Torah are derived from the “whiteness” of arich anpin,24 See Addendum, Glossary. which is the Supernal Will, the source of the chasadim.* And although in order that this kavanah should be sincere in his heart, so that his heart should truly desire this yichud elyon (higher union), there needs to be in his heart the “great love” (אהבה רבה) for G–d alone, to do what is gratifying only to Him and not [even] for the purpose of satiating his own soul which thirsts for G–d, but he must be “Like a son who strives for the sake of his father and mother, whom he loves more than his own body and soul…” (as explained above25 Ch. 10. in the name of Raaya Mehemna), nevertheless every man should habituate himself to this kavanah.

For though it may not be in his heart in perfect and complete truth, so that he should long for it with all his heart, nevertheless his heart does genuinely desire it to some small extent, because of the natural love in every Jewish heart to do whatever is the will of the Supreme One, blessed is He, and this union is his true desire, namely the higher union in Atzilut, which is produced by the impulsion from below, through the union of the divine soul and its absorption into the light of G–d which is clothed in the Torah and commandments in which it occupies itself so that they become One in reality, as has been explained above.26 Chs. 5, 23.

For by reason of this are also united the source of Torah and commandments, i.e., the Holy One, blessed is He, with the source of his divine soul which is called Shechinah. These are the two categories of “filling all worlds” and of “encompassing all worlds,”27 The immanent and transcending Divine attributes are thus brought into unity through the agency of man. as is explained elsewhere at length.

But the union of the soul with, and its absorption into, the light of G–d, making them one, this is what every member of Israel desires in very truth, utterly, with all his heart and all his soul, because of the natural love that is hidden in every Jewish heart to cleave to G–d and not, under any circumstances, to be parted or sundered or separated, G–d forbid, from His Unity and Oneness, blessed be He, even at the cost of his very life.

And occupation in the Torah and commandments and prayer is also a matter of actual surrender of the soul, as when it leaves the body at the end of seventy years, for it no longer thinks of bodily needs, but its thought is united with, and clothed in, the letters of the Torah and prayer, which are the word and thought of the G–d, blessed be He, and they truly become one. This is [also] the whole occupation of the souls in the Garden of Eden, as is stated in the Gemara and in the Zohar, except that there they find delight in their apprehension of, and absorption into, the light of G–d.

This is why it was ordained to recite at the beginning of the Morning Blessings before the prayer, “My G–d, the soul which You have given me is pure…You have breathed it into me…and You will eventually take it from me….” Meaning: Inasmuch as You have breathed it into me and You will eventually take it from me, I therefore as of now hand it over and return it to You to unite it with Your Oneness, as is written, “To You, O L–rd, I lift my soul,”28 Psalms 25:1. that is, through the binding of my thought with Your thought, and of my speech with Your speech, by means of the letters of the Torah and of prayer; and, especially, when one speaks to G–d in the second person, as “Blessed are You,” and the like.

With this preparedness to surrender his soul to G–d, he should begin [to recite] the morning benedictions, “Blessed are You….” Similarly, with this preparedness he should also begin to learn a regular course of study immediately after prayer. So, also in the course of the day, such preparation is necessary at least before he begins to study, as is known that the essential preparation [of intent] “for its own sake,” where it is sine qua non, is before the beginning of study in the case of benonim (intermediates).

This is the same as in the case of [writing] a bill of divorce or a scroll of the Torah, requiring sine qua non “for their own sake,” and it is sufficient if at the commencement of writing he says, “I am now about to write for the sacred purpose of the scroll of the Law,”29 Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 274:1. or [in the case of a bill of divorce] “for him and for her….”30 Ibid., Even HaEzer 131:1, 8.

However, when he studies for a number of consecutive hours he should reflect on the preparedness referred to above, at least at hourly intervals. For in each hour there is a different flow from the higher worlds to animate those who dwell here below, while the flow of vitality of the previous hour returns to its source [in accordance with the esoteric principle of the “advance and retreat” in Sefer Yetzirah] together with all the Torah and good deeds of those who dwell here below [performed within that hour].

For in each hour of the twelve hours of the day, there rules one of the twelve combinations of of [the letters that form] the Ineffable Name of G–d, blessed is He, while the combinations of the name A-D-N-Y rule at night, as is known.31 Regarding the doctrine of tzerufei otiot (“letter combinations”) in the process of Creation, see Likkutei Amarim, Part II, ch. 1. Now, all his intent in the surrender of his soul to G–d through Torah and prayer, to elevate the spark of G–dliness therein back to its source, should be solely for the purpose of bringing gratification before Him, blessed be He, as, for example, the joy of a king when his only son returns to him, being released from captivity or imprisonment, as has been mentioned above.32 Ch. 31.

This kavanah is genuinely and truly sincere in every Jewish soul at every season and every hour, by virtue of the natural love which is a heritage bequeathed to us from our ancestors. Nevertheless, one needs to establish set periods for reflecting on the greatness of G–d in order to attain intelligent fear and love, and with all that, perhaps one may succeed, as has been stated previously.