The Alter Rebbe now answers the following implied question: If they indeed possess this love, why then are they wicked? אך מפני שהיא מוסתרת ונעלמה בבחינת גלות בגוף, הרי הקליפה יכולה לשלוט עליה However, because it is latent and concealed, in a state of exile in the body, it is possible for the kelipah to […]

Part (i) In order to “enable” the Ein Sof-light, by definition infinite, to create worlds, which are finite, an intermediary is needed — to bridge the chasm between infinity and finitude. This intermediary, Torah,1 is alluded to in our opening verse,2 “He enwraps [Himself with] light as [with] a garment….” Now any intermediary must itself […]

ולכאורה יש להפליא הרי נאמר: ולא קם עוד נביא בישראל כמשה Now this seems surprising. After all, it is said,10 “There rose no other prophet in Israel like Moshe.” ואיך השיג האריז״ל יותר ממנו, ודרש כמה דרושים בבחינת פנימיות, אפילו בספירות ומדרגות רבות שלמעלה מהחכמה וכתר דאצילות How then did R. Isaac Luria, of blessed […]

ואראה את ה׳ Likewise even with Isaiah, a lesser prophet than Moshe Rabbeinu, who was the greatest of prophets:15 “And I saw G‑d.” וירא אליו ה׳ Furthermore, even before G‑d gave the Torah we find Abraham’s prophecy referred to in these terms:16 “And G‑d appeared to him.” ואף שזהו דרך משל, ואינה ראיית עין בשר […]

והנה בחינת חכמת אלקות ברוך הוא, המלובשת בתרי״ג מצות התורה, נקראת בשם בחינת אחוריים דחכמה Now, the aspect of the blessed Divine Chochmah that is vested in the 613 commandments of the Torah, is referred to as the hindmost aspect of Chochmah. The Alter Rebbe had previously said that (a) Moses’ prophetic comprehension of the […]

Part (ii) The Epistle that follows, beginning “The Letters that are Revealed,” is one of the Epistles that was appended to the edition of Tanya published in Vilna in the year 5660 (1900), these additions being noted by R. Asher of Nikolayev in his introductory declaration there.55 This relevance of this Epistle to the previous […]

Epistle 20 The present Epistle deals with a subject that has not been touched upon in the Tanya until now. Though it is one of the most profound and abstract principles of Chassidut, it has a practical application. It will be recalled that the introduction to Epistle 18 pointed out the benefits of ascertaining the […]

איהו וחיוהי חד “He3 and His life-giving emanations (chayohi) are one; I.e., the “lights” (orot) of the Sefirot, which (like souls) animate the “vessels” (kelim) of the Sefirot, are not merely connected to G‑d: they are actually one with Him. איהו וגרמוהי חד בהון He and His causations (garmohi; lit., “organs”) are one in them,” […]

ויש מאין נקרא בריאה בלשון הקדש The coming about of substantiality ex nihilo (yesh me’ayin) is in the Holy Tongue called beriah (“creation”). As the Ramban points out in his commentary to the Torah,26 beriah is the only term in the Holy Tongue for absolutely innovative creation, creation ex nihilo. In any progression from ilah […]

והגם שהיש הנברא הוא גם כן כלא חשיב קמיה And although created substance is also as naught before Him, for everything, including the created yesh, is as naught before Him — דהיינו: שבטל במציאות לגבי הכח והאור השופע בו that is, it is essentially non-existent (Insertion by the Rebbe: “not only in relation to G‑d’s […]