ואף מצות שהן ברוחניות האדם, כמו יראה ואהבה

Even commandments that involve a man’s spirit, such as awe and love [of G‑d],

אף על פי כן הן בבחינת גבול ומדה, ולא בבחינת אין סוף כלל

are also of limited measure,15 and by no means of infinite extent.

כי אהבה רבה לה׳, בלי קץ וגבול ומדה, אין האדם יכול לסובלה בלבו ולהיות קיים בגופו אפילו רגע

For not even for a moment could man sustain in his heart so intense a love of G‑d as is without end and limitation, and still remain in existence in his body.

Indeed, so intense a love would surely cause the soul to take flight.

וכמאמר רז״ל, שבשעת מתן תורה, שהיתה התגלות אלקותו יתברך ואור אין סוף ברוך הוא בבחינת דיבור והתגלות, פרחה נשמתן כו׳

So it was taught by our Sages, of blessed memory,16 that at the time of the Giving of the Torah, when G‑d’s Divinity, and the [infinite] Ein Sof-light, were manifested [to the Jews at Sinai] at the [direct] level of revealed speech, “their souls took flight” from their bodies.

At that time G‑d restored their souls with the dew that He will use to revive the dead in the time to come. We see, however, that the illumination in itself was so intense that their souls could not remain within their bodies for even one moment.

Since the love presently experienced by a soul within a body does not cause it to flee, it follows that this love is inherently limited. This also applies to the awe and love which are experienced as a result of the Divinity that is revealed in the mitzvot, as mentioned earlier. This is the case because the flow of G‑dliness which descends through the Torah and its finite commandments is restrained by the attribute of Gevurah.

We can now understand the two stages implied in the above-quoted verse: Initially, the Torah indeed proceeds “from His right Hand,” from the boundless kindness of the attribute of Chesed — but it is then communicated to us “from the Mouth of the Gevurah” as “a Torah of fire,” as a law which is delimited and restricted through the Divine attribute of Gevurah, so that it will be able to find expression in the finitude of the mitzvot.

והנה, לפי שהמצות ניתנו לנו על ידי התלבשות במדת גבורה וצמצום ההארה כו׳

Now, because the commandments were given to us by being vested in the attribute of Gevurah and by the contraction of the [Divine] radiation…,

לכן רוב המצות יש להן שיעור מצומצם

most commandments have a delimited measure.17

כמו אורך הציצית: י״ב גודלין

For instance, the length of the tzitzit must be twelve times the width of the thumb;18

והתפילין: אצבעים על אצבעים, ומרובעות דוקא

the tefillin — two fingerbreadths by two fingerbreadths, according to the opinion of the Geonim quoted in the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch,19 and necessarily square;20

והלולב: ד׳ טפחים, והסוכה: ז׳ טפחים

the lulav — four handbreadths;21 the sukkah — seven handbreadths;22

והשופר: טפח, והמקוה: מ׳ סאה

the shofar — one handbreadth;23 and the mikveh — forty se’ahs.24

וכן בקרבנות, יש להן שיעור מצומצם לזמן

The sacrifices, too, have a delimited measure as regards age,

כמו כבשים בני שנה, ואילים בני שתים, ופרים כו׳

as, for instance, “sheep of one year old,”25 and “rams of two years old,”26 and “oxen….”27

וכן במעשה הצדקה וגמילות חסדים בממונו

The same applies to the act of charity and to the practice of kindness with one’s money;

אף שהיא מהעמודים שהעולם עומד עליהם

even though that is one of the pillars upon which the world stands,28

וכדכתיב: עולם חסד יבנה

as it is written:29 “The world is built by Chesed,”

אפילו הכי, יש לה שיעור קצוב: חומש למצוה מן המובחר

nevertheless, it has a set measure of preferably one fifth [of one’s income],30 if one desires to perform the commandment in the best possible manner,

ומעשר למדה בינונית כו׳

and of one tenth for an average measure31….

וזה נקרא חסד עולם

This is what is called “the Chesed of the world.”

I.e., the Supernal degree of Chesed that is drawn down through this manner of measured charity is termed Chesed olam, “the Chesed of the world.”

פירוש: חסד אל כל היום, המתלבש בעולמות עליונים ותחתונים

This means32 “the Chesed of G‑d that endures throughout the day,” which is vested in the higher and lower worlds

על ידי אתערותא דלתתא

through the arousal from below that is generated by man’s service,

היא מצות הצדקה וחסד שעושים בני אדם זה עם זה

i.e., by the precepts of charity and kindness that people practice for each other.

Kindness between man and his fellow draws down Divine kindness into the higher and lower worlds.

ולפי שהעולם הוא בבחינת גבול ומדה

But because the world is finite and measured —

מהארץ עד לרקיע ת״ק שנה, וכן מרקיע לרקיע כו׳

“From the earth to the heavens there is a distance of 500 years and likewise from one heaven to another [there is a distance of 500 years],”33

ושית אלפי שני הוי עלמא כו׳

and “Six thousand years shall the world exist…”34 —

לכן ניתן שיעור ומדה גם כן למצות הצדקה והחסד שבתורה

the Torah’s commandment of charity and kindness is also given a limit and measure,

כמו לשאר מצות התורה

as are the other commandments of the Torah.

אך היינו דוקא לשומר התורה, ולא סר ממנה ימין ושמאל, אפילו כמלא נימא

However, this [limitation on charity] applies only to one who observes the Torah and does not depart from it to the right or left, even as much as a hair’s-breadth.

אבל מי שהעביר עליו הדרך, חס ושלום

But as to him who has strayed from the path, Heaven forfend,

מאחר שהעוה דרכו, לתת מגרעות בקדש העליון

inasmuch as he has distorted his course, thus diminishing the Supreme Holiness,

A Jew draws down sanctity from the Supreme Holiness through his performance of the commandments; as we say in the blessings recited before their performance, “…Who has sanctified us with His commandments.” I.e., performing mitzvot elicits a downflow of Supreme Holiness, whereas non-performance depletes it.

שגרע ערכו בחינת המשכתו מה שהיה יכול להמשיך מבחינת אלקותו, והארת האור מאור אין סוף ברוך הוא, אילו היה שומר התורה ומקיימה כהלכתה

that is, he has diminished its value as regards the efflux he could have elicited from G‑d’s Divinity and the radiation [he could have elicited] from the [infinite] Ein Sof-light, had he observed the Torah and fulfilled it as required, —

הרי מעוות זה לא יוכל לתקן כי אם בהמשכת האור העליון שלמעלה מהעולמות, ואינו מתלבש בהן

such distortion cannot be rectified except by an efflux of the Supreme light that transcends the worlds, without being vested in them.

הנקרא חסד עילאה ורב חסד

This is what is called Chesed ilaah (“superior kindness”) and rav Chesed (“abundant kindness”),