ובפרט בחוץ לארץ, שאויר ארץ העמים טמא, ומלא קליפות וסטרא אחרא
This is especially so in the diaspora, where the atmosphere is unclean and is filled with kelipot and sitra achra.
ואין שמחה לפניו יתברך כאורה ושמחה ביתרון האור הבא מן החשך דייקא
There is no greater joy for G‑d than the light and joy caused by transforming darkness into light, when the light has the superior quality acquired by coming out of the very darkness.
Thus, when a Jew in the diaspora is pervaded with an awareness of G‑d’s unity, His joy is all the greater. It follows too that the more lowly is one’s spiritual position, the greater the Divine joy when he acquires an awareness of G‑d’s unity.
We have seen so far, then, that one’s faith in G‑d’s unity leads him to a twofold joy: joy in his closeness to G‑d, and joy in the knowledge that his faith brings joy to G‑d.
וזהו שכתוב: ישמח ישראל בעושיו
This is the meaning of the verse,11 “Let Israel rejoice in its Maker” (note the expression: “Maker”, not “Creator” or the like):
פירוש: שכל מי שהוא מזרע ישראל יש לו לשמוח בשמחת ה׳ אשר שש ושמח בדירתו בתחתונים, שהם בחינת עשיה גשמיית ממש
Whoever is of the seed of Israel ought to rejoice in the joy of G‑d, Who is happy and joyous with His abode amongst the creatures of the lower spheres, who are on the level of actual physical Asiyah.
The word translated “in its Maker” (בעושיו) shares a common root with עשיה, the lowest level of creation. With this abode in particular ought Israel rejoice, knowing that G‑d’s joy is especially great when the creations in Asiyah, the very lowest world, become an abode for Him.
וזה שכתוב: בעושיו, לשון רבים
For this reason the plural form —בעשיו — is used.
The literal meaning of the verse is: “Let Israel rejoice in its Makers.” Why the use of a plural expression in reference to G‑d
The Alter Rebbe explains that since G‑d is spoken of here as the “Maker” of the world of Asiyah, the domain of kelipot whose nature is arrogance and therefore separation and self-centeredness, the Divine creative power is referred to in the plural — for it is fragmented, so to speak. There is a multitude of created beings, each separate from the other, each animated by the Divine creative power; hence, a plurality of “Makers”, so to speak.
But this fault becomes a cause for still greater Divine joy, when these separate beings at the level of Asiyah unite in G‑d’s unity. This unification of creation is another achievement of man’s faith in G‑d’s unity, for this faith subdues the sitra achra which causes disunity.
As stated above, it is the earlier darkness which enhances the light that replaces it. Thus, the greater the darkness, the more superior the subsequent light.
In the Alter Rebbe’s words:
שהוא עולם הזה הגשמי, המלא קליפות וסטרא אחרא, שנקרא רשות הרבים וטורי דפרודא
This plural expression — “Makers” — refers to our physical world that is filled with kelipot and sitra achra, which are called “a public domain,” i.e., a domain of multiplicity, and “mountains of separation,” in that they are arrogant and separate from one another.
ואתהפכן לנהורא, ונעשים רשות היחיד ליחודו יתברך, באמונה זו
G‑d’s joy in the fusion of this plurality is aroused when through this faith in G‑d’s unity they (the kelipot) are transformed into light, and they become a “private domain”— i.e., a unified realm — for G‑d’s unity.
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Footnotes
1.This interpretation follows Kitzur Tanya by Rabbi M.M. Schneerson of Lubavitch (author of Tzemach Tzedek).
2.Chullin 60b; cf. Zohar I, 20a.
3.The Alter Rebbe introduced the subject of G‑d’s unity as an idea that can and should be apprehended intellectually (“Let him think deeply… in his intellect and understanding… G‑d’s true unity…”). Yet here he refers to it as an article of faith. Commenting on this inconsistency, the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, proposes several suggestions: (1) The analogies of speech or of sunlight are valid only after one accepts, as a matter of faith, the verse, “By the word of G‑d the heavens were made.” (2) Furthermore, although the Alter Rebbe provides here the means of understanding the concept intellectually, in fact recognition of G‑d as the only existing being is a matter of implicit, inherent faith in every Jew, as the Alter Rebbe points out further (e.g., mid. ch. 42). (3) It may also be suggested that the matter of G‑d’s unity indeed transcends intellect, and thus belongs to the realm of faith. One cannot actually understand how G‑d is a unity, and unique. The intellectual approach provided, serves only to lead one to a rational conclusion that he is indeed a unity, and unique.
4.Ch. 36.
5.Cf. Yirmeyahu 30:21.
6.Makkot 24a.
7.Chavakuk 2:4.
8.Iyov 28:3.
9.Yeshayahu 40:5.
10.End of ch. 36.
11.Tehillim 149:2.
