From the end of Ch. 30 up to this point, the Alter Rebbe discussed various forms of joy which one ought to strive to attain when saddened over his spiritual shortcomings: the joy of one’s soul on its being released from exile within one’s body and animal soul; the joy of being close to G‑d through awareness of His unity; the joy occasioned by contemplating G‑d’s joy in the crushing of the sitra achra; and so on. The Alter Rebbe now goes on to state that all these forms of joy do not conflict with the bitter remorse and sadness that one experiences over one’s spiritual failings. For, although joy and sadness are opposites, they can nonetheless coexist when each has its own, distinct cause.
והנה בכל פרטי מיני שמחות הנפש הנ״ל, אין מהן מניעה להיות נבזה בעיניו נמאס ולב נשבר ורוח נמוכה בשעת השמחה ממש
All the specific types of joy enumerated above do not preclude one from being shamed and despised in his own eyes, or from having a broken heart and a humble spirit, even at the very time of his joy.
כי היותו נבזה בעיניו וכו׳, הוא מצד הגוף ונפש הבהמית
For the shame and so on is prompted by [one’s awareness of the lowliness of] his body and animal soul,
והיותו בשמחה הוא מצד נפש האלקית וניצוץ אלקות המלובש בה להחיותה, כנ״ל בפרק ל״א
while his joy is felt on account of his divine soul, and the animating spark of G‑dliness clothed within it, as mentioned above (in ch. 31).
וכהאי גוונא איתא בזהר: בכיה תקיעא בלבאי מסטרא דא, וחדוה תקיעא בלבאי מסטרא דא
We find a similar statement in the Zohar:14 “Weeping is lodged in one side of my heart, and joy is lodged in the other.”
Rabbi Elazar exclaimed these words upon hearing from his father, Rabbi Shimon, an esoteric exposition on the destruction of the Temple. On the one hand, he now felt even more keenly the enormity of the tragedy; on the other hand he was filled with joy over the secrets of Torah being revealed to him.
We thus see from the Zohar that two opposite emotions, stemming from separate causes, can exist in one’s heart side by side.
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Footnotes
1.See above, ch. 23.
2.Cf. Zohar III, 232a; commentary of Rabbi David Luria on Shemot Rabbah, end of ch. 3.
3.Shabbat 88b.
4.See also below, end of ch. 36.
5.Ch. 53.
6.Menachot 99b.
7.Yoma 12a.
8.Iyov 17:9.
9.Kiddushin 40a.
10.This interpretation is based on a talk delivered by the Rebbe on Purim 5723 (1963). The Rebbe added that this interpretation sheds light on an unusual technical point in this chapter. In the original text, one finds a paragraph marking, (relatively infrequent in the Tanya, and indicative of a new train of thought), appearing just before the words (“If G‑d grants him…”). It would seem, however, that these words merely continue the point made earlier: one ought to rejoice in the knowledge that he becomes a sanctuary for G‑dliness during the time he devotes each day to Torah study, and should resolve to increase that time if the opportunity arises. Why the break between the two sentences?
In light of the above, that one’s resolve to increase the extent of his Torah study as the time becomes available, confers upon him the status of “sanctuary” for all the time he *would* devote to Torah study (which means in fact the entire day), this may be explained as follows:
After discussing how one can become a sanctuary for G‑dliness in the time he allocates for Torah study, the Alter Rebbe goes on to say that one can be a sanctuary for G‑d *the entire day* -by giving charity from his earnings. Since the effect of one’s resolve to increase his study of Torah is akin to the effect of charity, the Alter Rebbe inserts the paragraph marking before this section, indicating that it is more closely related to the subject which follows it – charity, than to the one that precedes it -actual Torah study during fixed times of the day.
11.Shabbat 133b.
12.Introduction, 17a.
13. Sukkah 49b.
14.II, 255a; III, 75a.
