וזה שנאמר: כי חלק ה׳ עמו, יעקב חבל נחלתו
This, then, is the meaning of the verse,2 “For [G‑d’s] people is a part of G‑d; Jacob is the rope of His inheritance.”
This verse implies that within the soul there are to be found two levels: the internal aspect of the soul is “part of G‑d”; the external aspect of the soul is the “rope of His inheritance.”
פירוש: כמו חבל, על דרך משל, שראשו אחד קשור למעלה וקצהו למטה
The analogy is of a rope, whose upper end is bound above and the lower end below; so, too, the “upper end” of the soul is “bound Above” and its “lower end” is enclothed within the body.
כי הנה פשט הכתוב מה שנאמר: ויפח, הוא להורות לנו, כמו שעל דרך משל כשהאדם נופח לאיזה מקום
The simple meaning3 of the words “He blew” stated in reference to the soul’s vestiture within the body is to instruct us that just as, for example, if one blows in some direction,
אם יש איזה דבר חוצץ ומפסיק בינתיים, אין הבל הנופח עולה ומגיע כלל לאותו מקום
and there is any separation or obstruction there, then the exhaled breath will not reach that place at all,4
ככה ממש, אם יש דבר חוצץ ומפסיק בין גוף האדם לבחינת הבל העליון
— precisely this is the case if any obstruction separates man’s body from the “breath” of the Supreme One, concerning which Scripture states, “He blew.”
אך באמת אין שום דבר גשמי ורוחני חוצץ לפניו יתברך
The truth is, though, that nothing material or spiritual is a barrier before Him,
כי הלא את השמים ואת הארץ אני מלא
for, as the verse states,5 “Do I not fill heaven and earth?”
ומלא כל הארץ כבודו
Furthermore, Scripture states,6 “All the world is full of His glory.”
ולית אתר פנוי מיניה
Also,7 “There is no place devoid of Him,”
בשמים ממעל ועל הארץ מתחת, אין עוד
[and]8 “In the heavens above and on the earth below there is none else,”
ואיהו ממלא כל עלמין וכו׳
[and]9 “He fills all worlds….”
Since G‑d is everywhere and within everything, it is thus seemingly impossible for anything to act as a barrier before Him.
אלא כמו שכתוב בישעיהו: כי אם עונותיכם היו מבדילים ביניכם לבין אלקיכם
But as Isaiah declares,10 “Only your sins separate you from your G‑d.”
והטעם, לפי שהם נגד רצון העליון ברוך הוא, המחיה את הכל
The reason is that sins oppose the Will of the Supreme One, Who gives life to all,
כמו שכתוב: כל אשר חפץ ה׳ עשה בשמים ובארץ
as in the verse,11 “Whatever G‑d wills He has done in heaven and earth.”
וכמו שנאמר לעיל, שהוא מקור השפעת שם הוי׳, ונרמז בקוצו של יו״ד
(12It has been noted above, that [the Supreme Will] is the source of the sustenance issuing from the Tetragrammaton, and is represented in the “thorn” atop the letter yud.)
Inasmuch as the Tetragrammaton sustains all of creation, it follows that sins, which act in opposition to it, also oppose and conceal the Divine life-force. Sins are thus capable of preventing the Divine “breath” (concerning which it is written “He blew”) from reaching man.
וזהו ענין הכרת
This, then, is the meaning of excision:
שנכרת ונפסק חבל ההמשכה משם הוי׳ ברוך הוא, שנמשכה מה׳ תתאה כנ״ל
the “rope” drawn from the final hei in the Four-Letter Name of G‑d is severed, cut off.
As a result, the soul clothed within the body is unable to receive vitality from its source in that Divine Name. During those times when the Jewish people received their vitality only from the “side” of holiness (as for example during the period of the Temple, as the Alter Rebbe will say in the next chapter), the lack of this life-force led to physical death.
וכמו שכתוב בפרשת אמור: ונכרתה הנפש ההיא מלפני, אני ה׳
As the verse says in Parshat Emor:13 “That soul shall be cut off from before My face; I am G‑d.”
The verse here uses the Tetragrammaton in referring to G‑d. Excision thus involves being sundered from the internal aspect of G‑dliness. It is this that the Alter Rebbe now goes on to say.
מלפני דייקא
The expression chosen is “from before My face”; i.e., the soul is excised from the innermost aspect of G‑dliness, the Tetragrammaton.
ובשאר עבירות שאין בהן כרת
Other sins that do not incur excision
על כל פנים הן פוגמין את הנפש כנודע, ופגם הוא מלשון פגימת הסכין
do cause at least a defect in the soul, in the sense of the defect or nick that invalidates a blade for ritual slaughter.
As with the defective blade, a sin causes something to be lacking in the rope-like flow of life-force from the Tetragrammaton downward to the soul, as is now explained.
והוא על דרך משל מחבל עב, שזור מתרי״ג חבלים דקים
This is analogous to a thick rope woven of 613 thin strands.
ככה חבל ההמשכה הנ״ל כלול מתרי״ג מצות
So, too, the “rope” of the downward flow mentioned above is comprised of the 613 mitzvot,14 each mitzvah being an individual thin strand.
וכשעובר ח״ו על אחת מהנה, נפסק חבל הדק וכו׳
When one violates one of them, G‑d forbid, a thin strand consisting of that particular commandment is severed….
Should an individual violate many commandments, G‑d forbid, then many strands are severed and the “rope” is grievously weakened. Sins punishable by excision (or death by divine agency) cause the entire “rope” to be severed, heaven forfend.
