אך שלמדרגה זו, צריך התעוררות רבה ועצומה
However, for such a level one needs a great and intense arousal.
ועצה היעוצה להתעוררות זו, היא מענין זה עצמו
And the counsel suggested to attain such an arousal, derives from this very subject.
כשישים אל לבו ויתבונן ענין ירידת השכינה כביכול, ותרד פלאים להתלבש ניצוץ מהארתה
One should consider and meditate on the concept of the descent of the Shechinah, as it were — how56 “it descended in wondrous fashion,” to have a spark of its radiance invested [within the kelipot].
אשר היא בבחינת גלות בתוך הקליפות, דרך כלל, להחיותם
It is generally in a state of exile among the kelipot, in order to animate them.
ועתה הפעם, ניצוץ הארתה מתלבש בבחינת גלות דרך פרט
And now, a spark of its radiation vests itself in a particular state of exile,
בדבור נכרי זה, המדבר דברים המבלבלים עבודת ה׳, היא כוונת התפלה
in the speech of this gentile who utters words that disturb one’s divine service, i.e., one’s devout concentration during prayer.
וכמו שכתוב לעיל, כי זה לעומת זה וכו׳
And, as explained above,57 “[G‑d created] this opposite that,” each element of the holy “side” of the universe having its unholy counterpart in the “other side,” the sitra achra.
ודבור העליון מתלבש בדבור התחתון וכו׳
Thus the Supernal speech vests itself in the nether speech, and so on.
I.e., Supernal speech vests itself in a lower degree of speech, ultimately descending through a self-screening chain of descent until it provides life-force even for the kelipot.
וזהו ממש: אשר שלט האדם באדם, לרע לו
This indeed is the meaning of the verse,58 “That man rules over man, to his detriment,” which was explained above in terms of the temporary dominion of the “evil man” (of kelipah) over the “sacred man” (the holy “side” of the universe).
When this gentile utilizes the spark which is exiled within himself to hinder a Jew who is trying to pray, the kelipot are manifestly ruling over the holy “side” of the universe. The forces of holiness, however, can thereby be invigorated and vitalized, when the worshiper reacts by upgrading his concentration.
This he will be prompted to do when he meditates on the above-described descent of the Shechinah into exile. And from this exile he will seek to liberate it.
In the words of the Alter Rebbe:
דהיינו, שעל ידי זה מתעורר האדם להתפלל יותר בכוונה, מעומקא דלבא, עד שלא ישמע דיבוריו
That is to say, that through this [meditation], the individual is aroused to pray with greater devotion, from the depth of his heart, until he will not hear [the gentile’s] words.
The above explains the statement of the Baal Shem Tov in Tzavaat HaRivash, that the Shechinah vests itself in this gentile. For everything in this world houses a spark of holiness, and within this gentile the spark is present in a state of exile, for the reason explained above.
* * *
ומה שכתב המלקט: שרתה
As for the compiler [of Tzavaat HaRivash] using the word shartah, meaning that the Shechinah “dwelt” or “abided” within this gentile,
לא ידע לכוין הלשון בדקדוק
he was unable to focus on the precise term.
כי הבעל שם טוב, זכרונו לברכה, היה אומר דברי תורה בלשון אשכנז, ולא בלשון הקודש
For the Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, used to deliver Torah teachings in Yiddish, not in the Holy Tongue.
The compiler, translating these discourses into Hebrew, transmitted their content, not their precise terminology. And in this case he erred.
ורצה לומר: נתלבשה
He really meant to say, nitlabshah (“became vested”), for shartah (“dwelt” or “abided”) implies that the Shechinah was revealed,
והיינו, בבחינת גלות
whereas [nitlabshah] means [that the Shechinah was vested] in a state of exile.
וזהו: ובפרט אם הוא נכרי
This [distinction] explains [the emphasis in Tzavaat HaRivash], “And especially if he is a gentile…,”
Were we to be speaking of a manifest indwelling of the Shechinah, how could it be said that the Divine Presence resides to a greater extent within this gentile who is disturbing a Jew at prayer, than within the worshiper? Rather, we are speaking of a self-obscuring investiture of the Shechinah within the gentile,
שאז היא בחינת גלות ביותר
for then it is so much more in exile.
ואין לתמוה אם ניצוץ מהארת שכינה, נקרא בשם שכינה
There is no need to wonder at a spark of the radiance of the Shechinah being referred to (in Tzavaat HaRivash) as Shechinah.
דהא אשכחן שאפילו מלאך נברא נקרא בשם ה׳, בפרשת וירא, לפירוש הרמב״ן
For we find that even a created angel, which is not a spark of the Shechinah, is referred to by G‑d’s Name in Parshat VaYeira, in the verse,59 “And he said, ‘Lord, do not pass by your servant,” according to the commentary of R. Moses Nachmanides (the Ramban);
וכמו שכתוב: ותקרא שם ה׳ הדובר אליה וכו׳, וכהאי גוונא טובא
and as it is likewise written,60 “And [Hagar] called the name of G‑d Who spoke to her…,” where we are explicitly told that we are speaking of an angel; and many more [passages] like this.
* * *
וכמדומה לי שתפיסתם אינה מצד דקדוק הלשון
It would seem to me, says the Alter Rebbe, alluding to the opponents of Chassidism who had taken issue with the above-discussed passage from Tzavaat HaRivash, that their seizing [upon this passage] was not prompted by the particular term used (viz., “dwelling”),
אלא מעיקר ענין התלבשות השכינה בקליפות
but by the very notion that the Shechinah can be invested in the kelipot.
שאין להם אמונה במה שכתב האריז״ל בספר הגלגולים
For they do not believe what R. Isaac Luria, of blessed memory, wrote concerning this in Sefer HaGilgulim (ch. 2).
שאם ירצו לחלק בין קליפות הרוחניים, לעובדי גילולים גשמיים
Should they seek to distinguish between the spiritual kelipot and physical idolaters, contending that the AriZal is speaking only of the spiritual kelipot, as distinct from a corporeal heathen, —
אין לך גשמי כעפר הארץ
there is nothing more physical than the dust of the earth;
ואף על פי כן, מתלבשת בו מלכות דמלכות דעשיה, ובתוכה מלכות דיצירה כו׳, וכנ״ל
nevertheless, as is stated in the Kabbalah, [the Sefirah of] Malchut of Malchut of [the World of] Asiyah vests itself in it, and within that in turn is vested [the Sefirah of] Malchut of [the World of] Yetzirah, and so on, with [the Sefirah of] Malchut of [the World of] Beriah and [the Sefirah of] Malchut of [the World of] Atzilut, as mentioned above.
ואם משום טומאת נפשות הנכרי
And should it be [difficult for them to conceive that the Shechinah vests itself in the gentile] because of the impurity of the souls of the gentile, —
הרי נפשותיהם מזיווג זעיר אנפין ונוקבא דקליפות הרוחניים, כמו שכתוב בכתבי האריז״ל
the souls [of the gentiles] derive from the union of the masculine and feminine elements (zivug zu’n, the union of Z’eir Anpin and Malchut) of the spiritual kelipot, as stated in the writings of R. Isaac Luria, of blessed memory.
נמצא שהרוחניים מקור טומאתם
Thus, the sources of their impurity are the spiritual kelipot, in which all agree that the Shechinah can vest itself. Why not, then, in the souls of the gentiles?
אך באמת צריך ביאור רחב, איך הוא התלבשות זו
But in truth, the manner of this investiture — both in the spiritual and in the physical realm — requires extensive elucidation.
אבל לא עלינו תלונתם, כי על כתבי האריז״ל
In fact their complaint should not be addressed to us, the revealers of Chassidism — the Baal Shem Tov, the Maggid of Mezritch and the Alter Rebbe himself, but to the writings of R. Isaac Luria, of blessed memory, in which it is stated that the Shechinah does indeed vest itself within kelipot.
ואל יחשדני שומע שאני בעיני שהבנתי דברי האריז״ל, להפשיטן מגשמיותן
And let no listener suspect that I imagine that I have understood the words of R. Isaac Luria, of blessed memory, divesting them from their physical connotation,
כי לא באתי רק לפרש דברי הבעל שם טוב ז״ל ותלמידיו, על פי קבלת האריז״ל
for I have set out only to explain the words of the Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, and of his disciples, according to the Kabbalah of R. Isaac Luria, of blessed memory.
בשגם שענין זה
This is especially so, since this concept, G‑d’s presence in even the humblest of places,
אינו מחכמת הקבלה ומהנסתרות לה׳ אלקינו
is not a teaching of the Kabbalah, nor is it one of61 “the secrets [that] are unto the L‑rd our G‑d,”
כי אם מהנגלות לנו ולבנינו, להאמין אמונה שלימה במקרא מלא שדבר הכתוב: הלא את השמים ואת הארץ אני מלא, נאם ה׳
but rather one of62 “the things revealed unto us and unto our children” — to believe in perfect faith in the explicit statement of Scripture,63 “‘Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?’ says G‑d.”
שאין מקרא יוצא מידי פשוטו
And64 “Scripture does not depart from its plain meaning”: G‑d does indeed fill all space, both material and spiritual.
וגם היא אמונה פשוטה בסתם כללות ישראל, ומסורה בידם מאבותיהם הקדושים, שהלכו בתמימות עם ה׳
Moreover, it is a simple article of faith among Jews in general, handed down to them by their saintly ancestors, who walked artlessly with G‑d,
בלי לחקור בשכל אנושי ענין האלקות, אשר הוא למעלה מהשכל עד אין קץ, לידע איך הוא מלא כל הארץ
without searching the concept of Divinity by means of mortal intellect; for it is infinitely beyond the intellect to know (intellectually) how He fills the world.
רק שחדשים מקרוב באו, לחקור בחקירה זו
But new ones have recently come to rationally examine this question,
ואי אפשר לקרב להם אל השכל, אלא דוקא על פי הקדמות לקוחות מכתבי האריז״ל, מופשטות מגשמיותן
and it is impossible to bring it within reach of their reason except by means of premises borrowed from the writings of R. Isaac Luria, of blessed memory, divested from their physical connotation,
וכפי ששמעתי מרבותי, נשמותיהם עדן
and according to what I heard from my masters,the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezritch, may their souls rest in Eden.
אך אי אפשר לבאר זה היטב במכתב, כי אם מפה לאזן שומעת, ליחידי סגולה ולשרידים אשר ה׳ קורא
However, it is impossible to explain this clearly in writing, only orally to an ear that hears [and understands], to uniquely qualified individuals, and to65 “the remnants whom G‑d calls,”
כדכתיב: ומבקשי ה׳ יבינו כל
as it is written,66 “And they who seek G‑d will understand all.”
ומכלל הן, אתה שומע כו׳
And67 “from the affirmative you may infer [the negative]” — that those who do not seek G‑d are incapable of perceiving the knowledge of Him as revealed in the inner dimension of the Torah, and particularly, in a truly comprehensible manner, in the teachings of Chassidism.
* * *
הנה אתם ראיתם פירוש מאמר אחד מספרים הידועים
You have now seen, writes the Alter Rebbe to the opponents of Chassidism, an explanation of a single passage from [its] well-known books,
לדוגמא ולאות כי גם כל המאמרים התמוהים, יש להם פירוש וביאור היטב ליודעי חכמה נסתרה
as a sample and token that likewise all the problematic passages about which objections have been raised have an explanation and meaningfulness for those familiar with the “Hidden Wisdom” (i.e., the Kabbalah).
אך לא יקוו מעלתם אלי לבאר להם הכל במכתב, כי היא מלאכה כבדה ומרובה, ואי אפשר בשום אופן
However, let my esteemed [readers] not hope that I will explain everything in writing, for that is a hard and extensive labor, and indeed, absolutely impossible.
רק אם תרצו, שלחו מכם אחד ומיוחד שבעדה
But if you so desire, send [here] from amongst you an outstandingly appropriate individual from your community,68
ופנים אל פנים אדבר בו, אם ירצה ה׳
and, G‑d willing, I will talk to him face to face.
וה׳ יהיה עם פי בהטיפי, ויהיו לרצון אמרי פי
And may G‑d be with my mouth as I speak, and69 “may the words of my mouth find favor.”
Footnotes
1.HaTamim, Issue II, p. 56.
2.“Words of understanding” (Mishlei 1:2) has the same meaning as בינה in Shabbat 104a, which Rashi explains to mean “Torah”.
3.The abbreviation is an acronym of the Heb. for “Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem.”
4.In the standard editions of Tanya the word כלל (“at all”) does not appear. It has been added in accordance with an emendation of the Tzemach Tzedek, quoted in Luach HaTikkun at the end of the Hebrew editions of Tanya.
5.Shmot 24:6.
6.Taanit 6b.
7.Zohar I, 27b; III, 179a; Rambam, Hilchot De’ot 2:3 in the name of the “earliest sages” (חכמים הראשונים); et al.
8.For an exposition of why the Alter Rebbe specifically uses the phrase “those who ‘know understanding,’” see Likkutei Levi Yitzchak on this passage.
9.Zohar III, 36b; cf. Taanit 18b.
10.Shmot 21:13.
11.I Shmuel 24:14.
12.II Shmuel 16:10.
13.Tehillim 33:6.
14.Parentheses are in the original.
15.Kohelet 8:4.
16.Tehillim 119:89.
17.Bereishit 1:6.
18.(18) Shmot 14:21.
19.׳Cf. Kuzari III, 11.
20.The Heb. זה has been emended to זו, according to the Table of Corrections (Luach HaTikkun) compiled by the Rebbe.
21.Note of the Rebbe: “It seems that the above comment understands eretz to mean ‘earth’ [in the sense of soil or dust], (as in the verse, ‘Let the soil bring forth…’). To me, however, it appears that eretz here is intended as a contrast to ‘heavens’ in the above-quoted phrase, ‘[Your word, O G‑d, stands firm in the] heavens,’ and likewise in contrast to ‘the upper and lower worlds’ [in the corresponding passage] (in ch. 1 of Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah; see there). [The Alter Rebbe’s text should thus be translated, ‘And even as regards this physical world….’] The distinction drawn in the above comment between [those categories of created beings which have] the power of growth [and those which have not], etc., is thus not necessary. Moreover, [the Alter Rebbe] immediately goes on to speak explicitly of ‘inorganic matter such as stones and dust….’”
22.Etz Chayim, Shaar 39, ch. 3; see also Shaar 50.
23.The two Heb. words for “Hidden Wisdom” (חכמה נסתרה) are commonly abbreviated to their initials, and pronounced as chen.
24.Kohelet 8:4.
25.Bereishit 2:7.
26.Parentheses are in the original text.
27.Bereishit Rabbah, beginning of sec. 46; et al.
28.Cf. Zohar III, 234a; et al.
29.Cf. Shmot 20:4.
30.Parentheses are in the original text.
31.Following Luach HaTikkun, the standard (i.e., censored) printed text of Tanya has been emended in this edition from the phrase שבארצות העובדי גילולים (“in the lands of the heathens”) to the original phrase, שבחוץ לארץ (“outside the Land of Israel”). Likewise, in many places in the present letter, עובדי גילולים (“heathens”) has been corrected to אומות (“nations”).
32.See Rambam, Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah, ch. 3.
33.Parentheses are in the original text.
34.Following Luach HaTikkun, the standard (i.e., censored) printed text of Tanya has been emended in this edition from the phrase שבארצות העובדי גילולים (“in the lands of the heathens”) to the original phrase, שבחוץ לארץ (“outside the Land of Israel”). Likewise, in many places in the present letter, עובדי גילולים (“heathens”) has been corrected to אומות (“nations”).
35.Menachot 110a, and see Chiddushei Aggadot of the Maharsha there.
36.Zephaniah 3:9.
37.Parentheses are in the original text.
38.Megillah 29b (in the version of Ein Yaakov); Mechilta, Parshat Bo 12:41, et al.
39.Zechariah 14:9.
40.See Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun XXII (66b).
41.In the original, the names of the Four Worlds (in descending order) are often telescoped into the acronym אבי״ע, pronounced ABiYA.
42.Parentheses are in the original text.
43.See Etz Chayim, Shaar 42, sec. 4; et al.
44.Bereishit 2:7.
45.See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch 62:3 and 185:3; and his Hilchot Talmud Torah 2:12.
46.Kohelet 7:14.
47.Zohar III, 41b; et al.
48.Ch. 2.
49.Kohelet 8:9.
50.The text here (in Hebrew and English) reinstates the original version, which a czarist censor had tampered with so that it read, העובדי גילולים היו שולטין על ישראל — “the heathens used to dominate the Jewish people….” A few lines earlier, the word עתה (“in the present”) had likewise been deleted.
51.Bamidbar 6:25.
52.Zohar I, 27b; III, 179a; Rambam, Hilchot De’ot 2:3 in the name of the “earliest sages” (חכמים הראשונים); et al.
53.Berachot 33b.
54.Shabbat 40b.
55.Bamidbar 31:14.
56.Cf. Eichah 1:9.
57.Kohelet 7:14.
58.Kohelet 8:9.
59.Bereishit 18:3.
60.Ibid. 16:13.
61.Cf. Devarim 29:28.
62.Cf. Devarim 29:28.
63.Yirmeyahu 23:24.
64.Shabbat 63a.
65.Yoel 3:5.
66.Mishlei 28:5.
67.Cf. Sifri, Parshas Eikev 11:19.
68.Cf. Sanhedrin 13b.
69.Tehillim 19:15.
