In the previous chapter the Alter Rebbe discussed the verse, 1 “For this thing is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it” (i.e., it is simple for you to fulfill the

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Returning to his original point, that every Jew has a soul which stems from the holy Sefirot, and that ultimately each soul is animated by the light of the Ein Sof by way of the soul’s faculty of wisdom (Chochmah), the Alter Rebbe now goes on to explain why it

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ולכן אפילו קל שבקלים ופושעי ישראל מוסרים נפשם על קדושת ה׳ על הרוב, וסובלים עינוים קשים, שלא לכפור בה׳ אחדTherefore, as a rule, even the most worthless of the worthless and the sinners among Israel sacrifice their lives for the sanctity of G‑d’s Name

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In the previous chapter the Alter Rebbe began to discuss the “hidden love of G‑d” inherent in every Jew, by virtue of which it is indeed “very near” to us to fulfill all the commandments out of a spirit of love and awe of G‑d. He

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וזהו כלל בכל סטרא דקדושה שאינו אלא מה שנמשך מחכמה, שנקראת קודש העליוןNow this is a general principle in the whole realm of holiness: Holiness (קדושה) is only that which derives from Chochmah, called

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