Concluding the previous chapter, the Alter Rebbe explained that since G‑d is infinitely exalted above intellect, intellectual means are inadequate to grasp His absolute union with the Sefirot of the World of Atzilut. These are limited to the particular Divine attributes of wisdom, kindness, and so on. The Zohar thus terms these attributes “the secret […]

וכדברים האלה ממש ויותר מזה, הן מדותיו של הקב״ה ורצונו וחכמתו בעולם האצילות, עם מהותו ועצמותו, כביכול Precisely in this manner, and even more so, is [the unity of] (on the one hand) the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Will and wisdom in the World of Atzilut, with (on the […]

The Alter Rebbe now offers an instance of how creation came about through the Sefirot. על דרך משל, ביום ראשון מששת ימי בראשית נגלית מדת החסד, כלולה מכל מדותיו הקדושות, ורצונו וחכמתו ובינתו ודעתו מלובשין בה For example, on the first of the Six Days of Creation, the attribute of kindness — comprised of all […]

The Alter Rebbe explained in the previous chapter that the Sefirot — the Divine attributes, and the Divine wisdom and Will — are designated by their respective names only in relation to created beings, which are granted existence and life and guidance by Him Who enclothes Himself in those attributes. However, since these attributes are […]

כי אף שאינן כאותיות מחשבה שלנו, חס ושלום Although they are not actual letters of thought like our letters of thought, G‑d forbid, The Alter Rebbe had previously drawn an analogy: just as a person’s soul is revealed through letters of thought, so too do the Divine attributes become manifest through letters of thought. He […]

אבל באמת, בחינת אותיות הדבור שלמעלה, היא למעלה מעלה ממדרגת ומהות חכמה ושכל הנבראים In truth, however, the Supernal letters of speech are far higher than the level and essence of the wisdom and intellect of created beings. In this they differ from the letters of man’s thought and speech, which are “inanimate”, and belong […]

The letters that constitute the Ten Utterances, as the Alter Rebbe has just explained, are effluences of the Divine attributes which are wholly united with G‑d Himself. Therefore, though they are termed mere “letters”, they are able to serve as vehicles for creating the wisdom and intellect of created beings, to which they are thus […]

הגהה ולפי שכל אות ואות מכ״ב אותיות התורה היא המשכת חיות וכח מיוחד פרטי, שאינו נמשך באות אחרת NOTE Inasmuch as every single one of the twenty-two letters of the Torah is a flow of an individual, particular life-force and power, which does not flow through any other letter, לכך גם תמונתן בכתב כל אות […]

Returning to the body of the text, the Alter Rebbe now goes on to illustrate how one utterance (“Let there be a firmament”) created the extensive components of the worlds as well as their specific creatures. Note of the Rebbe This also helps us understand the degree to which Divine Unity may be perceived in […]

CONCLUSION OF THE SECOND PART, WITH THE HELP OF G-D, MAY HE BE BLESSED AND EXALTED.