The Alter Rebbe will now proceed to explain why good deeds can serve as oil for the light of the Shechinah, whereas the divine soul cannot. The explanation in brief: Man’s soul is not, after all, completely nullified before G‑d and one with Him to the extent that it is capable of becoming absorbed within […]

ואף שמהותה ועצמותה של נפש הבהמית שבלבו, שהן מדותיה הרעות, עדיין לא נכללו בקדושה Although the substance and essence of the animal soul, in his heart, i.e., its evil middot (its evil emotional character), have still not been absorbed into holiness, As explained in ch. 12, only in the case of tzaddikim are the evil […]

In the previous chapter, the Alter Rebbe began to explain why the observance of the practical mitzvot is the ultimate purpose of Torah and of one’s spiritual service to G‑d. (This practical aspect is underscored by the conclusion of the verse, “For the thing is very near to you, in your mouth and in your […]

A question arises, however. How is it possible (even upon subjugating the kelipot and transforming them into holiness) that we in this world should experience a revelation of the Ein Sof-light without veil or concealment, when even the higher worlds cannot receive such revelation without dissolving into nothingness? In answer, the Alter Rebbe writes: ולזה […]

וגם כבר היה לעולמים מעין זה, בשעת מתן תורה A glimmer of this revelation which will take place in the future has already been experienced — at the time of the Giving of the Torah at Sinai, כדכתיב: אתה הראת לדעת כי ה׳ הוא האלקים, אין עוד מלבדו as it is written:10 “You (G‑d) revealed […]

ולכן היו בטלים במציאות ממש, כמאמר רז״ל, שעל כל דיבור פרחה נשמתן כו׳ Therefore, they the Jews who stood at Sinai were nullified out of existence, as our Rabbis have said:14 “At every [divine] utterance their soul took flight from their body, אלא שהחזירה הקדוש ברוך להן בטל שעתיד להחיות בו את המתים but G‑d […]

In the previous chapter, the Alter Rebbe explained that the statement of the Sages that “G‑d desired an abode in the lower realms” refers to our physical world. This is the lowest of worlds in terms of the degree of revelation of the divine creative power: it is hidden in this world as it is […]

Thus far, the Alter Rebbe has discussed the effect of a mitzvah on the objects used in its performance (e.g., the etrog, the parchment used for tefillin, etc.). He now discusses its effect on the power of a Jew’s animal soul that is applied to the mitzvah. This soul, like the aforementioned objects, derives its […]

This, in summary, is the subject of the following discussion. זאת ועוד אחרת An additional [virtue] in mitzvot involving action (aside from their function in elevating one’s animal soul, mentioned above): שכח נפש החיונית המתלבש באותיות הדבור בתלמוד תורה או תפלה וכיוצא בהן או מצות מעשיות the vitalizing soul’s energy clothed in the utterance of […]

But surely there are more than 600,000 souls; besides, it is quite impossible for one person to use a six-hundred-thousandth of the entire world. אלא שששים רבוא נשמות פרטיות אלו הן שרשים, וכל שרש מתחלק לששים רבוא ניצוצות, שכל ניצוץ הוא נשמה אחת These 600,000 particular souls, however, are “roots”; and, like a root from […]