ובזה יובן מ״ש בגמרא דעובד אלקים היינו מי ששונה פרקו מאה פעמים ואחד, ולא עבדו היינו מי ששונה פרקו מאה פעמים לבד This explains the Talmudic statement10 that “he who serves G‑d” refers to one who revises his studies 101 times, while “he who serves Him not” refers to one who revises his studies only […]

וזה כלל גדול בעבודת ה׳ לבינונים This, then, is the important principle regarding the divine service of the Beinoni: העיקר הוא למשול ולשלוט על הטבע שבחלל השמאלי The essential thing is to govern and rule the nature that is in the left part of the heart, על ידי אור ה׳ המאיר לנפש האלקית שבמוח by […]

כאלו עסק בהם בדחילו ורחימו ממש אשר בהתגלות לבו The love and fear referred to as tevunah, although not heartfelt emotions, nevertheless serve as “wings” for one’s Torah and mitzvot in the same way as if he practiced them with real fear and love as revealed in the heart, בחפיצה וחשיקה ותשוקה מורגשת בלבו ונפשו […]

ובזה יובן מה שכתוב With this explanation — that even a fear and love of G‑d which remain concealed in one’s mind and heart suffice to infuse one’s fulfillment of the commandments with vitality, thereby perfecting and elevating them, we will understand the verse:1 כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד, בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו “For this thing […]

אם לא מי שהוא רשע באמת This is true of everyone except he who is truly wicked — that is, not the Beinoni who is considered “like a rasha,” but one who is truly a rasha; in his case it cannot be said that his mind is master over his heart. כמאמר רז״ל, שהרשעים הם […]

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 mitzvot with your heart, with love and awe of G‑d). He explained that through contemplating G‑d’s […]

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 is Chochmah that is the […]

ולכן אפילו קל שבקלים ופושעי ישראל מוסרים נפשם על קדושת ה׳ על הרוב, וסובלים עינוים קשים, שלא לכפור בה׳ אחד Therefore, 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 and suffer harsh torture rather than deny G‑d’s unity, ואף […]

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 stated that this love originates in the divine soul’s […]

וזהו כלל בכל סטרא דקדושה שאינו אלא מה שנמשך מחכמה, שנקראת קודש העליון Now this is a general principle in the whole realm of holiness: Holiness (קדושה) is only that which derives from Chochmah, called קודש העליון — “supernal holiness.” The word קודש refers to Chochmah, while קדושה refers to any manifestation of holiness as […]