כמו ביום טוב, שחסד דאצילות, המלובש לגמרי בחסד דבריאה, מחיה עולם הזה הגשמי
just as on the festivals, when Chesed of Atzilut, which is completely clothed in Chesed of Beriah, vivifies this physical world
על ידי מעבר חסד דיצירה ועשיה
by passing through the Chesed of Yetzirah and of Asiyah,
הנקרא גם כן התלבשות
this [passage] is also called investment,64
שאם לא כן, לא היה פועל בגשמיות עולם הזה
for otherwise it would not affect the physicality of This World.
Thus, just as with regard to the festivals, though the animating light first passes through Yetzirah and Asiyah it is still considered to be an illumination of Chesed of Beriah, so too with regard to the laws: The light within the laws merely “passes through” the physicality with which they deal; it always retains a radiation of Supreme Wisdom.
ואף שגשמיות עולם הזה ודאי מסתיר לגמרי אפילו החסד דעשיה
Now though the physicality of This World as discussed in the law unquestionably conceals completely even the Chesed of Asiyah — and surely, then, it conceals the diffusion of Supreme Wisdom,
מכל מקום ההלכה עצמה אינה גשמיות ממש
still the law proper is not actually physical;
שהיא בחינת רצון, הנמשך מחכמה עילאה, להקל או להחמיר
it is the Divine Will, drawn from the Supreme Wisdom, for leniency or severity.
G‑d’s wisdom affirms that it be His will that a particular legal ruling be either lenient or strict.
רק שיורד ומאיר בבחינת גילוי בגשמיות, כמים היורדים ממקום גבוה כו׳
It is only that this [Will] descends and illuminates in revealed fashion in the realm of the physical, just as water descends from a high place, and so on.
It is the very same water that is now to be found in a low place.
והדבר הגשמי עצמו, שבו מדברת ההלכה, באמת הוא מסתיר לגמרי
The physical object itself which the law discusses does, in fact, utterly obscure,
כמו המחליף פרה בחמור, וכן בשר הפיגול, או לא פיגול וכשר
as, for example, in the law of65 “one who exchanges a cow for a donkey,” or the laws concerning flesh that is pigul, or is not pigul and is kosher.
The actual cow or donkey or flesh do in fact completely conceal the radiance from the Supreme Wisdom.
In contrast, it was stated above that when holding a physical etrog one is grasping the G‑dly essence of Atzilut. The difference lies in the fact that the etrog is part of the mitzvah. As such, it has no identity other than G‑dliness and thus does not conceal it. Since, by contrast, the physical cow or donkey are not part of the law, they can conceal G‑dliness. With regard to the human intellect, however, which studies this law, since the “intellectual” cow and donkey are part of the law, they in fact do not act as a concealment.
רק ההלכה בעצמה, עם הטעם הנגלה, היא מבחינת מלכות דבריאה ויצירה דבחינת נשמה
Only the legal ruling itself with its revealed rationale are from Malchut of Beriah (i.e., the reasoning of the Gemara) and of Yetzirah (i.e., the rulings of the Mishnah), of the state of Neshamah,
שהוא אלקות, המחיה ומהוה נפש רוח דבריאה יצירה עשיה
which is G‑dliness that vivifies and brings into being the Nefesh-Ruach of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah which are in the category of created beings,
שהן דחילו ורחימו של המלאכים והנשמות וחב״ד שלהם, מאין ליש
and which are the awe and love of angels and souls and their ChaBaD, i.e., the contemplation of G‑d’s greatness that leads to love and fear; — all this is created and vivified ex nihilo, as are all created beings.
ולכן הוא מרוה צמאונם
As to this radiation of Supreme Wisdom that descends through Malchut of Beriah and Yetzirah, in the form of Torah as it is found in those worlds prior to its descent below, it therefore slakes [the] thirst of the souls and angels in the Worlds of Beriah and Yetzirah,
קודם שירדה לעולם הזה, כמים היורדים כו׳
before its descent into This World like descending waters….66
וגם אחר שירדה לעשיה, היא למעלה מעלה מבחינת חכמה בינה דעת דעשיה, אפילו דבחינת נשמה, שהיא אלקות
Even after it descends into Asiyah, it transcends by far ChaBaD of Asiyah, even of the state of Neshamah, which is G‑dliness.
For this is G‑dliness of Asiyah, while the illumination of Supreme Wisdom within the laws is the G‑dliness of Atzilut.
והטעם: משום דחב״ד דעשיה דבחינת נשמה, הוא מקור החיות דחב״ד דנפש רוח
The reason for this transcendence is that the ChaBaD of Asiyah of the state of Neshamah is the source of life of ChaBaD of Nefesh-Ruach
ותולדותיהן והתהוותן מאין ליש עם תולדותיהן, עד סוף העשיה, היא הארץ וכל צבאה
and their offspring, and their coming into being ex nihilo with their offspring, unto the ultimate stage of Asiyah, namely the earth and all its hosts.
The ChaBaD of Asiyah (in the state of Neshamah) is thus a source for created beings.
אבל חב״ד דהלכות וטעמיהן, שבמלכות דבריאה ויצירה
But as to the ChaBaD of the laws with their rationales, that are in Malchut of Beriah and Yetzirah,
This level of ChaBaD is not a source of created beings; rather:
ענין החכמה היא בתיקון פרצופי האצילות
the function of the Chochmah [within them] is the rectification of the visages of Atzilut,
שבהן תלוין כל טעמי המצות
upon which are dependent all the rationales of the commandments —
מצות עשה בה׳ חסדים, ומצות לא תעשה בה׳ גבורות
[the rationales of] the positive commandments [depend] on the five attributes of Kindness of Za of Atzilut, and [the rationales of] the prohibitions in the five attributes of Severity of Za of Atzilut.
ומשום הכי נמי כשירדו להתלבש בנבראים
Therefore, even when they descended to be clothed in created beings,
Even when the rationales for the laws, that essentially derive from visages of Atzilut, descended to become rationales for laws for created beings, —
הן במלכות דבריאה ויצירה, דבחינת נשמה דוקא, שהוא מכלים דאצילות
they are in Malchut of Beriah and Yetzirah of the specific [G‑dly] state of Neshamah, which is of the vessels of Atzilut — for the thirty vessels of Zu”n of Atzilut become a Neshamah for Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah,
ולא בבחינת נפש רוח
and not of the degree of Ruach and Nefesh; the rationales for the laws did not vest themselves within Ruach and Nefesh, which are created beings.
