Having discussed the various “abodes” of souls — three Worlds in which the souls receive a reward commensurate with the level of their divine service during their life on earth — the Alter Rebbe now returns to the theme begun in ch. 38. There he noted that kavanah in mitzvot (which is the “soul” of the mitzvot) can be classified into various categories, corresponding to the different levels of soul found in living beings — the souls of animals, of man, and so on. A kavanah which consists of intellectual love and fear is like the volitional soul of man; a kavanah consisting of natural love and fear, like the instinctive soul of an animal.

To support this contention, he discussed the various levels of “abodes” where souls receive their reward commensurate with their divine service on earth.

Returning now to his original theme, the Alter Rebbe points out that from the varying levels of reward, we can deduce the respective levels of divine service motivated by the different levels of kavanah.

והנה שכר מצוה מצוה

“The reward of a mitzvah is the mitzvah itself.”

Unlike wages paid to a laborer, for example, which are no index of the nature of the work performed, the reward for a mitzvah — i.e., the revelation of G‑dliness experienced by the soul that performed the mitzvah — is actually the fruit of the mitzvah itself; the revelation consists of a ray of the G‑dly light emitted by the mitzvah.

פירוש, שמשכרה נדע מהותה ומדרגתה

This means that we can know the essential nature and rank [of the mitzvah] by its reward (by the nature of the light generated by the mitzvah, and revealed to the soul as its reward).

ואין לנו עסק בנסתרות

Now, we will not concern ourselves with explaining hidden matters,

שהם צדיקים הגדולים שהם בבחינת מרכבה

meaning the great tzaddikim who are at the level of a “chariot”, whose divine service comes under the heading of “hidden matters” because it transcends understanding,

רק הנגלות לנו, שאחריהם כל אדם ימשוך

but only with those matters revealed to us, to which every man must aspire i.e., only with those levels of divine service which may — and ought to — be attained by every Jew; as follows:

לידע נאמנה מהות ומדרגת עבודת ה׳ בדחילו ורחימו בהתגלות לבו

One must know with certainty that the essential nature and rank of divine service with fear and love revealed in the heart,

הנמשכות מן הבינה ודעת בגדולת אין סוף ברוך הוא

derived from understanding and knowledge of the greatness of the Blessed Ein Sof, and of which it was said earlier that the reward for divine service motivated by such love and fear is on the level of the World of Beriah, —

מקומה בי׳ ספירות דבריאה

from this reward we know that its place i.e., the level of such service — of mitzvot performed with such motivation, is in the Ten Sefirot of Beriah;

ועבודה בדחילו ורחימו הטבעיים שבמוחו

and the service motivated by natural fear and love hidden in one’s mind (not emotions experienced in the heart, but mental awareness of one’s inborn love and fear of G‑d), of which it was said earlier that such service is rewarded in the World of Yetzirah, —

בי׳ ספירות דיצירה

from this reward we know that its place is in the Ten Sefirot of Yetzirah.

אבל עבודה בלי התעוררות דחילו ורחימו, אפילו במוחו בבחינת גילוי

But divine service performed without arousing one’s fear and love to a revealed state even in one’s mind,

דהיינו לעורר האהבה הטבעית המסותרת בלב, להוציאה מההעלם והסתר הלב

meaning that the service is done without arousing the natural love hidden in one’s heart so that it will emerge from the hidden recesses of the heart,

אל הגילוי אפילו במוחו ותעלומות לבו על כל פנים

to be revealed at least in one’s conscious mind and in the latency of his heart, so that it might evoke (if not passionate fervor, then at least) a mental resolve to cleave to G‑d by fulfilling the mitzvot;

רק היא נשארת מסותרת בלב כתולדתה, כמו שהיתה קודם העבודה

if instead, the love remains hidden in the heart as in its native state, as it was before the divine service when it was surely concealed, not expressing itself in divine service; if the love is similarly hidden when he engages in divine service, and the mitzvot that he does are in no way affected by the love, then —

הרי עבודה זו נשארת למטה, בעולם הפירוד, הנקרא חיצוניות העולמות

such service remains below in this “World of Separation,”9 in the level called the externality of the worlds10 (as opposed to the Sefirot which are the internal aspect of the Worlds);

ואין בה כח לעלות וליכלל ביחודו יתברך, שהן עשר ספירות הקדושות

it has not the power to rise and to be absorbed in G‑d’s Unity, meaning the ten holy Sefirot,

וכמו שכתוב בתקונים, דבלא דחילו ורחימו לא פרחא לעילא, ולא יכלא לסלקא ולמיקם קדם ה׳

as is written in Tikkunei Zohar, that “Without fear and love it does not fly upward, and it cannot rise to stand before G‑d.”

As explained at length further, love and fear are the “wings” of one’s divine service; lacking the wings, it cannot soar aloft.

The Alter Rebbe now proceeds to amplify his previous statement.

והיינו אפילו אם אינו עוסק שלא לשמה ממש לשום איזו פניה, חס ושלום

This inability of one’s divine service to ascend to the Sefirot applies not only where one’s motive for engaging in Torah and mitzvot is actually shelo lishmah (“not for its own sake”), i.e., for some ulterior motive, heaven forbid, in which case one is actually serving himself, not G‑d, and his service surely cannot ascend “to stand before G‑d.”

אלא כמו שכתוב: ותהי יראתם אותי מצות אנשים מלומדה

It also applies even if, as the verse describes it,11 “Their fear of Me was like commandments of men done by rote,”

פירוש: מחמת הרגל שהורגל מקטנותו

meaning [that one serves G‑d] out of a habit acquired in his youth,12

שהרגילו ולימדו אביו ורבו לירא את ה׳ ולעבדו

having been trained and taught by his father and teacher to fear G‑d and to serve Him,

ואינו עוסק לשמה ממש

but he does not really do it for its own sake [lishmah].

כי לשמה ממש אי אפשר בלא התעוררות דחילו ורחימו הטבעיים, על כל פנים

For it is impossible to serve G‑d truly lishmah without arousing one’s natural fear and love, at least,

להוציאן מהסתר הלב אל הגילוי במוח ותעלומות לבו, על כל פנים

by bringing them out from the concealment of the heart into revelation, at least in the mind and the latency of the heart.

If one cannot arouse his natural love of G‑d to the point where it is actually felt in the heart, he must try, as discussed above, to arouse it at least so that it be felt in the conscious mind and in the substratum of the heart. Even this low-level arousal can produce a will and resolve to study the Torah and fulfill the mitzvot. Thus, the resulting divine service contains (at least to some degree) the force and kavanah of his natural love, since it was this love that created the resolve which he is now implementing.

If, however, one does not produce even this minimal level of arousal, the love, although naturally found in his heart, has no bearing on his divine service, and he cannot, therefore, do this service lishmah (“for its own sake”).

כי כמו שאין אדם עושה דבר בשביל חבירו למלאת רצונו, אלא אם כן אוהבו או ירא ממנו

For just as one does not do something for his fellow, to carry out his [friend’s] will, unless he loves him or fears him,

כך אי אפשר לעשות לשמו יתברך באמת למלאת רצונו לבד

so, too, is it impossible to act truly for G‑d’s sake, solely in order to carry out His Will,

בלי זכרון והתעוררות אהבתו ויראתו כלל, במוחו ומחשבתו ותעלומות לבו על כל פנים

unless he remembers and arouses his love and fear of G‑d to some degree — in his mind, thought and the latent level of his heart, at least, if he cannot arouse these emotions openly in his heart.

One who observes the mitzvot out of habit, however, lacking even this minimal arousal of love, cannot be described as serving G‑d for His sake even though his performance is impelled by no ulterior motive.

וגם אהבה לבדה אינה נקראת בשם עבודה בלי יראה תתאה לפחות, שהיא מסותרת בלב כל ישראל, כמו שיתבאר לקמן

Furthermore, [the arousal of] love alone, without [the arousal of] at least the lower-level fear of G‑d hidden in every Jewish heart, is not called “service”, as will be explained later.

Divine “service” connotes the relationship of a servant to his master, whom he serves chiefly out of fear, unlike a child, who carries out his father’s wishes mainly because he loves him. When one performs a mitzvah out of the love of G‑d alone, without fear of Him, he is indeed acting for G‑d’s sake — but he is not serving Him.