Tanya: Chapter 41 - Part 2 - video

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As mentioned in the title-page of Tanya, this work is based on the verse, “For this thing is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.” This means that observing the Torah and the mitzvot with one’s heart, with a love and fear of G‑d, is very “near” — within simple reach.

The Alter Rebbe devoted the first twenty-five chapters of his work to an explanation of the role of love and fear (awe) in a Jew’s divine service. He also explained how they may be readily attained.

It is the love of G‑d, wrote the Alter Rebbe, that motivates one to fulfill all the positive mitzvot. In order for a Jew to perform them properly and eagerly he must be imbued with a love for G‑d and a desire to cleave to Him, for performing them will enable him to cleave to G‑d.

Similarly, fear of G‑d lies at the root of one’s observance of the prohibitive mitzvot: when one stands in true fear and awe of G‑d, he will refrain from transgressing, and thereby rebelling against His Will.

In the last few chapters the Alter Rebbe went on to explain that love and fear are the wings that elevate one’s mitzvot, causing them to ascend to the Sefirot of the upper Worlds. Conversely, mitzvot fulfilled without the spiritual intent fostered by the love and fear of G‑d, are likened to a body bereft of its soul.

In ch. 41, the Alter Rebbe now goes on to say that fear of G‑d is the beginning and core of divine service. This is so not only regarding the negative precepts, but also with regard to the positive precepts. While it is true that love of G‑d motivates one’s observance of the positive commands, nevertheless, the observance of these commands too must be impelled by some measure of fear as well. For avodah (“divine service”) implies an analogy with the manner in which an eved (“servant”) serves his master — service out of fear. Fear of G‑d is therefore the beginning and the mainstay of spiritual service.

ברם צריך להיות לזכרון תמיד ראשית העבודה ועיקרה ושרשה

One must, however, constantly bear in mind what is the beginning of [divine] service, as well as its core and root.

והוא: כי אף שהיראה היא שרש לסור מרע, והאהבה לועשה טוב

This means: Although fear is the root of “turn away from evil” and love [is the root of] “do good,”

I.e., fear of G‑d is what basically urges one to refrain from evil and not to transgress the negative precepts, while love of G‑d is what basically motivates one to perform good deeds and positive commands,

אף על פי כן לא די לעורר האהבה לבדה לועשה טוב

nevertheless, it is not sufficient to awaken the love alone to “do good,”

ולפחות צריך לעורר תחלה היראה הטבעית המסותרת בלב כל ישראל, שלא למרוד במלך מלכי המלכים, הקב״ה, כנ״ל

but at the very least, before performing the positive command, one must first arouse the innate fear which lies hidden in the heart of every Jew not to rebel against the Supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, as has been stated above,

שתהא בהתגלות לבו, או מוחו על כל פנים

so that [this fear] should manifest itself in his heart or, at least, in his mind.

Optimally, a Jew should be able to create a feeling of fear in his heart through meditating upon G‑d’s greatness. If, however, this proves to be beyond his capacity, he should at least arouse the innate fear which lies hidden in his heart. This degree of fear is attainable to all, inasmuch as it does not require such profound meditation.

This innate fear may be aroused either (a) to such a degree that it is actually felt in his heart, or (b), if the individual is incapable of evoking palpable fear in his heart, he will at least be able to summon up his innate fear in his mind, so that he will be able to apprehend and experience the fear of G‑d intellectually.

דהיינו להתבונן במחשבתו על כל פנים גדולת אין סוף ברוך הוא ומלכותו

This means that in order to arouse within himself the latter category of fear he should at least contemplate in his mind the greatness of the blessed Ein Sof and His Kingship,

To arouse the former category of fear, that which is palpably felt in the heart, one must engage one’s Daat in profound meditation. He who is unable to do so should contemplate, at least superficially, G‑d’s greatness:

אשר היא מלכות כל עולמים עליונים ותחתונים

which extends to all worlds, both higher and lower, bearing in mind that the greater the king’s dominion, the more awe it inspires in his subjects;

ואיהו ממלא כל עלמין

and let him further consider that “He fills all worlds,” animating them with an indwelling life-force that created beings can experience and comprehend,

וסובב כל עלמין

“and encompasses all worlds,” i.e., He also animates them with a life-force that transcends the experience and comprehension of created beings,

וכמו שכתוב: הלא את השמים ואת הארץ אני מלא

as it is written:1 “Do I not fill heaven and earth?”

ומניח עליונים ותחתונים

Yet He leaves aside [the creatures of] the higher [worlds] and [the creatures of] the lower [worlds],

Neither the higher nor the lower creatures represent the Creator’s ultimate intention. He therefore does not bestow His Kingship upon them, so that He be called their G‑d and King; rather:

ומייחד מלכותו על עמו ישראל בכלל, ועליו בפרט, כי חייב אדם לומר: בשבילי נברא העולם

He uniquely bestows His Kingship upon His people Israel, in general — for G‑d is known as “King of Israel” — and upon him in particular, for a man is obliged to say:2 “For my sake was the world created.”

A Jew should remind himself that the whole purpose and intent of creation, viz., G‑d’s Sovereignty, relates to himself specifically, that G‑d become King over him. This is no mere hyperbole. Since the Jewish people collectively constitute a complete body comprised of individual organs, it follows that if even one Jew — one particular organ — is blemished, then the whole body, even the head, is blemished as well.

Similarly with regard to G‑d’s bestowing His Kingship upon all of Israel: if one solitary Jew is found wanting in this matter, this will affect the whole body of the Jewish people.

The realization that G‑d bestows His Kingship upon each individual in particular touches a responsive chord within one; he is then more apt to demand of himself that he accept the heavenly yoke.

והוא גם הוא מקבל עליו מלכותו, להיות מלך עליו, ולעבדו ולעשות רצונו בכל מיני עבודת עבד

And he for his part accepts His Kingship upon himself, that He be King over him, to serve Him and do His Will in all kinds of servile work.

This acceptance of the yoke of divine service is required of all Jews.

The Rebbe points out that the Alter Rebbe will now go on to say that the above meditation — aimed at awakening innate awe in one’s mind — does not suffice: an individual must also realize that G‑d not only bestows His Kingship upon him in a general manner, but that He also does so in a (so-to-speak) personal manner. In the Alter Rebbe’s words:

והנה ה׳ ניצב עליו, ומלא כל הארץ כבודו, ומביט עליו

“And, behold, G‑d [Himself] stands over him,”3 and “The whole world is full only with His Glory,” and not only being omnipresent does He see everything, but moreover He scrutinizes him in particular,

ובוחן כליות ולב אם עובדו כראוי

and searches his reins and heart i.e., his innermost thoughts and emotions [to see] if he is serving Him as is fitting.

ועל כן צריך לעבוד לפניו באימה וביראה כעומד לפני המלך

Therefore, he must serve in His Presence with awe and fear (i.e., notes the Rebbe, not merely like one who is located in the King’s domain, but moreover) like one standing before the King.

ויעמיק במחשבה זו, ויאריך בה כפי יכולת השגת מוחו ומחשבתו, וכפי הפנאי שלו

One must meditate profoundly and at length on this concept, according to the capacity of apprehension of his brain and thought, and the time available to devote to this contemplation; this time being:

לפני עסק התורה או המצוה, כמו לפני לבישת טלית ותפילין

before he engages in [the study of] Torah or [the performance of] a commandment, such as before putting on his tallit or tefillin.

This meditation will enable him to then serve G‑d with awe.

The Alter Rebbe now goes on to explain another form of meditation. Unlike the above thoughts which should preface divine service in general, this meditation relates to the particular mitzvah that the individual is about to perform — to the content of this mitzvah, its distinctive effect, and its influence on his soul.

וגם יתבונן איך שאור אין סוף ברוך הוא, הסובב כל עלמין וממלא כל עלמין, הוא רצון העליון

He should also reflect how the light of the blessed Ein Sof, which encompasses all worlds and pervades all worlds, and which is identical with the Higher Will,

Previous chapters have stated that G‑d’s Will is the source of the life-force that animates all worlds in both a transcendental and an indwelling mode.

הוא מלובש באותיות וחכמת התורה

is clothed in the letters and wisdom of the Torah,

In the very letters of Torah that the person utters and in the Torah wisdom that he comprehends, G‑d’s Will is to be found. As explained in ch. 4, the Divine Will clothed itself in the ink and parchment of the Torah scroll, and similarly clothed itself in the wisdom of Torah. Thus, when the wisdom of the Torah determines that a certain object is either kosher or invalid, it is expressing the Divine Will.

Accordingly, before a person commences his Torah study, he should ponder on how the Ein Sof-light — the Divine Will — is vested in the letters and wisdom of the Torah he is now about to study,

או בציצית ותפילין אלו

or, if his meditation takes place before he puts on his tallit and tefillin, he should contemplate how the Divine Will is clothed in these tzitzit and tefillin, it being G‑d’s Will that a Jew wear them,

ובקריאתו או בלבישתו

and through his recitation or study of the Torah, or by his wearing tzitzit and tefillin,

-הוא ממשיך אורו יתברך עליו, דהיינו על חלק אלוה ממעל שבתוך גופו

he draws upon himself His blessed light, that is, over the “part of G‑d above” — his soul — which abides in his body, and animates it.

ליכלל וליבטל באורו יתברך

This he does with the intent that it may be absorbed and nullified in His blessed light.

The individual’s intent, then, is that the aforementioned study and performance have an effect on his soul. In particular, as will soon be explained, the intellectual and emotional faculties of the soul are affected by tefillin.

ודרך פרט בתפילין, ליבטל וליכלל בחינת חכמתו ובינתו שבנפשו האלקית בבחינת חכמתו ובינתו של אין סוף ברוך הוא, המלובשות דרך פרט בפרשת קדש, והיה כי יביאך

Specifically, through tefillin, [he should intend that] the attributes of wisdom and understanding which are in his divine soul should be nullified and absorbed into the attributes of wisdom and understanding of the blessed Ein Sof, these being clothed, in particular, in the passages of Kadesh and Vehayah ki yeviacha.4

In these passages, both of which are found in the tefillin, G‑d’s wisdom (Chochmah) and understanding (Binah) are enclothed, wisdom in the former and understanding in the latter. By putting on tefillin, the individual’s wisdom and understanding are absorbed in G‑d’s. How does this find expression?

דהיינו שלא להשתמש בחכמתו ובינתו שבנפשו בלתי לה׳ לבדו

That is to say, that he should use the wisdom and understanding that are in his soul, for G‑d alone — only in pursuit of Torah and mitzvot, and for understanding G‑dliness.

וכן ליבטל וליכלל בחינת הדעת שבנפשו, הכולל חסד וגבורה שהן יראה ואהבה שבלבו

Similarly, [he should intend that] the attribute of Daat (the third of the three components of seichel) in his soul, which includes both the Chesed (kindness) and Gevurah (severity), i.e., fear and love, in his heart,

The attribute of Daat comprises kindness and severity insofar as these attributes exist on an intellectual level. Moreover, as is explained at the end of ch. 3, the profound and involved meditation that characterizes the level of Daat actually creates love and fear, insofar as they exist independently on an emotional level. This faculty of Daat, then, should —

בבחינת דעת העליון, הכולל חסד וגבורה, המלובש בפרשת שמע, והיה אם שמוע

be nullified and absorbed into the attribute of the Higher Knowledge (Daat HaElyon), which comprises kindness and severity, and which is clothed in the passage of Shema and Vehayah im shamoa.

והיינו כמו שכתוב בשולחן ערוך: לשעבד הלב והמוח כו׳

This accords with the statement of the Shulchan Aruch,5 [that while putting on the tefillin one should intend] “to make one’s heart and brain subservient to G‑d.”

In this way, then, the divine soul as a whole, and its intellective and emotive faculties in particular, are affected by one’s wearing tefillin.

ובעטיפת ציצית יכוין כמו שכתוב בזהר, להמשיך עליו מלכותו יתברך

And while putting on the tzitzit one should bear in mind what is written in the Zohar, namely, that he should draw upon himself His blessed Kingdom,

אשר היא מלכות כל עולמים וכו׳ ,לייחדה עלינו על ידי מצוה זו

which is the Kingdom over all worlds; nevertheless,6 we should intend and endeavor to focus [G‑d’s Kingdom] specifically over ourselves, through this mitzvah — for the commandment of tzitzit is particularly effective in enhancing one’s acceptance of the yoke of heaven.

והוא כענין: שום תשים עליך מלך

This is similar to [the commandment]: “You shall surely set a king over yourself.”7

The Rebbe notes: The verse implies8 that before one set a king over himself he had no king, and it is he who now sets the king over himself.

ואזי אף אם בכל זאת לא תפול עליו אימה ופחד בהתגלות לבו

In such a case, i.e., having contemplated this matter, then: even though after all this [meditation] no fear or dread descends upon him in a manifest manner in his heart,

מכל מקום מאחר שמקבל עליו מלכות שמים וממשיך עליו יראתו יתברך בהתגלות מחשבתו ורצונו שבמוחו

nevertheless, since he accepts the Kingdom of Heaven upon himself, and draws upon himself the fear of Him in his conscious thought and rational volition,

וקבלה זו היא אמיתית בלי שום ספק, שהרי היא טבע נפשות כל ישראל שלא למרוד במלך הקדוש יתברך

and this submission to G‑d and his fear of Him is beyond doubt a sincere one — for it is the nature of all Jewish souls not to rebel against the blessed Holy King —

הרי התורה שלומד או המצוה שעושה מחמת קבלה זו ומחמת המשכת היראה שבמוחו נקראות בשם עבודה שלימה

then the Torah he studies or the commandment he performs because of his submission to the heavenly yoke and because of the fear that he has drawn into his mind, are termed “complete service,” of the kind that can result only from a fear of G‑d, as the Alter Rebbe soon goes on to say,

ככל עבודת העבד לאדונו ומלכו

like all service [performed] by a servant for his master or king, which is, of course, prompted by fear and awe.

All this can be accomplished by arousing — even if only in his mind — at least a minimal level of fear, and utilizing it in the study of Torah and the performance of the commandments.

מה שאין כן אם לומד ומקיים המצוה באהבה לבדה כדי לדבקה בו על ידי תורתו ומצותיו, אינה נקראת בשם עבודת עבד

On the other hand, if one studies [Torah] and performs a commandment with love alone, in order to cleave to Him through [the study of] His Torah and [the performance of] His commandments, then this is not termed “service of a servant,”

והתורה אמרה: ועבדתם את ה׳ אלקיכם וגו׳ ואותו תעבודו וגו׳

whereas the Torah has declared:9 “You shall serve (vaavadetem) the L‑rd your G‑d….” This verb is cognate with the noun eved (servant or slave), and signifies service motivated by the fear and awe of G‑d; and it is likewise written:10 “Him shall you serve (taavodu)….”

וכמו שכתוב בזהר פרשת בהר : כהאי תורא דיהבין עליה עול בקדמיתא, בגין לאפקא מיניה טב לעלמא כו׳, הכי נמי איצטריך לבר נש לקבלה עליה עול מלכות שמים בקדמיתא כו׳, ואי האי לא אשתכח גביה לא שריא ביה קדושה כו׳

As explained in the Zohar (Parshat Behar): “Just like the ox on which one first places a yoke in order to make it useful to the world,…so too must a human being first of all submit to the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven,… and only then engage in divine service; and if this [submission] is not found in him, holiness cannot rest within him….”

וברעיא מהימנא שם דף קי״א עמוד ב׳, שכל אדם צריך להיות בשתי בחינות ומדריגות

And (in Ra‘aya Mehemna, ibid., 111b) it is written that every man must in his divine service belong to two categories and levels,

והן בחינת עבד ובחינת בן

namely, the category of a servant, who serves his master out of fear, and the category of a son, who serves his father out of love.

ואף דיש בן שהוא גם כן עבד, הרי אי אפשר לבא למדריגה זו בלי קדימת היראה עילאה, כידוע ליודעים

And although one may find a son who is also a servant, it is impossible to attain to this degree without the prerequisite of the higher level of fear and awe known as yirah ila‘ah, as is known to the initiated.

It is clear from all the above that even if one loves G‑d, but lacks a fear of Him, his spiritual labors will not be of the kind that the Torah calls avodah, divine service. And should he fail in his attempts at awakening a fear of G‑d in his heart, he should at least arouse a feeling of fear and awe in his mind.

But what of one who finds it impossible to arouse even a feeling of intellectual awe of G‑d? — The Alter Rebbe will now go on to say that since this individual, too, meditates upon the above-mentioned concepts, and, furthermore, his intent during the study of Torah and the performance of mitzvot is to serve G‑d, these activities are therefore also deemed to constitute a completely valid form of service.

והנה אף מי שגם במוחו ומחשבתו אינו מרגיש שום יראה ובושה

Furthermore, even in the case of an individual who even in his mind and thought feels no fear or shame,

I.e., an individual who is not moved by his contemplation of G‑d uniquely bestowing His Kingdom upon him, and furthermore, is not moved by the consideration that G‑d is scrutinizing him to see if he is serving Him as is fitting,

(below text was not read during the class)