וכשלומד שעות הרבה רצופות, יש לו להתבונן בהכנה זו הנ״ל בכל שעה ושעה על כל פנים

And when he studies for a number of consecutive hours he should reflect on the preparedness referred to above, at least at hourly intervals.

כי בכל שעה ושעה היא המשכה אחרת מעולמות עליונים להחיות התחתונים, והמשכת החיות שבשעה שלפניה חוזרת למקורה

For in each hour there is a different flow from the higher worlds to animate those who dwell here below, while the flow of vitality from on high of the previous hour returns to its source,

בסוד רצוא ושוב שבספר יצירה

(in accordance with the esoteric principle of “Advancing and Retreating” expounded in Sefer Yetzirah),

As the divine life-force animates the world, alternately “Advancing and Retreating,” it is first drawn down into this world, and then it returns to its source in the higher spiritual worlds. Each hour, then, the creative life-force of the previous hour returns to its source,

עם כל התורה ומעשים טובים של התחתונים

together with all the Torah and good deeds of those who dwell here below.

כי בכל שעה שולט צירוף אחד מי״ב צירופי שם ה׳ ברוך הוא בי״ב שעות היום, וצרופי שם אדנ״י בלילה, כנודע

For in each of the twelve hours of the day, there rules one of the twelve combinations of [the letters that form] the Four-Letter Name of G‑d,20 while the combinations of [the letters that comprise] the Divine Name A-D-N-Y rule at night, as is known.

Speaking of the form of service that was earlier deemed surrender of the soul, the Alter Rebbe will now go on to say that it should be undertaken not for the sake of returning the soul to its original source, but only to cause G‑d pleasure.

והנה כל כוונתו במסירת נפשו לה׳ על ידי התורה והתפלה, להעלות ניצוץ אלקות שבתוכה למקורו

Now, all one’s intent in the surrender of his soul to G‑d through Torah and prayer, to elevate the spark of G‑dliness therein — in the soul — back to its source,

תהא רק כדי לעשות נחת רוח לפניו יתברך, כמשל שמחת המלך בבוא אליו בנו יחידו בצאתו מן השביה ובית האסורים כנ״ל

should be solely for the purpose of causing Him gratification, like the joy of a king when his only son returns to him, after having been released from captivity or imprisonment, as has been explained earlier.

In ch. 31, the Alter Rebbe compared the soul’s return to G‑d through Torah and prayer to the return of a captive prince to his overjoyed father, the king. For a Jewish soul is G‑d’s child; hence His great joy when it is reunited with Him, after its imprisonment within the body and animal soul. Accordingly, as a Jew prepares to study Torah and engage in prayer, his spiritual objective should be that this reunion come about for the sole purpose of bringing joy to the soul’s father, the King.

However, the Alter Rebbe explained earlier that in order to attain this degree of selfless love, one must have attained an extremely lofty degree of spirituality, a level possessed only by tzaddikim. How, then, is this to be expected of every Jew?

The Alter Rebbe therefore goes on to explain that when the purpose of one’s service is simply to restore his own soul to its source — and not the souls of all Jews to their source — then this lofty degree of selfless love is not a prerequisite. The latent love of G‑d possessed by all Jews is sufficient to cause one to desire to bring Him this manner of gratification.

והנה כוונה זו היא אמיתית באמת לאמיתו לגמרי בכל נפש מישראל בכל עת ובכל שעה

Now, this intent, solely to bring gratification to G‑d by returning one’s own soul to G‑d, is genuine and truly and completely sincere in every Jewish soul at all times and at every hour,

מאהבה הטבעית שהיא ירושה לנו מאבותינו

by virtue of the natural love which is a heritage bequeathed to us by our ancestors.

רק שצריך לקבוע עתים להתבונן בגדולת ה׳, להשיג דחילו ורחימו שכליים

Nevertheless, one should not be satisfied merely with this level of service: one needs to establish set periods for reflecting on the greatness of G‑d in order to attain intellectually-generated fear and love,

וכולי האי ואולי וכו׳ כנ״ל

and with all that, perhaps [one may succeed] in attaining such fear and love, as has been stated previously.

Thus, although one already possesses a hidden love of G‑d which enables him to study Torah and pray out of a readiness to surrender his very soul, he should still seek to attain that level of fear and love of G‑d that is born of his own intellectual endeavor.

Footnotes

1.Yirmeyahu 23:24.

2.Sanhedrin 4:5.

3.Bereishit 28:13.

4.“As explained at length in the discourses on tefillin in Pri Etz Chayim; Siddur (edition with chassidic discourses); Imrei Binah; etc.” (— Comment by the Rebbe.)

5.Orach Chayim 25:5.

6.“As explained at the beginning of the chapter.” (— Comment by the Rebbe.)

7.Devarim 17:15.

8.See Likkutei Torah, Masei 90d.

9.Shmot 23:25.

10.Devarim 13:5.

11.Berachot 28b.

12.See Avot 3:9.

13.Berachot 17a.

14.Avot 3:17.

15.See beginning of ch. 43, where this subject is treated in greater detail.

16.Avot 3:17.

17.The Rebbe notes that this does not contradict the statement of the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 39:8, quoted in Tosafot, Shabbat 49a, s.v. כנפיה), that when a dove is tired it “flies with one wing,” indicating that a bird can indeed fly with only one wing.

There is no contradiction, because the Midrash concludes with the words, “(it flies with one) and rests with one”; the bird possesses both wings. Here, however, the Alter Rebbe is describing a situation where the individual possesses only a love of G‑d and lacks fear of Him; he thus completely lacks the second “wing”.

Furthermore, according to the Midrashic text and commentary of the Matnot Kehunah, although the dove is mostly flying with one wing it also makes use, albeit minimal use, of the second wing as well; even a dove cannot fly with just one of its two wings.

18.Berachot 49b.

19.Tehillim 25:1.

20.The Tetragrammaton is composed of the four letters: yud and hei, vav and another hei. Since two of the letters are similar, we are left with three different letters, which can form a total of twelve combinations — or so it would seem.

The Rebbe notes, however, that first of all, the Name A-D-N-Y consists of four different letters, providing for a total of twenty-four permutations (while only twelve of them predominate during the twelve hours of the night). Secondly, the two letters hei in the Tetragrammaton have significantly different spiritual connotations. Thus this Divine Name, too, is able to form twenty-four different (spiritual) permutations.

The Rebbe therefore explains that the Alter Rebbe is saying here that twelve of the twenty-four possible combinations of the Tetragrammaton rule during the twelve hours of the day (while the other twelve have no connection at all to time). The same principle applies to the twelve stitches in the tefillin of the hand, which according to the Mishnat Chassidim correspond to twelve combinations of A-D-N-Y. There, too, twelve of the possible twenty-four combinations are related to these stitches, while the other twelve are not related to the tefillin at all.

At any rate, twelve of the permutations of the Tetragrammaton rule during the twelve hours of the day, and twelve combinations of the Name A-D-N-Y rule during the twelve hours of the night.