הגהה
*NOTE
The Alter Rebbe will now say that by looking at heaven and earth one not only becomes aware of their G‑dly vitalizing force, but also perceives how the world and all its inhabitants are truly nullified to the divine life-force. This can be perceived by observing the stars and planets, all of which travel in a westerly direction. In doing so they express their nullification to the Shechinah, the Divine Presence, which is in the west.
וגם נראה בראיית העין שהם בטלים לאורו יתברך בהשתחוואתם כל יום כלפי מערב בשקיעתם, כמאמר רז״ל על פסוק: וצבא השמים לך משתחוים, שהשכינה במערב
And it is also seen with a glance of the eye that they are nullified to His blessed light, by the fact that they “prostrate” themselves every day towards the west at the time of their setting. As the Rabbis, of blessed memory, commented on the verse:26 “…and the hosts of the heavens bow before You,” that the Shechinah abides in the west,
ונמצא הילוכם כל היום כלפי מערב הוא דרך השתחוואה וביטול
Hence, not only do the heavenly hosts show their self-abnegation when they set in the west, but their daily orbit westwards is a kind of prostration and self-nullification.
We find it written that if the sun, moon and planets were to follow their natural characteristics they would travel in an easterly, rather than in a westerly direction. That they do not do so testifies to their constant self-nullification to the Divine Presence which is found in the west. For the four points of the compass are rooted in the Supernal Sefirot, and Malchut — the level of the Shechinah — is in the west. Thus, even man’s eye observes the self-nullification of creation to the divine life-force.
והנה גם מי שלא ראה את המלך מעולם ואינו מכירו כלל, אף על פי כן, כשנכנס לחצר המלך
Even he who has never seen the king and does not recognize him at all, nevertheless, when he enters the royal court,
“There the king is not revealed at all: it is not the place of his royal throne and the like. (In the analogue this refers to the physical world, in which various proofs are necessary in order to bring about self-nullification to the King.)” — Note of the Rebbe.
ורואה שרים רבים ונכבדים משתחוים לאיש אחד
and sees many honorable princes prostrating themselves before one man,
“The person who enters and looks superficially is unable to detect a difference between him and the other men present.” — Note of the Rebbe.
תפול עליו אימה ופחד
there falls on him a dread and awe.
So, too, the self-nullification before G‑d shown by the awesome creatures, such as the heavenly bodies, enables one to be in fear and awe of Him.
END OF NOTE
However, the question may be asked: When one gazes at the body of a physical king, he sees before him beyond a shadow of a doubt the king himself. He therefore can extrapolate intellectually about the inner essence and vitality of the king and come to fear him. This is not so, however, with regard to physical creatures. The divine life-force is so concealed within them through so many garbs of concealment, that it is quite possible for one to gaze at them and fail to be aware that their bodies are but garments to the divine life-force they contain.
The Alter Rebbe now goes on to say, that it is therefore important for a person who observes physical created beings to cultivate the habit of immediately recalling that within the concealment of their external trappings and garments, there is to be found the G‑dliness that animates them. By doing so, one is then able to perceive the divine life-force found within the world.
ואף שהוא על ידי התלבשות בלבושים רבים
And although many garments are involved in this vestiture, so that when one gazes at created beings, one does not perceive that they are but garments to their divine life-force,
הרי אין הבדל והפרש כלל ביראת מלך בשר ודם, בין שהוא ערום, ובין שהוא לבוש לבוש אחד, ובין שהוא לבוש בלבושים רבים
there is no difference or distinction at all in the fear of a mortal king, whether he be naked,27 or clothed in one or many garments.
It is the realization that the king is found within the garments that creates the fear of him. And the same, the Alter Rebbe will conclude, is true here. When a person becomes accustomed to remember that when he gazes upon created beings he is in reality gazing upon the King’s garments, he will then come to fear Him.
אלא העיקר הוא ההרגל, להרגיל דעתו ומחשבתו תמיד, להיות קבוע בלבו ומוחו תמיד, אשר כל מה שרואה בעיניו, השמים והארץ ומלואה, הכל הם לבושים החיצונים של המלך הקב״ה
The essential thing, however, is the training to habituate one’s mind and thought continuously, so that it always remain imprinted in his heart and mind, that everything one sees with his eyes — the heavens and earth and all they contain — constitutes the outer garments of the king, the Holy One, blessed be He.
ועל ידי זה יזכור תמיד על פנימיותם וחיותם
In this way he will constantly remember their inwardness and vitality, which is G‑dliness. This will create within him a fear of G‑d.
The Rebbe explains that what now follows answers a question: How can we possibly say here that the nullification of the world to G‑d is a concept that can be perceived intellectually, when in ch. 33 the Alter Rebbe explained that this was a matter of faith? In this chapter too, we have learned that it is a matter of faith — “that all Jews are believers, descendants of believers,” and so on. Faith and intellect are not only distinct entities, they are antithetical; for example, when something is understood, faith is not necessary.
The Alter Rebbe therefore now goes on to explain that this intellectual perception is also implicit in the word emunah (“faith”). For this word is etymologically rooted in the word uman (“artisan”). In order for an artisan with a talent for painting, creating vessels, or whatever, to be successful, he must habituate and train his hands; only then will they reveal the latent talents of the artistry found in his soul.
The same is true here: The soul of every Jew possesses the abovementioned faith. However, in order for this faith to be actualized, so that one’s actions will be in consonance with it, one must habituate and train himself to realize that all he sees — heaven and earth and all of creation — are but G‑d’s external garments. By constantly remembering that their inwardness is G‑dliness, the soul’s essential faith will be revealed and will affect one’s actions. His bodily organs will then follow the dictates of his faith.
וזה נכלל גם כן בלשון אמונה, שהוא לשון רגילות, שמרגיל האדם את עצמו, כמו אומן שמאמן ידיו וכו׳
This is also implicit in the word emunah (“faith”), which is a term indicating “training” to which a person habituates himself, like a craftsman who trains his hands, and so forth.
The Rebbe notes that “who trains his hands” means: “He is cognizant of the craft in his soul; he has a natural talent for it, but needs only to train his hands, so that it will find tangible expression in his actions (be it through art, or fashioning vessels, or the like).”
Thus, the analogue contains both aspects: The king sees the individual, and he sees the king, as it were, by looking at created beings and perceiving through them the divine life-force that vitalizes them.
* * *
The Rebbe notes that the reason the Alter Rebbe now goes on to say “There should also be etc.” is that until now it has been explained how a Jew generates the fear of heaven through intellectual contemplation. The degree of fear he arouses will correspond exactly to the extent of his contemplation; the deeper the contemplation, the greater his fear. It also depends on how much each individual is governed by his intellect. Furthermore, it is too much to expect that all people constantly achieve a state of intellectual awareness — yet all people are obliged to stand in constant fear of heaven. The Alter Rebbe therefore now goes on to elaborate on a frame of mind which can and must exist constantly — “acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven.” This is not attained through contemplation. Rather it comes as a result of faith alone — and this state can exist constantly in all individuals.
וגם להיות לזכרון תמיד לשון חז״ל: קבלת עול מלכות שמים, שהוא כענין: שום תשים עליך מלך
There should also be a constant remembrance (it is constant because it does not depend on prior contemplation, but rather on pure faith) of the dictum of the Sages, of blessed memory, “acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven,” which parallels the injunction,28 “You shall appoint a king (i.e., G‑d) over you,”
כמו שכתוב במקום אחר וכו׳
as has been explained elsewhere, and so on.
This is also what the Alter Rebbe says earlier in Tanya (beginning of ch. 41): “Even though after all this [meditation] no fear or dread descends upon him in a manifest manner in his heart,” still he should accept upon himself G‑d as his king, and accept upon himself the yoke of the heavenly Kingdom. As the Alter Rebbe explains there, this attribute is found within every Jew in a sincere manner, because of the nature of Jewish souls not to rebel against G‑d, the King of kings. This level of fear can therefore always be present.
כי הקב״ה מניח את העליונים והתחתונים ומייחד מלכותו עלינו וכו׳, ואנחנו מקבלים וכו׳
For G‑d, blessed be He, forgoes the creatures of the higher and lower worlds, i.e., they are not the ultimate intent of creation, and uniquely bestows His kingdom upon us, …and we accept [the heavenly yoke].
וזהו ענין ההשתחוואות שבתפלת שמונה עשרה, אחר קבלת עול מלכות שמים בדבור בקריאת שמע
And this is the significance of the obeisances in the prayer of the Eighteen Benedictions, following the verbal acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven in the Reading of Shema, when we say, “…the L‑rd is our G‑d, the L‑rd is one,” and so on,
לחזור ולקבל בפועל ממש במעשה וכו׳, כמו שכתוב במקום אחר
whereby one accepts it once again in actual deed, and so on (for by bowing in the course of the prayer of Shemoneh Esreh one shows one’s acceptance in actual deed of one’s self-nullification to G‑d), as is explained elsewhere.
Footnotes
1.Berachot 33b.
2.Devarim 10:12.
3.Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, David.
4.Shabbat 101b, and elsewhere.
5.Explaining why the Alter Rebbe says here that sparks from the soul of Moses are clothed in the body and soul of the sages of every generation, the Rebbe points out: It would seem that the order should be reversed — the sparks clothe themselves not only in the soul of the sage, but also in his body.
The Rebbe explains, however, that if the order would indeed be reversed one could erroneously be led to think that the spark of Moses clothed in the sage does not reach his body directly from Moses, except after first being clothed in his soul. By first stating “body” and then “soul” the Alter Rebbe underscores the fact that the spark of Moses clothed in the body arrives at its destination directly from Moses, without the interposition of the sage’s soul. Just as the distinctive quality of Moses himself related not only to his soul but also to his body, so, too, regarding the spark that emanates from him: it is clothed directly in the body of the sage.
This helps us understand more deeply why the sages are known as Moses, as mentioned earlier, for even within their bodies a spark of Moses is clothed.
6.I Divrei HaYamim 28:9.
7.Yirmeyahu 31:33.
8.See above, ch. 3.
9.Beginning of ch. 29.
10.The Rebbe notes: “The wording is from Sefer Chassidim, and so too later on.”
11.Parentheses are in the original text.
12.The Rebbe notes: In the second edition of the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, in which the subjects are discussed — as can plainly be seen — in more detail and in a more inward manner, the Alter Rebbe adds: “And if the person does not immediately attain fear of G‑d, he should immerse himself deeply…. He should also fully repent for his sins, for it is they that hinder him from attaining fear [of G‑d].”
This supplements the statement of the Shulchan Aruch and of the first edition of the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch (as quoted above in Tanya), that “when he will contemplate…he will immediately attain this fear….”
Thus, in the second edition of his Shulchan Aruch, the Alter Rebbe addresses the issue of what is to be done if fear is not immediately attained. The situation may be remedied by (a) “immersing himself more deeply, etc.,” and by (b) “fully repenting, etc.”
13.Megillah 6b.
14.Mishlei 2:4-5.
15.Avot 2:1.
16.The Rebbe indicates in a footnote that it is incorrect to translate “all that is done to them,” namely, the effect of heat or cold on the organs. For were that to be so: (a) this has already been mentioned earlier; why repeat it again; (b) the Hebrew should have read, “nif‘al bahem,” which would translate to “done to them,” and not, “mitpa’el bahem,” which translates literally, “what is affected in them.” For this reason the phrase has been translated, “and all that is affected in them.”
Furthermore, says the Rebbe, it is possible that there is a typographical error, and that the phrase should read, מהם… — “and all that is affected by them,” i.e., all that which man as a whole is affected by the organs. For this reason the translation has alternatively been given as, “and all that is affected by them.”
This emendation parallels that which is stated a little later on, that the analogy of man’s knowledge of his organs is not at all similar to the analogue, for a person is affected by his body; G‑d, however, is in no way affected by changes in the world. It therefore is reasonable to assume that the analogy given here is that of the person being affected by his bodily organs, for it is in this regard that the analogue is not at all similar to the analogy.
17.I Divrei HaYamim 29:14.
18.In the Mussaf prayer of Rosh HaShanah.
19.Parentheses are in the original text.
20.Note of the Rebbe: “In line with the analogy (end of side (a) in the Hebrew text). ‘The creation’ is not part of the analogy at all, for the soul does not create the body. The Alter Rebbe therefore does not speak of it or negate it in the analogue.”
21.In the morning prayers.
22.Note of the Rebbe: At first glance it would seem that there is no compelling evidence as to whether “at any time or moment” is connected to the earlier clause (“when he will again meditate… even with a superficial reflection at any time or moment”), or whether it is connected to the following clause (“at any time or moment, he will turn away from evil and do good…”).
However, since “any time or moment” is mentioned in ch. 14 with regard to a person’s ability to become a Beinoni, and the Alter Rebbe explains there that this phrase refers to his thought, speech and deed, it follows that here, too, “at any time or moment” relates to the following clause — “he will turn away from evil and do good, in thought, speech and deed.”
23.Berachot 28b.
24.Devarim 10:12.
25.Parentheses are in the original text.
26.Bava Batra 25a.
27.The Rebbe notes: “Cf. Mishnah, Sanhedrin, end of ch. 2.”
28.Devarim 17:15.
