ולפי שפגם הברית בהוצאת זרע לבטלה
Since the violation of the covenant through wasteful emission,
ואין צריך לומר בעריות, או שאר איסורי ביאה דאורייתא או דרבנן
to say nothing of incestuous relations, or other unions prohibited by the Torah or the Sages
(כי חמורים דברי סופרים וכו’)
(12 for13 “the words i.e. the prohibitions of the Sages are more grave [than even the words i.e., the prohibitions of the Torah]”),
פוגם במוח
causes a blemish in the mind,
לכן תיקונו הוא, דיתעסק באורייתא דמחכמה נפקא
therefore his rectification is secured by engaging in the study of the Torah, which derives from Wisdom.
This explains why it was stated in Chapter 4 that only teshuvah ila’ah — “engaging in the study of the Torah in awe and love of the Holy One, blessed be He” — is effective in remedying this sin.
וזהו שכתוב בתנא דבי אליהו: אדם עבר עבירה ונתחייב מיתה למקום, מה יעשה ויחיה
We threfore find in Tana devei Eliyahu:14 “A man commits a sin and is liable to death before Al-mighty (for the above-mentioned sin carries with it the punishment of death by Divine agency); what shall he do and live?
אם היה רגיל לקרות דף אחד יקרא ב’ דפים, לשנות פרק אחד ישנה ב’ פרקים וכו’
If he was accustomed to studying one page [of Written Law], let him study two; if he was accustomed to studying one chapter [of the Oral Law], let his study two chapters….”
Why is sin punishable by death by Divine agency, such as the sin of wasteful emission, rectifiable by an increase in Torah study?
והיינו: כמשל חבל הנפסק וחוזר וקושרו
This resembles a rope that is severed and then reknotted:
שבמקום הקשר הוא כפול ומכופל
the site of the knot is twofold and fourfold thicker than the rest of the rope.
וככה הוא בחבל נחלתו וכו’
So it is with the “rope of [G‑d’s] heritage,” with the soul’s bond with its Source.
If this relationship was severed by sin, then repentance must reknot the cord doubly and fourfold. And this is accomplished through the study of the Torah.
וזהו שאמר הכתוב: בחסד ואמת יכופר עון וכו’
Thus Scripture states,15 “Through kindness and truth is sin forgiven …..,”
ואין אמת אלא תורה
and16 “there is no truth but Torah….”
Thus it is through the study of Torah that sin is forgiven.
ועון בית עלי בזבח ומנחה הוא דאינו מתכפר, אבל מתכפר בתורה וגמילות חסדים
Similarly, on the statement in Scripture17 that “the sin of the house of Eli will not be atoned by sacrifices and offerings,” the Gemara comments: “By sacrifices and offerings will the sin of the House of Eli not be atoned, but it will be atoned through the study of Torah and through good deeds,”
כדאיתא בסוף פרק קמא דראש השנה
as explained at the end of the first chapter18 of Rosh HaShanah.
Footnotes
1.Devarim 22:6.
2.Ibid. 30:20.
3.Note of the Rebbe: “There are many differences between the way in which the `cleaving of spirit to Spirit’ is explained here, and earlier on in chapter 49 [of Part I].”
4.Shir HaShirim 1:2.
5.Devarim 6:5.
6.Yerushalmi, Peah 1:1, et al.
7.Zohar I, 85a.
8.Shabbat 138b.
9.Yeshayahu 51:16.
10.Ibid. 59:12.
11.Shmot 20:11.
12.Parentheses are in the original text.
13.Cf. Sanhedrin 88b.
14.Cf. Vayikra Rabbah, beginning. of chapter 25.
15.Mishlei 16:6.
16.Cf. Berachot 5b.
17.I Shmuel 3:14.
18.In his glosses on Tanya, the Rebbe notes that the Alter Rebbe’s reference to “the end of the first chapter” is somewhat problematic, for this statement appears four pages before the end of that chapter, on page 18a.
