Upon his Arrival from Petersburg
The Alter Rebbe sent this pastoral letter to all his followers, upon his release from the imprisonment brought about by calumnies instigated by the opponents of Chassidism.1 This slander resulted from his selfless and tireless efforts to strengthen the chassidic movement and disseminate its teachings. His subsequent release (also) served as a nod of approval from the government for their continued dissemination.
The Rebbeim, the successive leaders of the ChaBaD chassidic school of thought, have taught that the Alter Rebbe’s arrest resulted from an indictment voiced in the Heavenly Court — against his doctrine of clothing the teachings of Chassidism in intellectual terms.2 (In fact the very word ChaBaD, naming the movement he founded and the teachings he first articulated, is an acronym for Chochmah, Binah and Daat — “wisdom”, “understanding”, and “knowledge”, respectively.) The same voice, moreover, disapproved of the fact that the Alter Rebbe beamed these teachings at the Jewish masses.
The Alter Rebbe wrote this epistle in order that it be clearly understood that his release from physical incarceration resulted directly from his being cleared of all spiritual charges. Indeed, a clear signal and an extra measure of strength was thereby given from Above that the teachings of Chassidism be promulgated according to the Alter Rebbe’s approach of making them intelligible and accessible to all.
With the Alter Rebbe’s release there thus began a second era in the dissemination of Chassidism. This is alluded to by this letter, which is numbered Iggeret HaKodesh, Epistle 2. It will be noted that the number 2 is mentioned only after the heading, “Upon his Arrival from Petersburg.” Now Epistle 27 also has a prefatory heading that explains why it was written. There, however, the number of the epistle appears first, and only then is it followed by the introductory heading. Here the order is inverted, because the second period (or, in chassidic terminology,3 “the second degree of greatness”), which is alluded to by the number 2, began with the Alter Rebbe’s arrival from Petersburg.
קטנתי מכל החסדים ומכל האמת
“I4 have become small from all the favors and from all [the truth].”
These words were uttered by Jacob as an introduction to his plea to G‑d that He save him from Esau. Although G‑d had previously5 assured him that He would accompany and protect him wherever he went, Jacob nonetheless feared that all the kindnesses that G‑d had already shown him had made him “small”, i.e., had reduced his merits. He thus feared that he was possibly in a state in which he would have to ask G‑d anew,6 “Save me.”
פירוש:
This means —
Rashi comments7 that “I have become small” is a result of “all the favors and all the truth”; i.e., “My merits have diminished because of the favors and truth You have done with me.” Ramban argues that this comment is inconsistent with the “language of the verse,” which states that “I have become small,” not that the speaker’s merits have become small; there is a diminution in quality rather than in quantity.8
Ramban therefore understands9 “I have become small” to mean: “I am unworthy of receiving all your kindness and truth.” Thus, according to Ramban, “I have become small” is not a result of G‑d’s “kindness and truth,” but rather an expression of the speaker’s being unworthy of receiving G‑d’s “kindness and truth.”
The Alter Rebbe, however, is going to explain this verse according to the commentary of Rashi: “from all the kindness” simply means that it was the kindness that made Jacob feel “small”. At the same time, though, the Alter Rebbe will understand “I have become small” as referring to the speaker himself: it is he himself who has become diminished as a result of G‑d’s many kindnesses and His truth. (Thus, not only have the particular person’s merits become lessened, which results in his diminishment,10 but he himself is directly affected as a result of the “kindness and truth.”)
Although it is the person himself (and not the tally of his merits) that has become diminished, nonetheless this diminution is a result of the “kindness and truth.” This, then, is what the Alter Rebbe intends by saying “This means” —
שבכל חסד וחסד שהקדוש ברוך הוא עושה לאדם, צריך להיות שפל רוח במאד
that with every single favor that G‑d bestows upon a man, he ought to become very humble.
כי חסד דרועא ימינא
For [the Supernal Sefirah of]11 “Chesed is the right arm,”
וימינו תחבקני
and, as Scripture states,12 “His right arm embraces me,”
שהיא בחינת קרבת אלקים ממש, ביתר שאת מלפנים
which refers to the state of G‑d actually bringing him close [to Himself], far more intensely than before.
Every Divine act of Chesed brings a man closer to G‑d.
וכל הקרוב אל ה׳ ביתר שאת, והגבה למעלה מעלה
And whoever is [brought] exceedingly close to G‑d, being raised aloft to great heights, 13
צריך להיות יותר שפל רוח, למטה מטה
ought to be ever more humble, to the lowliest plane,
כמו שכתוב: מרחוק ה׳ נראה לי
as it is written,14 “From afar has G‑d appeared to me.”
When G‑d appears to an individual through a particular manifestation of kindness, this should make him perceive himself as being — in relation to G‑d — “afar”, i.e., humbly distant from Him. Alternatively, the verse may be implying that perceiving oneself as being “afar” is the very means by which to attain a state in which “G‑d has appeared to me.”
וכנודע, דכולא קמיה דווקא כלא חשיב
And, as is known, “All that are before Him are esteemed as nothing.”
A being of even the highest conceivable spiritual level is of absolutely no account — indeed, it is nullified out of existence — when in G‑d’s presence, when it is “before Him,” for nothing exists before G‑d other than Himself.
ואם כן, כל שהוא קמיה יותר, הוא יותר כלא ואין ואפס
Hence, whoever is more “before Him” — whoever is closer to G‑d — is that much more like nothing, naught, and non-existent.
וזו היא בחינת ימין שבקדושה, וחסד לאברהם
This [self-effacing response to Divine favors] is the level of the “right side” of holiness, and of “Chesed unto Abraham” — the Divine lovingkindness that is bestowed upon Abraham, as in the verse,15 “You grant truth to Jacob, loving-kindness unto Abraham,”
שאמר: ואנכי עפר ואפר
who said,16 “And I am dust and ashes.”
The kindness that G‑d showed Abraham motivated him to attain the ultimate degree of humility that this statement expresses. Just as in the heavenly realms “the right arm of Divine Chesed” causes recipients of the Chesed to lose their independent identity in the identity of the Bestower of lovingkindness, so too does it affect mortals upon whom it is bestowed, making them likewise humble and self-effacing.
