It is known that the purpose of the descent into exile is for the
subsequent ascent. For our divine service during the period of exile will bring
about an even greater degree of revelation in the Era of the Redemption than
there was during the time of the Beis HaMikdash. [This sequence parallels
the interpretation of the verse] “the advantage of light over
darkness”1 — that darkness evokes a greater
measure of light, [bringing out] a higher level [of light] than was revealed
previously.
[Similarly, in the present context,] the greater the degree of the descent
(the darkness), the loftier the subsequent ascent (the additional measure of
light). Accordingly, we can appreciate that, since the descent of exile affects
primarily the body (as above sec. 4), the ascent in the Era of the Redemption
(that results from the descent of exile) [which will be realized within] the
body will be even higher than the ascent of the soul.
This will be more fully understood based on the explanations in other
sources2 regarding the ascent
achieved by the soul because of its descent [to this material plane]. There are
two dimensions to this ascent:
a) The service of G-d performed by the soul as it exists within [this
material realm], enclothed in a body and an animal soul reveals the intensity of
the soul’s bond with G-d; that it is so powerful that the concealment and
hiddeness caused by the body and the animal soul cannot negate, or even weaken,
this connection;
b) By serving G-d in this material world, the soul purifies and refines the
body, the animal soul, and its surrounding environment.
The difference between these two dimensions can be explained as
follows:3 In the first instance, the additional measure
of light is brought about by darkness. The darkness reveals the intensity
of the light, that even the greatest degree of darkness cannot cause concealment
for it.
In the second instance, however, the additional measure of light comes from
the darkness itself — the darkness (of the body, the animal soul, and our
material world) is transformed into light.4 The
advantage herein is that the transformation of darkness itself into light can
be brought about only through G-d’s essential power which transcends the
distinctions of light and darkness. Thus, the transformation of darkness into
light reveals G-d’s essence.
Moreover, it is precisely this mode of service that accomplishes the Divine
intent in creation, that “G-d desires a dwelling place in the lower
realms.”5 {And G-d’s desire is rooted in His very
essence.6}
As explained in Tanya,7 the purpose
of the soul’s descent [to our world] is not for the soul’s own benefit, rather
to refine the body, the animal soul, and its portion in the world. For it is
this service that fulfills the Divine intent of having a dwelling place in this
world.8
Thus with regard to the ascent achieved through the descent of the soul to
this material plane, the fundamental ascent involves the purification and
refinement of the body. Similarly, with regard to the ascent in the Era of the
Redemption that results from the descent into exile, the fundamental ascent
involves the body.
For the advantage that accrues to the soul through the darkness of exile is
the revelation of the intensity of its bond with G-d — that although it is
clothed in a body and the body is in exile, even then the soul is not in exile.
However, the advantage that accrues to the body is that the darkness of the body
as it is in a state of exile (which is an even greater degree of darkness than
its natural state9) is transformed into light. Moreover, by transforming
the darkness of the body as it finds itself in exile into light, the Divine
intent of having a dwelling place in the lower realms, within the lowest
possible realm, is fulfilled.10
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