Daily Tanya

On the above matters between man and G-d, the Alter Rebbe referred to himself as merely “repeating reminders.”

Here, however, as he begins to speak of the relationship between man and man, he uses stronger terms.

It is not man’s task to weigh the motives of his fellow.

Since every individual possesses specific qualities that others lack, the realization by disparate people that in essence they comprise one whole, enables them all to be complemented and perfected by each other.

The above form of address, “Furthermore, I earnestly ask of my exalted listeners…,” is expounded by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, on the nonliteral level of derush. Noting that אֶדְרוֹשׁ מִמַּעֲלַתְכֶם can also be understood as speaking of “calling forth exalted qualities,” Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak once remarked:57 “This form of address does not mean that the Alter Rebbe was confining his appeal to an exclusive group of exalted individuals; after all, he was addressing this letter to his Chasidim at large. Rather, in using this phrase, he was implying an underlying plea: Call forth your exalted qualities!”

With regard to the following pair of phrases, “not to cast aside my words, in which I have asked…,” Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak explains that the former phrase refers to the indirect and transcendent (makif) mode in which the Alter Rebbe influenced his Chasidim while the second phrase refers to his simultaneously direct and internalized (pnimi) mode of influence.

Finally, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak points out that the Alter Rebbe’s following affirmation that “every man [literally:] is better than his fellow” really means that one’s fellows enable one to become a better person; i.e., as translated above, “every man becomes better through his fellow.”

To consider both this divisiveness and this harmony on the cosmic level, in terms of the relation of souls to the Divine Presence: The above sentence means59 that divisiveness among Jews affects, as it were, the Divine Presence, the “heart” of the Jewish people; conversely, since the task of prayer is to connect a soul with its source in the Divine Presence, cultivating one’s sense of unity with one’s fellows—which in turn connects all souls with the Shechinah—enhances the Divine service of prayer.

(The bracketed clause is euphemistically omitted in the Hebrew original and merely hinted at by “etc.”) I.e., when unity is lacking, the service of prayer is likewise imperfect.

This really means, “whether for good or for bad.” Here, too, however, the Alter Rebbe uses a traditional euphemism (“for the better”), which could be understood to mean, “for that which needs to become better.67

Thought is a soul-garment that is more intimately involved with the soul than speech. For this reason, (a) good thoughts leave a deeper impression on oneself than good speech, and conversely, evil thoughts leave a deeper impression than evil speech; (b) thought is a constant, just as the soul itself is a constant, whereas with regard to speech,68 “There is a time to keep silence and a time to speak.”