17 It is well known1 that in response to an arousal from below, when a man arouses in his heart the attribute of lovingkindness and compassion for all those in need of compassion,

יז נוֹדָע, דִּבְ"אִתְעָרוּתָא דִלְתַתָּא", שֶׁהָאָדָם מְעוֹרֵר בְּלִבּוֹ מִדַּת הַחֶסֶד וְרַחֲמָנוּת עַל כָּל הַצְּרִיכִים לְרַחֲמִים –

there comes an arousal from above, that arouses great compassion upon him from the Source of Compassion,

"אִתְעָרוּתָא דִלְעֵילָּא", לְעוֹרֵר עָלָיו רַחֲמִים רַבִּים מִמְּקוֹר הָרַחֲמִים,

As taught in ch. 45 of Part I, this does not refer to Av Harachaman, the limited level of compassion that derives from the measured evolvement of the worlds but to the level of Divine compassion (Av Harachamim) that transcends all limitations.

that endows him with the fruits [of his deeds] in this world while the principal [remains intact] for the World to Come.2

לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ לוֹ הַפֵּירוֹת בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, וְהַקֶּרֶן לָעוֹלָם־הַבָּא.

The Alter Rebbe goes on to explain that “fruits in this world” refers not only to physical blessings but also to the insights and spiritual delights of Gan Eden (lit., “the Garden of Eden”), for even Gan Eden is termed “this world” in relation to the World to Come at the time of the Revival of the Dead.

It is true that in relation to our present physical world, Gan Eden is called the World to Come because it follows and rewards the good deeds performed in this world.3 Nevertheless, when compared to the actual World to Come, all worlds—including the spiritual worlds, of which Gan Eden is one—are termed “this world.”

This is because all worlds can aspire (even now) to comprehension (“this” being a word denoting revelation)4; by contrast, as the Alter Rebbe will soon explain,5 the perceptions of Divinity in the World to Come at the time of the Revival of the Dead will transcend all levels of comprehension.

This means that “the fruits” refers to the flow of benevolence which is bestowed by the Source of Compassion and the Fountainhead of Life, blessed be He.

פֵּירוּשׁ, "הַפֵּירוֹת" – הִיא הַשְׁפָּעָה הַנִּשְׁפַּעַת מִמְּקוֹר הָרַחֲמִים וְחַיֵּי הַחַיִּים בָּרוּךְ־הוּא,

It issues ever netherward, following the pattern of the evolution of the worlds from above downward, and so on,

וְנִמְשֶׁכֶת לְמַטָּה מַּטָּה בִּבְחִינַת הִשְׁתַּלְשְׁלוּת הָעוֹלָמוֹת מִלְמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה כוּ',

until it vests itself in this physical world, in [the form of the blessings of] children, life, and livelihood, and the like.

עַד שֶׁמִּתְלַבֶּשֶׁת בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה הַגַּשְׁמִי בְּ"בָנֵי חַיֵּי וּמְזוֹנֵי" כו'.

All these gifts, both spiritual and material, are deemed to be mere “fruits,” for just as fruits are not of the essence of a tree but fall and are replaced, so, too, does this flow of benevolence undergo a transformation from world to world.

The “principal” relates to the verse, “Your commandment (mitzvat’cha) is very wide.”6

וְ"הַקֶּרֶן" הוּא כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "רְחָבָה מִצְוָתְךָ מְאֹד",

Now it should have said “Your commandments” (mitzvotecha), in the plural.

וַהֲוָה־לֵיהּ־לְמֵימַר "מִצְוֹתֶיךָ" לְשׁוֹן רַבִּים

This would be the case if the verse simply meant to say that the commandments in general are without end.

(7The term “wide” is also puzzling.)

(וְגַם לְשׁוֹן "רְחָבָה" אֵינוֹ מוּבָן):

A more commonly expected term might have been “great,” “immense,” “lofty,” or the like.

However, the choice of the singular form of “Your commandment” alludes to the mitzvah of tzedakah, which is truly G-d’s mitzvah, the mitzvah He performs Himself,

אֶלָּא: "מִצְוָתְךָ" דַיְיקָא, הִיא מִצְוַת הַצְּדָקָה, שֶׁהִיא מִצְוַת ה' מַמָּשׁ,

which the Holy One Himself, blessed be He, in all His majesty, performs at all times by animating the worlds,

מַה שֶּׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא בִּכְבוֹדוֹ וּבְעַצְמוֹ עוֹשֶׂה תָּמִיד לְהַחֲיוֹת הָעוֹלָמוֹת,

and will do so in the future with exceeding magnitude and intensity.

וְיַעֲשֶׂה לֶעָתִיד בְּיֶתֶר שְׂאֵת וָעֹז,

It is likewise written, “And they shall observe the path of G-d to do tzedakah…”8; i.e., tzedakah is here described as G-d’s path.

וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "וְשָׁמְרוּ דֶּרֶךְ ה' לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה כוּ'",

Metaphorically speaking, like a road on which one travels from one town to another,

כְּמוֹ דֶּרֶךְ שֶׁהוֹלְכִים בָּהּ מֵעִיר לְעִיר, עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל,

so, too, charity is a manifestation and radiance of the [infinite] Ein Sof-light which encompasses all worlds,

כָּךְ הַצְּדָקָה הִיא בְּחִינַת גִּילּוּי וְהֶאָרַת אוֹר־אֵין־סוֹף בָּרוּךְ־הוּא "סוֹבֵב כָּל עָלְמִין",

that will radiate and become manifest in the future, at the time of the Resurrection of the Dead, even to this world—in response to the arousal [initiated by mortals] from below, as expressed in charity and gratuitous kindness—

שֶׁיָּאִיר וְיִתְגַּלֶּה עַד עוֹלָם הַזֶּה, בְּ"אִתְעָרוּתָא דִלְתַתָּא", בְּתוֹרַת צְדָקָה וְחֶסֶד חִנָּם, לֶעָתִיד בִּתְחִיַּית הַמֵּתִים,

with a magnitude and force infinitely exceeding the state in which the radiation9 is manifested in the Lower and Higher levels of Gan Eden.

בְּיֶתֶר שְׂאֵת וְיֶתֶר עֹז לְאֵין קֵץ מִבְּחִינַת גִּילּוּי (הֶאָרָה) [הַהֶאָרָה] בְּגַן עֵדֶן הַתַּחְתּוֹן וְהָעֶלְיוֹן,

The proof for this is: For the souls of all the tzaddikim,10 and of the tannaim11 who preceded them, and of the prophets12 who predate the tannaim,

שֶׁהֲרֵי כָּל נִשְׁמוֹת הַצַּדִּיקִים וְהַתַּנָּאִים וְהַנְּבִיאִים,

that are now in the Higher Gan Eden, at the peak of all levels,

שֶׁהֵם עַתָּה בְּגַן עֵדֶן הָעֶלְיוֹן בְּרוּם הַמַּעֲלוֹת,

will become vested in their bodies in the Time to Come, and will arise at the time of the Resurrection,13 to derive pleasure from the splendor of the Shechinah, which will then radiate in this world to the souls as they are vested within their bodies.

יִתְלַבְּשׁוּ בְּגוּפוֹתֵיהֶם לֶעָתִיד וְיָקוּמוּ בִּזְמַן הַתְּחִיָּיה לֵיהָנוֹת מִזִּיו הַשְּׁכִינָה.

It is thus clear that this revelation will transcend by far the degree of revelation that can be attained in the Higher Gan Eden so that it is worthwhile for souls which are so loftily situated to descend and enclothe themselves in physical bodies in order to be able to receive it.

This revelation is purely an act of tzedakah and gratuitous kindness on G-d’s part, for man’s arousal from below is in no way intense enough to draw down such an immense degree of revelation; his spiritual service serves only as a vessel which enables him to receive it.

The Alter Rebbe now goes on to explain what exactly it is about the revelation attainable in the World to Come that makes the revelation attainable even in the Higher Gan Eden pale in comparison.

For the manifestation and the radiance in Gan Eden are of the level called memalei kol almin14the light which “permeates all worlds”; i.e., the muted Divine life-force that contracts, descends, and diminishes according to the receptive capacity of the particular created being which it is to permeate.

לְפִי שֶׁהַהֶאָרָה וְהַגִּילּוּי שֶׁבְּגַן עֵדֶן הִיא בְּחִינַת "מְמַלֵּא כָּל עָלְמִין",

This [diminishment of the Divine life-force] is an evolving progression from one rung to another by means of immense contractions.

שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת הִשְׁתַּלְשְׁלוּת מִמַּדְרֵגָה לְמַדְרֵגָה עַל־יְדֵי צִמְצוּמִים עֲצוּמִים,

As was taught by our Sages, of blessed memory, “The World to Come—which here means Gan Eden—was created by the letter yud,”15 a letter limited and contracted to a single point.

וּכְמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: "בְּיוּ"ד נִבְרָא עוֹלָם־הַבָּא",

This [letter] signifies the level of supernal chochmah (the first of the ten sefirot of the World of Atzilut),

וְהִיא בְּחִינַת חָכְמָה עִילָּאָה,

which is referred to as the Higher Eden, that surpasses the level of Gan Eden, inasmuch as gan implies only a garden derived from Eden, and not Eden itself,

הַנִּקְרֵאת "עֵדֶן הָעֶלְיוֹן",

and which evolves and becomes vested in all the worlds,

הַמִּשְׁתַּלְשֶׁלֶת וּמִתְלַבֶּשֶׁת בְּכָל הָעוֹלָמוֹת,

I.e., chochmah descends and vests itself in all the worlds in order to continuously create and animate them,

as it is written, “You have made them all with chochmah…”16; i.e., all created beings derive from the sefirah of chochmah.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "כּוּלָּם בְּחָכְמָה עָשִׂיתָ כוּ'",

[It is likewise written], “And chochmah animates…,”17 again indicating that the sefirah of chochmah animates all the worlds.

וְ"הַחָכְמָה תְּחַיֶּה כוּ'",

In Gan Eden, it is manifestly comprehensible to each according to his measure.

וּבְגַן עֵדֶן, הִיא בִּבְחִינַת גִּילּוּי הַהַשָּׂגָה לְכָל חַד לְפוּם שִׁיעוּרָא דִילֵיהּ,

While the life-force that emanates from chochmah is concealed from all other worlds, it is manifest in Gan Eden so that the souls there are able to apprehend the Essence of Divinity.

For, as is known, the delight of the souls in Gan Eden derives from [their] apprehension of the secrets of the Torah in whose revealed dimensions [they were] engaged in this world so that what was secret in this world is revealed in Gan Eden,

כַּנּוֹדָע, שֶׁעוֹנֶג הַנְּשָׁמוֹת בְּגַן עֵדֶן הוּא מֵהַשָּׂגַת סוֹדוֹת הַתּוֹרָה שֶׁעָסַק בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה בַּנִּגְלֶה,

as is discussed in the sacred Zohar, Parashat Shelach,18

כִּדְאִיתָא בַּזּוֹהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ פָּרָשַׁת שְׁלַח,

The Zohar speaks there about the various heavenly “academies,” such as “Moses’ Academy” and the “Heavenly Academy,” and so, too, an academy in which Miriam teaches righteous women.

and in the Gemara,19 with reference to the incident involving Rabbah bar Nachmani.

וּבַגְּמָרָא, בְּעוּבְדָא דְרַבָּה בַּר נַחְמָנִי.

The Gemara describes a legal debate between G-d and the Heavenly Academy regarding ritual purity in a situation where it is doubtful whether “the baheret preceded the appearance of a white hair or whether the white hair preceded the baheret.” It was agreed that Rabbah bar Nachmani would render the decisive opinion because of his singular knowledge in the field of Nega’im and Ohalot. In Likkutei Torah, Parashat Tazria,20 the Alter Rebbe explains this specific dispute as well as the concept of the Heavenly Academy in general.

At any rate, the revelation attainable in Gan Eden is that of memalei kol almin, in which only a limited degree of light filters through.

The manifestation of the radiance at the time of the Resurrection, however, will be from the level of sovev kol almin,

אֲבָל גִּילּוּי הַהֶאָרָה שֶׁבִּתְחִיַּית הַמֵּתִים, יִהְיֶה מִבְּחִינַת "סוֹבֵב כָּל עָלְמִין",

which is not in a state of contraction, measure, and limit but is limitless and endless.

שֶׁאֵינָהּ בִּבְחִינַת צִמְצוּם וְשִׁיעוּר וּגְבוּל, אֶלָא בְּלִי גְבוּל וְתַכְלִית,

The concept of sovev kol almin, as has been explained in Likkutei Amarim, ch. 48,

כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר בְּ"לִקּוּטֵי אֲמָרִים" פֶּרֶק מ"ח בֵּיאוּר עִנְיַן "סוֹבֵב כָּל עָלְמִין",

is not to be understood literally, as resembling a sphere, heaven forfend; i.e., this superior order of light does not “encompass all worlds” spatially so that it surrounds creation and remains exterior to it.

שֶׁאֵינוֹ כְּמַשְׁמָעוֹ כְּמוֹ עִיגּוּל, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם,

Rather, [it means that] it is not invested (implying adaptation) [within it]; instead of contracting itself to match the receptive capacity of the particular created being that it animates, it affects it—even from within—while remaining on its own level.

אֶלָּא שֶׁאֵינוֹ בִּבְחִינַת הִתְלַבְּשׁוּת וְכוּ',

Note there carefully.

וְעַיֵּין שָׁם הֵיטֵב.