והנה The self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) [shown by the Jewish people] is drawn down from [the reservoir of] hidden love that transcends intellect
As the Alter Rebbe proceeds to explain, there are reasons to love G‑d. This essential love, however, is not motivated by reason. Instead, it is a natural part of our spiritual makeup, defining who we are.
which [every Jew possesses].
Since the essence of every Jew’s soul is an actual part of G‑d, he or she is naturally drawn to Him and cannot bear the thought of separation at any costs (Tanya, chs. 18 and 19).
For this reason, the Torah does not mention a rationale for mesirus nefesh.
I.e., a person does not need a command or a reason to eat: because it is a basic need of the body, he feels a natural urge to eat. Nor does he need an explanation why he should avoid fire; he appreciates that it is harmful and keeps away from it. In a similar way — and to a certain degree even more so — he feels an inherent and instinctive desire to cling to G‑d and avoid any situation that will disrupt his bond with Him.
כמ"ש [True,] with regard to the love of G‑d, the Torah mentions a rationale, as it is written:1 “to love G‑d your L‑rd, because He is your life.”
I.e., since the vitality that gives life to a person and to the world at large stems from G‑d, a person should respond with love for Him — cleaving to Him and, in that way, enabling the flow of vitality from G‑d to him.
This, however, is not a rationale for mesirus nefesh. For the rationale is “He is your life,” and mesirus nefesh, by contrast, involves casting away one’s life.
Therefore, the fact that G‑dliness is the source of life could not motivate such a commitment.
Instead, there is no reason or rationale for mesirus nefesh. For mesirus nefesh has its source in a level
Both within the soul and within G‑d, as it were.
that transcends knowledge.
Our powers of thought and logic accept concepts that support and strengthen our existence, but not those that will nullify that existence. Even when a person will logically make a decision to choose martyrdom for an ideal or a value, in his mind, he is not nullifying his existence. On the contrary, he sees himself as identifying with an ideal that is greater than himself and elevating himself through sacrificing his physical being for that ideal.
The Jewish concept of martyrdom, by contrast, involves sacrificing one’s life without thinking of a reason (see Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 20, p. 75ff.). As the Alter Rebbe writes in Tanya, ch. 18, “Even underdeveloped and unlearned people who do not know the greatness of G‑d [sacrifice their lives for Him]…. They do not meditate on G‑dliness at all and do not sacrifice their lives because of knowledge and meditation on G‑dliness at all…. It is just that it is as though it were entirely impossible to deny the one G‑d. [There is] no reason or rationale at all.”
כי [To explain:]
As the Alter Rebbe proceeds to explain, the nature of our commitment to G‑d depends on the level of G‑dliness to which it relates. The limited love produced by the realization that G‑d is “your life” relates to a level of G‑dliness that is also limited. The unbounded commitment of mesirus nefesh, by contrast, relates to G‑d’s Essence, which is also unlimited.
“Because He is your life” refers to G‑d as He “fills the worlds”
Memale kol almin in the original.
and “transcends the worlds.”
Sovev kol almin in the original. See sec. 1 where these terms are explained.
But G‑d’s Being and Essence shares no connection to the worlds at all, not to fill them, [nor even] to transcend them,
For by saying that He transcends the worlds, we imply that He shares a certain connection with them.
for this — that the worlds come into existence and derive their vitality from Him — is not the fundamental dimension of G‑dliness.
I.e., in human terms, there are dimensions of an individual’s personality that he can share with others and then deeper, more personal aspects that he feels are private and he cannot share. This, however, is an inadequate analogy, for even the personal and private dimensions of one individual are not totally beyond sharing with others. G‑d, the Creator, by contrast, is entirely above the realm of the created beings. The fact that He created the worlds tells us nothing about Who He is for Himself, as it were.
For “You were [the same] before the world was created… and after the world was created,”2
This quote underscores that, with regard to G‑d as He exists for Himself, as it were, the Creation has no effect on Him, for the Creation does not bring about any change within Him.
in absolute equality. Even if He were not to have created the worlds, everything would be the same before Him.
I.e., the Creation does not change anything. Even if He had not created the worlds, He would not be lacking anything.
Instead, [the source] that vitalizes and brings the worlds into being is merely a ray from Him, as stated in another text.3 Therefore the Creation is described as yesh mei’ayin, something from nothing.
The term “nothing” here refers to an entity that has no substance. The ray of G‑dliness from which the world comes into being is of no substance when compared to His Essence.
For the yesh is brought into being from a mere ray, which is called ayin, “nothing,” in relation to His Being and Essence,xviii
I.e., describing the Creation as being yesh mei’ayin, “something from nothing,” is somewhat paradoxical. For G‑d, the source of Creation, is True Being. How then can we say that the Creation comes from ayin, “nothing”? And how can we describe our limited existence as yesh, “something,” when compared to Him?
The explanation is that the expression “something from nothing” is not referring to G‑d, the ultimate source of Creation, but to the level of Malchus, His Kingship, which is the immediate source of Creation. When seen in relation to G‑d’s Essence, Malchus is only a ray.
To explain: Kingship refers to the power of a person to command authority over others. That quality does not represent the person himself, i.e., the way he thinks or feels, but only the way he relates vis-à-vis others. Thus it can be considered “a ray,” i.e., something without substance. Similarly, since the Sefirah of Malchus does not reflect G‑d as He is for Himself, it is considered a ray and without substance. Hence, it is described as “nothing.” Our existence, which we feel as significant and substantial, a “something,” comes into being from that nothingness.
as it is said:4 “And You (ואתה) give life to them all.” ואתה refers to the 22 letters, “the speech of G‑d,” from א to ת, and the ה
Numerically equivalent to five.
represents the five organs of speech.
I.e., the lips, the tongue, the teeth, etc.
Implied is that through the letters, G‑d grants vitality to all existence. Now the letters are merely a ray, like [the capacity of] a person [to express his thought and speech] in letters, which are merely garments for the soul.
I.e., just as garments are external entities and not parts of a person’s body, letters are not a person’s thoughts and feelings, his conscious self, but external entities through which — like garments — he presents his self to others. Thus they are analogous to the concept of Malchus described above. Indeed, Malchus is described as the source of G‑d’s speech.
וא"כ If so, His Being and Essence is above the level referred to by the phrase “because He is your life.” For [that level] only relates to the dimensions [of G‑dliness] that fill the worlds and transcend the worlds, the dimension [of G‑dliness that motivates man] to love [G‑d] “because He is your life,” as it is written:5 “My soul longs for You,” as explained in Tanya.6 ,xx
Based on the Zohar, Vol. III, p. 68a, the Alter Rebbe interprets that verse as meaning: Since You, G‑d, are the true vitality of my soul, I yearn for You, as one yearns for his very life.
Self-sacrifice, by contrast, the casting away of one’s life, comes from [the unwillingness] to separate from His Being and Essence, a level above His being the Life of life, for, [on that level], “everything
I.e., all living entities in both the physical and spiritual worlds.
is of no importance before Him”7 and “You were [the same] before the world was created….”
Just as from the standpoint of G‑d’s Essence all existence is of no importance, so too, a person who identifies with His Essence, holds nothing — neither material or spiritual — as important except for His bond with Him. He is willing to sacrifice everything, including his life, for the sake of that bond.
והנה The potential for such a commitment exists within the power of every Jew.xx [For no Jew desires] to separate himself from G‑d’s oneness. On this basis, we can understand the verse:8 “[Esther would carry out] Mordechai’s word,” [i.e.,] Mordechai [inspired the self-sacrifice she demonstrated] because he was the source of bittul. He was ish Yehudi, “the officer of the Jews,” [the one who motivated them to bittul].
As explained in the maamar entitled VeAtah Tetzaveh (Sefer HaMaamarim Melukat, Vol. VI, p. 129ff.; translated in Anticipating the Redemption, Vol. I, p. 76), the aspect of the soul that motivates bittul and mesirus nefesh is the level referred to as yechidah, the core of the soul that is bound up and unified with G‑d’s core, as it were. Mordechai represented the yechidah of the entire Jewish people. As such, he was able to inspire these qualities in all the individuals with whom he came in contact.
וזהו This is the intent of the verse:
With this explanation, the Alter Rebbe is resolving one of the questions raised in sec. 1 of the maamar.
“And the Jews accepted what they had begun to perform.” At the time of the Giving of the Torah, they declared “We will do” before “We will listen” and “their souls expired at every Divine utterance,” which reflected [the consummate expression of] bittul and mesirus nefesh. For this reason,
I.e., because of the bittul they expressed,
they merited the Giving of the Torah and the revelation of G‑dliness.
וכך Similarly, at the time of Achashverosh, they demonstrated this bittul — and indeed — even more powerfully so. For at the time of the Giving of the Torah, the bittul came as a result of the power of the arousal from Above, [G‑d’s] “holding the mountain above them,” [and] “as water reflects a face….”
See sec. 2 of the maamar where these concepts are explained.
In the time of Achashverosh, by contrast, the bittul came from their own initiative; there was an arousal from below first. Therefore, the arousal from Above that was drawn down as a result came from a higher place.
As explained in the notes of the Tzemach Tzedek to this maamar and at length in the maamar entitled Sos Tasis (Likkutei Torah, Vayikra, p. 20a), when an arousal from below evokes an arousal from Above, the arousal from Above stems from a higher level of G‑dliness than is aroused when the arousal from Above comes on its own initiative.
ולכן For this reason, the Giving of the Torah is described as merely “the beginning,”
This explanation also resolves one of the issues raised in sec. 1 of the maamar.
[for it can be considered merely] an initial phase in comparison with the light drawn down for the Jews on Purim which is referred to as “the acceptance [of the Torah],” i.e., the consummation. This is the intent of the verse [cited initially]: “And the Jews accepted.”xx
I.e., until the reaffirmation of their commitment to the Torah on their own initiative, their acceptance of the Torah was not complete. Similarly, the G‑dliness drawn down to the world as a result of their acceptance reflected a more consummate and more lasting revelation.
Summary
The previous section emphasized the importance of the bittul and self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) [shown by the Jewish people] at the time of Purim. This section explains that such bittul is an inherent element of a Jew’s being, stemming from the reservoir of hidden love which transcends intellect possessed by every Jew. There is a level of love for G‑d motivated by reason, as it is written: “love G‑d your L‑rd, because He is your life.” But this rationale will not motivate sacrificing one’s life. Instead, a Jew’s potential for self-sacrifice stems from his inherent, natural love for G‑d that transcends reason. That love originates in — and relates to — a level of G‑dliness that is likewise unbounded, i.e., it does not relate to G‑d as He is the source of Creation, but to His Essence, as He exists above being a source for Creation.
The potential for such a commitment exists within the power of every Jew, for no Jew desires to separate himself from G‑d’s oneness. Mordechai was able to inspire this commitment among the people at large.
On this basis, we can understand how the self-sacrifice of the Jewish people at the time of Purim consummated the Giving of the Torah. At the time of the Giving of the Torah, they declared “We will do” before “We will listen” and “their souls expired at every Divine utterance,” which reflected the consummate expression of bittul and mesirus nefesh. Nevertheless, that bittul was inspired from Above. During the time of Achashverosh, by contrast, the bittul came on their own initiative. Therefore, it evoked a higher level of G‑dliness.
