Igeret HaKodesh: Epistle 25 - Part 6

25 “To comprehend the words of understanding,” i.e., the words of Torah,2

stated in the book called Tzavaat Rivash3 (“The Testament of R. Yisrael Baal Shem Tov”),

though in fact it is not at all4 his will or testament, and he did not ordain anything before his passing;

they (i.e., the teachings in this book) are merely gleanings of his pure sayings

that were gathered as “compilations after compilations,”6

and [the compilers] did not know how to phrase his teachings exactly.

The connotation, however, of the teachings is absolutely true.

And this [will be understood] by first considering the teaching of our Sages, of blessed memory: “Whoever is in a rage resembles an idolater.”7

The reason [for this] is clear to “those who know understanding,”8

because at the time of his anger, faith in G‑d and in His individual Divine Providence has left him,

for were he to believe that what happened to him was G‑d’s doing, he would not be angry at all.

True, it is a person possessed of free choice that is cursing him, or striking him, or causing damage to his property,

and [therefore] guilty according to the laws of man and the laws of heaven for his evil choice.

Nevertheless, as regards the person harmed, this [incident] was already decreed in heaven,

and “G‑d has many agents”9 through whom He can act,

And not only this, that a heavenly decree gave permission in principle and made it possible that he suffer injury,

but even at that very moment at which [the offender] strikes or curses him,

there is vested in him (in the offender) a force from G‑d and the breath of His mouth, which animates and sustains him,

as it is written: “For G‑d told him, ‘Curse!’”12

Now, where did He say so to Shimi? Where do we find it written that G‑d told him to curse David?

Only, this thought that occurred in Shimi’s heart and mind to curse David descended from G‑d, Who was thus responsible for such a thought entering Shimi’s mind,

and “the breath of His mouth, which animates all the hosts [of heaven],”13

animated the spirit of Shimi at the time he spoke those words to David,

for if the breath of G‑d’s mouth had departed from the spirit of Shimi for a single moment, he could not have spoken at all.

(14And that is the meaning of the statement, “For G‑d told him (at that very moment when Shimi was speaking these words), ‘Curse David!’

And who shall say to him, [‘Why did you do so?’]”

The teaching of the Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, on the verse, “Forever, O G‑d, Your word stands firm in the heavens,”16 is well known:

The combinations of the letters with which the heavens were created, i.e., the creative utterance, “Let there be a firmament…,”17

stand and remain vested in the heavens forever to animate and sustain them.

This differs from the view of the philosophers who deny the individual Providence of the Creator over each and every one of His creations.

Using their false analogy, they liken the work of G‑d, the Maker of heaven and earth, to the work of man and his devices.

For when a metalsmith has completed a vessel, [it] no longer needs the hands of the smith;

though his hands are removed from it, it remains intact by itself.

But their eyes are bedaubed so that they cannot see the great difference between man’s work and schemes,

which is [the production of] something out of something (yesh miyesh),

where he merely changes the form and the appearance,

and the creation of heaven and earth, which is creatio ex nihilo (yesh me’ayin), creating something out of nothing.

This—the creation of heaven and earth ex nihilo—is an [even] greater wonder than, for example, the splitting of the Red Sea,

which G‑d drove back “by a strong east wind all that night…and the waters were divided”18 and stood upright like a wall.

If the wind had ceased even for a moment, the waters would again have flowed downward, as is their way and nature, and they would not have stood upright like a wall,

even though this characteristic of water—to flow downward—is also created and innovated ex nihilo.

For a wall of stone stands erect by itself, without [the assistance of] any wind, but the nature of water is not so.

How much more so, with respect to the creation of an existent being out of nothing, for this transcends nature and is far more wondrous than the splitting of the Red Sea;

surely, if the creative power that creates an existent being out of nothing were (heaven forfend) to be withdrawn from a created being, that being would revert to utter naught and nonexistence.

Rather,19 the activating force of the Creator, which initially brings every created being into existence, must continuously be present within the thing created to give it life and continued existence.

This20 [force] is the “word of G‑d” and the “breath of His mouth” that are to be found in the ten utterances by which the universe was created.

And even as regards this physical earth and its inorganic component,

their life-force and continued existence is the “word of G‑d” that is to be found in the ten utterances that is vested in them, maintaining them as inorganic matter and as substantiality ex nihilo,

so that they will not revert to the absolute naught and nothingness they had been prior to their creation.

And this is the meaning of the statement of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, of blessed memory,22 that there is a kind of soul and spiritual life-force even in inorganic matter such as stones and dust and water, entities that display no signs of life.

Now, it is known to the students of the Kabbalah23

that the “word of G‑d” is referred to as the Shechinah, in the terminology of the [Talmudic and Midrashic] Sages, of blessed memory, and as Imma Tataah (the “nether mother”) and Matronita (the “Queen”) in the terminology of the Zohar,

especially at the beginning of Parashat Va’eira, where an analogy is drawn to G‑d’s speech from a princess,

because [the “word of G‑d”] dwells and vests itself in created beings to give them life.

In the terminology of the Kabbalists, [the “word of G‑d”] is called malchut, for24 “the word of a king rules”—a king rules his kingdom through his speech and also for other reasons known to the students of the Kabbalah.

Now, it is known that there is a rank and level of [the sefirah of] malchut of [the World of] Atzilut, and a rank of [the sefirah of] malchut of [the World of] Beriah, and so on. There are thus many degrees of “G‑d’s speech.”

Malchut of Atzilut means the “word of G‑d” which animates and brings into being the great souls that are of the rank of Atzilut,

such as the soul of Adam, of whom it is said, “And He blew into his nostrils the soul of life…”25 (i.e., a soul from the level of Atzilut); and such as the souls of the patriarchs and the prophets and the like

(26who were truly a “chariot” unto G‑d27 and in a state of total self-abnegation in relation to Him;

as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “The Shechinah speaks from the throat of Moses”28;

and likewise with all the prophets and those possessed of the Holy Spirit: the supernal voice and speech vested itself in their actual voice and speech, as Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, of blessed memory, stated).

Malchut of Beriah is the ‘‘word of G‑d” which animates and brings into being the souls and angels in the World of Beriah,

whose level is not like the level of Atzilut, and so on; i.e., malchut of Yetzirah is the level of Divine speech that brings into being and animates the souls and angels in the World of Yetzirah.

And malchut of Asiyah is the “word of G‑d” which animates and creates this world in its entirety,

up to and including the Element of Earth and “the water that is below the earth.”29

(30However, outside the Land of Israel,31 the life-force is [bestowed] by [means of “the word of G‑d”] being invested within the extraneous patron-angels that are appointed over the seventy nations.

I.e., a [mere] spark from the “word of G‑d,” which is called malchut of Asiyah, descends and radiates over the supernal patron-angels by encompassing them from above.

I.e., it does not truly vest itself within them; rather, the life-force issues to them from this radiance which shines over them from above, in an encompassing manner.

And from the patron-angels, life-force issues to the nations, and to the cattle, beasts, and fowl that are in their lands,

and to the physical world, and the physical heavens, i.e., the spheres in which the stars orbit.32

(33However, there are distinctions between the various categories of created beings: the heavens and the earth, and the cattle, beasts, and fowl that are pure (i.e., kosher), are nurtured by kelipat nogah,

whereas the impure [creatures] and the souls of the nations are [nurtured] by the other kelipot.)

Now, outside the Land of Israel,34 the heavens and the earth and all they contain are all esteemed as truly nothing in relation to the patron-angels which are [the conduits for] their life-force and continued existence.

The patron-angels themselves are esteemed as truly nothing in relation to the life-force issuing to them from the spark of the “word of G‑d” which radiates over them from above, transcending them.

And even so, the life-force issuing to them from this radiance is in a state of exile within them.

That is why they are called elohim acherim (“other gods”) while they call Him35 “G‑d of the gods” since they consider themselves as deities.

Therefore, in view of their source, the nations which receive their life-force through [their patron-angels] are truly idolaters—

[but only] until the time of the “end,” until the time of the imminent Redemption, when death and the sitra achara (i.e., the “other side,” the unholy aspect of the universe) will be swallowed up.

Of that time, G‑d promises, “Then shall I make the nations [pure of speech] so that they will all call upon the Name of G‑d.”36

This [sustenance of idolaters through the Divine spark] is also called “the exile of the Shechinah,”

for this life-force, which is in a state of exile within them, as previously explained,

stems from the radiance issuing to them from the spark of the “word of G‑d,” which is called Shechinah in the terminology of the Sages, as mentioned above.

(37And this exile, brought about by the fact that the kelipot derive their life-force from a spark of G‑d’s creative speech, stems from the sin of the Tree of Knowledge and onward, for from that time, kelipot were able to receive a degree of vitality that they did not have until that point.

However, [they receive their vitality] only from the hindmost (i.e., from the lowest and most external) dimension of holiness.

But when the Jewish people were exiled among the nations—and the Jewish people are attached and rooted in the supernal countenance (the panim, or pnimiyus, i.e., the innermost aspect of Divinity)—

this became a total exile. For then the innermost aspect of Divinity was also drawn down to the patron-angels and the nations, as explained at length in Iggeret Hateshuvah, ch. 6; see there.

Of this, our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “When [the Jewish people] were exiled to Edom, the Shechinah accompanied them.”38))

Now, though “G‑d is one and His Name is one,”39

i.e., [though] His speech and the “breath of His mouth,” which in the sacred Zohar40 is referred to as His Name, is singularly and uniquely one,

nevertheless, the radiance and efflux of life-force which issues forth from His mouth divides into four different levels. These are the Four Worlds—Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah.41

The difference is due to (42many) contractions and screens

that veil and obscure the light and the life-force so that it will not radiate in the World of Beriah as much as in the World of Atzilut;

and in the World of Yetzirah, [the opaqueness is thickened] by means of further contractions and screens, and so on, i.e., how much more so in the World of Asiyah.

Nevertheless, there is no change whatsoever, heaven forfend, in the essence of the Shechinah, which is the “word of G‑d” and the “breath of His mouth.”

Also, as regards the radiance and efflux of life-force that issues from the “word of G‑d,”

the radiance which is in [the World of] Atzilut pierces the screen and vests itself in [the World of] Beriah. Likewise from [the World of] Beriah to [the World of] Yetzirah and from [the World of] Yetzirah to [the World of] Asiyah.

Hence, the [infinite] Ein Sof-light which is in [the World of] Atzilut is also present in [the World of] Asiyah, and [even] in this material world,

by being invested in the [sefirah of] malchut of [the Worlds of] Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, as fully explained in the writings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, of blessed memory.43

Now, it is known to all that the soul of man—the soul of the Jew—is compounded by the ten sefirot: chochmah, binah, daat, and so on, as explained in the Tanya, Part I, ch. 3.

Though these [corresponding faculties of the soul] all derive from the breath of [G‑d’s] mouth, as it is written, “And He blew into his nostrils [the soul of life],”44

nevertheless, each of these ten faculties of the soul is particularly connected with one of the ten supernal sefirot, as follows:

more specifically, the ChaBaD in one’s soul, one’s intellective faculties of chochmah, binah, and daat, are analogous to the [Divine intellective emanations of] ChaBaD in the ten sefirot.

These are referred to as abba and imma.

The [emotive] attributes in one’s soul of [the] love and fear [of G‑d], and so on, are analogous to the [first six] middot (or Divine emotive attributes) in the ten sefirot, which are [collectively] known as z’eyr anpin (lit., “the minor visage”).

And the faculty of speech in one’s soul is analogous to the supernal speech, which is known as [the sefirah of] malchut, or the Shechinah.

Hence, since a Jew’s speech is analogous to supernal speech, the Shechinah, when speaking words of Torah, one arouses the supernal speech, the sefirah of malchut, thereby unifying the Shechinah, i.e., linking it to the preceding stages of emanation.

That is why it is established45 that for the Reading of Shema, for the Blessing After Meals, and for [the study of] words of Torah, one has not discharged his duty by meditation without speech.

Now, “[G‑d created] this opposite that”46:

there are “ten crowns of impurity.”47

From these issue the souls of the nations, which are also comprised of the very same ten levels.

The exposition of Sefer Hagilgulim48 on the verse, “That man rules over man, to his detriment,”49 is common knowledge:

it refers to the mystery of the exile of the Shechinah in the midst of the kelipot, in order to animate them and to empower them to rule in the present time of exile.

However, this [temporary dominion of evil] is “to his [ultimate] detriment…,” for its underlying intent is that the sparks of holiness that are found within evil be extracted and elevated.

This is why the nations presently dominate the Jewish people,50

for the souls of the nations [derive] from the kelipot, in which the Shechinah is vested in a state of exile, empowering them to rule.

Though extensive exposition is required as to how and what is the manner in which the Shechinah is invested in the exile of the kelipot, nevertheless, it is truly so.

Despite this, the kelipot and the nations receive their nurture and life-force only from a reflection extended to them from the hindmost dimension of holiness,

“in the manner of one who [unwillingly] throws [something] over his shoulder [to his enemy],” as explained in the Tanya, ch. 22.

And even that is by way of numerous and intense contractions and screens until this radiance becomes vested in the materiality of this world,

dispensing wealth and honor and all physical pleasures unto the nations.

Jews, however, elicit [their sustenance] from the supernal countenance (the panim, or pnimiyus, i.e., the innermost aspect of Divinity), as it is written, “May G‑d make His Countenance shine upon you,”51

each according to the source of his soul up to the most elevated of levels.

After these words and this truth, which are manifest and known to all, let us return to the original subject, concerning anger—where a person [who is angry] is likened to an idolater.52

This is so only with regard to mundane matters, for “everything is in the hands of heaven except for the fear of heaven.”53

Hence, with respect to heavenly matters, to “ward [a fellow Jew] from [transgressing] a prohibition,”54 the reason stated does not apply, for these matters are not in G‑d’s hands but in man’s.

As it is written, “And Moses was angry.”55

This was because G‑d caused him to encounter this mitzvah of “warding [a fellow Jew] from [transgressing] a prohibition” in order to make him meritorious.

But this applies only when one is able to prevent [transgression] by his wrath and anger against his fellow-man; in such a case, he is permitted to become angry, as did Moses.

However, when he is unable to change the situation, as in the case of the heathen56 who talks and confuses him while he is praying,

[the question] then [arises]: What is this that G‑d has done to him, that a gentile should disrupt his prayers?

This is so only in order that he prevail and strengthen himself ever more in his prayers, from the depths of his heart, and with such intense concentration

that he will not hear the gentile’s talk.

However, for such a level, one needs a great and intense arousal.

And the counsel suggested to attain such an arousal derives from this very subject.

One should consider and meditate on the concept of the descent of the Shechinah, as it were—how “it descended in wondrous fashion”57 to have a spark of its radiance invested [within the kelipot].

It is generally in a state of exile among the kelipot in order to animate them.

And now, a spark of its radiance vests itself in a particular state of exile,

in the speech of this gentile who utters words that disturb one’s Divine service, i.e., one’s devout concentration during prayer.

And, as explained above, “[G‑d created] this opposite that,”58 each element of the holy “side” of the universe having its unholy counterpart on the “other side,” the sitra achara.

Thus, the supernal speech vests itself in the nether speech, and so on.

This indeed is the meaning of the verse, “That man rules over man to his detriment,”59 which was explained above in terms of the temporary dominion of the “evil man” (of kelipah) over the “sacred man” (the holy “side” of the universe).

That is to say that through this [meditation], the individual is aroused to pray with greater devotion, from the depth of his heart, until he will not hear [the gentile’s] words.

As for the compiler [of Tzavaat Harivash] using the word shartah, meaning that the Shechinah “dwelt” or “abided” within this gentile,

he did not know how to determine the precise term,

for the Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, used to deliver Torah teachings in Yiddish, not in the Holy Tongue.

He really meant to say nitlabshah (“became vested”), for shartah (“dwelt” or “abided”) implies that the Shechinah was revealed,

whereas [nitlabshah] means [that the Shechinah was vested] in a state of exile.

This [distinction] explains [the emphasis in Tzavaat Harivash], “And especially if he is a gentile…,”

for then it is so much more in exile.

There is no need to wonder at a spark of the radiance of the Shechinah being referred to (in Tzavaat Harivash) as Shechinah.

For we find that even a created angel, which is not a spark of the Shechinah, is referred to by G‑d’s Name in Parashat Vayera in the verse, “And he said, ‘Lord, do not pass by your servant,’”60 according to the commentary of R. Moses Nachmanides (Ramban);

and as it is likewise written, “And [Hagar] called the name of G‑d Who spoke to her…,”61 where we are explicitly told that we are speaking of an angel; and many more [passages] like this.

It would seem to me, says the Alter Rebbe, alluding to the opponents of Chasidism who had taken issue with the above-discussed passage from Tzavaat Harivash, that their seizing [upon this passage] was not prompted by the particular term used (viz., “dwelling”),

but by the very notion that the Shechinah can be invested in the kelipot,

for they do not believe what Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, of blessed memory, stated concerning this in Sefer Hagilgulim (ch. 2).

Should they seek to distinguish between the spiritual kelipot and physical idolaters, contending that the Arizal is speaking only of the spiritual kelipot, as distinct from a corporeal heathen—

there is nothing more physical than the dust of the earth;

nevertheless, as is stated in the Kabbalah, [the sefirah of] malchut of malchut of [the World of] Asiyah vests itself in it, and within that in turn is vested [the sefirah of] malchut of [the World of] Yetzirah, and so on, with [the sefirah of] malchut of [the World of] Beriah and [the sefirah of] malchut of [the World of] Atzilut, as mentioned above.

And should it be [difficult for them to conceive that the Shechinah vests itself in the gentile] because of the impurity of the souls of the gentile—

the souls [of the gentiles] derive from the union of the masculine and feminine elements (zivug zu’n, the union of z’eyr anpin and malchut) of the spiritual kelipot, as stated in the writings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, of blessed memory.

Thus, the sources of their impurity are the spiritual kelipot, in which all agree that the Shechinah can vest itself. Why not, then, in the souls of the gentiles?

However, in truth, the manner of this investiture—both in the spiritual and in the physical realm—requires extensive elucidation.

In fact, their complaint should not be addressed to us, the revealers of Chasidism—the Baal Shem Tov, the Maggid of Mezritch, and the Alter Rebbe himself, but to the writings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, of blessed memory, in which it is stated that the Shechinah does indeed vest itself within kelipot.

And let no listener suspect me to imagine to have understood the words of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, of blessed memory, to divest them from their physical connotation,

for I have set out only to explain the words of the Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, and of his disciples, according to the Kabbalah of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, of blessed memory.

This is especially so since this concept, G‑d’s presence in even the humblest of places,

is not a teaching of the Kabbalah, nor is it one of “the secrets [that] are unto the L-rd our G‑d,”62

but rather one of “the things revealed unto us and unto our children”63—to believe in perfect faith in the explicit statement of Scripture, “‘Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?’ says G‑d.”64

And “Scripture does not depart from its plain meaning”65: G‑d does indeed fill all space, both material and spiritual.

Moreover, it is a simple article of faith among Jews in general, handed down to them by their saintly ancestors, who walked artlessly with G‑d,

without examining the concept of Divinity by means of mortal intellect, for it is infinitely beyond the intellect to know (intellectually) how He fills the world.

But new ones have recently come to rationally examine this question,

and it is impossible to bring it within reach of their reason except by means of premises borrowed from the writings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, of blessed memory, divested from their physical connotation,

and according to what I heard from my masters, the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezritch, may their souls rest in Eden.

However, it is impossible to explain this clearly in writing, only orally to an ear that hears [and understands], to uniquely qualified individuals and to “the remnants whom G‑d calls,”66

as it is written, “And they who seek G‑d will understand all.”67

And “from the affirmative you may infer [the negative]”68—that those who do not seek G‑d are incapable of perceiving the knowledge of Him as revealed in the inner dimension of the Torah and particularly in a truly comprehensible manner, in the teachings of Chasidism.

You have now seen, writes the Alter Rebbe to the opponents of Chasidism, an explanation of a single passage from [its] well-known books,

as a sample and token that likewise all the "astonishing passages" about which objections have been raised have an explanation and meaningfulness for the students of the Kabbalah.

However, let my esteemed [readers] not hope that I will explain everything in writing, for that is a hard and extensive labor, and indeed, absolutely impossible.

But if you so desire, send [here] from among you an outstandingly appropriate individual from your community,69

and, G‑d willing, I will talk to him face to face.

And may G‑d be with my mouth as I speak, and “may the words of my mouth find favor.”70