Igeret HaKodesh: Epistle 4 - Part 2

4 “Israel shall be redeemed only by virtue of tzedakah,”1 as it is written, “And her repatriates [shall be redeemed] through tzedakah.”2

It is written: “Tzedek shall go (yehaleich) before Him.”3

Now, one should have expected the verse to say yeileich.

This concept may be understood by considering the verse, “On Your behalf, my heart says, ‘Seek My face.’”4

This means [that man is being urged to] “seek the inwardness of the heart,” that hidden element within his own heart that must be sought after if it is to be revealed.

For in the flame of the element of the Divine Fire that is in the heart, i.e., within the soul’s ardent love of G‑d which derives from the element of Fire within the soul, as mentioned in the Tanya, Part I, ch. 3,

(5a variant reading: “For in the heart, the element of Divine Fire within the heart,”)

there are two aspects: the aspect of chitzoniyut (“outwardness,” i.e., externality, as opposed to essence) and the aspect of pnimiyut (“inwardness”).

The chitzoniyut of the heart is the ardent [love] that flares up on account of one’s understanding and knowledge of the greatness of G‑d, the blessed Ein Sof,

by meditating6 on His greatness, and from this contemplation giving birth to a strong love resembling “flashes of fire….”7

The pnimiyut of the heart is the innermost point in the heart, the depth of the heart,

which transcends by far the categories of knowledge and understanding with which man can meditate in his heart on G‑d’s greatness.

As it is written: “From out of the depths do I call unto You, O G‑d”8; [i.e.,] from the depths of the heart.9

(By way of analogy, there is a parallel in worldly matters. Sometimes, there is an extremely important matter upon which a man’s entire vitality hinges; it touches him as far as and including the innermost point of his heart,

causing him to do things and say things without any reason whatsoever),10 for it touches the essence of his soul that transcends logic and reason.

And “the one corresponds to the other”11:

It is precisely so with the “service of the heart.” A Jew’s love for G‑d may be so great that it touches his soul’s essence, which utterly transcends logic and reason.

As is known, this is because the innermost point of the heart transcends the faculty of reason, which extends and vests itself in the emotive attributes born of ChaBaD, i.e., born of the three intellectual stages of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge that together constitute the intellectual process called ChaBaD.

Rather, [the pnimiyut of the heart] is an aspect of the radiance from the supreme chochmah, which transcends binah and daat,

and in this [supreme chochmah], there is vested and concealed the actual light of G‑d,

as it is written, “By wisdom (chochmah) G‑d [founded the earth].”12

And this is precisely the spark of Divinity in every soul of Israel.13

The reason that not every person merits this rank in the service of the heart—service from the depth of the heart in a state of pnimiyut—

is that within him, this faculty is in a state of exile and captivity,

and this is actually the state of the exile of the Shechinah,

for it is precisely the [Shechinah] which is the spark of Divinity that is in one’s Divine soul.

The cause of the exile of the Divine spark of the soul is,15 as in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory: “When [the Jewish people] were exiled to Babylon, the Shechinah went with them.”16

This is so because he has vested the innermost point of his heart in [that aspect of the universe which is] the opposing counterpart [to holiness],

namely, in the soiled garments—mundane matters and worldly desires—which are known as “Babylon.”

This [exile] corresponds to the “foreskin” that covers the covenant and the innermost point of the heart.

Of this it is written, “And you shall excise the foreskin of your heart.”17

Now, in circumcision, there are two stages: milah (“excision”) and periah (“uncovering”),

[which remove respectively] the coarse foreskin and the thin membrane.

With respect to the “foreskin” of the heart, which the Torah commands us similarly to circumcise, there are likewise coarse and subtle desires, corresponding to the two grades of skin.

[These two grades of worldly desire respectively require] milah and periah,

and “if one performed milah (‘circumcision’) without periah (‘uncovering’), it is as if he had not circumcised,”20

because, after all is said and done, the innermost point of the heart is still covered by a garment of thin sackcloth [of kelipah];

it is in a state of exile and captivity.

Now, concerning the excision of the foreskin itself, it is written: “And you—yourselves—shall excise the foreskin of your heart.”

However, the removal of the thin membrane is a difficult matter for man,

and of this, it is written that with the coming of Mashiach, “The L-rd your G‑d will circumcise your heart…, to love the L-rd your G‑d with all your heart and all your soul, for the sake of your life,”21

because G‑d alone is literally your whole life.

That is why this love, the love that follows the Divine excision of the heart’s thin membrane, stems from the depth of the heart, from the truly innermost point, as mentioned above, and transcends the faculty of daat.

Therefore, too, Mashiach will come when Israel in general are “caught unawares.”22

[His coming] is the manifestation of the innermost point which is universal [to all Jews],

and [likewise], the emergence of the universal Shechinah [of the entire community of Israel] from exile and captivity forever more.

Similarly, every particular spark of the Shechinah, inherent in the soul of every individual Jew,

emerges for the moment from exile and captivity

during that “momentary life” which is prayer23—

during the service of his heart, from the depth of his heart,

from the innermost point which becomes divested of the [concealing] “foreskin”—

and soars upward to cleave to Him with a fierce passion,

in the spirit of the phrase, “for the sake of your life,” for the individual senses that G‑dliness is his entire life.

And [in] this, too—in this momentary deliverance of the innermost point of the heart during the service of prayer—a man may be considered to be in a state of hessach daat, “unaware” or “absentminded,” so to speak,

for this State, the state in which the Divine spark within man, his personal Shechinah, is momentarily revealed, transcends the daat of man and his meditation on the greatness of G‑d.

Rather, it is a kind of gift granted by G‑d from heaven

from the radiance of the supernal countenance,

as it is written, “May G‑d make His countenance shine upon you,”24

and as it is written, “And the L-rd, your G‑d, will circumcise i.e., remove the insensitivity of [your heart]”—and this is a state which exists even now on a temporary basis.

However, it is well known that an arousal from above comes only in response to an arousal from below,

as an elevation of mayin nukvin; i.e., by an arousal of the “feminine waters” by which the recipient elicits the mayin dechurin—the downward flow (“masculine waters”)—emanating from the Giver.

As our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “No drop [of rain] descends from above [without two corresponding drops first ascending from below].”25

A man must therefore perform the beginning of this milah by himself,

to remove the “foreskin” of the heart and the coarse and thin husks which clothe and cover its innermost point,

this [innermost point being] a love of G‑d in the spirit of the phrase, “for the sake of your life”—i.e., a love that springs from an awareness that G-dliness is the person’s entire life—[this love of G‑d being] in exile among the desires of this world.

These [physical desires] likewise exist in the spirit of the phrase, “for the sake of your life,”

in [that aspect of the universe which is] the opposing counterpart [to holiness], as mentioned above.

And this [removal of the spiritual foreskin] is achieved by giving charity to G‑d from one’s money, which is his vitality,

especially with a person whose income is limited and who is very hard pressed at the time,

for—when he gives—he gives of his very life.

This is especially so if he supports himself by the toil of his hands,

for it is impossible that in his work, he did not often involve “the innermost point of the heart,” the depth of his heart,

as is the way of the world when people are occupied with business and the like.

Thus, now that he disburses the fruits of his toil unstintingly, despite his circumstances,

and gives unto G‑d with joy and with a gladsome heart,

he thereby redeems his soul from the pit.26

That is, [he redeems] the innermost point of his heart, which was in a state of exile and captivity within the coarse or thin kelipah.

For thus it is written: “Guard your heart with the greatest vigilance”27 (lit., “Guard your heart from every mishmar”),

“mishmar” meaning a prison.

Thus, through present charity, [the innermost point of the heart] is now redeemed from the forces of evil in which it had been imprisoned.

This also explains the term periah, which suggests28 periat chov (“removing a debt”), for [the individual in question] had become indebted and subjected to the forces of evil that had ruled within him over the innermost point of his heart.

Through this, we can understand the meaning of [the above-quoted phrase], “and her (former spiritual) captives [shall be redeemed] through tzedakah.”29

In these terms, too, we can understand the meaning of [the above-quoted phrase], “Righteousness (or charity) shall go (yehaleich) before Him (lefanav).”

The word lefanav shares a root with pnimiyut (“inwardness”),

and yehaleich—the causative form of the verb, which appears in this verse in place of the expected form, yeilech (“shall go”)—shares a root with holachah (“leading”). It thus implies that charity does not itself “go before Him”: rather, it causes some other entity to “go before Him.”

For [tzedakah] leads the innermost point of [a man’s] heart toward G‑d,

and then “he sets his steps30 toward the way of G‑d”31—

as it is written, “And you shall walk in His ways,”32

[and likewise,] “You shall go after the L-rd your G‑d”33—

with [his] entire performance of the commandments, and with [his] “study of the Torah, which is equivalent to them all,”34

for they all ascend to G‑d through the inwardness of the heart, which is revealed through the service of tzedakah,

[and this ascent is] more intense and reaches far higher than their ascent to G‑d through the externality of the heart,

[for this ascent] is born only of man’s contemplation and knowledge [of G‑dliness], without an illumination of the [Divine] “countenance” (i.e., inwardness) from above but in a state in which “the countenance is hidden.”

For the supernal “countenance” does not radiate downward except through an arousal initiated from below, through an act of charity, charity being called “peace.”

This is the meaning of the verse that says, “He has redeemed my soul in peace”35—or “through peace.” This, as explained by our Sages,36 refers to tzedakah and acts of lovingkindness that are known as “peace.”

[The verse speaks] expressly of “my soul,”37 inasmuch as it refers to the Shechinah found in the soul of each and every Jew, for the Divine spark that vitalizes the soul of every Jew is redeemed through “peace”—through tzedakah.

This is also the reason for which charity is called “peace,”

because according to the teaching of our Sages, of blessed memory, by virtue of charity, “peace is made between Israel and their Father in heaven,”38

through the redemption of their souls, which are truly a part of G‑d, from the grip of the forces of evil.

This is especially the case with charity for the Land of Israel,

for it is truly the charity of G‑d, since it is directed to a place where the Divine Name is revealed,

[to a Land of which] it is written, “The eyes—i.e., the most quintessential efflux and attention—of the L-rd your G‑d are constantly upon it.”39

[In this vein, it is also written,] “And My eyes and My heart will be there at all times.”40

It is this [charity for the Holy Land] that has stood by us to redeem the life of our souls from the counsel of those who seek to repel our steps, i.e., those who desire to harm us.

And this [charity] will stand by us forever—to set our souls in the true life of the Fountainhead of Life,

so that we will be “enlightened with the light of life”41 which G‑d “will make His Face radiate with us, Selah.”42

Amen, may this be His will.