Iggeret HaKodesh, Epistle 15 - Part 5

As noted earlier, the overwhelming majority of the letters that the Alter Rebbe’s sons included here as part of the Tanya were intended to encourage active Divine service,1 particularly through the giving of tzedakah for the Kollel Chabad Fund. (This fund supported fellow Chasidim who had settled in the Holy Land, there to serve G‑d through Torah and prayer.)

Accordingly, these themes should be sought even in a letter such as the one that follows, which does not refer to them directly. If at all possible, one should also seek to connect this letter to the one which precedes it and thus understand why the author’s sons placed it where they did.2

In the present letter, the Alter Rebbe elaborates upon two general categories in the love of G‑d. The first category of love is granted man only as a gift from Above: he cannot attain it by dint of his own service. This pleasurable experience of Divinity is termed3 ahavah betaanugim (“a love which experiences delights”) and is a foretaste of the World to Come, wherein the soul basks in the rays of the Shechinah. The second category of love for G‑d—longing and thirsting for Him—can be attained through man’s service and meditation.

The connection between this letter and the previous one, and its lesson in man’s Divine service (particularly with respect to charity), may then be the following:

The previous letter extolled the merit of serving G‑d through tzedakah, whereby one simultaneously secures the revelations of Gan Eden and of the World to Come, the time of the Resurrection.

The difference in revelation between Gan Eden and the World to Come is that Gan Eden reveals but a “glimmer of a glimmer” of that which is accomplished through the performance of a mitzvah—its “fruits,” while the World to Come, reveals the reward of the very essence of the mitzvah. Both Gan Eden and the World to Come—to a greater or lesser degree—reveal and enable the soul to apprehend the essential Divinity that underlies the mitzvah.

But all the merits of both the above levels relate only to a consequence of the mitzvah, viz., its revelations. The nucleus of the mitzvah is the fact that through performing it, the individual cleaves to G‑d, for מִצְוָה is related to צַוְותָא, signifying attachment. And this nucleus surfaces at the actual time of performance. It is for this reason that our Sages teach that4 “Better one hour in repentance and good deeds in this world than all of the World to Come”; the actual practice of repentance and good deeds (for by prefacing the deeds with repentance they become “good” and “luminous”5) in this world is superior to all the lofty spiritual levels of Gan Eden and the World to Come.

However, lofty as actual performance may be, its effects are totally concealed; man is neither aware of them nor does his soul perceive them at all. In this letter, therefore, the Alter Rebbe explains the two categories of love, for the love of G‑d is a feeling that is manifest in the soul.

The first, ahavah betaanugim (“a love that experiences delights”), is related to the revelation in the World to Come, at the time of the Resurrection. For just as at that time6 “the righteous will sit with their crowns on their heads and take delight in the radiance of the Divine Presence,” so, too, is this love a pleasurable love; in the words of the Alter Rebbe, “It is truly a foretaste of the World to Come.”

The second manner of love—a thirstful longing for G‑d and a desire to cleave to Him—is a revelation similar to that of Gan Eden, for there too there is a limited degree of longing for G‑d, as explained in the previous letter at length.

Thus, when a Jew performs a mitzvah, he not only cleaves to G‑d unawares: some aspect of this contact may also become revealed within his soul—both the revelation which foreshadows that of Gan Eden and even the revelation which anticipates the World to Come at the time of the Resurrection.

And even though ahavah betaanugim is a gift bestowed upon lofty souls from Above, some echo of it may resonate within any Jew when his wholehearted performance of the mitzvot is vitalized by his love of G‑d.7

I.e., “How beautiful and pleasant it is to cleave to You with ahavah betaanugim”—with a love that experiences delight in the state of cleaving to the beloved, as opposed to a love in which the lover seeks to cleave to the beloved.

This sweetness is not sensed as a result of one’s comprehension; rather, this is a sensation of wonderment at that which transcends one’s comprehension.

Lit., “The Kohen [serves G‑d] with the [innermost] desire of the heart.” As opposed to the Levites, whose longing for G‑d surged forth (ratzo) and found outward expression in song, the service of the Kohanim was silent.

The priestly level of love, ahavah betaanugim, is a gift from Above.

I.e., “Did you toil to acquire an awe of G‑d?”

It has already been explained (in Part I, ch. 42) that when one digs for a treasure that he knows beyond the shadow of a doubt lies buried in the depths of the earth, he will seek it tirelessly. Knowing with certainty that the fear of heaven lies buried in the understanding of the heart of every Jew will lead to similar untiring efforts in revealing this spiritual treasure.

However, this only applies to the fear and awe of G‑d; even the loftiest degree of awe, yirah ilaah, is attainable through man’s efforts.

In Part I, ch. 43, the Alter Rebbe explains that love is termed “man” or “male,” while fear is termed “woman” (as in the verse, “A woman who fears G‑d…”20). In spiritual terms, “It is the way of the man to search for the woman” means that the love of G‑d searches for the fear of G‑d and dwells with it.

Having spoken until now of the higher category in the love of G‑d called ahavah betaanugim, the Alter Rebbe now proceeds to consider the lesser love, ahavah zuta.

Thus, inherent in the soul’s love for G‑d is its anxious fear of being alienated from Him by a partition resulting from those things that are opposite His will.

Likkutei Levi Yitzchak, authored by the father of the Rebbe, explains that the four terms used above—“desires,” “loves,” “wishes,” and “cleaves”—refer respectively to the soul-levels within the Four Worlds: “desires” relates to the World of Asiyah, “loves” relates to the World of Yetzirah, and so on.

The Alter Rebbe now answers the following implied question: If they indeed possess this love, why then are they wicked?

The “spirit of folly” cloaks this hidden love (ahavah mesuteret) so that one loses the sensitivity to realize that through sinning, he is jeopardizing his attachment to G‑d.

Expelling the kelipah means ensuring that one’s brain will harbor no thoughts that are contrary to G‑d’s will; that one’s tongue will speak no evil words; that one’s 248 organs will commit no evil acts.

Once one has vanquished the kelipah by steadfastly “turning away from evil”25—not thinking, speaking, or doing those things that are contrary to G‑d’s will—he is then able to uncover the love that is latent within him so that it will permeate his positive thoughts, words, and deeds. His mind will thus ponder upon G‑d’s greatness, and his heart will then actively feel a love for G‑d. In turn, this love will result in his enhanced fulfillment of the Torah and its mitzvot.

The mind serves to reveal this love, which then manifests throughout the rest of the person’s organs.

This love will thus affect his brain, mouth, and other bodily organs, motivating them to study Torah and perform the commandments with a greater degree of love.

This level of love for G‑d is likened to a state of thirst. At this stage, the individual seeking to cleave to G‑d does not experience any delight, for he has yet to cleave to Him: all he feels is the pangs of thirst. In the previously described level of love, ahavah betaanugim, the individual has already quenched his thirst, so to speak: his love for G‑d has been realized, and he is now actively cleaving to Him.

It is indeed true that this lesser degree of love is attainable by man and need not be granted as a gift from Above; it is already possessed by every Jew, and he need but reveal it through his spiritual service. Nevertheless, we beseech G‑d that He help us reveal this love and liberate it from its concealment.

For we are speaking here of the love possessed by the beinoni, an individual who is unable to banish foreign desires from his heart; he is only able to ensure that they find no expression in his thought, his speech, or his actions, as explained in the Tanya, Part I, ch. 12.

If the G‑dly soul is to remain within the body and thereby be able to fulfill the requirements of the Torah and its mitzvot, the individual must eat and drink. He should therefore use the animal soul’s natural desire for physical things expressly for the spiritual purposes of the G‑dly soul.

Thus, for example, his food and drink are intended to provide him with strength so that he will be able to study the Torah, engage in Divine service, and the like.

“Your ways” clearly speaks of man’s corporeal activities. Yet even in these, we are commanded to “know Him”—to bind oneself to G‑d through these physical actions, by utilizing them for the purposes designated by Him, in order thereby to “know Him.”31