Epistle 1

In their Approbation to the Tanya,1 the author’s sons write that the discourses and open letters together, entitled Iggeret Hakodesh2 (“The Holy Epistle”), as well as the further discourses, entitled Kuntres Acharon (“Later Pamphlet”), were all “recorded personally by [the Alter Rebbe’s] own holy hand in his own saintly expression…. These discourses are [collectively] entitled Iggeret Hakodesh, being mostly epistles sent by his holy eminence to teach the people of G‑d the way by which they should walk and the deed which they should do.”

Accordingly, the author’s learned sons saw fit to publish them together with the preceding sections of the Tanya.

The first epistle opens with a reference to the Chasidic custom (a custom that thrives to this day) of apportioning the tractates of the Talmud for study among the members of each congregation or community so that the entire work is completed in the course of a year. The conclusion of the year’s study and the reallocation of tractates are traditionally celebrated on Yud-Tes Kislev, the anniversary of the Alter Rebbe’s liberation from imprisonment and capital sentence in Leningrad in 1798.

The Rebbe has noted on a number of occasions that the collective completion of the Talmud by a number of individuals is considered as if each one of the group had completed the entire Talmud himself. He explains that this is similar to the law with regard to performing a prohibited labor on Shabbat: If doing the labor requires the efforts of two individuals, each of them is considered to have performed the entire labor.3 So, too, since the various individuals partake in the collective study of the Talmud, for they cannot complete it single-handedly in the course of a year, it is considered as if each one of them had studied the entire Talmud.

To return to the central theme of this opening epistle: The Alter Rebbe explains here that the study of the laws set out in the Oral Torah elevates the soul of the Jew and assists him in his spiritual service of meditating upon G‑d’s greatness and arousing within himself a love and awe of Him.

On the circumstances of its composition, the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of blessed memory, has conveyed to us the following: “During a Simchat Beit Hashoevah gathering in the year 5648 (תרמ"ח ;1887), my revered father related that the epistle opening with ‘We begin with a benediction’ was written by the Alter Rebbe in three stages in three different years.

“The first stage: When the Alter Rebbe decided to make the journey to study at the feet of the Maggid of Mezritch, he presented his disciples with a ‘note of arousal.’ It opened with ‘We begin with a benediction’ and concluded, ‘And these [faculties] are the arms and the body of the soul.’

“The second stage was when the Alter Rebbe returned from Mezritch, having had revealed to him by the Maggid at the behest of his mentor, the Baal Shem Tov, and with the blessing of his mentor, Achiyah Hashiloni, his spiritual identity, the purpose of his holy soul’s descent into this world, and the great responsibility and danger that his mission entailed. At that time, the Alter Rebbe wrote the second part of this epistle, beginning with ‘But what gives the power’ and concluding, ‘To the extent of pressing out the soul….’

“Speaking to his son, the Mitteler Rebbe, and to his grandson, the Tzemach Tzedek, the Alter Rebbe once described his inner feelings during the first few years after his mentor, the Maggid of Mezritch, had revealed to him the message of the Baal Shem Tov [regarding his soul’s mission].

“These were the Alter Rebbe’s words: ‘The simple faith that we, the disciples of the Maggid, had in him, and our self-sacrificing devotion to him, provided us with the potent strength to obey all his directives with extreme precision, with inner and essential self-sacrifice. In the course of several years, when my young, married students settled in various towns and villages, I added three paragraphs to this epistle from “And now” until “there is no goodness but Torah.” This I did in view of the burden placed upon me by my master, the Maggid, and in order to be able to realize, with G‑d’s help, the inner intent of my soul’s descent into this world.’”4

I.e., may G‑d increase that which He has previously granted—His increase being even greater than the original blessing12—so that the hearts of those who study Torah be strengthened to such a degree that they will be considered mighty even among the mighty, with their strength deriving from the Torah.

The might (gevurah) of the Torah relates specifically to the Oral Law. For with regard to the source of the Torah in the supernal sefirot, the Written Torah derives from the sefirah of chochmah, which is aligned with the “right side” of the universe—the attribute of chesed, kindness and benevolence; the Oral Torah derives from the sefirah of binah,14 which is aligned with the “left side” of the universe, the attribute of gevurah, stern judgment and severity.15 (This relationship between binah and gevurah is alluded to in the verse, “I am binah; gevurah is mine.”16)

The “woman of valor” lauded by King Solomon at the opening of the relevant chapter is an allegorical allusion to Knesset Yisrael, the Congregation of Israel, which comprises all Jewish souls. In the verse quoted, she “girds her loins with strength.” “Strength” refers to the Torah,18 as in the teaching, “There is no strength but Torah.”19 Thus, the Torah strengthens the loins of the soul, just as a warrior girds his loins to gather maximal strength; but what is meant by “girding the loins of the soul”?

Just as the loins support the corporeal body and head, so do the soul’s loins support and lead the “body” and “head” of the soul to its desired spiritual destination.

All the above refers to the dimension of space.

Creation embraces the three dimensions known as “world,” “year,” and “soul,” as is explained in Sefer Yetzirah.20 “World” alludes to space, “year” refers to time, and “soul” denotes life. Just as G‑d is one and infinite within the realm of space, so is He one and infinite within the realms of time and life.

Thus, this faith sustains the “head,” for the foundation of one’s comprehension of G‑d’s greatness is one’ s belief in His unity.

Since the Shechinah bears a certain relationship to created beings, it is therefore this level of Divinity that is revealed in Gan Eden—the World to Come, which is but a pale reflection of the Shechinah.

The word קֶרֶן, here translated “glory,” signifies a thing’s essence.28 The verse thus implies that the Jewish people derive their life-force from G‑d’s infinite Essence.

By granting us the ability to perform His commandments, G‑d elevates us to His level, to the encompassing level of holiness that utterly transcends the degree of holiness that permeates the worlds.

This abashedness restrains him from doing anything that G‑d finds displeasing.

The Divine “left hand” represents gevurah, the supernal attribute of severity. It holds the worshipper at arm’s length, so to speak, curbing the intense love that would result from his sensation of G‑d’s nearness as represented in the phrase, “His right hand embraces me.”36

The Divine revelation at the Giving of the Torah produced a feeling of awe and self-nullification which found expression in the Jews’ “standing from afar,” fearing as they did to draw close to G‑d.

Only the Oral Torah manifestly reveals the supreme will in all its ramifications; the Written Torah does not elaborate on the detailed laws concerning the performance of the commandments. On the mitzvah of tefillin, for example, the Written Torah merely states that “You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall serve as a reminder between your eyes.”40 It is not at all clear exactly what shall be bound, how it shall serve as a sign, and precisely where it shall be placed “between your eyes.” All these particulars are elaborated upon in the Oral Torah; it is there that G‑d’s specific intentions regarding tefillin are revealed.

Likewise with the other commandments: the Oral Torah reveals the supreme will, as will be explained in more detail below, in Epistle 29.

The Alter Rebbe now goes on to say that Torah may indeed be said to be the revelation of G‑d’s Will, a level that transcends His wisdom, notwithstanding the fact that “Torah proceeds from chochmah,”41 i.e., from Divine wisdom. This is so because:

So, too, the study of the Torah encompasses and protects the soul of the Torah student,

Since the study of the Oral Torah reveals G‑d’s Will (i.e., the “crown” that transcends the level of wisdom), it is therefore able to strengthen the “loins” (i.e., faith), whose purpose it is to support the “head” (i.e., intellect) and the “arms” (i.e., the love and fear of G‑d, the spiritual emotions that are the fruits of intellect).

The Alter Rebbe explains below, in Epistle 29, that “a woman of valor” alludes to the Oral Torah. Its numerous laws serve as a “crown” for her “husband,” the intellective faculty of chochmah.

One individual generates a love or awe of G‑d through his own intellectual endeavor, through study and meditation; another merely draws on his inborn reservoir of love and awe; in all cases, however, these spiritual emotions are strengthened by the study of the Torah laws.

In the spirit of the above, we can understand the metaphor of the verse, “She girds her loins with strength”: Just as a warrior gathers strength by girding his loins, so does the soul become more powerful by being enveloped with the encompassing radiance of the Divine light, which is drawn down upon it from the supreme will that is revealed in the laws of the Torah.

What mainly concerns the Alter Rebbe here is “girding one’s loins” in order to arouse a love and fear of G‑d; as he will soon explain, the ideal time for this is during prayer. He therefore only briefly notes in passing that the intellect is also strengthened through the study of the Torah laws.

Since the supreme will strengthens the “arms” and “head,” it follows that the time of prayer, an hour of favor when the supreme will is manifest, is an especially propitious time to strengthen both one’s intellectual grasp of G‑dliness and one’s spiritual emotions. Prayer is thus the ideal opportunity to meditate upon the greatness of G‑d and to create within oneself a feeling of awe and love of Him.

The liquid that is forced out through the cracks of an absolutely full barrel is no more than a trickle. Yet what forces it through is the very fullness of the entire quantity of wine within. Likewise, “pressing out the soul” refers to a state in which the entire essence of the soul is bursting forth with its love for G‑d, yet only a trickle of this love is visible externally.

Unlike the festivals, which are “partially unto G‑d and partially unto you,” the Sabbath ought to be wholly dedicated to spiritual matters. Since the reason for this is that it was preceded by six mundane days of labor, it follows that those who were engaged in this labor during the weekdays, businessmen and the like, should surely utilize the Sabbath “wholly unto G‑d.”