It is known that the purpose of the descent into exile is for the subsequent ascent. For our divine service during the period of exile will bring about an even greater degree of revelation in the Era of the Redemption than there was during the time of the Beis HaMikdash. [This sequence parallels the interpretation of the verse] “the advantage of light over darkness”1 — that darkness evokes a greater measure of light, [bringing out] a higher level [of light] than was revealed previously.
[Similarly, in the present context,] the greater the degree of the descent (the darkness), the loftier the subsequent ascent (the additional measure of light). Accordingly, we can appreciate that, since the descent of exile affects primarily the body (as above sec. 4), the ascent in the Era of the Redemption (that results from the descent of exile) [which will be realized within] the body will be even higher than the ascent of the soul.
This will be more fully understood based on the explanations in other sources2 regarding the ascent achieved by the soul because of its descent [to this material plane]. There are two dimensions to this ascent:
a) The service of G‑d performed by the soul as it exists within [this material realm], enclothed in a body and an animal soul reveals the intensity of the soul’s bond with G‑d; that it is so powerful that the concealment and hiddeness caused by the body and the animal soul cannot negate, or even weaken, this connection;
b) By serving G‑d in this material world, the soul purifies and refines the body, the animal soul, and its surrounding environment.
The difference between these two dimensions can be explained as follows:3 In the first instance, the additional measure of light is brought about by darkness. The darkness reveals the intensity of the light, that even the greatest degree of darkness cannot cause concealment for it.
In the second instance, however, the additional measure of light comes from the darkness itself — the darkness (of the body, the animal soul, and our material world) is transformed into light.4 The advantage herein is that the transformation of darkness itself into light can be brought about only through G‑d’s essential power which transcends the distinctions of light and darkness. Thus, the transformation of darkness into light reveals G‑d’s essence.
Moreover, it is precisely this mode of service that accomplishes the Divine intent in creation, that “G‑d desires a dwelling place in the lower realms.”5 {And G‑d’s desire is rooted in His very essence.6}
As explained in Tanya,7 the purpose of the soul’s descent [to our world] is not for the soul’s own benefit, rather to refine the body, the animal soul, and its portion in the world. For it is this service that fulfills the Divine intent of having a dwelling place in this world.8
Thus with regard to the ascent achieved through the descent of the soul to this material plane, the fundamental ascent involves the purification and refinement of the body. Similarly, with regard to the ascent in the Era of the Redemption that results from the descent into exile, the fundamental ascent involves the body.
For the advantage that accrues to the soul through the darkness of exile is the revelation of the intensity of its bond with G‑d — that although it is clothed in a body and the body is in exile, even then the soul is not in exile. However, the advantage that accrues to the body is that the darkness of the body as it is in a state of exile (which is an even greater degree of darkness than its natural state9) is transformed into light. Moreover, by transforming the darkness of the body as it finds itself in exile into light, the Divine intent of having a dwelling place in the lower realms, within the lowest possible realm, is fulfilled.10
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