Along a Winding Path: Section 3

To explain the concept: With regard to the teshuvah that Israel will ultimately perform at the end of her exile, it is written:1 “None who are estranged will remain [permanently] banished from Him.” The pronoun “Him” refers to G‑d’s very Essence. That explains why “none… will remain [permanently] banished.” For the [G‑dly] sparks that are enclothed in the souls of every member of the Jewish people are bonded to the very Essence of G‑d and ultimately, “they will be drawn into the body of the King.”2

But how is it possible for a soul, a limited created being, to be “drawn into the body of the King,” G‑d’s very Essence, the Creator Who is utterly infinite?3

[Moreover,] in truth, infinity is not an appropriate description for Him.4 For just as it is inappropriate to say that He is in the category of limitation, Heaven forbid,5 so too, it is inappropriate to say that He is infinite [in a simple sense].6 Instead, G‑d’s Essence transcends both limitation and infinity. He cannot be defined in positive terms, nor is it possible to define Him in a negative way.7 As such, it seems inconceivable for a soul — particularly when enclothed in a body — to bond with G‑d’s very Essence.

The difficulty can be resolved as follows: The bond is achieved through the Torah and its mitzvos. For the Torah is G‑d’s wisdom and will8 and the mitzvos are “the limbs of the King.”9 Even as the Torah and mitzvos descend and enclothe themselves in material matters, they remain [G‑d’s] Torah [and His mitzvos]. [And it is through the observance of the Torah on the physical plane that one bonds with the Torah’s essence. As such,]10 when the angels asked that the Torah be given to them on high, [Moshe countered their request by asking]: “Did you descend to Egypt?... Do you have a yetzer hara?...”11 Similarly, the mitzvos are enclothed in material entities: tzitzis use actual wool and tefillin use actual parchment. Moreover, even those mitzvos that are fulfilled with one’s mind and heart12 must be fulfilled to the extent that they are actually felt in one’s physical brain and heart.

These two extremes in the Torah and its mitzvos — that they are G‑d’s wisdom and will13 and yet are enclothed in material entities — connect and bond the G‑dly soul as it is enclothed in the body with G‑d’s Essence.14 For this reason, the mitzvos are called garments,15 for they serve as garments for the soul, enabling it to bond with G‑d’s Essence “to behold the pleasantness of G‑d”16 and “be drawn into the body of the King.”

Summary

The maamar states that through teshuvah, a bond is established between the soul and G‑d’s Essence. It then questions that statement, asking how it is possible for a soul, a limited, created entity, to bond with G‑d’s Essence, which is utterly infinite.

In resolution, it explains that the Torah and its mitzvos are mediums which bond a soul to G‑d’s Essence. For even as the Torah and its mitzvos descend into our material world, they remain one with G‑d’s Essence.

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Along a Winding Path: Section 2

Along a Winding Path: Section 4

Footnotes

II Shmuel 14:14. The Rebbeim (Tanya, the end of ch. 37; the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, Hilchos Talmud Torah 4:3; et al.) use this verse as a prooftext for the concept that, ultimately, every Jew will return to G‑d in teshuvah, whether in one incarnation or in another.

Zohar, Vol. I, p. 217b.

Although all souls derive from G‑dliness, they have already taken on a distinct, personal identity. For that reason, they are described by the analogy of a son, for although a son’s source is his father’s essence, he possesses a distinct identity. The maamar is thus asking, how can souls, as they have become distinct identities, become bonded with G‑d’s Essence which is simple and uncompounded?

See Likkutei Torah, Shmos, p. 7b; the series of maamarim entitled Yom Tov Shel Rosh HaShanah, 5666, p. 172ff.; et al.

G‑d cannot be limited, for were He limited, there would exist something outside of Him and that would conflict with the concept that G‑d is all-encompassing oneness. And it would imply that He is not perfect, for there would exist a dimension outside of Him. This would contradict the core principles of faith (see Sefer HaIkarim, principles 2 and 5).

Infinity in a simple sense is not an appropriate definition of Him, because infinity, according to a superficial conception, can also be a limitation. For saying an entity is infinite implies that it is not finite. Thus, in contrast to knowledge or kindness, we are not speaking of an entity or quality whose definition can be known or grasped intellectually. Nevertheless, there is something — finiteness — that is outside and separate from the infinite quality. And so, the infinity is also circumscribed by itself, as it were.

Negative knowledge, yedias hashlilah, “knowing what one does not know,” is an approach to knowledge employed by secular philo-sophy and, lehavdil, Jewish thought. The intent is that there are certain concepts above our knowledge. Nevertheless, by explaining what the subject is not, one gains some appreciation of what it is.

To apply these concepts to G‑d: By saying He is not finite, it is argued, we can gain some awareness of His infinity. Nevertheless, ultimately, that approach is lacking. For just as there is nothing that He is — i.e., He cannot be defined in any given manner — there is nothing that He is not; there is no type of existence in which He cannot manifest Himself.

See Tanya,ch. 4.

See Zohar, Vol. I, p. 170b; Tanya, op. cit.

10.

Shabbos 88b.

11.

I.e., Moshe was highlighting the idea that the Ten Commandments (the specific object of the angels’ request) mention the exodus from Egypt, the commandment to honor one’s parents, and other matters that are applicable only on this material plane. By extension, it is understood that this concept applies to the Torah and its mitzvos as a whole.

12.

E.g., the mitzvah of studying Torah or the mitzvos of loving and fearing G‑d.

13.

And, as explained in Tanya,ch. 4, His will and His wisdom are infinite, as is He.

14.

The fact that the Torah contains these two extremes answers the question raised previously: How is it possible for a limited human being to connect to an infinite G‑d? The connection is established through the Torah which is infinite and yet, it is enclothed in material matters. As such, it enables a limited soul to bond with G‑d’s infinite Essence.

15.

See Tanya,ch. 4; Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 29.

16.

Cf. Tehillim 27:4.

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