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תּוֹרָה אוֹר, דִבּוּר הַמַּתְחִיל לֹא תִהְיֶ' מְשַׁכֵּלָה, סְעִיף הַמַּתְחִיל וְהִנֵּה אַחַר: "בִּמְסִירַת נֶפֶשׁ בפ"ע" פֵּרוּשׁ הָרָאשֵׁי תֵּיבוֹת הוּא "בִּפְנִימִית עַצְמוּתוֹ".

[In the above note, the Rebbe spells out the unusual meaning of an abbreviation that appears in the Hebrew text of Torah Or.]

כְּתִיב: יֵצֵא אָדָם לְפָעֳלוֹ וְלַעֲבֹדָתוֹ עֲדֵי עָרֶב. הִנֵּה כָּל נְשָׁמָה בִּירִידָתָהּ לְמַטָּה, יֵשׁ לָהּ מְלָאכוֹת כְּלָלִיּוֹת וּפְרָטִיּוֹת. וְזֶהוּ יֵצֵא אָדָם לְפָעֳלוֹ, דִּיצִיאַת הַנְּשָׁמָה מֵעֲמִידָתָהּ בִּשְׁמֵי רוֹם בְּאוֹצַר הַנְּשָׁמוֹת, וִירִידָתָהּ מִדַּרְגָא לְדַרְגָא עַד בּוֹאָהּ לְהִתְלַבֵּשׁ בְּגוּף וְנֶפֶשׁ הַטִבְעִית וְהַבַּהֲמִית, הוּא בִּשְׁבִיל אָדָם לְפָעֳלוֹ בִּמְלָאכוֹת הַכְּלָלִיּוֹת לְהַגְבִּיר הַצּוּרָה עַל הַחוֹמֶר, לְהָאִיר אֶת הָעוֹלָם בְּאוֹר תּוֹרָה וְנֵר מִצְוָה. וְלַעֲבוֹדָתוֹ שֶׁהִיא מְלָאכָה הַפְּרָטִית, דְּכָל נְשָׁמָה יֵשׁ לָהּ עֲבוֹדָה פְּרָטִית בְּמוֹחִין וּבְמִדּוֹת כְּפִי טִבְעָהּ וְעִנְיָנָהּ.. עֲדֵי עָרֶב בְּעוֹד יֵשׁ זְמַן לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב הַיּוֹם לַעֲשׂוֹתָם. וּבְעוֹמֶק הָעִנְיָן בֵּאוּר הַכָּתוּב.. דְקָאֵי עַל כְּלָלוּת עִנְיַן הָעֲלִיָּה שֶׁנַּעֲשֶׂה עַל יְדֵי יְרִידַת הַנְּשָׁמָה לְמַטָּה דְיֵצֵא אָדָם, דְבַעֲלוֹת הַנְּשָׁמָה מִהְיוֹתָהּ לְמַטָּה מְלוּבֶּשֶׁת בְּגוּף, לְפָעֳלוֹ הִיא עוֹסֶקֶת בָּעוֹלָם הַבָּא בְּאוֹפֶן הִתְעַסְּקוּתָהּ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶה, וְאִם הָיָה קוֹבֵעַ עִתִּים לַתּוֹרָה, גַּם שָׁם מַכְנִיסִים אוֹתוֹ בְּאָהֳלֵי תוֹרָה, וְלַעֲבוֹדָתוֹ, אִם עָסַק בַּעֲבוֹדָתוֹ כָּרָאוּי אָז הִנֵּה עֲלִיָּתוֹ עֲדֵי עָרֶב שֶׁעוֹלֶה בְּעִילּוּי אַחַר עִילּוּי עַד הַנּוֹעַם וְהָעֲרֵיבוּת דְּעַצְמוּת אֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא.

It is written,2 “A man goes out to his work and to his labor until evening.”

Every soul [is assigned] both general and particular tasks when it descends to this material plane. This mission is alluded to by the phrase, “A man goes out to his work.” That is, the soul leaves its standing in the treasure-store of souls in the celestial heights, and descends level after level until it becomes enclothed in the body and in the natural, animal soul.

The goals [of this descent] are (a) man’s “work” — his overall tasks of empowering [spiritual] form over [tangible] matter, and illuminating the world with the light of the Torah and the lamp of the mitzvos3 — and (b) his “labor,” his particular tasks. For every soul has its individual duties in the realm of intellect and emotion, based upon its nature and inclinations….

[These endeavors continue] “until evening” — only as long as one can still take action, as it is written,4 “[…the commandments that I command you to do] today, to perform them.” [And on this phrase the Sages comment,5 “Theycan be performed today (i.e., in This World), and not tomorrow (i.e., in the World to Come).”]

From a deeper perspective, the above verse may be understood […] as alluding to the soul’s [heightened] ascent following its descent (“a man goes out”) to the material realm. When the soul ascends after having been clothed in a body in This World below, [it proceeds] “to its work:” its activities in the World to Come echo its [former] work in This World. If, [while in This World,] that person had set aside regular hours for Torah study, that soul is allowed in the other world, too, to enter the tents of Torah study. Moreover, [when the soul ultimately ascends,] it proceeds “to its labor:” if, [while in This World,] it engaged in its labors of Divine service properly, it then ascends “until erev.” It ascends level after level, until it apprehends the pleasant sweetness (areivus) of the Essence of the [infinite] Ein Sof.6

A Story with an Echo

The soul’s activities in the World to Come thus echo its former work in This World. A story on this theme is told by R. Yitzchak Meir of Gur, the first Rebbe of the Ger chassidic dynasty, who is known from the title of his classic work as the Chiddushei HaRim.

An unlettered wagon-driver, who had not been distinguished for his piety, finally arrived before the Heavenly Court. On the one hand, he had once willingly undergone extreme exertion and distress in order to enable R. Yitzchak Meir to arrive in Kotzk before sunset on erev Shabbos. He was therefore exempted immediately from any punishment for his sins. On the other hand, since the record of his good deeds was so scant, and since his interests had always been so unspiritual, he could hardly be rewarded by the spiritual bliss of the Garden of Eden. So the Court decided to dispatch him to the World of Imagination. There he would live in the illusion that he was in This World, forever sitting in the driver’s seat of a handsome carriage to which four sleek stallions were harnessed, and galloping lustily along a smooth broad highway….

Ultimately, however, thanks to the intercession of the tzaddik, his spiritual eyes were opened, and he was thereby granted admittance to the superior rewards of the Garden of Eden.