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בְּאַחַת הַהִתְוַעֲדוּת אָמַר אַאַמוּ"ר: הקב"ה בָּרָא אֶת הָעוֹלָם וְכָל הַדְּבָרִים הַגַּשְׁמִיִּים מֵאַיִן לְיֵשׁ, אוּן אִידעֶן דאַרפעֶן מאַכעֶן מִיֵּשׁ לְאַיִן, פוּן דִי גַּשְׁמִיוּת מאַכעֶן רוּחָנִיוּת. דִי עֲבוֹדָה מאַכן פוּן גַּשְׁמִיוּת רוּחָנִיוּת אוּן דעֶם גַּשְׁמִי מאַכעֶן אַ כְּלִי פאַר רוּחָנִיוּת, דאָס אִיז אַ חוֹבַת גַּבְרָא, אִין דעֶם אִיז מְחוּיָב כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד בִּפְרָט.

My revered father, the Rebbe [Rashab], once said at a farbrengen:2 “G‑d created the world and all physical entities as something out of nothing.3 The task of Jews is to make something into nothing,4 transforming the physical5 into the spiritual.6

“The avodah7 of turning physicality into spirituality, and transforming a material entity into a vessel for the spirit, is the personal duty of every Jew; each and every individual is obligated to undertake it.”8

Probing Beneath the Surface

There are two dimensions to this teaching, the emotional and the intellectual. The Rebbe Rashab was in unusually high spirits when he delivered this teaching. “Now is a time of joy Above,” he said, in preface. “G‑d is rejoicing with His children whom He supports. The Torah is G‑d’s daughter and she is betrothed to the Jews… The Jews are like a young husband supported by his father-in-law [for the duration of his Torah studies]…. G‑d says, ‘I will provide you with your gashmiyus, your material things, but you, My children, must transform them into ruchniyus, spirituality.’”

The intellectual aspect is found in a talk9 in which the Rebbe explains the concepts underlying this statement. Creation is a unique G‑dly ability. All created beings are recipients, benefactors of His light and goodness. At best, they work with and develop what they have been given. It is, as the Alter Rebbe states,10 “G‑d alone [Who] has the power and ability to create something from nothing and absolute non-being.”

He delegated, as it were, that power to the Jewish people, enabling them to make a dwelling for Him in the lower realms. Just as G‑d brought into being an entirely new entity when He created the world, so too, the bittul (self-annulment) which Jews infuse into creation is an entirely new development.

In this way, the Jewish people become G‑d’s partner in creation.11 The goal of the creation was to make “a dwelling place for G‑d in the lower worlds,”12 transforming our material world into an abode for Him. G‑d contributes the bricks, so to speak, for this dwelling — the physical world. Through our Divine service we provide the second dimension, spirituality, which imbues the entire world with meaning.