סוּר מֵרָע וַעֲשֵׂה טוֹב בַּקֵּשׁ שָׁלוֹם וְרָדְפֵהוּ, האָט דעֶר בַּעַל שֵׁם טוֹב געֶזאָגט: אִין יעֶדעֶר דָּבָר גַּשְׁמִי פוּן דְּבָרִים הַמּוּתָּרִים זַיינעֶן פאַראַן טוֹב וָרָע: דעֶר גַּשְׁמִי אִיז רַע אוּן דעֶר חַיּוּת אֱלֹקִי וואָס אִיז מְחַיֶּה דעֶם גַּשְׁמִי אִיז טוֹב. בּאַדאַרף דעֶר מעֶנְטשׁ וואָס בּאַנוּצְט דעֶם גַּשְׁמִי זַיין אַ סוּר מֵרָע, נִיט וועֶלעֶן דעֶם תַּעֲנוּג וואָס אִיז פאַראַן אִין דעֶם גַּשְׁמִי, אוּן זַיין וַעֲשֵׂה טוֹב וועֶלעֶן געֶשְׁפַּייזט אוּן געֶהאָלְפעֶן וועֶרעֶן פוּן דעֶם חַיּוּת אֱלֹקִי וואָס אִיז אִין דעֶם דָּבָר הַגַּשְׁמִי. בַּקֵשׁ שָׁלוֹם וְרָדְפֵהוּ דעֶר מעֶנְטשׁ וואָס אִיז אַ סוּר מֵרָע אוּן אַ וַעֲשֵׂה טוֹב, בּאַדאַרף זוּכעֶן אוּן נאָכְלוֹיפעֶן צוּ מאַכעֶן שָׁלוֹם צְוִוישׁעֶן דעֶם גַּשְׁמִי אוּן חַיּוּת אֱלֹקִי וואָס אִיז אִיהְם מְחַיֶּ'.

“Turn away from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.”1

The Baal Shem Tov explained this verse as follows: Every physical thing that is permitted to us contains good and evil. Its material dimension is evil and the Divine vitality that animates it is good. A person who makes use of a physical object must “turn away from evil” and not long for the materialistic pleasure which that object affords. He must also “do good” — desire to be sustained and supported by the Divine life-force that lies within the physical object.

Moreover, one must “seek peace and pursue it” — a person who “turns away from evil and does good” must actively seek to make peace between physicality and the Divine vitality that sustains it.2

A Mini-Farbrengen

Any valid spiritual path will seek to direct a person’s attention away from material concerns to higher ones. Some approaches to spirituality, however, tend to reject the physical. They demand complete involvement with the spiritual domain, any connection to material existence being considered a necessary evil, at best.

The Baal Shem Tov opened up a path that harmonized the material and spiritual worlds, seeing the former as nothing more than the outward manifestation of the latter. Thus, the physical and the spiritual are not in opposition, but are rather two aspects of a single entity. This perspective enables a person to create unity among the diverse aspects of his personality, and to live in the world, without being overwhelmed by worldliness.3

Indeed, this is a feat that mortals can accomplish and angels cannot — to live in the world, and not only to cope with it, but to elevate it.

R. Zusya of Hanipoli, a well-loved colleague of the Alter Rebbe, saw a hint of this superiority in the verse that describes how Avraham Avinu served his three angelic guests:4 “And he stood over them under the tree, and they ate.” (As Rashi explains there,being angels they did not actually eat; they merely feigned eating.)

Now, the hosts of angels on high sing “Holy, holy, holy,” and experience such an intense revelation of Divinity that they expire. But when it comes to eating, observed R. Zusya, Avraham Avinu the mortal can do what they cannot. He can live in this world. He can eat physical food, for example, and by his proper intention elevate the holy sparks that are submerged in it, thereby fashioning a dwelling place for G‑d in these nether realms. He thus stands higher than the angels. As the above verse tells us, “He stood over them under the tree, and they ate.”