parshas re'i english

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Dei Chochmah LNafshechah Parshas Rei

3

Shalosh Seudos1ofParshas Rei 5765

"----

---".

[You shall surely ]do away with all the places where the nations whom you are

driving out worship their gods, [whether they are] on the high mountains, on the

hills, or under any luxuriant tree.2

The Impure Forces of Esav and Yishmael

Each person must [work to] subdue the klippos, the evil forces, of Yishmael and

Esav. These are the feet [lowermost level] of the evil forces which are [a perversion

of] the aspects ofNetzach / Victory, and Hod/ Splendor.3 [The klippah of Yishmael

believes in the strength of a Supreme Power that can do as it pleases. However, it does

not believe in reward for good acts or punishment for bad. Esav, on the other hand, does

believe in the aspect of reward and punishment for each action. However, he does not

believe in the aspect ofEin Sof, that Hashem is truly boundless. Esav believes in justice,

but in human justice, not Divine.4]

During these days that immediately precede [and comprise] the month of Elul,

we must know that it is not enough to regret whatever bad we have done and repent

we must also combat the evil husks of Esav and Yishmael which are the feet [the

support] of impurity. This is hinted at in the verse, "" [You shall surely]

do away with [The double language is usually translated with the preface you shall

surely to indicate doubled emphasis.] The word [destroy, in the singular] alludes

1The lesson was delivered at the third meal of Shabbos.

2Devarim 12:2

3See the Gra inBiur Agudal onMegillah 6b.

4Excerpted fromDei Chochmah on Parshas Pinchas 5766.


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to the klippah of Esav, while [destroy, in the plural] refers to the impure husk

of Yishmael. The verse continues: "

" All the places where

the nations whom you are driving out worship their gods, [whether they are] on the high

mountains, on the hills, or under any luxuriant tree. This means that these two types of

impurity are inclusive husks that include every other evilall the places where the

nationsworship their gods. [It follows that an aspect of] these two can be found in

every non-Jewish culture in the world. For these two klippos correspond to the final

letter of Hashems Name which parallels Malchus/ Kingship. [Each of the non-Jewish

nations manifests this-worldly sovereignty through the force of its Malchus dklippah,

its perversion of Kinship within the realm of unholiness.]

The Divine Name consists of four letters: --- . Each letter represents a

different sefirah or grouping of sefiros within the ten. The first letter (yud) represents

Chochmah / Wisdom. The second letter (hei) represents Binah / Understanding. The

third letter (vav) represents the six [which is also the numerical value ofvav] sefiros that

range between Chessed / Kindness, and Yesod / Foundation.5

The final letter (hei) of

Hashems Name represents Malchus / Kingship. This final letter / sefirah ofMalchus

includes [receives and integrates all of the energies of] all of the higher sefiros including

Kesser, which is itself alluded to in the kutzo shel yud, the apex of the first yudof the

Divine Name. The fact that even Kesseris included withinMalchus is alluded to in the

verse regarding Esther, the paradigm ofMalchus: "" And the

crown (kesser) of kingship (malchus) was upon her head.6

[A parallel situation exists within the realm of unholinessthere are root forces

that are inclusive of the rest.] Since Yishmael and Esav include the impurity of all othernations, one must toil to overcome these root flaws. Only in this way can one subdue all

the places the non-Jews worshiped and defiled.

5Chessed/ Kindness, Gevurah / Might, Tiferes / Beauty,Netzach/ Victory,Hod/ Splendor, and

Yesod/ Foundation.6Esther2:17


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There are four klippos which directly correspond with and act as counterpoints

to the four letters of Hashems Name. These are symbolized by the four rivers that

emerged from Eden: "...

.

". The name of the first is Pishon, it is the one that surrounds all

of the land of Chavilah where the gold isand the name of the second river is Gichon,

it is the one that surrounds all of the land of Kush. And the third river is Chidekel, it is

the one that goes east of Ashur, and the fourth river is the Pras.

7

The first river corresponds to the klippah of Bavel, the second to Madai, the

third to the klippah of Ashur, and the fourth to the klippah of Pras. This final aspect of

impurity alludes to Esav and Yishmaelthe all-inclusive klippos.8

King David said:

"" He transformed the sea to dry land, they crossed the

riveron foot.9 Here, David HaMelech was referring to the Jewish people crossing the

river Pras on footwhich signifies subduing the impure energies of Esav and Yishmael

that are associated with the aspect of feet as explained earlier. When we finally

subdue these paradigms of the forces of evil, we will merit to see the fulfillment of theverse: "" And his [Moshiachs] feet will stand upon the

Mount of Olives.10

This standing indicates that we will finally wipe out all of the

forces of impurity. When that happens, "'" Hashem will be

King over all the earth.11

This is the main work of the upcoming month of Elul: to traverse the river Pras

by overcoming the impure forcesof Esav and Yishamael which prevent one from truly

retuning to His Creator.

7Bereishis 2:11-14

8See Pri Eitz Chaim, Krias Shema 3;Megaleh Amukos, Parshas Shemos;Eimek Hamelech,

Shaar5, Chapter 33.9Tehillim 66:6

10Zechariah 14:4

11Ibid., 14:9


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I Am for My Beloved, and My Beloved is for Me

Subduing these forces is a very difficult job becasue Prassignifies the aspect of

Binah / Understanding,12

which is the spiritual source of dinim, heavenly judgments.

Hashem said regarding the ultimate redemption: "

" I will show them wonders, like the days of your exodus from the land of

Egypt.13 This implies that just as in Egypt the Jewish people crossed the sea and

subdued the Egyptians who corresponded to the Kesser, the Crown of unholiness, so too

in the final redemption we will all have to crush the klippos of Esav and Yishmael by

crossing the river Pras. The way to subdue these lowermostNetzach andHodaspects of

unholiness is by arousing an intense yearning for sanctity. During this month of Elul, the

thirteen attributes of Divine mercy are aroused. On a practical level, this means that

Hashems great mercy shines on us and we are drawn closer to Him. As the verse states:

"" I am for my Beloved, and my Beloved is for me14

[The name

Elul ( ) is an acronym of this scriptural phrase that is a profound statement of

intimate spiritual connection on the level of allegory.] These thirteen attributes are the

illumination ofArichAnpin. This is the world of powerful yearning for ones source.

This longing to draw near to Hashem is aroused during the month of Elul when every

Jews deep inner longing for Hashem surfaces. This is why every Jew feels an intense

desire to cleave to Hashem with his entire being and follow His ways during the month

of Elul.

The Seven Beggars

This is [a facet of] the meaning of Rebbe Nachmans story of the seven beggars

in his Sippurei Maasios. In this story, Rebbe Nachman discusses two children who were

lost to their families. This alludes to the Jewish people who were divorced from Hashem

and yearn to return to Him by unifying Hashem and His presence in this world. [This is

12See Shaar Hakavanos, Yom Kippur1.

13Michah 9:17

14Shir HaShirim 6:3


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accomplished by actively revealing Hashems presence here in this world.] This union is

what every Jew aspires to effect by cleaving to his Creator.

During Elul, when this thirst to join with Hashem is very prevalent, one must

work to find the path to self-rectification. We must all find the proper path to Malchus

[accepting Hashems Kingship over us through our actions and in doing so, revealing

Hashems presence into the world]. Each of the seven beggars represents a different

path to serve Hashem.

The seventh beggar who had no legs symbolizes "" David, king of Yisrael, lives and exists who reveals the path through which one can

cross the river Pras and crush the ultimate klippos. He achieves this by accessing the

towering level ofReishah Dlo Isyadaah. [Note: The realm ofReishah Dlo Isyadaah,

the Head Which Cannot be Known, is formed of the three levels ofChochmah,Binah,

and Daas within Atik, the higher level ofKesser. The Ramchal explains that it cannot

be known because it is too high for us to fathom at all, sometimes appearing one way

and at others appearing differently.15 Dovid HaMelech is aligned with Malchus, which

in the realm of holiness encapsulates and integrates all of the force of the worlds andsefiros above it.]

One can grasp the meaning of this level through delving into the first story of

the blind beggar. The first beggar represents our father Avraham, who is connected to

Dovid HaMelech. This is the deeper meaning of the statement of our sages: In you

[Avraham] they will seal [the first blessing of the standingAmidah].16

This is also the

hidden message of the verse, "" And a cloud ( ) covered the

earth The word for cloud is an acronym for . One must unite the alefof

Avraham to the dalet of Dovid because Dovid HaMelech [the last and lowermostaspect]rectifies everything.

This is the blind beggars story:

15Kalach Pischei Chochmah

16Pesachim 117b


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Once, people were traveling in ships at sea. A storm wind came and broke

the ships apart. The people were saved, though, and they came to a certain tower.

They went up to the tower and found in it all types of food, drink, and garments,

and all that they needed. There was every manner of good there, and all of the

delights that exist in the world

In this part of the story, the tzaddikreveals that how to yearn for Hashem. The

ships clearly allude to the bodies of the travelers.17 Every Jew longs only to do the

Creators will and cleave to Him. The main barrier to this is the body which obscuresElokus, G-dliness, and distances one from attaining true connection by entrapping a

person in its material desires. The storm wind in the story represents the illicit desires

that burn inside. These are also the great waves that threaten to sink the boat. The truth

is that every Jew wishes to repent his every misdeed during Elul. He begins to feel the

pain of his sins and wishes to change his ways, but the body blocks him from acting on

such feelings. In order to overcome this, the travelers go to the tower which has

everything good. This represents gaining access to Arich Anpin, which the Zohar

Hakadosh says has, nineHeichalos, nine Chambers, which dont shine and dont havean aspect ofruach or neshamah. No one exists there; none connect to it and none know

it.18

These nine supernal chambers represent nine different paths of longing for Hashem

which are the keys to entering the Kings Palaces and enjoying His treasures. Through

entering these levels which represent the Tower, one subdues the klippos of Esav and

Yishmael. This is why the story goes on to discuss the survivors as elders, each of

whom remembers an even more ancient event. Memory arouses a powerful yearning for

that which is fondly recalled. From the fact that a person recalls something, he

demonstrates that he recognizes that it is good and that he desires it greatly. The Eldestof the groups of survivors is the tzaddikwho teaches them all what to long for and how

to yearn for it.

17See Sefer Halikutim, Parshas Bo;Biurei Aggados HaGra onBava Basra 73a.

18Zohar Hakadosh, Parshas Pikudei 269a; SeeLikutei Moharan I:24.


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And they spoke up and said: Each person should tell an old tale, that of

his very earliest memory. And there were elders and youngsters there, so they

honored the eldest among them to speak first. He raised his voice and said to them:

I remember when they cut the apple from the branch

Rebbe Nachman explains later in the story that severing the branch alludes to

the cutting of the umbilical cord. This represents infanthood, and the image is meant to

teach us that one is first born on his spiritual path through yearning to give birth to a

child, which represents the holy Torah. When Elul comes and one doesnt know how tobegin his process of repentance, the first step is to learn Torah.

Just as in the material world one who has no children is considered dead, 19 so

too is it true of the spiritual realm. Torah is the fruit of the Eitz Hachaim, the Tree of

Life; it is an aspect of ones child. One without Torah insight [is a person with limited or

no spiritual vitality and] is considered like a dead man. Even one who is working hard to

achieve true connection with Hashem cannot begin without the holy Torah. By

developing an understanding of the Torahthe revealed or the hiddenone comes to

recognize Hashem. [The reason for this is quite simple:] Israel, Torah, and Hashem arein essence one. One who wishes to be one with the King must first recognize the paths

of the King. This is the first Heichal without which it is impossible to ascend further

toward Hashemon must yearn for true understanding of the holy Torah.

The second tzaddikin the story reveals the second Chamber. He remembers the

ner dolek, the candle burning overhead while he was in the womb. The Talmud

teaches that a baby in his mothers womb is provided with a lit candle over his head

with which he can see form one end of the world to the other; by its light, an angel

teaches him the entire Torah.

20

This second tzaddikreveals that one must yearn that theTorah he studies should become a vessel to receive the light of G-dliness. One must

learn the holy gemara by connecting to the concept ofgumri, which means coals. [This

teaches that learning Talmud properly heats one up with a burning desire for Hashem.]

19Nedarim 64b

20Niddah, 30b


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One who learns in this manner becomes holy to Hashem. We must vigilantly guard

against learning Torah in a dry, exclusively intellectual way. One should never believe

that only the outer, seemingly simple meaning of the Torah is true, chas vshalom. One

must know that the Torah is really composed of pure and sweet G-dliness. In order to

reach this level, every Jew must plead with Hashem and petition with Him to feel the

depth of the holy Torah. We must yearn that the Torah be for us a ner dolek, an candle

over our heads, so that our entire selves, body and soul, will be illuminated with the

supernal light of Torah.After this is the third tzaddik, the one who remembered the formation of the

fruit. He reveals the third Heichal and path to Hashem. Rebbe Nachman explains that

the formation of the fruit alludes to the formation of the embryo in the mothers

womb. On this level, one actually grasps the deeper underlying structure and reasoning

of the holy Torah. On this level, one actually sees how every detail of the revealed

Torah is actually an outgrowth of the hidden Torah, as revealed by Rabbi Shimon bar

Yochai in the holyZohar.

The fourth tzaddik reveals that one must then climb to the level where heremembers when they conveyed the seed to plant the fruit. This means the time when

the seed took root in the womb. At this level, a person not only sees in general some of

the deeper reasoning behind every part of the revealed Torahhe even remembers the

holy unification that forms or gives birth to the particular Gemara or Tosafos.

The fifth tzaddikdiscloses that one must recall the wise men that brought about

the fruit. Rebbe Nachman revealed that this means recalling the drop when it was in

the mind of the progenitor. [Because the roots of procreation are actually in the mind.

This is even true on a physical level, since even the hormones are controlled by thepituitary gland.] This tzaddikteaches that one must long mightily to know the Torah in

its sense of being Novlos Chochmah shel maalahthe outgrowth of the supernal


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wisdom.21

On this level, every letter of Torah is a vessel to unify Chochmah and Binah,

Yichudah Ilaah and Yichudah Tataah, to effect an upper and lower unification.

TheBaal HaTanya taught that many people simply cannot bear to think deeply

about the fact that everything is an expression of G-dliness even though every Jew

believes this in a shallow and abstract way. To deeply contemplate this is overwhelming

for them since the body fears the feeling that the entire reality is nullified to Hashem.

The way to overcome the reservations of ones material nature is by accessing the Torah

on a level where it gives one the strength to grasp the words of the sages who give birthto the Torah. These sages reveal the Yichudah Ilaah and Yichudah Tataah. These deep

unifications give one the strength to completely nullify himself to Hashems Will. This

is the true path to truly nullify all of the seventy nations of the world, the root of whose

power is illicit desire.

The sixth, seventh and eighth tzaddikim remember the taste, smell and

appearance of the fruit, respectively. This means that one grasps the three levels of

Nefesh,Ruach, andNeshamah. On this level, one is filled with a much deeper yearning

while learning the holy Torah. He not only longs to comprehend the various unificationsof Hashemhe longs for closeness to the Creator Himself. Although Hashem

constricted His revealed Gdliness at the outset so that it would not be readily apparent

in this world [of free will], one who has reached this level accesses the hidden G-dliness

that was constricted and ascends to the level before the world was createdwhen there

was nothing at all but G-dliness. [At this level one no longer has to make a conscience

effort to see or find Hashem; every breath or movement is with Him naturally. At such

towering levels,] every thought and every movement is with Hashem.

The ninth tzaddik, the blind beggar himself, confesses that while he iscompletely an infant [he appeared to be the youngest of them all, since they told their

stories in regressive order of age], yet he remembered all that the other tzaddikim could

recall. In addition, he remembered the state known as nothing at all. Rebbe Nachman

21Bereishis Rabbah 44:17


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explains that that this tzaddikremembers that which was before the nefesh, ruach, and

neshamah existed: an aspect ofAyin, of absolute nothingness.

At this level, one has finally has ascended to the galgaltah [the cranium or

headspace]ofArich/Kesser, where one is so completely subsumed to Hashem that he

no longer feels himself individuated at all in any way. It is not him who is finding

Hashem through the many levels of learning Torah or the levels that preceded the

constriction of Hashems presence. He has joined with such a deep aspect ofKesserthat

he no longer feels his own existence at all.This last level is achieved only when the body has completely ceased to be a

barrier to self-nullification. All bodily desires have been completely transformed to

holiness.

By traversing all these high levels of yearning, a person comes to the point

where he can cross the riverPras,the tower that contains all manner of good where

one overcomes his material desires. This tower represents the nine Heichalin ofArich

Anpin, the place of refuge from the breakage of the material ship of the body and its

desires. In this place, the Shechinah is able to rest placidly from all spiritual enemies.When Elul arrives, people have a tendency to give up from the outset. They say

to themselves, Who am I to think that I can actually achieve such levels in serving

Hashem? Did I not feel the same yearning for spiritual elevation last year? Didnt I want

with all my heart to draw near to Hashem and change for the better? Despite this I

remained exactly the same. How can I possibly hope to enter the gates of true closeness

to the King?

The way to overcome this is by entering the nine Chambers ofArich Anpin,

through longing for the nine levels of closeness described at length above. [Even if onecannot yet truly change for the better, he can always yearn for whatever he wishes with

his whole heart. This path is always open to every single one of us.]

This is the way to cross the river Pras and subdue the klippos of Esav and

Yishmael that prevent us from truly drawing near to Hashem.


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The ultimate purpose, however, is to access the level of the great eagle in the

story which represents the holiness of Shabbos. On Shabbos, one attains the light of

Atik. This represents the pleasure of one who enjoys the unity of Hashem, and it is

called an aspect of wealth.22

[This wealth can also be understood as abundance. The

levels discussed earlier are founded on yearning, which is the experience of lack that

inspires the drive to attain that which is missing. At the level of wealth, there is no

experience of lackit is a pure pleasure in what is, not the sweetness of yearning for

that which is yet to be.] This level is higher than the nine discussed earlier. One whoreaches this level feels the holiness of the Torah so intensely that he feels incredible joy

and pleasure from every single word of Torah and from every experience of supernal

yichudim, unifications.

SayMalchuyos before Me, That I Should be Made King over You

Hashem first created the world through the attribute of strict justice. When He

saw that the world could not exist according to unmitigated strict justice, Hashem joined

the attribute of mercy to justice.23

On a deeper level, this means that Hashem created the

world initially for man to recognize His Kingship at all times. This means grasping that

there is nothing besides Hashem. This is ones main objective, the point of his existence.

When one recites, Modeh ani lfanechah Melech chai vkayamI give thanks before

You, living and existing Kingin the morning, he is fulfilling his purpose in the

world, for our entire purpose is to say malchuyos, words that establish Hashems

Kingship, before Him. In this way, one accepts Hashems Kingship over himself and

cleaves to Him.

The attribute of mercy that Hashem added to mitigate harsh judgments is the

holy Torah itself. Only through Torah can one attain complete unity with Hashem. One

who yearns for the Torah embodies an aspect of Yesod/ Foundation which influences

Malchus, the aspect of unification and emunah, faith. [Yesod is the sefirah directly

22SeeLikutei Moharan I:60

23Bereishis Rabbah 12


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aboveMalchus and is its prime influence.] The more one yearns for Torah, the more

he influences and empowersMalchus and Yesod. This is the meaning of the verse: "

'"

You shall surely give to him, and your heart will not grieve you when you give to him,

because it was for this purpose that Hashem your G-d blessed you in all your actions

and all your endeavors.24 This is explained by the Arizal as follows: When Yesod

bestows Chassadim [influences that are from the side of Kindness] to Malchus, it too is

magnified. [Just as the Jew possessed of abundance shall surely give (a double

language for emphasis, which implies that in giving, nothing is lost), without

begrudging the act, because it is ordained for him to serve as a channel of influence.]

This is also the meaning of our sages statement: Say Malchuyos before Me,

that I should be made King over you25

Every Jew must enter into Rosh Hashanah

knowing that there is nothing at all besides Hashem. This is the deeper meaning of the

phrase I am for my Beloved and my Beloved is for me. This can only be achieved

through grasping the holy Torah as explained above. The main job of every Jew during

Elul is to enter into an intense longing for Torah and the light of Hashem until onefinally achieves the level of absolute nothingness described earlier. Even when one is

involved in physical endeavors such as eating and drinking, his mind and heart should

never stray from dveikus, from the goal of cleaving to Hashem through the levels of

longing described above.

One reason why tzaddikim recite the entire Tikkunei Zohar during Elul is to

arouse this intense yearning through the purification of their material selves that such

study imparts. Hashem is more than willing to forgive each and every Jew. He pleads

with us [as it were] to draw close to Him by entering the spiritual holy of holies. In thisway, our every sin is forgiven [much like when the high priest entered the holy of holies

on Yom Kippur].

24Devarim 16:10

25Tosefta Rosh Hashanah 1:11


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The Tikkun of Eating

The best time for a Jew to truly arouse and reveal a genuine and powerful

longing for Hashem in an aspect ofArich Anpin is while eating. The reason for this is

because the supernal alefs are revealed specifically when one eats.26

[Rebbe Nachman

explains elsewhere that the alef is a physical representation of the unification of the

upper world and the lower worldthere is an upper yud that is linked by a vav to a

lower yud. Eating has the potential to embody such a joining since it is possible to

permeate the most physical of activities with the most lofty intentions.] These alefssymbolize theAlufo Shel Olam, the Lofty One of the universe, who can be accessed

on a much deeper level specifically while eating.

Hahsem wishes to bestow beneficence on His creatures, and He confers upon us

all kinds of pleasures and delights. But one must toil to tap into the spiritual source of

these pleasures, and this is a revelation of the oneness of Hashem. The simplest way is

by internalizing Hashems kindness in giving us sustenance. [It is not enough to merely

consider this momentarily.] We must seek to [internalize this and] cleave to Him

through this thought.While learning Torah, one must also search constantly for the light of Hashem

that fills it. By doing this, one will also seek closeness with Hashem while eating, just

like the holy tzaddikim who are completely one with Hashem while they eat. One should

not eat like an animal that lacks awareness of Hashem. [This will also block the Torah

from truly penetrating into ones innermost self.] As the Midrash teaches, Before

praying for the Torah to enter, pray that food and drink do not enter. 27 Usually food

brings one to forget the spiritual. One who eats properly uses the food to remind himself

of the immanence and kindness of Hashem and sanctifies his body to Hashem. When hereturns to his learning he will surely search for the light of Hashems Oneness in a

deeper way than he did before the meal. In this way, one will eventually merit to truly

be subsumed in the light of Hashem. The main work of a Jew during Elul is to yearn

26See Kavanas Haachilah of the Rashash andLikutei Moharan II:7.

27Tanna Dvei Eliyau 26


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mightily to follow the way of holy yichudim.28

Even just seeing a holy action or the

living out of a level discussed in a sefer[by another] and longing to fulfill it also effects

a great yichud. The main thing is to endlessly yearn for Hashem until one attains the

level of wealth discussed abovefeeling absolute pleasure in every minute aspect of

observance and study. This is the deeper meaning of the verse: "

" Yisrael will rejoice in its Maker, the children of Tzion will exult in

their King.29

Let Your Soul Know Wisdom

This is the meaning of: "" Let your soul

(nefesh) know (dei) wisdom (Chochmah) and it will be a crown (Kesser) for your

head.30

Let the lowest aspect of your nefesh ascend the degrees of self-nullification

which is the path ofChochmah. Then you will come to the level of Kesser, which is

what Hashem wants for all of us.

One must search for pleasure for his soul by exclusively yearning for the

wisdom of the Torah. In this way, one redeems his neshamah from entrapment in the

prison of physical desires. Through the many levels of yearning for ever-deeper

understanding of Torah [one will achieve the highest levels ofKesserdiscussed above].

When each of us yearns in this way, a desire will be aroused in all Jewish souls

to draw ever nearer to the light of Hashem. This is how we will come to see the

fulfillment of the promises: And the lost ones will come from the land of Ashur, and

those who were driven from the land of Egyptand all flesh will see together that the

mouth of Hashem has spoken.31

May we see eye to eye, Hashems return to Tzion,

and may You alone, Hashem, rule over all of your Creations. Amen.

Translated and Adapted by Rav Micha Golshevsky.

28See Shaar Ruach Hakodesh, 44.

29Tehillim 149:2

30From the Shabbos zemerDror Yikrah, based onMishlei 24:14.

31Yeshayahu 40:5


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Explorations in Tanya Chapter VIII, Part 1

17

Sefer Tanya

Chapter VII, Part 1

On the other hand, the vitalizing animal soul in the Jew, that which is

derived from the aspect of theklippah which is clothed in the human blood, as

stated above, and thenefesh-aspect of the animals, beasts, birds and fishes that are

clean and fit for [Jewish] consumption, as also the existence and vitality of the

entire inanimate and entire vegetable world which are permissible for

consumption

The animal soul within a person includes all of the four degrees of existence:

inanimate, vegetable, animal and human. All of them must be rectified spiritually by

being incorporated within G-dliness. When a person repairs his own soul, he uplifts all

of the vitality throughout all of creation to Elokus. Until that is accomplished, their

spiritual vitality is drawn from klippas nogah where a complete revelation of G-dliness

is not possible.

As well as the existence and vitality of every act, utterance and thought

in mundane matters that contain no forbidden aspectbeing neither root nor

branch of the 365 prohibitions and their offshoots, either on the explicit authority

of the Torah, or by rabbinic enactmentyet are not performed for the sake of

heaven but only by the will, desire and lust of the body; and even where it is a need

of the body, or its very preservation and life, but ones intention is not for the sake

of heaven, that is, to serve G-d by use of the body

Even if he only eats what he needs in order to sustain his bodyand Hashem

made it so that every person requires food and drink and different sorts of nourishment,

He who created many souls and their lacks, for all that You createdif his

intention is not for the sake of heaven to serve Hashem via that food, then it is drawn

from klippas nogah.


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Then all these acts, utterances and thoughts are no better than the

vitalizing animal soul itself; and everything in this totality of things flows and is

drawn from the second gradation [to be found] in theklippos andsitra

achra, namely, a fourthklippah, calledklippas nogah. For in this world, called the

World ofAsiyah (Action), most, indeed almost all, of it [the klippas nogah] is bad,

and only a little good has been intermingled within it (from which come the good

qualities contained in the animal soul of the Jew, as is explained above).

This [klippas nogah]is an intermediate category between the threecompletely uncleanklippos and the aspect and degree ofkedushah. Hence it is

sometimes absorbed within the three uncleanklippos (as is explained in Eitz

Chaim, Shaar 49, beginning of Chapter 4, citing the Zohar). And sometimes it is

absorbed and elevated to the aspect and degree ofkedushah, as when the good that

is intermingled in it is extracted from the bad, and prevails and ascends until it is

absorbed in holiness. Such is the case, for example, of the one who eats rich meat

and drinks mulled wine in order to broaden his mind for the service of G-d and His

Torah. As Ravah said: Wine and fragrance [make a mans mind more receptive], orin order to fulfill the command concerning enjoyment of Shabbos and festivals. In

such a case, the vitality of the meat and wine, originating in the klippas nogah, is

distilled and ascends to G-d like a burnt offering and sacrifice

The Maggid Meisharim [the angelic voice of the Mishnah that communicated

through the Beis Yosef] and other works explain that every holy thought that a person

has while eating and every teaching from the Mishnah that he learns while in the middle

of his meal transforms everything that he eats into an offering before G-d. The Chozeh

of Lublin said of his student, Rav Dovid of Lelov, Look at him eat; with every bite he

is bringing korbanos While it is true that we are very far from the level of the

tzaddikim, nevertheless every Jew has the potential to sanctify his eating, and must take

a personal accounting about the way he eats. For he must eat in any case; why, then,

should he eat in a way that only empowers the material, and not so that he will have


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greater energy to serve G-d? If he thinks holy thoughts he can uplift all of his eating,

and this happens even if he just focuses on how the food will give him a feeling of joy in

his avodah.

It is certainly true that one mustnt just follow after his hearts desires, but even

so one neednt be overly meticulous about every bite that he puts in his mouth, if it was

strictly necessary to sustain him or not, because this can lead to [obsessive thinking and]

depression. Hashem wants every Jew to feel joy in his Divine service. We might ask a

question about these ideas, though. It is well known that in the final discourse that theBaal HaTanya delivered while fleeing the Russian authorities just before his death on

the road, he said that the avodah of Shabbos and Yom Tov is not the uplifting of

beirurim [holy sparks caught within the klippos]. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov also taught

that the food eaten on Shabbos and Yom Tov are entirely Elokus and draw a person

closer to G-d.1

But it seems that, here in the Sefer Tanya, the Alter Rebbe is saying that

even the foods of Shabbos and Yom Tov are rooted in nogah and are only uplifted when

eaten lkavod Shabbos and for the sake of heaven.

We can understand this by mentioning the Spanish Kabbalists teaching, thateven within the realm of holiness there are countless levels; even Kesser is called

black when compared to the Primal Cause of all.2 The Rebbe Rashab (Rav Shalom

Ber) of Lubavitch also taught that the beirurof Shabbos is that of food from food,

rather than, food from waste. Every degree of holiness is evaluated in relation to the

level that is above it, and there is always room to ascend. On Shabbos, the beirur is

taking the good from the good, and the level of the person who eats for the honor of

Shabbos is certainly greater than the person who just eats. The Vilna Gaon taught that

this parallels what we find in the Torah itself regarding offerings: Beware, lest you eat

and be satisfied, and your heart will be haughty, and you will forget Hashem your G-d.3

1Likutei Moharan I:125

2Zohar,Raya Meheimana, Parshas Pinchas 225a

3Devarim 5


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We see from this that even within the realm of eating for a mitzvah, one must still be

focused on doing so for the sake of the mitzvah and not as an exercise in gluttony.

So, too, when a man utters a light joke in order to sharpen his wit and

rejoice his heart in G-d, in His Torah and service, which should be practiced

joyfully, as Ravah was wont to do with his pupils, prefacing his discourse with

some witty remark with which he enlivened the students4

It really is a grievous sin to interrupt ones learning to speak of vain matters,

and the Gemara says of the person who indulges in idle talk during learning, He will befed burning coals.5 However, if a person feels as though he is down, he should follow

the practice of the tzaddikim and do what he can to uplift his spirits even when in the

middle of learning, because G-d wants him to learn Torah while in a state of joy. Just as

with eating, his joking and lightening of the spirit should be done lshem shomayim and

not without the right intention.

This is the baseline level of the mitzvah to be holy; even though there are far

loftier levels of holiness where one does not even derive physical pleasure from the

food, nevertheless one cannot skip levels while ascending the ladder of holiness. If aperson wants to rush into reaching levels to which he is not yet fit, it first and foremost

reveals that he does not appreciate the significance of the level that he is actually on and

all that he can really do right now. The person who does not value the avodah that he

can do and stays stuck in fantasies of where he would like to be will never really come

to holiness. For this reason, the baseline of is simply to remember that he is

eating so that he can have strength to serve Hashem. This avodah is straightforward and

fairly easy.

The spiritual power to fight against the temptations of this world comes from

having discovered a capacity for spiritual pleasure within his own soul. Meaning, one

first focuses on feeling a bond with G-dliness, and after that to remember the Divine

light that vitalizes everything. At that point, he will realize deeply to what extent

4Shabbos 30b

5Chagigah 12


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gluttony and worldly desires interrupt this very delightful bond with G-d. This will keep

him from falling into materialism and physical lusts.

The reality is that a person is always rising and falling in this matter, because

the battle is very difficult. Klippas nogah is interested in causing one to fall terribly, and

so the real struggle is in clarifying klippas nogah. But even before he can engage in this

struggle, he needs preparationthat there is a basic level of holiness below which he

will not descend, no matter what. And that is his awareness that what he requires for his

physical sustenance is a part of his service of G-d. Even if a person falls into the worstlusts, he is still not free of his duty to fulfill the mitzvah of, you shall be holy, for a

single moment. Every person has his boundary below which he feels that he has fallen

into the taavos of this world, and he is liable to make the error of thinking that if he fell

he no longer has any avodah to do with regards to kedushah. This is just wrong.

Wherever a person is, he has some way in which he can sanctify himself. If a person

will only hold on to his emunah in the Creator, and remember that he always has a stake

in holiness. Then, even if he indulged in all kinds of foods, he can still recall that the

pleasure and happiness he felt in his indulgence can nevertheless contribute somethingto his avodas Hashem at some point.

This whole subject of extras and luxuriesmeaning, all of the things that we

do not strictly need for survival but which draw us neverthelessis very complex,

because it differs from person to person. Different people have different physical and

emotional needs when it comes to material pleasure, but all of us have a common

mission to leave behind the things that are truly extra, and remember the baseline of

holinessthat the consumption of physicality is for the purpose of avodah. This will

keep us on track.

When a Jew manages to fight against the temptation of extras properly, he

becomes worthy of the Kings daughter, in the words of the Zohar. For such a great

reward [the Torah, the Shechinah], one really has to fight; not like most people, who are

always up and down. The wavering in the fight with klippas nogah is a symptom of the


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beinoni condition; the intermediate level, where one is always struggling, always

slipping, but always doing teshuvah and resuming the fight.

On the other hand, he who belongs to those who gluttonously guzzle

meat and quaff wine in order to satisfy their bodily appetites and animal nature

[nefesh]without focusing on it enhancing their avodas Hashem, find themselves

disassociated from Hashem rather than drawn to Him. This means that even if one sets

aside time for Torah and avodah, if he forgets about Hashem while he eats and only

consumes to satisfy his desires, he receives vitality from klippas nogah. This makes itmore difficult for him to learn and pray properly.

[Which is] derived from the aspect of the element of water of the four

negative elements contained within it [the klippas nogah], from which comes the evil

trait of lust. In such case, the energy of the meat and wine consumed by him is

degraded and absorbed temporarily in the utter evil of the three

uncleanklippos, and his body temporarily becomes a garment and vehicle for

them, until the person repents and returns to the service of G-d and His Torah.

Since the meat and wine were kosher, they have the power to revert and ascendwith him when he returns to the service of G-d. This is implied in the terms heter

andmutar [permissibility and permitted, but which literally means, unbound]; that

is to say, that which is not tied and bound by the power of the chitzonim[external

negative forces] preventing it from returning and ascending to G-d. Nevertheless, a

trace [of the evil] remains in the body. For this reason, the body must undergo the

chibut of the grave [the various afflictions and disintegrations of the body after

death], as will be explained later. So, too, with regard to the vitality of the drops of

semen emitted from the body due to raw animal desire, by him who has not

conducted himself in a holy manner during intimacy with his wife while in her

state of purity


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The Baal Shem Tov taught about the sages teaching, It is a good sign for a

person if he dies on erev Shabbos,6

that there are several times that are ideal of

teshuvah. The first is immediately after the sin; the second is that night, when taking

stock of his day; the third is on erev Shabbos, when every soul is judged between the

time of Minchah and when Mizmor Shir Lyom HaShabbos is sung. This is what it

means to die on erev Shabbosto die while in a state of repentance. This is truly a

good sign for him, since it will spare him the cleansing suffering of the grave. This is

the sweetness [ ] of Shabbos. The time oferev Shabbos parallels theklippas nogah, because the days of the week are like the full klippah while Shabbos is

the realm of holiness. Adding onto the time of Shabboswhat we call erev Shabbos

parallels nogah, since it is the gray area between the mundane and the holy. That is why

erev Shabbos is especially suited for uplifting and rectifying klippas nogah. In theEmek

HaMelech we find that these moments are ripe for the arrival of Moshiach, because it is

his mission to liberate us from the bonds of materialism.

A Jew must therefore, at the very least within his innermost soul, stay focused

all day long on serving Hashem. Everyone also needs to take a break and speak a bitwith others to sharpen his mind sometimesconversing little is one of the forty-eight

means through which one acquires Torah,7

and this implies that a little is necessary8

but it requires discretion. If a person spends a great part of his time speaking, it proves

that he is not seeking a connection with Hashem. The Vilna Gaon taught that if a person

is used to speaking a lot with others, he receives powerful vitality from it and can spend

entire days and nights in conversation without even noticing how much time he is

wasting.Bitul zman is a very powerful klippah, and if a Jew finds that he is spending a

lot of time talking about useless things, he should do teshuvah right away. This will

cleanse him of the vitality he was receiving from the klippah and will release him from

the punishment that he would otherwise deserve.

6Kesuvos 103b

7Avos 6

8Tiferes Yisrael,Noam Elimelech


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We have already learned that every Jew has two basic types ofmochinthat of

Chochmah and that ofBinah. Paralleling them, we wear the tefillin of Rashi and

Rabbeinu Tam. The matter ofBinah is that of struggle; the work that one does to uplift

the animal soul from klippas nogah. This avodah is embodied by the tefillin of Rashi.

And even though it really involves great effort, it is also one of the mochin, the mental

capacities that themselves provide a person with spiritual vitality. Just as physically

there are people who enjoy working not only because it provides them with a livelihood,

but because they take pleasure in the work itself, so too does the avodah ofBinah confera degree of satisfaction and vitality.

The sages said, The person who enjoys the work of his own hands is greater

than one who has fear of heaven. The Shomer Emunim taught that this is an allusion to

building up the aspect ofBinah. One needs to develop within oneself the capacity for

enjoying expending effort, because a spiritual potential must be used in order to really

obtain it, and is lost when it is left idle. One needs the capacity for struggle that is rooted

in Binah in order to grow in Torah study and to pray properly. The more one works at

this, the more he finds that it gives him holy life-force. This is the source of the yeishusof holiness that exists within the world ofBeriyah [Binah].

This helps us to better understand the statement of the sages, that a man who is

not involved in either Torah study or labor may not give testimony in court. It means

that he does not expend effort at all, and that deprives him of a holy sense of self-yeish.

Idleness can therefore drive him crazy, because he is divorced from the reality of his

own existence in the world. He falls into a fantasy world and is not really living.

The work ofBinah is the first beirurofklippas nogah, because the sparks that

fell into klippah have the nature of " [the 52-Name, or the lowermost permutation of

the Divine Name]. Its force is essentially desire; a persons desires either drag him down

toward eating what he wants and sleeping all he wants, or he harnesses that force of

desire for his avodah. It goes in stages; at first, he needs to capitalize on his desire in

order to manage to learn for an hour a day, then he ascends to two, and so on until he


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reaches the level of the tzaddikim who are constantly involved in avodas Hashem. There

is no end to the effort that can be expended, and it expands by degrees. This is the first

levelto harness ones ability to work, and in this way drive off the klippah that only

seeks worldly pleasures and relaxation. One starts to struggle in the service of Hashem.

In general, this avodah ofBinah still has a drawback, since all of the self-

struggleno matter how high a person ascendscan leave him with a little too much

yeish. The chitzonim still have a hold there, because deep down he can feel, It was my

strength and the force of my hand that brought him so far. To counteract this tendency,one also requires the aspect ofChochmah. Rav Meir of Premishlan described this as the

soton that is before us and behind usthe negative force of pride that feeds off of our

accomplishments and efforts.

Chochmah, then, is the real completion of the beirur, because it is the light of

self-nullification before Hashem. After all of ones work to serve Hashem, the light of

Chochmah makes clear to him that it was G-d who accomplished everything for him,

who gave him the power to do anything at all. He turns his entire existence over to

Hashem and is filled with an awareness of G-ds compassion for him, and that there isreally nothing but Hashem. This completes the beirur and subdues klippas nogah

completely. The ascending cycles of expending effort and further bitul go on and on,

upward.

Of course, all of this is only true when a person is in a state of mochin

dgadluswhere he sees the bigger picture and hasnt fallen into small-mindedness or

stuckness in a dark situation. When that happens, when he falls into mochin dkatnus,

then he hasnt got energy or mental space for much of anything in Divine service. The

only thing he can really do then is awaken the mochin ofChochmah a little bitto just

pay attention to the fact that Hashems light and vitality is everywhere. The light of

Chochmah can then re-awaken his mochin ofBinah so that he will have some energy to

make a degree of effort. [This helps us to understand the concept of the sefiros as


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manifest every week. While in mochin dgadlus,Binah comes before Chochmah; while

in mochin dkatnus, Chochmah comes beforeBinah.]

A person must keep track of his upward motion ofBinah to Chochmah, on and

on; over the course of years and even every day, he should take accounting of whether

his expenditure of effort in avodas Hashem has grown. If he sees that it hasnt, it is a

sign that he hasnt sanctified himself enough. [Note: The degree to which a person

works to sanctify himself through that which is permittedi.e. nogahmakes a huge

impact on his capacity to expend effort in avodas Hashem. If the latter is weak, theformer will be too.] While it is true that the body tends to drag a person down, the

empowered G-dly soul can also expend great force to pull the body up. The work of

clarifying nogah goes on twenty-four hours a day, but when a person devotes himself to

it he finds that the body slowly gets more refined until it is really a wondrous vessel for

the service of Hashem. There are infinite levels of possible growth in this area.

Now we can better grasp the meaning of the Zohar, that the nefesh cannot

ascend until the body is finished decomposing. This is only true when the body acted as

an obstacle and prevented the light of the soul from shining. For this, the body requireschibut hakever, heaven forbid, which is the purification of the body by way of very

harsh suffering. What decomposition accomplishes is a wearing away of the density of

the body; but how fortunate is the person who merits to live bonded to the Divine light,

to be a vehicle for G-dliness in this world. Then chibut hakeveris unnecessary, and the

entire matter causes pain to the Holy One, since He does not want to see any Jew suffer.

The Arizal taught that when a Jew focuses on making his body a vehicle for the

Shechinah, he can be transformed into the holiness of an angel so that G-ds light can

illuminate his body here in this world. This is the good sign of dying on erev

Shabbosliving in this world attached to the light ofbitul.

Translated and Adapted by Rav Micha Golshevsky.

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