English translation — מאמר באתי לגני תשי"ג

B”H,

10 Shevat,

5713*

“I have come to My garden,

My sister, [My] bride.”¹

And it is brought in the Midrash Rabbah

(in its place²):

“To My garden, to My bridal chamber, to the place which was My primary [dwelling] initially.”

For the primary dwelling of the Shechinah was in the lower realms.

And through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge and the sins that followed it, they removed the Shechinah from below to above, up to the seventh firmament.

And the righteous who came afterwards, until Moshe Rabbeinu,

who is the seventh, and all sevenths are beloved,³

drew down the Shechinah from above to below, even into the actual physical land.

And regarding this drawing down, it is stated⁴

“And they shall make Me a Sanctuary, and I will dwell in their midst.”

It does not say “in its midst,” but rather “in their midst,”

within each and every one of Israel.⁵

And this means that through the righteous doing all the matters themselves and effecting this in the people of their generation

(they carry out the matters themselves and effect this in the generation),

through this they draw down the Shechinah into the lower realms as it was initially.

And even more—that they also draw down the essence of the Shechinah into the lower realms,

as is explained in the maamar⁶

“The day of histalkus and the day of yahrtzeit,” in the explanation of the maamar of the Zohar,⁷

“When the sitra achra is subdued, the glory of the Holy One, blessed be He, is elevated throughout all worlds.”

For its explanation is the light that shines equally in all worlds,

and the drawing down is through the service of subjugating the sitra achra,

which in the services of the Holy Temple is the service of the offerings, and specifically the act of the incense offering.⁸

And this is also the reason⁸

why the Mishkan was made specifically

from shittim wood.⁹

For, behold,¹⁰

“shittah” means “deviation,” and it also means “folly.”¹¹

That is, there is a thing that is intermediate,

and the deviation to one side,

upward or downward,

is called “shittah.”

For the deviation upward is the folly of holiness, and the deviation downward is the folly of the opposite side.

The way of the Torah and mitzvos in general

is the middle path, as the Rambam writes in Hilchos Deos.¹²

And the deviation upward from the middle path is the folly of holiness,

for there must also be the folly of holiness,

and specifically when one must be careful

(to guard)

that the folly of the opposite side should not occur,

it is specifically through the folly of holiness,

as per the statement¹³

“His folly benefited the old man,”

that the folly of holiness benefits and rectifies the folly of the opposite side.

And as it is stated regarding the future to come, “And he will water the Brook of Shittim,”¹⁴

through which “the glory of the Holy One, blessed be He, will be elevated throughout all worlds.”

ב)

And now,¹⁰ to understand the general concept of the folly of the opposite side, because of which the folly of holiness is necessary, and through this “the glory of the Holy One, blessed be He, is elevated throughout all worlds,”

behold, it is written,¹⁵

“When a man’s wife goes astray [tishteh],” and Rashi explains: “deviates from the ways of modesty.”

And it is written,¹⁶

“And Israel dwelt in Shittim,” and it is brought in the Midrash,

that Shittim is a place that causes folly, through which they come to transgression of licentiousness. And as our Sages said¹⁷

on the verse “When a man’s wife goes astray,”

“A person does not commit a transgression unless a spirit of folly enters into him.”

For a Jewish person, from his own essence

(a Jew from his own essence),

it is absolutely impossible to commit any transgression, as is stated in the Zohar,

on the verse,¹⁸

“When a soul [nefesh] will sin”—the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, wonder about it and say, “When a soul will sin”

(in astonishment).

And this means that even at the level of nefesh,¹⁹

which is not the essence of the soul,

and moreover, even among the five names by which the soul is called,

it is the lowest level among the names,

and as the Zohar there precisely states that the matter of sin applies specifically to nefesh,

for at the level of neshamah and even at the level of ruach, sin cannot apply,

nevertheless, even if at this level there would be a sin, it says about this “wonder.”

And moreover, even if it is only unintentional,

for the verse speaks about the matter of an unintentional sin,

behold, this too cannot be except through the spirit of folly that enters him.

For from his own essence,

behold, it is the nature of every Jew that he does not want and is unable to be separated from G‑dliness.²⁰

Rather, through the spirit of folly that covers the truth, and it seems to him that even when he commits a transgression he is still in his Judaism,

from this it is possible for him to commit a transgression.

But when the truth shines upon him,

the aspect of “And the truth of Hashem is forever,”²¹

then he feels that through the transgression, even a Rabbinic prohibition or a minor stringency of the words of the Scribes, he is utterly separated from G‑dliness,

even more than the shells and the sitra achra.

And as stated by the Alter Rebbe in Tanya,

that a person who transgresses His will, may He be blessed, is worse and lower than unclean animals, etc., which do not change their function.²²

And although he himself does not see, his mazal sees.²³

Therefore, a person from whom the Divine image has not departed from his face, they do not have dominion over him,

for “His charge, may He be blessed, guards their spirit.”²⁴

And as it is stated,²⁵

“And your fear and your dread shall be upon every beast of the earth,”

and only in one in whom “in our image, after our likeness”²⁶ is not apparent

do they have dominion, etc.

And similarly, the nations of the world and the shells and the sitra achra do not transgress His will, may He be blessed,

rather they call Him “G‑d of the gods,”²⁷

for they say that they too have dominion and rule,

but nevertheless they do not rebel against Him, may He be blessed,²⁸

for they call Him “G‑d of the gods,”

and they never transgress His will, may He be blessed.

And a person who commits a transgression, who rebels against His will, may He be blessed, is worse than the shells and the sitra achra and the things influenced by them, which are unclean animals and wild beasts,

to the extent that even a mosquito,

which takes in but does not expel,²⁹

precedes you.³⁰

3)

Now, at first glance, it is not understood what is said, that a person who commits a transgression is more separated than the kelipah and sitra achra, because they do not transgress the will of the King and they call Him "Eloka d'Elokayya" (G-d of gods),

for this calling Him "Eloka d'Elokayya" is idolatry,

since they grant dominion to the constellations or to the supernal ministers,

and in this they transgress the will of the Supreme One, blessed be He,

so why then is a person who commits a transgression worse than them?

However, the concept is that "Eloka d'Elokayya" is a matter of shituf (association), and regarding shituf, only Israel is warned, not the children of Noah,

as stated by the Rama"z

and in many places,

and so it is implied by the Rambam

(in Sefer HaMitzvos 31)

who wrote that the warning about [G-d's] unity is from the verse

"Hear O Israel, the L-rd our G-d, the L-rd is One,"

from which it is implied

that a Ben Noach is not warned about this,

for in the verse it says "Israel" specifically.

And the concept is that in the Divine vitality of the worlds, there are two modes of vitality,

Memaleh Kol Almin (the immanent light that fills all worlds) and Sovev Kol Almin (the transcendent light that surrounds all worlds),

for the vitality of Memaleh Kol Almin comes in a state of enclothing within the worlds,

as the Sages said,

"Just as the soul fills the body, so too the Holy One, blessed be He, fills the world,"

and this means that just as the revealed vitality that is enclothed in the body comes in a state of division according to the mode of the limbs,

for the vitality in one limb is not comparable to the vitality in another limb,

because due to the difference in the limbs, there is also a difference in the vitality.

And since the vitality changes according to the mode of the limbs,

it is therefore understood that the body occupies space relative to this vitality,

for this reason it changes according to the mode of the limbs,

and because it occupies space relative to the vitality,

behold, even though it feels the vitality and is nullified to it,

nevertheless, it is not nullified in [its] existence.

And so too will it be understood regarding the light of Memaleh Kol Almin, which is enclothed within the worlds,

that the nullification of the creations to this vitality

is not a nullification in [their] existence,

unlike the light of Sovev Kol Almin,

and likewise the vitality that is not revealed in the body,

relative to which the creations do not occupy any space at all.

Therefore, this vitality is in a state of concealment,

for even though they apprehend that there is also the vitality of Sovev Kol Almin,

nevertheless, they do not feel it.

And it is like the concept of the creation of yesh me'ayin (existence from nothingness), where the nothingness is in concealment,

for even though the yesh (existent) knows and apprehends that there is the ayin (nothingness) that brings it into existence,

nevertheless, it does not feel the ayin, because it is in concealment.

4)

Based on this, it will be understood why specifically Israel was warned about shituf and not a Ben Noach,

for behold, the souls of Israel are rooted in the Atzmus (Essence),

and below that—in the light of Sovev Kol Almin,

and because in this level there is no place for any matter other than G-dliness,

therefore they believe that "there is nothing besides Him,"

meaning not only that there is no other G-d besides Him,

but rather that there is no existence besides Him, and certainly no thing that has any dominion or authority,

all this is because their root is from such a level where there is no place for any existence,

and therefore they were commanded regarding this,

unlike the nations of the world, who have no connection to the light of Sovev,

for their root is from the external aspect of the will.

And as is known,

the souls of Israel have their root from the internal aspect of the will, and the nations of the world have their root from the external aspect of the will.

For just as below, in a person, the internal aspect of the will is for a thing that is itself the purpose,

unlike something that is merely secondary to some matter,

behold, it has no internal aspect of the will, only the external aspect of the will,

so too will it be understood Above,

that the souls of Israel, who are the purpose,

have their root from the internal aspect of the will,

and the nations of the world have their root from the external aspect of the will.

And particularly the kelipah and sitra achra, whose entire intention is that a person should overcome them to subdue them.

And because their root is only from the external aspect of the will,

and the external aspect of the will comes in the light of Memaleh,

for in the light of Memaleh there is a place for something outside of it,

therefore they are not warned about shituf,

and only through comprehension and contemplation do they know,

and are warned about this,

that there is an existence above them and above their vitality, and they call Him "Eloka d'Elokayya."

And therefore, a person who commits a transgression is worse than the kelipah and sitra achra,

for even though this calling Him "Eloka d'Elokayya" is also idolatry, which is contrary to His will, blessed be He,

nevertheless, they are not doing something contrary to the level of the will to which they have a connection,

unlike a Jew who commits a transgression,

since his root is from the internal aspect of the will,

therefore, even though that same matter for a non-Jew is not rebellion,

for a Jew it is rebellion,

because it is contrary to the will with which he is connected

(with which he is bound),

and therefore he is worse than the kelipah and sitra achra and is utterly separated from G-dliness.

And because it is the nature of every Jew that he does not want and cannot be separated from G-dliness, therefore it is not applicable at all that he should commit a transgression,

were it not for the spirit of foolishness that covers the truth,

due to which it seems to him that he does not thereby become separated from G-dliness.

And the proof of this is that when there is some matter where there is no room for error or to think that it does not separate one from G-dliness,

behold, then even the most light and lowly person stands with mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) not to transgress His will, blessed be He,

because he knows that through the transgression he becomes separated from G-dliness,

G-d forbid.

And as stated by the Mitteler Rebbe,

that even one who multiplies his wickedness with all the transgressions in the world,

behold, he too actually gives his life for the sanctification of G-d's name,

because he knows that he becomes separated from G-dliness, and this he cannot bear in any way.

And because the source of this matter is that the souls of Israel have their root from the Atzmus, which is above division, as mentioned, therefore it is found in every single one,

and without any division at all,

meaning that this is the same in the greatest of the great and in the lightest of the light,

and furthermore, even the lightest of the light, when the movement of mesirus nefesh is aroused within him, behold, all the matters of his soul align with this movement,

for even in speech and action alone, even if his mouth and heart are not equal,

he stands with mesirus nefesh,

because this movement is above division,

and therefore, all the powers of his soul are included within it.

5)

And an explanation of the concept, that it is the nature of every Jewish person that he does not want and cannot be separated from G-dliness,

behold, it is stated in the Aruch HaShulchan

that there is one small created spark that is enclothed in a created spark called Yechidah.

And the manner of this enclothing is that they become one thing.

And this is found in every single Jew, without regard

(not looking)

to his revealed powers and the matters that come from the aspect of the other four names that she has.

And behold, even though the created spark has its root from the vessels, as the Tzemach Tzedek wrote at length,

and vessels are a matter of limitation and division,

nevertheless, it is known that the root of the souls is from the internal aspect of the vessels,

and particularly the level of Yechidah, whose root is from the light of the quarry of souls, which is a garment for the quarry of the Sefiros,

which are the external aspect of Adam Kadmon and the internal aspect of Adam Kadmon,

for the quarry of souls is the external aspect of Adam Kadmon, and the quarry of the Sefiros is the internal aspect of Adam Kadmon,

and these are not two separate things from each other,

but rather, the souls, whose root is from the internal aspect of the vessels,

behold, the internal aspect of the vessels is united with the light that is enclothed within them,

for just as in physicality, the inner part of the vessel is in close proximity to the thing enclothed within it,

so too is it in spirituality, that the internal aspect of the vessel is united with the light enclothed within it, and even more so, it is also united with the essence of the light,

[unlike] the external aspect of the vessel,

whose function is to influence outward—behold, besides the fact that it is not united with the light enclothed within it,

the light that passes through the vessel and is drawn outward is only the light that is drawn to another,

meaning the light to which influence and revelation to something outside of it pertains,

unlike the internal aspect of the vessel,

behold, besides the fact that it is united with the light within it,

it is also united with the essence of the light,

which, through the chain of descent, does not come to something outside of it,

and this is analogous to the difference between the influence of intellect and the influence of a drop [of seed],

for the influence of intellect, when a teacher influences his student,

is only an external influence,

and therefore, after a period of time, it does not remain standing in the mind of the student,

for even though he understands everything the teacher said to him,

nevertheless, it does not remain standing in his mind,

because it is only an external influence,

unlike the influence of a drop, which is an internal influence to beget something similar to oneself,

behold, what he begets similar to himself

is not only similar to his revealed matters and revealed powers, but rather similar to the essence,

and therefore it is possible that the son's power may be greater than the father's power,

but even this is from the father's power,

because the begetting of something similar to oneself is a begetting similar to the essence.

And this begetting of something similar to oneself, similar to the essence, is because it is an essential influence,

for the essence influences him, and it comes from the essence of the light that is united in the internal aspect of the vessel,

and even though this also comes through the external aspect of the vessel and the drawing down is outside of it,

behold, this does not come in the manner of a chain of descent, but rather through a break,

via a leap.

For through the chain of descent, it is impossible for it to come to something outside of it,

because it is an essential influence.

And so too will it be understood Above, regarding the root of the souls, that their root is from the Atzmus and is drawn down also through the essence of the light,

and this drawing down is not in the angels, but specifically in the souls,

because their root is from the internal aspect of the vessels, which are united with the essence of the light, and through this they are also united with the root of the essence of the light

(with that from which the essence of the light itself is taken).

And based on this, it will be understood that even though the root of the souls is from the vessels or from the quarry of souls, which is the external aspect of Adam Kadmon,

nevertheless, since the internal aspect of the vessel is united with the essence of the light, as mentioned,

behold, it is also united with the internal aspect of Adam Kadmon.

And as is explained in Likkutei Torah,

the discourse "Lamnatzeach Al HaShminis," that milah (circumcision) is above Shabbos,

for Shabbos is the seven days of the periphery,

and rains fall on Shabbos, which is the aspect of the external aspect of Adam Kadmon,

and milah is the internal aspect of Adam Kadmon, which is above Shabbos,

therefore one Shabbos must pass over him beforehand,

and nevertheless, it has a connection to Shabbos, which is the external aspect of Adam Kadmon,

for through having one Shabbos pass over him, which is the external aspect of Adam Kadmon,

it is possible to achieve the matter of milah, which is the internal aspect of Adam Kadmon,

so too will it be understood regarding the root of the souls, that even though their root is from the external aspect of Adam Kadmon, nevertheless they are also united with the internal aspect of Adam Kadmon.

And based on this, it will be understood why it is the nature of every Jew that he cannot be separated from G-dliness,

for since their root is in the Atzmus, and it is similar to Him, so to speak,

and in the Atzmus there is no place for any matter other than G-dliness,

therefore it is the nature of every Jew that he cannot be separated from G-dliness in any way.

6)

However, from the aspect of the spirit of foolishness that enters him, it is possible that he will transgress,

for the matter of the spirit of foolishness is the intensity of craving for physical pleasures, and it comes from this,

that even though it is in permissible matters,

but through this, that he is immersed in this, and especially the vitality and pleasure

(the ardor and the enjoyment)

that he has in this,

behold, it cools him and takes from him

(it takes from him)

the taste in G-dliness, as stated in the Zohar,

"The strength of the body is the weakness of the soul,"

for the intention is not about the strength of the body literally,

for on the contrary, having a healthy and whole body is among the ways of G-d,

and as is known from the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov

on the verse

"When you see the donkey of your enemy...": "When you see the donkey,"

when you look with good contemplation at your materiality, which is the body,

you will see,

your enemy,

that it is the enemy of the soul which yearns for G-dliness and spirituality,

and furthermore you will see that it

lies under its burden,

that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave the body so that it would be refined through Torah and mitzvos, and the body is lazy in their fulfillment.

And perhaps it will arise in your heart,

"and you refrain from helping him,"

that he might be able to fulfill his mission,

for if you begin with ascetic practices to break the materiality,

behold, this is not the way for the light of Torah to dwell,

but rather,

"you shall surely help him,"

to refine the body and purify it, and not to break it through ascetic practices.

Also known is what the Maggid of Mezeritch said,

"A small hole in the body becomes a large hole in the soul."

From all this it is understood that "the strength of the body" does not refer to the body,

but rather the intention is regarding the animal soul,

that the strength of the animal soul, which rules over him and lets himself be drawn into physical pleasures,

behold, even though they are permissible matters, nevertheless this cools the heat that should be in holiness and takes

(and it takes)

the taste that should be in G-dliness.

Therefore, in the future to come it is written, "and he will water the stream of Shittim,"

for "stream" literally is from water, and "stream of Shittim" is the aspect of physical pleasures,

and as stated by the Rebbe Maharash,

that water causes all kinds of pleasures to grow,

for even though growth requires many things, nevertheless the main growth is from water.

And the reason why physical pleasures are foolishness,

behold, besides the fact that many physical pleasures end bitterly,

behold, even those matters that are a pleasure,

it is known

regarding the matter of "and all my innards [call out] His holy name,"

that "innards" refers to the angels who are called by the name "innards,"

for just as the innards separate the food from the waste and the waste is pushed outward,

so too above there are angels who separate the influence of the pleasure above,

and especially the pleasures of holiness,

from what is waste relative to them,

which descends downward and from this physical pleasures are generated,

and therefore physical pleasure is called by the name "foolishness,"

for in truth it is waste,

and so one who takes pleasure in this is foolishness,

and especially when he knows that through physical pleasures he will lack the pleasure in G-dliness, this is a great foolishness, that he exchanges a physical pleasure, which is truly waste, for a G-dly pleasure, which is the essence of pleasure.

7)

And behold, the cause of the spirit of foolishness is stated in the Mishnah

regarding the matter of "when a woman goes astray,"

"Just as her deeds are the deeds of an animal, so too her offering is the food of an animal,"

and this means that the cause is because he is an animal,

that he lacks the holy intellect,

for this is the cause of the craving for physical matters, which is foolishness,

and from this he can err and think that through the transgression he commits, he does not become separated from G-dliness.

And even though he has intellect and understanding in holiness, nevertheless this is not sufficient, and he specifically needs the aspect of Daas,

for from this reason, almost all the souls in our generations are called "seed of an animal,"

for even though most of them are capable of grasping and understanding matters of holiness in general,

and especially the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He,

from books and from scribes,

a great comprehension and understanding,

nevertheless they are called "seed of an animal" because they lack the aspect of Daas and feeling in their soul.

For the matter of Daas is as stated in Tanya,

that it is from the term "and the man knew [Chavah],"

which is the aspect of attachment and connection to the matter,

that he does not contemplate it merely superficially,

for then he can easily be detached from the intellect,

but rather he is attached to the matter,

he lies in the matter.

And on a higher level, the matter of Daas is the aspect of feeling, that he feels the matter,

and not only does he feel the matter in his mind, but he also feels it in his heart,

for this is the true matter of Daas,

as stated by the Rebbe, of blessed memory,

the reason why a minor is not obligated in mitzvos,

for even though he understands the matter clearly,

nevertheless he is not a "bar daas" (possessor of Daas), for the intention in this is that he has no feeling for the preciousness and greatness of the matter,

and because he has no such feeling,

it is impossible to obligate him and place upon him the responsibility of a positive or negative commandment,

and as the language is stated regarding vows and consecration,

that they must know in whose name they vow and consecrate,

that the precision in this is "they know" specifically,

the aspect of feeling,

and on a higher level is the matter of recognition,

for feeling can also be regarding a matter that is not revealed to him,

like "the heart knows the bitterness of its soul,"

even though the cause is hidden from him,

and recognition is when it comes into revelation until it is verified for him as if he actually sees it and needs no proofs or evidence for it,

and the absence of this Daas is the cause of the spirit of foolishness,

which covers the truth and misleads a person, making it seem to him that even when he transgresses the will of the Most High, he is still in his Judaism.

And in order to remove the spirit of foolishness of the other side,

it is specifically through the foolishness of holiness,

for even though in general one must walk in the middle path,

this is specifically when all his days he has walked and continues to walk in the straight path,

but when he has deviated from this path to the extreme of the other side, he must specifically deviate to the other extreme.

And this is analogous to what is explained regarding a baal teshuvah, that he should not say "I desire it, and what can I do that my Father in heaven has decreed upon me," but rather he must say "I do not desire it,"

for to be a baal teshuvah requires a special regimen,

and so too is it regarding this matter,

for since through the foolishness of the other side and the sins they have removed the Shechinah,

behold, in order that afterwards there be "and I will dwell in their midst," there must be "and they shall make Me a Sanctuary" specifically from acacia wood (Shittim),

the foolishness of holiness.

8)

And behold, just as "they shall make Me a Sanctuary" and the service in it was through Moshe and through Aharon,

and the main

service of Aharon is "when you raise up the lamps,"

for "the soul of man is the lamp of G-d,"

and the seven lamps are the seven levels in the service of G-d,

and the matter of Aharon is that he "loves the creatures and draws them near to the Torah,"

that even those who are distant from the Torah of G-d and His service, and are therefore called mere "creatures,"

for they have no virtue other than that they are created,

meaning that the Holy One, blessed be He, created them,

behold, even in them he drew down an aspect of love,

a great love,

for this is the general difference between the love of Avraham and the love of Aharon, that the love of Aharon is a "great love,"

and through Moshe and Aharon the influences were drawn down in the Mishkan,

and Moshe and Aharon are both equivalent,

behold, so too is it in every generation,

for "the extension of Moshe is in every generation,"

and especially the Nesi'im (leaders), whose entire matters, whether in Torah, mitzvos, or the leadership of Israel, are with love of Israel, love of Torah, and love of G-d.

And regarding the matter of love of Israel,

my father-in-law, the Rebbe, added in the name of the Alter Rebbe,

that "love your fellow as yourself"

is a vessel for "and you shall love the L-rd your G-d,"

and great is the love of Israel,

for one loves what the Beloved loves.

And this they drew down to all the Chassidim,

those who are connected,

those who belong to them and those who hold onto them,

each one according to his matter, his standing, and his situation.

One must work on oneself,

but since there is a need for the granting of power and Heavenly assistance in general,

and especially from that soul of which he is a spark,

behold, in this is the influence that comes through the Nesi'im,

"a Sanctuary of acacia wood (Shittim),"

through which they refine the foolishness of the other side,

and the Shechinah

rests upon the work of his hands,

"and the pleasantness of G-d be upon him, and establish the work of our hands,"

with success,

until the coming of Mashiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days.