Tanya Online

Epistle 23, Class 1

shimon — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tanya/ Iggeres Ha’Kodesh – The Holy Epistle, Epistle 23, Class 1

In the letter that follows, the Alter Rebbe urges Chasidim to devote the daily interval between Minchah and Maariv to the group study of Ein Yaakov and to the laws in the Shulchan Aruch that have frequent and practical application. He introduces this appeal by explaining how sublime is the Divine Presence that dwells within Jews when they study Torah publicly. Indeed, only in the World to Come can this lofty level of Divinity be manifestly received as a reward—except when it abides over Jews and within Jews when, in this world, they study Torah together.

23 “This statement is made by decree of the wakeful [angels] and by the word of [those] holy ones,”

כג ”בִּגְזֵירַת עִירִין פִּתְגָמָא וּמַאֲמַר קַדִּישִׁין”,

This phrase¹ is used by the Sages² (and here by the Alter Rebbe) to denote eminent Torah scholars, who are likened to ministering angels;³ specifically—

the Mishnaic Sages, peace be upon them,

חַכְמֵי הַמִּשְׁנָה עֲלֵיהֶם־הַשָּׁלוֹם,

who taught in their Mishnah: “If ten people sit together and engage in the study of the Torah, the Divine Presence (the Shechinah) rests among them.”⁴

שֶׁשָּׁנוּ בְּמִשְׁנָתָם: “עֲשָׂרָה שֶׁיּוֹשְׁבִין וְעוֹסְקִין בַּתּוֹרָה שְׁכִינָה שְׁרוּיָה בֵינֵיהֶם”,

A similar teaching—“The Shechinah hovers over every gathering of ten Jews”⁵—means only that the Divine Presence hovers over them in a transcendent (lit., “encompassing”) manner, as explained at the end of the Tanya, Part I, ch. 11. In this instance, however, where ten Jews are studying Torah together, the Shechinah rests “among them”—in an internalized manner.

“For this is the whole [purpose] of man.”⁶ As the Gemara interprets this verse: “The entire world was created solely for this purpose.”⁷

“כִּי זֶה כָּל הָאָדָם”.

Moreover, [the soul’s] very descent to this world was for the purpose of this ascent, which is accomplished through public Torah study,

וְאַף גַּם זֹאת הָיְתָה כָּל יְרִידָתוֹ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה לְצוֹרֶךְ עֲלִיָּה זוֹ,

and no [possible] ascent is higher than this.

אֲשֶׁר אֵין עֲלִיָּה לְמַעְלָה הֵימֶנָּה.

The ultimate ascent of the soul, the reason for which the soul initially descended, is attained not only after it completes its descent, after it leaves the body; rather, through public Torah study, while the soul is still within the body, it causes the Shechinah to rest in this nether world and is thereby elevated more than by any other means.

For the Shechinah of [G‑d’s] might, which is in the supernal heights and Whose awesomeness “the heavens and the heavens of the heavens cannot contain,”⁸

כִּי שְׁכִינַת עוּזּוֹ אֲשֶׁר בְּגָבְהֵי מְרוֹמִים, וְ”הַשָּׁמַיִם וּשְׁמֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם לֹא יְכַלְכְּלוּ” אֵימָתָהּ –

dwells and becomes magnified among the Children of Israel, as it is written, “For I, G‑d, dwell among (תּוֹךְ) the Children of Israel,”⁹

תִּשְׁכּוֹן וְתִתְגַּדֵּל בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: “כִּי אֲנִי ה’ שׁוֹכֵן בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל”,

as a result of [their] study of the Torah and observance of the commandments in groups of [at least] ten, for ten Jews constitute a congregation.

עַל־יְדֵי עֵסֶק הַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוֹת בַּעֲשָׂרָה דַוְקָא,

For, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “We infer a conclusion from [two appearances of] the word toch.”¹⁰

כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: “אַתְיָא תּוֹךְ תּוֹךְ כוּ’”.

In certain specified cases, the Sages draw an analogy from one expression in the Torah to the identical expression in a different context. A comparison of this kind (a gezeirah shavah) is made between two appearances of the above word. One verse states, “I will become sanctified in the midst (toch) of the Children of Israel”¹¹ while another verse, referring to ten of the spies dispatched by Moses, states, “…from the midst (toch) of this congregation.”¹² From this, we learn that the congregational recital of a davar shebikedushah, a text involving the sanctification of G‑d’s Name, requires a quorum of ten.

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, asks: Of all the possible contexts, why do our Sages derive this rule from the evil assemblage of the spies, concerning whom the above-quoted verse in fact states, “Separate yourselves from the midst of this congregation”?¹³

Answering his own question, the Rebbe explains that with these words, Moses sought to insulate the people from the makif of evil, from the transcendent [and most intense] dimension of evil. (As far as the pnimi of evil was concerned, the permeating [but less intense] dimension of evil, Moses was able to rectify it.) Now, since everything in the realm of holiness has its counterpart in kelipah, in the forces of evil,¹⁴ it follows that the level of holiness referred to here is the transcendent level. Thus, when a congregation of at least ten participants engages collectively in prayer or in Torah study or in the observance of a mitzvah, they elicit a response from a transcendent level of Divine light, from an or makif, that is utterly superior to the light called forth by a group of fewer than ten.

Concerning this, it is written, “The Holy One is within you.”¹⁵

וְעַל זֶה נֶאֱמַר: “בְּקִרְבְּךָ קָדוֹשׁ”,

This means to say that a level of Divinity which is holy in the sense that it is initially distinct from this world is thereby drawn down and integrated within the ten or more people involved.

As the Rebbe explains in the abovementioned talk, the Alter Rebbe had spoken earlier of the transcendent degree of illumination that merely encompasses one; at this point, he cites the phrase “The Holy One is within you” to indicate that this encompassing illumination can also become internalized within a Jew.

Likewise, “[the congregational recital of] a davar shebikedushah, a text involving the sanctification of G‑d’s Name, requires a quorum of ten,” as quoted above.¹⁶

וְ”אֵין דָּבָר שֶׁבִּקְּדוּשָּׁה בְּפָחוֹת מֵעֲשָׂרָה”.

Thus, in order that the holiness be “within you,” it is necessary that the Torah be studied in groups of at least ten.

This also explains why our Sages, of blessed memory, had to derive from Scripture [an answer to their question], “From where do we know that even one person who sits and engages in the study of the Torah, [the Holy One, blessed be He, sets a reward for him]?”¹⁷

וּמִשּׁוּם הָכֵי נַמֵי, אִצְטְרִיךְ לְהוּ לְרַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה לְמֵילַף מִקְּרָא: “מִנַּיִן שֶׁאֲפִילוּ אֶחָד שֶׁיּוֹשֵׁב וְעוֹסֵק בַּתּוֹרָה כוּ’”.

The Mishnah derives its answer from the verse, “He sits alone and [studies] in stillness; indeed, he takes [the reward] unto himself.”¹⁸ Evidently, then, a proof text was needed to show that even individual study is rewarded.

And even so [the Sages] did not find in Scripture support for that, i.e., they did not find support for the proposition that an individual can bring about the previously mentioned indwelling of G‑d’s holiness but only for the allotment of a reward to the individual, proportionate to himself [and]¹⁹ in proportion to the many.

וְאַף גַּם זֹאת, לֹא מָצְאוּ לוֹ סְמַךְ מִן הַמִּקְרָא אֶלָּא לִקְבִיעַת שָׂכָר בִּלְבַד, לְיָחִיד לְפִי עֶרְכּוֹ לְפִי [נוסח אחר: וּלְפִי] עֵרֶךְ הַמְרוּבִּים,

If there are fewer than ten individuals, the reward is divided equally among them. According to the version “[and] in proportion…,” the more individuals who participate, the greater the reward for each of them.

But as to causing an indwelling of G‑d’s holiness,²⁰ [the individual] cannot be compared to [the congregation] at all.

אֲבָל לְעִנְיַן הַשְׁרָאַת קְדוּשַּׁת הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא – אֵין לוֹ עֵרֶךְ אֲלֵיהֶם כְּלָל.

The sanctity drawn down through group study of the Torah is immeasurably more sublime.

The distinction between [causing a Divine] indwelling (by collective study) and the allotment of a reward (to an individual student) is understood by discerning thinkers.

וְהַהֶפְרֵשׁ שֶׁבֵּין הַשְׁרָאָה לִקְבִיעוּת שָׂכָר מוּבָן לִמְבִינֵי מַדָּע,

For the allotment of a reward is what takes place when G‑d illuminates “the soul that seeks Him”²¹ with the light of His Torah, which is truly the covering in which G‑d garbs Himself.

כִּי, קְבִיעַת שָׂכָר הוּא – שֶׁמֵּאִיר ה’ “לְנֶפֶשׁ תִּדְרְשֶׁנּוּ”, בְּאוֹר תּוֹרָתוֹ, שֶׁהוּא מַעֲטֵה לְבוּשׁוֹ מַמָּשׁ,

Through this garment, i.e., through the Torah, G‑d illuminates the soul of the Jew who seeks Him. This search for Him can take place either during the service of prayer that precedes one’s study of Torah or during one’s actual study. As explained at the conclusion of ch. 37 of the Tanya, the Talmudic phrase קוֹרֵא בַּתּוֹרָה can mean not only “reading (i.e., studying) the Torah” but also “calling [G‑d] through the Torah.” In this sense, when one studies Torah, one resembles a child who calls his father, asking him to come and be with him.

For this reason, the Torah is called “light,” as it is written,²² “He garbs Himself in light, as with a garment.”²³

וְלָכֵן נִקְרֵאת הַתּוֹרָה “אוֹר”, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: “עוֹטֶה אוֹר כַּשַּׂלְמָה”,

This verse refers to the degree of illumination (diffused by the Torah) which, like a garment, is finite.

Likewise, the faculties of the soul are inherently limited, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Since the light that emanates to the soul must be integrated within its faculties, this illumination itself must also be limited. In the words of the Alter Rebbe:

Now, the soul is limited and finite in all its faculties.

וְהַנֶּפֶשׁ הִיא בַּעֲלַת גְּבוּל וְתַכְלִית בְּכָל כֹּחוֹתֶיהָ,

Therefore, the light of G‑d that radiates in it is also limited and contracted and vests itself within it.

לָכֵן גַּם אוֹר ה’ הַמֵּאִיר בָּהּ הוּא גְבוּלִי, מְצוּמְצָם, וּמִתְלַבֵּשׁ בְּתוֹכָהּ,

This is why the hearts of those who seek G‑d are ecstatically aroused at the time of prayer and the like.

וְעַל כֵּן יִתְפָּעֵל לֵב מְבַקְשֵׁי ה’ בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָהּ,

For their hearts rejoice in Him and exult “even with exultation and song,”²⁴

כִּי בוֹ יִשְׂמַח לִבָּם, וְיָגִיל “אַף גִּילַת וְרַנֵּן”,

and their souls delight in the pleasantness of G‑d²⁵ and His light

וְתִתְעַנֵּג נַפְשָׁם בְּנוֹעַם ה’ [נוסח אחר: עַל ה'] וְאוֹרוֹ,

as it becomes revealed through the covering in which [G‑d] garbs Himself, which is the Torah;

בְּהִגָּלוֹתוֹ מִמַּעֲטֵה לְבוּשׁוֹ שֶׁהִיא הַתּוֹרָה,

“and His arrow comes forth like lightning”²⁶: from this garment, this illumination initially emanates to the soul with all the vigor of a lightning bolt.²⁷

וְיָצָא כַבָּרָק חִצּוֹ,

This is the allotment of the reward for the [study of] Torah, which is always fixed in the soul that labors in it.

וְזוֹ הִיא קְבִיעַת שְׂכַר הַתּוֹרָה, הַקְּבוּעָה תָּמִיד בְּנֶפֶשׁ עֲמֵלָה בָּהּ.

Being fixed within the soul constantly, this reward is received by the soul not only in the World to Come—when the soul is enabled to apprehend rewards that are not to be obtained in this world²⁸—but in this world as well. And since this kind of reward consists of a finite degree of illumination, it can be received by the soul even as the soul finds itself within the body.

This is why it is written that a reward awaits even one individual who studies Torah.

___

FOOTNOTES

______

1. Daniel 4:14.

2. Note by the Rebbe: “Pesachim 33a.”

3. Note by the Rebbe: “Rashi, loc. cit.; see there.”

4. Avot 3:6.

5. Sanhedrin 39a.

6. Ecclesiastes 12:13.

7. Berachot 6b.

8. Cf. I Kings 8:27.

9. Numbers 35:34.

10. Berachot 21b.

11. Leviticus 22:32.

12. Numbers 16:21.

13. Sefer Hasichot 5704, p. 29.

14. Ecclesiastes 7:14.

15. Hosea 11:9.

16. Berachot 21b.

7. Cf. Avot 3:6.

18. Lamentations 3:28.

19. Variant reading.

20. Note by the Rebbe: “The question here is well known—that the above-quoted Mishnah (Avot 3:2) teaches that [even if only] ‘two people sit together and exchange words of Torah, the Shechinah dwells in their midst.’ “This may be understood in the light of Or Hatorah [by the Tzemach Tzedek] on Parashat Eikev, p. 542; see also Berachot 6a. “At the end of Part VI of Magen Avot: (1) there is a different version of the above letter; (2) according to the explanation there (evidently taken from the Tzemach Tzedek), the above difficulty can be resolved.” See also Tanya, Mahadura Kama, p. 261, footnote 13, line 48.

21. Lamentations 3:25.

22. Psalms 104:2.

23. Note by the Rebbe: “The proof text usually cited is the verse (Proverbs 6:23), ‘For a mitzvah is a lamp, and the Torah is light.’ Here, however, the Alter Rebbe seeks to show that the study of ‘the Torah [that] is light’ results in a Divine radiance, for ‘the light of His Torah,’ like a garment, reveals many aspects of that which is clothed in it. (This is why [the Alter Rebbe writes above that ‘the Torah is simply] called light (אור),’ for this term shows—more than the term תורה אור—that [the light of the Torah] serves as a garment by which G‑d is revealed.) See also the Tzemach Tzedek on the phrase Oteh or.”

24. Isaiah 35:2.

25. The variant reading literally means “over G‑d”; i.e., they delight in G‑d Himself.

26. Zechariah 9:14.

27. Note by the Rebbe: “See Iggeret Hakodesh, end of Epistle 15, [regarding the light that comes forth] from ‘the source [of the intellect…like…a flash of lightning].’”

28. Kiddushin 39b.

Epistle 22, Class 5

shimon — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tanya/ Iggeres Ha’Kodesh – The Holy Epistle, Epistle 22, Class 5

Furthermore, I earnestly ask of my esteemed listeners,

וְעוֹד זֹאת אֶדְרוֹשׁ מִמַּעֲלַתְכֶם,

On the above matters between man and G‑d, the Alter Rebbe referred to himself as merely “repeating reminders.”

Here, however, as he begins to speak of the relationship between man and man, he uses stronger terms.

not to cast aside my words, in which I have asked that every man be upright and walk with integrity, just as “G‑d made man upright,”⁵²

שֶׁלֹּא לְהַשְׁלִיךְ דְּבָרַי אַחֲרֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר עָרַכְתִּי שִׂיחַ, לִהְיוֹת כָּל אִישׁ יָשָׁר וְהוֹלֵךְ בְּתוּמּוֹ, כַּאֲשֶׁר “עָשָׂה הָאֱלֹקִים אֶת הָאָדָם יָשָׁר”,

nor to seek “numerous calculations”⁵³ regarding “the pretexts of man’s steps and a person’s thoughts and devices.”⁵⁴

וְלֹא לְבַקֵּשׁ “חֶשְׁבּוֹנוֹת רַבִּים”, מֵ”עֲלִילוֹת מִצְעֲדֵי גָבֶר וּמַחְשְׁבוֹת אָדָם וְתַחְבּוּלוֹתָיו”.

It is not man’s task to weigh the motives of his fellow.

For that is the work of heaven and not an occupation for flesh and blood.

כִּי זוֹ, מְלֶאכֶת שָׁמַיִם הִיא וְלֹא מְלֶאכֶת בָּשָׂר וָדָם.

Rather, every one should believe with absolute faith in the precept of our Sages, of blessed memory: “And be humble of spirit before every man,”⁵⁵ without exception,⁵⁶

וּלְהַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵימָה בְּמִצְוַת חֲכָמֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: “וֶהֱוֵי שְׁפַל רוּחַ בִּפְנֵי כָל אָדָם” בִּכְלָל,

for it is a true statement and a correct proverb that every man becomes better through his fellow.

כִּי יַצִּיבָא מִלְּתָא וְתַקִּין פִּתְגָּמָא, שֶׁכָּל אֶחָד מְתוּקָּן מֵחֲבֵירוֹ.

Since every individual possesses specific qualities that others lack, the realization by disparate people that in essence they comprise one whole, enables them all to be complemented and perfected by each other.

The above form of address, “Furthermore, I earnestly ask of my exalted listeners…,” is expounded by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, on the nonliteral level of derush. Noting that אֶדְרוֹשׁ מִמַּעֲלַתְכֶם can also be understood as speaking of “calling forth exalted qualities,” Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak once remarked:⁵⁷ “This form of address does not mean that the Alter Rebbe was confining his appeal to an exclusive group of exalted individuals; after all, he was addressing this letter to his Chasidim at large. Rather, in using this phrase, he was implying an underlying plea: Call forth your exalted qualities!”

With regard to the following pair of phrases, “not to cast aside my words, in which I have asked…,” Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak explains that the former phrase refers to the indirect and transcendent (makif) mode in which the Alter Rebbe influenced his Chasidim while the second phrase refers to his simultaneously direct and internalized (pnimi) mode of influence.

Finally, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak points out that the Alter Rebbe’s following affirmation that “every man [literally:] is better than his fellow” really means that one’s fellows enable one to become a better person; i.e., as translated above, “every man becomes better through his fellow.”

Thus, too, it is written, “All the men of Israel…associated together like one man.”⁵⁸

וּכְתִיב: “כָּל [אִישׁ] יִשְׂרָאֵל כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד חֲבֵרִים”,

Just as one man is composed of many limbs, and when they become separated, this affects the heart, for from it, there issues life,

כְּמוֹ שֶׁאִישׁ אֶחָד מְחוּבָּר מֵאֵבָרִים רַבִּים, וּבְהִפָּרְדָם נוֹגֵעַ בַּלֵּב, “כִּי מִמֶּנּוּ תּוֹצְאוֹת חַיִּים”,

therefore, by our truly being all like one man, the service [of G‑d] in the heart i.e., prayer will be firmly established.

אִם כֵּן אֲנַחְנוּ הֱיוֹת כּוּלָּנוּ כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד מַמָּשׁ – תִּיכּוֹן הָעֲבוֹדָה בַּלֵּב,

To consider both this divisiveness and this harmony on the cosmic level, in terms of the relation of souls to the Divine Presence: The above sentence means⁵⁹ that divisiveness among Jews affects, as it were, the Divine Presence, the “heart” of the Jewish people; conversely, since the task of prayer is to connect a soul with its source in the Divine Presence, cultivating one’s sense of unity with one’s fellows—which in turn connects all souls with the Shechinah—enhances the Divine service of prayer.

And from the affirmative [you may infer the negative].⁶⁰

וּמִכְּלַל הֵן כוּ’,

(The bracketed clause is euphemistically omitted in the Hebrew original and merely hinted at by “etc.”) I.e., when unity is lacking, the service of prayer is likewise imperfect.

(literally, “with one part” or “with one shoulder”): only when all Jews fully unite in this way can it be said that they “serve Him.”

וְעַל כֵּן נֶאֱמַר: “וּלְעָבְדוֹ שְׁכֶם אֶחָד” דַּוְקָא.

The Alter Rebbe resumes his plea to his Chasidim: Therefore, my beloved and dear ones, I beg again and again that each of you exert himself with all his heart and soul to firmly implant in his heart a love for his fellow Jew,

וְעַל כֵּן אֲהוּבַיי יְדִידַיי, נָא וְנָא לִטְרוֹחַ בְּכָל לֵב וָנֶפֶשׁ לִתְקוֹעַ אַהֲבַת רֵעֵהוּ בְּלִבּוֹ,

and, in the words of Scripture, “let none of you consider in your heart what is evil for his fellow.”⁶²

“וְאִישׁ אֶת רָעַת רֵעֵהוּ אַל תַּחְשְׁבוּ בִּלְבַבְכֶם” כְּתִיב,

Moreover, [such a consideration] should never arise in one’s heart [in the first place];

וְלֹא תַעֲלֶה עַל לֵב לְעוֹלָם,

and if it does arise, for even a person who has attained the rank of a beinoni cannot prevent a thought from presenting itself to his mind,

וְאִם תַּעֲלֶה –

one should push it away from his heart⁶³ “as smoke is driven away,” as if it were an actual idolatrous thought.⁶⁴

יֶהְדְּפֶנָּה מִלִּבּוֹ כְּהִנְדּוֹף עָשָׁן, וּכְמוֹ מַחֲשֶׁבֶת עֲבוֹדָה־זָרָה מַמָּשׁ.

For to speak evil [of another] is as grave as idolatry and incest and bloodshed.⁶⁵

כִּי גְדוֹלָה לָשׁוֹן הָרָע כְּנֶגֶד עֲבוֹדָה־זָרָה וְגִילּוּי עֲרָיוֹת וּשְׁפִיכוּת דָּמִים.

And if this be so with speech, [then surely thinking evil about another is even worse,⁶⁶]

וְאִם בְּדִבּוּר כָּךְ כוּ’,

for all the wise of heart are aware of the greater impact [on the soul] of thought over speech,

וּכְבָר נוֹדָע לְכָל חֲכַם לֵב יִתְרוֹן הֶכְשֵׁר הַמַּחֲשָׁבָה עַל הַדִּבּוּר,

whether for the good or for the better.

הֵן לְטוֹב וְהֵן לְמוּטָב.

This really means, “whether for good or for bad.” Here, too, however, the Alter Rebbe uses a traditional euphemism (“for the better”), which could be understood to mean, “for that which needs to become better.⁶⁷

Thought is a soul-garment that is more intimately involved with the soul than speech. For this reason, (a) good thoughts leave a deeper impression on oneself than good speech, and conversely, evil thoughts leave a deeper impression than evil speech; (b) thought is a constant, just as the soul itself is a constant, whereas with regard to speech,⁶⁸ “There is a time to keep silence and a time to speak.”

May the good L-rd, Who blesses His people with peace, bestow peace and life upon you forever more,

וַה’ הַטּוֹב הַמְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמּוֹ בַּשָּׁלוֹם, יָשִׂים עֲלֵיכֶם שָׁלוֹם וְחַיִּים עַד הָעוֹלָם,

as is the wish of him who loves you deeply from heart and soul.

כְּנֶפֶשׁ אוֹהֵב נַפְשָׁם מִלֵּב וָנֶפֶשׁ:

___

FOOTNOTES

______

52. Ecclesiastes 7:29.

53. Ibid.

54. Liturgy, Musaf for Rosh Hashanah (Machzor, Annotated Edition, p. 187).

55. Avot 4:10.

56. In the Tanya, ch. 30, this same teaching of the Sages (a) is not introduced by an injunction that one “believe [in it] with absolute faith”; (b) it is followed by a consideration of the conduct of others. Concerning these differences, the Rebbe notes: “Ch. 30 speaks of man’s service with regard to himself—his battle with the evil inclination, and his efforts to refrain from evil and to do good, and so on. This demands the kind of meditation outlined there that will lead to proper thought, speech, and action—a detailed consideration of the conduct of another individual, who is less righteous, [and yet whose Divine service one has to learn to regard as being in fact superior to one’s own]. Belief plays no part in this; all that matters there is that one’s mind should compel him to conduct himself as he ought. “Here, however, in Iggeret Hakodesh, our text speaks of the need to become one with every other Jew—all of us like actually one man. The Alter Rebbe therefore has to make provision for the possibility that if one individual imagines a flaw in another or in a group of people, he should not think about it, etc., as is soon stated; rather, he should believe in this teaching of the Sages. Indeed, in order for it to be truly internalized, he should believe in it ‘with absolute faith’ and certainly not contemplate the details of the conduct of this individual or the other.”

57. Sefer Hasichot 5705, p. 51.

58. Judges 20:11.

59. See below at length in Epistle 31.

60. Sifrei on Deuteronomy 11:19.

61. Zephaniah 3:9.

62. Zechariah 8:17.

63. Psalms 68:3.

64. Note by the Rebbe: “This comparison is perhaps explained by the statement of our Sages that one is punished only for idolatrous thoughts (Kiddushin 40a).”

65. Arachin 15b.

66. Here, too, the bracketed words are euphemistically omitted in the Hebrew original and merely hinted at by “etc.”

67. Note by the Rebbe: “On this meaning of למוטב, see Likkutei Torah (conclusion of Parshas Korach).”

68. Ecclesiastes 3:7.

Epistle 22, Class 4

shimon — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tanya/ Iggeres Ha’Kodesh – The Holy Epistle, Epistle 22, Class 4

Part (b)

The following letter was placed here by the compilers of Iggeret Hakodesh—“after the first editions (see list) had been published,” as the Rebbe points out—as an addendum to Epistle 22, Part (a).

The connection, however, is not immediately apparent. Perhaps it lies in the opening passage of Part (a), the passage which does not appear in this collection,³⁶ in which the Alter Rebbe laments that questions on material affairs occupy too much of his time—for this theme also figures in the letter before us.

My beloved, my brethren and friends:

אֲהוּבַיי, אַחַיי וְרֵעַיי!

In these terms, the Alter Rebbe addresses his Chasidim.

Due to the immensity of my preoccupations³⁷ which³⁸ “all together surround me” and “encircle me like water”—“all day and all night, never holding their peace,³⁹

מִגּוֹדֶל טִרְדָּתִי אֲשֶׁר “הִקִּיפוּ עָלַי יַחַד” וְ”סַבּוּנִי כַמַּיִם, כָּל הַיּוֹם וְכָל הַלַּיְלָה תָּמִיד לֹא יֶחֱשׁוּ”,

I am unable to unload the burden⁴⁰ of writing down all that is in my heart.

לֹא אוּכַל מַלֵּט מַשָּׂא לֵאמֹר עִם הַסֵּפֶר כָּל אֲשֶׁר בִּלְבָבִי.

Briefly, however, I come as one who reminds and “repeats earlier subjects”⁴¹ in general,

אַך בִּקְצָרָה בָּאתִי, כְּמַזְכִּיר וּמַחֲזִיר עַל הָרִאשׁוֹנוֹת בִּכְלָל,

in particular to “those of the people who offer themselves willingly [in prayer],”⁴² beyond the customary measure—

וּבִפְרָט אֶל הַמִּתְנַדְּבִים בָּעָם,

that they should stand [steadfast] in [their Divine] service, i.e., prayer, which the Sages call “service of the heart,”⁴³ a form of Divine service which works in the heart and on the heart,

לַעֲמוֹד עַל הָעֲבוֹדָה זוֹ תְּפִלָּה,

[and pray] with a loud voice,⁴⁴

בְּקוֹל רָם,

strengthening themselves vigorously, with all their might and power, against any internal or external obstacle,

לְהִתְחַזֵּק מְאֹד בְּכָל עוֹז וְתַעֲצוּמוֹת נֶגֶד כָּל מוֹנֵעַ מִבַּיִת וּמִחוּץ,

with a “strong hand,” plainly and simply.

בְּיָד חֲזָקָה כְּמַשְׁמָעוֹ,

This [service] relates to “the will of those who fear Him”⁴⁵; this transcends the wisdom and understanding with which G‑d imbued them so that they will know and do all that He commanded, with intelligence and discernment.

שֶׁהוּא “רְצוֹן יְרֵיאָיו”, אֲשֶׁר לְמַעְלָה מִן הַחָכְמָה וְהַתְּבוּנָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַן ה’ בָּהֵמָּה לָדַעַת לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה’ בְּהַשְׂכֵּל וָדַעַת.

Wisdom and understanding are gifts from G‑d; as we say in the daily prayers, “It is You Who graciously bestows discernment upon man….”⁴⁶ As to the superior faculty of will, however, it is left to the initiative of every G‑d-fearing Jew to arouse this within himself by accepting the yoke of heaven.

[There should be] but a simple will, uncompounded by the particular form or limitations that characterize an intellectually generated will and a spirit of voluntary self-dedication,

רַק רָצוֹן פָּשׁוּט וְ”רוּחַ נְדִיבָה”,

in every man whose heart prompts him to serve “a whole service,”⁴⁷ [intending only] to cause gratification to his Maker.

בְּכָל אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יִדְּבֶנּוּ לִבּוֹ לַעֲבוֹד עֲבוֹדָה תַמָּה, לַעֲשׂוֹת נַחַת רוּחַ לְיוֹצְרוֹ.

Of this [superrational degree of will] it is written, “For this is a stiff-necked people, and You should pardon”⁴⁸—i.e., because they are a “stiff-necked people.”⁴⁹ This obstinate and superrational will of theirs warrants their being pardoned—

וְעַל זֶה נֶאֱמַר: “כִּי עַם קְשֵׁה עוֹרֶף הוּא, וְסָלַחְתָּ”.

for pardon, too, transcends wisdom.

כִּי הַסְּלִיחָה הִיא גַם כֵּן לְמַעְלָה מִן הַחָכְמָה.

Just as a mortal’s will flies free, untrammeled by his intellect, so, too, Above: the Divine source of pardon transcends supernal wisdom.

Thus, [it is written], “they asked Wisdom [what should be the lot of the soul that sins].”⁵⁰ The attribute of Wisdom ruled that a sinning soul must be judged and punished; it did not allow for repentance and pardon.

כִּי “שָׁאֲלוּ לַחָכְמָה כוּ’”,

So did Moses our Master, peace to him, invoke “measure for measure”⁵¹; and suffice this for the discerning.

וּמשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ עָלָיו־הַשָּׁלוֹם בִּיקֵּשׁ מִדָּה כְּנֶגֶד מִדָּה, וְדַי לַמֵּבִין.

Moses pleaded that G‑d grant forgiveness to the same extent that an individual repents with a simple will that transcends his understanding; he desired that man’s repentance elicit and call down to this world the Divine source of pardon which likewise transcends supernal wisdom.

_____

FOOTNOTES

__________

36. It appears in full in Igrot Kodesh by the Alter Rebbe (Kehot, N.Y., 1987), p. 53 (revised ed. 2012, p. 48).

37. Note by the Rebbe: “The early editions should be scanned because from the continuation of this sentence, one would expect the plural form (טרדותי).”

38. Note by the Rebbe: “[The two quoted phrases are] a paraphrase of Psalms 88:18—in inverse order, as with several of the expressions that follow.”

39. Cf. Isaiah 62:6.

40. Hebrew text corrected according to Luach Hatikkun. The metaphor is borrowed from Isaiah 46:2; see Rashi there.

41. Cf. Keritot 8a.

42. Judges 5:9; on the connection with prayer, see Rashi there.

43. Taanit 2a.

44. The implication here excludes the Amidah, of course, which is always recited in a whisper, except on the Days of Awe; see Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch 101:2-3.

45. Psalms 145:19.

46. Liturgy, Amidah (Siddur Tehillat Hashem, p. 53; Annotated Edition, p. 47).

47. Cf. Yoma 24a.

48. Exodus 34:9.

49. Note by the Rebbe: “From this, we understand that their ‘stiff-neckedness’ is a positive trait.”

50. Jerusalem Talmud, Makkot 2:6.

51.Devarim Rabbah 11:9.

Epistle 22, Class 3

shimon — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tanya/ Iggeres Ha’Kodesh – The Holy Epistle, Epistle 22, Class 3

Now, in the Divine realm, the concept of “Face”

וְהִנֵּה, לְמַעְלָה, בְּחִינַת “פָּנִים“

the physical and the spiritual worlds—

הוּא הָרָצוֹן וְהַחֵשֶׁק, אֲשֶׁר אָבִינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם מַשְׁפִּיעַ לְבָנָיו כָּל טוּב עוֹלָמִים וְחַיֵּי נֶפֶשׁ וְגוּף,

[all of this He bestows] out of love and willingness, out of inner desire and delight, through the Torah of Life, which is His blessed Will, that He gave unto us.

בְּאַהֲבָה וְרָצוֹן, חֲשִׁיקָה וַחֲפִיצָה, עַל־יְדֵי תּוֹרַת חַיִּים שֶׁהִיא רְצוֹנוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לָנוּ,

The present passage is based on the body language that typically accompanies a gift.

As explained earlier in the Tanya (ch. 22), one gives a gift to a good friend face to face: the giver’s eyes rest on the face of the recipient. Through his very stance, the giver thus expresses the fact that his gift stems from his “face” (panim) and innermost core (pnimiyut). When, however, one gives something to an enemy, he averts his face. This simply gives outward expression to his real aversion: the gift is not prompted by any inner desire but by some external factor.

In our context, then, G‑d’s loving willingness in showering us with His gifts is described by the metaphor of “Face.”

in the

כְּמוֹ שֶׁאוֹמְרִים: “כִּי בְאוֹר פָּנֶיךָ נָתַתָּ לָּנוּ תּוֹרַת חַיִּים כוּ’”

(and through which)

לַעֲשׂוֹת בָּהּ רְצוֹנוֹ,

And of this, it is written, “For in the light of the King’s Face there is life, and His will….”²²

וְעַל זֶה נֶאֱמַר: “בְּאוֹר פְּנֵי מֶלֶךְ חַיִּים, וּרְצוֹנוֹ כוּ’”.

To the heathens, however, He grants the life of their bodies²³ without willingness, pleasure, and delight.

מַה־שֶּׁאֵין־כֵּן לְעוֹבְדֵי גִלּוּלִים, מַשְׁפִּיעַ חַיֵּי גוּפָם שֶׁלֹּא בְּרָצוֹן וַחֲשִׁיקָה וַחֲפִיצָה,

(“other gods”)

לְכָךְ נִקְרָאִים “אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים”, שֶׁיּוֹנְקִים מִבְּחִינַת “אֲחוֹרַיִים”.

To continue the above metaphor: The Divine “reluctance” to grant life-force to the heathens—i.e., the so-called external level of Divine desire—is here described by a term that is the opposite of the “Face,” which expressed G‑d’s innermost will.

i.e., man’s innermost desires,

וְכָךְ הוּא בָּאָדָם, הָרָצוֹן וְהַחֵשֶׁק הוּא בְּחִינַת “פָּנִים”,

Thus, turning to G‑d “face to Face” means that a man accepts willingly and with inner desire whatever is apportioned to him from the supernal face, from G‑d’s innermost desire. In our context, this refers to a willing acceptance of G‑d’s admonishments as expressed in physical suffering.

If one does not accept [this suffering] with love and willingness, it is as if he turns his neck and back [on G‑d], heaven forfend.

וְאִם אֵינוֹ מְקַבֵּל בְּאַהֲבָה וְרָצוֹן כְּאִלּוּ הוֹפֵךְ עוֹרֶף וְאָחוֹר, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם.

The suggested advice to enable one to accept [it] with love is G‑d’s counsel through the mouth of our Sages, of blessed memory—“to examine one’s conduct.”²⁴

וְעֵצָה הַיְּעוּצָה לְקַבֵּל בְּאַהֲבָה, הִיא עֲצַת ה’ בְּפִי חֲכָמֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: “לְפַשְׁפֵּשׁ בְּמַעֲשָׂיו”,

The Gemara says that “if one sees afflictions befalling him, he should examine his deeds” and repent.

He will find sins that require scouring by means of suffering. He will then clearly see G‑d’s great love toward him, which “upsets the natural order of [Divine] conduct,”

וְיִמְצָא לוֹ עֲוֹנוֹת הַצְּרִיכִין מֵירוּק יִסּוּרִים, וְיִרְאֶה לָעַיִן גּוֹדֶל אַהֲבָתוֹ אֵלָיו, הַמְקַלְקֶלֶת הַשּׁוּרָה,

as in the simile of a great and awesome king who, out of his immense²⁵ love for his only son, personally washes off the filth from him.

כִּמְשַׁל מֶלֶךְ גָּדוֹל וְנוֹרָא הָרוֹחֵץ בִּכְבוֹדוֹ וּבְעַצְמוֹ צוֹאַת בְּנוֹ יְחִידוֹ, מֵרוֹב אַהֲבָתוֹ,

As it is written,²⁶ “When G‑d will wash off the filth from the daughters of Zion…with a spirit of justice²⁷….”²⁸

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: “אִם רָחַץ ה’ צוֹאַת בְּנוֹת צִיּוֹן כוּ’, בְּרוּחַ מִשְׁפָּט כוּ’”.

When one becomes aware of G‑d’s great love for him, a love that is expressed by scouring him with the cleansing agent of suffering:

Then, “as in water face reflects face,”²⁹

וְ”כַמַּיִם הַפָּנִים אֶל פָּנִים”,

The verse goes on to say, “…so is the heart of man to man.” And the same is true of the heart of mortal man to Supernal Man:

for those who find themselves in this world, the lowest of all worlds.

תִּתְעוֹרֵר הָאַהֲבָה בְּלֵב כָּל מַשְׂכִּיל וּמֵבִין יְקַר מַהוּת אַהֲבַת ה’ אֶל הַתַּחְתּוֹנִים,

both spiritual and material,

אֲשֶׁר הִיא יְקָרָה וְטוֹבָה מִכָּל חַיֵּי הָעוֹלָמִים כּוּלָּם,

(

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: “מַה יָּקָר חַסְדְּךָ וְכוּ’”,

[It is likewise written,] “For Your chesed is better than life….”³¹

“כִּי טוֹב חַסְדְּךָ מֵחַיִּים כוּ’”,

The motivating nucleus of chesed is love. Thus, it is written, “I have loved you with an everlasting love and have therefore drawn down chesed upon you.”³²

For chesed, which is a manifestation of love,

כִּי הַחֶסֶד שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת אַהֲבָה,

is the Fountainhead of life that is present in all the worlds; as it is said in the Amidah, “He sustains life through chesed.”³³

הוּא חַיֵּי הַחַיִּים שֶׁבְּכָל הָעוֹלָמוֹת, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאוֹמְרִים: “מְכַלְכֵּל חַיִּים בְּחֶסֶד”.

Chesed and love are thus the sustaining life-force of all living beings.

i.e., when one realizes G‑d’s great love for him that finds expression in afflictions, and when this in turn arouses a love within him so that he will better receive G‑d’s love, then:

וְאָז,

of a kind that the naked eye can clearly and palpably perceive as good,

“גַּם ה’ יִתֵּן הַטּוֹב”,

(the innermost dimension of Divinity)

וְיָאֵר פָּנָיו אֵלָיו,

with a manifest love, which had earlier been garbed and hidden in a manifest rebuke,

בִּבְחִינַת אַהֲבָה מְגוּלָּה, אֲשֶׁר הָיְתָה תְּחִלָּה מְלוּבֶּשֶׁת וּמְסוּתֶּרֶת בְּתוֹכָחָה מְגוּלָּה,

The overt admonition that stems from G‑d’s hidden love will then be transformed into a revealed love.

and the expressions of Divine severity (the gevurot) will be sweetened at their source,

וְיִתְמַתְּקוּ הַגְּבוּרוֹת בְּשָׁרְשָׁן,

Within their source, these expressions of Divine severity are ultimately benevolent; as they descend to the world below, they become manifest in the form of suffering. The gevurot, then, will be sweetened at their source,

and thereby, these expressions of Divine severity will become nullified forevermore.³⁵

וְיִתְבַּטְּלוּ הַדִּינִין נֶצַח סֶלָה וָעֶד:

____

FOOTNOTES

_________

20. Sefer Hasichot 5704, p. 15.

21. Liturgy, Amidah (Siddur Tehillat Hashem, p. 60; Annotated Edition, p. 53).

22. Proverbs 16:15.

23. Note by the Rebbe: “This requires further examination, for seemingly, this also applies to the life-force of their souls. See Tanya, ch. 22, and end of ch. 3.”

24. Berachot 5a.

25. Note by the Rebbe: “A point awaiting clarification: In the analogue, the Alter Rebbe writes ‘great’ (a qualitative term?) while in the analogy, he writes ‘immense’ (a quantitative term?).”

26. Isaiah 4:4.

27. Note by the Rebbe: “Cf. Shaar Hakollel on the Yehi Ratzon recited at the burning of chametz.”

28. See Rashi on the verse.

29. Cf. Proverbs 27:19.

30. Psalms 36:8.

31. Ibid. 63:4.

32. Jeremiah 31:2.

33. Liturgy, Amidah (Siddur Tehillat Hashem, p. 51; Annotated Edition, p. 46).

34. Cf. Numbers 6:25.

35. See Likkutei Sichot, vol. 1, p. 284, for the three instances where the Tanya provides advice for suffering: Part I, ch. 26, Iggeret Hakodesh, Epistle 11, and here.

Epistle 22, Class 2

shimon — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tanya/ Iggeres Ha’Kodesh – The Holy Epistle, Epistle 22, Class 2

Thus, they are not able to bear [it] at all to the point that it drives them out of their mind, causing them to tramp about from city to city to seek advice from afar.

וְאֵין יְכוֹלִין לְקַבֵּל כְּלָל, עַד שֶׁמַּעֲבִירָם עַל דַּעְתָּם, לְכַתֵּת רַגְלֵיהֶם מֵעִיר לְעִיר, לִשְׁאוֹל עֵצוֹת מֵרָחוֹק,

But why indeed does G‑d cause suffering? Moreover, how are we to respond to life’s difficulties if it is not proper to seek advice on them from Torah sages and tzaddikim? The Alter Rebbe goes on to explain:

Those who seek merely to be rid of their physical afflictions are not following the proper path of the Torah, for in doing so, they do not turn to G‑d by [penitently] returning to Him with humble spirit and submission of the body

וְלֹא שָׁעוּ אֶל ה’ לָשׁוּב אֵלָיו בְּרוּחַ נְמוּכָה וְהַכְנָעַת הַגּוּף,

to accept His chastisement with love, “for it is him whom G‑d loves [that He chastises].”¹⁹

לְקַבֵּל תּוֹכַחְתּוֹ בְּאַהֲבָה, “כִּי אֶת אֲשֶׁר יֶאֱהַב ה’ וְכוּ’”:

Misfortunes are in fact a call from G‑d that one should repent. Indeed, they should be a source of satisfaction: out of G‑d’s particular love for him, he has been chosen to be roused to repentance.

This is analogous to a compassionate, wise, and righteous father who hits his son. Surely, a wise son should not turn his back to escape, nor find himself help, nor even an intercessor to his father who is compassionate, righteous, and kind (chasid).

וּכְמוֹ אָב רַחֲמָן חָכָם וְצַדִּיק הַמַּכֶּה בְּנוֹ, שֶׁאֵין לְבֵן חָכָם לַהֲפוֹךְ עוֹרֶף לָנוּס, לִמְצוֹא לוֹ עֶזְרָה, אוֹ אֲפִילוּ מֵלִיץ יוֹשֶׁר, לִפְנֵי אָבִיו הָרַחֲמָן וְהַצַּדִּיק וְחָסִיד,

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, once remarked²⁰ that when the Alter Rebbe first speaks of the father who punishes, he does not use the term “Chasid.” (He uses it only later, in the context of the intercessor.) The reason, says the Rebbe, is that a father who smites his child may indeed be compassionate, righteous, and wise—but he is not a Chasid, for a Chasid does not hit!

In any event, we see that if the child is truly wise, he will not flee from punishment.

Rather, he will look straight at his father, face to face, bearing his smacks lovingly for his lifelong benefit.

רַק לִהְיוֹת “יָשָׁר יֶחֱזוּ פָנֵימוֹ” עִם אָבִיו פָּנִים בְּפָנִים, לִסְבּוֹל הַכָּאוֹתָיו בְּאַהֲבָה, לְטוֹב לוֹ כָּל הַיָּמִים.

To transpose this to the analogue: Every Jew ought to look straight at his Father, “face to Face.”

Now, in the Divine realm, the concept of “Face”

וְהִנֵּה, לְמַעְלָה, בְּחִינַת “פָּנִים”

is the willingness and desire with which our Father in heaven bestows upon His children all the good of the worlds—the physical and the spiritual worlds—as well as life for the soul and body;

[all of this He bestows] out of love and willingness, out of inner desire and delight, through the Torah of Life, which is His blessed Will, that He gave unto us.

The present passage is based on the body language that typically accompanies a gift.

In our context, then, G‑d’s loving willingness in showering us with His gifts is described by the metaphor of “Face.”

As we recite in the Amidah, “For in the light of Your Face, You have given us…the Torah of Life…,”²¹

כְּמוֹ שֶׁאוֹמְרִים: “כִּי בְאוֹר פָּנֶיךָ נָתַתָּ לָּנוּ תּוֹרַת חַיִּים כוּ’”

with which (and through which) to carry out His will.

לַעֲשׂוֹת בָּהּ רְצוֹנוֹ,

And of this, it is written, “For in the light of the King’s Face there is life, and His will….”²²וְעַל זֶה נֶאֱמַר: “בְּאוֹר פְּנֵי מֶלֶךְ חַיִּים, וּרְצוֹנוֹ כוּ’”.

____

FOOTNOTES

_________

19. Proverbs 3:12. As in many other instances, the Alter Rebbe ended his quotation with “etc.,” choosing not to spell out the painful final words of the verse.

20. Sefer Hasichot 5704, p. 15.

21. Liturgy, Amidah (Siddur Tehillat Hashem, p. 60; Annotated Edition, p. 53).

22. Proverbs 16:15.

Epistle 22, Class 1

shimon — Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tanya/ Iggeres Ha’Kodesh – The Holy Epistle, Epistle 22, Class 1

In the present letter, the Alter Rebbe bemoans the fact that his Chasidim trouble him by seeking advice on physical matters, such as their livelihoods. Such advice, he argues, is within the province of prophets, not of Torah scholars. In conclusion, he explains how one should accept physical suffering in such a way that it enhances his love and fear of G‑d.

The opening and closing passages of the original letter, which were not reproduced in the Tanya,¹ throw considerable light on the middle passage, which appears below.

At the beginning of the original letter, the Alter Rebbe defines set times during which he will henceforth receive people for private audience—yechidut. He then protests in strong terms that the many requests for advice on mundane affairs interfere with other areas of his Torah activity. As our Sages ask, “Is it conceivable that Moses spent the whole day judging? When would he then find time to study Torah?”²

This leads on to the portion of the letter that appears here in the Tanya. In the original letter, the Alter Rebbe then concludes by declaring that the appointed times for visits and private audiences must be adhered to. Moreover, he “penalizes” those who will not heed his decree, going so far as to threaten to leave the country if he is not heeded.

As we all know, however, Chasidim in every generation have in fact asked their Rebbe for advice in mundane matters and, moreover, each of the Rebbeim has in fact obliged. How is this possible? Elder Chasidim of earlier generations used to explain that the Alter Rebbe himself sanctions this conduct—in the letter that he wrote “close to the time of his passing,”³ regarding the value of “fraternity and counsel from afar with regard to all family matters….”

22 My beloved, my brethren and friends:

כב אֲהוּבַיי, אַחַיי וְרֵעַיי!

Out of [my] hidden love [for you springs] an overt rebuke.⁴

מֵאַהֲבָה מְסוּתֶּרֶת תּוֹכַחַת מְגוּלָּה.

“Come now and let us debate”⁵;

“לְכוּ נָא וְנִוָּכְחָה!”

remember the days of old, consider the years of every generation.⁶

“זִכְרוּ יְמוֹת עוֹלָם, בִּינוּ שְׁנוֹת דּוֹר וָדוֹר”,

Has such a thing ever happened in days past? Where indeed have you found such a custom in any of the books of the early or latter sages of Israel,

הֶהָיְתָה כָּזֹאת מִימוֹת עוֹלָם, וְאַיֵּה אֵיפוֹא מְצָאתֶם מִנְהָג זֶה בְּאֶחָד מִכָּל סִפְרֵי חַכְמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָרִאשׁוֹנִים וְהָאַחֲרוֹנִים,

that it should be the custom and established norm to ask for advice in mundane matters as to what one ought to do in matters of the physical world?

לִהְיוֹת מִנְהָג וְתִיקּוּן לִשְׁאוֹל בְּעֵצָה גַשְׁמִיּוּת, כְּדָת מַה לַּעֲשׂוֹת בְּעִנְיְנֵי הָעוֹלָם הַגַּשְׁמִי,

[Such questions were not asked] even of the greatest of the former sages of Israel, such as the tannaim and amoraim, the authors of the Mishnah and the Gemara,⁷ “from whom no secret was hidden” and “for whom all the paths of heaven were clearly illuminated,”⁸

אַף לִגְדוֹלֵי חַכְמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָרִאשׁוֹנִים כְּתַנָּאִים וְאַמוֹרָאִים, אֲשֶׁר “כָּל רָז לֹא אָנֵס לְהוּ”, וּ”נְהִירִין לְהוֹן שְׁבִילִין דְּרָקִיעַ”

but only of actual prophets who used to live among the Jewish people, such as Samuel the Seer, to whom Saul went to inquire of G‑d through him about the donkeys that his father had lost.⁹

כִּי אִם לִנְבִיאִים מַמָּשׁ, אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ לְפָנִים בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, כִּשְׁמוּאֵל הָרוֹאֶה, אֲשֶׁר הָלַךְ אֵלָיו שָׁאוּל לִדְרוֹשׁ ה’ עַל דְּבַר הָאֲתוֹנוֹת שֶׁנֶּאֶבְדוּ לְאָבִיו.

Why, indeed, were sages of stature such as the tannaim and amoraim not asked about mundane matters?

For in fact, all matters pertaining to man, except for words of Torah and the fear of heaven, are apprehended only by prophecy.

כִּי בֶּאֱמֶת, כָּל עִנְיְנֵי אָדָם, לְבַד מִדִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה וְיִרְאַת שָׁמַיִם אֵינָם מוּשָּׂגִים רַק בִּנְבוּאָה,

[As the verse states,] “there is no bread unto the wise,”¹⁰

וְ”לֹא לַחֲכָמִים לֶחֶם”,

and as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Everything is in the hands of heaven except for the fear of heaven.”¹¹

כְּמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: “הַכֹּל בִּידֵי שָׁמַיִם, חוּץ מִיִּרְאַת שָׁמַיִם”,

Likewise, “Seven things are hidden…: no man knows how he will earn his living, nor when the Kingdom of David will be restored…,”¹² i.e., when Mashiach will come.

וְ”שִׁבְעָה דְּבָרִים מְכוּסִּים כוּ’ אֵין אָדָם יוֹדֵעַ בַּמֶה מִשְׂתַּכֵּר כוּ’ וּמַלְכוּת בֵּית דָּוִד מָתַי תַּחֲזוֹר כוּ’”,

Note that these [two questions] are likened to one another. Just as no one knows exactly when Mashiach will come, so, too, no one knows by what means he in fact will obtain his sustenance.

הִנֵּה הוּשְׁווּ זֶה לָזֶה.

As for the phrase in Isaiah, “A counselor and a man whose wisdom silences all,”¹³ suggesting that Torah wisdom qualifies one to advise in other fields as well—

וּמַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב בִּישַׁעְיָה: “יוֹעֵץ וַחֲכַם חֲרָשִׁים”,

and also, as for the statement of our Sages, of blessed memory, regarding one who studies Torah lishmah, “for its own sake,” that “people derive from him the benefit of etzah (counsel) and tushiyah (wisdom)”¹⁴

וְכֵן מַה שֶּׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה “וְנֶהֱנִין מִמֶּנּוּ עֵצָה וְתוּשִׁיָּה”

these teachings refer specifically to [counsel in] matters of the Torah, which is called tushiyah (assistance).¹⁵

הַיְינוּ בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה, הַנִּקְרָא “תּוּשִׁיָּה”,

Thus, the Sages, of blessed memory, said: A counselor is one who knows how to intercalate years, making certain years leap years by interpolating an additional month of Adar, and how to determine the months, establishing what day is Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the lunar month,

כְּמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: “יוֹעֵץ” – “זֶה שֶׁיּוֹדֵעַ לְעַבֵּר שָׁנִים וְלִקְבּוֹעַ חֳדָשִׁים” כוּ’,

for in Torah terminology, the principle of intercalation is called “counsel” and “a secret,” as stated in Tractate Sanhedrin, p. 87; see the commentary of Rashi there, which states explicitly that the terms “counselor” and “advice” are related to the principle of intercalation.

שֶׁסּוֹד הָעִיבּוּר קָרוּי ‘עֵצָה’ וְ’סוֹד’ בִּלְשׁוֹן תּוֹרָה, כִּדְאִיתָא בְּסַנְהֶדְרִין דַּף פ”ז, עַיֵּין שָׁם בְּפֵירוּשׁ רַשִׁ”י:

However, I shall relate the truth¹⁶ to those who listen to me: “Love upsets the natural order of conduct,”¹⁷ for it is a covering of the eyes that prevents people from seeing the truth.

אַךְ הָאֱמֶת אַגִּיד לַשּׁוֹמְעִים לִי, כִּי “אַהֲבָה מְקַלְקֶלֶת הַשּׁוּרָה”, וְ”הִנֵּה הִיא כְּסוּת עֵינַיִם” שֶׁלֹּא לִרְאוֹת הָאֱמֶת,

The Alter Rebbe is quick to insist that his listeners’ love for the “life of the body” is no doubt motivated by a spiritual purpose. Nevertheless, they become so enmeshed in this love that they soon come to love the “life of the body” for its own sake as well. This latter love upsets the natural order to the point that it drives people to seek advice on material matters.

Because of their great love for the life of the body—

מֵרוֹב אַהֲבָתָם לְחַיֵּי הַגּוּף

[though this love is indeed experienced] for the sake of heaven so that with [the body] they can serve G‑d with flashes of fiery fervor and an ardent flame,¹⁸ this love being even greater than their soul’s love for G‑d—

לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, לַעֲבוֹד בּוֹ אֶת ה’, בְּרִשְׁפֵּי אֵשׁ וְשַׁלְהֶבֶת גְּדוֹלָה מֵאַהֲבַת נַפְשָׁם אֶת ה’,

they are extremely irate when their body undergoes suffering. (Heaven forfend; may G‑d show compassion!)

וְעַל כֵּן, הֵיטֵב חָרָה לָהֶם בְּצַעַר הַגּוּף חַס וְשָׁלוֹם ה’ יְרַחֵם,

____

FOOTNOTES

_________

1. They appear in full in Igrot Kodesh by the Alter Rebbe (Kehot, N.Y., 1980), #24 (revised ed. 2012, #35).

2. Shabbat 10a.

3. Igrot Kodesh (op. cit.), #65 (revised ed., #108).

4. Cf. Proverbs 27:5.

5. Isaiah 1:18.

6. Cf. Deuteronomy 32:7.

7. Cf. Chullin 59a.

8. See Berachot 58b.

9. I Samuel, ch. 9.

10. Ecclesiastes 9:11.

11. Berachot 33b.

12. Pesachim 54b.

13. 3:3.

14. Avot, beginning of ch. 6.

15. Sanhedrin 26b, et al.

16. Cf. Daniel 11:2.

17. Bereishit Rabbah 55:8.

18. Cf. Song of Songs 8:6.

Epistle 21, Class 4

shimon — Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tanya/ Iggeres Ha’Kodesh – The Holy Epistle, Epistle 21, Class 4

______

On this Mishnah, Maimonides explains that though a one-time donation of (say) a thousand²⁷ gulden is truly praiseworthy, the trait of benevolence does not thereby become embedded within the donor’s psyche to the same extent as it would if he would give these same thousand coins one at a time.

Now, apart from the underlying reason [for this] that R. Moses Maimonides, of blessed memory, clearly explained, viz., “in order to refine the soul by means of the multiplicity of action,”

וְהִנֵּה, מִלְּבַד כִּי הָרַמְבַּ”ם זִכְרוֹנוֹ־לִבְרָכָה בֵּיאֵר הֵיטֵב טַעֲמוֹ וְנִימּוּקוֹ, כְּדֵי לְזַכֵּךְ הַנֶּפֶשׁ עַל־יְדֵי רִבּוּי הַמַּעֲשֶׂה,

an explicit verse in Scripture states that “the effect of tzedakah is for life.”

הִנֵּה מִקְרָא מָלֵא דִּיבֵּר הַכָּתוּב: “פְּעוּלַּת צְדָקָה לְחַיִּים”,

In his Notes and Emendations at the conclusion of [the Hebrew edition of] the Tanya, the Rebbe refers the reader to the following two verses: In Proverbs 10:16 we find, פְּעוּלַּת צַדִּיק לְחַיִּים—“The effect of a tzaddik is for life,” and in Proverbs 11:19 we find, כֵּן צְדָקָה לְחַיִּים—“So is tzedakah for life.” Accordingly, the Rebbe notes that the Alter Rebbe’s citation of the three words פְּעוּלַּת צְדָקָה לְחַיִּים (“the effect of tzedakah is for life”) as part of “an explicit verse” is problematic.

Seemingly, this difficulty could be resolved by interpreting thus: Since “the effect of a tzaddik” is tzedakah (in the spirit of the verse, “G‑d is a ‘tzaddik’: He loves acts of tzedakah”²⁸), the verse which states that “the effect of a tzaddik is for life” in fact seeks to imply that “the effect of a tzaddik—viz., tzedakah—is for life.”

From the note by the Rebbe, however, it is apparent that this interpretation is unsatisfactory, for surely, “an explicit verse” should be explicit without resort to interpretation.

(lit., “from the Life of life”)

דְּהַיְינוּ, שֶׁפְּעוּלָּתָהּ וּסְגוּלָּתָהּ לְהַמְשִׁיךְ חַיִּים עֶלְיוֹנִים מֵחַיֵּי הַחַיִּים אֵין־סוֹף בָּרוּךְ־הוּא

to the Land of Life, i.e., to malchut of Atzilut.

לְאֶרֶץ הַחַיִּים,

The sefirah of malchut in the World of Atzilut is known as the “Land of Life” because (relative to the more “heavenly” levels) it is the lowest level within that World. It is known as the “Land of Life” because it provides life to all the created beings of the three lower Worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah.

The effect of tzedakah, then, is to draw down life-giving Divine energy into the recipient (or “feminine”) attribute called malchut of Atzilut. The source of this life (the “Fountainhead of Life”) is called za, which is the last level within the worlds that are Ein Sof, or infinite. The name za is an acronym for z’eyr anpin, i.e., the bracket of six masculine middot, or emotive attributes of Atzilut. (This yichud of masculine and feminine middot is the “supernal union” spoken of below.)

[The Land of Life, i.e., malchut of Atzilut] is the Shechinah which gives us strength, i.e., the Divine Presence that animates and fortifies created beings, of which it is said, “And You animate them all.”²⁹

הִיא “שְׁכִינַת עוּזֵּינוּ”, שֶׁעָלֶיהָ נֶאֱמַר: “וְאַתָּה מְחַיֶּה אֶת כּוּלָּם”,

The word אַתָּה (“You”) alludes to the sefirah of malchut (the source of G‑d’s creative speech) in the World of Atzilut, for its spelling indicates all the letters from alef to tav, from the first letter of the alphabet to the last, while its letter hey, numerically equivalent to five, alludes to the five organs of verbal articulation, the source of the letters.³⁰

[The Shechinah] is identified with “the sukkah of David that has fallen”³¹ down to the very dust during the time of exile.³²

וְהִיא סוּכַּת דָּוִד הַנּוֹפֶלֶת עַד עָפָר,

As our Sages, of blessed memory, taught: “When [the Jewish people] were exiled to Edom, the Shechinah went with them….”³³

וּכְמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: “גָּלוּ לֶאֱדוֹם שְׁכִינָה עִמָּהֶם כוּ’”,

Accompanying them in all their wanderings throughout this last and lowest exile of ours, the Shechinah has thereby been humbled down to the lowest depths. At a time like this, acts of tzedakah can reinvigorate it with the infinite life that they elicit from the Fountainhead of Life, the Ein Sof.

[Tzedakah has this effect] because the arousal [which man initiates] from below, to revive the spirit of the humbled (i.e., the pauper) “who has nothing at all of his own,” elicits an arousal from Above,

כִּי בְּאִתְעָרוּתָא דִלְתַתָּא – “לְהַחֲיוֹת רוּחַ שְׁפָלִים” דְּ”לֵית לֵיהּ מִגַּרְמֵיהּ כְּלוּם” – אִתְעָרוּתָא דִלְעֵילָּא,

The quoted phrase describing the poor is advisedly borrowed from the Kabbalists’ description of the Shechinah as the sefirah (viz., malchut of Atzilut) which “has nothing at all of its own but what is given to it by others,”³⁴ i.e., by the higher sefirot. The similar phrase quoted above thus highlights the fact that mortal man’s charitable initiative in reviving the spirits of his poor neighbor does not merely echo or parallel the “charity” with which the Ein Sof revives the humbled Shechinah: it quite literally activates it.

Tzedakah, then, draws down life from the Fountainhead of Life to the sefirah of malchut of Atzilut, which is also known as the Land of Life—

especially when people offer voluntarily to sustain the inhabitants of the actual Land of Life, for Eretz Yisrael, the geographical Land of Life, corresponds to the heavenly Land of Life,³⁵ viz., malchut of Atzilut.

וּבִפְרָט בְּהִתְנַדֵּב עָם לְהַחֲיוֹת יוֹשְׁבֵי אֶרֶץ הַחַיִּים מַמָּשׁ,

This will suffice for those who understand.

וְדַי לַמֵּבִין.

Now, whoever is enlightened as to so great and wondrous a matter, i.e., the cosmic dynamic traced above, whereby an act of tzedakah draws down supernal life from the blessed Ein Sof to animate the exiled Shechinah,

וְכָל מַשְׂכִּיל עַל דָּבָר גָּדוֹל וְנִפְלָא כָּזֶה

will discover and appreciate how profound are the words of the Sages, of blessed memory, when they said, “Everything is [judged] according to the multiplicity of action.”²⁶

יִמְצָא טוּב טַעַם וָדַעַת, כַּמָּה גְדוֹלִים דִּבְרֵי חֲכָמִים זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה שֶׁאָמְרוּ: “הַכֹּל לְפִי רוֹב הַמַּעֲשֶׂה”,

This refers to the act of charity which is performed numerous times, thereby eliciting the supreme [form of] life, i.e., life that derives from the infinite Fountainhead of Life, by repeatedly bringing about the supreme unification of Kudsha Brich Hu and His Shechinah.

דְּהַיְינוּ מַעֲשֵׂה הַצְּדָקָה הַנַּעֲשֶׂה בִּפְעָמִים רַבּוֹת, לְהַמְשִׁיךְ חַיִּים עֶלְיוֹנִים, לְיַחֵד יִחוּד עֶלְיוֹן פְּעָמִים רַבּוֹת.

Every act of tzedakah draws Kudsha Brich Hu and Ein Sof downward to His Shechinah, down into the lowest levels of this world.

This is also similar to what Maimonides wrote in praise of the repeated giving of tzedakah: “to refine the soul (nefesh).”

וְהַיְינוּ נַמֵי כְּעֵין מַה שֶּׁכָּתַב הָרַמְבַּ”ם: לְזַכֵּךְ הַנֶּפֶשׁ,

These words allude as well to the supreme unification that is thereby effected in the worlds above.

For, as is known from the sacred Zohar,³⁶ the Shechinah is called nefesh (“Soul”) because it is our life and our soul,

כַּנּוֹדָע מִזּוֹהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ דִּשְׁכִינָה נִקְרֵאת “נֶפֶשׁ”, כִּי הִיא חַיֵּינוּ וְנַפְשֵׁנוּ,

as in the phrase, “Our Soul is stooped to the dust,”³⁷ which alludes to the descent of the Shechinah into exile.

וּכְתִיב: “כִּי שָׁחָה לֶעָפָר נַפְשֵׁנוּ”.

And that is why our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Great is charity, for it brings the Redemption near,”³⁸

וְלָכֵן אָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: “גְּדוֹלָה צְדָקָה, שֶׁמְּקָרֶבֶת אֶת הַגְּאוּלָּה”,

by raising [the Shechinah] from the dust by gradual stages with every act of tzedakah,

לַהֲקִימָהּ מֵעָפָר מְעַט מְעַט,

“until³⁹ Shiloh will come”⁴⁰—i.e., until Mashiach comes,⁴¹ at which time the Shechinah will be reinstated to its pristine height.

____

FOOTNOTES

_______

27. Note by the Rebbe: “The Tzemach Tzedek (loc. cit.) quotes the variant reading of R. Ovadiah of Bartenura: ‘One hundred.’”

28. Psalms 11:7.

29. Nehemiah 9:6.

30. Note by the Rebbe: “See above, Shaar Hayichud VehaEmunah, end of ch. 2.”

31. Liturgy, Blessing After a Meal (Siddur Tehillat Hashem, p. 93; Annotated Edition, p. 95).

32. Note by the Rebbe: “…Especially so during ikvot Meshicha [i.e., the generation at the end of the exile, which can hear the approaching ‘footsteps of Mashiach’]—see Iggeret Hakodesh, end of Epistle 9.”

33. Megillah 29a (according to the text of Ein Yaakov), quoted above in the Tanya, end of ch. 17.

34. Cf. Zohar I, 249b.

35. Note by the Rebbe: “Iggeret Hakodesh, end of Epistle 8.”

36. See Zohar Chadash, Rut 84a.

37.Psalms 44:26.

38. Bava Batra 10a.

39. Genesis 49:10.

40. Note by the Rebbe: “This unusual conclusion, ‘Until Shiloh will come’ (cf. the conclusion of ch. 36, et al.), becomes clear in the light of the teaching of the Zohar (I, 237b) on this verse: ‘In another place…, but here…the Shechinah will arise….’”

41. Onkelos and Rashi on Genesis 49:10, based on Sanhedrin 98b.

Epistle 21, Class 3

shimon — Mon, 04 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tanya/ Iggeres Ha’Kodesh – The Holy Epistle, Epistle 21, Class 3

______

The reason given until this point for dividing one’s annual pledges into weekly or at least monthly payments was the quality of alacrity in performing a mitzvah. The Alter Rebbe now adds two further reasons for not deferring frequent payments to one consolidated contribution at the end of the year: (a) every single act of tzedakah refines the soul of the donor; (b) every single act of tzedakah brings about a supernal union in the sefirot and partzufim.²⁴

Indeed, in the service of charity, we have also found and noted a particularly great and incomparably wondrous virtue,

אַךְ גַּם זֹאת מָצָאנוּ רָאִינוּ בַּעֲבוֹדַת הַצְּדָקָה, מַעֲלָה פְּרָטִיּוּת גְּדוֹלָה וְנִפְלָאָה אֵין עֲרוֹךְ אֵלֶיהָ,

As explained above, in Iggeret Hakodesh, Epistle 12, the “act of charity” (maaseh hatzedakah) remains staidly within the conventional limits set by one’s natural inclination. In the case of the “service of charity” (avodat hatzedakah), by contrast, the individual serves G‑d by toiling, refining himself, and excelling himself until he is able to be charitable in a manner that leaps above and beyond his custom and nature.

The Alter Rebbe now teaches that even if the amount one gives is not out of the ordinary, nevertheless, if it is given with great frequency, this too qualifies as Divine service—

when the act of charity is performed numerous times,

לִהְיוֹת מַעֲשֵׂה הַצְּדָקָה נַעֲשֵׂית בִּפְעָמִים רַבּוֹת,

The Alter Rebbe is referring here not to one’s annual pledge but to the actual giving of the numerous increments, which add up to its total amount—

and whoever does so frequently is praiseworthy,

וְכָל הַמַּרְבֶּה – הֲרֵי זֶה מְשׁוּבָּח,

Even then, it is far preferable to give the same amount over a longer period on numerous occasions—

וְלֹא בְּפַעַם אַחַת וּבְבַת אַחַת, גַּם כִּי הַסַּךְ הַכּוֹלֵל אֶחָד הוּא,

Moses

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתַב הָרַמְבַּ”ם זִכְרוֹנוֹ לִבְרָכָה בְּפֵירוּשׁ הַמִּשְׁנָה שֶׁשָּׁנוּ חֲכָמִים זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה: “וְהַכֹּל לְפִי רוֹב הַמַּעֲשֶׂה”:

Now, apart from the underlying reason [for this] that R. Moses Maimonides, of blessed memory, clearly explained, viz., “in order to refine the soul by means of the multiplicity of action,”

an explicit verse in Scripture states that “the effect of tzedakah is for life.”

הִנֵּה מִקְרָא מָלֵא דִּיבֵּר הַכָּתוּב: “פְּעוּלַּת צְדָקָה לְחַיִּים”,

From the note by the Rebbe, however, it is apparent that this interpretation is unsatisfactory, for surely, “an explicit verse” should be explicit without resort to interpretation.

(lit., “from the Life of life”)

to the Land of Life, i.e., to malchut of Atzilut.

לְאֶרֶץ הַחַיִּים,

____

FOOTNOTES

_______

24. With regard to the possibility that the Alter Rebbe may be meaning to indicate that one should not give a large amount of tzedakah at the very beginning of the year, the Rebbe notes the following: “According to this logic, the Alter Rebbe is directing that the entire amount should not be given in Tishrei [at the beginning of the year] but only one-twelfth, while the remainder is held back, and no more than one-twelfth given each month thereafter! And this immediately follows his explanation of the praiseworthy quality of prompt performance! “It is thus self-evident that the Alter Rebbe intends that one should act thus only if it in no way at all conflicts with giving at the earliest possible opportunity and with alacrity. It is also obvious, considering the reason given, that this applies equally to all charities, not only that of the Land of Israel. “In addition to Maimonides’ above-quoted observation in his Commentary on the Mishnah [that the Mishnah speaks not of the amount of the deed but of the frequency of the deed], this is moreover stated as a legal directive in Levushei Serad, Hilchot Tzedakah 113:215, which is quoted in the discourse beginning LeHavin…Kol Perutah. (See this separately published maamar, in which the Tzemach Tzedek discusses all the above at length. [Below, p. 391, and also published as The Art of Giving (Kehot, N.Y., 2014).]) “It would seem that the Alter Rebbe’s explanation (and this letter in general) relates specifically to the money that was collected for the Kollel for the following reason: In those days, it was conveyed to the Holy Land by a special messenger once a year (having been collected from the various towns only once in many months), as mentioned in many letters of the Rebbeim. This being so, the question naturally arises: What benefit could there possibly be in giving it weekly to a local collector? In this letter, therefore, the Alter Rebbe explains the twofold benefit: (a) promptness; (b) the frequency of the deed.”

25. Note by the Rebbe: “And more briefly, as a point of law, in Hilchot Deot 1:7.”

26. Avot 3:15.

27. Note by the Rebbe: “The Tzemach Tzedek (loc. cit.) quotes the variant reading of R. Ovadiah of Bartenura: ‘One hundred.’”

28. Psalms 11:7.

Epistle 21, Class 2

shimon — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tanya/ Iggeres Ha’Kodesh – The Holy Epistle, Epistle 21, Class 2

_____

It would seem that in these last few lines, the Alter Rebbe means to add the following: Not only are the amounts that were always given in previous years to be given henceforth on a weekly or monthly basis, but additional amounts are to be divided likewise.

For, first of all, everyone knows the great virtue of alacrity with respect to all commandments, which is spoken of repeatedly in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory. [For example:] “At all times should one be prompt in [fulfilling] a commandment.”¹⁰

כִּי הִנֵּה, מִלְּבַד הַיָּדוּעַ לַכֹּל גּוֹדֶל מַעֲלַת הַזְּרִיזוּת בְּכָל הַמִּצְוֹת, הַנֶּאֱמַר וְנִשְׁנָה בְּדִבְרֵי רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: “לְעוֹלָם יַקְדִּים אָדָם לִדְבַר מִצְוָה כוּ’”,

So, too, it is [the merit of] “the eager promptness of our father Abraham”¹¹ (peace upon him), who hastened to the akedah, the binding of Isaac,¹² that stands by us and our children, for ever.

וּזְרִיזוּתֵיהּ דְּאַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ עָלָיו־הַשָּׁלוֹם הִיא הָעוֹמֶדֶת לָעַד, לָנוּ וּלְבָנֵינוּ עַד עוֹלָם,

For the akedah itself, which G‑d constantly recalls, is not really regarded as so great a test in relation to the stature of our father Abraham, peace upon him,

כִּי הָעֲקֵדָה עַצְמָהּ אֵינָהּ נֶחְשָׁבָה כָּל כָּךְ לְנִסָּיוֹן גָּדוֹל לְעֵרֶךְ מַעֲלַת אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ עָלָיו־הַשָּׁלוֹם,

especially considering that G‑d Himself said to him, “Please take your son…[and bring him as an offering].”¹³

בְּשֶׁגַּם, כִּי ה’ דִּיבֶּר בּוֹ: “קַח נָא אֶת בִּנְךָ כוּ’”

After all, there have been numerous saintly individuals who gave their lives for the sanctification of G‑d, even though He did not speak to them.

וַהֲרֵי כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה קְדוֹשִׁים שֶׁמָּסְרוּ נַפְשָׁם עַל קְדוּשַּׁת ה’ גַּם כִּי לֹא דִיבֶּר ה’ בָּם.

How, then, can this be considered such a great test for Abraham when G‑d Himself commanded him to offer his son?

The point is that our father Abraham (peace upon him) did this with wondrous alacrity, for, as the verse testifies, “Abraham rose very early and [himself¹⁴] saddled his donkey,”¹⁵

רַק שֶׁאַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ עָלָיו־הַשָּׁלוֹם עָשָׂה זֹאת בִּזְרִיזוּת נִפְלָאָה,

in order to demonstrate—to others as well—his joy and eager desire to fulfill the will of his Master and to bring gratification to his Maker.

לְהַרְאוֹת שִׂמְחָתוֹ וְחֶפְצוֹ לְמַלֹּאות רְצוֹן קוֹנוֹ וְלַעֲשׂוֹת נַחַת רוּחַ לְיוֹצְרוֹ.

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, explains in a discourse dated the 12th of Tammuz 5709¹⁶ that the Divine service of penitents should involve affecting others as well. Now, the challenge of the akedah required that Abraham, the epitome of love and kindness, reverse his essential nature, in which the attribute of chesed predominated, and act with all the severity of the attribute of gevurah. (Hence, G‑d answers, “I now know that you fear G‑d.”¹⁷) In this diametrical reversal, Abraham resembled a penitent. And, like a penitent, he sought to share with others his delight at fulfilling G‑d’s will.

Indeed, it was from [the example of Abraham], and with the power that he vested within all his descendants, that our Sages (of blessed memory)¹⁸ learned [that alacrity is required] in the fulfillment of all the commandments in general, and in particular with respect to the act of charity, which is superior to them all,¹⁹

וּמִמֶּנּוּ לָמְדוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה לְקִיּוּם כָּל הַמִּצְוֹת בִּכְלָל, וּבִפְרָט מַעֲשֵׂה הַצְּדָקָה הָעוֹלָה עַל כּוּלָּנָה

in that it protects and saves one—by its²⁰ “fruits [that are repaid] in this world”²¹—from all kinds of calamities that may come about,

הַמְּגִינָּה וּמַצְּלָה בְּפֵירוֹתֶיהָ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה מִכָּל מִינֵי פּוּרְעָנִיּוֹת הַמִּתְרַגְּשׁוֹת,

as it is written, “and tzedakah saves from death,”²² and how much more so from other kinds of suffering that are milder than death.

כְּדִכְתִיב: “וּצְדָקָה תַּצִּיל מִמָּוֶת”, וְכָל שֶׁכֵּן מִשְּׁאָר מִינֵי יִסּוּרִים הַקַּלִּים מִמָּוֶת

It is thus certainly to our benefit, even in this world, to be as expeditious as possible in [the giving of charity], even more so than in the fulfillment of other commandments, whose reward may not be as palpable in this world,

כָּל שֶׁכֵּן שֶׁטּוֹב לָנוּ גַּם בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה לְהַקְדִּימָהּ כָּל מַה דְּאֶפְשָׁר,

for, after all, “A man is judged every day”²³ so that it is quite possible that he is in need of the merit of today’s tzedakah to protect him from today’s judgment.שֶׁהֲרֵי אָדָם נִידּוֹן בְּכָל יוֹם:

____

FOOTNOTES

_______

10. Nazir 23b; Bava Kama 38b.

11. Chullin 16a.

12. Genesis 22:1-19.

13 .Ibid. v. 2.

14 .See commentary of Rashi there.

15. Ibid. v. 3.

16. Sefer Hamaamarim 5709, p. 184.

17. Genesis 22:12; see also Sefer Hamaamarim—Kuntreisim, vol. 2, p. 642.

18. Pesachim 4a, et al.

19. Note by the Rebbe: “Cf. Shaar Hayichud VehaEmunah, beginning of ch. 12.”

20. Peah 1:1.

21. Note by the Rebbe: “See also Iggeret Hakodesh, Epistle 3.”

22. Proverbs 10:2.

23. Rosh Hashanah 16a.

Epistle 21, Class 1

shimon — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tanya/ Iggeres Ha’Kodesh – The Holy Epistle, Epistle 21, Class 1

___

This pastoral letter was written by the Alter Rebbe to rouse those of his followers who had pledged an annual contribution to Kollel Chabad. This fund supported their fellow Chasidim who had settled in the Land of Israel, where they now studied Torah and engaged in Divine service. The Alter Rebbe here urges that instead of waiting until the end of the year, his followers should give part of the promised sum weekly or at least monthly. For apart from the quality of alacrity, the eager promptness that ought to be displayed during the performance of mitzvot in general and the mitzvah of tzedakah (“charity”) in particular, there is an additional quality involved, as will soon be explained.

The Alter Rebbe begins this epistle by greeting his fellow Jews as “lovers of G‑d’s Name.”¹ This appellation especially suits those helping their brethren who serve G‑d in the Holy Land. For upon this land “G‑d’s gaze is fixed constantly,”² and this verse uses G‑d’s ineffable Name Havayah, indicating that the Land is directly illuminated and animated by the sublime level of Divinity indicated by that singular and unique Name.

כא 21

‘Having first duly inquired after the welfare of those who love [G‑d’s] Name,

אַחַר דְּרִישַׁת שְׁלוֹמָם, כְּמִשְׁפָּט לְאוֹהֲבֵי שְׁמוֹ,

those among the people who willingly volunteer to practice the righteous charitability of G‑d toward His Holy Land

אֶל הַמִּתְנַדְּבִים בָּעָם, לַעֲשׂוֹת צִדְקַת ה’ עִם אַרְצוֹ הַקְּדוֹשָׁה,

by giving every year a set sum of money for [the inhabitants of] our Holy Land (May it be rebuilt and established speedily, in our days!),

לָתֵת מִדֵּי שָׁנָה בְּשָׁנָה חוֹק הַקָּצוּב מָעוֹת אֶרֶץ הַקּוֹדֶשׁ, תִּבָּנֶה וְתִכּוֹנֵן בִּמְהֵרָה בְיָמֵינוּ,

“may my word [call]”³ to them and “my speech trickle like dew”⁴

אֲלֵיהֶם תִּטּוֹף מִלָּתִי, וְתִזַּל כַּטַּל אִמְרָתִי,

in order to bestir those who are [naturally] swift, for “One hurries only the swift,”⁵

לְזָרֵז לִזְרִיזִים,

and to strengthen weak hands,⁶ for their unquestioned willingness⁷ is hampered only by their poverty,

וּלְחַזֵּק יָדַיִם רָפוֹת

so that they should contribute moneys for the Land of Israel every week, or at least every month,⁸ from the amount assigned for the year, proportionately,

בְּמַתַּן דָּמִים מָעוֹת אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִדֵּי שַׁבָּת בְּשַׁבַּתּוֹ, וּלְפָחוֹת מִדֵּי חֹדֶשׁ בְּחָדְשׁוֹ, מֵעֶרְכּוֹ הַקָּצוּב לְעֵרֶךְ שָׁנָה,

as well as all the “dedicated money”⁹ that each individual was inspired to donate annually (without a vow) for the support of our brethren who live in the Holy Land.

וְכָל כֶּסֶף הַקֳּדָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר עָלָה עַל לֵב אִישׁ לְהִתְנַדֵּב בְּלִי נֶדֶר לְפַרְנָסַת אַחֵינוּ יוֹשְׁבֵי אֶרֶץ הַקּוֹדֶשׁ, מִדֵּי שָׁנָה בְּשָׁנָה.