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.

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FOOTNOTES

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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.

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FOOTNOTES

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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.