״לְהָבִין מָשָׁל וּמְלִיצָה דִּבְרֵי חֲכָמִים וְחִידוֹתָם״ (משלי א, ו) בְּעִנְיַן הַסְּפִירוֹת.

"To understand proverbs and aphorisms, the words of the wise and their riddles" (Prov. 1:6), with regard to the sefirot : The author of the Tanya associates this verse from Proverbs with the study of Kabbala, particularly the topic of the sefirot. This verse indicates that these kabbalistic teachings, whether transmitted orally or in writing, are expressed through allegory and metaphor. They are not meant to be understood in their simple sense but as an allegory from which the intended meaning may be understood. Even "the words of the wise," those statements made by the kabbalistic masters in their explanations of these teachings, are riddles that only one who is wise and who understands on his own can know.

מוּדַעַת זֹאת בָּאָרֶץ מִפִּי קְדוֹשֵׁי עֶלְיוֹן נִשְׁמָתָם עֵדֶן,

It is widely known from the mouths of the holy masters, whose souls are in the Garden of Eden, Knowledge of these lofty matters may be "widely known" (literally, "known upon the earth"), clothed in human thought and concepts. Such explanations come directly from "the holy masters," the teachers of the author of the Tanya, who were the first hasidic masters. Though he does not quote from his teachers directly in this epistle, their teachings are the source of the words that follow.

לְקָרֵב קְצָת אֶל הַשֵּׂכֶל

that they sought to make somewhat more intelligible The innovation of the author of the Tanya was to make these matters accessible not only to the heart but also to the intellect. As explained in Likkutei Amarim and elsewhere, the approach to the service of God in Chabad Hasidism is by means of the intellect, through the faculties of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, the cognitive attributes through which the emotive attributes are affected. This approach truly brings a person closer to God, and it can influence many people, because when these mystical concepts are clothed in an intellectual form, they become more accessible even to a person who lacks mystical experience of the spiritual worlds.

מַאי דִּכְתִיב ״וּמִבְּשָׂרִי אֶחֱזֶה אֱלוֹהַּ״ (איוב יט, כו).

the verse "And from my flesh I will view God" (Job 19:26). This verse expresses the general idea that all of our knowledge of divinity, and of reality in general, comes from our knowledge of ourselves. The simple explanation for this is that this is how human awareness functions. Our conceptions and language emerge from within ourselves, and we project them onto everything else. On a deeper level, this is how things actually are: A human being is a microcosm, made in the divine pattern that generates and guides existence, as the verse states, "God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him" (Gen. 1:27). This concept is the foundation of the hasidic way of understanding man and his relationship to the Divine: that by knowing himself, one can know divinity as well, and conversely, by knowing divinity, he can know himself. However, this idea is not easy to internalize, so one must be very careful in studying it.

שֶׁהַכַּוָּונָה הִיא לְהָבִין קְצָת אֱלֹהוּתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ מִנֶּפֶשׁ הַמְלוּבֶּשֶׁת בִּבְשַׂר הָאָדָם,

They taught that this refers to understanding a little of God's divinity from the soul, which is enclothed in the flesh of man, The author of the Tanya makes it clear that man's similarity to God is inherent not in the structure of his physical body but in the structure of the soul contained in the body.

וְעַל פִּי מַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ ז״ל (ברכות י, א) עַל פָּסוּק ״בָּרְכִי נַפְשִׁי וגו׳״ (תהלים קג, א) – מַה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא כו' אַף הַנְּשָׁמָה כו', וְעַל פִּי מַאֲמַר הַזֹּהַר עַל פָּסוּק ״וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים״ (בראשית ב, ז) – מַאן דְּנָפַח מִתּוֹכֵיהּ נָפַח.

in accordance with our Rabbis' statement (Berakhot 10a) regarding the verse "Bless the Lord, my soul…" (Ps. 103:1): Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, fills the world, so does the soul fill the body. It is also in accordance with the statement of the holy Zohar regarding the verse "And He blew into his nostrils the breath of life" (Gen. 2:7), that one who blows, from within himself he blows. This statement establishes a comparison between the Divine, which is clothed in the world and gives it life, and a person's soul, which is clothed in the body and gives it life. Furthermore, when a person speaks, he transmits a thought or an idea, as well as some of the breath that he exhales from within. But when he blows air from within himself, he brings forth the essence of his inner being from within himself. The author of the Tanya compares this to the process by which God blew from His essence to create the soul of man, in contrast to His creation of the rest of existence. The rest of creation was created by God's speech. Speech is external to the speaker in that the speaker transmits knowledge and meaning through the words he utters, yet these words do not represent the speaker himself, only his insights, ideas, and feelings. But when it came to the creation of the soul, God "blew into his nostrils the breath of life." When God created man, He blew of His essence into man, as it were. In view of this, the human soul draws from the actual life-giving soul of God, literally "a portion of God on high." At its root, the human soul is an ultimately profound entity: loftier than all the worlds, loftier than all revelations in the worlds. Yet it is also a created entity clothed in a physical body and manifest in the worlds. As a result, one can contemplate the soul with the human intellect, a contemplation that is like contemplating the Divine itself. It is regarding this that the verse states of this, "And from my flesh I will view God."

וַאֲפִילּוּ נֶפֶשׁ דַּעֲשִׂיָּה

Even the nefesh of the world of Asiya The soul is a portion of the Divine that God breathed from within Himself. That is not only the case regarding the loftiest of souls, those that belong to the loftiest of worlds, the world of Atzilut, which is united and one with the Divine, but even to lowlier souls, even to souls that belong to the lowly world of Asiya, which is, as it were, completely separate from the Divine. It is precisely the fact that the essence of divinity can be clothed in the soul that is found in Asiya that reveals the profound connection between the human soul and the Divine, a profundity that transcends all revelations in the worlds. In the face of this profundity, all distinctions between souls are meaningless.

הִיא בָּאָה מִזִּיוּוּג זְעֵיר וְנוּקְבָא דַּעֲשִׂיָּה,

is derived from a union of Zeir Anpin of Asiya and Nukva of Asiya Zeir Anpin consists of the six sefirot that are called the emotive attributes: Ḥesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzaḥ, Hod, and Yesod. Nukva is the sefira of Malkhut. In each of the four worlds, the nefesh is manifest and clothed through the union of the sefirot in that respective world. The union of the divine sefirot engenders the nefesh so that the nefesh is derived from the essence of the sefirot united in divinity. This is comparable to a physical union. A child, born of a union between his father and mother, is not only an extension of his parents, like a person's thoughts or speech. Rather, he is literally of their essence.

וְהַמּוֹחִין שֶׁלָּהֶם,

and of the union of their moḥin , The moḥin, literally, "brains," are the cognitive sefirot: Ḥokhma and Bina, Wisdom and Understanding. Every world has its own ten sefirot, which means there are moḥin of Atzilut, moḥin of Beria, moḥin of Yetzira, and moḥin of Asiya. The moḥin are a vessel that draws forth and reveals the flow of divine light and life force that comes to them from above. The moḥin of Asiya receive from the moḥin of Yetzira, Beria, Atzilut, and beyond to the most elevated plane at the level of the light of Ein Sof.

שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת חַיָּה וּנְשָׁמָה דִּזְעֵיר וְנוּקְבָא.

those being the ḥaya and neshama of Zeir Anpin and Nukva . There is a parallel between the sefirot and the levels of the soul. Ḥaya and neshama correspond to the moḥin, the sefirot of Ḥokhma and Bina, ruaḥ corresponds to Zeir Anpin, and nefesh corresponds to Nukva. If so, the ḥaya and neshama of Zeir Anpin and Nukva in Asiya are the moḥin, the cognitive sefirot, of Asiya. More specifically, these are the moḥin of the partzufim of Zeir Anpin and Nukva. Partzufim, literally, "countenances," are structures or composites that encompass within them all ten sefirot, only the sefirot to which they correspond are more dominant within the structure (for example, in Nukva, the sefira of Malkhut is dominant). This means that besides the general moḥin of the world of Asiya, the partzufim of Zeir Anpin and Nukva of the world of Asiya have their own moḥin, which parallel and receive from the moḥin of the world of Asiya.

שֶׁהֵן הֵן אֲחוֹרַיִים דְּכֵלִים דִּזְעֵיר אַנְפִּין וְנוּקְבָא דַּאֲצִילוּת,

These moḥin are the "back side" of the vessels of Zeir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilut , The moḥin of Asiya only constitute the back side of the sefirot of Atzilut. Through these moḥin, the light and life force that emanate from the divine sefirot of Atzilut are channeled into all the worlds.

שֶׁהֵם אֱלֹהוּת מַמָּשׁ,

which are actual divinity, This refers to the vessels in Atzilut. This is a unique aspect of the world of Atzilut: It is not separate from the Divine, Atzilut connoting etzel, "near." It is so close to the Divine that it does not appear separate from it. Viewed from the perspective of the three worlds below it, Atzilut is not a world at all but divinity: divine Ḥokhma, divine Ḥesed, and so on. To illustrate, a person's deeds and even his speech and thoughts, may be viewed as separate from him. Yet it is impossible to consider his soul's faculties, his intellect and emotive attributes, as separate from him. From the standpoint of an onlooker, they are the person himself.

שֶׁבְּתוֹכָם מֵאִיר אוֹר אֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא, הַמְלוּבָּשׁ וְגָנוּז בְּחָכְמָה דַּאֲצִילוּת,

in which the light of Ein Sof , blessed be He, which is enclothed and hidden in the Ḥokhma of Atzilut , shines, The light that shines in the vessels of Atzilut is the light of Ein Sof Himself. It is not the limited light of the created worlds, but the infinite, divine light. Therefore, the entire world of Atzilut is permeated with the divine light, without any limitation, so that it is entirely one with the Divine. Though the light of Ein Sof shines and is clothed in the world of Atzilut, it must first be clothed in Ḥokhma of Atzilut. The reason for this was explained in Likkutei Amarim: The light of Ein Sof is singular and unique, so that only the level of Ḥokhma can absorb it to some extent. Ḥokhma itself is not an independent entity, but a flash of the essential absorption of a thing. It absorbs the thing itself but does not give it definition (unlike all created entities). It does not place a thing within any parameters, because it does not have its own parameters. In that sense, although Ḥokhma only receives a flash of the light of Ein Sof, it is unified with that light with a simple, indivisible unity. Thus, Ḥokhma has the ability to enclothe the light of Ein Sof.

דְּאִיהוּ וְגַרְמוֹהִי חַד בַּאֲצִילוּת.

for in Atzilut God and His vessels are one . The world of Atzilut is united with God Himself. It is not only the light in Atzilut, which is the light of Ein Sof, that is one with God, but even the vessels in Atzilut, the sefirot in Atzilut, which clothe and conceal the light, are a revelation of the Divine. The kabbalistic literature explains that since the vessels in Atzilut are literally a part of the Divine, even their concealment of the light and placing it within defined parameters are a revelation of the Divine, a revelation of the power of the concealment of the Divine and placing it within parameters. At any rate, the vessels in Atzilut are united with the Divine itself.

וְעַל כֵּן גַּם בְּנִשְׁמַת הָאָדָם מֵאִיר אוֹר אֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא, מְלוּבָּשׁ וְגָנוּז בְּאוֹר הַחָכְמָה שֶׁבָּהּ לְהַחֲיוֹת אֶת הָאָדָם.

Therefore, the light of Ein Sof , blessed be He, shines also in the soul of man, enclothed and hidden in the light of Ḥokhma within the soul to sustain the person. The light of Ein Sof is the source of the life force that sustains everything, overall and in particular. It issues forth and is revealed through the sefira of Ḥokhma in Atzilut, and from there through the sefira of Ḥokhma in every world, down to the corresponding faculty of wisdom in the soul. This life force, then, is clothed within the faculty of wisdom in the soul. The life force itself is transcendent, the nothingness that is the beginning of existence, which receives from beyond it to sustain existence. This means that the life force within the soul, even in the world of Asiya, is the light of Ein Sof, the divine light itself, that is clothed in Ḥokhma.

וּמִמֶּנָּה יוּכַל הָאָדָם לְהָבִין קְצָת בַּסְּפִירוֹת הָעֶלְיוֹנוֹת, שֶׁכּוּלָּן מְאִירוֹת בְּנִשְׁמָתוֹ הַכְּלוּלָה מֵהֶן.

From his soul, a person can understand a little of the supernal sefirot , since they all shine in his soul, which comprises them. Having shown how a person's soul is connected to the Divine on high, and in particular to the divinity revealed in the ten supernal sefirot, the author of the Tanya returns to exposit the approach of Hasidism in understanding the sefirot, which says that a person can understand the divine sefirot through his soul.

אַךְ צָרִיךְ לְהַקְדִּים מַה שֶּׁשָּׁמַעְתִּי מִמּוֹרִי עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם, עַל פָּסוּק: ״וְאָנֹכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר״ (בראשית יח, כז), שֶׁאָמַר אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם עַל הֶאָרַת נִשְׁמָתוֹ הַמְאִירָה בְּגוּפוֹ מֵאוֹר חֶסֶד עֶלְיוֹן.

However, it is necessary to first explain what I heard from my teacher, the Maggid of Mezeritch, may he rest in peace, regarding the verse "And I am dust and ashes" (Gen. 18:27), that our forefather Abraham, may he rest in peace, said this in reference to the illumination of his soul shining in his body from the light of supernal Ḥesed . After the author of the Tanya has explained that there is a parallel in structure, and even an essential connection, between the human soul and the Divine, he goes on to qualify his statement with a discussion of Abraham and the divine attribute of Ḥesed. Abraham's soul was in the heights of Atzilut, as high as it is possible for a human soul to reach. Yet he chose to emphasize his distance from the Divine, which is manifest in the sefirot, comparing himself and his trait of kindness to "dust and ashes," in contrast to the trait of the supernal Ḥesed of God.

וְהִיא מִדָּתוֹ מִדַּת ‘אַהֲבָה רַבָּה׳ (נוּסָח אַחֵר: שֶׁבָּהּ הָיָה) שֶׁהָיָה אוֹהֵב אֶת הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אַהֲבָה גְּדוֹלָה וְעֶלְיוֹנָה כָּל כָּךְ עַד שֶׁנַּעֲשָׂה מֶרְכָּבָה לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא.

This is Abraham's attribute: the attribute of great love, for he [alternatively: with which he] loved the Holy One, blessed be He, with a such a great, lofty love that he became a vehicle for the Holy One, blessed be He. The illumination of Abraham's soul was a total expression of divine Ḥesed. This was Abraham's unique trait, a love so great that he became a vehicle for God. Elsewhere, it states that great love, unlike "small love," is love in which a person no longer relates to himself, thinking of how this love benefits him. Rather, it is about the subject of the love, and a love for the other's actions or impact but a love for his very self, his essence, even if that essence cannot be defined or comprehended. Abraham loved God with such love, with a great and supernal love that involved an absolute nullification of himself. His love was identified with an absolute unification with God's own love. It was the love of a person who wants nothing for himself, who wants only what God wants, who loves what God loves. This is what the author of the Tanya means when it says that Abraham became a vehicle for God: His love was a pure vessel for God's supernal love.

וְסָלְקָא דַּעְתָּךְ אֲמִינָא שֶׁבְּחִינַת חֶסֶד וְאַהֲבָה שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה, בַּסְּפִירוֹת הָעֶלְיוֹנוֹת, הִיא מֵעֵין וְסוּג מַהוּת מִדַּת אַהֲבָה רַבָּה שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם.

It might enter your mind to say that the level of Ḥesed and love that exists above in the supernal sefirot is of the same nature and type as the attribute of the great love of our forefather Abraham, may he rest in peace. It is clear to us that God's supernal love is not the same as the average person's emotive attribute of kindness and love. A person's love is connected to his body and to his reality as an independent, separate being. Therefore, that love is limited by what he wants and thinks that he wants for himself. It is necessarily distinct and separate from supernal love, both in its objects and in its scope. But the love of Abraham was not bound by these limitations and was not affected by any of that. We might therefore think this great love is of the same sort of love as the divine love of the sefira of Ḥesed.

רַק שֶׁהִיא גְּדוֹלָה וְנִפְלָאָה מִמֶּנָּה, לְמַעְלָה מַעְלָה עַד אֵין קֵץ וְתַכְלִית.

But supernal love is greater and more wondrous than Abraham's love, transcending it to an infinite and endless degree. One might have thought that the supernal traits are in the same category and type as Abraham's traits, and the only difference between them is in their scope and size.

כַּנּוֹדָע מִמִּדּוֹת הָעֶלְיוֹנוֹת שֶׁאֵין לָהֶם [נוּסָח אַחֵר: קֵץ] סוֹף וְתַכְלִית מִצַּד עַצְמָן,

As is known, the supernal attributes have no end and limit of their own, The infinitude of the supernal attributes is intrinsic to them. Although even the supernal attributes are attributes, and the Hebrew word for "attribute," midda, connotes something measured and meted out, something finite, they are finite only in the sense that they limit each other. For instance, Ḥesed is limited by Gevura in the sense that it is not Gevura. But Ḥesed in itself, Gevura in itself, are both infinite. Ḥesed gives and bestows without measure, without any limitation on the power of giving and on the character of that which is given. Gevura's power of restraint and constriction, which is intrinsically infinite, is expressed in Gevura's ability to limit the infinite Ḥesed.

כִּי אוֹר אֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא מֵאִיר וּמְלוּבָּשׁ בְּתוֹכָם מַמָּשׁ, וְאִיהוּ וְגַרְמוֹהִי חַד.

because the light of Ein Sof , blessed be He, actually illuminates and is enclothed within them, and He and His vessels are one. What is unique about the supernal attributes in Atzilut is that the light clothed in them is literally the divine light of Ein Sof, united with them and revealed in them in its infinitude. Although in general the vessels reveal the light, they also conceal and limit it. But the vessels in the world of Atzilut are different, because they do not conceal. They only reveal the light, and since the light is infinite, the vessels too, the attributes, in Atzilut are infinite. Just as the light is always united with its source and has no existence independent of its source, so too a vessel in the world of Atzilut, which has no separate existence that conceals divinity, reveals the infinite divine essence.

מַה שֶּׁאֵין כֵּן בְּנִשְׁמַת הָאָדָם הַמְלוּבֶּשֶׁת בַּחוֹמֶר, שֶׁיֵּשׁ לְמִדּוֹתֶיהָ קֵץ וּגְבוּל.

This is not the case with regard to the human soul, which is enclothed in the physical body, whose attributes are finite and limited. A person's soul is clothed in the vessel of his physical body, confined and limited by the limits of physicality. Therefore, these limitations are attributed on some level to its spiritual attributes as well. In that sense, they are not infinite in the way that God's supernal attributes are infinite.

אֲבָל מִכָּל מָקוֹם, סָלְקָא דַּעְתָּךְ אֲמִינָא שֶׁמִּדּוֹתֶיהָ הֵן מֵעֵין וְסוּג מִדּוֹת הָעֶלְיוֹנוֹת.

But nevertheless, it might enter your mind to say that the soul's attributes are of the same type as the supernal attributes. One might still think that even if the soul's attributes are not of the same scope as the attributes of Atzilut, they still possess the same quality as the supernal attributes. There are two polarities here. On the one hand, "From my flesh I will view God" and "One who blows, from within himself he blows." This implies that there is a connection between the human soul and its faculties and divinity as it is revealed in the ten sefirot. On the other hand, there is an infinite gap between the light of Ein Sof clothed in Atzilut and the human soul clothed in a corporeal body. To understand this relationship, which is the basis for almost every kabbalistic discussion about the sefirot, and to negate what a person might have thought, the author of the Tanya quotes what he heard from his teacher, the Maggid of Mezeritch.

וְלָזֶה אָמַר ״וְאָנֹכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר״. דִּכְמוֹ שֶׁהָאֵפֶר הוּא מַהוּתוֹ וְעַצְמוּתוֹ שֶׁל הָעֵץ הַנִּשְׂרָף, שֶׁהָיָה מוּרְכָּב מִ־ד׳ יְסוֹדוֹת: אֵשׁ, רוּחַ, מַיִם, עָפָר. וְ־ג׳ יְסוֹדוֹת – אֵשׁ, מַיִם, רוּחַ – חָלְפוּ וְהָלְכוּ לָהֶם וְכָלוּ בֶּעָשָׁן הַמִּתְהַוֶּה מֵהַרְכָּבָתָן, כַּנּוֹדָע. וִיסוֹד הַ־ד׳ שֶׁהָיָה בָּעֵץ, שֶׁהוּא הֶעָפָר שֶׁבּוֹ, הַיּוֹרֵד לְמַטָּה, וְאֵין הָאֵשׁ שׁוֹלֶטֶת בּוֹ, הוּא הַנִּשְׁאָר קַיָּים, וְהוּא הָאֵפֶר.

It is with regard to this that Abraham said, "And I am dust and ashes." He was like ashes, which are the essence and substance of burned wood, which had been comprised of four elements – fire, wind, water, and earth – of which three elements, fire, water, and wind, vanished and were consumed in the smoke that came into being from their compound, as is known. The fourth element that was in the wood, which is the element of earth within it, which descends and over which fire does not rule, remains in existence, and that is the ashes. Fire, wind, water, and earth are the elements from which everything material is composed. The smoke that rises from burning wood is composed of fire, water, and wind. Only the fourth element in the wood, the earth, remains below, because it is heavier and more material than the other elements.

וְהִנֵּה כָּל מַהוּת הָעֵץ וּמַמָּשׁוֹ וְחוֹמְרוֹ וְצוּרָתוֹ, בְּאוֹרֶךְ וְרוֹחַב וְעוֹבִי, שֶׁהָיָה נִרְאֶה לָעַיִן קוֹדֶם שֶׁנִּשְׂרַף, עִיקָּרוֹ הָיָה מִיְּסוֹד הֶעָפָר שֶׁבּוֹ, רַק שֶׁאֵשׁ מַיִם רוּחַ כְּלוּלִים בּוֹ.

The whole essence of the wood and its substance, materiality, and form in terms of length, width, and depth, which were visible before it was burned, was primarily from the element of earth within it, except that fire, water, and wind were also incorporated in it. Furthermore, these components are not only four distinct elements, but they are intrinsically different from each other. Even before the wood burned, the element of earth was its central component, a sort of basic material, whereas the other elements only gave it its form: the size, color, smell, and taste unique to wood.

כִּי הֶעָפָר הוּא חוֹמְרִי יוֹתֵר מִכּוּלָּן, וְיֵשׁ לוֹ אוֹרֶךְ וְרוֹחַב וְעוֹבִי, מַה שֶּׁאֵין כֵּן בְּאֵשׁ וְרוּחַ, וְגַם הַמַּיִם הֵם מְעַט מִזְּעֵיר בָּעֵץ. וְכָל אָרְכּוֹ וְרָחְבּוֹ וְעוֹבְיוֹ – הַכֹּל הָיָה מִן הֶעָפָר וְהַכֹּל שָׁב אֶל הֶעָפָר, שֶׁהוּא הָאֵפֶר הַנִּשְׁאָר אַחֲרֵי שֶׁנִּפְרְדוּ מִמֶּנּוּ אֵשׁ מַיִם רוּחַ.

That is because earth is more material than all the other elements, having length, width, and depth, which is not the case for fire and wind. Even water is a minuscule component of wood. The wood's length, width, and depth all came from the element of earth and all returns to the earth, which is the ashes that remain after the fire, water, and wind separated from it. Earth is a tangible, material component, with dimensions such as length, width. and thickness, all material dimensions, whereas fire and wind lack those dimensions. The dimensions of water are changeable, and in any case very little of it is present in wood.

וְהִנֵּה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁהָאֵפֶר אֵין לוֹ דִּמְיוֹן וְעֵרֶךְ אֶל מַהוּת הָעֵץ הַגָּדוֹל בְּאוֹרֶךְ וְרוֹחַב וְעוֹבִי קוֹדֶם שֶׁנִּשְׂרַף, לֹא בְּכַמּוּתוֹ וְלֹא בְּאֵיכוּתוֹ, אַף שֶׁהוּא [הוּא] מַהוּתוֹ וְעַצְמוּתוֹ וּמִמֶּנּוּ נִתְהַוָּה,

Just as there is no parallel or comparison between the ashes and the essence of the large tree in length, width, and thickness before it was burned, neither in its quantity nor in its quality, even though the ash constitutes the tree's nature and essence, and the ashes came into being from the wood, The burned tree is not a miniature version of the tree. It is only ash. Although the source of the ash is the wood, it is not similar to wood. True, the material that comprises the ashes is essentially the same material that once was wood, and the quantity may even be the same quantity, if we look at the large fruit-bearing tree and at the heap of ash, there is apparently no connection and similarity between them. To illustrate with an example closer to home: If we grind a watch into powder, nothing of the watch has been lost. The metal, the glass, the fluorescence all remain. Yet it is impossible to construct any relationship between the powder and the watch.

כָּךְ עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל אָמַר אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם עַל מִדָּתוֹ, מִדַּת הַחֶסֶד וְהָאַהֲבָה הַמְאִירָה בּוֹ וּמְלוּבֶּשֶׁת בְּגוּפוֹ. דְּאַף שֶׁהִיא [הִיא] מִדַּת הָאַהֲבָה וְחֶסֶד הָעֶלְיוֹן שֶׁבַּאֲצִילוּת הַמֵּאִיר בְּנִשְׁמָתוֹ, שֶׁהָיְתָה מֶרְכָּבָה עֶלְיוֹנָה, אַף עַל פִּי כֵן בְּרִדְתָּהּ לְמַטָּה, לְהִתְלַבֵּשׁ בְּגוּפוֹ עַל יְדֵי הִשְׁתַּלְשְׁלוּת הָעוֹלָמוֹת מִמַּדְרֵגָה לְמַדְרֵגָה עַל יְדֵי צִמְצוּמִים רַבִּים,

so too, figuratively speaking, our forefather Abraham, may he rest in peace, spoke of his attribute, the attribute of kindness and love that shone in him and was enclothed in his body. Although it was the attribute of supernal Ḥesed and love in Atzilut that shone in his soul, which was a supernal vehicle for the Divine, even so, as it descended to be enclothed in his body, by means of the transmutations of the worlds from one level to another, through numerous constrictions, Abraham's soul was a supernal vehicle transmitting the divine attributes to this world without anything else intermingled with it. Yet when the attribute of Ḥesed in Atzilut descended to be clothed in Abraham's corporeal body, in the physical world of Asiya, it did not clothe itself in it purely as it exists in the world of Atzilut, but it necessarily descended via the transmutations of the worlds, through numerous constrictions.

אֵין דִּמְיוֹן וְעֵרֶךְ מַהוּת אוֹר הָאַהֲבָה הַמֵּאִיר בּוֹ, אֶל מַהוּת אוֹר אַהֲבָה וְחֶסֶד עֶלְיוֹן שֶׁבַּאֲצִילוּת, אֶלָּא כְּעֵרֶךְ וְדִמְיוֹן מַהוּת הֶעָפָר שֶׁנַּעֲשָׂה אֵפֶר אֶל מַהוּתוֹ וְאֵיכוּתוֹ כְּשֶׁהָיָהעֵץ נֶחְמָד לְמַרְאֶה וְטוֹב לְמַאֲכָל.

there is no parallel or comparison between the essence of the light of the love that shone within him to the essence of the light of the supernal love and Ḥesed that is in Atzilut the. Rather, it is like the comparison and parallel between the essence of element of earth that became ashes and its essence and quality when it was in the tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. As the divine attribute of Ḥesed descends from Atzilut to our world, it necessarily undergoes what the divine light that vitalizes the worlds undergoes: the entire scope of devolution, concealment, and constriction, level after level, until it turns into the materiality and physicality of this world. Moreover, just as there is no similarity between this world and the world of Atzilut, so too there is no similarity between the love that was manifest in Abraham in the physical world and the light of supernal love and Ḥesed in Atzilut. Compared to supernal Ḥesed, the attribute of Abraham was like the ashes that remain from a tree that was burnt compared to the living tree. There is no comparison between them, neither in appearance, taste, scent, nor function.

עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, וְיוֹתֵר מִזֶּה לְהַבְדִּיל בַּאֲלָפִים הַבְדָּלוֹת,

This is only figuratively speaking, and one should differentiate between the two cases even more so, thousands of times over. The difference between the wood and the ashes is minuscule in relation to the difference between divine Ḥesed and Abraham's attribute of kindness. The difference is so great that the two are separated from each other not by one transmutation or even a few degrees, but by thousands of transmutations, level upon level, each one of which is so much higher than the one beneath it that it is absolutely impossible for one to perceive the other.

רַק שֶׁדִּבְּרָה תּוֹרָה כִּלְשׁוֹן בְּנֵי אָדָם בְּמָשָׁל וּמְלִיצָה.

But the Torah spoke in the language of human beings, through allegory and metaphor. Abraham's statement, "And I am dust and ashes," is only a metaphor employing concepts that people can discuss and think about. In truth, the distance is much greater and entirely different from any concept we can possibly fathom. But why is it that if the supernal attributes are so different from human attributes, the Torah offers metaphors from the language of human beings? It is because, despite all these differences, a human being and his soul are a unique reality within the totality of creation, possessing a special status and connection to the Creator. Were that not the case, the statement "From my flesh I will view God" would be meaningless. A person is able to contemplate and apprehend the divine sefirot by contemplating the nature of the soul clothed in his body. Although it is vitally important not to conflate the two realms, to acknowledge the vast distance between the metaphor and its referent, the human soul – and not only that of Abraham – can serve as a model through which one may understand the divine sefirot.

וְהִנֵּה כְּלָלוּת הָעֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת שֶׁבְּנִשְׁמַת הָאָדָם, נוֹדַע לַכֹּל [בְּדֶרֶךְ כְּלָל – בִּכְתַב יָד לֵיתָא] שֶׁהַמִּדּוֹת נֶחֱלָקוֹת בְּדֶרֶךְ כְּלָל לְ־ז׳ מִדּוֹת, וְכָל פְּרָטֵי הַמִּדּוֹת שֶׁבָּאָדָם בָּאוֹת מֵאַחַת מִ־ז׳ מִדּוֹת אֵלּוּ, שֶׁהֵן שׁוֹרֶשׁ כָּל הַמִּדּוֹת וּכְלָלוּתָן.

Regarding the totality of the ten sefirot within the soul of man, it is known to all [in general terms (this does not appear in the original manuscript)] that the emotive attributes are typically divided into seven attributes, and each of the specific attributes in man comes from one of these seven attributes, which are the root and totality of all the attributes. Following the above introduction, which dealt with the way in which we think about and study hasidic teachings, the author of the Tanya now proceeds to the main topic of the epistle: an explanation of the ten sefirot. The ten sefirot are divided into two groups: the cognitive attributes and the emotive attributes. The three cognitive sefirot, Ḥokhma, Bina, and Da'at, are the faculties of awareness with which we become aware of the reality and find our place in it. The emotive attributes constitute a person's senses and his relationships with things through his emotions and deeds. This epistle mainly discusses the emotive attributes, and so the author of the Tanya lists them first. The cognitive sefirot are mentioned afterward and then principally in terms of their role as the source and root of the emotive attributes. In the most general sense, this epistle explains the sefirot from three perspectives. The first explanation deals solely with the emotive attributes as they exist in the external aspect of man's animal-rational soul, how they manifest in his reactions and deeds. The second explanation deals with the inner aspect of the emotive attributes, the inner causes of those reactions and deeds and the way they manifest as emotions within (such as the feeling of fear that leads to restraint, or Gevura, or of love that fuels an act of kindness, or Ḥesed ). It also touches on the intellect, primarily on Da'at, the awareness that generates the expression and manifestation of all the emotive attributes, as will be explained. The third explanation, the principal one and the most detailed, deals with all ten sefirot as they are manifest in the divine soul and in Atzilut, as well as we can apprehend them. The author of the Tanya will first delineate and explain the seven emotive attributes in descending order: Ḥesed (or love), Gevura (or fear), Tiferet (or compassion), Netzaḥ, Hod, Yesod, and Malkhut. These are general classifications that represent the emotions. In actuality, people can have endless gradations of feelings. No two people have exactly the same feelings, and even the feelings of a single individual are always shifting. The reason for this is that feelings are complex. For instance, love for someone is never only love. It is also comprised of worry and jealousy related to fear (which is associated with Gevura ), compassion and beauty (associated with Tiferet ), subjugation (associated with Netzaḥ ), dominion or acceptance (associated with Malkhut ), and so on. This combination of attributes constantly forms different shades, which we experience as feelings. But they all have their roots in the seven emotive attributes. This epistle will go on to discuss how the emotive attributes are manifest in action. For instance, if a person has the attribute of kindness, how does he conduct himself? What do we see when looking at him from the outside? After that, the epistle will discuss the inner aspect of a person's emotive attributes: What does this person who employs the attribute of kindness feel? What is the inner trait that impels him to conduct himself and act as he does? The distinction between the outer expression of the attribute and its inner aspect is reflected in an attribute having one designation for its outer expression and another for its inner manifestation. For instance, the outer expression of Ḥesed is called kindness, while its inner manifestation is called love.

שֶׁהֵן מִדַּת הַחֶסֶד לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ בְּלִי גְּבוּל,

They are the attribute of Ḥesed , which constitutes giving without limit, The attribute of Ḥesed is the trait of expansion, movement from the center outward through giving, bestowing, expanding. The description here of "giving without limit" does not apply specifically to the Ḥesed of God, who is infinite and whose attributes are infinite, but to the attribute of Ḥesed in itself, which constitutes giving without limitation at its essence. The attribute of Ḥesed in itself is that of pouring forth without parameters, while the parameters, such as how much to give and where to give, are limitations that come from the influence of other emotive attributes, as well as the limitations of the reality into which the Ḥesed flows.

וּמִדַּת הַגְּבוּרָה לְצַמְצֵם מִלְּהַשְׁפִּיעַ כָּל כָּךְ, אוֹ שֶׁלֹּא לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ [נוּסָח אַחֵר: כָּל עִיקָּר] כְּלָל,

the attribute of Gevura , which constitutes refraining from giving too much or from giving at all [alternatively: altogether], The attribute of Gevura is the opposite of the attribute of Ḥesed. But the attributes always interact with each other and function together, exhibiting a dynamic relationship. Separate, discrete emotive attributes do not exist. When we discuss the attributes of Ḥesed and Gevura, we always relate them to each other. Ḥesed is shaped by Gevura and Gevura by Ḥesed. In this case, the attribute of Gevura expresses itself in its constriction of the pouring forth of Ḥesed, whether partially or totally. A more intrinsic definition of Gevura is constriction and convergence toward the center: movement from the outside inward, from outside the limits into parameters and boundaries. By contrast, the attribute of Ḥesed is expansiveness, spreading out from within and breaking through boundaries.

וּמִדַּת הָרַחֲמִים לְרַחֵם עַל מִי שֶׁשַּׁיָּיךְ לְשׁוֹן רַחֲמָנוּת עָלָיו,

and the attribute of Tiferet, which manifests as compassion, as having compassion on one to whom the term "compassion" pertains, Raḥamim, or compassion, is another term for Tiferet, which represents a balance between Ḥesed and Gevura. Like Ḥesed, the attribute of kindness, compassion entails giving. But unlike Ḥesed, the trait of compassion is meted out in accordance with the recipient. Raḥamim does not give everything to everyone, but rather gives that which is lacking to one who is in need – to one who deserves compassion. Whereas Ḥesed's giving comes from an inner impulse to give, to pour forth from within outward, almost without relating to the recipient, the attribute of compassion focuses on the recipient, and the giving is therefore limited. Compassion is felt for the recipient who is lacking and needs to receive, and it is meted out in keeping with the recipient's lack and ability to receive.

וְהִיא מִדָּה מְמוּצַּעַת בֵּין גְּבוּרָה לְחֶסֶד.

which is the intermediate attribute between Gevura and Ḥesed . The ten sefirot relate to each other, giving and receiving from each other, limiting and defining each other. In this context, an "intermediate attribute" is not a compromise between two attributes that are opposites. It does not represent the common denominator shared by the two opposites, which is generally weighted toward the lower of the two extremes, nor is it only a silhouette, a reflection, of the two sides. Rather, it is an entity in itself. Not only is this third entity not lower than the other two attributes, but it is even loftier than them and can encompass and integrate them.

שֶׁהִיא לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ לַכֹּל, גַּם לְמִי שֶׁלֹּא שַׁיָּיךְ לְשׁוֹן רַחֲמָנוּת עָלָיו כְּלָל, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאֵינוֹ חָסֵר כְּלוּם וְאֵינוֹ שָׁרוּי בְּצַעַר כְּלָל.

Ḥesed constitutes giving to everyone, even to one to whom the term "compassion" does not apply at all because he lacks nothing and is not besieged by any troubles at all. The unlimited flow that pours forth from Ḥesed, a pouring forth out of love, is not in response to a recipient who requires what is being given, but because the giver wants to actualize his love. The giver does not consider whether the recipient needs, wants, or is deserving of the gift. This is in contrast to the trait of compassion, which incorporates the attribute of Gevura, limiting and restricting the giving, constraining the giving to one who is lacking and needs to receive.

וּלְפִי שֶׁהִיא מִדָּה מְמוּצַּעַת – נִקְרֵאת תִּפְאֶרֶת. כְּמוֹ בִּגְדֵי תִפְאֶרֶת עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, שֶׁהוּא בֶּגֶד צָבוּעַ בִּגְוָונִים הַרְבֵּה מְעוֹרָבִים [בּוֹ – בִּכְתַב יָד לֵיתָא] בְּדֶרֶךְ שֶׁהוּא תִּפְאֶרֶת וְנוֹי. מַה שֶּׁאֵין כֵּן בֶּגֶד הַצָּבוּעַ בְּגָוֶון אֶחָד, לֹא שַׁיָּיךְ בּוֹ לְשׁוֹן תִּפְאֶרֶת.

Since compassion is an intermediate attribute, it is called Tiferet , Beauty, like, for example, beautiful garments that are dyed with many colors blended [in it (this does not appear in the manuscript)] in a manner that makes them beautiful and ornamental. This is not the case regarding a garment dyed in a single color, to which the term tiferet does not apply. Tiferet indicates beauty, and beauty is revealed through harmony, in proper relationships between entities. There are various types of harmony: a harmony of colors, shapes, or tones, harmony among people, harmony among the faculties of the soul. Just as a single line or a single note cannot be harmonious, so too a single feeling, a single faculty, cannot be beautiful. The attribute of Tiferet always involves a combination of opposites as they relate to each other, combine and separate, emphasize and deemphasize, always in a complementary relationship. It is true that some combinations are not beautiful but ugly and grating. But perhaps that is merely the other side of the same coin, since beauty can emerge specifically from a place that could also have been ugly. Ḥesed, Gevura, and Tiferet are the fundamental sefirot, summing up the entire infrastructure of an entity with a right, left, and middle: There is a relationship between them from below to above, from above to below, and the harmonious movement back and forth. In other terms, they are the basic triangle of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. The next three sefirot, Netzaḥ, Hod, and Yesod, are secondary attributes. They do not determine an emotional relationship but only the way to relate to the relationship, how to elicit and actualize that which has been established through the fundamental sefirot. Nevertheless, on their level, they too are fundamental in the sense that they exist in every feeling and flow that pours through the soul.

וְאַחַר כָּךְ, בְּבוֹא הַהַשְׁפָּעָה לִידֵי מַעֲשֶׂה,

Subsequently, when the flow of love and kindness is actualized – The order of the sefirot, what comes first and what comes later, is not relevant to the intrinsic being of the sefirot but to the flow that pours through them. The beginning of the flow is received from above. Afterward, that which was poured forth is developed within us through intellectual understanding and feeling. After that, it is actualized in speech and action that are directed outward, an actualization that passes through the sefirot of Netzaḥ and Hod.

דְּהַיְינוּ בִּשְׁעַת הַהַשְׁפָּעָה מַמָּשׁ, צָרִיךְ לְהִתְיַעֵץ אֵיךְ לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ בְּדֶרֶךְ שֶׁיּוּכַל הַמְקַבֵּל לְקַבֵּל הַהַשְׁפָּעָה.

that is, at the time of the actual pouring forth – it is necessary to deliberate regarding how to give it in a manner that the recipient will be able to receive the flow. Between the impulse to act and pour forth within the sefirot of Ḥesed, Gevura, and Tiferet, and the actual giving and receiving through the sefirot of Yesod and Malkhut, there must be a preparatory stage. This exists in the sefirot of Netzaḥ and Hod. They are the passageway from the what to the how: How is it possible to give to someone, and how is it possible for him to receive? Parents certainly love their child and want to feed him, and the baby is certainly deserving and needs to be fed, but they cannot give him their own food. There must be a how: how to feed him. There must be a stage in which the food is prepared and measured so that the baby will be able to receive it.

כְּגוֹן שֶׁרוֹצֶה לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ דְּבַר חָכְמָה לְלַמְּדָהּ לִבְנוֹ, אִם יֹאמְרֶנָּה לוֹ כּוּלָּהּ כְּמוֹ שֶׁהִיא בְּשִׂכְלוֹ, לֹא יוּכַל הַבֵּן לְהָבִין וּלְקַבֵּל, רַק שֶׁצָּרִיךְ לְסַדֵּר לוֹ בְּסֵדֶר וְעִנְיָן אַחֵר, דָּבָר דָּבוּר עַל אוֹפְנָיו, מְעַט מְעַט.

For example, when one wishes to convey and teach some matter of wisdom to his child, if he tells it all to him as it is in his mind, the child will be unable to understand and receive it. Instead, the father must organize it for his child in a different order and context, with the proper phrasing, little by little. This example expresses the burning desire to give, because the father certainly wants to give everything good to his child, but along with that comes the challenge in transmitting that goodness, because there is a vast gap between the father's intellect and the child's intellect. For the child to be able to receive, it is not enough for the father to pour onto him what he knows. He must rearrange the information and hand it out little by little, not in accordance with his own understanding, but in keeping with what the child is able to absorb. The process must begin from the child – what he knows, what he wants, and how he thinks.

וּבְחִינַת עֵצָה זוֹ נִקְרֵאת נֵצַח וְהוֹד, שֶׁהֵן כְּלָיוֹת יוֹעֲצוֹת,

This deliberation is called Netzaḥ, Dominance, and Hod, Splendor, which are "the kidneys that advise." The sefirot and the corresponding faculties of the soul have many parallels to the human body. Netzaḥ and Hod are described as two legs, parallel to the two arms, which are Ḥesed and Gevura. Here, with regard to the flow that pours forth and the advice on how it should pour forth, the author of the Tanya uses the talmudic imagery of "the kidneys that advise." The Talmud explains that the kidneys advise the heart with the good inclination or with the evil inclination. In other words, the kidneys advise the heart on how to relate to its feelings and how to act on them, what to feel and what not to feel in actuality, and subsequently, whether to act or not to act in accordance with those feelings.

וְגַם [נוּסָח אַחֵר: וְהֵן] תְּרֵין בֵּיעִין הַמְבַשְּׁלִים הַזֶּרַע, שֶׁהִיא הַטִּפָּה הַנִּמְשֶׁכֶת מֵהַמּוֹחַ.

Also, [alternatively: and they are] the two testicles that prepare the semen, which begins as the drop that is issued from the brain. Another metaphor (or, according to the variant reading, a continuation of the previous metaphor) for the sefirot of Netzaḥ and Hod is the two testicles, which prepare the semen that begins as a drop that issues from the brain. That drop of semen is the innermost, most essential part of oneself that a man can give forth. Its source is actually in the brain, in a substance that is extremely fine that is on the borderline between the physical and the spiritual. It descends through the body until it becomes a physical drop of semen, and the place in the body in which this essence, this spiritual-physical distillation of the mind and feelings, is transformed into an actual drop of seed is in the two testicles.

דְּהַיְינוּ דְּבַר חָכְמָה וְשֵׂכֶל הַנִּמְשָׁךְ מִשֵּׂכֶל הָאָב, שֶׁלֹּא יוּמְשַׁךְ כְּמוֹ שֶׁהוּא שֵׂכֶל דַּק מְאֹד בְּמוֹחוֹ וְשִׂכְלוֹ, רַק יִשְׁתַּנֶּה קְצָת מִדַּקּוּת שִׂכְלוֹ וְיִתְהַוֶּוה שֵׂכֶל שֶׁאֵינוֹ דַּק כָּל כָּךְ, כְּדֵי שֶׁיּוּכַל הַבֵּן לְקַבֵּל בְּמוֹחוֹ וַהֲבָנָתוֹ.

That is to say, from a more spiritual perspective, a concept of wisdom and intellect that issues forth from the father's mind is not drawn forth as the very subtle matter of intelligence that is in his mind and intellect. Rather, it changes somewhat from the subtle concept in his intellect and becomes a concept that is not so subtle so that the child can absorb it with his mind and understanding. Now the author of the Tanya offers a more spiritual metaphor. A refined intellect is an abstract intellect, whose ideas, in word and thought, do not resonate directly with a material existence but with higher and more spiritual frameworks. Intellect on that level cannot be apprehended by a mind whose mental concepts are based principally on the physical plane of existence. For a person to transmit a subtle, abstract idea to a mind that is not so rarefied, he must coarsen the concepts by lowering the level of abstraction and using concrete analogies and examples.

וְהוּא מַמָּשׁ עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל כְּטִפָּה הַיּוֹרֶדֶת מֵהַמּוֹחַ, שֶׁהִיא דַּקָּה מְאֹד [מְאֹד], וְנַעֲשֵׂית גַּסָּה וְחוֹמְרִית מַמָּשׁ בַּכְּלָיוֹת וּתְרֵין בֵּיעִין.

This is, figuratively speaking, actually analogous to a drop of semen that descends from the brain, which is very, [very] fine and literally becomes coarse and corporeal in the kidneys and the two testicles. Like the intellect, the drop of seed exists in the brain in a subtle form, like the spiritual source of the physical drop. But while it is in the brain, it cannot father children. For that drop to pass onward, to be absorbed into material existence and truly father a physical child, it must be coarsened and receive a physical form.

וְגַם נֵצַח וְהוֹד נִקְרָאִים ‘שְׁחָקִים׳ וְ׳רֵחַיִים׳, שֶׁשּׁוֹחֲקִים מָן לַצַּדִּיקִים.

Netzaḥ and Hod are also called grinders and millstones, because they grind manna for the righteous. The imagery that the author of the Tanya offers here emphasizes that Netzaḥ and Hod work together as a pair. This is epitomized by the use of the Hebrew words for grinder and millstone, reḥayim and shoḥakim, which are in the plural. There cannot be a mill made of one stone. In order to grind and mill, two grinders or millstones are needed, two forces that work one against the other. So too in spirituality, when a person wants to break down a broad and abstract idea in order to communicate it to someone else, he needs opposing, balancing ideas, opposite counsels. Only then can he communicate concrete formulations and concepts.

כְּמוֹ הַטּוֹחֵן [חִטִּים] בְּרֵחַיִים, עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, שֶׁמְּפָרֵר הַחִטִּים לַחֲלָקִים דַּקִּים מְאֹד, כָּךְ צָרִיךְ הָאָב לְהַקְטִין הַשֵּׂכֶל וּדְבַר חָכְמָה שֶׁרוֹצֶה לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ לִבְנוֹ, וּלְחַלְּקָם לַחֲלָקִים רַבִּים, וְלוֹמַר לוֹ מְעַט

They are, figuratively speaking, like one who grinds [wheat] in a mill, crumbling the wheat into very fine pieces. Likewise, the father must reduce the concept and matter of wisdom that he wants to transmit to his child, divide it into many

מְעַט בְּמוֹעֵצוֹת וָדַעַת.

parts, and communicate them to his child little by little, with counsel and knowledge. That is what every educator does: He takes a general idea and breaks it down into small parts that he can transmit. He does all this "with counsel and knowledge." The division and arrangement of the material should be with "counsel," as a result of taking advice on how to do this. It should also be done with "knowledge," by connecting to the recipient through his faculty of knowledge.

וְגַם בִּכְלָל, בְּחִינַת נֵצַח הוּא לְנַצֵּחַ וְלַעֲמוֹד נֶגֶד כָּל מוֹנֵעַ הַהַשְׁפָּעָה

In general, Netzaḥ expresses the ability to triumph and stand firm against anything that prevents the transmission of wisdom Until now, the author of the Tanya has discussed Netzaḥ and Hod in terms of internal obstacles that impede the pouring forth of goodness. Whether it comes to transmitting wisdom, which needs to be broken down so that the receiver can absorb the ideas, or whether emotions must be redefined in order to be aligned with the receiving vessel and have any influence on the physical reality. The author of the Tanya will go on to discuss external obstacles that involve impediments placed by existence, and in particular, physical existence, to any change or growth. All movement in our world requires effort. It requires overcoming layers and constructs that are unprepared to move and change. The seed must push through layers of earth and rocks in order to reach the light outside and sprout into a plant. So too a new idea must push through layers of previous knowledge, habits, and preconceptions in order to pass from being a flash of wisdom to understanding and, beyond that, to actualization that can influence others. The author of the Tanya has been discussing Netzaḥ and Hod as a unit. Now he focuses on Netzaḥ alone. Netzaḥ is related to vanquishing. The power to vanquish is an independent faculty of the soul in itself, unlike kindness, love, and compassion, which are faculties of the soul that relate to another in a certain sense. Netzaḥ is the essence of the desire to vanquish. A person engages in competition, in struggle, without consideration for the nature of what he is battling against. He simply wants to overcome and vanquish. This drive to vanquish is very strong, sometimes stronger than any desire that stems from recognition or feeling, yearning or fear. This power is employed in sports competitions. To extract more from a person, he is made to face people against whom he will compete. At peak moments of effort, the drive for victory is decisive. It can push a person beyond what he thought he was capable of achieving. There are obstacles to actualizing a deed, a word, or even a thought, even when the thing one wants to accomplish is desirable and proper. In order to overcome these obstacles, one needs a special fortitude, not additional encouragement, whether intellectual or emotional, but a rawer power so that one can prevail and overcome the difficulties and obstacles to do what needs to be done.

וְהַלִּימּוּד מִבְּנוֹ.

and prevents the teaching from reaching his child, whether from within or from without. "From within" means the father strengthening himself against the attribute of Gevura and constriction within, which evokes in his will contentions against his child, saying that his child is not yet ready to receive this teaching. Even when it comes to something that a person wants and desires, such as when a father desires to transmit his wisdom to his child, there are obstacles that a person must vanquish. The obstacles come from two directions. There are external obstacles that come from without, such as distance, time constraints, or the hostile actions of people and governments. As for obstacles that come from within, it may happen that a person wants to do something and is intellectually prepared to do it, but certain considerations and feelings keep him from acting. In order to follow through, he must overcome his inner hesitation, his ambivalent thoughts and feelings, and despite them realize his wish and desire in actuality. A person does so by employing the attribute of Netzaḥ, which is a branch of Ḥesed, the attribute of giving and action. When doing so, he can overcome the considerations that have prevented him from acting. Although the author of the Tanya does not speak of it here, the preventive force is the attribute of Hod. Hod, which is a branch of Gevura, opposes the voices that urge a person to act. It prevents him from doing so even though he has reason and the desire to do so.

(בִּכְתַב יָד נִרְשַׁם: חָסֵר)

( A note in the manuscript indicates: omission.) Parts of the text are apparently missing. This may consist of a few lines about the obstacles that come from without, since only the inner obstacles are discussed in the extant text. Moreover, the text does not discuss the attribute of Hod in detail, but only the composite of Netzaḥ and Hod. Hod, like Netzaḥ, is the faculty of overcoming an obstacle, of defying existence, but on the left side. When employing this faculty, a person stands firm. He does not surrender, does not retreat, does not break down, even when there is no hope, even at the cost of destruction and death, so that he will not lose the essential point for which he is fighting.

וּבְחִינַת יְסוֹד הִיא, עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, הַהִתְקַשְּׁרוּת

The attribute of Yesod is, figuratively speaking, the bond Yesod is the attribute that follows Netzaḥ and Hod, parallel to Tiferet, which is the attribute that follows Ḥesed and Gevura. This triad, of Netzaḥ, Hod, and Yesod, brings the flow of light and life force into existence. Netzaḥ and Hod prepare the flow. They dismantle the mechanisms of this flow, overcome difficulties and obstacles, coming as close as possible to the recipient itself, but not quite reaching it. Yesod is the connection between the two. It is not yet the ultimate recipient – that role belongs to Malkhut – but Yesod offers a tangible, intrinsic connection, the passageway or channel between Netzaḥ and Hod and Malkhut to allow the life force and divine light bestowed by the higher sefirot to be manifest in the world. This connection is a faculty of the soul, and the nature of this bond or connection, whether from the perspective of the giver or from the perspective of the recipient, has a decisive impact on the giving. The emotion associated with Yesod is principally a sense of pleasure in the connection itself, a sense of pleasure in which the essence of the giver is revealed and connects with the essence of the recipient. The nature of this connection, then, is the degree of pleasure felt on either side of the equation. The more the giver enjoys giving and the more the recipient feels good about receiving, the more the giver will bestow on the recipient, and the stronger their bond will be.

שֶׁמְּקַשֵּׁר הָאָב שִׂכְלוֹ בְּשֵׂכֶל בְּנוֹ בִּשְׁעַת לִמּוּדוֹ עִמּוֹ בְּאַהֲבָה וְרָצוֹן, שֶׁרוֹצֶה שֶׁיָּבִין בְּנוֹ.

with which the father, for example, binds his intellect to his child's intellect when he is teaching him, lovingly and willingly, since he wants his child to understand. This analogy shows that the associations and feelings related to the connection between giver and recipient – the love, the desire, the pleasure – plays a meaningful role with regard to the actual pouring forth. This does not refer to the father's love and desire to give of his wisdom to his child, but the love and desire revealed in the connection itself at the moment that the giver and receiver bond.

וּבִלְעֲדֵי זֶה, גַּם אִם הָיָה הַבֵּן שׁוֹמֵעַ דִּבּוּרִים אֵלּוּ עַצְמָם מִפִּי אָבִיו [שֶׁמְּדַבֵּר בַּעֲדוֹ וְלוֹמֵד לְעַצְמוֹ, בִּכְתַב יַד קֹדֶשׁ אַדְמוֹ״ר בַּעַל ‘צֶמַח צֶדֶק׳ נִשְׁמָתוֹ עֵדֶן (בִּדְרוּשׁ ״כִּי יְדַעְתִּיו״ סְעִיף י״ג שֶׁהוּעְתַּק שָׁם לָשׁוֹן זֶה) לֵיתָא תֵּיבוֹת אֵלּוּ] לֹא הָיָה מֵבִין כָּל כָּךְ כְּמוֹ עַכְשָׁיו, שֶׁאָבִיו מְקַשֵּׁר שִׂכְלוֹ אֵלָיו וּמְדַבֵּר עִמּוֹ פָּנִים אֶל פָּנִים, בְּאַהֲבָה וְחֵשֶׁק, שֶׁחוֹשֵׁק מְאֹד שֶׁיָּבִין בְּנוֹ, וְכָל מַה שֶּׁהַחֵשֶׁק

Without this connection, even if the son would hear the words themselves from his father's mouth (when the father was speaking to himself and learning on his own – in the holy manuscript of the author of Tzemaḥ Tzedek , may his soul rest in peace, these words do not appear [in his sermon "For I Have Known Him," section 13, where this phrase was transcribed]), he would not have understood as well as he does now, when his father binds his intellect to him and speaks to him face-to-face,

וְהַתַּעֲנוּג גָּדוֹל – כָּךְ הַהַשְׁפָּעָה וְהַלִּימּוּד גָּדוֹל. שֶׁהַבֵּן יוּכַל לְקַבֵּל יוֹתֵר וְהָאָב מַשְׁפִּיעַ יוֹתֵר, כִּי עַל יְדֵי הַחֵשֶׁק וְהַתַּעֲנוּג מִתְרַבֶּה וּמִתְגַּדֵּל שִׂכְלוֹ בְּהַרְחָבַת הַדַּעַת לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ וּלְלַמֵּד לִבְנוֹ.

with love and desire, since the father very much desires that his son will understand. The greater the father's desire and pleasure, the greater the pouring forth and learning. The son can absorb more, and the father can transmit more, because as a result of the father's desire and pleasure, his intellect is increased and magnified with a broadening of the mind, so that he may transmit his wisdom and teach his son. The essence of the connection, though one is usually not conscious of it, is a powerful force that enhances and changes what is happening, what is being transmitted, including the core of what is being transmitted. The pleasure in this connection is not intellectual. It does not express the intellect in the giving, nor even the love that the giving expresses. Like Netzaḥ and Hod, which do not deal with the content being given but only with its transference, the attribute of Yesod is not connected to the essence and content of the giving but to the connection itself. In the example brought here of a father who is giving of his wisdom to his child, the father connects to his child, not because the child is smart, nor because the father loves him, but because the child is his child, a product of his essence. Ultimately, whatever the father's feelings and thoughts, he loves his child and gives to him for the sake of it. The content of the giving, whatever it may be, whether wisdom, love, even rebuke, is carried on the intrinsic connection, on those essential sparks passing and connecting to each other. The connection between father and child is merely an example to illustrate the connection that is Yesod. Just as the relationship between father and child is a function of Yesod, so are the connections between husband and wife, teacher and student, rich person and pauper a manifestation of Yesod. When such a connection, the connection rooted in Yesod, occurs and is felt, that which is connected and transmitted is transferred from the very essence of the giver to the very essence of the receiver.

(וּכְמוֹ עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל בַּגַּשְׁמִיּוּת מַמָּשׁ, רִבּוּי הַזֶּרַע הוּא מֵרוֹב הַחֵשֶׁק וְהַתַּעֲנוּג, וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה מַמְשִׁיךְ הַרְבֵּה מֵהַמּוֹחַ, וְלָכֵן הִמְשִׁילוּ חַכְמֵי הָאֱמֶת לְזִיוּוּג גַּשְׁמִי כְּמוֹ שֶׁיִּתְבָּאֵר.)

(This is like, figuratively speaking, in the realm of actual physicality, an increase of semen as a result of an intense desire and pleasure, through which a great deal issues from the brain. This is why the scholars of the truth, of Kabbala, compared teaching to physical relations, as will be explained.) In the imagery of the human body, Yesod corresponds to the organ via which a man and woman bond. The Kabbala compares any spiritual flow, any bond, unification, and fusion to physical relations. The physical analogy expresses the importance and power of Yesod more than spiritual descriptions can. Yesod is the intrinsic connection between giver and receiver. Within this bond, aside from the nature of what is being transmitted, there is a great deal of yearning and pleasure. This pleasure is the spiritual-emotional expression of the connection itself, and it indicates the intensity of the connection. The extent of the pleasure is not an inconsequential side effect but is, like the connection itself, extremely significant with regard to the quality and quantity of that which is being transmitted, both from the aspect of Yesod that pours forth from above to below and from the aspect of Yesod that receives. As the author of the Tanya has shown using spiritual-intellectual imagery, that which occurs at the locus of connection affects the roots of the giving on the highest levels. It can lead to drawing down the flow from even loftier and more hidden levels than before, because the bond itself touches on the essence of the soul, and this affects all its faculties. Until this point, the epistle has discussed the sefirot on a relatively external level, only referring to the six middle sefirot, to the exclusion of the cognitive sefirot that precede them and the sefira of Malkhut that follows. The epistle will now discuss the sefirot on a deeper level.

וְהִנֵּה מִדּוֹת אֵלּוּ הֵן בְּחִינוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת שֶׁבַּנֶּפֶשׁ, וּבְתוֹכָן מְלוּבָּשׁוֹת מִדּוֹת פְּנִימִיּוֹת,

These emotive attributes are the external aspects of the soul, and within them are enclothed the internal attributes, "External" describes an action and mode of behavior that is directed outward, whereas "internal" describes the inner causes of that action, to the viewpoint of the one doing the action or displaying that mode of behavior. On a deeper level, it relates to the intrinsic characteristics of the person who acts.

שֶׁהֵן בְּחִינוֹת אַהֲבָה וְיִרְאָה כו׳.

which are love, fear, and so on. Love is the internal aspect of Ḥesed, and fear is the internal aspect of Gevura. Such a division also exists with regard to the other emotive attributes: Compassion is the internal aspect of Tiferet, and while the remaining attributes – Netzaḥ, Hod, and Yesod – do not have separate names for their internal dimension, they do have an internal dimension as well as an external dimension.

דְּהַיְינוּ, עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל בְּאָב הַמַּשְׁפִּיעַ לִבְנוֹ מֵחֲמַת אַהֲבָתוֹ, וּמוֹנֵעַ הַשְׁפָּעָתוֹ מִפַּחְדּוֹ וְיִרְאָתוֹ שֶׁלֹּא יָבֹא לִידֵי מִכְשׁוֹל חַס וְשָׁלוֹם.

This is analogous to a father who gives to his child out of his love for him, and he withholds his giving due to his dread and fear that his child might come to transgress, God forbid. Love is a positive inclination of the lover toward the beloved. It is empathy, the desire to be with the other, a wish that the beloved should fare well. All this leads to an intimacy between the lover and beloved, to the lover giving to the beloved both physically and spiritually. As a consequence, the love attains full expression. Conversely, the expression of fear manifests as anxiety and concern that the other may harm or be harmed. As a result, one withholds his giving to the other and refrains from intimacy so that the object of the fear will not cause harm and one can maintain the status quo. The analogy that the epistle describes here does not speak of two objects, one an object of love and another an object of fear. Rather, there is one object: the child whose benefit the father desires. The variable is in the father's feelings toward him. To this one object, the father directs two feelings: love and kindness on the one hand, and fear and caution on the other. The advantage of this analogy is that it highlights the internal traits, love and fear, without intermingling other factors. Furthermore, and principally, this teaching and metaphor is directly analogous to the divine sefirot. That is to say, it is a human metaphor for divine love and fear. Although God certainly does not fear others, as a person does, He may, so to speak, fear that harm may come to a person, so this particular analogy is quite apt.

וּמְקוֹר וְשֹׁרֶשׁ מִדּוֹת אֵלּוּ, הַפְּנִימִיּוֹת וְהַחִיצוֹנִיּוֹת, הוּא מֵחָכְמָה בִּינָה דַּעַת שֶׁבְּנַפְשׁוֹ,

The source and root of these emotive attributes, internal and external, stems from the Ḥokhma , Bina , and Da'at in a person's soul, Ḥokhma, Bina, and Da'at are the cognitive sefirot, which comprise a person's intellectual awareness. This awareness is the source and locus in the soul where a person's feelings and traits develop. Furthermore, they are the traits through which he acts and affects the world around him.

כִּי לְפִי שֵׂכֶל הָאָדָם כָּךְ הֵן מִדּוֹתָיו.

for a person's emotive attributes are commensurate with his intellect. The connections that exist between the intellect and the emotive attributes may be different from one person to the next, but as a general rule a certain understanding leads to a certain feeling. A broader, deeper understanding leads to broader and deeper feelings. Reuven, for example, loves Shimon. If Reuven gives it thought and finds additional good traits in Shimon, his feeling of love will grow. Moreover, if a person's intellect grows aware of factors that it had not previously been aware of, through this greater clarity and verisimilitude, he will develop a feeling of love or fear toward them. This insight opens a wider path in the service of God: By contemplating God's greatness as reflected in His creations and His world, by attaining a more tangible awareness of God, one may increase his love and fear of Him.

כַּנִּרְאֶה בְּחוּשׁ, שֶׁהַקָּטָן, שֶׁהַחָכְמָה בִּינָה דַּעַת שֶׁלּוֹ הֵן בִּבְחִינַת קַטְנוּת, כָּךְ כָּל מִדּוֹתָיו הֵן בִּדְבָרִים קְטַנֵּי הָעֵרֶךְ וְגַם בִּגְדוֹלִים, "לְפִי שִׂכְלוֹ יְהוּלַּל אִישׁ" (משלי יב, ח).

As seen in actuality, that in the case of a minor, whose Ḥokhma , Bina , and Da'at are in a state of smallness, all his emotive attributes are likewise focused on things of insignificant value. With regard to adults as well, "according to his sense, a man will be praised" (Prov. 12:8). This concept applies not only to contemplation of spiritual subtleties, to matters that only the person himself apprehends, but also to the reality around him. A child takes an interest in relatively insignificant things – toys, candy – because his attributes, his intellect and emotions, resonate with them. This does not mean that his yearnings or fears are insignificant. On the contrary, he may have a fierce yearning for something small, or a terrible anger and fear regarding something foolish. Likewise, there are adults whose intellect is directed toward trivial matters and who also direct their emotions toward such things. Conversely, when a person's intellect engages in great things, his feelings will grow to match them.

כִּי לְפִי רוֹב חָכְמָתוֹ כָּךְ הוּא רוֹב אַהֲבָתוֹ וְחַסְדּוֹ, וְכֵן שְׁאָר כָּל מִדּוֹתָיו, פְּנִימִיּוֹת וְחִיצוֹנִיּוֹת, מְקוֹרָן הוּא מֵחָכְמָה בִּינָה דַּעַת שֶׁבּוֹ.

The amount of love and kindness a person possesses is commensurate with the amount of wisdom he possesses, and the same applies to all the rest of his attributes, internal and external: Their source stems from the faculties of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge within him. In the most basic sense, a person's awareness determines which reality his emotive attributes will relate to, toward what he will develop a feeling of love and what he will affect, whether physically or spiritually. His sense of what is real and tangible within his perspective of the world is the basis for everything that comes afterward: what he will feel, what he will decide to say and do, and what he will accomplish.

וְהָעִיקָּר הוּא הַדַּעַת שֶׁבּוֹ, הַנִּמְשָׁךְ מִבְּחִינוֹת הַחָכְמָה וּבִינָה שֶׁבּוֹ.

The primary faculty is the knowledge within him, which is drawn from the wisdom and understanding within him. When discussing the connection between the cognitive attributes and the emotive attributes, the most important faculty is da'at, knowledge. This does not refer merely to information that one knows. It is an attribute in itself, a unique spiritual faculty among the three cognitive attributes. In terms of the sefirot, Da'at occupies the middle array, below Ḥokhma and Bina, and it is the attribute that binds the other two together and draws them down to the emotive attributes and, in essence, to a connection with the soul. Therefore, when we speak of the intellect as the source and root of the emotive attributes, we are principally referring to Da'at. Ḥokhma, Wisdom, is the first flash of awareness that stems from nothingness. Bina, Understanding, then develops and magnifies that flash to form a picture of a particular reality. Ḥokhma and Bina may be compared to a father and mother. The father provides the initial drop, like a mere point that has no apparent form and definition. The mother absorbs the drop and develops and grows it within herself until it a baby is born. All this constitutes the first stage of awareness, of the creation of an object, an idea or concept. The second stage is that of categorization: Where do we place the object? How do we label it? How do we relate to it? Is it good or bad? Do we like it or hate it, and how strongly? Making such determinations, taking a personal stance toward the object (though still in the intellectual and not the emotional realm), is in the purview of Da'at. Determining one's stance toward the object of thought and how it relates to reality is not yet directly related to the emotions, to love or fear. Rather, it constitutes the power and drive of those emotive attributes. It occurs within the intellect in a state of concealment, in "pregnancy," but in a way in which the distinction between love and fear is already recognizable. This distinction is the source of the feelings that exist in Da'at itself. This is the meaning of the author of the Tanya's statement that the principal root of the emotive attributes is Da'at, because if the intellect lacks Da'at, then even if a person has a deep intellectual understanding of a topic, it will not arouse any feelings in him at all and he may have no connection to those feelings in accordance with which he acts. This epistle will go on to discuss this attribute and faculty as one of connection. A person's intellect alone is cold and disconnected from him. A person can understand something, and even understand it well, but it might not touch him. He may understand that it is proper that people act in a certain way, yet that does not say anything about his own conduct. This factor, the connection between a person's intellect and himself, the way in which his intellect communicates with him, is the province of Da'at.

כַּנִּרְאֶה בְּחוּשׁ, כִּי לְפִי שִׁינּוּי דֵּעוֹת בְּנֵי אָדָם זֶה מִזֶּה כָּךְ הוּא שִׁינּוּי מִדּוֹתֵיהֶם.

It is seen in actuality that knowledge is the primary faculty in that the emotive attributes differ in accordance with people's various perspectives. Different people will see the same object and respond to it differently. This is because their faculty of knowledge, their da'at, their personal connection with the thing that they understand intellectually, determines what their feelings and decisions will be toward it. Up to this point, the epistle has discussed two aspects in the manifestation of the emotive attributes. The first refers to their external expression, the way they are manifest in the animal soul and how they function within the world. The other is their internal aspect, such as the love within a person that leads him to express kindness. There is a third aspect, which the author of the Tanya will go on to discuss, involving the attributes of a person's divine soul. These attributes do not relate to matters of this world, but rather they relate directly to the Divine.

וְהִנֵּה כָּל זֶה הוּא רַק עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל לְבַד. כִּי כָּל זֶה הוּא בְּנֶפֶשׁ הַשִּׂכְלִית הַתַּחְתּוֹנָה שֶׁבָּאָדָם הַבָּאָה מִקְּלִיפַּת נוֹגַהּ.

All this is meant only figuratively, because all this applies to the lower, rational soul of man, which stems from the kelippa of noga . Up to this point, the epistle has focused on the lower, rational soul. As the author of the Tanya has discussed until now, the faculties of the soul within man, his cognitive and emotive attributes, are parallel to the supernal sefirot. Now the epistle will discuss the divine soul, which God "blew from within Himself," and is literally a portion of the Divine on high. This is more than a mere analogy for the supernal sefirot, as in the case of the faculties of the rational soul. What is said of the divine soul applies equally to the supernal sefirot. The rational soul (as well as the animal soul) stems from the kelippa of noga, the "luminescent husk" that is composed of both good and evil, as opposed to the impure kelippa, which consists solely of evil. The kelippa of noga is set apart from that which is divine, as it were, since it relates solely to matters of this world. In that case, the attributes of the rational and animal soul are only an analogy for the supernal sefirot, parallel to them but not of them. For instance, the attribute of love in the animal soul will not necessarily manifest as a love of God, but may also be expressed as love for another person or even an object.

אַךְ בֶּאֱמֶת לַאֲמִיתּוֹ, בְּנֶפֶשׁ הָעֶלְיוֹנָה הָאֱלֹהִית, שֶׁהִיא חֵלֶק אֱלוֹהַּ מִמַּעַל, פְּנִימִיּוֹת וְחִיצוֹנִיּוֹת, הֵן לַה' לְבַדּוֹ.

Yet in the absolute truest sense, all the internal and external attributes in the higher divine soul, which is a portion of God on high, are directed to God alone. The divine soul is literally a portion of God from above. In light of this, its faculties are actually a precise parallel to the divine sefirot. All of the faculties of the divine soul, whether cognitive or emotive, whether the inner feelings or their external expression, are directed solely to God. The attributes in the divine soul are true because they reveal themselves only in their relationship to God. Conversely, the faculties in the animal soul are only an analogy for the supernal sefirot, because they relate to the world and are revealed in various forms that represent only an imitation and image of the divine reality.

כִּי מֵחֲמַת אַהֲבַת ה׳, וּמֵרוֹב חֶפְצוֹ לְדָבְקָה בּוֹ, הוּא חָפֵץ חֶסֶד כְּדֵי לִידָּבֵק בְּמִדּוֹתָיו, כְּמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ ז״ל עַל פָּסוּק ״וּלְדָבְקָה בוֹ״ (דברים יא, כב) – הִדָּבֵק בְּמִדּוֹתָיו (ספרי דברים פיסקא מט).

This is because on account of a person's love of God, and out of his great desire to cleave to Him, one desires to perform kindness in order to cleave to God's attributes, as our Rabbis stated regarding the verse "And to cleave to Him" (Deut. 11:22): "Cleave to His attributes" (Sifrei, Devarim 49). A person's love for God is the internal aspect of the divine soul's faculty of kindness. This attribute as expressed by the divine soul differs from that of the rational soul. In the rational soul, which relates to this world, kindness means loving another person and giving him what he needs. Through the divine soul, which relates to God alone, it is impossible to give to Him, since He lacks nothing. If someone whom we love is incomparably greater than we are and we cannot give him anything, we transform our attribute of kindness: Instead of giving to him, we connect ourselves to his attribute of kindness, by giving to others unconditionally, just as he gives. In light of this, the attributes of the divine soul are employed in this fashion, in clinging to God's supernal traits by emulating Him.

וְכֵן בְּמִדַּת הַגְּבוּרָה לְהִפָּרַע מִן הָרְשָׁעִים וּלְעָנְשָׁם בְּעוֹנְשֵׁי הַתּוֹרָה.

The same applies to the attribute of Gevura , to exacting retribution from the wicked and to punishing them with the punishments dictated by the Torah, The attribute of restraint within the divine soul, which is the external aspect of fear, identifies with the supernal attribute of Gevura, the attribute with which God punishes the wicked. The wicked transgress God's will, and the supernal attribute of Gevura, as revealed in the laws of the Torah, dictate that a person who commits a particular deed should receive a particular punishment. One who cleaves to God's attributes fulfills the laws of the Torah given into the hands of man by punishing the wicked accordingly.

וְכֵן לְהִתְגַּבֵּר עַל יִצְרוֹ וּלְקַדֵּשׁ אֶת עַצְמוֹ בַּמּוּתָּר לוֹ,

and likewise to making it possible for a person to overcome his evil inclination and sanctify himself by refraining from that which is permitted to him, Overcoming the evil inclination and sanctifying oneself by refraining from what is permitted is another expression of this attribute within the divine soul. There is no need to look for wicked people in order to cleave to supernal Gevura. Every person has a wicked person within himself: his evil inclination. Of course, the epistle is not speaking here literally of a wicked person who must be subjected to the Torah's punishments. As a rule, the author of the Tanya does not discuss wicked people but beinonim, those who have not committed any transgressions, yet the potential is there in the guise of the evil inclination within them (as opposed to the righteous, who have vanquished their evil inclination). He is not referring to someone who transgresses the Torah's prohibitions, but whose struggle is to sanctify themselves by refraining from indulging in that which is permitted to them, though certainly this also applies to a person who must struggle to overcome his evil inclination so as not to commit a sin.

וְלַעֲשׂוֹת גָּדֵר וּסְיָיג לַתּוֹרָה, מִפְּנֵי פַּחַד ה׳ וְיִרְאָתוֹ פֶּן יָבֹא לִידֵי חֵטְא חַס וְשָׁלוֹם.

as well as erecting a fence and a safeguard for the Torah, on account of one's awe of God and one's fear that one may come to sin, God forbid. The internal aspect of Gevura is fear. In this context, it is the fear of sin. The external expression of Gevura, on the other hand, consists of making fences and barriers even with regard to that which is permitted in order to ensure that one will not even approach that which is prohibited.

וְכֵן לְפָאֵר אֶת ה׳

Likewise, it is manifest by glorifying God Glorifying God is an expression of the attribute of Tiferet in the divine soul. In the rational soul it manifests in appreciating the glory and beauty of the world, the appreciation of its harmony. But in the divine soul, this attribute relates to the divine life force that vitalizes existence, which is wondrous and harmonious. Moreover, it glorifies God Himself, because the divine soul has an appreciation of divinity beyond the parameters of the world, and with that appreciation, it glorifies Him and praises Him.

וְתוֹרָתוֹ בְּכָל מִינֵי פְּאֵר, וּלְדָבְקָה בִּשְׁבָחָיו בְּכָל בְּחִינוֹת נַפְשׁוֹ, דְּהַיְינוּ בְּהִתְבּוֹנְנוּת שִׂכְלוֹ וּמַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ, גַּם בְּדִיבּוּרוֹ.

and His Torah by all means of glory and cleaving to His praises with all the faculties of one's soul through contemplation with one's intellect and thoughts and also through one's speech. Since the revelation of God's essence comes about specifically via the Torah, the principal way in which a person can think and speak in order to praise Him is through His Torah. We cannot comprehend God's praiseworthiness. In truth, "for You, God of Zion, silence is praise" (Ps. 65:2). Therefore, the only way that we can praise God is with the terms that God Himself has disclosed and applied to Himself in His Torah through His prophets and sages. We "cleave to God's praises" that are mentioned in His Torah principally in prayer, when a person is fervent with love for God while contemplating His greatness with his intellect and the garments of his intellect, which are thought and speech.

וְכֵן לַעֲמוֹד בְּנִצָּחוֹן נֶגֶד כָּל מוֹנֵעַ מֵעֲבוֹדַת ה׳ וּמִלְּדָבְקָה בּוֹ,

Similarly, with the attribute of Netzaḥ within the divine soul, a person prevails over any impediment to serving God and to cleaving to Him The attribute of Netzaḥ manifests in the divine soul when it triumphs over every obstacle to serving God and cleaving to Him. That triumph is comparable to victory in war and competition. In the human soul, there is a constant war between good and evil, between the divine soul and the animal soul. The desire of the divine soul is to serve God and cling to Him, but the world in general and the animal soul in particular do not accept that and attempt to prevent it from happening. Prevailing over the forces that prevent a person from serving God is the expression of the faculty of Netzaḥ in his divine soul. This concept of war exists in the divine sefirot as well. Though it is impossible to speak of opposition and victory with regard to God, that applies only at the essence and root of the attributes where only the will of the Divine exists. There, at the essence and root, the sefirot are unified, subsumed in the divine light. But when the divine light is revealed through the sefirot within the physical world, their unique characteristics are uncovered. At that stage, even the holy attributes have their own considerations. A decision to act in one necessarily has an opposing counterpart (consider the sefirot of Ḥesed and Gevura, the outpouring of kindness versus restraint and constriction), and that leads to a war.

וְנֶגֶד כָּל מוֹנֵעַ מִלִּהְיוֹת כְּבוֹד ה׳ מָלֵא אֶת כָּל הָאָרֶץ, כְּמִלְחֲמוֹת ה׳ אֲשֶׁר נִלְחַם דָּוִד הַמֶּלֶךְ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם.

and over anything that prevents the glory of God from filling the entire earth, such as in the wars of God fought by King David, may he rest in peace. In the time of King David, when the character of a king of Israel was shaped and formed, the external wars of the Jewish nation were the wars of God, War can take place within the soul, in the form of internal struggles, or in the world outside, between people and between countries. One is an analogy for the other. Sometimes that which is described in terms of the soul also relates to happenings in the world, and sometimes a struggle described in terms of the world, like a war between one nation and another, apply as well to the soul.

וְכֵן לְהִשְׁתַּחֲווֹת וּלְהוֹדוֹת לַה׳,

Likewise, a person employs the attribute of Hod in the divine soul when bowing and giving thanks to God, The word hod is related to hoda'a, giving thanks. Bowing and giving thanks are very often linked, such as in the prayer of Aleinu, where we recite, "We bow and prostrate ourselves and give thanks…," and in the Amida, in which a person bows as he recites the thanksgiving prayer of Modim. The deeper import of bowing and giving thanks is self-nullification. When a person bows, that symbolizes his self-abnegation. This is particularly true when the bowing takes the form of prostrating oneself with one's hands and feet outstretched. When a person prostrates himself and stretches himself out as much as possible, he expresses the nullification of his existence and being as an independent entity. Similarly, giving thanks is a spiritual self-nullification. It is not a self-abnegation in the intellectual sense nor even in an emotional sense, but the total nullification of one's existence within the essence of the Divine.

אֲשֶׁר מְחַיֶּה וּמְהַוֶּה אֶת הַכֹּל, וְהַכֹּל בָּטֵל בִּמְצִיאוּת אֶצְלוֹ, וְכוּלָּא קַמֵּיהּ כְּלָא חֲשִׁיב וּכְאַיִן וְאֶפֶס מַמָּשׁ.

who gives life to everything and brings everything into existence. Everything is subsumed in the divine reality before Him, and everything before Him is literally considered as absolute nothingness. The more a person internalizes the concept that God is essentially everything – life, existence, and also the person himself – the more he bows, thanks, and nullifies himself to God.

וְאַף שֶׁאֵין אָנוּ מַשִּׂיגִים אֵיךְ הוּא הַכֹּל אֶפֶס מַמָּשׁ קַמֵּיהּ,

Although we cannot apprehend how everything is literally nothingness before Him, A created entity is intrinsically unable to comprehend a state in which it does not exist. The human intellect, including the most fundamental thoughts and concepts, is based on the existence of the self. The nullification of the self is inconceivable to the intellect and to the feelings engendered by the intellect. There is, of course, the intellectual comprehension that one must nullify oneself, that such a concept can exist, but the intellect cannot grasp with true awareness the actual experience of self-nullification.

אַף עַל פִּי כֵן מוֹדִים אֲנַחְנוּ בְּהוֹדָאָה אֲמִיתִּית שֶׁכֵּן הוּא בֶּאֱמֶת לַאֲמִיתּוֹ.

we nevertheless concede with genuine acknowledgment that it is the absolute truth. Although it is impossible to apprehend the concept of self-nullification, it is possible to acknowledge it. Hod is therefore the unique faculty in the soul that can acknowledge and concede to this even if a person cannot comprehend it intellectually.

וּבִכְלָל זֶה גַּם כֵּן לְהוֹדוֹת לַה׳ עַל כָּל הַטּוֹבוֹת אֲשֶׁר גְּמָלָנוּ, וְלֹא לִהְיוֹת כְּפוּי טוֹבָה חַס וְשָׁלוֹם.

This attribute of Hod also includes giving thanks to God for all the favors that He has bestowed on us and not being ungrateful, God forbid. Hod also entails thanking God for all that He has done for us and not being ungrateful. We teach even small children to say thank you and not be ungrateful. The nature of the divine soul to thank God is part of an overall perspective of the all-encompassing divine providence over all of existence down to every detail, one that appreciates that nothing is natural and self-evident. Everything – daylight, the air we breathe at every moment, the food we eat – is a gift from God, a favor that He bestows on us. If we do not give thanks, whether with a blessing, in prayer, or by cleaving to Him, we are being ungrateful.

וּבִכְלָל זֶה לְהוֹדוֹת עַל כָּל שְׁבָחָיו וּמִדּוֹתָיו וּפְעוּלּוֹתָיו בַּאֲצִילוּת וּבְרִיאוּת עֶלְיוֹנִים וְתַחְתּוֹנִים שֶׁהֵם מְשׁוּבָּחִים עַד אֵין תַּכְלִית [נוּסָח אַחֵר: חֵקֶר], וְנָאִים וּרְאוּיִם אֵלָיו יִתְבָּרַךְ וְיִתְעַלֶּה.

This also includes giving thanks for all of God's praiseworthy actions, attributes, and deeds in the emanation and creation of the higher and lower worlds, which are praiseworthy to no end [alternatively: beyond comprehension] and which are fitting and becoming to Him, may He be blessed and exalted. The attribute of Hod also possesses a higher property. It does not just entail thanking God for the good He has bestowed on us, but thanking and acknowledging Him in the sense of praise. This praise is related not only to His relationship with us and with His creations in general, but also to Him intrinsically, that He is great, mighty, and so forth, and to His actions with which He created all the infinitely great and wondrous worlds. This is connected to what was stated earlier regarding Hod as the force that guards the existence of holiness. This praise does not create or reveal things that did not previously exist, but only relates to things that exist. It acclaims and praises them, and in so doing, it keeps them within a person's consciousness and reality.

וְהוּא מִלְּשׁוֹן הוֹד וְהָדָר.

The word hod is thus used in the same sense as in the phrase hod vehadar , splendor and glory. Hod has a broader connotation than thanks. It is the praise and splendor of the Creator Himself.

וְכֵן בְּמִדַּת צַדִּיק יְסוֹד עוֹלָם, לִהְיוֹת נַפְשׁוֹ קְשׁוּרָה בַּה׳ חַיֵּי הַחַיִּים וּלְדָבְקָה בּוֹ

Likewise, through the attribute of the tzaddik, who is the foundation of the world, the attribute of Yesod, a person's soul is bound to God, the infinite source of life, and cleaves to Him The sefira of Yesod expresses the persona of the tzaddik and his actions in the world. The tzaddik's uniqueness is not that he teaches the Torah's wisdom or that he pours physical and spiritual goodness into the world, but that he connects people to God. He is the connection between above and below, between the world and God. The same is true for every person. Whereas Yesod in the rational soul involves forming connections between people, between husband and wife, between parent and child, in the divine soul this attribute is manifest through connection to God.

בִּדְבִיקָה וַחֲשִׁיקָה בְּחֵשֶׁק וְתַעֲנוּג נִפְלָא.

with devotion and longing, out of wondrous desire and pleasure. The emotion associated with Yesod is pleasure. In Ḥesed, the emotion associated with it is that of love, the desire to give and the desire for closeness. In Gevura, the emotion is that of fear and distance. In Yesod, the emotion is pleasure itself. This is because Yesod essentially constitutes connection. It is neither an attribute of transmission nor of receiving, giving, or relating, but rather that of cleaving to God, which engenders a feeling of pleasure. This is also the trait of the tzaddik: He experiences a wondrous, intrinsic pleasure in the cleaving itself, in being with God and not in what he receives from God.

וּבְמִדַּת מַלְכוּת לְקַבֵּל עָלָיו עוֹל מַלְכוּתוֹ וַעֲבוֹדָתוֹ,

As for the attribute of Malkhut , it entails accepting upon oneself the yoke of His kingship and service, The unique power of Malkhut in the divine soul is the power to receive and accept divine sovereignty. In our Sages' words, "A person should accept upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven" (Mishna Berakhot 2:2).

כַּעֲבוֹדַת כָּל עֶבֶד לַאֲדוֹנוֹ,

like the service of any servant to his master, The servant does his master's will even if he does not understand why. His personal opinion makes no difference at all, nor whether he has any opinion at all. He acts because he is a servant who performs his master's will.So too accepting the yoke of the kingship of Heaven occurs when a person acts, not because he understands nor because he agrees that the matter is important, but because he is a servant who obeys God and accepts His authority.

בְּאֵימָה וּבְיִרְאָה.

with awe and fear. Although Malkhut and the faculty of accepting the yoke of the kingship of Heaven is a discrete attribute and faculty in the soul, Malkhut is associated with the attribute of judgment and fear. Malkhut, kingship, is exercised specifically over an entity that is separate and distinct. A person is not considered king over his limbs nor over his children, yet he may be king over a nation. Maintaining a distance between the king and his nation is essential to the existence of sovereignty: "There is no king without a nation." The concept of a king cannot exist without differentiation and distance between him and his subjects. This attribute of limitation and maintaining boundaries is associated with the left array in the structure of the sefirot, the attribute of fear and awe in particular. Such awe, which is essentially directed toward that which is beyond bounds, toward the unknown, toward that which is separate and exalted (in terms of God), evokes a feeling of dread and fear in the heart. Until now the epistle has focused on the emotive attributes. From this point onward, it will discuss the cognitive sefirot: Ḥokhma, Bina, and Da'at.

וּמְקוֹר וְשׁוֹרֶשׁ כָּל הַמִּדּוֹת הֵן מֵחָכְמָה בִּינָה דַּעַת.

The source and root of all the emotive attributes are Ḥokhma , Bina , and Da'at . That which applies to the rational soul and to the animal soul applies to the divine soul in relationship to the Divine. The awareness of existence is the source and root of the entire array of emotive attributes, to the emotions, associations, conclusions, and deeds. Similarly, the supernal emotive attributes constitute the structure of the world: Ḥesed is the divine attribute of giving and pouring forth. Gevura is the constriction and restraint of that giving, and so on until Malkhut, which is the actualized speech of the Creator, that which operates and sustains the universe. The epistle explains here that the source and root of all of this pouring forth and sustenance are the cognitive sefirot: Ḥokhma, Bina, and Da'at. They are like God's seeing, understanding, and knowing of the worlds that He wants to create: an awareness that leads to His relationship with them, which in turn leads to actualized creation.

דְּהַיְינוּ הַחָכְמָה, הִיא מְקוֹר הַשֵּׂכֶל הַמַּשִּׂיג אֶת ה׳

That is, Ḥokhma is the source of the intellect that apprehends God Ḥokhma itself is not the intellect but the source of the intellect, which is manifest in Bina and Da'at. It is impossible to apprehend God, Ein Sof Himself, with the intellect. Therefore, Ḥokhma, which is not the intellect, because it is not yet anything specific, is the doorway and key to the intellect with which to apprehend God.

וְחָכְמָתוֹ וּגְדוּלָּתוֹ וּמִדּוֹתָיו הַקְּדוֹשׁוֹת, שֶׁמַּנְהִיג וּמְחַיֶּה בָּהֶן כָּל הָעוֹלָמוֹת עֶלְיוֹנִים וְתַחְתּוֹנִים.

and His wisdom, greatness, and holy attributes with which He guides and sustains all the higher and lower worlds. No thought can grasp God. Nevertheless, there can be a certain conception and awareness of His essence as it is clothed in the sefirot. Like the soul's faculties, in which the essence of the soul is clothed and revealed, so the Divine is clothed and manifest through the sefirot. The human intellect cannot apprehend the supernal sefirot themselves but only how they guide and sustain the worlds. The human intellect primarily apprehends the lower worlds, from which it extrapolates to the higher worlds. From those upper worlds it extrapolates even higher to the supernal sefirot themselves. Ḥokhma is the source of this intellect as opposed to the intellect itself. By analogy, it is like the image a person sees before he absorbs and thinks about what he is seeing.

וּבִינָה הִיא הַהִתְבּוֹנְנוּת בְּהַשָּׂגָה זוֹ

Bina is the contemplation of this apprehension of God's greatness Bina has breadth. Ḥokhma is like a flash of light that illuminates an entire world, but so quickly that there is no time to look and contemplate what one sees. That is the nature of Ḥokhma: It takes in the object itself, and the flash is necessarily merely a flash, because it is followed by another flash different from the first. By way of analogy, a picture is an image of something that was. In essence, it is impossible to receive a picture of what is, of what is alive now. That which is alive can only be branded by the flash of Ḥokhma. Bina then forms a picture of that which was, of that flash, that instant. As soon as Bina enters the picture, the flash no longer shines in Ḥokhma. But precisely because of that, Bina has the time and breadth to contemplate, think, and analyze the impression of Ḥokhma's flash and to build an image that attempts to describe Ḥokhma's illuminations and relate to them.

בְּאוֹרֶךְ וְרוֹחַב וְעוֹמֶק בִּינָתוֹ,

in the length, breadth, and depth of one's understanding, Though Ḥokhma encompasses everything in an instant, in a flash, from the aspect of the awareness and recognition of the thinker, it is like a dot. All he knows about the dot is that it exists. But he does not know anything about it, neither the who nor the how. The dot itself is only itself, without dimensions. It is only when Bina enters the picture, when contemplation ensues, that the initial flash of awareness takes on the dimensions of length, breadth, and depth. Therefore, Ḥokhma is represented by the letter yod, which appears as a dot alone without dimensions, while Bina is represented by the letter heh, which has the dimensions of length and breadth. The length of Bina entails spreading out from above to below. It is the ability to bring something into increasingly constricted limitations, to bring a concept down and explain it on the simplest levels to a person who is not on the same plane as that of abstract concepts and feelings. Bina's breadth is the ability to spread out to all sides, the ability to understand broadly, with great inclusiveness and with many details, and the ability to explain something in various aspects and ways. The depth of Bina, which is also called the internal aspect of Bina, is the ability to grasp the essence and root of an idea. It is the ability to understand the essence of a concept, beyond analogies and explanations that are employed to make something loosely comprehensible. It is an understanding that follows extended contemplation and study, that grasps the substance and essence of the subject.

לְהָבִין דָּבָר מִתּוֹךְ דָּבָר,

so that one comprehends one matter from another, Ḥokhma is the initial grasp of wisdom. Beyond that, it adds nothing, and therefore, it in itself is passive. By contrast, the essence of Bina is to add, build, and form. It can comprehend something additional that had not been revealed by the light of Ḥokhma, something additional from the matter that was. Hasidic teachings explain that "understanding one matter from another" refers to apprehending He who surrounds all worlds as a result of contemplating He who fills all worlds. "He who fills all worlds" refers to the divine life force that is clothed in the world, that brings it into existence and sustains it on all levels and in all its details. This is what a wise person sees within things. "He who surrounds all worlds" refers to the transcendent divine essence, which is not revealed within things and which Ḥokhma does not actually see. But Bina understands, by way of understanding one matter from another, that there is a divine existence beyond that which is revealed. This understanding engenders an infinite love for God, as well as awe and absolute self-nullification. The author of the Tanya now returns to discussing the emotive attributes in a person's divine soul as they are engendered by contemplation and the connection between the emotive attributes and the intellect.

וּלְהוֹלִיד מֵהַשָּׂגָה זוֹ תּוֹלְדוֹתֶיהָ,

and from this comprehension are engendered its offspring, A person's intellectual awareness consists of Ḥokhma and Bina, which are like a father and mother, while his emotive attributes are their offspring. Just as Ḥokhma and Bina engender God's greatness (another designation for His Ḥesed ) and His other supernal attributes, a person's intellectual awareness engender love for God, fear of God, and so forth. Therefore, there is a simple principle: When a person contemplates love, that contemplation engenders love. When he contemplates Gevura, or fear, that contemplation engenders fear, and so on.

שֶׁהֵן מִדּוֹת אַהֲבָה וְיִרְאָה,

which are the attributes of love and fear, In a person's divine soul, the offspring of intellectual awareness are the emotive attributes of love and fear. Love and fear are the progenitors of all the remaining emotive attributes, which are permutations and variations of these two fundamental attributes. As explained above, love and fear are the internal dimensions of Ḥesed and Gevura. Here the epistle speaks of how the emotive attributes are engendered by intellectual awareness, which always begins from within, from the essence of the emotive attribute and the feeling, before it is manifest and expressed. Only then do the first two emotive attributes develop and gain their exterior aspects, which are Ḥesed and Gevura.

וּשְׁאָרֵי מִדּוֹת הַנּוֹלָדוֹת בַּנֶּפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית,

and the rest of the attributes, Tiferet, Netzaḥ, Hod, Yesod, and Malkhut, that are born in the divine soul, The emotive attributes of the divine soul are generated by the intellect. Without employing intellect, without active contemplation, the emotive attributes will not be generated. In the animal soul, the emotive attributes may be engendered without the intellect and without contemplation, but these attributes are not holy. They are born from the very fact that a person exists in this world, and they are associated with the senses and stimuli that he experiences in this world, through his physical body and from the people around him. Whether intentionally or unwittingly, he encounters things with his senses and awareness, and that awareness engenders a connection with them. This is not the case regarding the emotive attributes engendered in the divine soul. Generally a person does not happen upon God's greatness. He has to make an effort to meditate and contemplate deeply to understand one matter from another until an awareness develops that is distinctly separate from physical existence so that it acquires its own tangible and experiential dimensions: its own form, its own head and body, its own left and right. This in turn evokes in a person love, fear, and the other emotive attributes to be channeled toward the Divine.

הַמַּשְׂכֶּלֶת וּמִתְבּוֹנֶנֶת בִּגְדוּלַּת ה',

which comprehends and contemplates the greatness of God, The word for greatness, gedula, is also an expression for the attribute of Ḥesed when it was activated and manifest during the creation of the world. Contemplating God's greatness, then, is not about contemplating God's essence and being, but rather His power and life force bring the world into existence and sustain it.

כִּי לִגְדוּלָּתוֹ אֵין חֵקֶר.

how His greatness is unfathomable. God's greatness is infinite. Although a person can apprehend that it exists, a person cannot truly fathom it. He cannot relate to it as he relates to a physical created entity but must relate to it as he does the Divine, the holy, the exalted, the One, as something remote and unattainable. The emotional ramifications of contemplating God's greatness will have varied results. The emotion engendered in a person as a result of his contemplation of a particular topic depends on the perspective and context of his contemplation. So too contemplating God's greatness can have a variety of emotional outcomes. Generally there are two outcomes, love and fear, which can be broken down into four: the lower level of fear, the higher level of fear, great love, and a lesser love.

וְיֵשׁ בְּחִינַת גְּדוּלַּת ה' שֶׁעַל יְדֵי הִתְבּוֹנְנוּת הַנֶּפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית בָּהּ תִּפּוֹל עָלֶיהָ אֵימָתָה וָפַחַד, שֶׁהִיא 'יִרְאָה תַּתָּאָה' שֶׁהִיא בְּחִינַת מַלְכוּת,

One aspect of God's greatness is that when the divine soul contemplates it, it is overcome by fear and trepidation. This is the lower level of fear, which is an aspect of Malkhut , A person's contemplation of God's greatness, of His lovingkindness, may evoke fear. This initial feeling of fear stems from the revelation of divine greatness to the individual in his present world and reality. This contemplation, which essentially focuses on the sovereignty of the Divine, strengthens a person's relationship to God as a subject to a king, and a person's relationship with God as King is initiated with this lower level of fear. Essentially, the lower level of fear is the sense that something transcendent is here in this world. It is not clear what and how, but it is sufficiently clear to a person that it is true and real, and this sense of a Divine Presence evokes in a person a feeling of fear. As Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai told his students, "May it be His will that the fear of Heaven shall be upon you like the fear of flesh and blood" (Berakhot 28b). It is not necessary for a person to be aware of the entirety of God's greatness, which is unfathomable, in order to evoke fear of Him. The main thing is the tangibility of one's awareness, just as a person is aware of the presence of another human being, though that awareness is not truly analogous because it relates to earthly dimensions and concepts. In any case, a person's sense of this presence, the sense that he is not alone, has the power to guard him from sin even more than higher levels of love and fear are able to do. For this reason, this lower level of fear is also called the fear of sin and the fear of punishment. As Rabban Yoḥanan concludes, "Know that when one commits a transgression, he says to himself,'I hope that no man will see me.'" The lower level of fear is also lower in the sense that it is not a person's fear of God Himself, but fear for himself, for what will happen to him. This applies whether he fears punishment or whether, more subtly, he is concerned for his spiritual fate because he knows that by sinning he is rebelling against God and is separated from Him.

וְיֵשׁ בְּחִינַת גְּדוּלַּת ה׳ שֶׁמִּמֶּנָּה בָּאָה ‘יִרְאָה עִילָּאָה׳, יִרְאָה בּוֹשֶׁת.

and there is an aspect of contemplating God's greatness that leads to the higher level of fear, which is fear involving shame. There is another, much higher level of contemplation, which evokes the higher level of fear. Whereas the lower level of fear is that initial feeling of awe, which is associated with the reality of this lower world and is the initial way of relating to God, the higher level of fear is a loftier way of relating to Him. It is the ultimate level that a person can attain with regard to his feelings toward God. The ultimate apprehension of God's greatness is the awareness that He is incomparably greater than anything we can imagine. It is the realization that all conceivable existence constitutes the word of God: His speech, His utterance, His thought. It is the understanding that no thoughts or feelings of a human being can grasp Him beyond a great and awesome fear that overcomes him from above. This lofty fear is called fear involving shame because it is alloyed with shame. All shame with regard to God is the inner response to such fear, in which a person does not fear what God will do to him, nor even what God will think of him, but rather he has a sense of shame at being in God's presence. He cannot stand before God having done something improper, or even without having done anything wrong, because "Who am I to stand before Him?" This is comparable to feeling overcome with shame when standing before a great and righteous person. It is the feeling of shame that overwhelms a person because of who the righteous person is, because of his intrinsic greatness, and not because of anything one might perceive of him on the outside.

וְיֵשׁ בְּחִינָה שֶׁמִּמֶּנָּה בָּאָה ‘אַהֲבָה רַבָּה׳,

There is also an aspect of the contemplation of God's greatness that leads to great love, Generally speaking, fear of God derives from a person's awareness that God is great, exalted, and singular. It is like a person's fear of a king who sits on an exalted, elevated throne. On the other hand, a person's love for God stems from his sense of closeness to Him, from his awareness that God's greatness is the source of all of vitality and existence, that everything that exists and happens comes from Him, that all goodness, light, and pleasure are provided by Him. This love is the person's ever-growing, ever-deeper desire and yearning for God, to become ever closer to Him and attach oneself to Him. Great love is parallel to the higher level of fear, which relates to God Himself. Beyond His presence, which is clothed in the world, in whatever form and within whatever parameters, and beyond all the goodness and delight that He bestows on a person, is love of God's essence, which is infinite, just as God himself is infinite.

וְיֵשׁ בְּחִינָה שֶׁמִּמֶּנָּה בָּאָה ‘אַהֲבָה זוּטָא׳.

and there is an aspect that leads to a lesser love. The contemplation of God's greatness from which the lesser love develops is a contemplation of that which a person's intellect can grasp, of what he can feel, of what exists in this world. In contrast to the contemplation that leads to great love, the higher level of love, whose purpose is to arrive at a point where he sees that which is unfathomable, the contemplation that brings a person to the lesser love entails understanding the object of the contemplation. Here one develops this comprehension as much as possible, with all the details involved, until the picture is so tangible and so close that the person's emotional relationship to the object is inevitable. This love is "lesser" because it is limited by its vessels, whether it is the vessel of the person who loves or whether it is the vessels and parameters of the object of the love. This is a love that is engendered by a person's contemplation and imagination. Therefore, it relates only to the divine illumination that is clothed in the worlds, to that which the intellect can apprehend. This is in contrast to great love, where the essence of the soul, which transcends all the soul's faculties, relates to the divine essence that transcends the worlds.

וְכֵן בַּמִּדּוֹת הַחִיצוֹנִיּוֹת שֶׁהֵן חֶסֶד כו׳,

The same applies to the external attributes, to Ḥesed , and so on. Like the emotive attributes of the animal soul, the emotive attributes of the divine soul have external aspects and internal aspects. Just as contemplation of God's greatness leads to the internal dimensions of the first two emotive attributes of the divine soul, to levels of love and fear, it also leads to their external expression, to Ḥesed, Gevura, and the rest of the sefirot. It may seem that the external aspects of the emotive attributes stem from their internal aspects, that because a person loves God, for instance, he desires God's lovingkindness. But as explained regarding the emotive attributes of the animal soul, so too in the divine soul the external emotive attributes are not just an external outcome and expression of the internal aspects of the emotive attributes. They have their own root of existence independent of the internal attributes. One may say that they also have an independent root as a result of contemplation. Just as contemplation of God's greatness leads to love of God, there is contemplation that leads to Ḥesed. Often, when we do not succeed via contemplation in evoking the internal feeling of love, one can attain the external expression that feeling, the outcome of that emotive attribute: to desire Ḥesed and, subsequently, to engage in acts of Ḥesed.

וּבְכוּלָּן צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת מְלוּבָּשׁ בָּהֶן בְּחִינַת הַדַּעַת,

All these manners of contemplation must be clothed in Da'at, the third of the cognitive sefirot, Ḥokhma and Bina are like a father and mother that engender the emotive attributes. What, then, is the role of the third cognitive sefira, Da'at? Does Da'at also have a place in the entire process of engendering the emotive attributes? The author of the Tanya goes on to explain that not only does Da'at have a central function in this process, but without Da'at, the birth of the emotive attributes would not be possible.

שֶׁהוּא

which represents the soul's bond to the emotive attributes Da'at is the faculty of connection in the intellect, which binds the emotive attributes to the essence of the soul, which transcends the intellect. Da'at's relationship to Ḥokhma and Bina is similar to that of Tiferet's relationship to Ḥesed and Gevura. Da'at is not an additional, third attribute on the same plane as Ḥokhma and Bina, but an attribute that is expressed in the connection between the two. Da'at is an intellectual capability, lofty and concealed in itself, that is revealed only in the connection and bond that forms between Ḥokhma and Bina, between the intellect and the emotive attributes, and between the intellect and the faculties of thought, speech, and action. In a certain sense, Da'at is the connecting faculty that transmits messages and conclusions, warnings and intuition from the emotions, from one part of the soul to the other, and from one faculty of the soul to another.

הַקְּשׁוּרָה וּתְקוּעָה בְּהַשָּׂגָה זוֹ שֶׁמַּשֶּׂגֶת אֵיזֶה עִנְיָן מִגְּדוּלַּת ה׳, שֶׁמִּמֶּנָּה נוֹלְדָה בָּהּ אֵיזֶה מִדָּה מֵהַמִּדּוֹת.

with which the soul is connected and attached to this apprehension, wherein the soul apprehends some facet of God's greatness, from which one of these attributes is engendered in the soul. How do we create and reveal Da'at? We do so exactly as it functions in the psyche: by not allowing an insight to simply pass by. Rather, we tie it down and grasp it. We embed the soul in it for a period of time. In this way one connects the point of Ḥokhma, the initial flash of awareness, to Bina, and likewise one connects Bina to the emotive attributes. Having a passive awareness of God's greatness is insufficient to engender love or fear. Rather, a person must ponder that awareness, focusing his mind and heart on it. As mentioned regarding the attributes of the animal soul, the nature of the emotive attributes is that they are engendered from awareness. The awareness flows and the emotive attributes are engendered from it and relate to it. But clearly, not everything that passes through a person's awareness, just as not everything that the eye sees, generates a deep emotional relationship. Here Da'at comes into play: Where there is Da'at, where something matters, where awareness is focused, the emotive attributes are born.

כִּי בְּהֶיסַּח הַדַּעַת כְּרֶגַע מֵהַשָּׂגָה זוֹ מִסְתַּלֶּקֶת גַּם כֵּן הַמִּדָּה הַנּוֹלָדָה מִמֶּנָּה,

When Da'at is momentarily diverted from this apprehension, the attribute that was engendered from this insight is also withdrawn The moment a person's Da'at shifts away from a certain matter, the moment he no longer ponders it, the emotive attribute that the awareness generated, the love or fear born of that awareness, withdraws. For an attribute to remain and be active, it needs a constant connection to the person's awareness. Love for God needs an awareness of His greatness; fear of God needs a different type of awareness of His greatness, and so on. This applies particularly with regard to the emotive attributes of the divine soul, in which the attributes relate to abstract insight, which is not a natural and initial part of life in this world. In order for a person's insight to engender an emotive attribute, it must be well developed with Ḥokhma, Bina, and Da'at. The image must be clear and tangible, and it must be bound to the soul, in the same way that the soul is bound to daily physical reality. Then, in order to hold on to the insight, a person must invest constant effort into focusing his Da'at on it so that his Da'at will not be withdrawn from it.

מֵהַגִּילּוּי בַּנֶּפֶשׁ אֶל הַהֶעְלֵם לִהְיוֹת בָּהּ בְּכֹחַ וְלֹא בְּפוֹעַל.

from its state of manifestation in the soul to that of concealment, so that it is within the soul only in potential and not in actuality. The attribute engendered in a person's divine soul is real and tangible to the degree that his apprehension of God's greatness is actual and to the degree that his divine soul is real and exists. Then, even if a person's Da'at is temporarily diverted, the emotive attribute does not dissipate like a passing illusion, but is only hidden in the soul, in a potential and unactualized state. This means that even if a person does not sense it in a moment of distraction, it will return and emerge from its potential state once he refocuses his mind on it. It reverts to the same state it had been previously and does not need to be reborn and grow entirely anew.

וְלָכֵן נִקְרָא הַזִּיוּוּג בִּלְשׁוֹן דַּעַת,

Therefore, physical relations are called Da'at , because Da'at connotes connection. Physical relations are connection. The male connects with the female, the giver with the recipient. As explained above regarding the attribute of Yesod, this connection is not a pouring forth, but rather it constitutes the connection of the giver itself with the recipient. Giving alone is merely illumination, a matter of the spirit, like the teacher transmitting information to the student. But in order for there to be actual giving, a transference from the giver to the recipient, in order for there to be a child, there must be a union, a bond between the giver and the recipient. The same applies to Da'at. Intellectual understanding alone, deep and extensive as it may be, cannot engender the emotive attributes. An emotive attribute, like a child, is not only an illumination of the intellect but an entity in itself. In order for a person's love for God to be born, there must be Da'at. There must be a coupling. In this sense, Da'at is a descent of the intellect itself into the emotive attributes and its connection to them, and it ceases to exist as a disconnected intellect and becomes meaningful and personal, binding to a person's personality and becoming a part of it. Only then, when a person cares about something, when his soul is incapable of disassociating from it, are his emotive attributes engendered: the lesser and great love, the lower level of fear and the higher level of fear. From that point onward, his entire soul conducts itself differently.

וְזֶהוּ בְּחִינַת ‘דַּעַת תַּחְתּוֹן׳ [נוּסָח אַחֵר: הַדַּעַת הַתַּחְתּוֹן] הַמִּתְפַּשֵּׁט בַּמִּדּוֹת וּמִתְלַבֵּשׁ בָּהֶן לְהַחֲיוֹתָן וּלְקַיְּימָן.

This is the level of lower knowledge [alternatively: the lower knowledge], which spreads through the attributes and is enclothed in them in order to give them life and sustain them. Elsewhere, the author of the Tanya explains that there are two levels of Da'at: lower knowledge and higher knowledge. In the supernal sefirot, these are two levels, two models for God's knowledge. One is knowledge as it is clothed in the worlds, which constitutes His divine providence as it is contained in this-worldly concepts. This is what the author of the Tanya calls lower knowledge. The other is higher knowledge, which is His inherent knowledge that both transcends and encompasses the world. A parallel of these two levels exists in the faculty of knowledge within the divine soul. There lower knowledge is a person's knowledge of God's greatness as it is revealed in the world. This knowledge spreads through the emotive attributes, vitalizing and sustaining them. The author of the Tanya now goes on to explain the nature of higher knowledge in the soul.

וְיֵשׁ בְּחִינַת ‘דַּעַת הָעֶלְיוֹן׳, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת הִתְקַשְּׁרוּת וְחִיבּוּר מְקוֹר הַשֵּׂכֶל הַמַּשִּׂיג עוֹמֶק הַמּוּשָּׂג, שֶׁהוּא כִּנְקוּדָּה וּכְבָרָק הַמַּבְרִיק עַל שִׂכְלוֹ

There is also the level of higher knowledge, through which the source of the intellect that comprehends the depth of a concept creates a connection and bond to the concept. This is like a point and lightning flash that flashes through a person's intellect, so that the point of wisdom will spread downward and the depth of the concept will come to be understood extensively, in length and breadth. This is the attribute of Bina , which is called the "expanses of the river," Ḥokhma is like a wellspring, the source from which the water, or the illumination or insight, flows. Bina, on the other hand, is like a river that has breadth and length. Higher knowledge therefore binds Ḥokhma and Bina. It binds the point of wisdom, the initial flash of awareness, to the analysis and development of that awareness through an understanding that has length and breadth. This bond does not come about by itself. In order for it to occur, in order for Ḥokhma to descend and be constricted in Bina, in order for Bina to not only receive from Ḥokhma but to receive Ḥokhma itself, there must be an outpouring and revelation that transcends them both, in which both of them will be nullified and bound together as one. This revelation is that of higher knowledge. As explained above regarding Tiferet, although Da'at is between and below Ḥokhma and Bina in the structure of the sefirot, its ability to bind them together attests that its root is higher than both of them. Da'at is actually connected to the sefira of Keter, in which Ḥokhma and Bina are nullified as separate entities and in which they are bound together as one. With regard to the divine soul, it is possible to say that higher knowledge is the illumination of the will within the soul, in the sense that a person desires and is interested in something. Within this will, although it does not yet have a form and comprehensible logic, Ḥokhma and Bina are as one. Each of the subsequent sefirot will reveal that will differently. But at the initial stage within the will itself, Ḥokhma and Bina are still united, with no difference between them. They both want the same thing.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁיִּתְבָּאֵר בִּמְקוֹמוֹ.

as will be explained in its place. It is not clear to which place the author of the Tanya is referring. Perhaps he means passages in the Tanya or perhaps teachings that were published in Likkutei Torah.