נוֹדָע בַּשְּׁעָרִים

It is "known in the gates" In this epistle, the author of the Tanya will write on a topic that presumes a certain degree of prior knowledge on the part of his readers. With this assumption, he briefly summarizes an explanation of the background, and then immediately delves into the main topic of the letter.

מַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב בַּתִּיקּוּנִים דִּשְׁכִינְתָּא אִיהִי מָרְעָא בְּגָלוּתָא כִּבְיָכוֹל

that which is written in Tikkunei Zohar: that "the Divine Presence is sick in exile," as it were. This statement presents a fundamental description of the exile of the Divine Presence: it is as though the Divine Presence is ill. In other words, exile is an unhealthy, unnatural, and dysfunctional state. A person may conceptualize and experience exile as a stage of development and learning that is a part of an operative process; that in order to reach the redemption, which is a more mature and improved state of existence, we must endure stages of exile. In contrast to that understanding, the Zohar states that exile, at least in human eyes, is to be conceived of as a state of illness, of impairment, which lacks even temporary legitimacy. Accordingly, we must relate to exile not as to something vital (although difficult) that one must undergo, but as a state of being whose cessation one must bring about by all possible means.

פֵּירוּשׁ, עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל כְּמוֹ חוֹלִי הַגּוּף הַמַּבְדִּיל בֵּין קֹדֶשׁ וכו׳

This means, figuratively speaking, that exile is like a sickness of the body – while being careful to "distinguish between the holy and the mundane." The Divine Presence and its exile are abstractions that we have no direct way of understanding. Therefore, the author of the Tanya utilizes a physical analogy taken from the human body. We can understand the use of this quotation here as a warning (appropriate for every analogy) that just as there is a difference between the holy and the mundane, so there is a difference between the analogy and what it alludes to. The analogy only helps us understand an aspect of the object of the analogy. It alludes to, but is not in absolute correspondence with, its object. Therefore, one must be careful not to make inferences that go beyond a limited equivalency. That is particularly the case here (and essentially in all of the physical analogies in the Torah), where the difference is not only one of magnitude but one of distinguishing between the holy and the mundane. Any inferences that go too far can be a literal desecration of the holy.

שֶׁסִּיבַּת הַחוֹלִי וְהַבְּרִיאוּת הִיא הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת וְהִילּוּךְ הַחַיּוּת מֵהַלֵּב אֶל כָּל הָאֵבָרִים הַמְלוּבֶּשֶׁת בְּדַם הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַיּוֹצֵא מֵהַלֵּב אֶל כָּל הָאֵבָרִים

That is because the cause of sickness or health is the spread and procession from the heart to all the organs of the vitality that is enclothed in the blood of the soul, emerging from the heart to all the organs, The author of the Tanya draws an analogy to sickness of the body. Physical health depends on a properly functioning stream of vitality from the heart to the organs. A person's vitality, the vitality of his soul that enlivens his body, is clothed in his blood that flows from his heart to all of his organs. The blood emerging from the heart carries the soul's life force. In the blood, the body and soul meet. The blood is where one's spiritual vitality and his body and its physicality, connect. Therefore, it is called "the blood of the soul."

וְסוֹבֵב סוֹבֵב הוֹלֵךְ הָרוּחַ חַיִּים וְהַדָּם תּוֹךְ תּוֹךְ כָּל הָאֵבָרִים וְהַגִּידִים הַמּוּבְלָעִים בָּהֶם וְחוֹזֵר אֶל הַלֵּב

and the spirit of life with the blood circulates and circulates, deep, deep within all the organs and the sinews that are embedded in the organs, and returns to the heart. The blood, and the spirit of life within it, circulate from the heart to all the organs (see Eccl. 1:6), entering into each organ and cell in the body, and then return to the heart. This movement of the blood with every heartbeat is our pulse of life.

וְאִם סִיבּוּב וְהִילּוּךְ הָרוּחַ חַיִּים הַלָּז הוּא כְּהִלְכָתוֹ, תְּמִידִי כְּסִדְרוֹ הַמְסוּדָּר לוֹ מֵחַיֵּי הַחַיִּים בָּרוּךְ הוּא, אֲזַי הָאָדָם בָּרִיא בְּתַכְלִית

And if the circulation and procession of this spirit of life functions properly and continuously, in accordance with its order, as was arranged for it by the ultimate source of life, blessed be He, then the person is completely healthy. Health depends on the free passage, without any blockages, of the flow of blood and vitality, as well as on the proper modulation of how much life, how and when, each organ should receive.

כִּי כָּל הָאֵבָרִים מְקוּשָּׁרִים יַחַד וּמְקַבְּלִים חַיּוּתָם הָרָאוּי לָהֶם מֵהַלֵּב, עַל יְדֵי סִיבּוּב הַלָּז

That is because all the organs are connected together and receive their appropriate vitality from the heart by means of this circulation. This is not merely a simplistic system of heart and body, but a system composed of many various organs – large and small, cold and hot.... – all of which are connected to and dependent on each other. In order for each to receive the vitality it needs, without the interference of any other organ, and, moreover, for all the organs to work harmoniously together, with each receiving what it needs individually and collectively, they require an organized system from the source of life. The ultimate source of life is the final, hidden life-of-all-life beyond the individual life vitality within each organ. This is the source, in light of which, the separate identities of all the organs dissolve, and are subsumed into their all-encompassing essence. Ultimately, the foot cannot ignore the existence of the hand, because on a deeper level that underlies all the details of each limb, the hand is a part of the foot and the foot is a part of the hand, and of every other organ.

אַךְ אִם יֵשׁ אֵיזֶה קִלְקוּל בְּאֵיזֶהוּ מְקוֹמָן, הַמּוֹנֵעַ וּמְעַכֵּב אוֹ מְמַעֵט סִיבּוּב וְהִילּוּךְ הַדָּם עִם הָרוּחַ חַיִּים הַמְלוּבָּשׁ בּוֹ, אֲזַי נִפְסָק אוֹ מִתְמַעֵט הַקֶּשֶׁר הַלָּז הַמְקַשֵּׁר כָּל הָאֵבָרִים אֶל הַלֵּב עַל יְדֵי סִיבּוּב הַלָּז, וַאֲזַי נוֹפֵל הָאָדָם לְמִשְׁכָּב וְחוֹלִי, ה׳ יִשְׁמְרֵנוּ

However, if there is some malfunction anywhere that prevents and blocks or decreases the circulation and procession of the blood with its enclothed spirit of life, then this connection, which connects all the organs to the heart by means of this circulation, is interrupted or diminished, and then the person will fall onto his sickbed, may the Lord preserve him. If any organ is not working properly, no matter which one or where it is located, the entire body is affected. There is a single flow from the heart to all of the organs, and wherever it is blocked, the overall flow that connects all the organs is damaged. This becomes no longer just a problem of one particular organ, but of the entire person – and he falls sick. This analogy clearly expresses the close and vital connection among the organs of the body. However, in the object of the analogy, in the societal and spiritual systems, the critical nature of such connections is not as clear. Therefore, this analogy is so important, because it clarifies and emphasizes that connection.

וְכָכָה מַמָּשׁ עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל הִנֵּה כָּל נִשְׁמוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל נִקְרָאִים בְּחִינַת ‘אֶבְרֵי דִּשְׁכִינְתָּא׳ הַנִּקְרֵאת בְּשֵׁם לֵב

In literally the same way, figuratively speaking, all the souls of Israel are called "the organs of the Divine Presence," which is called the heart. Now the author of the Tanya discusses the object of the analogy: the exile of the Divine Presence. Exile can be compared to the illness of the Divine Presence. First, the author of the Tanya shows how the particulars of the analogy apply to the object of the analogy. The organs of the body correspond to the souls of Israel. The Divine Presence is the totality of all of these souls together, also called "the Congregation of Israel." That is to say, the unified essence of the totality of the souls of Israel expresses the divine light that is called the Divine Presence. The totality of souls is like the totality of the organs of a body. Just as all of the organs of the body are a single entirety whose components cannot be separated, so too all the souls of Israel are a single entirety that reveals in its totality, and only in its totality, the Divine Presence. The analogy discusses the heart and the organs; if the limbs are the souls of Israel, then the heart is the Divine Presence.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: וְ״צוּר לְבָבִי״ (תהלים עג,כו) וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "וְשָׁכַנְתִּי

As it is written: " God is the strength of my heart" (Ps. 73:26), and as it is written: "I will dwell

בְּתוֹכָם" (שמות כה,ח)

בְּתוֹכָם" (שמות כה,ח) [veshakhanti ] among them" (Ex. 25:8). The verse states, "God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Ps. 73:26). This verse is explained elsewhere to indicate that the heart represents the Divine – that is, the Divine Presence – that vivifies the world. Just as the heart imparts life to all of the organs, so too the Divine Presence imparts life to the entire world. The Torah states that through the service performed in the Tabernacle, God will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel. This is because the Tabernacle is like a house and vessel in this world in which the Divine Presence resides and is made manifest.

פֵּירוּשׁ, כִּי לְשׁוֹן ‘שְׁכִינָה׳ הוּא שֶׁאוֹר הֲוָיָ״ה שׁוֹכֵן בְּעוֹלָמוֹת בְּרִיאָה יְצִירָה עֲשִׂיָּה לְהַחֲיוֹתָם

The meaning is that the term Divine Presence [Shekhina ] denotes that the light of Havaya resides [shokhen ] in the worlds of Beria , Yetzira , and Asiya , in order to vivify them. The "light of Havaya" is the illumination of the name Havaya. That is the great divine name that represents God Himself (the name of His essence), and its illumination is the greatest revelation possible of God in the totality of His powers. As explained in the Kabbalistic literature, this illumination manifests itself in two ways: "light that surrounds all worlds" and "light that fills all worlds." The light that fills all worlds, the light and vitality that fill every entity and give it life as it is, is that which is called here the Divine Presence. The concept of the Divine Presence is very broad and encompassing. However, as it is discussed here, it relates to the light that dwells in, fills and vivifies the created worlds – Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya – but not Atzilut, because in relation to the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, the world of Atzilut is Divinity, beyond the worlds. Only the trait of Malkhut of Atzilut is clothed in the created worlds as the Divine Presence that gives them life. This may be compared to speech. Of all the powers of a person's soul, only speech is clothed in another person, giving life and existence to the idea that has been transmitted to the latter.

וְהַמְשָׁכַת חַיּוּת זוֹ הִיא עַל יְדֵי הִתְלַבְּשׁוּת תְּחִלָּה בְּנִשְׁמוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל

The drawing forth of this vitality to the worlds is achieved by a prior enclothing of the vitality in the souls of Israel. The drawing forth of vitality from the Divine to the worlds so that the Divine will dwell in their midst and give them life is indirect. There is no unmediated, deliberate relationship of the Divine to the worlds. The Divine relates to the world only via the souls of Israel. In other words, none of the worlds are important to God in and of themselves. Only because the Jewish people lives in the worlds, does He value them and give them life.

לְפִי שֶׁכָּל הַנִּבְרָאִים אֵין עֲרוֹךְ לָהֶם אֶל הַבּוֹרֵא יִתְבָּרַךְ, דְּכוּלָּא קַמֵּיהּ כְּלָא מַמָּשׁ חֲשִׁיבִין, וְאִי אֶפְשָׁר לָהֶם לְקַבֵּל חַיּוּת מֵאוֹרוֹ וְשִׁפְעוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ לִהְיוֹת נִבְרָאִים מֵאַיִן לְיֵשׁ וְחַיִּים וְקַיָּימִים

That is because no created beings have any value in relation to the Creator, may He be blessed, since everything before Him is considered truly nothing, and they cannot receive vitality from His light and sustenance, may He be blessed, to be created from nothingness and to live and exist Since the worlds are unimportant in His eyes, being inherently nothing before Him, they cannot receive from Him. He has no desire nor interest in giving them life and existence for their own sake, as it were. So how, despite all that, do they receive vitality and existence? The answer is because the vitality is initially clothed in the souls of Israel. Since God desires the souls of Israel (whom He chose, and who perform His commandments and learn His Torah), and He sends them life and favor, that life and favor travel through them to all of the worlds. By way of analogy, a father prepares a special room for his child in which he places the child's toys, clothes, and so forth. All of these are unimportant and meaningless to the father. He does not need them. They are "considered as nothing." But since his child is important to him, he involves himself in and maintains these items that the child needs.

כִּי אִם עַל יְדֵי הַנְּשָׁמוֹת שֶׁעָלוּ בַּמַּחֲשָׁבָה וְקָדְמוּ לִבְרִיאַת עוֹלָמוֹת שֶׁעַל יְדֵי בְּחִינַת הַדִּבּוּר

except by means of the souls of Israel that arose in God's thought and preceded the creation of worlds that came about through the aspect of speech. All of the worlds were created by God's speech: that is, by His ten utterances recorded in the opening chapters of Genesis that describe the Creation. This is in contrast to the way God created the souls of Israel, which "arose in God's thought." This offers a glimpse into the relationship between the souls of Israel and all the worlds: Israel is the thought, the inner impulse that precedes divine speech. When it comes to a person, speech is that which emerges outward and is but a small, negligible expression of his inner world. Therefore, if we relate to his speech as to something in and of itself – the way that a second party would treat it as purely external, with no connection to the thought or soul behind it, it becomes meaningless. It is like superficial noise, a kelippa devoid of its inner dimension. When is it significant? When it is connected to thought, not merely speech, but rather, speech that expresses thought, which in turn, manifests the soul itself. At that moment, it is not only speech, but the tip of an inner process that comes from the essence of the soul. Then, and only then, all speech, every word and sentence, every detail of Creation, express and reveal God's thought and intent, as well as He Himself. That is what is stated here: that all of the worlds receive vitality only after they have first been clothed in the souls of Israel. Then speech receives its life and its meaning from the thought that preceded it.

כְּמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ ז״ל: בְּמִי נִמְלַךְ הקב״ה וכו׳, כַּנּוֹדָע בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר

As our Rabbis stated: "With whom did the Holy One, blessed be He, take counsel....?" which is explained elsewhere. With whom did God take counsel when He came to create the world? With the souls of the righteous. Simply understood, this is an imagistic way of expressing the earlier statement that Israel arose in God's thought. It is as though God took counsel with the souls of Israel: if righteous people will exist in the world, God will delight in them and in the world, and it will be worthwhile creating — and if not, then not. In that sense, the souls of Israel provided the rationale and cause for the creation of the world. This statement of the Sages has a deeper meaning as well: not only did the souls of the righteous exist even before the world was created, comparable to thought that preceded speech, but God took counsel with them. That is to say: unlike thought and speech, both of which are part of a continuous stream of influence from within outward, He took counsel with the souls of Israel. He took counsel with the essence of that which is drawn forth as to whether or not to draw it forth. He took counsel regarding the essence of the initial will to enter into this entire matter. When God took counsel with the souls of Israel regarding whether to create the world, this refers to God Himself as He was before the beginning of Creation, much higher than speech and even thought. In the analogy of the organs and the heart, there is a movement of life from the heart to the organs, as well as an opposite movement from the organs to the heart. The author of the Tanya will now discuss both of these movements as they apply to the object of the analogy.

וְנוֹדָע בַּשְּׁעָרִים כִּי כָּל הַמְשָׁכַת הַחַיּוּת וְהַהַשְׁפָּעָה מֵעֶלְיוֹנִים לַתַּחְתּוֹנִים מֵהֶם הֵן כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּסֵפֶר יְצִירָה ‘נָעוּץ תְּחִלָּתָן בְּסוֹפָן וְסוֹפָן בִּתְחִלָּתָן׳

וְנוֹדָע בַּשְּׁעָרִים כִּי כָּל הַמְשָׁכַת הַחַיּוּת וְהַהַשְׁפָּעָה מֵעֶלְיוֹנִים לַתַּחְתּוֹנִים מֵהֶם הֵן כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּסֵפֶר יְצִירָה'נָעוּץ תְּחִלָּתָן בְּסוֹפָן וְסוֹפָן בִּתְחִלָּתָן׳ It is "known in the gates" that the whole drawing forth of vitality and sustenance from the higher to the lower realms is in keeping with what is written in Sefer Yetzira : "Their beginning is wedged in their end, and their end in their beginning." The expression "it is known in the gates," which appeared at the beginning of the epistle, appears here again, yet this time, in relation to that particular information that "cannot be thoroughly clarified in a letter" (a phrase that will appear in this epistle further on), information that can only truly be "known" according to an individual's subjective internal experience. There is a connection between the beginning and end of the vitality and sustenance, a direct connection between the first point and the last that passes through all of the intermediary layers: between the first thought, which appears as a sort of initial idea and will, to the final point of existence that comes about after all the spiritual and physical processes. This connection has two aspects: from above downward ("their beginning is embedded in their end") and from below upward ("and their end in their beginning.")

וּבְכִתְבֵי הָאֲרִ״י ז״ל מְכוּנָּה בְּשֵׁם ‘אוֹר יָשָׁר׳ וְ׳אוֹר חוֹזֵר׳

In the writings of the Arizal this is called the "direct light" and the "returning light," The drawing down from above and the drawing up from below are called, respectively, the "direct light" and the "returning light." The direct light is the light that God sends to maintain and vivify all of the worlds, and the returning light is the light that returns from them. The direct light is called direct because it comes directly from God, the source of life and light. While, the returning light is the light that returns from the opposite axis, the lowest level that light reaches. The author of the Tanya emphasizes here that the light that comes from below is not a different light, but the very light and vitality that descended from above. This cyclic dynamic is not comprised of different elements, but between various aspects and perspectives of the same thing. There is a single unity. The more its oneness is revealed, the more the flow improves, without barriers. This "other" formation, as it were, of the latter side, creates a tension, an energy, that impels the entire universe. However, it is important to remember that this tension is not intended to reveal, by way of analogy, an "other" that is outside but rather, the "other" that is within: an additional layer of the depth of essence that is even more authentic.

וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״וְהַחַיּוֹת רָצוֹא וָשׁוֹב״ (יחזקאל א,יד)

As it is written: "The creatures were racing forward and returning" (Ezek. 1:14). The word "creatures," ḥayot, can also be vowelized as ḥiyyut, "vitality." This means that life and vitality in general are not something that merely exists, but something that goes out and comes back with a movement of "racing forward" and "returning." Racing forward is the emergence of the vitality from the vessel, that is, of the soul from the body. It races with yearning to bond with and be nullified in the source of the divine light. While "returning" is the opposite movement, the return of the vitality to the body and the world. "Racing forward" is the soul's response to its contemplating its position below, entrenched in darkness and concealment. It is an expression of its yearning for the infinite divine, and to break free of its limited faculties to connect with God. While "return" is the soul's response to its contemplation from above, when divine reality is no longer a distant goal it yearns for, but rather, the reality in which that soul exists. At that moment, besides the awe that the soul experiences, it sees that there is no difference between above and below, but that the Divine exists in everything, even where the body is below. Then, the movement of the soul is a return to the body in which it exists, to worldly life and to that which the soul must accomplish here.

אֲשֶׁר עַל כֵּן, עַל פִּי הַדְּבָרִים וְהָאֱמֶת הָאֵלֶּה, אֲשֶׁר אִי אֶפְשָׁר לְבָאֵר הֵיטֵב בְּמִכְתָּב, נִקְרֵאת הַשְּׁכִינָה בְּשֵׁם לֵב וְהַנְּשָׁמוֹת בְּשֵׁם אֵבָרִים

For this reason, in accordance with these words and truth, which cannot be thoroughly clarified in a letter, the Divine Presence is called "heart" and the souls are called "organs," The author of the Tanya presented here the background to help explain the object of the analogy, even though ultimately such an explanation cannot be adequately conveyed in a letter. His explanation here of the object of the analogy is too abstract and too distant from the reality of one's daily life, and so the topic can be best explained only by presenting an analogy. Therefore, particularly in this case, when the distance between the physical analogy and its divine object is so great, there is no unequivocal wording that will directly connect the two that can be written down for all people in all places and at all times. Rather, these are matters that, as was noted initially, "are known in the gates [she'arim ]." That is to say, the knowledge of them depends on the measure (shiur ) of each individual at the time that he hears it. They can be transmitted only in person orally, if at all. All this being said, according to these introductory words, each person can, according his measure, understand the object of the analogy: the heart and organs allude to the Divine Presence and to souls. Even if the topic cannot be explained objectively or intellectually, a person can, precisely because of that, get a sense of the infinite gap between the analogy and the object of the analogy, and grasp some true feeling regarding the object of the analogy. Most importantly, and it is with this that the epistle continues, a person can arrive at concrete conclusions from these concepts: How he can apply this understanding in his down-to-earth life, how he can truly serve God here with what he has. The author of the Tanya will discuss these practical ramifications that can be drawn from the analogy – the heart, the organs and the health of the body – and with that, he will conclude this epistle.

לְהוֹרוֹת לָנוּ כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר כָּל הַנְּשָׁמוֹת דְּבוּקוֹת וּמְקוּשָּׁרוֹת יַחַד אֲזַי סִיבּוּב וְהִילּוּךְ הַחַיּוּת וְהַהַשְׁפָּעָה סוֹבֵב סוֹבֵב, וְנָעוּץ סוֹפָן בִּתְחִלָּתָן

to teach us that when all souls cleave and connect together, then the circulation and the procession of vitality and sustenance circulates and circulates, and their end is wedged in their beginning, The existence of vitality (as well as the illumination of the essence of existence itself) is its flow: from beginning to end and from end to beginning, as explained earlier. If there is no movement, if there is no stream that races forward and returns, there is no life. As in the breath or the heartbeat, a person cannot live with only inhalation or exhalation, but rather, with rhythmic recurrence. Therefore, so that the vitality will stream from one part to another, from one soul to another, these parts must cling to each other, without any interruption and interposition that would interfere in the slightest way with the movement of life. The emphasis is specifically on the connection between the souls of Israel, because all the worlds receive their life vitality from these souls. The souls of Israel are the inner dimension of all existence, giving its every element life. They justify and give meaning to the external, visible layer of life. The vitality of each soul lends vitality to the part of the world that relates to it. Therefore, if the vitality is not clothed completely in that soul, there is a blemish in that part of the world. All of these souls are connected to each other, like the organs of a body, in a single entirety that is called the Congregation of Israel, which is the Divine Presence – which is, by way of analogy, the heart of the entire world. The analogy communicates yet more: this heart from which vitality spreads to all of the organs is not something that exists apart from the person. So too, the Divine Presence, the source of the divine vitality in all souls and worlds, is not something separate from them. The worlds, the souls of Israel and the Divine Presence are one. Therefore, just as the oneness of a person's body is revealed only when he is alive (whereas when he is not alive, every organ is separate), so too the Congregation of Israel, which is the Divine Presence, a single divine life force in all parts of the worlds, is revealed only when the stream of life among souls flows freely.

לְקַשֵּׁר וּלְחַבֵּר כּוּלָּן לַהֲוָיָ״ה אֶחָד וּלְדָבְקָה בּוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ

to connect and join them all into the one essence [Havaya ] and to cleave to Him, may He be blessed. The bonding of souls together leads to their bonding with and clinging to the one God. That is because the revelation of the Divine Presence has infinite significance. The revelation of the Divine Presence means that everything is divine vitality. Divine vitality means that the Divine is present right here. It is the presence of the infinite one who fills everything and encompasses everything, who is actually the only existence. In the language of the Kabbalists, the revelation of the Divine Presence means "the unification of the Holy One, blessed be He and His Divine Presence." That is to say, everything that the analogy states regarding the vitality and health of the body applies to the object of the analogy, to the unification with and clinging to that which is beyond the body and the vitality within it.

וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם כּוּלְּכֶם לִפְנֵי הֲוָיָ״ה אֱלֹקֵיכֶם״ (דברים כט,ט) ״כּוּלְּכֶם״ דַּיְּקָא וְ״לִפְנֵי״ דַּיְּקָא, ״רָאשֵׁיכֶם כו׳ מֵחוֹטֵב עֵצֶיךָ כו׳״

As it is written: "You are standing today, all of you, before Havaya your God" (Deut. 29:9) – the verse specifically states "all of you," and specifically states "before," "your heads…," "from the hewer of your wood.... " All of the souls of Israel must without exception stand in a state of love and oneness, and "before Me." Only when they are all one, do they rise to the countenance of God Himself. God too has a front and back, as it were. The back relates to the externality of existence and to the multitude of revelations in it: the multitude of worlds and created beings. While the "countenance" (panim ), the inner essence (penimi ), relates to the oneness within the entire multiplicity. Each entity has many external revelations and a single essence that lies underneath all the revelations. Hasidic teachings explain that "before Havaya" means that He Himself is before and above existence that is enclothed in the name Havaya, the name that creates everything. "Before Havaya your God" refers to God prior to His being the power and life force of the souls of Israel. That being the case, when all of you stand together, connected and bonded to each other, it is precisely then that you stand "before Havaya your God." The verse goes on to detail what constitutes "all of you": "your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your police, each man of Israel, your infants, your wives, and your convert in the midst of your camp, from your woodcutter to your water drawer." It is explained that this itemization alludes to the ten levels of souls of Israel, from "your heads" to "your water drawer." Additionally, the number ten, like the ten sefirot and the ten powers of the soul, indicates an overall wholeness.

וּבָזֶה יוּבָן מַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ ז״ל כִּי חוּרְבַּן בַּיִת שֵׁנִי וּנְפִילַת יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּגָּלוּת, וְהִסְתַּלְּקוּת הַשְּׁכִינָה, וִירִידָתָהּ לֶאֱדוֹם בִּבְחִינַת גָּלוּת כִּבְיָכוֹל

Based on this, the following statement of our Rabbis may be understood: that the destruction of the Second Temple, and Israel's fall into exile and the departure of the Divine Presence and its descent to Edom in the form of exile, as it were, The destruction of the second Temple represented a new descent into exile, more encompassing and deeper than what we had known until then. The Temple is the place where the Divine Presence resides and is revealed. The destruction of the Temple entails the departure of the Divine Presence, in the sense of its concealment, so that it is no longer revealed in the world as it had been before. The departure of the Divine Presence is also its descent into exile, because "departure" means that only in the heights is it revealed, but below it becomes more concealed. In spiritual terms, concealment is descent: the deeper the concealment, the deeper and more intense is the descent. The Sages call this exile since the destruction of the second Temple to our day "the exile of Edom." Simply understood, "Edom" refers to the Roman Empire, which destroyed the Temple and brought about this present exile that scattered Israel across the Roman empire and introduced the culture of Rome and that of Rome's heirs, the Christians, to this day, to the Jewish people. In a deeper sense, Edom is Esau (Gen. 36:43), that being the kelippa of severe Gevura (Esau was the corrupt son of Isaac, the latter being the trait of holy Gevura ). Therefore, since Esau is close to holiness ("Is Esau not a brother to Jacob?" Mal. 1:2), he is especially deep and problematical. Despite that and because of that, the rectification of this kelippa will entail the complete rectification of the character of Israel and of the exile of the Divine Presence overall. However, this descent to exile is not a real descent. Although it appears as such, in truth there is no true concealment of the Divine Presence, of Godly presence, within existence, but only the appearance of such. Therefore, in the most general way one may say that from the moment that we conduct ourselves as though there is no concealment, as though God exists and is revealed here, in our mind, in our thoughts and in our keeping all of His mitzvot, that is already the revealing of the Divine Presence and the redemption from our personal exile.

הַכֹּל הָיָה בַּעֲוֹן שִׂנְאַת חִנָּם וּפֵירוּד לְבָבוֹת רַחֲמָנָא לִיצְּלַן וְלָכֵן נִקְרֵאת ‘חוֹלָה׳, עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל

were all due to the sin of baseless hatred and the separation between hearts, may the Merciful One save us. And therefore, the exiled Divine Presence is called "sick," figuratively speaking. The exile of the Divine Presence in Edom is the most severe and profound exile of all. The Divine Presence is now said to be sick. The epistle opened with the analogy of the body growing ill because the flow of blood from the heart to the organs has been impeded. The object of this analogy is the exile of the Divine Presence. The illness is the impeding of the flow of the vitality from the Divine Presence to the souls of Israel and to all existence. Baseless hatred occurs when people hate each other without cause. They hate each other because there is no true connection among them. To hate a Jew is never good. It is a sin forbidden by the Torah. But at least when there is a reason to hate someone, there is a connection with him. A person is enraged because he cares. However, baseless hatred means that there is no connection, and that is a problem of a different scope: not only a functional difficulty, but an illness.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁאוֹמְרִים ״סוֹמֵךְ נוֹפְלִים וְרוֹפֵא חוֹלִים״, לְשׁוֹן רַבִּים, הֵם כָּל הָאֵבָרִים וכו׳

As we say "Who supports those who are fallen and heals those who are sick" in the plural form, because that refers to all the organs.... Why is this phrase in the Shemoneh Esrei prayer stated in the plural? The author of the Tanya explains that, in essence, it is referring to the healing and redemption of the Divine Presence. The plural is used because it is referring to all the souls of Israel, which are like organs of the Divine Presence. They are ill in that they are not united, and they heal when they attain oneness and harmony among themselves. It is true that all of the blessings in the Shemoneh Esrei prayer are stated in the plural. However, this instance has a special meaning that sheds light on the entire Shemoneh Esrei. This part of the Shemoneh Esrei prayer is a request for the healing of a multiplicity. The very fact that there is a multiplicity indicates illness and lack. As in the analogy, if a person does not feel the unity of his organs and they express themselves, as it were, in the plural, something is not healthy. Therefore, we ask God to restore wholeness to their lack so that they will be one in His oneness and not multiple, not separated from Him.