״וַיַּעַשׂ דָּוִד שֵׁם״ (שמואל ב ח, יג).

It is written, "David made a name" (II Sam. 8:13). The simple meaning of these words imply that David made a name for himself because, as the verse goes on to say, he had demonstrated his might "upon his return from his smiting the Arameans in the Valley of Salt, eighteen thousand men." Here, however, the author of the Tanya interprets the verse according to the Zohar, connecting it to verses that follow in the same chapter.

וּפֵירֵשׁ בַּזּוֹהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ: מִשּׁוּם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ״וַיְהִי דָוִד עוֹשֶׂה מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה לְכָל עַמּוֹ כו׳״ (שמואל ב שם טו), ״בָּכָה ר׳ שִׁמְעוֹן וְאָמַר: מַאן עָבֵיד שְׁמָא קַדִּישָׁא בְּכָל

The holy Zohar explains that this is related to the verse "And David performed justice and charity for his entire people…" (II Sam. 8:15), as the Zohar states (3:113b), "Rabbi Shimon

יוֹמָא? מַאן דְּיָהֵיב צְדָקָה לְמִסְכְּנֵי״ כו׳ (זהר ח״ג קיג, ב).

cried and said,'Who makes the holy name every day? One who gives charity to a pauper….'" The Hebrew word asa can mean both "made" and "performed." The Zohar, then, extrapolates that David "made a name" through "performing justice and charity for his entire people." In light of this, it is not that David made a name for himself but rather that he made a name for God, as it were. The author of the Tanya goes on to explore what it means to make a name for God, what is the essence of a name in general, and the connection between making a name and "performing justice and charity." The answers to these questions comprise the contents of this letter.

וְיוּבַן בְּהַקְדֵּים מַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ ז״ל עַל פָּסוּק(ישעיה כו, ד): בְּה׳ נִבְרָא עוֹלָם הַזֶּה, בְּיוּ״ד נִבְרָא עוֹלָם הַבָּא (מנחות כט, ב).

This may be understood in light of the Rabbis' statement regarding the verse "For God the Lord is an everlasting rock" (Isa. 26:4). The Rabbis expound that this world was created with the letter heh , while the World to Come was created with the letter yod (Menaḥot 29b). The name used for God in this verse is comprised of the letters yod and heh. The word for rock, tzur, is also etymologically connected to the word yatzar, to create or fashion, and the word for everlasting, olamim, also means "worlds." The Sages thus read this verse saying, "For with the letters yod and heh, God created worlds." He created this world with the letter heh, while the blueprint for the World to Come is the yod.

פֵּירוּשׁ, שֶׁהַתַּעֲנוּג שֶׁמִּתְעַנְּגִים נִשְׁמוֹת הַצַּדִּיקִים וְנֶהֱנִין מִזִּיו הַשְּׁכִינָה

This means that the delight experienced by the souls of the righteous and the pleasure they derive from the radiance of the Divine Presence Unlike in our world, the radiant splendor of the Divine Presence is openly revealed in the Garden of Eden, a radiance in which the souls who merit being there delight after a lifetime in this world. In the words of the Sages: "The righteous sit with their crowns upon their heads, enjoying the radiance of the Divine Presence" (Berakhot 17a).

הַמֵּאִיר בְּגַן עֵדֶן עֶלְיוֹן וְתַחְתּוֹן

that shines in the higher and lower planes of the Garden of Eden In a general sense, there are two levels of the Garden of Eden: the higher and the lower planes. Other sources explain that the expression "the higher and lower [planes of the] Garden of Eden" does not imply that there are two levels but rather that there are various levels of the Garden of Eden, one higher than the next. Above the higher level of the Garden of Eden is an even higher edenic realm, and so on and so forth. This is how we understand the talmudic statement "Torah scholars have rest neither in this world nor in the World to Come" (Berakhot 64a; Mo'ed Katan 29a). Even in the Garden of Eden, Torah scholars ascend from one level to the next in their apprehension of Torah, not just one or two levels but endless levels, to the extent that they do not rest on any given level, because every level has another level above it.

הוּא שֶׁמִּתְעַנְּגִים בְּהַשָּׂגָתָם וְהַשְׂכָּלָתָם שֶׁמַּשְׂכִּילִים וְיוֹדְעִים וּמַשִּׂיגִים

consists of their taking pleasure in their intellectual apprehension of the divine light. They perceive, know, and apprehend "Intellectual apprehension" in the Garden of Eden indicates a deep apprehension with all the faculties of the intellect: wisdom, indicated by the fact that they "perceive"; understanding, conveyed by the term "apprehend"; and knowledge, intimated by "know." There are levels of apprehension wherein a person knows the details, can repeat the words, yet still does not fully understand. This is common in children but happens with adults as well. A person learns and reviews a piece of information, but when we check to see what he gleans, it turns out that he does not have any idea what he is talking about. When there is no understanding or internal acquisition of the information, there is also no enjoyment of it. He may have other vague emotions associated with the knowledge, but he will only delight in the idea when he has a palpable understanding of it.

אֵיזֶה הַשָּׂגָה בְּאוֹר וְחַיּוּת הַשּׁוֹפֵעַ שָׁם מֵאֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא, בִּבְחִינַת גִּילּוּי לְנִשְׁמָתָם וְרוּחַ בִּינָתָם,

some degree of apprehension of the light and life force that flows there from Ein Sof, blessed be He, as a revelation to their souls and their spirit of understanding Even the righteous in the Garden of Eden do not apprehend the full scope of the Divine Presence in all its glory. It is beyond human comprehension, even of that of the greatest tzaddikim. Apprehension in the Garden of Eden is restricted to what the author of the Tanya refers to as "some [degree of] apprehension," a limited glimmer tailored to every soul.

לְהָבִין וּלְהַשִּׂיג אֵיזֶה הַשָּׂגָה, כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד לְפִי מַדְרֵגָתוֹ וּלְפִי מַעֲשָׂיו.

so they may understand and apprehend some degree of apprehension, each one according to his level and according to his deeds. One's capacity for comprehension in the Garden of Eden depends on two factors: his spiritual level, which refers to the soul's nature and the degree of its perfection, and his deeds, which are a person's actions and the lifestyle he followed while in this world. The first criterion implies the level on which the person's soul was created at its inception. Although the quintessential nature of every soul is equal, the extent to which each one reveals itself in nature differs. God creates different people on different levels. The higher the level of the soul, the greater its capacity for apprehension. The second parameter that determines a person's level in the Garden of Eden is his deeds during his lifetime. Although the essential power of the mitzvot a person performs in this world far transcends their personal effect on him, they do affect his soul and form spiritual garments around him. The soul arrives in the Garden of Eden with that mitzva garment and through it receives and apprehends the radiant splendor of the Divine Presence. For the soul, which is a creation, to enjoy the radiance of the Divine Presence, which is divine, it needs a medium that will bridge the gap and translate the holiness of Ein Sof into terms that it can grasp. Even after the soul separates from the body, the soul remains individualized, defined, and distinct, and no matter how spiritual and ethereal it is, it is limited by its own confines. The garment of a mitzva serves as the medium through which contact with the Divine is forged. This is what is meant by "according to his deeds": The apprehension and delight of the souls in the Garden of Eden are dependent on the mitzvot and good deeds a person did while alive.

וְלָכֵן נִקְרָא עוֹלָם הַבָּא בְּשֵׁם בִּינָה בַּזּוֹהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ.

Therefore, the World to Come is called Bina in the holy Zohar. The Garden of Eden is the place where the soul perceives the Divine. This perception is such that the soul can delight in it. The World to Come is thus the place of Bina, of the attribute of understanding, the place where one truly comprehends and delights in this sublime awareness.

וְהַשְׁפָּעָה זוֹ נִמְשֶׁכֶת מִבְּחִינַת חָכְמָה עִילָּאָה, שֶׁהוּא מְקוֹר הַהַשְׂכָּלָה וְהַהַשָּׂגָה, הַנִּקְרָא בְּשֵׁם בִּינָה.

This flow of Bina issues forth from the level of supernal Ḥokhma, which is the source of the perception and apprehension called Bina. Like the faculties of the soul, Ḥokhma, the sefira of Wisdom, is the level that precedes Bina, Understanding, so that it serves as the source of flow and illumination for Bina.

וְהוּא קַדְמוּת הַשֵּׂכֶל, קוֹדֶם שֶׁבָּא לִכְלַל גִּילּוּי הַשָּׂגָה וַהֲבָנָה, רַק עֲדַיִין הוּא בִּבְחִינַת הֶעְלֵם וְהֶסְתֵּר,

Ḥokhma is the preceding state of the intellect, before it is developed and manifests as apprehension and understanding. At that point, it is still in a hidden, concealed state Ḥokhma is the unperceived stage that precedes understanding, like an idea before it becomes articulated as a rational thought. In this raw state, at the inception of comprehension, the intellect cannot be grasped. It is still concealed. But we can occasionally sense something. We can feel the flash of an idea inside us that we cannot wrap our heads around. We grasp only a glimmer of it. This feeling, which is not rational but rather is the very inception of clear comprehension, points to the hidden stage of Ḥokhma.

רַק שֶׁמְּעַט, מִזְּעֵיר שָׁם זְעֵיר שָׁם, שׁוֹפֵעַ וְנִמְשָׁךְ מִשָּׁם לִבְחִינַת בִּינָה, לְהָבִין וּלְהַשִּׂיג שֵׂכֶל הַנֶּעֱלָם.

but for a minuscule amount, a bit here, a bit there, that flows forth and is channeled from there to the faculty of Bina, so that one may understand and comprehend a hidden concept rooted in Ḥokhma. The content in Ḥokhma is hidden. Only a minuscule measure, like that of a needle point, is drawn down and threshed out through the faculty of Bina.

וְלָכֵן נִקְרָא בְּשֵׁם ״נְקוּדָּא בְּהֵיכָלָא״ בַּזּוֹהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ.

Therefore, Ḥokhma is called a "dot in the palace" in the holy Zohar. The Zohar explains that Bina is the palace and Ḥokhma is the point in the palace. Ḥokhma itself is a pure point, without any dimensions. It manifests within the palace and within reality as a point of contact, a nexus of congruence between the hidden source of the intellect and the thinking soul. In the process of understanding, where Bina is employed, this point progressively expands, shining its light more and more until it fills the palace.

וְזוֹ הִיא תְּמוּנַת יוּ״ד

This dot is reflected by the shape of the letter yod in the name of Havaya , The four letters of the name of Havaya correspond to the ten sefirot. Moreover, the Sages and kabbalists explain that the shape of the written letters expresses their essence. The letter yod is closest to the shape of a point (it is actually impossible to draw a quintessential point) and so represents the point of Ḥokhma. The tips of the letter yod, protrusions that extend from the top and bottom of the letter, are extensions from the point of Ḥokhma, representing its ability to connect to other realities, above and below it.

וְנִקְרָא ‘עֵדֶן׳ אֲשֶׁר עָלָיו נֶאֱמַר: ״עַיִן לֹא רָאָתָה כו׳״ (ישעיה סד, ג).

and it is called Eden, of which it is said, "No eye has seen…" (Isa. 64:3). The Garden of Eden has two aspects: garden and Eden, as the verse states, "And a river emerged from Eden to water the garden" (Gen. 2:10). There is Eden, there is a river that flows out of it, and then there is the garden that receives that river. The place where the souls bask in the radiant splendor of the Divine Presence is in the garden, while Eden, the hidden source of the vitality of the garden, is concealed, as the verse attests, "No eye has seen…." Eden is the point of Ḥokhma, which is intrinsically incomprehensible. Only its effect, that which flows from it, can be grasped. Until this point, the author of the Tanya has focused on the yod of the name of Havaya with which the World to Come was created. He has also described the relationship between the yod and the first heh of the name, with the relationship between Ḥokhma and Bina, also called "father" and "mother," which the yod and heh represent. Now the author will discuss the second part of the statement from the Midrash quoted above, the heh with which this world was created. Meaning, the relationship between the "father" and the "daughter," between Ḥokhma and Malkhut, between the yod and the final heh of the name.

וְנִקְרָא ״אַבָּא יְסַד בְּרַתָּא״ (זהר חלק ג רנו, ב).

Ḥokhma is also called "the father who founded the daughter" (Zohar 2:256b). Ḥokhma is described here in terms of its relationship to the daughter, which is the sefira of Malkhut, which in turn corresponds with the final heh of the name of Havaya. The expression "the father who founded the daughter" is a kabbalistic rendition of the verse "The Lord founded the earth with wisdom, established the heavens with understanding" (Prov. 3:19). Ḥokhma, which is the highest level among the sefirot, as well as among the faculties of the soul, connects to the earth, the lowest, most physical level, while Bina, which is lower than Ḥokhma, corresponds to the heavens, the spiritual world above the earth. Ostensibly, the opposite should be true, yet lofty Ḥokhma, which is the origin of the intellect and can be grasped neither by the intellect nor by any conscious faculty of the soul, reveals itself particularly at the lowest level, the level of Malkhut, that of the lowly earth. In the soul, Malkhut manifests in the words and letters of speech, which emerge from within the soul outward. To further explain the unique relationship between the father and the daughter, between Ḥokhma and Malkhut, the author of the Tanya delves into a deep and unique explanation of the nature of the Hebrew letters.

פֵּירוּשׁ, כִּי הִנֵּה הִתְהַוּוּת אוֹתִיּוֹת הַדִּבּוּר הַיּוֹצְאוֹת מֵה׳ מוֹצָאוֹת הַפֶּה אֵינָן דָּבָר מוּשְׂכָּל.

The meaning of this is as follows: The formation of the letters of speech emitted by the five organs of articulation is not an intellectual process. The twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet are formed by the five organs of articulation: the throat, the palate, the tongue, the teeth, and the lips. The process by which the letters emerge from their origin, the unique articulation of each one, is not rational. When a person speaks, he is unaware of what he does and why. He does not consciously think to himself that he wants to express certain letters instead of others, through particular organs of articulation versus others.

וְלֹא מוּטְבָּע בְּטֶבַע מוֹצָאוֹת הַלָּלוּ לְהוֹצִיא מִבְטָא הָאוֹתִיּוֹת עַל יְדֵי הַהֶבֶל וְהַקּוֹל הַמַּכֶּה בָּהֶן עַל פִּי דֶּרֶךְ הַטֶּבַע וְלֹא עַל פִּי דֶּרֶךְ הַשֵּׂכֶל.

It is also not inherent in the nature of these five organs for them to articulate the specific sound of the letters by means of the breath and the sound that strikes them through a natural faculty nor by any intellectual process. There is no rational connection between the content of words and the letters that serve to express that content, nor is the expression of the letters a natural phenomenon that is ingrained in the organs of articulation, necessarily causing certain sounds instead of others to be expressed. The low of a cow is inborn in the cow. It creates a certain sound and not any other. A donkey does not sing like a bird, not because it does not want to but because its vocal chords are not made to create bird sounds. Likewise, the five organs of articulation of a human being produce the basic sounds that are natural to the human voice. By contrast, the words and letters that we vocalize and articulate using the organs of articulation do not stem from our hard-wired instruments of speech, but rather depend on our will, which is not confined to any biological principles.

כְּגוֹן הַשְּׂפָתַיִם עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, שֶׁאוֹתִיּוֹת בומ״פ יוֹצְאוֹת מֵהֶן, אֵין הַטֶּבַע וְלֹא הַשֵּׂכֶל נוֹתֵן לִיצִיאַת מִבְטָא אַרְבַּע חֶלְקֵי שִׁינּוּיֵי בִּיטּוּי אוֹתִיּוֹת אֵלּוּ, עַל פִּי שִׁינּוּיֵי תְּנוּעַת הַשְּׂפָתַיִם שֶׁמִּתְנוֹעַנְעוֹת בְּהֶבֶל אֶחָד וְקוֹל אֶחָד הַפּוֹגֵעַ בָּהֶן בְּשָׁוֶה.

For example, concerning the lips, from which the letters bet, vav, mem , and peh are articulated, neither the nature of the lips nor any conscious decision of the mind dictates the emission of the sounds of the four different expressions of these letters, in accordance with changes in the movement of the lips, which move by one breath and one voice that strikes them equally. The lips form these letters by molding the breath and simple sounds. The basic breath is the same with all the letters and changes only through the movement of the lips as it expresses the letters bet, vav, mem, and peh. But the shape of the lips as they formulate letters, the particular sound that emerges from the throat and causes the lips to take a particular shape, is neither rational nor physically ingrained.

וְאַדְּרַבָּה, שִׁינּוּי הַתְּנוּעוֹת שֶׁבַּשְּׂפָתַיִם הוּא לְפִי שִׁינּוּי בִּיטּוּי הָאוֹתִיּוֹת שֶׁבִּרְצוֹן הַנֶּפֶשׁ לְבַטֵּא בִּשְׂפָתַיִם כִּרְצוֹנָהּ, לוֹמַר אוֹת ב׳ אוֹ ו׳ אוֹ מ׳ אוֹ פ׳.

On the contrary, the change in the movements of the lips is determined by a change in the pronunciation of the letters that the soul desires to express with the lips according to its will, to pronounce the letter bet or vav or mem or peh. The lips do not receive their direction from a later stage of intellectual processing, or even from an external biological urge. The shape of the letters themselves mirror the letters as they arise in the inner will of one's soul. There, in the inner will of the soul, the letters already exist and are but copied and pasted to the outside world through the mouth's organs of articulation.

וְלֹא לְהֵיפֶךְ, שֶׁיִּהְיֶה רְצוֹן הַנֶּפֶשׁ וְכַוָּנָתָהּ לַעֲשׂוֹת שִׁינּוּי תְּנוּעוֹת הַשְּׂפָתַיִם, כְּמוֹ שֶׁהֵן מִתְנַעְנְעוֹת עַתָּה בְּבִיטּוּיַי אַרְבַּע אוֹתִיּוֹת אֵלּוּ.

It is not the other way around, that the soul desires and consciously intends to make a change in the movement of the lips as they move now when these four letters are enunciated. The soul does not express the letters according to its wishes and intention, but rather the letters are expressed automatically according to internal templates that exist in the origin of the soul.

וְכַנִּרְאֶה בְּחוּשׁ, שֶׁאֵין הַנֶּפֶשׁ מִתְכַּוֶּונֶת וְיוֹדַעַת לְכַוֵּין כְּלָל שִׁינּוּי תְּנוּעוֹת הַשְּׂפָתַיִם בְּשִׁינּוּיִים אֵלּוּ.

It is apparent from experience that the soul does not consciously intend or even know how to direct a change in the movements of the lips according to these distinctions between the letters. The author of the Tanya admits that this concept is difficult to understand but observable. A person is not aware of the actions he takes to express the various letters that he employs in his speech and writing, since this mechanism originates from a place deep within, beyond the intellect. He speaks, and the speech seems to activate the mouth, throat, lips, and so on.

וְיוֹתֵר נִרְאֶה כֵּן בְּבִטּוּי הַנְּקוּדּוֹת, שֶׁכְּשֶׁהַנֶּפֶשׁ רְצוֹנָהּ לְהוֹצִיא מִפִּיהָ נְקוּדַּת 'קָמַץ' אֲזַי מִמֵּילָא נִקְמָצִים הַשְּׂפָתַיִם, וּבְ'פַּתָּח' נִפְתָּחִים הַשְּׂפָתַיִם, וְלֹא שֶׁרְצוֹן הַנֶּפֶשׁ לִקְמוֹץ וְלֹא לִפְתּוֹחַ כְּלָל וּכְלָל.

This is even more evident in the enunciation of the vowels. When the soul wishes to produce the sound of the vowel kamatz, the lips automatically constrict, and for the sound of the pataḥ, the lips automatically open, and it is not that the soul consciously desires to constrict or open the lips at all. The Ashkenazic pronunciation of the kamatz and the pataḥ requires this constriction and opening of the lips, respectively. Thus the name of the vowel itself, kamatz, literally means to constrict, and pataḥ literally means to open.

וְאֵין לְהַאֲרִיךְ בְּדָבָר הַפָּשׁוּט וּמוּבָן וּמוּשְׂכָּל לְכָל מַשְׂכִּיל, שֶׁמִּבְטָא הָאוֹתִיּוֹת וְהַנְּקוּדּוֹת הוּא לְמַעְלָה מֵהַשֵּׂכֶל הַמּוּשָּׂג וּמוּבָן,

There is no need to go on at length about something so obvious, comprehensible, and sensible to any intelligent person, that the process of enunciating the letters and the vowels transcends the realm of apprehensible, conceivable intellect. Other physical actions, such as hand gestures or the operation of machinery, happens according to one's plan. By contrast, when a person speaks and enunciates the letters, he expresses his inner self, his essence, whose source lies beyond the revealed faculties of his soul.

אֶלָּא מִשֵּׂכֶל הַנֶּעֱלָם וְקַדְמוּת הַשֵּׂכֶל שֶׁבַּנֶּפֶשׁ הַמְדַבֶּרֶת.

Rather, it stems from the hidden intellect and the origins of the intellect that is within the speaking soul, In conclusion, the root of speech lies in the "hidden intellect" of the soul, which transcends the conscious intellect. This is the point of Ḥokhma, the source of speech, which reveals a glimmer of the highest, deepest aspect of the speaker, a facet of his being that far transcends the outermost reaches of his conscious mind.

וְלָכֵן אֵין הַתִּינוֹק יָכוֹל לְדַבֵּר, אַף שֶׁמֵּבִין הַכֹּל.

which is why a small child is unable to speak, even when he understands everything spoken to him. There is a particular age that a very young child understands that which is spoken to him yet still cannot speak. Although he has something to say and has reached the developmental stage necessary to produce all the sounds of speech and certainly expresses himself in other ways, he still cannot speak. Understanding speech and formulating speech do not necessarily go hand in hand. Formulating speech is its own enigma that stems from a very high level that young children have not yet reached. To attain this level, a child must arrive at a stage of spiritual development that is beyond the technical ability to speak. Until this point, the author of the Tanya has explained the axiom of the Sages regarding the verse "For God the Lord is an everlasting rock," employing the letters yod and heh to express God's name. The Sages learned from this that God created this world with the letter heh and the World to Come with the letter yod, which corresponds to Ḥokhma, which then informs Bina. The World to Come is the place of Bina, the phase wherein people bask in their apprehension of the radiant splendor of the Divine Presence. This world, on the other hand, created with the letter heh, signifies that Ḥokhma is embedded within it, since "the father founded the daughter." Now he will go on to explain what is unique about the influence of Ḥokhma specifically in speech, unlike the influence of Ḥokhma in Bina and in the World to Come. What is this special effect that comes from such a high place and descends so low, into the physical letters of speech? What quality do these letters possess that they stem from such a high and hidden place?

אַךְ הָאוֹתִיּוֹת הֵן בִּבְחִינַת חוֹמֶר וְצוּרָה, הַנִּקְרָא פְּנִימִית וְחִיצוֹנִית.

However, the letters are comprised of matter and form, which are also referred to as their inner and external dimensions. Letters, like most things in reality, are comprised of matter and form, which reflect the internality and externality of the letters. Form refers to the inner essence and content of a thing, while matter refers to the external structure, the material mass that takes on the thing's characteristics. A material like wood can take many forms: table, chair, board, or stick. The wood itself is also comprised of form and matter. The form is a composite of characteristics that comprise wood, its hardness, its flexibility and quality, and then there is the matter itself. A letter, whether spoken or written, also has two facets. It has an extremely lofty aspect, which is what it represents. Letters have meaning, and combining them formulates a meaningful message. Then there is its mechanical framework, how it is actually articulated and in what format it exists, its actual sound, written symbol, and so on.

כִּי הֲגַם שֶׁמְּקוֹרָן הוּא מִקַּדְמוּת הַשֵּׂכֶל וּרְצוֹן הַנֶּפֶשׁ, זוֹ הִיא בְּחִינַת צוּרַת שִׁינּוּי הַמִּבְטָא שֶׁבְּכ״ב אוֹתִיּוֹת.

Although their source is in the origins of intellect and the soul's will, that applies to the form, the differences in the enunciation of the twenty-two letters. The form of the letters stem from the incomprehensible origins of the intellect. This is the inner, essential facet of the letters that separates them from each other and defines their uniqueness. This characteristic comprises the great wonder that is the mystery of speech. This enigma has the power to reveal intellectual apprehension, but is itself much loftier, being intrinsically incomprehensible.

אֲבָל בְּחִינַת הַחוֹמֶר וְגוּף הִתְהַוּוּתָן, וְהוּא בְּחִינַת חִיצוֹנִיּוּתָן – הוּא הַהֶבֶל הַיּוֹצֵא מֵהַלֵּב, שֶׁמִּמֶּנּוּ מִתְהַוֶּה קוֹל פָּשׁוּט הַיּוֹצֵא מֵהַגָּרוֹן.

But the matter and body of their formation, which is their external dimension, is the breath issuing from the heart, from which a simple sound is formed that emerges from the throat. The matter of the letters, which bears all the forms of speech, is essentially the simple sound produced from the breath, the exhalation of air, that leaves the throat.

וְאַחַר כָּךְ נֶחְלָק לְכ״ב הֲבָרוֹת וּבִיטּוּי כ״ב אוֹתִיּוֹת, בְּה׳ מוֹצָאוֹת הַיְּדוּעוֹת אחה״ע מֵהַגָּרוֹן, גיכ״ק מֵהַחֵיךְ כו׳.

Then it is divided into twenty-two types of pronunciation and expression of the twenty-two letters through the five known organs of articulation: alef , ḥet , heh , and ayin through the throat; gimmel, yod, kaf , and kof through the palate… The movement of air, the basic sound that issues forth through the throat and the vocal cords, is then divided through the five organs of articulation, which each receive the basic sound, the matter of the letters, and formulate them into specific forms. The lips create the sounds of the bet, vav, mem, and peh, the tongue makes a dalet, tet, lamed, nun, and tav, and the teeth make zayin, samekh, tzadi, resh, and shin. The organs of articulation give form to the letter, while the matter of the letter is the sound, the simple breath that emerges from the throat.

וּמִבְטָא הַהֶבֶל הוּא אוֹת ה׳, "אָתָא קַלִּילָא כו׳״ (פיוט ״אקדמות״),

The breath itself is uttered by the letter heh, "a light letter, lacking substance" (Akdamut liturgy), The letter heh is nothing but exhaled air without the intervention of the organs of articulation, without the obstructions and variations placed on the basic sound of breath issuing forth from throat. Therefore, it is the letter without substance. The rest of the letters are uttered by obstructing that breath in various ways, while the enunciation of the letter heh is like the breath itself before it is otherwise articulated.

וְהוּא מְקוֹר הַחוֹמֶר וְגוּף הָאוֹתִיּוֹת טֶרֶם הִתְחַלְּקוּתָן לְכ"ב, וְלָכֵן אָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ ז״ל שֶׁעוֹלָם הַזֶּה נִבְרָא בְּה׳.

which is the source of the matter and body of the letters before they are divided into twenty-two, and therefore the Rabbis said that this world was created with the heh. The sound of the letter heh is a basic form, the original form, of all letters, and so it is like the mother and root of all the other letters. This is why the Sages tell us that this world was created with the letter heh. This world is called the "world of speech" and speech is comprised of the structures and forms that the sound of the letter heh takes. It follows that the initial root of this world is one big breath: the letter heh.

וְהִנֵּה הֲגַם שֶׁהִיא ה׳ תַּתָּאָה, ה׳ אַחֲרוֹנָה שֶׁבְּשֵׁם הֲוָיָה, וְְרַבּוֹתֵינוּ ז״ל דָּרְשׁוּ זֶה עַל פָּסוּק: ״כִּי בְּיָ״הּ״,

Though this is the lower heh, the final heh in the name of Havaya, whereas the Rabbis taught that "this world was created with the letter heh " based on the verse "For God [yod-heh ] the Lord is an everlasting rock," implying that the world was created with the first heh of the name, The name of Havaya contains two heh s, the second and last letters. The first heh corresponds to Bina and the second to Malkhut. The aforementioned explanation of the letter heh being the source of the letters of speech refers to the second heh of the divine name. Yet the Sages' statement regarding the creation of the world with the letter heh of the name refers to the first heh, which follows the yod and receives vitality from it.

הַיְינוּ לְפִי שֶׁמְּקוֹרָהּ וְרֵאשִׁיתָהּ לָבֹא לִבְחִינַת גִּילּוּי מֵהֶעְלֵם הַיּוּ״ד, הוּא מוּשְׁפָּע וְנִמְשָׁךְ מִבְּחִינַת ה׳ עִילָּאָה.

this is because the source and origin of the final heh progressing to a state of revelation from the concealment of the yod issues forth from the upper heh . The answer to this question lies in the fact that all the letters of the name of Havaya reveal in various ways the primordial point of Ḥokhma concealed in the letter yod. It is not coincidental that two letters of the name of Havaya, the second and the last, are identical. In the teachings of Kabbala, the upper heh and the lower heh are mother and daughter, Bina and Malkhut. This implies that the vitality that flows from the yod to the final heh must pass through the first heh. The final heh is therefore a reflection and projection of the first.

שֶׁיֵּשׁ לָהּ הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת אוֹרֶךְ וְרוֹחַב,

The form of the first heh is an expansion of the yod in length and breadth, The four letters that comprise the name of Havaya are essentially three different letters, yod, heh, and vav. If one contemplates the shape of the written letters, one will find that the letter yod hardly has any dimension at all. It is a simple dot. The letter vav has the dimension of length, while the letter heh has the dimensions of both length and breadth.

לְהוֹרוֹת עַל בְּחִינַת בִּינָה, שֶׁהִיא הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת הַשֵּׂכֶל הַנֶּעֱלָם בִּבְחִינַת גִּילּוּי וְהַשָּׂגָה בְּהַרְחָבַת הַדַּעַת.

indicating Bina, which is the expansion of the hidden intellect into a state of revelation and comprehension, broadened with Da'at , Knowledge. The yod is Ḥokhma, inherently incomprehensible and impossible to delve into or expand. It has just one graspable or ungraspable point. The first heh corresponds to Bina, the expansion of the hidden intellect into apprehension and understanding. Then comes a process of revelation and expansion called the expansion of Da'at. Expansion into the dimension of Da'at entails the spreading out to a realm that is not just intellect but also constitutes a rational connection to the emotional faculties of the soul, to the heart.

וְהַשְׁפָּעָתָהּ מִסְתַּיֶּימֶת בַּלֵּב, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּתִּיקּוּנִים (יז, א): ״דְּבִינָה לִבָּא וּבָהּ הַלֵּב מֵבִין״.

The flow of Bina culminates in the heart, as it is written in Tikkunei Zohar (17a), " Bina is the heart, and with it the heart understands." Beyond the mind-heart connection, the concept that "Bina is the heart" signifies a fabric of knowing that is more personal, affirming that it is particularly the faculty of Bina, as opposed to Ḥokhma, that forges the connection. Bina's whole purpose is to reach the heart, to be the heart. This is the test of Bina, of whether a person truly understands: If one's heart wells up with emotion, then he truly comprehends.

וּמִשָּׁם יוֹצֵא הַהֶבֶל מְקוֹר גִּילּוּי גּוּף הָאוֹתִיּוֹת הַדִּבּוּר הַמִּתְגַּלּוֹת בְּה׳ מוֹצָאוֹת

From there issues forth the breath, the original manifestation of the body of the letters of speech, which are manifest through the five organs of articulation The physical dimension mirrors the spiritual: Physical air that comprises the breath emerges from the chest, from the heart, and passes through the mouth's organs of articulation, which sculpt the letters.

מֵהֶעְלֵם הַיּוּ״ד.

from the hidden state within the yod. This whole process of the formulation of the breath, the basis of the enunciation of the letters, stems from the hidden state of the yod, from concealed, supernal Ḥokhma. In contrast to the form, the internal dimension, which is bound to the point of Ḥokhma (the "father that founded the daughter"), the formulation of the matter, the external dimension of the letters, emerges from a transitional process: from their hidden state in the yod (Ḥokhma ), through understanding (Bina ) and heartfelt emotion (the emotive attributes), until they are manifest as the letters of speech. The operations of physical speech resemble this process: The heart's function cultivates the movement of the lungs, which engenders the movement of air, which is the breath that is the source of the body of the letters.

וּתְמוּנַת ה׳ תַּתָּאָה בִּכְתִיבָתָהּ, גַּם כֵּן בְּהִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת אוֹרֶךְ וְרוֹחַב, מוֹרָה עַל הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת בְּחִינַת מַלְכוּתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ,

Like the first letter heh, the written form of the final heh, which is also an expansion in length and breadth, indicates the expansion of God's kingship, The final heh of the name of Havaya expresses the attribute of Malkhut in that its shape contains both length and breadth, depicting the expansion of the divine illumination from the essence of the sefirot in the world Atzilut (which, in a general sense, is the level of Ḥokhma, the dimensionless point) into the created worlds.

מַלְכוּת כָּל עוֹלָמִים,

the kingship of all the worlds, Malkhut expands throughout all the worlds in the sense that it sustains and enlivens every facet of every level of all the worlds.

לְמַעְלָה וּלְמַטָּה וּלְד׳ סִטְרִין

above and below and in the four directions These six directions are the dimensions of both the physical and spiritual worlds. The expansion of Malkhut to the six directions is what creates the dimensions of the world, its whole structure and character as we know it.

הַמִּתְפַּשְּׁטוֹת וְנִמְשָׁכוֹת מֵאוֹתִיּוֹת דְּבַר ה׳,

that extend and issue forth from the letters of God's speech, As the author of the Tanya explains in Sha'ar HaYiḥud VeHa'emuna, the letters of God's word in the ten utterances of Creation, in their various combinations and transmutations, create all the worlds. It is Malkhut and divine speech that creates and sustains all the worlds.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּקֹהֶלֶת (ח, ד): ״בַּאֲשֶׁר דְּבַר מֶלֶךְ שִׁלְטוֹן״, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר.

as it is written in Ecclesiastes (8:4), "Since governance is by the king's word," as explained elsewhere (Iggeret HaTeshuva, chap. 4). The word malkhut literally means governance, and the essence of governance depends on the "king's word," on the ability to disclose and transmit the king's wishes. Governance is not coercion. One can force people to do things on pain of death, but this is not Malkhut. The power of Malkhut and governance depends on the will and word of the king being performed, not through coercion, but rather through the transmission of the will in a way that those on the outside will resonate with it and be influenced. Governance is therefore an outcome of speech, of communication. When there is no communication, governance cannot happen. A person who cannot forge communication cannot rule. The whole point of governance is a clear and applicable external expression of the inner will.

[וּלְהָבִין מְעַט מִזְּעֵיר עִנְיַן וּמַהוּת אוֹתִיּוֹת הַדִּבּוּר בֶּאֱלֹהוּת,

(With regard to understanding a small fraction of the concept and essence of the letters of divine speech Here the author of the Tanya makes a general parenthetical comment about the analogy of physical speech and letters to divine speech and the ten utterances. The problem is not only with the analogy itself but also with its physical details as well: the air that emerges from the lungs, the vocal chords, the mouth's organs of articulation, the lips, the palate, and so on. The question is, how does all this physicality relate to the Divine?

שֶׁאֵין לוֹ דְּמוּת הַגּוּף וְלֹא הַנֶּפֶשׁ חַס וְשָׁלוֹם,

considering that God has no physical or spiritual form, God forbid, How do these physical images apply to God, who does not have any corporeality at all? How can we apply such a physical analogy to the Divine? The analogy of the articulation of the letters is presented here as a physical metaphor, but the author of the Tanya adds a comment to emphasize that divine speech, to which human speech is being compared, is ultimately incomprehensible, since "God has no physical or spiritual form." This is not just about the physicality of the letters, but also about the deeper aspects of the analogy, which are not particularly physical or material. God does not have anything that resembles a body, nor anything that vaguely resembles a soul. Just as it is forbidden for us to describe God in corporeal terms, it is forbidden to describe God as a spiritual entity. Spirituality, like physicality, follows particular principles and obviously cannot be attributed to the Divine. God fits neither into physical nor spiritual parameters since both are constructs of the created world, while the Divine is totally other. The only justification to speak about God as spiritual is when we define "spiritual" as everything that is not physical. The truth is that we can equally define God as material if we define the word "material" as anything that is not spiritual. Either way, the salient point here is that God has neither a physical nor spiritual form, God forbid.

כְּבָר נִתְבָּאֵר בְּדֶרֶךְ אֲרוּכָּה וּקְצָרָה (בְּלִקּוּטֵי אֲמָרִים, חֵלֶק ב׳ פֶּרֶק י״א וְי״ב עַיֵּין שָׁם).]

it has been explained at length yet concisely [in volume 2 of Likkutei Amarim , Sha'ar HaYiḥud VeHa'emuna, chaps. 11 and 12; see there].) The phrase "at length yet concisely," or, more literally, "in a long yet short way," echoes the wording that the author of the Tanya used in his introduction to Likkutei Amarim, which also applies to the second section of the Tanya, Sha'ar HaYiḥud VeHa'emuna. On the surface, this line seems to be a simple cross-reference to another place where these concepts are explained. Still, the author of the Tanya raises the question here and even adds the words "see there," since question is important with regard to the concepts presented in this letter. The author indicates that the reader should delve deeper into the question and study the concepts discussed there since the path to answering this question, the "long yet short way," passes through there.

אַךְ בֵּיאוּר הָעִנְיָן, לָמָּה אָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל שֶׁעוֹלָם הַזֶּה דַּוְקָא נִבְרָא בְּה׳?

Now we must explain why the Rabbis stated that it was specifically this world that was created with the letter heh : Since all the worlds were created with divine speech, from supernal letter combinations, it would make sense to say that all the worlds were created with the letter heh. Why did the Sages say that it was particularly this lowest and most physical of all worlds that was created with the heh?

הִנֵּה יָדוּעַ לְכָל חַכְמֵי לֵב כִּי רִיבּוּי הָעוֹלָמוֹת וְהַהֵיכָלוֹת אֲשֶׁר אֵין לָהֶם מִסְפָּר,

It is known to all the wisehearted that there are a multitude of worlds and chambers, so many that they cannot be counted, Until now, the author of the Tanya has referred to a general division of the two worlds: this world and the next world, or the physical world and the spiritual world. This distinction is extremely loose and only relates to the simplest perspective of reality. We speak about insects in a similar way. There are hundreds of thousands of species of insects, each different and unique. But since we have nothing to do with them, we are not interested in the differences between them. Most people do not care how many joints a particular species has in its middle leg compared to the number of joints in another species' middle leg. These differences are not meaningful to our everyday lives. To us, they are all just bugs. This is how we relate to the supernal worlds as well. Since we have nothing to do with them, nor the angels within them, we relate to them as if they are one homogenous entity. Yet occasionally we do need to relate to the infinite multiplicity within them and the unfathomably wide spectrum of variation found therein.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״הֲיֵשׁ מִסְפָּר לִגְדוּדָיו״ (איוב כה, ג).

as it is written, "Is there a number to His troops?" (Job 25:3). The troops of angels parallel what is called the heikhalot, or chambers, on high. While both express spiritual realities, the two are not synonymous. "Chamber" relates to a spiritual world or space, while "troop" implies a nefesh, the being that populates that spiritual world. The troop or chamber define a backdrop or framework that encompasses a certain number of beings. Such frameworks resemble what we call fields, like the mathematical expression that defines a range of numbers to which specific mathematical laws apply.

וּבְכָל הֵיכָל וּגְדוּד אֶלֶף אַלְפִין וְרִבּוֹא רִבְּבָן מַלְאָכִים.

In each chamber and troop there are thousands upon thousands and myriads upon myriads of angels. Other sources speak of God's countless troops, but even still, in every troop there is a defined number of beings, if vast in number. At the end of the day, a troop is a parameter, a field, which means that the number of creations it contains is necessarily defined and limited. By contrast, the number of possible troops is infinite.

וְכֵן נֶפֶשׁ, רוּחַ, נְשָׁמָה, חַיָּה, יְחִידָה, מַדְרֵגוֹת לְאֵין קֵץ.

Likewise, the soul levels of nefesh , ruaḥ , neshama , ḥaya , and yeḥida are each comprised of unlimited levels, There are myriad souls in every world and chamber. Moreover, the soul itself is not one undifferentiated entity but rather is comprised of five consecutive, fundamental levels that span from below to above, from the energy that comes in contact with the physical body to the highest level, which is unified with Ein Sof. Every segment of this endless continuum is a complete unit in and of itself.

וּבְכָל עוֹלָם וְהֵיכָלוֹת מֵרִיבּוּי הֵיכָלוֹת שֶׁבַּאֲצִילוּת בְּרִיאָה יְצִירָה.

and there are likewise unlimited levels in every world and in all the chambers among the multitudes of chambers that exist in the worlds of Atzilut , Beria , and Yetzira . These are the spiritual worlds that exist beyond the world of Asiya, each containing an infinite multiplicity of beings.

הִנֵּה כָּל רִיבּוּיִים אֵלּוּ, רִיבּוּי אַחַר רִיבּוּי עַד אֵין קֵץ מַמָּשׁ – הַכֹּל נִמְשָׁךְ וְנִשְׁפָּע מֵרִיבּוּי צֵירוּפֵי כ״ב אוֹתִיּוֹת דְּבַר ה׳, הַמִּתְחַלְּקוֹת גַּם כֵּן לְצֵירוּפִים רַבִּים עַד אֵין קֵץ וְתַכְלִית מַמָּשׁ,

All these multitudes, multitudes upon multitudes, which are literally without limit, all issue forth and flow from the myriad combinations of the twenty-two letters that constitute the word of God, which are likewise divided into a multitude of sequences, to a literally infinite and endless extent, Though each world and realm has a defined boundary, the number of worlds is infinite. All these worlds, be they physical or spiritual, receive their existence and vitality from combinations of the twenty-two letters. Every detail of reality is the manifestation of a different, unique letter permutation.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּסֵפֶר יְצִירָה (פרק רביעי משנה יב): ״שִׁבְעָה אֲבָנִים בּוֹנוֹת חֲמֵשֶׁת אֲלָפִים וְאַרְבָּעִים בָּתִּים. מִכָּאן וָאֵילָךְ צֵא וַחֲשׁוֹב, מַה שֶּׁאֵין הַפֶּה יָכוֹל לְדַבֵּר״ כו׳.

as stated in Sefer Yetzira (4:12): "Seven stones build five thousand forty houses. From here onward, go ahead and calculate that which the mouth cannot utter…." By way of analogy, Sefer Yetzira describes the way in which so many combinations are made from the twenty-two letters. It states there, "Two stones build two houses; three [stones], six houses; four [stones] build twenty-four houses; five [stones] build one hundred and twenty houses; six [stones] build seven hundred and twenty houses; seven [stones] build five thousand and forty houses…." The stones are a metaphor for letters, and the houses are words. "Two stones build two houses" indicates that two letters combine into two different permutations to make two different words. Three letters can combine with each other in six possible ways to create six words. Seven letters can already create up to 5,040 different words, and so on and so forth. Yet this formula calculates only how many permutations different letters can form together. When letters repeat and appear in different sequences, the number of combinations becomes so immense that it becomes virtually infinite and impossible to calculate to the extent that the mouth cannot express them.

וַהֲגַם שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּמַעֲלוֹת וּמַדְרֵיגוֹת הַמַּלְאָכִים וּנְשָׁמוֹת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה מִינֵי מַעֲלוֹת וּמַדְרֵיגוֹת חֲלוּקוֹת לְאֵין קֵץ, גָּבוֹהַּ עַל גָּבוֹהַּ,

Though among the degrees and levels of the angels and souls there are many different kinds of degrees and levels, an unlimited amount, one higher than the other, When we speak of physical combinations, such as a number of chairs or a number of stones or stars, they can amount to an immense quantity. Yet each individual detail therein exists on the same level, on the same plane of existence. When we speak of spiritual realities, on the other hand, of angels and souls, they are differentiated into myriad entities, not only within the same plane of existence, but in many different layers of existence.

הִנֵּה הַכֹּל נִמְשָׁךְ לְפִי חִילּוּפֵי הַצֵּירוּפִים וְהַתְּמוּרוֹת

they all issue forth according to the substitutions, combinations, and conversions of the letters As explained in Sha'ar HaYiḥud VeHa'emuna, the substituted letters are not the letters in their original form at Creation, but rather the letters of Creation after having undergone substitutions according to particular exchange systems. The original letters of Creation, which are the foundational forces through which the world was created, are the letters that comprise the ten utterances in Genesis. To enliven and sustain every one of the infinite creations in the endless places and times of existence, in both the higher and lower worlds, the original letters from those foundational utterances are substituted, particularized, and recombined.

בְּא״ת ב״ש כו׳ (וּכְמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר בְּפֶרֶק י״ב).

through the letter-substitution system called at-bash and so on (as explained in chapter 12 of Sha'ar HaYiḥud VeHa'emuna ). At-bash is one method of letter substitution, where the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, alef, is exchanged with the last letter, tav. The second letter, bet, is replaced with the second to last letter, shin, and so on. Every method of letter exchange holds different significance. How did a given letter reach its place in a given word? Through which exchange? The answers to these questions begin to shed light on the unique meaning of each new permutation, heaping additional significance on the fundamental significance of each letter on its own.

אַךְ דֶּרֶךְ כְּלָל, הִנֵּה כּוּלָּם בַּעֲלֵי חָכְמָה וְדַעַת,

But in general, beyond the variations and distinctions among them, all the angels and souls possess wisdom and knowledge, It may seem that only human beings possess wisdom and knowledge, but the higher worlds also contain sentient, knowledgeable beings.

וְיוֹדְעִים אֶת בּוֹרְאָם,

and they know their Creator, The awareness of supernal beings is of God. They possess an immediate, unmediated perception of their Creator.

מִפְּנֵי הֱיוֹת חַיּוּתָם מִפְּנִימִיּוּת הָאוֹתִיּוֹת הַנִּמְשָׁכוֹת מִבְּחִינַת חָכְמָה עִילָּאָה, וְכַנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל.

because their life force comes from the inner dimension of the letters, which issue forth from the level of supernal Ḥokhma, as stated above. As explained above, there are two facets to the letters: an inner dimension and an outer dimension, which correspond to their content and form. Letters are physical entities, whether they are visible in their written form, audible as verbal speech, or virtually imperceptible as electromagnetic waves. These are the physical aspects of the letters, their outer dimension. The inner dimension of the letters is the symbolic meaning behind them. Since the spiritual supernal worlds receive their vitality from the inner dimension of the letters, they do not need to contend with any obstructions posed by the letters' form. Their meaning and significance are transparent. For this reason, there are no opaque barriers between realms in these spiritual worlds. The connection between one level and the next is clear, and there is a clear transmission of messages from one world to the next. Every level and every being in every world can perceive the order of progression, of the transmission of existence from one level to the next. All these spiritual creations are able to clearly perceive the world above it, seeing all the way to the highest levels of existence.

אַךְ הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה הַשָּׁפֵל, עִם הַחַיּוּת שֶׁבְּתוֹכוֹ, קָטָן מֵהָכִיל וְלִסְבּוֹל אוֹר וְחַיּוּת מִבְּחִינַת צוּרַת הָאוֹתִיּוֹת וּפְנִימִיּוּתָן, לְהָאִיר וּלְהַשְׁפִּיעַ בּוֹ בְּלִי לְבוּשׁ וְהֶסְתֵּר, כְּמוֹ שֶׁמְּאִירוֹת וּמַשְׁפִּיעוֹת לִנְשָׁמוֹת וּמַלְאָכִים.

But this lowly world, with its life force, is too small to contain and bear the light and life force of the form of the letters and their inner dimension. It is impossible for the inner dimension to shine and issue forth the light and life force within it without any garment or concealment in the same way that they shine and bestow light and life force on the souls and angels. Since our world is lowly, limited in its ability to contain the light that is beyond it, it cannot directly register the message that the inner dimension of the letters transmits. It struggles to relate to the internal meaning of its own existence and is therefore compelled to use other, superficial forms, reminiscent of a translation. A person may believe and think that he is connected, but it is all external. He is not connecting with actual spirituality, but rather with what he imagines in his being to be the spiritual realm. By contrast, souls and angels apprehend spirituality in a direct way, in the same way that we know that a table is a table.

רַק הַהֶאָרָה וְהַהַשְׁפָּעָה בָּאָה וְנִשְׁפָּע לָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה מִבְּחִינַת חוֹמֶר וְגוּף הָאוֹתִיּוֹת וְחִיצוֹנִיּוּתָם שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת הַ׳הֶבֶל׳ הַמִּתְחַלֵּק לְשִׁבְעָה הֲבָלִים שֶׁבְּקֹהֶלֶת

Rather, the ray and flow of life force comes and issues forth into this world from the dimension of the substance and body of the letters, their external dimension, which is the breath that is divided into the seven breaths described in Ecclesiastes Our lower world can register only the external dimension of the letters with which the world was created. The author of the Tanya refers to this dimension as the "breath." This is analogous to the exhalation of raw air that emerges from the lungs and passes through the five organs of articulation to form speech. Obviously this breath and the physical letters work in tandem with the symbolic, internal ideas that they carry, but the breath that enables speech is physical matter compared to the symbolic forms therein. The breath of divine speech can be divided into seven general breaths. The Sages extrapolate these seven breaths from a verse in Ecclesiastes: "Futility of futilities, says Kohelet; futility of futilities, all is futility" (Eccles. 1:2). The Hebrew word for "futility" is hevel, which also means breath. The Sages explain that the first appearance of the word hevel in the singular refers to one breath, the plural havalim hints at two, hevel havalim implies six, and the final phrase in the series, hakol hevel, makes seven.

שֶׁעֲלֵיהֶם הָעוֹלָם עוֹמֵד, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזּוֹהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ (חלק א קמו, ב).

upon which the world stands, as stated in the holy Zohar (1:146b). In this context, the word hevel from the verse in Ecclesiastes is not used as a metaphor for futility, as it is generally understood, but rather as a particular ubiquitous substance that sustains the world. This substance, upon which the materiality of the world stands, is like nothingness, futile, compared to its innermost essence.

וְהוּא מוֹצָא פִּי ה׳ הַמִּתְלַבֵּשׁ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וְכָל צְבָאָיו לְהַחֲיוֹתָם.

This is the utterance that emanates from God's mouth, which becomes clothed in this world and all its hosts to give them life. That which emanates from God's mouth, the source of divine speech, which is the source of the vitality of the worlds, is the simple breath. This expression, "that emanates from God's mouth," is borrowed from the verse "Man does not live by bread alone; rather, it is by everything that emanates from the mouth of the Lord that man lives" (Deut. 8:3). The Ba'al Shem Tov explains that it is not physical bread that gives a person life but rather that which emanates from God's mouth, the source of divine speech, of the ten utterances of Creation.

וּבְתוֹכוֹ מְלוּבֶּשֶׁת בְּחִינַת צוּרַת אוֹתִיּוֹת הַדִּבּוּר וְהַמַּחֲשָׁבָה,

Within the breath is clothed the form of the letters of speech and thought, Breath is nothing but the matter that enclothes the form, as in the letters of human speech. The form includes all the characteristics that the breath takes on when it expresses the letters, including the deep meaning that they symbolize. The same is true of the letters of thought, which comprise the inner dimension of the letters of speech. Within these letters too lies the form of the letters, their deep symbolic meaning.

מִמִּדּוֹתָיו הַקְּדוֹשׁוֹת, וּרְצוֹנוֹ וְחָכְמָתוֹ וכו׳,

which emanate from His holy attributes and from His will and wisdom and so on, Divine speech, like human speech, stems from the emotive attributes. A person thinks and speaks when he has an emotional connection to something. The more a person loves or fears something, the more he thinks and talks about it. These emotive attributes stem from the higher levels in his soul, from his will and wisdom, which in terms of the sefirot correspond to Keter and Ḥokhma.

הַמְיוּחָדוֹת בְּאֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּתַכְלִית.

which are unified with Ein Sof, blessed be He, in the ultimate union. There is an absolute, seamless bond between God and His attributes, which applies to the inner dimension of the letters as well. In the physical sense, the breath of speech is a puff of air. A breath of air that could, for instance, cause a small wheel to turn. Yet it is not just any breath of air, since the significance of the breath of speech does not lie in its outward function, but rather in its inner purpose. It is an external instrument that transmits inner content. Every one of its oscillations carries with it a letter of speech. Therefore, although the external aspect of speech is totally physical, its inner dimension harbors the symbols of thought that can express love, awareness, and even the inner essence of the speaker. The author of the Tanya now goes on to convey these concepts relating to the inner and outer dimensions of the letters in kabbalistic terminology, which will be meaningful to those who are familiar with these concepts. They can then connect the aforementioned ideas that were formulated in abstract (and to some degree new) language with the realm of kabbalistic concepts. This paves the way for the discovery of additional insights in other contexts.

(וְזֶה שֶׁאָמַר הָאֲרִ״י ז״ל: שֶׁבְּחִינַת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת הַכֵּלִים דְּמַלְכוּת

(This is the meaning of the Arizal's statement that the external dimension

דַּאֲצִילוּת, הַמְרוּמָּזוֹת בְּה׳ שֶׁל שֵׁם הֲוָיָה בָּרוּךְ הוּא, הֵם יָרְדוּ וְנַעֲשׂוּ נְשָׁמָה לְעוֹלַם הָעֲשִׂיָּה.)

of the vessels of Malkhut of Atzilut, represented by the letter heh of God's name of Havaya , descended and became a soul for the world of Asiya. ) The "external dimension of the vessels of Malkhut of Atzilut " is what is called here the breath of the letters of divine speech. As the author of the Tanya explained, this breath is what enlivens our world. In the language of the Arizal, it creates a soul for the world of Asiya. The illumination of the world of Atzilut sustains all the worlds below it: the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya. Yet there is a difference between the world of Atzilut and other worlds: While the light of quintessential Ḥokhma shines in the world of Atzilut and permeates it, infusing its every level with vitality, the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, do not receive vitality directly from the level of Ḥokhma. Rather, the light of Ḥokhma is clothed in something called "the externality of the vessels." In the world of Beria, this external vessel is called Ima, in the world of Yetzira it is called Zeir Anpin, and in the world of Asiya, it is the Malkhut of speech. It follows that the "externality of the vessels" of Malkhut in Atzilut, which is the breath of divine speech, becomes the soul and life force of the world of Asiya. The divine life force within the worlds is also called Shekhina, or Divine Presence. The word Shekhina comes from the word shokhen, dwells, and refers to the aspect of the Divine that dwells within the worlds and sustains them, like a soul hidden deep within. That the life force of the worlds is called the "externality of the vessels" implies that this life force is not visible or felt tangibly in the worlds but rather is veiled and hidden, obscuring its inner essence so that only its external manifestations, the outcomes of its presence, are evident. Particularly in our world, the world of Asiya, the Divine Presence is so hidden that we can hardly sense the life force that vivifies every minutia of reality. We see only the many ways in which it expresses itself – in other words, its vessels. For this reason, the revelation of the Divine Presence in this world is extremely rare. Only in the Temple was the Divine Presence clearly revealed to all. Today, only the most spiritually outstanding people are privy to it at certain auspicious times.

וְכֵן כָּתוּב בַּתִּיקּוּנִים (כג, א) שֶׁהַיּוּ״ד הוּא בַּאֲצִילוּת כו׳, וְה׳ תַּתָּאָה מְקַנֶּנֶת בַּעֲשִׂיָּה.

Likewise, it is written in Tikkunei Zohar (23a) that the yod is in the world of Atzilut and so forth, and the final heh nests in the world of Asiya. Similar concepts are outlined in Tikkunei Zohar, which states that each of the four letters of the name of Havaya manifests itself in one of the four worlds: the yod in the world of Atzilut, the first heh in the world of Beria, the vav in the world of Yetzira, and the final heh in the world of Asiya. This means that the final heh of the name of Havaya enlivens this world. This letter also corresponds to Malkhut and speech, as mentioned above, and more specifically, the breath and the external dimension of speech. This implies that the most raw and external aspect of divine speech is that which lends vitality to our world. To summarize the concepts outlined here about divine speech, matter and form, breath and the content that is concealed within it, the worlds are comprised entirely of God's speech. God speaks to the worlds, and this constitutes their very existence. The difference between our world and the higher worlds, between this world and the next, is that while supernal creations residing in the higher worlds hear divine speech and glean something of its meaning, we in this world hear only noise. This is like a person hearing voices, but he cannot decipher their message. He may not even realize that these sounds are voices and therefore does not even attempt to interpret their meaning. When an illiterate person sees a piece of paper with writing on it, he sees scribbles. He may notice that there is an order to the scribbles, that they are arranged in lines with spaces between them, but that is about all he sees. Generally, children pass this stage when they are three years old. A two-year-old just sees scribbles, while a three-year-old can already understand that these scribbles are expressing something. He does not yet know how to read, but he knows that there is some message being relayed. Our world registers only the external contours of speech, the body and form of the letters, while the supernal worlds glean something of their inner content, their spiritual essence. Our goal in this world is to discern how the "noise" we hear and the "scribbles" we see are actually the word of God directed straight at us. After the long explanatory introduction based on the saying of the Sages that this world was created with a heh and the World to Come with a yod, and the unique exploration of the nature of the Hebrew letters, the author of the Tanya returns to the practical message of the letter: to encourage the giving of charity.

וְהִנֵּה בָּאָדָם הַתַּחְתּוֹן לְמָשָׁל, מִי שֶׁהוּא חָכָם גָּדוֹל לְהַשְׂכִּיל נִפְלְאוֹת חָכְמָה וּמְצַמְצֵם שִׂכְלוֹ

With regard to mortal man, for example, when someone is a great sage, who is able to perceive the wonders

וּמַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ בְּאוֹת אֶחָד מִדִּבּוּרוֹ – הִנֵּה זֶה הוּא צִמְצוּם עָצוּם וִירִידָה גְּדוֹלָה לְחָכְמָתוֹ הַנִּפְלָאָה.

of wisdom, and he constricts his intellect and thought into a single letter of his speech, that constitutes an immense constriction and a great descent for his wondrous wisdom. When a person is able to apprehend ideas that are beyond most people, and he wants to express the depth and breadth of the lofty concepts that he is capable of apprehending, yet he cannot disclose the full scope of his thoughts but rather must constrict them to express a single point, a word, or a particular letter, that single word or letter is an unfathomable constriction compared to what the person knows. To illustrate this concept further, when a donkey brays, it expresses one sound, and through that one sound, it expresses the majority of its wisdom. Beyond that, it does not have much to say. Yet when an incredibly wise person, brimming with a treasure trove of wisdom, articulates one letter, it is an immense constriction. Instead of his wisdom manifesting in all its breadth and depth, it manifests as only one point.

כָּכָה מַמָּשׁ עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, וְיָתֵר מִזֶּה לְאֵין קֵץ,

So too, figuratively speaking, this is actually analogous, though to an infinitely greater extent, That the analogy is "actual" means that we as human beings can indeed imagine a parallel in the familiar human realm. Yet it is only "analogous" since the analogy explains only a portion of the dynamic as it actually exists in reality. The difference between a letter of human speech and the power of his thought spans a huge distance, yet it is still conceivable. But when it comes to divine speech, the difference is so unfathomably great that we cannot possibly apprehend it.

הָיָה צִמְצוּם גָּדוֹל עָצוּם וָרָב, כַּאֲשֶׁר בִּדְבַר ה׳ שָׁמַיִם נַעֲשׂוּ בְּשֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי בְרֵאשִׁית וּבְרוּחַ פִּיו כָּל צְבָאָם. הִיא אוֹת ה׳ שֶׁל שֵׁם הֲוָיָה בָּרוּךְ הוּא, אָתָא קַלִּילָא,

to a great, powerful, and mighty constriction, when the heavens were created by the word of God during the six days of Creation and all their hosts by His breath. That is the letter heh of the name of Havaya, the "light letter lacking substance," Everything that was created during the six days of Creation, from the higher realms to the lower realms, is nothing but God's breath. That breath constitutes the letter heh of the name of Havaya. This letter is called a "light letter, lacking substance." It has no specific sound that is articulated by any of the five organs of articulation but rather constitutes pure breath, the exhalation of air. While this breath encompasses the root of all letters, in and of itself it is formless, lacking the substance of even a single letter.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "בְּהִבָּרְאָם״ (בראשית ב, ד) – בְּה׳ בְּרָאָם (מנחות כט, ב).

as it is written, "This is the legacy of the heavens and of the earth when they were created [behibaram ]" (Gen. 2:4). The Rabbis expounded, "Do not read it as behibaram,'when they were created'; rather, read it as'He made them with the letter heh [beheh bera'am ]'" (Menaḥot 29b). We need to keep in mind that God's letter heh is not like the heh expressed by a human being. With extreme effort, a person can extinguish a flame by producing the letter heh, while God's articulation of the letter heh created all the worlds, with their endless levels. The analogy is meant only to illustrate the common denominator between them: Just as the heh that we articulate is but a tiny fraction of what we can say and do, and certainly a negligible degree of who we are, so too the heh of God, which is the source of the heavens and earth, is an unfathomably immense constriction and infinitesimally tiny expression of the totality of His divine speech, of what it can express and create, and certainly of His essence.

הִיא מְקוֹר הַתִּשְׁעָה מַאֲמָרוֹת שֶׁנִּמְשְׁכוּ מִמַּאֲמָר רִאשׁוֹן, "בְּרֵאשִׁית", דְּנַמִי מַאֲמָר הוּא.

The letter heh is the source of the nine utterances of Creation that flowed from the first utterance, "in the beginning," which is also one of the utterances. The Mishna teaches that the world was created with ten utterances, referring to the ten statements recorded in the first chapter of Genesis. The Talmud asks, "But is it not the case that the words'and God said' appear only nine times in the story of the Creation?" The answer is that the words "in the beginning" in the very first verse comprise one of the utterances.

הִיא בְּחִינַת חָכְמָה הַנִּקְרֵאת ‘רֵאשִׁית׳.

It is the level of Ḥokhma , which is called the beginning. According to the mystical teachings, the first utterance, "in the beginning," hints at the sefira of Ḥokhma, the first sefira, which that is called reshit, first or beginning. The two concepts are synonymous: Wisdom means beginning. The signification of the first utterance, "In the beginning…," as Ḥokhma appears in the Aramaic translation of the Jerusalem Talmud, which renders these first two words of the Torah as "with Ḥokhma He created." The simple implication of this is that God used Ḥokhma to create the world, just as a person uses a hoe to till the soil. This implies an immense distance between God Himself and Ḥokhma. In man, wisdom is an internal faculty that most genuinely expresses his essence, while the concept of "with Ḥokhma He created" likens Ḥokhma to a physical instrument that expresses nothing of the essence of the one who wields it. Yet the imagery of Ḥokhma as an instrument for the expression of God's will and for God Himself, through which He chooses to manifest Himself to create all the worlds, is significant for the rest of the epistle. The main purpose of our existence and service in this world is to awaken God's will, to arouse His desire to descend and connect to His creative work, to wield His wisdom, so to speak.

אַךְ אָז הָיְתָה הַמְשָׁכָה וִירִידָה זוֹ בְּלִי אִתְעָרוּתָא דִּלְתַתָּא כְּלָל, כִּי "אָדָם אַיִן לַעֲבוֹד כו'" (בראשית ב, ה),

But at that time, at the beginning of Creation, this flow and descent from Ḥokhma occurred without any awakening from below at all, for "there was no man to till the ground" (Gen. 2:5), At the outset of Creation, there was Ḥokhma, which then manifest as divine speech. At this stage, there was not yet anyone to awaken God's will from below, and the creation of the world was manifest solely through an awakening from above. God gave Himself, from within Himself, without any connection to others or the needs of others.

רַק כִּי חָפֵץ חֶסֶד הוּא,

but rather it occurred only because He desires kindness, Generally, love has an object, a target. That object arouses the love, and that arousal from below brings about an awakening of love above toward that object. Yet there is a higher level of this attribute of Ḥesed, of love, coined by the early thinkers: "The nature of good is to bestow good." This refers to love that emerges on its own from the bestower of the love, irrespective of the object of his love. This level of supernal Ḥesed, of providing for the other without considering the receiver's mental state or life situation, is a level of love that overflows, that must reveal itself, not for any particular reason but only because "He desires kindness."

וְעוֹלָם חֶסֶד יִבָּנֶה.

and the world is built with kindness. At its outset, the world was created with Ḥesed, as a gift given out of love, not because it was requested by the receiver, not because it was awakened from below, for there was no one in existence to awaken it, but rather as a free gift.

וְזֶהוּ ״בְּהִבָּרְאָם״, בְּאַבְרָהָם,

This is the meaning of another interpretation of the verse "This is the legacy of the heavens and of the earth when they were created [behibaram ]": The Rabbis read it as be'Avraham , through Abraham, The letters of the word behibaram from the verse in Genesis can be rearranged to spell be'Avraham, implying that the Creation was in the merit of Abraham. This idea, that the whole universe exists in the merit of a certain individual, appears several times in the teachings of the Sages. The implication is that God created an entire universe, with myriad creations, solely as a background for a single person, and this person justifies the existence of all those creations and worlds.

כִּי ״חֶסֶד לְאַבְרָהָם כו׳״ (מיכה ז, כ).

for "You give kindness to Abraham…" (Mic. 7:20). Abraham was the embodiment of the attribute of kindness. He represents that primordial attribute of divine Ḥesed, and Abraham is therefore the tzaddik for whom the entire creation was initiated, as it were. The source of the universe was entirely Ḥesed that did not come about from the impetus of the receiver but rather from the giver's desire to do good. This was Abraham's attribute of kindness. Abraham's Ḥesed pertains to every person. He does not check whether the receiver is worthy of receiving or how much. Abraham's giving stemmed from his deep inner need to give and not from the lack of the other. The Midrash describes Abraham sitting at the opening of his tent and he is searching. Perhaps he will find some guest with whom he can perform the mitzva of hospitality. He welcomed in guests, not because they were hungry and knocking at his door, but because he himself suffered from a lack of guests. A story reminiscent of the story of Abraham is told about the Sanzer Rebbe, Rabbi Ḥayyim Halberstam. The Rebbe never went to sleep without giving all his money away to charity. One day he was lying in bed, and he could not fall asleep. Finally, he called his shamash and said, "Search the house. It seems that there is some money left in the house that is preventing me from sleeping." The shamash indeed found a letter with money enclosed. As soon as he distributed the money, the Rebbe fell asleep. What prevented the Rebbe from sleeping was not the lack of those in need but rather the money that he had not yet distributed to charity. It was due to a lack in himself, his own need to bestow good, because "the nature of good is to bestow good." This is the attribute that lies at the dawn of creation: behibaram. Now the author of the Tanya arrives at the practical culmination of the epistle that connects all the aforementioned abstract concepts to their practical implementation in divine service.

אַךְ אַחַר בְּרִיאַת הָאָדָם, ״לְעָבְדָהּ כו׳״ (בראשית ב, טו),

However, after the creation of man, who was created "to cultivate it" (Gen 2:15), Man's mission "to cultivate it and to keep it" constitutes the whole purpose of his creation, and the creation of man is the objective of the entire creation. From now on, it is only man's work that awakens the original intent and design of creation.

אֲזַי כָּל אִתְעָרוּתָא דִּלְעֵילָּא, לְעוֹרֵר מִדַּת חֶסֶד עֶלְיוֹן, הוּא בְּאִתְעָרוּתָא דִּלְתַתָּא

then any awakening above to awaken the attribute of supernal kindness occurs due to an awakening from below While the initial impulse to create the world came from God Himself, from the force of His will, the relationship between God and the world became a mutual one. This reciprocal relationship means that everything is connected, that every action we do awakens a response from above. Practically speaking, virtually every mechanism works within a framework that is based on this type of relationship. Even an ordinary pendulum clock operates through two forces working against each other: the driving force that moves it and the force that regulates and restrains it. The operation of the clock is an expression of the interrelationship between these two forces. Yet there is another aspect that is not related to this system. In order that this clock will begin to work, it must receive an initial impulse that necessarily comes from outside the system. Though a self-sustaining operation kicks in from the second moment onward, that first, singular moment stands alone. This is how God operates the world. He contributes the initial spark of creation Himself because "He desires kindness" and "the world is built with kindness," yet from then onward, the flow of vitality depends on a mutual relationship between the higher and lower realms: an awakening from below and an awakening from above. Which action below awakens supernal Ḥesed above? Since an awakening from above does not manifest due to a sense of lack below, it is not awakened because a person says "I need" or "I don't have." While these expressions can awaken the kindness that preempts a free gift, so to speak, bestowed even on those who are not deserving, they do not spark the power of the primordial Ḥesed that issues forth the life force that sustains the world, that supernal desire to endow all Ḥesed, including the free gift. Like all the supernal attributes, it is awakened particularly through that which is similar to it. This means that when a person does something in the lower world, he arouses something similar in all the worlds. This is reminiscent of an idea that is taught in the name of the Ba'al Shem Tov regarding the verse "The Lord is your shade [tzel ] by your right hand" (Ps. 12l:5). The word tzel also means shadow. The Ba'al Shem Tov points out that a person's shadow mimics his movements: When he lifts his hand, so does his shadow. In the same way, God is like our shadow, reflecting back our actions, as it were.

בִּצְדָקָה וָחֶסֶד שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל עוֹשִׂין בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה.

through charity and acts of kindness that the Jewish people perform in this world. All the blessings and sustenance that God bestows to this lower world, a world that is considered negligible to Him, is a bestowal of charity and kindness. Yet this bestowal of supernal Ḥesed is drawn down particularly through the acts of charity and kindness that a person does toward others who are poor and lacking. If people would not perform acts of charity and kindness below, even if they would study Torah and be meticulous about fulfilling the other mitzvot, supernal Ḥesed would not be drawn down to them from above.

לָכֵן אָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל (יבמות קט ,ב): כָּל הָאוֹמֵר אֵין לוֹ אֶלָּא תּוֹרָה, בְּלִי גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים, אֲפִילּוּ תּוֹרָה אֵין לוֹ, אֶלָּא לַעֲסוֹק בַּתּוֹרָה וּבִגְמִילוּת חֲסָדִים.

This is why the Rabbis said (Yevamot 109b) that anyone who says he has nothing other than Torah, without acts of kindness, he does not even have Torah. Rather, one should engage in both Torah study and acts of kindness. Granted, "Torah study is equal to them all" (Mishna Pe'a 1:1), and one who studies Torah is exempt from performing any other mitzva that others can do just as well. Yet one who says that he wants to only Torah to the exclusion of all else, asserting that performing acts of kindness is not for him, not only does not merit bestowing kindness on others but does not even retain his Torah study.

כִּי הִנֵּה הֲגַם דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא מֵחָכְמָה נָפְקַת, וּבְאוֹרַיְיתָא מִתְקַיֵּים עָלְמָא,(ברכות סד, א),

Although the Torah stems from the sefira of Ḥokhma, and the world is sustained by Torah and those who discuss it, because through their words, they draw down illuminations and sustenance (alternatively: indwellings) from supernal Ḥokhma , the source of the Torah, to the letters of speech with which the world was created, as our Rabbis stated, "Do not read your children [banayikh ], but your builders [bonayikh ]" (Berakhot 64a), By articulating the words when studying Torah, Torah scholars channel supernal Ḥokhma to the level of speech that created the world. Torah study therefore resembles the creation of the world, which God brought about through the spoken letters and words of His divine Ḥokhma. For this reason, Torah scholars are not only called "Your children" but also "Your builders." Through their articulation of the letters and words of the Torah, they construct letters and words that build the world.

הֲרֵי הַמְשָׁכָה זוֹ הִיא בְּחִינַת יְרִידָה גְּדוֹלָה. וְלָזֶה צָרִיךְ לְעוֹרֵר חֶסֶד עֶלְיוֹן,

this flow nevertheless constitutes a great descent. For this flow to occur, it is necessary to awaken supernal Ḥesed , While Torah study engenders an awakening from below, drawing down supernal Ḥokhma into the letters of speech that the one studying Torah is articulating, to actually bring it down into the physical world, which entails an unfathomably enormous descent, study alone is not enough. The attribute of supernal Ḥesed must also be awakened from below.

הַנִּמְשָׁךְ כַּמַּיִם, מִמָּקוֹם גָּבוֹהַּ לְמָקוֹם נָמוּךְ

which flows, like water, from a high place to a low place There is a difference between Ḥesed and Ḥokhma. Hokhma inherently relates to that which is its equivalent. Ḥokhma relates to Ḥokhma, and Ḥokhma does not necessarily or particularly desire to descend from its level. By contrast, the nature of the attribute of Ḥesed is to descend from above to below. When a person speaks to his friend of the Ḥokhma of the Torah, of Torah wisdom, both of them need to be at approximately the same level. By contrast, kindness may be bestowed on someone who is much lower in level and status. The classic symbol for Ḥesed is water, whose nature is to flow from a high place to a low place. Some things, if placed high up, stay there, but water, if given a path, does not remain. It flows down to a lower place, only stopping once it has descended as low as possible. This is the nature of Ḥesed, which gives and keeps on giving. The lowliness of the recipient does not prevent him from receiving Ḥesed. On the contrary, the lower and more unfortunate a person is, the greater the mitzva of acting with kindness becomes.

בְּאִתְעָרוּתָא דִּלְתַתָּא בִּצְדָקָה וְחֶסֶד תַּתָּאָה שֶׁמַּמְשִׁיכִים חַיִּים וְחֶסֶד לְהַחֲיוֹת רוּחַ שְׁפָלִים וְנִדְכָּאִים.

with an awakening from below through charity and acts of kindness that draw down life and kindness to revive the spirit of the humble and downtrodden. When a person sustains the downtrodden in accordance with his means, he awakens God's giving, so that He provides for the downtrodden and needy.

וְזֶהוּ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "אַל יִתְהַלֵּל חָכָם בְּחָכְמָתוֹ כו', כִּי אִם בְּזֹאת יִתְהַלֵּל כו', כִּי אֲנִי ה' עוֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד כו'" (ירמיה ט, כב-כג),

This is the meaning of the verse "Let the wise not glory in his wisdom.… Rather, let the one who glories glory in this …for I am the Lord who acts with kindness…" (Jer. 9:22–23), The emphasis is on "Ḥesed," because Ḥesed draws down the life of Ḥokhma. What is activated in the upper worlds, does not stay there, but rather is drawn down, descends into and affects reality below.

כִּי הַחֶסֶד הוּא הַמַּמְשִׁיךְ חַיֵּי הַחָכְמָה לְמַטָּה, וְאִם לָאו, הֲרֵי נִקְרֵאת חָכְמָתוֹ לְבַדּוֹ

for it is acts of kindness that draws down the vitality of Ḥokhma . Otherwise, if one does not engage in acts of kindness in addition to Torah study, his Torah study is called "His wisdom" alone A person who does not perform acts of kindness does not impact the world below. Yet it remains to be explained why he does not even have his Torah. What aspect of his Torah is blemished? For a person's Torah to become part of the grand scheme of reality, and more specifically, so that his Torah will serve as a channel of connection between the higher and lower worlds, he must act through it, influencing not only his own being but also the entire world. The giving of charity and the performance of acts of kindness shows that this person is paying attention to others, creating an all-encompassing network of relating to that which is outside of him. If a person studies Torah in a disconnected way, as an isolated experience, then he acquires wisdom of his own, but he is not privy to God's Torah, since Torah is essentially about teaching, about connecting to others. Its name imparts its essence: The word Torah is etymologically connected to the word hora'a, which means guidance and transmission to the world. As soon as a person disconnects the Torah from all this, it becomes an abstract pursuit, like any other intellectual endeavor.

בְּלִי הַמְשָׁכַת חַיִּים מִמֶּנָּה חַס וְשָׁלוֹם.

without the downward flow of life from it, God forbid. When the Torah is not a living Torah, it is dead. A person who studies Torah in this manner is studying dead letters that do not channel life from above. When one studies Torah without performing acts of kindness, and fails to infuse the world around him with life, God does not infuse life into the Torah he studies.

וּבְזֶה יוּבַן מַה שֶּׁכָּתַב הָאֲרִיזַ״ל, שֶׁיֵּשׁ שְׁנֵי מִינֵי נְשָׁמוֹת בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, נִשְׁמוֹת תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים הָעוֹסְקִים בַּתּוֹרָה כָּל יְמֵיהֶם, וְנִשְׁמוֹת בַּעֲלֵי מִצְוֹת הָעוֹסְקִים בִּצְדָקָה וּגְמִילוּת חֲסָדִים.

Based on this, we can understand the Arizal's statement that there are two kinds of souls among the Jewish people: the souls of Torah scholars who study Torah all their days and the souls of those who perform commandments, who engage in charity and acts of kindness. Souls are distinct from one another in various ways. One of the most basic distinctions is between souls that are like heads, whose roles parallel that of the head in relation to the body, and these are the souls of Torah scholars. Then there are souls of the givers of charity and acts of kindness, whose role parallels the other limbs of the body. Both camps serve God, each one doing his part, according to his unique nature.

דְּלִכְאוֹרָה, הֲרֵי גַּם תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים צְרִיכִים לַעֲסוֹק בִּגְמִילוּת חֲסָדִים, כְּמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ ז״ל שֶׁ״אֲפִילּוּ תּוֹרָה אֵין לוֹ״.

It would seem that Torah scholars must also engage in acts of kindness, in accordance with the Rabbis' statement that otherwise "he does not even have Torah." Yet this categorization of souls is not so clearcut. The aforementioned axiom of the Sages suggests that if a Torah scholar does not also perform acts of kindness, he does not even have Torah. The implication of this is that not only is the Torah scholar not exempt from playing the role of his comrade, from performing acts of kindness, but if he does not do so, his own mission, that of Torah study, will not endure.

אֶלָּא שֶׁהַתַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים, שֶׁתּוֹרָתָן עִיקָּר וְרוֹב יְמֵיהֶם בָּהּ, וּמִיעוּט יְמֵיהֶם בִּגְמִילוּת חֲסָדִים,

But the Torah scholars, whose Torah study is their primary occupation, on which they spend most of their days, while spending a minority of their time on acts of kindness, The author of the Tanya explains that the categorization of Torah scholars versus charity givers is not categorically diametric. It simply comes to explain the priority of every person, the main pursuit in which he invests most of his time and energy, what most expresses his role in life.

הִנֵּה פְּעוּלַּת אִתְעָרוּתָם דִּלְתַתָּא, לְעוֹרֵר חֶסֶד עֶלְיוֹן, לְהַמְשִׁיךְ וּלְהוֹרִיד אוֹר אֵין סוֹף הַמְלוּבָּשׁ בְּחָכְמָה עִילָּאָה מְקוֹר תּוֹרַת ה' שֶׁבְּפִיהֶם,

the effect of their awakening from below to awaken supernal Ḥesed , to draw forth and bring down the light of Ein Sof , which is clothed in supernal Ḥokhma , the source of God's Torah that is in their mouths For one's Torah study to be genuine, and not just an intellectual pursuit, one must draw down through his Torah study the essence of the Divine itself that transcends Ḥokhma. This drawing down from such extremely high heights to the world below is, as explained earlier, constitutes the attribute of supernal Ḥesed that is awakened through the charity and acts of kindness that a person performs below.

הוּא רַק לְעוֹלַם הַנְּשָׁמוֹת שֶׁבַּבְּרִיאָה, עַל יְדֵי עֵסֶק הַתַּלְמוּד, וְלַמַּלְאָכִים שֶׁבַּיְּצִירָה עַל יְדֵי לִימּוּד הַמִּשְׁנָה.

extends only to the realm of the souls in the world of Beria through the study of Talmud and to the angels in the world of Yetzira through the study of Mishna. Yet the Torah scholars who engage in acts of kindness a minority of the time do not draw the divine vitality all the way down to our low level of reality. Rather, they bring it down to the beings that inhabit the world of Beria, the world of the intellect, who relate to their Creator in an intellectual way. Beria therefore corresponds to the realm of intellectual Talmud study, and it is through the study of Talmud that Torah scholars draw the Torah and its vitality down to the world of Beria. The Mishna, on the other hand, is focused on the practical halakha, on what is permitted and what is prohibited. This is also the main thrust of the world of Yetzira, the world of the attributes and the angels. The power of the Mishna and halakha lies in the assertion of opinions that determine one's association with the topic at hand, not just theoretically, but as a tangible sentiment in favor or opposed, which then informs one's actions and choices, much like the emotive attributes, which prompt a person to action. The Torah scholar's Torah shines in lofty spiritual worlds, in the world of Beria (also known as the upper Garden of Eden) and the world of Yetzira (also called the lower Garden of Eden), but that light does not penetrate the lower physical world. So too in a person's soul, this Torah illuminates his mind and emotions, but it does not reach and affect his actions.

יַעַן הֱיוֹת חַיּוּת הַנְּשָׁמוֹת וְהַמַּלְאָכִים נִשְׁפָּעוֹת מִצֵּירוּפֵי אוֹתִיּוֹת הַדִּיבּוּר, הִיא תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה, וּמְקוֹר הָאוֹתִיּוֹת הוּא מֵחָכְמָה עִילָּאָה, כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל.

This is because the life force of the souls and angels is derived from the combinations of the letters of speech, which is the Oral Torah, the Talmud and Mishna, and the source of the letters is from supernal Ḥokhma , as stated above. The author of the Tanya now connects this concept with the idea of the matter and form of the letters that he explained above. The Torah that is expressed in combinations of words and letters, in the form of the letters, is the Oral Torah that Torah scholars study. While the source and matter of the letters, the breath that produces speech, becomes revealed only through the power of supernal Ḥokhma itself, which transcends the intellect and the mind's understanding that shines in the worlds of Beria and Yetzira. In this light, when the Torah scholar studies Torah, he creates words and combinations of letters. The supernal worlds, that of Beria and Yetzira, can register the content and message of these letters, as opposed to our world, which cannot relate to the internal content of the letters without the external "matter" that carries the words. The letters that the Torah scholar articulates during his Torah study are therefore meaningful until a certain point, yet are not fully absorbed and do not have an impact on this lowly world. To draw the letters down further, the light must descend from a higher place, as will be explained below.

אַךְ לְהַמְשִׁיךְ וּלְהוֹרִיד הֶאָרָה וְחַיּוּת מִבְּחִינַת הֶבֶל הָעֶלְיוֹן, ה׳ תַּתָּאָה, לָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה הַשָּׁפֵל, שֶׁהוּא צִמְצוּם גָּדוֹל בְּיֶתֶר עָז – לֹא דַּי בְּאִתְעָרוּתָא דִּלְתַתָּא שֶׁל תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים הָעוֹסְקִים מִיעוּט יְמֵיהֶם בִּצְדָקָה וּגְמִילוּת חֲסָדִים,

But to draw forth and bring down the illumination and life force from the level of the supernal breath, the final heh , to this lowly world, which entails an immense constriction to an even greater degree, the awakening of the Torah scholars below who spend a minority of their days on charity and acts of kindness is not enough. In order to draw down the light of Ein Sof from the level of the supernal breath that constitutes the matter of the letters down to this material world of Asiya, the awakening achieved by the Torah scholar, who spends minimal time on charity and acts of kindness, does not have enough power to achieve this.

אֶלָּא עַל יְדֵי אִתְעָרוּתָא דְּבַעֲלֵי מִצְוֹת, הָעוֹסְקִים רוֹב יְמֵיהֶם בִּצְדָקָה וּגְמִילוּת חֲסָדִים (וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּלִקּוּטֵי אֲמָרִים, בְּחֵלֶק א' פֶּרֶק ל״ד).

Rather, it occurs through the awakening of those who perform commandments, who spend most of their days engaged in charity and acts of kindness (as it is written in volume 1 of Likkutei Amarim, chapter 34). Only those who spend most of their time, energy, and resources on performing acts of kindness, those who express with all their being the physical action of drawing down the flow of vitality all the way to this world, are the ones who draw down the light of the divine will and wisdom into this world.

וְלָכֵן נִקְרְאוּ ‘תָּמְכֵי אוֹרַיְיתָא׳.

Therefore, those who engage in charity and acts of kindness are called supporters of the Torah. The expression "supporters of the Torah" is explained not in the social sense of people who support Torah scholars or Torah institutions, but rather in the sense that they uphold the Torah itself, establishing the Torah within our reality.

וְהֵן בְּחִינוֹת וּמַדְרְגוֹת נֶצַח וְהוֹד, לִהְיוֹתָן מַמְשִׁיכִין אוֹר הַתּוֹרָה לְמַטָּה לְעוֹלַם הָעֲשִׂיָּה.

They represent the levels of Netzaḥ , and Hod , for they draw the light of the Torah down to the world of Asiya. In kabbalistic terminology, Netzaḥ and Hod are called the "two legs" that connect the body to the ground. The supporters of the Torah are like the legs of the Torah. The Torah, in this sense, is a superstructure built on a particular substructure, without which the superstructure would not be able to relate to the world, to reality. It would associate only with that which transcends our reality. To pragmatize the Torah, legs for it to stand on must be built. The role of charity givers is therefore an extension of that of Torah scholars. Torah scholars create lights in the upper worlds, while masters of charity draw down that illumination to our world.

וּבָזֶה יוּבַן לָמָּה נִקְרָא הַצְּדָקָה בְּשֵׁם מַעֲשֶׂה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״וְהָיָה מַעֲשֵׂה הַצְּדָקָה שָׁלוֹם״ (ישעיה לב, יז), עַל שֵׁם שֶׁפְּעוּלָּתָהּ לְהַמְשִׁיךְ אוֹר ה׳ לְעוֹלַם הָעֲשִׂיָּה.

Based on this, we can understand why charity is called an act, as it is written, "The act of charity will be peace" (Isa. 32:17). It is so called because its effect is to draw down God's light to the world of Asiya , the world of Action. God's light that is in the Torah shines in the worlds of Beria and Yetzira, but not in the world of Asiya. In the world of Asiya, the world of Action, God's light is drawn down only through the power of the mitzva of charity. It is for this reason that charity is called "an act of charity."

וְזֶהוּ דִּקְדּוּק לְשׁוֹן זוֹהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ: ״מַאן דְּעָבֵיד שְׁמָא קַדִּישָׁא״ (חלק ג קיג, ב), ״דְּעָבֵיד״ דַּיְיקָא,

This is the meaning of the precise wording of the holy Zohar (3:113b) in the expression "who makes the holy name," specifying "who makes," This expression seems strange. What does it mean to "make a name"? The answer is that it parallels the aforementioned explanation of the act of charity, which is that charity is dependent on action and thus it has the power to "make" something happen. Through the act of charity, one brings down the light of the life force to the reality of the world of Action, the world of Asiya.

כִּי בְּאִתְעָרוּתָא דִּלְתַתָּא, בִּצְדָקָה וְחֶסֶד תַּתָּאָה, מְעוֹרֵר חֶסֶד עֶלְיוֹן לְהַמְשִׁיךְ אוֹר אֵין סוֹף מִבְּחִינַת חָכְמָה עִילָּאָה. יוּ״ד שֶׁל שֵׁם לְה׳ שֶׁל שֵׁם – בְּחִינַת הַדִּבּוּר וְרוּחַ פִּיו יִתְבָּרַךְ, כְּדֵי לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ לְעוֹלַם הָעֲשִׂיָּה.

for the awakening below through charity and kindness below awakens supernal Ḥesed to draw down the light of Ein Sof from the level of supernal Ḥokhma. It draws down the letter yod of God's name to the letter heh of the name, which is the speech and breath of His divine utterance, causing it to flow to the world of Asiya. Through the act of charity and kindness that a person bestows on someone who is lower than him, the Divine is awakened above to manifest in the letters of speech and impact all the worlds down to our low world of Asiya.

וְעַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, לְהַבְדִּיל הַבְדָּלוֹת אֵין קֵץ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָדָם אֵינוֹ מְדַבֵּר אֶלָּא לַאֲחֵרִים (וְלֹא כְּשֶׁהוּא בֵּינוֹ לְבֵין עַצְמוֹ),

By way of analogy, though it is infinitely incomparable, it is like a person who does not speak except to others (and not when he is by himself), The author of the Tanya offers this analogy to explain why it is specifically speech and the breath of the divine utterance (which is the "matter" of speech) that comprise the vessel that imparts the life force to all the worlds below. When a person is by himself, discovering and clarifying who he is, his understanding and his emotions, he uses the medium of thought. But when he turns to another person, he speaks. Speech is the instrument through which a person emerges from himself. Similarly, speech is the vessel through which God creates the world that He is hidden within, the world that seems to be a different reality other than that of the Divine.

וְאָז מְצַמְצֵם שִׂכְלוֹ וּמַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ בְּדִבּוּרוֹ אֲלֵיהֶם.

and then, when he speaks to them, he constricts his intellect and thoughts. In the transition from intellect to speech for the sake of others, an immense constriction must occur from the rationality as it exists in the person's mind to the fraction of it that gets expressed in his speech, that which the listener actually receives. In the referent, the "other" is the physical world of Asiya in which God is concealed, and the little that is revealed is the whole reality of this dynamic world that is created with that speech.

וְהַמַּשְׂכִּילִים יָבִינוּ.

The scholars of Kabbala will understand. It is unclear what the author of the Tanya meant with these concluding words. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menaḥem Mendel Schneerson, comments that perhaps he was referring to the previous sentence, "By way of analogy…." With this he would be implying that the scholars of Kabbala will glean insight from it into the entire letter, since he does not appear to thoroughly settle all the concepts mentioned therein. Perhaps these concise words hint at the resolution of everything that the author did not expressly articulate in the summation. At the beginning of the letter, the author of the Tanya quotes the verse "David made a name," but he does not clarify what this name is. Later he quotes from the Zohar, which states, "Who makes the holy name every day?" How is the holy name made? Through the giving of charity. In the concluding sentence, by way of analogy, he mentions human speech intended for another and not just for oneself. In hasidic teachings, it is explained that a name is similar to speech in the sense that one's name is not for himself but rather for others to be able to refer to him. Both speech and a person's name share similar functions: Both serve as the vessel and garment that draws one's essence outward. In a deeper sense, with speech God sustains the entire external reality, all the worlds and everything in them. To "make the name," then, means drawing God's name down into our world of Asiya, the world of Action. Yet if the concept of speech, or more specifically, the ten utterances, expresses the creation and vitality of the worlds, the concept of name emphasizes the revelation of the Divine that is drawn down to the worlds.