"זוֹרֵעַ צְדָקָה שֶׂכֶר אֱמֶת" (בְּמִשְׁלֵי יא, יח). פֵּירוּשׁ: שֶׁשְּׂכַר זְרִיעַת הַצְּדָקָה הִיא מִדַּת אֱמֶת.

It is written, "The sower of charity has a true reward" (Prov. 11:18). This means that the reward for sowing charity is the attribute of truth. It would seem that a reward should be reminiscent of the service performed so that the reward for an act of kindness should be related to kindness, as in the verse "He who pursues charity and kindness will find life, charity, and honor" (Prov. 21:21). Therefore, the author of the Tanya's explanation of this verse attesting that the reward of charity is the attribute of truth begs elucidation.

וּכְתִיב: ״תִּתֵּן אֱמֶת לְיַעֲקֹב״ (מיכה ז, כ), וּשְׁבָחָא דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא מְסַדֵּר נָבִיא כו׳, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזּוֹהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ (חלק ג קלא, ב). פֵּירוּשׁ, שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא הוּא הַנּוֹתֵן מִדַּת אֱמֶת לְיַעֲקֹב.

It is also written, "You will give truth to Jacob" (Mic. 7:20). In this verse, the prophet speaks the praises of the Holy One, blessed be He, as the holy Zohar (3:131b) states, which means that the Holy One, blessed be He, is the one who gives the attribute of truth to Jacob. "You will give truth to Jacob" is not a prayer or request but rather a praise of God, that He gives truth to Jacob. The Zohar explains how the verses "Who is God like You…? You will give truth to Jacob…as You took an oath to our forefathers from days of old" (Mic. 7:18–20) correspond to God's thirteen supernal attributes of mercy. The prophet articulates them just as we mention them in our prayers as a way to praise God, expressing how He runs the world using these attributes of abundant mercy. These words, "You will give truth to Jacob," also have a deeper implication. Not only is whatever God gives us (Jacob) real and true, but He actually gives the attribute of truth itself to Jacob.

וְצָרִיךְ לְהָבִין – וְכִי אֵין אֱמֶת בְּיַעֲקֹב, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, עַד שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא יִתֵּן לוֹ מִלְמַעְלָה?

This requires explanation: Is there no truth in Jacob, God forbid, until the Holy One, blessed be He, gives it to him from above? Why does Jacob need the gift of truth? Doesn't he already have this quality? Doesn't Jacob himself embody the attribute of truth? The simple understanding of the verse's words, "You will give truth to Jacob, kindness to Abraham…," provides a window into the ways of God. He gives truth to Jacob because that is his attribute and kindness to Abraham because that is his primary quality. God augments each person according to his nature, not endowing him with attributes for which he does not have a predisposition. As another verse says, "And in the hearts of all the wisehearted I have put wisdom" (Ex. 31:6). God imbues additional wisdom into the heart of one who is already wise. Similarly, we find that "[God] grants wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who know understanding" (Dan. 2:21). He does not grant wisdom to fools, even though, ostensibly, they need it more, in the same way that money is lent to the rich and not to the poor, because the rich have the ability to repay it. The author of the Tanya will explain this concept in a deeper and more thorough way below. But first he will preface his explanation by exploring the function of the attribute of compassion in divine service, the nature of the attribute of truth, and, finally, the connection that truth and compassion have to charity.

אַךְ הִנֵּה מוּדַעַת זֹאת דְּמִדַּת יַעֲקֹב הִיא מִדַּת רַחֲמָנוּת,

But it is known that the attribute of Jacob is the attribute of compassion, The forefathers were not only men but were also spiritual embodiments of particular attributes. Abraham embodied the attribute of Ḥesed and love, Isaac personified Gevura and fear, and Jacob embodied the attribute of compassion.

וַעֲבוֹדַת ה' בְּמִדַּת רַחֲמָנוּת הִיא הַבָּאָה מֵהִתְעוֹרְרוּת רַחֲמִים רַבִּים בְּלֵב הָאָדָם עַל נִיצוֹץ אֱלֹקוּת שֶׁבְּנַפְשׁוֹ, הָרְחוֹקָה מֵאוֹר פְּנֵי ה', כַּאֲשֶׁר הוֹלֵךְ בְּחֹשֶׁךְ הַבְלֵי עוֹלָם.

and the divine service performed with the attribute of compassion is the service that comes from awakening in a person's heart abundant compassion for the divine spark that is in his soul, which is far from the light of God's countenance while a person walks in the darkness of the vanities of the world. What does it mean to use compassion in one's service of God? This is more easily understood in the context of the performance of mitzvot. There are mitzvot that one performs out of love and others out of fear, and then there are mitzvot, like charity, that a person performs out of compassion. Yet where does compassion fit in within the context of divine service, in one's relationship with God? Loving God or fearing Him makes sense, but how does one have compassion for Him? The author of the Tanya explains here that having compassion for God means having compassion for the divine spark within man, for the source of man's soul, which is literally a portion of God that descends into a physical body "in the darkness of the vanities of the world." This is the goal: to awaken compassion for that aspect of God within man. Having compassion for one's soul in this context does not mean having compassion for one's self with which one identifies but rather on the aspect of the Divine within that is drowning in the depths of exile. One metaphor that can help us to visualize this dynamic is of a prince who was taken captive. A prince in captivity certainly deserves compassion, but even more so, it is the king who has lost his heir and the empire from which he hails, who lost their prince, who need compassion. Even if the prince became accustomed to his new life to the extent that he ceases to feel the pain of his situation, and even if he thinks that he is living a tranquil, good life, the compassion for the king and the kingdom does not lessen. Likewise, compassion in divine service is not compassion for a single individual, for me or someone else, but rather an all-encompassing compassion for the Divine Presence, which is in exile. According to the teachings of Kabbala, the sefirot can be divided into three arrays, and the attribute of compassion characterizes the middle array. This attribute, which is the attribute of the sefira of Tiferet, extends all the way up to Keter, the highest level, and all the way down to Malkhut, the lowest. It can extend so far that it can reach a place that other emotions do not reach, awaken, or influence, both on the upper and lower ends of the spectrum. A person may not know his divine spark, may not acknowledge the divine soul within him, but he can still have compassion for it, to commiserate with it because it is stuck in exile. Very few people are successful at making their divine spark their master. With regard to most, it is in captivity, sometimes in a bitter and humiliating exile. When a person thinks about how God is within him, not as a king but as a captive, forced into being with him and his lowly thoughts and repulsive deeds, he feels compassion for Him.

וְהִתְעוֹרְרוּת רַחֲמָנוּת זוֹ הִיא בָּאָה מֵהַתְּבוּנָה וְהַדַּעַת בִּגְדוּלַּת ה',

This awakening of compassion for the divine spark stems from the understanding and knowledge of God's greatness, The author of the Tanya uses two different words for the knowledge that brings a person to sense the Divine, which is the precursor to cultivating compassion for it: tevuna, "understanding" and da'at, "knowledge." Tevuna is when a person contemplates a matter until he understands it well. When he internalizes this understanding until he manages to forge an emotional connection to it with all his soul, that is da'at. The contents of his contemplation are of "God's greatness," not of the divine essence itself, of which we have no apprehension, but rather of the illumination of that essence throughout the worlds.

אֵיךְ שֶׁאֲפִילּוּ הָעוֹלָמוֹת הָעֶלְיוֹנִים, לְמַעְלָה מַעְלָה עַד אֵין קֵץ, כְּלֹא מַמָּשׁ חֲשִׁיבֵי קַמֵּיהּ,

how even the infinitely lofty higher worlds are literally considered nothingness before Him, This contemplation is twofold. On the one hand, one should contemplate the greatness of God, and on the other hand, one should reflect on the darkness and nothingness of all the worlds, both higher and lower, those created and those emanated, which are all considered negligible compared to God. Why should a person begin his contemplation with the greatness of God? Imagine trying to awaken one's compassion for a person who used to be wealthy but who now must collect charity. One must first understand how rich he was and the implications of this wealth before one can have true compassion for him in his changed circumstances. Generally, others have compassion for children with developmental delays. But if you think about it, such a child probably does not even have compassion for himself. He does not feel that he is unfortunate, since he is not aware of the fact that he should be feeling unfortunate, that others should pity him. For him, this is his life. Similarly, for a person to feel compassion for his divine spark, which suffered such a drastic descent, he must first contemplate the greatness of the Divine, which is the rightful abode of the infinite divine spark. Only then will he be truly impressed by the vast distance between the Divine and the limited created world in which the divine spark is captive.

כִּי כָּל שִׁפְעָם וְחַיּוּתָם אֵינוֹ רַק מִזִּיו וְהֶאָרָה מֵאוֹת אֶחָד מִשְּׁמוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ,

because their entire sustenance and life force is nothing but glimmer and illumination drawn from one letter of God's name, The wording here indicates three degrees of separation between the life force that sustains our world and God. First, the vitality of creation stems not from God Himself but from an illumination of the Divine. Second, this illumination radiates from His name, which, like a person's name, is only an external symbol through which others can relate to Him. Third, the illumination does not stem from His entire name but only from one letter of His name. The composition of several letters together conveys a certain meaning, while one letter expresses only one facet and no longer carries the entire meaning of the word of which it is a part.

כְּמַאֲמַר ״בְּיוּ״ד נִבְרָא עוֹלָם הַבָּא״ כו' (מנחות כט, ב).

as the Rabbis stated, "This world was created with the letter heh; the World to Come was created with the letter yod " (Menaḥot 29b). The letter yod, the smallest of all the letters, represents the ultimate constriction, down to a single point. From this small letter were created the supernal spiritual worlds, which are all considered part of the rubric of the World to Come, the realm where souls exist beyond this physical world.

וְהִנֵּה בְּזִיו וְהֶאָרָה זוֹ, שֶׁהוּא הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת הַחַיּוּת מִשְּׁמוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ לְהַחֲיוֹת עֶלְיוֹנִים וְתַחְתּוֹנִים, הוּא שֶׁיֵּשׁ הֶבְדֵּל וְהֶפְרֵשׁ בֵּין עֶלְיוֹנִים לְתַחְתּוֹנִים,

It is in this glimmer and illumination, which is an emanation of the life force from God's name to give life to the higher and lower worlds, that there is a distinction and difference between higher and lower beings, It is only in the glimmer that emanates from the Divine, and not from the Creator Himself, that any distinction among the vast multiplicity of the created world is apparent. It is in the light of this emanation that the differences become recognizable between the highest of worlds and the lowest, between one time period and another, between supernal entities and lowly beings. All these differences, which for us are the whole world, are totally negligible and considered nothing at all in relation to Him. It is only from our perspective that there is any multiplicity in this world. It is analogous to the sun and its rays. The sun's rays can be felt to different degrees at different times and in varying locations, but these differences are recognizable only here on earth and not in the sun itself.

שֶׁעוֹלָם הַזֶּה נִבְרָא בְּה' וכו'.

so that this world was created with the letter heh, whereas the World to Come was created with the letter yod. It is only through the illumination that the worlds receive from the Divine, which constitutes the letters of His name and speech, that there are distinctions between the worlds. The distinction between this world and the next, between the higher worlds and the lower worlds, marks the most all-encompassing scope of differentiated reality. Moreover, the vitality and existence of these two worlds, of this world and the next, which encompass the entirety of reality, comes purely from the letters yod and heh of the name of Havaya. Just as two letters alone that a person may express are remote from the reality of his entire being, the relation between the worlds and God Himself is infinitely vast.

וְכֵן כָּל שִׁינּוּיֵי הַפְּרָטִים שֶׁבְּכָל עוֹלָם וְעוֹלָם הוּא לְפִי שִׁינּוּיֵי צֵירוּפֵי הָאוֹתִיּוֹת,

Likewise, the variations in the details of each and every world depend on the different combinations of the letters with which they were created, As explained above, the vast, all-encompassing differences between the supernal worlds and the lower worlds are expressed in the distinction between the letters heh and yod of the divine name. The author of the Tanya now adds that the various differences within the minutiae within each and every world depend on the unique combinations of letters from which they stem. The world of Asiya alone includes within it countless worlds. The physical world of Asiya encompasses the entire cosmos, and even a small and negligible part of it, such as planet Earth, is comprised of endless details. All these details, with all their distinctions in character and shape, stem from the differences in the combinations of the letters of divine speech that create them.

וְכֵן שִׁינּוּיֵי הַזְּמַנִּים בְּעָבָר הֹוֶה וְעָתִיד, וְשִׁינּוּיֵי כָּל הַקּוֹרוֹת בְּחִילּוּפֵי הַזְּמַנִּים,

and so too the variations in the dimensions of time, of past, present, and future, and all the different events that take place through changing times, Creation is ever evolving and being renewed at every instant. The creation that existed in the past is not that of the present, and every single change is a result of new letter permutations. Moreover, just as there are combinations of letters that created every entity in the world, there are also permutations of letters that dictate the operation of the world: that which happened in the past, that which happens in the present, and that which will happen in the future.

הַכֹּל מִשִּׁינּוּיֵי צֵירוּפֵי הָאוֹתִיּוֹת שֶׁהֵן הֵן הַמְשָׁכַת הַחַיּוּת מִמִּדּוֹתָיו יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמוֹ (כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר בְּלִקּוּטֵי אֲמָרִים חֵלֶק ב', פֶּרֶק י״א).

all stem from the various combinations of the letters of the ten utterances of divine speech, which channel the life force from God's attributes (as explained in volume 2 of Likkutei Amarim , Sha'ar HaYiḥud VeHa'emuna, chap. 11). In Sha'ar HaYiḥud VeHa'emuna, the author of the Tanya explains that the revelation of the divine attributes and their activation in the lower realms during the six days of Creation is called an "utterance" or a "combination of letters." It follows that no manifestation of the attributes can happen without an accompanying combination of letters. Every letter has a certain creative force, a certain creative characteristic, and when letters combine, they create realities. Every combination creates a different essence in time and space. The reality of every detail of every world and the definitions and distinctions between every single thing and between worlds are all due to changes in the illumination of the divine light that flows from the letters. The illumination does not flow and operate at every moment in the same way but rather shifts from one moment to the next and from one place to another.

אֲבָל לְגַבֵּי מַהוּתוֹ וְעַצְמוּתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ כְּתִיב (מלאכי ג, ו): ״אֲנִי ה׳ לֹא שָׁנִיתִי״,

But in relation to God's essence and being, it is written, "For I the Lord did not change" (Mal. 3:6), All the differences between worlds apply to the created universe, to revealed reality, but when it comes to the divine essence, there is no difference between the higher worlds and the lower worlds or between the time before the creation of the world and after it. The Creation, which included both the physical and spiritual realms at all levels and comprised endless, intricate systems, did not effect any change in God Himself.

בֵּין בִּבְחִינַת שִׁינּוּיֵי הַהִשְׁתַּלְשְׁלוּת, מֵרוּם הַמַּעֲלוֹת עַד לְמַטָּה מַטָּה, שֶׁכְּמוֹ שֶׁהוּא יִתְבָּרַךְ מָצוּי בָּעֶלְיוֹנִים כָּךְ הוּא מַמָּשׁ בְּשָׁוֶה בַּתַּחְתּוֹנִים

neither in terms of the changes in the devolvement from the highest of levels to the lowest, for just as He is found in the higher worlds, so He is in precisely the same measure in the lower worlds The highest of all supernal worlds, of which we have no comprehension, and the lowest of the physical worlds (even the lowliest realm of evil) differ only in the degree of light, in the magnitude of revelation, that is perceivable. Yet the essential, infinite Divine that exists in all of them is the same. In the highest worlds, the Divine is more accessible, more apparent, while in the lower worlds, particularly in our world, it is not recognizable or felt at all (at least not in one's initial impression of his surroundings), but God actually exists equally in all of them, in all realities and at all times, in the spiritual and the physical alike. This is the meaning of "I the Lord did not change." It is only the degree of divine revelation that changes from one point to the next, but God's infinite essence always remains the same.

(וּכְמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר בְּלִקּוּטֵי אֲמָרִים חֵלֶק א' פֶּרֶק נ"א),

(as explained in volume 1 of Likkutei Amarim, chap. 51), In Likkutei Amarim, the first section of the Tanya, the author distinguishes between the indwelling of the Divine Presence and the existence of the Divine Presence. The indwelling of the Divine Presence refers to the revelation of the Divine Presence, which differs based on time and place, so that it may be manifest to a greater or lesser degree. This does not apply to the existence of the Divine Presence. The Divine Presence itself does not exist more in one place than another.

וּבֵין בִּבְחִינַת שִׁינּוּיֵי הַזְּמַן, שֶׁכְּמוֹ שֶׁהָיָה הוּא לְבַדּוֹ הוּא יָחִיד וּמְיוּחָד לִפְנֵי שֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי בְרֵאשִׁית, כָּךְ הוּא עַתָּה אַחַר הַבְּרִיאָה.

nor in terms of changes in time, for just as He was alone, the one and only, before the six days of Creation, so He is now after Creation. Just as there is no change in God from one world to the next, so too He does not change from one time to another. He is entirely the same now as He was before the creation of the world.

וְהַיְינוּ מִשּׁוּם שֶׁהַכֹּל כְּאַיִן וְאֶפֶס מַמָּשׁ לְגַבֵּי מַהוּתוֹ וְעַצְמוּתוֹ,

This is because everything is literally like absolute nothingness in relation to His essence and being, How can it be that God is alone now just as He was before He created the world? The author of the Tanya explains that nothing, whether big or small, tall or short, takes up any room relative to Him. The endless multiplicity and distinctions between one thing and another bear significance within the paradigm of this world, but they are totally insignificant from God's vantage point.

וּכְמוֹ אוֹת אֶחָד מִדִּבּוּרוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם, אוֹ אֲפִילּוּ מִמַּחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ, לְגַבֵּי כְּלָלוּת מַהוּת הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַשִּׂכְלִית וְעַצְמוּתָהּ.

just as one letter of a person's speech, or even one letter of his thoughts, is negligible compared to the totality of the essence and being of the rational soul. The author of the Tanya adds here, "even [one letter] of his thoughts," because the letters of a person's thoughts are closer to his essence than his speech. Just as one letter that a person utters or thinks is but a tiny fraction of what he thinks and is capable of thinking, and even more so relative to all his potential thoughts, and even more so, relative to the essence of his soul, so too all the worlds are but a tiny fraction of the expression of God's being and essence.

עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, לְשַׁכֵּךְ אֶת הָאֹזֶן, וּבֶאֱמֶת, "אֵין עֲרוֹךְ אֵלֶיךָ" כְּתִיב (תהלים מ, ו). וּכְמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר (בְּלִקּוּטֵי אֲמָרִים חֵלֶק ב׳ פֶּרֶק ט׳) עַיֵּין שָׁם.

This comparison is only by way of analogy, to attune the ear by using terms it can appreciate. In truth, it is written, "Nothing compares to You" (Ps. 40:6), as explained elsewhere (in volume 2 of Likkutei Amarim , Sha'ar HaYiḥud VeHa'emuna, chap. 9). See there. The analogy does not fully express the vast distance between God and His world. The human soul, with its capacity to think and speak to an endless extent, is still limited. Therefore, this metaphor is intrinsically defective; like all anthropomorphisms, it is inadequate. The purpose of the analogy is to "attune the ear," to provide imagery that will resonate and allow us to understand something of the relationship between God and the world, even though we are totally incapable of fully comprehending it. The reality is that "nothing compares to You." "Comparison" implies relativity, large or small. That "nothing compares" means that essentially there is no comparison at all, not even between something very small to something unfathomably large. When there is a comparison, even one to a million, where the outer limits of these figures are incredibly far from each other, a comparison can still be drawn. But "nothing compares to You" means that any attempt at analogy is meaningless. This is not an issue of comparing that which is immense to something minute. The two sides cannot even be considered on the same plane of reality. In this sense, we do not nor cannot have any true example or metaphor that captures the essence of the Divine.

וְזֶהוּ שֶׁאוֹמְרִים ״הַמֶּלֶךְ הַמְרוֹמָם לְבַדּוֹ מֵאָז״. פֵּירוּשׁ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁמֵּאָז, קוֹדֶם הַבְּרִיאָה, הָיָה הוּא לְבַדּוֹ הוּא. כָּךְ עַתָּה, הוּא מְרוֹמָם כו׳, וּ״מִתְנַשֵּׂא מִימוֹת עוֹלָם״. פֵּירוּשׁ, שֶׁהוּא רָם וְנִשָּׂא לְמַעְלָה מַעְלָה מִבְּחִינַת זְמַן הַנִּקְרָא בְּשֵׁם ‘יְמוֹת עוֹלָם׳.

This explains the words that we say in the Yotzer Or blessing, "The King who alone is exalted from before," which means that just as "before," before the Creation, He was "alone," so too now "He is exalted…and He is elevated beyond the days of the world," meaning that He is exalted and elevated far beyond the dimension of time, which is called the "days of the world." In several places, the Sages say that that the term me'az, "from before," is not a point in time, but rather refers to time before the world existed, before the creation of time. Just as before the creation of the world He was alone, now as well, after the creation of the world, with all its ever-evolving reality, He remains alone, separate from all the worlds. The emphasis here is on "He who is alone from before." The emphasis is that He is alone. The implication is far beyond the simple understanding of these words, that there are no other gods besides Him. It indicates that nothing at all exists besides Him. The author of the Tanya extrapolates the rest of the blessing in the same vein: God is exalted beyond the world, not only in the spatial sense, but also beyond the "days of the world." A day is the most basic and tangible period of time. The "days of the world" refers not to a particular time but to time in general, since God's existence transcends the temporal construct.

וְהַיְינוּ לְפִי שֶׁחַיּוּת כָּל יְמוֹת עוֹלָם הוּא רַק מִבְּחִינַת ״הַמֶּלֶךְ״ כו׳, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר.

This is so because the life force of all the days of the world, of the dimension of time, stems solely from the level of the king, namely, from the sefira of Malkhut, and so forth, as explained elsewhere (Sha'ar HaYiḥud VeHa'emuna, chap. 7). The author of the Tanya interprets the word hamelekh, "the king," from the verse he quoted as referring to the divine attribute of Malkhut, which is the lowest attribute. Therefore, all the created worlds stem from it, which are separate, as it were, from the divine essence. As established here, even time is a created entity, one facet of the entire created reality. Therefore, time as well stems from the sefira of Malkhut. The attribute of Malkhut, then, is the only attribute that can be conjugated in time: He reigned, He reins, He will reign, past, present, and future. This signifies that of all the sefirot, only Malkhut associates with the reality of time and the temporal details of the created world, which does not appertain to God's other, more supernal attributes.

וְאִי לָזֹאת, הָרַחֲמָנוּת גְּדוֹלָה מְאֹד מְאֹד עַל הַנִּיצוֹץ הַשּׁוֹכֵן בַּגּוּף הֶחָשׁוּךְ וְהָאָפֵל,

Accordingly, upon contemplating all the above, one will feel an exceedingly great amount of compassion for the divine spark that dwells in the dark and gloomy body, When a person contemplates all this, he prepares himself for divine service using his attribute of compassion. A person who lacks knowledge of the greatness of the Divine is incapable of cultivating compassion. Only when he ascertains, to whatever degree he is capable, the divine greatness, which is infinite, far transcending the uppermost reaches of this world, will he feel compassion for the divine spark, which is literally part of the divine essence. Our bodies, with all its virtues and benefits, is mere flesh. The biological difference between it and a cow's body is very small. Our soul, which hails from the highest heights, resides in this piece of flesh. This must evoke compassion in us on the divine spark that is at the essence of the soul.

‘מַשְׁכָא דְּחִוְיָא׳ הֶעָלוּל לְקַבֵּל טוּמְאָה, וּלְהִתְגָּאֵל בְּכָל הַתַּאֲווֹת רַחֲמָנָא לִיצְּלַן,

the "snake's skin" that is prone to become impure and sullied by engaging in all the desires of this world, God save us, Kabbalistic teachings call the body "the snake's skin." The Torah states how God made for Adam and his wife tunics made out of hide and clothed them. The Zohar comments that God stripped the snake of his skin and put it on man. The human body is therefore likened to the skin of the primordial serpent. From a broader perspective, the snake skin is the kelippa that clothes the soul in this world. This term, "snake's skin," implies that the human body is not simply a physical entity. Rather, it is capable of becoming impure due to its physical desires. On one hand, it is a body like the body of an animal. But unlike an animal, the physical nature of man does not have any restraints, and it can descend even lower than its physical nature, into the realm of evil and sin. A person's body can become sullied even worse than an animal when he indulges in physical pleasures without inhibition.

לוּלֵי שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מָגֵן לוֹ וְנוֹתֵן לוֹ עוֹז וְתַעֲצוּמוֹת לִלְחוֹם עִם הַגּוּף וְתַאֲוֹתָיו וּלְנַצְּחָן.

if not for the fact that the Holy One, blessed be He, protects a person and gives him strength and might to wage war with the body and its desires and prevail over them. The divine spark descends so low that if God would not help it, it would not be able to emerge and ascend to its place, back to its origin in the Divine. But why do we need God's help? Why can't we do it on our own? It is because the body is not neutral but rather draws a person to the realm of kelippa and evil. One cannot ignore his body. Even if he tries, his body will not allow it. If you put down an item somewhere, you can leave it there. You cannot do that with your body. You cannot just leave your body, even in a good place, to just sit quietly. Even after Yom Kippur, after a powerful repentance and total forgiveness of all of one's sins so that a person is like a newborn baby, one still cannot trust his body and assume that it will obey him and walk only on the good path. In a certain sense, what we can do with any animal, we cannot do with the body, and for this reason we need God's help.

וְזֶהוּ שֶׁאוֹמְרִים, "אֲדוֹן עוּזֵּנוּ כו' מָגֵן יִשְׁעֵנוּ כו'".

This explains the verse that is recited in the continuation of the Yotzer Or blessing "Master of our strength…Shield of our deliverance.…" As mentioned above, this epistle is organized, to a certain degree, as a parallel to the blessing of Yotzer Or. First comes our praise of God, "who alone is exalted," through which one comes to an awakening of compassion and the supplication of "In your immense compassion, have compassion on us." The awakening of compassion in man's heart does not in and of itself save him but only serves as an awakening from below. To be truly saved, the awakening must come from above in the form of the help and protection from the forces of evil and the power and strength to prevail over them and triumph. It is in relation to this that we praise Him as the "Master of our strength…Shield of our deliverance" – the "strength" within us (the force that fills) and the "shield" around us (the force that encompasses).

וְהִנֵּה מוּדַעַת זֹאת דְּיֵשׁ ב׳ מִינֵי דְּחִילוּ וּרְחִימוּ. הָרִאשׁוֹנוֹת הֵן הַנּוֹלָדוֹת מֵהַתְּבוּנָה וְהַדַּעַת בִּגְדוּלַּת ה' וּבִדְבָרִים הַמְּבִיאִין לִידֵי אַהֲבַת ה׳ וְיִרְאָתוֹ.

It is known that there are two kinds of fear and love of God. The first is fear and love that are generated from the understanding and knowledge of God's greatness and an awareness of matters that lead to the love of God and the fear of Him. In a general sense, there are two levels of love and fear of God that a person can attain in his divine service. Whether a person feels love or fear of God depends on the manner and degree of one's contemplation of God's greatness. If he ponders God's exaltedness and the glory of His splendor, he will cultivate fear. If he reflects on God's kindness and compassion, he will awaken love within. The more a person develops his consciousness through the breadth and depth of his understanding, the loftier and more perfect the love and fear he evokes.

וְהָאַחֲרוֹנוֹת הֵן הַבָּאוֹת אַחַר כָּךְ מִלְמַעְלָה בִּבְחִינַת מַתָּנָה,

The latter is love and fear of God that come afterward as a gift from above, Only after a person does everything in the power of his consciousness to attain intellectual love and fear of God does he merit an entirely different type of love and fear: love and fear that do not come directly from his contemplative work below but from above. This love and fear are not a direct, automatic outcome of his prior level of love and fear, but they come from an other-worldly heavenly power, not as payment but as a gift.

וּכְמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר עַל פָּסוּק: "עֲבוֹדַת מַתָּנָה אֶתֵּן אֶת כְּהוּנַּתְכֶם" (במדבר יח, ז). שֶׁהִיא מִדַּת אַהֲבָה,

as explained elsewhere regarding the verse "As a service that is a gift I give your priesthood" (Num. 18:7). The priestly service is the attribute of love, It is explained elsewhere that the priest represents the attribute of kindness, or love, while the Levite service represents the attribute of restraint, or fear. "Your priesthood" is therefore a general expression for any service that is performed out of love. The verse can thus be understood as saying that God gives the service of love to a person as a gift.

וְכֵן הוּא גַּם כֵּן בְּיִרְאָה.

and likewise, there is also the gift of fear. Like love, there is also a level of fear that a person merits as a gift from above. The principle at play here is that there are two starkly different categories of attributes, or emotions, that one feels toward God: those that stem from the power of human preparation and conscious work, and those that descend as a gift from above, from beyond one's reality.

וְהִנֵּה וַדַּאי אֵין עֲרוֹךְ כְּלָל בֵּין הָרִאשׁוֹנוֹת, שֶׁהֵן תּוֹלְדוֹת הַשֵּׂכֶל הַנִּבְרָא, לְגַבֵּי הָאַחֲרוֹנוֹת שֶׁהֵן מֵהַבּוֹרֵא יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמוֹ.

There is certainly no comparison at all between the first level of love and fear, which are products of the human intellect, and the latter type of love and fear, which are a gift from the Creator, blessed be He. The difference is that the first category of love and fear, where they are products of human cognitive processing, is limited by a person's intellectual capacity of consciousness, while the latter, granted by God, can be given without limitation. The crucial difference does not lie in the power of the emotion but in its origin, whether these emotions arise from within or they originate from above. Those that come from within are limited by the person's own cognitive abilities. A person can only fathom things that are within a certain scope of his nature. The love and fear that a person cultivates with his conscious mind are necessarily confined to his level and spiritual makeup. By contrast, the love and fear that a person receives from above can transcend his capacity and, to a certain extent, exceed all comprehension because they come from the infinite Divine and not from a limited created being. Yet the more significant difference, which this epistle addresses, touches on the degree to which the emotions ring true to their beholder. The love and fear cultivated from human consciousness are contingent on man's limitations, and the most significant limitation of one's life experience is the lack of certainty regarding the truth of what he is feeling.

וְלָכֵן הֵן הֵן הַנִּקְרָאוֹת בְּשֵׁם אֱמֶת, כִּי חוֹתָמוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֱמֶת שֶׁהוּא אֱמֶת הָאֲמִיתִּי, וְכָל הָאֱמֶת שֶׁבַּנִּבְרָאִים כְּלֹא חֲשִׁיבֵי קַמֵּיהּ.

Therefore, the second level of love and fear, which stem from God, is the one called truth, because truth is the seal the Holy One, blessed be He, for He is the absolute truth, and any truth that is found among created beings is considered nothingness before Him. At the beginning of his work, Rambam states, "The meaning of the words of the prophet'But my Lord God is truth' (Jer. 10:10) is that He alone is truth, and no other can claim that they have absolute truth. This relates to the Torah's statement'There is no other besides Him' (Deut. 4:35), meaning that there is no extant truth besides Him or like Him" (Mishneh Torah, Sefer HaMadda, Hilkhot Yesodei HaTorah 1:2). This is the nature of truth: There is no half-truth, and there is no small truth or big truth. Either something is true through and through, or it is not true. In this sense, only God can represent absolute truth. All other definitions of truth are relative. Meaning, if they are true, it is only because they relate in some stipulative way to God's truth. The truth that we establish, on all levels, is attained only through comparing one thing to another. One thing is true like something else that we know to be true. This is how we build our perspective of reality: by relating new concepts or experiences to true archetypes, which we compare to even truer truths, and so on. But within ourselves, when we as human beings are twisted and convoluted, fraught with distortion and falsehood, when our whole beings are upside down, inconsistent, and inauthentic, then we lack all objective tests of truth. When we look inward and attempt to compare one thing to another, we come up with only relative truths. It is only about God that we say, "It is true and firm and correct, enduring, straight and faithful" (in the Emet VeYatziv prayer), like a tall building, at the top of which is (as the prayer concludes) "the Lord, your God who is truth." God's stamp is truth, and the truer something is, the closer it is to God. Since truth is the symbol emblazed on anything connected to God, on everything that comes from Him, we constantly search for truth.

אַךְ אֵיזֶה הַדֶּרֶךְ שֶׁיִּזְכֶּה הָאָדָם לֶאֱמֶת ה׳? הִנֵּה הוּא עַל יְדֵי שֶׁיְּעוֹרֵר רַחֲמִים רַבִּים לִפְנֵי ה' עַל הַנִּיצוֹץ שֶׁבְּנַפְשׁוֹ.

But what is the way for a person to merit God's truth? It is by awakening abundant compassion before God for the divine spark that is in his soul. How does one merit this fabric of experience that is stamped with God's truth? How does one attain the love and fear of God, which are essentially a gift from above? While the author of the Tanya previously stated that one must cultivate the first type of love and fear of his own volition before he can merit the second type, this alone is not enough. While this lays the necessary foundation, it does not guarantee that he will merit love and fear from above. From the first type of love and fear to the second is a gap that a person cannot cross by treading a certain number of steps, because the second type is not a consequence or payment for his effort and actions but a gift. A person cannot demand a gift – he must ask for it. Some things are built on mutual reciprocity, on giving and taking. This is not how a gift works. A gift is a one-way expression. A poor person who asks for charity does not offer anything in return; he only arouses compassion. When asking for a free gift, one asks for compassion, not for what he deserves. So too, when we request a gift from God, we must arouse compassion. One's spiritual level does not matter. One must awaken compassion because the truth is that he cannot possibly buy it even if he were to give everything that he has. The story is told about a certain tzaddik who in his old age used to say, "I have served God for seventy years, and I have not attained one word of truth. God should have compassion on an old man like me and give it a free gift." This compassion is not directed toward our being, our self with whom we identify, but rather on the divine spark that is in exile within us.

שֶׁהִיא מִדָּתוֹ שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב, ״מַבְרִיחַ מֵהַקָּצֶה אֶל הַקָּצֶה״ (שמות כו, כח), דְּהַיְינוּ מֵרוּם הַמַּעֲלוֹת עַד לְמַטָּה מַטָּה,

Compassion is the attribute of Jacob, who is called "the central bar inside the boards from end to end" (Ex. 26:28), implying that this attribute passes from the loftiest heights to the lowest depths, The forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, represent three paths in divine service though the attributes that they embodied: Ḥesed, Kindness; Gevura, Restraint; and Tiferet, which is synonymous with compassion. These three paths are associated with the three sets of bars that secured the vertical beams of the Tabernacle: the upper bars, the lower bars, and a middle bar, which is described as extending "from end to end." The upper and lower bars were fastened to the beams on the outside. Each bar had two sections, each of which extended halfway across the wall. The central bar, by contrast, passed through an opening inside the beams and extended the entire width of the wall, "from end to end." This is why the central bar represents the attribute of compassion, the attribute of Jacob, which is a synthesis of Ḥesed and Gevura. Unlike the other attributes, the attribute of compassion penetrates every aspect of reality, reaching infinitely lofty heights and infinitely low depths. It can penetrate the highest realms since relative to God even the most supernal beings need compassion, as well as the lowest depths, in the sense that even the lowest creature can still receive compassion.

לְהַמְשִׁיךְ אֱמֶת ה' לָעוֹלָם הַשָּׁפֵל הַזֶּה הֶחָשׁוּךְ, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "כִּי אֵשֵׁב בַּחֹשֶׁךְ ה' אוֹר לִי" (מיכה ז, ח). וְזֶהוּ "כִּי גָבַר עָלֵינוּ חַסְדּוֹ כו'״ (תהלים קיז, ב).

to draw down God's truth to this lowly, dark world, as it is written, "Though I sit in darkness, the Lord is a light for me" (Mic. 7:8). This is also the meaning of the verse "For His kindness toward us is overwhelming…" (Ps. 117:2). Through prayerfully requesting an awakening of compassion, we can reach a point of true divine service. For one moment, we can reach that point of contact and experience true love and fear, as in the words of the siddur, "to serve You in truth." This verse in Micah shows how divine truth shines through the attribute of compassion even in the darkness of this lowly world. The verse that the author of the Tanya quotes from Psalms implies that we attain that truth and compassion even though we may not deserve it. This is what we request when we ask for an awakening of compassion: that the attribute of truth, God's truth, reach even the level we are on, even if we do not deserve it. Compassion is therefore the vessel with which we may receive the gift of truth.

אַךְ הִתְעוֹרְרוּת רַחֲמִים רַבִּים לִפְנֵי ה׳ צְרִיכָה לִהְיוֹת גַּם כֵּן בֶּאֱמֶת.

However, the awakening of abundant compassion before God must also be truthful. When a person comes to awaken the attribute of compassion to draw down God's eternal truth into his personal, lowly bubble of existence, the condition is that he must do so with a degree of truth. It is not enough for a person to mouth the words written in the siddur. He must be authentic. His words must truly reflect his own truth, his own true deficiency, his genuine desire.

וְגַם כְּשֶׁהוּא בֶּאֱמֶת שֶׁלּוֹ, אֵיךְ יוּכַל עַל יְדֵי אֱמֶת שֶׁלּוֹ לְעוֹרֵר רַחֲמִים עֶלְיוֹנִים מֵאֱמֶת ה'?

Yet even when it is true according to one's own truth, how can one awaken supernal compassion from God's truth through his own relative truth? There is God's truth, and there is man's truth. A person can say something that is true from his standpoint, even from a universally human standpoint, yet it is not God's truth. We strive to inform our relative, limited sense of truth with a transcendent, absolute, infinite truth. We yearn for contact with the absolute yet from within a relative, limited, human paradigm. How can we attain divine truth through a human lens?

אַךְ הָעֵצָה לָזֶה הִיא מִדַּת הַצְּדָקָה, שֶׁהִיא מִדַּת הָרַחֲמִים עַל מַאן דְּלֵית לֵיהּ מִגַּרְמֵיהּ, ״לְהַחֲיוֹת רוּחַ שְׁפָלִים כו׳״ (ישעיה נז, טו).

The solution for this is the attribute of charity, which is the attribute of compassion for one who has nothing of his own, "to revive the spirit of the humble" (Isa. 57:15). The author of the Tanya returns now to the point with which he opened the letter: the meaning of the "sower of charity." This dilemma cannot be solved through personal, spiritual work, but rather the solution lies in the realm of action. A person's psychospiritual experience will always be relegated to the realm of the subjective, but an action performed in the world is objective, irrespective of what the person feels. Charity is given to a person who does not have the means to repay the giver. The purpose of charity is to enliven and lift up the lowly. When one gives charity motivated by his attribute of compassion, he does not conduct a background check of the recipient. We do not ask the hungry man if he deserves the money. We do not pry and try to figure out whether it was his sins that caused him suffering. The mere fact that he is lowly, that he is lacking, deems him worthy of receiving charity. The problem that the author of the Tanya strives to solve is how to engender objectivism when it comes to compassion. As long as a person has compassion for himself, as long as the extent of the expression of his attribute of compassion is an internal sensation of compassion, he is working only within the confines of his own inner world. But the moment he gives charity to someone in need, he has accomplished something that truly, objectively endures, irrespective of the giver's own personal experience. The giving of charity touches on God's absolute, objective truth and is no longer relegated to the person's own relative truth alone. His internal experience remains "his own truth," but the act of giving, objectively real from every frame of reference, is "God's eternal truth."

וּבְאִתְעָרוּתָא דִּלְתַתָּא אִתְעָרוּתָא דִּלְעֵילָּא, ה' מְעוֹרֵר יְשֵׁנִים וּמֵקִיץ נִרְדָּמִים, הֵם בְּחִינַת רַחֲמִים רַבִּים וַחֲסָדִים עֶלְיוֹנִים הַנֶּעֱלָמִים, לָצֵאת מֵהַהֶעֱלֵם אֶל הַגִּילּוּי, וְהֶאָרָה רַבָּה לֵאוֹר בְּאוֹר הַחַיִּים אֱמֶת ה' לְעוֹלָם.

The awakening from below evokes an awakening from above, causing God to rouse those who sleep and awaken those who slumber. In other words, He awakens the attributes of abundant compassion and supernal kindness, which are concealed, causing them to emerge from their state of concealment to a state of manifestation and great illumination, so that a person is enlightened with the light of life, the truth of God forever. The "abundant compassion" and "supernal kindness" are what is referred to as attributes in Keter, on a level beyond the levels of Ḥokhma and Bina. These attributes are, in a certain sense, the attributes of God Himself, not those through which He actually runs the world, but rather His own hidden attributes. These concealed attributes, which constitute "the truth of God," are ancient, in the sense that they do not manifest down below in the ordinary workings of the world. It is only through an awakening from below they are roused from slumber and emerge from their state of concealment, shining the truth of God onto this world.

(וזה) [וְזֶהוּ] לְשׁוֹן זְרִיעָה הַנֶּאֱמַר בִּצְדָקָה, לְהַצְמִיחַ אֱמֶת הָעֶלְיוֹן, אֱמֶת ה'.

This is the meaning of the term "sowing" used with regard to charity, which causes the supernal truth, God's truth, to sprout. This term, "sowing" is used with regard to charity in the verse that the author of the Tanya quoted at the beginning of the epistle: "The sower of charity has a true reward." When a person plants a seed in the ground, he ultimately reaps much more than he invested. Charity is similar: A person gives something physical and reaps supernal truth. As explained above, supernal truth can be acquired only as a gift, because nothing man does or offers can possibly come close to being commensurate in value with God's truth. Yet there is something he can do that serves as an awakening from below to spark the revelation of God's truth. The revelation does not come as a direct outcome of the action, but rather the action creates a vessel capable of receiving the light of that supernal gift. We "sow" charity, and on the surface, the principal outcome of this action is that the money was acquired by another person, but we have done much more. This charity caused something inestimably huge to burgeon forth: We have engendered an awakening from below that caused an awakening from above and the revelation of God's truth.

וּבִפְרָט בִּצְדָקָה וְחֶסֶד שֶׁל אֱמֶת שֶׁעוֹשִׂים עִם אֶרֶץ הַקֹּדֶשׁ, תִּבָּנֶה וְתִכּוֹנֵן בִּמְהֵרָה בְּיָמֵינוּ אָמֵן,

Particularly the charity and true kindness done for the Holy Land, may it be rebuilt and reestablished speedily in our days amen, On the practical level, this epistle was intended to inspire the giving of charity to provide for the needs of the hasidic settlement in the Land of Israel. A group of hasidim who had moved to the Land of Israel not long before were in need of financial support, and Rabbi Menaḥem Mendel of Vitebsk, who stood at the helm of the group, appointed the author of the Tanya to collect funds for them. This was not a simple matter, and in order to persuade and inspire the Jews living in the diaspora, who lived in privation, to send monies to a faraway land and relieve the troubles of those living there, the author of the Tanya interwove mystical underpinnings into his call for donations.

לְקַיֵּים מַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב: "אֱמֶת מֵאֶרֶץ תִּצְמָח" (תהלים פה, יב), עַל יְדֵי זְרִיעַת הַצְּדָקָה בָּהּ.

in fulfillment of the verse "Truth will spring up from the land as charity looks down from heaven" (Ps. 85:12) by sowing charity in it. To this end, the author of the Tanya addresses the spiritual side of the mitzva of charity. Charity is compared to sowing, which causes the divine attributes, which are rooted in truth, to spring forth. One sows in earth, and the Land of Israel is the paradigm of earth, the primary land. In light of this, the ultimate blossoming comes from seeds sown in the Land of Israel. The earth is an embodiment of the sefira of Malkhut. There is a lower earth and a supernal earth, which corresponds to supernal Malkhut. The Land of Israel is perfectly oriented to the supernal earth and is therefore the highest of all lands, serving as a conduit for all sustenance and vitality for all the other lands in the world. Sowing charity particularly in the Land of Israel causes truth to sprout forth in the most powerful, all-encompassing way.

וְחֶסֶד וְרַחֲמִים רַבִּים הַנֶּאֱסָפִים וְנִלְקָטִים לְתוֹכָהּ, הֵם מְעוֹרְרִים גַּם כֵּן חֲסָדִים עֶלְיוֹנִים הַצְּפוּנִים וְנֶעֱלָמִים (בְּנוֹסַח אַחֵר: בָּהּ), כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "אֲשֶׁר צָפַנְתָּ כו׳״ (תהלים לא, כ), לְכוֹנְנָהּ וְלַהֲקִימָהּ,

The kindness and abundant compassion that are gathered and collected in it also awaken the supernal kindness that is hidden and concealed [alternatively: hidden and concealed within it], as it is written , "How great is the goodness You have in store…" (Ps. 31:20), so that the land may be established and set up. The act of charity, which literally sows kindness and compassion in the earth, awakens the supernal, concealed kindnesses, which are then channeled to us in compassion in the form of a gift from above. "How great is the goodness You have in store for those who fear You," refers particularly to this hidden reward. (The word tzafanta, "that You have in store," literally means, "that You have hidden away.") The blossoming inherently comes from the concealed dimension. When a person plants a seed, and the seed disappears in the earth, it is as if it ceases to exist. Yet a whole plant or an entire fruit-bearing tree grows from it that bears no resemblance whatsoever to the original seed. This is what it means to sow charity in the earth: A person gives a coin to a poor person, and even if it was not given in the most genuine, altruistic way, this act of charity causes true love and fear to blossom from above.

וְזֶהוּ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "בִּצְדָקָה תִּכּוֹנָנִי" (ישעיה נד, יד).

This is the meaning of the verse "With charity you will be established" (Isa. 54:14). This verse, "With charity you will be established," is addressing the land itself. When a person sows the seeds of charity in the earth, he not only sustains the receiver and benefits himself, he nourishes the earth as well. In particular, charity given to the Land of Israel directly raises up the Divine Presence from the dust. The Land of Israel, which is surrounded by other countries, parallels the Jewish people, who are surrounded by the nations. In another sense, it correlates to the Divine Presence itself. When a person physically builds the land by giving charity to those who live in it, he sustains the land, not just in the physical sense, but on a cosmic scope as well, sustaining the supernal land, the entire Jewish people, and the whole world on every level.