״אַשְׁרֵינוּ מַה טּוֹב חֶלְקֵנוּ וּמַה נָּעִים גּוֹרָלֵנוּ" (תהלים טז, ה-ו).

In the morning prayers, we say, "We are fortunate. How good is our portion and how pleasant our lot.…" Similarly, it is written, "The Lord is my lot and my portion.… The lots that have fallen to me are pleasant.…" (Ps. 16:5–6). The common thread between these verses are the terms "our portion" and "our lot." This indicates that each of us have been allotted some sort of portion or inheritance, something unique to each individual that he received and no other, such as a special illumination or gift from God. What is the significance of these two expressions, "our portion" and "our lot," in this context and in general?

לְהָבִין לְשׁוֹן ״חֶלְקֵנוּ״ וְ״גּוֹרָלֵנוּ״ צָרִיךְ לְבָאֵר הֵיטֵב לָשׁוֹן הַשָּׁגוּר בְּמַאַמְרֵי רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה: אֵין לוֹ חֵלֶק בֵּאלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. כִּי הֲגַם דְּלִכְאוֹרָה, לֹא שַׁיָּיךְ לְשׁוֹן חֵלֶק כְּלָל בָּאֱלֹקוּת יִתְבָּרַךְ, שֶׁאֵינוֹ מִתְחַלֵּק לַחֲלָקִים חַס וְשָׁלוֹם.

To understand the terms "our portion" and "our lot," it is necessary to first properly explain the common expression among the statements of our Rabbis about one who commits certain sins, that he has no portion in the God of Israel. It would seem that the term "portion" cannot be applied to God at all, for He cannot be divided into parts, God forbid. When a person commits a most grievous sin, the Sages say that "he has no portion in the God of Israel." Just because this phrase is common, as the author of the Tanya points out, does not mean it is easily understood. The main challenge is understanding how we could apply the expression "portion" to God. One can speak about portions and inheritances of land, because land can be divided into parts, but how can one speak about a portion of the God of Israel? Is the Divine divisible, making it possible for a person to claim a stake in it?

אַךְ הָעִנְיָן כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּיַעֲקֹב: "וַיִּקְרָא לוֹ אֵל אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל" (בראשית לג, כ).

The matter can be understood based on a verse regarding Jacob: "He established there an altar, and he called it El Elohei Yisrael [God of Israel]" (Gen. 33:20). To explain this idea, another verse must be introduced, which all the commentaries have trouble explaining. After Jacob survived the encounter with his brother Esau, he built an altar to thank God. Then comes the ambiguous verse: "He established there an altar, and he called it El Elohei Yisrael," El being one of the names of God. The question that the commentaries ask is, who called whom El? Rashi explains the verse literally, that Jacob named the altar El because of the miracle done for him there so that people who mentioned the name of the altar would automatically praise God. According to this, the meaning of the altar's name is "He who is God is God to me, whose name, my name, is Israel." But as Rashi himself goes on to explain, the Sages interpret the verse differently: "The Holy One, blessed be He [the'God of Israel] called Jacob El " (Megilla 18a). This explanation is shocking. How could a human being be called by God's name? The author of the Tanya will explain this below and will even repeat this verse in order to give his interpretation. But first, before he can explain it, he introduces several points that touch on the foundations of faith.

פֵּירוּשׁ, כִּי הִנֵּה בֶּאֱמֶת הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא כִּשְׁמוֹ כֵּן הוּא.

This means that in truth, the Holy One, blessed be He, is true to His name. The name of God that the author of the Tanya mentions here, "the Holy One, blessed be He," a name used frequently by the Sages, is in and of itself a description that contains two seemingly contradictory concepts. He is "holy," meaning separate, since He exists on the other side of reality, disconnected from all physicality and every other aspect of existence. Yet He is "blessed," meaning He is drawn down into reality. Logically speaking, if we posit one, we have to let go of the other. If He is drawn down into the worlds, then He is not truly holy and separate from them, and if He is holy and separate, then He should not actually exist within the worlds. Yet this is exactly the meaning of this name, that He is simultaneously holy and blessed.

כִּי אַף דְּאִיהוּ מְמַלֵּא כָּל עָלְמִין,(ירמיה כג, כד), "אֲנִי" מַמָּשׁ, דְּהַיְינוּ מַהוּתוֹ וְעַצְמוּתוֹ כִּבְיָכוֹל וְלֹא כְּבוֹדוֹ לְבַד,

Although on the one hand He fills all the higher and lower worlds, from the highest spiritual heights to the bottom of this lowly corporeal earth, as it is written, "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" (Jer. 23:24) – literally, "I," meaning God's actual essence and being, so to speak, and not just His glory – Elsewhere, we find two verses that echo this seeming contradiction: the verse that is mentioned here, "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" and a verse from the book of Isaiah (6:3), "That which fills the entire world is His glory." At first glance, they seem to convey the same meaning, yet in actuality they relay two starkly different messages They both seem to be speaking about how God fills all the worlds, yet one uses the first person, "I," meaning God Himself, and the second speaks in the third person of "His glory." "Glory" implies an illumination, a connection with a more external aspect of God. This is echoed by the Targum Yonatan's Aramaic translation of this phrase: "a ray of His honor," connoting a mere glimmer radiating from Him. Another difference is that the first verse speaks of the heavens and the earth, of the higher and lower worlds, at the same time, while the second verse specifically refers to the earth, to this world. Hasidic teachings explain that the verse "That which fills the entire world is His glory" speaks of the light that fills all worlds, referring to the divine life force that fills and vitalizes every single aspect of reality, that permeates the very essence and inner workings of existence. This illumination is clearly not God's very essence but rather a force that emanates from Him to vivify the creation. By contrast, the first verse conveys that "I" fill the heavens and the earth, literally My essence and being. God Himself, not just His glory, fills the heavens and the earth as one. This manner of God Himself relating to the world, to the heavens and the earth, is called the light that surrounds all worlds. It is an infinite illumination that represents God's very being in which the worlds, in all their multiplicity, are subsumed, negligible, and meaningless. In this light, heaven and earth are the same, as one.

אַף עַל פִּי כֵן, הוּא קָדוֹשׁ, ומוּבְדָּל מֵעֶלְיוֹנִים וְתַחְתּוֹנִים וְאֵינוֹ נִתְפָּס כְּלָל בְּתוֹכָם חַס וְשָׁלוֹם,

He is nevertheless holy and separate from the higher and lower beings and is not contained within them at all, God forbid, Though this essential light fills all of reality, it is also separate from it to the nth degree. "Holy" connotes intrinsically separate, totally other, evading any attempt at characterization. It is absolutely transcendent, with no medium between it and anything else whatsoever, but rather there exists an unbridgeable gap. The definition of "holy" here does not refer to the feeling of holiness at all but rather to its essential nature, which lies beyond all dimensions, beyond the highest and lowest worlds alike. No matter how supernal the higher worlds may be, they are always embedded to some degree in the lower worlds. The lower worlds must always be able to register the higher worlds to some extent, to be a vessel for their light. Yet when it comes to God Himself, even though He fills everything, He Himself is not grasped by anything nor touches anything.

כִּתְפִיסַת נִשְׁמַת הָאָדָם בְּגוּפוֹ, עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר בַּאֲרִיכוּת.

as the human soul is contained within the body, for example, as explained elsewhere at length (Likkutei Amarim, chap. 42). The parallel drawn between God in the world and the soul in the body is ancient and appears in the words of the Sages. Yet still, despite the similarities, there is one fundamental difference: The soul does not just exist within the body and fill it; it also builds a two-way relationship with it. The soul vivifies the body and activates it. The body, on its part, activates the soul, or at the least has an effect on it. There is a mutual relationship between the body and the soul and even a certain degree of identification: The human sense of self is a composite of both the body and the soul. When the body is hungry, the soul cannot help but be affected. When someone is struck in the face, his soul hurts even more than his body. The soul, then, is considered to be contained within the body. By contrast, although "I fill the heavens and the earth" although He exists in every molecule and iota of reality, He is not "grasped" within it. The relationship between God and the world is completely one way. His being fills reality, but reality does not encompass His being. It does not touch Him. Even when He is as close as can be, He is still unfathomably far. Holiness, God's intrinsic separateness, is not just the type described in Ecclesiastes (5:1) – "God is in the heavens and you are on earth" – since God Himself is not in the heavens more than He is on land. God fills the heavens and the earth, yet He is separate and ungraspable on earth just as in the heavens. They sense His existence, since their whole existence comes from Him, yet they do not grasp Him at all, and they do not affect Him, negatively or positively. While He fills and enlivens everything, He remains forever the Holy One, distant and separate.

וְלָזֹאת לֹא הָיוּ יְכוֹלִים לְקַבֵּל חַיּוּתָם מִמַּהוּתוֹ וְעַצְמוּתוֹ לְבַדּוֹ כִּבְיָכוֹל.

Therefore, the worlds could not receive their life force from His essence and being alone, so to speak. The worlds cannot receive their particularized vitality directly from the divine essence. The divine essence is holy and transcendent; nothing else exists in its light. There can be no comparison between the world and God's essence; between them lies an unbridgeable gap. God's essence and being has no meaning in light of the minutiae and dimensions of the world. The farthest reaches of the imagination are incapable of measuring the reality of the world alongside the reality of God. They do not exist on the same plane at all. It is therefore impossible to speak of association between the two or the effect of one on the other.

רַק הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת הַחַיּוּת אֲשֶׁר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְחַיֶּה עֶלְיוֹנִים וְתַחְתּוֹנִים, הוּא עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל כְּמוֹ הֶאָרָה מְאִירָה מִשְּׁמוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ,

Rather, the emanation of the life force into all the worlds by which the Holy One, blessed be He, gives life to the higher and lower worlds is metaphorically analogous to an illumination shining forth from His name, The life force that impacts and enlivens the world is just an illumination. To be precise, it is not even an illumination of the divine essence itself, but rather an illumination of God's name. God's name, like a person's name, is a type of illumination that radiates outward. The person does not need his name. Other people need it to refer to him, to relate to him. Yet, unlike other illuminations of that person's essence, such as character traits, the name points to the person himself. So too, though God's name is certainly not God Himself, one who calls Him by name addresses His very essence.

שֶׁהוּא וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד.

For He and His name are one. The name of God is more than a title that we call Him. It is the initial illumination that emerges from His essence. The essence of God's name is one with the supernal divine essence, not because it is identical to it, but because it is not separate from it. As the Midrash states, "Until the world was created, there was only God and His great name" (Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer 3). Although His name is not His essence, but rather a revelation and an illumination of the Divine, it still far transcends all worlds and levels, and therefore this illumination from God's great name has the power to enliven all the worlds.

וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״כִּי נִשְׂגָּב שְׁמוֹ לְבַדּוֹ״ (תהלים קמח, יג), רַק זִיווֹ, וְ״הוֹדוֹ עַל אֶרֶץ וְשָׁמָיִם וְגוֹ׳״.

Thus it is written, "For His name alone is exalted," while only the ray of "His glory" is "across earth and heaven…" (Ps. 148:13). Not only is God's essence exalted, singular and totally separate from creation, but so is His name exalted and transcendent. Moreover, as the author of the Tanya explains here, the heavens and the earth receive only the glimmer and radiance that shines forth from his name, a "ray of His glory." This concept is also found in the statement "Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever" (recited in the Shema prayer). We do not say "blessed is His name" or even "blessed is His glory" but rather "Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom," expressing three degrees of separation that convey the vast distance between God and the worlds that He enlivens.

וְהֶאָרָה זוֹ מִתְלַבֶּשֶׁת מַמָּשׁ בָּעֶלְיוֹנִים וְתַחְתּוֹנִים לְהַחֲיוֹתָם,

This illumination actually becomes clothed within the higher and lower worlds to give them life, This is the essential difference between God, who enlivens the world, and the soul, which enlivens the body. Unlike the soul, whose essence manifests in the body, God only manifests in the world as the glimmer of an illumination of Himself in the world, "a ray of His glory." It is this emanation of His being that constitutes the soul of the world. We are incapable of relating to the luminary, to the source of the divine light. Even though it exists and is the ultimate source of all life, it is not in our purview, and therefore it is as if it does not exist. All the vitality within us, our desires, awareness, sensations, and abilities, we receive from but a glimmer of a glimmer of an illumination.

וְנִתְפֶּסֶת בְּתוֹכָם עַל יְדֵי מְמוּצָּעִים רַבִּים וְצִמְצוּמִים רַבִּים וַעֲצוּמִים, בְּהִשְׁתַּלְשְׁלוּת הַמַּדְרֵגוֹת דֶּרֶךְ עִלָּה

and it is contained within them through many intermediary and numerous powerful constrictions

וְעָלוּל וכו'.

the unfolding succession of levels in a process of cause and effect, and so on. through This divine illumination does not shine directly into the upper worlds and certainly not into our physical world. Rather it flows through various mediums, from world to world and level to level. Every level warrants further constriction relative to the level above it, and every constriction lends a unique filter that the light must pass through to manifest on that level and in that particular realm of creation.

וְהִנֵּה הֶאָרָה זוֹ, אַף שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה הִיא מְאִירָה וּמִתְפַּשֶּׁטֶת בִּבְחִינַת בְּלִי גְּבוּל וְתַכְלִית, לְהַחֲיוֹת עוֹלָמוֹת נֶעֱלָמִים לְאֵין קֵץ וְתַכְלִית, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בָּ׳אִדְּרָא רַבָּא׳ (חלק ג קכז, ב),

This illumination, although above it shines and emanates boundlessly and infinitely, giving life to endless, infinite hidden worlds, as stated in Idra Rabba (3:127b), Divine light itself is infinite. Its infinity expresses itself in that it gives life to an infinite number of worlds. Its macrocosmic scope manifests mostly in the upper worlds, which are by definition more all-encompassing realities. Every detail of each of these worlds is in and of itself a complete universe, an entire category of existence. By contrast, our world is one particular world, a specific occurrence, one possibility out of endless worlds.

אַף עַל פִּי כֵן, בְּרִדְתָּהּ לְמַטָּה, עַל יְדֵי צִמְצוּמִים רַבִּים לְהַחֲיוֹת הַנִּבְרָאִים וְהַיְּצוּרִים וְהַנַּעֲשִׂים,

nevertheless, when it descends below through many constrictions to give life to all the beings that have been created, formed, and made in the lower worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, The divine light descends below in the sense that it becomes funneled through constriction after constriction. When the divine illumination gets constricted into some parameter of reality, it enlivens and sustains that thing. Thus the constriction and descent of this illumination enlivens the worlds that progress from one to the next, which are, generally speaking, the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya.

הִיא נֶחְלֶקֶת דֶּרֶךְ כְּלָל לְמִסְפַּר תַּרְיָ״ג כְּנֶגֶד תַּרְיָ"ג מִצְוֹת הַתּוֹרָה.

it is generally divided into 613 rays, corresponding to the 613 commandments of the Torah. The 613 divisions in which the divine illumination that enlivens the world is divided are like 613 colors, 613 pathways through which the light is drawn down below. Each of the 613 commandments of the Torah characterizes one of these pathways and in a certain sense composes the fabric that the refraction that the illumination takes on in order to manifest itself in reality. The 613 commandments can be defined as embodying the entirety of the contact between man and God, between the spiritual and the physical, between the Divine and the worlds. As such, the 613 commandments represent the roots and foundations of the worlds. Each one expresses a particular essence of reality, and the entire 613, albeit not obvious to all, express the entire reality of all the worlds.

שֶׁהֵן הֵן תַּרְיָ״ג מִינֵי הַמְשָׁכוֹת הֶאָרָה זוֹ, מֵאוֹר אֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא,

These commandments are 613 kinds of channels that transmit this illumination from the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, The 613 lights in the divine illumination are 613 broad categories (which themselves are broken up into details and sub-details), which parallel the 613 mitzvot. Take, for example, physical light. When it refracts through a prism, it divides into a specific number of shades and primary colors that divide and recombine into infinite number of sub-colors.

לְהָאִיר לְנִשְׁמַת הָאָדָם הַכְּלוּלָה מֵרְמָ"ח אֵבָרִים וּשְׁסָ"ה גִּידִים,

to illuminate the human soul, which is comprised of 248 limbs and 365 sinews, which together totals 613, Just as man, who is the ultimate purpose of the divine illumination to the worlds, is comprised of 613 limbs and sinews, so too the illumination that he contains is also divided into 613 lights. Not only is man's body composed of 248 limbs and 365 sinews, but parallel to his body, his soul is also composed of 613 fundamental elements.

אֲשֶׁר בַּעֲבוּרָהּ הוּא עִיקַּר תַּכְלִית יְרִידַת וְהַמְשָׁכַת הֶאָרָה זוֹ לְמַטָּה, לְכָל הַנִּבְרָאִים וְהַיְּצוּרִים וְהַנַּעֲשִׂים, שֶׁתַּכְלִית כּוּלָּן הוּא הָאָדָם, כַּנּוֹדָע.

for whose sake is the primary purpose of the descent and flow of this illumination below to all the beings that have been created, formed, and made in the lower worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya , because the purpose of them all is man, as is known. The main purpose of the divine light illuminating the worlds below – the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, which are all considered "below" in relation to the world of Atzilut – is for man to be able to exist in the lower world of Asiya. Therefore, the processes of illumination and progressive descent that are meant to sustain man and his world pass through all the upper worlds. Even though man is not the largest creation in existence, neither in quantity nor in any other way, he is certainly the most important, since all of reality is tailored to him. Every illumination of vitality that flows to the worlds is fine-tuned to manifest man's reality with all its details, and man's reality parallels the supernal image from above of divine names and illuminations that flow from it. The 613 commandments are the practical human expression of all the hues of divine illumination and, in a certain sense, of the Divine itself.

וְהִנֵּה מִסְפָּּר זֶה הוּא בְּדֶרֶךְ כְּלָל, אֲבָל בְּדֶרֶךְ פְּרָט הִנֵּה כָּל מִצְוָה וּמִצְוָה מִתְחַלֶּקֶת לִפְרָטִים רַבִּים לְאֵין קֵץ וְתַכְלִית. וְהֵן הֵן גּוּפֵי הֲלָכוֹת פְּרָטִיּוֹת שֶׁבְּכָל מִצְוָה, שֶׁאֵין לָהֶם מִסְפָּר,

This number, 613, is a general division. But specifically speaking, every single commandment is divided into numerous, endless, infinite details. These are the vast body of innumerable specific halakhot that pertain to every commandment, There are many commandments that encompass an entire set of laws and instruction behind them. Even extremely specific commandments include a great number of details required for their proper fulfillment.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "שִׁשִּׁים הֵמָּה מְלָכוֹת" (שיר השירים ו, ח), הֵן שִׁשִּׁים מַסֶּכְתּוֹת כו', "וַעֲלָמוֹת אֵין מִסְפָּר", הֵן הַהֲלָכוֹת כו' שֶׁהֵן הַמְשָׁכַת רָצוֹן הָעֶלְיוֹן כו'.

as it is written, "They are sixty queens" (Song 6:8), hinting at the sixty tractates of the Mishna, and so on, and, as the verse continues, "And young women without number," which hints at the halakhot , and so forth, which are drawn from the supernal will, and so on. The Sages extrapolate this correlation between the sixty queens mentioned in the Song of Songs and the sixty tractates of the Mishna. The "young women without number" mentioned at the end of the verse refer to the endless halakhic details and directives that one constantly encounters with every new situation. Each and every halakhic decision is the expression of another aspect of the divine will that has never been revealed before. It is a revelation of what God wants from us within the corporeal confines of this world. Like the light of the sun, the supernal will is one unified, all-encompassing light. This light is divided into a number of parts, each of which is its own all-encompassing realm. After that, they become further divided into specific details, until they amount to "young women without number," the multitude of halakhot that are divided down to the most minute detail, emblematic of the infinitude of the overarching divine light.

וְכֵן הוּא מַמָּשׁ בְּנִשְׁמַת הָאָדָם, כִּי הִנֵּה כָּל הַנְּשָׁמוֹת שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם הָיוּ כְּלוּלוֹת בְּאָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן.

It is actually the same with regard to the human soul, for all the souls in the world were originally encompassed in the soul of Adam. The human soul, which receives the divine light, the illumination that comprises the 613 commandments, is also an all-encompassing light that becomes divided into details and sub-details. This applies to the entirety of all souls in general and to each soul in particular. Purely for the sake of example, a similar phenomenon is at work in the physical makeup of man. In every person's body reside the very cells that will function in all his future descendants. These cells were literally part of Adam's constitution and progressively increased and diverged into each of his progenitors. This is even more true in the spiritual realm regarding Adam's soul, which embodied the entire human race and included within it every component of every soul that would ever emerge from him.

וְדֶרֶךְ כְּלָל הָיְתָה נִשְׁמָתוֹ נֶחְלֶקֶת לְמִסְפַּר תַּרְיָ"ג: רְמָ"ח אֵבָרִים וּשְׁסָ"ה גִּידִים.

Generally speaking, his soul, like his body, was divided into 613 components, 248 limbs and 365 sinews, corresponding to the 613 commandments. Adam's soul was divided into 613 soul roots, so that every soul is rooted in one of the components of Adam's soul. Likewise, the soul of every one of Adam's descendants throughout the generations themselves are divided into 613 components.

אַךְ דֶּרֶךְ פְּרָט, נֶחְלֶקֶת לְנִיצוֹצוֹת אֵין מִסְפָּר, שֶׁהֵן נִשְׁמוֹת כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל מִימוֹת הָאָבוֹת וְהַשְּׁבָטִים עַד בִּיאַת הַמָּשִׁיחַ וְעַד בִּכְלָל,

But more specifically, Adam's soul was divided into innumerable sparks, which are the individual souls of every Jew from the times of the forefathers and the tribes until the coming of the Messiah and beyond, Every individual soul is a spark of Adam's soul. Like the mitzvot, these sparks were divided into more detailed parts, each of which is a principal component in and of itself containing hundreds of thousands of myriad additional details, which make up all the souls that ever were and will ever be from the beginning of time until the end of history in messianic times.

שֶׁיְּקוּיַם אָז מַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב: "וְהָיָה מִסְפַּר בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כְּחוֹל הַיָּם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִמַּד וְלֹא יִסָּפֵר" (הושע ב, א) מֵרוֹב.

when the following verse will be fulfilled: "The number of the children of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured and cannot be counted" (Hos. 2:1) due to their great number. Just as there will be numerous mitzvot to fulfill in messianic times, there will also be numerous souls that will fulfill them. In that future time, the Jewish people will be able to perform all 613 commandments since the Temple will be rebuilt and all Jews will be living in the Holy Land, so there will be no impediments to fulfilling the mitzvot. Moreover, that redemptive time will herald an age when all the work of the spiritual refinement of the world and the elevation of all the sparks by many souls will have come to completion.

וְהִנֵּה שׁוּפְרֵיהּ דְּיַעֲקֹב מֵעֵין שׁוּפְרֵיהּ דְּאָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן (בבא מציעא פד, א), שֶׁתִּיקֵּן חֵטְא אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן,

The Rabbis taught, "The beauty of Jacob is a semblance of the beauty of Adam" (Bava Metzia 84a), for Jacob rectified Adam's sin, Jacob resembled Adam in several respects. On a simple level, Jacob is the father of the Jewish people just as Adam is the father of humanity, and just as every person stems from Adam and only Adam, every Jewish soul comes from Jacob and only Jacob, who is the root from whom the entire Jewish people sprouted. On a deeper level, Jacob's spiritual work brought him back to the level of Adam before the sin. Adam was the handiwork of God and therefore perfect. This is the deeper significance of the phrase "the beauty of Adam." Adam was beautiful in both body and soul, crafted in the most optimal of divine proportions. The definition of beauty is harmony, in adhering to the optimal proportions, while sin, in this sense, is the distortion of them. Sin is like a deformity. It is not only like the loss of a limb, but it is also reminiscent of a limb that is not positioned correctly in relation to the others. A spiritual defect, like a physical one, is the loss of harmony, when a person is not living within the right proportions, and the components of his own being are not interacting with each other as they should. This is the meaning of "The beauty of Jacob resembled the beauty of Adam": Jacob rectified the original image, the "beauty of Adam," as it was before the sin.

וְהָיְתָה נִשְׁמָתוֹ גַּם כֵּן כְּלוּלָה מִכָּל הַנְּשָׁמוֹת שֶׁבְּיִשְׂרָאֵל מֵעוֹלָם וְעַד עוֹלָם.

and like Adam, his soul was also comprised of all the souls of the Jewish people throughout time. Just as Adam's soul was the root of humankind, the soul of Jacob was the root of all the souls of Israel. He was the one to kickstart the new reality called the Jewish people.

וְהָיָה מֶרְכָּבָה לַתּוֹרָה שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה, שֶׁנִּקְרֵאת בְּשֵׁם 'אָדָם',

He was a chariot for the spiritual root of the Torah above, which is called "Adam," When a person becomes a conduit and perfect expression for something, the Torah deems him a "chariot," a vehicle and medium through which that thing manifests. Jacob, as the expression of the perfection of the image of man, was a chariot for the image of supernal man, which is the Torah. As the Sages taught regarding the verse "This is the law [haTorah ]: man" (Num. 19:14), the Torah is the depiction of the perfect image of man. Since the Torah contains 613 commandments, which correspond to the components of man, both physical and spiritual, its spiritual root likewise corresponds to the supernal image of man.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "וְעַל דְּמוּת הַכִּסֵּא דְּמוּת כְּמַרְאֵה אָדָם וכו'" (יחזקאל א, כו),

as it is written, "Upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness, like the appearance of a person…" (Ezek. 1:26), The author of the Tanya quotes this verse from the vision of the divine chariot in Ezekiel. The "likeness" that is manifest on the chariot is the image of God that is manifest in the world. It is the divine will, divine wisdom, divine kindness and so on, the attributes of God that that become clothed in the 613 commandments of the Torah, which are the "likeness, like the appearance of a person." The image of man is the prism through which the divine light shines.

וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״וְזֹאת לְפָנִים בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כו׳״ (רות ד, ז), אֵין ״זֹאת״ אֶלָּא תּוֹרָה כו׳ שֶׁהָיְתָה כְּלוּלָה וּמְלוּבֶּשֶׁת בְּנִשְׁמַת יִשְׂרָאֵל סָבָא הַכְּלוּלָה מִכָּל הַנְּשָׁמוֹת.

and it is written, "This was the tradition in Israel…" (Ruth 4:7). The Rabbis expounded, "'This' is referring to nothing other than the Torah…" (Avoda Zara 2b), which was encompassed and clothed in the soul of Israel the patriarch, who is Jacob, which was comprised of all the souls. The soul of Jacob, of "Israel the patriarch" contains the entirety of the six hundred thousand souls of Israel in every incarnation. While all these souls were shrunk and folded into his soul, and all their facets are not outwardly revealed, still every aspect of every soul is encompassed in Jacob's soul. The essence of the Jewish people, which is synonymous with the essence of Adam, as explained above, is also the way that the essence of the Torah, which is the divine light that shines into the world, is manifest. These are the paths through which the Divine is revealed in the world.

וְזֶהוּ ״וַיִּקְרָא לוֹ אֵל אֱלוֹקֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל״ (בראשית לג, כ).

This is the meaning of "And he called it El Elohei Yisrael [God of Israel]" (Gen. 33:20). The author of the Tanya now explains the verse he quoted at the beginning of the letter. The Sages interpret this ambiguous verse as saying that God called Jacob "El." But how could this possibly be? The answer is that the image that is called "a likeness, like the appearance of a person" in the prophetic vision of the divine chariot, which depicts the all-encompassing divine revelation within the worlds, is built on the pattern of "the appearance of a person." This appearance is what is meant when we refer to the "supernal man" or "man above." Corresponding to supernal man is what is called the paradigmatic likeness below, which is Jacob. Jacob is therefore the template that most closely reflects and embodies the supernal image and most clearly expresses the aspect of the Divine that manifests in the world. In other words, Jacob is the chariot for the God of Israel, and in this sense, he can be called "El," one of the names of God.

'אֵל׳ לְשׁוֹן הַמְשָׁכַת הַהֶאָרָה מֵאוֹר אֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא, מֵהַהֶעְלֵם אֶל הַגִּילּוּי, לְהָאִיר בִּבְחִינַת גִּילּוּי בְּנִשְׁמָתוֹ, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״אֵל ה׳ וַיָּאֶר לָנוּ״ (תהלים קיח, כז),

El connotes the flow and illumination from the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, when it emerges from a state of concealment to a state of revelation to shine manifestly in the soul, as it is written, "The Lord is God; He has given us light" (Ps. 118:27), Here the author of the Tanya explains why God called Jacob by this particular divine name. The name El is associated with the attribute of Ḥesed, which is the sefira whose illumination emerges from a hidden state to a revealed state. It is the overarching force that moves from the inside out, as reflected in the verse quoted here that God is called El when His light shines forth and manifests within us, within the soul, when it issues forth from a state of concealment to a state of revelation. Israel, which encompasses the entire Jewish people, as previously explained, is a chariot for the Divine Presence, and as such, its identity is absolutely subsumed within the Divine Presence itself. When God called Jacob El, He was attesting to the fact that Jacob had reached this level. He had become a perfect instrument for the revelation of the Divine in the world.

וְאַחֲרָיו כָּל יִשְׁרֵי לֵב הָעוֹסְקִים בַּתּוֹרָה וּבַמִּצְוֹת מֵאִיר אוֹר ה' אֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא בִּבְחִינַת גִּילּוּי בְּנִשְׁמָתָם.

and after Jacob, the infinite divine light of Ein Sof , blessed be He, shines manifestly in the souls of all the upright of heart, who engage in Torah study and mitzvot. "The upright of heart" refers to each and every Jew. What our forefather Jacob achieved with regard to the fundamental perfect likeness exists to a certain degree in every Jew. The upright of heart are those who study Torah and perform mitzvot. The Torah and mitzvot provide the tools that enable a person to take the straight path and receive the divine light. This means that this revelation can happen for every Jew at any time. Even if it is not necessarily to the ultimate degree, where the entire image of man is perfected, at certain auspicious moments any person can be a vessel for the divine light of supernal man.

וּזְמַן גִּילּוּי זֶה בְּיֶתֶר שְׂאֵת וְיֶתֶר עָז הַהֶאָרָה בְּמוֹחָם וְלִבָּם הוּא בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר.

The time of the greatest and most powerful manifestation of the illumination in their minds and hearts is during prayer, as explained elsewhere (see epistle 24). While one studies Torah or performs mitzvot, this is not necessarily the time when the divine light manifests as a palpable spiritual experience. On the contrary, it can be an impediment. The fitting time for this, for the revelation of God's light in people's hearts and minds, is during prayer. The time of prayer, and particularly the prayer itself, removes one's masks and a living, palpable connection is forged between a person and God. This phenomenon is twofold: It is an opening of gates from above and, no less, an opening of gates from below, in the heart and soul of man. Everyday life obscures the presence of God, but during prayer and other special moments, when the auspicious moment from above coincides with the service of prayer below, the divine light can manifest expressly in one's soul through the instruments of one's mind and heart. Until this point, the author of the Tanya has been discussing the divine light, describing how it descends to our world and splits into 613 parts that correspond to the 613 commandments. This is the author of the Tanya's explanation of the concept of a "portion in the God of Israel." This portion refers to a part of the divine revelation that manifests in its entirety through the Torah and mitzvot, which are themselves split up into many parts, every one of which is a "portion in the God of Israel." The author will now go on to explain the wording of the verses that he quoted at the very beginning of the epistle: the meaning of "our portion" and "our lot." What is the significance of "our portion" and how does a specific portion relate to a specific person?

וְהִנֵּה אַף שֶׁגִּילּוּי זֶה, עַל יְדֵי עֵסֶק הַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוֹת, הוּא שָׁוֶה לְכָל נֶפֶשׁ מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל בְּדֶרֶךְ כְּלָל, כִּי תּוֹרָה אַחַת וּמִשְׁפָּט אֶחָד לְכוּלָּנוּ,

Although this manifestation of divine light that occurs through Torah study and mitzvot is generally the same for every Jew, for we all share one Torah and one law, The Torah and its laws are a revelation of the innermost supernal will, through which a connection between man and the Divine is forged. The performance of a mitzva is an expression of the essence of man, the essence of the Divine, and the essence of the world (which is another manifestation of the divine will). When a person studies Torah and performs a mitzva in this world, he reveals the divine will in the ultimate way, in all three aspects. The author of the Tanya also points out here that one of the defining features of the Torah and all the mitzvot is that they are indivisible. The Torah is not meant for one type of person and not others. Every Jew has the obligation to live a Torah life, and no one is free to shirk this obligation.

אַף עַל פִּי כֵן, בְּדֶרֶךְ פְּרָט אֵין כָּל הַנְּפָשׁוֹת אוֹ הָרוּחוֹת וְהַנְּשָׁמוֹת שָׁווֹת בְּעִנְיָן זֶה לְפִי עֵת וּזְמַן גִּלְגּוּלָם וּבוֹאָם בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה,

nevertheless, specifically speaking, not every nefesh, ruaḥ , and neshama is equal in this regard. The manifestation depends on the period and time of their incarnation and their coming to this world, That "this manifestation [of divine light that occurs] through Torah study and mitzvot is the same for every Jew" means that all Jews share the same collective lot. We are all human, and we all share the same history and Torah mission. But there are many individual differences between us, and in that sense, we are not all equal. Beyond the basic categorization of people, there is also a deeper division that is connected to the levels of the soul: nefesh, ruaḥ, and neshama. A person's soul is not one basic unit. It is comprised of several levels, one higher than the next. These elements are, in a certain sense, separate. A person may damage or heal his nefesh, for instance, but not his ruaḥ and vice versa. It could be that on a ruaḥ level, he is one type of person, while on a neshama level, he is the opposite. Two people can be equal on one level, but different on another. It is like two musical instruments that share the same fundamental sounds, but in their higher tones they are completely different. Another way that souls are distinct relates to the concept of reincarnation. Every time a soul returns to his world, it enters a new dimension of time and space. Depending on where and when he lives, a person has different types of experiences. A Jew who lived while the Temple was standing experienced a vastly different reality than a Jew who is living today. A Jew who lives today outside the Land of Israel has a different awareness of Torah and mitzvot than one who lives in the land. What each soul must accomplish depends on what level it is on when it comes into the world and what previous baggage it is carrying with it. Only a few souls, particularly in recent generations, are new souls, on their first round in this world. The vast majority of souls are old souls that have come back in a second, third, or higher incarnation. In light of this, even two seemingly similar people, born around the same time in the same place, experience life very differently. Each one carries with it the memories etched into him from previous lives, and each one has a special role and a unique mission that he came to the world to fulfill. One person must fix an entire lifetime, while another, who is nearing completion of the rectification of his soul, need only fix one particular facet. Returning to this world time after time becomes demanding in and of itself, because every time a soul comes to the world, it may successfully fix one aspect but fail in another due to its new life circumstances. When an old soul gets a new body, it has all kinds of new issues to deal with: how to operate this particular body, how to function in his new home, how to navigate his new familial dynamics, how to succeed in an unfamiliar society and live in the strange new world to which he has been sent.

וּכְמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (שבת קיח, ב): אֲבוּךְ בְּמַאי הָוֵי זָהִיר טְפֵי? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: בְּצִיצִית כו׳.

As our Rabbis said, " Rav Yosef said to Rav Yosef, son of Rabba: In what area was your father especially vigilant? He said to him: It was in the mitzva of tzitzit …" (Shabbat 118b). Rabba was surely meticulous in his performance of all the mitzvot. A person of his giant stature certainly performed every single mitzva as scrupulously as possible. Rather, as explained in hasidic works, the word for vigilant in this talmudic statement, zahir, shares the same letters as the Hebrew word zohar, shine. Rav Yosef was asking, "With which mitzva did your father shine? With which mitzva did your father's soul light up the most?"

וְכֵן אֵין כָּל הַדּוֹרוֹת שָׁוִין.

Likewise, not all the generations are equal. Beyond an individual's mission, which he fulfills in the context of his personal history, geographic location, and nature, there is also a particular role that he plays and obligations that he must fulfill in the larger scheme of his generation.

כִּי כְּמוֹ שֶׁאֶבְרֵי הָאָדָם, כָּל אֵבָר יֵשׁ לוֹ פְּעוּלָּה פְּרָטִית וּמְיוּחֶדֶת, הָעַיִן לִרְאוֹת וְהָאֹזֶן לִשְׁמוֹעַ, כָּךְ בְּכָל מִצְוָה מֵאִיר אוֹר פְּרָטִי וּמְיוּחָד מֵאוֹר אֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא.

As with a person's limbs, where each limb has a specific, distinct function, such as the function of the eye to see and the ear to hear, so too through every mitzva shines a specific, distinct light from the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He. The entirety of the 613 commandments are like the 613 limbs of the body. The body has a general life force that pulsates in the ear, the same as it does in the eye, the feet, and the brain, yet each limb also has a unique function all its own that is not interchangeable with any other. For instance, there is a single gene set in every cell of every limb that gives each one the same identifying DNA. Yet each limb has its own unique function as well. The eye is formed in a particular way and serves a purpose that no other limb in the body does. Similarly, each of the 613 commandments is an expression of the all-encompassing divine life force, yet each one is also a particular "limb," with a unique illumination all its own. This is also true regarding the larger analog of all the souls of Israel, which composes the template of a person. Some people are the manifest aspect of the eye, and the Torah calls them "the eyes of the congregation," and then there is the person whose role is to be the foot, and he must fulfill other corresponding missions in the world.

וְאַף שֶׁכָּל נֶפֶשׁ מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל צְרִיכָה לָבוֹא בְּגִלְגּוּל לְקַיֵּים כָּל תַּרְיָ״ג מִצְוֹת,

Although every Jewish soul must be reincarnated until it fulfills all 613 commandments, One might think that if every soul is like a particular limb, the person must fulfill only one mitzva. But the bigger picture is more complex, since every soul, even in the context of the entire Jewish people and all the generations throughout time, embodies the entirety of the 613 commandments as well. In light of this, as explained in the writings of the Arizal, every soul must experience, in some way or another, every one of the 613 commandments. If he does not do so in one lifetime, he must come back in another incarnation until he completes them all.

מִכָּל מָקוֹם לֹא נִצְרְכָה אֶלָּא לְהַעְדָפָה וּזְהִירוּת וּזְרִיזוּת יְתֵירָה, בְּיֶתֶר שְׂאֵת וְיֶתֶר עָז כְּפוּלָה וּמְכוּפֶּלֶת, לְמַעְלָה מַעְלָה מִזְּהִירוּת שְׁאָר הַמִּצְוֹת.

nevertheless, the emphasis on a specific mitzva merely means an additional preference, vigilance, and alacrity for that mitzva that is of exceedingly greater magnitude and greater power above and beyond one's vigilance for the other commandments . This wording, "an additional preference, vigilance, and alacrity [for that mitzva that is] of exceedingly greater magnitude and greater power," describes how a person should conduct himself in relation to that one mitzva, "his" mitzva. The significance of this, that it is his mitzvah, is that he has a particular responsibility incumbent on him to do that which he and no one else can do. On the other hand, this mitzva points to his essential weakness, since it is related to the particular mitzva that he blemished in a previous lifetime, and now it has become his particular challenge to overcome. Because the stakes are so high, he must be on alert for any impediments that will be thrown his way to prevent him from reaching his ultimate rectification. This is the reason that the author of the Tanya uses such intense language when describing the immense effort a person must invest in the scrupulous performance of this particular mitzva.

וְזֶהוּ שֶׁאָמַר ‘בְּמַאי הָוֵי זָהִיר טְפֵי׳, ‘טְפֵי׳ דַּיְיקָא.

This is why Rav Yosef said, "In what area was your father especially vigilant?" specifically using the word "especially." Rav Yosef was not asking about which mitzva Rabba was most vigilant, since a person of his stature was certainly scrupulous in performing every mitzva. Rather, the question was regarding which mitzva he was particularly vigilant. Which mitzva lit up his soul in a special way, more than the other mitzvot. As discussed above, this is the soul's special portion, the unique lot of this particular soul. It is in this area that the soul is particularly touched, that it receives extra fortitude to accomplish its mission in the world. Up to this point, the author of the Tanya has explained the meaning of having a portion in the God of Israel. This does not mean that the Divine is divisible, but rather that there are various facets to divine revelation. It divides into infinite parts that are tailor-made for each individual. God apportions His divine bounty into 613 general categories, which correspond to our very beings. Every person has a particular portion of divine illumination that precisely relates to his soul. In this light, the concept that a person does not have "a portion in the God of Israel" means that that person is not fulfilling his unique part, that he is disconnected from his special allotment of the God of Israel. Since he disconnected himself to a certain degree from the image of supernal man, he lost his portion, the part that he was responsible for, in the building of the grand image of holiness in the world. After clarifying the expression "our portion," posed as a question at the beginning of the epistle, the author of the Tanya concludes the letter by explaining the term "our lot." What is the meaning of the "lot" that relates to our "portion"?

וְהִנֵּה יִתְרוֹן הָאוֹר הַזֶּה הַפְּרָטִי לִנְשָׁמוֹת פְּרָטִיּוֹת אֵינוֹ בִּבְחִינַת טַעַם וָדַעַת מוּשָּׂג, אֶלָּא לְמַעְלָה מִבְּחִינַת הַדַּעַת,

The added measure of this individual light bestowed on individual souls is not something rational that can be apprehended intellectually. Rather, it transcends reason, It is in the unique portion of each person, that area that he must work on the most, that his own personal power and abilities, his true essence, becomes the most manifest. This distinction, how one person needs to work on one specific mitzva in particular and another person is vigilant about a different mitzva, granting each an added measure of light and power in that area, is not something that lies within the grasp of their rational faculties. Rational considerations would posit that since a given person has certain abilities, his unique mitzva must be one that demands use of those skills. But the truth is much more complex, and we are incapable of understanding it entirely. The subtle and intricate considerations that assign certain missions to certain people are not based merely on their character strengths, but on the very roots of their soul and on the supernal divine will, which transcends not only our ability to understand it but every rational construct that exists.

שֶׁכָּךְ עָלָה בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה לְפָנָיו יִתְבָּרַךְ.

for thus it arose in God's thoughts. The expression "arose in God's thoughts" characterizes the will that transcends reason. It is pure will without a clear rationale. It is God's simple will that desires for a certain person to do a certain thing. This mysterious supernal will is that which determines one's personal destiny, the role that he must fulfill, his particular mitzva and portion in the world, all of which are inherently incomprehensible.

וְדוּגְמָתוֹ לְמַטָּה הוּא בְּחִינַת הַגּוֹרָל מַמָּשׁ.

The perfect analogy for this below is the concept of a lottery. In modern-day Hebrew, the words goral, lot, and mazal, luck, are synonymous. In the language of the Sages, mazal refers to the entire lifeline that encompasses all of a person, his supernal root that descends and manifests as the very life and body of a person, while goral refers to fate. In this context, goral refers to the seemingly arbitrary decision from above that does not have in and of itself any rational underpinnings. Therefore, when we speak of "our portion and our lot," we do not mean the portion that a person himself chooses or that he believes it is proper for him to take on, but rather that which he received, that which he was born with, like a note that says, "Such-and-such mitzva is your lot," a message that tells you which particular mitzva or portion in the Torah and life circumstance you will be handed. One's lot comes to signify his unique path on the journey of life. There is no rationale or explanation that determines this. Just as one cannot question why a person is the way he is, one cannot question why a person was dealt the portion and lot he was given. An example that illustrates this idea is a raffle. A scrap of paper is picked at random, without any rational reason. The result does not depend on the skill of the person who extracts it or on the content of the note. This example is not just an analogy. It is a direct reference to the verses quoted at the beginning of the epistle: "How good is our portion and how pleasant our lot.…"