לְהָבִין מַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב בְּשַׁעַר הַיִּחוּדִים, פֶּרֶק ב׳: דְּעַל יְדֵי תּוֹרָה שֶׁלֹּא בְּכַוָּונָה נִבְרָאִים מַלְאָכִים בְּעוֹלָם הַיְּצִירָה

To understand what is written in Sha'ar HaYiḥudim , chapter 2, that through Torah studied without intent, angels are created in the world of Yetzira . This source from the writings of the Arizal is also cited in Likkutei Amarim at the beginning of chapter 40 as support for the concepts he explains there. The four worlds correspond to the four realms within every person. Therefore, when a person has conscious intent of love or fear, he is transported to the world that corresponds to his intention. Therefore, as explained in the Tanya there, a person who studies Torah without intention, without contemplating the greatness of God, does not generate this love and fear. One can conclude that it is the forces of natural love and fear that are hidden in the nature of his divine soul that impel him to study, as will be explained below. The fact that he is studying proves that he has love and fear of God. A person does not do something for no reason; he does something either out of love or out of fear. When a person does mitzvot and says holy words from within the nature of his soul, then he is like the holy ḥayot and behemot, the angels, as explained in Likkutei Amarim, chapter 39. Everything that these angels do to serve God is ingrained in their nature, in the world of Yetzira that they inhabit. When a person has this type of intention at the moment that he utters words and letters of prayer or Torah, he creates holy manifestations of his subconscious feelings of love and fear; these holy manifestations are what the author calls "angels in the world of Yetzira."

וְשָׁם הֵבִיא מֵהַזֹּהַר פָּרָשַׁת שְׁלַח (חלק ג קסח,ב): דְּלֵית קָלָא דְּאִתְאָבֵיד כו׳, בַּר קָלָא דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא וּצְלוֹתָא דְּסָלֵיק וּבָקַע כו׳

He cites there from the Zohar in Parashat Shelaḥ (3:168b) that no sound is lost…, except for the voice of Torah and prayer, which ascends and breaks through… No sound (or action) of any kind is ever lost; regardless of the form into which it transmigrates or the place to where it wanders, it never ceases to reverberate throughout the world. However, the sounds remain in the world, except for the sound of Torah and prayer that bursts through the firmament that surrounds the world and ascends into higher worlds. By presenting this source from the Zohar, the author of the Tanya is saying that the sounds of Torah and prayer are different than every other sound. The voice of a Jew who infuses his divine soul into these holy sounds and letters does not remain in this world but rather ascends above and beyond. The author of the Tanya also explained this in those chapters in Likkutei Amarim. Here, he goes into more detail and greater depth and introduces the difference between the sound of Torah and the sound of prayer.

וְהִנֵּה מִכַּוָּונַת הַתְּפִלָּה נִבְרְאוּ מַלְאָכִים בְּעוֹלָם הַבְּרִיאָה, כְּמוֹ מִכַּוָּונַת הַתּוֹרָה

Now, angels are created in the world of Beria from intent in prayer, as from the intent of Torah study, When a person has pure intentions, then there is no difference whether he is uttering the words of the Torah as he studies or the words prayer; both ascend from the world of Asiya in which they were said to the world of Beria where the intention with which they were uttered belongs. This intention, which he calls "love and fear that are cultivated by the intellect," therefore belongs to the world of Beria, which is the world of the intellect. In the author of the Tanya's language, "Angels are created in the world of Beria." Until this point, there is no difference between prayer and Torah study. The difference arises when the words are uttered without intention.

וּבְלֹא כַּוָּונָה נִדְחֵית לְמַטָּה לְגַמְרֵי

but without intent, the prayer is rejected below entirely. Through Torah study without intention angels are created in the world of Yetzira, as explained above, while prayer without intention stays below, in the world of Asiya, and does not even ascend to the world of Yetzira.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר פָּרָשַׁת פְּקוּדֵי דַּף רמ״ה עַמּוּד ב׳: גּוֹ רָקִיעַ תַּתָּאָה כו׳ דְּאִקָּרֵין צְלוֹתִין פְּסִילָאן כו׳

As it is written in the Zohar in Parashat Pekudei (245b): Within the lower firmament…, which are called invalid prayers… This section of the Zohar discusses prayers that are not fitting because they lack proper intention. Instead of ascending above the firmament, they remain down below. Furthermore, it states that these prayers are called "invalid prayers." They are still prayers; they are not like other mundane words; however, since they were not uttered with pure intentions, but rather with extraneous thoughts, they are invalid. Externally, they look and sound like prayers. However, they are not living prayers that bind the lower world to the higher sphere. The invalid prayers belong to an intermediate category: not prayers, yet not mundane speech. And they wait in this state "in the lower firmament" until the person who uttered them repents and recites another prayer with proper intention. Then all the invalid prayers ascend with it.

וְעַיֵּן שָׁם פָּרָשַׁת וַיַּקְהֵל דַּף ר״א עַמּוּד ב׳: אִי הִיא מִלָּה כִּדְקָא יָאוּת כו׳

See also there, in Parashat Vayak'hel (245b): If it is an appropriate word… The Zohar continues to state that if the word is spoken as it should be, with proper intent, then all the heavenly appointees kiss it and raise it up to the upper firmament, according to its intention. There it is heard. There it has power. When it is uttered without intent, however, it remains below in the physical world where it remains unknown and unheard. The question is: Why is there a difference between Torah studied without proper intent and prayer spoken without intention?

אַךְ הַהֶפְרֵשׁ בֵּין תּוֹרָה לִתְפִלָּה שֶׁלֹּא בְּכַוָּונָה מוּבָן מֵאֵלָיו,

However, the difference between Torah and prayer without intent is obvious, for in the case of Torah study one understands and knows what he is studying, as otherwise it is not called "study" at all. In contrast to prayer, it is impossible to study without some involvement of the intellectual faculty. Studying means understanding that which one reads on some level, because if a person does not understand at all, it is not called study. When a person studies Torah, he cannot be totally passive; he must pay attention, think, remember, compare, and conclude. He himself must change, from not understanding to understanding, from lacking knowledge to knowing. If he only looks at the words, and even says them out loud, without something shifting within him, it is not study.

רַק שֶׁלּוֹמֵד סְתָם, בְּלֹא כַּוָּונָה לִשְׁמָהּ מֵאַהֲבַת ה' שֶׁבְּלִבּוֹ בִּבְחִינַת גִּילּוּי, רַק מֵאַהֲבָה הַמְסוּתֶּרֶת הַטִּבְעִית

It is simply that he studies for no purpose, without intent for its sake, out of the love of God that is manifest in his heart, only from the concealed, natural love. Here, the author of the Tanya addresses a different type of love. Not the spiritually intellectual way of relating to that which a person studies, but rather the simple impulse within that drives him to study Torah, as opposed to something else. As explained elsewhere, a person does not do anything unless he has love or fear in his soul that causes him to do it or to refrain from it. Love is the force behind everything a person does, creates, and grows; without love he would not do or change anything. It follows that the force in one's soul that brings him to study Torah is love of God. Without love, he would not study. However, as explained in Likkutei Amarim, it could be that while this love impels him to do certain things, it is concealed; he therefore does not feel it in his heart. He may even be totally unaware of it. Since a person is not conscious of this hidden love in his mind, it does not elevate the Torah that he studies to its source in the world of intellect, the world of Beria. The Ba'al Shem Tov used to say that a person is wherever his thoughts are; however, only if he thinks, meaning that he must articulate the particular concepts in his conscious thought. If the force of love is not within his conscious mind, and is only impelling him to study as a natural impulse of his soul, like angels and animals that act according to their inherent nature, then his Torah ascends to the world of Yetzira, which is the world of angels, whose love and fear are natural.

אַךְ אֵינוֹ לוֹמֵד שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ מַמָּשׁ, לְהִתְגַּדֵּל כו׳

Yet he does not study literally not for the Torah's sake, for his self-aggrandizement… The author of the Tanya comments here that this Torah study, performed without intent, that ascends to the world of Yetzira, refers to a lack of premeditated intent, but not to a person who has purposeful selfish intent, like the desire to earn respect from his community or to make money.

דְּהָא לָא סָלֵיק לְעֵילָּא מִן שִׁמְשָׁא כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּפָרָשַׁת וַיְחִי דַּף רכ״ג עַמּוּד ב׳

as in that case, the study does not ascend above the sun, as is written in the Zohar in Parashat Vayḥi (223b). The Zohar explains the verse "What advantage is there for man in all his toil that he toils under the sun?" (Eccles. 1:3) and adds that the Torah is different in that it transcends the sun. All the mundane activities that people engage in are "under the sun," meaning that they have no meaning beyond what occurs in this world. Torah study, on the other hand, has value beyond this world, "above the sun." Indeed, the Zohar qualifies this statement that even when it comes to Torah study, if one's motivation is to attain honor, then even his Torah study does not ascend and remains "under the sun."

וְהַיְינוּ מִשּׁוּם שֶׁמַּחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ וְכַוָּונָתוֹ הֵן מִתְלַבְּשׁוֹת בְּאוֹתִיּוֹת הַדִּבּוּר וְאֵינָן מַנִּיחוֹת אוֹתָן לְסָלְקָא לְעֵילָּא

The reason is that his thought and intent are enclothed in the letters of speech and prevent them from ascending upward. The words that a person utters are so connected to him that they are almost incapable of leaving him. What a person thinks and feels, and the kind of person he is at the time the words are spoken, all of this is enclothed in the letters and words that he uses. His intentions at the time direct and change the meaning of the words he chooses. Therefore, when a person's intention is totally earthly, even if the words that he is saying are holy, they become bound below and cannot ascend above.

וְהָכָא נַמִי בִּתְפִלָּה שֶׁלֹּא בְּכַוָּונָה, שֶׁמְּחַשֵּׁב מַחֲשָׁבוֹת זָרוֹת

Here too, this applies with regard to prayer without intent, when one thinks foreign thoughts When a person does not have love and fear of God in mind, but at least thinks about the simple meaning of the words that he is saying, then that is one level. But if instead of thinking about the simple meaning of the words, a person allows thoughts into his mind that are not connected at all to the words he is saying, "foreign" to his prayer, they prevent his prayer from ascending and leave that prayer right where it was uttered. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menaḥem Mendel Schneerson, comments on the Tanya's phrase "prayer without intent" that the kind of intent is "simply the meaning of the words. One who does not have the simple meaning of the words in mind has not invalidated his prayer, since he has the general intention [to direct his prayers] to God. This is the continuation of the explanation:'When one thinks foreign thoughts,' that is, not about the simple meaning of the words, because this foreign thought becomes enclothed in the speech and draws it down to its place below…" Prayer without intention is therefore different than Torah without intention. Torah, as explained, cannot possibly be without any thought or intention at all; it always entails the basic intentional thought that a person understands, to some degree, that which he is saying, because if that was not the case, it would not be called "Torah study." This thought and intention suffice to release the words of Torah from this material world. A person cannot think two thoughts simultaneously, and one's intention to understand the content that he is studying means that there is no space for the totally external thought that has nothing to do with Torah, like thoughts of business or anything else of this world. This does not apply to prayer. Prayer can be said without any intention whatsoever; one's mouth could be moving, while his thoughts are swept up in things of this world, with no connection to what he is saying. These "foreign" thoughts become enclothed in the words of the prayer and do not allow them to ascend from this world at all. Therefore, unlike Torah studied without intention, prayer without intention does not ascend from this world at all, even to the world of Yetzira. Below, the author of the Tanya makes a parenthetical comment, that prayer recited without any intention has an advantage over Torah study without intention. This comment is in parentheses because the author of the Tanya did not include it in his opening words of the discourse. This point nevertheless comprises an important element of the total picture.

(אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁכַּוָּונָתוֹ לַשָּׁמַיִם, לְכָךְ יֵשׁ לָהּ תִּיקּוּן בְּקַל לַחֲזוֹר וְלַעֲלוֹת כְּשֶׁמִּתְפַּלֵּל בְּכַוָּונָה

(however, since his intent is to Heaven, it therefore has an easy rectification, enabling the prayer to ascend once again when he prays with intent, As explained above, a person who studies Torah can have totally impure, foreign intentions, such as to attain honor and so on. However, this is impossible with prayer. Prayer, unlike Torah, has no connection to this world; it does not enter the world, it leaves it. When it comes to Torah, a person can study, investing time and energy to understand well, all in order that people will honor him. Prayer, on the other hand, is essentially between the person and God; no one else can really know what is occurring in someone else's prayer. When a person prays, he turns to God, and even if other thoughts intrude while he is saying the words, they do not uproot the initial impulse to turn to God, which is what induces him to pray. This does not apply to Torah study, when the foreign, impure thoughts can drive his study and become enclothed in the Torah, and fundamentally invalidate it. Therefore, even if a person has foreign thoughts during prayer, and therefore his prayer did not yet ascend at that time because it did not have proper intention attached to it, it is still not disqualified, but rather "frozen." The prayer remains a prayer, in the sense of a Jew turning to God, but it was simply not sent above, like a letter in a mailbox, waiting to be sent. "Therefore, it has an easy rectification" since it does not need to be transformed into something else; it just needs to be sent. How? All he needs to do is to recite one prayer with intention, and that sends the previous prayer as well.

אֲפִילּוּ תְּפִלָּה אַחַת מְלוּקֶּטֶת מִתְּפִלּוֹת כָּל הַשָּׁנָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּ׳מִקְדַּשׁ מֶלֶךְ׳ פָּרָשַׁת פְּקוּדֵי)

even if this is only one prayer collected from the prayers of the whole year, as is written in the commentary of " Mikdash Melekh " on the Zohar, Parashat Pekudei ). Even one prayer with intention can elevate the insincere prayers of the whole year. This one heartfelt prayer gathers up all the prayers that were stuck and unleashes them to the places that they were originally directed. Below, the author of the Tanya will highlight a seeming contradiction between the two sources in the Zohar that he cited at the beginning. Through the lens of Kabbala, he reconciles the contradiction and notes additional layers of meaning about what he has explained until now regarding Torah and prayer without intention.

וּמַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב בְּפָרָשַׁת פְּקוּדֵי (רמה,ב) ‘גּוֹ רָקִיעַ תַּתָּאָה׳ בְּפָרָשַׁת וַיַּקְהֵל (רא,ב) מַשְׁמַע דְּדַוְקָא אִי אִיהִי מִלָּה כִּדְקָא יָאוּת סָלְקִין עִמָּהּ עַד אֲוִירָא דְּרָקִיעַ דִּלְעֵילָּא כו׳

As for what is written in the Zohar, Parashat Pekudei (245b), "Into the lower firmament," and yet it is indicated in Parashat Vayak'hel (201b) that only if a word is appropriate does it ascend with it to the atmosphere of the firmament above…, The quotation from the Zohar in Parashat Pekudei says that prayer without intention ascends to the lower firmament, while the Zohar in Parashat Vayak'hel states that prayer without intention does not ascend at all.

לָא קַשְׁיָא מִידֵּי: דְּרָקִיעַ תַּתָּאָה מֵאִינּוּן רְקִיעִים דְּמַדְבְּרֵי גּוֹ עָלְמָא שֶׁבְּפָרָשַׁת פְּקוּדֵי, הֵן דְּמַלְכוּת דַּעֲשִׂיָּה, וּדְפָרָשַׁת וַיַּקְהֵל הֵן דִּזְעֵיר אַנְפִּין דַּעֲשִׂיָּה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּעֵץ חַיִּים שַׁעַר הַשֵּׁמוֹת פֶּרֶק ג' גַּבֵּי זְעֵיר אַנְפִּין דַּעֲשִׂיָּיה עַיֵּין שָׁם

this is not difficult at all: For "the lowest firmament of those firmaments that control the world," which is the one referred to in Parashat Pekudei , is Malkhut of Asiya , whereas that of Parashat Vayak'hel is Zeir Anpin of Asiya , as is written in Etz Ḥayyim , Sha'ar HaShemot , chapter 3, with regard to Zeir Anpin of Asiya ; see there. The sources refer to firmaments of different worlds; therefore, there is no contradiction between them. The Zohar in Parashat Pekudei refers to the firmament of Malkhut of the world of Asiya. Even the world of Asiya has higher spiritual levels and forces that affect its lower levels. Malkhut of Asiya is the lowest level of the world of Asiya and of all the levels in general; the Asiya of Asiya. Prayer without intention ascends to some degree, because it still is higher and holier than basic life, but only to the firmament of the lowest level: the "firmament" of the Malkhut of Asiya. On the other hand, when the Zohar in Parashat Vayak'hel states that prayers uttered without intention do not ascend to the firmament, it means the firmament of Zeir Anpin of Asiya. However, they do ascend to the firmament of Malkhut of Asiya.

וְהָא דְּמַשְׁמַע לִכְאוֹרָה בְּפָּרָשַׁת פְּקוּדֵי (שם), דְּגַם תְּפִלָּה פְּסוּלָה עוֹלָה עַד הֵיכָל הָרִאשׁוֹן שֶׁמִּמֶּנּוּ נִדְחֵית לְמַטָּה וְהוּא בִּזְעֵיר אַנְפִּין דִּבְרִיאָה

As for the apparent implication in Parashat Pekudei (ibid.) that even invalid prayer ascends to the first chamber from where it is rejected to below, and that it is in Zeir Anpin of Beria, The Zohar describes how all the prayers ascend until the entrance of the first palace where they are examined: If they are beautiful and fitting (in their intention) the gates open and they ascend through them. If they are not fitting, they are sent back down to the world of Asiya and stay there in the lowest firmament of Asiya, as explained above. We see from here that before they are rejected, they ascend higher than the world of Asiya to the first chamber. The question is: After showing that prayer without intention cannot really transcend the world of Asiya in which it was said, it is stated here that it seems to achieve a very high ascension, until the chamber that is in the heights of the world of Beria. How can this be reconciled?

לָא קַשְׁיָא מִידֵּי, שֶׁהֲרֵי אֲפִילּוּ כָּל הָעֲווֹנוֹת מַמָּשׁ, קַלּוֹת וַחֲמוּרוֹת, עוֹלוֹת לְשָׁם, אֲפִילּוּ עַד הֵיכָל הד׳ כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב דַּף רנ״ב עַמּוּד א

that is not difficult at all: For even all the actual transgressions, light and severe ones alike, ascend there, even to the fourth chamber, as is written in the continuation of the Zohar there, Parashat Pekudei, page 252a. The fourth chamber is even higher than the first in the world of Beria as well. The Zohar there speaks about the fourth chamber called the "chamber of merit." This is the chamber of judgment, like the supernal Chamber of Hewn Stone where the Sanhedrin of the heavenly sphere sits. Everything a person does or says ascends there to be judged as a merit or demerit. It follows that even if sins embark on this ascension, then it must be a different type of ascension that is not reserved for the highest quality of meritorious actions, as the author of the Tanya goes on to explain.

אֶלָּא וַדַּאי שֶׁאֵין מַהוּת הָעֲלִיּוֹת שָׁווֹת וְאֵין עֲרוֹךְ וְדִמְיוֹן בֵּינֵיהֶם אֶלָּא בְּשִׁיתּוּף הַשֵּׁם בִּלְבָד, וְדַי לַמֵּבִין

Rather, it is certainly the case that the nature of the ascents is not the same, and there is no comparison between them whatsoever, apart from the shared name alone, and this is sufficient for one who understands esoteric wisdom. The ascension of the Torah and prayer spoken about earlier, and this ascension that even sins achieve, are two totally different phenomena; the only thing that they have in common is the shared name "ascension." The ascension of prayer is an actual ascent; the words that a person says in prayer when he has intention, and infuses his mind, heart, and soul into the words, creates a spiritual force that transcends the space where it was uttered and reaches the realm that is related to the person's intention. The intent animates the words, and the words are like the body for the intent, as previously explained. This type of prayer is its own transcendent realm in which angels and souls sing and praise their creator. It becomes a living expression of the deepest true need, which is redemption, healing, livelihood, and it thereby ascends to its root and source. The hasidic concept of prayer is not to stand below and cast a request heavenward. The author of the Tanya here explains that just through uttering the prayer, we reveal and create from within this world a refined, supernal, yet very real, essence that ascends, because now it belongs above. The prayer is therefore answered; it draws down divine abundance from above and transforms that which is below. The ascension of prayer is like the ascension of the worlds on Shabbat. Worlds ascend because they transform into higher beings, without kelippot, without strict judgments and concealments, worlds that reflect palpable supernal divine delight. This is exactly what the ascension of prayer is, when the words, ideas, and the person who is praying actually ascend and become higher beings. This does not apply to the second "ascension." Everything that a person does, including prayer without intention, and even sin, does not actually ascend, it does not automatically transform into its higher, more refined essence, but rather, it is mentioned above. Reality below is too complex and distorted; therefore, it is impossible to assess the true nature of a person's action or prayer in that environment. Insincere prayer uttered below ultimately stays below because that is where it belongs, like a body without a soul. However, since a person who has a holy soul and free choice did something and uttered a prayer, it has to be examined above. Much is said in Hasidism about how we have no idea how to assess a Jew and the simple actions that he does. A person might be world famous for his wisdom and fear of heaven, and yet he may not ascend from the earth at all, and all his Torah and work might be going to the kelippot, because he is aware of his own greatness. On the other hand, there could be a Jew who does not even know how to read a siddur, but the sounds he makes ascend to the highest place, and his simple mitzva equals a whole world above. For this judgment of one's actions to be made, whether they are merits or sins, whether his prayers are fitting to ascend or not, they must be evaluated above and not below. What ascends is therefore not prayer itself but rather information about it. For example, who appears before the king? Only one who he is worthy of it; a refined, extremely well-mannered and well-dressed person who can appreciate the loftiness of the king and his inner chamber; someone who will stand before him in fear and self-negation. In addition, and unrelated to these upstanding people who deserve to be brought before the king, the king gets a report that recounts the actions of all kinds of people in his kingdom so that he can judge them, and decide whom to absolve and whom to punish, whom to draw close and whom to distance.

וּבָזֶה יוּבַן גַּם כֵּן מַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב שָׁם דַּף רמ״ז, שֶׁבַּהֵיכָל הב׳ (השני) [אוּלַי צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת: ‘אִזְדַּמַּן הַמְמוּנֶּה׳ וְאוּלַּי צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת: ‘קַיְימִין הַלְּבוּשִׁים׳] מְמוּנֶּה עַל הַלְּבוּשִׁים, שֶׁמַּלְבִּישִׁים הַנְּשָׁמָה מִמַּעֲשֵׂה הַמִּצְוֹת

Based on this, we can also understand that which is written there, in the Zohar, Parashat Pekudei, page 247, that in the second chamber is the one appointed over the garments [perhaps this should read: "the one appointed over the garments is prepared"; and perhaps it should read: "the garments exist"], which enclothe the soul by the act of the mitzvot, The Zohar in Parashat Pekudei states: "One appointed over the garments is prepared," and the author of the Tanya comments on how the version of the Zohar should read, that perhaps it should be "the one appointed," instead of "one appointed," so that it reads: "The one appointed over the garments is prepared," or, alternatively, it should read: "The garments exist," instead of "one appointed over the garments." The meaning is as follows: What is the true value of a mitzva? What remains, beyond all its peripheral elements, a true and everlasting garment of one's soul? Which mitzva or aspect of it will constitute the eternal spiritual clothing of the doer that is deeply part of him, yet transcends his life in this world? These decisions are made in the second chamber of the world of Beria. As stated, it is impossible to determine the value of spiritual merit in the lower worlds because they are deceptive and evaluate everything based on their own distorted frames of reference. Therefore, this judgment must ascend to the chambers of the world of Beria, which has no independent identity, at least not one that obscures the truth. Beria is the world of pure intellect. Only in the light of the analysis of Beria's pure intellect, unfettered by the bias of the attributes of the worlds of Yetzira and Asiya, can the mitzva be properly assessed.

אַף שֶׁהֵן בְּגַן עֵדֶן הַתַּחְתּוֹן דַּעֲשִׂיָּה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב שָׁם דַּף ר״י

even though they are in the lower Garden of Eden of Asiya , as is written there, in the Zohar there, Parashat Pekudei, page 210. The place where one acquires the garments is in this world, while the place where the soul wears those garments, feels them, and understands through them is in the lower Garden of Eden of the world of Asiya. At any rate, what the author of the Tanya shows from the Zohar here is another angle of what he explained earlier, that there are different types of ascensions; one ascension occurs when something is done in a better way, is more refined and thus more sublime. In the other "ascension," which seems to reach even higher, the thing itself does not ascend, but it is only mentioned there; information about it ascends to be examined and judged.

וְהִנֵּה תְּפִלָּה פְּסוּלָה עֲדִיפָא מִתּוֹרָה שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ מַמָּשׁ שֶׁהִיא תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ וְהַתְּפִלָּה הִיא גּוֹ רָקִיעַ כו׳

Now, invalid prayer is better than Torah studied entirely not for its own sake, which is under the sun, whereas prayer is within the firmament… In conclusion, the author of the Tanya returns to the comparison between Torah and prayer from a different perspective. The distinction between Torah and prayer outlined at the beginning of the essay was referring to devotional acts that, while lacking intention for its own sake, are also not filled with antithetical intentions. It was also explained that in this sense, there is a benefit to Torah, that at least ascends to the world of Yetzira, while insincere prayer remains in the world of Asiya. Indeed, already there, the author of the Tanya commented that if one studies Torah with intention that is truly tainted by insincere motives, for example, studying so that people will honor him, then that Torah study does not rise at all, and stays in this world "under the sun." Here he adds that in this case, there is a benefit to prayer, because prayer actually ascends in any case above the world of action, from the realm "under the sun" to "within the firmament" of Asiya.

אֲבָל תּוֹרָה סְתָם, שֶׁאֵינָהּ שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ, רַק מֵאַהֲבָה מְסוּתֶּרֶת טִבְעִית

However, Torah studied for no purpose, which is not "not for its own sake," but only out of the concealed, natural love, When a person studies Torah not for its own sake nor out of foreign personal interests, then what is impelling him to study? The author of the Tanya returns to the approach that he explained at the beginning of the essay, that it is the force of love for God, concealed in the soul of every Jew, that brings him to study Torah. The worldly thoughts and feelings of one's animal soul obscure only the higher levels of his love, and conceal the revelation of the palpable limitlessness and infinite power of it. However, every Jewish person is moved by this love to some degree; it impels him to do various things, such as study Torah. His Torah study becomes an expression of this love. This type of Torah, that is inspired by one's hidden, natural love, without any conscious intention of love or fear cultivated through his own conscious contemplation or other type of inner deliberation, is not considered to be invalidated by defective intention that is purposefully not for its own sake. Now, at the end of the essay, the author of the Tanya explores this essential simplicity and truth stemming from one's natural love of God that underlies this type of Torah study.

לָא גָּרְעָא מֵהֶבֶל פִּיהֶן שֶׁל תִּינוֹקֹת שֶׁל בֵּית רַבָּן, דְּסָלֵיק לְעֵילָּא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא הֶבֶל שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ חֵטְא

is no worse than the breath of the mouths of schoolchildren, which ascends upward because it is a breath without sin, The Torah studied by schoolchildren is merely the "breath" of their mouths, because the children do not have intention and do not understand the words they are saying. What distinguishes the words of Torah of small children is that they have no sin in them. Just like the children themselves, their speech is untainted by sin. Sin distorts the soul and the reality of this world, preventing it from manifesting according to the supernal divine will. Speech tainted by sin is speech that is subject to this distortion because it emanates from a person whose internal misalignment prevents his own words from ascending. When Torah is uttered by children, they do not even understand the words that they are saying. It is therefore in the merit of what lies behind their words, the simplest, purest expression of Torah, the "breath without sin," that their Torah so naturally rises above this world and ascends heavenward. This also applies to Torah study undertaken with hidden love. Particularly because it is hidden and not conscious, without any consideration of this world, but a pure, natural force of the divine soul, it resembles the breath of the schoolchildren that has no sin.

וְסָלֵיק לְעֵילָּא אַף אִם הוּא שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ מַמָּשׁ, מִיִּרְאַת הָרְצוּעָה שֶׁבְּיַד הַסּוֹפֵר

and it ascends upward even if it is entirely "not for its own sake," for example, out of fear from the strap in the hand of the scribe. The breath of the mouths of schoolchildren ascends even in the case of what seems like intention that is actually not for its own sake. It is similar to a student who studies because he is afraid that the teacher will hit him, or because he'll get a candy if he studies well. As explained, in the case of adults, intention that is truly impure does not allow the Torah to ascend; however, although children do not have intention to study for the sake of the mitzva of studying, they are still not tainted by sin; their simplicity stems from the fact that they never sinned; the consequence that they fear simply helps them to overcome their childishness. This type of impure intention does not affect or invalidate one's study; the connection between the intention and the action is purely superficial, while the studying itself, the "breath of the mouths of schoolchildren," is still pure. The fear of the teacher does not stain the innocence with which the child relates to the Torah he utters; he understands according to his level that whatever he says is true: Alef is alef and bet is bet. This innocent way of relating to the words that he is saying directly elevates them way above all the calculations of this world.

וְעַיֵּין שָׁם

See there, in the Zohar, Parashat Pekudei, page 255b, where it states that it is the angels who raise up the breath of the mouths of schoolchildren to Atzilut . When a person has intention to study Torah for its own sake with love and fear, the words of Torah that he utters ascend, as explained earlier. It can be said that love and fear create the angels, or they themselves constitute the spiritual forces, or angels, that elevate one's Torah. In the case of children who do not have intellectual love and fear, and are filled only with innocence and breath that has no sin, the angels themselves come, as it were, and elevate the words. While breath without sin refers to physical speech, it is not caught up in the material world, like the speech of an adult, that is entangled in physical thoughts and emotions. Breath without sin is free, untethered pure speech, that just waits for an angel to pass by to elevate it; an angel that is just waiting for something to elevate. This angel is not the emotion or intention of the speaker; it is not created or activated by one's intention, but rather is like an abstract intention, or an abstract emotion, that exists beyond specific people with their specific life situations, beyond the bounds of all creation. In other words, as it belongs to the world of Atzilut beyond reality, that is how high the angels elevate the breath of the schoolchildren. The main focus of the author of the Tanya here is not this breath of schoolchildren, but rather the words of the Torah of any person, that when spoken in innocence, without any ulterior motive, purely from the hidden love, ascends to the highest heights, like the breath of the mouths of the schoolchildren. This idea that comes as a summation of this essay, is, to a certain degree, the culmination of the first three essays in Kuntres Aḥaron. It is not a summary of the concepts outlined therein, but rather a concluding statement that can be presented only at the end of the whole process; for although it could have been mentioned at the beginning, it would not have made as great an impact as it does at the end.