וּלְהָבִין פְּרָטֵי הַהֲלָכוֹת דְּלָא שְׁכִיחֵי כְּלָל

And we wish to understand the details of halakhot that are not common at all, There are mitzvot that are not only rare, but that will virtually never become applicable in practice.

וְאֶפְשָׁר שֶׁלֹּא הָיוּ מֵעוֹלָם בִּמְצִיאוּת מִכָּל שֶׁכֵּן שֶׁלֹּא יִהְיוּ לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא כְּמוֹ פְּרָטֵי דִּינֵי פִּיגּוּל וּכְהַאי גַּוְונָא

and which possibly never came to exist in reality – all the more so, they will not actually occur in the future – such as the details of the laws of piggul and the like. Some halakhot applied only in particular eras, and others only when specific conditions arose. Here the author of the Tanya speaks about the specifics of Jewish law that never were, and never will be, applicable. In the future times of the ultimate redemption, the world will be more rectified than it was during Temple times, since even during the First and Second Temple periods, the Torah was not fulfilled in its entirety. There were flaws in reality that did not allow for it; therefore, the Temples were ultimately destroyed. This will not be the case in messianic times, which will herald a perfected reality and ultimate fulfillment of the Torah. There will be no mishaps in the running of the world, nor in the fulfillment of mitzvot. When a person offers a sacrifice and during one of the four stages (sheḥita, kabbala, halakha, zerika ) has in mind that the sacrifice will be offered or eaten after the appointed time, it is called piggul. This type of sacrifice is invalid and anyone who eats it is deserving of excision. The details of the laws that set out under which circumstances a sacrifice is deemed piggul are extensive and complex. For example, not every thought renders the sacrifice piggul; only a thought regarding a deviation in time. Additionally, there must not be any other thought accompanying the first. Also, this prohibition does not apply to every sacrifice or to every Temple practice, only to that which was otherwise fit for sacrifice. The chance that a person will find himself in a situation that satisfies all the specific conditions to create a piggul issue is unlikely. It certainly will not happen in messianic times.

הִנֵּה מוּדַעַת זֹאת שֶׁכָּל אִיסּוּר שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם יֵשׁ לוֹ שֹׁרֶשׁ וּמְקוֹר חַיִּים בַּקְּלִיפּוֹת

Now, it is known that every prohibition in the world has a root and source of life in the kelippot , Every element of reality in the world has a source above in the spiritual dimension. The novelty of this idea is that even the forbidden, which is contrary to God's will, has a source in spiritual reality. Its source lies in the inner workings of the kelippot. This is a difficult concept because, as explained earlier in the Tanya, there is no other source of existence besides God Himself. Therefore, how can there be a divine source for something that is contrary to God's will? This is the implication of "It is known." Those who are familiar with esoteric wisdom know about the "exile of the Divine Presence" (also discussed in the Tanya, Iggeret HaTeshuva 6). The Divine Presence can place its power and vitality in a foreign garment and will (kelippa ); this is a prohibition.

שֶׁאִם לֹא כֵּן, לֹא הָיָה יָכוֹל לִהְיוֹת בִּמְצִיאוּת בָּעוֹלָם בִּלְתִּי הַשְׁפָּעָה עֶלְיוֹנָה

for otherwise, it could not be in the reality of the world, without the flow from above. This means that the forbidden act and the person performing it would not be able to exist in the lower world without a flow from a higher spiritual reality.

וַאֲפִילּוּ הַמְסַלְסֵל בִּשְׂעָרוֹ וּכְהַאי גַּוְונָא מְקַבֵּל חַיּוּתוֹ בְּרֶגַע זוֹ מֵהֵיכָלוֹת הַקְּלִיפּוֹת, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר

Even one who twirls his hair, and the like, receives his vitality at that moment from the palaces of the kelippot , as is written in the Zohar . "One who twirls his hair" is an expression that appears in midrashim and relates to a person who is not wicked per se, but rather feels overly good about himself and therefore looks at himself and prettifies his appearance to impress other people. This shows some arrogance on his part. This is not a serious prohibition; it is not even technically forbidden. Yet, when he does this, he shows that he has been distracted away from the yiḥud, from living with God, and instead, is self-absorbed. Even this person, who is not wicked and not transgressing a prohibition, receives his vitality from the chambers of kelippa, since at that moment he is not connected to holiness. To say that a person receives his vitality from this world from the palaces of kelippa does not mean that he actually has to violate a prohibition of the Torah. It is enough that he should envisage, or even feel in his heart, a sensation that is separate from holiness; at that moment, he is receiving his vitality from the palaces of kelippa. From here we see that prohibitions receive their vitality from the kelippot in the spiritual world as well, before they emerge into actual physical reality. This spiritual source exists above as a spiritual fact, whether it becomes actualized in the physical world or not. The choice of from where to receive one's vitality lies in the hands of every person. He can choose to receive it from the palaces of holiness by binding himself to the inner workings of those chambers, for example by connecting himself to his rabbis or to the Torah in general or his particular portion in the Torah, with righteousness, kindness, and humility. He thus becomes an extension of them. Or he can choose to receive his vitality from the palaces of kelippa, because he finds an entire internal rationale there as well; networks that enliven and sustain him in his forbidden act, even in evil acts. There one finds an internal logic built upon "justice" and "kindness" as well, because without them, it would not be able to exist. However, these imagined rationalizations in the name of "justice" and "kindness" bring with them not construction, but destruction. This vitality of the forbidden act, as an independent, enticing option, can be explained as drawing from what seems to be a lofty, spiritual chamber. It masquerades as life, yet truthfully it is only an external kelippa and sheer fantasy.

וְהִלְכָּךְ גַּם פְּרָטֵי הָאִיסּוּרִים שֶׁלֹּא בָּאוּ לִידֵי מַעֲשֶׂה מֵעוֹלָם בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה הַגַּשְׁמִי, מִכָּל מָקוֹם שָׁרְשֵׁי חַיּוּתָם הֵן בִּמְצִיאוּת בְּפוֹעַל מַמָּשׁ בְּהֵיכָלוֹת הַקְּלִיפּוֹת

Therefore, even with regard to the details of the prohibitions that have never been fulfilled in practice in this physical world, nevertheless, the roots of their vitality exist in actual reality in the palaces of the kelippot . Those details of Jewish law that are not applied in practice are applicable in the spiritual dimension. If the Torah describes a given reality, like the details of piggul, that is virtually impossible in this world, it must operate in the spiritual dimension, somewhere in the order of progression. The material world is limited in terms of time and space and what can happen in it; not everything that a person thinks he does, and every possibility does not eventuate in reality. The Tanya is saying here that the thought and potential exist spiritually, even if they are not manifested physically. This applies to both the realm of holiness and that of kelippa.

וְגַם הַפְּרָטִים שֶׁיּוּכַל לִהְיוֹת שֶׁלֹּא הָיוּ וְלֹא יִהְיוּ לְעוֹלָם בִּמְצִיאוּת

This applies also to the details that perhaps never were and never will be in reality, This applies not only to that which never happened in the past, because the right conditions never arose, but also to that which will never happen in the future, because the probability of it happening in the physical world is negligible.

כְּגוֹן טָעוּת וּשְׁגָגוֹת שֶׁטָּעָה וְקָרָא לַתְּשִׁיעִי עֲשִׂירִי כו׳ וּכְהַאי גַּוְונָא

such as errors and unwitting acts, for example, when one erred and called the ninth "tenth"…and the like, In the laws of tithing cattle, the following situations are described: To separate a tenth of one's cattle, a person puts his flock in a pen with a narrow opening and stands next to it. As the cows leave, he counts them one by one, and makes a color mark on every tenth cow. The tenth cow becomes the tithe. The questions that the Mishna and the Talmud address here at length are: What is the law if the counter makes a mistake in his counting, and calls the ninth or the eleventh, the tenth? Does his deeming that animal as the "tenth" sanctify it, or does it have to be sequentially the tenth?

דְּלֹא שַׁיָּיךְ בְּמֵזִיד לִהְיוֹת קְלִיפָּה שׁוֹרָה עַל זֶה וְיוּכַל לִהְיוֹת דִּכְהַאי גַּוְונָא אֵינוֹ בִּמְצִיאוּת בְּהֵיכָלוֹת הַקְּלִיפּוֹת

for it is not applicable for a kelippa to rest on this through an intentional act, and perhaps in such cases it does not exist in the palaces of the kelippot. These errors do not happen intentionally, but rather by accident. There is a distortion of the mitzva, but without any distortion of the intention. Since this distortion does not have a root in the kelippa in one's soul, it could be that it does not have a root in the spiritual palaces of kelippa. Here the author of the Tanya brings a gloss, in square brackets, from the Tzemaḥ Tzedek, the grandson of the author of the Tanya, the third Lubavitcher Rebbe.

[הַגָּהָ״ה מֵאַדְמוֹ״ר בַּעַל צֶמַח צֶדֶק ז״ל נִשְׁמָתוֹ עֵדֶן: נִרְאֶה לִי מַה שֶּׁכּוֹתֵב ״וְיוּכַל לִהְיוֹת״ אַלְמָא דְּלָא בְּרִירָא לֵיהּ הַיְינוּ מִשּׁוּם שֶׁהַשְּׁגָגוֹת בָּאוֹת מִנּוֹגַהּ, אִם כֵּן יֵשׁ לוֹמַר דְּיֵשׁ לָהֶם שֹׁרֶשׁ בְּהֵיכָלוֹת דְּנוֹגַהּ]

[A note by the Admor, the author of the Tzemaḥ Tzedek , of blessed memory, may he rest in peace: It seems to me that he writes "perhaps," implying that it is not clear to him, because unintentional acts come from noga , and therefore it can be said that they have a root in the palaces of noga .] The wording of the author of the Tanya is strange. What does "perhaps" mean? Either there is a reality like this, or not. Therefore, he explains: unintentional sins do not have a source in the impure kelippot; however, they do have a source in the palaces of noga. In contrast to intentional transgressions, when a person intends to do evil, this action has a source in his soul and in the palaces of impure kelippot, and is contrasted with a person who is forced to sin, who does not have any source in the soul or in the palaces of kelippa. The wording of the author of the Tanya thus can be understood: "perhaps," as the Tzemaḥ Tzedek explains, means that it is not clear. The kelippat noga is a kelippa that lies on the interface between holiness and kelippa. The very reality of kelippat noga is undetermined, unclear. It is unknown where the kelippa ends and the holiness begins. It depends on the person and what he does, if he elevates it to holiness, it will be holy and not kelippa, and if not, it will be kelippa. For example, if a person did not know that something he was doing was forbidden, that is called ones. However, if he forgot that it was forbidden, that is deemed "unintentional." The person forgot because it was not important enough to him. Since in the depths of his heart he did not really want to internalize the matter, it stays external to him, and at the first opportunity, it is totally forgotten. This type of situation that is not accompanied by a bad intention, yet also does not have a holy intention attached to it, is the world of kelippat noga. In other words, it is the realm of the mundane: neither mitzva nor transgression, not holy, yet not impure. It is rather ordinary life with its permitted actions, conducted according to the whims of one's animal soul. Noga is at play in the everyday life of a Jew who is working to earn his livelihood. He eats his breakfast, and sets out to work. His world is not one of holiness, nor is it one of impurity, but rather, it is a world that is waiting to see what will done within it. If a person does not use it for holiness, nor for impurity, if he does not do anything, the end product is the "unintentional." "Unintentional" is the result of the palace, the spiritual reality, of noga.

מִכָּל מָקוֹם, עַל כָּל פָּנִים, יֶשְׁנוֹ בִּמְצִיאוּת, לְהַבְדִּיל, בְּחָכְמָה עִילָּאָה, שֶׁנִּתְפַּשְּׁטָה בִּפְרָט זֶה, לְמֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם בְּסִינַי

Nevertheless, in any case, it does exist – not to equate the cases – in the supernal Ḥokhma , which expands in this detail, in the Torah that was given to Moses, our teacher, may he rest in peace, at Sinai These rarely occurring, unintentional transgressions exist neither in the physical world nor do they have a source in the spiritual world. How, then, does studying them achieve the refinement the holy sparks from the kelippot and their elevation to God? The author of the Tanya explains that these phenomena come from God's supernal wisdom [Ḥokhma ], the soul of the Torah; that is, the root of forbidden and unintentional actions is in the sefira of Ḥokhma. Even if certain halakhic situations are highly unrealistic in life as we know it, they exist in the Torah, in Jewish law. This applies not only to cases stipulated in the Torah given to Moses at Sinai, but also in every subsequent halakhic decision and discussion since then.

[כְּמַאֲמַר מַה] שֶּׁכָּל תַּלְמִיד וָתִיק עָתִיד לְחַדֵּשׁ כו׳

[as in the statement that] anything that an experienced student will introduce in the future…, The details of Jewish law progressively branch out from generation to generation. Every new incident examined by halakha, every new piece of reasoning and every new responsum that the rabbis of the generation institute adds another sphere to the purview of Jewish law. This saying of the Sages, that the author of the Tanya quotes, asserts that all the halakhic details, discussions, and explanations that ever were and would be throughout history are proliferations of the supernal wisdom that was given to Moses at Sinai. Each one bears the holiness of the Torah that was given at Sinai. The author of the Tanya adds that it follows, given the content of this essay, that these details are applicable in the spiritual dimension, even if in the physical world there never was and nor ever will be a halakhic situation that applies them.

וְכָל פְּרָטֵי הָאִבַּעְיוֹת דְּרַבִּי יִרְמְיָה ‘וּכְרָכַתּוּ כו׳׳ פֶּרֶק ד׳ דְּחוּלִּין (ע,א)

and all the details of the dilemmas of Rabbi Yirmeya, such as "If one wrapped it…," in the fourth chapter of Ḥullin (70a). Rabbi Yirmeya is famous in the Talmud for his borderline questions, that stretch the halakha to its outer limit, by suggesting absurd and even impossible cases. This source in the Talmud discusses the laws of firstborn animals. For the holiness to take effect on the firstborn, it needs to be "peter reḥem," the "opening of the womb." The question is: What is the definition of a first birth that has the effect of redeeming the womb, and how are borderline cases judged that are not necessarily realistic; for example if the newborn is wrapped in one's hands and taken out in a such a manner that it does not touch the opening of the womb (according to Rashi; Rabbeinu Tam explains this as referring to a case where two animals are born, one a female, and that animal wraps the male around its legs). These instances discuss serious cases in Jewish law that relate to extremely rare and even impossible situation. Yet, they nevertheless exist in the Torah reality that addresses them.

כִּי הִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת חָכְמָה עִילָּאָה הִיא בִּבְחִינַת אֵין סוֹף הַמְלוּבָּשׁ בָּהּ בְּפוֹעַל מַמָּשׁ

For the expansion of supernal Ḥokhma is an expression of Ein Sof that is enclothed within it in actual reality, The supernal Ḥokhma of the Torah is infinite, and its expansion in reality manifests in unending details and situations, far beyond what the physical world can design. That which we are capable of speaking and thinking about is limited, because we think in terms of concepts of a world that we already know. This does not apply when we think about Torah, and about life in the light of Torah, which is far vaster than what is realistically possible. This principle emerges out of the gulf that lies between mundane life and Torah Ḥokhma, in those "halakhot that are not common at all": the Torah and supernal Ḥokhma are infinite.

וְכָל פְּרַט הֲלָכָה הוּא שַׁעַר, נִמְשָׁךְ מֵחָכְמָה עִילָּאָה דִּ׳יְסַד בְּרַתָּא׳

and all the details of halakha are a gate, which is drawn from supernal Ḥokhma of " the father that founded the daughter," The Zohar says that the father, which corresponds to Ḥokhma, founded, generates, and creates the "daughter," which is the sefira of Malkhut. Despite the distance between Ḥokhma and Malkhut, Ḥokhma being the first and Malkhut being the last, there is a direct relationship between them, which is the meaning of this statement, that "the father founded the daughter." It is particularly in Malkhut that quintessential Ḥokhma manifests in its original purity, in its power of creativity and even in its revelation of the infinite. The aspect of Malkhut in the Torah is the Oral Torah, and it is particularly through the Oral Torah, through all the details of the halakhot that become clarified and decided in it, that supernal Ḥokhma in all its purity becomes manifested. Ḥokhma is meaningless unless it illuminates something, like physical light, that if passing through an empty space, without something to shine on, is meaningless; it is a light that does not shine. This is how supernal Ḥokhma operates; it only shines when it meets reality. Every place and situation that is illuminated with the light of Ḥokhma becomes another instrument, an additional angle, through which supernal Ḥokhma manifests in endless configurations. These infinite possibilities are every detail of the halakhot of the Oral Torah, which are like the gates through which Ḥokhma manifests and shines into our world.

וּמְלוּבָּשׁ בָּהּ, וּמִמֶּנָּה נִמְשָׁךְ וּמִתְלַבֵּשׁ בִּבְרִיאָה יְצִירָה עֲשִׂיָּה

and is enclothed in it, and is drawn from it and enclothes itself in Beria , Yetzira , and Asiya . The light of Ein Sof of Ḥokhma becomes enclothed in "the daughter," in the Malkhut of Atzilut, and from there in all the worlds. This kabbalistic description explains exactly what happens through the study of halakha. Halakha permeates all realms and is applicable to every life issue, every substance, every wisdom, every folly. Anything relating to the purview of halakha, even the most indecent of places, replete with kelippa, is illuminated by supernal Ḥokhma that pervades all. After explaining the meaning of the halakhot and the way in which they draw down supernal Ḥokhma into every single physical and spiritual space, the author of the Tanya goes even further: he explains that when Jewish law and supernal Ḥokhma are drawn to that space, they clarify and rectify it. The permeation of supernal Ḥokhma through halakha is not like an illumination from afar, like, for example, a sage who sits in his room and tries to understand what is happening out on the street. The drawing down of Ḥokhma into halakhot in the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, entails an actual penetration that literally changes and rectifies the worlds; it teaches what to do there according to supernal Ḥokhma. Here, the author explains how this happens.

וְנוֹדַע כִּי יְנִיקַת הַקְּלִיפּוֹת מֵאֲחוֹרַיִים דְּעֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת דִּקְדוּשָּׁה

It is known that the kelippot suckle from the "back side" of the ten sefirot of holiness, God is good, holy, and the source of everything that is in existence. Therefore, how can a reality of evil, kelippa, and idol worship, that seem to come from another source, exist? The answer is right here: the kelippot leech from the back side of the sefirot. The ten sefirot are the instruments through which God emanates vitality to the worlds; through intellect, love, fear…. For creative divine vitality to reach the worlds there must be vessels to receive it. Now, every vessel has a front and a back. When the leeching is from the back side and not from the front, it can reach the kelippot as well.

וּבִפְרָט מִלְּבוּשִׁים דְּעֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת דִּבְרִיאָה יְצִירָה עֲשִׂיָּה

specifically from the garments of the ten sefirot of Beria , Yetzira , and Asiya , The leeching of the external forces is in a general sense from the back side of the ten holy sefirot, specifically from the garments of the ten sefirot of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, which are the created worlds, not from the ten sefirot of the world of Asiya. The sefirot of Atzilut are unique in that they are unified in God Himself to the ultimate degree. In the language of the Zohar, "He and His life are one, He and His vessels are one." This indicates that even their back side is not actually posterior; instead of concealing the divine light within them, they solely reveal it. Therefore, the ten sefirot of Atzilut do not allow for direct, actual leeching of the external forces; they are simply the source and influence for the ten sefirot of the created worlds. Only the ten sefirot of those lower created worlds, that possess a distinctive character which is separate from the Divine, as it were, have a back side that is not totally transparent to the divine reality. One can perceive in them something else as well, and particularly from there kelippot can begin to leech.

וּבִפְרָט דִּיצִירָה וַעֲשִׂיָּה הַמְעוֹרָבִים בַּקְּלִיפּוֹת כַּנּוֹדַע, שֶׁיְּנִיקָתָם מִבְּחִינַת הַלְּבוּשִׁים

specifically from Yetzira and Asiya that are intermingled in the kelippot , as it is known that their suckling is from the garments. There is a hierarchy in the created worlds as well: the lower a world the more its garments conceal divine light. Accordingly, within these worlds there is more leeching of kelippot. In the higher world of Beria, which is mostly good, there is a clear distinction between good and evil. There is also a reality of concealment and evil, because that is the nature of a created world; it is impossible for something created to not have the other side. In Beria, however, it is clear that the darkness is a necessary part of creation. No one gets confused there. Therefore, there is no real situation of leeching kelippot. This does not apply to the world of Yetzira, in which the kelippa is intermingled with holiness, and it becomes extremely complicated to distinguish between them. The world of Asiya is the lowest, the one with mostly evil, and that is where the kelippa masquerades as the most natural option.

וְעַל יְדֵי עֵסֶק הַהֲלָכוֹת, בְּדִבּוּר וּמַחֲשָׁבָה, מִתְפָּרְשִׁים וּמִתְפָּרְדִים מֵהַקְּדוּשָּׁה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּתִּיקּוּנִים וְרַעְיָא מְהֵימְנָא: לְאַפְרָשָׁא [כו׳]

By means of engagement in the halakhot , in speech and thought, the kelippot separate and become detached from the holiness, as is written in the Tikkunim and Raya Meheimna : To separate […]. This is the point that the author of the Tanya wanted to reach: the function of studying Jewish law in the spiritual worlds, in the worlds of Yetzira and Asiya, irrespective of the feasibility of the mitzva. He answers that when a person contemplates matters on the spiritual level of his soul, on the level of "Asiya " or "Yetzira," what is permitted and forbidden, how and in which situations, and so forth, he creates a distinction between good and bad, forbidden and permitted, and so forth, and in so doing separates the kelippa from the holiness. As explained, the problem in these worlds is the commingling of the kelippa with holiness. When there is no clear distinction between them, then the kelippa receives power along with holiness. However, from the moment that a person can separate between them in his mind, when he studies and analyzes the halakhot of the Torah, the kelippa loses its power and negative influence, and once again becomes the back side of holiness, a facilitator of good.

וְהַיְינוּ כַּנּוֹדַע מִמַּה שֶּׁאָמְרוּ עַל שֶׁלֹּא בֵּרְכוּ בַּתּוֹרָה תְּחִלָּה כו׳

This is the same idea as is known from what the Rabbis said: Because they did not recite a blessing on the Torah prior…, The Talmud asks, "Due to what was the land lost?" (Jer. 9:11). And God answers, "Due to their abandonment of My Torah" (Jer. 9:12.) Rabbi Yehuda explains in the name of Rav, "They did not recite a blessing on the Torah prior." Torah study is a mitzva upon which a blessing is recited. The purpose of this blessing, like that of blessings on all other mitzvot, is to reveal the connection between the mitzva performance and God, who commanded that it be done. However, a person can study Torah like he studies any other subject: to improve intellectually, to use it for some other purpose, or even to know how to perform the mitzvot. If a person studies the Torah in these types of ways, purely as a means to an end, he disconnects it from God. This is why the land was destroyed. However, when a person first recites the blessing, "Blessed is God…who has sanctified us and commanded us to engage in words of Torah" and "who has chosen us…and given us His Torah," he declares that he studies because God commanded him to study, and that the Torah is God's Torah: divine wisdom, and divine will. Through this, one binds the Torah below to God Himself above.

שֶׁהוּא עַל יְדֵי הַמְשָׁכַת אוֹר אֵין סוֹף בְּחָכְמָה עִילָּאָה הַמְלוּבֶּשֶׁת בָּהֶן, וּ׳בְּחָכְמָה אִתְבְּרִירוּ

which is by drawing the light of Ein Sof in the supernal Ḥokhma that is enclothed in them, and "with wisdom [Ḥokhma ] they are refined" in the light of Ein Sof within it. Hasidic teachings explain that the deeper meaning of the word "blessing" [berakha ] is "drawing down" (like "grafting [hamavrikh ] a vine," which means to pull down a branch and bury it in the ground). Therefore, when one blesses on the Torah, he draws down God's supernal Ḥokhma, and the very light of Ein Sof that is clothed within it, through the intricacies of the practical halakhot of the mitzva that he is performing. For more on this concept, see Zohar, Heikhalot, Pekudei 254:2, and in many other hasidic sources. See also Iggeret HaKodesh, epistle 28. In a more general sense, the blessings of the Torah establish an overall intention for one's Torah study: that it should be for the sake of Heaven, Torah for its own sake. The blessing and the intention connect the Torah to the Giver of the Torah (as signified by the wording of the blessing), and as they say in hasidic circles, draws down the light of Ein Sof into the Torah. The Torah that we have is an intricate arrangement of words and wisdom that bear significance on several levels simultaneously – peshat, remez, derush, and sod – and in the various worlds (as there is Torah that is studies in the Garden of Eden). A person who studies Torah may only understand it in terms of its outward expression that relates to the particular realm in which it is being studied. Torah study for its own sake, study that draws down the light of the Ein Sof into the Torah, transcends all its particular manifestations, and permeates Torah as it was at Sinai. The blessing transforms one's Torah study into an intimate union with the Ein Sof who gives it. A person's blessing turns him not only into a recipient of Torah, but into a giver of the Torah as well, because he is the one who sparks the infusion of the light of the Ein Sof into it. As explained, Torah study generates the refinement of the worlds, and separates the kelippa from holiness. Through this, the kelippa is altogether eliminated. Here the author of the Tanya adds that this clarification does not just happen through halakhic decisions that definitively render some things permitted and others prohibited, but rather, the very penetration of the supernal Ḥokhma and light of Ein Sof into the worlds causes the good to be filtered out from the bad. Sparks of holiness ascend from within the shards of broken vessels and kelippot, and the world becomes rectified. The concept that "with Ḥokhma they are refined" means that on the level of Ḥokhma things get clarified. An abysmal situation of confusion between holiness and kelippa is resolved as it ascends to the level of Ḥokhma. The level of Ḥokhma, in one's soul and in the world, is a rectified level in and of itself. (In the overarching four-world scheme, Ḥokhma corresponds to the world of Atzilut, and in particular it corresponds to the Atzilut of every world.) There can be no concealment or obscurity on this level, nor the presence of kelippa. A person who is on this level, to whatever extent this can be achieved in reality, experiences total subsummation of his being. He is not consciously aware of his state of being, nor does it cause him to feel or think something in particular at that moment. Therefore, "with Ḥokhma they are refined" means that there is no comprehension of the kelippa there, and it falls away and dissipates on its own. Still, in actuality, this concept is connected mostly to Torah study, because Torah, and he who studies it, reveals the supernal Ḥokhma and light of Ein Sof within it.

וְהַמְשָׁכָה זוֹ נַעֲשֶׂה עַל יְדֵי דְּיוֹקַן הָעֶלְיוֹן שֶׁל הָאָדָם הָעוֹסֵק גַּם כֵּן בַּהֲלָכוֹת אֵלּוּ לְמַעְלָה בְּשָׁרְשׁוֹ

This drawing forth is performed by means of the supernal image of the person who is also engaged in these halakhot above, in his root, A person is not just comprised of a soul that clothes itself in a body. He is not the sum total of what he feels and thinks through his bodily senses's faculties. The entire spiritual stature of a person ascends way up, into the highest worlds and realms. As he studies Torah in this world, his supernal root engages with Torah in the supernal worlds as well. This lofty experience does not necessarily become actualized in the physical world.

בְּנוּקְבָא דִּזְעֵיר אַנְפִּין דִּבְרִיאָה יְצִירָה עֲשִׂיָּה

in Nukva of Zeir Anpin of Beria , Yetzira , and Asiya . The feminine aspect of Zeir Anpin corresponds to Malkhut, the Divine Presence, and the light that fills all the worlds that receives from Zeir Anpin. If Zeir Anpin corresponds to the divine attributes as they are above and beyond man (the aspect of the holy) the Nukva, or the feminine aspect is that which receives from Zeir Anpin according to its capacity. It cannot receive the totality of Zeir Anpin, just as a person cannot receive from another person the very essence of his soul, but rather just a particular revelation of it. However, since the Nukva is the feminine tailored to Zeir Anpin, it is the abstract recipient, without particular limitations of a particular world, person, or situation below. Therefore, the author of the Tanya identifies this level as the source and supernal image of man, as he is in his root and his very essence. Spiritual influence continues from there to descend through particularized channels that every person creates through his way of being and life in this world. While in the world of Atzilut, the sefirot and Zeir Anpin and Nukva are the general ones, the spiritual structure of every world includes ten sefirot and partzufim of Zeir Anpin and Nukva, that manifest in particular ways in order to impact the unique character of each world, as previously explained. The author of the Tanya also explained that while every person experiences life through his body in this world, the root of his soul belongs to a very high spiritual world. Some souls (albeit only a few) find their root in Atzilut, others in Beria, some in Yetzira, and others in Asiya. This supernal root above is the "image" of that person who is studying the supernal Torah corresponding to the Torah study he does below in his physical body.

וּבָזֶה יוּבָן חִיּוּב כָּל נֶפֶשׁ רוּחַ נְשָׁמָה לְהַשְׁלִים כָּל הַתַּרְיָ"ג בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה דִּיבּוּר וּמַעֲשֶׂה, שֶׁהֵן פְּרָטֵי הַהֲלָכוֹת

Now we can understand the obligation of every nefesh , ruaḥ , and neshama to complete all the 613 mitzvot in thought, speech, and action, which are the details of the halakhot . In light of the above, the significance of the existence of the halakhot and their study is not restricted to what a person does in this world; both one's soul and the mitzvot are rooted far above this world, and they can have many roots, as befitting the worlds. This therefore explains the teaching brought in hasidic works, that every person is obligated to fulfill all 613 mitzvot. And if a person cannot perform them practically, then he should fulfill them in speech, when he studies them, or thinks about them, that is, attuning the soul to those mitzvot to the best of his ability. For example, sacrificial offerings were practical actions performed in the Temple with animals that were offered on the altar. There are sacrificial offerings in speech, when a person studies the laws of sacrifices in the Torah, and then there is the devotion in thought, which is the fulfillment of the mitzva of prayer that is "a substitute for sacrificial offerings," with love, when the heart ascends and is burned on the altar due to its love of God. It follows that every person can perform every mitzva in one of these ways, and is therefore obligated to fulfill all the mitzvot. This is especially the case since, as explained in this essay, it is through the spiritual fulfillment of the mitzva, by studying every detail of its laws, practical or otherwise, that the good is distilled from the bad in its root. A rectification is made in the source of reality, in the root of evil and kelippa, regardless of whether a person sees the effects of that rectification in this world or not. It was explained that studying halakhot impacts the soul on every one of its levels, from the source of the image of supernal man until its life in a body below, on all levels of reality, to refine and rectify them. The obligation of every person undertaking this task stems from the uniqueness of each person. No person is identical to another, and this is not arbitrary, because every person, according to the structure of his soul in all of the myriads of details that are unique to his particular life, engages, through the minutiae of the halakhot, in another angle and another detail of life that no one else can rectify.

וּצְרִיכוֹת לָבֹא בְּגִלְגּוּל לְהַשְׁלִים הַתּוֹרָה בְּפַרְדֵּ״ס

And every soul must be reincarnated to complete the Torah in Pardes , Pardes refers to the four layers of the Torah: peshat, remez, derush, and sod. This is virtually impossible to do in one lifecycle. Whatever a person does not accomplish in one incarnation must be fulfilled throughout the course of additional incarnations.

כְּדֵי לְבָרֵר כָּל הַבֵּירוּרִין הַנּוֹגְעוֹת לָהֶם מִכָּל הָרְפָ״ח שֶׁהִיא קוֹמַת אָדָם שְׁלֵמָה, תַּרְיָ״ג בְּחִינוֹת כְּלָלִיּוֹת וּפְרָטִיּוֹת

in order to perform all of the refinements that apply to them from all of the 288 sparks, which is the full height of man, 613 aspects, generalities and particulars. Two hundred and eighty-eight is the number of the roots of all the sparks in all time and worlds that all the souls must refine. From these, every soul has specific sparks that are relevant to it, sparks that it, and only it, can refine. Since this can be achieved by him alone, and by no one else, this very soul must return in an additional incarnation. This spiritual undertaking reflects the spiritual makeup of man's soul. Just as the overall spiritual stature of a person is a complete analogue of the mitzvot, having 248 limbs and 365 sinews (physically and spiritually), so too the ultimate purpose of the soul is the function that corresponds to it, which is the complete analogue of the Torah, comprised of a total of 613: 248 positive commandments and 365 prohibitions. There are the general 613 mitzvot of the Torah and the myriad particulars, with 613 detailed halakhot for every individual soul. There is an all-encompassing mitzva, like "Remember the Sabbath day," that is relevant to all people, and then there are almost endless details of specific melakhot that relate to individual circumstances: how a given person must fulfill a particular mitzva in the specific circumstance in which he finds himself, be it in action or in study. These halakhic details are integrally bound up with the relevant individual soul, bringing refinement to the essence of the person's soul, through every particular life circumstance that he experiences. The author of the Tanya has been explaining the topic of the work of refinement until now, which is the function of this world. Refinement entails "positive" and "negative" undertakings; the positive gives life to and elevates the good, while the negative separates the bad and undermines its vitality. Torah study, like action, does this through the clarification of Jewish law: what to do and what not to do, what is permitted and what is prohibited. However, in the times to come, when there will no longer be a reality of evil in the world, then how will this work and Torah study look?

אֲבָל לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא כְּשֶׁיּוּשְׁלַם הַבֵּירוּר יִהְיֶה עֵסֶק הַתּוֹרָה בִּבְחִינַת ‘עֲשֵׂה טוֹב׳ לְבָד. לְהַעֲלוֹת הַנֶּפֶשׁ רוּחַ נְשָׁמָה מַעְלָה מַעְלָה עַד אֵין סוֹף

In the World to Come, however, when the refinement will be complete, the engagement in the Torah will be solely an expression of "do good" alone, to elevate the nefesh , ruaḥ , and neshama above and beyond, until Ein Sof . The "World to Come" refers to the time that follows the completion of the work of refinement. Good and light are infinite, but darkness and evil are limited. Darkness and evil are the concealment of the Divine, that hides and limits; therefore it is intrinsically limited. Light and goodness are divine revelation that knows no end. Therefore, the work of refinement, transforming darkness into light, bitter into sweet, is intrinsically work that has an end. When the work will be finished, the world will be a transformed, unrecognizable place. That world will be characterized by its own purpose and work, however; instead of the work of refinement of good from the bad, it will entail only doing good. After the good has been distilled from the bad, what is left is to make the good even better, to elevate it infinitely higher and higher. Man's divine soul is unified in its source, a literal part of God above. However, when it descends to the worlds, it is divided, so to speak, into nefesh, ruaḥ, and neshama. Nefesh interacts with physical matters of the world of Asiya, ruaḥ with emotional matters of the world of Yetzira, and the neshama with intellectual matters of the world of Beria. Therefore, the author of the Tanya specifies the division of the divine soul here, "to elevate the nefesh, ruaḥ and neshama," because since it is submerged in the worlds – thankfully, not in evil, but in physicality and limitation of this world – it can ascend from the state of separation to infinite oneness and purity. Like the work of refinement in this world, the ascension in the future will be according to the Torah. Through the clarification of the details of Jewish law, through the clear distinguishing between permitted and prohibited, all the holiness was distilled from the kelippa. In the future, through the study of the reasons for the halakhot, they will ascend to their source in the highest heights, every detail of them, with the person who studied and performed them.

וְגַם בִּשְׁסָ״ה לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה, בְּשָׁרְשָׁן לְמַעְלָה שֶׁהֵן גְּבוּרוֹת קְדוֹשׁוֹת

This also applies to the 365 negative commandments, in their root above, which are the holy aspects of Gevurot , We will not only engage with positive commandments in the future, but with negative commandments as well. Although it seems that now prohibitions deal with blemish and evil, phenomena that have no place in the future, the root of the prohibitions is bound to the essence of Gevurot, which, in its supernal source, is eternally holy. While in our world, one of the functions of negative commandments is to protect a person from evil, in their roots above, they are holy, no less so than positive commandments. Since positive commandments are drawn from aspects of lovingkindness, the infinite light that is the aspect of Ḥesed, so too the prohibitions express and draw down holy, supernal Gevurot. The image of the Divine that interacts with the world is necessarily comprised of aspects of both Ḥesed and Gevura together. It is impossible to draw a picture with just one color, or play music with one note; so too, above, it is impossible for the Divine to reveal itself with just Ḥesed. Every limitation and delineation of Ḥesed, every picture with other colors, comes from the side of Gevura. In its source, Gevura is not concealment (and certainly not evil). Gevura is the revelation of that which we do not see, which is, in a certain sense, the more immense revelation. This is the revelation of everything that cannot be revealed or expressed except through a negative statement. It is that which the eye cannot see, and the mind cannot understand. It is the root of the 265 negative commandments.

וּלְהַמְתִּיקָן בַּחֲסָדִים בִּרְמָ״ח מִצְוֹת עֲשֵׂה וּלְכָלְלָן יַחַד

and to mitigate them through the aspects of Ḥesed of the 248 positive commandments, and to incorporate them together. The endeavor relating to negative commandments of the future can be seen as being mitigated in aspects of Ḥesed. One does not engage in studying them through wariness of and protection against evil, but rather as part of the performance of good, since in this world, in order that true good will materialize, limits must be set that do not stem from the will not to give, but rather from the will to give, so that goodness will be received. This limitation, that serves the giving and the Ḥesed, is called "the mitigation of Gevurot in aspects of ḥasadim." The mitigation of Gevurot in the aspects of ḥasadim, of negative commandments in positive commandments, is an inclusion of both together, a unification of the overall divine influence, making it better, more refined, and more suitable, not just in general, but in terms of every aspect of reality. This is the significance of engaging in the study of both common and rare halakhot, now and in future times.

וְעַל כֵּן הַתּוֹרָה כּוּלָּהּ, נִצְחִית,

Consequently, the whole Torah is eternal, in its generality and particulars, When the author of the Tanya says, "The whole Torah," he means the positive and negative commandments alike. The eternality of the Torah is both now and in the future, both in the exile and in redemption. The holiness and the truth of the Torah is eternal, in its overall, general aspect, and every single mitzva and halakha in particular, that will or never will happen.

שֶׁגַּם פְּרָטֵי הַהֲלָכוֹת דִּשְׁסָ״ה לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה, הֵן הֵן עֲנָפִים מֵהַכְּלָלוּת

as even the details of the halakhot of the 365 negative commandments are the very branches of the generalities, "Generalities" mean the eternality of the Torah as expressed in its overall kindness [Ḥesed ] and bestowal. "The details of the halakhot " are, as explained, the offshoots of the general principle, like branches of a tree that particularly, because they are separate branches, comprise the entire tree: many that are one.

וְיֵשׁ לְכוּלָּם שֹׁרֶשׁ לְמַעְלָה בה׳ גְּבוּרוֹת דִּקְדוּשָּׁה כְּמוֹ הַשְּׁסָ״ה לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה עַצְמָן, שֶׁהֵן לְמַעְלָה בְּחִינַת הַדָּם הַמְחַיֶּה הָאֵבָרִים דְּכֵלִים דִּזְעֵיר אַנְפִּין.

and they all have a root above, in the five holy aspects of Gevurot , like the 365 negative commandments themselves, which are above, in the manner of blood that sustains the limbs of the vessels of Zeir Anpin . Every detail of halakha of the negative commandments finds its root in the five aspects of Gevura. The five aspects of Gevura and the five aspects of Ḥesed are the holy lights from above, which correspond to the light of the Ein Sof that pours forth its effect to the worlds through the sefirot of Zeir Anpin. Like man below, the supernal divine has 248 limbs and 365 sinews, which are the blood vessels that circulate blood to all the limbs to give them life. The 248 positive commandments correspond to the limbs of Zeir Anpin, "the limbs of the King," and the 265 prohibitions are like the blood that lends vitality to the limbs. It follows that negative commandments, that are like the blood that enlivens the limbs, are even higher than positive commandments. And as explained elsewhere, the level of prohibition is actually higher than the positive commandments, more abstract and all-encompassing, and supplies the parameters and vitality to the positive commandments. They are the five aspects of Ḥesed and the five aspects of Gevura above, which encompass all divine abundance; the five aspects of Ḥesed are the observable divine influence, the "limbs," while the five aspects of Gevura are the substratum, the background from which the aspects of Ḥesed burgeon forth. The aspects of Ḥesed are the revelations that are visible, while the more powerful revelation that is invisible, Gevura, completes the revelation of the Ein Sof in the world. The Divine is divine and the Ein Sof is Ein Sof anywhere; however, just the tip is revealed and the rest is concealed. The revealed are the aspects of Ḥesed, the limbs of Zeir Anpin, and the greater hidden part comprises the aspects of Gevura and corresponds to the blood that provides vitality to the limbs.