עוֹד יֵשׁ דֶּרֶךְ יָשָׁר לִפְנֵי אִישׁ, לַעֲסוֹק בַּתּוֹרָה וּמִצְוֹת לִשְׁמָן, עַל יְדֵי מִדָּתוֹ שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם, שֶׁהִיא מִדַּת הָרַחֲמִים,

In addition, there is a straight path that is available to a person to engage in Torah and mitzvot for their own sake, via the attribute of our forefather Jacob, may he rest in peace. That is the attribute of compassion. The straight path, derekh yashar, alludes to the names Yeshurun and Israel, which are additional names of Jacob. This path is the middle "column" in terms of the sefirot. The structure of the sefirot is comprised of three columns: right, left, and middle. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, each of whom are present within the soul of every Jew, are connected to and give expression to these three columns. Abraham is the attribute of Kindness, Ḥesed (love), in the right column; Isaac is Restraint, Gevura (fear), in the left column; and Jacob is the attribute of compassion, and Beauty (Tiferet ), in the middle column, which is also called the "straight path." This phrase describes the nature of the path; it is not crooked. Although the way of divine service is generally straight (as may be seen from the verse "The ways of the Lord are straight" (Hos. 14:10), people can nevertheless walk on it in twisted ways: "God made man straight, but they have sought out many schemes" (Eccl. 7:29). Often, people come to God only after many questions and much wandering on twisted paths. Yitro, for example, began to serve God only after worshipping every idol in the world (Sota 11a). This path goes "straight" from the lowest point to the highest, and furthermore it does so without requiring a person to pass through any way stations. What does it mean to worship God by means of the attribute of compassion? It is clear what worshipping Him through fear and love means; one should fear God and love Him. However, serving Him with the attribute of compassion does not seem to make sense, for compassion is something we feel for one who is lacking, and God is not lacking.

לְעוֹרֵר בְּמַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ תְּחִלָּה

This entails first awakening in one's mind The author of the Tanya explains that, as in the case of love and fear, a person can think about particular topics in order to arouse this feeling. This will be explained below.

רַחֲמִים רַבִּים לִפְנֵי ה' עַל נִיצוֹץ אֱלֹהוּת הַמְחַיֶּה נַפְשׁוֹ,

great compassion before God for the divine spark that grants life to one's soul, While there is no place for compassion for God Himself, there is certainly place for compassion for the divine spark that is found within us. It has already been explained that there is a divine spark in every individual. However, as in the analogy given in previous chapters about the king's son who is imprisoned and exiled, the divine spark is usually concealed and exiled in the body and the physical world. It is clothed in "garments" that are not its own and it lives a life that is not its own, a life that is not connected to holiness, love for God and fear of God. This spark is pulled down further and further by the individual, to the distant and forsaken realm where this individual lives, which is entirely inappropriate for it. For all of this, it must certainly be pitied.

אֲשֶׁר יָרַד מִמְּקוֹרוֹ, חַיֵּי הַחַיִּים אֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא, הַמְמַלֵּא כָּל עָלְמִין וְסוֹבֵב כָּל עָלְמִין וְכוֹלָּא קַמֵּיהּ כְּלָא חֲשִׁיב,

contemplating how it descended from its origin, the source of life, Ein Sof , blessed be He, who fills all worlds and encompasses all worlds, and before whom everything is considered as nothingness, As stated above, the way for a person to evoke feeling within his soul is through thought and contemplation. A person arouses the feeling of compassion for the divine spark within him by imagining in his mind how much it lacks and how distant it is from God. The author of the Tanya will describe something of this distance in order to provide the foundation and substance of this thought. God gives life to every entity in existence, from the greatest to the smallest. He is above and beyond all existence and distinct from it. He is the foundation and "place" of the entire universe, whose very existence depends on Him. In relation to Him, everything else is as nothing.

וְנִתְלַבֵּשׁ בְּמִשְׁכָא דְּחִוְיָא,

to become enclothed in the serpent's skin, that is, the human body, The divine spark descended from this lofty level and is enclothed in a "serpent's skin," which is the body of a Jew, which derives from kelippat noga, the glowing husk. It is called "the serpent's skin" because the serpent itself signifies the three impure kelippot, and its skin signifies the kelippat noga.

הָרָחוֹק מֵאוֹר פְּנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ בְּתַכְלִית הַהֶרְחֵק.

which is at the farthest, utmost distance from the radiance of the King's countenance. The source of this divine spark, which gives a person life, is extremely lofty; it is above the confines of the world, nay above any world whatsoever. It is tantamount to being a part of the Divine above. Yet at this point this spark does not consciously stand before God. Furthermore, it has descended and been exiled into the lowest world in order to give life to the human body. The body is not merely a physical form akin to other creatures. The unique human combination of body and soul, ignoring its various merits, allows the body to fall to lower levels of evil that animals can never reach; in particular the level of the primordial serpent, which is the root of evil.

כִּי הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה הוּא תַּכְלִית הַקְּלִיפּוֹת הַגַּסּוֹת כו'.

That is because this world comprises the ultimate of the coarse kelippot (husks of impurity), and so forth. This physical world is the lowest possible world. It is bound up with evil and is subject to the rule of evil and the kelippot. However, it is not intrinsically evil. Put another way, this world is the lowliest reality from which a person can still rise.

וּבִפְרָט כְּשֶׁיִּזְכּוֹר עַל כָּל מַעֲשָׂיו וְדִבּוּרָיו וּמַחְשְׁבוֹתָיו מִיּוֹם הֱיוֹתוֹ אֲשֶׁר לֹא טוֹבִים הֵמָּה

And a person's compassion will be aroused especially when he recalls all of the wrongful actions, speech, and thoughts that he has committed since the day he came into being The exile of the soul in this world, which comprises the utmost limit of the kelippot, and its exile in the human body, or "serpent's skin," is not the divine spark's final descent. It is followed by another descent that is the result of the person's actions, when he actually does evil by means of one of the soul's three "garments": act, speech, or thought. The body and the world are "coarse" substances, and to be within coarse physicality in itself constitutes a colossal descent for the spark of the infinite. But when, in addition, a person commits a transgression, beyond simply being made of a coarse substance, he creates real damage. As a sinner, he is not only limited and base, but also lowly and despicable, and this decline into sin is immeasurably larger for the soul than its having merely descended into a physical body.

וּ"מֶלֶךְ אָסוּר בָּרְהָטִים" (שיר השירים ז, ו), בִּרְהִיטֵי מוֹחָא.

and how "the King is bound in the tresses [rehatim ]" (Song 7:6), meaning that He is bound by the streams [rehitei ] of the mind's thoughts. "Streams of the mind" refers to a person's thoughts as they run through the various pathways in his mind. Here, the word rehitei means water channels, as in the verse "in the receptacles [barehatim ], in the water troughs" (Gen. 30:38). Wherever a person's thoughts run (and they can run lower, further, and faster than anything the body is capable of), God is attached to them. A person cannot split his essence, setting aside the divine spark while he runs off to sin by himself. Therefore, as low as a person goes, he brings God down with him. God takes part in everything he does, says, and even thinks about. This is because everything that takes place is possible only by virtue of God's power. Therefore, in a sense, He is a party to a person's sin, because if He were not, the person would not be able to perform that sin. Thus, wherever a person goes and wherever his mind runs, he binds the King to that place.

כִּי "יַעֲקֹב חֶבֶל נַחֲלָתוֹ" (דברים לב, ט), וְכִמְשַׁל הַמּוֹשֵׁךְ בְּחֶבֶל וכו'.

That is because "Jacob is the allotment [ ḥevel ] of His inheritance" (Deut. 32:9), as in the analogy of a person who pulls a cord [ ḥevel ], and so on. This "cord" ties the individual, wherever he is, to God. Through it, as through an umbilical cord, he continuously receives life from God. As a person moves, acts, and thinks, he cannot detach himself from this vital connection, for it is his life, and the source of his existence. Wherever he goes, the cord moves with him, bringing along that which is connected at the other end. Thus, when a person lowers himself, in speech or thought, to the realm of evil and the kelippot, he is not just lowering his own personal essence. Since "Jacob is the ḥevel of His inheritance," a person is always tied to the Divine Presence, to the all-encompassing divine essence. Therefore, he draws it after him wherever he goes.

וְהוּא סוֹד גָּלוּת הַשְּׁכִינָה,

This descent constitutes the mystic exile of the Divine Presence. The descent described here is what is meant by the term "exile of the Divine Presence." Why should the Divine Presence be exiled? What is the connection between the Divine Presence and Israel's sins and exile? As will be explained below, the answer is contained in the words of the verse stating that God "dwells with [the children of Israel] in the midst of their impurity" (Lev. 16:16). God is bound to us and dwells with us always, even when we defile ourselves. When a Jew defiles himself, that constitutes the "exile of the Divine Presence," since the Divine Presence descends with him even to the lowest point in all the worlds. When a person contemplates this thought, he feels a sense of compassion. This is especially true when he considers the basic human condition, which constitutes a tremendous descent for the divine spark, the proud, supernal soul whose true world is the infinite world but which must now dwell in the prison of the body and the material world, amid all the thoughts, troubles, and desires of the human being, especially if the human being causes the place to become lowly and abhorrent. This is not sorrow or remorse, since he does not look at himself and wonder, "What have I done to myself?" Rather, the focus of his contemplation shifts away from his sins and his responsibility for his situation to a different point: the divine spark, the divine soul, which is more sublime than anything else. He looks upon it from the outside, as it were, and thinks, "This poor spark, this poor prince, who must sit in exile in this world, subject to the degradation of human sins."

וְעַל זֶה נֶאֱמַר: "וְיָשׁוֹב אֶל ה' וִירַחֲמֵהוּ" (ישעיה נה, ז).

About this it states, "Let him return to the Lord and have mercy on Him" (Isa. 55:7). The simple reading of the verse is "Let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him," but according to the above interpretation, the individual returns to God and in so doing has mercy on Him. This correlates with the message of the present chapter: The divine spark, which is part of God, has descended very low, and needs to return home "to the Lord," to its source. To assist that return, a person must "have mercy" on that divine spark. Moreover, as will be explained at the end of the chapter, the verse also teaches that when a person has this compassion, he will come to love Him and cleave to Him.

לְעוֹרֵר רַחֲמִים רַבִּים עַל שֵׁם ה' הַשּׁוֹכֵן אִתָּנוּ, כְּדִכְתִיב: "הַשּׁוֹכֵן אִתָּם בְּתוֹךְ טוּמְאֹתָם" (ויקרא טז, טז).

This verse can be interpreted to mean that a person should arouse immense compassion for God's name, which dwells in our midst, as it is written, "Who dwells with them in the midst of their impurity" (Lev. 16:16). What does having compassion for God mean in practice, and how does one have that compassion? That compassion is on behalf of "the name of God" – i.e., the Divine Presence in our midst. God takes responsibility for us, His children and servants, and He goes into exile together with us – for our sake – into our sins and our defilement.

וְזֶה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב: "וַיִּשַּׁק יַעֲקֹב לְרָחֵל וַיִּשָּׂא אֶת קוֹלוֹ וַיֵּבְךְּ" (בראשית כט, יא).

This is also the meaning of the verse "Jacob kissed Rachel, and raised his voice, and wept" (Gen. 29:11). Jacob and Rachel are not just individual people, but are also universal states of being that always exist in essence of Jewish existence. Thus, the meeting between Jacob and Rachel is an encounter between different elements of the Jewish existence, and it has personal significance for every Jew at all times.

כִּי רָחֵל הִיא כְּנֶסֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל מְקוֹר כָּל הַנְּשָׁמוֹת.

This is because Rachel represents the congregation of Israel, the source of all souls, Rachel, in her supernal character, is the congregation of Israel, the Divine Presence grieving over the sorrow of her children. These "children" are the individual souls residing in different bodies at different times. "A voice is heard in Rama, wailing, bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children" (Jer. 31:14). She goes into exile with her children.

וְיַעֲקֹב, בְּמִדָּתוֹ הָעֶלְיוֹנָה, שֶׁהִיא מִדַּת הָרַחֲמִים שֶׁבַּאֲצִילוּת, הוּא הַמְעוֹרֵר רַחֲמִים רַבִּים עָלֶיהָ.

and Jacob, in his supernal attribute, the attribute of compassion in the world of Atzilut , is the one who arouses immense compassion for her. The relationship of Jacob and Rachel is, in its inner being, the relationship between the sefirot of the world of Atzilut: specifically, the relationship between the attribute of compassion within the world of Atzilut and Kingship (Malkhut ), which is Kenesset Yisrael, which is the Divine Presence. In particular, it concerns the relationship between the attribute of compassion in Atzilut with that of "Rachel," which is the name given to the aspect of the Divine Presence that descends all the way to the lower worlds and even into exile.

"וַיִּשָּׂא אֶת קוֹלוֹ" – לְמַעְלָה לִמְקוֹר הָרַחֲמִים הָעֶלְיוֹנִים, הַנִּקְרָא 'אַב הָרַחֲמִים' וּמְקוֹרָם.

The verse can then be read: He "raised his voice" upward to the source of supernal compassion known as the Father of compassion, and compassion's source. Jacob, who is the attribute of Tiferet, of compassion, in the world of Atzilut, raises his voice higher than the world of Atzilut and draws down compassion from the level of "Father of compassion," the highest level of the thirteen attributes of compassion. These thirteen attributes exist above the world of Atzilut. The attribute of compassion in the world of Atzilut, like the other sefirot and attributes of that world, is manifested to the extent determined by Ḥokhma, Wisdom. However, this is not the case with regard to "Father of compassion," which is on the level of Keter, Crown, higher than Ḥokhma in Atzilut. That is the level of the Father, which is the source of compassion in Atzilut where compassion is infinite. Compassion at this level is of the kind described by the verse "His mercy extends to all His creations" (Ps. 145:9). It is not mercy for one particular creation or another, but for all God's creations. All His creatures need compassion, for anything that is not divine has this need, and this is the function of "Father of compassion."

"וַיֵּבְְךְּ", לְעוֹרֵר וּלְהַמְשִׁיךְ מִשָּׁם רַחֲמִים רַבִּים עַל כָּל הַנְּשָׁמוֹת, וְעַל מְקוֹר כְּנֶסֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, לְהַעֲלוֹתָן מִגָּלוּתָן וּלְיַיחֲדָן בְּיִחוּד הָעֶלְיוֹן אוֹר אֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא, בִּבְחִינַת נְשִׁיקִין.

"And he wept" in order to awaken and draw down from there great compassion upon all souls and upon the source of the congregation of Israel, to lift them out of their exile and unify them in the supernal union of the light of Ein Sof , blessed be He, and this union is referred to as "kisses." The continuation of the verse teaches that Jacob draws compassion down from its source. The verse states, "Jacob kissed Rachel, and raised his voice, and wept." In other words, by kissing Rachel, Jacob, who is compassion, can reach the supernal union mentioned earlier. He can raise his voice until it reaches its primary source, the "Father of compassion," and convey compassion from there down to the level of Rachel.

שֶׁהִיא אִתְדַּבְּקוּת רוּחָא בְּרוּחָא, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "יִשָּׁקֵנִי מִנְּשִׁיקוֹת פִּיהוּ" (שיר השירים א, ב). דְּהַיְינוּ הִתְקַשְּׁרוּת דִּבּוּר הָאָדָם בִּדְבַר ה' זוֹ הֲלָכָה,

This "kiss" constitutes the fusion of spirit with spirit, as it states, "May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth" (Song 1:2). This is the binding of human speech with the word of God, which is halakha , In the realm of divine service, a "kiss with God" refers to studying Torah. When a person learns Torah, when he speaks the Torah that God speaks, when he repeats and speaks together with God His inner speech, "a great voice that has not ceased" (Deut. 5:19), this constitutes the cleaving of mouth to mouth. That is the kiss with God described in the verse "May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth."

וְכֵן מַחֲשָׁבָה בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה,

as well as the binding of human thought with divine thought through Torah study, When a person studies and thinks about Torah, he is thinking God's thoughts together with Him. This too constitutes connection and union with God, in this case by means of thought.

וּמַעֲשֶׂה בְּמַעֲשֶׂה, שֶׁהוּא מַעֲשֵׂה הַמִּצְוֹת, וּבִפְרָט מַעֲשֵׂה הַצְּדָקָה וָחֶסֶד.

and human action with divine action through the act of performing mitzvot, and in particular the act of charity and kindness. This refers to a union with God's deeds through an individual's physical act when he fulfills a practical commandment. Every act of God in the process of creating and sustaining the world is one of kindness, through which He gives to those who do not have. Therefore, the act of a person who gives charity to a recipient who does not have is like a divine act. Binding "action with action" thus creates an unparalleled cleaving to God.

דְּחֶסֶד דְּרוֹעָא יְמִינָא וְהוּא בְּחִינַת חִיבּוּק מַמָּשׁ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "וִימִינוֹ תְּחַבְּקֵנִי" (שיר השירים ב, ו).

This is because kindness corresponds to the right arm of God, so to speak, and it has the quality of an actual embrace, as it states, "And His right embraces me" (Song 2:6). The attribute of supernal Ḥesed is called the supernal right arm. When a person acts with kindness in the lower realm, he connects with Ḥesed and with God's right arm. When a person gives charity to a person who does not have, his right arm unites with God's right arm, and he is in an embrace with God, so to speak. God's great and broad arm is revealed in the world in various forms. When an individual in this world gives charity with his own arm, he merits that his arm becomes a revelation of the divine arm. At that moment, his arm is the physical expression of God's great, broad arm, and he connects and unites with the divine arm, which truly embraces him.

וְעֵסֶק הַתּוֹרָה, בְּדִבּוּר וּמַחֲשֶׁבֶת הָעִיּוּן, הֵן בְּחִינַת נְשִׁיקִין מַמָּשׁ.

Engaging in Torah study through speech and penetrating thought: these constitute actual kisses. Just as connecting to God by performing practical mitzvot constitutes a real "embrace," connecting and uniting with Him by engaging in Torah is a real "kiss." When a human mouth speaks the Divine word, there is a "kiss," a mouth-to-mouth connection between the human mouth and the "mouth" of God, as it were. An even more profound kiss takes place when a person's thought touches upon divine thought, however imperfectly. A person achieves this level of attachment, of real kisses and real embrace, by way of the "straight path," the attribute of Jacob. This is the attribute of compassion for the Divine Presence, which is Rachel. As it says in the verse, "Jacob kissed Rachel, and raised his voice, and wept." The motivation to attain an actual kiss and embrace does not come from deep contemplation of God's greatness, nor from love or fear of God, but rather from a person's simple compassion on the humiliated divine glory. This is the fundamental compassion that a person feels for his own soul, for the world and for God, who is compelled to descend and humiliate Himself along with the individual. When a person can no longer bear this, a strong need to act forms in his soul to truly "embrace" and "kiss."

וְהִנֵּה עַל יְדֵי זֶה יָכוֹל לָבוֹא לִבְחִינַת 'אַהֲבָה רַבָּה' בְּהִתְגַּלּוּת לִבּוֹ, כְּדִכְתִיב: "לְיַעֲקֹב אֲשֶׁר פָּדָה אֶת אַבְרָהָם" (ישעיה כט, כב), כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר.

Through this awakening of compassion, one can achieve the level of ahava rabba as a conscious manifestation in one's heart, as it states, "Jacob who redeemed Abraham" (Isa. 29:22), as explained elsewhere (chap. 32; Kuntres Aḥaron, s.v. "U'Tzedaka KeNaḥal Eitan "). Abraham signifies love and Jacob signifies compassion. Thus, Jacob redeeming Abraham represents compassion redeeming, or liberating, love. A person's love for God can be "trapped," so that he is unable to actualize it and it does not speak to him. In a situation like this, there is still room for the revelation of compassion, which can subsequently redeem and reveal his love for God. The problem with love is that it is difficult for a person to cultivate it for things that are not close to him, matters that do not touch him in a direct, sensory way. All love requires effort in order to bring the love itself toward the object of one's love. This is especially true regarding love for God; due to its abstract nature, it requires much refining and cultivation of the soul. By contrast, the path of compassion is always accessible and immediate, since it does not require refinement of engagement with abstract, spiritual matters. Once compassion is awakened, and it creates closeness and partnership, opening the heart, its compassion can gradually and subtly transform itself into love. This is the redemption of love by means of compassion.