שַׁעַר הַיִּחוּד וְהָאֱמוּנָה

The Gate of Unity and Faith

לְהָבִין מְעַט מִזְעָר מַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר דִּ״שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל״ וכו׳ הוּא יִחוּדָא עִילָּאָה וּ״בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד״ הוּא יִחוּדָא תַּתָּאָה.

This work is a gateway to understanding a minute fraction of the Zohar 's statement that the verse " Shema Yisrael... , " Hear, Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one (Deut. 6:4), is the yiḥuda ila'a , higher unification, and the phrase "Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever" is the yiḥuda tata'a , lower unification. This prefatory statement serves as the backdrop for the entire book and will be treated in depth in chapter 7 below.

״וְיָדַעְתָּ הַיּוֹם וַהֲשֵׁבוֹתָ אֶל לְבָבֶךָ כִּי ה׳ הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וְעַל הָאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת אֵין עוֹד״ (דברים ד, לט). וְצָרִיךְ לְהָבִין, וְכִי תַּעֲלֶה עַל דַּעְתְּךָ שֶׁיֵּשׁ אֱלֹהִים נִשְׁרֶה בַּמַּיִם מִתַּחַת לָאָרֶץ שֶׁצָּרִיךְ לְהַזְהִיר כָּל כָּךְ ״וַהֲשֵׁבוֹתָ אֶל לְבָבֶךָ״?

The Torah states, "You shall know this day, and restore to your heart, that the Lord, He is the God in the heavens above and upon the earth below; there is no other" (Deut. 4:39). This verse requires explanation. Would you really be inclined to think that there is another god dwelling in the water below the earth that the Torah had to warn so emphatically, "Restore to your heart"? If the only intent of the verse is to attest to God's unity and declare that there is no deity besides Him, why does it place extra emphasis on His being God "in the heavens above and upon the earth below"? If heaven and earth refer to geographic locations alone, why exhort us to not only "know" but also to "restore it to your heart," that is, to ponder it and reflect on it? Why must a person engage in such deep analysis to consider the fact that there is no other divinity above, below, right, or left? This extra emphasis, which the author of the Tanya says "requires explanation," is the key to understanding the concept of God's unity conveyed by the verse on a deeper level, as he will explain.

הִנֵּה כְּתִיב: ״לְעוֹלָם ה׳ דְּבָרְךָ נִצָּב בַּשָּׁמָיִם״(תהלים קיט, פט). וּפֵירֵשׁ הַבעש״ט ז״ל כִּי דְּבָרְךָ שֶׁאָמַרְתָּ: ״יְהִי רָקִיעַ בְּתוֹךְ הַמָּיִם״ וגו׳ (בראשית א, ו), תֵּיבוֹת וְאוֹתִיּוֹת אֵלּוּ הֵן נִצָּבוֹת וְעוֹמְדוֹת לְעוֹלָם בְּתוֹךְ רְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמַיִם וּמְלוּבָּשׁוֹת בְּתוֹךְ כָּל הָרְקִיעִים לְעוֹלָם לְהַחֲיוֹתָם,

Now it is written, "Forever, Lord, does Your word stand in the heavens" (Ps. 119:89). The Ba'al Shem Tov, of blessed memory (Keter Shem Tov 194), interpreted this as referring to "Your word" that You spoke at the Creation: "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water... " (Gen. 1:6). These words and letters stand forever in the firmament of the heavens and are clothed in all the firmaments forever in order to sustain them, This interpretation attributed to the Ba'al Shem Tov actually appears, though not with the same wording, in Midrash Tehillim on this verse. Nevertheless, the author of the Tanya does not cite the Midrash because its context casts a different light on the matter, whereas the statement of the Ba'al Shem Tov was formulated within the same conceptual framework that will be developed here. The Ba'al Shem Tov does not explain God's word as standing in heaven in the figurative or allegorical sense but rather quite literally: "Your word [that] stands in the heavens" is actually the utterance "Let there be a firmament.... " He is saying that these words themselves are suspended in the firmament and sustain it, constantly fabricating its existence. The divine utterance is not a onetime event. It constantly resounds, being spoken again and again, so that from its power every aspect of the heavens is constantly manifest.

כְּדִכְתִיב ״וּדְבַר אֱלֹהֵינוּ יָקוּם לְעוֹלָם״ (ישעיה מ, ח), ״וּדְבָרָיו חַיִּים וְקַיָּימִים לָעַד״ כו׳.

as it is written, "The word of our God will stand forever" (Isa. 40:8) and "His words live and endure forever... " (blessings of the morning Shema ). Divine speech differs from human speech. Human speech is ephemeral; once spoken, it is gone. Divine utterances are eternal and continue endlessly, reverberating perpetually throughout existence every single moment. The ten utterances through which God created the world continue to be spoken in it and constantly create the reality that unfolds in every instant. Purely for the sake of illustration, consider an electric light. Flipping the switch activates an alternating electric current that flows back and forth as long as the light remains on. The act of flipping on the switch is analogous to the utterance of Creation. The action does not end with the activation of the switch. On the contrary, flipping the switch merely initiates its action; it releases the effect that continues every moment anew for as long as it exists.

כִּי אִילּוּ הָיוּ הָאוֹתִיּוֹת מִסְתַּלְּקוֹת כְּרֶגַע חַס וְשָׁלוֹם וְחוֹזְרוֹת לִמְקוֹרָן, הָיוּ כָּל הַשָּׁמַיִם אַיִן וְאֶפֶס מַמָּשׁ וְהָיוּ כְּלֹא הָיוּ כְּלָל, וּכְמוֹ קוֹדֶם מַאֲמַר ״יְהִי רָקִיעַ״ כו׳ מַמָּשׁ,

For if the letters of this utterance would withdraw for an instant, God forbid, and return to their source, the entire heavens would literally become absolute nothingness as though they had never existed at all, actually like their state before the utterance "Let there be a firmament.... " If God would cease to speak the utterances of Creation, and they would cease to reverberate through creation for even one instant, there would no longer be a firmament. It would revert to the same nothingness from which it emerged at its inception. Using the electric light analogy mentioned above, this would be comparable to a type of light in which the current does not ignite a filament but flows in the air between two poles. In such a system, the current not only creates the illumination, it is the illumination itself. Similarly, the letters used to create heaven and earth not only sustain them, but they themselves are the heaven, earth, and all that is within them.

וְכֵן בְּכָל הַבְּרוּאִים שֶׁבְּכָל הָעוֹלָמוֹת, עֶלְיוֹנִים וְתַחְתּוֹנִים.

So it is with all the creations in all the worlds, in both the higher and lower worlds. The author of the Tanya emphasizes that even though it is more difficult to conceptualize this principle with regard to the lower, concrete, physical universe, it is equally true there. It is easier to conceive of this with regard to the higher worlds of abstract, spiritual existence since we are accustomed to viewing them as unstable, delicate realities in need of the constant support of creative will to sustain them. Physical entities seem to possess a stable, independent existence that has no need of a constant infusion of life force. However, this is true in both realms, higher and lower.

וַאֲפִילּוּ אֶרֶץ הַלֵּזוּ הַגַּשְׁמִית וּבְחִינַת דּוֹמֵם מַמָּשׁ, אִילּוּ הָיוּ מִסְתַּלְּקוֹת מִמֶּנָּה כְּרֶגַע חַס וְשָׁלוֹם הָאוֹתִיּוֹת מֵעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת שֶׁבָּהֶן נִבְרֵאת הָאָרֶץ בְּשֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי בְּרֵאשִׁית,

Even with regard to this physical earth and the realm of actual inanimate matter, if the letters of the ten utterances, through which the earth was created during the six days of Creation, would withdraw from it for an instant, God forbid, The author of the Tanya stresses that within the realm of "this physical earth," there is no difference between living creatures, where we clearly see what happens when their spirit leaves them, and inanimate objects, such as soil and stones, in which we do not perceive a living spirit. In other words, all of creation – not only the spiritual world but also the physical world, and not only the animal kingdom but also the vegetable and mineral kingdoms, including soil, stones, and water – exist not only as a result of being created in the past, but as a function of the ongoing divine flow pulsing within them, creating them anew every moment in their current form.

הָיְתָה חוֹזֶרֶת לְאַיִן וְאֶפֶס מַמָּשׁ כְּמוֹ לִפְנֵי שֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי בְּרֵאשִׁית מַמָּשׁ.

it would literally revert to absolute nothingness as it was before the six days of Creation. The constant repetition of the word "literally" in this chapter serves to emphasize that the concepts outlined here are not allegorical figures of speech. When the author of the Tanya states that the earth would "literally" revert to nothingness, he means it would actually and literally disappear.

וְזֶה שֶׁאוֹמֵר האר״י ז״ל שֶׁגַּם בְּדוֹמֵם מַמָּשׁ, כְּמוֹ אֲבָנִים וְעָפָר וּמַיִם, יֵשׁ בְּחִינַת נֶפֶשׁ וְחַיּוּת רוּחָנִית, דְּהַיְינוּ בְּחִינַת הִתְלַבְּשׁוּת אוֹתִיּוֹת הַדִּבּוּר מֵעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת הַמְחַיּוֹת וּמְהַוּוֹת אֶת הַדּוֹמֵם לִהְיוֹת יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן וְאֶפֶס שֶׁלִּפְנֵי שֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי בְּרֵאשִׁית.

This is what the Arizal stated (Etz Ḥayyim 50:2, 10), that also actual inanimate entities, such as stones, soil, and water, have a soul and spiritual life force that consists of the letters of speech comprising the ten utterances enclothed in the inanimate entities. These letters grant life and existence to the inanimate, bringing it into existence from the absolute nothingness preceding the six days of Creation. Here the author of the Tanya integrates the teaching he cited from the Ba'al Shem Tov with this statement of the Arizal, revealing an additional layer of meaning to each teaching. The soul, which according to the Arizal is present even in inanimate objects, is none other than the letters of the ten utterances of Creation, described as "Your word stands in the heavens." They "stand in the heavens" literally sustaining the existence of the inanimate and preventing it from reverting to absolute nothingness. All existing entities are likened to a body; the soul of existence is the divine utterance from which their existence is derived.

וְאַף שֶׁלֹּא הוּזְכַּר שֵׁם אֶבֶן בַּעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה,

Although the term "stone" is not mentioned in the ten utterances recorded in the Torah, Each utterance of Creation encompasses a general category: heaven, earth, sea, land, and so forth. The question arises whether these statements relate also to the particular elements of existence. The author of the Tanya goes on to present a somewhat technical explanation as to how the divine utterances operate through reality, not just in an abstract and general way, but also down to the finest detail.

אַף עַל פִּי כֵן נִמְשָׁךְ חַיּוּת לָאֶבֶן עַל יְדֵי צֵירוּפִים וְחִילּוּפֵי אוֹתִיּוֹת,

nevertheless life force is channeled into stone through the combinations and substitutions of the letters, The relationship between the letters of the Torah and creation stems from the fact that both are different expressions of the same thing – the divine utterance. The utterances of Creation were simultaneously translated, so to speak, into two languages: One is the physical creation of the heavens and so on, and the second became the recorded statements in the Torah. This concept of one phenomenon being translated into two media can be found in a more common setting. Sound waves can be recorded both on a cassette tape through the magnetization of ferric oxide and also on a compact disk as tiny indentations on the aluminum coating, even though the sound waves themselves are neither of these. Similarly, the divine utterance is expressed in one format as heaven and earth and in another format as the words of the Torah. The words "Let there be firmament" are the outcome in the medium of the Torah, whereas the firmament itself, as we know it, is its manifestation in creation. Since both are translations of the same source, they are intimately connected. The letter combinations forming the words of the Torah are one translation of the divine utterance in the format of the Torah. Each letter represents a specific elemental divine force that can be recombined in different ways, creating new words and meaning not apparent from the conventional reading of the text. Moreover, letters can be interchanged, according to defined sequences, exponentially increasing the number of combinations to almost infinite possibilities, which grant life and sustain all the minutiae of creation.

הַמִּתְגַּלְגְּלוֹת בְּרל״א שְׁעָרִים פָּנִים וְאָחוֹר, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּסֵפֶר יְצִירָה,

which are transmuted through the 231 gates, forward and backward, as stated in Sefer Yetzira (chap. 2), Sefer Yetzira, which presents several fundamental concepts of esoteric wisdom, discusses the 231 gates of letter exchanges, 231 ways in which each letter of the Hebrew alphabet can combine with other letters. Since each of the twenty-two letters can be combined with any of the twenty-one other letters, there are a total of 462 (22 multiplied by 21) total possible permutations (e.g., אב, אג, אד). However, each permutation may also appear in the reverse order, e.g., av (אב) also appears as ba (בא). Therefore, there are actually 231 (462 divided by 2) unique combinations or "gates." These 231 gates are a system by which each letter can be transformed into a different letter, and therefore every word becomes transmuted into other words, affording the utterances of Creation new meaning. Yet they all continue to draw from their original source in the divine utterance, which are transmuted through the 231 gates.

עַד שֶׁמִּשְׁתַּלְשֵׁל מֵעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת וְנִמְשָׁךְ מֵהֶן צֵירוּף שֵׁם אֶבֶן וְהוּא חַיּוּתוֹ שֶׁל הָאֶבֶן, וְכֵן בְּכָל הַנִּבְרָאִים שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם.

until there devolves from the ten utterances and is derived from them the combination of letters forming the name "stone," and that is the life force of the stone. The same applies to all creations in the universe. The ten utterances through which the cosmos was created are "superforces" that encompass myriad divisions and subdivisions. Each letter of these utterances is a single expression of the general life force, which is the power of the divine utterance resonating in the world. These individual forces interact and merge, combining and recombining through the 231 gates of transmutation. Each new combination creates a word, which constitutes the life force that formulates a specific spiritual and corresponding physical reality. The letter combinations are not random. The letter sequence of even, stone, is intrinsically connected to the essence of stone. Stones therefore could not have been fabricated by the letters of the utterance that created the firmament. They had to emerge from the letters of the earth-creating utterance. All of this transpires through a preordained sequence designed to achieve this result.

הַשֵּׁמוֹת שֶׁנִּקְרָאִים בָּהֶם בְּלָשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ הֵן הֵן אוֹתִיּוֹת הַדִּבּוּר

The names by which the creations are called in biblical Hebrew are the very letters of the divine speech Every created entity has a name. That name is not arbitrary but rather is derived from the divine utterance that sustains it, serving as its "existence formula."

הַמִּשְׁתַּלְשְׁלוֹת מִמַּדְרֵגָה לְמַדְרֵגָה מֵעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה עַל יְדֵי חִילּוּפִים וּתְמוּרוֹת הָאוֹתִיּוֹת בְּרל״א שְׁעָרִים עַד שֶׁמַּגִּיעוֹת וּמִתְלַבְּשׁוֹת בְּאוֹתוֹ נִבְרָא לְהַחֲיוֹתוֹ.

that devolve from level to level from the ten utterances in the Torah by substituting and converting the letters through the 231 gates until they reach and become clothed within that particular creation to grant it life. The letter combination that comprises the name of a created entity embodies the degree, location, and size in which the ten utterances of Creation are manifest. Almost any complex entity that undergoes changes in size, sphere, or level is also transformed in character and identity. In other words, the almost infinite number of possibilities in which the ten fundamental formulae of creation can transmute, expanding in multiple directions, results in a change of form and character in every instance that it manifests. In all individual creations, not just in stone in general, but also in each and every particular stone, there is a specific combination of letters forming its name, encoding the divine force with which it is infused. In this way, every single grain of sand on the seashore has a unique essence and specific history that are different from the grain of sand next to it.

לְפִי שֶׁאֵין פְּרָטֵי הַנִּבְרָאִים יְכוֹלִים לְקַבֵּל חַיּוּתָם מֵעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת עַצְמָן שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה, שֶׁהַחַיּוּת הַנִּמְשָׁךְ מֵהֶן עַצְמָן גָּדוֹל מְאֹד מִבְּחִינַת הַנִּבְרָאִים פְּרָטִיִּים, וְאֵין כֹּחַ בָּהֶם לְקַבֵּל הַחַיּוּת אֶלָּא עַל יְדֵי שֶׁיּוֹרֵד הַחַיּוּת וּמִשְׁתַּלְשֵׁל מִמַּדְרֵגָה לְמַדְרֵגָה פְּחוּתָה מִמֶּנָּה

This is necessary, since the individual creations are not able to receive their life force directly from the ten utterances themselves as they are recorded in the Torah, as the life force channeled directly from them is much greater than the capacity of the individual creations to contain it. They only have the capacity to receive the life force after it has descended and devolved from a higher level to a lower level. The ten utterances are all-encompassing forces that inform the overarching existence as a whole, without relating to particulars. A statement such as "Let there be a firmament" creates a general division between the upper waters and the lower waters, dividing reality into two spheres: upper and lower. Such a generalized force cannot reach a particular entity. The individual creations cannot receive their life force directly from the original ten utterances, because the power of the utterances is too immense for the individual entity's capacity to contain it.

עַל יְדֵי חִילּוּפִים וּתְמוּרוֹת הָאוֹתִיּוֹת וְגִימַטְרִיָּאוֹת, שֶׁהֵן חֶשְׁבּוֹן הָאוֹתִיּוֹת, עַד שֶׁיּוּכַל לְהִתְצַמְצֵם וּלְהִתְלַבֵּשׁ וּלְהִתְהַוּוֹת מִמֶּנּוּ נִבְרָא פְּרָטִי. וְזֶה שְּׁמוֹ אֲשֶׁר יִקְרְאוּ לוֹ בִּלְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ הוּא כְּלִי לַחַיּוּת הַמְצוּמְצָם בְּאוֹתִיּוֹת שֵׁם זֶה שֶׁנִּשְׁתַּלְשֵׁל מֵעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהֶם כֹּחַ וְחַיּוּת לִבְרוֹא יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן וּלְהַחֲיוֹתוֹ לְעוֹלָם,

This transpires through substitutions and conversions of the letters and gematriyot , which are the numerical equivalent of the letters, until the life force can be constricted and clothed in order to bring an individual creation into existence. The name by which it will be called in biblical Hebrew is a vessel for the life force that has been constricted within the letters of this name, which devolved from the ten utterances recorded in the Torah, which have the power and life force to create existence from nothingness and sustain it for eternity, The difference between simple substitutions, permutations, and gematriyot lies in the degree to which the resulting letter combination reflects the original utterance. The primal force of the utterance, which is the all-encompassing, general life force that sustains entire worlds and realities, is constricted and distanced from its source as it undergoes a simple substitution. It grows even more distant as it undergoes permutations and gematriyot, until it reaches the degree of refinement and compatibility necessary to sustain a given created entity, be it a blade of grass or a grain of sand.

דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא וְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא כּוֹלָא חַד.

for the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are entirely one. The Torah is not merely a guidebook for humans. It is the revelation of God Himself. As was just explained, existence, including our physical world, is also a revelation of the divine utterance coursing through it. However, the Divine is constricted to a point where it can only be manifest in reality on certain specific bandwidths. The Torah, on the other hand, expresses that same divine energy in the form of comprehensible letters and words and therefore reveals the divine message in a clear, coherent, and accessible fashion. In this sense, the Torah is a sort of blueprint of existence, a map of the universe, which describes not only its exoteric features but its inner roots as well, from the most foundational source of its existence through the various changes that will occur to every single entity over the course of the world's existence, until it reveals a vision of a perfected world as it was meant to be. This first chapter of