Yud Shevat
1. It is known that at the time of a tzaddik's passing there come together "כל מעשיו ותורתו ועבודתו אשר עבד כל ימי חייו" ("all his deeds, his Torah and his service which he served all the days of his life").1 From this it is understood that in the maamar beginning "באתי לגני" ("I have come into My garden"), which the Rebbe, whose hilula we are marking, released for the day of his passing [and especially in the beginning and the end of the maamar2 — for the content of any matter is seen more openly in its beginning3 and its end4], a principal point of all his labor, at which he toiled during his life in this world, finds expression.
Among the principal points of the service of the Baal HaHilula — which he also demanded of all who follow in his ways, in which he instructed us — are:
a) To spread Torah and mitzvos — including also the light within Torah — in each and every place,1 even in such places that are (openly) not vessels at all for Torah and mitzvos in general, and all the more so not vessels for Chassidus.
b) That the work of spreading Torah and mitzvos, etc., should be done with the greatest alacrity.
And these two points he indicates in the beginning and in the end of this maamar.
2. At the beginning of the maamar, the Rebbe, the Baal HaHilula, cites the statement of the Midrash5 on the pasuk6 "באתי לגני אחותי כלה" ("I have come into My garden, My sister, My bride"): "לגן אין כתיב כאן אלא לגני, לגנוני, למקום שהי׳ עיקרי בתחלה, דעיקר שכינה בתחתונים היתה" ("It is not written here 'to the garden' but 'to My garden' — to My bridal chamber, to the place where My essence was at the beginning, for the essence of the Shechinah was in the lower realms"). That is, the dwelling of the Shechinah in the lower realms that took place when the Mishkan was erected (about which the Almighty says, "I have come into My garden") had already existed at the beginning of creation (and not as the opinion7 that "דבר חידוש הוא" ("it is a new thing")). It is only that through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge and the sins that followed it, it "ceased," and afterward, when the Mishkan was erected, it "returned to what it had been."
And at the conclusion of the maamar he cites the Midrash:8 "אין אדם שליט לומר המתינו לי עד שאעשה חשבונותי ועד שאצוה לביתי כו׳" ("No person has the power to say, 'Wait for me until I have made my accounts and until I have given instructions to my household,' etc."), which is why one may not put off until later the work that one has to do, for "מי הוא היודע עתו וזמנו" ("Who is it that knows his time and his moment?").
By citing these two Midrashim at the beginning and the end of the maamar, he indicates the two points mentioned above: with the Midrash at the end of the maamar he indicates that the work must be done with alacrity; and with the Midrash at the beginning of the maamar he indicates what the work itself must consist of: spreading Torah and mitzvos in each and every place, as will be explained below.
3. When a Jew reflects on the state of the world — for this world is, after all (as the Alter Rebbe says9), "מלא קליפות וסטרא אחרא" ("full of kelipos and sitra achra"), meaning that every point of this world is full of kelipos, to the extent that the very name of this world — and the name of anything indicates its essence10 — is "עולם הקליפות וסטרא אחרא" ("the world of kelipos and sitra achra")11 — he may think to himself:
Since the Almighty created the world in such a way that it should be a "world of kelipos," it is surely impossible for me to be able to transform it. And that being so, I will separate myself from the world and shut myself up within the four cubits of Torah and prayer, and have nothing to do with the world!
To this the Rebbe explains, right at the beginning of the maamar, that on the contrary: the fact that the world is a world of kelipos is [not something that must be so because of the essential nature of this world, but rather it is] something that came afterward, a matter that was added (after creation) through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, etc. But in terms of its essential nature, this world actually possesses a superiority over the higher worlds, for the essence of the Shechinah was specifically in the lower realms.
One can still argue, however: True, at the beginning of creation things were different; but now the world is, after all, "full" of kelipos, "והרשעים גוברים בו" ("and the wicked prevail in it")!11
To this comes the explanation further on in the maamar, that the ultimate intent in the creation and coming into being of the worlds is that "נתאוה הקב״ה להיות לו ית׳ דירה בתחתונים" ("the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to have a dwelling for Himself in the lower realms"),12 and since this intent will surely be carried out
[for since the very existence of creation came into being (and it is brought into being at each and every moment13) for the sake of this intent, it is impossible that the affairs of creation, the deeds of human beings (the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, etc.), should have the power14 to oppose and, G‑d forbid, prevent this intent from being carried out]
and in the end the world will become a dwelling for Him, it follows that the present change in the world, the fact that it is a "world of kelipos," is a "שינוי החוזר לברייתו" ("a change that returns to its original state") (for in the end a time will surely come when "ואת רוח הטומאה אעביר מן הארץ" ("and I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth"),15 as it was before the sin), and "שינוי החוזר לברייתו לא שמי׳ שינוי" ("a change that returns to its original state is not called a change").16 This means, then, that in its inner reality the world is even now a "dwelling for Him."17 And especially since this change (is not merely able to return to its original state, but) will surely return to its original state, as stated above.
And since the revelation of the future will be in the manner of "מלאה הארץ דעה את הוי׳ כמים לים מכסים" ("the earth shall be full18 of the knowledge of G‑d as water covers the sea")19 and "וידע כל פעול כי אתה פעלתו" ("and every creature shall know that You made it"),19* it follows that even now (in the inner reality) this is so in every point of the world — even where it appears as if there is opposition to G‑dliness — that it is a dwelling for Him. And therefore one must spread Yiddishkeit in each and every place, in order to reveal the good that is present in every place.
4. The Rebbe, after all, released this maamar for the day of his passing. Thus the above instruction at the beginning of the maamar20 is also connected with the matter of passing:
After the soul departs from the body, the body decays.21 And here the question arises: What is the purpose of all the service in which a Jew toils throughout all the days of his life to refine his body,22 if after his passing it decays?
And the question is even stronger: The fact that the body decays (when the soul leaves the body) is, after all, (not something new that comes about in it, but rather) as it is written,23 "עפר אתה ואל עפר תשוב" ("For you are dust, and to dust you shall return") (that because even now "you are dust," therefore "to dust you shall return"). And since "a change that returns to its original state is not called a change," the body is therefore not a true existence even before it "returns to its dust." And that being so, it would seem to follow that the service of Torah and mitzvos is connected with something that (even at the time of the service) is, G‑d forbid, not a true existence?!
And although the "לוז bone" (which remains of the body) never decays,24 and also concerning the resurrection of the body as a whole it is written,25 "יחיו מתיך" ("Your dead shall live") (and not "shall be created"), because the manner of the resurrection will be (not that a new body will be created,26 but) that the body will be built from the luz bone27 —
nevertheless, since the body in itself is "you are dust," and what its nature demands is "to dust you shall return," it follows that the very fact that (the manner of the resurrection will not be by way of a new creation but rather that) it will be built from the luz bone is itself a matter of new "creation"28 — for the definition of the body in terms of its own nature is "dust"?29
5. The answer to this is that it is just the opposite: Since "the essence of the Shechinah was in the lower realms," which is why "ובנו בחרת" ("and You have chosen us") applies specifically to the physical body,30 it follows that the body is a true existence, to which decay does not apply at all. And the change that came about in it through (the sin of the Tree of Knowledge and that which resulted from it —) "to dust you shall return," is only in its externality, not in its essential nature. For the deeds of human beings cannot, G‑d forbid (and as stated above in section 3), alter the choice of the Essence, Who chose a Jewish body.
And this itself is the explanation of why the "luz bone" [did not derive benefit from the Tree of Knowledge31 and] never decays — because it is the "essence" of the body,32 and to the essence (of the body) neither (sin nor) decay applies.
And since "and You have chosen us" applies also to the body as a whole, it is understood from this that in its inner reality decay does not apply to the body as a whole either.33 And the fact that in the future it will be built from the "luz bone" is due to its very nature, because the choice of the Essence is present in it. Accordingly it follows that, on the contrary, precisely because "a change that returns to its original state is not called a change," it is a true existence even now.
6. The evil inclination, however, is "an expert at its craft."34 So after one refutes its "argument" (that one can, G‑d forbid, accomplish nothing with the body and with the world) through the explanation that in their inner reality they are actually good and holiness, and that the service is only to bring out into revelation the good that is within them in their inner reality, it begins to press the person from the other side:
In their inner reality the body and this world are, after all, good even before the service; and even with regard to "revelation," it is a certainty (as stated above) that in the end, through this Jew or through another Jew, they will become a "dwelling for Him." So why are you so worked up about your service of Torah and mitzvos, to refine and purify the body and your portion in the world? And especially — what is so urgent if you put it off until a little later?
To this the Rebbe, the Baal HaHilula, explains at the conclusion of the maamar that:
a) There is the matter of "I have made my accounts," "I have given instructions to my household,"35 and, as is known, the answer of the Alter Rebbe:36 "You have told everything that you need, but what you are needed for, you do not say at all."
b) "Who is it that knows his time and his moment?":
Every matter in the world is set out in advance — through whom the thing is to be refined;37 and so too it is set out at what time the refinement is to be done. Thus it is only right that by putting it off until later, one may, G‑d forbid, lose his account and household, etc.38
And therefore the service must be done with alacrity, not losing even one moment in the work of spreading Torah and mitzvos in general and spreading the wellsprings of Chassidus in particular — in each and every place. And this must be done with joy and desire, etc. (from which alacrity comes automatically37) — and in the language of the Rambam (regarding the days of Moshiach), "נתאוה" ("yearned"),39
to prepare the whole world for the fulfillment of the promise, "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of G‑d as water covers the sea," very soon indeed.
(From the sichos of Yud Shevat and Shabbos Parshas Beshalach, 5729)
Notes
1) Iggeres HaKodesh, sec. 26. See also above, p. 35, and the sources cited there.
2) For (the beginning and the) "head" includes the entire matter. See Likkutei Sichos, vol. 5, p. 58, note 12 [regarding the name of a Sidrah; and similarly one may say regarding the names (given to) maamarim and the like]; see there.
3) For "everything follows the conclusion" (Berachos 12a). It may be said that this is one of the reasons that "their beginning is wedged in their end and their end in their beginning" — for in both of them the essence of the matter is expressed. Note also the formula of blessings, where the main precision lies in the opening and the close (Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe, sec. 114, par. 8).
4) See also Likkutei Sichos, vol. 3, p. 875.
5) Shir HaShirim Rabbah, beginning of ch. 5, and the sources cited there.
6) Shir HaShirim, ibid.
7) Bamidbar Rabbah 12:6. See Yefeh To'ar on Bereishis Rabbah 19:7.
8) Devarim Rabbah 9:3.
9) Tanya, ch. 36.
10) See at length above, p. 35 ff., and the sources cited there.
11) Tanya, ch. 6 (14, end of side b).
12) Tanchuma, Naso 16. See above, p. 17, note 42.
13) Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, at its beginning.
14) See Likkutei Sichos, vol. 3, p. 977, in the note.
15) Zechariah 13:2.
16) Cited below, p. 89, note 25.
17) And even more: Since the intent in the sitra achra itself is to transform darkness into light (to the point that the darkness itself should shine — in the maamar below, section 5), for specifically through this "אסתלק יקרא דקוב״ה בכולהו עלמין" ("the glory of the Holy One, blessed be He, was elevated in all the worlds") (as explained in the maamar) — the descent brought about by the sin (is not only not a true descent, as stated in the text, but on the contrary) is part of the ascent that will come about through it, as explained in Likkutei Sichos, vol. 5, p. 66.
18) The opposite of "full of kelipos" mentioned above.
19) Yeshayahu 11:9.
19*) Text of the Rosh Hashanah Amidah prayer.
20) Just as the instruction at the end of the maamar ("No person has the power," etc.) relates to the passing. Note too that the statement of the Zohar, "the glory of the Holy One, blessed be He, was elevated in all the worlds," cited at the beginning of the maamar, also alludes to the content of the matter of passing, as explained in the introduction to Kuntres Purim 5710, note ב.
21) For the body in itself is "you are dust," as stated below in the text. And the fact that the body does not decay immediately when the soul departs from it is because: a) the coming into being of the body is not from the soul (Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, ch. 6; Siddur, maamar beginning Kad Ant Tistalek); b) even after the passing, the spirit of the soul is still present upon the body (maamar beginning Shuvah 5659; see maamar beginning Ki Chelek 5694 (5711), ch. 9; this is not the place to elaborate).
22) See Tanya, ch. 37 (48b), that the purpose of the soul's descent below is (not for its own sake, but) to rectify the body (and the animal soul and its portion in the world). See also the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov on the pasuk "עזוב תעזוב עמו" ("You shall surely help him") (HaYom Yom, p. כג, and in many places).
23) Bereishis 3:19.
24) Bereishis Rabbah 28:3, and the sources cited there. Zohar II, 28b, and elsewhere. Tosafos s.v. VeHu (Bava Kamma 16b).
25) Yeshayahu 26:19.
26) See also Bereishis Rabbah 95:1.
27) Zohar II, ibid.
28) This is similar to "the sea returned" after the Splitting of the Sea: if the miracle of the Splitting had been such that it nullified the sea's former nature, and the waters' flowing back downward was by way of a miracle — then this would have been a new coming into being (see below, first sicha on Parshas Beshalach, sec. 3). For although in that case there would have been no need to bring the substance itself into being (since the substance existed even at the time of the Splitting, and only its nature was changed), nevertheless this detail, the change of its nature, is a new coming into being.
29) Note the known explanation (maamar beginning Ner Chanukah 5670; maamar beginning Yechayeinu MiYomayim 5701; and elsewhere) of "מחיה מתים ברחמים רבים" ("Who revives the dead with abundant mercy"), that the Resurrection must be drawn specifically from the level of abundant mercy (of the Essence of the Infinite Light) because with regard to the Essence of the Infinite Light "death and life are equal, and therefore even the dead can live." This would seem to prove that even at the time of the Resurrection the body will in itself be dead, and only because of the Essence of the Infinite Light will even the dead live (but see below, note 33).
30) Tanya, ch. 49 (70, beginning of side a). Toras Shalom, p. 120.
31) Eliyah Rabbah on Orach Chayim, sec. 300, who writes of this, "I have heard." In Responsa Chasam Sofer, Yoreh De'ah, sec. 337, he cites it as a plain fact without giving a source. This requires a search in the words of our Sages. In the omissions [hashmatos] of the Eliyah Rabbah there, he writes: "If so (that it derives no benefit from any food*), it derived no benefit from the Tree of Knowledge." This is somewhat difficult to reconcile with what is written (Beis Yosef and Levush on Orach Chayim there, and elsewhere) that it derives benefit from the Melaveh Malkah meal. But see Siddur Yaavetz, Zemiros for Motzaei Shabbos. Maavar Yabok, Sefas Emes, section 2, ch. 6: It derives benefit only from the Shabbos meal, and some say from the Havdalah wine, and others hold that it derives no benefit at all from food and drink.
*) The Eliyah Rabbah there cites this from the Levush there. So too in Zohar I, 137a, and elsewhere.
32) Note that the "chol" bird is burned (but) a portion the size of an egg is left of it and it returns and lives, because it did not eat from the Tree of Knowledge (Bereishis Rabbah 19:5) — that is, the essence remains. And the fact that the rest is burned can simply be explained by its eating other things that become blood and flesh like its own flesh. See Masnos Kehunah there and elsewhere.
33) And there is no contradiction to this from what is cited above in note 29 regarding "Who revives the dead with abundant mercy." For since "You have chosen us" (the choice of the Essence being in the body itself), the drawing down from the Essence of Havayah (with regard to Whom death and life are equal) also pertains to the body and its inner reality, along the lines explained in Likkutei Sichos, vol. 5, p. 246 (sec. 9), regarding "to serve my Maker." See there.
34) See Shabbos 105b: "Such is the craft of the evil inclination," etc. See maamar beginning VeYadata 5693, ch. 5.
35) Sefer HaMaamarim 5708, p. 191, and the sources cited there.
36) See Likkutei Dibburim, vol. 4, 596b. HaYom Yom, p. 84.
37) Similar to the Exodus from Egypt, which had to be "in the blink of an eye," for had they delayed, G‑d forbid, they could not have been redeemed, etc. (Alshich on Bo 12:36 (and on), in the name of the Zohar. See also Tzror HaMor there, 40. Haggadah [OCR unclear], passage "Mitchilah," [OCR unclear], s.v. U'Maaseh Yadav).
38) See Iggeres HaKodesh, sec. 21.
39) Hilchos Teshuvah 9:2: "נתאוו כל ישראל נביאיהם וחכמיהם" ("All Israel, their prophets and their sages, yearned") (see also Hilchos Melachim 12:4). And it can be said that the one depends on the other: all Israel's yearning depends on the Holy One, blessed be He's desire to have a dwelling for Himself in the lower realms.
Key Lesson
The body and the world are not inherently opposed to G‑dliness; the Essence chose the Jewish body, and every place is in its inner reality a dwelling for Him, so no place is beyond our reach. And because each task has its own appointed time, this Sicha teaches that one may not delay: spread Torah, mitzvos and the wellsprings of Chassidus everywhere, with joy and alacrity, preparing the world for the true and complete revelation.