לקוטי שיחות חלק ט״ו - נח ד

Parshas Noach

1. It is stated in the Mishnah^[1]: "Beloved is man, for he was created in the image; an additional love was made known to him that he was created in the image, as it is said^[2], 'For^[3] in the image of G‑d He made man.'"

The Tosafos Yom Tov says that from the fact that the Tanna brings the verse "For in the image…," which was said to Noach and his sons, it is understood that "Beloved is man…" refers to mankind in general, (including) the children of Noach^[4].

And with this he explains the change of wording: in this clause the Tanna uses the term "(beloved is) man," whereas in the following clauses he says "(beloved are) Israel" — because those clauses speak of the belovedness (by virtue of the qualities) that are found only among Jews ("they are called children of the Omnipresent," "a precious vessel was given to them"); whereas the matter of "created in the image" is found in the speaking species as a whole.

And the practical difference of this with regard to Jews — for whose sake this matter was placed in Tractate Avos, which consists of directives for Jews in their own Divine service — he explains according to the ruling of the Rambam^[5]: "Moshe Rabbeinu (peace be upon him)^[6] commanded, from the mouth of the Almighty, to compel all the inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments that the children of Noach were commanded," and they must fulfill the commandments (not because of "the conclusion of reason," but) "because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah"^[7];

and this is what the Tanna means by "Beloved is man, for he was created in the image": with this he gives guidance as to how a Jew must (and can) influence "all the inhabitants of the world" to obey the commandments of the Holy One, blessed be He, to them — by explaining to them their belovedness, "that he was created in the image," because of which "it is incumbent upon him to do the will of his Maker"^[8].

2. It is understood and simple that even according to the interpretation that "man" here means the entire speaking species^[9], it nevertheless also includes a Jew, who is certainly "created in the image (of G‑d)."

And this accords with the interpretation of my father-in-law, the Rebbe [the Previous Rebbe]^[10], that "image" means the intellectual soul, which is found both in Jews and in the children of Noach; and the repetition in the wording of the Mishnah — "Beloved is man, for he was created in the image; an additional love was made known to him that he was created in the image" — refers to the two levels of "image"^[11]: "Beloved is man, for he was created in the image" refers to the intellectual soul "of mankind as a whole," and "an additional love was made known to him that he was created in the image" means the intellectual soul of Israel, whose image is higher than the image of mankind as a whole (as will be explained below in section 4).

Nevertheless, from the very fact that in the matter of the "image" there is a common aspect between Jews and the children of Noach, it is understood that the image of a Jew, too, is

[not so much on account of the matters and modes of service in which he is entirely set apart from the children of Noach — for the encouragement regarding those matters comes in the following clauses (and qualities) of the Mishnah, "Beloved are Israel, for they are called children of the Omnipresent… for a precious vessel was given to them," the (qualities and) belovedness that are set apart for Jews alone — but chiefly]

on account of his service as, and together with, the children of Noach^[12]. That is to say, in Divine service too it matters (not only that a child of Noach is "created in the image" — because of which "it is incumbent upon him to do the will of his Maker" — but also) that there is an aspect of "image" in Jews (only that it is higher than the aspect of "image" of mankind as a whole).

This needs to be understood: what relevance does it have to the matter of "Beloved is man, for he was created in the image" — in connection with the fact that a child of Noach must do "the will of his Maker" because he was "created in the image" (as the Tosafos Yom Tov explains) — that a Jew too has this quality and belovedness (only in a higher manner, "an additional love was made known to him…")?

3. Similarly, one must understand the above-mentioned law of the Rambam, that there is a command to Jews "to compel all the inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments that the children of Noach were commanded," and moreover, to see to it that their fulfillment of the commandments be (not because of "the conclusion of reason," but) because "the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah and informed us through Moshe Rabbeinu that the children of Noach had previously been commanded in them" —

for seemingly this is puzzling altogether: why is the fulfillment of the commandments of the children of Noach bound up with Jews (that they must see to it "to compel all the inhabitants of the world" to fulfill the commandments) and with the Giving of the Torah (and Moshe Rabbeinu)?

With regard to the command to Jews, one could still explain that G‑d wants Jews to occupy themselves with "perfecting the entire world to serve G‑d"^[13], and therefore they must influence "all the inhabitants of the world" to fulfill the will of their Maker:

But it is not understood why the children of Noach must fulfill their commandments (not because that is what G‑d commanded — to Adam, etc.^[14] — but) because "the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah and informed us through Moshe Rabbeinu"^[15]?

It is understandable that Jews must fulfill all their commandments — even those which they were commanded before the Giving of the Torah (such as the mitzvah of circumcision) — by virtue of G‑d's command to Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, "at Sinai"^[16], because the Giving of the Torah brought about a fundamental change in Jews, for that is when the Holy One, blessed be He, chose them^[17], and therefore a change came about in their (earlier) commandments as well.

But what relevance does the Giving of the Torah have to the children of Noach, to say that before the Giving of the Torah they fulfilled the commandments by virtue of G‑d's command to Adam, and after the Giving of the Torah — because "the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah… through Moshe Rabbeinu"^[18]?

4. This will be understood by first introducing the explanation of my father-in-law, the Rebbe^[18*], regarding the superiority of the intellectual soul ("image") of a Jew over the intellectual soul of mankind as a whole — that "in it (the intellectual soul of Jewish souls) a spiritual refinement is felt, and although it is by its nature human intellect, it nevertheless has an attraction to spiritual refinement"^[19];

whereas the intellectual soul of a non-Jew is a coarse understanding. And as is explained in several places^[20] regarding the study of secular wisdoms, that they bring a person to a sense of self-importance, until it leads him into coarseness, etc.

Seemingly, this requires explanation: the function of intellect is to clarify the "truth" of a matter, which is why it is the nature of intellect to reach beyond (one's own inclinations and personal motives — beyond) oneself — "the spirit of man that rises upward"^[21], unlike an animal, of which "the spirit of the beast goes downward"^[21] —

how, then, does it come about that the nature of the intellectual soul of the children of Noach is, on the contrary, to bring a person down into coarseness?

It is understandable with regard to the intellect of the animal soul — the intellect that pertains to the emotions — since that intellect exists for the sake of the emotions, whose nature is "self-awareness"^[22], it is understood that the intellect that exists for the sake of the emotions also leads to self-importance, and from that — to coarseness;

but the intellectual soul (even of a child of Noach) is not for the sake of the emotions; it is intellect for the sake of intellect itself — like the study of astronomy and the like — so why should this intellect lead to self-importance and coarseness?

The explanation of this is: the quality of intellect to reach beyond oneself is bound up with the person's not taking (his inclinations, etc. — taking) himself into account — self-nullification. And since the intellect of the intellectual soul is engaged in worldly matters, whose nature is self-importance and existence^[22], therefore a sense of self-importance comes about in this intellect too, which does not allow it to reach beyond itself as it should.

And the fact that the intellectual soul of a Jew — which is also an intellect engaged in worldly matters (human intellect) — has that "attraction to spiritual refinement," is (not so much on its own account, but) because a Jew has a G‑dly soul, which is higher than the world, and which effects nullification in his intellectual soul too. And therefore both things are present in the intellectual soul of Israel: "although it is by its nature human intellect, it nevertheless has an attraction to spiritual refinement," as mentioned above.

5. With this one can also explain how the above-mentioned interpretation of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, of the Mishnah — that "Beloved is man, for he was created in the image" means the intellectual soul of mankind as a whole, and "an additional love was made known to him that he was created in the image" refers to the intellectual soul of Jewish souls — is alluded to in the Mishnah:

"Beloved is man, for he was created in the image" means that man's belovedness consists in (— is because of) the fact that he "was created in the image"; "an additional love was made known to him that he was created in the image" means a higher love, the "essential love"^[23], on account of which he was created with the image of G‑d; the "created in the image" is a result of the additional love.

And this is the difference between the "image" of a child of Noach and the "image" of a Jew:

In a child of Noach, his belovedness is by virtue of the intellectual soul (image) within him; the belovedness of a Jew, which is bound up with the image within him, is (not by virtue of the image, but on the contrary —) because he is beloved, he was given the image: by virtue of his being a Jew — "an additional love was made known to him" (to the point) "that he was created in the image" — therefore he was created in the image, he was given his intellectual soul. And specifically then is the intellect (also) of the intellectual soul in its perfection (in him the nature of "the spirit of man that rises upward" is present).

6. And this is also the explanation of the above-mentioned law of the Rambam, that a Jew must compel "all the inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments that the children of Noach were commanded":

In order that the service of a child of Noach in fulfilling his commandments be as it ought, one cannot rely on his "conclusion of reason" — for his intellectual soul can lead him to coarseness, etc.^[24] — rather, it must be bound up with a Jew. When the (intellectual soul of a) child of Noach is guided by a Jew, whose "image" (intellectual soul) is in its perfection, the child of Noach too comes into a state of "the spirit of man that rises upward."

And therefore, in the matter of "Beloved is man (a child of Noach), for he was created in the image," it is also relevant that "an additional love was made known to him (to a Jew) that he was created in the image" (as mentioned above in section 2) — because a child of Noach must know that the perfection of his image depends on the image of a Jew.

And since the image in Jews is a consequence of their having a G‑dly soul, the cause imparts to the effect something of its own qualities — the nature of nullification in the intellectual soul (as mentioned above) — therefore the perfection of the service of a child of Noach, which brings him into the category of "the pious of the nations of the world," is bound up with his doing his commandments because "the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah and informed us through Moshe Rabbeinu," that he does them as a result of the revelation of the Giving of the Torah^[25], when Jews received their (quality —) essential belovedness (they are called children of the Omnipresent, and a precious vessel was given to them).

[With this the continuation in the Rambam is also understood: "But if he did them because of the conclusion of reason… he is not of the pious of the nations of the world, nor^[26] of their wise men." Seemingly this is puzzling: since he does them "because of the conclusion of reason," why is he "not of their wise men"? But it is because when the child of Noach lacks the recognition of how he is dependent on Jews and the Giving of the Torah, ultimately a deficiency results in his intellect too.]

7. According to the above, one will also understand the common point of the repetition in the wording of the Mishnah in the first clause with the following two clauses — "Beloved are Israel, for they are called children of the Omnipresent; an additional love was made known to them that they are called children of the Omnipresent… Beloved are Israel, for a precious vessel was given to them; an additional love was made known to them that a precious vessel was given to them":

In these two clauses too, my father-in-law, the Rebbe, interprets the repetition in each clause — "Beloved are Israel… an additional love was made known to them…" — as referring to two distinct levels: "Beloved are Israel… an additional love was made known to them that they are called children of the Omnipresent" refers to "the body of Israel" and "the G‑dly soul and the superiority of the neshamah"; and "Beloved are Israel… an additional love was made known to them that a precious vessel was given to them" refers to the revealed part of the Torah and the inner dimension of the Torah:

Here too the intent (similar to the above regarding the repetition in the first clause) is that "Beloved are Israel" depends on "an additional love was made known to them…":

The belovedness of "the body of Israel" depends on "the superiority of the neshamah," as was once discussed at length^[27], that the Holy One, blessed be He's choice of the body^[28] of a Jew becomes established inwardly in the body through the service of the soul [which is why there can be the existence of "those who have no share in the World to Come"^[29] — whose body perishes^[30] — even though with regard to the soul of a Jew the matter of loss, G‑d forbid, does not apply^[31]];

and similarly with regard to the revealed part of the Torah and the inner dimension of the Torah: when one studies the revealed part of the Torah and the inner dimension of the Torah is present as well, then the study of the revealed part becomes for him an elixir of life^[32].

(From a maamar and talk of Shabbos Parshas Shelach, 5736)

Key Lesson

Every human being is beloved for having been created in G‑d's image, the intellectual soul; but in a Jew that image is itself the product of a deeper, essential love, and because it flows from the G‑dly soul it carries a natural self-nullification that lets the intellect truly rise upward. That is why the Noahide commandments reach their perfection only when kept because G‑d commanded them at Sinai through Moshe, and why it falls to Jews to bring them to the world. The practical lesson: our task toward all humanity is to share not just a moral code but the awareness of the Commander behind it — and our ability to do so depends on keeping our own intellect refined and open to holiness.