Smashing Holes in the
Inner Iron Wall

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

Continued from here.

It is written, “Behold, he is standing behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the slits.”[1]

What is this wall, who is peering through it, and what are the windows and the slits in it?

One explanation of this is based on the words of the Talmud:[2]

Rabbi Elazar said: Since the day the Temple was destroyed, an iron wall separates Israel from their Father in heaven, as it is stated [to the prophet Yechezkel, instructing him to symbolize that separation]: “And take for yourself an iron griddle, and set it as an iron wall between yourself and the city … it will be a sign for the house of Israel.[3]

Hashem told Yechezkel to place a piece of iron in order to physically symbolize to the Jewish people how during exile, a metaphorical wall of iron separates between Hashem and the Jewish people. What is this wall and why is it made of iron?

Amalek has the same numerical value as the Hebrew word for iron, barzel.[4]

This explains why the Beis Hamikdash contained various metals: gold, silver, and copper—but not iron. Also, Moshe instructs the Jewish people to build an altar of unhewn stones for the Mishkan upon which no iron tool has been used.[5] Likewise, during the building of the first Beis Hamikdash, no iron implements were used.[6]

The reason is that iron represents the spiritual energy of Amalek which cannot be elevated and only “Its destruction is its rectification.”

Yechezkel's iron wall symbolizes the inner Amalek, a spiritual barrier separating one's understanding of G-dliness from one's emotions. This is what it means that “Behold, he”—Hashem—"is standing behind our wall”—our inner Amalek.

Our mission during the exile is to destroy this wall. One does so through Teshuvah from the depths of one’s heart, and “Nothing stands before Teshuvah.”[7]

And if the person doesn’t engage in Teshuvah of his own accord, Hashem may impose suffering[8] upon him from above, G-d forbid, in order to encourage him to do Teshuvah.

Teshuvah inflicts “holes” and “slits” in this inner wall, allowing the light of G-dliness that is “standing behind” to enter. Just as a window in a wall allows the sunlight, which is associated with the divine revelation of Havayeh[9] to enter, so does Teshuvah allow one’s intellectual understanding of Havayeh to come down into one’s emotions.

The Power of Torah Study to Erase the Inner Amalek

The Torah relates that “whenever Moshe held up his hand, Israel prevailed; but whenever he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.”[10] This indicates that the ability to defeat Amalek comes from Moshe.

One way of explaining this is in light of the fact that the Torah is named after Moshe, as it is written, “Remember the Torah of Moshe, My servant.”[11] Thus, another, complementary way to defeat the inner Amalek is through Torah study.

As the Talmud says of the Evil Inclination, “If you meet that despicable one, drag him to the house of Torah study. If he is a stone, he will melt; if he is iron, he will explode.” [12]

The Alter Rebbe explains[13] the Talmud’s statement that “If he is a stone, he will melt” as discussing one whose heart is like stone, for he suffers from timtum ha’lev, a “blockage of the heart,” [14] where his heart is as hard and unreceptive as a stone to understanding Hashem’s greatness.

Nevertheless, Torah study will melt it, for Torah is compared to water, as the prophet exhorts, “Ho, every thirsty person, go to the water.” Even though water droplets are soft and insubstantial, while stone is hard, repeated drops of water can eventually create a hole in the stone where they land. [15]

Thus, through a great amount of assiduous Torah study with at least a small amount of submission to Hashem,[16] Torah has the power to break through the wall of Amalek and to smash “windows” and “slits” in it so that the divine light of Havayeh revealed in the intellect will shine in the heart, leading one to fulfill the negative and positive Mitzvos properly and bring the Neshamah to attain full control over one’s thought, speech, and action.[17]

Based on the Rebbe Rashab’s Sefer Hamaamarim 5643, 5644, 5645, p. 305 ff.; Sefer Hamaamarim 5654, p. 196 ff., p. 337 ff.

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[1] Shir Hashirim 2:9.

[2] Berachos 32b.

[3] Yechezkel 4:3.

[4] Amalek/עמלק is gematria 240 and ברזל/iron is gematria 239; along with the kollel, i.e., plus one, it also adds up to 240.

[5] Devarim 27:5-6,

[6] I Melachim 6:7.

[7] Yerushalmi Pe’ah, Chapter 1. Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Teshuvah, 3:14.

[8] In the Hebrew, “ביטושים.”

[9] The name of Hashem associated with divine revelation. Chassidus interprets Psalms 84:12 as saying that this name is associated with the sun, which represents revelation.

[10] Shemos 17:11.

[11] Malachi 3:22.

[12] Sukkah 52b, with Rashi.

[13] Likutei Torah Haazinu 75d.

[14] See Tanya, ch. 29.

[15] See Avos DeRabi Nasan 6:2.

[16] In the Hebrew, “בביטול קצת.”

[17] Cf. Tanya, ch. 9.

"Sharing the Burden" Through Torah Study

“Sharing the Burden”
Through Torah Study

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

Complementary Roles

The Gemara states:[1]

Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Were it not for David, Yoav would not have done battle, and were it not for Yoav, David would not have engaged in Torah. As it is written, “David performed justice and righteousness for all his people, and Yoav ben Tzeruya was in charge of the army.” What does it meant that “David performed justice and righteousness for all his people?” [He was able to,] because Yoav was taking care of the army. And what is the meaning of “Yoav was in charge of the army?” So that David could perform justice and righteousness for all his people.

Yoav and David HaMelech were partners who each valued the other’s contribution. David HaMelech knew that since the Jewish people had enemies, and since Torah instructs us “We do not rely on a miracle,”[2] he needed an army of soldiers led by a mighty general to lead the battles against the enemies of the Jewish people. This general was Yoav.

But David HaMelech himself did not go to war, although he was fully capable of doing so. He chose, instead, to remain behind in order to study Torah and teach it to the people.

Yet Yoav had no complaints. He knew that David HaMelech’s contribution was indispensable. “Were it not for David, Yoav would not have done battle.” He did not view David HaMelech’s choice as shirking responsibility, never mind as cowardice, G–d forbid. He knew that most fundamental principle of the Jewish faith: Success at any endeavor comes not from one’s efforts, intelligence, and strength, but from divine blessings—“it is the blessing of Hashem that gives us wealth.”[3]

Yes, accomplishment require a human investment, for Hashem created the natural order and desires that we follow its laws. But one who relies on his own power and does not combine reasonable efforts with prayers for divine assistance denies the existence of Hashem as “the One Who sustains the entire world with His goodness, grace, kindness, and compassion”[4]—as the Provider of all our needs. The Torah warns us against this: “And you may come to say in your heart that your strength and the might of your hand made you this wealth, but remember that it is Hashem, your G–d  Who endows you with strength to perform deeds of valor.”[5] In particular, “war does not belong to the mighty.”[6]

So Yoav knew that in order to triumph over his foes, he needed divine blessings, and that this depends upon Torah study. But not the Torah study of the soldiers, for a soldier must focus his attention on the technicalities of warfare and cannot simultaneously analyze intricate Talmudic debates. Rather, the material efforts of the soldiers must be complemented by the spiritual efforts of the full-time Torah scholars, for “Torah protects and saves”[7]—Torah study brings protection and safety not only to those who study it, but to the Jewish people as a whole, and therefore to its protectors in particular.

Foolish Bravery

An analogy for this division of roles can be drawn from the army itself. Consider the chief general who sits calmly in his protected headquarters, poring over one classified intelligence report after another, calculating how the war ought to be fought—with what tactics, with which weapons, when to attack, how many soldiers to deploy, and countless other complex considerations. In the course of his duties, he instructs that others be dispatched to the battlefront, while he remains hard at work.

One day, his son and best friend approach him in outrage and accuse him of hypocrisy and cowardice: “How can you do this?! You send us and many others to face mortal danger, while you remain far from harm’s way in your cushy office chair, reading all day? Shame on you! As the verse puts it, ‘Will your brothers go to war while you sit here?’”[8]

Filled with guilt, the general concedes to the pressure, considering himself guilty of reprehensible double standards. He bows his head, clears away all the classified documents, closes down the headquarters, dons army fatigues and a gun, goes to the front, and fights.

Not only would no one benefit from this “sacrifice,” but it would lead to certain defeat and horrendous loss of life, may G–d save us, for both the soldiers and the civilians whom they are protecting.

So, too, on the broader, national level, in order for the army, the general, and everyone else involved in the material war effort to succeed, spiritual war efforts are necessary—devoted, full-time, G–d-fearing Torah scholars.

Spiritual Desertion

But when the Torah scholar lacks fear of Hashem and forgets what his Torah study accomplishes, he can become so captivated with awe for the heroic soldier that he desires to quit learning. He wants to let everyone know that he, too, can wield a gun, earn a medal, and perform daring feats of military prowess.

Just as one who is assigned to the front and abandons it is termed a deserter, so are Torah scholars assigned with the mission of studying Torah day and night who abandon their post, don army fatigues and a gun, and go to fight, also deserters. Since Jewish military victory depends upon the merit of Torah study, instead of benefiting the war effort, these young men jeopardize it and bring disaster upon the Jewish people, may G–d save us.

Unsung Heroism

In a sense, the Torah scholar is faced with a more difficult challenge than the soldier. Soldiers are lionized. They are given honorable mentions in the newspaper, awarded with marks of distinction, and their exploits and victories are publicly recounted and rhapsodized. They are national heroes.

But far away from the action of the battlefield, the Torah scholar sits and learns without fanfare. His efforts to protect the Jewish people (studying Torah all day is very difficult, as anyone who has done so, or attempted to do so, can testify) confer upon him no elevated status and glory; he goes unknown.

If anything, he is punished for his choice, subjected to constant insults and condemnation by his less religious brethren, who scream at him in self-righteous indignation: “Will your brothers go to war while you sit here?” And not only doesn’t his vital contribution earn him an honorable mention in the media, but the media regularly spews vitriol against the full-time Torah scholar and incites the populace to despise him, branding him a leech and a drain upon society, one who selfishly refuses to “share the burden.”

An Invisible Lifeline

There is a response to their complaint, albeit one that some don’t appreciate because they don’t want to.

The Torah is a “Torah of light”[9] in which Hashem reveals sublime, perfect teachings that illuminate our daily lives with moral clarity and direction. The Torah tells us: Look beneath the material reality.

Even the soldier himself depends upon others whose involvement is not visible. For the soldier to stand and shoot, many other army personnel and others are required to assist the war effort from the sidelines by providing food, technical know how, logistical direction, discipline, funding, and so on.

Likewise, the soldier needs spiritual help from behind the scenes in order to be alive. After all, all his training and weaponry will be of no avail if he is not alive. And the true source of life and safety is Hashem, Who grants us life through His holy Torah, which is “our life and the length of our days.”[10] So for the soldier to be alive, he must be infused with life through the life-giving studies of the Torah scholar.

Based on the Rebbe’s sicha of 6 Tishrei 5728.

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[1] Sanhedrin 49a.
[2] Toras Kohanim on Vayikra 22:32.
[3] Mishlei 10: 22.
[4] Grace After Meals liturgy.
[5] Devarim 8:17,18.
[6] Koheles 9:11.
[7] Sotah 21a.
[8] Bamidbar 32:6.
[9] Mishlei 6:23.
[10] Evening prayer liturgy.

Addendum:

See also this letter of the Rebbe posted here, which touches on the topic:

You ask why Lubavitch Chassidim do not serve in Tzahal. Obviously you are misinformed, for many do and many have attained high rank in the defense forces on active duty; and not only in the Chaplaincy, as you thought. As for those who serve in the Chaplaincy, clearly that is where they contribute most to Tzahal and the security of the country, since keeping the morale of the defense forces on the highest level is of primary importance. It would be a poor judgment on the part of Tzahal  to press one who is qualified to be a Chaplain into service as a private, as it would be to force one who is qualified to be a colonel to serve as private instead.

While on this subject, let me mention a further point, though you do not refer to it explicitly, namely, the exemption of yeshivah students from military service. As you may know, this exemption was recognized and agreed to by the founder of Tzahal, the late D. Ben Gurion. It is based on the fact that a yeshivah student can accomplish more to the security of the country by continuing his Torah learning than by military duty. Anyone who is familiar with the Sedra Bechukosai and is not prejudiced can see this clearly.

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Light Prepares for Darkness

Light Prepares for Darkness

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

I recently spent a few days in the country, where at night even the streets are much more poorly lit than in the city, and in the fields there is almost no light. Yet during my time here, I have not needed to walk around at night, only during the day.

Last night, for the first time, I had to make my way across several large fields in order to reach my destination, with only some faint streetlights in the distance and a glimmer of moonlight and starlight to help me find my way.

Although I did trip a few times and veered onto a minor detour, I managed. Why? I had gone down that path often enough during the daylight hours that the little light that shone was sufficient to direct me.

Perhaps the lesson is as follows. When one is in an environment of spiritual light, of holiness and purity, such as a beis ha'knesses (synagogue) or a beis ha'medrash (Torah study hall), the way is clear. In contrast, the outside world is a place of intense spiritual darkness (see here), rife with fraud and deception, ignorance of Hashem's Word, materialism, hedonism, and apathy to faith and even ridicule of it (see here). In this "doubled and redoubled darkness" the Jew is prone to lose his or her way, G-d forbid.

But when we are accustomed to devoting time daily to davven and learn in the beis ha'knesses and beis ha'medrash (and their equivalent as appropriate for women and girls), we keep ourselves spiritually attuned and fortify ourselves (see here). Then even when we descend into the hostile environment of the outside world, we will not lose our way, for we remember the experience of being in an environment of G-dliness and purity.

This also explains why it is so important for bochrim to attend Yeshivah, for girls to attend seminary, and for chassidim to go to the Rebbe (or, until Moshiach comes, the places where the holiness of the Rebbe resides--770 and the Ohel) at least once a year.

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The toxicity of spiritual emptiness

The toxicity of spiritual emptiness

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

Recently someone said to me, and in all seriousness: “I’ve become more moderate and modern. I trim my beard, I don’t make a point of studying Torah so much anymore ... But I’m very careful on Halachah, really. True, I watch movies sometimes, but only kosher ones ... Yes, I do a, b, and c, which most people consider forbidden, but I got a heter from my Rav, so it’s alright ... It’s just that I’m not as machmir as I once was.”

When[1] Yosef was thrown into a well, the Torah tells us, “The pit was empty; it contained no water.”[2] Now, if the pit was empty, then it certainly contained no water. So what is this apparently repetitive language coming to tell us? The Gemara explains: “It contained no water—but it did contain snakes and scorpions.”[3]

In context, the Torah is explaining to us that on account of Yosef’s righteousness, he was saved from these lethal creatures. However, there is a deeper meaning and lesson. “Water refers to Torah,”[4] and when the Jew “contains no water”—no Torah, i.e., his life is bereft of Torah study, then “he does contain snakes and scorpions”—he exposes himself to the assault of his evil inclination, which is compared to a pit.[5]

Likewise, the Baal Shem Tov interprets[6] the verse, “When you stray and worship other gods,”[7] to mean that as soon as you stray from Hashem and Torah, “you will worship other gods.”

To explain, as soon as the Jew allows a situation in which he neglects Torah study and Mitzvah observance, he is left in a spiritually empty atmosphere, an “empty pit.”[8] He then goes from drifting to sliding down a slippery slope, and “one sin brings another in its wake”[9]: It begins with machshovos zoros—empty, idle, and inappropriate thoughts; it continues with devarim beteilim—empty, idle, and inappropriate chatter; until, may Hashem save us, it leads to inappropriate actions and behavior.

Unless this downward fall is halted, the inappropriate but perhaps technically permitted thought, speech, and action degenerate slowly (and sometimes not so slowly) into borderline forbidden thought, speech, and action, and from there to outright forbidden thought, speech, and action.[10]

To be more specific, different people will be affected by living in an atmosphere of spiritual emptiness in different ways.[11] One may be overcome with an urge to gaze at forbidden sights; think thoughts of irreverence and heresy; gossip and spread malicious rumors about others, or listen to such speech; or tell hurtful and even perverse jokes, and so on.

This also relates to our interactions with others.[12] Our sages say: “When two sit together, and they do not exchange words of Torah, it is a gathering of scoffers. However, when two sit together and they exchange words of Torah, the Shechinah [divine presence] resides in their midst.”[13] Our sages indicate that there is no middle option—a gathering to eat that is neither a gathering of scoffers nor a resting place for the Shechinah. The very act of neglecting to discuss words of Torah is in itself an act of derision of Torah, may Hashem save us, for Hashem commanded: “You shall speak in them”[14]—in words of Torah—“and not in idle chatter.”[15] Thus, as our sages say[16] “One who has the opportunity to engage in Torah study and does not do so, of him the verse states,[17] ‘He has disagraced the word of Hashem.’”

There is only one way for a Jew to live in happiness and personal fulfillment (see here): “I was created to serve my Maker”[18]—the Jew’s purpose in life is to serve Hashem, and so he must live a life sincerely devoted to this goal, in which “Hashem is always placed before him.”[19] He sets fixed times for Torah study, and is careful in all mundane matters that “All your actions should be for the sake of Heaven,”[20] and “In all your ways, know Him;”[21] he is careful to follow the letter of the law, and he strives to go beyond the letter of the law according to his capabilities, all the while setting up a solid wall (see here) between himself and the spiritually hostile secular world (see here).

Thus, there is no middle ground, no “Modern Othodox,” no “pareve” and “neutral” way to live as a Jew vis-à-vis the world., to have “the best of both worlds,” somewhere “moderate” and “modern” in between holiness and unholiness.

The explanation for this is simple. Evil lurks both within and without, waiting to pounce. It exists within, in one’s own evil inclination, for “man was created evil from his youth,”[22] and the evil inclination fights mightily for total control over the Jew’s body.[23] And it exists without, for ours is a “world of the forces of Kelipah and Sitra Achra, and the wicked prevail in it.”[24]

Our survival as Jews depends upon Torah. As Rabbi Akiva taught,[25] Torah is to the Jewish people as water is to fish. When fish are separated from water, they immediately die; so, too, when the Jewish people separate from Torah, they cannot survive as Jews. Just as a fish cannot spend some of its time inside the water and some of the time outside it, so is it with a Jew—either he is actually learning Torah, or he is involved in revealing the light of Torah in the mundane world.

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[1] Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 15, pp. 324-325.
[2] Bereshis 37:34.
[3] Rashi, from Shabbos 22a.
[4] Bereshis Rabba 84:16. Cf. Bava Kama 82a.
[5] Likewise, our sages declare, “Fortunate is the Jewish people, for when then are occupied with Torah and bestowing kindness, their evil inclination is delivered into their hands, and they are not delivered into the hands of their evil inclination” (Avoda Zara 5b).
[6] Tzava’as HaRivash §76. Cf. Likkutei Torah Shelach 41a ff.
[7] Devarim 11:16.
[8] See Sefer HaMa’amarim 5658, p. 213.
[9] Avos 4:2.
[10] Cf. Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, 240:1—“ ... the permitted [indulgence] will lead him to forbidden [indulgence].”
[11] Sefer HaMa’amarim 5701, p. 61.
[12] Bi’urim l’Pirkei Avos, chs. 1-5, p. 139.
[13] Avos 3:2.
[14] Devarim 6:7.
[15] Yoma 19b.
[16] Sanhedrin 99a. Cf. Tanya ch. 1.
[17] Bamidbar 15:31.
[18] Kiddushin 82b.
[19] Tehillim 16:8. Quoted in Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, 1:1.
[20] Avos 2:12.
[21] Mishlei 3:6.
[22] Bereshis 8:21.
[23] Tanya ch. 9.
[24] ibid. ch. 6.
[25] Berachos 61b.

Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).


Dedicated by Doctor Binyomin Rothstein and family, as a merit for their aliyah to our Holy Land to be crowned with material and spiritual success and prosperity.

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

Yiddishkeit and Chassidus: For our own benefit

Original painting by Chana Rivka Hawkins

Someone once wrote to the Rebbe asking for permission to be “released” from the Rebbe’s directive to recite the daily Tehillim and study the daily portion of Tanya. The Rebbe responds:

You write in your letter that you are so overloaded with learning commitments that you are only careful to study the daily portion of Chumash with Rashi, but you do not recite the Tehillim as it is split up into the days of the month, or the daily study portion from the Tanya. You ask if you can be released from these two latter requirements.

I am surprised at you, for these study portions should not be kept as a favor to someone else, but for your own benefit. In this they are similar to all matters of Torah and Mitzvos, which are for the benefit of the person who studies Torah and observes the Mitzvos. Thus, it follows that being released from adhering to these study portions also “releases” one from the positive outcome that these study portions bring.

Igros Kodesh, Vol. 14, pp. 288-289.

A not-so-amusing story is told. Once a not-so-bright truck driver came to a bridge that had a sign that said: “Warning! Trucks above eight feet high must not go further!” Knowing that his truck was nine feet high, the truck driver looked to the right and to the left, carefully searching for any observers, or a camera. Once he was sure that no one was looking, he pressed his foot down on the accelerator ...

Some people have a certain attitude (and perhaps we all have it to some extent) that since Torah and Mitzvos are a duty from Hashem (and they are indeed), Hashem is asking us to do them for Him, and not really for ourselves. The consequence of this is that when we feel up to doing things for Hashem, we are careful to keep the Mitzvos, but when we are not in the mood, our observance is lacking.

When we dig deeper, this attitude to observance holds a shocking implication. It conceives of Hashem as imposing restrictions and obligations on us in order to satisfy some sort of selfish whim of His, without really caring about the burden and difficulty that these strictures create.

However, nothing could be further from the truth. Hashem only gave us the Mitzvos “in order to refine the creations” (Bereishis Rabbah 44:1), to elevate and refine us and bring us to our perfection. Thus, every Mitzvah performed elevates a different limb of the body and the faculty of the soul associated with it; full performance thus elevates the entire body and soul (Tanya ch. 4).

Similarly, some who technically identify with the Chassidic community also subconsciously regard studying Chassidus and observing Chassidic customs as an act of extra piety in which we are essentially doing Hashem a favor, or doing the Rebbeim of Chassidus a favor, and losing out personally.

Again, nothing could be further from the truth. The Rebbeim taught Chassidus and Chassidic customs (e.g., the study of Chitas—Chumash, Tehillim, and Tanya, as mentioned above) because they sought to reveal special, priceless methods (see here) of refining and elevating our souls and bringing them to perfection. Earlier generations were not privy to these methods, and yet we, although we are far less worthy than they, have been showered and spoiled with an endless treasure-trove of these teachings.

Moreover, these teachings contain an elixir of spiritual life (see here) to help us survive and even thrive despite the intense, doubled, and redoubled darkness at the end of the exile (see here). Choosing to abstain from studying Chassidus or following its ways is choosing to deprive one’s Neshamah of the benefits that it could have gained from doing so, and to deprive one’s body of the material blessings that this would have brought in its wake.

Using the analogy of medicine above, Torah and Mitzvos in general and the path of Chassidus in our generation, are the medicine that Hashem prescribed for our souls. Regarding them as a burden to be done in order to do a favor to Hashem or to those who have been sent to teach his word, the Rebbeim, is akin to a patient who refuses to do his doctor a “favor” and swallow the medicine that the doctor prescribed for him.

The childish immaturity of this attitude with respect to physical health is blatant; let us learn this lesson in connection with spiritual health as well.

Torah: A Body and a Soul

Torah: A Body and a Soul

Rabbi Y. Oliver

The holy Zohar (3:152b) states that the Torah consists of a body and a soul.


The Torah’s body is Nigleh (or Galya) de’Oiraysa, the “revealed” dimension of the Torah (also known as chitzoniyus HaTorah, the “external” dimension of the Torah). This is the field that discusses earthly realities and technical Mitzvah obligations, whether in the form of definitive rulings or abstract debate. It also includes more down-to-earth explanations of Tanach and related ethical teachings.

The Torah’s soul is Pnimiyus HaTorah, the “inner” dimension of the Torah (also known as Nistar de’Oiraysa—see here)—Kabbalah and Chassidus. It describes the mystical meanings that lie within the Mitzvah obligations, and more generally it describes Hashem’s greatness and absolute unity.

So if we are to learn Torah, we need to understand that both the Torah’s body and soul are vital, and though very different, complementary.


Likewise, our Mitzvah observance ought to consist of a body and a soul. The body consists of rigorous adherence to the halachic requirements of the Mitzvah, as outlined in Nigleh de’Oiraysa. Likewise, the soul consists of the inspiration of love and fear of Hashem that drives the person to perform the Mitzvah (see Tanya ch. 4) and profound grasp of the meaning of the Mitzvah (the Mitzvah’s “kavanah”) that accompanies one’s performance of it; these are developed through studying Pnimiyus HaTorah.


Pnimiyus HaTorah is widely regarded as an optional, peripheral adjunct of one’s Torah study. However, based on the Zohar’s statement that Pnimiyus HaTorah is to Nigleh de’Oiraysa as a soul is to a body, it becomes clear that the study of Pnimiyus HaTorah is indispensible. Just as a body cannot function as it should without a soul to animate it, so will Torah study restricted to Nigleh be dry and lifeless.

The same also holds for Mitzvah performance, as the Arizal famously puts it, “A Mitzvah performed without the proper intention is akin to a body without a soul” (Likutei Torah LeArizal, beg. Ekev; Shaloh, 1:249b; Tanya, ch. 38).

Conversely, one should not restrict oneself to study of Pnimiyus HaTorah and neglect the study of Nigleh, for a soul without a body, as lofty as it may be, cannot function in this world. We live in a world of souls in bodies and not disembodied souls. Torah study confined to Pnimiyus HaTorah alone is liable to make a person unstable and out of touch with his own physical needs and those of others. Likewise, since this realm of Torah stems from a level that transcends earthly limitations, exclusive study of Pnimiyus HaTorah will bring the person lose a sense of the boundaries of time and space, quite possible leading to a very unfortunate outcome.

Likewise, Mitzvah observance will be adversely affected by neglecting the study of Nigleh. Just as Hashem placed the soul in the body in order to enable us to perform physical Mitzvos, so will the person who neglects the study of Nigleh be lacking in his Mitzvah observance, for the requirements of Shulchan Aruch are very complex, and in order to fulfill the Mitzvos properly one must study “to know the Mitzvos that one should do and that one should not do.” One who neglects the study of Nigleh can certainly not go beyond the letter of the law in his observance, for “A boor is not sin-fearing, neither is an ignorant person pious” (Avos 2:5).


However, this is only to say that one should study both the inner and revealed dimensions of Torah regularly. The exact proportion to which they ought to be studied is not set in stone. It depends upon the individual and his intellectual, emotional, and spiritual needs.