Shabbos: Utterly transcending the world

Shabbos: Transcending the world

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

Our sages say, “He who toils before Shabbos, will eat on Shabbos.”[1] On the simple level, this means that in order to eat a ready meal on Shabbos, one should toil to prepare the food before Shabbos. But on the deeper level, this alludes to the relationship between the divine service of the weekdays and of Shabbos. During the week we prepare ourselves spiritually for Shabbos, and so the more one toils to accomplish the divine service required during the week, the higher the level of the Shabbos experience that follows it.


The main theme of Shabbos is menuchah, rest, as our sages say, “What was the world lacking [after the completion of the six days of creation]? Menuchah. When Shabbos came, menuchah came.”[2] Thus, the verse tells us, “And Hashem completed [His work of creating the world] on the seventh day.”[3] But didn’t He complete the creation on the sixth day, as it states concerning the sixth day in the previous verse, “And He completed the heavens, the earth, and all their hosts”? No, for in a sense, Hashem did create something on Shabbos—menuchah.


This is related to the intense divine revelation on Shabbos, for Hashem is called menuchah.[4]


To explain, everything in the world is in a state of constant movement, for it is fundamentally bound by the limitations of time and space. Time is constantly changing—the future is becoming the present, and the present is becoming the past.[5] And space too, which is fundamentally intertwined with time, also involves movement.[6]


Hashem, however, is infinite, and so He completely transcends space—He does not move from one place to another—and He transcends time, a construct that He created. Thus, Hashem is called menuchah, for in His Essence, He is utterly unchanging—the epitome of true menuchah.


We mentioned the verse, “And He completed [“vayechulu”] the heavens, the earth, and all their hosts.” Vayechulu can also imply kilayon, yearning,[7] for after He finished creating the world, on the first Shabbos, Hashem revealed the level of menuchah associated with His Essence, and this inspired all His creations with a yearning to rise up and reach this level of menuchah.


This also explains the deeper meaning of the weekly cycle.[8] In the daily Shacharis liturgy, we speak of Sunday as being the “first day.”[9] Since everything in Torah is precise, if so much time has passed since the first day of Creation, why don’t we count by the number of days since creation, or use some other more precise phrase when counting?


The answer is that since on Shabbos the level of Hashem’s very Essence shines, this elevates the world completely beyond its mundane state. Thus, on the following Sunday, the mundane world is indeed new, both in space and time, and so we start the count anew.


Likewise, on every Shabbos, the Jew who keeps Shabbos as is required is given the privilege to “eat on Shabbos”—to personally experience a special revelation from Atzmus, Hashem’s very Essence. This comes as a reward for his or her divine service during the week—“He who toils before Shabbos,” and renews and invigorates him physically and spiritually in preparation for the coming week.

Based on Sefer HaMa’amarim 5722, s.v. Basi LeGani, pp. 132-133. 

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[1] Avoda Zara 3a.
[2] Bereshis 2:2, Rashi.
[3] Bereshis ibid.
[4] Kesser Shem Tov §400-401. Likewise, Hashem is called Shabbos (Zohar 2:88b).
[5] Sha’ar HaYichud VehaEmunah ch. 7. Likkutei Torah, Berachah 98a.
[6] This is all the more so according to modern science, which teaches that nothing is truly stationary; everything in the universe is moving. Likewise, all matter consists of atoms and molecules that are in constant motion.
[7] Ohr HaTorah Bereshis 42b ff.
[8] Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 25a. Ohr HaTorah, Berachah, p. 1891. ibid., p. 1897 ff.
[9] “Hayom yom rishon laShabbos.”






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The Jew's mission: Recovering Hashem's lost gems

The Baal Shem Tov[1] offers the following parable for the spiritual process by which the sparks of holiness came into our physical world:

A king once lost a precious gem from his ring, and many of his subjects—servants, ministers, generals, and so on—volunteered to search for it. However, the king refused to allow them to. Instead, he instructed his precious only son to search for the lost object and return it.

The king did not do so because he suspected that his other subjects might pocket the gem. Rather, he wanted to be able to give the opportunity to his son to find it, so that his son would receive the credit. Moreover, he even dropped his son several hints as to the whereabouts of the gem. But how did the king know so well where the gem was to be found? In fact, it was all a setup. The king had deliberately feigned to have accidentally lost the gem only so that his son would find it, and so that the father could beam with pride at his son’s accomplishment.

Likewise, Hashem deliberately caused the sparks to fall into the physical world, and then insisted that only the Jewish people, of whom it is written, “You are sons of Hashem, your G–d,”[2] be charged with the mission of refining them.

So when a non-Jew uses an object in the world with the intention to serve Hashem, careful to do so in a way that conforms both with the letter and the spirit of the Noahide laws, he performs his duty, pleases the King of all kings, Hashem, and civilizes the world and makes it a fit vessel for G–dliness. But refining the lofty sparks of holiness trapped in the physical world is a task and privilege specifically assigned to the Jewish people.

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[1] Kesser Shem Tov §194.
[2] Devarim 14:1.

This post was dedicated by Reb Kasriel ben Yehudis and Chana Feige bas Reizl (my parents, tzu langeh yoren) in honor of their 36th wedding anniversary. This post was also dedicated by Reb Menachem Kovacs, who requested that this message be attached:

"Zachor: to mark the 6th anniversary of the expulsion of the Jews from Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron; we continue to pray and work for their restoration and for the Ge'ula Shlayma. Thank you."

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for $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.

The Contribution of Chassidus Over Kabbalah

The Contribution of Chassidus Over Kabbalah

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

At first glance, both Kabbalah and Chassidus explain Hashem’s greatness. And yet, since Kabbalah was  revealed before Chassidus, Chassidus must have come to add something new and more. What?

This is a broad topic, and of course, an article of this length cannot do it justice, but I will discuss one aspect of it below.

Although Kabbalah offers wondrous explanations of G–dliness, when these ideas are examined, the explanations it gives are incomplete. The wisdom of Kabbalah is so lofty that it does not truly descend into human intellect, and so a regular person cannot properly grasp it, even if he is highly intelligent. Who then can grasp it? One who is somehow attuned to a certain level of spirituality that transcends intellect. This exalted spiritual state “fills in the gaps,” enabling one to“decipher the code,” and properly grasp these rarefied concepts.

There are two ways of possessing this level of spiritual sensitivity.

From above: A Jew who is born with a particularly lofty neshamah may be endowed with the power to grasp these lofty concepts.

From below: A Jew who has invested tremendous effort to rectify all his sins and failings and has succeeded, and has then gone still further and reached an advanced level of self-refinement, may manage to elevate himself to this level.

Until Chassidus was revealed, one who aimed to truly grasp the explanations of the sublime levels of G–d’s greatness found in Kabbalah had to be a fit “vessel” by fulfilling at least one of the above requirements. The revelation of Chassidus, however, made it possible for any Jew to grasp Hashem’s greatness, even without satisfying either of these requirements.

But what is so different and special about Chassidus? What quality does it have that Kabbalah lacks, making it accessible to every Jew? The answer: Chassidus in general, and Chassidus Chabad in particular, brings Hashem’s greatness down into sechel enoshi, human understanding.

How does it do this? It is written, “From my flesh I see Hashem.”[1] This verse encapsulates the entire goal of Chassidus—to explain in great depth and in great detail the faculties of the soul, and how they interact with one another. Since the Jew’s soul descends from the higher spiritual worlds,[2] everything in his or her inner self parallels the higher realms, and can thus be used to understand them. Chassidus therefore uses as its mashal (analogy, pl. meshalim) the soul’s faculties—“my flesh”—in all their intricacies, through which we are able to “see Hashem”—to understand the nimshal (concept being explained by the analogy) of sublime levels of Hashem’s greatness.

Although Kabbalah also employs analogies from the soul to explain G–dliness, it never explains exactly which aspect of them corresponds to the nimshal in what way; it merely states the analogies, no more. If any explanation is provided, it is minimal.

This is one reason that it is considered dangerous to study Kabbalah without being truly a vessel for it. The lack of down-to-earth explanation makes one liable to fall into the trap of construing the analogies in Kabbalah literally.

This misconception is called hagshamah—lit., “making material,” or “corporealization.” Its opposite is hafshatah, literally, “divestiture,” or “abstraction.” Hafshatah is the ability to “see through” the details of the mashal to the nimshal of the sublime levels of G–dliness that it is coming to inform us of. Since this is a requirement for studying Kabbalah, we find that the Baal Shem Tov instructed those whom he saw as susceptible to hagshamah—apparently, the vast majority of people—not to study Kabbalah.

Now, let’s explain hagshamah further. On the lowest level of hagshamah, one believes that Hashem literally has a hand or foot, or the like, G–d forbid. A less coarse, but still forbidden level of hagshamah is to believe that Hashem is some kind of limited entity, albeit a very sublime one, such as one of the Sephiros (divine attributes), and to pray to a Sephirah, G–d forbid, instead of to Hashem Himself.[3]

An even more abstract kind of hagshamah, but hagshamah nonetheless, is an incomplete understanding of an analogy, applying aspects of it to Hashem that were not meant to be applied, and neglecting to apply aspects of it to Hashem that were meant to be applied; this is in itself hagshamah, G–d forbid.

And when one “coarsens” Hashem, G–d forbid, while studying Kabbalah, this in turn greatly “coarsens” the student of Kabbalah; in other words, it has a very detrimental spiritual effect upon him (along the lines of the words of our Sages that if one learns Torah inappropriately, it becomes a “potion of death”[4] for him). And this is indeed tragic, for his intention in his studies was surely to become more refined.

This explains further what was quoted earlier that to learn Kabbalah one must either have a lofty neshamah or be very refined, for only then can we be confident that the person will not fall into hagshamah.

In contrast, the analogies offered in Chassidus are always accompanied with explanations[5] that make clear that not only does Hashem in His Essence (“Atzmus”) have no physical form, but He has no spiritual form either. Likewise, these explanations make clear which aspects of the analogies are relevant, and which are not.

Therefore, the student who has acquired a broad knowledge in Chassidus may be equipped to study Kabbalah as well and understand it properly.[6] Conversely, in our time, Chassidus is vital to protect one from misunderstanding concepts in Kabbalah. So for someone to learn Kabbalah without the explanations of Chassidus and “make his own way” in Kabbalah is presumptuous—he would be presuming himself not in the category of those whom the Baal Shem Tov warned against learning works of Kabbalah lest they commit hagshamah and thereby become greatly coarsened.[7] Moreover, it is not enough to learn texts that explain the deeper meaning of these Kabbalistic concepts briefly; one must also study Chassidus, which explains them in depth.[8] Thus, learning Chassidus before Kabbalah is vital.[5]

Based on Kuntres Inyanah Shel Toras HaChassidus, p. 1.
Toras Sholom, pp. 113, 185. See also the article on p. 20 here.

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[1] Iyov 19:26.
[2] Tanya, ch. 3, beg.
[3] Derech Mitzvosecha, Shoresh Mitzvas HaTefillah, 115b. Cf. Shivchei HaBesht, p. 250.
[4] Yoma 72b.
[5] Igros Kodesh, Vol. 22, pp. 58-59. See also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 30, p. 292, where the Rebbe warns that only one who has actually attained expertise in Chassidus by studying it diligently for many years is fit to issue a ruling on whether Chassidus is similar or different from Kabbalah with regard to the various restrictions on the study of Kabbalah.
[6] Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 35, p. 295.
[7] Igros Kodesh, Vol. 8, p. 223. Also, see ibid. Vol. 13, p. 403.

[8] Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 20, p. 594.

This post was written by the author in honor of the third birthday of his daughter, Shaina bas Atarah Arielle, on 22 Tammuz. It was also dedicated by Rivkah Katz and family, so that it be a merit for the refuah sheleimah of HaRav Meir HaKohen ben Rochel Dilkah. Lastly, this post was dedicated by Ephraim Tunick in honor of his mother, Miriam Shaina bas Asher ע"ה.

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for $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.

Refining the sparks: An individual mission

We are told, “All your deeds should be for the sake of Heaven,”[1] and “In all your ways, you shall know Him.”[2]

The Rambam explains,[3] “One should attune all one’s actions to recognizing Hashem alone. One’s resting, rising, speaking, and everything else, should be for this end. How so? When one conducts business deals, or works for payment, one’s intention should not only be to amass money; rather, one should do business or work for payment in order to be able to obtain the things that the body needs, such as food, drink, a house, and a wife.”

There are no exceptions to this rule. We are obligated to treat all our mundane involvements, all our wealth, and every single object that we own, as items to be used to serve Hashem.[4]

Why is it so necessary to have the proper intention in all one’s mundane involvements?

The reason is that the mission of refining the sparks is not purely collective; if it were, although only Jews could refine these sparks, it would be irrelevant which Jews would refine which sparks. Rather, the purpose of the descent of each individual Jew’s soul into a body is to refine specific sparks, a task with which he alone has been charged.

This is the meaning of the statement of our sages, “One person cannot encroach upon that which has been designated for his fellow.”[5] The true reason that our income comes from one source and not another is not the whim of mere mortals, but divine decree alone.

Likewise, Hashem orchestrates our lives such that we live in a specific place, come into contact with specific people, undergo certain experiences, and earn our living in a particular way, in order to enable us to refine our specific quota of sparks. Even if one tries, G–d forbid,[6] one cannot rob another person of the opportunity to refine the sparks that have been predestined for that person to refine.

Thus, the Talmud teaches: "Forty days before the child is formed, a Heavenly voice proclaims that the daughter of so-and-so will be his wife, that a certain house will be his home, and that a certain field will be his field."[7]

This also explains the fact that one may notice an important task that needs to be done that is being overlooked by everyone else, even scholars and leaders far greater than oneself.[8] Hashem is deliberately preventing them from noticing this breach, because it is not their personal task. Instead, Hashem brings someone else, even one of lesser stature, to notice the need because he is meant to accomplish this task. This is the reason that Hashem hid even from Moshe Rabeinu the Halacha concerning how to act when one sees a Jew publicly engaging in relations with a gentile woman, and only Pinchas remembered it—even though Moshe Rabeinu was the one to teach it! Hashem put this thought in Pinchas’ mind because he was meant to carry out this task so that he would acquire the status of a Kohen.[9]

This, the Baal Shem Tov teaches, is also the reason that some people have a natural strong liking for one thing, while another person despises that thing, and has a strong liking for something else.[10]

When you eat, it is not only about satisfying your body’s desires or maintaining its survival; when you sleep, it’s not only about resting your body; when you do business, it’s not about amassing money, whether out of a desire for wealth, or even simply to pay the bills. And the same goes for your possessions: Your cabinet, dining table, pillows, alarm clock—and even apparent luxury items, such as your tennis racket, iPod, and chess set—they all contain sparks of holiness that belong to you and you alone.

This is also the meaning of “Everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven.”[11] You think that you chose the décor of the lounge room because it looks pretty, that you bought your chess set because you like the marble it’s made of, that you chose to live in the city because you like the hustle and bustle. Think again. The only decision we can truly make is whether to do a Mitzvah or not, or whether to sin or not. And the reason that Hashem is deciding the course that the person takes in the physical world is in order to direct him along the path in which he will have the opportunity to refine the specific sparks of holiness that belong to his soul.

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[1] Avos 2:12.
[2] Mishlei 3:6.
[3] Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Dei’os, 3:2.
[4] Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 12, p. 118.
[5] Yoma 38b; cf. Rashi there.
[6] Hisva’aduyos 5749, Vol. 2, p. 480.
[7] Sotah 2a.
[8] Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 2, pp. 342-343.
[9] Bamidbar Rabba 20:24.
[10] Tzavaas Harivash §109.
[11] Berachos 33b.

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Dedicated by Menachem Kovacs in honor of the Rebbe and Rebbetzin's arrival in New York on 28 Sivan 1941 (70 years ago), which began their countless accomplishments based in the USA.

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for $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.

The inner harmony behind the conflict of souls

The inner harmony behind
the struggle of Souls

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

In order to enable us to have free choice, such that the task of refining the sparks be earned through our efforts, we were created in a way that we must constantly struggle.

Generally speaking, a Jew possesses two souls—the Bestial Soul, and the Divine Soul, or Neshamah. At first glance, the desires of these two souls are opposite. The Bestial Soul is drawn to the physical and coarse, while the Neshamah gravitates to the spiritual and G–dly.

The Bestial Soul seeks survival, self-interest, and self-gratification, while the Neshamah desires to serve Hashem, draw close to Him, and ultimately become subsumed within Him (Tanya ch. 19).

The Jew (with rare exceptions) was born to spend his entire life waging an intense struggle between the Bestial Soul and the Neshamah. These two souls struggle for total, absolute control of the Jew’s thought, speech, and action. This is akin to two kings locked in constant battle, each fighting for total control over a small city, with neither willing to allow one inch for the other (cf. ibid. chs. 9, 27, 35).

A deeper perspective

Despite this constant state of vehement conflict between the Neshamah and the Bestial Soul, when we view our inner selves as purely in a state of conflict, then once we follow the desires of the Bestial Soul and become immersed in the physical, we typically neglect the spiritual.

Yet this dichotomy is only true on the superficial level. The Baal Shem Tov teaches (as explained recently here) that the true reason for our attractions to particular material pursuits is that the Neshamah is pulling us in that direction because it senses the sparks of holiness that it needs to refine there. By being mindful of this, in a sense one has seen through the conflict (along the lines of the parable from a prostitute discussed here), and the struggle is no longer. Now, the goals of the Neshamah and the Bestial Soul can consciously converge.

How will this manifest itself? On the one hand, the person will not inappropriately pull away from the physical, thinking that any involvement with it is damaging to the Neshamah. At the same time, the awareness that the Neshamah in fact desires that one be involved with the physical grants one the inner strength not to become immersed and inappropriately preoccupied with one’s material pursuits. After all, if the true reason for one’s physical desire is the urging of the Neshamah, then that desire ought to be obtained in a way that the Neshamah would wish. (This is also the concept of balancing ratzo and shov—see here and here).

For example, a businessman will make sure to attend the Minyan, and fix times for Torah study. Likewise, he will be scrupulously honest in his business dealings, despite the constant temptations that he faces. Similarly, eating, drinking, and the like will be done in a refined manner and in moderation.

This goal is accomplished best when the person is not just aware of the above concept in general, but he reminds himself of it every single time that he engages in anything physical. This is the idea of having kavanah—the conscious intention to refine the sparks that lie within the physical object from which the person is benefiting.

In this way, the sparks of holiness in the physical world will be refined most effectively, and the Neshamah’s mission in this world will be fulfilled in the fullest manner.

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Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for $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.

The true purpose of thirst and hunger

Without intense Avodah (toil at self-refinement), most of us operate primarily on the basis of our natural desires, by the urgings of the Bestial Soul.[1] However, this level of motivation is superficial. On the conscious level, the Jew’s actions may be motivated by his Bestial Soul; however, in reality even these desires stem from the Neshamah.

E.g., on the external level, hunger and thirst for physical food and drink stem from the Bestial Soul’s desire to satisfy the body’s physical needs, or from the desire to indulge. For most of us in our default state of functioning, when we crave to sink our teeth into a succulent chop of steak, or lick a mouth-watering ice-cream with our tongue, or simply eat a tuna sandwich for lunch, we are following the lead of the body and the Bestial Soul. Fulfilling a divine mission is not at all on our minds.

However, the Baal Shem Tov teaches that deep down, our physical desires are motivated by pure, spiritual urges.[2] The Neshamah senses the sparks of holiness hidden in the physical (see here), knows that this is the entire purpose of its descent into the body, and yearns to accomplish this task.

Unfortunately, since regular people are not truly in touch with their Neshamos (only Tzaddikim are on this level—see Tanya, ch. 29, beg.), the Neshamah cannot communicate this directly to the conscious persona of the person. Instead, it must garb its message in the language of the Bestial Soul. So on the conscious level, the Neshamah’s craving for the spiritual manifests itself in an animalistic craving for the physical.

When it comes to food and drink, this urge manifests itself in pangs of physical thirst and hunger.

However, the same holds true for all aspects of life. The true reason that the Bestial Soul feels attracted toward anything is that the Neshamah is pushing the person to accomplish a certain spiritual task.

For example, the desire to enter into a particular line of work in order to earn a living stems from the sparks of holiness that this Jew has been charged with refining through doing such work.

Once, a Jew who was fit to become a rabbi chose for whatever reason to become a businessman instead. The Previous Rebbe wrote to him that the true reason that he chose as he did was that his Neshamah yearned for the sparks of holiness in the physical, and so he should not allow himself to become immersed in the desire for the physical and lose sight of the true purpose of his involvement there—refining the physical.[3]

Likewise, on a number of occasions, the Rebbe cited this teaching and used it to explain various phenomena:

· The desire to travel for a summer holiday to the mountains (“bungalow colony”), supposedly because of the clear air there, stems from the Neshamah’s desire for the opportunity to spread Torah and Mitzvos to an extent not ordinarily possible.[4]

· The desire to leave Eretz Yisroel and settle in the Diaspora stems from the inner desire to refine the sparks of holiness that those who leave are destined to refine in the Diaspora.[5]

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[1] Tanya ch. 29.
[2] Kesser Shem Tov §194.
[3] Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 1, p. 177.
[4] Toras Menachem 5712, Vol. 6.

[5] Toras Menachem 5712, Vol. 5, p. 155.

This post has been dedicated by the Sager family in prayer for a refuah sheleima for their son, Eliyahu David ben Rut Sara, and by Menachem Kovacs in honor of the Yahrzeit of his father, Eliezer ben Shalom ע"ה, on 17 Sivan.

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for $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.

Saying "Boruch Hashem"

“How are you?”
“Boruch Hashem, I’m fine. And how are you?”
“Boruch Hashem, I’m fine too.”

Now, please excuse my bluntness, but if the inflection in the pronunciation of “Boruch Hashem” and “I’m fine” were filled with feeling, these words would have some meaning. But in my experience, the vast majority of the time, in such exchanges Boruch Hashem seems to be said without any feeling. This expression has thus become hopelessly clichéd, and lost any meaning, to the point that it sounds banal.

To be sure, one notices the difference between whether someone is in the habit of saying it or not, and that says something about the person speaking and counts for something. Yet like everything in Yiddishkeit that is done out of habit, saying Boruch Hashem often becomes a rote routine.

The “popularization” of this expression comes from the Baal Shem Tov. The Baal Shem Tov used to approach ordinary Jews—men, women, and children—and inquire about their material lives in order to hear their simple but heartfelt expressions of thanks to Hashem. The whole purpose of saying Boruch Hashem is thus to inject into our mundane lives recognition of Hashem and genuine gratitude for his manifold blessings. This goal is not attained if we recite the formula without a second thought for what it means.

So remember this the next time someone asks, “How are you?” Regard this as an opportunity to take a moment to reflect on your blessings, feel gratitude to the Giver of those blessings, and express that feeling in a genuine way. Hashem is listening.

How Can Evil Come from G-d?

How Can Evil Come from G-d?

Rabbi Y. Oliver

There is an age-old question: How can evil emanate from an All-Good Creator?

The key to answering this question is understanding the concept of divine speech. What does the verse mean when it says, “G-d said, ‘let there be ... ’” during the six days of creation? Of course, G-d has no mouth, lips, or vocal chords with which to speak, as it is one of the 13 Principles of the Torah (as famously formulated by Maimonides), that G-d possesses no form. If so, in what sense can it be said that divine creation resembles the process of human speech?

Furthermore, if an analogy is employed from the physical realm, why is it specifically written that G-d spoke, and not that He thought, or another metaphor?

This can be understood from the Kabbalah, which develops this analogy: In speech one communicates his inner thoughts to another person. He accomplishes this via the combination of different words, which in turn consist of the combination of different letters, all carefully arranged.

Similarly, G-d sought to create an entity that would feel itself to be separate from Him (although in reality “There is nothing else” but G-d—Devarim 4:35). Thus, creation is compared to speech, and this is the meaning of G-d’s statements, “Let there be ... ” in the account of the Creation. There were altogether ten such utterances, with which the entire universe was created. Moreover, the Baal Shem Tov teaches that these utterances are constantly recreating everything in existence.

But if these utterances created everything, why are only certain creatures listed, and the vast majority omitted? Why are rocks, for instance, not mentioned?

The answer, as explained in the Tanya, is that these utterances were only intended to create vast cosmic forces. For instance, the utterance “Let there be a firmament” created the general division between the firmament and the earth, but not the details of those entities. Similarly, “Let the earth put forth plants” imbued within the earth the general potential to produce plant life; it did not create individual plants. And so on.

Thus, the divine energy in these utterances was far too intense for individual creations, such as rocks, to contain. The only way to create these creatures was for G-d to diminish the intensity of the utterances to the point that the individual creations could handle the energy received.

Here we return to the analogy of speech. If one wishes to communicate in a hidden way, one will encode one’s words. Although this is a meaningful form of communication, one’s intention is hidden. Only the code can uncover the encoder’s intention.

Similarly, G-d diminished the tremendous spiritual energy of the Ten Utterances by “encoding” them in various ways. In fact, the Hebrew name of each particular object is the life-force of that object, after having been “encoded.”

Specifically, there are three ways that the intensity of this life-force in the Ten Utterances can be reduced, each one “encoding” successively more than the previous one:

1. Rearranging the letters of the word into a different word.

2. The Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation), an ancient kabbalistic text, explains that there are 231 “gates” through which each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet is substituted for all the other letters. How does this work? Each of the 22 letters can be substituted for another 21 letters, equalling a total of 462 possible permutations. However, this figure is halved to 231 because the same two letters can be substituted forwards and backwards. For instance, the aleph, the first letter, can be substituted for a beis, the second letter, and vice versa. Together, the forwards and backwards substitutions are called a “gate,” another way in which G-d substitutes the Hebrew letters.

3. Each letter of the Hebrew alphabet corresponds to a number. Thus, a word or phrase has a certain numerical value, and can be substituted for another with the same value.

But why is the analogy of speech used, and not thought? Doesn’t thought also contain letters and words, like speech? The difference is that thought is an internal phenomenon, on its own not accessible to others. In contrast, G-d’s creation of the world involved connecting with forces that regard themselves as external to Him. That’s why this process is compared to speech, which involves going out of oneself and communicating to others.

This answers our original question. Evil is the result of diminution after diminution of the divine life-force—encoding after encoding. On a deeper level, evil too exists by virtue of the divine sustaining energy within it, as in all creatures. But from the perspective of man, this energy is so hidden that not only does he not see it, but he sees the opposite: a force that disobeys and rejects G-d.

Evil exists in order to tempt us. Thus, by overcoming the temptation to evil we reveal the purpose behind it. We thus also reveal the inner truth that the source of life of the evil force is the divine energy constantly recreating it.

True pleasure

Many people regard spirituality as drudgery and torture. When will shul be finished already? Why am I not allowed to eat that? But in reality, relating to Hashem is the greatest pleasure of all:

“My flesh yearns for you” (Tehillim 63:2). Rashi comments: “This expression connotes desire, and it has no comparison.” [The simple meaning of this is that there is no word found in Tanach that is similar to this one.] The Baal Shem Tov interprets that the pleasures of the flesh that a person desires by the nature of his body that Hashem endowed in him from birth are no comparison at all to the pleasure that King Dovid, peace be upon him, desired in his flesh for G–dliness.

Sefer HaMa’amarim 5703, p. 178.

Here Reb Hillel Paritcher is quoted in the name of Reb Mordechai Yoel, the grandfather of Reb Chaim Avrohom Duchman, as saying:

If those who indulge in lusts were to know the tremendous pleasure in matters of G-dliness that can be attained through study of Chassidus, and especially through learning the holy Tanya, they would abandon all their lusts and pursue only the holy Tanya.

However, in Shemu’os V’Sipurim, Vol. 3, p. 229, Reb Hillel Paritcher is quoted as saying:

If those who indulge in lusts were to know the tremendous delight in tasting matters of G–dliness, they would abandon all their lusts and pursue G–dliness.

It amounts to the same thing. The most intense pleasure is pleasure in G–dliness. Thus, we find that the reward of the Neshama in Gan Eden is the pleasure it derives from the revelation of G–dliness that it experiences there.

Similarly, we find that the highest level of love of G–d, one experienced only by perfect Tzaddikim, is known as ahava be’taanugim, “love of pleasures,” (see Tanya ch. 9) and it is a foretaste of the intense pleasure that the soul will experience in Olam Haba, the age of resurrection.