And therefore, this is not just about love as the Possuk states: וְאָהַבְתָ לְרֵעֲךָ כָמוֹךָ “you shall love your neighbour as yourself”. Even though this is also associated with Matan Torah as is explained elsewhere that the Talmudic maxim כָפָה עֲלֵיהֶם הַר כְגִּיגִּית – “Hashem overturned the mountain upon them like a cask” is symbolic of the great love that was extended from above. But [it means] even more than this. ‘Like one man’ Mammosh! That the ‘D’mus’ is like the ‘Tzelem’ that the essence of it is drawn down.
Is not just about Love: With Love as is explicit in the Torah’s instruction to ‘Love thy neighbour as thy self’ there is an element of division. There is me myself. Then there is you. And I am supposed to love you like I love me. So naturally we are two individual unrelated beings and as such I have to love you. But even then we remain two individual beings. Albeit close. (Apparently, The Rebbe once cried in a Sicha whilst saying the words what shall I do that there is ‘Yesh Mi Sheohev’) that as much as I want to come close to Hashem and be completely nullified and incorporated within Hashem’s essence. I have love, so I exist and then I love. But this is not what we are referring to here. We refer to something much closer with greater Bittul that love as mentioned cannot handle.
Talmudic maxim: Shabbos 88a - They stood at the base of the mount: (Shmos 19:17) R. Avdimi ben Chama ben Chasa said: This teaches us that Hakodosh Boruch Hu, overturned the mountain upon them like an cask, and said to them: ’If you accept the Torah, good; if not, there will be your burial place.’ R. Acha ben Yaacov observed: This furnishes a strong protest against the Torah [i.e., since the people were coerced into the covenant, they are not responsible for the agreement]. Said Rava, Yet even so, they re-accepted it in the days of Achashverosh, for it is written, [the Jews] confirmed, and took upon them [etc.]: [i.e.,] they confirmed what they had already accepted.
Overturned the mountain: In Chassidus it is explained that this is a metaphor for the great love and embrace that Hashem bestowed upon the B’nei Yisroel that day. And due to the intense love and revelation the B’nei Yisroel had no choice but to choose Hashem. Not forced but through the lack of choice.
Turned the mountain upon them like a cask: It is explained in Chassidus that the B’nei Yisroel accepted the Torah under duress at Matan Torah and only accepted it willingly in the times of Achashverosh at the Purim story.
Great love: The love forced the B’nei Yisroel to accept the Torah. Here in the Maamor the Rebbe is drawing a parallel line between drawing down this great love - the Love of Hashem and the Love at Matan Torah of one’s fellow Jew, and we are saying that this is not just love.
The essence of it is drawn down: In other words usually the ‘Dmus’ which is the image like a two dimensional image is quite far from the ‘Tzelem’ which is like a three dimensional image of the thing itself. Alternatively, someone’s portrait or even his reflection in the mirror which is only a ‘Dmus’ but his actual face is the ‘Tzelem’. In spiritual terms the part of the Neshomoh which remains above and does not come down to become enclothed in a body is the ‘Tzelem’ whereas the part of he Neshomoh which descends right into the body and takes on the contours of the body is called the ‘Dmus’. However, when the thing itself the ‘Tzelem’ descends and is drawn below then the ‘Dmus’ is like the ‘Tzelem’.
