Adapted from the Rebbe's Maamar (Chassidic discourse) Mayim Rabbim 5738
The Mighty Waters
“Mighty waters cannot extinguish the love, nor can rivers wash it away” (Shir HaShirim 8:7). These “waters” are the pressure of making a living, the anxious thoughts that won’t quiet down, and the stresses that pull at us all day. However intense they get, they can never extinguish a Jew’s love for Hashem. The maamar offers a practical way to keep from being pulled under.
Effort, in its Proper Place
“And G-d will bless you in all that you do” (Devarim 15:18). We are meant to work. But the verse says, “when you eat of the labor of your hands” (Tehillim 128:2): your hands, not your mind or heart. Those belong to serving our Creator, the whole reason we were made: “I was created solely to serve my Creator.” Our more external qualities, “our hands”, are used for work.
Our efforts and vessels (business, job, etc.) are only a garment for G-d’s blessing, not its source. And with garments, too much isn’t better: “One who puts on too many garments does not facilitate anything; on the contrary, he causes greater harm.”
Why the Waters Can’t Win
Even real worries and pressures cannot extinguish this hidden love. Why might we fear they could? Because the spiritual source of the “waters” is the supernal world of tohu, which represents chaos and endless multiplicity, which is why they feel so relentless. But the soul’s love is rooted in G-d’s Essence, which transcends the world of tohu completely.
The Waters Fuel the Fire
Even better, the waters make the fire of love burn greater. By descending into this world and wading through it, the soul reaches a level she never achieved before descending. That is the purpose of the waters: to break through layers of concealment and motive us to reveal a deeper love. This is teshuvah at its fullest, possible only from down here, because “the place where a baal teshuva stands, even a complete tzadik cannot stand.” Above, the soul never felt separate from G-d. Only here, feeling the distance, can she attain greater heights.
Why We Were Sent Down
Our souls are not really a creation; they always existed within Hashem. So why did He send them down? Because of the delight He took in envisioning our ascent through our service below. Through Torah and mitzvot, pushing through these waters and revealing our hidden love, we give Him His greatest pleasure and become more authentically ourselves than we ever were in the realm of souls above.
Stepping Into the New Year
As we go back into our everyday concerns and start the new year, we enter the “waters” with a good heart, knowing the descent itself lifts us and makes us a mehaleich, one who is always growing and striving. This joy breaks through every barrier and draws down G-d’s blessing for everything we need, spiritually and materially, fused as one.
Rabbi Ariel and Chana Margulies
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