This is because (Zohar II, 121a) “The Torah comes forth from the level of Chochma-Wisdom,” and (Berachos, beginning of chapter 2, and in several places).
Afterwards, it is called “Torah Lishmah” – for the sake of the Torah, drawing from the Source of the Torah.
“וְהַחָכְמָה-Wisdom מֵאַיִּן-from Nothing we can understand תִמָּצֵא-will be found,” in a manner of ‘יֵש מֵאַיִּן-something-from-nothing comparable.’ But, through the person’s ‘Mesiras Nefesh-giving oneself over to Hashem,’ he draws down from the Source of everything, from Hashem as He is ‘Soveiv-encompassing’ all worlds, into the Torah as it exists at the level of Chochma-Wisdom.
This is also the meaning of the verse, (Bamidbar 15:39) “And you shall remember all of the Mitzvos of Hashem וַעֲשִיתֶם-and do אֹתָם-them.” “Do not read the verse as simply saying that we should ‘do’ i.e. fulfill ‘אֹתָם-them.’ Rather, also read it as saying that ‘אַתֶם-you (the Jewish People)’ are the ones that are ‘עֲשִיתֶם-making’ them into Mitzvos in the first place,” (see Sanhedrin 99b, Zohar III 113a).
This is called ‘making the Mitzvos’ and not simply ‘fulfilling’ the already existing Mitzvos. Rather, it is making something new, which is a new expression of life from Hashem, for all the worlds. This comes as a result of a new dedication of a Jew to Hashem, and a new desire from Hashem to create the world and give us Mitzvos.
This is the meaning of the verse quoted at the beginning of the maamar, “For this matter, of the Torah and Mitzvos, is very accessible to you לַעֲשׂוֹתוֹ-to make it [happen].”
The word ‘לַעֲשׂוֹתוֹ’ specifically means ‘to make it from new,’ or to draw down a new Desire from Hashem, the Ultimate Source, that He should have a new desire for our Torah and Mitzvos.
This is why, in the Musaf prayer of Rosh Hashanah, we say “וַעֲשִיתֶם-and you shall make עוֹלָה-a burnt offering [for Hashem],” since we ‘make’ this Mitzvah by awakening Hashem’s desire for it.
Now, some more explanation on this: It says, (Tehillim 148:13) “His Name is exalted, it is alone with Him,” and (Pirkei De’Rebbe Eliezer chap. 3) “Before the world was created, there was only Hashem and His Name.” Hashem’s Name is not part of His Essence, just like with a person, his name, Reuven or Shimon, is just a limited expression of the essence of the person. So too, “the World to Come was created with the letter Yud of His Name, and This World was created with the letter Hei of His Name.” All of the levels of creation are derived only from Hashem’s Name.
But, through ‘Mesiras Nefesh-giving oneself over to Hashem,’ one draws down from Hashem as He is ‘Soveiv-encompassing’ all worlds equally, since this type of service reaches the Ultimate Source of everything.
This is the meaning of the beginning of verse from Parshas Nitzavim quoted above, “For this Mitzvah that אֲנֹכִי-I [Hashem] command you today, it is not separate or far from you,” meaning that the word ‘אֲנֹכִי-I’ is referring to Hashem Himself, literally, His very Essence, which is above and beyond the level of any Name or revelation. This is the ultimate source of the Torah and Mitzvos, and therefore, this is called ‘making new’ His desire for Torah and Mitzvos, and His desire to recreate the world.
This ability to make a new desire from Hashem comes from what it says in the continuation of the verse, “בְפִיךָ-in your mouth,” which is referring to the study of Torah, and “בִלְבָבְךָ-in your heart,” referring to Teshuva from the depths of the heart.
This is the idea of “in your mouth, and in your heart, לַעֲשׂוֹתוֹ-to make it [happen],” meaning that it is as if we are actually ‘making’ His Words of the Torah, and not just fulfilling them, as explained above. This is similar to what it says, (Shmuel II, 8:13) “And King David made a Name,” meaning he ‘made’ Hashem’s Name greater through his spiritual accomplishments.
This is why we say, regarding the Musaf offering on Rosh Hashanah, “וַעֲשִיתֶם-and you shall make עוֹלָה-a burnt offering [for Hashem],” since Rosh Hashanah is “the beginning of Your [Hashem’s] works,” when we ‘make’ and build up Hashem’s Words. This process of ‘making’ Hashem’s Words is accomplished by drawing energy into them from the Ultimate Source, which is called the ‘אַיִן-Nothing we can understand,’ since it is beyond all worlds.
This is why we say in the Musaf of Rosh Hashanah, in the verses describing Hashem’s Kingship, (Yeshaya 44:6) “So says Hashem, Master of all Hosts, the King of Yisrael and their Redeemer, אֲנִי רִאשׁוֹן-I am first, וַאֲנִי אַחֲרוֹן-and I am last.”
In order for all the levels, from the first level (Chochma) until the last level (the physical world) to be created from the “אֲנִי-I am,” which is the same letters as “אַיִן-Nothing we can understand,” there must first be an awakening from Hashem, which is caused by Him being “King of Yisrael and their Redeemer.”
Until now, the Alter Rebbe explained the phrase ‘לַעֲשׂוֹתוֹ-to make it [happen]’ as referring to how we ‘make’ the Torah and Mitzvos from new by awakening a new desire from Hashem to be King over us and ‘re-give’ us Mitzvos.
Now, he will explain a different interpretation of ‘לַעֲשׂוֹתוֹ-to make it [happen],’ as referring to ‘making’ the world again on Rosh Hashanah, which is also accomplished through our service of Hashem.
Another explanation of ‘לַעֲשׂוֹתוֹ-to make it [happen],’ is similar to how the Zohar (I, 115a) explains the verse, (Bereishis 21:1) “And Hashem made for Sarah as He promised her...” explaining that “making something new is the highest level.” Hashem had to “make” a child for her in a manner of ‘something-from-nothing,’ since she was a barren woman and it was physically impossible for her to have children. So, Hashem had to ‘make’ a child for her in a totally new and supernatural manner.
Meaning that from this service, i.e. our service of Hashem in a way of ‘Mesirus Nefesh-giving ourselves over to Hashem,’ we are able ‘לַעֲשׂוֹתוֹ-to make’ and create everything in the world ‘something-from-nothing,’ from a level higher than the chainlike descent of worlds.
This is through the inner love for Hashem, to the point that “I don’t desire anything together with you,” since the word ‘חֵפֶץ’ means a very inward desire and yearning, which comes from thinking about the fact that all of the worlds only derive from the level of time, and all of time is just one thought of Hashem, one single, limited revelation of Hashem that contains all of time and space at once, which is like absolutely nothing, compared to Hashem, Who in His very Essence and Being is above and beyond the category of time.
This is why the Sages established Ten Days of Teshuva: There are ten soul powers in a person - three intellectual and seven emotional - and all ten of these aspects need to be elevated to Hashem through Teshuva, until Yom Kippur, when a Jew reaches the highest level, as it is written regarding Yom Kippur, (Vayikra 16:30) “You shall be purified before Havaya,” meaning on a level before/higher than Hashem’s Name of Havayah. This elevation is accomplished through Teshuva.
Two Levels of Teshuva
In particular, in Teshuva itself there are two levels - ‘Teshuva Tita’a-Lower Level Teshuva,’ and ‘Teshuva Ila’a-Higher Level Teshuva.’
‘Teshuva Tita’a-Lower Level Teshuva’ is on the ‘Memalei-permeating’ level of the soul, which is expressed in one’s thought, speech, and action, by connecting all of these aspects to Hashem, each person according to his capacity.
This level of Teshuva corresponds to the love of Hashem “בְכָל לְבָבְךָ-with all aspects of your heart,” by revealing the hidden love of the Divine soul and transforming the material desires of the animal soul, and “בְכָל נַפְשְךָ-with all of your soul [garments],” meaning with thought, speech, and action.
However, ‘Teshuva Ila’a-Higher Level Teshuva,’ corresponds to the ‘Soveiv-encompassing’ level of the soul, which is expressed in the love of Hashem “בְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ-with all of your might.”
Even this level is “accessible to you,” as it says, “כִי קָרוֹב אֵלֶיךָ הַדָבָר מְאֹד-for this matter of ‘מְאֹד,’ i.e. the love of Hashem ‘בְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ-with all your might,’ is near and accessible to you,”
The simple meaning of “כִי קָרוֹב אֵלֶיךָ הַדָבָר מְאֹד” is that the matter of Torah and Mitzvos is ‘קָרוֹב מְאֹד-very accessible/close’ and ‘מְאֹד’ means ‘very.’ Here, the Alter Rebbe is interpreting the word ‘מְאֹד’ as a reference to the limitlessness of Hashem in the verse “בְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ-with all of your might.” According to this interpretation, the verse means to say that the love of Hashem that is referred to as ‘מְאֹד’ is ‘קָרוֹב-accessible.’
As we explained above, at the beginning of the maamar, the meaning of the double expression in the verse, “כִי הַמִצְוָה הַזֹאת-for this Mitzvah אֲשֶר אָנֹכִי-that I, Hashem’s Essence, command you today, it is not separate from you and it is not far, rather, it is accessible to you הַדָבָר מְאֹד-even the ‘מְאֹד-unlimited’ level of the soul, in your mouth, through Torah study on the ‘מְאֹד-unlimited’ level, and in your heart, through deep Teshuva, when you connect to the ‘מְאֹד-unlimited’ aspect of Hashem, so that you can make new the Torah and the creation of the world.”
The first expression, ‘לֹא נִפְלֵאת-not separate,’ refers to the revealed level of the Torah that is already part of the Jewish soul from before he was born, and connects the revealed ‘Memalei’ level of the soul to the ‘Mamalei’ level of Hashem’s Light.
The second expression, ‘וְלֹא רְחוֹקָה הִוא-and it is not far,’ refers to the deeper, hidden level of the Torah that is from ‘Soveiv,’ and connects the ‘Soveiv’ level of the soul to the ‘Soveiv’ aspect of Hashem. This deeper level connection between the soul, the Torah, and Hashem, is related to the phrase ‘מְאֹד-unlimited,’ since on this level Jews, Torah and Hashem all exist beyond time and express something that is higher than the limits of logic.
The verse tells us that even this deeper level of the soul, the ‘מְאֹד-unlimited’ level, is ‘קָרוֹב-accessible’ to us, since it is our true essence. This is true even though we are not always conscious of it. Through this deeper level of the soul, we connect to the ‘מְאֹד-unlimited’ aspect of the Torah and Hashem.
How do we access this deeper level of the soul?
Through two things:
- Contemplation of the fact that all of creation (all of time and space), is only one single ‘thought’ of Hashem. This ‘thought’ is only a miniscule revelation of Hashem, like one ray of light compared to the entire sun. Hashem’s True Being and Essence is a totally different category of existence than that of anything He revealed or created. Based on this understanding, one need not have any desire for anything other than Hashem Himself. And if one need not have any desire for even the highest spiritual levels, how much more is there no reason to desire anything in this physical world!
- True Teshuva from the depths of the soul. A Jew must realize that his soul comes from the Highest Heights, from Hashem’s very Essence. This soul descended to the lowest possible level, becoming completely submerged in physicality to the extent that not only does one not have the same connection to Hashem that he had before, but he sometimes completely forgets about holiness and Hashem entirely, and can do something against Hashem’s very Will! When he realizes how far he is from his source in Hashem, he will be completely shaken up and cry out in his heart to Hashem, yearning to return to Him.
Through this deeper level of love of Hashem and deep Teshuva, we can access the essence of our soul. On that level, we connect to Hashem’s very Essence. From there, we are able to bring about a new revelation into the Torah, ‘making’ the Torah new, as it were. And from there, we bring about a new desire from Hashem to re-create the entire world. This is especially important on Rosh Hashanah, when we need to renew Hashem’s Desire to re-create the life of the entire world for the entire year.
