Chapter 3
Now, it is written, (Tehillim 37:3) “Dwell in the land and nourish the faith.” The meaning of “nourish” is to sustain, meaning that we need to sustain and nourish our faith, so that it should become more manifest, until it becomes established in a person's heart, to the point that he "knows" and "feels" it as if he saw it with his own eyes.
This level of experiencing one’s faith in a conscious way, reflects the reality that we will experience in the Time to Come, as in written, (Yeshaya 11:9) “The earth will be full of the knowledge of Hashem.”
The meaning of the term, “The earth” in this verse is a reference to a person’s faith, which is called the “earth:” Just like the earth is the lowest level that everyone walks on, so too, a person’s faith that is not experienced consciously is the lowest level of awareness, since the person only has simple faith, without any knowledge or feeling.
The earth has two opposite aspects: On the one hand, it is the foundation of everything; all life comes from it, and all buildings are built upon it. On the other hand, it is the lowest aspect of creation, and everyone steps on it. Similarly, our simple faith in Hashem is the foundation of our entire connection to Hashem. However, if the faith remains subconscious and is not brought into our knowledge and feelings, then this faith remains at a low level of awareness and does not effect our daily actions.
As the saying goes, (Ein Yaakov, Talmud Bavli, Brachos 63a) “A Jewish thief prays to Hashem to succeed in his robbery.” How is it possible that a thief, who is preparing to transgress Hashem’s command, will ask Hashem to help him succeed in his transgression? If the thief believes in Hashem enough to ask for help, certainly he should know that Hashem does not want him to steal. The answer is that the thief has simple faith in Hashem, but it has not been internalized, and it therefore unable to effect his life and his actions. In this case, the Jewish thief’s belief in Hashem is like the ground: It is the foundation of everything, but he is stepping on it.
Through internalizing our faith, our faith develops into a conscious awareness of Hashem at all times and in all circumstances, and therefore, our faith can effect all aspects of our lives.
The idea that our simple faith is compared to the “earth” is expressed in the teaching, (Sefer Yetzirah 1:7) “The beginning is wedged in the end.” This means that the “beginning” and the highest level of the soul is expressed specifically in the simple faith, which is the "end" and the lowest level of conscious awareness of Hashem.
The deepest part of the soul, the Yechidah, which is united with Hashem in the most profound manner, is the source of our simple faith in Hashem. Because our essence is bound up with the Essence of Hashem, every Jew naturally has a simple faith in Hashem, without needing any evidence, whatsoever. The fact that every Jew has this simple faith in Hashem, regardless of his background or religious level, shows that this faith is from the “beginning” and deepest part of the soul. However, at the same time, since it is specifically with regard to simple faith that there exists the possibility that it will not affect our consciousness and daily life, this faith is also known as “the end,” and the lowest level of awareness of Hashem.
These two opposite aspects of the simple faith reflect the two opposite aspects of “earth,” as explained above.
This level of simple faith (called “earth”) will become filled with knowledge, meaning it will become consciously perceived and experienced as if the individual sees it with his very own eyes. As written, (Yeshaya 40:5) “The Glory of Hashem will be revealed, and all flesh will see together that the Mouth of Hashem is ‘Speaking’ and creating the world.” The meaning of “all flesh seeing” Hashem speaking is that even the physical eyes will see that Hashem is present and creating the world every moment. At that time, our simple faith in Hashem will be fully conscious and experienced as the only reality.
The ability we receive from Hashem to internalize our faith and make it more manifest is through the Torah and Mitzvos. Regarding them it says, (Bereishis 1:26) “Let us make man in our image and our likeness.”
This means that the 248 mitzvos are called, (Tikunei Zohar §30) “The 248 Limbs of the King,” corresponding to the 248 limbs of a human, “man,” since the word for “man” is connected to the phrase “I will be similar/corresponding to the Most High (Hashem),” The fact that a person has 248 limbs is because his body was created to correspond to the 248 Mitzvos of Hashem, as they exist in Atzilus, which are like “limbs,” as it were, for Hashem’s Infinite Light.
These 248 Mitzvos (Limbs of the King) draw down Hashem’s Infinite Light from the level of “Soveiv Kol Almin-how Hashem encompasses all worlds” into us, thereby empowering us to connect to Hashem Himself in a conscious manner. The limbs of the body are a conduit for the life of the soul to be manifest, and the soul is actually invested in them. Similarly, the Infinite Light of Hashem, as He is “Soveiv Kol Almin-encompasses all worlds," is actually invested and manifest in the mitzvos that we perform. Because mitzvos are the essential Will and Wisdom of Hashem Himself, beyond any involvement with worlds, when we fulfill them, we receive the power to make our faith in Hashem into our conscious reality.
In general, the 248 Mitzvos are divided into three categories, referred to as the “the right side, the left side, and the middle.”
The Three Categories of Mitzvos
We said that the 248 limbs of the body correspond to the 248 mitzvos. Just as the body has a right side, a left side, and a middle (head and torso, etc.), so too, the mitzvos are grouped into different aspects, indicating the nature of the spiritual accomplishment reflected in those mitzvos. Each of these categories brings down a revelation of Hashem Himself, as He is “Soveiv Kol Almin,” in a slightly different manner:
The “middle” is Torah study: The Torah is “the Names of Hashem,” as in the expression “reading/calling out in/with the Torah,” the wording used to describe learning Torah seemingly means “calling out to Hashem with the Torah,” like someone calling out to his friend by his name, to come towards him. So too, by learning Torah we “call to Hashem by His Name,” to come to us.
The “right side” refers to acts of kindness. Acts of kindness, especially charity, are “to give life to the lowly,” (Yeshaya 57:16), and through “an awakening from the person below, this causes an awakening from Hashem Above,” to draw down a revelation of how Hashem is “Soveiv Kol Almin,” so that this awareness should be lowered and descend in order “to give life to the lowly.”
The “left side” is “Avoda:” Avoda-Service refers to the service of the Korabanos-offerings, where there is a fire placed on the Mizbeiach from the people below, which became consumed in a fire that descended afterward from Above. So too, regarding prayer, which corresponds to the Korbanos-offerings in the Beis Hamikdash: They established to say “Baruch Sheamar-Blessed is He who spoke and the world was created” and the rest of the Pesukei Dezimra-Verses of Praise in order to increase the fiery flaming love of Hashem that we awaken in ourselves from below to Above.
When we say "Baruch Sheamar-Blessed is He who spoke, and the world was created,” we refer to the fact that the entire world was created “in one statement,” and only afterward it was divided up into an additional nine statements to organize and develop the already existing world. When we think of the fact that the entire world and all of its details - all of time and space, etc. - were created by just one statement of Hashem, this awakens a great appreciation and feeling for Hashem.
So too, when, in the chapters starting with “Praise Hashem,” we say, “For His Name is exalted, it is only for Him,” it is only “His Glory” that is creating the heaven and earth. Yet, “He raised the honor of His people, and increased the praise of His pious one, the Children of Yisroel, the nation that is close to Him,” and similar verses. The verses just mentioned describe how even though Hashem is so great that not even His Name itself is invested in creation, only the Glory of His Name, nonetheless, He personally connects to the Jewish People and desires their honor. This should further awaken an appreciation and feeling for Hashem.
From understanding these verses, a person’s heart comes to a fiery excitement for Hashem, and through this, “as water reflects a person’s face, so too one person’s heart reflects another person’s heart.” (Mishlei 27:19) Just as water acts as a mirror and reflects the face shown to it, so too, a person who knows that someone truly cares about him will automatically reflect back a feeling of connection to that person. Similarly, when we awaken a yearning to connect to Hashem, Hashem will reflect an awareness of Himself as He is "Soveiv Kol Almin” back to us.
And this draws down an awareness of how Hashem is “Soveiv Kol Almin,” so that this faith in how Hashem truly exists beyond all worlds should be established and fixed in the person’s heart and soul.
This is the meaning of, “This is the mitzvah that Hashem commanded you to fulfill in the Land, a Land flowing with milk and honey,” which refers to the mitzvah of reciting “Shema Yisroel.”
Now, the idea of the passage of “Shema Yisroel” is as follows: The verse reads, “Hear Yisroel, Havayah who is our G-d, Havayah is One.” The Name of Hashem used in this verse is Havayah, and describes Hashem as He encompasses all worlds and exists beyond all limitations. That Hashem, as He is called Havayah, who is “Soveiv Kol Almin,” He is “our G-d,” meaning that we believe in Him with only a simple faith, We want Him to be revealed as “one.” The word “one” is made up of three letters, namely, the letter “aleph” showing that He is “Master,” the “ches,” which equals eight, refers to the seven heavens and the earth, and the “dalet,” which equals four, represents the four directions. The idea of the verse is thus: “Yisroel, meaning every Jew, should hear and understand that Havayah - Hashem as He encompasses all worlds – (whom we believe in because of the lofty source of our souls), should be revealed as the “One” and only truth, even in the heavens and the physical earth, for all creatures to perceive.”
We want this awareness of Hashem, who is “Soveiv Kol Almin,” to be revealed in knowledge and feeling, so that there will be nullification to Hashem in all the heavens and earth, and that all will recognize that Hashem is the only true existence.
