The Gemara (Yoma 21b) lists five things that were missing from the Second Beis Hamikdash: 1- The Aron with the Kapores (cover for the Aron), and the Cheruvim; 2- The fire that descended on the Mizbeiach from heaven; 3- The Shechinah (Divine Presence) that was felt; 4- Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration) that was prevalent; 5- The Urim VeTumim (A special Name of Hashem that was placed inside of the Choshen that the Kohen Gadol wore). The fact that the Second Beis Hamikdash was lacking these five things shows that the holiness expressed then was on a much lower level than that of the First Beis Hamikdash.
In the time of the First Beis Hamikdash, the unholiness that blocked out the feeling that Hashem is “Soveiv Kol Almin” was a false belief in idolatry. However, in the time of the Second Beis Hamikdash, the unholiness blocking out our feeling of Hashem being “Soveiv Kol Almin” was sinas chinam-baseless hatred. This hatred uses the power of belief in order to believe bad things about others without any evidence. Rather than using the power of belief to believe in the Infinite Truth of Hashem, it is used improperly to believe slander about others.
The Meaning of the Verse
This then is the meaning of the verse, “And you should know today and take to heart, that Havayah is Elokim, on the heavens above and on the earth below there is nothing else.”
Since, regarding the mitzvah to have the conscious knowledge and feeling for Hashem as He is “Memalei Kol Almin,” we were already told, “You were shown in order to know that Hashem is the G-d, there is no one else besides Him.” You were already shown this, and therefore, not as much effort is needed to remain aware of this level.
However, to have knowledge and awareness of how Hashem is “Soveiv Kol Almin” is much more difficult. Meaning that in order to have an awareness of how Hashem exists in “the Heavens Above,” the “Heavens” referring to “Soveiv-Transcendant,” that was not shown to us.
Heavens and Earth Analogy
The end of the verse “And you should know today...” states, “In the heavens above and on the earth below, there is none else.” Why did the verse need to specify the heavens and the earth? In the previous verse, “You were shown to know,” it does not mention heaven or earth; it simply states that there is none besides for Him. Why, then, in our verse, does it need to specify “heaven and earth?” The Alter Rebbe (seemingly) is learning the verse as an analogy: Just as the heavens are above the earth in an encompassing manner, surrounding it from all sides, so too, the reality we perceive in “Memalei Kol Almin” is encompassed inside the reality of “Soveiv Kol Almin.”
Thus, we could read the verse: “Know today and take to heart that Havayah is Elokim, just as the heavens are above the earth and encompassing it, and the earth is below, being encompassed by the heavens, because there is nothing else, there is no place outside of Him.”
Just as the physical heavens are spherical, and the earth exists inside of the heavens that encompass it, so too, the “Word of Hashem,” which is the level of “Memalei Kol Almin,” is encapsulated within the level of “Soveiv Kol Almin,” since there is nothing that exists outside of Him.
An analogy for this type “all-encompassing reality” can be illustrated from a person’s speech, which is encompassed within the person’s soul before it becomes verbalized and separates from oneself. In Tanya, chapters 21-22, the Alter Rebbe explains this analogy at length. Before a person says something, the idea existed in his thoughts. And before his thoughts, it existed in his heart or mind. At those levels, the idea has no separate identity from the person. It is encompassed in the soul’s reality, to the extent that it has no separate reality. Only when that idea comes into speech and leaves the person’s mouth, does that idea take on a form that becomes separate from the person.
The Importance of “Today”
This knowledge of how Hashem is “Soveiv Kol Almin” is specifically “today,” as it says, “‘Today’ is for doing the mitzvos, and not ‘tomorrow’ in the World to Come.” (Devarim 7:11, Talmud Bavli, Avoda Zara 4b)
The simple meaning of this verse, as explained by our Sages, is that only in this physical world, referred to as “today,” can we do mitzvos. But, after someone passes away and goes to the spiritual world of souls, called “the World to Come,” he is not able to do mitzvos. Thus, we see that the phrase “today” is a reference to mitzvah performance.
The spiritual “World to Come” only receives from the level of “Memalei Kol Almin,” and this world is comprised of a chain-like descent of levels of “cause and effect,” one level after the other. This is analogous to the setup of a body, which has a head, an arm, a leg and other body parts, each one defined in its place and function. So too, in the spiritual World to Come, there are many levels: The Higher Level of Gan Eden, the Lower Level of Gan Eden, etc., and each level is defined by its specific spiritual parameters.
Therefore, the improper actions, words, and thoughts of a person in this world become “soiled garments” for the person in the World to Come, and he is not able to remove them, as if he were tied up in a sack that he is unable to untie on his own. Just as an arm cannot become a leg, (since it is already defined in its function), so too, every level of the World to Come is already defined and unchangeable. For this reason, once a person arrives there, he cannot change himself or his “garments” of previous thoughts, words, or actions.
The only way he can be freed of these “soiled garments” is through spiritual cleansing processes such as “The Slingshot” or similar processes that can untie and remove his connection to those improper thoughts, words and behaviors. "The Slingshot" is a spiritual process in which the soul is “flung” back and forth between the spiritual reality and the physical reality and appreciates the contrast between them. This process shows him how foolish it was to have improper behavior and thereby frees him from being “tied down” to those actions. In other words, in the World to Come, a person cannot change himself; he can only be cleansed by external spiritual forces and processes.
This is not the case ‘today,’ in this physical world, where one can “take the awareness of Hashem into all the aspects of one’s heart,” meaning, both in revealing the hidden love of the Divine soul and generating a love for Hashem in the animal soul, through first subduing the impulses of the animal soul and then transforming them into a drive to connect to Hashem.
Only ‘today’ can one sort out and separate the unholiness of the animal soul by drawing down into it special Divine power from the level of “Soveiv Kol Almin,” which is accomplished through “these words of the Torah that I, Hashem, command you ‘today.’” This means that Hashem’s Essence is commanding us and connecting Himself to us through the Torah and mitzvos that are performed specifically ‘today’ in this world.
This is due to the fact that the Torah and mitzvos derive from the level of “Soveiv Kol Almin,” transcending any barriers or limits. The Torah and mitzvos are the Essential Will and Wisdom of Hashem, as He exists beyond the limitations of worlds. Since they derive from Hashem’s very Essence, they contain unlimited power to change reality. Just as Hashem exists in “Soveiv Kol Almin,” without any limits, so too, the Torah and mitzvos deriving from Hashem (at that level) give the person the ability to go out of his own spiritual limitations. They enable the person to change his actions and behaviors, and to even change the very nature of the animal soul, so that it can come to love Hashem. Only in the physical world do we have the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos deriving from “Soveiv Kol Almin,” and therefore, only here are we able to change ourselves.
Transformation in the Physical World
In Liktuei Torah, Parsha Pinchas, the Alter Rebbe elaborates on how we can change ourselves specifically in the physical world, as opposed to in the spiritual world: As mentioned above, in our maamar, the World to Come is analogous to an already formed body, where each body part is already defined and cannot change. However, our physical world is like the beginning stage of development of an embryo, right after conception. Before the embryo is developed, it can become either male or female, and any point of the newly-conceived embryo can potentially become any body part. So too, since in our world there is an expression of how Hashem is Soveiv Kol Almin without any limits, therefore in this world, things are not so limited and defined, and there is always the possibility for change.
Even though the level of how Hashem is “Soveiv Kol Almin” is not limited to worlds, from our perspective there can be limitations in how much we perceive this level. Depending on how sensitive we are, and how much of our power of belief is divested from anything unholy, we will be able to perceive the truth that Hashem is “Soveiv Kol Almin.”
Therefore, the person must “know today, and take to heart” to subdue and transform his animal soul, in order that he fulfill the verse, “And the spirit of impurity I will remove from covering over the ‘אָּרֶ ץ-land/faith’” (Zecharyah 13:2), meaning that Hashem will remove all unholiness from blocking out our true faith in Hashem, Who is “Soveiv Kol Almin.” Through this, one will reach the level of “The ‘אָּרֶ ץ-land/faith’ will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem,” i.e., he will consciously experience his faith in the fact that Hashem is “Soveiv Kol Almin.”
This will come about as a result of “The ‘אָּרֶ ץ-land/faith’ will be appeased by the removal of its sins,” (Vayikra 26:34) meaning that through Teshuva, even a person’s sins become transformed into merits. In the process of Teshuva/repentance, sins can be transformed into merits, since, by overcoming one’s desire to sin, and instead changing one’s ways, one can come even closer to Hashem than he was before having sinned. Similarly, by bringing the animal soul, which naturally loves physicality, to love Hashem, one attains a greater love and connection to Hashem than if his Divine soul had never become invested in an animal soul.
What is this greater level the Divine soul attains? That it can experience its faith in Hashem as He is “Soveiv Kol Almin.” Before the soul descended, it only was aware of Hashem as He is “Memalei Kol Almin.” But, through transforming the animal soul in Torah, mitzvos, and prayer, it comes to experience its true connection to Hashem, as He encompasses all worlds, on a truly unlimited level.
To summarize the last point of the maamar, the Alter Rebbe is now interpreting the verse as follows: “You should know and experience your belief in Hashem through the mitzvos that can only be done ‘today’ in this world, and you should take this awareness to permeate all aspects of your heart, including your animal soul.”
Why Is It So Hard to Feel This Innate Fact?
Why do we have to work so hard to refine ourselves and come to this awareness of Hashem, if we have this belief in Hashem as He encompasses all worlds imbedded in our souls? Why is it so hard to feel this innate fact? The answer is: because the truth of Hashem as He is Soveiv Kol Almin (Havaya), is concealed by His Name Elokim, and that is why it takes our effort to connect to that level. But, since Hashem is truly everywhere and there is no place that He is not, if we work on ourselves we can recognize and feel Him here in this world.”
Summary of Chapter 4
In order for us to truly experience our belief in Hashem as He is “Soveiv Kol Almin-encompassing all worlds,” it is not sufficient to only be involved in the positive aspects of learning Torah, performing mitzvos, and contemplative prayer. It is also necessary to remove all unholy beliefs that block our ability to experience our true belief in Hashem. Just like on the level of how Hashem is “Memalei Kol Almin-permeates all worlds,” there are changes and ups and downs, similarly, in our perception of how Hashem is “Soveiv Kol Almin” there can be concealments. In the time of the first Beis Hamikdash, the main concealment on the belief in Hashem was unholy belief in idolatry. In the time of the second Beis Hamikdash and onwards, until today, the main concealment on the true belief in Hashem is a belief in gossip and baseless hatred. Only by removing these unholy beliefs from ourselves will we be able to access our belief in Hashem as He truly is, beyond all limitations.
