Chapter 2
Similarly, this can be understood Above, in the system of 10 Sefiros, which are called Tikkunim-Adornments. (This refers to the wisdom and emotions of the Sefiros of Atzilus, where: “He [the Infinite One] and the Keilim-Vessels of His Sefiros are One and united.”)
In Tikkunei Zohar (3b), in the teaching of Moshe Rabeinu, he contrasts the Sefiros of Atzilus with the Sefiros of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiya. There are two aspects of the Sefiros: The “Oros-Light” and life-force/soul, and the “Keilim-Vessels,” which give definition and form to the Life-force/Light, so that the Light and Life from Hashem can be expressed in our world in a certain format, such as wisdom or kindness.
(The word “וְג רְ מוֹהִּי” or “וְג רְ מֵּיה ַׁ” is Aramaic and can mean “bones” or “a body,” which is made of bones. As mentioned earlier in the maamar, the body fuses together with the soul, until it becomes a living body, and an extension of the soul itself. Similarly, these Keilim-Vessels of Atzilus are like the “body” to the “soul” of the Oros of Atzilus, fusing with them. For this reason, the Keilim are referred to as “bones/bodies” relative to the Oros-Lights of Atzilus.)
To quote the teaching of Moshe Rabbeinu mentioned above (translation based on commentary of Masuk MiDvash):
“In Atzilus, [Hashem,] the King, is invested in the Sefiros of Atzilus. He and His Keilim [of the Sefiros] become One when He is invested in them; He and His Life-force [of the Sefiros] become One when He is invested in them. [Thus, in Atzilus, everything exists in One Unity, the Infinite Light of Hashem, the Life-force of the Sefiros, and the Keilim of the Sefiros, they all exist as One.]
This is not the case with the Sefiros of Beriah. There, the Keilim [of the Sefiros] are not fully united with their Life-force [Oros], and they [the Keilim of Atzilus, which is the source of Life of Beriah] are not fully united with the Sefiros of Beriah. [Thus, in Beriah all three aspects, the Oros, the Keilim, and their source of Life from Atzilus, are not merged into absolute Oneness.]
The Cause of all Causes [the Infinite Light of Hashem] descends and shines into the Ten Sefiros of Atzilus, and the Ten Sefiros of Beriah, Yetzira and Asiya, but He does not change in any place [He shines].”
I.e., even though the same Infinite Light of Hashem shines in all four worlds of Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzira, and Asiya without changing, the way the worlds receive the Light is vastly different. In Atzilus the Sefiros merge with the Light completely, and in Beriah Yetzira and Asiya they do not, but they remain separate from the Infinite Light.
However, the three lower worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiya (BY”A) are compared to “actual garments” that conceal the person, relative to the Sefiros of Atzilus. Regarding them, the Zohar (in the Pasach Eliyahu prayer/discourse) states, “You [Hashem] have made “garments” for those [Ten Sefiros of Atzilus].”
In other words, the Ten Sefiros as they become manifest in the worlds of Beriah, Yetzira, and Asisya, are like “garments” for the Ten Sefiros of Atzilus.
This will be understood based on the analogy of the human soul mentioned above:
The person’s intellect and emotions are united and bound up with the essence of the soul. They reveal the soul, they do not cover it over. However, the “garments” of thought, speech, and action are like “separated garments” of the soul that have a degree of separation from the essence of the soul, and reveal the soul by concealing it in a certain “style,” like a person is identified by his physical clothing. These garments are directly expressing the intellect and emotions, and only indirectly the essence of the soul. Thus, they are like “garments” for the intellect and emotions.
The Ten Sefiros of Atzilus relative to the Infinite Light are like the intellect and emotions relative to the essence of the soul. They are directly united and bound up with the Infinite Light of Hashem. However, the Sefiros of Beriah, Yetzira, and Asiya are like the garments of thought, speech, and action. (In particular: Beriah corresponds to thought, Yetzira to speech, and Asiya to action.) They are not directly united with the Infinite Light. They are directly only receiving from the Keilim of the Sefiros of Atzilus, and even that revelation is not fused with them to become one. In that sense, they are like “garments” for the Sefiros of Atzilus. Through the Sefiros of Beriah, Yetzira, and Asiya the created beings can perceive something about the Sefiros of Atzilus, just as person can be identified based on his words and actions.
For (as the Zohar continues), “You are He Who is wise.” The meaning of “You are He” refers to Hashem’s Infinite Light, which is “wise,” meaning drawn down into Wisdom. This is similar to the statement of the Sages (Megilla 31a): “The place in which His [Hashem’s] Greatness is found is the place in which His humility is found.”
The idea of this saying is that any level on which Hashem’s Greatness can be perceived is so far beneath Hashem’s true reality that it shows Hashem’s humility, that He allows His light to descend to a level that can be perceived as greatness. This applies to His Wisdom of Atzilus: The fact that Hashem’s Infinite Light comes down into Wisdom of Atzilus is great descent and humility. Hashem does this in order that we should be able to appreciate some of His Infinite Wisdom. Thus, saying that Hashem is “wise” is not describing Hashem’s true greatness, it is describing His humility, that He brings himself down into Wisdom of Atzilus so that we can have some slight perception of Him.
And, nevertheless, He is still not Wise “by a knowable Wisdom.” Rather, He is called “Wise” because He is the source of all wisdom, including also the wisdom that is drawn into BY”A.
This statement that Wisdom of Atzilus is the source of wisdom in the created worlds of BY”A is the case even though there is no comparison between Hashem’s Wisdom in Atzilus and the Wisdom in Beriah, and certainly not the Wisdom of Asiya that would justify calling Hashem “Wise” from our perspective, since, we still can’t perceive His Wisdom as it exists in Atzilus.
The Alter Rebbe is asking a question: How can we say that Hashem is called “wise” because He invests Himself in Wisdom of Atzilus, which allows us to perceived some of His Wisdom, when, in fact, we still do not perceive Hashem’s Wisdom of Atzilus? That level of Wisdom is still too lofty for creations to comprehend. So why would Hashem’s descent into Wisdom of Atzilus warrant calling Him “Wise” from our perspective?
(Imagine a second-grade math student walks into an advanced calculus college class, and proclaims that the teacher is very smart! It is not a true proclamation from his perspective, since he does not comprehend anything of that type of wisdom. If we cannot perceive Wisdom of Atzilus, then why would we describe Hashem as being Wise because of that level?)
Now, the idea here can be understood from on an analogy regarding the statement of our Sages (Bereishis Rabbah 10:6): “There is no blade of grass below that grows without its spiritual source ‘striking’ it and commanding it to grow,” and a similar idea is found in the verse (Koheles 5:7): “there are many lofty levels of angels, one higher than the other” (see Koheles Rabbah 5:1).
We see from the Sages and the above verse that everything that exists in this world has a spiritual source, and its spiritual source has an even higher spiritual source, and this spiritual system has many, many levels.
Now, a physical apple has sweetness that the palate physically tastes in the food. Should we, therefore, say that the spiritual power of vegetative growth contained in the soil also has a sweet taste? And obviously, regarding the “mazal-spiritual source of life-flow,” which transcends physicality to such an extent that it is not comparable or in the same category at all as the physical apple, it certainly does not have physical sweetness!
Rather, the idea is that the physical taste of sweetness derives from the spiritual idea of sweetness, which is Kindness, and similarly the physical taste of bitterness is a derived from the spiritual aspect of Severity. But these are spiritual levels and not physical qualities, so, how can the physical taste derive from a spiritual level?
However, as a result of the “Hishtalshelus” (chainlike hierarchy) and order of descending spiritual levels, from one to the next, these abstract, spiritual levels materialized to the point that physical sweetness developed from the level of Chesed-Kindness. This is true even though there is no direct connection between the two, nevertheless, physical sweetness shares the same profile of attributes as kindness.
And similarly, we see many types of enjoyable things and sweetness regarding spiritual matters, such as the delight of understanding an intellectual idea, which is also a type of sweetness. And similarly, the delight of a melody sung from the emotions of the heart. And similarly, the delight of a melody sung from the emotions of the heart. Therefore, by way of numerous levels of descent, this spiritual kindness becomes an actual, physical taste of sweetness, even though there is a great difference and distinction between the idea of sweetness expressed in spiritual kindness and the physical taste of sweetness.
The idea is the same regarding Chochma-Wisdom, which also has many different levels and instances, “one level above the other...” Chochma also exists on many corresponding levels, varying from more abstract and spiritual to more physical and tangible.
Now, even though Chochma of Beriya is completely beyond the level of known and revealed Chochma of Asiya, it is still the source and root from which the revealed Chochma of Asiya comes to be. Beriyah is the highest of the created worlds, where the highest souls and angels exist. Asiya is the lowest of the created worlds, which contains the physical world. The wisdom that exists in the physical dimension is completely incomparable to the lofty spiritual wisdom of the world of Beriya. Nonetheless, since the Wisdom of Beriya is a type of wisdom that created beings can comprehend, it can serve as the source for the wisdom of all the lower created worlds, including the wisdom that exists in the physical world.
And similarly, for Chochma of Atzilus, even though it is described as “Wise, but not with a knowable Wisdom,” it is the source of the source of Chochma of Asiya. The wisdom of Asiya, of the physical world, is derived from the wisdom of the world above it, the wisdom of Yetzira, which is derived from the wisdom of Beriya. Thus, even though Beriya is a stage removed from Asiya (separated by the world of Yetzira), nonetheless, it is ultimately the source of the wisdom of Asiya. Similarly, even though Atzilus is far removed from the wisdom of Beriya, nonetheless, ultimately it is the source of the wisdom of Beriya. Based on this, even the wisdom of Asiya is actually derived from the wisdom of Atzilus, not directly, but as the source of the source of its wisdom.
