However, afterward, this Kindness is dependent on the deeds of the creations, as it is written, "And He [Hashem] placed him [Adam the first man] in the Garden of Eden, to spiritually cultivate and protect it” (Bereishis 2:15).
After Hashem made the first man – Adam - Hashem made the bestowal of His Kindness depend on the actions of people. Hashem said that if Adam spiritually tends to the Garden of Eden by serving Hashem there, then he would live forever. If he would not serve Hashem - by eating from the Tree of Knowledge in the wrong time - then he would die. We see that Hashem's kindness to Adam became dependent on his actions immediately after he was created and given the ability to serve Hashem.
So too, after Hashem initially wakes up a person to His service from Hashem’s Undeserved Kindness, all the revelation of Hashem a person receives depends on his own spiritual service of Hashem.
However, despite this, even though there specifically needs to be an “Isarusa Dele’sata” from the person’s own spiritual work on himself, nonetheless, Hashem provides an “Isarusa Dele’eila” to awaken the person that he should come to have an “Awakening from below.”
Two Levels of Serving Hashem
To understand this in the service of Hashem, let’s look at two levels of serving Hashem:
The first level: First, there is an “Isarusa Dele’sata” through the person’s hard work in prayer by exerting himself mentally and physically to think deeply in contemplation of Hashem’s True Existence, and, through this, coming to have a “broken heart” (Tehilim 51:19).
Prayer is a special time to reflect deeply about concepts of Hashem's True Existence. For example, how He is beyond time and space and creates us, etc. Through this, the person can become broken-hearted by realizing how far he is from Hashem's Infinite Greatness, and how little he feels and experiences the Truth of Hashem.
Through this process of exertion in prayer, he receives in his soul a Light of Hashem’s Closeness.
This is consistent with the system that there first needs to be an "Awakening from below," which causes an “Isarusa Dele’eila.”
The second level: Sometimes, it happens that a person becomes very excited about Hashem without any preparation or hard work in prayer at all.
As we see, there are many people that get excited about Hashem suddenly, and their mind and heart become passionate about Hashem during prayer for a certain amount of time, and they don't know from where this excitement came. However, after some time, the power of this excitement fades away.
This is because it is really an awakening that came from Above, and it was only an “Isarusa Dele’eila," which came to awaken the person to have an "Isarusa Dele’sata.”
Practical Difference Between the Two Systems
What is the practical difference between the two systems, whether there is first an “Isarusa Dele’sata” from the person who causes an “Isarusa Dele’eila” from Hashem, or whether the person’s “Isarusa Dele’sata” is only a result of Hashem’s “Isarusa Dele’eila” that came first?
The difference is: When there is a real “Isarusa Dele’sata” of the person, which is accomplished through his own hard work, then this excitement for Hashem is something that can last forever. Since it is through his “Isarusa Dele’sata” that caused the “Isarusa Dele’eila," which then shines and is revealed in his soul in a way that he internalizes it, since he had previously prepared his heart to receive this revelation. Since this revelation is internalized in him, therefore, it gives his soul the power and strength to initiate another “Isarusa Dele’sata” in the future, the next time he exerts himself in prayer.
The cycle of a person working on getting excited about Hashem during prayer and then experiencing Hashem's closeness is a cycle that can be perpetuated. Since his experience of Hashem's closeness came as a result of his hard work, he truly appreciates it and internalizes it, and it gives him the motivation to try again to work in prayer to obtain recognition and emotion for Hashem.
This is not the case when he does not exert himself mentally and physically from his own initiative, and his soul only becomes excited through an awakening from Above. When he doesn't make use of this excitement to awaken himself further in his future prayers, then this excitement can completely disappear, and it will not last. Since, when this Light from Above leaves the person, which only shines at special times of Hashem’s Good Will, then this excitement vanishes, as it was only a result of this Awakening and Light from Above. Therefore, when this Light leaves, then the love for Hashem that resulted from it is also nullified.
The Analogy of Male and Female in Spiritual Awakening
This is the idea that “when a man gives seed first, his wife gives birth to a girl” (Nidah 31a), since “women have a tendency of being more easily persuaded” (Kidushin 80b), and after prayer, the person is able to be tempted after the desires of the physical world.
When the creative process of reproduction is initiated by the male, it produces a "female" that is not as strong in her decisions and could be more easily persuaded than a "male." Similarly, in the creative process of prayer. If the spiritual awakening is initiated by the "male" aspect, by Hashem who is the "giver," then the resulting love will be a "feminine" aspect, i.e., a weaker feeling of love and dedication for Hashem that could be overpowered by the desires of the physical world.
However, “when a woman gives seed first” meaning that the person follows the system that the “Isarusa Dele’sata” causes the “Isarusa Dele’eila,” then “his wife will give birth to a boy” (Nidah ibid.), meaning that he will have the strength of character to serve Hashem and overcome physical temptations after prayer.
When the creative process of reproduction is initiated by the female, it produces a "male" that is stronger in sticking to his decisions and will not be easily persuaded. Similarly, in the creative process of prayer. If the spiritual awakening is initiated by the "female" aspect, by the person who is the "recipient," then the resulting love will be a "masculine" aspect, i.e., a stronger feeling of love and dedication for Hashem that gives him the strength of character to overcome physical temptations.
Why Spiritual Excitement Sometimes Ceases
This is the reason why people who are involved in the service of Hashem through prayer complain about themselves: Sometimes they have a spirit of purity and excitement in the service of Hashem for several weeks, and then it completely stops. The reason for this is that this awakening only came from Above, therefore after the Light of this “Isarusa Dele’eila” ceased and left the person, he remains with his original status and nature.
Summary of Chapter 1
- The beginning of the Parshah says: “And He [Hashem] called to Moshe, and Hashem spoke to him from the Ohel Moed saying: When a man will offer from among you an offering to Hashem, it shall be from the domestic animals, [but only] from the cattle or the sheep or goats, shall you bring your offering.”
- The Alter Rebbe asks three questions on the wording of the verse:
- Why does the verse start out in the third person, saying: “when a man from you will offer,” but it concludes in the second person, saying, "you shall bring your offering?”
- Why does the verse start in the singular “when he (one man) will offer,” but it concludes in the plural “you (“you" plural, i.e., "all of you people") shall bring your offering?”
- Also, seemingly, the verse should have placed the phrase “from among you” before “when he will offer;" it should have said, "When a man from among you will offer,” instead of saying “when a man will offer from among you?”
- To explain this, he first explains the difference between the source of the Divine soul and that of the animal soul:
The Divine soul comes from the level of “Adam/Man,” which refers to Hashem’s revelation in the world of Atzilus, where Hashem ‘limits’ Himself into the 10 Sefiros that correspond to the ten soul powers of a person (a human "Adam-Man.”) This is called “Adam Above." From this level, the soul descends into the animal soul and the physical body.
The animal soul comes from the level of the angels, originally from the angels of the “Merakavah-Chariot." These angels are nullified to Hashem as a chariot is nullified to the rider. From this high spiritual level, it descended through a process of many concealments on Hashem's revelation. The result is that its former passion for Hashem and fear of Hashem became distorted into a love for physical pleasure and fear of lack of material matters. - The purpose of the descent of these two souls is for the Divine soul to refine and elevate the animal soul. (This also makes an elevation in the Divine soul. It receives the passion for Hashem from the World of Tohu, which is the source of the animal soul.) This refinement process is accomplished (to a large extent) through the contemplation of Hashem's greatness during prayer, especially in the prayers leading up to and culminating in the Krias Shema.
In the first of the blessings before Shema, it describes the Divine service of the angels. The animal soul reconnects to its source in those angels by describing (and experiencing) their Divine service. It regains some of its fear and passion for Hashem that it had in its source.
Through this, it becomes aware of its potential to connect to Hashem, and becomes more receptive to being transformed by the Divine soul. - Through this process (of a person awakening love and fear Hashem through prayer), one brings a corresponding revelation from Hashem after prayer. This is called “Isarusa Delesata-An Awakening from [the person] below,” which causes “Isarusa Dele’eila-An Awakening from [Hashem] Above.”
- However, there is another system, where Hashem first provides an “Isarusa Del’eila to awaken the person to serve Him. The purpose of this “awakening" is for him to use it out in his own effort of self-refinement and prayer. Then it will have a lasting effect. However, if he doesn't use out that inspiration from Above to translate it into his own effort in serving Hashem and prayer, then the inspiration will be short-lived and have no lasting effect.
