Tanya
תניא

Part III; Iggeret HaTeshuvah



Chapter 1

LIKKUTEI AMARIM PART THREE Called “ Iggeret Hateshuvah ” * For an introduction to this part of the Tanya, see Addendum, p. a. It has been taught in a Baraita at the end of Tractate Yoma : 1 86a. There are three types of atonement, and repentance accompanies each. If one neglects a positive commandment and repents, he is forgiven forthwith. If one violates a prohibition and repents, his repentance is tentative, and Yom Kippur atones.
(This means that though, in terms of fulfillment, positive commandments are superior and supersede 2 Yevamot 3b. prohibitions, this is because by performing a positive command one precipitates an illumination and flow into the higher worlds 3 Kabbalah and Chasidut explain the difficulty in creating a finite physical universe by an infinite Creator with the concept of tzimtzum, or contraction, concealment. There was a series of concealments of the presence and infinitude of the Creator, resulting ultimately in our physical universe, in the virtually total obscuring of G–d. The noncorporeal intermediate steps between Creator and this material world are called “Worlds,” four in general terms, with innumerable subgradations within each of these Worlds. The highest World is Atzilut, “Emanation,” a state of proximity and relative unity with G–d. Lower Worlds appear to be independent, entities apart from the Creator. In the fourth, Asiyah or “Action,” there is the spiritual plane where physical matter does not yet exist, and the final corporeal World we inhabit. “Higher” and “lower” refer to stages closer or more distant from the Creator, with a deeper or lesser awareness of Him, hence a greater or lesser awareness of their own being. (There is no implication of physical distance, an obviously irrelevant concept.) Through performance of mitzvot, positive commandments, subordinating the physical world and specific objects at hand to a higher, Divine purpose, all stages (or Worlds) experience a clearer apprehension of the Creator, become “closer” to Him, His presence and being becoming more evident. This “illumination” extends also to the individual soul performing the mitzvah. It will be noted shortly that sin has the opposite effect, both for the transgressing soul and “higher.” It is of interest that the beneficial results of good and the deleterious effects of misdeed concern far more than the individual involved. Man’s importance is cosmic. All the “worlds” feel the repercussions of man’s actions. This concept of man as the ultimate in Creation, the determinant of the fate of the universe, is found frequently. See Rashi on Genesis 1:1 for a typical statement. The word “reflected” is used in the text here for, at most, the revelation is at a far remove from His true being, or even from the light emanating from Him. The term hints at the unbridgable chasm between finite and what, for want of a better word, we call the Infinite. Some of the terms discussed here are explained more fully in the Translator’s Explanatory Notes to On Learning Chassidus and in The Tzemach Tzedek and the Haskalah Movement, p. 110, footnotes 3 and 4. Likkutei Amarim, Parts 1 and 2 are, of course, primary sources. from the reflected Light of the En Sof, blessed is He, (in Zohar 4  Tikkunei Zohar 30. we find the 248 positive commandments equated with the 248 “organs 5 The revelation of G–d effected by performance of mitzvot varies according to each mitzvah, for example, a mitzvah of thought (Torah study, etc.), speech ( Shema reading, etc.), or deed (charity, donning tefillin, etc.). A different organ of the body performs the mitzvah, and a different “organ of the King” is revealed through the performance, perception of a different aspect of the Creator. (The 613 Biblical commandments are divided into 248 positive and 365 negative commandments.) of the King”) and also to his Divine soul, 6 See Likkutei Amarim, end of chapter 1, and chapter 2, describing “animal” and Divine souls. as we declare in the blessings, “Who has hallowed us with His commandments.” 7 The blessing recited before performing a mitzvah is associated with a positive act rather than with the (passive) restraints exercised in observing a prohibition. Performance brings sanctification with it. But concerning repentance, though the punishment for rebelling against His rule and not performing the King’s word is commuted, nonetheless, that illumination is withheld…. 8 The status quo ante, as it were, is maintained. The beneficence ensuing from performance is not granted, but neither is there any charge of neglect.
Our Sages 9  Berachot 26a. apply the verse, “A misdeed that cannot be corrected,” 10 Ecclesiastes 1:5. to neglecting the evening reading of Shema or…. 11 …the morning reading (Deuteronomy 6:7) or morning or evening prayer. Though he will be scrupulous henceforth about reading the morning and evening Shema forevermore, his repentance is ineffectual in correcting what he once neglected.
By violating a prohibition, evil cleaves to his soul, he impairs its root and origin (in the garbs of the ten sefirot 12 The sefirot are attributes or aspects of G–d, approximating the intellectual and emotive attributes of man, and are indeed the sources of these human attributes. Man reveals himself, he acts, through his attributes (or their “garbs”—thought, speech, and deed). The revelation of G–d, His actions, are similarly through His attributes, the ten sefirot. These sefirot exist on each of the Four Worlds noted above in note 3. See the Explanatory Notes cited there. of Asiyah, 13 Corporeal man exists on the physical plane of Asiyah, derives from the spiritual Asiyah. as Tikkunei Zohar 14 Introduction. writes, “You have made garments for them, 15 i.e., the ten sefirot. from which souls issue forth to man….”) Therefore there is no atonement for his own soul or higher until Yom Kippur, as is written, “He will atone for the holy place for the impurities of Israel and their sins…before G–d will you be purified.” 16 Leviticus 16:16. “Holy place” refers to atonement for the impure who entered the Sanctuary. See Tractate Shavuot, beginning. Before G–d is stressed. 17 Indicating that purification must attain to that high plane, “before G–d” Himself.
Hence one dare not infer any leniency from this, G–d forbid, in the positive commandments, particularly in Torah study. On the contrary, our Sages assert, “G–d has pardoned idolatry…” 18 Jerusalem Talmud, Chagigah 1:7. The Sage infers from Jeremiah 9:12, “Because they forsook My Torah” (were the afflictions of exile to be brought upon Israel) that the cause of exile was not idolatry, licentiousness, or bloodshed, but rejection of Torah. These three are cited because of their exceptional gravity (they alone must be kept even at the price of martyrdom) and because the Prophets had denounced these shortcomings in the people. —though excision and capital punishment are involved—“and did not pardon neglect of Torah study.”)
If one commits a sin of excision 19 See Exodus 12:19 and 21:21 for examples. or execution, repentance and Yom Kippur are tentative and sufferings scour (i.e., they complete the atonement. Memarkin, the expression here, denotes scouring and rinsing to “polish” the soul. Kapparah, atonement, is the term for cleaning, removing the impurities of the sin), as we find, “I shall remember with a rod their sins, and with afflictions their misdeeds.” 20 Psalms 89:23. Thus far the Baraita.
The commandment of repentance as required by the Torah is simply the abandonment of sin (cf. Sanhedrin, 21 25b. ch. 3; Choshen Mishpat, end of sect. 34, regarding witnesses). He must resolve in perfect sincerity never again to revert to folly to rebel against His rule, blessed be He; he will never again violate the King’s command, G–d forbid, neither a positive command nor a prohibition.
This is the basic meaning of the term teshuvah, repentance, to return to G–d with all his heart and soul, to serve Him, and to keep all His commandments. “Let the wicked abandon his way, and the sinful his thoughts, and return to G–d….” 22 Isaiah 55:7. In Parashat Nitzavim it is written: “Return to the L–rd your G–d and hearken to His voice…with all your heart…,” 23 Deuteronomy 30:2. and “Return O Israel to the L–rd your G–d…,” 24 Hosea 14:2. and “Bring us back, L–rd, to You….” 25 Lamentations 5:22.
This is not at all the common conception that repentance is synonymous with fasting. Even where sufferings are the completion of atonement, as in the case of sins of excision or execution, G–d brings the sufferings on the sinner. (“I shall remember with a rod,” clearly specifies I.) When the repentance is acceptable before Him, as he returns to G–d with all his heart and soul out of love, then following the initiative from below, 26 Kabbalah and Chasidut frequently refer to the dual concepts of “arousal (or stimulation, awakening, initiative) from below,” meaning by human beings, and “arousal from Above” by G–d. Either may be the cause of the other. For example, the Exodus was the result of G–d’s initiative, arousal from above, for the people had not “earned” redemption. The hurried escape, the arousal below, followed. During the Rosh Hashanah repentance period, initiative must come from below, repentance, followed by an arousal Above, forgiveness. The initial stimulation awakens a dormant reaction. (The terms are found in Zohar II:135b). and “As water reflects the Countenance…,” 27 Proverbs 27:19. there is an awakening Above, arousing the love and kindness of G–d, to scour his sin through affliction in this physical world. “For whom the L–rd loves He chastises….” 28 Ibid., 3:12.
Therefore Maimonides and Sefer Mitzvot Gadol make no mention of fasting in the mitzvah of teshuvah, even for sins of excision or capital sins. They cite only confession and the plea for forgiveness—“They shall confess their sin….” 29 Numbers 5:7.
But then we find in Joel, 30 2:12. “Return to Me with all your hearts, with fasting and weeping….” However, this was to nullify the Heavenly decree that had already been issued, to expunge the sin of the generation through the affliction of locusts. This is the justification for all fasts undertaken for any trouble threatening the community, as in the Book of Esther.
There are descriptions in the Mussar literature, 31 For a description of the approaches of Musar (ethical teachings), Chakirah (philosophical speculation), and Chasidut, see On the Teachings of Chassidus. particularly the Rokeach and Sefer Chassidim, of numerous fasts and mortifications for excision and capital sins. The same is true of sins punished by death by divine agency, 32 Exodus 21:29 and Rashi for an example. like wasteful emissions of semen, as the Torah recounts of Er and Onan. 33 Genesis 38:7-10. In this sense their judgment is identical. These fasts and mortifications are intended to avoid the punishment of suffering at the hand of Heaven, G–d forbid, and also to urge on and expedite the conclusion of his soul’s atonement. Also, perhaps he does not return to G–d with all his heart and soul out of love, but only out of fear.

Chapter 2

However, all this refers to atonement and forgiveness of the sin—he is pardoned completely for having violated the command of the King when he has done a full repentance. No charge or semblance of accusation is made against him on the day of judgment to punish him for his sin, G–d forbid, in the World to Come. He is completely exonerated from the judgment to come.
Nonetheless, that he may be acceptable before G–d, as beloved of Him as before the sin, that his Creator may derive delight from his service—in past times he would bring an olah 1 Leviticus 1:3. offering. This offering was brought even for an ordinary positive commandment that involves no excision or execution. In Torat Kohanim there is a comment on the verse, “It shall be accepted for him,” 2 Ibid., 1:4. and we find in the Talmud, Zevachim chapter 1, 3 7b. that the olah offering atones for positive commandments; it is a “gift” after he has done penance and the punishment was commuted.
If one displeases his king and appeases him through an intercessor, and the king does forgive him, still he will send an appropriate gift to the king that the king might agree that he appear again before his sovereign. (The expression “atones” we quoted from the Talmud, and in the verse, “It will be accepted for him to atone for him,” 2 does not refer to the soul’s atonement for the sin, but rather his “restoration” before G–d. Now the Creator may derive delight from him, as the Talmud remarks there, and as the verse, “It shall be perfect, to be desired.”) 4 Leviticus 22:21.
Today, as we have no offerings to call forth G–d’s pleasure, fasting replaces the offering. The Talmud says, “May my loss of fat and blood be regarded as though I had offered before You….” 5 Berachot 17a.
Therefore there are many cases of Talmudic sages, who for some trivial fault underwent a great many fasts. Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah contended that a cow may go out (wearing) its strap between its horns on Shabbat while his colleagues prohibited it. Once a neighbor’s cow went out with its strap and R. Elazar did not hinder her. Because he did not support his colleagues, he fasted so long that his teeth were blackened. 6 Jerusalem Talmud, Beitzah 2:8. Rabbi Joshua once remarked, “I am ashamed of your words, Beit Shammai.” 7 Chagigah 22b. His teeth too turned black through fasting. Rav Huna, because his tefillin strap once turned over, endured forty fasts. 8 Moed Kattan 25a; R. Huna fasted forty days for slighting a colleague ( Bava Metzia 33a). There are many such incidents.
With this precedent, the Arizal 9 Rabbi Yitzchak Luria Ashkenazi, of blessed memory (1534-1572), a Kabbalist with a profound influence on Rabbi Schneur Zalman. taught his disciples, according to Kabbalah principles, the number of fasts for many transgressions, though they entail no excision or death by divine agency. Examples: for anger—151 fasts; even for a Rabbinic prohibition like stam yainam 10 Wine used in idolatrous libations are Biblically prohibited. The Rabbinic prohibition is extended to any “ordinary” non-Jewish wine. See Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, sect. 47. —seventy-three fasts; for neglecting a positive Rabbinic enactment like prayer—sixty-one fasts.
In general, the mystery of the fast is remarkably effective for the revelation of the will of the Supreme One, blessed is He, similar to the offering, of which it is said, “An aroma pleasing to G–d.” 11 Leviticus 1:13. In Isaiah 12 58:5. we find, “Do you call this a fast and a day desirable to G–d!” Obviously, an acceptable fast is a “desirable day.”

Chapter 3

The latter Mussar sages were divided about one who repeated a sin several times. Some contend that he must fast the number of fasts appropriate to that sin according to the number of transgressions. For example, the number of fasts prescribed in the penances of the Arizal 1 See above, ch. 2, note 9. for wasteful emission of semen is eighty-four. If someone commits this sin ten or twenty times, say, he must fast ten or twenty times eighty-four, and so on in all instances. These sages compare the fasts to the chatat 2 Leviticus 4. offering required for every instance of violation.
Others compare fasts to the olah offering brought for neglect of a positive command. Violation of a number of positive commands is atoned for by one olah, as the Talmud explains in Zevachim, ch. 1. 3 5b.
The accepted decision in this dispute is to fast three times the number of fasts prescribed for that specific sin, i.e., 252 for emission, and similarly for other sins. This is based on an observation in Zohar, end of Noach ; 4 73b. as soon as mortal man is guilty one time before the Holy One, blessed is He, he makes an impression…the third time the stain penetrates from one side through the other…. Therefore the number of fasts ought also be three…
However, all this applies to the strong and healthy, whose physical vigor would not be sapped at all by repeated fasts, as in the generations of yore. But whoever would be affected by many fasts, and might suffer illness or pain, G–d forbid, as in contemporary generations, is forbidden to engage in many fasts. This ban concerns even sins of excision or execution, and certainly the positive and prohibitory commands that do not involve excision. Instead the measure of fasting is the personal estimate of what he can tolerate without doubt.
For even in those early Talmudic generations, only the robust who could mortify themselves fasted so frequently. But whoever cannot fast and does is called “sinner” in Taanit, ch. 1. 5 11b. This applies even to one who fasts for specifically known sins, as Rashi explains there, and we find in Zevachim, ch. 1, 6 7a. that there is no one of Israel who is not guilty of a positive commandment….
It goes without saying that a student of Torah who fasts is a sinner and is doubly punished, for the weakness resulting from his fast prevents him from studying Torah properly.
What then is his alternative? “Your sin redeem with charity.” 7 Daniel 4:24. The codifiers of Torah law specified for each fast day of repentance approximately eighteen (coins)… 8 Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 334:26 and commentaries. The wealthy shall add according to his means…. See Magen Avraham on Laws of Fasts. 9 Ibid. 568:12.
Nonetheless, every man of spirit who desires to be close to G–d, to repair his soul, to return it to G–d with the finest and most preferred repentance, shall be stringent with himself. He should complete, at least once during his lifespan, the number of fasts for every grave sin incurring death at least, if only death by divine agency. For example, for wasteful emission he should undergo the series of eighty-four fasts once in his life.
He may postpone the fasts until the shorter winter days and fast some ten days or less, for example, in one winter, and complete the series of eighty-four in nine or more years according to his stamina. (Besides, he may also eat a little about three hours before sunrise, and this would still be considered a fast, if he so stipulated.)
For the completion of the mentioned 252, he may fast another four times eighty-four until past noon, which the Jerusalem Talmud 10 Nedarim 8:1. considers a fast. In this context, two half-days are reckoned as one full day. Naturally, this approach applies to any other sins, for each heart knows its own anguish and desires its vindication.
There still remain the fasts in excess of the 252, or whatever amount, that he ought to fast in deference to the more stringent opinion insisting on the appropriate number of fasts for every violation committed, as noted. These may be redeemed with charity, approximating eighteen (coins) for each fast day. Charity may redeem all other fasts that he should have undergone for sins not entailing death, and even for neglecting a positive command, Torah or Rabbinic, and [neglect of] “the study of the Torah—equivalent to them all,” 11 Mishnah, Peah 1:1. according to the number of fasts prescribed by the Arizal’s penances. (Most of these are noted in Mishnat Chassidim, Tractate Teshuvah.) All of these fasts he may redeem with charity if he cannot mortify himself, as noted.
Though this might amount to a considerable sum, he need not fear for the injunction, “Do not distribute more than one-fifth.” 12 Ketuvot 50a. This is one of the enactments of the Conclave of Usha about a century after the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash by the Romans. These circumstances are not “distribution” for charity, since he does this to release himself from fasting and affliction. This is no less necessary than medicine for his body or his other needs.
The number of fasts enumerated in the abovementioned penances is exceedingly great. Therefore all who revere the word of G–d are now accustomed to being unstintingly generous with charity, for the prevalent weakness prevents them from mortifying themselves over much. (A comment is made elsewhere on this subject on the verse, “The kindnesses of G–d, for they are not concluded.”) 13 Lamentations 3:22. In Iggeret Hakodesh, Epistle 10, Rabbi Schneur Zalman states that the source of Torah is in the infinite attribute of kindness ( chesed ). Only when mitzvot descend to the finite world of mortal man do they undergo contraction ( tzimtzum ) and acquire dimension. Thus, almost all mitzvot have dimension— sukkah, tzitzit, etc., dimension in time or space, minimum and maximum in quantity, etc. Charity too has its limitations—ten percent for the ordinary and twenty percent for the generous. However, this last standard applies only when one has not violated the mitzvot ; his religious equilibrium, we might say, is undisturbed. If one has committed a sin, then atonement, reparation of the defect, must come from a higher source, the infinite kindness, superior to the state of tzimtzum. To elicit infinite pardon man must exceed ordinary bounds, being charitable beyond the limitations of a specified percentage. Rabbi Schneur Zalman interprets the verse rather ingeniously: “The kindnesses of G–d”—if we are to call forth the attribute of kindness, infinite pardon, through our unbounded deeds, it is because “ lo tamnu ”—we are not perfect. The last word, tamnu, may mean either “they are not concluded,” as is the usual rendition, or “we are not perfect.” Thus, it is only because of G–d’s kindness that we are pardoned.

Chapter 4

However, all we have said refers to the culmination of the atonement and the “polishing” of the soul before G–d after repentance, as cited 1 Above, beg. ch. 2. from Zevachim, where the olah offering is described as a presentation after the intercessor’s successful plea…. But the beginning of the mitzvah of teshuvah and its fundament is the return to G–d in truth and with a complete heart. We must explain this fully and discuss it comprehensively.
Let us begin with the Zohar’s 2 Raaya Mehemna 122a. statement interpreting teshuvah according to sod, 3 Torah is interpreted on four planes, the first is peshat (simple meaning); the second is remez (allusion, hint); the third is drush (homily); and the fourth is sod (the esoteric, mystic interpretation). The simple, literal meaning of teshuvah has been expressed as the abandonment of sin, contrition. Now the sod approach will be presented. the mystical approach. “ Teshuvah is tashuv hey, returning the hey ; 4 This subject will be discussed shortly in the text, but the reader may wish some clarification at this point. The source of the creative power is the Infinite, called by Havaya, the Ineffable Name of G–d, consisting of four letters: yud, hey, vav, hey. These letters describe the descent of the Infinite into the corporeal world (among other interpretations). The yud, a “point,” symbolizes seminal wisdom, the flash of intellectual illumination, the first revelation, the start of the process. The first hey, in form having dimension, represents binah, i.e., understanding, comprehension, and development of the germ-thought into detailed ramification, expansion. Vav, in shape extending downward, represents the descent of the Light into lower worlds, those that appear to be “apart” from the Infinite. The final hey, again expansion and dimension, is the creative power exercised, manifest in the world created. Through sin, as will be discussed, there is a “dislocation” of the latter hey, a diversion of creative power, of vivifying force, into undesirable channels of evil. “Returning the hey,” both in the lower sense of repudiation of evil and in the superior sense of true unity with G–d (later discussed), are the two types of teshuvah, returning each hey to its respective state of unity. (The Zohar’s interpretation cited in the text is a division of the word teshuvah into two —tashuv hey, with the final letter considered an independent word.) the latter hey is teshuvah tataah, inferior teshuvah ; the upper hey is teshuvah ilaah, superior teshuvah.” We must also note that the Zohar states several times that teshuvah is ineffective for violation of the covenant 5 Cf. Sanhedrin 99a. and for wasteful emission. This is rather surprising, for “Nothing can withstand teshuvah, even idolatry and immorality….” 6 Cf. Jerusalem Talmud, Peah 1:1. The Reishit Chochmah explains that the intention of the Zohar is that inferior teshuvah is ineffective, but superior teshuvah [is effective]….
To comprehend even a minute glimmer of this, let us see what the Scripture and our Sages say about excision and death by divine agency. A violator of an excision sin would actually die before his fiftieth 7 Moed Kattan 28a. year. In the case of death by divine agency he actually dies before sixty, 6 like Chananiah ben Azur in Jeremiah. 8 Ch. 28. (Indeed, there were instances when the punishment of death by divine agency was meted out instantly, as with Er and Onan.) But in every generation there are so many guilty of excision and death who enjoy extended and pleasant days [and years]!
The key will be found in the passage, “For part of G–d is His people…” 9 Deuteronomy 32:9. —a part of the Name of Havaya, blessed is He, as it is written, “He breathed into his nostrils a soul of life,” 10 Genesis 2:7. and “He who blows, blows from within him….” 11 See Likkutei Amarim, Part I, ch. 2 (above). Though He has no bodily form…, 12 Cf. Maimonides, Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 1; Liturgy, the Yigdal hymn. G–d forbid, the Torah does “speak in the language of men.” 13 Berachot 31b.
There is a vast difference in the case of mortal man between the breath issuing from his mouth while speaking and the breath of forceful blowing. When speaking there is embodied within the breath only the smallest amount of the speaker’s power and life-force, and even that is only of the superficial aspect of the soul that dwells within him. But when he blows with force, he blows from deep within himself. That breath embodies the internal power and life-force of the vivifying soul….
Precisely so in the analogy of Creation, allowing for the infinite differentiations involved, these two profoundly different states exist. All the hosts of heaven, even the spiritual beings like angels, 14 The “worlds” mentioned above describe states and existences at different removes from G–d, each accordingly less conscious of His presence and infinity. The last three ( Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah (Creation, Formation, and Action)) parallel thought, speech, and deed respectively as manifestations of man’s soul. Thought is internal, united with the thinker; speech is intermittent and directed outward, to another; deed is farther from the performer, and his works exist independently of him. On each of these planes, or worlds, there are beings, for example, the soul before it inhabits a body and after the death of the body. Another example is what we commonly call “angels.” These are spiritual beings with spiritual dimensions, for instance, intellectual or emotional characteristics that define and bind them. (The threefold Holy Holy Holy in Isaiah 6:3 indicates different apprehensions of His abstract being. See also the blessing preceding the Morning Shema.) In terms of absolute comprehension of the Creator, they are superior to mortals. In terms of potential, of volition, man is the superior. They are bounded, foreordained. Man can choose—and grow. As the text will note, all beings, including the most exalted spiritual beings, are inferior in their source to man. were created ex nihilo. They derive their existence from the external aspect of the life-force issuing from the Infinite ( En Sof ) to vitalize creation. This external aspect of the life-giving power is called the “breath of His mouth,” as it were, in the verse “By the breath of His mouth all their hosts.” 15 Psalms 33:6. This is the creative power embodied in the Ten Utterances 16 Avot 5:1. “Speech” indicates the existence of some being besides the speaker, for speech is communication directed to another, reveals to another. (“Thought,” in contrast, is not revelatory and can exist in isolation; no other being is needed.) The “utterances” here, the Biblical “And the L–rd said, ‘Let there be…’ ” and all the Biblical declarations about creating through speech (e.g., Psalms 33:6, 9; 148:5, etc.)—convey this concept of the new existence of “another” being, the created universe apparently independent. The creative power acts through “speech.” Furthermore, speech is of necessity a limitation on thought. Although it reveals to the listener, one cannot, however, convey all his thought. On the pre-verbalizing level, one can think briefly and rapidly on ideas that can be articulated only at great length. “Letters” (a variant term for “speech”) are instruments, dimensioned, finite. Beings issuing from “speech” bear these speech characteristics—separateness rather than unity and limitation in their potential. (See On Learning Chassidus for a discussion of thought and speech in terms of the origin of man and other beings, and see also The Tzemach Tzedek and the Haskalah Movement, p. 114, note 8.) (that are instruments for this power and the extension of the power…as explained in Likkutei Amarim, Part II, ch. 11). In contrast, the soul of man derives initially from the internal of the life-force and flow issuing from the Infinite, as in the verse quoted above, “He breathed….” Subsequently it descended through ever more concealing planes, also through the letters in the Utterance, “Let us make man…” 17 Genesis 1:26. in order that the soul could eventually be invested in a body in this inferior, physical world.
The Scripture calls the angels “ Elokim,” as in “For the L–rd your G–d is the G–d of G–ds ( Elokim )…,” 18 Deuteronomy 10:17. and “Praise the G–d of G–ds ( Elokim )…,” 19 Psalms 136:2. and “The sons of G–d ( Elokim ) came to present themselves….” 20 Job 1:6. They derive their nurture from the external of the life-force, which is merely the state of letters. Similarly the name Elokim is an external state compared to the Name of Havaya, blessed is He.
But the soul of man, deriving its being from the internal of the vivifying power is a part of the Name of Havaya, blessed is He. For that Name indicates the internal of the life-giving power, which far transcends the state of letters, or articulation.
To explain: there is a well-known statement of Elijah, “You are He who has brought forth ten “garments,” and we call them ten sefirot, through which to direct hidden 21  Tikkunei Zohar speaks of the “concealed” and “revealed” worlds. The “concealed” are those united with Him, having no existence apart from Him. (An analogy is the fish of the sea, who cannot exist outside their element.) The “revealed” worlds appear to exist independently of the Creator. The yud and hey of G–d’s name indicate intellect, which is internal, united with the thinker, hence these letters are related to the “concealed” worlds. The vav and the latter hey are the extension of the process initiated in the first letter; they relate to “speech,” separateness, “revealed” worlds. worlds…. You are Wise, but not with a knowable attribute of wisdom. You understand, but not with a knowable attribute of understanding….” All the attributes, the ten sefirot, are included and represented in their source, the Ineffable Name.
The Ineffable Name is composed of four letters: yud, hey, vav, and hey. The yud, a simple point, symbolizes His wisdom, 22 See the Explanatory Notes to On Learning Chassidus for the Chabad exposition of the process of development of intellect and emotion. the state of concealment and obscurity, before it develops into a state of expansion and revelation in comprehension and understanding. (The “thorn” on the yud indicates the will of the Supreme One, blessed is He, far superior to the level of chochmah ilaah, the higher wisdom, as is known.)
When the “point” evolves into a state of expansion and revelation of comprehension and understanding in the concealed worlds, it is then contained and represented in the letter hey. The shape of the letter has dimension, expansion in breadth, which implies the breadth of explanation and understanding, and expansion in length, to indicate extension and flow downward into the concealed worlds.
In the next stage this extension and flow are drawn still lower into the revealed worlds. This may be compared to one who wishes to reveal his thoughts to another through his speech, for example. This stage of extension is contained and represented in the final letters vav and hey.
Vav, in shape a vertical line, indicates downward extension. Also, this flow downward is effected through the divine traits of benevolence and goodness and His other sacred traits, included in general terms in the six attributes in the verse, “Yours O G–d is the greatness…” until “Yours O G–d is the dominion…,” 23 I Chronicles 29:11. until, but not inclusive. His [seventh] attribute, malchut or dominion, is called the “Word of G–d,” as in the verse, “Wherever the word of the king holds sway.” 24 Ecclesiastes 8:4; see The Tzemach Tzedek and the Haskalah Movement, p. 110, note 3.
This attribute of dominion is contained and represented in the final hey of the Name of Havaya. The internal aspect and the source of speech is the breath that rises from the heart, then is molded by the five oral articulations 25 Sefer Yetzirah 2:3. — alef, chet, hey, and ayin from the throat, and so on. The hey implies this internal aspect of speech, for it is the pristine unvocalized breath, “a light letter without substance.” 26 Liturgy, the Akdamot hymn.
Though He has no corporeal form, G–d forbid, the Torah speaks in the language of men. The word of G–d, with its twenty-two letters, would separate into the five articulations, and thus were all beings created. (For a discussion of these letters, see Likkutei Amarim, Part II, ch. 11.)
Analogously, again considering the infinite separation between the two cases, these same four stages apply to the soul of man, i.e., the divine soul that “He blew from within Himself.” There is the initial state of hidden concept symbolized in the letter yud, with its potential of being revealed, thus understanding and conceiving of His true being and His greatness…each person according to his measure, according to the breadth of his intellect and understanding.
As man deepens his intelligence, as he broadens his mind and comprehension to contemplate His greatness, his now-developed understanding is indicated in the letter hey, that has breadth. The hey also has length to indicate downward extension, that from his understanding and contemplation of G–d’s majesty, he arouses love and fear and their ramifications in his mind and in the recesses of his heart.
In the following stage these emotions would actually become manifest in his heart. This leads to the true service of G–d, in Torah study and mitzvah observance, with voice and speech or with deed. This is the import of the letters vav hey ….
Another meaning behind the four letters as applied to man: the contemplation endeavoring to understand and conceive of His true being derives also from Torah, for Torah proceeds from chochmah, 27 Zohar II:85a, 121a. represented by the yud of the Name of Havaya ….

Chapter 5

Bringing the divine soul down into the physical world to invest itself within a human body derives from the internal aspect, the source, of speech. This is the “breath” of the Supreme One, indicated in the latter hey mentioned above. “He breathed into his nostrils a soul of life and man became a living soul,” 1 Genesis 2:7. and “He who blows….” 2 “…blows from within.” See Likkutei Amarim, Part I, ch. 2 (above).
Let us return to a verse cited earlier. “For part of G–d is His people; Jacob is the cord of His inheritance.” 3 Deuteronomy 32:10. Jacob is compared to a rope, the upper end bound above and the lower end below.
The simple meaning of the verse “He breathed” is to show us that just as, for example, if one blows in some direction and there is any separation or obstruction there, then the exhaled breath will not reach that place at all—so precisely, if anything separates and obstructs between man’s body and the “breath” of the Supreme One.
The truth is though that nothing material or spiritual is a barrier before Him, for “Do I not fill heaven and earth!” 4 Jeremiah 23:24. “All the world is full of His glory.” 5 Isaiah 6:3. “There is no place devoid of Him.” 6 Tikkunei Zohar 51. “In the heavens above and on the earth below there is none else.” 7 Deuteronomy 4:39. Likkutei Amarim, Part II, ch. 6 (above) explains this rendition, rather than “there is no other.” “He fills all worlds….” 8 Zohar III:255a.
But Isaiah declares, “Only your sins separate you from your G–d.” 9 Isaiah 59:2. The reason is that sins oppose the will of the Supreme One, blessed is He, Who gives life to all, 10 Nehemiah 9:6. as in the verse, “Whatever G–d wills, He did in heaven and earth.” 11 Psalms 135:6. (It has been noted above 12 Chapter 4. that the Will is the source of the benevolence issuing from the Name of Havaya and is represented in the “thorn” atop the letter yud.)
This is the significance of excision, the consequence of certain grave sins. The “cord,” 13 I.e., the soul—or as the verse has it—Jacob. drawn from the final hey in the Name of Havaya, blessed be He, is severed and cut off. In the [Torah] portion of Emor it is written, “That soul shall be cut off from before Me, I am the L–rd.” 14 Leviticus 22:3. The soul is cut off from before Me.
Other sins that do not incur excision do cause at least a defect in the soul, a “defect” being similar to the “defect” or nick that invalidates a blade for ritual slaughter.
Returning to the analogy of the cord—a thick rope woven of 613 thin strands parallels the Scriptural “cord,” the downward flow from G–d mentioned above, comprising 613 mitzvot. When man violates one of them, G–d forbid, a thin strand is severed….
But even if one has incurred excision or death, there yet remains an impression within him of his divine soul, and through this he may live until fifty or sixty years and no more. (The statement attributed to the Arizal, 15 See above, ch. 2, note 9. that a transcendent level of life-force enters him…is irrelevant to the life of the physical body 16 Likkutei Torah, Devarim 62c; 83b. and applies until fifty years, or to the contemporary period, as will be noted.)

Chapter 6

However, all this pertained when Israel was on a higher plane, when the Shechinah dwelled among Israel in the Beit Hamikdash. Then the vitality of the body came only through the divine soul, from the internal of the life-giving power issuing from the Infinite, through the the Name of Havaya, blessed is He, as described above.
But after that they had fallen from their estate, and through their actions caused the mystery of the “Exile of the Shechinah.” 1 Megillah 29a. “By your sins was your mother expelled,” 2 Isaiah 50:1. meaning that the benevolence flowing forth from the latter hey as mentioned descended far down, from plane to plane, until it entered into the ten sefirot of nogah. 3 The term nogah (brightness, or shining) is found in Ezekiel 1:4. Kabbalah and Chasidut tell of the “three kelipot ” (husks or shells) that are evil, of the sitra achara, the “other side” in opposition to purity and holiness. Nogah, an intermediate stage between holiness and defilement, is composed of good and evil and can be directed either way. The prohibited (forbidden food, say), the evil, derives from the three impure kelipot, and the permitted from nogah. A nogah “neutral” (like permissible food) may satisfy a gross physical appetite and be degraded, or it might be consumed for a higher purpose and be elevated. (See Likkutei Amarim, Part I, ch. 7, et al.) In our text, the life-force that had issued from a state of purity and holiness now descends to this nogah state, and can fall even further, as the text proceeds to explain. The benevolence and vitality proceed through the hosts of heaven and those charged over them to every living physical being in this world, even to vegetation. “There is no blade of grass that has no spirit….” 4 “…on High that smites it and commands it: ‘Grow!’” Bereishit Rabbah 10:6.
Thus even the sinful and deliberate transgressors of Israel may receive vitality for their bodies and animal souls, exactly as other living beings do, for “They are compared and equal to beasts.” 5 Psalms 49:13.
In fact, their nurture is granted them with even greater emphasis and force, 6 A play on Genesis 49:3. as explained in Zohar, Pekudei. Every benevolence and vitality granted mortal man while he commits evil in the eyes of G–d, in deed or speech, or by musing on sin…all issues to him from the chambers of the sitra achara described there in the Zohar.
Man possesses choice, whether he shall derive his nurture from the chambers of the sitra achara or from the chambers of holiness, from whom flow all good and holy thoughts….
For “G–d has made one thing opposite the other….” 7 Ecclesiastes 7:14. The chambers of the sitra achara derive their vitality from the embodiment within them and the descent within them of the issue of the ten sefirot of nogah comprising “good and evil,” the Tree of Knowledge…, 8 Before Adam partook of the forbidden fruit, good and evil were distinct. Upon sinning, the demarcation became blurred with no pure good or pure evil in the world. Through his service of G–d, overcoming temptation to sin, for example, man separates good from evil, “purifying” the material world. as known to the students of Kabbalah.
“Jacob is the cord of His inheritance.” 9 Deuteronomy 32:9. The analogy is to a cord whose one end is above and its other end below. When one pulls the lower end, he will move and pull after it the higher end as well, as far as it can be pulled.
The root of the soul of man and its source is in the latter hey, as we have explained earlier. Through his evil deeds and thoughts he “pulls” and draws down the life-force issuing from the hey into the chambers of the sitra achara, as it were, from which he receives his thoughts and deeds. Because he, the sinful person, draws the flow of vitality into the sitra achara, he receives his “share” of vitality first. 10 I.e., as stated above, “with even greater emphasis and force.” This will suffice for the understanding.
Hence the statement, 11 Avot 4:15. “Not within our hands is the reason for either the tranquility of the wicked…”—in our hands, in this time of exile after the destruction. This is the sense of the “Exile of the Shechinah,” as it were, His granting benevolent life-force to the chambers of the sitra achara that He despises.
But when the sinner performs the appropriate penance, then he removes from them the life-force he brought to them originally through his deeds and thoughts. By his repentance, he returns the flow issuing from the Shechinah to its proper place.
This then is “ tashuv hey tataah,” returning the latter hey from its state of exile. “G–d will return those of you who return,” 12 Deuteronomy 30:3. meaning with those who return. Our Sages have commented on this verse, “He shall bring back is not said….” 13 Megillah 29a “…but ‘He shall return.’” to teach us that the Holy One, blessed is He, returns with them from the exiles.”

Chapter 7

In the true and direct path to the lower teshuvah, returning the latter hey noted above, there are two general elements.
The first is to awaken supreme compassion from the Source of mercy for his spirit ( neshamah ) 1 There are three elements in the soul, and it may be known by any of these names according to the context— nefesh, ruach, and neshamah. Likkutei Amarim, Part I, ch. 1 describes the “animal nefesh ” and ch. 2, the “Divine (or G–dly) nefesh.” ( Bereishit Rabbah 14:9; Devarim Rabbah 2:37) notes two more discussed at length in Chasidut— chaya and yechidah. and divine soul ( nefesh ) that has fallen from a lofty peak, the true Life, into a deep pit, the chambers of defilement and sitra achara. [Divine compassion is] also to be aroused for the source [of the soul] in the Source of life, the Name of Havaya, blessed is He. “He shall return to G–d, and He will grant him mercy.” 2 Isaiah 55:7. “Him” would refer to G–d here, arousing mercies for the life-giving power issuing from His Name, that has descended into the chambers of the impure sitra achara, to give them vitality. This was brought about through the deeds of man, his scheming and evil thoughts. “The king is bound with tresses” 3 Song of Songs 7:6. is interpreted as “bound with the tresses of the mind….” 4 Cf. Tikkunei Zohar 21b; 124b. This is the “Exile of the Shechinah,” as noted above.
The auspicious time for this arousal of mercies is Tikkun Chatzot, the midnight prayers, as stated in the Siddur, in the Note; 5 Siddur Im Dach 151c (Kehot, 1965). see there at length. We find there, “The crown of our head is fallen; woe to us, for we have sinned.” 6 Lamentations 5:16.
Therefore the Holy One is called the “humiliated King” in Pirkei Hechalot, 7 Ch. 18. as R. Moshe Cordovero wrote, for there is no humiliation deeper than this. Especially when a thoughtful person meditates on the greatness of the Infinite, who encompasses 8 See On Learning Chassidus, Explanatory Notes. all worlds and permeates all worlds, each person according to the range of his intellect and understanding, will they be extremely grieved over this.
The second element is to crush and subdue evil, the kelipah and sitra achara, whose entire being is simply grossness and arrogance. “Though you exalt yourself as the eagle….” 9 “…from there I will bring you down, says the L–rd.” Obadiah 1:4 (cf. Jeremiah 49:16). See Likkutei Amarim, Part I, ch. 27. This crushing and subjugation is to be absolutely to dust, for this is its death and nullification.
Evil is crushed through a broken and shattered heart, a sense of personal unworthiness, repugnance, and so forth. This is described in the Zohar on the verse, “The offerings of G–d ( Elokim ) are a broken spirit, a heart broken and shattered….” 10 Psalms 51:19. All animal offerings are dedicated to G–d ( Havaya ), the attribute of mercies. To Elokim, the Name indicating the attribute of justice, no animal offering is brought. Instead the offering is the sundering and removing of the spirit of defilement and sitra achara. This is the meaning of a “broken spirit.”
How is the spirit of the sitra achara broken? When the heart is broken and crushed….
And how is the heart to be broken and crushed? Only a minor part of this can be through mortifications and fasts in our generations. We cannot fast as did King David. Our Sages remark on the verse, “My heart is a void within me” 11 Psalms 109:22. —he destroyed it with fasts. 12 Berachot 61b; Likkutei Amarim, Part I, chs. 1, 13, etc. David utterly destroyed the evil impulse within him.
But the true humbling of the heart, that it be broken and crushed, and the removal of the spirit of impurity and sitra achara, is achieved through being of the “masters of accounts,” 13 Cf. Zohar III:178a. with all the profundity of the mind. He must concentrate his intellect and understanding deeply for a period every day, or at night before Tikkun Chatzot, to realize that through his sins he wrought the exile of the Shechinah, as noted above. He will also ponder that he [caused] the uprooting of his spirit and divine soul from the true Life and demeaned it to a place of defilement and death, the chambers of the sitra achara. He must become deeply aware that his soul has become a vehicle for them, receiving from them vitality to endow his body, as noted above.
Our Sages declared that “The wicked while alive are dead.” 14 Berachot 18b. Their ability to live is derived from the site of death and defilement. (Hence, the verse, “The dead will not praise…” 15 Psalms 115:17. is no mockery of the impoverished, 16 Proverbs 17:5. Berachot 18a applies the verse to wearing tefillin in a cemetery, etc., a “mockery of the impoverished” who cannot perform the mitzvah. G–d forbid. Rather, the reference is to the wicked who, while living, are called dead, for they are confused with alien thoughts while in their wickedness and do not desire repentance, as is known.)
One who has never violated a sin of excision or a sin incurring death by divine agency, for example, vain emission and the like, but other, less severe sins, nonetheless suffers a defect in the spirit and divine soul, as in the analogy of the defects and severance of the fine strands of cord, as noted above: Through an accumulation of sins, there can eventually be a defect as grave as from one prohibition involving excision or death. This would be true even when a single sin is repeated numerous times.
The prophet compares sins to a cloud that dims the light of the sun. “I have wiped away your transgressions like a cloud” 17 Isaiah 44:22. A discourse on this verse by Rabbi Menachem Mendel (1789-1866), author of Tzemach Tzedek, has been translated as a Supplement to The Tzemach Tzedek and the Haskalah Movement, p. 100. The reader is warmly urged to study that discourse, for it treats much of the material in this chapter of Iggeret Hateshuvah. It was originally delivered before Jewish soldiers in the Czarist army in 1843 (ibid. p. 55). —these are the grave sins [that are barriers] between the interior of the power flowing forth from G–d and the divine soul. This barrier is like the separation of a thick cloud that stands between the sun and the earth with its inhabitants. “And like a cloud your sins”—these are the lesser sins that man tramples under heel, 18 Avodah Zarah 18a; Rashi on Deuteronomy 7:12. sins that separate as does a thin and wispy cloud.
In the illustration, if one obscures the sunlight streaming through a window with many fine and lacy curtains, they will darken as much as one thick curtain will, and even more. Exactly so is the parallel, with all those sins that man tramples indifferently, and certainly those well known from the words of our Sages to be actually like idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed.
Examples of these are sins like ignoring the needy 19 Cf. Avot 5:13. —“Beware lest there be in your heart something beliyaal (unworthy)….” 20 Deuteronomy 15:9. Beliyaal is used in reference to idolatry…. 21 Berachot 31b. Or talebearing, 22 Cf. Shabbat 33; Bava Batra 164b; Erchin 15b. the evil tongue that is equated with idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed. The vile-tempered 23 Cf. Shabbat 105b; Avot 2:10. is like the idolatrous, and so is the arrogant. 24 Sotah 4b. There are many such described in the Talmud. Torah study equals them all, 25 Mishnah, Peah 1:1. as our Sages assert, “G–d has pardoned idolatry….” 26 See above, ch. 1 and note 18.
For this reason the order of Kriat Shema at the bedside includes acceptance of the four executions of the Court…. Besides, according to the mystical interpretation of sod, impairing the yud of the Name of Havaya is like incurring lapidation; impairing the hey is like incurring burning; impairing the vav is like incurring the sword; and the latter hey is like incurring strangulation. Neglecting the Shema impairs the yud, and tefillin the hey, tzitzit the vav, and prayer the latter hey ….
From this the intelligent, thoughtful person can infer for other sins and transgressions, and for neglect of Torah, which equals them all.

Chapter 8

After deeply considering all this, he can truly plead, from the innermost heart, “In Your great mercies, wipe away my sins….” 1 Psalms 51:3. By then his heart is thoroughly impressed with the pathetic state of the spark of divinity within him, and above, as noted. This plea is to arouse supreme mercies, of the Thirteen Attributes of Compassion, 2 Cf. Exodus 34:6-7. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, has made this observation: The original verse (Exodus 34:7) quoted here includes the word “ v’chataah,” the unintentional sin, as well as the other two, intentional sins. Iggeret Hateshuvah omits this one word. The reason for the omission is that in our text the Thirteen Attributes of Compassion are called forth to “correct all defects,” referring to deliberate sins for which no offering is provided. Supreme mercies alone can avail the sinner. The chataah, unintentional sin, does have the chatat offering and is commuted without calling upon “supreme” mercies. On the other hand, the verse describing the Thirteen Attributes does include chataah because of the following words—“He cleanses, and cleanses not,” meaning that He forgives those who return, but not the recalcitrant, as our text will shortly note. Even for unintentional sins, the verse declares, “return” is required ( Likkutei Sichot, vol. 4, p. 1058, note 14). which come from the will of the Supreme One, blessed is He, symbolized in the “thorn” atop the yud, far transcending the flow issuing from the letters of His Name.
Because of their lofty origin these Attributes of Compassion correct all defects, as in the passage, “He bears sin and transgression, and cleanses.” 2 With this awakening of mercies following the contrition, there is no further nurture for evil and sitra achara from the life-force emanating from the lower hey, as noted. (The latter hey returns to its proper place, united as before with the yud-hey-vav. This will suffice for the knowing.)
As there is a “restoration” of the hey above, so, too, below in the divine soul within man, no more do “your sins divide.” 3 Isaiah 59:2. It is said, “He cleanses”—those who come back to Him, 4 Yoma 86a. to lave and cleanse their souls of the soiled garments, the “extraneous forces” that the Talmud describes as “envelops….” 5 Sotah 3b. “Whoever commits one transgression in this world, it envelops him and precedes him for the Day of Judgment.” Man’s good works precede him in the World to Come, and his sins envelop him.
After the cleansing spirit passes over and purifies them, then their souls are enabled to return unto G–d Himself, literally, to ascend the greatest heights, to their very source, and cleave to Him with a remarkable unity. This is the original unity, the ultimate in union, that existed before the soul was blown by the breath of His mouth to descend and be incorporated within the body of man. (To illustrate this unity: before one exhales, the breath is united with the person; he and his breath are not separable yet.) This is the perfect return, teshuvah.
This state of unity and this return are called teshuvah ilaah, the superior return, that follows teshuvah tataah, the inferior return. The Zohar, in Raaya Mehemna on Nasso, explains that teshuvah ilaah is being occupied with Torah study in reverence and fear of the Holy One…, for this is ben yud-hey — binah …. 6 As noted earlier, yud or chochmah is the germ of the idea and hey or binah is its amplification and development. In binah there is the beginning of an emotive response to the intellectual comprehension, even before the emotions are actually manifest. This state of “intellectual” love and fear is ben yud-hey, the “offspring” of intellect, the same Hebrew letters as binah. (Here, the superiority of the penitent over the perfectly saintly, as the Zohar states in Chayei Sara, is that “they draw upon themselves with a more intense longing of the heart, and with greater forcefulness, to approach the King….”) 7 Zohar I:129b; Berachot 34b.

Chapter 9

The explanation of this subject is discussed frequently in Zohar and Tikkunim : Binah is the superior teshuvah —“The mother crouching over the chicks….” 1 Deuteronomy 22:6. Binah is the “mother” and emotions the “offspring,” or as the verse has it, the “chicks.”
These emotions are man’s creations, the product of his efforts. They are results of intellectual endeavor, not gift or heritage. He is to meditate profoundly and with concentration on the greatness of G–d, and through his intellectual comprehension arouse a sense of intellectual reverence and love on rational grounds. This love is that of the verse, “To love the L–rd your G–d” for “He is your life….” 2 Deuteronomy 30:20. He will not be content with the endowed, 3 See Likkutei Amarim, Part I, ch. 44, etc., and Part II, pp. 284-286, on the concealed and created love. latent love alone…. So, too, with fear of G–d, and terror or shame…as is known. This is the import of “The mother crouching over the chicks….”
Ahavah, love, is primarily the cleaving of spirit to spirit, as “He kisses me with the kisses of his mouth…,” 4 Song of Songs 1:2. as is known. This cleaving of spirit is the meaning of “With all your soul,” 5 Deuteronomy 6:5. with every aspect of your soul, with intellect, emotions, and their garbs of thought, speech, and deed. All cleave to Him.
Man’s emotional faculties are bound up with His—“as He is merciful….” 6 Jerusalem Talmud, Peah 1:1; Sotah 14a; Shabbat 133b; Maimonides, Hilchot Deot 1:5, 6.
Man’s intellect adheres to His intellect and wisdom, assiduous Torah study, for “Torah issues from Wisdom.” 7 Zohar II:85a.
Man’s thought is devoted to G–d’s, and his speech is the word of G–d, the halachah, 8 Cf. Shabbat 138b. as in the passages, “I have placed My word in your mouth,” 9 Isaiah 51:16. and “My words that I have placed in your mouth.” 10 Ibid., 59:21.
Man’s deeds shall be works of charity, to revive the spirit of the fallen, 11 Ibid., 57:15. thus cleaving to G–d’s actions, as in, “For six days G–d wrought….” 12 Exodus 20:11. as is known elsewhere.
This is the cleaving of spirit to spirit—the ultimate attachment and union as a result of love…. Since the violation of the covenant through wasteful emission, to say nothing of stark immorality or unions prohibited by Torah or the Sages (for the words of the Sages are more grave…), 13 Cf. Berachot 4b; Eruvin 22b; Sanhedrin 88b. causes a blemish in the mind, therefore his rectification is that he occupy himself with Torah that derives from chochmah.
In Tanna Dvai Eliyahu we find, “A man commits a sin and is liable to death before the Almighty, what shall he do and live? If he was accustomed to studying one page, he shall study two, to studying one chapter, he shall study two chapters….” This parallels the illustration of the cord severed and then reknotted—the place of the knot is so much thicker than the unaffected portion. So it is with the “cord of His possession.”
This is the meaning of the verse, “With kindness and truth is sin forgiven…,” 14 Proverbs 16:6. and “There is no ‘truth’ but Torah….” 15 Cf. Berachot 5b.
Similarly, the sin of the house of Eli will not be atoned by sacrifices and offerings, 16 Cf. I Samuel 3:14. but will be pardoned through Torah and good deeds, as explained in Rosh Hashanah, end of ch. 1. 17 18a.

Chapter 10

This superior form of teshuvah, the cleaving of spirit to spirit through intellectual study of Torah and physical performance of acts of kindness, is in a mode of a flow from Above—so that the word of G–d shall actually be in his mouth, as in “I place my words in your mouth,” 1 Isaiah 51:16. and “His right hand embraces me” 2 Song of Songs 2:6. because of man’s acts of kindness since “kindness is the right arm….” 3 Tikkunei Zohar, Introduction.
But the mortal man must move from stage to stage, ascending gradually until he attains this superior teshuvah and cleaving of spirit to spirit. He ascends through the heart’s devoted prayer, particularly during Shema and its blessings, that he might in perfect truth say, “You shall love…with all your heart and with all your soul….” 4 Deuteronomy 6:5. Similarly, “These words shall be…you shall speak of them….” 5 Ibid. vs. 6-7, The word of G–d must truly be in his mouth, and “there is no truth….” 6 “…but Torah.” Cf. Berachot 5b. Similarly, to perform all the mitzvot, for “He has sanctified us with His commandments.”
This sanctification is identical with “You are sanctified to me.” 7 Kiddushin 5b; formula declaring betrothal. This is the highest degree of sacredness, an expression of separation and apartness, that cannot be contained within Creation since “all are considered as naught before Him.” 8 Zohar I:11b. This sacredness attains to the state of encompassing all worlds, the will of the Supreme One, blessed is He…, as discussed in Likkutei Amarim, ch. 46.
After prayer 9 I.e., the Shemonah Esrei ( Amidah ), the fulfillment of the mitzvah of prayer. again we say, “To You, O L–rd, I lift my soul,” 10 Psalms 25:1. that spirit cleave to spirit all through the day…. All this is brought about through meditation on the greatness of the Infinite, concentrating the mind deeply in the two blessings preceding Shema and in Pesukei d’Zimra, 11 The Verses of Praise drawn mainly from the Psalms, which expound on G–d’s greatness as Creator, the beauty and magnitude of His works. Then in the blessings before Shema we recount the exalted fervor of the angels, their reverence and love of G–d. These are introductions to Shema and the Shemonah Esrei ( Amidah ) following. as is known. 12 See Likkutei Amarim, Part I, ch. 49.
Since the prayer is the state of teshuvah ilaah, the higher return, it must be preceded by teshuvah tataah, the lower return. This is what the Sages intended in the Mishnah, 13 Berachot 30b. “One should not stand up to pray except from a state of awe.” Rashi explains, “Humility.” This is the state of teshuvah tataah, to arouse divine compassion, as noted above, 14 Ch. 7. and as the Talmud infers from the passage, “She was embittered.” 15 I Samuel 1:10.
At the same time we must note the Baraita 16 Berachot 31a. there, “Our Sages taught, ‘One should not stand up to pray except from a state of joy.’” In our bereaved generation, when not all are capable of turning their hearts instantly from the extreme of humility to joy, it is advised that the time for teshuvah tataah be designated at Tikkun Chatzot, as noted above. 14 Whoever cannot do this nightly should maintain an absolute minimum of once every week, before Shabbat. It is known to the knowledgeable that Shabbat is on the order of teshuvah ilaah, and the very letters of the word Shabbat 17 Bereishit Rabbah 22. spell tashev, as in, “You return man.” 18 Psalms 90:3. On Shabbat all the worlds ascend to their source…. The Shabbat prayer particularly is on the order of teshuvah ilaah. This will suffice for the intelligent.
(We can now understand the verse, “Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” 19 Isaiah 44:22. Since “I have wiped away your sins like a cloud” 20 First half of verse, ibid. —removing the sitra achara, and “I have redeemed you” from evil through the arousal of the Supreme Compassion following the initiative taken by man below in his teshuvah tataah, as explained above—therefore, “Return to Me”—with teshuvah ilaah.)

Chapter 11

This subject, harboring [contrary emotions] simultaneously in the heart, humility—the state of teshuvah tataah as explained, and gladness as well, has already been discussed in Likkutei Amarim, end of ch. 34. It has been illuminated by the Zohar, 1 II:255a; III:75a. “Joy is lodged in one side of my heart….” Joined to this is the faith and confidence, the heart being firm and certain in G–d that He desires goodness, 2 Micah 7:18. and is gracious and merciful 3 Nehemiah 9:17. and generously forgiving 4 Cf. Isaiah 55:7. the instant one pleads for forgiveness and atonement of Him. (“According to Your great mercies wipe away my sins; cleanse me, purify me, wipe away all my sins….”) 5 Psalms 51:3, 4, 11. Not the faintest vestige of doubt dilutes this absolute conviction.
For this reason, in every Shemonah Esrei, the moment we plead, “Forgive us…” we conclude, “Blessed are You, L–rd, gracious One, who pardons abundantly.” Without the certainty of pardon this would be a case of doubtful blessing, which we do not recite lest it be a blessing in vain. 6 Berachot 33a. But there is no doubt here whatsoever, for we have asked, “Pardon us, forgive us.” Furthermore, were we not to repeat our transgressions we would be immediately redeemed, 7 Cf. Sanhedrin 976. in accordance with the blessing we recite, “Blessed are You, L–rd, Redeemer of Israel.”
Even by human standards this certainty of pardon is legitimate. One must forgive as soon as he is asked for pardon. He must not be cruel and vindictive, even when one mutilates another, as we find in Bava Kama, 8 92a. end of ch. 8. If one has asked his fellow for forgiveness three times and has been rebuffed, he need not apologize further.
When King David 9 II Samuel 21. asked the Gibeonites to forgive King Saul who had killed Gibeonites, they refused to pardon him. David decreed that they shall not enter the Congregation of G–d, who are merciful…. See Yevamot, end of ch. 8. 10 78b and 79a.
As a divine trait, forgiveness is as swift, and infinitely more so.
The praise and blessing addressed to G–d, “gracious One, who pardons abundantly,” emphasizes the word marbeh, “abundantly,” implying multiplicity. In Ezra 11 The reference is not to the term but to the concept; see explanation by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in Shiurim B’Sefer HaTanya, p. 1212 ff. [too], we find that G–d “pardons abundantly.” It is characteristic of men that if one injures another and asks his pardon, which is granted, and then repeats the misdeed, it becomes more difficult to grant pardon again, and certainly a third and fourth time.
But by the standard of G–d, there is no difference between once and a thousand times. Pardon is a manifestation of the attribute of mercy. Divine attributes are not bounded and finite; they are infinite as in the verse, “For His mercies have not ended.” 12 Lamentations 3:22. In terms of infinity, there is no difference whatsoever between a small number and a large one. Before Him all are considered as naught, 13 Cf. Daniel 4:32. and He makes equal the small and the great…. 14 Liturgy, High Holiday Musaf, V’chol maaminim.
Therefore, “He removes our sins every year.” 15 Liturgy, Yom Kippur Amidah. All the sins confessed in the Al Chet annually, though repeatedly violated, are again confessed on Yom Kippur in the coming year, and so on always. “Every year” is not necessarily a yearly pardon, for three times every day we pronounce, “Blessed are You, O G–d, gracious One, who pardons abundantly.”
Our Sages teach, “the prayers were introduced in place of the daily sacrificial offerings.” 16 Berachot 26a. The daily morning offering was to atone for the sins of the previous night, and the regular evening sacrifice atoned for the sins of the past day, and so on day by day constantly. “Every year” means only that Yom Kippur atones for the grave sins, while the regular offerings, the olah, atoned only for violations of positive commands. 17 See ch. 2 above. In our time, prayer with repentance replaces offerings, as noted above.
But this is not an attitude of “I will sin and later repent.” 18 Yoma 85a. That is relevant only if while committing the sin he could have overcome his impulse to evil, but depended in his heart on repenting later. Since the opportunity to repent caused him to sin, “He is not granted an opportunity….” 18 And even then, he is not granted an opportunity. But if he pressed forcefully and overpowered his evil impulse and did repent, then his repentance is accepted. 19 Yoma 87a; Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 606:1.
But we who plead daily, “Pardon us,” preface that prayer with “bring us back to You in wholehearted repentance,” that is, that we revert no more to folly. On Yom Kippur too we ask, “May it be Your will that I sin no more.” 20 Liturgy, Confession Prayers. For us opportunity is granted, freely, as our Sages teach, “Whoever comes to purify himself is given assistance.” 21 Shabbat 104a. Whoever comes, as soon as he comes, and the pardon and forgiveness are also granted forthwith.
“My sin is before me always” 22 Psalms 51:5. does not imply that one ought constantly to be melancholy, humiliated, G–d forbid, for a following verse declares, “Let me hear gladness and joy…and the free spirit shall uphold me….” 23 Psalms 51:10, 14. He ought all his days experience teshuvah ilaah, which is marked by great joy, as we noted above. “Before me” is the term negdi, as in “Stand mineged,” 24 II Samuel 18:13. and “ Mineged around the Tent of Assembly shall they camp.” 25 Numbers 2:2. Rashi defines the term as “at a distance.” The intention of our verse is merely that his heart does not become haughty, 26 Cf. Deuteronomy 17:20. that he be of humble spirit before all men, 27 Cf. Avot 4:10 and 4. for the remembrance is between his eyes 28 Cf. Exodus 13:9. that he has sinned before G–d.
In fact, as far as gladness is concerned, the remembrance will be especially effective in encouraging happiness in the face of whatever misfortunes threaten to overtake him, whether from Heaven or caused by man, whether in speech or in deed. (This constant awareness of one’s sins is good counsel to be immune to anger or any sort of resentment….) The Talmud 29 Shabbat 88b. “…they are meant in the verse: ‘Those who love Him (shall be) like the sun rising in full strength’ (Judges 5:31).” declares, “Those humiliated who do not humiliate in turn, who hear their insult and do not retort, who perform out of love and are happy in affliction….” Whoever passes over his feelings, all his sins are passed over. 30 Rosh Hashanah 17a.

Chapter 12

The reason for happiness in the afflictions of the body 1 Quoted end of last chapter. is that they are a great and potent favor for the sinning soul to cleanse it in This World and to redeem it from purification in the next. (This is particularly true in our generations, when it is not possible to fast—in accordance with the prescriptions in the penances of the Arizal 2 See above, ch. 2, note 9. —as imperative for the cleansing of the soul, to rescue it from cleansing in Gehinom.)
Nachmanides, in his Introduction to the Commentary on Job, writes that even the sufferings of Job for seventy years have absolutely no comparison to the suffering of a soul even briefly in Gehinom, for [physical] fire is one sixtieth…. 3 “…of that of Gehinom.” Berachot 57b. It is only that the world is built by kindness, 4 Psalms 89:3. and through mild suffering in This World one is saved from severe judgments in the Coming World.
The movement of a shadow on earth of a few inches equals the sun’s movement in the heaven of thousands of miles…. Infinitely more so is this true in the parallel, in the descent of the worlds, from the most exalted heights until this physical world. We see this in the Zohar’s comments on the subject of the elevation of the higher worlds as a result of the initiative taken by man below. The Zohar describes the effects of the offering of one fowl, a dove or pigeon, or a handful of meal, on the altar. Such are the effects of all the mitzvot of performance, as known from the Arizal.
This too is our Sages’ comment on the verse, “Sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy” 5 Leviticus 11:44. —man sanctifies himself only a little below, and he becomes sanctified in great measure from above…. 6 Yoma 39a. (It was noted above 7 Ch. 10. in reference to “Who sanctified us with His commandments…” [that Israel’s sanctification through mitzvot is bound up with the Infinite, that] encompasses all worlds….)
Precisely so is it in reference to reward and punishment, as our Sages 8 Avot 4:2. say, “The reward of a mitzvah is a mitzvah…” as discussed elsewhere. This knowledge is elementary to the understanding, and those with intelligence in this matter will discover good.