Garments of Soul

7/28/2019 Garments of Soul

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G A R M E N T SOF THE SOUL

a cbusidic discourse byTHE LUBAVITCHER REBBE

Rabbi Menachem M. Schneersony W ~ tp lmrpl;rHptrt

translation and commentarybyRabbi Yosef Marcusomr,~frm ,mmnwww.hebrewbooks.org

KEHOTPUBLICATIONO ~ I E ~770 Eastern Parkway / Brooklyn, New York 11213


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Published and CopyrightedO 2001Second Printing 2003Third Printing 2006

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CONTENTS

preface7

portrait of the Lubavitcher Rebbe9

introduction and summary13

preface to the hebrew edition21

translation and commentary2 4

hebrew notes4 3

index4 9


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7'3PREFACE

F llowing the overwhelming response to Yom Tov She1 Rosh Ha-shanah 5659 - he first discourse published in the ChasidicHeritage Series, we are pleased to present an English rendition ofthe chasidic discourse entitled Vayishhch Yehoshua. The discoursewas delivered by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M.Schneerson, of righteous memory, at the chasidic gathering of Shab-bat Parshat Shlach, 28 Sivan 5736 [1976], and later published in5748 [1988]. On the fiftieth anniversary of his arrival to the U nitedStates of America, 28 Sivan 5751 [1991], this maamar was re-printed as pa rt of a special anniversary edition. Th e Rebbe personallyhanded this pamp hlet (along with a crisp, new dollar bill, for charitydistribution), to thousands of chasidirn, men, women and c hildren.

The discourse, structured on the opening words of the Haftarahread on Shabbat Shlach, discusses the differences between the spiessent by Moses and those sent by Joshua, by exploring the spiritualsignificance of both events and their application to our lives today.

In addition to the translation of the discourse and the Rebbe'sfootnotes, additional footno tes were added to further clarify the text.Also, some of the Rebbe's footnotes have been elucidated. In addi-tion, many of the references in the Rebbe's footnotes have beenquoted an d explained. The Hebrew text of the discourse has been re-typeset with the Hebrew vowel marks to further enhance this vol-ume's usability.

Rabbi Yosef Marcus translated the text and authored the over-view. Special thanks to Rabbi Yosef B. Friedman for his editorialguidance, and to Rabbi Shrnuel Marcus who prepared this volumefor publication.

KehotPublication Society1 th of Shevat 5761Brooklyn,New York


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INTRODUCTIONAND

SUMMARY


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INTRODUCTION A N D S UM M AR YThe Talmud speaks of three types of people:the tzaddik---the righteous one who is ruled by his good in-

clination;the ras ha -th e wicked on e who is ruled by his evil inclination;and the beinoni--the "intermediate" one who is ruled by both.(Berachot61 )

T H E A V E RA G E M ANMost would no doubt place themselves in the third category, es-pecially if they had not read the Bookfor Beinonim, magnum opus ofRabbi Schneur Zalm an of Liadi, known as the Alter Rebbe, founderof Chabad-Lubavitch Chasidism. In the first chapter of the beinonibook, comm only known as Tanya, the Alter Rebbe questions thecommon co ncep tion of the beinoni as one whose deeds are half right-eous and half wicked.

The Alter Rebbe cites the case of the Talmudic sage Rabbah,who offered himself as an example of a beinoni (Berachot ibid.). Is itpossible that Rabbah, a man who the Angel of Death was unableto kill because his "mouth never ceased from Torah-study" (BauaMetzia 86a), thought of his deeds as being half wicked? (Humilitydoes not mean delusion.)

Also, when a person commits a sin he is deemed a rasha until herepents; if he repents, he gains the status of a complete d i k . Sowhen does he have a chance to be a beinoni?

Th e beinoni cannot be one who com mits minor sins either, sincethe T alm ud bestows rasba-status even to one who fails to p rotest hisfellaw? misdeeds, or one who wastes a minute that could have beenused for Torah-study.

Who then is the beinoni?The Alter Rebbe begins by telling us about the turddk. He ex-

plains that perfection in deed does not make on e a tzaddik, that thedifference between d i k nd rasha is not in degree but in kind . Th et d i k not only behaves righteously, he is righteous. The d i k snot tempted by evil. My heart is slain within me, says the psalmist,


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14 GARMENTS O F T H E SOULmeaning that he had ridden himself of his evil inclination (Ba va Batra17a). No wonder it is said that the twlddikim are few, so the HolyOn e made sure to plant them in each generation (see Yoma 38b).

With the raising o f the t d i k j status, the beinoni is auto-matically upgraded. There is nothing intermediate or average aboutthe beinonij behavior. Behaviorally he is identical to the tzaddik it isin his heart that he is the intermediate one, a hybrid of the t d i kand rasha. Like the rasha he may possess a desire for evil, but, likethe tzaddik, he never acts on it.

HALIVAIBecause of his constant struggle with the "other side," the beinoni isoften frustrated and depressed. He cannot understand why at theheight of a particularly inspiring prayer, he is greeted by unholythoughts. The Alter Rebbe addresses these frustrations in ch. 27 ofTanya, a book based on his counseling sessions with his chasidim:

[His] depression stems from an arrogant spirit since he does notknow his place. Thus his heart is pained by the fact that he is not onthe level of a tzaddik who certainly does not suffer such inanethoughts. For if he would recognize his place, tha t he is quite far fromthe level of a t d i k , and halivai [if only] he would be a beinoni an dnot a rasha even for one moment all his days, he would realize thatthis is the nature of the beinonim and their task, to conquer the [evil]inclination.. .

Th us let a m an's heart not fall.. .even if he is this way all of hisdays in this battle, for perhaps it is for this tha t he was created.. .

D E L I C A C I E SIn Genesis 27:4, Yitzchak wishes to bless his son Eisav and asks himto Makefor me delicacies such ds I ove. According to Tikkunei Zohar,these are also the words of the Shechinah, the Div ine Presence, charg-ing her children, the Jewish People, to fulfill their divine mission,and thereby provide the Shechinah with her "delicacies." Notingthat delicacies is written in the plural, implying two types of del-icacies, the Alter Rebbe explains that these refer to the two types ofpleasure that G-d derives from the two types of divine service in thisworld-that of the tuz ddk and that of the beinoni:

Just as with material food, there are two types of delicacies-oneof sweet foods and the other of sharp or sour things that have been


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I N T R O D U C T I O N AND SUMMARY 15spiced and prepared until they become delicacies to revive the soul, [sotoo in the spiritual service of man ..I

The tzaddiki task involves sweetness and light, while the beinonistruggles with bitterness and darkness, transforming them to del-icacies.

E S P I O N A G EThe present maamar explores the difference between d i k i m andbeinonim through the backdrop of two biblical tales involving spies.In the first story, the Jews are about to enter their promised land b utare feeling insecure. Despite the miraculous nature of their exodusfrom Egypt and passage through the Red Sea, the Jews are not con-tent with G-d's promises that they will conq uer the land-they wan tto fight a conv entional battle, including the use of spies. They say asmuch to M oses, who conveys this request to G-d.

G-d is not pleased with this lack of confidence in His ability tomanage the affairs of His universe, but leaves the decision to Moses:"Sendfor you," G -d replies, meaning "according to your judgment; Iam n ot comm anding you [to send spies]" (Rashi). Moses chooses tosend the spies, who return with the news that "we cannot conquerit." The Jews believe this heresy and are punished for it with an extra40 years in the desert during which time the generation of the Ex-odus dies out, leaving their children to enter the land.

The second spy story occurs before the Jews actually do enterthe land. Moses has passed on, and Joshua his successor sends twospies to Jericho, the border city of the land they are to inherit. Th eirreport: the nations are trembling. The Jews conquer the land andlive there until banished by Nebuchadnezzar centuries later.

C O N T R A S T SIn the maamar, which is based on a m aamar of the Alter Rebbe, theRebbe points out two basic differences between the spies of Mosesand those of Joshua.

1) G-d did not command Moses to send spies; their mission was,as it were, optional. Joshua's spy mission, however, was commandedby G-d.'- -

1. No proof is cited fo r this in the maamar. The Alter Rebbe, in his


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GARMENTS OF T H E SOUL

2) Moses sent his spies to canvass the entire land, while Joshua'sspies sufficed with a visit to Jericho.'T o explain these differences, the m aamar moves beyond the

physical manifestation of th e story-in wh ich it is a bygone oc-currence that may impa rt a lesson or two for us today-and takes usto its eternal, spiritual manifestation in which man "sends spies" toassess an d conq uer "Canaann-the bod y and "animal soul"-andtransform them to holiness, "the Land of Israel."

JERICH O: LAND OF T H E G A R M E N T SO n the spiritual plane, Jericho is man's behavior-his thoug ht, speechand deed.3 T o spy out and conquer Jericho means to be a beinoni. T h erest of the land of the seven nations is man's psyche, his emotions. T ospy out and conquer the rest of the land is to be a tmdn'ik.

T hu s Moses' mission to spy ou t the entire land-to examineand sanctify the emotions-was not comm anded by G-d, since noteveryone can fulfill it. Only Moses, or those on his spiritual level,can aspire to it. Hence of his mission G-d says: according to yourjudgments, which in its mystical interpretation means, only you, orthose like you, can accomplish this.

Joshua's mission, on the other hand, is an unqualified com-ma nd me nt for everyone, since the conquest of Jericho--one's be-havior-lies in the reach of every hu man being.

BE A TZADDIK!The Rebbe is not entirely satisfied with the above explanation, sinceit relegates the significance of Moses' spy mission to tzuddikim.What relevance does it have to the beinoni?To answer, the Rebbe refers to th e first sentence of Tanya, aquote from the Mishna in Tractate Ni&h, end of chapter 3:

[Before the soul descends to earth,] it is charged with anoath: Be a tzadik, and d o not be a rasha!

maamar, assumes as much, since "Joshua and Jerichon-see the land through Jer-would not act without G-d's instruction." icho. See below. Other commentatorsOther commentators apparently differ. interpret this verse differently.2. This is how the maamar interprets the 3. For the relationship between Jerichoverse (Joshua 2:1), "...go see the land and behavior, see below.


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I N T R O D U C T I O N A N D S U MMA RY 17

According to the Alter Rebbe, the redundancy of the o ath is notmerely an em phatic device, but suggests a two-pronged message: Bea tzaddk . However, since most people do n ot have the potential tobecome tzaddikim, at least-Do not be a rasha; i.e., be a beinoni.

Yet every soul, even the beinoni?, is instructed to be a tzaddik.W ha t is the significance of an instruction that cannot be fulfilled?Thus the Alter Rebbe explains that although the beinoni maynever reach the true level of a tzaddik, he must spend time cul-tivating a t d i k - l i k e consciousness, i.e., a revulsion for material in-dulgences on the on e hand, and an awareness of the awesomeness ofG-d o n the other:

And although he knows that he will not reach this level in truth,only in illusion, still, he must do his duty to fulfill the oath ad-ministered to him: Be a t d i k ! And G-d will do what is proper inHis eyes. Furthermore, habit takes control over everything and be-comes second nature. And when he will accustom himself to abhorevil, it will, to a small degree, become abhorrent in his eyes. And whenhe will begin to rejoice his soul in G-d through meditating on G-d'sgreatness, then the awakening from below will elicit an awakeningfrom above, and perhaps, after all this, a spirit from above will pourover him and he will merit that the soul-level of Ruuch from the rootof some tzaddik will impregnate itself in him, so that he may serve G-d with true joy.. .In this way the oath charging him to be a t d i kwill be fulfilled in truth.Th is then is the relevance of Moses' spy mission to t he beinoni,

since even the beinoni must to some extent involve himself in thetzaddik-like service.

GARMENTSThe maamar now begins a discussion explaining why the beinoni isin control of his behavior but not of his emotions.

In Kabbalistic and Chasidic terminology, man's forms of be-havior, thought speech and deed, are called "garmentsn of the soul.For it is through these garments that the soul is expressed. And justas garments in the literal sense are an added accoutrement to t he per-son, no t the person himself-and thus can be shed or changed withlittle or no effort-so the soul's garments are no t the soul itself, but


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GARMENTS OF T HE SOUL

its platform for expression, and thus can be more easily controlled.The soul's consciousness, however, what it loves and fears, can onlybe changed through tenacious efforts and divine assistance.

Th e mission of the average man is to behave-not necessarily tochange inside. T o conq uer Jericho, and leave the rest of the Land toMoses.

P R I O R I T I E SBut this emphasis on behavior for the beinoni is not merely a resultof his spiritual handicap. It is not a reluctan t surrender to his humanfrailties. Rather, the goal of man's life lies in the perfection of his"garments" because the garments matter more.

Often what is perceived in this world as secondary is in realitymost sublime. What appears to be mundane and inconsequential isoften most sacred and crucial. Thu s, in their source, man's garm ents,both physical and spiritual, in fact, transcend the person himself.Physically this is reflected in the fact that garments can grant a per-son prestige beyond his true stature. The Talmudic sage, R. Yocha-nan, would refer to his garments as "m y honorers."

Spiritually, the garments of the divine soul, i,e., the fulfillmentof mitzvot in th ough t speech and deed, raises the soul beyond its nat-ural status. Conversely, the garments of the anim al soul, i.e., thou ghtspeech and deed without any divine inten tion-- or worse- degradethe anim al soul beneath its natural lowness.

C O N C L U S I O NTh us the psalmist's advice to m an is pointedly straightforward: TurnJiom evil and dogood This is the purpose of the soul's descent fromthe celestial heights to the world of kelipah and the constriction ofthe body: to rise to a level from which it is inherently precluded.This occurs through the service of the garments, the fulfillment ofTora h and m itzvot in actual practice.

But it doesn't end there. Jericho is merely the "lock of the land.If one has conquere d Jericho the rest of the land is open before him,the land of the seven nations-the service of trans forming the sevenemotions can then be achieved. And ultimately, in the Messianic era,the transformation also of the three parts of the mind, the land ofthe Keini, Knizi and Kadmoni.

m e *


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INTROD UCTION AND SUMMARY

NOTE ON THE HEBREW TEXT: In vowelizing the Hebrew words inthis edition we have followed the grammatical rules of the HolyTong ue, which occasionally differ from the traditional or colloquialpronunciation. The original footnotes to the Hebrew text appear atthe end of the maamar.


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PREFACE TO T H E H EB R EW E D I T I O N

Iconjunction with the glorious day of 28 Sivan, which is ap-

proaching us for goodness, the day that the Rebbe Shlita' and therighteous Rebbetzin, of blessed memory, were saved from the Eu-ropean valley of tears, and arrived successfully in the United States(on Monday, 28 Sivan 5701 [1941]), the day that a new movementbegan with regard to the bolstering and dissemination of Torah andJudaism and the dissemination of the wellsprings of Chasidus,through the establishment of the central institutions, "Machne Is-rael,"' "Kehot Publica tion Society," and "Merkos L'inyonei Chi-nuch," at whose head stood the Rebbe Shlita-

we present the maamar beginning with the words And Joshuasent.. . wo men, spies.. . which was said at the farbrengen of ShabbosParshat Shlach, 28 Sivan, Shabbos Mevarchirn Tammuz, 5736[19761.

EDITORIAL BOARD OF OTZAR HACHASIDZMMotm ki Shabbos Kodeh Parshat Sblach, Year of Hakhel,the year 5748 [I9881 (Let it be the Year of Freedom of Mashiach)Brooklyn, New York

1. Hebrew acronym for: may he live Kebot Publication Society, the Chabad-for long happy years. Lubav itch publishing house. Merkos2 . Macbne Israel, the social sewices arm L i'nyonei Chinuch, the educational armof the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.


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TRANSLATIONAND

COMMENTARY


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With the help ofHeaven. Shabbat Parshat Shlach, 28 Sivan,Shabbat Mevarchim Tammuz, 5736

SPIES AN D JOSHUA SENT.. .TWOMEN, SPIES.. .'In Likkutei Torah (in the maamar by this tit le2 ), the difference be-tween the spies sent by Joshua and those sent by Moses is explained.Regarding those sent by Moses it is ~ r i t t e n , ~G-d said to Moses:'Send for youv'-and as the Sages interp ret the meaning of for you:"Send spies according to your judgment; I am not com manding you tosend them." The sending of spies by Joshua, however, was (not byhis judgme nt, b ut) by D ivine decree.*

Another difference. The spies sent by Joshua were sent onlyto Jericho, "the lock of the Land of I~rael,"~hrough which theyscouted the entire land.6 Th e spies sent by Moses, on the other h and,traversed the entire land "to its length and breadth."'

T H E L O C K O F THE L A N DThe core of the matter is this: The commandment to conquer theLand (in the spiritual sense) is-like all commandments of the To-rah-an eterna l concept for every generation .%onquering the Landin a spiritual sense means that every Jew must "conquer" ' ll the fa-culties and elements of his body and animal soul'0- "the Land of

1. Joshua 2:l. Haftarah of Shabbat Par-shut Shbch.2 . Likkutei Torah, Shlach, 51c. See also OrHatorah Shhch, Shhch Lecha p. 439 ff.3. Numbers 1 3 2 and Rashi's com -mentary on the verse; Sotah 34 beg. ofside b; similarly, Tanchuma Shlach (end ofch. 5 ) ; Bamidbar Rabbah, ShEach 16:8.4. N o proof is cited for this statement.

The Alter Rebbe assumes as much, since"Joshua would not act without G -d's in-struction" (Likkutei Torah ibid.)5 . See Bamidbar Rabbah 15: 15 "Jericho isthe "bo lt" of the Land of Israel: If Jerichois conquered immediately the entire landwill be captured. Therefore, all the sevennations gathered there [to fight theJews]"; Tanchuma Beha 'alatcha 10.6. As is apparent. See also Joshua 2:3


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"they have come to spy the entire Land"This is also the meaning of the verse, "Goand see the Land and Jericho" (Joshua21)-"see the Land" throug h "Jericho."7. Rashi's commentary on Numbers13 21 ; ibid. 25.8. Or Hatorah ibid. p. 440: "it is certainlyobvious that the giving of the Land to theJewish People occurs also now, in a spir-itual sense."

9. See Tanya ch. 9 (p. 14 beg. of side a):the battle of the divine soul and animalsoul "over the body and its limbs" is anal-ogous to the battle of two kings over acity "where each one wants to conqzrer it."10. ANIMAL SOUL. In the Tanya, the A-ter Rebbe speaks of man as having twolevels of consciousness, which derive fromthe divine soul and the animal soul. Theanimal soul stems from kelipat nogah (seefn. 39) and seeks only self-gratification.


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TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY

are an effusion from Or Ein Sof (LikkuteiTorah, Shlach, 5 1d).(b) Just as garments are outside of andbeyond the body, so too the mitzvot, ex-pressions of the Divine will, are beyondunderstanding (unlike Torah, whichstems from chochmah, which can begrasped). Mitzvot, and hence garments,are called scent, since scent is intangibleand cannot be grasped (Likkutei Torah,Massei 89b).The Zohar ibid. speaks of garmentsand scent in their literal sense, for thecorrelation of garments and scent appliesto all garments. Indeed, thought speechand deed are called Tericho from theword rei'ach, scent, even before it is con-quered, and even before the spies are sentthere.In othe r words, the relationsh ip betweenscent and garm ents does not only refer tothe garme nts of the divine soul, namely themitzvot (as might be understood from theabove maamarim in Likkutei Torah).Rath-er, as evident from the Zohar's story, the re-lationship is true ofeven physical garments .

ThusJericho, i.e., though t speech and deed,is called scent even before it is conquered(and used for mitzvot).15. "THE SCENT OF YOUR GARMENTS."The Zohar ibid. tells the following story:Rabbi Yitzchak and Rabbi Judah stayedat the home of the wife of Rabbi Ham-nuna the Elder. She was the moth er of anespecially gifted child, known in the Zo -bar as "the Yenuka." She told him to "goto these great men and receive blessingsfrom them." He went towards them, butas he drew near he suddenly recoiled. Hesaid to his mother, "I do not want to gonear them because they did not read theShema today." The rabbis admitted thisto be true, explaining that they had beenbusy with the mitzvah of helping a groomand bride. "But how did you know?" theyasked. "From the scent of your gar-ments."16. The Cananites, Chittites, Emorites,Prizites, Chivites, Jebusites, and Gir-gashi es.


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28 GARMENTS O F T H E S O U L

entirely devoted to G-d. But the emotions of the heart are not with-in the control of every person, since "tzaddikim (alone) are in con-trol of their hearts." ''

Thus regarding the spies sent by Moses to scout out the entireland (to examine the emotions and ensure that they are entirely de-voted to G-d ) it is written, "'Sendforyou'-by your judgmen t; I amnot commanding you." For the service of (completely) conqueringthe emotions can take place only through the revelation of the levelof Moses, and this mode of service is not equally relevant to allpeople.

T Z A D D I K I M A N D B E I N O N I MTh e Tora h is eternal and applicable to everyone. It follows then thatthe fact that the Torah (also) tells of the sending of (Moses') spies toscout out the entire land is an eternal lesson to every Jew, even onewho is not on the level of Moses.

We can understand this by introducing a concept discussed inTanya'' regarding tzaddikim and beinonim. T he divine service ofthe beinonim involves (primarily") the ga rments of the soul-thought speech and deed. Thus the rank of beinoni is the rank at-tainable by every man. For even when a person's heart craves and de-sires some material pleasure, he is capable of restraining himself 20and co ntrolling the drive of his heart's lust by not allowing it to findexpression in deed, speech, or thought (i.e. not to willingly thinkabout his desire I) , to the extent of being able to divert his mindfrom it entirely.Th e service of tzaddikim , on the other ha nd, primarily involvesthe emotions of the heart (love and fear of G-d), and not every

17 . BereishitRabbah3410 et al. See Tanya Rebbe in Tanya ch . 12 (17a).ch 17. 21. This appears to be his intention in18. Ch. 14. Tanya ibid. (see ibid. 17b). This clarifieswhat the Alter Rebbe is adding afterward19. See below fn. 42. with the words "and to divert his mindfrom it entirely"-meaning that he must20. These are the words of the Alter not merely refrain from deliberately


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TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY

thinking about his desire, he must also According to this, it becomes clear"divert his mind (and even beyond that) why when discussing "diverting hisentirely." mind," he says, "to overcome and divertSimilarly, in ch. 14 he writes, "to act, his mind," whereas in his statement "tospeak, and think even that which is do, speak, and think" he does not say "toagainst his heart's desire," then he adds, overcome.""to overcome it and divert his mind from Th e matter de mand s further analysis.it entirely."


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TRANSLATION A N D C O M M EN TA R Y

stance-such as some of the command-ments given while the Jews were in Egyptor in the desert-the mitzvah is con-sidered "not a~ ~l ic ab len all generations,"and cannot be' Lounted as on: of the 613.See Rambam ibid.However. from the oersoective of theL Iinner dimension o things it can be saidthat all 613 commandments apply in eve-ry generation-in a spir itual sense. It isworth noting the well known idea (Igg retHakodesh ch. 29 , et al) that every Jewishperson must fulfill all 613 command-ments-there are. however. those mitzuotthat one has fulfilled in H previous in-carnation. "The Arizal stated that everyperson of Israel must be reincarnatedmanv times until he has fulfilled all 613comkandments of the Torah in thought,speech and d ee d (Iggeret H ak o d e ch.29).It should also be noted that the idea ofthe relations hi^ between the 613 com-Imandments and the 6 13 limbs and sinewsalso applies in all generations. The Mid-rash speaks of the human body as having

248 limbs and 365 sinews, correspondingto the 248 positive and 365 negative com-mandments of the Torah (TancbumaHakadum, Tctzei;Makkot 24a).25. Deuteronomy 20: 17.26. Although the type of love and fear ofG-d that motivates the keeping of themitzvot (see Tanya beg. of ch. 17; ch. 42(p. 60 end of side b), et al) must be de-veloped by every person-indeed of thistype of love and fear it is said, "For thematter is very near to YOU" ( Tanya beg. ofch. 17)-nevertheless, since this type oflove and fear is necessary for the keepingof the mitzvot, it is (apparently) includedin the "conquest of Jericho." But the ideaof the conquest of the land of the sevennations* is the service of love and fear as

* And certainly the dispatching of thespies to scout out the land, the idea ofwhich is "to examine the nature of one'slove and fear" (Likkutei Torah ibid. 5 2a).


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TRANSLATION AN D COMMENTARY

.;m in ix l 'pvl r?I#. nyravg nv o.:pL, inL,?qi1b).="ps'Iy(;rtpa?) o~L,?~ngll~5sv.r! 1 m g oav nu ?n~ l,c ;nu$. ny ina an?! y7aq ' 5; nx ,1n2ni.rg3 nu linq51 i m i 1.1~ 5v?iv!g 7nu 5?t$o.L,nnj. ,I:, '9 $Y VHV x5x... 3 3 7 0713 1371~. ,ibv.J 4 5 n!yg. J 3 , T ~ Y ~ V. . ?$ n j v rnp awe?.~ 1 2 ~ 7 )W Y B I. 772.7 navnanT - : - - ?Y xm 7133 i2.y19uv 372 A 535: ;lpn! nW7q ( u p ? ) tl;l?v ,cinv7'.1'23I#. n im ? 13

stitute the soul itself, they are called itsbody, its "attached garmentn which can-not be removed or changed-at least notwithout tremendous effort. Indeed, someaspects of the ~ sy c he can never bechanged. Though t speech and deed, how-ever, are compared to physical garments,which are called "detached garments,"which can be removed or changed.Th e Rebbe exolains that when we referIto the body as an attached garment, wemean that the body has no identity out-side of housing the soul. Thus the bodydoes not conceal the spirit of the soul,rather it demonstrates--even when it isnot moving-that it is alive. This is alsowhy the bdy reacts automatically to thewish of the soul and there is no need forthe soul to "co mm and the arm to move,

since the very iden tity of the body is to bea vessel to the soul. The detached gar-ments, on the other hand, have an iden-tity outside of clothing the person, andtherefore conceal the body.Similarly, the sole purpose of the in-tellect and emotions is to serve as vesselsfor the soul. Thus it is readily apparentthat the soul is expressing itself throughthem. Thought speech and deed, by con-trast, have an identity of their own, andthe soul's manifestation through them isan added element to their identity. Thusthey conceal [to some extent] the intellectand emotions they contain.30. See Genesis 2:25. See Shulchan AruchAdmur Hazaken, Orach Chaim, secondedition beg. of ch. 2.


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34 GARMENTS OF THE SOUL

self from the cold and the heat], nevertheless-he can removethem; and he certainly does not need these particular clothing (thathe is wearing now), and can exchange them for others-

Similarly with regard to the garments of the soul: the garmentsspeech and deed can be " sh ed ; and even thought, which is constant-ly active and cannot be "shed," can be replaced with a differentt h o ~ g h t . ~ 'ut man 's intellect and e mo tions are the soul itselC3' andhence, much ef fo rt -e ve n a special assistance from Above-is nec-essary in order to change them.

SUBLIME O R I G I N SIt can be said, that this-that thou ght speech and deed are gar-ments-is also one of the reasons tha t the experience of thou ghtspeech and deed matters more than that of the emotions. In otherwords: the fact that the main thing demanded of every person isthe service of con troll ing thou ght speech and deed, is-not onlybecause they are in man's control as mentioned above, butalso-because they matter more.

This will be understood by introducing an oft-cited concept re-garding the garments,33namely that the root of the garments tran-scends the ro ot of the person wearing them.

This primordial superiority is appa rent even in the earthly stateof the garments. Thus the garments "su rro un d the person and granthim addition al beauty and splendor-thus "Rabbi Yochanan wouldcall his clothin g 'those th at hon or m e,' "34-because, in the ir source,they transcend the person.Similarly with regard to the garments of the soul, thought,speech and deed , that the ro ot of the garments transcends the soul.

31.Although a person cannot stop think- Vayeira; Likkutei Torah Vayikra 4b et al,ing, he can control the subject-matter of where Rabb i Schneur Zalman explainshis though ts. that the soul is not "made up" of intellectand emotions, but rather manifests itself32. Tanya Ch. 12-13 (num erous times). through them , since the soul itself is es-Similarly, see Tanya beg. of chapters 3 sentially unknowable.and 6. Only in comparison to the "garments"See, however, Torah Or beg. of Panhat are the intellect and emotions called the


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36 GARMENTS O F TH E SO U L

Therefore, through the thought speech and deed of the 613commandments, which are the garments of the divine thesoul is elevated beyond its natural level.36

[This is also the significance of mitzvot being the garments forthe soul, meaning that specifically through the mitzvot can thesoul enjoy the splendor of the Divine Presence, as explained atlength in many sources,3' including the maamar by the same titlein Likkutei Torah.] 8

Conversely, through the thought, speech and deed of worldlymatters which are not performed for the sake of Heaven-i.e., thegarments of the animal soul-the animal soul suffers a descent thatexceeds its natu ral lowness.39

35. See fn. 12.36. Tanya ch. 4. Since Torah and G-d areone-meaning that G-d "comp ressedHis will, which is one with Him, andclothed it in the physical laws and lettersof the Torah-by "donn ing" the gar-ments of Torah and mitzvot, one becomesunited with Him. Thus thk garments ofthe soul, i.e., man's behavior, brings thesoul to a hieher level than it can ever0achieve on its own. "For no created being,even of the higher realms, can grasp anymore than a glimmer of the Divinelight.. .But the Holy O ne blessed be H ei l His glory and ksence-'no thoug htcan apprehend Him at all.' Only wheno n e a ~ ~ r e h e n d sorah and mitzvot doesone g;Ap and dot he oneself in G-d Him-self" (Tanya ibid.).Th e Alter Rebbe was once ~u zzl ed vthe fact that a certain businessman whohad passed away was immediately usheredinto Gan Eden and raised to an extremelylofty level. Later, the matter became clearto him. H e then ex ~lain ed hat this in-dividual possessed lofty garmen ts, since hewas fluent in Torah and Mishnah, whichhe would review in his mind or actually

say the words whenever he was free of hisbki nes s affairs, day and night. H e wouldalso covertly, and with self-sacrifice, dis-pense large sums of money for charity,even to his enemies and antagonists. Saidthe Alter Rebbe: "Tzedzkah (charity),thought and speech, are garments, andthe garments honor a person and raisehim to a stature that is entirely beyond hisstatusn (Sefer ~amaamurim' ~Lntreisimvol. 3 p. 848).37. Iggeret Hakodesh ch. 29; Torah Or,Chaye Sarah 16a (see ibid. 16c and on, forreferences to many sources in Zobar andEtz Chaim);Miketz 32d and on; LikkuteiTorah, Massei 89b, 9 3a, et al.

MITZVOT AS GARMENTS. In Eden,the soul delights in the splendor of theDivine Presence. But how can the soul, acreated and thus finite entity, apprehenddivinity? Th e mediating factor is Torahand mitzvot.Torah and mitzvot are essentially Di-vine. When man performs mitzvot, hissoul is united with the mitzvot and theybecome the "garments" for hi soul. Thesegarments serve as vessels enabling the soulto app rehend divinity.


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38 GARMENTS OF TH E SOUL

And since the divine soul is clothed in the animal soul, the an-imal soul's descent causes a descent in the divine soul as well, the an-imal soul bringing down the divine soul (which is clothed in it) tothe lowest of the

Th is is why the primary service of man is T umJiom eviland dogood41 n actual physical practice, in thought speech and deed.42 orthe purpose of the soul's descent below is that through its service be-low it will rise beyond its natural state (i.e., its pre-descent state).And this elevation occurs only through the service of the garm ents,thought, speech and deed, m uch like the effect of garments in the lit-eral sense, which add beauty and splendor to the person that wearsthem etc.

Th us Jericho is considered the " lo ck of the Land of Israel, sincethrough the service of TumJiorn evil and do good, in thought speechand deed [and certainly when one performs the "sending of spies toJericho," to scout out and examine the though t, speech and deed andensure that they are entirely devoted to G-d] one reaches4? he serviceof refining and transforming the emotions, i.e. the conquest of theland of the seven nations, and even further: TheL-rdyour G-d willex-pand you r borders,44 eferring to the conquest o f the land of the Keini,Knizi, and Ka dm on P in the Messianic era, which represents the threebrains,46with the coming of the righ teous Mashiach, literally soon.

riah , Yetzirah and Asiyah,"*-it can besaid that the fact that the garments of theanimal soul are "more impure than she"is true even when the thoug ht speech anddeed are committed without lust, but

merely without a divine purpose. This istrue although they are then in the realmof kelipat nogah and do not descend intothe "three impure kelipot" (KitzurimZhe'arot ibid. ch. 7).

* In a gloss to Tanya ch. 6, the AlterRebbe quotes E tz Chaim, which states thatthis world, despite its apparent evil, con-tains the ten s4 ro t (the Divine energy) ofthe world of Rriydh (our physical worldand the spiritual world by that name),which in essence contain the ten $&rot of

Atzibt (the highest world), which in turncontain Or Ein SoJ; G-d's Infinite Light.Th e meaning of this statement aside, it ap-pears tha t the Tzemach Tzedek speaks ofthe "clothing of impurity" as being fromke1ipat nogah, and still degrading the an-imal soul.


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HEBREW NOTE S

.n?w13pWw iben- x ,1ywin' (x.t?wi u'ln ~y 73 nVw nnf unwia nw;rixnx nxii + x ,X ilnwla(1

xnimn3 ~ ~ - 7 y i~ y5 i ,f? nuib .anny ~ ) w i e > i ,x3 ilnwia (1.n ,r*e imwie inltn:! ,(neio3) n ilnwie

,7"i? ni~yn3ninln. i~iWmW3-7n3x1 7yim 2 1 nx iionh x ,am ywin9nax ryn?i .muwe> lain3 (n

"y nyixn nx ixi,, - x ,nw ywin-) 1Jin9i-xi yixn nx ix i i u?,,DX inti.Mi~iSx,,3 3 P .x> , ilnwia -wia (1

nx 1 1 ~ 7 xiur? pixn n15n119n3w i w a x7i'1, nn ly nw nf1mx3iT,ffni'mii3 nny331 qixn ?y, ~;11i~ ~ ; 1 3w nnnYnn7 ,(xNyiI-) ~~~39mnP Y ~ ?n.TWIJ~ 3x17 7nx ?3wll i 'y 'ly n')?n 'W nnn?n nnx1.r x5n ni-i3x

,77wi xnn ,y nw nnnix .~?sxi ,X nw n~ip?Dnwip7)yon ;i?x nwt7nw 1v~xninw nrip?:! - x ,iep xnn (5n-ii noiwe3 n'wa'l3 iznn nw inr3i .nw nn;nxl nx pnyl- 3 $5 'yonnwyni iisf nlwnni .n'wi>?n 932 X n?? nvwi3?7 ni3nwnw ,iDiwa3n~?xin;~i?w 515'7 i?'exi wis3n ?D? DX nSiiw7n in9r n?' nw3 ,171.nw?

.tM9ax5m3x71.7iyi .' , fP?e iff>x9.7"D (3'

.3 i myn 'lap?3x1 (1'.(x ,P) ~ ~ 591n> ~ ~ 3 7 ~i w ?7-

;In pin ~ ~ 3 y i(3 ,tS nw nxii) nw N-M> ;l1ii3;1 mix37 3113 (113nxw x?x n i n 3 nwn9x?w p i x?7 - "?ax'/ inyt n~o;l?i,, rMnx?l,uinru,lr'inx? (itn ni'n'i) iny-7 n-os,,

trrnx?i137 nixn 1x3 xinw nn nx nwn?i 3 ' ~ ? i iwy?, ~ ~ 5 3 3~.IY~."?nx? ?Inn ny7 n'o;r?i i2xnn?,, q'oin

nw? i -11nni17, ?nix m y 7 n5o;rX l r y 3 imnw3w pnnr ttleyi.ynxyi .ni3xnn?,, nix I I ~ N nwnh im7i niwy?,,> rxwn ,"iny-7

.3 ,? 3-73 (IDi ~ b )iixn xw9in33n1 19nny ny3w xi139 vii'x;lw nrn nx n3int3(rw i w ~~~3ni; l?ixnn YQD) *niii-77nixni3 l;lw , ( T Q ~y n nf13n7;lV nixn3

.(A


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See also thoughts

&at, 18, 39n 46deeds, 26-28,32-34,36,37n 39See also m i m t ; s insdelicacies for the Shechinah, 1 4 1depression, 14descent of the soul, 36desires, 13-14, 28 , 371139detached garm ents, 32 n29 , 351132

See also garments (spiritual)devotion to G-d, 28, 32See also love of G-dDivineSee G-d

divine int ent ion s, 26n 12, 371139divine serviceSee mitzvotdivine soul of man, 24-26, 36, 38

See also souls

ego, 251110Ein SoJ38n39Eisav, 14elevation of the soul, 36, 38

See also changeemotionschanging of, 30-3 2,34 ,38control over, 17-18,24 -30, 32Land of Israel corresponding to,

30-32,38love and fear of G-d, 26n12, 28,30n23,31n26,39n42See also devotion to G-dseven, the, 18as vessels of the soul, 32n29, 331129evil, 13-14, 16-17, 30n 23, 37n 39, 38

Exodus, generation of the, 15

fear of G-d, 26n12,2 8,31 n26,3 9n4 2frustrations, 14 GGan Eden, 26n14,36n36,36 n37garments (physical), 18, 27n14, 32-34,

38garments (spiritual)of animal soul, 37n39attached and detached, 32n29,3 5n3 2deeds, 17,26-28,32-34,36,37n39Jericho as, 2 4 2 6 , 38mitzvot as, 26n14,36removingSee changescent, related to, 26speech, 26-28, 32-34, 3 6thoughts , 26-28, 36

G-dattributes of (t in sefrot) , 381139devotion to, 28, 32Divine Presence (Shechinah),14-15,26n14divine soul and, 26n10, 26n12energy of, 38n39judgment of

See beinonim; rd a 'i m ;d i k i m

love and fear of, 26n12, 28, 30n23,31n26,39n42Or Ein SoJ38n39relationship with man, 14-15,26n 12Torah, one with, 36n 36will of, 27n14good, 18,37 n39, 38

Ham nuna the Elder, Rabbi, 27n 15


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INDEX

heartSee emotionsholinessSee divine soul of man;G-dhonor, 34,36n3 6

homirh, 32human bodybrain, 18, 38limbs and sinews, 3 1n2 4physical garments for, 18, 27n14,32-34,38soul and, 18,24-26 ,33n29,37n 37See also man

improvementSee change

impuritySee evilinclinations, 13-14See also temptations

Infinite Light, 38n39intellect, 18, 32n29, 34 , 38seeah0 thoughtsIsrael, Land ofconquest of, 24,3 0-32 , 38Jericho, 24-26, 38seven nation s of, 18 , 24n5, 26,

30n24soul represented by, 24 2 6 , 3 6 3 2spies of , 15-18, 24, 28-32

Jericho, 24-26, 38See ulro Joshua, spies ofJewish peopleSee manJoshua, spies of, 15-18, 24

joy, serving G-d with, 30 n2 3Judah, Rabbi, 27n15

Kadmonim, 38Keinim, 38kelipah, 18, 25n10 ,37n39Knizim, 38

Land of Canaan, 24-26Land of Israelconquest of, 24,3 0-32 ,38Jericho, 24-26, 38seven nations of, 18, 24115, 26 ,30n24soul represented by, 24-26 ,3O-32spies of, 15-18,24,2&32Light, Infinite, 38n39

limbs, 3 n24See a h odylove of G-d, 26n12, 28, 30n23,3 1n26,39n42Lubav itcher Rebbe, 2 1lust, 13-14, 28, 37n 39

manbeinonim, 13-15, 17,28-30,39n42rasba'im, 13, 16-17

relationship with G -d, 14-15,26n 12See ulro G-d; service, divine

tzacidikim, 13-17,28-30See alro body; soulsMessianic era, 18, 38, 3 9n46mind, 18,38,39n 46

See alro thoughtsmisdeedsSee sinsmission of the Jewish peopleSee service, divine


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mitzvotbody, correspondence to, 3 In24emotions, con quering, 24-28fulfillment of, 18, 31n 24as garments of the soul, 26n14, 36intentions behind, 2 6n 12Land of Israel, conquering, 24, 30n24love a nd fear necessary for

performance, 39n42man's relationship with G -d and ,26n12in Messianic era, 39n46

motivation to keep, 3 1n2 6universality of, 30-32modesty, 32Moses, spies of, 15-18, 24, 28-32motivation to keep mitzvot, 3 1n2 6

nat ions, the seven, 18, 24115, 26, 30n24See also Land of Israel

oath of the soul, 16-1 7Or Ein Sof; 38n39

persimmon oil, 26n 13physical garments, 18 ,27n 14 , 32-34, 38prestige th rough garmen ts, 3 4, 361136

Rabbah, 13Rambam, 30n24rasha'im, 13, 16-17

See also evilrei'arh, 26reincarnation, 3 1n24

rejection of evil, 371139See also changerejoicing in G -d, 3 0n2 3

removing garmentsSee change

repentance, 13righteousnessSee good; d i k i m

Ruach (soul-level), 17

scent, 26Schneerson, Rabbi Menachem M endel,21Schneur Zalman of Liadi, Rabbi, 13-17Sefer Ha mitzvo t, 30n24sejrot, ten, 38n39self-control

See change; conquering of emotion sself-gratification, 25n 10service, divineSee mi zvoseven emotions, the, 1 8

seven nations, the, 18,24n5,26, 30n24See also Land of Israel

Shechinah, 14-1 5, 261114shedding garmentsSee changeshell (in Kabbalah ), 371139

sinews, 31n2 4See also bodysins, 13-15, 28, 37n39See also evil; rasha'imsoulsanimaldescent of, 36

divine and, 25n9, 3 8garments of, 18 ,26n1 2,37n 39spiritual conquer of, 24-26, 30-32body and, 18,26n1 0,33n29,37n 37deg radation of, 371139


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OTH ER TITLES INT H E CHASIDIC HERITAGE SERIES


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THE ETERNAL BOND fiom Torah OrBy Rabbi Schneur Zalrnan of LiadiTranslated by Rabbi h i SollishThis discourse explores the spiritual significance of brit milah, ana-lyzing two dimensions in which our connection with G-d may berealized. For in truth, there are two forms of spiritual circumcision:Initially, man must "circumcise his heart," freeing himself to thebest of his ability from his negative, physical drives; ultimately,though, it is G-d who truly liberates man from his material attach-ment.

JOURNEYOF TH E SOUL from Torah OrBy Rabbi Schneur Zalman of LiadiTranslated by Rabbi h i SollishDrawing upon the parallel between Queen Esther's impassionedplea to King Ahasuerus for salvation and the soul's entreaty to G-dfor help in its spiritual struggle, this discourse examines the root ofthe soul's exile, and the dynamics by which it lifts itself from thegrip of materiality and ultimately finds a voice with which toexpress its G-dly yearnings. Includes a brief biography of theauthor.

TRANSFORMING THE INNER SELF from ~ i k k u t r i orahBy Rabbi Schneur Zalman o f LiadiTranslated by Rabbi Chairn Zw CitronThis discourse presents a modern-day perspective on the Biblicalcommand to offer animal sacrifices. Rabbi Schneur Zalman teach-es that each of us possesses certain character traits that can be seenas "animalistic," or materialistic, in nature, which can lead a persontoward a life of material indulgence. Our charge, then, is to "sacri-fice" and transform the animal within, to refine our animal traitsand utilize them in our pursuit of spiritual perfection.


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FLAMES from Gates of RadianceBy Rabbi DovBer of LubavitchTranslated by Dr. Naftoli LoewenthalThis discourse focuses on the multiple images of the lamp, the oil,the wick and the different hues of the flame in order to express pro-found guidance in the divine service of every individual. AlthoughFlames is a Chanukah discourse, at the same time, it presents con-cepts that are of perennial significance. Includes the first Englishbiography of the author ever published.

THE MITZVAH TO LOVE YOUR FELLOW AS YOUR-SELF from Derecb MztzvotecbaBy Rabbi Menache m Mendel o f Lubavitch, the Tzemach TzedekTranslated by Rabbis Nissan Mange1 and Zalman I'osnerThe discourse discusses the Kabbalistic principle of the "collectivesoul of the world of Ekkun" and explores the essential unity of allsouls. The discourse develops the idea that when we connect on asoul level, we can love our fellow as we love ourselves; for in truth,we are all one soul. Includes a brief biography of the author.

TRUE EXISTENCE Mi Chamorha5627By Rabb i Shm uel of Luba vitchTranslated by Ra bbis Yosef M arcus and A vraham D. VaisficheThis discourse revolutionizes the age-old notion of Monotheism,i.e., that there is no other god besides Him. Culling from Talmudicand Midrashic sources, the discourse makes the case that not onlyis there no other god besides Him, there is nothing besides Him-literally. The only thing that truly exists is G-d. Includes a briefbiography of the author.


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THE POWER OF RETURNYom Tov She1 Rosh H ashanah 5659 Discourse ThreeBy Rabbi Shalom DovBer of LubavitchTranslated by Rabbi Y. Eliezer DanzingerIn this discourse Rabbi Shalom DovBer examines of the innerworkings of teshuvah, and explains how it is precisely throughmaking a detailed and honest examination of one's character andspiritual standing-which inevitably leads one to a contrite andbroken heart-that allows one to realize his or her essential connec-tion with G-d.

THE PRINCIPLES OFEDUCATION AND GUIDANCEKlalei Hachinuch L+hahadrachahBy Rabbi Yosef Yiacha k o f LubavitchTranslated by Rabbi Y. Eliaer DanzingerThe Principles of Education dnd Guidance is a compelling treatisethat examines the art of educating. In this thought provoking analy-sis, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak teaches how to assess the potential of anypupil, how to objectively evaluate one's own strengths, and how tosuccessfully use reward and punishment-methods that will helpone become a more effective educator.

THE FOUR WORLDSBy Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of LubavitchTranslated by Rabbis Yosef Marcus and Avraham D . VaisficheOverview by Rabbi J. Imrnanuel SchochetAt the core of our identity is the desire to be one with our source,and to know the spiritual realities that give our physical life thetranscendental importance of the Torah's imperatives. In this letterto a yearning Chasid, the Rebbe explains the mystical worlds ofAtzilut, Beriah, Yetzira, and Asiya.


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Garments of Soul

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Transcript of Garments of Soul