Watch: Lesson in Tanya, the Holy Epistle

Tanya / Iggeres Ha’Kodesh - The Holy Epistle, Epistle 14, Class 6 __________ tanyaonline.com/?p=2011 _______ And this is the meaning of the above-quoted verse, “Forever are the eyes of the L-rd your G‑d upon it,” וְזֶהוּ שֶׁכָּתוּב "תָּמִיד עֵינֵי ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ בָּהּ", for “eyes” is an epithet for the efflux and radiance of the light of chochmah , שֶׁהָ"עֵינַיִם" הֵם כִּינּוּיִם לְהַמְשָׁכַת וְהֶאָרַת אוֹר הַחָכְמָה, for which reason sages are referred to as “the eyes of the congregation,”10 for they are illumined by the light of chochmah which is known by the epithet “eyes.” שֶׁלָּכֵן נִקְרְאוּ חֲכָמִים "עֵינֵי הָעֵדָה", And [this, too, is the meaning of the teaching], “The atmosphere of the Land of Israel makes one wise”11— for the Land of Israel, too, is illumined by chochmah. וַ"אֲוִירָא דְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל מַחְכִּים". As was stated above, “Forever are the eyes of the L-rd your G‑d upon it” refers to a constant illumination by chochmah . Now, this radiance and efflux, though it is continuous, וְהֶאָרָה וְהַמְשָׁכָה זוֹ, אַף שֶׁהִיא תְּמִידִית, nevertheless, it is not only on one and the same plane and level since the beginning of the world. אַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן אֵינָהּ בִּבְחִינָה וּמַדְרֵגָה אַחַת לְבַדָּהּ מִימֵי עוֹלָם, Rather, every year, there is a new and superior light, אֶלָּא שֶׁבְּכָל שָׁנָה וְשָׁנָה הוּא אוֹר חָדָשׁ עֶלְיוֹן, because the light which was generated and which shone on this Rosh Hashanah withdraws to its source on the eve of the next Rosh Hashanah. כִּי הָאוֹר שֶׁנִּתְחַדֵּשׁ וְהֵאִיר בְּרֹאשׁ־הַשָּׁנָה זֶה, הוּא מִסְתַּלֵּק בְּעֶרֶב רֹאשׁ־הַשָּׁנָה הַבָּאָה לְשָׁרְשׁוֹ. This enables us to understand the verse that says that “the eyes of G‑d” are upon the Land “from the beginning of the year to the end of the year” only. וְזֶהוּ שֶׁכָּתוּב "מֵרֵשִׁית הַשָּׁנָה וְעַד אַחֲרִית שָׁנָה" לְבַדָּהּ. The verse does not state that they are there “everlastingly,” for the efflux that descends on Rosh Hashanah lasts only to the end of the year, at which time it withdraws and makes way for the descent of a new and more sublime light. And that is why meireishit (“from the beginning”) is written without an alef : וְלָכֵן כְּתִיב "מֵרֵשִׁית" חָסֵר א' – it alludes to the withdrawal of the light, signified by the alef , 12 רוֹמֵז עַל הִסְתַּלְּקוּת הָאוֹר which withdraws on the night of Rosh Hashanah שֶׁמִּסְתַּלֵּק בְּלֵיל רֹאשׁ־הַשָּׁנָה At that time, the innermost element of the world’s vitality is in a state of withdrawal due to the “ascent of malchut ”; i.e., the innermost core of malchut is then in a state of elevation and withdrawal, until after the sounding of the Shofar , עַד אַחַר הַתְּקִיעוֹת, when there descends a new and more sublime light that has never yet shone since the beginning of the world. שֶׁיּוֹרֵד אוֹר חָדָשׁ עֶלְיוֹן יוֹתֵר שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה מֵאִיר עֲדַיִין מִימֵי עוֹלָם אוֹר עֶלְיוֹן כָּזֶה, It vests itself and conceals itself in the Eretz Hachaim, which is above— i.e., in malchut of Atzilut, the source of all worlds and created being s—and in the Eretz Hachaim, which is below, in the Land of Israel, וְהוּא מִתְלַבֵּשׁ וּמִסְתַּתֵּר בְּ"אֶרֶץ הַחַיִּים" שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה וְשֶׁלְּמַטָּה, For the light that animates this world first passes through the Holy Land, and from there, it is diffused throughout the world at large. in order to animate all the worlds for the duration of that year. לְהַחֲיוֹת אֶת כָּל הָעוֹלָמוֹת כָּל מֶשֶׁךְ שָׁנָה זוֹ. Its manifestation, however, אַךְ גִּילּוּיוֹ מֵהַהֶסְתֵּר הַזֶּה, The light became concealed in the Eretz Hachaim above and below. The revelation of this light and the descent of a creative life-force to the world and all its created beings, depends on the actions of those below and on their merits and penitence during the Ten Days of Penitence. תָּלוּי בְּמַעֲשֵׂה הַתַּחְתּוֹנִים וּזְכוּתָם וּתְשׁוּבָתָם בַּעֲשֶׂרֶת יְמֵי תְשׁוּבָה, This will suffice for the initiated. וְדַי לַמֵּבִין: In summary: The Divine light issuing from the sefirah of chochmah in the World of Atzilut that radiates within the Land of Israel throughout the year increases yearly both in quantity and in quality. Similarly, the tzedakah given for the Holy Land should be increased every year both quantitatively and qualitatively. The conclusion of the above letter makes it clear that this mortal initiative makes an impact on the revelation of this light: the ever increasing revelation of the light that descends in a concealed form is dependent on the ever increasing contributions of tzedakah given for the Land of Israel. ______ FOOTNOTES ___________ 10. See Numbers 15:24 ; Taanit 24a. 11. Bava Batra 158b. 12. Cf. Zohar II, 34a; ibid, 123a.

Watch: Lesson in Tanya, the Holy Epistle

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