
Watch video/lecture: Tanya/ Iggeres Ha’Kodesh - The Holy Epistle
The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life. It has revolutionized the way we think about G -d the human soul, the world and our place in it.
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Epistle 17
It is well known1 that in response to an arousal from below, when a man arouses in his heart the attribute of lovingkindness and compassion for all those in need of compassion,
יז נוֹדָע, דִּבְ"אִתְעָרוּתָא דִלְתַתָּא", שֶׁהָאָדָם מְעוֹרֵר בְּלִבּוֹ מִדַּת הַחֶסֶד וְרַחֲמָנוּת עַל כָּל הַצְּרִיכִים לְרַחֲמִים –
there comes an arousal from above, that arouses great compassion upon him from the Source of Compassion,
"אִתְעָרוּתָא דִלְעֵילָּא", לְעוֹרֵר עָלָיו רַחֲמִים רַבִּים מִמְּקוֹר הָרַחֲמִים,
As taught in ch. 45 of Part I, this does not refer to Av Harachaman, the limited level of compassion that derives from the measured evolvement of the worlds but to the level of Divine compassion (Av Harachamim) that transcends all limitations.
that endows him with the fruits [of his deeds] in this world while the principal [remains intact] for the World to Come.2
לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ לוֹ הַפֵּירוֹת בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, וְהַקֶּרֶן לָעוֹלָם־הַבָּא.
The Alter Rebbe goes on to explain that “fruits in this world” refers not only to physical blessings but also to the insights and spiritual delights of Gan Eden (lit., “the Garden of Eden”), for even Gan Eden is termed “this world” in relation to the World to Come at the time of the Revival of the Dead.
It is true that in relation to our present physical world, Gan Eden is called the World to Come because it follows and rewards the good deeds performed in this world.3 Nevertheless, when compared to the actual World to Come, all worlds—including the spiritual worlds, of which Gan Eden is one—are termed “this world.”
This is because all worlds can aspire (even now) to comprehension (“this” being a word denoting revelation)4; by contrast, as the Alter Rebbe will soon explain,5 the perceptions of Divinity in the World to Come at the time of the Revival of the Dead will transcend all levels of comprehension.
This means that “the fruits” refers to the flow of benevolence which is bestowed by the Source of Compassion and the Fountainhead of Life, blessed be He.
פֵּירוּשׁ, "הַפֵּירוֹת" – הִיא הַשְׁפָּעָה הַנִּשְׁפַּעַת מִמְּקוֹר הָרַחֲמִים וְחַיֵּי הַחַיִּים בָּרוּךְ־הוּא,
It issues ever netherward, following the pattern of the evolution of the worlds from above downward, and so on,
וְנִמְשֶׁכֶת לְמַטָּה מַּטָּה בִּבְחִינַת הִשְׁתַּלְשְׁלוּת הָעוֹלָמוֹת מִלְמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה כוּ',
until it vests itself in this physical world, in [the form of the blessings of] children, life, and livelihood, and the like.
עַד שֶׁמִּתְלַבֶּשֶׁת בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה הַגַּשְׁמִי בְּ"בָנֵי חַיֵּי וּמְזוֹנֵי" כו'.
All these gifts, both spiritual and material, are deemed to be mere “fruits,” for just as fruits are not of the essence of a tree but fall and are replaced, so, too, does this flow of benevolence undergo a transformation from world to world.
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FOOTNOTES
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1. Zohar I, 88a.
2. Note by the Rebbe: “Mishnah at the beginning of Peah; Peirush Hamishnayot there; see also the discourse beginning Kol Hameracheim, 5709 (Sefer Hamaamarim 5709, on p. 7 of the second pagination).”
3. Rambam, Hilchot Teshuvah 8:8.
4. For only something that is revealed can be comprehended.
5. Note by the Rebbe: “See also ch. 48 [of Part I].”