לקוטי שיחות חלק ד׳ - כי תבוא

Likkutei Sichos Vol. 4 – Ki Savo – The Roles of the Kohen and the Levi

1. [...] "Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, is called gracious, so too should you be gracious; just as He is called merciful, so too should you be merciful; just as He is called pious, so too should you be pious."

Among the principles that the Rambam provides regarding the enumeration of the mitzvos, he states that a general command, such as "You shall observe My statutes" or "You shall be holy," is not counted in the enumeration of the mitzvos because they are not commands concerning a specific detail, but rather encompass the entire Torah. Seemingly, the mitzvah of "And you shall walk in His ways" is also a general command. For although the specific details of this mitzvah, such as "be gracious," "be merciful," and "be pious," fall under acts of kindness, which are included in the mitzvah of "Love your fellow as yourself," according to the explanation of "And you shall walk in His ways" — "to emulate Him, blessed be He, to the best of your ability" — this applies to all mitzvos, as they are the "ways" of the Holy One, blessed be He, since G‑d fulfills all the mitzvos. Therefore, the command "And you shall walk in His ways" is not a specific mitzvah but includes all mitzvos. Yet, the Rambam counts it in the enumeration of the mitzvos.

We must say that within the command "And you shall walk in His ways," there is a certain aspect that is not present in other commands, and due to this novelty in the command, it is counted in the enumeration of the mitzvos. This is similar to the mitzvah "And you shall serve the L‑rd your G‑d," which, although it is one of the general commands — for with every mitzvah one serves the Almighty — nevertheless, due to the novelty present in this mitzvah, it is counted in the enumeration of the mitzvos.

2. What is the novelty in the command "And you shall walk in His ways" that is not found in other mitzvos? — "And you shall walk," meaning that the manner of fulfilling the mitzvos should be in a way of progression. It is possible for one to fulfill mitzvos and yet remain in the same place, in the same state and condition as before fulfilling the mitzvah. The command "And you shall walk" comes to teach that one should fulfill mitzvos in such a manner that they effect a progression in the person who fulfills them; he should move from his previous state and be elevated to a higher level.

And how does one achieve this "And you shall walk"? — Through "in His ways": he fulfills each mitzvah because it is the way of the Holy One, blessed be He, doing it in order "to emulate Him, blessed be He," and then the mitzvos will have the effect on him of — "And you shall walk."

3. Although the fulfillment of mitzvos certainly refines the person who performs them, regardless of how he fulfills them, even if he does not fulfill the specific commandment of "And you shall walk in His ways" (to the extent that even when one performs a mitzvah in the lowest manner of "not for its own sake," the mitzvah still has an effect on him), and through each refinement he indeed moves away from his previous state — this is, however, a concealed matter. The commandment "And you shall walk" is to fulfill the mitzvos in such a way that it is felt openly how through the mitzvah he becomes "and you shall walk."

Regarding the verse "And I will give you a place to walk among these who stand," it is explained in Chassidus that angels, and likewise souls before they descend below, are called "standers," while souls below, through their fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos, are called "walkers." Chassidus explains that although angels, and certainly souls above, consistently ascend from one level to another, they are nevertheless called "standers" because their ascents are orderly and gradual — thus they are limited; each ascent is relative to the previous one, and no matter how high the level they reach, it is still connected and has a relation to the lowest level where they initially stood. Therefore, they are called "standers," as they remain essentially in one place; even through their highest ascents, they do not completely depart from the previous, lower levels. "Walkers" (which is achieved in souls after their descent below) means that the ascents are beyond order and without limit; reaching a higher level, they are already completely "away" and have no connection with the level where they previously stood.

From this, it is understood that the meaning of "And you shall walk in His ways" is that the fulfillment of mitzvos should be in such a manner that one is elevated through them in an unlimited way, transitioning from limitation to infinity, which then makes him a "walker."

A created being, however, is limited, so: a) How can he, through his limited service, ascend to infinity? And b) if he does indeed reach infinity, how can he then remain a limited created being? Seemingly, he must cease to be a created being. To this, it is said "And you shall walk in His ways," you should connect with the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He (by fulfilling the mitzvos because they are the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He, as mentioned above), and since the Almighty is "the impossibility of impossibilities" and is "the bearer of opposites," He can, blessed be He, unite limitation with infinity together, so that a) a created being, through his limited service, can achieve the "And you shall walk," ascending in an unlimited elevation, and b) even after his unlimited ascent, he remains in his limited existence.

4. However, we must further understand: The ultimate intention is that all elevations to which a person attains should be specifically through his own service. If a person were to receive all these influences from Above without his own effort, it would not be the ultimate good, because it would be "bread of shame." Therefore, we must say that the elevation of "And you shall walk," an unlimited progression, also comes specifically through his service. According to the above, however, it seems that through his limited service, he can only reach limited elevations, and he attains the "walking" without limit only because the Almighty elevates him to this level.

And although this elevation of "walking" does not mean that the person, through his service, ascends within limits, and after reaching as much as he can, he is then lifted from Above to a higher, unlimited level — rather, the Almighty, who is "the impossibility of impossibilities," imbues a power into the person's service so that the service itself elevates him without limit; nevertheless, since the very fact that the service accomplishes this "walking" does not come from the person's service itself, it seems, apparently, not to align with the ultimate intention that all elevations should come specifically through one's own service.

We must say that even the fact that the service accomplishes this progression in the person is connected with the person's own service.

5. The explanation of this:

In order for the mitzvos to be "His ways," the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He, and for them to possess an unlimited power, it is through the fact that for the person who serves, his fulfillment of the mitzvos is connected with the essence of his soul, which is a "veritable part of G‑d above" — without limit. And through the person who serves drawing his soul's essence into the specific mitzvah, such as being gracious, etc. (meaning "you too should be gracious; you should be merciful; you should be pious," that you yourself (the essence of the soul) should be gracious, merciful, and pious), that is, in service, he fulfills the mitzvos out of simple faith and self-sacrifice (beyond reason and understanding) which comes from the essence of the soul. Through this, he also causes that in his matters of being gracious, merciful, and pious, the Almighty Himself is drawn — "the Holy One, blessed be He, is called gracious, the Holy One, blessed be He, is called merciful, the Holy One, blessed be He, is called pious." Thus, it turns out that even the unlimited progression in the fulfillment of the mitzvos is accomplished through the manner of the person's service.

6. The power of the impossibility of impossibilities, which is present in "And you shall walk in His ways," is expressed, as mentioned earlier, in two ways: a) that the limited service of the person can elevate him without limit, and b) that after all the unlimited elevations, the person remains in a limited existence. And since all matters and elevations must come through the person's service, we must say that even the elevation where he remains in a limited existence comes through his service:

The true vitality of a Jew is from his divine soul (it is only that the vitality passes through the animal soul), even though the body is physical, limited, and derives from the klipat nogah, and the soul is "a veritable part of G‑d above" — nevertheless, not only does the body not become nullified by the soul, but on the contrary, it enlivens it. His vitality is from the divine soul.

7. However, this vitality, where the body lives from the soul, is concealed (in its essence). Through his service, a person must reveal it, so that it becomes apparent in him how his bodily organs live from the divine soul. Just as the body openly lives from the animal soul, and as soon as the soul desires something, the body’s organs follow automatically "immediately and without any command or instruction to them, and without any delay at all," so too should it be concerning the divine soul. When a Jew removes the obstructions that conceal the soul and perceives that his vitality is from the divine soul, his organs automatically perform the desires of the divine soul. As the Jerusalem Talmud states: "The knees bend on their own" (when it comes to "Modim," the head bows by itself).

And through a Jew's service, by revealing the connection between the soul and the body, so that his limited body lives from the divine soul, he draws down the power of the essence, enabling all the highest elevations in the manner of "walking" to occur within his physical body, making him a vessel for these elevations.

8. Not everyone can achieve this self-nullification, where their bodily organs automatically perform the desires of the divine soul. For this, the previous commandment comes into play (and the order of the commandments is precise and relevant to the service of G‑d) — "and to Him you shall cleave," as the Rambam cites from the Sifrei, meaning "cleave to the wise and their disciples," attach oneself to the "wise," those who stand in a state of nullification (wisdom, the power of what, nullification) in a manner of a chariot. And since his nourishment is from the wise, they are his "head," through cleaving to them, he also becomes "truly cleaving to the Shechinah," and his body becomes a vessel for the light of the soul, as mentioned above.

The commandment "and to Him you shall cleave" is a general matter: one should attach oneself to the Almighty through cleaving to the wise and their disciples; through this, his body generally becomes a vessel for G‑dliness, and he becomes worthy of the "and you shall walk," without limit. However, the actual walking must come through the performance of the mitzvos, for "the deed is the main thing," the actual performance of the mitzvah specifically reaches and draws down the essence. And for this drawing down to be revealed, the commandment "and you shall walk in His ways" comes into play, so that the fulfillment of the mitzvos should be in the manner of "in His ways," fulfilling them because they are the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He, "to emulate Him," and then, after the preface of "and to Him you shall cleave," they effect the "and you shall walk," so that it becomes "the righteous have no rest, etc., as it is said, they go from strength to strength," until one reaches a higher time and level — "to a day that is entirely Shabbat and rest for eternal life."

5. The concept of "walking" in the ways of G‑d is not merely about the physical performance of mitzvos, but rather about the manner in which they are fulfilled. It is about emulating the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He, and performing the mitzvos in a way that reflects His attributes. This is the deeper meaning of "and you shall walk in His ways," which implies that the fulfillment of the mitzvos should be done with the intention of emulating G‑d's ways. This approach ensures that the mitzvos are not just actions but are infused with the spirit of G‑dliness, thereby transforming the individual and elevating the mitzvos to a higher level.

6. This idea is further emphasized by the teaching that "the righteous have no rest," as they continuously strive to ascend from one level to the next, "from strength to strength," until they reach the ultimate level of "a day that is entirely Shabbat and rest for eternal life." The journey of spiritual growth and the fulfillment of mitzvos in this manner is an ongoing process, one that requires constant effort and dedication. It is through this continuous striving and walking in the ways of G‑d that one can truly cleave to the Shechinah and become a vessel for G‑dliness.