Parshas Vayishlach
1. The Previous Rebbe related1 that on Shabbos Parshas Vayishlach 5533, the last Shabbos of the life of the Maggid of Mezritch in this world,2 he said, while lying on his bed in the presence of the holy fellowship (the chevraya kadisha): "וישלח יעקב מלאכים" ("And Yaakov sent angels"), and Rashi explains "מלאכים ממש" ("actual angels") — the "mamash" (the actual substance) of the angels Yaakov sent to Esav, but the spirituality remained with Yaakov.
This needs to be understood:
The fact that Yaakov sent specifically angels to Esav (even though in general it is forbidden to make use of angels3), and not human beings, it is reasonable to say that this is because Yaakov's intention in this mission was to refine (levarer) Esav.4 He therefore sent him angels, for specifically they have the power to fulfill this mission, the work of refinement (birur). But according to this, why did he send him only the "mamash" of the angels, since it is simply understood that the matter of refinement pertains primarily to the spiritual part of the angels?5
The matter itself is also not understood: How is it possible to separate between the "mamash" of the angels (that is, their body6) and their "spirituality" (that is, their soul), and to say that their "mamash" was sent to Esav while the spirituality remained with Yaakov? For (even) with human beings and animals it is impossible for the body to do anything by its own power without the soul within it, to which it is secondary and nullified in its entire existence — and (all the more so) this is the case with angels, whose essence is the soul within them.
It also needs to be understood: From the plain meaning of Rashi's explanation, "actual angels," it appears that his intention is to reject the interpretation that he sent human messengers,7 meaning that with the word "mamash" he emphasizes that they were actual angels (and not some other entity — and consequently, with the entire essence and nature of an angel). Whereas according to the Maggid's explanation, that the intent of "actual angels" is to exclude the spiritual part within them, the emphasis of the word "mamash" is the opposite: that they were not (when with Esav) actual angels in their entire essence and nature, since their main aspect, as mentioned, is the spirituality within them.
2. Based on all the above, it seems to me that the Maggid's intention in his above saying is not to say that Yaakov sent Esav only the "mamash" and the body of the angels alone (which is secondary and considered as nothing), without their spirituality and soul. Rather, his intention is to explain that the sending of the angels was in such a manner8 that even when they came to Esav and were present with him (in their body and in their soul), they were not severed from their bond with Yaakov,8* to the point that it was as if they came to Esav only with their body and their "mamash" alone. That is, it was felt in them that this was not their place: their true place is with Yaakov, and there is their essence9 and their soul; and their entire presence in Esav's place is only in the manner of something "secondary" — for the sake of fulfilling Yaakov's mission — similar to the body ("mamash"), which is not an entity unto itself, but is secondary to the soul ("spirituality").
Accordingly it will be understood that not only does the Maggid's explanation, in its emphasis of the word "mamash," not contradict the plain explanation of the emphasis of this word, but, on the contrary, it explains and clarifies it. For the ability of "actual angels" to effect refinement in Esav (the ultimate of physicality and materiality) exists specifically when their soul ("their spirituality") is attached and bound to Yaakov and does not change even when they are present with Esav. It thus emerges that the Maggid's explanation, that Yaakov sent only the "mamash" to Esav, emphasizes even more the plain meaning of the word "mamash" — that he sent the angels in such a manner that they were, and remained, "actual angels."
3. The Maggid's above saying (and likewise the lesson from it for our Divine service) will be understood with additional explanation by contemplating the time and the circumstances in which this teaching was said. As mentioned above, the Maggid said this teaching on the last Shabbos before his passing — from which it is understood that this saying contains a kind of "will" (tzava'ah) and a general directive in the service of G‑d according to the path of Chassidus — and for the generations to come.
Now, among the disciples of the Maggid, the Alter Rebbe was the disciple most beloved to him,9* and as is known, the Maggid studied with the Alter Rebbe in a special manner and with extra additional [attention] beyond his study with his other disciples;10 and also known11 is the saying of the Rav of Berditchev: "We all ate from one bowl, but the Litvak (referring to the Alter Rebbe, for so he was called by the disciples of the Maggid12) took the choicest portion." It is therefore understood that the above directive of the Maggid, which he said close to his passing, is directed to the order of service of the Alter Rebbe — that is, of Chabad Chassidus.
And according to the well-known saying of the Maggid, which he said to the Alter Rebbe:13 "Yud-Tes Kislev is our hilula (day of celebration)" (for on Yud-Tes Kislev [5533] the Maggid passed away, and on that same day [in the year 5559] the Alter Rebbe went out to freedom from his imprisonment, which had come about because he revealed the teachings of Chassidus) — it is reasonable to say that the above teaching, since the Maggid said it before his day of hilula, has a special connection with the "hilula" of the Alter Rebbe, that is, with the day of the Alter Rebbe's redemption.14
4. The innovation of this day of redemption, Yud-Tes Kislev, is: "יפוצו מעינותיך חוצה" ("Your wellsprings shall spread outward").15 And although the matter of "Your wellsprings shall spread outward" is understood in its plain sense — the spreading of the wellsprings of the teachings of Chassidus — nevertheless, since "ישראל מתקשראן באורייתא" ("Israel is bound to the Torah"),16 to the point that Israel and the Torah are entirely one,17 it is understood that when an innovation takes place in the realm of Torah, a corresponding innovation takes place at that same time also in the realm of Israel. So too with the matter that was newly introduced on Yud-Tes Kislev:
These "wellsprings," whose spreading "outward" began on Yud-Tes Kislev, are the wellsprings of the inner dimension of the Torah, which is called "נשמתא דאורייתא" ("the soul of the Torah").18 Before Yud-Tes Kislev, only the part of the Torah called "the body of the Torah," the revealed part of Torah, was revealed and disseminated; whereas the inner dimension of the Torah, which is "the soul of the Torah," was then hidden. This is analogous to the difference between a person's body and his soul: the body is a revealed and perceptible entity, which can be seen and touched; whereas the soul — not only can it not be grasped with the five physical senses, but it cannot be comprehended even with the power of subtle intellect (the intellect can only arrive at knowledge of the soul's existence — through the soul's activity in the body: the fact that the body is alive compels and brings one to the intellectual knowledge that within the body there is a living soul that animates it; but the essence of the soul is beyond intellectual comprehension). And the innovation of Yud-Tes Kislev is that from then onward, the hidden and inner part of the Torah too was drawn down and came to be revealed, to the point that it became possible to study it and grasp it intellectually, just as one grasps the revealed part of Torah, and even — to spread it outward.
Now, corresponding to this innovation in Torah (the revelation of "the soul of the Torah"), and through it,19 an innovation then took place also in the realm of Israel:20 that the soul within a Jew, which in itself is hidden, as explained above, should shine within him in a revealed manner — that is, also in the matters of his body.
5. The explanation of this: In the revelation of the soul in the body there are two general modes: a) A revelation of the soul to such a degree that it has dominion over the body and the body is subordinate to it, but nevertheless the body is felt as an entity unto itself;
b) That the soul is so revealed in the body that the body is not an entity unto itself at all — the true meaning of the revelation of the soul in the body.
This is analogous to the body and its animal and vital soul: it is impossible to divide between them and say that the body is an entity unto itself and that it does the will of the soul only through command and dominion. Rather, since the soul is the life of the body, the body is united with the soul in utter fusion and nullification21 (and it is not that the soul needs to command the body to obey its will; rather, the body does its will automatically and as a matter of course21).
Similarly regarding the life of the soul in the Jewish people — for "אתם קרויים אדם" ("You are called 'Adam'")22 after the expression "אדמה לעליון" ("I will be likened to the Most High")23 — even their physical life is from the G‑dly soul.24 The entire purpose and existence of the Jewish body is that it is a vessel for the soul: in order for the soul to be able to fulfill the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, which is enclothed in practical mitzvos — tefillin, tzitzis, tzedakah, etc. — this is specifically through the physical limbs of the body. Thus the existence of the body is for this purpose, that in it and through it the soul acts and completes its task in this world.
That is to say, the entire purpose of the existence of a Jew is nothing but to be a dwelling place for Him, may He be blessed (as our Sages, of blessed memory, said25 on the verse26 "ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם" ("Make for Me a Sanctuary and I will dwell within them") — "It does not say 'within it,' but 'within them,' within each and every Jew"), and he is not an entity unto himself. He is only in the category of a "אשה כשרה" ("worthy wife")27 to the Holy One, blessed be He, in the manner of "מה שקנתה אשה קנה בעלה" ("Whatever a wife acquires, her husband acquires"):28 that is, not only does she agree to transfer her acquisition to her husband because she does his will, but rather — "her husband acquires": it becomes his automatically.
And even those who have not yet reached the level of a "worthy wife" to the Holy One, blessed be He, are at least in the category of a "servant" to the Holy One, blessed be He (for "the service of a servant" is the beginning of service, and its essence and root29) — and with a servant too the halachah is "מה שקנה עבד קנה רבו" ("Whatever a servant acquires, his master acquires"):30 not only does he himself not rebel against his master, and not only does he agree to manage his own (the servant's) property according to the master's will, or even to place his possessions in his master's domain — but rather, from the outset the possessions do not belong to him at all, but to his master.
6. The above two levels in the manner of the soul's revelation — (a) that the soul (only) rules over the body, (b) that the body is not an entity unto itself at all — correspond to two modes of service: (a) "כל מעשיך יהיו לשם שמים" ("All your deeds should be for the sake of Heaven"),31 (b) "בכל דרכיך דעהו" ("In all your ways, know Him"):32
The difference between these two modes of service is known (as has been discussed several times33): "All your deeds should be for the sake of Heaven" means that the intention in all one's doings is not for the sake of some side interest, but for the sake of Heaven; yet the deeds themselves are mundane matters. Whereas the service of "In all your ways, know Him" is in such a manner that the aspect of "know Him" (knowledge of G‑d) is in all his ways and matters themselves — not that they are for the sake of "know Him," but that in them and through them themselves he knows G‑d.
The explanation of this: Although at first glance there is room to say that the only way to come to the level of "know Him" is through matters of holiness — the study of the Torah of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the fulfillment of His mitzvos34 — but how can one reach this while occupied with optional (mundane) matters, with his eating and drinking etc., and with his business dealings?35 To this comes the directive and the emphasis that there must also be "In all your ways, know Him" — meaning that the eating itself must be holiness and a mitzvah35* (and not only that with its strength he will afterwards study and pray), similar to eating on Shabbos, a meal of a mitzvah, eating of sacrificial foods and the like — which are themselves a mitzvah.36
And these two modes of service ("All your deeds should be for the sake of Heaven" and "In all your ways, know Him") are connected with and dependent on the two levels of the soul's revelation:
When the level of its revelation in the person is in the manner of dominion over the body, but the body is an entity in its own right, then his service is in the category of "for the sake of Heaven." That is, optional matters (matters of the body) occupy a place for him as entities in their own right, except that the body and all its matters are subdued and subordinate to the soul that rules over it, and consequently he does not actually do anything except for the sake of Heaven.
But when the soul is so revealed that the body is entirely nullified from being an entity unto itself, then his service in matters of the body and the world is also in the category of "know Him," since their existence is not felt in its own right at all, and he knows the Holy One, blessed be He, in them and through them.
7. Now, within the level of "In all your ways, know Him" itself there are, in detail, two modes: a) Although all his doings are in themselves holiness, nevertheless, in doing them their "physicality" is also felt. For example, eating on Shabbos is itself a mitzvah, as mentioned above; yet the mitzvah itself requires delighting in the Shabbos with fat meat and aged wine37 — so that even at the time of fulfilling the mitzvah their physicality is felt,38 for in it lies the pleasure of these things.
b) That all his physical matters are so nullified and united with G‑dliness that their entire existence has been transformed into holiness, and their "physicality" is not felt at all — and not only because of the abundance of the light of holiness that shines in him, as he is entirely given over and devoted to the aspect of "know Him," but because the physical thing itself has become holiness for him.
This matter too is understood from the manner in which the body is nullified to the life-force of the animal soul. It is a known principle that when a person's body is healthy, he does not feel his body with any special sensation — and his not feeling his body is a sign that he is healthy. It is specifically when he feels39 his limbs (even if not with a feeling of pain, but merely with the "heaviness" of their existence) — the head or the heart, the hand or the foot — that this is a sign and proof that something (in that limb or in his whole body) is not as it should be. The reason for this: since the entire life and existence of the body is the life of the soul, it is therefore not felt in its own right when it is properly united with the soul and receives its life in completeness.
Similarly with the life of the G‑dly soul (as above): a healthy Jew is one whose entire body, animal soul and portion in the world are not felt as an existence, and their entire existence is the G‑dly soul.
For example, regarding eating: his entire feeling in it is that he must draw G‑dliness into the thing eaten, and through it into the physical and material world, by means of this eating of his. And since this drawing down comes about through his reciting a blessing over food (whose wording is "ברוך אתה ה' אלקינו מלך העולם" ("Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the world"), which draws G‑dliness into the world) — he therefore eats the physical food. It emerges that in his eating nothing is felt except the matter of "our G‑d, King of the world."
Similarly regarding his business dealings etc.: although he engages in them in the manner of merchants, his entire concern in them is the "know Him." As in the story about R. Binyamin Kletzker (one of the great disciples of the Alter Rebbe), whose livelihood was in the lumber trade: once, when making an accounting of his business, he wrote at the "total": "אין עוד מלבדו" ("There is nothing else besides Him") — this was, for him, the bottom line of his business affairs.
8. Every detail and matter in the service of G‑d that the teachings of Chassidus demand of each person — first and foremost, our Rebbeim, our leaders, paved the way for this service through their own service.40 And so it is with the above matter, as in the known story about the Alter Rebbe, from whose content it is evident that he did not feel the existence of physicality, and that his entire being was his G‑dly soul:
Once a distinguished guest stayed with him, and because of his great importance the members of the Alter Rebbe's household decided to divide among themselves the details of the work of cooking and preparing the dishes in his honor. And so it was. But one detail was forgotten when the division was arranged: which member of the household would merit to put the salt into the dish. Therefore, when each one later remembered about the salt, each wanted to merit this, and put the portion of salt into the food without telling the others.
When the dish was brought before the Alter Rebbe and the guest, the Alter Rebbe ate it as usual; but the guest tasted the food and pushed it aside. When the Alter Rebbe asked him why he was not eating, he answered that it was too salty... The Alter Rebbe answered him that already while he was in Mezritch he had worked on himself not to feel taste in food.
Although such a lofty level pertains to elevated individuals such as the Alter Rebbe, nevertheless, since this story has reached us, this is proof that at least at special times and in special circumstances it is possible (and consequently necessary) for something resembling this to exist in each person, even in a simple person.41
And even one who cannot reach such a level (of not feeling physicality because of the greatness of his union with G‑dliness) even at special times, can at least bring himself to be so absorbed in the service of "know Him" that as a result he will not feel the physicality. As is seen tangibly, when a person is in a state of very intense excitement, he does not feel the taste of the food and the like.
9. And this is the innovation of Yud-Tes Kislev regarding "Your wellsprings shall spread outward" in the conduct of the "עולם קטן זה האדם" ("small world — this is man"): In the expression "Your wellsprings shall spread outward" two matters are emphasized: a) that the wellsprings themselves are drawn into the realm of the "outside,"42 and not only that the wellsprings act upon the outside; b) the drawing of the wellsprings into the realm of the outside is in the manner of "shall spread" — the greatest and widest expansion, to the point that no place remains empty of them (when there is a place that the wellsprings do not reach, this proves that their expansion is limited — and this is not the true meaning of "shall spread").
Regarding the service of man: In every Jew there is "the wellspring," which is the soul hewn from beneath the Throne of Glory,43 and even higher than that — "טהורה היא" ("it is pure"). This "wellspring" must be revealed in him also in his bodily matters, which (in themselves) are in the category of "outside," outside the domain of his soul.
And this revelation of the wellspring of the soul in bodily matters must be in the manner of "Your wellsprings shall spread outward," with the two above details: a) that the soul not only rules over the body and its matters, but is itself present in them. That is, his service is not only in the category of "All your deeds for the sake of Heaven," but higher than that: in them themselves he serves G‑d — "In all your ways, know Him" (as above, section 6); b) that the expansion of the soul in the body and its matters is in the manner of "shall spread," an unlimited expansion, to the point that no room remains for the sensation of "the body," because the soul encompasses all of it.
10. Based on all the above, the Maggid's teaching (mentioned above, on the interpretation of "actual angels"), which he said before Yud-Tes Kislev, the day of his passing, is explained with additional clarity, and the connection of this teaching to the redemption of the Alter Rebbe on Yud-Tes Kislev — when the matter of "Your wellsprings shall spread outward" was newly introduced — is also understood: The descent of the soul below, which is in order to refine its body and its portion in the world and to make them a dwelling place for Him, may He be blessed,44 is analogous to "And Yaakov sent angels... to Esav," a mission whose purpose was to refine him (as above, section 1). And just as Yaakov's mission to Esav had to be specifically through "actual angels" (as above, there), so too regarding the "mission" of the soul to refine the body and the world (the refinement and rectification of the world of Tohu — Esav): this comes about specifically through a person arousing within himself the aspect of the "angels," the "spirituality" within him,45 through which specifically he is able to refine the matters of the world.
And since the refinement of physical matters can also be in the manner of "All your deeds for the sake of Heaven," in which case the soul acts in the body only by way of dominion and concealment, to the point that the body — and the powers of the soul that are enclothed in the body and occupied with it, and through it with the matters of the world46 — is an entity occupying a place of its own, the Maggid therefore explained in his interpretation that the ultimate intent of the work of refinement is specifically when the powers of the soul that are occupied with physical matters (— the "angels" on their mission to Esav) are only in the category of "mamash": that they are secondary, nullified and utterly united with the aspect of the "spirituality" of the soul. That is, even the loftiest level of the soul, the "wellspring" of the soul, which is above enclothement in physical matters, shines and is revealed in the manner of "spreading" and unlimited expansion (also) in the realm of the actual "outside."
11. So too is the matter in the plain meaning of "Your wellsprings shall spread outward" — to spread the wellsprings of Chassidus in each and every place:
The order for this was established by our Rebbeim, our leaders, who send emissaries (shluchim) to various places in order to spread and reveal there the wellsprings of Chassidus;47 and regarding this mission too there is the directive of "actual angels." That is, although it is clear that the emissary must carry out his mission (not only in a manner of merely fulfilling his obligation, but) with every fiber of his soul, nevertheless he must also take great care that the place of the "outside" in which he spreads the wellsprings should not cause him any descent, G‑d forbid.
And in order to be certain that the "outside" will not affect him, and on the contrary, that it will be transformed through him into a "wellspring" of holiness, the advice for this is that even while he is occupied with matters of the "outside," the feeling should be fixed in his heart that all this is the fulfillment of the intention of the one who sent him.
And this is the lesson from the Maggid's teaching for emissaries in the plain sense: only their "body" and their "mamash" should be occupied with the mission in the "outside" ("Esav"), but their "spirituality" should remain in its bond with the sender (Yaakov). That is, it should be fixed and rooted in their hearts, even at the time of spreading, that their occupation with the "outside" is the fulfillment of the sender's mission, without the intrusion of any side interest — similar to the body ("mamash"), whose entire existence and purpose is only the spirituality and soul within it — and then their spirituality is with the sender. And the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov is known,48 that where a person's will is, there the person is found.
And the fulfillment of this directive — that the refinement of the "outside" ("Esav") be in the manner of "actual angels" — this itself gives the strength to fulfill the mission, so that ultimately the "outside" will be transformed into "wellsprings";
Until through this we merit the fulfillment of the prophecy "ועלו מושיעים בהר ציון לשפוט את הר עשו" ("And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esav"),49 that in the entire world, even in the realm of the "outside" (which pertains to Esav), there will be "והיתה לה' המלוכה" ("And the kingship shall be the L‑rd's").50
(From the sichos of Yud-Tes Kislev 5725 and Shabbos Parshas Vayishlach 5723)
Notes
1) Sefer HaSichos 5703, p. 155.
2) Four days before his passing (on 19 Kislev). It should be noted that this year (5733) marks two hundred years since his passing.
3) See Ohr HaChaim here.
4) See Hemshech 5666, p. 109; end of the discourse beginning "Vayishlach" 5673.
5) And if for some reason he needed to be refined through the "mamash" of the angels — it would seemingly have been more fitting to send human messengers, in whom the matter of "mamash" (physicality) is greater than it is in angels. And although it has been explained (Likkutei Sichos vol. 5, p. 391) that it was not possible to send human messengers because of halachah (Ba'er Heitev, Orach Chaim, end of sec. 603, and sources cited there) — and this is simply understood even by a five-year-old beginning the study of Scripture — for if a messenger is harmed on his mission, the sender must do teshuvah, and in our case there was a concern (and a presumption) that Esav would harm them — nevertheless, it would have been possible to send human spies secretly, so that Esav would not know that they were Yaakov's messengers, in which case there is no danger. And although it has been explained (Likkutei Sichos, ibid.) that this itself is what compels Rashi to say that the meaning of the verse is "actual angels"* — for if they had been human, they would necessarily have had to be spies (and not messengers), because of the concern of harm, whereas the verse explicitly says "malachim," which means either messengers or angels — and not spies — nevertheless, the difficulty remains in the matter itself: why did Yaakov not send spies? [And one cannot say that he sent actual angels because he wanted them to tell Esav: "כה אמר עבדך יעקב עם לבן גרתי וגו' ויהי לי שור וחמור וגו' ואשלחה להגיד לאדוני למצוא חן בעיניך" ("So says your servant Yaakov: I have sojourned with Lavan etc., and I have acquired oxen and donkeys etc., and I have sent to tell my lord, to find favor in your eyes") ("that I am at peace with you and seek your love" — as Rashi explains) — for spies too could have said that they know (not as Yaakov's messengers) that Yaakov wants to make peace with him.] One must therefore say (according to the "wine of Torah" in Rashi's commentary) that he sent actual angels for the sake of refinement — and if so, the difficulty is why he sent only their "mamash," as in the text.
*) According to this, it is also understood why Rashi quotes (before his explanation) the words "And Yaakov sent angels," even though he explains only the word "malachim" — for the proof of his explanation "actual angels" is from "And Yaakov sent." The explanation of this (why Rashi also quotes the words "And Yaakov sent") according to the "wine of Torah" in Rashi's commentary — see below, note 8.
6) As is known, angels too have a body and a soul (see Likkutei Torah, Berachah 98a).
7) For these are two differing opinions (Bereishis Rabbah 75:4), and Rashi chooses this interpretation.
8) Therefore this is [also] an interpretation of the words "And (Yaakov) sent" — for the fact that the spirituality remained with Yaakov was also part of their mission to Esav.
8*) According to this, the wording of the Maggid, that the spirituality remained "with Yaakov" ("mit Yaakov'n"), is well understood — for seemingly he should have said "by Yaakov" ("bei Yaakov'n") — because the spirituality of the angels too was with Esav, only that even while being there, it was with (the matter of) Yaakov.
9) In line with the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov that where a person's will is, there he is found (see below, end of the Sicha).
9*) HaTamim, vol. 2, p. 48 [142]. And see the letter of R. Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev [cited in Toras Shalom, p. 47, and sources cited there]: "As to what you say, that [OCR unclear: שמו"נ רמ"מ] was dear in the eyes of our master — this I have not heard; but this I testify, that my in-law, the Rav, the Gaon etc., was very dear in the eyes of our master the Maggid, and he would praise him exceedingly."
10) Beis Rebbi, vol. 1, ch. 2.
11) Toras Shalom, p. 47.
12) Likkutei Dibburim, vol. 2, p. 512.
13) Ibid., vol. 1, p. 101.
14) Especially when the calendar is such that Yud-Tes Kislev falls in the week of Parshas Vayishlach, for then [in addition to the above] there is the directive of the Alter Rebbe (Hayom Yom, p. 101, and at length in Sefer HaSichos 5702, p. 29 ff.) that "one must live with the times," meaning with the weekly Torah portion, i.e., that from the weekly portion one must take a lesson and an explanation for the events that occur in that week (and see Shelah, section Torah Shebichsav, beginning of Parshas Vayeshev: the festivals of the entire year . . . all of them have a connection to the portions in which they fall, for everything was made understood from the hand of G‑d).
15) See Toras Shalom, end of p. 112 ff. And see Likkutei Dibburim, vol. 1, p. 22 ff.
16) Cited in Sefer HaMaamarim [OCR unclear: היש"ת], p. 61.
17) See Zohar I, 24a; Zohar II, 60a; Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 6, at the beginning; Likkutei Torah, Parshas Nitzavim, the discourse beginning "Ki Karov Eilecha."
18) Zohar III, 152a.
19) Especially since man was created "לעמל תורה יולד" ("born to toil in Torah") (Sanhedrin 99b) — and consequently it is understood that when an innovation takes place in the Torah, the same innovation takes place also in man.
20) Tanya [so it appears; the OCR reads תנ"א] 13, 3 [citation unclear in OCR].
21) Tanya, ch. 23. Tanya, ibid. [The OCR gives the number 21 at both places in the text.]
22) Yevamos 61a, beginning.
23) Sefer Asarah Maamaros, Maamar Em Kol Chai, part 2, sec. 33. Shelah, section Beis David (20b), and section Torah Shebichsav, Parshas Vayeshev (301b).
24) For although overtly the life of the body is from the animal soul (and see Tanya ch. 29, that in the Beinoni the animal soul "is the person himself"), the true life is from the G‑dly soul (see Iggeres HaTeshuvah ch. 6; Kuntres Uma'ayan, discourse 6) — only that it comes through the animal soul (see Likkutei Sichos vol. 4, p. 1206, and sources cited there).
25) Reishis Chochmah (Sha'ar HaAhavah, ch. 6, near the beginning). In Shelah (Sha'ar HaOsiyos, letter Lamed; Tractate Ta'anis, the section beginning "Me'inyan HaAvodah"; Parshas Terumah, section Torah Ohr — 325b, 326b — and elsewhere).
26) Terumah 25:8.
27) As is known, the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Congregation of Israel are analogous to husband and wife, and the Song of Songs is founded on this, as is known in the Midrashim of our Sages.
28) Gittin 77a, and sources cited there.
29) Tanya, beginning of ch. 41.
30) Pesachim 88b; Kiddushin 23b. And see Rashba there.
31) Avos, ch. 2, mishnah 2 [so in the OCR; in standard editions 2:12].
32) Mishlei 3:6.
33) Likkutei Sichos vol. 3, p. 907 and p. 932.
34) For the Torah is the wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the mitzvos are His will, and He, His wisdom and His will are one (Tanya, part 2 [so in the OCR], beginning of ch. 5) — thus by grasping His will and His wisdom, one grasps Him as well.
35) See Rambam, Hilchos De'os, beginning of ch. 5.
35*) See similarly Likkutei Sichos vol. 5, p. 74, explaining the saying of our Sages (Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer, beginning of ch. 32), "Did Yitzchak then sow grain, G‑d forbid? Rather, he 'sowed tzedakah' etc." — that the intent is not that Yitzchak did not sow grain (externally), for a verse does not depart from its plain meaning. Rather, since his sowing of grain was in order to separate tithes, the content of this sowing is not "sowing grain," but — "sowing tzedakah."
36) See also Torah Ohr, beginning of Parshas Tetzaveh; the discourse beginning "VeHu Omed" 5663, and sources cited there.
37) Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe, sec. 248 [so in the OCR], par. 2. And see Responsa Tzemach Tzedek, Orach Chaim, sec. 36.
38) Although it is a mitzvah, nevertheless one becomes coarsened through the pleasure in the food: "As in the well-known story, that once the Baal Shem Tov showed his disciples an ox dressed in Shabbos clothes sitting at a table, for there was a certain tzaddik who ate meat to fulfill the mitzvah of Shabbos, and because of the intensity of his desire to fulfill the mitzvah through eating meat, he himself became so" (the discourse beginning "Refa'eini," 5698 [section reference unclear in OCR]). It should be noted: Hemshech 5666, p. 154; ibid., p. 242; [OCR: תר"ש], p. 184 ff. And see also Torah Ohr (74a) and Likkutei Torah (Bamidbar 7a), that the food itself too (not only the pleasure in it) makes one somewhat more physical.
39) Compare the wording of the verse: "ראשי ראשי" ("My head, my head") (II Kings 4:19).
40) See the discourse beginning "Basi LeGani" 5711, sec. 6.
41) See Tanya (ch. 44) regarding Moshe Rabbeinu: "And although who is he and which is he whose heart would dare to approach to attain even one part in a thousand of the level of the love of the Faithful Shepherd, nevertheless, a minute portion and a glimmer of the abundance of his goodness and light illuminates the community of Israel."
42) See Likkutei Sichos vol. 4, p. 1119, and note 34 there.
43) Zohar III, 29b; and see there 106b. And see also the discourse beginning "Tik'u" 5694 (in Sefer HaMaamarim 5711, p. 11).
44) See Tanya, ch. 37 (48b), in the name of Etz Chaim.
45) As our Sages said (Chagigah 16a), that in three things man resembles the ministering angels. It is also known that from every mitzvah a person performs an angel is created. And see Shabbos (88a): "Who revealed to My children this secret, which the ministering angels use?" On the contrary — in their spirituality they are higher than the angels. And it may be said that this is why specifically human beings have three things in which they resemble animals (Chagigah, ibid.): for by virtue of the superiority of their spiritual part (the angel) they are able to transform even the three things in which they resemble animals so that they become a matter of "angel," spirituality [and as explained in the text, the ultimate goal is "In all your ways, know Him," in the loftiest manner], whereas angels do not have this power (see Shabbos (89a): "Is there jealousy among you? Is there an evil inclination among you?").
46) For the body itself is like an inanimate stone, and the fact that the body occupies a place [of its own] is because the aspect of the soul enclothed in the body shines in it with great contraction, in such a way that the body is felt as an entity.
47) See Likkutei Sichos vol. 2, p. 367.
48) Mayim Rabbim 5636, ch. 113; Sefer HaMaamarim Kuntreisim, p. 818; Likkutei Dibburim, vol. 1, p. 226.
49) Ovadiah 1:21.
50) "The kingship" (and not "the dominion") — willingly (Likkutei Torah, beginning of Devarim).
Key Lesson
Just as Yaakov's angels went to Esav while their spirituality remained bound to Yaakov, a Jew's soul should permeate even his physical activities — eating, business — until they are not separate entities but a way of "In all your ways, know Him." Likewise, an emissary spreading the wellsprings of Chassidus "outward" must keep his heart bound to the One who sent him, so that the "outside" does not affect him but is itself transformed into wellsprings.