לקוטי שיחות חלק ט״ו - כ׳ חשון

20 MarCheshvan

1. In the saying of our Sages at the conclusion of Tractate Berachos (and similarly at the conclusion of Tractate Moed Katan)^[1] there are two versions: a) “Torah scholars have no rest, neither in this world nor in the World to Come…”; b) “Tzaddikim have no rest…”^[2] (this version is cited in several places^[3]).

It may be said that the difference in wording between the versions expresses a difference in their content. According to the version “Torah scholars have no rest…,” the saying of our Sages speaks of a special quality found only in the study of Torah (“Torah scholars”), as will be explained below. According to the version “Tzaddikim have no rest…,” however, it is not speaking of the special quality of Torah study, for the title tzaddik includes^[4] also those who excel in good deeds (marei ovdin tavin)^[5], who are not Torah scholars.

We must therefore understand the reason for the difference between the two views.

2. The statement that “Torah scholars have no rest…” is explained by the Arizal in Likkutei HaShas: “For in the world after death, Torah scholars engage in Torah, ascending from level to level and from yeshivah to yeshivah… for just as G‑d, blessed be He, has no end, so His Torah has no end.”

Accordingly, the reason for the version “Torah scholars have no rest…” is understood. For specifically Torah (in the well-known terminology, the cheftza, the object, of the mitzvah of Torah study) is in the category of “having no end”^[6], and therefore there is also no rest (no end) to the ascents of (the gavra, the person, of the mitzvah of Torah study, that is, of) Torah scholars who engage in Torah. Mitzvos, however, although they too are commands of the Almighty (Who is infinite), nevertheless in themselves (in their cheftza) have a limitation^[7]. On the contrary, there must be a limitation, both in the mitzvos as a whole, concerning which we are commanded “you shall not add to it nor subtract from it,” “you shall not add… nor subtract”^[8] (unlike Torah study, which must be in a manner of adding in understanding, etc., as stated in Hilchos Talmud Torah^[9]), and in each individual mitzvah: tefillin must have specifically four portions and not five, etc.^[10]

Therefore, for (the gavra of the other mitzvos, that is, for) those who excel in good deeds, there is an end and rest.

That is, the two modes (rest and no rest) correspond to the two levels: limitation and infinity.

3. Similarly, this is also the difference between them (Torah and mitzvos) regarding the manner of the person’s (gavra’s) obligation. The obligation of Torah study has no limitations; in the words of the Rambam^[11]: “Every Jew is obligated to study Torah, whether poor or rich, whether healthy in body or suffering…,” and also (in time) the person’s obligation is constant^[12]. With mitzvos, however, it is different, for each mitzvah has its own limitation (to a specific time, or place, and the like).

4. According to this, however, it is difficult to understand the reason for the version (view) “Tzaddikim have no rest…,” which includes also those who excel in good deeds (the service of the mitzvos), as mentioned above. How can it be that (also) in this service (which is limited, as above) there should be the achievement of “having no rest,” which indicates something infinite?

We must therefore say that in mitzvos too there is an element (and the quality) of infinity, and with this the reason for the version “Tzaddikim have no rest…” is also understood.

5. At first glance one could say that the law “Torah study is interrupted for a mitzvah that cannot be performed by others”^[13] compels us to say that mitzvos too have a dimension of infinity. For if they were only in the category of limitation, how could they override Torah study, something that is infinite^[14]?

In truth, however, this is no proof that mitzvos too are in the category of infinity. For the fact that “Torah study is interrupted for a mitzvah that cannot be performed by others” is not because of the superiority of the mitzvos, but because, through the absence of the fulfillment of the mitzvos, a deficiency is caused in the study of Torah, as will be explained.

6. The Alter Rebbe says^[15] (in giving the reason for the above-mentioned law): “He should interrupt his study and perform the mitzvah… for this is the whole of man, as the Sages said^[16]: ‘The purpose of wisdom is teshuvah and good deeds,’ and if he does not do so, it turns out that he studied not in order to do, and it would have been better for him^[17]….”

After the Alter Rebbe states^[18] the reason for his obligation (to “interrupt his study and perform the mitzvah”), “for this is the whole of man,” namely, to fulfill the mitzvos, he adds: “and if he does not do so, it turns out that he studied not in order to do” (that is, without the fulfillment of the mitzvos the study of Torah is not as it should be). This implies that the reason “for this is the whole of man” is not sufficient for the mitzvah to override Torah study. For while it is indeed true that the fulfillment of the mitzvos is “the whole of man,” nevertheless, being something limited, it cannot override something (Torah) that is infinite. Therefore the Alter Rebbe adds: “and if he does not do so, it turns out that he studied not in order to do.”

That is: the fulfillment of the mitzvos, which is “the whole of man” (the entire person, including his power of intellect, as the Sages said: “The purpose (and ‘purpose’ also means the completion) of wisdom is teshuvah and good deeds”; and accordingly, since the fulfillment of the mitzvos is the purpose and completion of wisdom, that is, of Torah) — “if he does not do so, it turns out that he studied” (not as he should, since this is) “not in order to do.”^[19]

7. It may be said that the explanation of this is as follows. In mitzvos there are two aspects^[20], as is seen in the text of the blessings over the mitzvos: the part (and aspect) common to them all, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” and the specific (and particular) part, “and commanded us concerning such-and-such a mitzvah,” and the like. a) Each mitzvah has its own particular, defined parameters, which separate one mitzvah from the other mitzvos, and in terms of these parameters the mitzvos are in the category of limitation. b) The common aspect present in all the mitzvos, by virtue of which they are in the category of infinity.

That is: the various details found in each mitzvah, through which one mitzvah is distinguished from the other mitzvos, express the limitation within the mitzvos. The general point found in all the mitzvos is that they are all a mitzvah, from the word tzivui, command, that is, the Supernal Will, blessed be He, which is present equally in all the mitzvos. For the Almighty’s will in the mitzvos transcends their limitations and divisions, as our Sages said^[21]: “Do not sit and weigh the mitzvos of the Torah… the lightest of the light… and the most stringent of the stringent….” In terms of this general point in the mitzvos, the Supernal Will, blessed be He, they are infinite.

Moreover, the reason is known^[22] why “one who is engaged in a mitzvah is exempt from another mitzvah”^[23]: because all the mitzvos are included one in the other, so that when one fulfills one mitzvah it is somewhat as if he had at the same time fulfilled all the other mitzvos. This is due to the (essential) Will within the mitzvos, which transcends division^[24].

It follows, then, that even when one is engaged in a specific mitzvah (although in terms of its details it is separate and distinct from the other mitzvos, nevertheless) one has through it a connection to the mitzvos as a whole, to the infinity within them.

8. Just as this is so regarding the mitzvos themselves (the cheftza), so it is also regarding the fulfillment of the mitzvos by the Jew (the gavra). Although the obligation of each individual mitzvah is indeed limited in time, etc. (as above, section 3), there is a constant obligation upon Jews in (the service of) the mitzvos as a whole. As our Sages say in the Mishnah^[25]: “I was created to serve my Maker” — every moment that he is in the state of “I was created,” that is, every moment of a person’s existence, is for (the task and purpose of) “serving my Maker.” And as said earlier, “for this is the whole of man,” up to the ruling in the Shulchan Aruch: “All your deeds should be for the sake of Heaven”^[26], and “In all your ways, know Him”^[27].

9. In light of all the above, the difference between the two versions, the two views, is understood. In terms of the limited details in the mitzvos, only “Torah scholars have no rest…”; but in terms of the mitzvos as a whole, which is infinite, all “tzaddikim (including those who excel in good deeds) have no rest….”

10. The matter, however, still requires explanation. It is explained (elsewhere^[28]) that the reason “Torah scholars (specifically) have no rest… nor in the World to Come” is, as the Arizal says in Likkutei HaShas: “This is the meaning of ‘Man goes out to his work (po’alo)’^[29], that is, to engage in Torah in what he accomplished in this world; for when a person leaves this world, he goes out first to his work, that is, to engage in Torah in what he accomplished in this world….” Therefore only “Torah scholars have no rest… in the World to Come,” because in Gan Eden, to which “man” “goes out” from this world, only the aspect of “his work” of Torah study is relevant^[30], and not the activity (the occupation) of fulfilling the mitzvos^[31].

According to this, the version “Tzaddikim, etc.” is not understood. True, the matter of endless ascents exists also in relation to the mitzvos, for in them too there is the element of infinity. But how can one say that “tzaddikim have no rest… in the World to Come” because “man goes out to his work in the World to Come,” when in Gan Eden there is no “work” of fulfilling the mitzvos?

The explanation is as follows. It is known that the term “World to Come” has two meanings: a) Gan Eden (which is called the World to Come because “it comes to a person after the life of this world”^[32]); b) the World of the Resurrection^[33].

Accordingly, it may be said that the meaning of “World to Come” in this saying of our Sages depends on the two versions. According to the version “Torah scholars have no rest…,” which is because of the superiority of Torah, “World to Come” means (also) Gan Eden (where only the “work” of Torah is relevant, and not that of the mitzvos). According to the version “Tzaddikim have no rest…,” which includes also the service of the mitzvos, the meaning of “World to Come” in this saying is the World of the Resurrection, when the time of “work” will come again in the mitzvos as well.

11. At first glance one might ask: a) Our Sages^[34] say, “The mitzvos will be nullified in the Future to Come,” and the Alter Rebbe^[35] explains: “that is, at the Resurrection of the Dead.” b) It is explained in several places in Chassidus^[36] that the statement of our Sages, “tzaddikim have no rest…” (and are constantly ascending from level to level), refers to the ascents in Gan Eden, but in the Future to Come there will be a time of Shabbos and rest also from ascents^[37]. How then does this fit with the above explanation, that according to the version “Tzaddikim have no rest… in the World to Come” the reference is (not to Gan Eden, but) to the World of the Resurrection?

The explanation is that the era of the World of the Resurrection itself consists of two periods^[38]. The first period is the one about which every Jew says^[39]: “And there we will offer before You… according to the command of Your will” — there will then be the fulfillment of the mitzvos, and consequently also the ascents that come through them. And there will be a second period, when “the mitzvos will be nullified.”

Among the proofs for this: it is known that our Sages^[40] say that in the Future to Come “Moshe and Aharon will be with us,” and sacrifices will be offered, which is the fulfillment of mitzvos (especially since the whole concept of offering sacrifices is the concept of ascent: the elevation of the life-force of the animal from below to above, as explained in many places). We see, then, that even after the Resurrection there will be mitzvos and ascents.

12. It is, however, still not explained. “Have no rest” means that the ascents of the tzaddikim occur continuously, without any interruption. According to the explanation just given, that “tzaddikim have no rest in the World to Come” refers to (a period of) the World of the Resurrection, they surely have an interruption of “rest” in Gan Eden (where there is no “work” of mitzvos), which comes between this world and the World of the Resurrection?

The explanation of this is: it was said earlier that the performance of the mitzvos applies only in this world, when the soul is clothed in a body; but when the soul is in Gan Eden, without a body, the service of the mitzvos does not apply.

Therefore, within the definition of (and in relation to) the service of those who excel in good deeds (tzaddikim), a service that can take place only when the soul is together with the body, the time of the soul without the body, when it is in Gan Eden, has no existence. In clearer words: the fulfillment of the mitzvos is bound up with, and consequently requires, the existence of the body, and when the body does not exist (as a body for its soul), one cannot speak in that respect of the existence of time^[41]. Thus, the fact that the souls of those who excel in good deeds have no ascents during the time they are in Gan Eden is not considered an interruption in their ascents.

An example of this: the Rogatchover says^[42] that there can be no addition in time when the soul is above. That is, when the connection of the soul with the body is severed and the soul ascends to Gan Eden, then in its “world” the whole concept of time does not exist with regard to the laws of the Torah (although it does exist in relation to the reward of the mitzvos, the study of Torah, etc., as is known regarding midnight in Gan Eden, etc.).

13. It may further be said on this: the Rebbe Rashab, of blessed memory, whose birthday is 20 MarCheshvan, writes (in his will^[43]) as follows: “It may further be said, perhaps more deeply, based on what I heard in the name of my revered father, of saintly memory, that for complete tzaddikim the level of sovev kol almin shines for them even in Gan Eden^[44]… and accordingly it may be said that something resembling the performance of the mitzvos is relevant there, in the manner of the semblance and likeness of the mitzvos that will exist in the Future to Come… and this is the concept of honoring father and mother, that one brings the parents into Gan Eden….”

[It may be said that this is the inner meaning of the words of the Rambam^[45], which read: “So said^[46] the early Sages: ‘In the World to Come… rather, tzaddikim sit with their crowns on their heads and enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah.’ It is thus clear to you that there is no body there (for the Rambam interprets the World to Come in this saying of our Sages as Gan Eden^[47])… and likewise what they said, ‘their crowns on their heads,’ means the knowledge that they knew… and that is their crown, as Shlomo said^[48]: ‘with the crown with which his mother crowned him’… so the crown of which the Sages spoke here is knowledge. And what is meant by ‘they enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah’? That they know and comprehend of the truth of the Holy One, blessed be He, what they did not know while they were in the dark and lowly body.”

It may be said that the intent is that in Gan Eden there are two things. “Their crowns on their heads”: a “crown” is on (and above) the head and surrounds it, and this refers to the knowledge that comes from the light of sovev kol almin, which is in the manner of a makif, an encompassing light, upon them^[49]. And “they enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah… that they know and comprehend^[50]…,” which means that they ascend from level to level in the comprehension of Torah, in a manner of inner knowledge^[51].]

Accordingly, since even in Gan Eden “something resembling the performance of the mitzvos” is relevant (at least), it follows that at least “complete tzaddikim”^[52] have no rest, also in terms of the “work” of the mitzvos, even in Gan Eden.

(From a talk of 20 Menachem Av, 5735)

Key Lesson

Each mitzvah has its own limits of time, place and detail, yet every mitzvah also carries the infinite Will of G‑d that is common to them all. Because of this, a Jew who serves G‑d through practical good deeds, and not only through Torah study, is joined to something without end and can keep rising without rest. Every moment of life is for “serving my Maker,” so even ordinary deeds done for the sake of Heaven connect us to that infinite Will. A mitzvah done today is not a small, closed act; it is a step in an ascent that never stops.