012 —מאמרים מלוקט חלק ד - יום ג' פ' דברים, ה' מנחם-אב ה'תשכ"ה

B"H, Tuesday of Parshas Devarim, 5 Menachem-Av 5725.

Bila HaMaves LaNetzach U'Macha Hashem Elokim Dim'ah Me'al Kol Panim.

In his maamar beginning with these words, the Rebbe Maharash explains that the future promise of "Bila HaMaves LaNetzach" ("Death will be swallowed forever")^[1] is because then it will be fulfilled, "Ve'es Ruach HaTumah Aavir Min HaAretz" ("And I will remove the spirit of impurity from the land")^[3]. This is understood by first explaining that the Torah states that through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, death entered the world, meaning that death and the sin are interconnected. The idea is that the sin caused a mixture of good and evil^[4]. Although evil existed before the sin, it was separate from good; as is known^[5], at the beginning of creation, the realm of kelipos was below the worlds of holiness, and through the sin, good and evil became mixed (throughout the world^[6]), so that evil is mixed with good and vice versa, to the point that there is no good without evil and no evil without good^[7]. This is the meaning of the verse^[8], "Ve'atah pen yishlach yado ve'lakach gam me'etz hachayim ve'achal ve'chai le'olam" ("And now, lest he send forth his hand and take also from the Tree of Life and eat and live forever"), for seemingly, man was originally created to live forever, and the reason he was commanded not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge was so that he would not die (as it says^[9], "U'me'etz hada'as... lo sochal mimenu ki b'yom acholcha mimenu mos tamus"—"And from the Tree of Knowledge... you shall not eat from it, for on the day you eat from it, you shall surely die"). So why is it a problem if he eats from the Tree of Life and lives forever? The Alter Rebbe explains^[10] that since the sin caused evil to become mixed within man, now (after the sin) there is concern lest he eat from the Tree of Life and live forever, because if he lives forever, the evil within him would also have eternal existence. Thus, death was introduced so that evil would not have eternal existence, as above.

It can be said that death in the world, which came through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, is a direct result of the sin itself. The idea is that vitality exists only in holiness, whereas evil and impurity (the opposite of holiness) are death^[11]. Therefore, since the sin caused evil to be mixed within man—a spiritual death—this eventually led to physical death as well. This is also why, in the future, "Bila HaMaves LaNetzach" will occur: since then evil and spiritual death will be nullified^[12], physical death will also be swallowed up.

2) The reason that specifically in the future evil (spiritual death, and consequently physical death) will be nullified is because then there will be a revelation of an exceedingly lofty light, before which all opposition is automatically nullified. The maamar explains^[13] that even when the Beis HaMikdash stood, especially in the First Temple, and even more so in the days of Shlomo, when "the moon was in its fullness"^[14], there was a great revelation, and because of this, all the nations were nullified before it, not through war at all^[15] [which is why he was called Shlomo, for there was peace in his days^[16]]. Nevertheless, the revelation in Shlomo's time still allowed for the external forces to receive sustenance, though only from the "back" of holiness and not from its inner aspect. [One can say that the fact that in Shlomo's days there was still a place for the external forces is evident in the way the nations were nullified before him. For example, the Queen of Sheba, who even while in her own land, upon hearing of Shlomo, was somewhat nullified and therefore came to him^[17][18], and especially after seeing his wisdom, she was completely nullified before him^[19], yet she remained a queen, and Shlomo even honored her greatly^[20].] In contrast, the future revelation^[21] will be such that the external forces will have no sustenance at all (not even from the "back"), and evil will be completely nullified—"Bila HaMaves LaNetzach".

3) The difference between the revelation in Shlomo's days (which still allowed for some sustenance to the external forces, at least from the "back") and the future revelation (which will not allow them any sustenance) is explained in the maamar^[22] as analogous to the difference in a person's avodah between "sur meira" (turning away from evil) and "mo'es b'ra" (utterly despising evil). "Sur meira" means one pushes away evil but does not inherently hate it. Therefore, even though he rejects evil in practice, there remains some place for evil, and even a hidden trace of love for it, as explained in Tanya regarding the level of a tzaddik who is not complete. In contrast, "mo'es b'ra" means he utterly despises evil (the level of a complete tzaddik), leaving no place for evil at all, for he hates and despises it utterly. Similarly, the difference between the revelation in Shlomo's days and the future is that in Shlomo's time, even though all opposition was nullified (like one who turns away from evil), there was still some place for the external forces (at least from the "back" of holiness). In contrast, the future revelation will be like one who utterly despises evil, leaving no place for anything opposite holiness.

It can be added that, as explained in Tanya^[23], the extent of hatred for evil and despising the sitra achra is proportional to one's love for Hashem. Thus, the difference between "sur meira" and "mo'es b'ra" is not only in how evil is rejected, but also in the degree and manner of one's love for Hashem. Accordingly, the analogy between this difference (between "sur meira" and "mo'es b'ra") and the difference between the revelation in Shlomo's days and the future is that the difference in how evil is rejected (that in Shlomo's days there was still a place for the external forces, unlike the future) is due to the difference in the level and manner of the light and revelation.

4) It is known that all the future revelations depend on our actions and service now^[24]. Thus, it is understood that the future revelation that will not allow any sustenance to the external forces ("Bila HaMaves LaNetzach") comes, as explained in the maamar, through the Jewish people utterly hating evil, which causes above "Ve'es Eisav Sanesi"^[25] ("And I hated Esav") with utter hatred, and through this, "Ve'es Ruach HaTumah Aavir Min HaAretz"—"Bila HaMaves LaNetzach". Since Hashem saw that the righteous are few^[26] (and especially since utter hatred of evil is the level of a complete tzaddik), and even regarding the level of beinoni, it is known the saying^[27] "if only I were a beinoni," and yet "Bila HaMaves LaNetzach" will be for all Jews, it follows that this avodah (to utterly hate evil) can be achieved even by beinonim, and even by those below that level. For every Jew has special times—during prayer, Torah study, when performing a mitzvah with extra care^[28], or even when engaging in mundane matters for the sake of Heaven^[29], and certainly^[30] when "B'chol Derachecha Da'eihu" ("In all your ways, know Him")^[31]—when at that moment he gives over his entire being to G‑dliness, and thus is not connected to the "soiled garments"^[32], like a complete tzaddik. Since this unity above is eternal^[33], it draws down the revelation that does not allow any place for the external forces—"Bila HaMaves LaNetzach".

5) This is the meaning of "Bila HaMaves LaNetzach": as long as the birurim (refinements) are not complete and good and evil are still mixed (even during the time of the Beis HaMikdash, and even in the days of Shlomo when "the moon was in its fullness"), there is still death, so that evil should not have eternal existence, as above. This is also why even the righteous will return to dust for a moment before the resurrection^[34] [even though decay does not affect them^[35], and until that moment their bodies have lasted hundreds or thousands of years, yet before the resurrection they will return to dust], because since the sin caused a mixture of evil in the world, even the bodies of the righteous require purification^[36]. In contrast, in the future (after the resurrection), when "Ve'es Ruach HaTumah Aavir Min HaAretz" is fulfilled, there will be no more death and the body will live eternally. Even according to the opinion^[37] that "Ki HaNa'ar Ben Me'ah Shanah Yamus" ("For the youth will die at a hundred years")^[38] is literal, it applies only to non-Jews, but regarding Jews, "Bila HaMaves LaNetzach" will apply. Moreover, even the death that will occur (according to this opinion) among non-Jews is not actual death, but a fall, for "one who descends from his previous level is called dead"^[39]. As explained in the maamar^[40], when the sparks of holiness that were absorbed in them are clarified and ascend, the evil within them (i.e., their physical body, which is considered evil relative to the holy sparks within) will fall. This is among the nations, but for Israel, even the body will be elevated, nourished from spirituality like the soul, and even more so, the body will surpass the soul—"Nekeivah Tesovev Gever" ("The female will surround the male")^[41]. All this will be realized and revealed below ten handbreadths, in the true and complete redemption through Moshiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days.

Summary

This maamar teaches that death entered the world through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, which caused a mixture of good and evil. The Rebbe explains that the ultimate redemption will bring a revelation so great that evil will be utterly nullified, resulting in eternal life for the Jewish people.