1775 —הבהרות על תניא: השבועה, צדקות, וגבול מול בל"ג

B"H, 13 Menachem Av, 5712.

Brooklyn.

Harav Hagaon VeHaraha"ch iy"a nu"n Moshe Aryeh Leib Shapiro

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In response to your letter from the 13th of Tammuz (and it is surprising that you did not note in your letter that this is the auspicious and redemptive day of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe—especially since it was also a general redemption, as explained in his letter). Apparently I did not sufficiently clarify your comments and questions on Tanya; I will now briefly address them again:

a) Regarding what is written: "Mashbi'in oto tehi tzaddik... even if the whole world tells you you are a tzaddik, consider yourself as a rasha..." (they administer an oath to him: be a tzaddik...), you ask how 'oath' relates to even if the whole world says so. I answered you in two ways: (1) The main oath is on "be a tzaddik and do not be a rasha," while all else are preparatory matters to fulfill this, as it concludes "and know that the Holy One Blessed Be He is pure," for which obviously an oath does not apply. (2) Even if we say that the oath also applies to "even if... consider yourself as a rasha," it is because for most people this is very relevant in their service—that one who has not reached the level of tzaddik should not err in this (but primarily as in point 1—the oath does not apply here; it is only preparatory).

b) Regarding your comment about what harm there would be if a complete tzaddik (and it is somewhat puzzling that you specify only a complete tzaddik, since the question applies also to an incomplete tzaddik) knows he is a tzaddik—the answer is that there is no harm in this; harm only comes when someone who has not reached the level of tzaddik errs about himself. As stated in my previous letter and explained in Tanya chapter 13, the main warning is not to rely on what everyone else says.

c) As for your question that many tzaddikim testified about themselves that they were tzaddikim—as above, this poses no difficulty because they knew they were tzaddikim not because of what others said but through other proofs and were truly righteous. Therefore there is no harm—in fact, quite the opposite—as explained elsewhere in Chassidus: just as one must know one's deficiencies, one must also know one's strengths.

d) Regarding your repeated comment that the distinction between infinite (bli gevul) and finite (gevul) is also qualitative—and your proof being that there is no comparison at all between finite and infinite; therefore infinity cannot be grasped by created beings—and you support this from what Chassidus explains elsewhere: that whether it's one or thousands or tens of thousands compared to infinity it's all equal—experience shows otherwise. Every person has some concept of our physical material world even though there are countless worlds and all are called 'world,' meaning they share something in common. Another proof comes from our Sages in Chagigah and cited regarding bli gevul and gevul in Tanya chapter 46: every legion has thousands upon thousands etc., but its legions are without number—meaning infinity gathers together from those with number and limit. There’s no contradiction from elsewhere where it's stated that true infinity cannot be composed from finites—that's only from the perspective of created beings; but when the Creator's power mixes in, then it becomes possible by virtue of the Creator. This itself serves as proof of G‑d's power within creations. And essentially, the terms finite and infinite relate to quantity—or as philosophers say—to 'how much,' not 'how.'

I hope now things are sufficiently clarified. I conclude with blessings.

Summary

The Rebbe clarifies key concepts from Tanya regarding striving for righteousness, understanding one's spiritual status accurately without self-deception or relying solely on others' opinions, and explains how infinity relates to finitude within creation—all essential for sincere Divine service.