י"א חשון – אגרת הקודש פרק כ"ו

However, when the שכינה—Divine Presence—departs from קליפת נוגה—the shell of Nogah—or, as some versions have it, from the other קליפות—shells, after the refinement and elevation of all the holy sparks is complete, and the evil is separated from the good, then all those who act wickedly will be separated out. At that point, the tree of good and evil will no longer have any power, because the good will have been extracted from it and the evil will be left behind, with no more influence.

In that future time, the occupation with Torah and mitzvos will no longer be for the purpose of refining and elevating the sparks—לברר בירורין. Instead, the focus will be on ליחד יחודים עליונים יותר—creating higher and more sublime unities, and to draw down even loftier Divine lights, higher than those of the world of Atzilus. This is as the Arizal writes, that the main avodah in the future will be to bring down new, higher revelations of G‑dliness, not to refine the world as we do now.

All of this will be accomplished through the inner dimension of Torah—פנימיות התורה. The mitzvos will be fulfilled with the highest intentions—כוונות עליונות—which are directed toward drawing down these supreme lights.

This is because the root of the mitzvos—שרש המצות—is exceedingly lofty, reaching all the way up to the Infinite One, the אין סוף ברוך הוא. The fulfillment of mitzvos with these inner intentions will be the means by which these new Divine revelations are drawn down into the world.

Now, there is a statement of our Sages: "דמצות בטילות לע"ל"—that the mitzvos will be nullified in the World to Come. The Alter Rebbe clarifies that this refers specifically to the era of techiyas hameisim—the resurrection of the dead. However, in the days of Moshiach, before the resurrection, the mitzvos will not be nullified; they will still be observed.

This is a subject of discussion among the commentaries, and there are different opinions, but this is one accepted view: that the mitzvos remain in force in the days of Moshiach, and only after techiyas hameisim are they "nullified" in the sense described by the Sages.

Therefore, in the time to come, the main occupation with Torah will also be in the inner meanings of the mitzvos and their hidden reasons. The revealed aspects of Torah—הנגלות—will be open and known to every Jew from the outset, without any forgetfulness. There will be no need to labor over them, because everyone will know them automatically.

Only the ערב רב—the mixed multitude—who do not merit to taste from the אילנא דחיי—the Tree of Life, which is the inner dimension of Torah and mitzvah—will need to occupy themselves with the revealed Torah, such as Mishnah. This is necessary to weaken the power of the ס"א—the sitra achra, the side of impurity—that still clings to them. Through their occupation with Torah, the negative forces will not be able to dominate them and cause them to sin.

This is as it is written in Yeshayahu (65:20): "והחוטא בן מאה שנה יקולל"—"the sinner, being a hundred years old, shall be accursed"—indicating that even in the future, there will be sinners among the Erev Rav.

Additionally, in practical terms, the Erev Rav will need to know the details of the laws of prohibition and impurity—הלכות איסור וטומאה—even more than the Jewish people. This is so that they do not come to transgress or become impure, as it is written: "כי לא יאונה..."—"no harm shall befall you"—which refers to the righteous, who will not encounter such pitfalls, but the Erev Rav may still be susceptible.

It is also possible—and in fact, quite likely—that from the inner dimension of Torah, all the laws of the revealed Torah will be known. Just as Avraham Avinu, peace be upon him, knew and fulfilled the entire Torah, even before it was given, so too in the future, the knowledge of the inner Torah will encompass all the practical laws. Therefore, there will be no need to occupy oneself with the revealed Torah at all, since it will be fully known through the inner dimension.

This was not the case during the time of the Second Beis Hamikdash. Then, even the greatest sages needed to engage in the study of the revealed Torah—not only for practical halachic rulings, but because the main avodah at that time was to weaken the power of the sitra achra and to elevate the sparks of holiness through Torah and avodah. As explained elsewhere, the primary service in those times was still the avodah of refinement—עבודת הבירורים.

After these words of truth, we can now better understand, with additional explanation, the words of the Ra'aya Mehemna cited above. When he spoke of the אילנא דטוב ורע—the tree of good and evil—he was referring to קליפת נוגה, which is primarily this world. As is written in עץ חיים—Etz Chaim—this is the main aspect of our world before the coming of Moshiach. After Moshiach comes, the dominance of the אילנא דטוב ורע will cease, and the main avodah will no longer be the refinement of sparks, but rather the creation of higher unities and the drawing down of new Divine lights. This is sufficient for those who understand.