Even someone who has not violated a sin that incurs karet, and also not a sin that incurs death by the hands of Heaven, such as wasting seed and similar things, but only other seemingly light sins—

Nevertheless, since they blemish the soul and the godly nefesh, there is a blemish here. He may not cut off the whole rope, but there is still a blemish. The Alter Rebbe explained earlier that there are 613 strands to that rope, so each time you can actually cause a blemish. You are choking some connection, a level of connection to Hashem, by severing even a strand, as the Alter Rebbe is going to explain.

So when you do many sins, you can have such a blemish just like in one prohibition which has a penalty of karet. Even though there are many others, by doing a lot of things, you can blemish the rope.

And even if you do the same sin many times, but you haven't done many sins, just one sin several times, it's as if you only severed one string, but by repeating it, it accumulates.

He brings from the Navi (prophet) that sometimes sins are called like a thick cloud, and sometimes they're called like a thin cloud. A thick cloud means when you do it a lot of layers, you do it a lot of times, it can block and interrupt the connection more than just doing it once.

As the verse states, "I will erase like a thick cloud your transgressions." These are serious offenses that separate between the inner flow of the Shem Havaya, the godly soul, like the separation of a thick and darkened cloud that stands in the way between the sun and the earth and those who live on it, as an analogy.

And "like a cloud your sins"—these are the lighter sins, the ones a person steps on with his heel, which separate like a light and thin cloud, as an analogy.

But the thing is, if you take a bunch of light clouds together, and that is by repeating the sin, you end up getting a thick cloud also. That's the point the Rebbe is trying to make: by duplicating a sin many times, you will get a thick cloud out of it, and you'll get a greater interruption. That will be equal to the level of karet. Just like in this analogy, if a person places on his window opposite the sun many light and thin shades, they will darken the room just like one thick wall, or even more. Many thin ones can darken more than one thick one. The same thing is true in the nimshal, by a person repeating the sin. All the sins that people step on with their heels, if you do them many times, they become a big interruption.

And certainly, there are specific sins which the rabbis have articulated as very serious offenses, even though they seem like light ones. For example, looking away from giving tzedakah, as the verse says, "Be careful lest there be a base thought in your heart," and the Torah uses the word "beliyaal"—which refers to idol worship. So not giving tzedakah is considered as if one is serving idols.

And one who speaks negatively about his friend, which is lashon hara, is considered equal to idol worship, illicit relationships, and murder. "Anyone who gets angry is as if he worships idols." Also, one who has arrogance of spirit. There are many such examples in the Gemara. And Torah study is equal to them all, as our sages say, "Hashem forgave idol worship, etc., but not bittul Torah."

That's why our sages organized in the recitation of Shema before going to sleep that one should accept upon himself the four deaths of the court, even if he never violated such a sin. Because, as we said, even though these sins are not technically punishable as such, they are still equated to these serious sins. And besides that, according to Kabbalah, anyone who blemishes the letter Yud of the Name of Hashem is as if he is liable for stoning; the first Hey, for burning; the Vav, for killing by sword; and the last Hey, for strangulation.

And one who neglects Shema blemishes the Yud; Tefillin, the first Hey; Tzitzit, the Vav; and prayer, the last Hey, and so on. From this, the one who understands can learn about other sins and mistakes, which letter they correspond to. And bittul Torah is equal to them all, meaning it blemishes the entire Name of Hashem.