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Visio-Tanya, Chapters 21

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Visio-Tanya, Chapters 21 Chapter 21. Structure and Logic. A ch. 20 When a man utters a word, the breath With the Holy One, blessed be He, His "The nature of the Divine emitted in speaking is something that can speech is not, Heaven forfend, separated order is not like that of a Berachot be sensed and perceived as a thing apart, from His blessed Self, for there is nothing creature of flesh and 40a. separated from its source, namely, the ten outside of Him, and there is no place devoid blood." faculties of the soul itself. of Him. His blessed speech is not like our speech..., His so-called speech and His blessed speech is called "speech" A just as his thought is not thought are united with Him in only by the way of an anthropomorphic ch. 43 our thought. absolute union. illustration. As in a case of man below, whose speech "For my thoughts "So my ways A reveals to his audience what was hidden are not like your are higher than As is a person's speech and ch. 33 and concealed in his thoughts, so, too, it is thoughts." your ways..." thought whilst they are still in on high with the blessed En Sof , Whose potentia in his wisdom and emitted light and life force - as it emerges intellect , or in a desire and B from Him, from concealment into Isa. 55:8 Isa. v.9 craving that are still in the heart ch. 20 revelation, to create worlds and to sustain prior to rising from the heart to them - is called "speech". the brain, where by cogitation they are formulated into the so- called "letters". Also the remainder of the Torah, Prophets These emanations are indeed the ten fiats and Hagiographa, which the Prophets by which the world was created. conceived in their prophetic vision. For at that time the "letters" of thought and Verily so, are the speech and thought of speech which evolve from the longing and the Holy One, blessed be He, absolutely desire, were still in potentia in the heart, united with His blessed essence and being, where they were absolutely fused with even after His blessed "speech" has their root, namely, the wisdom and already become materialized in the creation intellect of the brain, and the longing and of the worlds, just as it was united with Him desire in the heart. ere the worlds were created. There is, thus, no manner of change in his blessed Self, but only for the created beings which receive their life-force from His blessed "word", as it were, in its revealed state at the A creation of the worlds, in which it is clothed, giving them life through a process of a gradual A ch. 20 decent from cause to effect and a downward gradation, by means of numerous and various ch. 35 contractions, until the created beings can receive their life and existence from it, without losing their entity. These "contractions" are all in the nature of "veiling the Countenance," to obscure and conceal the light and life-force that are derived from His blessed "word", so that it shall not reveal itself in a greater radiance than the lower worlds are capable of receiving. It seems to them as if the light and life-force of the word of the Omnipresent, blessed be He, which is clothed in them, were something apart from His blessed Self, and it only issues from Him, just as the speech of a human being issues from his soul. For all the "contractions" and "garments" Yet, in regard to the Holly One, Blessed be He, no concealment "Yea, the darkness are not things distinct from Him, Heaven or delitescency hides or obscures anything from Him, to Whom obscureth not from forfend. darkness is like light. Thee..." "Like the snail, whose garment is Bereishit Ps. part of his body." Rabba 21. 139:12 In His Presence all else is of no account whatever. Chapter 22. Structure and Logic. A A ch. 35 ch. 21 So great and powerful are the contractions and concealment of the Countenance, that even unclean things, kelipot and sitra achra , can come into being and be created, receiving their A life and existence from the Divine word and the breath of His blessed mouth, in concealment ch. 24 of His Countenance and by virtue of the downward gradations. The kelipot are called "other gods", for their nurture and life are not of the so-called "Countenance" but of the so-called "hinder part" of holiness. On high the term "Countenance" exemplifies the inner "Hinder" exemplifying the act of a person giving something unwillingly to an quality of the Supernal Will and true desire, in which G-d enemy, when he throws it to him over his shoulder, as it were, having delights to dispense life from the realm of holiness to turned away his face from him since he hates him. everyone who is near to Him. He does so only to punish the wicked and to give a goodly reward to the righteous who subjugate the sitra achra . The Supernal Will of the quality of "Countenance" is the source of life which animates all worlds. That is why it is called the "hinder part" of the Supernal Will. Even the so-called "hinder-part" of the Supernal Will is not It is in no way bestowed on the sitra achra. actually clothed in it, but merely hover over it from above. The tiny amount of light and life that it derives Therefore it is the and absorbs into itself from from the so-called A abode of death "hinder-part" of the supernal holiness is, as it ch. 19 and defilement. were, in a state of actual exile in it. It is termed "other gods" since it constitutes the actual idolatry and denial of the unity of the Supreme King of Arrogance truly compares with idolatry. kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. The essence and root of idolatry is that it is regarded For inasmuch as the light and life of holiness are, as it as a thing in itself, sundered from the Divine holiness. were, in a state of exile, within it, it does not surrender itself in any degree to the holiness of the Holy One, blessed be He. It does not imply an outright denial of G-d, as the heathens call Him "The G-d of gods", thus only presuming themselves also to be entities Isa. 47:8 It surges upward like an eagle saying, "I am, and there and independent beings. is nothing beside me." They separate themselves from the blessed Ezek. "My river is mine own, and I Divine holiness, since they do not surrender to 29:9, 29:3 have made myself." Him. Thereby they are called The supernal holiness rests only A "Peaks of Separation". on what is surrendered to Him. ch. 23 A ch. 19 This constitutes a denial of His true unity, where everything is as nothing compared with Him and A truly nullified before Him and before His will ch. 20 which animates them all and constantly gives them existence out of nothing. Chapter 23. Structure and Logic. The commandments constitute the innermost Supreme Will and His true desire which are clothed in all the upper and nether worlds, thereby giving them life, inasmuch a their very life and sustenance is dependent upon the A performance of the commandments by the creatures of the lower world. ch. 22 The performance of the commandments and their fulfillment The Torah and the is the innermost garment of the innermost Supreme Will, A Holy One, blessed be C since it is due to their performance that the light and the life ch. 24 He, are entirely one. of the Supreme Will issue forth to be clothed in the worlds. They are called 'organs' of the King, as a figure of speech, for just as the organs of the human body are a garment for its soul and are "The 248 commandments are the 248 completely and utterly surrendered to it,... so is the life force animating 'organs' of the King." the performance of the commandments and their fulfilment is completely surrendered to the Supreme Will which is clothed therein. A Tikunei Zohar, ch. 37 Tikun 30 Thoughts and meditation The external garment of the divine soul in the person fulfilling and practicing the in the words of Torah - commandment - this being its faculty of action - clothes itself in the vitality of the that are in the brain, and performance of the commandment, thus also becoming like a body in relation to the the power of speech - soul, the "soul" being the Supreme Will to which it is completely surrendered. The Supreme Will is that is in the mouth, identical with the very these being the subject of the halachah In this way the organs of the human body which perform the innermost garments of wherein one thinks and commandment - in which the divine soul's faculty of action is clothed at the divine soul, not to speaks, inasmuch as all the time of the act and fulfilment of the commandment - truly becomes mention the divine soul the laws are particular the vehicle for the Supreme Will. itself which is clothed in streams flowing from the them - all of them are inner Supreme Will itself. completely merged in perfect unity with the A Bereishit Supreme Will, and are "The Patriarchs are truly the chariot." Rabba 47:6 not merely a vehicle. ch. 34 So also are the letter combinations of the Pentateuch, Prophets and All their organs were completely holy and detached Hagiographa a promulgation of His from mundane matters, serving as a vehicle solely A will and wisdom which are united for the Supreme Will alone throughout their lives.
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