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Tanya Kuntres Acharon 4c- Virtue of action vs Intellect, Davening- Rabbi Chaim Dalfin
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are learning
a essay 4 which is could be the longest
chapter of Tanya is this essay 4. It's
very long and it's very
cabalistic but we'll go through it as
best as we can. The
nuda let's keep focus up to the point
the nuda in this essay
is that it says in
in it says
that accomplishes a
greater than mitzvah. There are three
ways of accomplishing the rectification
of the sparks that fell visav
desirain. The whole idea of in the
mission of a yeid on earth according to
the kabola I mean is to to reunite the
sparks. That's a common theme in in in
kabola andus.
But the
the explains that the primary mode of
doing that is and that's a big so the
balat here the alterba seeks to explain
that the basic explanation without the
entire chapter is that
msa is more associated with action even
more than mitzvah that's
why
because mitzvah you listening to
God. It It's not who you are. You're
following. As the word mitzvah means, a
commandment from a commander. So I have
kabil. I follow. Thank it's very very
great.
But where you are and who you are and
where you're coming from doesn't
necessarily agree. That means there's
part of you that disagrees.
TA study is so in TA study, TA is
Hashem's TA and you use your mind to
study TA. So again, it's not who you
really are. The only place where there
is a method to accomplish the
reunification of the sparks is
in because the whole gather according to
the Rambam is well prayer you have to
know who you are what's bothering you
what's missing and then you call out to
Hashem that's who you are in other words
it I'm not talking about
and and the types
of talking about
overall overall is the
most corporeal if you can use that word
gashnous part of you that's seeks to to
reconnect that's the
answer that's why the
ultimate reunification of the sparks
that fell in in from tou is through tila
Okay, so now we
know what the question was. We know what
the answer is, but now we have an entire
essay to go through. So let's do that.
We're on page we're using those that
have the lessons in Tanya, it would be
very useful. I'm using that cuz um it's
very helpful in its description of
certain things. We're on page
305 and here we're towards the bottom of
the page.
speaks about the the
passage there's two
ways and we spoke about that in the last
year I encourage you to listen to it
because it's not only relevant here it's
relevant to other
places how the light filters itself the
self light or the into the kalin one
method is called bed mav and the other
one's called
bedlaps one, it just passes by. It's
like uh here in uh New York, you know,
we have the express train which skips
stations. So, as it flies through, you
see the station, but you can't it
doesn't stop. It's bad mir passes it by.
Islopas would be like it steps. It's the
local. It's not the express. It stops at
every station and goes in and goes out.
So, that's more the idea
of let's continue.
with God. These attributes correspond to
what we call the major or minor
intellect. Now we're on top of page
306. And this is
why really requested, really begged from
Hashem, please let me in.
Why? Because he wanted to fulfill the
practical mitzvah that can only be done
where you all live. Most of you
init
but these are the ultimate of the
chainlike reaction from on high to
below.
It's to draw down infinity infin godly
energy of
infinity the bria cabalistic to refine
the vessels of the
midos. That's where you find the the the
248 sparks. Where do you find them? you
find them below and and Mosha wanted to
do everything. He didn't want to just do
a mitzvah that, you know, he wouldn't
that that he could do anywhere in the
world.
But so begged, "Please let me in. I want
to be able to do all the
mitzvah." Now, now we're going to talk
about page 307.
and what about mitzvah that you aren't
able to do through others. The Gumor
says, you know that one of the most
serious breaches
is you know being
tal already quoted in the first page of
Tanya the story of my father when he was
17 18 he
was he was uh for Pes to make some extra
money he was he was helping in the
matzah bakery in Mayar
And um at that time the Reba had
encouraged the uh you know we should
give out Shura matzah to people don't
have that was the beginning of the
campaign was 54 55 56 those years. So he
has a good baker asked the owner of the
manager if he could give him a few extra
matzah so that he can give to someone
who doesn't have
matzah. Who was in charge? It was Ra's
son. So he told he asked him for who is
this matzah. So he said it's to give to
people don't have matzah. So he asked
him are they religious? Are they fum are
they? He said, "No, I don't know they."
So he said, "If they're not not from
they're not they're They don't
need such matzah. They're
or they're showy. Sorry to show
you." So my father said, "I'm sorry,
they're not showy. They're
yen." And and became a very
contested discussion in the matzah
bakery to say the least.
in walks in Ra
Amram the head of the Turkart and he
sees a he hears a commotion and he sees
this lab buffer with his son going at
each other. So he asks what's the
discussion about and they and they tell
him exactly what I told you
now. So what Abi says to my father, I
agree with my
son and therefore they should not give
you any matzah because matzah you give
to a Jew, not to a
or I'm sorry to a ye but not to a
Russia probably they called them goyam
too whatever. So my father said, "Raam,
I'll tell you something. you're a Russia
also. And the people around there wanted
to kill my father, but they held
themselves back. And he, my father, he
said, I'll explain to you I'll tell you
why you're a
Russia says in the first page of Tanya
quoting to go and that if you're a
vat for one minute, you're a Russia. He
can't be abaning. And he brings
the for you disgrace the word of
God. Cut off. You shall be cut off. He
should be killed. He'll be
killed. So my father turns to Raam.
Raamn tell me. He he didn't know it's
blah. He had no idea who he's talking
to. Whoever it was, he says, "Do you
learn to every single minute?" You
don't. Don't tell me you learn every
minute. So according to the Tanya,
you're also a Russia. According to the
Tanya, according to the Gamora, you're
also a Russia. So if you're a Russia and
you can take matzah, why can't this Jew
get
matzah? The next morning in the paper
then the Turkarta had a paper called I
don't know if it comes out today, but in
those days it was called the wall,
right? The guardians of the wall.
So in Hebrew
it's and the headline on
wasp him you know has the to call it a
bomb a
Russia I'm saying the story because here
says here what about mitzvah that cannot
be done by others through
others the is you can you can unull
So for example, you know what you know
what an example for this is
if someone passes away and they're a
mess mitzvah they don't have any
relatives then you can stop learning
from your learning not you stop you need
to stop learning and go and bury the
person even if you're studying the about
the heavenly chariot it and what's going
on in heaven having such heavenly
things because one
second. Yes. Yes. Is
sir reminds me of the story of a oneb I
forget who they were. One Reb went to
visit another and uh so the Reb was the
host was starting to make up the bed and
the guest stopped him and he he
no I I'll I'll make up the bed. So the
next morning the host as the guest is
putting on his toil, he runs over to him
and he takes the straps from him and he
starts winding the straps around. He
says, "What are you doing?" He says is
my mitzvah.
You can't do my mitzvah. Right. Exactly.
So if you do my mitzvah, I'll wrap your
Very
good. Next
line.
Surely when it comes to
ding which involves the
intellect and the love and fear fear and
love the intellectual love and fear here
that
surely no one can do for you here in
other words if
in the is that there's a time when your
tal I'm Sorry.
Um learning. Yeah. Because
it's no one else can do it for
you. So surely which in the
entire category of dabing
is self my needs what's going on in my
heart my mood. So no one can do it for
you. That's the point alter is
getting the reason as we explained
before in order to extract and refine
the sparks by means of the practical
mitzvah this being the purpose of
creation
more the the virtue of mitz practical
are very
great and so to study about them are
greater
over the intellect itself.
The top of next page 308 or the next
line it says in the you shall t attach
yourself
cling
to
the so here is an important thing when
we say
Connect, cleave, attach. What are you
connecting to? Not the essence. You
don't know the
essence. So you go to a sadic, you go to
a reba, you go to a guttle, whatever,
whatever you're right. You see their
behavior, you follow their behavior, you
it's fine. But that's
the what they do. The mahus, you don't
know the you don't know what they're
thinking.
of a says I am just dust and
ashes. So in other words, what Abra is
saying is that in comparison to the
essence, it's only dust and
ashes. On page 309, he has an
interesting mush I want to read from the
note.
A tree originally composed of the four
elements of fire, air, water, and earth.
It's it is
burned. Losing its first three elements
in smoke, it is reduced to its fourth
element, which is mere ashes.
Yet though these though these ashes and
the tree itself are the same
element. The ashes can hardly be
compared to the original tree that was
beautiful to behold and good to the ear
to eat. Sorry. So too the attributes of
kindness and love that Aram possessed
while his soul was in his body cannot be
compared to the attribute of kindness
which is one of the spheros. Now speaks
about this in in earlier in Tanya. It is
thus to be seen that one does not
cleave to the essence of the superal
attributes but only to their external
state their state of mere
existence. Understand? So a tree a tree
is beautiful with fruits and leaves.
When it's burnt it's it's it's but the
elements are the same. But this is
the that's the point. This is the
mits and this is the
mus the
mahus is is very different than the
mitsute. That's his point.
This is a mushroom that we get left with
quite closely of late. Yes. With burning
of trees and
forests came
by. Needless to say, when it comes to
the infinite Hashem, the
last no thought can grasp
God in his
energy. The expansiveness, an extension
of
his. What do we know about Hashem?
The existence, the external
We know that
Hashem enliven everyone but can but we
don't know we don't know God's
essence even the upper worlds the
angels holy holy
holy
310 only emanated effects can conceive
their cause. The spiritual beings of the
world of Axilus are each an effect
brought about by a cause to the levels
to in the levels higher than themselves.
These beings vest
themselves in each other in turn and at
each level are able to comprehend the
antecedent cause that is vested within.
If you say the
as explained
in it's called the investment of the
visages
theim but this is not the case with
created
beings even
souls
says you can only see my back says I
want to see you gom says, "Thank you
very much, my dear Moses, but no created
being can see the essence of God, the
pmas. I'll show you the my backside,
which is they say is metaphorically the
kesher of tin, the the knot of the head
filling, but the idea being the panemas,
you don't get to see."
Okay. So now the performers of mitzvah
however as the alterb will now explain
connects a Jew with the essence of
divinity when he holds an together with
the other three kinds of vegetation and
fulfills the mitzvah of the four species
ansukus he is holding on to the essence
of divinity it's like the marash said is
sir when you're eating a piece of matzah
you know to say there you're eating
eating
godliness
elus but you're eating a matzah mush
it's a matzah and it cost a lot of money
one matzah today that's all the is the
is it's godliness otherwise you
shouldn't be eating that matzah and
definitely not paying $10 a matzah
whatever they're charging today for a
matzah
mitz conversely
forms hey mom That is actually a works
of
God. It comes down from on
high from the nature in essence of their
external
aspect. Take for example
an four kinds. This
is now he's going to give us the
cabalistic idea of an esrich and its
fork and the three other kinds.
Basically, Hashem invested
his into
the meaning from them outward state from
their outward state from their external
aspect.
Yeah. Contracts. One who intellect a man
who uses intellect.
soul since it's invested in the
body. You can't comprehend the essence.
You can't comprehend the real source of
of of of what's going
on in parenthesis.
It says represents the state of in the
four
worlds. The encompassing transcend light
that is not invested in
anything. So what does what's the most
that the person can intellectually
accomplish is to get
the the
existence through using their
intellectual love and fear stop. Now
it's a rhetorical
question says but wait it says Hashem
says you could see my
backside. So hill as far as the backside
is concerned metaphorically speaking it
would seem that you have a full
comprehension
of
says that's only a
uh prophecy in other words Hashem is not
telling this is the answer is Hashem is
not telling
Mosha you could see my backside in Pmius
you you're a ni you're a prophet So
there's something special about
prophecy. I I I wanted to say something
in a moment that
story. This means the prophet had to
remove their gash. You know that they
had to remove their clothes. You know,
it was um it's hard to imagine what that
means, and we spoke about it once, but
the idea is they had to divest
themselves from Gashmiris to receive
Nava, which by the way, if anyone tells
you they're enough or all that nonsense,
you ask him when's the last time they
divest themselves from
Kashmiris. Maybe this Rabbi Cook, this
this guy, I mean, to me, he looks like
someone who's not into Kashmir. I don't
know. I I don't know how he's alive.
this uh Rabbi Cook who I see on the
screen. I mean the guy's
frail you know another the Reb once said
about the old Belza Reb Aaron who passed
away in 1957 who lived in Tel
Aviv. I told you about him many times.
So the Reb said he's not
surprised by what he didn't eat. He like
Mish almost fasted every every day,
every week, right? The Reb said he's not
Mosha he's not surprised that he didn't
eat because he was on a you know he's
surprised that he was able to
eat being such a such a sadic that's
divested from Gashmis how is he able to
eat and yet he had to eat something to
survive and he did but that was a pella
it's a it's a good vert it's you
understand so down to says here why do I
say this you talk about a n'vi you know
to be a Nvi you have to be divested from
Gashm that's the getter of Nvi up
according to according to the according
to
the and if you're not divested of you
might be a great guy and but you're not
a novi so when Hashem says to who was a
novi
says only
my so that that's a special gift
In other words, it has nothing to do
with the human comprehension of
God. Okay? You hear that? Nas is not
human comprehension of God in the
ordinary way. It's a special gift that
you've earned by refining yourself to
the point you where you divested
yourself from all of Gashmas that Hashem
gives you the power of prophecy.
And by the
way, I don't know if we must say one
second that a ni is a constant. What
could there be another for a day? Could
there be a ni for a week? I believe so.
And you see we have stories in how they
were and then they lost their they lost
their n. Yes.
Just want to say that the brings from a
very similar point in the relationship
between tahara and kadusha. He says that
you know we we we we can work on our
tahara but kadusha is always a gift from
shmay. Ah very good. Thank you. It's
exact. Yeah it sounds exactly what is
saying. Let's continue.
What's the
reason? This is what I said just now
inside the text. The reason why a person
can't comprehend this intellectually
because a creation cannot understand
anything about God's
essence. God is Hashem is the creator.
How can you expect a creation to
understand creator? What a creation can
do is to tap you know the famous muscles
they give with the um with the elephant
blind you know like what is it it feels
like an elephant you know in other words
I don't I don't see it I'm person blind
can't I can't tell you I saw an elephant
but boy does it sound like an elephant
boy does it smell like an elephant
that's our understanding of godliness
we're like blind and What do we know
about Hashem's workings? Nothing. But we
know Hashem makes this, Hashem does this
and this and this and this. So we build
a picture based on
ouristic understanding. But to say that
a nra that a creature can understand the
essence of Hashem, absolutely not. Let's
continue.
and without the comprehension there is
no true in
God.
Conversely, he comes from the highest
levels. All fruit are coming
from a very cabalistic. We're just going
to go through it. The 30
vessels came
into
my 10
erances. We're going to stop here. So
basically, so basically the is saying
but when you take an and you and this
you use for the mitzvah of of of the
four things you
have you have godliness. The essence god
your mind and your your feelings are all
you and and and so
so see right now he's speaking about the
virtue of mitzvah but remember the point
in the in this essay is that as great as
mitzvah mas are actionoriented mitzvah
are and that's why mashenu pleaded
please let me
go he wanted to be able to do kitzah
initless wherever you
are will accomplish as far
as the rectification of the sparks that
fell in a greater way. That's a
tremendous tomorrow. I have to travel.
So we're going to learn not tomorrow but
um Wednesday, right? Tomorrow's Tuesday.
Wednesday morning, right? See you all
Wednesday. Take care. Bye. Bye. Bye.