הארה דהארה בתוך הקליפות – גלות שתגמר עם משיח | הרב מנחם מיידנצ'יק, כ"ח תשרי | אגרות הקודש סימן כ"ה

Today is the 28th of Tishrei, page 278, and we are continuing with the Iggeret HaKodesh by the Admor HaZaken. After having spoken about the Divinity that animates and sustains the world, which is called the Shechinah, we will understand today how that same Shechinah, the same Divinity that animates the world, also animates those forces that oppose holiness and distance themselves from holiness. They oppose holiness, yes, those external forces, those shells (kelipot) that are essentially against the Divine light. So now, the Admor HaZaken explains in parentheses: But in the lands of the nations, outside the Land [of Israel], the life force, that very word of God that animates the world, is through the enclothement of the external ministers who are appointed over the 70 nations.

Meaning, that a spark descends from the word of God, which is called the Malchut of Asiyah—the lowest level in the world of Asiyah, yes, which itself is the word of God, but it is in the form of a spark. It shines upon the ministers, upon those angels above, as a surrounding light (makif). It does not clothe itself within them literally , but rather, life force is drawn to them from this illumination that shines upon them from above as a surrounding light. And from the ministers, those ministers, those angels, life force is bestowed upon the nations, the livestock, the wild animals, and the birds in their lands outside the Land [ of Israel].

That is to say, initially, life force is bestowed upon the nations themselves in a hidden way, then it reaches the livestock, then the wild animals, and so on, and then to the inanimate, to the physical earth and the physical heavens, which are the spheres. Yet there is a difference between the created beings themselves: for the heavens, the earth, the pure birds receive their life force from what? From the kelipat nogah, while the impure animals receive it from the other shells (kelipot). Just as we explained at length in Part I of the Tanya, chapter 6, that there is a difference between kelipat nogah, in which good and evil are intermingled, and the three impure kelipot, which are entirely evil.

Meaning, there is a difference between the shells: there is holiness, there is the middle one where good and evil are mixed, and there is what is called—we spoke about this— there are evil shells that one must completely separate from; it is absolute poison, they cannot be elevated to holiness, one should not engage with them, like all the things forbidden by the Torah, and so on. And behold, the heavens and the earth and everything in the lands of the nations are all considered as nothing at all,

and regarding the ministers—those angels whose life and existence they are—they are considered as nothing, and the ministers are considered as nothing regarding the life force drawn to them from the spark, from the word of God that shines upon them from above in the manner of a surrounding light; of course, it does not clothe itself within them internally. And nevertheless, the life force that is drawn into them, what is drawn into the angels and the upper ministers, this illumination is in a state of exile within them.

Which is why they are called "other gods"(elohim acherim).

Those ministers of the nations are called "other gods," and they call Him "the God of gods"(elohay ha-elohim). They call the Holy One, blessed be He, the God of gods because they consider themselves as gods, as a reality. In general, anything that considers itself a reality in this world is a form of denial of the Holy One, blessed be He, because the true reality of the world is Divinity. So anything that feels itself to be a reality and does not feel the Divinity—that is considered idol worship, for they too are in the category of divinity, in their own feeling, they feel that they are divine .

And therefore, since the vitality of the nations of the world is a divine illumination that shines into the supernal princes, and they consequently receive their vitality from them—the nations who are influenced by these same supernal princes are truly idolaters, for they do not feel Divinity and they create a reality out of something unreal. But when will this end? Until the end, in the future redemption, when death will be swallowed up. In the time to come, they will cease to die.

Death will cease, and the "Other Side"(Sitra Achra). The "Other Side," the shells (Kelipot), will be nullified, and then it will turn to the nations to all call upon the name of God. The Admor HaZaken returns to what he explained, that the same divine spark that enlivens the supernal princes, and through them the idolaters, is in exile. And the vitality of the idolaters, which comes by way of the divine vitality, is also called the "exile of the Shechinah." Why?

Because this vitality is a form of exile within them, as we explained earlier—that they do not feel the Divinity, and they oppose Divinity. This is what it is called. Exile is exile. The exile is that a person does not feel the true reality when they make a reality out of illusions and evil.

And where does this come from? From the illumination, the illumination that is drawn to them from the word of God, which is called by the name " Shechinah," as we said before that the word of God is called "Shechinah" in the language of our Sages. Now a question arises: if so, was the matter of exile not always present since the creation of the world, in all impure things? After all, impure things have existed since the creation of the world .

So the Admor HaZaken explains in parentheses that this exile continues from the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. That is to say, from what is vitality caused to the shells? Of course, by the spark of the word of God, and this continues from the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. From the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, the vitality of the shells is drawn.

Before, the side of the shells did not receive vitality, they could not receive vitality from holiness, and that is the aspect of " hindparts"(Achoreyim). They only receive the aspect of "hindparts" from the lower and external side of holiness and Divinity. But when Israel was exiled among the nations, when the people of Israel were exiled among the nations, the hold of Israel and their root is in the aspect of the "supernal inner face"(Panim Elyonim). The hold of , yes, of the people of Israel, as their root, yes, where do they receive it from?

From the inner essence of the Holy One, blessed be He. Behold, this is a complete exile. Meaning, the inner essence of Divinity, the moment it is drawn into the princes of the nations, that is the matter of a complete exile. As we have already explained in detail in Igeret HaTeshuvah, chapter 6; one can examine it there.

And of this, our Sages of blessed memory said: "When they were exiled to Edom, the Shechinah was with them." When the people of Israel went and were exiled, through that exile, they actually drew vitality to the nations of the world. From this we must learn, of course, not to look at what we see with our eyes, nor to be impressed by all sorts of affairs of the nations of the world, but to know that the entire reality of the world is all Divinity, and the Holy One, blessed be He, is bringing us the complete redemption at any moment, immediately and truly.