Recap & opening — what the avodah accomplishes
Welcome back to the twentieth lesson on the maamar Basi LeGani 5711. We are studying chapter 7 — and here we will stay close to the words of the maamar, phrase by phrase, without skipping a word.
Let us recall the context: in the previous chapter we saw that the whole avodah is to transform 'the folly of the other side' into 'folly of holiness.' Now the maamar opens and tells us what this avodah accomplishes.
'And behold, through iskafya and is'hapcha into folly of holiness, through this we fulfill the purpose of creation, which is for Him to have a dwelling in the lower realms' — let us be precise. 'Through this we fulfill the purpose of creation' — this avodah is what completes the very purpose for which the world was created. And what is that purpose? The maamar explains at once: 'for Him, may He be blessed, to have a dwelling in the lower realms' — that the Holy One should dwell here below, just as a person lives in his own home.
The dwelling is higher than before the sin — 'demolishing in order to build'
'…a dwelling in the lower realms; and this, that through iskafya and is'hapcha the dwelling is made below — Basi LeGani — is on a higher level than before the sin.' Here is a surprising novelty. The dwelling built specifically through our avodah — 'Basi LeGani' — is 'on a higher level than before the sin': higher even than the perfect state of Eden at the beginning. The fall and the repair are not merely a return to the former state — they bring us to a place higher than it.
'…higher than before the sin. For just as when one demolishes a previous building in order to build, it is obvious that the new building must be on a higher level than the former one — so too one must say that through iskafya and is'hapcha a dwelling is made on a higher level.' This is the explanation. 'Demolishing a previous building in order to build' — one who tears down a solid house only to rebuild, 'it is obvious' that 'the new building must be higher than the former'; otherwise, why demolish? So too here: since the sin was a kind of demolition for the sake of building, 'one must say' that the dwelling built through iskafya and is'hapcha is on a higher level. Picture a craftsman melting down an old, precious silver vessel — he does so only to cast a finer one.
'The glory of the Holy One rises in all worlds' — and equally
'…a dwelling on a higher level, as is explained in the maamar that through iskafya of the other side the glory of the Holy One rises in all worlds — meaning the light that is in all worlds equally.' The maamar brings from the Zohar: through 'iskafya of the sitra achra' — when a person subdues the other side within him — 'the glory of the Holy One rises in all worlds.' And the maamar is precise: 'meaning the light that is in all worlds equally' — a light that shines in all worlds exactly equally, with no difference between higher and lower. This is the 'higher building': not a return to the former state, but the revelation of an entirely new light.
Filling light, encompassing light — and the light not within the worlds' frame at all
'…that is in all worlds equally. And although the wording in the maamar is the light that encompasses all worlds, nevertheless one cannot say that the intent is a light that is within the framework of the worlds, only that it surrounds and encompasses them — rather the intent is that a sublime light is drawn down that is not within the framework of worlds at all.' Here the maamar pauses for an important distinction. 'Although the wording is the encompassing light' — even though it is called 'the sovev' — 'one cannot say' it means a light 'within the framework of worlds, only that it surrounds them'; 'rather, a sublime light is drawn down that is not within the framework of worlds at all.' To understand, let us learn three levels of light.
The first level: 'the light that fills all worlds' — an inner light, clothed within each world according to its measure: much above, little below. Like the soul filling each limb according to its vessel — intellect in the brain, sight in the eye. This is a light 'within the worlds,' from within, and so it is graded.
The second level: 'the light that encompasses all worlds' — an encompassing light that does not clothe itself in particulars but 'surrounds and encompasses' them equally. But — and this is the precision — it too is still 'within the framework of worlds': it is defined in relation to them, it is 'their encompasser.' It is equal toward all of them, yet still belongs to the system, like a single roof spread over all the rooms of a house — equal to all, but still 'the house's roof.'
And the third level, of which the maamar speaks here: 'a sublime light that is not within the framework of worlds at all.' Neither an inner light nor an encompassing light — but a light that has no relation whatsoever to the system of worlds, neither from within nor from without. And precisely because of this it shines 'in all worlds equally': not because it is an 'equal encompasser,' but because it is simply not measured by worlds at all, and so higher and lower are utterly equal before it.
Let us sharpen it with a parable. 'Filling' is the lesson the teacher contracts exactly to the student's understanding. 'Encompassing' is all the teacher's love hovering over the student — equal and surrounding, but still 'in relation to the student.' And the third level is the teacher's very essence — which has no relation to the student at all; and when it is revealed, it touches everything equally, because it is not 'about' anyone. This is the light revealed specifically through the avodah below.
'Astalek' = histalkus — and so too the passing of tzaddikim
'…not within the framework of worlds at all. And therefore he calls the revelation of this light by the name astalek.' Now we understand the name of the light. 'Therefore he calls the revelation of this light astalek' — precisely because this light is removed and elevated above the entire framework of worlds, its revelation is called 'astalek.' 'Histalkus' here is not an expression of leaving and departing, but an expression of loftiness: something 'removed,' raised, above the whole system. Remember this precision — it immediately transforms a painful concept.
'…this light by the name astalek. And therefore the passing of tzaddikim too is called histalkus, for histalkus is the revelation of a most sublime light.' 'And therefore the passing of tzaddikim too is called histalkus, for histalkus is the revelation of a most sublime light.' The word that sounds like departure actually marks the opposite: the revelation of the very highest light. How can this be, and what does it demand of us — we will open in the next lesson.
A particularly delicate subject, since the maamar was said on the first yahrzeit of the Rebbe Rayatz. Thank you for learning with us, and we will meet in the next lesson.