Recap and opening — if not the upper worlds, why do we “add lights in Atzilus”?
Welcome to the seventeenth lesson on the maamar Basi LeGani 5711. We continue and conclude chapter 5 — and here we reach the very heart of the entire maamar.
Recall where we stood. In the previous lesson we proved, for both opinions, that the purpose of creation is not the upper worlds — not even Atzilus — but specifically the avodah in this world: the avodah of iskafya and is'hapcha, those two avodos we first reached at the end of chapter 4.
And at the end of that lesson we were left with a practical question, familiar to every student of Chassidus. We are always told that when a Jew performs a mitzvah, he 'adds lights in Atzilus' — acts above, draws lights in the upper worlds. Wait — if the upper worlds are not the purpose, if everything is for the sake of below, then what is the point of all the immense lights we add up there? Seemingly a contradiction.
To this question the Maharash answers a short, brilliant answer, by means of one simple image — a 'box.' And from this answer we will fall straight into the great secret of the whole maamar: what a 'dwelling' for the Holy One truly is.
“As though placed in a box” — the lights are stored, not for the sake of Atzilus
The Maharash says: true, through the mitzvos one adds lights in Atzilus. But 'these lights in Atzilus are there like things placed in a box.' They are there — but like a treasure placed inside a closed box. They do not shine there, are not revealed there. They are stored.
And in the words of the maamar: 'the avodah in this world of iskafya and is'hapcha. And although now, through the doing of the mitzvos, lights are added in Atzilus — and so how do we say that even now the main intent is specifically this world — on this the Maharash explains that these lights in Atzilus are there like things placed in a box, for they are not for the sake of Atzilus, but for the need of the lower world, and they are not revealed in Atzilus.'
And why? 'For they are not for the sake of Atzilus, but for the need of the lower world, and they are not revealed in Atzilus.' The lights we draw down are not destined for Atzilus itself. They merely pass through it, stored in it for the time being — but their true destination is specifically this lower world.
Picture a person who earns money and deposits it in a safe on the upper floor of the building. The money is there — but it is not 'for' the safe. It does not shine, work, or get enjoyed in the safe. It is merely kept there, until it comes down and serves what it was truly meant for. So the lights in Atzilus: 'placed in a box,' stored, waiting — but their whole purpose is below.
And this is a beautiful answer to the question. There is no contradiction at all. Yes, a mitzvah 'adds lights in Atzilus' — but this does not contradict that the purpose is below. On the contrary: the very fact that the lights there are only 'placed in a box,' and are not revealed, proves that Atzilus is not the destination. It is only a way-station, a storehouse. The destination — below. And this raises the greatest question of all: if not for the sake of the lights and revelations above, then what does the Holy One really want to happen here below?
Nachas ruach — “when the sitra achra is subdued” and “transformed”
The maamar gives the reason: 'for so it arose in His will, blessed be He — to have nachas ruach (satisfaction) before Him, when the sitra achra is subdued and the darkness is transformed into light.' So it arose in the supernal will: that He have nachas ruach when 'the other side' is subdued, and when the darkness transforms into light.
And in the words of the maamar: 'and they are not revealed in Atzilus. And this is what the Rashab explains regarding what cannot be said, that the intent is for the sake of the upper worlds, since for them it is a descent from the light of His Countenance, that the meaning in this is that the upper worlds, their matter is revelations which is a descent, and also that the Etzem is removed from the matter of revelations, but rather the purpose is this lower world; that so it arose in His will to have nachas ruach before Him when the sitra achra is subdued and the darkness transformed to light, and as is explained in the maamar, that the whole avodah is to transform the folly of the other side into folly of holiness, and through this there is nachas ruach before Me — that I spoke and My will was done; and through this we draw down that He should have a dwelling in the lower realms; and just as in a dwelling a person dwells in his entire essence and being, so it is in the lower realms which are a dwelling for Him — the intent being that we draw down not only revelations but the Essence of the Infinite, blessed be He, is found in them. And this is the purpose of the creation and chaining-down of the worlds.'
These two avodos — 'iskafya' and 'is'hapcha' — we already know in depth from the end of chapter 4, in the previous lesson, so we will only refresh them briefly. 'Iskafya,' from the language of subduing: to conquer the pull toward the not-good — toward anger, desire, laziness — without nullifying the will, but saying 'no' to it and overcoming it; as we described there the person who restrains a sharp reaction within him in the face of an insult.
And 'is'hapcha,' from the language of transforming — the higher level: not only to subdue the darkness, but to take its very energy and turn it into light; like that person of stormy temperament who in 'iskafya' reins in the storm, and in 'is'hapcha' turns it itself into burning devotion. That is a review of what we learned there. But at the end of chapter 4 we promised that the peak of the explanation of these two avodos — the matter of 'folly of holiness' — we would complete specifically here, in chapter 5; and to that we will come at once. First let us understand why specifically this transformation touches the Etzem.
And why does this specifically cause 'nachas ruach' above? Think of what nachas ruach is. When a person receives something he wants out of calculation, that is 'benefit.' But nachas ruach — delight — is something deeper; it touches the very essence of the soul, not calculation. And specifically this transformation — that a physical, dark creature in this world chooses on its own to turn its darkness into light — is the thing that touches the essence, that causes 'nachas ruach' to the very Essence. Not the beautiful revelations above, but the small, true turnabout of flesh and blood below.
Transforming the “shtus” — from the other side to holiness
And now comes the peak of the explanation we promised in the previous lesson. The maamar gives a precise name to this turnabout: 'the whole avodah is to transform the folly of the other side into folly of holiness.' The whole avodah — to transform the 'folly' of the other side into 'folly' of holiness. Let us break it down, for 'folly' sounds strange as a goal of serving G-d.
'Folly' means behavior beyond reason and logic. And pause a moment: each of us has folly. A person loses his head over money, over honor, over desire — does things with no logic at all, swept far beyond what good sense would dictate. This is 'folly of the other side' — that same immense power of devotion without calculation, directed toward the wrong things.
The maamar does not say 'kill the folly.' It says 'transform it.' For this power — the ability to go beyond all logic, to give yourself over entirely to something — is a tremendous power, and it is the deepest side of the soul. The problem is not the power; the problem is the direction. 'Folly of holiness' means taking that very devotion-without-calculation — and directing it toward the Holy One. To give one's soul over to faith and a mitzvah 'with no reason at all,' out of a bond above all logic.
Picture a person willing to stand for hours in the cold to buy a ticket to a game, or to fly across the world for a deal. That same 'folly,' that same boundless fervor — picture it directed toward Torah study, toward helping another, toward devotion to G-d. It is the very same engine; only the direction has flipped. This is 'transforming darkness into light' in actual practice.
And on this, says the maamar, there is 'nachas ruach before Me — that I spoke and My will was done.' Like a person who expresses a wish, and another, of his own free will, fulfills it. The Holy One 'spoke' His will, and flesh and blood below, by its choice, transforms its own darkness and fulfills that will. There is no greater nachas than this.
The dwelling — that the Essence itself be here
And now the maamar gathers everything to the final point: 'and through this we draw down that He should have a dwelling in the lower realms.' Through this avodah — the transformation of darkness into light — we draw down and build that very 'dwelling in the lower realms' which is, as we opened chapter 4 in lesson 12, the purpose of all creation.
And here the maamar returns to the word 'dwelling,' and makes a precision that sums up everything: 'and just as in a dwelling, a person dwells in his entire essence and being.' Think what this means. When a person is in a public place, he shows only part of himself — the presented, polite side. But in his own home, his dwelling, he is present 'in his entire essence and being' — all of him, with no garment, no role, entirely himself. The dwelling is the only place where a person is present in his full being.
'So it is in the lower realms, which are a dwelling for Him.' This is exactly how the Holy One wishes to be here. 'The intent being that we draw down not only revelations, but the Essence of the Infinite, blessed be He, is found in them.' And this is the point toward which we have striven across these two chapters. The Holy One does not want here only an 'illumination,' only a revelation, only a ray of light — such a thing exists above in abundance. He wants the Essence itself to be present here, in the physical world — He Himself, as it were, in His full being, like a person who dwells in his home.
And now feel how the whole part came together. We asked: why specifically in the lower realms? Because a dwelling — a place where you are present in your very self — belongs specifically below. We learned that creation comes only from the Etzem, and that this world, which seems 'essential,' carries within it specifically the Etzem. And we learned that the way to reveal it is the transformation of darkness into light. And when a Jew does this — he is no longer illuminating one more corner; he brings the Master of the house Himself inside. 'And this is the purpose of the creation and chaining-down of the worlds' — for this everything was created.
And so we conclude chapter 4 and chapter 5. We saw the depth of the purpose: not revelations, but a dwelling for the Essence, specifically in the lower realms, specifically through us. And this brings us back, in a full circle, to the call of the seventh generation — to 'complete' the drawing-down of the essence of the Shechina below. In the continuation of the maamar we will see how this avodah continues and unfolds further. Thank you for learning with us — and we will meet in the next lesson.