On created beings....

B"H

13 Sivan, 5764 * June 2, 2004

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L E S S O N S I N T A N Y A
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Today's Lesson:

Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah
(Middle of Chapter Four)
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Now, this attribute of ["HaGadol", the attribute of Chesed that
spreads forth His life-force into all the worlds so as to create
them ex nihilo], is exclusively the praise of the Holy One, blessed
be He, for no created thing can create a being out of nothing and give
it life.

[Creatio ex nihilo is utterly beyond the realm of created beings.
In the words of the Midrash: (7) "Even if all mankind were to gather
together they would not be able to create even the wing of a gnat and
animate it.]"

This attribute [of benevolence, whereby G-d creates ex nihilo], is
also beyond the cognition of all creatures and their understanding,
for it is not within the power of the intellect of any creature to
comprehend [through the faculty of Chochmah] or understand [through
the faculty of Binah] this attribute and its ability to create
a being out of nothing and vivify it.

For creatio ex nihilo is a matter which transcends the intellect
of all creatures, inasmuch as it stems from the Divine attribute
of Gedulah.

Now the Holy One, blessed be He, and His attributes are a perfect
unity, as the holy Zohar states, (8) "He and His causations [i.e.,
His attributes] are One," and just as it is impossible for the mind
of any creature to comprehend its Creator, so is it impossible for
it to comprehend His attributes, [for they are One with Him.

Until now we have been speaking of the specific attribute of Gedulah,
or Chesed.

The Alter Rebbe will now say that just as this attribute, which is
responsible for creation, is unfathomable, so too with regard to the
attribute of Gevurah, or "contraction".

The function of this attribute is to conceal from created beings
the activating force within them, enabling them to exist as tangible
entities, instead of being utterly nullified within their source.

In the Alter Rebbe's words]:

And just as it is impossible for the mind of any creature to
apprehend His attribute of Gedulah, which is the ability to create
a being out of nothing and give it life, as it is written,(9) "The
world is built by [i.e., created through the attribute of] kindness,"
exactly so is it impossible for it to apprehend the Divine attribute
of Gevurah ("might," "restraint"), which is the faculty of tzimtzum
("condensation," "contraction,"), restraining the spreading forth of
the life-force from His attribute of Gedulah, preventing it from
descending upon and manifesting itself to the creatures, and providing
them with life and existence in a revealed manner, but rather with His
Countenance concealed; [i.e., the Divine activating force is at work
within creation in a concealed manner.

Thus, it is the attribute of Gevurah and tzimtzum that enables the
life-force to be concealed from the very creature it is creating].

For the life-force conceals itself in the body of the created being,
[making it appear] as if the body of the created being had independent
existence, and [making it appear as though] the created being was not
[merely] an extension of the life-force and the spirituality [that
creates it] - just like the diffusion of the radiance and light of the
sun - but an independently existing entity.

Although, in reality, [the created being] has no independent
existence, and is only like the diffusion of the light from the sun.

[Just as the sun's rays are merely a diffusion from the sun, so, too,
all of creation is but a diffusion of G-d's activating force.

Since, however, created beings are continuously found within their
source (unlike the sun's rays which do leave their source), their
Divine source should cause them to be completely nullified within it,
just as the light of the sun is in a state of complete nullification
when found within the sun].

Nevertheless, [this nullification is not felt by created beings even
though they are but a diffusion of G-d's activating force, for] this
[capacity for self-concealment] is the very restraining power of the
Holy One, blessed be He, Who is Omnipotent.

[G-d's omnipotence expresses itself not only in His ability to bring
forth light and bestow life, but also in His ability to conceal
this same light and life from the beings He creates, and hence able]
to condense the life-force and spirituality which issues from the
"breath of His mouth" and to conceal it, so that the body of the
created being shall not become nullified out of existence.

And hence, notwithstanding the fact that the created being is but
a diffusion of the rays of its source, it is thus enabled to perceive
itself to be an independently existing entity].

It is beyond the scope of the mind of any creature to comprehend the
essential nature of the tzimtzum and concealment, and [to comprehend]
that nonetheless - [the tzimtzum notwithstanding] - the creature
itself be created ex nihilo.

[But since creation is an act of revelation rather than concealment,
creatio ex nihilo should surely consist of the revelation of the
Divine life-force within the created being. How, then, do both these
things manifest themselves at one and the same time?

On the one hand, the revelation of the Divine life-force; on the
other, the condensation and concealment of this life-force, so that
created beings will be unaware of it and consider themselves to be
independently existing entities, and not utterly nullified within
their source.

Indeed, the paradox of tzimtzum defies the comprehension of mere
created beings,] - just as it is not within the capacity of the
mind of any creature to comprehend the essential nature of the
creation of being out of nothing.

[Since the capacity for tzimtzum emanates from the Divine attribute
of Gevurah, one might erroneously infer that it actually serves to
create an independently existing entity; i.e., not only does the
created being regard itself as such, but the Creator views it so as
well.

For inasmuch as G-d causes this concealment, and His attribute of
Gevurah, the ability to conceal, is as real and as effective as His
attribute of Gedulah, His ability to reveal, we may mistakenly liken
creation to the sun's rays insofar as they exist beyond the confines
of the sun-globe.

Forestalling this possible error, the Alter Rebbe now explains that
G-d's power to reveal and His power to conceal are truly one and the
same. For revelation and concealment are respectively "light" (or) and
its "vessels" (kelim), which are fused in complete and total unity.

Moreover, in the state in which they exist in their supernal source,
they are not only united: they are one and the same.

Now it is axiomatic that "No entity can conceal itself from itself."

An illustration of this concept is found in the Shulchan Aruch, Orach
Chayim, where it is stated that covering one's head with one's hand
does not serve as a valid head-covering, because head and hand are
part of the selfsame individual; the hand can not be said to conceal
that which the head itself reveals.

The same is true here too: Since the power to reveal and the power
to conceal are essentially one and the same power, which is a
manifestation of G-d's limitless ability, it is impossible for
tzimtzum to bring about a real concealment that will be so regarded
when viewed from the Divine perspective.

Tzimtzum only enables created beings to perceive themselves as
independently existing entities; G-d does not view them this way
at all].

Footnotes:

7. See Talmud Yerushalmi, Sanhedrin, beginning of ch. 7; Bereishit
Rabbah 39:14; Sifri, Va'etchanan 6:5.
8. Introduction to Tikkunei Zohar (3b).
9. Tehillim 89:3.

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