Parashat Achrei and Kedoshim
from Likutei Torah by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi
Friday April 23, 2021
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Gedaliah Potash and William Schecter, MD
This draft has been neither edited nor approved by Rabbi Potash
This week we read a combined portion of Two Parashot: Acharei Mot and Kedoshim. When there is not a leap year (that is the addition of an extra month to correct for our lunar calendar so that the Holidays more or less fall out in the same season—the Muslims do not do this so their Holiday of Ramadan can occur in summer, fall, winter or spring depending upon the year), we double up portions several times in order to finish the completion of the Torah Reading on Simchat Torah after Sukkot.
Today we studied a commentary on Achrei Mot. This portion is separated into 3 sections: 1. The Service in the Sanctuary on Yom Kippur, 2. The strict prohibition against ingesting blood and 3. The prohibition against sexual impropriety (incest, etc.). Achrei Mot (after the death.. of Aharon’s sons Nadav and Avihu) refers to death of two of Aharon’s four sons who brought an unauthorized incense offering to the mizbaiah (alter) on the first of Nissan (almost a year after the Exodus from Egypt on the 15th of Nissan) when the Mishkan (the mobile sanctuary used for sacrificial offerings prior to construction of the Beit HaMIkdash (the Holy Temple) by Solomon approximately in the year 922 BCE. The Mishkan was dedicated on the first of Nissan, two weeks prior to the first Passover celebration.
The Elter Rebbe begins his commentary by quoting “For on this day he will forgive you and purify you from all your sins before the Lord and you shall be purified” (Leviticus 16:30). The Elter Rebbe then says the passage should have said G-d will forgive you.
Rabbi Potash commented Why doesn’t it say G-d will forgive. Why is it an anonymous source of forgiveness. He uses this question to introduce a deeper idea of what teshuva is about—not just asking forgiveness—it is a transformative process—to realign one’s soul to the source from where it was chiseled out. We talk about Hishtalshalut1 and Tsimtsum2 which conceal what is hidden behind the between G-d and the soul.
It is known that Yom Kippur is the day of repentance (Teshuvah) the point of which is for the G-dly Soul to return to the Source from which it was formed (chiseled out) as it was prior to its descent through the process of Histalshalut through the various levels of the cascade down to this world where it is enclothed in the material body of man and so it was included in the source and root of all the worlds created by the Eternal Light (G-d). And as the Zohar writes about the passage “And G-d breathed the breath of life into his nostrils (of man) (Genesis 2:7). He breathed air that was originally empty and formless in its root and source, meaning in its essence, but after its descent through the various spiritual and energy cascades the Soul (breath) became enclothed in the body of man in this world and thus must return to its primal Source and ascend to cleave to the Living G-d and become included in the Eternal Divine Light as it was in the beginning prior to its descent.
Rabbi Potash commented: G-d blew into the nostrils of Adam a breath of life—this is the same word which as soul. The Hebrew word Neshama (נשמה) means both breath and soul. The idea of us breathing, being alive, is a direct expression of our relationship with G-d who grants us life through the breath of life. The act of breathing is a manifestation of the act of G-d giving us a soul—a life Tshuvah is identity discovery -- the concept that “I am so much more than the misdeeds and poor behavior. My identity is so much deeper and G-dly than I thought”.
And what is the purpose of this descent of the soul from the loftiest heights to the lowest levels? Many great exertions are required to return the soul to its primal source and G-d willing there will be such a return but there are many dangerous paths, G-d forbid, and why should it be like this? To understand this, we must understand the passage “the Lord your G-d is a consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24). Meaning, by way of analogy, that the fire does not enlighten and is not caught and called by the name of light and fire until it is grasped by the wick or by wood because the nature of fire is to disappear above (like the flame ascending from the wick of a candle and disappearing) to its root and foundation. So it is, with the Word of G-d through which the Heavens were created and the Spirit of His mouth (the Words) which created the Legions of the Heavens through the Ten Utterances (Let there be light etc. during the Six Days of Creation).
Are G-d’s Words not like fire? For example, the nature of Concealment (of the Divine Soul) to its Source and Root is similar to the grasping of the Divine Soul by the material flesh (of the body) just as the speech of man comes from the foundation of the fire because it leaves the emptiness of the heart through the trachea. The heart is the principal foundation of the fire and if so, the emptiness of the flame joins the emptiness and the heart.
Although the Elter Rebbe’s concept of anatomy is a little faulty here (it was written in the 18th century), he is making a very interesting but confusing point. What is he talking about when he compares G-d’s Words to fire and the heart to fire? Rabbi Potash comments: The only reason a person can fall into sin is the tsimtsum (the contraction of G-d’s energy as it descends through the spiritual cascade, Hishtalshalut, to our world) has concealed the relationship with G-d—a person can go through life without realizing that he has a G-dly soul. Why did G-d create the world like this. Why is the soul trapped in physicality and negativity when it comes from such a lofty place? The Elter Rebbe talks about G-d being a consuming fire. On the one hand fire is not tangible—it is not a physical material that takes up space. In order for a fire to burn it needs fuel. On the one hand the flame is intangible, on the other hand it is dependent on a substance-fuel-in order to burn. So too, when we talk about G-d creating the world with His Words—we say that G-d’s words are like fire—we cannot just have the abstract energy of G-d’s words, it needs to be fueled by something. The word hevel (הבל = emptiness) is spelled with three letter it represents the air we expel—but these three letters, when rearranged, also spell the heart (הלב). The idea of hevel is “nothing—complete emptiness” – intangible. We can apply this concept to breathing because the air we breathe is non tangible. Breath is life. Again, by rearranging the three letters of the Hebrew words for emptiness (הבל) and The Heart (הלב) we get the word Flame (להב)—a flame is a non-physical entity arising from the physical. Spirituality cannot exist in a vacuum. It needs the physical. We need the spiritual to give the physical vitality but the spiritual needs the physical. Just like the fire needs the fuel, so too the fuel needs the fire.
Back to the question, why is it necessary for the soul to go through the descent to the depravity? The spiritual needs the physical and the physical fuels the spiritual. This helps us understand why it is necessary for the soul to descend. The soul fulfills its purpose by involvement in the physical. Even though the initial creation was G-d’s idea –G-d wanted to act with Kindness—nevertheless in order for this to be continued, it depends upon our actions in the world below.
The Elter Rebbe quotes the passage “All who are linked to My name, Whom I have created, Formed, and made for My glory—” (Isaiah 43:7) But there is no honor other than the Torah and the 613 Commandments contained therein are tools which enable the Light of G-d to stay in this world and be a place for his presence, a dwelling place in the lower world. They are analogous to the wick and the flame which grasp the light temporarily preventing it from disappearing above.
Rabbi Potash concluded his commentary by telling the story of the Israeli diplomat and author, Yehudah Avner, who was the great uncle of Rabbi Potash. When he was in New York he would frequently visit the last Chabad Rebbe, as did many prominent Israeli political figures. After a 2 ½ hour session, the Rebbe commented that he was surprised that Avner had not adopted the Chasidic lifestyle after so many visits. Avner responded that he was concerned that the Chasidim put the Rebbe on a very high pedestal because, after all, we are all human beings. The Rebbe responded, that if one goes to a store and sees a box with candles and wicks, they are not very useful when they are sitting on the shelf. It is only when the candle is lit that it fulfills its purpose. The body is the fuel and the soul is the wick. Avner then asked the Rebbe whether the Rebbe had lit his (Avner’s) candle. The Rebbe responded: “I can give you the match but you have to light the candle—by doing Mitzvot. Tshuvah (repentance, return) is not a slap on the wrist but allowing the person to appreciate how precious their soul is. This is the gift of Tshuvah.
- Hishtalshalut (השתלשלות) The process of the descent of the Soul and G-dly Energy through a cascade of every decreasing levels of energy until they reach our World (the World of Asiyah=action). This is a basic Kabbalistic Concept
- Tsimtsum (צימצום ) This is the process of contraction of the Divine Energy which occurs during the process of Hishtalshalut. If the Tsimtsum contraction did not occur, the world would be destroyed by the intense energy
