Tanya: Shaar HaYichud V'Haemunah - Shiur 14

2:43 Simpsom? He withdrew But just because he withdrew doesn't mean that he's not Meshkiach, he's Meshkiach but he Withdrew, you understand? So what's his relationship To this world from above? He is not imminent, he's not within. From above, he's mashkiach on every single thing in the world. So it's all in every single small detail, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is involved, but he's not within. It's the light. Right, but again, the difference here is going to be that the Atari Rebbe, as we're going to see, holds of a different type of Tzimtzum, which is going to mean that there's godliness to everything. What the Gra is saying, what many Mikubalim have said, is that Tzimtzum kipshuto, meaning when God withdrew, he withdrew. His relationship is from above, not from within. Is it possible to argue against someone, or is it like everyone just has their own opinion. We're certainly not going to argue, but the G'dayli Mikubalim have been arguing about this for generations. But we're not going to stick our head between mountains, because we don't need to. We're not well-versed enough in this in order to have a meaningful opinion. Okay, now, so what is Tzimtzum? V'hineh. Certainly according to the Rambam we can't say that Tzimtzum means.

4:05 Kipshuto, literally because saying Tzimtzum in a literal way would be to imply that Hakadosh Baruch Hu has a certain body orientation a certain physical orientation. which is and he is obviously removed as the Rambam says infinitely removed from anything that on any level is subject to the physical. so saying that a G-d removes himself is a physical implication. also anyone who says that Tzimtzum is literal is speaking, they're not speaking intelligently they're not speaking with das because even they would agree they're ma'minim the children of ma'minim that Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows.

5:08 everything that is yatsur everything that's formed in this world in this low world and he is he is, His hashkachah, his supervision is involved in all aspects of the world. And then you have to acknowledge that al-karchah means it must be that the knowledge that he has of them cannot be any change for him. Because as we said above, he knows everything from knowing himself. Meaning, we'll just finish this last sentence and then we'll express it. As we said, his essence, his being is one with his knowledge. So it means as follows. Beforehand we said, how could it be that there's nothing outside of Hakadosh Baruch Hu? Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows what Yoshi's doing. Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows what Ezra's doing, what Hosh is doing. So isn't that creating a change in him? Now he knows something he didn't know before.

6:13 But what did we say to answer that question? We said that Hakadosh Baruch Hu's knowledge of everything is his knowledge of himself. So since all of us are contained within Hakadosh Baruch Hu, when he knows what we do, how does he know it? Just like he knows himself. He and his knowledge are one, right? So when I do something or when you do something, is that new knowledge, so to speak, for Hakadosh Baruch Hu? No, because then if it was new, he would have undergone a change. Before he knew, now he doesn't. You understand? So by saying that all of this exists within Hakadosh Baruch Hu and that everything is godly, then when God knows what we do, what does he know? He knows himself. So if you say Tzimtzim Kipshuto, the Alter Rebbe argues, if you say Tzimtzim means literally and that we are not godly, then when you do what you do, isn't that changing God? Isn't that changing God? You hear his argument? Again, I want to make sure you understand his argument.

7:14 The argument is as follows. If I do something, and now our Qadosh Baruch Hu knows what he did not know before, what does that mean? Something changed. That's when are we calling God finite at the same time? Yeah, but let's, again, let's just stay with the one argument, right? First of all, we said it, already we spoke about the idea that it's giving him physical attributes. Now we're on the second point. If I do something, and now God knows it, right? Isn't that implying there was a change in God? But if we are all godly, if Tzimtzum lav kipshuto, right? If we are all godly, then what? Then our Qadosh Baruch Hu fills everything up in the world, right? So when something happens in the world, what does he know? He knows himself, right? Because it's all occurring within him, right? So by knowing himself, what would you say? By knowing himself, no change has occurred because it was all him. But if you say Tzimtzum kipshuto, kipshuto, If you say Tzimtzim Kipshuto, meaning God is not in the world,

8:16 He's only in Meshkiach from above, so then when something happens, now He knows about it. And obviously that can't be, right? Because God does not undergo any changes. So the Alter Rebbe argues it must be Tzimtzim La'av Kipshuto. Because otherwise you're going to say that God underwent a change. And it's much worse to say that God underwent a change. You understand? Can't you just say God is orchestrating it? Yeah, for sure He's Meshkiach from above. For sure that's true. He's Meshkiach from above. But, do me a favor, Hosh. You want to tell those guys to move, please? Thank you. The, um... Thank you. If you say Tzimtzum lav kipshuto, that means that God doesn't undergo any change. So that's the Alter Rebbe's very big argument over here. V'zeu shekosuv b'tikunim tikunim zayin. Aye, what about what does it say in the Zayar? De les aser paniminei de lo b'loim ve'lo b'tatayim. That no place is devoid of God, neither in the higher worlds or in the lower worlds. What does that mean? So that's obviously supporting which side? If there's no place that's devoid of God, what would you say? That's Tzimtzum kipshuto or Tzimtzum lav kipshuto? Lav kipshuto. So the Alter Rebbe is saying not only from the Rambam, but from the Zayar. You also have a Raya.

9:48 God grasps everything and nothing grasps Him. As we said, remember, He encompasses all the worlds. And nothing exists outside of Him. Meaning, He is the Soviv. He fills up all the worlds. And He is the one that unites and brings together everything from the upper worlds to the lower worlds. And with all of the four directions, all the four elements, every single thing in the world is filled up with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. So what is that support from the Zayran Raya Mehemna? Tzimtzum lav kipshuta. Okay, so, so... We've discussed, and we'll stop here for Yishai's question for a moment. So we've discussed so far. If you say Tzimtzim Kipshuto, that has the aspect of saying that Hakadosh Baruch Hu has a guff. If you say Tzimtzim Kipshuto, then you're going to get stuck with what? You're going to get stuck with saying that Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows something that's outside of himself, which will imply a change. And he has rayas from the Zohar that seem to indicate Tzimtzim loved Kipshuto. I'm sure they're great answers. These are the Bala Tanyas.

11:09 Can we see a rebuttal to that Zohar. Say that, but not for now. Right now we're just learning Tanya. Yishai. The original question was going back to my opinion of Tzimtzim Kipshuto. Then we say, do they also hold that God recreates the world every second. Yeah, but not from within, from above. Remember, you're coming at this appropriately, because we've been working on this, right? If you go back to where we started, so everything is made of letters. What the Al-Turab has been building on the entire time is that there's godliness within everything. It's every second in order for God to create us to be within. No, he's saying he recreates. They would say he recreates from above. Again, I don't want to get into it. I'm not giving a gemarash here in the sense of like, okay, we're going to be Masber, the Machlokas, the Negra, and the Tanya. I'm just trying to teach the Tanya's approach to this.

12:10 What exactly? I'm not really copying what Simpson, Latke, and Schutte are like. It just means that there's godliness within everything. So then why state Simpson? Why did Arizal bring up the rest of the same. As we're going to see. The Arizal's vision, even within Tzimtzum lav kipshuto, is more complex than I'm presenting it right now. Because G-d has to be both within and without at once. We're going to get there, but not right now. Let's go slow through the pack. It's a very good question you're asking. So if Tzimtzum is lav kipshuto, then what is it? What does it mean he pulled back? We'll see. Okay? Raitz Eloimer. Why can't Hakadosh Baruch Hu be grasped by this world? Raitz Eloimer. Less man, the toughest bay. What does it mean when we say that nobody could be teufis Hakadosh Baruch Hu? When we say that Hakadosh Baruch Hu cannot be grasped, we mean by anything. Even the highest level intellect, meaning even the malachim, can't grasp Hakadosh Baruch Hu. It's beyond understanding.

13:31 And even down here in this world. Even though He fills up the entire world, it's not exactly like the soul filling up the body. Now, why does the Alter Rebbe have to say that? Because the Gemara in Bracha says that God fills up the world like the soul fills up the body. So the Alter Rebbe is saying, yeah, but it's not exactly. Why? Because the soul is taken in by the body. So the soul in a certain way is grasped. You understand? The body and the soul can engage with one another because the body is active. And that the soul itself is influenced by the body, meaning there's a symbiotic relationship between the soul and the body. So even though the Gemara says that Hakadosh Baruch Hu fills up the world like the soul fills up the body, the Alter Rebbe says, yeah, but it's not exactly true because the soul is impacted, by the changes in the body.

14:32 And the soul is pained by injury, right? And as the soul, if it's hot, if it's cold, if you get hurt, well, the soul is pained by these things. Because when we say, ouch, I got hurt, right? You don't say, ouch, my finger got hurt. You say, ouch, I got hurt. So the soul is identified with the body. Ad Kedekach, changes in the body impact the soul. However, this is not true when it comes from Hakadosh Baruch Hu. God doesn't change at all. Because guys, what's the definition of true? The definition of true is unchanging, right? So God himself does not undergo any changes. If God doesn't undergo any changes, so then you can't say that he fills up the world like the soul fills up the body, right? So whether it's hot, whether it's cold, whether it's winter, whether it's summer, whether it's day, whether it's night, Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't change on any level whatsoever. So even though God fills up the entire world,

15:34 it's not like the neshama. The neshama the body can grasp. So the body can get, so to speak, the neshama. It can understand it. But the world can't really understand it. It can't understand God even though the world is filled up with God. Why? Because God is not really... grasped by the world. So why can't my mind grasp Hakadosh Baruch Hu? Because my mind is worldly. Since my mind is worldly, it cannot understand that which is godly. It's too big for it to understand. It can't be teufisit. You understand? No. How could you? You understand? Yeah. We have to understand that we don't understand. By the way, what's the talent for understanding something that can't be understood intellectually? That's emunah. Emunah doesn't mean having faith in nonsensical. And emunah means having faith in the ideas that cannot be grasped by the human intellect. Just because the human intellect cannot grasp something doesn't mean that the soul can't relate to it.

16:30 What's the proper level of emunah? Because you see guys who are like floating on top of a tree. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's very silly, most of that. Most of that is not real. And then there's like, what you're saying is you have emunah that Hashem is. Everything we're saying. But everything else is. The logical mind can and should be employed to grasp anything that's in this world, but cannot understand that which is beyond this world. I'm not sure the question. Do you mean to say that I could... Basically to not like brainstorm like, oh, what do I have to do to pay my bills. To the degree that you actually believe that Hakadosh Baruch Hu will provide, you have to do that level of Ishtadus. No, well, you have like this.

17:50 See, the problem is you're forgetting one thing. Does the world exist? nope, that's the difference if you would be on the level where you could understand that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is running the entire show, and everything exists within him and none of it is real and he is kol yachal right and if Hakadosh Baruch Hu says do this and I will provide for example like the Rambam says if a person will just sit and learn Hakadosh Baruch Hu will provide for him everything that he needs right it doesn't mean that he's going to be rich but Hakadosh Baruch Hu will provide for him. everything he needs if you're actually on that level where you know that be a diabour you're on that level of emunah so then Enechan Ami you don't need to worry about it. you just said no. yeah I'm saying if you know it not know with the talent of knowledge if you know it with the talent of your emunah right if it's beyond if you're living on that level then Enechan Ami you could do it but for most of us who are not living on that level to do so would be a dereliction of our responsibility, so, you know my Rebbe who, should live and be well at 120, The first question that he would ask us when we were dating or if we were engaged was, Where are you going to get your money from?

19:02 He was very makbid that we should take responsibility for ourselves to provide for ourselves. At the same time, there was one bacher who was living in a beyond extraordinary way, and he really was on that level and is on that level. And when my rabbi asked him that question, he said, They were just going to provide. And he said, Okay, if you're on that level, then it'll be fine. And it's fine. He's on that level. Many people are not on that level. They're just pretending to be on that level, and they're taking checks from mommy and daddy. actually handling their responsibilities. There's nothing wrong with taking a check if your parents are willing to support you, so then I can understand why a person would want to take that, but I don't necessarily think that's called emunah either. But if you truly believe that Hashem will provide...

19:50 Yeah, if you're really on that level. Well, how can you say otherwise, that that's not like a way of Hashem providing for you, that your family was able to make enough money that they can't provide. Again, it could be. It could be. I'll give you the real example of what I mean. I'll tell you really what I mean. When a person says on Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur, yeah, I know Hakadosh Baruch Hu is giving me a gzardin of everything I'm going to get for the year. Okay, but like, Rebbe, really? What are they really saying? They're saying, yeah, but I don't believe that. So, no, that's true. The Rebbeinu Shalom is going to provide for us everything we want. We can make a tremendous amount of money, we can get sick and we can die. We can make very little money, we can be healthy. I'm saying a person could cross the street and a car came from nowhere. Just because you did your heshtadlus.

20:28 doesn't mean that Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't have a greater plan. However, Hakadosh Baruch Hu, We have to make the hishtadlus that's appropriate for us. If you're really on a different level of emunah, then your hishtadlus is very different. So if you're sitting at a table and you've got a stack of bills piling up, and your emunah is like, Hakadosh Baruch Hu will provide, and that's authentic, then beside it, it could be your level of hishtadlus is different. For me, I don't think I'm on that level of emunah. I'm being realistic. Realistically speaking, I know that I ought to have more emunah than I do, but I'm working on it. I'm getting there. I remember when we were first married, so I was sitting and learning in Keilul and was not taking support, and providing for myself. My wife was working and I was in Keilul and I was getting some money from the Keilul and I was working in camps and making money there and tutoring. We did whatever we needed to do, but I wanted to see how it was going to work. I wanted to see how it was going to work. So I started writing down every penny we spent. And my wife called Rav Shmulevitz.

21:32 And she said, who's this guy I married? He's a total lack of emunah. He's sitting and writing down every single penny. So Shmulevitz called me into the office, and he said to me, you know, you married a girl who's frimmer than you. I said, well, that much is obvious, but what does Rebbe mean? So he told me, and I said, yeah, it's true. So he said, Mordechai, this can work one of two ways. Either you write down everything, and it won't work, or you let go and let God, and it will be taken care of. But it won't be both. I said, Rebbe, what does that mean? If I'm writing every penny down, that means it's not going to work? He goes, yeah, because it's not logical. But if you don't write it down, you'll see. Trust, jump, trust, you'll see how Kaddish Baruch Hu will work it out. Hevra, I want you to know, I was very upset at Rosh Hashanah that day. I said, I'm a young married man. I've already been m'kabel all the responsibility on myself. You're giving me a hard time because I'm writing it down, but I stopped.

22:38 Truth is, I wish I could say I stopped because of Shmuel Ha'atz. I stopped because of Shalom Bias issues, and my wife didn't want me to write it down. So I stopped. I learned in Kilo for six years. I did not leave because I had financial issues. I didn't leave because I had financial issues. I could have stayed probably learning for another ten years, and I would have had no problem. I left because I wanted to teach. I left because it was time. I will tell you, in the six years, every single time I lost money here, I gained money somewhere else, and it was totally min ha-shamayim, and I can't explain it. I can't explain it. I told you guys this story once, but it bears repeating. My Rebbe asked me if I would learn with him Bechav Rusa. Obviously, this was like, you know, even today, still one of the highlights of my life, that I had the opportunity to learn with Parnas Bechav Rusa for three years. And it meant that I wouldn't be able to tutor at night because Chavrusa was at night. We would start at 8 o'clock at night and officially we'd go to 10, sometimes 10.30, sometimes 11, sometimes 11.30, it depends on the suggah. So I was making a decent chunk of change, tutoring,

23:44 and it meant giving it up. So I went to Rabbi Bender, who was my manal from Darche. I told him the problem. He said, how much do you think you're short now? I said, I think I'm going to be short, like, you know, maybe 10,000 bucks. No problem. He pulls out a checkbook. He starts writing a check for $10,000. I said, Rabbi, I was not asking for a check for $10,000. And if you know Rabbi Bender, you know the way he speaks. He goes, Mordechai, it's a loan. Don't worry about it. I said, Rabbi, I'm not taking your money. I really just came to be Sholeh Eitzel. Like, does Rabbi have any ideas? I would not take the check. I called up Rav Parnas. I said, Rebbe, of course I'm going to take the chavrusah. I'm honored. It's good. You know, tremendous privilege. I just have to work it out financially. He says, Mordechai, how much do you think you're short? I said, about $10,000. He goes, no problem. I'll cover the $10,000. I said, Rebbe, I'm not asking. It's like every Rebbe I went to. I said, Rebbe, I'm not asking you for $10,000. He goes, Mordechai, you're learning with me the chavrusah. You're doing me a favor. This is my way of supporting you. I said, no, no, Rebbe, I'm not taking your money. Under no circumstances am I taking your money. Didn't know what to do.

24:48 Plenty of people do this, by the way. We go to medical school. We don't exactly know how we're going to pay back those loans. But we take it out because we think it's going to happen. I said, okay, I'm going into it. Punt that year, Landers decided to open, and it was a very short-lived project. They decided to open a Kailal Elyon. The Kailal paid $8,000. The Kailal Elyon paid $18,000. So the $10,000 that I lost from tutoring, I got back. And, Baruch Hashem, other opportunities came along. I got raises here, I got raises there. My wife worked. Mamesh, it was all min ha-shamayim. So, was I on that level of Amunah? Definitely not. But did my Rebbe, Rish Melevitz, tell me to jump and I listened? And did it work out? Absolutely. Like I said, I could have done it for, I could have learned to go for 15, 20 years if I wanted to. I Mamesh didn't need to leave. I left only because it was time to teach. Okay, Rabbis, we'll stop here for today.