In the previous section we studied the Alter Rebbe's approach in chapter 30: a person must make an honest cheshbon nefesh, an accounting of his soul, placing his own efforts in "aseh tov" (doing good) alongside the war that the "kal shebakalim," the lightest of the light, the lowest of the low, is waging in "sur mera" (turning away from evil). Now we will look closely at the precise wording the Alter Rebbe chooses, and see how he leads the student to the true bittush, the genuine crushing of one's self-satisfaction.
"The King":
The King is the Holy One, blessed be He. It is the King who commanded "sur mera," and it is the same King who commanded "aseh tov." Once a person relates to the mitzvos as the King's laws and the King's decrees, the difference between the two categories disappears: this one is the King's command, and that one is the King's command. If the "kal shebakalim" failed to withstand his temptation and transgressed the King's command in "sur mera," and this person has decided that he is therefore a rasha, well, he himself did not do what the King commanded him in "aseh tov," and to that very same degree he too has violated the word of the King. This is what lies hidden in the single word "the King."
"The Holy One" - separate and apart:
The literal meaning of the word "kadosh" is separate, set apart. A king who issues commands to his subjects is removed from the people: he is not contracted down to their level and he does not command out of emotional involvement, but simply because this is what he has decided, and how much more so is this true of the Holy One, blessed be He. Between two human beings who stand on comparable footing, one tells the other what to do because he believes it is fitting and worthwhile, and then the one commanding invests himself into the world of the one being commanded; in that case you can say about one instruction that he had you in mind more, and about another that it matters less. But when we are speaking of the holy King, the King who is separate and apart, He does not command because this matter is more severe and that one lighter, but because such is His will as King. Consequently there is no difference between a small thing and a great thing, for He is "yachid umeyuchad," one and uniquely one.
From here the cheshbon nefesh advances one more step: not only is a person unable to pass judgment on the "kal shebakalim," he himself stands on literally the very same level, since he too fails to withstand his own difficulties and his own temptations.
Until now two examples have been brought: first from davening, and then from Torah study. Here the Alter Rebbe adds a third example.
"And so too in the rest of the mitzvos, and particularly in a matter involving money":
A person should make an accounting of his conduct in the rest of the mitzvos as well, and especially in a matter involving money, "such as the service of tzedakah and the like." Does he give what he is actually obligated to give, maaser or chomesh, even before we begin to speak about giving beyond the obligation? And how much more so when he is asked to give beyond that. Sometimes, when a person takes an honest look at himself in this area, he discovers that this is quite literally a mighty war.
Even in "sur mera" a person is not complete:
And more than that: a person who makes a truly honest accounting will find that even in matters that fall under "sur mera" he is not complete, not only in "aseh tov." In the Alter Rebbe's words: "יכול כל איש משכיל למצוא בנפשו שאינו סר לגמרי מרע בכל מכל כל" - every thinking person can find within himself that he does not turn away from evil completely, "bakol mikol kol," in every way, from everything, entirely.
"Bakol mikol kol":
What is the precision in this expression, which also appears in bentching? One might have thought it is merely a turn of phrase, that when you want to say about something that it covers every situation you say "bakol mikol kol," but there is a real precision here. The Gemara in Bava Basra says: "Three people the yetzer hara had no dominion over, and they are Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, for it is written regarding them bakol mikol kol" - that they were complete in everything. And Rashi points out where each of these expressions is said about them:
Regarding Avraham - "And Hashem blessed Avraham bakol, with everything."
Regarding Yitzchak - "And I ate mikol, of everything."
Regarding Yaakov - "For I have kol, everything."
Rashi explains that these expressions hint that no good thing was lacking to them. "Bakol mikol kol" therefore means: in every situation.
And why does the Alter Rebbe specifically adopt the language used about the three Avos? In Kabbalah and chassidus it is explained that the three Avos correspond to three middos: Avraham is the middah of chesed, Yitzchak the middah of gevurah, and Yaakov is tiferes, which is the quality of truth, as the posuk says, "Give truth to Yaakov, kindness to Avraham." It follows that when a person fails a test in something that touches the realm of chesed, or the realm of gevurah, or the realm of tiferes and truth, he is not "bakol mikol kol." He is not complete, not in this one, not in that one, and not in the third, or at the very least not in one of them.
And immediately the Alter Rebbe brings examples, in a place "that requires a mighty war, of the same measure described above, and even less than the measure described above":
"To break off in the middle of a pleasant conversation" - heaven forbid that we are speaking of something forbidden; this is simply an enjoyable conversation that a person finds comfortable to be having, except that right now is not its time: it involves bittul Torah, or he needs to run to daven. A pleasant conversation belongs to the realm of chesed, which is a matter of giving, and restraining oneself from it is a war.
"To speak in disparagement of his fellow" - a person has a juicy story about someone's failings and it is very hard for him to hold back. Telling a story that puts another down is already the realm of gevurah, and here the test is whether he will stand firm and not stumble.
"Even a small and very light disparagement" - when the matter is small, a person permits himself more, and says in his heart: I didn't say anything major about him, there's nothing to it.
"And even though it is true" - here the line of truth, the line of Yaakov, is hinted at: the person is not about to tell a lie, but something true and beyond doubt, and nevertheless he must restrain himself.
"And even in order to clear himself" - even if he is telling it because, if he does not, people will suspect that he was the one who did it, so that by telling it he clears his own name, and for that reason he permits himself, still he must restrain himself.
The story in the Gemara: "Desist from lashon hara":
To understand the example the Alter Rebbe brings, we need a halachic introduction. There are exacting rules in the writing of a get, down to the finest details of how the get will look and how many lines are written in it. And for a get that a kohen gives his wife, halachah directs that a "get mekushar," a tied get, be written: one writes a line and ties and sews it, writes another line and ties it again, and the writing of it is laborious and complicated. What is the reason? Any man who divorced his wife and then regretted it can take her back, but a kohen is forbidden to a divorcee and will not be able to take her back. Therefore they made the writing of his get heavy and drawn out, so that he would have time to reconsider and regret.
And so the Gemara relates in Bava Basra (the beginning of chapter 10): "A certain tied get was brought before Rebbi" - a get mekushar was brought before Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi. Rebbi said: "There is no date in this one" - and a get without a date is invalid, and here no date had been written. His son, Rabbi Shimon, said to him: "Perhaps it is concealed between its ties." Rebbi opened it and looked, and found that the date was indeed written there. Embarrassment showed on Rebbi's face at not having found the date, and as a result something of a suspicion fell on Rabbi Shimon, that the get had not been written properly. Rabbi Shimon said to him: "It was not I who wrote it, Yehudah the tailor wrote it" - it was not I but another Jew. Said Rebbi to him: "Desist from lashon hara."
Immediately afterward the Gemara brings a second story, and specifically on the positive side: once Rabbi Shimon was sitting before his father, and they were reading from a sefer Tehillim that had been written by hand. Rebbi said: "How beautifully straight this script is," praising the beauty of the writing. Rabbi Shimon said to him: "It was not I who wrote it, Yehudah the tailor wrote it" - the praise is not mine. Said Rebbi to him: "Desist from lashon hara."
And the Gemara asks: "Granted there, there is lashon hara" - in the first story it is understandable, since he spoke to the detriment of the writer. But here, what lashon hara is there? And the Gemara answers that it is "because of Rav Dimi," for Rav Dimi the brother of Rav Safra said: "A person should never speak of his fellow's good, for out of speaking his good he comes to speak his bad." Even with a person's praise one should not make a production, for once you begin to praise, someone else is liable to get drawn in and say, "Don't exaggerate, it isn't entirely so," and right away other things will be found in him to his discredit.
And it is worth noting in the first story: in the very statement "it was not I who wrote it" there was something derogatory about the one who did write it, as if he himself would have written it properly and no mistake would have occurred. For the writer had tucked the date in between the ties to the point that even Rebbi could not find it, whereas even in the tying of a get the date needs to be in a certain place, and this man had hidden it more than he should have.
And why does the Alter Rebbe add that "Rabbi Shimon said to his father, Rabbeinu HaKadosh," when the Gemara itself does not state that it was his father? Because here there was room for an argument: if he does not tell his father, his father will think that he himself wrote the get and will be pained that his son erred; whereas if he tells him that someone else wrote it, the father's mind will be set at ease that his son made no mistake, and perhaps there is even an element of kibbud av in this. And nevertheless his father answered him: "Desist from lashon hara." This is why the Alter Rebbe directs us to look in the Gemara, where both stories are brought, the negative side and the positive side.
"וכהאי גוונא כמה מילי דשכיחא טובא" - and like these there are many matters that occur very frequently, in which a person will find that he does not hold himself back where he is required to hold himself back; and particularly in the matter of sanctifying oneself in what is permitted to him, which according to certain opinions is a positive mitzvah from the Torah, as it says "You shall be holy" and "And you shall sanctify yourselves." And even if we say that it is only mi'derabbanan, after all "the words of the Sofrim are more stringent than the words of Torah."
And why does a person not feel any of this? "אלא שכל אלו וכיוצא בהן הן מעוונות שאדם דש בהן בעקביו" - all of these and others like them are among the sins that a person tramples with his heels. He pays them no attention, and says in his heart: I said a word, there's nothing to it, I haven't become a bad person because of it; "ונעשו כהיתר מחמת שעבר ושנה" - and they have become like something permitted, because he transgressed and repeated the transgression.
The three stages of the cheshbon nefesh:
A person should not look down on the "kal shebakalim," for he is in a difficult situation and in the midst of a mighty war.
Not only is there no room to look down on him, but the person and the "kal shebakalim" stand on exactly the same level: just as he does not withstand his tests, so this person does not withstand his own tests in "aseh tov" - in davening, in Torah and in tzedakah. And more than that, even in "sur mera" he is not complete.
The main and decisive stage, with which the Alter Rebbe concludes the chapter: this person is worse than he is, and that is why it says "Be of humble spirit before every man" - lower even than him.
And once the first two stages have been absorbed, a person becomes a vessel to receive the third. In the Alter Rebbe's words: "ואם הוא יודע ספר ומחזיק בתורת ה' וקרבת אלוקים יחפץ - גדול עוונו מנשוא, ואשמתו גדלה בכפלי כפליים במה שאינו נלחם ומתגבר על יצרו בערך ובחינת מלחמה עצומה הנ"ל" - if he is learned and holds fast to the Torah of Hashem and desires closeness to G-d, his sin is too great to bear, and his guilt is doubled and redoubled in that he does not fight and overpower his yetzer with the measure and the quality of the mighty war described above. A Jew who learns Torah and knows its worth, and who wants with all his heart to be close to the Holy One with great intensity, his guilt is many times over for not fighting and not overpowering his yetzer with the measure of war that has been explained.
"יותר מאשמת קל שבקלים מיושבי קרנות הרחוקים מה' ותורתו, ואין אשמתם גדולה כל כך במה שאינם כובשים יצרם הבוער כאש להבה מפני פחד ה' המבין ומביט בכל מעשיהם ובוחן כליות ולב" - more than the guilt of the lowest of the low among the idlers of the street corners, who are far from Hashem and His Torah, and whose guilt is not so great for failing to subdue their yetzer which burns like a flaming fire out of fear of Hashem, who understands and gazes upon all their deeds and probes the heart and the kidneys. That "kal shebakalim" understands nothing of this at all: he does not know what a mitzvah is, what an aveirah is, or what Torah is. Even though the Holy One watches all his deeds and probes heart and kidneys, he himself does not know this and does not feel it, and therefore his guilt is not so great for not subduing his yetzer that burns like a flaming fire. "כאשמת כל הקרוב הקרוב אל ה' ואל תורתו ועבודתו" - the guilt of one who is ever closer to Hashem and to His Torah and His service is far greater, for he knows that the Holy One is watching him, and he understands the power of the Torah.
The story is told of a town of chassidim, some eighty years ago, where all the residents were observant Jews and not a single store opened on Shabbos. There was one shoemaker there who had the audacity to open his shoe shop on Shabbos. In those days the wicked regime was already in power, and protesting to him that he should close was considered religious propaganda and could literally put the protester in mortal danger. So people walked by and ground their teeth; it pained them terribly that a Jew was breaching the fence, and there was nothing they could do about it.
One day the mashpia of the yeshivah came in, sat down with the bochurim and said to them: "Today I walked down the street and I saw that shoemaker opening up on Shabbos, and how painful it is," and he broke into bitter weeping. All the students were sure that he was crying over the chillul Shabbos and over the breach that was being made there. Once he had calmed down he said to them: "Let me explain to you what hurts so much. That Jew does not know what Shabbos is, he does not understand the kedushah and he does not understand the matter at all. But I, who learn and know what Shabbos is, what a mitzvah is, what kedushah is, am I keeping Shabbos the way it ought to be kept? Am I doing it with the intensity that is demanded of me?" Everyone looks at the one who is not in order, and indeed he is not in order, except that he does not even understand that he is not in order; whereas we, who do know, if we are not making Shabbos with holiness and with heightened intensity, our failing is graver than his. This is exactly what the Alter Rebbe is saying here.
And our Sages said the same thing about "Acher," Elisha ben Avuyah, who was given that name: "he knew My honor" - he knew the honor of the Holy One and nevertheless went against Him, and therefore his sin is the most severe of all. And for the same reason our Sages said regarding an am ha'aretz that "willful sins become for them like unintentional ones": one who acts willfully while being an am ha'aretz, his willfulness is like an unintentional act, since he does not grasp the gravity of the matter, whereas the person who knows does grasp it.
From here we understand "Be of humble spirit before every man." And all of this comes to complete what we learned in the previous chapters, that a person suffers from a constricted heart and does not understand why his heart will not be aroused, and he must break himself. How is this breaking accomplished, and what is the bittush? In this chapter a very serious bittush is presented: a person looks at himself and sees that he is standing in the middle of the road, a long road, and he must not imagine that he has already arrived. This conclusion is what gives a person the true bittush, and it is what opens his heart to be aroused as it should be for the service of Hashem.
In summary: in this section we studied the precision in "the mitzvos of the holy King": since both commands, "sur mera" and "aseh tov," are the mitzvos of a king, and the King is holy and separate and commands because such is His will and not because this matter is graver than that one, there is no difference between small and great, and consequently the person and the "kal shebakalim" stand on the same level. We discussed the accounting in the rest of the mitzvos and particularly in matters of money, and the fact that even in the dimension of "sur mera" a person does not "turn away from evil completely, bakol mikol kol," in the language of the Gemara regarding Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, who correspond to chesed, gevurah and tiferes. We saw the examples: breaking off in the middle of a pleasant conversation, and refraining from disparaging one's fellow even with a small disparagement, even though it is true, and even in order to clear oneself, as Rebbi said to his son, "Desist from lashon hara." And finally we arrived at the decisive stage: that the guilt of one who is close to Hashem and to His Torah and His service is far greater, and from here, "Be of humble spirit before every man," and the true bittush.
In the next section we will continue, with Hashem's help, with the next chapter of the Tanya, following the Alter Rebbe's path in the service of the heart.