In the previous section we learned about the bittul (self-nullification) of the sun's rays, the light that spreads out through the expanse of the world, in relation to their source. And if that light is nullified out here, how much more so is this true of the light that is inside the source itself. There is no doubt that the sun's rays shine and spread within the body of the sun as well, and with far greater intensity than they shine out in the open space of the world. For if the light reaches the expanse of the world, millions of kilometers away from the sun, it certainly shines inside the sun itself.
Only that there, inside the source, the light is bottul bimetzius, nullified out of existence: it is present, yet it has no standing as an independent reality, because the source is right there, and so it is as though it does not exist at all.
The parable of the servant and the king:
When the king is present, you cannot ascribe any reality to a servant standing before him. Everyone in the king's presence simply does not register, and whoever would pay honor, attention and deference to one of the servants standing beside the king has committed an act of outright rebellion against the crown. Is it even possible to notice the things standing around when the king himself is standing here?
There is a story of a servant who stood before the king, and because it was cold outside he stood there shivering. Said the king: "Put him to death." They protested: what was his offense? The man was freezing. But the answer is this: had he truly felt the presence of the king, he would not have felt his own existence at all, and he would not even have noticed that he was cold. Since he was occupied with himself, cold and getting colder until he was shivering, it is proof that he was not really standing before the king at all. Where there is a king, there is no room whatsoever for a person to be thinking about himself.
The principle that emerges: wherever the source is present, the particular thing that comes from that source has no reality of its own.
So it is with the letters and the soul, so it is with the light and the sun, and so it is with the light of a candle in relation to the light of the sun. And all of these are nothing more than parables for the Creator and the world: the world is the ray, the world is the letters, and the Creator is the source. Is it conceivable to ascribe reality to the world at the very moment that the source is here?
True, with the sun and its light, the sun is in its place and the light has gone out from it. But with the Creator one cannot say that the world has gone out from Him, for "leis asar ponui minei", there is no place empty of Him. He is present everywhere, and the world never went out from Him at all. Rather, the Creator brought about an astonishing arrangement: although He is here, He is "seeing but not seen". He created a reality in which He is not visible. And the moment a person opens his eyes and grasps the truth of the matter, it becomes clear that the world is utterly nullified out of existence.
In the Alter Rebbe's words: "וככה ממש דרך משל הוא ביטול העולם ומלואו במציאות לגבי מקורו" - "and exactly so, by way of parable, is the nullification out of existence of the world and all that fills it in relation to its source." Precisely like the nullification of sunlight within the body of the sun, and precisely like the parable of the letters within the soul, so is the world nullified in relation to the Creator, who is the Or Ein Sof, the infinite light, "כמו שכתוב שם באריכות" - "as is explained there at length."
That lengthy explanation is found in Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah (chapters 8 and 21), and the Alter Rebbe does not intend to elaborate on it here in chapter 33. He brings it only as an introduction, because contemplating it brings a person to tremendous joy.
So what have we learned until now? That a person must contemplate, and not only contemplate but actually picture in his mind the oneness of the Creator. And the intent is not merely that there is one Creator, but that there is no reality at all other than the reality of the Creator. This is an immeasurably deep point.
A note on the use of parables:
In one of his notes on this chapter, the Rebbe points out that the Alter Rebbe works here with parables, when seemingly he could have explained the matter itself. Is it only because we are incapable of understanding? After all, the parables themselves are hardly easy to grasp. And it is worth noticing that when he arrives at the second parable he does not say "and there is another parable"; he uses a telling expression: "there is a physical parable for this."
The Rebbe Rashab explained in profound letters the differences between the first parable and the second, that they represent different levels in the understanding of Elokus, and these are very deep matters. But here the Alter Rebbe is not bringing two parables in order to explain two dimensions in the depth of the subject. He is saying, as it were: there is even a physical parable for this. And what is he underscoring? That physicality too stands in the service of Elokus. Every detail in the world cries out that the Creator is the true reality, and even the sun you see outside helps you understand that the Creator is everything. Physicality does not contradict the reality of the Creator; it is one more way of revealing Him.
"Ki kirvas Elokim mamash":
All of this must lead to the goal of the chapter with which we opened: simchas hanefesh, the joy of the soul. In the Alter Rebbe's words: "והנה כשיעמיק בזה הרבה ישמח לבו ותגל נפשו אף גילת ורנן בכל לב ונפש ומאד באמונה זו כי רבה היא כי קרבת אלוקים ממש" - "and when he contemplates this deeply, his heart will rejoice and his soul will be glad, with joy and song, with all his heart and soul and might, in this faith, for it is a great faith, for it is truly the closeness of G-d." Let us unpack this, beginning specifically with the end of the sentence: "for it is truly the closeness of G-d."
What is closeness? Let us first consider closeness between human beings, which comes in levels:
Technical closeness: two people standing next to each other. But is that enough to say "he is close to me"? The table and the wall are also standing right near a person, and they are certainly not called close.
Speech: when one person speaks with his fellow, he is relating to him, and there is already a greater closeness here. Yet not every conversation indicates closeness; it may be nothing more than technical, surface matters.
Opening the heart: when a person reveals to his fellow what is in his innermost self, deep within his heart, and opens his entire being before him, that is a closeness beyond closeness.
And what does the Holy One Blessed be He do with us? According to the explanation of His true oneness, He is present with the person. And not some contracted portion of Him, but He Himself, with all His innerness and all His Essence, exactly as He was before the world was created so He is after the world was created, and He is within the person's innermost self.
There is no closeness greater than this. Even if a person were to reveal his entire heart to his friend, in the end, once the words have come out in speech, that is not everything; it is only as much as the words can carry. Sometimes a person says "I have no words." There is a point at which words run out, and at that point communication stops and he can reveal no more. With the Creator, by contrast, this is "kirvas Elokim mamash", truly the closeness of G-d.
And once a person grasps that the Creator is with him in the closeness of G-d itself, is there anything left that could bring him to despondency? The One most precious to him, who cares for him in everything and loves him more than anyone, is present with him in a revealed way, here and now. Genuine contemplation of this must bring a person to "his heart will rejoice and his soul will be glad, with joy and song", with all his heart and soul and might: the greatest joy there is, that He is close to him.
From here on, the verse "me'ayin yavo ezri" should not be said as a cry of question, "from where will my help come?", but with an exclamation point: that very ayin, that concealment in which there seems to be nothing, is precisely what will bring the help, for the Creator is present with the person, close to him, loving him and caring for him. The moment a person absorbs this, at that very moment things become good for him in actual fact as well, for all the obstructions and delays fall away, and the whole concealment falls away.
For the Creator conceals Himself only so that the person will discover Him, like a game of hide and seek that He plays with us, so that we will find Him. As the verse in Tehillim says: "achen atah Keil mistater", "indeed You are a G-d who hides Himself." Chassidim turned this verse into a joyful niggun. On the face of it, a "G-d who hides Himself" is something that should cause a person to fall; but the chassid discovers and declares that this very concealment will bring about a still greater revelation.
And why does the Alter Rebbe use the expression "באמונה זו כי רבה היא", "in this faith, for it is great", when the matter can also be grasped by logic? There are two reasons:
This whole line of reasoning is itself built on faith, on what is written in Torah, "bidvar Hashem shomayim naasu", "by the word of G-d the heavens were made", and the like.
And in the end, this is faith and not logic. The Holy One Blessed be He in His abundant kindness gave our logic too some capacity to grasp a measure of this faith, but the foundation of it is emunah.
A Jew believes in the Creator of the world and is bound to Him with his entire inner being, even without understanding. But if it remains on the level of faith alone, it stays something distant from him; whereas when he makes the effort to understand it and internalize it, it enters truly within him. This is the important tool the Alter Rebbe gives us in this chapter, whose purpose is to bring a person to the true joy of the soul, in an inward way.
In summary: in this section we learned that the sun's light shines within its source with far greater intensity than in its spreading out through the world, and nevertheless it is there nullified out of existence, like a servant standing before the king, to whom no reality can be ascribed while the king is present. So are the world and all that fills it nullified in relation to their source, the Creator, except that with Him one cannot say at all that the world went out from Him, for "leis asar ponui minei", there is no place empty of Him, and He is "seeing but not seen". We discussed the Rebbe's note on the "physical parable", that physicality too is a means for revealing the Creator, and the explanation of "kirvas Elokim mamash", that the Creator is present with a person with His Essence and His innerness, a closeness beyond which there is nothing, and from this comes the joy of the soul "with all his heart and soul and might", whose foundation is faith that understanding internalizes.
This joy of the soul is indeed a goal in its own right, and if we reach it, that is reward enough. But it is also a means and a stage toward bringing a person higher than this. Until now we have seen half the picture; in the next section we will complete it and see how all this brings a person to the revealed and complete truth.