We have arrived at chapter 36 of Likkutei Amarim, on folio 45b (page 90). Let us begin with a brief summary of chapter 35, so that we can see the flow of the argument and understand what chapter 36 comes to address and how it connects to everything we have learned until now.
Summary of chapter 35:
The Alter Rebbe brought the words of the Zohar, where the Yenuka teaches that the resting of the Shechinah upon a person's body is brought about through good deeds. The analogy: for a flame to burn and give light, a wick alone is not enough; oil is needed as well. So too in the nimshal: for the Shechinah, which is compared to fire and light, to rest upon the body of a Jew, there must be «oil», and that oil is good deeds.
On this the Alter Rebbe asked two questions:
Why is the awakening of the soul's love and fear not enough? We are speaking of the soul of a tzaddik, a soul that is revealed, meaning that the soul functions openly and possesses genuine love of G-d and fear of G-d. If a person has a revealed divine emotion, why should that not suffice to draw the Shechinah to rest upon him?
The answer: the Shechinah rests where there is bittul, self-nullification before G-dliness, and complete bittul to the divine will exists only when a person actually carries out that will in practice, not when he expresses his own feelings. The emotions, lofty and sublime as they may be, are still his; whereas doing the Creator's will means attaching oneself to the divine will. The difference between the two is infinite: the difference between being connected to the Creator and not being connected to Him. Therefore it is specifically through doing the Creator's will that a person becomes nullified to Him, and consequently becomes fit for the Shechinah to rest upon him.
And if the reason is obedience to the Creator's will, why specifically deeds? After all, the Creator's will is expressed in more than deeds: a Jew who studies Torah is also doing the Creator's will. Why, then, does the Yenuka in the Zohar say that the only path to the resting of the Shechinah, that is, the only path to bittul and attachment to the Creator's will, is specifically good deeds? Seemingly Torah study should be enough.
The answer: it is indeed true that a Jew learning Torah is at that moment obeying the divine will, and through this he has bittul to G-dliness and this does draw the Shechinah upon him. The question, though, is on which level the bittul and the revelation of the Shechinah exist within him. When a person learns Torah, what is active is his divine soul and his thought, and at most his speech; but the nefesh habahamis, the animating animal soul, and the physical body itself, the dimension of action, have no part in it at all. And since what is wanted is that there be a revelation and resting of the Shechinah also on the lower level, in the body, in the vital soul and in the dimension of action, one cannot suffice with Torah study, which operates on the higher, spiritual level. Good deeds are needed as well.
[The remainder of that chapter also discussed the levels of tzaddikim and the conduct of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who was «chad bedara», singular in his generation.]
The question chapter 36 comes to answer:
We have understood that to draw G-dliness and the resting of the Shechinah onto the lowest, physical, tangible dimension, Torah study is not enough and good deeds are required. But why is it so vital that the Shechinah rest upon the lower dimension as well? What is so critical about it? The Shechinah already rests upon the person: he learns Torah, his divine soul is connected, his thoughts and words are connected. So what if, for the moment, his physical, practical, lowest dimension has no revelation and resting of the Shechinah? Is this anything more than conquering one more piece of territory?
From the Yenuka's own words in the Zohar it is clear that this is something critical. He did not mention Torah study there at all, but spoke only of good deeds, as though without them the very essence of the whole matter is missing. That, then, is the subject of chapter 36: to explain why it is so vital to bring about the resting of the Shechinah specifically on the lower, physical, practical dimension.
It is worth noticing the method of the chapter. It does not deal with the «micro», with what takes place within the inner world of a person and in his lowest dimension of action, but with the «macro»: with the worlds as a whole and with the creation of the world. Which level in the entire wondrous process of creation is the main part, and what is the ultimate purpose of it all? And once we understand, in the broad sweep of creation, that the purpose of everything is specifically the very lowest part, the humble dimension of action, and that the whole descent exists only for its sake, we will be able to understand the same idea within the body of a Jew: that his lowly physical dimension is the main place where he must accomplish the wondrous novelty of drawing down the Shechinah.
The Alter Rebbe's words at the opening of the chapter:
«והנה מודעת זאת מאמר רז"ל שתכלית בריאת עולם הזה הוא שנתאווה הקב"ה להיות לו דירה בתחתונים», «It is known that the purpose of the creation of this world is that the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to have a dwelling place in the lower realms.» «Mudaas zos», it is known, because this idea appears in a number of places in the Midrashim, in Midrash Tanchuma and in Midrash Rabbah, each place with a slight variation of style but in almost the identical words. That is why the Alter Rebbe uses the expression «it is known».
And the content of the statement is this: what is the purpose of the creation of this physical world? That the Holy One, blessed be He, had a desire, a taavah, to have a dwelling place, and specifically here, in this lowest world.
The meaning of the words «dirah betachtonim»:
We have already mentioned this in earlier classes, but let us review the main point. First we need to understand the literal meaning of the words and how to render them in plain language; the idea itself we will take up in the lines that follow.
A king who wishes to be seen and to appear, before his advisors, before his ministers, before the people, or before his relatives and dignitaries, presents himself differently at each occasion, in keeping with the circumstances and the setting he is entering. The setting itself demands a garment suited to it, and that garment conceals him while revealing only one particular facet of him. (One need only watch how the commentators sit and analyze every public appearance of a head of state: why he came in a suit of precisely that color, in that tie, in that hat, and whole columns are written interpreting the messages he meant to convey in one way or another, as we see every day.)
It emerges that the king's appearance in each setting always comes with one covering or another. And even in the innermost circles of closeness, among those most bound to him, he will always be wearing a garment, a covering, a kind of costume. But when the king is in his private residence, alone with himself, with no need to appear before anyone, there he is as he truly is, with no garment and no covering at all.
An illustration of this from halachah: the Rambam brings that there are states in which one may not see the king. One does not see him while his hair is being cut and one does not see him unclothed, because this would diminish the awe and honor felt toward him. Yet in his own private home, alone with himself, the king is found even in these very states, with no covering, exactly as he is. That is the meaning of a «dirah», a dwelling.
In summary: in this portion we reviewed chapter 35, the words of the Yenuka in the Zohar that the resting of the Shechinah on a person's body depends on good deeds, together with the Alter Rebbe's two questions and their answers: that complete bittul to the divine will is found specifically in fulfilling that will in action and not in the revelation of emotion, and that Torah study operates only on the level of the divine soul, thought and speech, whereas what is wanted is the resting of the Shechinah in the body and the vital soul as well. From there we moved to the question of chapter 36, why this revelation specifically in the lower dimension is so vital, and we saw that the chapter comes to explain it from the perspective of creation as a whole. We opened with the teaching of Chazal that «the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to have a dwelling place in the lower realms», and with the meaning of the word «dirah» as drawn from the analogy of the king, who in his private residence is found as he is, without garments and without coverings.
In the next portion we will continue with the explanation of the teaching «the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to have a dwelling place in the lower realms», and with understanding the purpose of the creation of this lowest world.