In the previous section we worked through the Alter Rebbe's words in chapter 6. Now we turn to the yardstick by which a person is meant to take stock of himself in every single matter, and to the Alter Rebbe's great novel teaching about the Shechinah resting upon every single Jew.
Either "ani" or "ain":
A person has to make an accounting in every single matter: is he battel, nullified, to the Creator of the world, or is his "I" (his ego, his self-awareness, his sense of being a real independent something) standing at the center? The two words ani ("I") and ain ("nothing") are made up of exactly the same letters, which hints that there is no middle path here: either a person is in the category of ain, or he is in the category of ani.
This definition raises a question. What about a Jew who fulfills nothing of the Creator's will and is utterly distant? Seemingly there is not a single point in his life at which he is battel to the Holy One, blessed be He. Does that mean the Holy One does not rest upon him? But he is a Jew in every respect, and surely the Holy One does rest upon him. How does this square with the condition that the dwelling of the Shechinah depends on bittul?
"Whether in actuality or in potential":
Here the Alter Rebbe introduces a wonderful new idea: the Holy One rests not only where there is bittul in actuality, but also where the bittul is bekoach, in potential. Every Jew is battel in potential, since within every Jew there is a hidden divine soul. As will be explained later, in chapter 18, even the lowest of the low, when he is put to the test over his faith, is ready to give up his life for kiddush Hashem.
That sudden eruption of the soul proves that it was there in him all along. "In potential" does not mean that something may come into being in the future; it means that it exists in full right now, only that its existence is concealed.
Bittul in actuality: the supernal angels. An angel is entirely battel to G-dliness. It has no independent existence at all, only absolute bittul, and it is nothing but a messenger. So much so that at times an angel is called in Tanach by G-d's own Name, as is explained in Iggeres HaKodesh. The analogy: a king can place his crown on an angel's head without any worry, because the angel is completely battel and it would never occur to it, even for a moment, that it is a reality of its own. Like a hook or a nail in the wall on which the king hangs his crown; they do not for a moment imagine that they are the king.
Bittul in potential: every Jew here below. Even a Jew who is down here in physicality, and even one whose actual conduct is on the lowest level, has within him the ability to be truly battel before the Holy One, blessed be He. That potential lies within him, and it becomes visible in his readiness to give his life for the holiness of G-d's Name.
From here emerges the fundamental definition: holiness is bittul to G-dliness. And it follows that whatever is not battel is not holiness, and it has only one name: sitra achra, the "other side."
Two statements of our Sages:
"And therefore our Sages said": the Alter Rebbe brings two statements of Chazal, in both of which the dwelling of the Shechinah is described, one corresponding to bittul in actuality and the other to bittul in potential.
"Even one who sits and occupies himself with Torah, the Shechinah rests upon him." As we learned at length in chapter 5, the strongest union between a Jew and the Creator of the world is in the study of Torah: the King embraces him and he embraces the King. And note the precise wording, "occupies himself" (osek) rather than "studies": a person is immersed in it the way a man is immersed in his business. When his mind is engaged in matters of Torah, the Shechinah rests upon him. This is an example of bittul in actuality.
"And every gathering of ten, the Shechinah rests there." Wherever ten Jews are found, the Shechinah rests upon them. This is an example of bittul in potential. And to the language of the Gemara the Alter Rebbe adds one word that does not appear there explicitly: "always" (le'olam). That addition teaches that the Shechinah rests there in any situation, even if those ten are sitting and speaking idle talk.
At the end of Tanya it is explained that when people sit together at one table and no words of Torah pass between them, this is a "seat of scoffers" and is in the category of "they have eaten of the sacrifices of the dead", and nevertheless the Holy One, blessed be He, is present there, in the state of Shechinta begalusa, the Shechinah in exile.
Heaven forbid that this should be taken as a leniency. On the contrary: idle talk among ten is more severe than idle talk of an individual, because it involves kalna d'Shechinta, disgrace to the honor of the Shechinah. It is like a man who pours out a bucket of filth precisely in the spot where the king is standing, right on his head.
And why, in fact, does the Shechinah rest upon ten "always"? The reckoning is simple. If the Shechinah rests upon ten Jews with no conditions attached, it must be that something of this exists in each and every one of them individually. For if there were nothing in the individual, then zero plus zero, ten times over, still adds up to nothing. Rather, in the individual the bittul is present in the smallest possible measure, since it is only in potential, and the joining together of ten such individuals is already enough to bring about the dwelling of the Shechinah.
So the very gathering of ten Jews brings the Shechinah to that place, whatever they may be doing. What changes is the quality of that dwelling: when they are occupied with things that are unfitting, the Shechinah is there in exile and with difficulty, and only by way of ten; whereas when it comes to occupation with Torah, the Shechinah rests even upon a single person. And how much more so, then, when ten sit and occupy themselves with Torah, for then the revelation of the Shechinah is with tremendous force.
In summary: in this section we learned that a person's self-accounting comes down to one question: ani or ain, since there is no middle path. The Alter Rebbe teaches the new idea that the Holy One rests upon whatever is battel "whether in actuality or in potential": in actuality, like the supernal angels who have no independent existence at all; and in potential, like every Jew here below, who has it in him to be truly battel, as is revealed in his readiness to give his life for the holiness of G-d's Name. From here comes the definition that holiness is bittul to G-dliness, and that whatever is not battel is sitra achra. Two statements of Chazal express this: the individual who sits and occupies himself with Torah, upon whom the Shechinah rests, and every gathering of ten in which the Shechinah rests "always", which is proof that bittul in potential is present in each and every one, and therefore the Shechinah rests upon every Jew.
In the next section we will continue with the Alter Rebbe's words and with understanding the nature of the sitra achra as against holiness.