In the previous section, chapter 7, we studied kelipas nogah: the mineral, vegetable and animal world that is permitted for eating, and also the nefesh habahamis (the animal soul) of a Jew. What is unique about kelipas nogah is that it can rise upward and it can also descend downward, and which of the two happens depends on the person. Someone who eats rich meat lesheim shomayim, for the sake of Heaven, as is told about Rav Nachman, or someone who enjoys food on Shabbos because of the mitzvah of oneg Shabbos, elevates that food to holiness. But someone who eats simply to satisfy his craving causes the chiyus (the life force) in the food to descend into the three impure kelipos. Even so, it remains in his power to raise it back up to holiness afterward; and the fact that he recited a brachah over the food does not help here, because the brachah is one matter and the intention with which one eats is another. It is worth noting that chassidim had the practice of not seeking extra beauty and indulgence in mitzvos that involve eating and drinking, since these too can coarsen a person, even though the Alter Rebbe himself did not make such a distinction and spoke plainly of oneg Shabbos and yom tov.
We also studied forbidden foods, which are entirely bound in the hands of the kelipah and impurity, and this is the source of their name, issur, from the word for binding. For them there is no path of ascent, except in rare situations: through teshuvah, or in the future with the coming of Moshiach.
Chapter 8 (page 12b) comes to complete the subject. The Alter Rebbe adds a further deficiency that exists in forbidden foods as compared with permitted ones, and afterward he will deal with additional examples of things bound up in the three impure kelipos, not in the realm of eating, but in the realm of speech and study.
The wording of the chapter:
"ועוד זאת" ("And furthermore"): beyond what was explained in chapter 7, that forbidden foods are held in the grip of the kelipah and do not rise out of there, there is in them an additional deficiency, "שלכך נקראים בשם איסור" ("which is why they are called by the name issur, bound").
There is a case in which a person ate a forbidden food "בלא הודע" ("unknowingly"), when he had no idea at all that the food was forbidden: he bought meat in a store, was certain it was kosher of the highest standard, and only afterward it turned out to be treif. And not only that, but he ate it "לשם שמים לעבוד ה' בכוח אכילה ההיא" ("for the sake of Heaven, to serve Hashem with the strength gained from that eating"). He made a brachah on the food, and his entire intent was that it should give him strength for the service of the Creator. And he did not stop at intent alone, but "וגם פעל ועשה כן" ("and he indeed acted and did so"): he actually invested all the energy he received from that food into Torah and tefillah.
Now, at first glance: with a permitted food we find that the very use of its energy for Torah and mitzvos is what elevates it to holiness, so why should the same not be said here? On this the Alter Rebbe rules that with a forbidden food it is not so: "אין החיות שבה עולה ומתלבשת בתיבות התורה והתפילה" ("the chiyus within it does not ascend and become clothed in the words of Torah and tefillah"). Even though the words he spoke are words of holiness, the chiyus remains within the three impure kelipos and does not rise. And the reason is that it is "asur," bound, in the hands of the sitra achra of the three impure kelipos. Since the thing is locked inside evil, the good intention does not help it.
What is the difference between a permitted food and a forbidden one?
This question was put to the Rebbe, and his answer is printed in Igros Kodesh volume 14. The Rebbe explains that the very fact that a physical food is able to rise to holiness is itself a tremendous novelty, for the food is material and physical while Torah and tefillah are spiritual and Divine. How is meat that was lying on the butcher's shelf transformed into Divine energy? And since this is a novelty, the rule applies: "you have in it only its novelty." Only in those instances where the Torah established that the ascent is possible is it in fact possible. Therefore one should not wonder why a forbidden food does not rise; the wonder should be the reverse, how a permitted food does rise.
The Rebbe continues in his letter with a beautiful analogy:
The hand: A person who sits and writes words of Torah with his hand for many hours, compared with a person who writes empty nonsense, there is no noticeable difference in the physical hand itself. Words of intellect pass through it like water through a pipe: they enter one side and exit the other, and the pipe is not changed by the water that passed through it.
The brain: The more a person uses his mind for matters of intellect, thinking deeply and generating ideas, we see that his brain becomes refined and more sensitive, and he is then able to grasp abstract concepts; whereas someone who never studied finds it hard to absorb. And the more one fills the brain with nonsense and foolishness, the more obtuse it becomes. It is brought in one place that even the grooves of the brain change physically because of study, and there is a discernible difference in their number and character between the brain of one who studied all his life and the brain of one who never studied at all.
And this deserves reflection: the brain and the hand are both a piece of physical flesh, and both serve as a conduit for something spiritual. The difference is that the Holy One created the brain in such a way that words of wisdom are absorbed in it and it is changed by them, and He created the hand in such a way that words of wisdom merely pass through it and it is not changed.
Exactly so in our subject: a permitted food was created from the outset in such a way that words of holiness are absorbed in it and it becomes refined and elevated through them, while a forbidden food remains exactly as it was. Therefore, whether the person knew or did not know, the fact does not change: the food is forbidden, and it has no ability to be elevated through the use made of its energy for Torah and tefillah.
A halachic example: one who slaughters a firstborn animal:
In one place the Rebbe brings a fascinating halachic example connected to this passage in Tanya. The firstborn of a kosher animal, an ox, a lamb or a cow, is holy from birth. While the Beis HaMikdash stands, the firstborn must be brought to the Mikdash; and if it develops a blemish, it may be slaughtered, and it then has the status of ordinary meat and may be sold. However, the owner of the animal is not permitted to decide on his own that a blemish has appeared. He must bring it to an expert authorized to examine blemishes and to determine whether this particular blemish permits the slaughter. These laws are explained in Maseches Bechoros.
And we learn in the Mishnah there: "השוחט את הבכור ונודע שלא הראהו" ("One who slaughters the firstborn and it then becomes known that he did not show it"): a person slaughtered the firstborn and sold its meat, and afterward it became known that he never showed the blemish to a sage, and people had bought and eaten it. The Mishnah rules: "מה שאכלו אכלו, ויחזיר להם את הדמים" ("What they ate, they ate, and he must return their money to them"). The buyers owe nothing for what they ate, and the seller must give them back their money. And even if a buyer made a meal from that meat for hundreds of people, the seller must return to him the full price. On the face of it, why must money be returned for food the customer has already eaten?
The reason is that a forbidden food has no hold on the person. The commentaries bring that "a person's soul is repelled" by such a food: once he learns that he ate something forbidden, his soul vomits it out, and in practical terms we view him as one who did not eat at all, even though he ate and was satisfied, and therefore the seller must return the money. This is an example from the world of halachah for the inner point in Tanya: a forbidden food has no ability whatsoever to become blood and flesh of his flesh in a complete and wholesome way, and even in the revealed part of Torah this is expressed in the obligation to refund.
In summary: in this section we studied the opening of chapter 8, in which the Alter Rebbe adds a further deficiency in forbidden foods: even one who ate a forbidden food unknowingly, for the sake of Heaven, and actually invested the strength gained from that eating into Torah and tefillah, the chiyus of that food does not ascend and become clothed in the words of Torah and tefillah, because it is bound in the hands of the sitra achra. We explained this based on the Rebbe's letter in Igros Kodesh volume 14, that the very ascent of the physical to holiness is a novelty, and "you have in it only its novelty," as in the analogy of the hand that is not changed by writing as opposed to the brain that is refined by study. Finally we looked at the halachic example from the Mishnah in Maseches Bechoros, "what they ate, they ate, and he must return their money to them," which expresses that a forbidden food has no hold in a person's soul.
In the next section we will deal with additional examples of things bound up in the three impure kelipos, not in the realm of eating, but in the realm of speech and study.