In the previous section we learned the first explanation of the title bnei aliyah, "those who ascend," which Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai used: the complete tzaddik transforms the evil within himself into good. Now we turn to the second explanation, which the Alter Rebbe bases on the language of the Tikkunim: the tzaddik's entire avodah is not for his own sake at all, but l'tzorech gavoah, for the sake of Above.
"איזהו חסיד? המתחסד עם קונו" - "Who is a chassid? One who does kindness with his Maker":
The wording of Tikkunei Zohar that the Alter Rebbe cites is: "איזהו חסיד? המתחסד עם קונו" - "Who is a chassid? One who acts with kindness toward his Maker." The tzaddik asks nothing for himself; his whole attention is given over to doing good for his "nest." This is a deep concept, and we will take it up here in brief.
"לשם ייחוד קודשא בריך הוא ושכינתיה" - "For the sake of the union of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah":
The formula l'shem yichud Kudsha Brich Hu u'Shechintei appears in many places in the siddur, and many have the custom of saying it before performing a mitzvah. In the Arizal's nusach it is said once a day, at the beginning of the day, and even someone who does not actually say the words, the matter itself is present in every single mitzvah. What is this yichud, this union? A union means a joining of two. But of whom with whom? Kudsha Brich Hu is the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Shechinah too is the Holy One, blessed be He. So what exactly is being united?
The explanation is that within the divine revelation there are levels, and the two levels named here are two opposites:
'Kudsha Brich Hu' - in Hebrew, HaKadosh Baruch Hu. The word kadosh means lofty, elevated, separate and set apart (as in the words said under the chuppah, "הרי את מקודשת לי" - you are set apart from the whole world and designated for me alone). In other words, the level that is, as it were, removed from and elevated above this limited, lowly world.
'Shechintei' - from the word shochen, to dwell, to reside. That is, the level that rests and is found here, within the world.
The Jew's task is to unite the two: to take the higher levels, which in themselves are holy, set apart and elevated, and to draw them down and reveal them here below.
How is this done? Through each and every mitzvah. A Jew takes tefillin, animal hide, a physical and technical object, and places them on his physical arm and his physical head, and in that very act the infinite divine Will, which is utterly separate and set apart, is clothed. In the moment the mitzvah is performed, the connection is made between Kudsha Brich Hu and Shechintei, between the exalted Infinite and the physical world.
'Kono' - from the word ken, a nest:
The simple meaning of the word kono is "his Owner," the One who acquires everything, as we say in davening, "קונה הכל" - Master of all. But the Zohar also reads the word as coming from ken, a nest, a dwelling, a home, which is the Shechinah, just as a nest is the dwelling place of a bird. "המתחסד עם קונו" thus means that he does kindness with the "nest," and as the Tikkunim continue: "עם קן דיליה, ליחדא קודשא בריך הוא ושכינתיה בתחתונים" - "with His nest, to unite the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah in the lower worlds" - to unite the level of Kudsha Brich Hu with the level of Shechintei here in this lowest world.
This is the whole content of the complete tzaddik's Torah and mitzvos: not for his own sake, but for the sake of Above. He has no "I" at all. He knows that his existence in the world is nothing but a means, and his entire aim is to merit being the one who joins Kudsha Brich Hu with Shechintei.
True, an ordinary person can also have this intention and say these words, and it is certainly proper that he do so, and the union is in fact accomplished even if he did not have it in mind. But with the complete tzaddik this is not an intention recited because it is printed in the siddur; it is his entire essence and his entire identity. His identity is a divine identity, as it is said of Moshe Rabbeinu: "משה איש האלוקים" - "Moshe, the man of G-d" - a man in day to day life, and at the same time a man of G-d. This is not a single act of zeal for the sake of Heaven, like Pinchas who was zealous for Hashem, but a person whose entire being is nothing other than a divine expression in this world.
It is worth noting that in this chapter we are learning about these levels in order to know that such a thing exists. The intention is not that a person should transform his identity in a single moment, and not even in a single year; this is a complete revolution in a person's very existence.
The parable of the son who redeems his parents:
In the Ra'aya Mehemna section of the Zohar, in parshas Ki Teitzei, a parable is brought for this: "כברא דאשתדל בתר אבוי ואימיה, דרחים לון יתיר מגרמיה ונפשיה ורוחיה ונשמתיה" - "like a son who exerts himself on behalf of his father and mother, whom he loves more than his own body, more than his nefesh, ruach and neshamah," "ומסר גרמיה למיתה עלייהו למפרק לון משביה" - "and who gives himself over to death for their sake, to redeem them from captivity and bring them to freedom."
And the nimshal: the Holy One, blessed be He, is, as it were, hidden, as the verse says, "אכן אתה א-ל מסתתר" - "indeed, You are a G-d who conceals Himself." But the whole purpose of the concealment is that we should reveal Him, and every mitzvah done in this world reveals Him more. This is the union of Kudsha Brich Hu and Shechintei, and through this revelation the Jew takes the Shechinah, so to speak, out of captivity. The complete tzaddik knows nothing other than this.
And within the parable itself there are levels in the son who comes to redeem his parents:
For a return: There is one who acts because he knows he will receive an immediate reward for what he does.
Out of conscience: There is one who acts out of moral obligation, because his conscience demands it.
Out of complete bittul: But the true son acts neither for the gain nor because of his conscience. There is no "I" in the picture at all; one single fact stands before his eyes: his parents are imprisoned, and he must get them out. More than that, "ומסר גרמיה למיתה" - he is ready to give up his very life for them, even though nothing whatsoever will come to him from it.
This is the avodah of the tzaddik, done solely for the sake of Above, and this is the second explanation of the title bnei aliyah.
The two explanations of 'bnei aliyah':
Let us then sum up the two reasons for which Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai calls the complete tzaddikim bnei aliyah, corresponding to the two titles "tzaddik v'tov lo" and "tzaddik gamur":
Transforming the evil into good: They convert the evil within their soul and elevate it into good.
Avodah for the sake of Above: Everything they do is not for their own sake but for the sake of Above, to unite Kudsha Brich Hu and Shechintei in the lower worlds.
The two explanations depend on one another. One cannot arrive at the second without the first: as long as a trace of evil remains in a person, there also remains a trace of self interest, and consequently his avodah is not for the sake of Above but for his own sake. But once he has transformed the evil into good and there is no animal element left in him at all, it goes without saying that everything he does is not for himself but for the sake of Above.
The Alter Rebbe adds a further point here in parentheses: the two explanations go hand in hand. It is not only that the tzaddik cannot reach the second stage before passing through the first, but that the two activities are bound up with each other by their very nature.
The first explanation is avodah from below upward: a person stands below, transforms the evil into good, and rises upward. The second explanation is the reverse: drawing Kudsha Brich Hu down from above into the world. And these two are intertwined, because in order to draw something down from above, one must first arouse it from below, as chassidus puts it: an is'aruta d'letata, an arousal from below, brings about an is'aruta d'le'eila, an arousal from Above.
The same is true of the relationship between a teacher and a student: the teacher is capable of giving and transmitting a great deal, but for him to want to give, preparation is needed on the student's part. Once the student shows from below that he is a vessel ready to receive, there is someone to give to. This is always the way it works.
In summary: In this section we learned the second explanation of the title bnei aliyah, based on the language of the Tikkunim, "איזהו חסיד? המתחסד עם קונו" - one who does kindness with his "nest." We clarified the meaning of the union between Kudsha Brich Hu, the level that is separate and elevated, and Shechintei, the level that dwells within the world, and how every mitzvah joins them. We saw that the complete tzaddik does not act for his own sake at all, as in the parable of the Ra'aya Mehemna about the son who gives up his life to redeem his parents from captivity, and that the two explanations of bnei aliyah depend on one another: elevation from below upward and drawing down from above below, in the way that an arousal from below brings an arousal from Above.
In the next section we will continue learning the Alter Rebbe's words in chapter 10 and understanding the levels of tzaddikim explained there.