The three hundred fifty-eighth "cheder" in the heichal of Hayom Yom.
Shabbos Kodesh, 22 Marcheshvan 5704.
Shiurim: Chumash, Chayei Sarah, Shevi'i, with the commentary of Rashi.
Tehillim, the 22nd of the month, chapter 106 and chapter 107.
Tanya, on this day we conclude Epistle 29. The daily shiur begins on page 300 with the words "v'hinei muda'as", until the end of the epistle, "baruch hu, as above".
The source of the present teaching is a note written by the Rebbe Rashab in the winter of 5659, which was already mentioned on the previous day, 21 Marcheshvan. This note is also referred to as a "kuntres" in its own right - "Kuntres Torah v'Chassidus". There the Rebbe Rashab brings that the brother of the Alter Rebbe, the Maharil, related in the name of his brother the Alter Rebbe, about what happened when he met him upon his return for the first time from the Maggid of Mezritch.
On that occasion, the Alter Rebbe described to him what took place the first time, or the first few times, that he was by the Maggid. He described a fascinating situation, which is described there at great length: how the Maggid's talmidim sit together, and what do they speak about? About the lofty divine levels, about the angels, about the sefiros and about the worlds, and they describe their greatness, and they are aroused with an inner yearning and literally long for these levels - until, as the Alter Rebbe describes, they nearly reached actual kelos hanefesh. It was a very special state there.
But what stopped them, calmed them and silenced them? Suddenly they heard the footsteps of the Maggid approaching the room. It is known that the Maggid walked with crutches - something not described there - and one would hear his footsteps drawing near. When they heard the Maggid's footsteps, they all returned, as they say, to themselves, and fell silent. The Maggid entered, sat at the head of the table, and said the words of Torah, which actually relate to what had taken place there before he entered, and in them he explained to them a very important point.
And so it is written there, I will read the wording: "One of the teachings of the Maggid of Mezritch, which our Rebbe the Alter Rebbe heard when he was there for the first time". When was the Alter Rebbe by the Maggid for the first time? "The end of the summer of 5524 until after Pesach of 5525". So then, in that year, the first time - what did he hear?
The Maggid says: there is a verse in the Navi that says "I made the earth, and man upon it I created". The Maggid says that this verse, when it is explained, describes the entire purpose of the creation of the world - which quality is aroused here, and what is man's role; it is all found in this verse.
We begin with the first word, "Anochi". It is known that when it says "Anochi" - as is generally brought regarding the Ten Commandments - this is the designation for the highest divine level, which cannot be called by any name, but rather "Anochi mi she'Anochi" (I am who I am), without indicating any level or name. This is His very Essence, "which is hidden and concealed even from the loftiest of the emanated beings", and above all the worlds, even the most sublime among them.
And what is said about "Anochi"? "I made the earth". What does this mean? "He clothed His very Essence in numerous tzimtzumim" - as it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, constricted His divine light through an enormous multitude of tzimtzumim, and the order of the progressive descent of the tzimtzumim served "to emanate the emanated beings and to create the created beings: serafim, chayos and ofanim, angels and worlds without number". He describes here briefly an order of the progressive descent of levels which the Holy One, blessed be He, emanated; and when one reads this in the Alter Rebbe's description, these are all the levels that the members of the chevraya kadisha sat and spoke about - they spoke in order from below upward, and all of these the Holy One, blessed be He, constricted in order to create worlds without number.
And what is the purpose of it all? He continues and explains the verse: "through tzimtzumim without measure, "I made" this physical "earth"". "I made the earth" comes to describe that this same "Anochi mi she'Anochi" carried out all the descents and tzimtzumim, until in the end - what was the purpose of this entire descent? "I made the earth", to create the physical earth.
And what is the purpose here on earth? The verse continues: "and man upon it I created". Two things are described here: who is the purpose on earth, and what he must do. First of all "and man" - "man is the purpose of the entire coming into being"; the entire aim of the order of progressive descent is to arrive at man. "Upon it I created" - what is "barasi" (I created)? "And "barasi" in gematria is 613. That is the purpose of man": to fulfill 613 mitzvos here in this world, and this virtue is greater than all the thirst and yearning and kelos hanefesh of all the lofty levels - the serafim, the chayos and the ofanim, and so on. All of these are only a means, and the goal is man's fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos here below.
In order to express that the purpose is indeed specifically man, and that all the higher levels themselves feel that on the contrary - the purpose is here below, the Maggid brings an example. "And as it is found in the "Pardes" in the name of Sefer HaBahir" - it is written in "Pardes Rimonim" in the name of "Sefer HaBahir", the well known sefer of Kabbalah: "The attribute of chesed said before the Holy One, blessed be He" - the chesed of the world of Atzilus, which is the loftiest level, comes, as it were, and says to the Creator of the world: "Master of the world, from the days that Avraham has been in the land I have not needed to do my work" - since Avraham Avinu acts here in this world.
The chesed of Atzilus has nothing to do, for there is one who does it better and more perfectly than it here in this world - "for behold, Avraham stands and serves in my place". Avraham Avinu accomplishes here in this world that which the chesed of Atzilus has no capacity to accomplish, and he accomplishes it with the ultimate intent; "for Avraham, who is a soul in a body and occupies himself with hachnasas orchim" - and what does all this accomplish? "To publicize His divinity in this lowest world".
So then, the fact that Avraham Avinu reveals divinity specifically here on earth, "is higher in stature and in level than the attribute of chesed of Atzilus"; the chesed of Atzilus feels that all of its own greatness has no comparison to what Avraham Avinu does here in this world. This is the purpose, this is "and man upon it I created".
And the Maggid adds: what is written in the "Pardes" that "the attribute of chesed said before the Holy One, blessed be He" - what lies within this sentence? "It is the envy of the attribute of chesed of Atzilus, which was envious of the avodah of Avraham, peace be upon him" - the attribute of chesed of Atzilus is envious of Avraham Avinu; it sees his greatness.
That is to say, the Maggid is saying here to the chevraya kadisha: you sit here almost in kelos hanefesh over the lofty levels, as though you are envious of these lofty levels - and it is precisely the opposite! These lofty levels are envious of you, that you here in this world are able to accomplish what you accomplish. And this brought about the complete calming of the kelos hanefesh of the Maggid's talmidim.
Further on in the note the Rebbe Rashab adds another interesting sentence, that the Alter Rebbe concluded and said: when he saw these two things - on the one hand the longing of the chevraya kadisha and their tremendous excitement, and immediately afterward the most wondrous composure of the Maggid, how he brought them down to the order of avodah in life - this took hold of him, and in his words: "and then I became a chassid". What worked upon him to become a chassid? The very fact that he saw this situation and understood the tremendous virtue that the Maggid was conveying through the teaching - the virtue specifically here, in this world, in the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos.