Tanya תניא

THIRTY. It is known that our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Whoever is accustomed to come to the synagogue and one day did not come, the Holy One, blessed is He, makes inquiry about him, for it is said, ‘who among you fears the L–rd….’”

The same applies to all the commandments, and especially the precept of charity, “which is balanced against all the commandments.” Though it is without a vow, Heaven forfend, nevertheless, it is not becoming to the divine soul of all the men of valor whose hearts the fear of the L–rd has touched to make a diminution in what is holy, relative to what they were accustomed to set aside, annually, from their wealth, to revive the spirit of the humble and downcast who have nothing of their own. It is “the Hut of David that is fallen…,” to raise and to exalt… “that it be united in the One….”

And everything is according to the preponderance of [good] deeds…, and according to the amount (cheshbon). Thus our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Each and every coin adds up to a great amount (cheshbon),” and as the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory: “When is the L–rd great? When He is in the city of our G–d….” It is the aspect and place of the cheshbon, as it is written: “Your eyes are wells in cheshbon.”

The meaning is that, as known, an arousal from below [the issuance of life, grace, and kindness by an act of charity out of a good will and a friendly countenance] elicits an arousal from above: “The L–rd will make His Countenance shine,” i.e., a radiation and issue of grace, chesed, and Supreme favor from the Fountainhead of life, the En Sof, blessed is He, [to whose greatness there is no searching and apprehension whatsoever], to the aspect of “Your malchut is the malchut of all worlds,” the “world of manifestation” (alma deitgalya). It animates all the creatures [that are in all the upper and lower hechalot] which are in a category of number and amount (cheshbon), as it is written: “A thousand thousands minister unto Him.”

This is the meaning of the “great amount,” because the quantitative act of charity brings about peace. The meaning of “peace” is to join and conciliate two opposite extremes. (In our context) these are the extremity of the superior heaven, the aspect of “And to His greatness there is no searching” and the extremity of the inferior heaven—which vests itself in Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, (that is, in) a category of limitation and number, and suffice this for the initiated.