Tanya תניא

FOUR. Israel shall be redeemed only through tzedakah, as it is written: “Veshaveha—and her repatriates, through tzedakah.” It is written: “Tzedek lefanav yehalech.” Now, it should really say: yelech. But the idea is according to what is written: “My heart said for You, ‘Seek panay (My face),’” that is: “Seek the pnimiyut of the heart.” For in the heart [the element of the Divine fire that is in the heart] there are two aspects: the aspect of chitzoniyut, and the aspect of pnimiyut.

The chitzoniyut of the heart is the enthusiasm that flares up on account of the understanding (binah) and the knowledge (daat) of the greatness of the L–rd, the En Sof, blessed is He, by contemplating on His greatness, and from this contemplation giving birth to a strong love resembling “flashes of fire….”

The pnimiyut of the heart is the innermost point in the heart and depth of the heart which transcends the aspect of knowledge and contemplation that man can contemplate in his heart on the greatness of the L–rd; and as it is written: “From the depths I call to You, O L–rd,” i.e., from the depth of the heart. (It is, for example, so with worldly matters: sometimes there is an extremely important matter upon which the whole vitality of man hinges and touches him as far as, and including, the innermost point of the heart, and it causes him to perform acts and say things without any reason whatsoever.

And “the one corresponds to the other,” it is precisely so with the “service of the heart.” This is because the faculty of the innermost point of the heart transcends the faculty of reason (daat)—which extends and vests itself in the attributes born of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge (chabad), as known. It is, rather, an aspect of the radiation from the supreme chochmah, which transcends binah and daat, and in which there is vested and concealed the actual light of G–d, as it is written: “The L–rd with chochmah….” And this precisely is the aspect of the spark of Divinity in every soul of Israel.)

The reason that not every person merits this rank [of the service of the heart from the depth of the heart in a state of pnimiyut] is because this aspect is with him in a state of exile and captivity. And this is actually the state of the exile of the Shechinah, for this precisely is the aspect of the spark of Divinity that is in his divine soul. The cause of the exile is as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “They were exiled to Babylon, and the Shechinah went with them”; i.e., (man) has vested the aspect of the innermost point of his heart in the corresponding opposite, namely in the soiled garments of mundane matters and worldly desires, which are referred to as “Babylon,” and is the aspect of the prepuce that covers the covenant and the innermost point of the heart. Of this it was said: “And you shall excise the prepuce of your heart.”

Now, in circumcision there are two grades: milah and periah, which (apply respectively to) the coarse prepuce and the thin membrane. With respect to the prepuce of the heart there are likewise coarse and delicate desires. These require milah and periah, and “having circumcised and not having uncovered is tantamount to not having circumcised,” because, after all, the innermost point of the heart is still covered in a garment of thin sackcloth: in a state of exile and captivity.

Now, concerning the excision of the prepuce itself it is written: “And you shall excise the prepuce of your heart,” i.e., you, by yourselves. But the removal of the thin membrane is a difficult matter for man, and of this it was said that with the coming of the Messiah “the L–rd, your G–d, will circumcise your heart…to love the L–rd your G–d with all your heart and all your soul, for the sake of your life,” i.e., because the L–rd alone is literally your whole life. That is why this love stems from the depth of the heart, from the truly innermost point, as mentioned above, and transcends the faculty of daat.

Therefore, too, the Messiah will come when generally “unexpected by Israel,” which is the manifestation of the general innermost point, and the emergence of the general Shechinah from the exile and captivity forever more. Similarly, every individual spark of the Shechinah, inherent in the soul of every one of Israel, emerges for the moment from the exile and captivity during the “momentary life—meaning prayer,” and the service of the heart from the depth of the heart, (i.e.,) from the aspect of the innermost point [which becomes revealed from the prepuce and soars upward to cleave unto Him with a fierce passion, in a mode of “for the sake of your life”].

And this, too, is considered a state of hessech daat of man. For that rank transcends the daat of man and his contemplation on the greatness of the L–rd; it is, though, a sort of gift given by the L–rd from Heaven from the radiation of the [aspect of the] Supreme Countenance, as it is written: “May the L–rd make His Countenance shine upon you,” and as it is written: “And the L–rd, your G–d, will circumcise….”

But it is well known that an arousal from above comes only in response to an arousal from below, in the mode of an elevation of mayin nukvin, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “No drop (of rain) descends from above….” It is, therefore, necessary that man perform first the milah by himself, to remove the prepuce of the heart and the coarse and thin husks which clothe and cover the innermost point of the heart [i.e., the aspect of the love of the L–rd in a mode of “for the sake of your life,” which is in exile among the desires of this world, which are also in a mode of “for the sake of your life” by way of “the one corresponding to the other,” as mentioned above].

And this is done by the giving of charity to G–d from his money which is his vitality, especially with him whose substance is limited and who is very hard-pressed at the time, for he gives of his very life; and more specifically, when he earns by the toil of his hands. For it is not possible that one does not work oftentimes in a mode of “the innermost point of the heart,” i.e., from the depth of the heart, as is the way of the world in their occupations with business and the like.

Thus, now, at the time that he disburses the fruits of his toil and gives unto the L–rd with joy and gladness, he, thereby, redeems his soul from the pit. That is, (he redeems) the innermost point of his heart which was in a state of exile and captivity within the coarse or thin husk (kelipah), as it is written: “Guard your heart from every mishmar”—the meaning of mishmar being a prison. Thus, now, through this charity, it was redeemed from the chitzonim. This is also periah, a notion of “removing a debt,” for he had become indebted and subjected to the chitzonim that ruled in him over the innermost point of his heart. And this is the meaning of “and her captives (shaveha), through tzedakah.”

And this is the meaning of Tzedek shall go (yehalech) before Him (lefanav): Lefanav is of the etymon of pnimiyut, and yehalech has a connotation of holacha (leading). For it leads the innermost (point) of the heart to G–d, and then “it sets his steps toward the way of G–d,” as it is written: “And you shall walk in His ways”; “You shall go after the L–rd your G–d,”—with every performance of the commandments, and the study of Torah, which is equivalent to them all. For they all ascend to G–d through the inwardness of the heart with greater uplifting, and exceedingly surpassing, their ascent to G–d through the externality of the heart [which is born of contemplation and knowledge alone, without an “illumination of the face” from above, but in a state of “concealment of the face”]. For the Supernal panim does not radiate downward except through an arousal from below, through the act of charity, which is called “peace.” And this is the meaning of what is written: “He has redeemed my soul in peace,” stating expressly “my soul.”

This is also the reason why charity is called “peace” (shalom), because according to the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, peace is made between Israel and their Father in Heaven through the redemption of their souls [which are truly a part of G–d] from the hands of the chitzonim. This is especially the case with charity for the Land of Israel, for it is truly the charity of the L–rd, as it is written: “The eyes of the L–rd your G–d are constantly upon it”; “And My eyes and My heart will be there at all times.”

And it has stood by us to redeem the life of our soul from the counsel of those who intend to repel our steps, and it will stand by us forever to establish our soul in the true life of the Fountainhead of life, to be enlightened with the light of life which the L–rd “will make His Countenance shine upon us forever,” amen—may this be (His) will.