Yet, inasmuch as the evil in the left part of the Beinoni's heart is in its native strength, craving after all the pleasures of this world, and is neither so minute as to be nullified before the good [of the divine soul (as is the case with a tzaddik)], nor has it been displaced from its position to any degree, but merely lacks authority and power to become diffused throughout the limbs of the body [to cause them to do, speak or think evil;

nor is the evil's lack of ability attributable to the Beinoni's efforts, for his evil, like that of the rasha, retains its native strength to pervade the entire body; rather, the evil is powerless merely] because of the Holy One, blessed be He, who "stands at the right hand of the poor man," helping him and irradiating his divine soul [so that it may be able to prevail over the evil.

Thus it is only Divine intervention that prevents the evil from pervading the body; essentially, however, the evil of the Beinoni's animal soul is as strong as it was at birth].

Therefore [the Beinoni] is described as being "k'rasha" "[like a rasha]", [but *not actually* a rasha], as in the statement of our Sages, "Even if the whole world tells you that you are a tzaddik, be in your own eyes *like* a rasha."

He should *not* [regard himself as] an actual rasha, [for the Mishnah admonishes, [5] "Be not wicked in your own estimation." Moreover, regarding oneself as a rasha hinders one from serving G-d joyfully].

Rather, one should consider oneself a Beinoni, and should not believe [i.e., accept] the world's opinion [which would have him believe] that the evil in him has been nullified by the good, for this is the level of a tzaddik.

[Only the tzaddik succeeds in nullifying and transforming the evil within him. But the "world", which judges the Beinoni by his actions and sees that he never transgresses, asumes that he too has effectively banished from within him the evil that is the cause of sin; consequently, people regard him as a tzaddik.

He is therefore cautioned against accepting the opinion of "the world]."

Instead, he should take the view that the essence and core of the evil is in its full native strength and might, in the left part of his heart, not having vanished or departed from him at all.

On the contrary, with the passage of time [the evil] has gained strength because he utilized it [i.e., the animal soul] considerably, in eating and drinking and in other mundane pursuits.

[As with every faculty, constant use of the animal soul causes it to become even stronger than it was at birth.

The Alter Rebbe thus concludes that the words "consider yourself `like a rasha'" mean that one must consider himself a Beinoni.

The above applies even to those who have reached a lofty spiritual level; they too should consider themselves Beinonim. For should one consider himself a tzaddik and maintain that the evil within him has already been nullified by the good, he will cease to do battle with the evil.

If he is mistaken and is not in fact a tzaddik, such an unfounded attitude can cause him to slip drastically from his level, descending even lower than the level of a Beinoni to that of a rasha.

Until now we have been speaking of a working man who does not have the opportunity to spend all his time in Torah study and divine service. Now the discussion turns to the individual who spends all his time immersed in the study of Torah].

Even if one's entire aspiration is in G-d's Torah, which he studies day and night for its own sake, this is still no proof whatever that the evil has been dislodged from its place.

Perhaps, rather, the essence and substance of the evil are in their full strength and might in its abode in the left part of the heart, except that its garments - namely, the thought, speech and action of the animal soul - are not invested in the brain, mouth and hands and other parts of the body, [to think and do that which is forbidden], because G-d has granted the mind supremacy and dominion over the heart.

Therefore the divine soul in the mind rules over the "small city," i.e., [over] all the parts of the body, making them, [the body's organs], serve as "garment and vehicle"

[I.e., as a means of expression ("garment") that is totally subservient to its user (as is a "vehicle" to its rider); thus, because of its G-d-given supremacy, the divine soul is able to use the body's organs as a "garment and vehicle]" - through which its three "garments" - namely, the thought, speech and action of the Torah's 613 commandments - are expressed "[clothed]".

[It may be, then, that with regard to this individual's thinking and speaking words of Torah and performing the mitzvot, the divine soul rules over the body; in this area the divine soul has the upper hand and the animal soul is subservient].

However, in its essence and substance the divine soul has no preponderance over the essence and substance of the animal soul, in the case of a Beinoni, except at those times when his love for G-d manifests itself in his heart on propitious occasions such as during prayer and the like.

[Then, as mentioned in the previous chapter, the Beinoni is aroused to a burning love of G-d that causes the evil of the animal soul to be nullified before the goodness of the divine soul.

Even then, [during those times when the divine soul gains the upper hand over the animal soul], it is limited to preponderance and dominion alone, [i.e., the divine soul succeeds in dominating the animal soul, not in vanquishing it, in the sense of nullifying its essence].

As is written [of the battle between Jacob and Esau, [6] allegorically representing the war between the good and evil in man's soul]: "And one nation shall PREVAIL over the other." [Jacob, exemplifying the good, merely *prevails* over Esau, the evil, but does not succeed in totally vanquishing him.

This agrees with our Sages' comment on this verse]: "When this one rises [and prevails] that one falls, and when that one rises .... [this one falls]."

[The animal soul, although it had "fallen" during prayer, is afterwards able to "rise" and rally once again, indicating that the divine soul had not succeeded in vanquishing it even during prayer, for which reason even its dominance is only temporary]. [7]

Thus, the divine soul gains strength and ascendancy over the animal soul, in the source of strength ["Gevurot"], which is understanding ["Binah"] -

[In the Kabbalah's description of the Sefirot, Binah is the source of Gevurah. In terms of one's divine soul, this means that the source of its strength ("Gevurah") to combat the animal soul is found in its faculty of understanding ("Binah"), the faculty with which it understands the greatness of G-d].

[Thus, when the divine soul gains strength ... over the animal soul ...during prayer,] pondering on the greatness of G-d, the blessed Ein Sof, and [thereby] giving birth to intense and flaming love of G-d in the right part of his heart; and then [when the divine soul dominates the animal soul with its intense and revealed love of G-d], the sitra achra [the evil of the animal soul] in the left part of the heart is subjugated.

But it is not entirely abolished, in the case of the Beinoni; it is so only in a tzaddik, concerning whom it is said, [8] "My heart is void [9] within me." [The abode in the heart usually occupied by the evil inclination is void in the heart of a tzaddik].

He - [the tzaddik] - despises and loathes evil with a consummate hatred [if he is a "complete" tzaddik], or without quite such utter hatred [if he is an "incomplete" tzaddik], as explained above [in chapter 10.

All the above applies to the tzaddik]. But in a Beinoni [the evil merely lies dormant], as with a sleeping man, for example, who can awaken from his sleep [at any time and reactivate his faculties].

So is the evil in the Beinoni dormant, as it were, in the left part of the heart], not functioning at all, not even desiring physical pleasures] - during the recital of the Shema and Amidah, when his heart is aglow with the love of G-d, [causing the evil of the animal soul to be dormant]. [Therefore,] after prayer it can reawaken.

[The Alter Rebbe will now describe an even higher level of Beinoni - one who is permeated throughout the day with the same degree of love for G-d that he feels during prayer. The animal soul of such a Beinoni is permanently dormant. Accordingly, we will understand how it was possible for Rabbah to classify himself mistakenly as a Beinoni.

In chapter 1 it was proved that the term Beinoni could not refer (as a literal interpretation would lead us to believe) to a person half of whose deeds are virtuous and half sinful. Were this so, how could such a sage like Rabbah, who never neglected his Torah study for even a moment, make the mistake of classifying himself as a Beinoni?

However, the Alter Rebbe's definition of Beinoni as one who does not sin in practice, does not seem to satisfy this difficulty. Indeed, as the Alter Rebbe explained in chapter 12, a Beinoni never sins; yet he has sinful desires. Rabbah, who was in fact a tzaddik, must have known full well that he was free of such desire. How then could he even mistakenly classify himself as a Beinoni?

According to the discussion which now follows concerning the level of the Beinoni who never even desires evil, this matter is readily understood]:

For this reason Rabbah considered himself a Beinoni, though his mouth never ceased from Torah study, and his desire was in [studying] G-d's Torah day and night, with a craving, desire and longing, his soul yearning for G-d with overwhelming love, such as that experienced during the recitation of the Shema and the Amidah.

[During prayer, as mentioned above, the Beinoni's heart is aroused to a love of G-d so passionate that he does not feel the evil of his animal soul at all. Rabbah, however, experienced this arousal of love not only during prayer but throughout the day. Therefore, his animal soul was always dormant and he never desired mundane matters.

It was therefore possible for him to consider himself a Beinoni, for] he appeared in his own *eyes* as a Beinoni who prays all day, [i.e., a Beinoni who throughout the day retains the level attained during prayer], as, indeed, our Sages have said, [10]. "Would that a man pray the whole day long!"

[Such a Beinoni is constantly ablaze with the love of G-d, and consequently his desire for evil is always dormant, as explained. Therefore, the absence of any evil desires did not conclusively prove to Rabbah that he was a tzaddik; it was still possible for him to maintain that he was a Beinoni - a Beinoni "who prays all day long."

What emerges from all that has been said is that even during prayer when the Beinoni succeeds in arousing his love of G-d and rendering the evil dormant, his divine soul has merely prevailed over his animal soul but has not vanquished it, for which reason it is possible for this state to cease after prayer. Therefore, the Beinoni's level of divine service is not considered truthful when compared to the service of the tzaddik. For "truth" implies continuity and consistency.

The Alter Rebbe goes on to explain that nevertheless, the Beinoni's love - relative to his standing - is considered a true form of service].

Now, this aformentioned love attained by Beinonim at the time of prayer by virtue of the [temporary] preponderance of the divine soul [over the animal soul], etc., when compared to the standard of the tzaddikim who *serve* G-d in perfect truth ["in the truest manner of truth]", [this love] is not called "true service" at all, since it passes and disappears after prayer;

whereas it is written, [11] "The language [lit., `the lip'] of truth shall be established forever, but the tongue of falsehood is only momentary."

[Thus, the term "truth" refers to something immutable; the temporary and passing are not considered "true". The same applies here as well:

Since the Beinoni's love of G-d is felt only during prayer and disappears afterwards, it does not measure up to the "truest" sense of truth - the perfect truth attained by tzaddikim].

Nevertheless, in relation to the rank of the Beinoni, [this level of love] is regarded as a truly perfect service in terms of their level of truth, [i.e., the level of Beinonim], in each man relative to his standing in the category of the Beinonim [for, as mentioned earlier, the rank of Beinoni is subdivided into many levels].

Their love, too, which they possess [only] during prayer, I term, "The language of truth [,which] shall be established for ever," [i.e., their love is true and permanent, though manifest only during prayer], since their divine soul has the power to reawaken this love constantly, whenever it gathers strength during prayer, day after day, by means of the spiritual preparation appropriate to each soul's quality and rank.

[The higher the level of the soul, the less preparation it requires to awaken its love of G-d. Regardless, every soul has the capacity to arouse its love of G-d during prayer.

The Beinoni's love of G-d is thus constant, since it is either in an active, revealed state, or is in potentia, and can be revealed at any moment throughout the day (for, as mentioned earlier, every Beinoni has the potential to attain the level of "praying the whole day long."

One difficulty yet remains: How is it possible for the same level of service to be considered untrue by the standards of tzaddikim, and true with regard to Beinonim? Is truth not absolute?

This matter is now explained as follows:

The quality of truth is to be found on every level. In each, truth means the essence and core of that level; i.e., truth is defined as that which agrees with the essence of that particular level where it is measured.

Since this is so in all the myriad levels of the spiritual worlds, from the very highest to the very lowest, and since the lowest levels are incomparable to the highest, how can it be said that the lower grades possess truth?

We must say, therefore, that the term "truth" is relative to the level on which it is found, that each grade has its own core of truth.

Things are true if they agree with [the essence of] their own level and untrue if they do not; they need not agree with a higher level to be considered "true".

In the Alter Rebbe's words]:

For truth is the attribute of Jacob, [as the verse states:[12] "You give truth to Jacob]," who is called [13] "the middle bolt which secures everything from end to end," [14] [just as the middle bolt in the Tabernacle secured and bolted together all the boards by passing through them all.

In spiritual terms, this means that the attribute of truth passes] from the highest gradations and levels to the end [i.e., lowest] of all grades.

In each gradation and level it passes through the central point [of that particular level], which is, [i.e., which then becomes] the point and quality [i.e., the standard] of [that level's] attribute of truth.

[Proof is now given that each grade has its own standard of truth, as it were]:

The attribute of truth is an unbounded inheritance; it has no upper limit [as it extends] to the highest levels, and all lower gradations and levels are as nothing compared with those superior to them.

[If, then, truth is found on all levels despite their disparity, we must conclude that the standard of truth on each level is relative to the core of that level.

In support for his statement that the lower levels and grades are incomparable to the higher ones, the Alter Rebbe cites]:

As is known to those familiar with the Esoteric Discipline [i.e., Kabbalah], the quality that is the "head and intellect" - [the highest level] - within lower grades, is inferior to the "soles" and "feet" - [the very lowest level] - within the higher grades;

as our Sages say, [15] "The feet of the chayyot surpass all [those levels lower than them, including the highest degree within those lower levels]."

[The attribute of truth, then, is measured according to the standards of each level. We may thus conclude that the divine service of the Beinoni is considered "true" service relative to their level, although when compared with the service of tzaddikim it is not considered "true", since it passes after prayer.

   

Notes:

5. (Back to text) Avot 2:13.

6. (Back to text) Bereishit 25:23.

7. (Back to text) Based on a note by the Rebbe Shlita. The Rebbe Shlita explains thereby why the Alter Rebbe quotes only half of the second phrase - "When this one (referring to the divine soul) rises, that one (the animal soul) falls; and when that one (the animal soul) rises ...." - without concluding the part of the quotation that deals with the divine soul. The Alter Rebbe's purpose in quoting the second phrase is to show that the animal soul could rise once again, though it had "fallen" during prayer. The rest of the phrase is thus irrelevant here.

8. (Back to text) Tehillim 109:22.

9. (Back to text) The word Chalal has two meanings: "void", and "slain". The Rebbe Shlita points out that the Alter Rebbe understands the Chalal of this verse to mean "void". This may be inferred from chapter 1, where he interprets the verse as meaning that "he (David HaMelech) had no Yetzer Hara." The Alter Rebbe continues there: "for he had slain it through fasting," only as added explanation (not in order to interpret the word Chala) - to indicate that David had not attained the level of Avraham Avinu, who had transformed his Yetzer Hara (as stated in Talmud Yerushalmi, end of Berachot ch. 9; David had merely slain it. In the case of Avraham Avinu, his heart was indeed not void, but in fact this was his virtue: his heart still housed the Yetzer Hara, but that Yetzer Hara had undergone such a metamorphosis that is was now a Yetzer Tov.

   From Rashi's commentary on Berachot, however, and also from the plain sense of the Yerushalmi, it appears that the meaning of Chalal is "slain." In his commentary on this verse in Tehillim, Rashi cites both interpretations.

10. (Back to text) Berachot 21a.

11. (Back to text) Mishlei 12:19.

12. (Back to text) Micah 7:20.

13. (Back to text) Zohar I, p. 1b; p. 224a.

14. (Back to text) Paraphrase of Shmot 26:28.

15. (Back to text) Chagigah 13a.