Daily Tanya recordings by Master Tanya Teacher, Mrs. Tsyrl Turen. Spiritual growth through mindful meditations and G-dly awareness. Tap into your G-dly soul every day and emerge as a transformed person. This is L'iluy Nishmas Chana Tzivia Bas YBLT Yosef Yitzchak, a dear friend who was consistent with Chitas all of her short life. May this bring her soul much needed comfort and a great Aliyah.
The epistle that follows, beginning “The letters that are revealed,” is one of the epistles that was appended to the edition of the Tanya published in Vilna in the year 5660 (1900), these additions being noted by R. Asher of Nikolayev in his introductory declaration there.53 This relevance of this epistle to the previous one may be found in the following parallel: The previous epistle explains how only the netzach-hod-yesod-malchut (i.e., the lower sefirot) of the Emanator extend to the recipient. The conclusion of the present epistle likewise explains54 that only the hindmost aspect and externality of the netzach-hod-yesod of the higher realm enter the lower one.
Surprisingly, the Hebrew verb used here is tamnu (in the first person plural), which would make the phrase mean, “we have not been brought to an end.” If the verse sought to say that the kindnesses “have not ended,” rather than “because of G-d’s kindnesses, we have not been brought to an end,” it should surely have used the verb tamu (in the third person plural), as the Alter Rebbe goes on to point out.
Hence, the Alter Rebbe will now continue, it is only the G-dliness in a “contracted” ChaBaD that creatures of Beriah can grasp and absorb (and even then only to the extent of their limited capacity); the light of ChaBaD in its pristine state, as in Atzilut, is beyond them.
When prayer without proper intent is elevated to the “lower heaven,” its elevation does not bring about that which prayer should effect. For in order for a prayer to have its proper effect, such as the fulfillment of its requests, there must be drawn down into this world a degree of Divine influence that transcends the world, thereby healing the sick, or providing the year’s blessings, and so on. When, however, a prayer is repelled to malchut of Asiyah, i.e., to that level from which all worldly things derive their life-force, then this level obviously cannot provide for whatever the world is lacking. However, when a properly motivated prayer reaches up to za of Asiyah, from there, an efflux can be drawn down into the world to provide whatever the world lacks, thereby fulfilling the individual’s petitions.
The Alter Rebbe’s Chasidim had organized the collection of charity for the Holy Land faithfully and efficiently, with a lively gabbai tzedakah appointed in each town or congregation to rouse his brethren to action. The Alter Rebbe, therefore, extends his blessings both to the donors and to the gabbaim, explaining meanwhile in mystical terms why generosity is at its best when it is spontaneously aroused by one’s own spiritual endeavors. When one serves G-d with love and fear through the spiritual toil of the soul, he will not have fulfilled his obligation to perform the accompanying mitzvah unless these spiritual emotions find simultaneous expression in actual deeds or words. However, when it comes to the separate task of elevating one’s Torah study and performance of the commandments, this is accomplished specifically by means of positive thoughts, which include one’s devout intent (kavanah) and one’s love and awe of G-d.