Chapter 15

In this chapter the Alter Rebbe says that the Torah It mentions several types of people and will explain that the Torah He is talking about different types of “intermediate men”.

The verse¹ It says, “And they will return and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, those who serve God and those who do not.” We see that there are four types of people:

1) Fair

2) Evil

3) He who serves God

4) Who does not serve Him

The Alter Rebbe explains that “one who serves God” is an “intermediate Man” who is in the midst of his work, in the midst of his struggle against the “inclination to evil,” a constant and relentless struggle.

The righteous one, on the other hand, is a servant. The difference between “one who serves God” and a “servant” is that the servant is not in the middle of the work, but has already finished it. It's like calling someone “wise,” which means they have already studied and know many things; therefore, they are already wise, they have already passed the level of student. The servant is already a full-fledged servant of God. Hashem, without needing to fight any longer against his "inclination to evil" because he has already won.

“One who serves God” is someone who has not finished fighting, is still in the midst of working with their “inclination to evil.” They are actively working to improve.

The evil Alter Rebbe explained it in Chapter 11.

But in this verse a fourth type of person appears, about whom the Alter Rebbe had never mentioned anything: “one who does not serve Him”: this is also an “intermediate Man,” but “does not serve Him.” HashemHow can that be?

Because it can happen that a person finds it easy to be an "intermediate man," that is, finds it easy not to want to transgress, because their "inclination to evil" is not very strong, or because they have become so accustomed to fighting against it that it no longer affects them as much. We cannot say that this person is actively working to fight against their "inclination to evil," because it costs them nothing not to transgress. Torah and do Mitzvot, But he didn't win the war like a Righteous One either, so what is he?

He is an “intermediate man”, but of the type who “does not serve” Hashem, In other words, he doesn't have an internal struggle against his "inclination to evil." It's like someone who doesn't like to eat pork. We can't say that he makes an effort not to eat it and dedicates that effort to Hashem, Because he doesn't like it anyway. He's doing the right thing (not eating pork), but he's not putting his full effort into it. This is a "Middle Man" type who "doesn't serve it" to Hashem.

The Alter Rebbe explains that when this “Middle Man” of the “He Who Does Not Serve” type wants to do something more than what he already likes or is used to, he has to awaken in his heart love for Hashem through thinking about the greatness of Hashem, to draw strength from within, seeking to make that extra effort and dedicate it to Hashem.

For example, in the time of Talmud, The custom among students was to review what their teachers taught them a hundred times. Therefore, a "normal" student who reviewed a hundred times was nothing more than an "Average Man," of the "One Who Doesn't Serve" type, who doesn't make an extra effort, only does what is already easy and normal for him.

The “special” students reviewed the lessons one hundred and one times. This additional review, after the first one hundred, was very difficult for them because they weren't used to reviewing so many times. It served to make them “special” students, like the “Average Man” of the “One Who Serves God” type, who is actively working to serve God. Hashem.