In this chapter the Alter Rebbe explains that the soul also has “clothing” (LevushimWhat are they for? Clothing shows how important a person is, like the king's robes and crown. Clothing also helps to show how beautiful a person is. Another thing about clothing is that it can be put on and taken off.
The soul has three “clothings”:
1) Thought (majshavá)
2) Speech (dibur)
3) The action (maasé)
The soul can express its intellect and emotions through thought, word, and action. Thinking about Hashem, Torah y Mitzvot, etc., pronouncing the words of the prayer and while studying Torah and doing the Mitzvot that Hashem Commands, the soul shows that it has love and fear of Hashem.
Now, regarding our proximity to Hashem, What brings us closer, our "clothing" or our soul? Because if we already have a soul, which is a portion of Hashem, Why do we need the "clothing" of the soul to be close to HashemThe soul should be enough! But it isn't. Although the soul is very special, clothing is more important in this aspect of being close to Hashem. Let's see:
Sometimes it doesn't seem like we can get close to Hashem fulfilling the Mitzvot, because the Mitzvot They are made with material things and Hashem It is, apparently, spiritual. (Everything we can see, touch, smell, or taste are material things.) Mitzvot They are fulfilled with material things, like a lulav that comes from a palm tree, or a tefillin or a mezuzah, written on parchment, made from the hide of an animal, etc.).
However, complying Mitzvot we're getting really close to Hashem, And we can understand this with an example:
If we want to hug someone, it doesn't matter if that person is wearing a shirt, a jacket, or a coat, because the main thing is to hug them, regardless of what they're wearing. No one would say, "I just hugged my dad's jacket," but rather, "I hugged my dad!"
Make a Mitzvah It's like hugging Hashem. The material thing with which we make the Mitzvah It's like the "clothing" of Hashem. So, even though Hashem He is “dressed” in all those “clothes”, when we make a Mitzvah It's as if we were embracing the King of the universe.
Furthermore, when we study Torah (one of the Mitzvot (more special) It's Hashem The very One who is embracing us!
Therefore, the “clothing” of the soul allows us to be very close to Hashem, because each Mitzvah that we think (like knowing the greatness of Hashem), we say (like saying the Shema Israel) or we do (like putting ourselves tefillin) makes us “embrace Hashem”On the other hand, no soul can "embrace" Hashem”"On its own, without the 'garments' of the soul, because there is no mind that can truly understand Hashem. He is infinite and incomprehensible!
Of course, the “garments” of the soul clothe the soul; therefore, at the same time as Hashem Embrace the “Garments” of the soul, you are embracing the soul…
In that sense of “embracing Hashem”The “garments” are superior to the soul itself.“ And what does the Alter Rebbe want to teach us with this comparison between the soul’s ”garments” and the soul itself? The idea is that we should know that to be close to Hashem It is not enough to have a soul; to be truly close to Him, one needs to observe Mitzvot practices, and that is what the “Garments” of the soul mean: thinking about Hashem, to speak about Him and fulfill His Mitzvot.
Thank you all for your posts. We are trying to study Tanya, although we have found little. We hope you can help us. We have a group of about 10 people. Baruch Hashem
B"H
Hi, I hope this is helpful. Keep in mind that this is a simplified summary; it's not the original text, nor does it cover all the topics discussed in the original. And, of course, being an adaptation and simplification, it loses some of the original's depth.
Greetings!
Hello Tuvia, thank you for your kind summaries. I'm still not clear on how the garments of the soul are superior to the soul, in the sense of embracing Hashem, if it previously states that no one can embrace Him because He is infinite and incomprehensible?
Hi Carlos. Pay attention to the text and you'll see the difference between "embracing Hashem" and understanding Hashem. The garments of the soul allow us to "embrace" Hashem, while the soul tries to understand Hashem, and that is impossible.
In other words, clothes are closer to Hashem in the sense that they allow one to embrace Hashem, while the soul, which tries to grasp and understand Hashem, cannot, because Hashem is infinite. Therefore, the soul is somewhat farther from Hashem than the soul's clothes are from it.
This idea explains that, ultimately, the most important thing is the observance of the mitzvot. That is what brings us closer to Hashem. Simply having a soul, which is a part of Hashem on high, is not enough to say that we are close to Hashem, because nothing can truly understand or grasp Him. This is the point the Alter Rebbe makes in this chapter.
I hope that's clearer. Cheers!
I made some changes to the text. I hope it's clearer now.
Now I understand, thank you very much for the prompt response.
A hug!