Chapter 6

In this chapter, the Alter Rebbe returns to the end of chapter 4 where the names were explained. Hawaii y Elohim, The first being the source of creation and the second of restriction. Now explain in detail that the name Elohim It is responsible for the contractions and restrictions to the vital energy of Hashem at all levels of creation.

When we add up the letters of the word Elohim, the result is the number 86¹. When we add up the letters of the words “nature” (hateva², (in Hebrew), The result is also 86! This means that the name Elohim It represents nature. But what is nature? It's the name we give to all cyclical events, those we're used to and that no longer surprise us, like the sunrise every morning, the waves crashing on the shore, and so on.

In reality, every event in the universe contains within it the creative force of the other name of Hashem which the Alter Rebbe explained in chapter 4, the name Hawaii. But the name Elohim It is concerned with hiding that energy from the creatures so that they can exist and are not annihilated at their source.

This very interesting relationship between these names of Hashem This leads the Alter Rebbe to say something fantastic: we generally associate the name Hawaii with the “Quality” of Goodness (Jesed) and the name Elohim with the “Quality” of Power (guevurá).

However, the Alter Rebbe explains, here we can see how the name Elohim It also symbolizes goodness: because if it weren't for the concealment it produces and the restriction of creative energy, the world couldn't withstand such energy and would collapse! It's as if we removed the sun's covering: the released energy would be so powerful that it would obliterate everything around it. It turns out, then, that it is the capacity to restrict and conceal that gives rise to the incredible Divine goodness of the universe's existence…

But there is a point: both the Goodness and the Power we are talking about are qualities and expressions of Hashem same. As well as Hashem It is infinite, just as His qualities are infinite. This leads us to say that just as the creative capacity of Hashem, His Goodness is infinite and can create infinite creatures and worlds; His capacity for Power, the ability to restrict creation, is also infinite!

Given that the ability to restrict also Hashem It is infinite; apparently, only this material world should exist, and not all the other spiritual worlds. Why? Because in this world the presence of Hashem It is completely hidden; it is as if we were to say that in this material world the capacity for restriction is expressed Hashem in an infinite way, completely restricting His presence.

In each of the spiritual worlds, the presence of Hashem in different ways. The higher the spiritual world, the stronger the presence of Hashem that is perceived.

In the world of Emanation, Hashem It's been revealed in a very powerful way. But as Hashem It's impossible to understand; in this world, it feels like Hashem It exists and that's all, nothing else matters, only Hashem.

In the world of Creation, Hashem It's a little less revealed. There you can already understand something about it. Hashem, Because when He hides Himself a little, He allows something to be understood. It is a world where only understanding matters. Hashem and think of Him.

In the world of training, Hashem It is even less revealed. There, one feels love and fear of Hashem. The important thing there is not to understand Hashem, but to feel love and fear for Him.

In the world of Action, Hashem He is so hidden that it's difficult to even feel love and fear for Him. The important thing there is to feel that Hashem He is the King, and we must do what He says. But He is neither understood nor loved or feared.

This difference in perception of Hashem according to the world would indicate that the contraction and restriction (the “Quality” of Power of HashemIt is not infinite, because it acts gradually, restricting the creative force of Hashem OK How much Divine revelation can the world bear?: how much higher, further revealed the presence of Hashem and the lower, less revealsgives this His presence.

But we said that the “Quality” of Power of Hashem is, indeed, infinite. This leads us to think that only this material world should exist where the presence of Hashem It is completely hidden, that is, totally and infinitely restricted. How is it that there are many spiritual worlds with different levels of revelation of the presence of Hashem in them?

The Alter Rebbe calls this “Power contained within Goodness.” Until now, we thought that the “Quality” of Power Hashem I meant only restriction, but that's not it. It's not just restriction, but His Power, on the one hand, hidden the presence of Hashem allowing a creature to exist (and not be nullified at its source) and, furthermore, allows a revelation of His presence according to that creature's capacity to withstand the creative energy of Hashem. This results in, on the one hand, the existence of many spiritual worlds and, furthermore, in each of them there being a different degree of limited Divine revelation.

It can be concluded from all this that the Goodness and Power of Hashem They are, in reality, one inside the other… An example to understand this idea is that of rain. There are different kinds of rain. There can be a blessing rain that waters a field so that the crops grow, and there can be, God forbid, a deluge that sweeps everything away. The blessing rain is, on the one hand, a restraint (it negates the deluge, so to speak) and, at the same time, it allows some water to fall to irrigate the fields. The blessing rain itself is restrained goodness or, in the words of the Alter Rebbe, “Power contained within Goodness.”.

What allows Divine Goodness and Power to be united with one another? They seem like water and fire and shouldn't coexist.

To explain this, the Alter Rebbe repeats something he mentioned in chapter 4: Our sages say³ that "“Hashem and His 'Qualities' are completely unified.' That union of Hashem Their “qualities” are what allow them to unite despite appearing to be opposites.

With these ideas, the Alter Rebbe answers the question he posed at the beginning of chapter 1. The verse says⁴“And you will know today, and take it to heart that Hashem "He is the Lord, in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other." Would anyone ever think there is a god above the heavens and another below the earth? What is the verse warning about? (It should be clarified that in the original Hebrew where we say "”Hashem”, the name says Hawaii, And where we say “the Lord”, it says Elohim, That is, “you will put it in your heart that Hawaii is Elohim”).

The verse comes to teach us that the names Hawaii y Elohim They are, really, one and the same thing, because Elohim, which we thought represented only restriction, ends up being kindness (Hawaii) also thanks to the incredible union of Hashem with His “Qualities” which allows His “Qualities” to be incredibly interconnected.

We will automatically know that “in the heavens above and on the earth below, there is no other,” that is, even this material earth that seems to have a separate and independent existence from Hashem It is, in reality, insignificant compared to Him and is nullified in Him.

The idea is this: the Alter Rebbe explained that the creative force is the name Hawaii, while the force that restricts that creative energy and generates the feeling of a separate world, is the name Elohim. The novelty here is that both forces are completely intertwined because they are, in turn, linked to Hashem.

That's why even the material world where we live (generated by the name) Elohim, and represented in the verse by the words “on the earth below”) is as nullified at its source as the spiritual worlds, where the presence of Hashem is revealed (represented in the verse by the words “in the heavens above”).

The reason why this world is nullified at its source (despite perceiving itself as separate and independent) is because of the contraction that the name performs Elohim it only hides the creative force of Hashem From the perspective of the creatures of the world, but not from His perspective⁵: for Hashem, Everything has been revealed.

In other words, the verse does not clarify that there are no other gods except Hashem, but, in reality, there is no other true existence except Hashem. All other stocks depend on Hashem, They have no existence of their own and are truly annulled in Him, regardless of whether they realize it or not.

Now the Alter Rebbe explains in detail the end of the verse.⁶“There is no other.” And, to illustrate this, he uses the example of the relationship between the soul and the body. The soul does not create the body; it only gives it life and controls it according to its will. The body is something independent and secondary compared to the soul and is subservient to it. Furthermore, the soul's energy alone is not enough to sustain the body; it also needs food and drink to survive.

But Hashem It is not for the material world as a soul is for the body, because Hashem He effectively creates and gives life to everything that exists, and the entire universe is nullified in Him, like the sun's ray within the sun.⁷.

In other words, there are three things we learn from this example:

The soul does not create the body.	Hashem creates the world
The soul alone cannot sustain the body	Hashem It is the only thing that sustains the entire world
The body is separate from the soul	The universe is canceled in Hashem

To avoid this confusion of thinking that Hashem It relates to the world in the same way that the soul relates to the body, the verse warns and says⁸ “And you will know today, and take it to heart”: the heavens and the earth are created from absolute nothingness by the words of Hashem that are always inside every creature⁹, And, even more, the heavens and the earth are like a ray of sunlight within the sun. Therefore, all of creation is nullified at its source, which is the creative and vital energy of Hashem, which is always present in everything that exists.

It's important to note that the verse says "you shall put it in your heart," meaning that understanding this concept isn't simple; it requires making the effort to "put it" in your heart. This is achieved through meditation.

But, as the Alter Rebbe explained in chapter 4, the “Quality” of Power of Hashem It contracts and restricts the creative force within the universe so that we creatures cannot perceive it, and makes us see ourselves as independent of it. Hashem.

However, for Hashem There is no concealment; for Him the world is minuscule and insignificant, like a ray of sunlight within the sun, because that “Quality” of Power is not independent of the “Quality” of Goodness, but they are one and the same, as the verse says.¹⁰: “Hashem "is the Lord" – "”Hawaii is Elohim”.

Summary: Elohim It is the source of nature. Elohim It is not only severity, but also kindness. Both the “Quality” of Kindness and that of Power are infinite and combined: the Power included in the Kindness of Hashem. The union of Hashem Their “qualities” allow them to unite, despite being opposites. Hawaii is Elohim, There is no other existence except Hashem. Hashem He is not for the world as a soul is for the body, because He creates and gives life to the whole world, and everything is nullified in Him. Hashem, like a ray of sunlight within the sun.