Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch, Likkutei Dibburim Volume 4,
36:19
There is another major school of thought in divine service. Man’s
main goal is not Torah study exclusively, but Torah study when joined with
deeds and with the service of the heart through prayer5 — for whoever says “I
have nothing but Torah study6 alone,” does not have
even true Torah study.
Torah
study is true when the learner knows that it is the wisdom and will of G‑d,
Whose supernal wisdom decreed that if Reuven should claim thus and Shimon7 thus, then such and such
should be the verdict of the Halachah. The
true student of the Torah cleaves to the sanctity of the Halachah and to the sanctity of the
Torah’s letters. When with his mind he encompasses the Word of G‑d which he is
presently studying, his mind is in turn encompassed He encompasses... in turn
encompassed: Cf. ibid. by it, and
in this way he becomes one with the infinite Ein Sof-light
which is imbued in the Torah.
If a
man with his physical brain is to approach the innermost reaches of sanctity,
this may be achieved by “the service of the heart, which is prayer.” And this
in turn springs from an awareness of G‑d’s sublime exaltedness, and from
meditating and “gazing upon the glory of the King.” Gazing upon the glory of
the King: Cf. Tanya — Iggeres
HaKodesh, Epistle 24.
In
every aspect and event and circumstance in the multifaceted life of man and of
all other creatures, the Baal Shem Tov finds G‑d. For there is nothing in all
the levels of creation (inanimate, vegetative, animal or human) and in all the
Four Elements (Fire, Air, Water, Earth) that does not point at the omnipresence
of Divinity.
The
Baal Shem Tov’s school of thought is basically one teaching with two aspects:
(a) Divinity is everything;8 (b) Everything is
Divinity.9
On
this foundation are based all the teachings and expositions with which Chassidus explains Torah and mitzvos as
they relate to the entire life of man on earth.
Mortal
man who lives on the earth which was created and formed by the Master of All is
formed in the image of the Supernal Man of Whom it is written, “the likeness of
the appearance10 of a man upon it, above.”
It is because of this resemblance that this created being is called אָדָם (adam), as
in the phrase, אֶדַּמֶּה לְעֶלְיוֹן — “I resemble the
Most High.”11
Accordingly,
in all his divine service mortal man can unite and bond with the infinite Ein Sof-light.
What links them is the Torah and its mitzvos, as
it is written, זֹאת הַתּוֹרָה: אָדָם — “This is the Torah:
man....” This is the Torah: man: Num. 19:14,
interpreted on the non-literal level of derush. For
the Torah [parallel to man] includes 248 positive commandments 248 positive
commandments: In the original, 248 mitzvos
aseh, corresponding to man’s 248 organs. and 365 prohibitive
commandments.12
And
“this is the whole [destiny] of man”13 — that all his days should constitute a
long chain of avodah and positive
activity; that he should distance himself from that which is material and draw
close to that which is spiritual by exerting himself in strenuous avodah; that in every entity he encounters
he should spurn Matter14 and choose Form.15
5..Service
of the heart through prayer: Cf. Tractate Taanis2a.
6.I have nothing but Torah
study: Cf. Tractate Yevamos109b. [Cf. Tractate Avos 1:17: “Study is
not the most important thing, but actions”]
7.Wisdom and will...
Reuven... Shimon...: Cf. Tanya, ch. 5.
8.Divinity is everything:
In the original Yid., Der Eibershter iz altz.
9.Everything is Divinity:
In the original Yid., Altz iz der Eibershter.
10.The likeness of the
appearance: From Yechezkel’s Vision of the Divine Chariot, Ezek. 1:26.
11.I resemble the Most
High: Isa. 14:14.
12.365 prohibitive
commandments: In the original, 365 mitzvos lo taaseh, corresponding
to man’s 365 sinews.
13.This is the whole
[destiny] of man: Eccles. 12:13. (“When all has been heard,
the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments,
because this is the whole duty of man”.)
14.Matter: In the
original, Chomer.
15.Form: In the
original, Tzurah.