Continuing on in my Tanya-reading project, brings us to chapter 6 in the ספר של בינונים, in which Rabbi Shneur Zalman moves on to talk about the parallel bad side in contrast to what he’s been dealing with in the previous few chapters. He proposes that just as there is a Godly soul consisting of ten Divine attributes, there is also a soul from the other side with a parallel scaffolding (כמו שנפש האלהית כלולה מעשר ספירות קדושות ומתלבשת בשלשה לבושים קדושים כך הנפש דסטרא אחרא מקליפות נוגה המלובשת בדם האדם כלולה מעשר כתרין דמסאבותא שהן שבע מדות רעות הבאות מארבע יסודות רעים הנ”ל), which is interesting.
Also of note is that he writes that all of the actions that take place with this other side soul are entirely meaningless and empty (עשר בחי’ אלו הטמאות כשאדם מחשב בהן או מדבר או עושה הרי מחשבתו שבמוחו ודבורו שבפיו וכח המעשיי שבידיו ושאר איבריו נקראים לבושי מסאבו לעשר בחי’ אלו הטמאות שמתלבשות בהן בשעת מעשה או דבור או מחשבה והן הם כל המעשים אשר נעשים תחת השמש אשר הכל הבל ורעות רוח וכמ”ש בזהר בשלח שהן תבירו דרוחא כו’) – wow, they do nothing! This is incredible….
But, were you to think that he had not gone far enough, he then pushes further and states that any speech or even thought that is not for God or his will or his service, is for the other side, since it is not tilting towards the side of holiness (כל הדבורים וכל המחשבות אשר לא לה’ המה ולרצונו ולעבודתו שזהו פי’ לשון סטרא אחרא פי’ צד אחר שאינו צד הקדושה) and that the side of holiness only dwells on account of the holiness of God (צד הקדושה אינו אלא השראה והמשכה מקדושתו של הקב”ה). Now this is a seemingly high bar to be for God or not.
However, he Rabbi Shneur Zalman then tries to say not everything done for God has such a high level; actually, one might have a diminished level of doing so, which results in a much less of a connection with God (כל מה שאינו בטל אצלו ית’ אלא הוא דבר נפרד בפני עצמו אינו מקבל חיות מקדושתו של הקב”ה מבחי’ פנימית הקדושה ומהותה ועצמותה בכבודה ובעצמה אלא מבחי’ אחוריים שיורדים ממדרגה למדרגה רבבות מדרגות בהשתלשלות העולמות דרך עלה ועלול וצמצומים רבים).
He finishes off this section by basically stating this world is full of things that draw one away from God and that really everything in life is tough and evil, etc. (נקרא עולם הזה ומלואו עולם הקליפות וסטרא אחרא ולכן כל מעשה עולם הזה קשים ורעים והרשעים גוברים בו כמו שכתוב בע׳ חיים שער מ”ב סוף פ”ד). Rabbi Shneur Zalman clearly sees trying to have all of one’s actions and thoughts devoted and directed towards God as an incredibly difficult (impossible?) endeavor.
While he probably could have ended the chapter on that sad and somewhat depressing note, he does not stop there, continuing on, finishing off by writing that the lowest form of קליפה is totally unclean and evil, containing no good, whatsoever and that from them, come the souls not only of the nations of the world (yes, gentiles), but also lumps in the souls of all living creatures and vegetation that are unfit and unclean for consumption (המדרגה התחתונה היא שלש קליפו’ הטמאות ורעות לגמרי ואין בהם טוב כלל ונקראו במרכבת יחזקאל רוח סערה וענן גדול וגו’ ומהן נשפעות ונמשכות נפשות כל אומות עובדי גלולים וקיום גופם ונפשות כל בעלי חיים הטמאים ואסורים באכילה וקיום גופם וקיום וחיות כל מאכלות אסורות מהצומח). It’s certainly one thing to say that unfit vegetation or perhaps living creatures which are unfit for consumption have souls which draw from some sort of unclean and evil skin in which there is no good, but to also include the souls of gentiles certainly reflects an unkind attitude towards gentiles. This is, of course, a continuation of his negative attitude towards gentiles (and their souls) as we saw at the end of the first chapter. As I mentioned there, this would seem to indicate that, as a fundamental element of Lubavitch Hassidic thought, gentiles are, to put it gently, not considered in a fond fashion.
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