In honor of the 15th of Av, 5751, the maamor “קץ שם לחושך” (“He imposed a limit to the darkness”) was released.
The Rebbe asks the question: since every created thing has a limit, why does this verse say that Hashem “imposed” a limit on the darkness — implying that otherwise it would not have had a limit? The answer begins that in general, undesirable things (darkness) are pushed away by light. But our posuk is telling us that after reaching the limit of the darkness, it won’t be the possibility for darkness. This is the true Geuloh, which leaves no room for darkness.
The maamor then begins to get into deep concepts of chassidus, of which we will mention only one. Many of the Dvar Malchus sichos speak about the need to draw the makif into the pnimi, meaning to internalize in the intellect (seichel) that which is above the intellect. For this there are two examples brought in this maamor: Will (ratzon) which is enlothed in intellect; and Faith (Emunah) which is enclothed in intellect. On their own, both Will and Faith, Ratzon and Emunah, are beyond the intellect, called in Chassidus “makif“. But the manner in which they are internalized (brought into the intellect) is quite different.
We find that Ratzon overpowers and “forces” the intellect to come to the conclusions it wants. The intellect understands things in the way that the Ratzon wants. We see this in the ability of human beings to intellectually justify almost any behavior or goal that they want. To “rationalize” something that is really not “rational” — this is the power of the Will to overpower the intellect so that it comes to the conclusions that the Ratzon wants. The Ratzon is forcing and changing the seichel, and the seichel is being nullified in the face of the Ratzon. Thus, it is not much of a chiddush that the Ratzon remains unchanged (the person still wants the same thing, because he “forced” his intellect to give him a good rational).
When bringing Emunah into intellect, however, the belief does not force the intellect. The fact that his intellect will agree to what he believes in (meaning: to intellectually accept that his belief is true) is coming from the power of the intellect itself, the result of a true and unbiased conclusion:
When he contemplates intellectually in order that his intellect will also be in accordance with his belief, he makes an effort that his contemplation and “intellectual back and forth” will be honest and unbiased (ע”פ אמיתת השכל), and nonetheless it does not cause a change is his Emunah [he does not “lose his faith” as a result of his effort to come to a rational understanding of the things he believes in]…because even after he understands the matter intellectually, his Emunah remains above his intellect.
The Rebbe also brings here, in footnote 33 (on the words “honest and unbiased (ע”פ אמיתת השכל)” from the Rebbe Rashab:
“and since he knows that the thing [in which he believes] is in essence true, because his Emunah is on strong foundations, he is not afraid to delve deeply into the subject and he does not limit the power of his seichel to inquire and seek and weigh each thing until he will come to the truth of the matter.”
The Rebbe is giving over something very relevant to the subject of Geuloh: it is not enough to have Emunah — this Emunah must be brought into seichel. This must be done honestly and truthfully (unlike when we bring Ratzon into seichel, when the honesty of the intellect is compromised to the Ratzon). This depends on our Emunah standing on strong, unshakable foundations, an Emunah which is not afraid to look honestly at the subject (and nonetheless, it will not be compromised from the challenges involved in trying to understand). This is a sort of litmus test for us: do we really believe the Rebbe when he tells us that we are the last generation of golus and the first generation of Geuloh (and all that comes along with that)? If so, we must take that Emunah and bring it into our understanding — this is the inyan of learning Moshiach and Geuloh.
If we find that we have to “force” our understanding, then our conclusions will not be true (probably because we are afraid that our Emunah is not so solid). On the other hand, we cannot remain content with our Emunah above seichel, we have a mandate to draw it down into the intellect. (This recalls the Rebbe’s statement on 28 Sivan that we must “agree” that the Geuloh is here.)
The key to all this? The unification of self-nullification (bittul) and it’s opposite (metzius), as the Rebbe states in the maamor:
It is known that Emunah is bittul and intellect is metzius, and it is understood that for Emunah to be enclothed in intellect is bittul being drawn into metzius. Since his intellectual effort is for the sake of his Emunah [and even this that his intellect remains in its metzius and is not nullified to the Emunah (like it is nullified to the Ratzon) is for the sake of the Emunah, in order that also the intellect as it is in its metzius will be in accordance with Emunah], and therefore even after the bittul of Emunah is drawn into the metzius of the intellect, the bittul remains intact.
We could say that this is also how we are meant to influence others: not to “force” them to accept what they are being told (the opposite of bittul, which nullifies the independence of the intellect); but, rather, to share with them the subject of the Emunah (that the Geuloh is here, the identity of Moshiach…) and to give them the tools to understand (which demands that we also must have these tools) and to reach the conclusion intellectually that these matters are in fact true. In this way we and those around us will be able be “partners” (as the Rebbe says in the sicha of 28 Sivan) to truly agree that the Geuloh is here b’pashtus.
Audio recording of this article:
Dvar Malchus 770 