Daily Tanya Wednesday 21st Marcheshvan Igeres Hakodesh 29: The Supreme Crown and the Path of the Commandments

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The Supreme Crown and the Path of the Commandments

  1. What is the Supreme Crown?
  • The “Supreme Crown” (Keter Elyon) represents the Divine Will, which transcends wisdom and intellect.
  • It surrounds and “crowns” the intellectual faculties—wisdom, understanding, and knowledge—like a capstone above the mind.

  1. How Does It Connect to Us?
  • This Divine Will is expressed through the 613 Torah commandments and seven rabbinic commandments.
  • Most mitzvot are physical actions, but even those involving speech or thought are considered deeds because they engage the human being with free choice.

  1. The Pillar Analogy
  • Mitzvot are like hollow pillars stretching from the highest spiritual realms down to the material world.
  • When a person fulfills a mitzvah, their soul becomes clothed in these pillars, which elevate it upward to unite with the Source of Life.
  • Through this “garment,” the soul can experience the pleasantness of God and sublime delights beyond the crown’s level.

  1. Rabbinic Commandments
  • These are not additions but extensions of Torah commandments, included within the 613, ensuring every aspect of the soul is clothed in holiness.

Key Takeaway

The commandments are not mere rituals—they are spiritual conduits. Each mitzvah acts as a bridge, connecting the physical world to the infinite Divine Will, enabling the soul to ascend and experience ultimate closeness to God.

About The Author

Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein is a 6th generation descendent of the famous Chief Rabbi of Izhmir, Rav Yehoshua Avraham Krispin, who authored a number of Sefarim, and was a colleague of Rav Chaim Falagi, and father in-law of the Pesach Hadvir. He currently lives with his wife Shayna, and twelve children K”H, in Tzfas, Israel. Rabbi Goldstein received Semicha from Rabbi Schneur Zalman Labkowski of the Tomchei Temimim headquarters in 2005 and served as a chaplain in the Lotar/Kalatz and K9 unit of the IDF from years 2005-2008. He is also a certified Shochet, and has performed Hashgacha work in slaughterhouses. Rabbi Goldstein is the director of Shulchanaruchharav.com, the world’s leading web-based Halacha database, and is the director of the Home Study Semicha Program, a self-study web-based Semicha program. He is a prolific author of over 50 Sefarim studied by a wide range of readers throughout the world, which is used regularly in Semicha programs around the globe. He is a world renowned Posek, answering questions to a web-based market, and serves as a local Posek, Rav, and Lecturer, in the Tzemach Tzedek community Shul in Tzefas, Israel. His many classes can be heard both from his website, Vimeo and YouTube channel. Students can join live to classes given in the Tzemach Tzedek Shul, through the “בית חבד צפת Chabad Tsfat” YouTube channel.