After describing two different styles of serving Hashem—the path of restraint (left) and the path of expansiveness (right)—the Alter Rebbe now adds an important qualification:
No Jew belongs exclusively to only one side.
- Every Jew Must Contain Both Traits
The Alter Rebbe writes:
“כל איש ישראל צריך להיות כלול מב’ בחינות אלו“
“Every Jew must be comprised of both of these qualities.”
Even if a person’s soul is naturally inclined toward:
- Discipline and limitation (left), or
- Kindness and expansiveness (right),
he still needs something from the opposite side.
- Proof from Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel
The Alter Rebbe points to the fact that:
- Beit Shammai generally ruled more strictly.
- Beit Hillel generally ruled more leniently.
Yet this was not absolute.
There are cases where:
- Beit Shammai ruled leniently.
- Beit Hillel ruled stringently.
Why?
Because neither side is pure isolation.
Each contains elements of the other.
- In Kedushah There Is No Absolute Separation
The reason is that in holiness:
“לית תמן קיצוץ ופירוד“
“There is no severing or separation.”
The Divine attributes are interconnected.
Chesed contains Gevurah.
Gevurah contains Chesed.
They are distinct, but not disconnected.
- The Example of Avraham
Avraham is identified with:
- Love
- Kindness
- Chesed
As the verse says:
“אברהם אוהבי“
“Abraham, My beloved.”
Yet at the Akeidah he demonstrated extraordinary Gevurah:
He bound Isaac and was prepared to carry out Hashem’s command despite his natural inclination toward kindness.
This shows that even a person whose essential trait is Chesed must sometimes reveal Gevurah.
- The Example of Yitzchak
Yitzchak is associated with:
“פחד יצחק“
“The fear of Isaac.”
He represents Gevurah and awe.
Yet Yitzchak also possessed love.
The difference is not that one had love and the other did not.
Rather:
- Avraham’s love was revealed and his awe was hidden.
- Yitzchak’s awe was revealed and his love was hidden.
- What the Alter Rebbe Is Teaching
The distinction between spiritual types is chiefly a distinction of:
Giluy and He’elem (revelation and concealment)
not existence versus non-existence.
Both qualities are present.
The question is:
- Which one is dominant?
- Which one is visible?
- Which one leads the person’s avodah?