Opening Question
The Alter Rebbe begins:
โืืืืื ืืฉื ืืืืืฆื ืืืจื ืืืืื ืืืืืืชื ืืขื ืื ืืกืคืืจืืชโ
He wants to explain how to understand the language used by Chazal and Kabbalah when they speak about the sefirot.
The problem is obvious:
We believe Hashem is utterly beyond human description. So what does it mean when Kabbalistic works speak about:
- Chochmah
- Binah
- Chesed
- Gevurah
as Divine attributes?
The Principle: โืืืืฉืจื ืืืื ืืืืโ
The Alter Rebbe quotes:
โืืืืฉืจื ืืืื ืืืืโ
โFrom my flesh I perceive God.โ
His point is not that we can understand Hashem Himself.
Rather:
We can understand something about the way Hashemโs revelation works by examining the human soul.
The human being is the closest analogy available to us.
The Soul Reflects Its Source
He then brings:
โืื ืืงืืืฉ ืืจืื ืืืโฆ ืืฃ ืื ืฉืืโฆโ
Chazal compare certain features of the soul to the way Hashem relates to the world.
Again, not because the soul and Hashem are equal.
Rather because the soul is created in a way that reflects, on a tiny scale, higher spiritual realities.
โืืืคื ืืืคืื ื ืฉืืช ืืืืโ
The Alter Rebbe then cites the Zohar:
โืืื ืื ืคื ืืชืืืื ื ืคืโ
โOne who blows, blows from within himself.โ
The point is that the Jewish soul comes from an exceptionally deep source.
It is not merely another created force.
Because of its lofty origin, the soul contains within it a reflection of the higher Divine structure.
Why Look at the Soul?
The Alter Rebbeโs answer is:
Because the soul contains recognizable powers:
- Intellect
- Understanding
- Emotions
- Will
By studying how these powers function within ourselves, we can begin to understand why Kabbalah uses similar terms when describing the sefirot.
Not because Hashem literally possesses human qualities.
But because human qualities were patterned after the Divine order.
The Central Point of This Section
The key sentence is:
โืืืื ื ืืืื ืืืื ืืืืื ืงืฆืช ืืกืคืืจืืช ืืขืืืื ืืชโ
โFrom his own soul, a person can understand a little about the supernal sefirot.โ
This is the entire purpose of the introduction.
Before explaining the sefirot themselves, the Alter Rebbe establishes the method:
The soul is the mashal. The sefirot are the nimshal.
If you want to understand what Chochmah, Binah, Chesed, and Gevurah mean above, begin by examining how wisdom, understanding, kindness, and restraint operate within your own soul.
Key Peshat
The Alter Rebbe is not yet explaining the details of the sefirot. He is first explaining how they can be discussed at all. Since the human soul is rooted in a higher spiritual source and contains powers that reflect that source, a person can use self-understanding as a model for gaining a limited understanding of the Divine attributes described by Chazal and Kabbalah.