This is the conclusion of the section and one of the central ideas of the entire letter.
The Alter Rebbe now explains why the lowest levels of creation, especially the physical world and practical mitzvot, are actually connected to the highest Divine source.
The key principle is:
The lowest level receives a unique revelation from the highest level.
- Why Does the Lower Depend on the Higher?
The Alter Rebbe discusses the classic hierarchy:
- Domem (inanimate)
- Tzome’ach (vegetation)
- Chai (animals)
- Medaber (human beings)
Normally we think:
- Plants are higher than stones.
- Animals are higher than plants.
- Humans are higher than animals.
That is true.
Yet there is a paradox.
- The Higher Receives Life from the Lower
Although animals are higher than plants:
Animals live from plants.
Although humans are higher than both:
Human beings receive sustenance from plants and animals.
The Alter Rebbe even points to intellectual development.
Chazal teach:
A child does not know how to call “father” and “mother” until he tastes grain.
Even human knowledge is dependent on physical nourishment.
- Why Does This Happen?
Because the lowest levels contain something hidden within them:
Or Chozer (returning light).
The lower realms receive an especially powerful reflection from the Infinite.
Therefore the bottom of creation contains a hidden superiority.
This is a practical manifestation of:
“נעוץ תחילתן בסופן“
The beginning is embedded in the end.
- Why the Korbanot Nourished the Angels
The Alter Rebbe now explains a famous teaching.
The heavenly angels represented by:
- The Face of the Ox
- The Face of the Eagle
derive benefit from the animal sacrifices offered on the Mizbeach.
At first this seems strange.
Why would lofty angels receive nourishment from physical animals?
- The Answer
The animal contains a hidden Divine root connected to the lowest physical realm.
And that realm is directly linked to the highest Divine source.
Therefore the spiritual energy released from the korban rises upward and nourishes even the angels.
This is the meaning of the Zohar’s statement that the angels benefit from:
Their own root and source.
The lower physical reality contains access to a deeper root than is immediately visible.
- The Ultimate Lesson: Why We Came Into This World
The Alter Rebbe now reveals the practical conclusion.
After understanding all the previous discussion concerning:
- Yesh me’ayin
- Malchut
- The Kav
- Sovev Kol Almin
- The hidden power in physicality
we can understand:
The greatness of practical mitzvot.
- Why Souls Descend into Physical Bodies
Souls exist in spiritual worlds before entering this world.
Why descend?
Not primarily for spiritual experience.
Not primarily for intellectual understanding.
But:
To perform physical mitzvot.
Because the highest Divine purpose is realized specifically in the lowest realm.
- “Today to Do Them”
The Alter Rebbe cites:
“היום לעשותם“
“Today is for doing them.”
The emphasis is on action.
The purpose of Torah, spiritual worlds, and the soul’s descent is ultimately concrete fulfillment of Hashem’s will.
- Better Than Olam HaBa
This also explains the Mishnah:
“יפה שעה אחת בתשובה ומעשים טובים בעולם הזה מכל חיי העולם הבא“
“One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come.”
Why?
Because Olam HaBa is primarily a place of receiving revelation.
This world is the place where the Divine purpose itself is accomplished.
The Main Message of Iggeret HaKodesh 20
The entire letter has built toward this conclusion:
- The Infinite creates finite existence through the sefirot and kelim.
- The deepest Divine power is revealed specifically in the lowest physical realm.
- The earth itself demonstrates the power of yesh me’ayin more openly than higher spiritual levels.
- Therefore physical mitzvot, performed in this world, accomplish something greater than the spiritual revelations of higher worlds.
Key Takeaway
The Alter Rebbe concludes that the apparent hierarchy of creation is deceptive. Although the physical world seems lowest, it is uniquely connected to the highest Divine source. This is why plants sustain animals, why physical korbanot elevate angels, and why the soul descends from lofty spiritual worlds into a body. The ultimate purpose of creation is fulfilled through practical mitzvot in the physical world, which reveal the deepest power of the Ein Sof more than any purely spiritual experience.