Daily Tanya 6th Iyar-Chapter 46: The greatness and loftiness of Hashem and the number of angels serving Him

(LY) 6^th Iyar

1. Hashem’s love for us is even greater than in the parable of the king and his subject:

• Now, like every detail of the above parable and the level of love shown, so too our G-d has shown love to the Jewish people, but on an infinitely much larger scale. How this is, we will now explain.

2. The greatness and loftiness of Hashem and the number of angels serving Him is much greater than the king in the parable:

• Hashem’s greatness is beyond comprehension, and He fills all worlds and encompasses all worlds, and it is known from the Zohar Hakadosh and the Arizal the multitude of chambers and worlds which are beyond number, and in every world and chamber there are myriads upon myriads of angels to no end.
• The number of angels in existence: The Talmud^[1] states: One verse^[2] says “Is there a number to his brigades of angels?” [implying there is an infinite number of angels] while another verse^[3] says, “A million serve Him while a hundred million stands before him.” [Thus, implying that there is a limited number of angels.] The Gemara answers that the second verse speaks of the number of angels in each brigade, which reach a million etc., however, the former verse speaks of the number of brigades of angels that exist which is truly infinite.
• All the angels are like naught before G-d: All the angels and brigades are like naught before Hashem, and they are actually nullified in existence like the nullification of one word to the essence of the soul of the speaker, while its speech is still found in its thought or heart, as explained in length in previous chapters. [All the above emphasizes G-d’s greatness, and how He is much greater than the king in the parable, as in the parable there is some relation of level between the king and his servants and subjects, while to G-d there is no relation or comparison, as He is infinitely greater and higher than them all. Furthermore, in the parable, the king rules over a limited amount of people in his nation, while Hashem rules over infinite amounts of angels, worlds and chambers. In addition to the above description of the angels we will now also explain the immensity of the love Hashem showed to us, the Jewish people, by leaving them and uniting with us.]

[1] Chagiga 13b

[2] Iyov 25:3

[3] Daniel 7:10