Chapter Six

Key Words and Concepts to Know for this Chapter

Kelipah (pl. kelipot): Literally, “shell” or “husk.” A term used in Zohar to describe forces that obstruct and distort divine light, much like a shell obstructs the consumption of a fruit or nut. By discarding the kelipah, we reveal the divine light that it conceals, thereby healing our world.

Sitra Achra: Literally, “the other side.” A term from Zohar, it often appears alongside the word kelipah. This is the realm of anything and everything that is not divine. This chapter will provide us fresh insight into what that means and how it works.

Tumah (adj. tamei): A Biblical term often translated as “ritual impurity.” Halachah ascribes it the properties of a non-physical, sentient energy field. In the Zohar, tumah is a force that occupies any void of holiness. Tumah is strongly related to kelipah and sitra achra. Where there is kelipah, tumah results.

Bitul (adj. batel): A state of insignificance within a greater context. The opposite of bitul is “somethingness.” Bitul is a crucial concept in Chabad thought.

Although more explanation will be provided here, we strongly suggest you read What Is Bitul?

Shechinah: Derived from the word shochen – שׁוֹכֵן, “to reside.” The Shechinah is G‑d as He resides within His universe.

Of course, G‑d is everywhere. But in what way is He there? Is He welcome there, just like you are within your own home upon your own land? If so, He resides there, and His Shechinah is there.

More on this in this chapter.

World: A plane of reality. There are countless such planes along a spectrum, categorized into four general worlds: Emanation, Creation, Formation, Action.

Higher worlds are filled with greater light, meaning that divine energy is more coherent. Its beings are more aware of their origin, and so there is greater harmony.

At the bottom of this spectrum of coherency is our world. Its denizens lack any cognizance of their origin, as though they exist independently. And they are physical, displacing one another, as to say, “Where I am, you cannot be.”

For more on the topic of worlds, see The Four Worlds
For a very brief, animated description of the state of being in each of the four worlds

Introduction

Rabbi Schneur Zalman has described the fundamentals of your divine soul: her origin and her essential bond with that origin, her mind and emotions and how they interface with each other, the modes of clothing in which she invests herself so that she can reach beyond herself, and the specific clothes she wears – Torah and its mitzvahs.

Now he returns to the primal soul, the one he introduced in chapter one, a kind of counter-soul to this divine soul. The contrast is stark and harsh.

The key word here is continuity. The divine soul begins in oneness with her origin. Even as she descends to become a particular soul of a particular member of the Jewish whole, she remains intimately and wondrously connected to that essence. Her emotions flow organically from the contemplations of her mind. As she extends outward, her clothing connect her yet more deeply, and yet higher. She ends where she began and never truly left.

The primal human soul, on the other hand, lacks all sense of such continuity. As far as she is concerned, she is just here, as though nothing came before and nothing could be after. Her emotions and her mind act as two distinct, often conflicting entities. Her clothing scatters her yet further. She is a fractured, fragmented being.

What happens when these two meet within you? Which infects the other? Does continuity, connectedness and harmony win over detachment, fragmentation, and discord – or the opposite?

That is the subject of the chapters to follow. For now, we need a clear understanding of the anatomy of this primal human soul and her clothing.

פרק ו'
Chapter Six
וְהִנֵּה, זֶה לְעוּמַּת זֶה עָשָׂה אֱלֹהִים.
Now, “For everything G‑d made, He made an opposite just like it.”
כִּי
This is how it works with the two souls within you.
כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹהִית כְּלוּלָה מֵעֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת קְדוֹשׁוֹת וּמִתְלַבֶּשֶׁת בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה לְבוּשִׁים קְדוֹשִׁים,
Just like the divine soul consists of ten modalities corresponding to the ten holy sefirot, and invests herself within three clothes that are holy,
כָּךְ הַנֶּפֶשׁ דְּסִטְרָא אָחֳרָא מִקְּלִיפּוֹת נוֹגַהּ הַמְלוּבֶּשֶׁת בְּדַם הָאָדָם כְּלוּלָה מֵעֶשֶׂר כִּתְרִין דִּמְסָאֲבוּתָא,
so too with the soul of the sitra achra from kelipat nogah, the soul that interfaces with your body through your blood: She consists of ten modalities of her own that are tamei, corresponding to the “ten crowns of tumah.”
Three Titles for the Human Soul — the primal soul of the human being goes by many names, each describing it from a different perspective; in Tanya three titles are used, according to the aspect being discussed. Nefesh HaChiyunit (Vital Soul): you are functioning as a living being. Nefesh d'Sitra Achra v'Kelipah (Soul of Sitra Achra and Kelipah): you assert yourself as a distinct entity — your sense of somethingness obstructs the reality of G-d's presence. Nefesh HaBahamit (Animalistic Soul): your emotions and desires are self-centered, as with every animal that seeks its own survival; this is the most commonly used title.

Emotions and Intelligence

שֶׁהֵן:
These ten modalities are:
שֶׁבַע מִדּוֹת רָעוֹת הַבָּאוֹת מֵאַרְבַּע יְסוֹדוֹת רָעִים הַנִּזְכָּרִים לְעֵיל,
Seven bad emotions. They emerge from the four bad elements mentioned earlier.
וְשֵׂכֶל הַמּוֹלִידָן הַנֶּחְלָק לְשָׁלֹשׁ, שֶׁהֵן חָכְמָה בִּינָה וָדַעַת – מְקוֹר הַמִּדּוֹת,
And the intellect that gives birth to them, which is divided into three: chochmah, binah, and da’at. These three form the wellspring of the emotions.
כִּי הַמִּדּוֹת הֵן לְפִי עֵרֶךְ הַשֵּׂכֶל,
In what way are they a wellspring? In the sense that they act as a sort of funnel for this soul’s emotions. As a result, her emotions emerge as big or as small as her mental scope permits.
כִּי הַקָּטָן חוֹשֵׁק וְאוֹהֵב דְּבָרִים קְטַנִּים פְּחוּתֵי הָעֵרֶךְ, לְפִי שֶׁשִּׂכְלוֹ קָטָן וְקָצָר לְהַשִּׂיג דְּבָרִים יְקָרִים יוֹתֵר מֵהֶם,
For instance, although everyone seeks whatever is pleasurable to them, small children desire and cherish small, inconsequential things. That’s because their minds are too small and limited to comprehend the value of things more precious.
וְכֵן מִתְכַּעֵס וּמִתְקַצֵּף מִדְּבָרִים קְטַנִּים, וְכֵן בְּהִתְפָּאֲרוּת וּשְׁאָר מִדּוֹת.
As well, they lose their temper or get upset over any minor thing. The same goes for the things they boast about and all the rest of their emotions.

Small minds desire small things. Bigger minds desire bigger things. In either case, the dynamic is the same: Emotions dominate and the mind acts more as a servant than as a parent.

Tainted Clothing

As for this soul’s clothing:
וְעֶשֶׂר בְּחִינוֹת אֵלּוּ הַטְּמֵאוֹת, כְּשֶׁאָדָם מְחַשֵּׁב בָּהֶן אוֹ מְדַבֵּר אוֹ עוֹשֶׂה,
Let’s say you engage these ten tamei modalities of emotions and attitudes, granting them expression by actually thinking, speaking, or doing something related to them.
הֲרֵי מַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ שֶׁבְּמוֹחוֹ וְדִבּוּרוֹ שֶׁבְּפִיו וְכֹחַ הַמַּעֲשִׂיי שֶׁבְּיָדָיו וּשְׁאָר אֵיבָרָיו, נִקְרָאִים לְבוּשֵׁי מְסָאֲבוּ לְעֶשֶׂר בְּחִינוֹת אֵלּוּ הַטְּמֵאוֹת,
When you do so, the thought process going on in your brain, the verbalizing of your mouth, or the activity you are doing with your hands and other limbs, can be called the tainted clothes of these ten tamei modalities.
שֶׁמִּתְלַבְּשׁוֹת בָּהֶן בִּשְׁעַת מַעֲשֶׂה אוֹ דִּבּוּר אוֹ מַחֲשָׁבָה.
After all, as you perform that act, speak those words, or process those thoughts, those ten tamei modalities are actively investing themselves within these activities.

The Domain of the Other Side

וְהֵן הֵם כָּל הַמַּעֲשִׂים אֲשֶׁר נַעֲשִׂים תַּחַת הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, אֲשֶׁר "הַכֹּל הֶבֶל וּרְעוּת רוּחַ",
What are these activities that provide tainted clothing for this soul? They are “all activities done under the sun, all of them being hot air and a breaking of the spirit.”
וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר בְּשַׁלַּח, שֶׁהֵן "תְּבִירוּ דְרוּחָא כוּ'".
“Breaking of the spirit,” the Zohar on Parshat Beshalach explains, means that these activities cause spiritual damage.
וְכֵן כָּל הַדִּבּוּרִים וְכָל הַמַּחֲשָׁבוֹת אֲשֶׁר לֹא לַה' הֵמָּה וְלִרְצוֹנוֹ וְלַעֲבוֹדָתוֹ,
The same goes for any talk and any thoughts that are unrelated to G‑d, to fulfilling His will, and to doing what He wants from you.
שֶׁזֶּהוּ פֵּירוּשׁ לְשׁוֹן "סִטְרָא אָחֳרָא", פֵּירוּשׁ – צַד אַחֵר, שֶׁאֵינוֹ צַד הַקְּדוּשָּׁה.
That’s the implication of the term sitra achra, “the other side.” It is simply that which is not the side of holiness.

Holiness – Divine Energy Unobstructed

The clothing of the soul of sitra achra is anything within the realm of sitra achra. We’ve just discovered that sitra achra doesn’t necessarily mean sins, immorality, and demons. It is defined only by what it is not – holiness. If so, to understand sitra achra, we must first define holiness.

וְצַד הַקְּדוּשָּׁה – אֵינוֹ אֶלָּא הַשְׁרָאָה וְהַמְשָׁכָה מִקְּדוּשָּׁתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא,
The side of holiness is nothing other than G‑d’s holiness residing and freely extending somewhere.
וְאֵין הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא שׁוֹרֶה אֶלָּא עַל דָּבָר שֶׁבָּטֵל אֶצְלוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ,
And G‑d only resides upon that which has bitul to Him, not obstructing His presence by asserting its own existence.
בֵּין בְּפוֹעַל מַמָּשׁ – כְּמַלְאָכִים עֶלְיוֹנִים,
That could be an actual bitul, as with the angels above.
בֵּין בְּכֹחַ – כְּכָל אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמַטָּה,
Or it could be a latent bitul, as with every Jew here below in this world.
שֶׁבְּכֹחוֹ לִהְיוֹת בָּטֵל מַמָּשׁ לְגַבֵּי הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא בִּמְסִירַת נַפְשׁוֹ עַל קְדוּשַּׁת ה'.
For every Jew is innately capable of the ultimate bitul. When their connection to G‑d is put to the test, a Jew will willfully surrender their very life for G‑d’s holiness.
וְלָכֵן אָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה, שֶׁאֲפִילוּ אֶחָד שֶׁיּוֹשֵׁב וְעוֹסֵק בַּתּוֹרָה – שְׁכִינָה שְׁרוּיָה כוּ', וְ"כָל בֵּי עֲשָׂרָה שְׁכִינְתָּא שַׁרְיָא" לְעוֹלָם.
And that’s why, as the rabbis of the Talmud say, wherever even one Jew sits down and occupies himself with Torah, the shechinah resides there. And, they say, “the shechinah resides upon any assembly of ten Jews,” regardless of circumstance.

Sitra Achra – Holiness in Exile

Holiness is where divine energy is able to reside. Sitra achra, then, is where it cannot. But all that exists requires divine energy. It must still be there, but in some other way.

אֲבָל כָּל מַה שֶּׁאֵינוֹ בָּטֵל אֶצְלוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ, אֶלָּא הוּא דָּבָר נִפְרָד בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ,
But then there are all those beings that lack bitul to Him. They assert themselves, instead, as entities of their own, disconnected from their Creator.
אֵינוֹ מְקַבֵּל חַיּוּת מִקְּדוּשָּׁתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא, מִבְּחִינַת פְּנִימִית הַקְּדוּשָּׁה וּמַהוּתָהּ וְעַצְמוּתָהּ בִּכְבוֹדָהּ וּבְעַצְמָהּ,
Although everything that exists receives its energy from G‑d’s holiness, these beings don’t receive it directly from the inner track of that holiness, from its raw, core essence in all its glory.
אֶלָּא מִבְּחִינַת אֲחוֹרַיִים,
Instead, they receive energy from an outer track.
שֶׁיּוֹרְדִים מִמַּדְרֵגָה לְמַדְרֵגָה רִבְבוֹת מַדְרֵגוֹת, בְּהִשְׁתַּלְשְׁלוּת הָעוֹלָמוֹת דֶּרֶךְ עִלָּה וְעָלוּל וְצִמְצוּמִים רַבִּים,
That is the track by which this divine light and energy becomes greatly diminished. It descends from one level to the next through myriads of levels in the great chain of worlds, steadily degrading via cause and effect and multiple condensations of energy.
עַד שֶׁנִּתְמַעֵט כָּל כָּךְ הָאוֹר וְהַחַיּוּת, מִיעוּט אַחַר מִיעוּט, עַד שֶׁיָּכוֹל לְהִתְצַמְצֵם וּלְהִתְלַבֵּשׁ בִּבְחִינַת גָּלוּת תּוֹךְ אוֹתוֹ דָּבָר הַנִּפְרָד,
Eventually, the signal of light and life-energy becomes so diminished through multiple phases of reduction that it is capable of squeezing itself within this disconnected being, not genuinely residing there, but rather, in a kind of exile, stifled and muted.
לְהַחֲיוֹתוֹ וּלְקַיְּימוֹ מֵאַיִן לְיֵשׁ שֶׁלֹּא יַחֲזוֹר לִהְיוֹת אַיִן וָאֶפֶס כְּבַתְּחִלָּה מִקּוֹדֶם שֶׁנִּבְרָא.
It enters into this subliminal state so that it can enliven this thing – and so that it can sustain its continuous regeneration out of the void. For, otherwise, this thing would revert to the absolute null state that preceded its creation.

Within sitra achra, divine energy cannot reside transparently and openly as it does within holiness. Quite the opposite, it is there in self-imposed exile. Exile is when you cannot express your true identity. This is the very definition of sitra achra: anything that does not allow its true, essential holiness to shine.

וְלָכֵן נִקְרָא עוֹלָם הַזֶּה וּמְלוֹאוֹ, עוֹלַם הַקְּלִיפּוֹת וְסִטְרָא אָחֳרָא,
This strangling and entrapment of life-energy explains why this world and all it contains is called the “World of kelipot and sitra achra.”
וְלָכֵן כָּל מַעֲשֵׂה עוֹלָם הַזֶּה קָשִׁים וְרָעִים, וְהָרְשָׁעִים גּוֹבְרִים בּוֹ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּעֵץ חַיִּים שַׁעַר מ"ב סוֹף פֶּרֶק ד'.
And that explains why “everything in this world is full of hardship and suffering, and the wicked have the upper hand,” as stated in Etz Chaim, portal 41, end of chapter four.
הגההMarginal note
ﬠִם הֱיוֹת בְּתוֹכוֹ ﬠֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת דַּﬠֲשִׂיָּה דִקְדוּשָּׁה, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּﬠֵץ חַיִּים שַׁﬠַר מ"ג, וּבְתוֹךְ ﬠֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת דַּﬠֲשִׂיָּה אֵלּוּ הֵן ﬠֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת דִּיצִירָה, וּבְתוֹכָן ﬠֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת דִּבְרִיאָה, וּבְתוֹכָן ﬠֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת דַּאֲצִילוּת, שֶׁבְּתוֹכָן אוֹר־אֵין־סוֹף בָּרוּךְ־הוּא; וְנִמְצָא אוֹר־אֵין־סוֹף בָּרוּךְ־הוּא מָלֵא כָּל הָאָרֶץ הַלֵּזוּ הַתַּחְתּוֹנָה, ﬠַל יְדֵי הִתְלַבְּשׁוּתוֹ בְּﬠֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת דְּאַרְבַּע עוֹלָמוֹת: אֲצִילוּת־בְּרִיאָה־יְצִירָה־ﬠֲשִׂיָּה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּﬠֵץ חַיִּים שַׁﬠַר מ"ז פֶּרֶק ב' וּבְסֵפֶר גִּלְגּוּלִים פֶּרֶק כ':

The Three Lower Kelipot

אֶלָּא שֶׁהַקְּלִיפּוֹת הֵן נֶחְלָקוֹת לִשְׁתֵּי מַדְרֵגוֹת, זוֹ לְמַטָּה מִזּוֹ.
Although all kelipot lack the bitul required for holiness to reside within them, they are still split into two levels, one lower than the other.
הַמַּדְרֵגָה הַתַּחְתּוֹנָה, הִיא שָׁלֹשׁ קְלִיפּוֹת הַטְּמֵאוֹת וְרָעוֹת לְגַמְרֵי, וְאֵין בָּהֶם טוֹב כְּלָל,
At the lower level are the three kelipot that are thoroughly tamei and bad. They contain no good at all within them.
וְנִקְרְאוּ בְּמִרְכֶּבֶת יְחֶזְקֵאל "רוּחַ סְעָרָה" וְ"עָנָן גָּדוֹל וְגוֹ'".
The three kelipot in this lower category are referred to in Ezekiel’s vision of the chariot as “a stormy wind,” “a great cloud,” and “a flashing fire.”
וּמֵהֶן נִשְׁפָּעוֹת וְנִמְשָׁכוֹת
Out of these lower three kelipot come:
נַפְשׁוֹת כָּל אוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, וְקִיּוּם גּוּפָם,
The souls of all the other nations of the world and the sustaining force of their bodies.
וְנַפְשׁוֹת כָּל בַּעֲלֵי חַיִּים הַטְּמֵאִים וַאֲסוּרִים בַּאֲכִילָה, וְקִיּוּם גּוּפָם,
The souls of all tamei animals that we are forbidden to eat, along with the sustaining force of their bodies.
וְקִיּוּם וְחַיּוּת כָּל מַאֲכָלוֹת אֲסוּרוֹת מֵהַצּוֹמֵחַ, כְּמוֹ עָרְלָה וְכִלְאֵי הַכֶּרֶם כוּ',
The sustaining force and life-energy of all forbidden, edible vegetation, such as fruits of the first three years of a tree and forbidden mixtures of seeds.
וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּעֵץ חַיִּים שַׁעַר מ"ט פֶּרֶק ו',
…as written in Etz Chaim, portal 49, chapter six.
וְכֵן קִיּוּם וְחַיּוּת כָּל הַמַּעֲשֶׂה דִּבּוּר וּמַחֲשָׁבָה שֶׁל כָּל שַׁסַ"ה לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה וְעַנְפֵיהֶן,
So too, from these kelipot come the sustaining force and life-energy of one kind of clothing of the animalistic soul–every act, word, and articulate thought that touches upon any of the 365 Torah prohibitions or anything derived from them,
כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב שָׁם סוֹף פֶּרֶק ה':
as written there in Etz Chaim, at the end of chapter five.

What Have We Discovered

  1. The primal human soul is a sitra achra version of the divine soul. Her emotions flow from instinctual, natural elements, sized and shaped by her brain.
  2. She also has her own clothing, the things she invests herself in. They are whatever thoughts, words, and activities emerge from her instinct-driven mind and emotions. These have no connection to anything divine, and are therefore sitra achra.
  3. There is no neutral ground. Anything that is not holiness, not in tune with the divine, is sitra achra (“the other side”).
  4. That’s because there are only two modalities of divine energy in this world. Where there is bitul, divine energy resides there as holiness. Where somethingness and separateness rule, it’s still there, but as an uninvited alien.
  5. There are two types of kelipah. The lower level consists of three completely tamei kelipot. The good within these is virtually non-existent. (The higher level will be described in the upcoming chapter.)

Notes

  1. Ecclesiastes 7:14.
  2. See Zohar III, 41b; 70a.
  3. Chapter one.
  4. Paraphrased from Ecclesiastes 1:14; see Rashi ad loc.
  5. Zohar II, 59a.
  6. This idea will be explored in detail in chapters 18–19.
  7. Mishnah, Avot 3:6.
  8. Talmud, Sanhedrin 39a.
  9. See Sefer HaSichot 5751, vol. 1, p. 414, n. 24.
  10. See Tanya, Sha’ar HaYichud V’HaEmunah, ch. 1.
  11. See Etz Chaim, portal 42, ch. 1.
  12. Ezekiel 1:4. Explained in Etz Chaim, portal 49, ch. 2 and following.
  13. Ch. 1; in most editions, this appears in portal 42, ch. 2.