The Secret of the Lofty Souls within the Klipos (Husks): The Vision of the True Tzaddik

Class No. 7 | 12 Iyar 5755 - Continued from No. 6 / 14 Iyar 5755 - Melaveh Malkah / 14 Iyar 5755 - Continued in No. 8

The tzaddik sees the root of every person's soul and knows how to rectify it, even when the person is in the lowest places. The article reveals the awesome secret behind the Torah portion of the blasphemer in the desert—how specifically within the greatest impurity hide the loftiest souls, and the missed opportunity of those who could have drawn close to the tzaddik and merited complete tikkun (rectification).

The Vision of the Tzaddik from One End of the World to the Other

The true tzaddik, who embodies the aspect of Adam HaRishon (the First Man), includes within himself all the tzaddikim who have ever existed. He knows about every tzaddik created from the beginning of the world until the end of generations—what he said, what he wrote, what the root of his soul was, and from which supernal level he drew his spiritual sustenance. He knows to whom he taught Torah, where he sat at the time of his histalkus (passing away), and where his soul ascended afterward.

There are different levels in the roots of souls: the holy Baal Shem Tov zy"a was from the root of Binah (Understanding), and the Maggid of Mezeritch was from the root of Chochmah (Wisdom). Although Chochmah is generally higher than Binah, there is a level of Binah that transcends Chochmah, depending on whether it originates from Adam Kadmon (Primordial Man) or Atik Yomin (The Ancient of Days - the highest levels of Divine emanation). The tzaddik sees this entire spiritual map with absolute clarity.

The Torah of Rebbe Nachman is above all the teachings given since the creation of the world. People do not grasp at all where these words come from. Rebbe Nachman himself said: "My Torah is the refuse of the refuse, millions and tens of thousands of levels lower than what I actually perceive." Meaning, what the Rebbe reveals to us is only what he constricted for our sake, because his true spiritual attainments are impossible to contain. Yet, the moment the Rebbe shares a Torah teaching, one can reach all the spiritual levels in the world through it. All the abundance in the world, all the life force, everything is drawn down through the Torah of the tzaddik.

The Terrible Missed Opportunity of Those Close to the Tzaddik

When one knows the immense greatness of the tzaddik, one understands the profound missed opportunity of those who did not draw close enough. The Rebbe said, "I feel bad for you." After all, you have already taken the big step, you have already drawn close, left behind the vanities of the world, the old friends, the illusory careers. So what is missing? Just a little bit more. One more small effort to draw closer.

There are people who are completely distant, "captured infants" (Jews raised without Torah knowledge) who knew nothing—there is great mercy upon them, and they will have to return in reincarnations until they achieve their tikkun (rectification). But the greatest sorrow is for those who already knew of the Rebbe, who were already inside the house, but did not take the extra step to completely nullify themselves and fulfill his words with pure innocence.

"A person has already drawn close, knows that the Rebbe is the tzaddik, travels to Uman for Rosh Hashanah—if he had just drawn a tiny bit closer, there would be no level in the world that the Rebbe would not have brought him to."

The sorrow of this soul after passing away is terrible. When a person passes away and lies with his feet toward the door, he suddenly realizes: "Where was I? I was so close! If I had just given my heart a little bit more, I would have completed all my rectifications perfectly."

The Secret of the Four Judgments Hidden from Moshe

The Torah recounts four instances where the halachah (Jewish law) was hidden from Moshe Rabbeinu: Pesach Sheni (the Second Passover), the wood-gatherer on Shabbos, the blasphemer, and the daughters of Tzelofchad. The Targum Yonasan ben Uziel explains that it wasn't that Moshe didn't know the laws—after all, he was on Mount Sinai for forty days and learned the entire Torah. Rather, Moshe wanted to teach the Sanhedrin (High Court) that they must ask Hashem about everything, and primarily—that in every case there is a new detail, a new spiritual clarification that needs to descend to the world.

Let us contemplate the case of the blasphemer (Leviticus 24). The blasphemer was the son of Shlomis bas Divri and an Egyptian man. Seemingly, this was a lowly person, an "Amalek" born within the Jewish people. The holy Zohar says that when Hashem diminishes the power of Amalek among the nations of the world, this klipah (impure husk) sometimes reincarnates into the souls of Jews, and then they become even worse, desiring to uproot faith more than the gentiles do.

But Moshe Rabbeinu, with his prophetic vision, saw something entirely different there. He saw a massive soul that had fallen into the depths of the klipos (impure husks).

Lofty Souls in the Depths of the Klipos

This blasphemer was not just an ordinary person. He possessed immense spiritual power. The Sages expound on the verse, "And the son of the Israelite woman pronounced the Name" (Leviticus 24:11)—that he used the Ineffable Name of Hashem. He knew how to combine the holy letters with which heaven and earth were created. He had the potential to possess Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration), to create worlds. So what happened? He took this tremendous power and used it to curse, to make a "hole" (vayikov - pronounced/pierced) and cause a blemish in the upper worlds.

Moshe Rabbeinu was conflicted. He knew that specifically the greatest souls are placed in the most defiled places. This is the secret of converts, the secret of Job, and the secret of Avraham Avinu who emerged from Terach. "Specifically the greatest souls are placed inside the greatest *klipos* (impure husks)."

Sometimes, in order to extract the soul from the klipah (impure husk), it must be put through severe suffering or even the death penalty, as in the cases of the blasphemer and the wood-gatherer. It seems cruel to us, but this is the only tikkun (rectification) that can burn away the husk and release the hidden light within it.

"Take the blasphemer outside the camp... and let the entire assembly stone him." (Leviticus 24:14)

The taking out "outside the camp" and the stoning were intended to nullify the kelipos (spiritual impurities) that enveloped him. Moshe Rabbeinu wanted to illuminate even in this lowest place. Moshe's work was to illuminate even those Jews who are in the aspect of "Amalek," because the moment they are called Jews and are born to a Jewish mother—they possess a spark that can be brought back in teshuvah (repentance). If we were meritorious, we could bring back even the most distant individuals, because Hashem knows that there is a way to rectify everyone.

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