However, the essence and being of the divine soul, which are its ten faculties, do not hold undisputed sovereignty and sway over the "small city" - [the body.

The three soul-powers of intellect and the seven emotional faculties are referred to as the "essence" of the divine soul, in contrast with the soul's "garments" (thought, speech and action), which serve merely as outlets and means of expression for the soul's essential faculties.

For, as shall be explained later, the faculties of the animal soul, too, exercise some degree of control over the body, through awakening in one's heart desires for worldly pleasures, which in turn cause forbidden thoughts to enter his mind].

Only, at specific times, [do the faculties of the divine soul hold undisputed sovereignty over the Beinoni with the animal soul having no effect whatever on him], such as during the recital of the Shema or the Amidah.

At this time [of prayer], the Supernal Intellect above is in a sublime state - [it is a time of great spiritual illumination in the higher spiritual worlds]; likewise below - [in this physical world] - the time [of prayer] is propitious for every man [to ascend to a higher spiritual level].

Then, [during the recital of Shema or during prayer], [the Beinoni] binds his CHaBaD - [his intellectual faculties, consisting of Chochmah, Binah and Daat] - to G-d, meditating deeply on the greatness of the blessed Ein Sof, and arousing [through this meditation] a burning love [of G-d] in the right part of his heart; [for, as explained in previous chapters, meditation on G-d's greatness arouses the love of Him within one's heart.

This love, in turn, leads the Beinoni to desire] to cleave to Him by means of fulfilling the Torah and its commandments out of love.

[The realization that only the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvot will fulfill his desire to become one with G-d channels the Beinoni's love into a desire to observe Torah and mitzvot].

This [arousal of love for G-d, and its accompanying resolve to adhere to Torah and mitzvot and thereby to cleave to Him], is the essential subject of the Shema, which Biblical (deoraysa) commandment enjoins us to recite; likewise, the Rabbinically ordained (derabbanan) blessings preceding and following [the Shema] are a preparation enabling us to fulfill [that which we recite in] the Shema, as explained elsewhere. [1]

At such time, [during the Shema or prayer, when the love of G-d burns in the heart of the Beinoni], the evil in the left part of his heart [the animal soul's principal area of manifestation] is subjected to and is nullified before the goodness [i.e., the love of G-d] that spreads into the right part of the heart, [where the divine soul is manifest], from the CHaBaD faculties in the brain which are bound [in meditation] to the greatness of the blessed Ein Sof.

[Contemplating G-d's greatness with the three intellectual faculties - Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge (CHaBaD) - arouses and diffuses a love of G-d in (the right part of) the heart.

This arousal of love, causes the evil of the animal soul to be nullified in the good of the divine soul now pervading the heart.

During the time of prayer, therefore, when the Beinoni arouses his love of G-d through meditation, his animal soul is inactive, and he feels no inclination for physical pleasures. Thus, during prayer the Beinoni's divine soul is his "undisputed sovereign," as the Alter Rebbe stated above].

[But this state of affairs lasts only for the duration of the spiritually-charged time of prayer]. After prayer, however, when the intellect of the blessed Ein Sof is no longer in a state of sublimity, [i.e., when the spiritual illumination engendered by prayer ceases], the evil [of the animal soul] in the left part of the heart reawakens, and he [the Beinoni once again] feels a desire for the lusts of this world and its delights, [since the evil of the Beinoni's animal soul remains undiminished even after prayer, as the Alter Rebbe will explain shortly].

   

Notes:

1. (Back to text) Generally speaking, the blessings recited over the performance of a mitzvah are a Rabbinic contribution to the Biblical mitzvah. This contribution may be understood as follows. Every mitzvah is a channel drawing down holiness upon the soul of the Jew performing it. In order that one be a fitting vessel for this sanctity, the Sages ordained that he recite a blessing before performing the mitzvah. The connection between the blessing and the mitzvah is always clear: The blessing actually mentions the particular commandment to be performed and thanks G-d for sanctifying us by commanding us to perform it. For example, the blessing over the tefillin concludes with the words, " .... and He commanded us to don the tefillin." In the case of the blessings said before reciting the Shema, however, it is not clear what the blessings accomplish. They do not mention the mitzvah of reciting these passages, nor have they any apparent connection with their contents. Why were they ordained to be said at this particular juncture?

   In ch. 49, the Alter Rebbe gives the following explanation.

   The intention behind the reading of the Shema is that one should come to "love G-d your L-rd with all your heart, soul and might" (as the Alter Rebbe states in our text). To achieve this, one must prepare himself by contemplating those matters which evoke the love of G-d.

   To this end, the Sages instituted two blessings. The first describes aspects of the greatness of G-d - how the loftiest angels are utterly nullified before Him, how He is far removed from them, and so forth. The second berachah speaks of His great love for the Jewish People, how He draws them close to Him, and so on. After meditating on the ideas expressed in these blessings one is indeed ready to fulfill the precept of Shema - to fill his heart with the love of G-d.