Once and for All

8 Shevat 5782

“At times, the sinners of Israel may even bring down for their children very lofty souls which had been in the depths of the kelipot, as is explained in Sefer Gilgulim.” (Lessons in Tanya, Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 18)

Rabbi Yosef Wineberg explains in Lessons in Tanya, “A soul that has fallen captive in the hands of the kelipot remains in this state until the kelipot release it of their own will. Anything in the hold of the kelipot cannot be wrested from them against their will, for the principle that ‘G-d does not make unjustifiable demands of His creations’ holds true even with regard to kelipot. In the case of a child to be born to sinful parents, the kelipot willingly release the soul in the hope that such a child will be influenced by its parents and will become a sinner like them. In this way, the kelipot stand to extract an even greater measure of vitality from the holiness of the soul by means of its eventual sins.”

“Don’t be afraid! Stand firm and see the L-rd’s salvation that He will wreak for you today, for the way you have seen the Egyptians is [only] today, [but] you shall no longer continue to see them for eternity.” (Shemos 14:13)

Similar to the kelipot, the Jewish people could only be released from their exile in Egypt through the willing cooperation of the Egyptians. The Egyptians hoped that the Jews would return, thereby infusing Egypt with the extra vitality gained from their religious experience in the desert. However, when it became clear that the Jews had broken free once and for all, the Egyptians pursued them with great vigor. However, at that point the Jewish people were already securely in the hands of Hashem, and no outside influence could tear them away again.

So too it is with us, once we have managed to tear free from the kelipot, no outside force can return us to them. Hashem stands ready to wreak salvation on our behalf. All our challenges are merely attempts by the great opponent to create the illusion in our mind that we could fall. All further descent is of our own doing. The most important thing is not to fall for this hoax, as the Holy Baal Shem Tov is cited in Tzavaat Harivash 46, “As you set out to serve G-d, do not be overly punctilious in all you do. To do so is but a contrivance of the yetzer hara to make you apprehesive that you may not have fulfilled your obligation, in order to make you feel depressed.”

“Hear, O daughter, and observe, incline your ear; forget your people and your father’s house.” (Tehillim 45:11)

Instead, we must virtually forget where we came from, and know for sure in our mind that we have left the kelipot behind us, once and for all.