Male and Female
8 Adar II 5782
“Thus, the purpose of the Hishtalshelut is this world, for such was His will—that He find it pleasurable when the sitra achara is subjugated to holiness, and the darkness of kelipah is transformed into holy light, so that in the place of the darkness and sitra achara prevailing throughout this world, the Ein Sof-light of G‑d will shine forth.” (Lessons in Tanya, Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 36)
The entire purpose of Hishtalshelut, the chain-like descent of G‑dliness into this world, is for us to subjugate the sitra achara and transform the darkness of kelipah into holy light.
[G‑d told Moses that an individual’s sin-offering can be brought from] “an unblemished female goat” [or sheep]. (Vayikra 4:28)
To fulfill the task of transforming darkness into light, we must employ different methods at different times, based on the guidance of our holy tzaddikim and leaders:
“There are two basic explanations of how sacrifices atone:
We should imagine that everything being done to the animal is being done to us. The sacrifice thus jolts us out of our negative ways.
The animal personifies our animal instincts, which led to the misdeed, in contrast to our Divine soul, which did not participate in the misdeed. The sacrifice stirs our Divine soul, inspiring us to serve G‑d better than we did previously.
The first explanation is harsher than the second, and is therefore appropriate for more severe misdeeds. Therefore, the guilt-offering, which can atone for deliberate misdeeds, is brought from male animals, suggesting the ‘male’ meditation necessary to shake a person free from deliberate misbehavior. The second, gentler, more ‘female’ meditation is more appropriate for unintentional misdeeds; therefore, the sin-offering, which atones for such misdeeds, is brought from female animals.
When we feel estranged from G‑d and seek to draw closer to Him, we need to evaluate the cause of our estrangement. We can then meditate on our relationship with G‑d in the way appropriate to our situation and take the appropriate corrective action.” (Daily Wisdom, Lubavitcher Rebbe)
“Our hearts have not retracted, nor have our steps strayed from Your path.” (Tehillim 44:19)
This verse in Tehillim also displays the duality of the challenges we face and the different methods we must employ to counter them. If our hearts retract from the way of Torah and mitzvos, causing us to be lax in our service and leading us to commit unintentional misdeeds, we must bring it back with gentle meditation and encouragement. If it goes so far that our steps have already strayed from His path, we must clearly see to the catastrophic end of such behavior, shaking us free from our deliberate misconceptions and bringing us back to the proper way.