King's Presence

23 Nissan 5782

“Each individual Jew, whoever he may be when he ponders upon this for a considerable time each day—how G‑d is truly omnipresent in the higher and lower [worlds], and that the actual heaven and earth is truly filled with His glory, and that He looks, seeks, and searches his ‘kidneys and heart’ and all his actions and words and counts his every step—then fear will be implanted in his heart throughout the day, when he will again meditate on this, even with a superficial reflection at any time or moment, he will thus turn away from evil and do good in thought, speech, and deed so as not to rebel, G‑d forbid, in the sight of His glory, whereof the whole world is filled.” (Lessons in Tanya, Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 42)

“Turning away from evil” always precedes “doing good.” In the above excerpt, the Alter Rebbe details how reflecting seriously on G‑d’s greatness, how His glory fills all worlds, including the actual heaven and the actual earth, will automatically create a palpable fear in the heart of any Jew of him transgressing, G‑d forbid, in thought, speech, or deed in the presence of the King’s glory.

“The beginning of wisdom is fear of the L‑rd” (Tehillim 111:10)

Once, he has attained the basic awareness of the King’s presence described above, he will be able to do good (exclusively) “in all His ways.” He will be able to turn away from the foolish misconception that a moment detached from the awareness of the King’s presence, in which he commits a “slight” transgression or even wastes his precious time, will not lead to spiritual regression. Instead, he will turn towards the wisdom that every action has spiritual consequences, individual and general, and thus his “fear” will be the beginning of a path towards “wisdom” and close attachment to G‑d in all matters and deeds.

“And Aaron shall bring his sin offering bull, and initiate atonement for himself and for his household.” (Vayikra 16:6)

Similarly, Aaron could only begin the lofty Yom Kippur service after he initiated atonement for himself and for his household. Only when he was free from the weight of his prior misdeeds, regaining a consciousness of Hashem’s presence in all matters and committing to follow Hashem from now on, was he able to entreat the Shechinah to effect atonement for the Jewish people.