Now, these emotive attributes - [those involved in imparting enlightenment, and the like] - are the external aspects of the soul.

Within them are vested the inner attributes, [which bring about the external attributes involved in the actual imparting of knowledge,] i.e., the faculties of love and awe, and so on.

This may be compared to the case of a father who bestows enlightenment upon his son because of his love for him, [The internal aspect of the attribute involved is love and its external aspect is kindness.] and withholds his influence because of his dread and fear lest [his son] come to some downfall, heaven forfend.

[The father's fear and dread are thus the internal aspect of his Gevurah, the attribute that completely or partially witholds the flow of instruction.

The remaining emotive attributes are all offshoots of love and fear (as explained in Part I, ch. 3, above), and accordingly they too possess internal and external aspects.

Having dealt with the middot, the seven emotive attributes of the soul, the Alter Rebbe now proceeds to discuss the intellective attributes which give birth to them.]

The source and root of these internal and external emotive attributes, is the ChaBaD - [an acronym for the intellectual faculties of Chochmah, Binah and Daat] - of one's soul, for a person's emotive traits are in proportion to his intellect.

This is empirically evident; with a child, for example, whose ChaBaD are in a state of pettiness, all his emotive traits, too, relate to insignificant things, [and as he matures in age and understanding, his emotive traits correspondingly aspire to worthier goals.]

With adults, too, [the emotive traits develop in proportion to the intellect, for [47] "According to his intelligence is a man praised."

[Since the term "man" (Ish) is an appelative for the emotive traits (cf. the verse, [48] "As is a man, so is his Gevurah"), the pre- viously quoted verse is teaching us that a person's emotive traits are praiseworthy in proportion to the stature of his ChaBaD.

For the extent of his love and kindness corresponds to the extent of his wisdom, and all his other internal and external traits likewise have their source in his ChaBaD.

Most important to the development of the spiritual emotions is one's Daat, which derives from one's Chochmah and Binah.

[A thinker first grasps the essence of a concept through the seminal flash of illumination afforded by his faculty of Chochmah; he next understands it fully by means of the analysis and amplification which are the function of his faculty of Binah; ultimately, he must immerse himself in concentration on the concept, binding and unifying himself with it to the point that - beyond mere intellective comprehension - he also senses and experiences it with his faculty of Daat.

It is this faculty that is critical to the development of his middot, such as the spiritual emotions of love and awe of G-d, for Daat provides them with their substance and vitality, as explained in Part I, ch. 3.]

This is readily observable, for the differences between the emotive traits of various people corresponds to the differences in their respective degrees of Daat.

   

Notes:

47. (Back to text) Mishlei 12:8.

48. (Back to text) Shoftim 8:21.