I’m going to Iy”h explain over here the role and concept of a Nossi, and the idea of a ממוצע המחבר. It’s a very long post, so please bear with me. As I’m typing and editing material that I’ve copied on a phone, the formatting isn’t great. If you actually want to understand what we believe, read the entire thing. After you do that, I’ll be more than happy to answer questions if I can. Here goes…
Chassidus often introduces a revolutionary way of understanding a concept that already exists in Nigleh. Although the concept of Hiskashrus existed earlier, chassidus reveals its central nature in a Jew’s service of Hashem.
The concept of Hiskashrus is found in the Gemara, which states,
“A child who begins to speak is taught by his father: תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה קהילת יעקב .Why is it so important to teach a child, particularly in the beginning of their chinuch, that the Torah was commanded to us by Moshe? Shouldn’t we begin with the Torah’s Divine origin?
The fact that we place such an emphasis on telling a child that Moshe was sent by Hashem to be the עומד בין ה’ וביניכם the intermediary between Hashem and the Yidden, demonstrates how important this idea truly is. In the words of the Mechilta on the Pasuk ויאמינו בה’ ובמשה עבדו ,Whoever believes in the רועה נאמן ,the faithful shepherd,
is considered to believe in He who spoke and created the world (Hashem).
The Zohar states that each generation has an אתפשטותא דמשה רבינו “,a tzaddik who is the expression of Moshe in his own generation.
This tzaddik is charged with being the עומד בין ה’ וביניכם just like Moshe.
This fits with the Gemara in Kesubos, which explains that when someone connects with Talmidei Chachomim, “The Torah considers it as though he has cleaved to the שכינה“.
Chazal teach us that the role of a tzaddik is not only the teaching of Torah; the tzaddik also cares for the needs of the Yidden and concerns
himself with their well being. This is proven from the Gemara in Bava Basra, which states, “Whoever has a sick person in his house should go to a Torah scholar, who will invoke [Heavenly] mercy for him.”
Similarly, it is stated in Maseches Taanis
that “If you see a generation over whom the heavens are rust colored like copper so that neither dew nor rain falls… let him go to the most pious man of that generation so that he will daven for him abundantly.” It is clear that a Tzaddik – the intermediary between Hashem and the Yidden – doesn’t only bring G-dliness down into the world. The Tzaddik also elevates the Yidden and connects them with Hashem, and even davens for their material needs.
One question remains: why do the Jewish people need a Tzaddik to be an העומד בין ה’ ’ וביניכם?“ Do we not all have a direct connection to Hashem?
Tanya Perek 2 – The Head of the
Jewish People
In Perek Bais of Tanya, the Alter Rebbe explains
the concept of a tzaddik of the generation, as well as the nature of the tzaddik’s connection
to the Jewish people.
The Alter Rebbe first explains that every Jewish soul is literally a piece of Hashem Himself, חלק אלוה ממעל ממש. After bringing several
proofs for this, the Alter Rebbe raises the question:
ואף שיש רבבות מיני חלוקי מדרגות בנשמות, גבוה מעל גבוה לאין קץ
TRANSLATION: True, there are myriads of different gradations of neshamos , rank upon rank, without end
כמו גודל מעלת נשמות האבות ומשה רבינו, עליו השלום, על נשמות דורותינו אלה דעקבי משיחא
TRANSLATION: For example, the neshamos of the Avos and of
Moshe Rabbenu are by far superior to the neshamos of our own
generations, [which belong to] the period preceding the coming of (lit., the “heels”), i.e.,footsteps of Moshiach
שהם בחינת עקביים ממש לגבי המוח והראש
TRANSLATION: for [our neshamos] are like the very soles of the feet in comparison with the brain and the head.
Just as the life-force found in the soles of the feet cannot possibly
be compared to that found in the head and brain, so too can there be no
comparison between the neshamos of these present generations and
those neshamos (here called the “head” and “brain”) of earlier gener-
ations.
וכן בכל דור ודור יש ראשי אלפי ישראל, שנשמותיהם הם בחינת
ראש ומוח לגבי נשמות ההמון ועמי הארץ
TRANSLATION: Similarly, within each generation we find the
same disparity among neshamos, there are those who are the “heads (the leaders) of the multitude of Israel,” since their ne-
shamos are in the category of “head” and “brain” in comparison
with those of the masses and the ignorant.
The Alter Rebbe’s question, in a nutshell: if every Neshama is literally
a piece of Hashem himself, it would seem obvious that all neshamos
must be equally lofty. Why, then, do we see that some neshamos are
greater than others?
וכן נפשות לגבי נפשות כי כל נפש כלולה מנפש רוח ונשמה
TRANSLATION: Likewise there are similar distinctions between
Nefashos and Nefashos (the soul-levels of Nefesh),for every soul
consists of Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah.
How can one Neshama have three levels within itself?
The Alter Rebbe answers:
מכל מקום שורש כל הנפש רוח ונשמה כולם, מראש כל המדריגות
עד סוף כל דרגין, המלובש בגוף עמי הארץ וקל שבקלים
TRANSLATION: Nevertheless, the root of every Nefesh, Ruach
and Neshamah, from the highest of all ranks to the lowest — the
“lowest” being those neshamos embodied within the illiterate
and the most light-minded of light-minded Jews,
נמשך ממוח העליון שהיא חכמה עילאה כביכול
TRANSLATION: all are derived, as it were, from the Supreme
Mind (of Hashem) which is Chochmah Ila‘ah (Supernal Wisdom).
The Alter Rebbe explains that despite their disparate levels, the Neshamos share a common root. It is this common root that forms the basis of the Alter Rebbe’s explanation. It is important to gain clarity in this key subject:
Seder Hishtalshelus contains four worlds. These “Worlds”, or stages in the creative process, are (in descending order): Atzilus (the World of Emanation), Beriah (the World of Creation), Yetzirah (the World of Formation) and Asiyah (the World of Action – including the physical world).
Atzilus (Emanation) is a world where the Or Ein Sof is revealed.
This means that Elokus Itself is transplanted or copied to a lower level.
At the same time, Atzilus is still united with its source — Ein Sof.
These two characteristics of Atzilus are indicated in its name. The word Atzilus is related to two root words: (a) The verb אצל ,meaning “to delegate”, as in the Possuk, “I (Hashem) shall delegate something
of your (Moshe) spirit and place it upon them (the seventy zekeinim).”
The Possuk tells us that the spirit of Nevuah possessed by the seventy zekeinim was merely an extension of Moshe’s spirit, but not something new and separate from Moshe. Similarly, the properties of Atzilus are
a copy, on a lower level, of Ein Sof. (b) Atzilus is related to the word “Etzel”, meaning “near” — thus indicating the constant unity of Atzilus
with its source.
The Neshama stems from Chochma Ilaa which is the highest level in Atzilus. This level is the source of all Neshamos, regardless of their
present form in this world.
To explain how the levels of individual Neshamos can widely vary not withstanding their common source, the Alter Rebbe introduces the example of a father and son. The child’s entire body is derived from a single drop that originated in his father’s brain. At the same time, the many physical components which constitute the child’s body are by no
means uniform.
The brain, which is the seat of intellect, is the loftiest part of the body. Conversely, fingernails and toenails are not as essential to the
body, containing very little life. It is easy to understand how the brain originates from the father’s brain, it is harder to understand how toe nails originate in the father’s brain.
These great differences between body parts occurs during the physical development of the embryo during pregnancy. Despite sharing the same source, the limbs develop into very different entities.
In the Alter Rebbe’s own words:
כמשל הבן הנמשך ממוח האב, שאפילו צפרני רגליו נתהוו מטפה זו
ממש
TRANSLATION: [The manner of the soul’s descent] is similar to a child who is derived from his father’s brain, even the nails of his feet come into existence from the very same drop.
על ידי שהייתה תשעה חדשים בבטן האם, וירדה ממדריגה למדריגה,
להשתנות ולהתהוות ממנה צפרנים
TRANSLATION: by being in the mother’s womb ,for nine months
descending degree by degree, changing continually, until [even]
the nails are formed from it.
The Alter Rebbe clarifies that not only are all of the limbs root-
ed in in the same source, but the limbs, even after formation, remain
connected to their source – the father’s brain.The changes from the
root matter that formed the limbs are merely external; their essence
remains the same.
In the Alter Rebbe’s words:
ועם כל זה עודנה קשורה ומיוחדת ביחוד נפלא ועצום במהותה
ועצמותה הראשון, שהיתה טפת מוח האב
TRANSLATION: Furthermore, Although the drop has been so al-
tered as to become the substance of the child’s nails, yet it is
still bound to and united in a wondrous and mighty unity with its
original essence and being, namely, the drop as it came from the
father’s brain.
Is this connection still apparent after these external changes?
The Alter Rebbe affirms that the connection does remain visible.
This is due to the fact that all the child’s limbs, down to his nails, still
receive their nourishment from the brain. The brain, in turn, retains its
original character, since it was a drop from the father’s brain and now
it is a brain as well. This is also expressed in the fact that the natural
inclinations of the son mirror those of the father. Thus, we understand
that even the nails are bound up with their original source, the drop
from the father’s brain, through their constant connection with their
own brain.
In the Alter Rebbe’s words:
וגם עכשיו בבן, יניקת הצפרנים וחיותם נמשכת מהמוח שבראש
TRANSLATION: Even now, in the son, the nails receive their nourishment and life from the brain that is in his head.
Now the Alter Rebbe goes on to the nimshal:
וככה ממש כביכול בשורש כל הנפש רוח ונשמה של כללות ישראל
למעלה
TRANSLATION: Exactly so, as it were, is the case with regard to
every Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshamah in the community of Yisrael
on high.
בירידתו ממדריגה למדריגה על ידי השתלשלות העולמות, אצילות
בריאה יצירה עשיה מחכמתו יתברך
TRANSLATION: By [the soul’s] descending degree by degree
through the Hishtalshelut of the Worlds of Atzilus, Beriah, Yet-
zirah and Asiyah, from Hashem’s wisdom,
כדכתיב: כולם בחכמה עשית
TRANSLATION: as it is written, “You have made them all with
wisdom (Chochmah)” (which means that everything emanates
from Chochmah, which is the source of all Hishtalshelus),
נתהוו ממנו נפש רוח ונשמה של עמי הארץ ופחותי הערך
TRANSLATION: [through this descent] the Nefesh, Ruach and
Neshamah of the ignorant and least worthy come into being.
Just as the child’s limbs come from a single source, and the differ-
ences between them occur only in the mother’s womb, the same can
be said with regard to our Neshamos: they are all derived from a single
source, Chochmah Ila‘ah, which is the highest level of Atzilus – a com-
plete unification and bond with Elokus.
In the course of its descent from Chochmah Ila‘ah into the phys-
ical body, the soul passes through the entire Seder Hishtalshelus (the
four worlds of Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiya). This descent pro-
duces the various levels of neshamos, ranging from the loftiest of ne-
shamos possessed by the greatest of tzaddikim .to those belonging to the most simple of Jews
Here the Alter Rebbe arrives at the next point in the analogy:
ועם כל זה עודינה קשורות ומיוחדות ביחוד נפלא ועצום במהותן
ועצמותן הראשון, שהיא המשכת חכמה עילאה
TRANSLATION: Nevertheless (notwithstanding the fact that they
have already become neshamos of the lower levels — the neshamos of the ignorant and the least worthy), they (these lesser neshamos) remain bound and united with a wonderful and mighty unity with their original essence, namely, an extension of Chochmah Ila‘ah (Supernal Wisdom),
כי יניקת וחיות נפש רוח ונשמה של עמי הארץ הוא מנפש רוח ונשמה
של הצדיקים והחכמים ראשי בני ישראל שבדורם
TRANSLATION: for the nurture and life of the Nefesh, Ruach and
Neshamah of the ignorant are drawn from the Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshamah of the righteous and the sages, the “heads” of Israel in their generation.By drawing their nurture and life from those who represent the levels of “head” and “brain”, all Jews are bound up with their source in Chochmah Ila‘ah — Supernal Wisdom
To summarize:
In the example given above, we observed two points:
1) All the child’s limbs receive their vitality from the brain; it is through the brain that the child’s limbs retain their connection to their
original source in a visible manner.
The same applies to Neshamos Yisroel: 1) Despite the differences
among them, all neshamos must receive their nourishment from “the
brain of the son”, the Tzaddikim of the generation; 2) through their
attachment to the Tzaddikim, “the brain of the son”, they retain their
visible and revealed connection with the original source, Chochmah Ila’ah.
Now the Alter Rebbe continues:
ובזה יובן מאמר רבותינו ז״ל על פסוק: ולדבקה בו – שכל הדבק בתלמיד חכם מעלה עליו הכתוב כאלו נדבק בשכינה ממש
TRANSLATION: This explains the comment of our Sages on the verse, “And cleave unto Him” (concerning which the question arises, How can mortal man cleave to Hashem? In answer,
our Sages comment), “He who cleaves unto a [Torah] scholar is deemed by the Torah as if he had actually become attached to the Shechinah (the Divine Presence).”
This seems difficult to comprehend: How can one equate connecting to a Torah scholar with connecting to the Shechinah? However, in
light of the above explanation, this is readily understood.
כי על ידי דביקה בתלמידי חכמים, קשורות נפש רוח ונשמה של עמי
הארץ ומיוחדות במהותן הראשון ושרשם שבחכמה עילאה
TRANSLATION: For, through attachment to the scholars, the Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah of the ignorant are bound up and united with their original essence and their root in Supernal Wisdom,
שהוא יתברך וחכמתו אחד, והוא המדע כו׳
TRANSLATION: (and thereby with Hashem Himself, since) He and His wisdom are one, and “He is the Knowledge…”
We’ve established that Neshamos receive energy from Tzaddikim, just as limbs receive energy from the brain. If this is the case, then the Tzaddikim should be the only possible source of energy for the Neshamos,
just as the brain is the only possible source of energy for the limbs.
However, we see people who oppose the Tzaddikim still receiving energy. How is this possible?
The Alter Rebbe answers:
והפושעים ומורדים בתלמידי חכמים
TRANSLATION: As for those who willfully sin and rebel against the Torah sages.
How do they receive their spiritual nurture and life? Spiritual life and nurture flow only where there is a desire to nurture and give life!
יניקת נפש רוח ונשמה שלהם מבחינת אחוריים של נפש רוח ונשמת
תלמידי חכמים
TRANSLATION: the nurture of their Nefesh,Ruach and Neshamah comes from the hindpart, as it were, of the Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah of the scholars.
Nurture from “the hind-part” is like giving an object to an enemy.
There isn’t a true desire to give, but rather due to some external factor. The grudging reluctance with which he gives is reflected in one’s manner; he will turn away from his enemy, tossing the object over his shoulder. The same is true in our case. When spiritual energy is given unwillingly, it is described as coming from “the hind-part” of the giver
— an external level of nurture.
Nevertheless, even those who rebel against the sages receive some measure of spiritual nourishment from them. For every soul, without
exception, must be bound up with its root and source, as explained earlier. However, the level of nurture they receive is from the “hind-part”
of the neshamos of the sages.
Thus, we see the Rebbe is essential to our connection to Hashem. Just as a limb must receive its vitality from the head, and only the head remains directly bound to the source within the father, so too the “head”
of the Jewish “body,” the Rebbe, is the essential channel for connecting to our Father, Hashem.
We have learned from Tanya Perek 2 that all the limbs are connected with their source – the drop from the father’s brain – and that the con-
nection is never broken. This is due to the limbs being connected to the brain (of the son) – which in turn is connected to its source (the brain of the father). We used this moshol to understand that the Neshama, even after being clothed in a body, is literally a piece of Hashem and remains connected to Hashem. However, because of the Neshama’s descent, its
connection to Hashem isn’t apparent. This is why we need the tzaddik, whose connection to Hashem is apparent (like the son’s brain in
the moshol). It is through the tzaddik that the neshama’s connection to Hashem becomes apparent.
This is, in essence, the difference between an “intermediary that separates” (ממוצע המפסיק) which is not the topic of discussion, and an
“intermediary that connects” (ממוצע המחבר) which is how we describe Moshe Rabbeinu as well as the Nasi of each generation.
What is the difference between an “intermediary that separates” and an “intermediary that connects”?
Imagine a simple student who wishes to learn from a brilliant teacher. The student’s own intellectual capacity is very distant from the teacher’s, to the extent that he cannot understand the lesson on his own. The gap between them is insurmountable – the student will never be able to fully grasp the depth of the teacher’s intellect; he simply cannot relate
to it.
In such an instance, a “meturgeman” is used. A meturgeman is a type of translator who adds explanation. The meturgeman has a greater intellectual capacity than the student, so he is able to comprehend the full depth of the teacher’s intellect, but his intellectual capacity is
less than the teacher, so he can relate to the student. Once the meturgeman fully comprehends the teacher’s words, he can then explain them to the student on a level that the student can grasp.
This moshol teaches us several points:
A) The gap between the student and the teacher remains; the meturgeman has bridged it, but not removed it. The student’s only con-
nection to the teacher is indirect – through the meturgeman.
B) The teaching given over to the student by the meturgeman is on
a much lower level; were it to be on the original level, it would remain incomprehensible to the student. The meturgeman must simplify and
compress the teaching in order for the student to understand.
C) The meturgeman must be a separate entity from the teacher – if not, he wouldn’t be able to help the student. His entire advantage lies
in being a separate entity, that allows him to comprehend the teachings and then simplify and compress them so that the student will un-
derstand. However, a meturgeman is an “intermediary that separates.”
True, it is an intermediary, for it connects two things, but the intermediary remains a third, separate, party.
In this instance, the teacher and student connect indirectly, passing through the third party. Even the teaching is indirect, because it
doesn’t retain all of its original substance, but is instead simplified and
compressed.
On the other hand, an “intermediary that connects,” can be compared to very large hall filled with wise students, who are fully capable of comprehending his words. However, due to the size of the hall, the teacher’s
voice cannot carry to the farthest edges. To remedy this, a microphone
is installed, which makes the teacher’s voice audible even to the students seated farthest away.
Once again, there are several important points:
A) The students have a direct connection with the teacher. The “gap” between the students and the teacher is merely technical – due
to the size of the room – and is remedied by the microphone, which enables the students to hear the teacher’s own words.
B) The teaching that they hear isn’t lessened or simplified by the intermediary – it is the very same teaching that the teacher is saying,
the microphone merely extends its reach.
C) The microphone isn’t “a separate entity” which uses its own intellect to comprehend the teaching and then transmit it; the microphone is a machine whose entire purpose is transmitting the teacher’s own words.
This is an “intermediary that connects” – a המחבר ממוצע ;its entire purpose is to directly connect the upper and lower levels, without al-
tering in any way what is being brought down to the lower level. This is due to the fact that it is not an entity separate from the higher level, but
rather it is totally nullified before the higher level, and serving only to express the higher level.
This is the type of intermediary that is mentioned in the Torah, regard-
ing Moshe Rabbeinu, as the posuk states:
פָּנִ֣ים ׀ בְּפָנִ֗ים דִּבֶּ֨ר יְהוָ֧ה עִמָּכֶ֛ם בָּהָ֖ר מִתּ֥וֹךְ הָאֵֽשׁ׃
אָ֠נֹכִי עֹמֵ֨ד בֵּין־יְהוָ֤ה וּבֵֽינֵיכֶם֙ בָּעֵ֣ת הַהִ֔וא לְהַגִּ֥יד לָכֶ֖ם אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר יְהוָ֑ה כִּ֤י יְרֵאתֶם֙ מִפְּנֵ֣י הָאֵ֔שׁ וְלֹֽא־עֲלִיתֶ֥ם בָּהָ֖ר לֵאמֹֽר׃
TRANSLATION: Face to face, Hashem spoke with you at the mountain out of the midst of the fire… (and I stood between Hashem and you at that time, to tell you the word of Hashem, for
you were afraid of the fire, and you did not go up on the mountain) saying, “I am Hashem… etc.
Rashi explains: Rabbi Berechiah said, “So said Moshe: ‘Do not say that I am misleading you about something that does not exist, as an
agent does, acting between the seller and the buyer, [because] behold, the seller Himself is speaking with you.’” (Pesikta Rabbasi).
How do we reconcile this? If “I stood between Hashem and you,” then how can it be “the Seller Himself is speaking with you?”
Based on the above explanation, we can understand this: Moshe was an “intermediary that connects,” like the moshol of the microphone. In the words of Chazal, “The Shechina spoke from his throat.”
In the Moshol:
A) The lower level is directly connected with the upper level, but is unable to directly receive from it, and the intermediary allows the
lower level to receive from the upper level.
B) The lower level receives exactly what the upper level gives, in its original form.
C) The intermediary has no independent identity other than transmitting from the upper level.
So too in the nimshol:
A) The Yidden have an essential bond with Hashem – each Neshama is literally a piece of Hashem – but because of the Neshama’s de-
scent into the world, it’s “difficult” for the Yid to receive directly from Hashem, as the Yidden told Moshe,
וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה דַּבֵּר־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּ֖נוּ וְנִשְׁמָ֑עָה וְאַל־יְדַבֵּ֥ר עִמָּ֛נוּ אֱלֹהִ֖ים פֶּן־נָמֽוּת׃
“TRANSLATION: You speak with us, and we will hear, but let Hashem not speak with us lest we die.”
This is analogous to a student sitting on the back bench in the large hall: in truth, he can hear and understand his teacher; the only thing
preventing him from doing so is a technical concern – his distance from the teacher.
The same is true in regard to the Neshama. The Neshama is distant from Hashem when it enters this world. This distance is an “out-
side concern,” which prevents the Neshama from “hearing” Hashem’s words, “Lest we die.” Therefore, a Yid needs a “microphone” – he needs Moshe Rabbeinu who on the one hand, is human, in the physical world, and on the other hand, remains unchanged by this world; he is totally nullified before Hashem. Therefore, he can enable the Yidden to hear Hashem’s words, not as a “meturgeman” but as a “microphone.”
B) The Neshama absorbs exactly what Hashem gives, without being lessened by the intermediary. In the words of Chassidus, “The in-
nermost, essential level of Or Ein Sof is brought down to and absorbed by the Neshamos of Yidden.” It is brought to them through Moshe.
C) Moshe isn’t an entity separate from Hashem, rather, he is nullified before Hashem. Therefore, he can serve as an intermediary whose
entire purpose is to transmit Hashem’s words, in their original form, to the Yidden.
This is analogous to a funnel, which receives the liquid on one side and emits the liquid on the other side, albeit on a smaller scale, which
allows the liquid to enter smaller containers.
In a nutshell: an “entity which separates” does not allow the upper and lower levels to connect, it always remains a third party between the
two. An “entity which connects” allows the lower level to connect with the upper level, for the intermediary isn’t a separate entity.
An “intermediary that connects” – ממוצע המחבר is a proper description
of Moshe Rabbeinu and his successor in every generation.
(In the interest of being honest, most of this was not written by me, but rather by “The Vaad”. )