Daily Tanya Friday 16th Shevat: Chapter 24 Part 3: The aftereffect of a sin is dependent on the severity of the sin

16^th Shevat

4. Why danger of life overrides all the negative commands other than idolatry, adultery, and murder, if all sins separate one from G-d and are like idolatry:

• Why transgress the commands due to Pikuach Nefesh: According to the above approach that even the lightest of sins separates one from G-d similar to idolatry, it is not understood as to why the rule is that danger of life overrides all the other sins [as we instruct the person to transgress a sin if its fulfillment may cause danger of life] and that he should rather transgress then be killed [and it is only by the three cardinal sins of idolatry, adultery, murder, that we say that he should rather be killed than transgress]. [This seems to imply that indeed sins other than idolatry and the like do not separate one from G-d, and hence the perspective which differentiates between idolatry and other sins has reason behind it and it is not due to a spirit of folly.]
• Transgress by Pikuach Nefesh in order to fulfill more Mitzvahs: The explanation behind the above is based on the teaching of the sages which states that it is better that one desecrate a single Shabbos in order so he come to guard many Shabbasos [and hence so too by all the other prohibitions and Mitzvahs, we state that it is better that one temporarily transgress it for the sake of being able to live and fulfill them for the rest of his life]. Hence, it is clear that the reason that Pikuach Nefesh overrides all the other Mitzvahs is not due to them been considered light commands, but rather simply due to the reason of future investment.
• Shabbos is like idolatry and yet is overridden due to Pikuach Nefesh: A proof for the above idea that it is not the level of severity of the transgression which determines whether it is overridden due to danger of life can be seen from the law regarding Shabbos. Shabbos is considered so severe of a command that its transgression is equated to idolatry regarding the validity of a ritual slaughterer [that if a person transgresses Shabbos, then he is deemed invalid to slaughter animals, similar to one who serves idolatry].
• Incest is not as severe as Shabbos transgression and yet is not overridden at a time danger: This is despite the fact that even one who commits sins of incest and adultery, his ritual slaughtering remains valid. Now, notwithstanding all this, the law still remains that danger of life overrides the observance of Shabbos but does not override the prohibition of incest and adultery. Rather, this entire concept that danger of life does not override the sin of incest and adultery is a decree of the verse that is not based on logic.

5. The aftereffect of a sin is dependent on the severity of the sin:

• Although, as we stated above, all sins separate one from G-d similar to idolatry, this only applies during the actual time that the sin is being transgressed, however, the aftereffect of a sin which applies after the transgression is finished, is not the same by all sins.
• The aftereffect on the G-dly soul by sins with penalty of death and excision: Those sins which carry with them the punishment of excision and death in the hands of heaven, cause one’s soul to be completely cut off from its root in the living G-d, and hence the G-dly soul is considered as if it is completely dead.
• The aftereffect on the G-dly soul by sins that do not carry penalty of death or excision: However, by those sins which do not carry with them the penalty of excision and death in the hands of heaven, their aftereffect does not cause one’s G-dly soul to be completely dead and cut off from its root in the living G-d. Rather, after the sin is transgressed, only a slight part of its attachment and connection to its source becomes blemished as a result of the sin.
• Gloss-The level of purgatory is commensurate to the type of blemish: Not only is the actual soul below within the physical body slightly blemished as a result of the sin, but also its root above in heaven is blemished as well. Now, dependent on the quality of this blemish is the type of suffering that the soul will need to purify it and cure it, whether it be suffering in Gihennom or a suffering in this physical world. Every single sin and transgression has a specific punishment that corresponds to it in order to purify and cleanse the blemish and stain from the soul. Even those sins that carry with them the penalty of death and excision do not all have the same effect on the soul in terms of the blemish that they create, and the commensurate purification and punishment necessary to clean it and purify it.
• Even the animal soul and body return to G-d after the sin: Although at the time of the sin the animal soul and body become completely separated from G-d, after the sin is transgressed, also the animal soul which is invested within the body, as well as the body itself, return and ascend from the side of evil and the Kelipa of the sin, and become approximated to the holiness of the G-dly soul that is invested within them which believes in the one G-d.

6. Even during the sin the G-dly soul remained faithful to G-d:

• Not only does the G-dly soul remain connected to G-d after the sin is transgressed [by sins that do not carry with them the penalty of excision and death], but furthermore, even during the transgression of the sin itself the G-dly soul remained faithful to G-d and always retains his belief in Him [unless it is a sin which carries with it the penalty of excision or death in which case it is cut off from G-d even after the sin is over and certainly during the sin].
• The G-dly soul is in a state of exile during the sin: Nonetheless, during the transgression, the G-dly soul is in a state of actual exile within the animal soul and Sitra Achra, which is causing the body to sin and demoting it into the depths of purgatory, deep deep below into the impurity of the Sitra Achra and Kelipa of idolatry, May G-d protect us.
• The G-dly soul is thrown from the heavens to a deep pit on earth: There is no greater exile than this, to have the G-dly soul be thrown from its high place in heaven to the pits of evil, as it was already explained that the root and source of all of the souls of Israel comes from the supernal wisdom which is absolutely one with G-d Himself.
• Plunging the Kings head into feces: To what is the above similar, to one who takes hold of the head of the king and plunges it downwards into a toilet that is filled with feces. There is no greater humiliation than this. Even if one only does so temporarily for a short amount of time it is still considered a great humiliation for the king. This is precisely what occurs when a person sins, as he takes the G-dly soul which derives from the wisdom of G-d which is one with G-d and plunges it into the side of evil which is called feces and vomit, as is known.