Core Concepts Tanya: Chapter 21

Brief Recap of Chapter 21:

1. Chapter 21 builds upon the concepts introduced in Chapter 20. There, the Alter Rebbe began to explain what uniting with or "separating" from Hashem means. Also asserted, the entire Torah and basis for our relationship with Hashem is encompassed within the first two commandments.
To understand this, we first have to understand G-d's unity and how it manifests in the world.
In short, G-d created the world through speech, and, despite having created a world, He remains unchanged because His words exist within Himself.
Additionally, the phrases which created the world are so minute compared to His power of speech, which in return is so minute compared to Him, so they are insignificant to Him once said.

2. Hashem tell us that our thoughts are not like His thoughts, and His ways are higher than our ways, just like the Heaven is distant from the earth. However, we still use anthropomorphic terminology to describe Hashem, because this is the closest we can come to trying to understand Him to some extent.

3. Human speech has two characteristics. (1) It reveals what was hidden in the speaker's thoughts. (2) Once spoken, the words separate from their source and can no longer be taken back.
Considering these two traits, when we learn that Hashem created the world through speech, the analogy doesn't really fit. The first point is relevant because Hashem's speech, the "Ten Divine Utterances of Creation" brought the world into being. So each time Hashem said "Let there be" in the parsha of Bereishis actual creation took place. However, unlike human speech, Hashem's speech never separates from its source because nothing ever separates from Him. So really, in comparing Divine speech to human speech, only the first point is applicable.

4. This goes back to the point of why Hashem says that He is unchanged by the creation of the world. Because, from His point of view, the speech that created the world didn't create anything separate from Him. However, from our perspective, the greatest possible change occurred when Hashem spoke because that is the moment we came into being. For us, Hashem's speech ignited the transition from nonexistence to existence.

5. If Hashem created the world with words and revelations that are still "attached" to Him, then why can't we see Him in this world? Why is He hidden from us?
The simple answer is that Hashem had to hide Himself from us to preserve the illusion of independent existence.
Through multiple, powerful "contractions," Hashem hid His light from us, because we wouldn't otherwise be able to see ourselves as separate entities, which would negate the purpose of creation. Rather, Hashem is like a powerful sun, and only when the light moves away from the sun can we begin to see individual rays of light. The closer they are to the source, the less visible they are. Additionally, allowing for individual rays also creates a reality where rays of the sun do not reach everywhere, thereby allowing for shadows and darkness and entities that think they are disconnected from Hashem and His will.

6. HOWEVER, these contractions and other "tools of creation" used to hide Hashem within the world are similar to a turtle trying to hide by tucking its head into its body. This doesn't work very well because it’s very clearly still a turtle. This aligns with the idea that only a foreign body can obstruct someone, because a person can't really hide from his own self. So, because all these contractions and the like are made by and of Hashem, He's not actually hidden from Himself. To Him, the entire world is still within the blaze of the sun, wherein there is no distinction between rays of light. Therein, all is light and all is good. From our perspective, the contractions effectively hide Hashem from us, which not only gives us the opportunity to seek Him out in the world, but also the distinct privilege of choosing to do so!