Time in the Teachings of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi

sefirot
, for they are the brain of the nation, whereas the 
souls of the common folk derive from the lower 
sefirot
. Most importantly, however, 
the souls vary from the diachronic perspective as well: those of earlier generations 
stem from the higher 
sefirot
, but with the passing of time, the souls come into the 
world from an increasingly lower source within the Godhead, until the generation of 
‘ikveta di-meshiha
, whose souls are as low in relation to the generation of the 
Patriarchs as feet are in relation to the head.
80
The image illustrating the decline of the generations in 
Tanya
acquires a 
functional dimension in Rashaz’s 
ma’amarim
.
81
There, the descent of the generations 
down the 
sefirotic 
tree refers to the different levels of souls that incarnate with the 
purpose of undergoing purification, a process that will end with the advent of the 
Messiah.
82
Thus the souls of the Tannaim originated in 
Hokhmah
, 
Binah 
and 
Da’at
of the World of Creation, those of the Amoraim in 
Hesed
, 
Gevurah 
and 
Tif’eret
of 
the World of Formation, and the souls that have come into the world since the era of 
Ge’onim originate in 
Netsah
, 
Hod 
and 
Yesod 
of the World of Making.
83
Two main issues emerge from the Rashaz’s depiction of the era of the 
Messiah’s footsteps. Firstly, this is the time of purification, which is a part of a much 
79
T1, 2:6a-b [Appendix 6]. 
80
See also MAHZ 
5566
, i, 423, ii, 685; 
Parshiyot
, i, 39. 
81
On the idea of the decline of the generations in Hasidism, see Jacobs, “Hasidism and the Dogma,” 
208-13. 
82
Based on 
b
Yevamot 62a, 63b: “The son of David will not arrive until all the souls are vacated from 
the 
guf
,” and according to Rashi, until all the souls created in the six days of creation are born. See 
also Zii, 258a, where Zechariah’s prophecy regarding God, whose “feet [
raglav
] shall stand in that 
day upon the mount of Olives” [Zec 14:4] refers to the day of the end of exile, on which all impurity 
will be removed from the world. 
83
MAHZ 
5566
, ii, 556-7; 
5569
, 151-2; LT 
Hukat
63b. 

---

138 
longer process that began many generations ago and yet is distinguished by its own 
unique features. Secondly, the duration of this process as envisaged by Rashaz is 
surprisingly long. 
The time of the footsteps of the Messiah is devoted to the purification of the 
lowest levels of the 
sefirotic
structure. According to an early Habad tradition, traced 
back through Rashaz to the Great Maggid and the Ba’al Shem Tov, this final stage in 
the process of purification is a time of utter confusion and disorder. In earlier 
generations, Jewish society was divided into various classes, and the class affiliation 
of every Jew was determined by the origin of the root of his soul within the 
sefirotic 
hierarchy. The souls originating in the World of Creation were incarnated as 
scholars; those originating in the World of Formation became businessmen who 
supported the scholars with their money; and the souls originating in the World of 
Making formed the lowest caste of ignoramuses [
‘amei ha-arets
]. Different types of 
souls were located in appropriate sectors of the community with an appropriate type 
of worship designed for each one. But in the present time of