Time in the Teachings of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi

Shema’ 
makes it possible to transcend the 
world from within its own borders and limitations. The 
Shema’
expresses an 
approach that is not discursive and does not attempt to grasp the world as an object 
of intellectual comprehension. Discursive thinking inevitably leads to a state of 
separation between the subject and the object of cognition, and this is a state of 
multiplicity which is incompatible with the absolute unity of God as proclaimed in 
the 
Shema’
. Unconstrained by the boundaries of cognition,
108
The 
Shema’
, reaches 
the uncognizable, the essence of God, and most importantly, it reaches it from within 
the world. 
The deliverance of the Jews by the miracle of Purim serves Rashaz as yet 
another example of how the expression of faith in God’s ultimate unity transcends 
cognition, conceptualisation, and even articulation. According to a midrashic 
interpretation of the Purim story, God decided to save the Jews when he heard their 
inarticulate outcry, which sounded like the bleating of a goat.
109
The lack of 
articulation and the animal-like sound highlight the absence of 
da’at 
from their 
voice: they cried out to God out of sheer despair, as a kid crying out to its mother. 
But this lack of 
da’at
actually bridged the gap between Israel below and God above: 
just as God is beyond 
da’at
, so the Jews on that occasion transcended 
da’at
with 
their desperate cry of absolute faith.
110
107
TO 64a [Appendix 8]. 
108
Rashaz commonly interprets the 
Shema’
s “with all thy might” as meaning “without limit”. See for 
example TO 18b, 33b, 35d, 64a, 64d; LT 
Shemini 
18b, 19d, Emor 33d, 35b, 
Shelah
47a, 50d, 
Hukat
64c, 
Balak
67d, 
Mas’ei 
92b, 
Va-ethanan
9b, 
Re’eh
25b, 
Shir ha-shirim
20c, 25d, 30d, 40a, 43a, 45b. 
109
See Grossfeld, 
Two Targums of Esther
, Targum
 
rishon
 
to Esther, 6:1, 69. 
110
See TO 94d-95a. Despite the fact that the Purim miracle belongs in an account of the Persian exile, 
Rashaz refers to it here as if it happened in Babylonia, perhaps drawing on Est 2:6, where Mordecai is 
said to have been exiled from Jerusalem by a Babylonian king. By doing so, Rashaz emphasises the 

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145 
Such faith comes from the “depth of the heart, from the truly innermost 
point,”
111
which is beyond the attribute of 
da’at
. This innermost point is the divine 
spark possessed by every Jew; its concealment through engagement in worldly 
affairs constitutes the state of exile, while its full exposure amounts to a state of 
redemption.
112
This is why, according to a classical rabbinic dictum, the Messiah 
will come inadvertently, namely, “when 
da’at
is diverted” [
be-heseah da’at
].
113
The focus on speech and voice is notable, as it casts an interesting light on 
Habad’s alleged intellectualism.
114
It is not study for the sake of intellectual 
accomplishment but rather prayer uttered inarticulately as a cry of despair that 
features in Rashaz’s lore as the route to personal redemption in a state of ecstasy. 
The power of voice seems to take precedence over the power of comprehension. 
That is not to say that Rashaz’s posture is anti-intellectual, but by highlighting the 
power of speech, he is able to incorporate in the redemptive experience even his less 
intellectually gifted followers.
115
It is, however, important to clarify that his notion of 
overcoming