Time in the Teachings of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi

da’at
does not invalidate the importance of cognition in principle. The 
overcoming of 
da’at
by means of the 
Shema’
in the ecstatic state of personal 
redemption is destined to evolve into a redemptive state of total cognition in the 
messianic future. From this perspective, the redemption constitutes mainly an 
“epistemological shift” and an “expansion of understanding [
da’at
].”
116
inarticulate manner of expressing their trust in God displayed by the Jews in the Book of Esther: “And 
this was the Purim miracle, which was like Babylonia, for ‘the Lord did there confound [the 
language]’ [Gn 11:9]” (TO 95a [Appendix 9]). For a discussion of Rashaz’s teachings on Purim in 
relation to contemporary events, see Loewenthal, 
Communicating
, 90-7. For faith that is beyond 
reason in Rashaz’s teachings, see idem, “‘Reason’ and ‘Beyond Reason,’” 118*-120*. 
111
T4, 4:105b. 
112
See T4, 4:105a. 
113
T4, 4:105b, based on 
b
Sanhedrin 96a. See also Wolfson, 
Open Secret
, 51. In LT 
Hukat 
61b-c 
Rashaz describes faith [
emunah
] as complete trust in the Creator without any reason or understanding 
[
be-lo ta’am ve-da’at
], by dint of which one takes oneself out of Egypt. 
114
For Habad’s “intellectualism”, see the discussion in the Introduction. For the significance of voice 
and orality in Hasidism, see Idel, 
Hasidism
, 160-70. 
115
See the discussion in chapter 4 below. 
116
Wolfson, 
Open Secret
, 164-5, 273-4. Wolfson describes the messianism of the last Lubavitcher 
Rebbe, Menahem Mendel Schneerson, as contingent not on historical, national redemption or on 

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146 
The declaration of faith in the 
Shema’
bridges the gap between God and the 
world, as it makes it possible to uncover the redeemed, divine reality from within 
itself, without the mediation of discursive knowledge, which by its nature obfuscates 
the unity of God. This possibility arises from Rashaz’s paradoxical view of the 
creation of the world: on the one hand, the world is a product of the divine will, 
filled with the godliness that is revealed throughout it, while on the other hand, the 
creation veils the presence of the divinity in the world, concealing it behind the 
facade of the existence of separate beings. Rashaz expresses this paradox by playing 
on the ambiguity of the Hebrew root 
ayin-lamed-mem
, which is shared by the words 
for both world [
‘olam
] and “concealment” [
he’lem
].
117
Moreover, according to 
Rashaz, the world is sustained in existence thanks to a very delicate balance between 
concealment and revelation: a more intensive revelation of the divine light would 
nullify the world by absorbing it into the undifferentiated infinity of the Godhead, 
while a greater concealment of the light would deprive the world of its vitality and 
lead to its total disintegration.
118
Only the redemption resulting from the purification 
of materiality will allow for a clear perception of the divinity within a world that no 
longer obfuscates the source of its own existence: 
In the days of the Messiah and the resurrection of the dead, when the 
materiality of this world is purified, [people] will be able to bear exposure to 
an infinitely stronger radiance, by way of a revelation that is perceived and 
grasped by everyone, so that each person according to his own ability to 
grasp [it] will point with his finger, so to speak, and say: “Lo, this is our God; 
we have waited for Him [Is 25:9],” etc.
119
personal, spiritual redemption, but rather on the expanding consciousness that apprehends the world 
as being redeemed and filled with godliness. While Wolfson focuses his analysis on Menahem 
Mendel’s millenarian enthusiasm, which had an impact on his messianic teaching, I argue that the 
idea of the expanding consciousness of messianic times features already in the teachings of Rashaz, 
albeit less prominently. Idel has singled out a “noetic” model of the redemption, which he claims to 
be ever present, in a variety of forms, in the Jewish mystical tradition as a whole. See his