Tanya Chapter 24, Class 02 (182). The classes opens with a bit of a talk on Purim and the before and the after. We continue learning the beginning of Perek 24, which is equal and opposite of Perek 23: 1) Aveiros (Merkava) opposite Mitzvos, 2) Avoda Zara opposite Torah, 3) both have a ולא עוד אלא higher than Atzilus and lower than the equivalent of that in Klipa. The discussion in the class explores each of the four expressions that the Alter Rebbe makes equal to one another: סטרא אחרא וקליפה נקרא עבודה זרה ואלוקים אחרים. 1) סטרא אחרא What is not Bittul (Kedusha) is anti-Kedusha (Tanya Ch. 6). 2) קליפה has in itself a spark of Hashem that it cannot access. 3) עבודה זרה Any kind of שניות the (theological) belief that sees another as having some authority in God’s world, other than Him. 4) אלוקים אחרים God Himself, (as He relates to the world) with His back turned.
