להביא את ושתי המלכה לפני המלך בכתר מלכות וגו', ובגמרא (מגילה די"ב ע"ב) ובלבד שתהא ערומה, שמעתי בשם הבעל שם טוב זללה"ה, ותוכן הדברים דברי קודש, כי בחינות הקליפות אין להם בחינות המציאות בעולם, כי אם דרך הלבשה באיזה בחינה, וכיון שאמר המלך להביא את ושתי, המורה על קליפה, שכנגד אסתר שבקדושה, וציוה להביא את הקליפות ערום בלא לבוש, ולכן לא באה, כי מאין לה לבוא, שאין לה שום מציאות, בלתי אמצעיות ההלבשה, והענין עמוק, ולאו כל מוחא סביל להבין את דבריו הקדושים: (אור המאיר)
On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded . . . to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal . . . But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by the chamberlains. (Esther 1:10-12) The Talmud states that she was ordered to appear naked.1Megilah 12b. That is, only in her crown, and nothing else. This is because the “impure shells,”2Impure shells – kelipot –are the forces of evil caused by the “breaking of the vessels,” the initial act of creation in which too much Divine light entered the sefirot, causing them to shatter and fall to the lower worlds. The kelipot are those aspects of creation that conceal G-d, yet depend upon this hidden spark of Divinity for their existence. When this spark is removed (as through the act of prayer or the performance of mitzvot), the “shells” disappear. The purification of the shells and the removal of their Divine content is one of the main focuses of Jewish mystical practice. See Jacob Immanuel Schochet, “Mystical Concepts in Hassidism,” printed in the back of English editions of the Tanya (Brooklyn: Kehot, 1981), chapters 10 and 11 for more on this theme. The Baal Shem Tov formulated a psychological understanding of the kelipot, and often speaks of them as the power of the imagination or lower fears and desires that overwhelm a person (especially during prayer, etc.). However, were it not for their attachment to holiness, a “face” that they wear that makes these illusions seem valid, it would be impossible to be seduced by them. To see the kelipot “naked,” is to recognize them as mere illusion, without substance of their own. This causes their demise. The “king,” in the verse above, alludes to G-d. G-d destroys the kelipot by revealing that they have no objective substance of their own. to not have any real existence in the world, only when they are enclothed in some aspect. And since the king requested to bring Vashti – an allusion to the “shells” (as opposed to Esther who is on the side of holiness3Kabbalistically, Esther symbolizes the Divine Presence that is hidden (hastir) in the world.) – naked, without a garment, she refused to come. For how could she? She lacks existence without the garments. This is a very deep matter, and not every mind can grasp these holy words. Ohr HaMeir on Megilat Esther
להביא את ושתי המלכה לפני המלך בכתר מלכות וגו', ובגמרא (מגילה די"ב ע"ב) ובלבד שתהא ערומה, שמעתי בשם הבעל שם טוב זללה"ה, ותוכן הדברים דברי קודש, כי בחינות הקליפות אין להם בחינות המציאות בעולם, כי אם דרך הלבשה באיזה בחינה, וכיון שאמר המלך להביא את ושתי, המורה על קליפה, שכנגד אסתר שבקדושה, וציוה להביא את הקליפות ערום בלא לבוש, ולכן לא באה, כי מאין לה לבוא, שאין לה שום מציאות, בלתי אמצעיות ההלבשה, והענין עמוק, ולאו כל מוחא סביל להבין את דבריו הקדושים:
(אור המאיר)
On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded . . . to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal . . . But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by the chamberlains. (Esther 1:10-12)
The Talmud states that she was ordered to appear naked.1Megilah 12b. That is, only in her crown, and nothing else. This is because the “impure shells,”2Impure shells – kelipot –are the forces of evil caused by the “breaking of the vessels,” the initial act of creation in which too much Divine light entered the sefirot, causing them to shatter and fall to the lower worlds. The kelipot are those aspects of creation that conceal G-d, yet depend upon this hidden spark of Divinity for their existence. When this spark is removed (as through the act of prayer or the performance of mitzvot), the “shells” disappear. The purification of the shells and the removal of their Divine content is one of the main focuses of Jewish mystical practice. See Jacob Immanuel Schochet, “Mystical Concepts in Hassidism,” printed in the back of English editions of the Tanya (Brooklyn: Kehot, 1981), chapters 10 and 11 for more on this theme.
The Baal Shem Tov formulated a psychological understanding of the kelipot, and often speaks of them as the power of the imagination or lower fears and desires that overwhelm a person (especially during prayer, etc.). However, were it not for their attachment to holiness, a “face” that they wear that makes these illusions seem valid, it would be impossible to be seduced by them. To see the kelipot “naked,” is to recognize them as mere illusion, without substance of their own. This causes their demise. The “king,” in the verse above, alludes to G-d. G-d destroys the kelipot by revealing that they have no objective substance of their own. to not have any real existence in the world, only when they are enclothed in some aspect. And since the king requested to bring Vashti – an allusion to the “shells” (as opposed to Esther who is on the side of holiness3Kabbalistically, Esther symbolizes the Divine Presence that is hidden (hastir) in the world.) – naked, without a garment, she refused to come. For how could she? She lacks existence without the garments.
This is a very deep matter, and not every mind can grasp these holy words.
Ohr HaMeir on Megilat Esther