Glossary · Torah Ohr · Likkutei Torah
Sitra achra
סטרא אחרא
The sitra achra (the other side)
“The other side,” the opposite of holiness: what appears as a yesh separate from G‑d and casts off His yoke. It has no life of its own but receives it from holiness.
Where it’s explained
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 1, ¶4Through many stages of concealment the physical heaven and earth came to be, in which no G‑dliness is seen at all, only something that exists as a thing separate in itself: this is the level of the sitra achra. The soul descends into this lowly world to subdue it by turning from evil, and so the vessels no longer hide the Or Ein Sof.
שאין נראה בתוכם אלקות כלל כ״א בבחי׳ יש ודבר נפרד בפ״ע בחי׳ סט״א
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 15, ¶10The kelipos and sitra achra are the opposite of holiness: in holiness all accept upon themselves the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, while the sitra achra is the casting off of the yoke. So one who casts off the yoke draws down nothing, even if he keeps all the mitzvos.
שבקדושה כולם מקבלים עליהם עול מלכות שמים מה שאין כן בסטרא אחרא הוא פריקת עול
- Torah Ohr, Vaeira 3, ¶9The wonders in Egypt showed that even though they are kelipos and sitra achra, they receive life from holiness every moment, and are not truly a separate thing as they falsely imagine but wholly nullified to G‑dliness. Their life reaches them through so many screens and stages that they can say “My river is my own.”
הם מקבלים חיות תמיד מקדושה בכל רגע ושבאמת אינם יש ודבר נפרד בפ״ע כדמיונם הכוזב
- Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei 4, ¶3Evil and the sitra achra have no life at all of their own; they receive it from the hinder side of holiness, through the 365 prohibitions. Therefore they are nullified before holiness as darkness before light, and a person who contemplates G‑d’s greatness sees the evil in his soul fall apart of itself.
בהיות כי הרע וסט״א אין להם חיות כלל מצד עצמם זולת שמקבלים חיותם מאחוריים דקדושה
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 8, ¶40Holiness gives life to the sitra achra only from afar, as an encompassing light (makif) far removed from them, for the holy does not mix with the profane. The preceding paragraph (8:39) adds that the sitra achra cannot receive holiness as inner revelation, only as makif.
והנה מה שהקדושה מחיה לסט״א הוא רק מרחוק
Stated differently
Whether the sitra achra draws its life from Malchus (the Shechinah) as she descends and enclothes below, or receives no life from Malchus
לפי שאז יש פתח ומבוא לחיצונים הם הקליפות וס״א לינק ולקבל חיות ממנה בהתלבשותה בע״שWhen the Shechinah, the word of G‑d, enclothes in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah it is called midbar with an open mem, for then there is an opening for the outside forces, the kelipos and sitra achra, to draw and receive life from her as she enclothes in the seventy princes.
כמ״ש ואני בתוך כו׳ שמתלבשת ליתן חיות ושפע לקליפות וסטרא אחראOpposite the middos that enclothe in the mitzvos there is darkness, as in “And I am among [the exile]”: Malchus enclothes to give life and flow to the kelipos and sitra achra.
משא״כ בחי׳ נפרד וסט״א אין נמשך לו חיות משםThe worlds receive their life from Malchus, the Throne of Glory, through bittul: they accept the yoke of Heaven to be nullified and included in their source. What is separate, the sitra achra, receives no life from there.
Main sources
Likkutei Torah, Shelach 1, ¶4Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 15, ¶10Torah Ohr, Vaeira 3, ¶9Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei 4, ¶3Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 8, ¶39Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 8, ¶40Likkutei Torah, Haazinu 1, ¶18Likkutei Torah, Pekudei 1, ¶5
Where it appears
In 177 paragraphs of 103 maamarim.
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 10 ¶15 ¶16 ¶18 ¶20 ¶22 ¶25 ¶26
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 11 ¶6 ¶11
- Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei 4 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 1 ¶3 ¶15
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 6 ¶5 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 11 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 3 ¶20
- Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 4 ¶8 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 3 ¶18 ¶28
- Likkutei Torah, Shemini Atzeres 5 ¶1 ¶28
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 8 ¶27 ¶39 ¶40 ¶41
- Likkutei Torah, Shemini 1 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Va’eschanan 7 ¶1 ¶12
- Torah Ohr, Megillas Esther 8 ¶1 ¶17 ¶29 ¶30
- Torah Ohr, Vayakhel 2 ¶19
- Torah Ohr, Yisro 1 ¶10 ¶15 ¶17 ¶23
- Likkutei Torah, Behar 2 ¶29
- Likkutei Torah, Korach 1 ¶32
- Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 5 ¶23
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 24 ¶5 ¶6
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 39 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, V’Zos HaBerachah 2 ¶1 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, V’Zos HaBerachah 6 ¶9
- Torah Ohr, Lech Lecha 4 ¶2
- Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 6 ¶21 ¶24 ¶25
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 8 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 15 ¶19
- Likkutei Torah, Behaaloscha 7 ¶7
- Likkutei Torah, Haazinu 4 ¶6 ¶7 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei 6 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Nasso 5 ¶8 ¶13
- Likkutei Torah, Pekudei 1 ¶2 ¶3 ¶5 ¶30 ¶33 ¶53
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 2 ¶6 ¶17 ¶18 ¶19
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 17 ¶11 ¶15
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 26 ¶24
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 37 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Yom Kippur 1 ¶4
- Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 5 ¶11 ¶14
- Torah Ohr, Va’eira 1 ¶8 ¶13
- Likkutei Torah, Eikev 4 ¶8 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 4 ¶2 ¶4 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 29 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 1 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 7 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 22 ¶23
- Likkutei Torah, Balak 1 ¶13 ¶18
- Likkutei Torah, Balak 4 ¶2 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 1 ¶5 ¶6
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 5 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Bechukosai 5 ¶11
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 8 ¶12
- Likkutei Torah, Emor 5 ¶8 ¶12
- Likkutei Torah, Matos 2 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Matos 4 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Pinchas 1 ¶3 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 1 ¶2 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 11 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Shemini Atzeres 8 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 15 ¶10 ¶15
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 20 ¶18 ¶19
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 28 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 35 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Sukkos 4 ¶5 ¶7
- Likkutei Torah, Va’eschanan 10 ¶13
- Torah Ohr, Beshalach 7 ¶7
- Torah Ohr, Megillas Esther 6 ¶4 ¶11
- Torah Ohr, Megillas Esther 10 ¶12 ¶13
- Torah Ohr, Parshas Zachor 1 ¶21 ¶22 ¶25
- Torah Ohr, Va’eira 3 ¶1 ¶9
- Torah Ohr, Vayakhel 1 ¶24
- Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei 2 ¶11 ¶14 ¶16 ¶18
- Torah Ohr, Yisro 10 ¶29 ¶30
- Likkutei Torah, Balak 2 ¶23 ¶29
- Torah Ohr, Bereishis 8 ¶5 ¶6 ¶8 ¶9 ¶22 ¶29
- Torah Ohr, Beshalach 4 ¶13 ¶14 ¶16
- Torah Ohr, Noach 1 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Acharei 1 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 2 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 21 ¶2
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 1 ¶12 ¶14
- Likkutei Torah, Kedoshim 1 ¶20
- Likkutei Torah, Nasso 7 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 3 ¶18
- Likkutei Torah, Pekudei 2 ¶14 ¶38
- Likkutei Torah, Tzav 5 ¶7
- Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 4 ¶19
- Torah Ohr, Tetzaveh 1 ¶16
- Likkutei Torah, Haazinu 1 ¶18
- Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 2 ¶13
- Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 2 ¶5
- Torah Ohr, Vayeishev 4 ¶6 ¶9 ¶25
- Likkutei Torah, Tzav 6 ¶26
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 18 ¶32
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 7 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Tzav 7 ¶31
- Torah Ohr, Beshalach 1 ¶11
- Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 7 ¶23
- Torah Ohr, Shemos 4 ¶3
- Torah Ohr, Yisro 7 ¶44
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 18 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 10 ¶14
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 2 ¶18
- Likkutei Torah, Balak 3 ¶28 ¶30
Written with AI from the paragraphs of Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah, each entry checked by a second AI reader and every Hebrew quote checked by code; not yet reviewed by a person. Our English: CC BY-NC 4.0.