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by Rav Kook
Who will hold me back? Why do I not reveal in writing all of my fiery thoughts, all of the most hidden thoughts of my spirit? Who is it that prevents me, who imprisons my thought within its husk, and does not allow it to emerge into the air of the world? Who is it that chokes the phenomena of the spiritual life, and does not allow them to reveal themselves in all the beauty of the wealth of colors of their lights? My spiritual powers within me cry out in their great sorrow. They feel as though they are prisoners sitting in jail. And these impoverished prisoners complain that they are imprisoned without justice and without righteousness. They are correct, and honesty and justice are on their side. They speak of breaking out by force, of breaking down the walls of their imprisonment, of emerging into the freedom forever, of singing aloud their great, holy, joyful tune, filled with the power of life, a life of holiness and purity, a life of beauty, a life of the delight of all worlds, a life of the majesty of Hashem, in Whom they will delight with all good. Oh when, when will their redemption come? When, when, will I speak and write all that my heart feels? “I will speak and I will have comfort.” “My mouth will speak the praises of Hashem.” And the mouth will speak all that the heart thinks, and the pen will express all that is hidden in the depth of thought, and from darkness will emerge light, light, light, light, “Hashem is my Light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?” “Hashem is my light.” Chadarav, pp. 70-71
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by Rav Kook
We must broaden thought a great deal: in length, in breadth, in depth, in height, in how it spreads and in size—so that it will penetrate deeply, in detail, in an individual way and in detail, in seeking and in miniature, to the very thinnest of threads. And we travel from the great to the tiny and from the tiny to the great; from the particular to the general and from the general to the particular, and then again. We soar from the highest emanation, from the ideal, to the corporeal, to the physical, to the realm of action, and we return and rise from the realm of deed to the highest emanation, to the ideal. And we are involved constantly with movement filled with life, moving outward and inward, rising and descending. And thus we live an ecstatic life, a holy life, in the glory of the name of Hashem. We yearn to pronounce the Name, we desire to explicate the supernal light, we are filled with a supernal thirst slaked with delights to fill the mouth with the praise of the God of gods. And out of an abundance of pure awe, out of an intensity of a trembling of holiness, we return to the silence. And we engage in holy unifications, supernal unifications, with song, with holiness, with poetry, with gaiety, with purity, with quivering, with shaking with delight. And all of my bones will sing, and the kingship of heaven will be elevated, and the supernal honor will be uplifted, and my spirit will stride forward mightily, and I am filled with praise and song, and heaven and hear rejoice in my joy, and all judgments are mitigated, and seraphim and erelim-angels sing together with me, and the ministering angels gather as in the musical entertainments of groom and bride, and everything expresses glory. “Blessed is the glory of God from His place.” Blessed is He and blessed is His great name, hidden from all living beings, and concealed from all existence, and over everything, may He be exalted and uplifted, forever. Chadarav, p. 55 by Rav Kook
Will I desist from seeking the source of freedom, the source of freedom of my self and the source of freedom of the entire world? I will not desist,I will not be indolent, and I will not be intimidated by anything frightening and by anything disturbing. The foundation of the redemption and supernal freedom must reveal itself. And if it is cloaked in the thickness of fog, in all leaden clouds, then I will pursue the light of the sun, which shines above the clouds, and I will surely attain it. And in the rays of its light, there will be light for me and light for the world. Chadarav, p. 47 I ask myself:
Am I allowed to silence the joy of my soul, the full downpour of the supernal yearning, the slaking of the thirst of the gaze filled with holy radiance, for the sake of pressing requests of minor matters, of actions in which I do not feel the supernal goal of my ideals, for the sake of the pressures of intellectual learning—which, whatever the causes that have brought me to this, do not fill and slake my spirit? What will I do? How will I prepare my way? How will I perform my inner obligation for myself, for my spirit inside me, for my internal being? For me, this is the question of questions, Oh, how much I need a solution! Even all who draw up waters in buckets cannot explain this secret to me! Only from the might of soulful strength, which is fitting to break forth from within my inner being in the core of my core, only from this cloaked power will come in its revelation the clear solution to this soulful world-question. Chadarav, p. 37 by Rav Kook
A person only attains stature from within himself, from his inner, essential core, and not from what comes to him from outside, because circumstantial occurrences do not bring about true happiness. But the Torah and the commandments are the core of happiness, yet they come to a person from outside himself. However, when we contemplate, we see that every person attains from the Torah and the commandments only that which is hidden in his inner being. Moreover, in the totality of things, a person envelops all being, and the Torah and the commandments, which are the core of the laws of being, are incorporated in him. And when he clings to them, he clings to his core. And when, through them, he comes to cling to the Divine, he certainly finds his core, because our entire core is only in the source of our being—in God, the Source of all existence—because in truth, in the essence of truth, we truly exist only in Him, and outside of Him we are only an assemblage of circumstantiality. “[With] my soul, I have yearned for You at night, indeed, [with] my spirit within me I seek You” (Isaiah 26:9). Chadarav, pp. 20-21 by Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook
It is very difficult for me to engage only in matters of Jewish law or only in matters of homiletics, only in matters of revealed Torah or only in matters of kabbalah. Similarly, it is hard for me to tend to ideas only in the way of simple faith or only in the way of academia and logic, to tend only to the characteristic of solitude or only to the characteristic of camaraderie and sociability. That is because all streams rule in me: faith and academia, nationalism and ethics, Jewish law and homiletics, the revealed and the kabbalistic, analysis and song. I am prepared to absorb all of it. And out of the oneness of the supernal heights, I proceed and stride to truly cling to Hashem and to raise the holy light of the Congregation of Israel in thought and in deed to the source of its life. I dream dreams of the greatest matters, I soar to the heavens. There is no barrier to the spirit of my imagination. And I yearn constantly to cling to my yearning that is embedded in happiness and in goodness, in purity and in holiness. The pure naturalness of the creation, of the nation, of the individual, of the moment, of eternity, and that which encompasses [this naturalness], and that which fills the entire content of its life—that is the joy of my life. “As with choice foods and fat, my spirit will be satiated, when my mouth praises with expressions of song” (Psalms 63:3). “Great is Hashem and very much praised, and there is no comprehending His greatness” (ibid. 145:3). “I will come with the mighty deeds of Hashem” (ibid. 71:16), “I will mention all of His praise” (cf. ibid. 106: 2). “I will praise You because I was fashioned in an incredibly wondrous way, and my spirit knows it very well” (ibid. 139:14). Shemonah Kevatzim 3:233 from Tzidkat Hatzaddik (#43) by Rabbi Tzadok of Lublin
Sometimes a person is subjected to such a difficult test that it is impossible that he not sin. As our Sages said [in explaining the sin of the Golden Calf: “This may be compared to a man who had a son. He had him bathed and anointed, he fed him and gave him to drink, he hung a purse around his neck and he put him at the door of a brothel.] What can that son do in order not to sin?” (Berachot 32a). In such a situation, a person is considered to be completely coerced, in which case the Compassionate One absolves a person. And so too when a person’s [evil] inclination tempts him with incredible, overwhelming force, that is a situation of coercion. If Hashem compels his heart, his sin was no sin whatsoever. Rather, it was God’s will. See Ketubot 51b describing a case of a [married] woman who is being raped: “Even if, at the end, she cries out that should the rapist stop, she would pay him [to continue, she is not considered to be an adulterer, and] she is permitted to return to her husband. Why? Because her [evil] inclination enveloped her.” Thus, we see that this is considered total coercion although [in the end] she was willing. Thus, when a person’s [evil] inclination is so great that he cannot overcome it, he is [considered to be] under complete coercion. In that case, there is no punishment for [what he has done], even if he performed a prohibited act, because he was coerced. However, the person himself cannot testify about himself that this is indeed the case, because it is possible that he still had the ability to overcome his [evil] inclination (as I heard [from the Ishbitzer Rebbe] regarding Zimri, who erred in this matter [when he engaged in relations with a Moabite princess]). from Likutei Moharan Hamevuar
Likutei Moharan Hamevuar I 3 Rebbe Nachman opens this lesson by quoting a narrative told by Rabbah bar Bar Chana about a frog. Rebbe Nachman then delivers the lesson, at the end of which he returns to this narrative and interprets it in light of the lesson. The Talmud relates: “Rabbah bar Bar Chana said: I saw a certain frog that was as large as the town called Akra D’Hagrunia.” The Talmud interjects to ask: “And how large is Akra D’Hagrunia?” The Talmud answers its own question: “The size of sixty houses.” The text then returns to Rabbah’s narrative: “A snake[1] came and swallowed it—the frog. A raven came and swallowed the snake. And the raven then went up and sat in a tree.” Rabbi bar Bar Chana concludes: “Come and see how great is the strength of that tree,” which could bear the weight of a raven that had swallowed a snake, which had swallowed a frog as large as a town comprising sixty houses (Bava Batra 73b). Rebbe Nachman now begins his lesson by explaining the power of melody{—in particular, singing}, the source from which it is drawn, and what it can bestow upon a person. Behold, when a person hears a melody from a wicked singer—from someone whose deeds are unworthy or whose intent in making music is to gain money or honor, and not at all for the sake of heaven[2]--that is harmful to his service of the Creator. The melody that he hears harms his service of Hashem. And conversely, when he hears a melody from a singer who is worthy and suitable—whose deeds are worthy and whose purpose in making music is for the sake of heaven, with the aim of clinging to Hashem, then it is good for him—this melody helps him serve Hashem, as will be explained further on. Now Rebbe Nachman states that hearing the melody of a worthy singer helps a person serve Hashem, and he explains why that is the case. For behold, the sound of melody is derived from the birds. It derives from a spiritual level in the realm of Atzilut called “birds.” That level comprises the supernal root of melody, and from it the power of song is drawn into the world.[3] And the following alludes to this. As we find in the midrash: “Why does the purification of a person with the skin disease called tzara’at require that on the day of his purification he must bring two living kosher birds as an offering? The reason is this: Let these birds, which chatter and chirp, come and atone for this person, who chattered–for this person was afflicted as a result of having caused harm with his voice (Vayikra Rabbah 80:16). This is because he was stricken with tzara’at due to his voice, insofar as he gossiped. As the Talmud teaches, a person who speaks badly of others is punished with tzara’at (Arachin 15b). The deeper meaning behind this midrash that by causing damage on the level of the voice, this person damaged the supernal level called “birds,” from which a worthy and suitable voice is drawn. As a result, he must bring an offering of two living kosher birds, for their supernal root is that level called “birds.” When he offers these two birds here on earth, the level of the “birds” in the supernal realm is rectified. So the melody of a person who is worthy is drawn from the supernal level called “two living, kosher birds.” And behold, it is written in the Zohar that the supernal level called two kosher birds (as mentioned above), draws down and receives power from the same region from which the prophets draw down and receive prophecy—i.e., from the supernal sefirot of netzach and hod in the world of Atzilut (Zohar, Vayikra 53b). Therefore the singer is called chazan—“cantor,” a word derived from the expression chazon, which means “vision”--that is to say, from an expression denoting prophecy, for prophecy is described as a “vision” (as in the phrase, “the vision of Isaiah” [Isaiah 1:1]). And the reason is that he—the singer--takes the melody from the region from which the prophets draw down prophecy. He receives the power of melody from the level of the birds, and the birds in turn receive their power from the region from which the prophets drawn down prophecy. Now we can understand why hearing the melody of a worthy and suitable singer helps a person serve Hashem. The root of melody is very high, drawn from the region from which prophecy is drawn. Therefore, through melody a person may attain something akin to a level of prophecy. In prophecy, a person strips himself of this world’s physicality and turns his thought to cling to Hashem. A person may also attain this state by means of melody, turning his thoughts aside from the vanities of this world and causing them to cling only to Hashem. When he hears a joyful melody, he connects himself to Hashem with joy, and when he hears an elevating and heartrending melody, he connects himself to Hashem fervently, with holy yearning.[4] Having taught how the melody of a worthy singer helps a person serve Hashem, Rebbe Nachman now goes on to explain why hearing the melody of an unworthy singer damages a person’s service of Hashem. And conversely, when a singer is wicked, then he derives his melody from other birds, those of the “husk.” Every level of holiness has its counterpart in the realm of impurity, called the “husk.” Therefore, just as there is a level of holy birds from which the worthy singer receives the power of his melody, so too is there a level of “birds” in the realm of the husk, from which the unworthy singer receives the power of his melody. And it is written in the Zohar that the birds of the husk suckle their energy from the breasts of the sefirah called malchut (Zohar, Vayichi, p. 217b). In the realm of holiness, there is a world called Atzilut in which there exists a partzuf (a spiritual structure) called Nukva. That partzuf is {equivalent to} the sefirah of holy malchut. Conversely, in the realm of the husks there is also a world of Atzilut with a partzuf called Nukva, which is {equivalent to} the level of the sefirah of malchut of the husk. Every partzuf is subdivided into ten sefirot. {(And each of those ten sefirot is also subdivided into ten sefirot, and so forth and so on.)} In the realm of the husk, the level of the birds of the husk corresponds to the sefirot of chochmah and binah within the partzuf of Nukva. The region of “Nukva of the husk” in the world of Atzilut of the husk occupies a relatively low position in relation to the realm of holiness. That position is on the level of Beriah (the world below Atzilut). However, from nightfall until midnight, the birds of the husk have the power to rise and suckle energy from the sefirah of holy malchut in the world of holy Atzilut. In particular, {those birds} draw down energy from holy malchut by making use of the sub-sefirah of yesod within malchut. And in even greater detail, they make use of the sub-sub-sefirot of netzach and hod within that yesod. These two sefirot {of netzach and hod} are called the “breasts of malchut.” {(These sub-sub-sefirot, netzach and hod, are within malchut. They are not the sefirot of netzach and hod mentioned earlier, which are the source of melody and prophecy, and which stand above Nukva (malchut).} {To review the hierarchy of supernal energies in the realm of holy Atzilut mentioned to this point: {The sefirot of netzach and hod are the source of prophecy and melody. They send their holy energy into the lowest sefirah in Atzilut, of malchut, which is identified with Nukva. Malchut is subdivided into sub-sefirot, and those sub-sefirot are sub-subdivided into sub-sub-sefirot. {The energy from netzach and hod enters into the sub-sefirot within malchut of chochmah and binah. These two sub-sefirot are also called mochin and they correspond to the holy birds. {From them, the holy energy descends into the sub-sefirah of yesod within malchut—more specifically, it enters into the two sub-sub-sefirot of netzach and hod within the sub-sefirah of yesod. These two sub-sub-sefirot are also known as the “breasts of malchut.”} Hod Netzach Binah Chochmah Hod Netzach And when night is split—at midnight, when the birds of the husk cease to draw down their energy {from the realm of holiness}, then a proclamation issues forth, “Like birds caught in a trap, like them are human beings caught” (Ecclesiastes 9:12)—referring to the trap of the evil inclination. People are caught in the trap of the evil inclination by means of the power of the birds of the husk. Under the influence of those birds, people are attracted to the lusts and vanities of this world and they grow distant from Hashem. {But at midnight, people can awaken to the fact of their subjugation to their evil inclination.} Now we can understand why hearing melody from an unworthy singer damages a person’s service of Hashem. The unworthy singer receives the power of his melody from the birds of the husk. Thus, his melody influences a person to be drawn after the lusts and vanities of this world and to grow distant from Hashem. After having taught that the melody of a worthy singer helps a person serve Hashem, whereas the melody of an unworthy singer damages a person’s service of Hashem, and after having related the reason for this, Rebbe Nachman now tells how a person may protect himself from being harmed in his service of Hashem even if he hears the melody of an unworthy singer. And the rectification so that a person may be able to hear a melody from anyone, even from an evil singer—so that if he should happen to hear him it will not harm his service of Hashem[5]--is for him to learn oral Torah at night. That is, he should learn Talmud, which is on the level of night—and he should do so at night. Rebbe Nachman will now explain why it is necessary to learn Talmud, and not other forms of oral Torah, and why he should do so in particular at night. As we find, the fact that the oral Torah is on the level of night is alluded to in a midrash: “When Moses was on the mountain, on Mt. Sinai standing before Hashem to receive the Torah, for forty days and forty nights, he did not know when it was day and when it was night, because in God’s presence there is neither day nor night--except through this: when he learned the written Torah, he knew that it was day, and when he learned the oral Torah, he knew that it was night” (Midrash Tehillim 19). When it was daytime in this world, God taught him the written Torah, for the written Torah corresponds to day. And when it was nighttime in this world, God taught him the oral Torah, for the oral Torah corresponds to night. Thus, the oral Torah is on the level of night. And besides the fact that overall the oral Torah is on the level of night, the Talmud in particular is called night. As our rabbis, may their memory be for a blessing, said, “The verse, ‘He placed me in the dark places’ (Lamentations 3:6), is a reference to the Babylonian Talmud” (Sanhedrin 24a). This is because, explains Rashi, the Babylonian sages are not polite to each other and {do not reach clear conclusions}. Thus, the Talmud is termed darkness. And it is written, “He called the darkness night” (Genesis 1:5). Since darkness is termed night, therefore the Talmud, which is termed darkness, is also termed night. Now Rebbe Nachman explains that as a result of learning Talmud a person remains unharmed by the melody of an unworthy singer. A synonym for “Talmud” is “Shas.” This word is an abbreviation of the phrase shishah sedorim—“six ‘orders’”—for the Talmud is divided into six principal sections called “orders” (Zeraim, Moed, Nashim, Nezikin, Kedoshim and Tehorot). As a result of learning Shas, which is associated with the number six, he will rectify something else associated with the number six: the six rings of the larynx, from which the voice emerges. In their supernal root, these six rings correspond to the six orders of the Talmud. When a person rectifies the level of the six rings in the throat from which the voice emerges, he rectifies the sound of his melody. And when the sound of his melody is rectified, then unworthy melodies cannot harm him. And that is alluded to in the prophet’s words to the nation of Israel: “Arise, sing [and weep] at night” (Lamentations 2:19). “Arise, sing”--that is, there should be a rising up of song. A person should raise and rectify the sound of his melody, so that any unworthy melody that he hears will not harm him. That comes about by means of “at night,” which is Talmud, Shas, which is termed night.[6] Learning Talmud has the power to protect a person so that the melody of an unworthy singer will not harm him. But when a person learns Talmud not for its own sake—that is, he instead learns in order to be called rabbi—in order to gain honor, that learning is not so valuable. Essentially, a person’s Torah learning is of value when his intent is to increase the glory of heaven and please God. Any Torah learning that lacks these elements cannot rectify the level associated with the six rings in the throat. Therefore, it cannot protect a person against the melody of an unworthy singer.[7] And when he learns Talmud at night, a thread of lovingkindness is drawn onto him. As the Talmud states, “When a person learns Torah at night, the Holy One, blessed be He, draws a thread of lovingkindness upon him during the day” (Chagigah 12b). And this illumination of lovingkindness that is drawn onto him protects him, so that the thought (mentioned above), the desire to gain honor as a scholar, will not harm him, because the thread of lovingkindness raises and purifies him so that he will not think in that manner. Instead, his sole intent in learning will be for the sake of heaven. And as he learns for the sake of heaven, his learning will be of such value that can protect him from unworthy melody.[8] Having explained that the melody of a worthy singer is drawn from the level of the birds of holiness and that the melody of unworthy singers is drawn from the level of the birds of the husk, and after having explained how by means of learning Talmud at night a person can protect himself from being damaged by an unworthy singer, Rebbe Nachman now reveals an additional quality possessed by the birds of holiness, and, conversely, an additional quality possessed the birds of the husk. And there exists a statement in the writings of the Ari (Eitz Chaim, Gate 48, Chapter 2) that the birds of the husk—from which, as we have learned, the power of unworthy melody is drawn--are the mochin (the “mind”—literally, the “brains”) in malchut of the husk. As was explained earlier, in the world of Atzilut there exists a partzuf (spiritual structure) called Nukva, which corresponds to the sefirah of malchut. The husks also have a version of the world of Atzilut, where there is also a partzuf called Nukva, which corresponds to the sefirah of malchut of the husk. Every partzuf is composed of ten sefirot. The sub-sefirot of chochmah and binah are the level of the intellect and mochin within every partzuf. In the partzuf Nukva of the husk, the sub-sefirot of chochmah and binah correspond to the birds of the husk. And so the birds of the husk correspond to the mochin of malchut of the husk. And conversely the two living kosher birds are the structure of holy malchut. The two living kosher birds are the sub-sefirot of chochmah and binah in the partzuf of Nukva of holiness. As such, the birds of holiness comprise the mochin and provide the structure of holy malchut of the world of holy Atzilut. These birds receive their light from the holy sefirot of netzach and hod—from which the prophets draw down their prophecy—which are higher than the sefirah of malchut. The birds of holiness are the sub-sefirot of chochmah and binah within malchut. As such, they comprise and provide the structure of malchut. Therefore, David was praised to Saul. When God sent an evil spirit into Saul, one of his servants advised him to seek a person who knows how to play music and would as such be able to calm his spirit. Doeg the Edomite then spoke up and recommended David: “Behold, I saw a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play music and is a mighty man, a warrior, prudent in affairs and a handsome man, and Hashem is with him” (Samuel I 16:18). The fact that David “knows how to play music” indicated that he had attained the level of holy melody from its supernal root, which is the daat (“knowledge”) and mochin of holy malchut. (Thus the phrase reads, “and he knows”—relating to daat). There is a deeper reason for the fact that David is praised for knowing music, for melody is the structure of malchut. That is to say, the birds of holiness, from whom melody is drawn, comprise and provide the structure of malchut. Since David attained the level of melody, he {was able to fully build} the structure of his malchut. Therefore, he fully accepted upon himself Hashem’s sovereignty (malchut). Every Jew possesses a portion of holy malchut. Via melody for the sake of heaven, he is aroused to serve Hashem, clings to Hashem, accepts upon himself the sovereignty of Hashem, and builds his portion of malchut. Since David attained melody in full, he fully built the structure of his malchut. And since David attained the completion of the structure of his malchut, therefore he is suitable for sovereignty. A person who attains the level of malchut can rule over the nation of Israel, since the power of sovereignty is drawn from the sefirah of malchut {(as noted earlier, malchut means “sovereignty”)}. Therefore, the description of David as someone who “knows music” teaches that he attained sovereignty over Israel. And this is what is written about him—about King David: “From behind the nursing ewes, He brought him to shepherd Jacob His nation and Israel His inheritance” (Psalms 78:71). Rashi explains that since, when David shepherded his father’s nursing ewes, he treated them kindly, Hashem chose him to be king over Israel. That is, “from behind the nursing ewes,” alludes to a pair of sefirot: that is, netzach and hod. They are said to be nursing because they nurse the prophets and pour prophecy onto them. And they comprise and provide for the structure of malchut insofar as they bring the flow of light down to the birds of holiness, which correspond to the structure of malchut. Thus, this verse may be interpreted as follows: “From behind the nursing ewes” means that David attained the level of melody, whose root comes from the birds of holiness, which in turn receive light from netzach and hod. These birds comprise and provide the structure of malchut. Thus, David attained the building of his structure of malchut. As a result, he became king over Israel. Therefore, the verse continues, “He brought him to shepherd Jacob His nation and Israel His inheritance.” Rebbe Nachman has explained that the birds of the husk comprise the mochin of malchut of the husk, whereas the birds of holiness are the structure of holy malchut. Now he will teach in greater detail that the melody of a singer who is unworthy damages a person’s service of Hashem, whereas the melody of a worthy singer enhances a person’s service of Hashem. A reason for this was given earlier. And in the passage immediately above Rebbe Nachman supplied an additional reason: when a person hears a melody from a worthy singer who receives his melody from the birds of holiness, he rectifies the structure of his holy malchut, and he fully accepts the yoke of the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, when a person hears the melody of an unworthy singer who receives his melody from the birds of the husk, he damages the structure of his holy malchut, and throws off the yoke of the kingdom of heaven. As a result, he intensifies the power of malchut of the Sitra Achra throughout the world.[9] Now Rebbe Nachman will teach how all of the elements of this lesson are alluded to in Rabbah bar Bar Chana’s narrative. And this is the meaning of what Rabbah bar Bar Chana said: “I saw a certain frog.” And the commentator Rabbeinu Shmuel (Rashbam) explained the Aramaic word for frog that Rabbah bar Bar Chana used by translating it into Hebrew as tz’fardea. The word tz’fardea is composed of two words: tz’far (similar to tzipor, “bird”) and deah (“knowledge”)--that is, a bird of knowledge.[10] The birds of holiness comprise the knowledge and mochin of holy malchut. “That was as large as the town called Akra D’Hagrunia.” The name Akra D’Hagrunia sounds similar to the Hebrew for the phrase “Cry out with the throat” (Isaiah 58:1): k’ra v’garon—that is to say, melody, which is a sound that comes forth from the throat. In other words, Rabbah bar Bar Chana perceived and comprehended the level of the birds of holiness from which melody is drawn. “And how large is Akra D’Hagrunia? The size of sixty houses.” This alludes to the idea discussed earlier that the opposite of the birds of holiness are the birds of the husk, from which the melody of the unworthy singer is drawn, which harms a person’s service of Hashem. That is to say, a question is raised: By what means is the level of “crying out with the throat”—the sound of a person’s melody--rectified, so that unworthy melody will not damage him in his service of Hashem? The answer is: By means of sixty houses—that is to say, by means of sixty tractates.[11] And this connection between sixty houses and the Talmud can be derived from the fact that Rabbeinu Shmuel explains, “The Talmud says this.” The straightforward meaning of Rabbeinu Shmuel’s explanation is that this question and answer—“And how large is Akra D’Hagrunia? The size of sixty houses”—is an interpolation by the Talmud and does not comprise the words of Rabbah bar Bar Chana. But homiletically, the phrase “the Talmud says this” can be read as stating, “Say [words of] Talmud”--that is, that a person should learn Talmud. As a result of learning Talmud, which incorporates sixty tractates, a person rectifies the voice of his melody. This is because, as was explained earlier, the Talmud, which is composed of six orders, corresponds to the six rings in the larynx. It therefore rectifies the voice of melody. And then unworthy melody cannot harm this person’s service of God. “A snake came and swallowed it”—the snake swallowed the frog. And Rabbeinu Shmuel explains: “Rabbah said this.” The straightforward meaning of this explanation is that this sentence was stated by Rabbah bar Bar Chana and is not a comment added by the Talmud. The words, “A snake came [and] swallowed it” means that as a result of a person’s learning Torah not for its own sake, the snake—which is a term for the Sitra Achra--swallows it—the person’s learning. The Sitra Achra draws its energy from Torah learning that is not for its own sake. That kind of learning cannot rectify the voice of a person’s melody to keep unworthy melody from being able to harm his service of Hashem.[12] And that is alluded to in Rabbeinu Shmuel’s having explained: “Rabbah said this.” This phrase may be homiletically read as “to be called rabbi.” That is to say, as a result of a person learning Torah in order to be called rabbi, the snake will swallow his learning. And what is the rectification for this? “A raven came.” The tale uses the Aramaic word for “raven.” And since the student might not know that word, Rabbeinu Shmuel explains it by translating it into Hebrew: “oreiv.” And that is to be understood as follows: As a result of learning at night—the word oreiv coming from the language arvit, night,[13] “the raven came and swallowed” the snake—that is, and the raven protects him from the snake (mentioned above). Learning at night influences a person to learn Torah for its own sake. Then the snake—which is the Sitra Achra—cannot swallow his learning. And the reason that learning at night protects a person against the snake is stated in the next part of the narrative: “And the raven then went up and sat in a tree.” The Maharsha explains that it—the tree--corresponds to Abraham. And that is because it is written regarding Abraham, “He planted an eshel” (Genesis 21:33), which is a type of tree.[14] And it is known that Abraham is on the level of lovingkindness. Abraham corresponds to the sefirah of chesed, Isaac to gevurah and Jacob to tiferet. Abraham worked his entire life to extend lovingkindness to others. And so this tree alludes to lovingkindness--that is, that the thread of lovingkindness that is drawn onto him—onto a Jew—as a result of his learning at night protects him from the snake (as mentioned above). Rabbah bar Bar Chana concludes: “Come and see how great is the might of that tree.” That is, Rabbah expresses astonishment that His lovingkindness—the thread of lovingkindness that God pours onto us--for us has grown so strong that even regarding this fact—that a person learns Torah not for its sake--it, God’s lovingkindness, can protect him and influence him to learn Torah for its own sake, as a result of which the snake will not swallow his learning. Now in the context of his having taught that melody is the structure of malchut, Rebbe Nachman will explain a mishnah in Pirkei Avot. And this will explain the juxtaposition of the clauses in the following mishnah: “Make yourself a rabbi, and acquire yourself a colleague, and judge every individual favorably” (Pirkei Avot 1:6). On the simple level, it is not clear why these three items are placed together. But the matter may be explained in accordance with what Rebbe Nachman taught earlier, because, he stated, as a result of a person hearing melody from a worthy singer (as above), he rectifies his structure of malchut and he fully accepts Hashem’s sovereignty. Thus, as was explained earlier, by means of melody David was able to rectify his structure of malchut. And this is alluded to in the words of the mishnah, as follows. First, “make yourself a rabbi.” That is, that a person should rectify the level of malchut. This is because the title of “rabbi” alludes to rulership and greatness. And that comes about by means of: “acquire yourself a colleague.” The Hebrew word for “acquire” is k’nei, which is spelled the same as the word kaneh, “larynx.” That is to say, this comes about by means of the larynx, from which the voice comes forth—that is, by means of the melody that emerges from the larynx. The Hebrew word for “colleague,” chaver, has the meaning of binding and clinging. Holy melody is termed a “colleague,” since that causes the two cherubim in the Temple to bond face-to-face, “like a man embracing his wife” (Kings I 7:36), When the nation of Israel does the will of God (Yoma 54b). The Talmud explains that when the people of Israel do not perform God’s will, the cherubim do not stand face-to-face. Only when the Jewish people do God’s will do the cherubim turn their faces to each other (Bava Batra 99a). And so the bonding of the cherubim to each other alludes to the clinging of Israel to their Father in heaven. By means of the melody of holiness, the Jews cling to their Father in heaven, and then the cherubim also bond together, face-to-face. And thus melody is called “colleague.” And via the melody called a “colleague,” we rectify the level of malchut, which is alluded to in the word “rabbi.” And then, when he—this person--rectifies his level of malchut and he can rule over all that he wants—as was stated earlier, as a result of having rectified the level of malchut, King David was able to rule over Israel--and he can kill one person and give life to another, and as a result the world will be destroyed, because he will treat wicked people strictly and kill them, regarding that it—the mishnah—continues and states: “And judge every individual favorably.” That is to say, a person must judge every individual favorably,[15] for the Holy One, blessed be He, does not desire the destruction of the world, because “not for chaos did He create it—to be inhabited He made it” (Isaiah 45:18). God gains satisfaction from the few good deeds of every Jew, and God has use of every Jew, even if he has been wicked. And in addition, He does not desire the death of the wicked but their repentance. After having taught that worthy melody is drawn from the birds of holiness, which are the mochin of holy malchut, and that unworthy melody is drawn from the birds of the husk, which are the mochin of malchut of the husk, Rebbe Nachman now explains the source of the melodies of contemporary cantors. And because of this, there is at present a common expression that states that professional cantors are fools and lack knowledge. This common saying has a deeper meaning, because now at the time of exile, holy malchut is in exile amongst the “outer forces,” and its light has been diminished, and as a result melody, which is drawn from the region of the prophets–the region from which the prophets draw their prophecy—i.e., from netzach and hod—{from which it descends so that it emerges} from the level of mochin and knowledge of holy malchut, since now this malchut is in exile, melody is therefore blemished, for it is drawn from the mochin of malchut, and malchut is blemished. And therefore professional cantors, whose intent is to gain honor or money, they lack knowledge, for they do not have the power at present to draw melody from its root in holiness, which is the level of mochin and knowledge of holy malchut (as above), because holy malchut is exiled amongst the outer forces, it is very hard to draw down melody from holy malchut. Only a person whose intent in making music is truly for the sake of heaven, for the sake of clinging to Hashem, has the power to draw down melody from holy malchut. But in the future, when holy malchut will rise and “Hashem will be King over all the earth” (Zechariah 14:9), then melody too will rise and be made complete so that it is no longer blemished, and it will be on the level of knowledge and mochin of holy malchut, from which melody is drawn (as above). Then cantors will be able to draw their melody from the mochin of holy malchut. And that is referred to in the verse, “For God is King of all the earth; sing a song composed with wisdom” (Psalms 47:8). This verse contains the idea that then, when Hashem will be King over all the earth and holy malchut will be elevated, then “sing a song composed with wisdom”—that is, that the cantors who sing will possess knowledge and intellect, as a result of holy malchut rising, and they will receive melody from its root in holiness, which is the level of knowledge and mochin of holy malchut (as above). The lesson now comes to an end with the addition of a few supplementary remarks. Relevant to the above, to the earlier explanation that when a person learns Talmud at night, a thread of lovingkindness is drawn onto him that protects him from thoughts that are “not for the Torah’s sake,” so that with his learning he can then rectify the voice of melody that is unworthy, so that it will not harm him: And that is alluded in the verse, “Your lovingkindness is great beyond heaven” (Psalms 108:5). “Heaven” is the level of the voice. As is written in the musaf prayer of the Days of Awe regarding the receiving of the Torah: “From heaven You caused Your voice to be heard.” Thus there is a connection between heaven and the voice, and thus heaven alludes to voice. This is because by means of lovingkindness, which is to say, the level of the thread of kindness, which is drawn down as a result of learning Torah at night, by means of that the voice of melody that is unworthy is rectified (as above). And that is alluded to in the words, “Your lovingkindness is great beyond heaven” (as above). The verse may be understood as follows: “Your lovingkindness”—the thread of lovingkindness—“is great beyond heaven”—the blemished voice. As a result, the blemished voice will not cause a person harm. It was explained above that the two birds of holiness from which prophecy is drawn comprise and provide the structure of holy malchut. And in accordance with this, therefore in the time of the Tanach establishing—i.e., appointing--a king occurred in accordance with prophecy, by the directive of a prophet who received a command from Hashem, such as the entire sovereignty of the House of David, which was in accordance with prophecy. The prophet Samuel anointed King David. And the reason is that prophecy is drawn from the cherubim. As the verse states regarding Moses, “He would hear the voice speaking to him from above the covering that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubim” (Numbers 7:89)--that the cherubim in their supernal root correspond to the two birds (as above), which comprise and provide the structure of holy malchut (as above). Therefore, the establishment of a king must be carried out by means of prophecy, since prophecy comprises and provides the structure of malchut. Earlier, the verse about King David was quoted, “From behind the nursing ewes, He brought him to shepherd Jacob His nation and Israel His inheritance”--that is, as was explained, from behind the nursing ewes, which are netzach and hod, for they draw down sustenance to the prophets, etc. (as above). As a result of David attaining the power of melody that is drawn from netzach and hod, he attained malchut, for netzach and hod {provide for} the structure of malchut. And now an additional element alluded to in this verse will be presented. That is “from behind the nursing ewes.” That is, that King David, peace be upon him, because of his high level was also able to rectify and elevate melody that was not from a worthy person, to raise it to holiness. And that is referred to in the words, “from behind the nursing ewes He brought him”—that is, even melody from a person who is unworthy, which is from behind holiness, on the level of “from behind the nursing ewes,” from behind those entities that sustain. This is because holy melody comes from the region from which the prophets derive sustenance, whereas melody that is not in the realm of holiness is on the level of “from behind the nursing ewes,” from behind holiness, since the place of the establishment of the husk is behind holiness. And King David, peace be upon him, was able to rectify this melody as well. And as a result of this, holy malchut was elevated (as above). Melody that is not holy derives its energy from the birds of the husk, which are the mochin of malchut of the husk. When that melody is rectified, the power of malchut of the husk is rectified and the level of holy malchut is elevated. King David attained the level of melody, as a result of which he rectified his own structure of malchut. Moreover, he was able to raise unworthy melody from malchut of the husk to holy malchut. As a result, the entire level of holy malchut was magnified and elevated. And that is “from behind the nursing ewes He brought him to shepherd Jacob, etc.,” for as a result of this, the fact that he raised holy malchut, he attained malchut (as above). [1] The reader may be familiar with the word tan’in, meaning “sea-monster,” from Genesis 1:21. That word appears here as “snake,” a meaning that is endorsed later on in this lesson. Similarly, Rashi on Exodus 7:10 translates tan’in as “snake.” Siftei Chachamim (ibid.) states in the name of Radak that when the term tan’in is applied to an aquatic creature, it refers to a type of fish, whereas when it is applied to a creature on dry land, it refers to a snake. [2] Kitzur Likutei Moharan. [3] {The realm of the birds will be discussed later on. In brief, the world of Atzilut contains ten sefirot, the lowest of which is malchut. Malchut itself is sub-divided into ten sefirot. These two birds correspond to the sefirot of chochmah and binah within malchut.} [4] Kitzur Likutei Moharan and Mei Hanachal. See also Likutei Halachot (Hilchot Nesiat Kapayim 5:6), which writes as follows: The essence of clinging to and bonding with Hashem, be He blessed, from this exceedingly low, material and humble world is by means of melody and tune. As we see in actuality, even if a person is far removed from Hashem, be He blessed, even if he inhabits the lowest level, melody can often awaken him to Hashem, be He blessed, so that he reminds himself of where he is in the world. However, when a person hears melody from wicked or lightheaded singers—who are especially common nowadays—that can harm him profoundly, as is written elsewhere (in Likutei Moharan I 3). But when a person hears melodies and tunes from people who are truly worthy, who truly direct their hearts to Hashem, be He blessed, or when a person himself sings a melody for the sake of heaven, he can be greatly inspired to come to Hashem, be He blessed. And as I heard Rebbe Nachman say, the essential bond and clinging of a person in this physical world to Hashem, be He blessed, Who is exceedingly elevated and exalted—in particular a person had sinned and had been far removed from his Father in heaven—is by means of melody and tune. And see Sichot Haran (passage 273): [Rebbe Nachman] said: It is good for a person to accustom himself to revive himself with some melody. Melody is an exceedingly great and high matter. It has great power to arouse and draw the heart of a person to Hashem, be He blessed. Even if a person cannot sing, when he is at home and by himself he can revive himself with some melody in whatever way that he can sing it, for the exemplary nature of melody cannot be imagined. [5] Eitzot Hamevuar (Torah, 7) writes that it is self-understood that a person must make every effort not to hear the melody of a wicked person. But if he has done so unwittingly, against his will or because he did not know it is forbidden to do so, then learning Talmud at night will protect him from harm. [6] Biur Halikutim adds the following. Earlier, this lesson explained that the birds of the husk, from which unworthy melody is drawn, rule during the first half of the night. Conversely, the birds of holiness rule during the second half of the night. Thus, both holiness and the husk possess a level of night. When a person learns Talmud, which is on the level of night (and in particular, when he learns at night), he intensifies the power of holiness at night. In so doing, he nullifies the power of the birds of the husk. Then unworthy melody, which is derived from the birds of the husk, cannot harm his service of God. And so Rebbe Nachman’s statement that the oral Torah is on the level of night comes not only to explain the verse, “Arise, sing at night,” but, more important, it comes to teach that the essential rectification of melody comes about by means of the level of night. Further on, this lesson teaches that the birds of the husk are the mochin (the “mind”—literally, the “brains”) of malchut of the husk, whereas the birds of holiness are the mochin of holy malchut. Biur Halikutim points out that malchut is associated with the oral Torah, as in the statement, “malchut is the mouth, and it is called the oral Torah” (Patach Eliyahu). And, as is well-known, malchut is associated with night. Therefore, when a person learns Talmud (which is associated with night) at night, he intensifies the power of holy malchut (which is also associated with night), and he rectifies unworthy melody that is drawn from the malchut of the husk. [7] Cf. Pesachim 50b: Rava raised a contradiction [between two verses.] One verse states, “Your lovingkindness is great until heaven” (Psalms 57:11), whereas another verse states, “Your lovingkindness is great beyond heaven” (ibid. 108:5). How is that possible? [The answer is that the second] verse speaks about a case in which people act for [the Torah’s] sake, whereas [the first verse speaks about] a case in which people do not act for [the Torah’s] sake. This [explanation mirrors the view of] Rav Yehudah, who praised learning Torah even when it is not done for its own sake. Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav that a person should always [learn] Torah and [perform] mitzvot even if not for [the Torah’s] sake, because as a result of acting not for [the Torah’s] sake he will come to act for its sake. Tosafot on Berachot 17a write that Rav Yehudah’s statement apparently contradicts a statement of the other Sages. Tosafot then resolve this issue by stating that Rav Yehudah and the other Sages were speaking of two separate cases: [Our Sages teach that] if a person acts not for [the Torah’s] sake, it would have been better for him had he not been created. You may object that Rav Yehudah states in the name of Rav (Perek Makom Shenahagu, p. 50b) that a person should always [learn] Torah and [perform] mitzvot, even if not for [the Torah’s] sake, for as a result of acting not for [the Torah’s] sake he will come to act for its sake. One may resolve this by saying that here [in the first case, our Sages] are dealing with a person who is learning solely to dispute his colleagues—[it would have been better for him had he never been born]. But [Rav Yehudah] is discussing a person who is learning in order to gain honor from others—[that is not for its own sake, but it is still worth doing]. Here Rebbe Nachman states that he is speaking of a person who is learning in order to be called rabbi—his learning is not so valuable. Rebbe Nachman is not speaking of a person who learns Torah in order to dispute his colleagues, for that learning has no value whatsoever and it does not protect him in the least from unworthy melody. [8] This explanation appears in Likutei Eitzot (Talmud Torah), in Likutei Halachot (Hilchot Apotrofos 3), Biur Halikutim and Mei Hanachal. Parpar’ot L’Chochmah offers a slightly different explanation, which is quoted in the appendix. [9] Mei Hanachal. [10] See Tanna Devei Eliyahu, Chapter 7, and Kavanot Ha’Arizal on dam tz’fardeah. [11] Parpar’ot L’Chochmah raises the point that although the mishnah is composed of sixty tractates, the Talmud—which is a commentary on the mishnah—does not cover all sixty tractates. He explains that Rebbe Nachman’s reference to sixty tractates means that a person’s rectification begins with his learning the six orders of mishnah, which comprise the essence of the oral Torah, which is the level of night. That is the level of “malchut is mouth and it is called the oral Torah” (as stated in Patach Eliyahu). But a person’s study of mishnah is perfected only when he learns Talmud. As our sages state, “Talmud is the finest [Torah learning]” (Bava Metzia 33a). Therefore, the most perfect way of learning the oral Torah is to learn the Talmud (which includes the mishnah) at night. The author of Biur Halikutim writes that his father stated that Rebbe Nachman wanted a person’s principal learning to consist of, first, clarifying halachah from the oral Torah (in accord with the statement in Likutei Halachot [Hilchot Apotrofus 3:5] that the essence of learning the oral Torah is to clarify it so that one knows the practical halachah) and second, the hidden and inner aspect of Torah. These two types of learning are connected insofar as the oral Torah may be considered as being “hidden and inner” in relation to the written Torah. [12] This seems to be the correct meaning, and it is in accord with the words of Likutei Eitzot, Biur Halikutim and Mei Hanachal, which earlier explained that learning at night induces a person to learn for its own sake. Parpar’ot L’Chochmah, which explained matters differently, explains that the phrase, “the snake swallows it,” is speaking of a person who wants to learn Torah for its own sake but who also has ulterior motives. The snake wishes to lure this person into learning entirely not for the Torah’s sake, as a result of which his learning will not be able to protect him from unworthy melodies. [13] The Talmud interprets the phrase “black as a raven” (Song of Songs 5:11) as referring to a person who studies from early morning into the night (Eruvin 21b-22a). Rashi explains that the word for “black,” shechorot, is similar to the word shacharit, “morning”; and the word for “raven,” oreiv, is similar to the word aravit, “evening.” [14] The full quote from the Maharsha is as follows: “A raven came.” That is specifically a female raven. This is a reference to the sovereignty of Ishmael, who is defiled from the side of his mother, Hagar. Our Sages taught, “Not for nothing did the starling join the raven” (Bava Kama 92b)—[in other words, birds of a feather flock together]. That refers to Ishmael and Edom. “[The raven then] went up.” [Ishmael] went up to the land of Israel and conquered it. “And [it] sat in a tree.” That is to say, [Ishmael inhabits the land of Israel] in the merit of Abraham, whom God assured regarding Ishmael, “I will make him fruitful … and I will make him a great nation” (Genesis 17:20). This is because Abraham is a tree of life, “a tree in [the Holy Land]” (Numbers 13:2), “he planted an eshel tree in Be’er Sheva” (Genesis 21:33). “Come and see how great is the [merit and] strength of that tree.” “He planted an eshel tree.” [Abraham’s] merit and [God’s] promise regarding [Ishmael] are in force, so that [Ishmael] controls the land of Israel and the majority of the [lands of the Jewish] exile until the coming of the day of the redemption. May it come quickly, in our day, amen. [15] In Lesson 282, Rebbe Nachman explains that a person must judge others favorably. Even if he finds that someone is absolutely wicked, he must search until he finds some little bit of good that he still possesses, an area where he is not wicked. Although he is in the category of someone who is “completely wicked,” it is nevertheless impossible that he should not possess some little bit of good, for how [footnote is cut off here]. Likutei Moharan Hamevuar I 2
commentary by Rabbi Yehoshua Gross This Lesson Presents the Text of Rebbe Nachman’s Own Words[1] Rebbe Nachman opens with the verse, “Hashem said to Moses, Speak to the cohanim, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: None shall defile himself for the dead among his people” (Leviticus 21:1). The straightforward meaning of this verse is that Hashem told Moses to caution the cohanim not to defile themselves by coming into contact with a corpse. At the end of this lesson, Rebbe Nachman will explain the meaning of this verse in accordance with this lesson. We learn in Sifra Ditzni’uta, a Kabbalistic work that forms part of the Zohar, “From the nostril [literally, ‘the orifice of the nose, the pardashka’], a spirit of life is drawn to the Messiah” (Zohar, Terumah, Chapter 2, p. 177a). There exists a partzuf, a spiritual structure, called Erech Anpin in the upper worlds (corresponding to the highest of the ten sefirot, keter.)[2] This partzuf possesses an element called chotem, the “nose.” From its left nostril, a spirit of life descends to the lowest sefirah, malchut. When the Messiah will come to redeem Israel, he will receive that spirit of life, which will imbue him with the strength to redeem the Jewish people.[3] Having introduced the idea that the Messiah derives his energy from the “nostril,” Rebbe Nachman now explains the concept of the chotem, the “nose,” and the nature of the power of the Messiah. 1. The principal weapon of the Messiah who will battle against the power of evil in the world in order to destroy and overcome it is prayer. With his prayer to Hashem, he will nullify the power of evil in the world. This is because it—prayer--is on the level of the chotem, from which the Messiah receives his power. This link is derived as follows. As the verse states, God addresses the nation of Israel: “For the sake of My name, I will defer My anger and for My praise I will restrain [echetam, related to chotem] [My anger] for you, so as not to destroy you” (Isaiah 48:9). Rashi explains the phrase, “and for My praise I will restrain” as follows: “I will close My nose so as not to allow smoke to come forth from it—[meaning,] so as not to get angry and destroy you.”[4] Thus, this verse links praise—which, more generally, refers to prayer—with chotem.[5] Since the Messiah receives his strength from the level of the chotem, and the chotem corresponds to prayer, the principal strength of the Messiah to conquer the world and nullify the evil in the world comes about through prayer. And this constitutes the essence of his vitality. The Messiah’s principal life-force and existence come about by means of prayer. And all of his fighting that he will engage in and all of the victories that he will accomplish in order to conquer the nations of the world and bring the world to a perfect rectification so that Hashem will be King over all the earth all come from there—from the level of prayer.[6] As we saw, the Zohar states that Messiah derives his strength from the level of the chotem. That is based on a verse as is written in Isaiah regarding the king Messiah: “He will be enlivened [v’haricho] by the fear of Hashem, and not by the sight of his eyes will he judge and not in accordance with what his ears hear will he rebuke” (Isaiah 11:3). The Hebrew word for “he will be enlivened”--v’haricho—can be translated as “and he will smell” (the grammatical root of this word, rei’ach, means “smell”). Thus, our Sages read this verse as stating that when people come before the Messiah to be judged, his great fear of heaven will make it possible for him to know by smell alone who is innocent and who is guilty.[7] This corresponds to chotem, since a person smells with his nose. Thus, since the Messiah will possess the level of “smell,” he will possess the level of chotem, which in turn corresponds to prayer. And not only will the Messiah possess the level of prayer, but that prayer will be his principal weapon. As the verse states, when Jacob blessed Joseph and his sons, he told Joseph: “I have given you one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow” (Genesis 48:22). Rashi interprets this to mean, “I am giving you the first-born status that I took from the hand of Esau my brother with my prayer and pleas to God that your sons may take two portions in the land of Israel.” And Rashi explains that “my sword and my bow” refers to “my prayer and pleading.”[8] And an additional proof text that “sword and bow” refers to “prayer and pleading” may be found in the fact that, as a verse states, King David said to Hashem, “For not in my bow do I trust and my sword will not save me … in God we have praised” (Psalms 44:7,9).[9] This means that the power of the tzaddik comes about not through his fighting with a weapon such as a bow but through his prayer (which is associated with “praise”). Thus, we learn that the “sword and bow”—the principal weaponry of the Messiah—will be prayer and pleading. That is the level alluded to by the verse, “And for My praise I will restrain [My anger] for You,” from which we learn that prayer corresponds to the chotem, and that Messiah, who will possess the trait of the chotem, will possess the level of prayer. Just as the Messiah will nullify the evil in the world by means of prayer, which constitutes his principal weapon, so too the principal weapon of every Jew to overcome and nullify his own evil inclination is prayer—whether in the form of the three daily prayer services or in the form of his prayers in his own words.[10] After having taught that prayer is the principal weapon with which a person nullifies the power of evil in the world and within himself, Rebbe Nachman now explains how a person attains perfect prayer. 2. And regarding this weapon of proper prayer, it must be received by Messiah as well as every individual via the level of Joseph, that being “the guarding of the covenant.” A person must guard the “sign of the holy covenant”—i.e., his sexuality—perfectly and not blemish it. “Joseph” corresponds to the trait and sefirah of yesod, which in turn corresponds to the sanctified male organ, the “sign of the holy covenant.” When a person sanctifies himself by guarding his covenant and not defiling himself, then he can pray properly, truly clinging to Hashem. And then God accepts his prayers. As the verse states, King David tells the tzaddik who is learning Torah, “Gird your sword on the thigh” (Psalms 45:4). Rashi explains the straightforward meaning of the verse as meaning that the tzaddik must prepare himself to engage in vigorous debate with his colleagues—to wage the wars of Torah. In accordance with the idea of the importance of guarding the covenant in order to pray correctly, this verse may be understood as follows,. “Gird your sword” refers to prayer, which is a Jew’s sword. “On the thigh” means that a person’s prayer should be bound to the realm of the thigh, which is in the vicinity the “covenant.” It thus alludes to the guarding the covenant. When a person attains the level of “thigh,” of guarding the covenant, then he will “gird his sword to his thigh”—his prayer will be connected to the level of guarding the covenant. And then he will be able to make proper use of the sword—he will be able to pray properly. And there is another proof text that indicates that as a result of guarding his covenant a person attains prayer. As the verse states, God promised King David, “Those from the fruit of your belly will I place upon your throne” (Psalms 132:11). The kings of Israel will come from the seed of David, including Messiah himself. Therefore, that verse is alluding to the level of Messiah, which is the level of prayer—for, as we learned earlier, the principal life force of the Messiah is prayer. And the subsequent verse explains how King David merited that Messiah would come forth from his seed: “If your sons guard My covenant”—that is to say, by means of the level of Joseph, the level of “guarding the covenant.” After having taught that a person can attain prayer by means of guarding the covenant, Rebbe Nachman now explains that Joseph in particular attained prayer as a result of guarding the covenant. And Joseph, who guarded the covenant, took the first-born status. Joseph “guarded the covenant” in two instances. First, he resisted the wiles of the wife of Potiphar. And second, when he rode in a royal parade upon the occasion of his becoming viceroy, he refused to look at the Egyptian women who strode upon the wall and threw golden jewelry before him to attract his attention.[11] As a result, he “took the first-born status.” Jacob gave Joseph the first-born status, which meant that his offspring would receive a double portion of the territory of the land of Israel. That first-born status corresponds to the service of prayer. The reason that the first-born status, consisting of a double portion of the inheritance, and prayer are associated with each other is that prayer too is on the level of a double portion. This is because prayer is a double portion insofar as that phrase literally means “double mouth” (pi shnayim: pi means “mouth” and shnayim means “two”). Prayer is recited with the mouth and it has a double quality, in that they—prayers--possess two aspects: praise of God—a person praises the Creator for His greatness and for His deeds--and pleading for the fulfillment of one’s needs—a person asks the Creator to attain his needs. And it—prayer—therefore corresponds to a phrase found in Psalms: “The high praises of God are in their throat and a double-edged [pipiyot—literally, ‘double-mouthed’] sword in their hand, to carry out vengeance against the nations, chastisements against the peoples” (Psalms 149:6-7). The double-edged sword is a sword with two blades. That is to say, “the high praises of God”—a reference to prayer—are like a double-edged sword, the level of “two mouths.” Prayer is compared to a sword of two blades in that it is on the level of a double portion: the praise of God and the request for fulfillment of one’s needs. And so the first-born status and prayer belong to the same category. The first-born status is “a double portion” in that the first-born takes a double portion compared to his brothers, and prayer is a “double portion” in the sense of a “double mouthful”: the praise of God and the request for the fulfillment of one’s needs. And in order to attain the first-born status and prayer a person must guard the covenant.[12] [13]And so, because Joseph attained the level of prayer, which is the level of “for My praise I will restrain [My anger]”—i.e., the level of the life-force drawn from the orifice of the nose [pardashka] [see above, where Rebbe Nachman explained that prayer is on the level of chotem, since it is drawn from the level called “the nostril of the chotem” in the partzuf of Erech Anpin], he is therefore called “Joseph … a charming [porat] son,” which is the level of the 686 spiritual lights, since 686 is the numerical value of the word porat. That total of the 686 lights consists of seven Divine Names: AV, SaG, MaH, BaN (the four expansions of the name Havayah[14]), and K’SA, K’NA, K’MaG (the three expansions of the name Ekyeh[15]). These altogether have the numerical total value of 686, which he—Joseph--receives from the nostril of the pardashka—from the level called the nostril of the chotem, for Joseph attained the life-force that is drawn from the nostril of the chotem, which is the category of 686 lights. This is because pardashka has the numerical value of 686. Therefore, the level of the pardashka contains 686 lights. And since Joseph merited to receive these 686 lights, he is called “Yosef … a charming [porat] son.”[16] And it—the first-born status--was taken away from Reuben, Jacob’s first-born son, because he defiled his father’s bed. Jacob was married to two sisters, Leah and Rachel, and had as concubines their respective handmaids, Zilpah and Bilhah. Each of these four women had her own tent. Leah was the mother of Jacob’s first-born son, Reuben. However, Jacob favored Rachel, and he thus kept his bed in her tent. When Rachel passed away, Reuben expected Jacob to move his bed to the tent of his mother Leah. When Jacob instead moved his bed to the tent of Bilhah, Reuben was outraged and took Jacob’s bed and placed it in Leah’s tent. This act possessed a trace of a blemish of the covenant. And so, since it-–the first-born status--is dependent upon guarding the covenant, after Reuben committed an act commensurate with violating the covenant, the first-born status was taken away from him and given to Joseph, who guarded the covenant. After having described the great power of prayer and having taught that a person attains it by guarding the covenant, Rebbe Nachman now explains that after a person has attained prayer he must know how to make use of it. 3. And a person who has attained this sword of prayer must know how to fight with the sword, so as not to turn it to the right or to the left. A person should not turn his prayer too much to the right—which is the side of lovingkindness—by asking for compassion on behalf of someone who does not deserve it. Nor should he turn his prayer too much to the left—which is the side of stern might—by asking God to send a person more punishment than he deserves.[17] And he should hit the mark and not veer astray. This phrase echoes a verse that describes a person using a slingshot to strike a hair.[18] A person must know how to reach the proper target with his prayer without veering to the right or left. There is an alternative explanation of the meaning of veering too far right or left in one’s prayers. When a person asks Hashem at length to help him overcome his lusts and evil traits, yet he is not answered and, to the contrary, his lusts and confusions grow even stronger, he might mistakenly think that his prayers were uttered in vain. That corresponds to veering to the left—as though Hashem is cruelly stern and does not heed prayers. Instead, this person should constantly engage in a great deal of prayer and believe that not a single word is lost, that his every petition makes an impression. Each prayer contributes to building a spiritual structure. When that structure is completed, then Hashem will have compassion on him. Conversely, when a person prays and Hashem rescues him, he should not mistakenly think that he brought this about with his prayers and good deeds. Rather, he should know that this was due solely to God’s lovingkindness. But he should not mistakenly think that there is no need for him to engage in a great deal of prayer but that he should rely on Hashem’s lovingkindness alone. Such thinking corresponds to veering to the right, in relying solely on Hashem’s lovingkindness. Rather, each person must do his part and engage in a great deal of prayer, even though he is aware that in truth his prayers can only have an effect when Hashem bestows His kindness upon him.[19] And this matter of not turning prayer to the right or to the left, can come about only via the concept of judgment. This is because judgment is the “middle pillar.” Judgment is the middle pillar between the sefirot of chesed (“lovingkindness”) on the right and gevurah (“might”) on the left. The middle pillar is the trait, or sefirah, of tiferet, which is composed of a combination of chesed and gevurah. A person exercises his judgment on how to use the chesed and gevurah together, without veering too much to the side of chesed or to the side of gevurah. That is to say, he uses his weapon of prayer to reach the necessary place, without veering right or left but remaining in the middle. And when a person attains this level of judgment, he can pray properly and direct his prayer to the middle. And that is the level alluded to in the verse: “He balances his words with [proper] judgment” (Psalms 112:5). This verse indicates that a person must properly balance and conduct his words of prayer by employing judgment. And so it is specifically from Jacob that Joseph received the first-born status. The verse states that Jacob told Joseph: “And I have given you one portion more than your brothers” (Genesis 48:22). There is a stress on the word “I,” referring to Jacob, the level of judgment. Jacob is the level of tiferet, which is the level of judgment. (This fits into the well-known association of Abraham with chesed, Isaac with gevurah, and Jacob with tiferet.) And this is alluded to in the verse, “For it is a law for Israel” (Psalms 81:5). This verse alludes to the idea that “law” is associated with the level of the covenant. As is written in the blessing recited at a circumcision,[20] “Who sanctified the beloved one from the womb, and placed a law in his flesh.” The covenant is a law that God gave to the offspring of Abraham. And the verse, “For it is a law for Israel,” ends with the words, “a judgment for the God of Jacob.” That is to say, the level of the covenant is perfected by means of the level of judgment. When a person attains the level of the covenant and therefore attains prayer, he immediately requires the trait of judgment so that he may direct his prayer properly. That is to say, Joseph, who is the level of the covenant, must receive this sword of prayer (which is the level of the first-born status) from the level of judgment, so that he may weigh his words with judgment. Therefore Joseph had to receive the first-born status in particular from Jacob, so as to also receive the trait of judgment. And this is what King David said: “God, give Your judgments to the king and Your charity to the son of the king” (Psalms 72:1). That is to say, King David prayed that the King Messiah, whose principal strength inheres in prayer, will receive energy from the level of judgment so that he may utilize the power of prayer properly. After having taught that by guarding the covenant a person attains prayer and that in order to pray properly he requires the level of judgment, Rebbe Nachman now explains how a person attains the level of judgment. 4. And by what means does one attain the level of judgment, so that he might direct his prayer to the proper location? By means of giving charity. By means of giving charity, we grasp the trait of judgment. As it is written regarding Moses, “He performed the tzedakah [‘righteousness’ or ‘charity’] of Hashem, and His judgments with Israel” (Deuteronomy 33:21). The straightforward meaning of this verse is “that Moses our teacher conducted himself with righteousness and judgment” [quote from where?]. But in the context of this lesson, this verse indicates that because Moses performed the mitzvah of charity, he attained the trait of judgment, and with that he was able to judge Israel properly. And in addition, it is written that King David said to Hashem: “You performed judgment and charity in Jacob” (Psalms 99:4). The straightforward meaning of this verse is that “the righteous judgments of the Torah are the works of Your hands.”[21] But in the context of this lesson, this verse alludes to the idea that charity and judgment are connected to each other. And by giving charity we attain the level of judgment, because charity is given by means of judgment. As it is written: “God is judge; He lowers one and raises another” (ibid. 75:8)—meaning that by means of the trait of judgment God impoverishes one person and grants wealth to another. He judges what is suitable for each person. And similarly, when a person gives charity, he is on the level of “lowering one,” in that he reduces his own money, and on the level of “raising another,” in that he grants wealth to the poor person. Thus, in this way he grasps the trait of judgment. Since this person performs an act of judgment, he attains the level of judgment. Then he is able to direct his prayers to the proper location, without allowing them to veer to the right or to the left. And because of this, the Gemara and the Shulchan Aruch teach that a person must set aside charity before praying (Bava Batra 10a and Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 92:10). The reason is so that he may weigh his words of prayer with judgment, and therefore hit the mark and not miss it, tending neither too much to the side of chesed nor too much to the side of gevurah. This is because (as was explained previously) when a person gives charity he attains the trait of judgment. After having taught that Joseph received the first-born status and the ability to engage in prayer from Jacob, who is the level of judgment and who passed on the ability to engage in judgment to Joseph, and now having taught that a person attains judgment as a result of giving charity, Rebbe Nachman now explains that Joseph too attained judgment because he gave charity. And this is related to what our Sages said: “Why did Jacob give the first-born status to Joseph and not to his other sons, so that Joseph’s offspring received two portions of the land of Israel? It was because Joseph supported him when he was in Egypt. This may be compared to a householder who raised an orphan in his home. With the passage of time, the orphan grew wealthy and he said, “I will assist the householder from my possessions.” So too Joseph (corresponding to the householder) supported Jacob (corresponding to the orphan) in Egypt. In the end, Jacob grew wealthy, for he got back the first-born double portion that should have gone to Reuben, which Jacob took away from him because Reuben had defiled the bed of his father. And Jacob said, “I will assist Joseph from my possessions and give him the first-born status” (Bava Batra 123a). Thus, we see that Joseph attained the first-born status (which, as was explained above, is the level of prayer) by means of the charity that he performed on behalf of his father and on behalf of his brothers. And there is an additional proof of the matter as well. As it is written: “Joseph supported his father and his brothers … with bread, according to the young children” (Genesis 47:12). Rashi explains the straightforward meaning of the final phrase, “according to the young children,” as meaning: “in accordance with what all of their family members needed.” But in the context of this lesson, that phrase—in Hebrew, l’fi hataf—can be associated with speech, as God told the prophet Ezekiel in the verse, “Preach [hateif] to the south” (Ezekiel 21:2). The straightforward meaning of this verse is, “Speak facing Jerusalem, which is in the south” [source?]. But in the context of this lesson, the word hateif, “preach,” may be associated with the word hataf, “the young children,” which is thus also an expression of speech. That being the case, the phrase l’fi hataf may be translated as “according to the speech”—which is to say, in accordance with the words of prayer. That is to say, his—Joseph’s--prayer was “smooth in his mouth,”[22] meaning that he knew how to direct his prayer properly so that it would not tend right or left. He accomplished this by means of the charity that he performed on behalf of his father and brothers. And so the verse may be read: “Joseph supported”—he performed charity. As a result, he attained “according to the speech”—his prayer was proper. And thus, as a result of the charity that he—Joseph--performed, Jacob, who is the level of judgment, gave him the first-born status, which is the level of prayer. This is because, as a result of having given that charity, Joseph was worthy of receiving the level of judgment. And as a result of having guarded the covenant he was worthy of receiving the level of prayer. Therefore, he received the first-born status and prayer from Jacob, who is the level of judgment. And the fact that Joseph had to receive the first-born status specifically from Jacob, who is the level of judgment, is explained in the following verse, as it is written that Jacob told Joseph when he blessed him: “I have given you one portion more than your brothers”—which is the first-born status. “I,” in particular, which is the level of judgment. [?] As was explained above, Jacob is the level of tiferet, the level of judgment. After having taught that when a person guards the covenant he attains prayer, that in order to pray properly he requires the trait of judgment in order to direct his prayer to the middle, and that he attains that trait of judgment by giving charity, Rebbe Nachman now explains that if a person’s trait of judgment is impaired, his prayer in turn is damaged, because the two are interdependent. 5. And judgment and prayer are interdependent, since a person can only direct his prayer properly by means of the level of judgment. Therefore, the essence of foreign thoughts that come to a person when he is praying are a result of damage to his level of judgment. This is because judgment is associated with eyes. As it is written: “They came to Ein Mishpat” (Genesis 14:7). The straightforward meaning of this verse is that Kedarleomer and the kings in allegiance with him came to a place called Ein Mishpat, the Well of Judgment. But in the context of this lesson, this name may be translated as the “Eye of Judgment.” This verse indicates a connection between eyes and judgment. This is the level of Moses blessing the Jewish people: “Israel shall dwell in security, ein Yaakov alone” (Deuteronomy 33:28). The straightforward meaning of this verse is that “Israel will dwell alone in security, exactly as Jacob [blessed them],”[23] in which ein Yaakov means “exactly as Jacob.” However, in the context of the present lesson this phrase can be read as “the eye of Jacob.” As such, this verse indicates that there is a connection between the level of eyes and the level of Jacob, which in turn corresponds to the level of judgment. And thus, since judgment and the eyes are equivalent, when a person’s judgment is damaged, that causes damage to the eyes. As it is written: “Bribery blinds the eyes of the wise” (Deuteronomy 16:19). When a person takes a bribe, which indicates damage to his ability to judge, that blinds his eyes. And that damage to the eyes is the level of foreign thoughts in prayer, which are called “clouds that cover the eyes.”[24] These are the “husks” (negative spiritual energies) of Esau and Ishmael,[25] which generate the foreign thoughts that come to a person when he is praying. If a person does not properly repair his trait of judgment, he causes these husks to gain strength, and as a result foreign thoughts insert themselves into his prayer. As it is written, the prophet laments: “You have covered Yourself in a cloud so that prayer may not pass” (Lamentations 3:44). The Targum Yonatan translates this as, “You covered the heavens in clouds so that prayer will not make its way to You.” Thus, this verse indicates that there is a level of “clouds” that prevent a person’s prayer from rising upward to God. And that occurs when people sin and thus strengthen the husks of Esau and Ishmael, which constitute the “clouds” that cover a person’s eyes and insert foreign thoughts into his prayer. And that in turn arouses “clouds” on a heavenly level, insofar as that God covers heaven with these clouds to keep prayer from rising to Him. Why do these “clouds” insert foreign thoughts into a person’s prayer? As was explained earlier, in order for a person to attain proper prayer, he requires the level of judgment. If a person’s judgment (which corresponds to the level of eyes) is imperfect and damaged, these clouds have the power to cover it. And when they cover judgment, they also cover his prayer, which is dependent upon judgment—and that causes foreign thoughts to enter into his prayer. At this time, when we are in exile, the level of judgment remains damaged. And therefore foreign thoughts enter into a person’s mind when he prays.[26] Earlier we learned that when a person gives charity he attains the level of judgment, and now we have learned that when a person’s level of judgment is damaged that causes foreign thoughts to enter his prayer. From this we may conclude that giving charity before praying helps a person avoid experiencing foreign thoughts in his prayer.[27] And in the future, when the Messiah will come, when the level of judgment will be rectified, as is written: “Zion will be redeemed with judgment” (Isaiah 1:27)—Zion will be redeemed as a result of the level of judgment being rectified--then the clouds that cover the eye, which correspond to judgment, will pass away and disappear. As it is written, “For eye to eye will they see Hashem returning to Zion” (ibid. 52:8). People will attain clear sight, because the level of the eyes will be rectified. Then judgment will be proper, and automatically a person’s prayer too will be proper, without any foreign thoughts. And when the level of a person’s eyes will be rectified, then the level of the supernal “eyes” of God will also be rectified, as a result of which the supernal clouds that prevent prayer from rising will disappear. Consequently, that will bring about the level of “eye to eye”: the rectification of man’s eye and, as it were, of God’s eye. And therefore Joseph is called “a son charming to the eye” (Genesis 49:22). Rashi explains the straightforward meaning of this phrase as that “his charm attracts the eye of those who see him.”[28] In the context of the present lesson, this phrase indicates that Joseph attained the level of eyes. He did so insofar as he attained the level of prayer and, in particular, the level of judgment, since judgment is the level of the eyes. After having taught that in order to attain prayer a person requires the levels of guarding the covenant and judgment, Rebbe Nachman now tells of an additional condition that a person must fulfill in order for his prayer to function properly. 6. And in addition to that which we learned earlier—that in order to attain prayer a person must attain the levels of guarding the covenant and judgment—there is an additional requirement that he must fulfill in order to attain prayer that will function properly. And that is that every individual must have in mind in his prayer—when he stands to pray--that he is binding himself to the tzaddikim of the generation.[29] This is because every tzaddik in the generation is on the level of Moses, who is on the level of Messiah. As we find, the tzaddikim call each other Moses. As is stated in the Talmud, one sage addressed his colleague, “Moses, have you spoken well?” (Shabbat 101b)—meaning, “You who are in your generation as was Moses in his generation, have you spoken well?” Thus, the tzaddik is called Moses. And Moses is the level of Messiah. As it is written, “Until the coming of Shiloh” (Genesis 49:10). Rashi explains that “Shiloh” constitutes a term for the Messiah, and the Zohar explains, “that is Moses Messiah” (Genesis 25b)—i.e., Moses and Messiah are equivalent— for “Shiloh” has the numerical value of “Moses.” Thus, Moses and Messiah are inextricably linked with each other. And since the tzaddik of the generation is called “Moses,” he is on the level of Moses and of Messiah. And every single prayer that everyone--every Jew--prays is a level of a limb of the Shechinah.[30] Those limbs constitute the components of the tabernacle. In its inner being, the structure of the tabernacle mirrors the structure of the Shechinah. And the structure of the tabernacle, which is the structure of the Shechinah, is built by the prayers of the Jewish people. And because no Jew can insert any component into another component of the structure of the tabernacle, each component in its place, except for Moses alone, therefore he—each person--must bring and bind all of his prayers to the tzaddik of the generation, who is on the level of Moses, who will raise that prayer to its proper place in the structure of the Shechinah. As it is written, when the Jews built the tabernacle, no one could raise it. Then “they brought the tabernacle to Moses” (Exodus 39:33), and that was because he knows how to insert component into component and make it a complete structure. This was because Moses not only set up the tabernacle in its the physical aspect but in its spiritual aspect as well. As it is written: “Moses raised the tabernacle” (ibid. 40:18). After having taught that in order for a person’s prayer to arrive at its proper place and have its proper effect, he must connect it to the tzaddik of the generation, Rebbe Nachman now explains an additional effect that is attained as a result of a person connecting his prayer to the tzaddik of the generation. And in all of the Torah that a person learns in order to keep and perform the mitzvot, all of the letters are sparks of souls. There are six hundred thousand letters in the Torah and six hundred thousand souls of Israel, and every soul has a letter in the Torah that corresponds to it. And so every soul has a root in the Torah.[31] And these sparks of souls, whose root is in the letters that a person learns, are clothed within the prayer that he prays, and are renewed there in the sense of gestation. That is to say, just as a fetus grows and develops during the time of gestation, so too do these souls grow and become purified by means of this person’s prayer. [32]As is brought in the Ari’s Gilgulim [more correctly, Shaar HaGilgulim] that when Adam sinned, all souls—which at that time existed within him—fell into the depths of the husks. Whenever their time arrives to enter the world, they first enter within the level of malchut on the level of gestation and are renewed there and purified of the defilement of the husks. Only afterwards can they come to the world. So too the sparks of the souls that correspond to the letters of the Torah that a person learns must be clothed within his prayer—which is the level of malchut—in order to be purified and renewed. And that is alluded to by the words: “The heavens tell the glory of God” (Psalms 19:2). The heavens are composed of fire and water.[33] That is to say, in that respect they parallel the Torah, which is compared to fire and water, as in the verses, ”Is My word not like fire?” (Jeremiah 23:29), and “Whoever is thirsty, go to water” (Isaiah 55:1). That Torah is on the level of souls, who are rooted in the letters of the Torah that a person learns. And these sparks of souls enter into a person’s prayer. That prayer is on the level of “the glory of God.” We see that prayer is on the level of “the glory of God,” insofar as it is written that King David said of God: “Sing the glory of His name, make glorious His praise” (Psalms 66:2). The straightforward meaning of this phrase is, “Praise Him with the glory that is fitting for Him.”[34] In the context of the present lesson, this phrase indicates that praise—i.e., prayer—is on the level of “glory.” This puts glory on the same level as the elements referred to in the verse, “For My praise I will restrain [echetam, related to chotem] [My anger] for you”, which was quoted in section 1. That verse links prayer with the level of the chotem. Here we see that praise, or prayer, is also the level of “glory.” And these souls have a mutually reinforcing relationship with prayer. It—prayer--is called “glory” because it clothes us. It clothes our souls. As we just learned, souls are clothed in the prayer. We see the connection between glory and clothing because the Talmud teaches that Rabbi Yochanan would call his garments his “glory,” since they imparted glory to him (Shabbat 113a). Thus, a garment is called “glory.” And as a result of this correspondence, it—prayer--is called “the glory of God” in the verse quoted above, because it acts as a garment for a person’s soul. And they—souls and prayer--illuminate each other. Souls, whose root is in the letters of the Torah that a person learns, illuminate the prayer. They do so on the level of “raising the feminine waters.” That is to say, prayer corresponds to the Shechinah (as we learned earlier, prayer is the structure of the Shechinah), which has a feminine character, and is thus associated with the phrase, “feminine waters.” Then, after making these souls new and purifying them, the Shechinah raises them to the Holy One, blessed be He, and takes pride in them. In doing so, the Shechinah reveals her will to receive abundance from the Holy One, blessed be He. As a result, she arouses the Holy One, blessed be He, to unite with her and He then pours abundance down to her. And so prayer—corresponding to the Shechinah--shines upon these souls on the level of renewal, for she renews them in the manner of gestation, in that she raises and purifies them. In accordance with this, the verse above may be interpreted as follows. “The heavens” are the level of the Torah and the souls in it. They “tell.” The Hebrew word for “tell,” m’saprim, is associated with the word sapir—“sapphire.” They shine and radiate like a sapphire stone onto “the glory of God,” which corresponds to prayer, and are illuminated as well by that “glory of God.”[35] And when a person binds his prayer to the tzaddik of the generation, then the souls that are clothed in the prayer that are brought to the tzaddik of the generation are on the level alluded to in the verse: “With embroidered garments she will be led to the king; maidens in her train, her companions, will be brought to you” (Psalms 45:15). The straightforward meaning of this verse is that in the future all people will come to the king Messiah—among them, every woman with her maidens and servant girls will come and receive his sovereignty. In the context of the present lesson, this verse teaches that the souls that are clothed in prayer, which were previously on a low level and which were raised by means of a person’s Torah learning and prayer that are brought to the tzaddik of the generation, also possess this character, since the tzaddik of the generation is on the level of Messiah (as we learned earlier). Now Rebbe Nachman explains how everything that we learned above regarding binding one’s prayer to the tzaddik of the generation is alluded to in the following story of Rabbah bar Bar Chana, and he explains another aspect of the function of prayers during the time of exile. The Talmud relates: “Rabbah bar Bar Chana said: One time we were traveling in a ship. We saw a fish whose back was heaped with sand, and grasses were growing upon it—the sand. We thought that this is dry land, an island, and we went up and baked and cooked upon its back. And when its back turned hot, it turned over. And had the ship not been close by, we would have drowned” (Bava Batra 73b). And this is the meaning of what Rabbah bar Bar Chana said. “We saw a fish…” This indicates the following: that in our exile, the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, hides the Divine face. As it is written: “You hid Your face, I was bewildered” (Psalms 30:8). That is to be understood in the sense that the “face” indicates the level of compassion, the level called the “illumination of the face.” And He—the Holy One, blessed be He—has turned the back, which is the level of judgment, to us. God is angry at us, as it were, and does not even want to look at us. And all of our prayers and pleadings during the time of exile are in regard to the fact that He turned his back to us, and we plead that He will again turn His face to us and treat us with compassion and not with judgment. As it is written: “Turn to me and be gracious to me” (ibid. 86:16), and as it is written: “May Hashem cause His face to shine” (Numbers 6:25)—meaning, we ask to attain the illumination of God’s face, and that He will treat us with lovingkindness and compassion. And when we see the length of the exile, and every day we cry out to Him and we are not saved, there are among our nation of the children of Israel those who mistakenly believe, heaven forbid, in their hearts that all of their prayers are for nothing, for they see that their prayers have not been answered. But in truth, in regard to all of the prayers, the tzaddikim in every generation raise them and set them up. As it is written, “Moses set up the tabernacle”—and the tzaddik of the generation is on the level of Moses. And they raise every component of the tabernacle to its place and build the structure of the Shechinah, which is the structure of the tabernacle, little by little, until the measure of its structure will be completed. And then the Messiah can come. Every blemish and sin damages the structure of the Shechinah. That is the cause of all judgments and suffering. That gives evil its power. Conversely, every prayer builds and completes the structure of the Shechinah. And when the structure of the Shechinah is complete, all blemishes will be repaired. And then we will again attain the illumination of God’s face and He will treat us with lovingkindness and compassion. Then Messiah, who is the soul of Moses will come, and he will complete it and raise it completely. Although every tzaddik corresponds to the level of Moses, Messiah and Moses come from the root of a single soul. Therefore, Messiah has the principal power to complete the structure of the Shechinah. Even before he comes, the measure of this structure will be completed. But its complete perfection and setting up will come about by his hand. Therefore, although we pray for the complete rectification to come when we will attain complete compassion, and we still see that there is at times God hides His face and expresses His trait of judgment, we must believe that every prayer adds to the rectification of any blemish in the Shechinah, and that when the necessary amount of prayers is completed, the complete rectification will come. Therefore, we must continue to engage in a great deal of prayer even when we do not see that our prayers are being answered. And we must also connect our prayers to the tzaddik of the generation, so that with these prayers he will build the structure of the Shechinah and bring the complete rectification close.[36] And that is the meaning of Rabbah bar Bar Chana’s narrative. “We saw a fish.” That is the level of the tzaddik of the generation, who is called “fish,” as is taught in Kabbalah texts.[37] And the tzaddik of the generation--that is the level of Moses Messiah. “Whose back was heaped with sand.” “Sand”--that is to say, prayers. As the verse states, “Moses pleaded [vay’chal] before Hashem his God” (Exodus 32:11). The verb for “pleading,” vay’chal, is related to the word for “sand,” chol. The reference to the “back” means that we pray regarding the fact that, as it were, He—God--turned His back to us. The phrase “was heaped” indicates that the sand (the prayers) lay on the fish (the tzaddik of the generation). The responsibility for them is incumbent upon him. That is to say, “they brought the tabernacle to Moses.” This is because it is necessary to bring and bind the prayer to the tzaddik of the generation. “And grasses were growing upon it—the sand.” The grasses—that is to say, these are the souls that come with the prayer, the level of “maidens after her, her companions….” As we learned earlier, souls are clothed in a person’s prayer. The link between grasses and souls exists because souls are called “grasses.” As it is written, “I caused you to increase, I made you like a plant of the field” (Ezekiel 16:7). The straightforward meaning of this verse is that the Jews in Egypt were as many as the grasses of the field. In terms of the present lesson, this teaches that the souls of Israel are called “grasses.” And they grew upon the “sand”—i.e., upon [they were sustained by] the prayer. “We thought that this is dry land.” That is to say, they thought that their prayers are not bearing fruits, that they were not having any effect, that they were like dry ground that does not bear fruits. But in truth that is not so. Rather, “we went up and baked and cooked.” That is to say, all of one’s prayers go up and rise and are effective. And the more that we engage in a great deal of prayer, the Shechinah, which is the sefirah of malchut, is built more and prepares itself for union with the level of Zeir Anpin, which comprises the six sefirot above malchut (chesed, gevurah, tiferet, netzach, hod and yesod), which is the unification of the Holy One, blessed be He and His Shechinah. This unification will be complete at the time of the coming of the Messiah, when the structure of the Shechinah will be completed and its blemishes will be rectified. And that is alluded to in the words, “we … baked and cooked.” That is because baking and cooking constitute preparation for eating--i.e., for the level of union, which is called “eating.” As it is written: “And he knew nothing about what was with him, except for the bread that he ate” (Genesis 39:6). Our Sages state that this means that Potiphar gave Joseph everything except for his wife, for “the bread that he eats” is a euphemistic reference to marital relations.[38] Thus we see that union is referred to as “eating.” And when the structure of the entire Shechinah is completed—which is to say, as a result of one’s great amount of prayers, God’s compassion will be stirred and the trait of judgment will be transformed into the trait of compassion. And then the unification of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the His Shechinah will be complete. And that is referred to in the words, “When its back grew hot”—that is to say, when God’s compassion is stirred, because heat represents compassion. “It turned over.” His back will turn. That is to say that the trait of judgment will be transformed into the trait of compassion, and the face of Hashem will turn to gaze upon us, and He will not turn His back to us. Rabbah bar Bar Chana continues: “And had the ship had not been close by”—that is to say, this is in line with the verse, “For My sake, for My sake I will do this” (Isaiah 48:11). The meaning of this verse is discussed in the Midrash, which addresses another verse, “Who has given Me anything beforehand that I should pay him?” (Job 41:3) and illustrates it with the words, “Who made Me a mezuzah before I gave him a house…?” That is to say, we do not deserve to be rewarded for performing the mitzvot, because a person can only keep the mitzvot when God first gives him all of the physical objects that he requires in order to do so. That is the meaning of the verse, “For My sake, for My sake I will do this”—i.e., God brings the redemption for His own sake and not in the merit of our deeds. Thus we find that all of our good deeds and all prayers are all from Him, and it is not fitting for a person to think to receive reward for anything that he has accomplished. Even when it comes to prayer, we can only pray because God gives us the ability to do so. Thus, all of the reward that we receive for performing the mitzvot comes from Hashem’s lovingkindness. And even though it appears that the redemption will come about as a result of our prayer and our Torah learning, we nevertheless require God’s lovingkindness—that He will redeem us with His lovingkindness. And that is alluded to in the words of Rabbah bar Bar Chana’s story: “And had the ship had not been close by.” That is, the ship corresponds to the level of lovingkindness. Thus, our Sages stated, “Most sailors are pious” (Kiddushin 82a), since they sail into dangerous places, as a result of which they are fearful for their lives and break their hearts [in prayer] before God.[39] The Hebrew word for “pious” is chasid, which is related to the Hebrew word for “lovingkindness,” chesed. Therefore, “ship” alludes to the level of lovingkindness. If not for God’s lovingkindness, “we would have drowned,” heaven forbid, in the exile. Thus, although we must beseech God at great length to bring the redemption, and our every single prayer brings the redemption closer, we must remember that we always require Hashem’s lovingkindness to redeem us, for our deeds and prayers alone will not suffice to bring the redemption. Now Rebbe Nachman explains how everything that we learned earlier about how guarding the covenant leads us to attain prayer and about the importance of binding our prayer to the tzaddik of the generation is alluded to in the verse, “Speak to the cohanim.” And this is the meaning of the verse, “Speak to the cohanim, the children of Aaron, and say to them: None shall defile himself for the dead among his people.” “Speak” indicates the level of prayer in the sense of praise. As it is written: “You have praised [ha’amarta] Hashem today” (Deuteronomy 26:17), in which the Hebrew word for “praised” is ha’amarta, the root of which, amar, means “speak.” Here speech is understood specifically in the sense of the speech of “prayer.” “Cohanim” is the level of Torah, which corresponds to the level of souls, which are rooted in the letters of the Torah (as taught above). As it is written: “For the lips of the cohen will guard knowledge, and Torah will they seek from his mouth” (Malachi 2:7). From here we see that the cohen corresponds to the level of Torah. “The sons of Aaron” is the level of judgment. As it is written, “Aaron will carry the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart” (Exodus 28:29). Aaron attained the level of judgment. Therefore, Aaron alludes to judgment. As we learned earlier it is necessary to bring all of our prayers to the level of Moses, Messiah. And then he will raise the tabernacle by means of these prayers. And that is what Rashi explained regarding the repetitious language: “Speak … and say.” Rashi explains that this comes “to admonish the adult cohanim to be responsible for the minors.” The adults must warn the children not to contaminate themselves by coming into contact with a corpse. In accordance with the present topic, Rashi may be interpreted as follows. First, the Hebrew word for “to admonish,” l’hazhir, may be related to the Hebrew word zohar, “radiance,” and thus translated as “to shine.” And second, the Hebrew words for “adult” and “minors”--gedolim and ketanim—literally mean “large” and “small,” and may be applied to other “large” and “small” entities—in particular, to the sun (the “large light” [Genesis 1:16]) and the moon (the “small light” [ibid.]). That is to say, the tzaddik of the generation, who is on the level of Moses, the “large light,” who is on the level of the partzuf Zeir Anpin (a spiritual structure that is composed of six sefirot, chesed, gevurah, tiferet, netzach, hod and yesod)[40], radiates and shines forth prayer, which is the level of the “small light,” on the level of malchut, the last and lowest of the ten sefirot. That is to say, when a person binds his prayer to the tzaddik of the generation, he brings his prayer to that tzaddik, and then the tzaddik causes it to shine and raises with it along with the structure of the Shechinah, which is the sefirah of malchut. And “none shall defile himself for the dead among his people”—that is to say, a person will not defile himself by means of guarding the covenant (as above). As the Zohar teaches (see Zohar Vayikra p. 15b), “The essence of the evil inclination has to do with sexual matters, and that is the principal essence of defilement.” Thus, “none shall defile himself” alludes to guarding the covenant. And when one guards the covenant, he attains the level of prayer (as above), and he attains the level of “for My praise I will restrain [echetam, related to chotem] [My anger] for you.” As we learned above in Section 1, the praise of God and prayer are on the level of the chotem. And by guarding the covenant a person attains prayer, which is the level of chotem. This is because the essence of scent—associated with the chotem--is dependent upon purity. As our Sages state: “When purity was annulled, scent was annulled” (Sotah 48a). Rashi explains: “When purity ceased from Israel, the good scent of fruits ceased. But when [the Jews] had been pure, then the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself would purify their fruits so that it would not [possess] any evil scent.” And as is explained in a story in the Talmud, “He—Rabbah--said to his father Rav Huna, who had succulent dates in his tunic: I smell the smell of succulent dates. He—Rav Huna--said to him, ‘My son, you possess purity’” (ibid. 49a). He could sense this scent because he had not lost the sense of smell. And since a person attains a good sense of smell by means of purity, by guarding the covenant, which is the level of purity and holiness, he attains prayer, which is the level of the smell, the level of the chotem. Therefore the verse may be explained as follows: “Speak”—that is the level of prayer. Prayer renews souls that were raised up by means of “the cohanim”—the level of Torah. In order to attain prayer properly, there is a need for “Aaron”—the level of judgment. And there is also a need for “none shall defile himself for the dead among his people”—the level of guarding the covenant. And besides this, a person must bind his prayer to the tzaddik of the generation. That is the level of radiating the light of the “large light” onto the “small light.” [1] Many of the lessons presented in Likutei Moharan are reconstructions of Rebbe Nachman’s discourses. This teaching, however, is the transcription of a text written by Rebbe Nachman himself. [2] There are ten principal conduits of spiritual energy and abundance, which are called the ten sefirot (singular, sefirah). From the highest to the lowest, these are keter (“crown”), chochmah (“wisdom”), binah (“understanding”), chesed (“lovingkindness”), gevurah (“might”), tiferet (“beauty”), netzach (“victory”), hod (“glory”), yesod (“foundation”) and malchut (“sovereignty”). These ten sefirot can be classified in terms of spiritual structures called partzufim (literally, “lineaments”; singular, partzuf). Keter is the partzuf of Erech Anpin (“Long Face”); chochmah is the partzuf of Abba (“Father”); binah is the partzuf of Ima (“Mother”); chesed, gevurah, tiferet, netzach, hod and yesod are the partzuf of Zeir Anpin (“Small Face”); and malchut is the partzuf of Nukva (“Female”). [3] Cf. Zohar, Nasso (p. 130b) and the commentary, Matok Midvash, ibid. [4] Rashi, ibid. [5] Biur Halikutim explains the link between the straightforward meaning of this verse (that God will restrain His anger) and Rebbe Nachman’s explanation (that the chotem is associated with prayer) as follows. Further on in this lesson, Rebbe Nachman teaches that during the period of exile the Jewish people must possess a tremendous amount of patience. Even if it appears that their prayers are not being answered, they must continue to pray and believe that their prayers are effective. That arouses God, as it were, to act on His own volition—with “an awakening from above”—to implement His patience and withhold His anger—that patience being associated with the chotem—so that even during the exile, which is a time of judgment, He does not destroy us entirely. Thus, the verse phrase, “and for My praise I will restrain [echetam, related to chotem] [My anger] for you,” may be read as, “I will extend My patience and tolerance to you.” Therefore, prayer is in the realm of chotem. [6] In accordance with Section 6 below, we may add that a person’s every spiritual blemish damages the structure of the Shechinah (the light of God that dwells in this world), which makes possible the dominion of evil in the world. Conversely, a person’s every prayer to some degree raises and rectifies the totality of the Shechinah, until Messiah will at last come and raise its structure entirely. Therefore, Rebbe Nachman writes here that the principal strength of the Messiah is prayer, because he takes the prayers of all the people of Israel and with them erects the structure of the Shechinah. Then automatically the power of evil in the world will be nullified. (Messiah will also engage in physical wars—in which area as well he will prevail with the power of prayer.) [7] Cf. Sanhedrin 93b. [8] Actually, the rendering of “my sword and my bow” as “my prayer and pleading” appears in the Talmud (Bava Batra 123a). However, Rashi interprets this verse to mean, “my wisdom and my prayer.” [9] This indicates that a righteous person relies on prayer, not on a weapon (Bava Batra 123a). [10] Kitzur Likutei Moharan. Likutei Halachot (Hilchot Tefilat Haminchah 7) writes that “only the great tzaddik attains perfect prayer.” He continues: “The majority of Jews—even those who are worthy, and certainly …—are nevertheless certainly far from [attaining] this weapon of prayer. Rather, all of their strength comes through this tzaddik, who by means of [this weapon] gathers them together as people engaged in repentance. As a result, they receive the power to battle on behalf of Hashem … even though in and of themselves they do not possess the weapon of perfected prayer.” Rebbe Nachman describes prayer as a weapon in order to inspire every individual to be strong in his prayers at all times. Mei Hanachal explains that when a person thinks of prayer as a weapon, that makes it certain that he will pray with vigor, because he considers that with a weapon he can conquer everything. Thus, should a person find himself unable to pray properly, he should imagine himself to be a simple soldier who is issued a weapon and trained in its use. [11] This is the rendering by Targum Yonatan and Targum Yerushalmi of the verse, “Joseph is a charming son, a son charming to the eye; the daughters strode upon the wall… ” (Genesis 49:22). See also Bereishit Rabbah, Vayichi 98:23. [12] Likutei Halachot (Hilchot Nachalot 4) offers a deeper explanation of the connection between the double portion of the first-born status and prayer with its two aspects. See the appendix. [13] The following passage appears in the original text in a sidebar, set in smaller type. [14] The name Havayah is usually referred to as “Hashem.” It is composed of four letters: yod, hey, vov and hey (י, ה, ו, ה). It may be expanded in that one may write it by spelling out each of the letters. By way of example, one may expand the word “tree” by spelling out the letters as follows: “tee ar ee ee.” Or one might expand this word with a differently spelling, such as “tea ar ea ea.” Kabbalistically, the Name Havayah may similarly be expanded, with four variations. First, one may expand it using a preponderance of the letter yod: יוד, הי, ויו, הי. This has the numerical value of 72, which in Hebrew letters is written עב, AV. (The letters are capitalized to denote that they correspond directly to the Hebrew letters.) Second, one may expand it using the letters yod and alef: יוד, הי, ואו, הי. This has the numerical value of 63, which in Hebrew letters is written סג, SaG. Third, one may expand it using a preponderance of the letter alef: יוד, הא, ואו, הא. This has the numerical value of 45, which in Hebrew letters is written מה, MaH. Fourth, one may expand it using a preponderance of the letter hey: יוד, הה, וו, הה. This has the numerical value of 52, which in Hebrew letters is written בן, BaN. [15] The name Ekyeh (“I will be…” [Exodus 3:14]) is composed of four letters: alef, hey, yod and hey (א, ה, י, ה). It may be expanded with three variations, as follows. First, one may expand it using a preponderance of the letter yod: אלף, הי, יוד, הי. This has the numerical value of 161, which in Hebrew letters is written קס"א, K’SA. Second, one may expand it using a preponderance of the letter hey: אלף, הה, יוד, הה. This has the numerical value of 151, which in Hebrew letters is written קנ"א, K’NA. Third, one may expand it using a preponderance of the letter alef: אלף, הא, יוד, הא. This has the numerical value of 143, which in Hebrew letters is written קמ"ג, K’MaG. [16] It should be pointed out that the numerical value of these seven names actually comes to 687. In the system of gematria, in determining the numerical value of a word one may add the number 1 for the word itself (called the kollel, or “totality”). Thus, porat can be made to equal 687 by taking the value of its letters (686) and adding 1 for the word itself. As for the word pardashka, it has the numerical value of 685. But when the word itself is counted as 1, the number comes to 686, the numerical equivalent of the word porat. [17] B’abei Hanachal. The author adds that the tzaddik who has attained perfect prayer can kill and give life with his prayers, and he must therefore exercise great care when he prays. [18] Cf. Judges 20:16. [19] Likutei Halachot (Hilchot Nachalot 4). [20] Cf. Shabbat 137b. [21] Metzudat Dovid ibid. [22] Cf. Berachot 4:3. [23] Rashi, ibid. [24] Cf. Zohar, Raya Mehemna, Pinchas 252a. [25] See below, Lesson 16. [26] This appears to be the correct explanation, in accordance with the straightforward meaning of the term, “foreign thoughts”—i.e., trivial or troublesome thoughts. However, Biur Halikutim presents an alternative explanation, in accordance with the idea (which was presented in Section 3 in the name of Likutei Halachot) that not veering to the right or to the left in prayer means that a person should not think that his prayers have no effect, nor should he think that he may rely on Hashem’s kindness without needing to pray. Likutei Halachot (Hilchot Nachalot 4) explains that these two approaches constitute the husks of Esau and Ishmael. The husk of Esau misleads a person to believe that prayer is ineffective. And the husk of Ishmael misleads a person to believe that he can rely on the kindness of Hashem, so that once his prayer has been accepted, he no longer needs to pray. Rather, the truth is that a person continues to require salvation and a great deal of compassion until he escapes his exile entirely. In light of this, Biur Halikutim explains that the “foreign thoughts” referred to here are these two incorrect ideas, which discourage a person from praying. These thoughts are caused when a person’s judgment is damaged. But when a person has a healthy sense of judgment, he knows that he should not veer right or left but that he should believe in the efficacy of prayer. [27] Kitzur Likutei Moharan. [28] Alternatively, Targum Yerushalmi and Targum Yonatan ben Uziel translate this phrase to mean that Joseph is like a grapevine with strong roots planted alongside wellsprings. And because Joseph had such internal strength, when he rode in the viceroy’s chariot and the Egyptian women stood upon the wall and threw jewelry and precious stones in his direction in order to attract his attention, he did not raise his eyes to see them. [29] We learn in Sichot Haran (passage 296): “At the time of prayer, a person must bind himself to the tzaddikim of the generation, as explained in [Likutei Moharan,] Lesson 2 and Lesson 9, and elsewhere. Therefore, [Rebbe Nachman] directed his followers to recite the following [formula] before engaging in prayer: ‘Behold, I bind myself to all of the tzaddikim in our generation.’” And Avaneha Barzel (passage 62) states: “Someone once asked Moharanat [Rabbi Natan]: ‘Who is greater, a person small in stature who is close to the tzaddik, or a person great in stature who is not close?’ He told him: ‘In the days of Moses, if someone made something of considerable value for the tabernacle but did not bring it to Moses, it would certainly be of no consequence. But if someone made something small and brought it to Moses, it would certainly be very important.’ And he then mentioned the statement in Likutei Moharan I 2 that it is precisely Moses who can put together the parts [of the tabernacle].” [30] The Shechinah is the light of the Holy One, blessed be He, that dwells in this world. It is the sefirah of malchut. [31] This will be explained further on in Likutei Moharan 14:3. [32] This passage appears in the original text in a sidebar, set in smaller type. [33] Yalkut Shimoni, Bereishit 1:3. [34] Metzudat Dovid, ibid. [35] Biur Halikutim. Likutei Halachot (Hilchot Nachalot 4) teaches: All of the Torah that a person learns enters into [his] prayer, and [the two] strengthen each other. Therefore, a person who wants to attain true life needs both Torah learning and prayer, for they enhance each other. And that indicates the great power and worthiness of turning Torah teachings into prayers. That is because all of the Torah that a person learns enters into his prayer and is renewed there, and [the two] strengthen each other. That is the case even when the Torah that a person learns has no apparent connection to [his] prayer. For instance, he is learning monetary laws and he afterwards pray regarding Sabbath observance and the like. And certainly it is higher and stronger when a person makes a prayer out of the specific Torah that he is learning, for then the Torah and [his] prayer are truly bonded together, and then they strengthen each other and illuminate each other more and more. Therefore, the matter of turning Torah teachings into prayers is exceedingly precious, and it brings about great, incomparable heavenly delights, as [Rebbe Nachman] explained in his holy words. In this way, a person unites Torah and prayer with a wondrous union until they become a complete unity and they strengthen each other with especial strength. [36] Likutei Halachot (Hilchot Nachalot 4) teaches: That which applies to all of Israel applies specifically to each individual: that whoever has entered even somewhat into the service of Hashem and has engaged, whether a little or a great deal, in hitbodedut and prayers and pleadings and requests that he may merit that Hashem, be He blessed, will turn His face to him and bring him close to His service and redeem him from his lusts and evil traits, and he sees that he has not yet been answered, for he is still very far from Him, be He blessed, as a result he may mistakenly believe, heaven forbid, that all of his prayers and words were in vain, heaven forbid. But in truth that is not the case, for not a single word is lost. Rather, every prayer and conversation makes a strong impression. And the true tzaddikim gather all of these prayers and [holy] conversations and build from them wondrous buildings, corresponding to the tabernacle. And everyone must strengthen himself a great deal in such prayer and [holy] conversation constantly, however things may be, until as a result of the amount of his prayers the structure [set up by] the tzaddikim who engage in gathering, binding and raising these prayers will be completed. And then the compassion of God, be He blessed, will be stirred, and He will return to this person and have compassion on him. [37] Cf. Likutei Torah of the Ari (Parshat Vayichi) and Kehilat Yaakov, the entry on Dag (“fish”). They write that Joseph the tzaddik is referred to as a “fish.” (Thus, Jacob blessed Joseph’s sons, who are an extension of Joseph, “May they multiply like fish” (Genesis 48:16). The Hebrew word for “fish,” dag, is composed of two letters: dalet and gimel, whose respective numerical values are four and three. Corresponding to that, Joseph attained the four names of Havayah (AV, SaG, MaH and BaN) and the three names of Ekyeh (K’SA, K’NA and K’MaG), which total 686, as a result of which he is called “charming,” porat, which has the same numerical value. Cf. Biur Halikutim. See also Kehilat Yaacov and Meorei Ohr, entry on Dag, which teach that the fish corresponds to the sefirah of yesod, and it is well-known that the tzaddik is on the level of yesod. And as we learned at the beginning of this lesson, as a result of guarding the covenant (which is associated with the tzaddik and yesod) a person attains prayer. [38] Bereishit Rabbah 86:6. [39] Rashi ibid. [40] Cf. Zohar Pekudei (138b) and Matok Midvash ibid. by Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook
The creative soul Is immersed in the wellspring of the light of the Teaching. We may not stop its flow, Filled with joy and holy happiness, Not for any bitter complaint or obstacle in the world. The entire world isn’t worth A single instant of superior creativity That comes from the holy wellspring. This stream of elevated life that pours in a single soul Raises up the entire world. Shemonah Kevatzim 4:29 |
Yaacov David Shulman
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