bereishit 1/12

The Torah portion Lech Lichuh

To come to the Land of Israel, one must go on one's feet with distress and exertion. ‘Go for yourself from your land,’ etc. (12:1) Once Rabbainu, of blessed memory, said: There are those to whom it seems that they very much want and long to come to the Land of Israel, if they could travel there in comfort, but not with distress and constraint. And in truth this is not a complete desire, for whoever truly wants to come to the Land of Israel must also go on foot, and as was said to Abraham, ‘Go for yourself,’ etc.—‘go’ specifically. (Chayay Moharan, section 15)

Go to yourself, to your point of truth, without connection to and influence from others. ‘Go for yourself from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house.’ (12:1) The word ‘for yourself’ is not understood at all, as Rashi found difficulty with this and explained ‘for yourself—for your benefit,’ etc. And according to the above it will be well understood, with the help of Hashem, for it has already been explained above that Hashem, blessed be He, commanded him in this portion to draw himself toward all the above-mentioned sanctities, namely the Land of Israel and prayer and faith and miracles, all of which are attained only through truth. And this is ‘Go for yourself’—for yourself specifically: all your going and traveling should be for yourself and toward yourself alone, namely toward the very point of truth, which is your essence and vitality. For the essence of the person is the holy soul within him, which is the whole person, as is written in the books and brought in his words, of blessed memory, in section 22: what is called ‘I’ in a person is only the very soul, for a person's flesh is called ‘a person's flesh,’ and the essence of the person is the soul; and the soul is a divine portion from above, which is the very essence of truth. And this is the aspect of the souls of Israel, which began from Abraham, of whom it is said, ‘Entirely a seed of truth.’ And this is ‘Go for yourself,’ namely that you go to yourself, to your own self, that is, to your very truth rooted within you, for only this is called ‘I’ when a person speaks about himself, and likewise only this is called ‘you’ or ‘for you’ when people address him directly. Namely, in all your going, physically and spiritually, go only to yourself, to your own self, to the very point of truth rooted within you, and do not look at any incitements and enticements of falsehood, which darkens the faces of the creatures, until it is very difficult to withstand them for one who does not endeavor to have compassion on himself, to seek continually the truth in its truth, so as not to deceive himself. And this is ‘Go for yourself from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house,’ for there are several kinds of darkness and falsehoods drawn ‘from your land,’ namely from the city and country in which one grew up. For it is known that the husk preceded the fruit, and in every land and in every place, even though there is much good there, nevertheless in every place there are several kinds of darkness that darken the truth, namely that in every land many pursue desires, and particularly money and honor, etc., as though this had been given from Sinai, Heaven forbid. And one must distance oneself from this and leave your above-mentioned land, and go to yourself, to your own self, to the point of truth, which is your essential self. For if you look at the truth you will understand well that this is not the way to come to the eternal purpose, to the World to Come. And likewise ‘and from your birthplace,’ namely that he should leave the evil and darkness within him on account of birth, the aspect of ‘Behold, in iniquity I was brought forth,’ etc. And as is explained concerning the verse ‘They and their fathers,’ etc. (in section 14). And likewise ‘and from your father's house,’ which is his family, for there are several follies and falsehoods that have adhered to him from his family, who consider themselves of distinguished lineage, and as though all honor belonged to them, and similarly other follies and confusions. And Hashem, blessed be He, commanded him to leave all of them and go away from them—‘Go for yourself’ specifically, namely to your own self, which is the very point of truth, which is the whole person, as above. And then you will come to the land that I will show you, which is the Land of Israel. ‘And I will make you a great nation’—this is that they say ‘God of Abraham,’ which is the perfection of prayer and faith, etc.; ‘and they shall be blessed,’ etc., which is the aspect of miracles, etc. For you will attain all this through truth, as above. Even from good people there are impediments and disturbances to the truth of your service. And all this cannot be clarified in writing; rather, only one who truly desires will understand. For it has already been explained in his words, of blessed memory, that people are greater impediments than the evil inclination, as is explained in his holy conversations concerning this; see there. And not only are there wicked obstructers or frivolous people of the world and scoffers, etc., who obstruct through their words from the truth; even those who fear Hashem can sometimes confuse a person through their advice that is not good for him according to his path. And there are several aspects to this without measure. Therefore one who truly desires must take care to draw himself continually toward his very own point of truth, according to what he truly needs, which is ‘Go for yourself’—for yourself specifically, namely to your own self, to the very point of truth that belongs to you. And as is brought in the tale of the Wise Man and the Simple Man, that the Simple Man said, ‘That is his work, and this is my work,’ and as is brought concerning this on the verse ‘And you shall count for yourselves’—‘for yourselves,’ for your own selves; see there in our words (in the Halachos of Counting, included in the Halachos of Passover, Halacha 9). Therefore in truth much prayer and conversation are needed, and to speak the utterance in truth, as above, until he merits continually to draw himself toward the truth in its truth, and merits all the above. (Halachos of Theft, Halacha 5, item 4)

56. For there Rabbainu, of blessed memory, wrote: And not only their desire remains bound in their bodies, but also their father's desire, which is in them from the time of birth; because his father did not sanctify himself, this too is still bound in their bodies. And certainly, if they had seen all this, a great dread would have fallen upon them, for they would see how they stand on a low and degraded level. End of quotation. And in the holy Or HaChaim, at the beginning of the portion of Tazria, he wrote: And behold, at the time of insemination, our Sages, of blessed memory, said that according to the intention that the one inseminating intends, he will draw the soul to the offspring. If he thinks evil and defiled thoughts, he will draw an impure soul to the drop, and if he thinks in purity, he will draw a holy soul. And go and learn from the sons of the wondrous righteous man, King Hezekiah, peace be upon him, who married a prophet's daughter, and because the woman thought about the attendants of Merodach Baladan, she drew an evil soul to her two sons. If so, the essence of birth, which is drawing the soul to the fetus, is at the time of insemination, and prior to it, beforehand, for after the emission of the seed the power of the thinker, from whom the seed will come into being, has already preceded. And this is the statement of the verse, ‘When she inseminates and gives birth’: the verse makes known that the essence of birth is at the time of insemination, for when she inseminates she has already given birth, and what will be will be—whether a pure soul or not; and there is no hope of reversing what already is. And henceforth, the person's exerting himself regarding birth is at the time of insemination, for then is the essence of birth with respect to the soul, which is the essential [element] in the person; and the thing's coming into being and its origination, even though it is hidden, is called birth. End of quotation. And likewise in his words in the portion of Kedoshim.

People are greater impediments and disturbances than the evil inclination. ‘Go for yourself from your land and from your birthplace,’ etc. (12:1) In truth, the inner heart of each and every person knows well that there is no ultimate purpose in this world and its desires and vanities, as is known to everyone, and as was explained above concerning this. And particularly the heart of an Israelite, who is of the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were the principal generous-hearted ones, etc., as above, and our souls are rooted in them. Therefore the heart of every Israelite, in its inwardness, certainly always burns for Hashem, blessed be He, and for His holy Torah, in truth. Nevertheless, because of the greatness of the power of choice—for God made this opposite that—through this, each time Satan and the evil inclination and evil thoughts gain strength against the good within the person, and he wants to drive him, Heaven forbid, out of both worlds through his desires and vanities, etc. And the more one strives and strengthens himself against him, the more he gains strength. Therefore it is a very great and long battle. But nevertheless the person would certainly overcome the evil; however, the greatest impediment is people who oppose the truth, and as our master, our teacher, and our rabbi, of blessed memory, said (Sichos HaRan, item 80), that people are far greater impediments than the evil inclination. (Halachos of the Morning Blessing, Halacha 5, item 92)

The matter of Avraham’s journey applies to every person, who must undergo trials and refinements and ascents and descents without measure, and must withstand them all; and the person is not told beforehand what the trial is. “Go for yourself from your land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house.” (12:1) This is the aspect of “And Hashem said to Avram: Go for yourself from your land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land,” etc. “And I will make you into a great nation,” etc. For what is written there in the aforementioned teaching (Likutay Moharan, teaching 6), concerning the three commandments that Israel was commanded upon entering the Land of Israel, is explained above: to cut off the seed of Amalek, to appoint a king, and to build the chosen House, etc.; these are the aspect of the three aforementioned points, which are the aspect of repentance, etc. See there. For the essence of repentance is brought in his words, of blessed memory, as the aspect of zarka, “which is thrown to the place from which it was taken”: one must emerge from all the places into which one wandered and return to the source from which one’s soul was hewn. For the root of the soul of every member of Israel is exceedingly, exceedingly high, as is brought; only it descended into the earthliness and physicality of this world for the sake of free choice, so that precisely through this it should return to its source in wondrous perfection, etc. And every person in the world, from the great to the small, must necessarily undergo many, many adventures, etc., all of which are the aspect of trials and refinements and ascents and descents without measure. And all of Hashem’s intention is for the good, for everything that the Merciful One does, He does for the good. For His whole intention, may He be blessed, is entirely that precisely through this one should ascend from all the places to which one descended, to refine from there whatever one will refine, until one comes to the place of his rest, to the source of his soul, etc., as above. And all the refinements and trials are the aspect of the war against Amalek, as above. And one must be thoroughly proficient in this law—the aspect of proficiency in entering, proficiency in leaving; the aspect of “And if I make my bed in the netherworld, here You are,” etc., as above. And when one merits to endure whatever one will endure—humiliations and bloodshed and refinements and trials in many aspects—this is the aspect of cutting off the seed of Amalek, which is the aspect of the lower point. Through this one merits repentance, the aspect of keser, the aspect of the upper point, which is the aspect of Moshe, the aspect of the Holy Temple, etc. And the drawing from the upper point to the lower point is the aspect of the vav within the alef, which is the aspect of the commandment to appoint a king, etc., as above. And this is what Hashem said to Avraham, thereby alluding to every person in the world: “Go for yourself.” He admonishes the person to go to oneself, for the essence of the person, what is called “I,” is only the soul (as is written in the teaching “A Seal within a Seal,” teaching 22, Likutay, Part 1). Likewise, when one addresses the person directly and says to him “you” or “to you,” the primary intention is the soul, which is the essence of the person, as is known. And this is what the Torah admonishes the person: “Go for yourself”—that you should go to yourself, to your own self, namely to the source of your soul. For in all your walking and travelling and all your ways in this world, in all of them direct your intention to go to your own self, namely to the source of your soul, which is the very essence of the person being addressed, as above. And this is “from your land”—specifically your land. That is, from within your earthliness and physicality: into whatever earthliness and physicality you descended, where it seems to you that it is difficult to emerge from there. Even so, you must strengthen yourself to go specifically from within your land, to go to yourself, to your soul, etc., as above. And this is “and from your birthplace”: however you were born, in whatever physicality you were born, even though this too is a great impediment, as Dovid said, “Behold, in iniquity I was formed,” etc.; even so, you are compelled to go specifically from your birthplace, to go specifically to yourself, as above. “And from your father’s house”: these are the family and the neighbours and his relatives and acquaintances among whom he grows up. From them too there are many, many impediments to the service of Hashem, who impede in many ways—sometimes physically and sometimes through their opinions and reasonings that are the opposite of the truth. From all of them you must emerge and go to yourself, to your soul, as above. For you must believe that certainly the Holy One, blessed is He, does not deal tyrannically with His creatures, and certainly you have the strength to withstand all this, as our master and teacher, of blessed memory, wrote (in teaching 49 in Likutay Tinyana), that the Holy One, blessed is He, does not send a person impediments that he cannot withstand, etc. And this is “to the land that I will show you,” which is the Land of Israel, which is the totality of holiness, where the Holy Temple is, where the source of all souls is. Concerning this He admonishes him: “Go for yourself,” to your soul, as above. The essence of the trial is that a person is not shown at the outset what he will merit if he withstands it. And this is what Rashi explained: “And He did not reveal the land to him immediately, in order to endear it in his eyes and to give him reward for each and every utterance.” That is, this is the essence of a person’s trial: that Hashem does not immediately show the person, at the time of the trial, what he will merit if he withstands this trial and refinement. For certainly, if every person could see in this world everything that he will merit when he breaks his desires and his evil traits, certainly he would have no trial at all. For who is foolish and senseless enough to cast away such eternal delight, such exalted lights, for such foolishness in so fleeting a moment? But the essence of the trial is because he does not see all this; therefore great strengthening is needed. And this is the aspect of “to the land that I will show you”: that Hashem does not show the land of the living, where there are delights at His right hand for eternity, which is his end, the eternal good that is through all his trial. And if he strengthens himself and takes courage concerning that against which he must strengthen himself, and pursues this end, he will receive reward for each and every utterance that he spoke and pleaded before Hashem to merit this. And then the good that he merits, which is the aspect of the Land of Israel, will be dear in his eyes more and more, since he did not at all imagine in his soul that he would merit such delight, etc. And as we find concerning several tzaddikim who said: “And I said: I toiled in vain,” etc., “Yet indeed,” etc. [57] And this is “And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great.” This is the aspect of the three aforementioned points. “And I will make you into a great nation”: this is the aspect of cutting off the seed of Amalek. For the whole war of Amalek is to cause His blessed name to be forgotten, Heaven forbid, and to distance all those weak in strength from Hashem, as is written: “And he struck at your rear all the stragglers behind you,” etc. Therefore, this one who strengthens himself and subdues him merits to magnify His blessed name by raising up and bringing all these distant ones, weak in strength, close to Hashem. This is the aspect of “And I will make you into a great nation,” through his holy gathering increasing, as he brings many, many souls close to Hashem—the opposite of Amalek’s evil intention, may his name be erased, as above. “And I will bless you”: this is the aspect of drawing blessing and bounty from the upper point to the lower point, the aspect of “Like the dew of Chermon, which descends,” etc., “for there Hashem commanded the blessing,” etc. And this is the aspect of appointing a king, for the principal bounty and blessing are drawn through the king (as is written elsewhere in Likutay Tinyana, teaching 16). “And I will make your name great”: that he should be called Avraham, with the addition of heh, the aspect of the heh of da’as, which is the aspect of Moshe, who is da’as, which is the aspect of the Holy Temple. For whoever has understanding, etc., which is the aspect of the upper point, as above. But afterwards the person still must undergo many ascents and descents, which are the aspect of entering and leaving, in which one must be very proficient, as above. Therefore He promised him, “And be a blessing”: that the blessing should endure with him, that he should merit always to remain at his post, and through everything that will befall him he should never fall and never become distant, but should remain steadfast in the aspect of drawing the blessing from the upper point to the lower point. This is the aspect of “And be a blessing,” as above. And this is “And Avram went as Hashem had spoken to him, and Lot went with him”: although Avram did as Hashem had spoken with him, to draw himself to the root of his soul, to the Land of Israel, nevertheless Lot, who is the aspect of the evil inclination, went with him at all times, not wanting to separate from him. And everything was for trial and free choice, as above, and so that precisely through this he would refine exceedingly, exceedingly lofty sparks of holiness from the deepest depths of the husks, as Avraham refined from Lot specifically the soul of Mashiach, as is brought. And this is “And there was famine in the land, and Avram went down to Egypt.” And our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said, and it is brought in Rashi’s commentary, that this was his great trial: that He admonishes him to ascend to the Land of Israel, and now induces him to leave it. This is the general principle of all our aforementioned words: one must enter and leave and be very proficient in this, and not become dispirited by this, all the more so not to question Hashem; only to believe that Hashem is righteous and His judgments are just, and His whole intention is only for the good. As happened with Avraham: when he came to the Land of Israel there was famine precisely there, until he was compelled to leave the Land of Israel for Egypt, which is the aspect of leaving. Nevertheless, he did not question Hashem, but withstood the trial in Egypt until he merited to ascend from there very laden with livestock, with silver and with gold, which is the aspect of the holy sparks that he refined there, as is brought. [58] And so it happens to every person, as above. And so it is brought in books and in the words of our master and teacher, of blessed memory (in teaching 8, in the teaching “I Saw a Golden Menorah”): all a person’s descents and ascents are alluded to in the verse “And Avram went down to Egypt” and “And Avram went up from Egypt”—namely, as above, that all this is the aspect of being proficient in entering, proficient in leaving, as above. And this is “And he went on his journeys until the place where his tent had been at the beginning,” etc., “to the place of the altar that he had made there at first, and Avram called there in the name of Hashem.” Rashi explained: “And now also he called there in the name of Hashem.” That is, when one strengthens oneself in the aspect of leaving—all the descents to which one descended—until one returns to one’s place, one must return and go along the first path, return to call in the name of Hashem as at the beginning, the aspect of “And Avram called there in the name of Hashem,” and now also he called there in the name of Hashem. He did not fall from his good path because of everything that befell him; rather, each time he returns to his true path, to call always to Hashem, etc., as above. Also, “And there was famine in the land,” etc., alludes to every person, for most of his going out to the market, which is the aspect of leaving, etc., is principally due to lack of livelihood, as is known. And this is “And there was famine in the land,” the aspect of lack of livelihood. Through this, “And Avram went down to Egypt,” which is the aspect of the preoccupation of business, where there is the danger of desire for money, which is the aspect of idolatry, which is the aspect of Egypt (as is written in the tale of the Master of Prayer, alluding (in Yeshaya, chapter 31): “Woe to those who descend to Egypt for help,” etc.). But the aspect of Avram, who is the Israelite person who merits to be proficient in entering and leaving, as above—even there in Egypt, amid the preoccupation of business, etc., he strengthens himself not to sink there, Heaven forbid. Rather, there too he remembers Hashem, until he refines specifically from there many holy sparks, and ascends from there with them, the aspect of “And Avram went up from Egypt,” etc., etc., as above. (Halachos of Shabbos, Halacha 7, item 75)

57. Midrash Rabbah, Beraishis 62:2: All the reward of the tzaddikim is prepared for them for the future to come, and the Holy One, blessed is He, shows them, while they are still in this world, the reward that He will give them in the future to come; and their soul is satiated, and they sleep. Rabbi Elazar said: An analogy to a feast that the king made: he invited the guests and showed them what they would eat and drink, and their soul was satiated, and they went to sleep. So the Holy One, blessed is He, shows the tzaddikim, while they are still in this world, the reward that He will give them in the future to come; and they sleep, as is said: ‘For now I would have lain down and been still.’ Thus, at the departure of the tzaddikim, the Holy One, blessed is He, shows them their reward. When Rabbi Avahu was dying, they showed him thirteen rivers of balsam. He said to them: ‘Whose are these?’ They said to him: ‘Yours.’ He said: ‘These are Avahu’s? And I said: I toiled in vain; for emptiness and vanity I exhausted my strength. Yet indeed my judgment is with Hashem.’

58. The author of HaHafla’ah, of blessed memory, wrote in Panim Yafos (the portion Lech Lichuh): And the matter of Avraham and his descent to Egypt and Pharaoh’s plagues—and the fact that his tranquillity descended upon him—is brought in the Midrash as a sign for the children in their descent to Egypt with ten plagues and their emergence with great possessions. And like what our Sages, of blessed memory, said in Bava Basra, explaining ‘Walk through the land, along its length and its breadth’: so that it should be easy for his children to conquer. And so here Hashem acted even for times of distress; and just as the burden of the road was difficult for them, so it was with Avraham, for it was very burdensome to raise up the sparks that he took out with him from Egypt. And this was his intention that he should give him gifts, so that through this he would raise up the holy sparks. And Scripture said: ‘And he went on his journeys,’ etc., ‘until the place where his tent had been at the beginning,’ etc.: that he went and raised up all the sparks that he took out from Egypt, from level to level, until he brought them to his original level. And it said ‘also Lot,’ for he raised up with him also Lot and everything that was his. End of quotation. And in the book Ateres Tiferes, by Rabbi Chaim Sunani, of blessed memory, he wrote (the portion Lech Lichuh): Know that the principal descent of Avraham to Egypt was in order to gather the holy sparks that fell there from ancient times. And since he gathered the holy sparks, when he descended there through the power of his piety and his righteousness and his intentions—then the Holy One, blessed is He, raised him higher, higher, higher, and made his level greater still, because he returned the children to their Father’s bosom as at first. Etc. For blessing does not rest in the world except when feminine waters ascend; then masculine waters descend without measure or valuation. Therefore, because Avraham raised sparks of holiness, which are the mystery of feminine waters, he caused masculine waters to descend much more; for this reason he was very laden with livestock, silver and gold. End of quotation.

The Holy One, blessed is He, did not reveal to Avraham where to go, so that he would yearn more and more, for this is the essential thing: that he should have great longing for holiness. “To the land that I will show you.” (12:1) This is the aspect of ‘Go for yourself from your land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.’ And Rashi explained: ‘And He did not reveal the land to him immediately, in order to endear it in his eyes,’ etc. That is, since the essential perfection of the Land of Israel is that there one merits the illumination of the aforementioned extraordinary will, therefore He did not reveal the land to him immediately, in order to endear it in his eyes, so that he would want and yearn and desire more and more to come there. And precisely through this he would merit to come there and receive the holiness of the Land of Israel in perfection, whose essence is the will and yearning for Hashem. This is the aspect of the general principle of all the impediments that every individual has to a holy matter. And the greater the holy matter, the more impediments he has. And everything is for this purpose. Because the essence of holiness is to merit the will, which is the essential ultimate purpose, as above, therefore he is impeded so greatly, so that he should have a stronger will; through this he will merit the holy matter in perfection and receive it properly with good will and wondrous yearning, which is the essential ultimate purpose. For even afterwards, when one comes to the Land of Israel or to the holy matter, one must still strengthen oneself with good wills and great longings for Hashem, for this is the essential thing, as above. (Halachos of Washing the Hands for a Meal, Halacha 6, item 106)

The essence of the trial is that the person is not told, and he must search for the will of the Holy One, blessed is He. “To the land that I will show you.” (12:1) This is the aforementioned aspect of Hashem’s not revealing the land to Avraham immediately, so that he would have to search and seek thoroughly after His will. And this is the essence of his trial, and likewise of that of all the tzaddikim. And as I heard from his holy mouth, at the time of a person’s trial, the person does not possess his understanding fully concerning the trial; for if his understanding were complete in this, he would have no trial at all, whatsoever. And all this is the aforementioned matter: that Hashem tested Avraham and did not reveal the land to him immediately, so that he would be perplexed and uncertain; nevertheless he would search and seek after His will. And precisely through this he would merit that Hashem would reveal His will to him and increase his reward through this, for through seeking and searching he would merit a great ascent, as above. And likewise the binding, and it is said concerning him: ‘On one of the mountains,’ etc. And likewise Yonah, concerning whom it is said (Yonah 3): ‘And proclaim to it the proclamation.’ For according to his understanding, this mission to Nineveh was not good in Yonah’s eyes, as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said (it is brought in Rashi’s commentary, Yonah 1), for he did not understand the magnitude of Hashem’s mercies—how far they reach; therefore Hashem led him astray. As our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said concerning this matter: ‘The Holy One, blessed is He, leads the tzaddikim astray,’ etc. And He did not reveal it to him immediately, so that he would search and seek greatly. And through this he would attain His will and His attribute of abundant mercies: that He, may He be blessed, does much good and desires the repentance even of the nations of the world, all the more so of Israel. And therefore, indeed, when Yonah was in the belly of the fish, he gave thanks to Hashem for His abundant mercies, as is written there: ‘From the belly of the netherworld I cried out; You heard my voice,’ etc., ‘And I said: I have been driven away from before Your eyes,’ etc., ‘All Your breakers and Your waves passed over me,’ etc., ‘Yet I will continue to look toward Your holy sanctuary.’ For all this is the matter of the aforementioned seeking and searching: that even from the very belly of the netherworld one must cry out to Hashem, as I heard from his holy mouth, when he said in these words that the essential thing is ‘From the belly of the netherworld I cried out.’ Namely, as above. (Halachos of Falling on the Face, Halacha 6, item 8)

Before coming to the Land of Israel, which is greatness of greatness, one must descend to extraordinary smallness. “To the land that I will show you.” (12:1) Before [our holy Rebbe] came to the Land of Israel, he had great suffering and very great impediments that cannot be explained and recounted. And in Istanbul he cast himself into exceedingly extraordinary smallness, beyond estimation, and dressed himself in a torn garment and walked barefoot and without the outer hat, and went outside and walked like one of the lowest of the low. And likewise many such matters of smallness and lowliness he performed there for some time. And he engaged in battle with other people in a playful way, like youths who compete with one another, etc.; and likewise other matters of play and smallness that cannot be explained and recounted. It also happened that there were there in Istanbul two men from our surroundings who had previously been in the Land of Israel and were returning then, at the time that Rabbainu, of blessed memory, was there in Istanbul on his way to the Land of Israel. They encountered him and did not recognize him, and he acted with his wisdom and appeared to them as though he were a deceitful man, Heaven forbid. And they humiliated him with every kind of humiliation over several consecutive days, and he accepted upon himself all the humiliations; on the contrary, he devised strategies for them to humiliate him. And Rabbainu, of blessed memory, said that if this had not been upon him—namely, the smallness, that he cast himself into the aforementioned great smallness, and the aforementioned humiliations—it would not have been possible to come to the Land of Israel because of the impediments that he had. For in every place to which he came there was there pestilence, may the Merciful One save us; and great wars were then in the world, and the French were then in the vicinity of the Land of Israel. And the multitude of impediments that he had cannot be recounted. And he said that the Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, and the gaon Rabbi Naftali, of blessed memory, could not come to the Land of Israel because of the impediments that they had; and he, of blessed memory, had upon him all the impediments that they had, and passed through them all. And the aforementioned smallness helped him greatly; without this he could not have come there. And I heard in the name of Rabbainu, of blessed memory, that he said: Before one comes to greatness, one must first fall to smallness. And the Land of Israel is greatness of greatness; therefore one must first fall to smallness of smallness. And therefore the Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, could not come to the Land of Israel, because he could not descend into such smallness. And he, of blessed memory, merited to come to the Land of Israel through the magnitude of the smallness into which he descended there, with his immense wisdom, to extraordinary smallness, smallness of smallness, until he merited to come to the Land of Israel, which is greatness of greatness. (Chayay Moharan, sections 139, 140)

The darkness always follows the tzaddikim, and they must clarify the truth from within the darkness. “And Lot went with him.” (12:4) That is, the darkness is always bound to holiness, for ‘Lot’ is the aspect of a curse, as is stated in the holy Zohar: the aspect of darkness, which is the aspect of falsehood, which is the principal filth of the serpent, the aspect of ‘Cursed are you.’ That is, the darkness, the aspect of Lot, always went after Avraham to darken things for him, Heaven forbid. And as above: every time that a person stands to pray, etc., which is the aspect of drawing himself to the Land of Israel, etc.—for everything is one aspect, as above—then immediately ‘And Lot went with him’: the darkness is bound to him and wants to darken things for him, Heaven forbid. And this is all the service and toil of the tzaddikim and the worthy: to clarify the truth from within the darkness of the gloom of falsehood, which surrounds with many, many kinds of roundabout devices and mockery and cunning without measure. And whoever wants to have compassion on himself always draws himself to the very truth. And this is the aspect of ‘And Avram journeyed, going and travelling southward,’ which is the south, which is the right—the aspect of ‘truth that depends upon the Ancient One, who is entirely right.’ In every place where he went and travelled, physically and spiritually, he went and travelled and always drew himself to the right, which is the truth. For it is impossible to inform a person of the path of truth in the details of particulars, concerning every matter and at every time and occasion. Rather, the discerning person who desires truth looks each time, in every matter, to the point of truth, and goes and travels and always draws himself to the right, which is the aspect of truth, the aspect of ‘going and travelling southward.’ (Halachos of Theft, Halacha 5, item 5)

“And Lot went with him.” (12:4) And Avram went as Hashem had spoken to him, and Lot went with him: although Avram did as Hashem had spoken with him, to draw himself to the root of his soul, to the Land of Israel, nevertheless Lot, who is the aspect of the evil inclination, went with him at all times, not wanting to separate from him. And everything was for trial and free choice, as above, and so that precisely through this he would refine exceedingly, exceedingly lofty sparks of holiness from the deepest depths of the husks, as Avraham refined from Lot specifically the soul of Mashiach, as is brought. [61] (Halachos of Shabbos, Halacha 7, item 74)

61. And as Rabbi Noson, of blessed memory, wrote in Redemption of the Firstborn (Halacha 5, item 29): that Avraham saved Lot, for this whole war was for this, because he foresaw that from him the birth of Mashiach would develop, as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said on the verse: ‘I found Dovid My servant,’ etc. See there. And it is in Beraishis Rabbah 41:4: ‘Where did I find him? In Sodom.’ See there.

By Avraham finding good in every individual, he brought them close to the Holy One, blessed is He. “And the soul that they made in Charan.” (12:5) Therefore Avraham used to convert converts, for he would incline toward kindness and find a good point in every individual, and through this he brought everyone close to Hashem. [62] (Halachos of Rising in the Morning, Halacha 1, item 5)

62. There Rabbi Noson explains, on the basis of teaching 282, ‘I Will Sing,’ that by judging favourably and inclining toward kindness, to find good points in every individual, even one who is very distant, through this one truly raises him from the scale of guilt to the scale of merit, and he returns to the good. And on this basis Rabbi Noson writes these words.

Through Abraham’s doing charity and kindness, he made the light of the candle, through which the suppressed evil was awakened; they converted. “And the soul that they made in Charan” (12:5) On the basis of the teaching “And it happened as they were emptying their sacks,” etc., in section 17; see the entire teaching there. And its principle is that through “wealth adds many friends”—that is, through charity—the light of the candle and wealth are made, and through this the holy speech is heard far away, until the good suppressed among the other side hears it, is awakened, and returns to Hashem, blessed be He, and people become penitents and converts. And through this the imaginative faculty is perfected, and through this the intellect is perfected; and through this one merits fear and love through the tzaddik, who reveals the glory found in Israel generally, individually, and in the details of individuals, etc. He finds the glory individually, even among the sinners of Israel, as long as the name Israel is applied to him, etc.; through this he finds the desires that Hashem, blessed be He, has in all creation, etc., through which he draws down fear and love, etc. Study all this well there. Therefore Abraham our father was a man of kindness and performed much kindness and charity, for Abraham and all the patriarchs engaged in this: making known to the good suppressed in the disgraceful places its own worth, to awaken it to repentance. And through this they made many penitents and converts, as it is written: “And the soul that they made in Charan, etc.” And Isaac and Jacob likewise converted many, as our Sages of blessed memory said, and as is cited in his words, of blessed memory (Likutay Moharan, section 59). And because Abraham was the first who began to engage in this—to awaken, bring out, and repair the good suppressed among the other side since the sin of the Tree of Knowledge—he therefore performed much charity and kindness all his days, in order to make the light of the candle and wealth, so that he could make known to the suppressed good its worth and where it now is, etc., as above. And in the world as a whole, the three patriarchs correspond to the entirety of the repairs explained in the above teaching. For Abraham corresponds to the repair of “wealth adds many friends,” which is accomplished through much charity, for Abraham performed much kindness and charity, as above. And through this the suppressed good is made aware of its worth, and converts are made, in the aspect of “and the soul that they made,” which is stated about Abraham more explicitly than about the other patriarchs, because he was the first, and he began the repair through charity, as above. And through this the blemish of the altar is repaired and the altar is perfected, as is written there. And this corresponds to Isaac, who was bound upon the altar, after which they offered a ram in his place; this corresponds to repairing the altar. For because the patriarchs were the beginning of the repair, repairing the blemish of faith, which is the blemish of the idolatry that the earliest generations practiced greatly, it was therefore necessary to repair the blemish of the altar through Isaac our father himself: Abraham and Isaac consented to offer him upon the altar, for because of the enormity of the blemish, it could be repaired only through Isaac himself. And through repairing the altar, the intellect is perfected and the glory is revealed through the true tzaddik. And this corresponds to Jacob, who is the principal glory, for Jacob is called Israel, the aspect of “Israel, in whom I shall be glorified,” the aspect of the glory of Israel. (Halachos of Claimant and Respondent, Halacha 5)

Abraham engaged in bringing many close to faith and composed books about this, and so did Isaac and Jacob. “And the soul that they made in Charan” (12:5) Abraham our father also brought young people close to Hashem, blessed be He, for he converted converts, as is known. And his practice was that he would come into a city and run through the city, crying, “Hoy, hoy, gevald!” And they would run after him, as people pursue a madman, while he argued with them at length that they were all in great errors; and he reproved them and showed them that everything was error, and revealed the holy faith to them. And some young people were drawn after him, for he did not bring the elderly close, because the elderly had already become deeply rooted in their many errors and it was difficult to turn them back from their way any longer; only the young people were drawn and ran after him. 63 And he would go from city to city, and they ran after him; and their fathers and wives opposed them, these young people, for they said of them that they had gone astray and become apostates, until they distanced them greatly, until some of the young people returned to their former ways because of the suffering they had at home, from their fathers-in-law, their fathers, their wives, and the like. But some remained with him and cleaved to him. And Abraham our father engaged greatly in this, in revealing the holy faith in the world. And he composed very many books about this, thousands of books. 64 And he had many sons, and presumably, since they were his sons, they all followed the upright path, for even Ishmael repented. But afterward, when Abraham our father wished to leave his books and wisdom in the world, he investigated and reflected within himself as to which of his sons he should leave his books and wisdom to, until it was resolved for him to leave everything to Isaac our father, and he handed everything over to him. And afterward Isaac too followed this path, and also converted many converts and also composed very many books concerning the strengthening of the holy faith. And he too reflected as to which of his sons he should leave his books and wisdom to, for Esau too seemed good in his eyes and deceived him until he loved him, as explained in Scripture, as it is written, “And Isaac loved Esau, for game was in his mouth,” as Rashi explained there, that he deceived his father with his words, and would ask him, “Father, how do we tithe salt?” etc. But nevertheless Isaac reflected in his mind until it became clear to him that Jacob was the principal one, and he handed everything over to him. And likewise Jacob too was engaged in this, bringing young people close to Hashem, blessed be He, and composed several thousand books concerning faith, for he composed very many books concerning the holy faith, immense numbers of books. 65 And he studied with all his sons the ways of the holy faith, for they were all tzaddikim. But nevertheless he investigated in his mind to whom he should hand over all his wisdom, until he handed all his wisdom to Levi; and to all of them he handed the main principles. And therefore the tribe of Levi clung to the holy faith and were stronger in it than all the others; and therefore the tribe of Levi did not go astray with the calf, and they also had none of the labor of Egypt imposed upon them, for the tribe of Levi were stronger in the holy faith than all the others. And etc. (Chayay Moharan, section 395)

63. In Halachos of Shabbos (Halacha 7, item 8), Moharnas of blessed memory wrote: Each one has a shortcoming and an advantage, for young people have very great brazenness and leap eagerly to disgrace the truly upright. But they also have an advantage from another side, because they are still young and have not yet grown old in their words and their evil opinion; therefore it was possible to speak with them, dispute with them, defeat them and return them to the truth, as our master and rabbi of blessed memory wrote, that young people can more easily be brought back than the elderly, as he wrote on the verse “I have wandered like a lost sheep,” in section 206; see there. But the elderly sit below, and although they are silent and appear not to desire controversy, but they do not allow the opinion of the young people to be turned to the truth in its truth, because they have already become rooted in their confused opinion. And likewise, in another manner one can speak with the elderly more, because they do not have such boiling of the blood and admit that one should at any rate not persist in controversy. But then the young people will leap up, act brazenly, and say that they pay no attention to the elderly who do not desire controversy, because they have been stopped up from above, etc. End of quotation.

64. The Bris Menuchah (an ancient work of Kabbalah whose truth the Arizal endorsed and attested) wrote at the beginning of his book: The first to make use of it was Adam, for many days, to know wisdom and understanding; and he handed it over to Seth. And Seth made innumerable books about it because of his great wisdom, and arranged all the orders of the Chariot upon the understanding of this Name. And Seth handed it over to Enosh, etc., and Noah to Shem his son; and Shem established houses of study concerning it, brought the wisdom to light, returned many to the good faith, and ruled over all the princes of the earth, and all the princes of the peoples would present at (another reading: look toward) his table. And Shem handed it over to Ever his son; And Ever handed it over to Abraham, and Abraham added new wisdom to it and handed it over to his son Isaac; and Isaac handed it over to Jacob, and Jacob handed it over to his sons, but to Levi he gave the principal portion. End of quotation.

65. In Halachos of Rosh Chodesh (Halacha 7, item 45), he wrote: That he composed and made many books through this, which corresponds to his hiding in the house of Shem and Ever for fourteen years when he fled from Esau, and there he engaged in Torah, and certainly through this he composed many books; for Jacob composed several holy books concerning the holy faith, as cited, and as our master and rabbi of blessed memory related concerning this. End of quotation. And in Likutay Moharan Tinyana, section 32, our holy rabbi wrote: It is a benefit to the world that these teachings and books have disappeared and been burned, for certainly the great early tzaddikim, Tannaim and Amoraim and the like, made many books, but they were lost; yet it is a benefit to the world, for if this had not happened, it would have been altogether impossible for us to draw close to Hashem, blessed be He. For there are many books of heretics which, if—Heaven forbid—they were to spread through the world, would make it altogether impossible to draw close to Hashem, blessed be He. See further there. And in Parparaos LaChochmah there, on section 32, he wrote: This teaching was said on the Shabbos of the portion Yisro, 5569. And I heard that it was said in response to a question asked by the tzaddik rabbi, “מוהר״ר,” of blessed memory, the maggid of the holy community of Tarhovitza, who was spending that Shabbos with our rabbi of blessed memory and asked him about this matter: since certainly the great early tzaddikim made many books, where are they? And I heard that the maggid of blessed memory spoke exceedingly highly in praise of the wonders of this teaching and said that he had spoken about this question with several great tzaddikim and had found no answer in their mouths until he asked our rabbi of blessed memory. And he said that when our rabbi of blessed memory said this teaching, he saw flames of fire issuing from our rabbi’s mouth. See there.

“And the soul that they made in Charan” (12:5) This corresponds to his hiding (Jacob) in the house of Shem and Ever for fourteen years when he fled from Esau, and there he engaged in Torah. And certainly through this he composed many books. For Jacob composed several holy books concerning the holy faith, as cited in Likutay Tinyana (section 32), and as our master, teacher and rabbi of blessed memory related concerning this, as cited in our words. (Halachos of Rosh Chodesh, Halacha 6, item 45)

Why Abraham our father had to leave the Holy Land after he had already been commanded and had come there. “And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land” (12:10) This corresponds to the excellence of traveling to the Land of Israel, and corresponds to what we find: several tzaddikim and upright people travel to the Land of Israel and return, and sometimes travel and return several times, as we have seen in our generations among several tzaddikim and upright people. And likewise we find this with our first father, Abraham, peace be upon him, who was the first to reveal the holiness of the Land of Israel; and Hashem, blessed be He, said to him, “Go forth from your land,” etc., “to the land,” etc., and this was one of his trials. And immediately when he came to the Land of Israel, Hashem, blessed be He, brought it about that he would leave it, as it is written, “And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt,” etc. And leaving the Land of Israel for outside the Land was also one of his trials, as Rashi explained there: to test him, whether he would question the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, who told him to go to the land of Canaan and now induces him to leave it. And in truth it is a great trial, for apparently it is an astonishing matter: since the Land of Israel is so holy and awe-inspiring, and Hashem, blessed be He, Himself commanded Abraham to displace himself from his land, his birthplace and his father’s house, to go to the Land of Israel, and now, when he has come there, He brings about circumstances so that he leaves such a holy and awe-inspiring place. But in truth, according to what was mentioned above, the matter is well explained. For in truth the principal repair of all the worlds and all the souls is specifically in the Land of Israel, for there is the principal revelation of His divinity, blessed be He, which is the principal repair and ultimate purpose: to recognize Him, blessed be He, in truth. For the principal contemplation of the ultimate purpose, which is the aspect of self-nullification to the light of the Infinite, is specifically in the Land of Israel, where the Temple and the Holy of Holies are, where the point of the Foundation Stone is, where the High Priest enters the innermost sanctum on Yom Kippur, for there is the principal self-nullification to the ultimate purpose, as mentioned above. But it is impossible to come to the Land of Israel and attain there the above aspect of self-nullification except by first repairing vessels in order to receive there the light of the impression of self-nullification, in the aspect of running and returning, where the principal attainment of knowledge and Torah mentioned above takes place. And it is impossible to make and repair the vessels except through the holiness of the Land of Israel, through the light of the impression of self-nullification, as mentioned above. And because of this, it is very difficult to come to the Land of Israel, for this corresponds to the service of Rosh Hashanah mentioned above, in which the principal toil is because this depends on that, and if so, where shall they begin? And as explained at length above. For repairing the vessels depends upon the holiness of the Land of Israel, and it is impossible to come to the holiness of the Land of Israel except through vessels, as mentioned above. And from this are drawn all the great and mighty obstacles faced by every person before coming to the Land of Israel; and the greater a person is, the greater his obstacles are, to the point that the great tzaddikim have immeasurably mighty obstacles that are difficult to break. For the principal gathering of all the outcasts, who correspond to all the sparks that fell and were scattered among the shells, their principal repair and gathering is to the Land of Israel. As it is written: “If your outcast is at the end of the heavens, from there Hashem your God will gather you and from there He will take you, and Hashem your God will bring you to the land,” etc. And it is written: “And it shall be on that day that a great shofar will be sounded, and those lost in the land of Assyria and those outcast in the land of Egypt will come and bow to Hashem on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.” And it is impossible for the tzaddik to come to the Land of Israel except through gathering outcasts. But these sparks and outcast souls cannot be gathered except through the holiness of the Land of Israel. For the sparks and outcast souls are drawn from the breaking of vessels, when holy sparks fell into the depths of the shells; and if Adam the first man had not sinned by eating of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, and had prayed his prayer, he would have repaired them. And through his sin, and particularly because he then also blemished the holy covenant, as our Sages of blessed memory said, “Adam the first man would draw out his foreskin,” and as cited in the writings of the Ari—see there—through this, not only did he fail to elevate and repair the sparks falling from the breaking of vessels, he even cast them down further and further. And likewise each person through his sins causes the sparks to be scattered and cast down still further, may the Merciful One protect us. 66 And the true tzaddikim who are great in stature engage in every generation in repairing and elevating these sparks and outcast souls; this is the principal toil and tremendous effort of the master of the field mentioned above, to repair the outcast souls and bring them into the holy field. But their principal repair is through the holiness of the Land of Israel, where the principal contemplation of the ultimate purpose takes place, as mentioned above; this is the principal repair drawn down by the master of the field, as mentioned above. But it is impossible to come to the Land of Israel until he elevates these outcasts and gathers them to the Land of Israel, as mentioned above. For in truth the principal repair of the vessels, to receive the light of self-nullification in order to attain His divinity, blessed be He, is through elevating the above-mentioned outcast sparks. And as is understood from the writings of the Ari of blessed memory, the renewed repair of the vessels and worlds is through elevating the sparks that fell from the depths of the shells, and drawing down abundant light from above, the aspect of the new light of MAH. And through this they cause a supernal unification by the aspect of raising feminine waters; and through this the worlds and vessels are repaired, etc. 67 And this repair takes place principally in the Land of Israel, as mentioned above. But how does one merit coming to the Land of Israel? For this depends upon that: for it is impossible to elevate these sparks except through drawing down abundant light from above, drawn from the aspect of self-nullification and contemplation of the ultimate purpose mentioned above, which one attains specifically in the Land of Israel, as mentioned above. And it is impossible to come to the Land of Israel except through repairing the vessels, which are made through elevating these sparks, as mentioned above. And if so, where is the beginning? And therefore the obstacles become very strong before coming to the Land of Israel. For the shells and other sides, which grip these falling sparks intensely—these being the aspect of the outcast souls—strengthen themselves with mighty obstacles against the one who wishes to come to the Land of Israel to bring the souls and sparks out from them. And therefore one must strengthen oneself very, very much to break the mighty obstacles with self-sacrifice. And then, through the self-sacrifice with which he gives his life in order to come to the Land of Israel, through this some illumination from the holiness of the Land of Israel is drawn upon him outside the Land, so that he will have strength to break the shells from which the obstacles come and elevate holy sparks from there. And through this he has strength to come to the Land of Israel, to nullify himself there in complete self-nullification and contemplate the ultimate purpose in running and returning, and receive from there wondrous and awesome illuminations and attainments of Torah through the vessels he merited to repair by elevating the sparks he elevated, through breaking the obstacles by his great self-sacrifice to come to the Land of Israel. And therefore, for the most part, one must return from the Land of Israel, because throughout the exile, as long as our righteous Moshiach has not yet come, it is still impossible to refine all the sparks completely, as is known from the writings. 68 And although the tzaddik refined, repaired and elevated many sparks through his journey to the Land of Israel, through his tremendous self-sacrifice, nevertheless many still remain outside the Land which must be elevated and refined, for they cannot be refined except by his first being in the Land of Israel, as mentioned above. Therefore he must return from the Land of Israel to outside the Land in order to return and refine, elevate and repair all the outcast and fallen sparks and souls. For precisely now he can repair and elevate them through the light of the holiness of self-nullification, which is the holiness of the Land of Israel that he merited to receive there, through which their principal repair and elevation takes place, as mentioned above. And this itself is the aspect of running and returning: namely, the tzaddik goes swiftly, with self-sacrifice, to the Land of Israel, and afterward “and returning,” as he returns from there. And all this is for repairing the worlds, for elevating the sparks and souls that fell through the aspect of the breaking of vessels which they caused through their sins, may the Merciful One protect us. And this is the aspect of “And the living creatures ran and returned, like the appearance of the bazak.” Specifically “like the appearance of the bazak,” which corresponds to earthenware vessels that were broken. That is, according to the aspect of the breaking of vessels, which corresponds to the appearance of the bazak, so must one return from self-nullification several times in the aspect of running and returning. This corresponds to returning from the Land of Israel, where the principal self-nullification takes place. And this is “and the living creatures ran and returned, like the appearance of the bazak”: one must receive vitality from the light of self-nullification in the aspect of running and returning several times, like the appearance of the bazak. And Rashi explained it as the fire that emerges from between the shards, which is the light of the flashing of the sparks that fell in the aspect of the breaking of vessels, as mentioned above; that is, according to the appearance of the bazak, that is, according to the sparks that fell in the aspect of the breaking of vessels. For it is impossible to elevate the sparks all at once; therefore one must return and ascend several times in the aspect of running and returning, so as to repair vessels each time in order to elevate them gradually, with measure and order. For the more sparks one elevates, the more vessels one repairs; and the more vessels one repairs, the more and more sparks one can elevate. For this depends upon that, as mentioned above. (Halachos of the Evening Prayer, Halacha 4, item 32)

66. And as the Arizal wrote in Likutay Torah (at the beginning of the book of Job), these are his words: Through this you will understand why the external forces desire so greatly to make a person sin, to cause destruction in the Temple, to anger Hashem, blessed be He, and to exile His Divine Presence. The matter is that the external forces are the remnants of the filth from what was refined out of holiness, and this is called death. And behold, they wish to live; and behold, life is the mystery of holiness; and behold, while holiness is in their hands they have vitality, sustenance and abundance. And when holiness is not in their hands they die; and therefore, when they see that they lack sustenance, they labor to make a person sin, in the way of one laboring after his sustenance. For when a person sins, they then cause those souls to enter their domain, and then they live through them. End of quotation. “מהר״א מששון,” of blessed memory, in Chariots of Truth, portion Bihaaloascha, wrote about this after bringing the above words of the Arizal: It is known that the external forces are designated by the name “young lions,” and it is also known that the mystery of all the souls is from the refinements of the above-mentioned 288 sparks, as is known. And this is what it says: “the young lions,” which are the external forces, “roar for prey,” meaning they roar to tear those souls and make them torn prey, for they are from the 288 sparks, which with the inclusive unit have the numerical value of “טר״ף.” And why do they do this, to make them sin? It is for “and to seek their food from God,” for through those souls they too are nourished, as mentioned. End of quotation. And afterward there: And this also is “Young lions have become impoverished and hungry, but those who seek Hashem shall lack no good.” The young lions, which are the external forces, become impoverished and hungry when they become impoverished of the sparks; their very existence is hungry too, and they have no more nourishment from the sparks because these have been refined out of them. Then, at that time, “and those who seek Hashem,” who are Israel, lack no good, for they take all the abundance that was in them. End of quotation.

67. As explained in Aitz Chayim, gate 18, they elevate the holy sparks from the shells into which they fell at the breaking of the vessels; and the holy sparks ascend in the mystery of feminine waters, and through this a supernal unification takes place. And through this the new light of MAH comes forth from the forehead of Adam Kadmon, and then abundance is drawn from one partzuf to another partzuf through unification, and through this they are repaired.

68. As the Arizal wrote in Aitz Chayim (gate 19, chapter 6): Although we have said that all the seven kings were refined, they are not all of them, for they are not all refined until the coming of Moshiach, as above. Rather, the matter is that everything that could then be refined at the time of emanation was refined. But each time they are again refined until they are completely refined. End of quotation. And there in gate 19, chapter 3, the Arizal wrote: These kings have not yet been completely refined, until the coming of Moshiach, for then they will be refined entirely and the dross will be abolished in the mystery of “He has swallowed up death forever.” And the good in them will be refined and joined with holiness; over the course of this time it is refined little by little each day, and at the coming of Moshiach it will be completely refined. End of quotation. And in gate 39, chapter 2: We do not have the ability to refine all the 288 sparks at one time, for if that were so, Moshiach would already have come. And behold, “He has swallowed up death forever” is fulfilled. But in each and every prayer, according to the intention of the one saying it and according to the merit of the time at which that prayer is said, a fixed measure of the 288 sparks is refined. Until it is found that before Moshiach comes, all the 288 sparks will be completed and finished being repaired. End of quotation.

Sarah was taken to such a place so that she would stand there in such a place, and from within this impurity she would seek and find Hashem, blessed be He; and through this she would prepare a path and foundation for all Israel afterward, that they would hold their ground there. “And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house” (12:15) On the basis of the teaching “And where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” in Likutay Tinyana, section 12. Study it well, well, for it is a very deep matter and a path of good counsel for everyone, etc. And the principle is that even when a person has become very, very distant from Hashem, blessed be He, through his evil deeds, nevertheless, when he still strengthens himself and inquires, asks, searches and seeks counsel and a strategy, etc., to return to Him, blessed be He, he then merits that the descent should become the ultimate ascent. For there are those who have fallen into the aspect of filthy places, Heaven forbid, concerning which it is said (Yeshaya 42), “And My glory I shall not give to another,” etc. But in truth, certainly these places too receive vitality from Him, blessed be He; however, they receive vitality from a concealed utterance, which is “In the beginning,” etc., corresponding to Ayeh, “Where?” etc. For because of the great concealment of this utterance, they receive vitality specifically from the aspect of concealment and hiddenness. And therefore, one who has fallen there, Heaven forbid, when he does not despair completely and still searches and seeks “Where?” etc., through this he rises to the ultimate ascent, for he rises to the aspect of Ayeh, which corresponds to “In the beginning,” the concealed utterance mentioned above; study it well there. Also upright people and great and awe-inspiring tzaddikim must necessarily undergo all the above; and several times they intentionally lower themselves into the aspect of the above places, which correspond to filthy places, in order to elevate from there holy sparks and souls that fell there, in the aspect of descent becoming the ultimate ascent, as above. And as explained there at the end of the above teaching, where it is written that this corresponds to traveling on the roads, etc., for before every new Torah insight one must first pass through these places, which are all the confusions, etc.; see there. And in truth it is all one, and this depends upon that, for the greatest tzaddikim lower themselves to the above places in order to elevate souls that fell there. And concerning the elevation of the fallen souls, there are several aspects, for there are souls of the dead that fell there many, many years ago, which have no repair except through tzaddikim such as these, etc., as cited elsewhere, and as understood from the stories told of the Baal Shem Tov, may the memory of the righteous and holy be a blessing, and especially from the much we heard from his holy mouth concerning this matter. But they principally engage in refining and elevating the souls of those still living in this world. And the principal means is through the above aspect: by descending there, they implant thoughts of repentance even in those who descend and fall very low. But because these fallen people are still alive and still have the power of free choice, it is therefore very, very difficult and burdensome to help them, for it is very difficult to help one who possesses free choice, as explained elsewhere. But nevertheless there are many who, through the power of the above tzaddikim, merit to be awakened with some awakening until they begin drawing close to them. And then the tzaddikim illuminate the above distant people, that however they are, they should still search for and seek Hashem, blessed be He, etc., as above. And through this they also elevate the actually fallen people mentioned above, so that they too will ascend in the aspect of descent becoming the ultimate ascent. And all this is through their power and the power of their Torah, their holy counsels and hints, which are very, very profound and exalted without end or limit. Fortunate is the one who takes hold of them. And this corresponds to Sarah’s being taken to Pharaoh’s house, which is placed adjacent to this, 69 for it all corresponds to the above aspect: the righteous woman was compelled to descend to such an impure and filthy place so that with the essence of her strength she would seek and search even there for Hashem, blessed be He, and through this ascend together with Abraham in a great ascent, in the aspect of “And Abram went up from Egypt.” And through this she prepared great rescue and salvation for Israel in the Egyptian exile, for through this the impurity of Egypt could not rule over them, and they left there through the ten plagues with which He struck Pharaoh and Egypt. All this was through “And Hashem plagued Pharaoh and his household” when he took Sarah, as our Sages of blessed memory said. For through this she drew down the above path for Israel, so that in every place where they will be in exile, even in very filthy places, even there they will seek and search in the aspect of Ayeh, “Where?” etc., as above, and through this ascend from there, as mentioned above. And this also corresponds to Esther’s being taken to the house of Achashverosh, when she cried, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” as our Sages of blessed memory said (Megillah 15). And through this came the downfall of Haman the Amalekite, who is the intensity of the contamination of the other side; all this is in the above aspect, to teach Israel that even in filthy places they should cry to Hashem and search for and seek Him, and as Mordechaye and Esther did then when they gathered all the Jews to cry greatly to Hashem. And likewise in every generation, Israel collectively and each and every person individually must always seek Hashem, blessed be He, in every place where he is, and cry out at every time to Hashem, blessed be He, in the aspect of “From the belly of the netherworld I cried.” And he should never despair of crying and seeking, until “Hashem looks down and sees from heaven.” (Halachos of Falling on the Face, Halacha 6)

69. Which is placed adjacent to Abraham’s trial, “Go forth from your land,” which Moharnas explains there beforehand, for it is all the same matter.

Further concerning Sarah’s being taken to Pharaoh’s house “And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house” (12:15) The other side, which is the contamination of the serpent, the aspect of the shell of Haman-Amalek from which the world’s trait of pride is drawn, strengthens itself especially against this, to distance people from the true tzaddik through whom one merits true humility, which is the essence of eternal life, the aspect of resurrection of the dead. And they always wish to create separation between those who cleave together, to separate kingship, which is bound and constantly cleaves to the mental faculties, in the aspect of (Song of Songs 7), “A king is bound in the channels.” And they wish to separate—Heaven forbid—kingship from the mental faculties, which is the principal aspect of separation between the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Divine Presence, which corresponds to kingship, as is known and understood from the writings. And all their overpowering is through the trait of pride, from which all controversy against true tzaddikim is drawn; and through this they distance the souls of Israel from drawing close to true tzaddikim. And then the mental faculties are in concealment and hiddenness, for they shine forth only through seeing the face of the tzaddik, as above, and then kingship is—Heaven forbid—separated from her beloved, who corresponds to the holy mental faculties. And through this the Divine Presence is in exile, Heaven forbid, and kingship and rule are taken from Israel and given to the idolaters, and the wicked receive kingship and rule over us, Heaven forbid. All this is drawn from controversy against true tzaddikim, through which their honor is blemished, which is the principal cause of exile, as it is written (II Chronicles 36), “And they mocked the messengers of God,” etc. And this corresponds to Sarah’s being taken to Pharaoh’s house and Esther’s being taken to Achashverosh’s house, for Sarah and Esther are one aspect, as our Sages of blessed memory said, “Why did Esther merit 127 provinces?” etc. For Sarah and Esther correspond to holy kingship, which the other side overpowered and wished to separate Sarah, the aspect of holy kingship, from Abraham, who corresponds to the holy mental faculties, and to take her to the house of wicked Pharaoh. But Hashem will not abandon her into his hand; on the contrary, through precisely this she subdued him greatly, in the aspect of “A time when man ruled over man to his own harm,” for she brought forth from him great wealth for Abraham, which corresponds to the holy sparks, and subdued and brought down Pharaoh greatly, in the aspect of “And Hashem plagued Pharaoh with great plagues,” etc. And through this Moses and Israel had strength afterward to strike Pharaoh and bring Israel out of his domain, as cited. 71 And Esther—because then, at the height of exile, the other side strengthened itself more and more, particularly because the shell of Haman-Amalek strengthened itself, encompassing all the idolaters, all the other side and the shells—therefore it was necessary that Esther be taken into the king’s house entirely and not return immediately. For the harder and stronger the shell is, the more the lofty holiness must necessarily descend there, more and more, and remain in exile there longer, until it strengthens itself with its great power through precisely this, subdues it and brings it low, as Esther brought down wicked Haman, may his name be erased, and his faction, precisely through being taken to Achashverosh’s house. All this is the aspect of “a time when man ruled,” etc., as above. (Halachos of Tefillin, Halacha 6, item 27)

71. As is cited and mentioned above, earlier concerning this.

72. The B’er Mayim Chaim wrote in the Torah portion Beraishis (‘And the earth was waste and void’): Its explanation in the name of the Ari, whose memory is for the life of the World to Come, is known: at the time when the person of the husk rules over the person of holiness, ‘to his detriment,’ it is precisely so; for after he comes out from there, all the aspects of the holy sparks that were already there come out from him, in the aspect of ‘a kind has found its own kind.’ And of this Scripture said (Job 20:15), ‘He swallowed wealth and will vomit it up.’ That is to say, he is compelled to vomit up everything that was with him from before. And therefore, when Avruhum our father went down to Egypt, it says of his departure from there, ‘And Avrum came up from Egypt,’ etc., ‘And Avrum was very heavy in livestock, in silver and in gold,’ etc. And the holy Torah did not intend to dwell at length on the foolish vanities of this world by recounting them, but rather on raising the sparks of holiness that he brought out from there through their attachment to him when he came there. End quote. And in Laws of Shabbos (at the end of Halacha 4), our teacher Rabbi Noson, of blessed memory, wrote: Avruhum—when he came to the Land of Israel, there was precisely there a famine, until he was forced to leave the Land of Israel for Egypt, which is the aspect of ‘and they go out.’ And nevertheless he did not question the blessed God, but stood the test in Egypt until he merited to come up from there very heavy in livestock, in silver and in gold, which is the aspect of the holy sparks that he sifted out there, as brought down. End quote.

(As is customary in people’s mouths, to say every time that the time is bad now, ‘The time is bad.’ And in truth, all the days of their lives they say so, and from my earliest days until today I remember that they say so every time; and likewise in the earlier generations they used to say so every time.)

73. This is a saying of our Sages of blessed memory brought in Rabbainu’s words in this teaching.

74. As Rashi brings here on the verse.

75. The aspect of the concealed Torah, gratuitous kindness, explained in Likutay Moharan II, item 78.

59. And so Rabbi Noson, of blessed memory, wrote again in the Halachos of Shabbos (Halacha 7), brought nearby above. And so he wrote in the Halachos of Boundaries (Halacha 6): When a person is tested, the fullness of understanding is taken from him, for this is the essence of the trial, as I heard from him, of blessed memory. End of quotation.

60. The holy Rabbi Yehudah Ze’ev Leibowitz, of blessed memory, in his book Yizal Mayim Midulyuv (the portion Vayaytzay), wrote to wonder how it could be that King Dovid could not escape from Achish except by making himself appear mad and lacking understanding. And one must also understand why Yaakov our forefather did not truly pray at Mount Moriah at first, and only afterwards, when he reached Charan, set his mind to return. And he explains there a great secret that is explained here in the conduct of Rabbainu, of blessed memory: Therefore Yaakov our forefather did precisely so in his wisdom. And therefore he passed the Holy Temple, because he knew that the Other Side always confuses. And this is ‘Is it possible that I passed’ [by the place where my forefathers prayed]—‘possible’ said calmly: indeed, yes; ‘and he went to Charan’—everything because of the Other Side, and afterwards he returned. Likewise King Dovid, who knew the mysteries of the world, clothed and concealed his holy service through a profound counsel, and concealed himself [at] all the levels before the Other Side. End of quotation. See there.

70. In the holy Zohar, portion Lech Lichuh (folio 82a): Had Sarai not been taken to Pharaoh, He would not have struck him; and this striking caused the later striking, that Egypt would be struck with great plagues. It is written here “great plagues,” and it is written there “And Hashem gave great and evil signs and wonders in Egypt”: just as there there were ten plagues, so here there were ten plagues. Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, wrought miracles and mighty deeds for Israel at night, so here the Holy One, blessed be He, wrought miracles and mighty deeds for Sarah at night. End of quotation. And there on side b it says: Throughout that night when Sarah was with Pharaoh, supernal angels came to sing to the Holy One, blessed be He, with songs and praises. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: All of you, go and inflict great blows in Egypt, a sign of what I am destined to do afterward. End of quotation. And our rabbi wrote in Likutay Moharan (Part I, section 62): When the backs of holiness cleave together, such that the shells cannot enter there and suck nourishment, then the faces of holiness are revealed; and then, “And Pharaoh’s princes saw her,” meaning that those princes mentioned above see the beauty of the splendor and majesty of the glory, “And they praised her to Pharaoh.” And all this is intended by Hashem, blessed be He, to bring their swallowed portion out of their mouths, the aspect of “A time when man ruled over man to his own harm.” And this is “And Hashem plagued Pharaoh.” And this is “A woman who fears Hashem, she shall be praised,” corresponding to “And they praised her to Pharaoh.” This is only for “Give her of the fruit of her hands,” meaning to bring out the sparks of holiness from among them, when she brings all her vitality out from among the shells. End of quotation. And the Tzemach Tzedek wrote in Or HaTorah (portion Lech Lichuh): The deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children. Because Israel must be in exile in Egypt, therefore Pharaoh first had to be raised up, so that Israel would not be under a lowly nation, for the Divine Presence too is in exile with them. And this elevation of Pharaoh was through Sarah, whom he took into his house, who corresponds to the crown of holy kingship; and through being secluded with her, much vitality was added to him. But in truth it is to his harm, for this deed is a sign for the children that afterward they will be able to empty out Egypt and make it like a trap with no fish—that is, to bring out from them the sparks they had previously, from which they live and exist, and they will bring them out from them. And this is the mystery of “And afterward they will come out with great wealth,” etc. And it is in the manner of what is written elsewhere concerning frankincense, which corresponds to an encompassing light over the seventy-two impurities; and although it gives them life, but since this vitality is an encompassing aspect from above, it also brings forth from them the sparks of holiness embedded in them, so that they ascend and are included in it. End of quotation. (And he also wrote this briefly in the portion Mikaitz, on the verse “And now let Pharaoh see.”)