Section 57

And likewise the holy path that he revealed on the pasuk “V’ayeh haseh l’olah” (“And where is the lamb for the offering?”) (B’raishis 22:7) — see there well and set your heart well to understand the words, especially to understand them practically, to internalize the subtle, deep, true counsels, to fulfill them with t’mimus and with simplicity. And this path, too, is drawn essentially only through the holiness of Shabbos Kodesh and the holiness of the true Tzaddik, which are one aspect, as above. For the essential matter explained there is that even when a person falls, chas v’shalom, to places that are very, very far from Hashem Yisbarach, which are the aspect of filthy places, Rachmana litzlan, nevertheless there is no despair in the world at all. For even in these places, even though they are very far from His glory, Yisbarach, in the aspect of “And My glory I will not give to another” (Yeshayahu 42:8) , as is explained there — nevertheless, if he will search and seek His glory, because he sees the greatness of his distance from His glory, Yisbarach, and he will be pained and will yearn and will search and seek: “Ayeh m’kom k’vodo?” — through this itself the descent will be transformed into a great ascent, for he will ascend to the aspect of Ayeh in holiness, which is a very, very exalted level. For Ayeh is the hidden utterance, which is above everything, and all the Utterances, which are the aspect of the revelation of His glory, Yisbarach — they all receive from there. And from it specifically the distant places receive their vitality — they being the aspect of filthy places — for from the aspect of the revealed Utterances where His glory, Yisbarach, is revealed, the filthy places cannot receive any vitality. For there is a boundary to every glory that is clothed in each and every one of the Ten Utterances, that it should not spread and go out to these places, chas v’shalom, in the aspect of “And My glory I will not give to another.” But the aspect of Ayeh , the hidden utterance, which is a very exalted and concealed level — from the greatness of its concealment and hiddenness, from there specifically the distant places mentioned above receive. And therefore when a person falls there, chas v’shalom, when he searches and seeks “Ayeh m’kom k’vodo?” because he is far from His glory, as above — through this specifically he ascends to the ultimate ascent, for he ascends to the aspect of Ayeh in holiness, which is a very exalted level, which is the root of everything, from which all the Utterances receive — they being the revelation of His glory through which the entire world was created. See all of this there well.

And therefore the essential merit of this holy path of counsel is only through the holiness of Shabbos and the holiness of the Tzaddikim. For the great Tzaddikim have already merited to ascend there, to the aspect of Ayeh in holiness, through their abundant righteousness, ascending from level to level until they merited the ultimate ascent to the aspect of Ayeh , which is the aspect of Keser Elyon (the Supreme Crown), the aspect of B’raishis , etc. And because they merited to reach there, through this they have the power to draw forth and illuminate throughout the entire world this holy path: that even one who has fallen to wherever he has fallen, chas v’shalom — even if he has fallen, chas v’shalom, to the aspect of filthy places — nevertheless he should seek and search there too: “Ayeh m’kom k’vodo?” etc., as above, and through this he will ascend to the ultimate ascent, to the aspect of Ayeh , which is the aspect of B’raishis , the hidden utterance, as above. And this is itself the aspect of the power of the holiness of Shabbos, for on Shabbos all the souls and all the worlds ascend higher and higher, up to the aspect of Ayeh mentioned above, which is the aspect of ra’ava d’ra’avin (the Will of Wills), as is known. Therefore, through the power of the holiness of Shabbos, when the aspect of Ayeh in holiness shines, and likewise through the power of the holiness of the true Tzaddikim who have merited the aspect of Ayeh in holiness — through their power one can revive all those who have fallen to the aspect of filthy places, that even from there they can ascend to the ultimate ascent, by not giving up on themselves even there, and seeking and searching: “Ayeh — where, then, is the counsel to return to Hashem Yisbarach?” etc., as above. Therefore this path of Ayeh , too, is only merited through the holiness of Shabbos, which is the aspect of the holiness of the true Tzaddikim, as above. And this is the aspect of what our Sages of blessed memory said regarding the sin of Adam HaRishon, that he was banished from Gan Eden, etc. — and Shabbos protected him. For the sin of Adam HaRishon encompasses all the sins in the world, and the essential protection and rescue is Shabbos, for through the holiness of Shabbos, the aforementioned holy paths are drawn, through which one merits teshuvah and rectifies everything, as above.

Oas 6

And this is the aspect of tchum Shabbos of two thousand amos . Two thousand amos is the aspect of two alafin (two letters aleph ), which are the aspect of two sichliyos (wisdoms/intellects), the aspect of “two thousand years the Torah preceded the world.” That is, the aspect of the two holy paths mentioned above — “Azamra l’Elokai b’odi” and “V’ayeh haseh l’olah” — which are the aspect of two alafin , two holy, true wisdoms. They are the tchum Shabbos — the boundary of holiness — through which one remains all the days of his life within the boundary and tchum of holiness and does not go outside, chas v’shalom. And this is the aspect of tchum Shabbos , for Shabbos is the totality of the holiness of Yisrael, as above. For the path of “Azamra,” etc., is the aspect of aleph , in the aspect of “the thousand ( eleph ) is for you, Shlomo” (Shir HaShirim 8:12) , which is the aspect of Shabbos, the King to Whom peace ( shalom ) belongs, when the thousand lights shine and are returned to Yisrael through tosfos Shabbos , as is known in the kavanos . For all this light is drawn through the holy path of “Azamra” mentioned above — that is, through the Tzaddik who judges everyone favorably and finds good points in every member of Yisrael, even in the very worst, etc., and implants this path in Yisrael so that each person finds in himself and in his friends good points, etc., as above, in order that through this everyone will be brought into the scale of merit and will return to Hashem Yisbarach, as above. For all of this is the work of the Mishkan, as above, for this Tzaddik builds the Mishkan from which the infants receive the breath of their mouths which has no sin, and this is the aspect of the small aleph of “Vayikra,” as is explained in the Torah “Azamra” mentioned above in its place — see there. And this advocacy of merit is in the aspect of “If there is for him an angel, an advocate, one of a thousand, to tell a person his uprightness” (Iyov 33:23) — that is, even if one finds in him only one merit out of a thousand, and even if in that very mitzvah and merit itself most of it is waste and it contains only some one-in-a-thousand good point within that very merit itself. And as our Sages of blessed memory expounded: even if in that very angel itself there are nine hundred and ninety-nine parts for liability and one for merit — he is saved as well. This is as above: that even the mitzvah and merit found in oneself or in one’s friend, even if it is only one out of a thousand, and even that merit itself is full of waste and ulterior motives, etc., and there is in it only one one-thousandth part of a good point — through this one also leaves the scale of liability and enters the scale of merit and returns to Him, Yisbarach. And then everything is transformed to merit and one merits the thousand lights mentioned above, which are the aspect of tosfos Shabbos , as is brought in the kavanos of “Yismach Moshe.”

And this itself is the aspect of the small aleph of “Vayikra,” when He called to Moshe after the erection of the Mishkan. For it is explained there in the kavanos that through the sin of the Golden Calf, the thousand lights were taken from Moshe, etc., and this is the secret of the small aleph of “Vayikra,” and on Shabbos he receives them back in the secret of tosfos Shabbos , and then he returns to Yisrael their crowns — which are the ornaments that they had stripped off — and Moshe received them first to complete his own lack, and now returns them to Yisrael generously. And from these crowns, Yisrael inherit tosfos Shabbos every Erev Shabbos — see there. And all this is according to the above: for Moshe, who is the true Tzaddik, through the merit he advocates on behalf of Yisrael and finds good points in them even when they sin greatly — as in the incident of the Golden Calf, Rachmana litzlan, which encompasses idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder, as our Sages of blessed memory said — nevertheless, he gives his life for them until he finds merit in them and returns them to Hashem Yisbarach. And through this the Mishkan is built, as above. And then He calls to him from the Mishkan in the aspect of the small aleph of “Vayikra” — to hint to him that he should continue on this path, that even when Yisrael sin greatly, chas v’shalom, nevertheless he should seek to find merit in them, even one out of a thousand. And this is the aspect of the small aleph of “Vayikra” — that the aleph was made small because the thousand lights were taken from him on account of the sin of Yisrael. And HaKadosh Baruch Hu showed Moshe that from there specifically — from the aspect of the small aleph , that is, from the aspect of the one-in-a-thousand merit and good that he found in Yisrael and brought them into the scale of merit — there specifically He calls to him from the Mishkan. For this is the essential aspect of the work of the Mishkan, as above.

And the essential work and wondrous labor of this, which is the aspect of the work of the Mishkan, is essentially drawn from Shabbos, for all the holiness of the work of the Mishkan is drawn from Shabbos (as is explained elsewhere in the Torah “B’raishis,” siman 67, in Likutay Tinyana). That is, on Shabbos the thousand lights are returned to Moshe — the crowns, etc. — and all of this is tosfos Shabbos , as above. That is, according to our words above, the essential holy path of “Azamra” mentioned above shines on Shabbos Kodesh, as above, and then all the thousand lights return to the Tzaddik, the aspect of Moshe, and he returns to them their thousand lights, etc. For all of this is drawn through the fact that then only the good in Yisrael is revealed and shines, and the evil falls and is nullified, and the path of “Azamra l’Elokai b’odi” mentioned above is drawn and shines in completeness. And this is the aspect of tosfos Shabbos — the thousand lights mentioned above that return and shine upon each and every member of Yisrael in the secret of tosfos Shabbos , which is the aspect of “the thousand is for you, Shlomo,” as above. Thus we find that the path of “Azamra” mentioned above is an aleph , as above.

Oas 7