Treasury of Awe (Oatzar HaYeerah) — Volume I

The food of Israel must be in very great holiness. For when one does not eat in holiness, through this the daas [higher consciousness/knowledge] of emunás ha-hashgacha [faith in Divine Providence] becomes damaged, and one falls into the error of chochmas ha-teva [the "wisdom of nature" — the heretical view that nature operates independently of G-d] , G-d forbid. As it is written: "Lest you eat and be sated…and you say in your heart: 'My strength and the power of my hand made me all this prosperity'" [Devarim 8:12,17] — meaning, he attributes it to nature, G-d forbid, as though his sustenance comes through his own strength and the might of his hand, and he does not acknowledge Divine Providence. And on this, the verse concluded: "And you shall remember Hashem your G-d etc." — meaning that everything is in His providence, blessed be He, alone. Therefore Israel must sanctify their eating greatly. This is the aspect of the many commandments that are connected to eating and drinking. And this is the aspect of: "And you shall eat and be sated and bless [Hashem your G-d]" [Devarim 8:10] — that you bless Hashem after eating, so that you know that everything comes from Him in His providence alone. And this is: "upon the good land" — for Eretz Yisrael is the aspect of hashgacha [Divine Providence], as is well known. And when one believes that sustenance comes entirely from Hashem, blessed be He, in His providence alone, without any natural process whatsoever — this is the aspect of achilas ha-man [eating the manna] . And this is also the aspect of eating matzah on Pesach — at the beginning of Israel's drawing close to their Father in Heaven — for matzah is likewise an aspect of the manna, as our Rabbis of blessed memory have taught. For through eating matzah on Pesach, a great daas is drawn down, and one knows that everything is in His providence alone — and through this comes the essential drawing-close of Israel to their Father in Heaven. (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Morning Hand-Washing, Law 2, section 76)

Eating vessels that were in the possession of a non-Jew — if a forbidden substance was absorbed into them through fire, they require libun [direct-flame purging] or hagaala [immersion in boiling water] . And if no forbidden substance was absorbed in them, even so — since they were in the possession of a non-Jew, that is, under the domain of his daas . For the essential [identity] of a person is his daas , and likewise the essential domain of a person is his daas — his knowing in his mind that these objects belong to him and are under his authority. And since the daas of the non-Jew and the Sitra Achra [the "Other Side," the realm of impurity] derive from the aspect of teva [nature] , and are far from the daas of emunás ha-hashgacha [faith in Divine Providence] — therefore a vessel that was in the possession and daas of a non-Jew is not fit for the meal of Israel, whose essential repair comes through emunás ha-hashgacha . Therefore it requires immersion in a mikveh — which is the aspect of the World to Come ( alma d'asay ), the aspect of the waters of daas — the revelation of emunás ha-hashgacha that is drawn from the aspect of the World to Come, the final ketz [end-time] . And if a forbidden substance was absorbed into the vessel through fire — it also requires purification through fire, as it is written: "Every thing that comes into fire, you shall pass through fire" [Bamidbar 31:23] — which is the aspect of subduing the wisdom of nature at its root, the aspect of: "For from fire they came forth, and fire shall consume them" [Yechezkel 15:7] — for fire is the aspect of the root of nature. (See Mikveh , section 1; also see Ohr v'Choshech , section 8 — Likutay Halachos, same section)

Wine has two aspects: When one merits, his daas is elevated through the wine, and he attains emunás ha-hashgacha in its fullness — which is the very essence of daas . And when one does not merit, it is the reverse — through it one damages the daas of hashgacha , and through this poverty comes, the aspect of: "He who did not merit — became impoverished" . And likewise when one merits — through the wine one is awakened from sleep, and perfected speech, which comes from daas , is drawn [into him], as is known. This is the aspect of: "And your palate like the best wine…moving gently the lips of the sleeping" [Shir HaShirim 7:10] — this is the aspect of hashgacha , which is the aspect of being awakened from sleep. And when one does not merit — then on the contrary, the wine brings sleep, which is the aspect of teva and the concealment of hashgacha . And these two aspects spoken of above are the aspect of yayin ha-mesamayach [wine that gladdens] — which is the aspect of the World to Come, as is known, which is the aspect of hashgacha — and the opposite is the aspect of yayin ha-meshakker [wine that intoxicates] , the aspect of confusion of the daas . Therefore one must guard wine from the touch of a non-Jew with his hands, for through his mere touching, the grip of the Sitra Achra — which derives from the aspect of teva — is drawn onto the wine. Through this it becomes unfit for Israel's drinking. For Israel's eating and drinking must be in holiness, in the aspect of the daas of hashgacha , as stated above. (Likutay Halachos, same section)

Wine has two aspects — yayin ha-mesamayach [wine that gladdens] and yayin ha-meshakker [wine that intoxicates] — as stated above. For wine by its nature brings sleep, and sleep is the aspect of the koach ha-medameh [the faculty of imagination] ; and also because one's daas is somewhat withdrawn through drinking wine, just as in the time of sleep, leaving only the koach ha-medameh . Therefore, one who merits to clarify his koach ha-medameh — for him the wine is in holiness, for his daas is elevated and his koach ha-medameh is further refined. Just as we find that true Tzadikim merit to receive the aspect of Ruach HaKodesh [Divine Spirit] and prophecy specifically during sleep — the aspect of: "In a dream I speak to him" [Bamidbar 12:6] . And therefore also through wine, which brings sleep and imagination, the Tzadikim merit the beiur ha-medameh [clarification/refinement of the imaginative faculty] — through which they attain emunah [faith] and the shir [song] that will be revealed in the future, which is the root of all songs and all joys. This is the aspect of yayin ha-mesamayach , the aspect of: "He who merited — it gladdens him" — and this is the aspect of: "Song is recited only over wine." And this is the aspect of the kos yayin [cup of wine] of Kiddush, for the essential holiness of Shabbos and Yom Tov is through the revelation of emunah that is revealed then — which is the very essence of holiness. Then the defilement of the serpent is banished, then the medameh [imagination] is clarified and rectified, and then the wine is in holiness — in the aspect of yayin ha-mesamayach — for through the clarification of the medameh one attains emunah and the aforementioned song. This is the aspect of Kiddush — the aspect of the song recited specifically over wine. And this is the aspect of the kos [cup] of Birchas ha-Mazon [Grace after Meals] , for we need to clarify the eating so that it shall be in the aspect of mezona d'nishmasa [sustenance of the soul] , the aspect of: "The Tzadik eats to the satisfaction of his soul" [Mishlei 13:25] . And through the aforementioned song, one merits to strengthen mezona d'nishmasa [soul-sustenance] over mezona d'gufa [bodily sustenance]. And to draw down that song, it is through the clarification of the medameh and the perfection of emunah — which is the aspect of Birchas ha-Mazon , where we bless "upon the good land," for the essential holiness of the Land of Israel is that there one merits the clarification of the medameh and complete emunah . All this is the aspect of holy wine, and therefore we recite Birchas ha-Mazon over a cup. But when the medameh is not clarified, then the wine is in the aspect of yayin ha-meshakker , and the medameh becomes more confused through it — and through this the emunah is further damaged, G-d forbid. (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Tzitzis, Law 5)

Through the separating of challah [the portion of dough set aside for the Kohen] , one merits that the bread and sustenance should be in the aspect of mezona d'nishmasa [soul-sustenance] — in the aspect of the eating of the Tzadikim, the aspect of: "The Tzadik eats to the satisfaction of his soul" [Mishlei 13:25] . (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Tzitzis, Law 5, section 29)

The primary vitality is drawn to a person through eating — as is plainly observed. Therefore, eating must be in holiness according to the Torah, and then through eating the vitality from the Torah is drawn [into the person] — which is the aspect of the eternal life of the World to Come, which is true humility, which is the aspect of ayin [nothingness/nullity] . For eating is what completely annihilates the food — and through this, it refines from within it the inner vitality, which are the nitzotzohs ha-kedushah [sparks of holiness] contained within it, which are entirely spiritual, which are the aspect of ayin . For in truth, a person is not nourished from the physical substance of food at all — for the physical substance becomes completely waste and is expelled to the outside. Rather, the essential vitality comes from the vitality of the food, which is spiritual, the aspect of ayin , the aspect of humility — which is the aspect of eternal life, from where the root of life derives. And one who eats in this bechina [aspect/level] — without any admixture of waste — he surely lives forever. This is the aspect of: "Tzadikim, even in their death, are called living" [Berachos 18a] . However, due to the admixtures that exist in eating — on account of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, when all things became intermingled — it is therefore impossible to be nourished from the holy vitality within the food (which is the aspect of humility and ayin , as above) except through the holy Torah, which refines all things — the aspect of "and Your Torah is within my innards" [Tehillim 40:9] — and through reciting a blessing before and after. Therefore one must draw upon oneself great shame [ bushah ] at the time of eating — to the point of being ashamed to bring the food to one's mouth — in order to merit specifically thereby eternal life, the aspect of true humility, which one attains through the aforementioned bushah , as explained within. For this reason the Torah warns especially against coming to arrogance specifically through eating, as it is written: "Lest you eat and be sated…and your heart grows haughty" [Devarim 8:12,14] . For when one does not eat in holiness according to the Torah, one does not stir and draw down eternal life as above — rather one's vitality comes from the waste of the eating, which is the aspect of pride and haughtiness — the vitality of the Sitra Achra — which is in truth the aspect of death. Therefore one must be especially vigilant to sanctify one's eating, and to eat with great shame as above — in order to draw down through eating true and eternal life, which is humility and lowliness as above. (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Tefillin, Law 6, section 12)