Oatzar HaYeerah — Emunah §§101–125

101. The essential completeness of the revelation of truth is at the end [of days, in the future] , in the aspect of "better is the end of a matter than its beginning" [Ecclesiastes 7:8], in the aspect of "the lip of truth will be established forever" [Proverbs 12:19] — it does not say "it was established" but "it will be established" : for at the end, in the future, the truth will be revealed. For at the beginning of any matter it is impossible in any way to reveal the truth — for then free choice would be nullified. For if a person were to see with his own eyes the pleasures of the World to Come that he would merit through abandoning a transgression and a desire, and similarly through performing a commandment — certainly everyone would flee from transgressions and pursue the commandments without any free choice whatsoever. But the essential free choice exists precisely because one does not see the truth at the outset. On the contrary — according to the straightforward smallness of a person's intellect, it genuinely seems to him that eating, drinking, and other bodily desires are pleasure, while serving Hashem is toil. And this is the essential trial: that one must endure great exertions for the service of Hashem. All this is because he does not see the truth immediately. And specifically through this he will ultimately merit to receive a good reward — which is the genuine revelation of truth that will be revealed in the future. This is the essential receiving of reward, and the reward is commensurate with the suffering. And similarly all the questions a person has regarding the conduct of Hashem, and what is hard regarding the true Tzadikim — particularly the questions of those who are wise in their own eyes and of the rationalists — all this is because according to the truth as they understand it, it seems to them that matters should not be conducted this way. For they wish to immediately understand and attain the truth of truth. But a brute does not know that it is impossible to attain and understand His truth and His conduct in completeness through intellect — except through Emunah when it is joined with truth. And to Emunah one merits through truth: if he wishes to look at the truth genuinely, he will understand that it is still impossible to fully attain the very essence of truth. But nonetheless — the truth is so. Therefore one must strengthen oneself in Emunah to believe in the truth. For all the questions that are hard for a person regarding the conduct of Hashem, and all the crookedness in one's heart regarding the true Tzadikim — all this is because he is sunken in the desires of this world and its vanities and in honor and contention. Therefore one who truly cares for his life and wishes to merit eternal life, and turns his face somewhat from the desires of this world and its vanities and thinks about his eternal purpose — Hashem has compassion on him and illuminates for him the ways of Emunah so that he will have the power to choose truth and Emunah if he wishes. And then he understands that all the trials, crookedness, and questions that seek to conceal and obscure from him the light of truth — all this is only because Hashem does not reveal the truth at the outset in completeness, so that free choice should exist. Rather He illuminates the truth a little so that there is the power to believe for one who wishes to look at the truth genuinely. And from this aspect came all the trials that passed over our ancestors in the wilderness. And so it is in every generation and every time. And the essential redemption depends on this — for this is the way of Hashem: that He engages in His compassion to draw a person close through many ways. But nonetheless He leaves him room to doubt a little, for the sake of trial and free choice. And when one strengthens oneself in complete Emunah by looking at the truth — at all the kindnesses Hashem has done with him — and similarly regarding faith in the Sages: if one looks at the truth — at all the revelations and wonders we have merited through the true Tzadikim — through this he will strengthen himself in complete Emunah and understand that all the crookedness and dispute is entirely only for the sake of trial and free choice. And if he strengthens himself in his Emunah after all the crookedness, disputes, and trials — through this specifically he will merit all goodness. ibid. §§12–16

102. Even when a person merits to draw close to the truth through the strength of his Emunah as above — he also needs to have Emunah in himself, for this too is within the category of faith in the Sages, as explained elsewhere. For many distance themselves through the multitude of questions that are hard for them about themselves — that they see how much they dig and exert themselves in order to attain truth, yet they are still so far. All this is the doing of the adversary who digs against them to distance them further. For in truth it is impossible in any way for a person to know in this world where he stands and what he holds (even King David, peace be upon him, said: "I know there is reward for the righteous… but I do not know if I have a share among them" — as our Rabbis said) . This is among the fundamentals of a person's trials: that he does not know where he stands and what he holds. For if he saw and knew what he merits even now through every movement and every step by which he tears himself from evil to good — even a mere movement — certainly he would run with all his strength to the service of Hashem and His Torah, and free choice would be completely nullified. For the essential free choice is the fact that he does not see and know what each person does and rectifies according to his place and moment. Therefore in this too one must strengthen oneself in Emunah — to know and believe in the words of our Rabbis: that no good movement is ever lost, for "no good intention is ever lost" [Yerushalmi Peah] . And in the end all that will remain of him is whatever good he snatched in this world. Certainly the more the better — but nevertheless, "just because one cannot do everything, is that a reason not to do even half a commandment?!" [a Talmudic principle, Nazir 23b] . And all the distancing of people through such thoughts and musings — all of it is from the above-mentioned aspect: from the fact that he wishes to understand the truth immediately. But one who believes will not be confounded [Isaiah 28:16] — and one must wait very, very much until one merits to understand the truth of His ways. For "the ways of Hashem are straight…" [Hosea 14:10] — for the essential revelation of truth will come at the end as above. ibid. §17

103. The essential holy point — which is the aspect of the Tzadik — that exists in every single Jew (through the light of this point, all insults and evil loves are nullified and one merits holy love) — is the holy Emunah, which is the foundation of all. It is the essential point of the aspect of the Tzadik, the aspect of "and the righteous shall live by his Emunah" [Habakkuk 2:4]. And this is the entire commandment of the Shema. And because the essential revelation of the light of the holy point is specifically through spoken words of the mouth [not merely thought] — therefore one must say the Shema specifically with a full mouth. And this is why immediately after "Shema Yisrael" — which is the essential Emunah of the unity, the aspect of the light of the holy point — it is written: "And you shall love" [Deuteronomy 6:5]. For through this one merits holy love. And the entire passage of the Shema elaborates the entire matter of drawing the light of the holy point, as explained there. Hil. Melamdim 4:5, 8

104. All the words of the Tzadikim and Sages uttered through holy spirit — particularly at a very high and sublime level — can bear everything: all genuine words of truth that each person finds in them according to his own understanding. ibid. §13

105. Through complete Emunah — believing in Hashem and in the true Tzadikim — through this the Tzadikim can draw down for us all the holy divine overflow from the aspect of the supernal constellation (מַזָּל הָעֶלְיוֹן) , which is the aspect of Atik . Even though we could not have drawn this down through our own strength in any way — this is the aspect of the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds, through which they merited great attainment and great wealth through the illumination of the Holy Ancient One (עַתִּיקָא קַדִּישָׁא) , as hinted in the words of our Rabbis. And they merited this only in the merit of the Emunah with which they believed in Hashem and in Moshe His servant. Hil. Talmud Torah 3:5, 7; see also Mamon uFarnasah §§53, 55

106. The matter of the Name (הַשֵּׁם) — which is the aspect of malchus , the aspect of Emunah — through which we can attain, grasp, and bring into our intellect all the very high, wondrous, and profoundly hidden matters. Through this we can bring into our intellect the truth of the holy Emunah in Hashem — of whom no thought can grasp Him at all — yet nonetheless through His holy Names we can call upon Him by name and believe in Him. And similarly the essential drawing of vitality from the aspect of above time [where the root of life abides] — all of it is only through the aspect of the Name which is the aspect of Emunah as above. See "Chayyim" [Life] §34; "Yirah vaAvodah" §78. cross-reference

107. Even though the essential aspect of the nullification of time and being included in the aspect of above time comes through such completeness of da'as — nonetheless through the strengthening of Emunah drawn from the holiness of Shabbos, which is a foretaste of the World to Come, all of Israel can merit the aspect of the nullification of time even in this world — even one whose da'as is not so complete. And through this one can be saved from all the desires and vanities of this world and from all the toil, labor, and servitude of this world. For each person is a servant to himself, as our Rabbis said [Kiddushin 22b] — and all of this derives from the aspect of being under time. But through the aspect of the nullification of time — in the aspect of above time — through this one emerges from servitude to freedom. Hil. Milah 4:13; see also Shabbos §120; Mamon §40

108. The Emunah merited through the clarification of the imaginative faculty is the opening and gateway through which one enters to know and recognize Him and to draw close to Him and be included in Him — in the aspect of "this is the gateway to Hashem — the righteous shall enter through it" [Psalms 118:20], the aspect of "open the gates and let the righteous nation enter, guardian of Emunah" [Isaiah 26:2]. For the rectification of Emunah is through the clarification of the imaginative faculty (מְדַמֶּה) as explained there — and the imaginative faculty is the opening and gateway to the intellect. Just as we see even in the external wisdoms of the rationalists, who begin every investigation of their wisdom through their reasonings and analogies (הֶקֵּשִׁים וְדִמְיוֹנוֹת) . But since their imaginative faculty is not clarified — because the filth of the serpent that is the confusion of the imaginative faculty has taken hold of it — they are therefore very confused in their wisdom, and most of their wisdoms are not clear to them, as is known — particularly in the wisdom of the attainment of Divinity, in which they know nothing. Therefore most of them came to various heresies, errors, and false beliefs — each according to his error — all through the confusion of their imaginative faculty. And conversely: the holy people Israel, who merited to receive the Torah and to draw close in every generation to the true Tzadikim who possess the aspect of holy spirit — through this the imaginative faculty is clarified and one merits complete Emunah. Through this they merit the genuine wisdoms of the holy Torah through the holy imaginative faculty — through drawing analogies from matter to matter. This is the aspect of the thirteen hermeneutical principles through which the Torah is expounded: kal vachomer [a fortiori] , gezeirah shavah [analogy] , and binyan av [inference from a common feature] — which are the holy analogical principles of the ways of the holy Torah, through which all the Torah innovations and the attainment of Divinity of the true Torah scholars derive. It emerges that the imaginative faculty is the opening and gateway to the intellect. Therefore through the clarification of the imaginative faculty one merits holy Emunah — which is the essential holy gateway and opening as above. Hil. Sefer Torah 4:16

109. Emunah and holy wisdom are one — for through Emunah one merits holy wisdom. And the more one attains holy wisdom, the more one is strengthened in Emunah. For this is the essential holy wisdom: to understand and become wise that one knows nothing at all — only to understand from afar how very much one must believe in the truth, in Hashem and in the true Tzadikim. In the aspect of "from afar Hashem appeared to me" [Jeremiah 31:2], and in the aspect of "I said: I will become wise, but it was far from me" [Ecclesiastes 7:23], as explained elsewhere. And one must renew one's Emunah each day — for this is the essential daily renewal of the intellect, which is the essential vitality and length of days of a person: that each and every day of his life his Emunah is strengthened more and more, until through this his intellect and da'as are renewed each day, in the aspect of "new every morning is Your great faithfulness" [Lamentations 3:23]. For only this is called life — in the aspect of "and the righteous shall live by his Emunah" [Habakkuk 2:4], and it is written: "wisdom gives life" [Ecclesiastes 7:12]. ibid. §17

110. The essential thing is Emunah — to believe in the renewal of the world. And this Emunah must be drawn upon oneself anew according to that day: according to the changes of that day in general and in particular — for no day resembles another, as mentioned in the writings of the holy Ari and in our words many times. And according to how much one strengthens oneself in the Emunah of the renewal of the world, so too one merits the renewal of the world that is yet to come. And in truth all is one — for one who merits complete Emunah through drawing close to the true Tzadikim draws upon himself each day and at every moment the aspect of the future renewal of the world. For this is the entire purpose of a person — created only for this. For all of Israel have a share in the World to Come. And this is the entire daily service of the Jewish person — which is only for the eternal purpose: namely that through this service he draws upon himself the holiness of the future renewal of the world. And all the changes that Hashem makes each day, and all the events and causes that are renewed each day in general and in particular — all of which are only hints to draw close to His service — all of it, entirely, is so that a person should rectify himself together with all the portions of the worlds that depend on him, until they can be renewed in the future in completeness, and he will have a good portion in the future renewal of the world which is the World to Come. Therefore each day a completely wondrous renewal is drawn down, and a person must pay attention to this each day. And even one who does not have the da'as to understand this properly — namely, to understand the hints that exist in each thing renewed each day — must in any case believe that something entirely new is drawn down each day, as we say: "each day He makes new acts…" And this is the aspect of "new every morning is Your great faithfulness" [Lamentations 3:23] — meaning one must have great Emunah to believe this: that Hashem renews His world each morning. This is the aspect of "new every morning." ibid. §21

111. The wisdom of the rationalists — which is the aspect of the wisdom of Greece (חָכְמַת יָוָן) — is the exact opposite of holy wisdom. For all the wisdom of upright and righteous Israel is that even one who merits great wisdom and genuine da'as in the knowledge of Him — he knows his distance more and more each time. For this is the essential wisdom: to realize that wisdom is still far from him, in the aspect of "I said I will become wise, but it was far from me" [Ecclesiastes 7:23]. All the more so one whose da'as is still small — he must certainly know how far he is from wisdom. Particularly one who knows that he has not yet sanctified his body in completeness and still has a trace of some desire that he has not yet completely shattered — his intellect is certainly still not complete. All the more so one who knows his blemishes and impurities in all the desires — he must certainly at any rate know how far he is from the complete da'as of genuine Tzadikim and upright men. And this is the essential holiness of Israel: their way is to diminish and humble themselves, in the aspect of "for you are the fewest of all the peoples" [Deuteronomy 7:7] — as our Rabbis expounded. But the sages of evil — who are the rationalists, the sages of Greece — are the precise opposite of all this. For their way is to run and fly in their wisdom to investigate and seek what they have no permission for at all. They are filled with all the filth of all the desires, and seek to investigate and know His Divinity — and through this they truly confused themselves greatly and strayed and came to great heresies, Heaven have mercy. For it is impossible to know about His Divinity except for those holy ones separated from all desires and from the desire for honor in genuine ultimate truth, like the Patriarchs of the world. The rest of the world need only believe them and their holy words. And the essential blemish depends on speech — for through the blemish of speech, particularly through speaking slander (לָשׁוֹן הָרָע) — all the more so when one speaks slander about genuine upright people and Tzadikim — through this one makes wings for the serpent, which is the aspect of Greek wisdom. Through this the false wisdoms, heresies, questions, and crookedness of heart derived from the aspect of Greek wisdom — which is the essential filth of the serpent — intensify within him. And then he wishes to run and fly in his wisdom to investigate what he has no permission for, and to have all the confusions and questions settled immediately at once, and to understand and know every matter that is utterly beyond him. And through this he distances himself even further from Hashem and His holy service. And conversely: the essential rectification is through holy words — that from now on he guard himself from evil words and greatly multiply holy words of Torah and prayer, particularly to multiply prayer and supplication and private conversation between himself and his Creator. Through this the aspect of holy wings is made, through which the above-mentioned wings of the serpent are subdued — and he merits to draw close to Hashem. Hil. Shilu'ach HaKen 5:18

112. It is impossible to fully rectify the desire for money as long as one has not merited complete Emunah. And conversely: it is impossible to merit complete Emunah as long as one has not nullified the desire for money. If so, where does one begin? Therefore the essential counsel is only to cry out to Hashem at all times. This is the beginning of all beginnings — and then Hashem will help him to merit all rectifications simultaneously. Hil. Orlah 4:18–19

113. All creatures were created only so that through them they should recognize and know Him — as the holy Zohar writes: "in order that they should know Him" . For Hashem drew each and every species He created from His simple unity, and placed in each and every one such a power — that specifically through these species that differ from one another, which are varying acts, something that is against human intellect [since it seems incomprehensible that such varying acts should derive from the simple One] — Hashem created His world with such wondrous wisdom that specifically through the multitude of these varying acts they should recognize and know His blessed simple unity, and know the power of His might and His wonders, as it is written: "how manifold are Your works, Hashem — all of them You made with wisdom" [Psalms 104:24]. But it is impossible to know and believe that the varying acts derive from Him — except when one keeps the order of creation so that each and every species remains by itself. For no varying act can return and be included in the simple unity except through the pathway and channel through which it derives there from its root in the simple One — and then specifically through it the simple unity is revealed. But when one alters the orders of creation, G-d forbid, through crossbreeds (כִּלְאַיִם) and mixtures, particularly when one works with mixed animal species — the pathway and order is then confused, to the point where it is impossible for any matter to ascend to its root to be included in the simple One. Then its vitality comes through the kelipas and Other Side — which are the aspect of heresies. Then the changes intensify even more and the kelipas of ox and donkey are aroused — which are the aspect of Esav and Yishmael, who are the totality of the seventy nations. They are the opposite of all the above-mentioned rectifications through which one merits to draw the Emunah of the simple unity from within the varying acts — which is the essential rectification of all the worlds. Hil. Kila'ei Beheimah 4:1–2

114. It has already been explained elsewhere that there are investigations and questions that come from the aspect of the empty space — which it is completely forbidden to enter. For it is impossible to reveal the Divinity that is there, since the vitality of His Divinity there is in very great concealment and hiddenness. Therefore one must rely only on Emunah alone. And one who specifically wishes to enter to attain and understand those investigations — this is the secret of the blemish of Kayin, who denied the Fundamental and killed Hevel. It is as if he returned the entire world to chaos and void, G-d forbid. Hil. Kila'ei Begadim 3:5

115. One who believes with complete Emunah in Hashem and genuinely believes that "the whole earth is full of His glory" [Isaiah 6:3] — and that Hashem is before him, with him, and near him always — is certainly a man of valor and has a share in holy malchus and sovereignty. For Emunah is the essential strengthening, as explained there. And every Jew must draw upon himself afresh each day: to gird strength in his loins, to arm himself with complete Emunah in Hashem and the true Tzadikim — to be like a warrior arrayed for battle, to fight the battle of Hashem each day. About this we bless each day: "Who girds Israel with strength" — in the aspect of "and faithfulness is the girding of his loins" [Isaiah 11:5]. And the essential valor in battle is to strengthen oneself not to fall in one's mind, G-d forbid, in any way. And the essential strengthening is through the genuine da'as of the true Tzadik — who illuminates his da'as in his children and students, for each and every one wherever they are — to strengthen and fortify them and inform them that Hashem is still with them and near them, for "the whole earth is full of His glory." And the essential illumination of this da'as is through hints — for it is impossible to explain everything verbally. And each one who is drawn after the truth of this holy da'as — according to his measure — merits to be a man of valor and quickened in spirit, and to have a share in holy malchus and sovereignty. And the essential kingship and sovereignty is when one merits to strengthen oneself and know that Hashem is still with him — and through this can arouse and strengthen the hearts of others as well, drawing this illumination of da'as into many children and students — each according to his aspect. And this is the essential kingship and sovereignty that endures forever and ever, as explained there. Hil. Pidyon Bechor 5:19

116. The essential completeness of Emunah is to set aside one's da'as and wisdom entirely, to make oneself like an animal, and to believe in Hashem and the true Tzadikim with complete Emunah alone. For the essential Emunah is in what the intellect does not comprehend — for in what one comprehends through intellect, Emunah is not applicable. Therefore the essential Emunah is in the aspect of "I was brutish and did not know — I was like an animal before You" [Psalms 73:22]. And in the aspect of "man and animal Hashem saves" [Psalms 36:7] — and our Rabbis expounded: these are human beings who are clever in da'as like the First Man, yet make themselves like animals [Chullin 5b] . And as King Solomon said, peace be upon him: "For I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a human being" [Proverbs 30:2], and it is written: "I said I will become wise, but it was far from me" [Ecclesiastes 7:23]. And this is the greatest wisdom of all wisdoms: to set aside one's da'as , intellect, and wisdom entirely and to rely only on Emunah alone. And through this — over the course of many days — one merits to comprehend and understand genuine divine attainments and wisdoms that human intellect cannot attain. Provided one does not make this into a test [i.e., one must not make this an experiment to see if it "works," but rather walk in simplicity] — only walk in simplicity and wholeness in straight Emunah in truth. It emerges that holy Emunah is in the aspect of "animal" as above. But one must guard oneself very much from false beliefs — not to be "a fool who believes everything." And this is the aspect of pure animals and impure animals: Hashem warned us to distinguish between the impure and the pure — for Emunah is in the aspect of animal. Therefore the Patriarchs of the world, whose essential endeavor was to reveal Emunah in the world — and for this they engaged in digging wells, which are the aspect of the deep waters upon which Emunah grows, as explained — therefore they were shepherds of livestock and animals. For through this they were clarifying and purifying the Emunah which is the aspect of animal as above. Hil. Bechor Beheimah Tehorah 3:2

117. The essential of all births (הוֹלָדוֹת) is through the aspect of Emunah — which is the aspect of "a woman who fears Hashem" [Proverbs 31:30], as is known. For da'as and Emunah are the aspect of man and woman — and just as in the physical dimension it is impossible to give birth to any offspring without the union of male and female, so too it is impossible for da'as and intellect to bring forth any good offspring for the rectification of the world — except through Emunah: when da'as joins with Emunah. This is the aspect of the unification of the Holy Blessed One and His Shechinah. And one who separates, G-d forbid, da'as from Emunah is "a whisperer who separates a prince" [Proverbs 16:28] — who separates, as it were, the Prince of the world. And this is literally the aspect of the blemish of adultery and the aspect of emitting seed in vain — emitting the drops of the intellect without the union of his mate which is holy Emunah. From this the damagers of the world are born, G-d forbid, as is known. Similarly in every respect: when one reveals and produces some intellect from his da'as without joining with Emunah — that intellect is then from the aspect of the damagers of the world, which is very harmful to the world. For through this heresies and false beliefs are drawn that destroy the world, G-d forbid. ibid. §3

118. Emunah is the aspect of darkness and cloud (חשֶׁךְ וְעָנָן) , in the aspect of "and Your faithfulness in the nights" [Psalms 92:3]. For the essential Emunah is that one must close one's eyes and completely set aside one's da'as — which is the aspect of darkness. And specifically through this one merits to recognize Hashem: when one darkens the eyes of one's da'as and relies on Emunah alone, in the aspect of "He made darkness His hiding place" [Psalms 18:12]. And this is the aspect of "the advantage of light over darkness" [Ecclesiastes 2:13] — for it is impossible to merit the light of da'as except from within darkness which is the aspect of Emunah as above. And this is the aspect of the blackness of the tefillin — for the essential revelation of the tefillin -intellect (מֹחִין) is only through strengthening oneself in Emunah alone. This is the aspect of "I am dark yet beautiful" [Song of Songs 1:5] — for specifically when "I am dark" — that is, I darken my eyes entirely so as to investigate nothing at all through my intellect regarding Your holy ways, and I rely only on Emunah alone — then specifically "I am beautiful." For through this specifically I merit the beauty and splendor of the tefillin -intellect. For through genuine complete Emunah over many days and years, one then merits to recognize Hashem with complete knowledge, in the aspect of "I will betroth you to Me in Emunah — and you shall know Hashem" [Hosea 2:22]. Through Emunah one merits the da'as which is the aspect of tefillin . This is the aspect of the tefillin of the hand — which is the aspect of malchus -Emunah — preceding the tefillin of the head which are the aspect of intellect. For the essential beginning of tefillin and intellect is through Emunah. ibid. §7

119. The essential completeness is only holy Emunah — for there is no completeness except in the aspect of Emunah, and without Emunah all things are lacking. For in truth it is impossible to know and attain any matter in ultimate completeness. Therefore even one who merits to attain some attainment and knowledge — such as one who merits to attain some intention (כַּוָּנָה) in some commandment, and even if he attained a genuine intention — when he wishes to perform the commandment with only that intention alone, this is certainly not completeness. For the Torah is "double in wisdom" [Job 11:6: kiflayim letushiyah ] . For even this intention cannot possibly be attained to its very ultimate in completeness. All the more so since there are seventy faces to the Torah, and each and every face is comprised of thousands and myriads of interpretations without end. Certainly no one can attain a single commandment in ultimate completeness — for "its measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea" [Job 11:9], as it is said: "to every limit I have seen an end — Your commandment is very broad" [Psalms 119:96]. Therefore if one wishes to fulfill the commandments with only that intention alone, certainly much will be lacking — for the intention of the commandment is without end. Therefore one always needs Emunah — for Emunah is completeness. For when one fulfills the commandment with Emunah — believing that Hashem commanded us to perform this commandment from the side of His will and His reason, which is very hidden and utterly impossible to attain in completeness — then within this intention all the intentions of the world are included in completeness. For within His blessed will that He willed that this commandment be performed, there are included all the intentions that Tzadikim have already merited to attain, and whatever is yet to be revealed even more and more, higher and higher, without end. And one performs it with this in mind — and then the commandment is complete, for through this all the intentions to infinite depth are included. Therefore even one who merits to attain a genuine intention fitting to have truly — nevertheless one must always attach holy Emunah to this. Then there is completeness in his intention and commandments. It emerges that the essential completeness is only Emunah alone. Therefore Emunah is called temimus (תְּמִימוּת — wholeness, completeness) — as it is said: "be wholehearted with Hashem your G-d" [Deuteronomy 18:13]. For there is the ultimate completeness and wholeness. For through da'as it is impossible to attain any matter in completeness — except through Emunah. For since he believes in Hashem and His Tzadikim and His commandments with complete Emunah, he is then complete in ultimate completeness. For Emunah is without boundary — for he believes in the truth which is to infinite depth, even though it cannot be attained through da'as in any way. But Emunah encompasses all to infinite depth and without end. ibid. §§9–10

120. Emunah must be complete without any blemish or defect whatsoever — in the aspect of "you are entirely beautiful, my beloved — there is no blemish in you" [Song of Songs 4:7]. Then one merits through this to attain great da'as . For Emunah must spread through all the limbs — so that all 248 of his limbs are filled with complete Emunah. For Emunah is the aspect of a complete stature (קוֹמָה שְׁלֵמָה) . And when there is any lack or blemish in the Emunah, there is then some lack and blemish in some limb corresponding to the blemish in the Emunah — and then it is impossible to attain da'as in completeness through that Emunah which lacks completeness in all 248 limbs. But when Emunah is in ultimate completeness — in the aspect of "you are entirely beautiful, my beloved — there is no blemish in you" — then one always merits complete da'as . And even at the time when one draws away from da'as — through the complete Emunah one is nonetheless always bound and cleaved to Him. From the time when one draws away from da'as until one returns to genuine da'as , which is the aspect of levanon (לְבָנוֹן — "Lebanon") , the aspect of the whitening of the brain (לְבוֹנָה דְּמֹחָא) . ibid. §10

121. The blemish of all transgressions is the aspect of the blemish of Emunah — for all sins derive from the evil inclination which is called "another god" — heresies. And likewise the rectification and atonement of all transgressions is through the rectification of Emunah. ibid. §11

122. Emes is the very essence of the light, and Emunah is the aspect of a window — which has no light of its own, but through it the light is received. That is: even though one does not merit to know the very essence of Emes and attain it in completeness — nonetheless, because he desires in genuine truth to attach himself to the genuine truth and draws himself only toward the truth, through this he merits to see the truth from afar — that it is proper to believe in the matter of truth. For through the point of truth that he possesses, he thereby receives light from the very essence of Emes, and from there Emunah is drawn to him: to believe in the truth even though he does not merit to attain and see the very essence of Emes. And then through complete Emunah he is bound and included in the very essence of Emes — in the aspect of the joining of Emes and Emunah, for all is one. Hil. Dayanim 3:11

123. Through wisdoms and investigations it is impossible to know anything of Hashem at all — only through Emes and Emunah as above: one who looks at the truth genuinely merits complete Emunah. And this is the essential Shema: to unify and join both above-mentioned aspects together — namely, to know in truth in this world from His unity as it truly is. This is the aspect of "Hashem our G-d, Hashem is One" — and one concludes: "Hashem your G-d is truth" [Jeremiah 10:10]. For the two above-mentioned aspects are the aspect of the two holy Names: Hashem and Elokim — the aspect of sun and moon, the attribute of day and the attribute of night. And one must include the attribute of day in the night and the night in the day, as our Rabbis said — to teach that all is one. ibid. §28

124. The Torah and Emunah are dependent upon each other — for it is impossible to fulfill the Torah except through Emunah, as it is said: "all Your commandments are Emunah" [Psalms 119:86]. And similarly there is no sustaining of Emunah except through the Torah. ibid. 4:7

125. The essential righteousness of Israel is the Torah and Emunah, in the aspect of "and the righteous shall live by his Emunah" [Habakkuk 2:4]. And because all of Israel are believers, children of believers — therefore they are all called righteous, as it is said: "and your people — all of them are righteous" [Isaiah 60:21]. ibid. §9