Oatzar HaYeerah – Yeerah & Avodas Hashem §§115–125

Every person has two aspects of divine service [ shnaï b'chinois avodois ]: The first mode of service is the aspect of " M'lo chol ha'aretz k'vodo " — "The whole earth is full of His glory" [Isaiah 6:3] . This is the aspect of the totality of the Torah and the commandments — for everything [in Torah and mitzvos] exists for the sake of the revelation of His glory, may He be blessed [ hisgalus k'vodo Yisborach — making G‑d's Presence recognized and manifest throughout creation ]. However, it is impossible to remain continuously cleaving [ davuk — bonded, attached ] to the Torah without any interruption whatsoever — for sometimes the very setting-aside of Torah study is itself its fulfillment [ bitul Torah zahu kiyumah — a principle of the Talmud: there are moments when stepping away from study is the higher obligation, such as to perform a mitzvah, attend to a fellow's need, or sustain one's livelihood ]. And furthermore, one must engage in commerce and worldly occupation [ masa-umatan v'derech eretz — buying and selling, and the ways and conduct of life in the world ]. And at such times, the revelation of His glory, may He be blessed, is not perceived to the same degree. And at those very times , one must revive oneself through the second mode [ b'chinah sh'niyah — the second dimension / aspect ] mentioned above — by searching and seeking after His glory, may He be blessed , in the aspect of " Ayeh m'kom k'vodo " — "Where is the place of His glory?" [the Kedushah of Mussaf; drawn from Ezekiel 3:12 — the cry of the angels] . [Where the first phrase declares that G‑d's glory fills the earth, this second phrase is a question — a cry of longing and search. It is the mode of seeking G‑d when He is not immediately felt.] And through this mode [of searching and seeking], one can revive oneself in every thing and in every place — even amid mundane matters [ divrei chol — secular, everyday affairs ] such as commerce and the like. And furthermore — even when one falls , G‑d forbid, into truly evil things altogether — even there , if one merits to have compassion upon one's own soul [ lachos al nafsho — to feel mercy and tenderness toward one's own spiritual state, rather than collapsing into despair or indifference ], and to seek and to search even from that place after His glory, may He be blessed — then one can merit through this to attain the ultimate height of ascent [ tachlis ha'aliyah — the very pinnacle, the final goal of spiritual elevation ], to the aspect of " Ayeh " [ "Where?" — the very cry of searching] mentioned above. And through this, all sins are atoned for and rectified [ niskaprrin v'nisstakknin kol ha'avonois ]. And this corresponds to [the Mishnah's teaching]: "Good is Torah together with derech eretz [worldly occupation / the way of the world], for the toil of the two of them causes sin to be forgotten" [Avos — Ethics of the Fathers 2:2] . [ Mashkeches avon — sin is forgotten , erased from memory entirely — not merely forgiven, but blotted out.] "Torah" and " derech eretz " [in that Mishnah] are the two kinds of service [just described] — the mode of " M'lo chol ha'aretz k'vodo " and the mode of " Ayeh m'kom k'vodo " — and it is specifically through both of them together [ daïka — precisely, and only ] that sins are annulled, as explained within [in the full Likutay Halachos text] — for one is impossible without the other . And likewise this corresponds to [the verse]: " B'shivt'choh b'vaysechoh uv'lechtechoh va'derech — When you sit in your house, and when you walk upon the road" [Deuteronomy 6:7, from the Sh'ma] — this too, corresponds to the two modes of service mentioned above. [" When you sit in your house " = the settled, structured service of Torah and mitzvos, the aspect of " M'lo "; " When you walk upon the road " = service in motion, in the world, in every place — the aspect of " Ayeh ", seeking G‑d even when moving through the mundane.] (Source: Likutay Halachos, Laws of Orphans — Hilchos Yisomim , Halachah 3, sub-sections [ osios ] ג and ד — i.e., passages 3 and 4 of that Halachah.)

Before one merits any revelation in Torah and divine service — which is the aspect of receiving the Torah [ kabolas ha'Torah ] — one must first pass through many confusions, doubts, obstacles, desires, and agitations [ bilbulim, s'feikos, m'niyois, ta'avois, t'rodos ] and the like. All of this is drawn from the external realms [ m'komos hachitzonim — the "outside" forces, the realm of the Other Side ], which receive their vitality from the very depth of the concealment of the sealed utterance [ ha'ma'amar hasosum — the hidden, sealed divine word; in Kabbalistic teaching, the root-source from which all speech and all Torah emerge is concealed and sealed at its highest level ], which is the aspect of " Ayeh " — "Where?" — mentioned above [ i.e., the external forces paradoxically draw their power from that very hiddenness of G‑d which is also the source of the highest revelations ]. And when these obstacles and confusions and the like overpower a person , and he does not know any way to emerge from them or to find His glory, may He be blessed — and yet he strengthens himself and asks and seeks and searches even from there : " Ayeh m'kom k'vodo — Where is the place of His glory?" — then the descent is itself the ultimate ascent [ hayeridah tachlis ha'aliyah ]. For through this he merits to ascend to the sealed utterance at its very root [ the highest sealed source of all divine speech ], where the root of all utterances and the entirety of all Torah resides . And from there he merits to draw forth Torah. And this is the meaning of the fact that the Torah was given specifically in the wilderness [ bamidbar — the desert: a place of desolation and exposure, a place of having nothing ], and [it was given] after the exile of Egypt [ after the crushing servitude and descent into the depths of the forty-nine levels of impurity ]. And likewise, after every exile, Israel merited to receive the Torah — for even after the Babylonian exile, they merited to receive the Torah anew in the days of Mordechai and Esther, as our Sages of blessed memory taught: " Hadar kib'luhah — They re-accepted it" [Shabbos 88a — in the days of Achashveirosh, Israel re-accepted the Torah willingly, out of love, not as at Sinai where the mountain was held over them] . And so too after this final exile [in which we find ourselves], the primary revelation of the Torah that will come in the days of Mashiach [the Messiah] — for through the exile, through being scattered among the nations to the external realms, and from there seeking and searching: " Ayeh m'kom k'vodo — Where is the place of His glory?" — through this [Israel] merits a great ascent, to the aspect of " Ayeh " mentioned above, from which the primary receiving of the Torah flows , as described above. (Source: Likutay Halachos, ibid., sub-sections [ osios ] ח–יא — i.e., passages 8, 9, 10, and 11 of that Halachah.)

Sometimes, as long as the Evil One [ ba'al davar — literally "the master of the matter"; the evil inclination, the Adversary ] does not press upon a person too severely, the person is still slack in searching after His glory, may He be blessed. But when the Evil One spreads himself over the person greatly and seeks to bring him down entirely, G‑d forbid — at that very moment the holiness of the person's soul is aroused , and it is precisely then that he begins to seek and search: " Ayeh m'kom k'vodo Yisborach — Where is the place of His glory, may He be blessed?" And this corresponds to [the verse]: "And in their testing of Hashem, saying: 'Is Hashem among us or is He not?'" [Exodus 17:7] — which is the aspect of the surge of doubts and confusions mentioned above. And then Hashem, may He be blessed, brought upon them Amalek [ the arch-enemy of Israel; in Kabbalistic teaching, Amalek represents the power of doubt and spiritual coldness — amek , "he cooled you off" [Deuteronomy 25:18], the force that chills and dampens the fire of faith ], who is the full force of the pollution of the Serpent [ toikef zuhamat hanachash ], the aspect of the external realms mentioned above — where His glory, may He be blessed, is concealed with the utmost concealment and hiddenness , so that it is exceedingly difficult to find His glory there. Only Moshe Rabbainu, peace be upon him — who is the true Tzadik — stands and urges them to gaze upward , as it is written: "And it was that when Moshe raised his hand…" [Exodus 17:11] , and our Sages of blessed memory interpreted: he was hinting to them to look upward [ Rosh Hashana 29a — it was not Moshe's hands that won the battle, but the gaze: when Israel looked upward toward Heaven, they prevailed ]. For in truth, there the concealment is so intense that it is as though it is impossible to speak of His glory there at all — for those [external] realms are in the aspect of: "And My glory I shall not give to another" [Isaiah 42:8] . And yet even so, the Tzadik hints to them through his holy allusions that they should know and understand — that even though the concealment has overcome them so intensely through their having fallen to such places — even so: "Lift your eyes upward and look toward Heaven, and seek and ask and search, even from there: ' Ayeh m'kom k'vodo — Where is the place of His glory?'" And then Israel prevails — for through this they ascend from the descent mentioned above to the ultimate height of ascent. And this is the significance of the fact that specifically after the war of Amalek came the receiving of the Torah — precisely as described above. (Source: Likutay Halachos, ibid., sub-section [ os ] ט — passage 9 of that Halachah.)

The four elements [ arba yesodos — Fire, Air, Water, Earth; in Kabbalistic teaching, these are the four foundational forces from which the physical and spiritual body of a person are composed, and from which all desires and character traits arise ] are called "servants" [ avadim — slaves; the four elements, in their unrefined state, are like slaves driving the person, rather than the person being their master ], as is explained within [in the main teaching]. And every person must sanctify and purify all four elements until he emerges from all the character traits and desires that flow from them. And then he goes out from bondage to freedom [ me'avdus l'chairus ], as our Sages of blessed memory taught: "There is no free person except one who engages in Torah" [Ethics of the Fathers 6:2] — for through engaging in Torah, one subdues the evil inclination and the evil of the four elements, and thereby goes out from bondage to freedom, and merits to be absorbed into the light of the Infinite [ ohr ha'Aïn Sof — the infinite, boundless light of G‑d, the highest spiritual reality ], which is the ultimate purpose of all perfection. (Source: Likutay Halachos, Laws of Mortgages — Hilchos Apothiki , Halachah 3, sub-section [ os ] ו — passage 6 of that Halachah.)

Hashem, may He be blessed, is concealed and revealed [ sosum v'galya — Aramaic: hidden and open ], and the Torah is concealed and revealed — and all of this exists for the sake of free choice and trial [ b'chirah v'nisayon ]. For this is the way of Hashem, may He be blessed: He shines His face [upon a person] each time, and within that very shining, He conceals His face — and through this comes all trial and free choice. And this operates on the level of the general [ bichllaliyus ], the particular [ bif'ratiyus ], and the most minute particulars [ bif'raté f'ratiyus ] — in every person , and at every time . And one who pays attention to this can see it in all the adventures, tribulations, salvations, expansions, and wondrous rescues [ harpatkais, t'laois, hatzalos, harchovois, y'shuois niflaois ] that pass over him throughout all the days of his life — and especially in the matter of livelihood [ parnasah ]. And as we saw [this pattern] at the time when Hashem began to shine His face upon Moshe and sent him to redeem Israel — and afterward the concealment intensified, so that Pharaoh declared: "Let the labor be heavier…" [Exodus 5:9] , and Dasan and Aviram said to Moshe: "May Hashem look upon you and judge…" [Exodus 5:21] . And this pattern continued at every stage thereafter, as described in all the Torah portions that speak of the Exodus from Egypt — and especially at the splitting of the Sea of Reeds [ where Israel was trapped between the sea and the Egyptian army — the ultimate moment of concealment — followed by the ultimate revelation ]. And afterward Hashem shone His face again with a great revelation: "And Israel saw the great hand…" [Exodus 14:31] . And then He concealed His face again, and they walked three days without water; and then: "And the people complained…" [Exodus 15:24] . And then [there was the matter of] the Manna [ first the gift of heavenly bread, then the testing through its rules and limits ]. And then when there was no water at Refidim to drink, it is written: "And the people quarreled…" [Exodus 17:2] . And so it continued throughout all the days of Moshe. And so it was in every generation, in the days of the Judges and the Kings — that each time Hashem shone His face and performed great signs for them, and afterward concealed His face, and then came their trials. And many stood their trial and merited what they merited, and many stumbled and turned from the ways of Hashem through this — until the Temple was destroyed twice . And even now, in the full force of the lengthy exile and the intensified concealment within concealment [ hester b'toch hester — a double hiddenness; even G‑d's concealment is itself hidden, so that the person does not even recognize it as concealment but mistakes it for abandonment ] — even so, one who truly desires to draw close to Hashem, may He be blessed, and to His holy Torah — he sees even now, each and every time, the illumination of Hashem's face and His kindnesses and wondrous awesomeness within the very depths of the many concealments — as our Sages of blessed memory taught: "These themselves are His mighty deeds and His awesomeness" [Yoma 69b — the very fact that G‑d's power is hidden within the nations' dominion is itself the greatest display of His might] . And so likewise, this applies in the most minute particulars of every person, at every time, and every single day — as we say [in the Modim prayer]: "For Your miracles that are with us every day…" [Siddur, Sh'moneh Esrai — Modim blessing] . (Source: Likutay Halachos, ibid., Halachah 5, sub-section [ os ] ג — passage 3 of that Halachah.)

The primary preservation and protection from the forces of impurity and false imaginations [ k'lipos v'dimyonois — the husks of impurity and the fantasies and illusions they generate in the mind ] is when one merits to the acquired intellect [ sechel hannik'neh — the third and highest level of intellect in the Kabbalistic-philosophical triad: sechel b'koach (intellect in potential), sechel b'fo'al (intellect in action), and sechel hannik'neh (intellect that has been acquired and internalized) ] — that is, to merit attaining some divine service through the intellect, for that is the essence of intellect. As [the Mishnah says]: "Not study is the essence, but action" [ Ethics of the Fathers 1:17 ] — for the essential goodness and pleasantness and sweetness of intellect is when it comes into actual deed [ it is not enough to understand — the understanding must be translated into life, into practice, into changed behavior ]. For the essential learning of holiness is "to learn and to teach, to observe and to perform and to fulfill" [ from the morning blessings before Torah study ]. And as our Sages of blessed memory taught [on the verse]: " V'hayah emunas itecha — And there shall be the faithfulness of your times…" [Isaiah 33:6] : if " yiras Hashem hi otzaro — the fear of Hashem is his treasury" — then yes [all is well]; if not — then not. For the essential treasure and preservation and maintenance and lasting quality of intellect is fear [of G‑d] [ yeerah — awe and reverence of G‑d ], which is the aspect of the fulfillment of Torah in deed — for everything depends on fear, as it is written: "What does Hashem your G‑d ask of you — only to fear" [Deuteronomy 10:12] . For fear of G‑d is the aspect of the acquired intellect , which is the aspect of Yaakov [ Yaakov Avinu corresponds to the sefira of Tiferes, and in this context to Da'as — the internalized, integrated form of all three intellectual faculties ], who is the aspect of the totality of the three Patriarchs [ Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov together encompass Chochmah [Wisdom], Binah [Understanding], and Da'as [Knowledge] ]. And these correspond to the three dimensions of intellect: Chochmah [Wisdom] · Binah [Understanding] · Da'as [Knowledge] — which are the aspects of: intellect in potential, intellect in action, and acquired intellect . And the essential maintenance and lasting quality of intellect is the acquired intellect , which is the aspect of Da'as [Knowledge], the aspect of fear of G‑d . (Source: Likutay Halachos, Laws of Mortgage — Hilchos Apothiki , Halachah 3, sub-section [ os ] ה — passage 5 of that Halachah.)

All the commandments that we perform are in the aspect of clearing a debt that we owe to Hashem, may He be blessed . For Hashem, may He be blessed, created the entire creation as an act of lovingkindness and a gracious loan [ g'milas chesed v'halvaayas chayn ] — for at that time there was not yet any arousal from below [ is'arusa dil'sata — Aramaic: the initiation from the lower world; in Kabbalistic teaching, G‑d created the world "on credit," before there was any act or merit from creation itself ] that would have warranted creating the world. Rather, [He created it only] because Hashem, may He be blessed, foresaw that after many generations [Israel] would receive the Torah and there would be righteous people in the world who fulfill the Torah — for the sake of that, He created everything. It follows that through fulfilling the Torah , we raise and elevate the entire creation back to its root [ the purpose of creation is fulfilled; what was "lent" to the world is returned ], for the Torah is a complete spiritual stature [ komah sh'leimah ], and through it all three dimensions of existence are sustained : World, Year, and Soul [ Olam, Shanah, Nefesh — space, time, and being; from the Sefer Yetzirah, the Book of Formation, where these three axes encompass all of reality ]. And through this, the world is included in its root — for the Torah and the commandments are His oneness, may He be blessed, and through this we repay to Hashem, may He be blessed, all the "loans" He lent in creating His world. And this is why the commandments are called in the language of obligation [ chiyuv ], as is common in the words of our Sages: "fulfilling one's obligation" [ yotzai y'dai chovaso ] — for through this one clears the debt and the loan owed to Hashem, may He be blessed. And this is why the Scripture describes the wickedness of the wicked one as: " Loveh rasha v'lo y'shalaim — The wicked one borrows and does not repay" [Psalms 37:21] — for he does not clear for Hashem, may He be blessed, the debt and the loan of the creation that is incumbent upon him. Now, the repayment of a loan must be made to the hand of the lender himself, or to his agent — as is set out in the Shulchan Aruch [the Code of Jewish Law]. And it is impossible to return everything to Hashem, may He be blessed, Himself, as it were — except when one merits to perform the commandment with such great joy that he does not wish to receive any reward of the World to Come for it, because he has joy from the mitzvah itself [ pure, selfless performance — the mitzvah is its own reward; there is no ulterior motive, not even spiritual reward ]. At that moment, he is absorbed into Hashem, may He be blessed , as it were, at the moment of performing the commandment — and then the entire world and its fullness are likewise absorbed with him into Hashem, may He be blessed, as it were, as explained within [in the main teaching]. And this is the aspect of repaying the debt to the lender Himself. However, since not every person merits to perform commandments with such joy that everything becomes absorbed into Hashem, may He be blessed, as it were — for one who performs the mitzvah for the sake of reward in the World to Come is like a prophet who sees through a clouded mirror [ aspaklaria she'einah meïrah — a dim, non-luminous lens; versus Moshe who saw through the luminous mirror — aspaklaria hame'irah ; Yevamos 49b ] — he is not truly absorbed into Hashem himself, but is like one who stands and sees something from afar. And then the mitzvah, together with the entire world and all that hangs upon it, must be sent on its journey from world to world until it is clarified and elevated and absorbed in its root — and this is the aspect of clearing the debt. And along this journey there is responsibility for the road — from many accusers who prosecute and obstruct the mitzvah from ascending and being absorbed in its proper place and root. Therefore we must perform all the commandments according to the intention of Moshe Rabbainu , peace be upon him — who merited the luminous mirror — and bind ourselves at the moment of performing each and every mitzvah to the Tzadik of the generation who is in the aspect of Moshe [ the true Tzadik of each generation is the extension of Moshe's soul, the channel of Torah and divine light ]. That is: one must bind oneself to that Tzadik who merited to perform all the commandments with the joy of the mitzvah itself, not seeking any reward of the World to Come for it, as above. And that Tzadik is truly absorbed into Hashem, may He be blessed, together with the entire world, through his performance of the commandments. And when we bind all our performance of commandments to such true Tzadikim — then we send our commandments, which are in the aspect of clearing the debt, through a faithful envoy to his Sender [ tzir ne'eman l'sholichaïv ], i.e., a faithful agent of Hashem, may He be blessed — who is the aspect of Moshe, of whom it is said: "In all My house he is faithful" [Numbers 12:7] . And when one repays the debt into his hand, it is as though one repays it to Hashem, may He be blessed, Himself — for he is a faithful envoy to his Sender. And immediately when our mitzvah comes into his hand, he elevates it and returns it at once to Hashem, may He be blessed. And all the portions of the world dependent upon each and every one of Israel are absorbed into Hashem, may He be blessed. And then we fulfill our obligations and clear the debt in full and are saved from all [the hazards of the] journey — for: "Who is it that pledged his heart to approach Me — says Hashem" [Jeremiah 30:21] . And through this, all the prosecutions are annulled and the world is rectified of all its deficiencies. (Source: Likutay Halachos, Laws of Sending an Agent to Collect a Debt — Hilchos Ha'oseh Shaliach Ligvos Chov , Halachah 2.)

All the things of this world that a person has will and desire for — all of it is, at root, for the good and for the sustaining of the world , for within them are many holy sparks [ nitzutzos k'doshim — in the Lurianic Kabbalistic framework, when the primordial "vessels" shattered, holy sparks of divine light fell into the material world; they are embedded within physical desires and objects, waiting to be raised back to their root ], which are in the aspect of higher divine wills that have fallen [ r'tzonois elyonim han'fulim ]. If a person merits to elevate them back to their root , this will add ever greater illumination of the Higher Will [ he'aras ha'ratzon ha'elyon ] upon his soul. However, since these wills are clothed within physical things , the forces of the Other Side have a grip upon them. Therefore a person must strengthen himself greatly not to fall into physical desire and will, G‑d forbid — for through this the will of holiness would be damaged, G‑d forbid. Rather, one should be content with very little in all matters of this world [ l'histapaik b'mu'at m'od — a cornerstone of Breslov practice: simplicity and minimalism in physical indulgence frees the holy sparks without entangling oneself in the Sitra Achra ]. And even that small amount that is necessary, one must strengthen oneself greatly that it be conducted in holiness and purity — so that the will of holiness not be damaged through it, G‑d forbid. On the contrary: through everything one eats and drinks and the like, one should merit ever greater and greater illumination of the holy will . (Source: Likutay Halachos, Laws of Evening — Hilchos Erev , Halachah 3, sub-section [ os ] ג — passage 3 of that Halachah. See also: Ratzon [Will/Desire], entry 26.)

The essential divine service of a person is that he should merit to love Hashem with both inclinations [ bishn'y y'tzarim — with both the good inclination and the evil inclination; based on the Mishnaic interpretation of "with all your heart" as "with your two inclinations" — Berachos 54a ] — that is, that he transform even the compelling force [ koach hamachrich — the force that compels and pushes, the coarser drive of the evil inclination ] into a drawing force [ koach hamoshech — the force that draws and attracts; the gentler pull of love and longing ] toward Hashem, may He be blessed — which is the aspect of love of Hashem , as it is written: "With cords of a person I drew them, with bonds of love" [Hosea 11:4] . For when one merits to make the drawing force dominant over the compelling force — then even the compelling force becomes a great good — for precisely through it one can receive the light in a gradual and measured way [ b'hadragah uv'midah — in stages and in proportion; the "compelling" force acts as a regulator, preventing the person from being overwhelmed by the light ], to be drawn after Hashem, may He be blessed, as is fitting — in the aspect of: " V'hachaïyos ratzo v'shov — And the living creatures ran and returned" [Ezekiel 1:14 — the vision of the divine chariot: the holy creatures move toward G‑d and then draw back, a rhythmic oscillation that is itself the mode of spiritual life] . And this is the aspect of: " V'ahavtah eis Hashem Elokecha b'chol l'vavecha — And you shall love Hashem your G‑d with all your heart" [Deuteronomy 6:5] — and our Sages of blessed memory interpreted: " Bishn'y y'tzarecha — With your two inclinations" [Berachos 54a] . (Source: Likutay Halachos, Laws of Presumption of Ownership of Movable Property — Hilchos Chazakas Mitaltalin , Halachah 4, sub-sections [ osios ] יב and טו — passages 12 and 15 of that Halachah.)

All sins come only through the spirit of foolishness [ ruach shtus — the Talmudic principle: "A person does not sin unless a spirit of foolishness enters him" (Sotah 3a). Sin is not an act of true rational choice but a temporary madness, a lapse of clear-sightedness ], as our Sages of blessed memory stated. And the essential spirit of foolishness flows only from each person's [false] wisdoms — from whatever makes it seem to him as though he has some grip on wisdom and knowledge [ the greatest danger is not ignorance but the illusion of wisdom — the person who is "wise in his own eyes" is the most susceptible to the spirit of foolishness, because his arrogance closes him off to true guidance ] — in the aspect of: "Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him" [Proverbs 26:12] . (Source: Likutay Halachos, Laws of Partners in Land — Hilchos Shutfim B'Karka , Halachah 5, sub-section [ os ] כז — passage 27 of that Halachah.)

At the beginning, when a person wishes to enter divine service , Hashem, may He be blessed, has compassion upon him and eases [the path] for him and allows him to enter into holiness — for "one who comes to purify himself is assisted from Above" [ Yoma 38b ]. And then things go for him somewhat in order, and he begins to ascend little by little from level to level, and begins to move from outside to inside [the realm of holiness]. But even though he enters inside, he has entered only into the aspect of the courtyard [ chatzer — the outer courtyard; the metaphor is drawn from the Temple: there is the outer courtyard ( chatzer ), and within it the building itself ( bayis ), and within that the inner sanctuary ], and he is still standing outside the house of holiness. And when he wishes to enter into the house itself — which is the essential goal — the guardians and the keepers of the gate [ hashomrim v'naturai tar'a — the spiritual forces that guard the inner sanctum; in Kabbalistic teaching, one must be spiritually prepared and rectified to enter deeper levels of holiness — they are not merely obstacles but protective thresholds ] do not allow him in. And then he is sometimes compelled to turn back and go outside entirely — even outside the courtyard — in order to clarify and raise the holy sparks [ nitzutzos hak'dushah ] from the depths of the forces of impurity [ mé'imk'y hak'lipos ], which his sins had drawn down there. And then when he returns and clarifies and elevates and rectifies what he had damaged — then specifically at that point he will merit to enter inside, into the house. And in truth, this is an act of G‑d's compassion — that He did not decree upon him from the beginning that he must first clarify and rectify what he damaged, and only then begin to enter the courtyards of holiness. For if so, it would be exceedingly difficult for any person to draw close, because at the beginning he certainly has no strength to begin fighting such a battle — to clarify sparks from the depths of the forces of impurity — especially since he has not yet seen any spiritual light in his life, and has as yet no true longing for divine service. Therefore, in G‑d's compassion, He allows the person to enter divine service first — even though he has not yet rectified what he corrupted — until some [people] find themselves who have entered the gates of holiness and have come into the aspect of the courtyards of holiness. And then they long to enter the house of holiness — which is the ultimate goal. But they are not allowed to enter the house until they return and go outside to clarify the sparks from the depths of the forces of impurity — that is, until they go back through all the evil places they had been in at the beginning and return from them in peace. And this corresponds to the Torah portion of the Tamid and the K'tores [ Parshass haTamid uK'tores — the daily morning service in the Temple began with the Tamid (daily burnt offering) and the K'tores (incense offering), which were performed sequentially, moving from the outer altar inward to the innermost Sanctuary; this inward progression — and the purification required to enter each successive level — mirrors the spiritual journey described here ], as is brought within [in the main Likutay Halachos teaching]. And this also corresponds to what is brought in another place [ a reference to another teaching of Rebbe Nachman ] — that there is one [person] who is already at the very doorway of holiness and yet turns back — and this is on account of what was mentioned above: that he is not allowed into the innermost inner sanctum of holiness until he returns and clarifies the sparks from the depths of the forces of impurity — that is, until he goes back through all the evil places he had been in at the beginning and returns from them in peace. And therefore the simple-minded person [ peti — literally: the naïve, the simple one; not an insult, but a description of one who does not understand what is happening to him ] imagines at that time that he is being pushed away , G‑d forbid. Especially since this process sometimes requires a long delay — and all of it is according to the damage he caused and according to the level of ascent he needs to achieve. Therefore one who has no compassion upon himself and seeks, G‑d forbid, a pretext to withdraw from G‑d — imagines in his mind as though all hope is lost , G‑d forbid, from the intensity of the anguish of the soul that comes over him, when thoughts, desires, and imaginings again rise in his heart — things it seems to him he had been distant from for days or years already — and he thinks this is for the worse, G‑d forbid, to push him away entirely. But in truth, "G‑d intended it for good" [Genesis 50:20 — the words of Yosef to his brothers; what seemed like rejection and exile was, in truth, the path of salvation] — for this is his trial , and through this specifically comes his essential rectification. And even if sometimes he falls, G‑d forbid, into actually evil things through the intensity of the enticements that assault him when he needs to enter — even so, it is forbidden to despair of oneself , G‑d forbid, for the kindnesses of Hashem are never exhausted [ Lamentations 3:22 ]. And as long as he believes and is truly bound to the true Tzadikim — who are in the aspect of the master of the house [ rosh ha'bayis — the head/master of the inner house; the Tzadik who has truly entered the innermost sanctum and can draw others in after him ] — then he always has hope , and everything can be rectified and transformed for good through complete repentance. And this is the aspect of [the verse]: " Ashraï tivchar utkaraiv yishkon chatzerecha, nisb'ah b'tuv baisecha k'dosh heichalecha — Fortunate is he whom You choose and draw near to dwell in Your courtyards; may we be sated with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your Sanctuary" [ "Iniquities have prevailed over me — our transgressions You will atone for them" ] — " Norah b'tzedek… mivtach kol katzv'y eretz v'yam r'chokim — Awesome in righteousness… the trust of all the ends of the earth and the distant seas" [Psalms 65:4–6 — the full passage is cited here, including the bracketed verse about sin being atoned, showing the complete arc: drawing near → courtyards → house → atonement → trust for the entire world] , as all of this is explained within [in the main teaching]. (Source: Likutay Halachos, Laws of Dividing a Partnership — Hilchos Chalukos Shutfim , Halachah 5, sub-sections [ osios ] ו and ט — passages 6 and 9 of that Halachah.)