Pekudei - Chumash with Likutey Halachos

And this is what the Sages, of blessed memory, said: “What is a k’rach? Any [city] that has ten batlanim.” “Batlanim” specifically — for they are called batlanim because their main perception is always from level to level, which one merits only through the aspect of “the nullification of the Torah is its fulfillment,” the aspect of “Ais la’asos la’Shem, haifairu Torasecha” — which is the aspect of Purim, as above. And therefore they are called batlanim. And they specifically know how to read the Megillah in its time, to attain the perception of Purim in its time. But relative to the villagers, who do not have ten batlanim and do not merit this perception of the city dwellers, as above — they [the city dwellers] can illuminate and read the Megillah for them even before Purim, as above. For each person has their own nishma and na’aseh according to their level, as above. And this is the aspect of: “v’ha’yamim ha’aileh nizkarim v’na’asim b’chol dor va’dor, mishpachah u’mishpachah, m’dinah u’m’dinah, v’ir va’ir” — meaning, that every family and every province and every city — each one merits on this day to receive the illumination of Purim, each and every one according to his level. For each one has na’aseh and nishma — which is the aspect of “nizkarim v’na’asim” — according to his level, etc., as above. Yud Daled

This is why the early authorities gave the mnemonic "PLG" — on whatever day Purim falls, Lag BaOmer will fall on the same day of the week — as recorded in the Shulchan Aruch. This = "Mi falag l'shetef te'alah" (Iyov 38:25). For thoughts = the aspect of hairs = called "shetef" [a torrent]. Rashi: each hair has its own follicle — if two hairs grew from one follicle, they would darken one's sight. So too in the Moach: two thoughts cannot exist simultaneously. This is the essential counsel: the instant even a hairsbreadth of another thought begins, one is saved from the evil thought. Do not engage it, do not look back — simply redirect: "Vayignov Yaakov al b'li higid lo." Through all this one merits Shavuos = Yom HaBikkurim [Day of the Firstfruits], when we read the Viduy Bikkurim: "Arami oveid avi" — "An Aramean sought to destroy my father" = Lavan HaArami, who sought to uproot everything through his evil thoughts. For the essential blemish of the Bris (the foundation of the entire Torah) comes through blemished thoughts. Through defeating Lavan's thoughts we give thanks and praise to Hashem — who brought us into Egypt's exile and took us out through the power of the Tzaddik (= Moshe Rabbeinu), who gives advice and strengthens the heart of Yisrael at every moment to flee and escape, even after whatever has already passed.

Part C (§§17–25)

And in this aspect one must perform the 39 melachos and commerce during the six days of activity — in the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon that one draws from Shabbos into the six weekdays — in the aspect of "and the work of his hands, may You favor" (Deuteronomy 33:11). For one must draw the illumination of the Ratzon onto the hands, which are the instruments of action of all the 39 melachos. And through this, specifically, "Hashem shall bless his substance" (ibid.) — for the essence of blessing comes from there, from the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon, from which comes the essence of parnasah, as mentioned above. And then all the melachah of the six weekdays is done by itself, in the aspect of the work of the Mishkan, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of "six days shall work be done" (Exodus 31:15) — "and on the seventh day is Shabbos." "Ta'aseh" [shall be done — in the passive] specifically — for through Shabbos one merits that the melachah is done by itself, as mentioned above. For the essence of the sustenance of all the six days of activity is through Shabbos — through the rest and cessation of Shabbos, through this comes the vitality, abundance, and sustenance of all the six days of activity. As it is written: "And G-d completed on the seventh day His work which He had done" (Genesis 2:2). And our Sages of blessed memory expounded: "What was the world lacking? Rest. Shabbos came, rest came — the work was completed and finished" (Bereishis Rabbah 10:9). For the essence of the sustenance of all the labors that Hashem, blessed be He, as it were, performed during the six days of Creation — all of it is only through the rest and cessation of Shabbos, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of "Vayechal" — vayechal being a language of ratzon [longing/will], as it is written: "My soul longed and was also consumed (kalsah)" (Psalms 84:3), and as it is written: "And the soul of David was consumed (vatechal)" (II Samuel 13:39). For the essence of the sustenance of the weekdays is only through the illumination of the Ratzon that shines on Shabbos, as mentioned above. And in this aspect a person must perform all the melachos and commerce during the six days of activity — to know and believe in truth that he does not do anything at all, rather everything is through the power of Hashem. As Hashem, blessed be He, warned us about this, as it is written: "Lest you eat and be sated… and you say in your heart: 'My strength and the might of my hand has made me this wealth'" (Deuteronomy 8:12–17) etc. For one must remember this very much — not to err and forget, G-d forbid, by saying in his heart that he himself does some act or work, G-d forbid. For this is the aspect of "my strength and the might of my hand has made" etc. Rather, one must remember Hashem, as it is written: "And you shall remember Hashem your G-d, for it is He Who gives you the power to make wealth" (Deuteronomy 8:18). For everything is through the power of Hashem alone. And the melachah is done by itself — in the aspect of "six days shall work be done" etc., as mentioned above — in the aspect of the work of the Mishkan. For all the 39 melachos are accomplished and blessed only through Shabbos, when there is the cessation of all the 39 melachos — through receiving then the illumination of the Ratzon, from which comes all parnasah — the aspect of "You open Your hand" etc., as mentioned above. For the hands are the instruments of action of all the 39 melachos. And it is impossible for the hands to draw parnasah through the 39 melachos except through receiving and being blessed from their root — that is, from the aspect of the hands that are in the Sea of Wisdom, from which comes the essence of parnasah — the aspect of "You open Your hand and satisfy every living being with ratzon", as mentioned above, and as explained in the aforementioned discourse. And this is the aspect of "Not in the strength of the horse does He delight, nor in the legs of a man does He take pleasure. Hashem takes pleasure in those who fear Him" (Psalms 147:10–11). For at first the psalm speaks about the drawing of abundance and parnasah, as it is written there previously: "He Who prepares rain for the earth" etc., "He gives the animal its bread" etc. And afterwards the verse explains that all this does not depend, G-d forbid, on human efforts. Rather, everything is through the will of Hashem alone. And this is: "Not in the strength of the horse does He delight, nor in the legs of a man does He take pleasure. Hashem takes pleasure in those who fear Him" — for the essence of abundance and parnasah is not through human exertion, G-d forbid, through the strength of the horse and the legs of a man — who goes and travels and exerts himself for the sake of parnasah. Rather, the essence of parnasah is through the illumination of the Ratzon that one draws from Shabbos into the six weekdays, as mentioned above. And this is "Hashem takes pleasure [rotzeh] in those who fear Him" — for the essence of parnasah is only through the illumination of the Ratzon, as mentioned above. And the essence of parnasah is received by Malchus, which is the aspect of yirah, from the aspect of the Supreme Ratzon — through the trust of each person — the aspect of "all of them look to You with hope" etc., as explained in the aforementioned discourse. And this is "Hashem takes pleasure in those who fear Him" — "those who fear Him," specifically — for the essence depends on yirah, as explained in the aforementioned discourse, that the essence of the illumination of son and student — through whom the Ratzon shines, from which Malchus receives the parnasah — everything depends on yirah — see there. And this is "those who hope for His lovingkindness" — that is, the fact that each person hopes for His lovingkindness and trusts in Hashem — through this specifically the yirah — the aspect of Malchus — ascends and receives the parnasah from the illumination of the Ratzon, which is the aspect of Shabbos, as mentioned above. For Shabbos is the aspect of yirah, the aspect of yareh Shabbos — for the essence of the illumination of son and student and the essence of parnasah are through yirah specifically, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of Shabbos Malkesah [the Shabbos Queen], etc., as mentioned above. — 5 — And this is why Hashem, blessed be He, cautioned about Shabbos before the work of the Mishkan — to teach that the work of the Mishkan does not override Shabbos, as our Sages of blessed memory said. For since the work of the Mishkan is only in the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon, as mentioned above, and the melachah was done by itself, as mentioned above — they could have erred and said that it overrides Shabbos, since they are not really doing anything at all, rather all the melachos are in the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon, as mentioned above. And therefore Hashem, blessed be He, warned us that we should not err in this. For even so, the work of the Mishkan does not override Shabbos, for Shabbos is higher than this — higher than the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon that is clothed within the aspect of the 39 melachos. For Shabbos is the aspect of complete bitul — the aspect of Ra'avah d'Ra'avin [the Will of Wills]. And then there is no work or activity at all. On the contrary — it is impossible to perform the aspect of the work of the Mishkan — that is, to perform all the 39 melachos in the aspect of Tal Oros, in the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon — except through Shabbos. That is, through the rest and cessation of Shabbos. For specifically through Shabbos — through resting then completely from melachah, and then meriting the illumination of the Ratzon in its completeness, as mentioned above — through this specifically one merits to draw the holiness of Shabbos into the six weekdays. That is, one draws the illumination of the Ratzon into all the weekday activities, into all the 39 melachos. And all the 39 melachos become included in the aspect of Tal Oros — which is the aspect of the work of the Mishkan. It emerges that it is impossible to perform the aspect of the work of the Mishkan etc., as mentioned above, except through Shabbos, etc., as mentioned above. And this is why He preceded Shabbos to the work of the Mishkan. And wherever the work of the Mishkan is mentioned, the prohibition of melachah on Shabbos is stated first — for the work of the Mishkan does not override Shabbos. On the contrary — it is impossible to perform the aspect of the work of the Mishkan — that is, that all the 39 melachos should be in the aspect of Tal Oros, in the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon — except through the sanctity of Shabbos, which is the aspect of the Will within all Wills, the aspect of Ra'avah d'Ra'avin, as mentioned above.

And in this aspect one must perform the 39 melachos and commerce during the six days of activity — in the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon that one draws from Shabbos into the six weekdays — in the aspect of "and the work of his hands, may You favor" (Deuteronomy 33:11). For one must draw the illumination of the Ratzon onto the hands, which are the instruments of action of all the 39 melachos. And through this, specifically, "Hashem shall bless his substance" (ibid.) — for the essence of blessing comes from there, from the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon, from which comes the essence of parnasah, as mentioned above. And then all the melachah of the six weekdays is done by itself, in the aspect of the work of the Mishkan, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of "six days shall work be done" (Exodus 31:15) — "and on the seventh day is Shabbos." "Ta'aseh" [shall be done — in the passive] specifically — for through Shabbos one merits that the melachah is done by itself, as mentioned above. For the essence of the sustenance of all the six days of activity is through Shabbos — through the rest and cessation of Shabbos, through this comes the vitality, abundance, and sustenance of all the six days of activity. As it is written: "And G-d completed on the seventh day His work which He had done" (Genesis 2:2). And our Sages of blessed memory expounded: "What was the world lacking? Rest. Shabbos came, rest came — the work was completed and finished" (Bereishis Rabbah 10:9). For the essence of the sustenance of all the labors that Hashem, blessed be He, as it were, performed during the six days of Creation — all of it is only through the rest and cessation of Shabbos, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of "Vayechal" — vayechal being a language of ratzon [longing/will], as it is written: "My soul longed and was also consumed (kalsah)" (Psalms 84:3), and as it is written: "And the soul of David was consumed (vatechal)" (II Samuel 13:39). For the essence of the sustenance of the weekdays is only through the illumination of the Ratzon that shines on Shabbos, as mentioned above. And in this aspect a person must perform all the melachos and commerce during the six days of activity — to know and believe in truth that he does not do anything at all, rather everything is through the power of Hashem. As Hashem, blessed be He, warned us about this, as it is written: "Lest you eat and be sated… and you say in your heart: 'My strength and the might of my hand has made me this wealth'" (Deuteronomy 8:12–17) etc. For one must remember this very much — not to err and forget, G-d forbid, by saying in his heart that he himself does some act or work, G-d forbid. For this is the aspect of "my strength and the might of my hand has made" etc. Rather, one must remember Hashem, as it is written: "And you shall remember Hashem your G-d, for it is He Who gives you the power to make wealth" (Deuteronomy 8:18). For everything is through the power of Hashem alone. And the melachah is done by itself — in the aspect of "six days shall work be done" etc., as mentioned above — in the aspect of the work of the Mishkan. For all the 39 melachos are accomplished and blessed only through Shabbos, when there is the cessation of all the 39 melachos — through receiving then the illumination of the Ratzon, from which comes all parnasah — the aspect of "You open Your hand" etc., as mentioned above. For the hands are the instruments of action of all the 39 melachos. And it is impossible for the hands to draw parnasah through the 39 melachos except through receiving and being blessed from their root — that is, from the aspect of the hands that are in the Sea of Wisdom, from which comes the essence of parnasah — the aspect of "You open Your hand and satisfy every living being with ratzon", as mentioned above, and as explained in the aforementioned discourse. And this is the aspect of "Not in the strength of the horse does He delight, nor in the legs of a man does He take pleasure. Hashem takes pleasure in those who fear Him" (Psalms 147:10–11). For at first the psalm speaks about the drawing of abundance and parnasah, as it is written there previously: "He Who prepares rain for the earth" etc., "He gives the animal its bread" etc. And afterwards the verse explains that all this does not depend, G-d forbid, on human efforts. Rather, everything is through the will of Hashem alone. And this is: "Not in the strength of the horse does He delight, nor in the legs of a man does He take pleasure. Hashem takes pleasure in those who fear Him" — for the essence of abundance and parnasah is not through human exertion, G-d forbid, through the strength of the horse and the legs of a man — who goes and travels and exerts himself for the sake of parnasah. Rather, the essence of parnasah is through the illumination of the Ratzon that one draws from Shabbos into the six weekdays, as mentioned above. And this is "Hashem takes pleasure [rotzeh] in those who fear Him" — for the essence of parnasah is only through the illumination of the Ratzon, as mentioned above. And the essence of parnasah is received by Malchus, which is the aspect of yirah, from the aspect of the Supreme Ratzon — through the trust of each person — the aspect of "all of them look to You with hope" etc., as explained in the aforementioned discourse. And this is "Hashem takes pleasure in those who fear Him" — "those who fear Him," specifically — for the essence depends on yirah, as explained in the aforementioned discourse, that the essence of the illumination of son and student — through whom the Ratzon shines, from which Malchus receives the parnasah — everything depends on yirah — see there. And this is "those who hope for His lovingkindness" — that is, the fact that each person hopes for His lovingkindness and trusts in Hashem — through this specifically the yirah — the aspect of Malchus — ascends and receives the parnasah from the illumination of the Ratzon, which is the aspect of Shabbos, as mentioned above. For Shabbos is the aspect of yirah, the aspect of yareh Shabbos — for the essence of the illumination of son and student and the essence of parnasah are through yirah specifically, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of Shabbos Malkesah [the Shabbos Queen], etc., as mentioned above. — 5 — And this is why Hashem, blessed be He, cautioned about Shabbos before the work of the Mishkan — to teach that the work of the Mishkan does not override Shabbos, as our Sages of blessed memory said. For since the work of the Mishkan is only in the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon, as mentioned above, and the melachah was done by itself, as mentioned above — they could have erred and said that it overrides Shabbos, since they are not really doing anything at all, rather all the melachos are in the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon, as mentioned above. And therefore Hashem, blessed be He, warned us that we should not err in this. For even so, the work of the Mishkan does not override Shabbos, for Shabbos is higher than this — higher than the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon that is clothed within the aspect of the 39 melachos. For Shabbos is the aspect of complete bitul — the aspect of Ra'avah d'Ra'avin [the Will of Wills]. And then there is no work or activity at all. On the contrary — it is impossible to perform the aspect of the work of the Mishkan — that is, to perform all the 39 melachos in the aspect of Tal Oros, in the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon — except through Shabbos. That is, through the rest and cessation of Shabbos.

For specifically through Shabbos — through resting then completely from melachah, and then meriting the illumination of the Ratzon in its completeness, as mentioned above — through this specifically one merits to draw the holiness of Shabbos into the six weekdays. That is, one draws the illumination of the Ratzon into all the weekday activities, into all the 39 melachos. And all the 39 melachos become included in the aspect of Tal Oros — which is the aspect of the work of the Mishkan. It emerges that it is impossible to perform the aspect of the work of the Mishkan etc., as mentioned above, except through Shabbos, etc., as mentioned above. And this is why He preceded Shabbos to the work of the Mishkan. And wherever the work of the Mishkan is mentioned, the prohibition of melachah on Shabbos is stated first — for the work of the Mishkan does not override Shabbos. On the contrary — it is impossible to perform the aspect of the work of the Mishkan — that is, that all the 39 melachos should be in the aspect of Tal Oros, in the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon — except through the sanctity of Shabbos, which is the aspect of the Will within all Wills, the aspect of Ra'avah d'Ra'avin, as mentioned above.

— 51 — And this is the aspect of the intensity of the miracle of Chanukah. For the wicked kingdom wished to make them forget Your Torah, etc. — and to destroy the Beis HaMikdash before its time. For they wished to uproot the holiness of Yisrael entirely, G-d forbid — through which the world would have reverted to chaos and void, for the world cannot endure without the Torah. For the Sitra Achra — the aspect of the wicked kingdom — saw and understood that this Second Temple would not endure and was destined to be destroyed. For even then, during its construction, their hand was strong over Yisrael. Therefore they wished to destroy it immediately, in order to intensify the darkness greatly — to darken, G-d forbid, the eyes of Yisrael, so that they would despair completely of the complete redemption. For the essential creation of the world was only for the sake of Yisrael, for the sake of the Torah, and for the sake of the Beis HaMikdash, as it is written: "In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth" [Genesis 1:1]. And our Sages of blessed memory said: "For the sake of 'reishis' — which is Yisrael, and the Torah, and the Beis HaMikdash — which are called 'reishis'", etc. But: "And the earth was tohu and vohu, and darkness upon the face of the deep" [Genesis 1:2] — which are the aspects of the four kingdoms, as our Sages of blessed memory expounded. And it is explained in their words, of blessed memory, that the wicked kingdom of Greece is the aspect of "darkness," and the kingdom of Edom — which is the present exile — is the aspect of "the deep" (t'hom). It emerges that the wicked kingdom of Greece that ruled then is the aspect of "darkness upon the face of the deep" — the darkness that covers the face of the deep, which is this exile that is compared to a deep. And when one falls into a deep in broad daylight, it is already very bitter and difficult to ascend; how much more so when the darkness intensifies over the face of the deep! And this was the intent of the wicked kingdom of Greece then — which is the aspect of the darkness upon the face of the deep — who wished to intensify the darkness greatly, to join the exiles together, that the Temple should be destroyed immediately, so that the darkness would overpower the face of the deep, so that Yisrael would not be able to ascend and emerge, G-d forbid.