תּוֹרָה כב - חוֹתָם בְּתוֹךְ חוֹתָם

Torah 1358

There are Tzadikim of the following kind — who are in the aspect of limudey Hashem [those who teach Hashem] — meaning: they learn, as it were, with Hashem Himself — giving Him counsel. And they go on His mission to Israel to rebuke them and return them to Hashem Yisborach. And for this reason they are called "raglim" [feet] — on account of the counsel — as Rashi explains [Exodus 11:8]: ""the people who are at your feet"" — meaning those who go after your counsel. And on account of the above-mentioned going. And when Hashem Yisborach decrees a decree upon the world — and the decree must be a Torah judgment — and since they are, as it were, the learners of Hashem — Hashem Yisborach takes counsel with them and reveals to them the Torah judgment that has been decreed upon the generation. And they conceal this Torah judgment and seal it — in the aspect of: ""a sealed spring"" [Song of Songs 4:12] — so that the external forces should not suck from it — that it should not become, G-d forbid, a cruel judgment. And they — when the Torah judgment is revealed to them — go and rebuke the generation in order to return them to the right path and sweeten the judgment. And even during the rebuke they are careful to seal and conceal — so that the external forces should not suck from it, G-d forbid. And for this reason they are in the aspect of a seal — the seal of the feet — the inner seal. And these limudey Hashem who rebuke the generation increase peace in the world — as it is written: ""and all your children are learners of Hashem"" etc. [Isaiah 54:13] — for they go to reconcile and make peace between Israel and their Father in Heaven, may He be blessed.

And it is impossible to receive rebuke and moral instruction from the true rebukers as above — except through faith [emunah]. For faith is the aspect of hands — to receive the moral instruction through them. And this is the seal above the above-mentioned seal — that is, the seal of the hands — the outer seal. And one needs great guarding that this seal not be corrupted — that is, faith. For through its corruption, G-d forbid, the external forces could corrupt the above-mentioned inner seal. And then the peace of the world would be corrupted, G-d forbid. And through the corruption of faith, G-d forbid, one comes to heresy and false beliefs and many kinds of mockery — and one does not hear the above-mentioned moral instruction at all. And through the corruption of this rebuke and moral instruction, exiles and upheavals come — and dispute is created in the world — the opposite of the above-mentioned peace. Thus faith is the primary element — the primary seal of the upper holiness — and it is the totality of holiness. And then one hears and receives the above-mentioned moral instruction — and returns to Hashem — and He will have compassion upon him. Thus all holiness is preserved through faith. [And it is sealed in the aspect of a seal within a seal.]

And it is impossible to come to these shepherds and to draw close to holiness — except through holy boldness [azus d'k'dushah] — as our Sages of blessed memory said: ""be bold as a leopard"" [Avos, chapter 5]. And as it is written: ""You have led in Your strength to Your holy dwelling"" [Exodus 15:13]. For there are shepherds of the Other Side — and they too are the prominent figures of the generation — and they compel people to come under their dominion. And the primary source of their power is through brazenness [azus] — for ""brazenness is kingship without a crown"" [Sanhedrin 105a]. And they are like dogs in their brazenness — and they are the ""face of the generation is like the face of a dog"" [Sotah 49b] — in the aspect of: ""the dogs are brazen in spirit — they are shepherds"" [Isaiah 56:11]. And therefore it is impossible to be saved from them and from under their dominion — except by having very great boldness to stand against their evil brazenness — with a forehead firm against their forehead. And likewise it is impossible to be saved from all obstructors, opponents, and adversaries — and to draw close to the truth — except through holy boldness [azus d'k'dushah]. (See also Shulchan Aruch §1.)

And likewise a person needs holy boldness against himself — that is, against the brazenness of the body, which is so bold and strong in desires and has no shame before Hashem Yisborach. And through the brazenness of the body, the soul cannot lean upon and draw close to the body — to make known to it the attainments it attains. [For it could become ensnared in the strength of the brazenness of the body with its desires.] For certainly the soul of every person always sees and attains very exalted things — but the body knows nothing of them at all — because it is far from it due to the body's brazenness in desires. And every person must have very great compassion on the flesh of his body — to strive to purify it and break its evil brazenness of desires — so that through this the soul can draw close to the body and reveal to it something of every illumination and every attainment it attains — so that the body too should know of it. Therefore one needs holy boldness to stand against the brazenness of the body. And holy boldness is the aspect of holy voices [kolos d'k'dushah]. For all voices — whether the voice of crying out, the voice of a sigh, the voice of the shofar, the voice of song, the voice of true Tzadikim, and all other holy voices — all of them are in the aspect of holy boldness. And even the sound of the clinking of charity coins — this voice too is the aspect of holy boldness. And through them the brazenness of the body is broken.

And the primary selfhood of a person — what is called within a person "I" — is the soul, which is the essence that endures forever. But it is far from his flesh and body because of the body's brazenness in its desires as above. And when one breaks the brazenness of the body as above, the soul can draw close to the body — for it will not be ensnared in its pleasures. And therefore the soul can then return through the pleasures of the body to its own level — for its pleasures. And this is good for the soul — which sometimes falls from its level. And when the body is pure and luminous, the soul can exalt itself and return to its level through the pleasures of the body. And also through the imprints [r'shimos] upon the body left by the illuminations the soul shone upon it previously — the soul can now remember and ascend and return to its level. And this is the aspect of: ""from my flesh I shall behold G-d"" [Job 19:26] — ""from my flesh"" specifically — meaning a person should see from his body and flesh the exalted attainments that the soul always attains as above. And through the voice of a sigh — which is the aspect of holy boldness as above — the brazenness of the body is broken. And then the essence [etzem] draws close and attaches to the flesh — that is, the soul to the body. And this is: ""from the voice of my sighing, my bone has cleaved to my flesh"" [Psalms 102:6].

And likewise in the generality of people there is the aspect of bone and flesh. For the true wise man is in the aspect of bone — the aspect of soul — for the people who are below him. And when they are in the aspect of flesh to him — they hear the voice of his sigh — which is his voice — and it breaks their body. And through this he can draw close to them in the aspect of: ""from the voice of my sighing etc."" as above. But sometimes, G-d forbid, the brazenness of the Other Side prevails — in the particular and in the general. And then the true wise man is far from them and cannot illuminate them — and reveal to them his wondrous attainments. For through this the people are not attached to the wise man as flesh to bone. And likewise the body is so far from the soul that it is not in the aspect of flesh to the bone — and does not hear the voice at all — even when sighing and crying out to Hashem Yisborach. For from its great distance it only hears the sound of the resonance [kol ha-havorah] — and does not merit to break its bodily brazenness through this. And likewise the brazenness of the people is not broken through the voice of the sigh and rebuke of the true wise man — for they only hear the sound of the resonance. For when a holy voice is aroused, a voice of the Other Side is aroused against it — and it is the sound of resonance through which sins are aroused and cry out with accusations, G-d forbid. And for this, attendance [shimush] is needed — to serve the wise man — so that through this one becomes in the aspect of flesh to the wise man — attached to him. And through this one will merit to hear his voice — until through this the brazenness of the Other Side is nullified. And likewise: through the body serving the soul through practical commandments, the body becomes the aspect of flesh to the bone which is the soul — and hears the voice of its own sigh and cry to Hashem Yisborach. And merits through this to break the brazenness of its body as above. And through all this one merits to come to the completeness of faith — which is the totality of holiness — received from the true Tzadikim of the generation.

And to come to the above-mentioned holy boldness is through joy [simchah]. For the primary boldness and strengthening of a person to draw close to the service of Hashem Yisborach is through joy and gladness — in the aspect of: ""for the joy of Hashem is your strength"" [Nehemiah 8:10].

And to merit joy is through Torah and prayer — which are in the aspect of "na'aseh" [we will do] in the aspect of the revealed, and "nishma" [we will hear] in the aspect of the hidden — in the aspect of: ""and eternal joy upon their head"" [Isaiah 51:11] — the two crowns that were given on the head of each and every one of Israel at the moment they said "na'aseh v'nishma" — as our Sages of blessed memory said [Shabbos 88a].

And every person has the aspect of the revealed [nigleh] and the hidden [nistar] — which are the aspects of Torah and prayer. And every person must ascend each time from level to level and from world to world — until one merits each time a higher aspect of "na'aseh v'nishma". That what was for him in the aspect of "nishma" [hidden] — the aspect of prayer — should become the aspect of "na'aseh" [revealed] — the aspect of Torah for him. And then he has a new higher "nishma". And so from level to level. And one must learn Torah and multiply prayer to Hashem Yisborach — until Hashem Yisborach reveals to him what is hidden from him — and the hidden becomes revealed. And then one should pray further — until what is yet higher and more hidden is also revealed. And so each time one goes from level to level — ever higher — to seek each time from Hashem Yisborach to attain what is yet more hidden. Until one reaches the primordial point of Creation — which is the beginning of "Atzilus" [Emanation]. And there too there is the aspect of "na'aseh v'nishma". And the "na'aseh" that exists there is the Torah of Hashem in truth — for in every world and level, "the Torah of Hashem" is only in the borrowed sense — only because it is hidden from one is it called "the Torah of Hashem." But when one comes to that level — it becomes one's Torah. However, the "nishma" at the beginning of "Atzilus" — that is the Torah of Hashem in truth — for there is nothing higher — only the Torah of Hashem literally. And then afterwards one is included in the "Ein Sof", blessed be He. And then one's "na'aseh" is literally the Torah of Hashem — and the "nishma" is the aspect of the prayer of Hashem — and one's Torah is literally the Torah of Hashem, and one's prayer is literally the prayer of Hashem. For there is the Torah of Hashem — as our Sages of blessed memory said: ""I observed it first"" [Yerushalmi Bikkurim and Rosh Hashonah]. And likewise the prayer of Hashem — as our Sages of blessed memory said [Berachos 6a]: whence do we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, prays? — as it is said: ""I will bring them to My holy mountain etc."" [Isaiah 56:7]. And through this path one merits joy as above.

But the primary completeness of joy is through awe [yir'ah] — for ""rejoice with trembling"" is written [Psalms 2:11]. And awe is in the aspect of shame [bushah] — that one is in awe of and ashamed before Hashem Yisborach — lest one sin, G-d forbid — as our Sages of blessed memory said [Nedarim 20a]. For shame is a very great virtue — and this is: "Bereishis" [In the beginning] — the initials of: "yarei boshet" [one who is in awe is ashamed] [Tikunim, Tikun 2]. And it is in the aspect of prayer — the aspect of: ""a woman who fears Hashem — she shall be praised"" [Proverbs 31:30]. For the primary prayer is merited through awe and shame — praying with complete intention [kavonah]. And prayer with complete kavonah encompasses everything. [For the primary completeness of prayer — praying with complete kavonah — is merited through awe and shame before Hashem Yisborach. And through this one merits all the above: joy and holy boldness — through which one enters into holiness — to draw close to true Tzadikim and receive from them completeness of faith. And through this one merits hands to receive moral instruction from true rebukers [meaning: since one has faith in Tzadikim, one will receive their rebuke even when delivered in a way that seems dishonouring]. And through this exiles and disputes are nullified from the world — and peace is made between Israel and their Father in Heaven. And holiness is sealed in the aspect of a seal within a seal. And all of this is merited through prayer.]

"Bereishis" — this is the primordial utterance [ma'amar] [holy Zohar, Parashas Trumah, Sifra D'Tzni'usa, chapter 5] — and it is in the aspect of a complete utterance [ma'amar sholaim]. And therefore faith is called "Yerushalayim" [Jerusalem] — on account of its primary building being from "bereishis" — "yarei boshet" [one who is in awe is ashamed] — which is the aspect of "yir'ah sholaim" [complete awe] — a complete utterance. It thus follows that its primary building is through the aspect of awe — which is the complete utterance — the aspect of prayer — through which one merits all the above and joy. And through this one merits boldness — and through this one draws close to the shepherds — through which one merits faith — which is Jerusalem — ""a faithful city"" [Isaiah 1:21].

But when one wishes to go out and ascend from level to level, one needs a descent before the ascent — for the descent is the very purpose of the ascent [t'chlis ha-aliyah]. And this is: ""and this stumbling block"" etc. [Isaiah 3:6] — these are words of Torah, for ""a person cannot stand upon the words of Torah unless he has stumbled through them"" [Gittin 43a]. And the stumbling is the descent. And from this every person can understand how much he must strengthen himself in the service of Hashem — and never fall in his mind from any of the falls and descents in the world. Rather he must strengthen and fortify himself to pay no attention to this in any manner whatsoever — even if whatever happens happens to him. And then he will merit in the end that all the descents turn into great ascents — for the descent is the very purpose of the ascent. And there is much to say on this — for every person who has fallen to wherever he has fallen imagines that these things are not being said about him but only about those who are great in level and who ascend from level to level each time. But in truth know and believe that all these things are said even about the smallest of the small and the worst of the worst — for Hashem Yisborach is always good to all.

Through pride [gadlus] one falls into captivity [t'fisah] — as our Sages of blessed memory said [Megillah 17a].

The quality of brazenness [azus] is a very, very evil quality — for ""a brazen person goes to Gehinnom"" [Avos, chapter 5] — if it is not for the sake of holiness. And all the more so when one acts brazen toward those who fear Hashem and the like. And all the punishments of all things Avraham Avinu exchanged for the subjugation of kingdoms [see Midrash Rabbah, Lech-Lecha, Parshas 42] — but the punishment of brazenness remained only in Gehinnom. Yet you must know: just as brazenness is a very evil quality — so too does a person specifically need holy boldness [azus d'k'dushah] — in order to be able to stand against the brazen ones of every generation who prevent one from drawing close to the true Tzadik and from entering into holiness. For it is impossible to enter into holiness except through boldness — as our Sages of blessed memory said: ""The Torah was given to Israel only because they are bold"" [Beitzah 25a]. (See also §147.)

The rectification of the two above-mentioned seals — which are the seal within a seal — is accomplished on Yom Kippur and Hoshana Rabbah, as is known. And all of this is through the holy voices [kolos d'k'dushah] — for then Israel cry out voices. And therefore "Tishrei" has the numerical value of two times "chosam" [seal] together with the two words [of the phrase]. And it is called "yerach ha-eysanim" [the month of the mighty ones] [I Kings 8:2] — from the language of strength and boldness. And then they blow the shofar — and the sound of the blowings is also the aspect of holy boldness — through which the brazenness of the Other Side is broken in the particular and in the general as above. And likewise all holy voices. And therefore in Tishrei is the joy of Israel — for holy boldness comes through joy as above — as it is written: ""for the joy of Hashem is your strength"" [Nehemiah 8:10]. And this verse itself was said regarding Rosh Hashonah.

A person must be very ashamed before Hashem Yisborach — not to act against His will, G-d forbid — and certainly not to commit any sin or transgression, G-d forbid. And if he does not draw holy shame upon himself in this world, he will be shamed in the World to Come — which is harder than all punishments. For the pain of shame in the future will be very, very great — and it is harder even than the bitter punishment of Gehinnom, may Hashem protect us. And even every Tzadik will be ashamed before his fellow who is greater than him in level — and our Sages of blessed memory said regarding this: ""Woe for that shame! Woe for that humiliation!"" [Bava Basra 75a]. All the more so and infinitely more so — how those who sin, G-d forbid, will be shamed — and it is impossible to imagine in this world the magnitude of the pain and bitterness of that shame in the World to Come, may the Merciful One spare us. But when one merits the above-mentioned holy shame in this world — through this one merits prayer and joy and holy boldness — and to draw close and be included among the true Tzadikim — and to receive from them faith in the ultimate completeness as above.

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