תּוֹרָה כד - אֶמְצָעִיתָא דְּעָלְמָא

Torah 781

Know: there is a light that is above souls, spirits, and neshomos — and it is the light of the "Ein Sof", blessed be He [the Infinite]. And even though the intellect cannot attain it — even so, the pursuit of thought runs after it [r'difah d'machshavah l'mirdaf avasreh]. And through performing the commandments with joy, one merits to attain it through the pursuit and the obstacle [ha-m'akev] — in the aspect of "matei v'lo matei" [reaching yet not reaching]. And the nine heichalos [palaces] are formed — which are neither lights nor spirits nor neshomos — and no one can stand within them — and they cannot be attached to or known. Fortunate is one who merits that his thought pursue to attain these attainments — even though the intellect has no power to grasp them — for "lo misda'bkin v'lo yedi'in" [they cannot be attached to or known]. And this attainment is the purpose of everything — in the aspect of the ultimate purpose of knowledge — which is to know that we do not know.

Through the joy of the commandments, holiness is completed — and the life-force and holiness within the husks [klippos] is elevated. And therefore when one performs the commandments with joy, the "Shechinah" is elevated from amid the husks.

One must distance oneself from sadness [atzvus] very greatly — for the husks are the aspect of sadness — and they are the strength of harsh judgment [tukpa d'dina]. And when sadness prevails, this is the aspect of the exile of the "Shechinah" — who is the joy of Israel — as it is written: ""a joyful mother of children"" [Psalms 113:9]. And the primary nullification of the husks and the elevation of holiness is through the above-mentioned joy.

And through the "ketores" [incense] the life-force within the husks is elevated — and one merits joy — as it is written: ""and incense gladdens the heart"" [Proverbs 27:9]. Therefore one must recite the passage of the "ketores" with great concentration — for the primary elevation of all the holy sparks from the depths of the husks is through the "ketores". And through this one merits joy as above.

When a person performs some commandment, the commandment has the power to go forth and arouse all the worlds to the service of Hashem Yisborach. And through this, blessing is drawn to all the worlds. And the primary blessing that flows from Above is intellect — and when it descends below, it becomes for each person according to his desire. Therefore one who possesses true soul must direct his desire to draw the blessing of intellect [birchas ha-sechel] — and must draw faith into the blessing of intellect — for one cannot rely on intellect alone, as is known.

And within the blessings that are drawn through the commandments, the power that settles and arranges the minds [mochin] is blessed from them — in the aspect of Keser [Crown] — the language of waiting — as it is written: ""wait for me a little"" [Job 36:2]. For when someone is asked a question requiring some wisdom, he says: wait until I collect myself [es'yashev]. And there too faith is needed.

And this power — the aspect of Keser — stands before the minds [mochin] like a partition — and delays them in their pursuit. For the minds pursue to attain the light of the "Ein Sof", blessed be He — and this power — which settles and arranges — intervenes between the minds and the light of the "Ein Sof". And through the pursuit and the obstacle — through these two aspects together — the minds strike against the above-mentioned partition — which is the settling power — when it acts and rectifies it [the Keser] properly. And through this the nine heichalos are made — through which the light of the "Ein Sof" is attained in the aspect of "matei v'lo matei" [reaching yet not reaching] — meaning: pursuing and reaching to attain — yet even so not quite reaching and grasping. And the nine heichalos are formed through the minds being included one within another from their pursuit and their striking against the above-mentioned obstacle. For the minds are three — and each one becomes comprised of three — and three times three is nine — the nine heichalos as above. And all of this is merited through performing the commandment with joy as above.

And the primary elevation of holiness is through joy — and in the future the husks will be entirely nullified through the abundance of joy. And Israel will leave the exile with joy — as it is written: ""for with joy you shall go forth"" [Isaiah 55:12]. And through the nations themselves — and against their will — the husks will be nullified. For the nations themselves, with their own hands, will bring the House of Israel from exile — through the abundance of joy — as it is written: ""then the nations will say etc.: we were joyful"" [Psalms 126:2–3] — speedily in our days, Amen, so may it be His will.