תּוֹרָה כט - הַאי גַּבְרָא דַּאֲזַל בָּעֵי אִתְּתָא

Torah 1177

Speech that is not heard and accepted is not called speech at all. And the rectification of speech so that it be heard and accepted is through praising the true Tzadikim. And this is the comprehensive rectification [tikun k'lali] for speech.

Likewise when speech lacks da'as, there is no good in it — and then it is not heard and accepted. And through praising the Tzadikim — through this da'as is elevated — and through this the good in speech is elevated. Then speech receives from da'as and has good in it. And all desire goodness — and therefore then the speech is heard and accepted.

And the rectification of speech — which is the aspect of malchus peh [the sovereignty of the mouth] — is the aspect of white garments [Ecclesiastes 9:8]. One must guard one's garments greatly — not to disgrace them — but to keep them properly from stains and filth. For the garments are the aspect of sovereignty — the aspect of the King of glory — for ""Rebbi Yochanan called his garments 'that which honours me'"" [Shabbos 113a]. And one who disgraces them is considered as one who rebels against the sovereignty — and then the law of the kingdom judges him. And the greater a person is, the more carefully he must guard his garments — for more is demanded of him. And therefore a Torah scholar on whose garments a stain is found — is liable to death, may the Merciful One spare us [Shabbos 117a].

And through not guarding the garments and having stains found upon them — through this one causes, G-d forbid, separation between the Holy One, blessed be He, and His "Shechinah". And then the evil maidservant — the wicked kingdom — rules, G-d forbid. And this causes menstrual blood [dam nidah], G-d forbid, to the "Shechinah" — through which one's livelihood comes only with toil and heaviness.

And the wicked through their sins — corresponding to the prohibitive commandments [lo sa'aseh] they transgress, G-d forbid — arouse and cause menstrual blood to the "Shechinah" — and cause separation between the Holy One, blessed be He, and His "Shechinah", G-d forbid. And to rectify all transgressions in detail they are very many and heavy for a person — and it is impossible to rectify them — for there are many nuances and particulars in every prohibition. Therefore one must perform the comprehensive rectification [tikun ha-k'lali] — which is the rectification of the bris — and through this all the prohibitions one has transgressed are automatically rectified. And even to the narrow and fine places where no rectification can reach — through the comprehensive rectification, rectifications are cast there as well.

And through the comprehensive rectification — which is the rectification of the bris — the minds [mochin] are elevated. For the primary rectification of da'as corresponds to the rectification of the bris. And the primary closeness of Israel to their Father in Heaven is through guarding and rectifying the bris.

And upon this depends livelihood without toil — for through the rectification of the bris one merits the aspect of "mann" — the aspect of bread from Heaven [lechem min ha-shomayim]. For laboured and heavy livelihood comes because one has not performed the comprehensive rectification (see holy Zohar, Part III, 244a).

And as long as the comprehensive rectification has not been performed — speech is bound in the aspect of: ""I was dumb with silence"" [Psalms 39:3] — for through this the "Shechinah" is in the aspect of menstrual blood, G-d forbid — from which blood comes the aspect of silence [dumiyah]. For the primary speech depends on the rectification of the bris — in the aspect of: ""and He declared to you His covenant"" [Deuteronomy 4:13]. And then it is impossible to speak and reveal Torah. And one who speaks then transgresses: ""you shall not go as a gossiper among your people"" [Leviticus 19:16] — which is one who goes as a gossiper, revealing secrets [Proverbs 11:13]. But through the comprehensive rectification speech is permitted — and one can open one's mouth with illuminating words of Torah.

And through blemishing the bris comes the falling sickness [choli nofel], may the Merciful One spare us. And through the rectification of the bris one is healed of the illness of falling.

And when the comprehensive rectification is not complete, one must distance oneself from drinking wine — for through this all transgressions come, G-d forbid. And it also harms one's livelihood — and one becomes impoverished. But one who merits the comprehensive rectification — on the contrary: it elevates his minds through drinking, and further rectifies the comprehensive rectification.

And one who does not conduct business in faithfulness — who is immersed in the desire for money and robs his fellow — through this he arouses and causes, G-d forbid, menstrual blood to the "Shechinah" in the aspect of blemishing the bris. And he has no livelihood, G-d forbid.

And this is the primary rectification of commerce: that in every step and every word spoken during commercial dealings, one's intention be to profit in order to give charity. And this is the aspect of the comprehensive rectification of commerce. For charity is the aspect of the totality of the sinews [k'laliyus ha-gidin] — in the aspect of: ""sow for yourselves in righteousness"" [Hosea 10:12] — in the aspect of the seed of "Gad" which is the white drop [tipah chivarta] [Tikunim 52b] — the aspect of the rectification of the bris. For through charity the minds are elevated — and one has livelihood.

And therefore through charity one can speak illuminating words of Torah — in the aspect of what our Sages of blessed memory said: ""in your mouth — this is charity"" [Rosh Hashonah 7a] — which is in the aspect of: ""and the Tzadik bestows and gives"" [Psalms 37:21] — the aspect of the bow of the covenant [keshes ha-bris] — the Tzadik who guards the bris.

And the general principle in all matters is thus: one must first rectify each thing through the comprehensive rectification belonging to it — in order to rectify and elevate the mind — to draw from there the whiteness [lavnunis] — to rectify and whiten all blemishes. And this is impossible except through the comprehensive rectification belonging to it — such as commerce through charity as above — for through this the minds are elevated. And through this everything is automatically rectified in particular. For through the comprehensive rectification of all matters one elevates the mind — from which all the whiteness flows — in the aspect of: ""and streams from Lebanon"" [Song of Songs 4:15] — "mi-livuna d'mocha" [from the whiteness of the brain] [holy Zohar, Part III, 235b]. And through this everything is automatically rectified in its particulars.

And a woman whose menstrual blood is abundant and has no regularity [vesset] — even though wine is harmful to her as it intensifies the blood (see §10) — even so her healing is through wine that a true Tzadik has gazed upon. For his holy eyes are the aspect of hairs [s'aros] — the aspect of the surplus of his holy minds [mosray mochin] — through which he draws down whiteness to whiten the above-mentioned blood — the aspect of menstrual blood — and through this she is rectified.

And the thought in the brain corresponds to the character traits in the person — for corresponding to the trait a person holds, so do the thoughts in the brain pass through him. And this is the aspect of: ""the seven locks of his head"" [Judges 16:19] — and they are the aspect of the minds [mochin] — for the hairs are the aspect of the surplus of the minds as above — the aspect of the seven traits that pass through the thought in the brain. And when the hairs are blemished — sight is blemished — which is the seven layers of the eye [shiv'ah gilday eina] [Introduction to Tikunim, 12]. And likewise the reverse: through rectifying the seven layers of the eye — the blemish of the seven locks of his head — which are the hairs — is rectified — in the aspect of the rectification of the minds as above.