תּוֹרָה מט - לַשֶּׁמֶשׁ שָׂם אֹהֶל בָּהֶם

Torah 1142

Every one of Israel is a portion of G-d from Above — and the primary divinity is in the heart. And the divinity in the heart of a Jewish person is the aspect of "Ein Sof" [without end] — for the light of its flame is without end — that is, there is no limit and no end to its longing. And given the greatness of the blazing of the heart of a Jewish person — which is without end — it would have been impossible for him to perform any service — and he could not have revealed any good quality. For from the greatness of his blazing without end he cannot do anything at all. And this is the aspect of what occurred at the beginning of Creation — that there was no room for Creation — for everything was "Ein Sof" Blessed be He. And the Holy One, blessed be He, desired that His sovereignty be revealed. And this cannot be attained except through the attributes [midos] — which are the worlds — through which His divinity is attained and it is known that there is a Lord, Ruler, and Guide. Therefore He contracted His infinite light to the sides — and an empty void [chalal panui] remained — and within it He created the worlds. Therefore every person must necessarily contract the flame-light of his heart — which is without end — so that he can serve Hashem Yisborach in a graduated and measured way. For Hashem Yisborach desires our service to be through good attributes — through which His sovereignty, may He be blessed, is revealed.

And when one contracts the blazing of his heart so it does not burn too intensely — then an empty void remains in the heart — in the aspect of: ""and my heart is hollow within me"" [Psalms 109:22]. And within it his good attributes are revealed — which is the secret of the creation of the worlds that were within the empty void as above. And the primary creation was through wisdom — as it is written: ""all of them You made with wisdom"" [Psalms 104:24]. And this is the aspect of the primary service of Hashem: to merit good attributes and good deeds — which is through guarding the wisdom in the heart — that is, the thoughts of the heart. For this is the primary of the impulses — as it is written: ""and every impulse of his heart's thoughts"" [Genesis 6:5]. Therefore the heart is the sculptor [tzayar] of the attributes — that is, the wisdom in the heart — the aspect of: ""rock of my heart"" [Psalms 73:26] (see Berachos 10a) — in the aspect of: ""vayitzer"" [and He formed] with two "yuds" [Berachos 61a] — formation for good and for evil — the aspect of two impulses. That is: good thoughts are the good impulse and evil thoughts are the evil impulse. Therefore all a person's rectification and corruption, G-d forbid, depend entirely on guarding the thought in the heart (and see above §35).

And when one guards himself from evil thoughts — and thinks good thoughts in his heart about how to serve Hashem Yisborach — through this his heart becomes in the aspect of ""rock of my heart"" as above — and in the aspect of ""and my heart is hollow within me"" as above. And he merits to perform good deeds and good attributes that are revealed within the void. And through this it is revealed that he accepts upon himself the complete yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven.

And when the heart is in the aspect of "v'libi chalal" as above — then his heart is open in wisdom. And through this he rectifies Creation — which is through wisdom as above — through good thoughts. And through thinking evil thoughts — G-d forbid — which are the foolishness of the heart — the aspect of: ""the foreskin of your heart"" — Onkelos translates: ""the foolishness of your hearts"" [Deuteronomy 10:16] — he thereby blocks the heart. And through this he blocks the aspect of the void of Creation — which is through wisdom — and corrupts it — and it is as if he destroyed the world. And when he thinks good thoughts — this is the aspect of rectifying Creation. And through purifying the heart and driving evil thoughts from it — and thinking good thoughts — he will merit to renew the act of Creation and to perform miracles in the world. And this is the aspect of: ""he who wishes to pour a wine libation upon the altar — let him fill the throats of Torah scholars with wine"" [Yoma 71a] — for their throats are the aspect of the hollow foundations [shisim] that are hollowed and open to the deep [Sukkah 49a]. And that is the aspect of ""and my heart is hollow within me"" — for "tehom" [the deep] is the heart and the windpipe [Zohar]. And the deep is the aspect of miracles — for at a miraculous thing everyone is astounded — the aspect of ""and all the city was astounded [va-teihom]"" [Ruth 1:19]. Therefore the Tzadik — whose heart is open in wisdom — in the aspect of "v'libi chalal b'kirbi" as above — the aspect of "tzur l'vavi" [rock of my heart] — through this he can renew the act of Creation and perform miracles. As it is written: ""and in His goodness He renews each day constantly the act of Creation."" ""In His goodness"" — this is the Tzadik who is called "good" [tov] — as it is written: ""say of the Tzadik that he is good"" [Isaiah 3:12]. For our Sages of blessed memory said: the masterwork of the Craftsman — these are the hollow foundations that are open etc. [Sukkah there] — and this is the aspect of the mastercraft of the Holy One, blessed be He — which is the aspect of the creation of the world — the aspect of the heart of the Tzadik as above. (And see above §41 — for the wine libation is the aspect of nullifying the judgments — which is the aspect of miracles — which are the change and nullification of nature [teva] [whose numerical value is "Elokim"] — and through wine the void of the heart is opened — in the aspect of ""and my heart is hollow"" etc. — the aspect of "wine and fragrance open the mind" [Yoma 75a].)

And this is the aspect of: ""and to serve Him with all your heart"" [Deuteronomy 11:13] — ""what is the service of the heart? — this is prayer"" [Ta'anis 2a]. For the primary prayer depends on the heart — that one places all his heart upon it — that is, one binds his thought well to the words of prayer — so his heart is not distant from the words — but he hears well what he is saying. And through this the sovereignty of Hashem Yisborach is revealed and increased — and the wicked kingdom falls — and great vitality and blessing and wealth flow to Israel without measure. And through this the upper unification and the lower unification are made. And one merits the revelation of "Oraisa d'Atika Stima'a" [the Torah of the Ancient Concealed One]. For prayer is the aspect of the sovereignty of David — as it is written: ""and I am prayer"" [Psalms 109:4]. And prayer in the heart is the aspect of the revelation of His sovereignty within the empty void (of the heart).

And this is the aspect of the letter "heh" [ה]. For when one blocks his heart with foolishness — ""there is no poor person except one lacking in knowledge"" [Nedarim 41a] — then he is in the aspect of poverty — the aspect of "dalet" [ד]. And when one sanctifies his thought — and ""there is no holiness less than ten"" [Zohar Part II, 129a] — this is the aspect of "yud" that draws into the "dalet" — making it into a "heh" [ה = ד + י]. The aspect of: ""she is the one who ascends"" [Leviticus 6:2] — the aspect of: ""who is this one ascending"" [Song of Songs 8:5] — "mi" together with "zos" ascending — which raises the upper house and the lower house through the raising of prayer — the aspect of sovereignty — the aspect of Jerusalem — the aspect of the lower house — that the Holy One, blessed be He, comes into the Jerusalem Above through the building of the Jerusalem Below — the aspect of prayer [Ta'anis 5a]. And both are the aspect of the upper unification and the lower unification — the aspect of spring [aviv] called Nisan — when the Tabernacle was erected — and in it the House will be inaugurated in the future [Ezekiel 45:18] (corresponding to the two above-mentioned houses) — "alef" with "beis" — "yud" with "beis".

And through this the song will be aroused in the future — as it is written: ""the song shall be yours as on the night a festival is hallowed"" [Isaiah 30:29]. (For prayer is the aspect of faith — and it is written: ""and they believed in His words — they sang His praise"" [Psalms 106:12] (see "Sha'aray Tziyon", Gate 3). That on the night of Pesach they will sing a simple, double, triple, and fourfold song — and these are the ten types of melody — the aspect of "heh" — which is "dalet" with "yud". And this is through the revelation of His sovereignty — in the aspect of song — the aspect of "Sarah" — that rules over the entire world [Berachos 13a] — the aspect of the sovereignty of David — which is the aspect of the sweet singer of Israel [II Samuel 23:1] — the aspect of the Sukkah of David — which must be raised up [Amos 9:11]. And the "Sukkah" is the aspect of "Sarah" — for she sheltered with the holy spirit [Megillah 14a] — the aspect of sovereignty — the aspect of prayer. That one raises it and lifts it from lowness and smallness — the aspect of: ""the lesser light"" [Genesis 1:16] — the aspect of: ""her counsel falls"" [Sanhedrin 22a] — to greatness — the aspect of: ""the greater lights"" [Genesis 1:16]. And then one merits complete counsel and complete teshuvah.

For this is the aspect of teshuvah — the letters of "tashuv-heh" [the "heh" returns] — to make from "dalet" a "heh". And the primary teshuvah depends on the heart — as it is written: ""and his heart understands — and he returns"" [Isaiah 6:10] — that is, through the thought in the heart. That one strengthens himself to flee from evil thoughts and to think good thoughts at all times. To place well in his heart what his final end will be — and to think strategies and devices of how he will merit to return to Hashem Yisborach. And through this he will merit teshuvah. And through this he will merit to attain and reach "Oraisa d'Atika Stima'a" — the inner secrets of Torah — which are the primary delight of the World to Come — the aspect of the delight of Shabbos. And Shabbos is the aspect of teshuvah — as it is written: ""and you shall return to Hashem your G-d"" [Deuteronomy 30:2]. And it is stated in the Tikunim [Tikun 21, 41a]: and it is called "kabbalah" [receiving/tradition] when it is between the two arms of the King. And the two arms are Nisan and Tishray — and they are days of teshuvah. For in Nisan they will be redeemed in the future [Rosh Hashonah 11a] — and there is no redemption except through teshuvah — as it is written: ""and a redeemer shall come to Tzion — and to those who return from transgression"" etc. [Isaiah 59:20]. That is: the primary knowledge of the secrets of Torah — which is the wisdom of Kabbalah — will be in the future through teshuvah.

And this is the aspect of "tzitzis" — that is, the aspect of "t'cheles" [blue thread]. (Explanation: the primary commandment of "tzitzis" is through "t'cheles" — as brought in "Likutay Halachos", Laws of "Tzitzis", law 5, note 3 — and see tractate Sotah 17a and Chulin 89a — that they merited the thread of "t'cheles" — and Rashi explains: for "tzitzis" etc.) [See Sifri, Parshas Sh'lach: ""and you shall see it"" — this tells that whoever fulfils the commandment of "tzitzis" etc. — that the "t'cheles" resembles the sea — and in the Gemara: Rebbi Yochanan wrapped himself with "t'cheles" etc. — and likewise many.] — ""that devours everything and destroys everything"" [Zohar Part I, 51a] — which is the revelation of the holy sovereignty. Through this the sovereignty of the Other Side is subdued and nullified. And Israel who cleave to the holy sovereignty receive their vitality from there — for from there comes the primary vitality — the aspect of ""Dovid King of Israel — lives and endures"" [Rosh Hashonah 25a]. For "t'cheles" is the aspect of ""and Dovid's soul yearned"" [II Samuel 13:39] — and the aspect of "kallah" [bride] — the aspect of ""it makes a complete end among the nations"" [Jeremiah 30:11] — "d'achlei kola v'sh'tzay kola" [that devours everything and destroys everything]. And from there comes melody — the aspect of ""from the edge of the earth we heard songs"" [Isaiah 24:16] — ""from the edge [kanaf]"" specifically — which is the aspect of "t'cheles" (as it is written: ""the corner — a thread of t'cheles""). And this is the aspect of "heh" — which is "dalet" with "yud" — "dalet" = the aspect of four corners — "yud" = the aspect of ten types of melody — the aspect of the above-mentioned song. And the primary power of the "kallah" — the aspect of "t'cheles" — she receives from the aspect of ""the mother lends her vessels to the daughter"" [Zohar Part I, 2a] — for from "Binah" is the root of the judgments through which they are sweetened. And through this — from "dalet" a "heh" is made — and from it great blessing and wealth flow without measure. And through guarding the commandment of "tzitzis" one merits all the above.

And this is the explanation of: ""for the sun He has set a tent among them"" [Psalms 19:5]. The Tzadik is called sun — as it is written: ""and the sun shines"" [Ecclesiastes 1:5]. And his shining — that is, his attainment — is only through Israel. As our Sages of blessed memory said on the verse: ""go down"" etc. [Exodus 32:7]: ""did I give you greatness for any purpose other than for Israel"" etc. [Berachos 32a]. And this is: ""a tent among them"" — "ohel" is the language of shining — the language of: ""when His candle shone [b'hilo]"" [Job 29:2] — "bahem" — through Israel. And when they enter — G-d forbid — into the external wisdoms of the nations — then the Tzadik falls from his attainment — and his attainment becomes covered and concealed. And when Israel depart from the wisdom of the nations — then the Tzadik emerges from the covering and concealment that was upon him until now — in the aspect of [Psalms 19:6]: ""and he is like a groom emerging from his canopy.""

What the bride sends to the groom a "tallis" — there is a great reason for this according to the Torah of truth. And likewise what they cry out and say ""Shabbos"" and words of mirth (which they call "aleh") — all of this pertains to a wedding according to truth. (And see more on this in another place ["Sichos HaRan" 86] — regarding all the things done at a wedding: what it means that the bride is covered etc. — and what is thrown on the groom — what they call "hapin" — and what the groom expounds and the sermon-rights are paid and gifts given — and likewise what the jesters turn themselves about etc. — all is from Hashem. And wonderful reasons are explained there and there is no room to explain them here.)

One must be like a warrior running a course. For even when one merits to do teshuvah and rectify what he corrupted — he still must fulfil the service he could have performed in the time when he was in disgrace before Hashem Yisborach. Therefore one must run greatly and hasten much in the service of Hashem Yisborach — so as to be able to fulfil the deficiency of service that he could have served in the days of his corruption.