רָאשֵׁי פְּרָקִים מֵהַמַּאֲמָר בְּלִקּוּטֵי א' סִימָן ח' עַל הַכָּתוּב רָאִיתִי וְכוּ' (זְכַרְיָה ד' וְהוּא הַפְטָרַת שַׁבַּת חֲנֻכָּה)

"I saw — and behold a golden Menorah entirely…" Behold it is precious — a hidden thing … from the man of Israel. For it [the Menorah] is the completion of the deficiencies — for through it … the ru'ach chayyim [spirit of life] was created — as it is written: "And by the breath of His mouth all their host" … And it is also the vitality of the person … "all in whose nostrils is the breath of the spirit of life." And when there is a deficiency in any matter — the essential deficiency is in the aspect of the vitality … the ru'ach chayyim of that matter … And the sigh — it is the lengthening of the breath — and it is in the aspect of erech apayim [long-suffering] — that is, he lengthens his spirit [ru'cho]. Therefore when one sighs over the deficiency and lengthens his spirit — he draws the ru'ach chayyim to the deficiency … Therefore the sigh

completes the deficiency.

But from where does one receive the ru'ach chayyim? Know that the essential ru'ach chayyim is received from the Tzadik and Rav of the generation. For the essential ru'ach chayyim is in the Torah … And the Tzadikim are attached to the Torah. Therefore the essential ru'ach chayyim is with them. And when one is attached to the Tzadik and Rav of the generation — when he sighs and lengthens his spirit — he draws the ru'ach chayyim from the Tzadik of the generation who is attached to the Torah where the spirit resides. And this is why the Tzadik is called "a man in whom there is spirit" [Numbers 27:18] — for he knows how to go according to the spirit of each one … And this is the aspect of the north wind that plays upon David's harp … five strings corresponding to the five books of Torah … And the north wind … is the aspect of the spirit hidden [tzafun] in the heart of the person — which is the aspect of the ru'ach chayyim — for tzafon [north] derives from hidden … And the essential ru'ach chayyim is in the heart — as it is written in Tikkunei Zohar … And the deficiency is the departure of the spirit whose place is in the heart. Therefore the deficiency is felt in the heart — and therefore when the deficiency is filled …

it is said: "And Hashem will fulfill the requests of your heart" …

But the wicked … Know that there is a rav diklipah [a rav of the husk] — who is the aspect of Eisav … "For I have much [rav]" [Genesis 33:9]. And he is the aspect of "the chieftains [alufei] of Eisav" — and as Onkelos translates: "the ravrevei [great ones] of Eisav" … And from them the wicked receive their spirit. And it is in the aspect of the spirit of impurity — the aspect of the stormy wind [ru'ach se'arah] — as it is written: "Behold my brother Eisav is a hairy [se'ir] man" … like a stormy wind that is great in its moment … but has no

endurance at all … and it rages in his body and soul.

Therefore "and a wise man appeases it" [Proverbs 16:14]. For the deficiency is due to sins … He who draws the ru'ach chayyim and completes the deficiency — atones for the iniquity. And this is from the greatness of the compassion and graciousness of the Creator, may His name be blessed — who condensed Himself [tzimtzem] so that the spirit should reside with the Tzadikim … And this is the aspect of the Thirteen Attributes: "Hashem, Hashem — G-d compassionate and gracious — slow to anger [erech apayim]" … "And abundant in kindness" … — the opposite of Eisav the rav diklipah — who is red [admoni] — the force of strict judgment … "The Torah of truth was

in his mouth" … He guards and sweetens the chieftains of Eisav … "Bearing iniquity and transgression."

And behold when one sighs — one draws the ru'ach chayyim … But to provoke the wicked is impossible. For when one provokes the wicked and he sighs … unless he is a complete Tzadik … "No harm shall befall the Tzadik" [Proverbs 12:21]. And the matter is: there are four elements … and above at their root they are the four letters of Havayah — and below they are mixed good and evil. And the complete Tzadik who has completely separated and distinguished the evil from the good … is permitted to provoke the wicked. And the matter is: every wicked person has a necessary pipe through which he receives his spirit to complete his deficiency — and the pipe is through the evil trait from the four elements that he has drawn and strengthened over himself — that is the path … And when the Tzadik wishes to bring him low — he must descend to that evil trait which the wicked has strengthened over him — to humble it and to ruin that pipe of the wicked through which he receives his vitality. Therefore it is necessary that this Tzadik be a complete Tzadik in whom there is no evil at all — so that the stormy wind should have no power … to rule and harm the Tzadik … For the wicked has no grasp upon him … which is not the case with a Tzadik who is not complete … the evil still has power … But a complete Tzadik does not absorb [the evil] … The complete Tzadik and all those attached to him are permitted

to provoke the wicked.

And to come to this — to separate and distinguish and clarify the evil from the good — is through Torah and prayer. And the Torah study should be to immerse [lalun] in the depth of the halachah … For there is in the Torah a grasping of good and evil — that grasp through the aspect of forbidden and permitted — impure and pure — valid and invalid — that exists in the Torah. And as long as one does not clarify the halachah — it remains mixed … But to merit this

intellect … is through prayer — for from there the intellect is drawn.

And the matter is as it is written in Tikkunei Zohar: "The garden — this is the Torah. And the souls of Israel who contemplate and understand the Torah — they are in the aspect of grasses and plants that grew in the garden. And from where do they grow? From the spring of wisdom — as it is written: 'A spring of gardens' [Song of Songs 4:15]. 'And a spring from the house of Hashem shall go forth' [Joel 4:18] — this is prayer — as it is written 'for My house is a house of prayer.' And it is in the aspect of bringing from potential to actuality. For prayer is the aspect of the renewal of the world … And it is the aspect of creation-in-potential. As it is written: 'You made them all with wisdom' [Psalms 104:24] — which is the aspect of prayer from which the spring of wisdom flows. And the Torah is the aspect of creation-in-actuality … For through Torah the world was created … And this is what our Rabbis z"l said: 'One who gazes at his prayer comes to heartache … what is his remedy? Let him engage in Torah' … his request is fulfilled — through what emerges from potential to actuality … And 'a river goes out from Eden' … Eden is the aspect of prayer … for 'Eden — an eye has not seen it' … prayer which is beyond nature … 'to water the garden' — this is the Torah. And from there it divides — for through this the evil is separated from the four elements and nothing remains except the good. 'And it became four heads' — these are the four letters of Havayah — which are

the root of good of the four elements …

… from the four winds … Tzitzis derives from the word for hair [in the left-shin spelling] — for through them Eisav the hairy [se'ir] man — the aspect of the stormy wind — is humbled … "who appeared as if intoxicated" — as Rashi explains: as if inebriated with wine — the aspect of Eisav the red one … "I saw — and behold a golden Menorah" … the hidden light for the future … the tree of life and the tree of death — that is good and evil. And this is "Not by army and not by might — but by My spirit [ru'ch]" … "Who are you O great mountain before Zerubavel — to a plain" … all will be nullified through the ru'ach chayyim … He also spoke then of the matter of the twelve hours of the day and the twelve hours of the night — in which there are twelve combinations of Havayah — in each hour a different combination. And each hour divides into 1080 parts — and each part of the 1080 parts … And the wise will understand. "One chariot — with ten thousands" [Psalms 68:18] — the aspect of the receiving of the Torah — from which the holy rabbis receive the ru'ach chayyim. Through this — the chieftains of Eisav

— the great ones of Eisav — who are the rav diklipah — are nullified and humbled — in the aspect of the "thousands that are naught."