חֵלֶק ד'-שָׂשׂוֹן וְשִׂמְחָה

Siman 1. How great are the kindnesses of Hashem, and the wonders He has performed for us in these generations — amid the turbulence of our affliction in body and soul, in the very depths of the formlessness and void and darkness that covered the face of the deep, which intensified in these times. He planned from afar to bring our end to goodness, to restore our captivity — and made known to us in His mercy, from the divine Spirit — da ruchey she'l Mashiach ["this is the spirit of the Mashiach"] — the spirit of Mashiach that hovers even today upon the face of the turbulent waters, engaged in consuming and destroying, in crushing and shattering the heads of the serpents upon which those who contaminate and defile the oils of the knowledge and understanding of all the souls of Israel sit — (the wiser one becomes, the more they are ensnared behind him). And above them all he rises and becomes great through the sealed flask of oil — remaining sealed with its seal — to illuminate and radiate into the heart of all those who are aroused to emerge from the foolishness of their walk in darkness. To make known to them from afar that there is no wisdom like the wisdom of holy faith — which no other wisdom can ever attain (and therefore it is called by the name "lait lah aynin" [it has no eyes, i.e., it transcends all intellectual sight], as is explained in Likutay I, section 62). And there is no depth like the depth of his faithful words, which go forth and shine like the sun at noon — so that through them one can know and understand also the words of other true books, in a manner that they too will become for him a medicine of true and eternal life.

Siman 2. Emes ve'Emuno — Truth and Faith

Siman 3. Let us first come to speak regarding the distancing from studying in their books of confusion — for one must be exceedingly careful not to look even the slightest glance into their books of idolatry. For our Sages of blessed memory have already made known to us (Sukkah 52) that the way of the yetzer hora [evil inclination] is to draw a person toward all transgressions through the cords of vanity, and afterwards "like the ropes of a wagon, sin." And all the more so with this prohibition, which encompasses all the prohibitions in the Torah.

Siman 4. And from the abundance of a person's desire for the forbidden thing, he imagines to himself: "What does it matter if I read somewhat in their words? For I will certainly not speak as they speak, G-d forbid, and I will not be caught in their nets through this" — as the verse says (Mishley 1): "For in vain is the net spread in the eyes of any winged creature." But "they lie in wait for their own blood" — for one in a thousand escapes and emerges from their trap after being caught in it. And this resembles one who says: "Let me taste a little pig-flesh, and afterwards I will spit it out." For the vast majority of unclean and defiled hearts of people of our kind — if they further enter into the dwelling-place of their impurities, filled with kelipot [husks of evil] and idolatry — without doubt they become adhered and rooted in them through every reading and every glance. And through every look, one's own kind is found and awakened to uproot and entrench them to the very foundation within him.

Siman 5. (And even to speak with the people who occupy themselves in their books of idolatry is forbidden for people of our kind — for through occupying themselves to speak with them, they recount orally what is written in their books, and this counts as literally reading in their books. And therefore even when one gathers with them for some commercial matter or the like, and they begin to speak regarding the matter of faith — one is obligated to gird oneself with holy boldness against them and divert them to another subject. For who can measure and understand even one part in a million million times of the immensity of the mighty, heavy, prolonged, and sublime battle in this matter in the end of these days — and easily they can divert one's mind from holy faith.)

Siman 6. And whoever heeds these words of ours and remains in the wholeness of true and genuine faith — kadosh kadosh kadosh [holy, holy, holy] shall be said of him for all eternity. And see in Likutay I, section 59 — that there are wicked people whom it is forbidden to draw close, etc. — see there the understanding (as I heard orally) that this is said concerning the heretics [epikorsim] whom it is even forbidden to speak with. And although I know that for some people this very warning itself becomes a deadly poison — for through this the desire and longing for their writings intensifies over them (as is brought in Likutay I, section 66, regarding all transgressions — see there) — but we are not speaking to people of that kind who desire to expand their boundaries through desire and honor and call this by the name "drawing close to truth" (and see Likutay Halachos, Shabbos, Halacho 6, section 7). Rather, all our words here orbit only around people who even from themselves are aroused with a good heart to be drawn toward true Truth — to urge them further not to enter with their enticements into argument and counter-argument. As our Sages of blessed memory said: "one may only urge the already-urging."

Siman 7. And whoever does not heed these words of ours and wishes to rely on his own judgment that he will not stumble or stray from the Truth even while engaging in their books of idolatry — he will certainly sink there for eternity. For Hashem, may He be blessed, Himself — on account of the power of free choice — gives him room to doubt somewhat. And the possibility and ability to stray from the path of Truth when one enters such a place of danger is greater and mightier than all speech and all knowledge.

Siman 8. Look and see what is brought in the words of Moharan"as z"l in Likutay Halachos, Laws of Oaths and Laws of Honoring Father and Mother, Halacho 2 — that although the way of Hashem, may He be blessed, is to draw a person close through many paths, nonetheless He gives him room to doubt somewhat for the sake of trial and free choice. And when one strengthens himself in complete faith, etc. But if he wishes to seek pretexts to break away — Hashem, may He be blessed, gives him room to err more and more. And he then requires very great and mighty exertions before he merits the Truth — and perhaps will depart from the world without meriting the Truth, etc. See there carefully.

Siman 9. (And all of this applied even in the earlier generations — and all the more so in the end of these days, in the footsteps of Mashiach [ikvesa di'Meshicha], wherein it is understood from the books of truth that the souls of these generations — the vast majority of them — are the very same wicked and transgressing ones from previous generations. And since we multiplied transgression and stiffened our necks, and sought pretexts to break away in all the generations through which we passed — therefore it is now fulfilled: "And I will surely hide My face" — which alludes to the attribute of Truth, as is known — "on that day, on account of all that it has done" — in concealment within concealment, in thousands upon thousands of concealments. For through our sins and transgressions, power was given to the sitra achra [the other side] and the snake to suckle and receive from holiness all the flow of wealth and grace and honor and knowledge and wisdom — from which is derived the wealth and grace and honor of the investigators and philosophers, who are the aspect of the snake (as brought in Likutay I, section 63). And also their wisdom and knowledge to produce new inventions — when the time arrives for them to be revealed in the world (as brought in Sichos HaRan, section 5 — see there) — on account of which the concealment of Truth becomes yet greater and greater.)