דִּבּוּר – גֹּדֶל כֹּחוֹ לְטוֹב, וְכֵן לְהֵפֶךְ חַס וְשָׁלוֹם

The perfection of the letters [shelaimus ha'osios] and the perfection of speech [shelaimus ha'dibur] is through emunah.

That which now, due to our many sins, the wisdom of eloquence in the holy tongue [meilitzas lashon kodesh] has fallen greatly — to the point that almost the majority of rhetorical skill belongs to the frivolous of the world, who are deeply sunken in the lust for licentiousness [ta'avas mishgal], which is the all-encompassing evil and the very opposite of the holiness of the holy tongue. And through their eloquence they draw the hearts of many of the youths of the children of Israel, to the point of bringing them to outright heresy [apikorsus gamur], Heaven forbid. And this is the dimension of: "Honey drips from the lips of the strange woman" [Proverbs 5:3], and likewise: "Her words are smoother than oil" [Proverbs 5:3] — and all of this is the dimension of the serpent, who seduced Chava [who is the dimension of the speech of the holy tongue] and injected his contamination into her.

At the time when a person is still in the dimension of sleep [shainah] — meaning spiritually asleep — and the words of the true wise man who labors to awaken people from their sleep have not yet been heard by his ears; for "blessed is one who speaks into the ear of one who hears" [Aramaic saying, cf. Zohar]; at that time the person is in the dimension of a mute [ilaim] who cannot speak. For a typical deaf person [chairesh] is one who neither hears nor speaks — that is, because he does not hear, he cannot speak. But afterward, when the wise man awakens him and he hears his words — then speech is opened for him, in the dimension of "loosening the mouth of the mute" [l'hatir peh ilmim]. And since the speech had been so compressed for so long a time during which they were deaf and mute — therefore now when the speech emerges, it emerges with great force; and this force goes to the vessels of procreation [klei ha'holdah] — meaning the "millstones of the generation" [tachanei ha'dor], which are in the dimension of the vessels of procreation — they receive this power of speech, and through this the visitation of the barren [pkidas akoros] comes about.

One must see to it that the vessels of speech should be close and adjacent to the vessels of procreation, as above — so that they can receive the power of speech. That is, it should not be in the dimension of: "You are close in their mouths but far from their innermost parts" [Jeremiah 12:2]. And therefore one must guard the openings of one's mouth [pisei fiv], in the dimension of: "Guard the openings of your mouth" [Micah 7:5].

Now, speech is lacking and not complete — since not all the world calls to Hashem Yisborach with speech. But in the future, all will call to Hashem Yisborach with speech, and therefore then speech will be complete — in the dimension of: "For then I will transform for all the peoples a clear lip, to call all of them in the name of Hashem" [Zephaniah 3:9] — a clear lip specifically, for since all will call to Hashem Yisborach with speech, speech will then be complete. And all this will occur in the future through the great revelation of emes [truth] that will be then — through which all will see the greatness and glory of the tzaddikim and the kesharim [the wholesome ones]; and likewise the opposite — the downfall of the wicked; and through this all will return to Hashem Yisborach and all will call in the name of Hashem — and through this speech will be complete. Therefore one who merits to emes in this world — meaning that his mind is guarded so that he is not dependent upon people for anything, neither for livelihood nor honor nor the like, but his heart is directed in truth solely for Hashem Yisborach alone — through this one draws the perfection of the letters of speech that will exist in the future, into this world now. And through the longing and yearning [cheishek v'kissufin] with which one yearns to perform mitzvos or other holy matters — through this one draws vowel-points [nekudos] into the letters; and through this one brings forth speech in completeness; and through this itself one merits to break all obstacles and to bring forth from potential into actual reality all the holy matters one yearns to perform.

The words of the Tzaddik are in the dimension of Eretz Yisroel, and his ordinary secular conversations [sichos chulin] are in the dimension of the waste-matter of Eretz Yisroel [psoles Eretz Yisroel]; and it is specifically through this that the Tzaddik can elevate and connect the multitude of the people to da'as — which is the dimension of the Holy Temple.

As long as Israel is in exile, speech is also in exile; and when Israel will be redeemed, speech will also be rectified in completeness — in the dimension of: "And the glory of Hashem shall be revealed, etc., for the mouth of Hashem has spoken" [Isaiah 40:5] [Note: the source preserves the וְכוּ' — "etc." — in mid-verse, indicating the full verse is implied but the key phrase is "for the mouth of Hashem has spoken"]. And through the completeness of holy emunah and wisdom [chochma d'kedushah], then through every thing one gazes at, the sparks of letters [nitzotzei osiyos] clothed in every thing rise up — and from the letters, words of speech are formed; and through this Hashem Yisborach pours forth abundant goodness to Israel.

Regarding the stories a person tells or hears — there are lofty matters within them, and one must take great care in this; for sometimes a person pronounces judgment upon himself through his own stories — as we find regarding King David, peace be upon him: when Nasan the prophet came to him and told him the story of the guest, etc., he answered and said: "As Hashem lives, etc., and the little ewe lamb, etc." [II Samuel 12:5–6], and then the judgment upon David himself was decreed, as it had come forth from his own mouth.

Speech is the soul. And therefore the true Tzaddik can understand through it the essence of the soul of the one who is speaking.

All words [diburim] come from peace [shalom]. And therefore one who is in the dimension of peace can know all the words of the entire world.

All words come from warmth [chamimus], and one who has more warmth speaks more; and likewise one who has cooled and has no warmth cannot speak. [Translator's note: Chamimus — inner spiritual heat, passion, and vitality. This teaching implies that the remedy for inability to pray or speak words of kedushah is to reignite one's inner spiritual warmth.]

The primary revelation of the brain is through speech — as it is written: "From His mouth come knowledge and understanding" [Proverbs 2:6]. And therefore when the mochin are pure, proper words and pure utterances are formed — and they are in the dimension of "seven who give wise counsel" [Proverbs 26:16] — through which they restore, vivify, and strengthen fallen souls.

Speech is the impression [reshimah] of the brain — it is in the dimension of the imaginative faculty [koach ha'medameh] of the brain, the dimension of a dream relative to light [chalom neged or], the dimension of the inwardness of the brain itself. And when the mochin are pure, then even the words — which are only an impression of the brain — are exceedingly holy, and from them is formed the dimension of angels [malachim], which is the dimension of a dream through an angel.

Even though it may seem to a person that he is speaking without any heart whatsoever — even so, when one speaks many words of awakening and supplication and the like, the very fact that he is speaking is the dimension of the revelation of his heart and soul to Hashem Yisborach, in the dimension of: "My soul went out as he spoke" [Song of Songs 5:6] — for speech itself is the revelation of the soul and the heart. And sometimes through speaking much — even though it may be without heart — one will nonetheless afterward come through this to a great awakening of heart and soul.

There are precious words that emerge specifically through confusions [bilbulim]. See the inner text.

Words spoken among many people — the more the people are numerous, the more the words are sweetened. And this is the dimension of the haynu d'amri inshei [folk sayings — "that which people say"] that our Rabbis of blessed memory cited: these are the words of the nations of the world; and afterward [v'achar kach], when they came among Israel and were spoken between them — through this they were sweetened and from them were formed lofty matters. [Translator's note: No source citation appears in this edition for this teaching.]

One who merits to holy speech in completeness can through this interpret dreams [lifsor chalamos]. [Translator's note: No source citation appears in this edition for this teaching.]

One must take very great care not to utter from one's mouth a word that is not good — and in particular a word of curse [kelalah], Heaven forbid; for the word that came out of the king's mouth in his moment of anger regarding the princess — where he said that the unworthy one should take her — caused him and his daughter very great suffering, as explained in the first story of the Sipuray Ma'asios [the story of the Lost Princess].