יִרְאָה וַעֲבוֹדַת ה'

A Jewish person must always gaze upon the intellect [sechel] within every thing and bind himself to the wisdom and intellect that is in every thing — so that the intellect within every thing illuminates for him to draw close to Hashem Yisborach through that thing. For the primary life-force [chiyus] within every thing is nothing but the intellect and wisdom, as it is written: "Wisdom gives life, etc." [Ecclesiastes 7:12, etc.]. And the intellect is a great light that illuminates a person in all his ways like the sun. And even when a person sometimes comes to a place that is dark and obscure, Heaven forbid — even so, when he merits to gaze upon the intellect and life-force in every thing, then the intellect illuminates for him and draws him close to Hashem Yisborach. And this is the dimension of how Yosef the Tzaddik merited to stand firm in his trial — by gazing upon the intellect within every thing.

One cannot merit to the light of the above-mentioned intellect except through the dimension of malchus [sovereignty/kingship] — meaning that one accepts upon oneself the kingdom of Heaven [malchus shamayim] in truth and with complete faith, and contracts one's mind and sets aside all one's own wisdom entirely — as if one has no intellect of one's own at all — and despises all external wisdoms and intellectualities, and yearns, longs, and thirsts only to receive light and life-force from the true intellect and wisdom, which is the dimension of the supernal holy intellect [sechel ha'elyon d'kedushah] — which is the primary holy life-force within every thing, as above.

The primary battle between the yetzer tov [good inclination] and the yetzer hara [evil inclination] is only in this: the yetzer tov entices the person to despise all external wisdoms and intellectualities and all lusts — which are complete foolishness and a true spirit of folly — and to bind himself only to the light of the holy intellect; while the yetzer hara entices the person to the opposite, in the dimension of "a fool takes no delight in understanding" [Proverbs 18:2] — which is the dimension of Esav who despised the birthright, which is the dimension of holy wisdom and intellect. And every person must give power to the yetzer tov to overcome the yetzer hara — as our Rabbis of blessed memory said: "A person should always incite the good inclination against the evil inclination" [Talmud Bavli, Berachos 5a]. And this is achieved through engaging in Torah with full force [b'koach].

When one merits to all the above-mentioned, a great unification [yichud gadol] is made throughout all the worlds, the light of the moon becomes like the light of the sun, one merits chein [grace/favor], and through this all prayers and all requests are accepted.

The yetzer hara wishes to make a person literally mad, Heaven forbid — for one who transgresses is mad, as our Rabbis of blessed memory said: "A person does not commit a transgression unless a spirit of folly enters him" [Talmud Bavli, Sotah 3a]. But how does it come to a person and suddenly make him mad, Heaven forbid? The way of the yetzer hara is to first clothe itself in mitzvos, misleading the person as if inciting him to perform a mitzvah — and then it misleads him and incites him further and further, until he comes to outright intentional transgressions, Heaven forbid. And this is exactly like the madness of the madman — whose mind becomes confused and overturned until he calls evil good, etc. But even so there are still within him some sparks of intellect and awareness, such that even according to his folly and loss of mind he also understands and knows that such things should not be done — yet he does them anyway. Therefore two remedies are needed for healing the mad: one must first subdue their wickedness and willfulness, so that they should at least not do what they themselves understand to be madness and folly; and one also needs to drive away the evil spirit from them that confuses and overturns their mind. Similarly regarding the remedy for a person from the madness of the yetzer hara: one must first subdue one's wickedness and willfulness, so that one does not do at least what one oneself understands to be evil and outright transgression, Heaven forbid; and one also needs to drive away the evil spirit — the spirit of folly — that clothes itself in mitzvos and misleads one's mind as if inciting one to a mitzvah, as above. And all of this is merited in completeness only through engaging in Torah — which encompasses both of the above-mentioned remedies.

The primary binding to the above-mentioned holy intellect is through temimus [wholesomeness/sincerity] — which is the dimension of "and Yaakov was a wholesome man" [Genesis 25:27] — for Yaakov merited to the light of the above-mentioned intellect in completeness.

In the service of Hashem there are two types of service — which are the dimension of inwardness and outwardness [penimiyus v'chitzoniyus]: the service of Torah, mitzvos, and prayer is the inner service; and the service of eating, drinking, and other bodily needs is the outer service — for this too must be performed in holiness and purity and solely for the sake of His Name, blessed be He. And the outer service of a person standing at a higher level illuminates and excels more than the inner service of a person standing at a lower level.

Through speaking words of Torah and prayer with awe [b'yir'ah] — through this the body and all forms of earthliness will be completely nullified, until the body is nullified and naught, and is entirely absorbed into the oneness of the speech.

A person's life-force is the breath — exhaling spirit and inhaling spirit. Therefore when a person engages in Torah, prayer, and the service of Hashem, he is thereby attached to the holy malchus [sovereignty] — which is the dimension of the Shechinah — and then the spirit of G-d hovers and shelters over him; and as he breathes, he draws in each time a new holy spirit, which is the dimension of Ruach HaKodesh — a spirit of life from the attribute of malchus, which is the root of the souls of Israel. And therefore the wicked in their lifetime are called dead — for since they are severed from the cord of holiness, from where will they derive life-force? They draw only a spirit of folly from the malchus d'Sitra Achra to which they cleave — which is the dimension of "an old and foolish king" [Ecclesiastes 4:13]. But one who is attached to the holy malchus — the Ruach HaKodesh enters him, which is the dimension of the spirit of Mashiach [rucho shel Mashiach] and the dimension of the resurrection of the dead.

The moment a person wishes to walk in the straight path, he must have awe — at least awe of punishment [yir'as ha'onesh]. And this awe is called tzedek [justice/righteousness] — which is the dimension of judgments. From this comes the fact that generally at the beginning of drawing close to the service of Hashem, judgments and sufferings are aroused upon the person, Heaven forbid. But afterward, when he comes to truth — meaning to the dimension of yir'as ha'romemut [awe of G-d's transcendent majesty], which is called emunah [faith] — then all judgments are sweetened at their root, and great mercies and loving-kindnesses flow upon him.

The Divine portion [chelek Eloka] from above that is within a person speaks to him and teaches him to fulfill its words — in the dimension of "Hashem is my portion, I have resolved to keep Your words" [Psalms 119:57].

One who is clear of heart [bar leivav] — in the dimension of "and my heart is hollow within me" [Psalms 109:22] — can know future events through what the heart tells him; for the primary Divinity is in the heart, and therefore what the heart speaks are literally the words of Hashem.

There is awe above awe — for the attribute of awe itself also has awe of Hashem Yisborach, and that awe also has awe in turn, and so on upward without end.

The wicked are full of regret [charasos]. And these regrets gather and come to some person — and through this his heart suddenly blazes toward Hashem Yisborach and he begins in the service of Hashem. And according to the number of regrets that come to him, so extends the time that his heart blazes toward Hashem Yisborach. For there are those whose heart blazes suddenly and they begin in the service of Hashem, and immediately after an hour it is nullified and they return to their former state; and sometimes it extends for some days or weeks — but not permanently and not for a long time. And all this is because the awakening comes to him only from the dimension of the above-mentioned regrets. But there are people whose blazing does not come from these regrets but from another place — for not every person is alike in this.

The pulse beats and knocks within a person. And sometimes it reminds him of the service of Hashem Yisborach — in the dimension of "The voice of my Beloved knocking" [Song of Songs 5:2]; and sometimes it reminds him of the opposite, Heaven forbid.

All the deficiencies a person has — whether children, livelihood, or health — all of it comes from the person's own side. For the light of Hashem Yisborach flows upon him always — but the person, through his physicality and through his evil deeds, creates a shadow for himself so that the light of Hashem Yisborach does not reach him; and from this come all his deficiencies. Therefore if the person merits to rectify his deeds, his attributes, and all his physicality — until he merits to nullify himself entirely to the point where he is in the dimension of ayin [nothingness], and is nothing at all of this world — then he makes no shadow, and merits to receive the light of Hashem Yisborach in completeness, and all his deficiencies are completed.

There are many things in the world — meaning in matters of the service of Hashem — that are dependent upon one another, and one does not know from where to begin, for each one begins from the other, since this is dependent on that.

The primary attainment of the ultimate purpose is only through faith, awe of Hashem, and practical mitzvos — to serve Hashem according to the holy Torah with wholesomeness [temimus] and complete simplicity [pshitus gamur] without any wisdoms at all. And every person can fulfill this — and thereby attain through it the true ultimate purpose, which is the dimension of "no eye has seen, etc." [Isaiah 64:3, etc.].

If a person had no yetzer hara, his service would have no completeness at all — for one must serve Hashem Yisborach specifically together with the yetzer hara as well, in the dimension of "and to serve Him with all your heart" [Deuteronomy 11:13] — with both your inclinations [b'shnei yitzreichem], as our Rabbis of blessed memory said [Talmud Bavli, Berachos 54a]. And sometimes it happens even for one who is not a wholesome person [ish kasher] that he prays with blazing intensity — and this comes from the warmth of the yetzer hara within him; only that he receives no reward for this. And the primary perfection is to restrain and delay the warmth at the time of the lusts, and to take all that warmth and blazing intensity and bring it into the service of Hashem — to pray and serve Hashem with the warmth and blazing intensity of holiness.

Even a simple person must have fear of Heaven [yir'as shamayim]. And there are many dimensions of awe, for there is awe above awe. And the essential thing is to strengthen oneself in fear of Heaven always — even in the time of one's simplicity — with whatever one can; and through this one can come to great joy through one's wholesomeness and complete faith.

One needs great strengthening in the service of Hashem — and one should not allow oneself to be confused constantly, shifting from one service to another and from one path to another. Rather one should choose for oneself some straight path and straight practices in the service of Hashem Yisborach, and be firm in one's mind to follow that path for some time; and afterward, as time passes, one should settle oneself well and choose whichever path seems straight and a different order in the service of Hashem — according to how it appears to one then.

Labors and mortifications [sigufim] [in Yiddish-Ashkenazic: harivani] do no harm at all. And one for whom the labor and mortifications are harmful — this is only on account of pride [gadlus].

Sometimes a thought of repentance and a yearning for Hashem Yisborach reaches a person in some place that is not a fixed location for Torah and prayer — but rather during the course of his walking, etc. And then one must specifically there, in that very place, strengthen oneself in this thought of repentance and this yearning — such as by speaking some words of supplication and entreaty, or words of yearning with mouth and heart as befits the matter. And one should not wait or move from one's place — even though this place is not suited for this — for when one moves from one's place it is possible that it will cease.

There are those who err and believe that the primary greatness of the Tzaddik and the attainments he merits come from the side of the soul alone — because he has an exceedingly lofty soul. But in truth this is not so — rather the essential thing depends on good deeds, toil, and labors. And every person in the world can merit to the very highest level, for the matter depends only on a person's free choice — if he wishes to have mercy on himself and to truly settle himself well as to what is truly good for him in truth, etc. [v'chulu']. And everything is according to the abundance of the deed. And the essential thing is to be accustomed to very many prayers and entreaties and to increase in hisbodidus and personal conversation between oneself and one's Maker before Hashem Yisborach — and to beseech Him that He draw him close to His service in truth.

The yetzer hara deceives the entire world, and everyone runs after it — and it seems to each one as if the yetzer hara holds in its hand whatever he desires, each according to his folly and his lust. And afterward at the end it opens its hand — and there is nothing in it, for no one's desire is ever fulfilled by it.

When a person toils and strives ardently after some service or holy matter — even if he cannot complete it properly — the toil and self-sacrifice [mesiras nefesh] he has for it is itself in the dimension of sacrificial offerings [korbanos].

Although a person must be very zealous in the service of Hashem — hastening to do much in the service of Hashem, since the essential thing is the doing: to learn much, to perform mitzvos and good deeds in abundance, to pray and entreat and pour out one's conversation before Hashem Yisborach in abundance, and similarly other matters of Divine service — even so, one must not be flustered and hasty to grab everything all at once. Rather one should go at ease and gradually, little by little — and not be flustered and confused, wanting to grab and fulfill everything at once, for through this one becomes entirely confused [see the inner text]. And if sometimes a person cannot do anything at all in the service of Hashem — what is to be done? The Merciful One exempts one who is compelled [ones Rachmana patrai — Talmud Bavli, Bava Kama 28b]! And one should train oneself to yearn and long always for Hashem Yisborach — for the yearning and longing themselves are very great things, and "the Merciful One desires the heart" [Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 106b].

It is not good to be old in the service of Hashem — whether a pious elder [chassid zakain] or a righteous elder [tzaddik zakain] — an elder is not good; for one must renew oneself every day, beginning anew at every moment in the service of Hashem.

One does not need licentiousness [hefkerus] either. Even though in truth one who pursues the affairs of this world and is far from the service of Hashem is truly abandoned — even so, even what the world calls licentiousness — meaning one who abandons all the affairs of this world entirely and engages only in the service of Hashem, which the world calls licentiousness — this too is not necessary; for one can be a wholesome person [ish kasher] without licentiousness.

Before a person begins to enter the service of Hashem, the good and the evil are mixed within him — and therefore the dross and the evil within him are not so visible, for they are entirely mixed together, the evil with the good. But afterward when he begins to enter the service of Hashem and to draw close to the true Tzaddik — he begins to clarify and purify himself; and then the evil and the dross rise to the surface each time [like the analogy of water being heated over a fire — see the inner text] — and it is therefore specifically then that generally great confusions and disturbances come upon him. And the Tzaddik must attend to this — to remove his filth and dross each time; and then he remains afterward truly pure and clear as befitting.

It is fitting for a person to train himself to be in the World to Come — meaning to be separated from lusts as in the World to Come, where there is no eating, no drinking, and no lust of any of the animal lusts that perish and are transient in this world. And certainly if a person were to recall the goodness of the pleasures of the World to Come, he would not be able to bear at all the life and pleasures of this world, etc.

All the fears and worries and sufferings a person has shorten and consume his days of life, Heaven forbid. But all the sufferings and fears a person has on account of the fear of Hashem — and even the sufferings a person has because he has committed some blemish or transgression, Heaven forbid, and regrets it and has great pain over this — these sufferings are also in the dimension of the fear of Hashem, for all of it comes from awe of Him, blessed be He: either from yir'as ha'romemut [awe of G-d's transcendent majesty] or from yir'as ha'onesh [awe of punishment], may the Merciful One protect us. And therefore these add days and life to the person, in the dimension of "the fear of Hashem adds days" [Proverbs 10:27].

Israel is a holy people — even those mitzvos that also derive from the side of civilized conduct, uprightness, and rational behavior [derech eretz, ha'yosher, v'ha'sechel] — even so they perform them only by decree of the King, the Creator, blessed be He, Who commanded us in His Torah to do so. And therefore they are called Adam [person — the highest designation for a human being].

When a person is content — that even though he himself does not merit to serve Hashem, at least the other Jew his fellow should serve Hashem Yisborach — this is a great thing and a very great virtue when one holds to it. For there are very many people who, when they fall, Heaven forbid, from the service of Hashem — and all the more so when they stumble entirely, Heaven forbid — they hate and provoke those who begin to engage in the service of Hashem, and want to weaken their minds and cause them to fall from their service, Heaven forbid. And all this comes from jealousy — therefore one must take very great care and be guarded from this.

It is fitting for every person to choose one mitzvah for himself — in which mitzvah he should be very precise and fulfill that one mitzvah with all its stringencies and exactitudes; similar to what our Rabbis of blessed memory said: "In what was your father most scrupulous, etc.?" [v'chulu'] [Talmud Bavli, Shabbos 118b]. But even so, even in that mitzvah one should not enter into foolish and mad and melancholic stringencies — only to be precise in it without madness in all its stringencies. But in all the other mitzvos there is no need to be stringent at all. And if only we would merit to fulfill all the mitzvos of the Torah in their plain literal sense without any stringencies! And even on Pesach one need not search for excessive and bitter and melancholic stringencies and extra exactitudes. The general principle: the essential service in truth is wholesomeness and simplicity — to increase in Torah, prayer, and good deeds without specifically searching to innovate extra stringencies; rather to walk in the path of our ancestors, for the Holy One Blessed be He does not come with complaints against His creatures, and the Torah was not given to the ministering angels, etc.

It is good for the service of the Creator, blessed be He, not to be a teacher [melamed] — especially since it is very difficult to fully discharge one's obligation of teaching pupils properly. In particular those teachers who teach in a city other than their own home — this matter is very blameworthy.

Sometimes a person has great confusions in the service of Hashem — for sometimes it seems to him that he should act and conduct himself in a certain way, and afterward it seems to him that he should have conducted himself differently. And in truth one should not be confused at all by this — for however one acts, one acts; as long as one does not do evil, Heaven forbid.

It is known that all the service of Israel is to bring holiness out of its exile from among the klippos and the Sitra Achra. And sometimes a person becomes very greatly aroused with a great awakening toward some service or holy matter — and then he can do something hasty and what genuinely appears to be madness, and no human intellect can agree to how he could possibly achieve this thing. But even so, through his genuine awakening Hashem makes him succeed, and he merits to pass over all barriers and obstacles and to break them all — until he merits to complete the matter and bring the holiness out from among them in completeness. And in truth it is entirely above the way of nature and human intellect. But all of this is the dimension of ratzo [running/advance] — the dimension of entering; and the primary trial is afterward when he is in the dimension of shov [returning] — when he returns to his mind and his existence; then the Sitra Achra returns and pursues him, and he is compelled to hide from it through many strategies, and many rushing waters pass over him and many trials, etc., etc. And one who merits to strengthen himself even then and to pass through everything in peace — fortunate is he. [Source: the story of the Burgher and the Pauper — Story 12, the Ba'al Tefillah — in the Sipuray Ma'asios.]

The root of Israel's holiness gives and transmits signs [simanim] to each Jew who comes to cleave and attach to it — so that through these signs the attachment and union between them should be in completeness, and no stranger should mix among them. Only that the ba'al davar provokes greatly in this — to the point of causing the person to be distanced and expelled from his holiness to a place of desert and desolation; and then it provokes yet further, until a stormy wind comes and confuses him so greatly that the signs too are lost. And in the midst of this, whatever passes over the person, passes. And similarly also the sparks of his portion of holiness pass through much — for many lie in wait for them to catch them in their snare. And generally the person himself causes this, and all of these are like his emissaries, Heaven forbid. And afterward the ba'al davar strengthens itself still further even upon the portions of holiness — to the point where the dimension of a murderer comes and seizes the holiness in its snare entirely and wishes to drown it entirely, Heaven forbid. But even so, "the counsel of Hashem will stand, and You are exalted forever, Hashem" [Psalms 33:11; 92:9]. And when the person is firm in his mind and does not despair of himself in any case — and fixes for himself times each day to search and dig after the signs of holiness that were lost from him; and if he does not merit to find them, at least he pours out his conversation over this before Hashem Yisborach and weeps and supplicates before Him like a child who cajoles its father — then in the end everything will turn to good. And specifically through this murderer who fully seized the holiness in its snare — Hashem Yisborach arranges through this that the holiness draws close to the person in actual proximity; only that they do not yet know and recognize one another. Afterward Hashem Yisborach arranges that the original one who distanced and expelled the person from his holiness is also encountered there — and all of them help the person to search and seek after the signs of holiness; and with Hashem Yisborach's help, the holiness itself finds the signs and returns them to their owner — meaning to the person; and then certainly great joy is made. But even so the holiness still does not reveal itself to the person as being what it is — so that the drawing-close and union should not be in the dimension of destruction, in the dimension of "lest they break through, etc." [Exodus 19:24] — and not contrary to proper manner, Heaven forbid, and in a place of desert, etc. And because of this even when it returns the signs to him, afterward the concealment and despair return and intensify upon the person — for where should he search after the holiness, since he knows that it too, as it were, has passed through what it has passed through, and who knows where it is now? And then the holiness itself appeases the person and asks him to go with it — until they both come and return to their original place, to the source-root of their holiness; and then they encounter one another, and the union and joy are made in completeness, and "Hashem will be King over all the earth, etc." [Zechariah 14:9]. See the inner text further, and you will understand more according to what is hinted in the plain meaning of the words, apart from the awe-inspiring secrets in this entire story as understood in the inner text. [Source: the story of the Ba'al Tefillah — Story 12 — in the Sipuray Ma'asios.]

All must acknowledge that whoever strives more and is closer to the ultimate purpose is fitting to be head and king over all — for everyone agrees that the essential thing is the ultimate purpose. But from the time that the great stormy wind confused and overturned the entire world entirely — from sea to dry land, from dry land to sea, from desert to inhabited place, etc. — and the king and queen, etc., etc. [v'chulu' v'chulu'], and all his people were separated and scattered; and all the people of the world became confused and scattered and divided into factions upon the question of what the ultimate purpose is: some said the essential purpose is honor — to pursue honor more and more, Heaven forbid, and to attain it; and they had proofs and demonstrations and reasoning for this. And some said the essential purpose is murder, anger, cruelty, and hardness of heart. And some said the essential purpose is licentiousness. And so all the factions wandered greatly and erred concerning the ultimate purpose — as is explained throughout the inner text [Story 12 — the Ba'al Tefillah]. And each faction — in whichever attribute or lust they chose as the ultimate purpose — were certainly deeply sunken in it; for besides the fact that a person's own nature draws him after lusts and evil attributes, beyond this it was for them like a faith that this was the ultimate purpose, according to what each faction chose for itself according to their confused mind. And more than all of them, the faction that chose money as the ultimate purpose was the most confused and erred — to the point that they made money into literal idolatry and complete deification, Heaven forbid, and would sacrifice themselves as offerings to the idolatry of money. And in truth, although from all evil lusts it is very difficult to extract a person deeply sunken in them — especially when so rooted in them that they became for them like a faith and ultimate purpose — yet harder than all of them is to extract and rectify those who fall and are most deeply sunken in the lust for money; for from there it is very difficult to extract them, as is explained in the inner text. And in truth, even though almost the majority of people each include within themselves the evil of all the factions, and their mind is confused and muddled from all the above-mentioned confusions, and sometimes one attribute and lust provokes in them more, and another time a different lust and attribute provokes — even so, also among people in general there are great distinctions between one person and another: this one is swept primarily after the pursuit of honor; that one is dominated by anger and murder by nature; and so on for all the above-mentioned attributes. And fortunate is the holy faction whose mind agreed upon the true ultimate purpose in truth — saying that the essential purpose is only to engage in prayer, etc., and to be humble and lowly of spirit, etc.; and they chose the Ba'al Tefillah [Master of Prayer] as their king — for he was a great and exceedingly holy Tzaddik. And through the Ba'al Tefillah and his above-mentioned faction — and by virtue of the abundance of their holy prayers — the king and his people were gathered together; and all the above-mentioned factions came out of their folly and error, and returned in repentance; and the entire world returned to the perfection of its rectification in completeness. [Source: Story 12, the Ba'al Tefillah, in the Sipuray Ma'asios.]

Even in the service of Hashem one must not force the hour [dochek es ha'sha'ah]. That is: although in truth one must be very zealous to sanctify oneself as befitting and to merit the service of Hashem with great speed — and it is forbidden to leave and postpone one's service of Hashem from day to day and even from hour to moment; and whatever one can do in the service of Hashem one must do immediately, specifically without any delay or hindrance at all, even a single moment — even so, sometimes when one sees that one is pushing and compelling oneself toward some holy matter and it does not succeed in one's hands immediately, then sometimes one must wait a little and not fall in one's mind over this and not confuse oneself over it excessively — only wait a little until its time comes. And the essential thing is not to despair of oneself entirely, Heaven forbid — only that one must yearn and long and thirst for Hashem Yisborach and for all holy matters always — even at the time when one does not succeed as befitting. And the moment Hashem Yisborach helps and one can seize some holy matter, one should do it immediately with great alacrity. It follows that alacrity and patience — both of them are a very great essential in the service of Hashem.