נְגִינָה

When a person hears the sound of a joyful melody and connects himself through it to Hashem Yisborach with joy — or if it is a sad melody, he connects himself to Hashem Yisborach with a broken heart — through this the melodic voice has an elevation, even if the musician [menaggen] is an unworthy person; and through this the holy sovereignty [malchus d'kedushah] is elevated. And to merit to this in the completeness of the rectification — this is through studying Oral Torah [Torah she'b'al peh] — that is, Gemara — at night. [Translator's note: No source citation appears for this teaching in this edition.]

There is a melody of the dimension of the way of nature — which is the dimension of "the heavens declare the glory of G-d, etc." [v'chulu'] [Psalms 19:2, etc.]: the dimension of the songs and praises that praise Hashem Yisborach for the current governance, in which He mostly clothes, as it were, the light of His Providence in the governance of nature according to the order of the heavens. But in the future, nature will be entirely nullified — and the world will be governed by Providence alone, which is the dimension of wonders. And then a new song will awaken in the world — and this song is in the dimension of a simple, double, triple, and quadruple song [shir pashut kaful meshu­lash u'meru­ba]; which is the dimension of the wondrous melody that will be played in the future on seventy-two strings — and this will be the reward of all the tzaddikim and chassidim. And the voice of this melody and song is the dimension of the voice that waters the Garden of Eden — through which all the holy fragrances and holy awe grow there — which are the dimension of mezona d'nishmetah [the food of the soul]; and it is also the dimension of Mashiach. See the inner text.

Every shepherd has a unique melody [nigun meyuchad] — according to the grasses and according to the place where he grazes. For every single blade of grass has a song it sings — which is the dimension of Perek Shirah [the Chapter of Song]. And from the song of the grasses the shepherd's melody is formed. And through the shepherd knowing the melody — through this he gives power to the grasses to grow more. Also the melody is beneficial for the shepherd himself — for since he is always among animals, it would have been possible for them to drag down and lower the shepherd also into the dimension of animal spirit; but through the melody he is saved from this — for through the above-mentioned melody the human spirit is clarified from the animal spirit. And all sustenance [mazon] flows through this melody; and all the growths of the earth are in the dimension of the measures and weights [midos u'mishkolos] of the melody. And this melody belongs to the king and the ministers [ha'melech v'ha'sarim]. And there is a melody of the Land of Israel — which is the dimension of "take from the fruits of the land, etc." [Genesis 43:11]. See the inner text.