ציצית ז

This is the aspect of Hashem's praise for Kneses Yisrael: "Shor'rareich agan hasahar al yechsar hamezeg" — "Your navel is a round basin; let the blended wine not be lacking" (Shir HaShirim 7:3). Our Sages expounded (Sanhedrin 37a) on the seventy members of the Sanhedrin, who would sit in a semicircle like the moon. "Shor'rareich" — this is the aspect of the retzuah of Tefillin that descends from the knot of the head down to the navel, which is drawn from the aspect of the kingship of Dovid Mashiach who lives and endures — the aspect of the knot of the head. From there the strap extends down to the navel: the aspect of "Shor'rareich agan hasahar" — the seventy Sanhedrin, corresponding to the seventy faces of Torah. Dovid sits at their head, as our Sages expounded on the verse "Yosheiv basheves tachk'moni rosh" (Shmuel II 23:8). 1

Even now in this world, the tzadikim who truly serve Hashem draw upon themselves eternal life through Torah, tefillah, and ma'asim tovim. Though their entire aspiration is to live always the long life described above — renewing their chiyus with added holiness, new Mochin and new chiyus each moment — nevertheless, it is impossible in this world to live this long life without interruption. The brain must become weary. Therefore one must sleep, and sleep is a great good: by completely withdrawing the Mochin when necessary and sleeping a little, one gives rest to the brain. Through this, one is renewed in the morning and merits to receive new Mochin — to begin living anew. 5

All this is merited through Tefillin. Therefore the kingship of Dovid is bound there — in the kesher shel Tefillin. From there descends a holy retzuah to the navel — the beginning of man's chiyus and birth when he enters the air of the world. The beginning of his separation from his mother's womb to begin living on his own is at the cutting of the umbilical cord — then he is separated and begins new life, receiving chiyus independently for the first time. 11

For Dovid had no chiyus of his own at all. He was destined to be a nefel [stillbirth]. Only Adam HaRishon gave him seventy years from his own lifespan, as our Sages said. The chiyus of Adam HaRishon was drawn from Arich Anpin — the aspect of Arichas apeye'im, the stories of primordial years. As brought in the Writings, the chiyus of the early generations came from Arich Anpin — therefore they lived very long. All the stories the Torah tells about the early generations are aspects of the stories of primordial years — the splendor of the countenance — from which all seventy faces of Torah receive. Therefore the Torah begins with these holy stories before explicating the mitzvos — for all the mitzvos of Torah, comprised in the seventy faces, need to receive from the splendor of the countenance — the beauty of Adam — the stories of primordial years. 16

This is: "soamaich Hashem l'chol hanoflim" — "Hashem supports all who fall" (Tehillim 145:14). These are those who fall from Avodas Hashem. Hashem supports and awakens them from their sleep through the tzadikay HaDor, who are the aspect of Dovid Mashiach — who merited to transform from nefel to long life, beginning to live anew each time. This is Tefillin = v'niflinu. Through this they enliven and sustain all who have fallen, that they should not fall in their minds and not despair of their souls' redemption — until they merit to return to Hashem. Then the fall and descent is itself the ultimate ascent. The essential fall is precisely for the sake of beginning to live anew, as explained elsewhere. 20

This is the aspect of Rosh HaShanah. Rosh HaShanah is the aspect of Tefillin — the renewal one merits each day through sleep, when the Mochin are renewed within emunah — this is Rosh HaShanah, as brought in the Torah "ashray ha'am" (LM I:35). Rosh HaShanah is the aspect of the holiness of Eretz Yisrael: "Tamid einei Hashem Elokecha bah, mereishis hashanah v'ad acharis shanah" (Devarim 11:12). This is Tefillin = holiness of Eretz Yisrael = "V'hayah ki yevi'acha" in the parshiyos of Tefillin. 25

This is the great Chesed Hashem did for us — that He established Rosh HaShanah on Rosh Chodesh. This is a great Chesed, as explained in the Torah "Tik'u I" (LM II). (We also heard more about this from the awesome ma'aseh related to this regarding the kisei [throne], which has not yet been published.) For we need Hashem to renew the year upon us in the aspect of Rosh Chodesh — the renewal of chiyus each time = Malchus Dovid Mashiach. 28

Behold, the sum total of Tefillin is the aspect of Mochin cha'yim [living brains]: to begin living anew each time — whether tzadik, beinoni, or rasha. As long as the name Yisrael is called upon him, he must begin anew each day. This is: "V'atem hadivaykim BaHashem Elokeichem — chayim kulchem hayom" — "You who cling to Hashem your G-d — you are all alive today" (Devarim 4:4) — said regarding the holy Tefillin. "cha'yim kulchem hayom" — "hayom" precisely — one must renew chiyus each and every day as if beginning to live today. 32

And therefore, tzitzis gathers the dispersed from the four corners of the earth, from all the places to which they have been scattered. For every one of the dispersed fell to the place he fell because of his place — for his place caused it — in the aspect of: "Do not judge your fellow until you reach his place," as above. And Hashem, blessed be He, Who is the Place of the world, as above, and Who knows the place of every single person — He judges everyone favorably. For He knows that one's place caused it.

And then, when Hashem, blessed be He, wishes to have mercy upon him in His abundant mercy, He elevates him from that place to the aspect of "above place." And there, everything is sweetened and rectified, as brought above.19 And this is the aspect of teshuvah, for teshuvah preceded the world20 — for teshuvah is in the aspect of "above place," the aspect of the Kisei HaKavod, which is the aspect of the "Place of the world" — in the aspect of : "Great is teshuvah, for it reaches unto the Kisei HaKavod."

For the place of every single person causes his distancing from Hashem, blessed be He. For "place" is the aspect of the intensity of Asiyah, the intensity of tzimtzum — from which comes the primary grip [of impurity], as is known.21 And one who wishes to come close to Hashem, blessed be He, must constantly seek Hashem in every place where he is, and bind and elevate the aspect of the place where he is to the aspect of "above place," to the "Place of the world" — namely, to Hashem, blessed be He. And then he merits to serve Hashem in truth, and no place prevents him — as brought elsewhere in the words of our Rebbe, of blessed memory .

And even one who has fallen to some bad place through his sins — even if he has fallen to the place where he has fallen, to a very low and materialistic and filthy place, G-d forbid, may the Merciful One save us — nevertheless, he must remember Hashem, blessed be He, Who is the Place of the world, where the place of every single person exists. And therefore there is no falling in the world at all. For even from there he can return to Hashem, blessed be He, Who is the Place of the world, from all the places to which he has been scattered — in the aspect of: "Uvikashta misham es Hashem Elokeicha" — "And from there you will seek Hashem your G-d" — "misham" [from there] specifically — from the place where he is — as brought in the name of the Ba'al Shem Tov, of blessed memory.22

And this is the aspect of tzitzis, which are in the aspect of "above place," the aspect of the Kisei HaKavod, the aspect of the "Place of the world." That is, tzitzis at their root are in the aspect of "above place," as above. And therefore, even below, the tzitzis are in the aspect of "a little that holds a lot," as it is written: "V'hecheziku asarah anashim mikol l'shonos hagoyim bichnaf ish Yehudi" — "And ten men from all the languages of the nations will grasp the corner of a Jewish man and say: 'Let us go with you,'" etc. . And our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded that in the future, 700 men will grasp one corner of the four corners of tzitzis. It follows that this is the aspect of "a little that holds a lot." And therefore, specifically in the corner they will be able to grasp — 700 men — the aspect of "a little that holds a lot." And through this specifically they will say: "Let us go with you" — to come close to Hashem. For through tzitzis, which are the aspect of "a little that holds a lot" — when one grasps them, one can ascend from "place" to the aspect of "above place." Through this, one is drawn close to Hashem, blessed be He, to the aspect of the "Place of the world," etc., as above — in the aspect of: "And I bore you on wings of eagles and I brought you to Me," etc., as above.

And therefore, tzitzis gathers the dispersed from the four corners of the earth — in the aspect of: "Vahavi'einu l'shalom mei'arba kanfos," etc. [And bring us in peace from the four corners…] — when one then grasps the tzitzis. For the tzitzis — which are the aspect of the Kisei HaKavod, the aspect of the "Place of the world" — they judge everyone favorably, even those who are greatly dispersed through their many sins. And then they elevate and gather all the dispersed from their places to which they have been scattered, to the aspect of "above place," to the aspect of the "Place of the world" — where there is a place for every single person, even for the dispersed. And there, everything is sweetened and rectified, for there everyone is judged favorably, as above.

And this is the aspect of the Exodus from Egypt, when Hashem bore them on wings of eagles and drew them close to Him — namely, He elevated them above place. For this is the essential aspect of the Exodus from Egypt: to exit from the straits and the narrowness. For this is the aspect of "place," which is the ultimate tzimtzum — where there is narrowness and constriction. For in the aspect of "above place," there is no narrowness or constriction at all. Only below, in the aspect of "place," is there narrowness and constriction. And therefore, all sufferings are called tzaros [troubles / straits], may the Merciful One save us. For the primary sufferings come from the aspect of tzimtzum, which is the aspect of "place" — where there is narrowness and constriction, from which all sufferings come. For they all come from the aspect of tzimtzumim, which are the aspect of dinim, as is known.24

And therefore, when one exits from the trouble and suffering, it is called harchavah [expansion], as it is said: "Batzar hirchavta li" — "In my distress You expanded for me" . And as it is said: "Min hameitzar karasi… anani vamerchav" — "From the straits I called… He answered me with expansiveness" . For the essential salvation, through sweetening the judgment, is the aspect of expanding the tzimtzum — the aspect of exiting from "place," which is the aspect of tzimtzum, to the aspect of "above place," where there is the aspect of expansiveness. For there is no constriction there at all, since there is no "place" there at all; rather, it is above place, as above.

And this is the aspect of the Exodus from Egypt. For Egypt is "the nakedness of the land"25 — a very impure place. It follows that this place of Egypt causes one to sin. And therefore it is called Mitzrayim, for it is the aspect of meitzar [narrowness] and constriction. For every place that is more distant from holiness is the aspect of greater tzimtzum — more in the aspect of "place," more in the aspect of Asiyah. For a place that has holiness is close to the aspect of "above place," to the "Place of the world," which is Hashem, blessed be He. And every place that is more materialistic — there is greater narrowness and constriction, for the further one is distanced from the "Place of the world," the more one is distanced from "a little that holds a lot," and one becomes more and more limited within "place" and Asiyah. And there, narrowness and constriction are greater, and there the grip of the Sitra Achara is greater — for their grip is in the boundaries of "place," the aspect of Asiyah. There is the primary narrowness and constriction, as above.

And this is the aspect of Egypt, which is an impure place, the "nakedness of the land," as above. And therefore it is called Mitzrayim, from the root meitzar, as above. And therefore, when Hashem brought them out of Egypt, He bore them on wings of eagles from Ra'amses to Sukkos in one day — the aspect of elevating them above place, as above. For this is the essential Exodus from Egypt. For through elevating them above place, they exited the exile of Egypt, which is the intensity of "place" most limited within boundaries and tzimtzum, the intensity of Asiyah, as above. And through this specifically they were drawn close to Him, blessed be He — in the aspect of: "And I bore you on wings of eagles and I brought you to Me." For the primary drawing close to Him, blessed be He, is when one merits to exit from "place" to the Kisei HaKavod, to the "Place of the world," which is above place — where everything is sweetened and rectified, as above.

And this is the aspect of Sefiras Ha'Omer — that one brings an omer of barley immediately on the second day of Pesach, and afterward one counts seven weeks, 49 days, in order to exit through this from the impurity of Egypt. For the waving of the omer of barley in all six directions — upward and downward and in the four directions, which are the totality of the boundaries of "place" — this is the aspect of elevating and binding the aspect of "place," the aspect of the six directions, to Hashem, blessed be He, to the aspect of "above place," to the "Place of the world."

For barley is the aspect of the tzimtzum of all the dinim, as brought in the holy books. And this is the aspect of an omer of barley — omer meaning a measure and tzimtzum. And this is the aspect of "place," which is the aspect of tzimtzum, as above. And through waving the omer of barley in all six directions in the Beis HaMikdash, through this one binds and elevates "place" — the aspect of the six directions and all the tzimtzumim — to the aspect of "above place."

For this is the aspect of all the sacrificial services in the Beis HaMikdash. For the Beis HaMikdash is in the aspect of "a little that holds a lot," whose root is from "above place," as our Sages, of blessed memory, said : "They stood crowded yet prostrated themselves with room. And no person said to his fellow: 'The space is too cramped for me to lodge in Yerushalayim.'" For Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim and the Beis HaMikdash and the Kodesh HaKodashim, where all the ten sanctities are — they are closest to "above place." And therefore they are in the aspect of "a little that holds a lot." And therefore no place was cramped in Yerushalayim, as above. And in the Beis HaMikdash, which was holier still, there was even more "a little that holds a lot" — "they stood crowded yet prostrated with room." And between the two staves of the Ark, there was even more "a little that holds a lot" — for all of Yisrael stood between the two staves of the Ark, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said27 on the verse: "G'shu heinah" — "Come close here" . And Rashi explains: "He compressed them all between the two staves of the Ark — this is one of the places where a little held a lot."

For the Even Shesiyah [Foundation Stone] that was in the Beis HaMikdash — from it the world was founded27 — and from it the "place" of the entire world spread forth. And the point of the Even Shesiyah is at the ultimate height of "a little that holds a lot." For there, in that point, the "place" of the entire world is subsumed. For the Even Shesiyah is adjacent to "above place," from where emerged the point of the Even Shesiyah, which is the point of the world's "place" — the aspect of: "Vayashes aleihem teiveil" — "And He set the world upon them" — namely, the Even Shesiyah from which the world was founded.

And therefore Yaakov, when he went to Charan, "encountered that Place" — which is in the place of the point of the Even Shesiyah, the place of the Kodesh HaKodashim — as our Sages, of blessed memory, said that he experienced kefitzas ha'aretz there specifically — the aspect of "above place," as above. And there, the twelve stones were subsumed into one stone when he lay down in that place — the aspect of "a little that holds a lot."

It follows that the Beis HaMikdash is in the aspect of "above place," the aspect of "a little that holds a lot." And therefore, there in the Beis HaMikdash, the great Sanhedrin sat and judged the entire world. For they were able to judge the entire world favorably, as the Sanhedrin were commanded, as it is written: "V'hitzilu ha'eidah" — "And the congregation shall save" — as our Sages, of blessed memory, said.29 And therefore, the primary place of judgment was there in the Lishkas HaGazis. For there in the Beis HaMikdash one can ascend to the "Place of the world" through the point of the Even Shesiyah, as above — through which one can judge everyone favorably, as above. And therefore the Torah commanded: "Lo sasur min hadavar asher yagidu lecha… min hamakom hahu" — "You shall not deviate from the matter that they tell you… from that Place" — "min hamakom hahu" specifically. For the Place causes it — in the aspect of: "V'hayah hamakom asher yivchar Hashem" — "And it shall be the Place that Hashem chooses" . For this Place specifically Hashem chose, for it is adjacent to "above place." And there is the primary judgment and law — for there is no one who is worthy to judge the world except one who can ascend and bind himself to the "Place of the world," where everyone is judged favorably, etc., as above. And this was specifically in the Beis HaMikdash, etc., as above.

And this is the aspect of the sacrifices. For the essential aspect of "place" is due to the lack of Da'as. And whoever has greater Da'as is closer to "above place," as understood from the words of our Rebbe, of blessed memory , on the verse: "Ani hayom yelidticha" — "Today I have begotten you" — see there. And therefore, when a person sins, G-d forbid — when a spirit of folly enters him, as our Sages said — then he falls further beneath the physical "place." And therefore, his rectification was in the Beis HaMikdash, through bringing an animal as a sacrifice. For the animal is the absence of Da'as, the aspect of "place." And in the Beis HaMikdash, they would elevate the animal — the absence of Da'as, the aspect of Din and tzimtzum, the aspect of "place" — to "above place." For in the Beis HaMikdash, one can ascend from "place" to "above place." And therefore the Beis HaMikdash was higher than all other lands: "V'kamta v'alisa el hamakom" — "And you shall arise and ascend to the Place" .