Laws of Washing the Hands in the Morning — Halacha 1

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 4 "When one rises, one should wash his hands," etc.

See the discourse beginning "U'v'Yom HaBikurim" (Likutay Moharan I, 56). For there is in every member of Israel an aspect of Malchus, etc. — see there.

For at night, the Malchus is in exile. For the essential completeness of the Malchus is through arichus yamim [length of days] — that is, the aspect of da'as, the aspect of chasadim. And at night, dinim overpower. And therefore, then the da'as is concealed. And therefore, the Malchus is diminished then and descends among the lower [realms]. For the essential da'as is received from the hands — in the aspect of machlokes l'shem Shamayim [strife for the sake of Heaven] — in the aspect of: "Let us lift up our hearts to our palms" (Lamentations 3:41) — etc. And at night, the pulsating spirit [ru'ach hadofek] does not blow so strongly, and the movement of the limbs is heavy at night. And on account of this, then sadness of spirit overpowers — in the aspect of: "In the evening, weeping shall lodge" (Psalms 30:6). And the essential overpowering is upon the hands, as explained there — the aspect of the sadness of the hands, etc.

And therefore, in the morning — when the spirit is renewed and all the limbs are recreated — then the sadness of spirit is nullified — in the aspect of: "and in the morning, joy" (Psalms 30:6). And the pulsating spirit returns to flow properly through all the limbs — and the essential thing is in the hands. Therefore, one must purify specifically the hands — for there the sadness of spirit overpowered the most, as above. And conversely, now the holiness is drawn there the most. Therefore, one must sanctify and purify them. And the purification is with water — which is the aspect of chasadim — the aspect of da'as. And then, through this, one can build the Malchus. For the essential building of the Malchus is from the hands — in the aspect of: "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand" (Song of Songs 2:6) — etc. That is, through the pulsating spirit in the heart that is drawn to the hands, until one can lift them to the Heavens — and from there, one receives diburim [speech/words] in the aspect of machlokes l'shem Shamayim, as above. And this is the aspect of the da'as, through which the essential completeness of the Malchus comes, as above.

And this is the meaning of (Berachos 15a): "Whoever relieves himself, and washes his hands, and dons tefillin, and recites Krias Shema — it is as if he accepted the complete yoke of the Heavenly Kingdom." For the essential completeness of the Malchus is through subjugating the evil and the kleepoas that are attached to the holiness. And this is what our Rebbe wrote there: that the essential completeness of the Malchus is to reprove and to discipline the people — in order to expel the evil and the kleepoas. And this is the aspect of: "Remove the dross from the silver… remove the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established through chesed" (Proverbs 25:4–5) — "through chesed" specifically. For through this, the da'as is drawn — which is the aspect of chesed, as above.

And this is why one must wash the hands twice: before relieving oneself and afterward. For it is impossible to expel the evil except through the da'as, as explained there. And therefore, one must first purify the hands — in order to draw down da'as — the aspect of arichus yamim. And through this, one can reveal the concealment — that is, to expel and nullify the kleepoas that conceal and hide the holiness. And from this itself is drawn arichus yamim — the aspect of da'as — as explained there. And this is the aspect of the second washing of the hands afterward — in order to draw down da'as and arichus yamim that one merits through expelling and clearing out the evil, as above.

And this is the aspect of the donning of tefillin afterward. For through purifying the hands, one can then lift them — in the aspect of: "when I lift up My hands to the Heavens" (Deuteronomy 32:40) — the aspect of: "lift up your hands in holiness" (Psalms 134:2). And da'as is drawn from the hands into the mochin, as above. And from this comes the aspect of tefillin, which are mochin — and they are the aspect of life and arichus yamim — as our Sages said (Menachos 44a): "Whoever dons tefillin merits long life."

And this is the meaning of: "Who shall ascend the mountain of Hashem, and who shall stand in His holy place?" (Psalms 24:3). That is, who can merit da'as — which is the aspect of the mountain of Hashem and His holy place — that is, the Bais HaMikdash — which is the aspect of da'as? "He who has clean hands and a pure heart" (Psalms 24:4). For through a pure heart, he has clean hands — the aspect of: "Let us lift up our hearts to our palms" (Lamentations 3:41). And through this, he can ascend the mountain of Hashem — to merit da'as — the aspect of: "when I lift up My hands to the Heavens" — the aspect of machlokes l'shem Shamayim, as above. And this is the aspect of Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferes — which ascend and become Chochmah, Binah, Da'as.

And this is what is written in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 4:3): that it is forbidden to touch, before the washing, the mouth, the nose, the eyes, and the ears — which are the aspect of the seven lights that receive the light of the Face — that is, the intellect. And the receiving is from the hands. And when the hands are impure, one can receive the opposite, G-d forbid — since their receiving is from the hands, as above.

And afterward, one recites Krias Shema — which is the acceptance of the yoke of the Heavenly Kingdom — which one merits through having relieved himself, washed his hands, and donned tefillin, as above. And this is the aspect of the revelation of the concealment — as it is written: "Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One" — that even in all the concealments, everything receives its life-force from Him, and "there is no place void of Him."

And this is what is written in the Holy Zohar (Eikev 273a): one must lengthen the dalet of echad — as it is written: "in order that he may prolong his days upon his kingdom" (Deuteronomy 17:20). That is, as above: the essential Krias Shema — which is the dalet of echad — is the aspect of drawing arichus yamim, which is the da'as, into the Malchus.

And this is what our Sages said (Berachos 15a): "Whoever relieves himself, and washes his hands, and dons tefillin, and recites Krias Shema — it is as if he accepted the complete yoke of the Heavenly Kingdom." For all of this is the aspect of the completeness of the Malchus, as above. And this is what our Sages said — and they conclude there — that it is also considered as if he immersed. For this is the aspect of immersion — the aspect of mikveh — the aspect of the supernal da'as and great chasadim — which is the essential completeness of the Malchus, as above — as explained there. See there. Examine well the Torah-teaching "U'v'Yom HaBikurim" mentioned above, and you will understand these words. For all this was written in brief, and it is impossible to understand the words well except after studying the Torah-teaching mentioned above.