ברכת הפרות ג

As we find in several generations — such as Shaul who pursued Dovid for nothing, and likewise the brothers of Yosef who opposed him so strenuously that they permitted his blood — and certainly their intention was for the sake of Heaven, for they thought he was not a man of truth, and that he spoke slander, etc. And so it was in previous generations, and especially in these generations, in ikvesa diMeshicha, where falsehood has overpowered exceedingly — until even among the tzaddikim and kosher people themselves, great machlokes has fallen, and no one knows where the point of truth lies. 6

This massive halachah — based on LM I:20 (Tisha Tikkunin) — maps the entire cycle of Tishrei onto a single spiritual drama: revealing and conquering Eretz Yisrael.

The Core Teaching: To reach Eretz Yisrael, one must draw Torah — but only through mercy and supplication, never through the "staff of strength" of one's own merit. Moshe's error at the rock was using his merit to draw Torah by force instead of through humble prayer connected to the assembly's souls. This prevented his entry into the Land. Through his passing, he rectified this — and as Mashiach, he will return to draw Torah properly and bring everyone to Eretz Yisrael.

We must plead before Hashem that we merit to find the truth in its truth. This is what one should have in mind when kindling Ner Chanukah: that through the mitzvah of Ner Chanukah we merit to draw the illumination of truth — the aspect of "Sh'lach orcha va'amitecha" — that we merit to draw close to the point of truth always. 7

The Tishrei Cycle: • Rosh HaShanah (§§1-4): Removing one's own mochin (= sleep/dormita), standing as a pauper. Then the shofar awakens new mochin = Torah illuminations = fire. Malchiyos, Zichronos, Shofaros (§§5-7) — all three = Eretz Yisrael. • Ten Days (§8): Ten levels of holiness. Yom Kippur = Kodesh HaKodashim, the tenth and highest. • Sukkos (§§9-12): Now we conquer. The sukkah = Clouds of Glory = the road. The four species = weapons of war. Esrog = Eretz Yisrael (flawless). Lulav = the tzadik. Aravah = wicked returned through mercy. Hadas = the neshamah's Torah. Seventy bulls for seventy nations — extracting holy judgment from among them.

Part 2 continues with §§13-23: Ushpizin, Hoshana Rabbah, Shemini Atzeres, and the application to eating and bread.

This is the aspect of why the mother's name specifically is mentioned when praying for a sick person. For all illness of a person is drawn from the aspect of the exchange of the Prince, where the son of the slave overpowers the Prince, chas v'shalom. For all illness is an aspect of death — a withdrawal of the vital forces and life-energy. The essential source of death is drawn from zuhamas hanachash, which is the aspect of zuhamas ha'eved [contamination of the slave] that overpowers the Prince through the sin of Adam HaRishon. For the contamination of the serpent and the contamination of the slave are one and the same aspect — the aspect of the curse pronounced upon the serpent, which is the aspect of "Arur Kena'an eved avadim" — as brought above. 8

From this contamination — the contamination of the slave, which is the contamination of the serpent — death is drawn, as explained in the Torah: when the serpent injected contamination into Chavah, death was decreed upon the world. For the essential decree of death comes through the aspect of the exchange — where the aspect of the son of the slave seeks to overpower the son of the king. For the body and neshamah are the aspects of the son of the slave and the son of the king. The neshamah is a portion of G-d above — the aspect of the Prince, the aspect of (Shemos 4) "B'ni bechori Yisrael," the aspect of (Shabbos 111a) "All of Yisrael are children of kings," the aspect of (Tehillim 2) "Hashem amar eilai b'ni atah..." — the aspect of a son drawn from the mind of the Father, as is known. As it is written (Yeshayah 46) "Han'su'im mini rechem, ha'amusim mini veten," and as it is written (Bereishis 2) "va'yeepach b'apav nishmas chaim," and as it says in the Zohar HaKadosh: "One who blows, blows from within himself" — for they are truly a portion of G-d, which is the aspect of a son. 9

And the body is the aspect of a slave. For the body is the aspect of physical making — asiyah gashmiyis — which is the aspect of a slave, the aspect of work and servitude. Hashem created man in order that he subjugate and subdue the body to the neshamah — the slave to the son. Just as a slave is obligated to serve his master and do his will, so the body is obligated to serve the neshamah, to nullify itself before the neshamah, and to do only the will of the neshamah. 10

Had man not sinned, the aspect of avdus would have been completely nullified. For the essential avdus is drawn from transgressing the words of the Torah, chas v'shalom — in the aspect of (Avos 3) "Whoever casts off the yoke of Torah, upon him is placed the yoke of government and the yoke of worldly occupation" — which are the aspect of avdus. But one who accepts upon himself the yoke of Torah — the yoke of government, etc., is removed from him. For "there is no free person except one who engages in Torah," etc. (Avos 6). 11

The principle: the essential aspect of avdus is from the side of the body, and the essential aspect of cheirus [freedom] and malchus is from the side of the neshamah. Man was created in order to nullify the body before the neshamah, the slave before the son. One must nullify the body to such an extent that it transforms into the nature of the neshamah itself — transforming from body to soul, from slave to son. 12

For even in the service of Hashem there are two aspects. There are those who serve Hashem in the aspect of a slave, and those who are in the aspect of a son, as is brought. That is: a person must serve Hashem with all his strength so that the body does only the will of the neshamah. But as long as the body still has some scent of its bodily desires — only that the person breaks his desire for the sake of the will of the neshamah, which is the will of Hashem — even though this is very good and praiseworthy, nevertheless, his service is still in the aspect of a slave of kedushah. For certainly it is the aspect of a slave, since the service of Hashem is considered labor and toil for him — because the desire of the body does not incline toward it; he merely breaks the will of the body for the sake of the will of the Creator. Therefore he is still in the aspect of a slave. 13

But one who merits to break the body completely, in the ultimate nullification, until the body is transformed into neshamah itself — and he fulfills "V'ahavta es Hashem Elokecha b'chol l'vavcha..." — with both your inclinations: so that even the body loves Hashem and does His will out of love, having no other desire, wanting nothing except the will of the Creator — then he is called a son. For all his service of Hashem is not called by the name of avdus at all — for it is not servitude for him at all! He does the will of Hashem in complete love, by the will of both body and soul, since the body has been transformed into neshamah, as above. Therefore it is certainly not fitting to call him by the name of slave at all, for avdus is only what goes against a person's will. What a person does willingly is not called avdus at all. For example: eating and drinking and other bodily desires are not considered labor and toil for a person, since he does them willingly. Only when he must lift a heavy burden and the like is it called work. Similarly, the service of Hashem: because the body is not accustomed to it, it is called work for him. But when he merits to transform the body into neshamah itself, then all service of Hashem is not called work for him at all — on the contrary, this is his essential vitality and his delight and his pleasure, and he has no other delight and joy in body and soul except when he merits to do the will of his Creator. 14

And in truth, the fact that for most people the matter is the reverse — that eating and drinking and other bodily desires are not considered labor, while mitzvos and good deeds are considered labor and toil — this is itself the aspect of the exchange, where the Prince was exchanged for the son of the maidservant until people thought that the Prince was a slave, chas v'shalom, and the son of the maidservant was a king, chas v'shalom. So too, the truth has been reversed in the world: mitzvos and good deeds — which are the will of Hashem, the will of the neshamah, the aspect of the son of the king — this is considered avdus for them. And the will of the body — bodily desires — is not considered avdus for them, as if the body were king, chas v'shalom, over the neshamah. 15

But in truth it is the exact opposite: the neshamah is the true king, and the body is a slave. And everything that is the will of the neshamah — Torah and mitzvos and good deeds — this is the aspect of kingship, the aspect of (Mishlay 8) "Bi melachim yimlochu" — and this is not called by the name of avdus at all, as above. And what is the will of the body — bodily desires — this is the essential aspect of avdus, the aspect of physical making, where the bodily desires take hold, drawn from the contamination of the slave, which is the contamination of the serpent, as is known. 16

One must nullify the body before the neshamah, break the bodily desires — which are the aspect of avdus — and nullify them completely, until the body is transformed into neshamah itself, until the body does the will of the neshamah, which is the will of the Creator, willingly — and it is no longer considered work for him at all. Then the aspect of avdus is completely nullified, and he merits to be in the aspect of a son. This is the essential perfection, as is known. 17

Had Adam HaRishon not sinned, a person would have merited this level in his lifetime — to transform the body into neshamah itself, so that his service of Hashem would not be in the aspect of a slave at all, but only in the aspect of a son, as above. But due to the sin of Adam HaRishon, through which the zuhamas hanachash — the contamination of the slave — took hold in him, the body became so materialized that great labor and toil are required to break the bodily desires. Then, even when he serves Hashem, his service is still in the aspect of a slave, since it is considered labor for him, because he must force himself to break his body that has not yet been refined to the point of transforming into the essence of the neshamah, as above. 18

Therefore death was decreed — in order to refine and nullify the aspect of avdus. For the essential decree of death is due to the contamination of the serpent, which is the contamination of the slave, as above. That is: now, after the sin of Adam HaRishon, it is impossible to fully attain the aspect of a son — to transform the body into neshamah itself — except after death, when the body decomposes in the earth and rises in the resurrection in a pure and radiant body. Then the body will be in the aspect of neshamah, and the contamination of the slave will be completely nullified. Then one will be in the aspect of a son in body and soul, for the body will be transformed to the aspect of neshamah, and will be incorporated into the Infinite — in body and soul — in ratzo vashov, according to each person's merit. 19

For now, in our present body, it is impossible to fully achieve the aspect of a son and nullify the aspect of avdus. Even exceedingly great tzaddikim who merited to completely refine their body — nevertheless, they must die due to the scheme of the serpent, for the sake of the tikun of the world, to repair the sin of Adam HaRishon and nullify the aspect of avdus from the world. 20

It follows that the essential aspect of death is through the overpowering of the slave over the son — the body over the neshamah — which is the aspect of the sin of Adam HaRishon, through which death was decreed on the world. From there is drawn all illness — which is an aspect of death, a withdrawal of the vitality and powers, as above — drawn from the overpowering of the body over the soul. For the essential source of illness and death is the conflict between the neshamah and the body: when they do not conduct themselves in proper balance, the four elements overpower, chas v'shalom, until the soul cannot dwell with them together, and begins to withdraw from them. All this is drawn from the aspect of the machlokes of the slave against the son — where they were exchanged, etc., as above. For the four elements are the aspect of slaves, as it is written in the Torah "Anochi" (LM I:4, see there §22). 21

For this reason, when praying for a sick person, we mention the mother's name specifically. For the essential vitality of a person — and of all creatures, formed beings, and made things — is through the Name, in the aspect of (Bereishis 2:19) "nefesh chayah — hu shmo" — "a living soul — that is its name." Through the name of everything, the vitality flows into it from the Life of all lives. Even from the Life of all lives, it is impossible to draw the vitality except through His Name, as it were — as explained in the Torah "U'v'yom HaBikurim, HaStarah," etc. (LM I:56): that it is impossible to draw the vitality from the Life of all lives except by calling upon Him by His Name, which is the Torah — see there. For regarding Hashem — "no thought can grasp Him at all" — and we know of Him only through His Name alone, like a great king who is hidden from the people of his land, and they do not see him, but know him only through the name alone. So too, "there is none who knows You at all" — only we know Him through His Name alone. For Hashem, in His compassion, contracted Himself through many contractions until He made for Himself a Name, in the aspect of "Vata'as l'cha sheim k'hayom hazeh" — so that we can know of Him through His Name alone: that there is a Master, Ruler, and Conductor — One, Singular, and Unique, etc. 22

From the aspect of this great and awesome Name, the vitality flows to all creatures in the world — through their name specifically. For everything receives its vitality through its name, from the Name of Hashem Who gives life to all, as above. 23

It is written (Shemos 3) "Zeh Sh'mi l'olam v'zeh zichri l'dor dor," and our Sages expound (Pesachim 50a): "Zeh Sh'mi l'olam" [concealed forever] — for His Name is not read as it is written. It is written with the Name Hava'yah but read as Adnus. But in the future it will be fulfilled: "Bayom hahu yihyeh Hashem echad u'Shmo echad" — it will be read with Hava'yah as it is written. But now, we must conceal the essential shaim Ha'Etzem [the Essential Name], which is the Name Hava'yah, and it is read only as Adnus. 24

From the secret of these two Names derive and descend the aspects of the father's name and the mother's name. From these two Names are drawn the aspects of neshamah and body — which are the aspects of man and woman. For the essential formation of the body is from the mother, and the essential neshamah is from the father — and their supernal root is the aspect of these two Names. They are the aspects of the sun and the moon, day and night, etc., as is known and understood in the sefarim. 25

Had Adam HaRishon not sinned, and had he merited to transform the body into neshamah — slave into son — he would have merited in his lifetime to perceive the Name Hava'yah, and would have merited to pronounce it as it is written, as will be in the future. But now, after the sin, where the slave dominates, chas v'shalom — the aspect of the contamination of the serpent that has taken hold in the body — we must conceal the shaim Ha'Etzem, for it is impossible to receive it in this body. It is impossible to pronounce it and perceive it now except through the shaim HaKeenoy [the Name of Appellation], which is the Name Adnus, by which it is pronounced now. 26

For this reason, man must die — so that the body may be refined in the earth, and then rise in the resurrection in a pure body that will be in the aspect of neshamah, and the contamination of the slave will be completely nullified. Then we will be able to pronounce the shaim Ha'Etzem. Therefore, death is in truth a great good, as it is written (Bereishis Rabbah 9): "'V'hinei tov me'od' — this is death" — so that man will merit through this to perceive Him through the aspect of the shaim Ha'Etzem, which is now impossible to pronounce, as above. 27

Therefore, before a person's passing, an additional vitality of the neshamah is added to him, and through this he passes away, as it is written (Tehillim 104): "Tosif rucham yigva'un" — "You add their spirit and they expire." For Hashem shows us in this that death is a great good, for then begins the perfection of his tikun — that he must merit in the future to perceive Him with an additional, new perception through the aspect of the shaim Ha'Etzem. From there is drawn the aspect of tosif rucham before the passing. And through this itself the person passes away, for now in this body, as soon as the additional vitality drawn from the shaim Ha'Etzem is drawn, one must depart — for it is impossible to receive the vitality drawn from the shaim Ha'Etzem in this present body, as above. 28

Therefore, when a person is ill — which is the beginning of death, where the neshamah begins to withdraw, drawn from the aspect of tosif rucham yigva'un, so that he will merit in the future to receive the perception of the shaim Ha'Etzem, etc. — and we wish to pray for him to have his strength restored and continue to live in this world (for he is still needed in this world to refine his body further, since "hayom la'asosam" — "today is for doing" — is written, and therefore we need mercy that a person should extend his years in this world to accumulate sufficient good deeds so that afterward, in the future, he will merit what he will merit, for everything is according to how much one has labored on erev Shabbos in this world) — therefore, when we must pray for the sick person, we mention only the mother's name and conceal the father's name. 29

For the father's name, relative to the mother's name, is in the aspect of the shaim Ha'Etzem relative to the shaim HaKeenoy. And now we must conceal the father's name, in the aspect of "Zeh Sh'mi l'olam" — so that the person not depart, chas v'shalom, through an excess of light, through the aspect of tosif rucham drawn from the shaim Ha'Etzem, which is the source of the departure, as above. For we wish the light to contract further and for the person to receive the vitality by way of concealment and contraction, gradually and in measure, through the shaim HaKeenoy — from which the mother's name derives — so that he can continue to live and not depart through the aspect of tosif rucham, etc. Therefore we mention the mother's name specifically. 30

For as long as a person is healthy and there is peace between the neshamah and the body — which are the aspects of the father's name and the mother's name — the essential one is the father's name, for a son is called by the father's name specifically: "In a place where there is the male, the female is not mentioned" — for the essential vitality is from the father's name specifically. 31

But now, when the person is sick, chas v'shalom — which is the aspect of death, as above, drawn from the aspect of tosif rucham — this aspect of tosif rucham, drawn from the shaim Ha'Etzem, is drawn and takes hold through the father's name most of all. For the father's name in its supernal root derives and descends from there [the shaim Ha'Etzem], as above. Therefore now, the father's name should not be mentioned, lest the aspect of tosif rucham be aroused, chas v'shalom — from which comes the departure, chas v'shalom, as above. Therefore now, we must specifically conceal the father's name and mention only the mother's name — so that the vitality will flow to the body and he will continue to live in this world, receiving the vitality from the concealment of the shaim Ha'Etzem specifically, as above. 32

For in truth, the totality of the names of everything in the world — which is their vitality — is drawn only from the aspect of the shaim HaKeenoy, for from the shaim Ha'Etzem it is now impossible to receive the vitality openly, but only through great concealment. Therefore both the father's name and the mother's name together receive their vitality from the shaim HaKeenoy. Only it is known that every aspect is comprised of all the aspects, as explained in the writings of the Arizal many times — that every name, every aspect, every sefirah, etc., is comprised of all the names and all the aspects. Therefore even the shaim HaKeenoy itself is comprised of both the aspect of shaim Ha'Etzem and shaim HaKeenoy. Therefore, the father's name and the mother's name — which both derive from the aspect of shaim HaKeenoy — are in the aspect of shaim Ha'Etzem and shaim HaKeenoy. For the father's name relative to the mother's name is in the aspect of the shaim Ha'Etzem relative to the shaim HaKeenoy. Normally the essential one is the father's name, which is the essential vitality, etc., as above. 33

But at the time of illness, when the aspect of tosif rucham of the future is aroused — and this aspect is drawn most of all through the father's name, which constantly receives the vitality from the shaim Ha'Etzem by way of great concealment and hiddenness, and now an aspect of revelation is being drawn upon it — the aspect of tosif rucham of the future, where the essential vitality will come from there, but in this world one must depart through it because it is impossible to receive this light openly in this world, as above — therefore, when we wish to pray for the sick person, we must conceal the father's name completely. For we wish him to continue living in this world, and therefore we must conceal the father's name, whose root is from the shaim Ha'Etzem from which comes the aspect of tosif rucham — through which he would depart, chas v'shalom. We mention only the mother's name, whose root is from the shaim HaKeenoy — to draw upon him vitality gradually and in measure, without additional spirit, so that he may live and extend his days and years further in this world to repair what still needs to be repaired. Amein v'amein. 34

This is the aspect of what we find in all of Sefer Melachim: for all the kings of Beis Dovid, the mother's name of the king is always mentioned. For kingship is the aspect of the Name, as it is written (Shmuel II 8) "Vaya'as Dovid sheim" — "And Dovid made a name." For the essential kingship of Beis Dovid — from which Mashiach will come — is to reveal the Name of the glory of His kingship. For the kingship of Dovid Mashiach is the kingship of kedushah, which is His kingship, which is the aspect of His Name. For kingship is the aspect of the Name, as above. Therefore, for all these kings, the mother's name specifically is mentioned — for the essential revelation of the Name of the glory of His kingship in this world now is through the aspect of the shaim HaKeenoy specifically, which is the aspect of the mother's name, as above. 35

This is the aspect of Parshas HaTamid and the other korbanos that are recited in the morning. For all the korbanos are for the purpose of refining the spirit of man from the spirit of the animal, in the aspect of (Koheles 3) "Mi yodei'a ruach bnei ha'adam ha'olah hi l'ma'alah, v'ruach habeheimah hayoredes..." — "Who knows the spirit of man that ascends upward, and the spirit of the animal that descends..." 36

This is the secret of what is written in the Ma'aseh: the Prince who was exchanged — his punishment and his tikun — was through pursuing the animals that the merchant had given him to drive and to graze. Two animals strayed from him, and he went to seek them until he chased after them deep into the thick of the forest, etc. — until he was compelled to stay there overnight, etc. — until a certain man came to him and said: "Desist from pursuing the sins! For these are not animals at all — rather, your sins are leading you thus," etc. See there. 37

This is the secret of all the korbanos. For all of a person's sins are the aspect of beheimos [animals] — the aspect of the animal spirit, from which come all the desires — the animal desires — as it is written in Sotah (Sotah 15a): "She acted in the manner of an animal," etc. Therefore one must bring an animal as a korban to atone, for through the sin — where one was bound to the behavior of an animal, to the animal spirit and animal desires — the spirit of man became intermixed with the spirit of the animal. This is the essential aspect of the mixing of good and evil, the aspect of the blemish of the sin of the Eitz HaDa'as Tov vaRa, which encompasses all the sins in the world. 38