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45 בַּעֲבוּר יִשְׁמְרוּ חֻקָּיו וְתוֹרֹתָיו יִנְצֹרוּ הַלְלוּי-ה Hilchos Birchas HaPairos — Halachah 5 Part 1 (Intro + §§ 1–5) COMPLETE · Based on LM II:88

Topic of Birchas HaPairos and the precedence of Eretz Yisrael fruits. Based on Likutay II, Siman 88 : there are lost things [ avaidos ]. See the preceding Siman: kavanos of Elul = tikkun habris , finding one's match, the secret Avraham transmitted to Eliezer.

One must be careful not to eat a fruit before it has ripened, for one can lose one's nefesh . Even so, if one recites the berachah on the fruit with kavanah and yiras Shamayim , one can be saved from this. And if one is even stronger, one can find avaidos [lost things] there. See there regarding the malachim — they all hold shofros in their hands and they stand, digging and searching constantly for avaidos . They sound teru'ah , and when they find some avaidah , a great commotion and joy ensues. For there are many lost things — what is lost through desires: "the desire of the wicked shall perish." He said all the above — the kavanos of Elul, the fruits, the malachim — are all one matter, containing awesome, deeply hidden secrets.

§ 1 — Searching for Avaidos : The Essence of Man's Purpose The Torah explains well the topic of birchas hapairos — how much one must be careful to bless on fruits with great kavanah , to find the hidden avaidos within them. Even when the fruit is fully ripe, there are still many holy sparks — avaidos — that one must search for carefully. This is the entirety of man: he was created to search for avaidos — the fallen sparks, the lost and banished — which every person must strive to seek all his life. Especially if he has sinned and blemished, particularly pgam habris , through which he himself lost many more avaidos . Each person must have compassion on his own life and search for these avaidos . If he searches well, he will certainly find: "I toiled and did not find — do not believe." This is the essential teshuvah : "and you shall return to Hashem your G-d... if your banished ones are at the ends of the heavens, from there Hashem your G-d will gather you, and from there He will take you." And: "you shall seek Hashem your G-d from there, and find Him when you seek with all your heart and soul." And: "if you seek it like silver, like hidden treasures... then you will understand the fear of Hashem." One must search greatly for the ways of holiness. Whatever distance a person is from Hashem comes from these avaidos — through them he wanders like a lost sheep, unable to find the path of life: "I have strayed like a lost sheep" — "I was like a lost vessel... they sought to take my soul." This is Rosh HaShanah — the first day of teshuvah , the first of the ten days. We blow shofar — is'arusa dil'sata awakens above. Through our blowing, we empower and give strength to the malachim holding shofros , that they should strive harder to search for the avaidos . This is the essence of teshuvah — the tikkun for all sins caused by desires, through which one loses what one loses, Rachmana litzlan : "the desire of the wicked shall perish." The wicked who never repent: "let the wicked perish" — "the way of the wicked shall perish." But Hashem had mercy and gave us holy Rosh HaShanah and commanded the shofar — through which the essential searching for avaidos lost through desires is accomplished. Therefore in Birchos Shofros specifically we pray for gathering the banished: "sound the great shofar for our freedom, raise a banner to gather our exiles." Daily in Shemoneh Esrai we begin the prayer for gathering the banished with "Sound the shofar" — for the essential gathering of the banished/ avaidos is through the shofar . Therefore one must travel to tzadikim for Rosh HaShanah specifically. All the avaidos are with the tzadikim , who already searched extensively until they found them all — even the avaidos of the entire world (as in LM I:188 ). On Rosh HaShanah , when the shofar sounds and teshuvah begins, one must come to great, true tzadikim where all the avaidos are. We read the birth of Yitzchak on Rosh HaShanah , and on the second day conclude with the finding of his match: "and Besuel fathered Rivkah." For the entire matter of Rosh HaShanah is in the aspect of Pachad Yitzchak — gevuros . Due to the severity of gevuros and dinim , the avaidos are hard to find — they were lost through the dinim gripping them through sins. This is the entirety of the exiles, called "lost": "you will surely be lost." On Rosh HaShanah , Pachad Yitzchak , we sweeten this — sweetening the gevuros of Yitzchak through Israel's prayer, primarily through the shofar . The essential sweetening is completed on the second day ( dina rafya ), when the Torah reading concludes with the finding of Yitzchak's match — the essential sweetening. For Yitzchak's match was extremely difficult to find, and Avraham had to transmit the secret — the secret of Elul's kavanos — to Eliezer. Each year on Rosh HaShanah this is reenacted in the spiritual realms, and through it the essential sweetening of dinim . The principle: a person must strive all his days to search for his avaidos — the essence of teshuvah . If he searches well, he will find. Even when he hasn't yet found, every effort already finds something — no good will is ever lost. Certainly he found through every word and every effort: lais re'usa tava d'is'avad . This is what our Sages said: "I toiled and found — believe!" At first glance: what does "believe" mean? One can see if he found or not! But according to the above it is well explained. Even if one doesn't see what was found and it seems one found nothing, still as far from Hashem as before chas v'shalom — one must believe with complete faith that through the effort itself, he certainly found. "I toiled and found — ta'amin " — "believe" for certain. One must believe that through effort one finds, even when one cannot yet see what was found. § 2 — Eretz Yisrael Fruits: All Avaidos Return There This is birchas hapairos . One must give precedence to Eretz Yisrael fruits, for the essential gathering and elevation of all avaidos and their return to holiness is to bring them to Eretz Yisrael : "if your banished ones are at the ends of the heavens, from there Hashem will gather you... and bring you to the Land." And: "on that day a great shofar will be sounded, and the lost ones shall come... and the banished... and bow to Hashem on the holy mountain in Yerushalayim." Therefore Eretz Yisrael fruits take precedence — the essential berachah seeks and finds avaidos , whose essential finding is returning them to Eretz Yisrael . All berachos derive from "and you shall eat, be satisfied, and bless Hashem your G-d for the Land" — the essential berachah reveals Eretz Yisrael holiness where all avaidos are restored. One must hold the fruit in the right hand — the right is Eretz Yisrael : Binyamin called "son of the right" for Eretz Yisrael ( LM I:55 ). One's heart must not see ervah during the berachah — tikkun habris . One must mention Malchus — "King of the world" — for the avaidos are scattered throughout the world: "even at the ends of the heavens." By invoking His sovereignty over all, one can find avaidos from every place. § 3 — Remembering Amalek: Memory Guards Against Loss This is remembering Amalek: "remember what Amalek did to you." The essential pgam habris from which all avaidos come is through Amalek's contamination: "who chanced upon you on the way." He constantly pursues Machaneh Dan , the rear-guard that gathers all the camps' lost items (as Rashi explains). Amalek lies in ambush for the avaidos — attacking those expelled by the Cloud: "he cut off the stragglers" — the banished and lost. Therefore Hashem commanded daily remembrance: an avaidah needs zikaron . All loss comes from forgetting and distraction — in the physical and spiritual. Forgetting is itself called avaidah : "hard to absorb and hard to lose" — meaning hard to forget. One must remember well: "do not forget." Remember everything lost through desires, strive to search, at minimum not lose more. The essential thing is zikaron — as long as one remembers and searches, not giving up like an avaidah after yi'ush , there is hope: Hashem thinks thoughts that no one be banished. Eventually all avaidos will be found. Each person according to his efforts — prayers, yearning, drawing close to true tzadikim , enduring humiliation and bloodshed — will merit the return of his avaidos in peace. The essential tikkun through kavanos of Elul, comprised in LM I:6 ( "Kera es Yehoshua" ): "if I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, behold You" — baki birtzo baki bishuv . One must find Hashem everywhere — then no avaidah exists at all. § 4 — Esther and Purim: The Great Avaidah That Finds All Avaidos This is Esther taken to Achashvairosh's house — which Hashem turned to good. The woman is in the aspect of avaidah : "like one who lost something — the owner searches for his lost item." It was exile from Eretz Yisrael — the essential avaidah : "you will be lost from the land." Haman-Amalek thought hope was lost — he descends from Amalek who pursues avaidos . He said: "let it be written to destroy them." The Sitra Achra thought: since this G-d-fearing woman, containing all the avaidos , was herself taken — she would be lost there with everything. It was a time of terrible distress. Esther said: "if I am lost, I am lost." But Hashem had mercy — through Mordechai the tzadik who never left his post to search for his avaidah : "every day Mordechai walked before the women's courtyard to know Esther's welfare" — his avaidah — "and what would be done with her." Esther too never despaired. Not only was she not lost — through her specifically came the great miracle: Haman-Amalek's downfall and the finding of many avaidos . All Israel returned to Hashem: "they upheld and accepted" — as our Sages expound. Even sparks banished among the nations returned: "many of the peoples became Jews." When one searches well, everything turns to good. Specifically through the great losses, not only are they found — even more avaidos from ancient times are found. As our Sages said: like one who lost a coin, then gold — given a candle for the gold, he finds the coin too. The great avaidah causes all avaidos to be found. All through the great tzadik who searches constantly and strengthens each heart never to despair — through prayer, yearning, and anticipating salvation always. Through this they will merit that all the world's avaidos be found through them, speedily in our days, Amain. § 5 — Pesach and Chodesh Ha'Aviv : Plant Growth = Finding Avaidos This is Pesach — the Exodus. Egypt's exile was to rectify and clarify Adam HaRishon's sparks of keri , the root of all avaidos . Therefore the geulah was specifically in the month of Aviv — when grain and plants ripen: "today you go forth in the month of Aviv" — "guard the month of Aviv." Fruits and plants contain many avaidos (why unripe fruit is dangerous). The Exodus = tikkun of avaidos . Exile = avaidah : "lost sheep were My people" (Yirmiyahu 50) — "you will be lost among the nations." Geulah = finding the avaidah and its tikkun . Therefore geulah was in Nissan at the Aviv . The essence of all plant growth each year is for the avaidos hidden in plants — sorted and elevated during growth. In Shir HaShirim , regarding the Exodus: "the blossoms appeared in the land... the fig tree formed its green figs, the grapevines gave fragrance — arise, my beloved." Geulah depends on the blossoms appearing — plants rising = finding avaidos = the Exodus. Therefore geulah is called "finding": "like grapes in the desert I found Israel; like an early fig on a fig tree" (Hoshea 9). ✦ End of Part 1 (Intro + §§ 1–5) · Continues in Part 2 (§§ 6–10) ✦ Na Nach Nachma Nachman May'Uman Hilchos Birchas HaPairos — Halachah 5 Part 2 (§§ 6–10) COMPLETE · Based on LM II:88 and LM I:6 § 6 — Kavanos of Elul: Teshuvah , Shame, and the Path of Return The essential finding of the avaidos is through the kavanos of Elul — through which one merits to find one's match in holiness. The kavanos of Elul are the Torah "Kera es Yehoshua" ( LM I:6 ). The essence of that Torah : one must do teshuvah , and thereby merit kavod Eloki [G-dly honor]. The essence of teshuvah is when one hears his humiliation and is silent — enduring shame and bloodshed to subdue the blood in the left chamber of the heart, source of all desires and all sins, Rachmana litzlan . The essence of teshuvah is Ehekeh — ana zamin l'mehevai [I am prepared to come into being]. When one wishes to repent, he begins to prepare himself to have existence in the world, for before teshuvah he has no existence at all — it would have been better for him not to have been created. When he wishes to repent, he begins to prepare himself to have existence — this is Ehekeh . But before teshuvah he is in the aspect of achorai p'nai Ehekeh , which is the gematria of dam [blood]. The tikkun : to transform dam to dom [silence] — to be among those who hear their disgrace and do not respond, not insisting on the honor of his kavod . One must always hold to the quality of teshuvah . Even if one has done complete teshuvah , one must still do teshuvah upon teshuvah — repenting over one's first level of attainment. When a person wishes to walk in the ways of teshuvah , he must be baki b'halachah [expert in the law]. He needs two expertises: baki birtzo [expert in running forward] and baki bishuv [expert in returning] — as it says: "Fortunate is one who enters and exits." This is: "if I ascend to the heavens, You are there" — entering, baki birtzo ; "if I make my bed in the depths, behold You" — exiting, baki bishuv . This is the secret of the kavanos of Elul. Through this, one becomes adam [a true human] — to sit upon the Throne. For there is no adam without the Alef : the lower point, the upper point, and the Vav within the Alef . See all of this there well. This is the Exodus from Egypt. The Exodus is teshuvah — the aspect of Binah , from which all aspects of the Exodus derive: the mochin that were hidden and concealed through sins (source of all exiles) now emerge and are born and revealed. One begins to know and recognize the One Who spoke and the world came into being. Then Ehekeh is revealed: "Ehekeh has sent me to you." But in exile it was achorai p'nai Ehekeh = gematria dam — source of all exile: "I passed over you and saw you wallowing in your blood." As explained in the kavanos of Pesach: the essential exile was through the dominance of the blood that grips from achorai p'nai Ehekeh as long as one hasn't merited teshuvah . The essence of teshuvah is to merit entering and exiting — baki birtzo baki bishuv , "if I ascend to the heavens... if I make my bed in the depths" — that whatever happens, one holds firm and never lets oneself fall. Even in the lowest depths one finds Him: "if I make my bed in the depths, behold You." But at the time of the Exodus, Israel had not yet been fully purified and left before the appointed time, as brought. "Leaping over the mountains" — He leaped over the kaitz [appointed end]. Therefore it is called Pesach — He skipped and leaped and redeemed them in His mercy even though they were not yet worthy. Therefore they had to leave in haste. For this reason we must eat matzah — the aspect of haste. They had not yet merited the ways of teshuvah in completeness, for they were not yet expert in halachah ; they had not yet received the Torah. The entire geulah was in the aspect of ratzo [running forward] — an arousal from Above, a great supernal light that shone upon them in His mercy, but only temporarily, as brought. Afterward, that intense illumination withdrew, and they needed to return and purify themselves from Egypt's contamination gradually — this is shuv , exiting . Then is the essential test for a person. So it is with every person: initially, when one wishes to draw close to Hashem, a great light shines from Above — he begins to pray with vitality and enthusiasm. But then he falls from this, and passes through what he passes through — shuv , exiting . Then he must strengthen himself immeasurably, being well-expert in this, never leaving his place — baki b'halachah . Because at the time of the Exodus they had not yet merited these expertises in completeness, and the geulah was only ratzo — haste — they must eat matzah baked in haste. Then they begin counting the days of the Omer , returning to purify themselves from Egypt's contamination gradually. They begin to draw the aspect of baki bishuv . This is the essence of Krias Yam Suf — the tikkun of the smallest mochin , as explained in the kavanos . The Egyptians pursued from behind, the sea raged before them, snakes and scorpions and wild beasts of the wilderness on their flanks — "my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the cliff." Through Israel's strength in emunah , holding to the faith of their fathers, crying out to Hashem and leaping into the sea, they completed the path of teshuvah — baki birtzo baki bishuv . They merited to hold firm despite everything. Through this they merited Krias Yam Suf — "Who makes a way in the sea." "Derech" [way] specifically — the secret of Elul's kavanos , tikkun habris , the finding of the avaidos . For baki twice equals derech in gematria . Therefore specifically after Shevi'i shel Pesach — Krias Yam Suf — chametz becomes permitted. One no longer needs to eat only matzah (haste/ ratzo ), for they have already rectified the path — both ratzo and shuv . They have begun to be expert in halachah . Therefore chametz is then permitted — through the tikkun of the two expertises, the mochin d'katnus gripping the aspect of chametz are rectified. See the beginning of Siman 88 : all the Elul kavanos — the tikkun of the avaidos — are in the aspect of "Who makes a way in the sea" — which is Krias Yam Suf , as Rashi explains (Yeshayahu 43). § 7 — Plant Growth, Matzah , Chametz , and the Sitra Achra 's Final Assault To explain further: the growth of fruits and plants each year is in the aspect of finding avaidos . The avaidos are holy sparks lost and banished through evil desires. Hashem in His mercy, each year, through the power of the true tzadikim and k'shairim in each generation, sustains the world and grows the plants. The essential growth of plants corresponds to the sorting of the avaidos — most of which are hidden in fruits and plants. The sparks — the avaidos — cannot be sorted all at once or in a single year; they require many sortings and much searching, each day, week, month, and year, as explained in the writings of the Ari z"l. From there all fruits and plants grow each year. Therefore Pesach was fixed at the time of the Aviv . When the grain ripens at the Aviv , the avaidos hidden within sprout and ascend. As the plants grow gradually — emerging from the earth, approaching ripeness, then fully ripening, then harvest time, then the time of ingathering to bring the grain into the house — correspondingly the avaidos are sorted and ascend and grow, rectified through tikkun after tikkun , until their tikkun is completed at the time of ingathering. This is matzah and the prohibition of chametz — because of the haste: "seven days you shall eat matzos, bread of affliction, for in haste you departed." Hashem in His mercy leaped over the kaitz and redeemed them before they were worthy. Just as the grain at the Aviv is close to full ripeness but not yet fully ripe — meaning the sparks/ avaidos within have not yet completed their tikkun — so too Israel at that time: they had already been rectified and many avaidos found through their 210-year exile, but the tikkun was not fully complete. The tikkun of Israel's souls corresponds to the finding and tikkun of the avaidos /sparks — sorting sparks is the essential tikkun of a person. At the time of geulah , Israel had already been elevated through finding many avaidos , but not all were found, and even those found were not fully complete, and the tikkun was not through their own merit but through His great kindness — a great light from Above, not in order, not gradually, as in the kavanos . This is the month of Aviv exactly: the grain and plants are very close to their tikkun and ripening, but not yet fully complete. Hashem in His mercy leaped over the kaitz and redeemed them immediately in haste, even though the tikkun was not complete: "for in haste you departed." It was impossible to wait longer: "they could not tarry." This is why Moshe Rabbainu greatly refused his mission at first. In the end he said: "send through whomever You will send" — Rashi explains: his mission would not end with bringing them into the Land and being their final redeemer. Moshe saw that the tikkun was not complete, that they would still sin greatly, that he would not enter the Land, that the Bais HaMikdash would be destroyed twice, and the tikkun would not be completed until Mashiach Tzidkainu . It would have been fitting to wait until the tikkun was fully complete — then it would have been a complete geulah with no exile following. But Hashem, full of mercy, thinks thoughts that no one be banished. He knew in His deep wisdom — "how exceedingly deep are Your thoughts" — that it was impossible to wait even a moment. Even though they were not yet fully purified and what would happen would happen — the imperative was to redeem them immediately. For if they had delayed even a moment longer, they would have remained sunken in Egypt permanently, as brought. There were many avaidos gripped by contamination so tightly that a moment's delay would have meant permanent loss. Therefore He had to shine a great light from Above and redeem them immediately. Even though they were not fully purified, and the ba'al davar and all the Sitrin Achranin lay in ambush — nonetheless, through the illumination of geulah , a holy reshima was left in those avaidos forever, so that ultimately all will return to their source. This is what Hashem does in His kindness in every generation through the greatest chosen tzadikim . Sometimes they seize people and extract them from very filthy, degraded places, and begin to purify and draw them close to Hashem. But many fall afterward even further, Rachmana litzlan . Nonetheless they strive to draw them closer each time. There are great wonders in this — wonders of the Perfect in knowledge. All of it follows the above: the aspect of leaving Egypt before the kaitz , through which the ba'al davar then attacks intensely. But "the right hand of Hashem is exalted" and His hand is always on top, for He knew all this and nonetheless the imperative was to redeem them immediately, lest they be lost entirely chas v'shalom . This is eating matzah and the prohibition of chametz — because of this haste: "for they could not tarry." The finding of avaidos and sorting of sparks corresponds to the growth of grain and the making of bread. As long as the grain is sprouting and growing, the avaidos are increasingly found and rectified. So too in each stage — until the time of the Aviv (ripening), then the harvest, the ingathering, grinding, sifting — until bread is made. At every stage, es zeh l'umas zeh asah Elokim [G-d made one opposite the other]: each time some finding occurs and one begins to extract and elevate a spark, immediately the Sitra Achra is drawn after it and attacks more fiercely, seeing its prey being taken from its mouth. The more one elevates, the more it intensifies — until at the very end, at the final tikkun , when it sees that the extraction is about to be completed, it surges with all its might, Rachmana litzlan . Like two people wrestling: when one sees his opponent overpowering him, he musters every last ounce of strength. Therefore there are many mitzvos in bread — in plowing, sowing, reaping, kneading — because through these mitzvos the Sitra Achra is subdued at each stage, sanctifying the sparks to ascend in completeness. This is why we must eat matzah on Pesach. The final tikkun of the avaidos /sparks in grain is when bread is made — then it is fit for human consumption, to sustain and bless upon. At that moment of completion, the Sitra Achra surges and spreads with all its power. This is "from kneading the dough until it leavens." We see tangibly that chametz bread tastes better than matzah , for matzah is bread whose tikkun is not yet complete — the essential meaning of the name matzah . (Our Sages also call untanned leather, whose tikkun is incomplete, "matzah" : "matzah and diftara." ) Therefore most of man's bread-eating is specifically chametz bread — when the dough has leavened, the tikkun is complete. But Israel, the holy people, are separated from all impurities and forbidden to eat any food they cannot sort from the Sitra Achra 's grip — this is the reason for all forbidden foods. This is the great severity of chametz on Pesach: the tikkun of avaidos at this point is only at the Aviv level — the matzah level — nearly complete but not yet finished. We must eat matzah specifically: as soon as the dough is kneaded, before it begins to leaven. We have no power now to sort beyond the matzah level. If one waits, chas v'shalom , until leavening begins — not only will one fail to sort, but the Sitra Achra will grip fiercely, for it lies in ambush now more than ever, seeing its prey being taken. But through the great illumination Hashem shines in His kindness, the Sitra Achra has no power over the avaidos at all — but this tikkun is only at the level of matzah /haste. Therefore in the matzah now are drawn all the sanctities and great lights shining on Pesach — the avaidos that have been found, which are holy sparks whose elevation produces great illumination. But the moment one waits for the dough to begin leavening, the Sitra Achra attached to chametz reawakens with even greater force — because this is the final tikkun of bread, which cannot be subdued now. Therefore chametz on Pesach is extremely severe — the Sitra Achra 's entire grip now is there. Our Sages constantly use chametz and s'or [leaven] as the name for the yetzer hara and Sitra Achra : "I wish to do Your will, but the leaven in the dough prevents me." The yetzer hara and Sitra Achra cling most fiercely at the final tikkun — from kneading until leavening. But after Krias Yam Suf , when the Sitra Achra /Egyptians fell completely, and Israel had already been sanctified through the Sefirah days, meriting awe and faith — "the people feared Hashem and believed in Hashem" — perceiving at the Sea what they perceived — then they can rectify even the chametz . Therefore chametz is then permitted. But at the time of the Exodus, the essential elevation of avaidos was through His kindness, and the chametz 's tikkun was not yet possible — the Sitra Achra clung to chametz enormously. Therefore chametz is forbidden b'val yaira'eh u'val yimatzai [not to be seen, not to be found]. § 8 — Bedikas Chametz : Searching with Candles = Searching for Avaidos This is bedikas chametz — one must search and hunt for chametz thoroughly to destroy it, searching by candlelight. Our Sages derived "finding" from "finding" and "searching" from "searching" and "searching" from "candle" : one must search for chametz by candlelight specifically. They brought the verse: "the candle of Hashem is the soul of man, searching all the chambers of the belly." All this is for the tikkun of avaidos : the neshamah is called a candle that must search all the chambers of the belly — where all the desires of the wicked dwell: "the belly of the wicked shall want." There one must search for the avaidos : each person striving to break his desires for Hashem's sake — thereby searching for the avaidos in every chamber of the belly. This is bi'ur chametz — through searching with candles. The essential search is to destroy the chametz — the Sitra Achra from which all desires come. Then automatically all avaidos will be found. The essential thing is shev v'al ta'aseh [sit and refrain] — as Rabbainu zichrono livrachah used to say constantly: not to pursue one's evil desires, source of all avaidos . Then automatically all avaidos will be found. § 9 — Lechem Oni : The Bread of Affliction Where Avaidos Gather Matzah is called lechem oni [bread of affliction] because within it are gathered all the avaidos that ascended from the bitterness of poverty: "He saves the poor from one stronger than him." This is said about souls rescued from the Sitra Achra (Midrash Rabbah, Vayaira 54). The poor person is in the aspect of avaidah : "were it not for Your Torah, my delight, I would have been lost in my poverty." And: "if I see one perishing for lack of clothing" (Iyov 31). And: "the lost one you did not seek" (Yechezkel 34) — said about the poor who were not cared for. And: "lost sheep were My people" — Israel in exile, named for their poverty and suffering. This is lechem oni : within it the avaidos that ascended are gathered — they are in the aspect of poverty. Especially now that they ascended before the appointed time, only through His kindness, not yet fully purified — called by the name of poverty: lechem oni . "Guard the month of Aviv and make the Pesach... for in the month of Aviv Hashem took you out... you shall not eat chametz upon it; seven days you shall eat upon it matzos, lechem oni, for in haste you departed from Egypt, so that you remember the day of your departure..." According to the above, the entire sequence of this passage is well understood: the Torah warns to guard the month of Aviv , for in it Hashem took you out — therefore no chametz , only matzos lechem oni — for in haste you departed. It is all one: the haste is the aspect of Aviv (before final completion), therefore chametz is forbidden and matzah must be eaten — lechem oni where all the avaidos gathered that ascended through His kindness before their tikkun was complete. § 10 — The Three Festivals: Tied to the Grain Cycle = the Avaidos Cycle Therefore the Torah linked all three festivals to the stages of the grain: Pesach to the month of Aviv . Nearly everywhere the Torah discusses the prohibition of chametz and the obligation to eat matzah , it mentions the month of Aviv — in Parshas Kadaish , Mishpatim , Ki Sisa , and Re'eh . Shavuos is called Chag HaKatzir [Festival of the Harvest] and Yom HaBikurim [Day of First Fruits]. Sukkos is called Chag Ha'Asif [Festival of the Ingathering]. All three festivals are a remembrance of the Exodus — the finding of avaidos , most of which are hidden in plants. Therefore all three are at the time of the grain's completion: the Aviv , the harvest, and the ingathering. The ultimate completion is Sukkos , which follows Rosh HaShanah , Yom Kippur , and the month of Elul — the finishing of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur 's tikkun , as in the kavanos . The essential finding of avaidos is in Elul, Rosh HaShanah , and Yom Kippur — the time of shofar -blowing through which they are found. Elul's kavanos are tikkun habris = finding avaidos . These are the days of teshuvah — through which the essential searching is done. The forty days of favor from Elul through Yom Kippur rectify all avaidos lost through the Golden Calf and through each person's sins. Afterward comes Sukkos — Chag Ha'Asif — the completion of all three festivals. The ingathering of grain is the final completion: the finished finding of that year's avaidos . But the beginning must be from Pesach — without the beginning there would be no completion. Had they waited for full tikkun , they would have been lost entirely, chas v'shalom : they could not tarry. After Sukkos , they plow and sow again — for all avaidos cannot be sorted in a single year. Each year some are found; the essential time is Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur . Then Chag Ha'Asif for that year's completion. Then plowing and sowing resume — beginning the tikkun of remaining avaidos . All winter is the aspect of gestation. In Nissan — Chodesh Ha'Aviv — the avaidos are born and their growth completed. Then is the time of the Exodus — but in haste, for the tikkun is not complete until the harvest and ingathering: Shavuos and Sukkos . This was the wonders of the Perfect in knowledge — so that no spark or avaidah be permanently lost, chas v'shalom . For this we must eat matzah . Thus on the above basis, it is well explained why the holy Torah linked all the sanctity of the three festivals to the stages of the grain — Aviv , harvest, ingathering — for in truth it is all one: all for the tikkun and elevation of avaidos that ascend and are rectified then. "So that you remember the day of your departure from Egypt all the days of your life." A person must remember well, every single day, the day he left Egypt — that he left in haste before the kaitz , only through His kindness, which is why he now passes through what he passes through. "In every generation, a person must see himself as if he personally left Egypt" — for everything above applies to every person, as anyone who wishes to reflect on his ways can understand. Therefore one must remember daily the greatness of Hashem's kindness in bringing him out from where He brought him — this is the aspect of the Exodus. Even though now one passes through what one passes through — certainly the kindness and goodness Hashem did is not in vain, chas v'shalom . One simply must pass through these matters and be tested by them. But ultimately, Hashem will complete what He began in His mercy — to bring us out from the fierce grip of the Sitra Achra to draw us close to His service. "For the word of our G-d shall stand forever." ✦ End of Part 2 (§§ 6–10) · Continues in Part 3 (§§ 11–15) ✦ Na Nach Nachma Nachman May'Uman Hilchos Birchas HaPairos — Halachah 5 Part 3 (§§ 11–15) COMPLETE · Based on LM I:6 and LM II:88 § 11 — Sefiras Ha'Omer : The Tzadik , Humiliation, and Teshuvah upon Teshuvah This is Sefiras Ha'Omer . The essential mitzvah of Sefirah is to prepare for receiving the Torah on Shavuos through Moshe Rabbainu. This occurs in every generation through the true tzadik , the aspect of Moshe, through whom is the essential tikkun of every person. Whoever wishes to have compassion on himself must strive with all his strength to draw close to him in truth. I heard from Rabbainu zichrono livrachah after he taught the Torah "Kera es Yehoshua" : wherever there is a true Rav and a student, it is the aspect of Moshe, Yehoshua, and the Ohel Mo'aid — the upper point upon the Alef , the lower point, and the Vav within the Alef . Through this, adam is formed. See there: through silence, the lower point is formed — "the earth is My footstool." The upper point is Keser — teshuvah , merited through silence. The Vav is the firmament — fire and water, the aspect of shame whose face changes to many colors. Through this, adam is made — Alef-dam . Then a unification occurs between sun and moon — the sun illuminates the moon — Moshe and Yehoshua. Moshe is the upper point; Yehoshua is the lower. The Vav is the Tent: "Yehoshua bin Nun, a youth, did not depart from within the Tent." Therefore one must endure humiliations and bloodshed before drawing close to the true tzadik — and even after, one must endure bloodshed each time anew. All is for tremendous good — the essence of his teshuvah . Through this specifically he merits standing firm, not distancing from Hashem or the tzadik despite everything. According to this Torah , it is all one aspect: the essence of teshuvah through hearing one's disgrace and being silent, enduring bloodshed — through which adam is formed. This is also drawing close to the tzadik /Moshe (upper point); the student (lower point). Only merited through bloodshed and humiliation. When one endures these to draw close to the tzadik , this is his essential teshuvah — to become adam . The essential thing: the upper point illuminates the lower through the Vav — the bloodshed and humiliations. This is itself the tzadik 's illumination (upper point) into the student (lower point). All one aspect. One must endure much when drawing close to the true tzadik , for teshuvah is only through the true tzadik , the aspect of Moshe: baki b'halachah — baki birtzo baki bishuv , baki b'ayil baki b'nafik : "if I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, behold You." This is also the upper and lower points, as in the Elul kavanos . To remain steadfast in holy Jewishness, one must endure humiliations and bloodshed anew each time — for one needs teshuvah upon teshuvah in many aspects. For most people, the first teshuvah was not complete — even saying "I have sinned," one cannot say it without some p'niyah [ulterior motive]. One certainly needs many rounds of teshuvah upon teshuvah until meriting complete teshuvah and viduy without any p'niyah . Everyone can understand this is impossible in one or two attempts — fortunate is he who truly merits it after many years. Even one who achieves complete teshuvah still needs teshuvah upon teshuvah — repenting over his first level of attainment. The true tzadik merited this in the ultimate completeness beyond which there is none. Even at the ultimate completeness of teshuvah , he still does teshuvah upon teshuvah . Even at an exceedingly exalted level that seems the highest possible, he says: "Who knows what more there is — for His greatness is unfathomable." As I heard from him zichrono livrachah , and as explained in Chayai Moharan in several places. Whoever holds to this tzadik will certainly have a truly good and eternal end, even if he passes through whatever he passes through. Just as one must be baki birtzo , so too baki bishuv : "if I make my bed in the depths, behold You." Just as the true tzadik is never satisfied — even at the pinnacle of a truly exceedingly exalted level, saying "who knows what more" and striving for teshuvah upon teshuvah ever further — so too a person must know the reverse: even if it seems he is at the lowest level, with nothing beneath him, he must still strive: perhaps there is still hope. For in truth there is no despair in the world at all — as Rabbainu zichrono livrachah cried out many times. "Waters flowed over my head; I said 'I am cut off.' I called Your Name, Hashem, from the lowest pit." See Rashi there. This is baki birtzo baki bishuv . But all this can only be merited through the true tzadik who already merited this in completeness — doing teshuvah upon complete teshuvah always. He is at the ultimate pinnacle of the upper point, able to illuminate true hischazkus into the very lowest point. One must know: just as there is no limit going up — "His greatness is unfathomable" — so too no limit going down. In truth it is all one, for the essence of Hashem's greatness is His kindness and mercy. The more one grasps His greatness, the more one grasps His kindness. This tzadik grasped His greatness — the greatness of His kindness — to the point of illuminating even at the very lowest level, awakening them that they still have hope. (See Hilchos Tefillin, Halachah 5, §9 .) The essential tikkun : illumination of upper into lower point — only through bloodshed and humiliations. Therefore one must continually endure these. In whatever aspect one is, he needs constant teshuvah : if he already repented — teshuvah upon teshuvah ; if he hasn't begun, even descending further — all the more so he needs much humiliation, since the blood in the left chamber is still dominant. He too still has hope. Therefore humiliations and bloodshed come upon him — his essential tikkun . Indeed, the very fact that they come upon him for holding to the true tzadik shows his hope is not lost — the tzadik (upper point) still holds him in a strong bond, illuminating him even at the very lowest point. Through enduring humiliation for the tzadik 's sake, the essential illumination of upper into lower occurs — forming adam , the essential tikkun . For the upper point can rectify always, wherever one is. But one can only receive from there through teshuvah — through bloodshed specifically. Since humiliations come for this, one sees tangibly that one's hope in Hashem is not lost. Easy to understand for anyone well-versed in the Torah who sets his heart to the truth in its truest sense. § 12 — Butter of Torah: Blood → Milk → Butter = Teshuvah upon Teshuvah "If you have debased yourself through self-exaltation, and if you have schemed — hand to mouth" (Mishlai 30). Our Sages: whoever debases himself over Torah, enduring humiliations and bloodshed — merits to be "exalted" : the upper point, exalted and lofty. "If you have schemed — hand to mouth" — Rashi: one must be silent before his reviler. The essence of teshuvah . "Churning milk produces butter; pressing the nose produces blood; pressing anger produces strife." Our Sages ( Perek HaRo'eh ): In whom do you find the butter of Torah? In one who vomits up the milk he nursed from his mother's breasts upon it. "Pressing the nose produces blood" — any student whose master is angry with him and he is silent. The tikkun of teshuvah : dam ne'ekar v'na'asah chalav — turbid blood becomes milk. All sins from desires come from turbid blood. The essential tikkun through teshuvah : bloodshed subdues evil blood, purifying it. This occurs during the 49 days of the Omer — the 49 gates of teshuvah . Israel purify themselves from contamination arising from turbid blood, until on Shavuos : turbid blood becomes milk. As said of Torah scholars: "your eyes — doves by streams of water, bathing in milk." Teshuvah = turbid blood becomes milk: complete teshuvah until one's blood is purified to actual milk — pure as an infant: "Shaul was one year old" — our Sages: like a one-year-old without sin. But for the great tzadik , all this is merely the first teshuvah . He then does teshuvah upon teshuvah until he vomits up even the milk nursed from his mother's breasts. Then: the butter of Torah. Just as physically, milk comes from purifying blood (transformed through birth), and from milk itself the essential richness — butter — is extracted (sorting upon sorting), so too the tzadik : even after purifying all blood to milk (complete teshuvah ), meriting Torah knowledge ( "bathing in milk" ), he is still not satisfied. Teshuvah upon teshuvah until he vomits up even the milk — then: the butter of Torah. Sorting the milk itself — sorting upon sorting — grasping the essential inner richness: Torah's secrets, the great good hidden within the plain meaning. Said of Chizkiyahu (aspect of Mashiach ): "a child is born to us... butter and honey he shall eat" — "butter" specifically. "From the abundance of milk, butter shall be made" (Yeshayahu 7) — praising his generation's exertion in Torah. Adjacent: "pressing the nose produces blood" — any student whose master is angry with him once and twice. All humiliations endured from others for drawing close to the master are included in "the master's anger." Through this, blood is purified: the essential purification through enduring anger, humiliation, bloodshed, and silence. § 13 — Baki B'Halachah : Distinguishing Blood from Blood, the Alef and the Bais HaMikdash Our Sages continued: "pressing the nose produces blood" — through silence one merits distinguishing between blood and blood. "Pressing anger produces strife" — between monetary and capital cases. The essence of teshuvah : overcoming to endure bloodshed and silence before anger and humiliation to draw close to one's master. Through this: baki b'halachah — the Alef is formed: upper point, lower point, Vav . The entire Torah is comprised in the Alef 's shape, as stated explicitly at the end: "the entire matter is comprised in the shape of Alef." This is expertise in Hashem's ways — drawing close from wherever one is, all one's life: baki b'halachah . This expertise is exceedingly deep: "when a matter is too wondrous for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between case and case, between affliction and affliction — matters of dispute in your gates." "Yipalai" — the Alef whose letters spell peleh [wonder]. As long as the Alef is not complete — adam upon the Throne — clear halachah remains hidden: "when a matter is too wondrous." The tikkun : "you shall rise and ascend to the Place" — the Bais HaMikdash in Eretz Yisrael , essential tikkun of the Alef . The Bais HaMikdash is the upper point containing everything — the lower included in the upper. Therefore essential teshuvah and atonement was there — all korbanos offered. There was clear halachah — the Sanhedrin Gedolah clarified all halachos . One whose path is hidden — "when a matter is too wondrous" — must ascend where the Kohanim and elders sit: the true tzadikim , the aspect of Moshe, illuminating all lower points: "according to the Torah they teach you." Now in our sins, the Bais HaMikdash is destroyed. The essential tikkun : through true tzadikim who are the aspect of Moshe, the Bais HaMikdash , the upper point: "whoever has da'as, it is as if the Bais HaMikdash was built in his days." But one needs great exertion and much humiliation to draw close. Through enduring anger, humiliation, and bloodshed: baki b'halachah — knowing between blood and blood, case and case. The Alef = peleh — to know and understand what was hidden. This expertise is exceedingly deep. Even though the essential thing is simplicity and temimus — this very simplicity, to instill it in hearts, is wondrous. Especially baki b'halachah : "if I ascend to the heavens... if I make my bed in the depths" — holding always, even in the lowest depths without end. This study is wondrous. One must attend greatly at the doors of the bais midrash of truthful people. The essential prolongation of exile: people don't strive to draw close to true tzadikim for this expertise. One must search for such a Rebbe — even leaders, not all merit this. Our Sages: clear halachah and clear mishnah will not be found in one place. Essential expertise in halachah : halachos through which one fulfills Torah — not study but action is the essential thing. All this is hinted in the Tikkunim recited on Yom Kippur before Kol Nidrai : the essential tikkun of teshuvah and forgiveness through the tzadik who can ascend to the level of "when a matter is too wondrous for you." § 14 — Sefiras Ha'Omer : From Animal to Human, the Barley Omer , and the Sotah 's Shame This is Sefiras Ha'Omer . During Sefirah we purify from evil blood — Egypt's contamination — as in the kavanos of Pesach and Sefirah : purification from the blood of achorai of Ehekeh = gematria dam : "I saw you wallowing in your blood — through your blood, live; through your blood, live." On Pesach, geulah was through an awakening from Above — immense illumination, not in order. Immediately after the first day, the illumination withdraws; we must purify from the blood gradually — Sefiras Ha'Omer , whose kavanos are in the Name Ehekeh : to emerge from achorai Ehekeh = dam , and merit Ehekeh = ana zamin l'mehevai [prepared to exist]. During Sefirah we prepare for receiving Torah on Shavuos , when Divinity was revealed to all — the essential ana zamin l'mehevai : preparing for true existence through Torah, essential existence of man and all the world. Until Matan Torah , the world tottered: "the earth and all its inhabitants dissolve — I have established its pillars, Selah." This is offering the Omer of barley — animal food — showing we lack true existence: it would have been better not to have been created. All are like animals in human form, for the essential adam is the true da'as of holy Torah. Before receiving Torah, one is merely an animal in human form. Barley also hints that the essential tikkun is through silence — dom laHashem — like an animal lacking speech. Bringing the barley Omer and waving it in the Bais HaMikdash draws Ehekeh — ana zamin l'mehevai . We elevate the barley (animal food) to become an offering, a pleasing aroma — preparing for Torah: ascending from animal to adam . A person is born with all desires and no intellect — only smallest mochin . His entire task: ascend from katnus to gadlus , animal to adam — the essential Ehekeh . Then we count Sefiras Ha'Omer , seven complete weeks, whose kavanos are in Ehekeh . The essential thing: completing the Alef — each Jew connecting to the true tzadik /Moshe, the upper point. Therefore we say Pirkai Avos during Sefirah , beginning: "Moshe received Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua, and Yehoshua to the elders..." Generation to generation — the essential tikkun and Torah-receiving through true tzadikim in each generation from the aspect of Moshe: ispashtusa d'Moshe b'chol dara v'dara . "Your righteousness like the mighty mountains; Your judgments a great deep — man and beast You save, Hashem." "Your righteousness like mighty mountains" : the upper point, exalted. "Your judgments a great deep" : the lower point. The great tzadik whose righteousness ascends to G-d's mountains — his perfection is illuminating below to the very lowest: even one sentenced to descend to the great deep, Rachmana litzlan — His mercy reaches there, connecting him to the upper point: "if I make my bed in the depths, behold You." Through this: adam . "Man and beast You save" : our Sages — people wise as adam who make themselves like behaima , knowing they lack existence, seeing themselves as animals, preparing for true existence. This is offering barley. Through this specifically, adam is formed. "Man and beast You save, Hashem" — Hashem will surely save: when one knows he is like an animal and prepares to become adam , connecting to true tzadikim — from "the great deep" to "the mighty mountains." § 15 — Counting Days: Avaidos of Time, Luminaries, Krias Shma , and Daily Ratzo V'Shuv This is the Sefirah : counting days for the Omer . The entire Torah concerns Elul's kavanos — finding avaidos lost through desires, found through teshuvah via drawing close to the point of truth, from which baki b'halachah is drawn. The essential avaidah of all is the loss of time — no loss like it, as brought in the sefarim . Dovid cried: "all our days turned away in Your wrath; we consumed our years like a murmur" — "my days consumed in smoke" — "my life consumed in grief, my years in sighing... I was like a lost vessel." Man's essential purpose: to search for all avaidos belonging to his neshamah 's root — find, sort, elevate to their source. Through this: adam , by completing the Alef — connecting the lower to the upper through the Vav . This is the entirety of man: unifying all worlds — alma tata'ah and alma ila'ah , the lower and upper points. Man must connect the very lowest center of this physical world — the ultimate physicality — elevate and connect to Hashem, to its supreme source. This is finding avaidos . All avaidos come from distraction: as with physical losses — through distraction, one loses; the object becomes distant from da'as . All possessions exist in the domain of da'as . The essential owner is da'as — the essential adam . When distracted and lost: distant from da'as . The essential avaidah : distancing of the lower point (the object) from the upper ( da'as /Moshe). Therefore man must strive all his days to connect lower to upper — through drawing close to truthful people who draw baki b'halachah : baki birtzo baki bishuv — the essential path of teshuvah . This is finding avaidos — man's purpose. Every day. Each day comprises darkness and light, evening and morning: "and it was evening and morning, one day." Sun and moon ruling day and night — upper and lower points: Moshe and Yehoshua. Man's essential daily task: unify sun and moon — include night in day and day in night. Therefore Birchas HaMe'oros was established at Krias Shma : "Who forms light and creates darkness" ; in the evening: "Who creates day and night." All this is Krias Shma : "Hear O Israel, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One." Crown Him Above and below and in four directions — extending Echad . This is connecting lower to upper: "if I ascend to the heavens... if I make my bed in the depths... if I take the wings of dawn, dwell at the end of the sea — even there." The essence of baki b'halachah — connecting lower to upper by always strengthening to draw close from wherever one is — is through emunah . Whoever strengthens in emunah with simplicity will never fall. The essential faith: Hashem is One, first and last, sovereignty everywhere — no place to flee: "no darkness nor shadow of death where evildoers can hide." Birchas HaMe'oros at Krias Shma : one aspect. Unifying sun and moon — night in day — lower in upper: all through Krias Shma , faith of unity. Whoever reflects sees: each day, darkness and light pass over every person. In one's lifetime: darkness and light. Rashi on "you are standing today" : "As the day darkens and brightens, so He will darken and brighten for you. All these rebukes establish and sustain you." This applies to all Israel, all the world's time, each lifetime, each day. Israel has passed through much darkness and light: Egypt, liberation; the Judges; the Bais HaMikdash built — Israel's light — destroyed, darkened; rebuilt, destroyed. Even within exile's darkness: "the sun rises and the sun sets" — our Sages: before one tzadik 's sun sets, the next rises. So in the particular, for each person, each day. Each day one must connect lower to upper — finding avaidos . Before Matan Torah , count the days: Sefirah = tikkun of avaidos . We count so none is lost — everything in number. "Teach us to number our days, so make known" — limnos yamainu : Sefirah . Kain hoda : may Hashem draw upon us holy da'as (upper point). We count "for the Omer " — through the barley Omer , elevating from animal to adam . The barley Omer = shame and bloodshed we accept for teshuvah . It is the Sotah 's jealousy-offering: she endures great shame. Her tikkun : if she truly sinned, confess before the Kohain — atonement through confession and shame. Our Sages: they rebuke her to confess rather than have the Divine Name erased. If she is pure: it turns to benefit — "she shall be cleared and bear seed." If she bore in pain, she will bear easily. Even if she didn't sin, the shame atones for concealment. But if she sinned and refuses to confess: "her belly shall swell and her thigh collapse." So too all Israel examined through the barley Omer — the jealousy-offering (Zohar: examination of the Aishes Chayil , K'nesses Yisrael ). Each must prepare for receiving Torah — the essential thing being its fulfillment. We received Torah through Moshe, but each year we prepare anew: teshuvah on the past, accepting to fulfill henceforth. The essential teshuvah path: shame and bloodshed — hearing one's disgrace in silence, especially when shamed for drawing close to truth. Without humiliations from others: shame oneself — "whoever transgresses and is ashamed, all his sins are forgiven." Shame is the essence of teshuvah . This is the barley Omer — animal food: admitting we are like animals, not yet purified. This shame is our essential tikkun . Through this, Israel is examined: whoever is impure but admits truth, ashamed, striving to draw close to truthful people — is rectified. All the more so one who is pure but still ashamed. But whoever is impure, not ashamed, and persecutes and shames truthful people, spilling their blood — he falls like the impure Sotah : "her belly shall swell... she shall be a curse among her people." Rabbainu zichrono livrachah writes in the Sefer HaAlef-Bais : during Sefiras Ha'Omer one can subdue the moser [informer] and topple him mai'igra rama l'vira amikta . The sign: Omer = initials of Mai'igra Rama L'vira Amikta . The moser who persecutes Israel, especially for holding to holiness and striving to draw close to truth — through Sefiras Ha'Omer he falls through the barley Omer /jealousy-offering. On the day of the Omer 's waving: Haman was hanged; Sancheriv fell. ✦ End of Part 3 (§§ 11–15) · Continues in Part 4 (§§ 16–19) ✦ Na Nach Nachma Nachman May'Uman Hilchos Birchas HaPairos — Halachah 5 Part 4 (§§ 16–19) COMPLETE · Based on LM I:6 § 16 — Four Halachos Hidden from Moshe: The Alef , the Three Mitzvos , and Why Moshe Could Not Enter This is the four halachos that were hidden from Moshe Rabbainu, which he had to ask from Hashem: the law of the blasphemer, the law of the mekoshaish [Shabbos-violator], the law of Pesach Shaini , and the law of Bnos Tzelafchad — as in Targum Yonasan and Yerushalmi on the verse "they placed him in custody, to clarify for them" : one of the four laws, etc. As explained at the end of this Torah : the entire matter is comprised in the shape of the Alef — upper point, lower point, and Vav . This is the three mitzvos commanded upon entering Eretz Yisrael : to cut off the seed of Amalek, appoint a king, and build the Bais HaMikdash — which are the lower point, upper point, and Vav . In our great sins, we did not merit that Moshe enter Eretz Yisrael and fulfill these three mitzvos himself — which would have rectified everything. These three mitzvos are the lower and upper points etc. — baki b'halachah : baki birtzo baki bishuv , baki b'ayil b'nafik , "if I ascend to the heavens... if I make my bed in the depths" — the essential paths of teshuvah . Had Moshe entered and fulfilled these, he would have drawn baki b'halachah and rectified all Israel forever. But through the sin of the Golden Calf and the spies, Moshe was prevented from entering. Without this, they did not merit baki b'halachah in completeness. Even though Moshe drew these ways of teshuvah into the world — "if I ascend to the heavens... if I make my bed in the depths" , the kavanos of Elul — during the final forty days of favor from Elul through Yom Kippur , establishing Elul and the ten days of teshuvah forever, granting forgiveness on Yom Kippur — nonetheless we did not receive this expertise in completeness. Each person according to his distance from this expertise is distant from teshuvah . Through this we were exiled from our Land; the Bais HaMikdash (the upper point) was destroyed; we have no king (the Vav ); and we cannot cut off Amalek's seed — the Sitra Achra and all enemies physical and spiritual (the tikkun of the lower point). All because Moshe did not enter Eretz Yisrael , where the essential completeness of baki b'halachah lies: "when a matter is too wondrous... you shall rise and ascend to the Place." Therefore four halachos were hidden from Moshe. The law of the blasphemer: the aspect of cutting off Amalek's seed — the blasphemer who reviled and cursed, like Amalek. Moshe did not know what to do with him, for the essential work of Moshe and all true tzadikim in his aspect is to connect the very lowest point to the upper — to illuminate even the lowest, pray for them, have mercy on them, draw them close. For this they endure humiliation and bloodshed, all to draw everyone close — as we saw how Moshe risked his soul after the Golden Calf, praying for Israel, saving them from destruction: "were it not for Moshe His chosen who stood in the breach." Therefore Moshe was uncertain what to do with the blasphemer — perhaps patience should be extended to him too. Especially since this was the son of an Egyptian whom Moshe had killed prematurely, for which he himself was obligated in exile, as brought on: "then Moshe separated three cities." Therefore he was uncertain now, until Hashem told him: he is liable to sekilah [stoning]. For even though one must be silent about one's own disgrace, regarding Hashem's disgrace — one who blasphemes and reviles — one must exact retribution in every way possible. About this it says: "these things you did and I was silent; you thought I would be just like you — I will reprove you and set it before your eyes" — brought in this Torah . The law of the mekoshaish who blemished Shabbos: the aspect of blemishing the upper point — teshuvah , the aspect of Shabbos. Shabbos is Keser , kavod Elokim hasair davar [the honor of G-d is to conceal a matter], Torah secrets, Oraisa d'Atika s'sima'ah — all the upper point, the concealed Throne. The law of Pesach Shaini : the aspect of shame and bloodshed one must endure to connect the lower to the upper — the Vav within the Alef , the aspect of heaven. For those people who were impure and could not make the Pesach — they came and asked: "why should we be diminished?" They asked properly and rectified greatly, for through them a great merit was set in motion: the law of Pesach Shaini was revealed to Moshe — a great tikkun , drawing the path of teshuvah . This is the essential completeness of teshuvah : even when one sees himself far from Hashem, impure from his evil deeds — he should strengthen himself, come in submission before the true tzadik and before Hashem, and ask about his soul. Just as those impure people asked: "why should we be diminished from offering Hashem's offering?" So too each person should ask: even if my soul is contaminated by my evil deeds — why should I be diminished from drawing close to Hashem, engaging in Torah, praying — which are the aspect of korbanos ? For certainly he too has hope. Then Hashem will find a tikkun for him and inform the tzadik — as He informed Moshe of Pesach Shaini , an astounding wonder. For the essential time for Pesach is only the Exodus, when Hashem leaped over the kaitz . How could one who missed it merit to offer Pesach at all? But Hashem in His mercy revealed the secret to Moshe through the impure ones' question specifically — that the impure should offer Pesach Shaini in Iyar during the Sefirah days. This teaches the path of teshuvah : there is no despair in the world at all. Even if the essential time for tikkun has passed and we are impure from our deeds — there is still hope even out of season. There are wondrous, deeply hidden tikkunim that can rectify us now and every day — as long as we do not despair from crying out and praying, asking each time: "why should we be diminished from offering Hashem's offering?" The law of Bnos Tzelafchad who requested a portion in the Land: the aspect of entering Eretz Yisrael , where one must fulfill the three mitzvos comprised in the Alef — the three laws above: the blasphemer, the mekoshaish , and Pesach Shaini . § 17 — Bnos Tzelafchad , Yibum , Inheritance, and Moshe's Histalkus Through Yehoshua Our Sages said Bnos Tzelafchad asked wisely: "if we are not considered seed, let our mother undergo yibum." The essential secret of yibum derives from the avaidos . One who died without children needs further tikkun lest he be lost entirely: "his name shall not be erased from Israel." This world is the lower point — "the earth is My footstool." Man comes to this world to connect this lower point to the upper — finding the avaidos . For this he must leave children behind — the tikkun cannot be completed in one generation: children must complete it generation after generation. "Generation after generation shall praise Your works" — "ma'asecha" [Your works] specifically: the lower point clothed in physical action in this world of Asiyah . Through praising Hashem Who created all this, one elevates the Asiyah /lower point to the upper. This is needed in every generation: "generation after generation shall praise Your works." "Your kingship is a kingship of all worlds; Your dominion in every generation" — Hashem in His mercy extends the revelation of His sovereignty in each generation, all to support and elevate all the fallen, banished, and lost: finding the avaidos . "Hashem supports all the fallen" — adjacent to "Your kingship... Your dominion in every generation." Therefore children receive the inheritance — the deceased's portion and possessions in this world (the lower point) that he needed to connect and elevate to the upper. Now the tikkun must be accomplished through them. Bnos Tzelafchad asked wisely: if we are not considered worthy seed to receive our father's inheritance and connect the lower to the upper — then let our mother undergo yibum , the tikkun of avaidos for one who left no seed. They asked properly with great wisdom, and merited that the parshah of inheritance was revealed to Moshe through them. Adjacent to this: Moshe's passing. Rashi: he thought the decree was annulled since Hashem commanded him to apportion inheritances — perhaps he would enter the Land. Hashem told him: "My decree stands." Since these four halachos were revealed, culminating in Bnos Tzelafchad 's law (the aspect of entering Eretz Yisrael ), Moshe thought he could enter and fulfill the three mitzvos , drawing baki b'halachah to rectify all Israel forever. But Hashem answered: My decree stands. Even though these halachos were revealed, it is still impossible to draw and illuminate this expertise fully in the world — baki birtzo baki bishuv — to draw close all the distant and fallen to Hashem. The imperative was that Moshe not enter, departing in the wilderness with that generation, ordaining Yehoshua in his place: "take Yehoshua." Yehoshua is the lower point; Moshe the upper. Through the multitude of blemishes, the upper point cannot illuminate directly. The tzadik must depart, leaving behind the aspect of Yehoshua — the student, the lower point. All — distant and near, ascending and descending — must receive the ways of teshuvah ( baki b'halachah ) specifically through the aspect of Yehoshua. All is through the power of the upper point — Moshe — who departed Above and was absorbed into the ultimate upper point, beyond all thought. From there, after his passing specifically, he illuminates the entire world in his glory, to the very lowest, to support all the fallen and find and elevate all the avaidos , drawing all close to Hashem. For baki b'halachah must be drawn in every generation until Mashiach Tzidkainu comes, when there will be clear halachah . Then this expertise will be clarified in ultimate completeness. Then truly all will return to Hashem — for even when Mashiach comes there will still be yetzer hara and free will (without which tikkun is impossible — "today, to do them" is written). But Mashiach will draw baki b'halachah in such wondrous revelation and such true intellect that through it all will return — even the most distant: "and I will cause that you walk in My statutes" — "v'asisi es" [I will cause] specifically — He will make something through which "you will walk in My statutes." "And I will remove the heart of stone." Through baki b'halachah revealed then in ultimate completeness, all will walk in teshuvah 's ways and return to Hashem forever. Amain v'Amain. § 18 — The Merkavah : Storm, Cloud, Fire, Chashmal , and Adam upon the Throne This is the entire matter of Ma'aseh Merkavah . The tzadikim are Hashem's Chariot — and each Jew, according to the tikkun of his teshuvah , merits completing the Merkavah : "Your people are all tzadikim." The essential completeness of the Merkavah is the aspect of adam sitting on the Throne — "and upon the Throne, a likeness like the appearance of adam upon it from Above" — the Merkavah 's highest aspect. From the lowest to the highest: the Ofanim bear the Chayos , above them the firmament, above it the Throne of sapphire, and upon the Throne: the form of adam . The highest is adam — the entirety of this holy Torah comprised in the Alef , through which adam is formed to sit upon the Throne. Therefore Yechezkel first saw "a stormy wind, a great cloud, flashing fire... and from within it, like the appearance of Chashmal." This is baki birtzo baki bishuv , entering and exiting . A Jew cannot be included among the tzadikim who are Hashem's Chariot unless he first passes through the stormy wind, great cloud, etc. — the klipos and Sitra Achra : obstacles, desires, humiliation from opponents — all drawn from these klipos . This is exiting — one must pass through whatever one must. When one strengthens against all this — baki b'ayil baki b'nafik — then specifically one merits the Merkavah : being included in Hashem's Chariot. The essential beginning of the Merkavah 's holiness is Chashmal — specifically. Chashmal = chash mal [silent-circumcised]: the silence when one is shamed and reviled, enduring bloodshed — subduing the blood in the left chamber. Mal = milah [circumcision]: subduing the turbid blood. This is the Exodus: rectifying the blood: "I said to you: through your blood, live — through the blood of Pesach and the blood of milah" (as in the kavanos , and as Rabbainu zichrono livrachah explains in Siman 82 on the teaching: "those who are insulted but do not insult, who hear their disgrace and do not respond" ). Through being silent before one's reviler, Chashmal is rectified. Therefore the essential perception of the Merkavah is through Chashmal . For the Merkavah 's essence — adam on the Throne — can only be merited through Chashmal : silence before the one who shames. This is the four Chayos of the Merkavah — the Throne-bearers: lion, ox, eagle, and adam . The essential completeness of all is adam : adam rules over all. Even in the three Chayos — lion, ox, eagle — each also had p'nai adam [a human face]. Even in the Ofanim there were four faces, including p'nai adam . The essential thing is completing adam . There are many levels of adam , as the Zohar says: there is adam and there is adam . The essential is being absorbed into Adam Ha'Elyon — adam sitting on the Throne. This only the tzadik of the highest stature merits, through doing teshuvah upon teshuvah countless times — each teshuvah completing adam at a higher level: from Ofan to Chayah , from Chayah to Throne, until Adam upon the Throne — the ultimate upper point. All must connect to him. Each from wherever he is can connect — through this being included in adam . The upper point can rectify always — elevating from the stormy wind, the great cloud, all the impure klipos and klipas nogah , absorbing one into adam until absorbed into Adam Ha'Elyon — the essential end-goal of every Jew. But one must endure humiliation and bloodshed from oneself and others beforehand. The essential thing is strength of heart — holding firmly to the point of truth despite everything. This is "the Chayos ran and returned" in the Merkavah : baki birtzo baki bishuv , baki b'ayil baki b'nafik . § 19 — Four Degalim : The Camp Around the Mishkan , Warriors of Halachah This is the four degalim [banners/camps] of Israel that traveled in the wilderness around the Ohel Mo'ed . We read these parshiyos near Shavuos — Torah-receiving — when we read the Haftarah of Yechezkel's Merkavah . It is all one: Torah-receiving is perceiving the Merkavah — through Torah one merits being Hashem's Chariot. Torah is adam : "this is the Torah — adam." The essential Torah-receiving was through the Ohel Mo'ed where Moshe received Torah and transmitted it to Yehoshua — the connection of upper and lower points through the Vav , completing the Alef , forming adam — through Moshe, Yehoshua, and the Ohel Mo'ed . Around the Ohel Mo'ed traveled the four degalim — the aspect of the four Chayos bearing the Throne. This is "behold, the bed of Shlomo — sixty warriors around it" — the Mishkan and Ark — the sixty ribo of Israel in the four camps. "All grasping swords, trained in war, each man's sword on his thigh, from fear of the nights." Every Jew wishing to be included in the sixty ribo around the Mishkan to receive Torah through Moshe, Yehoshua, and the Ohel Mo'ed , must be sword-grasping and war-trained: baki b'halachah — baki b'ayil baki b'nafik . It is a great war, a deep and vast study — one must attend true Torah scholars greatly to become truly war-trained. "Each man's sword on his thigh, from fear of the nights" : each one girded with a sword, strong in mind — come what may, he will hold to the truth and fight Hashem's war. "From fear of the nights" : the aspect of exiting , the darkness of night that intensifies each time upon each person. Night is the lower point, the moon — exiting , where the essential war lies. Therefore one must be war-trained — a great expertise in this halachah . All sixty ribo needed to travel around the Ohel Mo'ed to receive the Torah's halachos . The essential Torah halachos are baki b'halachah — through which one walks in teshuvah 's ways and fulfills all the Torah: for study is not the essential thing, but action. For this expertise of entering and exiting , the entire Torah and all specific halachos of every mitzvah are needed, for the ba'al davar intensifies each day with countless stratagems. All kinds of delicacies of holy Torah are needed to revive the weak souls who are in exiting — who left the completeness of holiness and strayed: "I strayed like a lost sheep." They must be strengthened and revived through every kind of Torah delicacy. Regarding this hischazkus , all the Torah's halachos are needed — sometimes revived through one halachah , sometimes another. Every mitzvah and every specific din has a particular power to revive the soul: "for it is your life." And: "were it not for Your Torah, my delight, I would have been lost in my poverty." This is the virtue of studying the Poskim — decided halachos — which clarify good from evil, preventing the evil from toppling a person. And one must study many truthful sefarim dealing with the ways of serving Hashem, being well-expert in them — all needed for baki b'halachah , broader than the earth and wider than the sea. This is the essential completeness and goal of all the Torah's halachos : for study is not the essential thing, but action. As our Sages said: a person should not study and kick his father and master. Therefore all Israel traveled around the Mishkan : the collective of Israel is the aspect of the Torah's halachos — each Jew has a letter and portion in Torah. Through them the halachos were drawn, the essential thing being baki b'halachah : entering and exiting , war-trained. ✦ End of Part 4 (§§ 16–19) · Continues in Part 5 (§§ 20–23) ✦ Na Nach Nachma Nachman May'Uman Hilchos Birchas HaPairos — Halachah 5 Part 5 (§§ 20–23) COMPLETE · Based on LM I:6 and LM II:88 § 20 — The Census: Counting = Guarding Against Avaidos ; Sh'kalim and Korbanos Hashem commanded counting Israel, each one called "going forth to the army." Each person must be among those going forth to the army — "yotzai tzava" specifically: when one is in the aspect of nafik [exiting], one must be a m'lumad milchamah [trained warrior]. This is the counting commanded after the Golden Calf — as Rashi explains: when they sinned, He counted them. All these — the Mishkan 's construction, the camp of the banners, and the counting — were all commanded after the Golden Calf. Moshe exerted himself greatly during the final forty days, drawing the path of teshuvah into the world: from Elul through Yom Kippur — the secret of Elul's kavanos , tikkun habris , "Who makes a way in the sea," the path of teshuvah : baki twice = derech . After drawing this path, Hashem commanded the Mishkan , the counting, and the camp of the banners — all aspects of the teshuvah path. The essential thing is drawn through the Mishkan / Ohel Mo'aid : through it, Moshe's aspect illuminates Yehoshua — the upper into the lower point — drawing baki b'halachah . The upper point illuminates even the very lowest — all becoming m'lumdai milchamah , strengthening until all are among the "sixty mighty men" around the Mishkan — the 600,000 souls of Israel = 600,000 letters of the Torah. Therefore the counting was commanded. At first glance: the Torah explains that counting is dangerous — "there shall be no plague among the Children of Israel when you count them." The sh'kalim were needed as remedy. Why count at all? In truth, Israel are above counting: "if a man can count [the dust]... so shall your seed be counted." But after sinning with the Calf, counting became necessary. All sins are avaidos — through them one loses: "the desire of the wicked shall perish." Where avaidah rules, counting and numbering are needed — the aspect of guarding: placing things in count and number, watching that none is missing. Therefore in the future, when Israel fulfills Hashem's will completely and all avaidos are found — "the lost shall come" — with no more loss, they will have no number: "if a man can count... so shall your seed." But after sin, where avaidah already ruled, the count is a great tikkun — a tikkun for loss. But since counting exists because of avaidah , many lurk to cause loss, attacking the count fiercely — for the count exists only where they have a grip. Where they have no grip, there is no count. Since they have a grip, they attack the count to corrupt it. Therefore Hashem commanded the sh'kalim for the Mishkan 's offerings and korbanos — through which one elevates from animal to adam , connecting all lower points to upper points. This is the completeness of all korbanos in the Mishkan and Bais HaMikdash — called korban because it draws close and elevates everything to its source, to the upper point, until all is comprised in adam : "when a man [adam] among you brings an offering... from the cattle, from the herd, from the flock shall you bring your offering" — elevating the animal to "your offering" specifically: you who are humans, elevating the animal to the aspect of adam . As in the kavanos : in a korban one must elevate the inanimate to the vegetative, vegetative to living, living to speaking — the adam . Through this, all avaidos are found — the atonement of all sins through korbanos . Through the sh'kalim for the Mishkan and korbanos , the counting is rectified so the lurking ones cannot cause loss: "there shall be no plague." Therefore we read these parshiyos — the counting and camp of the banners — before Shavuos : "count and then celebrate Atzeres." The essential Torah-receiving — all the halachos , the baki b'halachah — is through this. Now in our sins without Mishkan , Bais HaMikdash , or camp of the banners, Israel scattered in exile — we have life only through the Torah. By reading these parshiyos before Shavuos , we draw upon ourselves the holiness of the 600,000 souls who were all yotzai tzava , m'lumdai milchamah , walking in the camp of the banners around the Mishkan in the aspect of Ma'aseh Merkavah — so we too may be included, meriting Torah-receiving on Shavuos . The essential thing: baki b'halachah — meriting the path of teshuvah to fulfill all the Torah's words. This is: "return, return, O Shulamis, return, return" — Rashi: the nations and the Sitra Achra entice Israel to return to them. Israel responds: "what will you see in the Shulamis? As the dance of the two camps" — the camp of the banners. Since we have already merited the holiness of the banners' camp, drawing baki b'halachah to strengthen in all descents — you can no longer entice us from His service. The essential command regarding the banners: "each man at his camp, each man at his banner" — "each man at his banner by signs, by their fathers' houses, they shall camp; at a distance, surrounding the Ohel Mo'aid." The essential thing: each must guard his place and not breach the boundary to enter another's territory. All this is within baki b'halachah — not breaching boundaries. The great warning before Matan Torah : "lest they break through to Hashem to see." One must be baki birtzo baki bishuv . Each person has ratzo v'shuv according to his level and time — even within ratzo there is ratzo v'shuv , and within nafik as well. Each relative to his fellow: one's ratzo is shuv relative to one greater. Each must be baki b'halachah — not breach boundaries, especially not pursue kavod or enter another's domain. Therefore: "each man at his camp... surrounding the Ohel Mo'aid" — all positioned according to their place, receiving from the upper through the Vav , each wherever he is. All this is baki b'halachah — the path of teshuvah , through which adam is formed: the completeness of the Merkavah , the camp of the banners around the Mishkan . § 21 — Four Chayos of the Merkavah = Tikkun of Tefillah / Rectifying Thought This is the four Chayos of the Merkavah — the aspect of the tikkun of tefillah , which corresponds to korbanos : the tikkun of thought. The essential tikkun of tefillah : overcoming to remove evil thoughts — evil chayos — and think good thoughts, concentrating well on the words of tefillah — holy chayos . As written in Tikkunai Zohar (end of Tikkun 21): the three daily prayers correspond to lion, ox, eagle. Adam is the fourth, who receives the offering — the thought that draws close and unifies all. All korbanos are hinted in man's body: brain, heart, lungs = lion, ox, eagle. Their counterparts: dog, donkey, hawk = spleen, gall, liver. Thought is adam : there is good thought (holy chayos ) and evil thought (evil chayos ). All this is tikkun of teshuvah : "take words with you and return to Hashem" — "with weeping they shall come, with supplications I will lead them." The three holy chayos — lion, ox, eagle — are the three aspects of the Alef : upper point, lower point, and Vav . Lion, ox, eagle = brain, heart, lungs = three aspects. Brain is da'as — the upper point. Heart: where the blood and desires dwell, needing subduing in teshuvah — the lower point. Lungs: the breath ( ruach ) in the wings of the lungs — the Vav , as Vav = ruach . This is the eagle — the aspect of heavens: "as the eagle flies across the heavens" — "the way of the eagle in the heavens" (Mishlai 30). All this is the Vav within the Alef . When the Alef is rectified: adam — the p'nai adam of the Chayos , above all. As explained, at every level there is adam . Within the Chayos themselves, adam is rectified. Then, through teshuvah upon teshuvah , one merits adam ha'elyon . As explained in the Torah : adam is the fourth aspect above the three. The three aspects forming the Alef : the lower point = "the earth is My footstool" ; the firmament above the Chayos ' heads = the Vav ; above the firmament: "the likeness of a sapphire stone, the form of a Throne" = the upper point = Kisa d'miskasya [hidden Throne]. Through these three: adam sitting upon the Throne — above all three, even the upper point. The adam sitting upon the Throne = the upper point itself. This is the mitzvah of entering Eretz Yisrael itself: the three points = three mitzvos upon entering the Land. Adam above them = entering Eretz Yisrael itself, where the essential completeness of adam is, for Eretz Yisrael has the form of the holy adam 's stature. Therefore the Bais HaMikdash is there, all korbanos offered — essential completeness of adam . There the essential Torah illumination in completeness: "when a matter is too wondrous... you shall rise and ascend." Torah = adam : "this is the Torah — adam." These four aspects are the four Chayos . First through teshuvah : the tikkun of four Chayos of the Merkavah , which are also adam . Then ascending through teshuvah upon teshuvah : adam ha'elyon . § 22 — Kedushah : Three Kadosh = Three Points; Two Kavods This is the order of Kedushah : "Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh" — the three points. As the Targum translates: "Kadish bishmay m'roma ila'ah" [holy in the heavens of the highest heights] — the upper point. "Kadish al ar'a ovad g'vurtaih" [holy upon the earth, the work of His might] — the lower point: "the earth is My footstool." "Kadish l'alam ul'almay almaya" [holy forever and for all eternity] — the connection of the lower to the upper, through which Hashem is exalted and sanctified forever: the essential purpose of Creation. "The whole earth is full of His glory" — the kavod completed through teshuvah : there is no kavod without Kaf , which is teshuvah through all the aspects above, as explained in the Torah . "A wind lifted me and I heard... 'Blessed is the glory of Hashem from His place'" — the higher kavod , the kavod of Olam HaBa . Through complete teshuvah — teshuvah upon teshuvah — one merits to honor Hashem with two aspects of kavod : the kavod of this world and the kavod of Olam HaBa , as explained in the Torah . "The whole earth is full of His glory" : the kavod of this world. "Blessed is the glory of Hashem from His place" : the higher kavod , kavod Olam HaBa , which cannot be grasped at all — "the glory of G-d is to conceal a matter" — "where is the place of His glory?" = "Blessed is the glory of Hashem from His place." Then kavod malachim [the honor of kings] is included in kavod Elokim [the honor of G-d]. As explained at the beginning of the Torah : one must flee from kavod — then specifically one merits kavod Elokim . All kavod any person has is kavod malachim — kavod of this world, the lower point, Malchus . As long as one doesn't connect and elevate this kavod malachim to its source in kavod Elokim (concealed), not connecting lower to upper through teshuvah : "the honor of kings is to search out a matter" — all investigate his honor. But through complete teshuvah upon teshuvah , meriting kavod Elokim : kavod malachim is included in kavod Elokim — the kavod of this world in Olam HaBa . One does not receive kavod for oneself at all, only for Hashem — to honor Him with two worlds. Our Sages: when Shlomo said "let the King of glory enter," the gates rushed to swallow him. They asked: "who is this King of glory?" — Rashi: they thought he meant himself. When he said "Hashem Tzevakos, He is the King of glory, Selah" — they rested. When one claims kavod for himself ( kavod malachim alone), all ask "who is the King of glory?" But when "Hashem Tzevakos He is the King" — the kavod malachim is for Hashem Tzevakos alone, for kavod Elokim — then they rested, unable to question: "the glory of G-d is to conceal a matter." All this is Shavuos : kavod of Hashem completed through the Torah — "there is no kavod but Torah." "The glory of Hashem was like a consuming fire." Shavuos = Malchus : "this one shall rule over my people" — Malchus Dovid . We read Rus on Shavuos — the birth of Dovid through Boaz and Rus. This perfection belongs to Dovid- Mashiach , who merited Malchus completely through genuine humility: "I am a worm, not a man." He received Malchus not for himself at all. The essential completeness of teshuvah : Dovid — our Sages: "Dovid was not fit for that deed... only to teach teshuvah." Dovid said many times: "all day my shame is before me... I am like a deaf man, not hearing... I was mute, silent, I was still... be still before Hashem" — and much more in Tehillim . The essence of teshuvah is through silence — kavod malachim included in kavod Elokim . This is Malchus Dovid-Mashiach who will return the whole world to teshuvah . § 23 — Three Evil Chayos vs. Three Holy Ones: Jealousy, Desire, and Kavod The three holy Chayos — lion, ox, eagle = brain, heart, lungs — correspond to the three aspects through which one merits teshuvah : rectifying "make fat the heart of this people, make heavy its ears, and seal its eyes." One cannot receive from the tzadik /Moshe/upper point as long as one is in this state. The tzadik reveals awesome wonders that illuminate eyes and revive souls — yet many cannot see, because of "make fat the heart... heavy the ears... seal the eyes." All from evil desires: they haven't begun subduing their turbid blood in the left chamber. Not only are they immersed in desires — many are actual transgressors (as they know in their souls) — they also have great jealousy, coveting kavod , envying devout people, wanting to swallow them and seize all kavod . But Hashem will not abandon him to their hand. These are the three impure klipos — the evil chayos from the Tikkunim : dog, donkey, hawk = liver, gall, spleen, opposite lion, ox, eagle = brain, heart, lungs. These three = jealousy, desire, and kavod . Jealousy: envying the devout and G-d-fearing, shaming them, spilling their blood — the opposite of the tikkun of the lower point ( dom laHashem ), for they shame and revile the G-d-fearing. Desire: the dominance of evil blood in the left chamber, source of all desires. Kavod : through this they blemish Hashem's kavod — visibly pursuing kavod , wanting to seize it for themselves. "Jealousy, desire, and kavod remove a person from the world." "Ha'adam" — "the person" specifically: through these, the aspect of adam is blemished. Through this they are in the state of "make fat the heart, heavy the ears, seal the eyes" — their hearts, ears, and eyes are fat and heavy. They cannot see or understand the awesome lights the true tzadikim illuminate. The blemish of heart, eyes, and ears comes through blemishing the three — jealousy, desire, kavod — blemishing the three points. But the reverse: one who has compassion on his life, flees from kavod , looks to his eternal end, strives to draw close to truth, enduring shame and bloodshed — merits teshuvah , the tikkun of the holy Merkavah : lion, ox, eagle = tikkun of the three points = tikkun of heart, ears, eyes: "he shall understand with his heart, see with his eyes, hear with his ears — and return, and be healed." Eyes = lion = right side = upper point. Heart = lower point. Ears = the lungs, the breath ( ruach ) — through which the upper point illuminates the lower: the hearing of the ears, meaning comprehension (as Rashi explains in many places). Even what one sees with physical eyes or eyes of intellect ( da'as = Chochmah = upper point) — the drawing of Chochmah into the heart until one is moved to subdue evil and pride: this drawing is the hearing of the ears = contemplation, truly hearing and understanding until one's heart understands and one returns from all desires and evil qualities — jealousy, desire, kavod . Through this: "and he shall be healed." Understand well the truth in its truest sense, for your own eternal good. "Blessed is Hashem, G-d of Israel, Who alone does wondrous things." "Osah" [does] = the lower point, the aspect of asiyah [action]. "L'vado" [alone] = the upper point. "Nifla'os" [wondrous things] = the Alef = peleh = baki b'halachah , which is in the aspect of wonders: "when a matter is too wondrous for you in judgment." "Blessed is the Name of His glory forever" = kavod Elokim , merited through the illumination and connection of the upper to the lower. "May His glory fill the entire earth" = "the whole earth is full of His glory" = the kavod of this world, kavod malachim , included in kavod Elokim — merited through the tikkun of the Alef = peleh = "Who does wondrous things alone." "Amain v'Amain." Amain = the connection and inclusion of all worlds, lower in upper — the connection of the lower to the upper point through the tikkun of teshuvah = the Alef — through which everything is rectified. Amain v'Amain. Birchas HaPairos, Halachah 6 is included in Hilchos Netilas Yadayim, Halachah 6. ✦ End of Birchas HaPairos, Halachah 5 — All 23 Oaseyos Complete ✦ Na Nach Nachma Nachman May'Uman