פסח ח

And therefore the wicked Haman — who was the pollution of the serpent, the bechina of the blemish of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the bechinas "Is it from the tree [hamin ha'aytz]?" as stated — therefore had a very, very evil eye upon Mordechai and upon all of Israel. For this is the essential pollution of the serpent, as stated. And therefore their counsel then was to bring the wicked Vashti before the king naked — something unheard of in the world — in order to increase in the world the bechinas ayin ra'ah, G‑d forbid. For the essential bechinas ayin ra'ah is this lust of licentiousness [ta'avas niuf], which encompasses all the lusts of all the seventy nations — which are the bechinas ayin ra'ah. For the seventy nations are the bechinas ayin ra'ah, as stated. And all the lusts — all of which are drawn from the bechina of the seventy nations, as is explained in the words of Rabbainu, of blessed memory, elsewhere — all of them are the bechinas ayin ra'ah, for the eye sees and the heart desires, as stated. And this lust of licentiousness is the totality of all the lusts of all the seventy nations — as Rabbainu, of blessed memory, wrote elsewhere [§36]. Therefore this lust is the essential bechinas ayin ra'ah — for this lust depends on the eyes, as it is written: "And you shall not stray after your hearts and after your eyes, which lead you to go astray [asher atem zonim], etc." [Bamidbar 15:39]. And as it is written: "And he who closes his eyes from seeing evil" [Yeshayahu 33:15]. And our Sages of blessed memory said: this refers to one who does not gaze at women, etc. And therefore the essential [remedy of] modesty and closing the eyes is with regard to this lust — and even in holy marital union great modesty is required. And so the essential purpose of covering garments is for modesty from this lust. And they sought to remove the shame from their eyes and to bring her naked before them — in order to increase the bechinas ayin ra'ah further. But Hashem thwarted their evil plan, and the very same means ["minei u'vei abba laizil bei narga" — Aramaic: "through that same father goes that same axe" (Megillah 13b)] — for through this very act those evil-eyed ones became jealous of one another. Until Haman himself — who was the force of the ayin ra'ah — had an evil eye toward Vashti's greatness and himself counseled to kill her. For the ayin ra'ah itself, through the force of its evil eye toward everything — as is the way of the ayin ra'ah — killed the force of the ayin ra'ah, which was Vashti the wicked — who was the force of the ayin ra'ah. For she was the bechina of the wicked kingdom, the bechina of the lust of licentiousness — which is the bechinas ayin ra'ah. And therefore she stripped the daughters of Israel naked and made them work on Shabbos [Megilah 12b] — for Shabbos is the bechinas tov ayin: Shin = the three colors of the eye, beis = daughter [bas], tav = the pupil [bas ayin]. And therefore our Sages said: a large stride takes one-five-hundredth from the light of one's eyes, and it is restored by the Friday night Kiddush. For Shabbos is the rectification of the eyes — the bechinas tov ayin hu y'vorach — for there is the essential blessing, in the bechinas "and He blessed it and sanctified it" [Bereishis 2:3]. And therefore the essential holy marital union is on Shabbos — for then it is in holiness without any hold of ayin ra'ah whatsoever. But the wicked Vashti sought to strengthen the ayin ra'ah and worked on Shabbos with the daughters of Israel naked. And therefore her downfall came through the ayin ra'ah itself — namely through the wicked Haman and through Achashverosh, who sought to increase the force of the ayin ra'ah by bringing her naked on Shabbos. And she too intended it for a sinful purpose and greatly desired it — for she herself was also the force of the intensified ayin ra'ah. But Hashem thwarts the plans of the cunning and set one evil eye against the other until one killed the other — and the very same means: the ayin ra'ah itself. And she was killed through the ayin ra'ah itself specifically, as stated.

There are two kinds of days: days of good and days of evil, as it is written: “On a day of good, be in good; and on a day of evil, see” (Koheles 7:14). Namely, one must look deeply, deeply within the days of evil, and then one will find Hashem, blessed be He, there as well. For “the whole earth is full of His glory” (Yeshaya 6:3), and “there is no place devoid of Him.” Even in all the languages of the nations and in all the lowest levels, one can find His G-dliness, blessed be He — for they all receive their vitality from Him, blessed be He, as it is written: “And You give life to all of them” (Nechemya 9:6). Only the vitality is in a great tzimtzum [contraction] — just enough to sustain it. And the tzaddik who conquers his inclination can find His G-dliness, blessed be He, even in the languages of the nations, etc.; see there well. And through this, one merits the light of the love that is in the Daas. For there are two kinds of love. One is a love that is within the days [= within time and the middos]. And there is a love that is above time and the middos — namely, the love that is in the Daas. This is the love that existed between Yisrael and their Father in Heaven when they were still in potentia, in His Daas, as it were — a love whose light is impossible for us to grasp, etc.; see there. And every person can taste this light of love even now, within time and middos, when one connects one’s heart to one’s Daas, etc. (see there, all of this well). During the weekdays, the days of evil have dominion. And therefore one must then perform all the labors, which are the aspect of “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread” (B’raishis 3:19). And all the tasks and labors that Yisrael perform during the weekdays — when the days of evil hold sway — are all the aspect of rectifications and purifications, to whiten and purify and extract the good and holiness that is clothed there. For even within the days of evil, good and holiness are clothed, as above — only it is hidden there under many garments, as above. Therefore, many exertions and tasks and labors are needed before one extracts, purifies, and reveals the good within them. And this is the aspect of all the labors that the Children of Yisrael perform during the weekdays, when the days of evil hold sway. For it is known that all the labors that Yisrael perform during the weekdays are all purifications and rectifications — to purify and extract the good from the evil, as above. And therefore, on Shabbas and Yom Tov — which are the aspect of days of good, and the days of evil have no dominion over them — therefore it is then forbidden to perform any labor. For then the good is revealed of its own accord and there is no need for purification. And when one performs labor, it is as if one gives dominion, G-d forbid, to the days of evil — where purification is needed — for now the good is revealed of its own accord, and there is no purification there at all. But even so, there is still a difference between Shabbas and Yom Tov. For on Shabbas, no action or work is needed at all. Therefore, all labors are forbidden on Shabbas, for Shabbas is in the aspect of above time, above the days and the middos — in the aspect of “You have blessed it above all the days and sanctified it above all the times.” And then on Shabbas, the light of the love that is in the Daas is revealed — which is the Torah of Atika S’sima’ah [the Ancient Hidden One] — which is the aspect of Oneg Shabbas [the delight of Shabbas], the aspect of “Then you shall delight upon Hashem” (Yeshaya 58:14) — “upon Hashem” specifically, as Rabainu, may his light shine, wrote elsewhere. And therefore on Shabbas all labors are forbidden, for there it is a complete cessation from everything. But Yom Tov is literally a “good day” — the aspect of the days of good mentioned above. And therefore, even though the days of evil have no dominion then, for they are days of good, and therefore labors are forbidden on Yom Tov — for there is no purification then, as above — nevertheless, some actions and works are still needed on Yom Tov. Namely, one needs to connect the days and the middos to the aspect of the light of the love that is in the Daas, which is above time. For on Yom Tov, only the aspect of the days of good is revealed. But one still needs actions and works in order to connect the days and the middos to the light of the love that is in the Daas — in order to taste the light of the love that is in the Daas within the days and the middos, as above. And therefore there are labors that need to be done on Yom Tov — namely, the labor of ochel nefesh [preparing food for the soul] that the Torah permitted on Yom Tov. For “the tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul” (Mishlei 13:25). And the eating of the tzaddik is exceedingly precious, and his eating — when he eats to satisfy his soul — is in the aspect of “and He will satisfy your soul in radiant brilliance” (Yeshaya 58:11), as Rabainu, may his light shine, wrote elsewhere. It emerges that the tzaddik delights in his eating from the light of the love that is in the Daas — which is the aspect of the oros hatzachtzachos [lights of brilliant radiance] that are above the days and the middos, as is known. For regarding the tzaddik, it is said: “And you shall delight upon Hashem” — for he merits the aspect of Oneg Shabbas above. For the tzaddik reveals and finds His G-dliness, blessed be He, in all physical things, and even in the languages of the nations, etc., as above. And through this, he merits the light of the love that is in the Daas, as above (and as explained there in the aforementioned teaching; see there). And the taste and delight of eating — its root is from the love that is in holiness, in the aspect of “love among delights.” For in all delights, there is an aspect of love that is their root. And the tzaddik who eats to satisfy his soul in holiness connects himself to the root of the delight, which is love in holiness. And not only that, but he also ascends and connects to the root of the love — namely, the light of the love that is in the Daas — which is the aspect of “and He will satisfy your soul in radiant brilliance,” as above. And this is the aspect of the eating of Shabbas, which is Oneg Shabbas — regarding which it is said: “Then you shall delight upon Hashem” — namely, through the eating of Shabbas, one delights “upon Hashem,” as it were — ascending and delighting from the light of the love that is in the Daas. And on Shabbas, this is accomplished through the holiness of Shabbas itself — for Shabbas is above time, etc., as above. But on Yom Tov, which is within time — the aspect of the days of good — therefore, one needs then to perform actions in order to connect to the light of the love that is in the Daas — to the aspect of Oneg Shabbas. And therefore one needs to perform the labor of ochel nefesh on Yom Tov — to prepare the food so that it will be in the aspect of ochel nefesh — “food of the soul” specifically — the aspect of “the tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul” — the aspect of “and He will satisfy your soul in radiant brilliance.” That is, the food should be in the aspect of Oneg Shabbas — to merit through it the light of the love that is in the Daas — as through Oneg Shabbas, which is the eating of Shabbas. And just as during the weekdays one must perform all the labors in order to purify and extract the good from the evil — so too on Yom Tov: even though the good is revealed and purification is not needed, and therefore labors are forbidden — nevertheless, one still needs to perform the labor of ochel nefesh in order to prepare and connect it to the light of the love that is in the Daas — the aspect of Oneg Shabbas that is above time, above the days, as above. And therefore, even within ochel nefesh, not all labors are permitted — for reaping, grinding, and squeezing, etc. are forbidden even though they are labors of ochel nefesh. For certainly, other labors that are actual purifications — such as reaping and grinding — are forbidden even for ochel nefesh. For purifications — namely, purifying the good from the evil — this is forbidden on Yom Tov, as above. And the only permission is for baking and cooking and the like, which come only to prepare the food and to reveal its taste. For the food has already been completely purified; one needs only baking and cooking to prepare it and to reveal its good taste that is not perceptible before the cooking. And the taste is the delight — which comes from the aspect of “love among delights”, as above. And therefore we do this on Yom Tov — we bake and cook to prepare the food and to reveal its good taste, in order to connect it and elevate it to its root — namely, the root of the love, which is the aspect of the light of the love that is in the Daas, as above. And this is why the verse calls it ochel nefesh, as it is written: “Only that which is eaten by every soul” (Sh’mos 12:16) — it does not simply say “that which is eaten.” The verse is precise: “by every soul” specifically — the aspect of the eating of the soul — the aspect of “the tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul” — the aspect of “and He will satisfy your soul in radiant brilliance” — which is the aspect of Oneg Shabbas. And this is what is permitted on Yom Tov: to prepare it so that it becomes ochel nefesh — to connect it and elevate it to the aspect of Oneg Shabbas, etc., as above. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory expounded on this verse: “Only that which is eaten by every soul — it alone shall be done for you” — “for you and not for dogs; for you and not for the nations” (B’itza 21b). Namely, to exclude the opposite of ochel nefesh, which is the aspect of “and the dogs are fierce of soul, they do not know satisfaction” (Yeshaya 56:11) — the opposite of “the tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul.” And all the eating of the nations is likewise in the aspect of “the dogs are fierce of soul,” for they are immersed in all the cravings and their eating is in impurity. Only the eating of Yisrael is permitted on Yom Tov. For the eating of Yisrael, especially on Shabbas and Yom Tov, is holy — for they have many holinesses and mitzvos and blessings in their eating. For all of Yisrael are in the aspect of tzaddikayya, as it is written: “And Your people Yisrael — they are all tzaddikayya” (Yeshaya 60:21). And their eating is in holiness — the aspect of “the tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul,” etc., as above. And therefore, for them alone the labor of ochel nefesh is permitted on Yom Tov — to prepare it and connect it to its root, to merit the light of the love that is in the Daas, etc., as above. And this is the aspect of airuv tavshilin [the merging of cooked foods]. For the needs of Shabbas may be prepared on Yom Tov from the Torah level. But the airuv tavshilin is so that one should not forget Shabbas and should select a fine portion for Shabbas. For the needs of Shabbas are fitting to be prepared on Yom Tov, since all the labor of ochel nefesh is permitted on Yom Tov in order to elevate it to the aspect of Oneg Shabbas above. And therefore, certainly the needs of Shabbas are permitted on Yom Tov, for they are Oneg Shabbas itself — and this kind of labor is permitted on Yom Tov, as above. But our Sages of blessed memory enacted airuv tavshilin so that one should not forget Shabbas. For because one is busy with the needs of Yom Tov, one may forget Shabbas. That is, because one is busy with the labor of ochel nefesh of Yom Tov — which is to elevate it to the aspect of the love that is in the Daas — therefore one may forget Shabbas, since one merits even now, on Yom Tov, the aspect of Oneg Shabbas, as above. Therefore, they enacted airuv tavshilin so that one should remember and select a fine portion for Shabbas. For in truth, even so, Shabbas is certainly more important than Yom Tov — for then it is a complete cessation, for then the light of the love that is in the Daas is revealed of its own accord, as above. Built on Likutay Moharan I:33 (“Who Is the Man Who Desires Life”), which teaches that one can find Hashem even in the lowest places and the languages of the nations, and through this merit the light of the love that is in the Daas — a love that existed before Creation, above time and the middos. Reb Nosson constructs a three-level model of reality. Weekdays = days of evil have dominion = all 39 labors needed = purification, extracting good from evil. Yom Tov = days of good, the good is revealed (no purification needed, labors forbidden) BUT still within time, still within the middos = needs some action (baking, cooking) to connect the food’s taste to the light of the love in the Daas. Shabbas = above time entirely = the light of the love in the Daas revealed of its own accord = complete cessation, no action at all. The exquisite distinction: reaping and grinding are forbidden on Yom Tov even for food because they are purifications (extracting good from evil), and purification belongs to weekdays. Baking and cooking are permitted because the food is already purified — they only reveal the taste. And taste = delight = love = its root is the love that is in the Daas. The airuv tavshilin: since the Yom Tov cooking already achieves the taste of Oneg Shabbas, one might forget that Shabbas itself is even higher. The airuv is a reminder that Shabbas transcends even this achievement. ✺ Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman ✺

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