ענין ספירת העומר א

The general principle: to draw complete Hashgachah [Divine Providence] is through breaking the craving for money, and breaking it is through tz’dakah [charity]. For through breaking the craving for money, the judgment is sweetened, chesed is drawn, the aspect of Mashiach is revealed, the building of the Temple, and Daas is drawn. And through this, one can reveal Torah in the world. For through the Daas, one can gather and take souls, in the aspect of “And the one who takes souls is wise” (Mishlei 11:30). And then: “A wise man ascends the city of the mighty and brings down the strength of its confidence” (Mishlei 21:22).

Give us joy for as long as You have afflicted us, for the years we have suffered misfortune.

16 יֵרָאֶה אֶל-עֲבָדֶיךָ פָעֳלֶךָ וַהֲדָרְךָ עַל-בְּנֵיהֶם And through this, one merits complete Hashgachah. For the Torah is the aspect of sight — the aspect of the three colors of the eye and the pupil. And through our being close to the Torah, we are close to the sight — and then the power of sight comes in the aspect of “striking” [upon the eye], and then we are reflected and formed within His eyes, as it were — which is the aspect of complete Hashgachah. But the nations, who are far from the Torah — their providence is only from “half the sight,” etc.

And this is the aspect of the rectification of the upper Chariot and the lower Chariot, which are the aspect of the two Shinnim [letters Shin], the aspect of the two intellects. For there is an intellect of the aspect of taking the souls, and there is a second intellect that ascends with them and brings Torah. And they are the aspect of the Shin of three heads and the Shin of four heads, etc. (See there, all of this well.)

Yairu-eh el avudechu fu-ulechu vahadurichu al binaihem. And this is the aspect of Shavuos, which is called Atzeres [Assembly / Gathering] — namely, the aspect of taking and gathering the souls, through which the aspect of Shavuos is made — namely, receiving the Torah, as above.

Let Your deeds be seen by Your servants, Your glory by their children.

And this is the aspect of Pesach, which precedes Shavuos and is a preparation for receiving the Torah on Shavuos. For Pesach is the aspect of Avraham, the man of chesed [kindness] — which is the aspect of a generous spirit, the aspect of tz’dakah, through which the craving for money is broken and one merits receiving the Torah, as above.

And this is the aspect of matzah that we eat on Pesach, for matzah is the aspect of tz’dakah (as brought in the words of Rabainu, may his light shine, in the teaching “They Asked Rabbi Yosi ben Kisma,” siman 57, and elsewhere). And therefore they merited then a great wealth — namely, the wealth of holiness that one merits through breaking the craving for money, the aspect of “Rejoice, Z’vulun” (D’varim 33:18) (as explained there in the aforementioned teaching and in the teaching “You Have Commanded Righteousness — Your Testimonies,” siman 23) — that the essential wealth depends on breaking the craving for money, in the aspect of: “Who is wealthy? One who is happy with his lot” (Avos 4:1). And this is the aspect of the omer of barley and the S’firah that begin immediately on the second day of Pesach, which is a preparation and beginning for receiving the Torah on the fiftieth day. For it is brought there in the aforementioned teaching that the chacham gathers the good souls — namely, the good desires that are found in each person — and also gathers the souls and desires that are not good, in the aspect of “I have gathered my myrrh with my spice” (Shir HaShirim 5:1) — which is the aspect of the “lion” within the soul, namely, gathering the bitterness of the soul, the aspect of “And her soul was bitter to her” (Sh’muel II, 1:26) — namely, the desires that are not good, the cravings of this world — “with my spice” — with the good desire that raises a pleasant scent; see there. And this is the aspect of the omer of barley, which is an offering of animal food — namely, that we elevate and wave and raise up all the souls and desires that are not good, that have fallen into the animalistic cravings, which are the aspect of the bitterness of the soul. And therefore it is a preparation and beginning for receiving the Torah, for receiving the Torah depends on this, as above. And this is the aspect of omer of barley, which Rabainu, of blessed memory, explained elsewhere as ayin-mor [70 myrrh] — namely, the aspect of the Torah, which has seventy faces, which one receives through the aspect of “I have gathered my myrrh,” etc. — which is the aspect of the omer of barley, as above. And this is the aspect of the S’firah, that from the day of the omer we begin to count. This is the aspect of the gathering and collecting of the souls that have fallen, that we are occupied during the days of the S’firah, each and every day, to collect and gather them, to bring them under the count and the number, so that not one of them shall be missing or cast away or lost, G-d forbid. And this is the aspect of S’firah [counting]. For that which is scattered and cast away is not under a number, for their count and number has been disrupted by the scattering, that they have been scattered and dispersed to the four corners of the earth. But now we fulfill the mitzvah of S’firah — to collect them and gather them and bring them under the S’firah and the number, so that not one of them shall be missing. For the sparks and the souls — they are the days and the attributes (middos), for they all emerge from the aspect of the seven days, the seven middos, as is known. And therefore, through the counting of the days, we gather the souls, as above. And all of this is through the aspect of the omer of barley, which is the aspect of “I have gathered my myrrh,” as above. And therefore we count toward the omer, as above. And therefore we pray then [during the S’firah]: “The peoples shall acknowledge You,” etc. (Tehillim 67:4) — namely, that all the souls and sparks should ascend from among the nations and return to Him and acknowledge Him, blessed be He. And then, on Shavuos, they are all gathered together. And this is what is written: “In the third month… and Yisrael encamped there opposite the mountain” (Sh’mos 19:1–2) — with a whole heart, in unity. For beforehand, they were scattered and separated, for all the souls had not yet been gathered together. But now, at the end of the days of the S’firah, they are all gathered together — all the souls. And for this reason, [Shavuos] is called Atzeres [Assembly], as above. And then, on Shavuos, all the souls are gathered together in the aspect of “I have gathered my myrrh with my spice” as above. That is: the omer of barley, which is animal food — namely, the bitterness of the soul, the aspect of animality, the cravings, as above — this is the aspect of the omer of barley, to elevate them also, as above. “With my spice” — this is the aspect of the Two Loaves of wheat, which are human food — namely, the aspect of the good souls, who are called Adam, possessors of Daas and intellect. And through this, we receive the Torah on Shavuos, as above, and then complete Hashgachah is drawn, as above. And this is why we stay awake the entire night on Shavuos — in order to merit drawing the receiving of the Torah, which is the aspect of complete Hashgachah, as above — which is drawn from the aspect of the “Eye that does not slumber” (ainah d’lah nayim). And therefore we do not sleep the entire night. Also, the chasing away of sleep is the aspect of breaking the craving for money, which is darkness, sadness, the side of death. For even the wealth of holiness — conducting business faithfully — is also the aspect of sleep (as brought in the words of Rabainu, of blessed memory; but that sleep is good, to renew the mind, as explained there). But when one falls into the craving for money, G-d forbid, one needs to chase away sleep — namely, to break the craving for money. And therefore, receiving the Torah, which depends on breaking the craving for money, as above — therefore, we stay awake beforehand the entire night to break the sleep, which is the aspect of money, as above. And this itself hints at the complete Hashgachah — the aspect of the ainah p’kichah d’lah nayim [the open Eye that does not slumber], as above — for one depends on the other: the Hashgachah depends on breaking the craving for money, which is the aspect of sleep, as above. And this is why we eat dairy foods in the morning afterward. This is the aspect of “His eyes are like doves, bathing in milk” (Shir HaShirim 5:12). And it is found in the Idra [in the Zohar]: this is the aspect of the eyes of Hashgachah receiving from the “Eye that does not slumber”; see there. And therefore, after we stay awake — which is the aspect of the “open Eye,” etc. — then we eat dairy foods, in the aspect of “His eyes… bathing in milk,” as above. And all of this is through the aspect of receiving the Torah, which is the aspect of complete Hashgachah, as above. For this is also the aspect of the difference between His providence, blessed be He, over Yisrael and the providence over the nations. For the providence over the nations is in the aspect of sleep — like one who gazes at something hateful and repulsive in his eyes that he cannot bear, who immediately shuts his eyes, and before the thing returns to be reflected in his eyes, he closes them, and then the thing is not imaged in his eyes, for he does not want something hateful to be imaged in his eyes. Exactly so is the aspect of His providence over them — which is “half the sight” — that they are not reflected back and imaged in His eyes, blessed be He, as it were (as explained there; see there). And this is the aspect of “And He closes His eyes from seeing evil” (Yeshaya 33:15) — the aspect of sleep, the aspect of closed eyes — for He does not gaze upon them except in passing, and immediately closes them, as it were, for “You cannot bear to look upon wrongdoing” (Chavakkuk 1:13). But His providence over us is the aspect of complete Hashgachah — the aspect of the “open Eye,” etc. — for always His eyes are open for good upon us, in the aspect of the Hashgachah of Eretz Yisrael, regarding which it is said: “Always the eyes of Hashem your G-d are upon it, from the beginning of the year,” etc. (D’varim 11:12) — “always” specifically — the aspect of the “open Eye,” as above. And because He gazes upon us well, we are imaged in His eyes, as it were — in the aspect of complete Hashgachah, as above. And this is what is said at the Giving of the Torah: “You have been shown to know that Hashem” (D’varim 4:35), etc. — “Har’aisah” specifically, in the passive — namely, that you have been “shown,” you have been made visible within His eyes, blessed be He, in the aspect of complete Hashgachah, through receiving the Torah, as above. And this is the aspect of “I have gathered my myrrh with my spice… I have drunk my wine with my milk” (Shir HaShirim 5:1) — that through “I have gathered my myrrh,” etc. — namely, the aspect of “and the one who takes souls,” etc. — through this, “I have drunk my wine with my milk” — namely, receiving the Torah, which is compared to wine and milk, as it is written: “And whoever has no money, come, buy and eat, without money and without price, wine and milk” (Yeshaya 55:1) — “without money and without price” specifically, “and whoever has no money” specifically. For through breaking the craving for silver and gold, one merits the Torah, which is the aspect of wine and milk, as above. And this is the aspect of “The words of Hashem are pure words, silver refined… purified seven times” (Tehillim 12:7) — namely, the words of Hashem, etc. — namely, Torah — one merits through the aspect of “silver refined,” etc. That is, through refining and purifying the silver and gold — namely, through breaking the craving for wealth and extracting from there all the souls and sparks — through this, the Torah is made, as above. And this itself is what Rabainu, of blessed memory, wrote in the teaching “Happy Is the People” above: that through breaking the craving for money, one can take souls and make from this Torah. That is, from this itself — from the breaking of the craving for money — Torah is made. For all the souls and sparks are within the money, and when the tzaddik breaks the craving for money, he extracts the sparks from there and makes from them Torah (as all of this is explained in the teaching “And on the Day of the Firstfruits,” to draw length of days into the Malchus; see there, in siman 56). And this is what the Chacham said: “Save me from the scattering of the soul” — namely, that he should not have scattered possessions. For the essential scattering of the soul is within the money, as above. And therefore, the taking and gathering of the souls spoken of in this teaching of “Happy Is the People” — in the aspect of “I have gathered my myrrh with my spice,” as above — their essential gathering is from within the craving for wealth, for there is where all the souls fall, G-d forbid. And therefore the Chacham needs to break the craving for money in order to take souls — for from there he extracts them, from within the money, as above. It emerges that the money itself becomes Torah — namely, through breaking the craving for money and purifying and refining the holy sparks that were there, and gathering them — through this, Torah is made, as above. And this is the aspect of “silver refined” — that the “words of Hashem,” etc. [= Torah] are made through the aspect of “silver refined” — through refining and purifying the silver, extracting from there the souls — through this, Torah is made, as above. And this is “purified seven times” — namely, seven times seven, the aspect of the seven weeks of the days of the S’firah, in which we gather and collect the souls and bring them under the S’firah and the number, as above. And the essential gathering is from within the silver, as above. It emerges that in the 49 days of the S’firah, the silver is purified and refined. And this is the aspect of “silver refined, purified seven times,” as above. And then Torah is made from this — which we receive on the fiftieth day, which is Shavuos, as above. And this is the aspect of “And I will test them as one tests gold, and I will refine them as one refines silver” (Z’charyah 13:9) — that the essential testing and refining of the souls of Yisrael is in the aspect of the refining of silver and gold, for there all the souls are clothed, as above. And this is the aspect of “The Torah of Your mouth is better for me than thousands of gold and silver” (Tehillim 119:72) — “than thousands of gold and silver” specifically — for through breaking the craving for silver and gold, through this, Torah is made — extracting the souls from there and making from them Torah, as above. And this is why the Torah is compared to wine and milk. For the essential Torah comes through the purification of the souls, which are purified from the places where they have been scattered. And this itself is the aspect of wine and milk — the aspect of “blood becomes turbid and becomes milk” — the aspect of purification, which is itself the aspect of the purification of the souls, as is known. And this is also the aspect of wine. For in wine also there are two aspects: if he merits, it makes him a head; if he does not merit, it makes him poor (Yoma 76b). And one needs to purify the “bloods” in order to merit that the wine will be in the aspect of “if he merits, it makes him a head” — which is the aspect of the purification of the bloods, in the aspect of “Do not look upon wine when it reddens” (Mishlei 23:31) — “for its end is blood.” For the blemish of wine is through the aspect of the blemish of the bloods. And when one purifies the bloods, then the wine is in the aspect of “if he merits, it makes him a head” — the aspect of the whiteness of the brain, the aspect of “blood becomes turbid and becomes milk.” It emerges that the purification of wine for good is also the aspect of “blood becomes turbid and becomes milk.” And therefore, the Torah is compared to wine and milk — which are the aspect of the purification of the souls, in the aspect of “blood becomes turbid,” etc. — from which Torah is made, as above. And this is “I have gathered my myrrh with my spice” — namely, the gathering and purification of the souls, as above. “I have drunk my wine with my milk” — namely, the Torah, which is compared to wine and milk, which are themselves the purification of the souls, in the aspect of “blood becomes turbid,” etc. And then Torah is made from them, as above. And this is what is written: “Do not look upon wine when it reddens” — namely, the blemish of wine, in the aspect of blood, in the aspect of “when it reddens,” “for its end is blood” — this is the aspect of “do not look” (al taire) — the aspect of the blemish of Hashgachah. For when the wine is purified in the aspect of “if he merits, it makes him a head,” in the aspect of “blood becomes turbid and becomes milk” — which is the aspect of the wine and milk of the Torah, as above — then it is in the aspect of “a good eye” (tov ayin) — the aspect of the eyes of Hashgachah that are drawn through the aspect of wine and milk — namely, through the Torah. And this is the aspect of “His eyes… bathing in milk.” And this is the aspect of “A good eye shall be blessed” (Mishlei 22:9) — the aspect of the cup of wine of blessing, which “requires that one place his eyes upon it” (B’rachos 51a) — the aspect of the eyes of Hashgachah that are drawn through good wine, wine of holiness, the aspect of “ruddy, with beautiful eyes” (Sh’muel I, 16:12), said regarding David, who is the aspect of the cup of blessing. But the blemish of wine, in the aspect of blood as above — is the opposite of this — the aspect of “do not look upon wine,” etc. — “do not look” specifically, as above. And this is: “When he places his eye in the cup” (Mishlei 23:31) — “in the purse” (bakis) is [also how it could be] written — namely, the craving for wealth, which is the blemish of the bloods, the blemish of wine. For the essential purification is from within the craving for money, as above. For the craving for money is the aspect of dam niddah [the blood of impurity], the aspect of “And their gold as an impurity” (Yechezkel 7:19), as Rabainu, of blessed memory, wrote. And this is “when he places his eye in the cup” — “in the purse” is written — for they are one and the same aspect. For through the craving for money, which is the aspect of the blemish of the bloods, through this the wine is blemished, as above. And through this, the eyes are blemished — the aspect of the blemish of Hashgachah, as above. And this is the aspect of “He placed his eyes on his money” — that in exchange for the money, he gives his eyes. Namely, he blemishes the eyes — the aspect of the eyes of Hashgachah — through the craving for money, as above. For the Hashgachah is drawn through breaking the craving for money, as above. And this is why we count seven weeks in order to merit Shavuos, to receive the Torah, through which Hashgachah is drawn — which is the aspect of the seven layers of the eye, which are the aspect of the seven days, the seven middos, as is known. And this is the aspect of the seven heads of the two Shinnim — the Shin of three heads and the Shin of four heads — which are the two intellects through which one receives the Torah (as explained there; see there). And corresponding to this, we count seven weeks, which are a preparation for receiving the Torah. And therefore one must count days and count weeks — which are the aspect of seven lower days and seven upper days — namely, the seven lower days and the seven upper days, which are the aspect of the seven weeks, as brought in the Zohar. And they are the aspect of the two aforementioned intellects — which are the rectification of the upper Chariot and the lower Chariot — which are the aspect of seven days and seven days. For each intellect and each Chariot is comprised of the aspect of seven days and seven middos, as is known. And because one needs to receive the Torah through the aforementioned two intellects — which are the upper intellect and the lower intellect — therefore we count days and weeks, which are the aspect of seven days and seven days — the aspect of the two intellects as above. And then one merits receiving the Torah on Shavuos, as above. And this is: “Seven weeks you shall count for yourself; from the time the sickle begins [to cut] the standing crop, you shall begin to count” (D’varim 16:9), etc. For the S’firah is the gathering and purification of the sparks and the souls, as above. And this is “from the time the sickle begins [to cut] the standing crop” — from the time the harvest begins. For the omer permits the harvest — for the harvesting of grain from the fields is the aspect of the gathering and purification of the souls, as is known. And therefore they were forbidden to harvest before the omer, for it is forbidden to harvest them before their time. And their time is from the offering of the omer of barley specifically — for then the Sitra Achara is subdued, and then there is power to purify souls in the aspect of “I have gathered my myrrh,” etc. — which is the aspect of the omer, the aspect of S’firah, as above. And therefore, specifically then, one can harvest the grain from the fields — namely, to gather souls, as above. And this is: “And you shall make a festival of weeks to Hashem, from the generosity of your hand that you shall give” (D’varim 16:10), etc. — namely, the aspect of tz’dakah, a generous spirit — through which the craving for money is broken, and through which one merits the festival of Shavuos — namely, receiving the Torah, as above. And this is why we read [the book of] Rus on Shavuos — which is the revelation of the kingship of Mashiach, the kingship of David. For receiving the Torah, as above, is through the revelation of the kingship of Mashiach (as explained there in the teaching “Happy Is the People”) — that through breaking the craving for money, the aspect of Mashiach is revealed and one merits receiving the Torah. And therefore, on Shavuos, when we merit receiving the Torah through breaking the craving for money, as above, therefore, then is the aspect of the revelation of Mashiach, as above. And therefore we read Rus, as above. And therefore, David passed away on Atzeres [= Shavuos] (Yerushalmi, Chagigah 2:3). For Atzeres is the aspect of the kingship of Mashiach, and therefore then is his hillula [day of passing and celebration]. And this itself is the aspect of the revelation of Mashiach, for “the sun rises and the sun sets” (Koheles 1:5) — “before the sun of one had set,” etc. (B’raishis Rabbah 58:2). And therefore, on Shavuos, when David was taken away, then immediately Mashiach was born and revealed — who will come speedily in our days, Amen. This halacha is built on Likutay Moharan I:13 (“Happy Is the People — Providence”), one of Rabainu’s most intricate teachings, which establishes that complete Divine Providence (Hashgachah) comes through receiving Torah, which comes through gathering souls, which comes through breaking the craving for money via tz’dakah. Reb Nosson maps the entire Pesach–S’firah–Shavuos arc onto this chain: Pesach = Avraham / chesed / tz’dakah / matzah = breaking the craving for money. The omer of barley = “I have gathered my myrrh with my spice” = gathering both the bitter souls (fallen desires = animal food) and the good souls. The S’firah = bringing scattered souls under the count so that not one is lost. Shavuos = Atzeres (Assembly) = all souls finally gathered = Torah received = complete Hashgachah. The Shavuos customs are decoded: staying awake all night = the “Eye that does not slumber” = breaking the “sleep” of the craving for money. Eating dairy = “His eyes bathing in milk” = the eyes of Providence receiving from the open Eye. Reading Rus = revelation of Mashiach / David’s kingship. David’s passing on Shavuos = the sun setting as the new sun of Mashiach rises. The stunning wordplay: “when he places his eye in the cup (bakos)” / “in the purse (bakis)” = the craving for money blemishes wine (= the bloods) which blemishes the eyes (= Providence). And: “silver refined, purified seven times” = the 7×7 weeks of S’firah purifying the “silver” of the craving for money, extracting the sparks, and making from them Torah. ✺ Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman ✺