תשעה באב ושאר תעניות א

Now, it is clear from all of the above that through the tikkun of emunas chachamim — through which the holy s'farim are increased, through which all the tikkunim mentioned in the Torah [discourse] mentioned above are rectified, until one merits the secret of the intercalation — through this one merits complete counsels, so that each person can give counsel to his soul in every place where he is. And principally regarding the holiness of his Judaism — which is the essential tikkun of teshuvah: that one should strive to return to Hashem, blessed be He, from every place where one is, even if it seems to him that he has gone very, very far astray through his many sins, etc. — as mentioned. For there is no place in the world where there is no counsel and hope to emerge from there — only the counsel is hidden from him through his many corruptions. But through emunas chachamim — through which s'farim are increased and one merits the aspect of the secret of the intercalation — through this there is counsel in every place in the world, etc., as mentioned.

And for this reason, Rosh Chodesh is called by the name of hischadshus (renewal). For the yaitzer hara is called "an old and foolish king," for this is the general principle of the estrangement of each and every person from Hashem, blessed be He, Rachmana litzlan, from the greatest to the smallest: the essential cause is through the aging of the Sitra Achara — that it seems to everyone as if everything is proceeding in its usual course, and he is already old in his ways, etc., and cannot return from them. As it is written: "He will not believe to turn back from darkness." And all this is because [the yaitzer hara] casts upon him the aging of "the old and foolish king" — which is the yaitzer hara, as mentioned.

And therefore the entire tikkun is through the tzaddikim, the true Sages, who renew themselves like the eagle, etc. — the aspect of: "And those who hope in Hashem will exchange strength." And this is the aspect of the abundance of the s'farim of the true Sages. For the holy s'farim are composed through their chiddushai Torah that they innovate at all times. And all their chiddushai Torah are for practice — to learn and to teach, to safeguard and to do and to fulfill, etc. For they strive in their service each day anew, as if they had never yet begun any beginning in the service of Hashem and His Torah — as is explained at length in our words regarding this. And even more than this we heard from him, time after time, in a manner that is impossible to articulate at all. How much, time after time, he was in his own eyes truly like an infant who knows nothing. And once I heard from him explicitly, and he said: "I am now like a suckling upon his mother," etc.

And through their renewing themselves at all times and perceiving the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, each day and at every moment anew — through this they compose new holy s'farim at all times. For all the holy s'farim are to explain and to reveal the greatness of the holy Torah — which is the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, and the greatness of the holiness of Yisrael. For "the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Torah and Yisrael are all one," as is brought in the holy Zohar. Therefore through this they perceive and draw new chasadim (kindnesses) each day and at every moment — from whence is the essential hope for all those who are very, very far to merit teshuvah, especially in this last, long, bitter exile, whose essence is the exile of the soul. And as is explained at length in the Kinah (lamentation) "Ani HaGever," where Yirmiyahu the Prophet laments there on behalf of all Yisrael — and principally on behalf of these latter days — and cries there on behalf of each person of Yisrael: "I am the man who has seen affliction," etc.; "He has led me and brought me into darkness and not light; only against me does He turn His hand, all the day," etc.

And whoever pays attention to feel the troubles of his rebuked soul, distant from her Father in Heaven, will understand on his own how to apply all of this to himself. For the yaitzer hara sets aside the whole world and provokes only Yisrael, and the Torah scholars even more, etc. — as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Sukkah 4). This is the aspect of: "Only against me does He turn His hand," etc. And so Dovid cried out: "For day and night Your hand is heavy upon me," etc. And so Yirmiyahu continues to cry: "In darkness He has placed me," etc.; "He has walled me in and I cannot go out," etc. — until he says: "And I said: My strength is lost, and my hope from Hashem." For according to what appears to human understanding, his strength and his hope and his expectation are already lost. But he strengthens his soul and says: "This I shall return to my heart, therefore I shall have hope: the kindnesses of Hashem — for they are not ended, for His mercies are not consumed." And since His kindnesses and mercies are never ended and never consumed, certainly there is hope through His kindnesses and mercies even now — now, after all the many corruptions that each and every one of us has corrupted.

But all of this is still not enough to console and strengthen oneself, from the abundance of the overwhelming bitterness of one's immense blemishes. But the essential hope is what he says afterward: "They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." And Rashi explained: that the kindnesses are renewed each morning. And only this is all our consolation and hope, of each and every one of us — that Hashem, blessed be He, renews wondrous new kindnesses each morning. Through which is the essential renewal of the Creation each day, the aspect of: "And in His goodness He renews each day constantly the work of Creation." And all of this the great tzaddikim mentioned above draw upon us — they who renew themselves each day and begin anew at every moment. And they draw upon us new chasadim each day and at every moment, and they nullify the aging of the Sitra Achara, from whence comes all the power of the yaitzer hara. For all our hope is through the fact that one does not know at all how far His kindnesses reach — for "to His greatness there is no limit," etc., as mentioned. And the essential aspect of His greatness, blessed be He, is chesed — for chesed is called g'dulah (greatness), as is explained at length elsewhere.

And all of this is the aspect of the holiness of Rosh Chodesh, which is called Rosh Chodesh on account of the hischadshus (renewal) of Yisrael. And as we say in Birkas HaLevanah: "And to the moon He said that it should renew itself," etc., "for they are destined to renew themselves like it," etc. And therefore the root of teshuvah is Rosh Chodesh, as is explained in Siman 10, Part I — for the essential teshuvah is through the hischadshus, as mentioned. But all of this one cannot merit except through the power of the great tzaddikim who renew themselves at all times and innovate in the Torah — through which the holy s'farim are increased, as mentioned. For only they know the secret of the intercalation, to intercalate years and establish months and to draw the holiness of Rosh Chodesh in its proper time and season, in a manner that Yisrael should merit to renew themselves through this and to return in complete teshuvah — which is the essential thing. Therefore the essential holiness of Rosh Chodesh is through the abundance of s'farim, which is the aspect of emunas chachamim, as mentioned. For there is in this a great secret — the aspect of the secret of the intercalation — regarding the matter of hischadshus. And the essential thing is that one must know and believe that one knows nothing at all, and each day and at every moment things become entirely new, etc. And through this there is hope always for everyone, through the power of the tzaddikim mentioned above who renew themselves at all times, as mentioned.