לולב ואתרוג ב

Section Yud-Zayin [יז] And this is the bechina of the Counting of the Omer — for the forty-nine days of the Counting correspond to the forty-nine letters in the names of the twelve tribes of Y-H — which is the bechina of the totality of the names of the children of Israel. For each one of Israel has his name and soul rooted in the forty-nine letters of the names of the tribes. That is — through the commandment of counting, by which one counts these forty-nine days, each person thereby rectifies his name and soul — meaning he shall merit to magnify his name and soul through holy wealth, which is merited through breaking anger, as stated. And therefore one counts la'omer [for the Omer] — for through the offering of the barley Omer, all the harsh judgments and severities included in the bechina of barley, etc., are sweetened, as is known. And through this the hold of anger is sweetened and nullified — for the essential hold of anger comes from the [attribute of] severities [gevuros], and from there too is the root of the soul — for at their root they are one, and there is the root of wealth (as explained in §68–69, see there). And when the severities and judgments are not sweetened at their root, then the Adversary grows powerful and overturns the wealth into anger, and through this one tears his own soul with his anger (as explained there). And therefore, after the waving of the barley Omer — through which all judgments and severities are sweetened at their root — through this the hold of the Adversary is sweetened, and one merits to magnify the Name and the soul, which is the bechina of the forty-nine days of the Counting — which are the bechina of the Name and the soul of each one of Israel, included in the forty-nine letters of the names of the tribes, as mentioned above. And this is what one prays after the Counting for the blessing of livelihood — as one says: "the earth has given its produce; may Hashem, our G‑d, bless us, etc." — for through the Counting one sweetens and nullifies the anger and draws the blessing of livelihood and holy wealth, as stated. And therefore the Man [manna] fell for Israel in [the month of] Iyar — when the essential days of the Counting occur — for the Man is the bechina of livelihood and holy wealth that flows in the days of the Counting, as stated.

The general principle: through arichas ha-ruach — a spirit of patience and expansiveness, that is, through sighing (g'nuchay) — one draws vitality of spirit (ruach chayyim) into the deficiency. And the essential vitality of spirit is drawn from the tzaddik and the Rav (teacher) of the generation, for he is the man in whom there is spirit, and from him flows the source of life for every single person attached to him. However, there are wicked people who are not attached to the tzaddik, and they receive their arichas ha-ruach from the rav of the kelipah (the outer husk of impurity) etc. And whoever wishes to stand against the wicked cannot do so except as a completely righteous person (tzaddik gamur) — that is, one who has separated the evil from the good. For when one wants to subdue the wicked, one must descend into the bad trait of the wicked person, which is his conduit, in order to subdue and humble it. Through this one humbles the wicked utterly (adei aretz), the initials of which spell Aleph-Reish-Mem-Ayin, corresponding to the four fundamental elements from which all the traits derive, etc. See there. And through Torah and prayer the evil is separated from the good, etc. See there. We have also heard from his holy mouth that even when one is close and attached to such a tzaddik — that is, a completely righteous one — one can thereby also stand against the wicked and prevail over them. This is the aspect of Chanukah, for on Chanukah one must stand against the wicked who seek to prevent and nullify one from the service of God. For what has been, shall be again — just as at the time of the Chanukah miracle the evil kingdom of Greece rose against us to cause us to forget His Torah and to divert us — Heaven forbid — from the statutes of His will, so too this occurs in every generation: we must stand during the days of Chanukah against the wicked empire that strengthens itself in every generation — the wicked who rise against us to nullify us, Heaven forbid, from His service. And we must prevail and stand against them. And one cannot stand against them except through the power of the tzaddik, as above. This is the aspect of the Chanukah lamp — for the tzaddik is called light, as it is written: Imru tzaddik ki tov — "Say of the righteous man that he is good" — and there is no good except light, as it is written: Va-yar Elokim es ha-or ki tov — "And God saw the light that it was good." For this tzaddik is completely good — he has separated himself entirely from evil and remains wholly good, and therefore he is called tov (good), which is the aspect of light, as above. This is the aspect of the Chanukah candle: we draw and receive the power of the tzaddik who is called light, the aspect of Ner Hashem nishmas adam — "The lamp of God is the soul of man." And through this power — through the light of the tzaddik who is the aspect of tov, as in "God saw the light that it was good," as above — we can stand against the wicked empire, as above, for one can only stand against them through the aspect of kulo tov — entirely good — the aspect of the completely righteous one, as above. This is the aspect of the mitzvah to kindle the Chanukah lamp below ten handbreadths (tefachim), in the public domain (reshus ha-rabbim), within the handbreadth adjacent to the doorway. For the principal foothold of the Sitra Achra (the Other Side) is below ten handbreadths, since the Divine Presence (Shekhinah) never descended below ten, and there is the principal aspect of the world of Action (Asiyah) — that is where they hold. Furthermore, the public domain (reshus ha-rabbim) is the place of the kelipot (husks), as is known. And precisely there must the Chanukah lamp be kindled — that is, the light — which is the aspect of the power of the tzaddik descending into the grip of the wicked to subdue and humble it. Through this we prevail over him, as above. And therefore it is placed at the handbreadth adjacent to the doorway, for their grip is only at the aspect of the doorway — inside, they cannot enter. Only at the aspect of the entrance do they lie in ambush to suckle, as in the verse: La-pesach chatas roveitz — "Sin crouches at the door." Therefore we were commanded to place a mezuzah at the entrance to drive away the kelipah that stands precisely at the doorway (as brought in the holy Zohar). And this is why we kindle the Chanukah lamp adjacent to the doorway — to subdue and break them in the place of their grip, as above. The Chanukah lamp also alludes to the vitality of spirit (ruach chayyim) of the tzaddik, through which one prevails against the wicked — if he is a completely righteous person. For through length of breath (arichas ha-n'shimah) the intellect is sustained — for the intellect is the aspect of a wick burning through the oils of the body. And the essential sustenance of the body's oils is through breathing. As the Talmud teaches: were it not for the wings of the lungs that blow upon the heart, the heart would burn the whole body. This is the aspect of Ner Hashem nishmas adam — "The lamp of God is the soul of man": the essential sustenance of the lamp of God, which is the intellect, is through the breath. For through breathing — which is the expansiveness of the windpipe of the lung — the lungs blow upon the heart and cool the warmth of the heart, and thereby the oils of the body are sustained and not burned by the heart's heat, and then the oils rise to the brain and the intellect is sustained — which is the lamp of God burning through the body's oils, as above. All this is explained thoroughly in the teaching beginning Pasach Rabbi Shimon v'amar Ays la'asos la-Shem (§60). See there. And this is the aspect of the Chanukah lamp that we kindle with oil — this is the aspect of the lamp of God, etc. — and this is the aspect of drawing the vitality of spirit (ruach chayyim), which is the expanded breathing of the tzaddik. For the kindling of the lamp, which is the aspect of the lamp of God, is the aspect of the expanded breath: through the expansion of breath the lamp of God burns, as above. And through the expanded breath of the tzaddik we stand against the wicked, as above. This is the aspect of the Chanukah miracle — for the evil kingdom of Greece contaminated all the oils, and they found a flask of oil sealed with the seal of the Kohain Gadol (High Priest) that contained sufficient oil to kindle for only one day, and a miracle occurred and it burned for eight days — for the wicked empire, when it prevails through its arichas ha-ruach — which is the aspect of a raging wind, etc. — as explained there, then contaminates all the oils of the body, since the essential sustenance of the body's oils is through the expansiveness of the breath. Therefore when the breath is drawn from holiness, all the body's oils are holy. And conversely, when — Heaven forbid — the breath and spirit of the kelipah prevail, they contaminate all the body's oils whose sustenance depends on the breath, as above — for through their expanded breath they literally swallow one who is not a completely righteous person, in the aspect of "the righteous one is swallowed from him" (as explained there). Therefore they contaminate, Heaven forbid, all the body's oils — which are the oils of the intellect — through the prevailing of their breath and spirit. And thereafter, when the Hasmonean dynasty prevailed over them and defeated them, they found the flask of oil, etc. — that is, they found afterwards the essential power through which they had prevailed over the wicked empire. The essential power by which one prevails over the wicked empire is the power of the tzaddik — the holy expanded breathing of holiness that one receives from the tzaddik — through which the oils of the intellect are holy, as above. The Kohain Gadol is the aspect of the teacher (rav) of holiness, for he is greater than his brothers — the aspect of rav. As it is written: Ki sifsei kohain yishmiru da'as v'Torah yivakshu mi-pihu — "For the lips of the kohain shall guard knowledge and Torah shall be sought from his mouth" — and our Rabbis of blessed memory interpreted (Moed Katan 17): "If the teacher resembles an angel of God of hosts…" Thus the kohain is the aspect of teacher (rav), and he is the aspect of rav chesed — great in lovingkindness — for the kohain is a person of chesed. This is why they found oil sealed with the seal of the Kohain Gadol — that is, holy oil of the intellect drawn through the expanded breathing of the tzaddik who is the aspect of the Kohain Gadol, sealed with his seal — meaning it was sealed in holiness without alien contact, for the tzaddik is wholly good and evil has no grip on him, and the wicked empire has no power to contaminate the oil of the completely righteous tzaddik through their expansiveness of spirit. For the completely righteous one is not swallowed. And through this power of the tzaddik — the expanded breathing of the tzaddik, which is the aspect of holy oil, as above — one prevails against the wicked empire, as above. For through this one can enter into the evil trait of the wicked to subdue and break it, and through this one subdues him, as above. And this is the meaning of: "there was not sufficient in it to kindle except for one day, and a miracle occurred and it burned for eight days." For the goodness of the tzaddik is the aspect of kulo tov — entirely good — and kulo tov is the aspect of one day (yom echad), as it is written (Bereishis 1): "And there was evening and there was morning, one day" — and Rashi explains that the Holy Blessed One was alone in His world, not even the angels had yet been created. And when the Holy Blessed One is alone in His world — that is, before creation — that is the aspect of kulo tov, certainly. But the essential purpose and perfection is after existence begins, when the world comes into being — for then evil has a foothold, and when one refines and extracts the good from the evil, and evil is transformed into good, then His sovereignty is revealed in all the worlds, even the lowest ones, in the aspect of u-malchuso ba-kol mashalah — "His sovereignty rules over all." This is the ultimate purpose and completion, for which was the intention of creation. And then, after existence, when the good is elevated from the evil, the complete Name is formed — so to speak — in the aspect of Hashem Echad u-shmo Echad — "God is One and His Name is One." This is the aspect of eight days, corresponding to the eight letters of the two combined Names Ya-kad-va-n-hay. This is the ultimate Oneness when His Unity and Oneness is revealed in all the lower worlds, even in the depths of evil — that all will testify and declare that God is One and His Name is One — for evil is transformed to good through the righteous ones of each generation. This is the aspect of "a miracle occurred and it burned for eight days" — lashon arimi nissi, "the language of I will raise My banner" — meaning: through elevating the lower levels into holiness, by refining the good from the evil, which is of the very essence of the Chanukah miracle — to descend into the evil of the wicked in order to subdue and break it, and then all the holy sparks are extracted from there, all the holiness and good that was there, and then the eight days are formed — the aspect of Hashem Echad u-shmo Echad — as above. For the good rises from the four elements and joins with its root, which is the aspect of the four letters of the Name Havayah, and then His Name is unified — the aspect of Hashem Echad u-shmo Echad, which is eight letters, the aspect of eight days, as above. This is the aspect of the eight days of circumcision (milah). For the Holy Blessed One did not create man already circumcised — as the heretics question — and the reason is in order that man should pass through the path of evil, and afterwards it is subdued and the foreskin (orlah) which is the evil is cut away. Then there is "the advantage of the light from the darkness" — specifically "from the darkness" — for when darkness is transformed to light, evil to good, that is the ultimate perfection, as above. And then the aspect of eight days of circumcision is formed, in which all eight days are included in holiness, in the eight letters mentioned above, the aspect of Hashem Echad u-shmo Echad, as above. This is the aspect of the recitation of Hallel and the Torah reading of Chanukah — this is the aspect of Torah and prayer through which the good is refined from the evil. For Hallel is prayer, and afterwards Torah is read, since through Torah the good is refined from the evil (as explained there). And therefore the portion of Chanukas ha-Mizbeach (the dedication of the altar) is read — for the dedication of the altar is to purify it from the grip of evil. For the principal hold of the Sitra Achra is from the blemish of the altar (as explained elsewhere). Therefore the offerings of the altar's dedication came to purify and sanctify it from the grip of evil, as it is written regarding the future dedication of the altar: V'chippartem al ha-Mizbeach me-ish shogegh u-mi-pesi — "And you shall atone for the altar, for one who errs and for the simple-minded" — meaning it must be dedicated in order to purify it from ish shogegh u-fesi, which is the Sitra Achra that grips it. Thus the dedication of the altar is to subdue evil and refine the good from the evil. And on this account it is called chinuch (education/initiation), the aspect of Chanoch — Metatron, who is composed of the six orders of Mishnah, forbidden and permitted, etc. — which is the aspect of refining that must be done to distinguish good from evil, permitted from forbidden, etc. Therefore the portion of Chanukas ha-Mizbeach is read on Chanukah, for it is the aspect of refining the good from the evil — which is the aspect of Chanukah — for through this one prevails over the wicked empire and subdues them, in the aspect of mashpil r'sha'im adei aretz — "humbling the wicked to the earth" — and then His Name is magnified and sanctified in the aspect of Hashem Echad u-shmo Echad, as above. This is why the Chanukah lamp is kindled until tikhleh regel min ha-shuk — "the foot traffic in the marketplace ceases" — meaning to elevate all the lower levels, which are the "feet" of holiness that are clothed and descend into the outer places (the shuk — marketplace — which is the aspect of the public domain, reshus ha-rabbim). The kindling of the Chanukah lamp is to elevate the holiness from the Sitra Achra, as above — for the essential purpose of the Chanukah lamp is to draw the light of holiness downward, to the aspect of the six weekdays, to subdue evil and refine the good. Blessed be God forever, Amen and Amen.

Likutay Halachos — Laws of Lulav and Esrog, Halachos 1–2

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