הושענא רבה א

The general principle: the Blessed Name is everywhere — m'lo kol ha-aretz k'vodo — "the whole earth is full of His glory" — and i-hu m'mallei kol almin — "He fills all the worlds," etc. Therefore there is absolutely no despair in the world whatsoever, for in every place one can find the Blessed Name and the Torah and draw near to Him. And the essential means is through the true tzaddik of the generation who has conquered his evil inclination and who resembles an angel of God of hosts literally. And through this, wherever he looks and sees evil traits and evil desires and the like, the evil that rests upon the good immediately falls and is nullified — for the evil that covers the good becomes confused and falls in the face of the true tzaddik who has conquered his evil inclination, etc. (See there, all this in detail.) For there are "days of good" and "days of evil," etc. (See there, all this in detail.) It emerges that the tzaddik can build the letters of the Torah from anything in the world — for even the Torah that lay hidden and concealed among the idolaters and wicked, where no person knew of it, he can extract it and build it anew, through the "days of evil" falling and being nullified before him, and thus the aspect of "days of good" is revealed — which is the Torah that is revealed from within its garments and constrictions. Then great additional light from above is added to that good, for previously when the good was covered among the kelipot only a minimal light was drawn upon it, just enough for its survival in constriction, so that the kelipot would not draw too much. But now that the evil and the kelipot have been nullified and the good is revealed in itself, great additional light is drawn upon it from above, etc. And through the revelation of the Torah one merits peace, etc., in the aspect of baHashem ahalel davar b'Elohim ahalel davar — "In God I will praise a word, in Elohim I will praise a word" — that is, whether in the good or in the difficult, one finds the Blessed Name, etc. And within the Torah there is revealed and hidden — the hidden is the aspect of orayta d'atika s'tima'ah — the Torah of the most hidden ancient one — the aspect of ahavah she-ba-da'as — love that is within knowledge (da'as). For there is love that is within time and within the attributes (middos), and there is love that is within knowledge (da'as), which is the aspect of the hidden Torah, the innermost Torah, etc. And every person can taste the quality of the light of this love even within time and within the attributes through attaching his heart to his knowledge, so that his heart will be in his own domain, etc. Each person according to his level has an aspect of love-in-time and love-in-knowledge, etc. — for the love-in-knowledge of the lower level is the aspect of love-in-time of the higher level, etc., etc. (See there very carefully.) This is the aspect of Chanukah, whose mitzvah is performed with oil — to kindle the Chanukah lamp — for in the days of Mattityahu the evil kingdom of Greece prevailed over Your people Israel to cause them to forget Your Torah and transgress the statutes of Your will. They sought to nullify Israel from all the Torah. The miracle came about through the Kohain Gadol — for when the wicked empire, which is the Sitra Achra, prevails over Israel in general or in particular, and does not allow Israel to walk truly in the ways of God, to engage in Torah and mitzvos, and seeks to cause the Torah to be forgotten and utterly hidden — Heaven forbid — and sometimes — Heaven forbid — it prevails greatly, so greatly that the good that exists within Israel within each individual person becomes utterly concealed until they do not know at all how to arouse themselves to return to the Blessed Name in truth — then the essential remedy is through the true tzaddik of the generation. For through meriting to draw near to the true tzaddik, then when the true tzaddik engages with a person, speaks with him, and sees his deeds and traits, the evil is completely nullified and confused before the true tzaddik who has conquered his inclination and subdued the "days of evil," and then the evil falls and the good is revealed even from the depths of depths of the kelipot (as explained well in the above teaching). For the tzaddik can build the Torah and reveal the good from every person in the world, wherever they may be. And this was the strength of the Chanukah miracle: the wicked empire thought that by prevailing over Israel to nullify them from Torah and mitzvos, there was no recovery for them — Heaven forbid — since our essential vitality and strength is only from Torah and mitzvos. But the Blessed Name performed wonders of kindness with us and sent us then Mattityahu the Kohain Gadol, and his priestly companions who were mighty in strength — and their might was from holiness, through their meriting to prevail over their inclinations, through which they merited their great power, for they were very great tzaddikim. And through being mighty in strength, in the aspect of giborei ko'ach osei d'varo — "mighty in strength who do His word" — as mentioned in the above teaching — through this they merited to subdue, humble, and nullify the evil empire of Greece. For the evil fell before them and they could reveal the good — the Torah — even at a time when Israel was detached from Torah and mitzvos through the prevailing of the wicked empire. For the mighty-in-strength tzaddikim can build the Torah from anything, as above — for he strips the "days of good" from the garments and constrictions of the "days of evil," through his subjugation of the "days of evil" through subduing the evil inclination, etc. Then great light from above is added to the good — for previously it was not so illuminated, etc., as above. This is the aspect of the Chanukah lamp that we now merit to draw and reveal the light of Torah even below ten handbreadths — where the outer forces grip, as is known. And now, through the power of the mighty-in-strength tzaddikim — who are Mattityahu and his sons — through this the evil falls, the "days of evil," the grip of the outer forces, and the good is revealed — the "days of good" — even below, until we can build the Torah and reveal light in every place. Therefore the mitzvah of the Chanukah lamp is outside, in the public domain, as is the law — for the public domain is the place where the Sitra Achra grips, being the aspect of reshus ha-rabbim as is known. But now even there the light of Torah is revealed, for the evil — the "days of evil" — falls through the power of the mighty-in-strength tzaddikim as above, and the good — the Torah — is revealed in every place, and great light from above is added to it. This is the aspect of the light of the Chanukah candles — for the one who kindles must kindle until tehei shalheves olah me-eilehah — "the flame rises on its own." For when the light of the Torah is revealed below, and one builds and creates the Torah that was garbed and hidden in the dwelling of the kelipot, great light is then added from above, as above. This is the aspect of the Chanukah lights increasing and adding, for one ascends in holiness — for each time the Torah is further revealed, yet more light from above is added, in the aspect of lishmoa b'kol d'varo — "to hear the voice of His word" — as above. This is why the essential miracle was performed through the Kohain Gadol — for the teacher (rav), who is the tzaddik, is called by the name kohain, as it is written: ki sifsei kohain yishmeru da'as etc., and our Rabbis of blessed memory interpreted: "if the teacher resembles an angel of God of hosts," etc. (as brought in the above teaching). For the kohain is the aspect of chesed, the aspect of love — which is the aspect of the Torah that the teacher reveals, the aspect of love, for all of the Torah is suffused with His love (as explained in the above teaching). But the essential revelation of the Torah and subduing of the "days of evil" is through the true tzaddik and teacher of the generation who has merited the aspect of love-in-knowledge, as explained in the above teaching. For it is all one — through the tzaddik being mighty in strength who conquered his inclination, his heart came to be in his own domain and he attached his heart to his knowledge, and through this the attributes of the heart absorbed the light of love-in-knowledge, and through this he merited love-in-knowledge (as explained at the end of the above teaching). And precisely because of this he can subdue and conquer the "days of evil" — so that wherever he looks and gazes, the evil falls and the good is revealed — for the evil is nullified before him. For the principal grip of evil is only below, within time and within the attributes — and there are "days of good" and "days of evil," and therefore they have a grip there. But above, in the aspect of love-in-knowledge, the aspect of the hidden Torah, they have no grip at all. Their principal grip below — Heaven forbid — is only because one does not merit that the love-within-time be connected with love-in-knowledge and draw light from it — because one does not strengthen oneself so that one's heart be in one's own domain and does not attach one's heart to one's knowledge. Then one is, Heaven forbid, in the aspect of nirgon mafreed aluf — "a whisperer separates a close friend" — and the love-within-time, the aspect of "days of good," is separated — Heaven forbid — from the love-in-knowledge, and then the "days of evil" strengthen themselves — Heaven forbid — and draw sustenance from them and cover them, as above. But the tzaddik who conquered his inclination and merited the attachment and inclusion of the "days of good" — the aspect of love-within-time — in the love-in-knowledge, since his heart is in his own domain — as above — therefore evil has no dominion against him, and the evil falls and is nullified before him. For the "days of evil" have no dominion or grip in the aspect of love-in-knowledge. And even in the aspect of love-within-time they have no dominion when it is attached and included in the love-in-knowledge. Therefore, immediately when the true tzaddik subdues the "days of evil" among the wicked through his great power and reveals the aspect of "days of good," great light from above is immediately added to them — as above. And this is itself the aspect of the light of love-in-knowledge that is revealed through the true tzaddik — which is the great light from above. For the essential light comes from there, for immediately when the tzaddik subdues the "days of evil" and reveals the "days of good," the good — the aspect of love-within-time — is immediately attached to its root, which is love-in-knowledge, through which the grip of the outer forces is completely nullified, as above. And this itself is the aspect of great light from above, as above. (Understand this well.) And therefore this tzaddik who has this power — for he merited love-in-knowledge — is the aspect of Kohain Gadol, which is the aspect of the highest love-in-knowledge, the aspect of great love (ahavah gedolah), the aspect of Kohain Gadol. Therefore it was specifically through him that the essential Chanukah miracle occurred — for the Greeks, the wicked empire, contaminated all the oils, which is the aspect of da'as (knowledge), the aspect of da'as and Torah that is garbed below — where there are "days of good" and "days of evil" — and there too is the aspect of da'as which is Torah. For da'as extends throughout all the days and attributes (middos). And since there are "days of good" and "days of evil" there, when they strengthened themselves they contaminated all the oils — the aspect of da'as and Torah of the "days of good" — through the grip of the "days of evil," as above. When the Hasmonean dynasty prevailed and defeated them, a miracle occurred and they found a flask of oil sealed with the seal of the Kohain Gadol — this is the aspect of holy anointing oil, the supreme knowledge where love-in-knowledge resides, which is the aspect of hidden Torah, sealed with the seal of the Kohain Gadol — for none can merit this except one who is in the aspect of Kohain Gadol, the supreme love-in-knowledge. And through this oil sealed by the Kohain Gadol — the aspect of hidden Torah, the light of love-in-knowledge — the miracle was performed. For it could only kindle for one day — since this light of supreme da'as will only be revealed in the future, which is the aspect of "one day that will be known to God," etc. (as explained in the above teaching). And a miracle occurred and it burned for eight days — for through the power of the mighty tzaddikim who prevail over their inclinations, they draw the light of love-in-knowledge until the light of love-in-knowledge illuminates within the love-within-time and within the attributes. For their hearts are in their own domain and they attach the days and attributes of the heart to the light of love-in-knowledge, and the days and attributes receive light from there — through which one merits to taste the light of love-in-knowledge even within time and within the attributes. This is the aspect of the aforementioned Chanukah miracle: the oil of the Kohain Gadol — the aspect of love-in-knowledge, as above — whose essential illumination is only for the future, the aspect of "one day that will be known to God," etc. — this is the "one day" it could only kindle, as above. And a miracle occurred and it burned for eight days — for the light of love-in-knowledge, which is the aspect of "one day," illuminated within the love-within-time, which is the seven days of creation, corresponding to the kindling of the Chanukah lights for eight days — in order that the light of love-in-knowledge illuminates within the seven days, which are the seven attributes (middos), the aspect of middos yamai — "the days of my attributes." This is the aspect of the sprinklings (hazaos) of the Kohain Gadol on Yom Kippur — in the innermost chamber and in the sanctuary — one above and seven below, in order that the light of love-in-knowledge, which is the aspect of one above, should illuminate within the seven below, which are the seven attributes (middos) and seven days — the love within time and attribute. For I have heard that the eight days of Chanukah correspond to the eight sprinklings of the Kohain Gadol on Yom Kippur, as above. And therefore he counted the first sprinkling above together with each of the seven below, as it is written: "One, one and one, one and two," etc. — in order that the light from above, the aspect of love-in-knowledge, the aspect of one above, should illuminate within the seven below, in the aspect of seven days and attributes, as above. For the Kohain Gadol — who is the aspect of the great supreme love — would enter on Yom Kippur into the innermost chamber, to the place of the Ark and the Tablets, which is the aspect of supreme da'as. For the Temple in general is the aspect of da'as, as Rabbainu of blessed memory wrote many times, as our Rabbis of blessed memory said (Berachos 33): "Whoever has da'as — it is as if the Temple were built in his days." Yet even in the aspect of da'as there are many levels (as Rabbainu of blessed memory wrote in the above teaching). For the aspect of love-in-knowledge of the lower level is the aspect of love-within-time of the higher level, and therefore within the Temple itself there were many and many degrees of holiness — many levels — as our Rabbis of blessed memory said: "The Israelites' Court is more holy than it" — and so on, the place of the priests' footsteps, etc., between the Porch and the Altar, the Sanctuary — until the innermost chamber, which is the most holy, the ultimate supreme da'as, where only the Kohain Gadol could enter on Yom Kippur. For there is the ultimate holiness, the ultimate supreme knowledge. There stood the Ark and the Tablets that Moshe Rabbainu received from the hand of the Holy Blessed One. There is the essential love between Israel and their Father in Heaven, the aspect of bein shadai yalin — "between my breasts he will lodge" (Song of Songs 1) — which are the poles of the Ark. There the Kohain Gadol would place the incense upon the coals on Yom Kippur, and there he performed the sprinklings — one above and seven below — to atone for all of Israel. For all atoning for all sins depends on the kohanim who offered the sacrifices for Israel. For the kohain, a person of chesed, is the aspect of mighty in strength (gibor ko'ach) — for the kohanim were mighty men of valor, as our Rabbis of blessed memory said. For the essential attainment of the priesthood came through the sanctity of the covenant (b'ris), as it is written (Devarim 33): Ki shamru imrasecha u-vrischa yintzoru — "For they kept Your word and Your covenant they guarded" — this is the aspect of the mighty-in-strength mentioned above: ilein innun d'misgabrin al yitzreiyon — "these are those who prevail over their inclinations." For the essential prevailing over one's inclination is only in this desire. Therefore since the kohain is a person of chesed — the aspect of mighty in strength who conquered his inclination and merited love-in-knowledge — in the aspect of ki sifsei kohain yishmeru da'as — they are the aspect of the true tzaddik as above — for the kohanim in general are the aspect of love-in-knowledge corresponding to all of Israel. Therefore when one of Israel fell into some sin — Heaven forbid — he would bring an offering to the kohain. They would lay hands upon the sacrifice and confess all their sins. Through this all the sins were drawn onto the sacrificial animal. And when the kohain took it to offer it, the evil — the sins and transgressions — fell and were immediately subdued and nullified, and the "days of good" were revealed and clarified, the Torah that was hidden there — for the evil fell and was nullified before the kohain, the person of chesed, the mighty-in-strength, the tzaddik who merited to conquer his inclination, etc., as above. Therefore the essential atonement was in the Temple, for there is the aspect of da'as, the aspect of love-in-knowledge — through which is the essential power of the tzaddik to subdue and nullify evil from Israel, having merited the aspect of love-in-knowledge, etc., as above. And the greater the atonement needed, the greater the tzaddik required — in order to draw more from the supreme light of love-in-knowledge. Therefore on Yom Kippur, when atonement is needed for all the sins of all Israel, all the services of Yom Kippur were only valid performed by the Kohain Gadol — who is the aspect of the great tzaddik who has the power to enter the innermost chamber and draw from there the supreme light of love-in-knowledge, and through this he could atone for all of Israel. For he had the power to subdue and nullify all the evil of all the sins of all Israel and reveal the good — the "days of good" — and illuminate them with great light from above, the aspect of love-in-knowledge. This is the aspect of one above and seven below, etc., as above. This is the aspect of the Hallel of Chanukah — the aspect of ba-Shem ahalel davar b'Elohim ahalel davar — mentioned in the above teaching, which is the aspect of the peace one merits through the Torah that one reveals and builds from the depths of the kelipot through subjugating the inclination, etc. (as explained there). For this is the essential Hallel — when one merits to find the Blessed Name in every place, whether in the good or in the difficult, etc., in the aspect of m'hulal ekra Hashem u-min oyevai iva-she'a — "I will call upon the praised God and from my enemies I will be saved" (Psalms 18), the aspect of min ha-meitzar karas Yah — "from the narrow place I called out to God" (Psalms 118) — this is the aspect of ba-Shem ahalel davar b'Elohim ahalel davar, which is the essential Hallel, as above. This is the aspect of the tzedakah that is customary to give on Chanukah. For the essential poverty — Heaven forbid — comes from the prevailing of the "days of evil" over the "days of good," which is the aspect of the blemish of the moon (p'gimas ha-l'vanah) from which poverty derives — which is the aspect of the seven years of famine prevailing over the seven years of plenty — Heaven forbid — in the aspect of kol y'mei ani ra'im — "all the days of the poor are evil." And one who gives tzedakah to the poor is in the aspect of the tzaddik — tzaddik chonen v'nosain — "the righteous one is gracious and gives" — and he subdues the "days of evil" from the poor person and the "days of good" are revealed, in the aspect of tov ish chonen u-malveh y'chalkel d'varav — "Good is the man who is gracious and lends, he conducts his affairs with justice" (Psalms 112) — the aspect of osei d'varo as above. The essential tzedakah is to give to a worthy poor person who engages in Torah and mitzvos — to be among the supporters of Torah (tamchei orayta). When one gives to such a poor person, one is literally building the Torah through the tzedakah one gives him — for one supports the Torah scholar and through this he is able to engage in Torah. For previously he was prevented from Torah study due to lack of sustenance, as it is said: "If there is no flour, there is no Torah" (Avos 3). And now through the tzedakah one gives and supports him, he is able to engage in Torah — it emerges that this one is engaging in Torah through his benefactor. It emerges that he is in the aspect of building the Torah — the "days of good" — revealing it from within the "days of evil," from within the poverty and distress, which are the "days of evil," the aspect of kol y'mei ani ra'im. Therefore he is in the aspect of the tzaddik who also builds the Torah — the "days of good" — and subdues the "days of evil," as above. And therefore through tzedakah one merits the aspect of love-in-knowledge, which is the aspect of hidden Torah, the aspect of oros ha-tzachtzachos — supernal lights of brilliance — as is known, in the aspect of v'safek la-ra'eiv nafshecha etc. az yibaka ka-shachar orecha etc. v'hisbiya b'tzachtzachos nafshecha — "And you draw out your soul to the hungry," etc., "then your light shall break forth like the dawn," etc., "and your soul shall be filled with radiance" (Yeshayah 58). For from there is the essential abundance — in the aspect of banei chayyei u-m'zonei lav b'zchusa talya milsa ki im b'mazala talya milsa — "children, life, and sustenance do not depend on merit but on heavenly destiny (mazal)" — which is the supernal mazal, the aspect of love-in-knowledge, the aspect of the hidden Torah, the aspect of orayta d'atika s'tima'ah, as is known. This is the aspect of the fact that the Torah portion of Mikaitz is always read on Chanukah — for this portion speaks of the greatness of Yosef the Tzaddik, who rose to greatness in the land of Egypt through his conquering of his inclination. Through this he merited that the evil fell before him — the "days of evil" — and therefore he became ruler over all the land of Egypt, which is the stronghold of evil, the nakedness of the earth (ervas ha-aretz). For the stronghold of evil of Egypt fell before him until he became ruler over it, and subdued all the evil of Egypt until Israel was able to dwell there later in exile. (As brought in the holy books, this is why Yosef was compelled to be there first — for otherwise Israel could not have borne the Egyptian exile, where the evil was so very strong. But through the power of Yosef the Tzaddik who prevailed over his inclination, the evil of Egypt was subdued and nullified before him.) And therefore Yosef was able to interpret dreams — for the dream is mingled with vain matters, as our Rabbis of blessed memory said — which is the aspect of the intermixing of good with evil. For the truth in the dream is the aspect of good — the "days of good" — and the falsehood and vain matters of the dream are the "days of evil." Since the "days of evil" cover the "days of good," particularly during sleep in dreams when they have their grip (as is known), therefore it is impossible to determine the interpretation of the dream. But a tzaddik like Yosef the Tzaddik who conquered his inclination and subdued the "days of evil" — immediately when he hears the dream, the evil — the "days of evil" — falls and is nullified, and only the "days of good" are revealed — which is the truth and good of the dream, which is its interpretation. This is the dream of Pharaoh, which none could interpret — for his dream was the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine, which is literally this aspect: the seven years of famine — the seven "days of evil" — prevailed over the seven years of plenty — the "days of good" — in the aspect of vativla'nah ha-paros ha-ra'os etc., until it was utterly covered and hidden by the "days of evil" that covered them, in the aspect of v'lo noda ki va'u el kirbenah — "and it was not known that they came into their midst." And therefore no person could determine the interpretation — to clarify the truth and good in it — except Yosef the Tzaddik, before whom the "days of evil" — the seven years of famine — were nullified. Therefore he knew the true interpretation of the dream: to sustain many people, to gather food during the seven years of plenty — the "days of good" — so that the years of famine — the "days of evil" — could not prevail over Israel, for they sustain themselves and prevail through the good gathered during the good days. As it is said: v'hayah ha-ochel l'fikadon — "and the food shall be for a deposit" — in order that the "days of evil" should not be able to rule over Israel, for they sustain themselves and prevail through the good that was gathered in the days of good. In the aspect of ki l'michyah sh'lacho ha-Elokim l'hachayos am rav — "for God sent him to sustain many people." For every person there are "days of good" and "days of evil," and when the "days of evil" strengthen — Heaven forbid — over a person and it is hard to stand against them, he must use the power of the "days of good" that he had previously — that is, what he merited to do good previously. Therefore at all times when it is possible for him to do some good, he must seize it eagerly and hasten to do much and much good before the evil days come — Heaven forbid — perhaps through this he will be able to prevail to subdue the "days of evil." This is the aspect of Pharaoh's dream: chalom Par'oh echad hu — "the dream of Pharaoh is one." For interpreting Pharaoh's dream — subduing the seven years of famine and revealing the seven years of plenty — is through the tzaddik who has merited the light of love-in-knowledge, which is the aspect of yom echad hu yivada la-Shem etc., as above. And this is chalom Par'oh echad hu. Therefore the portion of Mikaitz is read on Chanukah, for all this is the aspect of the eight days of Chanukah — the kindling of the Chanukah lights — in order that the light of love-in-knowledge should illuminate within the seven days, to reveal the seven years of plenty — the "days of good," etc., as above. This is why Moshe Rabbainu had difficulty with these three matters whose initials spell his name — Moshe — which are: the Menorah, the Sh'kalim (shekels), and the sanctification of the month (Kiddush Ha-Chodesh), as our Rabbis of blessed memory taught. For in all three of these one must draw the light of love-in-knowledge. The Menorah — as above — is the aspect of the Chanukah lamp, which is the aspect of the Temple lamps that must be lit and illuminated from the light of love-in-knowledge, in the aspect of el mul p'nei ha-m'norah ya'iru shiv'as ha-neiros — "toward the face of the menorah shall the seven lamps give light." And therefore the western lamp (ner ha-ma'aravi) was testimony for Israel that the Divine Presence rests among Israel — from which he would begin and with which he would conclude — for there among the Temple lamps the light of love-in-knowledge rests. Therefore that is the essential testimony to the love between Israel and their Father in Heaven. The Sh'kalim — this is the aspect of charitable donation of the heart (nidvas leiv), through which the light of love-in-knowledge illuminates and from which comes the essential abundance, etc., as above. And this is the aspect of Kiddush Ha-Chodesh — to fill the moon's diminishment (p'gimas ha-l'vanah), the aspect of revealing the "days of good" and subduing the "days of evil" whose grip comes from the diminishment of the moon, as is known. For when the "days of evil" prevail — Heaven forbid — the light of the "days of good" is constricted and diminished — which is the aspect of the moon's blemish, the diminishment of its light. And one must subdue the "days of evil" and fill the moon's blemish so that the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, etc., through drawing great light from above, through which the light increases and the constriction and diminishment is nullified. This is the filling of the moon from its blemish, the aspect of v'hayah or ha-l'vanah k'or ha-chamah v'or ha-chamah yihyeh shiv'asayim etc. — "the light of the moon shall be like the light of the sun and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold" etc. For even when the moon's diminishment is filled and one merits the aspect of the light of love-in-knowledge according to one's level, nonetheless on a higher level it is still the aspect of love-within-time. Therefore one needs the higher level to illuminate yet further and further — above the light of supreme love-in-knowledge. And this is v'hayah or ha-l'vanah k'or ha-chamah v'or ha-chamah yihyeh shiv'asayim k'or shiv'as ha-yamim — "the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of the seven days" — which is the hidden light of the seven days of creation, the aspect of the hidden Torah and the hidden tzaddikim, the aspect of va-yar Elokim es ha-or ki tov — "And God saw the light that it was good" (as explained in the above teaching). May it be His will that they be revealed speedily in our days, Amen. This is the aspect of u-v'ha'alos Aharon es ha-neros bein ha-arba'im yaktirenh — "And when Aaron kindled the lamps in the afternoon he would offer the incense" — for the incense is the aspect of subduing the kelipot and the "days of evil" and revealing and elevating the good — the aspect of the eleven incense spices, as is known. Therefore incense is offered at the time of the lamp-kindling: for when the "days of evil" are subdued and the good is revealed — that being the aspect of the incense — then great light from above is drawn and added to the good, which is the aspect of kindling the lamps — for additional great light from above is drawn and increases upon the good. That is the aspect of the light of love-in-knowledge, as above.

Section Yud-Ches [יח] And therefore the Omer was from barley — which is animal fodder — for through its offering one sweetens the judgments and elevates [the level] from animal to human being. And through this one sweetens and nullifies the hold of anger — for through anger one's wisdom departs from him — for he is the image of G‑d — and he becomes likened to an animal, for whoever becomes angry, his wisdom departs from him, as is fully explained in the Torah teaching: "They asked of Reb Yosei ben Kisma, etc." (in §57). And therefore the rectification is through the offering of the barley Omer — for through this one elevates from animal to human being, and his wisdom returns to him — which is the essential rectification of anger, as stated. And this is the bechina of drawing down the mochin [higher consciousness] in the days of the Counting (as is cited in the kavanos [mystical intentions] of the Counting, see there) — for then one is engaged in sweetening the judgments and nullifying the anger through which the mochin become withdrawn, G‑d forbid. For through the commandment of Counting, the mochin are restored and drawn down each day (as explained in the kavanos).