הושענא רבה ב

The Kohain is the aspect of ish chesed — the completeness of the upper loves. As Rabbainu z"l said on the verse "Cherpah shavrah libi" (LM I:34). Because they are in the aspect of tikkun habris, they can draw down berachos — for their vessel is whole. The opposite of Bilam the wicked, who wished to draw curses through the corruption of the vessel, being deeply immersed in this desire — as Rabbainu said on "Bikrov aleye m'rai'im" (LM I:36). Therefore Bilam was killed specifically by Pinchas — for Pinchas was the tikkun habris, meriting the K'hunah through his zealotry for Hashem Tzva'os concerning p'gam habris. Therefore his exact opposite (Bilam) fell by his hand. 4

Therefore our Sages adjoined Bircas Kohanim to tefillah — for tefillah is also the aspect of tikkun habris, the aspect of chey bircha'in [eighteen berachos], as Rabbainu said many times. 5

Section 6. Also, the wicked Haman wished to overpower Israel, G‑d forbid, through the bechina of the corruption of justice [pegam hamishpat] that is explained in the aforementioned ma'amar — see there well the matter of the corruption of justice that comes about through evil tefillin [i.e., through the drawing up of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael into the brain]. For this [rectification] one requires the binding of the Chariot [kishur haMerkavah], which is the bechina of the thrones of justice [kis'os lamishpat], etc. [See there well.] Now, Haman the wicked — may his name be erased — was of the seed of Agag, and he gained power over Israel through the blemish of Shaul [the King], who had blemished [the commandment] in the war against Amalek — in that he left Agag alive and showed mercy on the best of the sheep, etc. And this is the bechina of the corruption of justice that comes through evil tefillin — through drawing the drop of Eisav and Yishmael up to the brain, [as is explained there]. For "Amalek is the first of the nations" [Bamidbar 24:20] — for he is composed of Eisav and Yishmael, who together represent all the nations — for he is the first of the nations and is composed of all of them, and he is the essential contamination of the serpent [zuhamas hanachash] — the bechina of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael, which has no rectification whatsoever. Therefore Shaul was commanded to utterly destroy them — from ox to lamb, from camel to donkey [Shmuel I 15:3] — to eradicate all trace of them from the world entirely. For all things in the world require rectification, since all of them were blemished through the sin of Adam harishon, who blemished the drops of the brain [tipei hamoyach] — which is the bechinas "he sealed his flesh, etc." [an allusion in the sources to the blemish of the bris]. And through this, all things fell into the klipah [husk of impurity], and we are constantly engaged in rectifying all things in the world — to elevate them and sort them out from the klipah — [elevating them] from the bechinas "he sealed his flesh" to the brain [moyach], where all the sparks [nitzotzos] are rectified, for they are all rectified within thought [machashavah]. For this is the essential rectification — to raise up all the nitzotzos that fell into the klipah and spread throughout all things in the world — in the [categories of] inanimate, vegetable, animal, and human [domem, tzomayach, chai, medaber] — through the sin of Adam harishon, as stated — to elevate them to the moyach, which is the bechinas raising them from "he sealed his flesh" to the bechinas mochin tefillin, as is explained in the aforementioned ma'amar. However, there are things that we are forbidden to rectify — for they are the bechina of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael, which has no rectification whatsoever. And this is the bechinas all the prohibitions [isurim] of the Torah — for they are the bechina of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael, the bechina of the contamination of the serpent, which has no rectification — and moreover, when one raises them up, G‑d forbid, to the moyach, the moyach is blemished and the corruption of justice results — from which the aforementioned impurity is further strengthened, G‑d forbid. Therefore Amalek, who is the contamination of the serpent — the bechina of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael mentioned above — therefore it is forbidden to leave any trace of him in the world. And therefore [Shaul] was commanded to kill even the animals — from ox to lamb, etc. — for all of them are the bechina of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael, which has no rectification, and it is forbidden to engage with them to rectify them and raise them to the moyach — for the moyach is blemished by them when they are raised, as stated. And King Shaul, peace be upon him, blemished in this by leaving Agag the king of Amalek alive and showing mercy on him and on the best of the sheep, etc., to sacrifice to Hashem. And this is a very grave blemish — the bechina of the blemish of the tefillin mentioned above — for he wished to raise the animals of Amalek as offerings. For the essential nature of an offering is the aforementioned bechinas raising and rectifying the animal force [ko'ach habehamiyus] — which is the imaginative faculty [ko'ach hamedameh] — and rectifying it in the bechinas [the level of] man, as it is written: "Adam ki yakriv mikem korban l'Hashem min habehaimah... takrivu es korbanechem — When a person from among you brings an offering to Hashem from the animals... you shall bring your offering" [Vayikra 1:2]. For the essential nature of the offering is to raise [what is] from the level of animal to the level of man — which is the bechinas raising from "he sealed his flesh" to the bechinas mochin tefillin, [as is explained in the aforementioned ma'amar, see there well]. And Shaul who wished to raise the animals of Amalek — which are the bechina of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael — as offerings, thereby blemished the tefillin. For when the drop of Eisav and Yishmael is raised [to the moyach], the mochin and the tefillin are thereby blemished, and the corruption of justice results, G‑d forbid, as stated. And likewise he blemished in the fact that he showed mercy on Agag — for it is forbidden to have mercy on them. For mercy is da'as, [as is cited in the words of Rabbainu of blessed memory]. It follows: when one has mercy on someone, one draws da'as down upon him. Therefore when [Shaul] had mercy on Agag the king of Amalek, he blemished the tefillin — for he raised up, G‑d forbid, Amalek, who is the bechina of the drop of Eisav and Yishmael, to [the level of] mercy and da'as. And through this the corruption of justice came about. Therefore he erred in several matters, for he judged Dovid and the city of Nov, the Kohanim's city, as rebels against the monarchy, and he judged and ruled against them with a death sentence against the law. And similarly our Sages of blessed memory said that Shaul did not merit "lasukay shemasʾtesa aliba dehilchesa" — to bring the legal ruling to its definitive conclusion in accord with the halacha [Yevamos 77a] — namely, the bechina of the corruption of justice through the aforementioned blemish, as stated. And therefore he was deposed from the kingship — for the essential [quality of] sacred kingship [malchus dikedushah] depends on this: on the obliteration of Amalek, which is the bechina of the rectification of the bris, as stated. For sacred kingship is the bechinas "a woman who fears Hashem" [Mishlei 31:30], whose essential sustenance is through the rectification of the bris, which depends on the obliteration of Amalek, as stated. And this is what Shmuel said to Shaul: "Hashem sent me to anoint you as king over Israel, and now go and smite, etc." [Shmuel I 15:1–3]. For the rectification of his kingship — which is sacred kingship — depended on this, as stated. And therefore when he blemished in this, he was deposed from the kingship, as it is written: "Because you have despised the word of Hashem, He has despised you from being king, etc." [Shmuel I 15:23], as stated.

Section 7. For in truth Shaul was chosen as the first king over Israel, because he was the bechina of the binding of the Chariot [kishur haMerkavah], which is the bechina of the rectification of justice — for Shaul was from the tribe of Binyamin, and the essential binding of the Chariot is the bechinas Binyamin. For Yaakov our forefather's "bed was whole" [mitas shleimah] — since the drop of Eisav and Yishmael had already been sorted out [separated] to the outside — [and see all of this in the Laws of Chelev and Blood, where we explained it there]. And therefore Yaakov was the bechina of the rectification of justice, as it is written: "Justice and righteousness in Yaakov — You have performed them" [Tehillim 99:4]. And as it is written: "Justice to the G‑d of Yaakov" [Tehillim 81:2]. And therefore he merited the complete rectification of the bris and was entirely guarded from the bechinas "he sealed his flesh," as it is written: "My strength and the first of my vigor" [Bereishis 49:3]. And therefore he merited a whole bed and fathered the twelve tribes of G‑d [shneim asar shivtei Kah], who are the bechina of the rectification and binding of the sacred Chariot — for the twelve tribes are four banners [arba'ah degalim], corresponding to the four sacred camps [arba'ah machanot dikedushah], which are the bechinas "his chariot woven of purple" [merkavo argaman], as is cited. And the essential binding of the Chariot is Binyamin — for he is the one who completes Yaakov's whole bed. And as it is written in the holy Zohar, that for this reason Binyamin was born in the Land of Israel and not near Lavan — so that the bed [of Yaakov], which is the bechina of the sacred Chariot, should not be completed while at Lavan's — in the Diaspora — see there. It follows: the essential wholeness of the sacred bed is Binyamin, who was born last and completed the sacred bed. And when Binyamin was born, the bed was perfectly completed — which is the bechina of the binding of the Chariot. And therefore Binyamin merited that the Bais HaMikdash [Holy Temple] should be built in his portion — for the Bais HaMikdash is the bechina of the binding of the Chariot, for there the sacred Chariot was rectified and bound. For there was the Shechinah's [Divine Presence's] dwelling and the entire matter of the Chariot spoken of in Shir HaShirim, as it is written: "A litter did King Shlomo make for himself... its pillars... his chariot [was woven of] purple, its interior, etc." [Shir HaShirim 3:9–10] — all of this referring to the Mishkan and the Bais HaMikdash, as Rashi explained there. And therefore the essential rectification of justice was in the Bais HaMikdash — for in the Bais HaMikdash was the Lishkas HaGazis [Chamber of Hewn Stone], where halachic rulings were decided, and from there the essential true judgment went forth to all Israel, for the Great Sanhedrin sat there, etc. And therefore Binyamin, who is the bechina of the binding of the Chariot, merited that the Bais HaMikdash should be built in his portion — which is the bechina of the sacred Chariot, the bechina of the rectification of justice, as stated. And therefore he merited that the first king should come from his descendants — for the essential sacred kingship is through the bechina of the binding of the Chariot, which is the bechina of the rectification of justice, the bechina of the rectification of the bris, as stated. And therefore it was fitting that his descendants should carry out the cherem [utter destruction] of Amalek — who is the complete opposite of the bechina of the binding of the Chariot and the bechina of the rectification of justice, as stated. And therefore Shaul, who blemished in this, was deposed from the kingship — for the essential sacred kingship depends on the obliteration of Amalek, as stated. And through this blemish — namely, the corruption of justice, as stated, which Shaul caused by sparing Agag and the best of the sheep, etc. — through this came Haman-Amalek, who wished to overpower Israel, G‑d forbid. It follows: Amalek is both the beginning and the end of the corruption — for even the beginning of the corruption — namely, the corruption of justice — came about through Amalek: through Shaul the King's mercy on him. And through that very same blemish came Haman-Amalek — for through the mercy he showed [Agag], the corruption of justice came about, as stated, through which Haman-Amalek had, G‑d forbid, the power to overpower [Israel] with the known impurity, [as is explained there].

Section 8. And therefore the wicked Haman cast the Pur — that is, the lot [goral] — etc. For a lot is the bechinas justice [mishpat] — it clarifies matters by specifying the judgment and ruling of each person — as Rashi explained in several places. And similarly the lot is also the bechina of the clarification of matters. And as it is written: "A lot settles disputes" [Mishlei 18:18]. For the sacred lot clarifies true judgment. And therefore the division of the Land of Israel was done through the lot — by the Kohen Gadol wearing the Choshen HaMishpat [Breastplate of Judgment], as Rashi explained — for the lot is the bechinas justice that determines the judgment and portion of each person. And therefore the wicked Haman — may his name be erased — whose sustenance came from the bechina of the corruption of justice — therefore cast the Pur, that is the lot, in order to corrupt the sacred lot — which is the bechina of the corruption of justice, as stated. And the lot fell for him in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar — for he calculated that, since his sustenance comes from the corruption of justice — namely, the corruption of the binding of the Chariot, which was blemished through the blemish of Shaul who was from the tribe of Binyamin — who is the last of the tribes, upon whom the essential binding of the Chariot depends, as stated — and through Shaul's blemish the bechinas Binyamin was corrupted — the bechina of the binding of the Chariot, as stated — therefore he wished to overpower Israel, G‑d forbid, in the last month of the twelve months. For the twelve months of the year correspond to the twelve tribes, as is cited. And there are among them four seasons corresponding to the four banners [arba'ah degalim], which are the bechina of the binding of the Chariot. And therefore he wished to overpower, G‑d forbid, in the month of Adar — which is the last of the twelve months — because his sustenance came from the blemish of the Chariot, which was blemished through [the tribe of] Binyamin — who is the last of the twelve tribes, upon whom the essential binding of the Chariot depends, as stated.

Therefore the berachah must be in Lashon HaKodesh specifically — for sh'miras habris depends on the completeness of Lashon HaKodesh. Through Lashon HaKodesh one subdues the desire for immorality — the inclusive evil of all seventy languages — as Rabbainu said on "Tefillah LaChavakuk" (LM I:19). 6

Section 9. "And Mordechai knew all that had been done, and Mordechai tore his garments and wore sackcloth and ashes, etc." [Esther 4:1]. For Mordechai was the bechina of the rectification of all the bechinos explained in the aforementioned ma'amar — for Mordechai was a true Rebbe with disciples, for he had a yeshivah of students, [as is explained in the words of our Sages of blessed memory]. And through a true Rebbe with disciples, all the aforementioned bechinos are rectified. And the rectification of justice through the true Rebbe is through his casting himself into mire and mud [refesh vatiṭ] for the sake of Hashem, blessed be He, and removing all [worldly] wisdom from himself — which is the bechinas shainah. And through this he merits that the bechinas "a tzaddik to whom evil [befalls], a wicked person to whom good [befalls]" is revealed to him — which is the bechina of the rectification of justice, [as is well explained in the words of Rabbainu there, see there well].

Therefore they bless in a loud voice — the aspect of tikkun hada'as, which is tikkun habris — as Rabbainu said (LM I:20): for this reason we recite the Haggadah in a loud voice, since the Haggadah is tikkun habris. 7

And therefore, when Mordechai knew all of the above — that Haman's hold was through the corruption of justice — he therefore wore sackcloth and ashes, etc. — which is the bechinas casting himself into mire and mud for the sake of Hashem, blessed be He. For he removed all wisdom from himself and performed simple acts without any [display of] wisdom: he went out into the city and cried out with a great cry, and wore sackcloth and ashes — and through this itself the rectification of justice was accomplished, as stated. For through casting off all wisdom and throwing oneself into mire and mud for the sake of Hashem, blessed be He — which is the bechinas wearing sackcloth and ashes — one merits that the bechinas "a tzaddik to whom evil [befalls], a wicked person to whom good [befalls]" is revealed to him — which is the bechina of the rectification of justice, as stated. And this is the bechinas: "And Mordechai knew all that had been done" — for through wearing sackcloth and ashes, etc., the bechinas "and Mordechai knew all that had been done" was accomplished — that he merited knowing all that transpires in the world, for "there is a vanity which is done upon the earth, that there are tzaddikim who are treated as though they had done the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people, etc." [Koheles 8:14] — namely, the bechinas "a tzaddik to whom evil [befalls], a wicked person to whom good [befalls]." And Mordechai knew all of this — the bechinas: "and Mordechai knew all that had been done" — namely, all that takes place on earth, even [the enigma of] a tzaddik to whom evil [befalls] and a wicked person to whom good [befalls] — even this he merited to know and to comprehend. And this was accomplished through his removing all wisdom and casting himself into mire and mud for the sake of Hashem, blessed be He — the bechinas "and he wore sackcloth and ashes, etc."

Therefore it is while standing — the aspect of sitra did'churah [the masculine side] — the opposite of Bilam the wicked who would fall, because he was arail [uncircumcised], as Rashi explains. 8

Section 10. For Mordechai is mar dror [מָר דְּרוֹר] — dror meaning the language of freedom [chairus] — the bechinas Yoivail [the Jubilee year], which is the fiftieth year — the bechina of the fifty gates of Binah [Understanding]. And "Binah mekanena b'kursaya" — [Aramaic:] "Understanding nests upon the Throne" [Zohar] — which is the bechina of the thrones of justice [kis'os lamishpat]. And therefore Mordechai merited to rectify the thrones of justice, as stated — for Mordechai's attachment was to a very exalted level, which is the secret of the revelation of hidden wisdom [Chochmah stima'ah], which is revealed specifically at the time of shainah and deep slumber [durmita] — for precisely at the time of shainah — namely, when all [worldly] wisdom is removed, which is the bechinas shainah — then the illumination of Mordechai is revealed: the revelation of Chochmah stima'ah — meaning, the wisdom hidden and concealed from all eyes is revealed — namely, the comprehension of the enigma of "a tzaddik to whom evil [befalls] and a wicked person to whom good [befalls]." And through this the bechina of the thrones of justice is rectified — for this is the bechina of the rectification of justice, as stated. [And see well in Pri Aytz Chaim, in the kavanos [meditations] of Purim, and in the words of Rabbainu mentioned above, well.]

This is the meaning of "Koh s'varchu" — "Thus shall you bless." Our Sages derived from "Koh" that the blessing must be in Lashon HaKodesh (Sotah 38). For "Koh" is the aspect of the Sh'chinah — Malchus — the completeness of Lashon HaKodesh. The essential Bircas Kohanim is to rectify the vessel of Yisrael through tikkun habris — so they are fit to receive berachos. This is: "V'samu es Sh'mi al B'nai Yisrael" — "They shall place My Name upon the Children of Yisrael" (Bamidbar 6). The Shaim [Name] is the nefesh and the vessel of life-force (LM I:56). The Kohanim through their berachah complete the vessel of Yisrael (the Name/nefesh) — and thereby: "Va'Ani avar'chaim" — "And I shall bless them" — for the berachah automatically rests upon them once they become worthy vessels. 9

And the wicked Haman who wished to overpower Mordechai through the corruption of justice — namely, the corruption of the thrones of justice, G‑d forbid — therefore devised the plan to make a tree fifty cubits high on which to hang Mordechai — for he wished to corrupt the bechina of the fifty gates of Binah, which are the bechina of the thrones of justice — from the blemish of which his hold derived, as stated. And this is the secret of the goral [lot] he cast — for there is the root of the goral: namely, within Binah, which is the bechina of the thrones of justice, lies the secret of the goral — for from there judgment goes forth to all who come into the world, and each person is given according to his goral and judgment. And this is the bechina of the goral of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur — for Yom Kippur is in the secret of Yoivail, the bechina of the fifty gates of Binah, as is cited — and then the thrones of justice are rectified — and then the Kohen Gadol entered the innermost sanctum [lifnai velifnim]. And then the Kohen Gadol would cast the goral over the two goats — one goral for Hashem and one goral for Azazel — for from there and below begins the hold of strict judgment [din], from which the Sitra Achra in the bechinas Azazel draws its sustenance. And one must, on Yom Kippur — when the thrones of justice are rectified — repair the sacred goral in the bechinas sacred justice. And the essential rectification is through expelling from there the hold of the Sitra Achra and giving it its portion — namely, one goat for Azazel — which is the bechinas not wishing to raise the drop of Eisav and Yishmael — which is the power of the Sitra Achra, the contamination of the serpent — to the sacred [level], that is, to the moyach, G‑d forbid. Rather, on the contrary, we ourselves expel it outward — for we ourselves give it its portion — namely, one goat for Azazel — so that it should not remain attached to us, so that the justice should not be corrupted, G‑d forbid, through this. And therefore Haman — who was attached through the corruption of justice, through the corruption of the goral, by virtue of Shaul's blemish, who wished to raise the drop of Eisav and Yishmael to the moyach — therefore cast the Pur, that is the goral — for he wished to overturn the goral and the justice against Israel for evil, G‑d forbid — through the corruption of justice and the goral, as stated. And therefore he made a tree fifty cubits high — for he wished to rule over Mordechai through the corruption of justice — which is the bechinas Yoivail, the bechina of the fifty gates of Binah, as stated. For through the corruption of justice, G‑d forbid, Amalek is aroused, as stated. And afterwards, when [Israel] merited — through Hashem's mercies — the rectification of justice through Mordechai, as stated, his evil intention was turned back upon his own head, and they hanged him on the tree which he had prepared for Mordechai — for the bechina of the thrones of justice was rectified, and what had been blemished was repaired. And then Haman-Amalek was uprooted from the very root of his hold and was hanged on the fifty-cubit-high tree — for from there itself came his downfall: he was uprooted from there and fell to the lowest depths [she'ol tachtiyos]. For the justice was rectified, and Haman-Amalek was expelled and separated from there — which is the bechina of the hanging: they raise him to the top of the tree and from there specifically drop and fell him — in order to uproot him from his source entirely — namely, from the bechina of the fifty gates of Binah clothed in the thrones of justice — from which he wished to draw sustenance through the corruption of justice — and against which he made a tree fifty cubits high. And now, since [Israel] merited the rectification of justice, from there itself came his downfall — for he was uprooted from there and brought down to the lowest depths — which is the bechina of the hanging: they raise him to the top of the tree and from there drop him and fell him, in order to uproot him from his root entirely, as stated. And similarly the goral and the justice were overturned for evil against the seed of Amalek — all through the rectification of justice, which is the bechina of the goral. And then they were uprooted and obliterated through that very goral — for the goral was rectified, which is the bechina of the rectification of justice, as stated. Section 11. And this is the bechinas matanos la'evyonim [gifts to the poor] that are given on Purim — for tzedakah is the bechina of the rectification of justice, in the bechinas: "Justice and righteousness in Yaakov — You have performed them." And as is cited in the words of Rabbainu, may his light shine, elsewhere — in the ma'amar "Emor el hakohanim" [Likutay Moharan I, §2] — that tzedakah is the bechinas mishpat, the bechinas: "for G‑d is the Judge: He humbles one and exalts another" [Tehillim 75:8] — see there. And therefore Haman wished to corrupt the tzedakah of Israel, and wished to weigh ten thousand kikar of silver against the shekalim of Israel, as our Sages of blessed memory said [Megillah 13b] — for his entire evil intention was to increase, G‑d forbid, the corruption of justice, as stated. And therefore, when [Israel] merited to defeat him and topple him, they instituted matanos la'evyonim — namely, tzedakah — which is the bechina of the rectification of justice, as stated. And therefore tzedakah is the rectification of the bris, as is cited — for the rectification of justice is the rectification of the bris, as stated. And then the shefa [abundance] flows to sacred kingship [malchus dikedushah] — which is the bechinas Shemini Atzeres, [as is explained in the aforementioned ma'amar] — which is itself the bechinas tzedakah: causing abundance to flow to the poor and needy, who are the bechina of the feminine [nukva] — the bechinas malchus dikedushah, which "lais lah m'garma klum" — [Aramaic:] "has nothing of its own" [Zohar] — which is the essential rectification of the bris, [as is cited elsewhere]. Section 12. And this is the bechina of the omer of barley. "For the Jews there was light and simchah and gladness and honor" [Esther 8:16] — "these [refer to] tefillin" [Megillah 16b]. And this is the bechina of the reading of the Megilah. "They fulfilled and accepted" [Esther 9:27] — "they re-affirmed what they had [originally] accepted in the days of Achashverosh" [Shabbos 88a]. "The Torah was not given except [to those who ate the manna], etc." [a related tradition]. "Write this as a memorial in the book" [Shemos 17:14]. "There He [G‑d] set for them a statute and a judgment, and there He tested them" [Shemos 15:25] — namely, through the water — which is the bechinas mishpat. "Tziyon will be redeemed through mishpat, and those who return to her through righteousness" [Yeshayahu 1:27]. "And He shall judge the poor with righteousness" [Yeshayahu 11:4]. "And the days of Purim shall not pass away" [Esther 9:28]. And therefore they called these days Purim, after the name of the Pur [lot] — for this is the essential power of the miracle: that justice was rectified — which is the bechina of the rectification of the goral, as stated. And this is the bechinas: "A person is obligated to become intoxicated [livsumai] on Purim until he cannot distinguish between 'cursed is Haman' and 'blessed is Mordechai'" [Megillah 7b].