חלב ודם א

Based on the Torah [discourse] "Dirshu Hashem V'Uzo," in Siman 37, which is referenced above in Hilchos Shechitah.

Halachos of Giluach (Shaving)

From Likutay Halachos, Yoreh De'ah, Vol. 1 — Complete Translation

Giluach (Shaving) — Halacha 1

The Prohibition of Shaving the Pe'os and the Beard

Based on the discourse "Maishra d'Sakkina" (Torah-Law of the Knife), Likutay Moharan, Part I, Siman 30. The hairs are the aspect of Chochma Tata'a (Lower Wisdom), which is the essence of comprehension — the aspect of Malchus (Kingship). See there. And one must draw life-force to it, and therefore one must elevate it to the light of the Countenance (Ohr HaPanim) that illumines at the Three Festivals, which are the aspect of Binah to Ba (Understanding as a Mother-womb). And one must cut it away from the Four Kingdoms, which are the Sitra Achra (Other Side), so that they should have no nourishment from the Wisdom — the aspect of Malchus — which is the aspect of dales (poverty/the letter Dalet). And this is accomplished through Chesed (Loving-kindness) — the aspect of Avraham — and Chesed is revealed through rebuke. See there.

And this is the aspect of the prohibition of aiver min hachai [a limb torn from a living animal — one of the seven Noachide commandments and forbidden to all mankind]. For shechitah can only be performed at the neck. For the shechitah is to subdue the power of animality and to elevate the nefesh [soul] from chai [the level of living creature] to medaber [the level of speaking being, i.e. human], as mentioned above. And therefore one must slaughter from the neck specifically — that is, the kaneh [windpipe/trachea], the veshet [esophagus/gullet], and the veridin [jugular veins] — which are adjacent to the instruments of speech. And therefore the rectification of shechitah is through them specifically. For it is through there that the souls exit, in the aspect of: "My soul went out when He spoke" (Shir HaShirim 5:6). And therefore all the blood gathers there at the time of shechitah. For there is the place for them to exit through, for the blood is the nefesh, and the exit and ascent of the souls is through there, as mentioned above. And therefore, because it is there that the essential nefesh is, and therefore there the life-force depends — and because of this, the kelipos [husks/shells of impurity] cling there the most. For the kaneh, veshet, and veridin are the aspect of the three officers of Pharaoh, who stand there to suckle from the speech and the nefesh that exits through there constantly, in the aspect of "my soul went out," etc., as mentioned above. And especially in an animal — for the souls that are there are the aspect of nefashos ha'ashukim [oppressed/subjugated souls] that descended and fell from their level, from medaber to chai, and the power of speech was taken from them. For the animal has no power of speech. And therefore, in the animal, the three officers of Pharaoh — which are the above-mentioned three kelipos — are there with greater intensity and force. For the aspect of speech, the aspect of the souls, is subjugated by them. For there the spirit of animality intensifies — which is the aspect of the above-mentioned kelipos — and they subjugate the nefesh, which is the aspect of speech, toward themselves, until the nefesh descends from its level entirely, from medaber to chai, as mentioned above. And therefore one must slaughter from the above-mentioned neck — to slaughter the kaneh, veshet, and veridin — to subdue the three officers of Pharaoh. And then all the blood gathers there and exits — which is the souls — and they exit and ascend from chai to medaber, through the berachah [blessing] and the knife of shechitah, which is the aspect of the holy speech of the completeness of lashon hakodesh [the Holy Tongue], as mentioned above. And therefore, as long as the animal has not been slaughtered from the neck — even if one cuts a limb from it with a knife — the power of animality is not subdued, and the nefesh does not exit through there. For the exit of the nefesh is only through the above-mentioned three, in the aspect of "my soul went out," etc. And there is the subduing of the kelipos, for there is their grip, at the place of the essential life-force of the nefesh, as mentioned above. And therefore, when one eats, G-d forbid, aiver min hachai, one eats the nefesh together with the flesh. For its nefesh and life-force still remain within it. For every limb draws life-force to itself, and the life-force and the souls do not exit from the limbs except through the beis hashechitah [the place of slaughter, i.e. the neck], as mentioned above. For it is through there that the nefesh yearns to exit, for it is there that it is rectified and ascends from chai to medaber, as mentioned above. But when one cuts a limb from it in another place, then on the contrary, the limb draws life-force to itself, and the life-force — which is the nefesh — remains within it and does not exit from it. And therefore the Torah forbade it, as it is written: "And you shall not eat the soul with the flesh" (Devarim 12:23). For the flesh is not rendered kosher and permitted for eating except after the exit of the nefesh from it. But the nefesh itself — it is forbidden to consume it and eat it. It follows that when one eats, G-d forbid, aiver min hachai, he is an actual murderer. For he kills the nefesh, as mentioned above. And this is why the Torah juxtaposed the prohibition of aiver min hachai to the prohibition of murder in Parashas Noach, as it is written: "But flesh with its soul — its blood — you shall not eat. And surely your blood of your souls I will require… one who spills the blood of man," etc. (Bereishis 9:4–6). For they are truly equivalent, as mentioned above. And therefore, even a ben Noach [a descendant of Noach, i.e. a non-Jew] is warned regarding aiver min hachai. For the essential mitzvos of the Bnei Noach are mitzvos that pertain to relations between man and his fellow. And therefore, even though they are distant from holiness and the mitzvos of Yisrael were not given to them, nevertheless the Torah gave them seven mitzvos for the sake of the sustaining of the world, so that they should not destroy the world. And therefore aiver min hachai was also forbidden to them, for it is actual murder, as mentioned above. And therefore it is certainly fitting that it should be forbidden to them for the sake of the sustaining of the world. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory forbade — to perform gistra [cutting the spinal column/nape during slaughter, which causes the blood to be absorbed into the limbs]. That is, not to cut the mafrekehs [the spinal column/vertebrae at the back of the neck] during the time of shechitah, so as not to cause the blood to be absorbed into the limbs. For one must draw out the nefesh and elevate it from chai to medaber through the neck specifically, in the aspect of "my soul went out when He spoke," as mentioned above. And therefore, if one also cuts the mafrekehs — that is, the oref [the back of the neck/nape] — then because of the rush and pursuit of the blood — which is the souls — during the time of shechitah, to exit through the beis hashechitah, if the mafrekehs is also open and cut, the blood will come and rush there as well. And because there is no place for them to exit through there, they will therefore return and be absorbed into the limbs. For through the mafrekehs the nefesh does not exit and ascend through there. For the mafrekehs is the oref, which stands behind holiness and suckles from the nefesh and the speech when the above-mentioned three officers of Pharaoh intensify. And therefore, the essential rectification of the shechitah is to slaughter only the above-mentioned three — to subdue them, to reveal the beis hashechitah, to draw out the nefesh from the aspect of the meitzar hagaron [the narrow strait of the throat], to elevate it through there from chai to medaber, as mentioned above. And therefore, the place of shechitah is at the narrow strait of the throat. But when the mafrekehs is also opened, the blood and the souls will fall there — and this is the opposite of the shechitah and its ruination, as mentioned above. And this is what is explained in the words of Rabbeinu in the above-mentioned discourse "Dirshu Hashem V'Uzo": that the shechitah is the aspect of a ta'anis [fast]; see there. For it is the aspect of an actual fast. For the rectification of the fast — through which one subdues the above-mentioned three officers and draws out the nefesh and the speech from the narrow strait of the throat — all of this is rectified through the shechitah at the neck, through the knife of shechitah and the blessing of shechitah, as mentioned above. See all of this in the discourse "VaYaseiv Elokim" (in Siman 62). Aiver Min HaChai 1 is a three-section halachah based on Likutay Moharan I:37 ("Dirshu Hashem V'Uzo"). It explains why a limb torn from a living animal is forbidden, and why shechitah must be specifically from the neck. Section 1: Shechitah = subduing animality and elevating the nefesh from chai to medaber. The kaneh, veshet, and veridin = adjacent to the instruments of speech = the place where souls exit ("my soul went out when He spoke"). The kelipos = three officers of Pharaoh, who cling at the neck to suckle from the nefesh. In an animal, these kelipos are at maximum intensity because the souls there are nefashos ha'ashukim — oppressed souls that have fallen from medaber to chai. Through shechitah at the neck, the three officers are subdued and the blood/souls exit and ascend through the berachah and knife = holy speech. If a limb is cut without shechitah at the neck, the nefesh does not exit — the limb draws life-force to itself. Eating aiver min hachai = eating the nefesh with the flesh = actual murder. The Torah juxtaposes it with murder in Parashas Noach. Even a ben Noach is warned against it — it is one of the seven mitzvos for the sustaining of the world. Section 2: The prohibition of gistra — cutting the mafrekehs (spinal column/nape) during shechitah. This would cause the blood to rush toward the oref (back of the neck), where it has no exit, and be reabsorbed into the limbs. The oref stands behind holiness and suckles from the nefesh. The essential rectification is to slaughter only the three (kaneh, veshet, veridin), drawing out the nefesh from the meitzar hagaron (narrow strait of the throat). Opening the mafrekehs is the opposite and ruination of the shechitah. Section 3: Shechitah = the aspect of an actual fast (ta'anis). The rectification of the fast — subduing the three officers and drawing out the nefesh and speech from the narrow strait of the throat — is accomplished through shechitah at the neck. Cross-reference: the discourse "VaYaseiv Elokim" (Siman 62).

Now, the pe'os (sidelocks) and the beard are the light of the Countenance — the splendor of the face, the aspect of the comprehension of Chochma (Wisdom). As it is said: "And you shall honor the face of an elder" (vehadarta pnei zaken) — the beard is the splendor of the face, the light of the face, which is the aspect of Chochma, as it is said: "The wisdom of a man illumines his face" (chochmas adam ta'ir panav). For the beard is the aspect of the Thirteen Attributes through which the Torah is expounded, as is elaborated in the teachings of our Rebbe — see there — and these are the essence of the comprehension of Chochma. Therefore, the beard and pe'os are hairs, for they are the aspect of the comprehension of Chochma, and the essence of comprehension is in the aspect of hairs, which is the Lower Wisdom, as is explained there. And this is the aspect of the Thirteen Attributes, which are the aspect of the beard, as mentioned above — namely, the aspect of measures and contractions (middos u'tzimtzumim) for the supernal Intellect, as is explained there — for this is the aspect of hairs, the aspect of shi'ura d'atun d'Oraisa (the measure of the donkey of the Torah), which are the aspect of middos (measures/attributes).