סימני עוף טהור ב

Likutay Halachos — Hilchos Bais HaK'nessesHalacha 6 – Part B (§8–13)

The Torah does not list kosher signs for birds as it does for land animals. Instead it lists the non-kosher species by name, and our Sages derived four signs — a crop, a peelable gizzard, an extra toe, and not being a bird of prey — yet these signs are insufficient on their own and the primary authority is the oral tradition (מָסֹרֶת). This halacha explains why.

For birds are in the aspect of the Oral Torah (תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה), the aspect of the Mishnah, the aspect of Metatron (מְטַטְרוֹן) — as cited above in the Laws of Meat Hidden from Sight, Halacha 1. And therefore their signs were not written in the Written Torah but were transmitted to the Sages orally. But land animals and beasts — which are spiritually lower than birds — where the power of imagination (כֹּחַ הַמְדַמֶּה) and the animalistic force overpower more greatly: their hold is in the aspect of the Written Torah, the aspect of "write this as a memorial in the book" (כְּתֹב זֹאת זִכָּרוֹן בַּסֵּפֶר, Exodus 17:14) — for there is where imagination grips, since memory is the aspect of the power of imagination, as Rabainu said in Torah Lesson 19. See there. And therefore their signs were written in the Written Torah.

And likewise it is stated in the sacred writings (Kisvay Arizal) that the Written Torah descends to clothe itself further below in the aspect of Asiyah (Action) — where the animalistic force overpowers most intensely, for that is the aspect of land animals and beasts who walk on all fours. All this is explained above in the Laws of Signs of a Kosher Animal and Beast, Halacha 1. But the Oral Torah is the aspect of Yetzirah (Formation), the aspect of Metatron — from which birds derive. And therefore their signs were not written in the Torah.

Continued from LM I:8 — "Tik'u Tochachah"Height of BHK · Bonay HaMigdal · Kavod · M'leches HaMishkan 1

And therefore kosher birds outnumber non-kosher birds, while with land animals it is the reverse — as our Sages of blessed memory said. For below in Asiyah, the sitra achra's grip is greatest — therefore land animals, belonging to the aspect of Asiyah, have more non-kosher than kosher. But birds, belonging to the aspect of Yetzirah where the sitra achra's hold is not as strong, have more kosher than non-kosher.

This is the aspect of the law (SA OC 150:2): one builds the Bais HaK'nesses only at the height of the city, and it is forbidden to raise one's house higher than the Bais HaK'nesses. It is already explained that the essential kedushas BHK = that additional sh'chainim continually gather and assemble there → until through this we merit the building of Yerushalayim and the Bais HaMikdash: "Boneh Yerushalayim... nidchay Yisrael y'chanais" — "He who builds Yerushalayim... He gathers the dispersed of Yisrael" (Tehilim 147). "Nidchay Yisrael y'chanais" = the adding of sh'chainim to the holy kibbutz of Yisrael in Batay K'nessiyos and Batay Midrashos → through this all the dispersed in the world are gathered, even those cast outside: "tishtapaichnah avnay kodesh b'rosh kol chutzos" (Aichah 4). Through this — "Boneh Yerushalayim Hashem." 2

And this is also the meaning of what our Sages said: a kosher bird is identified by oral tradition (עוֹף טָהוֹר נֶאֱכָל בְּמָסֹרֶת) — transmitted mouth to mouth that it is a kosher bird. And as they said: "a hunter is trusted to say: such-and-such a bird was permitted to me by my rabbi the hunter." For the essential signs of birds and their permissibility rest entirely on oral tradition, mouth to mouth — the aspect of the Oral Torah, as described — for one cannot rely on the written signs alone for birds. Since they are of the aspect of the Oral Torah, they require transmission specifically mouth to mouth, as it is stated (Avos, Chapter 1): "Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua etc." — for matters that are oral, you are not permitted to commit them to writing (דְּבָרִים שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה אִי אַתָּה רַשַּׁאי לְאָמְרָם בִּכְתָב). From that teaching: There are people in the aspect of the six weekdays, the aspect of Metatron — the aspect of kosher and disqualified, pure and impure — meaning they have no Shabbos rest, not being established in consistent service and teshuvah. At times thoughts of teshuvah fall upon them, then they return to their former state — alternating: sometimes kosher, sometimes disqualified, sometimes pure, sometimes impure. But the Tzaddikim are in the aspect of Shabbos, for Shabbos is the aspect of teshuvah, the aspect of Shaddai — their teshuvah is in tranquility and permanence, for they push away the evil entirely. And these Tzaddikim surrender their souls for Israel, for they see their own lowliness and the importance and greatness of Israel. (See there carefully.) Now: "a bird — this is Metatron" as cited in the Tikkunim (Introduction, p. 3). And the aspect of Metatron is the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which is the aspect of kosher and disqualified, pure and impure. And it is written: "from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat." And everything in the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil — where good and evil are intermingled — we are forbidden to eat from. And therefore the essential rectification of all our eating is through the Oral Torah transmitted to the Tzaddikim — which is the aspect of the Six Orders of the Mishnah that clarify the good from the evil, the permitted from the forbidden. And therefore we are commanded to do all that the true Tzaddikim and Sages of each and every generation instruct us, as it is written: "you shall not deviate from the word they tell you, right or left" (לֹא תָסוּר מִן הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר יַגִּידוּ לְךָ יָמִין וּשְֹמֹאל), even if they tell you etc. For in each and every generation clarifications must be made to raise up the good from the evil that became intermingled through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. And no individual has power to make these clarifications except through the true Tzaddik of each generation. For simple people who have not yet merited complete and perfect teshuvah — who have no rest yet — are themselves still in the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge, still alternating: sometimes kosher etc. Therefore they certainly cannot on their own clarify the good from the evil. Only the true Tzaddik of each generation — who has already pushed the evil away entirely and is in the aspect of Shabbos — has the power to clarify the sparks in everything: to separate the good from the evil, the permitted from the forbidden. And therefore all our kosher eating — its essential rectification and clarification — is through the Tzaddikim of the generation to whom the Oral Torah was transmitted. For even though all the mitzvos are spelled out in the Torah — from the Torah itself alone one cannot know anything, only through the Tzaddikim and Sages to whom the Oral Torah was transmitted. They know the details of every matter: how to conduct oneself in each case according to the need of the clarification of that matter. And Hashem Blessed be He did this intentionally — He did not spell out every matter in the Written Torah but commanded us to rely specifically on the Sages of the generation. For in truth in every generation new clarifications must be made until the coming of Mashiach. And the clarification of every matter is possible only through the Tzaddikim who are the Sages of the generation — who have already pushed the evil away entirely. While other people who have not yet pushed the evil away entirely — who alternate: sometimes kosher etc. — have no power to clarify. And even through Torah study they lack this power: for "if one merits, it becomes an elixir of life; if one does not merit, it becomes an elixir of death, Heaven forfend." And therefore without the true Tzaddikim of each and every generation we are unable to lift hand or foot to do anything in kashrus — for we do not understand the ways of Torah at all except through the true Tzaddik. And therefore Hashem Blessed be He intentionally did not spell out the particular rulings of any mitzvah in the Written Torah — so that we know we must rely only on the Tzaddikim of the generation, as commanded: "you shall not deviate etc." For the essential clarification in every generation is made only through the Tzaddikim to whom the Oral Torah was transmitted — through which one clarifies the good from the evil. For the Oral Torah is the aspect of the Six Orders of the Mishnah corresponding to the aspect of kosher and disqualified etc. — for through the Six Orders of the Mishnah one clarifies the kosher from the disqualified, which is the aspect of clarifying the good from the evil. But this Oral Torah was transmitted only to the Tzaddikim who are the Sages of the generation — for only in their hands is the power to clarify, since they have already pushed away the evil entirely. And this is what our Sages hinted at through this mitzvah of the kosher bird — saying: a kosher bird is identified by oral tradition. For "a bird — this is Metatron." And since it is in the aspect of Metatron, which is the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge — it is impossible to eat it, for "from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat." And therefore we cannot eat it except through the Tzaddikim and Sages of the generation to whom the Oral Torah was transmitted — and this is "identified by oral tradition." In truth all other things likewise cannot be eaten except through the Sages of the generation. It is only here that the Torah revealed this more explicitly — since a bird is more in the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge, as described. And therefore the Torah did not explain the signs of a kosher bird at all — so that we know we must rely on the Sages of the generation who have the power to make the clarification of the Tree of Knowledge. This is what the Torah revealed more explicitly through this mitzvah — since "a bird — this is Metatron," the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge, whose essential rectification and clarification is through the Oral Torah transmitted to the Sages of the generation. Also, in truth the clarification of all edible things is hinted at in this teaching — for all things in the world have an admixture of good and evil from the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge, as is known. And we must clarify them through the Oral Torah transmitted to the Tzaddikim. The essential clarification is through eating — for through eating one clarifies the sparks within the foods. And this is "a kosher bird is identified by oral tradition" — for the good in the Tree of Knowledge is the aspect of the kosher bird. For the Tree of Knowledge is the aspect of a bird, as described, and it contains both good and evil: pure and impure, kosher and disqualified. The good in the Tree of Knowledge is therefore the aspect of the kosher bird. And all our eating must be in the aspect of the good in the Tree of Knowledge — the aspect of the kosher bird — which can only be accomplished through the Tzaddikim of the generation to whom the Oral Torah was transmitted. This is "a kosher bird is identified by oral tradition" — all the eating of Israel in kashrus, which is the aspect of the kosher bird, the good and pure in the Tree of Knowledge — is accomplished only through the Tzaddikim to whom the Torah was transmitted: "by oral tradition" (בְּמָסֹרֶת). Also: masores (tradition) hints that these Tzaddikim who have pushed away evil entirely and to whom the Torah was transmitted — they surrender themselves (מוֹסְרִים נַפְשָׁם) for Israel, as explained in the teaching above. And this is the aspect of "by oral tradition" — through the Tzaddikim who have self-surrender (מְסִירוּת נֶפֶשׁ) for Israel, to whom the Oral Torah was transmitted. For in truth the essential rectification and clarification of our eating is only through these Tzaddikim who surrender themselves for Israel — for at the time of eating we must clarify the good from the evil, and we have no power for this ourselves. And the essential nature of their self-surrender is to rectify Israel: to push evil from them and bind them to the good — this is the essential love and compassion the Tzaddik has for Israel. And therefore only through the power of the Tzaddik can we eat in kashrus — clarifying the good from the evil, the pure from the impure — which is the aspect of the kosher bird, the aspect of "the bird of the heavens," as is known. And therefore our Sages said: an am haaretz (one unattached to Torah scholars) is forbidden to eat meat — for the essential and greatest clarification is in living creatures, which have vitality and souls. And one certainly cannot eat meat except through attachment to the Tzaddikim, through whom we have the power to clarify. And an am haaretz is one not attached to Tzaddikim and Sages — as our Sages said: "who is an am haaretz? Even if he read Scripture and studied Mishnah but did not serve Torah scholars — he is an am haaretz." Meaning: one who does not serve Torah scholars to know their thinking and reasoning — as Rashi explains, "serving Torah scholars" means Gemara, that is, the reasons and logic of the Mishnah which one merits receiving from one's teacher through service. And so in every generation we must serve the true Torah scholars who are the true Tzaddikim, to know their thinking and reasoning: how to conduct oneself in every matter. And through attachment to the true Tzaddikim we have the power to clarify. But an am haaretz not attached to a true Torah scholar is forbidden to eat meat — for in meat from a living creature there are many souls and sparks requiring clarification, and there is no power to clarify them except through the true Tzaddik. Blessed be Hashem forever, amen and amen. It follows that Metatron, which is the aspect of the lower unification (יִחוּדָא תַּתָּאָה), is the aspect of a bird. And likewise it is stated that Metatron is appointed over the birds. And this is the aspect of "a bird flies over the earth" (עוֹף יְעוֹפֵף עַל הָאָרֶץ) which alludes to the angels who are the aspect of Metatron. And the lower unification corresponds to the verse "Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom forever" (בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד) which has twenty-four letters — which are the aspect of the twenty-four books of the Torah etc. And when one damages, Heaven forfend, the aspect of the lower unification — from this cascades down the aspect of twenty-four non-kosher birds, for "G-d made one corresponding to the other" (אֶת זֶה לְעֻמַּת זֶה). For the root of the aspect of birds is in the lower unification, the aspect of the twenty-four letters of "Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom for ever." And "G-d made one corresponding to the other" — therefore corresponding to this, the sitra achra has non-kosher birds. And this is what is stated in the sacred books: that through damage to the covenant, Heaven forfend, the aspect of twenty-four non-kosher birds comes about — as described. For the damage to the covenant — the essential damage is to the aspect of the lower unification, since that is where the essential guarding of the covenant lies: to keep oneself simply within the laws of the Torah, Heaven forfend not to transgress them. And when one damages this, Heaven forfend, one damages the aspect of the lower unification — the aspect of the twenty-four letters of "Blessed is the name etc." — and from this cascades and comes about, Heaven forfend, the aspect of twenty-four species of non-kosher birds. And therefore the essential clarification between non-kosher and kosher bird is specifically through speech (דִּבּוּר) — as our Sages said: a kosher bird is identified by oral tradition, meaning that one person transmits mouth to mouth to another that this bird is kosher. For speech is the aspect of tziparta (the bird), as described — the aspect of birds that chirp with their voices — and this is the aspect of Metatron, which is the aspect of a bird, which is the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which comprises the Six Orders of the Mishnah — the aspect of kosher and disqualified, pure and impure etc. — which is the aspect of the Oral Torah that clarifies all the laws of the Torah between pure and impure etc. For the essential clarification is specifically through speech of the mouth — in the aspect of "for they are life to those who bring them forth through the mouth" — the aspect of the Oral Torah. And therefore one cannot know any ruling or decision of the laws of the Torah through the Written Torah alone — only through the Oral Torah which clarifies all the laws of the Torah. For the essential clarification between pure and impure, kosher and disqualified, forbidden and permitted — is only through the Oral Torah, which is the aspect of speech of the mouth. For speech is the aspect of the tziparta described above — that descends to the very feet and clarifies from there all the clarifications. And through this one can rise from a low and fallen level — for speech illuminates everywhere and clarifies the good from the evil, the pure from the impure etc. And since birds are in the aspect of Metatron — the lower unification etc. — where the essential clarification of the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil which is in the aspect of Metatron takes place — therefore one cannot eat birds except through oral tradition: one person transmitting mouth to mouth that this bird is kosher. For the essential clarification between kosher and non-kosher bird is specifically through speech, which is the aspect of the tziparta etc., as described. For without speech, it is difficult to rely on signs alone — for there one is liable to err between non-kosher and kosher birds, since they are in the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil where good and evil are intermingled — the aspect of pure and impure. And since birds are more deeply rooted in this aspect — the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge, the aspect of Metatron — therefore it is difficult to clarify between pure and impure among them except through speech. For speech clarifies everything — speech is the aspect of the tziparta etc. that descends to below and clarifies and elevates and illuminates everywhere. And through this specifically one knows the distinction between kosher and non-kosher bird, as described. And therefore our Sages said of Yonasan ben Uziel: when he was engaged in Torah study, any bird flying overhead was immediately burned — "a bird flying" specifically. For the speech of Torah is the aspect of the tziparta described above, the aspect of the flying bird. And therefore when one studies in holiness and connects oneself to the root of holy speech — through this, all "flying birds" are annulled and burned. For their root is only in the aspect of the speech of the Torah, as described, and everything is annulled at its root. And therefore flying birds were burned and annulled through the speech of Torah, which is the root of the aspect of birds. And therefore when Noach the Tzaddik wanted to know whether the floodwaters had already subsided and been annulled — he sent the birds specifically to investigate and to know through them. For the floodwaters are the aspect of damage to the covenant (פְּגַם הַבְּרִית), the aspect of "for all flesh had corrupted its way" etc. And Noach was a Tzaddik — and a Tzaddik is one who guards the covenant — and he merited the aspect of guarding the covenant in both aspects: the aspect of the upper unification and the lower unification — in the aspect of "these are the generations of Noach: Noach" — "Noach" above, "Noach" below, meaning the aspect of the upper unification and the lower unification. And therefore he was saved from the floodwaters. And his salvation was through the Ark (תֵּבָה). And the Ark of Noach is the aspect of holy words of speech (דִּבּוּרִים קְדוֹשִׁים), as is known — for speech illuminates everywhere and grows stronger and subdues the floodwaters, in the aspect of "and the Ark went upon the face of the waters." For speech is the aspect of the tziparta that stands with its feet in the water and its head reaches to the heavens. And therefore when Noach wanted to know whether the floodwaters had subsided — whether evil had been subdued and some good had begun to stir and sparkle — he sent the bird: that is, the dove, to see whether the waters had lightened. For birds are the aspect of speech, the aspect of the tziparta described above — through which is the essential clarification of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. For speech illuminates everywhere, as described. And this is the aspect of kosher birds and non-kosher birds which the Torah distinguished between — for birds are winged creatures. And therefore there are kosher birds that suckle from holy speech, from which holy wings are formed; and there are non-kosher birds that suckle from the wings of the serpent formed from evil speech — through which the wisdom of nature is strengthened in the world, Heaven forfend, as described. And therefore the signs of a kosher bird were not spelled out in the Torah — for it is impossible to spell out the signs in writing, since one cannot delineate in the Written Torah the signs distinguishing true wisdom (which grows stronger through the wings of holiness, from which kosher birds suckle) from the false wisdom of the natural scientists (who come to heresy through their evil knowledge). For falsehood strengthens against truth to the point where it is hard to discern between them — and it is impossible to explain in writing the signs that distinguish between them. For it is known that there are many confusions and heresies flowing from the natural scientists that cannot be settled through intellect and logic — only through the faith that we the children of Israel hold firmly, as transmitted to us by our forebears and teachers, as explained elsewhere. And this is the aspect of "a kosher bird is identified by oral tradition (בְּמָסֹרֶת)" — specifically "oral tradition" to hint that it is impossible to discern and distinguish between kosher birds (which suckle from the wings of holiness) and non-kosher birds (which suckle from the wings of the serpent — the confusions and heresies of the natural scientists) through any sign that is a kind of intellectual proof. Only through oral tradition: as our forebears transmitted to us — for we lean and depend only on their words, as they transmitted to us: to believe in Hashem Blessed be He and in the renewal of the world and in the resurrection of the dead and in the two worlds etc. — without any sign, proof, token, or demonstration. For it is impossible to verify the fundamentals of our holy faith through signs and proofs in the methods of their bewildered intellect — only through the received tradition (קַבָּלָה וּמָסֹרֶת) as we received from our teachers of blessed memory. And therefore the non-kosher birds are twenty-four — for all the investigators of natural science engage with the Written Torah across all twenty-four books of Scripture, for they appreciate its literary style. But they interpret everything according to their own ways and confusions. On the Oral Torah, however, they dispute completely — for in the Oral Torah as our Sages transmitted to us, the opposite of their views is spelled out explicitly. For our Sages received the interpretation of the Written Torah person from person back to Moshe our teacher, peace be upon him — as they transmitted to us that this is the foundation of our holy faith, since from the Written Torah one cannot know anything without the Oral Torah. It follows that the essential root from which the natural scientists draw their vitality descends from the aspect of the Written Torah — for since it is written, they can interpret it according to their evil views and overturn the words of the living G-d. But in the Oral Torah their teeth are blunted — for our Sages spell it out contrary to their evil views. And therefore they truly dispute the words of our Sages which are the Oral Torah, for from the Oral Torah they have no sustenance. And this is made explicit in the words of Rabainu, of blessed memory (Likutay Moharan Tinyana, Torah Lesson 28) on the verse "I have written for him the multitude of My Torah etc." — that the essential vitality of the nations descends from the aspect of the Written Torah. See there. The nations are the aspect of the natural scientists — for they constantly engage in these wisdoms. But not so the portion of Yaakov — for we believe in the words of our Sages as they transmitted to us the interpretation of the Written Torah, and from their mouths we live. And therefore the non-kosher birds are twenty-four — for the root of their vitality descends in thousands upon thousands of chains from the aspect of the Written Torah, which is the twenty-four books of Scripture. For "G-d made one corresponding to the other," as is known. And therefore one cannot eat a kosher bird except through oral tradition — the aspect of the Oral Torah as our Sages transmitted to us — for it is impossible to be saved from their evil views except through the Oral Torah. For we the children of Israel rely on no interpretation of the Written Torah derived through their evil rhetorical methods — only as our Sages transmitted to us in the Oral Torah. For in the Torah, the laws of tefillin are not spelled out at all — whether they should be of leather, and exactly where they should be bound, whether on the palm or on the muscle etc. — and likewise with the other mitzvos. And likewise our Sages received that the resurrection of the dead is spelled out in the Torah, as they derived from several verses. And so with all the other foundations of faith and interpretations of Torah and mitzvos — for all of them we rely only on what our Sages spelled out for us in the Gemara and the halachic authorities. And this is hinted at in this ruling: "a kosher bird is identified by oral tradition" — for specifically through oral tradition, the aspect of the Oral Torah, one can come to distance oneself from the twenty-four non-kosher birds whose vitality descends from the twenty-four books of Scripture. For specifically through the oral tradition, the aspect of the Oral Torah, we are distinguished from them — for it teaches us to interpret the Written Torah according to truth, as our Sages received. And this is why our Sages gave a sign for non-kosher birds through their eating — for if a bird grasps and eats (דּוֹרֵס וְאוֹכֵל), it is certainly non-kosher. For non-kosher birds suckle from the wings of the above-mentioned serpent — which has an ant in its mouth, wanting to overpower the ant, Heaven forfend (who is the true sage etc., as explained there). And therefore the sign of impurity is in its mouth — if it grasps and eats, it is certainly impure: for this shows that it wants to overpower through its eating, to grasp and devour, Heaven forfend, the ant etc. For from there derives the vitality of the non-kosher birds, as described. But Hashem will not abandon it into the serpent's hand, and will save the ant from its mouth — for "a lip of truth shall be established forever," speedily in our days, amen. Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן