סימני עוף טהור ג

It follows that through beard and pe'os one merits yirah, and then one merits to receive the flow of Chesed, and then one need not engage in any worldly occupation at all, for the world is sustained through His Chesed, and then one can engage in the service of Hashem all day. This is the essential longing of Israel — to attain this. Therefore the essence of Jewish identity depends on beard and pe'os, as mentioned. See the discourse "U'veyom HaBikkurim" mentioned above — see there carefully through the whole discourse.

Behold, we, the Children of Israel, need our eating to be holy — in order that during the time of eating the illumination of the Will [he'aras ha-ratzon] should shine, as above. And therefore it is forbidden for us to eat impure species — only pure species that have signs of purity [simanei taharah]. For the signs hint that in these species there has already begun to shine the illumination of the above-mentioned tzadik who illuminates in all the worlds — in the dwellers above and in the dwellers below. For the above-mentioned tzadik rectifies and gives life to all the worlds — of the aspect of the World of Rectification [olam ha-tikun]. For "the tzadik is the foundation of the world" [Proverbs 10:25] — he is the aspect of the rectification.

(For the rectification is through the Eighth King — who is "Hadar" [Genesis 36:39] — who is the aspect of Yesod, the aspect of the tzadik. For the above-mentioned tzadik merits the aspect of mah, as above. And from there the rectification of the worlds flows. For the World of Rectification is through the new light of "mah" — as it is stated in the Etz Chaim, Heichal 2, Sha'ar Ha-Tikun, Chapter 2.) And therefore he rectifies and gives life to the dwellers above and the dwellers below. For all of them require rectification. For the flaw and ruin of the worlds through the breaking of the vessels [sheviyas ha-kailim] came because of the excess of light — because they could not endure the excess of the light — and through this they were broken, and the light rose upward, and the vessels were broken and descended in the Creation, and so on. And afterward they were rectified. Only several sparks [nitzotzos] still remained below — and with these the tzadikim and all Israel are engaged — to clarify them and elevate them in every generation, as is known. And those sparks fell and spread into all the worlds, even into the world of Asiyah [Action]. And therefore the tzadik — who is the rectification — rectifies and gives life to the dwellers above and the dwellers below. That is to say: the dwellers above — where the flaw and the breaking occurred because of the excess of light — he gives life and rectifies them through the aspect of Ayyeh [Where?], the aspect of: "meh chamisa" [what did you see?]. That is to say, he shows them that they are distant from Him Yisborach. And through this they are able to endure the light and are not nullified. For he shows them that they are distant from Him Yisborach — of the aspect of "meh chamisa", the aspect of: "Where is the place of His glory?" And the dwellers below — where the fallen sparks are, which fell completely from the place of their holiness from the time of the breaking, and fell to all the lower levels until they spread even into animals and wild beasts and birds — and because of the greatness of their descent they forgot their original elevated state, and it appears to them that they are exceedingly, exceedingly distant from Him Yisborach, to the point that they are no longer able to raise themselves up to ascend — therefore the tzadik gives them life through the aspect of: "The whole earth is filled with His glory" [Isaiah 6:3]. Of the aspect of the resurrection of the dead [techias ha-meisim] — which is the aspect of the World of Rectification — the aspect of: "Your dead shall live, my corpse shall arise; awaken and sing, you who dwell in the dust" [Isaiah 26:19]. That is to say, he arouses and gives life to those sparks that descended very far below — lest they despair of themselves. For "the whole earth is filled with His glory." And this is the aspect of pure species and impure species. For we are able to eat only those species in which the illumination of the World of Rectification has already begun to shine — that is, the illumination of the above-mentioned tzadik. Only those specifically are we permitted to eat. For we have the power to clarify them through our eating. But the species in which the illumination of the rectification has not shone — we do not have the power to clarify them, and we are forbidden to eat them. And this is the aspect of the signs of the animal and the wild beast — which are: cud-chewing and split hooves. This is a hint at the illumination of the above-mentioned tzadik, through whom comes the rectification. For the sparks that fell and descended and were chained down and clothed in animals and wild beasts are of the aspect of shochnei afar [dwellers in the dust] — for they descended to a very low level. And the tzadik gives them life of the aspect of: "Awaken and sing, you who dwell in the dust." And this is the aspect of cud-chewing [ma'aleh geirah]. The word geirah is the aspect of the sparks and souls that fell and descended very greatly — of the aspect of: "And like water spilled on the ground" [II Samuel 14:14] — "which cannot be gathered up again". For they descended greatly — like water spilled upon the ground. And through the illumination of the above-mentioned tzadik who arouses and gives them life — of the aspect of: "Awaken and sing, you who dwell in the dust" — through this they are of the aspect of cud-chewing [ma'aleh geirah]. That is to say, the illumination of the tzadik is drawn upon them — through which he elevates the souls and sparks that fell and descended like water spilled upon the ground. For He Yisborach plans that none of those cast away shall be cast away from Him — for "the whole earth is filled with His glory" and so on, as above. And this is the aspect of split hooves [mafris parsah]. For the sparks that fell to such low places — into animals and wild beasts — are like birds caught in a trap. For they are locked in imprisonment. But through the illumination of the above-mentioned tzadik who arouses and gives them life — of the aspect of "the whole earth is filled with His glory" — through this he shows them that even there in the place where they are, there is an opening to go out [pesach latzeit]. And this is the aspect of split hooves [mafris parsah] — this is a hint that even in the legs of the animals — which is a very low level — even there an opening to go out is found. The opposite of hooves that are closed [parsosav kelutos] — which is the aspect of being caught and closed there and unable to go out. But split hooves is the aspect that even there, at the very lowest level, there is an opening to go out from there. For "the whole earth is filled with His glory" — and there is no despair in the world at all. For: leis atar panuy minaiy [there is no place empty of Him], and so on, as above. This halacha reveals an entirely new — and complementary — reading of the same two kosher signs, now through the lens of the tzadik as the axis of the World of Rectification.

Giluach (Shaving) — Halacha 3