דגים א

The laws governing things that emerge from a living animal — primarily milk and bees' honey — which the Torah permitted even though they come from a living creature without requiring ritual slaughter. This halacha reveals the profound inner connection between these two permitted substances, the rectification of the holy covenant (תִּקּוּן הַבְּרִית), the perfection of the Holy Tongue (שְׁלֵמוּת לְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ), and the story of Shimshon (Samson). This corresponds to the aspect of milk and bees' honey which the Torah permitted even though they emerge from a living creature — for the essence of ritual slaughter is the aspect of the rectification of the holy covenant (תִּקּוּן הַבְּרִית), to subdue the comprehensive evil through the aspect of the perfection of the Holy Tongue (שְׁלֵמוּת לְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ), as mentioned above. And therefore milk — which embodies the rectification of the covenant in its fullness, in the aspect of blood that became turbid and was transformed into milk — this itself is the essential aspect of the rectification of the covenant, as is explained in the teaching beginning "Hai man" etc. (Likutay Moharan, Torah Lesson 29). And therefore milk does not require the permission of slaughter. And similarly, the honey that comes forth from bees is in the aspect of the sweetening of speech — speech that has been sweetened from evil to good — in the aspect of "Who can bring forth the pure from the impure?" (מִי יִתֵּן טָהוֹר מִטָּמֵא, Job 14:4). Just as milk is also sweetened from evil to good — for it is transformed from blood into milk, as described. And therefore honey and milk are both in the aspect of the perfection of the Holy Tongue — whose essential completeness comes specifically through the Targum (the Aramaic translation). For the essential perfection of holiness is specifically to overturn and clarify the good from the evil — and this is the aspect of the perfection of the Holy Tongue through the Targum, which is in the aspect of nogah (נֹגַהּ, the intermediate spiritual realm), the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil — that is, to extract the good from the evil specifically. And through this specifically, the Holy Tongue is completed in full perfection, for this is its essential completeness. (As is cited there in the words of Rabainu, may his light illuminate.) And this is the aspect of דְּבַשׁ וְחָלָב תַּחַת לְשׁוֹנֵךְ — "honey and milk under your tongue" (Song of Songs 4:11) — "under your tongue" precisely. For they are in the aspect of the Holy Tongue that draws forth and clarifies from the evil through the tongue of the Targum, as described — for this is the main praise of the Holy Tongue, through this very process. And this is what is cited and brought in the words of Rabainu, may his light illuminate, (Likutay Moharan, Torah Lesson 199): that דְּבַשׁ ("honey") has the same numerical value (gematria) as אִשָּׁה ("woman") — that is, the aspect of the perfection of the Holy Tongue, which is the aspect of Chavah (חַוָּה, Eve), "woman," as described. And this is why David said four times "they surrounded me" (סַבּוּנִי) — corresponding to the seventy nations that surround the holiness, as is known. For they are in the aspect of the four kelipot (husks of impurity), as is known. And corresponding to them he said "they surrounded me" four times. And therefore in the fourth instance he said: "they surrounded me like bees" (סַבּוּנִי כִדְבֹרִים, Psalms 118:12) — corresponding to the fourth kelipah which is the aspect of nogah. For it is in the aspect of bees, which have a bad sting — this being the aspect of the contamination of the Primordial Serpent (זֻהֲמַת הַנָּחָשׁ) which has venom in its mouth — the aspect of the evil of the seventy tongues [of the nations]. Yet within them there is also great sweetness — namely the honey which is the ultimate sweetness, as it is written: "what is sweeter than honey?" (מַה מָּתוֹק מִדְּבַשׁ, Judges 14:18) — which is the aspect of the Holy Tongue that one clarifies from there. For it is in the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, as described — for the sweetness of the honey is the aspect of the sweetness of speech, speech that has been sweetened through the perfection of the Holy Tongue, through the rectification of the covenant which is the aspect of mayim m'tukim (sweet waters), which is the opposite of mayim m'rorim (bitter waters) — and these [bitter waters] are the aspect of the damage to the covenant (פְּגַם הַבְּרִית), and they are the aspect of marah d'is lah t'rei piyos (the [scorpion's] gall that has two mouths). The opposite of honey, which is the aspect of the sweetness of the speech of the Holy Tongue — which is in the aspect of "double-mouthed" (פִּי שְׁנַיִם) as described — as is explained in the teaching beginning "Hatzilah meicherev nafshi" (הַצִּילָה מֵחֶרֶב נַפְשִׁי) (Likutay Moharan, Torah Lesson 50). And this is what is said regarding Shimshon: "for from the carcass of the lion he had scooped out the honey" (כִּי מִגְּוִיַּת הָאֲרִי רָדָה הַדְּבַשׁ, Judges 14:8). And from this our Sages of blessed memory derived the permission of honey — "from the carcass of the lion" specifically — which is in the aspect of sweet waters, the rectification of the covenant in the aspect of "the lion descended" (אַרְיֵה נָחִית), as is cited there. For Shimshon the mighty, who was a nazirite of G-d and a judge of Israel — certainly his intention was for the sake of Heaven, and he had in mind something very great and exalted in what he did by marrying Philistine women. His intention was to rely on the strength of his holiness to descend into the depth of their evil which they held onto — in order to break it and elevate from it — in the aspect of "And Avraham went up from Egypt" (וַיַּעַל אַבְרָהָם מִמִּצְרַיִם, Genesis 13:1). So that through this, the Philistines would fall on their own. And as Rabainu, may his light illuminate, said in the teaching beginning "I saw a golden Menorah" (רָאִיתִי מְנוֹרַת זָהָב) (Likutay Moharan, Torah Lesson 8): that when one needs to subdue the wicked who are gaining very great strength, one must descend into the evil that they hold onto and break it — and through this the wicked are cast down to the ground. See there. And therefore he married Philistine women — to descend into the comprehensive evil that they clung to and break it. And therefore he sought a pretext and occasion to provoke them specifically through this — as it is written: "for it was from Hashem, for He sought an occasion against the Philistines" (כִּי מֵה' הוּא כִּי תֹאֲנָה הוּא מְבַקֵּשׁ מִפְּלִשְׁתִּים, Judges 14:4) — for specifically through this he could subdue them and break them, as described — for there is their foothold. For it is the comprehensive evil of all the nations, and especially the Philistines who are neighbors of Egypt and resemble them. They are from the seed of Egypt, who are steeped in licentiousness, in comprehensive evil extremely — and the entire foothold of the Philistines derives from the comprehensive evil, for from there is their birth and entry into the world — for they are mamzerim (illegitimate offspring) from the seed of Egypt, as it is written: "from there came forth the Philistines" (אֲשֶׁר יָצְאוּ מִשָּׁם פְּלִשְׁתִּים), as Rashi explains. And therefore the holy people Israel always had suffering from them, and they were always arrayed against Israel — and even the first ones in the holiness of Israel, who are the Patriarchs, had suffering from the Philistines, as it is written (Genesis 26:15): "And all the wells... the Philistines had stopped them up." And the primary adversaries of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov were the Philistines and the Egyptians. And therefore when Israel went out of Egypt it is written: "And G-d did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines for it was near" (וְלֹא נָחָם אֱלֹקִים דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים כִּי קָרוֹב הוּא, Exodus 13:17) — for it was literally near, both physically and spiritually. And therefore He did not want to lead them that way — so as not to leap from one pit into another trap. For there the evil would grab hold of them, Heaven forfend, since [the Philistines] resemble Egypt and are very close to them, as described. To the point that they might think to return to Egypt — to the evil they had left — as it is written: "lest the people repent when they see war and return to Egypt" (פֶּן יִנָּחֵם הָעָם בִּרְאֹתָם מִלְחָמָה וְשָׁבוּ מִצְרָיְמָה). For since the overpowering of evil there resembles Egypt, as described — therefore they would be unable to withstand the bonds of battle and would return to Egypt, Heaven forfend. And so it continued from first to last — even at the very end of the Davidic kingdom, [the Philistines] were always arrayed against Israel and oppressed them when they gained the upper hand. For the Philistines are literally the opposite of Israel — for the essential foothold of Israel is in the holiness of guarding the covenant (שְׁמִירַת הַבְּרִית), whereas the Philistines' foothold is in the comprehensive evil in the extreme, for they are mamzerim as described. And therefore Shimshon the mighty — who was the first to gird his loins to stand against them and subdue them, when they were then gathering tremendous strength as is apparent from the Scriptural verses there — was compelled to descend into the depths of their evil to break it and subdue it and clarify the good from the evil, through which their downfall [would come], as described. And therefore when he went to marry [the Philistine woman], this episode of the honey that he found in the carcass of the lion came to him — as described in the Scripture there — for he was then in this spiritual mode: in the aspect of nogah — to clarify the good from the evil, which is the aspect of honey: purity from impurity, the aspect of the perfection of the Holy Tongue which is perfected through the subduing of the evil of the seventy nations, as described. And this is Yaakov's blessing which alluded to Shimshon — as Rashi explains: "Dan shall be a serpent on the road... that bites the horse's heels so that its rider falls backward" (יְהִי דָּן נָחָשׁ עֲלֵי דֶּרֶךְ... הַנֹּשֵׁךְ עִקְּבֵי סוּס וַיִּפֹּל רֹכְבוֹ אָחוֹר, Genesis 49:17) — meaning that he descended into the comprehensive evil, the contamination of the Primordial Serpent, and broke it. And through this, the Philistines — who were clinging to it — fell of their own accord. And this is "bites the heels of the horse and its rider falls" — for the horse is in the aspect of the evil that they cling to, upon which they ride, in the aspect of "horse and rider He has hurled into the sea" (סוּס וְרוֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם). And by biting and breaking the heels of the evil horse that they clung to, those riding upon it — the Philistines — fell of their own accord.

Likutay Halachos — Signs of a Kosher Fish, Halachos 1–5

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