דגים ב

The Sages said: the form of the Mishkan corresponded to the form of the act of Creation (Zohar, Tikunay Zohar 12). Therefore through the entire Mishkan and its kailim (whose essence was the Aron with the Torah — in which all of Creation was depicted) → the holy emunah of chiddush ha'olam is drawn: all know that Hashem created everything — heaven, earth, and all their hosts — as depicted in the Mishkan through its clasps and planks. Through this one merits chiddush ha'olam of the future — when the world will be conducted through wonders beyond nature. This = the asarah nissim [ten miracles] in the Bais HaMikdash (Avos ch. 5) — there everything operated only through miracles and wonders, entirely beyond nature. Through this the Shir Chadash is awakened = the Shir of the L'vi'im in the BHM. Each day they sang a specific shir corresponding to the creation of that day → drawing the revelation of Creation (= emunas chiddush ha'olam) through the avodah of the BHM. They also sang the Shir corresponding to the future Shir (drawn from all this — from which all shiros derive). 9

In truth, whoever draws close to one of lesser spiritual stature — even though that person is much better than him and by comparison is a tzaddik — not only does this not help him, given that he is so gravely spiritually ill that one of lesser stature cannot heal his great soul-sicknesses, but he actually damages him greatly. All the more so when this lesser one is a ba'al machloikes [person of dispute] who quarrels against the true great Tzaddik of very elevated stature — one who has toiled all his days to draw the perception and knowledge of Godliness through wondrous intellectual pathways of profound, awesome, and exalted depth, such that through the greatness of his power and wisdom he is able to bring the perception and knowledge of Godliness even to the smallest and most spiritually diminished — and through the immensity of his power has left behind him a blessing: awesome books like these, and revelations of such novellae.

And precious disciples who continue transmitting the illumination of his holy mind to future generations — for this is the essential completeness of the true righteous ones: that even after their departure from the world, their mind remains after them for generations. As we have seen with all the true and holy righteous ones who preceded us. And as is explained in the Torah discourse "for He who has compassion on them will lead them" [Likutay MoHaRaN Part II, Siman 7], on what our Rabbis of blessed memory said regarding the verse "who have no changes" — see there. And this lesser one who knows no path or trail or way in drawing the perception of Godliness to the world — who himself has not yet begun to attain even the lightest perception, as can be seen and understood from his speech and Torah — says things that school children already know better. And when he disputes such a tzaddik and such a Torah and the people engaged with his holy books, through whom even the most grievously ill can be healed as explained above — for the righteous are greater in death than in life, and they continue even after their departure to draw and illuminate the perception of Godliness even to the most distant and spiritually ill through their books and precious disciples — this one who disputes them certainly causes great harm to those who listen to him and distance themselves from such a source of life.

The korbanos of animals in the BHM and Mishkan = birur ham'dameh [clarification of the imaginative faculty] (= the animalistic aspect). The entirety of the Mishkan and BHM was for birur ham'dameh → revealing emunas chiddush ha'olam. 10

For it is stated in his words of blessed memory: in every place there is a dimension of uprightness [yosher], and even one who commits great wrongs — necessarily something of uprightness will be found in him as well. But the difference is: when does the uprightness begin? With an upright person, uprightness begins immediately — for it is certainly forbidden to commit any injustice. But one who is not properly upright and commits some wrong — afterwards the uprightness in him begins in the sense of not committing a greater wrong. And there is one who is still worse — who commits an even greater wrong than the first wrong. And there is one even worse than that, who turns the wrong itself into uprightness and calls the injustice and the oppression "upright." And this is the most hidden and subtle evil of all — for there is no path by which to reach this person, since in his own view he is entirely just. In every place where the wrongs are greater, the uprightness is farther away. Yet even there it is at least easy to point out that wrong is being done. But one who deceives himself and says that everything he does is upright — and overturns the wrong and the killing into uprightness — there it is very difficult to find the uprightness. For example, a thief or robber — even he has some uprightness at times, but his uprightness is very far. More dangerous is one who deceives himself entirely. This is the great principle: at every level and in every world, the husk [klipah] precedes the fruit — and even at the highest levels where there is no complete husk, there is still some grip of a thin husk. And the thinner the grip of the husk and falsehood, the harder it is to discern the matter and the harder it is to nullify it — for the essential grip of injustice and uprightness [from the side of holiness] is the dimension of intellect. And the closer one comes to the truth, the subtler and thinner becomes the grip of the falsehood — and the harder it is to nullify it, and greater wisdom is required to discern and nullify it. For the entire world subsists through the true Tzaddik drawing down the perception of Godliness through contraction after contraction — from the higher intellect to the lower intellect — for without this there is no possibility of attaining the perception of Godliness at all, since the light of His infinite divinity cannot be grasped by any created being. Therefore the true Tzaddik must contract and reduce and limit his wisdom level after level, until he can bring it within reach of even the smallest and most distant. And this is the structure of the whole of reality: every world, every level, every being receives its life-force through these contractions by which the Tzaddik draws divine awareness downward. And through this all creation is sustained and purified and rectified — all the generations of human beings and of animals and of every living thing — for all their births and their sustenance and their rectification depend on the flow of intellect that the Tzaddik draws down. And this is the meaning of the prohibition of meat-in-milk — the dimension of the verse "you shall not cook a kid in its mother's milk" — for everything in the world, inanimate, vegetable, animal, and human, draws its vitality from these contractions, through which the perception of Godliness is attained. And the essential completeness of the clarification depends on the true Tzaddik of the highest stature. And whoever is attached to him and included in him is able to rectify and elevate himself and all the sparks of holiness that are clothed within him. And therefore it is forbidden to eat from a living animal — for as long as the animal is alive, it is necessary for the living creature to receive its vitality at the level appropriate to its kind — the vitality belonging to an animal. It is impossible for it to receive in life the higher vitality that belongs to the human level, for it would be nullified entirely. And through this vitality that belongs to its level, it is impossible to rectify and perfect it — but through shechitah [ritual slaughter], the animal is elevated through the power of the Tzaddik who draws down a wondrous intellect — and this is the rectification. Therefore it is forbidden to eat from a living animal [eiver min ha-chai] — for as long as the living creature is alive, it receives vitality in its level, appropriate to the living creature level — the vitality belonging to an animal. It cannot receive in life the higher vitality belonging to the human — for it would be nullified in existence. And through this vitality itself, belonging to its level, rectification is impossible. But through shechitah, the animal is elevated — for the shochet receives power from Moshe Rabbainu, the dimension of the Tzaddik, and through this can draw upon the animal such intellect that through the illumination of this great intellect, the vitality and the sparks and the gilgulim [transmigrated souls] clothed in the animal vitality are elevated — so that they too have their ascent and rectification. Because of Adam's primordial sin, death was decreed upon generations — upon human beings and upon all living creatures — for through his sin of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he blemished the da'as [knowledge-perception], greatly confounding it. This is the da'as mentioned above — the perception of Godliness — such that it became impossible for the human being or any living creature to be clarified and return to its root which is Wisdom, the root of everything, except through death. For it is impossible for a human being or any living being to receive the level from above — the intellect and perception of Godliness required for complete rectification — as long as it lives within the body of flesh, because of Adam's sin and the contamination of the serpent that entered him at that time. And therefore death was decreed — because through death, the soul is separated from the physical, and then it can ascend to its root and receive the complete illumination needed for its total rectification. And this is the dimension of: "for dust you are and to dust you shall return" [Genesis 3:19] — to return to its root in the highest Wisdom, the dimension of dust [afar], which is the dimension of bitul [nullification] — the nullification and cleaving to the infinite light which is the root of everything. And therefore the human being and all living creatures need death in order to receive complete rectification. And this is: "do not trust in yourself until the day of your death" — specifically "in yourself" — for when one is alone, that is, when one separates oneself from the true Tzaddik, certainly one should not trust in oneself, for one will fall with no one to support him. And it is impossible to draw close and nurse from the true Tzaddik except through actual self-sacrifice [mesirat nefesh] — as can be seen by direct observation in the greatness of the obstacles and sufferings that befall one who seeks to draw truly close to the true Tzaddik. For the yetzer hora [evil inclination] and the Sitra Achra [Other Side] strengthen themselves greatly against whoever truly desires to draw close to the true Tzaddik — and this is the meaning of "until the day of your death" — that one must be willing to give one's life for it. All the births of human beings and of all living creatures are drawn from the above-mentioned intellectual levels that the Tzaddik draws down and births — intellect from the higher intellect to the lower intellect — for the sake of the perception of Godliness. And from there flows the entire sustenance of the world and all births in every world — for birth flows from intellect, as is known. For all the births in the world are for the sake of revealing the perception of Godliness from generation to generation — for every action has within it some aspect of the revelation of His divinity, blessed be He, in the world. And this is the dimension of "be fruitful and multiply" — for the essential purpose of the birth and multiplication of the world is to reveal the knowledge of Godliness in the world more and more. And this is the dimension of the prohibition of meat-in-milk — for the meat may not be eaten except after the soul of the animal has departed through shechitah, for the prohibition of a limb from a living animal [eiver min ha-chai] applies as long as the animal is alive. For as long as the living creature is alive, it is impossible to rectify it from Adam's sin — for it is impossible to draw upon it in its lifetime the highest level needed for its rectification, since the rectification is impossible from a level merely adjacent to its own. Rather, complete rectification requires a higher level from above — and this can only be drawn down through the power of the Tzaddik after death, through shechitah. Therefore it is forbidden to eat meat-in-milk — for the Torah permitted milk during life, as our Rabbis of blessed memory said: milk is sweetened at the time of birth for the vitality and sustenance of the newborn during its infancy. But the vitality drawn to the newborn during its life — especially during the days of nursing — does not come from the highest place needed for the completion of rectification, since it is impossible to receive it during life. Rather, it receives the vitality appropriate to a living creature in its time of nursing and infancy. Therefore it is forbidden to cook meat in milk — for the meat cannot complete its rectification except through the high level drawn upon every living creature after the soul's departure, through the true Tzaddik, for the sake of completing its rectification. But the milk, even though it has been rectified and sweetened during life, has been rectified only in the dimension of the animal's vitality during its life for the sake of its sustenance during nursing and infancy. Therefore when the animal has died, this milk — which was sweetened during life in the dimension of the animal's infantile vitality — cannot complete the rectification of the meat, for the meat requires a much higher level. And therefore it is forbidden to cook them together — for this would be mixing two incompatible levels of rectification. And this is precisely the parallel to the damage of those spiritually diminished and flawed ones who draw close to one of lesser stature — not only will they not be rectified, but they will be greatly damaged, because their evil will strengthen even more when they nurse from the evil of their teacher of lesser stature who has not yet properly clarified his own evil. And this is the dimension of cooking meat-in-milk — mixing these two incompatible levels — thereby causing harm and damage rather than rectification. And this is: "you shall not cook a kid in its mother's milk". The Torah specifies "its mother's milk" — even though in truth it is also forbidden in the milk of another. But it alludes here to the prohibition: even though the milk is the vitality of the newborn — "its mother's milk" that vivifies and sustains the newborn — and it might seem that at the end this milk should also be able to rectify the meat. Nevertheless the Torah forbade this with a severe prohibition — on the contrary, this is the very essence of the prohibition. Since the milk vivifies and sustains the young one during its infancy with the limited vitality of its youth, this milk is entirely the wrong level for the rectification of the meat. So too the human being cannot be rectified through one of lesser stature whose mind is in the dimension of mochin de-katnus [constricted consciousness], the dimension of "its mother's milk." And this is also alluded to in this commandment — "you shall not cook a kid" — for the good deeds of a person are alluded to in the dimension of "kid" [gedi], as it says by Yitzchak: "take me two choice goat-kids and I will make of them delicacies for your father as he loves" [Genesis 27:9] — which alludes to the good deeds that Rivkah told Yaakov to perform. And Yaakov's two good deeds are Torah and tefillah [prayer] — Written Torah and Oral Torah — which are the dimensions of the goat-kids, as is explained elsewhere. And therefore the entire Yaakov-Esav episode alludes to this — that Esav sought to take the blessings from Yaakov through his claim to spiritual stature — but Rivkah, the dimension of the mother, instructed Yaakov to bring two goat-kids and cover himself with their skins in order to appear before Yitzchak and receive the blessings. For the rectification of the good deeds — the goat-kids — can only be through the highest level, the dimension of Yitzchak who is the dimension of the Tzaddik of the generation, and not through Esav who is the dimension of the Sitra Achra. And this is what our Rabbis of blessed memory said: meat-in-milk is a chiddush [novelty] — that is, the rationale for the prohibition of meat-in-milk is a great novelty. For the reason for the prohibition of meat-in-milk flows from the intellect of the Tzaddik of very high stature — a novelty among novelties, a wonderful and awesome innovation — since through him is the essential rectification of all things, especially in the ultimate end. And the essential completion of the rectification is after death, after the departure of the soul through shechitah. And this is the dimension of Purim — the subduing of Haman-Amalek — for Amalek is the dimension of the totality of the four kingdoms, which is against the intellect mentioned above that is called daled [four], as is said there [in section 5]: that sometimes the daled falls and from this, God forbid, comes the dominion of the four kingdoms — whose essence is Amalek. And therefore the essential provocation of Haman was against Mordechai — who is the true Tzaddik of very elevated stature — and Haman sought to destroy him, for he understood that through Mordechai the essential rectification of all would come — and without him, the Sitra Achra would rule. Therefore Haman made a tree fifty cubits tall — for Haman-Amalek is compounded of all fifty gates of impurity. And it is impossible to stand against him except for one who has the power to draw perceptions of Godliness from the level of the fiftieth gate of holiness. Therefore Haman thought that no one could stand against him — since he could cast a blemish even at the highest levels, since he draws from the fiftieth gate of impurity. But Mordechai, the true Tzaddik, had the power to draw from the fiftieth gate of holiness — and therefore he was able to stand against Haman and defeat him, and Haman was hanged on his own tree. And this is the dimension of the immense joy of Purim — that one rejoices then more than on all other Yom Tov days. And as our Rabbis of blessed memory cautioned: one is obligated to become intoxicated on Purim until one does not know the difference between "cursed is Haman" and "blessed is Mordechai." For it is explained in the above Torah discourse that one needs to enliven the intellect through the joy of the festivals — the dimension of the illumination of the Countenance [ohr ha-panim]. But the essential joy of Purim goes beyond all of this — for on Purim one must draw the highest level of the intellect through the dimension of ultimate joy, the complete nullification of the self [bitul ha-yesh] — until one literally does not know, until complete nullification and cleaving. For through this ultimate joy and nullification — "until he does not know" — one draws the fiftieth gate of holiness which is the ultimate da'as, beyond all ordinary comprehension, which nullifies all the fifty gates of impurity of Haman-Amalek. And this is the ultimate defeat of Haman and the vindication of Mordechai — both accomplished through the same act of holy nullification. Therefore Purim is alluded to in the parasha of the three festivals in the verse "seven days you shall eat matzos" — and there in that verse it is written: "three times a year all your males shall appear before the face of the Lord God". For through the holiness of Purim one can draw the dimension of the illumination of the Countenance that shines in the Temple even now after the Destruction — and therefore Purim is linked with the three festivals, for the Countenance that shines on the three festivals can be drawn down through the joy of Purim. And this is the dimension of the four special Torah portions: Parshas Shekalim — which is the freewill donation for the Mishkan — the dimension of the freewill gift and loving-kindness, through which the kingship is cut off and elevated to the illumination of the Countenance that shines in the Mishkan which is the dimension of the Temple. And afterwards comes Parshas Zachor — which is the wiping out of Amalek — the totality of the four kingdoms — for through the loving-kindness and charity of the freewill donation, one merits to cut off the power of the four kingdoms from the world. And afterwards comes Parshas Parah — the Red Heifer — to purify from the impurity of the dead — so that all will be pure to perform Pesach which is the beginning of the festivals. For after subduing the husk of Amalek and cutting off the kingship from them, one needs to draw purification upon all the souls that the impurity of Amalek had taken hold of — for this is the dimension of the Red Heifer. And afterwards comes Parshas Parah — which is for purifying from the impurity of the dead — so that they will be pure to perform Pesach, which is the totality of the three festivals, since Pesach is the head of the festivals. For after subduing the husk of Amalek and cutting off their kingship, one needs to draw purification upon all the souls seized by the impurity of Amalek — which is the dimension of the impurity of the dead — and this is the dimension of the Red Heifer which purifies from this impurity. The Red Heifer is a supreme novelty — for all its actions are outside — for all sacrifices come within, into the Temple where the illumination of the Countenance shines — and through this comes the essential rectification. But the Red Heifer's actions are outside — looking from afar toward the Temple — for through the Red Heifer one draws an even higher and deeper intellect that cannot enter within the ordinary vessel of understanding, but which illuminates those who stand outside — the very distant souls, those who cannot enter into the Temple of holiness even through ordinary rectification. This is the supreme novelty — that even the most distant impure souls are reached and purified through this most hidden and elevated level of the Tzaddik's perception. The essential rectification in the Temple and the Mishkan was through the sacrifices, which atoned for all sins. For when a person sinned, he would bring an animal as a sacrifice — because through sin, the da'as of the perception of Godliness was removed from him and a curtain was created separating him from the perception and knowledge of His divinity, blessed be He, as it says: "for it is your iniquities that have been separating between you and your God" [Isaiah 59:2]. And then one must bring an animal and the Kohen would offer it as a sacrifice after its death through shechitah — for the Kohen receives power from Moshe Rabbainu who anointed Aharon and his sons. And through the immensity of Moshe's power they are able to elevate the animal as an offering — drawing a wondrous intellect through the illumination of the Countenance shining in the Temple, where all the sacrifices are performed — until through the greatness of the illumination of this intellect, even the vitality of the animal ascends to the place to which it ascends, and through this healing and forgiveness flow to the sinner. For the essential repair of the sinner is through the great intellect drawn by the power of the true Tzaddik. But the Red Heifer is a still greater novelty — for all her actions are outside. All sacrifices come within, into the Temple where the illumination of the Countenance shines — and through this comes the essential rectification. But the Red Heifer's actions are outside: they merely look from afar at the Temple, for they slaughter her opposite the entrance of the Temple. For through the act of the Red Heifer, an intellect far higher and deeper is drawn — impossible to receive within ordinary consciousness, one that must illumine from afar — for this draws the light that reaches even those most completely outside the Temple of holiness. And this is the wondrous novelty of the Red Heifer — that even those who have contracted the most severe impurity, the impurity of the dead, can be purified through this most elevated and concealed light. And this is the dimension of what is said in Parshas Parah: "this is the Torah: a man who dies in a tent" [Numbers 19:14]. And our Rabbis of blessed memory expounded: the Torah is only sustained by one who kills himself over it. And this is "who dies in a tent" — specifically "in a tent." This is the dimension of one who kills himself and gives his life so that he may remain in the tent of Torah — which is the tent of the true Tzaddik — in the dimension of: "but Yehoshua bin Nun, a youth, would not depart from within the tent" [Exodus 33:11]. For the essential way to draw the highest levels of divine intellect — the dimension of the Red Heifer — is through complete self-nullification and total devotion: "killing oneself" for the Torah, for the tzaddik, for the dimension of the divine Countenance. Only through this ultimate devotion can one draw the fiftieth gate — the most concealed illumination — and be purified even from the impurity of the dead. And afterwards comes Parshas HaChodesh — which is the sanctification of the new month — the rectification and filling of the moon's blemish so that the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun. For the sun and moon are the dimension of the higher intellect and lower intellect mentioned above, as is known. And through the blemish of the moon, the intellect mentioned above is blemished and one cannot attain the perception of His divinity. And from there come all the blemishes — and through the commandment of sanctifying the new month, these blemishes are repaired and the moonlight is restored to its fullness. For Kiddush HaChodesh is the dimension of the Tzaddik who draws the highest light of the fiftieth gate to repair the blemish of the moon and restore the perfection of the Oral Torah, the dimension of the moon, the dimension of the lower Wisdom that receives from the higher. And this is the dimension of the cedar-wood, hyssop, and crimson thread [shni tolaas] that are thrown into the burning of the Red Heifer. Cedar and hyssop are the dimension of the higher and lower intellect — for the cedar is the tallest of all trees, this being the dimension of the higher intellect, which is the dimension of the great Tzaddik's perception. For the Tzaddik is called "the cedar that is in Lebanon, etc." — "the righteous one shall flourish like the date-palm, grow tall like the cedar of Lebanon" [Psalms 92:13]. And hyssop is very low — this is the dimension of the small and very humble, whom the Tzaddik, through the immense depth of his great wisdom, contracts his intellect from the higher intellect to the lower intellect until he introduces into them as well the perception of Godliness — which is the essence of true life, eternal life of the World to Come and the resurrection of the dead — and from there one draws the essential purification from the Sitra di-Mosa [side of death], as mentioned above. And this is the dimension of the crimson thread [shni tolaas] which binds the cedar with the hyssop — as our Rabbis of blessed memory said — this being the dimension of azus di-kedushah [holy boldness], for through this is the essential Torah and prayer. For every person, according to his holy boldness, so does he merit Torah, and likewise is his prayer, as is well explained at the end of the Torah teaching mentioned above. See there carefully, and understand there carefully the connection and linkage of that Torah teaching — for it is explained there that the essential rectification of the intellect mentioned above, which is the dimension of Malchus, through which one merits perception of Godliness, its essential rectification is through Chesed [loving-kindness], for through this one cuts the Malchus away from the Sitra Achra, away from the four kingdoms, away from the dimension of Amalek, etc. And this Chesed is received through rebuke [tochachah] — in the dimension of "she opens her mouth with wisdom and the Torah of kindness is upon her tongue" [Proverbs 31:26]. And the essence of the rebuke is according to the holy boldness he sees in each person, whether it is of holiness or the opposite — and correspondingly is his Torah and his prayer, etc. — see there — and through this rebuke the Chesed is revealed, and through this one cuts the four aspects of the intellect mentioned above away from the Sitra Achra, etc., and elevates it to the illumination of the Countenance that shines at the three festivals, through which one merits perception of Godliness even for the very small and very humble, etc. — see there and understand. It emerges, then, that the essential rectification and teshuvah of every person, who is obligated to receive rebuke from the true Tzaddik in order to return to Torah and prayer — the essential rectification is through azus di-kedushah, for through this is the essential rectification of Torah and prayer, which is what the true Tzaddik rebukes him about. And through this — that he accepts the rebuke and returns to God, blessed be He, and strengthens himself in holy boldness not to be ashamed before the mockers — as is explained at the beginning of the Shulchan Aruch, "Orach Chayyim." And as the holy Tur begins at the start of Orach Chayyim: "Yehudah ben Teimah says: be bold as a leopard, etc." — for the essential beginning of Jewishness is through azus di-kedushah, especially in these generations and these times, and as our Rabbis of blessed memory expounded: Why was the Torah given to Israel? Because they are bold, etc. And through this one merits Torah and prayer. It emerges: when one accepts this rebuke, through this the Chesed mentioned above is revealed, through which one cuts and severs the four [kingdoms], etc., from the Sitra Achra, and one merits the perception of Godliness, etc., as mentioned above. It emerges that the essential rectification of the intellect mentioned above — that even the very small and low and humble should merit the perception of Godliness — is only through azus di-kedushah, as mentioned above. And this is the dimension of the crimson thread [shni tolaas], which connects and binds the cedar with the hyssop — being the dimension of the connecting and binding of the higher intellect with the lower intellect — through which one introduces the perception of Godliness even into the most humble, as mentioned above. For the crimson thread is the dimension of the holy boldness of the holy people, the upright and wholesome of Israel, who are very small and despised in their own eyes — truly in the dimension of a worm — in the dimension of "but I am a worm and not a man" [Psalms 22:7]. And yet they are very, very bold and firm in their minds against the opponents and the scoffers and the mockers, etc. — for God, blessed be He, and the true Tzaddikim strengthen them greatly in holy boldness, in the dimension of "fear not, O worm of Jacob, O men of Israel — behold I have made you a sharp new threshing-sledge with edges; you shall thresh the mountains and beat them fine, etc." [Isaiah 41:14-15]. For the essence of our strengthening now in this bitter exile from all directions is in the dimension of the worm — as our Rabbis of blessed memory said: just as a worm has no strength except in its mouth, so Israel has no strength except in its mouth. And on this rests our essential support and our hope and our trust. And this is the dimension of the crimson thread [shni tolaas] — the dimension of speech and mouth — which is the essential strengthening and holy boldness of upright Israel, in the dimension of "like a thread of crimson are your lips" [Song of Songs 4:3]. For the essence of the holy boldness is in speech — one must know how to answer with holy boldness the heretics and the opponents and the disputants and the mockers, in the dimension of "and know what to answer, etc." [Avos 2:19]. And not to be broken inwardly and not to be ashamed before them at all. And likewise one thereby merits Torah and prayer as mentioned above — for they all depend on the speech of the mouth. For the essence of Torah is in the mouth, as it is said: "for they are life to those who find them" — "to those who bring them forth" [l'motzi'eihem] in the mouth, as our Rabbis of blessed memory expounded [Proverbs 4:22, Eruvin 54a]. And so too prayer is specifically in the mouth — in the dimension of "O Lord, open my lips" [Psalms 51:17]. And there in speech is the essence of holy boldness, in the dimension of "they shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, etc." [Psalms 145:6], and it is written: "and Your power shall they declare" [Psalms 145:11]. And this is the dimension of the crimson thread, the dimension of "like a thread of crimson are your lips", as mentioned above. And this is the dimension of "she does not fear for her household from snow, for all her household is clothed in crimson [shanim]" [Proverbs 31:21] — said in praise of the Torah. And there the entire praise of the Torah is expressed in terms of garments [levushim], as it says further on there: "she makes coverings for herself, etc." — and through this: "her husband is known in the gates, etc. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants, etc. Strength and splendour are her garments, etc." [Proverbs 31:22-25]. It emerges that the crimson thread — which is the dimension of garments, for from them one makes garments — these are the dimension of the holy boldness of the Torah, in the dimension of "strength and splendour are her garments" [oz vehadar levushah]. And through this one merits the perception of Godliness as mentioned above — for the essential perception of Godliness is through the dimension of garments. For this is the essential craft and deep wisdom of the very great true Tzaddik who knows how to clothe his lofty wisdom in many, many garments until he can lower it and introduce it into the most humble, until they too merit perception of Godliness as mentioned above. This is the dimension of "her husband is known in the gates" — each one according to what he measures in his own heart [kol chad lefum mah d'mishaar b'libbeh] — as the holy Zohar says — which is the dimension of perception of Godliness that cannot be spoken about at all, rather it is for each person according to what he measures in his own heart — and one merits this through the true Tzaddik when one merits to draw near to him. And the essence of drawing near is through holy boldness, as mentioned above. And this is what continues to be explained there: "strength and splendour are her garments" — as mentioned above. And this is what is immediately juxtaposed there: "she opens her mouth with wisdom and the Torah of kindness is upon her tongue" [Proverbs 31:26] — for this is said about the revelation of the Chesed through the rebuke mentioned above, which is according to the holy boldness he sees in each person, as mentioned above. And therefore it is juxtaposed to "strength and splendour are her garments" — for the essence of rebuke is through holy boldness, on which all Torah and prayer depend, through which one merits the Chesed mentioned above — in the dimension of "the Torah of kindness is upon her tongue" — through which one merits the intellect mentioned above, through which one comes to the perception of Godliness even for the most humble, as mentioned above. And therefore the crimson thread — in the dimension of holy boldness — connects and binds the cedar with the hyssop, which is the dimension of the connecting and binding of the higher intellect with the lower intellect, through which one introduces the perception of Godliness into the most humble and small, as mentioned above. And all of this is cast into the burning of the Red Heifer, which is burned with fire — which is the dimension of the flame of fire [lavat aish] — which is the dimension of the holy contraction [tzimtzum] of the intellect mentioned above, as is explained there at the beginning of that Torah teaching mentioned above. And this is the dimension of the slaughter, burning, and gathering [shechitah, srefah, asifah] mentioned in connection with the Red Heifer — for through all the above one merits to cut off the four aspects of the hostile kingdoms from the Sitra Achra and to elevate them to the illumination of the Countenance at the three festivals. And this is the dimension of the three rectifications mentioned: slaughter corresponds to Pesach — for on Pesach one slaughters the Pesach sacrifice; burning corresponds to Shavuos — the dimension of the fire of Torah and the burning love of receiving the Torah; gathering corresponds to Sukkos — the festival of the ingathering [asifah] — for on Sukkos one gathers all the elevated sparks and holy souls into the four species and the dimension of the sukkah. And this is the dimension of Adino haEtzni said of King David, peace be upon him — as our Rabbis of blessed memory expounded: when he engages in Torah he makes himself delicate [miaden] as a worm, but when he goes out to war he is hard as wood. It emerges that azus di-kedushah is in the dimension of the worm — he is despised in his own eyes like a worm — and yet he is very strong in battle, in holy boldness against those who dispute him, that his forehead be hard against their foreheads, as mentioned above. For it is already explained elsewhere in the Torah of chotam b'soch chotam [seal within a seal]: that holy boldness flows from shame — see there. And this is the dimension of the crimson thread mentioned above, which is the dimension of holy boldness as mentioned above — for precisely through being despised in his own eyes, loathed as an actual worm, in the dimension of "but I am a worm and not a man" [Psalms 22:7] — and being ashamed in his own eyes over his deeds that are not as they should be — precisely through this he is bold as a leopard in holy boldness against those who wish to prevent him from truth, God forbid. This is the dimension of Adino haEtzni said of King David — see more about this elsewhere. [Relevant to the above:] Regarding what is written on the verse "she does not fear for her household from snow, for all her household is clothed in crimson [shanim]" [Proverbs 31:21] — which is the dimension of holy boldness, etc. And this is the matter explained elsewhere — it is the dimension of what our Sages of blessed memory expounded on this verse: "for all her household is clothed in crimson [shanim]" — do not read "crimson" [shanim] but "two" [shnayim] — for all the words of the Torah are clothed in double form: "give you shall give [nason titen], adorn you shall adorn [ha'anek ta'anik], open you shall open [pasoach tiftach]" — all these save him from the snow of Gehinnom. Until here is Rashi's language. This is the dimension of the holy boldness and stubbornness [akshanus] — as he of blessed memory warned and said: a person must be a great stubborn one [akshan] in the service of God, as is brought in his holy writings. And this matter of stubbornness is a wondrous strengthening so as not to fall in any manner in the world — as I have heard from many upright ones, that the essential source of their strengthening was through this. And this is the dimension of "for all her household is clothed in crimson [shanim]" — that is, two [shnayim] — the dimension of doubling: "open you shall open, etc." — meaning that the entire sustaining of the Torah depends on this: that one strengthen oneself to repeat and double every good deed or Torah study, etc., that one has begun to accustom oneself to — that one strengthen oneself each time to return and do that same holy thing even a thousand times, even if whatever passes over him passes over him. For this is the essential sustaining of the Torah — that one must be a great stubborn one in the service of God: to do the holy thing even thousands of times, and not to look at any weakness of mind that the evil inclination and the Sitra Achra and the scoffers, etc., cast into his mind — rather to do and return and do the holy thing even a thousand times, in the dimension of "for all her household is clothed in crimson [shanim]": "give you shall give, open you shall open" — and it was not said to teach about itself alone but about all the Torah in general — that one must double the holy things many times, for "the minimum of the many is two," and therefore "two" alludes to multitude without measure. And as our Rabbis of blessed memory expounded on this verse: "give you shall give" — even a thousand times. And so throughout the entire Torah, as mentioned above. And this is: "she does not fear for her household from snow" — which is the Gehinnom of snow mentioned above. For there is a Gehinnom of fire and a Gehinnom of snow, as our Rabbis of blessed memory said. The Gehinnom of fire is the consequence of becoming heated for a matter of sin, God have mercy, as is brought. But the Gehinnom of snow is for his weakness [chalishus] afterwards — when the awakening to teshuvah comes to him — for everyone is full of regrets [charatos], as our Rabbis of blessed memory said — but in most cases the essential hindrance to teshuvah is from weakness of mind [chalishus ha-da'as], in that it seems to him that teshuvah can no longer help him because of the greatness of his very immense sins. And especially those who have already begun to awaken from their sleep and begun to return to God, blessed be He, and engaged in Torah and mitzvos for some period of time — and then fell from this — the essential cause is from weakness of mind, because he knows within himself that he has already learned Torah and performed many mitzvos, etc., and yet the evil inclination overpowered him so greatly — as this person knows in his own soul. And one who remains in this state, God forbid, and allows himself to fall through the incitements and thoughts of the Sitra Achra of these and those kinds — he is judged for this in the Gehinnom of snow, which is an intense and bitter coldness — for it is measure for measure: because he allowed himself to become cold afterwards through the weakness mentioned above, therefore he is judged in the coldness of the snow of Gehinnom. And this is the dimension of what is brought in the words of our Rabbis of blessed memory: that there are those who are judged in Gehinnom half in fire and half in snow — as mentioned above — that one is judged for the heat of the sin in the Gehinnom of fire, as mentioned above, and for becoming cold through weakness of mind and not strengthening oneself in teshuvah, as mentioned above, one is judged in the Gehinnom of snow and coldness as mentioned above. And now the verse mentioned above is finely connected: "she does not fear for her household from snow" — which is the dimension of coldness — "for all her household is clothed in crimson [shanim]" — the dimension of two [shnayim] — the dimension of doubling: "give you shall give" — even a thousand times. And so throughout the entire Torah and mitzvos — that is, the dimension of strengthening through immense stubbornness not to abandon one's place, rather to strengthen oneself to fulfil and to return and fulfil the study of Torah and the performance of mitzvos — all that one can snatch in this passing shadow that is all one's life — even if whatever passes over him passes. And through this: "she does not fear for her household from snow" — which is coldness — since she has not allowed herself to be cooled from Torah and mitzvos through the weakness and coldness that the evil inclination cast into her mind — rather she strengthened herself each time, to snatch some good and to return and snatch — in the dimension of "for all her household is clothed in crimson [shanim]", as mentioned above. And therefore she certainly does not fear for her household from snow, as mentioned above. And this is what is said in the consolations of Isaiah the prophet [chapters 42-43] — where he strengthens them greatly to draw near to God, blessed be He, after everything they have done: "God desired, for the sake of His righteousness, to magnify the Torah and make it glorious" [Isaiah 42:21] — meaning that God, blessed be He, multiplied Torah and mitzvos for Israel, as the Sages of blessed memory expounded on this verse — in order to grant them merit for eternity through this, so that each person as he is should always be able to snatch some good Torah and mitzvos, etc. And as is explained in our words about this elsewhere: "and he is a people robbed and plundered, etc." [Isaiah 42:22] — and afterwards he strengthens them and says: "when you pass through the waters I am with you, etc., when you walk through fire you shall not be scorched, etc." [Isaiah 43:2] — meaning that you will be saved from the Gehinnom of fire and from waters which are the dimension of warmth and coldness, as mentioned above. And all of this through the strengthening mentioned above, alluded to in the verse: "God desired, for the sake of His righteousness, to magnify the Torah and make it glorious." As mentioned above. And therefore: "do not believe in yourself until the day of your death" — for when one arrives at the level where his rectification will be through the true Tzaddik who can elevate him, at that very moment the evil of that level strengthens against him and spreads against him so greatly with powerful incitements in order to uproot him from the living, God forbid. And this is "do not believe in yourself" — "in yourself" precisely — for when he is by himself, that is, when he has separated himself from the true Tzaddik — certainly he should not believe in himself, for he will fall with no one to support him, as mentioned above. But one who holds himself to the true Tzaddik is safe from stumbling and falling, for the Torah of the true Rebbe will guide him in this world and in the grave and at the time of the resurrection for eternity — in the dimension of "when you walk it will guide you, etc." [Proverbs 6:22]. For a person must live in this world clarifying all the levels and ascending from level to level, until he arrives at a level that cannot be attained in the body at all. And this is not merited except by the very singular chosen ones of the most elevated level. And through their power there is hope even for those who do not merit this and are very far from it. The essential thing is when one is strong in faith in God, blessed be He, and in the true Tzaddikim of the most elevated level as mentioned above, and surrenders all one's heart and soul to them. And they are able to elevate them to their root — to the place from which they were taken. And this is the essential war of Amalek in every generation — for he strengthens himself at every level, and from there all the strife of every generation is drawn — for falsehood strengthens against truth. And about this it is said: "the wicked watches for the righteous, etc. — God will not abandon him into his hand" [Psalms 37:32-33]. All the prohibitions in the Torah are in the dimension of fallen letters — letters that have fallen and descended very far below until they have come into the depths of the klippos [husks] and from them has been made the prohibition, which is the dimension of the universal evil [ra ha-kolel] — the dimension of the seventy languages of the seventy nations. For all the prohibitions come from there: from the fall of the kingship [malkus], in the dimension of the fallen Sukkah of David, in the dimension of the falling sickness [choli nofel], God have mercy. For the malkus — the mouth — in its completeness is the dimension of the Holy Tongue [lashon ha-kodesh], the dimension of the woman Chavah, as is explained elsewhere. And her fall, God forbid, is through the strengthening of the blood — the universal evil — the seventy languages that oppose the Holy Tongue. For all the nullification [bitul] is only for the sake of the taste [taam] — as the halachic authorities bring, for taste is like the essence by Torah law [taam k'ikar d'orayta], for the essential quality of a food is its taste as it is perceived. And therefore it is called "taste" — literally also a word for speech [taam] — as it says of Avigail: "and blessed is your taste" [I Samuel 25:33]. For the essential life and sustenance of food is from the letters of speech of the Holy Tongue that have fallen there as mentioned. And from there comes the taste of the food — which is the inwardness and essence of the food — which is the dimension of actual taste, the dimension of the letters of speech. And this is [Iyov 12:11]: "does not the ear test words, and the palate taste its food?" — for they are one dimension as explained. But where there is no taste — such as dry-against-dry [yaveis b'yaveis] — it is nullified in a simple majority, for "after the majority you shall incline" is written — literally "incline" — for there is power in the majority to actually incline and nullify the prohibition, as is brought in Rabbainu's words of blessed memory [Siman 181]. For when souls gather together as a majority against one individual, there is power to overcome that individual and cast him down. Therefore when the majority of the permitted outweighs the forbidden, there is power in those souls present in the majority of the permitted to overcome the soul of the forbidden and nullify it entirely. And all nullifications occur only when the forbidden is not recognizable — but when the forbidden is recognizable, it cannot be nullified at all. For the nullification of all forbidden things is an actual nullification — that is, the forbidden thing is truly nullified and the prohibited souls are elevated and rectified through the power of the permitted majority. And because of this, Israel is distinguished through mitzvos — so that they should not become mixed among the nations, God forbid. Therefore God, blessed be He, cautioned them that when they go into exile among the seventy nations, they should be distinguished through mitzvos — as our Rabbis of blessed memory said on the verse "go forth in the footsteps of the flock" [Song of Songs 1:8], citing the verse "set up for yourself signposts" [Jeremiah 31:20] — for the mitzvos are actual signposts [tziyunim] — markers and signs so that they should be recognized as the blessed seed of God — "all who see them will recognize them, that they are the seed whom God has blessed" [Isaiah 61:9] — so that all workers of iniquity will be separated from them and their eyes will have no power over them. And this is why our Rabbis of blessed memory forbade many things solely because of maaris ha-ayin [the appearance of wrongdoing] — even though they involve no legal prohibition — for since the eye perceives it as a prohibition, it becomes forbidden, for the evil eye [ayin hora] takes hold of it as explained. And therefore it is forbidden even in inner chambers — as our Rabbis of blessed memory said: anything they forbade because of maaris ha-ayin is forbidden even in inner chambers — for the klipah that is the prohibition rules over it since it is in the dimension of the evil eye. And therefore there are important things that cannot be nullified because of their importance [chashivus] — such as a significant cut of meat fit to be honoured [chaticha ha-reuyah l'hiskaved]. For all souls are rooted in honour [kavod]. And therefore the nullification of all prohibitions comes through the dimension of honour — through the gathering of the portions of honour of the souls within the majority of the permitted. For this is the dimension of nullification through majority mentioned above: that the majority is able to overcome the individual through the gathering of the portions of honour — for there is the root of the souls. And this is also the power of nullification through the dimension of the completeness of the Holy Tongue — for there all the souls are rooted. And therefore nullification through majority only works when the forbidden is wandering and moving [na v'nad] — but when it is fixed in its place, it cannot be nullified — as our Rabbis of blessed memory said: "a fixed thing is like half and half" [kol kavu'a k'mechtza al mechtza dami]. For when it is fixed in its place it is very strong — as is said: "Moav has been at ease from its youth and has not gone into exile — therefore his taste has remained in him" [Jeremiah 48:11]. For the essential subjugation of evil is through the dimension of "a wanderer and a fugitive you shall be on the earth" — for when the evil wanders it is weakened and can be overpowered. And this is the dimension of: doubt in Torah law [safek d'orayta] is treated strictly [l'chumra]; doubt in Rabbinic law [safek d'rabbanan] is treated leniently [l'kula]; and a double doubt [safek sefeika], even in Torah law, is treated leniently. For all the prohibitions are in the dimension of the universal evil as mentioned above. But the permitted [heter] is from the dimension of Targum [Aramaic translation] — from the dimension of nogah — which is also mixed good and evil but since the good outweighs the evil it is permitted. And the prohibited things are the opposite: there the evil is primary and the good is very little. And Torah-level prohibitions are severe prohibitions — for they come from the dimension of the pure evil side — where that evil is primary and cannot be easily overpowered. And Rabbinic prohibitions are somewhat lighter — they come from a lesser evil — and therefore a doubt in them can be treated leniently. And a double doubt — even in Torah law — equals a Rabbinic doubt, for the doubt of a doubt has weakened the grip of evil to the level of a Rabbinic prohibition. And there is a dimension in which an accident [shogeig] is more severe than intentional sin [meizid] — for the husk of the Tree of Knowledge is very severe as mentioned in Laws of Forbidden Fats [Halacha 1] — so too in this dimension a Rabbinic prohibition is more severe than a Torah prohibition, for the subtle and hidden husk is harder to uproot than the open one. And similarly in this dimension a doubtful prohibition is more severe than a certain one — for asham taluy [a guilt-offering brought for doubt] is greater than the sacrifice brought for certain sin — for doubt and accident relate to the hidden dimension of the Tree of Knowledge which is harder to rectify. And this is the dimension of safek d'orayta — which is the dimension of Targum, the dimension of the Tree of Knowledge — for doubts are the dimension of errors [shgagos] which come from the concealment of knowledge and the confusion of da'as — and from this come doubts and errors. These are in the dimension of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil from which comes the confusion of da'as — as is brought above in Laws of Forbidden Fats [Halacha 1]. For it is the dimension of slumber and sleep — the departure of the mochin [higher consciousness] — and from there come doubts and errors. The doubt is poised between good and evil: the permitted is more than the forbidden in it, and therefore it is close to leniency. But since Torah-level evil is very strong it is treated strictly — until the da'as of the Tzaddik illuminates to clarify the doubt and restore the full consciousness of divine perception. Therefore one may not intentionally nullify a prohibition — for the essential nullification of the prohibition is through the concealment of the knowledge: that the prohibition leaves the field of the da'as and becomes mixed in — and thereby it moves from certain prohibition toward doubt, from the dimension of pure evil to the dimension of Targum. But when one takes the prohibition with one's eye and da'as and intentionally mixes it — the prohibition cannot be nullified, since it remains recognizable to the eye and to the da'as at the time of the mixing. Therefore the evil — which is the evil eye — does not depart from there. Therefore we find that a Rabbinic prohibition can in some respects be more severe than a Torah prohibition — as our Rabbis of blessed memory said: the words of the scribes are more stringent than those of the Torah. Yet legally the Torah prohibition is certainly far more severe — for a Torah doubt is treated strictly and a Rabbinic doubt leniently. But there is a dimension of accident and intention in which a Rabbinic prohibition is more severe than a Torah prohibition — as mentioned above, for the subtle husk of the Tree of Knowledge is the hardest to uproot. And so in this same dimension a doubtful prohibition can be more severe than a certain one — as brought above. And this is what is said in Koheles: "and more than these, my son, beware" [Ecclesiastes 12:12] — that is, beyond what is written in the Written Torah, beware and exert yourself to complete the holiness — the dimension of the completeness of the Holy Tongue — through the Oral Torah. For there Koheles speaks of the praise of the words of the sages who rectify everything and complete the Written Torah. And this is: "making many books has no end" — do not say there is no need for them — as Rashi explains there — for every generation's Torah writing adds another dimension of holy speech and helps reveal the perception of Godliness in the world. And this is what is said: reicha lav milsa [smell is of no consequence / smell does not legally constitute a thing]. For the essential blemish is in the dimension of taste — the dimension of speech — where the seventy nations have their grip. But in the dimension of smell, they have no grip at all — for smell is something from which the soul [neshamah] derives benefit but not the body — as our Rabbis of blessed memory said [Berachos 43b]. And therefore smell is in the dimension of the holiness of the covenant [kedusha d'bris] — as is brought in Rabbainu's words of blessed memory. And therefore the universal evil of the seventy nations has no dominion there — for it is in the dimension of the soul — where they have no dominion. For the blemish of the universal evil is primarily in the dimension of the tongue — speech — and smell is entirely beyond this, in the purely spiritual dimension. At first glance the matter is wondrous — how can the prohibition be overturned to become permitted through nullification? For even if there is sixty parts of permitted, we nonetheless know with certainty that the forbidden is mixed here — so how can we eat the forbidden through nullification?! The matter, however, is based on what Rabbainu of blessed memory said on the verse "and where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" [Genesis 22:7, cited in Likutay MoHaRaN Part II, Siman 12] — see there carefully, for it is a very deep and subtle matter. And the principle is: when one falls, God forbid, to the place one has fallen — when one begins to look at oneself and see that one is very far from His honour and begins to long and yearn and groan: "where is He?" — that is, where is the divine Presence, where is the illumination of the holy Countenance that I have lost? — then precisely through this cry and yearning, through the very nullification and lowliness of "where" [ayeh] — which is the dimension of the higher nothingness — one draws down the supreme light. For the dimension of ayeh — "where?" — is the dimension of Keter, the supreme Crown — the concealed primordial statement [ma'amar satum] from which all ten utterances draw life. And when one falls and cries out "where is He?" — one draws from this supreme light of ayeh — and from the drawing of this supreme light, even the fallen and forbidden is overturned and elevated and rectified. And therefore the nullification works even when the forbidden is certainly present — for through the supreme light of ayeh drawn through the sixty parts of the permitted, the very substance of the forbidden is elevated and transformed. And this is the dimension of the nullification of the forbidden — for even the forbidden, which is the husk, can be rectified and overturned to become permitted through the dimension of nullification [bitul]. For the dimension of ayeh mentioned above is the dimension of nullification as is known — for it is the highest dimension, the dimension of Ayin [nothingness]. And this dimension — the dimension of ayeh — which is the concealed primordial statement, the dimension of Bereishis, the dimension of Keter — is the dimension of simple undifferentiated light in which there is no form at all, for there the existence of all particular forms is nullified. And there is no form there whatsoever — only the change is according to the receivers — for when this light is drawn into the revealed utterances that are the foundation of everything, all things receive from it, and then the Sitra Achra is completely subjugated. And when one falls to the place one falls and begins to feel the "where" — the sense of divine absence — and to yearn and reach toward the supreme nothingness — at that moment even the forbidden becomes permitted. For the dimension of the supreme concealed statement — the primordial ayeh — shines into the mixture, and through it the forbidden is elevated and included in the permitted majority. This is what the number sixty alludes to: sixty is the dimension of completeness of divine union — the sixty myriads [shishim ribo] of souls of Israel — for when this dimension of complete union shines, the forbidden is truly nullified and transformed. And in summary: in holiness, all ten utterances that are the totality of all creation — all goodness, all holiness, all knowledge of God — everything flows specifically from the concealed primordial statement which is the dimension of ayeh, Bereishis, Keter — from which all the revealed utterances receive. And when the ten revealed utterances draw from this supreme statement — then the Sitra Achra is completely subdued and even the greatest fall can be rectified. For when one cries "where is He?" from the very depths of one's fall — this very cry elevates one through the supreme light of ayeh. And this is the dimension of Moshe Rabbainu seeking to bring in the Mixed Multitude [Erev Rav] — as it says: "and also a mixed multitude went up with them" [Exodus 12:38]. For Moshe saw that Israel at that time was six hundred thousand, all holy, and God's presence was among them — and they had reached the ultimate level of divine union. Therefore he said that he could draw close all the Mixed Multitude — erev [mixed] — the dimension of the mixing of the forbidden with the permitted — for the forbidden is nullified in the permitted through the dimension of sixty — namely, the six hundred thousand souls of Israel — which is the completeness of the divine union. But God did not agree with him — for the mixing of the forbidden was too great — as is said: "and also a great mixed multitude" — the forbidden was too numerous and its grip too strong to be nullified even within that supreme union. And from this mixing came all the subsequent troubles of Israel in the desert. But in the final rectification it will all be elevated and clarified — as the verse promises: "and the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea" [Hosea 2:1] — when Israel multiplies without limit, then even the most distant mixed souls will be drawn in and rectified. The matter is somewhat understandable — for the essential divine union is the dimension of nullification of the forbidden. For without this there is no possibility of union at all — for the essential union is to unify after creation so that it will be included in before creation — that is, included in Him, blessed be He. And in truth God is one and His name is one. And just as before creation He was alone, so after creation — as is said: "I the Lord have not changed". And how is union applicable to Him — for the essential union is the joining together of two things — but in one alone there is no possibility of union? And in truth God is in absolute unity with all after creation as He was before creation — and this is the dimension of "the Lord will be one and His name one" [Zechariah 14:9] in the future — the revelation of this unity which is already true in the present but is not yet fully perceived. And this is the dimension of the divine union — to unify after creation with before creation — so that everything after creation, all multiplicity and all created things, should be seen as completely included and nullified within the infinite unity of God. And this is the essential nullification of the forbidden — for when the supreme unity shines, everything is included in it and the forbidden has no more separate existence, for it is all one. And therefore Moshe Rabbainu wished to draw close the Mixed Multitude [Erev Rav] — as is said: "and also a mixed multitude went up with them" — for he saw that Israel was then sixty myriads, all holy, and God was among them — and they attained the ultimate union at that moment. Therefore he said that he could bring all the Mixed Multitude — "mixed" [erev] specifically — the dimension of mixture of forbidden with permitted — for the forbidden is nullified in the permitted through the dimension of sixty — the sixty myriads of souls of Israel — which is the completeness of the divine union. But God did not agree — for the mixing of the forbidden was too great — "a great mixed multitude" — the amount of the forbidden was too large to be nullified even within that supreme union. And from this mixing came all the troubles that Israel encountered in the desert. And this is: "and the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, and it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, 'you are not My people,' it shall be said to them, 'sons of the living God!' And the children of Yehudah and the children of Israel shall gather together" [Hosea 2:1–2]. That is: through the immense multiplication of the children of Israel — until their number is as the sand of the sea — then precisely in the place where it was said to them "you are not My people" — meaning where the forbidden mixture and the grip of the Sitra Achra had taken hold, the dimension of the Mixed Multitude — it shall be said to them there: "sons of the living God!" — for the massive sanctity and multiplication of Israel will then constitute such an overwhelming majority that even the most embedded forbidden mixture is nullified and transformed. And they shall all gather together — the complete union — in the future rectification of all. And this is the dimension of the incense [ketoret] which contained chelbenah [galbanum — a pungent ingredient] — for the ketoret is the essential divine union, for it rises without limit all the way to the Infinite. And therefore it is called ketoret — from the word for binding and linking [kesher] — for it unifies and links all the worlds to their root, which is the essential union: to unify after creation with before creation as mentioned. And therefore it was necessary that the ketoret contain chelbenah — the dimension of the nullification of the forbidden — for chelbenah has a bad smell, which alludes to the sinners of Israel, as is brought. And therefore it is impossible to offer the ketoret — which is the essential union — except when chelbenah is mixed in — the dimension of the nullification of the forbidden. For it is impossible to attain complete union without including even the most distant and sinful souls — for they too are part of the unity, and without them the union is incomplete. And therefore the essential union and unification is on Shabbas — for the essential union is to include after creation in before creation — and this corresponds to the six days of creation which are the dimension of "after creation" — which are included in Shabbas which is the dimension of the World to Come which preceded the world — "before creation." And the essential grip of the forbidden is in the six days of creation — which correspond to the six orders of the Mishnah, the dimension of permitted and forbidden, kosher and invalid, impure and pure as is known. It follows that the essential grip of the forbidden is in the six days of creation. But through Shabbas — which is the holiness of the true Tzaddik and the supreme union — the forbidden is nullified and elevated into the permitted. For sixty — the number of nullification — corresponds to the six directions, each one compounded of ten — and the six directions correspond to the six orders of the Mishnah — the six days of creation — which are all elevated through Shabbas. And this is the dimension of the willows of the stream [aravey nachal] which are bound with the four species — for the willows of the stream allude to the sinners of Israel who have neither taste nor smell. And through the great unions performed on Sukkos through the four species — which are the union of the Holy One blessed be He and His Shechina as is known — through this the forbidden is nullified and the willows are bound and included in the holiness. And the willows are called "aravei" — from the word for mixture [ta'arovet] — for their essential rectification is through being included in the union. And this is the dimension of Hoshana Rabbah — when the willows are taken alone — for all six days they were bound with the four species and shaken in the six directions — and through this the forbidden was nullified, in the dimension of nullification through sixty — sixty being the six directions each compounded of ten. And Sukkos is called the festival of the ingathering [chag ha-asif] — for it gathers all kinds of food — this is the dimension of the nullification of the forbidden — that all kinds of food are gathered and purified — for the forbidden is nullified in sixty and overturned to permitted. And therefore on Sukkos seventy bulls are offered corresponding to the seventy nations — so that they will have some portion — for through the supreme union of Sukkos the forbidden is elevated and even the seventy nations receive purification. And this is the dimension of: "be surety for Your servant for good, let not the arrogant ones oppress me" [Psalms 119:122] — that we pray regarding the evil grip within us that God should mix it into an abundance of good — until the evil overturns into good. And then there will be no power for the Sitra Achra to oppress us, God forbid. And this is "be surety for Your servant for good" — mix the evil within us into overwhelming good, in the dimension of the nullification of the forbidden in the majority of permitted. And this is the dimension of the prohibitions that cannot be nullified even in sixty — such as all important things: a creature [briyah], a significant cut of meat fit for honour [chaticha ha-reuyah l'hiskaved], a thing of importance, and a thing counted by number. And similarly severe prohibitions such as idolatry and chametz on Pesach — which are forbidden in any quantity and are not nullified in sixty. This is the dimension of what is written there at the end of the Torah discourse: that there are wicked people whom it is forbidden to draw close — for the divine fire of judgment cannot subdue the evil within them. As is said of them: "their ways prosper at all times, Your judgments are far above out of their sight" [Psalms 10:5] — for they prosper so greatly in this world and are so prominent and great that the divine judgment cannot subdue and nullify their evil. Therefore they are not nullified in sixty. And this is the dimension of all important forbidden things that cannot be nullified — for these are the dimension of the great and important wicked ones — the prominent and wealthy great ones of this age who, because of our sins, all the honour and prominence are with them and their hour is smiling upon them. Of them is said: "their ways prosper at all times, Your judgments are far above out of their sight" — they succeed so greatly and are so prominent in this world that the divine fire of judgment cannot subdue and nullify their evil — therefore they are not nullified in sixty. And this is the dimension of: one may not intentionally nullify a prohibition from the outset — for even the wicked who may be drawn close — the dimension of prohibitions that can be nullified — it is forbidden to go forcibly and take them against their will and subdue them and include them in the holy. As is said regarding this: "I have adjured you... if you awaken or arouse the love before it desires" [Song of Songs 2:7] — for there must be some awakening from below [it'aruta d'litata]. And as is understood from the Shivchay HaAri [Praises of the Ari] regarding the story of how he drew close his disciples — see there. And this is the dimension of: one may not intentionally nullify a prohibition from the outset — for it is forbidden to draw close someone forcibly without their own awakening and desire. And therefore in truth this matter of drawing souls close to God is something very hard and heavy. Yet despite this it is obligatory — for every Jew is obligated to engage in this. As is explained in the Torah essay "for He who has compassion will lead them" — every person is obligated to engage in this, for this is the dimension of populating the world — that the world should be inhabited by people who have true knowledge to know God and to draw others out of sin. But who can know how to conduct oneself in this, and whom to draw close and whom not?! Therefore our only strength is in the mouth — in prayer and supplication — to pray to God to guide us in this holy work of drawing close souls. And this is the dimension of: "and Moshe assembled" [Exodus 35:1] — and warned them regarding the work of the Mishkan. And before this he warned them regarding the observance of Shabbas — to teach that the work of the Mishkan does not override Shabbas, as our Rabbis of blessed memory said [brought in Rashi's commentary, Exodus 35:1]. And at first glance it is difficult — from where would it enter one's mind that the work of the Mishkan overrides Shabbas? For no commandment that is not time-bound overrides Shabbas! But the matter is: the work of building the Mishkan and its vessels is in the dimension of building the Holy Palace [Heichal haKodesh] mentioned in the Torah discourse — for through the building of the Mishkan the Shechina rested upon Israel and Israel drew close to their Father in Heaven. And it might have seemed that this holy work of drawing close souls should override everything — even Shabbas. Therefore Moshe warned them: the work of the Mishkan does not override Shabbas. For the essential rectification of the Holy Palace — the drawing close of souls — is through Shabbas, which is the dimension of the holiness of the true Tzaddik. And the way of the Holy Palace's construction must be slowly and gradually — "little by little I will drive them out from before you until you have increased" [Exodus 23:30]. Not by force, not by compelling the hour. For the Sitra Achra cannot be eliminated all at once — it must be removed bit by bit, gradually, with patience, through the holiness of Shabbas and the power of the Tzaddik. And therefore the building of the Holy Palace does not override Shabbas — for the essential power and rectification is through Shabbas. And this is the allusion that it is forbidden to force the hour [lidchok es ha-sha'ah] — as is understood from his words of blessed memory in several places. And even though the building of the Holy Palace is of the greatest value — for this is the essential honour and greatness of God — nevertheless it is forbidden to force the hour. As it says: "you will not be able to finish them quickly" [Deuteronomy 7:22] — it is impossible to eliminate and uproot the Sitra Achra and the husks all at once. "Little by little I will drive them out from before you until you have increased and inherited the land" — therefore the essential rectification is through the dimension of Shabbas and the Tzaddik's holiness — slowly, gradually, with the devotion of the assembled community moving together as one. And this is the dimension of the blemish of Nadav and Avihu who offered a strange fire on the day the Mishkan was dedicated — which is the dimension of the Holy Palace. For they were very great and awesome righteous ones, as our Rabbis of blessed memory said. And because they saw the great evil being done in the world — that even after all the wondrous signs and wonders that Moshe and Aharon had performed, and after Moshe had given Israel the Torah with such awesome signs — despite all this the Mixed Multitude had strengthened themselves and caused so much damage. Therefore they thought: now that the Mishkan has been erected and the Shechina has descended to Israel and a wondrous repair has been made in all the worlds — surely now the hour has come to completely eliminate all the evil all at once and draw all souls into holiness. And therefore they offered the strange fire — they tried to force the completion of the Holy Palace. But they erred in this — for the evil cannot be eliminated all at once, but only little by little. And the offering of the strange fire was the error of forcing the hour — even for the greatest holy purpose. And therefore God did not accept their offering and they died. For even the greatest holy purpose cannot justify forcing the divine timetable — and the essential building of the Holy Palace must follow the divine pace: little by little, through Shabbas and the devotion of each generation. And therefore on Yom Kippur — which is the essential rectification of the Holy Palace — the Kohen Gadol enters the inner sanctuary, to the place of the Ark — where the essential inwardness of the holiness of the Holy Palace resides. For on that day all Israel repent and are forgiven all their sins and all draw close to God. And therefore when He commanded regarding the service of Yom Kippur, He began: "after the death of the two sons of Aharon" [Leviticus 16:1] — for the essential service of Yom Kippur — the rectification of souls, the building of the Holy Palace — is through the death of the great righteous ones, the dimension of the sons of Aharon. For the death of the righteous ones is itself the atonement and the rectification — for through their departure from the world they elevate all the souls that they had gathered and drawn close during their lives. And this is the supreme meaning of Yom Kippur: not forcing the hour — but through the holiness of the Tzaddik's life and death, drawing all souls gradually and completely into the Holy Palace. Based on the Torah «Tfilah leChavakuk» in siman 19, mentioned above in the Laws of Shechitah, Halacha 2. And based on the maamar «Tikkau bachodesh shofar» beginning from the tochachah. Know that all the prohibitions regarding the foods of non-Jews — bishulei akum, pas akum, gevinas akum and the rest — all these are one dimension, they all have one root, and that is: to guard the foods of Israel from the Seventy Nations, which are the aspect of comprehensive evil. For the nations of the world are called «the bad fig», «the thorn-bush», and they are the aspect of comprehensive evil which clings to all things, as has been explained many times. And all the food eaten by Israel must be guarded and protected from this evil, so that the food should be entirely from the dimension of holiness — the dimension of manna — which is Israel's food, the food of the Shechina. And therefore in all things concerning the preparation of food — in the laws of shechitah (ritual slaughter), in the laws of melichah (salting), and in all the laws involving the removal and purification of the food from all admixture with the nations — the essential matter is to guard the food from the evil of the Seventy Nations, so that only Israel, who are entirely holy, should handle the food and bring it from the domain of impurity to the domain of holiness. And this is the essence of the prohibition of bishulei akum — that even kosher food, if it was cooked by a non-Jew on their fire, is forbidden to a Jew. For even though the food itself is kosher and the ingredients are permitted, nevertheless the cooking by a non-Jew adds to the food the bad smell of the Sitra Achra, which is the fire of Gehinom, as will be explained below. For the fire of the non-Jew is the fire of the Sitra Achra, in contrast to the holy fire of Israel which draws from the sanctity of Shabbas, as will be explained. And therefore it is as if the non-Jew — through cooking — infuses the food with an additional dimension of impurity and bad smell from their fire. And this is what the Sages alluded to in saying [TB Avodah Zarah 35b]: «they decreed on their bread because of their oil; on their oil because of their wine; on their wine because of their daughters; on their daughters because of davar acher» — for everything interconnects: the prohibition of pas akum connects to the prohibition of their wine, which connects to the prohibition of avodah zarah — for they are all one root, one dimension of separating oneself from the comprehensive evil of the Seventy Nations. And this is the dimension of the blessing «Borei me'orei ha-aish» (who creates the lights of fire) which we recite at the Havdalah ceremony at the close of Shabbas. For the fire of Israel is drawn from the sanctity of Shabbas — for Shabbas is the dimension of the holy soul, the radiance of the Shechina, and from there the fire of Israel is kindled and sanctified. And when we recite the blessing over the fire at the close of Shabbas, we draw from the sanctity of Shabbas onto the fire of the weekday, elevating it and purifying it. And therefore the fire on which Israel cooks their food is sanctified fire — the dimension of the Menorah in the Beis Hamikdash, the dimension of the fire on the altar. And through this holy fire, the food is elevated and refined and becomes the dimension of mezona d'nishmasa (spiritual nourishment) — for the holy sparks within the food are liberated and revealed through the holy fire of Israel. But the fire of the non-Jew is the opposite — it is drawn from the aspect of the fire of Gehinom, of the Sitra Achra, and it adds to the food the dimension of the bad smell — reiach ra — rather than the good smell that issues from the sanctity of Shabbas. And this is connected to the verse: «The voice is the voice of Yaakov but the hands are the hands of Eisav» [Bereishis 27:22], and the verse: «See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field» [Bereishis 27:27] — when Yaakov brought the prepared food to his father. For the dimension of kol Yaakov (the voice of Yaakov) is Torah and prayer, and the dimension of the good smell that accompanied Yaakov and his food is the smell of Gan Eden, the dimension of mezona d'nishmasa, the holy spiritual nourishment that came into the food through Israel's cooking it. And in contrast, Eisav is the dimension of yedei Eisav (the hands of Eisav) — brute force, physicality, the Sitra Achra. His food carries the smell of impurity rather than the fragrance of Gan Eden. And therefore only Yaakov, the children of Israel — who possess the dimension of kol Yaakov, the Voice of Torah — can properly prepare and cook food with holiness, so that it carries the good smell and becomes the dimension of mezona d'nishmasa. And therefore the Sages taught that the prohibition of bishulei akum applies only to foods that are fit to be served at a king's table — shulchan melachim. For the essential dimension of mezona d'nishmasa pertains to food of importance and significance — food that is considered a delicacy and worthy of being brought before a great person. For the holy sparks contained in important foods are greater and more elevated, and therefore their purification and elevation through Israel's cooking them is of greater significance. But simple and undistinguished food — which no one would bring before a king — does not have the same degree of holy sparks requiring the act of holy cooking to release them. And this is the dimension of pas akum — bread baked by a non-Jew — which some authorities permit in places where it is a great need [sha'as ha-dechak] in the case of pas palter (commercial bakery bread). But in the Ten Days of Teshuvah many are stringent even regarding pas palter. For bread is the essential sustenance — the staff of life — and therefore the dimension of guarding the food from the evil of the Seventy Nations is especially strong in bread. For bread is the dimension of «You shall eat bread by the sweat of your brow» [Bereishis 3:19], the dimension of the toil of beiyn, the weekday world — and therefore it most needs the holiness of Israel's baking to elevate it from this toil and transform it into the dimension of mezona d'nishmasa. And in the Ten Days of Teshuvah, when all of Israel stand in judgment and seek the highest rectification, even the leniency that applies the rest of the year is set aside, for the holiness of the days demands a greater level of guarding. And this is the dimension of the distinction between gevinas akum (cheese made by a non-Jew), which is forbidden, and chemah (butter), which is not forbidden. For cheese — gevinah — requires significant preparation and processing, and therefore passes through the domain of the non-Jew in a more profound sense. The making of cheese involves a transformation of the milk — a creative act — and therefore when a non-Jew performs it, the product is considered as if it has absorbed the impurity of the Sitra Achra through this process of transformation. But butter — chemah — is a simpler extraction that does not involve the same degree of creative transformation, and therefore it does not acquire the same dimension of impurity through being made by a non-Jew. And all this is connected to the general principle of separating oneself entirely from the domain of the Seventy Nations — not only in what one eats, but also in commerce: one should not engage in buying and selling forbidden items, for this too draws one into the domain of the Sitra Achra. And the Sages spoke of the concept of chotam betoch chotam — a seal within a seal — regarding the foods forbidden by the Torah itself, which have the dimension of a double seal, a double protection. While rabbinic prohibitions have a single seal. And all of this has one root — the dimension of completely separating the domain of Israel from the domain of the Seventy Nations, so that Israel's eating and nourishment should be entirely in the dimension of holiness, mezona d'nishmasa, the food of the Shechina and the souls of Israel. And behold the general principle is this: that through mezona d'gufah — bodily nourishment — mezona d'nishmasa — spiritual nourishment — is weakened. If so, how could it be permitted for us to eat at all? Should we not be concerned that eating — bodily nourishment — weakens the nourishment of the soul, Heaven forfend? But in truth Israel are holy, and all their eating — even the eating of the body — is itself in the dimension of mezona d'nishmasa. For they sanctify themselves in their eating, eating with holiness and purity, and they recite blessings before and after every food. And this is the dimension of «kol kol Yaakov» — the voice of Yaakov — for through the recitation of blessings they subdue the heel of the Sitra Achra, the aspect of akev (heel) which is the dimension of the lowest depths of the kelipah. And through subduing this [the Sitra Achra] in their eating, even the bodily food becomes spiritual nourishment. It follows that even the fire of Israel draws upon it from the sanctity of Shabbas through the blessing «Borei me'orei ha-aish» which we recite at the close of Shabbas, as mentioned above. And therefore the foods which we prepare at the fire are in the dimension of mezona d'nishmasa, for a good fragrance from the sanctity of Shabbas is drawn upon them — which is the dimension of rei'ach (fragrance) as mentioned above. But when the non-Jew cooks the food, on the contrary — the non-Jew's fire adds to the food a bad smell, for their fire is the dimension of the fire of Gehinom, where all smells are bad, as mentioned above. It follows that the cooking and preparation of foods must be done by Israel specifically — for they are the children of Yaakov who merited the voice and the fragrance mentioned above — and not by a non-Jew, who is from the side of Eisav, which is the exact opposite of all this. And therefore, when Yaakov brought the food to his father, it is said there: «The voice is the voice of Yaakov» and: «See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field» — for the smell of Gan Eden entered with him. For in the food of Yaakov, the smell of Gan Eden is felt — drawn from the voice mentioned above — for his food was rectified and elevated. Eisav's food, by contrast, carries the opposite dimension. And therefore Chananya, Mishael and Azaryah, who were careful about the food of non-Jews, were not harmed by the fire [in the furnace of Nevuchadnetzar], for the food of non-Jews is from the aspect of harsh fire, the fire of Gehinom. And therefore, because they were careful about this, the fire had no power over them. And this is what is said: «and the smell of fire did not pass upon them» [Daniel 3:27]. Rei'ach — specifically the smell — that is, the dimension of the bad smell of evil deeds which is within the harsh fire, the fire of Gehinom as mentioned above. And because they were careful about the food of non-Jews, that bad smell had no power over them whatsoever. And this is the dimension of the practice of bringing fragrant spices — mugmar — to smell after the meal, so that the meal should be included in the dimension of mezona d'nishmasa, which is the dimension of fragrance as mentioned above. And therefore vessels that come from the domain of a non-Jew require immersion — tevilah. For immersion in a mikveh or a natural spring is in the dimension of «the river that goes out of Eden» and so forth. And through this, the vessels that come from the domain of the non-Jew are purified so that they should be fit for eating Israel's food — that the food eaten in them should be in the dimension of mezona d'nishmasa. This is because the vessels are purified from the impurity of the non-Jew, who is from the side of Gehinom, through immersion in the mikveh, which is in the dimension of the river going out of Eden — from where all good fragrances flow, as mentioned above. These themes will be explained further in the Laws of Kashering Vessels. And this is the dimension of the prohibition of yein nesech (libation wine) which the Sages decreed regarding the ordinary wine of non-Jews. And even our own wine, if a non-Jew touched it, is forbidden for drinking and for benefit according to the law. As the maamar «Tikkau» section 3 mentioned above explains — study it carefully there — for mezona d'nishmasa and mezona d'gufah are the dimension of soul and body, Yaakov and Eisav, spirituality and physicality, Shabbas and the Six Days of the Week, good fragrance and its opposite, the dimension of «kol kol Yaakov» and «yedei Eisav». For the essential nourishment and vitality of the soul is only from spirituality — the dimension of fragrance, which is not absorbed into the body. And this is the entire distinction. For it is known that wine is drawn from the dimension of Yitzchak, which is the dimension of gevuros (divine severities), and from there the wine has its hold. And both Yaakov and Eisav draw from the dimension of Yitzchak, as it is said: «And these are the generations of Yitzchak: Yaakov and Eisav». Yet at the root — in the dimension of Yitzchak itself — it is entirely good, and there is no evil there whatsoever, Heaven forfend. And the primary offspring of Yitzchak is only Yaakov alone, as it is said: «for through Yitzchak shall seed be called to you» — b'Yitzchak, meaning: in Yitzchak but not all of Yitzchak [i.e., not Eisav]. For the essential seed of Yitzchak is Yaakov alone, and Eisav is not called seed of Yitzchak in that primary sense. And this is the dimension of what Rebbenu of blessed memory said there in the maamar mentioned above: that in the future, governance will be through divine providence and wonders, and nature will become nullified. And then the great Song mentioned there will be aroused — the Song of Wonders — through which one can admonish and inspire. Study there carefully at the end of the maamar. For in truth there is no natural order whatsoever — only God, blessed be He, governs His world according to His will, and as His desire works in the hosts of heaven and earth. The essential dimension of "nature" is only what God, blessed be He, created in the world — but even this is at every moment animated by His will, which is the essential governance. And in the future this will become completely revealed. And this is the dimension of the ketores (Temple incense) — for the essential function of the ketores is to refine the holy sparks from the depths of the kelipah, from the depth of Asiyah, as is brought in the holy texts. And then even the sparks that were in the depths of the kelipah rise up and emit good fragrance — the dimension of ketores, which is sweet fragrance — for the essential rectification of all the sparks is through good fragrance, which is mezona d'nishmasa. And this is the dimension of the chelvanah (galbanum) in the incense, for chelvanah has a bad smell — the dimension of evil deeds, the hold of the kelipah in the world of Asiyah, which is the dimension of bad smell. Yet even the chelvanah is included in the ketores — for the ketores refines and elevates even the lowest sparks, transforming bad fragrance into good fragrance. This alludes to the way that even the most fallen souls can be elevated and refined through the work of rectification. And this is the dimension of the essential work of all of us throughout the Six Days of the Week — when we toil to refine the good from the evil that is clinging within the Six Days of the Week, which is the dimension of Asiyah, where their hold is. We are obligated to refine and elevate from there the good that was captive in the depths of the kelipah — in the dimension of bad smell — and raise it and refine it so that it rises up as good fragrance, so that the Six Days of the Week should be included in the sanctity of Shabbas, which is the dimension of good fragrance. And this is the dimension of wine, which contains all the dimensions mentioned above — from the dimension of Yaakov and Eisav, Shabbas and the Six Days, good fragrance and its opposite — all unified in the wine when it is used in holiness for Havdalah and for Kiddush. It follows that wine is the dimension of the Eitz Hada'as Tov vaRa (Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil), where the secret of Havdalah resides: to distinguish between the holy and the mundane, between Israel and the nations, between the seventh day and the Six Days of the Week, between the side of Yaakov and the side of Eisav — which is between Israel and the nations. For the holy and Israel and Shabbas are all one. And conversely, the nations are the dimension of the mundane, the dimension of the Six Days of the Week — yet Israel, as a holy people, even sanctify the weekdays with Shabbas holiness, and therefore they are in the dimension of Shabbas even in the week. And therefore wine, which is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, must be completely separated from the touch of the non-Jew — for their touch transforms it into the dimension of the bad side, the bad smell, idolatry. And this is the dimension of what our Rabbis of blessed memory said: «They decreed on their bread because of their oil, and on their oil because of their wine, and on their wine because of their daughters, and on their daughters because of davar acher» — that is, idolatry. For the bread of the non-Jew — which was baked by the non-Jew in their fire — is forbidden to us, because their fire is the dimension of the fire of Gehinom, the dimension of bad smell, as is explained well above in the Laws of Foods of Non-Jews. And this is the dimension of: «they decreed on their bread because of their oil» — for oil is the dimension of fragrance, as it is said: «for your name is like poured out oil». And fragrance is the essential dimension of food holiness — mezona d'nishmasa. And when the non-Jew's oil is mixed in — the bad fragrance overpowers the good, and from there to wine, and from wine to daughters, and from daughters to idolatry — for they are all one root: the corruption of the Covenant and the separation from the Seventy Nations. And for this reason it is called yein nesech — the word nesech related to: «for God has poured upon them a spirit of deep sleep» [Yeshayah 29:10] — the language of the mixing of the imaginative faculty, which is the dimension of tardemah (deep sleep), which is the corruption of the Serpent, false beliefs, idolatry — which come through the blemish of yein nesech as mentioned above. But when wine is guarded from the touch of a non-Jew, it is in the dimension of yayin hameshumar ba'anavav missheishes yemei bereishis — the wine preserved in its grapes from the Six Days of Creation — which is the wine preserved for the future, when the great Song mentioned above will be awakened. For wine awakens the voice — the dimension of yayin le'aramah kala — through which this voice will elevate and rectify all the worlds, until the final complete rectification. And this is the dimension of the prohibition of bishulei akum — that even kosher food that was cooked or baked by a non-Jew is forbidden to Israel. For all food requires rectification — that is, baking and cooking and the like. And all the preparations that every food requires — all the labor one must invest in them until they are fit for eating — all this comes from the sin of the First Man [Adam], as is known. For through that sin, good and evil became mixed into all things, and they require refinement — to separate the good from the bad. And therefore one must labor greatly with all foods in order to rectify them and refine them from chaff and straw and the like. And so too one must labor in baking and cooking — for before the food is rectified, before the baking and cooking, the food has no taste at all. And the taste that is in the food before baking and cooking is there in potential but not in actuality. One does not experience the taste of the food except through the rectification of baking and cooking. For in truth the essential taste of food is drawn from the good that is in the food — for within every thing, the goodness of God is clothed — that is, the holy sparks. And from there the good taste in the food is drawn, in the dimension of «taste and see that God is good». But because of the sin of the First Man — through which good and evil became mixed — it is impossible to refine and reveal the good that is in the food except through many preparations. And the final essential rectification is through baking and cooking — for that is the completion of the food's rectification. And then specifically the good taste within the food is felt. For all the preparations of the food — all the labor one must invest in refining it from the waste, from chaff and straw, and preparing it — all this is in order to subdue and break the husk that precedes the fruit, in order to merit the fruit — that is, the inward goodness clothed within that food. And the husk preceding the fruit is the dimension of the koach hameyadmeh (imaginative faculty) mentioned in that maamar — for the imaginative faculty clings to every single thing, as is explained above: that in every world and every level there are illusions and so forth. These illusions are the husks that precede the fruit. Therefore it is impossible to eat of the fruit — to merit tasting the good taste in the food — except through many preparations to break the husk preceding the fruit, which are those illusions. And then one merits the fruit. And to break those illusions is only through the revelation of the greatness of the Creator — and the greatness of the Creator is only revealed through Israel, in the dimension of «Israel, through you I will be glorified». And therefore it is impossible to rectify food in holiness except through Israel specifically — for they are the essential revelation of the Creator's greatness, and they alone can subdue and shatter those illusions that are the husk preceding the fruit. For the essential rectification of the food is through the baking and cooking — when that is the completion of the food's rectification — and then specifically the taste of the food is revealed. For the essential rectification to shatter those illusions is through fire, since from fire they emerged and fire will consume them. And the derivation of fire is drawn from the greatness of the Creator — for this is the essential dimension of His greatness, as it were: that He is the great and awesome God, a consuming fire, as it is said: «for God your God is a consuming fire, a great and awesome God» [Devarim 4:24]. And from the intensity of His greatness, blessed be He, all the angels and seraphim and ofanim and holy chayos tremble and burn — they all burn like coals of fire from the intensity of the fear of His greatness and exaltedness, as it is said regarding the chayos: «their appearance is like coals of fire» [Yechezkel 1:13]. And as it is said [Tehillim 104]: «His servants are a flaming fire». And as our Rabbis of blessed memory said: the River of Fire — Nehar Dinur — is drawn from the perspiration of the chayos, who perspire from the awe of His greatness — and from there flows the river of fire. And from the fire above is drawn and derived the fire below. It follows that the essential dimension of fire is drawn from the revelation of the Creator's greatness, blessed be He — as it were — for through this, rivers of fire flow from the awe of His greatness and so forth. And therefore fire is the totality of the colors — as it says in the Holy Zohar: «there are four colors in fire» — for it is drawn from the dimension of the revelation of the Creator's greatness, which is the totality of the colors. For this is the essential dimension of greatness. And therefore it is specifically through fire that the essential rectification of food takes place — that is, the shattering of the illusions which are the husks preceding the fruit. For fire — which is the totality of colors, drawn from the revelation of the Creator's greatness — burns and subdues and shatters those illusions, for the essential subduing of them is through the revelation of the Creator's greatness as mentioned above. And therefore it is said in the Psalms of Kabbalas Shabbas [Psalm 97] — which speak of the greatness of the Creator in order to subdue the illusions that seek to overpower as one ascends from level to level — that is, from the Six Days of the Week to Shabbas, when all the worlds ascend above their normal level, as is known. And then they need to subdue the husks so they do not take hold — those illusions. And therefore one recites then the Psalms of the greatness of the Creator from Lechu Nerananah and so forth — for through the revelation of the Creator's greatness they are subdued. And therefore it mentions in those Psalms: «fire goes before Him and burns His enemies round about» [Tehillim 97:3] — for through the revelation of His greatness, fire goes out before Him and subdues and shatters and burns all those illusions which are the husks mentioned above. And therefore it is impossible to rectify food in holiness through baking and cooking at the fire except through Israel specifically — for they are the essential revelation of the Creator, blessed be He, in the dimension of «Israel, through you I will be glorified». And they can draw the power of fire from holiness — from the dimension of the revelation of His greatness — to subdue all the enemies which are the illusions and husks preceding the fruit that cling to every thing. And then specifically when they shatter those illusions through Israel's cooking, through Israel's fire, then the food is fit for the eating of Israel — for then the good taste is revealed, that is, the dimension of the holiness clothed in the food, the holy sparks clothed there. But when the non-Jew cooks the food in their fire, then even more of the illusions and husks cling to it — for they have no power to reveal the greatness of the Creator. On the contrary — they themselves are the husks and illusions mentioned above, and their fire is the fire of the Sitra Achra, from which all the desires that come from the illusions burn — the dimension of «from fire they emerged» — for all the husks and the Sitra Achra emerge from the dimension of fire. And therefore in their fire even more illusions attach to the food — and therefore it is forbidden for us to eat food cooked by a non-Jew, for it is impossible for us to eat the food except through the rectifications of Israel, who are the essential revelation of the Creator's greatness, who can through this subdue the illusions — and then the good in the food is revealed, and then specifically the food is fit for the eating of Israel. And therefore since the Temple was destroyed, the taste was taken from food — as our Rabbis of blessed memory said [TB Berachos 12b] — for the essential revelation of taste is through the good that is revealed through the shattering of the illusions as mentioned above. And the essential shattering of the illusions was in the time when the Temple stood — for through the sacrifices they broke and subdued the koach hameyadmeh (imaginative faculty) as mentioned in that maamar. And therefore since the Temple was destroyed, the taste was taken, as mentioned above. And therefore eating is in place of the sacrifice. And as our Rabbis of blessed memory said [TB Berachos 55]: «the table atones like the altar» — for the essential holy eating is the shattering of the imaginative faculty, which is the dimension of sacrifices, as mentioned above in that Torah teaching: that the essential shattering of the power of the imaginative faculty is through the sacrifices — study it there. And this connects to what was mentioned above. The colors of fire are the dimension of the Creator's greatness as mentioned above — for they are the dimension of the colors in money — for they are from one dimension, from the side of gevurah (divine severity), as is known. And therefore this is alluded to in the words of Rebbenu of blessed memory in the wondrous story of the Master of Prayer [Sippurey Maasiyos, the story of the Master of Prayer] — that through the foods that are cooked in the fire of the cookhouse and so forth, through this one emerges from the desire for money. For through this the greatness of the Creator is revealed as mentioned above, which is the dimension of the revelation of the colors. And when the colors are revealed — which are the root of money — then one discards entirely the material money, for who would be so foolish as to cast aside a spiritual pleasure and take a coarse physical pleasure instead? As is explained in the maamar «Tzivisa Tzedek» and so forth — see there, siman 23 — and understand well. And therefore, since the essential subduing of the imaginative faculty is on Shabbas — when the Sitra Achra is completely subdued, for then on the eve of Shabbas a flame of fire goes out over the head of the husks to subdue them, as is known — which is the secret of bathing in hot water on the eve of Shabbas, as is known, as brought in the words of Rebbenu of blessed memory, siman 19 — for the essential revelation of the Creator's greatness is on Shabbas, when He dons, as it were, garments of His majesty, as it is said: «God has reigned, He has donned majesty» [Tehillim 93:1] — therefore the Shabbas dish has its aroma, for on Shabbas the taste changes for the better, as then the imaginative faculty is completely subdued, through which the essential revelation of the good taste is drawn from holiness — the dimension of «taste and see that God is good». Section 4 [of this halacha] is incorporated within the Laws of Meat-in-Milk, Halacha 4, section 22. When a vessel passes from the domain of a non-Jew to the domain of Israel, it requires immersion — tevilah — and this applies specifically to vessels used for the table [eating vessels]. For as was explained already in the Laws of Foods of Non-Jews (Halacha 1), one must guard food from the aspect of the Seventy Nations, who are the comprehensive evil as mentioned above, and all the preparations of food are for this purpose. And the essential tevilah is for metal vessels, which alone require immersion by Torah law — for in the dimension of metals their hold is stronger. For there is the root of all the idolatries of all the Seventy Nations, since all idolatry is embedded in money, as is explained in the maamar «Tzivisa Tzedek» (siman 23) — this being the dimension of the desire for money, the dimension of «in sorrow you shall eat it», the dimension of the Seventy Dark Faces, which are the dimension of the idolatries of the Seventy Nations — opposite of «one who is content with his portion», the dimension of Radiant Faces, the dimension of the rectification of the desire for money, the dimension of «Yaakov camped before the city and established a coin» — study it there. For the essential power of the desire for money is strongest in money itself — that is, in coins — for there the strength of desire is very great. As is implied by the words of Rebbenu, may his light shine, there. And as I understand it, to the best of my limited knowledge, from things I heard from his holy mouth regarding this matter: the passage about gold acquiring silver [zahav koneh es hakesef] can be interpreted according to that maamar mentioned above. And the general principle is: the more widely accepted a coin is, the more important it is — for in money itself — in the coins that are widely accepted — the dimension of the faces mentioned above is clothed, the dimension of the upper sublime colors, the face of holiness, the dimension of the rectification of the coin. And yet precisely there in those coins — because of the great holiness that is there — the hold of the Sitra Achra is also very much greater, which is the dimension of the desire for money — the Dark Faces. And this is the dimension of every nation's idols being engraved on their coins — for there the dimension of the Seventy Dark Faces clings as mentioned above, as is explained in the words of Rebbenu there. And therefore eating vessels of metal, when they come from the domain of a non-Jew, require immersion — for the evil of the Seventy Nations clings there most strongly, since all metals are the root of all coins, for all coins are made from metals specifically — as on metals the face and form can be most clearly engraved and recognized. It follows that the dimension of metals contains within it the dimension of the face — which is the dimension of the coin. And this is the dimension of the Seven Types of Metals corresponding to the light of the face, which is comprised of seven dimensions — the Seven Orifices of the light of the face and the Seven Qualities of the mind, which is the light of the face, as brought in the words of Rebbenu of blessed memory in another place. And therefore when metal eating vessels are in the domain of a non-Jew, the evil of the Seventy Nations clings there most strongly — for there is the root of their idolatry that is embedded in money, in the coins made from metal. And therefore they require immersion — to render them fit and pure — so they should not contaminate the food of Israel. For the guarding of all the food of Israel and its rectification is entirely to guard it and rectify it from the blemish of the Seventy Nations, as has been mentioned several times. And this is the dimension of tevilah — to restore to these vessels the Holy Faces that departed from them. For the Dark Faces — opposite of the Holy Face — clung to them. As is known, the dimension of immersion is for the restoration of the Face — for the mochin (intellect) return through immersion, as is brought in the holy texts. And it was already explained above in the Laws of Salting (Halacha 1): that the dimension of immersion within the waters of a mikveh is the dimension of concealment within the waters — the dimension of the World to Come, the dimension of fish in the sea where the waters cover them and the evil eye of the Seventy Nations has no power over them — for the mikveh is the dimension of da'as (knowledge), the dimension of the World to Come, where there is no hold for the Seventy Nations. And therefore when the vessels are taken from the domain of the Seventy Nations, they are purified through the mikveh — bringing them into the waters, in the dimension of «it shall be brought in the water and be pure» — that is, returning them to their root, to the dimension of the World to Come, which is the root of all things, which is the dimension of the mikveh waters. There they are concealed and covered within the water from the eye of the Seventy Nations — for they have no power there, in the dimension of fish in the sea. And then they emerge from there as a new creation — for all things that return to the dimension of the World to Come are renewed there in the dimension of teshuvah — the dimension of «Turn us back to You, O God, and we shall return; renew our days as of old». As is brought in the Laws of Megillah (Halacha 1). And then when the vessels emerge from there — having become a new creation — they are purified and fit to enter the domain of Israel, to prepare food for Israel as mentioned above. And therefore the mikveh is a great rectification for teshuvah — for from there comes the beginning of teshuvah. And therefore the initial entry of Israel under the wings of the Shechina was through immersion in the mikveh. And likewise in our time, the beginning of the convert's entry under the wings of the Shechina is also through immersion — for from there begins the entry into His service, blessed be His Name, as mentioned above — for there one returns and is renewed — which is the essential dimension of teshuvah. And this is what is said regarding the immersion of vessels: «but it shall be purified with the water of niddah» [Bamidbar 31:23], and our Rabbis of blessed memory derived from this that vessels require immersion like a niddah. For the immersion of vessels is precisely the dimension of the immersion of a niddah. For the blood of niddah comes through the sin of the First Man who sinned with the Tree of Knowledge — through this it was decreed: «in sorrow you shall bear children», which is the blood of niddah. And because of this, the niddah requires immersion — to rectify and purify from the dimension of b'etzev (sorrow, labor) — the dimension of sadness, melancholy, Dark Faces, death, blemish of the Covenant — which is the dimension of the sin of the First Man, as it is said: «on the day you eat of it». And this is precisely the dimension of the immersion of vessels — to purify the metal vessels mentioned above that came from the domain and possession of the Seventy Nations, from the blemish of idolatry that clings most strongly to metals, which are the root of money, as mentioned above. To purify them from the idolatry comprised of all false worships — which is the dimension of the desire for money as mentioned above, which is the dimension of «in sorrow you shall eat it» as mentioned above. It follows that they are in the same dimension — and as is said there in that maamar: that the desire for money is the dimension of the blood of niddah, study it there. And this is the dimension of the immersion of a niddah and of metal vessels in the dimension of «a river goes out of Eden to water the garden and from there it is divided» [Bereishis 2:10] — for the separation begins only after it waters the garden, and from there the separation begins through the dimension of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that is within the garden. And therefore, to rectify and purify oneself from the dimension of the blood of niddah which comes through the blemish of the Tree of Knowledge from which comes the separation — therefore one returns to one's root — which is the dimension of immersion as mentioned above — that is, returning and immersing in the mikveh waters, which is the dimension of the river going out of Eden, which is the dimension of teshuvah, which is the dimension of all-good before the separation, where everything is rectified as mentioned above. And therefore the primary receptacle of impurity is in metal vessels — more than all other vessels — for even their unformed pieces are susceptible to impurity, and they even return to their original impurity [after breaking and remaking], as studied in Tractate Keilim. For there is the essential hold of impurity — for it clings most strongly to metal vessels as mentioned above. And corresponding to this, there is also a special advantage in metal vessels: that even if a forbidden substance was absorbed within them, there is a rectification for them through hagalah (scalding out with boiling water) and libbun (burning white-hot), each vessel according to how the forbidden substance was used in it — for as it absorbs, so does it expel, for each person rectifies according to the measure of their blemish, in the dimension of teshuvat hamishkal (proportional teshuvah) as mentioned above. But earthenware vessels have no rectification whatsoever when a forbidden substance was absorbed within them — for it has already been explained many times that the essential hold of the Sitra Achra is in a place where there is greater holiness, where they are always clinging. And therefore the essential immersion is for metal vessels — where there is the dimension of the face as mentioned above — but earthenware vessels — which have no face of holiness, and they are the opposite of money, as is understood from the words of Rebbenu in another place (siman 69), where he explained «ve'afroth zahav» as: the dimension of money from which the vitality of holiness has departed — then only dust remains. It follows that dust is the opposite of money in which there is vitality of holiness. And therefore vessels of dust — that is, earthenware — do not require immersion when they come merely from the domain of a non-Jew, for the Sitra Achra does not cling to them to draw sustenance from there as mentioned above. But when the Sitra Achra has already clung to them — that is, when a forbidden substance was absorbed within them — then they have no rectification at all, for the Torah testified about earthenware that the forbidden substance does not leave it. For since their vitality is small and minimal as mentioned above, and therefore they break easily — therefore when the Sitra Achra clings to them — that is, when a forbidden substance is absorbed in them — they are completely damaged and have no rectification. But metal vessels are the exact opposite — for they require immersion because the Sitra Achra clings there strongly. Nevertheless they have purification in the mikveh, even if they became fully impure, and even if a forbidden substance was absorbed within them — they still have rectification through hagalah and libbun. For since they have great vitality from holiness, and therefore their strength is greater than all vessels, they are never completely damaged, and they always have rectification. As is mentioned above in the Laws of Fat (Halacha 1): that in a place where there is greater holiness — even though the Sitra Achra clings there more — nevertheless it is not completely damaged, Heaven forfend, and there is always a rectification for it, due to the greatness of the holiness there. And also because their strength is very great to withstand the rectification — for even if they require libbun they can be made white-hot in the fire, and they will still remain as vessels as they were. But earthenware has no rectification as mentioned above, and it also has no strength to withstand the rectification. But metal vessels can be refined and made white-hot and rectified — and study in the writings of the Ari, of blessed memory, where it is well explained: that the high souls — ultimately all their sparks will be rectified, even if they fell very low — to whatever place they fell — nevertheless no spark will ever be lost from them. Study there. Additional note: A sword is considered like a corpse. The primary susceptibility to impurity — even as a secondary vessel from a corpse — is particularly in metal vessels. «Whole stones you shall build» [Devarim 27:6] — «and you shall not lift iron upon them» — yet they have purification in the mikveh and rectification through hagalah and kashering. And this is the dimension of the immersion of vessels — that one must immerse the vessels purchased from a non-Jew. And the essential immersion by Torah law is for metal vessels — for the essential holiness is to sanctify the vessels so that they should be holy and pure, fit to receive the holiness of the food within them. For everything depends on the vessels — which receive the light within them, as is known. And the essential rectification and holiness of all vessels is through the dimension of emunah (faith) — faith in the Sages — for the essential formation of vessels is through faith. For faith is in the dimension of the vessel to receive the light of wisdom within her. For the light of God Himself, blessed be He, as it were, is so infinitely great that no vessel could contain it — it would dissolve all barriers — except through the medium of faith, which is the dimension of the vessel for divine light. And through faith one forms vessels capable of receiving the holy light gradually and in proper measure. And when one damages, Heaven forfend, the emunath chachamim — faith in the Sages — then the food is damaged and adjudged as moaros (waste). For through the damage to faith, the vessels are damaged — since the essential vessels are through faith as mentioned above. And through the damage to the vessels, the food is damaged — for within all foods there are exceedingly great lights, in the dimension of «eat, friends», the «terin re'in d'lo misperarshin» (two companions never separated) — the dimension of «and He shall satisfy your soul in dryness» (Yeshayah 58:11): that the Tzaddik's eating in holiness — in the dimension of «the Tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul» — he is nourished in his eating from the lights of tzachtzachos (blazing radiance), as is explained in the words of Rebbenu, of blessed memory, in another place. And therefore it is impossible to eat food in holiness in vessels that come from the domain of a non-Jew who is far from the faith of Israel — until they are purified through immersion. And the non-Jews — who are far from the faith of Israel — their essential distance is from emunath chachamim (faith in the Sages). And therefore they learn somewhat from the Written Torah — that is, Tanach. But the Oral Torah they do not study at all — for the Oral Torah is the dimension of emunath chachamim, from which they are very far. And because they are far from faith, they have no holy vessels — and all their vessels are impure in our regard. And it is impossible for us to eat our food — that is, the food of Israel, the food of holiness — in their vessels, for their vessels are the dimension of «broken cisterns that cannot hold water» [Yirmiyah 2:13] — they cannot receive the light of holiness, the light of divine wisdom, at all. And therefore when purchasing vessels from them, one must immerse them in mikveh waters — which are the dimension of pure waters mentioned above, in the dimension of «and I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean» [Yechezkel 36:25]. For through the pure waters of the mikveh mentioned above, the vessels are purified from the damage of moaros mentioned above, which is the damage of emunath chachamim, the damage to the vessels as mentioned above. And then the vessels are purified and fit to receive the holiness of the foods of Israel — through the rectification of emunath chachamim that is rectified through pure waters, which are drawn through the teshuvah one does for the damage to emunath chachamim, as is explained there in the maamar mentioned above. And the essential immersion is for metal vessels — for there are seven types of metal. For it is brought in the Book of Tales in the story of the king who decreed expulsion under the threat of shemad (forced conversion), alluded to in Psalm 2 — «why do the nations rage» — that there are seven wandering stars corresponding to the seven climates of the world, and there are seven types of metal and so forth. And the king made an image from the seven metals in which all seven wandering stars were shining, and from it they would seek counsel, and so forth — study it there. And in the maamar mentioned above there is an allusion to something of this sort: that through the secret of ibur (calendrical intercalation) — which is the progression of the seven wandering stars — through this one merits complete counsel and so forth. And then one merits holy vessels as mentioned above — and the essential vessels are metal vessels, the dimension of the Seven Types of Metal. For through emunath chachamim, through this, Israel merits to dwell in their land — which is the dimension of Eretz Yisrael — and through this one merits the secret of ibur, and through this one merits complete counsel as mentioned above. For the essential rectification of the vessels is through the Seven Days of Building, as is known — which are the dimension of the Seven Days of Creation through which God, blessed be He, created all of Creation, which in its entirety is in the dimension of vessels to receive His great light, as is known. And the essential center is Eretz Yisrael, from which the source of all the vessels originates. And therefore the vessels of the Seven Types of Metals require greater rectification — to immerse them and purify them from the hold of the Seven Nations. For the essential hold of the nations is from the dimension of the Seven Types of Metal — which is the dimension of the statue that Nevuchadnetzar erected: «its head was fine gold, its chest and arms were silver» and so forth [Daniel 2:32], which alludes to the totality of the nations and all four kingdoms, as is explained there in the verse (Daniel 2). For the Seven Nations are included in the Four Kingdoms — just as in holiness the Seven Days of Building are included in the Four Letters of the Divine Name, as is known. Likewise, correspondingly — «this opposite that» — the Seven Nations are included in the Four Kingdoms. And from the Four Kingdoms one can return and draw the sparks and refine them and include them in holiness — just as the Seven Days of Building are included in the Four Letters of the Name. And when all the sparks are included and rectified — it is the dimension of the kingdom of heaven being revealed below, in the dimension of «and His kingdom will rule over all». And this is the dimension of the immersion of eating vessels purchased from a non-Jew. For the eating of Israel is precious and holy and very exalted — for eating in holiness is literally the dimension of Torah, in the dimension of «and Your Torah is in my inward parts» [Tehillim 40:9]. For the vitality is constantly drawn from the Living of All Life — but it is impossible to receive it, due to the overwhelming intensity of the light — except through the vessels made through Torah study and so forth, as is explained there in that Torah teaching. And therefore the essential vitality is through Torah, as it is said: «for that is your life» [Devarim 30:20]. For through Torah — which has sections and portions and so forth — through this, one calls upon the Living of All Life and draws from Him vitality in a graduated and measured manner through the vessels of the Torah. It follows that the essential holiness of Israel's eating is through Torah — through which one draws vitality gradually and in measure through the vessels of Torah — and then specifically the vitality is drawn through the food in holiness, as mentioned above. And this is what is explained there in that Torah teaching: that according to the da'as (knowledge) drawn through Torah, so does one merit the sustenance — in the dimension of manna and so forth — study it there. For the sustenance and the holy eating — the dimension of manna — is according to the da'as one receives through Torah, which is the essential vitality. And through this specifically, the food has the power to give life to a person as mentioned above. And this is the dimension of the immersion of eating vessels — And therefore the essential immersion is specifically for metal vessels (and also glass vessels require immersion, only because they are similar to metal vessels, as our Rabbis of blessed memory explained) — for metal vessels are the dimension of wealth. For the essential wealth is comprised in the types of metal, from which come all the coins and money — which is the essential wealth. For there in the types of metal are comprised all the upper sublime colors — which are the dimensions of gold and silver and so forth — and this is the essential dimension of wealth. And because of this the Sitra Achra clings very strongly to wealth — because there all the sublime colors are present, as explained in that Torah teaching — study it there. And therefore since the Sitra Achra clings so strongly to metals and money — which are the root of wealth — therefore metal eating vessels that come from the domain of a non-Jew require immersion more than other vessels. And this is what Yitzchak said to Eisav: «take up now your vessels» [Bereishis 27:3] — and then «and make me delicacies as I love». For Yitzchak admonished him to first see to rectifying the vessels in holiness — «sa na keilecha» — and then: «make me delicacies as I love» — from the positive commandments — that is, holy foods according to the Torah, which is impossible except through the rectification of the vessels as mentioned above. The dimension of «sa na keilecha» as mentioned above. And so our Rabbis of blessed memory expounded: «sa na keilecha» — examine your knife and slaughter properly so that you should not feed me neveilah (an improperly killed animal). And therefore the examination of the knife — to save from neveilos — was called by the name «keilim» (vessels) — for the essential prohibition of neveilah is because the slaughter was not performed through holy vessels as mentioned above, without the examination of the knife and proper slaughter. And this is what Yaakov sent to Eisav: «I have dwelt with Lavan and I have kept the 613 commandments» [Bereishis 32:5]. For Eisav is the wicked kingdom — for from him came Haman, Amalek, who are the essential wicked kingdom. And the essential strength of the wicked kingdom draws sustenance from the dimension of Lavan — which is the dimension of Lovven haElyon, the Upper Whiteness — that is, the light and vitality when there are no holy vessels to draw the light and vitality gradually in proper measure. From there is the essential drawing of sustenance of Lavan's husk, and from there the drawing of sustenance of the wicked kingdom — the dimension of Eisav, Haman, Amalek. And therefore Yaakov did not go to the house of Lavan until he had first occupied himself greatly with Torah in the house of Shem and Ever [the Midrash says he spent 14 years there studying]. For through Torah one forms holy vessels to draw the holy light in measure, and through this the hold of Lavan's husk is broken — for it has no more from which to draw sustenance. And this was Yaakov's message to Eisav: «I dwelt with Lavan and kept the 613 commandments» — through the 613 commandments which form the most perfect holy vessels, I prevented Lavan's husk from drawing sustenance, and I broke the strength of the wicked kingdom entirely — «and I have ox and donkey» [Bereishis 32:6], I have acquired all I need in holiness. Likutay Halachos — Yoreh Dayah · Translated from the Hebrew of Rav Nosson of Breslov Laws of Meat-in-Milk Halacha 5 (sections 27 + 29) · Laws of Mixtures Halachos 1, 2, 3, 5 · Laws of Foods of Non-Jews Halachos 1, 2, 3 · Laws of Kashering Vessels Halachos 1, 2, 3 Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman