דגים ג

Based on the discourse "Maishra d'Sakkina", Likutay Moharan, Part I, Siman 30 — see there the entire discourse from beginning to end.

The foundational principle cited there: when the sitra achra (forces of impurity) suckles, Heaven forfend, from the da'as (knowledge/consciousness) and chesed (lovingkindness) of holiness — causing prayer to enter a state of judgment (תְּפִלָּה בִּבְחִינַת דִּין) and the desire for licentiousness to overpower — then one needs a mighty warrior-of-strength (בַּעַל כֹּחַ) who will pray a prayer in the mode of judgment. And this prayer stands at the throat of the sitra achra — and through it, the sitra achra vomits out all the holiness and all the da'as it had swallowed. And this is the aspect of Pinchas in the episode of Zimri — "and Pinchas stood and prayed" (וַיַּעֲמֹד פִּינְחָס וַיְפַלֵּל) — who prayed a prayer in the mode of judgment. And this is the aspect of converts — the aspect of "and Yisro heard" — what tidings did he hear and come? The splitting of the Sea of Reeds and the war against Amalek. And through this, thunders arise — clouds that pour down water — and through this one merits prophecy. And through all of this the voice of the melody is awakened which waters the garden where all the fragrances grow — through which one subdues physical sustenance (מְזוֹנָא דְּגוּפָא) and merits spiritual sustenance (מְזוֹנָא דְּנִשְׁמָתָא), through which one can give rebuke — for one gives a good fragrance to souls through one's rebuke. (See there all of this carefully, carefully.)

This corresponds to the prohibition of a limb from a living creature (אִסּוּר אֵיבָר מִן הַחַי) and the mitzvah of ritual slaughter (מִצְוַת שְׁחִיטָה). For we are forbidden to eat anything from a living creature except through the rectification of slaughter. For the living creature — the domesticated animal, the wild animal, and the like — is in the aspect of foolishness (כְּסִילוּת), the absence of da'as, from which the sitra achra suckles. They are in the aspect of the animalistic spirit (רוּחַ הַבְּהֵמִיּוּת), from which derives the grip of all desires — especially the comprehensive desire which is the desire for licentiousness, which is itself the aspect of animalism: the absence of da'as. For the brain is a partition spread against this desire, as is explained in the teaching above.

And therefore we may not eat from a living creature, lest the animalistic spirit overpower us, Heaven forfend — lest we give, Heaven forfend, a suckle to the spirit of the animal from the spirit of man, which is the aspect of da'as. And for this reason we are forbidden to eat from a living creature except through the rectification of slaughter. For slaughter through the slaughter-knife is the aspect of a sword for Hashem — the aspect of "the exaltation of G-d is in their throats and a double-edged sword in their hands" (רוֹמְמוֹת אֵל בִּגְרוֹנָם וְחֶרֶב פִּיפִיּוֹת בְּיָדָם, Psalms 149:6) — which is the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment (תְּפִלָּה בִּבְחִינַת דִּין). And all of this is explained above in the Laws of Priestly Gifts (הִלְכוֹת מַתְּנוֹת כְּהֻנָּה), see there. For through Adam's sin all things became intermingled — and then through that sin, the sitra achra suckled from the da'as and chesed of holiness, for the essential damage of that sin was to da'as — the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge. And now, whenever we need to rectify and clarify and extract the holy vitality from the sitra achra and the kelipot, we must each time employ the power of the prayer of the mighty warrior-of-strength — the prayer in the mode of judgment — through which one extracts from the sitra achra all its vitality and all the holiness it swallowed, in the aspect of "he swallowed wealth and then vomits it" (חַיִל בָּלַע וַיְקִאֶנּוּ, Job 20:15), as described. And therefore at the Exodus from Egypt — which was the essential rectification of Adam's sin, as is known, for the Egyptian exile came because of the damage of Adam's sin — when the Holy One Blessed be He wished to bring them out and rectify Adam's sin — to extract all the vitality and holiness from the sitra achra — Moshe was required to employ prayer in the mode of judgment: the aspect of "cast it before Pharaoh and it shall become a serpent" (וְהַשְׁלֵךְ לִפְנֵי פַּרְעֹה יְהִי לְתַנִּין, Exodus 7:9), as cited in the teaching above — for this is the aspect of Moshe's staff, the mighty staff, which is the aspect of the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, as explained in the teaching above. And therefore when one needs to rectify the animal — that is, to subdue the animalistic spirit and extract from it all the holy vitality it swallowed — to clarify what became intermingled through Adam's sin, the spirit of man and the spirit of the animal — one must employ the mighty staff, which is the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength. This is the aspect of the slaughter-knife of shechitah — the aspect of "the exaltation of G-d is in their throats and a double-edged sword in their hands" — which is the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength. And then one extracts from the sitra achra — from the animalistic spirit — all the holiness and all the da'as it swallowed. And then one is permitted to eat the animal, for then the animalistic spirit is subdued and annulled through the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength, which is the aspect of the slaughter-knife. (See also this above in the Laws of Priestly Gifts.) It follows that one cannot eat anything from a living creature except through the rectification of the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength — which is the aspect of slaughter, as described. And therefore milk that emerges from a living creature the Torah permitted — for the essential flow of milk comes through birth (לֵדָה). For at birth, blood becomes turbid and is transformed into milk — and this occurs through the rectification described above, through the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength. For the essential act of birth is drawn from there — for all births are a rectification of Adam's sin, as is known. For in every birth, clarifications are made that became intermingled through Adam's sin, as is known. And therefore the essential act of birth is drawn through the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength — for the arousal of union comes from the side of Gevurah (Divine Power), as cited in the holy Zohar. This is the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment — for union is the aspect of prayer, as is known. And as is cited in the words of Rabainu, of blessed memory, regarding the saying of our Sages of blessed memory: "that my prayer should be adjacent to my bed" etc., see there (Likutay Moharan, Torah Lesson 9). And because of Adam's sin — whose essential damage was to the covenant (פְּגַם הַבְּרִית) — it is therefore necessary that the arousal of union come from the left side, the side of Gevurah, as described. And therefore one requires a great hero and warrior-of-strength to merit that one's union be in holiness — so that the judgment of the sitra achra shall not take hold of it, Heaven forfend (which is the aspect of small-mindedness, מֹחִין דְּקַטְנוּת, from which the animalistic desire flows). Rather one must be a hero, strong and mighty-of-strength — the aspect of "mighty warriors who do His bidding; those who overpower their desires are like angels themselves" (גִּבֹּרֵי כֹחַ עֹשֵֹי דְבָרוֹ, אִנּוּן דְּמִתְגַּבְּרִין עַל יִצְרֵיהוֹן, אִנּוּן דַּמְיָין לְמַלְאָכִין מַמָּשׁ). And then when one merits to be a hero and warrior-of-strength who overcomes his desire — even though by necessity the arousal of union comes from the side of Gevurah — with all that, the sitra achra does not take hold of it at all, Heaven forfend. On the contrary: union in holiness is in the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength described above — and through this, on the contrary, one extracts all the holiness and all the da'as from the sitra achra, in the aspect of "he swallowed wealth and then vomits it" — and through this, Adam's sin is clarified and rectified, as described. And this is the aspect of the sanctification of firstborns (קִדּוּשׁ בְּכוֹרוֹת) of man and animal — for everything follows the beginning (הַכֹּל הוֹלֵךְ אַחַר הַהַתְחָלָה). And therefore the Torah commanded that the first birth — which is the firstborn — be given to the Kohen (priest). For the essential Kohen-hood is the aspect of chesed, as is known, which is the aspect of da'as, as explained in the teaching above — in the aspect of "for the lips of the Kohen shall guard da'as" (כִּי שִֹפְתֵי כֹהֵן יִשְׁמְרוּ דַּעַת, Malachi 2:7). The essential Kohen-hood is drawn only through the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength — for this is the aspect of Pinchas's prayer at the episode of Zimri, as described. For it was precisely when Pinchas was zealous in the episode of Zimri — "and Pinchas stood and prayed, and he prayed a prayer in the mode of judgment" — that he merited the Kohen-hood: as it is written "Therefore say: behold I give to him My covenant of peace... and it shall be for him and his seed after him the covenant of eternal priesthood" (לָכֵן אֱמֹר הִנְנִי נֹתֵן לוֹ אֶת בְּרִיתִי שָׁלוֹם... וְהָיְתָה לוֹ וּלְזַרְעוֹ אַחֲרָיו בְּרִית כְּהֻנַּת עוֹלָם, Numbers 25:12-13). And therefore all the Kohanim and Levites are called "men of strength" (בַּעֲלֵי כֹחַ) — as Rashi explains on the verse (Ecclesiastes 12:3): "and the men of valor shall be bowed" — these are the Kohanim who were heroes. And similarly this verse — "cast it before Pharaoh and it shall become a serpent" — which alludes to prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength — this verse was said regarding Aharon: as it is written there "And you shall say to Aharon: take your staff and cast it..." And through this Aharon afterward merited the Kohen-hood. For through prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength, one extracts all the vitality and all the holiness and all the da'as and the chesed that the sitra achra swallowed. And then the da'as and chesed return to holiness, and the da'as and chesed of holiness are completed — which is the aspect of the Kohen, as described. And therefore one must give the firstborn — which is the first birth — to the Kohen: in order to draw holiness to the firstborn, to the first birth, through the holiness of the Kohen which is drawn from the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength — from which the essential holiness of birth derives, as described. And everything follows the beginning — and then all the births that come afterward all receive holiness from there. For birth is the aspect of the Exodus from Egypt, which is the aspect of giving birth (לֵדָה), as is known. And then all the holiness the sitra achra had swallowed is clarified and emerges, as described — and therefore then "blood becomes turbid and is transformed into milk," for it is converted from judgment to mercy. For the sitra achra — the intensity of the judgment — vomits out all the holiness it had swallowed, and then the chesed of holiness is completed and converted from judgment to mercy: the aspect of "blood becomes turbid and is transformed into milk," as described. And therefore immediately at the Exodus from Egypt the first mitzvah commanded was to sanctify firstborns of man and animal — for the essential Exodus from Egypt, which is the aspect of birth, came about through this aspect: through the aspect of prayer of the warrior-of-strength, the aspect of "cast it before Pharaoh" etc., as described. And therefore they were commanded immediately to sanctify firstborns — for the sanctification of firstborns is this very aspect: to draw power from the prayer described above, from which derives the holiness of birth, as described. And therefore at first the [Temple] service was performed by the firstborns, and afterward when they sinned [with the Golden Calf], they became disqualified and Kohanim were chosen in their place. For the service of sacrifices is the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength — for all sacrifices are the aspect of prayer, since prayer takes the place of sacrifice. And the essential act of sacrifice is the sprinkling of blood on the Altar, and blood is the aspect of judgments (דִּינִים). And therefore sacrifices are the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength — they are the aspect of the Kohanim who are men of valor, mighty warriors, as described — through which one clarifies and extracts all the vitality of the sitra achra that became intermingled there through the sins for which the sacrifice is offered. And therefore at first the service was performed by the firstborns, for they too were in this aspect, until they sinned with the [Golden] Calf — then they were disqualified, and then Kohanim were chosen in their place. For the Kohanim are the aspect of mighty warriors, as described, and they are holy in the holiness of the covenant — for they have many more mitzvos relating to the holiness of the covenant than ordinary Israelites — and therefore they are the aspect of warriors-of-strength. And therefore the essential service of sacrifices is through them, for they can perform the rectification through the prayer of the warrior-of-strength, which is the aspect of sacrifices. And therefore one must give the firstborn to the Kohen to draw holiness to the first birth through the Kohen etc., as described. And therefore the essential Exodus from Egypt came about through the Plague of the Firstborn — which was the final plague and with advance warning. For all the plagues of Egypt all came through Moshe's prayer — for all the awesome signs and wonders that Moshe performed were all through his prayer. It follows that when Moshe was required to pray that the Holy One Blessed be He bring plagues upon Pharaoh, this prayer was prayer in the mode of judgment. But Moshe was a great warrior-of-strength and the sitra achra could not gain power, Heaven forfend, through this over Israel as well — on the contrary, through this he extracted all the vitality from the sitra achra and subdued the sitra achra each time, and it had no dominion at all over Israel. And with each and every plague Hashem distinguished between Egypt and Israel. And the essential [plague] was the Plague of the Firstborn — when the intensity of the judgment overpowered them until all their firstborns died — and yet the greatness of the power of Moshe protected [Israel], so that the judgment had, Heaven forfend, no dominion over the firstborns of Israel, as it is said: "and I will pass over you and there shall be no plague among you" (וּפָסַחְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם וְלֹא יִהְיֶה בָּכֶם נֶגֶף, Exodus 12:13). For Moshe's prayer was the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength — through which one subdues the sitra achra and extracts from it all the holiness and all the vitality it swallowed, as described. And this is the aspect of the Exodus from Egypt, the aspect of birth etc., as described. And then "blood becomes turbid and is transformed into milk" — for judgment is annulled and converted to mercy. And therefore milk the Torah permitted, with no prohibition of "a limb from a living creature" — for the essential milk is made through birth, when blood becomes turbid and is transformed into milk. And birth is the aspect of the Exodus from Egypt, which is drawn through the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength — through which the sitra achra, the animalistic spirit, is subdued, and all the holiness is extracted from it. And therefore milk is permitted to eat — for the animalistic spirit has already been subdued from it through the aspect of birth etc., as described. For the essential prohibition of a limb from a living creature is because the animalistic spirit still rules there and is not subdued except through slaughter, as described. But milk — which is made through birth — is permitted, with no prohibition of a limb from a living creature, for the animalistic spirit has already been subdued and its holiness extracted through the aspect of birth etc., as described. And this is also the aspect of honey which the Torah permitted — for honey is the aspect of Gevurot (divine powers), as is known, in the aspect of "what is sweeter than honey and what is stronger than a lion?" (מַה מָּתוֹק מִדְּבַשׁ וּמֶה עַז מֵאֲרִי, Judges 14:18). And therefore Shimshon the mighty, when he went to take a wife from the daughters of the Philistines, found honey in the carcass of the lion — for Shimshon the mighty needed then to overpower the Philistines who ruled over Israel. That is: the sitra achra — the nations — who had overpowered Israel, were then suckling from holiness. And then one must employ the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength. And therefore the miracle came about through Shimshon the mighty who was a hero and warrior-of-strength, possessing the power to pray such a prayer. And therefore he went to them to take a wife — to go down to them specifically so that they would want to take hold of him, while he with the intensity of his strength and power would overpower them through this specifically, as it is written: "for it was from Hashem, for He sought an occasion against the Philistines" (כִּי מֵה' הוּא כִּי תֹּאֲנָה הוּא מְבַקֵּשׁ מִפְּלִשְׁתִּים) — for this is the aspect of the prayer described above of the warrior-of-strength in the mode of judgment. For then the sitra achra wants to take hold of it — for their foothold is always in the aspect of judgment — but since he is a warrior-of-strength, this prayer stands at their throat until they vomit out all the holiness etc., as is explained there carefully in the teaching above. And this is itself the matter of Shimshon as described — for among the Tzaddikim, union and prayer are one and the same aspect, as described. And Israel in general is in the aspect of mercy — for there are three signs in this nation: merciful ones etc., as our Sages of blessed memory said. While the nations are hard of heart — the aspect of judgment. And therefore it is forbidden for us to intermarry with them — for the union of Israel must be in the aspect of mercy and da'as, which is the aspect of the holiness of the covenant. (See regarding this in Even HaEzer, in the Laws of Marriage regarding lineage, that the sign is: merciful, charitable, etc. See there.) And Shimshon the mighty — because he needed then to extract the vitality from the sitra achra to overpower them — was therefore compelled to employ the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength. And therefore he married among them — for they are the aspect of judgment and they would want, Heaven forfend, to take hold of him — while he, with the intensity of his strength and power, would overpower them through this and extract from them all the vitality they had swallowed and subdue them and save Israel. And therefore he then found honey in the lion's carcass — for the honey was drawn from there through the prayer of the warrior-of-strength, for honey is drawn from the aspect of prayer of the warrior-of-strength etc. For honey is pure emerging from the impure — and this is a novellum — for bees allude to the sitra achra surrounding the holiness, in the aspect of "they surrounded me like bees" etc. — "they pushed me to fall but Hashem helped me; my strength and the song of G-d" (דָּחֹה דְחִיתַנִי לִנְפֹּל וַה' עֲזָרָנִי, עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָ"הּ, Psalms 118:13-14). That is: when the sitra achra surrounds holiness in the aspect of "they surrounded me like bees," and they want to push and topple it, Heaven forfend — then one must draw power from prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength. And this is "my strength and the song of G-d" — "zimrat" (song/melody) is the aspect of prayer, that is: prayer which is the aspect of judgment, the aspect of strength and power — "and it became for me a salvation," for through this prayer one receives salvation and through this one extracts all the holiness from the sitra achra. And this is the aspect of the sweetness of honey that emerges from the bees specifically — who are impure, the aspect of the sitra achra — for from there specifically one extracts the sweetness of honey. For the sitra achra vomits out all the holiness it had swallowed through the prayer described above. And therefore the Torah permitted honey — for it too is drawn from the aspect of prayer described above, through which the sitra achra is subdued and all holiness is extracted from it: this is the aspect of honey emerging from the bees, as described. And therefore we eat honey on Rosh Hashanah — for then on Rosh Hashanah the prayer is in the mode of judgment, as cited in the teaching above. And from there derives the aspect of honey, as described. [Editorial note in the original:] This belongs above. And this is "the voice of song and salvation" (קוֹל רִנָּה וִישׁוּעָה) specifically — this is the aspect of the voice of melody awakened through prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength, which is the aspect of the river that flows out of Eden etc., as is written there. See there. And this is the aspect of Shavuos — which is the Giving of the Torah. For "the Torah was given from the mouth of the Gevurah (מִפִּי הַגְּבוּרָה)" — from the aspect of Gevurot. For the essential Torah is drawn through the prayer described above — through which came the Exodus from Egypt and the splitting of the Sea of Reeds and the war against Amalek etc. — through which Yisro came and converted, and through which thunders arose — clouds that pour down water etc., as described — through which the Torah is drawn, as the waters of da'as of holiness flow forth and are revealed: this is the aspect of the Torah. And therefore the Giving of the Torah was accompanied by thunders and lightning — that is, thunders which are the aspect of clouds that pour down water etc., as described — which is drawn from the aspect of prayer described above. And therefore in truth Shavuos is great chesed and great mercy — only this chesed is revealed through the aspect of prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength, which is the aspect of the Gevurot of Yitzchak: the aspect of the shofar of Yitzchak's ram at the time of the Giving of the Torah — through which the sitra achra is subdued and all the holiness and all the da'as and all the chesed it had swallowed are extracted, as described. And through this one merits prophecy — the aspect of "face to face G-d spoke with you" (פָּנִים בְּפָנִים דִּבֵּר ה' עִמָּכֶם), which was at the time of the Giving of the Torah, as explained in the teaching above. And then "blood becomes turbid and is transformed into milk" — for the judgment is sweetened and converted to mercy — which comes about through the prayer of the warrior-of-strength described above. And therefore we eat dairy foods (מַאֲכְלֵי חָלָב) on Shavuos. And because honey is drawn from this aspect — from the prayer in the mode of judgment of the warrior-of-strength — therefore it is said of it: "Have you found honey? Eat your fill of it, but not too much, lest you be filled with it and vomit it" (דְּבַשׁ מָצָאתָ אֱכֹל דַּיֶּךָּ פֶּן תִּשְֹבָּעֶנּוּ וַהֲקֵאֹתוֹ, Proverbs 25:16), and it is written: "to eat much honey is not good" (אָכֹל דְּבַשׁ הַרְבּוֹת לֹא טוֹב, Proverbs 25:27). For in that realm one must be a great warrior-of-strength — and one must not make excessive use of this mode, lest the sitra achra take hold of one, Heaven forfend. And therefore our Sages of blessed memory said that Shimshon also stumbled then — for when one enters into the mode of judgment, Heaven forfend, it is a great danger, and one must flee from there immediately, in the aspect of "have you found honey? eat your fill but not too much" — for the essential nature of prayer is mercy and supplication etc., as cited in the teaching above.

And this is the aspect of the prohibition of shaving the pe'os and the beard — which are the hairs close to the face. For Malchus — Lower Wisdom, mentioned in the said discourse — is the aspect of hairs, the aspect of shi'ura d'atun d'Oraisa, as is explained there well in the said discourse. Through these hairs, which are the aspects of contractions etc., one can comprehend the divinity of the Blessed One. Therefore it is forbidden to destroy the hairs of the beard and pe'os, which are the hairs closest to the light of the Countenance — for the essential vitality of Malchus, which is the aspect of the Lower Wisdom, comes from the light of the Countenance that shines at the Three Festivals, as mentioned in the said discourse. Therefore through the hairs that are closest to the light of the Countenance — which are the pe'os and the beard — through them the essential Wisdom and contraction of comprehension of His divinity are drawn, for the essential vitality of Malchus-Lower Wisdom is from the light of the Countenance, as mentioned. And this is the aspect of the beard and two pe'os corresponding to the Three Festivals, at which the light of the Countenance shines, as mentioned.

Therefore the essence of the religion of Israel and the essence of Jewish identity depends on the beard and pe'os, and through them the Jew is recognizable — for he is from the seed blessed by Hashem, the seed of Israel. And whoever has a different spirit upon him, God forbid, and wishes to deny, God forbid, the G-d of Israel: the beginning of that denial is when he casts off, God forbid, the beard and pe'os from himself. For in truth, all the holy religion of Israel depends on beard and pe'os, since all the words of our holy Torah and all the mitzvos are aspects of contractions for the comprehension of His divinity — as is explained in the said discourse. For every single letter and every single word of our holy Torah — written and oral — and every single mitzvah and every valid custom of Israel the holy and chosen people are all measures and contractions through which they merit to comprehend the divinity of the Blessed One, each one according to what he can gauge in his own heart, in accordance with his meriting through his service and striving in Torah and mitzvos and good deeds, and his abstaining from evil deeds.

All these contractions and measures — the aspect of shi'urin d'atun d'Oraisa — are all the aspect of hairs, as mentioned, and all of them are drawn from the hairs of the holy beard and the pe'os. For every single hair of the pe'os and of the holy and precious beard are all supernal conduits and holy contractions, from which all the wisdom of the holy Torah and the mitzvos are drawn — through which the divinity of the Blessed One is comprehended. For the thirteen holy configurations (tikkune dikna) correspond to the thirteen attributes through which the Torah is expounded, which are the totality of the holy Torah.

Woe to one who touches, God forbid, to destroy even a single hair of the holy beard and pe'os with deliberate contempt and willfulness and treachery — woe to him and woe to his soul! For he uproots himself and his soul from the G-d of Israel and has no portion in the Torah of Moshe. Woe to their souls, for they have dealt evil to themselves.

Because of this, in our many, many sins, the wisdom of philosophy and heresy has spread in the land of Ashkenaz and its surroundings, where people have cast off entirely in these generations the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven and thrown away their beard and most of their pe'os and dressed in their garments (Gentile dress) — as mentioned. For it is explained in the said discourse that sometimes Malchus-Lower Wisdom falls among the Four Kingdoms. And this is the aspect of "the crying of a ruler among fools" (ze'akas moshel b'ksilim) — for Malchus cries out with a bitter voice over the fall of her wisdom among fools, since the fool wants to be wise — that is, they wish to dominate, God forbid, through their external wisdoms, namely philosophy and heresy, which are foolishness in truth — through the fall of the Lower Wisdom, the aspect of Malchus, into exile, etc.

Therefore because they destroy their beards in Ashkenaz, and through this they damage the contractions of the comprehension of His divinity, in the Lower Wisdom, in Malchus, as mentioned — through this, external wisdoms gain strength, God forbid, which is the wisdom of philosophy. Therefore they engage in external wisdoms more and more there — because they destroy the corners of their beard with contempt and transgress five prohibitions each time. For this depends on this, as mentioned: external wisdoms depend on the destruction of the corners of the holy beard, as mentioned.