בשר בחלב ב

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And therefore they have no upright posture whatsoever, not even as animals have; they have no legs at all, only crawling upon the earth in the aspect of "Upon your belly you shall go" (וְעַל גְּחוֹנְךָ תֵּלֵךְ). They are pressed and cleaved most closely to the dust of the earth, where the primary grip of the serpent's filth rests, as stated. Therefore their prohibition is exceedingly severe, and many negative commandments apply to them — for they are repulsive and abominable things, utterly the filth of the serpent, which defile the soul of man most greatly. They are the direct opposite of the soul's holiness, for the root of all souls of holiness is honor (כָּבוֹד) — as our Rebbe, may his light shine, stated in Torah 67, which corresponds to the perfection of the Holy Tongue (שְׁלֵמוּת לְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ), the aspect of guarding the covenant (שְׁמִירַת הַבְּרִית), wherein lies honor — as explained in his words in many places. The aspect of "Honor Hashem from your wealth" (כַּבֵּד אֶת ה׳ מֵהוֹנֶךָ) corresponds to the perfection of the Holy Tongue, as explained there. But vermin and crawling things are exceedingly abominable and repulsive things — the direct opposite of honor. They are the ultimate filth of the comprehensive evil, the filth of the serpent, as stated — which is the utter opposite of the perfection of the Holy Tongue. For worms represent the aspect of עֵשָׂו (Esav) — as cited in the Kabbalistic writings in the Kavanos of the Parashas HaTamid — and he is the core of the serpent's filth, of whom it is said: "Greatly despised are you" (בָּזוּי אַתָּה מְאֹד), for therein lies the essence of disgrace and contempt — the opposite of honor, the opposite of the perfection of the Holy Tongue, the guarding of the covenant, the holiness of the soul, as stated. And this is what our Sages taught: "בָּזוּי אַתָּה מְאֹד" — that they (the kingdom of Esav-Edom) have neither script nor language. That is, he represents the very extreme and ultimate of the serpent's filth, in which there is no good at all. For in every script and language, even in the languages of the seventy nations, there is also some good mixed in — albeit very little. As our Sages said (Menachos 34): "Tat in the Kitfi language means 'two'; pat in the Afriki language means 'two'" — and as explained in our Rebbe's words (Torah 33). But Esav-Edom is called "greatly despised," as stated, having no script and language whatsoever. The holy letters that give him vitality are constricted to the absolute minimum, and the filth overwhelms so greatly that holiness is concealed and obscured there to the extreme — until they have no script and language at all, making them the ultimate opposite of the Holy Tongue, as stated. Therefore he is called "greatly despised." This is the aspect of worms that come from there, as stated — that they defile the soul of man greatly, for they are loathsome and repulsive, the aspect of בָּזוּי מְאֹד as stated; the filth of the serpent — the utter opposite of the Holy Tongue, having neither script nor language, as stated. Therefore worms crawl and teem everywhere and in all kinds of food and drink they teem therein. They attach themselves and cling to everything, for they are the aspect of the ultimate filth of the serpent that winds and clings and wraps around every holy thing — and they are those that destroy and rot and ruin everything in the world when things are not guarded from them well. They are the aspect of the filth of the יֵצֶר הָרָע (Evil Inclination) that is foolish, dim-witted, and contaminated — the lowliest aspect of the Evil Inclination, as cited in our Rebbe's words (Torah 72). It wraps and clings and entangles itself in every holy matter, and it weighs down greatly with sadness and laziness (עַצְבוּת וְעַצְלוּת) — all of which corresponds to the aspect of vermin and creeping things, the filth of the serpent, in the aspect of "The serpent — dust is his bread" — for dust is the aspect of sadness and laziness, as our Rebbe explained (Torah 189). As one sees in practice: vermin and creeping things are in the ultimate state of laziness and sadness, their vitality being less than any other living thing. One must guard himself greatly from this aspect of the Evil Inclination. But with a little attention, awareness, and some quickness, one can separate oneself from them and subdue them — for their vitality is very little and they have no strength; it is very easy to kill them and break them quickly. It is only because they crawl and teem everywhere and cling and entangle themselves and wrap around every holy matter that at first it seems to a person that it is very difficult and burdensome to leave them and break them. But with a little awareness and some quickness, one can kill them by the thousands and tens of thousands each moment — for they have no strength at all, as one sees in practice. The main thing is to guard oneself very greatly at their beginning — when they start to emerge and crawl in the fruit or in anything. For before they have separated, they are permitted. And after they have separated, they are forbidden. For everything comes to be through thought — thought is the essential thing, for without thought nothing can come to be. When the mind crawls and thinks about a holy matter — in the aspect of "My heart stirred a good word" (רָחַשׁ לִבִּי דָּבָר טוֹב) — then the worm, which is the essential adversary of holiness as stated, is wrapped there and seeks a place to crawl and teem in that thought. One must guard the fruits of the intellect very greatly — that they should not become corrupted, Heaven forbid — not allowing it a place to crawl and teem there, Heaven forbid. And even if, Heaven forbid, one's mind has become corrupted and an evil thought begins crawling in his mind, he must guard himself greatly not to allow it a place to go out and separate — Heaven forbid — in the aspect of "Rebuke the beast of the reed" (גְּעַר חַיַּת קָנֶה), as written in our Rebbe's words there. The חַיַּת קָנֶה is the aspect of Esav, the aspect of the worm mentioned — that immediately when an evil thought begins to crawl in one's mind, one must rebuke it, flee from it instantly, not giving it any foothold, Heaven forbid, to crawl as stated. For as long as they have not yet separated, they are still permissible to eat — and one must hasten to eat them before they separate and become forbidden. For at the beginning of an evil thought's crawling, one can turn it to good — if one guards oneself not to sour one's mind, not allowing it to crawl and separate, Heaven forbid. Therefore Elisha — who possessed the perfection of the Holy Tongue in the aspect of "Let there be please a double portion of your spirit upon me" (וַיְהִי נָא פִי שְׁנַיִם בְּרוּחֲךָ אֵלַי), as our Rebbe wrote there — merited that no fly was ever seen upon his table. For flies, which are vermin (שְׁקָצִים), are the opposite of the perfection of the Holy Tongue, as stated. And this is what the Shunammite woman said: "A holy man of God passes through us always" — for she never saw a fly upon his table nor a seminal emission upon his linen, for these two things depend on each other. What protects from seminal emissions is through the perfection of the Holy Tongue — as our Rebbe stated there. And from this very thing, no fly was seen, etc., as stated. And this is also what our Sages learned from this very verse: that the hospitality of Elisha was equivalent to the offering of the daily sacrifice (תְּמִידִין) — as our Sages said: "A holy man, etc. — whoever brings in, etc." — for the תָּמִיד (daily offering) subdues the worm-aspect, from which all flies and vermin come, as stated. And through welcoming a Tzaddik in the aspect of Elisha, one is saved from the worm — for he embodies the offering of the Tamid. See the discourse "Beni Lan Baisa" (Torah 28).