מאכלי עכו"ם ב

And this is the aspect of counting (sefirah), which is the aspect of contractions for the comprehension of His divinity — the said Lower Wisdom. For "before One, what do you count?" (lifnei achad mah ata sofer), and no counting at all is applicable. Therefore the essential revelation is through contractions, which are the aspect of sefiros (countings), the aspect of counting and number — for in the contractions, so to speak, counting is applicable: this is the first contraction and this is the second contraction, etc. And this is the aspect of the Counting of the Omer, that we count the days for the Omer — for days are the aspect of measures and contractions, the aspect of "and measure my days" (u'middat yamim), etc. (Tehillim 39). And these contractions can only be revealed through the Omer of barley, the jealousy-offering, the aspect of rebuke. For through this Chesed is revealed, through which Malchus is reaped from exile, etc. And this is the aspect of the reaping of the Omer — reaping specifically, the aspect of "and reap according to Chesed" (u'kitzru l'fi chesed), as mentioned.

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.

For "omer" is the language of matzah — the said Lower Wisdom. The aspect of "and the omer is a tenth of an ephah" (v'ha'omer asirit ha-eifah hu, Shemos 16:36), which is the language of Malchus, as is known (see Likutay Moharan, Siman 49) — which is the aspect of measures and contractions for the comprehension of His divinity, as mentioned. And "barley" (se'orim) is the aspect of shi'urin d'atun d'Oraisa. And this is the aspect of the waving (hanafah) of the Omer — one reaps the Lower Wisdom and elevates and waves it to its root — to Him Who owns the four directions of the world and above and below — that is, to comprehend the divinity of the Blessed One.

Therefore on the first day of the Counting — the day of the reaping of the Omer — was the downfall of Haman-Amalek. For then Malchus-Lower Wisdom is reaped from them, in the aspect of "cut it to four" — said of Agag the king of Amalek, as mentioned in the said discourse — and then they have no vitality at all. Therefore the downfall of Haman-Amalek — who is comprised of all the Four Kingdoms, as is explained in the said discourse regarding Agag king of Amalek — occurred on this day. And likewise many mother-nations, enemies of Israel, suffered a great downfall on this night of the reaping of the Omer — from Midian, Sancheriv, and others — for all of them draw their vitality from the Lower Wisdom when it falls into exile to them. And through the reaping of the Omer, Chesed is revealed — for on the first night of the counting, it is Chesed within Chesed — through this Malchus is reaped and cut from them and elevated to the light of the Countenance. And then is the downfall of all the nations that are included in the Four Kingdoms, as mentioned.

Therefore we count seven weeks — forty-nine days — which are the totality of all the contractions, the aspect of the forty-nine facets of the Torah (arba'im v'teisha panim la-Torah). And then on the fiftieth day, which is Shavuos — the Giving of the Torah — the essential revelation of His divinity takes place through these contractions. For then Malchus ascends to the light of the Countenance, which is the aspect of the holy beard — for on Shavuos, Hashem the Blessed appeared as an elder full of mercy (zaken male rachamim). Amein and Amein. [This connects to what was said above.]

For even though the great light is not comprehended at all, even so through this Emunah is strengthened — for each one according to what he gauges in his heart understands and comprehends clearly the longing of his faith in the Blessed One. And this matter cannot be explained, for it is for each individual according to what he gauges in his heart. But always, after all the miracles and all the revelations — everything was only so that the holy Emunah should be strengthened.

Therefore, after Moshe Rabbeinu performed many miracles for Israel in Egypt and at the sea — and ten miracles were performed for our forefathers in Egypt and ten at the sea, etc. — and they saw great signs and awesome wonders like these, and Moshe also revealed to them immense and awesome comprehensions. For certainly when Moshe asked Hashem the Blessed, "What is His name, what shall I say to them?" and Hashem revealed to him His holy names — he certainly revealed to them thereby great and awesome secrets of the comprehension of the secret of His holy names, in which all the secrets of Kabbalah are included. And "a handmaid at the sea saw what Yechezkel the prophet did not see" — how much more what the Children of Israel saw, how much more what the leaders and the great ones and the elders saw. After all these things it is said: "And Israel saw the great hand... and they believed in Hashem and in Moshe His servant" (vayar Yisrael es ha-yad ha-gedola... vaya'aminu ba-Hashem u've-Moshe avdo). See and understand and be wise: after all the comprehensions and knowledge and miracles — they still needed Emunah! For all the comprehensions and miracles, etc., came only for the sake of Emunah, for each one according to what he gauges in his heart — through this his Emunah was strengthened further, as mentioned. In the aspect of "and Israel saw the great hand, etc., and they believed in Hashem, etc." — for through the great seeing and comprehension they attained then, and the awesome physical wonders they saw at the splitting of the Sea, etc., through this their Emunah was greatly strengthened. For one must always strengthen oneself in Emunah — to believe in Hashem the Blessed and in the true tzaddikim in simplicity, without any wisdoms. For the essential thing is the simple Emunah, as mentioned.

Giluach (Shaving) — Halacha 4

The Great Gravity of the Transgression of Shaving the Pe'as ha-Zakan and the Head — Upon Which All the Religion of Israel Depends

As we observe — the essential sign distinguishing Israel from idolaters is the pe'os and beard. One who casts off Torah and mitzvos and shaves his beard and pe'os is like a complete apostate (mumar gamur) to the entire Torah — for the essential beginning of apostasy for all apostates is that they shave their pe'os and beard, thereby removing from themselves the distinguishing mark and sign of Israel the holy people.

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.

Based on what is explained in Siman 23, in the Torah "Tzivisa Tzedek" — there are holy faces (anpin d'kedusha), which are illuminated faces (anpin nehirin), the aspect of life, as it is said: "In the light of the king's face is life" (b'or pnei melech chaim) — the aspect of joy, etc. And there are the faces of the Sitra Achra, which are darkened faces (anpin chashuchin), melancholy, idol-worship, etc. And it is explained there that one who is sunk in the desire for money is bound to the faces of the Sitra Achra, other gods, darkness, the aspect of death, etc. But people whose business dealings are conducted in faith (Emunah) are attached to the light of the holy face — for there is no Emunah without truth (emes), and truth is the light of the face (ohr ha-panim), as is known, etc. See all of this there carefully.

For the essential thing is the face (panim). For in every matter in the world, the essential thing of any matter is the aspect of its face — just as in a person, the essential thing of a person is the face, for all the brain, knowledge, and speech are in the face, as it is said: "The wisdom of a man illumines his face." And all interactions a person has with another — whether engaging with a colleague in Torah or in business matters — all of it is through the face, where the wisdom and speech are, which are the essence of the person.

And likewise in all things in the world, there is the aspect of a face — which is the essence of the matter, the aspect of the face of that thing. And every person must look in every matter at its face and its essence — for the essence of every matter, which is the aspect of its face, is the truth (emes). For truth is the aspect of face, as is explained in this Torah, as mentioned. And as is elaborated in the Kavannas: truth is the light of the face. And as is explained in Siman 192 — truth is the face of all faces of holiness, etc., see there. And truth is one, as our master, teacher, and Rebbe of blessed memory said in Siman 51 and elsewhere — meaning: the essence of every matter, which is the face of that matter, as mentioned, is only the truth, which is one — which is the divine vitality clothed in that matter, which is the essence of the matter. For Hashem the Blessed is the root and source of all worlds. And one who looks in every matter at the divine vitality dwelling within it — which is the essential truth — looks at the face of the matter, which is the essence of the matter, as mentioned.

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].