נותן טעם לפגם ב

And this is the aspect of: "they covered him with garments but he could not become warm." And this was his punishment for having blemished the garments of Shaul — as the Sages say (Brochos 62): because garments are the aspect of Lower Wisdom, the aspect of Malchus, as mentioned. Therefore when Shaul saw that David was wearing his garments and they fit him exactly, he understood from this the affairs of royalty — for the essential aspect of Malchus is recognized through garments, in the aspect of royal vestments, as mentioned. Therefore because David blemished the garments of King Shaul — which are the aspect of Lower Wisdom, the aspect of the clothing of the Higher Intellect in the Lower Intellect — therefore he was punished measure for measure: that he had no garments and vessels to attain comprehensions according to his level. Therefore: "they covered him with garments but he could not become warm," as mentioned.

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.