חוקות העכו"ם א

Laws of the Statutes of the Nations — Halachos 1, 2 & 3

The matter of yayin nesech — that wine is forbidden through mere touch when a non-Jew touches it — which we do not find by any other thing in the world, for there is no other thing that becomes forbidden through the mere touch of a non-Jew alone. Based on the Torah-teaching "Bikarav alai m'ray'im" etc. [LM I:36] — see there. It explains there that the essential trial and refinement of every person is the lust of immorality — the totality of all evil desires and traits of the seventy nations. Every soul of Israel is rooted in the seventy souls of the house of Yaakov — the seventy luminous faces, the seventy faces of the Torah. Corresponding to them are the seventy non-Jews gripped in all the evil desires. It is impossible to arrive at revelation in Torah except by shattering the klipah — which is all desires rooted in that general lust. Moshe Rabbeinu, who is the totality of Torah, was exceedingly pure in this. Corresponding to him in the klipah was Bilam — sunken in the defilement of that lust. The remedy for licentious thoughts is to say the Shema and Baruch Shem etc. And this is the aspect of the prohibition of wine touched by non-Jews. For wine encompasses two aspects — good and evil — for its root in holiness is exceedingly lofty: encompassed in all seventy faces of the Torah, the seventy souls of the house of Yaakov, the seventy elders. As our Sages said: "whoever is settled in his mind through his wine has something of the understanding of the seventy elders — for yayin is given in seventy letters." But below the wine is gripped by the evil of all seventy nations — all the desires, whose root and totality is that lust — as is empirically evident. Through drunkenness the mind is confused and the boiling of the blood comes, especially that lust. As it is said: "do not look upon wine when it reddens — its end is blood" [Sanhedrin 70a]. And: "your eyes shall see strange women" [Proverbs 23:33] — the comprehensive evil of all seventy nations. Therefore: "if he merited — he becomes rosh" — seventy faces of Torah, da'as, mind. "If he did not merit — he becomes rash" — the blemish of that lust, bringing poverty: "one who keeps company with harlots wastes substance." Therefore our Sages said: "one who sees a Sotah in her degradation should vow abstinence from wine." Therefore wine must be guarded from the touch of non-Jews — for they cleave to the evil of all desires rooted in that lust. The instant they touch the wine it is turned entirely to evil — gripped by their evil, the opposite of Israel's holiness encompassed in the seventy souls of the house of Yaakov. Therefore our Sages said they decreed against their wine on account of their daughters — for through non-Jewish wine that lust is aroused. Therefore even kosher wine of Israel — every Jew must guard himself greatly. For there is no one who can drink wine properly except the true tzadik who is completely pure from all desires — especially from that general lust. Of him: "he merited — he becomes rosh." But one not clean from that desire — when he drinks wine, especially in quantity, the aspect of the touch of non-Jews can grip him: the boiling of blood from the evil of all seventy nations, that lust. For it is proper to drink wine only a little, to broaden the mind — and even this specifically on Shabbos, Yom Tov, and at a seudas mitzvah. For the essential holiness of wine flows only from Shabbos holiness — which encompasses all seventy faces of Torah. And this holiness is drawn through wine specifically at Kiddush. Therefore the marital union of Torah scholars is only Shabbos to Shabbos — for then the seventy faces, the seventy souls of the house of Yaakov, the holiness of the covenant, shine. And from this a holy soul can be drawn. Everything depends on attachment to the true tzaddikim who have merited the holiness of the covenant in ultimate perfection — through whom every person can draw upon himself the holiness of Shabbos, the holiness of the covenant, the seventy faces. Then one can drink a little wine on Shabbos and Yom Tov to gladden the soul — to feel the sweetness and pleasantness of Torah and Israel's holiness drawn upon us through the tzaddikim. For truly no one can draw upon himself Shabbos and Torah holiness by his own deeds — only through the true tzaddikim who sanctified themselves from all desires. They are our joy and sanctification. But one who makes wine his permanent fixture every day — drinking much morning and evening — coming to drunkenness even on weekdays — and not only that but strongly opposing the true tzaddikim and their followers, gnashing his teeth against them with all manner of opposition and mockery, literally permitting their blood: about him it is said: "do not look upon wine when it reddens — its end is literally blood" — permitting the blood of upright Jews. And this is: "who has woe? who has anguish? who has strife? who has wounds without cause? those who linger over wine" — who multiply terrible strife in Israel until beatings and wounds without cause, destroying and mocking all the paths of truly upright people walking in the ways of our holy forebears. About this: "wine is a scorner, strong drink is raucous — all who stray in it are not wise" [Proverbs 20:1] — even one who is somewhat upright strays through wine until he inverts the truth, speaking slander about the truly G-d-fearing. All his error comes through excess wine each day. Therefore: "all who stray in it are not wise" — for his drinking brought not rosh and wisdom but the opposite: bereft of da'as, devastated — speaking lies and falsehoods against true tzaddikim, upright and wholesome people. And all the length of exile, in our many sins, is drawn through this. For the essential exile comes through the souls of Israel being exiled in their desires and evil traits — rooted in the lust of immorality. Every soul of Israel is compelled to come into this exile and trial. From this the physical exile also flows — and there is no remedy except to cry out and pray greatly to Hashem — as explained there, with seventy voices like a woman in labor. But those drinkers not only are far from all these true paths — they mock all who walk in them: those who engage in prayer and outcry to be saved from the exile. Through mocking them and pursuing them — they distance greatly from the true paths of crying out to Hashem. Through this the exile of desire strengthens even more — and the physical exile is prolonged, in our many sins. And we do not know what to do except rely on our Father in Heaven. And we shall stand at our post to cry out to Hashem with all our strength until He looks from Heaven to save us from all exile — from the exile of desires, from the exile of the seventy nations, and from the exile of our brethren's enemies who stand against us without cause. For this is worse than all — for the Second Temple was destroyed through strife and causeless hatred. And this is: "those who sit in the gate talk of me, and I am the song of those who drink strong drink — but as for me, my prayer is to You, Hashem, at a time of favor" [Psalms 69:13-14]. Against all their strife and mockery I have no counsel except prayer and supplication: "but as for me — my prayer is to You, Hashem." Therefore this verse is said on Shabbos at Minchah [the afternoon prayer]. For then is the essential drawing of the seventy faces of Torah — and the essential refining and clarification of wine. At that time all harsh judgments — from which the evil of wine grips — are nullified and sweetened through Shabbos holiness. Specifically at Shabbos Minchah the sweetening is drawn — the ra'ava d'ra'avin [will of wills]. Then one recites: "draw near to me, see my host, where there are no harsh judgments." And one recites "but as for me — my prayer" — drawing the time of favor to nullify all the judgments from which comes the evil of wine-drinkers — all their judgments, prosecutions, and strife. For this strife can be sweetened only through the power of the great tzaddikim who departed at that time of favor — Moshe, Yosef, and David. For the greater the judgment, the greater the kindness needed to sweeten it. Therefore in exile we are called "drunk — but not from wine" [Isaiah 51:21] — for exile is the aspect of drunkenness, the evil of wine, the evil of the seventy nations and their evil desires — from which all the exiles come. And: "they stagger and reel like a drunkard" [Isaiah 24:20]. And there is no remedy except crying out to Hashem — the seventy-voiced cry — the aspect of "but as for me — my prayer" etc. And this is the aspect of what our Sages said: the idolatry [avodah zarah] of Israel has no nullification and is more severe than the idolatry of non-Jews — for the idolatry of non-Jews can be nullified. For everything was created for the sake of Israel — the Holy One, the Torah, and Israel are all one. All the vitality of all worlds is drawn only through Israel — they are the root and source of everything. Even the Sitra Achra and the klipas — all their vitality flows through Israel. Therefore the evil inclination and klipas have power only when they suckle from Israel, G-d forbid. And truly Israel is entirely distant from sin in their root. The essential power of the evil inclination to mislead them is through clothing itself in mitzvos — as explained at the beginning of the book [LM I:1]. This flows through the aspect of shed yehudi [Jewish demon] as spoken of in the holy Zohar — the shedin yehuda'in that suckle from the aspect of nogah, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil — from which all errors and confusions in the world come. They are the aspect of the turning flaming sword that confuses and perverts each person's heart. Their essential method is clothing themselves in mitzvos at the outset. Therefore the essential strengthening of the evil inclination is through strife. For this is the essential work of the shedin yehuda'in: to pervert Israel's hearts through multiplying strife — for through this they have even greater power to clothe themselves in mitzvos, inserting into the heart of every follower that his fellow has deviated from truth and is his enemy. Therefore it is a great mitzvah to push and pursue him to the death — and similar false arguments common in the world in our many sins. And this is: "who has strife, who has contention?" — the initial letters spell chacham, shed yehudi [wise man, Jewish demon] — from which all the strife and quarrel flows [as explained in LM I:28]. And all this flows from that Torah-teaching: from above descends only pure simple light, shaped below for each person according to his vessel. For this is the aspect of: "if he merited — Torah became an elixir of life; if he did not merit — Torah became a potion of death." And from this is the root of free choice. Therefore whoever wants to guard his eternal life must cry greatly to Hashem and direct his mind toward Him at all times — asking that He lead him on the straight path. For: "in the path a person wishes to go, they lead him" — as we find with Bilam, whom Hashem told: "go with them" — even though His will was not so at all. And the essential exile comes through strife and causeless hatred — for through it the Second Temple was destroyed, as our Sages said. The adversary spread himself wide to distance from the true tzadik who has the power to repair — forging lies and falsehoods about him, clothing himself in the great ones of the generation until they believe it is a mitzvah to pursue him. And all this because those wise-in-their-own-eyes leaders are wise with the wisdom of the shedin yehuda'in who always invert the truth. Therefore the essential rectification is through drawing the truth of truth — the light of Mashiach that glimmers within the exile. For the essential completion will be through our righteous Mashiach — who is Moshe himself — who will repair the striking of the rock, from which the root of strife in holiness was drawn. As the Zohar says: were it not that Moshe struck the rock, Torah scholars would not toil in Halachic debate. And from that the disputes of the Sitra Achra were derived — through which the Temple was destroyed and the exile prolonged. Therefore the idolatry of Israel has no nullification — for its power comes only when it suckles from Israel through the shedin yehuda'in. And the idolaters also invert the truth until they say idolatry is a mitzvah — just as Yeravam misled Israel, being himself exceedingly great in Torah. Therefore idolatry of Israel has no nullification — it must be burned and uprooted at the root. Amen, so may it be His will. Wine jugs of yayin nesech are forbidden — for the essential blemish of wine, which is the blemish of the mochin, comes through the blemish of the vessels, through the blemish of the covenant, as explained in that Torah-teaching. Therefore even if there is currently no touch of non-Jews upon the wine and the mochin — if it is in jugs that once held wine in which there was a touch of non-Jews — they are forbidden to Israel. For the essential blemish of wine and mochin is through the blemish of the vessels. The essential root of free choice flows from the free choice of the great tzaddikim — the aspect of Moshe — whose choice was solely in the aspect of "Moshe added one day of his own accord": drawing holiness and purity of the covenant beyond what he was explicitly commanded. From there free choice descended to every Jew. Therefore every person has some hidden aspect of this — understanding the will of Hashem and the true tzadik without being misled — directing one's mind greatly toward Hashem until total self-nullification. Hashem told Israel: "Go say to them: return to your tents — but you, stand here with Me" [Deuteronomy 5:27-28]. If only they had remained so — but the adversary provoked them through that lust until they sinned with the golden calf, to permit immorality openly. And afterward various sins and trials. Through this: "oppression bewilders the wise" — even Moshe erred in striking the rock. But "the extension of Moshe is in every generation" — repairing Israel in each generation. And the essential completion will be through Mashiach who is Moshe himself — who will direct Hashem's will in perfection, repair the free choice of every person, and all will return to Hashem truly. And this is the aspect of the mitzvah of kidush Hashem [sanctifying Hashem's Name]. The general principle: the essential greatest ruin is when one inverts the words of the Living G-d — inverting truth to falsehood: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil" [Isaiah 5:20]. For from above descends only pure simple light, shaped below according to each one's grasp of the mochin. The essential repair and ruin of the vessels depends on the repair and blemish of the covenant. And on this everything depends. And every person knows in his own particular soul the wounds of his heart — what passes over each in the matter of that evil lust which is the comprehensive evil of the seventy nations. For there is almost no one properly clean in this matter — except the great chosen tzaddikim, unique ones of the generations. And each person according to his blemish in this corrupts the vessels of his mochin — unable to properly receive and form the supernal light for the good. Therefore everyone must guard himself from being wise in his own eyes, from following the futile wisdoms of these generations that mock holy matters — especially prayer with intention. And all the power of those mockers comes from the above errors — inverting the words of the Living G-d until they say that according to Torah one deserves to pursue the upright, literally permitting their blood, G-d have mercy. All this through the blemish of the covenant — blemishing the vessels of the mochin — inverting the light of Torah. And one who wants to truly be upright — to draw close to people of truth walking in the Torah of Hashem — it is impossible to stand against all who rise against him except through literal self-sacrifice [mesiyas nefesh]. For the truth has been so confused that it is impossible to stand for truth except through self-sacrifice for kidush Hashem — which is rooted in every person of Israel in the holiness of his soul. As we have seen how many ordinary people gave their lives for kidush Hashem. Therefore for all other transgressions one may transgress rather than be killed. For all mitzvos and transgressions are for forming the supernal light for blessing. The essential root of all Torah is holy faith — through which one knows of Him, may He be blessed. The essential purpose of creation was only "that they should know Him" [Zohar]. Hashem gave us the holy Torah — 248 positive commandments and 365 prohibitions, and Rabbinic commandments — all holy formations to form the light for blessing. And He warned us from all transgressions which are blemishes through which the light is formed in the opposite direction. Therefore: the life of the Jew is exceedingly precious to Hashem. All the days of his life the person is engaged in forming the supernal light for good — the essential life-force. Therefore: "he shall live by them — and not die by them" [Yoma 85a]. For one who lives will form the light for good through the other mitzvos of his life. But for idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder — one must be killed rather than transgress. For through them the light is so damaged that the truth is entirely inverted — impossible to form the light for good any longer. One who acknowledges idolatry is as one who denies the entire Torah. Through sexual immorality all the mochin are so blemished that it is impossible to form the light for blessing — for: "none who go to her return." Through murder — all Israel are encompassed in the seventy souls of the house of Yaakov needed to form the light. Even the smallest and most insignificant of Israel — even one with no attainment — accomplishes much through his mitzvos, for "even the empty ones among Israel are full of mitzvos as a pomegranate." And now it is understood how great is the blemish of strife — through which people come to bloodshed. For the adversary lurks especially on the leaders who establish over Israel those whose vessels of the mochin are not properly repaired due to that lust. Those leaders — through lust for honor — become arrogant, forget their place, and think according to Torah they deserve to pursue the upright. For the truth is inverted through the above: "if he did not merit" — through the forming of light in the opposite direction, through the blemish of the vessels. For there is nothing through which the adversary can so invert transgressions into mitzvos as in the matter of strife — for there the adversary dances. He incites one against his fellow that it is a great mitzvah to push and pursue him — common in the world in our many sins. For it is known that no person is without some deficiency — but we are commanded not to look at the evil in Israel, to judge everyone favorably. But through the lust of victory and strife the ketz kol basar [the end of all flesh] is strengthened — to seek and find evil — especially in the upright who truly seek truth — until bloodshed becomes a great mitzvah. And this is what the prophet cries about the shepherds and leaders: "My anger was kindled against the shepherds" [Zechariah 10:3]; "what do you mean by crushing My people and grinding the faces of the poor?" [Isaiah 3:15]; "woe to the worthless shepherd… his arm shall wither completely and his right eye shall be utterly darkened" [Zechariah 11:17]. Therefore one must examine his own soul — not to depart from the ways of true simplicity [darchay hatimimus]. He should remind himself at all times how he is not clean in that lust, and therefore his mochin are not complete. Therefore whenever the adversary wants to tilt him from the way of true simplicity he must think: perhaps this comes from the aspect of "if he did not merit." Therefore he must guard himself not to invert the words of the Living G-d — and above all in the matter of strife: not to maintain strife and not mislead himself that he must fulfill a mitzvah of bloodshed to pursue any one of Israel — certainly not the upright of the generation. Nor should he listen to inciters even if they are among the above-mentioned leaders. For the 613 mitzvos received from Moshe are enough — he should not add such "mitzvos" flowing from the forming of light in the opposite direction. And also in the matter of serving Hashem itself — "in the path a person wishes to go, they lead him." If one strengthens oneself with stronger desires and yearnings toward Hashem, they lead him on an ever more holy path. Everything depends on the formation of the light according to the grasp of the mochin. Therefore truly one must cry greatly to Hashem that He lead him on the straight path — as David HaMelech truly cried: "Teach me, Hashem, Your way" [Psalms 86:11]; "send out Your light and Your truth — they shall lead me" [Psalms 43:3] and much more. Therefore: "in all your ways know Him" [Proverbs 3:6] — this is a great principle in the Torah. When one guards oneself from the ways of true simplicity, one is secure from complete stumbling — for "he who walks in wholeness walks in security" [Proverbs 10:9]. But when one veers after futile wisdoms — especially strife and causeless hatred — one can fall without support and lose one's world in an instant, G-d forbid. For it is enough to exert yourself to merit to justify your own deeds. How can you imagine wanting to repair your fellow against his will — especially when you see that in many matters he is better than you and prays with more intention? Even about a sinner the Torah warned: "you shall surely rebuke your fellow — and not bear sin because of him" [Leviticus 19:17] — not embarrassing him publicly. And our Sages said: Rabbi Akiva said: "I wonder if there is anyone in this generation who knows how to rebuke" — so as not to embarrass him. And: humility not for its own sake is preferable to rebuke for its own sake. All the more so in these generations — certainly it is a great mitzvah to speak privately with one's fellow to draw him toward truth. But not to rebuke him publicly, not to quarrel, not to multiply strife — as our Sages greatly emphasized: "strife is hateful and peace is great." All the more when the idlers and drinkers of strong drink stand against upright and G-d-fearing people — through the power of leaders who are not as they should be, who erred through the shedin yehuda'in. And this is: "From the mouth of the Most High, evil and good do not come forth — why should a living man complain, a man for his sins?" [Lamentations 3:38-39]. "From the mouth of the Most High, evil and good do not come forth" — this is the entire matter above: from on high only pure simple light descends, as he brought that verse to this topic there in the Torah teaching mentioned above, see there — only each person must form the light according to the grasp of his mochin. And therefore: "why should a living man complain — a man for his sins" [ibid. 3:39] — for every person must be a man [gever] who overcomes his sins, who prevails over his evil inclination, who mourns and laments over the sins that have passed over his head — in order that through this he may merit to form the light for good as is fitting. And this is: "let us search our ways and examine them, and let us return to Hashem" [ibid. 3:40] — for one must certainly search one's ways and examine them greatly, greatly, after the truly good and straight path in all its truth, in order to merit to return to Hashem — for due to the matter above: that from on high only pure simple light descends, which is the aspect of "from the mouth of the Most High evil and good do not come forth" as above — and every person must form the light according to the grasp of his mochin, which is the aspect of: if he merited, it becomes for him an elixir of life; if he did not merit etc. — therefore one who wishes to have compassion on his soul and not destroy his world, G-d forbid, must certainly search and examine greatly after the truth, in order to return to Hashem in truth — for perhaps his mind is misleading him in some way, since he did not merit to form the light as is fitting, since his vessels are not complete, due to the blemish of the covenant as above. And the essential rectification for all this is: "let us lift our heart with our hands to G-d in Heaven" [ibid. 3:41] — which is crying and prayer and conversation and hisbodidus [seclusion in prayer] between himself and his Creator: that one must cry greatly to Hashem, may He be blessed, with mesiyas nefesh [self-sacrifice], until it is as if one's soul is departing — as our Sages of blessed memory said: a person's prayer is heard only if he places his soul in his palm — and they derived it from this verse. (And as this is brought in his holy conversations in Siporay Chayay Moharan — that the essential tikkun of the covenant is through much crying to Hashem, may He be blessed: that one must cry seventy voices at minimum. And within these seventy voices are included many voices and cries and prayers and supplications beyond counting — for one must pray about this all the days of his life. For the seventy voices correspond to the seventy faces of the Torah, which every Jew must merit. And every person can understand within himself how far he still is even from one face of the holy Torah — all the more so from all of them. Therefore even if one has not sinned greatly, and even if one has already cried greatly to Hashem and performed many mitzvos and learned much Torah — even so, since one has still not attained even one part in a thousand and ten-thousand of a single face of the Torah, how much more must one still cry to Hashem all the days of his life. And it is already known that one must never despair of crying — for even if one sinned greatly, very greatly, and even if one is still as he is, if one does not despair of crying and of prayer and supplication, one can merit faces of the Torah in truth, and even all seventy faces — for Hashem, may He be blessed, is good to all, and more than the calf desires to suckle etc., for He, may He be blessed, desires lovingkindness and wishes more to bestow upon us all good, to illuminate for us all the seventy faces of the Torah — only is'arusa d'lisata [an awakening from below] is required. And the essential thing is to cry greatly to Hashem, may He be blessed, until the totality of the voices of one's crying ascends to the aspect of seventy voices in truth — until one merits to truly break the evil of the seventy nations whose root is the lust mentioned above, through which one merits the seventy faces of the Torah as above. For the seventy faces are the aspect of seventy years, which is the sum of the days of a person's life. And corresponding to this are the seventy voices above — therefore one must cry the seventy voices all the days of one's life, which are encompassed in seventy years, which are the aspect of seventy faces as above.) And all this cannot be merited except through the power of the true tzaddikim who are the aspect of Moshe Mashiach — through whom we are sustained in the great bitterness of this long exile. For the prolongation of the physical exile is drawn from the exile above, since every Jew is compelled to enter into the exile of the trial, the testing — into the aspect of the desires and character traits of the seventy nations, whose root is the general lust mentioned above. And due to our many sins, the majority do not stand in the trial as is fitting, for they do not cry to Hashem, may He be blessed, as is fitting — therefore the physical exile intensifies so greatly. And the essential rectification is through the true tzaddikim who merited to stand in the trial with ultimate perfection beyond which there is no greater perfection — until they merited all seventy faces of the Torah at the ultimate level — and they draw in every generation the light of Mashiach into the world. For this is the essential service of the great tzaddikim: to draw the light of Mashiach through the innovations of their holy Torah — for the spirit of Mashiach hovers over the face of Torah, as it says: "and the spirit of G-d hovered over the face of the waters" [Genesis 1:2] — (as brought elsewhere, in Likutay I:118 and in II:32). For the essential completion of the rectification of all the above will be through Mashiach, who will come speedily in our days — when all the questions will be resolved and all the doubts clarified, and then every person will merit to form the light only for blessing and for good. And therefore it will then be truly said: "I will give them one heart and one way to fear Me" [Jeremiah 32:39] — for they will no longer err in the confused paths mentioned above. And even now, in the bitterness of exile, our entire vitality is through the great tzaddikim who illuminate for us the sparkling of the light of Mashiach through the innovations of their true Torah as above — through which one merits the light of truth: to know the ways of wholeness in truth upon which our fathers walked from of old — of which it is said: "fortunate are those of wholesome way who walk in the Torah of Hashem" [Psalms 119:1]. And this is what Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah said: "Behold I am like one seventy years old, and I did not merit that the Exodus from Egypt should be mentioned at night — until Ben Zoma expounded it" etc. [Berachos 12b] — for the Exodus from Egypt is the aspect of going out from the exile above, the exile of the seventy nations whose root is the lust mentioned above, which is the aspect of the defilement of Egypt, which is ervas ha'aretz [the nakedness of the land] — for the essential exile of Egypt was on account of the blemish of the covenant of the first Adam etc., as is brought. And therefore all the exiles are called by the name "Egypt," for all the exiles are through this aspect as above. And Israel through the great power of Moshe merited to go out from the exile of the lust above — until they merited the seventy faces of the Torah, which is the aspect of the receiving of the Torah that they merited after the Exodus from Egypt, as above. Even though they merited all this, even so the adversary tried again to make them stumble — until he caused them to stumble through the Erev Rav [mixed multitude], whose vessels were very blemished — for with them the light of Torah was formed in the opposite direction as above — until they caused Israel too to stumble until they came to actual idolatry, until they made the [golden] calf. For they inverted the truth until they said that this is how it must be served — for such is the path of the error of all idol worshippers, as our Sages of blessed memory said: they called it elaha d'elahin [the G-d of gods] etc., as above. And this is what is written in the incident of the calf: "and he formed it [vayitzar oso] with an engraving tool" [Exodus 32:4] — specifically vayitzar [he formed it], the language of formation — for they formed the light in the opposite direction, as above. And all this was because they returned and stumbled through the Erev Rav in the blemish of the lust mentioned above — as our Sages of blessed memory said: Israel worshipped idolatry only in order to permit immorality openly — and through this sin all the exiles and all the troubles were drawn forth, as is known. And the essential rectification in every generation is through the great true tzaddikim who merit guarding of the covenant with ultimate perfection — who draw the light of Mashiach, whose essential completion of rectification is through him as above — for the essential service of the tzaddikim is to draw the fulfillment of the Torah into the world, and that rectification will not be complete except through Mashiach, of whom it will be fulfilled: "and I will cause them to walk in My statutes" etc. and "I will give them one heart" etc. [Ezekiel 11:20, Jeremiah 32:39]. And all our vitality and sustenance now is through the true tzaddikim who draw for us the light of Mashiach through their true Torah, as above. And because of this one must mention the Exodus from Egypt every day — in order to draw upon oneself the holiness of the Exodus from Egypt even now, on every day, so that we may merit even now to go out from the aspect of the exile of Egypt and merit the aspect of the receiving of the Torah — namely, to fulfill the entire Torah. And this is what Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah said: "behold I am like one seventy years old" — for in his great holiness, in his youth he merited all the seventy faces of the Torah — and through this he became like one seventy years old. For seventy years are the aspect of seventy faces of the Torah, as above. "And I did not merit that the Exodus from Egypt should be mentioned at night" — for in truth one must mention and draw the aspect of the Exodus from Egypt by day and by night. For at night is the aspect of sleep and the nullification before the Ain Sof light — when one must raise up the souls in the aspect of ha'alas mayyin nukvin [raising feminine waters], in order to merit to draw down the light from above. But when the light from above descends, its essential formation for good is in the day — "and as the light of morning the sun rises" — for then one blesses Yotzer or u'voray choshech [Who forms light and creates darkness] — for the light is in the aspect of Yetzirah [Formation], where the light is formed for good. And the darkness is in the aspect of Beriah [Creation], which is higher — for in the higher supernal world relative to the lower world beneath it, there it is the aspect of darkness against this lower world beneath it, in the aspect of "He made darkness His hiding-place" [Psalms 18:12] — for before the light is formed there is no grasp of it, and therefore it is called by the name "darkness" — by reason of the depth of its abstraction. And from there the darkness of night is drawn — for then the light begins to descend and has not yet been formed, which is the aspect of darkness. (And see about this elsewhere, in Hilchos Birchas HaTorah and in Hilchos Krias Shema.) And therefore the essential Krias Shema and prayer and tallis and tefillin and most mitzvos are only by day — for the essential forming of the light is only by day, as above. But even at night one must say Krias Shema and pray — and especially the bedtime Krias Shema before sleep, in order to prepare oneself, to ready corrected vessels to form the light for blessing as soon as it begins to descend — for this is the essential secret of the intention of the bedtime Krias Shema, as is understood by the wise. And therefore one must mention the Exodus from Egypt even at night — for the mentioning of the Exodus from Egypt is in order to form the light for blessing: through mentioning and drawing upon ourselves the holiness of the Exodus from Egypt, when we merited to receive the Torah and to form the light for blessing, as above. And this matter is essential by day, when the essential forming of the light occurs, as above. But in truth one must also mention the Exodus from Egypt at night — for even in the full force of darkness, in the aspect of night, one must strive to draw upon oneself the holiness of the Exodus from Egypt, in order to correct the vessels so that they will be ready to form the light for blessing when it descends, as above. For on the contrary — then is the essential trial, in the aspect of "You have tested my heart, You have examined me at night" [Psalms 17:3] — for night is the aspect of the darkness of exile, which is before the drawing down of the light of the receiving of the Torah has begun — then it is the aspect of darkness and obscurity, the aspect of exile — and then is the essential trial. And then one must more than ever remember the Exodus from Egypt: that just as Hashem, may He be blessed, performed miracles for us in the exile of Egypt and took us out to freedom from the defilement of the lust mentioned above, to the holiness of the receiving of the Torah — so will He perform wonders for us now, in the aspect of "as in the days of your going out from Egypt, I will show him wonders" [Micah 7:15]. But the exile extends greatly — for the adversary spread himself out at his length and breadth upon each and every person. And this is what Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah said: "behold I am like one seventy years old" — for in my youth I already merited all the seventy faces of the Torah, as above. And even so I did not merit that the Exodus from Egypt should be mentioned at night — for he said it in the manner of a complaint: how weighty and burdensome this matter is to establish in the world — to mention the Exodus from Egypt at night, to illuminate in the heart of every Jew that he remember the aspect of the Exodus from Egypt within the very force of the darkness of this long night of exile, and that he recall the greatness of the power of the tzaddikim — the aspect of Moshe — who merit in each generation to take us out from the defilement of Egypt. For no generation is an orphan — and certainly there are great tzaddikim of the aspect of Moshe in every generation, as our Sages of blessed memory said: "there is no generation in which one like Moshe does not exist" — for the extension of Moshe is in every generation — and certainly such tzaddikim have the power to take out every single person even now from the exile of the seventy nations mentioned above, which is the aspect of the Exodus from Egypt as above. But Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah in his great humility said: even though he merited the seventy faces of the Torah, which are the aspect of seventy years, he still did not merit to draw the aspect of the mentioning and drawing of the Exodus from Egypt at night — until Ben Zoma expounded it etc. — for he considered Ben Zoma greater than himself, that through Ben Zoma's holy homilies he merited to draw this rectification. But the Sages dispute even Ben Zoma, and they say: even though Ben Zoma expounded "all the days of your life — to include the nights" [Berachos 12b] — still it is difficult to draw the aspect of the mentioning of the Exodus from Egypt at night, which is the aspect of the prolongation of exile. For all this can only be drawn through the sparkling of Mashiach — which the great tzaddikim draw through their Torah, as above. And this is: "and the Sages say: 'the days of your life' — this world; 'all the days of your life' — to bring the days of Mashiach" [ibid.] — for the essential completion of this rectification will be only in the days of Mashiach — when it will be fulfilled: "as in the days of your going out from Egypt, I will show him wonders." And therefore even now this rectification can only be drawn through the tzaddikim who draw his holy light through their Torah, as above. For the essential totality of all the exiles — and especially this last exile — the essential exile is in the aspect mentioned above: because the exile of the evil character traits and desires of the seventy nations strengthens, whose root is the lust mentioned above. And because they do not strengthen themselves to stand in the trial and break them — through this the physical exile mentioned above also strengthens. And as Israel is in exile — so, as it were, the Holy One, blessed is He, and His Shechina are in exile, as is explained in the holy Zohar — for "I am with him in distress" [Psalms 91:15]. And in our many sins in exile, He, may He be blessed, is considered as if sitting in prison — as it says: "and he is bound in fetters" [Job 36:8] — and as it says in many of the Tikkun texts in this matter: that regarding Him it is said: "no prisoner can free himself from prison" etc., and "this thing depends only on teshuvah" etc., "to break His prison" etc. [cf. Tikkunay Zohar] — for the essential strengthening of exile most of all, G-d forbid, is through the matter mentioned above that we spoke of somewhat: that the essential strengthening of the evil inclination — which is the exile of the soul — is through forming the light from above, the aspect of the light of Torah, in the opposite direction from the truth. Through this all paths become as a plain before him — for he makes transgressions into mitzvos — especially in the matter of strife etc., as above. For this is the essential aspect of the exile of the Shechina that each person causes through his sins — and most of all through the aspect mentioned above, when one is wise in one's own eyes and creates new mitzvos for oneself to permit bloodshed and the like, G-d forbid — for this is through forming the light in the opposite direction, as above. And this is considered as if seizing and imprisoning the Shechina in an actual prison — since he seizes the supernal simple light in his blemished mochin and ruins and forms the light in reverse. And due to the great power of free choice that Hashem, may He be blessed, gave to human beings, He, may He be blessed, is compelled, as it were, to have His holy light seized in that person's mochin against His will, as it were — and this is the aspect of the actual imprisonment of the Shechina of His glory, as is explained in the Torah teaching (in Likutay II:63) regarding our Rebbe's, of blessed memory, teaching — that Rabbi Shimon said to Rabbi Akiva when he sat in prison: "Rabbi, teach me Torah" etc. — that through an unworthy student he was punished with imprisonment, G-d forbid. For when His light, may He be blessed, is drawn downward — this is the aspect of seizure etc., the aspect of "the King is held captive in the tresses" [Song of Songs 7:6] etc. But when the light is drawn with holiness according to His blessed will, this is very pleasing to Hashem, may He be blessed. But when Torah light is drawn to an unworthy student — this is the aspect of seizure of the light, as it were. And therefore his punishment was imprisonment, G-d forbid, as above — see there all this well — namely as above: for when the Torah reaches an unworthy student he receives the light of Torah in his blemished mochin and forms it in reverse. It is thus found that he seizes the light of Hashem, may He be blessed, against His will — which is the aspect of actual seizure. All the more so and certainly — those masters of strife who greatly ruin and greatly invert the light of truth through the blemish of their mochin vessels, until they form the light of Torah from one reversal to another reversal as above — for this is the aspect of the imprisonment and prison of the Shechina, literally the essential exile of the Shechina, as above. All the more so when the opponents, the pursuers and informers, actually pursue the pursued Jewish person into literal imprisonment, G-d forbid — as it were the Shechina is imprisoned with him, for "I am with him in distress." Woe to those who cause all this — woe to their souls — for they have dealt themselves evil. And when a Jewish person sees the exile intensifying greatly upon him from all sides — and certainly one who is so pursued that he comes, G-d forbid, to literal imprisonment — he must take to heart to flee and run from there precisely to Hashem, may He be blessed. For certainly there is no counsel and stratagem against the opponents who pursue him to the very soul — to the point of actual prison, G-d forbid — except to cry to Hashem, may He be blessed, as it says: "and if bound in fetters" etc. "He uncovers their ear for chastening" etc. [Job 36:8-10]. And it is written: "those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, prisoners of affliction" etc. "and they cried out to Hashem" [Psalms 107:10-13] — for one must cry out to Hashem, may He be blessed, and return to Him in complete teshuvah. And the essential teshuvah is in the aspect mentioned above — the aspect of "let us search our ways and examine them, and return to Hashem" — for one must search and examine one's ways greatly and take to heart: what is this that Hashem has done so? — it is none other than because I surely blemished my mochin vessels and seized the light of Hashem, may He be blessed, in a seizure, G-d forbid, through forming the light improperly — through straying after the vanities of this world. For it is already explained that even in Divine service there are many aspects of this matter — for regarding the errors mentioned above, of mistakenly forming the light of Torah in ways that deviate from the truth, there are in this matter very many kinds of errors beyond measure: coarse and subtle, and subtler than subtle. Therefore a person must take to heart at all times — especially in a time of distress, G-d forbid — that this seizure and imprisonment is because I did not form the light properly, and I deviated after the vanities of this world. For there are many things that multiply vanity — and therefore he was punished with imprisonment measure for measure. For the supernal simple light that descends from above at every moment — from which comes all a person's vitality — even though it is one simple light in the ultimate unity, even so when it descends below and is formed for each person according to his aspect, from it spread and branch out paths and ways beyond number. And this is both on the side of holiness and on the opposite side — for even on the side of holiness itself there are many, many paths and ways — and similarly on the sitra achra [other side] there are confused and ruined paths. And a person must always direct himself toward the truly straight path, to incline his heart toward Him, may He be blessed, so that the light of Torah is formed in the way of truth according to his aspect. And even within the ways of Torah he must not mislead himself to deviate from the path proper for him to another path that does not pertain to him — even though that too is among the ways of Torah — it does not pertain to him according to his level. All the more so he must certainly not deviate from the truly true paths of Torah entirely, G-d forbid. And therefore the verse warned [Proverbs 4:26]: "weigh the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established." And therefore in truth David greatly besought: "teach me, Hashem, Your way" etc., as above. And therefore our Sages of blessed memory said: "in all your ways know Him" [Proverbs 3:6] — this is a great principle in the Torah: that one must direct one's heart in all one's ways to bind oneself to Hashem, may He be blessed, so that all one's deeds shall be for the sake of Heaven. It is thus found that every person has many, many paths set before him — which is the aspect of the power of free choice — and from this is drawn also in the physical realm: that every person has many, many paths by which he can go to wherever he wishes. And therefore when a person is punished with imprisonment, G-d forbid, and is not allowed to go out — he must take to heart: this is because I blemished the paths set before me, to form the supernal light in whichever way I wished. And through blemishing this in my many sins I was seized — until I cannot move and go out to wherever I wish. And there is no remedy except to return to the source and root of all paths: which is the supernal light of Hashem, may He be blessed — from which all paths spread and branch forth — and one must return and bind oneself to the source of unity, and search and seek the truly true path — to choose for himself a truly straight path — in the aspect of [Deuteronomy 4:30]: "in your distress, when all these things find you" etc., "you will return to Hashem your G-d and heed His voice." And then the mercies of Hashem, may He be blessed, will return upon him and take him out to freedom — for there, at the place of the beginning of the forming of the light at its root, is the aspect of the world of freedom [olam hachairus]. For the forming of the light is in the aspect of Binah [Understanding], which is the aspect of tzayray [the vowel], from which all freedom comes — for there is the essential place of teshuvah, as is known: that one must return to the Binah of holiness, to reflect on one's deeds, to return to one's root and form the light for good. And from there comes all freedom, in the aspect of: "engraved [charus] upon the tablets" [Exodus 32:16] — do not read charus [engraved] but chairus [freedom]. That is: through engraving and forming the Torah upon the tablets properly — as it was given from Sinai through Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him — through this one merits freedom, as above. And this is: "those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, prisoners of affliction and iron" [Psalms 107:10] — this is because "they rebelled against the words of G-d" [ibid. 107:11] — that is, they exchanged and replaced the words of G-d — for they formed the light of Torah in the opposite direction, as above. And this is also the aspect of: "and the counsel of the Most High they scorned" [ibid.] — counsels are the aspect of the Torah, which is the 613 counsels [taryag atin]. And this is "the counsel of the Most High" — that the counsels and the Torah drawn from the mouth of the Most High were scorned and they formed the light in the opposite direction, as above. And through this: "He humbled their heart through toil" [ibid. 107:12] — for "in the path a person wishes to go, they lead him." And therefore He humbled their heart through toil, "until they stumbled and there was none to help" [ibid.] — for their heart became confused and crooked, which is the aspect of: "He humbled their heart through toil, until they stumbled and there was none to help" — for they stumbled and strayed from the true path until there was none to help them to return and attain the paths of life — for it is hard for them to return to find the truly straight path, since they wandered into very evil paths by forming the light in the opposite direction and turning to a not-good path. And all the more so regarding the verse: "I went astray like a lost sheep" etc. [Psalms 119:176] — in Likutay I:206, see there — that as soon as a person deviates from the straight path he has many, many confused paths etc. And all this is from the aspect mentioned above — for "in the path a person wishes to go, they lead him." And there is no remedy for this except: "and they cried out to Hashem in their distress" [ibid. 107:13] — for crying always helps. For one must return from the darkness and the shadow of death and from his prison — to bind and attach oneself in a firm attachment to Hashem alone — to return to the source of unity, to draw the light again from there and form it for good as above. And then: "He saves them from their troubles" [ibid. 107:13] and brings them out from darkness etc. But "a brutish man does not know, and a fool does not understand this" [Psalms 92:7] — as it says: "and the flatterers of heart will arouse wrath — they will not cry out, though He has bound them" [Job 36:13] — as we find with Bilam the wicked, who boasted [Numbers 24:16]: "knowing the knowledge of the Most High." And when the angel stood before him — especially when he stood in a narrow place where there was no path to turn right or left, until the she-ass was forced to crouch beneath him — his anger burned and he struck the she-ass, and he did not take to heart the signs of Hashem, may He be blessed, Whose intention, may He be blessed, was in order that he return from his evil way — for he wished to curse Israel and to uproot himself from both worlds through this. And since Hashem, may He be blessed, saw the force of his wickedness so great — therefore He said to him: "go with the men" [Numbers 22:35] — for "in the path a person wishes to go, they lead him" — as Rashi explained there on this verse: "for the ways of Hashem are straight, and the righteous walk in them while sinners stumble in them" [Hosea 14:10], as above. But the upright children of Israel — the more they are pressed and troubled, G-d forbid, the more they flee every time more greatly to Hashem, may He be blessed, in the aspect of "and Pharaoh drew near" [Exodus 14:10] — that he drew Israel near to their Father in Heaven. And this is: "and it shall come to pass, because [ekev] you hear these judgments" [Deuteronomy 7:12] — specifically ekev [heel] — that is, when the enemies prevail until he is under the heel and the feet, trampled underfoot. In the aspect of: "You have made men ride over our heads" etc. [Psalms 66:12], the aspect of "to prostrate under foot all the prisoners of the earth" [Lamentations 3:34]. And as it says: "who said to your soul: bow down and we will pass over you — and you made your back like the earth" etc. [Isaiah 51:23]. And this is the aspect of ikvos Meshicha [the heels of Mashiach] — that Israel are placed under their heels. And then specifically — one who takes to heart to hear from there "these judgments" — who knows that all comes from the supernal judgment that clothed itself in these in order to bring him back to Himself. And this is: "and it shall come to pass, because you hear these judgments" — and then: "Hashem your G-d will keep for you the covenant and the kindness" [ibid. 7:12] — that Hashem, may He be blessed, will have mercy upon you for the sake of His covenant with our fathers — for "Hashem listens to the needy, and does not despise His imprisoned ones" [Psalms 69:34]. And this is: "and his hand grasped the heel of Esav" [Genesis 25:26] — specifically ba'akev [at the heel] — when Esav strengthens at the end of exile in the ikvos Meshicha, wishing to trample with his heel upon the head of Israel, in the aspect of "he has magnified his heel against me" [Psalms 41:10] — precisely then: "and his hand" — the aspect of faith, the aspect of prayer, the aspect of "and his hands were faithful" etc. [Exodus 17:12] — spread out in prayer — "grasped his heel" to cast him down and humble him through this. For "our strength is only in the mouth" — to seize the craft of our fathers: to cry out to Him, may He be blessed, from wherever one is. And this is the aspect of: "the serpent bit the horse's heels so that its rider fell backward — for Your salvation I hoped, Hashem" [Genesis 49:17-18] — for Shimshon [Samson] was the aspect of Mashiach, as is brought in the Midrash. And all this one merits through the aspect of "for Your salvation I hoped, Hashem" — through not despairing of the mercies, even with a sharp sword resting on his neck, G-d forbid — only hoping always for His salvation and crying out to Him, however one can. Through this, even when he is under the horse's heels as above, he merits to prevail and to fell the enemies, in the aspect of: "the serpent bit the horse's heels and its rider fell backward" as above. It is thus found that the essential ruin and the great blemish beyond all transgressions in the Torah is when his intellect becomes confused until he forms the light in the opposite direction from the truth — until he makes a transgression into a mitzvah and maintains strife, G-d forbid — as above. And this is the aspect of what our Sages of blessed memory said — and brought in the Shulchan Aruch in the section mentioned above — that when the oppressor intends to make him violate his religion, he must be killed and not transgress — even regarding the other mitzvos of the Torah, when the matter is in public, before ten of Israel; and similarly in a time of religious persecution [she'as hashmad] etc., see there. For when the matter is in public and the oppressor intends to make him violate his religion — it is thus found that his entire intention is to overturn the bowl upon its mouth, G-d forbid — to invert the truth and form the light in the opposite direction — for he wishes to make him transgress the holy religion and invert it to their evil ways. And when the matter is in public and many Jews can, G-d forbid, stumble through this — to err away from the truth, G-d forbid — for this is what the adversary ambushes most of all, as above. And therefore he must be killed and not transgress even a minor mitzvah of the Torah — for the sake of kidush Hashem, so that he should not ruin the formation of the light entirely, G-d forbid, as above. And this is the same reason itself of the three severe transgressions — idolatry etc. — that one must be killed for them and not transgress: because they ruin the formation of the light most of all etc. And for this same reason one must be killed for every mitzvah of the Torah when the oppressor intends to make him violate his religion — and the matter is in public before many of Israel as above. And similarly in a time of religious persecution — for all is one matter, as above.