חוקות העכו"ם ג

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And this is the aspect of the prohibition of yayin nesech and the prohibition of the vessels of wine belonging to a non-Jew. For wine is the aspect of gevuros [powers of severity], as is known — which is the aspect of yir'ah [awe] — in the aspect of: "do not look upon wine when it reddens, for its end is blood [dam]." And dam [blood] is the aspect of gevuros, which is the aspect of yir'ah — as it says: "mighty men to drink wine." And therefore wine includes two aspects — for there is the aspect of wine that gladdens: in the aspect of "wine gladdens the heart of man" etc. And there is the aspect of wine that intoxicates. And the essential distinction is according to the aspect of the vessel that receives the wine, as one sees tangibly in the physical realm — for one person is able to drink and then the wine gladdens him, but there is one who is unable to drink and then the wine intoxicates him and confuses his mind — and all this is because he has no vessel to receive it. Similarly in the spiritual realm — the essential rectification of the wine, that it be in holiness, depends on the aspect of the vessel that receives it. For wine is the aspect of yir'ah, the aspect of gevuros and dinim [judgments]. And one whose heart is complete with Hashem and whose faith is strong — who believes that everything is by His will, may He be blessed — then he is always in joy and has no worry or fear at all from anything in the world, in the aspect of: "do not fear a sudden terror" etc. — for since everything is only by His will, may He be blessed, there is nothing to fear, for who can do to him anything great or small without His will, may He be blessed, G-d forbid? — as it says: "Hashem is for me, I shall not fear" etc. And therefore he is always in joy. And even if at times some sufferings come upon him, G-d forbid — it is certainly only for good. Even so, since he knows that everything is by His will, may He be blessed, alone, he can always gladden himself — for the intention of Hashem, may He be blessed, in bringing whatever suffering upon him is certainly only for good: either to remind him to repent, or to scour his iniquities. And if so, all the sufferings, G-d forbid, are great goods. And therefore he can always gladden himself — for he knows that Hashem, may He be blessed, is filled with mercy and His intention, may He be blessed, is certainly for good, and "He will not contend forever" etc., and certainly Hashem will relent and have mercy upon him and make his end good, and the sufferings will be transformed for him into great good for all the worlds and for eternity. And therefore he is always in joy. But one who strays, G-d forbid, from faith and errs, G-d forbid, in the heresies of the sages of nature — and thinks there is nature, G-d forbid — then he has no life at all. For all his days are anger and pains, and "all the days of the wicked he writhes" etc., "in peace a marauder comes upon him" — for he fears that sudden calamity will befall him, and when some trouble or suffering comes upon him he has no one to turn to for salvation. And therefore he is filled always with grief and sufferings and fears and sadness, and has no life at all. And as all this is explained in the holy conversations of our Rebbe, of blessed memory — some of which were printed in Sefer HaMa'asios, see there. It is thus found that one who has complete faith in the will — who knows that everything is by His will, may He be blessed — he merits great joy through the yir'ah produced by the will, in the aspect of "rejoice in trembling" — for all the awe and fears he has from anything in the world are all transformed into great joy, for through this he returns to Hashem, may He be blessed, and knows that everything is for good as above. And as explained there in the teaching mentioned above: that this is the aspect of the joy of Yom Tov through the revelation of the will, in the aspect of "the righteous man rejoices when he sees vengeance — he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked" etc. And as it says: "then man will say: truly there is fruit for the righteous" etc. But the wicked one who inclines toward the wisdom of nature, G-d forbid, is the aspect of "short of days and full of anger" as explained there — for he is truly full of anger, for all his days are anger and pains. He has no life and no joy at all, as above.

And this is the aspect of wine that gladdens and wine that intoxicates — and everything depends on the completeness of faith: that is, to believe that everything is by His will, may He be blessed, as above. For then the wine — which is the aspect of gevuros, the aspect of yir'ah — is the aspect of wine that gladdens, as above. For when one has complete faith and believes that everything is by His will, may He be blessed, then great joy is added to him through the yir'ah — for he knows that the intention of Hashem, may He be blessed, is certainly for good. And this is the aspect of: "the fear of Hashem adds days" — for the yir'ah adds for him life and length of days. For they are dependent upon each other: through the revelation of the will that is drawn from the holy elders as explained there, through this yir'ah is produced as above. And similarly in the reverse: the revelation of the will is drawn through the yir'ah — for when yir'ah comes upon him through the revelation of the will, in that he knows that everything is by His will, may He be blessed, then he has yir'ah of Him, may He be blessed, in the aspect of "and he feared and was distressed" [Genesis 32:8] as it says there. And through the yir'ah he has of Him, may He be blessed, he returns to Hashem, may He be blessed, and repents completely. And the more he draws close to Hashem, may He be blessed, the more the revelation of the will is revealed to him — which is the aspect of: "the fear of Hashem adds days" — that is, the aspect of the holy elder, which is the aspect of length of days: one who extends his days by adding holiness every time — through this the essential revelation of the will occurs, as explained there, see there. And therefore through this he merits joy — for through the revelation of the will, joy comes into being: which is the aspect of the joy of Yom Tov as above. It is thus found that holy yir'ah — even the fear of punishment — is the aspect of joy. For even the fear of punishment is very good as explained in the words of our Rebbe, of blessed memory, elsewhere — since he believes that everything is by His will, may He be blessed, and he fears Hashem, may He be blessed, lest He punish him, G-d forbid, for his evil deeds — this fear is very good, for through this he returns to Hashem, may He be blessed. And in any event, however it may be — in any event the sufferings and punishments, G-d forbid, scour his iniquities. And even if he does not merit to strengthen himself to return in complete teshuvah in truth through the sufferings, G-d forbid — in any event he certainly has many, many thoughts of teshuvah through the fear of sufferings, G-d forbid. And therefore even through the fear of punishment one merits great joy — since he knows that everything is by His will, may He be blessed, as above. And this is the aspect of wine that gladdens — for wine is the aspect of yir'ah and gevuros, through which one merits joy when one merits to complete faith etc., as above. But when a non-Jew touches the wine — then it immediately becomes yayin nesech and is forbidden to a Jew. For wine that a non-Jew has touched — this is the aspect of non-Jews, who are the aspect of heresies and the sages of nature, touching the wine — G-d forbid, that is, the fears and terrors — and immediately the wine is blemished: the wine that is the aspect of yir'ah — for they cast a blemish upon it through their touch — for their ordinary thought is toward avodah zarah [idolatry]. And even now, when they no longer engage in literal idolatry — even so they are filled with the heresies of the sages of nature, after whose teachings they always trail — and all heresies are in the aspect of avodah zarah, as our Rebbe, of blessed memory, said elsewhere. And they cast a blemish, G-d forbid, upon the fears and terrors — which is the aspect of wine — for they do not hold that everything depends on the will but rather on nature, G-d forbid. And then the wine — which is the aspect of yir'ah — is in the aspect of wine that intoxicates — for this is actual intoxication, which is an allusion to all troubles and sufferings — as it says: "drunk, but not from wine." For then is the essential strengthening of fear and grief, in the aspect of: "all the days of the wicked he writhes" — for when he does not believe, G-d forbid, in the will, then he is filled always with harsh fear and dread, and all his days are grief and pain. He has no life at all — for when troubles come upon him he has no one to turn to for salvation, and he has no comfort and no solace for his grief and fears as explained in the words of our Rebbe, of blessed memory. And therefore the wine — which is the aspect of yir'ah — does not gladden him at all. On the contrary — it intoxicates him and confuses his mind. And this is the essential aspect of intoxication and confusion of the mind: when his faith is blemished through the wisdom of nature, G-d forbid. And therefore the wine is blemished through the touch of the non-Jew — which is the aspect of yir'ah — for it becomes yayin nesech which is the aspect of avodah zarah, the aspect of heresies — for their ordinary thought is toward avodah zarah — that is, the heresies of the wisdom of nature. And through this the wine — which is the aspect of yir'ah — is blemished, and it becomes in the aspect of wine that intoxicates as above.

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Laws of the Statutes of the Nations

And therefore our Sages of blessed memory said [Megillah 16b]: that Yosef sent to Yaakov old wine whose da'as zekainim [the mind of elders] is at ease with it. Specifically da'as zekainim — for only the holy elders are able to drink wine in holiness. For through them the essential revelation of the will occurs, as above — through which the yir'ah is produced that is the aspect of wine that gladdens. And then the wine is in holiness as above. And therefore on Shabbos and the Three Festivals — when the essential revelation of the will occurs, as explained in the teaching mentioned above: that the essential revelation is on Yom Tov. And the revelation of the will of Yom Tov is drawn from the aspect of metzach ha'ratzon [the forehead of will], ra'ava d'ra'avin [will of wills], see there — which is revealed on Shabbos Mincha etc., for Yom Tov receives from Shabbos, as explained elsewhere. It is thus found that the essential revelation of the will is on Shabbos and Yom Tov. And therefore then — on Shabbos and Yom Tov — that is the essential time when one can drink wine in holiness, in the aspect of wine that gladdens. For they are days of joy — for then is the revelation of the will, through which the essential revelation of yir'ah occurs — which is the aspect of wine that gladdens, as above. And this is the aspect of the klei hayayin [wine vessels]: that one must guard the wine from the vessels of non-Jews — for the essential holiness of the wine depends on it being received into a good vessel, as above. And therefore the essential drinking of wine in holiness is only in a kos shel beracha [cup of blessing]. Specifically a kos [cup] of blessing — and they did not say the yayin [wine] of blessing, but rather gave the essential importance to the cup and called it the kos shel beracha — for the essential holiness of the wine depends on the holiness of the cup. And therefore our Sages of blessed memory called it: kos shel beracha — specifically kos — for everything depends on the vessel that receives the wine, which is the aspect of yir'ah. For kos [cup] in gematria equals Elokim, as is known. And Elokim in gematria equals ha'teva [nature], as is known. And this is the essential holiness: to know that there is no nature in the world at all — for nature itself is from Hashem, may He be blessed, Who sometimes governs the world through some natural pattern in order to test human beings, so that there will be free choice in the world — and in order to show that nature is in His hand. Therefore He changes nature many times — as we have already seen His awesome signs and wonders on all the Yomim Tovim which are a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt etc., as above. But in truth, even nature itself is His providence, may He be blessed — for everything is from Him, may He be blessed, alone. For ha'teva [nature] in gematria equals Elokim — for nature itself is from the living G-d and King of the universe. And this is the aspect of the kos shel beracha — and then the wine is in holiness in the aspect of wine that gladdens as above. For this depends on the vessel that receives the wine being complete — and the essential completion of the vessel is through faith as above. For the kos shel beracha always comes in a place where there is a revelation of the will — namely on Shabbos and Yom Tov, when we make Kidush over the wine and reveal upon the cup of wine specifically the holiness of Shabbos and Yom Tov, which is the revelation of the will, as above. For the essential holiness of Shabbos and Yom Tov — which is the revelation of the will — is drawn through the Kidush over the wine, and then the will is revealed in the aspect of mikra kodesh [holy convocation] — a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt — which is said in the Kidush over the cup. And this is the aspect of the kos of Birchas HaMazon [Grace after Meals] — in the aspect of: "and you shall eat and be satisfied and bless Hashem your G-d for the good land" etc. It is thus found that the essential Birchas HaMazon is to bless Hashem for the Land of Israel that He gave us. And the essential holiness of the Land of Israel is through the revelation of the will — as explained in the words of our Rebbe, of blessed memory, many times. And as our Sages of blessed memory said: for this reason the Torah opened with Bereishis [In the beginning] — for by His will He gave it to them and by His will He took it from them and gave it to us. It is thus found that the essential holiness of the Land of Israel is through the revelation that everything is by His will, may He be blessed. And therefore all ten levels of holiness are in the Land of Israel — for this is the essential holiness: that it is revealed that everything is by His will, may He be blessed. And the Beis HaMikdash [Holy Temple], which is holiest of all — there the revelation of the will is greatest. And therefore all the korbanos [sacrifices] are brought there — of which it says: "for a will [l'ratzon]" etc. And this is the aspect of: "for Your servants have cherished her stones" etc. — for they are in the aspect of the revelation of the will as above. And the Even Shetiyah [Foundation Stone] — which is the Holy of Holies — is the aspect of the root of the will: the will within the wills. And therefore there, no one is able to enter except the High Priest on Yom Kippur — for the High Priest merits the aspect of the metzach ha'ratzon [forehead of will]: in the aspect of "and it shall be on his forehead for a will [l'ratzon]" [Exodus 28:38] as explained there — which is the aspect of will within the wills. And therefore on all Three Festivals one is obligated to appear before Hashem — as it says: "three times in the year" etc. "before the face of Hashem." "The face of Hashem" — this is the aspect of will, which is the aspect of panim [face/presence], as explained there. And this is needed specifically on the Festivals — when there is a revelation of the will. And therefore one must appear then in the Beis HaMikdash — where the revelation of the will occurs as above. For the kos shel beracha is the aspect of tzedakah through which the essential revelation of the will occurs — as explained there in the aspect of: "the good-eyed one will be blessed, for he gave of his bread to the poor" [Proverbs 22:9] — which is said regarding the kos shel beracha. For in truth, wherever the kos shel beracha comes, one must be more tov ayin [generous of eye] — to give of one's bread to the poor — that is, tzedakah. For on Shabbos and Yom Tov one brings the kos shel beracha for Kidush — to draw the holiness of Shabbos and Yom Tov through the cup of wine. And on Shabbos and Yom Tov one must increase in tzedakah — for on Shabbos the essential illumination and completion of all tzedakah is in the aspect of: "the sun on Shabbos is tzedakah for the poor" — as explained in the words of our Rebbe, of blessed memory, elsewhere [Likutay I:31]. And on Yom Tov one must certainly increase in tzedakah — for this is the essential joy of Yom Tov as explained in the Torah many times: in every place that it mentions the joy of Yom Tov it mentions the generous gift to tzedakah — as it says: "and you shall rejoice before Hashem your G-d — you and your sons" etc. "and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow" etc. And our Sages of blessed memory said: if you gladden Mine, I will gladden yours. For in truth the essential joy of Yom Tov is through the revelation of the will — which is revealed through tzedakah specifically, as above. And as explained well in the teaching mentioned above, in the aspect of: "send your bread upon the face of the waters, for in the multitude of days you will find it." And this is what is juxtaposed there in the adjacent verse: "give a portion to seven, and also to eight" [Ecclesiastes 11:2] — and our Sages of blessed memory expounded it as referring to the days of the Festivals etc. — namely as above: for the essential holiness of the Festivals — that is, the joy of Yom Tov — is through tzedakah, the aspect of "send your bread" etc., as above. It is thus found: when one brings the kos shel beracha for Kidush on Shabbos and Yom Tov — to draw the holiness and joy of Yom Tov through this — then he is in the aspect of tov ayin etc. — for then is the time of tzedakah and generosity of heart as above, through which the holiness of Yom Tov is drawn as above. And as all Israel customarily practice on the Festivals: increasing in tzedakah and sending to the poor the gift of their generous heart — for one cannot receive the holiness and joy of Yom Tov except through tzedakah, through which one merits that the will be revealed — which is the essential holiness and joy of Yom Tov as above. And similarly in Birchas HaMazon — when one brings the kos shel beracha at the meal — from every meal one must give a portion to the poor, as explained in the books. And this is the essential completion of the kos shel beracha — which is given only to the tov ayin [generous person], in the aspect of: "the good-eyed one will be blessed, for he gave of his bread to the poor." For the essential thing is tzedakah — through which the will is revealed, and then the cup is filled with the blessing of Hashem — for then the wine is in holiness. For through the will, holy yir'ah comes into being, which is the aspect of joy — the aspect of wine that gladdens as above. And therefore one must guard the wine from the vessels of non-Jews — for the wine is blemished through the vessels of the non-Jews who wander and are confused in the wisdom of nature. Through this their yir'ah is blemished — and this is the essential evil fear, the evil whip [r'tzu'a bisha]. For any person who merits faith — that everything is by His will, may He be blessed — even the fear of punishment is good. On the contrary — one specifically needs the fear of punishment, and it is impossible to draw close to Hashem, may He be blessed, except through the fear of punishment — as our Rebbe, of blessed memory, wrote, as above. But when one errs, G-d forbid, in the wisdom of nature as above — then all his fears are evil fears, which are complete harsh judgment — the aspect of wine that intoxicates. For this judgment has no sweetening — for he has no comfort for his grief and fear and terror etc., as above. And therefore the wine — which is the aspect of yir'ah and gevuros — is blemished when it enters the vessels of the non-Jews. For as soon as it enters their vessels — which are blemished due to the wisdom of nature — the wine becomes the aspect of wine that intoxicates: the aspect of harsh and complete judgment. And when one drinks this wine, G-d forbid, which is forbidden through the vessels of the non-Jews — it is as if he worships idolatry — for the heresies of the wisdom of nature strengthen within him more and more. For their wine is drawn from there — for this is the essential confusion and mixing of the mind: when faith is blemished through the wisdom of nature, G-d forbid — which is the aspect of wine that intoxicates as above. And therefore all their punishments are called by the name yein ta'ar'elah [wine of trembling]. And Rashi explained it as the language of otem [blocking] — which blocks and dulls their heart — for this is the essential punishment upon them, because they strayed from holy faith and followed the wisdom of nature. Therefore Hashem, may He be blessed, will bring upon them their harsh punishment — and their punishment is the aspect of yein ta'ar'elah which blocks their heart — for their mind becomes confused through the punishment and fears even more, for they have no one to turn to and have no comfort, as above. As it says: "and he looks to the land, and behold, darkness" etc. And this is the aspect of: "for in the hand of Hashem is a cup, and the wine foams, full of mixture — but its dregs they will drain, they will drink — all the wicked of the earth" [Psalms 75:9]. For the essential punishment is in the aspect of wine that intoxicates — the aspect of the cup of trembling, G-d forbid, as above — and essentially through the blemish of the wisdom of nature. For as long as one knows that everything is from Hashem, may He be blessed, there is no grief and suffering in the world at all — everything is only good — as explained in the words of our Rebbe, of blessed memory, in many places. And therefore the reward of the righteous who always believed in Hashem is called by the name: yayin ha'meshumar b'anavav mi'sheshes yemay bereishis [wine preserved in its grapes since the six days of creation]. For this is the essential reward — when His will is revealed in the world and all will see that all the troubles we endured in exile were all for our good — and these righteous ones who believed even in exile and grief and their sufferings that everything is for good by His will, may He be blessed, and drew close to Hashem, may He be blessed, through this — which is the aspect of wine that gladdens: for through all the fears and judgments they drew close to Hashem, may He be blessed, and merited joy — through this they will merit in the future, measure for measure, the day that is entirely good, and will merit the preserved wine etc. For then will be the essential joy — and then the wine will be in the aspect of wine that gladdens. For then it will be revealed that everything was for our good — the aspect of: kuloi tov kuloi echad [all good, all one] — which is the aspect of wine that gladdens as above, the aspect of "my cup is full to overflowing." For the essential reward for the future is that we will merit to be included in His will, may He be blessed — which is the aspect of the passing of Moshe in ra'ava d'ra'avin [will of wills] — and this is the aspect of wine that gladdens, the aspect of preserved wine, drawn through the revelation of the will as above. And one who had complete faith in this world and believed that everything is by His will, may He be blessed, will merit this in the future: the aspect of wine that gladdens, preserved wine etc. — that is, to be included in His will, may He be blessed, in the aspect of ra'ava d'ra'avin. Fortunate is the one who merits this! And therefore it is called yayin ha'meshumar b'anavav mi'sheshes yemay bereishis — for this is the essential holiness of the wine: when one believes that Hashem, may He be blessed, created everything in the six days of creation and everything is governed by His will, may He be blessed — which is the essential holiness of the wine, the aspect of wine that gladdens — which is the aspect of the preserved wine etc. as above. And this is the aspect of Chanukah. For the wicked kingdom of Greece stood against Israel "to make them forget Your Torah" etc. — for the kingdom of Greece is the aspect of the sages of nature who deny the entire Torah. For the essential erroneous wisdom of the sages of nature is called in the words of our Sages of blessed memory "the wisdom of Greece" — as our Sages of blessed memory said: what is the matter with one who teaches his son chochmas Yevanis [Greek wisdom]? — which is the wisdom of nature. And therefore when the wicked kingdom of Greece stood against Israel it was a time of very great trouble for Israel — for this is the aspect of the strengthening of the sages of nature who deny the will, G-d forbid, as above. And therefore when the Hasmonean household merited and defeated them, the miracle came about through the oil and they established it for all generations to light the Chanukah lamp with oil. For oil is the aspect of ratzon [will] — as it says: "acceptable [y'hi ratzuy] to his brothers, and he dips his foot in oil" [Deuteronomy 33:24] — and as Rashi explained on the verse: "and the yoke was destroyed because of the oil" [Isaiah 10:27]: Rashi explained it as referring to Chizkiyahu the King who was gentle with his generation like oil. For oil is the language of ratzon [will] and nachas ruach [satisfaction]. For the essential will is through the aspect of the metzach ha'ratzon — the aspect of: "and it shall be on his forehead for a will" — said of the High Priest — and this is the aspect of oil: the aspect of "like the good oil on the head, flowing down upon the beard — the beard of Aharon" etc. — for the revelation of the will in the aspect of the metzach ha'ratzon is the aspect of the holy elder, as explained in the teaching mentioned above — the aspect of the beard of Aharon. For Aharon was the High Priest who merited the metzach ha'ratzon — which is the aspect of elder — the aspect of ra'ava d'ra'avin as above. (For the metzach ha'ratzon and zaken [elder/beard] are one aspect — the aspect of ra'ava d'ra'avin — as brought in the holy writings.) And therefore on Chanukah — when we must subdue the wisdom of nature, the wisdom of Greece — we draw this oil which is the aspect of mashach r'vos kudsha [the anointing oil of holiness], the aspect of the revelation of the will as above. And through this we light the Chanukah lights. And the lighting of the lamp is the aspect of the revelation of yir'ah — which is the aspect of consuming fire: in the aspect of "for Hashem your G-d is a consuming fire, a great and awesome G-d" [Deuteronomy 4:24] — for yir'ah is the aspect of fire. That is: through the will — the aspect of oil — through this we light the lamp which is the aspect of yir'ah — for yir'ah comes into being through the will, as above. And through the yir'ah one merits to receive the chesed — which is the Kohen [priest] — in the aspect of: "and you will be called priests of Hashem" as explained there. And this is the aspect of why the essential miracle was through the Kohanim [priests]. And therefore on Chanukah one increases in tzedakah — for the essential revelation of the will — which is the aspect of oil — to subdue the wisdom of nature, the aspect of the wicked kingdom of Greece — comes through tzedakah: the aspect of "send your bread" etc., as above. And this is the aspect of oil for the menachos [meal-offerings] and wine for the nesachim [libations] which are juxtaposed to each other in the Torah portion of libations. For the essential holiness of the wine — which is the aspect of yir'ah — that it be in the aspect of wine that gladdens — is through the oil: which is the aspect of will, as above. And this is: "and wine gladdens the heart of man — brightening the face more than oil" [Psalms 104:15] — for through the aspect of l'hatzil panim mi'shamen [brightening the face more than oil] — which is the aspect of will, which is the aspect of n'si'as panim [elevation of face] as above — through this: "wine gladdens" etc. For through this specifically the wine is in the aspect of wine that gladdens as above. And see in Hilchos Chanukah where this matter is explained again — where most of the teaching mentioned above is hinted at in the mitzvah of Chanukah, see there. And see in the intention of Chanukah in Peri Etz Chayyim — that in the days of Chanukah one draws the illumination of the thirteen tikkunay dikna [the thirteen arrangements of the beard] — which is the aspect of the zakan mentioned above, see there. And this is the aspect of the mitzvah of milah [circumcision]. For the orlah [foreskin] that covers the covenant — this is the aspect of ananin d'mechasyyan al eynin [clouds that cover the eyes] — which are the foreign ideas of the sages of nature that cover over the intellect and confuse and block the intellect and heart with their foreign ideas. And therefore one must cut the orlah that covers the covenant — in order to subdue the defilement of the serpent: the aspect of "and a copper forehead on his legs" — specifically al raglov [on his legs] — for the essential grip of the serpent is through the blemish of the covenant, G-d forbid — which is the aspect of the legs [raglaim]. And when one cuts the orlah, then the atarah [crown] is revealed — which is the aspect of emunah [faith], the aspect of the revelation of the will — which is the aspect of the holy elder. For the essential aspect of the holy elder comes through the rectification of the covenant — in the aspect of: "and you shall honor the face of the elder [zaken]" [Leviticus 19:32] — for a saris [eunuch] has no beard, as brought elsewhere — for the essential completion of faith is through the rectification of the covenant, as explained elsewhere. And then — through the revelation of the will — holy yir'ah comes into being, which also depends on the rectification of the covenant — as brought elsewhere — in the aspect of: Bereishis — bris aish [covenant of fire], yaray boshes [fear of shame]. And therefore it is said of Yosef the righteous, who guarded the covenant: "I fear G-d" [Genesis 42:18]. And therefore milah is a mitzvah that Israel accepted upon themselves with joy — as our Sages of blessed memory said. For through the revelation of the will and the yir'ah, one merits great joy as above. And therefore the rectification of the covenant is called "oz v'chedvah [strength and gladness]" [I Chronicles 16:27] — as brought elsewhere. Oz [strength] — this is the aspect of holy yir'ah, which is the aspect of joy and gladness as above. And therefore — even though one cuts the orlah — still, as long as one has not para [uncovered] and revealed the atarah, it is as if one has not circumcised at all. This is the aspect of what is explained there in the teaching mentioned above: that even though one merits to subdue and break and nullify the wisdom of nature, even so as long as there is no strong revelation of the will, they can still prevail, G-d forbid, etc. And this is the aspect of: hadar talya lei [the beauty hangs on it] etc. — see there well. And this is the aspect of periah [uncovering] — for even though one cuts the orlah, which is the defilement of the serpent that covers the covenant — the aspect of the wisdom of nature that covers the intellect — even so, as long as one does not reveal the holy atarah — which is the aspect of the rectification of the covenant, the aspect of the revelation of the will as above — they still have a hold, G-d forbid, and can still prevail — even though one has already subdued them and cut the orlah entirely, as above. And therefore one must then strengthen oneself to para and uncover the atarah — that is, to reveal the will — so that the will is revealed with strong force and great strength — so that all know that the world is governed only by His will, may He be blessed — and then is the essential subduing of them. And this is the aspect of the revelation of the atarah through the periah as above. And this is the aspect of the cup of wine brought at the milah. For then — through the revelation of the will and the yir'ah — the wine is in the aspect of wine that gladdens as above. For mal [circumcised] in gematria equals seventy — and yayin [wine] in gematria equals seventy. And this is the aspect of the will that is drawn through the holy elder. And the essential ziknah [elderliness] and seyvah [grayness] is the aspect of seventy years — which are the aspect of seventy faces of the Torah — corresponding to the seventy nations, which are the aspect of the sages of nature. And therefore through milah — the aspect of the rectification of the covenant — through this one merits the aspect of zaken [elder], the aspect of will as above — and then the wine is in holiness. For the essential rectification of the wine in holiness comes through guarding the covenant — through which the will is revealed as above. And therefore our Sages of blessed memory said: one who sees a sotah [wayward woman] in her degradation — he should abstain from wine. And therefore after the milah — which is the rectification of the covenant, the aspect of the revelation of the will, the aspect of the holy elder — then one brings the cup of wine. For then the wine is in holiness in the aspect of wine that gladdens as above.