נדרים הלכה א

Laws of the Firstborn Donkey — Halacha One

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And this is the aspect of the annulment of vows through three laymen. For since he has already forbidden the thing upon himself, it is impossible for it to return and be rectified through himself. For this is a general principle: all things that require rectification cannot be rectified through the very same light that was shattered, but only when an aspect of new light comes, and through it the thing is rectified.

Therefore, when one wishes to annul his vow and return the thing from prohibition to a state of being permitted, he is compelled to receive a new light from the aspect of the nekudah klalis [all-encompassing point], which is a very great light that possesses dominion — the aspect of "a tzadik rules" — and through this it returns to being permitted. Therefore, one must come before three Jewish men. And wherever three [Jews] are found, the Shechinah [Divine Presence] dwells among them, and they have power and dominion, as we find that three [people] are called a bais din [court of law], and they have the power to adjudicate by force whoever they wish. For three Jews are an aspect of the totality of Israel, which consists of Kohanim [priests], Levi'im [Levites], and Yisra'ailim [Israelites]. And since they are in the aspect of the totality of Israel, there is revealed among them the aspect of the nekudah of the totality of Israel, which is the aspect of "And Your people are all tzadikim" (Isaiah 60:21), the aspect of "Israel — His dominions" (Psalms 114:2), the aspect of "a tzadik rules." And through the light of the all-encompassing nekudah, the prohibition of the vow is rectified, and it returns to being permitted, as mentioned above — for through the light of the nekudah of the mouth, all things are rectified from their shattering and corruption. For three men who are the aspect of Kohen, Levi, Yisra'ail — which is the aspect of the totality of Israel — correspond to the aspect of melafum [a vowel formed by a vav with a dot, combining the line of the vav with the point], where the light of the nekudah is revealed, as is written there. For the Kohen is the aspect of Chochmah [Wisdom], as it is written, "For he is holy to his G-d" (Leviticus 21:7), and Chochmah is called kodesh [holy], as is brought there — and this is the aspect of the light of the nekudah, the aspect of "My mouth shall speak wisdoms," as written in the aforementioned discourse. And therefore the covenant of the priesthood is called "a covenant of peace" (Numbers 25:12), for there is the light of the nekudah, where the light of the holy love dwells; see there. And this is the aspect of the Kohen who blesses, for the blessings stem from the aspect of kodesh, the aspect of Chochmah, as is brought. And this is what was stated above — that through the blessing all things are rectified. For through the blessing, which is the aspect of kodesh, the aspect of Chochmah, the aspect of the Kohen who blesses, as mentioned above — which is the aspect of the nekudah, as mentioned above — through this, the light of the holy love is revealed, as mentioned above. And the Levi is the aspect of Binah [Understanding], the aspect of "and the meditation of my heart is understanding" (Psalms 49:4). For from the side of Levi, judgments are aroused, as is brought elsewhere. And the Yisra'ail is the aspect of the third who decides — that is, he connects the nekudah with the vav, and it becomes the aspect of melafum, where the revelation of the nekudah occurs, as is written. For the primary bais din through which the vow is annulled consists of two [judges]. Therefore they do not all need to be gemiray [learned in Torah law] — only two of them, as is written in the Shulchan Aruch. Rather, the third comes to decide, so that the bais din should not be divided, as it is found in [Tractate] Sanhedrin regarding judges. For if there were only two, it is possible that they would be divided, G-d forbid, and there would be no connection of the vav to the nekudah, since they are different aspects. Therefore the third comes to decide, and through him the vav and the nekudah are bound together, becoming the aspect of melafum, the aspect of "Open your mouth wide and I will fill it" (Psalms 81:11) — through which they have dominion, as mentioned above, and as is written there in the aforementioned discourse; see there. And this is the aspect of an individual expert (yachid mumcheh) who annuls the vow by himself alone. For in the presence of the talmid chacham [Torah scholar] and expert, there is the aspect of the nekudah of the totality of Israel, as is written there. Therefore he has the dominion to annul the vow that the Jew forbade upon himself through the speech of his mouth, as mentioned above. For now a new light has been revealed, which is exceedingly great — namely, the aspect of the all-encompassing nekudah, which is found with the talmid chacham of the generation. Or [alternatively, the annulment takes place] through the all-encompassing nekudah that is revealed through three men, as mentioned above. And he must have charatah [regret], which is an aspect of sheviras halev [brokenheartedness], and he must bring the regret before those who annul [the vow] — that is, he declares before them that he regrets. And they rectify the brokenheartedness through the nekudah that is in their mouths, which is the aspect of "a tzadik rules," and they say to him, "It is permitted to you" (mutar lach). And through this, it returns to a state of being permitted, as mentioned above. This halachah explains the spiritual mechanics behind the laws of vows (nedarim) according to Likutay Moharan, Torah 34, which deals with the verse "And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests." The core teaching rests on the concept that all worldly things originate from the cosmic event known as sheviras hakailim — the shattering of the vessels — and therefore everything, even that which is technically "permitted," carries within it an aspect of fallen, unrectified spiritual energy (fallen loves, from the shattered vessels of Chesed). The mouth — where the holy nekudah (point) resides, corresponding to "My mouth shall speak wisdoms" — is the instrument of rectification. When one recites a blessing before deriving benefit, the blessing activates the holy nekudah, reveals the holy love, and effectively re-creates the thing anew. This is why blessings use the present tense ("boray" — "Who creates") — because the item is being created anew at that moment. Before the blessing, even a permitted item is in a state of spiritual suspension between holiness and the Sitra Achara. Since the mouth of the Jew carries this power of dominion ("a tzadik rules"), he can also wield it in the reverse direction — forbidding upon himself something that is permitted, through the power of a vow. When one wishes to annul a vow, a new light is needed, because the same light that was "shattered" (in this case, the person's own speech that created the prohibition) cannot rectify itself. This new light comes either from three laymen (who together represent the totality of Israel — Kohen, Levi, Yisra'ail) or from a single expert Torah scholar who embodies the all-encompassing nekudah. The three correspond to the vowel melafum (a vav with a dot), symbolizing the union of the line (vav = Understanding/Judgment) with the point (nekudah = Wisdom/Holiness), with the third member being the one who unites them. The one who seeks annulment must express regret (charatah), and the annullers say "It is permitted to you," restoring the item to its rectified state.