תלמוד תורה א

Likutay Halachos – Yoreh Daya – Hilchos Talmud Torah 1 and 2

Based on the Torah "Tik'u Tochachah" [Likutay Moharan II, Torah 8] — see there carefully, the entire teaching. And it is explained there [in section 8] that the essential faith comes through the clarification of the imaginative faculty (biyur ha'medameh), which is clarified through the spirit of prophecy — and this is the meaning of the fact that the entire world hung suspended until the sixth of Sivan, etc. For the essential faith is belief in the creation of the world (emunah b'chidush ha'olam), which cannot be understood by any intellect — only through faith attained through prophecy — which is the bechinas receiving the Torah, etc. And for this reason one must search and seek greatly, greatly, after a true tzadik who has the bechinas prophetic spirit, etc. — see all of this there carefully.

And this is the bechinas mitzvah of writing the Sefer Torah — for the writing of the Torah is for the clarification of the imaginative faculty (medameh) — for the essential writing is for the sake of remembrance, as it is written: "Write this as a remembrance in the Book" [Exodus 17:14], and memory resides in the imaginative faculty, as explained elsewhere. Through writing the Torah, the memory of holiness is preserved — which is the bechinas biyur ha'medameh, as above. And therefore every individual in Israel must write a Sefer Torah for himself and cannot fulfill [the obligation] with the Sefer Torah of another — even if his fathers left him a Sefer Torah, he does not fulfill [the mitzvah] until he writes it himself or at minimum corrects it in some way. For the writing is for the clarification of the medameh — which pertains to each and every letter according to one's level — according to the bechinas one's own medameh. For the clarification of the medameh — which is the clarification of faith — every person must clarify for himself according to his own bechinas — for every person was created for nothing other than this: for the clarification of faith — which is the foundation, the essence, and the general principle of the entire Torah. As our Sages said: "Havakuk came and stood them all on one — and the tzadik lives by his faith." [Makkos 24a] And therefore each person must clarify for himself according to his own bechinas, according to the root of his soul and according to his deeds. Therefore each individual must specifically write a Sefer Torah for himself — in order to clarify his medameh, which is the clarification of faith according to his bechinas, as above. And this is why the commandment to write the Sefer Torah is formulated as the writing of the shirah [song] — as it is written: "And now, write for yourselves this song, etc." — from which our Sages derived the commandment to write the Sefer Torah. For through the clarification of faith one merits the song that will be aroused in the future — as explained there [in the teaching] — from which all songs of the world flow. And therefore the writing of the Torah is called the writing of the shirah — for through writing the Torah, the medameh is clarified — which is the clarification of faith — through which one merits the aforementioned song from which all songs [flow], as above. And this encompasses the entire bechinas Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkos until Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah — when the Torah is concluded and immediately begun again. And all the Torah portions read during these times speak of the passing of Moshe and his testament — in which he gathered and assembled all of Israel and informed them of what would befall them until the very end, as it is written: "Gather to me all the heads of your tribes, etc., and I will have heaven and earth testify against them, etc. For I know, after my death, that you will surely act corruptly, etc. — and now, write for yourselves this song, etc." [Deuteronomy 31:28–29, 31:19] For Moshe informed them of all the troubles and exiles that would befall them — all because of the blemish of faith — as our Sages said: "Israel was exiled only because men of faith ceased among them." [Shabbos 138b-139a] And as explained in the Rebbe's words many times. And in all these days from Rosh Hashanah to Simchas Torah we engage in the rectification of faith — which is the bechinas Malchus — which we labor to build and rectify in these days, as explained in the intentions of the Ari of blessed memory. And therefore we read those portions in which Moshe warned them and rebuked them on the day of his death — the essential point being the blemish of faith — as explained there. And he hinted to them that the essential rectification is through writing the shirah — which is the bechinas writing the Sefer Torah — which is the bechinas biyur ha'medameh — which is the rectification of faith, as above. For it is explained in the aforementioned teaching that all the rectifications mentioned there take place on Rosh Hashanah and throughout the month of Tishrai — see there. And the essential rectification is for faith — which is the foundation of everything — achieved through the bechinas prophetic spirit, etc. — see there — through which one merits the voice of the song that will be aroused in the future, etc. For the rectification and building of faith is the bechinas rectification and building of Malchus — as explained in the holy writings — which is worked on from Rosh Hashanah until Shemini Atzeres — see there. For on Rosh Hashanah the world was created — [Note: The text of Section 4 continues at great length elaborating on the themes of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkos, Hoshana Rabbah, and Simchas Torah in relation to the clarification of faith and the mitzvah of Sefer Torah. Sections 5 through 27 continue below.] And the essential rectification began with Avrohom, who was the first to draw the path of Torah into the world, for he merited true prophetic spirit (ru'ach nevuah), through which he began to clarify the medameh [imaginative faculty] and to draw forth emunah [faith] into the world. But the essential rectification came in the days of Moshe, through the giving of the Torah, through which the essential clarification of emunah occurred. And then he rectified the world to such a degree of completeness that had they not sinned afterward, everything would have been rectified — as it is written, "I said: you are divine beings" [Ps. 82:6] — and as our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded on the verse "engraved [charut]" — freedom from the angel of death. But through the sin of the Golden Calf they returned and corrupted, and drew back the pollution of the serpent, which is the confusion of the medameh, from which all heresy comes — which is the blemish of emunah. And at that moment the world was nearly destroyed, had not Moshe His chosen one stood in the breach before Him [Ps. 106:23], and his counsel was deep — in that he shattered the Tablets, and Hashem, blessed be He, agreed with him — for he saw that the Sitra Achra [Other Side] was gaining great strength, and it was impossible to rectify everything at once by force. Rather, one must rectify little by little each year. And even though what passes over Israel each and every year, in general and in particular, is very great, and in most years people cause much damage — and because of this the exile has been prolonged so greatly, for we have not only failed to undo the original sins but have added new ones upon them — nevertheless, Hashem, blessed be He, and the tzadikim will complete their task of rectifying the world. And the rectification is specifically through the bechinas shattering the Tablets, which caused forgetting in the world — which is the bechinas withdrawal of the mochin [divine intellect] — meaning that he drew this path into the world: that each time the rectification begins anew, and whenever any blemish or corruption occurs, Heaven forbid, a forgetting will be drawn to forget each time what has passed, and to begin each time anew — as our Rebbe, of blessed memory, wrote that forgetting is a great rectification in this bechina, see there. And this is the bechinas completing and beginning of the Torah each and every year, and the completing and beginning spans from Rosh Hashanah to Simchas Torah, for then we are engaged with the Torah portions that he commanded them at the time of his departure, until on Simchas Torah the entire Torah is completed and immediately begun again. For then on Simchas Torah the rectification that began on Rosh Hashanah is concluded. And the essential rectification is that every year one must clear out the old mochin and begin anew — for even every single day the mochin are renewed in the bechinas "new every morning, great is Your faithfulness" [Lam. 3:23]. How much more so on Rosh Hashanah, which is the beginning of the year — when all our entreaty is "renew for us a good year" — meaning: may we merit a completely new year, for each year an entirely new rectification begins, as an illumination flows from the new song that will awaken in the future, in the bechinas "Sing to Hashem a new song, for He has done wonders" [Ps. 98:1] — for Hashem, blessed be He, renews wonders at all times. And the essential renewal flows from Rosh Hashanah, when He renews both the year and the month together. And then there flows the bechinas renewed mochin upon the entire year, that we should merit to renew ourselves each time and to begin each time anew, and what has passed should be covered with a forgetting so that nothing will be able to cast one down — in the bechinas "even these will forget, yet I will not forget you" [Is. 49:15], which our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded in relation to the sin of the Calf, which encompasses all sins in the world. And this is the bechinas rectification of the shattering of the Tablets, which caused forgetting — as our Sages, of blessed memory, stated. And therefore the Torah is concluded with the verse "before the eyes of all Israel" [Deut. 34:12] — which refers to the shattering of the Tablets, as our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded — for this is the essential rectification and the wondrous heroism of Moshe, who drew a wondrous rectification specifically through the shattering of the Tablets — so that every person may, each time, withdraw and set aside his mind and intellect, and forget and remove from his consciousness altogether everything that has passed, so that he may strengthen himself and not fall in any manner, only to begin each time anew. And it is specifically in this manner that the Torah is concluded and immediately begun anew: "In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth" [Gen. 1:1]. For this is the essential teshuvah [repentance/return] that is drawn each year during Rosh Hashanah and the Ten Days of Repentance — to renew oneself each time — in the bechinas "Return us, Hashem, to You, and we shall return; renew our days as of old" [Lam. 5:21] — the bechinas "you will be renewed like the eagle" [Ps. 103:5]. And therefore each year the Torah is concluded and begun again during these days from Rosh Hashanah to Simchas Torah — for the concluding and beginning of the Torah is itself the bechinas conclusion and end of the year and the beginning of a new year. And so too a person himself must embody this bechina — to conclude and to begin — meaning: to finish and to complete and to clear out everything that has passed is past, and to begin now fresh. For the three dimensions of Olam [World], Shanah [Year], and Nefesh [Soul] are a single bechina, and all of them receive their vitality from the dimension of Torah as is known, and all of them are renewed in these days from Rosh Hashanah to Simchas Torah — which is the bechinas concluding and beginning of the Torah, which is the essential rectification, as above. And this is the bechinas Tablets and the shards of the Tablets that lie together in the Ark — for the Tablets are the bechinas memory, since the Tablets are the totality of the Torah that one must write for memory, as above. And the shards of the Tablets are the bechinas forgetting, as above. And both of them lie in the Ark — for one cannot remember the Torah except through the bechinas forgetting, through forgetting and removing from one's mind everything that passes over one each time — in a manner that one will not fall through memory. For in matters of memory and forgetting one must carefully calibrate one's path: even though one must greatly remember all the words of the Torah, nevertheless forgetting is a very great good — for there are many things that one needs to forget and remove from one's mind specifically, so as not to be confused and not to fall, Heaven forbid, as above — as it is explained in his [Reb Noson's] writings, and it is impossible to elaborate on this here, and one who understands will understand for himself — see there in the Sipuray Ma'asiyos [Stories of Ancient Times] at its end. And this is: "Hear, O daughter, and see" [Ps. 45:11] — which alludes to the beginning of the Torah, Beraishis, as it is stated in the Tikunay Zohar: "in Beraishis there lies 'hear' (shim'i), there lies 'daughter' (bas), there lies 'see' (r'i)" etc. And this is "and forget your people and your father's house" [Ps. 45:11] — for the essential beginning of the Torah each time anew is through forgetting — which is the bechinas connection of the Torah's end, "before the eyes of all Israel," back to its beginning, which is Beraishis. For "before the eyes of all Israel" alludes to the shards of the Tablets that caused forgetting — and it is specifically through this that one can begin each time anew, which is the bechinas beginning of the Torah, Beraishis, as above. And this itself is the bechinas clarification of the medameh — for the medameh becomes confused each time, and its rectification is through sleep (shaynah), which is the bechinas forgetting, the bechinas removing past thoughts entirely. And through this the mochin are renewed in the bechinas "new every morning." And this is the bechinas sleep and the awakening from sleep on Rosh Hashanah, as is explained in the kavonos [mystical intentions] — and all of it is for the renewal of the mochin, as above. But the essential point is for each person to draw from this practical counsel for himself — so that even one who is as he is may derive advice from this to strengthen himself: by removing and forgetting from his mind each time everything that has passed. And he should know and believe that Hashem, blessed be He, makes new things at all times, and no day resembles another — how much more so that no year resembles another — and every day and in particular every year everything is renewed entirely. And surely Hashem, blessed be He, and the tzadikim will complete what they began. And even if what passes over us — in general and in particular — is what it is, and the Sitra Achra and the Adversary expand themselves in length and breadth each time, nevertheless Hashem, blessed be He, helps us every day and in particular each year when we receive the holiness of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur through to Simchas Torah, when the Torah is concluded and begun again. And each year new rectifications are completed for each person, in a manner that everyone can always renew themselves for the good — provided one truly believes that Hashem, blessed be He, renews in His goodness each day always the work of creation, and in particular each and every year — until in the end the rectification will be completed in perfection through our righteous Moshiach, who will come speedily in our days, for he will surely come and will not delay. And this is the bechinas Sukkos — when one leaves one's home and enters the sukkah, and then returns from there to one's home on Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah, when the Torah is concluded and begun anew. For the holiness of a person's home is drawn from the Torah which begins with Bais of Beraishis. And moreover, Beraishis is the letters of rosh bayis [head of the house] — as is stated in the Tikunim. And each year we must renew the holiness of our home, just as we renew the Torah each year — concluding it and beginning it anew, as above. Therefore one leaves the home and enters the sukkah, which is the bechinas Clouds of Glory (Annanay Kavod), from which the root of the Torah is drawn — as is understood from the Torah there, that the totality of prophecy, which is the bechinas Torah, is drawn from kavod [glory/honor], see there. Therefore each and every year, when one is engaged in concluding the Torah and returning to begin it anew, one must leave one's home and enter the sukkah, which is the bechinas Clouds of Glory, the bechinas root of the Torah — in order to draw from there the renewal of the Torah afresh, as above. And therefore immediately after Sukkos is Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah, when the Torah is begun with Bais of Beraishis — for afterward the holiness of one's home is renewed, which is the bechinas holiness of the Torah that begins with Bais, as above — through our having entered the sukkah, which is the bechinas Clouds of Glory which are the root of the Torah, drawn from prayer in the bechinas din [strict judgment] of the Ba'al Ko'ach [Master of Strength] who engages in this throughout Rosh Hashanah — as is explained in the Torah there — see there carefully. For all of this is merited through the holiness of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which are the Ten Days of Repentance corresponding to the Ten Commandments — which are ten levels of prophecy — through which one merits emunah in the creation of the world, that Hashem, blessed be He, created everything with the Ten Utterances (asorah ma'amaros), as is explained there. And corresponding to this are the Ten Days of Repentance, and their completion is on Yom Kippur — when the Kohen Gadol [High Priest] enters the innermost chamber, to the place of the Ark and the Tablets, which are the totality of Torah in the bechinas spirit of prophecy that clarifies the medameh etc., as above. And therefore it is impossible to enter there except with the sacrifices of the bull and the goat, as it is written, "With this shall Aharon come" [Lev. 16:3] — for all the sacrifices are the bechinas clarification of the medameh, as is explained elsewhere. And the essential clarification is in the Temple, where the Ark and the Tablets stand. But on Yom Kippur one must enter the very place of the Tablets — into the Holy of Holies — with the blood of the bull and the goat, because then one must draw forgiveness and pardon for all the transgressions that flow from the pollution of the serpent, which is the confusion of the medameh. And this is the bechinas incense (ketores) with which one enters the innermost chamber — which is a sweet fragrance — for the essential rectification is to merit a sweet fragrance (ray'ach tov), in the bechinas "my spikenard gave forth its fragrance" [Song 1:12] etc. — which is the bechinas fragrance of the incense that elevates holiness from the very depths of the kelippos [husks], until all transgressions give forth sweet fragrance — which is the bechinas chelbenah [galbanum] of the incense, which alludes to including the transgressors of Israel in our prayers. For everything is turned to good through the power of the true tzadikim who know how to make a true Rosh Hashanah and to pray the prayer in the bechinas strict judgment, as above — until they draw all the rectifications explained there — until one merits the voice of Moshe, through which everything gives forth sweet fragrance, see there. And this is the bechinas songs that were sung over the sacrifices — for through the sacrifices the medameh is clarified, as above, and through this one merits the aforementioned song, which is the essential rectification — and from there is drawn the song that the Levi'im sang in the Temple. And this is the bechinas writing of the Sefer Torah with a reed and specifically with black ink — for the essential writing is to clarify the medameh through the spirit of prophecy within the holy Torah scroll. And the spirit of prophecy is drawn from prayer in the bechinas strict judgment of the Ba'al Ko'ach, which is the bechinas staff of strength (matte oz) with which Moshe split the sea — in the bechinas "You broke the sea with Your strength" [Ps. 74:13] etc. — as is explained there carefully. And this is the bechinas reed and the quill (kulmus) with which one writes the Torah scroll — for the reed and quill are in the bechinas matte oz above, through which the sea was split, as above. As it is stated in the holy Zohar: "In the first exile, with your staff you split the sea; and in the final exile, with your reed, which is the quill, you shall split the sea of Torah." And this is the bechinas writing all the holy books, which are now permitted to be written, on account of "it is a time to act for Hashem — they have nullified Your Torah" [Ps. 119:126] — as our Sages, of blessed memory, stated — for the essential redemption depends on this: to split the sea of wisdom through the quill that writes books of truth, as above. And therefore one writes specifically with black ink, which is the ultimate contraction, the bechinas strict judgment — for the writing is drawn from the matte oz, which is prayer in the bechinas strict judgment, as above. For the essential writing is to clarify the medameh in order to merit complete emunah — to believe in the creation of the world, as above. And the medameh through which holy emunah is attained is the bechinas ultimate contraction of the intellect — for it is the bechinas very lowest level of the intellect — as is known and understood — which is the bechinas blackness (shacharus): "I am black yet comely" [Song 1:5]. For the essential beauty and splendor with which one adorns and praises and glorifies Him, blessed be He, is specifically through this blackness and contraction of the medameh through which holy emunah is attained. And all the revelation of the glorious splendor of His Majesty — which is the essential beauty and loveliness of the entire world — comes through this: through the true tzadikim who merit the bechinas true prophetic spirit, until they clarify the medameh of all those who draw close to them — through which they merit complete emunah, through which they merit to magnify and glorify and adorn His great Name, blessed be He — as is explained at the end of that Torah teaching, that all descriptors and praises are in the bechinas medameh, for in the innermost mind He, blessed be He, is utterly beyond all praises and descriptors, see there. And this is the bechinas why it is forbidden to touch the Torah scroll with bare hands without the cloth wrapping — to teach that the essential Torah, included in Him, blessed be He — for it is His unity, blessed be He — we have no physical touch in it whatsoever, Heaven forbid, and we have no grasp in the holy Torah — only through many garments (levushim). For all of this is the bechinas "and by the hand of the prophets I was likened" [Hos. 12:11] — meaning that He, blessed be He, likens Himself through the prophets in many imaginings (dimyonos), so that we may merit to know Him, blessed be He — which is the bechinas clarification of the medameh, as above, through which the essential emunah is attained, as above. And all the imaginings are the bechinas garments, so to speak, as is known. But it is forbidden to touch with physical hands the essence of the Torah — for the Torah itself is divested of our physicality, as above. And it is impossible to draw sustenance from it except through many garments, as above. And therefore one writes on animal hide specifically — for animal hide is the bechinas ultimate contraction of the medameh. And through the reed with the ink with which the letters of the holy Torah are written upon it — which are the bechinas prophetic spirit — through this the hide, which is the medameh, is clarified and purified — which is the bechinas clarification of the medameh, as above. See from this the Laws of Tefillin, section 4. The Laws of the Mezuzah are connected to the Laws of the Sefer Torah. And this is the bechinas mezuzah — for one must affix the mezuzah at the entrance of the home in order to draw the holiness of Eretz Yisroel into the home. For through this comes the essential existence and sustaining of the home — for the home is not called by the name "home" except through the holiness of Eretz Yisroel. For the essential nature of the home is to enter into it, from outside to within (mi'chutz lifnim). And this is only through the holiness of Eretz Yisroel — for in the lands outside Israel everyone is "outside" (bechutz), for it is called chutz la'oretz [outside the land], where everything is "outside." For the home must be built with wisdom (chochmah), as it is written, "with wisdom a home is built" [Prov. 24:3]. (As our Rebbe, of blessed memory, wrote elsewhere.) And the essential wisdom and knowledge (da'as) is to know and recognize Him, blessed be He — as it is written, "let not the wise man glory in his wisdom" etc., "but only in this shall one who glories glory: in the fact that he understands and knows Me" [Jer. 9:22-23]. And only for this purpose should the essential building of the home be — to have a place to live out the days of one's life — for the essential vitality of a person is within his home and dwelling, as is tangibly evident — meaning: in order to draw true wisdom into one's home, to know and recognize Him, blessed be He — which is the essential vitality, as it is written, "wisdom gives life" [Eccl. 7:12]. And this is only through the holiness of Eretz Yisroel, where the essential da'as and true chochmah to know Him, blessed be He, is found — for the air of Eretz Yisroel makes one wise with true wisdom, which is to recognize and know Him, blessed be He. And therefore one who dwells in Eretz Yisroel is like one who has a G-d, while one who dwells outside the Land is like one who has no G-d [Kesubos 110b]. And therefore one who sits outside the Land — even if he sits in paneled houses — is as though he sits completely outdoors, for it is called chutz la'oretz — literally outside — as above. And therefore the essential home is only by drawing into it the holiness of Eretz Yisroel — for even in the lands outside Israel one must draw the holiness of Eretz Yisroel. And this is through the mezuzah that one affixes at the entrance of the home — for the essential holiness of Eretz Yisroel is the bechinas emunah, as it is written, "dwell in the land and cultivate emunah" [Ps. 37:3]. And as is explained in the aforementioned Torah teaching — that the holiness of Eretz Yisroel comes through "the power of His deeds" [Ps. 111:6] — through knowing that Hashem, blessed be He, created everything by His will, yesh may'ayin [existence from absolute nothingness], and guides everything in His providence in particular over every thing etc. And this holiness is drawn into the home through the two passages in the mezuzah that one affixes at the entrance of the home — namely: Shema and V'hayah Im Shamoa — which are the essential emunah: Shema Yisroel etc., which is the essential emunah of unity (yichud). And the passage V'hayah Im Shamoa etc. is the bechinas emunah in divine providence — that everything is conducted by His will and providence, blessed be He — as is explained in that passage: "And it shall come to pass that if you hearken diligently to My commandments" etc., "then I will give rain for your land in its season" etc. And conversely, "Guard yourselves" etc., "and you turn away" etc., "and He will restrain the heavens" etc. — thus that passage explains that everything is under His providence, blessed be He. And therefore through these two passages in the mezuzah, the holiness of Eretz Yisroel is drawn into the home — which is the essential nature and sustaining of the home, as above. For holy emunah and holy chochmah are one and depend upon each other. (As will be explained below.) And therefore in Eretz Yisroel, where the essential emunah is found, as above — there is the source of wisdom, as our Sages, of blessed memory, stated: "The air of Eretz Yisroel makes one wise." And they said: "There is no wisdom like the wisdom of Eretz Yisroel." And the essential holiness of Eretz Yisroel — which is the holy emunah and holy chochmah that all Israel merit there — flows from the Temple that stands there. And from there one must draw the holiness to all the homes of Israel through the mezuzah that one affixes at the entrance of the home. For the essential partitions of the home (mechitzos ha'bayis) are drawn from the bechinas partitions of the intellect (mechitzos ha'seychel), through which the essential comprehension of true wisdom to know Him, blessed be He, is attained. For in truth Hashem, blessed be He, fills the entire world with His glory — and even in all the external places His divinity is concealed there, through which all their vitality comes — as it is written, "and You give life to all of them" [Neh. 9:6]. And the essential concealment — why not everyone knows His divinity, blessed be He, as they should — is only on account of the abundance of light (ribuy or): because there are no contractions (tzimtzumim) and vessels (kaylim) to receive the da'as, for an abundance of light cannot be received — as is known. And therefore the essential knowing is through the partitions of the intellect, which are the bechinas partitions and vessels to receive holy da'as through them. And from there are drawn the bechinas partitions of the home of Israel — which must be built with wisdom, in the bechinas "with wisdom a home is built" etc. — needing to draw the bechinas partitions of the home so their holiness flows from the partitions of holy intellect. For the essential home must be built so that one has a place to study and pray within it. And even one who is incapable of this must intend to raise his children within it to Torah study, and to bring into it guest-scholars (talmidai chochomim) as guests. And then the partitions of the home are the bechinas holy partitions of intellect — through which the essential comprehension of wisdom is attained, as above. And therefore the essential holiness and vitality of Israel — upon which all the worlds depend — is only through the Temple, which is the house of our lives (bais chayainu). For this is the essential bechinas holiness of the Temple: to draw the indwelling of His Presence there — meaning: that we may attain and recognize Him through the holiness of the partitions of the Temple and its vessels. For from the day that the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, He desired to have a dwelling place in the lower realms (dirah b'tachtonim) — and this came from the very depth of His love for Israel. For in truth, from the greatness of His exaltedness, blessed be He, it is impossible to attain Him in any world — as it is written, "behold, the heavens and the heavens of heavens cannot contain You" [I Kings 8:27] — yet only from His love for Israel He contracted Himself to cause His Presence to dwell within the partitions of the Temple. And therefore all our vitality comes from there — for the essential vitality is to know Him, blessed be He — as it is written, "for He is your life" [Deut. 30:20] etc. And from the holiness of the Temple, vitality flows to all the dwellings and homes of Israel — who draw into them the holiness of the Temple, which is the essential holiness of Eretz Yisroel — through the mezuzah that one affixes at the entrance of the home. For the Temple is the essential holiness of Eretz Yisroel, which is sanctified with ten gradations of holiness, and the essential holiness is the Temple — and especially the Holy of Holies, which is the holiest of all. And the essential holiness of the Holy of Holies is that there stands the Ark with the Tablets, which contain the Ten Commandments — which are the bechinas ten levels of prophecy, through which the medameh is clarified — through which one merits emunah in the creation of the world: to believe that Hashem, blessed be He, created everything with the Ten Utterances, as is explained in the aforementioned Torah teaching. For all the prophets draw their prophecy from there, from the Holy of Holies — for the essential prophecy flows from between the two Keruvim [Cherubim], as is explained elsewhere. And therefore the Ark with the Ten Commandments stands on the place of the Even Shetiyah [Foundation Stone], from which the world was founded — as it is written, "from Zion, the perfection of beauty, G-d shines forth" [Ps. 50:2] — to teach and to make known to all who come into the world that the beginning of the world's existence, from which the creation of the world began yesh may'ayin [existence from absolute nothingness], which is the point of the Even Shetiyah — this cannot be made known to the world except through the Ten Commandments, which are the bechinas prophetic spirit. For specifically through this, emunah in the creation of the world that began from the Even Shetiyah is drawn: to believe that the beginning-point of the world, which is the Even Shetiyah, was created by Hashem, blessed be He, yesh may'ayin — which is emunah in the creation of the world, which is attained only through the bechinas prophetic spirit, which is the bechinas Ten Commandments that stood in the Temple upon the point of the Even Shetiyah from which the world was founded, as above. And this holiness is drawn to all of Eretz Yisroel — for this is the essential holiness of Eretz Yisroel, as above. And through the mezuzah that one affixes at the entrance of the home, this holiness is drawn to all the homes of Israel — for in the two passages of the mezuzah the essential emunah is explained, as above. And there all the Ten Commandments are included — as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: all the Ten Commandments are included in the passage of Shema — through which the medameh is clarified and one merits emunah — through which the holiness of Eretz Yisroel and the Temple is drawn — which is the essential rectification and sustaining of the home, as above. And therefore the mezuzah is affixed at the entrance (pesach) of the home — for emunah, which comes through the clarification of the medameh, is the doorway and the gate (sha'ar) through which one enters to know and recognize Him, blessed be He — in the bechinas "I will betroth you to Me in emunah, and you shall know Hashem" [Hos. 2:22]. For it is impossible to enter into holy da'as except through emunah — as is known. And therefore emunah is the bechinas doorway and the gate, through which one enters to know Him, blessed be He, and to draw close to Him and to be encompassed in Him, blessed be He — in the bechinas "this is the gate of Hashem, through which the righteous shall enter" [Ps. 118:20] — the bechinas "open the gates, that a righteous people may enter, a keeper of faithfulness (shomer emunim)" [Is. 26:2]. For emunah comes through the clarification of the medameh, and the medameh is the doorway and gate of the intellect — as we see even in the external sciences of the philosophers, who begin all their investigations through the imaginings of the medameh, comparing and inferring one thing from another, until they arrive at their wisdom — as is known to whoever is somewhat familiar with them, that all their wisdom is through inferences and imaginings. And because their medameh is not clarified, they are therefore confused in all their wisdoms — for most wisdoms are not clear to them, as is known — and in particular in the comprehension of divinity, in which they know nothing at all. And therefore most of them went greatly astray and became confused through the confusion of the medameh, until they came to various heresies, errors, and false beliefs — each according to his error — and all of it through the confusion of the medameh from which their wisdom begins. For the medameh is not clarified in them because they did not merit to receive the Torah and to receive the bechinas prophetic spirit from true tzadikim — and therefore the pollution of the serpent — which is the confusion of the medameh — has not ceased from them, as is explained in the aforementioned Torah teaching. And conversely, in holiness — the holy nation of Israel, who merited to receive the Torah and to draw close to true tzadikim who possess the bechinas holy spirit in every generation — through this the medameh is clarified, through which one merits emunah, through which one merits the true wisdoms of the holy Torah through the holy medameh — by comparing one matter to another, which flows from the bechinas thirteen hermeneutical principles through which the Torah is expounded: kal va'chomer [inference from minor to major], gezayrah shavah [analogical inference], binyan av [constructive precedent] — which are the holy inferences of the paths of the holy Torah — through which all the Torah innovations and divine comprehensions of the true Torah sages are drawn. It is thus found that the medameh is the bechinas doorway and gate of the intellect. And therefore through the clarification of the medameh one merits the holy emunah, which is the essential gate and doorway of holiness, as above. Therefore at the entrance of the home one affixes the mezuzah — which is the two passages of the Torah, within which all the Ten Commandments are included, and all the acceptance of the yoke of Heaven and the yoke of commandments — all of which is the bechinas prophetic spirit, the bechinas emunah, as above. And through this the entrance of the home is sanctified — to be the bechinas doorway and gate of holy intellect and wisdom, which is the essential holiness of the home, in the bechinas "with wisdom a home is built" — meaning: that the holiness of the clarification of the medameh shall be drawn, which is the bechinas holy emunah, which is the bechinas holiness of the doorway and gate of wisdom, which is the bechinas "home," as above. This is the bechinas holiness of Eretz Yisroel, the holiness of the Temple, which is drawn into the home, as above. And therefore the passage of the mezuzah concludes with the holiness of Eretz Yisroel — as it is written, "in order that your days and the days of your children be multiplied upon the land" [Deut. 11:21] etc. For the essential purpose of the mezuzah is to draw the holiness of Eretz Yisroel — which is the holiness of the Temple — into the home, as above. And this is: "in order that your days be multiplied" etc. — for this is the essential vitality and length of days — for the essential vitality of a person is that each day of his life his emunah grows stronger and stronger — namely: emunah in the creation of the world, which is the essential emunah — until his mind and da'as are renewed each day, in the bechinas "new every morning, great is Your faithfulness" [Lam. 3:23]. For only this is called "life" — in the bechinas "and the righteous shall live by his faith" [Hab. 2:4], and it is written, "wisdom gives life" [Eccl. 7:12]. For holy emunah and holy chochmah are one — for through emunah one merits holy chochmah, and the more chochmah one attains, the more one's emunah is strengthened. For the essential holy chochmah is that one comprehends and becomes wise enough to understand that one knows nothing at all — only that one perceives from afar how greatly one must believe in truth in Hashem, blessed be He, and in the true tzadikim — in the bechinas "from afar Hashem appeared to me" [Jer. 31:3] etc. — and in the bechinas "I said I would become wise, but it is far from me" [Eccl. 7:23] — as our Rebbe, of blessed memory, wrote: that the essential wisdom is that one understands that wisdom is far from him etc. — as is explained all of this elsewhere. But one must return to this innumerable times each day — for one must renew one's emunah each day, which is the essential renewal of the mochin each day, which is the essential vitality, as above. And this is the bechinas two times of reciting Shema that we say each day — evening and morning — which are the essential holy emunah that conclude with "in order that your days be multiplied" etc. — for this is the essential vitality, as above. And this must be affixed at the entrance of the home in which one dwells — for within the home is the essential vitality of a person, as is tangibly evident — in order to draw into the home the holiness of Eretz Yisroel, the holiness of the Temple — which is the house of our lives, from which the essential vitality comes, as above — in the bechinas "in order that your days and the days of your children be multiplied upon the land" etc., as above. And this is what was said [in the Talmud]: "There are elders in Babylon — he marveled: it is written 'in order that your days be multiplied upon the land.' When he saw that they came early and left late in the House of Study, he said: it is because of this that it benefits them." Meaning: he marveled at how they could receive vitality outside the Land — for there is no vitality except in Eretz Yisroel, as above. But when he saw that they came early and stayed late in the synagogues and Houses of Study, he said: that is why it benefits them. For through Torah and prayer — and the essential is Krias Shema [the recitation of Shema] — with which we come early and stay late in the synagogues and Houses of Study — through this the holiness of Eretz Yisroel is drawn even outside the Land. And this is the essential vitality in this bitter exile in which we are outside the house of our lives. As it is written, "though I had removed them far among the nations and scattered them among the lands, yet I was for them a minor sanctuary (mikdash me'at) in the lands where they came" [Ez. 11:16]. These are the synagogues and Houses of Study, as our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded: "I scattered them among the nations and dispersed them among the lands, yet I was for them a minor sanctuary — these are the Houses." And from there one must draw the holiness of emunah — which is the essential vitality — to all the homes of Israel, through the affixing of the mezuzah at the entrance of the home, as above. And this is the bechinas what is written in the Shulchan Aruch: a doorway is not obligated in a mezuzah until it has two doorposts and a lintel (mashkof). There is an allusion here — for this is the bechinas three things whose root is in kavod [honor/glory], from which prophecy flows — namely: wise, mighty, and wealthy. For prophecy only rests upon one who is wise, mighty, and wealthy — as is explained in the aforementioned Torah teaching. And these three bechinos have their root in kavod, as is explained there. And one who merits holy kavod through the bechinos explained there, merits through wisdom, might, and wealth to true holy prophetic spirit. But one who blemishes kavod and does not strive in all his movements, deeds, and conduct for the glory of Hashem, blessed be He — but only desires his own honor — then he blemishes wisdom, might, and wealth — which are the three things through which a person commonly seeks honor and greatness — as is stated in his [Reb Noson's] writings: as it is written, "let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, the mighty man in his might, the wealthy man in his wealth" [Jer. 9:22]. And from there are drawn the false prophets, who are the false leaders. For just as through holy kavod — meaning: one who flees utterly from his own honor and strives in truth only to multiply the honor of the Omnipresent, blessed be He — through this one merits to holy wisdom, might, and wealth: meaning that one does not use wisdom, might, and wealth for one's own honor at all — only for the honor of Hashem, blessed be He. And then through this one merits the bechinas prophetic spirit, through which the medameh is clarified, through which the holy emunah flows — which is the essential greatness of drawing close to true tzadikim, as above. Correspondingly, in reverse — each person according to how he blemishes this: in that he blemishes kavod and has ulterior motives for his own honor, and receives wisdom, might, and wealth for his own honor — through this there flows upon him the spirit of falsehood of the false prophets, which is the spirit of falsehood of the false leaders, through whom the medameh becomes confused and one comes to false beliefs. And all of this flows from their pursuit of honor — and their desire to increase their honor through wealth and might, overpowering all who refuse to submit to their rule; and through wisdom — to be accepted as great sages. And through this they are the opposite of the bechinas true leaders who possess holy spirit. And therefore through them the medameh becomes confused and emunah is blemished, as above. And this is alluded to in the aforementioned law — that the essential affixing of the mezuzah applies when the doorway has two doorposts and a lintel. For the two doorposts and lintel — through which the essential rectification of the entrance of the home is made — are the bechinas aforementioned three things through which the essential rectification and clarification of the medameh is made, which is the bechinas doorway as above — namely: the bechinas wisdom, might, and wealth. And the essential is wisdom — which is above everything — which is the bechinas lintel (mashkof) that rests and overlooks (shokef) the two doorposts — which are the bechinas might and wealth, which are in the bechinas two pillars — the bechinas "supporters of the Torah" (tomchai oraysah) who support and hold the lintel upon them — which is wisdom — that they bear and carry it upon themselves. For the essential is true wisdom: namely, to know Him, blessed be He — as is explained there in that very verse: "let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, the mighty man in his might, the wealthy man in his wealth, but only in this shall one who glories glory: that he understands and knows Me" [Jer. 9:22-23]. Thus: it began with three — wise, mighty, and wealthy — and concluded with one — the greatness of wisdom and intellect: "that he understands and knows Me." For might and wealth have no greatness in themselves — only in that they support and uphold wisdom. For the essential greatness and purpose is true wisdom for His sake — which is "that he understands and knows Me." And then there is also greatness in might and wealth when they are conducted for Heaven's sake, only for the honor of Hashem, blessed be He, and not for one's own honor at all. And all their greatness is that they hold and support true wisdom — through might they overpower those who oppose and obstruct, and through wealth their heart is free to engage in true wisdom. And therefore might and wealth are in the bechinas two doorposts that bear and carry the lintel upon them — which is the bechinas wisdom, called mashkof from the language of hashkafah [oversight and perception] — for through true wisdom one sees far ahead. For wisdom is the bechinas sight and perception, as it is written, "the eyes of both of them were opened" [Gen. 3:7] — which was said in the name of wisdom. And therefore when the home has two doorposts and a lintel — alluding to wisdom, might, and wealth — then the mezuzah rectification is needed, which is the bechinas clarification of the medameh — which is the bechinas emunah that is clarified through the rectification of these three bechinos — wisdom, might, and wealth of holiness — from which prophetic spirit is drawn when they are received in holiness as one ought. For the holy mezuzah — which is the bechinas prophetic spirit, the bechinas emunah as above, drawn from all the rectifications explained in the aforementioned Torah teaching — rectifies the two doorposts and the lintel and the entrance made by them — which are wisdom, might, and wealth — through which the bechinas prophecy flows and the medameh is clarified, which is the rectification of the entrance. Through this the essential emunah — all of it — is rectified through the two passages of the mezuzah, which are passages of Torah within which the entire Torah is included — which is the essential bechinas prophetic spirit of Moshe Rabbenu, drawn from all the aforementioned rectifications. And therefore through it the entrance is rectified with all the above — and through this emunah is completed and one merits to draw the bechinas holiness of Eretz Yisroel into the home etc., as above. And this is the bechinas what they were commanded in Egypt — that they put the blood upon the two doorposts and upon the lintel of the houses etc. For Egypt was full of idols and foreign worship, which flowed from the pollution of the serpent — which is the confusion of the medameh — as is explained there in the aforementioned Torah teaching. And at the time of the Exodus from Egypt, when they needed to exit from this pollution and to merit the receiving of the Torah — which is prophetic spirit — through which their pollution ceased, which is the confusion of the medameh — as is explained there. Therefore Hashem, blessed be He, had compassion upon them and gave them the commandment of the blood of milah [circumcision] and the blood of the Passover offering — so that they would have the strength through this at that moment to exit Egypt: to flee from the might of their pollution, which is the confusion of the medameh. For the essential grip of the medameh is in the blood — where the vitality of the body resides, received through the animal soul (nefesh ha'chiyuni), which is the animal soul within a person — which is the bechinas medameh — as is known and understood from the books. And therefore through the blood of the Passover offering and the blood of milah, they clarified the blood — which is the bechinas clarification of the medameh. For all the sacrifices that come from animals are for the clarification of the medameh, which is the bechinas animalistic nature (bihaimeyus), from which all sins come, Heaven forbid — and therefore they bring an animal for a sacrifice, slaughter it, humble the medameh, and throw the blood upon the altar. For the essential grip of the medameh is in the blood — for the altar that stood in the Temple is where the medameh is clarified — for all prophetic spirit and holy spirit is received from the Temple, as above. And Hashem, blessed be He, had compassion upon them that they should bring the Passover sacrifice in Egypt — so that the rectification of the sacrifice should also be made there in Egypt — in order to subdue the pollution of Egypt, which is the confusion of the medameh — through the throwing of the Passover blood. Therefore He commanded them to put from the blood upon the lintel and the two doorposts of the house of Israel — which are the bechinas aforementioned three things — wisdom etc. — from which the entire rectification of the medameh through prophetic spirit is drawn, as above. For the blood of the Passover sacrifice, which flowed from the rectification of all the aforementioned bechinos — for the essential Exodus from Egypt was drawn from the bechinas "cast it before Pharaoh and it will become a serpent" [Ex. 7:9], which is prayer in the bechinas strict judgment, from which the aforementioned rectifications flow, until the medameh was clarified and the pollution of Egypt subdued etc. — as is explained there. And from there the bechinas slaughtering of the Passover offering flowed. (As is explained elsewhere — that the rectification of slaughter, and in particular the slaughter of the sacrifices, is through the power of the matte oz, which is prayer in the bechinas strict judgment, which is the bechinas knife [chalif] etc. — see the Laws of Slaughter.) And therefore through the blood of the Passover offering that was placed upon the lintel and the two doorposts, the entrance was rectified and the pollution of the serpent — which is the confusion of the medameh — was subdued, through which the essential Exodus from Egypt came, as above. And this is the bechinas what is written in the Midrash on the Torah portion of Chayay Sarah — that the "sons of Heth" (bnay Ches) are mentioned ten times in that portion in connection with the purchase of the Cave of Machpaylah — to teach you that whoever supports the purchase of a tzadik is considered as if he fulfilled all the Ten Commandments. For the Cave of Machpaylah was the first inheritance that Avrohom our forefather purchased in Eretz Yisroel — for all the striving of Avrohom our forefather was to merit a portion in Eretz Yisroel — for he was the first to reveal the holiness of Eretz Yisroel, as is stated in the Zohar: "he probed and probed until it was revealed to him" — as is cited in his [Reb Noson's] writings. But on account of the sin of the first Man, even though Hashem, blessed be He, had promised to give the land to his descendants, he himself did not merit it — and he was compelled to purchase the Cave of Machpaylah as a burial place for Sarah etc. And this was also a wondrous miracle from Hashem, blessed be He, that He brought out such a holy place from the Sitra Achra — from Efron, as is cited — for the essential rectification of burial is in Eretz Yisroel. For the essential decree of death was for the rectification of the medameh — in which the pollution of the serpent gripped it, which is the confusion of the medameh — which it is impossible to fully purify except through death, which was decreed then when the pollution of the serpent gripped it through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. For through death and burial the pollution will decompose and one will arise in a new body at the resurrection — when the future renewal of the world occurs, and then emunah will increase and grow to the ultimate perfection, in the bechinas "new every morning, great is Your faithfulness" [Lam. 3:23] — which refers essentially to the time of the resurrection, when the world will be renewed. And therefore the essential rectification of burial is in Eretz Yisroel — for all the future renewal of the world after the resurrection will be in the bechinas Eretz Yisroel, as is explained there. Therefore those who die in Eretz Yisroel are the first to be resurrected — as our Sages, of blessed memory, stated. For the essential clarification and rectification of the medameh that is accomplished through death and burial — all of it is through the bechinas Eretz Yisroel, whose entire holiness is the bechinas rectification of the medameh, which is the perfection of emunah, as above. And therefore Avrohom greatly labored and strove to purchase the Cave of Machpaylah as a burial place for Sarah and all the forefathers — all for the clarification of the medameh, which is the rectification of emunah, which one merits through the holiness of Eretz Yisroel — in life and in death through burial, as above. And the essential holiness of Eretz Yisroel is through "the power of His deeds" — through knowing that Hashem, blessed be He, created the world with the Ten Utterances. And therefore the sons of Heth who merited to assist Avrohom in making his purchase — a portion of land in Eretz Yisroel — were mentioned ten times, corresponding to the Ten Commandments, which are the bechinas Ten Utterances. For all the holiness of Eretz Yisroel comes through the Ten Utterances — through believing that Hashem, blessed be He, created the world yesh may'ayin with the Ten Utterances, as above. And this is attained only through the Ten Commandments, which are the bechinas ten levels of prophecy etc., as above. And therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, derived from this: regarding anyone who fulfills the purchase of a tzadik — it is as if he fulfilled the Ten Commandments — which are the bechinas prophetic spirit, as above — through which it is revealed that Hashem, blessed be He, created the world with the Ten Utterances — through the clarification of the medameh and the meriting of emunah, as above. For when the tzadik makes a purchase, he clarifies the medameh — for this is why all commerce in the world exists: for the clarification of emunah through the clarification of the medameh — as they said: "did you conduct your business faithfully (b'emunah)?" [Shabbos 31a]. For all the different colors and varieties of all the objects in the world are all in the power of the medameh, where all the imaginings reside, and where all commerce lies — since this one desires a certain object and that one desires this, and they exchange one for the other or sell one to the other — and all of it is in the bechinas power of the medameh, where desire and longing for all objects resides — for the intellect is far from all of this. And therefore one must conduct business with emunah in order to clarify and purify the objects from the pollution of the serpent — which is the confusion of the medameh — that grips all things. And the tzadik who makes a purchase surely purchases it in holiness and purity and clarifies the medameh through this. Therefore one who assists him is considered as if he fulfilled the Ten Commandments — which are the bechinas prophetic spirit through which the essential clarification of the medameh comes. For the tzadik's purchase is in the bechinas clarification of the medameh drawn from the Ten Commandments, as above — all of which began with the purchase of Avrohom our forefather, peace be upon him, who purchased the first portion in Eretz Yisroel — where the essential clarification of the medameh takes place — through which the essential rectification of emunah comes, as above. For Avrohom is the head of the believers, and he is the essential one who first began to purify the world from the pollution of the serpent and to clarify the medameh and to draw emunah into the world. And this is why it is juxtaposed after "and the field and the cave that was in it arose for Avrohom" [Gen. 23:17-18], the verse "and Avrohom was old, advanced in days" etc. [Gen. 24:1]. For the essential old age and length of days is attained only in Eretz Yisroel — which is the land of the living — as it is written, "in order that your days be multiplied" etc. "upon the land," as above. And therefore now, after Avrohom merited to purchase a portion of inheritance in Eretz Yisroel — specifically then he merited in perfection holy old age and length of days, in the bechinas "and Avrohom was old, advanced in days" — which was juxtaposed after this. For the essential old age and length of days is when one merits holy emunah and chochmah to renew one's mind and da'as each day — in the bechinas "new every morning" etc. — which is attained only in Eretz Yisroel, as above. And therefore "and Avrohom was old, advanced in days" is juxtaposed after the portion of the purchase of the Cave of Machpaylah, as above. And this is what is juxtaposed to this: "and Hashem blessed Avrohom in everything" [Gen. 24:1]. For the essential of all holy providential abundances (hashpaos) are in Eretz Yisroel — where the clarification of the medameh occurs — through which one exits the pollution of the serpent, from which all blockage of abundance comes, Heaven forbid — through its having been cursed then: "in sorrow shall you eat" etc., "in the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread" [Gen. 3:17-19] — from which flows all the labor and burdens of livelihood in commerce and the thirty-nine categories of labor — for all the labors are for the clarification of the medameh from the pollution of the serpent. (As explained above in the matter of the one who fulfills the purchase of a tzadik, as above.) But Avrohom — through having merited the holiness of Eretz Yisroel, through purchasing an inheritance in Eretz Yisroel, as above — through this: "and Avrohom was old, advanced in days" — which comes through the perfection of holy emunah and chochmah that he merited through the holiness of Eretz Yisroel — which are the essential vitality — as it is written, "the righteous shall live by his faith" [Hab. 2:4], and it is written, "wisdom gives life" [Eccl. 7:12]. And therefore through this: "and Hashem blessed Avrohom in everything" — meaning: he merited all the good and holy abundances and great holy wealth — for he merited to clarify everything from the pollution of the serpent, which is the confusion of the medameh, through the holiness of Eretz Yisroel, as above. And this is the bechinas "when you sit in your home and when you go on the path" [Deut. 6:7] — which is said in Krias Shema, which is the Torah portion of the mezuzah that one affixes in the home. For this is a great principle — that the essential rectification of a person, and of all the worlds that depend upon him, is through the bechinas renewal (hischadshus) — as our Rebbe, of blessed memory, warned in a loud voice, in a very strong voice, when he rebuked us and aroused and awakened us with his awesome words — and said then in these words: "one must not be old [alt tor men nit zayn]" etc. — as has been printed in part at the end of Sipuray Ma'asiyos, see there. For the essential teshuvah [repentance] is in the bechinas renewal — as it is written, "return us, Hashem, to You, and we shall return; renew our days" etc. [Lam. 5:21] — and it is written, "you shall be renewed like the eagle" [Ps. 103:5]. And the essential exile from Eretz Yisroel and the destruction of the Temple, and all the sufferings endured in exile — all of it flowed through their falling from the bechinas renewal of the mochin to the bechinas "old" — in the bechinas "and you will grow old (v'noshantem) in the land" [Deut. 4:25]. Specifically "v'noshantem" — meaning: they became stale there, as though the holiness of Eretz Yisroel were old and stale, Heaven forbid. And through this all the destruction came, as is explained there in the Torah portion. And therefore that very Torah portion warns them to remember well all the wonders and awesome things He did with them from the day of the giving of the Torah — the like of which has not been heard since the day of the creation of the heavens and the earth — as it is written, "ask now about the early days" etc. [Deut. 4:32]: "Has anything like this great thing ever happened?" etc. etc., "has a people heard the voice of G-d speaking" etc. [Deut. 4:33]. And since you yourselves merited to hear the voice of the words of the living G-d — namely: true prophecy — through this it is fitting for you to humble and nullify all manner of heresies and confusions of emunah — which are the bechinas foreign worship and idols that befell them — as is written there earlier: "and you will corrupt and make for yourselves an idol" etc. [Deut. 4:25]. For through prophetic spirit one merits to nullify all confusions of emunah that flow from the confusion of the medameh — for one merits to clarify the medameh and to believe in the creation of the world. And this one must draw upon oneself each day — for Hashem, blessed be He, renews in His goodness each day always the work of creation. And correspondingly, a person must renew his mind each day — in the bechinas "new every morning, great is Your faithfulness." And this is what that Torah portion concludes with: "And you shall know this day and take it to your heart, that Hashem is G-d" etc. [Deut. 4:39]. "And you shall know this day" — specifically: that one must renew the knowledge each day, in the bechinas "which I command you today" — said in Krias Shema — which our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded: "each day let it be in your eyes like something new." And so too that Torah portion concludes: "and you shall guard His statutes" etc. "which I command you today" etc., "and in order that you lengthen your days upon the land" etc. [Deut. 4:40]. For this is the essential holiness of Eretz Yisroel — whose governance is through providence and wonders, which is the bechinas future creation of the world — where one can merit this knowledge — for one who merits to draw upon himself in perfection the holiness of Eretz Yisroel will merit to renew himself each actual day — and certainly at the changes of holy times, which are Shabbosos and festivals and new months. (As is understood from his holy discourses.) And this is the essential length of days — in the bechinas "the fear of Hashem adds days" [Prov. 10:27] — the bechinas "one who is old has acquired wisdom" (zakken zeh kanah chochmah) — the bechinas "in order that your days and the days of your children be multiplied upon the land" etc. And as it is written in the aforementioned verse: "and in order that you lengthen your days upon the land" etc. For the essential is emunah — and the essential emunah is to believe in the creation of the world, as above. And this holy emunah one must draw upon oneself anew each day — in accordance with that day, in accordance with the changes of that day in general and in particular. For no day resembles another — as is explained in the writings of the Ari, of blessed memory, and cited in our writings many times. And in accordance with how strong one's emunah in the creation of the world is, so too does one merit the future renewal of the world — as is explained in the aforementioned Torah teaching. And in truth it is all one — for one who merits complete emunah through drawing close to true tzadikim draws upon himself each day and at all times the bechinas future renewal of the world. For this is the entirety of a person — who was created only for this — for one did not come into this passing world except to serve Hashem and to recognize Him, blessed be He. And in accordance with the good deeds one merits through them, so will one merit true and eternal good at the time when the world is renewed in the future — when the essential receipt of the reward of the World to Come takes place — in which every Jew has a portion. For all Israel have a portion in the World to Come. It is thus found: that the service of a Jewish person each day — which is for the eternal purpose — is to draw upon oneself through this service the holiness of the future renewal of the world. And all the changes that Hashem, blessed be He, makes in the world each day — and all the turnings and wondrous causations that He arranges in His mercy with His awesome designs, to hint to us hints each day to bring us close to Him, blessed be He (as is explained in the Torah Vayhi Miketz Zikaron, see there) — all of it entirely — is so that the person be rectified and all parts of the worlds depending upon him be able to be renewed in the future — so that one has a good portion in the future renewal of the world, which is the World to Come. And therefore each and every day there flows an entirely wondrous renewal. And a person must pay attention to this each day — as is explained in the Torah Vayhi Miketz on the verse "you have become very great" etc. And even one who has not the understanding to grasp this properly must in any case believe in this — that each day an entirely new thing flows — as we say: "each day He does new things" etc. And this is the bechinas "new every morning, great is Your faithfulness" — meaning: one must have great emunah to believe in this: that Hashem, blessed be He, renews His world each and every morning — which is the bechinas "new every morning." (Understand this well.) And this bechina — namely: the bechinas renewal — the renewal of the mochin and holy emunah — flows each day in the bechinas "new every morning." And at each change of holy times — new months and festivals — there flows a greater renewal of the mochin. And especially on Rosh Hashanah — when the creation of the world took place — for on Rosh Hashanah the world was created — and then is the essential bechinas renewal for the entire year. And therefore then is the bechinas sleep and the awakening from sleep, as above. And therefore then it is essential that each person draw upon himself the bechinas future renewal of the world. And therefore the future renewal of the world is mentioned on Shemini Atzeres — which is the entirety of the blessing of the zichronos [remembrances], when the future great Day of Judgment is mentioned — when the world will be renewed — as it is written, "who observes and gazes until the end of all generations" etc. [Rosh Hashanah liturgy] — then the world will be renewed in the future. And therefore one must travel to true tzadikim for Rosh Hashanah — to receive from them holiness from the bechinas their holy spirit — in order to merit in perfection emunah in the creation of the world — so that one merits to draw upon oneself the bechinas future renewal of the world each day, as above — meaning: to begin each day anew and not be cast down by anything. This is the essential teshuvah, as above — for one must know and believe that each day an entirely new thing occurs, as above. And for this one engages then in concluding the Torah and returning to begin it, as above. And therefore then one draws upon oneself anew the holiness of Eretz Yisroel — in the bechinas "the eyes of Hashem your G-d are always upon it, from the beginning of the year" [Deut. 11:12] etc. And this is the bechinas Sukkos — when one goes out from one's home into the sukkah and afterward returns into the home on Shemini Atzeres, when the Torah is concluded and begun again — and it is all one bechina. For it is already explained that the rectification of Rosh Hashanah continues until Shemini Atzeres — as is explained in the writings of the Ari, of blessed memory. And the entire rectification is the bechinas renewal, as above — the bechinas "renew for us a good year" (chadaysh alainu shanah tovah) — specifically "renew" (chadaysh). And therefore each person must renew also the holiness of his home — which is drawn from the holiness of the Temple through the mezuzah, as above. For this holiness flows from the totality of the Torah that begins with Bais — which is the Bais of Beraishis — which is the bechinas rosh bayis [head of the house]. And therefore each year after Yom Kippur one must leave one's home and enter the sukkah — which is a temporary dwelling (diyas ara'i) — which is the bechinas root of the holiness of the home. For the sukkah is the bechinas Clouds of Glory — the bechinas "and the glory of Hashem appeared in the cloud" [Ex. 16:10] — which flows from prayer in the bechinas strict judgment of the Ba'al Ko'ach who engages in this throughout Rosh Hashanah, as is explained there. From those Clouds of Glory, prophetic spirit flows from between the two Keruvim, which the Kohen Gadol entered on Yom Kippur — as it is written, "for in a cloud shall I appear upon the kapores [Ark cover]" [Lev. 16:2]. And from those Clouds of Glory — which are the root of prophecy, as is explained there — from them flows the holiness of the sukkah — as it is written, "I caused the children of Israel to dwell in sukkos" [Lev. 23:43] etc. — and our Sages, of blessed memory, explained: these are the Clouds of Glory. And therefore when one leaves the sukkah, specifically then the Torah begins with Beraishis — for the Torah, which is the totality of prophetic spirit, flows from kavod [glory/honor] — as is explained there — which is the bechinas sukkah, which is the Clouds of Glory. (And this is what our Rebbe, of blessed memory, wrote on the verse "and Yaakov traveled to Sukkos and built himself a house" etc. [Gen. 33:17] — see there, for it is connected to this.) It is thus found: after Sukkos, on the day of Shemini Atzeres — when the rectification of Rosh Hashanah is completed — when one departs from the past year into this new year — and the essential rectification is renewal, as above. And therefore one begins the Torah anew — for the essential renewal is the renewal of da'as and mind, which is the totality of the holy Torah that one must now begin anew, as above. And therefore Hashem, blessed be He, commanded us that we also renew the holiness of our home then. For then on Shemini Atzeres one returns from the sukkah into one's home. And through this we draw the holiness of our home entirely anew — through having left the home and entered the sukkah, where the root of the holiness of the home is — which is the holiness of the Torah that begins with Bais, as above. And from there we draw the holiness of the home anew. And then after the days of Sukkah we return and enter the home anew on that very day of Shemini Atzeres — when we begin the Torah itself anew with the Bais of Beraishis — for it is all one, as above. And through the holiness of the holy sukkah we draw upon ourselves the higher holy power — so that throughout the entire year, at every time when one leaves the home to go outside — whether for a brief moment or when one goes on some actual journey, near or far — the holiness of the sukkah will protect us, which is the bechinas Clouds of Glory that protected Israel when they traveled through the desert. And through this, the journey and displacement of going outside the home at times will be entirely for good — for each time one must renew one's da'as and mind, which is the bechinas renewal of the holiness of one's home — where the drawing of wisdom resides, as above. For this is the essential reason why Hashem, blessed be He, leads a person through many exiles and displacements and journeys — when one is compelled to leave one's home — for the essential holiness of a person is within one's home, as it is written, "the glory of man is to sit in a home" (kis'iferes adam laveshes bayis) [Sanhedrin 103b]. And it is written, "fortunate are those who dwell in Your house" [Ps. 84:5] etc. And this is the entirety of the praise of Yaakov our forefather — who was "a wholesome man dwelling in tents" — the opposite of Esav, who was "a cunning hunter, a man of the field" — for there in the field outside, all corruptions and blemishes are found — the bechinas "for she was found in the field" [Deut. 22:27] — the bechinas "fallen in the field" etc. (As this is cited in the books.) But nevertheless — even the Jewish person who is from the side of Yaakov, who should always sit in his home and tent where the essential holiness is, as above — it is nevertheless compelled that he go outside at times, and all of it is for good — for the sake of renewal — in the bechinas "fortunate is he who enters and departs" (zaka'ah man d'a'yil v'nafik) [Zohar]. For this is the bechinas general ascents and descents of every Jew — for the descent is for the sake of the ascent — in the bechinas "the descent is the ultimate purpose of the ascent." But all of this depends on complete emunah through drawing close to true tzadikim who possess prophetic spirit — who draw emunah in the creation of the world upon each person in perfection, each day anew. Until one merits to draw upon oneself the holiness of the future renewal of the world each day, as above — for one must know and believe that everything that passes over a person each day and at every time and every hour — all of it is entirely wondrous renewals of the one primordial Creator, blessed be He — who created His world yesh may'ayin [from absolute nothingness] for the sake of the human being who possesses free choice — in order that one merit the abundant good that is stored away for the future renewal of the world. And therefore what passes over one passes over in accordance with the person, and in accordance with the day, and in accordance with the place etc. And all of it is for the sake of the aforementioned renewal. And one who does not fall into "old age" and stale staleness, Heaven forbid, as above — can renew oneself each time for good, even if something passes over one. And the essential is through drawing close to true tzadikim and their holy books — who merited to renew themselves in perfection each day through the holiness of Eretz Yisroel, as above. And this is the bechinas "when you sit in your home and when you go on the path" — for it is compelled that a person leave the home where all his holiness lies. And when one leaves the home, one must place one's hand on the mezuzah — to draw upon oneself the holiness of the holy mezuzah, which is the holiness of holy emunah — to draw it upon oneself even outside, for all the time one is outside — whether for a moment or on some actual journey. And then on the path — where there is no mezuzah — one draws upon oneself the holiness of emunah through the bechinas sukkah, which is the root of the holiness of the home and which protects a person on the path, as above. And then through the path specifically one merits to renew one's mind — which is the holiness of one's home — specifically through this. For this is the general rule: that continuous pleasure is no pleasure — and therefore the renewal of the mochin comes through the bechinas temporary sleep (shaynah) first — which is the bechinas commerce, the bechinas going out on a journey. And this is the bechinas general exile of Israel — when we were driven from our land and from the Temple — the house of our lives — to the lands outside Israel, which is considered as though we lie completely outside. In the bechinas "the holy stones are poured out at the head of every street" [Lam. 4:1] — and our hope was nearly lost, Heaven forbid — were it not for Hashem's help to us: that He sends us each time true tzadikim, who are the bechinas rosh bayis [head of the house], who teach us even outside — meaning: in the bechinas outside the Land — and there too the holiness of Eretz Yisroel is drawn upon us, the holiness of the Temple — in the bechinas "yet I was for them a minor sanctuary." And the essential is through the holy emunah that is drawn upon us through their holy spirit — and through this they bring us each time from without to within, into the bechinas "home" — which is the holiness of the Temple, the holiness of the Torah that begins with Bais of Beraishis Bara Elokim es ha'shamayim v'es ha'oretz [In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth] — which is emunah in the creation of the world — which is the essential holiness of the home — through which one enters from without to within. And one who strengthens oneself in this will merit that all the exile turns to good — for through this we will merit the building of the [Temple] home in the future — with a wondrous renewal. For then the essential renewal will be for good — in a wondrous perfection — as it is written, "behold, I make something new, now it shall spring forth" [Is. 43:19], and similarly much. And all of this applies to the general collective of Israel, and also in particular to every person and every time — all the ascents and descents — and at the time of descent it is the bechinas "going out" (v'nafik), the bechinas "when you go on the path" — leaving outside the home, which is the boundary of holiness. And when one then strengthens oneself through the power of one's emunah — that there is no despair in the world, and one believes that Hashem, blessed be He, makes new wonders each day, and everything will turn to good through the power of the true tzadikim who merited a wondrous renewal at all times — then one merits that the descent is the ultimate purpose of the ascent. For through the descent — the bechinas "going out" (v'nafik) — specifically through this, one's mind and da'as are renewed, and one returns and enters one's home anew. And therefore each time one returns and enters from outside into the home, one must place one's hand upon the mezuzah and draw upon oneself the holiness of the mezuzah, which is the holiness of the home, anew. Just as each year one leaves home for the sukkah in order to renew the holiness of one's home, as above. And from there one draws the holiness to renew one's mind — which is the holiness of one's home — at every going out and coming in. And this is the bechinas "when you sit in your home and when you go on the path" — about which [Moshe] warned us to speak of His Torah and emunah — as it is written, "and you shall speak of them when you sit" etc. [Deut. 6:7] — which is as above. And this is the bechinas what sometimes happens: that a person is driven from his home for some time, and then returns to his home — and all of it is for good, as above. And this is the bechinas Mizmor Shir Chanukas Ha'bayis [Psalm 30 — "A song at the dedication of the Temple"] that we say each day — for the bechinas chanukas ha'bayis [dedication of the home] — which is the bechinas dedication of the Temple, which is the bechinas renewal of the mochin — must be drawn each day anew. And therefore that Psalm speaks especially about the matter of strengthening: praising Hashem, blessed be He, for having helped one to strengthen oneself and not fall in any manner — for the entire Psalm speaks of this — as it is written, "I will exalt You, Hashem, for You have drawn me up, and have not let my enemies rejoice over me" etc., "Hashem, You have raised my soul from the grave; You have revived me from going down to the pit" etc. — until concluding: "You have turned my mourning into dancing for me" etc. For everything turns to good, as above. And this is what the Psalm concludes with: "so that my kavod [glory] may sing to You and not be silent" etc. For the essential clarification of emunah is through the rectification of kavod — from which prophetic spirit is drawn etc., as above. And this is: "so that my kavod may sing" — specifically "may sing" (y'zam'recha) — the bechinas song (zemmer) and singing (shir) — which is the melody mentioned there that will awaken in the future at the time of the renewal of the world, see there. Which is the essential rectification and hope of each person — as is understood there, as above. And this is: "and he arose and went, and Esav despised" etc. [Gen. 25:34] — that he rose and went and did not kiss the mezuzah, as is cited. And all of this is juxtaposed to the verse "and Yaakov was a wholesome man dwelling in tents" [Gen. 25:27]. And it is stated in the Yalkut Reuvayni that this is the secret of the mezuzos, which is the bechinas truth (emes) — see there, a wondrous thing. For the entire blemish of Esav was that he was "a man of the field" — the opposite of the holiness of the home in which the mezuzah is affixed, which is the bechinas "Yaakov, a wholesome man dwelling in tents." And the essential blemish was that he did not kiss the mezuzah — meaning: he did not draw upon himself the holiness of the mezuzah when he went outside to the field. For the Jewish person — who is from the side of Yaakov, the wholesome man — even when going outside, places his hand on the mezuzah, and through this draws the holiness of the mezuzah even while being outside — through the power of the holiness of the sukkah, which is also the bechinas Yaakov — the bechinas "and Yaakov traveled to Sukkos and built himself a house" etc. [Gen. 33:17] — as above. But Esav — the opposite of all this — when going outside does not place his hand on the mezuzah, for he has no emunah — and therefore he is truly a "man of the field." For Esav is in the bechinas blemish of bodily sustenance (mezonoh d'gufa), which is the opposite of spiritual sustenance (mezonoh d'nishmasa) — which is the bechinas "the voice — the voice of Yaakov" (ha'kol kol Yaakov) [Gen. 27:22] — through which [Yaakov's] hand grasps the heel of Esav etc. — as is all explained in the aforementioned Torah teaching. For the entire holiness of emunah is drawn through the bechinas "the voice — the voice of Yaakov" etc. — see there. And therefore the entire blemish of Esav was through eating — as he said, "feed me, I pray you" etc. [Gen. 25:30] etc. And therefore the entire Torah portion is beautifully connected and juxtaposed through all of the above.