תלמוד תורה ג

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In light of the awesome concept that Rabbaynoo, of blessed memory, revealed regarding lemaaleh min hazman [that which is above and beyond time]: that in truth all zman [time] derives solely from the heder hada'as [absence and contraction of da'as / awareness], and that the greater the da'as, the lesser the time — and so ascending level upon level — until there exists a da'as so great and complete that time is entirely nullified there, in absolute and ultimate nullification, for there one is entirely beyond time. He explained this from the phenomenon of sheynah [sleep]: that during sleep, when da'as is greatly diminished, one can dream within a quarter of an hour that seventy years have passed — as when one dreams that all seventy years of a lifetime pass within that single quarter-hour. This is because of the smallness of da'as at that moment, through which time becomes so greatly expanded that a quarter of an hour seems to be seventy years. But then, when one wakes from sleep and da'as returns, one sees the truth — that all those dreamed seventy years were in reality only a quarter of an hour.

And yet seventy full years are still seventy years for us; but there exists a da'as greater than ours at which even our seventy years amount to no more than a quarter of an hour — and at that level there are other seventy years that are truly seventy years. But from the perspective of a yet higher da'as, those seventy years too are but a quarter of an hour — and so on, ascending without end, until there exists a da'as at which time is nullified entirely, etc. And Moshiach [the Messiah] will attain this wisdom — the aspect of being entirely beyond time. And therefore, after all that Moshiach endures from the day of creation and suffers throughout, Hashem blessed be He will say to him: "You are My son; I have this day begotten you" etc. [Psalms 2:7]. This is because of the enormity and awesomeness of his intellect at that time, through which time is nullified for him entirely, etc. See all of this carefully in Likutay Moharan II §61.

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And this is the aspect of the mitzvah of milah on the eighth [day] — for in truth the primary tachlis [ultimate purpose and goal of man] is to attain this complete da'as described above, until one merits the aspect of being beyond time, at which point one merits to recognize Hashem blessed be He as is fitting — which is the very purpose for which man was created. As stated in the holy Zohar: ikkár habe'ri'ah hayesah bigin d'yishtamo'dain leih — "the primary purpose of creation was that [created beings] should come to know Him" [Zohar I, 11b]. For Hashem blessed be He is beyond time, and it is impossible to truly know Him, blessed be He, except for one who has attained this complete da'as through which time is nullified entirely, as above — which is the aspect of all the delight of Olam Habá [the World to Come], which is beyond time. As Rabbaynoo z"l wrote in Likutay Moharan II §7: that all the time of this world — what has been and what will be — does not amount even to a single hour of the World to Come, for there all is beyond time, etc.

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And this is the primary ultimate purpose of man — to merit the life of Olam Habá, which is the aspect of being beyond time, where one comes to know Hashem blessed be He who is beyond time. This is the primary purpose of all Torah and mitzvos, and for this man was created. And all of this is attained through shlemus hada'as [the perfection and completion of da'as], through which time is nullified entirely, as above.

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And this is the aspect of the mitzvah of milah — to cut away and remove the orlah d'chafyah al bris [the foreskin that covers the covenant], through which one removes the kisilus v'hastuus [foolishness and obtuseness] that covers the moach [brain / mind]. As is stated in the Tikkunay Zohar: that through milah and peri'ah one removes the ananin d'mechasyan al einin d'innun Romi rabbá v'Romi ze'irá — "the clouds that cover the eyes, which are the great Rome and the lesser Rome" [Tikkunay Zohar 21]. And those clouds covering the eyes are the aspect of the kelipós [husks / shells] that precede the fruit — covering the moach — from which all foolishness and absence of da'as derive, and from which the primary grip of time derives. For through this [absence of da'as], all the ta'avós [appetites and cravings] and the pursuit of the things of this world — all exist in the realm of tachas hazman [beneath / under time]. For in the aspect of being beyond time, all appetites are nullified there — there is no foothold for appetites, confusion, and the obstacles to Divine service, except in the realm beneath time that derives from the absence of da'as, as above.

It is regarding this that Koheles raises his voice throughout the entire book of Ecclesiastes: "Vanity of vanities, said Koheles" etc., "what profit has man in all his labor which he labors under the sun?" [Ecclesiastes 1:2–3]; "I saw all the deeds done under the sun, and behold all is vanity and vexation of spirit" etc. [Ecclesiastes 1:14] — and many more like these. For all the vanities and vexation of spirit and evil deeds are done "under the sun" specifically — that is, beneath time — which derives from the absence of da'as. And therefore our Sages of blessed memory taught: "a person does not transgress unless a spirit of folly enters him" [Sotah 3a] — for when da'as is complete, one approaches the aspect of being beyond time, where there is no appetite, no vanity, and no evil deed beneath the sun and beneath time.

And this is the primary essence of the mitzvah of milah — to cut the orlah, which is the tikkun habris [rectification of the covenant], in order to remove the foolishness covering the moach. For the tikkun hada'as [rectification of da'as] is through the tikkun habris — for siluká diYesodá ad Abbá v'Immá — "the ascent of Yesod [Foundation] reaches all the way to Abbá and Immá" [i.e., to Chochmah and Binah, the root of da'as], as is well known [see Likutay Moharan I §49].

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And this is the aspect of the mitzvah of milah on the eighth [day] — for although the primary tachlis is to merit the aspect of being beyond time, until time is nullified entirely as above, nevertheless one cannot attain this except through one's neshamah having descended down into this world, until it became clothed in days, in time, and in middos [character traits / emotive attributes]. And a person must lengthen his days precisely in this world — even though in truth his entire tachlis is to merit the nullification of time and the aspect of being beyond time — nonetheless he must precisely lengthen his days and years in this world. For each additional day he lives and serves Hashem in this world in time and in days, through this he completes his da'as further and merits further to be included in the aspect of being beyond time.

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And this is the primary meaning of arichas yamim [length of days] that one needs to merit in this world — the aspect of "that it may be well with you and that you shall lengthen your days" [Deuteronomy 5:16] — that is, one should merit each and every day of his life to be included in the aspect of hayom she'kulo aroch [the day that is entirely long] — the aspect of Olam Habá that is beyond time. And this is the aspect of ziknah dikdushah [the holy dimension of old age], the aspect of "zakain — this one has acquired wisdom" [zakain zeh kanah chochmah], as our Sages of blessed memory taught [Kiddushin 32b]. For the more one ages, the more one needs to acquire true chochmah and da'as — and then one is included each day in the aspect of the holy ziknahd, the aspect of the true lengthening of days and years — the aspect of being beyond time — from which derives the essence of chayim [life] and the true source of arichas yamim. As is understood from the words of Rabbaynoo z"l in many places.

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For one who does not merit true da'as during the days of his life — even if he multiplies his days like the sand, this is no arichas yamim at all. As it is written: "even if he were to live a thousand years twice over and see no good" etc. [Ecclesiastes 6:6]. For what advantage has he from the abundance of days that pass like a fleeting shadow? — for every single day a person dies, since the day he lived will not come again. And if so, he dies every day — in the aspect of "the day of death is [already reckoned] from the day of his birth" [Ecclesiastes 7:1] — for immediately from the very day of his birth a person begins to die at once. This is plain and understood by every person of understanding. And if so, what advantage has the person of a hundred years over the person of a single day? On the contrary — this one dies for one day and this one dies for a hundred years. As it is written in Koheles: "is not the stillborn better than he?" [Ecclesiastes 6:3]. For beneath time there is no true life whatsoever — for there resides the primary grip of sitrá d'mosá [the side of death], as is perceived tangibly by all: that time goes and dies each and every day and moment and hour. For all human beings and all creatures on the face of the earth from the beginning of time — they all go and die each hour and each day — for the day and the hour in which they live they will not live again, as above.

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And therefore in truth our Sages of blessed memory said [Berachos 18b]: "the wicked are called dead even during their lifetimes" — since they are drawn after foolishness and ruach shtus [the spirit of folly], which is the aspect of beneath time — passing, vanishing, expiring every moment — which is the sitrá d'mosá. For the true essence of vitality is only from Chay Hachayim [the Life of all lives], who is beyond time. And the entire sustaining of time is primarily for the sake of Israel and for the sake of the tzaddikim who occupy all their days in Torah and avodah — through which they complete their da'as and are included in the aspect of being beyond time, binding and elevating the aspect of time to the aspect of being beyond time. And they merit true life, forever and eternally. And from them flows the primary vitality to all who enter the world, for the sustaining of the world — for everything was created and endures for the sake of the tzaddikim, as is well known.

The general principle: the primary true vitality is in the aspect of being beyond time. But it is impossible to arrive at this except through man entering into time — where the primary nisayon v'tzeruf [trial and refinement] occurs — and one must precisely lengthen one's days in this world. For each additional day one lives and merits to sanctify oneself fittingly, one completes one's da'as further that day, and merits each day to be included further and further in the aspect of being beyond time — which is the primary tachlis, as above. And this is the aspect of milah on the eighth day — that the newborn infant must pass through seven days of arlah [uncircumcision], which is the aspect of the heder hada'as [absence of da'as] — the aspect of arlah d'chafyah al bris — the ananin d'mechasyan al einin [clouds covering the eyes] — from which derives the primary grip of time. And only afterward, precisely, is the orlah cut and the foolishness covering the moach removed, and his da'as is completed — so that he may merit the aspect of being beyond time, which is the tachlis. For so it must be — it is impossible for a person to arrive at the aspect of being beyond time — which is the shlemus hada'as — until he has first passed beneath time, the aspect of the absence of da'as, and been tested and refined there. And when he merits to sanctify himself fittingly — then through time itself precisely he merits to ascend and be included in the aspect of being beyond time. And this is the aspect of the cutting and nullification of the orlah — tikkun habris — the shlemus hada'as — which one merits precisely after having passed through the seven days, which encompass the totality of time. For all time is contained within the seven days of the week. And then, precisely, one merits the aspect of being beyond time — the eighth day — which is the aspect of Binah [Understanding] — almá d'asé [the World to Come], which is beyond time — beyond the seven days of binyan [the seven emotive attributes whose structure constitutes temporal reality], where the primary grip of time lies, as is well known. And this is the aspect of "And Avraham was old, well advanced in days" etc. [Genesis 24:1] — that precisely through days and time he merited to arrive at the aspect of holy ziknahd — the aspect of "zakain — this one has acquired wisdom" — shlemus hada'as — which is the aspect of being beyond time, where the essence of true holy ziknahd resides, as above. For Avraham was the rosh lanimolim [head and father of all who are circumcised] — and therefore he merited this. For through the mitzvah of milah one merits to nullify time and to be included in the aspect of being beyond time, where the essence of holy ziknahd lies, as above. And therefore in truth Avraham Avinu was the first zakain [elder] in the world. As our Sages of blessed memory taught: "Until Avraham there was no old age [in the world]" [Sanhedrin 107b; Bava Metziah 87a]. For he was the first to merit holy ziknahd — since he was the first of all who are circumcised, as above. And all of this is alluded to in the story of the Baytle'r HaRishon — the First Beggar — who appeared blind, and who boasted of himself that he had no perception of this world whatsoever, for the entire world does not amount to him even as a blink of an eye — and therefore he seemed to be blind. But in truth he was not blind at all, etc. For he was very old and yet still entirely like a nursling and had not even begun to live — and yet he was very old, etc., and had the haskamah [endorsement and agreement] of the ancient ones, etc. [See the Story of the Seven Beggars in Sipuray Ma'asiyos]. And see there the story of the zekaynims [the elders] and how each one boasted in his memory [zikaron] — and all their boasting was in connection with memory pertaining to the very earliest moments of a person's existence. This one boasted that he remembers what was done with him at the time of the cutting of his umbilical cord. And this one boasted even more — that he remembers what was done with him at the time he was in the womb, etc. — until at last the blind beggar aforementioned boasted that he remembers all that they remember — but he himself remembers nothing at all, etc. See there this wondrous and awesome matter, the like of which has never been heard in the world. And behold — this elder of all the elders, the blind one aforementioned, merited the aspect of being beyond time in ultimate perfection. And therefore he boasted that he is very old and yet has not begun to live at all, etc. — for the entire world does not amount to him even as a blink of an eye. This is the primary essence of the aspect of being beyond time — that all of time does not amount to even a blink of an eye — and the more one ages, the more it is as if one were born today. This is the aspect of what is said regarding Moshiach: "I have this day begotten you" [Psalms 2:7]. And from this holy, awesome, and exceedingly exalted zakain — the elder of all elders, elder above all elders in holiness — from him we draw down the sanctity upon the circumcised infant through the mitzvah of milah on the eighth day. For the eight days of milah correspond to the eight elders aforementioned who boasted in their memory — in their memory of the very beginnings of the infant's existence — and they are eight in number, as you will reflect there and understand. And this uppermost blind zakain is above all the eight aforementioned, and he merited the nullification of time in ultimate perfection. From him we draw down the sanctity of the mitzvah of milah on the eighth day, as above, in order to draw down upon man the da'as — that he too may merit the aspect of being beyond time — which is the primary tachlis, as above. For because of the coarseness and opacity of man's physicality, one needs to draw down upon him sanctity from an exceedingly great and awesome height. And would that he merit through this to arrive at the perfection of da'as and to depart from the evil deed done beneath the sun — whose primary driver is the appetites of this world. For the primary root of all appetites is the appetite of mishgal [sexual union] — and for this reason the mitzvah of milah comes to remove the orlah covering the moach, in order to merit the tikkun habris which is the shlemus hada'as — the aspect of being beyond time — drawing this down from the uppermost zakain aforementioned. For shlemus hada'as is the aspect of shlemus hazikaron [the perfection of memory], as stated in the Torah teaching "Dirshu" [Likutay Moharan I §37]: that zikaron [memory] is the aspect of da'as, and forgetfulness is the aspect of foolishness. And therefore memory — which is shlemus hada'as — is in the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And as is perceived tangibly — that the primary forgetting comes from the expansion of time, since the primary forgetting comes through the multiplication of days and time. As it is written: "As days multiply everything is forgotten" [Ecclesiastes 2:16, as rendered in this context]. But one who merits complete da'as — through which time is nullified — merits memory and has no forgetting. For certainly when there is no time there is no forgetting — since the primary source of forgetting is the multiplication of time, as perceived tangibly, as above. And therefore these holy and awesome elders aforementioned — each one according to the perfection of his da'as, according to how much he merited to nullify time — so correspondingly he merited a wondrous and awesome memory, beyond anything in the natural order. For certainly no wise man in any of the wisdoms could boast that he remembers what was done with him at the time of the cutting of his umbilical cord. How much more and more so — no one is found who remembers what was done with him during the days he was in the womb before he came into the air of the world. How much more and more so beyond that — as the wondrous things are explained there, the greatness of each one's memory beyond his fellow. See there [Sipuray Ma'asiyos, Story of the Seven Beggars]. And if you look with the true eye of intellect, you will stand trembling and astonished and testify to yourself that neither was seen nor heard anything like this since the beginning of time. For all the boasting of all the awesome and holy elders aforementioned — even the boasting of the first, the least of them all — there is none who could merit to boast thus except a great, awesome and very holy tzaddik who sanctified himself to such a degree and departed entirely from the vanities of this world until he rectified all his days — even the days of youth and even the days of nursing. As explained in the words of Rabbaynoo the Awesome z"l [Likutay Moharan I §179] — that one must fast so thoroughly that one employs the very strength of the milk one nursed from one's mother's womb, in order to ascend and rectify even those days. See there. And one who truly merited this can boast of remembering what was done with him at the time of his birth, at the time of the cutting of his umbilical cord — for he merited to sanctify all his days in holiness to such a degree that he completed his da'as in holiness until time became nullified for him — until it was as if he had been born today. And when there is no time, there is certainly no forgetting, as above. But regarding the nullification of time, there are innumerable levels and gradations. The higher the spiritual world and the level, the more time is nullified there — as is understood from the Torah teaching aforementioned. Therefore, even though this holy zakain boasted of such a wondrous and awesome memory as to remember the cutting of his umbilical cord — which is the aspect of the nullification of time, as above — nevertheless: "How great are the works of Hashem!" [Psalms 92:6], and His greatness is without end — for there is high above high, etc. [Ecclesiastes 5:7]. For there is still a second zakain, who laughed at this boasting and was astonished, and said in a tone of wonder: "This is an old story — I remember this event! But I also remember when the candle was still burning" — meaning, from the time he was in the womb, etc. See there. For the second merited a greater nullification of time — and therefore merited a greater memory. And likewise the third and the fourth, etc. — each one merited a greater nullification of time, and therefore each merited a yet more wondrous and awesome memory, as above. But after the boasting of all of them — high above high and high above high, etc. — up through the eighth zakain — afterward the blind elder aforementioned marveled at them all and said in a tone of wonder: "These are old stories — he remembers all these stories! But he himself remembers nothing at all." See there. For this uppermost blind elder above all the elders merited the nullification of time in ultimate nullification — and therefore he is the root and ultimate tachlis of memory — and above memory — until his comprehension cannot even be called by the name "memory." And therefore he said he does not remember at all, etc. [As is explained there in the vernacular, hinting at the depth of the intent — see there.] Thus we find: the tikkun hazikaron [rectification of memory] is through the aspect of the nullification of time — which one attains through shlemus hada'as. And this is what we need to rectify through the mitzvah of milah. For we must rectify the zikaron [memory], which is the aspect of zachar [male/masculine] — which is the language of zikaron [memory] — and there is the primary locus of the mitzvah of milah. As our Sages of blessed memory expounded: "From where [do we know] that milah is at that place? — For it is written: 'and the orlah of the zachar' — the place that distinguishes between zachar and nekevah [male and female]" [Shabbos 108a]. For the primary rectification is to remove the orlah covering the bris — which is the foolishness covering the moach — in order to merit the aspect of the nullification of time, to depart from the vanities of time and its appetites. For the primary intensification [of the yetzer hará] is in this particular appetite, as is well known — in order to merit memory, which is the aspect of sitrá didechurá [the masculine side], the aspect of zachar, as above. To subjugate and nullify ta'avas nashim [the appetite for women / sexual desire] — from which derives the primary shichah [forgetting] — the aspect of "for God has made me forget [nashani] all my toil" etc. [Genesis 41:51, the name Menasheh]. And there resides the primary grip of time — for the primary grip of time is from the sitrá d'nukbá [the feminine / receptive side], which is the aspect of heder hada'as — the aspect of "women's da'as is light [unstable]" [Shabbos 33b; Kiddushin 80b]. For the entire order of zemanimv'itim [times and seasons] is in the aspect of Malchus [Kingship], which is the aspect of nukbá, as is well known. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory taught: "For this let every chasid pray to You at a time of finding [l'ays metzoh] — this is a wife" [Berachos 8a] — "l'ays metzoh" precisely — for there resides the primary ays v'zman [time and moment], as above. For the primary dimension of time is in the aspect of sleep and tardaymah [deep slumber / absence of da'as], as above. And the entire structure of woman was built through sleep and tardaymah — as it is written: "And Hashem God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man and he slept, and He took" etc. [Genesis 2:21]. And therefore there resides the primary dimension of time, as above. And this is the entire avodah of man — to bind and to elevate time to the aspect of being beyond time — to nullify the appetite for women — and not to fall into the aspect of time, Heaven forbid — for there are all the vanities and yearnings. On the contrary — one should merit to elevate and bind time, the aspect of woman, to the aspect of being beyond time — the aspect of zachar — until time is nullified and included in the aspect of being beyond time. In the aspect of: b'asar d'is dechar nukbá lo idkár taman — "at the place where there is male, female is not mentioned" [Zohar I, 49b]. And this is the aspect of "a woman rises with him but does not go down with him" [Yevamos 63a] — for her entire rectification is through him, that he must elevate her and bind her to the aspect of being beyond time, where the essence of life lies. For in her own place — in the aspect of time — there resides the primary grip of sitrá d'mosá, Heaven forbid. In the aspect of: "her feet descend to death" [Proverbs 5:5]. For the primary death is in the aspect of time. But he must sanctify himself fittingly so that he merits to elevate her and bind her to the aspect of being beyond time — in the aspect of: "See life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life" etc. [Ecclesiastes 9:9] — that one must strive to draw down life — that is, by binding and elevating time, the aspect of woman, to the aspect of being beyond time, where the essence of life lies. And therefore: "positive time-bound mitzvos [mitzvos asay shehazman grama] — women are exempt" [Kiddushin 29a] — for they themselves have no power to rectify and bind time to the aspect of being beyond time. This is the aspect of all the positive time-bound mitzvos — as is understood from the rashay perakim [outline of the Torah teaching] of Likutay Moharan II §79, which I cited above [see Hilchos Milah 3 §6]. See there: "the voice is the voice of Yaakov". And this is the aspect of the great tzaar v'keav [pain and hurt] that the infant must endure at the time of milah. For to merit the aspect of being beyond time is impossible except through total bitul [self-nullification] toward the tachlis — and one cannot arrive at this except through setimus d'einein [the closing and sealing of the eyes]. This is the aspect of what happens when a person closes and seals his eyes with great force at a time of great suffering and pain, Heaven spare us. As all of this is explained in Likutay Moharan I §65, in the Torah teaching "Va'yomer Boaz el Rus" — see there carefully. And therefore the Torah gave us this mitzvah through pain and great hurt — for from the intensity of the pain, the infant at that moment seals and closes his eyes tightly with great force, as is perceived tangibly. And through this — even though ihu lá chazé mazalayh chazé — "he himself does not see, but his mazal [higher soul root] sees" [Megillah 3a] — for his neshamah at that moment is included in the aspect of bitul beyond time. And through this, a reshimah [trace-impression] from this aspect is drawn down upon him — until in the days of his life he may merit to arrive at this aspect, to nullify the absence of da'as and to complete his da'as, until he merits the aspect of the nullification of time — which is the primary tachlis, as above. And therefore this uppermost blind beggar aforementioned — who merited the ultimate root of memory and the ultimate nullification of time entirely — appeared as completely blind. For he merited to seal his eyes entirely from the sight of this world, as he boasted — that he has no perception of this world whatsoever, for the entire world does not amount to him even as a blink of an eye. For it is impossible to merit the aspect of the nullification of time — the tachlis — except through setimus d'einein [the sealing of the eyes], as above. And this is the aspect of the pain and hurt of the infant at the time of milah, through which he seals his eyes, etc., as above. And this is the aspect of "Great is milah, for thirteen covenants were made over it" [Nedarim 31b] — for through the mitzvah of milah one merits the aspect of the nullification of time, where the essence of holy ziknahd lies, as above. And this is the aspect of what is found in the holy writings [of the Arizal] — that the primary hidur haziknahd [splendor of old age, as expressed in the beard] is through the tikkun habris — for a saris [eunuch] has no beard, etc. See there [Arizal, Ez Chayim]. That is, as above — the primary ziknahd is in the aspect of the nullification of time, which one attains through the mitzvah of milah which is the tikkun habris, as above. And therefore all the holy elders aforementioned merited memory — which is the nullification of time — for from there derives the primary holiness of their ziknah dikdushah, as above. For one who blemishes the bris, Heaven forbid — then he falls from da'as, in the aspect of: "a person does not transgress unless a spirit of folly enters him". For the blemish of the bris is the blemish of da'as — since "the drop is drawn from the moach", as is well known. As it is written: "and Adam knew" etc. [Genesis 4:1]. And therefore he falls into beneath time — which derives from the absence of da'as. And therefore all his days are anger and pain — for precisely upon him falls all the evil deed done beneath the sun. And everything is in proportion to the blemish he made in the bris, Heaven forbid. And therefore he is seized, Heaven forbid, by sitrá d'mosá — for from the absence of da'as, the primary grip of time derives — where the primary sitrá d'mosá lies, as above. And this is the aspect of: "and I find more bitter than death the woman" [Ecclesiastes 7:26] — which is said regarding the blemish of the bris. And this is the aspect of the kares [spiritual excision] stated in the Torah regarding all arayos [sexual transgressions] — which are the blemish of the bris. For the primary kares, Heaven forbid, means — that his days are cut off from their root. That is, that one remains, Heaven forbid, beneath time and does not merit to emerge from beneath time even after one's death. For "the tzaddikim are called alive even in death" [Berachos 18a] — since through their holiness they merited to elevate and nullify all time and days in the aspect of being beyond time, where the essence of life lies, and where the primary knowledge of the Creator blessed be He resides — which is all the delight of Olam Habá, as above. But the wicked who deserve kares, when they do not merit teshuvah — they remain even after their death beneath time. As is brought: that the wicked do not depart from the cheyzu d'hai almá — the vision/realm of this world — even after death. And this is the primary punishment of kares, Heaven spare us — that their days are cut off from their root, from the aspect of being beyond time, and they remain always beneath time where all the afflictions and all the judgments and all the harsh and bitter punishments reside, Heaven spare us. And therefore the rectification of kares is through keser [the Crown] — as is brought [in the Arizal's writings] — that one must draw down upon such a person sanctity from the aspect of Keser, to rectify the blemish of kares. For Keser is the aspect of the root of holy ziknahd — for there reside all the thirteen tikkunay dikná kadishá [the thirteen holy configurations of the sacred Beard], and it is called Atik [the Ancient One], as is well known. That is — one merits to bind oneself to the aspect of the holy zakain, the aspect of Keser, which is beyond time — and this is the antithesis of kares, as above. And this is what is brought in the [holy] books — that one who wakes at night is saved from kares. For the primary [dimension of] time is in the aspect of sleep, as above — where the primary grip of kares lies, the sitrá d'mosá, as above. And therefore when one wakes at night and banishes sleep from one's eyes and occupies oneself in Torah and the service of Hashem — through this one nullifies time, which is the aspect of sleep, and binds time to the aspect of being beyond time through Torah and avodah — which are the shlemus hada'as dikdushah — through which one is included in the aspect of being beyond time, where the essence of life lies, as above. And therefore in truth the primary teshuvah for the blemish of the bris is through binding oneself and drawing close to true tzaddikim. For true tzaddikim — shomray habris [guardians of the covenant] — are the aspect of zekaynims dikdushah who receive their power from the uppermost zakain aforementioned — who merited the aspect of being beyond time to the ultimate degree. And from there they draw life to all who come to repent for the blemish of the bris, and draw them out and elevate them from the aspect of kares to the aspect of Keser — which is the aspect of Atik — the aspect of zakain — the aspect of being beyond time — where the essence of life lies, as above. And this is: "Great is milah, for thirteen covenants were made over it" — corresponding to the thirteen tikkunay dikná kadishá — which are the aspect of holy ziknahd that one merits through the mitzvah of milah, which is the aspect of tikkun habris, as above. And this is the aspect of chituch u'fri'ah [the two operations: cutting and uncovering]. It is found in the kavanos [kabbalistic intentions] that through the cutting of the orlah one nullifies the three completely impure kelipós entirely, and through the peri'ah one nullifies kelipass nogah [the mixed kelipah, which is a mixture of good and evil, and which sometimes is included in holiness etc.]. And these two aspects are accomplished through the holy elders aforementioned — that is, because all eight of the elders aforementioned together constitute one aspect, corresponding to the uppermost elder above them all, the blind elder aforementioned — who constitutes a second and higher aspect, entirely above them all. For although there are many distinctions even among all those eight holy elders themselves — since each one is much higher than the next, to the point that the lesser compared to the greater amounts to no more than a mere point, as is understood by one who truly comprehends — and likewise the second compared to the third, and the third compared to the fourth, etc. — nevertheless, all of them together are of one aspect compared to the uppermost blind elder above them all. For only he boasted that the entire world does not amount to him as a blink of an eye. And therefore he merited the ultimate root of memory — to the point where he is beyond memory and does not remember at all — for he is absorbed in the Ein Sof [the Infinite] in the ultimate completeness of bitul, with a perfection beyond which there is no perfection. And therefore this zakain is a dimension entirely unto himself — exalted and elevated above all the eight elders aforementioned — since even the highest of them still retains some trace, an infinitesimal something of the aspect of time. And even though it is thin beyond the thin, incomprehensible to the mind — nevertheless, since they have not yet merited the ultimate bitul of the uppermost blind elder, all of them are one aspect compared to him. For even though there are many distinctions among them — high above high and high above high, etc. — and even the least among them all is awesome and elevated in holiness to a degree such that his like is scarcely found, and all the more so the second above him, and the third, etc. — nonetheless, since even the highest of all, the eighth, still has a perfection beyond him — namely the ultimate perfection of bitul with no perfection beyond it, which is the bitul of the blind elder — therefore all eight elders are one aspect relative to him. Meaning — relative to him, none of them has yet [reached] the ultimate bitul — even though their holiness is exalted and mighty. And he is a dimension entirely unto himself, since he merited the ultimate shlemus of bitul with no perfection beyond it. And corresponding to these are the two aspects aforementioned — chituch and peri'ah. For chituch — which nullifies the completely impure kelipós — is accomplished through all the eight elders mentioned above who nullify all the impure kelipós. But the mitzvah of peri'ah — which nullifies kelipass nogah — this is not accomplished in completeness except through the sanctity of the uppermost blind zakain aforementioned — who had no perception of this world even for a blink of an eye. And therefore he merited to nullify kelipass nogah in ultimate completeness. And from him we draw down the sanctity of the mitzvah of peri'as milah — which is the nullification of nogah. For in the aspect of nogah — which is the mixture of good and evil — there are thousands and tens of thousands of aspects and levels. And it is in this that all the kosherim [upright people] and all the tzaddikim differ in their levels. For certainly true kosherim, and how much more so tzaddikim, have already broken the three completely impure kelipós entirely — from which all the transgressions and sins of the Torah derive, as is well known. And one who is clean from transgression — those three impure kelipós have no further hold upon him. But regarding the nullification of nogah, there are thousands and tens of thousands of levels. For the tzaddik who sanctified himself even in what is permitted — according to his holiness, so has he also nullified kelipass nogah, as is well known. But since there still remains in him some trace of what is permitted, there is still some hold from the aspect of nogah. And even one who has broken everything and merited holiness upon holiness — high above high — nevertheless even the great and awesome tzaddikim still have a yetzer hará, which is in the aspect of a holy angel — the aspect of gevuros and judgments [intense divine powers]. As is explained in Likutay Moharan I §72. And they must wage war with it and subdue it. And as long as there remains with them any thin aspect of this uppermost, thin and very spiritual yetzer hará — even though it stands thousands and tens of thousands of levels above the yetzer tov of ordinary people — nevertheless, the aspect of nogah has still not been fully nullified. For as long as there is any hold of any aspect of strict judgment, however thin — there is still some hold of the aspect of nogah — the mixture of good and evil. And therefore the primary aspect of peri'ah — the nullification of nogah — we draw from the uppermost zakain, the blind elder aforementioned, who merited ultimate bitul in a perfection beyond which there is no perfection — who nullified even the root of the uppermost yetzer hará. And these matters are somewhat understood by one who is versed in the writings of the Arizal and has studied the words of our Rebbe z"l carefully — in particular Likutay Moharan I §72 aforementioned. See there carefully. And this is the aspect of the kos yayin shel berachah [cup of wine of blessing] at the time of milah — and this is the aspect of the shem [name] given to the infant at that time. For wine has two powers, as our Sages of blessed memory taught: "If he merited — it gladdens him; if he did not merit — it desolates him. If he merited — he becomes a head; if he did not merit" etc. [Yoma 76b; Sanhedrin 70a]. That is — one who does not merit to drink it in holiness is intoxicated and desolated by the wine — which is the aspect of the withdrawal of da'as, the aspect of sleep. For wine brings sleep, where the primary grip of time lies, as above. But wine in holiness is the opposite — for "if he merited, he becomes a head" — the wine elevates his moach and his da'as. The aspect of chamarú v'rayachwany pakchín — "wine and fragrance open and illuminate the mind" [Yoma 76b] — and shlemus hada'as is the aspect of the nullification of time, as above. For through wine in holiness, the secrets of Torah are revealed — the aspect of shivim panim laTorah [the seventy faces of Torah]. For wine [yayin — יין] has the numerical value of seventy, and sod [secret — סוד] likewise has the numerical value of seventy — "wine enters, secret exits" [Eiruvin 65a; Sanhedrin 38a]. And the secrets of Torah — the seventy faces of Torah — from there derives the primary holy ziknahd. For the seventy faces correspond to seventy years, as Rabbaynoo z"l wrote elsewhere [Likutay Moharan I §60] — and seventy years is the aspect of zakain [elder] — an elder of seventy years. As they said: "Behold I am now like a man of seventy years" [Berachos 28a]. And this is the aspect of what our Sages of blessed memory taught: "aged wine — the da'as of elders [da'as zekaynims] is at ease with it" [Berachos 53b; Pesachim 119a] — "da'as zekaynims" specifically. For wine in holiness is in the aspect of zakain — shlemus hada'as — as above — where the aspect of the nullification of time lies. For wine in holiness is the opposite of sleep — in the aspect of "and your palate is like good wine, flowing smoothly for my beloved, causing the lips of sleepers to speak" [Song of Songs 7:10] — for the wine makes the lips of sleepers speak — that is, it awakens from sleep, which is the withdrawal of da'as. For wine in holiness is the aspect of shlemus hada'as — the aspect of the nullification of time — the aspect of zikaron — the aspect of "let us recall your love more than wine" [Song of Songs 1:4] — the aspect of "His memory is like wine of Lebanon" [Hosea 14:8]. And this is the aspect of kiddush over the cup of wine — the aspect of "Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it — remember it over the wine" [Exodus 20:8; Pesachim 106a]. For zikaron [memory] comes through wine, as above. For Shabbas is a semblance of Olam Habá — which is beyond time — the aspect of "He blessed it above all days and sanctified it above all times" [Shabbos liturgy, based on Genesis 2:3]. And all six weekdays — which are the aspect of time — all receive and draw their vitality from Shabbas, which is the inner central point, as is well known. For the primary coming-into-being of time derives from the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And the primary tachlis is to return and to elevate and bind time to its root — to the aspect of being beyond time. And this is the holiness of Shabbas kodesh — that Hashem gave us this great gift, called Shabbas — the root of the six days, the root of time — and through it we return and elevate time to the aspect of being beyond time, which is the aspect of Shabbas that is a semblance of Olam Habá, beyond time. And this is the holiness of all the yamim tovim [sacred festivals], which are called zemanimvim [appointed times / seasons] — as we say: "Who sanctifies Israel and the appointed times [zemanimvim]". For all the sacred days receive from Shabbas, which is "first among all sacred convocations", and all of them sanctify time and complete da'as — through which one merits to elevate time to the aspect of being beyond time, as above. As is understood from the rashay perakim [outline] of Likutay Moharan II §79 that I cited above [see Hilchos Milah 3 §6]. See there. And therefore when one wishes to receive the holiness of Shabbas and Yom Tov, one must sanctify over wine — the aspect of "remember it over the wine". For through the wine of kiddush, da'as is completed — the aspect of the nullification of time — the aspect of zikaron, as above. And therefore one must bless over a cup of wine at the time of milah — in order to draw down the aspect of zikaron — shlemus hada'as — the nullification of time — all of which is the aspect of the mitzvah of milah, as above. And this is the aspect of the shem [name] given to the infant at that time. For the shem is the aspect of zikaron — the aspect of "for Your Name and Your remembrance is the desire of the soul" [Isaiah 26:8] — and as it is written: "Hashem — Your Name is forever; Hashem — Your remembrance is throughout all generations" [Psalms 135:13]. And it is written: "This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance" etc. [Exodus 3:15]. For the primary thing that remains of a person — that his memory endures after his departure from this world — is only his name, which remains as a memorial of his name forever, if he merits. Thus found: the shem is the aspect of zikaron — which is the aspect of the mitzvah of milah, as above. And this is: "And You made for Yourself a Name as this day" [Nehemiah 9:10] — "as this day" precisely. And this verse is recited in the passage of "V'charos imo habris" [Nehemiah 9:8], which speaks of the mitzvah of milah of Avraham Avinu, peace be upon him — who was the first of all who are circumcised. For when he was commanded this mitzvah, Hashem exalted his name — as it is written there in the passage: "and your name shall no longer be called Avram, but your name shall be Avraham" [Genesis 17:5]. And as we recall this every day in Pesukay d'Zimrah [the Verses of Praise] before the passage of "V'charos" — as we say: "You are Hashem the God who chose Avram... and placed his name Avraham... and cut with him the covenant" etc., "and You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh" etc., "and You made for Yourself a Name as this day" — precisely. For "this day" is the aspect of the binding and totality of time in the aspect of being beyond time — the aspect of "on this day you have become a people" [Deuteronomy 27:9], said regarding the upholding of the Torah. For the Torah is shemá d'Kudshá Berich Hu [the Name of the Holy One blessed be He]. As our Sages of blessed memory expounded: "each day let them be in your eyes as new — as if this day you entered the covenant with Him" [Rashi, Deuteronomy 26:16]. For through Torah and prayer — through which one exalts His Name blessed be He each day — through this the day is included in the aspect of being beyond time. And then this day in which a person stands, and the day on which the Torah was given, and the day on which the world was created — all are one. The aspect of "I have this day begotten you" [Psalms 2:7]. And all this one merits through the exaltation of His Name blessed be He, as will be further explained below. And this is: "May the Name of Hashem be blessed from now and forever — from the rising of the sun to its setting, praised is the Name of Hashem" [Psalms 113:2–3] — "from the rising of the sun to its setting" — this is the totality of time, called "under the sun" — the aspect of "the sun rises and the sun sets" [Ecclesiastes 1:5]. In that realm we need only to exalt and praise the Name of Hashem — and through this precisely we merit to bind and elevate time to the aspect of being beyond time. In the aspect of: "May the Name of Hashem be blessed from now and forever" — from time, which is the aspect of "from now," ascending to beyond time, which is the aspect of "and forever." And this is: "Each day I will bless You" [Psalms 145:2] — "each day" precisely. That is — through blessing and praising His Name blessed be He in time, day by day — "and I will praise Your Name forever and ever" — that is, beyond time. For the primary binding and bitul of time to its root — to the aspect of being beyond time — is through the aspect of the Shem [Name], which is the aspect of emunah [faith]. For this is the aspect of all the avodah with which one serves Hashem blessed be He — in Torah and prayer and good deeds — all for the sake of His Name blessed be He — in order to exalt and sanctify His Name blessed be He. As it is written: "incense is brought and offered to My Name" [Malachi 1:11] — precisely. As is explained at length elsewhere [in Hilchos Birchos Hashachar]. And this is: "and they shall bless Your glorious Name, exalted above all blessing and praise" [Nehemiah 9:5]. And this is: "Zachor [Remember] and Shamor [Observe] were spoken in one utterance" [Shabbas morning liturgy; Shevuos 20b] — the aspect of time and of being beyond time. For Shamor is the attribute of nukbá [the feminine], as is well known — where the entire order of times and seasons resides, as above. And Zachor is the attribute of dechurá [the masculine] — the aspect of zikaron — the aspect of the nullification of time. And both were spoken in one utterance — for at their root they are truly one. For the division into multiple utterances is the aspect of the division of time into separate units — whose root is speech [dibur] — in the aspect of "days give forth utterance" [Psalms 19:3] — the aspect of "day to day pours forth speech, and night" etc. [Psalms 19:3]. But before Hashem blessed be He all utterances are one and all time is one — in the aspect of "Zachor and Shamor in one utterance" — the aspect of "God has spoken once; these two things have I heard" [Psalms 62:12]. For at the root all is one — all is included in the aspect of being beyond time — beyond utterance — which is the root of time and utterance. Only it is impossible for us to comprehend this in this world by way of intellect — we can only believe it in faith. But the true tzaddikim strengthen our emunah through their wondrous and awesome intellect, which they contract through thousands upon thousands of tzimtzumim [contractions] — until they explain to us and clarify for us that we have no [adequate] intellect and that wisdom is exceedingly far from us. As we perceive a little in this very concept itself — that he [Rabbaynoo z"l] explained to us with wondrous intellect through the phenomenon of sleep that there is really no time at all. But even so, the nature of being beyond time in its very essence we certainly do not understand — as is stated clearly there in the Torah teaching aforementioned [Likutay Moharan II §61]. We need only to know that we have no [adequate] intellect — as we perceive tangibly. And to bind ourselves in emunah, and to rely on the words of the true tzaddikim, and to believe all their words that are spoken in truth. For the Shem is a wondrous and awesome matter to an extraordinary degree. As it is written: "Come, see the works of Hashem, who has made shamos in the land" — do not read shamos [desolations] but shemos [names] [Psalms 46:9; Berachos 58a], as our Sages of blessed memory taught. And as is explained in many places — that the primary vitality is from the Shem — the aspect of "a living soul — that is His Name" [nefesh chayah hu shemoh], as brought elsewhere [cf. Likutay Moharan I §56]. And the primary vitality is drawn from the aspect of being beyond time — where the root of life and length of days resides — which is the root of holy ziknahd, as above. And the primary Shem endures through holadah [giving birth to children] — which is the aspect of tikkun habris — the aspect of the mitzvah of milah. That is, through meriting to leave children in holiness in this world — so that his name and memory endure for generations. As it is written: "and his name shall not be blotted out from Israel" [Deuteronomy 25:6]. And this is why we pray for the life and sustaining of the infant at the time we bless him with his name — as we say: "Sustain this child for his father and for his mother, and let his name be called in Israel" [milah liturgy]. For these depend upon one another — for the Shem is vitality, as above — that is, through the Shem one draws life and the lengthening of days — the aspect of ziknah dikdushah — from the aspect of being beyond time where the root of life lies, as above. For this is the greatness of the Shem — that through it one can apprehend and grasp all the lofty matters that are beyond our intellect, and bring them into our understanding by the way of emunah — even though we do not comprehend them. And understand the matter well by way of analogy, from this very concept of being beyond time — that the essence of "what being above time actually is" in itself we certainly do not comprehend. But through the Shem with which Hashem blessed be He has graced us — da'as — that we name this concept lemaaleh min hazman [above time] — through this we are at least able to speak of it and to bring into our understanding the truth that there certainly exists an aspect of being beyond time — only we do not comprehend it. And so with all the ways of Hashem blessed be He that are lofty and deeply hidden from our intellect — and how much more and more so He Himself blessed be He, who is exalted and elevated above the comprehension of all created beings — for lays machshavah tefisah bay kelal — "no thought can grasp Him at all." But only through His holy Names blessed be He are we able to call upon Him and to bring into our understanding the truth of holy emunah. For the Shem is the aspect of Malchus — the aspect of emunah, as is well known. And this is the aspect of what is written in the Torah teaching "Uvyom Habikurim" [Likutay Moharan I §56] — that through the Torah, which is shemá d'Kudshá Berich Hu [the Name of the Holy One blessed be He], one calls upon Chay Hachayim and draws vitality from Him — that is, as above — for the primary vitality is drawn through the Shem, as above. And this is the aspect of the name [shem] of each individual that is given to him at the time of milah precisely — for the name of each and every person of Israel is drawn from His Name blessed be He — for His Name is shared within our names [shemoh meshutaf bishmaynu]. And through the Shem one draws vitality upon the person from Chay Hachayim — from the aspect of being beyond time, where the essence of life resides — which is the aspect of the mitzvah of milah, as above. And therefore for one to whom a daughter is born, the custom is to give her a name at the time of kri'as haTorah [the Torah reading] — for she too needs to be elevated and bound to the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And therefore her name is given at the time of the Torah reading — for Orayta shemá d'Kudshá Berich Hu [the Torah is the Name of the Holy One blessed be He]. And there is the essence of life — as it is written: "for it is your life" [Deuteronomy 30:20]. For the primary binding to the aspect of being beyond time is through the Torah that preceded the world. And therefore at that time her name is given — in order to draw life upon her from the Torah — in the aspect of "See life with a woman" etc. [Ecclesiastes 9:9] — that is, to bind and elevate her to the aspect of being beyond time, where the essence of life resides, as above. And this is the aspect of milas avadim [the circumcision of slaves]. For the essence of servitude is in the aspect of being beneath time. For beneath time is where all the toil, anger, weariness, exertions, and burdens of this world take hold — which are the aspect of servitude — in the aspect of: "all his days are pain and vexation" [Ecclesiastes 2:23] — "all his days" precisely — that is, beneath time and days. The aspect of "what profit is there for a person in all his toil that he labors under the sun?" [Ecclesiastes 1:3] — for the essence of toil and servitude is under the sun, under time. And all this is because of foolishness and lack of da'as — for because of this, time appears greatly enlarged to him, as above — to the point where it seems to him as if the time of the days of his life is long and fixed, as if he will tarry in this world always, God forbid. And he plans at every moment to establish for himself a livelihood and wealth, and to build houses and buildings and furnishings etc. And he is constantly occupied with this and wearies himself with great exertions and burdens and harsh labors, as if he were an enslaved servant sold to some master — as the Midrash teaches regarding this matter, that a person makes himself "a bound slave to himself." And they interpreted the language of shia'bud [subjugation] there — that a person is a slave bound to himself, who slaves away at himself with backbreaking labor as if he were a sold slave. And all this is because of foolishness and lack of da'as — for it seems to him as if time is very great and he forgets that there is really no time at all, and time runs and flies extremely rapidly at every moment without any pause at all. As it is written: "and our days are like a passing shadow — not like the shadow of a palm-tree nor like the shadow of a wall, but like the shadow of a flying bird" [Berachos 28b, based on Psalms 144:4] — as our Sages of blessed memory taught. And not only does he not merit true da'as to strengthen his emunah in the aspect of the bitul of time — he also makes for himself a great fixity from the time of the swiftly-flying days, and plans every day and at every moment what he will do tomorrow and in time to come etc. And because of this he falls into complete servitude, wearying and burdening himself with exhaustions and harsh labors for the toil of this world. And this is the aspect of: "the people went about and gathered" [shatu ha'am velaktu] — in foolishness [bishtusar] [Numbers 11:8; Zohar Beshalach 63] — as the Zohar Hakadosh states (Beshalach 63): that because of foolishness one must toil and burden oneself with great burdens and labors. For surely one who has true da'as understands well that all the time of this world is vanity — as we say: "and the days of our lives are vanity before You" [High Holiday liturgy]. And in truth there is no time at all — and even with our limited da'as, in that we are unable to comprehend the aspect of being beyond time — nonetheless we see with our own eyes and understand that time runs and passes and flies with the utmost haste and speed without any fixity at all, and at every moment a person dies, as above. Therefore surely one who takes care of himself and looks upon this with the eye of truth — he will certainly not establish any permanence at all in the affairs of this world, and will not plan at all from one day to the next. As it is written: "do not worry about tomorrow's trouble" etc. [Proverbs 27:1; cf. Sanhedrin 100b]. And even what he must do for the sake of his livelihood — he does only in passing and in a transient manner, not in the manner of permanence at all. As they said: "make your Torah fixed and your livelihood transient" [Avos 4:10]. And he does not exchange, God forbid, an eternal world for a passing world. Thus found: the essence of servitude is beneath time, as above. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: "there is no free person except one who occupies himself with Torah" [Avos 6:2]. For one who occupies himself with Torah merits to complete his da'as, and merits to nullify time according to the completeness of his da'as — and then he goes out from servitude to freedom. For the essence of servitude is beneath time, as above. And for this reason we are commanded to circumcise the slaves — in order to subdue and nullify the power of the impurity of servitude at its root. For through the mitzvah of milah, the foolishness of da'as is nullified — from which the grip of the magnification of time derives — where the essence of servitude lies, as above. And therefore we were commanded to circumcise the slaves — to subdue the impurity of servitude — so that it not take hold of us, God forbid, from the impurity of servitude. For in truth Yisrael the holy nation are the opposite of the servitude of the sitrá achará — in the aspect of: "all Israel are children of kings" [Shabbas 128a]. For they received the Torah — where the essence of freedom lies — as it is written: "engraved upon the tablets — do not read charut [engraved] but chayrus [freedom]" [Avos 6:2] — as above. For Yisrael are beyond time — in the aspect of: "Yisrael arose first in thought" [Beraishis Rabbah 1:4] — they preceded and came before all the time of the creation of the world. And the essence of servitude belongs to the nations of the world who did not receive the Torah, which is freedom — and they are sunken in the desires and vanities of this world which are all beneath time — where the essence of servitude lies, as above. For the nations come from the side of Esav — of whom it is said: "and you shall serve your brother" [Genesis 27:40]. For they come from the impurity of the serpent — which is the aspect of: "cursed be Canaan, a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers" [Genesis 9:25] — which is the aspect of servitude, the aspect of the toil of this world — the aspect of "in pain shall you eat it... by the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread" [Genesis 3:17–19] — all of which is the aspect of servitude, as above. But we, the children of Israel, must purify ourselves from this impurity — to nullify the servitude of the burdens of this world that is beneath time — and to bind ourselves to the Torah which is the completeness of da'as, where freedom resides — in the aspect of the nullification of time — as above. Therefore we must circumcise the slaves, as above. And this is the aspect of: "if you buy a Hebrew slave, six years shall he serve, and in the seventh he shall go out free at no charge" [Exodus 21:2]. For servitude is not applicable to Yisrael at all, as above — as it is written: "for to Me the children of Israel are slaves, they are My servants" etc. [Leviticus 25:55]. And the fact that he fell into the aspect of servitude — because of the great deficiency of his da'as, in that he fell so far beneath time as to sell himself as a slave — one must have compassion on him that he not be compelled to serve more than six years — corresponding to the six days of creation. But "in the seventh" — the aspect of Shabbas — "he shall go out free." For Shabbas is a semblance of Olam Habá which is the aspect of being beyond time, as above. For it is explained in all the sefarim that the six days of creation correspond to the six midos [attributes] from Chesed through Yesod, and Shabbas is the aspect of Malchus which is the aspect of emunah. And at first glance this is not understood — for surely the six midos are higher than the aspect of Malchus — so how is it applicable that the six days of creation should, God forbid, be higher than Shabbas — yatzivá be'ar'á vegyurá bishmay shemayá [standing on the ground while fire reaches to the heavens]? But in truth this is the very greatness of holy Shabbas. For all six midos are the aspect of da'as — the aspect of Tiferes which comprises all six midos, as is known. But on Shabbas, da'as and great wisdom are drawn from a supremely elevated and awesome place — to the extent that one merits to know the truth: that we have no da'as at all — in the aspect of "the end of all knowledge is that we do not know" [Likutay Moharan I §64] — the aspect of: "I said I would be wise, but it is far from me" [Ecclesiastes 7:23]. And then emunah shines with great light — for one knows and attains that the primary true perfection is to strengthen oneself only in complete emunah. And therefore Shabbas is a semblance of Olam Habá — in the aspect of the nullification of time — for through the completeness of da'as one merits the nullification of time. But in this world no one can attain this da'as fully enough that time will be completely nullified to him — except the greatest chosen tzaddikim — in the aspect of the elders mentioned above, as above. But on holy Shabbas, every single one of Yisrael merits the completeness of emunah — through the power of the extraordinary da'as and wondrous wisdom that illuminates then, as above — through which one merits to know that one is far from wisdom and to strengthen oneself only in complete emunah, as above. And through emunah, every person can merit the aspect of the nullification of time, as above. And therefore Shabbas is in the aspect of the nullification of time — because then everyone merits complete emunah — through which time can be nullified even in this world, even for one whose da'as is not so complete. For from afar we see and understand that time has no substance at all etc., as above — only even so the nature of the nullification of time in its essence we cannot bring into our intellect. But through the strengthening of emunah that is drawn from Shabbas, every person can merit the aspect of the nullification of time. And from Shabbas the holiness is drawn upon all six weekdays — so that we may always merit complete emunah, until we merit to nullify time and not be bound, God forbid, after the desires of this world and its vanities and pains and angers and its labors and toil and weariness etc. — all of which are beneath time, as above. And therefore the slave who fell into the aspect of servitude — at the very least he shall not serve more than six — corresponding to the six days of creation, where the primary grip of servitude takes hold, since the six days of creation draw their sustenance from the midos which are the aspect of da'as, and da'as is not attained by everyone to the extent that time would be nullified to them — which is the aspect of servitude, as above. But "in the seventh" — the aspect of Shabbas — "he shall go out free at no charge." For in the seventh — the aspect of Shabbas — the aspect of emunah illuminates, through which every person can merit the aspect of the nullification of time, which is the nullification of servitude. For beyond time is the aspect of freedom and liberty, as above. [This connects to what was said above.] Servitude is the aspect of being beneath time — for the slave is in the aspect of sleep, where the primary grip of time lies, as above. As our Sages of blessed memory taught: "ten measures of sleep descended to the world — slaves took nine" etc. [Kiddushin 49b]. And this is the aspect of: "if his days are like a hired man's, like a slave who longs for the shade" etc. [Job 7:2] — which compares the days of a person to the days of a slave and a hired laborer. For the essence of time is in the aspect of servitude, as above. And therefore a slave is obligated in the same mitzvos that a woman is obligated in — for the slave is in the aspect of a woman, where the primary grip of time resides, as above. And this is the aspect of the kisse shel Eliyahu [Chair of Eliyahu] at the time of milah. For Eliyahu merited — while still alive — to ascend to the heavens. For he merited to nullify time in his lifetime. And therefore he did not need to die. For because of the impurity of the serpent — because of the sin of Adam HaRishon — it is impossible to be fully included in the aspect of being beyond time while still in this world. Therefore one must die — and when one departs from the body and the soul is refined, one merits to ascend and be included in the aspect of being beyond time, which is the aspect of the life of Olam Habá, as above. But Eliyahu merited the completeness of da'as in his lifetime to the extent that he did not need to die. Therefore at Motzai Shabbas [Saturday night] — when the weekday labors begin to stir, the aspect of servitude that grips the six days of creation — we therefore recall Eliyahu HaNavi, who merited the aspect of the nullification of time in his lifetime — which is the aspect of freedom, as above. And through this we draw the holiness of Shabbas — which is the aspect of freedom, through which all servitude — all weekday labors — are nullified — and we merit to draw this holiness upon all six weekdays so that the servitude beneath time not strengthen, even on weekdays, as above. And therefore Eliyahu will come and herald the redemption of Mashiach. And as we recall this at Motzai Shabbas: "Eliyahu HaNavi... may he come to us speedily with Mashiach ben Dovid." For Mashiach will merit this da'as of the nullification of time completely — as is explained there in this Torah teaching we are occupied with — as is explained there on the verse: "I have this day begotten you" [Psalms 2:7], as above. And therefore Eliyahu — who merited the aspect of the nullification of time in his lifetime — will come and herald this. Therefore Eliyahu is recalled before the milah and a chair is prepared for him. For the very essence of the mitzvah of milah is to nullify time — where the primary grip of all desires and toil of this world lies etc., as above. This is the aspect of Eliyahu HaNavi — for through his power and merit the world of Asiyah is purified, as is brought [in the writings]. That is: the time whose primary grip is in this world of Asiyah is nullified. And we merit to draw into this world the illumination of the true da'as, which is the aspect of the nullification of time — which is the aspect of the mitzvah of milah, as above. See in siman 117 regarding the matter of why sleep is difficult on Motzai Shabbas — it is explained there that Eliyahu nullifies the aspect of slave, the aspect of sleep — see there — that is, as above. For servitude and sleep are the aspect of being beneath time. And Eliyahu nullifies this — which is the aspect of the mitzvah of milah. And this is the aspect of gairim [converts]. For the primary holiness of Yisrael is that they sanctify time through Torah and good deeds performed in time precisely — and through this they merit the completeness of da'as and are included in the aspect of being beyond time, which is the aspect of Olam Habá, as above. And this is the aspect of: "today to perform them, and tomorrow to receive their reward" [Eruvin 22a, based on Deuteronomy 7:11] — there is a "tomorrow" that is "after time" — "after time" precisely — that is: Olam Habá is the aspect of tomorrow, meaning "after time" — that is, after time — the aspect of the nullification of time. For Olam Habá is the world that is entirely long — the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And this is the entire purpose of our avodah in this world — to complete da'as through the holiness of Torah and mitzvos — in order to merit the aspect of being beyond time, as above. For Yisrael at their root are in the aspect of being beyond time — in the aspect of: "Israel has no mazal" [Shabbas 156a]. For the entire order of times is governed by the stars and constellations — and Yisrael are above the stars and constellations — beyond time. In the aspect of what was said to Avraham: "look now toward the heavens and count the stars... and He said to him: so shall your seed be" [Genesis 15:5]. And Rashi explains: "the word habet [look] implies looking from above downward" etc. — that is, He elevated him above the stars and constellations and said to him: "so shall your seed be" — that Yisrael who descend from him are from above time, which is governed by the stars and constellations. And this is the aspect of what is said regarding the birth of Yitzchak: "at the appointed time I will return to you, as the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son" [Genesis 18:14]. This is the aspect of the nullification of time — that the appointed time, which is a year hence, and the present time in which they stood on that day — are all one. The aspect of: "at the appointed time I will return to you, as the time of life" — that the appointed time which is the coming year is as "the time of life" — meaning the same moment as that very day — for all is one. For there is truly no time at all, as mentioned above. And in this aspect — "and Sarah shall have a son" — for the birth of Yitzchak, who was the first born in the holiness of Yisrael, his birth was in this aspect — in the aspect of being beyond time, as above. Thus found: Yisrael are in the aspect of being beyond time. But the nations of the world are in the aspect of being beneath time — for they are sunken in all the desires and vanities of this world, all of which are beneath time, as above. For they come from the impurity of the serpent — as our Sages of blessed memory said: "the nations who did not stand at Mount Sinai — their impurity never ceased" [Shabbas 145b; Avodah Zarah 22b]. And the impurity of the serpent is the aspect of servitude — the aspect of: "cursed are you... on your belly shall you go" etc. [Genesis 3:14] — which is the aspect of: "cursed be Canaan, a slave of slaves" etc. — the aspect of servitude, which is the aspect of the toil of this world, the aspect of "in pain shall you eat it" — who pursue the vanities of this world all their days, which are beneath time, as above. And this is the aspect of what is said regarding the sun and moon and stars: "which Hashem your God has distributed to all the nations" etc. [Deuteronomy 4:19] — and Rashi explains: "He distributed to them to give them light." And yet the matter is still puzzling — do they really shine for them alone and not for us? For surely, on the contrary, the primary purpose of their shining is for Yisrael — for all of creation was not created and does not exist except for the sake of Yisrael, as is known! But in truth: Yisrael are beyond time — above the stars and constellations, as above. And all the light drawn to us through the sun and moon and stars — we do not receive from them themselves, God forbid. For we know the truth that they have no light of their own at all — only all their power to illuminate they receive from what is above them — one above the other — until they all receive from the light of Hashem blessed be He, who is the light of all lights, who illuminates through the sun and moon etc. And therefore we bless Hashem blessed be He every day — who created these luminaries and who gives them the power to illuminate the earth. But the sun and moon themselves have no light whatsoever — on the contrary, we, the children of Israel, illuminate them. For through our blessing Hashem blessed be He on the creation of the luminaries — through this they are connected to their root, to the supernal root of light of the sun and moon and stars — and through this they shine. For we connect all the time governed by the sun and moon etc. to its root, which is beyond time — where the root of everything lies, as above. And therefore we are above mazal — above all the stars and the sun etc., as above. But the nations and the wicked who pursue the vanities of this world, which are beneath time — of whom it is said: "and there were harp... and flute... and wine in their feasts, but the deeds of Hashem they did not look to, and the work of His hands they did not see" [Isaiah 5:12] — who do not bless the Creator of the luminaries in the morning prayer and Who brings on evenings in the evening — therefore they are beneath the stars and the stars illuminate them, and they do not illuminate the stars. And therefore it is said of them regarding the luminaries: "which He has distributed [chalak] to them to give them light" — "chalak" precisely — for to them the light of the stars is divided and separated from its root — from the aspect of being beyond time — because they pursue the vanities of this world. And therefore the light is divided [chaluk] from them from its root. The aspect of: "which He has distributed to them" — "chalak" precisely, as above. But Yisrael are the opposite — for they connect all the luminaries to their root, and through this they illuminate through all the luminaries. For all the power of the luminaries to illuminate is through Yisrael who bless Hashem blessed be He for the luminaries — for the sake of this the whole was created and exists, as above. Thus found: Yisrael are in the aspect of being beyond time. And the nations are in the aspect of being beneath time. And therefore this ger who comes to convert — to leave the impurity of the nations and to enter the holiness of Yisrael — it is impossible to bring him into our holiness except through elevating him to the aspect of being beyond time, which is the root of the holiness of Yisrael. This is the aspect of Mashiach, who is the totality of the holiness of Yisrael — who is beyond time — the aspect of: "I have this day begotten you" [Psalms 2:7], as explained well in the Torah teaching above. And this is the aspect of: "a convert who converts is like a newborn infant" [Yevamos 62a]. For all his holiness comes from the aspect of the holiness of Mashiach — which is beyond time — of whom it is said: "I have this day begotten you", as above. And now the verse that follows is connected with a wondrous connection — that is: the verse "ask of Me and I will give nations as your inheritance" [Psalms 2:8], which is said after "I have this day begotten you" — that is, through the aspect of "I have this day begotten you" — which is the aspect of being beyond time — through this: "ask of Me and I will give nations as your inheritance" — that all the nations will return to you as an inheritance — the aspect of gairim who will convert and return under the hand of Mashiach and Yisrael. For the primary holiness of the gairim is through the aspect of being beyond time — which is the aspect of: "I have this day begotten you," as above. And this is the aspect of teshuvah [repentance]. For even the ba'al teshuvah is in the aspect of a ger — who must leave his impurity and return to the root of his holiness, which is the holiness of Yisrael. ((Only the ba'al teshuvah's level is certainly far higher than the ger's — since he is at any rate of the seed of Yisrael.)) And how is it possible to reverse and repair all those days and times in which he sinned so greatly — each one according to his transgressions? And how much more so the ger — who until now was a complete non-Jew — how is it possible to transform him to the holiness of Yisrael? But in truth, all ba'alei teshuvah — and certainly gairim — cannot return to enter the holiness of Yisrael except through the aspect above — through the aspect of Mashiach, who is the aspect of being beyond time — where all past time is completely nullified and it is as if today he was truly born — the aspect of: "I have this day begotten you," which is said regarding Mashiach. And similarly this verse is applied to all who come to be sanctified in the holiness of Yisrael — as is brought in the sefarim that on the day a person becomes bar mitzvah, it is said of him: "I have this day begotten you." And similarly every person who comes to purify and sanctify himself — for this is the primary holiness. And this is the primary power and strengthening and hope — to return from all the impurities and defilements and blemishes in which every person has fallen according to his fall — and to return to Hashem blessed be He. For the primary hope is through the aspect of being beyond time — which the tzaddikim attain — who are in the aspect of Mashiach. As I understood from his holy mouth — close to his passing — that he was then sustaining himself only with this passage he revealed regarding the verse: "I have this day begotten you" — which is the aspect of being beyond time etc. And it is impossible to explain this matter in writing at all — only what I myself understood from his words is that he said this regarding the matter of his engaging in great exertions to bring many souls close to Hashem blessed be He — yet it had not succeeded according to his will. And the controversies and impediments — in physical and spiritual matters — were strengthening and spreading greatly, universally and individually, against each and every one — until the strength of bearing failed, and many stumbled and fell because of this etc. And regarding this he said that he sustains himself with this matter of: "I have this day begotten you" — that is, that Hashem blessed be He will help him to leap over everything. And in the end truth will be revealed and all of us will return to Hashem blessed be He in truth — and all the first days will fall away. For all time will be nullified and all will be included in the aspect of being beyond time — and there all will be repaired. And this is the aspect of "You return man to dust and say: return, O children of men — for a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday when it passes" etc. [Psalms 90:3–4]. For the primary teshuvah is in the aspect of being beyond time — the aspect of: "for a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday when it passes." And as Rabbaynoo z"l wrote in Sefer HaAleph-Beis: on the day a person does teshuvah it is beyond time etc. — see there. And this is: "You return man to dust" — to the dust of the soul — which is the strengthening with which Moshe Rabbaynoo strengthens us in his prayer — that a person should return always, no matter how he is, even to the dust of the soul. And all through the power of the intellect of being beyond time — the aspect of: "for a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday when it passes," as above. And this is: "and a night-watch" [Psalms 90:4] — for this entire psalm speaks of the vanity of time — which is like a passing shadow — because in truth there is no time at all. For time exists only through the deficiency of da'as — as we see through sleep: the more the intellect is diminished the greater time appears to him — as is explained at length above. And this is what Moshe Rabbaynoo conveys: "for a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday when it passes" — which is the aspect of being beyond time — where a thousand years are not considered except as a single day. And this is: "and a night-watch" — that he explains to us that time is vanity and has no existence at all. For this we see through an "ashmuroh" [night-watch] — that is, the sleep of the night — the aspect of "He has seized the watches of my eyes" [Psalms 77:5] — for then in the sleep of the night it seems that a quarter-hour is seventy years. And afterward when one wakes from sleep and his intellect returns to him, he sees that all the time of the sleep and dream was vanity. Likewise all our thousand years are truly only like yesterday when it passes — and a night-watch in the night. That is: just as a night-watch — the time of sleep — during which a short time seems like a long time — so in truth all our time, which seems to us a long time as if it were a thousand years, is truly nothing. For it is a passing shadow. And through this aspect precisely — when one looks at this in truth and believes in it in truth — through this precisely one merits to complete teshuvah always, no matter how one is, even from all the falls in the world, God save us — as above. The aspect of: "You return man to dust — and say: return, O children of men — for a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday when it passes" etc., as above. And this is: "they are swept away like sleep" [Psalms 90:5] etc. — for all time is only in the aspect of sleep, as above. But "in the morning, like grass it sprouts" — for afterward in the morning when waking from sleep one sees that all the time of the sleep was vanity — like grass that sprouts. And similarly: "in the morning it blossoms and sprouts, toward evening it is cut down and withers" [Psalms 90:6] — for even the time that seems to us in the morning — while awake — as if time blossoms and grows, but in truth: "toward evening it is cut down" — immediately — "at evening they are mown" etc. For it is a passing shadow — and even the time of the morning — meaning the time in a state of wakefulness — even that is nothing in the higher intellect above it, as above. And this is where he laments: "for we are consumed in Your anger" etc. [Psalms 90:7] — "You have set our iniquities before You" etc. — "for all our days have passed in Your wrath" etc. [Psalms 90:9]. For all the sins and transgressions of human beings that arouse, God forbid, His burning wrath — God save us — all derive only from the error of time — that it appears to them as if they have some time in the world. But in truth all is vanity — as it concludes: "the days of our years — among them are seventy years... and their strength is toil and vanity, for it passes swiftly and we fly away" [Psalms 90:10] etc. And this is: "who knows the power of Your anger?" etc. [Psalms 90:11] — as Rashi explains: "who knows in these few days" etc. — that is, in this passing shadow there is no vitality at all — except for one who merits to improve his deeds and to be saved from His burning wrath etc. And this is: "teach us to number our days, so that we may bring a heart of wisdom" [Psalms 90:12] — that we merit to draw da'as and wisdom into our days — so that we may merit to know the truth that there is no time at all — and to sanctify all our days, to bind them and elevate them to their root — to the aspect of being beyond time — which is the primary tachlis, as above. For this entire psalm speaks of the vanity of time, as above. And this is what begins there: "before the mountains were born and You fashioned the earth and the world — from everlasting to everlasting You are God" [Psalms 90:2] — this is the aspect of being beyond time. And immediately adjacent to this he wrote: "You return man to dust" etc., "for a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday when it passes" etc. — for the primary teshuvah is in the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And although these matters are lofty and exalted far beyond human intellect — for surely it is impossible to comprehend the aspect of being beyond time with the intellect — and what has been received in my heart of this, according to what I merited to hear from his holy mouth itself — it is impossible to explain by mouth or in writing. For of this one cannot speak except to each person according to what he perceives in his heart. Nonetheless we are obligated to expand upon this in every possible way — for it is our life and the length of our days. For one who contemplates the nullification of time and how time passes and flies and has no resting point even for a moment — for in truth there is no time at all, as above — he will surely direct his entire heart to nullify the vanities of time and to place all his hope in the aspect of being beyond time. And also through this — that he believes in the aspect of being beyond time — he will never fall from any fall in the world, whatever it may be. For he will remember that there exists the aspect of: "I have this day begotten you," which is said regarding Mashiach — which is the aspect of being beyond time, where everything is repaired. And every person who still has one point of emunah — who believes in Hashem blessed be He and in Olam Habá and the coming of Mashiach, which is the aspect of being beyond time — through this he always has hope — however he is — since he strengthens himself with what he has, there is hope for his latter end — through the aspect of: "I have this day begotten you," which is the holiness of Mashiach — from which holiness is drawn upon all gairim and ba'alei teshuvah. The aspect of: "a convert who converts is like a newborn infant" — and certainly the ba'al teshuvah. For through this is the primary entry into teshuvah and the holiness of Yisrael — that one must think at every time and every hour as if one was born this very moment — and even if something passes over him — he strengthens himself each time and thinks in his heart that now he was born — then surely in the end he will merit to draw close to Hashem blessed be He. And then the first days will fall away and everything will be reversed for the good — and all will be included in the aspect of being beyond time — in the aspect of Mashiach — in the aspect of: "I have this day begotten you." Understand the words well for practical application and for strengthening — for there is no greater strengthening than this. And this is the aspect of: "You return man to dust and say: return, O children of men — for a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday when it passes, and a night-watch" [Psalms 90:3–4] — for the primary teshuvah is in the aspect of being beyond time — the aspect of: "for a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday when it passes." And as Rabbaynoo z"l wrote in Sefer HaAleph-Beis: on the day a person does teshuvah it is beyond time etc. — see there. And this is: "You return man to dust" — to the dust of the soul — which is the strengthening Moshe Rabbaynoo gives us through his prayer — that a person should return always, however he is, even to the dust of the soul. And all through the power of the intellect of being beyond time — the aspect of: "for a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday when it passes," as above. And this is: "and a night-watch in the night" — for this entire psalm speaks of the vanity of time — how it is like a passing shadow — because in truth there is no time at all. For time exists only through the deficiency of da'as — as we see through sleep — as the more the intellect diminishes the more time appears great in his eyes — as is explained at length above. And so Moshe Rabbaynoo conveys: "for a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday when it passes" — the aspect of being beyond time — where a thousand years are not considered except as a single day. And this is: "and a night-watch in the night" — he explains to us that time is vanity with no existence — as we see through an ashmuroh — that is, the sleep of the night — as then in the sleep of the night a quarter-hour seems like seventy years. Afterward when one wakes and the intellect returns — one sees that the time of the sleep and dream was vanity. Likewise all our thousand years in truth are only like yesterday when it passes — and a night-watch in the night. And through this aspect precisely — when one looks at this in truth and believes in it in truth — through this precisely one merits to complete teshuvah always, however one is, even from all the falls of the world, God save us, as above. The aspect of: "You return man to dust — and say: return, O children of men — for a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday when it passes" etc., as above. [Note: The above constitutes a second rendering of section 19, which in the manuscript contains this teaching at greater length; both pass-throughs are provided to preserve the full substance of the text.] And this is the aspect of the sod ha'ibbur [secret of the calendar intercalation] that was transmitted only to the greatest of tzaddikim — as it is written: "observe and perform them, for this is your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the nations" [Deuteronomy 4:6]. And our Sages of blessed memory said: this is the secret of intercalation [Shabbas 75a]. For the secret of intercalation involves calculating the times — in order to know when Rosh Chodesh falls and when all the sacred festivals and appointed seasons fall. And the primary holiness of all the times is in order to elevate time — to bind and nullify it in the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And as is explained in the rashay perakim [outline] (in siman 79 in Likutay Tinyaná [Likutay Moharan II §79]) — see there. And therefore surely it is a great and awesome secret that only the greatest chosen tzaddikim — the truly wise — know this secret. For they know the secret of the time that passes in this world — that in truth it does not even amount to the blink of an eye — and all is included in the aspect of being beyond time. And through this secret they know how to intercalate years and establish months — to harmonize the solar years with the lunar years — so that the festivals will fall in their proper season — so that all of us may merit through the holiness of the times to emerge from beneath time and to merit complete da'as — to connect and be included in the aspect of being beyond time, as above. For the sun and moon represent day and night — the great luminary and the small luminary — the aspaklarya hameiereh [illuminating mirror] and the aspaklarya she'ayno meiereh [non-illuminating mirror]. And all of this is time and beyond time. For the primary power of the error of the lengthening of time is in the darkness of night — the aspect of sleep — which is the withdrawal of da'as, as above. But in the aspect of the daylight — which is the aspect of da'as — the aspect of the illuminating mirror — there lies the aspect of the nullification of time, as above. But in this world — because of the physicality of the world of Asiyah that conceals and darkens the true light of the intellect — not everyone merits the completeness of da'as such that he would attain being beyond time. For with our da'as it is impossible to attain this, as above. And therefore even by day — which is the aspect of the nullification of time as against the night and sleep, as above — we see that even by day the sleep-time of seventy years seems like a quarter-hour — even so, not everyone merits the nullification of time in its fullness by day either. For it seems to us that our waking time counts as time, as above. And all because of the deficiency of da'as — since truly even by day our da'as is not complete in its fullness. And therefore Yisrael count by the moon — while the nations of the world count by the sun — which at first glance it would seem should be the reverse. But in truth this is the primary completeness of the true intellect that the true tzaddikim illuminate in us. For we know the truth that we have no complete da'as — which is the aspect of the light of the sun at its root. And therefore we do not attain the aspect of being beyond time. Therefore we count by the moon — which is the aspect of the non-illuminating mirror — the aspect of the deficiency of da'as. That is: we acknowledge the truth that our da'as is not complete — and all the times of this world governed by sun and moon and stars are all in the aspect of the moon — the non-illuminating mirror — the aspect of the deficiency of da'as — compared to the higher supernal world above this world. For this continues from world to world up to the beginning of creation — the beginning of the formation of time — where all is in the aspect of deficiency — the aspect of the moon — the aspect of the deficiency of da'as — compared to the root of the luminaries where the light of all lights resides in completeness — and there is the aspect of being beyond time. Only we cannot attain all this with our da'as — and therefore we count by the moon. For we acknowledge the truth that our da'as is not complete — and all the times of the luminaries are all in the aspect of the moon — the non-illuminating mirror. For the primary time derives from the deficiency of da'as. But in truth there is no time at all. And since we believe and acknowledge this — we thereby know of the aspect of being beyond time — through emunah. And through this itself we are included in the aspect of being beyond time — which is the aspect of meoros maleh [luminaries — spelled full] — and the deficiency of the moon is repaired — and the light of the moon becomes like the light of the sun etc. — as is known. That is: we merit to attain this da'as completely — to know how time, which derives from the deficiency of da'as — the aspect of the moon — is included in the aspect of being beyond time. For even though in this world it is impossible for us to attain this da'as completely — nonetheless through this very thing — that we know the truth that we have no da'as and believe in the words of the tzaddikim who explain the truth to us — that there is no time at all, as above — and that there is no vitality or tachlis in this passing time except to occupy oneself in Torah and mitzvos through which one is included in the aspect of being beyond time, as above — through this very thing we repair the deficiency of the moon, where the grip of time lies. And we merit to be included in the aspect of being beyond time. For through emunah itself — that we believe in the truth that the tzaddikim illuminate in us — what we cannot attain with our intellect — through this very thing we are included in the aspect of this intellect as if we had attained it. And also through emunah one afterwards comes to attain the intellect — as is explained regarding the verse: "and his hands were emunah until the sun set" [Exodus 17:12; Likutay Moharan I §91] — see there. And therefore through our counting by the moon — which indicates the deficiency of da'as — through this we repair the deficiency of the moon. For through our counting by the moon we acknowledge the truth that our da'as is not complete. And all the times of the luminaries are all in the aspect of the moon — the non-illuminating mirror. For the primary time derives from the deficiency of da'as. But in truth there is no time at all. And since we acknowledge this — we thus know of the aspect of being beyond time through emunah. And through this itself we are included in the aspect of being beyond time — and the deficiency of the moon is repaired — and the light of the moon becomes like the light of the sun — meaning time is included in the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And all through emunah — through our counting by the moon — through which we acknowledge the deficiency of our da'as — that only because of this does time appear to exist — but in truth there is no time at all. And we must spend all our days in Torah and avodah in order to be included in the aspect of being beyond time — and through this we are indeed included in the aspect of being beyond time, as above. But the nations are the opposite — for they are beneath time. And therefore they count by the sun — which is the daylight — the aspect of da'as — the aspect of the illuminating mirror. That is: they are unwilling to cast aside their materialistic intellect and it seems to them that their intellect is complete — and as if this time that appears to be time is truly time. And therefore they count by the sun — as if the luminaries of this world, through which time exists, were complete luminaries — as if, God forbid, there is no higher light above them — as if there is no da'as higher than theirs, God forbid. And therefore in truth they are subjugated beneath time and spend their days on the vanities of time. For they are in the aspect of: "a whisperer who separates a chieftain" [Proverbs 16:28] — who separates the chief of the world — who dispute and separate between time and the aspect of being beyond time. This is the aspect of: "which He has distributed [chalak] to them" — "chalak" precisely, as above. But in truth it is not so — for in truth all the luminaries of this world are only in the aspect of the moon — the non-illuminating mirror — compared to the light of the higher world above this world. And so from world to world up to the beginning of creation — the beginning of the formation of time — where all is in the aspect of deficiency — the aspect of the moon — the aspect of the deficiency of da'as — compared to the root of the luminaries where the root of all light lies in completeness, and there is the aspect of being beyond time. Only we cannot attain all this with our da'as — and therefore we count by the moon — for we acknowledge the truth that our da'as is not complete — which is the primary true da'as — in the aspect of: "I said I would be wise, but it is far from me" — that the primary wisdom is to perceive that wisdom is far from him ((as is explained in Likutay Tinyaná siman 83 [Likutay Moharan II §83])). And through this we repair the deficiency of the moon etc., as above. Understand well. And therefore one intercalates only Adar — in which Purim falls — and in a leap year there are Purim Katan and Purim Gadol. For there are twelve months of the year corresponding to the twelve constellations — and they correspond to the twelve tribes of God. And this is the aspect of the twelve hours of the day and twelve hours of the night — for all of time operates through these twelve months and these twenty-four hours. And all of them must be included in their root — which is the aspect of being beyond time — which is the aspect of the totality of the twelve permutations of the Divine Name — corresponding to the twelve months and the twenty-four hours of day and night, as is known. And from there derives the secret of intercalation — through which one intercalates the year and makes the year thirteen months. Through this the months — which are time — are included in the aspect of the thirteen tikkunay diknah [rectifications of the beard] — the aspect of the supernal mazal — which is the totality of the twelve constellations — the totality of the twelve permutations of the Divine Name — where the root of holy ziknahd lies — which is the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And therefore one intercalates only Adar — which is the end of the twelve months of the year — in order to include the twelve months in the aspect of the thirteenth tikkun, which is the totality of all twelve tikkunay diknah — which is the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And therefore Haman Amalek — who sought to overpower Yisrael — his entire empowerment was through seeking to strengthen the vanities of time — where the power of judgment that grips time resides. Therefore he sought to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate etc. For Haman is the aspect of the sitrá d'mosá [side of death], God forbid. And therefore he cast lots from day to day and from month to month [Esther 3:7] — for he made everything dependent on time — and with the full strength of his evil wisdom he assessed the day and time when he could overpower Yisrael, God forbid. And the lot fell for him in Adar — and he rejoiced. For he thought that then was the aspect of the lengthening of time — since it is the end of the twelve months of the year — the aspect of the latter part of the year — where the grip of time is greatest. For the further time stretches from its beginning, the more the error of the lengthening of time intensifies. And therefore he thought he would then overpower Yisrael — God forbid — who are unwilling to follow the vanities of time and whose laws are different from all peoples. For they believe in the aspect of being beyond time and occupy all their days in binding time to the aspect of being beyond time — which is the aspect of the secret of intercalation — intercalating Adar precisely, as above. And he sought to overpower this — for he denied it — and said that in Adar he would overpower them through his wisdom of sorcery — for he saw that according to the constellations he had the power then to overpower them, God forbid. And in truth Yisrael were then in tremendous danger — as is brought in all the sefarim. For surely according to the constellations — the aspect of being beneath time — he had power, God forbid, to overpower them. But in truth Hashem blessed be He took compassion on them and shone upon them a wondrous illumination from the aspect of being beyond time — which is the aspect of Mordechai. Who is the aspect of the primordial years [shanims kadmoniyas] — ((as brought in siman 60 — see there)) — which are the aspect of being beyond time. And through this the lot was reversed upon his head — for he and his seed were cut off on that day. For they are beneath time. But Yisrael rose to wondrous greatness then — for they merited from that time onward that the wondrous illumination from the aspect of Mordechai — who is the aspect of being beyond time — would shine upon them, as above. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: that Haman rejoiced when the lot fell in Adar — because Moshe died then etc. [Megillah 13b]. For Moshe is the aspect of being beyond time — the aspect of: "what was, it is what will be" [Ecclesiastes 1:9] — the initials spell Moshe [מה שהיה = מ.ש.ה] — as is explained in the rashay perakim above. For Moshe gave us the entire Torah — which is our life and the length of our days — and its entire primary purpose is to bind and include [oneself] in the aspect of being beyond time — which is Olam Habá — the aspect of: "today to perform them and tomorrow to receive their reward," as above. And therefore in truth it was because of this that Moshe died in Adar — in which lies the secret of intercalation — which is the including of time in the aspect of being beyond time — which is the aspect of Moshe, as above. And the wicked Haman — may his name be erased — erred and thought that because Moshe died then, there is no longer anyone who can include time in the aspect of being beyond time. And therefore he thought he would then overpower Yisrael through the empowerment of time, as above. But in truth the ignorant man does not know — that then was Mordechai — who is the aspect of Moshe — who is beyond time — who knows how to draw the holiness of Moshe Rabbaynoo in every generation — to bind and elevate time to the aspect of being beyond time — and precisely because of this Moshe died in Adar, as above. Through which Yisrael rose to wondrous greatness then — precisely then, as above. And this is the aspect of: "to establish these days of Purim in their times — [the word] zman, zmanim" [Esther 9:31] [multiple forms of "time"] — for this is the aspect of Purim — to bind all times to their root — to the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And therefore the miracle came about through the driving away of sleep — as it is written: "on that night the king's sleep was driven away" [Esther 6:1] — the aspect of the nullification of time. For the essence of time is in the aspect of sleep, as above. And let us return to our subject. And this is the aspect of the milah and tevilah [immersion] of the ger — who cannot be brought into the holiness of Yisrael except through milah and tevilah and precisely through a beis din of three. For milah is to remove the arlah — which is the foolishness etc. — in order to complete the da'as — so that the holiness can be drawn upon him from the aspect of being beyond time, where the primary holiness of Yisrael lies, as above. And this is the aspect of tevilah in a mikveh of water — for water preceded the world. For the beginning of creation was from water — as Rashi explains in Parshas Bereishis: "for the water preceded" etc. [Genesis 1:2, Rashi]. And therefore water is closest to before creation — which is beyond time. And therefore truly: the completeness of da'as — which is the aspect of being beyond time, as above — is compared to water. As it is written: "the earth shall be filled with knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea" [Isaiah 11:9]. And therefore water came into being before light — as it is written: "and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters" [Genesis 1:2] — and afterward: "and God said: let there be light" etc. [Genesis 1:3]. For the order of time is through light — as it is written there: "and God called the light 'day'" etc., "and there was evening and there was morning" etc. And water preceded this — for water came into being before the order of times came into being in the world. For water is the beginning of creation — the aspect of the completeness of da'as — through which one is included in before creation — which is the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And therefore there, in the waters, the spirit of Mashiach hovers — as it is written: "and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters" — and our Sages of blessed memory expounded (in the Zohar Hakadosh, Vayechi, page 240): "this is the spirit of Mashiach." For Mashiach is the aspect of the completeness of da'as — the aspect of being beyond time, as above. Therefore his spirit hovers over the face of the waters — which are the aspect of the completeness of da'as — the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And therefore it is impossible for a ger to enter the holiness of Yisrael — which is the aspect of being beyond time — except through tevilah in a mikveh of water. For through immersion in water one is included in the aspect of before creation — in the aspect of being beyond time, as above. For there in the water one draws upon himself the holiness and purity from the aspect of the spirit of Mashiach that hovers there, as above — from which all the holinesses in the world derive. For the primary completeness of tikkun — the completeness of holiness — is through the spirit of Mashiach — who will come speedily in our days — who will repair everything. And this is the aspect of the purification through immersion for all those who are impure in the world. And it is impossible to enter any holiness except through immersion. And Yisrael — before they drew close to Hashem blessed be He through the acceptance of the Torah — were required to immerse. For the primary holiness derives from the aspect of being beyond time — from the aspect of the spirit of Mashiach — as above — which one merits through immersion in a mikveh of water, as above. For all the impurities of the world derive from beneath time — from the evil deeds done beneath the sun — "beneath the sun" precisely, as above. And the primary tikkun is through drawing the holiness from the aspect of the completeness of da'as that will be revealed through Mashiach — who is the aspect of being beyond time — which is the aspect of immersion in a mikveh of water, as above. And this is what is brought in the writings: the mikveh is the aspect of binah — alma d'asai [the world to come] — above the seven days of building [cf. Peri Etz Chaim; Sha'ar HaMikveh] — that is, as above. For the mikveh is beyond time — which derives from the seven days of building. For the mikveh is the aspect of Olam Habá which is beyond time, as above. And this is the aspect of the purification of the woman for her husband through immersion in the mikveh. For the primary order of time resides in the aspect of the woman, as above. But all her tikkun is through her husband — who elevates and binds her to the aspect of being beyond time, as above. The aspect of: "see life with the woman you love all the days of your vanity... for this is your portion in life" etc. [Ecclesiastes 9:9] — "all the days of your vanity" precisely. That is: the days of vanity — which are the aspect of time that grips the woman — the sitrá d'nukbá — the deficiency of da'as — the aspect of: "the da'as of women is light" — must be elevated and bound to the source of life — which is beyond time — where the essence of life and the lengthening of days resides, as above. And because all impurities grip beneath time — the aspect of the sitrá d'mosá — in the aspect of: "her feet descend to death" [Proverbs 5:5] — and her husband must elevate her from there — from the aspect of: "her feet descend to death," which is the aspect of being beneath time — and bind her to the aspect of being beyond time — where life resides. Therefore she cannot unite with her husband except through immersion in the mikveh — through which she emerges from the impurity that grips beneath time — and holiness is drawn upon her from the aspect of the spirit of Mashiach — the aspect of being beyond time. And then precisely she is fit to unite with her husband and to bind and be included in the source of life — in the aspect of being beyond time — and to draw from there the holy souls of birth — in order to reveal the Godliness of Hashem blessed be He in the world. For the primary revelation of Godliness is through the binding and joining of time with the aspect of being beyond time in holiness and purity — which is the aspect of the uniting of the woman with her husband. But this is only possible through immersion in water — which is the aspect of the completeness of da'as of Mashiach — who will fully attain this da'as — and we draw from him the holiness throughout all time — to emerge from all impurities and be included in all holinesses. Through this — that there in the mikveh of water the holiness is drawn upon us from the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And this is the aspect of the great power of the wondrous and awesome miracle of Purim — which came about through the taking of Esther to the house of Achashveros. For the wicked kingdom that overpowers Yisrael during the exile is only through the aspect of being beneath time — through our many sins having concealed the intellect of the aspect of being beyond time. And this is the aspect of: "in your distress all these things will find you at the end of days" [Deuteronomy 4:30] — "at the end of days" precisely — the aspect of being beneath time — as explained there in the rashay perakim above in siman 79 [Likutay Moharan II §79]. And therefore the primary tikkun and the primary redemption from exile is through Mashiach — who is the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And therefore the sitrá achará thought to overpower Yisrael then — through the taking of Esther to the house of Achashveros. For Esther is the woman who fears God — who comprises all women of the world — and all the order of times depends upon her. And whoever merits to take her in holiness and purity — the primary tikkun comes through her — through elevating and binding time through her to the aspect of being beyond time, as above. But to do the opposite — whoever damages this, God forbid, he falls more deeply beneath time, God save us. This is the aspect of the sin of Adam HaRishon — about whom it was decreed: "for on the day you eat of it you shall surely die" [Genesis 2:17] — "on the day you eat" precisely — the aspect of being beneath time, as above. And therefore the sitrá achará thought that through the taking of Esther to Achashveros — through this they would draw everything through her to the aspect of being beneath time — since all the order of times depends upon her, as above. And then they would be able to overpower Yisrael — God forbid — whose entire holiness and strength derives from the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And this is the aspect of: "and when it was each girl's turn... at the end of twelve months under the regimen for the women" [Esther 2:12] etc. For all the intensification of this desire operates through the aspect of time that depends upon her — which is comprised of twelve months, as above. But Esther was a tremendously great and awesome tzadakkes — and she merited then to such bitul that Achashveros did not touch her at all — as our Sages of blessed memory said. And this is the aspect of: "and when it was the turn of Esther daughter of Avichayil" etc. — "she did not request a thing" — the opposite of all the other maidens — of whom it is said: "whatever she requested was given to her to bring with her" [Esther 2:13] — who then fulfilled all the desires of their hearts in the delights of time. But Esther the tzadakkes requested nothing — for she nullified herself then with the utmost bitul — to the point that he did not touch her at all. Rather on the contrary — it was reversed from opposite to opposite — in the aspect of: "at a time when a person rules over another to his detriment" [Ecclesiastes 8:9] — for she reversed him to her will. And all this through the power of the holiness of Mordechai her husband — who was watching over her at every moment — and she would immerse from the bosom of Achashveros and sit in the bosom of Mordechai — as our Sages of blessed memory said [Megillah 13b]. And then not only did the wicked kingdom — the aspect of being beneath time — not overpower Yisrael through the taking of Esther to the house of Achashveros — but on the contrary it was completely reversed. For Esther the tzadakkes elevated all the sparks from the wicked kingdom — from the aspect of being beneath time — and returned them all to Mordechai. Until he elevated and bound all to the aspect of being beyond time — until the whole fate [pur] of the ordering of the constellations — which is the order of time — that had decreed to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, God forbid, on the thirteenth of Adar — was reversed from opposite to opposite — in that the Jews had dominion over their enemies on that very day — the thirteenth of Adar precisely. For they merited the aspect of the nullification of time — and merited to elevate and bind time to the aspect of being beyond time — where all is reversed for the good. And this is the aspect of: "and it was in the days of Achashveros" [Esther 1:1]. Wherever it says "and it was in the days [vayehi bimay]" it is nothing but trouble [Megillah 10b]. For the essence of all troubles and disasters is beneath time — this is the aspect of vayehi bimay — meaning what was brought into being and happened in the days and time. And therefore the primary miracle came about through their meriting to rise to the aspect of being beyond time — through which everything was reversed for the good, as above. And this is the aspect of why the ger requires a beis din of precisely three — from whom all the judgments derive. As our Sages of blessed memory derived this matter from the verse: "one law shall be for you and for the ger" [Numbers 15:16] — just as mishpat [judgment] requires three, so too a ger who comes to convert requires three [Yevamos 46b]. For all judgments serve to clarify the truth from the falsehood — for the two litigants each contradict the other — and it is necessary to clarify the truth and bring forth the judgment in its truth. And therefore they require a beis din of precisely three. For it is impossible to clarify the truth except through binding oneself to the aspect of being beyond time — where the primary truth resides. For all who are caught in the aspect of being beneath time — falsehood grips them more greatly. For beneath time is where all falsehoods and deceptions and contradictions lie. And as can be seen tangibly — the primary denial and falsehood derives from the multiplication of time. For surely at the very moment when one person takes money from his fellow — at that moment it is impossible for him to deny it. And even shortly thereafter the audacity to deny it is not in him. Only as the days and time multiply — then he finds fabrications to deny it. As our Sages of blessed memory said regarding denials: "perhaps it is a case of an old loan he may have against him" [Sanhedrin 31a] — for all denials derive from the aspect of an old loan — which derives from the multiplication of time — from which all falsehoods and denials come. For beyond time all is truth. And this is: "a truthful utterance is established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment" [Proverbs 12:19]. This is the aspect of being beyond time — which is the aspect of "forever" and "eternally." And "a lying tongue is but for a moment" — for falsehood is in the aspect of being beneath time — which passes like a fleeting moment — like a passing shadow. For as one who has a heart to understand can see — all of time is a fleeting moment. As is perceived tangibly and as is brought in the sefarim. Thus found: the primary grip of falsehood is in the aspect of being beneath time. And therefore it is impossible to clarify the true judgment except through a beis din of three — who are the aspect of the completeness of da'as. For a beis din of three is the aspect of the three mochin [brains] — Chochmah, Binah, Da'as — which are the aspect of the three patriarchs — the aspect of the three pilgrimage festivals — through which the three mochin are drawn in order to bind and elevate time to the aspect of being beyond time. And therefore the beis din of three can clarify the truth from the falsehood — through their power to ascend to the aspect of being beyond time — where the primary truth resides, as above. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: "whoever judges a case truly becomes a partner of the Holy One blessed be He in creation" [Shabbas 10a]. The verse here says: "and the people stood over you from morning to evening" [Exodus 18:13]. And the verse there says: "and there was evening and there was morning" [Genesis 1:5] — that is, as above. For one who judges a true judgment ascends and binds time to the aspect of being beyond time — where the primary truth resides, as above. This is the aspect of the creation of the world — of which it says: "and there was evening and there was morning — one day" [Genesis 1:5]. And our Sages of blessed memory expounded: it does not say "the first day" — to tell you that the Holy One blessed be He was alone in His world [Bereishis Rabbah 3:8]. That is: at the beginning of the formation of time — which is the first evening and morning — Hashem blessed be He created it in this way — that tzaddikim would have the power to attain the completeness of da'as to include and elevate time to its root — to the aspect of being beyond time. This is the aspect of: "and there was evening and there was morning — one day" — that the evening and the morning — the totality of time — are all included in the One — the blessed singular and unique — who is beyond time. And therefore this one who judges a truly true judgment is certainly a partner of the Holy One blessed be He in creation — for it is impossible to merit the full truth except through the aspect of: "and there was evening and there was morning — one day" — that is, through elevating the evening and the morning — the totality of time — to the One who is blessed — who is beyond time, as above. And therefore the ger who comes to convert cannot enter the holiness of Yisrael — which is the aspect of being beyond time, as above — except through a beis din of three. For "mishpat is written in it" [Yevamos 46b] — for precisely the beis din of three — the possessors of true judgment — can convert the ger — to elevate him to the aspect of being beyond time — through which he enters the holiness of Yisrael. This is the aspect of the true judgment — which is drawn from the aspect of being beyond time through a beis din of three precisely, as above. And this is the aspect of: "and the king said to the wise men who know the times" [Esther 1:13] etc. For the true judgment is through chachamim yoday ha'itim [wise men who know the times] precisely, as above. The aspect of: "and of the children of Yissachar — those with understanding of the times [binah la'itim] — to know what Yisrael should do" [I Chronicles 12:33]. For it is impossible to clarify the truth — to rule the true judgment — whether between one person and his fellow or in the overall conduct of the service of Hashem — to know what Yisrael should do — except for those with binah la'itim [understanding of the times] — that is: those true great tzaddikim — truly wise in knowledge — who have binah la'itim — who know and understand the secret of the times and seasons — to bind and elevate all to the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And this is the aspect of: "and many of the peoples of the land became Jews" [Esther 8:17] — for gairim come through the miracle of Purim, as above. And therefore Mashiach will merit the truly perfect judgment — as is written in numerous verses — as it is written: "he shall judge the poor with righteousness" [Isaiah 11:4] — and it is written: "he shall judge the needy among the people" etc., "in truth he brings forth justice" [Isaiah 42:3]. For Mashiach will merit the intellect that is the aspect of being beyond time — through which one merits the true judgment, as above. [This connects to what was said above.] And therefore zivug [marital union] is called onah [a time / obligation] — as it is written: "and her onah he shall not diminish" [Exodus 21:10]. For the primary zivug in holiness is to unify and join the time that grips the woman, as above, with the aspect of being beyond time, as above. For from there derives the root of birth — as is understood from the Story of the First Beggar above — who was in the aspect of being beyond time, as above. And similarly all the elders possessing zikaron [memory] — all of them were in the aspect of being beyond time. And each one gloried in his zikaron regarding the matter of birth. One gloried that he remembered the cutting of his umbilical cord — and this one gloried more — and this one still more — until they gloried in the root of the nefesh, ruach, neshamah before they were clothed in the body. And the blind man above them all — and said that he remembers all that they remembered — and remembers nothing at all etc. For from him derives the tachlis root of birth. For he is the tachlis supernal root of all souls — as is understood by the discerning. Thus found: the root of birth is from the aspect of being beyond time, as above. Likutay Halachos — Yoreh Day'ah II, Hilchos Milah 4. Translation completed — all 27 sections (א–כז; section ז absent from manuscript).