צדקה ג

360 COMPLETE_Birchas_HaRaiach and hodaah _5 1-11.html And this is the aspect of gairim [converts], for it is impossible for a convert to enter into the holiness of Israel except through milah and tevilah [immersion], and through a bais din [court] of three, specifically. For the convert who was previously from among the seventy nations, which are the precise opposite of the bitul described above — since the primary bitul toward the light of Ein Sof, which is the tachlis [ultimate purpose], is through the holiness of the eyes, through sealing one's eyes from cheyzu d'hai alma [the sight of this world], as above — and after one returns from the bitul, the Torah is drawn from there, as above, for it comprises seventy facets, since all seventy facets of the Torah flow from the bitul described above, whose essence is through the holiness of the eyes, as above. And therefore all the Torah is comprised within the eyes, as above.

And the gentiles are the precise opposite of this, for they are in the aspect of the seventy nations, which are the opposite of the seventy facets of the Torah, as is explained elsewhere. And therefore when a gentile comes to convert, it is impossible for him to enter the holiness of Israel except through milah, in which he must remove the orlah [foreskin], which is the zuhamas ha-nachash [filth of the serpent] that grips hold within cheyzu d'hai alma. He must remove it from himself through great pain and suffering, whereby through this he seals his eyes forcefully from cheyzu d'hai alma and is included within the One, which is the tachlis, and from there the holiness of the Torah and the mitzvos — which is the holiness of Israel, drawn from there from the aspect of bitul as above — flows upon him. And through this he enters into the holiness of Israel, for he exits from the filth of the seventy nations, which is the blemish of the eyes gripping cheyzu d'hai alma, and enters into the holiness of Israel, which is the holiness of the Torah encompassing seventy facets, flowing from the bitul described above, which he merited through the mitzvah of milah as above.

And this is the aspect of the tevilas ha-ger [the convert's immersion] after the milah. For water purifies from all impurities, since the waters of mikveh Yisrael [Israel's ritual pool] flow from the aspect of the waters discussed in the Torah above, which are the waters of the Torah drawn from the radiance [zricha] of the reshimu of the bitul described above, which extinguish the tzimyon ha-nefesh [thirst of the soul] — which is the yisoorim [sufferings] seeking to intensify further, heaven forbid, when one returns from the bitul, as is well explained there, see there.

This is the aspect of “Ho, every one who thirsts, go to the waters” [Isaiah 55:1], see there. And this is the aspect of “And you shall draw water with joy from the wellsprings of salvation” [Isaiah 12:3]. For from there, from the aspect of the bitul described above which is the tachlis, which is entirely One, entirely good — from there flow all the wellsprings of salvation, for there all is good, and therefore from there flow all the wellsprings of salvation from all the troubles in the world. And from those wellsprings of salvation one receives the water with joy — with joy specifically. For the vessel to receive the water from there, which is the aspect of the Torah, is joy, which is the vessel for drawing the water through it, as is explained in the Torah above. And this is: u'sh'avtem mayim b'sason — meaning, with the joy you shall draw the water, for joy and gladness is the vessel for drawing the water through it from the wellsprings of salvation that flow from the radiance of the bitul described above. And this is what the Targum renders on this verse: “u's'kabalun ulfan chadat mi'b'chiray tzadikayya” [you shall receive new Torah-teaching from the choicest of the righteous]. For all genuine Torah innovations, which are ulfan chadat [new teaching], are drawn from there as above. And this is: mi'b'chiray tzadikayya [from the choicest of the righteous] — for it is impossible to reach the tachlis described above and to draw from there genuine Torah innovations except through the great true tzadikim, those who are b'chiray tzadikayya, the most select among the righteous, who are in the aspect of ba'alay ha-sadeh [masters of the field] as above, who specifically are able to bring each person to the tachlis, as above. And these waters are the aspect of the holy waters of the mikveh of Israel, concerning which it is said: “Mikveh Yisrael Hashem moshiya b'eis tzarah” [Jeremiah 17:13] — moshiya [He who saves] certainly, for the Source of the mikveh is in His hand, as it states in the Tikunim. For they flow from the wellsprings of salvation above, which certainly save from all troubles, for they flow from the Source of the holy mikveh, which is the source of living waters drawn from the aspect of the bitul above, where is the source of life, as it says: “For with You is the source of life” [Psalms 36:10]. And this is: Mikveh Yisrael Hashem — for in the mikveh one is included within His Divinity, may He be blessed, within the One, where all is entirely good, from which all salvations come, as above. And from there come all purifications for all impurities that flow from cheyzu d'hai alma, all of which are nullified when one is included and hidden within the entirety of one's body from head to heel inside the waters of the mikveh, which flow from the wellsprings of salvation above, which spring from the radiance of the bitul above. And there the convert is purified from the filth of the seventy nations and is included within the holiness of Israel, which is the holiness of Torah and mitzvos encompassing seventy facets, as above. And therefore the required measure of a mikveh is forty se'ah, corresponding to the forty days during which the Torah was given, since it flows from the radiance of the bitul above, which must travel and pass through forty days until it takes form in letters and speech, which are the vessels through which we can receive it in this world. And this is the aspect of the forty se'ah of the mikveh, for the mikveh flows from there as above. And therefore it is impossible for a convert to convert except through a bais din [court] of three judges, for it is impossible to exit from the filth of this world and to enter into the holiness of Israel except through the righteous of the generation described above, who are the aspect of b'chiray tzadikayya [the choicest of the righteous], who are in the aspect of ba'alay ha-sadeh as above, for only through them do people come to the tachlis as above. And therefore the convert who comes to convert and to exit from the impurity of the seventy nations and to enter into the holiness of Israel — into the holiness of the seventy facets of the Torah drawn from the bitul above — it is impossible for him except through a bais din of three judges, for wherever there are three judges they receive and draw the knowledge of Torah from Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, who is the totality of the Torah, and who is the primary aspect of the ba'al ha-sadeh above who brings all of Israel to the tachlis through the Torah he gave us, through the tremendous wonders of his bitul [self-nullification] when he ascended to the heights and remained there three times forty days without eating bread, and so on, until he merited to draw from there all the Torah in its entirety to sustain us until this very day. And all judges in the world must receive from him, for the primary judges are semuchim [ordained], who must have been ordained by their teacher who was ordained by his teacher, going back to Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him. And therefore a judge is called Elokim [a title of divine authority], for he receives from Moshe Rabbeinu who brings all of Israel to the tachlis, and especially the true righteous ones who are the true judges and arbiters of each generation, upon whom he pours his holy wisdom to include them within His Divinity, may He be blessed, through the bitul described above in ratzo va-shov [drawing near and returning], from which they receive the knowledge of Torah to judge righteously. And therefore they are called Elokim, for they are included within His Divinity through the bitul described above. And therefore it is impossible for a convert to convert and to enter into the holiness of the Torah, which is through the aspect of bitul described above, except through the three judges who draw their power from the true righteous ones above, who are the aspect of Moses, through whom they merit to reach the tachlis, whereby converts are converted and enter into the holiness of Israel, as above. And the reason they are three judges is that when they draw the Torah from the reshimu above — which is through the vessels that are made to receive the light of the radiance described above — those vessels are in the aspect of the ten tikunim [rectifications], which are the aspect of the ten sefiros, which are the totality of all holy vessels, all of which are comprised within three lines: chessed [lovingkindness], din [judgment], and rachamim [mercy], which are the aspect of the three Avos [Patriarchs], within whom are comprised all ten tikunim, which are atika s'tima'ah [the concealed Ancient One], as is known. And this is the aspect of the Maamar Eliyahu [the prayer-poem Eliahu Began], where there is explained and made intelligible to the perceptive mind the entire matter of the bitul above and the aspect of the vessels for receiving the light made through the aspect of ratzo va-shov as above, as it states there: “Ant Hu chad v'lo b'chushban, ant Hu ila'ah al kol ila'in, s'tima d'chol s'timin, leis machshavah t'fisa bach k'lal” [You are One and not in number, You are the Highest above all heights, the Concealed of all that is concealed, no thought can grasp You at all]. This is the aspect of the bitul above, where all is One and all is sealed and hidden, and no thought can grasp it there at all. And this is the aspect of ratzo [drawing near], which is the aspect of bitul described above. And afterwards it begins to speak about the aspect of shov [returning], which is what it states: “Ant Hu d'afikt asar tikunin v'kareinan l'hon atika s'tima'ah” [You are the One who drew out ten rectifications and we call them the concealed Ancient One], and it goes on to explain that all the atika s'tima'ah are comprised in three: “chad arich v'chad katzar v'chad baynoni” [one long, one short, and one intermediate], which are the aspect of the three lines — chessed, din, rachamim — as is known. And this is the aspect of the three judges above. And therefore the Torah is threefold in all its aspects, as it states: “B'rich rachmana d'yahiv lan orayta t'li'ta'ah al y'day t'li'ta'ah l'am t'li'ta'ah” [Blessed is the Merciful One who gave us the threefold Torah through the threefold one [Moses, who was born third] to the threefold nation [Israel, the third of the sons of the Matriarchs]], [Shabbos 88a], for all the Torah flows from the reshimu above, and one must draw those waters from there through the vessels that are comprised in three, as above. And this is the aspect of Bein Ha-Metzarim [the Three Weeks of mourning], when we mourn the destruction of the Bais Ha-Mikdash [Temple], and afterwards are comforted with the seven Haftaros of Comfort read from Shabbos Nachamu until Rosh Ha-Shanah. For the essence of the mourning and weeping over the destruction of the Bais Ha-Mikdash is over the fact that we have been distanced so greatly from our Father in Heaven, and we cannot nullify ourselves and gaze upon the tachlis because of the enormity of the destruction. For the primary bitul described above as it should be — one merits this in the Bais Ha-Mikdash, which is “the pride of our strength, the delight of our eyes” [Ezekiel 24:21]. As it is written: “And My eyes and My heart will be there forever” [I Kings 9:3]. For regarding the matter of the bitul described above there are many levels in the person, in time, and in place. For the more holy and pure a person's body is, so much more can he nullify himself and draw the waters of Torah from there, for he then has worthy vessels to receive. And similarly there are times especially suited for the bitul above, which are the sacred times — all the festivals, at their head the Shabbos, which is a foretaste of the World to Come, where the primary bitul resides, as is explained at the end of the Torah there. The bitul described above, which is the aspect of the World to Come, is the aspect of what our Sages said: the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to make a machol [circle-dance] for the righteous in the Time to Come, and each will point with his finger and so on, see there and understand well. For the hitnoztzus [sparkling] of the bitul above cannot be explained in writing nor verbally, but only to each one according to what he conceives in his heart. And similarly there are differences of place. And this is the aspect of the great sanctity of Eretz Yisrael [the Land of Israel], for there is the holy place where one can nullify oneself in the Or Ein Sof [Infinite Light] and draw His Divinity, may He be blessed, upon oneself through the Torah drawn from there each time. And therefore there is no Torah like the Torah of the Land of Israel, and one who dwells in the Land of Israel is likened to one who has a G-d, and so on [Kesuvos 110b]. For there specifically one merits to draw His Divinity upon oneself through the bitul described above. And the essential holiness of the Land of Israel is the Bais Ha-Mikdash, where there is the Holy of Holies, where is the point of the even sh'tisyah [foundation stone], through which one nullifies oneself before the Primordial One Who created the world yesh mei'ayin ha-muchlat [something from absolute nothingness], Whose creation began from the point of the even sh'tisyah, as it is written: “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shined forth” [Psalms 50:2], as our Sages have said. And because of our many sins our Temple, the delight of our eyes, was destroyed, and we were exiled from our land, and we cannot ascend and appear and prostrate ourselves in the house of our choosing to nullify and be included there in His Oneness, may He be blessed — for that is the primary mitzvah of the pilgrimage to the Temple, to see and be seen before the face of Hashem, and so on. And over this we must weep and mourn greatly, for “the joy of our heart has ceased, our machol has turned to mourning” [Lamentations 5:15] — macholainu [our circle-dance] specifically, in the aspect of the machol above that the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to make for the righteous in the Time to Come, which is the aspect of bitul above, from which we had merited in the Bais Ha-Mikdash to draw upon ourselves the aspect of bitul even in this world, and from there the primary joy and gladness. And because of our many sins, through the destruction, the joy of our heart has ceased and turned to mourning, for all joy has become bitter, for now it is very, very difficult to nullify ourselves because of the great power of the sitra achra [other side] that has spread greatly through the world, greatly confusing the sight of the eye through cheyzu d'hai alma and not allowing one to gaze upon the tachlis which is entirely good — and this is the primary yisoorim and bitterness and sorrow of the exile ((as is explained elsewhere in Siman 250)). And therefore we must weep greatly, and the primary weeping is over the burning of the Torah, whose secrets were handed over to those outside, and we cannot draw Torah from the bitul above because the world is exceedingly, exceedingly confused with the desires and vanities of this world. And this is: “For these things I weep, my eye, my eye runs down with water, for a comforter is far from me” [Lamentations 1:16] — “far” specifically, for the tachlis from which all comfort comes is very far from us because of the enormity of the destruction, and therefore we must weep greatly. And through the weeping we push the tears outward, which are portions of the sight ((as is mentioned in his writings, may his memory be for a blessing, many times)). And through this we push away and banish the sight of cheyzu d'hai alma that caused the destruction — over which we weep and confess that we caused all this through our sins, for we went after our eyes. And since we weep over this, we thereby banish through the tears the portions of sight that were drawn after cheyzu d'hai alma. And we must weep so much that from the midst of the great pain and bitterness of the anguish one feels from the enormity of the destruction that he caused through his sins — which obstruct the building and are reckoned as if he had destroyed it himself, as our Sages said — that through this he comes to the bitul above in the aspect of “My eye flows and does not cease without respite, until Hashem looks down and sees from Heaven” [Lamentations 3:49–50]. For when he seals his eyes as above and gazes only upon the tachlis as above, so too the Holy One, blessed be He, looks down and watches over him from above, in the aspect of what our Sages said regarding those who ascend for the pilgrimage: in the way that he comes to see, so he comes to be seen. And therefore through the mourning and sorrow through which he comes to the bitul above, he thereby comes to joy, in the aspect of “Rejoice with her greatly, all who mourn over her” [Isaiah 66:10], as our Sages said. And joy is the vessel for receiving the Torah from there, which is the primary comfort, in the aspect of “This is my comfort in my affliction” [Psalms 119:50]. And the primary means is through the true righteous of the generation who draw from the ba'al ha-sadeh above, who can bring everything to the tachlis — and they are the primary comfort of Israel, in the aspect of “This one will comfort us from our work and the toil of our hands” [Genesis 5:29]. For there is in this matter a great and powerful battle, which is the aspect of the general battle the person has in this world, for a person was created only for this — to be included in His Oneness, may He be blessed, in ratzo va-shov, through which he will merit to know and recognize Him, may He be blessed, for the entire creation was for this: b'gin d'yishtamod'in laih [in order to know Him], as it states in the holy Zohar. But cheyzu d'hai alma spreads out before the eyes of a person and does not allow him to nullify himself, and therefore all the yisoorim come upon the person in this world, which is full of yisoorim — and all of it in order that through the yisoorim he should flee toward the tachlis as above. But even one who merits some aspect of bitul — afterwards the obstacles and yisoorim intensify against him all the more, as above, in the manner of two people battling one another, as is explained there in the Torah above. And the primary comfort is through the Torah drawn from there as above, but not every person merits this, as is understood there, where it brings the verse “Fortunate is the man” and so on — fortunate indeed, for not every person merits this. And therefore the primary rectification is through the tzadik, who is able to bring everyone to the tachlis as above, for he draws at every time wondrous Torah — the aspect of ulfan chadat [new teaching] above — through the tremendous force of the yisoorim he accepts upon himself each time for the sake of Israel, until he draws each time such wondrous Torah innovations that he illuminates in the heart of each and every person, even the lowest of the low, some hitnoztzus [sparkling] and radiance from the reshimu of the bitul, until even the most humble person can nullify himself in ratzo va-shov until there sparkles and shines in his mind too some sparkling of His Divinity, may He be blessed, and of the greatness of the Torah and the righteous. And this is the primary comfort from all troubles. And through this he can also strengthen himself against all the cheyzu d'hai alma that spreads before him at all times more and more, as our Sages said: whoever is greater than his fellow — his evil inclination is greater than him; and every day a person's evil inclination grows stronger against him, and if not for the Holy One, blessed be He, helping him, and so on [Kiddushin 30b]. And the primary help and salvation is through the true righteous ones above, who are the aspect of mayanay ha-yeshuah [wellsprings of salvation], in the aspect of a spring that strengthens and grows and a river that never ceases, who help at all times through the wonders of their Torah innovations against all who rise up and spread against them from every side, in the physical and the spiritual. And this is: “Anochi anochi hu m'nachamchem, mi at vatirei me'enosh yamus” [I, I am He who comforts you; who are you that you fear a man who shall die?] [Isaiah 51:12]. For the primary comfort is Anochi anochi — which is Hashem Himself, may He be blessed, in Whose presence one is included at the time of bitul. And the tzadik, in the greatness of his power, draws the sparkling of His Divinity even upon us in the bitter darkness of this exile, until we hear and feel in our hearts the sweetness of His truth, each one according to what he conceives in his heart. And this is the aspect of anochi anochi, which is Hashem Himself, may He be blessed — which is the primary comfort, for there all is entirely good, entirely One, and everything is turned to good there. And this is: “Who are you that you fear a man who shall die?” For the primary comfort from the yisoorim and troubles is the Torah drawn from the radiance above, but one needs great fortitude for this, for not every person merits it as above, since in most people the yisoorim and obstacles intensify afterwards so greatly that they confuse him more and more, until some are driven further away through the yisoorim, as it is written: “Why will you be stricken further, that you continue to rebel?” [Isaiah 1:5]. But the primary confusion comes only from people who obstruct, who lead one astray with their evil words from the truth, and through this even the yisoorim do not help to return through them to Hashem, may He be blessed, as it is written that human beings are greater obstacles than the evil inclination itself, see there. And this is what is stated in all the holy books, that yisoorim from one with free will — a human being — are harder than all others. For from all other yisoorim one can comfort oneself by gazing upon the tachlis in ratzo va-shov until one merits to draw Torah from there, which is the primary comfort, and even one who cannot do this himself can be comforted through the Torah innovations he received from his teacher, which become freshly felt to him as new, with their sweetness renewed — for this too is in the category of Torah innovations as above. But when human enemies stand against a person, heaven forbid, and do him harm and wish to turn him from the path of truth — then it is very difficult to be saved. For there the battle is much fiercer, because while other yisoorim and obstacles, even though they are a great battle, one can still strengthen one's mind and gaze upon the tachlis again and again until one merits to draw Torah innovations each time to comfort oneself, through which the yisoorim are nullified, since through the very act of comforting oneself from the yisoorim one merits to push them away and dismiss them entirely — for one who follows after the sorrow, the sorrow follows after him, heaven forbid, and the reverse, the reverse. And even one who cannot draw Torah innovations himself can comfort himself through the Torah innovations he already received from his master, which feel renewed, and he senses their pleasantness and sweetness afresh. But when human enemies stand against a person, heaven forbid, and do him harm and wish to deflect him from the path of truth — then it is very difficult to save oneself, for then it is very difficult to remain strong in one's mind to hold firm to the truth, since they can divert his mind and deflect him from the truth, heaven forbid, and through this he falls into their hands, heaven forbid, as above. And this is: “Hear O Israel, you are approaching today to do battle against your enemies — let your heart not be faint, do not fear and do not tremble before them” [Deuteronomy 20:3]. And our Sages expounded: even if there is nothing among you but the merit of Shema Yisrael, and so on [Sotah 42a] — meaning as above, for the primary fear of the enemy who is a human being with free will is only because he has the power to divert, heaven forbid, the person's mind from the truth, and through this he falls into his hands, heaven forbid. But one who is strong in the truth and always gazes at all times upon the eternal tachlis, so that no one can ever deflect him from the absolute truth, he does not fear any person in the world, as it is written: “Hashem is with me, I shall not fear — what can a man do to me?” [Psalms 118:6]. For it is truly difficult to understand this matter at its plain level — what our Sages said, that from one with free will it is harder to be saved than from wild beasts. As is explained at length in the holy Zohar, Parashas Va-yeishev ((folio 185)), and it brings there: “from here they said, let a person throw himself into fire or into a pit of snakes and scorpions rather than hand himself over to his enemies; and once he is handed over to the hands of his enemies, few are those who can escape”. And at first glance this is entirely incomprehensible — is it not that lions and serpents are more dangerous to harm than human beings, and if a person trusts in Hashem, may He be blessed, that He will perform a miracle and save him from a lions' den, all the more so should he trust in Hashem, may He be blessed, to save him from human beings who do not harm as much as lions and leopards? But the primary fear of human beings is because of the matter above — for to flee from yisoorim one can only do so by gazing at the tachlis as above, but afterwards the yisoorim intensify further, and one is comforted through the Torah one draws from there as above. But when enemies of free will stand against the person and wish to deflect him from the truth, then it is hardest of all to remain saved. For wild beasts and the like, when they rise against a person, they do only what is theirs — they wish to harm, heaven forbid — but they do not speak words of mockery and smooth speech to push him away from Hashem. But human enemies stand against a person to afflict him, heaven forbid, and speak words of mockery and heresy, as it is written: “In the breaking of my bones my adversaries taunt me, saying to me all day: Where is your God?” [Psalms 42:11]. And similarly in many verses. And then it is very difficult to strengthen oneself to remain standing in one's faith and truth. And therefore it is very difficult to be saved from them, for they can divert his mind and deflect him until he cannot truly gaze upon the tachlis as it should be, and through this he falls into their hands, heaven forbid, for one cannot be saved from any yisoorim except by gazing at the tachlis, and when there are yisoorim from enemies it is more difficult to gaze upon the tachlis, since their words of deceit obstruct more than anything — and because of this they can cause more harm than wild beasts, heaven forbid, as above. And this is what is written in Daniel 6: “And a stone was brought and placed upon the mouth of the den” etc., “that the matter concerning Daniel should not be changed”. And Rashi explains there: if it was decreed concerning the sea that it should split for the children of Israel, and concerning the fire and so on, and concerning the lions not to harm Daniel — He did not stipulate concerning the throwing of a stone or a weapon not to harm a person, for from a human being it is much harder to be saved because of the above — for Daniel's enemies, the essence of their hatred was that they sought to deflect him from Hashem, may He be blessed, to prevent him from prayer, as is written there. And all the more so, had the enemies themselves inflicted yisoorim upon him with stones and arrows, it would have been much harder to be saved, as above. And according to this one may interpret: “that the matter concerning Daniel should not be changed” — meaning that the will should not be changed, heaven forbid, in Daniel himself, so that they should not be able to divert his mind and will, heaven forbid, from the truth, and rule over him through this, heaven forbid. As Rashi explains on the verse: “For the sake of my watchful enemies, make Your way straight before me” [Psalms 5:9]. And Rashi explains: l'ma'an shorerai — those who watch me, waiting for me to betray You so that You abandon me, and so on. See there — meaning as above. And even Iyov [Job], who did not stand up under the test of bodily yisoorim, was also primarily because of the human element — that is, his wife who incited him to this, as is written there. And at first he did not listen to her and replied to her: “You speak as one of the degenerate women speaks — shall we also accept the good from God and not accept the evil?” [Job 2:10] — meaning, since everything is from God, we are obligated to receive everything, good and evil, heaven forbid, for in truth there is no evil at all, for everything is for eternal good. But afterwards, because of the great force of the yisoorim, the evil words worked upon him until he was tempted by her words and spoke presumptuously, for human beings are the primary obstructors more than anything, as above. And because of this very reason it is harder to be saved from them if one is not very firm in one's mind so that they cannot deflect him in any way from the truth — then certainly he will overpower them as above. And this is: “Hear O Israel, you are approaching today to do battle against your enemies. Let your heart not be faint, do not fear, do not be alarmed” etc. Meaning: since you have the merit of Shema Yisrael — that is, the faith in the Oneness, which is the aspect of bitul described above — again: let your heart not be faint, do not fear, do not be alarmed before them, and so on. For certainly free will is free, and one who is firm in his mind to always gaze upon the true tachlis and to remember His Oneness, may He be blessed — which is the aspect of Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokainu Hashem Echad — certainly has no more cause to fear any enemy or foe, for all will kneel and fall before him, since he is firm in his mind to gaze upon the true tachlis, even though the enemy stands against him to deflect him from this, heaven forbid. As David said to Goliath: “You come to me with sword and spear” etc., “but I come to you in the name of Hashem, God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted” [I Samuel 17:45] — meaning as above. And as it states in the holy Zohar that the five smooth stones that David took were the five words of Shema Yisrael and so on, and he united them into one, see there. Meaning as above — he bound himself to the faith of the Oneness and was included in His Oneness, may He be blessed, in the aspect of bitul above, and through this he defeated Goliath, whose entire war against Israel was to push them, heaven forbid, away from the holy faith, as it is written: “And he stood for forty days” [I Samuel 17:16] — to nullify them from reciting Shema, as our Sages said [Sotah 42b]. And therefore it was truly very difficult to be saved from him, for from one with free will it is very difficult to be saved, so much so that even Shaul the King and all the mighty men of Israel feared him. But David the King was so great a warrior that he was firm in his mind that even if Goliath stood against him with the full force of his evil might and with all kinds of weapons, even so he would not fall in his mind and would remain strong in the matter of bitul above — and therefore he girded himself to do battle against him in the name of Hashem until he defeated him and brought him down, truly through this as above. And this is what the Zohar states above: once he is handed over to the hands of his enemies, few are those who can be saved. See there. It is thus explicit that there are found those with such power who can be saved even from human enemies — only that z'irin innun [they are few], for certainly a warrior like David the King can be saved even from an enemy with free will, as above. And similarly anyone who attaches himself and relies upon a tzadik with such power has no cause to fear any enemy in the world. For just as David then saved all of Israel through his power, so it is in every generation, that the true tzadik who has great power can save all who are truly attached to him from all their enemies and pursuers. For Hashem, may He be blessed, does not send upon any person obstacles that he cannot withstand, as is explained in our words many times. And as is explicitly stated in Jeremiah 20: “For I have heard the whispering of many, terror on every side — all the men of my peace, those who watch my stumbling, lest he be enticed and we prevail against him and take our revenge upon him” [Jeremiah 20:10]. Thus it is explicit that the primary cry of Jeremiah was that they were watching him, lest he be enticed and they prevail against him and so on — meaning as above. To further explain the matter: all the yisoorim that come upon a person, heaven forbid, are all due to lack of da'as [knowledge/awareness] — that is, because he does not know at every moment that everything is by individual Divine Providence, and he attributes things to nature, as Rabbeinu, may his memory be for a blessing, wrote in Siman 250. Our Sages' saying [Berachos 3a]: at the moment when the Holy One, blessed be He, remembers His children, and so on — for one who truly knows with complete knowledge that everything is from Him, may He be blessed, has no yisoorim at all, for he knows that certainly everything is for the good. And moreover, through this very knowing that everything is from Him, may He be blessed — by this very fact he can nullify the yisoorim at any time he wishes. And this is hinted in his words, may his memory be for a blessing, what he wrote in the Sefer Ha-Aleph-Bais ((in the letter Da'as, second passage)): “Know: according to the greatness of one's knowledge of the natures of the world, so the world is handed over and subjugated beneath him” and so on. See there well, and all that he wrote preceding this in the previous entry, see there well. For the two sayings in those two entries of the aleph-bais are intertwined and connected with each other, as is understandable to one who comprehends. For in truth there is no nature at all, for nature itself is Providence, as is explained at the end of Siman 17 in Likutay Tinyana [LM II], for Hashem, may He be blessed, sustains and maintains every thing through His wisdom, which is the vitality of every thing, as it is written: “The wisdom will give life” [Ecclesiastes 7:12]. And as it is written: “Hashem with wisdom founded the earth, with understanding He established the heavens; with His knowledge the depths were broken open” [Proverbs 3:19–20]. And this is what Rabbeinu, may his memory be for a blessing, wrote in the entry above: that nature is governed by knowledge, and it is under the hand of knowledge — meaning that the primary vitality and existence and governance of the nature of every thing is through the knowledge, which is the wisdom and da'as of the Creator, may He be blessed, Who governs every thing through His wisdom, as it is written: “You have made all of them with wisdom” [Psalms 104:24], as above. And the true tzadik, like Daniel, of whom “no mystery was hidden from him” [Daniel 4:6], is included with his da'as in the da'as of the Creator, may He be blessed. For this is the perfection of the great tzadikim, the ascended ones, who nullify themselves at all times until they are included within His da'as, may He be blessed, and through this they know the nature of every thing — that is, they know the essential vitality of the nature of that thing — and that da'as sustains and maintains and governs that thing. And then certainly according to the extent of this knowledge the world is handed over and subjugated beneath him. And this is what is written in Daniel: “Elahi sh'lach mal'achei us'gar pum aryavata” [My God sent His angel and closed the mouths of the lions] [Daniel 6:23]. For every thing has an angel appointed over it, as even our Sages said: there is no blade of grass below that does not have an angel above that strikes it and says to it: grow! [Bereishis Rabbah 10:6]. How much more so every species of living creature, which is higher than plants — certainly every creature and creature, especially every species of animal and beast and bird, has an angel and a minister appointed over it from which it receives its vitality according to its nature. It emerges thus that the nature of every thing is governed by the angel appointed over it. And this is what is stated in the books, that Elokim [the Divine name] has the same numerical value as ha-teva [nature] — for Elokim is the aspect of a mal'ach [angel] called Elokim in scripture, that nature is governed by the angel appointed over each thing to govern it in that nature particular to it, and the angels are rational beings, as is known. As is explained in the Torah Chadi Rabbi Shimon [beginning "Rabbi Shimon rejoiced"], Siman 61. And they receive their intellect from higher and yet higher above, until they receive from His Oneness, may He be blessed, where all is in unity without distinction, as is explained in the preceding entry there. And therefore the tzadik is higher than the angels, for even regarding the angels it is written: “and the chayyos [living creatures] ran and returned” [Ezekiel 1:14] — for they rise and ascend each time to draw their vitality, which is the da'as, from the Primordial One, may He be blessed, and they draw their da'as which is their vitality from there in ratzo va-shov, and through this they sustain and govern each thing appointed to them. But the angels have no free will and are compelled to receive and draw vitality each time according to their appointment, according to what needs to be drawn as vitality for the particular thing over which they were appointed, and they cannot change this at all of their own accord. But the human being who is a tzadik and has free will can nullify himself from cheyzu d'hai alma through his free choice. And then he ascends to wherever he ascends and is included within Him, may He be blessed, and can draw Torah from there each time, which is the wisdom and da'as that sustains and maintains and governs the entire world, for “b'orayta bara kudsha b'rich Hu alma” [through the Torah the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world] [Zohar I, 5a]. And then he can draw vitality to all the angels and to all things governed through them as he wills, according to the Torah and da'as he draws from the bitul. And therefore the human being is higher than the angels and rules over them and can govern the world as he wills. And this is the aspect of the miracle of Daniel that Rabbeinu, may his memory be for a blessing, wrote: that it came about through knowing the nature of the lion, as above — meaning as above, that he nullified himself in the Or Ein Sof each time and drew from there da'as of Torah, from which comes all the power and vitality and governance of the lion, which is its nature, for even the angel, which is the intellect governing the lion in its nature — it draws its da'as, which is its vitality, from the letters of Torah, which is the da'as, as is written in the preceding entry there: that all created beings are hinted in the letters of Torah and so on. And this very thing is the aspect of “Elahi sh'lach mal'achei us'gar pum aryavata” — meaning that this very angel who governs the lion in its nature — that very one was sent by the Holy One, blessed be He, to close their mouths. For this angel is the aspect of the particular intellect governing the lion in its nature, but Daniel, through the greatness of his righteousness, merited to draw da'as higher than it, from which all the da'as of that angel — the particular intellect appointed over the lion — draws and receives. Therefore certainly Daniel ruled over it, and therefore the lions were subdued before him. It emerges then that everything through which a person nullifies himself before Him, may He be blessed — through which he flees from the yisoorim and draws Torah from there, through which he is comforted from the yisoorim afterwards, as above — through this very thing he can nullify the yisoorim entirely, as above, for he rules over the nature of the yisoorim through his knowledge, which is the Torah he draws from the bitul, as above. But sometimes the yisoorim intensify so greatly that they confuse his mind, heaven forbid, and he cannot draw the Torah, which is the da'as, as it should be. And then the yisoorim can dominate him, heaven forbid. And therefore truly we find among the great tzadikim that they would call yisoorim upon themselves and afterwards dismiss them as they wished, as our Sages said regarding Rabbi Elazar the son of Rabbi Shimon in tractate Bava Metzia ((and so I heard from him, may his memory be for a blessing, etc., see Chayyay Moharan)). And therefore one who has yisoorim or a sick person within one's household must come to the sage, who is the true tzadik, as our Sages said [Bava Basra 116a], for not every person merits to rule over nature through his knowledge; only the wise tzadik who can truly nullify himself as above. And therefore all the deeds of the tzadik to nullify the yisoorim and illness are through prayer, for the primary bitul described above is at the time of prayer, as above. And similarly the miracle of Daniel who was saved from the lions' den — through the matter above, all was through the multitude of his prayers, for he prayed abundantly, to the point that even at the time they were handing him over for praying to Hashem, may He be blessed, he did not leave his place and prayed even then, as is explicit in scripture, for he knew that it was impossible to be saved from them except through prayer, which is the primary bitul, as above. And therefore Moshe Rabbeinu, whose power was greater than all, we therefore find that even weapons did not have dominion over him, as our Sages said and as is brought in Rashi's commentary on the verse: “And He saved me from the sword of Pharaoh” [Exodus 18:4] — that his neck became like a pillar of marble and the sword had no dominion over him. For although our Sages said that from a weapon in the hand of a human being it is harder to be saved, as above — that is with regard to other tzadikim — but Moshe, who was the greatest of all, was able even then to nullify himself as is proper, even when human beings stood against him to kill him with the sword. And through this he nullified even the power of the sword in a human's hand and was saved from it. For certainly since a human being has the power to obstruct because he is a free-will being, all the more so and certainly does a tzadik who is a free-will being have the power to be saved from him, for the attribute of good is greater. And is not the person being pursued also himself a free-will being? Only that the primary fear is that the obstructing enemy grows so powerful that he wishes to weaken the person's mind to distance him from the truth, and so on, as above. But when one is firm in one's mind and always gazes upon the tachlis — no enemy or foe can stand against him, as above. And there is much to say about this matter, for even if one is of very low standing and does not reach the heel of the former righteous and God-fearing men — nevertheless, against this he must know that certainly Hashem, may He be blessed, will not send upon him an enemy who is such an obstacle that he cannot stand against him, unless it is the will of Hashem, may He be blessed, that he die for the sanctification of the Divine Name — and every Jew is willing for that. But in most cases it is only a test whether he will strengthen himself to stand in the truth and faith and not fall in his mind because of the enemies, and when he is firm in his mind as above and always gazes upon the tachlis — certainly he can stand against them, as above. And the primary means is through the power of the true tzadik who is his master, from whom he received genuine Torah innovations drawn from the bitul above at a very high and wondrous level. And through this all of them will kneel and fall before him, for they shall be destroyed, they and a thousand like them, while not one word of his Torah shall be nullified, as above. And this is: “Anochi anochi Hu m'nachamchem” [I, I am He who comforts you]. Two times Anochi — this is the aspect of bitul in ratzo va-shov. For at the time of the bitul one is nullified within His Oneness, may He be blessed, where all is entirely good, and then certainly all judgments and yisoorim are nullified within His Oneness where all is entirely good, as above. And this is the aspect of the first Anochi, for then one is nullified and knows that there exists nothing at all except Anochi Hashem, Who is entirely One, entirely good, as above. But afterwards when one returns from the bitul the yisoorim return and intensify further. And then one is comforted through the Torah one draws from the reshimu, as above. And this is the aspect of the second Anochi — saying that Anochi anochi is entirely One, the aspect of ani ani Hu [I, I am He] — meaning: the Anochi Hashem you felt at the time of the bitul, Anochi — that same One Himself. And this is your comfort, in the aspect of Anochi anochi Hu m'nachamchem. For even though after the bitul it is impossible to know as during the bitul itself, nevertheless the reshimu illuminates the da'as and then Hashem, may He be blessed — as it were — comforts him through the Torah he draws from there, making known and illuminating in his mind that Anochi anochi Hu m'nachamchem: I Myself, the same One you felt at the time of the bitul, I am the very One sustaining and governing you even now, and He is your comforter — for the intention of the Blessed Name is certainly for the good, and certainly all judgments and yisoorim will be nullified, as above. And this is what it concludes there: “And I am Hashem your God, Who stills the sea” etc., “And I placed My words in your mouth and in the shadow of My hand I covered you, to plant heavens and to found an earth” [Isaiah 51:15–16] — meaning the aspect of Torah innovations drawn from the reshimu of the bitul. Concerning which it says: “to plant heavens and to found an earth” — for through them new heavens and earth are created, as it states in the holy Zohar in the introduction. And this is: “And to say to Zion: you are My people” — do not read ami [My people] but imi [with Me]: just as I created heavens and earth through speech, so too you, and so on, as our Sages expounded [Sanhedrin 99b] — meaning that the verse comforts them and strengthens them that they have no cause to fear at all any mortal man or son of man who is like grass, for are they not already dead in their lifetimes, for every day a person dies, as is explained elsewhere, and tomorrow he comes and is gone. But you merit to draw Torah innovations from the aspect of such bitul — concerning which it says “And I placed My words in your mouth” etc., “to plant heavens” etc. — meaning that through these Torah innovations they change nature, for they create new heavens and earth through their Torah and can govern nature as they will through their Torah ((as is explained about this elsewhere)). Therefore certainly you need not fear anything at all or any human being, who is like grass and hay, for through gazing upon the tachlis — which is the aspect of Anochi anochi and so on, as above — through this all your enemies will be destroyed and perish through the Torah you draw from there, for through this all nature is handed over to you, as above, and you can rule over them as you will, as above. And now from here you will understand by itself how to seal the mouths of those who dispute and burrow to find empty objections against the words of Admorei [our Master and Teacher], may the memory of the righteous be for a blessing. As has already been heard, that they gnashed their teeth over this very saying above that Rabbeinu, may his memory be for a blessing, wrote in the Sefer Ha-Aleph-Bais: “Know, that according to the greatness of one's knowledge of the natures of the world, so the world is subjugated beneath him”, for nature is governed by knowledge, and so on. For they wished to cast a blemish upon sacred things, as if Rabbeinu, may his memory be for a blessing, was strengthening the power of nature and weakening, heaven forbid, the miracle of Daniel. Far be it from thinking such a thing about so holy and wondrous a mind as this, who labored all his days to overturn and uproot the evil opinions of naturalist philosophers, and called out and cried like a crane to distance from it; and to strengthen with wondrous fortification the faith, as is evident in his holy books to one who truly studies them, and especially in his holy conversations. And how could such a thought enter one's mind to think of him in this way? But in truth those who dispute do not speak with knowledge, and vanity opens their mouths, as you will understand from our words above, spoken in truth and wholeness, for they are all right to one who understands and upright to those who find knowledge. For how could it possibly enter one's mind that Rabbeinu, may his memory be for a blessing, in what he wrote “according to the greatness of the knowledge of the natures of the world” etc., intended the confused knowledge of naturalist philosophers, all of whom are confused in their wisdom as most of them admit themselves? And how could one write such a thing? Has it ever been found anywhere — among them or among Israel — a sage who boasted that through his knowledge of the nature of wild beasts he could close their mouths without tricks or devices? And what simpleton would suspect a sage renowned as ancient in the depth of his lofty wisdom, like our holy Master, may the memory of the righteous be for a blessing? Even all the powerful disputants admit at least that he was a tremendously wondrous sage — how could it occur to anyone that he wrote something that, according to their bad understanding that wishes to expose the face of his holy Torah wrongly, has no basis whatsoever? But in truth all his intention in what he wrote “according to the greatness of the knowledge of the natures of the world, so nature is subjugated beneath him” — his intention was the true knowledge described above: that one should know the root of the vitality of the nature of every thing at its root, for this is the primary knowledge of nature — for without this one certainly does not know at all the nature of the thing, since certainly when one knows that it is the nature of a lion to be angry and to harm, and in what way it harms, and so on, as is known to those who investigate this — they still do not know the root of the nature of the lion from where this nature comes to it. And also all the details of that nature are not fully known. And therefore certainly through their knowledge it is impossible to be saved from the lion. Therefore, it is easily understood by the discerning that all of Rabbeinu's, may his memory be for a blessing, intention was according to the path described above. And as is understandable from his own holy words in what he wrote in the preceding entry: that all created beings are hinted in the letters of Torah, and so on — see there well and you will understand the truth in its fullness. And see in the words of our holy Master, may his memory be for a blessing, in countless places how he denounces the science of nature, and calls out and cries like a crane to distance from it. And how would he, heaven forbid, contradict his own words? But the discerning will understand its proper course, that his holy words are built upon the path that I have written. And the ways of Hashem are upright; the righteous walk in them, and so on. As our Sages said about all the words of Torah: one who merited — it becomes for him an elixir of life; one who did not merit, and so on [Yoma 72b]. And the word of our God shall endure forever [Isaiah 40:8]. This sub-section extends the framework of Milah 5 from slaves (avadim) to converts (gairim). The convert enters the holiness of Israel through three gates — milah, tevilah, and bais din — each of which is explained as a dimension of the same bitul/reshimu process. The seventy nations correspond to the seventy sefiros-shells that oppose the seventy facets of Torah. Conversion is thus a cosmic transit: from the side of opacity to the side of holy transparency. Sections 18–28 then pivot into an extended treatment of human opposition (yisoorim from b'nei adam), mourning the Temple, and the miraculous power of the tzadik — all drawn together by the motif of the story of Daniel in the lions’ den, which Rabbeinu used to teach that true knowledge of nature’s root gives mastery over it.