מילה ד

For Yisrael, the holy nation, need a true leader who has great rachmanus [compassion] upon them. And the essence of compassion is to illuminate within them the da'as [awareness/knowledge of G-d] and to extract them from sins that come through the ruach shtus [spirit of folly]. For this is the essence of compassion. And even when the neshamah ascends higher and higher, its ultimate perfection is that it should be below as well, etc. And therefore each person must endeavor to leave his da'as behind him in this world, etc. And therefore one must leave behind in this world a son and a student in whom he illuminates his da'as, etc. 1

According to the Torah-teaching that begins: “One who continually strives to draw human beings to the service of the Blessed One” ((Siman 59 in Likutay Moharan, Part One)), see there. And it is explained there that one who strives to draw people close to the Blessed One must guard himself so that the k’lipos [husks] and the evil of those people not take hold of him. For this person who strives to draw close and to “make souls,” etc. — he is building the aspect of the Haichal ha-Kodesh [the Holy Temple]. And the remedy against this — to be saved from the evil of those people he is bringing close, so that it not take hold of his heart — is that he summon the angels of his heart, which is the aspect of the hislahavus ha-lev [the blazing of the heart]. This is accomplished through the aspect of mishpat [judgment] — that a person judges himself — which is the aspect of fire, in the aspect of “by fire of God shall judgment be rendered” [Yeshayahu 66:16]. And this fire burns the evil and the k’lipos so that they not take hold of the heart of the worthy person who draws souls close to the Blessed One. And then the Haichal ha-Kodesh — namely, the souls he draws close — also receives the power of the fire, which burns the k’lipos from taking hold of them. And then the judgment goes out to light; that is, the heart blazes and sits upon the throne, in the aspect of “He has established a throne for judgment” [Tehillim 9:8]. And this is the aspect of “the faithful city, full of justice” [Yeshayahu 1:21] — “city” being the aspect of Yerushalayim, the Holy City, namely the aspect of the Haichal ha-Kodesh, which clothes the judgment — and this is the aspect of “at that time they shall call Yerushalayim the Throne of God, and all the nations shall gather to it in the name of God… and they shall no longer walk after the stubbornness of their evil heart” [Yirmiyahu 3:17] — meaning, even though many nations will draw close to the Blessed One, the evil will nonetheless not be able to sway their hearts, God forbid. And all this is accomplished through the fire of the angels of the heart, as above. And this is the aspect of “My Shabbosos shall you observe” — this is igulah v’ribua d’ligo [the inner circle and square], etc. And this is the aspect of mem and samech in the Tablets. And this is the aspect of “I will give them, in My house and within My walls, a hand and a name” [Yeshayahu 56:5]. And this is the aspect of “house and wealth are the inheritance of fathers” [Mishlai 19:14] — see there the full matter well.

And this is the aspect of gairim who require milah and afterwards immersion. And it is also impossible to convert gairim except through a bais din of three — as our Sages derived from the word mishpat [judgment] written in connection with the ger: “one law shall there be for you and for the ger” [Bamidbar 15:16]. For the ger, having been exceedingly far from holiness — utterly distant — and wishing to emerge from the impurity and filth of the gentile world to the holiness of Israel, it is therefore impossible to bring him close to holiness except through a bais din of three, where the primary mishpat resides. And therefore specifically the bais din has the power to bring him close and to take him under the wings of the Shechinah — for since they are a bais din of three who have the power to execute judgment, and all adjudication is done in a court of three, their power of judgment is such that the evil of the gairim cannot take hold of their hearts, for the fire of their judgment burns that evil, as above. And therefore the word mishpat is written in connection with the ger — to teach that the ger requires a bais din of three who are masters of judgment. For it is impossible for the ger to draw close to the Blessed One except through the aspect of mishpat, as explained in the teaching above — in order to arouse the fire of judgment to burn the evil that had taken hold of him, as above.

And through this one merits the illumination of the Makifin [Encompassing Lights], which are the essence of the delight of the World to Come, the aspect of the shefa of the Keser [abundance of the Crown] — the aspect of "how great is Your goodness" (Psalms 31:20) — "mah" [how/what], specifically — the aspect of "mah chamis, mah pishpashta" [what did you see, what did you search?] etc. And he must have the aspect of Kol [totality], that he should be able to illuminate among the daray ma'alah [dwellers on high] and the daray matah [dwellers below]. For he must show the great ones — the aspect of daray ma'alah — that they still do not know at all of His knowledge, blessed be He — the aspect of "mah chamis" etc., the aspect of "Where is the place of His glory?" etc. And conversely, to the daray matah — who are the aspect of people who dwell on the very lowest level, G-d forbid — one must arouse and awaken them so that they do not despair, G-d forbid, and reveal to them that Hashem is with them and near them, etc., for "the whole earth is full of His glory" (Isaiah 6:3) etc. 2

And therefore the ger first requires milah. For the orlah is the evil, the zuhamas ha-nachash, that had taken hold of him — and it is impossible to bring him close unless he is first circumcised, removing the orlah from him, which is the evil that had gripped him. Only afterwards can he be brought close to the service of the Blessed One. For the primary work is to first strive to subdue and nullify the evil gripping him — and therefore if the immersion preceded the milah, it is of no account, for first the evil must be removed, which is the orlah. And afterwards he may be purified through immersion and brought close to the Blessed One. For the primary task is to remove and burn the evil that had taken hold of those souls who wish to draw close — for originally he was among the nations and the k’lipos, as it is written: “this is Yerushalayim; I have set her in the midst of the nations” [Yechezkel 5:5]. Therefore the evil must first be removed from the gairim through milah, and afterwards he is purified through immersion and brought close to the Blessed One.

And one must include the upper in the lower and the lower in the upper, etc. — that the student should be included in the son and the son in the student, etc. And through the inclusivity of son and student, through this one merits to receive at the time of eating the illumination of the Ratzon [Divine Will], etc. For the essence of parnasah [livelihood] is drawn through Malchus [Kingship], which is the aspect of yirah that receives the parnasah from the hands that are in the Sea of Wisdom, which is formed from the illumination of son and student. And there the aspect of the Ratzon shines, which is the aspect of the aforementioned Makifin, etc. Therefore one can receive at the time of eating the illumination of the Ratzon — the aspect of "the eyes of all look to You with hope, and You give them their food in its time" (Psalms 145:15) etc. See all this there very well in Likutay Moharan II, 7. 3

For milah and immersion are in the aspect of mem and samech, the aspect of igulah v’ribua [circle and square] explained in the teaching above, which are the aspects of mishpat and kisai [throne] explained there. For the mitzvah of milah, which is the nullification of the evil that is the orlah, this is in the aspect of nullification of the forbidden within sixty, which is through the aspect of the samech — which is the aspect of Malchus [kingship], the aspect of “sixty are the queens” [Shir ha-Shirim 6:8]. And Malchus is in the aspect of the cherev pifiyos [double-edged sword], as is cited elsewhere — the aspect of the cherev nokemes nikam bris [the sword that avenges the vengeance of the covenant], which is the aspect of the sword and knife of the milah that cuts the orlah and nullifies the evil. The power of this sword is drawn from the aspect of the fire of judgment above, in the aspect of “for by fire shall God render judgment, and by His sword against all flesh” [Yeshayahu 66:16]. And this is the aspect of the verses customarily recited on a day when there is a milah: “exaltations of God in their throat and a double-edged sword in their hand” [Tehillim 149:6] — namely the aspect of Malchus above, which is the aspect of “exaltations of God in their throat,” the aspect of Malchus peh [the kingship of the mouth], which is the aspect of the double-edged sword that subdues, cuts, and nullifies the orlah — the blemishing of the bris — in the aspect of the cherev nokemes nikam bris. And the verse concludes: “to execute vengeance among the nations… to execute upon them the judgment written” — mishpat specifically, for the sword above executes upon the nations the mishpat kasuv [the written judgment], for the sword is the aspect of the power of fire drawn from the aspect of judgment, which cuts and burns the evil that is the orlah. It is thus found that the milah is the aspect of nullifying the evil through the fire of judgment, which is the sword and knife of the milah — which is the aspect of Malchus, the aspect of the kisai ha-mishpat [throne of judgment]. And then the judgment goes out to light, and sits upon the throne. And then one merits the holiness of Shabbos, which is the aspect of igulah v’ribua d’ligo, the aspect of mem and samech, as explained in the teaching above. And this is the aspect of the immersion after the milah — this being the aspect of the mem, the aspect of the ribua above — for the immersion is in a mikveh of forty s’ah, that is, the aspect of mem above. And then the one who comes to be purified is hidden within the forty s’ah of the mikveh and becomes a throne and chariot for the mem above, which is the aspect of the kisai ha-mishpat above. And this is the aspect of “at that time they shall call Yerushalayim the Throne of God, and all the nations shall gather to it” — “gather” (v’nikvu) precisely, in the aspect of the mikveh of forty s’ah above, which is mem, the aspect of mishpat above — through which all the nations draw close and convert, as above.

And this is the aspect of Shabbos Kodesh. For Shabbos is a semblance of the World to Come. And then the aspect of the aforementioned Makifin shine — which are the aspect of the shefa of the Keser, which are the essence of the delight of the World to Come, etc., as mentioned above. For on Shabbos one ascends to the Keser, the aspect of "Where is the place of His glory?" etc., as is known. 4

It is thus found that it is impossible to draw close baalai teshuvah [penitents] and gairim to the Blessed One except through the aspect of mishpat, as above. For this reason people travel to tzaddikim on Rosh Hashanah — Rosh Hashanah specifically. For anyone who truly wishes to draw close to the Blessed One in earnest cannot do so except through the true tzaddik of the generation. And the tzaddik can only bring him close through the aspect of mishpat, as above. And therefore they travel specifically on Rosh Hashanah, for Rosh Hashanah is the day of judgment. And therefore it is the first day of the Ten Days of Repentance, and on it people travel to tzaddikim to draw close to the Blessed One, for then the judgment goes out to light and burns the evil of those who wish to draw close, as above. And then the judgment sits upon its throne, in the aspect of “He has established a throne for judgment”, as above. For all of this is accomplished specifically on Rosh Hashanah, which is the day of judgment. And therefore then is the primary time for drawing close to the Blessed One through the true tzaddikim of the generation. For all of our service on Rosh Hashanah is to reveal His blessed Divinity to all who come into the world, until the distant ones hear and come, and all of them convert and draw close to the Blessed One — as we say in all the prayers of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur: “Place now Your fear, O God our Lord, upon all Your works, and Your dread upon all that You have created… and they shall all form a single union to do Your will… and You, God, shall reign alone over all Your works,” etc.

For the essence of the illumination of da'as — which is the aspect of the illumination of son and student — is on Shabbos. For Shabbos is the aspect of da'as, as is known — the aspect of "to know that I am Hashem Who sanctifies you" (Exodus 31:13). For the six days of the week are the aspect of "the people went about and gathered" (Numbers 11:8) — b'shtusah [in folly], as stated in the Holy Zohar. But on Shabbos the da'as shines — the aspect of "You have been shown to know that Hashem, He is G-d" (Deuteronomy 4:35) — for the essence of the revelation and cleaving to the Divine is on Shabbos, for "on this day, Yisrael unite with the King" etc. 5

And this is the aspect of the shofar. For the voice of the shofar, which goes and grows exceedingly strong, is the aspect of awe (yirah), in the aspect of “if a shofar is sounded in a city, will the people not tremble?” [Amos 3:6]. And yirah is in the aspect of fire, the aspect of mishpat above, in the aspect of “for God your Lord is a consuming fire, a great and awesome God” [Devarim 4:24]. And therefore the voice of the shofar, which is the aspect of g’vuros [divine powers] and yirah and mishpat, arouses thereby the fire of judgment above, in the aspect of “the voice of God hews flames of fire” [Tehillim 29:7].

And therefore the essence of the teaching — where the master illuminates his da'as in his sons and students — is on Shabbos. For then is the primary revelation of chiddushay Torah [Torah innovations] that the sage and master of the generation reveals, through which he illuminates his da'as in them and reveals to them that Hashem is G-d — for the essence of the illumination of da'as is on Shabbos. Shabbos is the aspect of Moshe — the aspect of "Moshe rejoiced in the gift of his portion" etc., which we recite on Shabbos. And Moshe is the aspect of the master of the generation who illuminates the da'as in son and student, as explained in the aforementioned discourse. It emerges that on Shabbos one merits the aspect of the aforementioned Makifin — which are the shefa of the Keser, the aspect of the World to Come, the aspect of Ayeh, the aspect of Mah, etc. — for then is the aspect of the illumination of son and student, as mentioned above, through which one merits the Makifin, etc., as mentioned above. 6

For the shofar of Rosh Hashanah is the shofar of a ram — in the aspect of the ram of Yitzchak, which is in the aspect of the voice of the shofar at the giving of the Torah. And as we recall the voices of the shofar at the giving of the Torah on Rosh Hashanah, as it is written: “You revealed Yourself… and the voice of the shofar”, etc. And the voice of the shofar at the giving of the Torah went forth with fire and torches, as it is written: “and all the people saw the thunderings and the torches” [Sh’mos 20:15], and as stated in many verses. For at the giving of the Torah all of Israel were in the aspect of gairim — for then was the beginning of their drawing close to their Father in Heaven, having emerged from the impurity of Egypt to the holiness of Israel, as Rashi explains there. And therefore we read the Book of Rus on Shavuos, for Shavuos, which is the giving of the Torah, is the aspect of the drawing close of gairim and baalai teshuvah. And because of this there was at the giving of the Torah: a voice of a shofar, fire, and torches — all of which is the aspect of the fire of judgment above — in order to burn the evil that had taken hold of them from the impurity of Egypt. And therefore the Torah was given through fire, which is the aspect of the fire of judgment above, for the Torah itself is called mishpat. And because at the giving of the Torah the fire of judgment was fully aroused, as it is written: “and His words we heard from within the fire” [Devarim 5:21] — therefore in truth they were then entirely purified from the grip of evil, as they said: “engraved upon the tablets” — read not charut [engraved] but chayrus [freedom] — freedom from the Angel of Death ((Eruvin 54). For the zuhamas ha-nachash was then entirely nullified — for “their filth ceased at the giving of the Torah” — through the aspect of the fire of judgment above, aroused through the voice of the shofar that has the power to arouse the fire of judgment, in the aspect of “the voice of God hews flames of fire”. And the primary corruption that occurred afterwards through the sin of the golden calf came only through the Erev Rav [mixed multitude] — who are in the aspect of the gairim that it is forbidden to convert, whose evil the judgment cannot subdue — as is well explained at the end of the teaching above. And this is the aspect of the mem and samech in the Tablets mentioned in the teaching above, for the Tablets, which are the Torah through which their evil was subdued and their filth ceased, being given from within the fire as above, are themselves in the aspect of mem and samech — the igulah v’ribua above, which is the aspect of nullifying the evil, as above. And at the beginning, when the Blessed One revealed Himself to Moshe Rabbeinu to redeem Israel from Egypt, the verse states: “and an angel of God appeared to him in a flame of fire from within the bush” [Sh’mos 3:2] — for since the Blessed One commanded him to take Israel out of the impurity of Egypt and bring them close to the Blessed One, which is the aspect of gairim and baalai teshuvah, the fire of the angels of the heart was immediately aroused — for only through this could Israel be brought close to the Blessed One, as above.

And through the illumination of son and student, through this one merits to receive at the time of eating the illumination of the Ratzon, as mentioned above, as explained well in the aforementioned discourse — see there. And this is the aspect of eating on Shabbos, which is the essence of the honor of Shabbos, the aspect of Oneg Shabbos. For then, on the Holy Shabbos, the eating is exceedingly precious. For then one merits through the eating the illumination of the Ratzon. For then, on Shabbos, the aspect of the illumination of son and student shines, through which one merits the illumination of the Ratzon, as mentioned above. And the essence of the illumination of the Ratzon one merits to receive at the time of eating, specifically, as explained in the aforementioned discourse. 7

It is thus found that the voice of the shofar arouses the fire of judgment above, through which the evil is subdued — and specifically through this are gairim and the distant ones able to be brought close to the Blessed One. And this is the aspect of “Sound the shofar at the New Moon, at the appointed time for our festival day, for it is a statute for Israel, a judgment for the God of Yaakov” [Tehillim 81:4–5] — mishpat specifically, for we must sound the shofar in order to arouse through it the judgment above, as above. And this is why we recite before the shofar-blowing the entire 47th Psalm, which speaks entirely of the drawing close of all the nations to the Blessed One — that they shall all convert and return to the Blessed One, as it is written: “All you nations, clap hands… for God is Most High, awesome, a great King over” all, etc. — the aspect of awe, which is the aspect of judgment. And this: “a great King over all the earth” — for all shall convert and return to Him. And this: “He subdues peoples beneath us”, etc. And this: “He chooses our inheritance for us” — this inheritance is Yerushalayim, for through converting gairim, Yerushalayim, the Holy City, is built — which is the aspect of the Haichal ha-Kodesh built through the gairim, as explained in the teaching above. And this: “the pride of Yaakov” — Yaakov specifically, for Yaakov is the aspect of mishpat, the aspect of “judgment for the God of Yaakov”. And all of this is aroused through the shofar. And this: “God ascends with the teruah; God with the voice of the shofar” — for through this the judgment is aroused, as above. And this is why the Psalm concludes: “the nobles of the nations are gathered, the people of the God of Avraham” — namely, gairim, for Avraham was the head of the gairim, as our Sages said on this verse. For through the voice of the shofar, which is the aspect of mishpat, gairim are made. Therefore we recite this entire Psalm, which speaks of gairim, before the sounding of the shofar — for the shofar gathers all the scattered and lost, who are in the aspect of gairim — that is, all who are distant and scattered from the Blessed One are all brought close through the voice of the shofar, which is the aspect of mishpat, as above. As we say on Rosh Hashanah: “Sound the great shofar for our freedom, and lift a banner to gather our exiles, and bring near our dispersed from among the nations”, etc. And as it is written: “on that day a great shofar shall be blown, and those lost in the land of Assyria and those scattered in the land of Egypt shall come and bow before God on the holy mountain in Yerushalayim” [Yeshayahu 27:13]. For the shofar gathers and brings close the lost and scattered, who are the distant ones from holiness, drawing them close to the Blessed One through the fire of judgment, which is the aspect of the voice of the shofar. And through this the Haichal ha-Kodesh, which is the aspect of Yerushalayim, is built. And this: “and they shall bow before God on the holy mountain in Yerushalayim” — “the holy mountain in Yerushalayim” specifically, namely the aspect of the Haichal ha-Kodesh above, which is built through the lost and scattered who come to bow before God and to draw close to His service. And all of this through the voice of the shofar, which is the aspect of yirah and the fire of judgment above. And therefore there was a shofar at the bais din, for the shofar is the aspect of mishpat, as above.

And therefore on Shabbos the eating is exceedingly precious, for then one receives at the time of eating the illumination of the Ratzon, which is the aspect of the World to Come. And therefore the essence of Oneg Shabbos is the eating of Shabbos. For through the eating of Shabbos one merits to receive the illumination of the Ratzon, which is the aspect of the World to Come — and this is the essence of the aspect of Oneg Shabbos, which is a semblance of the World to Come — the aspect of "then you shall delight upon Hashem, and I shall feed you" (Isaiah 58:14) etc. 8

And therefore all the voices of the shofar are threefold — as they said: the measure of a tekiah is like three teruos, the measure of a teruah is like three sh’varim, etc. This is the aspect of mishpat, which is threefold, for judgment is in a court of three. And therefore the primary mishpat is the aspect of Yaakov, the aspect of “judgment for the God of Yaakov” — for Yaakov is the third of the Patriarchs, in the aspect of “Yaakov, the rope of His inheritance” [Devarim 32:9], as is known: like a rope that grows from three strands. For Yaakov comprises all three Patriarchs, who are the aspect of a court of three from whom the judgment emerges — through which gairim are converted in a court of three who draw their power from the three Patriarchs. And the primary one is Yaakov, whose bed was complete without any blemish. For as long as Yaakov, the third of the Patriarchs and the decisive one, had not yet come, it was impossible to entirely expel the evil. And therefore Avraham and Yitzchak, who would convert gairim, were not entirely free from the grip of evil. And therefore from Avraham came Yishmael, and from Yitzchak came Esav — for the judgment had not yet gone out in its fullness to subdue and entirely nullify the evil, until Yaakov the third came, in whom the fullness of judgment was complete, and then the evil was entirely subdued through the judgment in its fullness. And therefore his bed was complete, with no grip of evil and no disqualification at all.

And therefore the essence of parnasah and blessing is drawn from Shabbos through the eating of Shabbos, which is Oneg Shabbos, as stated in the Holy Zohar: "Because from it [Shabbos] all the six days are blessed, and therefore one must set the table on the night of Shabbos with bread and food, so that all the six upper days are blessed from it" etc. For the essence of parnasah is drawn from the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon — that is, from the aspect of the illumination of son and student, which is the aspect of the Sea of Wisdom, from which Malchus — the aspect of yirah — receives the parnasah from the hands that are in the Sea of Wisdom, as mentioned above. And therefore through Oneg Shabbos, through which one merits the illumination of the Ratzon, through this all the six days are blessed. For the essence of parnasah is drawn from there, from the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon — the aspect of "You open Your hand and satisfy every living being with ratzon [will/desire]" (Psalms 145:16), as explained in the aforementioned discourse. 9

And therefore the primary aspect of the shofar is the teruah, as it is written: “a day of teruah shall it be for you” [Bamidbar 29:1]. And as it is written: “God ascends with the teruah”. For the teruah is threefold in voices, and it is the aspect of Yaakov, as it is written: “He has not looked at iniquity in Yaakov, nor seen perversity in Israel; God his Lord is with him, and the teruah of the King is within him” [Bamidbar 23:21] — for through the teruah, which is the aspect of Yaakov, the aspect of mishpat, He has not looked at iniquity in Yaakov, nor seen perversity in Israel — that is, no evil is found in them, for all the evil is nullified through the fire of judgment, as above.

And because on Shabbos one merits the illumination of the Ratzon, and from there all blessing and parnasah is drawn for all the six days of activity — therefore it is forbidden on Shabbos to perform any melachah at all. For then it is the aspect of bitul [nullification/cessation]. For then it is only the aspect of Ratzon — the aspect of "with love and with will You bequeathed to us" (from the Shabbos Amidah). And then one receives all parnasah only through the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon, which is the aspect of bitul, where there is no work or activity at all. And from there specifically — from the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon, which is the aspect of Shabbos, the aspect of the cessation of all melachos — from there specifically one receives all parnasah, as mentioned above. For the essence of parnasah is only from the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon, as mentioned above. And all the six days of activity have no vitality, abundance, or blessing except through what they receive on Shabbos from the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon, from which comes the essence of blessing and parnasah. 10

And this is why on the third day of creation — which is the aspect of Yaakov, as is known — we recite Psalm 82, which speaks of judgment, which is also in the three aspects of Yaakov as above, as it is written: “God stands in the divine assembly”, etc. And this is the conclusion of that Psalm: “Rise, O God, judge the earth, for You shall inherit all the nations” [Tehillim 82:8] — for through the mishpat, all nations draw close to the Blessed One. And this: “for You shall inherit” — tinchal [inherit] precisely, for this inheritance is Yerushalayim the Holy City, which is the Haichal ha-Kodesh built through the gairim, as above.

It emerges that all the 39 melachos and all the works and activities performed during the six days of activity have no vitality, and it is impossible to draw parnasah through them — except through what they receive from Shabbos, from the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon, which is the aspect of the cessation of all melachos, as mentioned above, from which comes the essence of parnasah, as mentioned above. And this every person must know and believe with complete faith — that "not by might shall a man prevail" (I Samuel 2:9) — that the drawing of parnasah is not through physical works and activities, G-d forbid, through commerce and the 39 melachos, G-d forbid. Rather, the essence of parnasah is through the blessing of Hashem, which is drawn from Shabbos specifically, from the aspect of the illumination of the Ratzon, as mentioned above. 11 And this is why we say on Rosh Hashanah: “for Your judgments they stood today, for all are Your servants” [Tehillim 119:91] — for through mishpat all draw close to the Blessed One, and then “all are Your servants,” for all of them come to serve Him. And this is the aspect of what we say to the ger who comes to convert: “What have you seen that you come to convert? Do you not know that Israel in this time are afflicted and oppressed”, etc. For at the outset it is necessary to push him away somewhat. And by disparaging him and pushing him away a little — hinting to him that he is not worthy of drawing close to us — and then, when he is willing nonetheless and says, “I know and I am not worthy,” by this the evil within him is subdued and separated from him. In the aspect of “and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Rus clung to her” [Rus 1:14]. Orpah is the aspect of the evil that seeks to grip the ger tzedek, the aspect of Rus — and this evil is separated through the initial distancing, by which they wished to push the ger away at first. For this distancing is the aspect of the b’tisha [striking] — that they strike him — as cited in the holy Zohar: “a tree that does not take to the light… a body that does not take to the light of the soul, they strike it”. For by wishing to repel and distance him, and he forces and compels himself to draw close even though they distance him — by this he strikes and subdues the evil gripping him. And this itself is the aspect of the mishpat above — for the one who draws gairim or baalai teshuvah close weighs his words with judgment, beginning by distancing him — which is the aspect of din and mishpat, judging him as unworthy and repelling and showing him distance. And if he is strong in his resolve and says “even so, and I am unworthy” — he has already accepted the judgment and ruling, having stood the test of distancing. And through this the evil gripping him is subdued and separated, and then he is worthy, as above. And this is the aspect of what the true tzaddikim sometimes do: distancing a certain person at first — all of this is for that person’s good as a test, for the distancing is ultimately for the sake of the closest of closeness. In the aspect of “peace, peace to the far and to the near” [Yeshayahu 57:19] — for it is impossible to bring the distant close except by having them stand the test of distancing, through which their evil is subdued, as above. For the distancing by the true tzaddik is itself the aspect of mishpat above — that he weighs his words with judgment and knows how to speak with each and every person: to bring this one close and to distance that one — all according to the mishpat in his heart. And through this he examines, tests, and probes them as to whether they come to draw close with a complete heart. And when they stand the test and force themselves to draw close even though they are distanced greatly — this is the aspect of the b’tisha above, that they strike their own body thereby and break all the obstacles, both from without and from within. For through breaking all these obstacles and trials, the evil gripping them is thereby subdued, and precisely through this they truly draw close to the Blessed One. Furthermore, through the true tzaddik weighing his words with judgment and initially distancing them, he is thereby able to avoid bringing close the wicked ones who are unworthy of being brought close, as is explained in the teaching above — for they will certainly not be able to stand the test of distancing, and they will truly distance themselves when he pushes them away, and he will be saved from them. And this is the aspect of the one hundred voices sounded on Rosh Hashanah. This is the aspect of mem and samech above, which add up to one hundred — for through the voice of the shofar we arouse the judgment above, through which the fire of judgment goes out and burns the evil that has taken hold of the Haichal ha-Kodesh. All of this is the aspect of mem and samech, the aspect of Shabbos, the aspect of igulah v’ribua, as explained in the teaching above. And therefore we sound one hundred voices, for mem and samech equal one hundred, as above. And therefore we do not sound the shofar on Shabbos. For on Shabbos there is no need to arouse the mishpat in order to nullify the evil, for on Shabbos the evil is automatically nullified, as above, in the aspect of “My Shabbosos shall you observe — this is the igulah v’ribua”, etc., as above. And therefore on Shabbos the aspect of igulah v’ribua d’ligo, the aspect of mem and samech, is automatically rectified, and there is no need to arouse the one hundred voices of the shofar. And this is the aspect of kumas chatzos [rising at midnight] — when one stirs from sleep and musters strength to engage in Torah and to mourn the destruction of the Bais ha-Mikdash. For the primary destruction of the Bais ha-Mikdash was on account of the corruption of mishpat, as cited in the words of our Sages: the primary destruction of Yerushalayim was because they perverted judgment within it. And as it is written: “those who turn justice to wormwood”, etc. And similarly many verses that speak of the exile of Israel and the destruction of the Bais ha-Mikdash mention the corruption of mishpat as the reason Yerushalayim was destroyed. For Yerushalayim and the Bais ha-Mikdash are the aspect of the Haichal ha-Kodesh, as explained in the teaching above. And since the primary building and existence of the Haichal ha-Kodesh is through the aspect of mishpat, as above, therefore the place of judgment was in the Bais ha-Mikdash, which is the Haichal ha-Kodesh — for there in the Bais ha-Mikdash the great Sanhedrin sat in the Lishkas ha-Gazis [the Chamber of Hewn Stone], from which judgment went forth to all the world. For the primary existence of the Bais ha-Mikdash, which is the Haichal ha-Kodesh, is through mishpat, as above. For the primary clarification of all the holy sparks from within the k’lipos was in the Bais ha-Mikdash, where all the birurim were performed through the korbanos [sacrifices] and the k’tores [incense] that would atone for all sins — which is the aspect of clarifying the holy sparks, as is known. And therefore the aspect of mishpat was needed there, to arouse the fire of judgment to burn the evil so that it not take hold of the Haichal ha-Kodesh, as above. And therefore the place of judgment was there, as above, and through the mishpat that was there, the fire above was thereby aroused. And this is the aspect of the eish ha-mizbayach [the fire of the Altar] — this fire burned the evil so that it not take hold of the Haichal ha-Kodesh, etc., as above. And this is why our Sages said: why is the section of Mishpatim juxtaposed to the section of the Altar? To tell you to place judges next to the Altar — as above. For the fire of the Altar is drawn through the aspect of mishpat above. And therefore the judges sat to execute judgment next to the Altar, as above. And this is the aspect of what was inside the Haichal ha-Kodesh: the Table in the north and the Menorah in the south, and the incense altar (mizbayach m’kater k’tores) between the Table and the Menorah. For the k’tores [incense] is in the aspect of gairim — for the primary clarification of the holy sparks from within the k’lipos was accomplished through the eleven spices of the incense, as is known, which is the aspect of the gairim: drawing them out from the depths of the k’lipos and bringing them close to holiness. And the primary gairim are made through the aspect of yad va-shem [hand and name] above, which are the aspect of igulah v’ribua, as explained in the teaching above. And this is the aspect of the Table in the north and the Menorah in the south — the aspect of yad va-shem above. “Yad” [hand] is the aspect of wisdom that flows from the House of God, through which one has the power to weigh one’s words in judgment and to raise up many students, as explained in the teaching above. And this is the aspect of the Menorah in the south, which is the aspect of wisdom — for m’narata da raisha [the candelabra is the head], for the oil of the Menorah is the aspect of wisdom and knowledge, in the aspect of “and oil on your head shall not be lacking” [Koheles 9:8]. And this is the aspect of mishpat, which is the aspect of wisdom, in the aspect of “the wisdom of God was within him to render judgment” [Melachim I 3:28]. The Table in the north is the aspect of shem [name] above, which is the aspect of wealth — the aspect of the table of kings, the aspect of sustenance and wealth. And this is the Table in the north, for from there wealth flows, as it is written: “from the north gold comes” [Iyov 37:22]. And through all these aspects — Table and Menorah, which are the aspects of yad va-shem above — one makes baalai teshuvah and gairim, which are the aspect of clarifying the holy sparks from within the k’lipos — which is the aspect of k’tores, as above. And therefore the incense altar stood between the Table and the Menorah, as above. It is thus found that the primary existence of Yerushalayim and the Bais ha-Mikdash [Holy Temple] is through the aspect of mishpat above, and the primary destruction of Yerushalayim was through the corruption of mishpat, as above. And in the future, the primary building of Yerushalayim shall be through mishpat, as it is written: “Tzion shall be redeemed through mishpat” [Yeshayahu 1:27] — for through mishpat, baalai teshuvah are made, as above. And this is the aspect of kumas chatzos. For awakening from sleep is the aspect of the return of the mochin, for sleep is the departure of the mochin and waking from sleep is their return. And when the mochin return, the mishpat dependent upon the moach and wisdom is aroused, as above. And this is accomplished at midnight, for then is the time of mishpat that is the aspect of awakening from sleep, in the aspect of “Awake and rouse Yourself for my judgment”, and in the aspect of “at midnight I rise… for Your righteous judgments”, as above. And therefore one rises at midnight and mourns the destruction of the Bais ha-Mikdash and engages in Torah — for the primary destruction of Yerushalayim and the Bais ha-Mikdash was through the corruption of mishpat, and the primary building of the Bais ha-Mikdash is through mishpat, as above. And therefore at midnight, when the mishpat is aroused as above, one engages in Torah, for the Torah is called mishpat, for the primary existence of the Haichal ha-Kodesh is through mishpat, as above. And all of this is done to arouse and awaken the mishpat until the light of day. And then at daybreak the judgment goes out to light and sits upon the throne, in the aspect of “House of David, judge judgment in the morning” [Yirmiyahu 21:12] — “House of David” specifically, for the House of David is the aspect of Malchus, which is the aspect of the kisai ha-mishpat above. For every person comes into this world for no other purpose than to perform birurim [clarifications] — to clarify holy sparks from the depths of the k’lipos that fell there through the sin of Adam ha-Rishon, or through his own sins in a previous gilgul. And the clarification of the sparks is the aspect of gairim and baalai teshuvah, as above. And therefore a person must guard himself greatly and judge himself constantly in order to arouse the fire of judgment above — to subdue the evil gripping those sparks he must clarify, so that it not take hold of him, God forbid. For this reason a person is truly in great danger in this world, and must judge himself greatly every single day, think through his ways, and arouse his heart to the Blessed One — which is the matter of hisbodedus [private personal prayer] and intimate conversation between oneself and one’s Creator, about which our Rabbeinu, may his memory be for a blessing, warned us countless times and as mentioned many times in his holy works. For in proportion to the great danger that every person faces in this world — great and small alike — from the evil gripping the sparks he must clarify, one must be extremely vigilant in judging oneself daily. For even the lowliest of Israel also performs birurim according to his own level. And because these holy sparks he must clarify are intermixed with evil, great dangers therefore face him lest the evil take hold of him, God forbid. And therefore our Sages said: “every day a person’s yetzer ha-ra [evil inclination] overpowers him, and were it not for the Holy Blessed One helping him”, etc. And therefore there is no wisdom, understanding, or counsel to stand against them except through hisbodedus, which is the aspect of mishpat mentioned in the teaching above — that a person must judge himself: that is, to seclude himself with his Creator and to pour out his conversation before Him, and to examine and judge himself in all his ways, and to rebuke and admonish himself every single day — in order thereby to arouse the blazing of his heart — in order that the fire of judgment be aroused — in order to burn and subdue the evil so that it not take hold of his heart, God forbid, as above. And therefore our Sages said: “Do not trust in yourself until the day of your death”. And as we have already seen how many tzaddikim and great people, and how many worthy and distinguished persons, who had already engaged in the service of God in earnest for days and years — and afterwards were caught in severe transgressions, God forbid, Rachmana litzlan — as is cited in the writings of the Ari regarding this matter. But all of it is in accordance with the above — for since every person engages in this world only to perform birurim, and particularly those who engage more intensely in the service of God — they perform new birurim every single day. And therefore their yetzer ha-ra overpowers them more and more each day, for they have a new yetzer ha-ra every day. For every day the evil stirs against them anew — namely the evil of those sparks that have now come to them to be clarified. And therefore sometimes they come to certain sparks that lie in the depths of the k’lipos, and since they are engaged in clarifying them, the evil thereby takes very strong hold of them, God forbid — Rachmana litzlan — and they can therefore stumble suddenly, God forbid. And therefore one must be extremely, extremely vigilant to judge oneself every single day and to think through one’s ways, in order thereby to arouse the blazing of the heart — so that the fire of judgment be aroused — in order to burn the evil above. And in particular, every person is obligated and required to also strive to bring others close to the Blessed One, to make baalai teshuvah and gairim — for this is what you were created for, for this is the primary yishuv ha-olam [settlement of the world]. As it is written: “He did not create it as a void; He formed it to be settled” [Yeshayahu 45:18] — that the world be populated by human beings who are people of knowledge, engaged in the service of God. For one who does not engage in the service of God is merely an animal in human form, as cited in the words of our Rabbeinu many times. And as our Sages warned greatly about this, and as is cited in the holy Zohar: “praiseworthy is the one who takes the hand of the wicked” — and it elaborates greatly there on the immensity of his reward, that the Blessed One glories in him in all the worlds, see there. And this is the aspect of the mutual surety (araivus) whereby all of Israel are surety for one another — for every individual of Israel is obligated to speak with his fellow about the fear of Heaven every single day. And as we request in many prayers: “that we merit to learn and to teach, to observe and to do and to uphold”, etc. — and the primary substance of our request is that we merit to teach others paths and counsels in the service of the Blessed One. And this: “to learn and to teach, to observe and to do and to uphold” — that the learning be only for the sake of observing, doing, and upholding, for it is not the study that is primary but the action. It is thus found that every individual of Israel has an obligation to also merit others through repentance and to draw souls to the service of the Blessed One — but one must guard oneself greatly from the evil gripping those souls he wishes to bring close. And for this one requires mishpat — to judge oneself every day — in order to arouse the fire of judgment to burn the evil so that it not take hold of his heart. And also to drive out and burn the evil from the Haichal ha-Kodesh — namely, from those souls he strives to bring close, as well explained in the teaching above. And then the mishpat is aroused and the judgment goes out to light, and then the judgment sits upon its throne, etc. — see all of this well and well in the teaching above. And behold, the primary mishpat is by day, for judgment is not rendered at night except for the conclusion of a verdict, or if the litigants consent. And as it is written: “House of David, judge judgment in the morning”. And therefore mishpat is called or [light], as it is written: “and Your judgments like a light shall go forth” [Yeshayahu 51:4]. For mishpat is the aspect of the light of day, for mishpat is the aspect of wisdom and mochin as above — and this is the aspect of the light of day, for at night the da’as [knowledge] departs, as is known. And therefore the primary mishpat is by day. And therefore the primary revelation of da’as, through which one can weigh one’s words in judgment, is primarily by day. And when night comes, all the guardians of legal jurisdiction arise, etc., and all the k’lipos, etc. And then the aspect of Malchus, which is the aspect of the throne of glory, the aspect of the kisai ha-mishpat above, descends into the depths of the k’lipos to perform birurim from there. And because then the chitzonim [outer forces] greatly overpower, we have no strength to burn and subdue them through our own aspect of mishpat. And therefore nighttime is the time of sleep, which is the departure of the da’as, the departure of the mishpat — that is, we remove the mishpat from ourselves, for the mishpat has no power to subdue them. Rather, we surrender the mishpat to the Blessed One — that He Himself execute the written judgment upon them. And this is the aspect of what we say before sleep: “into Your hand I entrust my spirit” [Tehillim 31:6] — “into Your hand” specifically, for we surrender to Him the mishpat itself. And mishpat is the aspect of yad [hand], in the aspect of “and my hand grasps judgment” [Devarim 32:41] — so that the Blessed One Himself execute judgment upon them, in the aspect of “for judgment belongs to God” [Devarim 1:17]. And then the Blessed One Himself draws the power of judgment to the aspect of Malchus, which is the aspect of the Haichal ha-Kodesh above, the aspect of the kisai above, which is the aspect of shem above, the aspect of igulah — and then the Malchus receives the power of judgment and descends with the power of judgment throughout all the lower worlds, performing birurim from the depths of the k’lipos throughout the entire duration of sleep until midnight, for Malchus is the avenging sword, the aspect of the sword of judgment above. For at night the primary birur is through the aspect of Malchus, which is the aspect of emunah [faith], the aspect of shem above — for the aspect of shem alone goes and performs birurim at night, in the aspect of “my soul, I desired You in the night” [Yeshayahu 26:9], etc. And the primary desire of the holy soul is for the aspect of shem, in the aspect of “for Your name and for Your remembrance is the desire of the soul” [ibid.]. And therefore, even though there is no mishpat at night, nonetheless we arouse at night the power of the daytime mishpat — for the conclusion of a verdict can be done at night, and also a person can always judge himself, for regarding oneself it is certainly as if one had accepted the matter. And therefore one confesses before sleep in all the confessions, as cited in the Ra’aya Mehaimna that one must confess all confessions before sleep — and accepts upon oneself the four capital punishments of the court — in order to arouse the power of daytime judgment and to surrender all of this power to the aspect of Malchus, the aspect of the kisai above, etc. So that it can descend and ascend from the depths of the k’lipos. For at night the primary birur is through the aspect of Malchus, which is the aspect of shem as above. For yad va-shem above — igulah v’ribua above — are the aspects of day and night: yad, which is the aspect of wisdom and mishpat, is the aspect of the light of day, as above; and shem, which is the aspect of nefesh [soul], is the aspect of night, the aspect of “my soul, I desired You in the night”, as above. For the tzaddik performs birurim and makes gairim and baalai teshuvah through these two aspects of yad va-shem — for many souls come to him and attach themselves to him merely because of his name alone, and afterwards when they come to him, he teaches them his wisdom and weighs his words with judgment for each and every individual. And the aspect of shem is the aspect of sleep, the departure of da’as — that is, he is not then engaged in speaking with them to teach them judgment, to draw his knowledge into them, but rather his name alone goes and spreads throughout the world, and through that alone they attach themselves to him. And at night, when it is the primary time of birur through the aspect of shem and Malchus as above, we then surrender the mishpat to the Blessed One — for then all the guardians of legal jurisdiction arise, and we do not know how to conduct ourselves with them, for there is evil against which the mishpat does not avail, as explained at the end of the teaching above. And therefore we then surrender the mishpat to the Blessed One in the aspect of “into Your hand I entrust my spirit”, as above — so that the Blessed One Himself execute judgment upon them. And the Blessed One Himself then draws the power of mishpat to the aspect of Malchus, the aspect of shem above, to rescue it from the k’lipos from the side of death, which is the aspect of sleep — which is one-sixtieth of death — “one-sixtieth” precisely. And therefore before sleep we arouse the sixty mighty ones, all grasping swords, etc. And we also recite the sixty letters of Birchas Kohanim [the Priestly Blessing] — to guard and rescue the aspect of Malchus, which is the aspect of shem, which is the aspect of igulah, the aspect of samech, as explained in the teaching above — in order to rescue the aspect of samech, the aspect of “sixty are the queens”, from the sleep which is one-sixtieth of death. And this is why we say before sleep: “exaltations of God in their throat and a double-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance among the nations, reproofs among the peoples… to execute upon them the judgment written” [Tehillim 149:6–9]. For then, before sleep, we arouse the power of judgment in order to surrender it to the aspect of Malchus, the aspect of shem, which is the aspect of the double-edged sword, the avenging sword, the sword of judgment above. And this is the aspect of what is stated in the writings of the Ari, that at the time of sleep the mochin depart from Z’air Anpin upward, and then the g’vuros are drawn to Malchus not through Z’air Anpin — and through this the Malchus is sawed apart and returns face to face. This is the mystery of the kavanas Rosh Hashanah, the mystery of the n’sirah [sawing], the mystery of sleep and the waking from sleep through the shofar on Rosh Hashanah — see in the kavanos — as above. For we surrender the mishpat, which is the aspect of mochin, to the Blessed One, in the aspect of “for judgment belongs to God”. And then the Blessed One Himself draws the g’vuros of the mochin — the fire of judgment — to the Malchus. And through this it performs birurim and is fully built, and subdues the k’lipos through the fire of judgment — and then it can return face to face, for it no longer fears the k’lipos. ((See in the kavanas k’rias shema sheal ha-mitah and the kavanos Rosh Hashanah.)) It is thus found that at night, which is the departure of the mochin, the aspect of sleep, the mishpat then departs from the person and rises to the Blessed One. And the Blessed One Himself draws the power of mishpat to the Malchus, which is the aspect of shem, to guard the person during sleep. And therefore in truth great guarding is needed then — and all of it comes only through the power of the daytime mishpat: for according to the good deeds one performed during the day, correspondingly one merits guarding during sleep, as is known. And all good deeds — doing good and turning from evil — all of this is the aspect of mishpat, the aspect of “I considered my ways and turned my feet to Your testimonies” [Tehillim 119:59]. And when midnight arrives, the Malchus reaches its ultimate diminution and descends very low, and then it cries out in a great voice to be lifted up from there — for with each passing hour the power of mishpat diminishes during sleep. And therefore anyone who wishes to have compassion on the honor of his Master, the honor of His Name, and his own soul — must arouse himself with great arousal precisely at midnight. And through waking up then, one thereby arouses the mishpat, in the aspect of “Awake and rouse Yourself for my judgment,” and in the aspect of “at midnight I rise… for Your righteous judgments”, as above. And through the mishpat one raises the Malchus, the aspect of his name and his soul — and then is the time to build the Haichal ha-Kodesh through the power of mishpat. And therefore one mourns then the destruction of the Bais ha-Mikdash, which was destroyed through the corruption of mishpat, as above. And all who mourn for Yerushalayim merit to see in its rejoicing and its rebuilding. It is thus found that through mourning the destruction of the Bais ha-Mikdash, one thereby engages in its building — which is the aspect of building the Haichal ha-Kodesh above. And therefore one engages in Torah then, for the Torah is called mishpat, for the primary existence of the Haichal ha-Kodesh is through mishpat, as above. And all of this is done to arouse and awaken the mishpat until the light of day. And then at daybreak the judgment goes out to light and sits upon the throne, in the aspect of “House of David, judge judgment in the morning,” “House of David” specifically — for the House of David is the aspect of Malchus, which is the aspect of the kisai ha-mishpat above. And this is the aspect of tzitzis and tefillin, whose time begins from when the day brightens. For tzitzis and tefillin are the aspects of igulah v’ribua above — yad va-shem above. Tzitzis is the aspect of igulah, the aspect of the kisai above — for tzitzis is the aspect of makifim [surrounding lights], the aspect of circles, as cited in the words of our Rabbeinu. And they are the aspect of kisai, for t’cheles kurs’ya d’dina [blue is the throne of judgment] — as cited in the Tikunim: through tzitzis one rectifies the throne for the Holy Blessed One. Tefillin are the aspect of ribua [square] — the aspect of tefillin that are square in their stitching and diagonals, and the four Scriptural portions — all of which is the aspect of ribua, the aspect of mishpat above. For tefillin means judgment, as cited: the language of p’lilah [judgment]. For mishpat is the aspect of mochin as above, which is the aspect of tefillin, which are the aspect of mochin, as is known. And on Shabbos, when the evil is nullified as above — therefore there is no need then to arouse mishpat — and therefore judgment is not rendered on Shabbos and Yom Tov. And therefore tefillin are not worn on Shabbos, for then there is no need to arouse the mishpat above to nullify the evil — for then the Shechinah rests, etc., as above. And therefore before Shabbos, when all the sparks ascend and are gathered into holiness at the entry of Shabbos, and there is fear that the evil k’lipos might also cling — the flame of fire therefore descends and burns them, that is, the fire of judgment above. And this is the aspect of the hot water bath (r’chitzas chamin) on Erev Shabbos, as is known. And afterwards one immerses in the mikveh, which is the aspect of ribua, the aspect of mem above, the aspect of the forty s’ah of the mikveh. For when the fire of judgment descends to burn the evil, afterwards the mishpat remains only in the aspect of mercy and kindnesses (rachamim va-chasadim), the aspect of the waters of kindness, the aspect of “and let justice roll down like waters” [Amos 5:24] — for mishpat is the amuda d’emtza’isa [the middle pillar], comprising both mercy and judgment, fire and water. For this is the mystery cited in the kavanos above: that initially, before the n’sirah, they are back to back, and Z’air Anpin comprises both chasadim and g’vuros. And at the time of the n’sirah, which occurs through sleep every night, and likewise on Rosh Hashanah, all the g’vuros are then drawn to Malchus, and Z’air Anpin remains as entirely chasadim alone — that is, as above: first the fire of judgment is aroused to burn the evil from taking hold of the heart, and afterwards all the fire — the g’vuros — is drawn to the Malchus, which is the Haichal ha-Kodesh, etc., as above. And then the mishpat remains in the aspect of the waters of kindness alone, the aspect of mercy. And this is the aspect of the immersion of the ger after the milah — the milah being the aspect of the fire of judgment and the double-edged sword, etc., as above, the aspect of kisai above. And after cutting away the evil which is the orlah through the double-edged sword above, the mishpat afterwards remains in the aspect of mercy, the aspect of the waters of kindness, as above. And this is the aspect of the immersion in the mikveh of forty s’ah, as above. And this is the aspect of washing with water or immersing every morning, as above. And this is the aspect of what is written in the holy Zohar: “when night spreads its wings, the gates of Gan Eden are closed and the guardians of legal jurisdiction go out into the world, and the world is conducted by the hand of the Matronita” — as above. For at night the mochin depart, which is the aspect of the gates of Gan Eden closing, as is known. And this is the departure of the mishpat upward to the Blessed One. And then the guardians of legal jurisdiction go out, as above. And then the world is conducted by the hand of the Matronita — which is the aspect of Malchus, the aspect of kisai above, the aspect of shem, the aspect of igulah, the aspect of samech, the aspect of the Haichal ha-Kodesh above — for we surrender to it the power of judgment to execute the written judgment upon the nations, etc. All as above, and understand well. And this is the aspect of the immense length of the exile now, the like of which has not been since ancient times. For already all the predestined ends have passed, and the matter depends only upon teshuvah. For now the Blessed One desires that the redemption be complete, forever, with no exile following it at all — and therefore it is certainly necessary that all of Israel return in teshuvah and clarify all the birurim. As our Sages said: “the son of David will not come until all the souls in the ‘body’ (the heavenly treasury) are exhausted” ((Avodah Zarah 5a)), which is the aspect of clarifying all the sparks, as is known. And it is impossible to make baalai teshuvah and clarify birurim except through the aspect of mishpat above, which burns the evil — and then the Haichal ha-Kodesh is built spiritually through the souls brought close to the Blessed One, and then the Haichal ha-Kodesh will also be built physically — namely, the actual building of the Bais ha-Mikdash — as it is written: “and the palace shall stand in its proper place” [Yirmiyahu 30:18] — “in its proper place” specifically, namely through the aspect of mishpat, as above. But there are wicked ones who are in the aspect of the Erev Rav whom it is forbidden to bring close — for the power of judgment cannot avail against them, in the aspect of “Your judgments are far above them” [Tehillim 10:5], as is well explained in the teaching above. And therefore most people do not know how to craft counsel for themselves regarding the matter of mishpat above — how to bring the distant close, lest they be among the wicked who must not be brought close, as above. For certainly no flesh and blood can know this clearly, even the greatest of tzaddikim, and certainly the lesser ones — for even Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, stumbled in this by bringing close the Erev Rav, who are the wicked that must not be brought close, until the Blessed One said to him: “Go down, for your people have acted corruptly” [Sh’mos 32:7], as explained in the teaching above. And if so, what shall the lowly ones do? For Moshe Rabbeinu certainly merited the aspect of mishpat in its fullness, having given us the Torah which is the aspect of mishpat as above, and at the giving of the Torah — when Israel drew close to their Father in Heaven, which is the aspect of gairim and baalai teshuvah — he then merited to arouse the angels of the heart, the fire of judgment above, in its fullness. And in truth he succeeded, for he merited to subdue the evil entirely, for Israel who stood at Mount Sinai — their filth ceased. For all the evil was entirely nullified through the fire of judgment above, as above. And yet afterwards the Erev Rav corrupted things, until the Holy Blessed One said “Go down,” etc. — because they are in the aspect of the wicked whom it is forbidden to bring close, for the mishpat cannot avail against them as above. All the more so ordinary people who certainly cannot rely on their own mishpat alone, but must judge themselves greatly regarding everything in order to arouse the blazing of the heart. And afterwards surrender the mishpat to the Blessed One in the aspect of “for judgment belongs to God,” so that the Blessed One Himself give them wisdom and knowledge to weigh their words in judgment, and merit to know how to speak with, and how not to speak with, and how to speak, and when to speak, and in what manner and what and how much — for it is impossible for a person to calibrate this judgment well as above, particularly now in this exile. And the exile is like night, when only the mishpat must be surrendered to the Blessed One as above. For now in this exile, particularly in ikv’ah d’meshicha [the footsteps of Mashiach], Moshe Rabbeinu himself is compelled to clothe himself within all of Israel and to reincarnate with them in order to rectify the blemish he caused in judgment by bringing the Erev Rav close, as cited in the Tikunim and the holy Zohar in many places. It is thus found that now in the power of Moshe Rabbeinu we must rectify the blemish of the mishpat that was blemished through the Erev Rav. And because of this the mishpat is exceedingly wondrous, hidden, and concealed — for even Moshe Rabbeinu descended from his level through the Erev Rav whom he brought close, as is known. And therefore it is said about Israel in this exile: “she has gone down wondrously”. And the ketz [end] is wondrous, hidden, and exceedingly concealed, as it is written: “how long until the wondrous end?” [Daniel 12:6]. And all of this is because of the wonders and the concealment of the mishpat that must rectify the blemish of the mishpat that occurred through the Erev Rav — this mishpat being wondrous and exceedingly concealed, in the aspect of “if a matter of judgment is wondrous for you” [Devarim 17:8]. And one must only judge oneself well, and afterwards surrender the mishpat to the Blessed One alone, in the aspect of “for judgment belongs to God,” as above. For there are two aspects of mishpat. The first is what a person must do: to judge himself every day — that is, to seclude himself with his Creator and to pour out his conversation before Him, and to lay bare all that is in his heart before the Blessed One, and to think through his ways and to judge himself in all his paths — whether it is proper for him to spend his days thus, God forbid, in ways such as these, etc. And the second aspect of mishpat is to weigh one’s words with judgment — that is, to know how to speak and with whom to speak and to draw one’s wisdom into them, etc. And this is hinted at in the words of our Rabbeinu, in the teaching above, where these two aspects are mentioned, as is explained there. And the fire of the angel is made from the first aspect: weighing one’s words with judgment — and the person judges himself, etc. — and they are two aspects. Weighing one’s words, etc., is one aspect; the person judging himself is the second aspect. And at the end of the teaching this is explained more clearly, as it is written there: for through weighing one’s words in judgment, one thereby can teach one’s wisdom to students, etc. — see there. Now, judging oneself — this every person can fulfill, as above. But the second aspect — weighing one’s words with judgment as above — this requires great assistance from Above, that one merit this knowledge. And furthermore, even afterwards one cannot rely on one’s own wisdom and judgment alone, for there are wicked ones in the aspect of the Erev Rav — for whose sake the judgment is exalted beyond them — who are the primary cause of the length of the exile, as is known. And therefore one must surrender this mishpat to the Blessed One — and the Blessed One knows the hidden things, and will lead him in the straight path, so that he merits to calibrate the judgment well: to know with whom to speak, etc. And to recognize the wicked who must not be brought close, so that he not bring them close at all. And then when the mishpat is rectified, the Bais ha-Mikdash shall be built, which is the aspect of the Haichal ha-Kodesh, as above. And it shall be fulfilled: “as in the days of your coming out of Egypt, I shall show you wonders” [Michah 7:15] — this being the rectification of the wonder of the mishpat, the aspect of “if a matter of judgment is wondrous for you,” through which the ketz ha-p’laos [the wondrous end] is concealed. And may the Blessed One have mercy upon us and show us the wonders of the mishpat, and then shall be fulfilled: “Tzion shall be redeemed through mishpat, and her returnees through tzedakah” [Yeshayahu 1:27] — speedily in our days, Amen and Amen. ((Belongs to the above.)) For this reason specifically Yisro merited to give counsel to Moshe Rabbeinu regarding the matter of judgment, as it is written: “but you shall look out from among all the people” [Sh’mos 18:21], etc. For Yisro, who is a ger tzedek, whose primary drawing close to the Blessed One was through mishpat as above — therefore he merited to add to the Torah the section of mishpat, which is the passage beginning “and you shall look out”, as above. And therefore the section of the giving of the Torah is juxtaposed to the section of mishpat — for the fire of the giving of the Torah is the aspect of the fire of judgment above, for Israel drew close then to the Blessed One. And this is the aspect of tekiah-sh’varim-teruah, which are the aspects of the three Patriarchs, as is cited. For the Patriarchs would convert gairim, as explained in the teaching above. This is accomplished through the shofar, which is the aspect of yirah and mishpat as above, as it is written: “from Heaven You caused judgment to be heard; the earth feared and was still” [Tehillim 76:9]. And this is the aspect of Malchuyos, Zichronos, and Shofros. Malchuyos — this is the aspect of shem above, the aspect of the Haichal ha-Kodesh, etc., above. For shem is the aspect of Malchus as above, as we say in Malchuyos: “and God shall be King over all the earth; on that day God shall be One and His name One” [Z’charyah 14:9]. Zichronos — this is the aspect of mishpat above, that a person judges himself, through which the judgment above is sweetened. For the entire blessing of “You remember the deeds of the world” speaks of judgment, as it is written: “You remember the deeds of the world and take note”, etc. — who is not reckoned on this day, etc. — which is the aspect of mishpat: that a person must think through his ways, etc., knowing that the Blessed One remembers all and nothing is forgotten before Him, and all his deeds shall be remembered before Him on the day of judgment — and therefore he must always judge himself as above. Shofros — this is the aspect of the fire of judgment above, the aspect of “the voice of God hews flames of fire,” as above, as is cited in this blessing: “and all the people saw the thunderings and the torches,” etc. — as above. For through all these aspects, gairim and baalai teshuvah are brought close to the Blessed One — which is the primary aspect of Rosh Hashanah, as above. And this is the aspect of the shamash [sexton] striking with a hammer in the morning to wake the world to go to the bais knesses [synagogue]. For in the morning the mishpat is aroused, as above — for then the judgment goes out to light, as above, in the aspect of “judge judgment in the morning,” as above. And this is the aspect of the striking with a hammer — for striking is the aspect of din and mishpat, namely the fire of judgment above, in the aspect of: “Is not My word like fire… and like a hammer” [Yirmiyahu 23:29] — for through the fire of judgment in the aspect of striking, all the distant ones are brought close to His service. And therefore the world is awoken through this striking to go to the bais knesses, which is the gathering place of all — that all of them draw close to the Blessed One and go to the bais knesses to engage in the service of God. For through the fire of judgment, the aspect of striking, which burns all the evil from the Haichal ha-Kodesh — through this all of them can draw close to the Blessed One and go to the bais knesses, which is the aspect of the Haichal ha-Kodesh. Also, the sound of the striking is a strong voice, the aspect of the voice that arouses the mishpat as above — for the primary arousal of mishpat is through the voice, which is the aspect of the voice of the shofar as above, for voice is the aspect of mishpat, as is known. And therefore all the plagues and judgments that Moshe executed in Egypt were through striking with the staff, for striking is the aspect of mishpat as above. And therefore three strikes are made in the morning — this being the aspect of mishpat which is in three, as above. And therefore on Shabbos there is no waking for the bais knesses through striking with a hammer, for on Shabbos there is no need to arouse mishpat, for on Shabbos the evil is nullified, for then the Shechinah rests, etc., as above. And this is why the blessing “restore our judges” is juxtaposed to the blessing “who gathers the scattered”, etc. — for this gathering is the aspect of baalai teshuvah and gairim who were initially scattered and distant from holiness and are now gathered and drawn close to the Blessed One, and all the scattered and dispersed holy sparks ascend. And therefore next to this is juxtaposed “restore our judges” — for for this, mishpat is needed, as above. And this is why after the blessing of mishpat the blessing of the heretics is juxtaposed: “and for the informers let there be no hope”, etc. — this being the aspect of the wicked ones who must not be brought close, against whom the mishpat does not avail, as above. We request that they have no hope and perish and be uprooted and nullified and cause us no harm at all. And then the horn of the tzaddikim and the chasidim shall be exalted — for once one merits to distance the wicked ones against whom the mishpat does not avail, then the mishpat shall be in its proper place, and then the gairim shall not be able, God forbid, to sway the hearts of the tzaddikim from the Blessed One. And therefore through this there shall be a “support and security for the righteous,” and then when the tzaddikim merit the mishpat in its fullness, the Haichal ha-Kodesh shall be built, as above — which is the aspect of the building of Yerushalayim, as above. And then there shall be the sprouting of the horn of David, which is the aspect of the kisai ha-mishpat above, the aspect of Malchus as above — the aspect of the kingship of David, of whom it is said: “and his throne as the days of heaven” [Tehillim 89:30], and as it is written: “and his throne shall be established in kindness, and one who sits upon it in truth in the tent of David, judging and seeking judgment” [Yeshayahu 16:5]. And it is written of him: “and he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes”, etc., and “he shall judge the poor with righteousness” [Yeshayahu 11:3–4]. For the primary sprouting of the horn of Mashiach is through the rectification of mishpat — through which Yerushalayim the Holy City shall be built, which is the aspect of the Haichal ha-Kodesh, as above. And therefore all these blessings are juxtaposed to one another.