גרים א

Psalm 32 · פרק לב

The general principle relevant to our subject (haklal l’inyaneinu) is: one must see to it that one merits to perform the commandment with such great joy (simchah gedolah) that one does not desire any reward of the World to Come — but rather desires only that Hashem blessed-be-He grant one the merit to perform another commandment as the reward for this commandment. As they said: “the reward of a commandment is a commandment” (sechar mitzvah mitzvah) etc. And this is the aspect of: “On his day you shall give his wages” (b’yomo siten secharo) etc. (Devarim 24:15). And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: “On Shabbos remember it from the first day of the week” (b’Shabbos zachrehu me’echad b’Shabbas) — that is: the joy and delight of the World to Come, which is the aspect of Shabbos, one should feel during the six days of the work-week, which are the aspect of the deeds of the commandments, through which the worlds of Space, Time, and Soul (olam shanah nefesh) etc. were created. And the essential joy is in the heart etc.

And it is impossible for the heart to rejoice until it strips away the crookedness of the heart (akmimiyas shebalev), so that it has straightness of heart (yashrut leiv) — and then it merits joy, as it is written: “and for the upright of heart, joy” (u’lyisherai leiv simchah) (Tehillim 97:11). And the crookedness of the heart is stripped away through thunderclaps (re’amim) etc. And thunderclaps are the aspect of powerful prayer (tefilah b’koach) etc.

But it is impossible to merit the aspect of thunderclaps — which is powerful prayer that strips away the crookedness of the heart — except when one clears (mefanin) the mind (mochin) of leaven (chametz): so that one not leaven one’s thought (yachmitz es machshavto), heaven forbid, with external wisdoms (chochmos chitzoniyos) and with desires and with stray thoughts (hirhhurim) etc. And one must join the gevuros with the chasadim — left within right (smola bimina). For from the right side (sistra diyimina) the mind is white as silver (mocha hivara k’kaspa) — for the essential purification of the mind so that it be brilliant as pure silver is from the right side. And this is: “and the sea returned toward morning to its original strength” etc. (Shemos 14:27). For the essential revelation is through the chasadim — as it is written: “Sit at My right hand” (shev limini) etc. (Tehillim 110:1). See there all of this carefully. And this is the aspect of Chalah that must be given to the Kohen from the dough — for one must guard the mind very carefully from leaven (chametz), so that it not leaven one’s understanding (da’ato), heaven forbid, with evil thoughts as mentioned — for this is the aspect of chametz, which is the side of death (sitra d’mosa). And when one guards against chametz — that is, from evil thoughts that stupefy (metamtmin) the mind, heaven forbid — then one merits the aspect of thunderclaps and the crookedness of the heart is stripped away, and one merits joy etc. as mentioned. And therefore at the beginning of Israel’s drawing near (hiskarves) to their Father in Heaven — that is, on Pesach — one must be exceedingly careful regarding even a trace of chametz (mashehu chametz). And the essential prohibition of chametz is in bread — the five grain species (chameshet minei dagan) — for bread sustains the heart, as our Sages of blessed memory said: pita sa’ada d’liba — as it is written (Tehillim 104:15): “and bread sustains the heart of man.” For by bread man lives, and the essential vitality is wisdom, intellect, and mind — as it is written (Koheles 7:12): “wisdom gives life to those who possess it.” And therefore the essential vitality received through eating — and principally through bread — is the mochin and the da’as drawn through eating, in the aspect of “eat, beloved ones” (ichlu rei’im) (Shir HaShirim 5:1) — which are the two companions (trein re’in) that are never separated (d’la misparshan), the mochin drawn through eating. And this is the essential sustaining of the heart received through eating. For when the mochin are whole, through eating in holiness: one merits that the crookedness of the heart be stripped away, and one merits straightness of heart. And this is the essential vitality and delight of the heart when it is stripped of its crookedness — and one merits joy, in the aspect of “and for the upright of heart, joy.” And this is the aspect of holy eating (achilah dikedushah) — in the aspect of (Koheles 8:15): “there is no good in man except to eat and to drink and to rejoice and to see good” etc. For when one merits holy eating — the aspect of eating matzah — one merits through such eating joy: the aspect of “to eat and to drink and to rejoice.” For through matzah one merits thunderclaps, through which the crookedness of the heart is stripped away, through which one merits joy as mentioned. And therefore Israel — the holy people — must have their eating always throughout the year in the aspect of matzah, which is holy eating. As our Sages of blessed memory said: “The Torah was given only to those who eat the manna.” And manna (man) is the aspect of matzah — as our Sages of blessed memory said (Kiddushin 38a): the ugah — that is, the matzah that Israel took out of Egypt — they tasted in it the taste of manna. For Israel must uphold the Torah, and the essential fulfillment of Torah and commandments in wholeness is the joy of the commandment (simchas hamitzvah) — as is brought in the writings of the holy Ari of blessed memory, that the essential wholeness is the joy of the commandment. And as it is written (Devarim 28:47): “because you did not serve Hashem your G-d with joy and gladness of heart” etc. And as is explained in the words of our master of blessed memory (Rabbeinu z”l) in the aforementioned Torah and in many places. And the essential joy of the commandment is when one merits the aforementioned joy — that one has joy from the commandment itself etc. And this joy is impossible to merit except through matzah — which is the aspect of manna — through which one merits thunderclaps, strips away the crookedness of the heart, merits straightness of heart, and then merits the joy of the commandment. And therefore the Torah was given only to those who eat manna — which is the aspect of matzah, the rectification of the mind in great holiness, through which one specifically merits joy as mentioned — that is: to fulfill the commandments with joy, which is the essential receiving of the Torah. And this is the aspect of the joy of Shavuos — as we find that the early righteous ones rejoiced greatly on Shavuos, the receiving of the Torah. For the essential receiving of the Torah is the joy of the commandment — as it is written (Yeshayahu 35:10): “and eternal joy upon their heads” — which was said concerning the two crowns that Israel merited when they said Na’aseh v’Nishma (Shabbos 88a). And therefore Israel must always eat in the aspect of matzah, the aspect of manna — that is: to greatly sanctify their eating, so that through eating they merit holy and pure minds (mochin kedoshim v’zakkim). For this is the aspect of matzah — for we eat actual matzah for the seven days of Pesach, which is a remedy (asvata) through which we sanctify our minds and understanding, which is the essential holiness. And then, having received the remedy for the mind at Pesach, we can afterward eat chametz as well — as is stated in the Zohar. For through the remedy of matzah eaten at Pesach one sanctifies the mind so greatly that even when eating chametz afterward it is in great holiness — to the point that one can merit pure minds even through eating chametz all year. For we can transform from chametz to matzah, from ches to heh etc. And this is the aspect of all the sanctities in bread — which contain ten sanctities (eser kedushshos), as our Sages of blessed memory said. One must greatly sanctify the bread so that it be in the aspect of matzah, holy mind, so that it sustain the heart — that through it one merit goodness of heart, straightness of heart — in the aspect of “and he ate and drank and his heart was merry” (Shoftim 19:6). For the ten sanctities of bread are the aspect of the holiness of the mochin, called kodesh as is known. And holiness is the aspect of yud — for there is no holiness with fewer than ten. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory warned: to give full flavour to the heh of HaMotzi — to bring the bread from the aspect of chametz to the aspect of matzah, from ches to heh. For we must always eat in the aspect of matzah, so that we merit thunderclaps that strip the crookedness of the heart, through which we merit the joy of the commandment as mentioned. And this is the aspect of (Yoel 2:26): “and you shall eat, eating and being satisfied, and you shall praise the name of Hashem your G-d who has dealt wondrously with you.” “L’hafli” [wondrously] — this is the aspect of thunderclaps, the wonders of the Perfect of Knowledge (nifla’os temim de’im) — as it is written (Iyov 37:5): “G-d thunders wondrously with His voice.” And this is: eating and being satisfied = the righteous one eats to satisfy his soul. And then: “you shall praise” = prayer with intention = thunderclaps = wondrously. For when eating is in holiness in the aspect of matzah, one merits prayer with intention, which is the aspect of thunderclaps — for the essential thunderclaps come through the aspect of matzah as mentioned. And therefore when one places water into the dough, one must give Chalah to the Kohen — for the essential holiness of the mind, the aspect of matzah, the aspect of thunderclaps: one merits these through chesed, which is the aspect of Kohen, the aspect of right (yamin) — in the aspect of “Sit at My right hand.” For the essential revelation is through chasadim as mentioned — in the aspect of “from the right side the mind is white as silver” as mentioned. And therefore through the Chalah given to the Kohen from the dough — one draws the aspect of chasadim, the aspect of right, which is the aspect of Kohen. As it is written in the aforementioned psalm: “You are a Kohen forever” (Tehillim 110:4) — that is: Avraham, the man of chesed (ish hachesed), who is right — he is the aspect of Kohen. And concerning him it is said: “Sit at My right hand” — through which comes the essential arising (hishavus) of the aspect of thunderclaps as mentioned. And through this one grows strong and brings out the dough from the side of death (sitra d’mosa), from the aspect of chametz, and merits that it be in the aspect of matzah, the aspect of thunderclaps — from which comes the essential growth of bread — as it is written (Tehillim 104:7,14): “from the sound of Your thunder they were startled… to bring forth bread from the earth.” And therefore the essential [moment] of Chalah is when the dough is made — that is, when water is placed in it, at which point it comes within the scope of leavening (limklal chimutz) — and then one must sanctify the dough through the Chalah given to the Kohen: through which one grows strong through the aspect of right and elevates from chametz to matzah as mentioned. And therefore the custom is to be meticulous to bake bread for Shabbos in order to separate Chalah. And as is written in the Shulchan Aruch — that even those who eat non-Jewish bread bake bread for Shabbos in order to separate Chalah — as is written in Orach Chaim, Section 242. And likewise all the Shabbos bread is called chalah — for the essential separation of Chalah is in order to merit the holiness of Shabbos: which is the joy of the commandment mentioned, where one feels the World to Come — which is Shabbos — in the commandment itself. This is the aspect of Shabbos, the aspect of “on Shabbos remember it from the first day” etc. And this joy one merits through the aspect of matzah, through the aspect of thunderclaps as mentioned — which one merits through the aspect of right (yamin), which is the aspect of the Chalah given to the Kohen as mentioned. And therefore one must be all the more meticulous to fulfill the commandment of Chalah in the Shabbos bread as mentioned. And this is the aspect of Shabbos eating, which is a great commandment — for Shabbos eating is holy eating, the aspect of manna — as is written in the Shulchan Aruch: that at Shabbos eating one makes a commemoration of the manna that was as if placed in a box — which is the aspect of the two matzos (shetei hamappos) between which the Shabbos bread is placed etc. For on Shabbos — which is the aspect of the World to Come felt in this world when one merits to receive Shabbos properly — it is a great commandment to eat. For then eating is in holiness, the aspect of manna, the aspect of matzah, in the aspect of “so that you may be nourished and delight yourselves” — the aspect of oneg Shabbos. As our master of blessed memory explained in another place (Section 57). And through such eating one merits the joy of the commandment — which is the essential oneg Shabbos: feeling the delight and joy of the World to Come, which is the aspect of Shabbos, in this world as mentioned. And this is “to eat and to drink and to rejoice” — which was said concerning Shabboses and Festivals, as is brought in the Midrash. And this is the aspect of the double bread (lechem mishneh) eaten on Shabbos — this is the aspect of Mishneh Torah [the doubled Torah] — which is the aspect of “therefore in their land they shall inherit double” (lachein b’artzam mishneh yirashu) (Yeshayahu 61:7). Which is the aspect of “she does not fear for her house from snow, for all her household is clothed in crimson” (lo sira l’veisah mishaleg ki kol beisah lavush shanim) (Mishlei 31:21). And our Sages of blessed memory expounded: lavush shnayim [clothed in two] — that the Torah doubles its words (kofellet devarehah) in all commandments. As it is written: “return, you shall return” (hashev tashiv), “give generously, you shall give” (ha’aneik ta’anik), “give, you shall give” (naton titen), “open, you shall open” (pasoach tiftach) etc. — that is: the Torah doubles its words in most commandments, to teach that the essential fulfillment of commandments should be for the sake of doing another commandment as the reward for this commandment — as they said: “the reward of a commandment is a commandment.” And this is the essential wholeness of fulfilling commandments with joy as mentioned. And this is the aspect of lavush shnayim, the aspect of “open, you shall open” etc. — that the essential commandment of charity should be in order to merit to give more charity, and so with all commandments. And this is the aspect of Mishneh Torah, the aspect of lavush shanim. And this is “therefore in their land” — that is: even in this world, in this land — “they shall inherit double” — that we merit even in this world the reward of the World to Come, which is the aspect of mishneh, the aspect of Mishneh Torah — to perform all commandments for the sake of the mishneh, the aspect of lavush shanim — so that we merit to double and repeat and fulfill a second commandment as the reward for this one, in the aspect of “the reward of a commandment is a commandment.” And this is the aspect of the lechem mishneh of Shabbos, fulfilled specifically through Shabbos eating — for through Shabbos eating one merits straightness of heart, through which one merits joy, in the aspect of “to eat and to drink and to rejoice.” And the essential joy is in the aspect of lechem mishneh, Mishneh Torah, lavush shanim — which is the aspect of “the reward of a commandment is a commandment.” And this is the aspect of eating manna — the aspect of matzah — through which one merits to perform the commandment with joy for the sake of performing another commandment, and feels the World to Come in the commandment itself — to the point that one does not seek any reward of the World to Come. And this is the aspect of manna — the aspect of “for they did not know what it was” (ki lo yad’u mah hu) (Shemos 16:15) — which is the aspect of the ultimate of knowing, which is not-knowing (tachlis hayedi’ah asher lo neda). For this joy is impossible to merit except when one annuls oneself completely (m’vatlin atzmo mikol v’chol), to the point of knowing nothing of oneself at all, and arriving at the ultimate of knowing which is not-knowing — which is the aspect of “for they did not know what it was.” And then one does not desire any reward of the World to Come at all. And this is the aspect of the matzah Israel took out of Egypt — the aspect of manna. And this is: “and they baked the dough that they took out of Egypt into cakes of matzah, for it had not leavened, for they were driven out of Egypt” etc. “and they did not prepare provisions for themselves” (v’gam tzeidah lo asu lahem) (Shemos 12:39). Matzos — this is the aspect of mitzvos — as our Sages of blessed memory said: “do not read matzos but mitzvos” (al tikri hamatzos ela hamitzvos) — just as one does not leaven the matzah, so one does not leaven the commandment etc. And this is “they did not prepare provisions for themselves” — that they merited to fulfill commandments with joy and not for the reward of the World to Come, which is the aspect of tzeidah [provisions] prepared through commandments as provisions for the road. For as our Sages of blessed memory said: “the road is far and the provisions are few” (orcha rechika u’zevada kelila) — and although this is very good, and blessed is one who merits to prepare provisions for such a very long journey: nevertheless this is not the ultimate wholeness. For the essential wholeness is when one merits to guard commandments in the aspect of matzah, in the aspect of “they did not prepare provisions for themselves” — preparing no provisions at all at the time of engaging in commandments, not intending any reward of the World to Come — rather, the essential joy and delight (simchaso v’ta’anugoh) is the commandment itself as mentioned. And therefore our Sages of blessed memory derived the alacrity (zerizus) of commandments from matzos as mentioned: just as one does not leaven the matzah, so one does not leaven the commandment — a commandment that comes to your hand, do not leaven it, but perform it immediately. For the alacrity of the commandment in wholeness comes only when one merits the aspect of matzah in wholeness — holiness of the mind — through which one merits the aforementioned joy: that one does not desire any reward of the World to Come, only joy from the commandment itself. And then one certainly performs it with very great alacrity (zerizus gadol me’od me’od) — since all one’s joy and delight is only from the commandment itself, and one always hopes that Hashem will grant the merit to perform a commandment. And this is what the Tanna juxtaposed: “the reward of a commandment is a commandment” next to the warning of alacrity — as they said (Avos 4:2): “run to a light commandment as to a weighty one, and flee from transgression — for commandment draws commandment… the reward of a commandment is a commandment.” For the essential alacrity is through meriting the aforementioned joy, which is the aspect of “the reward of a commandment is a commandment.” And as is explained in the words of our master of blessed memory in another place: that alacrity is the aspect of joy, the opposite of laziness and sadness, which are also one and the same aspect. And this is: “and they baked the dough into cakes of matzah.” Matzos — the aspect of alacrity of the commandment, the aspect of “run to a light commandment” — just as one does not leaven the matzah. For “they were driven out of Egypt” — the aspect of “flee from transgression” — for Egypt (Mitzrayim) is the aspect of the dwelling-place of the klippos (medor haklippos), the aspect of transgressions — from which one must flee and be expelled with great alacrity. And this is: “and they could not delay” (v’lo yachlu l’hismameha) — great alacrity in fleeing transgression and running to the commandment, which is the aspect of matzah. And all this because they merited the aforementioned joy — the aspect of “they did not prepare provisions for themselves” — the aspect of “the reward of a commandment is a commandment.” For they prepared no provisions for the road, that is, no reward of the World to Come — for their essential World to Come was the commandment itself, in the aspect of “the reward of a commandment is a commandment” as mentioned. It is found that the entire aforementioned Mishnah — “run” etc. — is explained in the aforementioned verse. And this is the aspect of Na’aseh v’Nishma [we will do and we will hear] that Israel merited at the time of the receiving of the Torah — that they merited to accept the fulfillment of commandments for the sake of hearing yet another commandment. In the aspect of Na’aseh v’Nishma: we will do this commandment in order to merit to hear and perform yet another commandment as the reward for this commandment. For the second commandment that one hopes to fulfill is in the aspect of nishma — for nishma is longing and cleaving (teshukah u’deveikus), as is explained in the words of our master of blessed memory in another place. That is: the second commandment that one has not yet merited to fulfill — which one hopes to fulfill as the reward for this commandment — is the aspect of nishma. And this is Na’aseh v’Nishma — the aspect of “the reward of a commandment is a commandment” — which is the essential joy as mentioned. And therefore Na’aseh v’Nishma is called joy (simchah) — as our Sages of blessed memory said concerning the verse “and eternal joy upon their heads” — that this is the aspect of the crowns of Na’aseh v’Nishma. For the essential joy is when one merits to fulfill commandments in the aspect of Na’aseh v’Nishma — performing this commandment in order to perform another — in the aspect of “the reward of a commandment is a commandment” as mentioned. And this is the essential receiving of the Torah as mentioned. Chalah → Kohen = Chesed = Yamin Avraham ish hachesed · “Shev limini” · Draw Chasadim Matzah = Holy Eating = Pure Mochin Chametz → Matzah (Ches → Heh) · HaMotzi · Pesach heals Mochin Re’amim — Thunderclaps Tefilah b’koach · Strip akmimiyas shebalev · Yashrut leiv Simchas HaMitzvah Joy from mitzvah itself · No World-to-Come reward sought Sechar Mitzvah Mitzvah Na’aseh v’Nishma · Lechem Mishneh Mishneh Torah · Lavush Shanim Zerizus HaMitzvah “Hevei ratz l’mitzvah kalah” Matzos = Mitzvos · Flee Mitzrayim Shabbos = Manna = Matzah · “V’achaltem achol v’save’a v’hillaltem” (Yoel 2:26) · Torah given only to eaters of manna ✦ Translator’s Summary — Halacha Three The longest halacha so far (six sections). Based on Likutay I:5, it reads Chalah through a third, entirely new lens: matzah vs. chametz, the sanctification of the mochin, thunderclaps, and the joy of the mitzvah.