ספר תורה א

Annee umartee Adoanuy chunnainee riffu-uh nafshee key chuttussee luch. Halacha Five of Hilchos Chalah is subsumed within Halacha Five of Hilchos Pidyon HaBechor, letter 26.

For all things — before one eats them or derives pleasure from them — one must raise and elevate them upward to holiness, in order to draw down for them a life-force from holiness. And then the food is fit for the eating of Israel. For previously it drew its life-force from the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge (Etz HaDa'as), through which all things fell among the klippos [husks]. And therefore one must recite a blessing before every item from which one wishes to derive pleasure. For through the blessing — through which one blesses and gives thanks to Hashem blessed-be-He Who created that thing — through this one raises and lifts that thing upward to its root in holiness, and draws down for it a life-force from there. For through the speech of the blessing — in which one says, for example, “boray pri ha'eitz” [Who creates the fruit of the tree] — through this it is as though the thing is created anew. For it is now rectified, and a life-force is drawn down for it from holiness. And it turns out that one is now creating it anew literally. As is brought above in Hilchos Nedarim (Halacha 1).

And this is the aspect of Terumah and Ma'aser. And ma'aser min hama'aser [a tithe of the tithe] which is also a Terumah. And on the face of it the matter is puzzling: since there is a commandment to separate yet another Terumah — that is, ma'aser min hama'aser — it would have seemed appropriate to separate it all at once. For there is no difference at all between the first and the last Terumah: both go to the Kohen, both are holy with a single holiness according to the law of Terumah.

But according to what is found in the words of our master may his light shine (Rabbaynu nayro ya'ir) in the discourse “Vihi na pi shnayim” [Let there be please a double portion] (Section 66) — that there are two spirits (ruchos): a spirit above (ruach l’eila) and a spirit below (ruach l’sata). At the start they are one, and that is the aspect of before Creation. Afterward one must bring from potential to actuality — and then they divide into the two aforementioned spirits. And the bringing from potential to actuality is through speech etc. See there.

And this is the aspect of Terumah to the Kohen and ma'aser to the Levi. And ma'aser min hama'aser which is the second Terumah also to the Kohen. For the first Terumah has no fixed measure, because it is in the aspect of the spirit above (ruach d’l’eila) which is the aspect of Chochmah [Wisdom] — for “with wisdom You made them all” (kulam b’Chochmah asisa) (Tehillim 104:24). For it is the aspect of the first yud which is the aspect of thought in the mind — the aspect of Chochmah which is called kodesh [holy]. And therefore it has no measure, for there above — at the beginning of thought, which is the aspect of potential, the aspect of the spirit above — there is as yet no measure or quantity at all. Rather it is taken by estimation and thought (omad umachshavah), for it is in the aspect of thought in the mind, the aspect of potential as mentioned. For all measures and quantities exist only after Creation, and the spirit above is in the aspect of before Creation as mentioned. And the second Terumah — which is ma'aser min hama'aser — is the aspect of the spirit below (ruach d’l’sata), the aspect of actuality where measures and quantities exist. And therefore it is ma'aser min hama'aser — for the life-force below is only a part of one hundred, the aspect of ma'aser min hama'aser. In the secret of: a person is obligated to recite one hundred blessings every day (mea berachos), as is taught (Menachos 43b). And therefore one must first separate the ma'aser — in the secret of: a person is obligated to recite one hundred blessings every day. For the ma'aser is the aspect of Malchus [Kingship], mouth, speech — being the aspect of ma'aser from thought, from the spirit above. And it is given to the Levi, who is the aspect of speech, as it is said: “and Your mighty acts shall they speak” (u’gevurasecha yedaberu) (Tehillim 145:11) — for the Levi’im are in the aspect of gevuros [strengths/severities]. And through speech one brings from potential to actuality — that is, through the ma'aser to the Levi who is the aspect of speech, one brings from potential to actuality, and then the spirit below is drawn down, the aspect of actuality. And this is the aspect of ma'aser min hama'aser which is also a Terumah — the aspect of the spirit below as mentioned. And this is also alluded to in the words of our master in another place (Section 51) — that the Levi is the intermediate aspect between before-Creation and after-Creation, as is brought in the discourse of Rabbi Akiva: “when you reach the stones of pure marble” etc. See there. And therefore he is called by the name Levi — the language of connection (lashon hischabrut) — as it is written: “this time my husband will be joined to me” (hapa'am yilaveh ishi eilai) (Beraishis 29:34) — meaning that it is the aspect of speech which connects the spirit above and the spirit below. For it is intermediate between the two and composed of both, as is brought in the words of our master may his light shine (Section 11) — that speech is called “the bird that stands” (tziparta d’ka’ei) whose head reaches the edge of the heavens and whose ankles are in the water below — for speech is composed of above and below, and it brings from potential to actuality which is the essential Creation as is explained there. And therefore the holy speech of the aspect of the holy tongue (lashon hakodesh) is called pi shnayim [a double portion / lit. mouth of two]. As our master explains (Section 19) in the aspect of “let there be please a double portion in your spirit” (vihi na pi shnayim b’ruchecha) (Melachim II 2:9) — literally pi shnayim, for it is composed of the two spirits as mentioned. And therefore the Sages gave a measure to the first Terumah: tray mimea [two from a hundred]. For the spirit above is composed of the two spirits — for this is the general principle: the upper is composed of the lower, as “the end of deed is in the beginning of thought” (sof ma'aseh b’machshavah techilah). The progression from the beginning of thought — the aspect of the spirit above — to the end of action — the aspect of the spirit below — reaches the aspect of one hundred (mea). And therefore the spirit above, composed of both, is double the lower: tray mimea [two parts from a hundred], for it is composed of both as mentioned. And in truth, according to the essential Torah law (me'ikar hadin mid’Orayta), the first Terumah has no measure at all — for there it is above measure and quantity as mentioned. Only the Sages gave it a measure based on its end — for it will eventually descend downward to the end of action: “the end of deed is in the beginning of thought.” And therefore its measure is tray mimea — composed of both, as is brought in the discourse of Vihi na pi shnayim. See there. And therefore both Terumos go to the Kohen — for the Kohen is the aspect of Chochmah, from which come both spirits, as it is said: “with wisdom You made them all.” And through these aforementioned gifts one raises and elevates the grain and rectifies it as if creating it anew — for one draws down for it the life-force from holiness, from the beginning of thought to the end of action as mentioned. And then the grain is sanctified with the sanctity of the wholeness of the holy tongue, which is the aspect of pi shnayim through which the world and all within it was created. And therefore afterward one separates ma'aser sheni [second tithe] — this being the aspect of the wholeness of the holy tongue through Targum [Aramaic translation]. For ma'aser sheni is in the aspect of Targum, which is close to holiness and is eaten by non-priests (zarim), and it is intermediate between the priestly gifts (matanos kehunah) which are completely holy, and the rest of the grain which is eaten by non-priests. And the essential commandment is only to bring it up to Jerusalem, the holy city, which is the aspect of Malchus [Kingship], mouth, the holy tongue, and to eat it there. Through this the good that is in Targum ascends to the holy tongue and the evil is subdued. And then the grain is permitted for eating by Israel, for the evil has been subdued through the wholeness of the holy tongue by means of Targum as mentioned. See above in Hilchos Orlah (Halacha 1) where the aspect of ma'aser sheni is explained somewhat more — for it is the aspect of neta revai [fourth-year saplings] which is the aspect of the language of Targum completing the holy tongue through eating in Jerusalem as mentioned. Through tzedakah one raises and rectifies the blemished da'as [knowledge/mindfulness] of the elders of the generation who lack wholeness. And through this one subdues the forehead of the serpent (metzach hanachash) and the forehead of Will (metzach haratzon) grows strong. Then the calling voice of the festival (yom tov) is heard etc. And then the Will is revealed. And through the revelation of the Will, awe (yir'ah) is made. And through awe, a vessel is formed to receive the kindness (chesed). And then when the kindness flows, there is no need for any labor or commerce. For the world is sustained by His kindness. And it is then fulfilled: “and strangers shall stand and tend your flocks, and the sons of the foreigner shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers, but you shall be called Kohanay Hashem” (v’amdu zarim v’ra'u tzonechem etc.) (Yeshayahu 61:5–6) — “Kohanay Hashem” specifically, the aspect of kindness etc. And all this comes about through tzedakah. The benefit of tzedakah is thus very great — through it there is no need for any commerce or labor as mentioned. And we must always draw upon ourselves the future mode of conduct, when the world will be sustained by His kindness and there will be no need for any commerce or labor from the thirty-nine categories of labor (lamed-tes melachos). The thirty-nine categories of labor — although they are also the service of the Creator as is explained there in the aforementioned discourse — are nonetheless a great danger, for the serpent’s defilement (zuhamas hanachash) clings to the thirty-nine categories of labor as is known. And perhaps this too is included in the words of our master of blessed memory, who explained there in the aforementioned discourse the great virtue of tzedakah — that through it one merits the future mode of conduct where the world will be sustained by His kindness and there will be no need for any commerce or labor from the thirty-nine categories of labor. And he explained there at the beginning of the discourse: although they are also service of the Creator, for the thirty-nine categories of labor are the aspect of the labor of the Mishkan [Tabernacle] etc. — nonetheless, if His kindness were to flow upon us, we would not need all of this etc. See there carefully. And it seems somewhat difficult in his words: what is his answer to the question he himself raised against his words — that although they are also service of the Creator, still, if so, what does it matter to us if we must engage in labors and commerce, since they are also service of the Creator? But in truth, his intention is: although the trades are also service of the Creator, certainly the service of Torah, prayer, and cleaving to the Creator blessed-be-He — as it will be in the future — is certainly of a far higher level than the service of sustaining the world, namely the service involved in the thirty-nine categories of labor. And in particular according to the above — that the thirty-nine categories of labor are a great danger because the serpent’s defilement clings there. Therefore one must strive to merit the future mode of conduct, where the world will be sustained by His kindness. And then the thirty-nine categories will be completely nullified from Israel — as it is written: “and strangers shall stand” etc. And then the serpent’s defilement will be completely nullified. And for this we must now clarify all things from the aspect of the thirty-nine categories of labor, which is the aspect of the present mode of conduct.