ספר תורה ב

I said, “O LORD, have mercy on me, heal me, for I have sinned against You.”

The essential point that emerges from there for our subject: through holy speech in the holy Torah, one cools the burning heat of the heart, lest it consume the person, heaven forbid. As is stated in the holy Zohar: “were it not for the wings of the lung that blow upon the heart, the heart would burn up the entire body.” The wings of the lung (kanfay re’ah) are the aspect of the Torah, within which the spirit of G-d (ruach Elokim) hovers, to cool the burning heat of the heart lest it burn up the entire body, heaven forbid — corresponding to the verse: “and the spirit of G-d hovered upon the face of the waters” (v’ruach Elokim merachefes al p’nay hamayim) (Beraishis 1:2). For “the lung is water, which is Torah” (re’ah da maya d’ihi Orayta).

For when the Israelite man burns in his heart toward Hashem blessed-be-He, the burning could consume the entire body — for the blazing of the heart of an Israelite toward Hashem blessed-be-He is without limit or measure, to the extent that from the greatness of the ardor it would be possible for it to burn up the entire body. But when it is clothed in the letters of the Torah, through this the heart is cooled through the words of Torah, which are the wings of the lung that blow upon the heart as mentioned.

And so, heaven forbid, in the opposite direction: when one burns, heaven forbid, toward the desires of this world — that too would burn up the entire body, heaven forbid. But through the words of the holy Torah one is saved from the burning of the heart. For the Torah is the aspect of the wings of the lung that blow upon the heart lest the entire body be burned up, heaven forbid — whether from excess ardor and blazing of the heart toward Hashem blessed-be-He beyond the proper measure, or from excess blazing of the heart toward desires. For the Torah hovers over the heart and saves from both.

6 אוֹיְבַי יֹאמְרוּ רַע לִי מָתַי יָמוּת וְאָבַד שְׁמוֹ And this is the aspect of Terumah and Ma'aser to the Kohen and the Levi. For in truth one must be very careful regarding both kinds of the aforementioned heart-blazing. For even when the heart burns toward Hashem blessed-be-He beyond the proper measure — this too is not good, for through this one can fall entirely, heaven forbid. Therefore one must always multiply engagement in Torah, for the Torah is the aspect of the central pillar (amuda d’emtza’ita) that saves from both blazings of the heart as mentioned — that is, that saves from the blazing of the heart toward desires, heaven forbid, and also cools the heart so that it does not blaze beyond the proper measure toward Hashem blessed-be-He. Rather one should proceed in a gradual and measured way, in proper order.

Oyiviy yoamiroo ra lee mussiy yumoos vi-uvad shimoa. For although it is certainly fitting that a person should burn toward Hashem blessed-be-He very greatly — and this is the nature of every person at their root, that from the side of the fire within their hearts each one burns very greatly toward Hashem blessed-be-He without limit or measure — nonetheless one must be very careful to restrain (tzamtzem) this ardor and blazing so that it not go beyond the proper measure, heaven forbid, lest the heart burn up the entire body, heaven forbid, from the excess ardor toward Hashem blessed-be-He. For Hashem blessed-be-He desires the continuation of the world, as it is written: “You desired praise from clods of earth, from those formed of clay” (v’avisa tehilah migushay afar mikrutzay chomer) etc. Therefore one must restrain the ardor so that it proceed gradually and in measure, in the aspect of “the living creatures ran and returned” (v’hachayos ratzo vashuv) (Yechezkel 1:14) — lest it go beyond the measure, heaven forbid. For many have stumbled through this and fallen entirely through excess blazing beyond the proper measure.

My enemies speak evilly of me, “When will he die and his name perish?”

Therefore one must engage in Torah, for only through the holy Torah can one cool the heart from both aforementioned heats — from the blazing of desires, heaven forbid, and from the blazing of the heart toward Hashem blessed-be-He beyond the proper measure — and serve Hashem blessed-be-He gradually and in measure as is proper, according to His good Will.

And therefore one must sanctify one’s eating greatly. And this is the aspect of the ten sanctities (eser kedushos) that are in the bread, as explained in the Tur, Orach Chaim — that there are ten commandments concerning bread. See there. For bread sustains the heart, as “bread supports the heart” (pita sa’ada d’liba). And therefore through eating the heart is strengthened — meaning the blazing of the heart intensifies, as is sensibly perceived: the main strengthening of the heart’s blazing comes through eating, which brings heat and strength to the heart.

And therefore when eating is not in holiness according to the Torah, the blazing of the heart intensifies through the eating, heaven forbid, and one can come, heaven forbid, to both the aforementioned blemishes. For sometimes the heart is brought to blazing for the body’s desires through eating, heaven forbid, as it is written: “and Yeshurun grew fat and kicked” (vayishman Yeshurun vayivat) (Devarim 32:15) etc. And sometimes one can blaze even more, beyond the proper measure toward Hashem blessed-be-He, through eating and drinking — corresponding to “but upon the nobles of the Children of Israel He did not send His hand” (v’el atzilay vnay Yisrael lo shalach yado) (Shemos 24:11) — which implies they were deserving that a hand be sent against them, as Rashi explains there. For “they beheld G-d and ate and drank” (vayechezu es ha’Elokim vayochlu vayishtu) (ibid.) — meaning they gazed upon Him with a coarse heart from within eating and drinking, and were inflamed toward Hashem blessed-be-He beyond the proper measure, gazing and peering beyond the boundary at that which they had no permission to see. This is the aspect of the blemish of Nadav and Avihu — the aspect of those who entered the Sanctuary intoxicated with wine (shtuyay yayin), whose blemish was that they became inflamed beyond the proper measure, as it is written: “in their drawing near before Hashem and they died” (b’karvasam lifnay Hashem vayamusu) (Vayikra 16:1).

And this is the aspect of “lest you eat and be satisfied and your heart be lifted up and you forget Hashem your G-d” (pen tochal v’savata ram levavecha v’shachachta es Hashem Elokecha) (Devarim 8:12–14). For this — being inflamed and blazing toward Hashem blessed-be-He beyond the proper measure — is the aspect of haughtiness (rum levav v’gasut), through which one can stumble entirely, heaven forbid, and become distant from Hashem blessed-be-He, in the aspect of “your heart will be lifted up and you will forget Hashem your G-d.”

Vi-eem bu leeroas shuv yidabair leeboa yeekbutz uven low yaitzai lachootz yidabair.

And the majority of people stumble in this. For in truth, in most cases, the essential reason a person does not draw near to Hashem blessed-be-He and does not return in repentance to Hashem blessed-be-He — although the hindrance is from the overpowering of the body’s desires — is also due to this great obstacle to drawing near to Hashem blessed-be-He: namely the excess blazing of the heart toward Hashem blessed-be-He that blazes beyond the proper measure. For certainly, if one takes any person who is within the category of Israel and in whom heresy and apostasy have not been cast — if one asks him whether he desires to repent and return to Hashem blessed-be-He — certainly all will answer with one voice that they desire very greatly to return to Hashem blessed-be-He and have longed for it deeply for many days and years.

And even if one asks him whether he would be willing to do something for Hashem blessed-be-He in order to return to Him — such as to learn a page of Gemara, or to give a penny to charity, or to go immerse in the mikveh, and similar things that sanctify a person — certainly he will answer with a full mouth: yes, for I would certainly be willing to do double what is mentioned. But only if it will help me — for I know that all this cannot help me, given the immense multitude of the blemishes and sins I have transgressed against Him blessed-be-He. And because it appears to him that all this will not help him, therefore he does nothing at all.

If one comes to visit, he speaks falsely; his mind stores up evil thoughts; once outside, he speaks them.

It turns out that because of the excess blazing of his heart — since according to what he imagines in his heart about the greatness of Him blessed-be-He, and how he has blemished against Him blessed-be-He, he therefore needs to sanctify himself with a very, very great sanctity — he must remove himself entirely from this world, and cast all the desires of this world behind him, and sanctify himself with all the sanctities and afflict himself greatly and mortify himself with all the mortifications in the world. And even all this is insufficient for him given the enormity of his sins. And since he cannot overcome himself to do all these things — because of this he does nothing at all. There are even those who have fallen so in their thinking that they cannot even learn a page of Gemara or a chapter of Mishnah, because they know they need to do much, much more — and because of this they do nothing at all.

8 יַחַד עָלַי יִתְלַחֲשׁוּ כָּל-שֹׂנְאָי עָלַי יַחְשְׁבוּ רָעָה לִי And about this Shlomo the King, peace be upon him, already greatly warned us: “do not be exceedingly righteous, and do not be exceedingly wicked” (al titzdaq harbeh v’al tirsha harbeh) (Koheles 7:16). For because he wants to be exceedingly righteous as mentioned — therefore he is exceedingly wicked, heaven forbid, as mentioned. For in truth it is certainly fitting that it should be as it burns in his heart as mentioned, and that he sanctify himself with all the sanctities and turn his face entirely from this world etc. and more and more. But nonetheless, does one who cannot do everything thereby not do even half a commandment? And because he cannot earn all that can be earned in this world, should he therefore earn nothing at all and even forfeit, heaven forbid, what he forfeits — may the Merciful One save us?

For certainly everything he does for Hashem blessed-be-He — anything holy, even the smallest point — will certainly not be lost in the future, not a single thing. Even a single word of Torah or prayer, or a single penny to charity and the like — and not only will this certainly not be lost in any way even if he is whoever he is, even if, heaven forbid, he has transgressed the entire Torah many times over — nonetheless the Holy One blessed-be-He does not withhold reward from any creature. And everything he has done and performed for Hashem blessed-be-He, great thing and small thing, nothing will be lost in the future.

Yachad ulliy yislachashoo kul soaniy ulliy yachshivoo ru-uh lee. For although it is written in the books that one who is wicked adds strength to the klipah, heaven forbid, through his good deeds — there are already several answers to this. For if it were simply so, the hope of all ba’alay teshuvah would already be lost, for certainly it is impossible to return to Hashem blessed-be-He in a single instant. And if so, where does he begin to do repentance? For at the beginning he is still not yet a righteous person — and if so, how will he merit to return? And there is no need to elaborate on this. And furthermore, if it were so, heaven forbid, as is brought there simply — then all the wicked would need to convert entirely, heaven forbid. And if so, heaven forbid, the apostate would be considered more worthy than the wicked person who is still within the category of Israel. And certainly this is not so — for on the contrary, even the transgressors of Israel, as long as the name Israel is called upon him, as long as there is in him any good point and he has not thrown off the yoke entirely, and he sometimes does something holy — certainly he is very precious in the eyes of Hashem blessed-be-He. And one cannot elaborate on this lest one stray from the subject.

All my enemies whisper together against me, imagining the worst for me.

The rule is: anyone who wishes to have compassion on himself so as not to lose his world entirely, and who longs to return to Hashem blessed-be-He even though he does not merit to return as he should — nonetheless, everything he does that is holy, however it may be, will certainly not be lost. Even if he does not merit complete repentance in truth — at any rate the holy thing he does will not be lost at all, heaven forbid. All the more so that in most cases, when he is strong in his resolve and accustoms himself bit by bit in the ways of holiness, in the end he will merit to return in complete repentance to Hashem blessed-be-He as is fitting. For there is no despair in the world at all, as has been explained among us many times.

It turns out that the essential reason a person does not draw near to Hashem blessed-be-He is from the excess blazing of the heart beyond the proper measure as mentioned. And this is the aspect of “one who acts like Zimri and requests reward like Pinchas” (oseh ma’aseh Zimri umevakesh sachar k’Pinchas) — meaning he does what he does, and when one reminds him to return to Hashem blessed-be-He he wants only to immediately become a complete righteous person like Pinchas, and if not he does not want at all.

9 דְּבַר-בְּלִיַּעַל יָצוּק בּוֹ וַאֲשֶׁר שָׁכַב לֹא-יוֹסִיף לָקוּם And through this, Yaravam ben Nevat was driven away. For Hashem blessed-be-He grasped him by his garment and said to him: repent, and I, you, and the son of Yishai will stroll in Gan Eden. He asked: who is at the head? Hashem blessed-be-He answered: the son of Yishai is at the head! And because of this he did not wish to return, as our Sages of blessed memory said (Sanhedrin 102a).

Divar bileeya-al yutzook boa vaashehr shuchav low yoaseef lukoom.“Something baneful has settled in him; he’ll not rise from his bed again.”

And on the face of it the matter is puzzling: for Yaravam was a great scholar. How could it enter his mind to ask Hashem blessed-be-He who is at the head? Could a sinner be rewarded — could it enter the mind that after sinning so greatly he would be greater than King David peace be upon him, who served Hashem blessed-be-He with very great toil all his days?!

10 גַּם-אִישׁ שְׁלוֹמִי אֲשֶׁר-בָּטַחְתִּי בוֹ אוֹכֵל לַחְמִי הִגְדִּיל עָלַי עָקֵב But according to the above the matter is well explained. For as soon as Hashem blessed-be-He reminded him to return, Yaravam immediately became very greatly inflamed toward Hashem blessed-be-He with a great and mighty ardor, to such an extent that according to the greatness of the ardor he could have ascended to a level so great that he would even surpass King David peace be upon him. And he wanted to return only in a way that Hashem blessed-be-He would guarantee that he would merit such great repentance that he would ascend to a level higher than King David peace be upon him. It turns out he was not speaking complete foolishness — for it did not enter his mind that he would be greater than David for nothing. Rather his request was that he wanted to serve Hashem blessed-be-He so greatly that he would ascend to a higher level than David. And this is certainly possible — for every person, even the transgressors of Israel, can ascend to very high levels, for “in the place where ba’alay teshuvah stand, complete righteous persons cannot stand.” But nonetheless, he acted very foolishly in that he made his repentance contingent specifically on this — that he answered Hashem blessed-be-He that he did not want to return except in this way, that he would be greater than David. And therefore Hashem blessed-be-He answered him in reverse: that the son of Yishai is at the head. For he was obligated to be willing to return even if he would only merit a very small level. For the essence of repentance is a broken heart. And since a person knows he has blemished so greatly, he is obligated to be willing to do whatever he does for Hashem blessed-be-He, even though he will only merit the most lowly level. And if he would not merit through all his service except to diminish his punishment in Gehinnom a little — even that is worthwhile to spend all his days in the service of Hashem for this alone. For a single moment of pain in Gehinnom surpasses all of this world for the entire span of his life. And if he is willing for this, certainly Hashem blessed-be-He will have mercy on him, for He desires kindness and “He desires the repentance of the wicked” (rotzeh b’teshuvasan shel resha’im) and “one who comes to be purified is assisted.” And with the passage of time, if he remains strong in his resolve not to abandon his place even if whatever happens passes over him, he can merit to ascend from level to level and acquire eternal life and merit what he will merit — fortunate is he. It turns out that what causes a person to stumble entirely, heaven forbid, is precisely this: that the heart blazes toward Hashem blessed-be-He beyond the proper measure. And this is the aspect of haughtiness and pride of heart (gasut v’rum levav), for through the arrogance in his heart he does not want to serve Hashem blessed-be-He except when he will merit to serve Hashem blessed-be-He with very lofty service etc. as mentioned. For although in truth it is certainly fitting for a person to serve Hashem blessed-be-He in all manner of services, and to remove himself entirely from this world etc. — for this he was created — nonetheless every single movement (tenu’ah) one makes for His sake blessed-be-He is precious in the eyes of Hashem blessed-be-He. Therefore: “whatever your hand finds to do with your strength, do it” (kol asher timtza yadcha la’asos b’kochacha aseh) (Koheles 9:10). And if you do not merit to prevail and do as is fitting for you — at any rate do what you can, whether little or much, and at any rate do not lose your world entirely, heaven forbid. And therefore one must sanctify the eating of Israel with many sanctities, in order that the heart not blaze through eating beyond the proper measure to the right or to the left — for neither is good, as mentioned. And this is the aspect of the blemish of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Aytz HaDa’as Tov vaRa), for it is mixed good and evil, and both are blemished. For even the good is blemished, since it is beyond the proper measure. And the evil is certainly evil. And therefore Hashem blessed-be-He warned not to eat from this eating that is mixed good and evil as mentioned. For one must cleave to the Tree of Life (Aytz HaChaim) which is the Torah, which cools the heart so that it be gradual and measured as mentioned. For the first Adam sinned in both the aforementioned aspects, as it is brought: “the first Adam gazed at that which he had no permission to see” (histakel b’mah d’lo havay lay r’shu) — this being the aspect of the blazing of the heart toward Hashem blessed-be-He beyond the proper measure. And it is also explained in the Torah that he sinned through excess desire, as it is written: “and it was a desire to the eyes” (v’chi ta’avah hu la’ainayim) etc. (Beraishis 3:6) — these being both the aforementioned aspects: the blazing of the heart toward Hashem blessed-be-He beyond the proper measure, and the blazing of the heart toward desires. This is the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil which is called Good and Evil, and both are to its discredit, for even the Good is blemished since it is beyond the proper measure as mentioned. For this depends on that: since a person blazes beyond the proper measure — when he does not merit to cool his heat through the holy Torah, he can fall through this, heaven forbid, into evil desires and stumble greatly as mentioned. This is the aspect of “they rose to the heavens, they descended to the depths” (ya’alu shamayim yayredu tehomot) (Tehillim 107:26) — since the ascent is not in proper order, up to the heavens, the descent too, heaven forbid, is to the abyss, heaven forbid. The aspect of “from Your wrath and Your anger, because You lifted me up and cast me down” (mipenay za’amcha v’kitzpecha ki nessatani vatashlicheni) (Tehillim 102:11) — this being the aspect of destruction (harisah), the aspect of “lest they break through to ascend to Hashem” (pen yehresu la’alos el Hashem) (Shemos 19:24), as explained elsewhere. And therefore the essential reason Chavah stumbled was that she added to the commandment, as our Sages of blessed memory said — that he pushed her until she touched it etc. For what she added to the commandment — saying that even touching was forbidden — this is the aspect of going beyond the proper measure. And through this she stumbled entirely and ate from the Tree of Knowledge. And therefore at the very beginning, the essence of the serpent’s instigation was through addition, as he said: “even though G-d said you shall not eat from any tree of the garden” (af ki amar Elokim lo tochaylu mikol aytz hagan) etc. And this is the aspect of what Eisav would ask his father: “Father, how does one tithe straw and salt?” — going to absurd excess in adding. And this is what the Torah warned: “you shall not add to the matter, nor shall you subtract from it” (lo sosifu al hadavar v’lo sigre’u mimenu) (Devarim 4:2). And as Shlomo the King peace be upon him wrote: “do not add to His words” (lo sosif al devarav) (Mishlai 30:6). For all of this is the aspect of excess light (ribuy or) beyond the proper measure, through which one can stumble entirely, heaven forbid, as mentioned. And this is the aspect of Terumah to the Kohen — that one must give from the bread a Terumah to the Kohen. For the Kohen draws down the spirit of G-d that hovers upon the face of the waters, which is the Torah, which is the spirit of the wings of the lung that blows upon the heart to cool the heart’s heat as mentioned. For this is the aspect of the priestly blessing (birkas kohanim), the aspect of “and Aharon lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them” (vayisa Aharon es yadav el ha’am vayevarachem) (Vayikra 9:22). And the essence of the priestly blessing is peace (shalom), as they conclude: “and grant you peace” (v’yasem l’cha shalom). And therefore the priestly blessing is placed next to Sim Shalom [the blessing of peace in the Amidah]. And this peace is the aspect of making peace between the midos [character traits / divine attributes] through the Torah, which hovers over the heart and cools the desires and also restrains the ardor of the heart so it does not blaze beyond the proper measure. And this is the aspect of peace that joins two opposites: the soul and the body — for the soul blazes toward Hashem blessed-be-He without limit, and likewise the body toward desires, heaven forbid. And one must cool the heart through the Torah and draw down aspects of peace, so that there be peace within himself to serve Hashem blessed-be-He gradually and in measure. And therefore the priestly blessing is through the raising of the hands (nesi’as hayadayim), for the hands are the aspect of the wings of the lung, as Rabbaynu of blessed memory writes elsewhere. For when the hands are raised the wings of the lung that are adjacent to them are lifted — as the decisors (posekim) explain, that because of this a broken rib renders an animal a trefah, for certainly the lung has been punctured. And the hands are in the place of wings in birds. It turns out that when the hands are raised, the wings of the lung are lifted, and in them is the spirit that blows upon the heart, cooling the heart’s heat as mentioned. And this is the aspect of the priestly blessing which is peace — that they bless through the raising of the palms specifically, in order to draw down the spirit in the wings of the lung that blows upon the heart and cools the heart’s heat, so as to merit to serve Hashem blessed-be-He gradually and in measure, which is the aspect of peace as mentioned. For the essence of the Torah is with the Kohen, as it is written: “they shall teach Your ordinances to Yaakov and Your Torah to Israel” (yoru mishpatecha l’Yaakov v’sorasecha l’Yisrael) (Devarim 33:10) etc. As it is written: “for the lips of the Kohen shall safeguard knowledge, and Torah they shall seek from his mouth” (ki sifsay kohen yishmeru da’as v’Torah yevakshu mipihu) (Malachi 2:7). For the Kohanim draw down the Torah to Israel — which is the aspect of the spirit of life in the wings of the lung, drawn through the raising of palms through the priestly blessing which is the aspect of peace as mentioned. And therefore the Torah too is called peace, as it is written: “Hashem will give strength to His people” (Hashem oz l’amo yitain) etc. (Tehillim 29:11). And therefore one must give Terumah to the Kohen — through which one sanctifies the bread that sustains the heart, so that excessive heat not come to the heart beyond the proper measure as mentioned. For through the Kohen the spirit in the wings of the lung is drawn, which cools the heart’s heat that is drawn through eating as mentioned. And therefore Israel must sanctify their eating according to the Torah, as it is written: “and Your Torah within my innards” (v’sorasecha b’soch me’ai) (Tehillim 40:9) — in order to cool through the Torah the heart’s heat that is drawn through eating as mentioned. And this is the aspect of the washing of hands in water before eating (netilus yadayim b’mayim). For one must sanctify the hands in water — within which the spirit of G-d hovers, in the aspect of “and the spirit of G-d hovered upon the face of the waters” as mentioned. And therefore through the water the hands are sanctified so that in them will be the spirit of G-d — which is the spirit in the wings of the lung corresponding to the hands — and then one can raise the hands in great holiness. In the aspect of “lift up your hands in holiness” (s’u yedaychem kodesh) (Tehillim 134:2) — in the aspect of the raising of palms. And through this the wings of the lung are raised and hover over the heart, so that eating does no harm, heaven forbid — so that eating does not bring excess heat to the heart and the heart not blaze, heaven forbid, beyond the proper measure, lest it burn up the entire body as mentioned. And this is the aspect of Terumah to the Kohen and Ma'aser to the Levi. For the essential restraint (tzimtzum) is through the aspect of the Levi, who is the aspect of restraint as is known. For the Kohen draws down the spirit of life to cool the heart, but the essential restraint — that it be gradual and measured — is through the Levi. And therefore Terumah to the Kohen has no fixed measure, for there, in the aspect of the Kohen, it is still in the aspect of without measure. Only the Sages, who are the aspect of the Oral Torah (Torah sheb’al peh), gave a measure — for the essential measure and restraint is through speech which is the aspect of Malchus [Kingship], mouth, and it is called the Oral Torah. And therefore the Sages, who are the aspect of Oral Torah, gave a measure even to the Terumah given to the Kohen. But the essential measure and quantity is in the aspect of the Levi. And therefore one must give Ma'aser to the Levi in order to restrain the heart so that it be gradual and measured as is proper. And therefore in all the services of the Temple, the Levi assisted the Kohen, as it is written: “and they shall be joined to you and minister to you” (v’yilavu alecha visharsucha) (Bamidbar 18:2). For the Levi creates a boundary and measure for the holiness drawn through the Kohen, so that it be gradual and measured. And this is the aspect of the Levi’im leading the song on the platform (duchan) during the offerings, for song (shir) is from the side of gevurah [strength/severity] as is brought, and the essence of song is the aspect of measures and restraints — that the spirit in the wings of the lung, from which the voice emerges through the throat, be restrained. And through knowing how to restrain the spirit in the wings of the lung in the proper measures and rhythm of the song, through this the song is essential, as is sensorially known. It turns out that song is the aspect of restraining the spirit in the wings of the lung so that it blow in proper order upon the heart. For even the spirit in the wings of the lung must be restrained so that it blow gradually and in measure. This is the aspect of the Levi’s service of assisting the Kohen during the offerings, and the essential service of the Levi is the song that rises and falls in the melody according to the rhythm of the song — in the aspect of “to make a weight for the wind” (la’asos laruach mishkal) (Iyov 28:25) — meaning for the spirit in the wings of the lung.