שילוח הקן ב

My faithful G-d will come to aid me; G-d will let me gloat over my watchful foes.

"And every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb..." — Shemos 13:13 And Rashi explained: because there is no one among Israel who did not take out from Egypt ten donkeys laden with the wealth of Egypt.

For the donkeys are in the aspect of wealth — as it is written: "Yissachar is a strong-boned donkey" (Bereishis 49:14), and the Targum renders: "Rich in possessions." For the root of wealth is from the left side (sitra d'smala), the aspect of the north, as it is written: "From the north gold comes" (Iyov 37:22) — as our master, may his light shine, explains in Section 59. And therefore the essential [attainment of] wealth is through guarding the covenant, as our master, may his light shine, explains many times — for the arousal of union (it'aruta d'zivuga) is from the left side. And therefore the Sitra Achra has its grip there especially, for their hold is on the left side. And when one does not guard his covenant, Heaven forbid, then the aforementioned Sitra Achra prosecutes against him and does not allow him to receive wealth. And even if he has much money, his money is not truly money — on the contrary, it consumes his life, for he receives his influx through the Sitra Achra because he did not subdue it. And see all of this elsewhere. But one who guards his covenant and conquers his inclination and subdues the Sitra Achra, and the left is included within the right — this being the aspect of the holiness of the covenant — then he receives great bounty from the holy source, from the root of the influx that is in holiness. And therefore when Israel went out from Egypt and merited to subdue the impurity of Egypt — that is, the blemish of the covenant — and merited to the holiness of the covenant, which is the essential purpose of the Exodus from Egypt, as is well known — therefore they merited at that time to immense wealth and went out with great property. And the blemish of the covenant, which is the aspect of Egypt, is the aspect of the chamor (donkey), as it is written: "Their flesh is as the flesh of donkeys" (Yechezkel 23:20) — referring to those who are steeped in licentiousness. And therefore one must subdue the aspect of the donkey, and through this one merits wealth as explained above. And this is what Rashi explained: that Israel took their wealth out of Egypt specifically on donkeys — for it was from there that they received that wealth, through subduing the aspect of the donkey, which is the aspect of Egypt as mentioned above. And therefore most of the hard labors are done with donkeys, in order to subdue them — "to humble the servant beneath its master" (cf. Zohar). And therefore they took the burdens of their wealth out of Egypt specifically on donkeys — for this belongs to this, for the donkey is suited to carry loads in order to labor with it and subdue it. And from this very thing one merits to the wealth which is the load upon the donkey, as mentioned above. And so it is written regarding Avraham: "And he saddled his donkey" (Bereishis 22:3) — that he subdued the aspect of the donkey, which is the left side, as is brought [in the holy writings]. And therefore he merited to great wealth, as it is written: "And Hashem blessed Avraham with everything" (Bereishis 24:1). And therefore during the first watch of the night the donkey brays — for at the beginning of the night the strength of the Sitra Achra is greatest, for then they go forth, as is brought in the holy Zohar (Mikeitz, p. 203). It is found that the aspect of the donkey is the aspect of the overpowering of the Sitra Achra — therefore one must subdue it especially, and through this one merits to wealth as mentioned above. For wealth is from the left side as stated, where the Sitra Achra has its grip, which is the aspect of the donkey as mentioned. And when one does not subdue it, it is found that the wealth flows there — Heaven forbid — to the aspect of the donkey, which is the aspect of the Sitra Achra that holds onto the left as mentioned. But when one subdues the aspect of the donkey as mentioned, then he draws to himself the wealth as mentioned. And this is what is written: "Yissachar is a strong-boned donkey" — and the Targum: "Rich in possessions." And our Sages of blessed memory explained: he subdued his shoulder to bear the yoke of Torah like a donkey bears a burden — like a donkey specifically. And both interpretations are one, and both are words of the living God. For it is well known that the coarseness and materiality of the body derive from the Sitra Achra. And therefore it is called by the name chamor (donkey) — for it is the aspect of chomer (matter) of the body, as is taught regarding Avraham's saddling of his donkey as mentioned, as is brought. And one must subdue the body and labor with it and load upon it the yoke of Torah — just as one subdues the donkey through the loads placed upon it — as our Sages said regarding that verse: "Yissachar is a strong-boned donkey" — that he subdued his shoulder to bear the yoke of Torah like a donkey bears a burden, like a donkey specifically. And through this very thing one merits to wealth as mentioned above. And this is what the Targum renders: "Rich in possessions." It is found that both interpretations are one and each depends on the other — for wealth is merited through subduing the donkey, that is, the materiality of the body, through the yoke of Torah as mentioned above. It is found that the donkey is the aspect of wealth — that is, through subduing it as mentioned. And the petter chamor — the firstborn of the donkey — that is where the aspect of wealth is to the highest degree, for in every matter the firstborn is greater and more inclusive than all others, as mentioned earlier in Hilchos Pidyon Bechor, Halacha 1. And in particular in the aspect of wealth the firstborn is supreme as mentioned. And the essential means is through subduing them. And therefore one must especially subdue the firstborn of the donkey, which is the greatest and most inclusive of all. And since its grip on vitality is greater, Israel does not have the power to subdue it — and in particular since they lost the excellence of the firstborn status, and therefore they do not have the power to subdue the firstborn of the Sitra Achra. And therefore they need to subjugate it to the Kohen, who is exceedingly holy, and who merited the excellence of the firstborn status — and therefore he has the power to subdue and break the power of the aspect of the firstborn of the petter chamor. And since the entire aspect of the petter chamor is the aspect of money, the aspect of wealth as mentioned — therefore it requires redemption, to redeem it through different money. And the redemption is specifically with a lamb (seh) — for the aspect of the seh is the very opposite of the aspect of the chamor. For Israel is compared to a seh, as it is written: "Israel is a scattered sheep" (Yirmiyahu 50:17). And it is in the aspect of Adam (Man), as it is written: "And you, My flock, the flock of My pasture — you are Man" (Yechezkel 34:31). It is found that it is in the aspect of the guarding of the covenant, which is the aspect of Adam, the aspect of Israel — the opposite of the aspect of the donkey, which is the aspect of Egypt, who are steeped in licentiousness, the aspect of the blemish of the covenant. And therefore one must give a seh in exchange for the donkey — in order to exchange the aspect of the donkey for the aspect of the seh. And through this, when the donkey goes out from the possession of the Kohen through the redemption of the seh, it is then subdued and fit to enter the possession of Israel for use. And therefore if one does not redeem it, then: "and you shall break its neck" (va'arafto) — for when the aspect of the donkey is not subdued, since he does not redeem it, then it is in the aspect of oref (the back of the neck), which is the aspect of Egypt, the aspect of Pharaoh — whose name is the letters of ha-oref (the neck) as is brought. Therefore one must specifically cut its neck — to break and nullify the impurity of Egypt. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: he caused a loss of the Kohen's money — therefore his own money shall be lost. His money shall be lost specifically — that is, a loss of the wealth which is in the aspect of the donkey as mentioned. For the essential commandment is to redeem, as our Sages said: the commandment of redemption takes precedence, etc. For this is the principle: the essential subduing of the Sitra Achra is to subdue it and clarify it and sweeten the good within it and transform it toward holiness. And this is the essential perfection of the divine service. And therefore the essential [act] is to redeem it from the Kohen — for through this it is subdued as mentioned, and then it is fit to come into the possession of Israel and to be worked with. And then, on the contrary, one merits to wealth through it as mentioned — since he subdued the left side and transformed it toward holiness, he then receives from there the wealth as mentioned. But through the breaking of the neck — even though he breaks its neck — nonetheless he does not transform it toward holiness, and therefore he does not merit to the wealth which comes specifically from the left side when one subdues the evil that clings to it and draws it toward holiness as mentioned. And this is the aspect of: his money shall be lost as mentioned. And therefore Kohanim and Leviim are exempt from the firstborn of impure animals — for in the firstborn of the impure animal there is no holiness at all; rather it is only that one needs to subdue it as mentioned. And therefore the Kohanim and Leviim — since they are able to subdue even the pittrei chamorim (firstborn donkeys) of Israel — all the more so their own pittrei chamorim do not require redemption. And this is what our Sages said: if it is the firstborn of an Israelite, etc. But the firstborn of a pure animal — in whose body there is holiness as mentioned — even the Kohen is obligated in it, that is, to maintain it in holiness, since it has holiness from the womb [set aside] for a sacrifice, as mentioned above in Hilchos Bechor Beheimah Tehorah, Halacha 1.