ערלה ג

And this is the dimension of "for all her household is clothed in crimson [shanim]" — that is, two [shnayim] — the dimension of doubling: "open you shall open, etc." — meaning that the entire sustaining of the Torah depends on this: that one strengthen oneself to repeat and double every good deed or Torah study, etc., that one has begun to accustom oneself to — that one strengthen oneself each time to return and do that same holy thing even a thousand times, even if whatever passes over him passes over him. For this is the essential sustaining of the Torah — that one must be a great stubborn one in the service of God: to do the holy thing even thousands of times, and not to look at any weakness of mind that the evil inclination and the Sitra Achra and the scoffers, etc., cast into his mind — rather to do and return and do the holy thing even a thousand times, in the dimension of "for all her household is clothed in crimson [shanim]": "give you shall give, open you shall open" — and it was not said to teach about itself alone but about all the Torah in general — that one must double the holy things many times, for "the minimum of the many is two," and therefore "two" alludes to multitude without measure. And as our Rabbis of blessed memory expounded on this verse: "give you shall give" — even a thousand times. And so throughout the entire Torah, as mentioned above.

And this is: "she does not fear for her household from snow" — which is the Gehinnom of snow mentioned above. For there is a Gehinnom of fire and a Gehinnom of snow, as our Rabbis of blessed memory said. The Gehinnom of fire is the consequence of becoming heated for a matter of sin, God have mercy, as is brought. But the Gehinnom of snow is for his weakness [chalishus] afterwards — when the awakening to teshuvah comes to him — for everyone is full of regrets [charatos], as our Rabbis of blessed memory said — but in most cases the essential hindrance to teshuvah is from weakness of mind [chalishus ha-da'as], in that it seems to him that teshuvah can no longer help him because of the greatness of his very immense sins. And especially those who have already begun to awaken from their sleep and begun to return to God, blessed be He, and engaged in Torah and mitzvos for some period of time — and then fell from this — the essential cause is from weakness of mind, because he knows within himself that he has already learned Torah and performed many mitzvos, etc., and yet the evil inclination overpowered him so greatly — as this person knows in his own soul. And one who remains in this state, God forbid, and allows himself to fall through the incitements and thoughts of the Sitra Achra of these and those kinds — he is judged for this in the Gehinnom of snow, which is an intense and bitter coldness — for it is measure for measure: because he allowed himself to become cold afterwards through the weakness mentioned above, therefore he is judged in the coldness of the snow of Gehinnom.

And this is the dimension of what is brought in the words of our Rabbis of blessed memory: that there are those who are judged in Gehinnom half in fire and half in snow — as mentioned above — that one is judged for the heat of the sin in the Gehinnom of fire, as mentioned above, and for becoming cold through weakness of mind and not strengthening oneself in teshuvah, as mentioned above, one is judged in the Gehinnom of snow and coldness as mentioned above.

And now the verse mentioned above is finely connected: "she does not fear for her household from snow" — which is the dimension of coldness — "for all her household is clothed in crimson [shanim]" — the dimension of two [shnayim] — the dimension of doubling: "give you shall give" — even a thousand times. And so throughout the entire Torah and mitzvos — that is, the dimension of strengthening through immense stubbornness not to abandon one's place, rather to strengthen oneself to fulfil and to return and fulfil the study of Torah and the performance of mitzvos — all that one can snatch in this passing shadow that is all one's life — even if whatever passes over him passes. And through this: "she does not fear for her household from snow" — which is coldness — since she has not allowed herself to be cooled from Torah and mitzvos through the weakness and coldness that the evil inclination cast into her mind — rather she strengthened herself each time, to snatch some good and to return and snatch — in the dimension of "for all her household is clothed in crimson [shanim]", as mentioned above. And therefore she certainly does not fear for her household from snow, as mentioned above.

And this is what is said in the consolations of Isaiah the prophet [chapters 42-43] — where he strengthens them greatly to draw near to God, blessed be He, after everything they have done: "God desired, for the sake of His righteousness, to magnify the Torah and make it glorious" [Isaiah 42:21] — meaning that God, blessed be He, multiplied Torah and mitzvos for Israel, as the Sages of blessed memory expounded on this verse — in order to grant them merit for eternity through this, so that each person as he is should always be able to snatch some good Torah and mitzvos, etc. And as is explained in our words about this elsewhere: "and he is a people robbed and plundered, etc." [Isaiah 42:22] — and afterwards he strengthens them and says: "when you pass through the waters I am with you, etc., when you walk through fire you shall not be scorched, etc." [Isaiah 43:2] — meaning that you will be saved from the Gehinnom of fire and from waters which are the dimension of warmth and coldness, as mentioned above. And all of this through the strengthening mentioned above, alluded to in the verse: "God desired, for the sake of His righteousness, to magnify the Torah and make it glorious." As mentioned above.

And therefore: "do not believe in yourself until the day of your death" — for when one arrives at the level where his rectification will be through the true Tzaddik who can elevate him, at that very moment the evil of that level strengthens against him and spreads against him so greatly with powerful incitements in order to uproot him from the living, God forbid. And this is "do not believe in yourself" — "in yourself" precisely — for when he is by himself, that is, when he has separated himself from the true Tzaddik — certainly he should not believe in himself, for he will fall with no one to support him, as mentioned above. But one who holds himself to the true Tzaddik is safe from stumbling and falling, for the Torah of the true Rebbe will guide him in this world and in the grave and at the time of the resurrection for eternity — in the dimension of "when you walk it will guide you, etc." [Proverbs 6:22].

For a person must live in this world clarifying all the levels and ascending from level to level, until he arrives at a level that cannot be attained in the body at all. And this is not merited except by the very singular chosen ones of the most elevated level. And through their power there is hope even for those who do not merit this and are very far from it. The essential thing is when one is strong in faith in God, blessed be He, and in the true Tzaddikim of the most elevated level as mentioned above, and surrenders all one's heart and soul to them. And they are able to elevate them to their root — to the place from which they were taken.

And this is the essential war of Amalek in every generation — for he strengthens himself at every level, and from there all the strife of every generation is drawn — for falsehood strengthens against truth. And about this it is said: "the wicked watches for the righteous, etc. — God will not abandon him into his hand" [Psalms 37:32-33].

All the prohibitions in the Torah are in the dimension of fallen letters — letters that have fallen and descended very far below until they have come into the depths of the klippos [husks] and from them has been made the prohibition, which is the dimension of the universal evil [ra ha-kolel] — the dimension of the seventy languages of the seventy nations. For all the prohibitions come from there: from the fall of the kingship [malkus], in the dimension of the fallen Sukkah of David, in the dimension of the falling sickness [choli nofel], God have mercy. For the malkus — the mouth — in its completeness is the dimension of the Holy Tongue [lashon ha-kodesh], the dimension of the woman Chavah, as is explained elsewhere. And her fall, God forbid, is through the strengthening of the blood — the universal evil — the seventy languages that oppose the Holy Tongue.

For all the nullification [bitul] is only for the sake of the taste [taam] — as the halachic authorities bring, for taste is like the essence by Torah law [taam k'ikar d'orayta], for the essential quality of a food is its taste as it is perceived. And therefore it is called "taste" — literally also a word for speech [taam] — as it says of Avigail: "and blessed is your taste" [I Samuel 25:33]. For the essential life and sustenance of food is from the letters of speech of the Holy Tongue that have fallen there as mentioned. And from there comes the taste of the food — which is the inwardness and essence of the food — which is the dimension of actual taste, the dimension of the letters of speech. And this is [Iyov 12:11]: "does not the ear test words, and the palate taste its food?" — for they are one dimension as explained.

But where there is no taste — such as dry-against-dry [yaveis b'yaveis] — it is nullified in a simple majority, for "after the majority you shall incline" is written — literally "incline" — for there is power in the majority to actually incline and nullify the prohibition, as is brought in Rabbainu's words of blessed memory [Siman 181]. For when souls gather together as a majority against one individual, there is power to overcome that individual and cast him down. Therefore when the majority of the permitted outweighs the forbidden, there is power in those souls present in the majority of the permitted to overcome the soul of the forbidden and nullify it entirely. And all nullifications occur only when the forbidden is not recognizable — but when the forbidden is recognizable, it cannot be nullified at all. For the nullification of all forbidden things is an actual nullification — that is, the forbidden thing is truly nullified and the prohibited souls are elevated and rectified through the power of the permitted majority.

And because of this, Israel is distinguished through mitzvos — so that they should not become mixed among the nations, God forbid. Therefore God, blessed be He, cautioned them that when they go into exile among the seventy nations, they should be distinguished through mitzvos — as our Rabbis of blessed memory said on the verse "go forth in the footsteps of the flock" [Song of Songs 1:8], citing the verse "set up for yourself signposts" [Jeremiah 31:20] — for the mitzvos are actual signposts [tziyunim] — markers and signs so that they should be recognized as the blessed seed of God — "all who see them will recognize them, that they are the seed whom God has blessed" [Isaiah 61:9] — so that all workers of iniquity will be separated from them and their eyes will have no power over them.

And this is why our Rabbis of blessed memory forbade many things solely because of maaris ha-ayin [the appearance of wrongdoing] — even though they involve no legal prohibition — for since the eye perceives it as a prohibition, it becomes forbidden, for the evil eye [ayin hora] takes hold of it as explained. And therefore it is forbidden even in inner chambers — as our Rabbis of blessed memory said: anything they forbade because of maaris ha-ayin is forbidden even in inner chambers — for the klipah that is the prohibition rules over it since it is in the dimension of the evil eye.

And therefore there are important things that cannot be nullified because of their importance [chashivus] — such as a significant cut of meat fit to be honoured [chaticha ha-reuyah l'hiskaved]. For all souls are rooted in honour [kavod]. And therefore the nullification of all prohibitions comes through the dimension of honour — through the gathering of the portions of honour of the souls within the majority of the permitted. For this is the dimension of nullification through majority mentioned above: that the majority is able to overcome the individual through the gathering of the portions of honour — for there is the root of the souls. And this is also the power of nullification through the dimension of the completeness of the Holy Tongue — for there all the souls are rooted.

And therefore nullification through majority only works when the forbidden is wandering and moving [na v'nad] — but when it is fixed in its place, it cannot be nullified — as our Rabbis of blessed memory said: "a fixed thing is like half and half" [kol kavu'a k'mechtza al mechtza dami]. For when it is fixed in its place it is very strong — as is said: "Moav has been at ease from its youth and has not gone into exile — therefore his taste has remained in him" [Jeremiah 48:11]. For the essential subjugation of evil is through the dimension of "a wanderer and a fugitive you shall be on the earth" — for when the evil wanders it is weakened and can be overpowered.

And this is the dimension of: doubt in Torah law [safek d'orayta] is treated strictly [l'chumra]; doubt in Rabbinic law [safek d'rabbanan] is treated leniently [l'kula]; and a double doubt [safek sefeika], even in Torah law, is treated leniently. For all the prohibitions are in the dimension of the universal evil as mentioned above. But the permitted [heter] is from the dimension of Targum [Aramaic translation] — from the dimension of nogah — which is also mixed good and evil but since the good outweighs the evil it is permitted. And the prohibited things are the opposite: there the evil is primary and the good is very little.

And Torah-level prohibitions are severe prohibitions — for they come from the dimension of the pure evil side — where that evil is primary and cannot be easily overpowered. And Rabbinic prohibitions are somewhat lighter — they come from a lesser evil — and therefore a doubt in them can be treated leniently. And a double doubt — even in Torah law — equals a Rabbinic doubt, for the doubt of a doubt has weakened the grip of evil to the level of a Rabbinic prohibition.

And there is a dimension in which an accident [shogeig] is more severe than intentional sin [meizid] — for the husk of the Tree of Knowledge is very severe as mentioned in Laws of Forbidden Fats [Halacha 1] — so too in this dimension a Rabbinic prohibition is more severe than a Torah prohibition, for the subtle and hidden husk is harder to uproot than the open one. And similarly in this dimension a doubtful prohibition is more severe than a certain one — for asham taluy [a guilt-offering brought for doubt] is greater than the sacrifice brought for certain sin — for doubt and accident relate to the hidden dimension of the Tree of Knowledge which is harder to rectify.

And this is the dimension of safek d'orayta — which is the dimension of Targum, the dimension of the Tree of Knowledge — for doubts are the dimension of errors [shgagos] which come from the concealment of knowledge and the confusion of da'as — and from this come doubts and errors. These are in the dimension of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil from which comes the confusion of da'as — as is brought above in Laws of Forbidden Fats [Halacha 1]. For it is the dimension of slumber and sleep — the departure of the mochin [higher consciousness] — and from there come doubts and errors. The doubt is poised between good and evil: the permitted is more than the forbidden in it, and therefore it is close to leniency. But since Torah-level evil is very strong it is treated strictly — until the da'as of the Tzaddik illuminates to clarify the doubt and restore the full consciousness of divine perception.

Therefore one may not intentionally nullify a prohibition — for the essential nullification of the prohibition is through the concealment of the knowledge: that the prohibition leaves the field of the da'as and becomes mixed in — and thereby it moves from certain prohibition toward doubt, from the dimension of pure evil to the dimension of Targum. But when one takes the prohibition with one's eye and da'as and intentionally mixes it — the prohibition cannot be nullified, since it remains recognizable to the eye and to the da'as at the time of the mixing. Therefore the evil — which is the evil eye — does not depart from there.

Therefore we find that a Rabbinic prohibition can in some respects be more severe than a Torah prohibition — as our Rabbis of blessed memory said: the words of the scribes are more stringent than those of the Torah. Yet legally the Torah prohibition is certainly far more severe — for a Torah doubt is treated strictly and a Rabbinic doubt leniently. But there is a dimension of accident and intention in which a Rabbinic prohibition is more severe than a Torah prohibition — as mentioned above, for the subtle husk of the Tree of Knowledge is the hardest to uproot. And so in this same dimension a doubtful prohibition can be more severe than a certain one — as brought above.

And this is what is said in Koheles: "and more than these, my son, beware" [Ecclesiastes 12:12] — that is, beyond what is written in the Written Torah, beware and exert yourself to complete the holiness — the dimension of the completeness of the Holy Tongue — through the Oral Torah. For there Koheles speaks of the praise of the words of the sages who rectify everything and complete the Written Torah. And this is: "making many books has no end" — do not say there is no need for them — as Rashi explains there — for every generation's Torah writing adds another dimension of holy speech and helps reveal the perception of Godliness in the world.

And this is what is said: reicha lav milsa [smell is of no consequence / smell does not legally constitute a thing]. For the essential blemish is in the dimension of taste — the dimension of speech — where the seventy nations have their grip. But in the dimension of smell, they have no grip at all — for smell is something from which the soul [neshamah] derives benefit but not the body — as our Rabbis of blessed memory said [Berachos 43b]. And therefore smell is in the dimension of the holiness of the covenant [kedusha d'bris] — as is brought in Rabbainu's words of blessed memory. And therefore the universal evil of the seventy nations has no dominion there — for it is in the dimension of the soul — where they have no dominion. For the blemish of the universal evil is primarily in the dimension of the tongue — speech — and smell is entirely beyond this, in the purely spiritual dimension.

At first glance the matter is wondrous — how can the prohibition be overturned to become permitted through nullification? For even if there is sixty parts of permitted, we nonetheless know with certainty that the forbidden is mixed here — so how can we eat the forbidden through nullification?!

The matter, however, is based on what Rabbainu of blessed memory said on the verse "and where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" [Genesis 22:7, cited in Likutay MoHaRaN Part II, Siman 12] — see there carefully, for it is a very deep and subtle matter. And the principle is: when one falls, God forbid, to the place one has fallen — when one begins to look at oneself and see that one is very far from His honour and begins to long and yearn and groan: "where is He?" — that is, where is the divine Presence, where is the illumination of the holy Countenance that I have lost? — then precisely through this cry and yearning, through the very nullification and lowliness of "where" [ayeh] — which is the dimension of the higher nothingness — one draws down the supreme light.

For the dimension of ayeh — "where?" — is the dimension of Keter, the supreme Crown — the concealed primordial statement [ma'amar satum] from which all ten utterances draw life. And when one falls and cries out "where is He?" — one draws from this supreme light of ayeh — and from the drawing of this supreme light, even the fallen and forbidden is overturned and elevated and rectified. And therefore the nullification works even when the forbidden is certainly present — for through the supreme light of ayeh drawn through the sixty parts of the permitted, the very substance of the forbidden is elevated and transformed.

And this is the dimension of the nullification of the forbidden — for even the forbidden, which is the husk, can be rectified and overturned to become permitted through the dimension of nullification [bitul]. For the dimension of ayeh mentioned above is the dimension of nullification as is known — for it is the highest dimension, the dimension of Ayin [nothingness]. And this dimension — the dimension of ayeh — which is the concealed primordial statement, the dimension of Bereishis, the dimension of Keter — is the dimension of simple undifferentiated light in which there is no form at all, for there the existence of all particular forms is nullified. And there is no form there whatsoever — only the change is according to the receivers — for when this light is drawn into the revealed utterances that are the foundation of everything, all things receive from it, and then the Sitra Achra is completely subjugated.

And when one falls to the place one falls and begins to feel the "where" — the sense of divine absence — and to yearn and reach toward the supreme nothingness — at that moment even the forbidden becomes permitted. For the dimension of the supreme concealed statement — the primordial ayeh — shines into the mixture, and through it the forbidden is elevated and included in the permitted majority. This is what the number sixty alludes to: sixty is the dimension of completeness of divine union — the sixty myriads [shishim ribo] of souls of Israel — for when this dimension of complete union shines, the forbidden is truly nullified and transformed.

And in summary: in holiness, all ten utterances that are the totality of all creation — all goodness, all holiness, all knowledge of God — everything flows specifically from the concealed primordial statement which is the dimension of ayeh, Bereishis, Keter — from which all the revealed utterances receive. And when the ten revealed utterances draw from this supreme statement — then the Sitra Achra is completely subdued and even the greatest fall can be rectified. For when one cries "where is He?" from the very depths of one's fall — this very cry elevates one through the supreme light of ayeh.

And this is the dimension of Moshe Rabbainu seeking to bring in the Mixed Multitude [Erev Rav] — as it says: "and also a mixed multitude went up with them" [Exodus 12:38]. For Moshe saw that Israel at that time was six hundred thousand, all holy, and God's presence was among them — and they had reached the ultimate level of divine union. Therefore he said that he could draw close all the Mixed Multitude — erev [mixed] — the dimension of the mixing of the forbidden with the permitted — for the forbidden is nullified in the permitted through the dimension of sixty — namely, the six hundred thousand souls of Israel — which is the completeness of the divine union. But God did not agree with him — for the mixing of the forbidden was too great — as is said: "and also a great mixed multitude" — the forbidden was too numerous and its grip too strong to be nullified even within that supreme union. And from this mixing came all the subsequent troubles of Israel in the desert. But in the final rectification it will all be elevated and clarified — as the verse promises: "and the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea" [Hosea 2:1] — when Israel multiplies without limit, then even the most distant mixed souls will be drawn in and rectified.

The matter is somewhat understandable — for the essential divine union is the dimension of nullification of the forbidden. For without this there is no possibility of union at all — for the essential union is to unify after creation so that it will be included in before creation — that is, included in Him, blessed be He. And in truth God is one and His name is one. And just as before creation He was alone, so after creation — as is said: "I the Lord have not changed". And how is union applicable to Him — for the essential union is the joining together of two things — but in one alone there is no possibility of union? And in truth God is in absolute unity with all after creation as He was before creation — and this is the dimension of "the Lord will be one and His name one" [Zechariah 14:9] in the future — the revelation of this unity which is already true in the present but is not yet fully perceived.

And this is the dimension of the divine union — to unify after creation with before creation — so that everything after creation, all multiplicity and all created things, should be seen as completely included and nullified within the infinite unity of God. And this is the essential nullification of the forbidden — for when the supreme unity shines, everything is included in it and the forbidden has no more separate existence, for it is all one.