שבועות והל' כיבוד אב ואם ב

We do not take responsibility for any errors; "You shall not take the Name of Hashem your G-d in vain" (Exodus 20:7) etc. And our Sages of blessed memory said that whether one swears to change what is known — this is called shav [vain/false]; and whether one swears upon a known and obvious matter that it is as it is — for example, upon a tree that it is a tree, and upon a stone that it is a stone — this too is shevuas shav.

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And at first glance, the matter is puzzling: why should there be such severity of prohibition when one swears upon a known matter as it truly is? After all, he did not utter any falsehood from his mouth! And why, when one swears upon a matter that is not known and it is possible to err in it, there is no prohibition of shevuah and mentioning the Name of Heaven — he only must not swear falsely? But upon a known and obvious matter, there is such a severe prohibition, even though he swears the truth?

Books of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov available in English: And at first glance, it would appear that the reverse should be the case: when one swears — even truthfully — upon a matter that is not so obvious and one could err in it, there should be a great prohibition, for perhaps he is deceiving himself. But upon an obvious matter, the prohibition should not be so severe. Yet in truth, the holy Torah has decreed the opposite of this. For one who swears upon an unknown matter — there is no prohibition when he swears truthfully; only one must distance himself from this as well because of the severity of shevuah — but in any case, he does not transgress the negative commandment of "Lo sisa," G-d forbid. And sometimes it is a mitzvah to swear truthfully, as it is written, "And by His Name you shall swear" (Deuteronomy 10:20). But when one swears upon a known matter as it is the truth — he transgresses a very severe prohibition of "Lo sisa," which is a severe negative commandment from the Ten Commandments.

Character — The Aleph Bet Book of Traits — Sefer Hamidos

However, the matter is explained according to what is explained and understood in all the words of our Sages of blessed memory, and especially in the holy Zohar and in the [Kabbalistic] writings: that the primary completeness of the holy emunah is to believe that Hashem desires the service of man in this world — even though it is impossible to understand this by human intellect in any way. Nevertheless, our forefathers and our holy teachers have already revealed to us, from the days of Avraham, peace be upon him, and Moshe Rabbeinu, that the truth is so — and this is the general principle and foundation of our entire holy Torah.

The Stories of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov and Saba Yisroel And just as one who denies His existence, blessed be He — G-d forbid — is a denier and a heretic (may his name be erased), so too even if one says he believes in His existence, blessed be He, but denies this — that he does not believe that He, blessed be He, desires our service — he is also a denier and heretic. For "He did not create it as void; He formed it to be settled" (Isaiah 45:18). For He, blessed be He, did not create the world to be void and chaos as it is [on its own], but rather "He formed it to be settled" — to settle it with human beings, people of understanding, who will recognize His greatness and His kingship and will serve Him in this world of action specifically. For "today — to do them" (Deuteronomy 7:11) — it is written "today" specifically, and not "tomorrow" in the World to Come.

Outpouring of the Soul

And this is the primary distinction between Israel and the deniers and the philosophers. As I heard from the mouth of our Master of blessed memory: the philosophers investigated the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, until they attained — as is truly the case — that it is impossible to grasp Him or understand Him in any way, by any thought, knowledge, or intellect, for "no thought grasps Him at all." However, this they cannot grasp and understand with their intellect: how any mitzvah or service to serve Him, blessed be He, is relevant — for this they cannot grasp with their understanding at all. And this is the primary root of their heresy, and because of this they are so far from the truth. For the primary complete emunah is the emunah of Israel, the holy people, who merited to receive the holy Torah through Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him — whose primary foundation is to believe that even though Hashem is exalted and elevated above all the services of man, nevertheless He desires our service, as it is written, "And I desire praise from clods of earth" etc. — only it is impossible to understand this with the intellect.

The Fires of Israel

And this is the aspect of the prohibition of shevuas shav. For it is forbidden to mention the Name of Heaven in vain — all the more so to swear in vain. For the primary Name of Hashem is the Torah, for "the Torah is the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He" [Oraysa sh'ma d'Kudsha Brich Hu]. For before creation, no name was applicable to Hashem, blessed be He — for He, blessed be He, is exalted and elevated with an immeasurable exaltation above all the holy Names and all the appellations in the world. Only because of His love for Israel — for He foresaw that from them would emerge such awesome tzadikim who would recognize His greatness in this world specifically, through overcoming their yetzer and conquering their desires and serving Him with all their strength with the ultimate mesiras nefesh [self-sacrifice] in truth to its truest — for this He emanated, created, formed, and made all the worlds, all of them from beginning to end. Through them He made for Himself, as it were, a Name, in the aspect of "and You made for Yourself a name as on this day" (Nehemiah 9:10).

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov: Who He Was and What He Said

For now, after creation, it is applicable to call Him by the Name Havayah or by the Name Adnus, because He sustains all the worlds and is Master of them all — and similarly with the other holy Names and appellations. But all the Names are revealed only through the tzadikim who serve Him in truth. Through this they connect the creation with before-creation — and this is the primary aspect of the unification of the holy Names. And through this they make known to us the truth of His holy Names, blessed be He.

Live Up The Good Points — Azamru! And the primary service of the tzadikim, through which they merit knowing and grasping His holy Names, blessed be He, is specifically because they have bechirah [free will/choice] — and this is the primary superiority over all the angels and serafim etc., as is known. And the primary free will exists because immediately after creation, the foothold of sheker [falsehood] came into being, as is explained in the Torah "Rabbi Akiva said" [LM I:51]; see there. For the primary evil, impurity, and opposition — all is drawn only from the foothold of sheker that came into being after creation. And therefore the primary greatness of Israel and the tzadikim is that they clarify the emes from the sheker, the evil from the good. And this is the aspect of "the superiority of light from darkness" that is brought in the sefarim — that specifically through the existence of darkness, one knows and sees the superiority of the light. For if there were no darkness, sheker, and evil etc., one would not know the greatness of the light, the emes, and the good etc.

Pray With Your Limbs & Other Devotions of a Nanach And this alone is the greatness of Israel and the tzadikim over all the angels and all the beings above. For even though the angels and all the beings above know the truth of His existence with complete clarity, and serve Him with great awe — much more than the lower human beings — nevertheless, their greatness is not so great, because they have no opposition of sheker, and therefore they have no free will. And therefore their knowledge of Him, blessed be He — even though it is true — is not considered knowledge compared to the knowledge of Israel, especially the knowledge of the true tzadikim, who know and understand His greatness, blessed be He, through their choosing — which is through the clarification of emes from sheker etc., as mentioned above. And through this specifically, they grasp and know His holy Names more than all the angels. For the primary greatness of His Names is magnified specifically through the clarification of emes in a place where there is a foothold of sheker — and for this purpose He created all of creation. And it is all for the sake of man who is in this world specifically, as mentioned above.

And therefore Hashem, blessed be He, said to the angels who prosecuted the creation of man and were jealous of him — that they are not able to call names for all the creatures, but man knows [how to do so]. As it is written, "And He brought them to the man to see what he would call them" (Genesis 2:19) etc., and as brought in the Midrash. For all the names of all the creatures that he called — he called them according to his perception of the Name of Hashem. For they all receive life-force through their names from the Name of Hashem who gives life to them all. And therefore, in truth, he [Adam] then called a name also for Hashem, blessed be He, Himself, as they said in the Midrash there; see there.

The Praises of Rabbi Nachman

And therefore, when Hashem, blessed be He, sent Moshe to Israel in Egypt to bring them close to His service, blessed be He, as it is written there, "When you take the people out from Egypt, you shall serve G-d upon this mountain" (Exodus 3:12) — then immediately Moshe asked Hashem, blessed be He: "And they will say to me, 'What is His Name?' — what shall I say to them?" (Exodus 3:13). For one depends on the other: it is impossible to serve Him, blessed be He, with services and mitzvos until one knows of His Name, blessed be He; and it is impossible to know of His Name, blessed be He, except through serving Him, blessed be He.

Likutay Halachos (complete English translation)

And therefore, in truth, there is great toil for the tzadikim. But they sacrifice themselves in truth and break all the desires of this world for His sake, blessed be He, before they merit grasping any service or mitzvah. And through this, Hashem, blessed be He, has mercy on them and reveals to them His holy Names according to their service. And through this they grasp the service of the mitzvos and make them known to us — like Avraham Avinu, peace be upon him, who toiled all his days until he grasped the mitzvah of milah [circumcision]. And afterward came Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, who toiled so much until he gave us the entire Torah and mitzvos. For even though Avraham also knew of them, he did not yet merit making them known to us, for the Torah was not given through him. And therefore, in truth, Moshe grasped His Names, blessed be He, more than all the Patriarchs, as it is written, "And I appeared to Avraham… as Kail Shakai, but My Name Hashem I did not make known to them" (Exodus 6:3).

aJew.org · Rabbi Nachman's Factory of Judaism The principle is that the primary knowledge of His Name, blessed be He, is merited only by the tzadikim, and they make it known to Israel — to all who desire to attach themselves to them. And they merit this only because there is a foothold of sheker, and it is possible to err — and from there is the primary power of bechirah, through which is the primary recognition and knowledge of His Name, blessed be He.

One stop for everything Breslov

And this is the aspect of the prohibition of mentioning the Name of Heaven in vain, and the severity of the prohibition of shevuas shav even when one swears truthfully. For it is forbidden to mention the Name of Heaven upon an obvious matter that is known to all — even though the truth is so — because it is not His will, blessed be He, to carry His Name for the purpose of revealing the emes in a simple manner — to reveal and mention His Name, blessed be He, upon a matter that is obvious and known to all. For the primary revelation and knowledge of His Name, blessed be He, is specifically when one clarifies the emes from the sheker — that is, when one swears upon the truth in a place where the matter is not obvious and one could err that it is the opposite. There specifically is where one should mention His Name, blessed be He, upon the truth.

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But the obvious truth that is known to all — one should not mention His Name, blessed be He, upon it. For it is for this reason that Hashem, blessed be He, did not desire to make His Names known to the angels — because they know the truth simply, in a place where there is no foothold of sheker. For the truth of His existence, blessed be He, is known to all the beings above. Rather, He chose Israel and the tzadikim — that they should know His Names, blessed be He — because they merit this through the strength of their overcoming their yetzer, to clarify the emes in a place where there is a foothold of sheker. And this is the primary bechirah, as mentioned above.

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And this is the aspect of the general principle of the Ten Commandments: "I am Hashem your G-d" — to make known the truth of His existence, blessed be He. And afterward: "You shall have no other gods before Me" — to forbid foreign worship, which also stems from saying that Hashem, blessed be He, is far from the world and it is impossible to serve Him directly, but only when He is clothed in some thing. And from this stems the error of all those who pursue the vanity of this world, as is understood in the sefarim. And the holy Torah has distinguished us from this.

And this is why the next commandment is juxtaposed: "You shall not take the Name of Hashem your G-d in vain" — which alludes to being saved also from the error of the deniers who deny all the services in the world, even the holy services of the Torah and mitzvos of Israel, for they say that no service is applicable to Him, blessed be He, at all. And this is the aspect of the prohibition "Lo sisa es Sheim Hashem Elokecha lashav" — for "He did not create it as void" etc. For these aforementioned deniers are in the aspect of those who mention the Name of Heaven in vain. For even those who acknowledge the truth — who acknowledge His existence, blessed be He, in truth — nevertheless, since they deny the service of the mitzvos of Israel in this world of action specifically, it is as if His Name, blessed be He, which is the entirety of the creation of the world, is — G-d forbid — in vain and for nothing, as mentioned above. For in truth the primary purpose of creation is only for the sake of bechirah, whose essence is to clarify the emes in a place where there is a foothold of sheker specifically, as mentioned above.

Note on Paragraph Numbers

And this is why the next commandment juxtaposed is immediately: "Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it; six days you shall work" etc., "and the seventh day is Shabbos for Hashem" etc. For all the above is included in the mitzvah of Shabbos, which is the entirety of the whole Torah and is "the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He" [sh'ma d'Kudsha Brich Hu], as is found in the holy Zohar.

Each paragraph in this volume is assigned a cross-reference number (displayed in the margin in gold). These numbers correspond between the English and Hebrew sections, allowing the reader to easily locate the same passage in the other language.

For the Torah mentioned several times regarding the mitzvah of Shabbos: "six days you shall work" etc. And at first glance, this is superfluous, for it is not a commandment to work six days. Rather, the Torah showed us through this that it is impossible to merit the holiness of Shabbos — which is the aspect of alma d'asai [the World to Come], which is the primary tachlis [ultimate purpose], to recognize Him, blessed be He — except through "six days you shall work" etc. For the primary holiness of Shabbos, the aspect of alma d'asai, is merited specifically because man is in this world, which is comprised in the six days of action where the foothold of sheker exists, and one must work in them his service, as it is written, "which G-d created to do" (Genesis 2:3) — that everything needs tikkun, as they said in the Midrash: "The wheat needs to be ground, the lupines" etc. For man was created to rectify and clarify all things. And the primary rectification and clarification, even in the physical realm, is drawn from the aforementioned clarification — the clarification of good from evil, whose essence is the clarification of emes from sheker, as mentioned above. And from there all the crafts and labors of the world are drawn. And therefore one must do everything according to the Torah. And one who engages in Torah itself is a free man, exempt from all of them, for he clarifies everything through the Torah itself — from which comes the power of all who engage in craft and commerce to clarify and rectify and not to ruin, G-d forbid. And through this specifically one merits Shabbos, which is the tachlis. For specifically one who toiled on erev Shabbos will eat on Shabbos. For Shabbos is emes, as our Sages of blessed memory said — the aspect of "the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He" — which is impossible to merit except through the six days of action specifically, because in them is the foothold of sheker. And according to what each person merits in clarifying the emes from the sheker in this world — which is the aspect of the six days of action — so he merits the tachlis, which is the aspect of Shabbos, as mentioned above. And therefore Shabbos is juxtaposed to the commandment "Lo sisa — lashav," as mentioned above. And this is "Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be lengthened" (Exodus 20:12) etc. And our Sages of blessed memory expounded: "in the world that is entirely long" etc. For our Sages of blessed memory said: "It is better for man that he had not been created than that he was created." And if so, it is difficult: why was he created? And our Rebbe of blessed memory explained (in Likutay Moharan II, Torah 39) that according to the afflictions of this world, it is certainly better that he not be created; but for the sake of the tachlis, it is certainly good that he was created. For it is impossible for the neshamah to attain the tachlis, the aspect of Shabbos, except by passing through this world of action etc.; see there. And therefore "so that your days may be lengthened" is juxtaposed specifically to the mitzvah of honor [of parents]. For there are those for whom it is difficult: why should one honor his father and mother because they brought him into this world? Is it not better for man that he had not been created than that he was created? And in truth, many people complain about their days and say: why were we created? — because of the great abundance of troubles and sufferings they endure in this world. And as it is written, "Man is born to toil; his days are short and full of anger" (Job 5:7, 14:1). But in truth, for the sake of the tachlis — that even the lowest of the low and the lightest of the light will merit — certainly all the sufferings and troubles endured in this world and after death are worthwhile. For everything is worthwhile for the sake of the tachlis. Only, one who is a true chacham and sees what will be born [i.e. foresees the future] settles with himself: why should he endure great suffering and pain in this world, especially after death if he does not improve his deeds — and in the end what will remain of him? Is it not better for him to improve his deeds, and then he will be saved from the bitterness of the punishments after his death, and also in this world it will be much easier for him to accept the afflictions of the world, as is known? And afterward he will merit what he will merit — "no eye has seen" (Isaiah 64:3) etc. But in any case, ultimately, even the slight tachlis, the small amount that the lightest of the light will merit — it outweighs all the troubles and sufferings he endured in this world and afterward. And for this reason, he is certainly obligated to honor his father and mother who brought him into the world — since through them he will merit such a tachlis that no angel etc. can merit, but only the souls of Israel, by virtue of having been in this world specifically, where there is such a foothold of sheker and such desires etc., as mentioned above. It turns out that all these five commandments [on the first tablet] speak about the tachlis that man will merit in this world specifically, as mentioned above. But how does one merit arriving at the tachlis, which is the aspect of Shabbos, the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He — to recognize Him, blessed be He? It is through subduing one's yetzer and breaking the desires of this world, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the general principle of all the five commandments of the second [tablet]: "You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal" etc. — which are the sum of the great desires: adultery, and murder and anger, and theft and deception, and coveting, which is the sum of all desires — especially the desire for money. For when you subdue your yetzer and guard yourself from the desires of this world, which are comprised in the latter five commandments — whose sum total is "You shall not covet and you shall not desire" — to break the desire and covetousness of one's heart — through this you will merit the tachlis, to know and grasp His Name, blessed be He, which is the aspect of Shabbos, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of "You shall not bear false witness against your fellow" — which corresponds to the commandment "Remember the Shabbos day," as our Sages of blessed memory said. For Shabbos is the primary tachlis, the aspect of the ultimate purpose of heaven and earth, as is explained in the aforementioned Torah [LM I:51] — which is impossible to attain except through the aspect of "You shall not bear false witness against your fellow." That is, to be careful of the sheker that takes hold in this world, and to clarify emes from sheker specifically — through this specifically one merits Shabbos, which is the aspect of emes, the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, which is the tachlis, as mentioned above. For "you shall not bear witness against your fellow" alludes to not bearing false witness against one's Creator, as Rashi explained in Shir HaShirim on the verse "twins of a gazelle" etc.; see there. And similarly, it alludes to not bearing false witness against the true tzadik who is called ray'acha [your fellow/friend] — for only he is the true friend and lover who thinks about your eternal purpose, to do good to you freely with true and eternal good. And the ba'al davar [the Adversary] incites people to find pretexts and false charges against him, in order to distance them from true good, from the eternal tachlis that is impossible to merit except through him, as is known and explained in all the sefarim. And about this Dovid HaMelech, peace be upon him, cried out: "Let the lips of falsehood be silenced, that speak arrogantly against the tzadik" (Psalms 31:19) etc. And this is the aspect of the warning "You shall not bear false witness against your fellow" — which corresponds to "Remember the Shabbos day." For the primary holiness of Shabbos, which is the tachlis, is impossible to merit except through the tzadik who is in the aspect of Moshe, as is explained there on the verse "Come, behold" etc. in the aforementioned Torah; see there. And this is the aspect of emes and emunah, and the opposite of them: shav and sheker. Shav is the opposite of emes; sheker is the opposite of emunah. And even a known matter of truth is in the category of shav, and it is forbidden to mention the Name of Heaven upon it, as mentioned above. For the primary emes is when it is joined with emunah, in the aspect of "tzedek — when she is joined with emes, she becomes emunah" [Zohar]. For emes is a matter that is clear, that everyone knows it is so. And emunah is in a place where one does not understand and know the matter clearly with one's intellect — on the contrary, the simple intellect compels the opposite. But one believes in the emes that it is so. And this is the primary completeness of the emes. And this is the primary magnification of the Name of Hashem. For the obvious matter — this is not the completeness of emes etc., as mentioned above. And there is still need to speak about this and to explain the matter, with His kindness, blessed be He. And this is the aspect of the greatness of chiddushay Torah [Torah novellae]. And this is the aspect of "the Holy One, blessed be He, rejoices in pilpula" [dialectical analysis]. And this is the aspect of "from afar she brings her bread" (Proverbs 31:14). And as our Sages of blessed memory said: "Words of Torah are poor in one place and rich in another place." And this is the aspect of "every day they should be in your eyes as new" — which is said regarding the entire Torah and regarding the mitzvah of Krias Shema especially. And this is the aspect of "They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:23). And this is the aspect of the greatness of the ba'al teshuvah, who is greater than the completely righteous, as our Sages of blessed memory said. And this is what Rabbi Yochanan cried out upon the passing of Raish Lakish: "There is no one like bar Lakisha!" etc. — "It is a great thing to say, 'I have support'?! I myself also know that I speak well!" From all this we understand that the primary true service is specifically when one brings out and clarifies the emes from a place where it was previously hidden and concealed. And with the kindness of Hashem, all this will be explained further below. And this is why the mitzvah of Shabbos is juxtaposed with the mitzvah of honoring father and mother, as it is written, "Each man — his mother and his father you shall fear, and My Sabbaths you shall keep" (Leviticus 19:3). For the primary mitzvah of honor [of parents] is because of the tachlis, which is Shabbos, as mentioned above. And therefore our Sages of blessed memory said: "If your father said to you, 'Violate the Shabbos' — do not listen to him" etc. For the entire essence of the mitzvah of honor is for the sake of the tachlis, as mentioned above. And therefore, in truth, the honor of one's Rebbe takes precedence over the honor of one's father, as our Sages of blessed memory said — for his father brought him into this world, and his Rebbe brings him to the World to Come. For the entire mitzvah of honor is only for the sake of the aforementioned tachlis. Only, because it is impossible to merit the tachlis except by coming into this world through a father and mother specifically — therefore one must honor them, as mentioned above. But in any case, the essence is the tachlis — therefore Shabbos etc. and the honor of one's Rebbe, who brings him to the World to Come, certainly take precedence. And this is "The beginning of Your word is emes, and all Your righteous judgment endures forever" (Psalms 119:160). See the commentary of Rashi: when they heard the end of Your words — "Honor" etc. — they acknowledged regarding the beginning of Your words that it is emes. For the primary completeness of the revelation of the emes is at the end, in the aspect of "the end of a matter is better than its beginning" (Ecclesiastes 7:8) etc. And this is the aspect of "He who guards emes forever" (Psalms 146:6). And it is written, "and the emes of Hashem endures forever" (Psalms 117:2). The aspect of "the lip of emes shall be established forever" (Proverbs 12:19) — "konaneta" [was established] is not written, but rather "tikon" [shall be established] — that in the end, in the future, the emes will be revealed, as is found in the holy Zohar and brought in our words elsewhere; see there. For at the beginning of the matter, it is impossible to reveal the emes in any way. And this is the primary bechirah — that Hashem, blessed be He, does not reveal to man the emes immediately. Like the parable of a child: if he knew the enormous greatness that his father and teacher wish to grant him through what they teach him, he would certainly run to the chaider [schoolroom] on his hands and knees. But because according to his understanding he does not see the true greatness of what he will merit through the learning — therefore he flees from school. And similarly, even the greatest person: if he would see with his eyes the delights of the World to Come — what he will merit through abandoning the sin and through performing the mitzvah — certainly everyone would flee from sin and run toward the mitzvah. And even the physical desire itself, which comes through the boiling of the blood, would be nullified if one would see with one's eyes even one part in a thousand of the delights and pleasures of the World to Come. For also in this world one sees tangibly that even the greatest desire is nullified when one sees a desire greater than it — for example, if one would see that one could immediately snatch a thousand gold coins, all the more so even more — certainly even if he were in the grip of some desire, he would cast it aside and run with all his strength to snatch such great wealth. All the more so if he would see vast wealth; all the more so and all the more so if he would merit hearing one part in a thousand and ten-thousand of the voice of the melody that will be awakened in the future etc. etc. However, the primary bechirah exists because one does not see the emes at the beginning. On the contrary, according to the simplicity and smallness of man's understanding, it seems to him in truth that this is pleasure — to eat and drink etc. — and the service of Hashem is toil. And this is the primary test: that one must endure exertions for the sake of the service of Hashem, because one does not see the emes. And through this specifically, one will merit in the end that the emes will be revealed to him — that on the contrary, this is the primary pleasure and tachlis: to serve Hashem. But at the beginning, it is necessarily the case that the emes must be hidden from him somewhat, so that he should endure suffering and exertion, and there should be bechirah. And through this specifically he will receive the good reward, which is the revelation of the emes in its truest sense — and this is the primary receiving of reward. For "according to the suffering is the reward." And so with all forms of knowledge and understanding, small and great: it is impossible to grasp the emes immediately, but only through great exertions. For all the questions that are difficult for many people regarding the conduct of Hashem, blessed be He — and likewise what is difficult regarding the true tzadik, and especially the questions of the wise-in-their-own-eyes and of the philosophers — all of it is because of their sense of emes. For certainly even the greatest philosophers desire the emes, for this is a great general principle: that the primary wisdom is to grasp the truth of a matter as it is — for example, to know the movement of the celestial spheres as it truly is, or to know the movement of the blood in a person as it is, and similarly with the other wisdoms. But it is very, very difficult to grasp the emes, even in mathematics and the natural sciences, as they themselves acknowledge. All the more so and all the more so in metaphysics, which is the inquiry into divine matters. And all the questions they raise are all because according to the emes as they see it with their understanding, it appears to them that things should be the opposite. But "the boor does not know" (Psalms 92:7) that "very deep are His thoughts", blessed be He, and it is impossible in any way to grasp and understand with the intellect His truth and His conduct, blessed be He — except through emunah when it is joined with emes. And this is impossible to merit except through true tzadikim who are in the aspect of Moshe and the forefathers of the world, who broke their desires to the utmost, until they separated themselves from the desires of this world entirely, until they grasped and recognized His truth in truth — and merited to instill the ways of emunah in us. And therefore, one who wishes to merit eternal life can only merit it through emunah, as mentioned above. And one merits emunah through emes, in the aspect of "tzedek — when she is joined with emes" etc. That is, if one wishes to look at the emes in its truest sense, one will understand that it is fitting to believe the true emunah in Hashem and in Moshe His servant, and in the true tzadikim and the upright of truth in every generation. For the essence of the emes, one certainly cannot grasp with one's lowly understanding. On the contrary, things appear to him as the opposite, because he is so sunken in his desires and in this world and in honor and competitiveness. However, if he inclines his mind to the emes in its truest sense, and turns his face somewhat from the desires of this world, and sets his heart in truth to think about his eternal purpose — Hashem will illuminate his eyes and he will see and understand where the emes is (as is explained regarding this elsewhere). For emunah is only regarding what one does not understand — for what one understands with one's intellect, that is not emunah. And if so, from where will one come to emunah? However, Hashem, blessed be He, has mercy on His people and illuminates for Israel the ways of emunah, in such a way that they have the power to choose the emes and emunah if they so desire. But He does not reveal the emes in completeness at the beginning, so that there should be bechirah. Rather, He illuminates the emes somewhat, in such a way that there is the power to believe for one who wishes to look at the emes in its truest sense. As in the beginning, the drawing-close of Israel to Hashem, blessed be He, was through Moshe Rabbeinu, who revealed His G-dliness through all the awesome signs and wonders that Moshe performed before the eyes of all Israel. And through this they certainly had the power to believe, as it is written, "And Israel saw… and they believed in Hashem and in Moshe His servant" (Exodus 14:31) etc. And nevertheless, afterward He left them room to err, through various forms of conduct that He conducted with them in His deep wisdom, in such a way that they would have a test and bechirah. Such as after the splitting of the Sea, when they walked three days in the wilderness and did not find water, and then they complained greatly. And similarly with the manna and the quail etc. — that He did not give them immediately. And all of this was for the sake of testing and bechirah, as it is written, "And He afflicted you and caused you to hunger and fed you the manna… in order to test you" (Deuteronomy 8:2–3, 16) etc. And therefore, in truth, many stumbled and disputed against Hashem, blessed be He, and against Moshe. And the upright and the tzadikim believed in Hashem and in Moshe — that certainly "the ways of Hashem are straight" (Hosea 14:10). For certainly Hashem, blessed be He, could have given them the water and the manna etc. immediately. Only, everything that He arranged with them was all for the sake of bechirah, as mentioned above. And one who wished to look at the emes would see with his own eyes, clearly, that it was fitting to believe in Hashem and in Moshe, since they had seen such awesome signs and wonders, and such a revelation of Torah etc. And if various questions and puzzles are difficult regarding His conduct — for this one must cast aside one's intellect and believe. For it is impossible to grasp the truth of the intellect of His conduct, blessed be He, immediately, as mentioned above. But the complainers who sought pretexts disputed against Hashem, blessed be He, and against Moshe, on account of such questions. For because of their desires and their competitiveness and their honor, they raised questions that are impossible to answer, and they did not wish to rely on emunah that is formed through looking at the emes in its truest sense, as mentioned above. And so it is in every generation: they raise questions against the tzadik — questions that seem to them to be great questions — and they want to understand everything immediately with their intellect. And it is all because of their evil desires, especially the desire for honor and competitiveness. And they do not have compassion on themselves, to think about their eternal purpose. For "who is the man who desires life" (Psalms 34:13) and looks at his eternal purpose — he will certainly understand the emes: that it is fitting for him to believe in the emes, through the entire wondrous revelation of Torah etc. that was revealed — things that are impossible in any way for human intellect to attain — for one who wishes to set his heart to them well and to look at the emes in its truest sense. Only, what crooks his heart through various questions — and especially through the abundance of machlokes [dispute/controversy] — is all for the sake of his bechirah. For he can understand from his deeds whether it is fitting for him to draw close easily to the place of his eternal life-force — therefore they distance him through such machlokes and questions. And bechirah is in his hand: if he wishes to look at the emes, he will understand where the emes is, and he will strengthen himself in emunah regarding the questions and the crookedness in his heart, and he will merit complete emunah in the aspect of "tzedek — when she is joined with emes, she becomes emunah." And if he wishes the opposite — the permission is in his hand, and "whoever wishes to leave, let him leave." And the tzadik and his true people will not lose or lack anything. And "if you have become wise, you have become wise for yourself; and if you have scorned, you alone shall bear it" (Proverbs 9:12). And as is explained on the verse, "The ear that listens to the rebuke of life shall lodge among the wise" (Proverbs 15:31); see there in Torah 5, in the Torah "BaChatzotzeoros" [LM I:5]. And this is the aspect of the sin of the meraglim, that Hashem, blessed be He, gave them room to err, because they wanted to investigate more than was fitting. As our Sages of blessed memory said: "I told them that it is good, and they did not wish to believe" etc. — "by your lives, I will give them room to err" etc. For Eretz Yisra'ail is the primary aspect of emunah, as is explained elsewhere. And they wanted to see with their own eyes immediately how one comes to Eretz Yisra'ail. And they did not wish to rely on emunah, even though they had already seen such awesome and wondrous signs and wonders. Nevertheless, they said, "Let us send men before us, and let them search out the Land for us" (Deuteronomy 1:22) etc. For they wanted to see and understand the emes immediately — therefore Hashem, blessed be He, gave them room to err, and they caused weeping for generations until this day, for the exile has been prolonged because of this. And the primary redemption depends on this. For this is the way of Hashem, blessed be He: He engages in His mercy to draw a person close through many paths. But nevertheless, He leaves him room to have some doubt, for the sake of testing and bechirah. And when one strengthens himself in complete emunah — by looking at the emes, at all the kindnesses that Hashem, blessed be He, has done, and how He has illuminated for him from afar through hints in many ways to make known to him where the emes is — he will certainly merit all true and eternal good. But if he wishes to seek pretexts to separate — Hashem, blessed be He, gives him room to err more and more, and he then needs very great and immense exertions before he merits the emes — and all this and perhaps. To the point that he can depart from the world and not merit the emes, and he will need to endure what he will endure and be reincarnated in numerous reincarnations until he comes to draw close to the emes — which he could have merited now through a minor test: to cast aside the desire for honor and competitiveness and to look at the emes in its truest sense, as mentioned above. And this is what Hashem, blessed be He, was angered at them and said to Moshe: "How long will this people provoke Me, and how long will they not believe in Me, with all the signs that I have performed in their midst?" (Numbers 14:11). That is, as mentioned above: I have already begun to illuminate for them the emes through all the signs that I performed in their midst, and still they do not believe, because of their questions — for they want to understand and see everything immediately, as mentioned above. Therefore He decreed upon them at that time the exile and the destruction that has continued until now — that they will need to be tested in every generation in this matter: that one who wishes to look at the emes, through all that Hashem, blessed be He, has already begun to illuminate in him, will be able to understand where the emes is, and will strengthen himself in emunah regarding all that he cannot understand. And the reverse, the reverse, as mentioned above. And on this the primary redemption depends. For the primary redemption depends on emunah, as it is written, "You shall come, you shall gaze, from the peak of amanah" (Song of Songs 4:8). That is, as mentioned above. And understand this well, if you wish to have compassion on your eternal life. And similarly, a person himself — even when he merits drawing close to the emes through the strength of his emunah, as mentioned above — he must also have emunah in himself. And this too is included in emunas chachamim [faith in the Sages], as is explained in the Torah "Chadi Rabbi Shimon" (Torah 61). For many distance themselves because of the many questions that trouble them about themselves — for they see that despite all their efforts to draw close to Hashem, blessed be He, and they have already endured some exertions and many humiliations for the sake of the emes, nevertheless they are still as far as they are far. And all this is the doing of the ba'al davar [Adversary] who strives against them to distance them further. And we have already spoken about this at length. But still there is need for announcements — to know and to make known that it is impossible for a person in any way in this world to know where he is holding, as I heard in his [our Rebbe's] name, of blessed memory. And this is one of the fundamental tests — that one does not know where one stands and holds. For if one would see and know what one merits even now through every movement and shift by which one separates oneself from bad to good — even the slightest movement — one would certainly run with all one's strength to the service of Hashem and to His Torah, and would be a complete tzadik. But then one's bechirah would be nullified. For the primary bechirah exists because one does not see and know what one accomplishes and rectifies according to one's place and time. Therefore one must strengthen oneself in emunah in this as well — to know and believe in the words of our Sages of blessed memory that no good movement is ever lost, for "no good desire is ever lost." And ultimately, nothing will remain of a person except what good he snatched each and every day of the days of his life. And certainly whoever does more is praiseworthy. But even so — "should one who cannot do everything not do even half?" And all the distancing of people because of such thoughts, confusions, and turmoil is all because of the aforementioned aspect — because one wants to understand the emes immediately. But "the believer shall not hasten" (Isaiah 28:16), and one must wait a very, very long time until one merits grasping and understanding the truth of His ways, blessed be He. For "straight are the ways of Hashem, and the righteous walk in them, and sinners stumble in them" (Hosea 14:10). And it is written, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways; for as the heavens are higher than the earth" (Isaiah 55:8–9) etc. For the primary revelation of the emes is at the end, as mentioned above. And this is "Praise Hashem, all nations; extol Him, all peoples" (Psalms 117:1). For even the nations and all the peoples — it is fitting for them to acknowledge Him, blessed be He, and to praise Him and extol Him. And if you would say: from where shall we come to the emes, to draw close to Him, blessed be He, to praise and extol Him, since it is impossible to grasp and understand His ways, and we have so many such questions?! To this Dovid replies: "For His kindness has overwhelmed us" (Psalms 117:2) — for His kindness has already overwhelmed us so much that we merited seeing such awesome signs and wonders, and such revelations of Torah, through all the tzadikim who were in every generation until now. Through all this, it is fitting for you to look at the emes and to understand that "righteous is Hashem" — only it is impossible to understand all His ways with the intellect. And to strengthen oneself in complete emunah, as mentioned above. For "and the emes of Hashem endures forever" (Psalms 117:2) — for the essence of the emes is impossible to grasp and understand immediately. Rather, only at the end will the emes be revealed, through the strength of emunah, as mentioned above. For "the emes of Hashem endures forever" — "forever" specifically, as mentioned above. Therefore it is fitting also for you to strengthen yourselves in complete emunah, if you wish to look at the emes, as mentioned above. This halacha (18 sections) explains shevuas shav (vain oath) as the paradigm for the relationship between emes (truth), emunah (faith), bechirah (free will), and the ultimate purpose (tachlis) of creation. The paradox of shevuas shav: Why is swearing truthfully on the obvious (e.g. "a tree is a tree") more severe than swearing truthfully on the uncertain? Because the Name of Hashem exists to reveal hidden emes — to clarify truth from the place of sheker. Using the Name on what is already obvious is shav — it serves no purpose. The Name gains its greatness specifically through clarification of emes where sheker has a foothold. Bechirah and the foothold of sheker: After creation, sheker came into being. This gives man bechirah (free will). Man's superiority over the angels lies precisely here: the angels know Hashem clearly (no sheker, no choice), but Israel and the tzadikim know Him through choosing emes over sheker — and this knowledge is infinitely greater. The tzadikim, through mesiras nefesh, create the Name of Hashem in the world. The Ten Commandments as progression: "Anochi" (know His existence) → "Lo yihyeh" (reject idolatry/the claim He is unreachable) → "Lo sisa" (don't connect His Name to shav) → "Shabbos" (the tachlis, merited through six days of clarification) → "Kibud Av va'Aim" (honor parents because they enabled the tachlis). The second tablet = breaking desires (the means to the tachlis). "Lo sa'aneh" (no false witness) = don't testify falsely about your Creator or about the true tzadik. The philosophers' error: They correctly grasped that Hashem is incomprehensible — but concluded He cannot desire human service. The foundation of Israel's emunah is that despite His utter transcendence, He desires our service. This cannot be grasped by intellect — only through emunah joined with emes. Emes is revealed at the end: Like a child who cannot see the value of learning, man cannot see the tachlis at the beginning. Bechirah exists because the emes is hidden at first. Through enduring difficulties with emunah, the emes is revealed in the end. The meraglim's sin was demanding to see immediately; redemption depends on emunah. One must also have emunah in oneself — believing that every good movement matters, even when one cannot see one's own spiritual standing.