כבוד רבו ות"ח

And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: "But Hillel had a different attribute — he would say: 'Blessed is Hashem, day by day'" (Psalms 68:20). For our Sages of blessed memory said that Shammaye was strict and Hillel was humble and patient. And it is known that when one needs to break some evil middah, the more one is immersed in it, the more one needs to exert oneself against it to break it by going to the opposite extreme. Therefore Shammaye, who was strict, perforce could not subdue the aspect of the angry liver — the aspect of "the liver is nourished first," which is the aspect of weekday eating — except by completely separating himself from the food and setting it aside for Shabbos. And then specifically the sanctity of Shabbos was drawn upon him. But Hillel, who was humble, did not need such great exertion to draw the sanctity of Shabbos upon his food. For even though he ate each day whatever Hashem, blessed be He, provided for him, nevertheless his eating was only in the aspect of Oneg Shabbos, which is the aspect of the nullification of anger. For through the blessing alone that he recited over the food, he was able to nullify himself and draw the sanctity of Shabbos upon the food. 28

Sections 19–36: Kevod Rabo v'Talmid Chacham · Melamdim v'Talmud Torah · Tzedakah

And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said — that Hillel would say: "Blessed is Hashem, day by day" — "Blessed is Hashem," specifically. For through the blessing alone that he blessed each and every day — through this alone he drew upon himself the sanctity of Shabbos. And he did not need to set aside the food for Shabbos and eat it afterwards like Shammaye, since he was not strict. Therefore he drew the sanctity of Shabbos through the blessing alone. And as our Sages of blessed memory expounded there on this verse, "Blessed is Hashem, day by day" — "each and every day, give Him the blessings that are His." That is, through the blessings that we bless Hashem, blessed be He, each and every day — through this alone, one draws upon oneself the sanctity of Shabbos, from where all blessings come. For it is the source of blessing. 29

And this is the aspect of the mitzvah of honor and fear of one's Rebbe, which is greater than the honor of one's father — because one's Rebbe brings him to the tachlis, to the life of the World to Come, as mentioned above. For the primary Rebbe is one who taught him the wisdom of the Torah, which is the wisdom of emes — and not the external wisdoms, G-d forbid. And even if one received from him only one thing or one verse etc., one is obligated to conduct oneself toward him with honor, as our Sages of blessed memory said — all the more so one's primary Rebbe, from whom the majority of his wisdom comes. And the primary wisdom is the fear of Heaven, as it is written, "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Hashem" (Psalms 111:10). For "the exposition is not the main thing, but the action." And all this will be explained below.

The general principle: the essential thing is Emunas Chachamim — to believe in and draw close to the Tzadikim, who are the true Sages. For all their wisdom is to think about their tachlis — to exchange the passing world for a world that endures forever. For only this is called wisdom, as mentioned above. And as it is written: "Behold, the fear of Hashem — that is wisdom" (Job 28:28). And as our Sages of blessed memory expounded: "Hein means 'one' [in Greek]" etc. — that there is no wisdom except to fear Hashem and to separate oneself from this world entirely. And if not every person merits this in completeness, at the very least one should nullify oneself before these true Sages, who are true Tzadikim, and believe in them and draw close to them in truth for the sake of the tachlis. And certainly one will merit a good end through them. And this is the essential true wisdom. But all other wisdoms are vanity and emptiness — since all their wisdom is the wisdoms of this world, which passes away and perishes. 30

And this is the aspect of the prohibition of calling one's Rebbe by his name. For the primary knowledge is in the aspect of sheim [name], as is explained in the Torah "And on the day of the first-fruits — the Concealment" (Likutay Moharan I, Torah 56); see there well.

For all the alien wisdoms of the researchers — who went astray to where they went astray — all of it is only because of evil desires and evil middos of this world. For they are all full of desires and evil middos. And all their sages, the earlier and the later ones, were all deeply immersed in all the desires and middos: in adultery, money, honor, eating and drinking, competitiveness, and provocation, etc. — as is known to one who is familiar with them. And from there comes all their wisdom. And it is brought in the holy books that even what the researchers research in their wisdom and acknowledge the immortality of the soul — even this comes from desires. For they wish to succeed in their evil path even after death, so that their desires in this world should be sweet to them. Therefore they say that through the investigations of their wisdom they will succeed through it even for eternity. For otherwise it is very bad for them — that between today and tomorrow they will fall as dead corpses, and what will remain of them? Therefore they acknowledge the immortality of the soul and say the success of the soul for eternity is through wisdoms. And all of this is because of desires and evil middos — they want to fill their bellies with all the desires and to have a great name and honor among the kings. And through this they will succeed even after death. 31

And this is the aspect of the dispute of Korach, who separated himself from Moshe Rabbeinu — through whom the primary magnification of the Name of Hashem was accomplished. For through him, every individual in Israel was able to have his name included in the Name of Hashem, by being included in the name of the tzadik who already completed his name to the ultimate completion and was included in the Name of Hashem. And this is the primary filling of the Name of Hashem — for His Name is intertwined with our names, and each person according to the rectification of his deeds is thus included in the Name of Hashem, and His Name, blessed be He, is as it were completed and magnified and sanctified more. And to the contrary: through blemish and transgression, one blemishes and falsifies the Name of the King, and it is as if one diminishes His Name, G-d forbid. And therefore we say and request: "And fill all the names that I have blemished in Your great Name."

And the tzadik who has merited the ultimate completeness has already completed his name and is included in the Name of Hashem. And not only that, but he has the power to elevate the good in every individual in Israel and to include it in the Name of Hashem. For all of the collective of Israel — whoever still has the name of Israel called upon him, even though he is as he is — still has some hold and inclusion in the Name of Hashem, since the name of Israel is called upon him, and they are included in the Name of the King. For His Name, blessed be He, is called upon us: "Hashem, G-d of Israel." But the primary inclusion is through the true tzadik who has already completed his name to the ultimate completeness.

But in truth, the essential success of the soul after death is according to how much a person separated himself from the desires of this world, and engaged in Torah and prayer, mitzvos and good deeds — as explained in Likutay Moharan II, 19, and elsewhere. Therefore the essential good and eternal tachlis will be merited by the great Tzadikim, who are the true Sages, who became wise with true wisdom and separated themselves from the desires of this world entirely. And the rest of the world will have a good share in the World to Come, each one according to how much he merited drawing close to them and believing in them and walking in their ways. And therefore our Sages of blessed memory said in truth that "one who disgraces a Torah scholar is a heretic, who has no share in the World to Come". 32

And whoever is called by the name of the tzadik is included in him, and through this is included in the Name of Hashem. But one who disputes the tzadik — it is as if he disputes the Shechinah, for he separates himself from the Name of Hashem. For it is impossible to be included in the Name of Hashem except through the tzadik who has completed his deeds to the ultimate holiness and has been completed — who is included in truth, in completeness, in the Name of Hashem. And through him, all can be included in the Name of Hashem, as mentioned above.

And this is the aspect of the enormous blemish of the dispute of Korach, who separated himself from Hashem, blessed be He, by disputing Moshe his Rebbe, in the aspect of "And Korach took" — "and Korach separated" [v'ispeleg Korach]. He separated himself and his congregation from the Name of Hashem by disputing Moshe. And he said that he himself knows the Name of Hashem, as it is written, "For the entire congregation — all of them are holy, and Hashem is among them" (Numbers 16:3) etc. He said that the Name of Hashem is within the entire congregation. And the truth is so — but he distorted and transgressed greatly in that he wished to mislead himself and Israel, as if the Name of Hashem is within Israel without the tzadik Moshe, their Rebbe. For the truth is that Hashem, blessed be He, is within Israel, but everything is through the tzadik Moshe Rabbeinu. But as soon as one disputes Moshe, the true Rebbe, one uproots himself and those who listen to his dispute from the Name of Hashem — for it is impossible to be included in the Name of Hashem except through the true Rebbe, as mentioned above.

And this is the explanation of the very wondrous Aggadah regarding the Elders of the Athenians [Savai divay Asuna], at which every person is astounded. And our Master of blessed memory already explained, through the ways of his exceedingly lofty and deep perceptions, most of the passages — nearly all of them. Only two passages we did not merit hearing from him: Gavra d'ozif [the man who lent] and raichaya dis'vira [the broken millstone]. Also the narrative preceding their questions — how the Caesar spoke with Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya — and the narrative afterward — how he brought them onto his ship, etc. — in all of this we did not merit that he reveal to us the allusions within them. And I already heard from his holy mouth that he longed to reveal all of this as well, but it did not come to our hands in our many sins. For even what we merited hearing from his holy mouth — we were not worthy of it. Rather, the compassion and great lovingkindness of Hashem prevailed upon us, to hear all that we heard, with His great help, may He be praised forever. Now Hashem has stirred my heart and opened my eyes to find in them matters of substance, through His great lovingkindness, blessed be He. 33

And this is why the verse called the congregation of Korach "men of name" [anshay sheim] (Numbers 16:2) — for this was the primary blemish: they wanted to make for themselves a name, to separate themselves from Moshe, because of their arrogance — they wanted to have their own name and honor and fame.

And this is the language of the Gemara (Bechoros 8b): The Caesar said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya: "The serpent — how long does it carry and give birth?" He said to him: "Seven years." "But the Elders of Athens mated them and they gave birth in three!" "Those were already pregnant for four years beforehand." "But they engage in relations!" "They too engage in relations like a human." "But they are wise!" "We are wiser than they." "If you are wise, go defeat them and bring them to me." He said to him: "How many are they?" "Sixty men." He said to him: "Make me a ship of sixty rooms, and in each room place sixty chairs." He made it for him. When he arrived there, he went to the butcher shop. He found a certain man who was butchering an animal. He said to him: "Do you have a head to sell?" He said: "Yes." He said: "How much for a head?" He said: "Half a zuza." He gave it to him. Afterwards he said: "Give me your head." He gave him a head of an animal. He said to him: "I said the head of an animal?! I said YOUR head!" etc. 34

And therefore the primary drawing close to Hashem, blessed be He, is through the aspect of nullifying the arrogance and the honor, which are the aspect of "name" — and to nullify oneself and one's honor and one's name before the Name of the honor of His kingship. For "humility is greater than all of them." And similarly, it is impossible to draw close to the tzadik and the true Rebbe except by nullifying one's name and honor to the ultimate nullification. And then one will merit being included in the name of the tzadik, and through this one is included in the Name of Hashem. And of him it is said, "And it shall be that all who are called by the Name of Hashem shall be saved" (Joel 3:5) etc. — "and among the remnant whom Hashem calls." And therefore it is forbidden to call one's Rebbe by his name, for his name is included in the Name of Hashem, of whom it is said, "This is My Name forever (l'ilum)" (Exodus 3:15) — [read as l'alaim,] for concealment. For the primary knowledge is in the aspect of the Name, as mentioned above. And all that one receives from one's Rebbe — one must know that one still does not know at all. For "it is double to what is in substance" (Job 11:6) — for "very deep are His thoughts". For his words are like a flowing spring, and they are the aspect of "deep waters — counsel in the heart of a man" (Proverbs 20:5). And one must each time examine his holy words well, and dig and draw from them wondrous counsel — in such a way that one can save oneself from the flood of the many waters of this world. And all that one knows and draws out from his words — one must know and understand and believe that one still does not know at all to what depths his deep words reach, deeper than the sea etc. Only, in what one has been permitted, one can contemplate from them counsel for His service, blessed be He, according to one's level. But the essence of his Torah, and even his holy conversations, are impossible to grasp in any way. And as our Sages of blessed memory said: "Much have I learned from my teachers, and I did not diminish from them except" etc. And this is the aspect of the concealment of one's Rebbe's name — that it is forbidden to mention him by his name. For his name is his da'as [knowledge/mind], which is hidden and concealed from him to the ultimate concealment. For the name of one's Rebbe is included in the Name of Hashem, of whom it is said, "This is My Name — l'alaim" — for concealment, as mentioned above. And especially the prohibition regarding a name of peleh [wonder] — a hint, for there is a Rebbe whose name is Peleh, wonder upon wonder, in the aspect of "and He called his name Peleh Yo'aitz" (Isaiah 9:5) — whose counsels are wonders, "the wholeness of knowledge", in the aspect of "I will thank Your Name, for You have done wonders — counsels from afar, emunah omen" (Isaiah 25:1). And therefore it is all the more forbidden to mention his name, for of him it is said, "Why do you ask for My name? — and it is wondrous" (Judges 13:18). And this is the aspect of the honor that one is obligated to honor one's Rebbe. And this is the aspect of "one who learns from his fellow" etc. — and "there is no honor except Torah." And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: "His Rebbe who taught him wisdom — and not his Rebbe who taught him Mishnah and Mikra" etc. And this is the aspect of "great is the service [shimushah] more than its study [limudah]." For it has already been explained that the primary wisdom is the emes, and the main thing is to understand the emes that was hidden and concealed — that one should merit understanding it through the strength of one's emunah. And for this reason, one must toil and exert oneself greatly to search for and seek a true Rebbe and to draw close to him. For the primary eternal tachlis, which is the attainment of the emes, is impossible except through a true Rebbe. For this is the primary quality of the Rebbe: that he illuminates in him the truth of the Torah and establishes him upon the emes. For the primary Rebbe whom one is obligated to honor is the Rebbe in the wisdom of the Torah and not in the external wisdoms, G-d forbid. And even in the wisdom of the Torah, one who cannot establish him upon the emes is not a Rebbe, and one should not draw close to him. And as it is written in praise of the true Rebbe: "And your glory — succeed, ride upon the word of emes" (Psalms 45:5) etc. And even one who says words of emes but they are simple matters — this is not a Rebbe, as mentioned above. As is explained in the Torah "Asika" in Torah 21, on the verse "For Ya'akov has chosen Yah for Himself" etc.; see there. For the primary Rebbe is when he reveals to him and illuminates in him words of emes that he would not have been able to understand at the beginning. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said in Bava Metzia: "Who is his Rebbe? One who taught him wisdom — and not his Rebbe who taught him Mikra and Mishnah." And Rashi's interpretation: "who taught him wisdom — the reasoning of the Mishnayos" etc., which is called Gemara. That is, the primary Rebbe is one who teaches him true wisdoms, which is the wisdom of the Torah — not Mikra and Mishnah in their simple form, but when he illuminates in him and makes him understand the reasoning of the Mishnayos etc. that were hidden from him. And certainly the more that the Rebbe illuminates in him the truth of the Torah that was concealed from him, certainly one must honor him more and more — for certainly not all Rabbis are equal. And therefore the primary completeness of the Rebbe is when he is able to illuminate in his students yiras Shamayim [fear of Heaven] in truth — and this is the primary purpose of the Torah, as our Sages of blessed memory said: "The purpose of Torah is teshuvah and good deeds — that a person should not be one who reads and learns and kicks" etc. And as we find with the Sages of the Talmud of blessed memory, who engaged in instilling yiras Shamayim in their students. And therefore Rabbi [Yehudah HaNasi] arranged the order of the chain of transmission in Tractate Avos, which speaks of yiras Shamayim — and there specifically he began and arranged the entire chain of the transmission of the Torah: "Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua" etc. To teach and to make known that the primary purpose of the entire transmission of the Torah is for the sake of yirah — that we should merit yirah before Him, blessed be He, and to guard and to do and to fulfill the Torah. For "the exposition is not the main thing, but the action." And this learning of yiras Shamayim — that is, to merit the fulfillment of the Torah — this learning is very, very deep, and one needs for this a very, very great Rebbe, and it is impossible to receive it except through great exertion. And each person according to his exertion, so he merits receiving true counsel and true paths — in such a way that he will remain standing firm all the days of his life and not turn his step from the path of emes. And as our Master of blessed memory wrote on the verse, "Even my wisdom has stood by me" (Ecclesiastes 2:9) — "wisdom that is b'af [with difficulty/anger]" — that is, with exertions — "it stood by me." (And see elsewhere for an explanation of this matter.) And this is the aspect of the great emphasis that our Sages of blessed memory placed on the service of a talmid chacham, as our Sages of blessed memory said: "Great is the service more than its study." And all the reasoning of the halachos they called by the name "service of a talmid chacham," as Rashi explained in several places. For to stand upon a matter and to understand it in truth is impossible except through the service specifically. For there are many things that are impossible to understand through the words themselves — but only through various movements, and through various stories and roundabout ways and narratives and parables that one's Rebbe tells him — through this specifically one can stand upon the matter and understand it. And this is the aspect of "the conversation of talmidai chachamim requires study." And especially regarding the learning of the fulfillment of the Torah — for this one needs much service. For to help someone with free will is very difficult. And therefore all the holy tzadikim who illuminated for us all the laws and halachos of the holy Torah — but when they came to illuminate and to reprove their students to be careful to fulfill the Torah, they were very pained and were complaining and crying out in many expressions. Because they knew that this is very difficult to instill in the world, because of the vanities of this world and its desires and distractions. And especially Moshe Rabbeinu, who gave us the entire Torah in all its details — and afterward, in the entire book of Mishneh Torah [Deuteronomy], he cried out greatly in his rebuke of Israel, because he knew that there would be very many who would not fulfill the Torah. As it is written, "Gather to me all your elders… and I will call witness against them… for I know that after my death you will surely become corrupt" (Deuteronomy 31:28–29) etc. — and much more of the like. And for this reason he revealed the Song of Ha'azinu, as it is written there, "And this song shall answer before them as a witness" (Deuteronomy 31:21) etc. And for this reason the exile is prolonged so much. And therefore the primary redemption depends on drawing close to true tzadikim who are able to instill yiras Shamayim and the fulfillment of the Torah in the world. And this is the aspect of the honor that one is obligated to honor one's Rebbe. For it is found in his [our Rebbe's] words of blessed memory that the root of everything is kavod. For kavod is the root of the Torah, for "everything that the Holy One, blessed be He, created — He created only for His glory" (Avos 6:11) etc. — that is, that they should fulfill the Torah, through which His glory, blessed be He, is magnified. And therefore, the more one honors one's Rebbe, the more one arouses the roots of the Torah. And through this, the Rebbe bestows upon him the revelation of the Torah more and more. And as our Master of blessed memory wrote: that in every place where the Chavraya [companions] praised Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, he would reveal more Torah to them etc. That is, as mentioned above — through the praise and honor that they magnified him, through this he bestowed upon them more revelation of the Torah, as mentioned above. And this is "one who learns from his fellow one chapter, or one halachah, or even one letter — he is obligated to conduct himself toward him with honor" etc. — and "there is no honor except Torah." And this is not understood at all according to its simple meaning. And therefore in truth Rashi and Rashbam of blessed memory and all the commentators were hard pressed in its interpretation, as is brought in the Midrash Shmuel; see there. (To the point that because of this, some have a different text; see there.) But according to the above, it can be understood well. That is, the Tanna explains that the primary purpose of the honor that one is obligated to honor one's Rebbe is the Torah — meaning, what one merits through the honor that one honors one's Rebbe: that the Torah is revealed more and more, as mentioned above. And this is the primary completeness of the honor. And anyone who has not yet merited to honor his Rebbe with this honor — until he merits through this to bring to light the hidden mysteries of wisdom, that his Rebbe reveals to him through this more of the hidden mysteries of the wisdom of the true Torah — he has not yet arrived at honoring his Rebbe as is fitting. And this is "there is no honor except Torah" — that no honor is considered except Torah. That is, when through the greatness of the honor, more revelation of the Torah is drawn, as mentioned above. And this is what it concludes: as it is said, "Honor the wise shall inherit, and the wholesome shall inherit good" (Proverbs 3:35, 28:10). That is, through the honor that the wise — who are the true Rabbis — inherit from their students who honor them, through this "and the wholesome" — who are the students who are called temimim [wholesome/simple], for they have not yet merited the depths of wisdom but only walk in wholesomeness and exert themselves with toil and effort to serve and honor their Rebbe with all their strength — through this "they shall inherit good," and "there is no good except Torah," as it is written etc. For through the honor and the service that they serve and honor their Rebbe, through this they merit receiving and drawing forth the revelation of Torah from their Rebbe each time, as mentioned above. And therefore the Tanna warned that even one who learns one chapter etc. or even one letter — he is obligated to conduct himself toward him with honor etc. For one who is careful in this will certainly merit receiving Torah from his Rebbe. For if one letter that he receives from his Rebbe is precious in his eyes, and he honors him — through this he will merit that his Rebbe will bestow upon him more Torah, as mentioned above. And so each time: through each and every honor that he honors his Rebbe more and more, he will merit drawing forth each time more and more Torah, for "there is no honor except Torah," as mentioned above. For the true wisdom that one receives from the true Rebbe is in the aspect of "the spring that issues from the House of Hashem" — that at first it is narrow as the horns of a grasshopper etc., and afterward it spreads and goes, spreads and goes, until it becomes "a river that I could not cross" (Ezekiel 47:5) etc. And all of it is through the service and the honor, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of "Before a gray head you shall rise, and you shall honor the face of an elder" (Leviticus 19:32). And our Sages of blessed memory expounded: "One might think even a wicked elder (zakain ashmay)? The verse teaches: 'and you shall honor the face of an elder' — this is one who has acquired wisdom." And at first glance it is not understood. For if so — that we learn from "and you shall honor the face of an elder" that the meaning of "before a gray head you shall rise" is specifically an elder who has acquired wisdom — then one need only rise and honor the elder who has acquired wisdom, who is the talmid chacham. And why did the poskim rule that even if he is not a talmid chacham, one is obligated to honor him when he reaches old age and gray hair, so long as he is not wicked — which is the zakain ashmay? However, in truth, the primary honor and hidur is certainly only for the elder who has acquired wisdom — the true talmid chacham who acquired wisdom. "Acquired" (kanah) specifically — in the aspect of "emes — acquire it" (Proverbs 23:23). For the primary wisdom is emes, and emes one must specifically acquire — it is impossible to merit it for free. For it is impossible to merit the true wisdom, which is yiras Shamayim, as it is written, "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Hashem" — except through great exertions. Through this, one acquires the emes, which is the true wisdom. And therefore one must honor him with rising and hidur, as it is written, "and you shall honor the face of an elder." For he has merited the hadras panim [beauty/glory of the face], which is the light of the face, in the aspect of "in the light of the king's face there is life" (Proverbs 16:15). For the primary light of the face, the hadras panim, is emes, in the aspect of "You shall give emes to Ya'akov" — in the aspect of "seekers of Your face — Ya'akov, selah" (Psalms 24:6). As is brought in his [our Rebbe's] words of blessed memory: that Ya'akov is the aspect of emes, which is the aspect of the light of the face, the hadras panim. And therefore the elder who has acquired wisdom — the primary wisdom is emes, in the aspect of "emes — acquire it," as mentioned above — which is the light of the face, the hadras panim. Therefore he certainly deserves honor and hadras panim, in the aspect of "and you shall honor (v'hadarta) the face of an elder." But because of this itself, the Torah commanded to honor also the elder in years when he reaches gray hair — which is seventy years — even though he is not a chacham; only he must not be a wicked person, who is the zakain ashmay. For everything is because of the honor of the true elder who has acquired wisdom. For the entire world was created only to serve him and for his sake etc. For it is impossible that the chacham should be alone in the world. And therefore the life-force of everything is because of the tzadik, the true chacham who has acquired wisdom in truth. For the primary life-force is emes, as our Sages of blessed memory said: emes is the elixir of life. For the primary reason man comes into the world is for the sake of bechirah — to acquire and earn the reward of the World to Come through his good deeds that he performed in this world where he had such a yetzer hara and such obstacles, and he broke everything and chose the good. And the primary bechirah is to clarify the emes from the sheker, which is the evil and the impurity etc., as mentioned above. And the primary emes is merited by the one who has rectified his deeds as fitting, to the ultimate completeness — who is the true tzadik, who is the elder who has acquired wisdom, who is the emes, as mentioned above — and this is the primary life-force, as mentioned above. But if so, from where do the rest of the people of the world receive life-force, since they did not merit clarifying the emes in completeness, since their deeds do not come out well? However, all their life-force is through the tzadik, through whom life-force is drawn to all, as is known. For the primary life-force is through the tzadik yesod olam [the righteous one, foundation of the world], through whom Hashem, blessed be He, gives life and sustains everything. For the entire world was created for his sake, as is known. And therefore whoever is closer to the tzadik receives more life-force. And therefore one must honor also the elder in years, even though he is not a chacham, as long as he is not wicked — who is the zakain ashmay. For the primary zakain ashmay, who is the wicked one, is one who disputes the tzadik. For in truth, all of Israel are called tzadikim, as it is written, "And Your people are all tzadikim" (Isaiah 60:21). For there is in every individual of Israel a good point (nekudah tovah), which is the aspect of tzadik, as is explained elsewhere. But because of his deeds that are not fitting, the aspect of tzadik within him — which is the good point within him — becomes trapped and hidden. And therefore the primary tikkun of every person is the true tzadik, who has completed his deeds to the ultimate completeness. And all the good points — which are the aspects of the points of tzadik — are included in him. And whoever is included in him and draws close to him — the aspect of the good point within him shines forth. And therefore he too is in the category of tzadik. But one who disputes the tzadik uproots himself from his root, and the aspect of tzadik within him cannot shine. And therefore he specifically is called rasha [wicked], which is the opposite of tzadik — since he has distanced himself and turned away from the tzadik, and his good point — whose root and life-force are from the true tzadik — becomes hidden, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the zakain ashmay, who is the wicked one. For the primary wicked one is one who disputes the tzadik, and he is the opposite of the tzadik. And therefore he is wicked — for the opposite of tzadik is rasha, as mentioned above. But anyone who does not dispute the tzadik — even though he is not a chacham — since he reaches old age and gray hair, one must honor him. For it has already been explained that the primary life-force is emes. And therefore, since he has already lived his life-days, which are seventy years, and has not separated himself from the root of his life-force — who is the true tzadik — he certainly merited in his life-days to clarify some points of emes, for which purpose he came into the world, as mentioned above. And therefore he certainly deserves honor even though he is not a chacham. Nevertheless, one must honor him because of his old age and gray hair, for he too receives and nurses from the honor and hidur of the face of the holy elder who has acquired wisdom — since he merited to live seventy years, and all the life-force is drawn from emes, from the hadras panim, from the holy elder, as mentioned above. But the zakain ashmay — who is one who disputes the tzadik — is not included in the obligation of rising and hidur at all. Since he has separated himself from the root of his life-force — from the holy elder, from the emes — and all his life-force is from the sitra achra [the Other Side], which is anpin chashuchin [darkened faces], of which it is said, "and those who despise Me shall be disgraced" (I Samuel 2:30). Therefore, certainly no honor is due him, even in his days of gray hair. And one can hint that for this reason they called the wicked one and the disputer by the name zakain ashmay — to hint that the primary wicked one is the one who disputes the true tzadik. He is therefore called zakain ashmay, the opposite of those who rely upon the true tzadik — of whom it is said, "Hashem redeems the soul of His servants, and none who take refuge in Him shall be guilty (ye'eshmu)" (Psalms 34:23). But this one who separates himself from the true tzadik is called ashmay — from the language of asham [guilt/guilt-offering], the opposite of those who take refuge in the shadow of the true tzadik, who are in the aspect of "and none who take refuge in Him shall be guilty." But the disputer is called ashmay, for he is guilty (ashom asham) before Hashem and His holy Torah, since he has separated himself from the true tzadik who is the root and life-force of everything, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of how they confessed regarding their having blemished and disputed against Yosef — who is the aspect of the true tzadik — they said, "Indeed we are guilty (ashaimim) regarding our brother" (Genesis 42:21) etc. For this is the primary asham — when one disputes the true tzadik, as mentioned above — the opposite of "and none who take refuge in Him shall be guilty," as mentioned above. And therefore he is called zakain ashmay, as mentioned above. It turns out that "and you shall honor the face of an elder" is juxtaposed to "before a gray head you shall rise" — to say that the primary rising and hidur before the one with gray hair is only for one who is in the category of "and you shall honor the face of an elder" — that is, who at the very least does not dispute the holy elder of holiness. Therefore, when he reaches his days of old age and gray hair, one must honor him as well, even though he is not a chacham. For he too receives from the aspect of hadras panim through his days of old age and gray hair — that he has already lived seventy years, and all the life-force is drawn from emes, from the hadras panim, from the holy elder. But the zakain ashmay — who is one who disputes the tzadik — is not included in the obligation of rising and hidur at all, since he has separated himself from the root of his life-force, from the holy elder, from the emes. And all his life-force is from the sitra achra, which is anpin chashuchin, of which it is said, "and those who despise Me shall be disgraced." Therefore, certainly no honor is due him, even in his days of gray hair, as mentioned above. And therefore the measure of saivah [gray hair/old age] is seventy — corresponding to the seventy facets of the Torah, which are the primary aspect of the hadras panim that the holy elder merits. Only, the elder himself merits them in completeness even in his youth, as our Sages of blessed memory said: "a youth who is wise" etc. But the rest of the people receive only an illumination from them when they reach seventy years. But even this [illumination] one cannot receive except through the true tzadik, from whom the primary life-force comes — which is the emes, which is the primary sheim and kavod of holiness, in the aspect of hadras panim, as mentioned above. And therefore he must not be a zakain ashmay — who is one who disputes the true tzadik. For the primary rising and hidur before the one with gray hair who has lived seventy years is because in his life-days of seventy years he merited to clarify some aspect of emes — which is the primary life-force that is drawn from the seventy facets of the Torah. But the primary clarification of the emes is impossible except through the true tzadik, who is the aspect of the holy elder, of whom it is said, "this one has acquired wisdom" — in the aspect of "emes — acquire it" etc., as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of "a person is obligated to teach his son Torah, and likewise his son's son" etc., as it is said, "And you shall make them known to your children and to your children's children" (Deuteronomy 4:9). For the primary mitzvah of leaving behind children is for the sake of the magnification of His Name, blessed be He. For through children, a person's name and memory remain in the world, as it is written regarding yibum [levirate marriage], "and his name shall not be erased from Israel" (Deuteronomy 25:6). And certainly the obligation to leave behind children is not for the sake of the person's own name remaining — for of what account is the person himself in his lifetime, and all the more so after his death? And what does he desire with his house after him, and what does it matter to him if his name remains in the world? On the contrary, the verse mocks this, as it is written, "They called by their names upon lands" (Psalms 49:12) etc. Rather, the primary mitzvah of leaving behind children — so that one's name and memory shall remain in the world — is only for the sake of the magnification of the Name of His glory, blessed be He. For Israel are included in His Name, blessed be He. And every time one more of Israel is added, as it were, His Name, blessed be He, is added to and magnified and elevated — for His Name is intertwined with our names. And therefore the entire service of a person is to complete his name, which is his soul and his life-force — that he should be able to be included in His Name, blessed be He, that the Name of His glory, blessed be He, shall be magnified and sanctified through him. And therefore the first question that is asked of a person after his death when he is brought to judgment is whether he remembers his name, as is brought in all the sefarim. For in this everything is included — all that he did all the days of his life — and accordingly he completes his name, as mentioned above, and accordingly he merits remembering it after his death. And this is what the early ones established — that the children should say Kaddish after their father and mother. For the primary Kaddish is the magnification of His Name, blessed be He, as we say: "May His great Name be magnified and sanctified" etc. — "Amain, may His great Name" etc. For this is the primary tikkun of the soul of the departed — when he merits that his children magnify and sanctify His Name, blessed be He, for that is the primary purpose of the mitzvah of leaving behind children, as mentioned above. And therefore the father is obligated to teach his children Torah. For the primary magnification of the Name of His glory, blessed be He, through the multiplication of the souls of Israel, is only through the Torah — which is the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He. And the more his children engage in Torah and fulfill the Torah, the more his name is magnified. And this is the aspect of the obligation to teach his son and his son's son. For it has already been explained that the primary magnification of His Name, blessed be He, through the service of man in this world is through clarifying the emes from the sheker specifically, as mentioned above. And this is the primary obligation of engaging in Torah all the days of one's life, day and night, and to teach one's children and grandchildren — for it is all for the sake of clarifying the emes. For the emes is very difficult to clarify, and one needs great exertion for this all the days of one's life, until one merits clarifying — according to one's level — some portion of the emes. For the essence of the emes in completeness is impossible to reveal until the very end, as mentioned above. Rather, now, each person clarifies some aspect and portion according to his service. Like, for example, in the revealed Torah — this one merits clarifying these halachos and that one clarifies those halachos. And even this is not in completeness, for "there is no clear halachah and no clear Mishnah in one place," as our Sages of blessed memory said. Nevertheless, each person must clarify and exert himself to bring the matter to its ruling according to halachah — to clarify some halachos in truth according to his level. All the more so regarding the inner dimension of the Torah. All the more so and all the more so regarding the fulfillment of the Torah, which is the main thing that surpasses everything — which is the learning of counsel and strategies for how to truly merit awakening to fulfill the Torah and to be strong in one's true point all the days of one's life etc. This learning is very deep, and it is impossible to attain except through great exertion and through rolling much in the dust of the feet of true chachamim. And then one will merit clarifying some emes according to one's level. But still one needs to clarify the emes more and more, in every generation. And for this reason one needs to leave behind children and grandchildren, and so for the generations — so that each one will clarify the emes according to his Torah and service that he merits through his bechirah. And this is the aspect of what is found in the writings of the Ari z"l many times: that the clarification of the holy sparks (nitzotzos) is impossible to complete in one generation, and one needs to clarify them all the days of one's life until one clarifies some portion of them. And so in every generation, until the clarification is completed — and then Mashiach will come; see there. And the primary clarification of all the sparks in the world is the clarification of the emes mentioned above. For the sparks are sparks of the truth of His G-dliness, blessed be He — for they are a portion of G-d from above, as is known. Only, they fell to the place where they fell. And the primary cause of their falling was through the sin of Adam HaRishon and the sins of all the generations after him — which come through the counsel of the Nachash [Serpent], the counsel of sheker, that misleads man with his lies and falsehoods and deceptions and treacheries without measure, until he causes him to stumble in whatever he causes him to stumble, and distances him from the emes. And through this all the sparks — which are portions of the emes — fell to the place where they fell. And this is the aspect of how all the wicked and those far from the emes, wherever there are higher and holier sparks — when he does not merit clarifying them, he stumbles more in greater sins, and persecutes and pursues the emes more. For this is the primary falling of the sparks — which are aspects of portions of the emes — through their falling, they transform the emes into sheker. And specifically through the mistaken emes that he has, he does what he does, and pursues and disputes the clarified emes — because he says the emes is by him. And it is all because of the sparks — which are portions of the emes — that are by him in a state of falling, through which specifically he transforms good into evil, light into darkness etc. As it is written, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who make light into darkness and darkness into light" (Isaiah 5:20) etc. And this is the entire service of a person all the days of his life, and so from generation to generation — to clarify the emes through the rectification of his deeds. And this itself is the clarification of the sparks that each person must clarify, for which purpose he came into the world. And for this reason one is obligated to leave behind children — all for the sake of the clarification of the emes, which is the magnification of the Name of Hashem. For "the emes of Hashem endures forever" (Psalms 117:2), and "the seal of the Holy One, blessed be He, is emes." And therefore one is obligated to teach his son and his son's son. For it has already been explained that the primary clarification of the emes is at the end. And behold, the primary essence of the emes — which is the knowledge of the truth of His G-dliness in completeness, as is fitting for each person — this will be revealed only at the very end, when the time comes for each person to receive his reward. For the knowledge of His truth, blessed be He, will be the primary receiving of the reward, as is known and as mentioned above, as it is written, "And I will give their recompense in truth" (Isaiah 61:8). But also in every aspect and portion of the emes, also the primary clarification is only at the end. For example: when one begins to clarify some halachah — even though he begins to say true reasoning — nevertheless, the emes is not yet complete until the end, until one merits clarifying the ruling of the halachah in truth. For "the end of a matter is better than its beginning" (Ecclesiastes 7:8). For emes is beginning, middle, and end — and the emes must be complete from beginning through middle through its very end, that all one's intention from start to finish is only for the sake of the emes in its truest sense. For example, when one engages in business: if they ask him, "Why do you exert yourself so much — by day you do not rest, by night you do not lie down — and what will come of it in the end?" etc. — most people answer: "What should I do? I need to exert myself to support my children, to raise them to Torah study and to marry them off" etc. And certainly there is much emes in this, for certainly one needs to support one's children etc. But nevertheless, this is not emes in completeness. For it is not the way of the Torah to abandon oneself entirely from both worlds and to make the secondary thing primary and the primary thing secondary — to cast aside, G-d forbid, the engagement in Torah and prayer behind one's back, and to pursue money all the days of one's life, and nothing will he carry away from his toil. And usually he accomplishes nothing by his exertion, for "not from the east or from the west" (Psalms 75:7) etc. — and "not by strength shall man prevail" (I Samuel 2:9). For Hashem, blessed be He, can support a person through a minor cause. And therefore our Sages of blessed memory warned: "Make your Torah permanent and your work temporary." And as it is written, "O generation, see the word of Hashem" (Jeremiah 2:31). And our Sages of blessed memory said: "See by what means your fathers were sustained." And there are also many who have great wealth and chase after more and more, and they also say their intention is for the sake of the emes, as mentioned above. But this is not complete emes, for "the heart knows whether it is to straighten or to crook." And similarly, even in the engagement of Torah study, there are many levels of emes, and Hashem knows the emes in its truest sense. And the primary emes is when it is emes from beginning to end, as mentioned above. And for this reason the obligation is greatest to teach one's son and his son's son. For through the father and his son and his grandson, the emes is clarified. For father, son, and grandson are in the aspect of the three lines of emes — the aspect of beginning, middle, and end — and this is the primary completeness of the emes, as mentioned above. And therefore in truth our Sages of blessed memory said: "Whoever is a talmid chacham, and his son, and his son's son — the Torah will never cease from his descendants." For they have already merited to clarify the emes according to their level, and this is the primary engagement of Torah, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the three Patriarchs: Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya'akov. The primary completeness of the emes is in the aspect of Ya'akov, as it is written, "You shall give emes to Ya'akov." Even though certainly Avraham and Yitzchak also served Him, blessed be He, in truth — but because Avraham was the first who began to reveal the emes in the world, therefore the emes was not yet called by his name, nor by the name of Yitzchak, but only by the name of Ya'akov — the third of the Patriarchs, who corresponds to the aspect of the end of emes, which is the main thing, as mentioned above. And therefore the two Battei Mikdash [Holy Temples] — which were in the merit of Avraham and Yitzchak — were destroyed. And the third Temple — which is called by the name of Ya'akov — will endure, as our Sages of blessed memory said. And as it is written, "He will revive us from two days; on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live before Him" (Hosea 6:2). For in the Bais HaMikdash, the primary clarification of the emes took place, through all the services performed there. And therefore the Sanhedrei Gedolah sat there — to clarify all the halachos of the Torah to their truth. For "from Tzion shall go forth Torah" (Isaiah 2:3). And as it is written, "If a matter is hidden from you for judgment" — that you do not know the emes — "then you shall rise and go up to the place" (Deuteronomy 17:8) etc. — for there they will tell you the emes. But because of the corruption of the sins of the generations, we did not merit the clarification of the emes in its truest sense in completeness, until a great machlokes fell — in the days of the First Temple through Yerovam ben Nevat and his associates, and in the Second Temple through the abundance of baseless hatred and machlokes. And each one said the emes was by him — for certainly whoever disputes the emes says the emes is by him. And through this the Temple was destroyed twice. But nevertheless, the tzadikim in every generation have already clarified much emes. And the primary emes in completeness will be through Mashiach Tzidkainu, as it is written, "Send Your light and Your truth" (Psalms 43:3) etc. And it is written, "Hashem has sworn to David in truth; He will not turn back from it" (Psalms 132:11) etc. And then the Third Temple will be built — corresponding to Ya'akov, who is the aspect of the end, and this is the primary completeness of the emes. For the primary clarification and revelation of the emes in completeness is at the end. And this is the aspect of "two are better than one" (Ecclesiastes 4:9) etc. — "if one falls, the other will lift up his fellow" etc. — "and the threefold cord will not quickly be broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12). For certainly two are better than one for all matters in the world. And this is the aspect of what our Sages of blessed memory said: "Much have I learned from my teachers, more from my colleagues, and from my students more than all of them." For since the primary clarification of the emes is the main thing, and this is impossible for one person alone — for he can easily err — therefore they said that one who learns from his colleague is better. For through the challenge and counter-challenge between the colleagues, the emes is clarified. And "the threefold cord will not quickly be broken" — this is the aspect of three: Rebbe, student, and the student of the student. For three are the aspect of the completeness of the emes — beginning, middle, and end, as mentioned above. And through three, the Torah and the emes endure and are not quickly broken. And this is "a dispute that is for the sake of Heaven — its end will endure" (Avos 5:17). For a dispute that is for the sake of Heaven, like the dispute of Hillel and Shammai, is certainly a great good — for specifically through this the emes is clarified. For both of their intentions are for the sake of Heaven, in truth to its truest. And therefore in truth our Sages of blessed memory said: "Both these and those are the words of the living G-d." And this is "its end will endure" — "its end" specifically. For the primary revelation of the emes is at the end. For certainly only at the very end will the truth of this dispute be revealed — how both are the words of the living G-d, even though they contradict each other so much — this one forbids and that one permits. For now it is certainly impossible to grasp this, but at the end the hidden emes will be revealed. And therefore "its end will endure" — "its end" specifically, as mentioned above. And this is what Rabbi Yochanan cried out when Raish Lakish passed away: "Is it a great thing to say 'I have support'?!" etc. — "Raish Lakish would raise twelve questions" etc. — "and through this the matter would expand" etc. For the primary completeness of the emes is specifically in a place where it is not understood simply, as mentioned above. But a dispute that is not for the sake of Heaven, like the dispute of Korach and his congregation — its end will not endure. For at the very end the emes will be revealed, for "the lip of emes shall be established forever" etc. And then certainly everyone will run to serve Hashem in truth and to draw close to the true tzadikim. But then there is no ma'aseh [action/accomplishment] etc. For "today — to do them" is written. And one who toiled on erev Shabbos — in the aspect of the weekdays, when there is a foothold of sheker and error — one who toiled then specifically to clarify the emes, he will eat on Shabbos, when the emes will be revealed in its truest sense, which is the primary receiving of reward, as mentioned above. But one who did not toil on erev Shabbos, and waited to draw close to the emes until the emes is revealed for all to see — until all the distribution of honor will be at the emes — what will he eat on Shabbos? For the primary reason man comes to this world is to clarify the emes from the sheker specifically, and this is the primary completeness of the emes, as mentioned above. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said, which is brought in the Shulchan Aruch: that one who wishes to merit the crown of Torah should engage in Torah at night etc. For emes and sheker are the aspect of light and darkness, as is explained elsewhere. And therefore, one who engages in Torah specifically at night — which is the aspect of darkness, the aspect of the world of concealment — merits the crown of Torah, which is the primary emes. For the primary clarification is in the night — in the place of darkness, where the sheker has its foothold. And through studying Torah there, one brings light into the darkness and clarifies the emes from the sheker. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said, which is brought in the Shulchan Aruch: that when there are two teachers — one who teaches more [content] and one who is more careful and precise, avoiding errors more — one should accept the one who is more precise. For the primary learning is to clarify the emes. And therefore one must be very careful about a teacher who is not careful about errors, as our Sages of blessed memory said regarding this: "An error — once it has entered, it has entered." And one can hint that this is the meaning of what our Sages of blessed memory brought regarding the story of Yoav, who erred regarding Edom on account of his teacher who misled him and taught him "You shall erase the zachar of Amalek" with a kamatz [reading it as "male" instead of "memory"] etc. And because of this he did not erase their name completely, and Yoav was very, very angry about this, as our Sages of blessed memory said; see there. For this was the doing of the ba'al davar [Adversary] to bring him to such an error in this place specifically — regarding the mitzvah of erasing Amalek, upon which the entire Torah and the entire redemption of Israel depend. For Amalek is the evil, the impurity, which is the sheker — for he is the contamination of the Serpent, which is the sheker, as is known. And therefore he is the aspect of the Satan, who is the yetzer hara, who misleads the creations with his lies and his deceptions. And therefore the Torah especially warned to erase his name and memory from the world, for "Hashem wages war against Amalek from generation to generation" (Exodus 17:16) — for "the Name and the Throne are not complete until the memory of Amalek is erased." For the primary completeness and magnification of His Name, blessed be He, is through the emes, which is the opposite of Amalek — who is the sheker, as mentioned above. And therefore it was the doing of the ba'al davar to mislead Yoav in this place specifically. For all the errors and the lies are drawn from the memory of Amalek that still exists in the world. And therefore our Sages of blessed memory warned us to be careful henceforth about a teacher and a Rebbe who could mislead a person — because he still has some hold of the sheker, which is the aspect of the memory of Amalek. For the primary Rebbe and teacher is one who clarifies the emes, as mentioned above. And this is "You shall give emes to Ya'akov, chesed to Avraham, that You swore to our forefathers from days of old" (Micah 7:20). That is, the verse explains at its end what is difficult at first glance at the beginning of the verse. For it says "You shall give emes to Ya'akov," and at first glance it is difficult: why does it mention the emes only upon the name of Ya'akov and not upon the name of Avraham and Yitzchak, who began to reveal His truth in the world? And it immediately answers: "chesed to Avraham" etc. That is, this emes that He will give to Ya'akov — who is the third, who is the aspect of the end of the emes, which is the main thing, as mentioned above (and therefore Ya'akov is called by the language of eikev [heel/end]) — this itself is the reward of the chesed to Avraham. For the primary receiving of reward at the end is the completeness of the emes that will be revealed at the end, as mentioned above. And therefore the emes, which is the receiving of reward, is called upon the name of Ya'akov — who is the aspect of the end, as mentioned above. But in truth this itself is the reward of the chesed to Avraham, who began to reveal the emes in the world. And so Rashi explained there, and these are his words: "And therefore it does not say v'chesed [with a vav] but chesed: the emes that will be made true for us — the fulfillment of the promise to Ya'akov — that will be the payment of the reward for the chesed of Avraham." End quote. That is, as mentioned above: the emes is the primary receiving of reward. And therefore the emes that He will give to Ya'akov at the end is itself the payment of the reward of chesed to Avraham, who began to reveal the emes in the world. And this is "that You swore to our forefathers from days of old." For from days of old — from before many and mighty days — Hashem swore that at the very end, the emes will be revealed in the world. And this is the primary hope, as mentioned above. But the primary emes is called upon the name of Ya'akov because he is the third of the Patriarchs — who is the aspect of the end of the emes, which is the primary completeness of the clarification of the emes, which is the primary receiving of reward for all the fathers of the world and for all the tzadikim and the G-d-fearing — in the aspect of "You shall give emes to Ya'akov," who is the aspect of the end. And this itself is the reward of "chesed to Avraham," who began to reveal the emes in the world. "That You swore to our forefathers from days of old" — that at the very end the emes will be revealed. As it is written, "emes shall sprout from the earth" (Psalms 85:12) etc., as mentioned above — speedily in our days, amain. And therefore the Torah is threefold in all its aspects, as our Sages of blessed memory said: "Blessed is the Merciful One who gave a threefold Torah, through a third-born, in the third month" etc. For the Torah, which is emes, is comprised in all its aspects of three — which are the three lines of emes: beginning, middle, and end, as mentioned above. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: "A person should always divide his years into three — a third in Mikra, a third in Mishnah, a third in Gemara." For these three — Mikra, Mishnah, and Gemara — also correspond to the three aspects of the emes: beginning, middle, and end. And therefore the main thing is the Gemara, as our Sages of blessed memory said: "Those who engage in Mikra — it is a measure and it is not a measure" etc. — "Gemara — there is nothing above it." For Gemara is the third — the aspect of Ya'akov, the aspect of the end of the emes, which is the main thing, as mentioned above. And you can understand this well in explanation. For the Mikra, even though it is entirely Torah of emes and is the foundation of the Torah — for "there is no matter that is not hinted in the Torah" — nevertheless, one does not yet know the explanation of the emes from the Mikra alone. For no mitzvah is explained in the Torah in all its laws and details, as is brought in all the sefarim and as is explained by us elsewhere. And therefore one does not know from the Written Torah any halachah for practice, except through the Oral Torah. And even the foundation of the Oral Torah — which is the Mishnah — there too one does not yet know the clear ruling of the halachah for practice, except through the Gemara. As our Sages of blessed memory said: "Those who rule from the Mishnah are destroyers of the world." And therefore the main thing is the Gemara, which is the aspect of the end of the emes, which clarifies all the laws of the Torah to their truth — until through it one knows halachah for practice. And therefore, even within the Gemara itself, the main thing is to bring the discussion to its ruling according to halachah. And this is the great quality of studying the poskim [halachic decisors], who clarify the halachah in truth — so that we may know how to conduct ourselves in all the mitzvos of the Torah. And the primary Gemara is the service of a talmid chacham, as Rashi explained in several places. For the ultimate clarification of the emes in completeness, according to one's level and one's place, is impossible except through the service of true tzadik talmidai chachamim. For the primary purpose of all the study of Mikra, Mishnah, and Gemara is to merit guarding and doing and fulfilling — for "the exposition is not the main thing, but the action." And for this one needs great exertion — to serve true talmidai chachamim with all one's strength. And one's intention should be toward the emes in its truest sense, for the sake of the eternal tachlis, and not for the sake of personal interests of honor and money and the like. And Hashem tests the hearts, as mentioned above. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said, which is brought in the Shulchan Aruch: that Gemara includes everything — Mikra and Mishnah etc. For Gemara — whose essence is the service of a talmid chacham — includes everything: Mikra, Mishnah, Talmud, Kabbalah, the secrets of the Torah, and all true and eternal good. For through the service of true tzadik talmidai chachamim, in truth to its truest, one will merit all good for eternity, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of tzedakah. For the primary completeness of tzedakah is through emes. For the primary greatness of tzedakah is that one subdues his yetzer and gives his money to tzedakah. For certainly Hashem, blessed be He, could sustain the poor by Himself — and in His hand it is to impoverish and to enrich, and to take the wealth and give it to the poor, or to give wealth to all. And as our Sages of blessed memory said (in Bava Basra): "Rabbi Meir used to say: Here is a place for the litigant to argue — if the Holy One, blessed be He, loves the poor, why does He not sustain them?! Say to him: In order that we may be saved through them from the judgment of Gehinnom" etc. For the primary greatness of tzedakah is that the money is in the hand of the wealthy person, and he could err in himself and think that the money is his. And when he believes in Hashem, blessed be He — that "the wealth and the honor are from before Him" — and does the will of Hashem, blessed be He, and subdues his evil yetzer and gives his money to tzedakah beyond his nature — this is the primary completeness of tzedakah. And as our Master of blessed memory wrote in the Torah "V'es ha'orvim" etc.: that one who gives tzedakah by his nature is not considered significant. For the primary tzedakah is in the aspect of the oreiv [raven], which is by nature cruel etc.; see there. And therefore one who merits giving tzedakah in truth to one who is worthy of receiving — that is, to poor people who are kasher and worthy in truth — his reward is very great. For "tzedakah is weighed as the entire Torah," and the main thing is when it is in emes. For the primary bechirah is to subdue the left to the right. For the hold of the sheker is from the sitra di'smola [the Left Side], which is the aspect of the taharah [a reference to the root of impurity as elucidated in LM I:51], from which stems the chain of the hold of sheker, from which comes the primary bechirah, as is explained in the Torah "Rabbi Akiva said," as mentioned above. And all the money and the wealth are drawn from the aspect of the left, in the aspect of "from her left hand — wealth and honor" (Proverbs 3:16). And therefore all the lies and deceptions are found more with money, as is seen tangibly. And as it is written, "A poor man makes a deceitful hand" (Proverbs 10:4). And it is written, "For a morsel of bread a man will transgress" (Proverbs 28:21). For money is drawn from the aspect of the left, from which stems the primary hold of the sheker and deception. And therefore the primary bechirah is with money the most. And as we see: most people lose their days and years through the pursuit of money. And as the prophet cries out, "Each man turns to his own way, each to his own gain, from every quarter" (Isaiah 56:11). And therefore, this one who takes his money — where the primary hold of the sheker (which is the yetzer hara) is — and subdues his yetzer and takes his money and gives it to tzedakah — through this he subdues the evil and the sheker that is held from the left more greatly, and subdues the left to the right. And this is the primary completeness of holiness — for which alone man was created, as is known. And therefore he is certainly considered as if he has fulfilled the entire Torah, for the sum total of the entire Torah is only to subdue the sheker and to reveal the emes — and this depends the most on money, which is the aspect of the left, as mentioned above. But the main thing depends on the emes — when his intention is toward the emes in its truest sense, and to do His will, blessed be He. Not for the sake of honor and arrogance, to boast and to aggrandize himself and to pursue and to insult the poor kasher people through this. As is common now — that they give only to the important and great people of the region, in order to receive honor and esteem through this. Or they give only to those who submit to them and do as they do, even if they are not worthy at all or are complete wicked ones. And to kasher and worthy people who do not flatter them and do not walk in their ways which are not good — not only do they not give to them, but they also pursue them and strive to cut off their livelihood and to swallow them alive, G-d forbid. If not for Hashem who saves the poor from one stronger than him etc. And tzedakah like that is certainly nothing. And not only do they not rectify through such tzedakah, they also corrupt much, and it is considered a sin. As our Sages of blessed memory said on the verse, "Tzedakah exalts a nation, but the kindness of peoples is sin" (Proverbs 14:34) — because they give only to aggrandize themselves and to insult etc. For through such tzedakah, they strengthen the sheker even more, G-d forbid — because they support with their money the sheker. For the primary hold of the sheker is in the money, as mentioned above, and therefore the lies are found there the most. And therefore many errors are very common among givers of tzedakah, as our Sages of blessed memory said: that it is not easy to merit giving tzedakah to the worthy. As our Sages of blessed memory said: "Perhaps you would say that anyone who comes to collect, may collect? The verse teaches, 'How precious is Your kindness, O G-d' (Psalms 36:8)" etc. — for they are not easily found to merit [giving to] worthy ones; see there in the commentary of Rashi. Therefore one must pray much before Hashem, blessed be He, to merit fulfilling the mitzvah of tzedakah as fitting — that he should merit giving to the worthy in truth. And everything depends on the emes in one's heart — for one whose intention is truly desired by Heaven, Hashem, blessed be He, will grant him that he will give to worthy poor people, and he will rectify through the tzedakah much — that he will subdue the sheker to the emes. And this rectification is accomplished most through tzedakah given properly, as mentioned above. But one whose intention in giving is only for himself and his honor — and especially when he is a ba'al machlokes [disputant] who disputes the true kasher people — then Hashem, blessed be He, causes him to stumble with unworthy poor people, so that he should lose his world through them. As it is written, "In the time of Your anger, deal with them" (Jeremiah 18:23). And our Sages of blessed memory expounded: "Cause them to stumble with unworthy poor people" — and this was said about those who disputed Yirmiyahu the Prophet, who was then the true tzadik of the generation. (And this is what is explained in the Torah "Is lun baira" — that the primary significance of tzedakah is through emunah, as it is written, "And he believed in Hashem, and He counted it to him as tzedakah" (Genesis 15:6).) For emunah depends on emes, in the aspect of "tzedek — when she is joined with emes, she becomes emunah," as mentioned above. For the primary completeness of tzedakah is the emes and the emunah, as mentioned above. And this is what is explained in Torah 251 [of Likutay Moharan] on the verse "and it shall be tzedakah for us" (Deuteronomy 6:25) — that the man of emes draws to himself all the tzedakos, for the tzedakah is drawn to the emes etc. See there well what is explained there: that through evil tzedakos, one strengthens the machlokes, G-d forbid, and evil thoughts of heresy are strengthened; see there. For the primary tzedakah is for the sake of shalom [peace], as our Sages of blessed memory said: "One who increases tzedakah increases shalom." And the primary shalom is emes, as it is written, "The emes and the shalom — love them" (Zechariah 8:19). For certainly as long as the sheker is not subdued to the emes, this is not shalom at all. For certainly Hashem, blessed be He, who is the emes itself — His hand is always on high, and at the very end He will complete everything according to His will. For "You, Hashem, are exalted forever" (Psalms 92:9). And as Rashi explained: "Forever Your hand is on high." And even now, in the intensity of the bitterness of the exile — when the sheker grows so much, so much, from all sides, and the emes is cast to the ground, and the emes has become flock upon flock, and each one says the emes is by him — nevertheless, the essential point of the emes endures through His wondrous and awesome ways. And every day they stand against the point of the emes to conceal it and remove it, G-d forbid, and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves it from their hands. And as it is written, "More than the voices of many waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea" (Psalms 93:4) — which are the roundabouts and confusions and deceptions from which grow the voices and insults of the nations and the wicked and all the ba'alei machlokes etc. And from all of them, "mighty on high is Hashem." And as it is written, "The right hand of Hashem is exalted" (Psalms 118:16) etc. And as our Master of blessed memory wrote in Likutay [Moharan] I, in this language: "Hashem, blessed be He, always carries out [His will]." And therefore, when they wish to make peace between the disputants in such a way that the emes should subdue itself to the sheker, G-d forbid — this is not shalom at all, but flattery and sheker. For the emes cannot nullify itself before the sheker in any way, for "the lip of emes shall be established forever" etc. — and "truth stands (kushta ka'i)." And see more about this elsewhere. And the primary shalom is when the sheker is subdued and nullified to the emes. And this is merited through tzedakah in emes — through which one subdues the left to the right, as mentioned above. And therefore "one who increases tzedakah increases shalom." And this is the primary greatness of tzedakah — for shalom and emes are one aspect, as mentioned above. But when one gives for the sake of his own honor, to boast and to insult — he strengthens the machlokes even more through his evil tzedakah, and the thoughts of heresy are strengthened, G-d forbid. And the primary tikkun is through the man of emes, who has the power to draw to himself all the tzedakos, in the aspect of "and it shall be tzedakah for us," as is explained there in the aforementioned Torah; see there. And this is the aspect of "tzedakah is collected by two and distributed by three" (Bava Basra 8b). That the primary distribution of tzedakah must be through the aspect of three — which is the aspect of emes, which is threefold: the aspect of beginning, middle, and end, as mentioned above. For the primary distribution of tzedakah must be in emes — to the worthy, as mentioned above. And this is impossible except when there are three, who are the aspect of the emes, whose completeness is through the three lines of beginning, middle, and end, as mentioned above. These 18 sections (§19–36) continue Shevuos 2's grand theme — applying the relationship between emes, the Name of Hashem, bechirah, and the tachlis to three areas of halachah. Kevod Rabo v'Talmid Chacham (§19–25): Honoring the Rebbe draws forth more Torah revelation — like Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who revealed more Torah when the Chavraya praised him. "Ein kavod ela Torah" means the purpose of kavod is to cause Torah to flow. Korach's sin was separating from the tzadik Moshe to "make a name" for himself; the antidote is bitul of ego. One's Rebbe's name is hidden (asur to mention) because it is included in the Name of Hashem. The true Rebbe instills yiras Shamayim — deeper and harder than transmitting Torah knowledge. "Mipnay saivah takum" honors the emes acquired over 70 years; "zakain ashmay" = one who disputes the tzadik, thus uprooting his nekudah tovah. Yosef's brothers confessed: "ashaimim anachnu" — guilt from disputing the true tzadik. Melamdim v'Talmud Torah (§26–33): Having children = magnifying the Name; Kaddish = children magnify Hashem's Name for the niftar. Teaching son and grandson = transmitting emes across three generations (Avraham/Yitzchak/Ya'akov = beginning/middle/end). Clarifying the holy nitzotzos = clarifying the emes. The two Temples fell; the third (= Ya'akov/emes) will endure. Mikra/Mishnah/Gemara = three levels of emes; Gemara = shimush talmid chacham = ultimate clarification. Yoav's teacher misled him on "timcheh es zachar Amalek" — errors in learning have devastating consequences. "Titten emes l'Ya'akov" = the emes is revealed at the end (Ya'akov = eikev/end). Tzedakah (§34–36): Tzedakah in emes subdues the left (= money/sheker) to the right (= emes). Giving for honor/to flatter strengthens machlokes and heresy. One who disputes the tzadik is caused to stumble with unworthy poor. True shalom requires emes subduing sheker, not compromise. "Marbeh tzedakah marbeh shalom." The ish emes draws all tzedakos. Distributed by three = three lines of emes.