פדיון בכור ה

And this is why the passage "If you lend money" (Im kesef talveh — Shemos 22:24) is publicly read on Pesach — which is the Exodus from Egypt — for this is as above.

And this is the aspect of Purim — for Haman Amalek is the aspect of "mana d'la shavya l'chavala" — the vessel that leads to destruction, mentioned above — for he is the force of the klipah that spreads itself across every level and level when one wishes to ascend from level to level, as above. For "Amalek is the first of the nations" (Bamidbar 24:20) — for Amalek is the beginning and totality of all the nations — which are the klippos and fantasies that come from the koach hamidameh. And he is the primary one who triumphs and spreads exceedingly at every level as above. Therefore the essential subduing of him is through charity as above — for through this the gevonin are revealed, as above. And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said on the verse (Esther 3:9): "And ten thousand talents of silver I will pay..." — "Revealed and known before the One Who spoke and the world came into being that Haman... and therefore He preceded their shkalim to the shkalim of Haman" — for the shkalim of Israel are the aspect of charity for communal sacrifices as above — through which the essential subduing occurs, as above. And this is what he said: "There is a certain people" (yeshno am echad — Esther 3:8) — and our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded: yeshno am echad — that they have fallen into the aspect of sleep, G-d forbid — for the essential dominance of the imagination is in the aspect of sleep and slumber — for that is when the imagination is dominant and that is where the essential grip of time lies, as above. And therefore Haman said that Israel in the intensity of the exile are in the aspect of sleep — which is the aspect of the dominance of the imagination — the withdrawal of da'as. And therefore he would be able to overcome them, G-d forbid — for the Babylonian exile and similarly all the exiles are compared to sleep — as it is said: "When the L-rd returned the captivity of Zion, we were like dreamers" (Tehillim 126:1) — and as our Sages, of blessed memory, said. And therefore the miracle came about through the king's troubled sleep — as it is said: "On that night the king's sleep was disturbed" (Esther 6:1). And therefore the Megillah begins its account of the greatness of the miracle from the vastness of Achashverosh's glory — as it is said: "When he displayed the wealth of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his magnificent greatness... white, fine cotton, and blue..." (Esther 1:4–6). For the Megillah is telling us herein the greatness of the miracle of the downfall of Haman Amalek — which the L-rd, blessed be He, did for us in every generation. For the essential subduing of the imagination that spreads and expands greatly at every level — which is the aspect of Haman Amalek as above — is through holy wealth, which one merits through charity — and through this the gevonin within the money are revealed, which are the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, His Name. And at that time in the days of Achashverosh, the wicked kingdom grew so powerful that all the wealth was in their hands and all the gevonin were concealed among them. And this is what the Megillah recounts — of the multitude of gevonin and the extreme and lavish wealth that they possessed — until the very ground was paved with precious stones comprising multiple colors — as it is written: "beds of gold and silver on a pavement of bahat and shesh and dar and sochares..." (Esther 1:6). And through this they were exceedingly powerful against Israel — for it is known that G-d made one corresponding to the other. And just as through holy wealth one overcomes the imagination as above — so too conversely, G-d forbid: when the Sitra Achra prevails and draws all the wealth and the multitude of gevonin to itself — then it grows exceedingly powerful through the abundance of wealth it has seized. And this is the aspect of the bitterness of the present exile — where all the greatness and wealth belongs to them — and through this they are exceedingly powerful. But in truth all their power is only temporary — and ultimately they fall through this very thing, in the aspect of "wealth kept by its owner to his own harm" (Koheles 5:12). For the supernal gevonin within the money cannot radiate when the money is seized by the nations and the wicked. And these gevonin themselves fight against them and prevail over them and fell them and extract from them all the nitzotzos that they had swallowed long before — for this is the aspect of "a time when man dominates another man to his own harm" (Koheles 8:9) — and this is the aspect of: "instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver" (Yeshayahu 60:17) — for the wealth that they now conquer from Israel through the multitude of taxes and levies — this very money that they take from Israel will itself take vengeance upon them and overcome them and extract from them all the wealth in doubled measure, as above. And so it is alluded to in the words of our Rebbe, of blessed memory, mentioned above — that through the taxes and the levies which they collect from Israel — through this very thing they are subdued and fall — for it is explained there in the aforementioned Torah teaching: that all the taxes and levies that they collect from Israel are the aspect of charity — the aspect of "your taskmasters are righteous" (Yeshayahu 60:17) — and through this too the gevonin are revealed — and through the revelation of the gevonin comes their downfall. For the nations' grip is in the imagination — which is the force of animality — for they are compared to animals as above. And when the imagination is subdued through the gevonin that are revealed through the very collecting of taxes specifically — then all the nations whose grip derives from it fall. And therefore even then in the days of Achashverosh their downfall came through themselves — through the very excess of their own arrogance — in which they showed off and glorified themselves with the honor of the magnificence of their greatness and wealth during the feast. And they clothed themselves in the garments of the High Priest (Megillah 12a) — which are the primary glory of the gevonin — the aspect of bigday yesha ("garments of salvation"). And they sought to blemish these holy garments — and through this the Adversary leaped among them as well and incited them — until they slew the wicked Vashti. And through this came the essential downfall of Haman Amalek — for Esther was taken in her place. For all of this is the aspect of: "a time when man dominates man to his own harm" — for through the great dominance over Israel, whose primary dominance was over the money and wealth of Israel — in which the glory of the gevonin dwells, as above — then these gevonin — which cannot radiate in their domain, and are there in exile in great concealment and hiddenness — gain power and glean and clarify from them all the holy sparks they had swallowed — and extract from them their very vitality — until they are subdued and fall through this very thing, as above.

And this is what is written concerning the greatness of Mordechai: "And Mordechai went out from before the king in royal garments of blue and white, with a great crown of gold..." (Esther 8:15). This is the aspect of the glory of the gevonin that returned to holiness — for Mordechai the Tzaddik merited all these gevonin, which are the aspect of bigday yesha as above — which is the aspect of royal garments of blue and so on. And through this came the essential salvation — through the gevonin returning and being revealed in holiness, at Mordechai the Tzaddik, as above. And this is what is written: "And Haman recounted to them the glory of his wealth..." (Esther 5:11) — for he told them that he possessed great wealth and believed that the supernal gevonin were seized in his possession — and therefore the side of holiness — which is Mordechai and Israel — would have no power to prevail against him, as above. But the L-rd, blessed be He, had compassion on His people and the matter reversed from one extreme to the other — all the wealth and all the gevonin returned to Mordechai — as it is said: "And Esther appointed Mordechai over the house of Haman" (Esther 8:2) — for Mordechai received all the wealth of Haman. And then the wealth returned to holiness and the supernal gevonin — which are the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He — were revealed. And through this they merited to subdue and humble the Amalekites — who are the Sitra Achra — and to elevate and exalt Israel — for the essential subduing of the Sitra Achra — which is the aspect of the imagination — is through the revelation of the gevonin within holy wealth, as above.

And this is the aspect of matanos la'evyonim ("gifts to the poor" — one of the four special mitzvos of Purim: giving charity to at least two paupers) which one is obligated to give on Purim — that is, to greatly increase charity. For the essential revelation of the gevonin in holiness is through charity as above — and through this comes the essential subduing of the imagination, which is the Sitra Achra — which is the essential aspect of Purim as above. And this is the aspect of mishloach manos ish l're'ehu ("sending portions, each man to his friend" — the mitzvah of sending food gifts to one's fellow on Purim) — for each person must connect with and be included in one's fellow through the sending of portions from one to the other. For when the imagination is subdued — which is the aspect of Purim as above — then each lifts and raises his fellow from level to level as above. Therefore one must send portions from one to the other — so that each may be included in one's fellow — to demonstrate that now, when the imagination at every level is subdued — for the wicked Haman, may his name be erased, was included in all the evil of the imagination at every level — and now that he has been subdued and fallen through the force of the miracle of Purim — therefore now each is included in his fellow. For each lifts and raises his fellow. And this is the aspect of mishloach manos ish l're'ehu, as above.

And this is the aspect of the great force of the joy (simchah) of Purim — for when the gevonin — which are the aspect of bigday yesha and so on — are revealed — which is the aspect of Purim as above — the joy is very great and mighty. And the more the glory of the gevonin is revealed and the evil within the imagination is subdued — the more the joy grows and grows. For the glory of the gevonin is the primary manifestation of the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, as above. And the more His glory and His greatness, blessed be He, is revealed — certainly the joy is greater — for this is the essence of all joys: when His greatness and His glory, blessed be He, is revealed — as it is said in many verses: "Give thanks to the L-rd, call upon His Name" (Tehillim 105:1). And in the psalm "Come, let us sing" (L'chu N'ranena — Tehillim 95) — recited at the entrance of Shabbos — from the greatness of the joy that will be in the future when His glory and His beauty, blessed be He, will be revealed — as it is said: "Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad, and let the nations say: the L-rd reigns" (Tehillim 96:11) — and so too in many verses there. And all of these psalms from beginning to end are founded entirely upon the greatness of the joy from the revelation of His greatness, blessed be He — as it is said: "Come, let us sing to the L-rd, let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation... in song we shall shout to Him, for G-d is a great L-rd" (Tehillim 95:1–3). And song and melody are the aspect of joy — as is known and explained elsewhere. And all those psalms speak there of the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, and of the intense joy with which one must rejoice in His greatness and in His Name, blessed be He — as it is said: "Be glad in the L-rd, O righteous ones... the L-rd reigns, let the earth exult..." (Tehillim 33:1; 97:1). For these psalms of L'chu N'ranena recited at the entrance of Shabbos were instituted also to subdue the imagination that becomes powerful when one rises toward holiness — for since one must exit from the six weekdays and ascend to the holiness of Shabbos — therefore these psalms that speak of the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, were instituted — in order to subdue the klippos that become powerful when one ascends from level to level. Just as the recitation of "Hodu" ("Give thanks" — Tehillim 136) was instituted — which speaks of the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, and of the intensity of the joy in Him, blessed be He — because one must ascend from Asiyah to Yetzirah, as above in the aforementioned Torah teaching. And this is the aspect of: "In Your Name they shall rejoice all day, and in Your righteousness they shall be exalted... for the splendor of their strength is You" (Tehillim 89:17–18) — for through the glorification that is revealed, through this joy flows — the aspect of "In Your Name they shall rejoice all day" and so on. And this is: "and in Your righteousness they shall be exalted" — for the essential glorification — which is the glory of the gevonin — is revealed through charity (tzedakah) as above. And this is: "I will greatly rejoice in the L-rd, my soul shall exult in my G-d — for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me in a mantle of righteousness" (Yeshayahu 61:10). "Bigday yesha" — "m'eil tzedakah" — this is the aspect of the glory of the gevonin that are revealed through charity — as is explained well in the aforementioned Torah teaching on this verse — see there. And through this: "I will greatly rejoice in the L-rd, my soul shall exult in my G-d" — for the essential magnification of joy comes through this, as above. And therefore — since on Purim the imagination is subdued more greatly — for this is the essential downfall of Haman Amalek — through the revelation of the gevonin, through the abundance of charity that one gives then — and through the commandment of the shkalim that precede Purim — through which comes the essential miracle of Purim, as above — therefore the joy then is very great and mighty. For through the revelation of the gevonin — which are the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He — the joy is greatly magnified, as above.

And this is the aspect of the intoxication of Purim — as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "chayav inash l'v'sumay b'Puraya ad d'lo yada bein arur Haman l'varuch Mordechai" (Aramaic: "a person is obligated to become intoxicated on Purim until he cannot distinguish between 'cursed is Haman' and 'blessed is Mordechai'" — Megillah 7b). For intoxication is the aspect of sleep — the aspect of the dominance of the imagination — as one observes tangibly: that the drunk person is overcome by the confusion of the imagination and speaks foolish things that come from the confusion of the imagination. And therefore one must normally be very, very far from intoxication — so that the imagination should not become dominant within him — from which all evil desires arise, as above. But on Purim — when the subduing of Haman Amalek occurs — the subduing of the evil within the imagination is so complete that intoxication causes no harm whatsoever on this day. On the contrary: through the drinking one rectifies the imagination to be included in holiness and transforms evil to good — for on Purim the evil within the imagination is so thoroughly subdued that through the abundance of drinking one can transform the imagination specifically toward holiness. For wine has two aspects: if one has merited, it gladdens; if one has not merited, it desolates. And everything depends on the clarification of the imagination — for one who has not merited to clarify the imagination from evil to good — the wine desolates him — for desolation is the aspect of madness, the aspect of the confusion of the imagination. But one who has merited — meaning one who has already subdued the evil within the imagination — the wine gladdens him. And this is the aspect of the drinking of Purim — when the imagination is subdued through the revelation of the gevonin — and then the joy is very great through this as above. And therefore the drinking is in the aspect of the wine that gladdens. And this is: chayav inash l'v'sumay b'Puraya ad d'lo yada bein arur Haman l'varuch Mordechai — for Haman the wicked is the aspect of the evil within the imagination at every level — for he was of the seed of Amalek, who is comprised of all the evil and klippos of every level — in the aspect of "Amalek is the first of the nations" as above. For at every single level the imagination spreads and dominates. And Haman the wicked was included in all the evil of every level as above. And he gained great dominance then over Israel — for the koach hamidameh — the klippos at each level — cannot gain dominance except in proportion to the level in holiness — and then the person has choice and power to prevail against it. But Haman the wicked was comprised of all the evil of every level and wished to prevail against every individual of Israel with the power of the evil of every level — including the levels far above him. And certainly no person at a lower level has the power to stand against a klipah of a level far above his own — and all the more so against the klippos of many many levels far above him. And Haman the wicked, may his name be erased, who was the evil of every level, wished to prevail against each individual of Israel with the power of the evil of all those levels of which he was comprised. And therefore it was utterly impossible to stand against him — as it is said: "Had not the L-rd been with us when a man rose against us" (Tehillim 124:2) — and our Sages, of blessed memory, counted this as Haman. For it is brought in the words of our Rebbe, of blessed memory: that human beings can obstruct holiness more than the ba'al davar (the adversary — the evil inclination) — for the evil inclination of a person is only in proportion to his level — each person has an evil inclination from whichever world corresponds to his level. But a human being is comprised of everything — therefore he has the power to obstruct even more — see there. And in particular, Haman the wicked, may his name be erased — who was comprised of all the evil of every level — wished to prevail against every single individual of Israel with the power of the evil of every level. And even against the person at the lowest level he wished to prevail with the power of the evil of all the levels far above him — and how was it possible to stand against him? And therefore he wished to destroy, to slay, and to annihilate all the Jews from young to old and so on — for he wished to prevail against all Israel from the great to the small — since he was comprised of all the evil of every level. And so it is in every generation. And this is the aspect of the intensity of the battle in every generation — for when the adversary clothes himself within human beings, it is exceedingly difficult to stand against them — since human beings are comprised of everything and have the power to obstruct more than the evil inclination alone, as above. And about this it is said: "Had not the L-rd been with us when a man rose against us" — certainly when a person rises against a person to obstruct him from the path of life it is exceedingly difficult to stand against him — unless the L-rd is his helper. And this is the intense and extraordinary and awesome miracle of Purim — as explained in all the holy books regarding the greatness of the wonders of this great miracle — the greatest of all miracles — and all the Moadim (sacred festivals) will be nullified but the days of Purim will never be nullified. For then it was utterly impossible to stand against Haman — for he prevailed against each individual with the power of the evil of every level. Therefore the L-rd, blessed be He, had compassion on Israel and performed for them a wondrous miracle by sending them then a savior and leader — Mordechai the Jew — who was the very opposite of Haman. For Mordechai was comprised of the holiness of the revelation of the supernal gevonin of every level — for at every single level, when one must subdue the evil within the imagination, one must reveal the gevonin that are the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He — and certainly according to the level one must ascend to — so too must one reveal the gevonin. And Mordechai was comprised of the holiness of the revelation of the gevonin of every level — and therefore he had the power to subdue the klipah of Haman — which is the evil within the imagination at every level — for it is subdued by the holiness of the revelation of the gevonin of every level — which is the aspect of Mordechai. For Mordechai is the aspect of b'samim rosh — mar d'ror (the "chief of spices" — Shemos 30:23 — whose Aramaic translation is meira d'chaya — "flowing pure myrrh") — as our Sages, of blessed memory, said. That is: Mordechai is the aspect of the chief of the spices of the anointing oil — through which the Mishkan and its vessels and the Kohanim and the kings and the priestly garments and the Mishkan and so on were all anointed. All of these are the aspect of the revelation of the supernal gevonin — for all the supernal gevonin were within the Mishkan and its vessels and the priestly garments — which are the aspect of gold, silver, copper, blue, purple and so on, as above. And therefore there all the sacrifices were offered — which are the subduing of the imagination — for there the imagination was subdued through the revelation of all the gevonin — and through this the imagination was essentially subdued, as above. And the essential revelation of the holiness of all these gevonin in the Mishkan and its vessels and the priestly garments and so on — all of it did not illuminate and was not revealed except through the anointing oil through which they were all anointed. And through this they were sanctified in their holiness — for the entire Mishkan and its vessels and so on were not sanctified in their holiness until they had been anointed with the anointing oil. And their essential holiness was through the revelation and illumination within them of the gevonin — which are the primary manifestation of the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He — from which holiness essentially derives. For everywhere that the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, is revealed more greatly — there holiness falls more greatly — as it is said: "And I will be magnified and sanctified" (Yechezkel 38:23). It is found, then, that the holiness of the entire Mishkan and its vessels and so on — all of which came through the revelation of the gevonin, which are the greatness and holiness of the Creator, blessed be He — all came through the anointing oil — through which they were all anointed — which is the aspect of Mordechai — the aspect of b'samim rosh mar d'ror and so on — from which the anointing oil was made. It is found that Mordechai was comprised of the holiness of all the gevonin of every level — since through him comes the essential radiance of the gevonin within all the particular elements of the Mishkan. For the Mishkan and its vessels were comprised of all the levels of all Israel — included within the komas adam ("stature of a man" — the totality of all spiritual levels structured as the form of a human being). As is known: all the levels in their totality are the komas adam — as explained in the holy writings. And the Mishkan was in the aspect of the komas adam — as the holy Zohar says: "tziyura d'mishkana k'tziyura d'adam" (Aramaic: "the structure of the Mishkan is as the structure of man" — Zohar II:162). And therefore the Mishkan was comprised of all of them, as above. And Mordechai is the chief of the spices of the anointing oil — from which comes the essential holiness of the Mishkan — namely the essential revelation of the gevonin within all the particulars of the Mishkan. Therefore he was comprised of the holiness of the gevonin of every level. And therefore the L-rd, blessed be He, gave him the power to subdue and to humble Haman the wicked, may his name be erased, and to save each and every individual of Israel from his hand — from the small to the great. For just as Haman prevails in every generation against every individual of Israel — even against the one lowest in spiritual standing — with the power of the evil of the many levels far above him — in the form of enticements, temptations, fantasies, and obstructions beyond measure drawn from levels far higher than him. So too the L-rd, blessed be He, sends in every generation a Tzaddik who is the aspect of Mordechai — comprised of all the levels of holiness — who has the power to illuminate even the least of the least with a wondrous and mighty illumination drawn from the levels exceedingly far above him. And through this saves him from the klipah of Haman — which wishes to prevail against him with the power of the evil of all the levels above his. And this illumination of Mordechai the Tzaddik we merit in every generation — in every year during the days of Purim — as it is said: "And these days are to be remembered and observed in every generation, in every family..." (Esther 9:28). For this is the essential battle of every person in every generation — that apart from one's personal evil inclination and one's evil desires which one has from within oneself, against which one must wage great war and exert great effort to stand against them — in addition to this, there stand against every individual many many people who wish to obstruct him from the path of life. And in this matter there are countless variations — for sometimes the adversary himself clothes within a worthy person — and sometimes within a certain tzaddik, instilling in his heart a dispute against the straight path that the one wishes to enter. For the adversary confuses the world greatly in every generation — and his primary incitement is against the straight path that the great perfect Tzaddikim of the highest level — who are comprised of all the levels of holiness — have revealed in the world. And he clothes himself within human beings specifically — to dispute such great Tzaddikim and the straight and true paths they have revealed in the world — and he inverts the truth and thereby prevails over the lesser person through arguments, difficulties, and confusions drawn from levels far above him. And it is very difficult to stand against this except through the power of the great Tzaddik of the highest level — who is the aspect of Mordechai — the aspect of b'samim rosh — who is comprised of all the levels of holiness — who illuminates within us a wondrous and mighty illumination from the levels far above and above. And through this even the least of the least has the power to stand against the many obstructors — for the holiness of the Tzaddikim — the aspect of Mordechai — rises above all the levels to the ultimate holiness — where the klipah of the imagination is completely nullified. For it has been explained above that at every level there are fantasies and klippos — and when a person wishes to ascend from level to level, the klippos of that level anew gain power and so on, as above. But there are Tzaddikim so lofty that they have already become included in the ultimate supernal holiness — for they have already broken the klippos of every single level — until they have already become included in the ultimate holiness — where the klipah is completely nullified. And this is the aspect of the holiness of Mordechai the Jew as above. And this illumination is revealed on Purim — and this is the aspect of chayav inash l'v'sumay b'Puraya ad d'lo yada bein arur Haman l'varuch Mordechai — for from the greatness of the joy one should ascend to such a lofty level that the illumination of Purim shines within him — the illumination of Mordechai — at its highest root — where there is no klipah nor any evil of the imagination whatsoever. And therefore there it is not applicable to say "cursed is Haman" and "blessed is Mordechai" — for at every level where there is klipah and holiness — which are the aspects of Haman and Mordechai — it is applicable to say "cursed is Haman" — which is the klipah — and "blessed is Mordechai" — which is holiness. But at the root of the ultimate supernal holiness — there the imagination and the klipah are completely nullified — and there it is not applicable at all to say "cursed is Haman" and "blessed is Mordechai" — since there all is holy, all is good. And this is the aspect of the illumination of Purim — which is the illumination of Mordechai — a great and awesome light that does not illuminate on any other holy day but only on Purim — as explained in the writings of the holy Ari, of blessed memory. That is: as above — for this light is comprised of the holiness of every level up to the ultimate supernal holiness — where the klipah is completely nullified. And this is "until he knows not" — for there all is good, as above.

Mordechai was comprised of the holiness of all the gevonin of every level — for Mordechai was of the tribe of Binyamin — in whose portion the Beis HaMikdash (Holy Temple) was built — where all the sacrifices were offered — which are the subduing of the imagination. For in the Beis HaMikdash all the gevonin were found — for there was great wealth there — all the treasuries of the house of the L-rd. For the Mikdash and the Mishkan are one and the same aspect. And this is what is said: "The L-rd is great and very much praised in the city of our G-d, His holy mountain" (Tehillim 48:2) — for there in the Beis HaMikdash is the primary manifestation of His greatness, blessed be He. And the verse explains: the primary manifestation of His greatness, blessed be He, was revealed there because there was all the beauty and glory of the gevonin. And this is: "beautiful in elevation, the joy of the entire earth, Mount Zion..." (Tehillim 48:3) — for there was all the beauty and glory of the revelation of the gevonin — which are the primary glory and beauty — and they are the primary manifestation of His greatness, blessed be He — the aspect of "great is the L-rd and very much praised," as above. And this is: "beautiful in elevation, the joy of the entire earth" — for this is the essential joy when His greatness, blessed be He, is revealed through the revelation of the gevonin — the aspect of "I will greatly rejoice in the L-rd... for He has clothed me with garments of salvation" and so on — which are the revelation of the gevonin, called "bigday yesha" and so on, as above.

And this is what is written: "To all of them he gave each man changes of garments, and to Binyamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments" (Bereishis 45:22). For it has already been explained that Egypt and Pharaoh are the aspect of the imagination — and this is the essential nature of the Egyptian exile: that the imagination grew dominant. And the essential subduing of them was through Yosef the Tzaddik — who descended there beforehand to subdue through his power the imagination and the klipah of Egypt — as it is said: "For G-d sent me before you to preserve life" (Bereishis 45:5). And therefore the L-rd, blessed be He, arranged in His compassion that Yosef should merit there to great wealth — gathering all the silver of Egypt and of the other lands — as it is said: "And Yosef gathered all the silver..." (Bereishis 47:14) — for through the silver and wealth that Yosef gathered there, the supernal gevonin — which are the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He — were revealed. And through this came the essential subduing of Pharaoh and Egypt — which are the imagination — as above. And therefore when the tribes gathered with Yosef, he gave to all of them from his wealth — for he gave each person gifts — to demonstrate to them that he had already merited to elevate the wealth to holiness — and he gave to all of them a portion of his wealth, which is the aspect of the glory of the gevonin — the aspect of bigday yesha. And this is the aspect of the changes of garments that he gave to all of them — the aspect of the garments of glory as above — which are the aspect of the glory of the gevonin — so that all the tribes would have the power to subdue the klipah of Egypt — which is the imagination — through the power of the bigday yesha — the glory of the gevonin — that they received from Yosef. For the essential subduing of the imagination — which is the aspect of Egypt — is through bigday yesha and so on, as above. And therefore to Binyamin — in whose portion the Beis HaMikdash was built — where the essential subduing of the imagination takes place — therefore he needed the greatest wealth more than any other. And therefore he gave him five changes of garments — an allusion to the five changes of garments that the High Priest changes on Yom Kippur — for on Yom Kippur the High Priest enters the innermost sanctum — where resides the essential supreme holiness of the Beis HaMikdash — and there is the essential glory of the gevonin. For there stood the Ark and the Cherubim — and there His greatness, blessed be He, was recognized — for there is the essential dwelling of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) — as it is said: "And I will meet there with the Children of Israel..." (Shemos 29:43). And this is the aspect of the three hundred pieces of silver — corresponding to the three aspects of the intellect: intellect-in-potential (seichel b'koach), intellect-in-action (seichel hapo'el), and acquired intellect (seichel haniken) — which one merits through the revelation of the gevonin within holy wealth — and through this the imagination is subdued and one ascends to the intellect comprised of these three aspects as above. And Haman — who wished to blemish the holiness of the gevonin and reinforce the imagination as above — therefore cast the pur (lot) — for he wished to blemish the holiness of Yom Kippur — of which it is said: "And Aharon shall place lots upon the two goats..." (Vayikra 16:8). And this is what is brought in the holy Zohar: that Purim is the aspect of Yom Kippur — that is: as above — for afterward, when they merited to subdue him, they drew back the holiness of Yom Kippur — which is the essential holiness of the Beis HaMikdash — within which are all the gevonin. For on Yom Kippur the High Priest entered the ultimate supernal holiness of the Beis HaMikdash — where is the essential revelation of the glory of the gevonin — the primary manifestation of the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He — from which comes the essential subduing of Haman Amalek — which is the totality of the evil within the imagination at every level, as above. For Yom Kippur is above time — as our Rebbe, of blessed memory, said. And the essential nature of time is in the imagination as above. And Haman wished to reinforce time — for he attributed everything to nature and to time. And therefore he cast the lot from day to day and from month to month and so on — for he said that everything depends on time — and therefore he wished to cast the lot until he would know the day and the time when he could prevail over Israel, G-d forbid. And even though his lot was through great sorcery and he possessed great arts in this — the L-rd, blessed be He, foils the plans of the cunning and the matter was reversed. For the L-rd, blessed be He, drew the salvation and the miracle from the aspect of Yom Kippur — from the aspect of above time — from the aspect of the great Yovel — which is the aspect of the fiftieth gate (sha'ar hacha'mishim). For Haman wished to bring the blemish even there, G-d forbid — and therefore he made a tree fifty cubits tall. But this was his primary downfall — for there, in the aspect of the fiftieth gate, in the aspect of Yovel, in the aspect of Yom Kippur, in the aspect of above time — there he has no dominion or grip whatsoever. And no one can ascend there except the great Tzaddik who is the aspect of Mordechai. And therefore he was hanged on that very tree that is fifty cubits tall — for the essential downfall came through the aspect of the fiftieth gate of holiness — which is the aspect of above time, as above. And regarding this matter of above time there is still much to explain — may the Name, blessed be He, help us to complete the matter well.

And this is the aspect of "Write this as a memorial in the book" (Shemos 17:14) — for zikaron (memorial-memory) is in the aspect of the imagination — as Rebbe, of blessed memory, said elsewhere — that is: the clarification of the imagination. And this is the aspect of the public reading of the Torah — for the minimum number for a Torah reading is three men, and each one reads no fewer than three verses — all of this in order to subdue the imagination and ascend to the intellect, which is comprised of three aspects as above: intellect-in-potential and so on, as above. And therefore the entire Torah is threefold — as it was said: "b'rich rachamana d'yahiv lan orayta t'lita'ah" (Aramaic: "Blessed is the Merciful One who gave us the threefold Torah" — Shabbos 88a — an allusion to the Torah being threefold: Torah, Nevi'im, Kesuvim; given to a threefold people: Kohanim, Leviim, Yisraelim; in the third month). And likewise (Shemos 15:22) — when Israel walked three days without Torah they grew weary and so on — and they instituted reading on Monday and Thursday — so that no three days would pass without Torah. All of this in order to subdue the imagination and ascend to the intellect comprised of the three aspects as above. And this is the aspect of the three Kedushot (sanctifications — the Kedushah prayers) — for the intellect is called "holy" as is known — and therefore there are three Kedushot — the aspect of the holiness of the intellect comprised of three aspects as above. "Mo'eid mo'adim va'chetzi — idan v'idanin u'plag idan" ("A time, times, and half a time" — Daniel 12:7; 7:25) — this is the aspect of the diminution of time — that the intellect of the diminution and nullification of time will be revealed — for the greater the intellect, the more time is diminished and nullified. And this is: "until a time, times, and half a time" — for from two times, one time will be made. And afterward one will ascend to an even higher intellect until time is further diminished and nullified — until all time is in the aspect of "and a half" — and then Mashiach will come — who will attain the intellect of the aspect of above time in complete perfection — see carefully §61 cited above and understand well.

And this is the aspect of the prohibition of chametz (leavened bread) — whose primary prohibition is through time — that is: it is forbidden to allow the dough to sit for any period lest it become leavened — as our ancestors' dough did not have time to become leavened and so on — as it is said: "And they could not delay" (Shemos 12:39). That is: the essential prohibition of chametz is that the abundance of time should not take hold within the dough — for from there comes the essential grip of the external forces. And their essential subduing is through the revelation of the intellect that diminishes time and elevates everything above time — and through this comes the essential redemption of Egypt — which took place in haste, and they could not delay. And the L-rd, blessed be He, leaped and skipped over the end (ketz) — all of which is the aspect of the diminution of time — the aspect of above time, as above.

To establish the days of Purim at their appointed times — to rectify the aspect of time — to elevate the times and to connect them to the aspect of above time — through the clarification of the imagination that one merits on Purim as above. For the essence of time is in the aspect of the imagination and so on, as above.

[Note in the source text: Laws of Idolatry, Halacha 4 is included within Laws of Wine of Libation (Yayin Nesech), §13 and onward.]

For it is found in the words of our Rebbe, may his light shine, that all the flow of abundance (shefa) of money that comes to a person derives from the aspect of nefesh (soul) — which is the aspect of nukva (the feminine, receptive principle), the aspect of raglayim (the feet/lower extremities). See the teaching "Gezailah" (LM Tinyana §69). Now when a person lends money to his fellow, through this he acquires him — as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "the borrower is slave to the lender" (Mishlei 22:7) — for the borrower's very body becomes subordinate and obligated to him. And when the borrower himself has been obligated to the lender — that is, the obligating of his body — then from this automatically all his possessions become obligated to him as well. For when the borrower accepts money from the lender and becomes a slave and subordinate to him — as it is said, "the borrower is slave to the lender..." — through this he is included and becomes the aspect of nefesh to the lender, in the aspect of "whoever acquires a soul through his silver" — for when a person acquires a slave, he acquires his very soul, as it is said: "and the souls that they had made in Charan" (Bereishis 12:5) — and Rashi there explains: slaves and maidservants that they had acquired. The verse calls them by the name "souls," for the essence of acquisition is the nefesh, for once the person is his monetary acquisition, it follows that he is the aspect of his nefesh, for all possessions of a person are in the aspect of nefesh, as above — as is explained in the words of our Rebbe, may his light shine, there, see there.

And so too the borrower, who has been obligated to the lender through having received money from him, is in the aspect of his nefesh, as above. And through the obligating of the borrower himself, through this all the possessions of the borrower automatically become obligated to the lender — for all possessions are in the aspect of nefesh, as above. And since the lender has acquired the nefesh of the borrower for all the days of the duration of the loan, it follows that he takes from the borrower great reward on account of the waiting with the money — that is, the flow of abundance of money which the lender receives from the aspect of the nefesh of the borrower — for every nefesh has its flow of abundance of money, as is explained in the words of our Rebbe, may his memory be a blessing, there, see there. Therefore it is forbidden to take additional interest from him — for he has already received great reward all the days of the loan, namely the flow of abundance of money that he received from the nefesh of the borrower, as above. And therefore its prohibition is exceedingly severe, for in this prohibition the Sitra Achra gains its greatest hold — for the borrower is called ba'al chov (a debtor), which is the aspect of idolatry (avodah zarah), which is called chovah — as is found in the words of our Rebbe, may his light shine, in §23. And therefore a person must guard himself very greatly from being a ba'al chov (one who carries debt), and in any case the loan must be made in a permitted manner according to the Torah. But when a prohibition is created in the loan — that is, the prohibition of ribbis — then the Sitra Achra, which is the aspect of chovah, the aspect of idolatry, as above, gains a very strong foothold there — for it has a hold there, as above.

And therefore it is counted as if he denies — which is the aspect of idolatry — for in truth one must believe that all abundance flows only from the Blessed One. And when one believes that the abundance of money comes from above, certainly he will not take ribbis from the borrower — for he has already received a great deal from the borrower from the aspect of his nefesh, as above.

And this is the aspect of the prohibition of ribbis — for this one who needs to borrow: one must have very great compassion upon him to save him from being a ba'al chov, G-d forbid — for debt is the aspect of idolatry, as above. And this is the aspect of "If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you shall not be to him as a creditor" (Shemos 22:24) — for one must perform chesed with the borrower so that the lender should not be upon him as one who dunns him at all — so that the borrower should not be designated by the name ba'al chov at all — for debt is the aspect of idolatry. And this is: "and you shall not place upon him neshech" — for it is forbidden to take ribbis from him on account of the debt — so as not to go with him according to the attribute of strict justice to take ribbis from him for the debt — but only according to the attribute of chesed — to perform genuine gemilus chesed with him — for one must bestow chesed upon this one who needs to borrow, to draw upon him chesed, to sweeten from him the aspect of strict judgment — so that he should not be in the aspect of ba'al chov — so that the Sitra Achra, the aspect of idolatry, should have no sustenance from this debt, as above.

And this is: great is gemilus chesed more than tzedakah (Sukkah 49b) — for gemilus chesed, that is, halvoas chain (a gracious loan), is the very aspect of tzedakah itself — for the essential mitzvah of tzedakah is that it sweetens the strict judgment from the poor person — for the poor person is in the aspect of strict judgment, the aspect of tzedek, as is brought. And through the chesed one does with him — by which one bestows one's money upon him — through this tzedek becomes tzedakah: strict justice is transformed into righteous charity. And it sweetens the aspect of poverty, the aspect of strict judgment, through the chesed bestowed upon him. And this itself is the aspect of halvoas chain called gemilus chesed — for this one who needs to borrow is in the aspect of strict judgment, the aspect of debt — from which comes the sustenance of idolatry, G-d forbid, which is the aspect of chovah. Therefore one must bestow chesed upon him — and thereby sweeten and save him from the aspect of debt, the aspect of idolatry, G-d forbid, as above.

And therefore gemilus chesed is greater than tzedakah — for the poor person who needs to receive does not have as great a grip of strict judgment upon him as does the borrower who needs to borrow — for the debt is the very aspect of obligation and absolute strict judgment, G-d forbid — from which comes the sustenance of idolatry, G-d forbid, which is the aspect of chovah, as above. And therefore this one who bestows chesed with the borrower and lends him a gracious loan and is not upon him as a creditor at all — and the loan is not designated by the name of debt at all but by the name of gemilus chesed — he performs with him a greater chesed than tzedakah — for the borrower requires more sweetening and chesed than the ordinary poor person, as above. And this is why the Torah called the borrower by the name "poor" — as it is said: "If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you..." — for he is the very aspect of poor and requires more chesed than the ordinary poor person — in order to sweeten from him the aspect of debt, as above. And therefore gemilus chesed is greater than tzedakah, as above.

And this is the aspect of chesed shel emes (true lovingkindness) — that does not wait for repayment of a reward — for the lender is forbidden to receive any repayment and benefit from the borrower in exchange for the loan, as is explained in the Shulchan Aruch, on account of the prohibition of ribbis. It follows that the lender performs with the borrower chesed shel emes that does not wait for repayment of a reward. For thus is the matter — that the lender must perform with him the aspect of chesed shel emes specifically — that is, to illuminate the aspect of truth, which is the aspect of life, the light of the countenance — as is explained there, as above — in order to save the borrower from the aspect of debt, the aspect of idolatry, sadness, darkened countenance, the aspect of falsehood, the aspect of death. Therefore one must perform with him chesed shel emes — to sweeten him with the aspect of chesed, the aspect of truth, which is anpin n'hirin, life and so on, as above.

And therefore it is forbidden to accept ribbis from him — for it is forbidden to accept any profit or produce from the debt — for the debt is the aspect of idolatry in which there is no profit or produce whatsoever — for ail acher istaris v'la avad perin. It follows that in the debt there is no profit or produce at all. And this — when one wishes to receive profits and produce from the debt — one blemishes with the blemish of idolatry, as if one gives value, G-d forbid, to the names of idols — as if there is produce in it, G-d forbid — for one wishes to receive produce from the debt, which is the aspect of idolatry, and there is no produce whatsoever, as above. And therefore this one who takes ribbis: in the end nothing remains in his hand — as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: the assets of one who lends at interest collapse. For he is in the aspect of milei d'chadivei ("words of falsehood") — the aspect of the lust for money, which is absolute falsehood — it seems to him that he is profiting, and in the end nothing remains in his hand — for it is the aspect of falsehood, as above — for ail acher istaris v'la avad perin — and it is impossible that there should be genuine produce from the debt — only he deceives himself and wishes to receive produce from the debt as if there are produce, G-d forbid, for idolatry — and therefore he blemishes with the blemish of idolatry. And this is the severe prohibition of ribbis, which is exceedingly severe — for it is the very aspect of the prohibition of idolatry, as above.

And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: one who lends at interest denies the entire Torah — for taking ribbis is as one who denies the entire Torah — for it is the aspect of idolatry, and whoever acknowledges idolatry is as one who denies the entire Torah — for he is as one who acknowledges idolatry literally, as if he acknowledges, G-d forbid, that there is produce in idolatry — for he wishes to receive produce from the aspect of debt which is the aspect of idolatry and so on, as above. And this is the aspect by which the prohibition of ribbis is called neshech — the aspect of the bite of the serpent — for it is literally the aspect of the bite of the serpent, the aspect of "and the serpent — dust is his food" (Bereishis 3:14), the aspect of "and dust you shall eat all the days of your life" — afar (dust) is the aspect of atzavus (sadness) and anpin chashuchin (darkened countenance) — as our Rebbe, of blessed memory, said there. And this is the essential bite of the serpent — the aspect of "and dust you shall eat..." — which is the aspect of the lust for money, the aspect of the prohibition of ribbis, the aspect of idolatry and so on, as above. See there at the end of the teaching well.

And this is the aspect of ribbis ketzutzah (fixed, explicit interest — the most severe biblical prohibition) and avak ribbis (the "dust" of interest — rabbinic extensions of the prohibition) — this is the aspect of neshech (biting), the aspect of the bite of the serpent — who was cursed in the aspect of "upon your belly you shall go and dust you shall eat all the days of your life" (Bereishis 3:14) — for it had legs and they were cut off. And this is the aspect of ribbis ketzutzah — ketzutzah meaning "cut off" — the aspect of "it had legs and they were cut off" — in the aspect of "falsehood has no legs" (shikra la ka'ai — Shabbos 104a). For in truth there is no monetary profit whatsoever in the aspect of the lust for money, the aspect of idolatry, as above. And this is the aspect of "falsehood has no legs" — for money is the aspect of raglayim (legs/feet), as it is said: "and all the y'kum that is at their feet" (Bereishis 7:4) — this is a man's money that establishes him on his feet. And when one is sunken in the lust for money, one is bound to idolatry — which is the aspect of falsehood that has no legs — for there is no monetary profit, which is the aspect of raglayim — for ail acher istaris v'la avad perin. And this is the prohibition of ribbis, as above — that it seems to him that he is receiving profits, but in the end his assets collapse — for shikra la ka'ai — it has no legs — for it had legs and they were cut off. And this is the aspect of ribbis ketzutzah — the aspect of the corruption of the serpent and so on, as above. And this is the aspect of avak ribbis — the aspect of "and dust you shall eat...", as above.

And this is what is said regarding ribbis: "and your brother shall live with you" (Vayikra 25:36) — for you are commanded to give him life — that is, to draw upon him life and the light of the countenance — which is the aspect of gemilus chesed, the aspect of chesed shel emes, as above. And therefore from an apostate (mushmad) it is permitted to take ribbis — for you are not commanded to give him life, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said — for the essential gemilus chesed is to sweeten and save from the aspect of shmad (apostasy) — which is the aspect of the lust for money, the aspect of debt — in the aspect of "and He drove out from before you the enemy and said: destroy" (Shemos 23:28) — as is explained there — that the lust for money is called shmad. And through the chesed that the lender performs with the borrower, he draws upon him chesed and life and the light of the countenance, and saves him from the aspect of shmad, the aspect of debt-idolatry, as above. Therefore the apostate — who has already uprooted himself from the aspect of life and bound himself to idolatry and become apostate — therefore you are not commanded to give him life, to draw upon him life and the light of the countenance. And therefore it is permitted to take ribbis from him — for the essential prohibition of ribbis is to banish from this loan the aspect of debt, the aspect of idolatry, the aspect of falsehood — in the aspect of "you shall not be to him as a creditor, you shall not place upon him neshech" — so that it should not be called by the name of debt at all — only by the aspect of gemilus chesed, the aspect of "and your brother shall live" — to draw upon him life, the light of the countenance, in the aspect of "in the light of the king's countenance there is life" (b'or p'nei melech chayyim — Mishlei 16:15), as above.

[Note in the source text: Laws of Gentile Customs (Chukkas ha'Akum) — see in Orach Chayyim, Laws of Purim on the teaching "Who is the man who desires life..." (Tehillim 34:13), see there.]

And this is the aspect of the exceedingly severe prohibition of ribbis — for in truth Israel is a holy people, bound to the seventy radiant countenances — which are the aspect of the seventy souls of the house of Yaakov and so on. And the nations are the seventy peoples, and they are bound to the seventy darkened countenances — which is idolatry, death, and darkness and so on. It follows that Israel is at its root entirely remote from the lust for money, which is idolatry. And therefore Israel is at its root far from loans and debts — as it is said: "and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow... and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you" (Devarim 15:6) — for debts and loans are the essential domain of the lust for money, which is idolatry and so on. As is understood from the end of the aforementioned teaching, regarding the statement: v'talu pitka b'tzavaraihu ("and they had hung a note around their necks") and so on — for idolatry is called chovah (obligation/debt) and so on. And all who cleave to it are perpetually debtors and so on — for the lust for money comes from having no faith and trust in the Blessed Lord — that He can arrange a person's livelihood through a simple means, without great effort. And on account of this one perpetually runs after one's livelihood with great exertions and so on, and one is filled with sadness and worries and melancholy, and borrows much money from others — because one does not believe that the Blessed Lord will arrange one's livelihood in its time without great effort, through a simple means and so on.

And all of this is drawn and held only from the aspect of time (zman) — for the Blessed Lord is above time and place, and Israel arose in thought first, and the Holy One, blessed be He, the Torah, and Israel are all one. And therefore Israel is also above time, and all of Israel's service in this physical world — which is in time and place — is only that they should merit to elevate and connect the aspect of place and time to the aspect of above time and place — that is, to elevate and connect and include all of creation within that which preceded creation. And the essential is emunah (faith) — as it is said: "all Your commandments are faithfulness" (Tehillim 119:86) — for through the faith by which we believe in Him, blessed be He, that He created everything by His will, and all time and place flows from Him, blessed be He, from the aspect of above time and place — through this we elevate and connect place and time to the aspect of above time and place. And then all of creation is in the aspect of above time and place — which is the aspect of Providence (hashgachah).

And this is the aspect of bitachon (trust in G-d) — for in truth the essential sadness and worries of livelihood come from lacking trust in the Blessed Lord. And the essential deficiency of bitachon is drawn only from the aspect of time and place — for in truth the Blessed Lord constantly pours forth His good abundance without interruption for even a moment — only when the abundance comes into this physical world, which is in place and time, it must necessarily clothe itself in place and time. And therefore the abundance of livelihood and wealth is not drawn except in a known place and a known time — as one observes tangibly that there are times when a person prospers and times that are the opposite. And so with place: in this place people prosper and in another place it is the opposite. And on account of this the essential worry about livelihood comes from this — that sometimes the flow of one's livelihood is delayed — and so anxiety about livelihood arises in the heart, and one worries what one will eat tomorrow. And on account of this one pursues one's livelihood with great exertions. And in the end one does not achieve one's livelihood except when its time and season comes. And if one had true wisdom and believed in the Blessed Lord that everything is from Him, blessed be He — only one must wait until its time and season comes — one would not have run so intensely after one's livelihood — for the Blessed Lord will give one's livelihood in its time through a simple means — for the person must perform some light action for the sake of livelihood, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "and I will bless you in all that you do" (Devarim 15:18) — for it is impossible to draw down abundance in this world except through vessels. And therefore one must perform some business transaction and commerce — for through this one creates vessels and channels to receive the abundance. But in truth the commerce is not the essential thing at all — only the essential livelihood is from the Blessed Lord through His Providence alone — for a person does not know through what he will profit. And therefore it is forbidden for a person to push the moment and pursue livelihood with great exertions — as if, G-d forbid, the livelihood depended on this alone — for on the contrary, through this his livelihood diminishes — for whoever pushes the moment, the moment pushes him. For there is no need to do commerce and business, except to fulfill the commandment of performing commerce in faithfulness — in order to make a vessel and channel to receive the abundance, as above. And whatever one does is sufficient for this.

And this is: "and I will bless you in all that you do" — that is: in all that you do, whatever it may be, even something light and small — the Lord will bless you. As one observes tangibly with the majority of people — that many times they run and pursue much over many periods of time and nothing whatsoever of profit rises in their hands. And afterward the Blessed Lord has compassion upon them and arranges for them their livelihood — and sometimes even great wealth — through a very light means, which is almost without any natural path whatsoever. And the whole world is full of such stories — which are very common throughout the world, with almost every single person who engages in commerce. And if one had wisdom and relied at the outset upon the Blessed Lord and had no worry whatsoever — one would not have needed at all those exertions one had undertaken in vain. And when one's time came, the Blessed Lord would have arranged one's livelihood through a simple means, as above. And not only does one not gain at all through one's worry and sadness and great exertions and enormous efforts — on the contrary, one loses the abundant flow of one's livelihood. For in truth the essential flow of livelihood is from above, from the aspect of above time and place — only in this world the livelihood must necessarily clothe itself in place and time. And on account of this one must perform some commerce and transaction for the sake of livelihood — to make a vessel and channel to receive the abundance that descends from above, as above.

And when one believes that everything is from above — the time and place become connected to above time and place — and then one has livelihood in abundance — for one is connected to the root of all abundances that flow from above through one's faith and trust in the Lord. But when one runs after one's livelihood with great exertions, one is drawn and connected more to the aspect of place and time — and separates between time and place and the aspect of above time and place. And through this one becomes distant from the root of all abundances. And therefore it is difficult for one to find one's livelihood. And even when one's small livelihood necessarily arrives, it comes only with great and immense exertion — for one has drawn more after the contraction, after place and time, through pursuing one's livelihood with excessive effort. And therefore one's livelihood comes through even greater place and time — that is, through enormous efforts to distant places and over a prolonged stretch of time.

And this is: "whoever pushes the moment, the moment pushes him" — and "whoever is pushed aside by the moment, the moment is pushed aside before him" (Eruvin 13b) — for all the more one is drawn after time and pushes the moment, the more one is seized and connected to the aspect of time and place, and becomes more distant from the aspect of above time and place. And on account of this one becomes more distant from the root of all abundances. And therefore the moment pushes him — the moment specifically — because one became more connected to the aspect of moment and time, as above. And therefore one's difficulties increase — for one's livelihood becomes even more distant in time and more distant in place — through running to distant places over a long stretch of time. But one who is pushed aside by the moment and believes that everything is from the Blessed Lord — and when the time comes, one's livelihood will come of itself through a simple means — then one becomes more connected to the aspect of above time and place. And therefore the moment is pushed aside before him — for one merits through this to diminish time and place. And the Blessed Lord sends one's livelihood in little time and from a close place — for one is close to and connected to the aspect of above place and time. And therefore one does not require great exertions for the sake of livelihood — for the essential exertions are drawn from the aspect of place and time, as above. And if a person had very strong bitachon, one would not need to perform any cause whatsoever for the sake of livelihood — for the essential reason one must perform some light cause at least for the sake of livelihood is in order to make a channel and vessel to receive the abundance that descends from above, as above. And if one had strong bitachon, one would make the vessel and channel through the bitachon itself — for through bitachon one creates a vessel to receive the abundance — as our Rebbe, may his memory be a blessing, said elsewhere (LM §76).

It follows that the essential blemish of the lust for money — which is idolatry — is only from the aspect of place and time, as above. And therefore the essential blemish of the lust for money is debts and loans — as is alluded to at the end of the aforementioned teaching — that people borrow money from others and die as debtors — for all debts and loans are more seized in time — for one borrows today to repay after a time — for above time there is no relevance to a loan whatsoever. And therefore the Torah cautioned: "if you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you shall not be to him as a creditor" — for one must have compassion upon this Jew who has been forced to come to a loan — so as not to be upon him as a creditor at all — to elevate him from the aspect of borrower and debtor — for Israel is above time and they are distant at their root from debts and loans entirely — only through the force of exile — in our many sins — the abundance has flowed to the nations, and Israel is nourished from the remnants. Therefore one of them is sometimes compelled to come to a loan — but one must have compassion upon him and elevate him from the aspect of the loan and the debt. And one must appear before him as if he did not borrow from one at all — as is brought in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory: how the lender must distance himself from the borrower, so that it should not seem to the borrower as if he is dunning him — for since one believes in the Blessed Lord who is above time, and the abundance flows from Him alone — it follows that the abundance that will come after a time is already prepared and drawn even now — only one must wait for it to come in its time, as it is said: "the eyes of all look toward You with hope, and You give them their food in its time" (Tehillim 145:15). Therefore what one lends to one's fellow is not a loan at all — only it is as if one exchanges one's abundance that will come after a time with that which the abundance flowed to immediately. And therefore one is not borrowing at all. And therefore the Torah cautioned: "you shall not be to him as a creditor", as above.

And this is the very dimension of the immense and severe prohibition of ribbis — as it is said: "you shall not be to him as a creditor, you shall not place upon him neshech..." — for when one wishes to take ribbis from one's fellow, G-d forbid — this is the essential strengthening of the lust for money, which is literal idolatry. For one takes agar natar ("payment for waiting" — the rabbinic definition of the interest prohibition: one is being paid for the mere passage of time) — one takes ribbis for the waiting with one's money for a later time. This is the essential blemish of the idolatry of the lust for money — which attributes everything to time, and does not believe, G-d forbid, that the abundance descends from above, from the aspect of above time. For if one believes in this — one can no longer call it a loan at all. And immediately when one takes ribbis, G-d forbid, for the waiting with one's money to a later time — one is separating and uprooting, G-d forbid, the abundance from the aspect of the root — from the aspect of above time — and becomes bound to idolatry and darkness, in the aspect of death, which is in the aspect of time, as above. And this is: "do not take from him neshech and increase, and your brother shall live with you" (Vayikra 25:36) — "and your brother shall live" specifically — for one must break the lust for money, which is the aspect of the loan, the aspect of ribbis — which is the aspect of idolatry, darkness, death — and only to believe in the Lord that all abundance is from Him, blessed be He. And what one could have profited in this money that one lends to one's fellow — the Blessed Lord will arrange double for one from another source — for "one who lends to the Lord is one who is gracious to the poor" (Mishlei 19:17) and so on. And faith is the light of the countenance, the aspect of life and so on, as above. And this is the aspect of "and your brother shall live with you" — "and shall live" specifically, as above.

For the essential power of the evil inclination is drawn from the multiplicity of differences. For at the root of all things, there all is one — and there is no difference there whatsoever, God forbid — and there all is good, and there is no evil nor opposition at all. And the essential grip of evil — from which comes the power of the evil inclination, from which comes all opposition — is drawn only from the aspect of multiplicity, where differences exist. As is explained in the Torah discourse "Amar Rabbi Akiva" (Likutay Moharan §51, Part I): when one reaches the pure marble stones and so on, see there carefully what is explained — for before creation, all was one, which is the aspect of "all goodness, all holiness" and so on. And the moment creation emerged from potentiality into actuality, and the aspect of two came into being — that is, before-creation and after-creation — immediately the root-grip of falsehood came into being. Even though there was not yet, God forbid, any actual evil or falsehood, nevertheless, since there were now two aspects, the dimension from which the grip of falsehood — which is evil, which is impurity, from which comes all the power of the evil inclination and all opposition — was to descend had immediately come into being. For where there is oneness, opposition is not applicable, and so on — see there. And from there comes all the power of free choice — see there.

But even after creation, even though the root-grip of falsehood — which is evil, from which comes the power of free choice, for from there comes the power of the evil inclination as above — had already come into being, nevertheless all of this remained in a very great concealment, and the falsehood, which is the evil inclination, still lacked the power to bring its lie out of potentiality into actuality, until the differences multiplied more and more. And since the essential purpose of creation was only for the sake of man — for everything was created only for his sake alone — because only man possesses the power of free choice. For there is no created being in the world that has the power of free choice except for man. For the angel is holy and pure but has no free choice; and conversely, animals and beasts and the like are lacking in mind and are extremely coarse, and they have no free choice; and the essential power of free choice belongs to man. And therefore everything was created for his sake, for free choice is the great wonder and marvel beyond all the formations and works of creation — as is cited in the sacred books and in our own writings many times.

And since the essential power of free choice belongs to man, for whose sake everything was created, and the essential free choice operates through there being a good inclination and an evil inclination — therefore the evil inclination had no power to reveal its lie, to seduce and lead astray man, until the multiplicity and difference in the human species began — that is, until two came into being, which occurred when Chavah was created and there were now two people, and then there were two different minds. Only then did it have the power to seduce — for its essential grip is from the multiplicity and difference of minds. And especially when the number of human beings increased — for among them the essential power of free choice resides, as above. As it is said: "God made man upright, but they sought many calculations" (Koheles 7:29). And as Rashi explained there: the moment they became two — called "they" — they sought many calculations to turn away from the Omnipresent and they sinned against Him at the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and so on. For in truth the soul of man is exceedingly great and lofty, and the evil inclination had no power with all its devices to cause him to sin except through first enclothing itself in the woman, whose mind is lighter, and thereafter she seduced him. For the woman was taken through deep sleep and slumber — which is the aspect of the withdrawal of da'as (mind/knowledge), from which comes the essential grip of time. For through true intellect one attains the perception that there is no time whatsoever, and so on — as is explained on the verse "I have begotten you this day" (Tehillim 2:7) — see there.

And the essential grip of the differences is in time — for there all the differences reside, as it is said: "With understanding He changes the times and alternates the seasons" (liturgy, from Daniel 2:21). And as is visibly apparent from the many changes that come about through time: cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, and so on. And even within a single day there are many changes — as is cited in our writings regarding what is stated in the Eitz Chayyim at its beginning: that no day resembles its fellow, and no moment resembles its fellow, and so on. And from there all the events of a man's life are drawn — everything that befalls him. For the Blessed Lord watches over His world with mercy and guides it with kindness, "with understanding changing the times and alternating the seasons" — through which all events in the world, generally and particularly, pass in accordance with His supervision, blessed be He — whether for good or, God forbid, otherwise — and upon every individual passes what passes, according to His specific supervision.

Likewise, one person's mind differs from another's according to one's nature and root and according to what befalls one — and the essential thing is free choice. For a person must direct his mind every day, at every time, at every hour, and in everything that befalls him, to believe truly that everything is for his good — for everything is a hint from the Blessed Lord to turn him back to Him in truth — as is explained elsewhere. And one who directs his mind to the Blessed Lord in everything that befalls him draws himself near to the Blessed Lord, whether in prosperity or in adversity — as it is said: "In the Lord I will praise His word, in God I will praise His word" (Tehillim 56:11). And as it is said: "And I am always hoping" (Tehillim 71:14) — through this he annuls the entire grip of the evil inclination and the Sitra Achra which is seized in the differences, for he includes all the differences within the Blessed Lord, where all is one, as above.

And if all human beings were to conduct themselves in this way — to include all things in the One — surely everything would be in love and peace and unity, and the entire world would be rectified in the ultimate rectification. For this is the most precious of all things, as it is said: "Love your fellow as yourself" — Rabbi Akiva said: this is a great principle in the Torah (Yerushalmi, Nedarim 9:4). For in truth, even though the mind of every person differs from his fellow's — as our Sages of blessed memory stated — nevertheless each one must love his fellow as his own soul, and know that all is one. For all the varying actions descend from the Single Simple One. And the Blessed Lord created each person with a mind deliberately different from his fellow's — so that each one, through the difference of his mind, would be included in unity together with his fellow, and they would not come to jealousy and hatred and quarreling, God forbid, on account of the difference of their minds. Rather, they should love one another and fulfill the Torah and the commandments together and all be included as one — for this is exceedingly precious to the Blessed Lord when differing actions are included in the Single Simple One. As is explained in the Torah discourse on the days of Chanukah in Likutay Tinyana §2 — see there.

But from the multiplicity of differences, the evil inclination seizes its grip as above, and seduces him to whatever it seduces him to. And the beginning of its power was when Chavah was created and there were two human beings — for since Chavah was taken through deep sleep, through the withdrawal of da'as, where the essential grip of time resides as above, from which all differences come as above, therefore it had greater power to seduce her. And the moment it seduced her, it had power through her specifically to seduce man himself — even though he was exceedingly lofty, and it had no power in any manner to seduce him directly to transgress the words of the Blessed Lord by eating from the Tree of Knowledge. But through her it caused him to sin, as above. And so it is in every generation — for afterward, as all the generations descended from Chavah, the more human beings multiplied the more power the evil inclination had to cause even the greatest in stature to sin. And especially through human beings, in whom it enclothes itself — those who are not so strong — and causes them to sin; and afterward through them it can cause even the greatest to sin, God forbid. As our master, teacher and rebbe, of blessed memory, said: that human beings are very great obstacles, and so on. And he likewise said: that a person has more power to cause his fellow to stumble than the evil inclination itself, and so on — see there.

And therefore the entire power of the evil inclination is primarily through strife (machlokas) — as is explained in the Torah discourse "VaYasev" and so on; and as our Sages of blessed memory expressed themselves most emphatically regarding the enormity of the vileness of strife — through which the Second Temple was destroyed, and so on; and we have still not returned to our land on account of this — which is as above.

And this is the aspect of the immense greatness of the mitzvos of tzedakah (charity) and gemilus chassadim (deeds of loving-kindness), which are weighed against the entire Torah — for through tzedakah one increases peace and love, as it is said: "Increasing tzedakah increases peace" (Avos 2:7). For tzedakah is given from one's money — one takes one's money and gives it to one's poor fellow — and through this one greatly increases love and peace, and annuls the grip of the Sitra Achra from the differences, until all is included in the One — which is the most precious thing of all.

For money is the aspect of deficiency of da'as (mind/knowledge) — for money is from the aspect of the left, from the aspect of the north, as it is said: "From the north gold comes" (Iyov 37:22). And as our Sages of blessed memory said: "One who wishes to grow wealthy should face north" (Bava Basra 25b) — for from there comes the grip of foolishness, which is deficiency of da'as, in the aspect of "a fool's heart is to his left" (Koheles 10:2). (As is explained in the Torah discourse on the prohibition of robbery, §69 — see there.)

And therefore in the matter of money the battle is primarily to annul the grip of the evil inclination which is seized in the differences that come through time — seized in the aspect of slumber, in the aspect of the withdrawal of da'as, from which comes money, as above. And therefore most strife is over money. As it is said: "For a piece of bread a man transgresses" (Mishlai 28:21). And as is visibly apparent. And therefore in the matter of money one must exert oneself most of all, and annul time, and know and believe that there is no time whatsoever — for then one will be saved from the lust for money and from the anxiety and worry of livelihood.

For the essential anxiety about livelihood, through which one comes to the lust for money, is on account of time — through one's thinking from day to day and worrying about where one will find sustenance in the future. For the majority of people have enough to eat on any given day, and even the one who is most pressed — who does not even have sustenance for that day — if you examine this closely you will see that the greater part of everyone's worry is about tomorrow and about the time to come. For a person can endure a single day without food at all — it is only the worry that tomorrow too there will be no sustenance. All the more so that the majority have their day's sustenance, and many have money and property from which they can support themselves for a month or a year or more — yet all their worry is: what will they do when the money runs out over the passage of time?

It follows, then, that the essential anxiety about livelihood and the lust for money is on account of time — since money is drawn from the deficiency of da'as, where the essential grip of time resides, from which come all the differences, as above. And therefore one must exert oneself to bind one's mind to the truth — to believe and understand that in truth there is no time whatsoever. For time flees very swiftly — "all our days are vanity" (Koheles 9:9). And all of time is drawn only from the aspect of above-time for the sake of free choice — only it is impossible to understand this, but in truth there is no time whatsoever. And through this one will have the strength to wait for the salvation of the Blessed Lord at all times, and not trouble one's mind with the worry of livelihood and the anxiety about money. Rather, one should accustom oneself to say "Blessed is the Lord day by day" (Tehillim 68:20), and so on. As our Sages of blessed memory said: "One who worries about what he will eat tomorrow is among those lacking emunah (faith)" — for "He who created the day created its sustenance" (Mechilta, B'shalach).

It follows, then, that the essential differences drawn from time — from which the evil inclination gains its grip most strongly in money, as above — are thus rectified: the one who performs tzedakah, taking his money and giving it to his poor fellow, thereby greatly annuls the aspect of differences and is included in the One. For he annuls the difference between himself and the poor person — not hating him nor pursuing him on account of the difference of mind — on the contrary, having compassion on him and giving him of his money, which is where the essential grip of the differences resides. It follows that he thereby greatly annuls the differences, through which he annuls the grip of evil which is the evil inclination, and is included in the One where there is no difference — which is the ultimate purpose of the entire Torah and its commandments: to be included in the One and to annul time and all the differences that depend upon it, to be included in the aspect of above-time where all is one — which is the aspect of the ultimate purpose, the World to Come.

And therefore tzedakah is very great and is weighed against the entire Torah; and the entire Torah is called by the name of tzedakah, as it is said: "And it shall be righteousness (tzedakah) for us" (Devarim 6:25). For this is the essential principle of all the Torah — to annul all the differences from which comes the entire grip of the evil inclination, and to be included in the One — and this is merited through tzedakah as above. And therefore tzedakah saves from transgressions — as our Sages of blessed memory expounded — and atones for transgressions, as it is said: "Break off your sins by righteousness (tzedakah)" (Daniel 4:24). For tzedakah annuls the grip of the evil inclination from which all transgressions come, God have mercy, as above.

For the mind of each person differs from his fellow's as above; and especially the mind of the wealthy differs from that of the poor — for the essential state of poverty is in the aspect of "in toil you shall eat of it" (Bereshis 3:17), which was drawn through the eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, from which came the intensification of all differences and all confusions — the aspect of "the blade of the turning sword" (Bereshis 3:24). And because of this the wheel of reversal turns in the world, so that for the most part poverty is found among the upright and the righteous, and wealth among the wicked and the unworthy. But the essential grip of poverty comes from the aspect of evil drawn from the differences — through which the flow of abundance is blocked, as is known. And therefore the mind of the wealthy person who has abundance and every good differs greatly from the mind of the poor person whose house is empty of everything — to the point that many of the wealthy hate the poor and many pursue them. As it is said: "All the brothers of a poor man hate him" (Mishlai 19:7), and as it is said: "And a man pursues the poor and destitute" (Tehillim 109:16). And this is drawn from the multiplicity of differences from which comes the grip of hatred and strife — from which comes the entire power of the evil inclination, which incites itself most strongly against the poor person, since from there comes all poverty as above.

But this wealthy person who believes in the Blessed Lord — that everything comes from Him alone, for "wealth and honor come from before Him" — and who does not hate the poor person on account of the difference of mind, but on the contrary has compassion on him and gives him of his money — through this he greatly annuls the aspect of the differences that are seized there most strongly. And through this he annuls the grip of the evil inclination and is included in the One — and therefore he is reckoned as though he fulfilled the entire Torah, as above.

And gemilus chassadim (deeds of loving-kindness) and gracious lending (halva'as chein) are greater than tzedakah — for gemilus chassadim applies both to the poor and to the wealthy, and through it one acquires love and peace with all — which is the essential thing. For great is the peace which annuls the grip of the evil inclination, as above. And the essential greatness of gracious lending is the waiting — that the lender waits for his fellow until he repays him. For through this he annuls the aspect of time and is included in the aspect of above-time.

And this is the principle of the entire Torah — that one must wait, for "there is no reward for a mitzvah in this world" (Kiddushin 39b); the principle is "today, to perform them" and "tomorrow, to receive reward" (Eruvin 22a), which is the World to Come — which is above time. For through this one is included in the aspect of above-time. For certainly, if a person were to see the reward of the commandments in this world, there would be no trial and no free choice at all. Especially the commandment of tzedakah — if a person were to see that through the dinar he gives to the poor, a thousand golden dinars immediately flow to him in its place, who would be so foolish as not to give tzedakah and not to seize upon such a transaction?! Does not a person invest hundreds and thousands for the possibility of a tenth part profit — and sometimes there is a loss and there is very great toil and effort! Who would not seize upon a gain of this kind, where through a single dinar given to the poor one gains thousands in this world from the produce, apart from the principal remaining for eternity?!

But the essential free choice and trial lies in the waiting — since people do not see the reward with their eyes. And there are times when, out of love for the person, the produce too is stored away for him for the World to Come, for his own benefit; or for the atonement of sins and the like. Therefore the essential reward of tzedakah is the emunah — that one believes in the Blessed Lord and waits for Him, in the aspect of "one who is gracious to the poor lends to the Lord" (Mishlai 19:17). And the essential thing is to annul time — through which one has the strength to wait.

For one must set one's heart toward the truth: that time flies and rushes exceedingly, as one sees with one's own senses — and to believe that in truth there is no time whatsoever. And the essential existence of time is through the withdrawal of da'as for the sake of the trial and free choice, in order that one bind time to the aspect of above-time — through tzedakah and good deeds, through one's believing in the Blessed Lord and performing tzedakah and gemilus chassadim and waiting for the Blessed Lord as above.