פדיון פטר חמור ג

Therefore on the night of Hoshana Rabbah they study the book of Mishneh Torah [Devarim]. For almost all of Mishneh Torah speaks about Eretz Yisrael — Yisrael were prepared to enter, but through the sin of the Golden Calf, the spies etc. there was a great delay of forty years, and Moshe Rabeinu himself had to pass away because of this. He hinted to them what would befall in the end of days — the Beis HaMikdash destroyed twice, the exile prolonged greatly, the concealment within concealment intensifying: "And I will surely hide My face" (Devarim 31). All the rectification to enter Eretz Yisrael is through the aspect of Yehoshua — "Yehoshua bin Nun… strengthen him… command Yehoshua and strengthen and encourage him" — especially at the end of Va'yailech and Ha'azinu, urging Yehoshua's strengthening. All this hints at the aforementioned Torah: the essential rectification now is through the Rebbe of the generation, the aspect of Moshe, who greatly strengthens his talmidim, the aspect of Yehoshua, to walk in the ways of teshuvah always. Therefore on the night of Hoshana Rabbah — the seal upon the seal — they study Mishneh Torah, which speaks of Moshe's passing and Yehoshua's strengthening, through which the essential rectification of the ways of teshuvah comes. 98

Therefore they also say the entire Sefer Tehillim, composed by David HaMelech. For the rectification of Moshe and Yehoshua — entering Eretz Yisrael — will ultimately be completed through David, the aspect of Mashiach. Yehoshua brought Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael, but the essential holiness of Eretz Yisrael was not completed until David found the place of the Beis HaMikdash — when "He gave you rest from all your enemies" (Devarim 12) was fulfilled, and Rashi explains: "This was only in the days of David." All of David's rectification is the aspect of Tehillim — praises and songs to Hashem — the aspect of Shabbos holiness: "It is good to give thanks to Hashem" (Tehillim 92) in Mizmor Shir Li'Yoam HaShabbos. And within this, he cries out and supplicates and prays greatly to Hashem from wherever he is. Therefore Admo"r z"l wrote (Likutay Tinyana, siman 73) that through Tehillim one merits teshuvah. Now in the length of the exile, all our vitality is through the aspect of Moshe and Yehoshua — through these aspects we are strengthened to cry out to Hashem always, to gladden our souls in Shabbos holiness, to thank Hashem for the past and cry out for the future. This is the essential way of teshuvah. Through it we will all merit returning to Eretz Yisrael. Therefore on the night of Hoshana Rabbah they study Mishneh Torah — Moshe strengthening Yehoshua — and say Tehillim — songs, praises, prayers, and cries to Hashem — through which we will merit walking in the ways of teshuvah always, the seal upon the seal. 99

Chosam [seal] has the same letters as Techum [boundary] — the aspect of Techum Shabbos. For the essential rectification is through Shabbos, when the ways of teshuvah are rectified through guarding oneself from carrying outside four amos and from going outside the techum: "If you restrain your feet because of Shabbos" (Yeshayah 58), as explained above at length. 100

This is the aspect of the cry of "Hoshana" that they cry much over the arvai Nachal. Also all seven days of Sukkos, when they encircle the tevah [bimah] and cry "Hoshana" many times — all this is for the rectification of the arvai Nachal. The circuits are a remembrance of the Mikdash, where they brought willow branches and encircled them. Especially on Hoshana Rabbah, when they cry "Hoshana" countless times — for the essential engagement throughout Sukkos, and especially on Hoshana Rabbah, is to rectify the aspect of arvai Nachal, the sinners of Yisrael — to draw the ways of teshuvah so that they too return to Hashem and are strengthened to remain within Yisrael's holiness from wherever they are. 101

Therefore they adopted the language "Hosha Na" — to hint at a remembrance of the aspect of Yehoshua, who was called Yehoshua because "Yah shall save you" — as our Sages said (Tanchuma, Shilach). Yehoshua was in great danger lest he be swept and ensnared in the counsel of the spies, who were all great men of Yisrael, and nevertheless were caught in the net of the yetzer hara and gravely damaged Moshe Rabeinu and Eretz Yisrael. Yehoshua was saved through having served Moshe Rabeinu greatly — he merited that Moshe blessed him and prayed for him: "Yah shall save you." For this he was called Yehoshua. Therefore they cry out much in the language of Yehoshua — "Hosha Na" and "Hoshi'ah Na" — to draw the aspect of Yehoshua, the rectification of the lower point: "and if I make my bed in She'ol, behold You" — which is the essential thing that needs to be rectified now at the end of Sukkos, on Hoshana Rabbah. For this one must cry out intensely from the depth of the heart: "Hoshana" and "Hoshi'ah Na" — all for the aspect of the arvai Nachal. For even when they begin to return to Hashem they are in enormous danger, as is known — their entire strength and hope is the aspect of Yehoshua, whose teacher, the aspect of Moshe, prayed "Yah shall save you." This is the cry of "Hoshana" many times. Understand well from this the hints for yourself. 102

The essential rectification of the chosam [seal] is through emes [truth]. For the seal of the Holy One Blessed Be He is emes. The essential totality of all rectifications is emes — strengthening holy emunah in Hashem and in the Tzadikim — for the essential emunah is through emes, as we have written many times. This is the aspect of chosam upon chosam: "If I ascend heaven, there You are" — that is seal one; "and if I make my bed in She'ol, behold You" — that is seal two. First one seals the holiness with seal one, which is emes — holding oneself on the path of truth always, not turning right or left, being strong to return in teshuvah always. This is the aspect of ayeil — though even in this there is ayeil and nafik, ratzo and shov, overall it is ayeil. Afterward on Sukkos they rectify nafik further through the power of the Tzadikim's service on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. Then they must seal the holiness with seal two — whose essence is emes. 103

For sometimes a person can fall, chas v'shalom, through emes itself — knowing in his soul that he truly has damaged much, and even now he is as he is. Therefore the ba'al davar [adversary] entices him through his own emes to push him away completely — as we have heard these very words explicitly from many people who left their world entirely through this emes. But the true Tzadikim have already revealed to us that the emes to its true core is not so. This is the aspect of the expertise: every person who wishes to have mercy on himself and walk in the ways of teshuvah — the essential thing is to fulfill "If I ascend heaven, there You are, and if I make my bed in She'ol, behold You" — even in She'ol Tachtiyos one is supported by Hashem, and there is no despair in the world whatsoever, as Admo"r z"l spoke much about. Certainly one must guard oneself from sin, from any damage whatsoever. But even so — even if one stumbled as one stumbled, even thousands and tens of thousands of times — at every moment "the kindnesses of Hashem have not ended" — one can always draw oneself to Hashem from wherever one is. "Great is Hashem exceedingly, and His greatness is beyond investigation" — there is a way in which everything will be turned to good, as explained in those holy conversations in his holy books, and even more than this he spoke with us mouth to mouth. This is the essential emes to its true core: seal two of the nafik aspect — "and if I make my bed in She'ol, behold You" — chosam upon chosam, which guards the first emes: "Who guards emes forever" (Tehillim 146). For emes itself needs great guarding — lest one err through one's own emes — and so in many aspects, as explained at length in our words. 104

Also, all the dispute against the true Tzadikim — whether the dispute among those who call themselves chassidim and proper people, and especially the dispute of the investigating sects who incline toward heresy and apikorsus — all of it comes through their emes. For emes has become "flock upon flock" — each one says the emes is with him. Therefore whoever looks sometimes into the books of the investigators will see that speech of emes never leaves their mouths; they cry only emes. Woe to them and to their counterfeit emes! (There is no need to elaborate here; much of this is explained in our words in several places.) Therefore emes itself needs guarding. This is the aspect of needing chosam upon chosam — for the essential seal is emes, and emes itself needs guarding. All this is through the power of the true Tzadikim and their talmidim, the aspect of Yehoshua, who draw the ways of teshuvah: "If I ascend… and if I make my bed in She'ol, behold You" — the two expertises of ayeil and nafik, which is completed on Hoshana Rabbah. Therefore the chosam upon chosam is made then. It is known in the Kesavim: emes in gematria equals Ehyeh times Ehyeh. Now the essential rectification is through the aspect of Ehyeh, the aspect of teshuvah — the chosam equaling three times Ehyeh in its miluy. 105

Also, Yehoshua — with its five letters — equals in gematria Mishneh with the kollel: the aspect of Mishneh Torah. For the essential Mishneh Torah is to bring Torah fulfillment into Yisrael — as explained there, the abundance of warnings that Moshe gives to fulfill the Torah. The essential Torah fulfillment is through the aspect of Yehoshua, who received the Torah from Moshe, through whom the essential drawing of the ways of teshuvah occurs. Therefore they say Mishneh Torah on the night of Hoshana Rabbah. 106

Therefore they stay awake on the night of Hoshana Rabbah — to rectify the measure of night, which is the aspect of the levanah [moon], the aspect of Yehoshua. The essential rectification is that Moshe illuminate Yehoshua — the sun to the moon. 107

We return to the matter of Shabbos. It is explained in the Midrashim that the subduing of the kelipah of Amalek — the totality of all the nations opposing Yisrael — is through the holiness of Shabbos. This is brought in the Midrash (Pirkay d'Rabbi Eliezer 43), brought in Sefer Mayim Yechezkel, Parshas Beshalach: "Yisrael said: Master of the Universe, You wrote in the Torah 'Remember the day of Shabbos'… and You wrote 'Remember what Amalek did to you' — how can these two remembrances both be fulfilled? The Holy One Blessed Be He said: They are not alike — this 'remember' is to sanctify, and this 'remember' is to kill and destroy him." 108

This is the entire matter we have written above according to this Torah: the holiness of Shabbos is the holiness of the Tzadik, the aspect of Moshe, who does teshuvah upon teshuvah constantly, meriting in his lifetime "a day that is entirely Shabbos, entirely teshuvah." Through his great power, the aspect of Yehoshua fights the war of Amalek, subduing the blood of the chalal has'mali. Therefore the Midrash connects these two remembrances — Shabbos and the destruction of Amalek — and asks how they can both be fulfilled, for they are truly opposites. At first glance it would seem proper to forget Amalek entirely — to expel his kelipah and contamination from the heart — and only remember Shabbos holiness, the Tzadik's holiness, the totality of Yisrael's holiness. The Midrash answers plainly: they are not alike — this zachor to sanctify, this zachor to kill and destroy. They are certainly two opposites, and therefore one must remember both — Shabbos holiness and, l'havdil, the deed of Amalek — in order to destroy and uproot the memory of Amalek through the remembrance of Shabbos holiness at every time. The remembrance of Amalek's deed is only so that we may uproot it — one must remember that Amalek constantly ambushes. Therefore one must strengthen oneself all the more in remembering Shabbos holiness — the holiness of the Tzadik who does teshuvah always — through whose power we too always have hope. Therefore precisely because they are opposites, one must remember them both well, to uproot the kelipah of Amalek through the remembrance of Shabbos holiness — the Tzadik's holiness, through whose power the aspect of Yehoshua fights the war of Amalek. 109

Also, it is explained in the Gemara (Shabbos 118b): "Had Yisrael kept the first Shabbos, no nation or tongue would have ruled over them, as it says: 'And it was on the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather' — and it is written after it: 'And Amalek came.'" 110

This is what is written in Tanna d'Vei Eliyahu chapter 26 part 1, brought in Midrash Rabbah Parshas Ki Sissa: "'And you shall guard the Shabbos for it is holy to you' — there are three holinesses: the holiness of the Name of the Holy One Blessed Be He, the holiness of Shabbos, and the holiness of Yisrael… from here they said: the teeth of those who devour Yisrael will in the future, in the days of Mashiach, be twenty-four amos" — see there. 111

All these three holinesses are included together through the true Tzadik, the aspect of Moshe, who draws and makes known Shabbos holiness. Through Shabbos holiness, the holiness of the souls of Yisrael ascends and is included in their root, in His holiness — this is the aspect of Shabbos = Shin-Bas: the "king's daughter within" — the souls of Yisrael — ascends above. This is the Shin, the totality of the three holinesses. Therefore the Tzadik, the aspect of Moshe, is in the aspect of the segol — the totality of the three points. Therefore the Midrash connects to this the downfall of the wicked in the future, when their teeth will be many amos to their detriment: "the teeth of the wicked You have broken" (Tehillim 3) — for these depend upon each other. The downfall of the wicked, whose totality is Amalek, is through Shabbos holiness. Conversely, to the degree that each person overcomes all six weekdays to subdue the kelipah of Amalek through the Tzadikim's power — Moshe and Yehoshua — so he merits drawing Shabbos holiness. Therefore the Midrash mentioned their downfall through the breaking of their teeth specifically — which at first glance is a great wonder, as all the commentators were puzzled. But according to our words there is a wonderful connection in this Midrash. 112

For the essential matter is Shabbos holiness, when Kneses Yisrael unites with her Beloved — "Come, my Beloved, to greet the bride" — and then all three points are included together, completing the aspect of Adam to sit on the Throne. The essential Shabbos holiness is the eating (as in siman 277 and 57, Likutay I) — Shabbos eating is exceedingly precious, entirely Godliness, entirely holy. Through eating, the soul joins with the body and enlivens the blood of the heart — as in os 51 regarding Erev Yom Kippur eating. Therefore the thirty-two teeth correspond to the thirty-two paths of wisdom — the essential eating is through them, sustaining the heart's vitality. All damages stem from eating of the Tree of Knowledge — damaging the aspect of lamed-beis [32], strengthening the blood of the chalal has'mali: the damage to the thirty-two paths, the damage to the thirty-two teeth. The essential rectification is through Shabbos. Therefore the rectification is through Shabbos eating specifically — the three meals corresponding to the three points (os 4). Through Shabbos eating, the thirty-two paths of wisdom are drawn, the thirty-two teeth chew Shabbos food in great holiness, and the blood of the heart is rectified — nullifying the kelipah of Amalek, the totality of the wicked. 113

Therefore the downfall of the wicked through their teeth is excellently juxtaposed with the greatness of Shabbos. All who stand against Yisrael to devour them — "they hissed and gnashed their teeth" (Aichah 2) — their downfall will be through Shabbos holiness, the Tzadik's holiness, when the rectification is through the thirty-two teeth — the instruments of eating — through which the blood of the heart is refined. All who oppose this — the kelipah of Amalek — their teeth will grow long to their detriment, through Shabbos holiness whose essential holiness is eating through the teeth. For the thirty-two teeth are the aleph of Adam, through which the aspect of Adam is made — as in os 51 regarding Erev Yom Kippur. 114