תרומות ומעשרות א

And although the essential quality of peace comes about through the joyful voice, as Rabbaynu of blessed memory said in that discourse — from the dimension of Shir ha-Shirim asher li-Shlomo, see there — nevertheless, the way of peace is to clothe itself in bitterness, in the dimension of "behold, for peace it became bitter for me" — in the dimension of Shabbos having been commanded at Marah, as is explained there. And this is the dimension of the eulogy and mourning for the departed, which is in the dimension of bitterness, as it says, "and the end thereof is like a bitter day" (Amos 8:10). And this is the dimension of the weeping and bitterness with which one weeps with a bitter soul at the graves of the righteous, in order to draw back and bring down the peace, as above — for peace clothes itself in bitterness, as above. And through the bitterness and the broken heart one subsequently merits joy, as Rabbaynu of blessed memory said elsewhere. And joy is in the dimension of the joyful voice, in the dimension of the ten types of song, which are awakened through the true tzaddik — and this is the dimension of the saying of Tehillim which is customary to say at the graves of the righteous, as is brought in the name of the Baal Shaym Tov of blessed memory, who commanded that certain chapters of Tehillim be said at the graves of the righteous. And this is the dimension of the ten chapters of Tehillim which Rabbaynu of blessed memory revealed and commanded to be said at his grave, as is brought elsewhere. For the ten chapters of Tehillim are in the dimension of the ten types of song with which the Book of Tehillim was said — which are: Ashray maskil… And the ten types of song are joy, as it says, "upon the ten-stringed instrument and upon the lute… for You have made me glad, Hashem, through Your work…" (Tehillim 92:4-5). And song and melody and joy are in the dimension of peace, the dimension of Shir ha-Shirim asher li-Shlomo, as above. And as it says, "for in joy shall you go out, and in peace shall you be led, the mountains and the hills shall burst forth in song before you…" (Yeshaya 55:12).

But since the way of peace is to clothe itself in bitterness, therefore most commonly people pour out their hearts in great bitterness at the graves of the righteous, with great bitterness and a most broken and contrite heart. And through this specifically do they merit peace and song and joy — for they are all of one dimension, as above. And through this one has the power to draw the entire world toward the service of Hashem through the immensity of the peace that grows and is magnified and increases through it, as above.

And this is the dimension of the adornment of the face — through which one attains peace. For the essential adornment and beauty of the face of a person during one's life comes from the soul that gives life to the body — and when one dies and the soul departs, one's face turns sallow and pale — which is the very opposite of the adornment of the face. But through meriting to draw back the illumination of the soul into the body once more — even after the departure — through this the face of the departed shines once more even after one's departure, in the dimension of "and those who love Him are as the sun going forth in its might" (Shoftim 5:31). It follows, then, that the righteous merit the illumination and adornment of the face even after their departure from the world. And through mourning and eulogizing them and coming to their graves, through this the illumination of the soul is drawn yet more fully and powerfully into the body, as above. And through this, the adornment of their face is magnified and increased even further. And through this one merits peace — which is the healing for all things, for illness of the soul and for illness of the body — through which one draws the entire world toward His service, as above. And this is the dimension of "to grant the mourners of Zion beauty instead of ashes" (Yeshaya 61:3) — "beauty instead of ashes" specifically. For the righteous are called "Tzion" — on account of being marked and distinguished by commandments and good deeds, as it says, "Hashem loves the gates of Tzion" — and our Sages expounded: the gates that are distinguished in halacha. And whoever mourns and eulogizes them and yearns after them — through this one draws their souls downward, for through longing and yearning one draws the soul, as is brought elsewhere, Siman 31. And through this one merits the illumination of the face, in the dimension of "beauty instead of ashes" — "beauty" is the dimension of splendor and the adornment of the face — "instead of ashes" specifically. For first one must be bitter and practice all the laws of mourning. And although all the matters of mourning, G-d forbid, appear to be the very opposite of the adornment of the face — nevertheless, the essential purpose of the laws of mourning is precisely to draw back once more the adornment of the face, which is peace. For every soul of Israel who has departed — and every soul of Israel is in the dimension of the righteous, as it says, "and your people Israel are all righteous" (Yeshaya 60:21) — each one according to one's level and according to one's portion in peace, had the power to draw a portion of the world toward the service of Hashem. And when one dies and departs above — which is the dimension of the disruption of peace, the disruption of the adornment of the face, for one's face turns pale — one must therefore draw the peace back once more. And since the way of peace is to clothe itself in bitterness, one must therefore be bitter and weep and mourn and sit upon the ground — showing that the adornment of the face has been blemished now through the departure of this soul from Israel — and through this very act one draws back the soul of the deceased downward and elevates the soul to the light of the face, to the dimension of the adornment of the face, and draws peace back through this bitterness, in the dimension of "behold, for peace it became bitter for me", as above. And this is the dimension of "beauty instead of ashes" — "instead of ashes" specifically — for through the abasement and the bitterness one merits the beauty of the adornment of the face, and the great and ever-increasing peace, as above.

It follows, then, that the entire purpose of mourning and eulogizing, G-d forbid, is only for the sake of the adornment of the face and peace — in order to draw back and restore the soul of the deceased into the body, in order to awaken the peace still further, and so forth, as above. Therefore the Torah warned us not to cut one's body over the dead, G-d forbid — so as not to mar and destroy the adornment of one's body, the dimension of the adornment of the face. For the entire purpose of mourning and eulogizing is only for the sake of the adornment of the face and peace, in the dimension of "to appoint for the mourners of Zion, beauty instead of ashes…" (Yeshaya 61:3), as above.