תרומות ומעשרות ג

And therefore the Elders were punished for not eulogizing Yehoshua properly, as our Sages of blessed memory taught: they were granted length of days but not length of years. For through the eulogy of the tzaddik one merits to draw down peace through the bitterness, as above. And the essential quality of life is peace, as above. And therefore because they were negligent in eulogizing him, they blemished peace and life — and therefore they were not granted length of years, as above.

And this is the dimension of the famine that occurred in the days of Dovid — "on account of Shaul and his bloodstained house, for he put the Gibeonites to death" — meaning, he was not eulogized as was fitting for him, and the judgment of the matter was placed upon that. For this is interconnected with that. Since Shaul's putting the Gibeonites to death is the dimension of his failure to lower himself to the lower levels in order to raise up all those who had fallen and were far from Hashem — to lift them up and elevate them to Hashem, to carry them as a nursing father carries the suckling infant. For Shaul was the chosen of Hashem, and "ben shanah Shaul be-molcho" — like a one-year-old child completely without sin. And why did his kingship not endure? Because there was not the slightest flaw in him. And because of this very fact — his total purity — he was unable to lower himself to the lower levels, to the very lowest rungs, in order to elevate all of them toward Hashem, even those most distant. For only one who has himself experienced falling and has felt the taste of lowness can lower himself completely to bring up even those who are lowest and most distant.

And therefore the kingship was given to Dovid, who was intensely and wholly engaged in this — drawing all close to Hashem, including those most distant. As our Sages of blessed memory said: Dovid was not fit for that deed except in order to teach the path of repentance. And as it says, "he will have compassion on the poor and needy, and the souls of the needy he will save" (Tehillim 72:13) — the king of Israel must have compassion and mercy upon and save the poor and the needy who are very distant from holiness. For that is the essential poverty and neediness — for there is no poverty except in knowledge. And since Shaul blemished in this — and this is the dimension of "he put the Gibeonites to death," the dimension of those who are most distant from holiness, from the woodchopper to the water-drawer — whereas Moshe Rabbaynu, peace be upon him, drew near and bound all of them to Hashem, as it says, "you all stand today before Hashem your G-d, your leaders, your tribes… from your woodchopper to your water-drawer" (Devarim 29:9-10) — therefore, since Shaul failed to strive to draw near and raise these levels, the verse says of him: "for he put the Gibeonites to death." And because of this he was punished — in that he was not eulogized properly, that his illumination was not drawn down sufficiently as was fitting for him, because he had blemished in this during his lifetime, as above. "And the judgment of the matter is placed upon that."

Nevertheless, even so, the Elders were punished for this — "and there was a famine in the land" — which is the opposite of peace. As Rabbaynu of blessed memory said elsewhere, in Siman 39 of Likutay Moharan, Part One: as it says, "He makes peace in your borders, He satisfies you with the finest wheat" (Tehillim 147:14). For through the eulogy of the tzaddik one draws his soul downward, which is the dimension of peace, through which one draws the entire world toward the service of Hashem, as above.

And this is the dimension of Purim. For the essential quality is peace. For certainly in every generation true and genuinely worthy righteous individuals exist — for no generation is orphaned — and every tzaddik in his generation certainly has the power to turn the entire world to the better. And the essential impediment is only because of the great controversy that exists in every single generation against the true tzaddik of the generation. As we find in all generations from the beginning, there was always great controversy against the true tzaddik of the generation. And the controversy is greatest against the tzaddik who toils to draw people close to Hashem. Against such a one the controversy grows stronger and stronger, as Rabbaynu of blessed memory said on the verse "And Yaakov settled" — Yaakov sought to dwell in tranquility… see there, Siman 228. And as we find in all the generations before us — for Avraham our Father, peace be upon him, was engaged in converting souls, and there was intense controversy against him all his days. When he came to Eretz Yisrael and there was a famine, they said the famine was on his account — as is brought in the Midrash: they said of Avraham, "because of this heretic who has come to us there is a famine." And likewise Yitzchak had controversy from the Philistines, and in particular Yaakov our Father — Lavan and Esav persecuted him, and there was hatred and controversy against him all his days. And so too Dovid the King, peace be upon him, who had immense controversy against him all the days of his life — from Shaul the King, peace be upon him, and Doeg and Achitofel and Sheva ben Bichri, and all the nations disputed him and he had many wars all his days. And similarly in every generation. And likewise against Moshe Rabbaynu, peace be upon him, there was great controversy, as it says, "and they looked after Moshe" — and our Sages expounded: this teaches that they suspected him of a married woman, and every man was jealous of his wife because of Moshe. And so too the controversy of Korach, Dasan and Aviram, and so forth. And similarly against Yeshaya, Yirmiyahu, and the other prophets, and against the other righteous individuals there was always great controversy in every generation.

And this is the essential impediment — why the tzaddik in his generation does not succeed in turning the entire world to the better. For if there were peace between them and him, and they knew and believed that he is a true tzaddik who seeks their good, their love and their eternal success — they would certainly draw close to him and hearken to his true words, and he would speak to their hearts and clarify for them the truth, and he would give them good counsel on how to draw close to Hashem, and certainly the entire world would return to the truth and to Hashem through him. But because of the controversy they do not heed his words at all, and even when they hear from him some fitting and wondrous thing, it does not enter their hearts at all, and they seek to refute and reject it from their hearts. It follows, then, that the essential reason the world does not draw close to Hashem is due to the absence of peace.

For the essence of the service of Hashem is in the dimension of peace, and for this reason was the essential purpose of the creation of the human being — for the human being is comprised of matter and form, body from the lower realm and soul from the upper realm, and they are two opposites. And when one follows, G-d forbid, the desires of one's heart — this is the absence of peace, as it says, "there is no peace in my bones because of my sin" (Tehillim 38:4). But when one subdues one's body and nullifies it before the soul, this is the dimension of peace — peace is made between the soul and the body. And through one's divine service one binds all the worlds together toward Hashem — those Above and those Below — and makes peace between all of them, between all the opposites. For one binds them all together toward Hashem — and this is the dimension of peace.

And this is what Rashi explains on Bereishis on the verse "and He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life": that the human being was therefore created on the sixth day from both Upper and Lower — for on the first day He created heaven and earth; on the second day the firmament for the higher realms; and so forth. Therefore on the sixth day it was necessary to create the human being, who is comprised of both Upper and Lower — for otherwise there would be jealousy among the creatures of Creation, and so on. It follows, then, that the human being is the union and compilation of Upper and Lower — it is the human being who unites everything and makes peace between all of Creation. For this was the essential purpose of the human being's creation — to make peace in the world, meaning, to raise and elevate all the lower levels toward Hashem, to raise all the sparks to their root, which is the dimension of peace — uniting two opposites together, bringing the distant close to above, to Hashem. For the essential quality of peace is between two opposites, as is explained elsewhere. And through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, peace was disrupted, as it says, "and I will place enmity…" — for the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is in the dimension of controversy — controversy was made between good and evil, and evil no longer becomes a vehicle for good, which is the ultimate peace between the most distant opposites. And therefore from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil the thread of all controversy in the world descends — all controversy originates from there. And this is the contamination of the serpent, who is the great enemy that desires no peace. And Amalek is the contamination of the serpent, who lurks always to disrupt peace and to stir up controversy against the true tzaddik. For he is of the seed of Esav who persecuted Yaakov his brother — who is the essential dimension of peace, as it says, "and Yaakov came to Shalem" — as in the discourse mentioned above. For Amalek is in the dimension of the blemish of the bris, as it says, "who encountered you on the way" (Devarim 25:18). And through the blemish of the bris peace is disrupted, as explained in that Torah teaching above.

For it is impossible to receive peace — which is the healing for all things — except through bitterness, as above, as stated in that discourse — in the dimension of Shabbos having been commanded at Marah, as above. And sometimes the illness becomes so severe that the patient is unable to endure the bitterness of the cure, and then the physicians despair of him. So too when sins — which are the illness of the soul — become very powerful, one is then unable to endure the bitterness of the cure. And then "there is no peace, says Hashem, for the wicked" (Yeshaya 48:22). And this is what Chizkiyahu praised the Holy One blessed be He for — that He cast all his sins behind His back, so that it should not be necessary to clothe the peace in a great deal of bitterness. And this is: "behold, for peace it became bitter for me, very bitter, and You desired my soul." See all of this in the discourse mentioned above.

It follows, therefore, that when Israel are distant from Hashem — which is the dimension of the disruption of peace, the dimension of there being no peace within one's bones, and no peace between the Upper and Lower worlds, and so forth, as above — and when Israel subsequently need to receive the healing, which is peace, they must first endure bitterness, for the way of peace is to clothe itself in bitterness. And this is the dimension of all the exiles and sufferings that Israel endure — for all of this is in the dimension of the bitterness they must endure in order to receive the healing afterwards — namely, the peace. And this is the dimension of the exile of Egypt, which is the dimension of bitterness, as it says, "and they embittered their lives" (Shemos 1:14). And all of this was to rectify the sin of the first Adam, as is known — for the exile of Egypt was on account of the sin of the first Adam, which is the blemish of the bris, the disruption of peace, as above. And since they needed to rectify this sin and blemish and draw down peace anew, they were therefore compelled to endure much bitterness in order to receive the peace through it — for they afterwards merited to come to Eretz Yisrael and to Jerusalem, which is in the dimension of peace. For that is why it is called Yerushalayim — on account of its being called Yir'a Shalem — the place of complete awe.

And Amalek has always served as the strap of discipline for Israel, lurking always at the time when Israel are on the verge of attaining the healing that is peace. And at that time he accuses them of not yet having endured the bitterness that is proper for them. And in truth they had not endured it as required — for Hashem hastened the end in Egypt, which is the dimension of "and You cast all my sins behind Your back". For Hashem foresaw that it was impossible for Israel to endure the exile any further, as it says, "and they could not delay" — as is explained in the sacred writings: that had Hashem not hastened to take them out of Egypt before the appointed end, they would, G-d forbid, have remained sunken there completely. And this is the matter referred to in that discourse — that when Hashem sees that a person cannot endure the bitterness of the cures, He in His mercy casts one's sins behind His back so that the peace should not need to clothe itself in excessive bitterness, but only as much as one is capable of bearing. And this is precisely the matter of the exile of Egypt, where He was compelled, as it were, to hasten the end and reduce the bitterness of the exile — for they were unable to endure it any further, as above. And Amalek lurks and accuses Israel regarding this always — descending and prosecuting, ascending and accusing. Namely: at the time when a person needs to receive the healing, which is peace, and must therefore first endure bitterness beforehand as above — at that very time Amalek seduces the person and does not allow him to stand in the trial and endure even a little of the bitterness, and seduces him to kick against the bitterness that he is compelled to accept for the sake of his healing. And afterward Amalek ascends and accuses, saying that not enough bitterness was sent upon him as is truly proper. And in truth the person is then in great danger — for Hashem had compassion upon him and lightened his bitterness so that he should be able to receive his healing. But when one does not have compassion on oneself and is unwilling to endure and accept even a little bitterness for the sake of the healing of one's soul — then, G-d forbid, the accusation grows stronger, and much bitterness that one is unable to receive in any manner is sent upon him, and then "there is no peace, says Hashem, for the wicked." For certainly, even though Hashem rewards even the guilty with good, and lightens the burden upon ba'alei teshuvah and does not burden them so that they must endure bitterness fully as is truly proper for them according to their sins — nevertheless, to exempt completely without anything at all is impossible, for it is in any case necessary that one endure a little bitterness according to one's capacity, for the sake of one's teshuvah and the healing of one's soul — which is the dimension of peace that clothes itself in bitterness, as above. And if one does not have compassion on one's soul and is unwilling to endure any bitterness whatsoever for the sake of the healing of one's soul — then, G-d forbid, bitterness as is truly proper is sent upon him.

And Amalek lurks against Israel always and accuses them at the time when they are exhausted and weary — "and you were weary and exhausted" (Devarim 25:18). And he then ambushes them and cools them off — so that they should not be, G-d forbid, fervent and eager for Hashem to endure a little of the bitterness of the cures — in the dimension of "who encountered you on the way". And therefore the war of Amalek is juxtaposed to the trials and tests of Israel: "is Hashem among us or not — and Amalek came" (Shemos 17:7-8). For all the trials that Israel had at that time — the lack of water at Refidim, and the bitterness of the waters at Marah — all of this was in the dimension of the bitterness they had to endure in order to receive the peace through it, as above. And since Israel did not properly accept the bitterness and harbored thoughts against Hashem, Amalek therefore came and fought with them at that time, which is the dimension of the accusation mentioned above — for his battle was both Above and Below, as is known. And therefore Hashem hates him so much more than all the nations — for he lurks against Israel greatly at the time when they are in greatest danger, when they are under pressure and strain, at the time when they needed to endure the bitterness of the cures, as above.

And this is the dimension of Haman — may his name be blotted out. For Israel was then in the Babylonian exile, exiled from Jerusalem — from the place of peace — and they were compelled to endure the bitterness of the exile in order to draw down peace anew, which clothes itself in bitterness, and to return to Jerusalem. And all the tests that a person faces when one seeks to enter the ways of Hashem and return to Him — all of these are in the dimension of the bitterness one must endure for the sake of the healing, which is peace. And Israel did not withstand the test at that time — for they stumbled through foreign women and blemished the bris of peace. And therefore near the end of the exile, when they were supposed to return to Jerusalem — which is the dimension of peace — Haman of Amalek then arose against them with a great accusation, so that there would come upon them, G-d forbid, the great bitterness they deserved, G-d forbid — until the accusation rose so high that a decree was issued against them to destroy, kill, and exterminate, G-d forbid. For since they had not properly accepted the bitterness of the exile, as above, he therefore accused them until the great bitterness spread over them beyond all capacity to bear, reaching the necessity of destruction, G-d forbid.

But Hashem had mercy on us in every generation, and sent us then Mordechai and Esther. And Mordechai knew all that had happened, and went forth through the city and cried out with a great and bitter cry, and they decreed a fast of three days and cried out in a bitter voice to Hashem — and through this they sweetened the bitterness. And for this reason Mordechai is called Mor Deror — myrrh of freedom — which is the dimension of the sweetening of bitterness. "Mor" — the language of bitterness — "deror" — the language of freedom, which is in the dimension of peace, as it says, "for in joy shall you go out and in peace shall you be led". That is to say: Mordechai is Mor Deror — he brings out into freedom and peace, and sweetens every kind of bitterness in the world. And therefore he had the power through his prayer and his bitter cry to sweeten even the bitterness that was coming upon Israel at that time — until he sweetened everything and drew peace upon Israel: in the dimension of "words of peace and truth", in the dimension of "speaking peace to all his seed". Until it was reversed and they took vengeance upon their enemies. And all the other nations turned toward Israel in great peace — for the fear of Mordechai fell upon them, until they turned to the faith of Israel, as it says, "and many of the people of the land became Jews…" (Esther 8:17). And this is the dimension of the great multiplication of peace that came about then, through which all were drawn toward Hashem — for through peace one has the power to draw the entire world toward the service of Hashem, as above.

And this is the dimension of mishloach manos — sending portions to one's fellow — and gifts to the poor. This is the dimension of the great multiplication of peace — for each person sends portions to the other, which greatly increases peace. And likewise gifts to the poor is in the dimension of increasing charity, which increases peace.

And this is the dimension of "seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his seed" (Esther 10:3). "Seeking the good of his people" — this is the dimension of expounding Torah discourses to his people through the thirteen principles, and so forth, for the Torah is called "good," as our Sages taught: "there is no 'good' except Torah." And through Torah discourses — which is the dimension of the illumination of the face, the adornment of the face — in the dimension of "and Mordechai went out from before the King in royal garments of blue and white…" (Esther 8:15) — for all of this is the dimension of the illumination of the face, the adornment of the face, which he merited through Torah discourses and explanations, as above — in the dimension of "seeking the good of his people," as above. Through this: "speaking peace to all his seed" — for through the illumination of the face, which consists of the Torah discourses and explanations, one merits peace, as above.

And therefore he cast lots to determine the time — and the lot fell for him on the month of Adar. And he thought that then he would prevail over Israel, G-d forbid, for on the 7th of Adar Moshe died — he who gave the Torah, which is called "peace," as it says, "Hashem will give strength to His people, Hashem will bless His people with peace" (Tehillim 29:11). And the entire matter of Moshe was in the dimension of peace — for he was always engaged in drawing those most distant toward Hashem, even extracting them from the ten unclean crowns, as Rabbaynu of blessed memory said elsewhere. And Haman thought that since Moshe died on the 7th of Adar, there would be no one to stand in our defense, to draw Israel — at the time when they were in disfavor — close to Hashem, when they were alienated from Hashem in the Babylonian exile through the blemish of the bris, as above.

But he did not know that on the 7th of Adar Moshe died and on the 7th of Adar Moshe was also born — for on the day the tzaddik dies, that very day he is truly reborn. For Hashem says to him: "I have borne you this day". For the righteous in their death are called living, and the righteous are greater in their death than in their lifetime. And Moshe Rabbaynu is still fighting the war against Amalek for us — for his soul is bound to his body still with great bonding and in great peace. And the extension of Moshe is in every generation — for Moshe Rabbaynu clothes himself in every generation in the true tzaddik of the generation, for no generation is orphaned, as it says, "the sun also rises and the sun also sets" (Koheles 1:5) — "until the sun of Eli had not yet set…" And in that generation, Mordechai and Esther were in the dimension of Moshe Rabbaynu, peace be upon him — they had the power to atone and to sweeten every kind of bitterness and to draw down great peace, as above. Until the nations were turned toward the faith of Israel, and the entire world was thereby drawn toward the service of Hashem, as above.