קידושין א

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Based on the Torah "Oovi'Yom HaBikkurim" — Hilchos Gitin, Halacha 1 and the Torah "Tzivisso Tzedek Aidosecha" — Likutay Moharan I, §23

The general principle is that the essential drawing of vitality (hamshachas ha-chayyus) to the malchus is through the Torah — which is the aspect of the Name of the Holy Blessed One (Sh'ma Dikudsha Brich Hoo) — through which the vitality is drawn. That is: the chochma (wisdom) into the vessels (kaylim) and the midos (attributes / character-forces), which is the aspect of the Name (Shem) that amplifies the vitality in measure — see there. And this is the aspect of yibum: to raise up a name for his brother, for "He did not create it a waste; He formed it to be inhabited" (Yeshaya 45:18) — every person is obligated to engage in the maintenance of the world by establishing offspring, in order to raise up a name and that his name not be blotted out, God forbid. That is: the essential drawing of vitality is to draw the vitality into the vessels and midos which are the aspect of the Name. And the more the people of Yisrael multiply, the more the boundary of holiness expands and multiplies, and the vessels to receive the vitality multiply — which is the completion and repair of creation. For the essential wonders and mighty deeds of creation are only in this aspect: that certainly nothing is beyond Him, may He be blessed — only that the essential novelty and wonder is that the vitality from Him, may He be blessed, can, as it were, contract itself (yitzamtzem) into the vessels in the aspect of the Name. And this is the force of the wonders of His creation, may He be blessed — that the infinite vitality (chayyus Ain Sof) can, as it were, be drawn into the aspect of the vessels. Therefore the more holiness descends lower and is drawn through chains of gradation (histalshalus) and channels (tzinoros) further and further, the more it fulfills the intention of creation and sustains the world. For the essential sustenance of the world is that ever more vessels of holiness be made to receive His vitality, may He be blessed — so that the abundance of oil should not cause the extinguishing of the lamp. For that is the aspect of the shattering of the vessels (sh'viras ha-kaylim) caused by excessive light — whence the sitra achra, the sitra dimosa, draws hold — the destruction of the world in the aspect of "and the earth was void and formless (toahoo va-voahoo)" — as is brought.

Therefore every person is obligated to establish offspring in order to raise up the Name — to magnify the aspect of the Name, that is, the vessels and midos, as above. And therefore one who leaves behind a son is as if he did not die, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said — as it is stated: "If a man dies and has no son," etc. (Bamidbar 27:8). For the sitra dimosa (side of death) has no dominion whatsoever once he has raised up the Name through which vitality is drawn in measure — and then the sitra dimosa has no dominion at all. For its hold is only through excessive light — through the shattering of the vessels — which is the aspect of the blotting out of the Name, as above. But one who leaves no offspring behind is called dead — since he did not raise up the Name, since he left no vessel to receive the vitality in the aspect of the Name. Then he is, God forbid, in the aspect of excessive light, etc., whence the sitra dimosa seizes hold, as above. Therefore repair is needed so that his soul not be lost and his world not revert to the aspect of toahoo va-voahoo — since he did not raise up the Name, as above. Therefore his wife must perform yibum (and be repaired through his brother), for the damage reaches her — for the essential blemish is in the aspect of malchus, as above.

And the repair is through his brother from his father — for the completeness of the vitality of the malchus drawn to her, which is the aspect of zivug (union) — since the vitality is the da'as (spiritual knowledge / connection), which is the aspect of bonding — must be in the aspect of "from afar she brings her bread" (meemehrchak tavee lachmah, Mishlei 31:14) — "from afar" specifically. For her vitality specifically is when the vitality is drawn into the midos and vessels in the aspect of the Name, as above. Therefore the further the vitality is drawn and extended through chains of gradation into the vessels of holiness, the more complete and repaired is the vitality — as is known. And this is the aspect of the prohibition of the arayos (forbidden unions) — that the prohibition applies to all near relatives — for since they are close in their root it is impossible through them to draw vitality and the sustenance of the world. For one must draw specifically from afar, so that she can receive the light without the vessels being shattered by excessive light, etc., as above.

Now brothers are very close to one another in their root — for from one root they emerged. And therefore a brother's wife is forbidden, for each of the brothers must draw the vitality through a chain of gradation further down, in a manner that the boundary of holiness becomes more and more distant and expanded — through the aspect of distancing, as above. Therefore brothers must distance themselves from one another, as above. But in the place of the commandment of yibum, the Torah permitted a brother's wife, so that no outcast be lost from him — so that the soul of the deceased not be entirely lost, God forbid, through his not having raised up the Name, as above. For the loss of the soul and its death, God forbid, is when the light returns to its root above — and then the vessels remain in the aspect of broken and dead, and that is his destruction.

And therefore she cannot marry an outsider — for there it is impossible to repair him. For since he died without offspring, the light returned to its root — to his father's house — and it is impossible to repair him except within that family. Therefore his repair is through his brother from his father. For av b'chochma — father is in the aspect of chochma — and chochma is the root of vitality, for "wisdom gives life" (ha-chochma t'chayeh, Koheles 7:12). And "You made them all with wisdom" (kulam b'chochma asisa, Tehillim 104:24), and it is the aspect of the beginning of creation. And there, in the aspect of the father — the aspect of chochma — it is all still one and there is no aspect of tzimtzum and vessel through which creation is made. Only from there does the vitality begin to extend downward into the aspect of the vessels that are formed from there downward.

And now: the aspect of brothers from the father is the aspect of the beginning of the drawing of the channels and tzimtzumim that are drawn from av b'chochma. And each brother — that is, each vessel and channel — must individually draw the vitality further and further into ever more vessels. But when one brother is destroyed and leaves no offspring, it is possible for destruction to occur entirely — that is, for the light to return to its root in the aspect of av b'chochma — and that is the aspect of destruction, the aspect of toahoo va-voahoo. For when the light returns and withdraws entirely from the aspect of the vessels and returns above to its root, the vessels then remain utterly broken and dead, God forbid. (And then one would need to entirely renew the world from the beginning — that is, to again bring forth and give birth to the light from the very beginning of thought, from the aspect of av b'chochma.) Therefore the Torah commanded that his malchus return to his brother from his father — who is from his root, for both of them emerged from one root — and they are the aspect of the beginning of the drawing of channels and tzimtzumim from av b'chochma. And therefore through his brother from his father the soul of the deceased is repaired — the soul that was being lost, God forbid — because the aspect of his Name, the aspect of the vessels, was shattered and destroyed through his not having left offspring, with the light returning to its root, God forbid — entirely — which is his destruction, as above. And now he is repaired through his brother. For brothers are the aspect of the beginning of the tzimtzumim and vessels drawn from their father, through which the soul of the deceased is repaired — the light is drawn back through them into the aspect of the vessels, the aspect of the Name. And this is: "to raise up the name for his brother."

And the repair and salvation that his brother brings him is to subdue the wicked kingdom — which is the kingdom of Amalek — which stands against the kingdom of holiness (malchus dikudsha), as is explained in the above-mentioned Torah teaching. And the kingdom of Amalek is the aspect of the blotting out of the Name (mechiyyas shem), as it is written: "You shall blot out the memory of Amalek" (Devarim 25:19). And its hold draws from the aspect of the shattering of the vessels — which is the aspect of the blotting out of the Name. And therefore its punishment is measure for measure: that its own name and memory be blotted out. And the kingdom of Amalek is the aspect of "Esau is a brother to Yaakov" (Malachi 1:2) — for it is from the seed of Esav. And therefore the commandment of yibum is specifically with a brother — for the brother in holiness saves his soul, so that the aspect of "Esau is a brother to Yaakov" should not strengthen over him, God forbid — which is the above-mentioned wicked kingdom, which would gain strength if, God forbid, there had been a blotting out of the Name, as above.

And therefore Miriam, who blemished the honor of Moshe and whose words were against his having separated from his wife — because she did not grasp that he had merited the supernal union (zivug elyon), the aspect of the union of Moshe (zivuga d'Moshe), which is the aspect of a dispute for the sake of Heaven (machlokes l'shem shamayim). And therefore it was possible for him to be completely separated. And therefore she spoke against him: "Has Hashem spoken only through Moshe? Has He not spoken through us too?" — and yet we have not separated from the way of the world. For on the contrary: the essential da'as is through peace (shalom), as above. And therefore her punishment was: "if her father had spit (yarok yarak) in her face" (Bamidbar 12:14) — whereby Hashem, may He be blessed, alluded to her the commandment of chalitsa in the aspect of "and she shall spit (v'yor'ka) in his face" — as our master, teacher, and rabbi, of blessed memory, wrote (§21), where the mystery of yibum and chalitsa is alluded to there. For she blemished the honor of Moshe for his having separated — thus she blemished the aspect of a dispute for the sake of Heaven, which is the union of Moshe (zivuga d'Moshe). And the blemish is in the aspect of chalitsa, as above. Therefore it was said of her: "if her father had spit in her face." For there she blemished the aspect of "remove your sandals" (shal n'alecha) — the aspect of "and she shall remove his sandal and spit in his face," as above.

Chaluts in gematria equals matza with the kolel — which is the aspect of a dispute for the sake of Heaven. Hay Echad — the roshei teivos (initials) of "Di'vray Elokim Chayyim" — "the words of the living God." It seems to me that I heard this from his holy mouth, may his light shine. And this is the aspect of: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and cling to his wife, and they shall be one flesh" (Bereishis 2:24). For not every person merits what Moshe merited — and therefore we are commanded to establish offspring and not to be completely separated. And this is: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother" — that is, the union of Abba and Imma (zivuga d'Abba v'Imma), which is the aspect of the union of Moshe above. "and he shall cling," etc. — "and they shall be one flesh": that is, the aspect of the union and da'as of peace (shalom) — which is the aspect of "and they shall be one flesh," as above.