כתובות א

Umart ladoanuy Adoanuy uttu toavussee bal ullechu. Based on the Torah "Sha'alu es Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma" — Likutay Moharan I, §57

The matter of yibum and chalitsa, according to the Torah teaching that begins: "They asked Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma: When will the son of David come? He said to them: When this gate falls," etc. (§57). The general principle is that the essential thing is faith in the Sages (emunass chachamim), and one who blemishes faith in the Sages, God forbid, has no cure for his wound — as our Sages, of blessed memory, said — for all remedies receive their power from the Torah. For the angels receive their power from the Torah, and they have, as it were, hands to receive and to pour down below — for all things grow through the angels appointed over them, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "There is no blade of grass below that does not have an angel above it," etc. And the angels receive their power from the words of Hashem, may He be blessed — that is, the Torah. And the essential Torah was transmitted to the Sages, and they know how to expound it through the thirteen hermeneutical principles by which the Torah is interpreted. And without the Sages, nothing at all of the Torah is knowable. Therefore one who does not believe in their words has no cure for his wound and is compelled to die from it — for he has no source from which to receive healing. For the essential healing is from the Torah, etc., as above, and the Torah is only with the Sages, etc., as above. For all remedies are compounds (harkavos) — they take various herbs and combine them, etc. And these compounds have no power except through faith in the Sages — for the Sages subtract and add, expound and compound, and connect the letters of the Torah from place to place, and expound it through the thirteen principles. Without this, nothing at all of the Torah — no law and no ruling — is knowable. And therefore all remedies — which are all through compounds — receive their power from the Torah, and the essential power comes from the Oral Torah, which is the aspect of faith in the Sages — who compound and connect the letters of the Torah, and from there all the compounds receive their power, etc. See there carefully, at the beginning and end of the Torah teaching, and understand well.

And to arrive at faith in the Sages is through a vow (neder) — which is the aspect of Yaakov, the aspect of "and Yaakov vowed a vow," etc. (Bereishis 28:20) — and through this one merits faith in the Sages. For the vow is the aspect of the wonders of wisdom (pliyos chochma), which is the root of the Sages. And through this one returns to believe in them, etc. — see there. And through this the hands of the above-mentioned angel are repaired. And through this the lights of the Patriarchs shine in him, etc. And through this he ascends and delights in the delight of Shabbos (oneg Shabbos) — the aspect of shin bas shin, the three Patriarchs mentioned above, bas being the aspect of faith (emuna), etc. And the delight of Shabbos is the aspect of eating in holiness — for from Shabbos eating the sitra achra has no portion whatsoever, and one can accomplish through the Shabbos meal what one accomplishes through fasting: that is, to cast down his enemies before him, etc. For through the anger that arises from the liver, etc., the great accuser (mikaterayg gadol) is aroused — which is Esav, which is Edom, etc., who is filled with blood. And from the great accuser, accusers against the angry person are aroused, etc. — and then his shade departs and his face falls, the aspect of "Why are you angry and why has your face fallen?" (Bereishis 4:6), etc. And through fasting and self-affliction this is repaired — for on a day when a person eats, the liver is nourished first, etc. But when one fasts, the brain is nourished first, and then the liver is subdued — which is the aspect of Esav, etc., as above. But when one merits the aspect of Shabbos eating, then one need not fast — for one accomplishes through eating what was accomplished through the fast. For Shabbos eating is holy, and "no stranger shall eat of holy things." Then the liver is subdued, and its power is nullified — the aspect of "all the rulers of anger, they all flee and are abolished from her" — and then there is nothing but love: the aspect of "love with delights" (ahava bitanugim), etc. And in order to increase peace, one must also increase charity, etc. And there is a distinction between the peace of the fast and the peace achieved through the delight of Shabbos — like the distinction between an animal and a speaking being. For one is the aspect of peace that has a mouth (shalom she-yesh lo peh), and the other is the aspect of peace that has no mouth, etc. And this is the aspect of "the lot puts an end to strife" (midyanim yashbis ha-goral, Mishlei 18:18), etc. And this is the aspect of the falling of the gate of Aram three times until Mashiach comes, etc. See all of this there, very carefully.

And this is the aspect of the obligation upon every person to engage in the settlement of the world — that is, to marry a wife and beget children from her. This is the first commandment in the Torah. And one who does not strive for this and does not leave children in the world, God forbid, cannot ascend upward, and requires repair through yibum and chalitsa. For "a woman who fears Hashem" (isha yiras Hashem, Mishlei 31:30) is the aspect of faith, the aspect of malchus, as is known — the aspect of faith in the Sages, which is the Oral Torah. For man and woman are the aspects of the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, as is known. For the person himself is the aspect of the Torah — being composed of 248 limbs and 365 sinews, which are the aspects of the positive commandments and the negative commandments of the Torah. And this is the aspect of "this is the Torah: a man" (zos ha-Torah adam, Bamidbar 19:14) — as brought in the words of our master, teacher, and rabbi, of blessed memory. And just as the Written Torah has no completeness without the Oral Torah — which was transmitted to the Sages — and therefore one requires faith in the Sages specifically, for without the Sages, without the Oral Torah, nothing at all of the Torah is derivable, no law and no ruling. For in the written Torah, everything is sealed — the laws of tefillin, for instance, are not explained in writing, whether to make them of silver or of leather, etc., and similarly all the other commandments. The essential Torah is only knowable through the Sages. And so too all the novel teachings of the Torah that the Sages innovate and bring forth from the Torah — as well as the sustenance of the world, and all its influences, and all things in the world — they all receive their vitality from the Torah, which gives life to them all. And their essential vitality, sustenance, and influence comes only through faith in the Sages, which is the Oral Torah — for all the Torah depends on them specifically, as is understood from the above-mentioned Torah teaching. For the Torah was transmitted to them to expound, etc. And according to how they expound the Torah in every generation, so the world is guided. For we see that in every time and moment — literally every single day — great changes occur, and all these changes correspond to what the Sages innovate and expound in the Torah in every generation — the aspect of "and in His goodness He renews each day, always, the work of creation." As our master, teacher, and rabbi, of blessed memory, wrote elsewhere: "There is no good except Torah," etc., "there is no good except the Tzaddik," etc. For all the innovations of creation that Hashem, may He be blessed, renews each day always — all of this is through the Torah, and the essential depends on the Tzaddikim of the generation, according to how they expound it at every time, etc., as above.

Similarly, the person himself — who is the aspect of the Torah, as above — since the Torah is the aspect of "a fruit-bearing tree that makes fruit" (Bereishis 1:11), one must constantly innovate new teachings of Torah (chiddushim diOraysa) and bring forth from it discourses and novellae. And this is the essential sustenance of the world, as above — and all of this depends on faith in the Sages, the aspect of Oral Torah, as above. For man digarim l'Oraysa l'mehevay y'vaysha — "one who causes the Torah to become dry," etc. — see in the Holy Zohar the greatness of the punishment, may the Merciful One spare us. Therefore faith in the Sages specifically is required, as above. And similarly a person is forbidden to be a dry tree (etz yavesh) — he must bear offspring and multiply and increase in the world. For when a human being is born into the world and a soul is drawn into the world, this is literally the aspect of the renewal of the Torah — for the person is the aspect of the Torah, as above, and this is the sustenance of the world — for "He did not create it a waste; He formed it to be inhabited" (Yeshaya 45:18). For the world subsists only on account of Yisrael, who uphold the Torah in every generation, and they themselves are the aspect of the Torah — for Oraysa vikudsha Brich Hoo viYisrael kula chad — "the Torah, the Holy Blessed One, and Yisrael are all one." And according to the souls in each generation, so are new teachings of Torah innovated in each generation, and accordingly the world is guided in each generation — and this is the essential sustenance of the world, etc., as above.

And therefore it is impossible for a person to beget and draw souls into the world except through the aspect of faith in the Sages — which is the aspect of Oral Torah — which is the aspect of "a woman who fears Hashem." For all the deeds and all the begetings of the person — who is the aspect of Written Torah — can only be accomplished through her, who is the aspect of Oral Torah, the aspect of faith in the Sages. And as brought in the Midrash on the verse "It is not good for man to be alone; I will make for him a helpmate," etc. (Bereishis 2:18): "A man brings wheat from the market — is it possible to chew raw wheat? A man brings flax — is it possible to wear raw flax?" For to refine and repair all things and to make from them a compound until they are fit for food or clothing — for all things in the world are accomplished through compounds. Most foods require the wheat to be sorted, ground, and sifted, and then the flour must be compounded and mixed with water, salt, and other things as desired — and only then specifically is bread or cooked food made from it. And similarly with garments and the like. And all these compounds are accomplished specifically through the woman, whose root and vitality is from the aspect of Oral Torah — as is known — from which all the compounds come, etc., as above. And similarly, begetting itself is also the aspect of a compound — which is the aspect of the transmigration of souls (gilgulim), as brought in the Holy Zohar in the secret of the grafting of trees (sod harkavass ha-ilanos) — for one grafts and joins this nefesh with this ruach, etc. And this refinement and compounding cannot be accomplished except through the aspect of faith in the Sages — Oral Torah — which is the aspect of "a woman who fears Hashem," etc., as above. Therefore every person must strive and marry a wife and beget children from her — to draw souls of Yisrael into the world through a wife who fears Hashem — for this is the aspect of innovations of Torah (chiddushim diOraysa) that are innovated and brought forth from the Torah through faith in the Sages specifically, etc., as above. Faith in the Sages is drawn through a vow (neder), etc., as above in the above-mentioned Torah teaching. [This section is linked to what was written above there — see there carefully.] And through the vow (neder) — through which one merits faith in the Sages — through this the lights of the Patriarchs (avos) shine in him. And through this he ascends and delights in the delight of Shabbos (oneg Shabbos), the aspect of eating in holiness. And then the great enemy (ha-shona ha-gadol) is subdued — the aspect of Esav, who is the aspect of the liver (kaved) seething with anger, the aspect of the liver full of blood, etc. — and one merits love, and merits great peace through increasing charity as well. And therefore the union (zivug) of Torah scholars is on Shabbos — for on Shabbos, Written Torah and Oral Torah unite together. For then one merits faith in the Sages, the Oral Torah, as above, and it unites together with Written Torah, which is contained in the Patriarchs — who are the three lines of truth, the aspect of Written Torah, the aspect of Yaakov who encompasses all three Patriarchs. For this is the essential aspect of Shabbos, as is stated in the Holy Zohar: "The mystery of Shabbos — she unites in the mystery of the One, to draw upon her the mystery of the One" — and as it is explained there, "He is One and His Name is One": "He is One" is the aspect of Written Torah, and "His Name is One" is the aspect of Oral Torah — which is known — for they are unified together in the mystery of the One, etc. And then eating is in holiness and the liver — the aspect of Esav — is subdued, and then the union is in holiness in the aspect of the joining of Written Torah and Oral Torah. And then there is no admixture of impurity in the drop that is drawn — for the drop follows the food one eats. For then eating is in holiness and the sitra achra has no share whatsoever in the Shabbos meal — and then there is no admixture of impurity in the drop from the aspect of the seething liver, etc., which is the essential impurity, as brought in the Holy Zohar. And then all is love, and one merits peace — which is also the aspect of the holiness of the union (kedushah dazivug), as stated in the Holy Zohar. And then one merits begetting children in holiness through the peace one merits through Shabbos and through charity, as above. For the essential begetting is through the union of two opposites — for man and woman are the aspect of two opposites, as our master, teacher, and rabbi, of blessed memory, wrote elsewhere. And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: the man contributes white (lavan) — from which come bones and sinews, etc. — and the woman contributes red (adom), etc. — and they are two opposites, white and red. And begetting is only possible through the aspect of peace — for the essential peace is that two opposites come together. And therefore the essential begetting is through faith in the Sages — the aspect of isha yiras Hashem — through which one merits Shabbos, which is the time of union (sha'ata dizivuga), and merits the peace through which the essential begetting comes, as above. And this is the essential sustenance of the world — for the essential sustenance, vitality, and abundance of the world is through faith in the Sages, the Oral Torah — the aspect of isha yiras Hashem — the aspect of malchus — which guides the world in the aspect of "she provides food for her household" (Mishlei 31:15) — for all innovations of Torah, all begetings, all abundances — all of which are the aspect of compounds (harkavos) — all come through faith in the Sages, the Oral Torah, specifically, etc., as above. When a person does not merit leaving children in the world, this is the aspect of a blemish of faith in the Sages (emunass chachamim) — the blemish of peace, which is the sustenance of the world, as above. For the fact that he did not merit leaving children is due to one of two aspects: either he did not strive at all to marry a woman and multiply in the world — and this is certainly a blemish of faith in the Sages, the Oral Torah, etc., as above — or he did strive, but nonetheless did not merit children. And this too comes from a blemish of faith in the Sages — for he did not merit faith in the Sages completely, and on account of this he did not merit Shabbos, and did not merit peace, and therefore did not merit begetting. For the essential begetting is through peace, which comes according to the completeness of faith in the Sages, as above. And therefore when he does not merit leaving children behind him, God forbid — he has no garment (levush) in which to clothe himself to ascend above — and his soul is naked (artilayi), God forbid. For the essential garments come from the aspect of faith in the Sages. And therefore they are called chaluka d'rabanan — the robe of the Rabbis — in which the soul clothes itself after its departure from this world, as is brought. For these come specifically through the Sages, the aspect of faith in the Sages, the Oral Torah — for all of Torah depends on them specifically — and through this specifically the garments of the soul are made, the aspect of chaluka d'rabanan, of the Rabbis specifically. And therefore such a person is called dead, as is brought on the verse "If a man dies and has no son" (Bamidbar 27:8) — for one who leaves no children is called dead, but one who leaves righteous children is called alive even after death. For the essential death comes from the blemish of faith in the Sages, as above in the Torah teaching — in the aspect of dilma chivya dirabanan tarkeih ("perhaps a sage's serpent has bitten him") — for death comes from the sin of Adam the primordial man, who blemished the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, of which it was written: "On the day you eat of it you shall surely die" (Bereishis 2:17). And the essential blemish of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is the aspect of the blemish of faith in the Sages — for the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is the aspect of a law not yet decided (halacha she-einah pesukas) — not having merited to clarify the law: to distinguish the valid from the invalid, the forbidden from the permitted, etc. — and all of this comes through the blemish of faith in the Sages. For the Sages clarify the forbidden and the permitted, the valid and the invalid, etc. — and this is the essential labor of the Oral Torah. And one who does not believe in their words — he knows nothing of Torah, no law and no ruling — and then he is in the aspect of the blemish of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that Adam blemished — for then good and evil are intermingled, forbidden and permitted mixed together — for it is impossible to clarify the forbidden from the permitted except through faith in the Sages, etc., as above. And therefore the essential blemish was through the woman — for the essential faith in the Sages depends on her, as above. And therefore the serpent went to her to entice her. And therefore their blemish came through the false argument: just as there is no death in touching, so there is no death in eating — and this is the aspect of the blemish of faith in the Sages, for without them one knows nothing of the conduct and the laws of the Torah. And one who deviates from the plain truth of Hashem's words and gives them a false interpretation, and expounds the Torah not in accordance with the law (megaleh panim baTorah she-lo k'halacha) — this is the aspect of the blemish of faith in the Sages, for the plain truth depends on the Sages, as above. And in this did Adam and his wife blemish — for they received the commandment from Hashem, may He be blessed, and certainly received it in the aspect of both Written Torah and Oral Torah — for there is no commandment in the world that is not comprised of both these aspects. That is, he had the capacity in his wisdom to interpret the words of Hashem as was right. Yet they followed the counsel of the serpent and deviated from the plain truth of Hashem's words — which is the aspect of faith in the Sages — and they overturned the living word of God and made their false argument, as above. And therefore death was decreed upon him for all generations — and no person escapes this. For the blemish of faith in the Sages — no remedy in the world avails against it, in the aspect of dilma chivya dirabanan tarkeih — and therefore as long as the sin of Adam the primordial man — which is the blemish of faith in the Sages — is not fully repaired, it is impossible to escape death. But one who leaves children behind — this is a repair for the sin of Adam the primordial man — for the children they beget are the clarification and repair of Adam's sin, as is known. For the children they beget come from the aspect of peace, from the aspect of faith in the Sages, as above — which is the repair of Adam's sin. And they also take his place and are engaged after him in clarifying and repairing the blemish of faith in the Sages, which is the essence of all Torah. And therefore one who leaves children is not called dead. But one who leaves no children, God forbid — he has not merited repairing this blemish, and has left no one after him to be engaged in this repair — and therefore he is called dead. And therefore he has no garment in which to clothe himself — for he has no chaluka d'rabanan, of the Rabbis specifically, as above. And this is the aspect of "for I am naked" (Bereishis 3:10) — said by the primordial Adam after he committed this blemish — that is, the blemish of faith in the Sages — for the essential garments come from there, the aspect of chaluka d'rabanan, as above. And his repair is through his brother — "through his brother" specifically — the aspect of "a brother is born for adversity" (v'ach l'tzara yivale, Mishlei 17:17). For the essential blemish of this deceased who left no children in the world is the aspect of the blemish of faith in the Sages, which is the blemish of love and peace, as above. And through this he cannot ascend above — for through the blemish of faith in the Sages he did not merit the delight of Shabbos, and then the great enemy and accuser — who is Esav — gains strength, as is explained in the Torah teaching. And he is the enemy and accuser in this world and in the World to Come — and does not let the soul ascend when he did not merit to establish himself in the world, to leave children, and to repair faith in the Sages. For through the blemish of faith in the Sages the above accuser is aroused, as is understood from the Torah teaching. And the accuser and enemy is Esav — whose hatred was so great that he destroyed his compassion for his brother, and pursued his brother Yaakov. And this is the essential strengthening of hatred that comes from the blemish of faith in the Sages — that even a brother hates his brother — for the great enemy, Esav the brother of Yaakov, is aroused, who pursued his brother. And all of this flows from the sin of Adam the primordial man who blemished faith in the Sages — and through this the contamination of the serpent gained strength, God forbid — and Kayin was born, the impure Kayin (kina dimeso'avusa) — for he came from the contamination of the serpent, and he was the first enemy and murderer who killed his brother Hevel and did not allow him to take root in the world and beget children — from whom all the reincarnations of souls come, for they encompassed all souls. And the essential yibum, which is the aspect of reincarnations of souls, flows from there. And from there hatred spread in the world — for in a world of one there is no hatred or strife, and as long as Adam was alone in the world there was no place for hatred or strife. But when he blemished faith in the Sages, through which he blemished Shabbos, it became impossible to subdue and nullify the hatred, and the great enemy was aroused through the blemish of eating on a weekday, through which the seething liver gains strength, as is explained well in the Torah teaching. And through this hatred was aroused between the first two brothers in the world — and Kayin killed his brother Hevel. And Esav himself is the aspect of the contamination of the serpent — the aspect of Kayin — and therefore he too pursued his brother. For this is the essential hatred and murder that flows from Kayin, who was the first enemy and murderer that came from the contamination of the serpent, from the blemish of faith in the Sages — to the extent that he had no compassion even on his own brother, and killed his brother Hevel. And from the killing of Kayin's brother Hevel, hatred spread — and the essential hatred is when a brother hates his brother, like Esav who pursued his brother Yaakov. And this is the verse: "You sit and speak against your brother" (Tehillim 50:20) — Scripture rebukes the great degree of hatred — to the extent that one even has hatred for one's own brother and speaks evil against him. And Scripture mentions several times the wickedness of the wicked Esav and his great hatred in pursuing his brother with the sword, and in destroying his compassion: "For the violence against your brother Yaakov, shame shall cover you" (Ovadya 1:10) — mentioning each time that he pursued his brother, for this is the essence of his wickedness and hatred — for this is the essential hatred flowing from the first murderer, Kayin, as above. And this is the aspect of what is said regarding Yerovam, in whom the contamination of the serpent gained strength — of whom it is written: "for he shall be fruitful among brothers" (ki hu bein achim yafria, Hoshea 13:15) — for this is the essential blemish: the strengthening of hatred between brothers, which is the hatred of Esav for his brother Yaakov. For Yerovam sinned and blemished greatly against faith in the Sages and the Davidic kingdom — for he expounded that the festival of Asif falls in Cheshvan, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, and the like. And through this he sinned in the entire Torah and denied the essential. And through this the hatred between brothers gained strength — the aspect of "for he shall be fruitful among brothers," as above — for the essential begetting comes through peace, which flows from faith in the Sages, as above. And therefore brothers born in holiness through the aspect of peace — through the aspect of faith in the Sages — it is fitting that there be great love and peace between them, for this is their root. But when one is born, God forbid, from the contamination of the serpent, from the blemish of peace — then he has great hatred even for his own brother, like Kayin who came from the contamination of the serpent, from the aspect of hatred and strife, and therefore killed his brother. And so too Esav, etc. For the essential peace comes through faith in the Sages — for the Sages are the aspect of Oral Torah, and they clarify the law, the forbidden and the permitted, etc., as above — and through this great peace is made and strife and hatred are nullified, as is explained in the words of our master, teacher, and rabbi, of blessed memory, elsewhere. And this is the aspect of Shabbos peace — which one merits through faith in the Sages, as above — for on Shabbos peace is made and the law is clarified. For the six weekdays are the aspect of forbidden and permitted, valid and invalid, impure and pure, as is brought. And through Shabbos the six weekdays are clarified — the forbidden from the permitted — for the essential repair and clarification of the six weekdays is completed on Shabbos. For then peace is made and the permitted is clarified from the forbidden, etc. — for the essential completion of the Oral Torah — that is, the definitively decided law — is on Shabbos, when everything is encompassed in the mystery of the One. And this is what our master, teacher, and rabbi, of blessed memory, wrote in the Torah teaching — that through faith in the Sages one merits Shabbos and merits peace. For "one who prepared on the eve of Shabbos shall eat on Shabbos" (Avoda Zara 3a) — that is, one who merits faith in the Sages, who clarify the six weekdays through the six orders of Mishnah and clarify the permitted from the forbidden, etc. — through this they merit Shabbos, which is the aspect of resting from the clarifications — for then the perfection of the Oral Torah is revealed, the aspect of the definitively decided law, from which all strife flows, as above. And therefore through the blemish of faith in the Sages — the sin of Adam the primordial man — through this hatred and strife are aroused — for the great enemy who pursued his brother Yaakov gains strength, as above. And therefore the essential blemish of hatred is the hatred of a brother for his fellow — which is the exact opposite of love — which is the aspect of Esav's hatred, who is the great enemy from whom the essential hatred flows. And this is the essential penalty of the deceased without children who blemished faith in the Sages, as above — for through this Esav gained strength — and through him personally comes the punishment after death, as is brought. And on account of this he cannot ascend, etc., as above. And therefore his repair is through his brother specifically — for through the brother's exertion to save and elevate his brother, through this the hatred of Esav who pursued his brother is subdued — for on this the essential repair depends: nullifying his hatred, as above. And therefore the brother specifically has the power to repair his brother — for he subdues the hatred of Esav, the brother of Yaakov — and on this the essential repair depends. And the essential repair of yibum through which the brother repairs the soul of the deceased is through the aspect of ha-hu rucha d'shadei b'gavah ("that spirit that is cast within her") — as brought in the Sava d'Mishpatim (Zohar, Mishpatim) and in the writings of the Ari, of blessed memory. For ha-hu rucha d'shadei b'gavah — through which she becomes a vessel — is the essential vitality of the wife. As is brought in the writings on the verse "And it came to pass as her soul was departing," etc. (Bereishis 35:18) — this is the aspect of Binyamin, as is explained in the writings. And it is drawn from the aspect of the vow (neder) — for it is known that the vow is in bina, the supernal mother, the aspect of Yom Kippur and repentance, where Kol Nidrei begins, as is known. And from there ha-hu rucha d'shadei b'gavah is drawn — which is the aspect of Binyamin — as brought in the writings in the Sha'ar Krias Shema al HaMita in the Pri Etz Chayyim, see there. And this is the aspect of the fact that Binyamin — who is the aspect of ha-hu rucha, as above — was not born until Yaakov had fulfilled his vow. And similarly the portion of Binyamin is adjacent to the fulfillment of Yaakov's vow — as it is written in the portion of Vayishlach: "And Yaakov set up a pillar and poured oil on it, and Yaakov called the name of the place 'Beis Ail'" — and then they traveled from Beis Ail, and "Rachail gave birth" — and then specifically Binyamin was born, after the fulfillment of Yaakov's vow specifically. For Binyamin is drawn from the vow — from which ha-hu rucha d'shadei b'gavah is drawn, through which she becomes a vessel. And this is the essential vitality and sustenance of the God-fearing woman (isha yiras Hashem) — the aspect of Rachail — the aspect of Oral Torah — the aspect of faith in the Sages — specifically through the vow, the aspect of "and Yaakov vowed a vow," as explained in the Torah teaching. And therefore Yaakov vowed his vow when he went to marry a God-fearing woman, as above. And therefore the Holy Temple is in the portion of Binyamin — for the essential Holy Temple flows from the aspect of the vow — that is, from Yaakov's vow. For this very vow of Yaakov was: "and this stone which I have placed as a pillar shall be the house of God" — which is the Even HaShesiya (Foundation Stone), the place of the Holy Temple. And therefore in the Holy Temple all vows and pledges were brought. And similarly the building of the Holy Temple was through vows and pledges — as each person vowed and pledged — for the Holy Temple flows from the aspect of the vow. And therefore it is in the portion of Binyamin, as above — for the essential Holy Temple is the aspect of the repair of faith in the Sages, the Oral Torah, in its completeness — which is the repair of all sins that come from the sin of Adam the primordial man, who blemished in this. For in the Holy Temple all sins were repaired and atoned — for they all come from Adam's sin, from the blemish of faith in the Sages, which is the essence of all Torah. And therefore the Holy Temple is called Har HaMoriya — for "from there instruction goes forth" (horaah, Ta'anis 16a) — for there the Great Sanhedrin sat in the Chamber of Hewn Stone and decided the laws, and there is the essential clarification of the laws, and the essential faith in the Sages depends on them. For of them it is said the essential verse: "You shall arise and go up to the place which Hashem your God will choose — you shall not deviate from the matter they tell you, neither right nor left" (Devarim 17:8–11). And one who rebels against them is a zaken mamre (rebellious elder). And therefore the essential Oral Torah — the aspect of faith in the Sages — depends on the Holy Temple, which David and King Solomon built, who are the aspect of malchus, the aspect of faith in the Sages, the Oral Torah, as above. And therefore the essential Holy Temple flows from the aspect of the vow — from Yaakov's vow, etc., as above — for the essential faith in the Sages is through the vow, as above. And therefore when King David, peace be upon him, wished to find the place of the Holy Temple, he was compelled to ascend to the aspect of the vow. And this is the aspect of: "He swore to Hashem, he vowed to the Mighty One of Yaakov" (Tehillim 132:2) — to the Mighty One of Yaakov specifically — who was the first to reveal the place of the Holy Temple through the aspect of the vow, as above. And this is: "until I find a place for Hashem, a dwelling," etc. (Tehillim 132:5) — meaning, the place of the Holy Temple, which is the repair of faith in the Sages that depends on the aspect of the vow, as above. Thus the aspect of ha-hu rucha, as above, is the aspect of the vow — the aspect of Binyamin. And therefore through this the yavam (the brother performing yibum) is able to repair the soul of the deceased — for the deceased had already begun to repair the aspect of faith in the Sages through ha-hu rucha, as above, which is drawn from the aspect of the vow, through which the aspect of faith in the Sages — the aspect of isha yiras Hashem — is repaired. For from there is her essential vitality, as above. And therefore through this the yavam repairs the soul of the deceased whose essential blemish was in faith in the Sages — for faith in the Sages is repaired through the aspect of ha-hu rucha that is drawn from the aspect of the vow, the aspect of Binyamin, as above. "And if the man does not wish to take her," etc., "his sister-in-law shall go up to the gate to the elders," etc., "and his sister-in-law shall approach in the presence of the elders, and remove his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face," etc. (Devarim 25:7–9). For the sandals are the protection for the feet, and the feet (raglayim) are the aspect of faith (emuna), the aspect of faith in the Sages, the Oral Torah, the aspect of malchus — which is the aspect of the feet — the aspect of "righteousness goes before him" etc., as is brought. And this is the aspect of what is brought in the Tikkunim: nal da atta ("a sandal — that is a woman") — for it is in the aspect of faith in the Sages, which is the aspect of isha yiras Hashem, the aspect of the feet, as above. For the sandal flows and descends from a very high place — from the aspect of bina, where the place of the vow is — for na'al (sandal) equals in gematria kana (= 151), as is brought in the writings. And this is the aspect of what Avraham said: "I raise my hand to Hashem, the Most High God — if from a thread to a sandal strap" (Bereishis 14:22–23) — "raising of the hand" is the aspect of a vow and oath, as Rashi explains there, as is written: "he raised his right hand and his left hand and swore," etc. For from the aspect of the vow and oath the aspect of sandals is drawn — the aspect of the sandal strap (srooch na'al). And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: just as tefillin, so sandals — for sandals flow from the aspect of the strap of tefillin (retzu'a shel tefillin) — as our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded: in the merit of Avraham saying "to a sandal strap," his descendants merited the strap of tefillin. For tefillin are the aspect of ema al bera ("mother upon son") — the aspect of im l'bina ("mother of understanding"), which is the aspect of the vow (neder), as is known. And from there the aspect of sandals is drawn, as above. And therefore, since sandals flow from the aspect of the vow — through which the fallen faith is raised up, as above — they are the protection for the feet, as above. And then when one merits such sandals — which are the aspect of faith in the Sages that flows from the aspect of the vow, as above — then Scripture praises: "How beautiful are your footsteps in sandals, O daughter of the noble" (ma yafu f'amaich b'na'alim bas nadiv, Shir HaShirim 7:2) — and our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded: "barta d'avahan" ("the daughter of the Patriarchs"). For through the sandals — which are the aspect of faith in the Sages that flows through the vow — through this one merits the light of the Patriarchs and merits the delight of Shabbos, which is the aspect of shin bas shin — the three Patriarchs, bas being the aspect of faith — as is explained in the Torah teaching. And this is "daughter of the noble, daughter of the Patriarchs" — the aspect of Shabbos, shin bas. And this is: "the curves of your thighs" — this is the aspect of the feet, the aspect of the Oral Torah, as above. And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded (Sukka 49b): "just as the thigh is hidden," etc. — this is the aspect of the hidden aspects of Torah (sitrei Torah), the aspect of the wonders of wisdom (pliyos chochma) — which is the aspect of the place of the vow, which is the wonders of wisdom, the aspect of hidden Torah, where the Sages are rooted, and where the essential raising up of faith in the Sages comes from, as is explained in the Torah teaching. And this is how the verse concludes: "the work of a master craftsman" (ma'aseh yedei aman) — and our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded: "the work of His craftsmanship, the Holy Blessed One." For faith in the Sages — upon whom all of Torah depends — this is the essential artisanry of the Holy Blessed One. For Hashem, may He be blessed, created all the world and all within it through the Torah, as is written: "I was with Him as a craftsman" (Mishlei 8:30). And the essential artisanry was through the aspect of Oral Torah, the aspect of faith in the Sages — for all Torah is in their hands, and all the building and sustenance of the world is through them specifically, etc., as above. And this is: "the work of a master craftsman" — "the work of His craftsmanship" — for His essential artisanry, as it were, is only through the aspect of the Sages, the aspect of Oral Torah, the aspect of faith in the Sages — the aspect of "all His works are in faithfulness" (Tehillim 33:4). And therefore when one puts on sandals in the morning, one recites the blessing "who has made for me all my needs" (she-asa li kol tzarki). And this seems very puzzling — why does one not recite this blessing over any garment, even an important garment, and over nothing else in the world does one say "who has made for me all my needs" — only over sandals? For truly all of a person's needs are contained in the sandals. For all of a person's needs — everything — flows from the Torah, for she gives life to everything and from her all the abundances of the world flow. But it is impossible to receive any abundance from the Torah except through faith in the Sages, the aspect of Oral Torah. And the sandals are the protection for the feet, and they are in the aspect of faith in the Sages. It follows that all of a person's needs — everything, as one — depend on them. And therefore one recites the blessing over them specifically: "who has made for me all my needs" — for in them specifically all of a person's needs are contained, as above. And this is why our Sages, of blessed memory, warned greatly about wearing sandals, as is brought in the Talmud. And this is the aspect of what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "A person should always sell everything he has and buy sandals for his feet" — for they are the essential thing, and everything else a person has is as nothing without sandals. For from the aspect of sandals — which are the aspect of faith in the Sages — from there flows everything a person has and all his needs, as above. And therefore when he has no sandals he must sell everything he has in order to buy sandals — for everything depends on them, as above. And this is the aspect of what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "A person should always sell everything" — and also "and marry the daughter of a Torah scholar" — for both are one aspect, since nal da atta ("a sandal is a woman"), as above. And the essential thing is to marry the daughter of a Torah scholar, for she is the woman who is the aspect of faith in the Sages, as above. And therefore one must marry the daughter of a Torah scholar, for she is certainly closer to the aspect of faith in the Sages, since she is the daughter of a Torah scholar. Thus the sandals in holiness are a very exalted aspect — the aspect of faith in the Sages flowing from the aspect of the vow, as above. And therefore on Yom Kippur one removes the sandals (choltzin haminolim) — for Yom Kippur is the forgiveness of transgressions through repentance (teshuva), and then Kol Nidrei begins — for Yom Kippur is the aspect of bina, repentance, the aspect of the vow. And when one ascends there, one does not need sandals — for one ascends to their root. For on Yom Kippur we ascend to the aspect of the World to Come, to the place of the vow, where the root of the chain of derivation of the sandals is. And then sandals are not needed — and this is the aspect of "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place upon which you stand," etc. (Shemos 3:5). For the essential aspect of sandals came into being after the sin of the primordial Adam — for then sandals are needed, and they are the aspect of the repair of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. For the sandals are in the aspect of the garments of skin (kasnos or) — they are the aspect of the repair of the primordial Adam's sin. For before his sin he was in the aspect of garments of light (kasnos or with an alef) — for he was entirely good, as it will be in the future, in the aspect of "Hashem shall be One and His Name shall be One" — when Written Torah and Oral Torah were contained together in perfect unity. And then no sandals are needed at all — which are the aspect of garments of skin — for then it was the aspect of garments of light (alef), as is known. For the sandals — which are the aspect of garments of skin (kasnos or) — are the aspect of havdalah (separation) — which is why one looks at the fingernails, which are the aspect of garments of skin, at the time of havdalah at the end of Shabbos. For there is the essential aspect of havdalah: to distinguish between impure and pure, forbidden and permitted, etc. For a leather sandal is the aspect of the repair of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. And through making havdalah between sacred and ordinary, the garments of skin — the aspect of the sandals — are clarified and refined. And then the sandals are the clarification and repair of the blemish of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil — that is, the repair of faith in the Sages. For because the primordial Adam blemished the Tree of Knowledge, he was compelled to clothe himself in garments of skin — the aspect of the leather sandal — for in skin good and evil are intermingled, as is brought in the writings. And through making havdalah and clarifying them in the secret of havdalah, this is the essential repair of the blemish of the Tree of Knowledge, etc. And therefore on Yom Kippur — when all transgressions are forgiven, all of which flow from the sin of the primordial Adam — and therefore on Yom Kippur it is the aspect of the repair of the primordial Adam's sin. Therefore it is forbidden to wear sandals then — for then one ascends higher and higher, above them, to the aspect of the World to Come, where the world will be repaired as the primordial Adam was before his sin — when sandals were not needed, for then it was the aspect of garments of light (alef). And similarly in the Holy Temple — which is the aspect of the vow, which is the root of sandals — one may not wear sandals there either. And in the Holy Temple there is also forgiveness of transgressions and repair of the sin of the primordial Adam. And therefore sandals cause a blemish there — for there the hold of evil has no grasp whatsoever; it is entirely good. And this is the aspect of "remove your sandals, for the place" etc. And conversely, on Tisha b'Av — when the destruction of the Holy Temple occurred — one is also forbidden to wear shoes. For the destruction of the Temple was the opposite aspect: the outer forces gained the upper hand and the Name was blotted out, God forbid — the shattering of the vessels, the aspect of toahoo va-voahoo. For when Yisrael sinned and the blemish of faith in the Sages became prevalent — the aspect of the blemish of the Oral Torah — through this the outer forces gained strength and seized hold, and the Temple was destroyed. For the Temple is the aspect of the fullness of the Name and the repair of all the vessels, as explained above in Yibum 1 — that the Temple is in the portion of Binyamin and represents the repair of holy wealth. And when faith in the Sages was blemished — for the destruction came on account of causeless hatred, which is the opposite of peace and the opposite of faith in the Sages — then the outer forces gained strength through the blotting out of the Name and destroyed the Temple. And therefore on Tisha b'Av, in mourning for the destruction, one removes the sandal as well — but for the opposite reason from Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur the removal of the sandal is the aspect of the repair of the outer forces — removing their hold. But on Tisha b'Av, the removal of the sandal is the aspect of mourning — for the outer forces gained the upper hand and seized the sandal, the hold of the lowest level, and it is as though we are barefoot and bereft, stripped of our garment of the lowest level. And this is the difference: on Yom Kippur the removal of the sandal is an act of holiness and repair, while on Tisha b'Av it is an expression of mourning and loss. Yet both are connected to the same root — the sandal as the garment of the lowest level, and whether it has been removed in holiness or seized by the outer forces. And through the mourning of Tisha b'Av and the crying and the fast, we draw the repair — that the removal of the sandal should be transformed from an expression of mourning to an expression of the holiness of Yom Kippur. For Tisha b'Av and Yom Kippur are deeply connected — the aspect of b'Av and k'Av as our Sages alluded — and through the mourning of Tisha b'Av, we draw the repair that the destruction will be turned to joy and the day itself will become a festival, as the verse states: "Your mourning shall be turned to joy." And this is the aspect of the removal of the sandal of the yevama: for when the yavam does not wish to perform yibum and to raise up the name of his brother — through which the repair of the soul of the deceased would be accomplished through him — then he is abandoning the aspect of raising up the Name, and he is allowing the outer forces to maintain their hold. And therefore the yevama removes his sandal — the aspect of removing the garment of the lowest level from him. For since he refuses to perform yibum and raise up the Name, the hold of the outer forces upon the sandal — the garment of the lowest level — remains with him, and it is appropriate that the yevama removes it from him before the elders. For the elders are the Sages — the aspect of faith in the Sages — and before them the hold of the outer forces upon the sandal is removed. And through this removal before the elders, the yevama is freed from the grip of the outer forces that had held her through the blemish of the deceased, and she is permitted to marry another. For the chalitsa before the elders accomplishes a partial repair of faith in the Sages — even though it is not the full repair of yibum. And therefore through chalitsa she is freed and the outer forces' hold is weakened, even if the full repair of the Name must await another time or another gilgul. And this is the aspect of "and she shall spit in his face" — the aspect of the green line (kav ha-yarok) that surrounds the world, the aspect of "I set my rainbow (kashti) in the cloud" (Bereishis 9:13) — which is the aspect of the repair of the outer forces through the line of the covenant. And through this spitting the outer forces' hold over him is further weakened and the repair of faith in the Sages is drawn. And this is the aspect of "and his sister-in-law shall go up to the gate to the elders," etc. (Devarim 25:7) — to subdue the gate of Aram (sha'ar Aram), which is the aspect of the outer forces and the great accuser — for the gate is the place of judgment and the outer forces. And through going before the elders — the Sages — the gate of Aram is subdued. For this is what was asked of Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma: "When will the son of David come?" And he answered: "When this gate falls," etc. — for the falling of the gate of Aram is the prerequisite for the coming of Mashiach. And through the repair of faith in the Sages — through bringing the yevama to the gate before the elders — there is a drawing of the repair that will culminate in the falling of the gate and the coming of Mashiach. And the essential repair accomplished by repairing faith in the Sages is in order to merit peace — from which children are born, as above. And through peace one merits the delight of Shabbos, and through the delight of Shabbos one merits the peace that has a mouth, which is a higher peace. And through this higher peace one merits to draw souls of Yisrael into the world and to sustain the world through the renewal of Torah novellae, as above. And through this the coming of Mashiach is hastened — for the essential coming of Mashiach is through the completion of all the souls of Yisrael being drawn into the world and the completion of all the Torah novellae being renewed. And all of this depends on faith in the Sages — the Oral Torah — which depends on the vow of Yaakov. And this is the aspect of Purim — for Haman the wicked stood over Yisrael through the blemish of faith in the Sages. For the blemish of faith in the Sages draws strength to Amalek — who is the great accuser, the aspect of the blotting out of the Name. And Haman was from the seed of Amalek. And the decree of Haman was to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews (Esther 3:13) — the aspect of the blotting out of the Name and the destruction of the world, God forbid. For through the blemish of faith in the Sages the vessels are shattered and the light returns upward, as above. And therefore Mordechai commanded to fast and pray — the aspect of subduing the liver through the fast, as above — in order to repair the blemish of faith in the Sages and to subdue Amalek-Haman. And through the fasting and the prayer and the repentance, Yisrael repaired their faith in the Sages, and Haman was subdued and fell. And through the miracle of Purim the blemish of faith in the Sages was repaired and the Name was raised up — the vessels were rebuilt — and peace was restored between Yisrael and Hashem, may He be blessed. And this is the essential aspect of the war of Amalek — from whom Haman descended — the aspect of "and Amalek came and fought with Yisrael at Rephidim" (Shemos 17:8). For Rephidim is expounded as rifyon yadayim — the weakening of hands — that Yisrael's hands had become weak in Torah study. For the weakening in Torah is the aspect of the blemish of faith in the Sages — for when they are lax in Torah, the hold of the Sages and the Oral Torah is weakened, and from this Amalek draws strength. And therefore the repair was specifically through Moshe raising his hands — for the hands of Moshe are the aspect of the hands of the angels repaired through the vow and faith in the Sages, as above. And when Moshe raised his hands — the aspect of raising the honor of the Sages and the Oral Torah — Yisrael prevailed. And when his hands dropped — the aspect of a weakening of faith in the Sages — Amalek prevailed. And therefore Aharon and Chur supported his hands — for the repair of faith in the Sages requires communal effort and support. And therefore Haman the wicked, from the seed of Amalek — the pollution of the serpent (zuhamas ha-nachash), the blemish of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil — calculated and sought to destroy Yisrael through the lottery (pur). For through the blemish of the Tree of Knowledge — which is the aspect of the blemish of faith in the Sages — comes all confusion and mixture of good and evil. For the Tree of Knowledge is the aspect of the mixture of good and evil — and from this all the heretical views and all the blemishings of faith in the Sages arise. For when good and evil are mixed together, one cannot discern between them, and therefore one falls into doubts and heresies regarding the words of the Sages — for their words appear sometimes contradictory or strange, since one cannot see through the mixture of good and evil to the pure truth that is in them. And Haman sought to use the lottery — which is the aspect of chance and randomness — for the lottery is the opposite of Providence (hashgacha), for the lottery suggests that things happen by chance without divine direction. And through the lottery — through the aspect of randomness — Haman sought to blot out the Name of Yisrael, which is the opposite of Providence: for the Name is the aspect of divine Providence and guidance. For through faith in the Sages one attains the aspect of Providence — as explained in the Torah teaching "Ashray HuAm Yoda'ay S'ru'ah" (§13) — for through faith in the Sages and the Oral Torah one draws divine Providence, and through this the Name is sustained. And Haman sought to undermine this through the lot — the aspect of randomness and the denial of Providence. And the repair was through Mordechai and Esther who gathered all the Jews to fast and repent — for through repentance and returning to faith in the Sages, the lot was transformed. For the lot — the aspect of chance and randomness — was turned into an aspect of divine miracle and Providence. For pur is the aspect of randomness, and through the miracle of Purim the very lot was revealed as divine Providence. For the lot of Haman fell in the month of Adar — which is the month of Moshe, who is the aspect of the Oral Torah and faith in the Sages — and through this the lot was overturned in their favor. And through the miracle of Purim the belief in Providence was strengthened and faith in the Sages was repaired. For the miracle of Purim was hidden within nature — unlike the miracles of Egypt which were openly supernatural — and therefore Purim specifically requires the aspect of faith: faith that the hidden hand of Providence is directing all events even within the garments of nature. And this is the deepest repair of faith in the Sages — for the Sages expound and interpret the hidden Providence within the natural world, and through faith in their interpretations one sees divine guidance even in what appears to be chance. And this is the aspect of "and Mordechai knew all that had been done" (Esther 4:1) — Mordechai saw the Providence within the events that seemed random. And through making this known — through pirsumay nisa, publicizing the miracle — the faith in Providence and the faith in the Sages is strengthened in all of Yisrael. And therefore Purim is connected to yibum and chalitsa — for both are aspects of the repair of faith in the Sages and the repair of the Name. For yibum raises up the name of the deceased — the repair of the Name and the vessels — which is the repair of faith in the Sages. And Purim repairs the blotting out of the Name that Haman-Amalek sought to accomplish through the lot-the denial of Providence. And both repairs come through the same root: the vow of Yaakov — faith in the Sages — Oral Torah — peace — children — the sustenance of the world and the coming of Mashiach. And therefore the celebration of Purim through the Purim feast and the reading of the Megillah and the sending of gifts — all of these are aspects of the repair of faith in the Sages through joy and peace and communal unity. For through joy one attains the higher peace — the peace that has a mouth — and through this peace faith in the Sages is strengthened and the name is raised up. And this is the connection between Purim and yibum: both are the repair of the Name through faith in the Sages and through peace. And therefore when Haman gained power — being the great enemy — they were required to fast, as it is written in the Megillah. For through the fast the liver is subdued and the great accuser — Esav-Haman-Amalek — is weakened. And through the fast of Esther and all of Yisrael they repaired the blemish of faith in the Sages and returned to the aspect of the vow of Yaakov — subduing Esav through the fast and the repentance. And through this repair Haman fell and the decree was annulled. And the three-day fast of Esther corresponds to the three Patriarchs — the lights of the Patriarchs that shine through the vow and faith in the Sages, as above — for through the fasting they drew the lights of the three Patriarchs and through this Haman was subdued. And this is the aspect of the Purim feast (sudas Purim) — for this is the essential repair accomplished through the power of the miracle that was wrought through fasting. For through fasting one attains the lower level of peace — peace that has no mouth — but after the miracle occurred and Haman fell, the higher repair was accomplished: the aspect of the Shabbos meal — eating in holiness — the peace that has a mouth. For through the miracle, the fast was transformed into joy and feast — the aspect of Shabbos eating — and through this the higher peace was attained. And therefore the Purim feast is a great mitzvah — for through the joy and the feast one attains the higher peace: the peace of Shabbos, the peace that has a mouth, through which faith in the Sages is completed and the Name is raised up fully. And this is the difference between the repair of the fast of Esther and the repair of the Purim feast: the fast achieves the lower peace, while the feast achieves the higher peace. And together they form the complete repair — fast followed by feast — the aspect of "your mourning shall be turned to joy" (Yirmiya 31:12). And therefore Purim is a foretaste of the World to Come, when all the fasts will be transformed into festivals, as the Sages taught. And this is the aspect of the reading of the Megillah for the publicizing of the miracle (pirsumay nisa) — for one must publicize the miracle in the aspect of the peace that has a mouth (shalom she-yesh lo peh). For the miracle of Purim was hidden within nature, and therefore it requires publicizing — speaking forth the miracle with the mouth. For through speaking the miracle — through the reading of the Megillah — the faith in hidden Providence is spread and strengthened in all of Yisrael. And this is the aspect of peace that has a mouth: for the word of mouth reveals what was hidden, and through this the miracle is completed and the repair of faith in the Sages is spread throughout all generations. For through the reading of the Megillah in every generation, the repair of faith in the Sages is renewed and strengthened. And therefore the Megillah must be read aloud, with the voice — for the voice is the aspect of the peace that has a mouth, through which the hidden becomes revealed and the miracle of Providence is publicized. And through this publicizing, Amalek — the aspect of denial of Providence — is further subdued in every generation. For every time the Megillah is read and the miracle is publicized, the hold of Amalek over the mind is weakened and faith in the Sages and in Providence is strengthened. And this is the aspect of the reading of the Torah and the reading of the Megillah that our Sages, of blessed memory, enacted — for both the reading of the Torah and the reading of the Megillah are the aspect of publicizing and spreading faith in the Sages through the spoken word. For the reading of the Torah is the aspect of the Written Torah being spoken aloud — and through the Sages enacting this reading, they connected the Written Torah to the Oral Torah. For the public reading of the Torah is itself an aspect of the Oral Torah — it was the Sages who enacted the readings, established the portions, and determined the laws of the reading. And similarly the reading of the Megillah — enacted by the Sages of the Great Assembly — is itself the Oral Torah speaking. And through both readings the peace that has a mouth is drawn — the spoken word of Torah — which strengthens faith in the Sages and subdues the forces of denial and confusion. And through the aspect of peace that has a mouth, one merits the aspect of matza — as explained well in the above-mentioned Torah teaching. For matza is the aspect of the hasty departure from Egypt — the aspect of redemption coming through the power of faith, even before full preparation. And through the peace that has a mouth — the fully articulate peace — one is able to receive the light of redemption even in haste, even without the dough having time to rise. For the matza is the bread of faith (nahma dimehemnusa), and through the peace that has a mouth — the complete faith articulated through the mouth — one merits the full bread of faith and the full redemption. And therefore Mordechai merited to wear royal garments, as it is written: "and Mordechai went out from before the king in royal garments" (Esther 8:15) — the aspect of the garments of salvation (bigday yesha). For through the complete repair of faith in the Sages — through which the Name is raised up and the vessels are fully built — one merits the garments of the supernal colors, as explained in Yibum 1. For the supernal colors that are raised to their root through the repair of the Name — these become the garments of salvation. And Mordechai, through his standing firm in faith in the Sages — refusing to bow to Haman — and through his repairing the blemish of faith in Yisrael through the fasting and repentance, merited the full repair of the Name and therefore received the royal garments. For the royal garments are the aspect of the garments of the supernal colors — the aspect of the full repair of the Name and the vessels — which is the complete repair of faith in the Sages. And therefore from the descendants of Haman, Torah was studied in Bnai Brak — as is brought in the Talmud. For from the very defeat of Haman — from the aspect of the blemish of faith in the Sages that was repaired — new vessels were built. For the complete repair of the blemish brings forth new sparks of holiness even from the very source of the blemish. And Haman's descendants who chose to convert and study Torah represent the ultimate repair: the sparks that had fallen into Amalek — through Haman's descent from Amalek — were refined and elevated through the repair of Purim. And therefore they studied Torah specifically in Bnai Brak — the city of Rabbi Akiva — for Rabbi Akiva is the aspect of the renewal of Torah novellae through faith in the Sages. And through studying Torah in his city, the repair of faith in the Sages is made complete — even the sparks that had been held by Amalek are now returned to their root through the Torah study of the Sages. And this is the aspect of sotah — for the sotah blemished faith in the Sages, the aspect of "a God-fearing woman" (isha yiras Hashem) — for she was drawn after the counsel of the serpent, the wicked kingdom, the aspect of the harlot-woman (isha zona), etc. And therefore the essential blemish of the sotah is in the aspect of the thigh of Yaakov (yereich Yaakov) — the aspect of the knees of the Rabbis (birkai d'rabanan) — which is the aspect of the blemish of faith in the Sages, as above. And therefore "her belly shall swell and her thigh shall fall" — as is explained at the end of the Sava of Mishpatim (Zohar, see there). And therefore she is examined in the Holy Temple (Beis HaMikdash) specifically — which is the aspect of the vow (neder), where faith in the Sages, the aspect of isha yiras Hashem, is repaired, as above. And therefore her husband must bring a korban with her — which is the aspect of the vow — through which the aspect of isha yiras Hashem, faith in the Sages, is clarified and refined from the aspect of isha zona, etc. For there, in the Holy Temple — where the repair of isha yiras Hashem is — when one rises the other falls. And therefore if she is not pure, she will certainly fall there, through the Holy Temple, through the vow, through the aspect of the repair of faith in the Sages, isha yiras Hashem — for when one rises, etc. And therefore "her belly shall swell and her thigh shall fall," etc., as above. But if she is pure and has not strayed from the path of isha yiras Hashem — then on the contrary: she receives from there, from the Holy Temple, renewed vitality and repair — for in any case she has some blemish through which she came to be under suspicion and requires repair. And then she is repaired there in the Holy Temple, which is the aspect of the vow, where faith in the Sages is repaired, the aspect of isha yiras Hashem, as above. And this is the aspect of "she shall be acquitted and shall conceive seed" — if she had previously given birth with difficulty, she will now give birth easily; and if she had not given birth at all, she will now give birth — for childbearing comes through the peace made through the repair of faith in the Sages, as above, in the aspect of "may you see children's children; peace upon Yisrael" (Tehillim 128:6). And therefore through her being examined in the Holy Temple and being found pure, faith in the Sages is repaired — the aspect of isha yiras Hashem — and through this the peace is repaired, and from there is the essential source of childbearing, as above. And this is what is written regarding Chana: "And she vowed a vow to Hashem" — and our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded: "if You will truly look — it will be well; and if not, 'You will see' — for I will conceal myself from Elkanah my husband," etc. — meaning that she said she would be like a sotah, and would be found pure, and would then be compelled to give birth. And therefore she preceded the vow to this: as is written, "and she vowed a vow to Hashem and said, if You will truly look," etc. — for the essential repair of the pure sotah is specifically through the vow, etc., as above. And therefore her offering is the minchas si'oarim — the barley meal-offering. For this is the aspect of the omer of barley that permits eating of the new grain — the omer of barley is the aspect of sha'ura di'asnai diOraysa (the measure of the Torah's donkey), which is the aspect of lower wisdom (chochma tata'a), the aspect of malchus, the aspect of faith in the Sages (emunass chachamim) — for it is the Oral Torah — for they expound the Torah through the thirteen hermeneutical principles, and teach Yisrael, and contract the supernal wisdom through the lower wisdom in order to attain the knowledge of His blessed divinity through this — which is the aspect of sha'ura di'asnai diOraysa, the aspect of hairs, as is explained at length in the Torah teaching of Meisra deSachina (Likutay Moharan §184). And this is the aspect of the omer of barley — the aspect of sha'ura di'asnai diOraysa — the aspect of "and the omer is a tenth of the ephah" (Shemos 16:36), which is the aspect of malchus, the aspect of faith in the Sages, as is known. And through this Esav — the man of Se'ir — who is the wicked kingdom, the blemish of faith in the Sages, is subdued, as above. And therefore the offering is specifically from barley, which is animal food (maachal behama) — for this is the essential repair of faith in the Sages, the Oral Torah. For the Sages are constantly engaged in clarifying and repairing the sin of the primordial Adam through the aspect of the Oral Torah, etc., as above. And through this they clarify the aspect of the animal and elevate it from the level of the animal to the level of the human being. For of Adam the primordial man — on account of his sin — it was said: "Adam does not abide in glory; he is likened to the animals that perish" (Tehillim 49:13) — for through his sin he fell from the aspect of the human being to the aspect of the animal. And the Sages — who are the aspect of the Oral Torah — who repair this, are the ones who elevate and clarify from the animal to the human being. And therefore the beginning of the repair — at the beginning of Yisrael's drawing near to their Father in Heaven — they bring the omer of barley, which is animal food. For the essential receiving of the Torah is in order to repair the contamination of the serpent (zuhamas hanachash) — the sin of the primordial Adam. And therefore they must clarify and repair the aspect of faith in the Sages, which is the essential repair, as above. And therefore on the very first day of the fifty days of the counting of the omer they bring the omer of barley — the aspect of sha'ura di'asnai diOraysa, the aspect of the repair of faith in the Sages, clarifying and refining the aspect of animal food — and then they begin counting the fifty days of the receiving of the Torah. For the essential repair is through the aspect of the fifty days, which are the aspect of the fifty gates of understanding (chamishim sha'aray bina), the aspect of the vow (neder), as above. And this is the aspect of the waving of the omer (hafanas ha'omer) — for they wave and raise up the omer of barley, the aspect of malchus, the aspect of faith in the Sages, to its root — to the aspect of the fifty days of the counting of the omer, to the aspect of the vow, where the essential repair is, as above. And therefore they wave in all six directions — up and down and the four cardinal directions — for faith in the Sages, the Oral Torah, encompasses all six directions, which is the aspect of the six orders of the Mishnah (shisha sidray Mishna), through which they clarify the pure from the impure, the permitted from the forbidden, the valid from the invalid — which are six categories, as is brought. And therefore eating of the new grain is permitted only after the waving of the omer — for through the repair of faith in the Sages one merits eating in holiness, the aspect of the delight of Shabbos, as above. And therefore it is forbidden to eat of the five grain species which are the essential food — for the entire meal is called after bread, and one is only obligated in Grace after Meals for bread specifically. And similarly on Shabbos — which is the repair of eating — one is obligated to eat bread specifically, as is written in the Shulchan Aruch. And therefore it is forbidden to eat bread before the waving of the omer — for as long as faith in the Sages has not been repaired, one does not merit eating in holiness. And then the aspect of Esav — the aspect of the liver — can gain strength, God forbid, through one's eating. And therefore it is forbidden to eat bread until the waving of the omer — the repair of faith in the Sages — and then one merits the aspect of Shabbos eating, holy eating, and only then is eating permitted, etc., as above. And therefore Haman fell on the very day of the waving of the omer, as above. And similarly many and many nations that prevailed against Yisrael fell on that very same day of the waving of the omer, as is brought in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory. For when one rises the other falls — for then the fallen faith is raised up, the faith in the Sages, as above — and then the wicked kingdom falls, whose essential sustenance is from the blemish of faith in the Sages, etc., as above. And therefore through the minchas si'oarim — which is the aspect of the repair of faith in the Sages — through this the sotah is examined. And therefore, since the sotah blemished faith in the Sages as above — which is the essential aspect of the war of Amalek, as above — it is therefore necessary to write the sotah passage and erase it, as it is written: "And he shall write… and he shall erase…" (Bamidbar 5:23). The Torah declared: My Name, which was written in holiness, shall be erased — in order to make peace, as our Sages of blessed memory said (Shabbos 116a). For the essential repair is for the sake of peace — which is the essential repair of faith in the Sages, as above. And through erasing the passage that was written, one thereby shows her what she has blemished — namely, that her essential blemish is in isha yiras Hashem (a God-fearing woman) in the aspect of faith in the Sages, which is the aspect of Oral Torah. And in truth, faith in the Sages is the entirety of the whole Torah — for it is impossible to know anything of the Torah except through the Sages, through Oral Torah, as has been explained well above. It therefore follows that one who blemishes faith in the Sages — the Oral Torah — even though it may appear that he has only blemished the aspect of Oral Torah, in truth the blemish is in the entire Torah, both Written Torah and Oral Torah together — for they are entirely one, the aspect of "Hashem is one and His Name is one", etc., as above. And this is what the Torah commanded regarding the war of Amalek: "Write this as a memorial in the Book, and place it in the ears of Yehoshua" (Shemos 17:14) — which is the aspect of Written Torah and Oral Torah together: "Write this" etc. — this is the aspect of Written Torah; "and place it in the ears of Yehoshua" — that is, to speak it with him orally — this is the aspect of Oral Torah. For Amalek, being the aspect of the blemish of faith in the Sages, blemishes both Torahs together. And therefore its subjugation is through both Torahs, the aspect of "Write this" and "place it in the ears of", etc. And therefore the sotah, who blemished faith in the Sages and acted treacherously against her husband — against the husband above and the husband below — and caused separation, God forbid, between the Holy Blessed One and His Shechina, between Written Torah and Oral Torah — the aspect of "a whisperer separates a close friend" (v'nirgan mafrid aluf, Mishlei 16:28) — in the aspect of "she who forsakes the guide of her youth and has forgotten the covenant of her God" (Mishlei 2:17). And through this she blemished both Torahs through the separation, God forbid, etc., as above. Therefore it is necessary on her account to erase a passage of Torah, as it is written: "and he shall write and he shall erase" — to show her what she has blemished. That is: she did not blemish only in isha yiras Hashem, the Oral Torah alone, but in both Torahs together. For now, through her having blemished faith in the Sages — the Oral Torah — it is as though she erased the writing of the Torah. For now nothing is known of the Written Torah — it is as though the writing of the Torah has been erased, God forbid — since when one blemishes faith in the Sages one also blemishes the Written Torah, for nothing of the Written Torah can be known without faith in the Sages — the Oral Torah — as though the writing had been erased, God forbid. For only the Sages sustain and illuminate the Written Torah, etc., as above. And through erasing His Name that was written in holiness, one thereby learns above by kal va-chomer (an argument from the lesser to the greater): if His Name which was written in holiness — the Torah declared "and he shall erase" — in order to make peace, etc.; then the books of heretics and apostates, which cast enmity between Yisrael and their Father in Heaven — how much more should they be erased and uprooted from the world, that their memory be blotted out from the world! For in truth it is all one — for the books of heretics and apostates, which are the blemish of faith, are themselves the very blemish of the sotah who blemished faith, as above; and this is itself the aspect of the war of Amalek. For Amalek is the aspect of heretics and apostates, the blemish of faith — as Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, wrote elsewhere. It therefore follows that through erasing His Name which was written in holiness, one thereby learns by kal va-chomer to blot out the memory of Amalek — the aspect of "for I shall utterly blot out the memory of Amalek" (Shemos 17:14) — who are the aspect of the books of heretics, etc., the blemish of faith, as above. And this is the aspect of: His Name and His throne are not complete until the memory of Amalek is blotted out — for Hashem Himself, as it were, wages war against it, as it is written: "For the hand is upon the throne of God (keis Yah) — war for Hashem against Amalek from generation to generation" (Shemos 17:16), etc., as above. And this is the aspect of the rapist (ones) and the seducer (mifateh) of a virgin — who must give fifty silver shekalim to the father of the girl. For they blemished in isha yiras Hashem — faith in the Sages — whose essential repair is through the aspect of fifty silver shekalim corresponding to the aspect of the vow (neder), etc. For from there is the essential repair, as above. For they blemished in the ha-hu rucha, etc., which is drawn from there, etc., as above. And therefore it is necessary to give the fifty silver shekalim to the girl's father specifically — for her father annuls her vows, as it is written: "in her youth in her father's house" (Bamidbar 30:17). For the father (av b'chochma) is where the root of the vow resides — from which her essential construction and vitality derive — the aspect of the wonders of wisdom (pliyos chochma), as above. And therefore the essential repair is through giving the fifty silver shekalim to her father specifically, as above. And from here we derive the law of the kesuba (marriage contract) — that the husband gives his virgin wife fifty zekukim of refined silver. For this is the essential repair and construction of her — through this she is drawn to him: because he is able to draw down for her illumination from the aspect of the vow, which is the aspect of the fifty silver shekalim — the aspect of the fifty gates of Bina (chamishim sha'aray Bina) — from which the essential construction and sustaining of isha yiras Hashem, the aspect of faith in the Sages, derives, etc., as above. And this is the aspect of miun (refusal) of a minor girl. For the essential bond between them in holiness is in the aspect of the repair of faith in the Sages — that is, the connection and bond between Oral Torah and Written Torah, as above. And faith in the Sages — the aspect of isha yiras Hashem — is the aspect of malchus dikudsha (the kingdom of holiness), which stands upon twelve oxen, which are the aspect of the twelve tribes of God (shnaym asar shivtay Yah), which are the aspect of the twelve months — which are the aspect of the filling of the moon from its blemish, as is known. And therefore the measure of time for the minor girl is twelve years. For as long as she has not yet reached twelve years, she has not yet been fully included in the perfection of the aspect of malchus dikudsha which stands upon twelve tribes, etc. For throughout her minority she is ascending little by little from malchus harisha (the wicked kingdom), whose vitality is from mochin dikasnus (constricted consciousness), as is known — until she becomes a girl of twelve. And then she is fully included in the aspect of malchus dikudsha, and only then can she bond with her husband in a complete bond — in the aspect of the connection of Oral Torah with Written Torah, as above. And therefore once she is a mature woman she cannot separate from her husband except through a get krisus (bill of divorce) which he writes for her — for a sefer (document) severs the bond between them, and nothing else severs it, as our Sages of blessed memory said. For if she were to be separated from him without this, God forbid, there would be separation between Written Torah and Oral Torah. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that he give her a sefer krisus — and through this she receives illumination from the aspect of sefer, from the aspect of Written Torah. And then precisely she separates with the root of her vitality that she had with her husband — which is the essential aspect of the bond between them. For isha yiras Hashem — faith in the Sages — her root and vitality are in the aspect of Written Torah. And therefore the woman cannot separate from her husband until her husband is willing to draw down for her the root of her illumination that she has with him — which is the aspect of Written Torah — which is the aspect of the sefer krisus that he gives her, the aspect of sefer, the aspect of Written Torah. And then even though she separates from him, no separation is made, God forbid — through this — for she has still not been separated from her root. For she has received the sefer krisus, etc., as above. And this is the aspect of "and she departs and becomes" — which is compared to departure: for immediately at the moment of departure from her husband, the aspect of havaya (becoming/existence) begins through the aspect of the sefer krisus — through which she is bound to her root, to the aspect of Written Torah, which is the aspect of havaya. And through this precisely she can still come into being and be married to another — for she has still not been separated, God forbid, from the aspect of isha yiras Hashem — faith in the Sages, etc., as above. But when she is a minor girl still below twelve years — who cannot yet receive the illumination of mochin, the aspect of the illumination and connection of Written Torah with Oral Torah, etc., as above — therefore she does not need a sefer krisus as above, and goes out through miun (refusal). For she is still in the aspect of mochin dikasnus — from which there is still some hold and chain of descent to the wicked kingdom, which is where the essential miun is — in the aspect of "and Queen Vashti refused" (vatma-ayn hamalka Vashti), etc. (Esther 1:12). For there is where the essential miun is — in the aspect of "and if the woman does not wish to go after you" (Devarim 21:7), etc. And therefore the measure of maturity for a man is thirteen years — for he is composed of Written Torah and Oral Torah together, and his essential completion is through receiving illumination from the aspect of the thirteen principles by which the Torah is expounded (shlosh esray midos she-haTorah nidreshes bahen) — through which Written Torah and Oral Torah are united. And therefore his measure is thirteen years — for the essential expositions and novellae of Torah through the thirteen principles are through the man specifically, who is composed of Written Torah and Oral Torah. For a woman is forbidden to study Torah, as our Sages of blessed memory said. She is only in the aspect of faith — the aspect of faith in the Sages — like the aspect of the multitude of the people (hamon am) who lack the intellect to expound Torah and need only the aspect of faith in the Sages. And the Sages expound the Torah through the thirteen principles, etc., and from there the multitude of the people receive their illumination through faith alone. And this is the aspect of man and woman: the man is in the aspect of the thirteen principles by which the Torah is expounded — which is the aspect of the Sages who expound the Torah, etc. — and therefore his measure is thirteen years, as above. And the woman is in the aspect of faith in the Sages — emuna specifically — for she is only in the aspect of faith, which is the aspect of malchus. And therefore her measure is twelve years — for malchus dikudsha stands upon the twelve tribes. And then precisely the aspect of the holy faith is fully included and she is able to receive from the aspect of the thirteen principles by which the Torah is expounded, etc., as above. And therefore the minor girl is under the authority of her father to be betrothed — for the father is the aspect of the root of the vow from which her vitality and construction derive, as above. And therefore when she is betrothed through her father, she cannot go out through miun — for even though she is a minor, she can be included in the aspect of faith in the Sages to receive from her husband. Since she has a father who is the aspect of the root of the vow — through which the essential repair of faith in the Sages is accomplished, as above — through this she is bonded with him. Baruch Hashem l'olam Amen v'Amen. Blessed is Hashem forever, Amen and Amen. Also in Hilchos Gitin, Halacha 3, §14, the matter of yibum and chalitsa is explained. Halacha 4 — in Hilchos Gitin, Halacha 4, §8. Halacha 5 — in Hilchos Priya u'Riviya, Halacha 5, §25.