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17 רָאוּךָ מַּיִם א-לֹהִים רָאוּךָ מַּיִם יָחִילוּ אַף יִרְגְּזוּ תְהֹמוֹת The general principle is that a person needs to be in joy constantly, and to strengthen himself in joy so much until he seizes the sorrow and sighing — which are all the melancholy and sadness — he seizes them and brings them into the joy against their will, until he transforms the sorrow and sighing into joy. For specifically through what the Evil Inclination introduces into his heart sorrow and sighing and melancholy, through this specifically he will be very joyful. For he will say in his heart: even though I am so far from the Blessed Name, nevertheless I am of the seed of Israel, and He did not make me a gentile, and I merit every day to fulfill several mitzvos — tzitzis and tefillin and several blessings and holy words in prayer and Torah that I merit to say each and every day. And on the contrary, this is the essential source of my joy — that one as far away as I should also merit to don tefillin every day, which are the crowns of the King, etc., and similar things with the other mitzvos that all Israel fulfill every day. And one who strengthens himself until he comes to such joy, until he transforms all the sorrow into joy — this is a very great thing. And this alone is the essential mitzvah of joy: to be so joyful until one transforms the sorrow and sighing into joy. And from this, great yichudim [unifications] and very great delights are made above, in all the worlds, as we understood from the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, at the time we merited to hear this wondrous and awesome chiddush [novel teaching] — the exceedingly great level of this aspect, when one merits such joy until he transforms the melancholy and all the sorrow and sighing into joy, etc.

And this is the aspect of "joy and gladness shall they attain", etc. — that the joy and gladness pursue and reach and seize the sorrow and sighing into the joy against their will, etc., as explained there; see there. And see there further nearby (Torah 24), what is written there about the greatness of the mitzvah to be in joy constantly. For through joy one merits healing for all manner of illnesses and pains, for all manner of illnesses come through the corruption of joy. For joy is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, which enliven all the ten kinds of pulse upon which all human vitality depends, and all healings — all of which depend on the ten kinds of pulse, whose vitality comes through the ten kinds of melody, which are the aspect of joy, etc. And therefore the essential thing in serving Hashem — especially for those who are far away and coming to draw close to the Blessed Name — is that they should strengthen themselves with all their might to be in joy constantly. See there regarding the greatness of the extraordinary warning that Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, warned in many expressions, that a person should compel himself with all his strength to be only joyful always. And this is the aspect of the holiness of the Bris, whose essential [attainment] is through joy, as understood in the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, in many places — that the essential holiness of the Bris is merited through joy. And as I heard from his holy mouth explicitly, that the essential intensification of this desire of immorality is through sadness and melancholy; therefore one needs to strengthen himself exceedingly to be in joy constantly, as mentioned above.

And this is the aspect of the mitzvah of procreation. For it is known that the essential grip of sadness and melancholy is in the aspect of the woman, which is sitra d'nukba [the feminine side], which is sitra d'dina kashya [the side of harsh judgment], where the essential grip of sadness lies, which is tokfa d'dina [the force of judgment]. And this is the aspect of what is said regarding the feminine side: "Her feet descend to death" (Mishlei 5:5). For sadness is the aspect of the side of death, as is known in our teachings many times. And this is the aspect of "and her end is bitter as wormwood" (Mishlei 5:4), etc.; the aspect of "And I find more bitter than death the woman" (Koheles 7:26), etc. — the aspect of sadness and melancholy, the aspect of sorrow and sighing, which grips the woman more [than the man], as mentioned above. For even though all this is said regarding a bad woman, a harlot, nevertheless it is known that their entire grip upon holiness descends from sitra d'nukba. And the essential joy and gladness is in the aspect of sitra did'chura [the masculine side], in the aspect of "strength and gladness are in His place" (Divrei HaYamim I, 16:27), which is said regarding the holiness of the Bris — for in it is strength, and it is the gladness of the Matronisa, etc.

And this is the aspect of the mitzvah of procreation, that a person needs specifically to fulfill this mitzvah in holiness and purity. And through this mitzvah, he merits to seize the melancholy and the sorrow and sighing into the joy, in the aforementioned aspect — the aspect of "joy and gladness shall they attain, and sorrow and sighing shall flee." And this is the aspect of "he shall gladden his wife" in the matter of a mitzvah, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said. For the essential holiness of the conjugal union is through joy, which is the holiness of the Bris as mentioned above. For this is the essential aspect of the unification and the conjugal union of mitzvah, through which husband and wife are joined. And then the aspect of sorrow and sighing is sweetened and nullified — the sadness, the force of harsh judgment that grips the woman. And through the holiness of this mitzvah, the sorrow and sighing is nullified and transformed into joy, which is the essential holiness of the conjugal union, the aspect of the holiness of the Bris as mentioned above. And therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "One who dwells without a wife dwells without joy", etc. And as it is said: "And he shall gladden his wife" (Devarim 24:5), etc. For this is the essential [meaning of the] mitzvah of the conjugal union — to transform the sorrow and sighing into joy, which is the essential perfection of joy as mentioned above. That is, to unify and include the wife within the husband, so that the sorrow and sighing that grips the woman, in sitra d'nukba, shall be transformed into joy as mentioned above. And therefore one who dwells without a wife dwells without joy, for there is no perfection to the joy of the man when he is alone. For there is no perfection to the joy except when one transforms sorrow and sighing into joy, which is the essential perfection of joy as mentioned above.

And this is the aspect of the joy of the wedding, which is a great mitzvah, as our Sages, of blessed memory, spoke at great length about the greatness of the mitzvah to gladden the groom and bride. For the essential holiness of the Bris is joy, as mentioned above, and the essential thing is to transform the sorrow and sighing, the aspect of sitra d'nukba, into joy. And therefore at the wedding, when this unification is made, through which the sorrow and sighing are transformed into joy — therefore the joy then is exceedingly great, for this is the essential perfection of joy, when sorrow and sighing are transformed into joy, which is the aspect of the unification of the wedding, as mentioned above.

And this is the aspect of musical instruments that are played at the wedding for the sake of joy. For the musical instruments are the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, through which joy essentially comes, as is seen tangibly. And as Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, said, as mentioned above, as it is said: "Upon a ten-stringed instrument and upon the lute, for You have made me glad, Hashem, with Your work" (Tehillim 92:4–5), etc. And the essential musical instruments, the aspect of the ten kinds of melody that bring joy into the heart — the essential greatness of their level is in the aforementioned aspect: that the ten kinds of melody, which are the totality of melodies and musical instruments, have the power to gladden a person in the intensity of his worry and sadness. As is seen tangibly, that through a melody even with the mouth, and all the more so when one hears the melody from musical instruments, the person comes into joy from the intensity of worry and sadness. For the ten kinds of melody have this power to seize the sorrow and sighing and transform them into joy, as mentioned above. And therefore the awakening of melody is from sitra d'Leva'ay [the side of the Levites], who would conduct the song upon the platform [in the Temple], which is the aspect of sitra dis'mala [the left side], as is known. This is the aspect of the northern wind that would blow upon the harp of David, and it would play by itself, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said. For the essential melody comes from the aspect of the north, which is the left, the aspect of sitra d'Leva'ay. For there, on the left side, is the essential grip of din [judgment], which is the aspect of sadness. And therefore the essential perfection of joy, which is the ten kinds of melody, comes specifically from there, from the aspect of the left, as mentioned above. For this is the essential perfection of joy that comes through the ten kinds of melody — they have the power to transform the sorrow and sighing that comes from there, from the aspect of the left, into joy, which is the essential perfection of joy as mentioned above. For judgment is only sweetened at its root. And therefore, in the root of holiness, the awakening of joy is specifically from sitra dis'mala. And therefore from there specifically come all the ten kinds of melody, for specifically through this one can sweeten and nullify the sorrow and sighing at its root, until the sorrow and sighing are transformed into joy, which is the essential perfection of joy as mentioned above. And because the essential unification of the wedding is in this aspect — to transform sorrow and sighing into joy — therefore it is customary as a great obligation that there be musical instruments at the wedding. For the ten kinds of melody have this power to transform sorrow and sighing into joy, which is the aspect of the northern wind that blows upon the harp of David, as mentioned above. And this is what is brought in the Holy Zohar: the awakening of the conjugal union is from the side of the north. For specifically from there one draws the joy to transform the sorrow and sighing into joy, which is the aspect of the northern wind blowing upon the harp of David, from where the melody comes, etc., as mentioned above. For the melody is in the aspect of ascending and descending, the aspect of "Who has ascended to heaven and descended" (Mishlei 30:4), etc., which Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, explained regarding melody, as is explained in the Torah[-teaching] "Vayehi Mikeitz" (Likutay Moharan, Torah 54) — that the musician clarifies the good spirit from the bad spirit, which is the aspect of "Who has ascended to heaven and descended", etc.; see there. And this is the aforementioned aspect — that one transforms the sorrow and sighing into joy through the melody. For the transformation of sorrow and sighing into joy is the essential aspect of clarifying the good spirit from the bad spirit, the aspect of ascending and descending — that the musician who draws joy must descend his melody into the intensity of the bad spirit, which is the sadness and melancholy, the aspect of sorrow and sighing, and clarify and raise the holiness and joy that is there, which is the aspect of the good spirit, until he raises and clarifies the bad spirit, the aspect of sorrow and sighing, to transform it into joy. This is the essential perfection of joy, the essential virtue of the sweetness of the melody according to its measures. For the measures of the melody and the arrangements and combinations of sounds of the melody — which are included in the ten kinds of melody from which all the melodies in the world are drawn — have the power to break the heart greatly, and to raise it and draw it to the Blessed Name exceedingly. For melody has great power to draw the heart of man to the Blessed Name, as is known. And as Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, spoke about this many times, and said that it is very good to revive oneself with some melody. And he said many, many wondrous Torahs about the matter of the exceedingly exalted levels of melody, which ascends very high, to the ultimate height, as understood in his words, of blessed memory, to one who studies them and is accustomed to them. And the essential virtue of melody is in the aforementioned aspect — that through melody one has the power to ascend and descend until one seizes the sorrow and sighing, which is the aspect of the bad spirit and sadness, and transforms it into joy, which is the essential perfection of holiness, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of ketores [incense] (as is brought elsewhere). For ketores draws joy, in the aspect of "incense gladdens the heart" (Mishlei 27:9). And the essential perfection of holiness and joy that is clarified through the ketores is in the aforementioned aspect — that one transforms the sorrow and sighing, which is the aspect of the Sitra Achara [Other Side], into joy, to the side of holiness. This is the aspect of the chelb'nah [galbanum] with its foul odor that was in the ketores, which alludes to the clarification of holiness from the intensity of the Sitra Achara and the klipos, as is known in the [Kabbalistic] writings. That is, the aforementioned aspect — for ketores clarifies and raises the holiness from the deepest depths of the klipos, as is known, for nothing raises holiness from the depths of the Sitra Achara like the ketores. And therefore one needs to recite the ketores with very great kavanah [intention], as is brought in the kavanos of the Ari z"l, for this is very helpful for teshuvah — to return from the depths of darkness and the Sitra Achara to the Blessed Name, as is explained in the Siddur of the Ari z"l by the section of ketores. That is, as mentioned above. For in the ketores there was chelb'nah with its foul odor, which alludes to the Sitra Achara, which is also included in holiness within the ketores that gladdens the heart. This is the aforementioned aspect — that one transforms the sorrow and sighing, which are the intensity of the Sitra Achara and the klipos, one transforms them into joy, which is the essential perfection of holiness and joy, as mentioned above. And therefore Nadav and Avihu, who entered to offer ketores and did not marry, were therefore punished with death. For the clarification and unification that is made through the ketores that gladdens the heart is the aforementioned aspect — that one transforms the sorrow and sighing into joy, as mentioned above. This is the aspect of a wedding, the aspect of a holy conjugal union, in order to clarify and transform the sorrow and sighing that grips the woman into joy, as mentioned above. And therefore Nadav and Avihu, who blemished in this — for they did not wish to marry a wife, for they were great men, awesome, holy tzadikim, and they wished to be attached to the Blessed Name in very great joy constantly, and they did not wish to go outside for a moment toward the sorrow and sighing, to bring it into the joy, which is the aspect of the mitzvah to marry a wife as mentioned above. For they did not wish to lower themselves there, to transform the sorrow and sighing into joy. But they blemished in this, for there is no perfection of holiness and joy except through this specifically, as mentioned above. And therefore they were punished through the ketores. For the ascent of holiness of the ketores is impossible except for one who is married, for through this he has the power to raise the holiness from the depths of the klipos, and to clarify the sorrow and sighing into joy, which is the aspect of the mitzvah of marriage, the aspect of "incense gladdens the heart," as mentioned above. And therefore they were punished with death, for sorrow and sighing is the side of death, as mentioned above. For over the dead, may the Merciful One protect us, one mourns and becomes embittered with sorrow and sighing, may the Merciful One protect us. And because they were not married and did not merit to transform the sorrow and sighing into joy, therefore death took hold of them at the time they entered to offer ketores — for then too one needs to perform this aspect, to raise the sorrow and sighing and transform it into joy. But they did not have the power for this because they did not marry. And therefore they were punished specifically through this. For when one wishes to clarify the holiness from the depths of the klipos and does not have the power for it, because he blemished in this as mentioned above, therefore they [the klipos] attack and overpower, G-d forbid. And therefore they were punished with death through the ketores, for they did not have the power to transform the sorrow and sighing into joy because they did not marry. And therefore they passed away through this, as mentioned above. And therefore, even one who is a great and very holy tzadik and could be completely ascetic in great holiness — he is necessarily obligated to marry a wife, for it is the first mitzvah in the Torah, to be fruitful and multiply and to produce offspring. That is, as mentioned above. For the essential holiness is joy, as is explained in the aforementioned Torah[-teaching]. But there is no perfection to the joy except when one clarifies and raises the sorrow and sighing and transforms it into joy, which is the aspect of marriage as mentioned above. And therefore even the holy tzadik who merits joy in its perfection is necessarily [required] to marry a wife in order to transform the sorrow and sighing into joy, as mentioned above. And through this comes the essential begetting, for the essential begetting comes through the clarification that is made through the conjugal union of mitzvah, by which holy sparks are clarified from the depths of the klipos. And therefore the Sitra Achara grips very much there, because one needs to clarify a very great holiness from the depths of the klipos. And therefore one needs to pray much to the Blessed Name and to be a mighty warrior to merit to fulfill this mitzvah in great holiness, and to sanctify himself properly, as explained in the [holy] books. And one needs to strengthen himself very much then to push away the melancholy and sadness, and to strengthen and invigorate himself with great joy until he transforms the sorrow and sighing into joy — which is the aspect of the ascent of holiness from the depths of the klipos, through which the essential begetting comes. For begetting is drawn through the clarification of holy souls from the depths of the klipos, as is known. And therefore through begetting, joy is drawn, as it is written: "Let your father and mother rejoice, and let she who bore you exult" (Mishlei 23:25). And as it is written: "A wise son gladdens the father" (Mishlei 10:1). For begetting is drawn through the clarification of holiness from the klipos, which is the aspect of transforming sorrow and sighing into joy, through which comes the essential joy, as mentioned above. And therefore every man is obligated to beget a son and a daughter, as is explained in the Shulchan Aruch. For the essential mitzvah of procreation — to produce offspring, to sustain the world — is for the sake of the enlargement of joy in the aforementioned aspect (that is, to transform the aspect of sorrow and sighing into joy as mentioned above). For this is why the world was created — to enlarge the joy, in the aspect of "Hashem shall rejoice in His works" (Tehillim 104:31). For there is no sadness before the Blessed One, and above, on the very highest level, there is the essential joy in its essence, as it is written: "Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and gladness are in His place" (Divrei HaYamim I, 16:27). But the Blessed Name wished to benefit and enlarge the joy even further — for this is the essential true good and delight, when one merits to rejoice in Him, blessed be He, in the aspect of "Let Israel rejoice in its Maker" (Tehillim 149:2), etc. Therefore He created all the worlds from beginning to end, so that they would recognize His glory, blessed be He. And through recognizing Him from this lowly, base world — for the sake of which everything was created — through this the joy is enlarged more and more, through the joy ascending from distant places, from this lowly world, from the world of Asiyah where the sorrow and sighing grips. That is, the aforementioned aspect — that the essential enlargement of joy is when one transforms the sorrow and sighing into joy. And therefore He created all the worlds down to this lowly world, where the sorrow and sighing grips. And when one merits to recognize Him, blessed be He, in this world, and to rejoice in Him in this lowly, material world, in the aspect of "Let Israel rejoice in its Maker" — then the joy is very great also for Him, blessed be He, in the aspect of "Hashem shall rejoice in His works" — "in His works" specifically. For the essential enlargement of joy is when the joy ascends from this material world of Asiyah, where the sorrow and sighing grips. For this is the essential perfection and greatness of joy — when one transforms sorrow and sighing into joy, as mentioned above. And therefore in the future, when we will merit the essential perfection of the ultimate purpose — that each person will merit through his service and toil and yearning, etc., for the Blessed Name — then the joy will be enlarged exceedingly, and this will be the essential receiving of reward. As is explained in many verses about the exceedingly great joy of the future, as it is written: "He shall surely come with joyous song, bearing his sheaves" (Tehillim 126:6). This is said regarding the receiving of reward in the future. For then a new song shall be awakened, for all the ten kinds of melody will be aroused, through which comes the essential joy, as it is written: "You shall come, you shall gaze from the peak of Amanah" (Shir HaShirim 4:8), etc. And as our Sages, of blessed memory, spoke at great length about the greatness of the joy of the future, and as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will make a circle-dance for the tzadikim, and each one will point with his finger and say: "This is Hashem," etc. As it is written: "And it shall be said on that day: 'Behold, this is our G-d; we hoped for Him … let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation'" (Yeshayahu 25:9). And the essential joy of the future, which is the essential receiving of reward, is in the aforementioned aspect, in the aspect of "joy and gladness shall they attain, and sorrow and sighing shall flee" — which is said regarding the joy of the days of Mashiach and the future. That is, the merit to transform sorrow and sighing into joy — this is the essential joy of the future, that each and every person will merit according to what he merited through his service, through Torah and mitzvos and good deeds that he did in this lowly world, and through this he merited to raise and elevate this world, where the sorrow and sighing grips, into holiness, which is joy. This is the essential perfection of joy, as mentioned above. For the point of all the mitzvos and good deeds is joy, as it is written: "The statutes of Hashem are upright, gladdening the heart" (Tehillim 19:9). And as we always petition: "And may we rejoice in the words of Your Torah and in Your mitzvos forever and ever." For the essential perfection of the service of Torah and mitzvos is specifically when one merits to perform them in joy, as is brought in the [holy] books, and especially in the writings of the Ari [z"l], regarding the greatness of the warning to engage in Torah and mitzvos with joy. And as it is written: "Because you did not serve Hashem your G-d with joy and with gladness of heart" (Devarim 28:47), etc. And therefore the essential [purpose of] all the mitzvos and good deeds, which are the aspect of joy — the essential performance of them is only in this world alone, as [the Sages] said: "Today to do them" — and not tomorrow, in the World to Come. For specifically in this world, where the sorrow and sighing grips, there specifically one merits to enlarge the joy even more when one merits to serve Hashem and fulfill the Torah and mitzvos with joy. For this is the aspect of transforming the sorrow and sighing, which is the aspect of this world, into joy, which is the aspect of Torah and mitzvos, as mentioned above. And through this we will merit the receiving of reward in the future, which is the great joy of the future, when we will merit then a wondrous joy because we merited to include this world within the World to Come. Through this comes the essential enlargement of joy and delight that we will merit then, in the aspect of "joy and gladness shall they attain, and sorrow and sighing shall flee" as mentioned above, when then everything will be transformed into joy, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the greatness of teshuvah, which is greater than [the level of] complete tzadikim, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "In the place where ba'alay teshuvah stand, complete tzadikim cannot stand." For the ba'al teshuvah who returns from his sins — which are the aspect of sorrow and sighing, the aspect of "I will worry about my sin" (Tehillim 38:19), in the aspect of "And He was saddened to His heart" (Bereishis 6:6), may the Merciful One protect us — and when one merits to return over them, then the sins are transformed into merits. It emerges that the sorrow and sighing, which are the aspect of sins, are transformed into merits and mitzvos, which are the aspect of joy, as mentioned above. And therefore their level in the future is very great, for their reward will then be exceedingly great. For the essential reward is the aspect of the circle-dance and the joy of the future, which will be made specifically through the transformation of sorrow and sighing into joy, as mentioned above, which is the essential perfection of joy, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur and the Ten Days of Teshuvah. For they are the Ten Days of Teshuvah corresponding to the ten kinds of melody, which are the totality of joy, as mentioned above. And therefore on Rosh HaShanah, which is the first day of the Ten Days of Teshuvah, all the ten kinds of melody are aroused through the mitzvah of the sound of the shofar. For hearing the sound of the shofar is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, as it is said: "Play well with the teru'ah" (Tehillim 33:3). And as we say before the blowings: "G-d has ascended with the teru'ah; Hashem, with the sound of the shofar. Sing to G-d, sing; sing to our King, sing" (Tehillim 47:6–7). For the shofar is the aspect of songs and melodies, the aspect of the ten kinds of melody corresponding to which are the aspect of the ten sounds of the shofar, which are: TaSHRa"T, TaSHa"T, TaRa"T — that are blown alongside the ten Malchuyos, ten Zichronos, and ten Shofaros [sections of the Musaf prayer]. All of this is in the aspect of the ten kinds of melody as mentioned above, and as understood in the Tikkunim. And therefore David HaMelech, peace be upon him, concluded the Book of Tehillim — which is comprised of all the ten kinds of melody, which are the aspect of the ten expressions in which the Book of Tehillim was said, and as is explained in the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory (Likutay Tinyana, Torah 92) — therefore he concluded the Book of Tehillim with the psalm "Praise G-d in His Sanctuary," which contains ten praises, which are the aspect of the ten kinds of melody of which Tehillim is comprised. And the conclusion of all the ten praises, which is the conclusion of the entire Book of Tehillim, the conclusion of all the ten kinds of melody, is: "Praise Him with resounding cymbals of teru'ah." For teru'ah, which is in the aspect of the sound of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah, is comprised of all ten kinds of melody, as mentioned above. For Rosh HaShanah is the first of the Ten Days of Teshuvah, and the essential rectification of teshuvah is in the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, which is the totality of joy, the aspect of the transformation of sorrow and sighing into joy, as mentioned above. And as understood in the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, in many places — how much a person who is far from the service of Hashem needs to strengthen himself to gladden himself in whatever way possible, in whatever good point he still finds within himself. And through this is his essential rectification, for through this he truly enters the side of merit, and he can merit teshuvah. As is explained well on the verse "I will sing to my G-d with what I have left" (Likutay Moharan, Torah 282); see there well. For this Torah[-teaching], "I will sing to my G-d with what I have left," one needs to review much and walk with it, as Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, warned us greatly to walk with this Torah. For every person, as long as he still has mercy on himself and thinks about his eternal purpose, needs to make great efforts to revive himself, and to look and search and find within himself some good points — whatever he merited since his beginning to do some mitzvos and good things — so that he should not fall in his mind completely. And to gladden himself in whatever way possible, and to transform all the sorrow and sighing into joy, and to accustom himself sometimes to sing some joyful melody, and especially on Shabbasos and Yamim Tovim, when one needs to be very, very joyful with all kinds of joys, from evening until morning, and to increase joyful melodies greatly. For the essential drawing close to the Blessed Name — especially the drawing close of those who are far away and need to return — is only through the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, which is the aspect of the totality of joy, as mentioned above. And as understood in the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, in the awesome and wondrous story the likes of which has not been heard since the days of old — it is the awesome last story of the Seven Beggars, regarding which he said about himself that even if he knew nothing other than this story, it too would be a great and exceedingly wondrous chiddush, for it is comprised of many Torahs and many early tzadikim, etc. And there, at the end of the aforementioned story, in the story of the sixth day — regarding what the Beggar Without Hands boasted, against each and every one who boasted about the power he had in his hands, etc. — see there this wondrous and awesome matter. If you have been among the reapers of the field, and if you have seen in the [holy] books, and especially in the Tikkunim and Zohar and in the Saba [d'Mishpatim], you will understand from afar, like one peering through the lattice — awesome wonders of He Who is perfect in knowledge. And it is not possible to elaborate on this here. And at the end it is explained that he [the Beggar Without Hands] boasted against them all. For all of them, even though they were of exceedingly great level, and each and every one had a wondrous and awesome power in his hands the likes of which is not found even once in a generation, except among the most unique, great, wondrous tzadikim who were extraordinary individuals across many, many generations — for example, one boasted that he could withdraw the arrows with his hands even after the arrow had been shot, and after the arrow had reached the one at whom it was shot. Who has heard such a thing? Who has heard such combinations of letters that a person should boast of such a chiddush, even in the physical sense — that a person could, from the place where he shot the arrow, draw the arrow back in return, after the arrow had gone out and been shot into the one at whom it was directed? For only the Blessed Name boasts of this, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: A man of flesh and blood shoots an arrow and cannot retrieve it, but the Holy One, blessed be He, shoots an arrow and then retrieves it, as it is said: "And My hand shall take hold of judgment" (Devarim 32:41). And especially since in truth the matter of the arrows alludes to all the blemishes of sins that reach the Shechinah, which are like arrows that are shot and greatly blemish the soul of the Israelite. And every single person, for every sin and blemish that he does — and especially the blemish of the Bris — he literally shoots an arrow at his soul. For the Bris is called "bow and arrows," as is known, in the aspect of what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "Any seed that does not shoot like an arrow", etc. And certainly this one who boasted that he could draw back the arrows even after they had reached the one at whom they were shot — he was certainly a wondrous and awesome tzadik, and a wondrous chiddush the like of which is not found in many generations, that he should boast that he could effect tikkun habris for one who had blemished it, which is the aspect of withdrawing the arrows from the place where they were shot. And even though this one who boasted of this was such a wondrous and awesome chiddush, nevertheless he was considered as nothing compared to the Beggar Without Hands. For this one without hands immediately asked him: "What kind of arrows can you draw back and withdraw?" And he answered him: "Such-and-such a kind." He responded and said: "You cannot heal the Princess." See there. And even though I certainly do not merit to know even a drop from the sea of the secret of the stories that Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, told, which are brought in the book Sipuray Ma'asiyos, and all the more so in this awesome story that is holier than all of them as is explained there — nevertheless, this matter is certainly hinted at in his words, within the totality of the other matters and awesome secrets that he intended. But this matter is certainly also included in his holy words in the aforementioned story. That is, that this one asked him: "What kind of arrows can you withdraw?" — meaning, "What blemish of the Bris can you rectify?" For there are many, many aspects to the blemish of the Bris — thousands upon thousands and myriads upon myriads — for certainly not all blemishes and sins are equal, as is known to all. He answered him: "Such-and-such a kind." (And see there what is written about the matter of the poisons with which the arrows are anointed, through which they cause harm, etc., and all of this alludes to the aforementioned matter.) That is, this portion of the blemish of the Bris — which is the aspect of such-and-such a kind of arrow — he is able to draw back and withdraw and rectify. The one without hands responded to him: "You still cannot heal the Princess, since you cannot draw back and withdraw but one kind of arrow." And it is known that the Princess there alludes to the Shechinah, which is K'nesses Yisra'el, the totality of the souls of Israel, which is called "the King's daughter," as it is written: "All the glory of the King's daughter is within" (Tehillim 45:14). And so in the Zohar and the Tikkunim she is called "the daughter of the King" in many, many places. And the Shechinah is in exile, crushed with sufferings because of our sins, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: When a person suffers, what does the Shechinah say? "My head is heavy upon me; my arm is heavy upon me." And as it is written: "Rachel weeps for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children" (Yirmiyahu 31:14), etc. And regarding this it is said: "He has bent His bow and set me up as a target for the arrow. He has caused the arrows of His quiver to enter my kidneys" (Eichah 3:12–13). For all the evil arrows of the blemish of the Bris are shot at the Shechinah and K'nesses Yisra'el, G-d forbid, as is known. And this is also the aspect of: "For Your arrows have sunk into me, and Your hand has come down upon me" (Tehillim 38:3). And therefore, even though this one boasted that he could withdraw an arrow, nevertheless he still could not heal the Princess, who is the Shechinah, the totality of the souls of Israel, since he could withdraw only one kind of arrow — that is, he could rectify only one known blemish of the Bris — but there were still evil arrows such as these, which are great blemishes such as these, that even he could not withdraw and rectify. But the one without hands boasted at the end that he could withdraw all the ten kinds of arrows, in which are included all kinds of sins and all kinds of blemish of the Bris in the world — all the sins and transgressions and offenses, even the very greatest, may the Merciful One protect us. Everything, all of it — he can draw back and withdraw and take out and rectify everything. For he can enter all the ten walls of water where the Princess lies, who fell into a weakness many hundreds of years ago. And he can enter there, into all the ten walls of water, and he knows how to withdraw all the ten kinds of arrows, and he knows all the ten kinds of pulse, and he knows how to heal her through all the ten kinds of melody. It emerges that the essential healing of the Princess, who is the Shechinah, the totality of the souls of Israel, is through the ten kinds of melody, which are the totality of joy. And this is what Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, wrote in the aforementioned Torah[-teaching] — that the essential healing, both physical and spiritual, is through joy, which is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody. For the ten kinds of melody enliven all the ten kinds of pulse, which are the vitality of man, and all illnesses, G-d forbid, and all healings depend on the ten kinds of pulse, as is known. And the essential vitality of the ten kinds of pulse is through joy, which is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody. Therefore joy is a very great thing, and one needs to strengthen himself in joy constantly with all his strength, for it is the essential healing of the soul and the body, the aspect of the healing of the Princess, as mentioned above. It emerges that the essential rectification of teshuvah, which is the healing of the soul and the body, as it is written: "Come, let us return to Hashem, for He has torn and He will heal us" (Hoshea 6:1), etc. — is through joy, which is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody. Therefore on Rosh HaShanah, which is the first day of the Ten Days of Teshuvah, all the ten kinds of melody are aroused through the mitzvah of hearing the sound of the shofar, which is comprised of the ten kinds of melody. And this is what is brought in the Tikkunim many times: "Then the daughter of the King enters through the ten kinds of melody"; see there. And this is the aspect of the Binding of Yitzchak that we mention on Rosh HaShanah, which is the aspect of the shofar of a ram — the ram of Yitzchak — for the awakening of melody is from the north, in the aspect of the northern wind that blows upon the harp of David, which is the holy left side, the side of the Levites, the aspect of holy judgment, as mentioned above; the aspect of "Behold, He gives His voice, a voice of strength" (Tehillim 68:34), the aspect of the might of Yitzchak. And therefore Yitzchak is called by the name of laughter and joy, for the essential joy is from there. And this is the aspect of the Binding of Yitzchak, which is the aspect of the sweetening of the judgments, as is known; that is, the aspect mentioned above — the aspect of seizing the sorrow and sighing and transforming it into joy. For this is the aspect of the Binding of Yitzchak, for the grip of the judgments is in the aspect of the might of Yitzchak, and from the chain-like descent of the judgments, when one does not merit to sweeten [them], there takes hold from them, G-d forbid, the aspect of sorrow and sighing, whose grip is from there, for they are the force of harsh judgment, may the Merciful One protect us, as mentioned above. But through the Binding of Yitzchak, the judgments are sweetened at their root, and then the aspect of sorrow and sighing is sweetened until the sorrow and sighing is transformed into joy, which is the essential perfection of joy. And therefore Yitzchak specifically is called by the name of joy, for the essential joy is through Yitzchak specifically, through the sweetening of the judgments at their root, which is the aspect mentioned above — the aspect of the transformation of sorrow and sighing into joy, which is the essential perfection of joy, as mentioned above. And on Yom Kippur, then is the completion of the Ten Days of Teshuvah, and all the ten kinds of melody are completed. And therefore then all sins are forgiven, and the sins are transformed into merits for one who merits true teshuvah, for the transformation of sins into merits is the aspect of the transformation of sorrow and sighing into joy, as mentioned above, which is the aspect of the activity of the ten kinds of melody, as mentioned above. And therefore all the service of Yom Kippur and all the vitality and ascent of the Shechinah on Yom Kippur is through voices, which are the aspect of the five afflictions of Yom Kippur, as is brought in the Kavanos [of the Ari, of blessed memory]. For voices are the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, in which are included all the holy voices of the prayers of Israel, and songs and praises, etc. And likewise all the holy voices of the engagement in Torah and mitzvos — everything is included in the aspect of the ten kinds of melody. And this is the aspect of the rectification of the holy voices of Yom Kippur, which is the completion of the Ten Days of Teshuvah, when the aspect of the ten kinds of melody mentioned above is completed in its rectification, through the five voices of Yom Kippur. For five is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, the aspect of daled with yud [the letter daled = 4, and yud = 10], which is the simple, double, triple, and quadruple song, which is the aspect of [the letter] daled [= 4], and the yud [= 10] is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, as Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, wrote in the Torah[-teaching beginning] "He has set a tent for the sun among them," etc. (Likutay Moharan, Torah 49); see there. And Yom Kippur, which is the aspect of the World to Come, then one merits all the ten kinds of melody mentioned above, which are included in the five voices, which are the aspect of the five afflictions [and] the five prayers [of Yom Kippur]. And through this is the forgiveness of all sins on Yom Kippur, in the aspect of "Hashem, hear! Hashem, forgive! Hashem, hearken!" (Daniel 9:19). For the essential forgiveness is through the aspect of the sense of hearing, the aspect of "Hashem, hear! Hashem, forgive!" And the sense of hearing is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, which include all the voices in the world, which are perceived through the sense of hearing specifically. (And see regarding this in the Eitz Chayyim, in Heichal Adam Kadmon, in Sha'ar Ozen Chotem Peh, at the end of Chapter 5, regarding the secret of the ear and the sense of hearing concerning Yom Kippur, and he brings there this verse, "Hashem, hear! Hashem, forgive!" etc. It is explained there also that the essential aspect of Yom Kippur is in the aspect of the sense of hearing, that is, as mentioned above; see there, and you will understand.) And this is the aspect of the five voices of the wedding, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: Anyone who benefits from the feast of a groom and bride and does not gladden them transgresses with regard to the five voices, as it is said: "The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride," etc. (Yirmiyahu 33:11). For the five voices are the aspect of the five voices of Yom Kippur, which are comprised of the ten kinds of melody, which is the aspect of the musical instruments of the wedding, as mentioned above. For the wedding too is in the aspect of Yom Kippur, for one who marries a woman — all his sins are forgiven, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said. And for this reason one fasts on the day of his chuppah, for it is the aspect of Yom Kippur. For one needs to arouse all the ten kinds of melody, which is the essential aspect of the conjugal union of mitzvah, as mentioned above, the aspect of tikkun habris, as mentioned above. And therefore a person is obligated to beget a son and a daughter. For the essential reason that every person is obligated to produce offspring to sustain the world is for the sake of the enlargement of joy — for the sake of which the world was created, in order to enlarge and perfect the joy — through the joy ascending from this lowly world, in which the sorrow and sighing has its grip. For the essential perfection of joy is when one transforms sorrow and sighing into joy, as mentioned above. And for this reason, every person is obligated to produce offspring among Israel, so that the children of Israel will multiply, for they are the aspect of joy, the aspect of: "Sing out and rejoice, O Ya'akov" (Yirmiyahu 31:6) — "Ya'akov" specifically. And as it is said: "Ya'akov shall exult; Yisra'el shall rejoice" (Tehillim 14:7). For the children of Israel have cause to rejoice constantly, all the days of their lives, for they merited to be in His holy portion — "Who chose us from every nation and exalted us above every tongue and sanctified us with His mitzvos" — and we know and believe in Him, blessed be He, and in His holy Torah which He gave us through His prophet, the faithful one of His household, Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him. And we merit to unify His Name evening and morning, twice each day, and as we take pride in this each day, as we say: "Fortunate are we! How good is our portion, and how pleasant is our lot," etc.; "Fortunate are we," etc. And the more that Israel multiply, the more the joy increases and grows, for "In a multitude of people is the glory of the King" (Mishlei 14:28), and the glory of the King is the aspect of joy, as it is written: "Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and gladness are in His place" (Divrei HaYamim I 16:27). And as it is written: "You have multiplied the nation; You have increased its joy; they rejoice before You" (Yeshayahu 9:2), etc. For the more that Israel multiply, the more the joy is increased, for each and every one of Israel, through his service of Hashem, raises and clarifies the joy from the depths of the klipos, and transforms more and more sorrow and sighing into joy. Through this, the joy increases more and more, until all the joy will be clarified in perfection from the depths of the klipos, whose grip is in the aspect of the raglayim [feet/lowest levels], in the aspect of "Her feet descend to death" (Mishlei 5:5), as is known. And when the joy is clarified from there, and the raglayim ascend from the klipos, then Mashiach will come, and it will be fulfilled: "And His feet shall stand on that day upon the Mount of Olives" (Zechariah 14:4). This is the aspect of "until the feet reach the feet," which is brought in the Holy Zohar and explained in the writings of the Ari, of blessed memory. And the essential ascent of the raglayim from the klipos is through joy, for through this one raises the raglayim from the aspect of "Her feet descend to death," which is sadness and melancholy, which is the side of death, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the virtue of the dances of the Jewish man — that when he merits to be in such great joy that he dances, through this he raises the raglayim from the klipos. And as is explained in the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, in the Torah[-teaching] that begins: "When a person gladdens himself and the joy is so great that it reaches his feet" — that is, when he dances — through this he raises all the aspects of the raglayim; see there, at the end of Likutay Tinyana (Torah 81). And he likewise elaborated on this in many places, regarding the secret of the virtue of the dances; see there. And this is the aspect of the exceeding great joy that will be in the days of Mashiach, may he come speedily in our days, for through this will be the essential redemption, as it is written: "For with joy shall you go out" (Yeshayahu 55:12), etc. And as it is written: "Sing out and rejoice, O daughter of Tziyon" (Zechariah 2:14), etc. And as is explained in many, many verses regarding the exceeding great joy of the days of Mashiach and the future to come — and then all the sorrow and sighing will be transformed into joy, in the aspect of "Joy and gladness shall they attain, and sorrow and sighing shall flee," which is said regarding the days of Mashiach. And as it is written: "I will turn their mourning into gladness, and I will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow" (Yirmiyahu 31:12) — that the sorrow and mourning is transformed into gladness and joy. And as it is written: "You have turned my mourning into dance for me" (Tehillim 30:12), etc. And the essential joy of the days of Mashiach will be through the ingathering of the exiles, through the multiplication of Israel, as it is written: "The smallest shall become a thousand… I am Hashem; in its time I will hasten it" (Yeshayahu 60:22). For through the multiplication of Israel and their gathering together, through this the joy will be greatly increased, in the aspect of "When the righteous multiply, the people rejoice" (Mishlei 29:2). And Israel are all called tzadikim, as it is written: "And Your people, Israel, are all tzadikim" (Yeshayahu 60:21), etc. And therefore this verse, "Joy and gladness shall they attain," etc., is said regarding the ingathering of the exiles, as it is written: "And the redeemed of Hashem shall return and come to Tziyon with joyous song" (Yeshayahu 35:10), etc. — which is the aspect of the ingathering of the exiles to Tziyon, and then the joy will be very great, in the aspect of "And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; joy and gladness shall they attain, and sorrow and sighing shall flee" — that all the sorrow and sighing will be transformed into joy. And this itself is the aspect of the ingathering of the exiles, the aspect of the gathering of the dispersed of Israel. For the dispersed of Israel refers to those who are dispersed through their sins, and especially through the blemish of the Bris, through which, G-d forbid, the nitzozos [holy sparks] and the souls that are within the drops are dispersed and scattered to the place where they are driven, may the Merciful One protect us. For the essential cause of the prolongation of the exile is because of this, as is known. And the essential rectification will be through Mashiach, as it is written: "And a redeemer shall come to Tziyon, and to those who turn from transgression in Ya'akov" (Yeshayahu 59:20), as is explained in the Kavanos; see there. And as it is written: "Hashem builds Yerushalayim; He gathers the dispersed of Israel" (Tehillim 147:2) — that then, at the time of the building of Yerushalayim through our righteous Mashiach, then He will gather all the dispersed ones. And all the nitzozos that were dispersed through the blemish of the Bris fall, G-d forbid, into the aspect of sorrow and sighing, for sorrow and sighing are Samech Mem and Lilis, as is brought in the Kavanos [on the blessing] "Restore our judges," etc. — for they oppress the drops, G-d forbid. And the essential means of their ascent is through joy — when the Jewish man strengthens himself, even though he did what he did, and gladdens himself with the good point that he still finds within himself, and transforms all the sorrow and sighing into joy, saying: "On the contrary! This is the essential source of my joy and my delight — that one as far away as I, who has done such deeds, nevertheless merits to say twice each day 'Shema Yisra'el,' etc. And even if I would merit nothing but this alone, it would also be fitting for me to rejoice all the days of my life — all the more so that I merit so many mitzvos — tzitzis and tefillin and other mitzvos that even the lowliest of Israel fulfill each day. And if I am still far from the Blessed Name, and I have not yet gone from the mundane to the holy even as much as a hair's breadth — on the contrary! This is the essential source of my even greater joy, that nevertheless I am among the Jewish people, and I eat matzah on Pesach, and I fast on Yom Kippur, and I sit in a sukkah," etc. And whatever sadness and melancholy the Ba'al Davar [Evil Inclination] and his cohort introduces into him — he is joyful even more, for, on the contrary, this is the essential source of his joy, that one as far away as he should merit to touch such holy and awesome things. And the farther away he is, the greater is his joy — that he too merits such holy and awesome things: tzitzis, tefillin, Shabbas, Yom Tov, etc. For anyone who has any mind at all, and has complete faith in Hashem and in His holy Torah, can perceive from afar a glimmer of the greatness of the exalted preciousness of the holiness of each and every mitzvah that we merit to fulfill each day — even the lowest of the low — and especially what we merit to unify His Name twice each day, which is the essential core of everything: that we merit to believe in Hashem, the true G-d, the Singular, the Primordial One, Creator of all worlds, One, Singular, and Unique, exalted above all, and there is none higher than He — blessed be He and blessed be His Name always, forever and ever. And for one who merits to accustom himself and to rejoice in this joy, he will certainly merit all good, and all his sins will be forgiven. For this is the aspect of transforming sorrow and sighing into joy, as mentioned above, which is the essential perfection of joy. And through this, a great yichud [unification] is made above, as Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, said — that a great yichud is made above through b'dicha da'atei [joyous disposition] — through the Jewish man gladdening himself and breaking the sadness and transforming it into joy. And through this, all the nitzozos are clarified and raised from the depths of the klipos, where they fell through the blemish of the Bris, for the essential cause of their falling is into the aspect of sorrow and sighing, as mentioned above. And when one merits to transform the sorrow and sighing into joy, through this he raises all the souls and the nitzozos that were driven there, and returns them to the side of holiness, which is joy, as mentioned above. And the essential completion of this rectification in perfection will be through Mashiach, may he come speedily in our days, in the aspect of "And the redeemed of Hashem shall return and come to Tziyon with joyous song" — which is said regarding the ingathering of the exiles, which is the aspect of the nitzozos that were dispersed through the blemish of the Bris, which is the essential cause of the exile, as mentioned above. And this is: "And they shall come to Tziyon with joyous song." For the essential rectification is when they return to the supernal holiness that is called "Tziyon," as is known in the [Kabbalistic] writings. And the entire rectification of these nitzozos — that they shall return to Tziyon — will be through the aspect mentioned above, which concludes at the end of this verse, which is the aspect of "Joy and gladness shall they attain, and sorrow and sighing shall flee" — which is the meriting to transform sorrow and sighing into joy, as mentioned above. And all the children that one begets are through the aspect of the clarification of the holiness and the nitzozos — that one clarifies nitzozos of holiness from the depths of the klipos, which are the holy souls of the children, as mentioned above. And the clarification of the nitzozos and the souls is the aspect of raising sorrow and sighing into joy, as mentioned above, which is the essential aspect of the conjugal union of holiness, as mentioned above. And through the children, the joy is greatly increased, as mentioned above, for this is the essential joy, as mentioned above. And therefore every person is obligated to beget a son and a daughter, for the son is the essential aspect of joy, as it is written: "A wise son gladdens the father" (Mishlei 10:1). But the daughter — there is the grip of sorrow and sighing, whose grip is in the feminine side, as mentioned above. But a person is obligated specifically to beget both — a son and a daughter — for the joy is not enlarged and perfected except through both of them specifically. For one needs to beget also a daughter of Israel, for the essential perfection of joy is through the daughter of Israel, since the essential begetting is from her. For the essential begetting, which is the perfection of joy, as mentioned above, is through the inclusion of the wife within the husband, and the unification of the attribute of judgment within the attribute of mercy, and through this the judgment is sweetened, and through this the sorrow is transformed into joy, as mentioned above. And therefore every person needs to beget a son and a daughter, for the essential enlargement of joy in perfection is through both of them, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the prohibition of intermarrying with the nations. For the nations are the aspect of sorrow and sighing, since they did not merit to receive the Torah, which is the essential joy, as it is written: "He who begets a fool — it is a sorrow to him" (Mishlei 17:21). For they are attached only to this world, which is full of sorrow and sighing and anger and pain, as it is said: "Also all his days are anger and pain" (Koheles 5:16). Therefore it is forbidden for Israel to intermarry with the nations, for we do not have the power to sweeten the sorrow and sighing of the nations. For even in the union among Israel themselves, one needs very great exertion to merit that his union be in great holiness, so that he will be able to subdue the sorrow and sighing and transform it into joy, for the essential desire of intimacy comes from the aspect of sadness, sorrow and sighing, and one needs to exert himself greatly to sanctify himself, to break the physical desire — which is the aspect of sorrow and sighing — and to attach himself to the supernal holiness, which is the aspect of joy, and then he will merit to sweeten the sorrow and sighing and transform it into joy, which is the essential aspect of the holiness of the Bris. But a daughter of a foreign god is the very essence of sorrow and sighing — a harlot, who is herself the aspect of "more bitter than death" (Koheles 7:26), etc.; the aspect of "For her house sinks into death" (Mishlei 2:18). And Israel does not have the power to sweeten the force of their sorrow and sighing. And therefore it is forbidden to intermarry with them, for we do not have the power to transform them toward holiness, toward the aspect of joy; on the contrary, the aspect of sorrow and sighing would overpower him, which is the force of the Sitra Achara, and it would uproot him from both worlds, G-d forbid, and "he would go down in sorrow to the grave" (Bereishis 42:38). And this is what is said regarding the beautiful captive: "And she shall weep for her father and for her mother for a month of days" (Devarim 21:13). And our Sages, of blessed memory, said: In order that the daughter of Israel should be joyful, and this one [the captive] should be sorrowful. For the daughter of Israel — her grip is in the aspect of joy, the aspect of "Sing out and rejoice, O daughter of Tziyon" (Zechariah 2:14), for she is from the root of the soul of Israel, who are the essence of joy. Only because, after many levels of chain-like descent, there descends from the feminine side the grip of sorrow and sighing, therefore extra holiness is needed in order to sweeten the judgment that grips there, so that the sorrow and sighing — which is the grip of the Sitra Achara, which is the intensification of the desire, G-d forbid — should not take hold. But a daughter of the nations is the aspect of the very essence of the klipah, which is called by the name of sadness and wailing, as is known, which is the aspect of sorrow and sighing. And therefore it is forbidden to intermarry with them. And the great and immense severity of the prohibition of niddah, shifchah, goyah, zonah [the acronym NaShGa"Z], may the Merciful One protect us, is explained in the [holy] books, and especially in the Zohar and Tikkunim. And therefore, even Shlomo HaMelech, peace be upon him, regretted it afterward, as it is written: "To Isi'el and I will prevail" (Mishlei 30:1), and our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded that he said: "I will multiply [wives] and I will not turn aside," etc. But in truth it is not so, for "Who has ascended to heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his palms?" etc. (Mishlei 30:4) — and our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded this entire verse regarding Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him — that Shlomo said it is forbidden to deviate from the words of the Torah of Moshe, who forbade marrying many wives, for "who has ascended to heaven and descended" like him, etc. That is, Shlomo thought that because of the greatness of his wisdom and the immensity of his holiness, he had the power to marry many foreign women and to sweeten the very essence of the sorrow and sighing in which they are gripped, and to transform it into joy. Through this, a great rectification would be made, in his estimation, for the greater the sorrow and sighing — which is the Sitra Achara — when one merits to transform it into joy, into the aspect of the holiness of the Bris, the more the joy is enlarged and perfected. And because he knew within himself the force of his holiness — that he was completely divested of this desire, in the ultimate holiness, and his intention was solely for the sake of Heaven, to sweeten the sorrow and sighing and transform it into joy — therefore a great rectification would be made through this. For Shlomo the son of David is the aspect of Mashiach, for he built the Beis HaMikdash, and "in his days the moon stood in its fullness," and then the joy was very great, as it is written: "Yehudah and Yisra'el were numerous… eating and drinking and rejoicing" (Melachim I 4:20). For he built the Beis HaMikdash, where the essential joy resides, as it is written: "And I will gladden them in My house of prayer" (Yeshayahu 56:7), etc. And as it is written: "On the day of his wedding, and on the day of the gladness of his heart" (Shir HaShirim 3:11), and our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded: This ["the day of his wedding"] refers to the building of the Beis HaMikdash. And he merited the ten kinds of melody, which is the aspect of Shir HaShirim ["The Song of Songs"] which is Shlomo's — which is the most exalted and choicest of all songs. And therefore he thought that he had the power to sweeten and transform the very essence of sorrow and sighing into joy, as it will be in the days of Mashiach, as it is written: "And I will turn their mourning into gladness" (Yirmiyahu 31:12), as mentioned above. And therefore he erred and married foreign women, for he relied upon his strength and his holiness — upon the exceeding great joy that he merited in his days — that he would transform them too toward holiness and joy, as mentioned above. But afterward he testified about himself that he erred in this, for no wise man or holy man in the world has the power — not even Shlomo HaMelech, peace be upon him — to change any matter from the Torah of Moshe. And it is forbidden to use any reasoning to annul any matter, even a minor one, even if one were as wise as Shlomo, for a prophet is not permitted to innovate a matter henceforth. For "Who has ascended to heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his palms?" etc. — that is, who has the power like Moshe, who ascended to heaven and descended, as our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded. And therefore it is forbidden to change in his [Moshe's] Torah even a minor inflection, all the more so in a matter such as this. For Moshe Rabbeinu himself, who married the daughter of Yisro — that was before the Giving of the Torah, when it was not yet forbidden; and it was also by the [Divine] command. And furthermore, who can boast that he has the power like Moshe? For only Moshe alone was able to do this — to transform the sorrow and sighing, even of the nations, into joy. And this is the aspect of his converting Yisro, for the converts who are converted — this is the aspect of transforming sorrow and sighing into joy. And therefore the essential Giving of the Torah, which is the aspect of joy, as mentioned above — "And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads" (Yeshayahu 35:10) — as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: [The Torah] was not [given] until Yisro came and was converted. For the essential perfection of joy is in the aspect of "Joy and gladness shall they attain, and sorrow and sighing shall flee" — which is adjacent to "And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads," which is said regarding the Giving of the Torah — that is, when one transforms sorrow and sighing into joy, for then specifically the joy is perfected, the aspect of "everlasting joy," the aspect of the Giving of the Torah. And this is the aspect of "On the day of his wedding" — this is the Giving of the Torah — for the Giving of the Torah, when Yisro was converted and was transformed toward holiness and joy — this is the aspect of a wedding, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the voices of the Giving of the Torah, the aspect of the sound of the shofar of the ram of Yitzchak — for all of this is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, as mentioned above — which is the aspect of a wedding, the aspect of the transformation of sorrow and sighing into joy, as mentioned above. And because Moshe merited all of this — to convert Yisro, and to receive the Torah, and to raise the holiness from the depths of the klipos, to bring all of Israel from sorrow to joy, and to transform sorrow and sighing into joy — therefore to him alone was there power to marry the daughter of Yisro. And he was also a great ascetic after he begat children, as it is written: "And you, stand here with Me" (Devarim 5:28), as our Sages, of blessed memory, said. And this is [the meaning of] "Who has ascended to heaven and descended" — according to how Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, explained this verse in the Torah[-teaching] "Vay'hi Mikeitz" in Likutay [Moharan] I (Torah 54), [explaining] that this verse, "Who has ascended to heaven [and descended]," speaks about the aspect of melody; see there the entire matter. And with this, this verse, "Who has ascended to heaven," is well connected to the matter of the words of Shlomo mentioned above — that is, that Shlomo said: "Who has ascended to heaven and descended," etc., like Moshe — that is, who has the power to reveal all the ten kinds of melody like Moshe? And in truth, the plain meaning of the verse, which speaks of the virtue of the ascent of Moshe on high to receive the Torah, is one matter with the explanation of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, mentioned above, who explained it regarding melody, as mentioned above. For it is explained in the aforementioned Torah[-teaching] "Vay'hi Mikeitz" that through melody is the essential prophecy of the prophets, as it is written: "And it was, when the musician played, that the hand of Hashem came upon him" (Melachim II 3:15). And therefore, Moshe Rabbeinu, who merited the ten kinds of melody in perfection, which is the aspect of "Who has ascended to heaven and descended," etc. — according to how Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, explained it — therefore he merited clear prophecy of the utmost perfection, more than all the prophets, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Yevamos 49b): Moshe saw through a clear lens — which is also the aspect of "Who has ascended to heaven and descended" in its plain meaning, which is said regarding the virtue of his prophecy, that he ascended to heaven and received the Torah, etc. It emerges that both explanations are included together, as mentioned above. And therefore Shlomo admitted that he had no right to compare himself to Moshe, for "who has ascended to heaven and descended" like him, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of Kohanim, Levi'im, and Yisra'elim who are permitted to intermarry with one another, and the offspring follows the male, as they said in the Mishnah: In every case where there is a valid kiddushin and there is no transgression, the offspring follows the male. In every case where there is a valid kiddushin but there is a transgression, the offspring follows the blemished one, etc. For the essential attachment and closeness to the Blessed Name is through voices, which are the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, in which are included all the voices in the world, through which is the essential closeness of Israel to their Father in Heaven. For all the prayers, and the songs, and the praises, and the supplications and requests, and the confessions and appeasements and conciliations, and all the conversations that a person converses between himself and his Creator in hisbodedus [private meditation], etc. — everything is included in the ten kinds of melody, which are the ten expressions in which the Book of Tehillim was said, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Pesachim 117a): In a mizmor, in a nitzuach, in a nigun, etc. — as is explained in the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory (Torah 205), regarding the ten chapters of Tehillim that he revealed are a tikkun [rectification] for a nocturnal occurrence; see there. And it is known that the Book of Tehillim is comprised of all the expressions of prayer and supplication, etc., as mentioned above, for the majority of the Book of Tehillim speaks of cries and outcries and calls for help to the Blessed Name, and many expressions of supplication that Hashem should help him to do His will and to emerge from the depths of the sea of the murkiness of the desires of this world and its vanities, etc. And amidst these cries and supplications of David HaMelech, peace be upon him, amidst this he begins to sing and to praise and to thank and to laud the Blessed Name, etc. And all of these pathways and channels of holiness of the Book of Tehillim — all of this is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, which is the aspect of the ten expressions in which the Book of Tehillim was said, in which are included all the requests, etc., and songs and praises, etc., that all of Israel say wherever they are, for the essential drawing close to the Blessed Name is through this. And as Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, wrote (Likutay Tinyana, Torah 84): Know, that the essential drawing close and attachment of Israel to the Blessed Name is through prayer, etc. It emerges that the essential drawing close and attachment of Israel to the Blessed Name is through the aspect of the holy voices of songs and praises and prayers and supplications, etc., and melodies and hymns, etc. — for all of this is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, through which is the essential closeness of Israel to their Father in Heaven, as mentioned above. For all the voices, which are the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, this is the aspect of the sense of hearing, where the perception of melody and voices resides, the aspect of (Brachos 15a): "Let your ears hear what you bring forth from your mouth." And the essential knowledge of holy faith is through the aspect of the sense of hearing, for "hearing depends on the heart," as it is written: "And You shall give Your servant a hearing heart" (Melachim I 3:9). As it is in the Holy Zohar, and as is brought in the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory (Torah 22) — that there, in the heart, where hearing depends, there is the essential knowledge of the yearning of faith in Him, blessed be He, in the aspect of "Her husband is known in the gates" (Mishlei 31:23) — "each one according to what he perceives in his heart." For it is known that the Blessed Name is exalted and elevated above all thoughts, for "no thought can grasp Him at all." Only the Blessed Name, out of His great compassion — for He wished to benefit His creatures, to give them a taste of His radiance, and to make known to them of His G-dliness, blessed be His Name — therefore He contracted Himself, as it were, through many, many contractions without end, until He placed the perceptions of His G-dliness into the hearts of the true tzadikim in every generation, such as the ancient Patriarchs, and likewise all the true tzadikim in every generation, all of whom merited through their true service to attain perceptions of G-dliness through many contractions. And all of this is the aspect of hearing — like one who hears the voice of one who speaks and communicates, but it is impossible to see him — and as it is written regarding the Giving of the Torah: "A voice of words you hear, but a form you do not see — only a voice" (Devarim 4:12). And even Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, said: "Show me, please, Your glory" (Shemos 33:18), etc. And the Blessed Name answered him: "For no man shall see Me and live… And you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen" (Shemos 33:20, 23). And the essential perception that he attained was only in the aspect of the sense of hearing, as it is written: "And when Moshe would come to the Tent of Meeting, he would hear the Voice" (Bamidbar 7:89), etc. All the more so the other prophets and tzadikim, whose entire perception and knowledge is certainly in the aspect of the sense of hearing that depends upon the heart, which is the aspect of "Her husband is known in the gates" — "each one according to what he perceives in his heart" — as it is written: "Hashem, I have heard Your report; I am awed" (Chavakuk 3:2), etc. And especially the rest of us, simple people like ourselves today, whose entire vitality and holiness is in the aspect of the sense of hearing — that we hear the voice of our forefathers who transmitted to us the holy Torah, which is the holy faith, from generation to generation — and we are obligated to hear their voice and to fulfill all the words of this Torah. And this is what is written: "Hear, O Israel, Hashem our G-d, Hashem is One" (Devarim 6:4) — "Hear" specifically — for the essential faith is in the aspect of hearing that depends upon the heart, as mentioned above. And likewise, in most of the verses, he warns regarding the fulfillment of the Torah with the expression of hearing, as it is written: "To hear His voice and to cleave to Him" (Devarim 30:20), etc. And as it is written: "And it shall be, if you surely hear" (Devarim 11:13), etc. And many similar instances. And this is the aspect of what we elaborated above regarding the virtue of the holiness of the melodies that Israel sing for the sake of drawing close to the Blessed Name. For the melodies are in the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, which are the totality of all the prayers, and songs, and praises, etc. — the totality of the voices of holiness — which are the aspect of the sense of hearing, through which is the essential attachment of Israel to the Blessed Name, as mentioned above. And more than what is written here is understood by each and every person, each one according to what he perceives in his heart — the virtue of the sweetness of the melody: how great is its power to arouse and draw a person to the Blessed Name. For "His greatness is unfathomable" (Tehillim 145:3), and it is impossible to speak of His greatness at all; only each one according to what he perceives in his heart, as it is written: "Her husband is known in the gates" (Mishlei 31:23), as mentioned above. And each and every person, according to the measure of his heart, can know within himself that the essential attachment to the Blessed Name is through words and voices and melodies, for all of this is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, as mentioned above. And the engagement in Torah study is also the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, for this is the aspect of the te'amim [cantillation notes] of the Torah, which are above all the holy aspects of which the Torah is comprised. For the Torah is comprised of TaNTA"A [an acronym], which are: te'amim [cantillation notes], nekudos [vowel points], tagin [crown-like markings], and osiyos [letters], as is known. And it is known that the aspect of the te'amim is above all the aspects of TaNTA"A of which the Torah is comprised, as is explained in the writings of the Ari, of blessed memory. And te'amim are the aspect of melody, the aspect of the melodies of the cantillation notes. And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said regarding the engagement in Torah study: Sing every day! Sing every day! For the engagement in Torah study is also the aspect of melody and song, etc., as mentioned above. And as it is said: "Arise, sing out in the night" (Eichah 2:19). (And see regarding this in the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, in the Torah[-teaching] "Akrukta," Torah 3, regarding the rectification of melody through the study of Gemara; see there.) For the essential totality of the drawing down of the revelation of His holy G-dliness to the lower beings is through the aspect of voices, etc., as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of (Avos, Chapter 5): "With ten utterances the world was created," and all the utterances are the aspect of voice and speech through which the world was created, and they are the essential G-dly life-force invested within all the worlds. And therefore the essential attachment of Israel to the Blessed Name is also the aspect of voices and speech, as mentioned above, for through holy voices and speech they attach themselves to the voice of Hashem, which is the essential G-dly life-force invested within all the worlds, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, which are in the aspect of the sense of hearing, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of Kohen, Levi, Yisra'el, which are the aspect of right, left, and center, which are the totality of holiness, as is known. For a Kohen is the aspect of chesed [lovingkindness], the aspect of the right. And a Levi is the aspect of din [judgment], the aspect of the holy left. And a Yisra'el is the aspect of rachamim [mercy], which is comprised of both of them, the aspect of the middle line that mediates, as all of this is known. And all of this is included in the aspect of the voice, which is the essential drawing down of G-dliness that is comprised of everything. For it is found in the books of the scholars of music, which is the wisdom of melody, that there are three voices. For there is a direct voice [kol yashar], which is the voice that a person emits from his mouth in an open place where there is no partition opposite him. And there is a returning voice [kol chozer], which is called in the language of our Sages, of blessed memory, "kol havarah" [an echo], which is the voice that one hears in a forest or between high mountains when one emits a voice, for then one hears opposite him an echo, as if another stands opposite him and emits this voice and speech that he emits from his mouth. And there is a third voice, which is the voice that is compounded of both, which is the voice that emerges from within a narrow instrument [a vessel under pressure], where the voice immediately strikes the returning voice, until the returning voice is immediately included with the direct voice, and from the two voices a single voice is made, which is the third voice. For this voice is different from the two voices mentioned above — the direct voice and the returning voice — for this voice is comprised of both of them together, and this voice is called a strong voice, the aspect of "Behold, He gives His voice, a voice of strength" (Tehillim 68:34). It emerges that the essential secret of all the voices in the world consists of these three voices, which are: the direct voice, the returning voice, and the voice compounded and joined from both. And in these three voices are included all kinds of voices in the world. And according to the arrangements of these voices and their combinations, all the kinds of melodies in the world were established and composed, for they all emerge from these three voices, from which descend and emerge many, many variations. For there are great differences between the compositions and the joining of the direct voice with the returning voice, for in a place where the partition is very far away, there one clearly recognizes the distinction between the direct voice and the returning voice, but in a narrow place, there they join together, as mentioned above. And there are great differences in the matter of their joining. And this is the difference between the structures of the instruments of melody. (Apart from the other reasons that exist regarding the structure of the instruments, according to the measures of melody — to raise or to lower, etc., and the other aspects involved in this, etc. For this wisdom of melody is great and precious above all the wisdoms in the world, according to what I understood from the mouth of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory.) It emerges that all the voices are included in the three voices mentioned above, from which emerge all the melodies in the world, which are included in the ten kinds of melody, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of Kohen, Levi, Yisra'el. For a Kohen is the aspect of chesed, which is the aspect of the direct voice, which is the aspect of chesed, as is known. And a Levi is the aspect of din, which is the aspect of the returning voice, for in every context the returning light is the aspect of din, as is known. And a Yisra'el is the aspect of the voice compounded of both, which is the aspect of the middle line that mediates, which is the aspect of rachamim that is comprised of both — of chesed and din. And this is the aspect of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya'akov, who are the foundation of the holy faith, who are the aspect of the three voices mentioned above. And the essential one is Ya'akov, who is comprised of the two voices mentioned above. And this is the aspect of "The voice is the voice of Ya'akov" (Bereishis 27:22) — "the voice, the voice" specifically [doubled] — for Ya'akov is comprised of the two voices mentioned above, which is the aspect of the voice compounded of both, the aspect of mercy, etc., as mentioned above. For these three lines — right, left, and center — are the totality of all the sefiros and attributes, which are the ten sefiros, all of which are included in these three lines, as is known. And this is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, which are the aspect of the ten sefiros, the aspect of the simple, double, triple, and quadruple song, which are included in the Name Havayah, which is the totality of the ten sefiros. And they are all included in the three voices mentioned above, which are the aspect of the three lines mentioned above. For the essential Name Havayah, blessed be He, consists of only three letters: yud, heh, vav [Y-K-V], for the fourth letter is doubled [a second heh]. For the first three letters — Y-K-V — which are the simple, double, and triple song, are the arrangements of the voices that are included in the three voices, as mentioned above. And once there are these three voices that contain variations within them, then one needs to combine, arrange, and order them, and compose melodies from them. And this is the aspect of the fourth letter of the Name, which is a doubled letter, for the fourth letter is heh, like the second letter. For the fourth letter is not a fourth voice; rather, here begins the combination of the voices and their joining, to make melodies from them — to combine them, include them, and join them together — [building] up to the ten kinds of melody, which are the aspect of the ten sefiros, in which all the voices are included, which are the totality of all the worlds in all of which His G-dliness, blessed be He, is invested, which is the aspect of voices — which is the aspect of the vessels, which are the aspect of the life-force and souls within all the worlds. For the voice is the air, as is known, and the air is the life of man, which is the aspect of the soul, the aspect of "all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life" (Bereishis 7:22). And all of this is included in the three voices mentioned above, which are the aspect of the three lines mentioned above. And therefore the essential melody begins from the side of the Levites, as mentioned above, for the essential aspect of melody begins from the aspect of the second voice, which is the aspect of the returning voice. And there begins the essential clarification — that one needs to clarify the good from the bad, which is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody that clarify the good from the bad, the good spirit from the broken spirit, as mentioned above. For it is known that the essential grip of the klipos and the Sitra Achara, from which come all sins, G-d forbid, is from the left side, which is the aspect of din [judgment], from where their vitality descends in a chain-like manner, as is known. And as is explained in the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory (Torah 72) — that the essential grip of all the evil inclinations of all people in the world, in which there are many variations, the essential grip of all of them is from the aspect of din, as is explained there in its place; see there. And the aspect of din — this is the aspect of the returning voice, as mentioned above. And with this is well explained what Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, said in the Torah[-teaching] "A seal within a seal" (Torah 22) — what he revealed there, a wondrous and awesome secret, regarding what is the matter of kol havarah [an echo]. And he explained there that the matter of kol havarah, which is the returning voice, is the aspect of the voice of the sins that cry out against a person; see there. For when a person awakens toward the Blessed Name and emits a voice of holiness, then immediately the klipos that were created through his sins are aroused against him and begin to cry out against him, etc. And this is the aspect of kol havarah; see there. And this is the aspect of [the law concerning] one who blows [the shofar] into a pit, etc.: If he heard the sound of the shofar, he has fulfilled [his obligation]; if he heard the sound of an echo [kol havarah], he has not fulfilled [his obligation]; see there. That is, as mentioned above — for the returning voice, which is kol havarah, at its root is drawn from the aspect of din, which is the aspect of the returning voice, as mentioned above. And from there descends in a chain-like manner the grip of all the evil inclinations, which are the totality of sins, G-d forbid. And therefore, below, for the physical person, kol havarah is literally in the aspect of the voice of the sins that are aroused against him, for their grip is from the supernal returning voice, which is the aspect of din, from where their grip derives, as mentioned above. It emerges that the essential grip of the Evil Inclination and the klipos, which is the totality of all the desires and bad character traits and all the sins — all of them, may the Merciful One protect us — the essential grip of all of them is from the aspect of the returning voice mentioned above, which is the aspect of din, as mentioned above. And therefore the essential melody begins from there, for there begins the essential clarification — that one needs to clarify good from bad, which is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, as mentioned above. For the essential free choice begins from the aspect of the returning voice. For there is the essential free choice, for "With ten utterances the world was created," etc., as it is written: "By the word of Hashem the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their hosts" (Tehillim 33:6). "The word of Hashem" and "the breath of His mouth" — this is the aspect of voices and speech that are included in the ten kinds of melody, through which all the worlds were created, as mentioned above. And the essential grip of the Evil Inclination is from the aspect of heresy and disbelief and false beliefs, as is explained in the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, many times — that the Evil Inclination is called "a foreign god" [and] "heresy." For the essential totality of the Torah and the mitzvos depend upon faith, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Makkos 24a): Chavakuk came and established them upon one: "And the tzadik shall live by his faith" (Chavakuk 2:4). And as it is written: "All Your commandments are faith" (Tehillim 119:86). And conversely, the essential Evil Inclination and the desires and transgressions, G-d forbid, are the aspect of blemishing the faith, the aspect of "a foreign god," heresy, which the Evil Inclination is called, as mentioned above. And the essential grip of heresy, which is the Evil Inclination, is from the aspect of the returning voice mentioned above. For if everyone would hear the direct voice itself, which is the voice of Hashem Himself with which He created all the worlds, and with which He still gives life to all the worlds — for His words are living and enduring, etc., forever, as it is written: "And the word of our G-d shall stand forever" (Yeshayahu 40:8) — that the voices and speech with which He created heaven and earth and all the worlds are living and enduring even now, and His voice has not yet ceased, and they give life even now to all the worlds (and as is brought in the name of the Ba'al Shem Tov, of blessed memory) — and if everyone would merit to hear this voice of the Blessed Name with which He created the world and with which He sustains the world, as mentioned above, then certainly there would be no free choice at all, since everyone would see and hear that He Himself, blessed be He, gives life to the world with the breath of His mouth. But in truth, this voice itself, which is the aspect of the direct voice mentioned above, it is impossible to hear. For if they would hear His voice, they would be nullified from existence. For even at the time of the Giving of the Torah, when Israel was exceedingly purified, at a very high level, they said: "For who of all flesh has heard the voice of the living G-d," etc.; "If we continue to hear the voice of Hashem our G-d any more" (Devarim 5:23–22), etc. And therefore it is impossible to hear the aspect of the direct voice itself. And the essential aspect of the perception of the voices that one hears of His greatness and G-dliness, blessed be His Name, is from the aspect of the returning voice, which is the aspect of awe and judgment, in the aspect of "Hashem, I have heard Your report; I am awed" (Chavakuk 3:2). And this is the aspect of free choice: because the essential hearing of His greatness, blessed be He, is drawn from the aspect of the returning voice, as mentioned above, therefore there is free choice. For one who is truly wise inclines his mind toward the truth, like the Patriarchs of the world, who inclined their ear to the truth, until they merited to understand from where this returning voice is drawn — until they perceived and understood that this returning voice has no independent existence; rather, the essential thing is the direct voice that is drawn from Him, blessed be He. Only because He, blessed be He, drew it into the aspect of the partition of the first contraction [tzimtzum], therefore the voice went out, as it were, in the aspect of striking the partition of the contraction, and through this, this returning voice was heard, which is the aspect of din. But in truth, the essential thing is the direct voice, for this returning voice has no existence at all; it is merely the return of the direct voice itself. And therefore they attached themselves only to the aspect of the direct voice, which is the aspect of the essential life-force of the Blessed One invested in all the worlds. And they joined and unified together the aspect of the returning voice with the aspect of the direct voice. And through this they separated all the grip of din and the klipos — which are the heresies that grip the returning voice — through knowing and believing that the returning voice has no independent existence, G-d forbid; it is merely the return of the direct voice itself, as mentioned above. But the heretics and deniers do not incline their mind toward the truth, and do not wish to hear anything but the aspect of the returning voice itself. For they do not incline their mind at all to believe and to know the original root source of the voice and the life-force that gives life to all the worlds. For this is the way of the investigators and philosophers, who investigate great investigations and many wisdoms regarding all matters of creation — for example, regarding the essence and structure of all the details of the mineral, vegetable, animal, and human [kingdoms], and regarding all the four elements: what is the power of each and every one, and the arrangement of their limbs, and all the details of their powers and properties and remedies, etc., and all other wisdoms. And likewise regarding the essence of the voice — what is the voice, and all the detailed distinctions of voices and their arrangements and combinations, and how to make instruments to direct through them the voices of melody. And likewise regarding all the other wisdoms through which they invented many instruments for the benefit of the world, etc. But all their investigation and wisdom is entirely in the matters of this world, which passes in the blink of an eye. For this one invented an instrument for seeing from afar, and that one invented an instrument for hearing from afar, and the like. And what benefit does a person have from all of this? And what will he carry from all his toil in this for the eternal world? For in this world one can live a good life without knowledge of these instruments, as all the earlier generations lived without knowing anything of these instruments. And even now the majority of the world does not know of them at all and lives a better life than the wise men who investigated and invented these new instruments. For most of them experienced a great downfall through their new wisdom that they introduced into the world, as is explained elsewhere. And there is no need to elaborate on this for one who has even any true intelligence — that no true eternal purpose comes from their wisdom, since all their wisdom concerns the material matters of this world, and the whole world and all that fills it is vanity and emptiness, and "there is no benefit to a person from all his toil that he toils under the sun" (Koheles 1:3), and "the eye is not satisfied with seeing, and the ear is not filled with hearing" (Koheles 1:8) — even with the simple senses of sight and hearing that every person has, for a person has anger and pain aplenty from his sense of sight, etc., that he has by nature — in that he desires many superfluities that wish to drive him from the world, G-d forbid. All the more so there is no need to search further after new instruments with the strategies of this world, to increase his honor and his wealth and his other desires. For the entire intention of the wise men who investigate all of this is entirely in the matters of this world and for the sake of this world — to increase their honor, their name, and their wealth, and the like, as is known to one who is familiar with them. And "no man lays it to heart" (Yeshayahu 57:1) — to set all his mind and heart to attach himself to the Light of Life, to think about his eternal purpose and his eternal end, and ultimately what will become of him. For this is the aspect of the holiness of Israel, which we received from our holy forefathers — which is the aspect of the holy Torah, which is the essential true and eternal wisdom. For all our wisdom is to fulfill all the words of this Torah, in order to merit eternal life, the eternal good — "a world that is entirely long and good." And only this is called wisdom in truth. For Israel passes over all their wisdoms, for they do not wish to investigate at all the matters of the material world, for would that we did not even know what each and every person knows — that is, what each and every person knows of the matters of the desires of this world and its vanities. For would that we would separate ourselves even from these and be completely wholehearted, like the early tzadikim who did not recognize the form of a coin. Only that the majority of the world cannot stand on such a level, and the Holy One, blessed be He, does not come with excessive demands, etc. And it is necessary to know what is necessary for the sustenance of the world — for the sake of livelihood, that is, business dealings and the like, which are more essential. But to devise strategies in the matters of this world more and more, for the sake of the desires of this world — even if one invents a great wisdom, there is no foolishness greater than this, since one will not succeed through this in the eternal world. For the vast majority become great heretics through this, and "their end is utter destruction" (Tehillim 49:14) in this world and in the World to Come, as is explained elsewhere. And therefore Israel, the holy nation, do not investigate at all the material matters that are not essential for them. Rather, they set all their aim to attach themselves to the living G-d through the fulfillment of the Torah and the mitzvos. And they pass over all their wisdoms, for they know the true and eternal wisdom, which is holy faith — that they know and believe that the entire world and all that fills it — mineral, vegetable, animal, and human, etc. — from beginning to end, they and all that is in them, and all their powers, with all their fine details and particulars, and all kinds of wisdoms and strategies that exist in them — everything, all of it, the Blessed Name created with His great power, and He gives life to all of them at every moment and every hour. And all of them were created for the sake of this lowly man, so that he should know this with complete faith, so that he should engage all his days in attaching himself to the Blessed Name Who gives life to all of them, through the engagement in Torah and mitzvos. For this wisdom, which is the true faith — knowing that the Blessed Name created everything, with all the wisdoms that are in them — this surpasses all wisdoms altogether. And therefore all the wisdom of the investigators is in the aspect of the returning voice. For they do not hear His essential voice, blessed be He, at all; rather, they look only after the creation, after nature alone, and investigate all matters that are after nature alone. But they do not turn their face to incline their heart and their ear to listen and hearken and hear — from whose womb did this voice emerge — in order to set all their yearning to cleave to Him, blessed be He. For they are only "wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge" (Yirmiyahu 4:22). And they wish, G-d forbid, to separate the aspect of the returning voice from the direct voice, as if the returning voice, G-d forbid, has independent existence. And this is the aspect of "a slanderer separates a chief" (Mishlei 16:28) — who separates the Chief of the world, and cuts the plantings and denies the living G-d. For all of this is drawn from the aspect of the returning voice, from where the Evil Inclination and the heresies grip, as mentioned above — through not exerting themselves to know and believe that everything is drawn from Him, blessed be He, alone, Who gives life to all. And all the wisdoms that one hears and understands, and all the things in the world, are all merely the aspect of the returning voice, which in truth has no independent existence at all; it is merely the return of the direct voice. And one who errs when he is in a forest and hears an echo and thinks it is an independent voice — he is a fool, a simpleton and a madman, a foolish wicked one. For the returning voice has no existence at all; it is merely the continuation and return of the direct voice. Exactly so is all their wisdom, when they investigate after nature and do not turn their face to connect the returning voice to the direct voice — that is, to connect all the wisdoms to their root, to know and believe that everything is drawn from Him, blessed be He, and to devote all one's mind and wisdom all one's days to connecting oneself to Him, blessed be He. For this rises above all the wisdoms in the world, and in it are included and subsumed all the wisdoms, and one merits eternal life, forever and ever. And also, one who merits to attach himself in the ultimate perfection to the true wisdom — which is wholeheartedness, to serve Him, blessed be He, in wholeheartedness, through Torah and service in simplicity — he can merit afterward to attain also all the wisdoms in the world by themselves. As we have found with several true tzadikim, who at the beginning of their service served only in wholeheartedness and simplicity, and broke all the desires, and engaged in Torah, service, and prayers, etc., with great toil, until they came to great perceptions, and afterward they merited to perceive naturally all the wisdoms in the world. And even one who does not attain this does not need it at all, for in this world one can spend all his days in goodness without any knowledge of these wisdoms, and in the World to Come they are certainly not needed at all. On the contrary, for simple people who have not yet broken all their desires, these wisdoms can uproot them from both worlds, as is seen tangibly — that all those who engage in this, even a little, in wisdoms and languages, etc., become great heretics who cast off the yoke completely, may the Merciful One protect us. For only the very great tzadikim of exceedingly high level, the truly elevated ones, are able to use them for what they need for their service, and also in order to break the opinions of the heretics. And also, they do not waste time on this, for they attain afterward naturally all the wisdoms, as mentioned above. And they are able to connect all the wisdoms to their supernal root, for they know that everything is drawn from Him, blessed be He. It emerges that the essential grip of the Evil Inclination and the heresies is from the aspect of the returning voice, which is the aspect of din, through not connecting and joining the returning voice to the direct voice, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of: At first it arose in [His] thought to create the world with the attribute of din; He saw that the world could not endure; He arose and joined the attribute of mercy with the attribute of din — as it is said: "On the day that Hashem Elokim made earth and heaven" (Bereishis 2:4). For the attribute of din is the aspect of the returning voice. At first He wished that the sustenance of the world should be through the aspect of the returning voice alone, which is the aspect of the attribute of din, as mentioned above. He saw that the world could not endure, for if only the aspect of the returning voice sustained the world, heresy would have increased, for it would not have been possible for a person to perceive that everything is drawn from Him, blessed be He — which is the aspect of connecting the returning voice to the direct voice, as mentioned above. Therefore He arose and joined the attribute of mercy with the attribute of din, which is the aspect of the third voice compounded of both — that the Blessed Name joined the direct voice with the returning voice and drew forth the aspect of the third voice, which is the aspect of the voice of strength, the voice compounded of both. And through this the world has sustenance. For now, because the sustenance of the world is through the compounded voice, which is the aspect of "The voice is the voice of Ya'akov," through this the world has sustenance. For now we have the power to attach ourselves to the Light of Life, to know and perceive the holy faith that everything is drawn from Him — and all the wisdoms and the crookedness in the heart that is drawn from the aspect of the returning voice, from the aspect of din — everything is drawn from Him, blessed be He, Himself, for the sake of free choice. For the returning voice has no existence except from the direct voice. And all of this we have the power to perceive through the compounding of the voices that the Blessed Name Himself compounded and joined — the two voices together — which is the aspect of joining the attribute of mercy with the attribute of din, as mentioned above. And were it not for this, a person would have no power to break the free choice at all, for the klipos and heresies drawn from the aspect of the returning voice would overpower him, as mentioned above. But now he has the power to incline his heart to the truth, to the aspect of the direct voice, from which everything is drawn, since the sustenance of the world is through the compounding of the two voices together, as mentioned above. For the direct voice itself in its essence, it is impossible to reveal, so that [beings] would not be nullified from existence, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: With ten utterances the world was created. And there they asked: These "vayomer"s ["and He said"] of Bereishis — they are [only] nine! And they answered: "Bereishis" is also an utterance. And now, seemingly it is difficult: Why indeed is "vayomer" not written also regarding the first utterance, as it is in the other nine utterances? But this is the aspect mentioned above — that "Bereishis" is the aspect of the first utterance, which is the aspect of the direct voice, in which all the ten utterances and all the worlds from beginning to end are included. For they are all included in "Bereishis," which is called a "sealed utterance" that includes everything, as is explained in the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, elsewhere (Likutay Tinyana, Torah 12). And because it is the aspect of the direct voice itself, it is not designated by the name of an "utterance" — which is the aspect of voice and speech — for this voice and speech it is impossible to hear and to perceive at all, lest they be nullified from existence, as mentioned above. Rather, after the direct voice went out, which is the aspect of "Bereishis" that includes everything, afterward the returning voice immediately came into being. And then the Blessed Name compounded the two voices together, which is the aspect of the third voice mentioned above, and with it He created everything. And this is the aspect of the nine "vayomer"s of Bereishis, which are the aspect of voice that it is possible to hear, for they are drawn from the aspect of the returning and the direct voice compounded together, through which the world was created in its particulars and was divided into categories — which are all the things that were created through the nine utterances during the six days of creation. For in the aspect of "Bereishis" — the sealed utterance, the direct voice — there, everything was included together, and it was not yet possible to discern the particularity of creation, because this voice is very sealed and hidden. And this is the essential purpose of our service: to include everything in the aspect of "Bereishis," to return everything to its root — to know and believe that everything is drawn from Him alone, for the returning voice has no existence except from the direct voice, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody of holiness, which are the aspect of the ten utterances, as mentioned above, which clarify the good from the bad, the faith from the heresies. For they connect and compound all the voices and join well the returning voice with the direct voice, until the melody is made that draws the heart to the Blessed Name — that draws and extracts the heart from the heresies and desires drawn from the aspect of the returning voice, and returns and connects it to the aspect of the direct voice. And this is the aspect of the totality of creation at its root, the aspect of attachment to the Blessed Name, whose essential means is through the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, as mentioned above. For the essential attachment is faith — which is the aspect of returning the returning voice to the voice of the Blessed Name — which is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, as mentioned above. And therefore the essential melody is from the aspect of the side of the Levites, which is the aspect of the returning voice. For there is the essential clarification that one needs to clarify the good from the bad that grips there, by joining to it the direct voice and returning everything to the direct voice, which is the essential core of everything. For all the voices in this world are the aspect of the returning voice in relation to the supernal direct voice itself. And there is the essential clarification — that one needs to attach them to the direct voice through the aspect of melody, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the sound of the shofar, which is comprised of three voices — teki'ah, shevarim, teru'ah — which are the aspect of the three Patriarchs: Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya'akov, as is known. For the shofar is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, as mentioned above, and therefore they are the ten sounds of Malchuyos, and likewise alongside Zichronos and Shofaros, as mentioned above. But the essential root of the variation of the sounds of the shofar consists of only three, which are the aspect of the three voices mentioned above, which are the root and foundation of all the ten kinds of melody included in the sound of the shofar. For they are all drawn from these three voices, which are the aspect of the three Patriarchs, as mentioned above. It emerges that the essential aspect of the ten kinds of melody, which is the essential aspect of clarification, which is the essential service of Israel, is to join the returning voice with the direct voice — to attach ourselves to the voice of the words of the living G-d, in the aspect of “to hear His voice and to cleave to Him, for He is your life,” etc. (Devarim 30:20) — for the essential life and sustenance of all the worlds is drawn from the aspect of His direct voice, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the joy that is drawn through melody, for the essential root of joy in truth is drawn from the aspect of the joy in Him, blessed be He, which is the essential joy in truth. For in ultimate truth there is no joy in the world except when one merits to believe and to know of Him, blessed be He — which is the essential true life for each and every person, each one according to what he perceives in his heart. As it is written: “For in Him our heart shall rejoice” (Tehillim 33:21) — “for in Him” specifically “our heart shall rejoice,” for there is no other joy in truth besides this. And this matter is impossible to explain at all, neither by mouth nor in writing, for it is only for each one according to what he perceives in his heart, in the aspect of “Her husband is known in the gates,” as mentioned above. And each and every person, according to what he sometimes merits to feel a little of the pleasantness, sweetness, and delight of this true joy, can understand this well — that there is no other joy besides this. And even the multitude of the upright, simple folk of Israel who do not merit to feel this well — nevertheless, all the joy of upright Israel on Shabbasos and Yamim Tovim and at a chasunah and the like, all of it is drawn from this joy, which is the aspect of attachment to Him, blessed be He. For even though they have not yet merited the aspect of attachment in truth as is fitting, nevertheless, “even though he does not see, his mazal sees,” and because at the root of their neshamah they sometimes feel the pleasantness and sweetness of this joy, through this there is drawn upon them below as well a great joy at the time they merit to rejoice in Hashem through some simchah shel mitzvah. And therefore all upright Israel are accustomed, at the time of their joy, to sing pesukim and tefillos of the drawing close of Israel to their Father in Heaven, for this is the essential source of their joy. And especially on Simchas Torah and Purim and the like, for this is the essential source of our joy — that He chose us from among all the nations, etc. And as we say every day: Ashrainu, how good is our portion, etc., and how pleasant, etc., and many similar expressions, as mentioned above. For in truth this is the essential joy — that we know of the Creator of all, blessed be He, forever, through our holy faith, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of what is explained in the pesukim regarding the excessiveness of the joy in Him, blessed be He, as it is written: “Rejoice in Hashem and exult, O righteous ones,” etc. (Tehillim 32:11). And it is written: “Rejoice, O righteous ones, in Hashem”; “I will rejoice in Hashem” (Yeshayahu 61:10). And many similar instances in the Book of Tehillim and likewise in the Book of Yeshayahu and in the other books, as it is written: “I will greatly rejoice in Hashem; my soul shall exult in my G-d,” etc. And many similar instances there. And it is written: “And I will exult in Hashem; I will rejoice in the G-d of my salvation,” etc. (Chavakuk 3:18). And in the future, when His G-dliness and His kingship will be revealed to the eye of all, it is written: “Hashem reigns; let the earth exult; let the many islands rejoice,” etc. (Tehillim 97:1). And it is written: “Let the heavens rejoice and the earth exult, and let them say among the nations: Hashem reigns! Let the rivers clap their hands; together let the mountains sing,” etc. (Divrei HaYamim I 16:31–33; Tehillim 98:8). And similarly it is explained in very, very many pesukim, for the essential true joy is what one merits to know of the Creator of all, blessed be He, through the holy faith that we received from our forefathers through the holy Torah, as mentioned above. And because through the melody of holiness one clarifies the good spirit from the bad spirit — that one clarifies the faith from the heresies and from false beliefs, and attaches everything to the Blessed Name, for one returns the returning voice to the direct voice, etc., as mentioned above — therefore a great joy is drawn through the melody, in the aspect of “Upon a ten-stringed instrument and upon a lute, for You have gladdened me, Hashem, with Your work,” etc. (Tehillim 92:4–5) — for the essential joy is what one knows and believes in Him, blessed be He, that He, blessed be He, wrought and made everything, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of Kohanim, Levi'im, and Yisra'elim are permitted to intermarry with one another, and the offspring follows the male. For Kohanim, Levi'im, and Yisra'elim are the essential foundation of the totality of holiness, which are the aspect of the three lines mentioned above, which are the aspect of the three Patriarchs, the aspect of the three voices mentioned above, from which are drawn all the ten kinds of melody, which are the totality of joy. For this is the essential aspect of the connection and union of holiness of Israel, which is in the aspect of joy — to transform the grip of yagon va'anachah to joy, to include ishah [wife] in ish [husband], left in right — that is, to join the returning voice with the direct voice, which is the aspect of the sweetening of din through its being included in the supernal rachamim. For all of this is one aspect, as mentioned above — that one clarifies the returning voice through the ten kinds of melody, through which the holy faith is clarified, and through which the yagon va'anachah is nullified, whose grip is from the aspect of din, from sitra d'nukva [the feminine side]. For its grip endures only as long as one does not know that the returning voice, too, is from Him, blessed be He, from the aspect of the direct voice, for it has no other existence, as mentioned above. But as soon as one knows this in truth, the grip of yagon va'anachah is nullified, and then the yagon va'anachah is transformed to joy, as mentioned above. For this is the essential aspect of a zivug shel mitzvah, as mentioned above. And therefore the essential connection of holiness is the aspect of Kohen, Levi, Yisra'el, who are the essential foundation of the ten kinds of melody, as mentioned above, through whom is the essential transformation of yagon va'anachah to joy, the essential joining of the returning voice with the direct voice, which is the aspect of the unification of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah, which is the essential aspect of the holy zivug, as mentioned above. And therefore the offspring follows the male, for Israel constantly draw down the neshamos from sitra d'dichura [the masculine side], because all their service and toil and all their thought and occupation is to draw close to the Blessed Name through the Torah and the mitzvos that each one fulfills according to his level. Therefore they include all of creation in its root, which is the aspect of joining the returning voice with the direct voice until the returning voice is nullified in relation to the direct voice. For “in a place where the male is present, the female is not mentioned there,” for in truth there is no existence to the returning voice at all, for it is merely the continuation and return of the direct voice itself, in the aspect of “bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh,” for at their root everything is one. And therefore Israel, the holy nation, are always included in sitra d'dichura, since they know and believe in truth that everything is drawn from the First Emanator, Who is the aspect of sitra d'dichura. And through this they are always included there. And therefore the offspring always follows the male among Kohen, Levi, and Yisra'el, who are the essential holiness, as mentioned above. But in a case where there is valid kiddushin but there is a transgression, the offspring follows the blemished one, which is the aspect of yagon va'anachah. For in a place of transgression, G-d forbid, which is the desires of this world, it emerges that one is bound after the desires of this world and uproots himself from the Blessed Name, and does not connect creation to its root. Rather, on the contrary, he is “a slanderer who separates a chief” (Mishlei 16:28) — who separates himself, together with all the creation that depends on him, from the Blessed Name. Therefore he is not included in holiness, which is the aspect of sitra d'dichura. Rather, on the contrary, he draws himself toward the Sitra Achara. Therefore the offspring follows the blemished one, which is the aspect of yagon va'anachah, where all the blemishes are. For whoever is more blemished, there the grip of yagon va'anachah is greater. And even if the husband is blemished and the wife is from a proper family, the essential grip of yagon va'anachah is upon him. For this is the principle: that sitra d'nukva d'kedushah [the feminine side of holiness] is considered as the aspect of dichura [masculine] in relation to dichura d'Sitra Achara, which is considered as the aspect of nukva [feminine] in relation to it, as is known. And therefore the blemished one is in the aspect of sitra d'nukva, the aspect of yagon va'anachah, and the offspring follows him in a case where there is a transgression. For the essential transgression, especially the blemish of the bris, is from the aspect of yagon va'anachah, from where the essential desire derives, as mentioned above. And therefore in a place of transgression, the offspring follows the blemished one, which is the aspect of yagon va'anachah, as mentioned above. But in a zivug shel mitzvah, which is the aspect of Kohen, Levi, Yisra'el, there the yagon va'anachah is sweetened and transformed to joy, and everything is included in sitra d'dichura, as mentioned above. And therefore the offspring follows the male, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of “an Ammoni but not an Ammonis; a Moavi but not a Moavis” (Yevamos 76b). And this is the aspect of “Do not distress Moav,” etc. (Devarim 2:9) — on account of two fine doves that would emerge from them, which are Rus the Moabite and Na'amah the Ammonite, from whom came David and his descendants, who are the aspect of Mashi'ach who will come from them. For the essential redemption that will come about through Mashi'ach, who will come speedily in our days, is through the great joy that will be then, through the fact that everyone will recognize and know then the truth of His G-dliness and His greatness, blessed be He. And through this, the joy will be exceedingly great then, as it is written: “Let the heavens rejoice and the earth exult, and let them say among the nations: Hashem reigns” (Divrei HaYamim I 16:31). And as it is written: “And it shall be said on that day: Behold, this is our G-d,” etc.; “Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation,” etc. (Yeshayahu 25:9). And similarly in many pesukim, as mentioned above. And through this will be the essential redemption, as it is written: “For with joy you shall go out,” etc.; “the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you in song” (Yeshayahu 55:12). And as Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, wrote (Torah 24) — that joy is the world of freedom; see there. And then all the yagon va'anachah, which is the aspect of the bitterness of the exile, will be transformed to joy, in the aspect of “joy and gladness shall they attain, and sorrow and sighing shall flee” (Yeshayahu 35:10). And as it is written: “And I will transform their mourning to gladness, and I will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow” (Yirmiyahu 31:12). And as all of this is explained above. And therefore the neshamah of Mashi'ach was drawn down specifically through is'ar'usa d'nukva [an arousal from the feminine side], as is explained in the Torah regarding the matter of the daughters of Lot, from whom came Rus and Na'amah, from whom came David and Mashi'ach, as mentioned above. And likewise in the episode of Tamar and Yehudah, as it is written: “And she sat at the entrance of Einayim” (Bereishis 38:14). And likewise in the episode of Rus and Boaz. For all of this is the aspect of the transformation of yagon va'anachah to joy, which is the essential aspect of Mashi'ach, in the aspect of “And I will transform their mourning to gladness,” as mentioned above. For all of these acted with heavenly intent, as is explained in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory, and in the commentary of Rashi. And when the arousal is from the woman for the sake of Heaven, to bring forth offspring and to establish generations, it emerges that the yagon va'anachah itself is transformed to joy, since she herself — where the grip of yagon va'anachah resides — by her own will becomes a vehicle for holiness, since her desire is to establish generations for the sustenance of the world, which is the aspect of joy, as mentioned above. For a zivug d'mitzvah for the sustenance of the world is the aspect of joy, etc., as mentioned above. For Er and Onan blemished greatly, for they corrupted their way, as it is written in the Torah (Bereishis 38:7–10). For this is the great transgression in the Torah, for even one who is completely abstinent due to the greatness of his holiness — this too is a great blemish, since he does not sweeten the yagon va'anachah that grips the aspect of sitra d'smola [the left side], the aspect of the woman, etc., and he does not establish offspring, who are the essential aspect of the enlargement of the joy in the Blessed Name through the multiplication of Israel who recognize His greatness, blessed be He, etc., as mentioned above. For this is the aspect of the blemish of Nadav and Avihu, etc., as mentioned above. All the more so, and how much more so, the very opposite — when one corrupts his way — then he does not sweeten the yagon va'anachah; on the contrary, the yagon va'anachah themselves receive the drop, G-d forbid. For yagon va'anachah are Sam and Lilis, as is brought in the kavanos [of the Ari, of blessed memory]. And they extort the drop that goes to waste, G-d forbid. And regarding this it is said: “And I saw the tears of the oppressed,” etc.; “and from the hand of their oppressors there is power, and they have no comforter” (Koheles 4:1) — as is known. “The tears of the oppressed” specifically, for they are full of tears, the aspect of weeping and yagon va'anachah, for there they are oppressed, as mentioned above. And therefore his sin is too great to bear. And the essential tikkun of his teshuvah is through the true tzadik who is able to arouse all the ten kinds of melody, which are the aspect of joy, as mentioned above. For there is the essential place of his blemish — in the aspect of joy, as mentioned above. For regarding this blemish it is said: “All who come to her do not return, and they do not attain the paths of life” (Mishlei 2:19). “Paths of life” is the aspect of joy, as it is written: “You shall make known to me the path of life; fullness of joys is before Your countenance,” etc. (Tehillim 16:11). And all of this is when he does not do teshuvah. But when he does teshuvah and abandons his evil way and his evil thoughts, and exerts himself with all his might to break the trait of atzvus [sadness], from where come all the evil thoughts and all the evil fantasies, and draws himself close to true tzadikim and to the true upright ones who endeavor for his rectification and know how to instill joy within him — for they have the power to seize even him, together with the intense yagon va'anachah that grips him, and to bring him into the holy joy — through this is his essential tikkun. For his essential tikkun is when he merits that the yagon va'anachah be transformed to joy, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the ten chapters of Tehillim that Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, revealed as a tikkun for a nocturnal occurrence, for these ten chapters of Tehillim are the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, as is explained in his holy words. And the ten kinds of melody are the aspect of joy, the aspect of the transformation of yagon va'anachah to joy, through which is the essential tikkun of the blemish of the bris, as mentioned above. And therefore the final completion of the tikkun of this sin will be through Mashi'ach, as is brought in the holy books. For this is the aspect of “And a redeemer shall come to Tzion, and to those who return from transgression in Ya'akov,” etc. (Yeshayahu 59:20) — as is brought in the kavanos. For Mashi'ach will transform the yagon va'anachah to joy, which is the aspect of the enlargement of the joy that will be then, as mentioned above. And therefore David, who is Mashi'ach, engaged all his days in the Book of Tehillim that he composed, which is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, as mentioned above. Through this is the essential tikkun of this sin, which is rectified specifically through David Mashi'ach, as mentioned above. And therefore the nefesh [soul] of David was drawn from sitra d'nukva, as is brought. And the entire chain of the drawing down of his neshamah into the world was through their arousal, as mentioned above. For this was the intensity of the power of David, who is the aspect of Mashi'ach, who has the power — through his prayers and his songs, which are the Book of Tehillim that he composed, the aspect of the ten kinds of melody — to transform all the yagon va'anachah that grips sitra d'nukva, to transform everything to joy. For this is the essential completion of the enlargement of joy, which is the essential tikkun and the redemption that will come about through Mashi'ach, in the aspect of “joy and gladness shall they attain,” etc., as mentioned above. Through this is the essential tikkun of all those who were cast away due to their sins and who come to return — that they will be rectified specifically through this, in the aspect of “And the redeemed of Hashem shall return,” etc.; “joy and gladness shall they attain,” etc., as mentioned above. And therefore it is indeed found that David was in great danger all his days, as it is written: “Were it not that Hashem was my help, my soul would soon have dwelt in silence” (Tehillim 94:17). And as it is written: “There is but a step between me and death” (Shmuel I 20:3). For David had no life at all, for he was from sitra d'nukva, where the grip of yagon va'anachah resides, the aspect of sitra d'mosa [the side of death]. And he, through the intensity of his power, merited to transform everything from one extreme to the other, for he transformed death to life, yagon va'anachah to joy, as it is written: “The pangs of death encircled me,” etc.; “distress and sorrow I would find; and in the Name of Hashem I would call,” etc.; “For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. I shall walk before Hashem in the lands of the living,” etc. (Tehillim 116:3, 8–9). And many similar instances. For he merited to transform the intensity of yagon va'anachah to joy. And all of this was through the sweetness of his songs, through the multitude of prayers and supplications and requests that he merited to constantly cry out to Hashem, in all kinds of voices and expressions of outcry and prayer and supplication and songs and praises — which is the entire Book of Tehillim, which is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, as mentioned above. And through this he transformed yagon va'anachah to joy, death to life, until he merited to be included in life forever, as it is written: “You shall make known to me the path of life; fullness of joys is before Your countenance” (Tehillim 16:11) — in the aspect of “David, King of Israel, lives and endures,” as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the dispute of Korach and his congregation against Aharon. For Korach was a Levi and Aharon was a Kohen. And the essential service of the Levi is in song upon the platform [duchan], and all his service is to join and include himself with the Kohen, who is the aspect of chesed, the aspect of the direct voice — that is, to join and include the returning voice, which is the aspect of din, the aspect of Levi, to join it and include it well within the aspect of the direct voice, which is the aspect of Kohen, as mentioned above. For this is the aspect of all the service of song of the Levites, which is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, through which one sweetens the din and the yagon va'anachah, which is sitra d'mosa, that grips the aspect of the returning voice. For one connects it to the Source of Life, which is the aspect of the direct voice with which He created the world, and with which He gives life to and sustains the world. For “by the word of Hashem the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth,” etc. (Tehillim 33:6) — which is the aspect of voice and speech, as mentioned above, and as all of this is explained above well. And Korach blemished in this exceedingly, and sought to dispute the Kehunah [priesthood]. For he wished, G-d forbid, to destroy all the worlds and to return the world to tohu va'vohu through his dispute. For he wished, G-d forbid, to make the Levi into the Kohen — to make the aspect of the returning voice as if it were, G-d forbid, the aspect of the direct voice. For this is the essential blemish of all the heretics and deniers of the living G-d, who look only at the voice that is heard in this world, which is the aspect of the returning voice — which is the aspect of the life-force and wisdom that are invested in this world — and they do not turn their face to connect everything to its root, to look and to know and to believe from whose womb the voice emerged — to know and to make known and to be known that He is the Fashioner, He is the Creator, etc., and He said and it was, and everything is drawn from His direct voice, which is the aspect of the Kohen, from where everything is drawn. Only it is impossible to hear His direct voice in its essence, except through its compounding with the aspect of the returning voice, as mentioned above, for the sake of the sustenance of the world, as mentioned above. But in truth there is no existence to the returning voice except through the direct voice, etc., as mentioned above. And Korach blemished in this exceedingly, in that he wished to take the Kehunah for himself. For this is the very aspect of the blemish mentioned above — that he wished to uproot himself from the Living G-d and to destroy the world, G-d forbid — as if the returning voice, which is the aspect of the side of Levi, has independent existence, G-d forbid. And therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, indeed said: Korach denied the fundamental principle (Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 10:1). For he certainly denied the fundamental principle through his dispute in which he challenged the Kehunah, for he wished to separate the side of Levi, the aspect of the returning voice, from the aspect of the Kohen, from the aspect of the direct voice. For this is the essential heresy of all the heretics, as mentioned above. And this is “And Korach took” (Bamidbar 16:1), and its Aramaic translation is: “And Korach separated himself” — “separated himself” specifically — that he divided and separated himself. For this is the essential blemish and heresy of his — that he wished to divide and separate the aspect of the returning voice from the direct voice, which is the aspect of separating the Leviteship from the Kehunah. And he wished to make the Levi into the Kohen, as if the returning voice has independent existence, as if it itself, G-d forbid, is the direct voice. For this is the aspect of the heresy of all the heretics, who consider that their wisdom in itself has independent existence, until they deny the living G-d. And all of this is because they do not look at the root of the life-force of all the wisdoms — from where everything is drawn — as it is written: “Who has wrought and done it? He Who calls the generations from the beginning” (Yeshayahu 41:4). And as it is written: “Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these?” etc. (Yeshayahu 40:26). And this is what is written regarding the idol of Michah, which sought to overpower, through the fact that he had the Levi as a Kohen, as it is written: “For I had the Levi as a Kohen” (Shoftim 17:13). For from there is the essential grip of the heresies and the idolatry — when they consider that the aspect of the returning voice is the aspect of the direct voice, G-d forbid, as mentioned above. For this is the aspect of the dispute of Korach, who denied the fundamental principle and wished to make the Levi into the Kohen, which is the aspect of the idol of Michah, the aspect of “For I had the Levi as a Kohen,” as mentioned above. And therefore the essential dispute of Korach was through his wife, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said regarding the verse “The wisdoms of women build her house, and the foolish one with her hands tears it down” (Mishlei 14:1) — this refers to the wife of Korach (Sanhedrin 110a). For the essential grip of yagon va'anachah that grips the returning voice is held by his wife, who was drawn from there, as mentioned above. And she intensified in her wickedness to such a degree that she did not wish to be a vehicle for holiness, that ishah should be included in ish, Levi in Kohen. And she, in her wickedness, blemished in this. For this is the essential aspect of an evil wife, regarding whom it is said: “And I find more bitter than death the woman” (Koheles 7:26). For the service of the Levi is in song upon the duchan, the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, through which yagon va'anachah is transformed to joy and the returning voice is unified with the direct voice, which is the aspect of a holy zivug in which ishah is included in ish, as mentioned above. For this is the aspect of the musical instruments that are played at the chasunah. And as Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, explains (Torah 237) regarding the verse “This time my husband will accompany me” (Bereishis 29:34) — that this is the secret of the musical instruments that are played at the chasunah. For Leah said: “This time” — when Levi was born, who is the aspect of melody — “my husband will accompany me.” For the essential connection of holiness between husband and wife is through the ten kinds of melody, which are the aspect of Levi, as mentioned above; see there, and as mentioned above. And the wife of Korach blemished in this and wished the very opposite — to dispute the Kehunah, to make the Levi into the Kohen, etc. Through this the yagon va'anachah is not sweetened; on the contrary, it intensifies even more, as mentioned above. And therefore she indeed caused a bizarre death for herself and for Korach and for all his congregation. For they were all lost through her. For yagon va'anachah is sitra d'mosa, as mentioned above, the opposite of joy, which is the aspect of life and peace, as mentioned above. As it is written: “For with joy you shall go out, and with peace you shall be brought” (Yeshayahu 55:12). For shalom [peace] is the aspect of the joining of two opposites — that is, when left is included in right, Levi in Kohen — which is the essential joy, as mentioned above. And Korach, through his dispute, blemished in all of this, as mentioned above. And therefore the Kehunah is called a “covenant of peace”, as it is written: “Behold, I give him My covenant of peace. And it shall be for him and for his seed after him a covenant of eternal Kehunah” (Bamidbar 25:12–13). For the essential joy and peace is drawn from the aspect of the Kohen, who is the aspect of the direct voice, who is the root of everything, and everything needs to be connected to him. For this is the aspect of the service of the Levites in song — to connect everything to the root through the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, which is the essential aspect of peace and joy, when all the worlds return to their root and are not separated from the root of their life-force. And this is the essential joy, life, and peace. For “there Hashem commanded the blessing: life” (Tehillim 133:3), for all the life-force of all the worlds is drawn from there — from the aspect of the Kohen, who is the aspect of the direct voice, who is the root of everything, the root of the joy, which is the aspect of peace, the aspect of “for with joy you shall go out, and with peace you shall be brought,” as mentioned above. It emerges that Korach blemished in his very own attribute — that is, he blemished the peace and joy through his dispute. Through following the counsel of his wife, he separated himself from the Kehunah by wishing to redirect the Kehunah to himself. And through this he denied the fundamental principle. For all of this is the opposite of the tikkun of his very own attribute, for Korach is a Levi, the aspect of the left, the aspect of the returning voice, which needs always to endeavor to be connected to the Kohen, to be included in the right. For this is the aspect of the service of song of the Levites, etc., as mentioned above. And he blemished in all of this, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the twenty-four gifts of Kehunah that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave to Aharon afterward in joy, as it is written: “And I, behold, I have given to you” (Bamidbar 18:8). And Rashi explained: in joy. For the essential holiness of the Kehunah is the aspect of joy that is drawn from there, as mentioned above. And therefore Aharon merited the Kehunah specifically through joy, as it is written: “And he will see you and rejoice in his heart” (Shemos 4:14) — through which he merited the Kehunah, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Shabbos 139a). For the essential Kehunah is the aspect of the root of joy, from the One Whose joy is in His dwelling place. And therefore the Blessed Name gave him the twenty-four gifts of Kehunah specifically in joy. For the twenty-four gifts of Kehunah are the twenty-four adornments of the bride, as is known. For the holiness of the Kehunah, which is the root of joy, is the aspect of the connection and unification of groom and bride, the aspect of the unification of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah. For the essential connection and unification is through the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, the aspect of joy whose root is in the aspect of the Kohen, the aspect of the direct voice, from where everything is drawn, and everything needs to return and be included in it, in the aspect of “to hear His voice and to cleave to Him,” as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of a captive woman who is forbidden to a Kohen. For captivity and exile and servitude are the aspect of yagon va'anachah, the aspect of the exile of Egypt, where they were in captivity in servitude, which is the aspect of sadness, yagon va'anachah. For this is the essential aspect of exile and servitude, for joy is the world of freedom, as it is written: “For with joy you shall go out,” etc. (Yeshayahu 55:12) — as Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, wrote. And conversely, yagon va'anachah is the essential exile and servitude, and as is brought in the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, further in another place. For the essential exile of Egypt was on account of the sin of Adam HaRishon, which is the aspect of the blemish of the bris, as is known. And the essential sin of Adam HaRishon was that through it he drew down, G-d forbid, the aspect of sadness, the aspect of yagon va'anachah, which is sitra d'mosa, as it is written: “In sadness [b'itzavon] shall you eat of it,” etc. (Bereishis 3:17). “B'itzavon” means sadness, etc. For this itself is the aspect of the death that he brought upon the world, for the aspect of death is drawn from the aspect of sadness, yagon va'anachah, as mentioned above. And on account of this was the exile and servitude of Egypt, for the essential exile and servitude is also the aspect of sadness, which is the aspect of sadness and servitude, as mentioned above, the aspect of toil and trouble that is drawn from the aspect of “in sadness shall you eat of it,” the aspect of “by the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread, until you return to the earth,” etc. (Bereishis 3:19). And when they merited to go out from the exile of Egypt, the essential redemption was through the aspect of joy, from where is the essential freedom, in the aspect of “for with joy you shall go out,” as mentioned above. And therefore they said shirah [song] on the night of their departure from Egypt, which is the aspect of Hallel Shaleim [the complete Hallel], as it is written: “The song shall be for you as on the night of the sanctification of the festival” (Yeshayahu 30:29) — as our Sages, of blessed memory, said. And likewise at the time of the splitting of the Reed Sea, which was the essential completion of the redemption, then they said the Song of the Sea. For the song of Hallel and likewise the Song of the Sea and all the songs are all the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, which is the aspect of joy, which is the essential redemption. And as we say: He brought us from servitude to freedom, from sorrow to joy, etc., and we shall say before Him a new song. For the joy and the song is the essential redemption and freedom, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the great mitzvah to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt, and whoever elaborates in telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt is praiseworthy. For the telling of the Exodus from Egypt, in which one relates the intensity of the miracles that the Blessed Name performed for us in the redemption of Egypt, and one blesses and praises His great Name, blessed be He, for this — this is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, the aspect of joy. And therefore the essential telling of the story of the Exodus on the night of Pesach is specifically over the wine, which are the four cups of wine. For wine is the aspect of joy, as it is written: “And wine gladdens the heart of man,” etc. (Tehillim 104:15). For the essential redemption is through joy and song and Hallel, the aspect of the ten kinds of melody that are drawn from the four letters of the Name [Havayah], the aspect of the simple, double, triple, and quadruple song. And corresponding to them come the four cups of wine on the night of the Exodus from Egypt, as mentioned above. And therefore, after the Exodus from Egypt, one must bring the omer of barley. And it is found in the Holy Zohar that the omer of barley is animal food, which is the offering of the sotah [the suspected adulteress]. For K'neses Yisra'el [the Congregation of Israel] is tested through the omer of barley, and through this K'neses Yisra'el is purified from the contamination of Egypt, etc. For the sotah is the aspect of the blemish of the bris, the aspect of “more bitter than death,” etc., the aspect of “and her end is bitter as wormwood” (Mishlei 5:4), the aspect of “the bitter, cursing waters,” the aspect of sadness and black bile, yagon va'anachah, which is sitra d'mosa. And this is the aspect of the offering of barley, which is animal food, which is the aspect of food that has not been clarified into human food, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, that Adam HaRishon said: “Shall I and the donkey eat from one trough?” (Pesachim 118a). It emerges that animal food is the aspect of “in sadness shall you eat of it.” And this is the aspect of the offering of barley of the sotah, the aspect of the omer of barley that is brought after the Exodus from Egypt. For through this offering of barley that one brings to the Kohen, who is the root of joy, through this one transforms the yagon va'anachah — which is the aspect of animal food, as mentioned above — to joy. And through this the contamination of Egypt is cut off, which is the aspect of the blemish of the bris, the aspect of yagon va'anachah that was drawn from the sin of Adam HaRishon. For the essential tikkun is through joy, and the essential thing is through transforming yagon va'anachah to joy, as mentioned above. And therefore the captive woman, who is in captivity and exile, which is the aspect of the exile of Egypt, which is the aspect of sadness, yagon va'anachah, as mentioned above — therefore she is forbidden to a Kohen. For the Kohen is the root of joy, and he is forbidden to become defiled by the dead, and he must sanctify himself in the holiness of the bris more than all Israel. And in every place where the aspect of the blemish of the bris, the aspect of yagon va'anachah, grips to a greater degree, he is forbidden to marry her. For this is the aspect of the women who are forbidden to a Kohen: a divorcee, a zonah, and a chalalah, etc. For the essential aspect of the clarification through song and melody begins from the aspect of the Levi, which is the aspect of the holy left, as mentioned above. But the Kohen — his holiness is fixed, for he is in the aspect of the holiness of Shabbos, where there is no clarification. And therefore all the labors, which are the aspect of clarifications from the aspect of “in sadness shall you eat of it,” etc., from the aspect of yagon va'anachah, are all forbidden on Shabbos. For Shabbos is the root of joy, and all the clarifications that are clarified during all the weekdays, in which one transforms yagon va'anachah to joy, all of them return to the holiness on Shabbos, and there they are all included in completeness within the supernal joy. For Shabbos is a semblance of the World to Come, which is the aspect of joy, the aspect of “fullness of joys is before Your countenance,” as mentioned above. And then all the songs and melodies ascend and are included in their root, in the aspect of the direct voice, which is the aspect of Shabbos, the aspect of Kohen. For this is the aspect of Shir HaShirim [the Song of Songs], which is of Shlomo, which is in the aspect of Shabbos, which is the aspect of “the King Whose peace is His” (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:1) — as is known. For Shabbos is the aspect of the supreme song above all the songs. For all the songs of the present begin from the aspect of Levi, from the aspect of the left, as it is in the Holy Zohar: “Song is from the left.” As mentioned above, for all our service in this world, which is the aspect of the six days of labor, the aspect of “today to do them” (Devarim 7:11), is to clarify the holiness, which is the joy, from the Sitra Achara, which is the aspect of yagon va'anachah, and to transform yagon va'anachah to joy, as mentioned above. And therefore all the songs of the present are from sitra d'nukva. For this is the aspect of “shirah chadashah” [a new song, in the feminine] — “the redeemed sang praise” — in feminine language, as is brought in the holy books. For now it is impossible to hear the song and the melody that is drawn from the aspect of the direct voice itself, which is the aspect of Kohen, the aspect of Shabbos, the aspect of the World to Come, lest they be nullified from existence, because the vessels of our bodies are not refined due to our sins, and there is in them the grip of yagon va'anachah. Therefore, if they would hear the aspect of the direct voice itself, which is the aspect of the song that will be aroused in the future, it would be the aspect of an excess of light that causes the shattering of the vessels, G-d forbid, from where derives sitra d'mosa, as is known. And the yagon va'anachah would intensify even more, G-d forbid. Therefore, now, the essential tikkun and clarification — the aspect of all the melodies — begins from sitra d'Leva'ai [the side of Levi], from the aspect of the left, in order to sweeten the din at its root and to clarify the yagon va'anachah and transform it to joy, through sweetening the din at its root, by transforming the returning voice and joining it to the direct voice, etc., as mentioned above. Only, after one has clarified some clarification, one needs to bring it and return it to its supernal root, which is the aspect of the Kohen, where everything returns and is included in its root. And this is the aspect of all the offerings that are brought to the Kohen: that whoever sinned any sin and was drawn after the Sitra Achara, which is the aspect of yagon va'anachah — when he wishes to return and rectify his sin, then he brings an animal as an offering to the Beis HaMikdash [the Holy Temple], where is the place of joy, as it is written: “And I will make them joyful in My house of prayer” (Yeshayahu 56:7). And the animal is the aspect of the absence of da'as, which is the aspect of exile and servitude, the aspect of yagon va'anachah, as mentioned above. And when the sinner brings it to the Beis HaMikdash and lays his hands upon it and confesses his sins, through this he clarifies the yagon va'anachah. For through sanctifying the animal as an offering and bringing it to the Beis HaMikdash, to the Kohen, through this he seizes the yagon va'anachah, which is the aspect of the animalistic, and brings it to the place of joy, which is the Beis HaMikdash and the Kohen. And then the Kohen offers it as a sacrifice and includes the offering within the root of the supernal joy, through the Levites who are engaged in song upon the duchan, who clarify and seize the yagon va'anachah and transform it toward holiness, and bring it to the Kohen, who is the aspect of the direct voice, until it is included within the root of the supernal joy, which is the aspect of the Kohen, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of Shabbos, that all the clarifications that are clarified during the six days of labor, in which one clarifies from the aspect of yagon va'anachah, from the aspect of “in sadness shall you eat of it,” are included in the root of the supernal holiness, which is the aspect of Shabbos, which is a semblance of the World to Come, as mentioned above. And therefore the zivug of Torah scholars is from Shabbos to Shabbos, for then the aspect of the totality and the transformation of yagon va'anachah to joy is completed in perfection, as mentioned above. For this is the essential aspect of the holy zivug, as mentioned above. But on Shabbos itself there is no clarification; rather, only one who toiled on the eve of Shabbos eats on Shabbos. For the light of the root of the joy of Shabbos cannot descend into the places of yagon va'anachah to clarify them and transform them to holiness and joy. For it is holy at its root, and there is no clarification there, as is known. Rather, we receive during the weekdays strength from the holiness and joy of Shabbos, and we draw an illumination from the light of the joy of Shabbos into the weekdays, in order to clarify the clarifications and transform yagon va'anachah to joy, as mentioned above. And this itself is the aspect of the Kohen: that all the clarifications that Levi'im and Yisra'elim clarify, which are the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, are all by the power of the Kohen, who is the aspect of the simple song, who is the root of everything. But the Kohen himself is forbidden to go out from his holiness to the outside, to places where the yagon va'anachah grips to a greater degree, which are the aspect of the women forbidden to a Kohen: a divorcee, a zonah, and a chalalah, etc. And likewise a captive woman, in whom the yagon va'anachah also grips, which is the aspect of servitude, the aspect of the captivity of the exile of Egypt, as mentioned above. For the Kohen is holy in the aspect of the holiness of Shabbos, as it is written: “And you shall sanctify him, for he is holy to his G-d” (Vayikra 21:8). And all the clarifications need to return and come to him, but he is forbidden to go out to their place. And therefore the Kohen is forbidden to become defiled by the dead, where the tumah grips that comes from the aspect of yagon va'anachah, which is the aspect of sitra d'mosa, the aspect of the intensity of the bitterness of yagon va'anachah that one mourns over the dead, may the Merciful One protect us, as mentioned above. For the Kohen is forbidden to go out to such places, for he is holy in the aspect of Shabbos, where there is no clarification; rather, all the clarifications return to there, as mentioned above. And likewise, in the totality of the world, all the service that one performs all the days of one's life, and likewise all the service that is performed all the days of this world, all of it is the aspect of clarifications — that one clarifies the holy sparks from the depths of the klipos, which are the aspect of yagon va'anachah, and transforms yagon va'anachah to joy. And all the clarifications are through the aspect of the ten kinds of melody of the aspect of the Levites, who sweeten the din and connect and include the returning voice within the direct voice, through which one transforms yagon va'anachah to joy, as mentioned above. But in the future, when the clarification will be completed in perfection, and there will be fulfilled “He will swallow death forever, and Hashem Elokim will wipe away the tears from every face” (Yeshayahu 25:8), and “the spirit of tumah I will cause to pass from the earth,” etc. (Zechariah 13:2) — then there will no longer be any clarification or labor or work at all. For “today is to do them, and not tomorrow to do them” (Eiruvin 22a). And then it will be a day that is entirely Shabbos, when all the clarifications that each one merited to clarify according to his level and according to his service and toil in the service of Hashem, will all return to their supernal root, which is the aspect of the direct voice, which is the root of all the joy and life-force of all the worlds. And then will be aroused a new song [shir chadash, in the masculine], which is the aspect of the song of chesed, which is the aspect of the Kohen who is called “chesed.” As Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, wrote (Likutay Tinyana, Torah 8) — that in the future we will merit the aspect of the song of chesed, which is the essential completeness of the ten kinds of melody, the aspect of the simple, double, triple, and quadruple song, which equals seventy-two in gematria, [the same as] chesed. For now, all the melodies and songs are only an illumination from the ten kinds of melody. For now, the essential song is from sitra d'Leva'ai, which is the aspect of din, from where grips sitra d'nukva. And therefore all the songs are in feminine language, as mentioned above. But in the future, a new song [shir chadash, masculine] will be aroused — in masculine language — as we say in the Haggadah: “And we shall give thanks to You with a new song [shir chadash],” as is brought. For a song of chesed will be aroused, the aspect of the song of Shabbos, the aspect of Shir HaShirim — the song that is supreme above all the songs, the aspect of “Your Kohanim shall don righteousness, and Your pious ones shall sing joyously” (Tehillim 132:9) — “Your pious ones” specifically “shall sing joyously,” the aspect of the song of chesed. For then the yagon va'anachah will be completely nullified and everything will be transformed to joy in perfection. And then we will merit to hear the aspect of the voice of the song that is drawn from the direct voice itself, which is the aspect of Kohen, the aspect of chesed. And this is the aspect of the enormity of the abundant joy of the future, the aspect of “fullness of joys is before Your countenance,” etc., and similarly in very many pesukim, as mentioned above. Fortunate is the one who will merit this joy and this song of chesed, which is the aspect of the melody that will be played in the future on seventy-two strings, when the sins of Israel will be transformed to merits, which is the aspect of the transformation of yagon va'anachah to joy, as mentioned above. And as is explained in the Torah[-teaching] Tik'u 3 (Torah 3); see there. Fortunate is the one who merits this. And this is what Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, wrote — that to draw souls close to the Blessed Name is a very great tikkun for the blemish of the bris. For when one draws those who are far away close to the Blessed Name, this is the aspect of one who pursues the yagon va'anachah and brings it forcibly into the joy. For this is literally the aspect of one who pursues and endeavors to draw close those who are far away — that one pursues people who are far from the Blessed Name, who are sunk in darkness, within the aspect of yagon va'anachah, which is the aspect of all the desires and transgressions, may the Merciful One protect us, as mentioned above. And he pursues after them and transforms them toward holiness and draws them close to the Blessed Name. And then he transforms the yagon va'anachah to joy. For previously, when this person was far from the Blessed Name, it was said: “And He was saddened in His heart” (Bereishis 6:6), in the aspect of “the Shechinah, what does she say? ‘My head is heavy, my arm is heavy’” (Sanhedrin 46a). And conversely, when one brings him back in teshuvah and draws him close to the Blessed Name, then the joy is greatly increased before Him, blessed be He, in the aspect of “Hashem shall rejoice in His works” (Tehillim 104:31). For a great, vast, and enormous joy and delight is added throughout all the worlds when one who was far from the Blessed Name comes and wishes to draw himself close to Him, blessed be He. And as is explained in the Zohar regarding the excessiveness of the joy and the delight that is created on high through “this man who pursues the wicked to bring him back in teshuvah.” For there is no joy before the Blessed Name like this joy, when those who are far from Him return to Him. For this is the essential source of His greatness and His delight, as is brought in the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, many times. For the Blessed Name is full of compassion and desires to do good, and He desires the teshuvah of the wicked and does not desire their death, as it is written: “For He desires chesed” (Michah 7:18). And He devises plans so that no outcast be cast away from Him. And therefore one who brings such a precious gift — which is His beloved children who became estranged from Him due to their sins — is exceedingly precious in His eyes, and there is nothing comparable to this joy, when one merits to return them and draw them close to holiness. And therefore, through the great joy that one causes by drawing close those who are far away, which is the aspect of the transformation of yagon va'anachah to joy, through this one merits to rectify in great completion the aspect of the blemish of the bris, whose essential blemish is that he blemished the joy and gave grip and sustenance to the aspect of yagon va'anachah, G-d forbid, as mentioned above. For now, through drawing close those who are far away, the yagon va'anachah is transformed to a great joy, as mentioned above. Based on what is mentioned above, one can understand some slight hint regarding the awesome tale of the Seven Beggars, regarding the story of the second [beggar], who was deaf. He said: “I am not deaf at all; rather, all the voices of the entire world are all merely deficiencies. And for me, the entire world does not amount to anything, that I should hear their deficiency,” etc. “For I live a good life that has no deficiency at all,” etc. And his good life was that he ate bread and drank water, etc. See there well, the wondrous, awesome, and exalted matter. For know, my brother, that before Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, told this tale of the second day (for this tale of the Seven Beggars was not told in one day but over several days, and the telling of the story extended over approximately two weeks, as will be explained elsewhere — the story of what happened was as follows: I was standing before his holy presence, and at first, before the midday meal, I spoke with him about the awesome tale that he had told on the previous holy Shabbos, up to the conclusion of the story of the first Beggar, the Blind One, at which time I had not been present during the telling. And afterward, on the following Wednesday, I spoke with him about this awesome and wondrous matter, and I heard from his holy mouth that he desired and yearned to benefit us with an eternal good, to tell us the rest of the tale. And my soul longed to hear them. But in the midst of this, the attendant came and said that the time to eat had arrived, and I went from there, etc. Until afterward, in the afternoon, I returned and stood before him, and I spoke with him further about several matters from the stories of the world, and I related to him several stories from Berdichev. And in the course of my words, I responded and said before him about the matter of the sufferings and deficiencies that all the wealthy men and the great magnates have, that all of them are full of worries and they are always lacking. And likewise all the scholars and investigators — all their wisdom is always deficient and they never know anything in completeness, as they themselves know. And regarding such matters I said before him this verse: “He also placed the world in their hearts, so that man cannot find out the work that G-d has done from beginning to end” (Koheles 3:11), etc. (And see Koheles 3 in the commentary of Rashi there.) Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, responded and said: “Is this not the matter of our tale?” And he immediately asked: “Where are we standing in the tale?” I answered him with trembling: “At the story of the second day.” He responded and said: “On the second day,” etc. — and he told the entire tale of the second day, which is about the matter of the Deaf One mentioned above. Fortunate are the ears that hear such things, etc. What shall we say, what shall we speak? Who can commit to writing a fraction of a thousandth of the slight glimmering in the mind, of how far each and every word of this awesome tale reaches, etc., etc. And there is no place to elaborate on this here.) And behold, based on what is mentioned above, the connection and the juxtaposition is well explained — that the one who lives a good life without any deficiency is specifically called deaf and does not hear at all any voice of this world. For all the voices of this world are all deficiencies. And even the joys of this world are all deficiencies. And therefore he is called deaf, for in his estimation, this world does not amount to anything, that he should hear their deficiency, etc. For all the voices of this physical world that are not voices of true holiness are all certainly deficiencies. For they are all drawn from the aspect of the returning voice mentioned above, from where come all the dinim, from where come all the deficiencies in the world. For all the sufferings and deficiencies that every person in the world has are all due to the attribute of din and the contraction that withholds the abundance, through which come all the deficiencies and the sufferings, G-d forbid. And the essential intensification of din, G-d forbid, from where come the deficiencies, is through the returning voice, which is kol havarah, as mentioned above — that is, through hearing only the returning voice itself and not stopping one's ears from the returning voice, which is the aspect of the voice of foolishness of the vanities of this world, in order to incline one's heart and ear toward the aspect of the direct voice itself, which is the totality of the Torah and mitzvos that is drawn from the direct voice, the aspect of “a voice of words you hear,” etc. (Devarim 4:12). And the essential Torah and mitzvos is the faith, as mentioned above — that is, to incline one's ear and heart to the direct voice through which everything was created, to know that everything is drawn only from the direct voice, as mentioned above. And each person, to the extent that he blemishes in this, which is the aspect of blemishing the faith, the aspect of idolatry and heresies and heresy — through which he separates the abundance of all good that is drawn from the aspect of the direct voice to the totality of the world in which is heard the aspect of the returning voice, as mentioned above — from this come all the deficiencies. For in truth, the essential aspect of the returning voice is drawn at its root from the aspect of deficiency. For it is known that the returning voice in the physical world occurs when the voice strikes some partition and hits it — for example, in a forest or between mountains — through which kol havarah, which is the returning voice, is heard. And at the supernal root, the aspect of the returning voice is drawn from the striking of the aspect of the direct voice against the aspect of the supernal partition, which is the aspect of the beginning of the contraction [tzimtzum], which is the aspect of the central point [nekudas hamerkaz]. Through this is drawn the aspect of the returning voice. For it is known and explained elsewhere that before the creation, everything was Ein Sof [Infinite], and there was no place for the creation of the world. And when the Blessed Name wished to create the world, He contracted His G-dliness to the sides until the chalal hapanui [the vacated space] was made in the center, and there He drew the light in the manner of a kav [line]. And through this, all the worlds were created, etc. — as is explained in the Eitz Chaim at its beginning. And this contraction is the aspect of the place and the partition of all the worlds. For without the contraction, everything would be Ein Sof, and there would be no place for the creation of the worlds, as mentioned above. And immediately after the contraction, when the aspect of the chalal hapanui was made, then the Blessed Name drew His light in the manner of the straight line [kav hayashar], which is the aspect of the direct voice, through which everything was created, as it is said: “By the word of Hashem,” etc., “and by the breath of His mouth,” etc. (Tehillim 33:6). And because this direct voice struck the central point, which is the ultimate extent of the partition of the contraction — as is known, the essential ultimate extent of the contraction is at the aspect of the central point, which is at the furthest distance from all the light of the Ein Sof that surrounds the chalal hapanui — and when this direct voice struck the partition of this contraction, which is the central point, then immediately the aspect of the returning voice came into being, which is kol havarah. And due to the great distance of the kol havarah from the beginning of the direct voice, through this the kol havarah appears to be an independent voice, such that it is possible to err, G-d forbid, as if this kol havarah is, G-d forbid, the essential voice, etc., as mentioned above. For this is the essential aspect of free choice, as mentioned above. For in truth, even all the aforementioned contraction of the chalal hapanui is only in the mind and the da'as, as is explained somewhat elsewhere, and as is understood from the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, in the Torah[-teaching] “Bo El Par'oh” (Torah 64) — that the essential contraction is what contracted the mind and the da'as, until the mind and the da'as cannot apprehend through wisdom His G-dliness, blessed be He, but only through faith alone. And from this are drawn all the questions of the investigators that are impossible to resolve, for they are drawn from the aspect of the contraction of the chalal hapanui, where it is impossible to find His G-dliness through wisdom and intellect, but only through faith alone, etc. See there in the aforementioned Torah and in all the places where we have spoken of this. And if you are a man of faith and desire the truth, you will understand and perceive the virtue of faith that rises above all the wisdoms altogether, and you will understand these matters well. And therefore all the voices of this world that are not of holiness in completeness, that rather contain in them the grip of the desires of this world and its vanities and its wisdoms, are in the aspect of the returning voice mentioned above, which is drawn at its root from the aspect of deficiency — that is, from the beginning of the contraction, which is the aspect of deficiency, so to speak — that is, what the Blessed Name diminished and contracted His G-dliness and His goodness and His greatness from the aspect of the place of the chalal hapanui. For the contraction is the aspect of the deficiency of the abundance, as is known. And from this came into being the aspect of the returning voice, through the fact that the aspect of the direct voice, which is the root of the life-force of all of creation, struck against the aspect of this partition of the contraction, which is the aspect of deficiency, as mentioned above. It emerges that the aspect of the returning voice is only from the aspect of deficiency and the withholding of the abundance. And therefore, whoever is drawn more after this voice is always full of deficiencies, and the more one is drawn after this returning voice, the greater and more numerous are his deficiencies. And this is the aspect of: “If you lack da'as, what have you acquired? If you have acquired da'as, what do you lack?” — as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Nedarim 41a). For the essential da'as is to know that Hashem is G-d, there is nothing else besides Him, which is the da'as of the holy faith, in the aspect of “And I will betroth you to Me in faith, and you shall know Hashem” (Hoshea 2:22) — which is the da'as of the totality of the holy nation of Israel, believers the children of believers, who believe in Hashem and in Moshe His servant, and who fulfill the Torah, regarding which it is said: “And you shall observe and do them, for it is your wisdom and your understanding in the eyes of the nations,” etc.; “and they shall say: Surely, this great nation is a wise and understanding people” (Devarim 4:6), etc. For “all things are wearisome; a man cannot speak; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, and the ear is not filled with hearing,” etc. (Koheles 1:8). For whoever is drawn after the investigations and wisdoms of this world is always deficient. Since he does not connect all the wisdoms and the life-force to the Blessed Name, Who is the essential completeness — for there is no completeness except to the Blessed Name — and one who knows of Him, blessed be He — that is, through complete faith — is included in Him, blessed be He, and he too has all the completeness, as is explained in the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, elsewhere. But as soon as one stops one's ears and does not hear the essential direct voice, but only the returning voice that is drawn due to the contraction of the da'as, as mentioned above, which is the aspect of deficiency — therefore he is always full of deficiencies. And this is the aspect of all the deficiencies of the entire world, all of which are drawn from the deficiency of da'as. And the essential deficiency of da'as is the deficiency of faith. For one who has complete faith in the Blessed Name in perfection, and knows that everything is from the Blessed Name through His providence alone, “for G-d judges: this one He lowers and that one He raises” (Tehillim 75:8) — he lives a good life always. For whatever the Merciful One does is certainly for the good, and certainly His intention, blessed be He, is for good, as is explained in the words of Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, in several places — that one who has complete faith in the Blessed Name lives a good life always; see there. And all the deficiencies are only from the deficiency of faith. And therefore the scholars and investigators — their lives are no life at all. For they are far from the Living G-d through their wisdom and investigation, which uproots them from their root, and they are always bound after the wisdoms that pursue nature, where it is full of deficiencies. For this world is full of deficiencies: anger and pains, and there is no person who fulfills his desire in this world. And in the end, what profit does he have from all his toil, etc.? And likewise all the other wisdoms, until the majority of them admit themselves that they know nothing. For it is thousands of years that they have been investigating the wisdom of astronomy, and recently one individual invented a new astronomy, as is known, and everyone accepted it with love. And in truth, it is a great foolishness for one who has a brain in his skull, as is explained in the opinion of those who oppose it. And either way, one of the opinions is false, and the scholars toiled in vain — either the earlier ones or the later ones — all their days, to discover the wisdom of astronomy, and they carried nothing away in their toil. For the later ones demolished the opinions of the earlier ones, and who knows how the truth actually stands? And in truth, it is neither according to the words of the one nor according to the words of the other. And likewise with the other wisdoms. And especially the wisdom of medicine, which appears at first glance to be for the benefit of the world, in order to save a person from his illness — but in truth, our eyes see how many thousands and tens of thousands of souls sank and died specifically through the doctors, as one sees tangibly every day. As Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, said, that the doctors kill countless souls. And they themselves admit that they have investigated the wisdoms of medicine so much that now they know nothing at all, and there is a great dispute among them, such that according to one, the other opinion kills the person, and according to the other it is the opposite, as is explained in our words regarding this. And if so, would that we had never known from the wisdom of medicine; certainly the inhabitants of the world would now be double in number. And similarly with the other wisdoms. And even if at times some good sprouts from one side through their wisdom, it is bad from another side. And even the side of good is a great evil, for in this world there is no good at all, and what profit does a person have when he invents a beautiful melody through the wisdom of music, over which he labored all his days, and in the end through this melody he is drawn after the desire of adultery, which kills a person both physically and spiritually, as is seen tangibly? For they go to their theaters and circuses that they call “theaters” and “comedies” and the like, and there males and females mingle without any distinction, and they hear songs of lust, and they do what they do, as is well known. And they cannot deny this, for they themselves know their own “holy” and “pure” thoughts that they have there, and what they do afterward — woe to them, woe to their souls. And in any case, they separate themselves from the path of life, from the path of our holy Torah that forbade this, as it is written: “And in their statutes you shall not walk” (Vayikra 18:3) — as Rashi explained there. And they waste days and the choicest time on such foolishness, and “the end of joy is sorrow” (Mishlei 14:13). And all the troubles and sufferings that they have all their days — they themselves know. For in truth, only the poor and the destitute, those of small intellect who are not familiar with the ways of the world, only they think that such people who follow the desires of their heart in these ways of the investigators that have been newly introduced, in our many sins, have the entire world and live at ease. But in truth, one who has a brain in his skull and is familiar with them and their ways knows the extreme bitterness of their lives — that they are full of anger and pains, yagon va'anachah, all their days. And they gnash their teeth constantly at the sincere, pious, and upright Chasidim, because they rejoice with true joy in the Blessed Name, and they have nachas and great joy on Shabbasos and Yamim Tovim and the like, at every time that we merit to remember the good that the Blessed Name has done for us, in that He separated us from these erring ones and placed our portion in life — to believe in Hashem and in Moshe His servant, in the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, and in the books of the Zohar and the Ari, of blessed memory, and the Ba'al Shem Tov, of blessed memory, etc. For they, all their days, have no true joy that reaches a fraction of a thousandth of the small amount of joy that the least of Israel has at the onset of Shabbos and the like. Rather, to the contrary, all their days are anger and pains, and they are always lacking the multitude of their desires, which are without end. For they want everything to be perfect for them: that the garment should be sewn exactly as they want, with all the details and particulars that they require, and that they should have several different garments that they consider essential — for this garment is needed in the morning when they arise from bed, and this one when going out to the marketplace, and this one at midday (and a garment for the grave they do not think about at all, etc.). And likewise regarding the shoes and their laces and the wooden forms upon which they are polished, and the like — the multitude of their needs that they consider essential, but not to us — which preoccupy their days. And whoever is wealthy lacks such necessities in great abundance, and especially regarding their dwellings and their household utensils, which they want to be according to wisdom, until through this their needs multiply exceedingly, until they are compelled to travel to distant places. And they, all their days, are wanderers and vagabonds; by day they do not rest, and by night they are not still. And because they want to have a beautiful house with all their utensils, for this reason they mostly sleep in villages and in the houses of gentiles, and they spend most of their days in the homes of others. And when they come to their own home, they are preoccupied with their vanities, until they do not know whether they are in their home or outside on the road. And in the end they become debtors, until it is common among them that many kill themselves with firearms or with a knife — they destroy themselves deliberately, due to the multitude of their desires that they pursued all their days and did not attain. And in truth, even the upright members of Israel need to wage a great war with their inclination so as not to pursue luxuries, and to be content with little as much as possible. For the more one wishes to fill his deficiency from this world, the more he still lacks, even more and more, as is seen tangibly. For even the necessities of a person that are most essential are also very many, and one needs to pray very much to the Blessed Name that the necessities should not distract him from the service of the Blessed Name. All the more so, one certainly does not need to pursue luxuries. And how much more so, how evil and bitter to the very soul are the ways of those who depart from the ways of Israel, who follow all their customs specifically in the ways of the nations, which uproot them from the World to Come with certainty — “for all who come to her do not return, and they do not attain the paths of life” (Mishlei 2:19). And also in this world they are full of very, very many great worries and sorrows beyond telling, and all their days are anger and many pains, and they have nothing with which to comfort themselves, since they are far from the Blessed Name and from the holiness of His Torah and mitzvos and the joy of Shabbos and Yom Tov. For the simple Jewish folk, even those who pursue commerce and are eager for wealth and have not broken the desires of this world and its vanities — nevertheless, since they have faith at least, and conduct themselves in the ways of our fathers of old, and do not follow the ways of their garments and customs, and do not educate their children in the study of their books and their languages, etc. — these people, even though they too have many worries from the multitude of their needs due to their lack of contentment as is proper, nevertheless they have some vitality and some joy on Shabbasos and Yamim Tovim and the like. And they hope to Hashem that He will do good for them in the future, and they think a little about their end, and they take comfort in what they give their children to Talmud Torah, and they endeavor that their children should walk in the straight path, the path of the Torah, the path of our fathers of old. How much more so the G-d-fearing and upright who are content with little, with the bare minimum of sustenance. And how much more so the truly true tzadikim who have turned their backs entirely on the desires of this world and its vanities, and bind themselves all the days of their lives to the Living G-d — they merit the essential true life, truly good life that has no deficiency at all. And the general principle is that this entire world is full of deficiencies, and everyone who is bound after it has deficiencies always. And the more one is bound after it, even though it seems to him that he has wealth and the desires of this world, nevertheless he lacks even more and more, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: No man dies with even half his desire in his hand. One who has one hundred wants two hundred, etc. (Koheles Rabbah 1:13). For this entire world is drawn from the aspect of the beginning of the contraction, which is the aspect of deficiency, as mentioned above. And therefore it is full of sorrows, anger and pains, and worries and deficiencies always, as mentioned above. For this entire world was not created except for the sake of free choice, so that man should have choice and trial. And the Blessed Name, in His goodness and compassion, preceded and informed us through His true tzadikim, and also showed us tangibly — to one who has a modicum of intellect — that this world is full of sufferings, so that we should know not to allow ourselves to be deceived, G-d forbid. As Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, said, in these words: “Accept this from me: do not allow yourselves to be deceived by this world, for this world deceives us completely. For there is not a single person whose end is good from this world,” etc. “And also the nations of the world need to be informed of this,” etc.; see there. And one who wants to have life in this world can only attain it when he is content with the absolute minimum from this world, with barely enough for his sustenance. And even this small amount should be with his intention for the sake of Heaven, according to the Torah, so that he can serve the Blessed Name — for which purpose he was created. And the more he distances himself from the desires of this world and binds himself to the Blessed Name and to the Torah, the more his deficiencies diminish, for he is included in a greater aspect of completeness. For the Blessed Name is the essential completeness. And the more one distances himself from this world and draws close to the Blessed Name, the more he distances himself from the deficiencies and is included in the completeness. And the essential thing is faith, as mentioned above. For the essential grip of the Evil Inclination is from the heresies, as mentioned above, and all the heresies are drawn from the aspect of the returning voice, as mentioned above. And therefore this Deaf One, who lives a good life without any deficiency, did not hear any voice of this world — which are all from the aspect of deficiencies. For this depends on that. For all the deficiencies are from the aspect of the returning voice, as mentioned above, which is the totality of all the voices of this world, which are all deficiencies, as mentioned above. But he lives a good life that has no deficiency at all, for he attaches himself only to the aspect of the direct voice that is drawn from the Living G-d, where is the essential completeness without any deficiency. And he gives life to all, for there is the root of the good life without any deficiency at all. For since one is attached there, one certainly has no deficiency, for there is all the completeness, as mentioned above. But all the voices of this world, which are the aspect of the returning voice, the aspect of deficiencies, he does not hear at all. And he is literally deaf from these voices, for he does not hear at all any voice of deficiency, which is the aspect of the returning voice. For he lives and is always attached to the aspect of the direct voice, which is the aspect of good life that has no deficiency at all, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of (Yeshayahu 42:18): “O deaf ones, hear!” etc. — the aspect of “the wisest of the deaf” (Yeshayahu 3:3). For this Deaf One, who stops his ears from the voices of this world, hears more than the entire world, and his wisdom surpasses all. For only this is the essential wisdom: to pass over all the wisdoms of this world that are drawn from the aspect of the returning voice, and to attach oneself to the direct voice that is drawn from the Living G-d — which is the essential true life, the aspect of the good life mentioned above. Fortunate is the one who merits this. And this is the aspect of the mitzvah of milah [circumcision], which is a mitzvah that Israel accepted in joy, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Shabbos 130a). For it is the aspect of the tikkun of the bris. For the orlah [foreskin] is a blemish, the aspect of deficiency. For a blemish is a deficiency, and even a superfluous limb is a blemish, the aspect of deficiency. And this is the aspect of the orlah, which is a surplus, the aspect of mosaros [excess], but in truth it is a deficiency and a blemish, as Rashi explained: “Walk before Me and be perfect” (Bereishis 17:1) — for as long as the orlah is upon you, you are blemished before Me. For this is the aspect of “whoever adds, diminishes,” which is the aspect of the klipos that are called mosaros [excess]. For this is the aspect of “eleven curtains of goat hair” (Shemos 26:7) — as is brought, as is known. For in truth, one sees tangibly that the orlah is a surplus in the body of man. For there is no other limb in man from which, if one cuts a piece, the limb will remain in the ultimate completeness, even more than before, without any deficiency — as one sees in the mitzvah of milah. For specifically after the cutting of the orlah and the pri'ah [uncovering], the atarah [glans] is revealed. And one sees tangibly that this is the essential form of the limb in truth, tzelem d'mus tavniso [the image of the likeness of its form]. And the orlah that was upon it was merely a klipah [shell] literally, like chaff and straw and the other shells that surround the grain and the fruit, which are not recognizable as fruit until one separates and removes from it the shell that precedes the fruit. Exactly so, one sees tangibly, for one who looks at the truth, that the orlah is literally a shell. And when one cuts and separates and removes it, then the essential truth of the tzelem d'mus [image and likeness] of holiness of man is seen. For then the atarah is revealed in completeness without any mark of a cut, for this is how the Blessed Name created this limb with intention. For it is different from all the limbs of man, for there is no other limb like it, where when one cuts some part of it, its form remains in a complete figure like this limb after the cutting of the orlah and the pri'ah. It emerges that when one removes the orlah, which is the blemish, the aspect of deficiency, the aspect of the desires of this world and its wisdoms, which are all deficiencies that are drawn from the mosaros, in the aspect of “whoever adds, diminishes” — and when one removes the mosaros, then specifically the deficiency is completed. For then specifically one is called “tamim” [perfect], in the aspect of “Walk before Me and be perfect,” as mentioned above. For then specifically one can attach himself to the Living G-d, where is all the completeness, as mentioned above. And therefore the mitzvah of milah is a mitzvah that Israel accepted in joy, and they still perform it in joy. For when one eliminates the mosaros, which are the deficiencies, which are the aspect of the desires of this world and its vanities, then one merits to attach himself to the aspect of the direct voice, to the Living G-d, where is the root of joy, the root of all the ten kinds of melody, whose essential joy and completeness is when they are included in the direct voice. For this one merits through the mitzvah of milah, through removing the orlah, which is the mosaros, which is the blemish and the deficiency, as mentioned above. Through this one merits to eliminate the grip of the klipos that grip the returning voice, and then everything is included in the aspect of the direct voice, which is the essential completeness of the ten kinds of melody that depend on the tikkun of the bris, which is the completeness of the joy, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of milah and pri'ah. For when one removes the intense contamination, which is the orlah, then one can seize the remaining klipos, in which there is still the grip of yagon va'anachah, into the joy. For this is the aspect of the klipah of the pri'ah, which is the aspect of nogah that is included within holiness. For this is the aspect of “joy and gladness shall they attain,” etc. — that one seizes the yagon va'anachah into the joy, as mentioned above. Baruch Hashem l'olam, Amein v'Amein. And this is the aspect of “The high praises of G-d in their throat, and a double-edged sword in their hand” (Tehillim 149:6) — which alludes to the mitzvah of milah, as is known. For through milah one subdues the orlah, which is the Sitra Achara, the aspect of mosaros, which is the aspect of deficiencies that grip the aspect of the returning voice. And then one merits to attach oneself to the aspect of the direct voice, which is the aspect of “the high praises of G-d in their throat” — which is the aspect of the ten kinds of melody, which are the aspect of the tikkun of the bris, as mentioned above. And therefore it is customary to sing this verse “Romemos Eil” when there is a milah — that is, as mentioned above. From “And this is the aspect of the mitzvah of milah,” etc., mentioned above, several matters require further examination.