טוען ונטען ד

And this is the aspect of Moshe's answer mentioned above. For they asked him: "You are bringing straw to Afarayim?" — for Yisrael, when they are on a lowly level, are likened to dust (afar). They questioned him for bringing the deep wisdoms of Torah into Yisrael who are on a lowly level, in the aspect of dust. And Moshe answered them: it is an adage among people — that through speaking the words of Torah with the mouth, it illuminates for them to do teshuvah hamishkal. This is "l'masa yarka, yarka sh'kol" — the aspect of teshuvah hamishkal through all this (Rabeinu, may his light shine, explained all this; see there). That is: they asked him, since they are on such a lowly level, as in the ultimate descent and concealment that existed then in Egypt — it should be enough to raise them from their descent, to lift them from the dust. But it is not fitting to bring them to the deep wisdoms of Torah, which would be going from one extreme to the other. And he answered them: through the Torah, one merits teshuvah hamishkal. Therefore, on the contrary, they specifically need to come to the deep wisdoms of Torah, to the depths, to merit exceedingly great daas — so that their teshuvah will truly be teshuvah hamishkal, and in what they blemished they will rectify. For when they were in the ultimate descent, specifically there, exceedingly great daas was enclothed, as mentioned above. Therefore, one must specifically elevate and reveal this daas. Therefore, one specifically needs to come to exceedingly great daas, which is the aspect of teshuvah hamishkal — and in what they blemished, they will rectify, as mentioned above. 37

Based on the teaching of "G'zelah" [Robbery], Siman 69; see there well. And the principle [taught there] is: that all souls have their root in wealth. And therefore the essential wealth comes through the aspect of the ishah [wife/woman], who is the aspect of nefesh [soul], whose root and vitality is through wealth. And therefore one who robs his fellow is as if he takes his soul; see there.

And it is brought there that sometimes the robber does not take his [victim's] soul, even though he robbed him of money. For when the nefesh sees that this robber is about to rob him and take the vitality of his soul, then the nefesh contracts and shrivels itself, and does not allow itself to be taken. And even though [the robber] takes his money — there is no vitality of the nefesh in it, and it is merely dust, since the nefesh overpowered [the robbery] and did not allow itself to be taken; see there.

And behold, we see that the Torah has compassion on the nefesh of the poor and destitute borrower, who borrowed from his fellow and has nothing to repay. And he is compelled to give up from his possession the meager remnant of the few movable goods remaining to him — in which all his vitality is bound. That is, the root of his nefesh, which is bound in wealth, as above. And if everything is removed from his possession, he will be considered as actually dead. For it is actually the departure of the nefesh, since its root is in the money, as above. And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "A poor person is considered as dead" (Nedarim 64b). For the nefesh, which is the vitality of the person, is bound in wealth, as above.

And even so, this borrower is compelled to pay from all that he has, so that he should not be [in the category of] "the wicked one borrows and does not repay" (Psalms 37:21) etc. And therefore the Torah has compassion on him and commanded several mitzvos in this regard — to treat him with kindness, in order to leave him some vitality for his nefesh. For certainly according to strict law, it would be fitting to remove everything he has, down to the shirt off his back, in order to pay the one from whom he borrowed — and he would go begging from door to door. But the Torah has compassion on him and commanded to arrange for the creditor [l'sadair l'va'al chov] and to leave him [enough], so that his nefesh will have vitality and he will not be like a dead person. For the root of the nefesh is in the money, as above. And this is the aspect of the prohibition against taking as a pledge utensils with which one prepares food for the soul [ochel nefesh]. For since they are closely connected to the nefesh, therefore the nefesh is bound in them all the more. Therefore it is forbidden to take them as a pledge — so as not to take the root of his soul. For all of these mitzvos are all in order to leave the borrower some root of his soul, so that he should not be like a dead person, chas v'sholom, as above. And therefore, whatever is more closely connected to the nefesh — where certainly the nefesh is more deeply rooted — the Torah commanded to leave it for him. And this is the aspect of the prohibition against entering his house to seize his pledge — so as not to come upon him suddenly and snatch from him everything he has, which could actually kill him, chas v'sholom — since the root of the nefesh is in the money, as above. Rather, he himself shall bring out the pledge to [the creditor] — so that the borrower can choose for himself and keep for himself what the nefesh craves and in which it is most deeply rooted. And what it does not crave as much, and in which the nefesh is not as deeply rooted — that he shall bring out to him as a pledge. For whatever a person craves and needs more, the nefesh is more deeply rooted there. And even if the borrower has nothing except this one pledge alone — nevertheless, in the interim the nefesh can overpower and contract itself so that it is not taken, as above — so that some vitality remains for him, as above. And this is the aspect of: "You shall stand outside" (Deuteronomy 24:11) — and not enter his house, into the interior, to take his pledge, which is the root of his soul. Rather, he himself shall bring out the pledge to you, outside — so that he can leave for himself the roots of his soul inside, within his house. For there is the root of wealth, which is the root of the souls, as above. And this is the aspect of the prohibition against entering the house specifically. For the house is the place of wealth — for there all of a person's possessions and wealth are kept. And this is the aspect of: "his house — this is his wife" (Yoma 2a) — from whom wealth comes, as above. And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Chulin 95b): "A house and a wife are a sign for success" — for success, that is, wealth, depends on them, as above. For the shefa descends into the rooms of his house — in the aspect of "and through knowledge the rooms are filled" (Proverbs 24:4). And as I understood from the words of Rabbeinu, may his light shine, in what he said on the verse "And Yaakov traveled to Sukkos, and he built himself a house" (Genesis 33:17) (Siman 266). And therefore one who builds his house without da'as [knowledge/awareness] and blemishes the construction of his house — therefore he becomes impoverished: the opposite of the wealth that comes into the house when it is built properly, with da'as, as is written there. And therefore the m'zuzah, which is the aspect of the rectification of the house — the aspect of the mochin [consciousness] of the house — therefore the m'zuzah is the aspect of wealth, as Rabbeinu wrote in the teaching "Tzivisa Tzedek Aidosecha" (Siman 23). And as is written in Hilchos M'zuzah. It emerges that the root of wealth is in the house, and there is the root of the souls, whose root is in wealth. And therefore it is forbidden to enter his house to take his pledge — so as not to take also the roots of his soul from the interior of his house, as above. Rather, he himself shall bring out the pledge to him, outside — so that he can leave for himself the roots of his soul inside, within his house, where the root of wealth is, which is the root of the souls, as above. For the nefesh has the power to contract itself and leave itself vitality, as above. And all of this is accomplished by not taking the pledge suddenly from the borrower's hand; rather, the borrower himself gives it to him. And also by not taking it from his house; rather, he brings it out to him, outside, as above. Through this the nefesh is able to leave for itself its own vitality, and his soul will not depart from him, chas v'sholom, as above. And this is the aspect of returning the pledge: a daytime garment — during the day; a nighttime garment — at night. And our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "Let it not be difficult in your eyes to return it to him each time, for each night your soul ascends to Me and I do not withhold it on account of the many debts you owe Me". For returning the pledge is actually returning the nefesh itself, as above — since "it is his garment for his skin, it is his only covering" (Exodus 22:26) — and it is most closely connected to his soul. And therefore it is a mitzvah to return it to him each time he needs it. For the nefesh is most deeply rooted there, since he needs it most, as above. And all of this is in the category of tz'dakah, and as it is written: "and it shall be tz'dakah for you" (Deuteronomy 24:13). For it is actually tz'dakah — for he is actually giving him life, by leaving him the root of his soul. And this is the aspect of tz'dakah, which is also to give life to the soul of the poor person — to make his soul whole. And therefore a widow is not pledged at all — even if she is wealthy. For the woman — her essential vitality is wealth, as above. And all of her completeness and vitality she receives only through her husband, who constantly works to complete her soul through the wealth that he earns. And when her husband dies, she has no one to complete her soul. And therefore the Torah warns many times to have special compassion on the widow — for she is a wretched and very impoverished soul, for the completeness of her vitality has been taken from her. And therefore it is forbidden to pledge her at all — since her vitality is so very meager, and her entire essential vitality is in the possessions that remain to her from her husband. And when they pledge her, it is as if they actually take her soul — for she has no other vitality, and her vitality is so very meager, as above. And this is [the meaning of] what the prophet rebuked them regarding robbery. He said to them: "The women of My people you drive out from the house of their delights; from their young children you take away My glory forever" (Micah 2:9). For the robbery affects his wife and children the most — for there is the root of their souls, as is written in the aforementioned teaching; see there. This compact, continuous essay (no osiyos, based on LM I:69 "G'zelah") builds an entire framework of creditor-debtor law on one radical premise: the nefesh (soul) is rooted in wealth. Robbery = taking a person's soul. But the nefesh has an emergency power — it can contract and shrivel itself (m'tzamtzekes u'm'chavtzes atzmah) to avoid being captured by the robber, leaving behind only "dust" (afra b'alma). From this flows every detail: the poor person is "considered as dead" (ani chashiv k'mais); the Torah commands leaving the borrower basic possessions = leaving him roots for his nefesh; utensils for food preparation cannot be pledged (closest to the nefesh); you cannot enter his house (the house = the place of wealth = the root of the nefesh; "baiso zo ishto" — his house is his wife); the borrower himself must bring out the pledge (so the nefesh can contract and choose what to part with). The house = source of wealth; the m'zuzah = the mochin of the house = the aspect of wealth. Returning the pledge each day/night = returning the nefesh itself, paralleling how Hashem returns our soul each morning despite our debts. The widow cannot be pledged at all — the ishah's nefesh IS wealth, and when her husband dies, her vitality is already critically diminished. Based on Likutay Moharan I:69 "G'zelah"