גביית מלוה ד

For Kiddush HaChodesh is to fill the blemish of the moon, so that there should be no diminishment in it, and the light of the moon should be like the light of the sun, etc. — the aspect of the "two great luminaries" (B'raishis 1:16). For the diminishment of the moon is the aspect mentioned above — the aspect of the tzimtzum mentioned above: that one must contract the fervor, which is in the aspect of Ain Sof, etc., so that the attributes can be revealed, so that it should be revealed that one accepts the yoke of the Kingship of Heaven in completeness. For without the tzimtzum, everything would be Ain Sof and it would be impossible to reveal the attributes through which Malchus is revealed. 5

Based on what is brought in the name of Rabbeinu, zichrono livrachah, in his holy conversations, in Sichos HaRan: that there is a sin that causes one to always be a debtor. And the tikkun is to repent of this sin in a general way. And the time for this is when a person is in a state of mochin d'gadlus [expanded consciousness]. For a debtor is in the aspect of a eved [slave], as it is written: "The borrower is a slave to the lender" (Proverbs 22:7). And a slave is the aspect of mochin d'katnus [contracted consciousness], the aspect of sleep — as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "Ten measures of sleep descended to the world; nine were taken by slaves" etc. And therefore the t'shuvah to rectify the sin through which one becomes a debtor — is at a time when one is in mochin d'gadlus; see there.

Thus, the aspect of the revelation of Malchus — which is the aspect of the moon, as is known — is impossible except through the contraction of the light. And this is the aspect of the complaint of the moon: "It is impossible for two kings to use one crown." For certainly it is impossible for two kings to use one crown — that is, that the revelation of Malchus should also be in the aspect of Ain Sof. For then everything would be Ain Sof, and there would be no aspect of the revelation of His Kingship at all. Therefore, He said to her: "Go and diminish yourself." For the essential revelation is only through the aspect of diminishment and contraction, as mentioned above. 6

And therefore the essential lien of a debt applies specifically to karka'os [land] most of all. For the lien of a debt is the aspect of avdus [servitude], the aspect of "the borrower is a slave" etc. And the essential avdus applies most of all specifically to karka [land]. For it enters more deeply into the category of avdus. For avdus is from the sin of Adam HaRishon — from which Cham emerged, from the contamination of the serpent, and was cursed: "Cursed is Canaan, a slave of slaves" (Genesis 9:25) etc. And this itself is also the aspect of the avdus of the debtor, the aspect of "the borrower is a slave" etc. For the essential [need for] a loan — that one needs to borrow from his fellow — is from the sin of Adam HaRishon, through which he was cursed with "in sorrow shall you eat of it" (Genesis 3:17). And therefore livelihood must come through great toil. And because of the burden of livelihood, one must inevitably borrow from his fellow.

And as is explained in the words of Rabbeinu, zichrono livrachah, elsewhere (Siman 23): that loans and debts are the aspect of "in sorrow shall you eat of it" — which is the curse that comes on account of the sin of Adam HaRishon, through which the aspect of avdus was drawn, the aspect of "a slave of slaves", as above. And from this comes the aspect of "the borrower is a slave" etc. — which is also from the curse of the sin of Adam HaRishon, the aspect of "in sorrow shall you eat of it", as above.

And this itself is what Rabbeinu, zichrono livrachah, wrote in the aforementioned teaching: that loans and debts come from some sin. And even though Rabbeinu, zichrono livrachah, did not specify the sin in detail, nevertheless all sins are all included in the sin of Adam HaRishon — for from there all sins come. It emerges that the matter of debts, which is a punishment for some sin — it is all because of the sin of Adam HaRishon, who was cursed with "in sorrow shall you eat of it." And therefore one must be a debtor, in the aspect of "the borrower is a slave" — which is the aspect of the aforementioned avdus that comes from the contamination of the serpent, as above. And therefore the essential lien — which is the aspect of avdus — applies to karka'os most of all. For karka enters more deeply into the category of avdus. For the essential curse of the sin of Adam HaRishon — from which the aspect of avdus comes, the aspect of "cursed is Canaan" — it takes hold most of all in the karka [ground], which was also cursed from the sin of Adam HaRishon, as it is written: "Cursed is the ground on your account" (Genesis 3:17). And therefore karka enters more deeply into the category of avdus, which is the aspect of "cursed is Canaan", as above. And therefore the essential lien of the creditor is upon karka'os most of all. And even when he sells them to another, the lien still applies to them forever — which is not the case with mitaltelim [movable property]. For the essential lien — the aspect of avdus — takes hold in karka most of all, as above. For mitaltelim are considered the aspect of tov [good] relative to karka — in the aspect of what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "Movable property — all of it is considered prime property" [mitaltelei kol milei maitav hu]. For the contamination of the serpent does not take hold in them as much — which is the aspect of avdus and lien — as it takes hold in karka, in the aspect of "and the serpent — dust is its food" (Isaiah 65:25), as above. And therefore after death, the essential lien is only upon karka'os, but the movable property of orphans is not liened according to the law. For the essential lien is only upon karka'os, which are in the aspect of avdus, as above. For after the departure of a person, the person remains only in the aspect of afar [dust], as it is written: "For you are dust" (Genesis 3:19) etc. And therefore then the essential lien upon him is only upon karka'os. For karka and afar [earth/dust] is the aspect of death and departure — for there the contamination of the serpent takes hold most of all, which is the Sitra d'Mosa [the side of death], as above. And for this reason, even during his lifetime the lien applies more to karka. For a debtor is in the aspect of a slave, the aspect of sleep, as above. And sleep is one-sixtieth of death, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said. And therefore the lien applies to karka more — for karka is the aspect of a slave, the aspect of death, as above. And therefore, when a person actually departs, then the lien remains only upon karka, as above. But mitaltelim are in the aspect of chiyus [vitality/life] relative to karka. And no lien applies to them then. And this is the aspect of: "One who comes to collect from the property of orphans may only collect with an oath" (Shevu'os 48b). For the sh'vu'ah [oath] is the aspect of chiyus [life/vitality]. For the sh'vu'ah is the aspect of establishing a covenant [k'risus b'ris]. And therefore the sh'vu'ah is in the aspect of Tzadik Chai Almin [the Righteous One, the Life of the Worlds], as is brought in the Sefer "Sha'arei Orah." And therefore, when there is a denial between two people — which is the aspect of the Sitra d'Mosa, which is the aspect of sheker [falsehood], as is known — then the tikkun for this is a sh'vu'ah, which is the aspect of chaim [life], as above. And through this, the truth is clarified and the falsehood is eliminated — which is the Sitra d'Mosa. And one who blemishes even the sh'vu'ah, chas v'sholom, is considered as though he destroys the entire world, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Shevu'os 39a). For the essential vitality and sustenance of the world is through the aspect of the sh'vu'ah — in the aspect of: "that I have sworn that the waters of Noach shall no more pass over the earth" (Isaiah 54:9) etc. For the world had no sustenance after the flood until Hashem Yisborach swore, kivyachol [as it were]. And through this the world was sustained. It emerges that the sh'vu'ah is the aspect of the sustenance of the world, the aspect of Tzadik Chai Almin, as above. And therefore, at the time when Hashem Yisborach said "You shall not take [His Name in vain]," the world trembled (as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, Shevu'os 39a). For the essential sustenance of the world is through the aspect of the sh'vu'ah, as above. It emerges that the sh'vu'ah is the aspect of the sustenance of the world, the aspect of chiyus, as above. And therefore: "One who comes to collect from the property of orphans may only collect with an oath." For since the debtor has departed and the Sitra d'Mosa holds sway — therefore the lender cannot extract his debt, to raise it from the aspect of the Sitra d'Mosa, except through a sh'vu'ah. Which is the aspect of chaim [life] — through which specifically he can collect his debt from there, as above. And therefore they were more stringent regarding this oath especially. And they said regarding this oath specifically: "A person does not bequeath an oath to his children" — as is explained in the Poskim. For specifically this oath he cannot bequeath to his children, since the borrower died during the lifetime of the lender and the Sitra d'Mosa actually holds sway. And it is impossible to extract the money except through a sh'vu'ah, which is the aspect of chiyus. Therefore, when [the lender] subsequently also departs and his vitality departs — certainly he cannot bequeath such money to his children, money for which he himself was compelled to draw vitality through the oath. And now his vitality has departed, and therefore he cannot bequeath such money to his children. Which is not the case with other oaths. For even though they also come to subdue the aspect of the Sitra d'Mosa — which is the aspect of denial and falsehood, as above — nevertheless, since the Sitra d'Mosa does not actually hold sway [in those cases], therefore they were not as stringent with other oaths as with the oath of one who comes to collect from the property of orphans, as above. For the essential sh'vu'ah is the aspect of chiyus, as above. And therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "Anyone who swears — it is as though he swears by the life of the King." "By the life of the King" specifically — for the sh'vu'ah is the aspect of binding oneself to Hashem Yisborach, in Whose Name one swears. And He, Yisborach, is the Life of all life. And therefore, most of the time, the oath is called in Scripture "Chai Hashem" [as Hashem lives], as it is written: "And they shall no longer say, 'As Hashem lives, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt' — but rather, 'As Hashem lives, Who brought up and Who brought'" (Jeremiah 16:14–15) etc. Speedily in our days, Amein. A continuous essay based on Sichos HaRan and LM I:23. Two major movements: I. Debt = avdus (servitude). "Eved loveh l'ish malveh" (Mishlai 22:7). The ba'al chov = eved = mochin d'katnus = sheinah. All loans trace to the sin of Adam HaRishon → "b'itzavon tochalenah" → burden of livelihood → must borrow. Avdus from the contamination of the serpent → "arur K'na'an eved avadim." The lien applies to karka'os because karka was also cursed ("arurah ha'adamah ba'avurecha") → the serpent's contamination attaches to karka most of all ("nachash afar lachmo"). Mitaltelim = tov (mitaltelei kol milei maitav) → less contamination → less lien. After death: person = afar → lien only on karka'os. Sheinah = 1/60 of death → even in life, karka carries the lien more. II. Sh'vu'ah (oath) = chiyus (life). Collecting from orphans requires an oath because the borrower's death = Sitra d'Mosa holds sway → can only extract the debt through sh'vu'ah = chiyus = Tzadik Chai Almin (Sha'arei Orah). The oath sustains the world: after the flood, Hashem swore never to flood again → the world was sustained. "Lo sisa" → the world trembled (Shevu'os 39a). Therefore: the lender himself must swear (draw chiyus); if the lender also dies, "ain adam morish sh'vu'ah l'vanav" — he cannot bequeath this oath/vitality to his children. Other oaths are less strict because the Sitra d'Mosa doesn't actually hold sway there. Closing: "kol hanishba k'ilu nishba b'chayai haMelech" — the oath = binding to Hashem, Chai Hashem (Yirmiyahu 16:14–15). Based on Sichos HaRan and Likutay Moharan I:23