גביית חוב מהלקוחות והלכות אפותקי ג

Likutay Halachos — Choshen Mishpat — Hilchos G'viyas Chov Min HaLikuchos V'Apotiki 3

:root { --bg: #faf8f4; --text: #2a2520; --accent: #8b6914; --accent-dark: #6b4f0e; --subtle: #d4c9b0; --verse-bg: #f0e8d4; --verse-border: #c9a84c; --source-color: #7a6530; --aramaic-color: #5a4a2a; --os-color: #5a3e1b; --summary-bg: #eef3e8; --summary-border: #6b8f4a; }

* { margin: 0; padding: 0; box-sizing: border-box; }

body { font-family: 'EB Garamond', 'Cormorant Garamond', Georgia, serif; background-color: var(--bg); color: var(--text); line-height: 1.85; font-size: 18px; max-width: 780px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 40px 30px 80px; }

.main-header { text-align: center; padding: 30px 0 40px; border-bottom: 2px solid var(--subtle); margin-bottom: 40px; }

The monies are upon the responsibility of the borrower until they are paid into the hand of the lender or into the hand of his agent etc., as is explained in Choshen Mishpat in Simanim 120 and 121.

.main-header .series-title { font-family: 'Cormorant Garamond', serif; font-size: 14px; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 4px; color: var(--accent); margin-bottom: 8px; }

Based on the teaching "BaChatzotzerot v'Kol Shofar" etc. in Likutay HaRishon, Siman 5 — see there. And the general principle is that every person must say: "The entire world was created only for my sake." And therefore I must see and look at all times to the rectification of the world etc. And one must know the difference between before the g'zar din [decree] and after the g'zar din etc. And this one merits through performing the mitzvos with such great simchah that he does not desire any reward of Olam Haba on account of the mitzvah etc.

.main-header h1 { font-family: 'Cormorant Garamond', serif; font-size: 36px; font-weight: 700; color: var(--accent-dark); margin-bottom: 6px; }

And this is the distinction between the prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu and the prophecy of the other prophets etc. For one who performs the mitzvah for the sake of the reward of Olam Haba — this is the aspect of an aspaklaria she'ainah m'irah [a lens that does not illuminate], like a person who sees something from a distance. So too he performs the mitzvah for the sake of its reward that comes at a distant time — that is, after this world — and the payment of reward is called by the name "prophet" etc. But one who performs the mitzvah and has simchah from the mitzvah itself, until he despises all manner of reward etc. — this is the aspect of a prophet in the aspect of aspaklaria ham'irah [the illuminating lens] etc. And then he is able to know the difference between before the g'zar din and after the g'zar din etc. For the mitzvos are His unity, Yisborach. And one who performs the mitzvah with simchah from the mitzvah itself — it follows that when he enters into the simchah that is in the mitzvah, he enters into the simchah of the Holy One, Blessed is He, Who rejoices in His works etc. And through this he is able to know the difference between before the g'zar din and after the g'zar din, and to rectify the world and fill the deficiency of the world etc. — see there all of this well etc. It follows that the essential completeness of a person is when he merits to reach this level — that he performs all the mitzvos with such great simchah that he does not desire any reward of Olam Haba on account of the mitzvos; rather, his Olam Haba is in the mitzvah itself. And then he is included in Hashem Yisborach at the time of performing the mitzvah — for the mitzvos are His unity, Yisborach, and he performs the mitzvos solely for the sake of Hashem Yisborach, not for his own sake at all — for he does not desire any reward; rather, he has simchah from the mitzvah itself, which is His unity, Yisborach. It follows that he is included in Hashem Yisborach through performing the mitzvos with such great simchah. And then he knows the difference between before the g'zar din and after the g'zar din etc., as is explained there. And through this he is able to rectify the world and fill the deficiency of the world etc., as is explained there. And this is the aspect of the payment of the debt of the borrower to the lender — that he is not discharged from his debt until he pays into the hand of the lender himself or into the hand of his agent, who is like him. For all the mitzvos that we perform are the aspect of paying the debt that we owe to Hashem Yisborach. For Hashem Yisborach created the entire creation from beginning to end — all for the sake of Israel and for the sake of the Torah — so that Israel should fulfill the Torah, as it is written: "In the beginning God created" (Genesis 1:1) etc. And our Sages, zichronam livrachah, said: "For the sake of Israel and for the sake of the Torah, which are called 'reishis' [beginning]" etc. And before Israel received the Torah, the entire creation that Hashem Yisborach created from beginning to end — everything was sustained only in the aspect of a loan of grace and kindness, in the aspect of: "The world is built upon kindness" (Psalms 89:3) — which is said regarding the creation of the world — the aspect of kindness and a loan of grace. For in truth the world has no existence without the Torah, and the world cannot endure even a single moment without the Torah. And the entire existence of the world before Matan Torah was in the aspect of a loan — that Hashem Yisborach in His kindness bestowed kindness upon us and loaned us such a great loan, and created the entire world from beginning to end through His kindness alone, without any is'ar'usa dil'sasa [arousal from below] at all. And all of it was because He foresaw that there would be Tzadikim in the world who would sustain the world — through their good deeds they pay Hashem Yisborach and repay Him, kiv'yachol, everything that He brought from potential to actuality — that is, the totality of the creation that He created as a loan for their sake. For the Tzadikim, through their mitzvos and good deeds, elevate and raise and lift the entire creation to its root, to its place — to the source from which it was hewn. For this is the essential secret of the intention of all the mitzvos — for through the Torah and mitzvos, which are a complete stature corresponding to the stature of World-Year-Soul, for they are the root of the vitality of all the structures, as above — and through fulfilling the mitzvos, through this the world is included in its root, as is known. It follows that when the Tzadik fulfills the mitzvos of the Torah, and through this he raises and elevates and lifts the entire world and returns it to its original root, to the source from which it was hewn — it follows that he repays and discharges to Hashem Yisborach all the loans that He loaned in creating His world, as above. For now the Tzadik elevates and returns everything to Hashem Yisborach and discharges the entire loan to Hashem Yisborach — for he elevates and returns the entire world and the totality of the creation to Hashem Yisborach, through his mitzvos that he performs, through which everything ascends and returns to Hashem Yisborach, as above. It follows that all the mitzvos are the aspect of repayment of the loan-debt to Hashem Yisborach. And therefore the mitzvos are called by the language of obligations and debts, as is the common expression regarding all the mitzvos: "A person fulfills his obligation" — regarding matzah, shofar, and sukkah. And likewise regarding all the mitzvos — for as long as one does not merit to perform the mitzvos, he is a debtor who must repay Hashem Yisborach all the expenditures of the creation that He brought from potential to actuality as a loan for his sake. And when he performs the mitzvah in completeness, he fulfills his obligation — for he discharges the loan-debt to Hashem Yisborach, for he returns everything to its root through the mitzvos, as above. And therefore the wicked person who does not fulfill the mitzvos is called "the wicked one borrows and does not repay" (Psalms 37:21). For at first glance it is puzzling: why does King David, alav hashalom, call the wicked person by the name "the wicked borrower" etc.? Is a person not called wicked except on account of this one transgression alone — that he borrowed and does not repay? And behold, we find many wicked people who pay on time and on schedule, yet they are nonetheless very great sinners who transgress the entire Torah, may the Merciful One save us! But according to the above, it is precisely fitting and exact — for whoever is wicked on account of any transgression whatsoever is called "the wicked one borrows and does not repay." For since he transgresses the mitzvos of the Torah and does not fulfill his obligation to repay Hashem Yisborach the entire loan-debt of the creation that is incumbent upon him — therefore he is certainly called "the wicked one borrows and does not repay," for he does not repay Hashem Yisborach his obligation, as above. It follows that all the mitzvos that are performed are the aspect of the repayment of a debt. But the borrower is not discharged from the debt until he pays into the hand of the lender himself. And the Lender Himself is Hashem Yisborach, kiv'yachol — for one must return into His hand itself, kiv'yachol, the entire creation that is contained within the souls of Israel, for whose sake everything was created — in the aspect of: "Give it to Him as He gave it to you." And it is impossible to return everything into the hand of Hashem Yisborach Himself, kiv'yachol, except when one merits to perform the mitzvah with such great simchah that he has simchah from the mitzvah itself and does not desire any reward of Olam Haba on account of the mitzvah. And then, when he performs the mitzvah with such simchah, he is included in Hashem Yisborach, kiv'yachol, at the time of performing the mitzvos, which are His unity, as above. And then the entire world and all that fills it is included with him, and everything is included in Hashem Yisborach through the mitzvos, which are the vitality of the world, which are His unity, Yisborach. And everything is included together in Hashem Yisborach, kiv'yachol. It follows that he has returned the entire world and all that fills it into the hand of Hashem Yisborach Himself — for everything is included in Him, Yisborach, through performing the mitzvos with simchah from the mitzvah itself, which is His unity, Yisborach. Through this, everything is included in its root, as above. But not every person merits to perform the mitzvos with such simchah, that everything would be included in Hashem Yisborach Himself, kiv'yachol, as above. For one who performs the mitzvah for the sake of the reward of Olam Haba is the aspect of a prophet through an aspaklaria she'ainah m'irah, like one who sees something from a distance — so too he performs the mitzvah for the sake of its reward that comes at a distant time. And likewise he is not included in the very essence of Hashem Yisborach; rather he stands at a distance. And the mitzvah, together with the entire world and all that fills it that depends upon it, must be sent as a sh'lichus [agency] from world to world until it is clarified and elevated and included in its root — which is the aspect of the payment of the debt. And then there is the risk of the journey — for there is great risk on the journey, from the many accusers who accuse and prevent the mitzvos from ascending and being included in their place and root. And therefore we must perform all the mitzvos with the intention of Moshe Rabbeinu, alav hashalom, and connect ourselves at the time of performing each and every mitzvah to the true Tzadik of the generation, who is the aspect of Moshe Rabbeinu, the aspect of a prophet through the aspaklaria ham'irah. That is, one must connect himself to this true Tzadik who merits to perform all the mitzvos with simchah from the mitzvah itself — who does not desire any reward of Olam Haba on account of the mitzvah. And this Tzadik is included in Hashem Yisborach through his mitzvos, as above, and with him the entire world and all that fills it is included in its root, as above. And when we connect all the mitzvos that we perform to such true Tzadikim, then we send our mitzvos — which are the aspect of paying our debts, as above — through "a faithful emissary to his senders" (Proverbs 25:13). That is, through a faithful agent of Hashem Yisborach, who is the aspect of Moshe, about whom it is said: "In all My house he is faithful" (Numbers 12:7). For he is called the agent of Hashem Yisborach — which is the aspect of the agent of the lender, as above. When one pays into his hand, it is as though one pays into the hand of the lender himself — for he is a faithful emissary to his senders. And as soon as our mitzvah comes to his hand, he elevates it and returns it immediately to Hashem Yisborach. And all the portions of the world that depend upon us, upon each and every one of Israel — everything is included in Hashem Yisborach. And then we fulfill our obligation and discharge the debt in completeness, and are saved from all the risk — for the responsibility is no longer upon us, since we have paid everything into the hand of the agent of the lender, as above. And also when one sends through such an agent — the aspect of Moshe — there is no concern of any risk on the journey at all, for he discharges everything immediately into the hand of the Lender Himself — for he is always included in Hashem Yisborach through his mitzvos with simchah, as above, and through him everything is included in Hashem Yisborach, as above. And this is what is explained in the aforementioned teaching — that through the Tzadik who performs the mitzvah with great simchah, as above, who is the aspect of Moshe, as above — through him specifically the world is rectified etc. For he fills the deficiency of the world etc., as above. For through this Tzadik, the entire world and all that fills it is included in Hashem Yisborach through performing his mitzvos with simchah. And then certainly the world is saved from all manner of risk and is rectified from all the deficiencies, and is saved from all the accusations — for he has already returned everything to Hashem Yisborach. And "who is this who has pledged his heart to approach Me? says Hashem" (Jeremiah 30:21). And this is what is written: "And his mighty one shall be from him, and his ruler shall emerge from his midst, and I will bring him near and he shall approach Me — for who is this who has pledged his heart to approach Me? says Hashem" (Jeremiah 30:21). For this verse is said about Mashiach, who is Moshe — as is brought — that he will merit the aforementioned level in completeness, the level of the aspaklaria ham'irah, to perform the mitzvos with simchah from the mitzvah itself. And through this he will be included in Hashem Yisborach in completeness, and the entire world will be included with him. And therefore the essential rectification of the world will be through him. And this is: "And I will bring him near and he shall approach Me" specifically — that he will be included in Me. And with him the entire world will be included. Then certainly everything will be rectified — as the verse concludes: "And who is this who has pledged his heart to approach Me?" etc., as above. And therefore he is called "mighty one" and "ruler" — for he is the aspect of "a Tzadik who rules" (II Samuel 23:3), for he is not the aspect of a m'kabeil [receiver] at all, as is explained below — see there. And therefore no prophet is permitted to innovate a matter from this time forward — for we are unable to perform any mitzvah or practice except according to Moshe Rabbeinu, alav hashalom, who is a prophet through the aspaklaria ham'irah. For through his holy mitzvos that he received from the mouth of the Almighty in his holy prophecy through the aspaklaria ham'irah — and also now we perform all the mitzvos with his intention and connect all the mitzvos to him, as we say regarding most of the mitzvos: "as You commanded us through Moshe Your servant" etc. And through him specifically we are able to fulfill the will of Hashem Yisborach and to rectify the entire world and to elevate the entire world to its root, as above. And therefore we are unable to perform any mitzvah upon the authority of a [mere] prophet — for no prophet is permitted to innovate a matter from this time forward — for all the prophets prophesied through the aspaklaria she'ainah m'irah, except for Moshe Rabbeinu, alav hashalom, who prophesied through the aspaklaria ham'irah — which is the aspect of simchah from the mitzvah itself — through whom specifically one can fulfill the will of Hashem Yisborach and perform all the mitzvos, which are the vitality and rectification of the world, as above. For the essential rectification of the world — to fill all the deficiencies of the world — is specifically through the aspect of Moshe, who is the aspect of a prophet through the aspaklaria ham'irah — one who merits to perform the mitzvah with great simchah from the mitzvah itself, until he does not desire any reward of Olam Haba for the mitzvah — for his Olam Haba is in the mitzvah itself etc., as above. For the essential purpose of the creation of the world was only for this ultimate goal — to merit to the simchah shel mitzvah, that is, to merit that a person should have simchah from the mitzvah itself until he does not desire any Olam Haba. For this is the essential ultimate purpose and intention of the creation, and for this everything was created. And therefore through this specifically the entire world and all that fills it ascends in the ultimate ascent and is included in its root, and the entire world is rectified and all the deficiencies of the world are filled. For it is known that the essential totality of the creation of all the worlds from beginning to end — everything was only for the sake of man, so that man should merit in this world to serve and earn his reward according to his service, by which he serves Hashem Yisborach in this world according to his free will — so that he should not eat nahama d'chisufa [the bread of shame] — for solely for this was the entire creation, as is known and brought in the holy books. For originally the soul was eating nahama d'chisufa, and "one who eats that which is not his own is ashamed to look at the face" of the giver. And Hashem Yisborach desires to do good and wishes to benefit the soul — that it should not eat nahama d'chisufa. And for this He created the entire creation from beginning to end. And the essential ultimate goal is the simchah — which is the essential reward and the ultimate happiness. For then we will merit complete simchah in Hashem Yisborach, as it is written: "And it shall be said on that day: behold, our God… let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation" (Isaiah 25:9). And as our Sages, zichronam livrachah, said (Ta'anis 31): "In the future, the Holy One, Blessed is He, will make a dance for the Tzadikim" etc. — "For with simchah you shall go forth" (Isaiah 55:12) etc. — "joy and simchah shall overtake" etc. And as it is written: "Fullness of joys is Your presence" (Psalms 16:11) etc. And Rashi explained: "simchah that has no end — this is the simchah of the future" etc. And likewise it is explained in very many verses — for Hashem Yisborach is the very essence of simchah, kiv'yachol, as it is written: "Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy are in His place" (I Chronicles 16:27). And He desired in His kindness and goodness to grant the souls of Israel that they should merit this simchah — that is, His simchah, for according to His simchah, so shall be our simchah. As is explained there in the aforementioned teaching regarding the statement of Rabbah bar bar Chanah: "He [was dancing] upright and we on our sides" — "according to His simchah, so is our simchah," as it is written: "Hashem shall rejoice in His works; Israel shall rejoice in its Maker" (Psalms 104:31, 149:2). But this simchah is impossible to merit except through mitzvos and good deeds of the lowly person in this world specifically — who possesses free will, who merits to earn his reward through his mitzvos and good deeds that he performs with great toil, through subduing his evil inclination, because he possesses free will. Through this specifically he is able to merit the simchah that has no end — which is the simchah of Hashem Yisborach Himself, kiv'yachol. For as long as the reward is not earned through one's own labor, but the reward is received as a free gift — even though the nature of the Good is to do good, and Hashem Yisborach desires to bestow upon him all good — nevertheless, it is impossible that he should merit simchah in completeness. For as long as he does not merit to earn his reward through his own labor, he is the aspect of a m'kabeil [receiver] — which is the aspect of poverty and destitution, who are receivers — where the essential sadness resides. For "one who eats that which is not his own is ashamed to look at the face," and all his eating is bread of sloth and sadness, the aspect of: "In sorrow you shall eat it" (Genesis 3:17) — which is said about the poor one who receives. And for this very purpose Hashem Yisborach created the entire creation — everything was so that the soul should not eat nahama d'chisufa. That is, Hashem Yisborach desired to grant the soul that it should merit the awaited reward — which is simchah in Him, Yisborach, simchah that has no end. For this simchah is impossible to merit in any way except when one is not in the category of a m'kabeil at all. For as long as he is the aspect of a m'kabeil, the aspect of sadness takes hold of him — which is the aspect of poverty, the aspect of "in sorrow you shall eat it." And therefore it is impossible to merit the ultimate happiness — that is, the aforementioned simchah — except through one's own labor. For then he is not a m'kabeil at all and no sadness takes hold of him. And then through his labor he will merit the simchah that has no end — which is impossible to merit except by one who is not the aspect of a m'kabeil at all, as above. And when Hashem Yisborach created the creation — and at that time there was not yet any labor or any is'ar'usa dil'sasa at all, and He was compelled to create the creation through His kindness as an act of pure kindness — therefore the world at that time was the aspect of a m'kabeil, since it was created only through free kindness alone, without any is'ar'usa dil'sasa. And because of this, there was the hold of din [harsh judgment] at the creation of the world. And it is taught that the essential hold of din is solely because the world was created without is'ar'usa dil'sasa, as is understood in the writings of the Arizal. That is, as above — that because at the time of the creation of the world there was not yet any is'ar'usa dil'sasa at all, and He created the world through His kindness alone as a free gift — it follows that the entire world was the aspect of a m'kabeil, which is the aspect of sadness, as above. And sadness is sitra d'dina [the side of judgment], as is known. And therefore there necessarily was a hold of din at the time of the creation of the world, because there was no is'ar'usa dil'sasa. That is, because of this the world was the aspect of a m'kabeil, which is the aspect of sadness, the aspect of din, as above. And from this din, all the deficiencies and all the decrees, chas v'shalom, that come upon the world are drawn and derived. And therefore it is impossible to sweeten this din and to rectify the world and to fill the deficiency of the world except through the true Tzadik who merits to perform the mitzvos with great simchah from the mitzvah itself and does not desire any reward of Olam Haba — for this Tzadik specifically is able to rectify the world from all the deficiencies and to sweeten all the judgments. For this Tzadik is not the aspect of a m'kabeil at all, and there is no hold of sadness and din in him at all. For as long as one does not merit this level but still desires the reward of Olam Haba for his mitzvos — even though he is a truly complete Tzadik and has much Olam Haba, and his portion in life, praiseworthy is he — nevertheless, there is still in him a hold of the aspect of m'kabeil slightly, which is some hold of the aspect of sadness. For even though he merited to earn the reward of his Olam Haba through the reward of his mitzvos and good deeds, nevertheless everything is a free gift and he is the aspect of a m'kabeil. For it is written: "Who preceded Me that I should repay?" (Job 41:3). And as our Sages, zichronam livrachah, expounded (Midrash Vayikra, Chapter 27): "Did he make Me a mezuzah before I gave him a house? Did he make Me tzitzis before I gave him a garment?" — as above. And also the mezuzah itself and the tzitzis themselves are also of Hashem Yisborach. And also all the power and vitality and body and limbs of a person — everything belongs to Hashem Yisborach alone, for "from You is everything, and from Your hand we have given You" (I Chronicles 29:14). And if so, by what has man merited to earn the reward of Olam Haba through his labor, since everything belongs to Hashem Yisborach, for all good deeds are all from Him alone? And therefore, as long as a person desires reward for his mitzvos, even though he truly will merit good reward that is stored away — nevertheless, he is the aspect of a m'kabeil, for "Who preceded Me that I should repay?" as above. And since he is still the aspect of a m'kabeil, therefore he does not have the power to sweeten the din that has hold of the world — which is all derived from the din that took hold from the beginning of creation, which is solely because the world was the aspect of a m'kabeil, which is the aspect of sadness, the opposite of simchah, as above. And therefore this Tzadik certainly is unable to sweeten and completely nullify the din, since he too is still the aspect of a m'kabeil, since he desires to receive Olam Haba etc., as above. And certainly his simchah from the mitzvah is not in completeness — for the essential simchah is when one is not the aspect of a m'kabeil at all, for in the aspect of m'kabeil — there the sadness takes hold, which is the opposite of simchah, as above. And because of this he is unable to fill the deficiency of the world — that is, to sweeten the din, as above. And therefore the essential sweetening and complete nullification of the judgments is only through this true Tzadik who merited to perform all the mitzvos with such great simchah that he has simchah from the mitzvah itself, until he does not desire any reward of Olam Haba as reward for the mitzvah etc. It follows that this Tzadik is not in any aspect of m'kabeil at all — for he truly does not desire any reward of Olam Haba at all, and he toils and serves Hashem Yisborach constantly, day and night, with great toil and very great labor, and derives no benefit from this world at all, not even with his little finger — as Rabbeinu HaKadosh said before his death: "It is revealed and known before You that I toiled with my ten fingers etc. and did not benefit even with my little finger." And as our Rebbe, zichrono livrachah, hinted in the story of the Seven Beggars, which speaks of the ancient Tzadikim — where it is alluded that the truly great Tzadikim have no regard for this world at all, and also do not hear any sound of this world, and also do not speak any speech in this world that is not praise of Hashem Yisborach, and also do not wish to leave any breath or exhalation in this world etc. — and likewise with the other limbs and senses. And as is brought in the Holy Zohar: "Praiseworthy is one who derived no benefit from his own at all." It follows that the truly great Tzadikim neither seek nor benefit from this world even as much as a hair's breadth, the finest of the fine. And they serve and toil with all their might all their days in the service of Hashem in truth. And yet they do not desire any Olam Haba at all; rather, all their simchah is in the mitzvah itself — their essential simchah is that they merit in their lifetime to fulfill the will of Hashem Yisborach. For there is no pleasure and simchah greater than this: that one born of woman, a putrid drop, formed from clay, should merit to fulfill the will of Hashem Yisborach, the living and enduring God, Master of all, Whose greatness is unfathomable. And in truth it is impossible to merit this except through the levels described there in the aforementioned teaching — that is, by stripping the crookedness of his heart through the aspect of "thunder," which is the aspect of prayer with power — to pray with all one's might etc. — and provided that one is careful about the "leavening of the mind" etc., as is explained there. See there. Let us return to our subject: this Tzadik who merits this — to perform the mitzvos with great simchah from the mitzvah itself, until he truly does not desire any reward of Olam Haba at all — this Tzadik is not the aspect of a m'kabeil at all. And therefore he merits great simchah, the ultimate simchah — for the essential simchah is when one is not the aspect of a m'kabeil at all, where the sadness takes hold, as above. And therefore this Tzadik specifically is able to sweeten all the judgments from the world and to fill the deficiency of the world — for all the deficiencies and judgments, chas v'shalom, are drawn from the root of the din that took hold at the beginning of the creation, through the aspect of sadness, because the world was the aspect of a m'kabeil etc., as above. And therefore through this Tzadik, everything is sweetened and completed — for now, through this Tzadik who is not the aspect of a m'kabeil at all, who has merited the ultimate simchah — through him the entire world, which was created for his sake, ascends. For now the entire world is not the aspect of a m'kabeil at all — for certainly it was fitting to create the world for the sake of this Tzadik, who is the aspect of Moshe, who is not a m'kabeil at all, who has merited the ultimate simchah, for which the essential intention of the creation was — in order to merit this simchah, which is merited only when one is not a m'kabeil at all, as above — through which everything is sweetened, as above. And this is the aspect of the mitzvah of milah [circumcision]. For it is taught in the Midrash (B'reishis, Chapter 11) that the heretics asked: "Why was man not created circumcised?" And they answered there: "Because everything needs rectification. The lupines need rectification, the wheat needs rectification" etc. That is, as above — for necessarily man must be created with the orlah [foreskin], and we in this world rectify ourselves through the mitzvah of milah. For when a person emerges into the world, he does not yet have any merit by which he came into the world. And then he is the aspect of the beginning of creation — that the world was created through His kindness as a free gift, as above. And then he is the aspect of a m'kabeil, as above — from which comes the hold of sadness and din, as above — from which comes the hold of the orlah, which is the aspect of the k'lipah [shell] that precedes the fruit, which is the aspect of the blemish of the Bris. For the orlah is the blemish of the Bris, which is the aspect of sadness, which is the essential blemish of the Bris — as is brought in the words of our Rebbe, zichrono livrachah, in many places: that the rectification of the Bris is the aspect of simchah, and the blemish of the Bris is sadness. And therefore the essential hold of the orlah — which is the blemish of the Bris — is from the aspect of sadness that takes hold in the aspect of m'kabeil, as above. And because man at the beginning of his formation is the aspect of a m'kabeil, since he does not yet have any merit — rather he is created and emerges into the world through His kindness alone, as a free gift, just as at the beginning of creation — therefore necessarily he emerges into the world with the orlah, and we in this world must rectify him. And through our circumcising ourselves — for we cut away the orlah that covers the Bris, which is the essential rectification of the person (for before this he was not in the category of adam [man] at all, for the essential image and form of man is the circumcised Jew) — it follows that through the mitzvah of milah, we ourselves rectify ourselves. And through this itself we subdue and nullify the orlah at its root — for its essential hold is from the aspect of sadness, which is the aspect of m'kabeil, which was drawn from the fact that man was created by Hashem Yisborach Himself. But now it is as though we ourselves made this person, through our circumcising him — through which he becomes adam. And when the person is made through us, the aspect of m'kabeil is nullified and the sadness is nullified, and through this the orlah is nullified at its root, whose hold is from the aspect of m'kabeil, as above. And then the Bris is revealed — which is the Tzadik Y'sod Olam [the Righteous Foundation of the World], which is the aspect of a mashpia [bestower], the aspect of "the Tzadik is gracious and gives" (Psalms 37:21) — the opposite of the aspect of m'kabeil. For until now the orlah was covering the Bris, whose hold is from the aspect of sadness, the aspect of m'kabeil. And therefore the illumination of the Tzadik Y'sod Olam, which is the aspect of mashpia, was not revealed. But now, through our having ourselves merited to rectify this child and to make him a new creation through the mitzvah of milah — and the infant himself endured the great pain of the milah in order that he should merit to enter the category of Israel — therefore it is considered as though he made himself. And therefore now he has left the aspect of m'kabeil, and through this the orlah is nullified at its root, whose hold is from the aspect of m'kabeil, as above. And therefore now the Bris is revealed — which is the aspect of the illumination of Tzadik Y'sod Olam, which is the aspect of mashpia, the opposite of the aspect of m'kabeil, as above. And therefore the mitzvah of milah is a mitzvah that Israel received with simchah and they still perform it with simchah — and as our Sages, zichronam livrachah, said. For the essential aspect of this mitzvah is the aspect of simchah, which is the rectification of the Bris — which is the aspect of Tzadik, the aspect of mashpia, the opposite of the aspect of m'kabeil, which is the aspect of sadness, which is the aspect of the orlah that is cut away. And the Bris is revealed — which is the aspect of Tzadik mashpia, which is the aspect of simchah, the aspect of: "Light is sown for the Tzadik, and simchah for the upright of heart" (Psalms 97:11) — as above.

For sometimes a person falls into a deep descent where there is no foothold at all; and especially in these generations, where many of Israel have fallen greatly, until in their own eyes they are completely beyond hope. And regarding them did King David, peace be upon him, prophesy: “I have sunk in the miry depths and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters and the flood sweeps over me” [Psalms 69:3]. For regarding this exile it is said: “and she descended astonishingly, with none to help her” [Lamentations 1:9]. And the magnitude of the compassion that one must have for such people — who drown in the miry depths with no foothold — is beyond estimation. May the Omnipresent have mercy on them.