ערב ד

And this is what the Torah commanded regarding the war of Amalek: "Write this as a memorial in the Book, and place it in the ears of Yehoshua" (Shemos 17:14) — which is the aspect of Written Torah and Oral Torah together: "Write this" etc. — this is the aspect of Written Torah; "and place it in the ears of Yehoshua" — that is, to speak it with him orally — this is the aspect of Oral Torah. For Amalek, being the aspect of the blemish of faith in the Sages, blemishes both Torahs together. And therefore its subjugation is through both Torahs, the aspect of "Write this" and "place it in the ears of", etc. And therefore the sotah, who blemished faith in the Sages and acted treacherously against her husband — against the husband above and the husband below — and caused separation, God forbid, between the Holy Blessed One and His Shechina, between Written Torah and Oral Torah — the aspect of "a whisperer separates a close friend" (v'nirgan mafrid aluf, Mishlei 16:28) — in the aspect of "she who forsakes the guide of her youth and has forgotten the covenant of her God" (Mishlei 2:17). And through this she blemished both Torahs through the separation, God forbid, etc., as above. Therefore it is necessary on her account to erase a passage of Torah, as it is written: "and he shall write and he shall erase" — to show her what she has blemished. That is: she did not blemish only in isha yiras Hashem, the Oral Torah alone, but in both Torahs together. For now, through her having blemished faith in the Sages — the Oral Torah — it is as though she erased the writing of the Torah. For now nothing is known of the Written Torah — it is as though the writing of the Torah has been erased, God forbid — since when one blemishes faith in the Sages one also blemishes the Written Torah, for nothing of the Written Torah can be known without faith in the Sages — the Oral Torah — as though the writing had been erased, God forbid. For only the Sages sustain and illuminate the Written Torah, etc., as above.

And through erasing His Name that was written in holiness, one thereby learns above by kal va-chomer (an argument from the lesser to the greater): if His Name which was written in holiness — the Torah declared "and he shall erase" — in order to make peace, etc.; then the books of heretics and apostates, which cast enmity between Yisrael and their Father in Heaven — how much more should they be erased and uprooted from the world, that their memory be blotted out from the world! For in truth it is all one — for the books of heretics and apostates, which are the blemish of faith, are themselves the very blemish of the sotah who blemished faith, as above; and this is itself the aspect of the war of Amalek. For Amalek is the aspect of heretics and apostates, the blemish of faith — as Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, wrote elsewhere. It therefore follows that through erasing His Name which was written in holiness, one thereby learns by kal va-chomer to blot out the memory of Amalek — the aspect of "for I shall utterly blot out the memory of Amalek" (Shemos 17:14) — who are the aspect of the books of heretics, etc., the blemish of faith, as above. And this is the aspect of: His Name and His throne are not complete until the memory of Amalek is blotted out — for Hashem Himself, as it were, wages war against it, as it is written: "For the hand is upon the throne of God (keis Yah) — war for Hashem against Amalek from generation to generation" (Shemos 17:16), etc., as above.

And this is the aspect of the rapist (ones) and the seducer (mifateh) of a virgin — who must give fifty silver shekalim to the father of the girl. For they blemished in isha yiras Hashem — faith in the Sages — whose essential repair is through the aspect of fifty silver shekalim corresponding to the aspect of the vow (neder), etc. For from there is the essential repair, as above. For they blemished in the ha-hu rucha, etc., which is drawn from there, etc., as above. And therefore it is necessary to give the fifty silver shekalim to the girl's father specifically — for her father annuls her vows, as it is written: "in her youth in her father's house" (Bamidbar 30:17). For the father (av b'chochma) is where the root of the vow resides — from which her essential construction and vitality derive — the aspect of the wonders of wisdom (pliyos chochma), as above. And therefore the essential repair is through giving the fifty silver shekalim to her father specifically, as above.

And from here we derive the law of the kesuba (marriage contract) — that the husband gives his virgin wife fifty zekukim of refined silver. For this is the essential repair and construction of her — through this she is drawn to him: because he is able to draw down for her illumination from the aspect of the vow, which is the aspect of the fifty silver shekalim — the aspect of the fifty gates of Bina (chamishim sha'aray Bina) — from which the essential construction and sustaining of isha yiras Hashem, the aspect of faith in the Sages, derives, etc., as above.

And this is the aspect of miun (refusal) of a minor girl. For the essential bond between them in holiness is in the aspect of the repair of faith in the Sages — that is, the connection and bond between Oral Torah and Written Torah, as above. And faith in the Sages — the aspect of isha yiras Hashem — is the aspect of malchus dikudsha (the kingdom of holiness), which stands upon twelve oxen, which are the aspect of the twelve tribes of God (shnaym asar shivtay Yah), which are the aspect of the twelve months — which are the aspect of the filling of the moon from its blemish, as is known. And therefore the measure of time for the minor girl is twelve years. For as long as she has not yet reached twelve years, she has not yet been fully included in the perfection of the aspect of malchus dikudsha which stands upon twelve tribes, etc. For throughout her minority she is ascending little by little from malchus harisha (the wicked kingdom), whose vitality is from mochin dikasnus (constricted consciousness), as is known — until she becomes a girl of twelve. And then she is fully included in the aspect of malchus dikudsha, and only then can she bond with her husband in a complete bond — in the aspect of the connection of Oral Torah with Written Torah, as above.

And therefore once she is a mature woman she cannot separate from her husband except through a get krisus (bill of divorce) which he writes for her — for a sefer (document) severs the bond between them, and nothing else severs it, as our Sages of blessed memory said. For if she were to be separated from him without this, God forbid, there would be separation between Written Torah and Oral Torah. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that he give her a sefer krisus — and through this she receives illumination from the aspect of sefer, from the aspect of Written Torah. And then precisely she separates with the root of her vitality that she had with her husband — which is the essential aspect of the bond between them. For isha yiras Hashem — faith in the Sages — her root and vitality are in the aspect of Written Torah. And therefore the woman cannot separate from her husband until her husband is willing to draw down for her the root of her illumination that she has with him — which is the aspect of Written Torah — which is the aspect of the sefer krisus that he gives her, the aspect of sefer, the aspect of Written Torah. And then even though she separates from him, no separation is made, God forbid — through this — for she has still not been separated from her root. For she has received the sefer krisus, etc., as above.

And this is the aspect of "and she departs and becomes" — which is compared to departure: for immediately at the moment of departure from her husband, the aspect of havaya (becoming/existence) begins through the aspect of the sefer krisus — through which she is bound to her root, to the aspect of Written Torah, which is the aspect of havaya. And through this precisely she can still come into being and be married to another — for she has still not been separated, God forbid, from the aspect of isha yiras Hashem — faith in the Sages, etc., as above.

But when she is a minor girl still below twelve years — who cannot yet receive the illumination of mochin, the aspect of the illumination and connection of Written Torah with Oral Torah, etc., as above — therefore she does not need a sefer krisus as above, and goes out through miun (refusal). For she is still in the aspect of mochin dikasnus — from which there is still some hold and chain of descent to the wicked kingdom, which is where the essential miun is — in the aspect of "and Queen Vashti refused" (vatma-ayn hamalka Vashti), etc. (Esther 1:12). For there is where the essential miun is — in the aspect of "and if the woman does not wish to go after you" (Devarim 21:7), etc.

And therefore the measure of maturity for a man is thirteen years — for he is composed of Written Torah and Oral Torah together, and his essential completion is through receiving illumination from the aspect of the thirteen principles by which the Torah is expounded (shlosh esray midos she-haTorah nidreshes bahen) — through which Written Torah and Oral Torah are united. And therefore his measure is thirteen years — for the essential expositions and novellae of Torah through the thirteen principles are through the man specifically, who is composed of Written Torah and Oral Torah. For a woman is forbidden to study Torah, as our Sages of blessed memory said. She is only in the aspect of faith — the aspect of faith in the Sages — like the aspect of the multitude of the people (hamon am) who lack the intellect to expound Torah and need only the aspect of faith in the Sages. And the Sages expound the Torah through the thirteen principles, etc., and from there the multitude of the people receive their illumination through faith alone.

And this is the aspect of man and woman: the man is in the aspect of the thirteen principles by which the Torah is expounded — which is the aspect of the Sages who expound the Torah, etc. — and therefore his measure is thirteen years, as above. And the woman is in the aspect of faith in the Sages — emuna specifically — for she is only in the aspect of faith, which is the aspect of malchus. And therefore her measure is twelve years — for malchus dikudsha stands upon the twelve tribes. And then precisely the aspect of the holy faith is fully included and she is able to receive from the aspect of the thirteen principles by which the Torah is expounded, etc., as above.

And therefore the minor girl is under the authority of her father to be betrothed — for the father is the aspect of the root of the vow from which her vitality and construction derive, as above. And therefore when she is betrothed through her father, she cannot go out through miun — for even though she is a minor, she can be included in the aspect of faith in the Sages to receive from her husband. Since she has a father who is the aspect of the root of the vow — through which the essential repair of faith in the Sages is accomplished, as above — through this she is bonded with him.

Baruch Hashem l'olam Amen v'Amen. Blessed is Hashem forever, Amen and Amen.

Also in Hilchos Gitin, Halacha 3, §14, the matter of yibum and chalitsa is explained. Halacha 4 — in Hilchos Gitin, Halacha 4, §8. Halacha 5 — in Hilchos Priya u'Riviya, Halacha 5, §25.

Based on the Torah \"Oovi'Yom HaBikurim\" — Likutay Moharan I, §56 & Hilchos Gitin, Halacha 1

The matter of the parasha (Torah passage) of the sotah (the suspected adulteress — a married woman who has secluded herself with another man after her husband's warning) — that the commandment is to write the passage and erase it into the water, and through this the sotah is examined — is according to the Torah teaching mentioned above (in Hilchos Gitin, Halacha 1) and "Oovi'Yom HaBikurim" (in §56). The general principle is: through the Torah, which is the Name of the Holy Blessed One (Sh'ma Dikudsha Brich Hoo), one calls upon the Living of all lives (Chay haChayim) and draws down vitality. That is: through da'as (spiritual knowledge and connection) one knows that even within the concealments (hastoros), Hashem is clothed and present there — and then the concealments are transformed into da'as and Torah. And then the Torah proclaims before them, etc. And corresponding to malchus dikudsha (the kingdom of holiness) there is malchus harisha (the wicked kingdom), which is the kingdom of Amalek. But malchus dikudsha has the power to extract from the wicked kingdom all the holy sparks (nitzotzos dikudsha) that it has swallowed, and to make from them da'as and Torah, etc. — see there carefully.

Now the concealments are themselves the very power of the wicked kingdom. For when malchus dikudsha is in a state of concealment, the wicked kingdom has power, God forbid. But through the Torah — which is the Name of the Holy Blessed One — the concealment is revealed and transformed into Torah. And this is itself the subjugation of the wicked kingdom, the kingdom of Amalek, as above. And this is accomplished through the Torah, which is the Name of the Holy Blessed One, as above. For it is "one corresponding to the other" (ze likumas ze): the wicked kingdom — which stands against malchus dikudsha — is in the aspect of the blotting out of the Name (mechiyyas shem), in the aspect of "you shall blot out the memory of Amalek" — and its vitality draws from the aspect of the erasure of the Name, God forbid. For when the Name is complete, it is subjugated, as above. But its power, God forbid, is only when the Name is not complete — in the aspect of "for the hand is upon the throne of God (keis Yah)" — that His Name is not complete until its memory is blotted out. It therefore follows that its vitality derives from the incompleteness of the Name, God forbid — that is, the aspect of the erasure of the Name — which is the aspect of the concealments: they are the aspect of the erasure of the Torah, which is the Name. For concealment is the aspect of something becoming, as it were, permitted — that what was forbidden has been reversed and made permitted. And sometimes even this is not known — that is, the aspect of concealment within concealment (hastara shebisoch hastara) — which is in the aspect of the erasure of the Torah, God forbid — that one knows nothing at all of the Torah through the concealments, like something that has been erased of which one cannot know what was written in it.

And this is the aspect of the erasure of the sotah passage — which is a passage of the Torah. For the husband is obligated to warn her (likanie lah) — that is, to rebuke her and caution her — which is the aspect of the rebuke that every person who holds the aspect of malchus is obligated to give, as is brought there. And when he rebukes her and she does not listen to him, and she secluded herself (vinistara), etc. — then she is in the aspect of concealment, the aspect of the strengthening of the kingdom of Amalek through the sin of the sotah, which is the blemish of the covenant (pigam habris), as is brought there — for it grows strong through that very blemish. For when he warned her and cautioned her — that is, when he issued a warning (kina) to her: "do not seclude yourself" — and she did not listen to him and returned to her folly and secluded herself again, this is the aspect of avar vishana (repeated transgression, which becomes) as though permitted — which is the aspect of concealment, as is brought there. And this: "and she secluded herself" — "vinistara" specifically — is the aspect of the above-mentioned concealment, through which malchus is in concealment. And then when there is concealment, God forbid, the truth is in hiding and obscurity. For this is the essential concealment — the aspect of "and I shall hide My face" (vihistarti fanai) — and the panim (face) is the truth, as Rabbeinu, his light shall shine, wrote many times. For concealment means that the Torah has been reversed and hidden until what was forbidden has been made as though permitted, God forbid — and this is the hiding of the truth. For the Torah is the aspect of Toras emes (the Torah of truth) — and it has entered a state of concealment until it has been made as though permitting what is forbidden — which is the aspect of falsehood (sheker). And it is necessary to reveal the concealment — that is, through knowing that even within the concealment Hashem is clothed there, as above — and then the concealment is revealed and the truth is made manifest.

And when the truth is revealed, then the Torah proclaims before them: "How long will you simpletons love simplicity?" ("ad mosay p'sa'im te'ahavu fesi", Mishlei 1:22), etc. And then there is justice and judgment in the world. For right now the truth is hidden — and therefore the wicked succeed and the righteous suffer afflictions. But in the future, when the truth will be revealed: "And you shall return and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked" (Malachi 3:18) — and then there will be the downfall of the wicked through the revelation of the truth. For when the truth is revealed, the world is conducted in truth — the wicked will fall and the righteous will rejoice in the goodness of Hashem. And as Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, wrote (§66) — that the downfall of the wicked is through the revelation of the truth.

It therefore follows: when the concealment is revealed and Torah is made from it — and the truth is made manifest — then the Torah proclaims before them. And then there is an end and a conclusion: either they return in repentance through hearing the proclamation and the warning of the Torah that calls out before them, as above — or if they still do not listen, then the Torah takes vengeance upon them. For it has now warned them and they did not listen — in the aspect of "one may not be punished unless one has been warned" (ein onshim ela im kain mazhirin). Therefore, until now, when it was a state of concealment and the proclamation and warning of the Torah were not heard, punishment and vengeance did not come immediately. But now that the concealment has been revealed and the Torah proclaims and cries out before them and warns them — therefore when they do not listen, it takes vengeance upon them. For now the truth has been revealed — through which vengeance is immediately enacted upon the wicked, as above.

For the letters of the Torah are active and perform all the deeds in the world — and it is their nature to give life to those who uphold them, and conversely to those who do not. Only when it is in the aspect of concealment, the truth is hidden and the letters of the Torah are reversed, God forbid — and therefore judgment and vengeance are not enacted through them immediately, as above. And therefore in the case of the sotah — where the aspect of concealment has come about as above, and the truth has been hidden so that one does not know whether she has been defiled — it is therefore necessary to reveal the concealment. And this is through knowing that even within the concealment the Name of Hashem is clothed there — that is, the Torah. Therefore one writes the passage and erases it into the water. For this is the aspect of the erasure of the Name, God forbid — the aspect of concealment — that is, one shows her the blemish she committed: the aspect of concealment she caused. For through the sins by which one comes to regard what is forbidden as permitted, it is as though one erases the letters of the Torah — that is, those letters of that prohibition and of that passage that speaks of this sin. And through transgressing them, it is as though one has erased that passage — which is the aspect of concealment, the aspect of avar vishana as though permitted, etc., as above.

Therefore here in the case of the sotah this is enacted in deed — they erase her passage. And this is the aspect of the concealment from which the power of the wicked kingdom derives, as above. But through this very act — taking the letters of the Torah and erasing them — through this very act we demonstrate that even within the aspect of the erasure of the Name, God forbid — the aspect of concealment — even there the letters of the Torah are clothed and present. For we see plainly that this erasure was made from the letters of the Torah. It therefore follows that even here the letters of the Torah are clothed within. And when one knows this, the concealment becomes da'as — that is, Torah. And this is what it means that one erases the passage into the water: for water is the aspect of chesed (loving-kindness) and da'as — the aspect of the mikveh that is brought there in the Torah teaching, especially holy water (mayim kedoshim) sanctified in the kiyor (laver). And then from the aspect of the erasure of the Name — the aspect of concealment — da'as is made, the aspect of holy water. And then when the concealment is transformed into da'as, the truth is revealed. And then the water examines her — that is, the da'as and Torah that have been revealed from within the concealment, which is the aspect of Toras emes — clarifies the truth: if she has been defiled, it takes immediate vengeance upon her through the revelation of the truth from within the concealment, as above; and if not, life and goodness are increased for her through this. For through the revelation of the concealment, life and length of days are drawn to malchus dikudsha, as it is written there.

And therefore the Kohen says the oath (shvua) with full and explicit speech, and specifies his words: "if you have gone astray and if you have not gone astray" ("im satis v'im lo satis"), etc. — in order to reveal the concealment through speaking out the words of the Torah and declaring explicitly the words of the passage: "if you have gone astray and if you have not gone astray." For concealment means that the words of the Living God (divrey Elokim chayyim) are reversed and the forbidden is made as though permitted, God forbid. But the Kohen clarifies the truth and reverses the concealment, as above.

And this is the aspect of "when a man's wife goes astray" (ki sishteh ishto). And our Sages of blessed memory expounded (Sotah 3a): a person does not commit a transgression unless a spirit of foolishness (ruach shtus) enters him. For she has distanced herself from the vitality — which is da'as, as above — and therefore she is called a fool (shota): the aspect of the spirit of foolishness, opposite to vitality which is da'as. For "wisdom gives life" (ha-chochma tichayeh), as it is written there. For all her vitality comes from her husband, as above — for he draws vitality and da'as to her, as above. And when she strays to another, she separates from her vitality — and therefore she is in the aspect of the spirit of foolishness, opposite to the vitality which is da'as, as above.

And therefore all this applies only in the Temple (Beis HaMikdash) and through the Kohen. For the Temple is the aspect of da'as, as Rabbeinu, his light shall shine, wrote (§13) — as our Sages of blessed memory said (Brachos 33a): whoever has da'as — it is as though the Temple was built in his days. And therefore the law of the sotah can only be administered there — for there one can reveal the concealment through the da'as of the Temple. And through the Kohen — the man of chesed (ish chesed) who is the aspect of wisdom (chochma) and da'as — for da'as is dependent upon chesed, as is explained there. And therefore the Torah was given over to the Kohanim in greater measure, as it is written (Devarim 33:10): "They shall teach Your judgments to Yaakov." And as it is written: "For the lips of the Kohen shall guard knowledge and Torah, etc." (Malachi 2:7). And therefore through their meriting Torah, they are able to reveal the concealment, as above.