חזקת מטלטלין א

Laws of Chezkas Karka'os (Presumptive Ownership of Land), Halachah 2

Likutay Halachos, Choshen Mishpat. Based on Likutay Moharan I:59. Translated from the Hebrew. Continued from Part 2.

And this is the aspect of the four cups of wine on the night of Pesach. For wine is the aspect of the ardor of the heart that is aroused through the aforementioned mishpat. For the mishpat — both for good and for the opposite — is called by the name of drinking a cup of wine, as it is written: "Ki Elokim shofait...ki kos b'yad Hashem v'yayin chamar" ["For G-d is the Judge...for a cup is in Hashem's hand, and the wine is foaming"] (T'hillim 75:8-9). And conversely, for good, salvation is called by the name "cup of salvations," as it is written: "Kos y'shu'os esa" ["I will raise a cup of salvations"] (T'hillim 116:13). And it is written: "Ta'aroch l'fanai shulchan neged tzor'rai...kosi r'vayah" ["You set a table before me in the presence of my enemies...my cup overflows"] (T'hillim 23:5). And the main receiving of reward that each person will receive on the day of din and mishpat is the aspect of "the wine preserved in its grapes," etc. It emerges that wine is the aspect of mishpat. And this is the aspect of the redness of wine, as it is written: "Al taire yayin ki yis'adam" ["Do not look upon wine when it is red"] (Mishlai 23:31) — the aspect of din and mishpat. And therefore wine has two powers: "zacha — na'aseh rosh; lo zacha — na'aseh rash" ["if he merits — he becomes a head; if he does not merit — he becomes poor"] (Yoma 76b). For "zacha" — meaning one who merits to judge himself until the fire of the holy mishpat is aroused to burn and eliminate the evil surrounding the souls — which are also a fire of the Sitra Achara, the aspect of the heat and fire of all the evil desires that must be burned through the aforementioned fire of the mishpat, for "from fire they came forth and fire will consume them" — and one who merits the aforementioned fire of the holy mishpat, then the wine is in k'dushah, in the aspect of "zacha — na'aseh rosh," the aspect of rosh and mochin [head and mentalities]. For the mishpat is the aspect of the tikkun of the moach [brain] and the chochmah [wisdom] from which the mishpat is drawn, as is explained there in the aforementioned Torah, in the aspect of: "Ki chochmas Elokim b'kirbo la'asos mishpat" ["For the wisdom of G-d is within him to do justice"] (M'lachim I 3:28). And this is the aspect of the wine of Kiddush at the onset of Shabbos and Yom Tov. For during all the six weekdays one must engage in the work and building of the aforementioned Haichal HaKodesh — meaning to clarify clarifications, to draw near and elevate souls and nitzutzos from the depths of the k'lipos to Hashem Yisbarach, as is explained there in the aforementioned Torah on the pasuk "Es Shabsosai tishmoru" — see there that during the weekdays the Sh'chinah clarifies clarifications, etc. And therefore during all the weekdays one must arouse each day the aforementioned fire of the mishpat to eliminate and burn the aforementioned evil, as above. But on Shabbos the Sh'chinah rests and does not clarify clarifications, for then is the aspect of the nullification of evil. And therefore at the onset of Shabbos, when all the souls and nitzutzos that were clarified during all the weekdays ascend, then one makes Kiddush over wine — which is the aspect of the aforementioned fire of the mishpat. Meaning, then one merits through the fire of the mishpat of the weekdays that now the heart is inflamed with shahlhuvin dirhimusah [flames of love], which is the aspect of wine in k'dushah — through which the heart is warmed and inflamed toward Hashem Yisbarach with great arousal and d'vaikus [clinging], in the aspect of: "Nazkirah dodecha miyayin, maisharim ahavucha" ["We will recall Your love more than wine; the upright love You"] (Shir HaShirim 1:4). "Maisharim" specifically — the aspect of ahavas mishor [straightforward love] without any crookedness, as Rashi explains there. In the aspect of: "V'chikech k'yayin hatov holaich l'dodi l'maisharim" ["And your palate is like the finest wine, going to my Beloved in straightness"] (Shir HaShirim 7:10) — this is the aspect of mishpat, as it is written: "Ki sishpot amim mishor" ["For You judge the peoples with straightness"] (T'hillim 67:5). And it is written: "V'Hu yishpot taivel b'tzedek ul'umim b'maisharim" ["And He will judge the world with righteousness and the nations with straightness"] (T'hillim 98:9). And it is written: "Atah konanta maisharim, mishpat utz'dakah b'Yaakov" ["You have established straightness, justice and righteousness in Yaakov"] (T'hillim 99:4). For during the weekday, when there is a hold of evil, then the evil intensifies each time to make the heart crooked, chas v'shalom, with many kinds of crookedness — to turn [the heart] away from Hashem Yisbarach, chas v'shalom. And then one needs great effort to eliminate and nullify the evil surrounding the heart, which is the crookedness of the heart. And the main elimination and nullification of this is through the aforementioned fire of the mishpat — meaning through hisbod'dus, as above. And then one merits on Shabbos — when there is the aspect of the nullification of evil, when the heart is completely straightened from its crookedness — that one no longer needs to fight with the evil to eliminate it. Rather, one merits that from the aforementioned fire of the mishpat one merits warmth and ardor of the heart of k'dushah toward Hashem Yisbarach — which is the aspect of the cup of wine of Kiddush, through which one receives the k'dushah of Shabbos, which is the main completion of the tikkun of the mishpat that is called maisharim, as above. In the aspect of "maisharim ahavucha," in the aspect of "holaich l'dodi l'maisharim," as above. And this is the aspect of the great simchah [joy] that is aroused through the wine of k'dushah, in the aspect of "v'yayin y'samach l'vav" ["and wine gladdens the heart"] (T'hillim 104:15). For this is the main simchah — that the fire of the mishpat intensifies until it burns all the evil surrounding the heart, until all the souls draw near to Hashem Yisbarach, which is the main element of His kavod [glory], as is explained there, in the aspect of: "Sapru vagoyim es k'vodo" ["Declare His glory among the nations"] (T'hillim 96:3). And then the simchah grows without measure, for this is the main element of His simchah and His delight, Yisbarach, in the aspect of: "Y'hi ch'vod Hashem l'olam, yismach Hashem b'ma'asav" ["Let the glory of Hashem endure forever; let Hashem rejoice in His works"] (T'hillim 104:31). And likewise it is explained in all the psalms that are said at the onset of Shabbos — when all the souls and nitzutzos that were clarified during the weekdays ascend — that they all speak of the magnification of His kavod, Yisbarach, through this, and of the greatness of the simchah that is drawn through this. As it is written: "Yism'chu hashamayim v'sagail ha'aretz, v'yomru vagoyim Hashem malach" ["The heavens will rejoice and the earth will be glad, and they will say among the nations: Hashem reigns"] (T'hillim 96:11/Divrai HaYamim I 16:31) — meaning when even the nations, the aspect of the distant ones, say "Hashem malach," then the simchah is very great, in the aspect of "yism'chu hashamayim," etc. And this is the aspect of: "Yism'chu virannu l'umim ki sishpot amim mishor" ["The nations will be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples with straightness"] (T'hillim 67:5). Go out and look and you will find that all the psalms said at the onset of Shabbos speak of the greatness of Hashem Yisbarach and His great kavod that will be revealed in the future, on the day that is entirely Shabbos, at the time of the completion of the birur — when all the nations and all the distant ones will know His greatness and kavod. And then the simchah will be exceedingly great, in the aspect of: "Hashem malach tagail ha'aretz" ["Hashem reigns, the earth will be glad"] (T'hillim 97:1), in the aspect of: "Oz v'chedvah bimkomo, havu laHashem mishp'chos amim" ["Strength and joy are in His place; ascribe to Hashem, families of peoples"] (Divrai HaYamim I 16:27-28). And juxtaposed to this pasuk is: "Sapru vagoyim k'vodo" — in one psalm, for this psalm "Shiru laHashem" speaks of this most of all. And likewise all the psalms [of Shabbos eve], for this is the main simchah — when the distant souls draw near to Hashem Yisbarach. And therefore this is said at the onset of Shabbos, when all the souls and nitzutzos that were clarified during the weekdays ascend to Hashem Yisbarach. And then one merits a kos y'shu'os, the aspect of the joyous wine, which is the ardor of the heart toward Hashem Yisbarach, as above — and this is the aspect of the cup of wine of Kiddush through which one receives Shabbos, as above. And this is the aspect of the four cups of wine of Pesach. For the main redemption was through the aforementioned fire of the mishpat, the aspect of "vayaira ailav mal'ach Hashem b'labas aish." And then one merits to drink four cups of wine of salvation and redemption. For the main redemption is through the mishpat, which is the aspect of joyous wine, the aspect of the ardor of the heart toward Hashem Yisbarach, as above. And therefore they are four cups, corresponding to the aspect of the ribu'a [square], the aspect of the closed mem of the Luchos, which is the aspect of the aforementioned fire of the mishpat, as is explained in the aforementioned Torah — that through this is the main nullification of the evil surrounding the Haichal HaKodesh, which is the aspect of the samech, the aspect of igula [circle] — meaning that the chamaitz and s'or [leaven] which are the evil are nullified and eliminated, and one merits the aspect of the aforementioned samech, the aspect of igula, the aspect of Haichal HaKodesh, which is the aspect of the aforementioned souls, which are the aspect of wealth, which is the aspect of matzah, as above. It emerges that the wine of the four cups and the three matzos are the aspect of the aforementioned igula and ribu'a. And therefore they are four cups — the aspect of the aforementioned ribu'a — and three matzos — the aspect of igula. For the circle is in the aspect of three lines, for the circle is less than the square by a quarter, as Chazal said. And this is what Chazal said about wine: "Lo zacha — na'aseh rash" — meaning poverty. For when one does not merit — meaning he did not merit the aforementioned mishpat, and then he does not burn the evil surrounding the Haichal HaKodesh, which is the aspect of wealth — then certainly "na'aseh rash," meaning poverty, which is the opposite of wealth. For then the wine heats him with the heat of the Sitra Achara, and he comes to anger and strife and quarrels, which is the opposite of wealth, as above. As it is written: "L'mi oy? L'mi avoy? L'mi m'danim...? Lam'acharim al hayayin" ["For whom is woe? For whom is sorrow? For whom is strife...? For those who linger over wine"] (Mishlai 23:29-30). And as is apparent from experience — that through intoxication that is not in k'dushah, one comes to anger and quarrels and machlokes. But "zacha — na'aseh rosh" — meaning chochmah and mochin, which is mishpat of k'dushah, as is explained there on the pasuk: "V'nasati lahem b'vaisi uvchomosai yad vashem" ["And I will give them in My house and within My walls a hand and a name"] (Y'shayahu 56:5) — which is said regarding the guarding of Shabbos, as it is written there: "Ko amar Hashem lasarisim asher yishmoru es Shabsosai...v'nasati lahem b'vaisi uvchomosai yad vashem" — see there well and understand. And this is the aspect of the mitzvah of eating maror, and one must dip it in charoses in order to sweeten and nullify the venom within it. And the eating of maror is on account of the Egyptians embittering the lives of our forefathers in Mitzrayim, as it is written: "Vay'mararu es chayaihem ba'avodah kashah" ["And they embittered their lives with hard labor"] (Sh'mos 1:14). For the galus of Mitzrayim is the aspect of the toil and exertion of parnasah, which is the main bitterness of this world, in the aspect of: "U'motzai ani mar mimaves es ha'ishah" ["And I find more bitter than death the woman"] (Koheles 7:26) — which refers to parnasah, as is explained in the Torah "Tzivisa Tzedek" (in Siman 23). And all of this is drawn from the fact that a person does not have mercy on himself and is not careful about anger — through which he loses his wealth and his parnasah comes to him with great exertion and great bitterness. For if he would guard himself from anger he would merit wealth, as above, and then he would not need to toil at all for parnasah, for the flow of wealth would be drawn to him from Heaven without any exertion or toil at all. And this is the aspect of: "Shatu ha'am v'laktu" — "b'shtusa" ["in foolishness"] — that the main exertion of parnasah is through foolishness, meaning a deficiency of da'as, as Rabbainu z"l wrote elsewhere. Meaning through anger, which is the departure of da'as, for "whoever becomes angry — his wisdom departs from him" (P'sachim 66b). And all of this is drawn from the sin of Adam HaRishon, through which was decreed: "B'zai'as apecha" specifically ["By the sweat of your brow/anger"] — the aspect of charon af and anger, through which one must toil over parnasah with great exertion, as above. For Adam HaRishon blemished in this — that he did not guard the supernal flow from chamaitz [from becoming leavened] below — meaning that he should not have corrupted the supernal flow, the flow of wealth and blessing and all good, through anger, chas v'shalom. For this is the aspect of the Aitz HaDa'as Tov vaRa [Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil] — meaning that when the flow descends below, there is a hold of good and evil in it. For one can draw it in the aspect of wealth of k'dushah, which is the root of souls, which is the aspect of the magnification of the shem, through which all souls draw near to Hashem Yisbarach. And likewise one can, chas v'shalom, do the opposite — for one who does not guard himself from anger and charon af, chas v'shalom, then the flow is transformed into complete evil, which is the anger that is called ra'ah [evil], as above. And Hashem Yisbarach warned Adam not to eat at all from the Aitz HaDa'as Tov vaRa — meaning that he should merit not to draw nourishment and eat from the flow at the point where it descends below, where it could be transformed into anger, which is the aspect of tov vara [good and evil], as above. For below, the flow stands on the balance — for good or for evil — either he will merit great wealth and all good, or it will be transformed into anger, chas v'shalom, which is evil, as above. And because Adam HaRishon — on the day of his creation, when he had not yet merited through his good deeds in the aspect of is'arusa dil'sata, but rather the flow descended from Above in the aspect of is'arusa dil'aila, as is known — therefore he did not have the ko'ach to clarify the light of the flow at the place where tov vara takes hold of it, meaning to guard himself from anger and receive the flow of wealth. Therefore Hashem Yisbarach commanded him not to eat at all from the Aitz HaDa'as Tov vaRa — but rather to receive the flow from a very high and supernal place, meaning before it begins to descend to the place where the hold of anger exists, which is the aspect of Aitz HaDa'as Tov vaRa, as above. And this itself is the aspect of matzah and the prohibition of chamaitz, as is brought that chamaitz is in the aspect of the Aitz HaDa'as Tov vaRa — meaning, as above, that one must now receive the flow in the aspect of matzah, which is the very high and supernal light, before it begins to descend below to the place where it could be transformed into anger, chas v'shalom. For now we do not have the ko'ach to clarify it, as above. And therefore the sin of Adam HaRishon is called anger, as it is written: "Evil bayom yuvada ka'aso" ["A fool makes known his anger on the same day"] (Mishlai 12:16), which Chazal expounded regarding Adam HaRishon, who sinned and displayed his anger immediately on the day he was created — meaning as above. For it is brought in the Writings [of the Ari z"l] that the Aitz HaDa'as Tov vaRa is in the aspect of the image that N'vuchadnetzar saw: "Raishah di d'hav tav, chadohi udr'aohi di ch'saf, m'ohi v'yarchasai di n'chash" ["Its head of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze"] (Daniel 2:32) — meaning that the main aspect of the Aitz HaDa'as Tov vaRa is in the aspect of money and wealth, which is the aspect of gold and silver and copper, where is the main hold of tov vara. For there it hangs on a mashehu, on a hairsbreadth — that if one guards himself from anger, he will merit wealth of k'dushah, which is the root of all the souls, encompassing all good; and conversely, chas v'shalom, it could be transformed into anger, as above. And it is known that the galus of Mitzrayim was on account of the sin of Adam HaRishon. Meaning: the galus and servitude of Mitzrayim, which is the aspect of the exertion and toil and bitterness of parnasah — the aspect of "vay'mararu es chayaihem ba'avodah kashah" — that the Sitra Achara embittered the lives of people with hard labor, with many kinds of exertions and toils "b'chomer uvilvainim uv'chol avodah basadeh" ["with mortar and bricks and all labor in the field"] — all for the sake of parnasah. And all this is drawn from the aspect of "b'zai'as apecha tochal lechem" ["by the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread"]. And it all comes upon a person through not guarding himself from the sin of Adam HaRishon, from the contamination of the serpent — meaning through not guarding himself from anger and charon af, through which the flow of his wealth is corrupted and blemished, and he falls into poverty and hardship and lack of parnasah, which is the aspect of "b'zai'as apecha tochal lechem." "B'zai'as apecha" specifically — because he blemished through charon af and anger, as above. And then, when a Jewish person falls into anger, chas v'shalom, and then loses the wealth of k'dushah — then, chas v'shalom, the entire flow of wealth is drawn to the Sitra Achara, meaning to the nations and the wicked, the aspect of airev rav, as above. For the wicked are themselves in the aspect of anger, for they anger Hashem Yisbarach with their deeds, as it is written: "Ki'asuni b'havlaihem" ["They provoked Me with their vanities"] (D'varim 32:21). And when the wealth is blemished through anger, then it is drawn to them, as above. And this is the main element of the galus of Mitzrayim, and likewise all the exiles — especially this galus, in which all the abundance and all the wealth is with them, and Yisroel are sustained from the leftovers. And through this the souls of Yisroel are in galus among them, for wealth is the root of souls. And all of this is drawn from the sin of Adam HaRishon, who blemished the Aitz HaDa'as, which is the aspect of the blemish of anger. And likewise through each and every individual who does not guard himself from anger, as above. And therefore the main redemption from Mitzrayim was through taking the wealth out of Mitzrayim, the aspect of "v'acharai chain yaitz'u birchush gadol," as above. And therefore they received all the wealth from the Egyptians themselves, as it is written: "V'yish'alu miMitzrayim k'lai chesef" ["And they asked from the Egyptians vessels of silver"] (Sh'mos 12:35). For this was the main tikkun — for the wealth of the Egyptians was in truth Yisroel's, for all the flows of abundance and all the wealth and all good descends only for Yisroel, for whose sake everything was created and is sustained, as it is written: "Ach tov l'Yisroel" ["Surely goodness is for Yisroel"] (T'hillim 73:1) — that all the good is only for Yisroel. Only through blemishing with anger did the wealth descend to Mitzrayim, and through this their souls also rolled down and descended to Mitzrayim. Meaning: through not breaking their anger and charon af that they had against Yosef, and they sold him to Mitzrayim, as it is written: "Ki v'apam hargu ish" ["For in their anger they killed a man"] (B'raishis 49:6). Through this they caused all the wealth to descend to Mitzrayim, and through this they too rolled down to Mitzrayim. And when they merited to do t'shuvah and to rectify this — until Hashem Yisbarach had compassion upon them and redeemed them — and the main redemption was through the merit of Avraham, who is the aspect of chesed, the opposite of anger and charon af — then they merited to take out all the wealth from Mitzrayim, through which was the main redemption. And they received the wealth from the Egyptians themselves specifically, for in truth it was their wealth, only it had descended to them through the sin of anger. And now, through the merit of chesed l'Avraham, the wealth returned to its place — to Yisroel, to whom it belongs from the very beginning of its root, as above. And this is the aspect of maror — "on account of 'vay'mararu es chayaihem ba'avodah kashah.'" Meaning, now we are going out from the galus of Mitzrayim and elevating the wealth from the bitterness of anger, from which comes the bitterness and exertion of parnasah, as above. For now we have merited matzah, which is the radiance of the great light from Above, which we receive in the aspect of matzah before it comes to the hold of anger, which is the aspect of chamaitz, as above — through which we are taking back all the abundance from the galus, from Paroh and Mitzrayim. For the wealth returns to its place — to Yisroel. Therefore one must eat maror, in order to remember the bitterness of the servitude, which is the bitterness of parnasah — so that B'nai Yisroel should know from now on how very, very much they need to guard themselves from anger, which tears the nefesh, through which one loses the wealth and falls into the bitterness and exertion of parnasah. And in this — that one eats maror on the night of Pesach — one sweetens and nullifies the bitterness of the servitude of Mitzrayim, which is the bitterness of parnasah that is drawn from anger, which is the aspect of sadness and bitterness, as it is written: "V'yismarm'ar melech hanegev" ["And the king of the south will be embittered"] (Daniel 11:11) — which means anger. And now we are going out from all of this and transforming everything and elevating everything to its place and root. For we are elevating the wealth to its place — to Yisroel. For the maror that one eats with the matzah alludes to the fact that the bitterness of servitude — which is the aspect of poverty and lack of parnasah — is now being transformed into great wealth, for they returned and elevated the wealth from Mitzrayim, which had taken and stolen for itself the wealth of Yisroel and embittered their lives with hard labor, which is the exertion of parnasah, as above. And now everything has returned to Yisroel. And also through eating maror, each person will remember how much he must guard himself from anger in order to merit wealth of k'dushah — in order to be saved from the bitterness that we suffered in Mitzrayim, which is the aspect of the bitterness of parnasah, as above. And this is the aspect of dipping [the maror] in charoses, which is a remembrance of the mortar in which they were afflicted in Mitzrayim. For when one falls, chas v'shalom, into the bitterness and exertion of parnasah through the blemish of anger — which is the aspect of the craving for money — this is the aspect of tit hayavain [miry clay]. For the craving for money is called "a pit without water," as is explained elsewhere — as Rashi explains on the pasuk: "Vaya'alaini mibor sha'on mitit hayavain" ["And He brought me up from the pit of turmoil, from the miry clay"] (T'hillim 40:3), which is said regarding the galus of Mitzrayim. Therefore, when the yaitzer hara incites a person to become angry, he must remind himself how much he will lose through this — both physically and spiritually. For through anger he will lose the wealth of k'dushah, which is the root of all souls, as above. And there, in the wealth of k'dushah, are all the supernal colors and all the holy nitzutzos. And if, chas v'shalom, he does not restrain his spirit and becomes angry, chas v'shalom — he will lose everything and fall into the exertions and toils and bitterness of parnasah, which is the aspect of the craving for money, which is the aspect of tit hayavain, which is the main bitterness of galus. Regarding this it is said: "Tavati bivain m'tzulah v'ain ma'amad" ["I have sunk in deep mire where there is no foothold"] (T'hillim 69:3). For it is explained in the words of Adoanainoo Morainu v'Rabbainu z"l, in the Story of the Master of Prayer, that from all the desires one can be extracted — except for the craving for money, etc. — unless, etc. And therefore the craving for money is the aspect of "y'vain m'tzulah v'ain ma'amad," the aspect of "tit hayavain." And this is the aspect of charoses — a remembrance of the mortar — to remember the affliction and servitude of Mitzrayim, which is the aspect of the bitterness of the servitude of the craving for money, which is the aspect of tit hayavain, as above — which one must remember in order to guard oneself from anger so as to merit wealth of k'dushah, as above. And wealth of k'dushah is in the aspect of charoses, which is made from fruits to which Yisroel are compared, as is written in the Shulchan Aruch. For the souls of Yisroel have their root in the wealth of k'dushah, where are all the colors that shine in the souls of Yisroel, in the aspect of: "Yisroel asher b'cha espa'ar" ["Yisroel, in whom I take glory"] (Y'shayahu 49:3). And on account of this, Yisroel are named after these precious fruits — apples and nuts, etc. — see there the beauty and colors within them, as it is written: "El ginas egoz yaradti lir'os...haforchah hagefen hainatzu harimonim" ["To the garden of nuts I descended to see...has the vine blossomed, have the pomegranates budded"] (Shir HaShirim 6:11) — which alludes to the colors and good deeds of Yisroel. Therefore, through the charoses made from these fruits to which Yisroel are compared, through this one arouses the supernal colors, which are the aspect of wealth of k'dushah, the aspect of the root of the souls of Yisroel. And through this one nullifies and sweetens the aspect of tit hayavain, which is the aspect of the galus of Mitzrayim, which is the aspect of poverty, etc., as above. And in this charoses one dips the maror — which is the aspect of anger — to indicate that when one comes to the point of anger, he should remember the precious splendor of the colors of the root of the souls of Yisroel, which is the wealth of k'dushah. And through this he will restrain his spirit and subdue his anger in order to merit this wealth. It emerges that one nullifies the anger, which is the aspect of maror, through remembering the wealth, which is the aspect of the colors, which is the aspect of charoses — made from fruits to which Yisroel are compared, in which are all the colors, as above. And this is the aspect of dipping the maror in charoses, as above.