הפקר ונכסי הגר א

Free for all sacred use, printing, distribution and sharing. The order of inheritances: The son and all his descendants take precedence over the daughter, etc. The father takes precedence over all his descendants, etc. And the matter of the firstborn who takes a double portion.

In memory of the true key bearer of the Breslov tradition

It is explained there that the essential thing is tefillah [prayer]. For the essential weapon of Mashiach, and all the wars that he will wage, and all the conquests that he will conquer — everything is from there, etc. And it is explained there that Yosef, who guarded the bris, merited the bechorah [birthright], which is the aspect of the service of tefillah. For the bechor takes pi shnayim [a double portion]. Pi shnayim is the aspect of tefillah, which contains the arrangement of the praises of the Omnipresent and the requesting of one’s needs, etc. — see there.

And this itself is the aspect of the bechor taking pi shnayim. For Rabbeinu of blessed memory did not explain there anything more than that the bechor’s taking of pi shnayim is the aspect of the service of tefillah. But this itself — why the bechor takes pi shnayim — its reason and its significance was not written there. And also, what is the connection of the pi shnayim of the bechor to tefillah, which contains two aspects: the arrangement of His praises and the requesting of one’s needs? But the matter is as follows. The fact that tefillah contains two aspects — the arrangement of the praises of the Omnipresent and the requesting of one’s needs, as our Sages of blessed memory said: “A person should always arrange the praises of the Omnipresent first, and afterward request his needs” (Berachos 32a) — this is the aspect of what our Sages of blessed memory said: “A woman makes a covenant only with the one who makes her into a vessel” (Sanhedrin 22b). For tefillah is the aspect of: “A woman who fears Hashem — she shall be praised” (Mishlei 31:30), as is brought. For the essential purpose of tefillah is to complete the kli [vessel] for receiving the shefa [flow of Divine abundance] in completeness, as is known and as is explained in the Torah “V’atem tih’yu li,” etc. (in siman 34). For Hashem, blessed be He, desires to bestow good and wants to pour forth His goodness and kindness always. But He cannot draw the shefa except through the actions of those below specifically — that is, through the children of Israel, to whom He gave the dominion, through their completing the kli of the shefa in completeness through proper tefillah. And the essential completeness of tefillah is through emunah [faith], for emunah is the aspect of tefillah, as is explained many times. As it is written: “And his hands were emunah” (Shemos 17:12) — and its Targum is: “spread out in prayer.” And the emunah must be complete in all aspects. Without this, the tefillah has no completeness and does not become a kli to receive the shefa. For the essential kli that is completed through the words of tefillah is through complete emunah — which is the essential kli to receive all good. That is: just as one needs to have complete emunah in Hashem, blessed be He — that He is the Creator of all and directs and rules and supervises, and it is in His hand to alter nature as He wills and to bestow all good — so too one needs to have emunah in oneself, to believe with complete emunah that Hashem, blessed be He, hears and listens and attends to every single word of every member of Israel, even the worst of the worst. For He, blessed be He, hears the tefillah of every mouth. And every member of Israel has the power to accomplish his request with mercy before Him, blessed be He, if he prays in truth to Him, blessed be He, as it is written: “Hashem is close to all who call upon Him” (Tehillim 145:18), etc. And as long as one does not have emunah in oneself — that one also has the power to draw the shefa through one’s tefillah — one still does not have a kli to receive the shefa. For one has no place and no kli in one’s heart to receive the shefa, since according to one’s own understanding one is far from receiving and drawing the shefa, since one does not believe in oneself that one’s tefillah makes an impression. Therefore, the essential formation of the kli through tefillah — to draw and receive the shefa and to accomplish one’s request — is through the completeness of emunah in all aspects: that one believes in Hashem, blessed be He, that He is all-powerful, sovereign, ruler, and directs as He wills; and that He is gracious and compassionate and hears the tefillah of every mouth, as above. And for this reason, one needs to arrange the praises of the Omnipresent first, and afterward request one’s needs. For through the arrangement of the praises of the Omnipresent, the emunah is strengthened in completeness, as above. And therefore, at the beginning of tefillah, in the arrangement of His praises, we mention the merit of the Avos [Patriarchs] — to strengthen the emunah that He, blessed be He, bestows good kindnesses always and performed great kindnesses with our forefathers and heard their tefillah always, and through their power and merit we strengthen ourselves that He will hear our tefillah as well and fulfill our requests with mercy. And this is the general nature of the arrangement of His praises, blessed be He, that we say at the beginning of tefillah, as we say: “Our G–d and G–d of our forefathers, G–d of Avraham, etc., the great G–d, etc., Who bestows good kindnesses, and acquires all, and remembers the kindnesses of the Avos,” etc. That is, we mention in His praises, blessed be He, that He is the G–d of our forefathers, Who bestowed kindness with them and heard their tefillah always — through which His Name was unified upon them. And He remembers the kindnesses of the Avos and brings a redeemer to their children’s children — which is us, His people in every generation — for we are destined for a complete redemption speedily, and to receive all good, etc. And through our mentioning all this in His praises — for this is the essential praise, when one mentions His goodness and kindness, for this is the essence of His greatness, blessed be He, as is known — through this our hearts are strengthened to pray wholeheartedly to Him, blessed be He, for our needs. For through this, the emunah is strengthened within us — the emunah in ourselves — that He will have mercy also upon us and hear our tefillah and bestow upon us all good, just as He heard the tefillah of our forefathers and unified His Name upon them, as above. And through this, a kli is made for us to receive the shefa, as above. Thus, the arrangement of His praises before the requesting of one’s needs is for the sake of completing the kli in completeness to receive the shefa, as above. And therefore, at the conclusion of the requesting of one’s needs, we conclude with the brachah of “Shomei’a Tefillah” [Who hears tefillah]. For this is the essential completeness of tefillah — when we believe that He hears the tefillah of every mouth; through this is the essential completeness of the kli to receive the shefa, as above. And we strengthen ourselves in this emunah — that He, blessed be He, hears tefillah — through our having arranged His praises, blessed be He and exalted, first: that He is the G–d of our forefathers and remembers the kindnesses of the Avos and brings a redeemer, etc., as above. But one still needs great toil and effort to be strong in this emunah in completeness — to believe in oneself that one has the power to accomplish anything through one’s tefillah. For there are many kinds of discouragement in a person’s heart regarding this matter, as each person knows within himself. Most people imagine that they have no power for this, and therefore they do not strengthen themselves in tefillah. And the essential toil is at the beginning — that is, at the time when one begins to strengthen oneself to pray with kavanah [intent], in the aspect of “all beginnings are difficult.” For then one has not yet seen any result through one’s tefillah. But when one merits to overcome with all one’s strength to pray with kavanah until one merits to accomplish something through one’s tefillah — for instance, one prayed about some matter and was answered — then one is strengthened through this, to believe also in oneself that one has the power to accomplish through one’s tefillah, since one sees that Hashem, blessed be He, has already heard one’s tefillah as well, and was answered. And then a kli is made to receive the shefa. For the essential formation of the kli is through emunah — that is, through believing also in oneself that Hashem, blessed be He, hears one’s tefillah as well, as above. And this is the aspect of the bechor. For from there the begetting of the bechor is drawn. For all begettings and all bestowals of shefa are drawn only through tefillah. And therefore, the begetting of the bechor is drawn from this aspect — from the aspect of the first result that a member of Israel accomplishes through his tefillah. For through this, his emunah is strengthened to pray always. And from there the begetting of the bechor is drawn — which is the first begetting. And all the subsequent begettings — each of them contains a portion from the begetting of the bechor, as is brought in the writings of the Ari z”l. That is, all the subsequent tefillos — through which come all the begettings — each contains a portion from the first result that one accomplished through one’s tefillah. For through this, one’s emunah was strengthened to pray always, through which is the essential formation of the kli to draw the shefa, as above. And therefore, the bechor takes pi shnayim, corresponding to the pi shnayim in tefillah — which are the arrangement of His praises, blessed be He, and the requesting of one’s needs. For they are literally one and the same aspect. For the arrangement of His praises before the requesting of one’s needs — which is the strengthening of emunah in order to make a kli, etc., as above — the bechor essentially receives this aspect, for he is the aspect of the first result accomplished through one’s tefillah, when one needed to strengthen oneself greatly to believe in oneself, since one had not yet seen any result through one’s tefillah. But afterward, once one has already accomplished the first result through one’s tefillah, then one can easily strengthen oneself each time to believe in oneself, since one has already seen that one accomplished through one’s tefillah. Thus, all the subsequent begettings and all the bestowals of shefa — each of them contains a portion from the first result, which is the aspect of the begetting of the bechor. And therefore, the bechor receives pi shnayim of everything found, for he has a share corresponding to each and every one, as above. And see in the writings of the Ari z”l, where it is explained in the manner of his holy secrets that the pi shnayim that the bechor takes is in the aspect of “a woman makes a covenant only with the one who makes her into a vessel” — which is the aspect of the “spirit that he cast into her” [hahu rucha d’shadei b’gavei], which is the aspect of the secret of yibum. For from the spirit that he cast into her in the first union — from there all the begettings of all the children need to receive. And the bechor essentially receives, and all the subsequent children receive through him. Therefore, he receives pi shnayim — see there. And all these matters are now explained according to our approach in the simple and practical way — to strengthen oneself in tefillah always, as above. And in truth it is all one, for also the inner intention of the Ari z”l is to bring to practical action. (And regarding this matter there is much to discuss until some spark is grasped in the heart of each person according to what he can perceive in his heart, and here is not the place for it.) And therefore, the bechor does not take from what is anticipated [ra’uy] as from what is in possession [muchzak]. For when the shefa is merely anticipated to come, the kli has not yet been completed. And the essential superiority of the bechor is with what is in possession — that is, with the shefa that has already been drawn below in completeness through the completeness of the kli, until it has been firmly established. For in the matter of the completeness of the kli mentioned above, the bechor has a greater share corresponding to each and every one, as above. But when it is merely anticipated — when the kli has not yet been completed — the bechor has no superiority regarding it, as above. Therefore, he does not take pi shnayim from it, as above. And therefore, you will find that in most tefillos we begin by recounting the praise of the Omnipresent regarding what our forefathers already accomplished through their tefillah. As it is written: “O G–d, with our ears we have heard… You wrought a work in their days, in the days of old” (Tehillim 44:2), etc., until: “Command salvations for Yaakov” (Tehillim 44:5), etc. That is: just as You wrought in the days of our forefathers and performed for them great miracles and salvations — so too, command salvations for Yaakov also now. And similarly: “They trusted and You delivered them; they cried to You and were rescued” (Tehillim 22:5–6), etc., and many similar examples. For it is impossible to accomplish through one’s tefillah except when one strengthens one’s mind with the knowledge that we have the power to accomplish through our tefillah — through which one makes a kli to receive the shefa, as above. However, sometimes the adversary can discourage one’s mind — that even though our forefathers and our teachers accomplished much through their tefillah, “but a lowly person such as yourself — how is it possible that you should accomplish through your tefillah?” But in truth it is not so, for Hashem, blessed be He, hears the tefillah of every mouth, as is known and as above. However, at the beginning, before one is accustomed to tefillah, one needs much strengthening for this. But afterward, when one has already accomplished something through one’s tefillah at times — then one’s heart is strengthened to believe in the truth: that Hashem, blessed be He, also hears one’s tefillah, since one has seen that Hashem, blessed be He, has already heard one’s tefillah, as above. And this is the aspect of what David HaMelech, peace be upon him, said: “I sought Hashem and He answered me” (Tehillim 34:5), etc. “This poor one called, and Hashem hears” (Tehillim 34:7), etc. He cries out and says: “This poor one called, and Hashem hears!” For he was exceedingly humble and said about himself: “This poor one called” — and nevertheless, “Hashem hears.” And through this, he strengthens himself to cry out and to pray always to Hashem, blessed be He, as above. And this is the aspect of the bechor, which is the aspect of the service of tefillah, as above. And similarly, in the tefillah of Yonah HaNavi: “From the belly of the grave I cried out; You heard my voice” (Yonah 2:3), etc. “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Hashem, and my tefillah came to You” (Yonah 2:8), etc., and many similar examples. Understand well, and set your heart well to this, until you believe in yourself. And remember each time how many times you called from distress to Hashem, etc., and He answered you and saved you. And through this, you too will be strengthened in tefillah, and Hashem will save you, as above. And this is the aspect of a son taking precedence over a daughter. For the essential purpose of creating the world was to reveal His compassion and His goodness in the world, as is known. But Hashem, blessed be He, placed the entire world and all that it contains in the hands of human beings, as it is written: “And the earth He gave to the children of man” (Tehillim 115:16). For human beings, according to their deeds, draw the shefa from above, to enliven and sustain all the worlds. As it is written: “And every plant of the field was not yet… for Hashem G–d had not caused it to rain, and there was no man” (Bereishis 2:5), etc. And Rashi explains: until man came and prayed, etc. For the essential drawing of the shefa is through the tefillah that Israel prays. And the more a member of Israel increases in tefillah and draws more shefa and abundant good for the house of Israel — so too he enlivens and sustains all the worlds more. And His greatness and goodness is revealed more — which is the essential delight and pleasure, as it were, of the blessed One. For “more than the calf wants to suckle,” etc. For He desires kindness and wants to bestow good always. But it is impossible to draw the shefa except through the tefillah of Israel. Therefore, the more Israel increases in the world and draw more shefa, His Will, blessed be He, is fulfilled more. For all His desire, blessed be He, is to bestow good upon Israel always, and this is all His delight and pleasure, as above. And for this reason the member of Israel was created — so that he should engage in Torah and tefillah and draw shefa into the world. Through this, His G–dliness, blessed be He, is revealed in the world, as it is written: “May G–d be gracious to us and bless us; may He cause His face to shine upon us, Selah — to make known on earth Your way” (Tehillim 67:2–3). And as Rashi explains there: “May He cause His face to shine” — to show a smiling countenance, to give dew and rain; that is, the drawing of shefa. Through this: “to make known on earth Your way… they will acknowledge You…” etc., until: “and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him” (Tehillim 67:8), etc. For through the drawing of the shefa through Israel — through this, all will recognize and know His ways, blessed be He, that He hears the tefillah of every mouth. And through this, all will acknowledge Him and all the ends of the earth will fear Him — for this is why everything was created, so that His G–dliness would be revealed in the world. And the essential revelation is through seeing that Israel accomplishes through their tefillah and draws shefa and abundant good, as above. And this is all of a person’s service throughout all the days of his life — to draw shefa and abundant good through his good deeds, and principally through tefillah, through which is the essential drawing of the shefa, as is known (and as is explained in the Torah “V’atem tih’yu li,” etc., in siman 34 — see there). And even when a person departs from the world, he must see to it that the channel of shefa that he drew into the world should not be cut off. And therefore, he must leave behind children in this world, so that they will fill his place and draw shefa into the world. And so from generation to generation, forever — so that the shefa is never cut off. And because the essential shefa that is drawn through tefillah cannot be drawn except through tzedakah — through which is the essential completeness of tefillah, as is explained in the Torah mentioned above, that the essential completeness of tefillah is through tzedakah — therefore, after a person’s passing, they mention before his bier especially the mitzvah of tzedakah, and they call out and cry before him: “Tzedakah saves from death!” For through tzedakah one merits tefillah, through which is the essential drawing of the shefa, through which one is saved from the side of death. For each person, according to how much he merited to increase in tzedakah, so too he drew the shefa through his tefillah, and so too he merits life forever. For the drawing of the shefa is the vitality and sustenance of all the worlds — and through this, certainly good and long life is drawn upon him forever, as well. And therefore, the inheritance is due to his male sons. For the male is the aspect of mashpia [influencer/bestower], and through him the shefa is drawn more, from generation to generation — which is the essential hash’arah [endurance] of a person, as above. And therefore he receives the inheritance. For through receiving the inheritance from his father — that is, the good shefa of his father — through this he can draw abundant shefa and goodness even more, for the blessing does not rest upon an empty thing, as our Sages of blessed memory said, as it is written: “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” (Melachim II 4:2), etc. And this also derives from the aspect mentioned above that we wrote above regarding the bechor — that through a person seeing that he has already accomplished something through his tefillah, through this his heart is strengthened more to pray. And therefore, when there is some thing upon which the blessing can rest — it is easier to draw the shefa. For that thing was drawn from some tefillah, since there is nothing in the world that is drawn except through tefillah. And therefore, it is then easier to draw more shefa, since there is already some shefa that was drawn through tefillah — from which comes the strengthening of the heart to pray more, as above. And therefore, through the inheritance that the children receive — through this they draw the shefa more and more, for the sake of which is the essential creation and sustenance of a person in this world, as above. And therefore, the son takes precedence over the daughter. For the essential drawing of the shefa is through the male son, for the woman is the aspect of a receiver, the aspect of din [judgment]. And this too is needed — to receive the shefa in gradual measure, so that it is not poured outward, G–d forbid. But the essential thing is the man, through whom is the essential drawing of the shefa. And therefore, our Sages of blessed memory said: “A woman is not blessed except from the fruit of her husband’s body” (Yevamos 62b). And therefore, the mishpachah [family] is called only by the father’s name. For the essential mishpachah is the aspect of the totality of the tzinor [channel] of shefa that was established through this family. And therefore, all the mishpachos of Israel all encamped around the Mishkan. For the Mishkan traveled among them and they all had a share in the Mishkan. For the Mishkan is the aspect of the totality of the tefillah of Israel, as is explained there in the Torah mentioned above. And the Mishkan was built from many and varied particular things — for it has many planks and clasps, crossbars and pillars and sockets, etc., loops and cords, upper and lower curtains and the hangings of the courtyard, etc. And all the vessels of the Mishkan — the table and the menorah and the altars, etc. And all the details that were in each vessel — such as the knobs and flowers and cups, etc., in the menorah; and the frame of the table and its dishes and its spoons, etc. And each and every detail is the aspect of the tefillah of Israel. For there are many and varied tefillos of Israel that join together, and from them is made the aspect of a plank of the Mishkan. And there are others from which is made the aspect of a socket of the Mishkan, etc. And this is the aspect of the mishpachos of Israel surrounding the Mishkan. For the totality of this family is the aspect of this particular part of the Mishkan. And another family is the aspect of another particular part of the Mishkan. And the essential thing is the tefillah, which is the essential aspect of the building of the Mishkan, as above. And each person, according to his tefillos, is thus rooted in the mishpachos of Israel, which are the aspect of the totality of the Mishkan and its vessels, as above. And therefore, the mishpachah is called only by the father’s name, for the essential drawing of the shefa is through the male, as above. And therefore, the mishpachah is called only by the father’s name, for the essential drawing of the shefa is through the male, as above. And therefore, when one does not leave progeny, the inheritance returns to his family. And the father takes precedence over all his descendants. For the mishpachah, which is the totality of the tzinor, needs to receive the shefa of his inheritance that he left behind. And through the shefa returning and reaching them, they repair in his place the tzinor that he was supposed to repair — in the aspect of: “Either his uncle or his uncle’s son shall redeem him” (Vayikra 25:49). For the shefa flows through many channels, and each channel then divides into many more channels, and so onward. And the more channels are established, the more abundantly the shefa flows — and this is all His delight, blessed be He, as above. And each and every mishpachah is the totality of one channel that divides into many channels according to the number of members of the family. And when one of them departs, G–d forbid, without children — the family members closest to him, such as his brother, his uncle, etc., need to receive his shefa. And they will repair his deficiency, since they are all drawn from one channel. And therefore, the father takes precedence over all his descendants. For the father is the root of the totality of the channel of all his children and his generations who descend from him — and therefore the essential repair is through him. And therefore, even the daughter takes precedence over all the members of the family. For when the inheritance needs to return upward, G–d forbid, to the members of his family, because he did not leave progeny, G–d forbid — this is the aspect of dinim [judgments]. For or hachozer [returning light] is the aspect of din. And therefore, certainly the daughter takes precedence. For the daughter is the aspect of din and tzimtzum [constriction], as is known. And as our Sages of blessed memory said on the verse “And you shall transfer [v’ha’avartem]” (Bamidbar 27:8): that the Holy One, blessed be He, is filled with evrah [wrath] against one who does not leave a son to inherit him. And therefore, the son takes precedence over the daughter, because the son is the aspect of chesed, the aspect of mashpia — which is the essential thing, as above — and the daughter is the aspect of tzimtzum, etc., as above. But when there is no son, certainly the daughter takes precedence in receiving the inheritance over all the members of the family. For even when the inheritance returns to them, it is the aspect of dinim, the aspect of or hachozer. And therefore, he can certainly be strengthened through her more — since in any case she is of his own descendants and was drawn from him. For the essential repair is that the shefa should be drawn downward from generation to generation, and not that it should return upward, G–d forbid — for then the repair is much more difficult, as above. [Continued in Part B: §§9–25] And this is what the daughters of Tzelafchad asked: “If we are not considered progeny, let our mother undergo yibum” (Bava Basra 119b). For the secret of yibum is in the aspect mentioned above — to repair the soul of the deceased through his family, that is, through his brother. And since the daughter is considered progeny to exempt from yibum, certainly she deserves the inheritance, for they are one and the same aspect, as above. For the secret of yibum is in the aspect of “the spirit that he cast into her” [hahu rucha d’shadei b’gavei] — which is the aspect of strengthening oneself in tefillah through having seen that one has already accomplished something and already made some impression in the world through one’s tefillah. For one has already begun to draw some shefa, however minimal. And even though it has not yet been completed at all — and even if, G–d forbid, he died in the meanwhile — nevertheless, he is repaired through this, since he has already made some impression, however minimal, through his tefillos. And therefore, certainly if he left a daughter in the world, he can certainly be repaired more. For even though this is not the completeness of the repair — for the essential completeness of the repair is through the aspect of a male son, who is the aspect of mashpia, as above — nevertheless, he can be repaired through her far more than he would be repaired through his family members, since in any case he left a genuine remnant in the world. And therefore, she exempts from yibum, as above. And therefore, the daughters of Tzelafchad were wise, and they linked the law of inheritance to yibum, for they are one and the same aspect, as above. And this is why the section of the daughters of Tzelafchad — which is the section of nachalos [inheritances] — is juxtaposed to the section of the families of the children of Israel, which are all enumerated in Parshas Pinchas. For the law of inheritance is drawn from the aspect of the Mishkan — which is the totality of the tefillah of Israel — which is the aspect of the totality of the families of Israel, who all traveled surrounding the Mishkan, as above. And this is the aspect of Purim, which is the subjugation of Haman-Amalek. For it is explained in the Torah mentioned above, at its conclusion, and this is its language: “And this is what Rabbah bar bar Chanah said,” etc. For in our exile, as it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, is in a state of hester panim [hiddenness of face], etc. And all our tefillos and requests are about this — that He has turned His back to us, that He should return His face, as it is written: “Turn to me” (Tehillim 25:16), etc. And when we see the length of the exile, and every day we cry out to Him and are not saved — there are among our people, the children of Israel, those who err, G–d forbid, in their hearts, thinking that all the tefillos are in vain. But in truth, all the tefillos — the tzaddikim in every generation elevate them and establish them, as it is written: “And Moshe erected the Mishkan” (Shemos 40:18), and they bring every limb to its place, and they build the stature of the Shechinah little by little, until its full stature is completed. Then Mashiach — this is Moshe — will come and complete it and establish it in its fullness. [And this is explained,] etc., etc., until: “and they thought it was dry land” [savrinan yabeshta hu] — meaning, they thought the tefillos were not producing fruit. But in truth it is not so; rather, “we ascend and bake and cook” [salkinan va’afinan u’vashlinan] — meaning, all the tefillos ascend and rise, and the more we increase in tefillah, the more the Shechinah is built, etc. When the stature of the Shechinah will be completed — that is, through the multitude of tefillos — His compassion will be stirred and midas hadin will be transformed into midas harachamim [the attribute of judgment into the attribute of mercy]. And this is: “when it heated up, it overturned” [kad cham gabei is’hapech], etc. And “had we not brought the ship close” [v’i la havei m’karbinan li’sfinta], etc. — this is the aspect of chesed, etc. That is: “For My sake, for My sake, I will act” (Yeshayahu 48:11), as it says in the Midrash: “Who preceded Me that I should repay?” (Iyov 41:3), etc. And even though it appears that through our tefillah and our Torah the redemption will come, nevertheless, we need His chesed — that through His chesed He will redeem us, etc. See there all this well. And just as it is with the totality of Israel, so it is in particular with each and every individual. For everyone who has entered somewhat into the service of Hashem, and has already engaged a little or a lot in hisbodedus and tefillos and supplications and requests, that he should merit that Hashem, blessed be He, should turn His face toward him and bring him close to His service and redeem him from his desires and his evil character traits — and he sees that he has still not been answered, for he is still very far from Him, blessed be He — through this, he can err, G–d forbid, thinking that all his tefillos and conversations [with Hashem] were in vain, G–d forbid. But in truth it is not so. For no word is ever lost at all. Rather, every tefillah and conversation makes a great impression. And the true tzaddikim gather all these tefillos and conversations and build from them wondrous structures — the aspect of the Mishkan. And each person needs to strengthen himself greatly in tefillah and conversation [with Hashem] always, come what may, until through the multitude of tefillos, the building of the tzaddikim — who are engaged in gathering and connecting and elevating these tefillos — will be completed. And then His compassion, blessed be He, will be stirred, and He will return to him and have mercy upon him. And this is the aspect of the overwhelming power of the miracle of Purim, which is the downfall of Haman-Amalek, which is greater than all the miracles, as our Sages of blessed memory said. For this error that enters the hearts of many people — to err as if all the tefillos are in vain, G–d forbid, when they see that they cry out and pray and beseech for days and years and are not saved, as above — this error is drawn from the aspect of the klipah of Haman-Amalek, through whom is the essential lengthening of this bitter exile, which is the exile of Edom, which is the aspect of Amalek, who is of the seed of Edom. For Amalek is the totality of all the klipos and the Sitra Achra. And he is the enticer, and he is the accuser, and he is the one who weakens the mind from strengthening itself in tefillah. For he himself entices each member of Israel with whatever he entices him — with desires and evil thoughts and evil character traits, may the Merciful One save us. And because of this, the exile intensifies, G–d forbid. And through this itself, he weakens the mind from strengthening itself in tefillah, since he misleads them in their thinking: “Don’t you see that you are accomplishing nothing at all through your tefillah?!” G–d forbid. And when they become lax in tefillah, the exile lengthens more, G–d forbid. And the more the exile lengthens, the more he weakens the mind from praying more and more. And so the cycle continues, G–d forbid, G–d forbid. And therefore, the exile indeed lengthens greatly, until it would have been impossible to leave the exile, G–d forbid, due to the multitude of his evil schemes — were it not for Hashem Who was with us, Who Himself fights against him in every generation, as it is written: “A war for Hashem against Amalek from generation to generation” (Shemos 17:16). And He in His mercy sends us in every generation wondrous tzaddikim, who with their sublime wisdom implant in our minds never to despair of compassion under any circumstances, and implant in our hearts wondrous strengthening — to strengthen ourselves in tefillah always, come what may. And through this, the redemption will come speedily. And this is the aspect of the overwhelming power of the miracle of Purim. For Haman the wicked, may his name be blotted out, is the aspect of the klipah that sought to intensify at the end of the Babylonian exile, to prevent the redemption and to weaken the hearts of the children of Israel from increasing in tefillah — since they saw that the time had already passed that they had been promised to be redeemed after seventy years, and they had still not been redeemed. As our Sages of blessed memory said, that they all calculated and erred, and even Daniel calculated and erred — see there. And therefore, Haman thought to implant the error in their hearts as if there is no more hope, G–d forbid. And therefore he said: “There is one people” [yeshno am echad] (Esther 3:8). And our Sages of blessed memory expounded: “Their G–d is asleep” [Elokeihem yashen hu]. For during the entire exile, as long as Hashem, blessed be He, does not answer His people Israel to redeem them, He is called “asleep,” as it were, as it is written: “Awake! Why do You sleep, Hashem?” (Tehillim 44:24). And it is written: “And Hashem awoke as one who had been sleeping” (Tehillim 78:65), as it is found in Midrash Esther. But in truth, Israel through their tefillah arouse His compassion, blessed be He, little by little, each time, until speedily He will awaken, as it were, from His sleep, in the aspect of: “And Hashem awoke as one who had been sleeping” — and He will redeem us speedily. For in truth, there is no sleep before Him, blessed be He, G–d forbid, as it is written: “Behold, He neither slumbers nor sleeps, the Guardian of Israel” (Tehillim 121:4). It is only that because of midas hadin, He, blessed be He, as it were, hides His face from us, until it appears as if He is sleeping, G–d forbid. And we are obligated to pray and to— And this is: “And he struck at your tail, all the stragglers behind you” (Devarim 25:18) — that he overpowers only the weak among Israel. And this is: “And you were weary and exhausted, and did not fear G–d” (ibid.). “Feared G–d” — this is the aspect of tefillah, which is the aspect of yir’ah [awe], as it is written: “A woman who fears Hashem — she shall be praised” (Mishlei 31:30). That is, you are weary and exhausted and you do not strengthen yourself in tefillah, which is the aspect of yir’as Elokim. And this comes from him himself, who weakens your mind, etc., as above. And the Torah warned us to remember this well, for one needs to remember this very, very well in one’s heart. For his intensification through this weakening of the mind is beyond measure. And one needs to remind oneself each time of the great warnings of the true tzaddikim, who warned us in many different expressions never to despair of compassion under any circumstances, as above. For the aspect of the klipah of Haman-Amalek seeks to cast forgetfulness into a person’s heart, as if Hashem, blessed be He, has not yet begun to save us at all, G–d forbid. Whereas in truth, we have already seen with our own eyes awesome salvations, miracles and wonders beyond investigation and without number, that He performed with us in every generation until this very day. For He took us out of Egypt with awesome signs, with trials, with signs and wonders, etc., and gave us the Torah with awesome signs, etc. And Yehoshua conquered the Land of Israel — thirty-one kings, etc. And all the miracles and salvations in the days of David and Shlomo, and so in every generation. But Amalek, may his name be blotted out, seeks to intensify each time and to weaken a person’s heart, as if Hashem, blessed be He, has not yet begun to save at all. And through this itself, he overpowers Israel also physically and lengthens the exile. And this is why the verse “And Amalek came” (Shemos 17:8), etc., is juxtaposed to the verse: “And they tested Hashem, saying: Is Hashem in our midst or not?” (Shemos 17:7). For this itself — that Israel stumbled and tested Hashem and said, “Is Hashem in our midst or not?” — this itself is drawn from the klipah of Haman-Amalek. And through this: “And Amalek came and fought with Israel” also physically. That is, the klipah of Amalek weakens a person’s heart in a time of distress, G–d forbid, until it seeks to cast forgetfulness into him, that he should forget all the good things and salvations that Hashem, blessed be He, has already done for him. Just as it was then — that this was right after He took them out of Egypt with such awesome signs, and split the sea for them, and gave them their wealth, and brought down the manna for them, etc. And afterward, when they had no water, He weakened their minds so much until they erred and doubted and said: “Is Hashem in our midst or not?” See and understand and behold how far the power of the klipah and the Sitra Achra reaches! And all of this is the doing of the klipah of Amalek, who encompasses all the klipos and the Sitra Achra, who can twist the heart so much until one can come to such an error — if one does not strive to overcome him through the power of the true tzaddikim. And so it is explained in the words of our Sages of blessed memory, and it is brought in Rashi’s commentary there on this verse: “Is Hashem in our midst or not? And Amalek came” (Shemos 17:7–8). And this is its language: “He juxtaposed this section to this verse, to say: I am always among them and available for all your needs, and you say, ‘Is Hashem in our midst or not?’ By your lives, the dog will come and bite you,” etc. A parable of a man who carried his son on his shoulder, etc. — see there. That is, as above: that Hashem, blessed be He, performs such miracles for us in general and in particular every single day, as we say: “For Your miracles that are with us every day, and for Your wonders,” etc. And the Sitra Achra, the aspect of the klipah of Amalek, with his schemes implants in the heart heresy and discouragement until one doubts whether Hashem is in our midst or not. And then: “And Amalek came upon them and fought with them” also physically, as above. And therefore, the essential war of Moshe Rabbeinu against him was through tefillah, as it is written: “And his hands were emunah” (Shemos 17:12). And its Targum is: “spread out in prayer.” For the essential subjugation of Amalek is through Moshe — who is Mashiach, the aspect of the tzaddikim of the generation — who overcome him through tefillah and implant in the hearts of Israel to strengthen themselves in tefillah always and not to listen to his enticements and his errors, G–d forbid. And this is: “And it was, whenever [Moshe raised his hand…]” (Shemos 17:11). And this is the aspect of: “The first of nations is Amalek” (Bamidbar 24:20). For it has already been explained there in the Torah mentioned above that tefillah is the aspect of the bechor who takes pi shnayim, which is the aspect of arranging His praises, blessed be He, and the requesting of one’s needs, etc. — see there. And we have already explained above the matter: that the essential strengthening in tefillah is through the aspect of the begetting of the bechor — which is the aspect of the first begetting and result that a person accomplishes through his tefillah. For when a person sees that he has already accomplished something through his tefillah — which is the aspect of the begetting of the bechor, as above — through this, he is strengthened in tefillah further, for his emunah is strengthened and a kli is made to receive the shefa, through seeing that he already accomplished something through his tefillah. And for this reason, tefillah is in the aspect of bechor — see there. And this is the aspect of: “My firstborn son is Israel” (Shemos 4:22). For the revelation of the service of tefillah — Israel revealed it in the world, for our craft is only with the mouth. And in the future, at the time of the redemption, when the entire world will see the greatness and the multitude of accomplishments and salvations that we achieved through our tefillos throughout all the days of the exile, then they will all strengthen themselves in tefillah — since everyone will then see the greatness of tefillah, through the greatness of Israel, whose entire greatness they merited through tefillah. As it is written: “For then I will transform the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them call upon the Name of Hashem” (Tzefanyah 3:9), etc. But the value of the tefillah of the nations of the world will not be considered so significant then, since they did not strengthen themselves in tefillah, as above, except after they saw what Israel accomplished through their tefillah. But the holy people of Israel merited to strengthen themselves in tefillah throughout all the days of the exile, at a time when they had not yet seen what they had accomplished. And therefore, Israel is called “firstborn” and “first,” for they revealed the service of tefillah in the world — which is the aspect of the begetting of the bechor, which is the aspect of the first result accomplished through tefillah. And this begetting and accomplishment is exceedingly precious and dear, for then the essential strengthening in tefillah is needed — at a time when one has not yet seen what one has accomplished, as above. And therefore, the essential departure from Egypt was through the striking of the firstborn specifically. For through all the wonders, Pharaoh was not subdued in completeness and strengthened his heart, until He brought upon him the striking of the firstborn. And the firstborn of Israel were saved. And through this, the aspect of the bechor of the Sitra Achra was subdued, and the aspect of the bechor of kedushah was elevated and magnified — which is the aspect of the service of tefillah. And then the accomplishment of the tefillah and the crying out of Israel throughout all the days of the exile was revealed, and then they were redeemed and left Egypt. And then the firstborn were sanctified, as it is written: “Sanctify to Me every firstborn” (Shemos 13:2), etc. For “G–d made this corresponding to that” (Koheles 7:14). For just as there is the aspect of the bechor in kedushah — the aspect of the holiness of Israel, the aspect of the service of tefillah, as above — so too there is the aspect of the bechor of the Sitra Achra, which is the aspect of Amalek, the aspect of: “The first of nations is Amalek.” That is, the aspect of the klipah of Amalek overpowers each time against the aspect of the bechor of kedushah, which is tefillah. That is, even when one accomplishes something through tefillah — which is the aspect of the begetting of the bechor — he overpowers and implants heresy and forgetfulness in the heart, as if Hashem, blessed be He, has not yet begun to hear one’s tefillah at all. And therefore, Amalek is called “first” — the aspect of “the first of nations,” etc. — for he seeks to overpower against the aspect of “first,” which is the aspect of bechor, as if Hashem, blessed be He, has not yet begun to save at all. And from there — from the aspect of “the first of nations is Amalek” — from there was the nourishment of the firstborn of Egypt. For Amalek encompasses all the nations, and especially Egypt, for the heavenly prince of Egypt is Edom, who is Amalek. And therefore, through Hashem striking the firstborn of Egypt, through this the nourishment of Egypt from the aspect of the klipah of Amalek was severed and cut off — through whom are all the exiles. And through this, the klipah no longer had the power to harden his heart, and then he was compelled to agree that they should leave. But because Amalek himself had not yet fallen — only the nourishment of Pharaoh and Egypt from him was severed through the killing of the firstborn, as above — therefore, afterward, after they left, he intensified again and overturned the heart of Pharaoh and his servants, and they said: “What is this that we have done?” (Shemos 14:5), etc. And all of this was through the klipah of Amalek, which had returned and reawakened. For he reawakens and intensifies each time. And this is what is found in the Midrash: “And it was told… that the people had fled” (Shemos 14:5) — that the one who told was Amalek. That is, as above: the one who told and enticed Pharaoh, saying that Israel had fled and that he should intensify to pursue them — this was Amalek. For this is the way of Amalek: to intensify each time and deny everything and implant forgetfulness and errors in the heart, as if there had not yet been any salvation, G–d forbid, as above. And therefore, after Pharaoh and his army fell in the sea completely, afterward Amalek himself came against them. For he himself had not yet been subdued, as above. And therefore, he himself intensified and did not pay attention to all the wonders and salvations that Hashem, blessed be He, had performed for us, and came to fight against them. For he is the aspect of “first” that overpowers against the aspect of the bechor, which is the aspect of “first,” which is the aspect of the service of tefillah, as above. And therefore, Hashem, blessed be He, Himself fights against him in every generation, as above. And this is the aspect of semichas ge’ulah li’sefillah [juxtaposing the blessing of redemption to the Shemoneh Esrei]. For before we enter into tefillah to pray for our needs in the tefillah of Shemoneh Esrei, we mention the redemption from Egypt and we mention the subjugation of the bechor of the Sitra Achra, as we say: “All their firstborn You slew, and Your firstborn Israel You redeemed.” And through this, we remind ourselves of what Israel already accomplished through their tefillah — which is the aspect of the begetting of the bechor of kedushah, which is the aspect of the service of tefillah. For through this, the heart is strengthened to pray, as above. And therefore, it is then that we begin to pray. For the essential strengthening in tefillah is through the aspect of the begetting of the bechor, which is the aspect of the redemption from Egypt — through our reminding ourselves of what we have already accomplished through our tefillah, as above. The principle is that the klipah of Haman-Amalek is what weakens the hearts of the children of Israel at the end of the exile, at a time when the redemption is ready to come — only a certain number of additional tefillos are still needed to complete the building of the Mishkan, so that His compassion, blessed be He, will be stirred and He will return to us face to face. And he, with his schemes, weakens a person’s heart, as if all hope is already lost, G–d forbid, since they see the exile has lasted so long, and for so long they have been crying out and are not saved, as above. And so it is explained in the kavanos of the Ari z”l, in the kavanos of Purim: that the intensification of Haman at that time was at the end of the Babylonian exile, at a time when the tikkun above had already begun, that they would return face to face. And he sought to nullify this. And therefore, he intensified to nullify the building of the Beis HaMikdash, etc. — see there. Thus, at a time when the redemption is already close and ready to come, and the tikkun above has already begun in the aspect of “face to face” — he intensifies to nullify this, implanting in the heart as if all the tefillos are in vain, G–d forbid, and accomplish nothing at all, as above. And therefore, he sought to annihilate Israel completely, G–d forbid — “to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate” (Esther 3:13), etc. For the essential power of Israel is through tefillah, which is the aspect of the sword and the weaponry of Mashiach — who are the tzaddikim in every generation, as above in the Torah mentioned above. And then, when he weakened their minds from praying, through this he intensified in the aspect of his sword — the aspect of: “And by your sword shall you live” (Bereishis 27:40). And therefore, he sought to annihilate them completely, G–d forbid, through his sword, which has power when Israel does not strengthen themselves in tefillah, which is the aspect of the sword and weaponry of Israel, as above. For: “At a time when the voice is not the voice of Yaakov, then the hands are the hands of Eisav” (Bereishis Rabbah 65:20), as our Sages of blessed memory said. For the essential intensification of Haman was through the fact that they bowed to the idol in the days of Nevuchadnetzar, and through the fact that they derived benefit from the feast of that wicked one, and through the fact that they stumbled with foreign women, as our Sages of blessed memory said. For all these blemishes are the aspect of the blemish of the service of tefillah. For they bowed to the idol — which is idolatry, heresy — and this is the opposite of the service of tefillah, which is emunah, as above. And they stumbled with foreign women — which is a blemish of the bris — this is a blemish of tefillah, which is the aspect of the holy sword that depends upon tikkun habris, the aspect of: “Gird your sword upon your thigh” (Tehillim 45:4), as above in the Torah mentioned above. And they derived benefit from the feast of that wicked one — this is the aspect of the blemish of mishpat [justice], which one merits through tzedakah, as is explained there in the Torah mentioned above. For holy eating is the aspect of tzedakah and chesed, the aspect of tikkun hamishpat, in the aspect of: “A tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul” (Mishlei 13:25), the aspect of: “He who deals kindly with his own soul is a man of chesed” (Mishlei 11:17). As they said: Hillel, when he wanted to eat, would say: “I will go and perform chesed with my soul,” as our Sages of blessed memory said in Midrash Rabbah. For one needs to eat in measure and in balance, in the aspect of mishpat, in the aspect of: “He sustains his words with justice” (Tehillim 112:5). And this is what is written: “Did not your father eat and drink and perform justice and righteousness? Then it was good for him” (Yirmiyahu 22:15). For tikkun hamishpat is through holy eating. And this is the aspect of: “Happy are you, O land, whose king is a free man, and whose ministers eat at the proper time. Woe to you, O land,” etc. (Koheles 10:16–17). For the king and the ministers who are engaged in mishpat need to eat at the proper time and occasion, with composure of mind, in holiness and purity — so that they not corrupt the mishpat through the blemish of the desire for eating, as above. And so it is understood from the Torah “Chadi Rabbi Shimon” in siman 61, that through excessive eating, the mishpat is blemished. And therefore, it is forbidden to eat before tefillah, as it is written: “You shall not eat upon the blood” (Vayikra 19:26) — so as not to blemish the mishpat through eating, for through this the tefillah is blemished, G–d forbid. For the essential tikkun of tefillah is through tikkun hamishpat, as above. And Eisav, who blemished the service of the bechorah, which is the aspect of tefillah, and despised it, as it is written: “And Eisav despised the birthright” (Bereishis 25:34) — his blemish was through the desire of eating, the aspect of: “Pour into me, I pray” (Bereishis 25:30), etc. Therefore, through their deriving benefit from the feast of that wicked one — which is the blemish of the desire of eating — through this they blemished the mishpat, which is the blemish of tefillah, as above. And therefore, Haman, may his name be blotted out, sought to overpower against the righteousnesses of Israel, which are the aspect of shekalim. And he said: “And ten thousand talents of silver I will weigh out into the hands of those who carry out the work, to bring into the king’s treasuries” (Esther 3:9). For tzedakah is the aspect of tikkun hamishpat, which is tikkun hatefillah — and he sought to overpower against this. For the essential intensification of his power is against the holy emunah, which is the service of tefillah. For the essential emunah depends on tefillah — that one needs to believe that Hashem, blessed be He, is all-powerful, and He is full of compassion, and He desires the tefillos of Israel, and He hears their tefillah always, as above. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said, that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: “Wicked one! Their shekalim have already preceded yours. There we learned: On the first of Adar, they announce concerning the shekalim” (Megillah 13b). For the essential tzedakah is in the aspect of shekalim. For it is explained there in the Torah mentioned above that tzedakah is the aspect of mishpat, through which one knows how to fight with the sword — that one should strike the target precisely and not miss, etc. — see there. And this is the aspect of shekalim. That is, tzedakah is in the aspect of shekalim, because through tzedakah one merits the aspect of mishpat — which is the aspect of shekalim, the aspect of weighing — that one sustains one’s words with justice, that is, with balance — that one should strike the target precisely and not miss, as above. (And regarding the matter of shekalim, I had much in my heart to explain, but the matter did not avail itself to be written in its time, and it was forgotten.) Thus, the klipah of Haman-Amalek is the aspect of the klipah that weakens and enfeebles a person’s heart from praying, due to seeing the lengthening of the distresses and the exile, may the Merciful One save us, as above. And this is the aspect of “they thought it was dry land” [savrinan yabeshta hu], as stated in the Torah mentioned above — that they think, G–d forbid, as if all the tefillos are in vain, G–d forbid. And this error is drawn from the klipah of Haman-Amalek, as above. And therefore, his subjugation was through Mordechai and Esther, who are the aspect of the totality of the tefillos of the true tzaddik and of Knesses Yisrael [the Congregation of Israel]. For Mordechai the Jew — this is the aspect of the tzaddik of the generation, who is the aspect of Mashiach, who is the aspect of rei’ach [fragrance], who encompasses all the tefillos. For all his wars and all his conquests are through tefillah, as is explained there in the Torah mentioned above. For Mordechai is the aspect of “the chief of the spices, mor dror [pure myrrh]” (Shemos 30:23), whose Targum is marei dach’ya, as our Sages of blessed memory expounded (Chullin 139b). That is, the aspect of the head and root of all the tefillos, which are the aspect of fragrance, the aspect of Mashiach. For he is the aspect of “the chief of the spices, mor dror.” And this is “the chief of the spices” — “chief” [rosh] specifically, the aspect of rosh and bechor, which is the service of tefillah, as above — the opposite of the aspect of “the first of nations is Amalek,” which is the aspect of laxity in tefillah, as if we have not yet begun to accomplish anything at all. And Mordechai, the aspect of “the chief of the spices,” etc., strengthens the heart of each and every member of Israel to begin anew each time — to strengthen oneself in tefillah. For we have already accomplished much, but we still need to accomplish very much more until we complete the building in completeness — the aspect of the building of the Mishkan — to bring Hashem, blessed be He, back to us in the aspect of “face to face,” as above. And in comparison to the enormity of the greatness and the wondrous salvations, etc., that we still need to accomplish — we have not yet begun to pray properly at all. And nevertheless, Hashem, blessed be He, has already helped us very, very much. But each and every day, we need to begin anew to strengthen ourselves and to overcome in tefillah. For His greatness, blessed be He, is without limit, and He strengthens our hearts to trust in His kindness, blessed be He, always and to strengthen ourselves in tefillah always. For no tefillah is in vain, G–d forbid. Rather, each and every tefillah makes an impression, and from them the stature of the Shechinah is built — which is the aspect of the building of the Beis HaMikdash, etc. — until its full stature is completed. Then His compassion will be stirred and He will return to us, etc., as above. And all of this is the opposite of the aspect of the klipah of Haman-Amalek. And therefore, he [Mordechai] subdues and uproots their evil klipah. And therefore, in truth, at the time of Haman’s decree, he [Mordechai] strengthened himself in tefillah greatly, as it is written: “And Mordechai knew all that had been done, and Mordechai tore his garments and cried a great and bitter cry” (Esther 4:1). And as our Sages of blessed memory said: “Ben Shim’i ben Kish” — that he knocked upon the gates of mercy, etc. And he also implanted in the hearts of all Israel to strengthen themselves in tefillah, as it is written: “And in every province… fasting and weeping,” etc. (Esther 4:3). And as it is written: “And the words of the fasts and their outcry” (Esther 9:31). Thus, Mordechai is the tzaddik of the generation, the aspect of Mashiach, the aspect of fragrance, the aspect of the root of the totality of the tefillos of Israel, to whom all Israel need to bind their tefillah, as is explained there in the Torah mentioned above. And Esther — she is the aspect of Knesses Yisrael, the aspect of the tefillos of each and every member of Israel — of what they pray in the intensity of the lengthening of their exile and their distress, in body and soul. And she is called Esther on account of the concealment [hester], in the aspect of: “And I will surely hide [haster astir] My face” (Devarim 31:18), etc., as our Sages of blessed memory said (Chullin 139b). That is, during the lengthening of the exile, it appears as if Hashem, blessed be He, hides His face from us, and as if the tefillos are in vain, G–d forbid. But Knesses Yisrael, the holy people, the aspect of Esther — they strengthen themselves in tefillah always, even in the intensity of the concealment within the concealment. Even the weak among Israel, who do not have the strength to arrange their tefillah properly, until the kingdom of wickedness overpowers them — the aspect of the kingdom of Achashveirosh, the aspect of: “And Esther was taken to King Achashveirosh” (Esther 2:16) — even then they overcome in tefillah always. As our Sages of blessed memory said, that at the time when Esther came into the house of Achashveirosh and the Shechinah departed from her, she then cried out: “My G–d, my G–d, why have You forsaken me?” (Tehillim 22:2), etc. And this alludes to every member of Israel: when one descends, G–d forbid, even to places where the Sitra Achra — the aspect of the kingdom of wickedness — extends, and the holiness, which is the Shechinah, departs from him — one also needs to strengthen one’s heart then and cry out: “My G–d, my G–d, why have You forsaken me?” etc. And all of Esther’s strengthening to cry out always to Hashem, blessed be He, was through Mordechai, who hinted to her about this. For Mordechai, the aspect of the tzaddik of the generation, is always engaged in teaching the totality of Israel — the aspect of Esther — that they should strengthen themselves in tefillah always, even during the lengthening of the exile in general, and in particular in body and soul, even in the intensity of the concealment. As it is written: “And he raised Hadassah, she is Esther, his uncle’s daughter” (Esther 2:7). For Esther is called Hadassah on account of the tefillos that they are always engaged in — which give off a good fragrance like a hadas [myrtle]. For even the tefillos of the weak among Israel — who are in the aspect of Esther, in the aspect of concealment — even they give off a good fragrance before Him, blessed be He, through the tzaddik of the generation, the aspect of Mordechai, to whom we bind our tefillah. And he elevates even our tefillah before Him, blessed be He, as a pleasing fragrance. For all the vitality and greatness of Esther — who is the aspect of Knesses Yisrael — is through the tzaddik of the generation, who is the aspect of Mashiach. For the tzaddik implants in the heart of Israel and strengthens their heart to pray always, and he receives all their tefillos that they bind to him and elevates them— And as our Sages of blessed memory said: She sat in the lap of Achashveirosh and immersed and sat in the lap of Mordechai (Megillah 13b). That is, even though the intensity of the kingdom of wickedness overpowered her, she strengthened herself each time and would immerse and sit in the lap of Mordechai. That is, the woman who fears Hashem — the aspect of Esther, the aspect of the tefillah of the weak, upon whom the impurity of the kingdom of wickedness has overpowered — nevertheless, she did not abandon her place. And she strengthened herself each time to purify herself and to bind herself to the aspect of Mordechai, who is the tzaddik of the generation, to fulfill the word of Mordechai, who urges her and strengthens her to increase in tefillah always, come what may. And through this, we merited the overwhelming power of the miracle of Purim, the like of which had never been. And the days of Purim were established for all generations, to make them days of feasting and simchah [joy]. For Mordechai and Esther merited then, through the greatness of their holiness and their greatness, through their increasing in tefillah and implanting in Israel to increase in tefillos and cries — even after their decree of judgment — until they annulled the decree and the matter was overturned, and they hanged Haman, etc. And they had an awesome miracle and such a salvation, until they merited to draw this illumination into every generation, that also in the days of this last, long, bitter exile, the illumination of Mordechai and Esther should shine upon us every single year. Through this, we will merit to strengthen ourselves in tefillah always — even now, when the exile lengthens exceedingly in our many sins, in body and soul, in general and in particular. And this is the aspect of the greatness of the simchah of Purim. For this is the essential simchah — when one merits to know with certainty that Hashem, blessed be He, hears our tefillos always, just as He heard our tefillah in the days of Mordechai and Esther. As it is written: “I will rejoice and be glad in Your kindness, for You have seen my affliction” (Tehillim 31:8), etc. Through this, we are confident that also now He will hear our cry, in general and in particular, as it is written: “And I have trusted in Your kindness; my heart will rejoice in Your salvation” (Tehillim 13:6), etc. [Continued in Part C: §§17–25] And therefore, all the festivals will be nullified, but the days of Purim will never be nullified. For the last redemption will be so exceedingly great that the overwhelming power of the miracles of the first redemption will no longer be remembered so vividly. As it is written: “It will no longer be said: ‘As Hashem lives, Who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but rather: ‘As Hashem lives…’” (Yirmiyahu 16:14–15), etc. And as our Sages of blessed memory said, that the last redemption will be the primary one, and the exodus from Egypt will be secondary to it. And due to the greatness of the simchah that will prevail then always, from the sheer abundance of salvations and wonders that we will have then, the simchah of Yom Tov — which is a remembrance of the exodus from Egypt — will no longer be so distinctive. For the last redemption will be far, far greater, and all our days will be Yamim Tovim, days of joy and gladness. As it is written: “We will sing and rejoice all our days” (Tehillim 90:14) — until the simchah of Yom Tov will no longer be distinctive, since all our days will be in simchah. But the simchah of Purim will be distinctive even then. For through the miracle of Purim — which is the eradication of Amalek and the greatness of Mordechai — we merited to draw upon ourselves the illumination of Mordechai, who is the aspect of “the chief of the spices, mor dror.” Through this, we merited to strengthen ourselves in tefillah always, even at the end of the lengthening of this bitter exile. And through this was the essential last redemption, for the essential weaponry of Mashiach is tefillah, as above. Therefore, the days of Purim will not be nullified even then, since through them was the essential last redemption, as above. And this is matanos la’evyonim [gifts to the poor] — which is tzedakah, which one must give abundantly on Purim. For the essential completeness of tefillah, through which was the miracle of Purim, is through abundant tzedakah, which is the aspect of shekalim, the aspect of mishpat, as above. And this is the aspect of mishloach manos ish l’rei’eihu [sending portions, each man to his fellow]. This is the aspect of gemilus chassadim [acts of lovingkindness], which is greater than tzedakah. For gemilus chassadim is both for the poor and for the wealthy. This is the aspect of what is explained there in the Torah mentioned above, at its conclusion, on the statement of Rabbah bar bar Chanah: “And had we not brought the ship close, we would have drowned” — that the essential redemption will be through His chesed, etc. For even though one needs to strengthen oneself exceedingly in tefillah always, nevertheless, it is forbidden to err into thinking that through our Torah and our tefillos the redemption will come. Rather, the essential redemption will be through His chesed, as it is written: “For My sake, for My sake, I will act” (Yeshayahu 48:11), etc. And this is the aspect of: “Esther was greenish [yerakrokes], but a thread of chesed was drawn upon her” (Megillah 13a). “Greenish” — this is the aspect of bushah [embarrassment], as is found in the words of our Sages of blessed memory many times: “his face turned green” regarding a matter of embarrassment. That is, Esther — the aspect of the totality of Israel, who increase in tefillah throughout all the days of the lengthening of the exile until we merit the complete redemption — she is the aspect of “greenish,” the aspect of embarrassment. That is, they are embarrassed within themselves, for they know that they are not worthy of being redeemed through their tefillah. For even when we strengthen ourselves to increase in tefillah greatly, nevertheless, there is no power in our tefillos to bring the complete redemption. Rather, a thread of chesed is drawn upon her — the aspect of: “For My sake, for My sake, I will act,” etc. That is, as above: the essential redemption will be through His chesed. And were it not for His chesed, we would be drowned in the exile, G–d forbid — the aspect of: “had we not brought the ship close” — the aspect of chesed — “we would have drowned,” etc., as above. And this is the aspect of the extension of the golden scepter — which is the aspect of the thread of chesed that is drawn upon the aspect of Esther, through which was the overwhelming power of the miracle. And this every person needs to know well: that each person, according to the lengthening of his exile in his desires and his evil character traits — which is the essential exile — he needs to increase in tefillah exceedingly, all the days of his fleeting life. And even when he sees that he prays abundantly and is not answered, and the desires and confusions overpower him more each time — nevertheless, let him not err that his tefillos and his conversations [with Hashem] are in vain, G–d forbid. Rather, let him know and believe that no word is ever lost, and every tefillah and conversation makes an impression — until the building that he needs will be completed. Then His compassion, blessed be He, will be stirred and He will return to him and have mercy upon him, as above. And therefore, he needs to strengthen himself to increase in tefillah and conversation always. But nevertheless, when he has some salvation, let him not err that through his tefillos and his good deeds he achieved this. Rather, let him know that everything is through His chesed, as above. And even though we know that it is impossible for us to achieve the complete salvation through our tefillos, nevertheless, we need to do our part — to increase in tefillah to the best of our ability. And then His compassion will be stirred and He will act through His chesed, for His sake, and save us speedily. And this too is included in what is explained there in the Torah mentioned above: that in tefillah one must be “striking the target precisely and not missing” [kolei’a el hasa’arah v’lo yachati] — that is, that one should not veer to the right or to the left. That is, one should not err, G–d forbid, that the tefillos are in vain, G–d forbid, because for so long they have been crying out and are not saved. For this is the aspect of veering to the left — making His attribute of mercy appear as if He is cruel, G–d forbid, as if Hashem, blessed be He, does not hear the tefillah of Israel. And similarly, one should not err and say: since it is impossible to achieve through our tefillos except through His chesed, then why should we increase in tefillah at all? Let us rely on His chesed alone. For this too is a great error. For this is the aspect of veering to the right improperly — relying only on His chesed alone. For in truth, both together are good: one must increase in tefillah exceedingly always, and know the truth that we are not worthy to achieve through our tefillos except through His chesed. And nevertheless, we need to do our part, to increase in tefillah always, and Hashem, blessed be He, will do His part and draw upon us His chesed for His sake and save us speedily. And this chesed we draw through mishloach manos ish l’rei’eihu — which is also for the wealthy, which is the aspect of chesed. For on this great day one must bestow chesed, each person with his fellow, even though he is wealthy and does not accept tzedakah, G–d forbid. Nevertheless, one must bestow chesed, each person with his fellow, in order to draw upon us His great chesed, through which is the essential miracle and salvation. For matanos la’evyonim is the aspect of tzedakah, which is the tikkun of tefillah, as above. And mishloach manos is the aspect of drawing the chesed mentioned above, through which is the essential redemption and complete salvation, as above. And this is the aspect of seudas Purim [the Purim feast]. This is the aspect of tikkun hamishpat, for holy eating is the aspect of tikkun hamishpat, as above. And this is the aspect of Mikra Megillah [reading the Megillah]. This is the aspect of the Torah that was renewed and revealed through the multitude of tefillos. For it is explained there in the Torah mentioned above that all the Torah that a person learns comes within the tefillah, and they strengthen one another — see there. And therefore, whoever wants to merit true life needs both — the engagement in Torah and tefillah — for they strengthen one another, as is explained there — see there. And therefore, Mordechai, who increased in tefillah, increased in the engagement of Torah with students. As our Sages of blessed memory said, that he was the head of the Sanhedrin and was called “Pesachyah” — that he would open matters and expound them. And through the Torah that he engaged in, the tefillah was strengthened until he accomplished his request. And similarly, through the tefillah, the Torah was strengthened — which is the aspect of neshamos [souls] — and was renewed anew, in the aspect of ibur [gestation], until they merited to receive the Torah anew. As our Sages of blessed memory said: “They established and they accepted” (Esther 9:27) — [ki’mu v’kib’lu], etc. And all of this they merited through the multitude of tefillah, through which the Torah was renewed, as above. And through this, they then accepted it anew, as above. And this is the aspect of the holy Megillah — which is the aspect of the renewal of the Torah that they accepted then anew through the multitude of tefillos and Torah that they engaged in. Through this, the Torah was clothed within the tefillah until it was renewed completely, and they merited the aspect of a new Torah — which is the holy Megillah, which is the aspect of a Sefer Torah. As our Sages of blessed memory said, that it is equivalent in all the laws of its writing to a Sefer Torah, as above. And this is the aspect of the exceedingly great virtue of making tefillos from the Torahs. For all the Torah that a person learns comes within the tefillah and is renewed there, and they strengthen one another, as above. And this is so even when the Torah one is engaged in has no obvious connection with the tefillah — for example, when one learns the laws of monetary matters and then prays about the guarding of Shabbos, and the like. But certainly it is a surpassing and immense virtue when one merits to make a tefillah from the Torah itself that one is engaged in. For then the Torah and the tefillah are in a complete unity to the greatest degree, and then they strengthen one another and illuminate one another more and more. And therefore, this matter of making tefillos from Torahs is exceedingly precious, and from this are made great delights above, the like of which do not exist. As is explained in his holy words, of blessed memory. For through this, one unifies Torah and tefillah in a wondrous unity, until they become a complete oneness, and they strengthen one another to the greatest degree, as above. And this is the aspect of the mitzvah of milah — the aspect of chisuch [cutting] and pri’ah [uncovering], which is the tikkun habris. Through this, one merits tefillah, which is a cherev pifiyos [double-edged sword], as it is written: “The exaltation of G–d is in their throat, and a double-edged sword in their hand” (Tehillim 149:6), as is explained in the Torah mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the cutting of the orlah and the pri’ah. For it is taught that the klipah of the orlah and the pri’ah, which cover over the holy bris, are the aspect of “two clouds that cover over the eyes” — which are the aspect of Eisav and Yishmael. That is, Eisav and Yishmael are the aspect of the blemish of the bris, the aspect of the klipah of the orlah and the pri’ah, which confuse a person’s mind from strengthening himself in tefillah. Eisav is the aspect of Amalek who descended from him. He is the aspect of the klipah of the complete orlah. For he denied the fundamental principle and does not acknowledge tefillah at all. And he misleads a person’s heart into thinking that tefillah is of no avail, G–d forbid, since the exile lengthens and every day they cry out and are not saved, as above. And through cutting the orlah that covers over the bris, through this one nullifies his evil klipah and draws the aspect of tikkun habris, through which one merits to strengthen oneself in tefillah always. For the essential tikkun of tefillah is through tikkun habris, which is drawn through the mitzvah of milah, as above. But there is still a second klipah, which is the klipah of the pri’ah. This is the aspect of the klipah of Yishmael, from which is drawn a different error in the heart, causing laxity in tefillah, G–d forbid. That is, sometimes it appears to a person that Hashem, blessed be He, has already certainly heard his tefillah — especially when he sees some sprouting of the horn of salvation. For then it appears to him that his tefillah has already been accepted, and he becomes lax in praying further. And this too is not good. For even though one needs to believe with complete emunah that no tefillah is in vain, G–d forbid, even when one sees no salvation at all, as above — nevertheless, even when one sees some salvation, it is forbidden to abandon one’s tefillos because of this. For the salvation has not yet been completed, and we still need salvation and great mercy until we leave our exile completely. And whoever errs within himself, G–d forbid, and becomes lax in tefillah because it appears to him that Hashem, blessed be He, has already heard his tefillah — this is drawn from the klipah of Yishmael. For Yishmael is named for: “For Hashem has heard your affliction” (Bereishis 16:11). And its Targum is: “For Hashem has accepted your tefillah.” And from there descends the second klipah mentioned above, which is the aspect of the klipah of the pri’ah, which is the klipah of Yishmael, which misleads a person’s heart into becoming lax in tefillah because Hashem has already heard his tefillah, as above. And through the mitzvah of pri’ah, one also nullifies this klipah and merits to strengthen oneself in tefillah always. For one needs to know and believe that certainly Hashem, blessed be He, hears the tefillah of every mouth. And even when one sees no salvation, one must believe that no tefillah is in vain, G–d forbid, and strengthen oneself in tefillah more, as above. But also when one sees some salvation, it is forbidden to abandon one’s tefillah because of this. Rather, one must rejoice in His salvation and give thanks for the past and make requests for the future. For we still need very many salvations all the days of our lives, until we merit that which we need to attain — for the sake of which we came to this world. And therefore, we still need to increase in tefillah, as above. And this is what we find regarding Esther — who is the aspect of the tefillah of the totality of Israel, as above — that even when she saw a great and wondrous salvation and awesome miracles such as these — that Haman was already compelled to lead Mordechai through the streets of the city and call before him: “So shall be done to the man,” etc. (Esther 6:11), and afterward he fell completely and was hanged on the tree — nevertheless, even after this it is written: “And Esther spoke further before the king, and fell at his feet and wept and beseeched him to remove the evil of Haman” (Esther 8:3), etc. That is, even when Knesses Yisrael sees great and wondrous salvations and miracles, and the Sitra Achra has fallen greatly — nevertheless, they are not content with this, and they still stand praying and weeping and beseeching before Him, like a son who acts endearingly before his father, that He should remove the evil of Haman — which is the Sitra Achra — completely, that he should merit to be purified and sanctified completely. For even though Hashem, blessed be He, has already performed many miracles and salvations for us, and we need to give thanks for them and rejoice in them always, nevertheless, we still need to increase in tefillah greatly, for we still need many salvations all the days of our lives, as above. And this is the aspect of: “And Mordechai returned to his home” (Esther 6:12). And our Sages of blessed memory said that he returned to his sackcloth and his fasting. That is, as above — that even though he saw such a salvation, nevertheless, he cried out even more, as above. And therefore: “One who circumcised but did not perform pri’ah — it is as if he did not circumcise” (Shabbos 133a). For when one does not perform pri’ah and does not nullify the klipah of Yishmael, and becomes lax in tefillah because it appears to him that he has already accomplished much through his tefillah, as above — which is the aspect of the klipah of Yishmael, the aspect of the klipah of the pri’ah, as above — through this, G–d forbid, the completion of his salvation is delayed, and his exile lengthens, G–d forbid, since he is lax in tefillah. And then the aspect of the klipah of Eisav — which is Amalek, which is the aspect of the klipah of the orlah — returns and reawakens, and will seal and dull his heart completely from strengthening himself in tefillah, since he sees that for so long he has been crying out and is not answered. And, G–d forbid, it can dull his heart so much that he will forget completely all the salvations that Hashem, blessed be He, has already helped him with — as is explained above, that this is the way of Amalek, who implants forgetfulness in the heart as if Hashem, blessed be He, has not yet begun to save at all, as above. Therefore: one who circumcised but did not perform pri’ah — it is as if he did not circumcise. For through this, G–d forbid, also the klipah of the orlah — which is the klipah of Eisav, which is Amalek, as above — returns and reawakens. Therefore, one must remove both, in order to merit to strengthen oneself in tefillah always. For one must believe and remember all the salvations and wonders that Hashem, blessed be He, has already done for us, from Egypt until now, in general and in particular — and give thanks for the past and cry out for the future — and beseech and pray abundantly to Hashem, blessed be He, all the days of our lives, as above. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: “Why do we not recite Hallel on Purim? It is understandable there [regarding Pesach]: ‘Praise, servants of Hashem’ — and not servants of Pharaoh. But here, we are still servants of Achashveirosh.” And Rava said: “Its reading — this is its Hallel” (Megillah 14a). That is, they are the same thing and they do not disagree. For Hallel is said on a complete redemption, like the exodus from Egypt, when we went from servitude to freedom completely — upon which all the Yamim Tovim were established, which are holy convocations, in which there is the cessation of labor. For then the contamination of the serpent — the kingdom of wickedness — was nullified. But on Purim, the kingdom of wickedness had not yet been completely nullified, for we are still servants of Achashveirosh. And therefore, Purim is indeed permitted in the performance of labor. And therefore, there is no Hallel on it. But in truth, this itself is the overwhelming power of the wondrous miracle of Purim, which is greater than all the festivals, as our Sages of blessed memory said. For the essential miracle and the wondrous and immense illumination of Purim is that we draw upon ourselves such a wondrous illumination — the illumination of Mordechai — that we merit to overcome in tefillah even during the days of the lengthening of this exile, as above. And this is the essential simchah of Purim — that we rejoice in His chesed, that we are confident that also now He will hear our tefillah and redeem us speedily. And this is: “Its reading — this is its Hallel.” For the essential Hallel of Purim is the reading of the Megillah, which publicizes the overwhelming power of the miracle: that even during the lengthening of the exile, at a time when it appears that Hashem, blessed be He, hides His face from us — even then, Hashem, blessed be He, hears our tefillah, just as it was in the days of Mordechai and Esther. For then it was at the end of the exile, and many calculated and erred, and it appeared to them that Hashem, blessed be He, would never return to us, G–d forbid. And Mordechai and Esther strengthened themselves in tefillah even then, until they merited the miracle. And we draw upon ourselves this great illumination every single year — to strengthen ourselves in tefillah always, throughout all the days of the lengthening of this exile. For even though we are still servants of Achashveirosh, and the kingdom of wickedness rules over us so greatly, nevertheless, we trust in His chesed and we strengthen ourselves to pray always, until His compassion will be stirred over us. And this is the essential Hallel of Purim — the aspect of: “Its reading — this is its Hallel.” For this is the essential illumination that is drawn on Purim: that even in our servitude, in the lengthening of the exile, we strengthen ourselves in tefillah always. And this is the essential eradication of the klipah of Amalek — through the overwhelming power of the greatness of Mordechai that shines upon us then, as above. [End of Nachalos, Halacha 4]