פקדון וד' שומרים ה

But Yom Tov is literally a “good day” — the aspect of the days of good mentioned above. And therefore, even though the days of evil have no dominion then, for they are days of good, and therefore labors are forbidden on Yom Tov — for there is no purification then, as above — nevertheless, some actions and works are still needed on Yom Tov. Namely, one needs to connect the days and the middos to the aspect of the light of the love that is in the Daas, which is above time. For on Yom Tov, only the aspect of the days of good is revealed. But one still needs actions and works in order to connect the days and the middos to the light of the love that is in the Daas — in order to taste the light of the love that is in the Daas within the days and the middos, as above. 6

“The craftsmen are paid guardians” — the matter of the four guardians.

And therefore there are labors that need to be done on Yom Tov — namely, the labor of ochel nefesh [preparing food for the soul] that the Torah permitted on Yom Tov. For “the tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul” (Mishlay 13:25). And the eating of the tzaddik is exceedingly precious, and his eating — when he eats to satisfy his soul — is in the aspect of “and He will satisfy your soul in radiant brilliance” (Yeshaya 58:11), as Rabainu, may his light shine, wrote elsewhere. It emerges that the tzaddik delights in his eating from the light of the love that is in the Daas — which is the aspect of the oros hatzachtzachos [lights of brilliant radiance] that are above the days and the middos, as is known. For regarding the tzaddik, it is said: “And you shall delight upon Hashem” — for he merits the aspect of Oneg Shabbas above. For the tzaddik reveals and finds His G-dliness, blessed be He, in all physical things, and even in the languages of the nations, etc., as above. And through this, he merits the light of the love that is in the Daas, as above (and as explained there in the aforementioned teaching; see there). 7

Based on the discourse “Maishara D’Sakina,” etc. (siman 30). See there: for the lower saichel, the aspect of chochmah tata’ah [the lower wisdom] — which is the aspect of the wisdom that is in each and every world, which directs the world — this is the aspect of malchus [sovereignty]. And to attain this saichel is through “hating gain” [sonai betza]. And therefore in the days of Shmuel, etc. And one must draw life-force to this saichel, and the essential life-force is from the or hapanim [the light of the countenance] that illuminates on the Festivals [r’galim], etc.

And the taste and delight of eating — its root is from the love that is in holiness, in the aspect of “love among delights.” For in all delights, there is an aspect of love that is their root. And the tzaddik who eats to satisfy his soul in holiness connects himself to the root of the delight, which is love in holiness. And not only that, but he also ascends and connects to the root of the love — namely, the light of the love that is in the Daas — which is the aspect of “and He will satisfy your soul in radiant brilliance,” as above. And this is the aspect of the eating of Shabbas, which is Oneg Shabbas — regarding which it is said: “Then you shall delight upon Hashem” — namely, through the eating of Shabbas, one delights “upon Hashem,” as it were — ascending and delighting from the light of the love that is in the Daas. 8

And sometimes the aspect of chochmah tata’ah, the aspect of the saichel mentioned above, the aspect of malchus, falls — and from this is made the arba malchuyos [four kingdoms/empires], etc. And each person must see to cut and separate the malchus d’k’dushah [the sovereignty of holiness] from the four kingdoms. And this is accomplished through chesed, in the aspect of: “And a throne is established through chesed” [v’huchan bachesed kisai] (Yeshayahu 16:5), in the aspect of “reap according to chesed,” etc.

And on Shabbas, this is accomplished through the holiness of Shabbas itself — for Shabbas is above time, etc., as above. But on Yom Tov, which is within time — the aspect of the days of good — therefore, one needs then to perform actions in order to connect to the light of the love that is in the Daas — to the aspect of Oneg Shabbas. And therefore one needs to perform the labor of ochel nefesh on Yom Tov — to prepare the food so that it will be in the aspect of ochel nefesh — “food of the soul” specifically — the aspect of “the tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul” — the aspect of “and He will satisfy your soul in radiant brilliance.” That is, the food should be in the aspect of Oneg Shabbas — to merit through it the light of the love that is in the Daas — as through Oneg Shabbas, which is the eating of Shabbas. 9

And for this reason Avraham pursued the four kings — for they are the aspect of the four kingdoms. For he was a man of chesed, and through the chesed he cut and separated the malchus d’k’dushah from the four kingdoms. And therefore four sons came forth from him, which correspond to the “four sons of whom the Torah speaks,” etc. — which are the aspect of dalet [four], the aspect of the malchus d’k’dushah, which is the aspect of dalet, etc. See there, all of this, explained well.

And just as during the weekdays one must perform all the labors in order to purify and extract the good from the evil — so too on Yom Tov: even though the good is revealed and purification is not needed, and therefore labors are forbidden — nevertheless, one still needs to perform the labor of ochel nefesh in order to prepare and connect it to the light of the love that is in the Daas — the aspect of Oneg Shabbas that is above time, above the days, as above. And therefore, even within ochel nefesh, not all labors are permitted — for reaping, grinding, and squeezing, etc. are forbidden even though they are labors of ochel nefesh. 10

And this is the aspect of the four guardians. For guarding is the aspect of malchus, which is the aspect of shamor [guarding/observing], as is brought. For it is the attribute of night, when guarding is needed, as is known. And therefore they are four guardians, corresponding to the aspect of the malchus, which is the aspect of dalet, as above — where guarding is needed from the four kingdoms.

For certainly, other labors that are actual purifications — such as reaping and grinding — are forbidden even for ochel nefesh. For purifications — namely, purifying the good from the evil — this is forbidden on Yom Tov, as above. And the only permission is for baking and cooking and the like, which come only to prepare the food and to reveal its taste. For the food has already been completely purified; one needs only baking and cooking to prepare it and to reveal its good taste that is not perceptible before the cooking. And the taste is the delight — which comes from the aspect of “love among delights”, as above. And therefore we do this on Yom Tov — we bake and cook to prepare the food and to reveal its good taste, in order to connect it and elevate it to its root — namely, the root of the love, which is the aspect of the light of the love that is in the Daas, as above. 11

And the essential guarding is according to what one merits to raise the malchus d’k’dushah from the four kingdoms through chesed, and to give it life through the or hapanim. For through this one is guarded from all types of damages.

And this is why the verse calls it ochel nefesh, as it is written: “Only that which is eaten by every soul” (Sh’mos 12:16) — it does not simply say “that which is eaten.” The verse is precise: “by every soul” specifically — the aspect of the eating of the soul — the aspect of “the tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul” — the aspect of “and He will satisfy your soul in radiant brilliance” — which is the aspect of Oneg Shabbas. And this is what is permitted on Yom Tov: to prepare it so that it becomes ochel nefesh — to connect it and elevate it to the aspect of Oneg Shabbas, etc., as above. 12

For all the possessions of a person and all his wealth are the aspect of malchus. For malchus is the aspect of wealth, for from the aspect of malchus all things in the world emerge — for it is the aspect of the saichel that directs the entire world, as above. And therefore the essential rectification of the malchus d’k’dushah is through hating gain [sonai betza]. For when one falls into the desire for money, then one blemishes the malchus d’k’dushah, which is the aspect of wealth, as above. But one who hates gain and merits the aspect of the chochmah mentioned above, the aspect of malchus d’k’dushah — then his money and his wealth and all his possessions are very precious. For the money of holiness [mamon d’k’dushah] is very precious, as is brought in the words of Rabbainu of blessed memory in another place. For it is the aspect of malchus d’k’dushah, as above.

And this is what our Sages of blessed memory expounded on this verse: “Only that which is eaten by every soul — it alone shall be done for you” — “for you and not for dogs; for you and not for the nations” (B’itza 21b). Namely, to exclude the opposite of ochel nefesh, which is the aspect of “and the dogs are fierce of soul, they do not know satisfaction” (Yeshaya 56:11) — the opposite of “the tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul.” And all the eating of the nations is likewise in the aspect of “the dogs are fierce of soul,” for they are immersed in all the cravings and their eating is in impurity. 13

And therefore the money of holiness needs great guarding, for it is the aspect of malchus, where great guarding is needed from the aspect of the four kingdoms, which are the aspect of wild beasts [chayos ra’os] — as it is written in Daniel and in Zechariyah, who compared the four kingdoms to four wild beasts. For from them come all the damages in the world. And therefore the money of holiness needs great guarding from them. (And as Rabbainu of blessed memory strongly warned many many times to guard very carefully the money of Israel, which is the aspect of the money of holiness. For it needs great guarding, as above.)

Only the eating of Yisrael is permitted on Yom Tov. For the eating of Yisrael, especially on Shabbas and Yom Tov, is holy — for they have many holinesses and mitzvos and blessings in their eating. For all of Yisrael are in the aspect of tzaddikayya, as it is written: “And Your people Yisrael — they are all tzaddikayya” (Yeshaya 60:21). And their eating is in holiness — the aspect of “the tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul,” etc., as above. And therefore, for them alone the labor of ochel nefesh is permitted on Yom Tov — to prepare it and connect it to its root, to merit the light of the love that is in the Daas, etc., as above. 14

And the essential guarding of the money and the wealth, which is the aspect of malchus, is through raising the aspect of the malchus — the chochmah tata’ah mentioned above — from the four kingdoms, and raising it and giving it life through the or hapanim. Through this one is guarded from all types of damages — from theft, loss, and unavoidable circumstances. For the four kingdoms are the aspect of wild beasts that ravage and tear, as above. And this is the aspect of unavoidable circumstances [onsin], which are through a wild beast and an armed bandit — and this is the aspect of the four kingdoms, as above. And therefore when one cuts and separates the malchus d’k’dushah from them, through this one is saved from unavoidable circumstances, as above. And through giving life to the chochmah tata’ah through the or hapanim, as above, through this one is saved from theft and loss. For theft and loss are through the blemish of the da’as. For the essential theft and loss come through distraction [hesach hada’as] — for it is specifically then that the thief comes, and likewise with loss, as is known through actual experience. And therefore theft and loss are the aspect of the blemish of the da’as. And therefore, through giving life to the chochmah tata’ah, the aspect of malchus, through the or hapanim — which is the aspect of the illumination of the upper saichel that illuminates and completes the lower saichel — it emerges that the saichel is completed. And therefore through this one is saved from theft and loss, which depend on the completeness of the da’as, as above.

And this is the aspect of airuv tavshilin [the merging of cooked foods]. For the needs of Shabbas may be prepared on Yom Tov from the Torah level. But the airuv tavshilin is so that one should not forget Shabbas and should select a fine portion for Shabbas. For the needs of Shabbas are fitting to be prepared on Yom Tov, since all the labor of ochel nefesh is permitted on Yom Tov in order to elevate it to the aspect of Oneg Shabbas above. And therefore, certainly the needs of Shabbas are permitted on Yom Tov, for they are Oneg Shabbas itself — and this kind of labor is permitted on Yom Tov, as above. 15

It emerges that through raising the malchus d’k’dushah from the four kingdoms and giving it life through the or hapanim, through this one is saved from all types of damages — from theft, loss, and unavoidable circumstances, as above.

But our Sages of blessed memory enacted airuv tavshilin so that one should not forget Shabbas. For because one is busy with the needs of Yom Tov, one may forget Shabbas. That is, because one is busy with the labor of ochel nefesh of Yom Tov — which is to elevate it to the aspect of the love that is in the Daas — therefore one may forget Shabbas, since one merits even now, on Yom Tov, the aspect of Oneg Shabbas, as above. Therefore, they enacted airuv tavshilin so that one should remember and select a fine portion for Shabbas. For in truth, even so, Shabbas is certainly more important than Yom Tov — for then it is a complete cessation, for then the light of the love that is in the Daas is revealed of its own accord, as above. 16

And this is the aspect of the different laws that exist among the guardians. For the sho’ail [borrower] is liable for everything. For the sho’ail — all the benefit is his, and therefore he is liable for everything. For the essential raising of the malchus d’k’dushah from the four kingdoms is through chesed, in the aspect of: “And a throne is established through chesed.”

Built on Likutay Moharan I:33 (“Who Is the Man Who Desires Life”), which teaches that one can find Hashem even in the lowest places and the languages of the nations, and through this merit the light of the love that is in the Daas — a love that existed before Creation, above time and the middos. 17

And therefore all the possessions of a person, which are the aspect of his malchus — and a person receives benefit from each and every object — and this benefit is the aspect of ahavah [love], the aspect of chesed, from which come all loves and pleasures. And therefore every person must see to raise all the loves and pleasures that he has from any object or from any thing in the world — to raise everything to Hashem, blessed be He, to raise the love to its root, to the aspect of chesed that is in holiness. And then, through raising the love that is in that thing to the aspect of chesed that is in holiness — through this he raises the aspect of the malchus from the four kingdoms, through the chesed that is in holiness, through which is the essential raising of the malchus, as above. For the possessions themselves are the aspect of malchus, as above.

Reb Nosson constructs a three-level model of reality. Weekdays = days of evil have dominion = all 39 labors needed = purification, extracting good from evil. Yom Tov = days of good, the good is revealed (no purification needed, labors forbidden) BUT still within time, still within the middos = needs some action (baking, cooking) to connect the food’s taste to the light of the love in the Daas. Shabbas = above time entirely = the light of the love in the Daas revealed of its own accord = complete cessation, no action at all. 18

And when one does not raise, G–d forbid, the love that is in that object to its root, then, G–d forbid, through this one gives power to the four kingdoms of the Sitra Achara. For just as the raising of the malchus d’k’dushah is through the chesed that is in holiness — so too, in reverse, through the fallen loves [ahavos n’fulos], G–d forbid, the malchus harish’ah [the wicked kingdom] — which is the four kingdoms — overpowers. For all the desires in the world are the aspect of fallen loves, and through them the wicked kingdom overpowers, G–d forbid, through the blemish of the chesed of holiness, from which come the fallen loves, as above.

The exquisite distinction: reaping and grinding are forbidden on Yom Tov even for food because they are purifications (extracting good from evil), and purification belongs to weekdays. Baking and cooking are permitted because the food is already purified — they only reveal the taste. And taste = delight = love = its root is the love that is in the Daas. 19

But when one breaks all the desires and all the pleasures and raises everything to its root, to the root of the love which is the aspect of chesed that is in holiness — through this one subdues and nullifies the wicked kingdom, the aspect of the four kingdoms. And one cuts and separates and raises the malchus d’k’dushah from there, for the essential raising is through the chesed, as above, in the aspect of: “And a throne is established through chesed,” as above.

The airuv tavshilin: since the Yom Tov cooking already achieves the taste of Oneg Shabbas, one might forget that Shabbas itself is even higher. The airuv is a reminder that Shabbas transcends even this achievement. 20

And this is the aspect of tzedakah — that one must give tzedakah from every thing. For through the tzedakah, which is the aspect of chesed, through this one raises the malchus — which is the aspect of the wealth — from the four kingdoms, as above. And then, when one raises all the loves and pleasures that one has from every object and every thing in the world, raising everything to the root of the chesed that is in holiness, as above — then one raises the malchus, which is the aspect of wealth, from the four kingdoms, and raises it to the or hapanim, as above. Then one is guarded from all types of damages — from theft, loss, and unavoidable circumstances, as above. And this is the aspect of: “The salt of money is decrease” [melach mamon chaseir] (K’subos 66b). For one who wants to guard his money so that it should endure in his hand and no damage should have power over it — then “decrease” [chaseir] — that is, he should give tzedakah, as Rashi explained there. For through the tzedakah, which is the aspect of chesed, through which one raises the malchus — which is the aspect of wealth — from the four kingdoms, through this one is saved from all types of damages, as above. And therefore the sho’ail, where all the benefit is his, is liable even for unavoidable circumstances. For since he receives benefit from this thing, he must guard the thing even from unavoidable circumstances. For he must raise the benefit and the love of that thing to its root, to the aspect of chesed that is in holiness — and through this one is saved from all the damages, as above. And therefore the thing stands in the domain of the borrower even regarding unavoidable circumstances. For upon him is placed the guarding even from unavoidable circumstances, since the benefit is his. Therefore he must guard the thing by raising all the pleasures to their root, to the aspect of chesed that is in holiness — and through this one is guarded from all the damages, as above. And therefore if even an unavoidable circumstance occurred, the sho’ail is liable. For the unavoidable circumstance came through his own arrow [b’gira dilai] — because he did not raise the malchus to its root through the love and the chesed that is in holiness, as above. But the other guardians are exempt from unavoidable circumstances. For since they do not receive all the benefit, it is not placed upon them to raise the love and the benefit of that thing to its root — through which one is guarded even from unavoidable circumstances. Since not all the benefit is theirs, but rather belongs to the ba’al habayis [the owner] — therefore the thing is in the domain of the ba’al habayis. For they cannot guard from unavoidable circumstances, for this depends only on one where all the benefit is his, as above. For one whose benefit it is — he specifically can guard from unavoidable circumstances, by raising the benefit to the root of the chesed that is in holiness, through which one raises the malchus d’k’dushah from the four kingdoms, through which one is guarded from unavoidable circumstances, as above. However, even so, the shomer sachar is liable for theft and loss, which come through the blemish of the da’as. For since he receives wages from his fellow, and through the wages that he receives from his fellow, he draws life-force from his fellow to the aspect of his own chochmah tata’ah. For the aspect of the chochmah tata’ah is completed through the aspect of the abundance and the wealth that is drawn to the person. For the aspect of the chochmah tata’ah that exists in every person is the aspect of wealth, the aspect of malchus, as above. And through the money of Israel, the money of holiness, the aspect of chochmah tata’ah is more fully completed and illuminated. For the abundance of the money of Israel, the money of holiness, is drawn from a lofty place, and completes and gives life to the aspect of chochmah tata’ah, which is the aspect of wealth, as above. And as is understood in another place in the discourse “G’zailah” (siman 69) — see there. And therefore the shomer sachar, since his fellow gives him wages and through these wages he receives life-force in the aspect of his chochmah tata’ah from his fellow — therefore he is liable for theft and loss, which depend on the blemish of the da’as, as above. But the shomer chinam, where the benefit is not his and he does not receive any wages — he is not liable for anything. For he is only obligated to guard, since he took upon himself to guard. But when he guards properly, and even so, a theft or an unavoidable circumstance occurred — what could he have done? For the thing is not in his responsibility. But the shomer sachar or the sho’ail — the thing is in their responsibility even though they guarded properly. Even so, the thing is in their responsibility regarding theft and loss or unavoidable circumstances, each one according to his law. For the responsibility of the thing depends on who is placed upon to raise the aspect of the malchus, the aspect of chochmah tata’ah, that is in that thing. That is, the sho’ail, where all the benefit is his, upon him is placed to raise the aspect of the malchus through the chesed that is in holiness, through which one is saved from all damages. And therefore the thing is in his responsibility even for unavoidable circumstances. And likewise the shomer sachar, regarding theft and loss. And understand this matter well. And therefore the craftsmen are paid guardians. For the rectification of the craftsmen, who repair some thing, is through the aspect of chochmah tata’ah, which is the aspect of the master craftsman [uman] of every thing in the world. For the essential craftsmanship is through the saichel, which is the master craftsman that repairs every thing in the world. And therefore the holy Torah, which is the aspect of chochmah from which all the wisdoms in the world are drawn — it is the aspect of the master craftsman of the entire world, as it is written: “And I was with Him as an oman” — a master craftsman [uman] (Mishlai 8:30). And from there the chochmah chains down to all people, who also have wisdom to do craftsmanship, to repair all things. For all things need repair and craftsmanship — for so did Hashem, blessed be He, create the world through the Torah, which is the master craftsman — that all people should receive wisdom from the wisdoms of the Torah, and there should be in their hands also craftsmanship to make vessels and repair all things in the world through their wisdom, which they receive from the wisdoms of the Torah. And therefore Hashem, blessed be He, created all things so that they should need repair by people, as is brought in the Midrash (Beraishis Rabbah 11): that all things need repair by people. It emerges that all craftsmanship is through the aspect of chochmah — that is, through the aspect of chochmah tata’ah, which is the wisdom that directs the world. And therefore the craftsmen are paid guardians. For since he girded his loins to be a craftsman and to repair that thing, it emerges that he obligated himself to draw life-force to that thing. For craftsmanship is the aspect of chochmah that gives life to the thing and repairs it. And therefore he is liable like the shomer sachar — that is, he is liable for theft and loss, which depend on the completeness of the da’as, that is, through giving life to the aspect of the chochmah tata’ah, as above. For the craftsman — the essential craftsmanship is this very aspect: to draw life-force through the Torah, to give life to the chochmah tata’ah, through which is the craftsmanship and the repair of every thing. And therefore the responsibility of theft and loss is upon him, as above. But for unavoidable circumstances they are exempt — for from unavoidable circumstances one cannot guard except through the aspect of the chesed, as above. And this depends on the one who receives the benefit, who must raise the benefit and the love to the root of the chesed that is in holiness, through which one raises the malchus from the four kingdoms, from which come all the unavoidable circumstances, and raises it, etc. — through which one is saved from all types of damages. And this is the essential guarding, as above. Baruch Hashem l’olam, amain v’amain. And this is the aspect of Birchas Kohanim [the Priestly Blessing], the aspect of: “Koh [thus] shall you bless” (Bamidbar 6:23) — “koh” specifically, the aspect of malchus, as is known. For the Kohanim are the aspect of chesed, and therefore they are able to raise and bless and give life to the aspect of the malchus — which is the aspect of all of Israel — in the aspect of: “Koh [thus] shall you bless.” And this is the aspect of: “May Hashem bless you” — with money [b’mamon]. For money, that is, wealth, is the aspect of malchus d’k’dushah. And through the abundance of the money of holiness, illumination and life-force is drawn to the aspect of the malchus, as above. And this is: “and guard you” [v’yishm’recha] — from the damaging forces — that is, from the aspect of the four kingdoms, which are the damaging forces of the world, from which come all the damages, as above. For the Kohanim, who are the aspect of chesed, raise the malchus from them, in the aspect of: “reap according to chesed,” as above. And then they raise the malchus to the or hapanim, as above. And this is the aspect of: “May Hashem cause His countenance to shine upon you” [ya’air Hashem panav ailecha] — the aspect of the or hapanim, as above. Regarding Shmuel it is written (Shmuel I 1:28): “From Hashem I asked for him, and also I have lent him to Hashem; all the days that he lives, he is lent [sha’ul] to Hashem.” The Holy One, blessed be He, became a “borrower” [sho’ail] regarding him, as Rashi explained there. “And Shmuel cut [it] apart” [vay’shaseif Shmuel] — specifically.