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The matter of the shomer chinam [unpaid guardian], who is exempt from everything and is only obligated to swear that he guarded properly and did not act negligently in his guarding and did not lay his hand upon it, etc. But after he guarded properly and nevertheless a loss occurred — such as theft or loss, and all the more so accidents — he is exempt from them.

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Based on the Torah teaching: “Come to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart,” etc. (Shemos 10:1), in Likutay HaRishon, siman 64 — see there, the entire teaching.

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And the general principle for our purposes is that the essential thing is emunah sh’laimah [complete faith]. For Israel, the holy nation, are called by the name Ivri’im [Hebrews] — because through their complete faith they pass over [ovrim] all types of wisdoms, and over all the wisdoms that are not truly wisdoms — for it is impossible to resolve the difficulties that derive from there except through emunah alone; one passes over them as well. For there are two types of apikorsus [heresy] and difficulties. There is apikorsus that derives from the aspect of ribbui or [an excess of light] that caused the sh’viras hakailim [shattering of the vessels]. From there is the hold of the klippos, which are the aspect of heresy and apikorsus. And regarding this apikorsus it is said: “Know what to answer the heretic” (Avos 2:14). For regarding this apikorsus it is possible to find an answer and a resolution, since it derives from the aspect of an excess of light, etc., as above, where there are many holy sparks that are the aspect of wisdom and intellect. For all the sparks are drawn from the Chochmah, which is the essential light and vitality of the entire creation — for “You made them all with Chochmah” (Tehillim 104:24), etc. — see there. But there is apikorsus that derives from the aspect of the chalal hapanui [the Vacated Space], from which He completely contracted His G–dliness, as it were. And therefore the apikorsus and the difficulties that derive from there cannot be resolved through the intellect in any way whatsoever. For this Vacated Space was a necessity for the creation of the world, since had there not been the contraction of the Vacated Space, everything would have been Ain Sof [Infinite], and there would have been no place for the creation of the world. Therefore it was necessary that He contract and remove His G–dliness from there completely, in order that there be a place for the creation. And therefore it is impossible to find Hashem, blessed be He, there through the intellect in any way. And therefore difficulties derive from there that cannot be resolved in any way. For if one could resolve them and find Hashem, blessed be He, also there, then everything would be Ain Sof and there would be no place for the creation, as above. But in absolute truth, certainly also there, in the Vacated Space itself, Hashem, blessed be He, is also found. It is only that He is in a very great concealment, and it is impossible to grasp this through the intellect in any way, except in the future. But throughout all the days of the world it is impossible to grasp through the intellect the aspect of the Vacated Space and the difficulties that derive from there, as above — except through emunah alone. One must simply believe with complete emunah that in truth all the difficulties are nullified and void from their very root. For in truth everything is from Him, blessed be He, alone. And even the entire Vacated Space and all the difficulties in the world — everything is drawn from Him, blessed be He. For He, blessed be He, fills all worlds and surrounds all worlds, etc. — see there. And the general principle is that regarding these difficulties that derive from the aspect of the Vacated Space, regarding them it is said: “All who enter there do not return” (Mishlai 2:19). For it is impossible to resolve them through the intellect in any way whatsoever. Rather, only through emunah alone does one pass over and proceed even past these wisdoms that are not truly wisdoms, etc. For the essential drawing close to Hashem, blessed be He, is only through complete emunah alone, etc. — see all of this there well. And this is the aspect of the distinction between a shomer chinam and the other guardians who receive payment. For the shomer chinam is exempt from everything with an oath, while the other paid guardians are obligated to pay for the damage, each one according to his law. For in truth, all possessions and all things need to be guarded very much from damages. And as we find, our Sages of blessed memory were very stringent about the guarding, even of the shomer chinam, who must guard the deposit with an exceedingly superior level of guarding. But certainly the essential guarding is only through Hashem, blessed be He, who is “the Guardian of His people Israel forever.” And as it is written: “If Hashem does not guard the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil” (Tehillim 127:1). And if so, seemingly it is difficult: why does a person need to guard his possessions and money at all? And why did the Torah impose stringency regarding the law of guarding of the four guardians? Is it not impossible for a person to guard at all, since certainly the essential guarding is from Hashem, blessed be He, alone, as above? But it is based upon the Torah teaching mentioned above. For all the damages in the world derive from the klippos and the Sitra Achra, which are the aspect of the harmful forces of the world [mazikai alma]. And it is known in the words of Rabbainu, of blessed memory, and in the holy Zohar, that the essential Sitra Achra is the aspect of heresy. For the yetzer hara is called “a foreign god” [ail acher] — heresy — as is brought in the words of Rabbainu, of blessed memory, elsewhere. And from there are drawn all the klippos and all the evil desires and all the harmful forces in the world. And therefore there are two types of guarding needed — to guard everything from the two types of damages that derive from the two types of heresy mentioned above. That is: the heresy that derives from the aspect of the excess of light, where it is possible to find a resolution; and the heresy that derives from the Vacated Space, where it is impossible to resolve them in any way and one must rely only on emunah alone, as above. For there are harmful forces of the world that derive from the aspect of the heresy that derives from the klippos that came into being through the excess of light. And all the damages that derive through them — a person is able to guard himself from them through his intellect and da’as with which Hashem has graced him. And this is the aspect of the guarding that is incumbent upon man — that a person is obligated to guard his possessions and his money very well, with a superior level of guarding, to set his eye upon them so that no loss should come to them, and he should not be a fool who loses what is given to him. And as Rabbainu, of blessed memory, warned very much that a person must guard his possessions and his money very, very much. All the more so when one becomes a guardian over the money of his fellow — he is certainly obligated to guard very, very much, with an open eye, and not act negligently in his guarding, G–d forbid — in order to save the object from all the damages that come from the aspect of the harmful forces of the world that derive from the shattering of the vessels. For all the damages that come from there are subdued and nullified through the guarding of man specifically. For this is the essential work of man in this world: to clarify all the sparks that fell through the shattering of the vessels, as is known. And the essential clarification is through the wisdom and the intellect, for “they are all clarified through thought.” And therefore the fulfillment of the entire Torah is called by the name “guarding” [shmirah], as it is written: “Guard and listen,” etc. (Devarim 12:28). And as it is written: “And you shall guard yourselves very much” (Devarim 4:15). And many similar instances. And this is the aspect of: “to work it and to guard it” (Beraishis 2:15) — “to work it” through the positive commandments, and “to guard it” through the negative commandments. For through the fulfillment of all the mitzvos of the Torah, through this one guards oneself and everything dependent upon him from all the klippos and the harmful forces of the world, for one clarifies the sparks from them — through which the harmful forces of the world are subdued, fall, and are nullified. But there are harmful forces of the world whose sustenance is from the aspect of the heresy of the aspect of the Vacated Space, as above, where there is no intellect in revelation at all, and it is impossible to find Hashem, blessed be He, there except through emunah alone. And therefore, from these damages that derive from there, it is impossible for a person to guard himself at all in any way. And regarding them it is said: “If Hashem does not guard the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil,” as above. For all the causes and events that derive from there are beyond human intellect, and it is impossible for a person to understand them at all, and it is impossible to guard oneself from them at all. For they are not clarified through human intellect at all, since it is impossible for human intellect to clarify them. And one must rely only on emunah alone — to rely upon Hashem, blessed be He, alone, that He Himself will guard us from all types of damages that derive from there. For it is impossible to guard oneself from them through one’s intellect in any way, except to rely upon Him, blessed be He, with complete emunah, as above. And this is the aspect of masa u’matan [commerce/business] — the aspect of bitachon [trust] and hishtadlus [effort] — which is impossible to understand in any way, as is discussed in the holy books. For in truth the essential thing is bitachon in Hashem, blessed be He, for “not from the east nor from the west, and not from the desert of the mountains, for G–d is the judge — He humbles this one and raises that one” (Tehillim 75:7–8). And nevertheless a person must engage in some business and commerce to draw down sustenance, as it is written: “And He will bless you in all that you do” (Devarim 15:18). But this is based upon what was explained above. For the essential occupation — that one must engage in the activity of commerce — is for the sake of clarifying the sparks from the shattering of the vessels, as is known. For the clarification is accomplished through man specifically, as is known. And therefore he necessarily must engage in some business in order to clarify the sparks through this, and through this he draws down sustenance. But in truth the essential thing is bitachon in Hashem, blessed be He. For one needs to clarify the abundance of money and sustenance from the two types of klippos mentioned above, that derive from the two types of heresy mentioned above. And the clarification from the klippos that derive from the shattering of the vessels — this is accomplished through man, for this is why man was created: “to work it and to guard it,” etc., as above. But the clarification of the abundance from the klippos that derive from the Vacated Space — this does not depend on human da’as, and it is impossible for a person to do any action or wisdom or effort for this. Rather, one can only trust in Hashem, blessed be He, alone and believe in Him, blessed be He, with complete emunah that He, blessed be He, will provide him his sustenance in His mercy. And this is the aspect of: “Lest you eat and be satisfied and your heart becomes haughty and you forget,” etc. — “And you shall remember Hashem your G–d, for He is the One who gives you the power to amass wealth” (Devarim 8:12–18). And the Targum translates: “For He is the One who gives you the aitzah [counsel/strategy] to acquire property.” For in truth, one who has a brain in his head can understand and see that all the profit from all commerce — the essential thing is through the aitzah that Hashem, blessed be He, gives him: what to trade, to buy and sell at the right time. For “no man knows through what he will profit” (Pesachim 54b). And as long as he does not know the true aitzah of what to trade, certainly no action or effort will help him — for on the contrary, he could lose through the activity of the commerce. And therefore the essential thing is the aitzah — that he should merit that Hashem, blessed be He, prepare for him a complete aitzah in his heart, that he should know what to trade in a way that he will profit. And this aitzah is drawn from Hashem, blessed be He, alone, and does not depend on human action at all. Only afterward, when he merits the aitzah to know what to trade — afterward man must carry out the business that Hashem, blessed be He, prepares for him. That is, as above: the aitzah to know what to trade — which is the essential thing — does not depend on human action at all, but only on bitachon and emunah alone. For this is the aspect of the clarification from the Vacated Space. For before one knows any aitzah, it is the aspect of the Vacated Space, which is empty of intellect — that one does not yet know any strategy of how to draw the light of the abundance of sustenance. And afterward, when Hashem, blessed be He, enlightens his eyes and prepares for him a good aitzah to trade in something that he will profit from — even so, man still needs to carry out the business, for Hashem, blessed be He, desires our service, in order to clarify all things from the aspect of the klippos that come from the shattering of the vessels, as above. And therefore the Torah warned man not to deceive himself. Since he sees that a person must engage in some business for sustenance, he might, G–d forbid, err and say, G–d forbid: “My power and the might of my hand have made me this wealth” (Devarim 8:17) — that is, he might, G–d forbid, err that even the aitzah of the commerce was also through his own wisdom and effort. And this is: “My power [kochi] and the might of my hand,” etc. “Kochi” is the aspect of the aitzah of the commerce, as is explained in the context: the Targum translates “for He is the One who gives you koach” as “for He gives you aitzah,” etc. For when one knows the aitzah of what to do but has not yet done it, the matter is still in potential [b’koach]. And then man needs to carry out the business, to bring it from potential to actuality. But the knowledge of the aitzah does not depend on human action, but only on emunah and bitachon in Hashem, blessed be He, alone, as above. And therefore the Torah warned that one should not err that everything depends on his own action and effort, G–d forbid, as if even the aitzah is from himself, G–d forbid. And this is: “My power [kochi] and the might of my hand [v’otzem yadi],” etc. “Kochi” is the aspect of the aitzah; “v’otzem yadi” is the aspect of the effort and exertion through the work of his hands. But in truth everything is from Hashem, blessed be He, alone, as the verse concludes: “And you shall remember Hashem your G–d, for He is the One who gives you the power to amass wealth” — and the Targum translates: “For He gives you the aitzah to acquire property.” That is, one must know and believe that everything is from Hashem, blessed be He, alone. For the essential thing is the aitzah, as above, and the aitzah is drawn only from Hashem, blessed be He, alone, and through this is the essential profit and abundance. And certainly Hashem, blessed be He, who gives him the aitzah, could have given him all the abundance by Himself. It is only that He, blessed be He, desires our service, in order to clarify the sparks from the shattering of the vessels. But everything is through His hand, blessed be He, alone. For He is the One who gives the koach, which is the aitzah, through which is the essential profit and sustenance, as above. And the general principle is that the essential thing is emunah and bitachon. But nevertheless one must engage in some business, in order to clarify the sparks from the fragments of the vessels — which depends on the work of man specifically. But in truth the essential abundance is from Hashem, blessed be He, alone, without our action at all — only through emunah and bitachon. Through this, the abundance is drawn and clarified from the aspect of the Vacated Space, where it is completely empty, as it were. And then, before one clarifies from the aspect of the Vacated Space, one does not know at all what to do, in the aspect of: “no man knows through what he will profit.” But when one believes that even there, in the Vacated Space, Hashem, blessed be He, is found — then Hashem, blessed be He, prepares for him there specifically a good aitzah of what to trade. For he clarifies the abundance through the emunah from the klippos that derive from the Vacated Space. And afterward one must carry out the business with wisdom and da’as, in order to clarify the sparks from the aspect of the shattering of the vessels, as above. And this is the aspect of the distinction between the shomer chinam and the other guardians. The shomer chinam is exempt from everything and is only liable for negligence [pshi’ah]. While the other paid guardians are liable for other damages. For all the damages that come from the shattering of the vessels depend on the guarding of man, as above. And man must guard against them. And this even the shomer chinam is liable for, since even he is obligated in guarding — to guard the deposit well from all damages, with an open eye, in the manner of guardians. For these damages depend on the guarding of man, as above. But there are damages from which a person cannot guard himself in any way. And even if he guards with everything possible, nevertheless the damage can come. For these damages derive from the aspect of the Vacated Space, where human da’as does not reach to guard and save from the damages that come from the klippos that derive from there, from the aspect of the Vacated Space, as above. And from these damages none can guard except Hashem, blessed be He, alone. And regarding them it is said: “If Hashem does not guard the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil,” as above. And therefore, regarding these damages, the shomer chinam is not liable if they occur. For what can he do? He guarded properly and did not act negligently in his guarding. And if despite all this, the loss came from Heaven — for example, if he guarded properly and nevertheless it was stolen or lost without negligence, but only from Heaven, and all the more so if it was taken by force — therefore the shomer chinam is exempt from them. For what can he do, since he guarded properly and the loss came from Heaven? He is not liable for this, since the matter is not his responsibility regarding the loss and damage that comes from Heaven alone, which is drawn through the klippos that come from the Vacated Space. And the responsibility for this damage and loss does not fall upon the shomer chinam at all, since he does not receive payment for his guarding. But the other guardians who receive payment — such as the shomer sachar or the sochair, since the benefit of being hired to him, etc., as our Sages of blessed memory said, or the artisans — and all the more so the sho’el, for whom all the benefit is his. And since he received payment or benefit — which is also payment — from the object, therefore the responsibility for the loss that comes through the Vacated Space also falls upon him. And therefore they are liable even for theft and loss without negligence, or even for accidents — each one according to his law. For this responsibility of the loss that comes from there, from the aspect of the Vacated Space, does not fall upon a person unless the money is his own or he receives benefit from it, which is considered like his own money. For there, in the aspect of the Vacated Space, no guarding or da’as or wisdom or strategy helps — only emunah alone. Whether regarding the difficulties and the inquiries and the confusions and the obstacles that derive from there, which are impossible to withstand through any wisdom or strategy except through emunah alone — that one must believe with complete emunah that even there Hashem, blessed be He, is found. Even though it is known and explained that there He removed His G–dliness, blessed be He, as it were, for if not, it would not be vacated and everything would be Ain Sof, as above. Nevertheless, in absolute truth, even there Hashem, blessed be He, is hidden and concealed in a wondrous and deeply hidden manner, which is impossible through human intellect to grasp in any way, except through emunah alone. For one must say there two opposites — yaish and ayin [existence and nothingness], etc., as above, and as is explained well in the Torah teaching mentioned above. And this is the aspect of hisbodedus and conversation — which is prayer — that every person must pour out his speech before Hashem every single day, to ask for his soul from Hashem, blessed be He — that He should grant him merit to draw close to His service, blessed be He, in truth. And this is the foundation of everything — that all his service and his Yiddishkait depends on this, as is explained among us many times. And more than what is written there, we heard from his holy mouth orally many, many times — many awesome conversations on this matter that it is impossible to explain in writing. And he said that all the tzaddikim and worthy people did not merit to come to what they came to except through this — through conversation between himself and his Creator, in the language of Ashkenaz [Yiddish] that one speaks in, as is explained in the printed sefarim. And seemingly it is difficult: do not our Sages of blessed memory say: “Everything is in the hands of Heaven except for the fear of Heaven” (Berachos 33b)? And if so, how is prayer relevant to this, since Hashem, blessed be He, has given the free will to us? And yet in truth we find that all the tzaddikim engaged in this — to ask of Hashem, blessed be He, that He save them from the yetzer hara and draw them close to His service, as we heard directly from the true tzaddikim who were close to our times. And also in the words of our Sages of blessed memory, in the Gemara and other sefarim, we find many prayers that they prayed every day to be saved from the yetzer hara, as their prayers are stated in Maseches Berachos. And also from the prayers that are arranged for us every day by the Anshai K’nesses HaGedolah [the Men of the Great Assembly], we see this. For we pray three times every day: “Return us, our Father, to Your Torah; and draw us close, our King, to Your service; and bring us back in complete teshuvah before You.” It emerges that we pray to Hashem, blessed be He, three times every day to merit teshuvah and to serve Him, blessed be He — even though this depends on the free will of man. And many similar prayers are established from long ago, all of which are founded upon this request: to merit His service, blessed be He. And so too the entire Sefer Tehillim is founded upon these prayers and supplications — to merit drawing close to Him, blessed be He, as is evident there. And in truth it is impossible to understand this. For it is also among the difficulties that cannot be resolved in any way except through emunah alone. And also at the time when Rabbainu, of blessed memory, informed me of the matter of hisbodedus and conversation between oneself and one’s Creator, I spoke with him a little about this: “Is not man a possessor of free will?” And he did not answer me explicitly, only in a casual manner, as if to say: “Even so” — meaning, even though this is difficult and it is impossible to clarify the matter for you or to resolve it for you, even so, one must conduct oneself this way. And I was not able to ask further, for I knew that this difficulty can be raised against all the prayers that our Sages of blessed memory arranged for us long ago, regarding teshuvah and drawing close to Hashem, blessed be He — such as the blessing of Hashivainu, etc., as above. Therefore one must rely only on emunah — to believe in our Sages of blessed memory, who all went in this path and led us in this path: to increase in prayer and supplications to Hashem, blessed be He, to merit the service of Hashem, blessed be He. For this is the essential thing and the foundation upon which everything depends. And in truth all of this is the matter mentioned above — that every person needs two aspects of service to Hashem, blessed be He. One service that depends on the human intellect — which is the aspect of the service of Torah and mitzvos, in which a person must invest his da’as and intellect to the extent that his hand reaches. And through this he clarifies all the sparks that fell through the shattering of the vessels, which are clarified through the wisdom and intellect of holiness — of the engagement in Torah and mitzvos. For “they are all clarified through thought.” But the essential fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos is only through emunah, which is the foundation upon which everything depends. As it is written: “All Your commandments are emunah” (Tehillim 119:86). And as our Sages of blessed memory said (Makkos 24a): “Chavakkuk came and established them upon one — ‘and the tzaddik lives by his emunah’” (Chavakkuk 2:4). For in truth every person must subdue and nullify the klippos that come from the aspect of the Vacated Space. Those klippos are impossible to subdue and nullify through any intellect, but only through emunah alone, which is the foundation of the entire Torah. For the emunah in the Vacated Space — that one believes with complete emunah that even there Hashem, blessed be He, is found — this is the foundation of everything. And the entire Torah and mitzvos depend on this, for without emunah there is no sustenance for any Torah or mitzvah. Only when one has complete emunah that even in the aspect of the Vacated Space — that is, in the aspect of the difficulties and inquiries that cannot be understood or resolved — even there Hashem, blessed be He, is found — then, when one has complete emunah and does not allow any inquiry or difficulty to enter his mind at all, for he relies on emunah alone that we received from our holy forefathers — then there is sustenance for the Torah and mitzvos. And then he can serve Hashem, blessed be He, with intellect — that is, with the intellect clothed in the Torah and mitzvos, whose foundation is emunah. For through the emunah one subdues and nullifies the klippos that come from the Vacated Space, and through the intellect that is in the Torah and mitzvos one clarifies the holiness from the klippos that come from the shattering of the vessels, for “they are all clarified through thought,” as above. And this is the aspect of Torah and tefillah — that both are needed specifically. For tefillah is the aspect of emunah, as is explained in the words of Rabbainu, of blessed memory, many times, as it is written: “And his hands were emunah” (Shemos 17:12). And the Targum translates: “spread out in prayer.” And the Torah is the aspect of intellect, for the Torah is called wisdom and understanding and da’as, as it is written: “I am Wisdom” (Mishlai 8:12), etc. — “I am Understanding,” etc. For through Torah and tefillah, which are the aspects of emunah and intellect of holiness — through this one subdues and nullifies the two types of klippos: those that come from the shattering of the vessels and those that come from the aspect of the Vacated Space, as above. And one clarifies the holiness and reveals His G–dliness everywhere, as above.