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For it is known that everything was created for the sake of the human being, the possessor of free will. And the essential free will is through the compelling force and the drawing force. All the cravings of the body are the compelling forces, for the vitality — the n’shamah — does not desire this; the will of the n’shamah is only to draw toward its root, which is the drawing force, as above. But they compel it to eat and drink, etc., for the body’s sustenance. 75

A borrower [sho'ail] is liable even for accidental losses [onsin]. However, if one borrows an animal and the owner is also in his service at the time of the borrowing — whether for that same work or for a different work — he is exempt. And similarly regarding all four types of guardians, etc.

And the essential free will is in this: that the person must always cause the drawing force to prevail over the compelling force, always remembering his purpose and drawing himself toward his supernal root, which is the drawing force. And even what he is compelled to engage in regarding worldly matters — such as eating and drinking, etc. — it should be only because of the compulsion that forces him against his will. For certainly a person is compelled to eat, etc., for His will, blessed be He, is in the world’s sustenance. 76

The matter of borrowing with the owner [sh'ailah bib'alim] is seemingly a very puzzling matter. For why should the borrower be exempt on account of having borrowed the owner for his work as well? And why should the owner of the property suffer a loss on account of having done an additional kindness for the borrower by lending himself as well for the work of the borrower?

But in truth the essential guarding [sh'mirah] is only through the hashgachah [Providence] of Hashem, blessed be He. For it is impossible for a person to guard at all from all damages, and especially from accidental losses — only Hashem, blessed be He, alone is the essential Guardian for us, so to speak, as it is written: "Behold, He does not slumber and does not sleep, the Guardian of Yisra'ail. Hashem is your Guardian" (Tehillim 121:4–5), etc. And: "If Hashem does not guard a city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil" (Tehillim 127:1). For the essential guarding is only through His Providence, blessed be He. And the essential guarding of the guardian is that he must endeavor to draw Hashem's Providence, blessed be He, upon the thing given to him to guard — and this is the essential nature of his guarding.

And then, when one conducts himself this way, one will certainly do everything according to the Torah. And then, specifically through this, wondrous tikkunim will be made — through having the compelling force and the drawing force, as above. 77

And it is brought in the words of Rabbainu of blessed memory, in the teaching beginning "Ashray ha'am yod'ay s'ruah," etc. — to draw hashgachah — in Likutay Moharan HaRishon, siman 13. And the summary of his holy words in brief: that one who wants to draw complete hashgachah, it is impossible except through breaking the lust for money [sh'viras ta'avas mamon], and breaking it through tz'dakah, etc. And through breaking the lust for money, one merits conducting business dealings with faithfulness [emunah]. Through this, chesed [kindness] is revealed — through breaking the avodah zarah [idolatry] of the lust for money. And through the chesed one merits da'as [knowledge]. And through the da'as one is able to take the n'fashos [souls] and elevate them in the aspect of mayin nukvin [feminine waters]. And through this, etc. — the aspect of: "A wise man ascended a city of warriors, and brought down the strength of its confidence" (Mishlai 21:22) — that is, he draws down Torah through this.

And likewise, all the labors a person performs throughout the weekdays are all in the aspect of the compelling force. For Hashem created everything so that it would be completed by the human being specifically, as it is written: “Which G-d created to make” (B’raishis 2:3) — for “the wheat needs grinding and the lupines need preparation,” etc., as they said in the Midrash. For everything was created for the human being, and nothing was created in its final completeness ready for the human being. Rather, everything requires tikkun and completion through the human being, as above. 78

And nefesh is the aspect of ratzon [will], etc. And this is the aspect of: "and the chayos ran and returned" (Yechezkel 1:14), etc. Through drawing down the Torah, hashgachah is drawn, for the Torah is t'amim, n'kudos, tagin, osiyos [cantillation marks, vowel points, crowns, letters], which are the t'las g'vanin d'aina u'vas ayin [three colors of the eye and the pupil], etc. It emerges that when a wise man brings Torah, he brings the hashgachah of Hashem, blessed be He, upon us. And each person according to his closeness to the Torah, so is the hashgachah of Hashem, blessed be He, upon him. For the essential power of sight is because it strikes the thing that is seen, etc. But when the thing is distant, then the sight becomes dispersed, etc. And since we, the children of Yisra'ail, are close to the Torah, it emerges that we are close to the power of sight; therefore His hashgachah upon us is complete. But the nations of the world, who are distant from the Torah, are distant from His hashgachah. And His hashgachah upon the nations of the world is with half-sight, but upon us His hashgachah is complete. And this is the tikunna d'merkavta ila'ah u'merkavta tata'ah [the rectification of the upper chariot and the lower chariot], etc. — see there, all of this explained well.

And when the person performs the action and labor to complete and rectify some thing of Creation, through this he draws new vitality into that thing. For example, the lupines: before their preparation, their taste was bitter and they were unfit for the person. And the person, by preparing and cooking them, draws their proper taste into them. And this taste is drawn from Above, from Hashem, Who is the root of all. Only, Hashem created the lupines in such a manner that their good taste would not be drawn into them until the person works with them in preparation and cooking — and he specifically draws their essential vitality into them, which is their good taste. 79

It emerges that through breaking the lust for money, one can elevate the n'fashos in the aspect of mayin nukvin and draw down Torah through this. And through this, complete hashgachah is drawn, etc., as above. And this is the essential guarding — through meriting drawing complete hashgachah. For the essential guarding is through His Providence, blessed be He, as above. And since we, Klal Yisra'ail, are close to the Torah, through this His hashgachah is upon us, as above. Through this, Hashem guards us, as above, as it is written: "Behold, He does not slumber," etc., "the Guardian of Yisra'ail. Hashem is your Guardian," etc., as above. And to draw complete hashgachah is through breaking the lust for money, etc., as above. For it is impossible to take the n'fashos and elevate them except through breaking the lust for money. For the mamon and wealth is the root of the n'fashos, as is explained well in the words of Rabbainu of blessed memory elsewhere (siman 68). And therefore when one breaks the lust for money, it emerges that one breaks the k'lipah [husk] that rests upon the root of the n'fashos. For all the lusts are from the Sitra Achara [Other Side] and the k'lipos. And when one falls into the lust for money, it emerges that, G-d forbid, the Sitra Achara and the k'lipah that covers over the mamon of holiness are strengthened — and through this one certainly cannot elevate the n'fashos whose root is in wealth.

And likewise with everything in the world: when it is completed by the person, additional vitality is drawn into it, completing and perfecting the thing. And this vitality that the person draws from Above into the thing that he causes and rectifies through his craft and labor — this vitality, when drawn below, is drawn through the compelling force. Just as the essential vitality of the thing when it was created is in the aspect of the compelling force (for its taste and desire is to be drawn upward to its root, as above), so too this additional vitality that the person draws, which is the essential completion of its perfection, is drawn only through the compelling force — compelling the vitality to be drawn below against its will and nature, which is only to be drawn above, as above. 80

But when one breaks the lust for money, it emerges that one breaks the k'lipah of the mamon, where the root of the n'fashos is. And then one can elevate the n'fashos whose root is in mamon and wealth, since one has already broken the k'lipah that is there, which is the lust for money, as above. And this is what Rabbainu of blessed memory wrote: that through breaking the lust for money one can elevate n'fashos, etc., as above.

But the intention of Hashem is for good — so that through this specifically, the wondrous craft will be completed, as above. And likewise, the person must intend in all his deeds and labors and affairs that everything should be for the sake of Heaven, as it is written: “In all your ways, know Him” (Mishlay 3:6). And as our Sages said: “And all your deeds should be for the sake of Heaven.” 81

It emerges that one who wants to guard his possessions — that is, his mamon and wealth — it is impossible except through breaking the lust that is in the mamon. For through breaking the lust of the mamon, through this he is able to take the n'fashos and elevate them. And through this he draws Torah, which is the aspect of His hashgachah, blessed be He, upon us, as above. For in truth, this aspect — that is, what is said in the teaching mentioned above, to take n'fashos and elevate them and to draw Torah — this aspect applies to every person. And every person is obligated to engage in this. For even though the words of Rabbainu mentioned above are stated with regard to the chacham hador [the wise man of the generation] who takes the souls of Yisra'ail and elevates them and draws Torah for them, nevertheless the words of Rabbainu of blessed memory have great generality [k'laliyus] and are applicable to every person. For each one of Yisra'ail has a portion in the Torah, and each one according to his portion in the Torah — so must he endeavor at all times to draw Torah every time. For we must draw the Torah and receive it every time, in every generation and in every person and in every time. And as we bless "nosain haTorah" [who gives the Torah] in the present tense, and not "nasan" [who gave] in the past tense, as is brought in the sefarim. For every day Hashem, blessed be He, gives us the Torah, and each person according to his deeds merits receiving it at all times. And the essential drawing of Torah that each one of Yisra'ail must draw is through breaking the lust for money, etc., as above. For through breaking the lust for money, one is able to elevate n'fashos in the aspect of mayin nukvin, and through this one draws Torah, the aspect of His hashgachah upon us, as above. For each one of Yisra'ail, through all the deeds and actions that he does in holiness and purity, blesses and elevates n'fashos — whether through mitzvos and good deeds, and even in mundane activities [uv'din d'chol] one must also do them in holiness in order to sift the n'fashos that are there. It emerges that each one of Yisra'ail must elevate n'fashos in the aspect of: "and the one who takes n'fashos is wise" (Mishlai 11:30) mentioned above. And all of this is through breaking the lust for money, as above — through which one can elevate the n'fashos, and through this: "and brought down the strength of its confidence" — that one draws Torah according to his level. And through this, the hashgachah of Hashem, blessed be He, is drawn, as above. And this is the essential guarding, for the essential guarding is through His hashgachah alone, as above. And this is the aspect of the four guardians that are written in the Torah — corresponding to the aspect of t'amim, n'kudos, tagin, osiyos, which are the generality of the Torah, the aspect of the t'las g'vanin d'aina u'vas ayin, as above. For the essential guarding is through the holy Torah, which is the aspect of the power of sight, the aspect of His Providence, blessed be He — through which alone is the essential guarding, as above. And this is the aspect of: "four guardians they are, and their laws are three," as is brought at the end of [Maseches] Sh'vuos. For the essential colors are the t'las g'vanin d'aina, but the vas ayin [pupil] is not an aspect of color at all, for it is included in all of them, as is known. And therefore they are four that are three, for the essential distinction of colors is three, as above. It emerges that one who wants to be a guardian in truth as is fitting — whether to guard his own or that of his fellow — he must elevate n'fashos and draw Torah, as above, and through this he draws complete hashgachah, and this is the essential guarding. For also the essential guarding that the guardian watches over and looks at the thing guarded so that no damage should reach it — this too is with this intention. For through an awakening below, there is an awakening above. That is, the essential intention is: just as he watches over and looks at this thing and guards it as fitting according to the laws of the holy Torah — so too may the Providence of Hashem, blessed be He, be drawn upon this thing, so that it will be guarded from all damage. For "if Hashem does not guard a city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil," as above. And this is the aspect of what we find — that the Avos [Patriarchs] were guardians [shepherds]. And this is the aspect of what we find — that the first revelation of Hashem, blessed be He, to Moshe, which was the beginning of the revelation of the giving of the Torah, was at the time when he was guarding and shepherding the flock of Yisro, as it is written: "And Moshe was shepherding," etc., "and an angel of Hashem appeared to him" (Shemos 3:1–2). And then He informed him that He would give the Torah to Yisra'ail, as it is written there: "When you take the people out of Mitzrayim, you shall serve G-d on this mountain" (Shemos 3:12), etc. For through Moshe Rabbainu, peace be upon him, shepherding and guarding the flock of Yisro, he was elevating the n'fashos in order to draw Torah, in order to draw hashgachah, which is the essential guarding. And therefore then specifically, at the time of the guarding, the giving of the Torah began, as above. For through the guarding he merited drawing Torah, as above. And similarly Ya'akov was a guardian with Lavan, in order to sift and elevate the n'fashos and to draw Torah. And therefore through being a guardian in the house of Lavan, he merited drawing Torah — which are all the parshiyos of the Torah that speak about the matter of Ya'akov and Lavan, which is the aspect of the Torah that Ya'akov drew there, as is brought. And all of this is through the guarding that he guarded the flock there, as above. It emerges that the essential guarding is through sifting and elevating the n'fashos and drawing Torah, the aspect of complete hashgachah, as above. And this is the aspect of the distinctions in the laws that exist among the guardians. And the rule is that whoever receives more benefit from the thing guarded is obligated in a greater degree of guarding. And therefore a shomair chinam [unpaid guardian], who has no benefit, is exempt from all [types of liability]. And the shomair sachar [paid guardian] and the sochair [renter], who have some benefit, are liable in part and exempt in part. And the sho'ail [borrower], whose benefit is entirely his, is liable for everything — in proportion to the greater benefit he receives from the thing guarded. For all benefits are the aspect of n'fashos. For nefesh is the aspect of ratzon [will], as is explained above in the teaching mentioned above. And when one has a desire and a will for something in holiness, this is the aspect of a nefesh of holiness — and conversely, G-d forbid. And one must sift the n'fashos, that is, all the desires and wants and yearnings, and elevate all of them to Hashem, blessed be He, alone, in the aspect of: "I have gathered my myrrh with my spice" (Shir HaShirim 5:1), as is explained in the teaching mentioned above. And when one merits sifting them and elevating them, one draws Torah, the aspect of hashgachah, as above. It emerges that the essential sifting and elevation of the n'fashos depends on the one who receives benefit from the thing. For the benefit is the aspect of nefesh. And then, when he has benefit from the thing, he must sift and elevate the nefesh. And through this he draws the aspect of Torah, the aspect of hashgachah, as above. And therefore, according to the benefit one receives from the thing, so the obligation falls upon him to elevate the n'fashos and the desires that are clothed in the benefits, and to sift them and elevate them to Hashem, blessed be He, alone. And through this he draws Torah, the aspect of hashgachah, and this is the essential guarding, as above. And therefore, the more benefit one receives from the thing, the more the obligation of guarding falls upon him, for upon him falls the obligation of the elevation of the n'fashos, etc., to a greater degree, which is the essential guarding, as above. And based on this we can say that this is the aspect of sh'mirah bib'alim [guarding with the owner], which the Torah exempts, as it is written: "If its owner is not with him, he shall surely pay. If its owner is with him, he shall not pay" (Shemos 22:13–14). For in truth, the essential sifting and elevation of the n'fashos in every thing is through the b'alim [owner] of the thing specifically. For these possessions are his, and all the benefits that are in them, which are the aspect of n'fashos, are his — and it is his responsibility to sift them and elevate them. For in truth, all a person's possessions, which are his wealth, are the aspect of the root of the n'fashos. For all n'fashos have their root in wealth, as above, as is explained well in the words of Rabbainu elsewhere (siman 68). But the person himself is above his wealth, even though wealth is the root of the n'fashos. For the wealth is under the hand of the person, and the person is above it. For the essential person — what is called "adam" — this is the aspect of da'as, by which he is called adam, as is known. And the da'as, which is the essential person, is above the root of the n'fashos, which is the wealth. And therefore through the da'as he can sift the n'fashos and elevate them and draw Torah, etc., as above, which is the essential guarding, as above. And this is the aspect of the b'alim of the thing, for the da'as is the aspect of the b'alim of the wealth, which is the root of the n'fashos, as is known. And therefore the essential elevation of the n'fashos, through which comes the essential guarding, is through the b'alim specifically, for they specifically can elevate the n'fashos, etc. — for they are b'alim [owners], as above. And the essential obligation of the guardians is because the b'alim have removed themselves from guarding the thing. And as soon as they remove their eyes from guarding it and do not want to personally watch over this object and guard it, then the thing leaves the domain of the b'alim. And then it enters the domain of the guardian regarding guarding. And therefore the obligation of the guardians begins from the moment the b'alim have removed themselves from its guarding, as is explained in the Shulchan Aruch. (And even according to the second opinion that holds that the obligation begins only from the time of m'shichah [pulling/acquisition] — for they hold that even though the b'alim have removed themselves from its guarding and no longer want to engage with this thing to elevate it, as above, to draw the Providence of Hashem, blessed be He, upon it, nevertheless it has not yet entered the domain of the guardian until he pulls it — but in any case, the thing does not leave the domain of the b'alim except through their removing themselves from its guarding.) That is, that he no longer wants to engage in sifting and elevating the n'fashos that are in this thing and to draw hashgachah through this, as above. For he hands it over to the guardian. And then the obligation falls upon the guardian — to elevate the n'fashos and to draw hashgachah, which is the essential guarding of the four guardians written in the Torah, as above. And therefore, when the b'alim are with the guardian in his work at the time of the borrowing, then the thing does not leave the domain of the b'alim at all regarding guarding. For it is a rule that every thing draws itself to its root. And all the m'lachos [labors] that we do are all for the sake of bairurim [siftings] — that is, in the aspect mentioned above — for through the m'lachos and business dealings that we do, through this we sift and elevate the n'fashos in the aspect of mayin nukvin and draw Torah, etc. And this is the aspect of: "Torah is good together with derech eretz," etc. (Avos, Chapter 2). And this is the aspect of: "if there is no flour, there is no Torah" (Avos, Chapter 3). For through the flour — that is, parnassah, the aspect of derech eretz, that is, m'lachah and business dealings — through this specifically one draws Torah, through sifting the n'fashos through the m'lachah and elevating them and drawing Torah, as above. And this is the aspect of: "six days you shall do your work, and the seventh day is Shabbos". For Shabbos is the aspect of the Torah, for on Shabbos the Torah was given, as our Sages of blessed memory said. For the Torah is the t'las g'vanin d'aina u'vas ayin, as above. And this is the aspect of Shabbos, the aspect of shin-bas, etc., as is brought elsewhere — shin = t'las g'vanin d'aina, and bas = vas ayin. And this is: "six days you shall do your work" — that is, to sift and elevate n'fashos. And through this: "and the seventh day is Shabbos" — for through this one merits the aspect of Shabbos, the aspect of drawing Torah, as above. And therefore the essential drawing of Torah — that is, chidushay Torah [Torah novellae] — is on Shabbos. For Shabbos is the aspect of the Torah. And everything is according to what one merited sifting the n'fashos on the weekdays, as our Sages of blessed memory said: "One who toiled on Erev Shabbos will eat on Shabbos." It emerges that all the m'lachos are the aspect of bairurim — that is, in the aspect mentioned above, to sift and elevate the n'fashos and to draw Torah, as above. And therefore, when the b'alim of the object are with the guardian in his m'lachah — that is, the b'alim also want to assist the guardian in his m'lachah, that is, to sift bairurim, etc., as above, that the b'alim are also engaged at the time of the borrowing with the guardian in his m'lachah, to assist him in sifting bairurim, to elevate n'fashos and to draw Torah, which is the essential m'lachah of a person, as above — and therefore, since the b'alim are engaged in the m'lachah of the guardian at the time of the borrowing, to sift bairurim of the guardian, etc., therefore immediately these n'fashos that are in the thing guarded do not leave the domain of the b'alim at all. For they are drawn to their root, to their b'alim, that he should sift them and elevate them. For in truth, the essential sifting of them is through him [the owner] specifically, as above — only he wants to remove himself from them and hand them over to the guardian. But since he is assisting the guardian in his m'lachah, to sift bairurim with him — that is, to elevate n'fashos, etc. — therefore these n'fashos that are in the things of the b'alim are drawn to their root, that he should sift them, since he is engaged in bairurim of the guardian. And therefore they do not leave the domain of the b'alim at all. And therefore the guardian is exempt from their guarding. For the essential guarding is through sifting and elevating the n'fashos, through which hashgachah is drawn, which is the essential guarding, as above. And since these n'fashos are drawn to their root, to their b'alim, since he is also engaged with the guardian in his m'lachah to sift and elevate n'fashos, as above — it emerges that the guarding has returned to the b'alim, for the essential guarding is through the elevation of the n'fashos, as above. And therefore the guardian is exempt from all types of damage, for the damage is not through him, for he cannot sift them and elevate them, which is the essential guarding — for they are drawn to their root, to their b'alim, since they [the b'alim] are with him in the m'lachah of sifting and elevating n'fashos, etc., as above. For the essential guarding is through the hashgachah of Hashem, blessed be He, alone, which is drawn through the sifting and elevation of the n'fashos, as above. And the remaining halachos are included in Hilchos Arba'ah Shom'rim [Laws of the Four Guardians]. נְנַח נַחְמָא נַחְמָן מֵאומָ&#x05DF