חכירות וקבלנות

Nezikin 5 – Sections 19–22

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And therefore one counts the days to the Omer, for the Omer is the aspect of the rectification and sweetening of all the contractions and the boundaries of the mochin — in order to receive the mochin gradually and in measured proportion, and not to give sustenance, G–d forbid, to the Sitra Achra excessively from the contractions and the measures, so that they should not invert the truth, as above.

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And therefore one counts the days to the Omer. For in truth, each and every day contains a unique wisdom and saichel. This is the essential light of the day, which is the light of the sun, which is the saichel, as is explained in the Torah teaching mentioned above. And similarly it is explained in the Story of the Third Day [from the Sipurai Ma’asiyos]: that each and every day comes with songs and riddles, etc. — which contain all the wisdoms of the world. See there well, and you will understand that all the wisdoms of the world are comprised within the days, for the light of day is the saichel. And this is: “For there is an advantage to wisdom over foolishness like the advantage of light over darkness” (Koheles 2:13).

But on each day there is darkness that precedes the light, for night precedes day in the order of creation, as it is written: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (Beraishis 1:5). And in its root in holiness, it is a great rectification that the darkness precedes the light. For the darkness is the aspect of the absence of da’as, the aspect of the contraction of the mochin — which is the aspect of the moon, whose dominion is at night, which is the aspect of Malchus, as above. For the essential rectification and receiving of the mochin is specifically through her, as above.

But because of the blemish of the deeds of mankind, which are the aspect of the blemish of the diminishment of the moon — through this, sustenance is drawn to the Sitra Achra, G–d forbid, from there, from the aspect of the contraction mentioned above. For from there is their essential sustenance, as above. And from there is the essential hold of the wicked kingdom, which is the contamination of Mitzrayim. For their essential sustenance is from the blemish of the Malchus of holiness, which is the aspect of the blemish of the contraction mentioned above — which is the aspect of the diminishment of the moon, as above. And from there all the blemishes in the world derive. And then, G–d forbid, actual darkness overpowers — which wants to darken the light of the day entirely. That is, it wants to confuse the da’as and darken the light of truth, which is the light of the saichel and the true wisdom that shines on each and every day — which is the essential light of day. And from this derive all the confusions and the obstacles and the hindrances of each and every day. From this derive all the errors mentioned above — that the person wants to push off this day.

To the point that for the most part it seems to him as if this day is not numbered and counted at all among the days of his life — as if on this day it is impossible to serve Hashem, blessed be He. And in truth, certainly, according to the spreading and expansion of the Sitra Achra and the klippah on each and every day, it is certainly very difficult to engage in the service of Hashem — especially in tefillah, where all the confusions in the world come (as is explained in the Torah teaching “Maishra” in siman 30 — see there).

But one must know that even so, this day is a day, and it counts in the accounting. And certainly there is good in it — only the darkness covers it, for the klippah precedes the fruit. And one must strengthen oneself and make the effort to break the klippah — which is the generality of all the obstacles and confusions and errors and deferrals — and to know and to believe that specifically on this very day one can draw close to Hashem, blessed be He, according to one’s level. And “if you seek Him, He will be found by you” (Divrai HaYamim I 28:9), and you will merit to find the good that is in this very day. For “there is no day in which there is no good,” as it is taught in the holy Zohar (brought in siman 84). And this is its language: “Come and see — all the six days of creation, etc. — and you will not find a day in which there is no good, etc. And every day has a fence from the outside, so that no person enters to that good — such as darkness that covers the light,” etc.

Therefore one must know that what seems to a person as if today it is impossible for him to pray with kavvanah, to study, and to engage in the service of Hashem — this derives only from the darkness that precedes the light, which derives from the blemish of the contraction mentioned above. From there derives the “fence from the outside” that is upon the good of each day, as is explained in the Zohar mentioned above. And from there come all the errors and deferrals of every person on every day — where it seems as if this day is nothing, as if it is not among the days of his life, as if today it is impossible to draw close to Hashem, blessed be He, at all. As is found among most people who do not examine their ways well.

Especially when one has some occasion or event, for better or for worse, G–d forbid — then the day becomes completely confused for him. To the point that most of their days are spent in this way, in vanity and emptiness, may the Merciful One save us. For example: on this day there is a fair and a market day; on this day one needs to calculate his accounts; on this day one goes out on the road; during these days one is on the road, wandering and traveling and being tossed about; on this day one arrives from the road and needs to lift the load from the wagon and arrange the merchandise and distribute it properly, etc.; on this day one encounters some argument and quarrel with someone; on this day one is invited to some feast — and similar distractions and confusions of various kinds on each and every day. To the point that nearly every day contains some great distraction and confusion. And even on the remaining days when there are no such events, it still seems to him, for the most part, each day, as if this day is nothing, as above. And all of this derives from the “fence from the outside” that is upon each day, as above — which derives from the darkness that precedes the light, that is, from the aspect of the blemish of the contraction mentioned above, which is the aspect of the rectification of the diminishment of the moon, as above. Therefore one counts the days to the Omer specifically, for the Omer is the aspect of the sweetening of the contraction mentioned above, the aspect of the rectification of the diminishment of the moon. Through which the sustenance of the darkness and the Sitra Achra is nullified — which is the aspect of the fence that is upon each and every day. Through which one merits to know the truth: that on each and every day there is good, and one must make the effort to draw close on this very day to Hashem, blessed be He, according to that day. For all the days are numbered and counted — and this is the aspect of the mitzvah of Sefiras HaOmer, as above. And this is what is written: “The day for building your fences; that day the boundary will be far removed. It is a day, and to you he will come — from Ashur” etc. (Michah 7:11–12). And see there in the commentary of Rashi, who explained it according to its context — that the speech is directed at the nations who provoke Israel. See there. And according to our topic, it will be explained well: that Israel says to the nations — who are the aspect of the Sitra Achra and the klippos that surround the holiness, from whom come all the obstacles and confusions and deferrals of each day, to the point that it seems as if this day is not a day at all — and this is: “The day for building your fences.” That is to say: You, the Sitra Achra and the obstacles and deferrals, you say that this day is only for building your fences — that is, the fences of the Sitra Achra, which are the aspect of the fence that is upon each and every day, preventing one from drawing close to the good that is in each day, as it is taught in the Zohar mentioned above: that every day has a “fence from the outside,” etc., as above. And this is: “That day the boundary [chok] will be far removed” — that you say that the day is only for building your fences, that is, the fences and barriers upon each day that are the obstacles and deferrals. But it is far from engaging on this day in the Torah, which is called chok [statute] and mishpat [judgment]. And this is “that day the chok will be far removed” — that on this day the chok, which is the Torah, will be far removed, for it is impossible to engage in Torah and service on this day, due to the deferrals and obstacles, as above. But in truth it is not so! For “it is a day, and to you he will come.” For certainly this day is a complete day, and we will certainly make the effort and strengthen ourselves to engage on this very day in Torah and the service of Hashem, and to break your fences and all your obstacles — you who want to darken and conceal the light of the day. In the aspect of: “It is a day, and to you he will come.” And similar to what Rashi explained according to its context, and this is his language: “‘It is a day, and to you he will come’ — the prophet says: that day that you mock, saying it is null and gone — it is a day! It is guarded and preserved and is not null. ‘To you he will come’ — the nations, to destroy you. ‘From Ashur,’ who is the chief of those who harm us, ‘and fortified cities,’” etc. See and understand and look, you the student, and you will see that it is made explicit in the holy spirit of Rashi, of blessed memory, all of our words clearly explained. That is, the prophet says in the name of Israel to the Sitra Achra and the klippos — which are the generality of the nations — “It is a day, and to you he will come.” That very day that you mock, saying it is null and gone — as if this day is null and goes to waste and emptiness, G–d forbid, and it is impossible to draw close to Hashem, blessed be He, on it, due to the great spreading and expansion of the fences and barriers and confusions that overpower greatly on each day, until it seems on each day that on this day it is impossible to serve Hashem, blessed be He. But in truth it is not so, for “it is a day — guarded and preserved and not null.” “To you he will come” — the nations and the Sitra Achra — “to destroy you.” That on this very day there will come upon you destruction and demolition — that we will merit to demolish your fences and barriers, until we merit to draw close to the good that is in this very day, as above. And this is “from Ashur, who is the chief of those who harm us — fortified cities” — that is, the generality of all the klippos and other forces, which are comprised within the nations. Their chief is Ashur, who was the first to exile Israel from their land, for the beginning of the exile of the Ten Tribes began from Ashur, as Rashi explained — that he is the chief of those who harm us, “and fortified cities,” etc. That is, together with the generality of the other klippos and the Sitra Achra, which are the aspect of “fortified cities” [arai matzor] — that they literally build fortified cities around every person, which are the aspect of fences and many barriers and walls of copper and bars of iron. And they spread and expand very, very much on each and every day, to prevent a person from fulfilling the obligation of each day in its day. As it is written: “A small city with few people in it, and a great king came upon it and surrounded it and built great siege-works against it” (Koheles 9:14). And all of these fortified cities — which are the generality of the fences and obstacles and deferrals of the Sitra Achra — all of them we will merit to destroy. For we know that specifically this day in which we stand — it is a day! For certainly it is a complete day and is not null, G–d forbid, as you say. “And to you he will come” — the nations and the Sitra Achra — “to destroy you,” as above. And this is the aspect of the general kavanos of the Sefirah — see there well at the end of chapter 6, where the kavanos are arranged well in detail for each and every night, and you will see the great variations on each and every day. And the general principle is that during all the seven weeks, which are the forty-nine days of the Sefirah, we receive on each and every day a unique mind [moach]. For now we are receiving the mochin gradually and in measured proportion on each and every day. But we do not receive them in order, but rather as we received them on the first night of Pesach — not in order. Only then we received them all in haste, in a single moment, but now we receive them gradually and in measured proportion during all the days of the Sefirah — but not in order. For we receive the mochin of gadlus before the mochin of katnus. See there the wondrous variations — for example: on the first day of the first week one receives gadlus 1 of Abba; on the second day, gadlus 1 of Imma; on the third day, katnus 2 of Abba and Imma; on the fourth day, gadlus 2 of Imma; on the fifth day, katnus 1 of Abba and Imma; on the sixth day, the r’shimu of gadlus 2 of Abba; and on the seventh day, the atzmmus of gadlus 2 of Abba. And with this the first week is completed. And everything enters into the aspect of the moach of Chochmah, which is the general aspect of the first week. And afterward, in the second week, one receives all these mochin and they are drawn into the moach of Binah, etc. And all of these aspects are in every person and at every time. For even though one does not know the explanation of the kavanos in their depth, nevertheless, this we know and believe: that all of these aspects are made and drawn in every generation and every year, in every person according to his level. For the generality of all the mochin and the wisdom and the saichel is to know and recognize the Creator, blessed be He — this is the essential da’as, the essential receiving of the Torah, as it is written: “And you shall know today and bring it into your heart, that Hashem is G–d,” etc. (Devarim 4:39). For through each and every mitzvah and through each and every word of Torah study, one merits to draw upon oneself da’as and saichel to draw close to Him, blessed be He, and to recognize Him, blessed be He — which is the essential purpose. And this is the generality of all the kavanos of the Ari z”l — most of which are to draw mochin. That is, the intent of all the mitzvos is to draw mochin and da’as upon every person, that he should merit to recognize the Creator, blessed be He, in this world and in the World to Come, according to his level. And through each and every mitzvah, a unique moach and saichel is drawn, to know and recognize Him, blessed be He, in this aspect — “for His understanding is without number” (Tehillim 147:5). And according to the unification that one causes Above, so is the flow of da’as drawn upon the person, that he should merit to recognize Him, blessed be He. And during the days of the Sefirah, when we need to go out from the contamination of Mitzrayim that has taken great hold upon them — therefore we need to receive the mochin not in order, as is explained in the kavanos. And corresponding to each moach that needs to be received on each and every day in its particularity, there is correspondingly a klippah that precedes the fruit, which is the aspect of the “fence from the outside” that is upon each and every day, as above. And according to the great variations among the mochin, so too there are many variations in the fences and barriers upon each and every day — for “this corresponding to this G–d has made.” And from this you will understand on your own that from there derive all the types of deferrals and confusions that come upon a person every day, to the point that it seems as if this day is not a day of the days of his life. For on this day there is this cause and this hindrance and this confusion, etc. For everything derives from the great variations among the days. For it can be that even though on previous days one prayed a little and had some measure of ease, but now it is harder than ever. For it can be that the earlier days were in the aspect of mochin of gadlus for him — where the hold of the external forces, which are the obstacles, is not so great. But now he needs to receive the aspect of mochin of katnus. And sometimes it is the aspect of katnus 1, which is a smaller katnus, and there is also katnus of katnus — where the Sitra Achra has a greater hold. And therefore it seems to him that it is hard to stand against the obstacles of this day. But in truth, one must believe that certainly even on this day there is good in it. Only one must break the fence according to that day, in order to merit the good that is in this very day, as above. For even though in the generality of Israel, the mochin are not received out of order except on Pesach and afterward during the days of the Sefirah — but at all [other] times they are received in order — nevertheless, it is already explained that the reason they are compelled then to receive them out of order is because of the great hold of the Sitra Achra, which is the contamination of Mitzrayim, due to which it is necessary to receive the mochin out of order, as above. And therefore, when a person is not clean from his sins and needs to do teshuvah, then he too is in the aspect of going out of Mitzrayim. And then he too needs, even during the rest of the year, to receive the mochin out of order, according to the aspect of his going out from Mitzrayim — that is, from the contamination of his sins. And similarly, countless variations come upon him, until each time it seems to him that now it is impossible in any way to serve Hashem, blessed be He. And all of this comes from the variations of the mochin that come each day — for correspondingly, the fences and barriers upon each and every day also expand, as above. And therefore one must strengthen oneself on each and every day according to that day. And if sometimes they expand greatly against him, to the point that it is impossible for him in any way to pray properly — even so, he must know and believe that even this day is a day, and it is numbered and counted among the days of his life. And if it is impossible to pray properly in any way on this day, he should make the effort to do another form of service — such as to study more, or to engage in mitzvos and acts of chesed, or to say other supplications and requests and conversation between himself and his Creator, and the like. For Hashem, blessed be He, wanted to give Israel merit; therefore He gave them much Torah and mitzvos. And blessed be Hashem, we have with what to enliven ourselves on each and every day — through the many types of study of the holy Torah and through the many, many types of mitzvos, etc. And the essential thing is that one should make the effort not to be deceived, G–d forbid, that this day is null and gone. For one must consider each day that he has nothing but that day alone — in the aspect of: “Today, if you will listen to His voice,” as above. And after one counts the forty-nine days of the Sefirah, one merits Shavu’os, when the essential receiving of the Torah takes place. And then one merits to receive the aspect of Keser [Crown], as is brought in the kavanos. And it is taught in the words of Rabbainu, of blessed memory (in siman 6), that Keser has the connotation of waiting [hamasanah], as it is written: “Kassar li ze’air” [wait for me a little] (Iyov 36:2). And then is the ultimate rectification of the aspect of the contractions in all the aspects. For during the seven weeks that one counts beforehand, one rectifies the contraction of the mochin — so that the mind should not go beyond the boundary of holiness, so that one should not think evil thoughts, in cravings and fantasies and external wisdoms and wisdoms of vanity and all types of thoughts that are beyond the boundary of holiness. All of which derive from the aspect of the contamination of Mitzrayim, which draws sustenance from the blemish of the contraction of holiness, which is the aspect of the Malchus of holiness — for they are from the aspect of the wicked kingdom. All of this we are engaged in rectifying during all the days of the Sefirah, as above. And according to the rectification, so is the illumination of the mochin of holiness drawn upon us. Until on Shavu’os, on the fiftieth day, one receives the mochin in their completeness, and the holiness from the Fiftieth Gate is drawn upon us — and then is the essential receiving of the Torah. Then the contraction of the mochin is rectified in a higher aspect. That is: even when one is guarded from the blemish of the contraction mentioned above — not to think thoughts from outside, as above — and one merits the mochin of holiness, one still needs to be very careful and guarded, even within holiness, not to go beyond one’s boundary. And this is the aspect of the warning that was given very strongly before the receiving of the Torah: “lest they break through to go up to Hashem” (Shemos 19:21). It emerges that one needs to rectify the mochin in two aspects, which are the aspect of two types of contractions. That is: one contraction at the time of wanting to receive the mochin — that one must rectify the contraction so that the mind does not go beyond the boundary of holiness to the outside, that one should not think thoughts from outside, etc., as above. And this is rectified during the forty-nine days of the Sefirah, as above. And afterward, even when one receives the mochin, one needs to rectify the second contraction — that even within holiness one should not go beyond one’s boundary, in the aspect of: “Into that which is wondrous beyond you, do not inquire” (Chagigah 13a), etc. And this is the aspect of the warning: “lest they break through to go up to Hashem,” etc. And this needs to be rectified on Shavu’os through the aspect of Keser. For Keser has the connotation of waiting, as above — that is, it is forbidden to break through to go up to Hashem. And as is brought in the words of Rabbainu, of blessed memory, on this subject in several places. And these two rectifications — every person must also be very, very careful about them. For a person must be very careful every day to fulfill the obligation of the day in whatever way possible. For one must know that all his days are numbered and counted, and he will need to give an accounting for every day and every hour, and he has nothing in his world except that day — which is the aspect of the mitzvah of the Sefirah, as above. Therefore he certainly needs to be very, very diligent each and every day, to strengthen himself in His service, blessed be He, with whatever his hand can find to do with his strength. But even so, one must wait a great deal until he merits that his service be in completeness and as it should be. In the aspect of: “One who comes to purify himself — they assist him; they say to him: wait” — as is brought in the Torah teaching “K’ra es Yehoshua” (siman 6), where this is the aspect of Keser, as is explained there — see there. And this matter is impossible to explain well in writing, and there are many holy conversations that we heard and understood from his holy mouth. A few of them are explained in some places — and see at the end of the Sipurai Ma’asiyos, beginning with: “Even though a person must be diligent,” etc. — see there. And this is the aspect of: “You are not required to complete the task, but neither are you free to desist from it” (Avos 2:16). And these two aspects are received during the forty-nine days of the Sefirah and Shavu’os. For during the forty-nine days of the Sefirah, one counts the days to know that the days are numbered and counted, as above — therefore one must be very, very diligent in His service, blessed be He. And on Shavu’os, one rectifies the second contraction — not to break the boundary to go up to Hashem, but rather to wait for the salvation of Hashem always, in whatever passes over him. And that the diligence should not cause him to break beyond measure entirely, G–d forbid. For this is a great principle: that in every thing and every attribute in the world there is good and evil, and the adversary lies in ambush for a person always, to capture him in his net, G–d forbid, with all types of devices and deceptions and stratagems in the world — more than the mouth can speak and the heart can think. And one must always set one’s heart upon the truth, and look well into everything — what will come of this — so that one is not captured in his net, G–d forbid. For certainly at first the adversary overpowers a person greatly, to prevent him entirely from the path of life, G–d forbid. But when a person awakens a little and wants to return to Hashem — to pray or to study and the like — he spreads himself against him and prevents him with many obstacles and weaknesses and confusions without measure. To the point that many times, even when one prays and studies, the service is not in completeness and as it should be — especially since many times and seasons he confuses him entirely due to the anxieties of livelihood and the like. And not enough for him is all this, but he further lies in ambush for him as if hope is lost, G–d forbid — as if it is impossible for him any longer to draw close to Hashem, blessed be He, properly, since days and years pass and he is still as far away as he is far. And in truth, this too is the devices of the adversary. And this too is the aspect of what is explained in the Torah teaching mentioned above — that the adversary clothes himself in mitzvos, inserting into his heart lassitude and weakness through the mitzvos and the fear that he clothes himself in. As if he wants his benefit, and rebukes him on account of his being so far. But in truth his intent is to harm — to prevent him and weaken him even from the little service that he wants to engage in. Therefore, everyone who wants to enter the service of Hashem must be very careful to hold onto both. In the aspect of: “It is good that you hold onto this, and also from that do not let go of your hand” (Koheles 7:18), etc. That is: to be very, very diligent in His service, blessed be He, and “whatever your hand finds to do, do with your strength” (Koheles 9:10) — with great diligence, the matter of each day in its day, and not to push off from day to day, G–d forbid, as above. And even so, one must wait a great, great deal. That even when one sees that his service is not complete, and even if sometimes he cannot do anything at all — even so, he should wait and look forward to the salvation of Hashem, as it is written: “Only to G–d be silent, my soul,” etc. “Only to G–d — silence, my soul,” etc. (Tehillim 62:2,6). And it is written: “It is good to wait in silence for the salvation of Hashem” (Aichah 3:26). And this is the aspect of the guarding of the Torah, as it is written: “Guard and hearken” (Devarim 12:28). And it is written: “Be very careful to do,” etc. (Yehoshua 22:5). For one needs very great guarding from the devices of the adversary in all the ways and aspects, until one merits to do and fulfill all the words of the Torah. And shmirah [guarding] has the connotation of waiting, as it is written: “And his father guarded [shamar] the matter” (Beraishis 37:11) — that is, it is impossible to merit to fulfill all the words of the Torah in completeness, to cleave to Him, blessed be He, in truth, except through the aspect of guarding and waiting. For one must wait a great deal until he merits what he merits. For even one who merits the service of Hashem properly and engages much in Torah and tefillah and good deeds — he too must wait a great deal until he merits completeness as is proper. For the essential ultimate purpose of the service is to recognize Him, blessed be He, as it is taught in the holy Zohar: “so that they may come to know Him” [b’gin d’yisht’mod’in laih]. And for this one must wait a great deal. But we would not have had the strength to wait so long. For according to the good point [n’kudah tovah] in the heart of each one of Israel, it burns and blazes very much to be incorporated in Him, blessed be He, and to cleave to Him. Therefore, in His mercy, He gave us the holy Torah — for she is our life and the length of our days. For through the Torah we have with what to enliven ourselves all the days that we are waiting for His salvation, to be incorporated in Him, blessed be He, in completeness. For the Torah is His unity, blessed be He, and through the Torah itself we merit to come to the true ultimate purpose — to cleave to Him, blessed be He. But also one whose service is not in completeness, and even if it seems to him that he is still completely far, and even if he truly is so — even so, he must wait and look forward to His salvation, and enliven himself in the meantime with whatever he can: sometimes with Torah, sometimes with tefillah, sometimes with hisbodedus and conversation between himself and his Creator, sometimes with conversation with a friend or one’s rebbe, sometimes with the performance of some mitzvah and act of chesed, sometimes with will and longing and yearning — which is the essential thing, as is explained in his words, of blessed memory: that the essential thing is the will [ratzon], etc. And in the meantime, one studies as if one is studying, and prays as if, etc. — see there.