אומנים ה"ה בה' פקדון ה"ה אות י"ו:

And this is the aspect of the first redemption and the final redemption, which has no interruption — for there is no exile after it — which are the aspects of Pesach and Shavu’os. For Pesach is the aspect of the first redemption, when one eats matzah, which is the aspect of haste [chipazon], as it is written: “Seven days shall you eat matzos upon it, for in haste you departed,” etc. (Devarim 16:3). And this is the aspect of diligence — that one must be very diligent in the service of Hashem, with great diligence, and not push off from one day to the next, G–d forbid. And this is the aspect of Sefiras HaOmer, as above. And therefore, from then one immediately begins to count the forty-nine days of the Sefirah, as it is written: “And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbos” (Vayikra 23:15). The Torah made the mitzvah of counting dependent on the morrow of the Shabbos, which is the first day of Pesach — called Shabbos, as Rashi explained. For during the days of the Sefirah we draw upon ourselves the mochin of Pesach, which are the aspect of diligence, the aspect of haste. (Only on Pesach one receives all the mochin at once, while during the Sefirah one receives those same mochin gradually during all the days of the Sefirah, as above.) But Shavu’os, which is the receiving of the Torah, is the aspect of the final redemption, about which it is said: “For you shall not go out in haste, and in flight you shall not go” (Yeshayahu 52:12), etc. And therefore one then brings the two loaves [sh’tai halechem] from chametz specifically, as it is written: “They shall be baked leavened,” etc. (Vayikra 23:17). And chametz involves a delay of time, the aspect of waiting. That is, one must not rush to go up to Hashem. Rather, amidst the great diligence, one must be careful to also hold onto this — to wait a great deal, in the aspect of “they say to him: wait” — which derives from the aspect of Keser, which is received on Shavu’os, which has the connotation of waiting, as above. And this is the aspect of the final redemption, which has no interruption. For when one merits this — the aspect of waiting — then one will certainly merit a complete redemption from the exile of his soul. For certainly, in the end of the end, he will return to Hashem and He will have mercy upon him — for the kindnesses of Hashem are not exhausted, etc. And about this it is said: “Upon my guard-post I will stand and station myself,” etc. “For there is yet a vision for the appointed time,” etc. “If it tarries, wait for it,” etc. (Chavakkuk 2:1–3). This is said regarding the final redemption, and this applies also to every person and every time. For the essential redemption is the redemption of the soul. Although one must hurry greatly to save his soul from whatever he needs to be saved from — even so, when he sees that his redemption is greatly delayed, he must strengthen himself to wait a great deal for His salvation — until Hashem looks down and sees from the heavens, as it is written: “And I will always hope” (Tehillim 71:14). And just as it is regarding the general redemption of Israel — that certainly each day one must fall on his face and cry and plead greatly before Him, blessed be He, that He should hasten our redemption immediately, for the exile has been prolonged upon us and the strength of the bearer has failed — even so, when one sees that the exile is extended, one must still wait more and more, as it is written: “If it tarries, wait for it, for it will surely come and will not be late” (Chavakkuk 2:3). So it is in particular with every person. Although one must cry much before Hashem, blessed be He, and plead before Him for his soul, that He should redeem it quickly from the cravings of this world and its vanities — even so, when he sees that the matter is greatly delayed, he must hope and wait a great deal, times after times — perhaps Hashem will look upon his affliction, for He will not contend forever and will not bear anger for eternity. And even though the prevention is from our side, because we are not worthy in our deeds as we should be — and even if this is truly so — even so, as long as he lifts his eyes heavenward and guards and looks forward and waits for His salvation, blessed be He, through this itself Hashem, blessed be He, will have compassion and mercy upon him, and will bring him close to His service in truth, and everything will be turned to good. And this is: “For there is a day — the watchmen [notz’rim] have called out on Mount Efrayim,” etc. (Yirmeyahu 31:5). And Rashi explained: notz’rim is an expression of guarding [sh’mirah]. That is to say: there is a day when those who guarded the Torah will be called, and they will say “arise,” etc. — see there. That is, one who is a notzer — who guards and waits for the salvation of Hashem, as above — certainly has a day. For in the end of the end, the day that he awaits will arrive — that he will merit to draw close to Him, blessed be He. In the aspect of: “For there is a day — the watchmen have called out on Mount Efrayim: Arise, let us go up!” In the aspect of: “It is a day, and to you he will come” — which is also said regarding the final redemption (as Rashi explained there) — which is the aspect of Shavu’os, which is the completion of the rectification of the Sefirah, as it is written: “You shall count fifty days” (Vayikra 23:16). For all the forty-nine days one counts in order to arrive at the fiftieth day, which is Shavu’os, when one merits the aspect of Keser, which is the aspect of waiting — which is the aspect of the guarding of the Torah, as above. For in truth, the essential rectification of the aspect of the Sefirah is when one merits Shavu’os, which is the aspect of waiting, as above. That is, the aspect of the Sefirah is that a person must, all the days of his life, remember very, very much on each and every day that it is numbered and counted, in number and in reckoning, so that he will strengthen himself to engage in the service of Hashem as much as he can, as above. But after all of this — even if he is among the “masters of accounting” and he reckons with himself every day, and he remembers and knows well that his days are numbered and counted and limited — even so, due to the great strengthening of the Sitra Achra, which strengthens itself against the holiness greatly with all types of devices (for “this corresponding to this G–d has made”), and especially against one who wants to enter the service of Hashem — therefore it can be that even so the adversary will overpower him, G–d forbid, and confuse his service, G–d forbid. And not enough for him is this, but he will want, G–d forbid, through this, to demolish the days of his counting — to say to him: “What profit is it that you count your days each time and think about your end each day, since you see that with all of this you are not managing to be as His will, blessed be He, in truth? For your strength has been exhausted and your inclination overpowers you, may the Merciful One save us.” But if he reflects wisely upon the truth to its depth, he will say and respond to his heart: “And if so — shall I on account of this cease entirely, G–d forbid, from counting my days? Surely even so my end will come, and I will be compelled to give an accounting for each and every day. Therefore, even if whatever will pass over me passes — I, upon my guard-post I will stand, to guard and look forward and wait for the salvation of Hashem. And in the meantime I will snatch from the service of Hashem whatever I can, each and every day, a little or a lot, in the aspect of: ‘Snatch and eat, snatch and drink, for this world that we are in is like a wedding feast’” — which is said regarding the eating of Torah and mitzvos, which is called “eating,” as it is written: “Come, partake of my bread” (Mishlai 9:5). And when he is strong and steadfast on this path — that he counts and enumerates his days even though it seems to him that he is not fulfilling the obligation of the day, and even if the truth is indeed so, even so he will not demolish his counting on account of this — for: “Even though I am not fulfilling my obligation each day, even so my days are numbered and counted. Therefore I am obligated to place all my heart and my aspiration and my hope to wait and look forward to the salvation of Hashem,” as above. And then specifically he will be able to fulfill the aspect of the mitzvah of the Sefirah all his days. It emerges that specifically through the aspect of waiting, which is the aspect of Shavu’os, one can draw upon oneself the aspect of the mitzvah of the Sefirah all his days. For he will merit to think about his days every day and to snatch what he can, since he thinks about his end each day. And then he will certainly merit that the day of his salvation will arrive — that he will draw close to Hashem, blessed be He — in the aspect of: “For there is a day — the watchmen have called out.” “Watchmen” [notz’rim] specifically, which is an expression of guarding and waiting, as above. And this is the laws of the guardians [shomrim]: that all the guardians must take an oath, even on a claim of doubt — a Torah-mandated oath [sh’vu’ah d’Oraisa] — something we do not find elsewhere in the entire Torah. For there is no Torah-mandated oath on a claim of doubt. (And even though a single witness obligates an oath even when the claim is one of doubt — on the basis of the witness — the answer is readily at hand, for there the certain claim of the witness exists, and the essential obligation of the oath is due to the words of the witness who knows with certainty. But guardians are obligated in a Torah-mandated oath on a claim of complete doubt.) For the essential guarding is to guard the thing from all types of damages. And all types of damages come from the aspect of the wicked kingdom, which is the aspect of Aisav who despised the birthright — which is the aspect of foolishness, the aspect of: “A fool does not desire understanding” (Mishlai 18:2). For the wicked kingdom, the aspect of Aisav, is the aspect of the “boar of the forest” [chazir haya’ar], the aspect of the “beast of the reeds” [chayas kaneh] — which are the aspect of the damagers of the world. From there come all the thefts and robberies and denials and all types of damages in the world. For the wicked kingdom is the aspect of foolishness, as above, from which all the damages come. For the da’as guards from all the damages, and through foolishness all the damages come, as Rabbainu, of blessed memory, wrote in the Sefer HaAlef-Bais: “When you cause some damage, know that you have blemished the da’as.” And therefore, the essential guarding is through the aspect of the Malchus of holiness. When one merits to strengthen the Malchus of holiness over the malchus of the Sitra Achra — through this one subdues and nullifies all the damages that come from the aspect of the malchus of the Sitra Achra, as above. And therefore Malchus is the aspect of Shamor [Guard] (as is known in the Zohar and the writings of the Ari z”l, regarding Zachor [Remember] and Shamor — Zachor for the male [d’chura] and Shamor for the female [nukvah], which is the aspect of Malchus, as is known). For the essential guarding is through the aspect of Malchus, as above. And therefore, the essential guarding is through the Torah. Through this one strengthens the Malchus of holiness over the malchus of the Sitra Achra, through which one nullifies all the damages, as above. For through the Torah, through which one gives power to the Malchus of holiness — which is the aspect of the rectification of the contraction of the mochin, the aspect of nun — through this the illumination of the saichel and the wisdom is drawn, which is the vitality of every thing, which is the aspect of ches. And then one merits to look upon the saichel that is in every thing in the world, to draw close through this to Hashem, blessed be He — which is the aspect of the sun, the aspect of Yaakov, who merited the birthright, as is explained there in the Torah teaching mentioned above. And then one is guarded from all the damages. For the light of day — the aspect of the sun, which is the aspect of the light of the saichel — saves from all the damages. For the generality of the damagers of the world have no dominion in the light of day. For all their dominion is only in the darkness and at night — “in it all the beasts of the forest creep forth” (Tehillim 104:20). And as it is written: “He digs through houses in the dark; by day they seal themselves away” (Iyov 24:16). And it is written: “And at night he is like a thief” (Ovadyah 1:5). And therefore, through the Torah — through which one merits to look upon the saichel that is in every thing, which is the aspect of the light of day — through this one is saved from all the damages. And therefore through this the Malchus of holiness is strengthened, which is the aspect of Shamor — which is the aspect of the mistress of the house [akeres habayis], who guards all the possessions of the house from all types of damages, as above. It emerges that the essential guarding is through the Torah. And this is the aspect of: “When you walk, it will lead you; when you lie down, it will guard over you,” etc. (Mishlai 6:22). And it is written: “Discretion will guard over you; understanding will watch over you” (Mishlai 2:11). For the Torah guards from all the damagers of the world, as above. And therefore our Sages of blessed memory truly said, regarding the law, that Torah scholars do not need guarding [n’tirusa], for the Torah guards them — as is explained in the law, regarding the principle that a Torah scholar need not contribute to the expenses of guarding the city. For in truth it is very difficult to guard anything, for there are many, many types of damages from which it is impossible to guard except through the salvation of Hashem, as it is written: “If Hashem does not guard a city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil” (Tehillim 127:1). And therefore, the essential guarding is through the Torah, as above. And therefore our Sages of blessed memory truly said: “Distance yourself from deposits [pikadonos].” For the guarding is very difficult, as above. For the essential guarding is in a place where damage is common — that is when one gives the thing to a guardian to guard. But the guarding from the damages is very difficult, for the damagers of the world are always lying in ambush for every thing. For they are opposed to the Malchus of holiness, which is the aspect of the lowest level of holiness — which is the aspect of guarding — because it is adjacent to the external forces. And they lie in ambush against her always, to ruin and damage, G–d forbid, the things and possessions that she guards, when they find some blemish, G–d forbid — through which they have the power to overpower her, G–d forbid. And therefore a person has great battles at every blemish. And especially in matters of external service — which are one’s money and possessions — for in them are many, many holinesses and sparks. But because they are in the aspect of externality, in the aspect of “when you go out” (as is explained in the Torah teaching “Ki Saitzai LaMilchamah” in siman 280) — where the external forces are actually adjacent, lying in ambush to draw sustenance from there and to destroy and ruin, G–d forbid. And therefore it is difficult for a person to guard even his own possessions — all the more so should he distance himself from accepting upon himself the guarding of deposits of others. For the essential guarding as it should be is to look upon the thing with one’s eyes well and not to avert one’s eye from it. That is, one must look upon the saichel that is in that object, and connect it to the true saichel and da’as — through which is the essential guarding, as above. And this is certainly difficult for a person, for this is the essential battle of a person in this world: not to be drawn after the materiality of the thing, but rather to look upon the saichel that is in every thing. And therefore all the guardians require a Torah-mandated oath, even on a claim of doubt. For we suspect him that he blemished the guarding through some negligence or some misappropriation [sh’lichas yad], etc. — because the guarding is in the aspect of external service, in a place adjacent to the external forces, where they have a great hold. Therefore it is difficult to be guarded from their hold, from which come all the negligences and misappropriations and all the denials and damages, as above. And therefore, as soon as one becomes a guardian, a Torah-mandated oath falls upon him immediately, even on a claim of doubt. For the oath is the aspect of connection [hiskashrus]. For the oath is taken while holding a sacred object [n’kiitas chaifetz], which is the Sefer Torah — through which is the essential rectification of the guarding, as above. For the essential rectification of the guarding is through connecting the externality to the internality — that is, when one looks upon the saichel that is in every thing, which is the very essence of the internality. And this one merits through the Torah, as above. And therefore, every guardian must take an oath. For we do not believe him regarding the guarding having been done properly except through the oath while holding a sacred object, which is the Torah — through which one connects everything to the internality of the saichel that is in every thing — through which is the essential rectification of the guarding at its root, as above. And this is the reason the Torah called the guardian ba’al habayis [master of the house], as it is written: “The master of the house shall approach the judges” (Shemos 22:7). And Rashi explained that this is the guardian, who is called “master of the house.” And at first glance, the expression is puzzling — why is the guardian called “master of the house”? After all, if one gave him the object to guard outside, all the laws of the guardians still apply — so why should he be called “master of the house”? Also, surely the essential “master of the house” is the owner of the object — so how can the Torah now call the guardian “master of the house” on account of that moment when he became a guardian over it? But in this the holy Torah hinted to us the reason for all the laws of the guardians — that the Torah was stringent upon them to guard very well, as is explained in the words of our Sages of blessed memory, and all of them must take a Torah-mandated oath while holding a sacred object. For all this is because this guardian has girded his loins to become the “master of the house” over this object — that is, to connect the externality to the internality, which is the internality of the saichel that is in every thing, which is the root of the thing and its vitality — from which comes the essential guarding, as above. And therefore he is certainly called “master of the house.” For the house of a person is the aspect of internality in contrast to places that are outside. And the essential purpose of building a house is so that one may enter it from outside to inside — the person together with all his possessions. And therefore the house is a guarded place, for the essential guarding is through the aspect of internality — that is, through bringing everything from outside to inside, and connecting it to its root, which is the wisdom — which is the essential internality, as above. And therefore one must build the house with wisdom, as it is written: “With wisdom a house is built, and with understanding it is established,” etc. (Mishlai 24:3). That is, one must build the house for the sake of Hashem, in order to engage in it in the true wisdom — which is the holy Torah. For every person must intend in the building of his house that just as in the physical sense he builds the walls of the house so that he may have a place to enter from outside to inside — he and all his possessions — so too in the spiritual sense he should bring everything from outside to inside, elevating all things from the aspect of externality and connecting them to the internality — which is the wisdom, which is the root of everything, as it is written: “All of them You made with wisdom” (Tehillim 104:24). And therefore this guardian who girds his loins to guard the thing is called “master of the house.” For this is the essential aspect of guarding — guarding the thing from all types of damages that come from the outside, that is, from the damagers of the world who are called “external ones” [chitzonim], for their essential hold is on the outside, in the aspect of externality. And this guardian must guard the thing from them and connect it and elevate it to the internality, which is the aspect of the house. And therefore the guardian is called “master of the house.” And because this is a difficult service — for this is the essential toil and service of every person in this world, to elevate and connect everything from outside to inside through the service of Torah and mitzvos, especially the guarding of possessions and money of a person, which is itself the aspect of external service, as above — therefore the guarding is very difficult. For because their essential hold is on a person’s possessions and money, and especially since when one gives a thing to guard, it is certainly in a place where damage is common, as above — therefore it is very difficult for the guardian to fulfill the obligation of guarding so as to be worthy of being called “master of the house” over the object — that is, to connect the object from outside to inside, which is the aspect of “master of the house,” as above. Therefore the Torah imposed upon him an oath while holding a sacred object, which is the Torah, through which one connects everything to its root, as above. And this is: “The master of the house shall approach the judges [Elokim]” — “master of the house” specifically. For this “approaching” is for the oath, as our Sages of blessed memory expounded. And therefore the Torah calls him here by the name “master of the house” — for it is on account of this that he must take an oath. Because the essential rectification of the guarding is in the aspect of “master of the house” — to connect and elevate from outside to inside, which is very difficult. Therefore we do not believe him except through the oath while holding a sacred object, as above. And this is: “The master of the house shall approach Elokim” — for one must bring close and elevate everything to Elokim, for He, blessed be He, created everything with His wisdom, and He is the root of everything, as above. And this is the aspect of sh’mirah bib’alim [guarding when the owner is present in the borrower’s service], which is exempt from everything — which is a great wonder on the plain level: why should the borrower be exempt because the owner did him an extra favor at the outset and also lent himself to him? But everything is according to what was explained above. For the essential guarding is in the aspect of externality, as above. And the owner of the object, in relation to the guardian, is in the aspect of internality. For in every thing and every level there is the aspect of internality and externality, and every level that is higher than its fellow is in the aspect of internality in relation to the one lower than it. And therefore, the owner of the object is in the aspect of internality in relation to the guardian or the borrower, upon whom falls the guarding — which is in the aspect of externality. And therefore “guarding when the owner is present” is exempt. And specifically when the owner of the object was with him in his work at the time of the borrowing, as our Sages of blessed memory said. For since this owner of the object has already become a guardian for his fellow, it emerges that he has descended to the aspect of externality in relation to his fellow, and his fellow is in the aspect of internality in relation to him, as above. Therefore, afterward, when his fellow borrows from this guardian some object, the obligation of guarding no longer falls upon him, since he is in the aspect of internality in relation to the owner of this object. For this owner of the object has already become a guardian for him, and has descended to the aspect of externality, while he in relation to him is in the aspect of internality. Therefore the obligation of guarding can no longer be established upon him, for the essential reason for all the laws of the obligation of guarding is only because the guardian obligated himself to go out to the outside and to elevate and connect the object from outside to inside, which is the essential aspect of guarding. It emerges that the essential obligation of guarding is in the aspect of externality. And since he borrowed “in the owners” — the owners being subordinated to him for guarding, and they are in the aspect of externality in relation to him — the obligation of guarding can no longer fall upon him. For it is impossible for him to be in the aspect of externality in relation to them, since he has already become in relation to them the aspect of internality, since they are with him in his work at the time of the borrowing, and they are obligated to guard his possessions. This is the aspect of externality in relation to him, as above. For the essential obligation of guarding is in the aspect of externality, as above. Therefore “guarding when the owner is present” is exempt. And this is the mitzvah of mezuzah, which is a guarding for the house. For the mezuzah is at the place through which one enters from outside to inside — and there one needs great guarding from the external forces that hold onto the outside. Therefore one must affix a mezuzah there, at the entrance. For the mezuzah is the aspect of the entirety of the Torah, for in it are written the two passages — Sh’ma and V’hayah Im Shamo’a — which are the acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven and of the mitzvos, which are the generality of the entire Torah. Through this one subdues the wicked kingdom, which is the aspect of foolishness, from which is the hold of all the external ones and the damagers of the world. And one subdues and nullifies them all, and strengthens the Malchus of holiness, and merits to connect the house with everything in it to the very essence of the internality, which is the wisdom of the holy Torah — through which is the essential rectification of the building of the house, in the aspect of: “With wisdom a house is built,” as above. For the Torah is in the aspect of a house, in the aspect of the bais of Beraishis. Also, the word Beraishis itself is rosh bayis [head of the house], as it is taught in the Tikkunai Zohar. For the essential building of the house must be with wisdom, which is the Torah — through which one elevates and brings everything from outside to inside, and connects every thing to the saichel and wisdom that is in it, which is its internality and its vitality, as above. It emerges that the mezuzah is the aspect of the strengthening of the Malchus of holiness (and so it is taught in the Kabbalistic writings, that mezuzah has the numerical value of Adni [the Name corresponding to Malchus]) — that one strengthens over the wicked kingdom, which is the aspect of foolishness, etc., the aspect of the Malchus of holiness, as is known, as above. And this is the aspect of: “And they strike it with clubs upon which are engraved names,” etc. For the mezuzah is in the form of a staff [makkel], and it is entirely holy names. And through this one subdues the foolishness, etc. — so that they should not take hold on the house. Rather, the house shall be guarded and sustained through the wisdom, in the aspect of: “With wisdom a house is built,” as above.