שוכר ב

And since there is still some battle between the drawing force and the compelling force — only that through the holiness of Yom Tov, the drawing force is greatly empowered over the compelling force, as above — therefore, there are still some labors on Yom Tov, namely, the labor of ochel nefesh, as it is written: “Only that which is eaten by every soul — it alone shall be done for you.” For then, on Yom Tov, one still needs to engage in the labors of ochel nefesh — the labors close to completing the food, to rectify it and draw the taste into it — such as baking and cooking, which is the essential labor of ochel nefesh permitted on Yom Tov. 88

A thief pays double [tashlumai kefel].

Based on the teaching "Pasach Rabi Shimon" in Likutay Moharan HaRishon, siman 60 — see there the entire teaching from beginning to end.

For all labors distant from eating are forbidden on Yom Tov — such as plowing, sowing, and even reaping and grinding for the needs of that day are forbidden on Yom Tov. Only baking and cooking and the like — which are closest to the completion of the food — are permitted on Yom Tov. For the closer the labor is to completing the food, the closer it is to the drawing force. 89

And the general principle that emerges from there for our matter: that through sipuray ma'asiyos [stories] of shanim kadmoniyos [ancient years], one awakens and arouses people from their sleep. For there are many people who sleep away their days, and there are those who, even though they engage in Torah and t'filah, nevertheless all their service is in the aspect of sleep, etc. — see there. And one must arouse them from their sleep. And there are those who fell into the aspect of sleep through evil deeds, and there are those who are upright people but fell into sleep through eating — for when one eats food that is not properly sifted for human consumption, one can lose his face and fall into the aspect of sleep. For the essential aspect of sleep is the departure of the da'as, which is the face, etc.

For the essential eating — even though it is in the aspect of the compelling force, as above — its essential purpose is for the sake of the drawing force: that through it, one may praise and glorify Hashem and return and be drawn toward one’s root, as above. And all the labors in the world that are done for the sake of eating, which is the sustenance of the human being — even though they are all in the aspect of the compelling force, as above — their essential purpose is for the sake of the drawing force, as above: so that the thing should be completed, so that the person may eat and be sustained in the world and serve Hashem and draw himself and everything dependent on him toward his root, which is the drawing force. 90

And the awakening from sleep is through sipuray ma'asiyos, in which the tzaddik clothes the faces of Torah — for three reasons, as is explained there. And the third reason is that the chitzonim [external forces] holding onto him will not let him go; therefore one must clothe his face so as to alter him so they will not recognize him, in the aspect of: "m'shaneh panav vat'shal'chaihu" [he altered his face and she sent him away] (Shmuel I 21:14). That by altering his face and clothing him with the faces of Torah that he lost, through sipuray ma'asiyos — through this "she sent him away," for through this they do not recognize him and they let him go and send him away, and he goes free from them, etc.

And this is what the person must intend in all his deeds and labors: that everything is for the sake of the purpose — to return and draw and be included in his root. But it has already been explained that in all the labors, the Sitra Achara has a foothold from the sin of Adam HaRishon, and great exertions and purifications are needed. And the more distant the labor is from the purpose, the more purification is needed there. For there, the Sitra Achara has a greater foothold, being further from the purpose. Therefore, the compelling force intensifies there more, being still far from the drawing force. For the essential drawing force intensifies more when the thing reaches its purpose. 91

And there are sipuray ma'asiyos that are b'kerev shanim [within the years], for the seventy faces of the Torah are the aspect of seventy years, etc. But there are sipuray ma'asiyos of shanim kadmoniyos [ancient years], which are in the aspect of hadras panim [the majesty of the face], from which all the seventy faces of the Torah are drawn and receive. For there is one who has fallen from all the seventy faces of the Torah, who cannot be awakened by any face — only through sipuray ma'asiyos of shanim kadmoniyos, which are the aspect of hadras panim, from which all the seventy faces receive. And through them one can awaken and arouse even one who has fallen from all the seventy faces of the Torah, etc.

For example: when the person eats the food — then the drawing force intensifies, which is the good in the food, through which the person longs and yearns for his root. And this is what Rabainu of blessed memory wrote (in Likutay Tinyana, siman 7): that at the time of eating, one can merit the illumination of the Ratzon [Will], etc. — which is the drawing force, namely, as above. 92

And through the awakening from sleep, through this one opens the mouths of the mute and opens the mouths of the barren. For through this p'kidos akaros [the visitation of the barren] takes place, etc. And through the visitation of the barren, yir'ah [fear/awe] is drawn and revealed — this is the aspect of the visitation of Yitzchak, for Sarah was visited on Rosh HaShanah, through which great yir'ah is revealed, etc. And through the yir'ah, arichas yamim [length of days] is drawn, etc. — that one merits lengthening his days, for each day at its beginning is short, for at the beginning of the day the service is still short and in great constriction. And afterwards one must expand the day, so that every hour that comes afterwards will be wider and greater and longer in the service of Hashem. And similarly each day that comes afterwards will be yet longer in holiness and additional service — and so with every single day. For this is the essential length of days of a person — that one must see to it that each day that comes afterwards will be lengthened further with additional holiness and da'as, etc. And this one merits through yir'ah, in the aspect of: "the fear of Hashem adds days" (Mishlai 10:27), etc.

And yir'ah saves from the blemish of the bris. And through this one merits receiving the wealth within the length of days, which is the aspect of zakain [elder], the aspect of tikunay Atik [the rectifications of the Ancient One]. That through this great wealth, one merits a great and wondrous hisbonenus [contemplation], and it is impossible to receive this hisbonenus except through very great wealth — all the wealth of the world, "and nothing shall be lacking in it", etc. — as is explained well there, see there well. And this is the aspect of why the thief pays kefel, as it is written: "chayim sh'nayim y'shaleim" [he shall pay back two living ones] (Shemos 21:37). For all thefts are drawn at their root through the Ba'al Davar [the Evil One], who is the first thief, the head of all the thieves and cheats in the world. For he conducts himself with most people in the way of theft, with wondrous cunning and deceit — through numerous and varied ways in which he deceives a person and steals his mind at all times, until he wants to trap him in his net, may the Merciful One protect us — as is known and seen tangibly. And as Dovid HaMelech, peace be upon him, cried out about this constantly, as it is written: "He lies in ambush in hiding, like a lion in his lair; he lies in ambush to snatch the poor man, pulling him into his net; he crushes, he crouches" (Tehillim 10:9–10), etc. All of this is the aspect of theft — that he comes upon a person like a thief who ambushes in hiding in order to trap the person in his net, G-d forbid. For in truth, most of the time it is impossible for the Ba'al Davar to come to a person and immediately entice him to a complete transgression, G-d forbid. Rather, at first he clothes himself in mitzvos and steals the mind of the person and shows him a permit, and clothes his evil counsel in mitzvos — "today he tells him, 'Do this,' and tomorrow he tells him, 'Do this,' until," etc. — as our Sages of blessed memory said. And as Rabbainu of blessed memory wrote at the beginning of the sefer, in the teaching "Ashray s'mimai darech" — regarding the statement of Rabbah bar bar Chanah: "and it appeared like a thread of white fire on its head" — that at first the Ba'al Davar clothes himself in mitzvos, etc. — see there. And because of his theft and cunning, it is very difficult to be saved from him. And therefore in truth it is impossible to be saved from him except through the true tzaddikim of the generation, who subdued their inclination and withstood the test and conquered the war — who know all his ways and his hiding places and all his ways of theft. And they know how to conduct themselves with him, for they too conduct themselves with him in theft and cunning, in the aspect of: "it is permitted for the righteous to engage in deception with a deceiver" (Megillah 13b), as it is written: "with the pure You deal purely, and with the crooked You act crookedly" (Shmuel II 22:27). And specifically through the thefts and cunning of the true tzaddikim, they rescue the people who were trapped in his net — like birds caught in a trap — through his theft and cunning, as above. For the tzaddikim are the aspect of Ya'akov, who is the match of Aysav and Lavan in their deceit — who are the aspect of the Samech Mem and the Ba'al Davar. And this is the aspect of what Rabbainu of blessed memory wrote in the teaching mentioned above: that the tzaddikim cannot awaken and arouse people from their sleep and their fall except through sipuray ma'asiyos, in which they clothe and conceal the faces of Torah — which is the aspect of theft and cunning, that they conduct themselves with him in deceit. Through this specifically they bring out the people from his net, in the aspect of "m'shaneh panav vat'shal'chaihu" — that they alter the face through sipuray ma'asiyos so he will not recognize him, and through this specifically they bring him out in stealth from them. It emerges that the tzaddik conducts himself in great theft and cunning in order to bring out people from the net of the Samech Mem, into which they fell through his ways of theft, as above. This is the aspect of the awakening from sleep through sipuray ma'asiyos — through which many people are brought back in t'shuvah, by awakening them from their sleep through sipuray ma'asiyos specifically, as above. And similarly it is explained in several sefarim that the tzaddikim conduct themselves with the Ba'al Davar in the way of theft — as is brought in the sefer Toldos Ya'akov Yosef — see there. And this is the aspect of why the thief pays kefel. For all thieves are drawn from the first thief, who is the Ba'al Davar, who conducts himself in theft, as above — from whom all thieves and all the harmful forces of the world receive and are drawn. And therefore the rectification of the thief is specifically through the aspect of theft of holiness, which is the aspect of sipuray ma'asiyos — in which faces of Torah are clothed and concealed within them in a wondrous way. Through this way of theft of holiness specifically, the tzaddik awakens people from their sleep and brings them back in complete t'shuvah. For this is a rule: that the din [judgment] is only sweetened at its root. And every blemish and transgression must be rectified at its root in holiness — which corresponds to that transgression specifically. For "G-d made this corresponding to that" (Koheles 7:14) in everything. It emerges that the rectification of theft is through the tzaddik who can engage with the Ba'al Davar in theft — that is, who can awaken people through sipuray ma'asiyos, as above. And therefore the thief must pay tashlumai kefel. For he must rectify what he damaged. For through the sipuray ma'asiyos in which the seventy faces of Torah are concealed — through which is the awakening from sleep — through this, great wealth is drawn, which is the aspect of "all the wealth of the world, and nothing shall be lacking in it." Through this wealth one merits great hisbonenus, etc., as above. And this wealth is the aspect of shefa k'fulah. For it is explained in the words of Rabbainu of blessed memory elsewhere (in Likutay Tinyana, siman 40) that there is an aspect of shefa k'fulah, through which a person lacks nothing, for "no person dies with half his desire in his hand." It emerges that one always lacks the half. But when shefa k'fulah is drawn, one lacks nothing, etc. — see there. It emerges that one who merits the great wealth mentioned above — that one needs for the hisbonenus mentioned above, which is the aspect of "all the wealth of the world, and nothing shall be lacking in it" — he merits the aspect of shefa k'fulah. For otherwise it would be impossible to say "nothing shall be lacking in it," for there is no wealth without lack except through the aspect of shefa k'fulah mentioned above. And this shefa k'fulah, which is "all the wealth of the world, and nothing shall be lacking in it" — one merits it specifically through the awakening of people through sipuray ma'asiyos of shanim kadmoniyos, bringing them back in t'shuvah. For through bringing them back in t'shuvah, the sins are considered as merits. And then the Torah becomes doubled, in the aspect of Mishneh Torah [the Repeated Torah]. For the Torah is doubled — "kiflayim l'sushiyah" [double in wisdom] — through the ba'alay t'shuvah, since from the sins themselves are made merits and mitzvos, which are the aspect of Torah. And as Rabbainu of blessed memory wrote in the teaching "Chosam b'soch chosam" (siman 22), on the verse: "on that day the sin of Yisra'ail will be sought and it will not be there" (Yirmiyahu 50:20) — that in the future, when the sins of the House of Yisra'ail are rectified, from all the sins of Yisra'ail Torah will be made, through the sins being transformed into merits, etc. — see there. And all of this is done specifically through sipuray ma'asiyos of shanim kadmoniyos, which are the aspect of hadras panim — from which all the seventy faces of Torah are drawn — through which one can awaken and arouse even those who have fallen greatly from all the seventy faces of Torah, etc., as above. For the tzaddik conceals himself in sipuray ma'asiyos that seem as if they are distant from the Torah — and specifically in them he conceals the Torah. And through this specifically he rescues the fallen ones from between the teeth of the Samech Mem — even those who fell from all the seventy faces of Torah, who cannot be rescued by any means — he rescues them through the sipuray ma'asiyos mentioned above. Until they merit afterwards that their sins are transformed into merits, and from them Torah is made, as above. And then the Torah is doubled, through the sins also being transformed into merits. And then the wealth and the shefa drawn through this are also doubled, in the aspect of shefa k'fulah, as above. For the wealth is drawn in proportion to the Torah, for one depends on the other, as they say: "if there is no flour, there is no Torah; if there is no Torah, there is no flour." And just as in the Torah in its simple sense — for which parnassah is needed, as "if there is no flour, there is no Torah" — but in truth the parnassah itself is drawn from the Torah, as "if there is no Torah, there is no flour," for all the hashpa'os are from the Torah, as is known — similarly the shefa k'fulah mentioned above, which is the aspect of the great wealth needed for the hisbonenus mentioned above, is also drawn from the doubled Torah, in the aspect of Mishneh Torah, in the aspect of "kiflayim l'sushiyah" — that is, the aspect of doubled Torah novellae that are made through the ba'alay t'shuvah, who were awakened through sipuray ma'asiyos of shanim kadmoniyos, through which the sins are transformed into Torah and merits, as above. Through this the shefa is also doubled, and great wealth is drawn mentioned above, which is the aspect of "nothing shall be lacking in it," as above. And this is similar to what is brought in the holy Zohar in Sava d'Mishpatim [the Elder of the Mishpatim portion] — when the Elder encountered the members of the fellowship [b'nay hachavraya], it appeared to them that he was speaking foolish words, for he said: "A beautiful maiden who has no eyes went out in the morning," etc. — until they said to one another that it is forbidden to associate with him, for they had received from Rabi Shimon bar Yochai that it is forbidden to associate with one who does not engage in words of Torah but only in foolish words and worldly matters, etc. — as is explained there. But in truth the holy Elder concealed and hid within this story — which appeared as foolishness — very exalted and hidden Torah, until he revealed to them afterwards through this all the secrets of the transmigration of souls, as is found there. And this is the aspect of the kefel that the thief pays. For he must draw shefa k'fulah. For all the mitzvos of the Torah allude to very, very exalted things. For through the kefel that he pays, through this is the rectification of the theft at its root. For it ascends and is rectified through the aspect of theft of holiness of the true tzaddikim — which is the aspect of the clothing of the Torah in sipuray ma'asiyos. Through this comes the shefa k'fulah, as above. And this is the aspect of the rectification of the theft through the kefel that he pays. For the din is sweetened at its root. For through this the aspect of shefa k'fulah is awakened, which is drawn from the aspect of the root of the theft of holiness — which is the aspect of the sipuray ma'asiyos mentioned above, as above. And this is the aspect of why our Sages of blessed memory said: "Why did the Torah treat the thief more severely, that he should pay kefel? Because he made the eye below as if it does not see," etc. That is, he blemished the eye above, which is the aspect of the seventy faces of the Torah, as is explained below. And because he blemished the aspect of the eye, the aspect of the seventy faces of the Torah, therefore he must pay kefel. For through this, the aspect of shefa k'fulah is awakened, which is drawn from the aspect of sipuray ma'asiyos of shanim kadmoniyos, which are the aspect of hadras panim — where all the seventy faces of the Torah are rooted, and all the seventy faces of the Torah are drawn from there. It emerges that there the Torah is doubled. For in the root everything is doubled — for there is there the aspect of the seventy faces of the Torah as they are drawn below, and also there is there the root of the Torah, the root of the seventy faces of the Torah, which is even higher. And therefore there the Torah is doubled. And there all the sins are rectified through the true tzaddikim who reach there. For there the sins are all transformed into merits through the t'shuvah merited through these sipuray ma'asiyos, etc., as above. And therefore he must pay kefel, for through this the shefa k'fulah mentioned above is drawn and awakened — which is drawn from the sipuray ma'asiyos mentioned above, from the hadras panim, from the root of the seventy faces of the Torah — through which the blemish of the theft is rectified, that he blemished the eye above, as above. And this is the aspect of S'firas Ha'Omer, the aspect of Y'tzias Mitzrayim. And this is the aspect of how Ya'akov received the blessings from his father specifically through deception and theft, as it is written: "your brother came with deception and took your blessing" (Beraishis 27:35). And similarly Ya'akov fled from the house of Lavan specifically through theft, as it is written: "and Ya'akov stole the heart of Lavan the Aramean" (Beraishis 31:20), etc. And as it is written: "and you stole my heart" (Beraishis 31:26), etc. All of this is the aspect mentioned above, the aspect of "it is permitted for the righteous to engage in deception with a deceiver," for "with the pure You deal purely, and with the crooked You act crookedly." For Aysav is the Samech Mem, as is known. And he conducted himself with his father in theft and deceit, as it is written: "for the hunt was in his mouth" (Beraishis 25:28) — that he clothed himself in mitzvos as if he were a complete tzaddik, and asked him: "Father, how does one tithe salt and straw?" — until he deceived his father, until it was his intention to give him the blessings, G-d forbid. But Hashem, blessed be He, in His mercy, arranged circumstances until Ya'akov received the blessings from his father specifically through deception and theft. And as is brought in the Writings [Kabbalah], there is a great secret in this — that all of Yisra'ail, who are the aspect of Ya'akov, must receive the shefa and blessings specifically through theft, as above. And this is: "And it was when Yitzchak grew old, and his eyes were dim from seeing" (Beraishis 27:1), etc. And then Ya'akov made delicacies [mat'amim] for his father and clothed himself in the coveted garments of Aysav, until he received the blessings from his father through theft. For Ya'akov is the aspect of the face of holiness, which is the aspect of the generality of the seventy faces of the Torah, as Rabbainu of blessed memory wrote elsewhere, in the aspect of: "those who seek Your face — Ya'akov, selah" (Tehillim 24:6). For Ya'akov is the generality of the Torah, as it is written: "the Torah that Moshe commanded us is the inheritance of the congregation of Ya'akov" (Devarim 33:4). And Ya'akov's clothing himself in the garments of Aysav — this is the aspect of the clothing of the seventy faces of the Torah in sipuray ma'asiyos. For the stories [ma'asiyos] that are told — this is the aspect of asiyah [action], which is the aspect of Aysav, which is the language of asiyah, as Rashi explains — that he was called Aysav because he was asui v'nigmar [made and completed] with hair, etc. For this reason they are called ma'asiyos — the language of asiyah. But the sipuray ma'asiyos of the true tzaddikim, in which the seventy faces of the Torah are clothed — this is the aspect of Ya'akov, who is the generality of the Torah, clothing himself in the garments of Aysav — which are the aspect of garments of asiyah, which are the aspect of sipuray ma'asiyos, in which one tells the story in the language of what transpires in the world of asiyah — and there the entire seventy faces of the Torah are clothed. For the garments of Aysav that Ya'akov wore then were the garments of Adam HaRishon, as our Sages of blessed memory said — they are the kasnos or [garments of skin] that Hashem, blessed be He, clothed them with, as it is written: "and Hashem G-d made for Adam and his wife garments of skin and clothed them" (Beraishis 3:21). And the kasnos or — this is the aspect of sipuray ma'asiyos, which are garments in which the Torah is clothed, the Torah which is the aspect of adam. For after the sin of Adam and Chavah, when Hashem, blessed be He, wanted to bring them back in t'shuvah and arouse them from their sleep — which is the aspect of death that they drew upon themselves — therefore He made for them kasnos or, which allude to sipuray ma'asiyos. For from now on, after the sin, it was necessary to clothe all the Torah in sipuray ma'asiyos. And therefore the Torah itself was clothed in numerous sipuray ma'asiyos as explained in the Torah, in all of which the seventy faces of the Torah are clothed. For the sipuray ma'asiyos of the Torah are even higher than the rest of the Torah, as is brought in the sefarim, and especially in the holy Zohar — from the great enormity of the awesome secrets that are in every word and every letter and every tip of the yud, etc. And as it elaborated to curse: "May the spirit of those who say the Torah has only its plain meaning be blasted" — see there, G-d forbid. And all of this was because of the sin of Adam HaRishon, for because of it the Torah was compelled to clothe itself in sipuray ma'asiyos and to clothe in them the seventy faces of the Torah, in order to arouse from sleep and from death all who come into the world, that they should return to Hashem, blessed be He. For their sin was through eating — that is, through eating from the Aitz HaDa'as [Tree of Knowledge], through which they lost the face and sleep was drawn upon them, which is the aspect of death that was decreed upon them. For the essential loss of the face among upright people is through eating that is not in holiness, as is explained in the teaching mentioned above. And therefore Hashem, blessed be He, was compelled, so to speak, to clothe the Torah for them in sipuray ma'asiyos, which are the aspect of kasnos or, in order to arouse them from sleep, as above. It emerges that the kasnos or of Adam HaRishon are the aspect of garments of sipuray ma'asiyos. And this is the coveted garments of Aysav that Ya'akov — who is the aspect of the generality of the seventy faces of the Torah — wore. That they are the aspect of Ya'akov, clothed in the garments of Aysav, in the aspect of kasnos or, in sipuray ma'asiyos, as above. And therefore through this he received the blessings — which are the shefa of great wealth. For all the blessings he received then are the shefa of wealth, as it is written: "and may G-d give you from the dew of the heavens," etc., "and an abundance of grain and wine," etc. (Beraishis 27:28). For through the sipuray ma'asiyos mentioned above, through which one awakens from sleep, through this one merits the great wealth mentioned above, as above. And specifically from Yitzchak he received the blessing of wealth, as above. For Yitzchak is the aspect of great yir'ah, the aspect of g'vuros Yitzchak, that through this yir'ah one merits arichas yamim, the aspect of zakain of holiness, through which the wealth mentioned above is drawn, as above. For Aysav, through having deceived his father — "for the hunt was in his mouth" — that he ate of his hunt — through this he wanted to cast a blemish upon all the aspects mentioned above, which are the aspect of the yir'ah of Yitzchak, the aspect of zakain. For all of this is blemished through the foods of Aysav, which are foods that are not properly sifted, through which one loses the face, G-d forbid — that is, the seventy faces of the Torah — and falls into the aspect of sleep, G-d forbid, as above. And this is: "And it was when Yitzchak grew old, and his eyes were dim from seeing" — "his eyes were dim from seeing" — this is the aspect of sleep, G-d forbid, which is the departure of the light of the eyes, as we say: "Who casts the bonds of sleep upon the eyes" [in the bedtime prayer]. For the eyes — this is the aspect of the ayin [70] faces of the Torah, for the entire Torah is comprised in the eyes, as is brought elsewhere. For the Torah is comprised of t'amim, n'kudos, tagin, osiyos [cantillation notes, vowel points, crowns, letters], which are the t'las g'vanin d'aina u'vas ayin [three colors of the eye and the pupil]. For "eyes" is said in reference to wisdom, as it is written: "and the eyes of them both were opened" (Beraishis 3:7). And therefore the eyes of holiness, of the true tzaddikim, are the aspect of the generality of the seventy faces of the Torah, from where the light of the eye is drawn. And through Aysav the wicked, through this the ayin faces of the Torah are blemished, G-d forbid, and the light departs from the tzaddik — in the aspect of "his eyes were dim from seeing." And this blemish reaches specifically the aspect of Yitzchak, the aspect of zakain Yitzchak. For Yitzchak is the aspect of the yir'ah that is drawn through the awakening from sleep, which is the aspect of the rectification of the seventy faces of the Torah, as above. That through this yir'ah one merits arichas yamim, which is the aspect of zakain. And this is "And it was when Yitzchak grew old, and his eyes were dim from seeing" — through the deeds of Aysav the wicked, as our Sages of blessed memory said. For the Ba'al Davar, at the time when a person needs to come to the completion of his rectification, then he intensifies even more in that very thing that causes damage and blemish, G-d forbid, to that very rectification and level that is prepared to come. And therefore Yitzchak, who is the aspect of the yir'ah of holiness — when he came to the level of zakain, to merit arichas yamim of holiness, in the aspect of "the fear of Hashem adds days" — then the blemish came through Aysav who wanted to hold onto him. And through this "his eyes were dim from seeing," which is the aspect of sleep, the aspect of the departure of the seventy faces of the Torah, through which, G-d forbid, the aspect of zakain Yitzchak is blemished, as above. And Yitzchak, because he was mistaken about Aysav and did not know the extent of his wickedness, therefore commanded Aysav to bring him delicacies, and warned him that they should be foods of holiness, as our Sages of blessed memory said — that he told him: "Please, check your knife and slaughter well, lest you feed me a nevailah [improperly slaughtered animal]." And similarly he told him: "and make me delicacies as I love" (Beraishis 27:4) — "from your commandments that you do" — that is, that they should be foods of holiness, through which one merits finding the face — as is explained in the teaching mentioned above, that through eating of holiness one finds the face, in the aspect of Lechem HaPanim [Showbread/Bread of the Face]. But Rivkah heard all of this and knew that Aysav was a complete wicked one. And through his foods, the seventy faces of the Torah would depart even more, G-d forbid, and the blessing and wealth would be blemished even more. Therefore she commanded Ya'akov to go in theft and clothe himself in the garments of Aysav — this is the aspect of the clothing of the Torah in sipuray ma'asiyos. And through this he caused the awakening from sleep, as above, until he merited completing and rectifying the aspect of the yir'ah of Yitzchak. And through this the aspect of arichas yamim was rectified and drawn. And through this he merited receiving the great wealth, which are the blessings, as above. And all of this took place on the night of Pesach, as our Sages of blessed memory said — that on the night when Ya'akov brought the foods to his father and received the blessings was the night of Pesach, when our forefathers went out of Mitzrayim. For Y'tzias Mitzrayim is the aspect of the awakening from sleep, for the exile is compared to sleep, as our Sages of blessed memory said, and when one goes out from the exile, this is the aspect of the awakening from sleep. And the essential Y'tzias Mitzrayim was through the aspect of Yosef, as is brought. And as it is written: "and Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him" (Shemos 13:19). And as is brought, for Yosef was stolen from his father's house, as it is written: "for I was indeed stolen from the land of the Hebrews" (Beraishis 40:15), etc. And therefore afterwards, when he was reunited with his brothers, everything was in the way of theft and disguise, as it is written: "and he made himself unrecognizable to them" (Beraishis 42:7), etc. And similarly at the very end, when he wanted to reveal his face to them, to make the truth known to them, it was through the ruse of the theft of the goblet that he hid in the sack of Binyamin. This alludes to how the tzaddik, the aspect of Yosef, when he wants to make himself known to Yisra'ail, to show them his true face — he arranges with them through numerous thefts until they truly recognize him. All of this is the aspect of sipuray ma'asiyos mentioned above, in which he clothes the faces of the Torah — which is the aspect of the theft and cunning of the tzaddikim, in order to arouse the world from their sleep, for it is impossible to arouse them in any other way except through this, as above. And therefore Yosef engaged in telling his dreams and in interpreting dreams. For dreams are the aspect of sipuray ma'asiyos, for every dream is a story [ma'aseh]. And in truth, very exalted and hidden things are clothed in the stories of the dreams — and especially in the dreams of the tzaddikim, which are the aspect of prophecy, for "a dream is one-sixtieth of prophecy." For the dream occurs during sleep, and one who merits sleeping in holiness — all his dreams are the aspect of the awakening from sleep. For his dreams are the aspect of sipuray ma'asiyos in which faces of Torah are clothed, through which one awakens from sleep. And conversely, the dreams of other people are the aspect of the intensification of sleep — just as the sipuray ma'asiyos of the world are the aspect of the intensification of sleep. And because of this specifically, the tzaddik awakens from sleep through sipuray ma'asiyos specifically. For this is the rule: the din is only sweetened at its root. And as we explained this elsewhere, regarding what Rabbainu said at the time when he revealed this awesome teaching — that Rabbainu of blessed memory said then: "I have now said three things that are the opposite of the world," etc. And one of them is: "The world says that through telling stories, sleep is drawn; but I have said the opposite — that through sipuray ma'asiyos one awakens from sleep" — as is explained in Hilchos Yain Nesech — see there. That is, as above. For minai u'vai aba laizil bai narga [from within it, the ax handle comes from it] — for the din is only sweetened at its root, as above. And therefore Yosef HaTzaddik, who received all the seventy faces of the Torah from his father, as it is written: "for he was a son of his old age" (Beraishis 37:3) — and our Sages of blessed memory said: "everything he learned from Shem and Aiver he transmitted to him" — therefore he knew how to clothe the Torah in sipuray ma'asiyos, which are the aspect of the telling of the dreams that he told his brothers — in which the faces of the Torah were clothed. And his brothers did not want to believe in this — that in his dreams and his words, in which he told them sipuray ma'asiyos, faces of Torah were clothed. And they added to hate him further over his dreams and over his words. And similarly, in the end he rose to greatness through the interpretation of Pharaoh's dream. For Yosef understood the truth and the Torah that was hidden in all sipuray ma'asiyos, which are the aspect of dreams, as above. For in truth, also in the dreams and sipuray ma'asiyos that the world tells, there are very exalted and hidden things in them — only the world does not know what they are telling. But the true tzaddik, the aspect of Yosef, knows and understands the Torah and the truth that is hidden in them. And therefore he knew how to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh, and through this he rose to greatness. And the essential sustaining of Yisra'ail in Mitzrayim throughout the entire exile, and the essential redemption, was through Yosef. That is, through his sipuray ma'asiyos, which are the aspect of the dreams that he told — through which the awakening from sleep is drawn, which is the aspect of the redemption. For the exile is the aspect of sleep, and the redemption is the aspect of the awakening from sleep, as above. For the essential redemption is through t'shuvah, which is merited through the sipuray ma'asiyos mentioned above, as above. נְנַח נַחְמָא נַחְמָן מֵאומָ&#x05DF And therefore all the prophets and the ancients made use of this — of sipuray ma'asiyos — as Rabbainu of blessed memory wrote, that in the earlier generations they would speak the Kabbalah in this language of sipuray ma'asiyos. And as is somewhat explained in several prophecies, as it is written in Yeshayahu: "My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hilltop, and he fenced it in" (Yeshayahu 5:1–2), etc. And similarly: "Does the plowman plow all day?" (Yeshayahu 28:24). And similarly in Yirmiyahu and Yechezkel and the other prophets — and especially the prophecy of Z'charyah. And in truth, some of Yisra'ail said about Yechezkel: "Does he not merely speak parables?" (Yechezkel 20:49) — for they did not want to believe that in the body of the stories there are wondrous and awesome secrets. Rather, they said he merely tells parables like other tellers of parables, who tell parables through their human intellect. But in truth, the sipuray ma'asiyos of the tzaddikim and the prophets have great secrets in the very substance of the story — every word and every matter alludes to very exalted things. For the seventy faces of the Torah are clothed in them, and through them specifically one awakens from sleep, as above. And this is the aspect of all the statements of Rabbah bar bar Chanah, and the mish'ta'ay [narrators] who follow him, such as "Rabi Yonasan mish'ta'ay," etc. — and all the other stories found in the words of our Sages of blessed memory. All of them are the aspect of the awakening from sleep — to arouse people from their sleep, that they should not sleep away their days, to restore to them the faces of holiness through this, if they will merit to be aroused through them. And this is the aspect of S'firas Ha'Omer [Counting of the Omer]. For the omer s'orim [barley offering] is animal food. And the essential sleep, which is the aspect of the exile of Mitzrayim, the aspect of the loss of the face, is drawn from animal food that has not yet been sifted for human consumption — as is explained in the teaching mentioned above. And therefore now, at the time of Y'tzias Mitzrayim, when we must awaken from sleep, to go out from the impurity of Mitzrayim and merit the seventy faces of the Torah, which is the aspect of receiving the Torah on Shavu'os — therefore the Torah commanded to bring a korban [offering] specifically of barley, which is the omer s'orim, which is animal food. This is the aspect of the sweetening of the din at its root. This is the aspect of the awakening from sleep through sipuray ma'asiyos specifically — which is also the aspect of the sweetening of the din at its root. For the tzaddik lowers himself and clothes himself and the Torah in sipuray ma'asiyos of the world, in mundane words and secular conversation. And all this is in order to arouse them and awaken them, for it is impossible to connect with them and arouse them except when he lowers himself to them, to speak with them about their matters, which are mundane matters and sipuray ma'asiyos. And through this specifically he arouses them from their sleep and brings them back in t'shuvah — as is brought from this in the words of Rabbainu of blessed memory in several places. It emerges that the tzaddik rectifies them and brings them back in t'shuvah through the very thing they damaged — that is, through mundane matters and worldly words. Through this very thing he brings them back in t'shuvah, by engaging with them in sipuray ma'asiyos of mundane matters specifically, as above. And this is the aspect of the omer s'orim — that specifically through animal food, through which we lost the face, specifically through this we purify ourselves. For the holiness of the korban of the omer s'orim has this power to transform from the opposite to its opposite, to sweeten the din at its root. And through what they damaged, they shall be rectified — that specifically through animal food we merit to seek and find the seventy faces of the Torah. This is the aspect of S'firas Ha'Omer, in which we seek the faces of holiness, until we merit receiving the seventy faces of the Torah on Shavu'os. And therefore we count the days of the Omer. For through the omer s'orim, which is the aspect of sipuray ma'asiyos — in which the faces of the Torah are clothed in stories, which are the aspect of asiyah, which is the aspect of the absence of da'as, the aspect of animality, for in the story one does not see the da'as, as above — through this one merits the awakening from sleep, to return in t'shuvah, to go from impurity to purity, which is the aspect of Y'tzias Mitzrayim, as above. Therefore afterwards one begins to count the days of the Omer. For through the sipuray ma'asiyos mentioned above, which are the awakening from sleep, through this the barren are visited — which is the aspect of the visitation of Yitzchak, as is explained in the teaching mentioned above. And therefore Yitzchak was born on Pesach, which is Y'tzias Mitzrayim, the aspect of the awakening from sleep, as above. And through the visitation of Yitzchak, the aspect of yir'ah, one merits arichas yamim — that is, to lengthen the days in holiness, that each succeeding day will be longer and greater with additional holiness and good deeds. For the beginning of the day is short for everyone, and afterwards one must expand it more. And similarly the second day will illuminate even more, etc., as above. And this is the aspect of the S'firah, that we count each and every day of the Omer. Through this we draw the illumination of the omer s'orim, which is the aspect of the sipuray ma'asiyos mentioned above, the aspect of the awakening from sleep, upon each and every day — so that we do not lose our days in sleep, G-d forbid. Rather, may we merit guarding very well each and every day, that it should be long and great with additional holiness at every moment, to fulfill: "they shall be complete" (Vayikra 23:15). And this is the aspect of the S'firah — to guard the day well, like something entrusted with a count and an inventory. For all our days are counted and numbered before Him, blessed be He, as it is written: "for years of number shall come" (Iyov 16:22), etc. And one must guard the day well — to see to it to lengthen each day from its beginning, for it comes in smallness and is short at its beginning, with little holiness. And one must immediately know that the time of the day flies rapidly; therefore one must immediately guard the day and make great effort to expand it and lengthen it with additional holiness, as above. And therefore one must count the days from their beginning, at the beginning of the night, as it is written: "they shall be complete." For one must guard the day from its beginning, to enlarge it and lengthen it from smallness to greatness, to add holiness at every moment and every hour. And all this is through drawing holiness upon the days from the aspect of the sipuray ma'asiyos mentioned above, which are the aspect of the omer s'orim — which are the aspect of the awakening from sleep, through which one merits lengthening and enlarging the days with additional holiness at every moment. This is the aspect of arichas yamim, as above. And therefore we count the days of the Omer, as above. And this is S'firas Ha'Omer — S'firah specifically, in the language of sipuray ma'asiyos. For sefer, sofer, v'sipur [book, scribe, and story] are one aspect, as is known. That is, as above: S'firas Ha'Omer — the aspect of sofer — is the aspect of sipuray ma'asiyos, as above, the aspect of sipur, in which the Torah is clothed, the aspect of sefer, the aspect of Sefer Torah. And this is omer s'orim: omer is ayin mor, as Rabbainu of blessed memory wrote elsewhere (siman 10) — ayin is the ayin [70] faces of the Torah that are clothed in the sipuray ma'asiyos of shanim kadmoniyos, which are the aspect of Mordechai, who is mar d'ror [pure myrrh], as is explained in the teaching mentioned above — see there well. And this is the aspect of Y'tzias Mitzrayim. And it is taught that Mitzrayim is an expression of maitzar [constriction], etc. That is, we must remember Y'tzias Mitzrayim every day, for every day we must go out from constriction to expansiveness — this is the aspect of Y'tzias Mitzrayim, as above, in the aspect of: "from the constriction I called to Y-ah; He answered me in the expansiveness of Y-ah" (Tehillim 118:5). This is the aspect of arichas yamim mentioned above — that one must expand and lengthen the day every single day. For every single day at its beginning is very short and comes to the person, to each one according to his level, in great constriction — and as is seen tangibly, that every day at its beginning the service that one must do is very, very difficult for the person. And because of this, many refrain from His service, blessed be He, and push off and deceive themselves every single day, saying: "today it is hard for me to pray, today my heart is sealed, today I have these obstacles and confusions." And so it happens to him a little every day, until they belittle the things that stand at the pinnacle of the world — and what are they? T'filah — as our Sages of blessed memory said (Berachos 6b), on the verse: "k'rum zulus livnay adam" (Tehillim 12:9) — these are things that stand at the pinnacle of the world, and people belittle them — and what are they? T'filah. That the t'filah appears to them as a burden, and they want to discharge the t'filah from upon them. And all this is because they do not understand that every single day it is like this — as Rabbainu of blessed memory revealed in the teaching mentioned above, that every single day when it comes to the person, to each one according to his level, it is short at its beginning and comes in great constriction and constraint to the person. And the holiness and service that one must do on that day is still hidden in great constriction and in very great smallness. But the person must every single day be "mighty as a lion", etc., to strengthen himself to lengthen and expand the day and to begin going every hour from smallness to greatness — that is, to grow every hour with additional holiness, which is the aspect of going out every day from mochin d'katnus [contracted consciousness] to mochin d'gadlus [expanded consciousness] — that is, as above. And therefore at the time of Y'tzias Mitzrayim they merited great wealth, as it is written: "and afterwards they shall go out with great possessions" (Beraishis 15:14). For through the awakening from sleep mentioned above, which is the aspect of Y'tzias Mitzrayim, one merits great wealth. And this wealth is rectified and refined during all forty-nine days of the S'firah, which are the aspect of the forty-nine gates of binah [understanding], which are the aspect of the seventy faces of the Torah. Through this one merits receiving the Torah on Shavu'os, which is the aspect of the hisbonenus mentioned above that one merits through the wealth mentioned above — drawn through tikunay Atik, rectified through the yir'ah drawn through the sipuray ma'asiyos mentioned above. And this is the aspect of the man [manna] that one merits during the days of the S'firah. For on the fifteenth of Iyar the man descended for them, as our Sages of blessed memory said. And also the cake [ugah] that Yisra'ail brought out of Mitzrayim — they tasted in it the taste of man, as our Sages of blessed memory said (Kidushin 38a). For the man is the aspect of bitachon [trust], as is brought in all the sefarim — that the man alludes to bitachon, that a person must trust in Hashem each day that He will provide his sustenance, and not think from one day to the next, in the aspect of: "Blessed is Hashem, day by day" (Tehillim 68:20). And the essential bitachon is drawn through the sipuray ma'asiyos mentioned above, through which one awakens from sleep and begins to speak, and the speech enters into the vessels of birth, which are the bat'chanay hador [the trustworthy ones of the generation], etc. And through this the barren are visited, etc. — until one merits the wealth mentioned above, etc. — as is explained well in the teaching mentioned above. It emerges that the bitachon is drawn through the awakening from sleep through sipuray ma'asiyos mentioned above. Therefore during S'firas Ha'Omer, which is the aspect of the awakening from sleep, etc., as above, one merits then bitachon, which is the aspect of the descent of the man, as above. And therefore after the S'firah we ask: "May He illuminate His face with us, selah" (Tehillim 67:2) — for through the S'firah one merits the aspect of the illumination of the face, hadras panim, which is the aspect of the seventy faces of the Torah. This is the aspect of receiving the Torah on Shavu'os, as above. And this is the aspect of the great yir'ah that we merited at the time of receiving the Torah, as it is written: "and the entire people trembled in the camp" (Shemos 19:16). And as it is written: "and in order that His fear shall be upon your faces" (Shemos 20:17), etc. For the yir'ah is drawn through the awakening from sleep through sipuray ma'asiyos mentioned above, as above. And this is the aspect of the sound of the shofar, very strong, that was at the time of the Giving of the Torah. For the shofar alludes to all the aspects mentioned above, as is explained in the teaching mentioned above — see there. And therefore on Shavu'os He appeared to them as an elder [zakain]. For then the tikunay Atik are completed, which are the aspect of zakain, as above — completed through sipuray ma'asiyos, which are the awakening from sleep, as above. For even though we merited great wealth at Y'tzias Mitzrayim and the splitting of the Sea, the wealth is not refined in completion to merit receiving through it the hisbonenus mentioned above, which is the aspect of receiving the Torah, except through the forty-nine days of the S'firah. In them we awaken from sleep, which is the arousal of t'shuvah — and as is seen tangibly, the great wondrous arousal that is awakened during the time of the S'firah. And through this one merits great yir'ah at the time of receiving the Torah. And through this the tikunay Atik are completed, the aspect of "on Shavu'os He appeared to them as an elder." And through this the great wealth that we received at Y'tzias Mitzrayim is refined and rectified, and through this wealth we merit the hisbonenus mentioned above, which is the aspect of receiving the Torah, as above. For it is understood in the Writings [Kabbalah] that at the time of Y'tzias Mitzrayim, on Pesach, all the tikunim were made in a general way on the first night, on lail shimurim [the night of watching]. But afterwards they departed, and one must go back and rectify everything during the forty-nine days of the S'firah, until one merits on Shavu'os the completion of the tikun, which is the receiving of the Torah. And this is the aspect mentioned above that we wrote above — that even though we received the wealth at Y'tzias Mitzrayim, it is not completed to be refined and rectified until Shavu'os, through the forty-nine days of the S'firah, which are the aspect of the awakening from sleep, etc., as above. That through this wealth one merits receiving the Torah, which is the aspect of the hisbonenus mentioned above, as is explained at the beginning of the teaching mentioned above, regarding the wealth of Moshe — that the Torah is the aspect of the hisbonenus mentioned above — see there well from beginning to end, and you will understand my words well. And for this reason the custom is to stay awake the entire night of Shavu'os. This is the aspect of the awakening from sleep, which is the aspect of receiving the Torah, the aspect of the seventy faces of the Torah, which are the opposite of sleep, as above. נְנַח נַחְמָא נַחְמָן מֵאומָ&#x05DF