שכירות פועלים ב

And this is the aspect of Chol HaMoed — that one must sanctify the aspect of the chol with the holiness of the Moed: to sanctify it from performing labor, which is the aspect of the physicality of worldly affairs. For the 39 labors are the filth of the serpent, and one must sanctify oneself from them even when one falls from the holiness of Yom Tov. And one should not let oneself fall to complete chol; rather, one should be in the aspect of Chol HaMoed — sanctifying the aspect of the weekdays with the holiness of the festival, as above. 3

“A person is always forewarned — whether acting unwittingly or deliberately, whether awake or asleep.”

According to the Torah “Tiku Emunah” [Sound the Blast of Faith] in Likutay Moharan §5 — see the entire Torah there. The essential principle is that faith [emunah] is the foundation of all, etc. And to merit faith, one must cry out from the depths of the heart from the depths [mima’amakim], etc. — for through this one bores through to the deep waters of counsel, etc.

And for this one requires the ish tavunos [the man of understanding] — which is achieved by one who polishes his soul through his eating and his livelihood, drawing down divine spirituality [ruchnius elokus] into the tzimtzumim [contractions], through which livelihood is drawn down, and through this he polishes his soul in the aspect of “the righteous man eats to the satisfaction of his soul,” etc., etc.

Only they permitted him the labor of davar ha’avaid [a matter of irretrievable loss]. This is an allusion: that one should not descend and engage in physical affairs except for the sake of davar ha’avaid — namely, the aspect of lost things (d’varim ha’avudim). For there are many nitzotzos [holy sparks] that were lost and fell to where they fell through one’s sins. And for this reason, one fell from one’s level — so that one would be refined and purified in the lower levels, in order to elevate the sparks that fell there, which are the aspect of “lost things.” 4

And through the elevation of the fallen faith, converts [gerim] are made, etc. And these converts damage Israel and introduce pride [ga’avah] among them, etc. And the rectification of this is through the maginay eretz [protectors/shields of the earth] who break their desires and elevate [themselves] from the aspect of “chasimas besaro” [the seal of his flesh] to the aspect of “pisuchay chasam kodesh la’Hashem” [engravings of the holy seal to Hashem] — the aspect of tefillin, etc. — see all of this there carefully.

And this is what our Sages of blessed memory permitted — to perform the labor of davar ha’avaid on Chol HaMoed. Namely, that one should not perform any labor — meaning, physical affairs — except the labor of davar ha’avaid: that one should engage in this labor to rectify one’s lost things — for which reason one descended to these levels, as above. 5

And therefore a person must be exceedingly careful not to damage the money of his fellow — the money of a Jew, which is enormously precious. On the contrary, it is an obligation upon him to strive to save his fellow’s money from damage, as our Sages of blessed memory said: “Let the money of your fellow be as precious to you as your own.” And so too he is obligated to strive to return a lost object [hashavos aveydah], etc., which is a positive Torah commandment [mitzvas asei d’Oraisa].

For the money and livelihood of Israel is drawn through the true tzaddikim, who are included in the aspect of the aforementioned ish tavunos — those who draw down divine spirituality into the tzimtzumim, through which livelihood is drawn, through which they polish their souls, through which they are able to draw out deep counsel from the depths [mima’amakim], through which holy faith grows. It thus emerges that the money of Israel is enormously precious, for the essence of it all is faith — which grows through the money and livelihood of Israel, as above.

And then, when one sanctifies one’s fall with the holiness of Chol HaMoed as above, one returns to ascend and merits to return to the holiness of Yom Tov. And this is the aspect of the last days of Yom Tov — namely, the aspect of returning and ascending to holiness, in the aspect of “the descent is the purpose of the ascent.” For the last days of Yom Tov have an additional light beyond the first days. 6

And therefore it is forbidden to damage one’s fellow’s money, as above. And therefore a person is always liable for damage, even while asleep — as our Sages of blessed memory said: “A person is always forewarned,” etc., as above. For all damage flows from the mazikay alma [damagers of the world], who are the opposite of the rectifications of faith described above — for they flow from the contamination [zohamah] of the converts who are harsh for Israel, etc., as above.

For example, on Sukkos, the last days are Sh’mini Atzeres and Simchas Torah, when is the essential delight and closeness of Yisrael to their Father in Heaven, as they said: “Please, remain with me one more day; your parting is difficult for me,” etc. And as is brought, the great value of the holiness of Sh’mini Atzeres and Simchas Torah. 7

And through them immorality is drawn — the aspect of “chasimas besaro” — which is the blemish of da’as [knowledge/consciousness], from which comes all the power of the damagers. For it is known that through an impure nocturnal occurrence [mikreh], Heaven forfend, harmful spirits [mazikin] are created, Heaven forfend, from which comes all the damage in the world, may it be averted.

Also, the last days of Pesach: then was the Splitting of the Sea, and the plunder of the Sea was greater than the plunder of Mitzrayim, as it is written: “We shall make you circlets of gold with studs of silver” (Shir HaShirim 1:11), as Rashi explained. And as our Sages of blessed memory said: “A maidservant saw at the Sea” [more than the prophet Yechezkel saw], etc. For this is the essential plunder of the Sea — that the sea of wisdom was split open for them and they merited great perceptions. 8

And this is what Rabainu of blessed memory said [in the Torah beginning with the letters aleph-beis] that all damage comes through the blemish of da’as — that is, as above, for through the blemish of the covenant [pGam habris], through which these nocturnal occurrences come, Heaven forfend, this is the root blemish of da’as and the mind [moach], and therefore from this comes all damage, as above.

And therefore even the false and notorious leaders [manhigay umiforsmay sheker] through whom all this comes, as above, are called mazikay alma — for through them the blemish of the covenant is drawn, from which comes all damage, as above. And therefore “a person is always forewarned even for an unwitting act and while asleep” — for it is explained there in that Torah that through the maginay eretz who break their desires and elevate from the aspect of “chasimas besaro” to the aspect of the engravings of the holy seal — the aspect of tefillin, consciousness [mochin] — through this one is guarded even during sleep, which is the withdrawal of da’as. For one merits dreaming through an angel, etc., and is saved from a dream through a demon, etc., from which all nocturnal occurrences come, may it be averted. It emerges that a person must guard his da’as in holiness until he is saved even during sleep and even when acting unwittingly — which is also an aspect of sleep, the withdrawal of da’as. And therefore “a person is always forewarned, even when acting unwittingly and while asleep,” for all damage flows from the aforementioned blemish of da’as — and a person must guard himself to be included in the aspect of the aforementioned maginay eretz, so that he should be saved from the blemish of da’as even during sleep and even when acting unwittingly, as above. And therefore when one has caused damage he must pay from the best land [idis], as our Sages of blessed memory said in the Mishnah: “Damages are assessed from the best.” For when damage has occurred — which flows from the mazikay alma, who represent blemish and defect in the rectifications of faith, as above (as explained elsewhere in the laws of Chovel b’Chaveiro and Nizkay Mamon, that all the blemishes described there — namely the blemish of immorality that comes through the contamination of the converts, etc. — thereby the faith is blemished again, Heaven forfend — see there) — therefore one must draw down the rectification of faith anew, and the beginning of the rectification is through drawing divine spirituality into the tzimtzumim, etc., as above. And this drawing of divine spirituality into the tzimtzumim is the aspect of: “And a river went out from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided,” etc. For Eden — “no eye has seen” — is the aspect of divine spirituality, and when one wishes to draw it into the tzimtzumim, the primary conduit is the river going out from Eden, from which the beginning of the contractions emerge, until it is drawn to water the garden, from which all shefa [divine influx] in the world flows, in the aspect of “and from there it divided and became four heads: the name of the first is Pishon, which surrounds the entire land of Chavilah where there is gold, and the gold of that land is good,” etc. — for from there comes all money and livelihood. And this is the aspect of idis [best quality land] which the damagers must pay — for they are called idis from the language of Eden. For a good field is called Eden, as it says: “like the Garden of Eden before it” (Yoel 2), and as it says about Chiram King of Tyre: “You were in Eden, the garden of God” (Yechezkel 28). And from the word Eden, good fields are called idis. And this is the aspect of “damages are assessed from the idis” — for when payment of damages must be made to rectify what was damaged, one must draw the rectification from its very beginning and source, which is the drawing of divine spirituality into the tzimtzumim — the river going out from Eden to water, etc. — from which comes all livelihood and money, as above. This is the aspect of idis, whose root is the aspect of Eden, as above. And this is the aspect of the four primary categories of damage: the ox [shor], the pit [bor], the tooth/grazer [mav’eh], and the fire [hav’er]. For all damage comes through the mazikay alma, who are encompassed within the four primary categories of damage from which many derivatives are drawn — as our Sages of blessed memory said: “The term ‘primary categories’ implies there are also derivatives.” For it has already been explained that all damage flows from the mazikay alma, as above — flowing from the blemishing of all the rectifications described in that Torah, all of which are encompassed in the blemish of faith, which is the essence of everything. As it says: “All Your commandments are faith.” And therefore there are the four primary categories of damage — the ox, etc. — for all these four: the ox, the pit, the grazer, and the fire — are the opposite of the rectifications described in that Torah, through which all damage in the world flows. The shor [ox] — this is the aspect of the blemish of faith, which is the aspect of the sin of the calf [cheit ha’eigel], in the aspect of: “And they exchanged their glory for the likeness of an ox,” etc. The bor [pit] — this is the aspect of the blemish of the desire for money, the opposite of the true tzaddikim who toil all their days to bore [lachasor] through to the waters from which faith grows — which is through their holy eating and livelihood, which they draw through drawing divine spirituality into the tzimtzumim, through which they draw livelihood, and through this they polish their souls until they merit drawing out the deep waters of counsel, etc., through which holy faith grows, as explained well in that Torah. But these mazikay alma are the opposite — for they are sunk in the desire for money for their own pleasure and honor, and they wish to damage, Heaven forfend, the money of upright Israel through which faith grows, as above. And this is the aspect of bor — the aspect of those sunken in the desire for money — who are called bor, as it says in the Tikkun: “bor — this is the spleen,” etc. (as explained in his words of blessed memory in the Torah beginning tzivisah tzedek, §23) — for they are in the aspect of “a pit that has no water in it” — the opposite of the holy money of the tzaddikim and the upright, through which they bore and draw the waters from which holy faith grows, as above. And therefore the latter are in the aspect of: “a well of living waters,” etc., for “its waters come from the Sanctuary” — through which holy faith grows, as above. But those sunk in the desire for money for their own pleasure — who are the aspect of the mazikay alma — they are the aspect of “a pit with no water in it,” for there are no deep waters of counsel in them. On the contrary, they damage the holy faith — in the aspect of: “no water in it, but serpents and scorpions are in it” — for these are the aspect of heresy and confusions of faith. The mav’eh [grazer/tooth] — this is the aspect of the blemish of the converts, as above. For the converts come through the holy sparks that were hidden within the filth of Esav — in the aspect of: “for the game was in his mouth,” as is brought. And when these are extracted from there and become converts, this is the aspect of: “How Esav is searched out, how his hidden things are revealed [niv’u]” — that the holy sparks that were hidden [tzefunim] and concealed within his great filth were revealed and exposed. But since they came forth from such great filth, therefore they damage Israel, etc., as stated in that Torah. And this is the aspect of mav’eh — the aspect of: “How Esav is searched, his hidden things are niv’u [exposed],” as above — just as the Sages brought this verse [in the Talmud] in connection with the matter of mav’eh. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said there: “mav’eh — this is the tooth.” The aspect of the mazikay alma above — the false leaders — who speak arrogantly against the true tzaddikim and the truly upright, in the aspect of: “their teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword,” and: “they hissed and gnashed their teeth,” etc. And as it says in Yechezkel (chapter 34) regarding the false shepherds: “You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool,” and: “My flock became prey,” etc. And so too in Zecharia chapter 11, regarding the “foolish shepherd” — the false shepherd — it says: “and the flesh of the fat ones he will eat.” And in other places where the false shepherds are spoken of, they are condemned for eating the flesh of Israel, etc. — and they flow from the contamination of the aforementioned converts. And therefore they are the aspect of mav’eh — the tooth — which is the aspect of: “How” [eich]... “are niv’u” [exposed/revealed], as above. And the hav’er [fire] — this is the aspect of the blemish of immorality in its many dimensions, which is drawn through the contamination of the aforementioned converts who are made through the elevation of fallen faith, etc., as stated there. And this is the aspect of hav’er — the blazing conflagration of desire. It thus emerges that all four primary categories of damage flow from the aforementioned blemishes, all of which are encompassed in the blemish of faith, as above. And therefore the Tanna said: “Neither is this one like that one, nor is that one like this one” [herei zeh k’harei zeh v’lo harei zeh k’harei zeh], etc. — for among the aforementioned mazikay alma there are countless variations among them and their derivatives. But the common characteristic [tzad hashaveh] among them all is that their nature is to damage [darkam l’hazkik] — for they all damage the world greatly. And when one has caused damage, the damager is obligated to pay from the best of the land [meitav ha’aretz] — in the aspect of: “from the best of his field and the best of his vineyard he shall pay” — which is the aspect of the aforementioned idis, through which one must draw again the deep waters of counsel, as above, which flow from the supernal Eden in the aspect of: “and a river went out from Eden,” etc., as above. And this is the enormity of the prohibition against the informer [mosayr] — about which our Sages of blessed memory were exceedingly stringent, ruling that his judgment is like that of an apostate [mumar] and denier [kofer]. This matter has already been explained in the previous halacha (four) regarding the informer according to the Torah mentioned above — but there is still very much more to say about it, for the subject is vast. And this is the aspect of what our Sages of blessed memory said about the informer — that “they lower him and do not raise him up.” For all that is stated in that Torah is embedded and bound together in many connections. For it is explained there that the elevation of faith comes through crying out from the depths of the heart, etc., until one bores through to the deep waters which are the counsel from which faith grows, etc., etc. And for this one can only merit through the ish tavunos, etc. — who is one who polishes his soul through his eating and his livelihood, drawing divine spirituality into the tzimtzumim, etc. And through the elevation of faith, converts are made, etc. And these converts damage Israel, etc. — for they introduce pride among Israel, and from there the false leaders seize the sword of pride, etc., and through this they introduce the desire for immorality into the world. And the rectification is through the maginay eretz who elevate from the aspect of chasimas besaro to the aspect of the engravings of the holy seal to Hashem — the aspect of tefillin, etc., etc. — up to the rectification of judgment [mishpat], etc., etc. See all of this there carefully, for it is impossible to go back and explain everything here, as these are very long and very deep matters. And it has already been explained in our writings elsewhere: that in every matter described there, whenever the sitra achra [other side] gains strength to corrupt and damage — through every blemish and corruption, the faith becomes corrupted anew from the very beginning of the rectification. For example: as explained there, that through the contamination of the converts, pride is introduced, etc. And through this the faith is automatically corrupted — for pride is in the aspect of idolatry and heresy, as our Sages of blessed memory said: “Whoever is arrogant is as though he worships idols,” as explained elsewhere. For through pride the holy livelihood of Israel is damaged — through which they polish their souls, etc. — through which they are able to bore through to the counsel from which faith grows, as above. For the primary polishing of the soul through eating and livelihood is merited in its fullness only by the true tzaddik, who knows how to draw divine spirituality into the tzimtzumim in perfection — through which specifically he draws such holy livelihood that his soul is polished through it, as explained there — see there carefully. And every individual among Israel, according to his closeness to this tzaddik, draws from him the holy livelihood described above, and accordingly merits in some measure to polish his soul through his eating and his livelihood, until he merits in his own way to bore and reveal the counsel from which faith grows, as above. For Israel in general are all called righteous [tzaddikim], as it says: “And your people are all righteous” — because at their root they are bound and included in the true tzaddik, who is the root of the souls of Israel. And therefore the money of upright Israel is enormously precious — for through it flows the aspect of the polishing of the soul, through which holy faith grows, which is the essence of everything. And if the world were conducting itself in proper order — as it will be in the future — all the wealth and riches of the entire world would flow to the true tzaddik who toils to draw divine spirituality into the tzimtzumim, from which all wealth and livelihood comes, as above. And whoever is closer to him receives from him more abundant wealth and livelihood. And as our Sages of blessed memory said: when the Beis HaMikdash [Holy Temple] existed, the primary livelihood and wealth was Israel’s, and the nations of the world were fed from the residue [tamtzis]. But due to the multiplication of our sins, everything was overturned — for the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed. And all the shefa [divine influx] and wealth — even though even now it flows only through the aforementioned tzaddikim — nevertheless the wheel was reversed and the majority flows to the nations and the wicked, and Israel is fed from the residue. And therefore now the majority of wealth is with the common folk, and the true tzaddikim are for the most part poor — as our Sages of blessed memory said: “The entire world is sustained for the sake of my son Chanina, yet for my son Chanina, a kav of carob [pods] suffices,” etc. For “the merit of the righteous benefits the world, but for themselves it does not.” And about this the lamenter cried: “Our heritage has turned to strangers,” etc. Therefore every individual among Israel, when divine influx of livelihood and wealth reaches him, must strive with all his power to return and restore the livelihood to its original Master [mara kama] — who is the true tzaddik and all those attached to him. And similarly every person must conduct himself in his livelihood and wealth with holiness — not becoming arrogant through it, so that he should not fall under the verse: “Lest you eat and be satisfied” etc., “and silver and gold multiply for you, and your heart grows haughty and you forget,” etc. And then he will be able to draw holy faith through his livelihood. And the reverse, the reverse [applies if he does not do so]. It thus emerges that through the blemish of pride, the holy livelihood is damaged, and automatically the faith that flows through it is damaged. And therefore in truth: “whoever is arrogant is as though he worships idols,” as above. And so too through immorality [niuf], faith is damaged — as stated in his words of blessed memory in numerous places. And so too the blemish of eating is a blemish of faith — which grows through the aspect of “the righteous man eats to the satisfaction of his soul,” as above. But when one does not eat in holiness and the force of the “aliens” [zarim] is mixed into the eating, Heaven forfend — then certainly he does not polish his soul through his eating, and therefore certainly faith is damaged. And so too through the blemish of judgment [pGam hamishpat], faith is damaged — as our Sages of blessed memory said: “A judge who perverts the verdict is called an abomination,” etc., like actual idolatry. And as our Sages said: “Do not plant for yourself an asheirah” [idolatrous tree] etc., “beside the judges and officers you shall appoint for yourself” — to tell you that whoever appoints an unworthy judge is as though he planted an asheirah. And the primary corruption is the blemish of judgment, as is understood in our writings elsewhere. For in Nissan — the time of the Exodus from Egypt — it was fitting that it should have been rectified, etc. But through the blemish of judgment it becomes corrupted again, etc. And the entire prolongation of the present exile comes from this — as it says: “Those who turn justice to wormwood,” etc. And as it says in Yeshayah in the haftarah of Chazon: “The orphan is not judged,” etc. And this is the core of the laments of Eichah [Lamentations] — as stated in the Midrash: that Moshe said “eichah” [how], and Yeshayah said “eichah”, and Yirmiyah said “eichah” — for it is all one thing and bound together. Moshe said “eichah” [Devarim 1:12] regarding the rectification of judgment — to say that even for him it was difficult to complete the rectification of judgment in fullness, as it says there: “How [eichah] can I alone bear your burden, your load, and your quarrel” — regarding judgment. And Yeshayah saw her in her licentiousness and said “eichah” — for they had already greatly damaged judgment, as it says there: “Faithful city, full of justice,” etc. And this is: “faithful city [kiryas ne’emanah] full of judgment.” For the rectification of faith is through the rectification of judgment, as above. And this is “eichah haysa l’zonah” — for through the blemish of judgment, harlotry and immorality are drawn, as above. And Yirmiyah saw her in her destruction and said “eichah yashvah vadad” — for the essence of the destruction was through this: through the blemish of judgment, the holy loves fall and the desire for immorality is drawn, as stated there — through which all the aforementioned rectifications are overturned again, their essence being faith, as above. And therefore it concludes there that the essence of the redemption depends on the rectification of judgment — as it says: “Zion shall be redeemed through judgment” [Tziyon b’mishpat tipodeh], etc. And this is: “Zion shall be redeemed through judgment, and her returnees through righteousness [tzedakah].” For the essence of the rectification is through the true masters of charity who merit to give charity to the right place — to the true tzaddik and those attached to him — who toil to draw divine spirituality into the tzimtzumim, from which comes the entire root of the shefa of livelihood and wealth. Only that due to the aspect of the revolving wheel [ha’tikelah], etc., which revolves at the time of the destruction, the shefa was overturned, etc., until it reached wherever it reached. And every person must return the shefa to its original Master, as above — for through this is the primary rectification of faith, as above. And therefore the blemish of judgment is enormously grave, and through it comes all the destruction. For when one distorts judgment — tilting the verdict and strengthening the hand of the wrongdoer, who then seizes the money and livelihood of his fellow unjustly — he thereby damages the money and livelihood of Israel, which at its root is enormously holy, and from which all faith flows. And the judge who perverts the verdict damages this greatly. For certainly through forbidden money — which one takes from another unjustly — through such money, faith cannot be drawn down; on the contrary, through such money faith is greatly damaged. And therefore our Sages of blessed memory truly said: “One who denies [his obligation] to his fellow is considered as though he worships idols.” And therefore the blemish of judgment is enormously grave — for through it comes the primary blemish of faith, as above.

It emerges that the last days have an additional light. This is an allusion that afterward, one merits extra holiness and great Daas when one returns and ascends from the descent, in the aspect of “the descent is the purpose of the ascent,” as above. 9