שכירות פועלים ד

And see in the Kavanos of Chol HaMoed, in Sha’ar Mikra’ay Kodesh, chapter 5 — there it is alluded that the labor of davar ha’avaid on Chol HaMoed alludes to the holy sparks that were lost through our sins. May the Omnipresent have mercy on us, that we may be able to sanctify ourselves and extract them. Blessed is Hashem forever, Amain and Amain. 10

And this by itself is the enormity of the blemish of the informer [mosayr] who hands over the money of Israel to the nations and delivers an upright Jew into their courts. For he blemishes all of the above to a greater degree — since he hands over the money of Israel (who are all called righteous, for through their money faith is drawn) into the hands of the nations who are the opposite of holy faith (as explained above in section four). And the primary [blemish] is the blemish of judgment [pGam hamishpat] — for he delivers Israel into the judgment of the nations, Heaven forfend.

And therefore he certainly deserves the punishment that our Sages of blessed memory decreed upon him — that they lower him and do not raise him up. For the primary blemish of judgment comes through raising the drop of Esav and Yishmael to the mind [moach] — through which the tefillin are blemished, etc. — as stated there, see there. And therefore the informer, whose blemish reaches there most of all — to the very great blemish of judgment — therefore he falls into the kelipah [husk], which is the aspect of the drop of Esav and Yishmael, which it is forbidden to raise up; rather, one must lower it — in the aspect of what is said of Esav: “Though you rise as high as the eagle… from there I will bring you down.” And therefore certainly the verdict of the informer is sealed: they lower him and do not raise him up — in order to rectify the judgment that the informer blemished most greatly, by lowering him so that he may no longer corrupt the judgment further, Heaven forfend. For he has fallen into the aspect of the drop of Esav and Yishmael — through whom all corruption of judgment comes, when they are raised up, Heaven forfend — and therefore one must lower him and he may not rise again, in order to rectify the judgment, as above.

This short halacha draws an extraordinary parallel between the halachic structure of Chol HaMoed and the inner spiritual journey of t’shuvah. The pattern is: first Yom Tov (= initial inspiration, being drawn close from Above), then Chol HaMoed (= the descent, the test, the distancing), then the last days of Yom Tov (= ascending even higher than before, because the descent was the purpose of the ascent). 11

And this is the blemish of Dathan and Aviram, who damaged judgment against Moshe and said: “Who appointed you as a man, a prince, and a judge over us?” etc. And [one] acted as an informer — as it says: “Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” etc. — and as our Sages of blessed memory said, they were the informers who reported this to Pharaoh. And afterwards they disputed him and [joined] the congregation of Korach, and sought to overturn the judgment of the entire Torah, Heaven forfend.

The key legal concept of davar ha’avaid — the one category of labor permitted on Chol HaMoed — is mapped onto the fallen sparks (nitzotzos) that were lost through sin. One is only permitted to “descend” into physical labor for the sake of these lost things: the soul descended to this level precisely to retrieve them. And when one sanctifies the fall itself with the holiness of the festival, one merits returning to an even higher level — as shown by the fact that the last days of every Yom Tov carry extra light: Sh’mini Atzeres/Simchas Torah on Sukkos, the Splitting of the Sea on the last days of Pesach. 12

And therefore their punishment was: “and they descended — they and all that was theirs — alive into the pit [she’ol]” — the aspect of: they are lowered and not raised. For through this the primary rectification of judgment is achieved — to lower and not to raise the aspect of the drop of Esav and Yishmael into which they had fallen, as above. And the primary rectification will come through Mashiach, of whom it is written: “and he shall judge the poor with righteousness,” etc., and it is written: “Give Your judgments to the king,” etc. And then shall be fulfilled: “Zion shall be redeemed through judgment,” etc., as above — may it be speedily, in our days, Amen.

The closing section, where Reb Nosson points to the Kavanos of the Ari as independently confirming the connection between davar ha’avaid and lost sparks, adds a layer of validation from the kabbalistic tradition itself. His concluding prayer — “May we be able to sanctify ourselves and extract them” — is both a personal plea and a universal one. 13

And all of this is the aspect of Rosh Hashanah, as explained there in its place in that Torah. For this is the primary toil and labor of the great tzaddikim on Rosh Hashanah — for then they must raise up faith, which is the aspect of malchus [kingship]. For by believing that the Creator of the world [exists], we thereby crown Him over us — for we reveal through our prayer that the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world and He is King over all the earth. And when they raise faith, they need all the rectifications stated there: to cry out from the depths of the heart — the aspect of “From the depths I call out to You, O Hashem” [Mima’amakim] — which is the aspect of the custom to recite the mizmor of Mima’amakim on Rosh Hashanah.

✺ Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman ✺ 14 And when they raise faith, they must immediately take care that the converts do not confuse us, etc. And therefore one immediately needs the aspect of the power and holiness of the maginay eretz, who elevate from the aspect of chasimas besaro to the aspect of the engravings of the holy seal — the aspect of tefillin, etc. And one needs joy to strengthen the power of the angel [mala’ach], so that the foods should not cause damage — this being the aspect of: “In Your name they will rejoice all day long,” which is said regarding Rosh Hashanah.

Hilchos Chol HaMoed

And the essence of it all is the completion of the rectification, which is the aspect of the rectification of judgment [tikun hamishpat] — which is achieved by expelling the aspect of the drop of Esav and Yishmael from the mind [moach], etc. — as understood from that Torah, for the primary completion of the rectification in fullness is the aspect of the rectification of judgment, as the careful reader will find there. And this is the primary aspect of Rosh Hashanah — for it is the Day of Judgment, when the Holy One, blessed be He, sits upon the throne of judgment. And we must engage in the rectification of judgment, through which “He will bring forth our judgment like the light.” And the rectification of judgment is exceedingly difficult and is a great and very subtle labor — for one must precisely elevate from the aspect of the seal to the aspect of the seal of holiness, while at the same time expelling the aspect of the drop of Esav and Yishmael so that they should not corrupt the judgment. Therefore one must rely only upon the great tzaddikim who know how to engage in this properly. And we in our poverty do not know what we shall do — except that whatever we are able to draw and draw forth from their holy Torah, we are obligated to toil and strive and find what pertains to each and every one of us.

For it is explained in the teaching “U’v’yom HaBikurim” and “V’es HaOr’vim Tzivisi L’chalk’lecha” that through the Three R’galim, the Ratzon [Will] is revealed. For the Three R’galim call out and reveal that everything is conducted only according to His will, blessed be He, alone — and there is no compulsion of nature at all. And when the Ratzon is revealed, from this comes yirah [awe], etc. And through the yirah, chesed [lovingkindness] flows, etc. And when one merits the flow of chesed, one does not need to perform any activity or business from the 39 labors, etc., for it is fulfilled: “And strangers shall stand and tend your flocks” (Yeshaya 61:5), etc. 1

And behold, it is explained there that even the greatest and most awe-inspiring and most exalted tzaddik does not merit the aspect of the rectification of judgment except through simplicity [temimus] and plainness — by casting away all his wisdom and casting himself into mud and mire [refesh v’tit] for the sake of the Holy One, blessed be He. And through this the Holy One, blessed be He, has compassion upon him and reveals to him the secret of the ways of Hashem — the aspect of “the righteous and it is good for him, the righteous and it is bad for him,” etc. — which is the aspect of the rectification of judgment. And it is explained there that this tzaddik is able to raise judgment from the depths of the abyss [tehomot] into which it has fallen — in the aspect of: “Your judgment is like the great deep [tehom rabbah]” — and from there he raises it up, etc. — see there at the end of the Torah carefully.

It thus emerges that the primary rectification of judgment is through temimus — and this each and every one of us must draw upon himself: to walk in this all his days, to draw upon himself the ways of simplicity and plainness, as he of blessed memory warned us many times. And through this, even we merit — through the power of the aforementioned tzaddik — the aspect of the rectification of judgment. For the aforementioned tzaddik, through the full force of his holiness and exalted wisdom, sets aside everything and conducts himself with temimus, casting himself into all manner of mud and mire for the sake of the Holy One, blessed be He. And the primary mud and mire into which he casts himself for the sake of the Holy One, blessed be He, is that he lowers himself and casts himself into the deepest depths of the abyss [amukay tehomot] — which are the lowest and most defiled places of those who have fallen there through their sins and their evil desires. For this is the primary aspect of the fall of judgment to the abyss. And the tzaddik — out of the greatness of his compassion for the suffering of the Shechinah [Divine Presence] and of Israel — casts himself there in order to raise up the fallen souls from there, from the lowest depths of the abyss. For this is the primary aspect of the mud and mire into which the tzaddik casts himself for the sake of the Holy One, blessed be He. For the Holy One, blessed be He, desires kindness and wants the wicked to repent, and does not desire their death, and “He devises means so that the banished shall not be cast away from Him.” And the tzaddik, who knows the greatness of the Holy One’s desire for this — to bring His wayward ones back to Him — therefore gives himself over for His sake and casts himself into such lowly places. For this is the primary satisfaction [nachas ru’ach] of the Holy One, blessed be He — and this is the aspect of what King David, peace be upon him, said: “And I, my hands are soiled,” etc. — as explained about this elsewhere. And therefore everyone who wishes to have mercy upon himself and to be included in the tzaddik wherever he is — even in the depths of the abyss — [should do so]. For the tzaddik is in the aspect of tam [the wholehearted one], conducting himself with simplicity [mitmamem im temimim] — and anyone who draws himself toward the ways of temimus, even if he has fallen through his desires into the abyss as deeply as he has fallen, can be included in the temimus of the tzaddikim who lowered themselves there, and can rise up and return to the Holy One, blessed be He, through this. For the primary rectification of every person is through the aspect of the rectification of judgment. For every person must weigh his words and affairs with judgment — judging himself at all times regarding every matter. And all blemishes, Heaven forfend, are the aspect of the corruption of judgment — [as he fails to] conduct himself according to the judgment of the Torah. And the primary source of corruption is through the evil wisdoms of the world — which are the aspect of the blemish of judgment. That is: that it appears to everyone as though the Holy One, blessed be He, does not conduct Himself with him in straight and righteous judgment — as though it is impossible for him to withstand the trials in the way that the Holy One, blessed be He, conducts Himself with him. For most of the world cries out that they cannot serve the Holy One, blessed be He, because of a lack of livelihood. It thus emerges that in their view, Heaven forfend, the Holy One, blessed be He, distorts justice against them — that He wants them to do what is not within their power to engage in Torah and service with such a lack of livelihood. But the truth is certainly not so. For every person must believe that Hashem is righteous and His judgments are straight. And certainly He does not make excessive demands [tirunya] upon His creatures, and does not ask a person to do what is not within his power. And certainly He, may He be blessed, knows that this is the primary trial for that person — that he must snatch moments for Torah and service from within such difficulty, as our Sages of blessed memory said: “Whoever fulfills the Torah from poverty,” etc. And so too with everything that befalls a person. For in truth, a person comes into the world for no other purpose than the rectification of judgment — namely, that he should receive his reward through judgment and not “eat bread of shame” [nahama d’kisufa], as our Sages of blessed memory said. And this is his entire superiority over all the angels. Therefore one must believe that the Holy One, blessed be He, is certainly righteous in His judgments and does not test any person with what he cannot withstand — even though according to his own intellect it is difficult for him to withstand the matters that befall him. Nevertheless, one must cast away his intellect and wisdom and believe that “the ways of Hashem are straight,” and His judgments [are right], and one certainly must pass through this world with whatever circumstances the Holy One, blessed be He, conducts with him — whether in wealth or in poverty, whether through the strengthening of desires and thoughts, etc., etc. And as our Sages of blessed memory said: “Hillel obligates the poor, Yosef obligates the wicked, Rabbi Elazar ben Charsom obligates the wealthy.” And within these three are encompassed all levels in the world. For there is no one poorer than Hillel, and there is no strengthening and incitement [of evil] like what Yosef the righteous experienced, and there is no one wealthier than Rabbi Elazar ben Charsom. It thus emerges that the primary rectification is through temimus — for through it the tzaddik binds one to the ways of simplicity and raises him up from wherever he is. And if despite this the [evil] inclination still overpowers him greatly, he must through the ways of temimus cry out from the depths [mima’amakim], etc. For the Torah is embedded — its end in its beginning and its beginning in its end — and it is impossible to explain to every person how very much he must cast away his intellect and draw himself into the ways of temimus. Through this, everyone can ascend. And therefore in truth one requires great [spiritual] study [limud] for this — to cleave to the dust of the feet of the wholehearted and upright of heart, and to strive all his days to be included in the aspect of the yeshiva [Torah academy] of the true tzaddik who engages in the true study of the fulfillment of the Torah. For this is the essential purpose: to bring faith into the world and to draw every person out from the disgraceful places into which he has fallen. For there are many deep halachos in this, and all of it is hinted at in the aforementioned Torah, which writes there that this is the aspect of “a teacher with students” — which is called a yeshiva — see there carefully. And whoever wishes to have mercy upon his own life must go on his hands and his feet to seek a true yeshiva of this kind, through which he can merit complete faith and the fulfillment of the Torah, so that he should not be lost in the lowest depths of the abyss into which [people] fall — as he knows within himself. For “from the days of our fathers, a yeshiva has never ceased among them,” as our Sages of blessed memory said. And this is the aspect of: “And Yaakov was a wholehearted man [ish tam], dwelling in tents [yoshev ohalim]” — for he dwelt in tents within the holy yeshivos of Shem and Ever, learning there the ways of temimus in truth, to truly be an ish tam. And therefore he merited the aspect of the rectification of judgment — as it says: “Judgment and righteousness in Yaakov, You have wrought” — the aspect of “judgment to the God of Yaakov.” And this is the aspect of: “Kindness and judgment I will sing to You, O Hashem, I will make melody” — that is, to believe that Hashem is righteous in all His ways, whether He conducts Himself with one through kindness or through judgment and strict law, Heaven forfend, as our Sages of blessed memory said — and to sing and make melody and give thanks to the Holy One, blessed be He, for everything. One merits this through: “Askila b’derech tamim — I will contemplate the way of temimus — when will You come to me?” — that is, through the aforementioned temimus. And this is: “Eshalaich b’tom levavi b’kerev beisi — I will walk with wholeness of heart within my house.” That is: within my own house, within my own heart, I will settle myself well and walk with wholeness of heart — looking honestly at whom to draw close to: whether to the seat of scorners, Heaven forfend, or to the vain wisdoms of the world, etc., or to the wholehearted and the God-fearing and the upright, etc. And this is: “Lo ashis l’neged einai d’var beliya’al — I will not set before my eyes a worthless thing; those who commit perversion, I hate,” etc., through to: “the haughty of eye and the wide of heart, him I cannot tolerate.” For one must flee from pride [ga’avah] — from which comes the aspect of “those who commit perversion,” in the aspect of the desire for immorality, as stated there. And this is: “Einai b’ne’emanay eretz lasheves imadi — My eyes are upon the faithful of the earth, to dwell with me; he who walks in the way of temimus — he shall serve me.” As above. And this is: “Lo yeshev b’kerev beisi oseh remiyah — He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house” — the aspect of the drop of Esav and Yishmael, which must be expelled from the holy yeshiva.

But against the voice of the calling of Yom Tov that calls and reveals the Ratzon, there is the voice of the roaring of the evil beasts that trample and tear — which are the wise men of nature (chachmay hateva), etc. But the true wise men of the generation connect the Ratzon to the root of the Ratzon, which is the aspect of the Maitzach HaRatzon [the Forehead of Will], etc. But there is the aspect of the Maitzach HaNachash [the Forehead of the Serpent], the root of the wisdom of nature, etc. And one must subdue and topple it. And this is accomplished through tzedakah, etc. (See there all of this well.) 2