שכירות פועלים ד

Likutay Halachos - S'chirus Po'alim 4

And all of this alludes to the essential thing of the person, which is the true da’as — to engage in Torah and prayer and the service of Hashem every single day, and not to push himself off from one day to the next. And as is explained on the verse: “Today, if you will hear His voice” (Tehillim 95:7) — “today” specifically. And this is: “On his day you shall give his wages, and the sun shall not set upon him,” etc.

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For the soul [nefesh] is, in relation to the person, in the aspect of a day-laborer. For the soul performs all the actions of the body, for the body has no movement or life-force except through the soul. And one who merits to walk in the path of holiness as is fitting — to nullify the body entirely before the soul — then the soul is in the aspect of a king, for it rules over the body, and then one is a free person, in the aspect of: “All of Israel are children of kings.” But when, G–d forbid, one does not nullify his body entirely before his soul, then the soul is, in relation to the body, like a servant — for the soul performs all the actions of the body as a servant and as a hired worker. And this is the aspect of: “As a servant longs for the shade, and as a hired worker awaits his wages” (Iyov 7:2). And then the person must have compassion upon his soul — that at the very least he should not rob and oppress, G–d forbid, his soul entirely, but should give it at least its wages. That is, at the very least he should give the soul each day several mitzvos and good deeds and Torah and prayer, etc. — according to the obligation of the day. For certainly it would be fitting that he should do only the needs of the soul and nullify the body entirely, as it is taught in the holy Zohar: “Fortunate is one who derives no benefit from his own [this world] at all.” For one must close one’s eyes from the sight of this world entirely, and then one is in the aspect of a king and a free person, as above. But when one has not merited this, and the soul is in the aspect of a servant and a hired worker, as above — then the person must be careful at the very least not to oppress it and not to rob it entirely, G–d forbid. And this is the aspect of: “You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and destitute, from your brothers,” etc. (Devarim 24:14). And not only this, but furthermore: you must be careful that “on his day you shall give his wages,” etc. — that you should not say that you will pay the wages of the soul after the day, as is common among many people who say: “Today it is impossible to pray; today it is impossible to learn and engage in the service of Hashem” — and they push themselves off from day to day. And regarding this the verse warns: “On his day you shall give his wages” — on his day specifically — “and the sun shall not set upon him.” For the essential thing is to be careful to fulfill the obligation of the day, in the aspect of: “Today, if you will hear His voice.” For there is no day that does not have good in it, etc. And as is explained elsewhere — for on each day the Or HaGanuz shines, etc. — and great assistance is drawn from Above, etc. — in the aspect of: “The kindnesses of Hashem, for they are not finished,” etc. — “renewed each morning,” etc. And all of this one merits through emunas chachamim in completeness. Through which all the holy books of the Torah become significant in his eyes. Through which he merits to receive and to draw from the saichel hakolail, from the aspect of the Even Sh’siyah, where everything is sweetened — all types of dinim and contractions in the world. And however one finds din and contraction, everything is sweetened through the saichel hakolail, as above. For the aspect of the saichel hakolail illuminates all the individual s’chaliyim of each and every person, and all the channels and contractions of every person, and of every place, and of every day. And through this each and every person, on each and every day, and in every place where he is, can draw upon himself the kindnesses of Hashem always — in a manner that he will enliven himself in the spiritual and the physical, and cast off from himself the bitterness of the worries of sustenance. He should only trust in the Name of Hashem — that certainly there is a wondrous kindness that shines also on this day, and certainly he will have the sustenance of his day, and he should not think from one day to the next at all. And so too in the service of Hashem he should trust and wait — for certainly also today he can seize some true good. And he should strive and yearn with a strong desire, until he merits also on this day some true good, and he should not lose a day of his days, G–d forbid. And this is the aspect of: “And Avraham was old, coming with the days” (Beraishis 24:1). “Old” [zakain] — this is the aspect of the saichel hakolail, the aspect of “this one has acquired [zeh kanah] wisdom.” For there is the essential acquisition of the true wisdom. For this saichel hakolail is the aspect of zakain, the aspect of Atik, the aspect of the thirteen rectifications of the beard [t’leisar tikkun’i dik’na], as is known. And this is: “And Avraham was old, coming with the days” — that he drew and brought the aspect of zakain, the aspect of the saichel hakolail, into the days. For on each day of the days of his life, he connected himself to the saichel hakolail, which is the aspect of zakain, as above. And through this: “And Hashem blessed Avraham with everything” (Beraishis 24:1). For from there all the bestowals of abundance are drawn — for from there all the channels of abundance are drawn, as above. For the essential heaviness and pressure of each person, whether in sustenance or in the service of Hashem, is only because the day is difficult and heavy upon him. For each day it seems to the person — especially to the poor and the destitute — that at this time, especially on this day, it is impossible to earn and find his sustenance. And so too in the service of Hashem — for the most part it seems to each person each day that today it is difficult to pray, etc. And therefore one whose hour is pressed upon him is called k’shei yom [one for whom the day is hard], as it is written: “Did I not weep for one whose day is hard? My soul was grieved for the destitute” (Iyov 30:25). For the destitute is in the aspect of k’shei yom. And all of this is because of the lack of da’as, because of the blemish of emunas chachamim — through which he does not merit that the saichel that pertains to him on this day, in this place, should receive from the saichel hakolail. And therefore the day is hard upon him, in the aspect of: “But against me He turns His hand, all the day” (Aichah 3:3). And so it is in the service of Hashem. But one who returns in teshuvah regarding the blemish of emunas chachamim, and nullifies his da’as before the da’as of the true Tzaddik, the all-encompassing sage, merits to strengthen himself in strong bitachon on each and every day, however he finds himself in body and soul, in the physical and the spiritual, in the aspect of: “On the day I fear, I will trust in You” (Tehillim 56:4). That specifically on the day that I fear — on the day when it seems that the sustenance is very, very difficult, and so too in the service of Hashem, etc. — then specifically: “I will trust in You.” For certainly You will not abandon me. For certainly also for this day there is a channel of abundance in the place where I am, to draw an abundance of goodness and true kindness from the saichel hakolail, where everything is sweetened, etc., as above. In the aspect of what Yirmiyahu said, after he said: “I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His fury; but against me He turns His hand all the day,” etc. — until: “And I said: My strength is lost, and my hope from Hashem,” etc. — “This I shall return to my heart,” etc. — “The kindnesses of Hashem, for they are not finished,” etc. For this is the kindness that is drawn from the saichel hakolail, which sweetens everything — from which great kindness is drawn, in the physical and the spiritual, also for this day, in the place where I am, as above. And this is the aspect of: “Blessed is Hashem, day by day He loads upon us,” as above. And this is the aspect of what is written there afterward: “Renewed each morning; great is Your faithfulness.” And Rashi explained that the kindnesses are renewed each day anew. And this is as above — and understand well. For it is forbidden to think from one day to the next at all, and regarding this day one must trust in Hashem, as above. And there is much to speak about in this. And the essential thing is that through emunas chachamim in truth, everything is sweetened and rectified. And therefore regarding whatever passes over a person, whether in sustenance or in the service of Hashem — and it seems to him that it is impossible for him to serve Hashem, blessed be He, because of the pressure of sustenance and the multitude of confusions and thoughts that pass over him — he should know that all of this is drawn from the putrid fumes that confuse his da’as, which are drawn from the blemish of emunas chachamim, as above. Therefore each time that whatever passes over him passes, he should remember himself to return in complete teshuvah regarding emunas chachamim — to believe truly in all the books of the true tzadikim and sages — until he merits to draw from the saichel hakolail, through which everything is sweetened and rectified, as above. And all of this is the aspect of Rosh HaShanah, as is explained there in the Torah teaching mentioned above. For Rosh HaShanah is the first day of the entire year and is included from all the days of the entire year. And then one must sweeten all the contractions and dinim of each and every person, of all the days of the year, and of all the places in the world. And this is impossible except through the true Tzaddik, the aspect of the saichel hakolail. And for this reason people travel to the tzadikim for Rosh HaShanah. And this is the aspect of the blowing of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah. For the Torah was given with the sound of the shofar. For the sound of the shofar is drawn from the saichel hakolail, as is understood in the kavanos. And therefore from there the Torah was given, as above. And therefore the shofar gathers the exiles, as it is written: “And it will be on that day, a great shofar will be sounded, and those lost in the land of Ashur will come, and the outcasts,” etc. — “and they will bow to Hashem on the holy mountain in Yerushalayim” (Yeshayahu 27:13). That is, in the Bais HaMikdash, where the Even Sh’siyah is. For there all the lost and the outcast must return and be gathered — for there is their rectification, in the aspect of the saichel hakolail, which sweetens and rectifies everything. For all the places, etc. are incorporated there, as above. And from there is the essential freedom, the aspect of the freedom of the Yovail [Jubilee] — when the shofar is sounded, in the aspect of: “Sound the great shofar for our freedom.” And therefore one who merits to draw upon himself the holiness of Rosh HaShanah need not worry and toil much for sustenance. For he merits bitachon — to believe that all his sustenance is apportioned from Rosh HaShanah, as our Sages of blessed memory said: “All the sustenance of a person is apportioned from Rosh HaShanah.” For then the saichel hakolail shines, from which are all the channels of abundance, as above. And this is: “except for the expenditures of Shabbos and Yom Tov, and the expenditures of his children for Talmud Torah.” For on Shabbos and Yom Tov, one ascends in great ascents, and then one is incorporated in the aspect of the saichel hakolail through the holiness of the day. And therefore for the expenditures of Shabbos and Yom Tov one does not need to receive from Rosh HaShanah according to what was apportioned — that abundance should flow to him on each day through the channels and vessels that are drawn from the saichel hakolail. For through Shabbos and Yom Tov itself the abundance flows from the saichel hakolail, to the degree that one merits to believe in the holiness of Shabbos and Yom Tov and to increase in their expenditures. For they themselves are in the aspect of the saichel hakolail. And so too with the expenditures of his children for Talmud Torah. For Talmud Torah is the essential drawing of the abundance from the saichel hakolail, where the entire Torah is, as above. And therefore these expenditures are not apportioned in a limited manner from Rosh HaShanah, but rather according to what one merits to expend for their sake — as it is written there: “If he opens, they open for him; and if he adds, they add for him.” And this is the aspect of: “Fortunate is the people who know the teru’ah; Hashem, in the light of Your countenance they shall walk” (Tehillim 89:16). “In the light of Your countenance” — this is the aspect of the saichel hakolail, which one merits through the blowings [t’kios]. For the saichel hakolail is the essential light of the countenance, the aspect of: “In the light of the king’s countenance is life” (Mishlai 16:15). “Life” [chayyim] — these are the mental faculties [mochin], as is known, which are drawn from the light of the countenance, which is the saichel hakolail. And this is: “they shall walk” [y’halaikun] — the aspect of the walking and the journeys of Israel, through which one merits to rectify emunas chachamim, through which one merits the saichel hakolail, as is explained above on the verse: “And Moshe wrote their goings-forth according to their journeys,” etc. And especially when one travels to the true Tzaddik, who is himself the aspect of the saichel hakolail. And the essential thing is when one travels to him for Rosh HaShanah, etc., as above. And this is: “In Your Name they shall rejoice all the day” (Tehillim 89:17) — the aspect of the simchah that is explained in the Torah teaching “Chadi Rabbi Shimon” mentioned above, which one merits through the inclusiveness and the love — that the souls are incorporated in the true Tzaddik, in the saichel hakolail, etc., as is explained there — see there.