גניבה ד

And the main tikkun is through the t'filah in completeness, as above. And this one merits through the tikkun of the three avodos [services] that are explained there [in the Torah], which are: emunah — the opposite of idolatry; and tikkun habris; and the tikkun of bloodshed, which is the aspect of "al t'hi vaz l'chol adam" ["do not be contemptuous of any person"], etc. — as is explained there.

And this is the aspect of "chosamcha ufsailecha umat'cha." "Chosamcha" ["your signet"] — this is the aspect of the tikkun of the seal, the sign of the holy bris. And this is the aspect of the t'filin that are alluded to in "chosamcha," as Chazal said. For t'filin are the aspect of "pituchay chosam kodesh laHashem" ["engravings of a seal: holy to Hashem"] (Sh'mos 28:36), which are made through the tikkun of the seal of the bris, as is brought elsewhere (in the Torah "Tik'u Emunah"; see there).

"Ufsailecha" ["and your cord"] — this is the aspect of tzitzis, the tikkun of the garments, which are the aspect of kavod [honor]. For Rabbi Yochanan called his garments "m'chabdusa" [my honorers]. And this is the aspect of the tikkun of "al t'hi vaz l'chol adam" — the aspect of "Aizehu m'chubad? Ham'chabed es habrios," etc. ["Who is honored? He who honors the creations"].

"Umat'cha" ["and your staff"] — this is the aspect of emunah. For the main emunah was revealed through the signs and wonders that Mosheh performed with his staff, as it is written: "V'es hamateh hazeh tikach b'yadecha asher ta'aseh bo es ha'osos" ["And this staff take in your hand, with which you shall do the signs"] (Sh'mos 4:17). Through which the holy emunah was revealed, as it is written: "Vaya'as ha'osos l'einay ha'am vaya'amein ha'am," etc. ["And he did the signs before the eyes of the people, and the people believed"] (Sh'mos 4:30-31). And therefore the holy tribes are called by the name "matos" [staffs/tribes]. For they are the generality of the members of Yisroel who draw the holy emunah into the world — which is the aspect of the staff of Mosheh. Therefore "umat'cha" — this is the aspect of emunah.

It emerges that these three — "chosamcha ufsailecha umat'cha" — are the aspect of the tikkun of the three aforementioned avodos, through which is the main tikkun of the t'filah, through which is the main settlement of all the debts. And this completeness will be completed through Mashiach, who is the guarantor on behalf of everyone, to settle everything, as above. And therefore she took as a pledge these three — "chosamcha," etc. — as above.

And therefore a guarantor at the time of the giving of money becomes obligated. For the one who lends to his fellow and bestows kindness upon him — through this he is included in the aspect of the aforementioned Great Lender, who is in the aspect of the "Place of the world," where all the n'shamos of Yisroel are all one. Because of which all of Yisroel are guarantors for one another, and from there is the root of the arvus, as above.

And therefore at the time of the giving of money, the guarantor becomes obligated. For the guarantor cannot become obligated on behalf of his fellow except through receiving from the root of the aforementioned arvus. And therefore at the time of the giving of money — when the lender gives money and bestows upon the borrower — then through this mitzvah, the root of the kindness of the Great Lender is aroused, which is drawn from the "Place of the world," where everything is one, where is the root of the arvus. And therefore then specifically one can introduce a guarantor in his place, because there everything is one, as above.

But after the giving of money, he does not become obligated. For since the borrower has already borrowed and does not settle — which is drawn from having distanced from his root — and he cannot settle his loans, as above — therefore then it is impossible for the guarantor to become obligated. For how can one guarantee on behalf of his fellow? For behold, he is in a completely different place from him, and one cannot guarantee on his behalf except when they ascend and connect to the roots of the n'shamos of Yisroel. Through which they are included in the aspect of the "Place of the world," where everything is one, and there all the places and all the channels are included together. And therefore from there specifically one can draw a tikkun to settle even the debts of one's fellow — and for this the guarantor enters himself. And this one merits only through the Great Lender, as above.

And therefore at the time of the giving of money — through the mitzvah of the loan — one is included there in the aspect of the Great Lender, as above. Therefore then specifically the guarantor is obligated without a kinyan. But afterward one cannot become obligated to guarantee on behalf of his fellow, for afterward one has become distanced from there, as above.

And therefore after the giving of money, he does not become obligated except with a kinyan. For all the kinyanim [acquisitions] are through garments — and formerly in Yisroel through a shoe, as it is written: "V'zos l'fanim b'Yisroel al hag'ulah...shalaf ish na'alo," etc. For the kinyan is that one should not change anymore. And all the changes are below, in the change of places, where falsehood and change have their hold. But above, in the aspect of the root of the n'shamos of Yisroel — where everything is one — there is no change or falsehood, in the aspect of "sh'airis Yisroel lo ya'asu avlah," etc. ["The remnant of Yisroel shall not do iniquity"] (Tz'fanyah 3:13).

And therefore one accepts kinyan sudar [acquisition through a cloth]. For the garments and the clothing are in the aspect of the Throne of Glory — the aspect of the root of the n'shamos of Yisroel, as it is written [in the Zohar]: "L'vushin t'kinas l'hon d'minaihu porchin nishmasin livnay nasha," etc. ["You prepared garments for them, from which n'shamos fly forth for the sons of man"]. And therefore all the kinyanim are through the garments, through which one connects oneself to the root of the n'shamos of Yisroel — where there is no change or falsehood, chas v'shalom.

And therefore after the kinyan one cannot change anymore. And one who changes afterward — it is as if he uproots himself from the root of the n'shamos of Yisroel, chas v'shalom. And therefore through a kinyan the guarantor becomes obligated even after the giving of money. For through the kinyan one ascends to the root of the n'shamos of Yisroel, where everything is one — where all the n'shamos are included together, one within the other. Through which each one is a guarantor on behalf of his fellow, for from there is the root of the arvus, as above.

Based on the Torah "Teekoo" 1 in Likutay Tinyana, Siman 1. See there the entire Torah. Continuing from the previous sections.

And this is the aspect of what our Sages, zichronam livrachah, said: "Distance yourself from guaranteeing" . For it has already been explained above (in §3) that all loans are drawn from having blemished the t'filah — that one did not pray with proper kavanah [intention] and did not connect his prayer to the true Tzadik, who is the aspect of the great Lender. For all the worlds and all the celestial spheres and the sun and the moon and the stars etc. — all the more so this entire lowly world, the earth and all that is upon it etc. — are all in the aspect of borrowers who receive from him. And the entire discharge of their debt and loan depends upon man, for whose sake everything was created — who must pray with kavanah and connect his prayer to the true Tzadik who is the great Lender. Through this, all the powers return to him — which is the aspect of the discharge of all the aforementioned loans, as is explained above at length. See there.

And one who blemishes this — through this he falls into loans and debts etc. And because of this it is difficult to discharge the debts of the loans. For the essential discharge of debts and loans as they should be is through the perfection of the rectification of t'filah — through which is the essential discharge of the loans etc., as above.

And for this reason one must distance himself from being a guarantor, as our Sages, zichronam livrachah, said. For who can insert himself into this — to discharge the debts and loans of his fellow? For it is enough if he can extricate himself to discharge the debts of his own loan — that is, that he should merit to pray with kavanah and to connect his prayer to the Tzadikay emes who are the aspect of the great Lender. For this is the essential discharge of the loans of every person — for all people in the world are in the aspect of borrowers from the great Lender, who borrow and receive from him all their influence and vitality, as above. And praiseworthy is the one who fulfills his obligation to discharge his own debts through the proper rectification of t'filah, as above.

And how can one insert himself to guarantee on behalf of his fellow, who has come to a state of borrowing in the physical realm — which is drawn from having greatly blemished the service of t'filah? And how can he guarantee on his behalf to discharge the loan? — since the essential discharge as it should be is through the rectification of t'filah, whereby one connects his prayer properly to the great Lender, until all the powers and vitality return to their root, to the Word of Hashem — for there is the aspect of the discharge of all the loans of all who come into the world. And this is incumbent upon each person himself. For in proportion to the abundance and vitality that he receives — which is the aspect of a loan from the great Lender — so must he strengthen himself in his service until he returns and elevates the power to its root, which is the essential discharge of the loan in the spiritual realm, and through this the loan in the physical realm is also rectified.

And this is an obligation upon every person himself. But for another person it is very difficult to discharge the debts and loans of his fellow. For each one has a particular path and channel through which he receives his influence and vitality — which is the aspect of a loan — and through his channel he must elevate all the powers and vitality to their root through the rectification of t'filah, which is the aspect of the discharge of the loan. And therefore it is difficult for another to discharge on behalf of his fellow — for how can he ascend through the channel of his fellow to discharge his debts?

And this is the aspect of the law explained in the Shulchan Aruch: A guarantor at the time of the giving of the money becomes obligated [without any additional act of acquisition]. [A guarantor] not at the time of the giving of the money does not become obligated except through a kinyan [formal act of acquisition]. And its source is in the Mishnah at the end of Bava Basra , where Shimon ben Nanas said: "Behold, one who seizes his fellow by the throat in the marketplace" etc. — "for it was not on his trust that he lent him." And the Tanna praised his words greatly and said: "One who wishes to become wise" etc. — "let him attend to Shimon ben Nanas."

And this is because the essential root of the arvus [guarantorship/mutual responsibility] is drawn from the aspect of the receiving of the Torah, when all of Israel became guarantors for one another. And this is because at the root of the souls of Israel, they are all considered as one — as our Sages, zichronam livrachah, said on the verse: "All the souls that came to the house of Yaakov" etc. — that they are called one soul, for they are drawn from the source of unity. And therefore all of Israel are guarantors for one another in the receiving of the Torah.

But the rectification of this arvus — that is, to discharge the debt that each one owes — its essential rectification is through the aspect of the aforementioned great Lender, whose prayer is in perfection, in the aspect of the radiance of Mashiach, who is the Lender to each one. And he is the guarantor on behalf of each one — that ultimately they will discharge their loan-debts in perfection. For the Children of Israel who became guarantors for one another — most of them, virtually all, are unable to discharge the obligation of the arvus, for it is enough if one can extricate oneself.

And therefore the essential thing is the Tzadikay emes who are in the aspect of the aforementioned great Lender, who grasps the Keesay HaKavod — which is the root of the souls of all Israel — and he is able to make Rosh HaShanah, to judge each one favorably according to his place, because he is in the aspect of M'komo shel Olam etc., as above. And he is the Lender and he himself is the guarantor on behalf of each one — that he will certainly discharge his loan. For this Tzadik, the great Lender, is constantly good to all and never ceases his goodness and kindness. And even one who borrows from him and does not discharge [the loan] — he lends him yet more and more, numerous times without number — until ultimately he will open his hand and discharge everything to him.

And if, chas v'shalom, even so one rebels against him and does not wish to discharge — the great Lender has the power to collect his debts from him forever, and he can find him, and he will be unable to hide from him. And even with a king of flesh and blood there is a paradigm of this in the physical realm — for example, if there is found a mighty king who is pious and exceedingly good, who bestows kindness without measure, and whose wealth and possessions and dominion are very, very great and broad, and whose way is to bestow kindness by lending to all who come and ask to receive his goodness. And as soon as they repay him, he lends them yet again in doubled measure. And even one who does not repay properly — immediately when he comes and asks him for another loan, he lends him again, so that he should open his hand. And so forever. But one who rebels against him and does not submit himself beneath him — he can find him wherever he is and collect his debts from whatever he has. And if it does not suffice, he punishes and chastises him according to the debts owed.