גזילה ה

For it has already been explained above and elsewhere that all the repairs described in the aforementioned Torah teaching are all interlinked, and the Torah is "interwoven at its beginning with its end and its end with its beginning" — and likewise with its middle, etc. For the forces of evil and the husks lie in ambush for a person always — and primarily for the holy emunah. And when one merits to overpower, through the strength of the tzaddik, to cry out from the depths and to draw upon oneself deep counsels and to grow the emunah, etc. — then they provoke afterward through the damage of converts, from which pride flows, from which the world's destructors strengthen themselves — the false leaders, etc. — through which they introduce the desire for immorality into the world. And for this the power of the "shields of the earth" is needed — those who raise from the aspect of the "seal in the flesh" to the aspect of the holy seal, the aspect of tefillin. For the mind is like a burning lamp fueled by the fats of the body, etc. And it is explained there that this repair is completed on Yom Kippur, the aspect of "and on the day of Yom Kippur they are sealed" etc. And all the repairs are drawn through the Rebbe with his students — which is the aspect of the holy Yeshiva — who raise the emunah and nullify pride and repair the repair of the holy seal, in the aspect of "seal the Torah in my students" etc. And all of this is the aspect of the Chanukah candle — for the miracle was through the oil that was sealed with the seal of the High Priest, etc. For the primary service of the High Priest is on Yom Kippur, when they engage in atoning for the sins of Israel — whose primary element is the damage of the covenant, as is known — as they cry out at the entry of Yom Kippur: "Light is sown for the tzaddik" etc., for the sake of this repair, as is known. And through the High Priest engaging in his service to repair this, he repairs the holy seal that is repaired on Yom Kippur, as above. Therefore the miracle of Chanukah was through the oil sealed with the seal of the High Priest specifically — for he specifically engages in the repair of the holy seal on Yom Kippur. For the oil of the holy lighting is the aspect of the holy light of the intellect that illuminates through the bodily fats — through guarding them so that they should not go outside, God forbid, through damage to the covenant, so that there should not be, God forbid, the aspect of "the seal in his flesh." Rather, they are raised to the mind so that the mind illuminates and burns through them, in the aspect of "the candle of God is the soul of man" — so that they are made into the holy seal, the aspect of tefillin. It is said then at the time of laying tefillin: "and pour the good oil upon the seven branches of the Menorah to bestow," etc. It follows that the oil of the lighting is the aspect of the repair of the aforementioned holy seal — the aspect of tefillin. Therefore our master, of blessed memory, wrote that according to the degree of "forgive please" that is achieved on Yom Kippur, so one merits the holiness of Chanukah — for it is all one, as above. For on Yom Kippur the holy seal is repaired through the High Priest, which is the aspect of the Chanukah candle drawn through the oil sealed with the seal of the High Priest, for it is all one, as above. (And therefore in truth the Torah teaching "For He who has compassion on them will lead them" — where it is explained that according to the "forgive please" of Yom Kippur, so one merits Chanukah — that Torah teaching was said in the same year as the Torah teaching "Sound the emunah" mentioned above on Rosh Hashanah, where all the above is explained, and that the repair of the seal is completed on Yom Kippur. And then immediately afterward at the Chanukah following it, the Torah teaching "For He who has compassion on them" was said, where it is explained that according to the "forgive please," etc. — for they are related and connected to each other. And understand this well, for there is much to say about this. And see in Chayei Moharan what is written — that each year he received all the holy times with a wondrous renewal, etc.) And all of this is accomplished and repaired only through the aforementioned holy Yeshiva, who engage in all the aforementioned repairs to illuminate them upon themselves and upon the entire world.

Section 31

This corresponds to the Sages' statement that there was only enough oil to burn for one day, and a miracle occurred and it burned for eight days. For in truth the root of the lighting and illumination of the holy light is drawn from the man of understanding who engages in drawing the spirituality of Divinity into the contractions, etc. — through which livelihood is drawn and one's soul is polished, etc. For the primary light of all lights is the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said: "God is my light" etc., and it is written: "For You illuminate my candle" etc. But it is known that the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself is above all lights — one cannot even apply the term "light" to Him. Only when the tzaddikim draw His Divinity, may He be blessed, into the contractions — that is the primary root of the light of all lights. Just as at the beginning of creation, He Himself drew it through the contractions He first made — so that it would be possible to receive, as is known — this is the aspect of "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was formless and void and dark" etc., all of which is the aspect of contractions that existed before the revelation of light, and then: "And God said, Let there be light, and there was light" etc. Except that at the beginning of creation everything was through the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself. Now everything — every renewal of the act of creation at every moment — is through the tzaddikim who engage in this, to draw the spirituality of Divinity into the contractions. Through this comes the primary drawing of light, as above.

And this is the aspect of the "Botzina d'Kardinus" mentioned in the holy Zohar, as it is said there: "At the beginning of the will of the King, the Botzina d'Kardinus" — which the commentators there explain as referring to the beginning of the contraction, through which the light was revealed. Therefore it is called "Botzina d'Kardinus." For through there being a contraction and through drawing the spirituality of Divinity into it — through this comes the entire revelation of light, as above. But at the beginning of the drawing of the spirituality of His Divinity into the contractions, it is only a flash, the aspect of "a striking" etc. — this is the aspect of how physically too, the primary generation of fire was through the first man striking two stones against each other, through which a spark of fire came forth. Its root is from the spark of light revealed through the drawing of the spirituality of Divinity into the contractions, as above. Therefore this fine light cannot yet be drawn into the world — therefore the repair is through the abundance of livelihood that is drawn through the drawing of the spirituality of Divinity into the contractions, as said there, through which one's soul is polished, etc. And this is the aspect of the oil needed for the light — through which the light illuminates abundantly enough to illuminate the whole world. For oil is the aspect of the abundance of livelihood, the aspect of "the jar of flour shall not run out and the cruse of oil shall not fail" (Melachim I 17), etc., and it is written: "to make the face shine with oil, and bread to sustain man's heart." And this is the aspect of the dove coming to him at evening time with a freshly plucked olive leaf in its mouth — and the Sages and Midrashim say that the olive leaf she brought in her mouth alludes to the secret of the oil of Chanukah that saves from the waters of the flood, without which the world could not be sustained, as brought in the Yalkut Reuveni, see there.

It follows that oil is the aspect of the abundance of livelihood through which the tzaddik polishes his soul. Therefore the light itself — which comes through the drawing of the spirituality of Divinity into the contractions, which is the root of all lights, as above — cannot burn and illuminate by itself because of its fineness, except through the oils drawn to it, which are the aspect of the abundance of livelihood, etc., as above. Through this one polishes one's soul in the aspect of "to make the face shine" — the aspect of "the wisdom of a man illuminates his face." Through this one becomes the aspect of the man of understanding, through which one can delve and draw up the deep waters — the deep counsels through which emunah grows, as said there. For the primary completeness of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge is when counsels are produced from it, until emunah grows through them. And from there is the root of the light of the holy Chanukah candle — which is the aspect of the lighting of the lamps of the Menorah and all the lamps of the commandments. And the great tzaddikim who engage in this do not rest and are not quiet, in the aspect of "the man shall not rest unless he has completed the matter today" (Rus 3). For they engage in this always, at every moment, continuously drawing anew the spirituality of Divinity into the contractions through their wondrous novel Torah insights that they renew at every moment, polishing their souls and drawing lights in wondrous ways, until deep counsels are produced from them that grow the holy emunah. And afterward they attend to drawing the repair each time more completely — so that the adversaries should not corrupt, God forbid — to expel and nullify the pride that comes through them, and to nullify the power of the false leaders, etc. And to give power to the shields of the earth so they can raise the fats from the aspect of "the seal in the flesh" to the aspect of the holy seal, as above — and all the other repairs explained there. For for every repair of all the aforementioned corruptions, one must begin from the primary beginning of repair, which is the drawing of spirituality, etc. For the great tzaddik engages each time in drawing the spirituality of Divinity, etc., in such intellectual insights, in such repairs — so that emunah should be repaired completely and should not be corrupted through all the aforementioned damages. For all the oils in every person — through which the intellect illuminates, as above — their root comes from the holy anointing oil of the tzaddik who draws the spirituality of Divinity, etc. From this is the root of the light and the oils, as above.

Section 32

And this is the aspect of the aforementioned statement that the oil that was sealed contained only enough for one day, and a miracle occurred and it burned for eight days. For the Greeks — who are the forces of evil and the husks that lie in ambush to corrupt through all the aforementioned corruptions — first strengthen themselves to corrupt the emunah, God forbid, through their evil wisdoms, which are the aspect of the wisdom of wicked Greece. And when they are overpowered through the crying out of the heart from the depths, etc., they still strengthen themselves through pride and immorality, etc. And the power of the shields of the earth is needed — to raise the oils from the seal to the holy seal. This is the aspect of the Greeks defiling all the oils — meaning all the aspects of the knowledge — that they wanted, God forbid, to defile and corrupt everything through all the aforementioned corruptions. And the miracle occurred through the small amount of oil found through the repair of the holy seal, as above — the aspect of it having been sealed with the seal of the High Priest, as above — which is the oil and the knowledge raised from "the seal in the flesh" to the aspect of the holy seal, as above. But there was only enough oil for one day — for the forces of evil are always in ambush, both against Israel in general and against each individual in particular. And even when some who are upright overpower themselves and break their desires, and raise from the seal to the holy seal — from which the holy oil, the holy knowledge, comes into being to illuminate the world — nonetheless they still strengthen themselves and provoke the rest of the world and bring them to the damage of the covenant, which is the damage of knowledge. And sometimes they provoke greatly even against those who are upright who have already begun to break their desires and to raise from the seal, etc., as above — until they cause even them to stumble, God forbid. And this is the aspect of the oil that was sealed, etc. — there was only enough for one day, meaning a short time. For one cannot be certain about this small amount of oil and knowledge except for one day — for who knows what a day brings, what will happen on the next day? For each day a person's evil inclination renews itself against him, as the Sages said on the verse "the wicked one watches for the tzaddik" etc. And this is the aspect of: "What shall I do with you, Ephraim? What shall I do with you, Yehudah? For your lovingkindness is like a morning cloud" etc. (Hoshea 6).

But through the power of the great true tzaddikim — who are the aspect of the members of the Great Assembly, the masters of the true holy Yeshivos — who are greater and more precious than the High Priest, as the Sages said: "it is more precious than pearls — more than the High Priest who enters the Holy of Holies" — through their merit and their power a miracle occurred and the oil burned for eight days. For these tzaddikim always engage in drawing and pouring the holy anointing oil from its root, through drawing the spirituality of Divinity, etc. And they are like a flowing spring and a never-ceasing river. For they never cease from pouring the holy anointing oil from its root, until they complete all the aforementioned repairs completely. This is the aspect of the miracle that occurred — the oil burned for eight days. Eight days is the aspect of the eight attributes from Keser to Hod, as is known. For Keser is the beginning of the first holy contraction into which the spirituality of Divinity is drawn. And then one's soul is polished and one becomes a man of understanding — which is the aspects of Chochma and Binah. And from there knowledge is drawn, until holy counsels are produced — which are the aspects of Netzach and Hod, which are the aspect of "legs," the aspect of counsels, as explained elsewhere. That is, the true tzaddikim engage in the aforementioned repairs and never cease, until the light illuminates and deep counsels that cannot be refuted in any way are produced — counsels that stand against the forces of evil to nullify and repair all the aforementioned corruptions, until they complete what they began. For they draw the light of Mashiach, the aspect of "I have prepared a lamp for My anointed" — for this they pray on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur: "and the preparation of a lamp for the son of Yishai Your anointed" — about whom it is said: "for in Your holy name You swore to him that his lamp would never be extinguished forever." This is the aspect of the western lamp where the Shechinah dwells — from which one began and with which one ended. For it constantly draws the holy oil and from it come all the lightings of all the holy lights always. For the light of their holy Torah cannot be extinguished in any way — in the aspect of "a transgression extinguishes a commandment, but no transgression extinguishes Torah." That is, Torah studied for its own sake, to keep and to do and to fulfill, etc. For Torah study that comes from the lips outward certainly cannot illuminate the world, and would that it not corrupt — in the aspect of "if he did not merit, it becomes for him a potion of death." As we find many great scholars who afterward greatly corrupted themselves, as the Sages said regarding Do'eg, Achitofel, and Acher — whose Torah was from the lips outward. But the Torah of a true tzaddik who engages in drawing the spirituality of Divinity, etc., until deep counsels are revealed, etc. — this holy light cannot be extinguished, the aspect of "the counsel of God stands forever" etc. And from there was the miracle of Chanukah — through the tzaddikim of the Men of the Great Assembly who wrought wonders through their wondrous novel Torah insights, so that the small amount of oil burned for eight days. And so now in every generation and every year, the primary illumination of the true light — which is the aspect of the light of the Chanukah candle — comes through the tzaddikim who engage in the aforementioned repairs to draw at every moment the aspect of the drawing of spirituality, etc., from which is the root of the light, etc. And they engage with such completeness that it should never be interrupted — in the aspect of "the cruse of oil shall not fail" — until deep counsels that cannot be refuted are drawn each time, etc., as above.

“All the craftsmen [umnin] are paid guardians [shomrai sachar].” For the four guardians are the aspect of the rectification of the malchus [sovereignty], as above. And their laws are three, which are: liability, exemption, and an intermediate. That is: the shomer chinam [unpaid guardian] is exempt from everything; the sho’ail [borrower] is liable for everything; and the shomer sachar and the socheir [renter] are exempt in part and liable in part.

Section 33

This corresponds to what is written about Chizkiyahu (Yeshayahu 10): "and a yoke-breaker because of oil." For Chizkiyahu is the aspect of Mashiach, as the Sages said: "The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to make Chizkiyahu Mashiach" etc. And this is "a yoke-breaker" — meaning the yoke of the forces of evil, which is the yoke of Sancherev, as Rashi explains there — for in his generation the forces of evil clothed themselves in Sancherev, and so in every generation. And the verse says that the Holy One, blessed be He, will break and destroy the yoke because of the aforementioned holy anointing oil. For Chizkiyahu established many Torah Yeshivos, as the Sages said: "They checked from Dan to Beer-Sheva" etc. — and about them it is said: "on that day every man shall raise a young bull and two sheep" etc. "Every place where there are a thousand vines worth a thousand pieces of silver — it shall be for briers and thorns" etc. (Yeshayahu 7) — for they will abandon everything and go to engage in Torah. (This is the opposite of the evil views of those who multiply exhortations to engage in extensive labor and commerce. But what the Sages warned about was labor — but not for Torah scholars, as explained in the Code of Law and many holy books. And as said: "Rabbi Nehorai says: I set aside all the occupations in the world and teach my son only Torah." There is much to say about this but this is not the place.) Therefore through the Torah-engagement of Chizkiyahu — who is the aspect of Mashiach who continuously draws the aspect of the aforementioned oil that illuminates the entire world — the yoke of the forces of evil that lie in ambush to corrupt, God forbid, will be broken and destroyed. And this is: "the fragrance of your good oils — oil poured forth is your name." The oils of the true Torah are so good — even when it appears that the oil has been poured out from the vessel, the aspect of "oil poured forth" — nonetheless your name will grow forever. For the small amount of oil that remains illuminates the entire world by the power of the tzaddikim who continually draw the oils, the holy knowledge, anew at every time, as above. And this is "therefore maidens love you" — this is the aspect of converts and penitents, as Rashi explains there. For through the oil of the aforementioned tzaddikim whose fragrance is never interrupted, converts and penitents are added at every time, as above.

This is the aspect of good, and its opposite — that is, evil — and the intermediate. That is, the aspect of the Aitz HaDa’as [Tree of Knowledge], which is mixed of good and evil. Through these three aspects is the rectification of the malchus, which is the aspect of positive commandments [mitzvos asai] and negative commandments [mitzvos lo sa’aseh] and the discretionary [r’shus]. That is: to subdue the evil and to do good; and to refine the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge, to raise the good to holiness — in the aspect of the completeness of lashon hakodesh [the holy tongue] through targum [translation/Aramaic]. And as is understood from the discourse “Tefillah LaChavakuk” (siman 19).

Section 34

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together" — this is the aspect of praise of the excellence of the holy Yeshivos who engage in Torah, who are truly called brothers and companions, as it is said: "For the sake of my brothers and companions, I will speak peace." And this is "like the good oil upon the head" — the aspect of the aforementioned holy anointing oil. And this is "descending upon the beard, the beard of Aharon, that descends upon the opening of his garments" — contemplating the entire chain of the drawing of the holy oil, which is the holy knowledge, from its very beginning until it is drawn into holy counsels. And this is "like the good oil upon the head" — this is the aspect of its beginning, drawn through the drawing of the spirituality of Divinity, etc. And afterward "descending upon the beard" — this is the aspect of the man of understanding, the aspect of "from the elders I gain understanding." For "zaken" (elder) means one who has acquired wisdom. And this is "the beard of Aharon" — for its primary root is drawn through Aharon the Priest, the head — who is the aspect of the heads of the Yeshivos, who are the aspect of priests, as it is said: "let them teach Your statutes to Yaakov" etc. And this is "that descends upon the opening of his garments" — that is, it descends and is drawn into the "middos" (attributes) which are the aspect of the good counsels. For all the good counsels are in the aspect of the attributes from Chesed through Hod, where all the counsels reside, which are received from the man of understanding who draws the aforementioned oil. Through these counsels emunah grows — the aspect of Malchus — through it receiving counsels from the true tzaddik who is the aspect of "the tzaddik is the foundation of the world."

And this is "like the dew of Chermon that descends upon the mountains of Tzion" — this is the aspect of the abundance of holy livelihood, named "dew," the aspect of the manna which is livelihood that fell through the dew, as it is said: "when the dew descended upon the camp, the manna descended upon it." And this is "like the dew of Chermon" etc. — the aspect of good abundant livelihood that descends upon the mountains of Tzion, where the root of all bounty resides, as is known. For through livelihood one polishes one's soul — which is the very same aspect as the aforementioned oil. And this is "for there God commanded the blessing — life forever." That is, that the true life — which is the fulfillment of the Torah — should be drawn forever. That is, this dew and oil will never be interrupted forever, because of the great holiness of the true holy Yeshivos of the true tzaddikim — about whom it is said: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together."

Section 35

This corresponds to what the Sages said: "The commandment of the Chanukah candle — a man and his household. The mehadrin — a candle for each member. And the mehadrin min hamehadrin" etc. — "adding and going."

For it has already been explained that the Chanukah candle is the light of the true Torah that illuminates the world through the Torah study of the holy Yeshivos of Israel. Therefore there are three levels within it — which correspond to the three levels in the commandment of the Chanukah candle. They are as follows:

The primary Chanukah candle is for a man and his household — for it has been explained above that the primary holiness of all Jewish homes comes from the aspect of the holiness of the holy Yeshiva — the Rebbe who learns with students, etc. — and from there the light of Torah and the commandments illuminates, which is the aspect of the Chanukah candle, as above. Therefore the primary Chanukah candle is in the aspect of "a man and his household" — the head of the household must kindle and illuminate the aforementioned light of the Chanukah candle. For the head of the household — the homeowner — is in his home the aspect of the head of the holy Yeshiva, and from there he receives his vitality and holiness. The primary light of the Torah, which is the Chanukah candle, flows from him. Therefore the primary Chanukah candle is "a man and his household," as above.

The mehadrin — a candle for each member — for the mehadrin are more scrupulous and careful that every member of the household also kindles a Chanukah candle. For every member of the household is in the aspect of the students of the Rebbe who is the head of the Yeshiva. And the mehadrin labor in Torah so intensely that even those who were in the aspect of students merit also to learn and to teach — drawing the Torah of their Rebbe and giving it to drink to others, illuminating the light of the Rebbe's Torah and his holy counsels to their companions. This is the aspect of the Chanukah candle lighting — the light of Torah — of each and every member of the household, who are in the aspect of students. They too need to illuminate the Rebbe's Torah in the world, which is the aspect of the Chanukah candle lighting, as above.

The mehadrin min hamehadrin — adding and going: for they are not satisfied with what they illuminate and teach of the Rebbe's Torah itself to others. They also add and proceed each day to renew from themselves genuine novel Torah insights that bring to action. They delve and reveal deep counsels that are not explicitly stated in the Rebbe's Torah words — through which they strengthen their companions and arouse them to the service of the Holy One, blessed be He. All of this is the aspect of "adding and going" — the aspect of the addition of the light of Torah, the aspect of novel Torah insights that they renew themselves from within the Torah words they received from their true Rebbe. And this is the mehadrin min hamehadrin — adding and going each day, as above.

Section 36

And this is the aspect of: “Turn from evil and do good; seek peace” (Tehillim 34:15) — which are the three aspects mentioned above: to subdue the evil, to do good, and to refine and raise the good from the aspect of the intermediate. And this is the aspect of “seek peace,” for peace is the intermediate between two opposites. And through the rectification of the aspect of the intermediate, the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge, through it peace is made — for it is refined and sweetened from the evil and rises to the good, and peace is made between right and left. And therefore shalom [peace] in gematria equals Chashmal with the inclusions [kollelim], as is brought. For Chashmal is the aspect of the rectification of the lashon targum, the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge, as above.

This corresponds to the aspect of the Hallel of Chanukah — this is the aspect of the pure utterances that come into being through the repair of the mind, through the shields of the earth who strengthen themselves and break the evil thoughts and raise the oils from the aspect of "the seal in the flesh" to the aspect of the holy seal, etc. This is the aspect of the Chanukah candle, as above. And from there are drawn the pure utterances of God — utterances refined sevenfold — to revive and restore the fallen souls, to sustain them through the seven restorers of taste, in the aspect of "refined seven times," drawn from the seven heads of the two shins of the head-tefillin — the holy seal of the mind, as above — drawn from the seven shepherds, from whom Moshe our teacher, the faithful shepherd, is comprised, etc., as said there. All of this we draw through the lighting of the holy oil of the Chanukah candle, as above. For the mind of the tefillin is in the aspect of this good oil, in the aspect of: "and let good oil not be lacking from your head — these are tefillin," as our Sages expounded. This is the aspect of what we customarily say at the time of laying tefillin: "and pour the good oil upon the seven branches of the Menorah to bestow," etc. And from all of this the aforementioned pure utterances come into being, as explained there.

And this is the aspect of the Hallel of Chanukah. For Hallel is entirely the aspect of pure utterances that greatly restore and revive the soul — particularly the bitter soul over whom passes what passes in one's sins. And when the true tzaddik revives and restores one's soul through the seven restorers of taste — the aforementioned pure utterances — he revives and restores one's soul so much that he arouses and awakens one so that one's soul rejoices so greatly that one's mouth is opened to sing and chant and exult and praise and laud the Holy One, blessed be He, for all the wondrous kindnesses He did with him — to save and rescue him from between the teeth of the forces of evil, etc. All of this is the aspect of the Hallel that is said on the days on which the Holy One, blessed be He, wrought miracles for us in His mercy. For the primary miracles and wonders and salvations and battles He wrought for us then — and also now, as the holiness of the illumination of the miracle in those days at this time flows upon us — all of it is that in His mercy He saved us then and now from the forces of evil and the husks, which are the evil kingdom in the physical and spiritual. In His great compassion He saved us from them — so that we should not be lost among them entirely, God forbid — that they should not cause us to forget His Torah and should not make us transgress the statutes of His will, etc. And for this we recite Hallel wholeheartedly, as all the words of the holy Hallel are full of this — as it is said: "He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the destitute from the dunghill" etc. "God protects the simple; I was brought low and He saved me." "Return, my soul, to your rest, for God has dealt bountifully with you, for You have delivered my soul from death" etc. "What shall I render unto God?" etc. "From the narrow place I called to God; He answered me with the breadth of God." "God is for me, I will not fear" etc. "God is for me among my helpers" etc. "All nations surrounded me; in the name of God I will cut them off. They surrounded me, they also surrounded me; in the name of God I will cut them off" etc. "They surrounded me like bees" etc. "In the name of God" etc. And similarly much more — for all these holy words are the aspect of pure utterances drawn from Moshe our teacher and from all the tzaddikim who are in the aspect of Moshe, who revive and restore the soul through them, until one's mouth is opened to speak with one's own tongue the aforementioned pure utterances — to revive and restore one's own soul. For speech has great power. For the tzaddikim arouse them with the aspect of "shake yourself from the dust, arise" etc. "Awaken, speak in song." And as said in his holy verses: "Raise your voice, sweetly with songs and thanksgiving" etc. "Lift your eyes on high" etc.

And these are the three laws of the four guardians, which are the aspect of the rectification of the malchus, as above — which are: liability, exemption, and intermediate, the aspect of the three rectifications mentioned above, corresponding to the three aspects of good, evil, and intermediate, as above.

Section 37

Also, Hallel is the aspect of joy. As it is said: "This is the day God has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." This is the aspect of the joy that is drawn to strengthen the power of the angel, to repair the angels so that the oils should not be damaged, God forbid — through the nocturnal emission that comes, God forbid, through the damage of eating. For this joy is needed, as said there. And this is the aspect of Hallel, which is the aspect of joy, as above. And this is the aspect of the festive meals made on Chanukah — even though the Code of Law writes that the multiplied meals of Chanukah are optional meals, etc. — the Rama concludes that some say there is a slight commandment in them. And the Rama concludes, and this is the primary ruling: the custom is to say songs and praises at the meals that are multiplied, and then they are commanded meals. And so is the truth. For certainly when one multiplies on Chanukah with meals of drunkenness and frivolity, etc., they are certainly worse than optional meals. But most upright and God-fearing Jews customarily tell at these meals of the strength of the miracle He wrought for us then, and how the illumination of these miracles and salvations flows upon us each year — as is explained now in all the holy books, and particularly in the writings of the Arizal — that at each and every holy time, the illumination of that miracle which occurred in those days flows upon us. For example, on Pesach the Exodus from Egypt, etc., and on Chanukah the miracle of Chanukah, etc. And through this we rejoice with the joy of a commandment at these meals, and they are certainly commanded meals — in the aspect of "there is nothing better for man than to eat and drink and rejoice on holidays," as the Sages said. For the primary repair of eating — which is the repair of the covenant, as above — is through joy, as above.

Section 38

Also, Hallel is the aspect of the repair of judgment, which is the primary completion of the repair that must be drawn, as above. For the repair of judgment is to know and believe that God is righteous and His judgments are upright, etc. — all of which is drawn from the Rebbe with students, who are the aspect of the holy Yeshiva, engaging in holy learning to draw holy emunah and the ways of true simplicity into the world, etc., as above. Through this one merits the repair of judgment — to attain the aspect of "the tzaddik and good is his lot," etc. Through this the aspect of the repair of judgment is drawn into the heart of every individual — so that one should not question, God forbid, His attributes, etc. (As above in Section 15, etc.) And this is the aspect of Hallel — the aspect of "in God I praise His word; in God I praise His word" — the aspect of "lovingkindness and justice I shall sing to You, O God, I will make music; I will contemplate the blameless way" etc. — all of which is the aspect of the repair of judgment.

And this is the aspect of the shomer chinam, who swears regarding everything and is exempt — which is in the aspect of holiness, the aspect of good, where all the exemptions are and there is no liability at all. And this is the aspect of the shomer chinam, who does not desire any payment of wages, but does everything out of love — like a son who serves his father out of love. And this is the aspect of the rectification of the malchus through the aspect of “son” [ben], in the aspect of: “All of Israel are children of kings” — as our Sages of blessed memory said (Shabbos 67a).

Section 39

This corresponds to the Sages' ruling that the commandment of the Chanukah candle is "from when the sun sets" — meaning from the time the stars appear, as stated in the Code of Law — "until the foot ceases from the marketplace." For it is explained there in the aforementioned Torah teaching on the Sages' statement "in the world's creation, first darkness and then light" — that the absence of counsel is the aspect of the darkness of night, and the revelation of counsel is the aspect of the light of day, the aspect of "He reveals deep things from the darkness," etc., see there. For this is the primary excellence and completeness of the true counsels of the tzaddik — that he reveals and illuminates within the heart of a person extraordinarily deep counsels from within the powerful darkness that overcomes and spreads over a person each time, darkening everything, God forbid.

But the sho’ail is the opposite — for all the benefit is his. Which corresponds to the aspect of the Sitra Achara, which seeks and craves all the desires and pleasures. And therefore he needs extra guarding, for there one must guard most. And therefore he is liable for everything, for there are all the liabilities — for it is called “obligation” [chovah], as is brought.

And this is the aspect of why the commandment of the Chanukah candle is "from when the sun sets" etc. For the primary revelation of the light of the good counsel is in the day, as above. For the totality of the good counsels is the aspect of the 613 commandments, called the 613 counsels of Torah. And all the commandments of the Torah — which are the holy counsels, as it is said: "Mine are counsel and sound wisdom" — Moshe was commanded by day, as it is said: "on the day He commanded" — the Sages said: "this teaches that He spoke with him only by day." Also, most commandments are fulfilled only by day — such as tzitzis, tefillin, etc. For the primary light of day is the aspect of the light of the Torah and the commandments, which are the aspect of true holy counsels to merit to recognize the Creator through them — through the holy emunah drawn through them, as above. When night comes and "at night the wings spread out over the world" and the light of day is withdrawn and the darkness of night begins to darken — this is the aspect of the withdrawal of the light of the counsels from which comes this darkness, as above. Then Jews need to strengthen themselves by the power of the tzaddikim to illuminate the light of the counsels even within the darkness of night — meaning to draw from the light of day into the night. This is the aspect of the lighting of a candle at night. For the power of fire from which candles are kindled is drawn from the light of day — that is, from the light of the sun, from which the moon receives and from which the element of fire receives its power. For the element of fire is below the sphere of the moon, as is known, and receives its power from there — and all is drawn from the heat of the sun. For even the moon receives from the sun. It follows that the power of the lights of fire from which candles are kindled is drawn from the lights — which are the lights of the sun and moon — all of whose light is drawn from the light of the Torah and the commandments, which are His light, may He be blessed, the aspect of "for God is a sun and shield."

And the shomer sachar is the aspect of the servant [eved], for he is hired to guard like a servant. And therefore he is an intermediate — liable in part and exempt in part, in the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge that is mixed of good and evil. And this is the aspect of Matat[ron], who is the aspect of the servant.

And this is the aspect of the craftsmen [umnin] who are paid guardians. For I heard from our master, our teacher and our rabbi [i.e., Rabbainu], may his light shine, regarding the discourse “Tefillah LaChavakuk” mentioned above — regarding what he said there, that the aspect of milah [circumcision] is in the aspect of Chashmal, in the aspect of the completeness of lashon hakodesh through targum, which is the Tree of Knowledge. That is, that one refines and raises the good to holiness — see there.

And he said that this is the answer to the heretics [teshuvos haminim], as it is brought in the Midrash, that they asked: If Hashem, blessed be He, desires the circumcision, why did He not create man already circumcised? For how is it possible that the work of Hashem, blessed be He, should lack rectification?

But it is in the aspect mentioned above. For even though the lashon hakodesh that comes from Above is complete, even so, it has no completeness except through the good that is raised from the lashon targum. And this is the aspect of the milah, as above. That is, the things that come from Above to this world have no completeness except when one refines the holiness in this world from the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil — which is the aspect of the completeness of lashon hakodesh through lashon targum.

And it appears, in my humble opinion, that this is also hinted at in the Midrash that is brought there: “Wheat needs to be ground,” etc. — “even man needs rectification” — see there. That is, all things need rectification, that is, birur [refinement] — which is the aspect of the birur of the Tree of Knowledge. And this is the aspect of the milah, as above.

And this is the aspect of all the craftsmanship [umanus] in the world. For certainly: “Everything that G–d has made — one cannot add to it or subtract from it, and He has made everything beautiful” (Koheles 3:14). And even so, all things need rectification by man. And this is the aspect of all craftsmanship. For no complete vessel is created from Heaven — and specifically the lower beings, people, must be craftsmen and rectify the vessels. For this is why Hashem, blessed be He, created His world — that people should rectify all things. And this is the aspect of the birur of the Tree of Knowledge, the aspect of the completeness of lashon hakodesh through targum, which is the aspect of the rectification of the milah, as above.

And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said in Maseches Kiddushin: that one must learn a craft, and afterward marry a woman, as it is written: “See life with the woman,” etc. (Koheles 9:9) — “life” is the aspect of craftsmanship. For craftsmanship is also the aspect of the rectification of the bris [covenant], as above. And this is what they said there: “There is no poverty from craftsmanship and no wealth,” etc. — “Rather, let him seek mercy from the One Who,” etc. For even though we see that people earn their livelihood from craftsmanship, one must know and believe that this is only through his rectifying those vessels that he completes through his craft — which is the aspect of the rectification of the bris, as above. And through this sustenance is drawn to him, for upon this depends sustenance — as is brought many times, that sustenance depends on the rectification of the bris. And the essential [element] is through refining the birurim and raising them upward — through which abundance is drawn, as is known.

[continued:] It emerges that even though one earns his livelihood from craftsmanship, this is only through the rectification and the birur, as above. And therefore there is no poverty or wealth from the craftsmanship itself, but rather according to the rectification — according to what one merits to refine and rectify, as above. And this is what they said: “Rather, let him seek mercy” — for the essential thing is tefillah. For the essential birur and rectification is tefillah, as is brought — that the greatest birur of all is only through tefillah.

And this is what they said there: “I set aside all the crafts in the world and teach my son only Torah.” For the Torah rectifies everything. And therefore the Torah is called oman [master craftsman], as it is written: “And I was with Him as an oman” (Mishlai 8:30).

But aside from the Torah — that is, one who does not merit to learn Torah — certainly must learn a craft, as our Sages of blessed memory strongly admonished there. For craftsmanship is rectification and birur, the aspect of the rectification of the bris. And through this one merits sustenance, as above.

And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: “Idleness leads to immorality” [habatalah m’vi’ah lidai zimah]. That is, one who does not do work comes to the blemish of the bris. For the idleness from craftsmanship is the aspect of the blemish of the bris, as above. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: “Anyone who does not teach his son a craft, it is as if he taught him banditry” [listus]. For banditry and robbery is the aspect of the blemish of the bris, as Rabbainu of blessed memory wrote in the discourse on robbery (siman 69). For even if he does not actually come to commit robberies, even so, he is called a robber — as if he robs the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were. For “the earth is Hashem’s and its fullness” (Tehillim 24:1), and a person does not merit and is not permitted to benefit from the world until he rectifies things — through which he acquires and merits those things. And this is the aspect of: it is forbidden to benefit from this world before reciting a blessing — which is the rectification. And after the blessing, it is his, as our Sages of blessed memory said: since he rectified it. But before the blessing, it says: “The earth is Hashem’s and its fullness.” And one who benefits without a blessing, it is as if he robs the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Congregation of Israel, as our Sages of blessed memory said there in Berachos. And therefore a person must specifically engage in some occupation — either in Torah or in craftsmanship and trade — in order to make some rectification, for which he came to this world. And therefore one who has no craft is a robber, as if he robs Him, blessed be He, as above. [summary:] It emerges that craftsmanship is in the aspect of the rectification of the bris, in the aspect of the milah, which is the aspect of Chashmal — which is the aspect of the completeness of lashon hakodesh through the targum, which is the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge, as above. And therefore the craftsmen are paid guardians — for they are in the aspect of paid guardians who are in the aspect of targum, in the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge, as above. And likewise the socheir — his law is like a shomer sachar. For the shomer sachar is the aspect of a servant who serves in order to receive a reward, as above. And therefore he is in the aspect of Matat[ron], the aspect of the servant, the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge that is mixed of good and evil. And therefore the law of the shomer sachar is liability and exemption, as above. And likewise the socheir is also in this aspect, since he has benefit — for he uses the object — he is also in the aspect of one who serves in order to receive a reward, which is the aspect of the servant, as above. For these four guardians also hint at the service of Hashem. For those who serve are called “guardians,” as it is written: “And he guarded My charge, My commandments,” etc. (Beraishis 26:5). And there are among them four aspects mentioned above, whose generality is three aspects mentioned above — that is, liability and exemption and a mixture of both. And it can be hinted that this is the aspect of the four who entered the Pardais [orchard] — which Rabbainu, may his light shine, wrote about (siman 31): that these four aspects are found among those who enter the service of Hashem and draw close to the Tzaddik. For there is one who enters in peace and exits in peace — the aspect of Rabbi Akiva. And there is the opposite — one who chops the plantings [m’katzeitz ban’ti’os]. And there is the aspect of: “he peeked and was stricken” [haitzitz v’nifga] — “he peeked and died” — that is, one who snatches and enters beyond his level — see all of this in the discourse on Kisufin. And this is the aspect of the four guardians, whose generality is three — that is, liability, exemption, and intermediate, as above. That is: the shomer chinam is exempt from everything, which is the aspect of one who serves Hashem with love, for free, without any receiving of reward. And there is the aspect of all the exemptions — for it is the ultimate completeness of holiness, where there is no liability at all. And this is the aspect of “entered in peace and exited in peace,” which is the completeness of holiness. And there is the opposite — the aspect of the sho’ail, where all the benefit is his and he does not pay any wages. And he is the exact opposite of the shomer chinam, who is the aspect of a guardian and servant for free, without any receiving of wages — and he is the aspect of “free” [chinam] that is within holiness, as our Sages of blessed memory said: “Just as I am for free, so too you shall be for free.” And the sho’ail is the opposite — the aspect of “free” of the Sitra Achara, which is called “free” — as it is written: “We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt for free” (Bamidbar 11:5) — free from mitzvos. For he wants all the desires for free, without wages — that is, without any mitzvos or service of Hashem. And this is the aspect of the sho’ail, where all the benefit is his and he does not pay any wages. And this is the aspect of “chopping the plantings” — which is the aspect of completely evil, as above. And therefore he is liable for everything, for there are all the liabilities, as above. And the shomer sachar is the aspect of one who guards and serves for the sake of receiving wages. And likewise the socheir is the aspect of one who gives wages — that is, the aspect of the service of Hashem that is the aspect of “wages” that are given to Him, blessed be He, as it were, as it is written: “If it is good in your eyes, give me my wages” (Zechariyah 11:12). But he also has benefit — the aspect of the socheir who has benefit from the object. And these two aspects — that is, the shomer sachar and the socheir, who are in the aspect of those who serve in order to receive a reward, as above, and therefore are in the aspect of the servant, the aspect of Matat[ron], the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, as above — they are in the aspect of “he peeked and was stricken,” “he peeked,” etc. For their blemish was in the aspect of the blemish of the Tree of Knowledge, as is brought, and as it says in the Tikkunim: “On the day you eat from it, you shall surely die” — on that day, “he peeked,” etc. For this blemish of “peeking” — that is, entering and gazing at what is not fitting for him — this blemish is because he wants to receive wages, and his service and his entering into the holiness is for the sake of wages. And therefore, since he chooses wages and craves the wages — through this he could come to transgress His will, blessed be He, to enter beyond his boundary, because of the desire for the wondrous reward. For the aspect of entering the Pardais — that itself is the reward. It emerges that the aspect of “he peeked” is the aspect of one who serves for the sake of the reward of the World to Come — through which he could come to the aspect of “peeking,” to enter beyond his boundary, as above. And this is the aspect of the shomer sachar and the socheir, as above. But one who serves without any receiving of reward, who only wants to serve Him and do His will, blessed be He, alone — he certainly will not enter beyond what is fitting for him, and will not transgress His will, blessed be He, since he does not want anything except His will, blessed be He.