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“The craftsmen are paid guardians” — the matter of the four guardians.

Based on the discourse “Maishara D’Sakina,” etc. (siman 30). See there: for the lower saichel, the aspect of chochmah tata’ah [the lower wisdom] — which is the aspect of the wisdom that is in each and every world, which directs the world — this is the aspect of malchus [sovereignty]. And to attain this saichel is through “hating gain” [sonai betza]. And therefore in the days of Shmuel, etc. And one must draw life-force to this saichel, and the essential life-force is from the or hapanim [the light of the countenance] that illuminates on the Festivals [r’galim], etc.

And sometimes the aspect of chochmah tata’ah, the aspect of the saichel mentioned above, the aspect of malchus, falls — and from this is made the arba malchuyos [four kingdoms/empires], etc. And each person must see to cut and separate the malchus d’k’dushah [the sovereignty of holiness] from the four kingdoms. And this is accomplished through chesed, in the aspect of: “And a throne is established through chesed” [v’huchan bachesed kisai] (Yeshayahu 16:5), in the aspect of “reap according to chesed,” etc. And for this reason Avraham pursued the four kings — for they are the aspect of the four kingdoms. For he was a man of chesed, and through the chesed he cut and separated the malchus d’k’dushah from the four kingdoms. And therefore four sons came forth from him, which correspond to the “four sons of whom the Torah speaks,” etc. — which are the aspect of dalet [four], the aspect of the malchus d’k’dushah, which is the aspect of dalet, etc. See there, all of this, explained well. And this is the aspect of the four guardians. For guarding is the aspect of malchus, which is the aspect of shamor [guarding/observing], as is brought. For it is the attribute of night, when guarding is needed, as is known. And therefore they are four guardians, corresponding to the aspect of the malchus, which is the aspect of dalet, as above — where guarding is needed from the four kingdoms. And the essential guarding is according to what one merits to raise the malchus d’k’dushah from the four kingdoms through chesed, and to give it life through the or hapanim. For through this one is guarded from all types of damages. For all the possessions of a person and all his wealth are the aspect of malchus. For malchus is the aspect of wealth, for from the aspect of malchus all things in the world emerge — for it is the aspect of the saichel that directs the entire world, as above. And therefore the essential rectification of the malchus d’k’dushah is through hating gain [sonai betza]. For when one falls into the desire for money, then one blemishes the malchus d’k’dushah, which is the aspect of wealth, as above. But one who hates gain and merits the aspect of the chochmah mentioned above, the aspect of malchus d’k’dushah — then his money and his wealth and all his possessions are very precious. For the money of holiness [mamon d’k’dushah] is very precious, as is brought in the words of Rabbainu of blessed memory in another place. For it is the aspect of malchus d’k’dushah, as above. And therefore the money of holiness needs great guarding, for it is the aspect of malchus, where great guarding is needed from the aspect of the four kingdoms, which are the aspect of wild beasts [chayos ra’os] — as it is written in Daniel and in Zechariyah, who compared the four kingdoms to four wild beasts. For from them come all the damages in the world. And therefore the money of holiness needs great guarding from them. (And as Rabbainu of blessed memory strongly warned many many times to guard very carefully the money of Israel, which is the aspect of the money of holiness. For it needs great guarding, as above.) And the essential guarding of the money and the wealth, which is the aspect of malchus, is through raising the aspect of the malchus — the chochmah tata’ah mentioned above — from the four kingdoms, and raising it and giving it life through the or hapanim. Through this one is guarded from all types of damages — from theft, loss, and unavoidable circumstances. For the four kingdoms are the aspect of wild beasts that ravage and tear, as above. And this is the aspect of unavoidable circumstances [onsin], which are through a wild beast and an armed bandit — and this is the aspect of the four kingdoms, as above. And therefore when one cuts and separates the malchus d’k’dushah from them, through this one is saved from unavoidable circumstances, as above. And through giving life to the chochmah tata’ah through the or hapanim, as above, through this one is saved from theft and loss. For theft and loss are through the blemish of the da’as. For the essential theft and loss come through distraction [hesach hada’as] — for it is specifically then that the thief comes, and likewise with loss, as is known through actual experience. And therefore theft and loss are the aspect of the blemish of the da’as. And therefore, through giving life to the chochmah tata’ah, the aspect of malchus, through the or hapanim — which is the aspect of the illumination of the upper saichel that illuminates and completes the lower saichel — it emerges that the saichel is completed. And therefore through this one is saved from theft and loss, which depend on the completeness of the da’as, as above. It emerges that through raising the malchus d’k’dushah from the four kingdoms and giving it life through the or hapanim, through this one is saved from all types of damages — from theft, loss, and unavoidable circumstances, as above. And this is the aspect of the different laws that exist among the guardians. For the sho’ail [borrower] is liable for everything. For the sho’ail — all the benefit is his, and therefore he is liable for everything. For the essential raising of the malchus d’k’dushah from the four kingdoms is through chesed, in the aspect of: “And a throne is established through chesed.” And therefore all the possessions of a person, which are the aspect of his malchus — and a person receives benefit from each and every object — and this benefit is the aspect of ahavah [love], the aspect of chesed, from which come all loves and pleasures. And therefore every person must see to raise all the loves and pleasures that he has from any object or from any thing in the world — to raise everything to Hashem, blessed be He, to raise the love to its root, to the aspect of chesed that is in holiness. And then, through raising the love that is in that thing to the aspect of chesed that is in holiness — through this he raises the aspect of the malchus from the four kingdoms, through the chesed that is in holiness, through which is the essential raising of the malchus, as above. For the possessions themselves are the aspect of malchus, as above. And when one does not raise, G–d forbid, the love that is in that object to its root, then, G–d forbid, through this one gives power to the four kingdoms of the Sitra Achara. For just as the raising of the malchus d’k’dushah is through the chesed that is in holiness — so too, in reverse, through the fallen loves [ahavos n’fulos], G–d forbid, the malchus harish’ah [the wicked kingdom] — which is the four kingdoms — overpowers. For all the desires in the world are the aspect of fallen loves, and through them the wicked kingdom overpowers, G–d forbid, through the blemish of the chesed of holiness, from which come the fallen loves, as above. But when one breaks all the desires and all the pleasures and raises everything to its root, to the root of the love which is the aspect of chesed that is in holiness — through this one subdues and nullifies the wicked kingdom, the aspect of the four kingdoms. And one cuts and separates and raises the malchus d’k’dushah from there, for the essential raising is through the chesed, as above, in the aspect of: “And a throne is established through chesed,” as above. And this is the aspect of tzedakah — that one must give tzedakah from every thing. For through the tzedakah, which is the aspect of chesed, through this one raises the malchus — which is the aspect of the wealth — from the four kingdoms, as above. And then, when one raises all the loves and pleasures that one has from every object and every thing in the world, raising everything to the root of the chesed that is in holiness, as above — then one raises the malchus, which is the aspect of wealth, from the four kingdoms, and raises it to the or hapanim, as above. Then one is guarded from all types of damages — from theft, loss, and unavoidable circumstances, as above. And this is the aspect of: “The salt of money is decrease” [melach mamon chaseir] (K’subos 66b). For one who wants to guard his money so that it should endure in his hand and no damage should have power over it — then “decrease” [chaseir] — that is, he should give tzedakah, as Rashi explained there. For through the tzedakah, which is the aspect of chesed, through which one raises the malchus — which is the aspect of wealth — from the four kingdoms, through this one is saved from all types of damages, as above. And therefore the sho’ail, where all the benefit is his, is liable even for unavoidable circumstances. For since he receives benefit from this thing, he must guard the thing even from unavoidable circumstances. For he must raise the benefit and the love of that thing to its root, to the aspect of chesed that is in holiness — and through this one is saved from all the damages, as above. And therefore the thing stands in the domain of the borrower even regarding unavoidable circumstances. For upon him is placed the guarding even from unavoidable circumstances, since the benefit is his. Therefore he must guard the thing by raising all the pleasures to their root, to the aspect of chesed that is in holiness — and through this one is guarded from all the damages, as above. And therefore if even an unavoidable circumstance occurred, the sho’ail is liable. For the unavoidable circumstance came through his own arrow [b’gira dilai] — because he did not raise the malchus to its root through the love and the chesed that is in holiness, as above. But the other guardians are exempt from unavoidable circumstances. For since they do not receive all the benefit, it is not placed upon them to raise the love and the benefit of that thing to its root — through which one is guarded even from unavoidable circumstances. Since not all the benefit is theirs, but rather belongs to the ba’al habayis [the owner] — therefore the thing is in the domain of the ba’al habayis. For they cannot guard from unavoidable circumstances, for this depends only on one where all the benefit is his, as above. For one whose benefit it is — he specifically can guard from unavoidable circumstances, by raising the benefit to the root of the chesed that is in holiness, through which one raises the malchus d’k’dushah from the four kingdoms, through which one is guarded from unavoidable circumstances, as above. However, even so, the shomer sachar is liable for theft and loss, which come through the blemish of the da’as. For since he receives wages from his fellow, and through the wages that he receives from his fellow, he draws life-force from his fellow to the aspect of his own chochmah tata’ah. For the aspect of the chochmah tata’ah is completed through the aspect of the abundance and the wealth that is drawn to the person. For the aspect of the chochmah tata’ah that exists in every person is the aspect of wealth, the aspect of malchus, as above. And through the money of Israel, the money of holiness, the aspect of chochmah tata’ah is more fully completed and illuminated. For the abundance of the money of Israel, the money of holiness, is drawn from a lofty place, and completes and gives life to the aspect of chochmah tata’ah, which is the aspect of wealth, as above. And as is understood in another place in the discourse “G’zailah” (siman 69) — see there. And therefore the shomer sachar, since his fellow gives him wages and through these wages he receives life-force in the aspect of his chochmah tata’ah from his fellow — therefore he is liable for theft and loss, which depend on the blemish of the da’as, as above. But the shomer chinam, where the benefit is not his and he does not receive any wages — he is not liable for anything. For he is only obligated to guard, since he took upon himself to guard. But when he guards properly, and even so, a theft or an unavoidable circumstance occurred — what could he have done? For the thing is not in his responsibility. But the shomer sachar or the sho’ail — the thing is in their responsibility even though they guarded properly. Even so, the thing is in their responsibility regarding theft and loss or unavoidable circumstances, each one according to his law. For the responsibility of the thing depends on who is placed upon to raise the aspect of the malchus, the aspect of chochmah tata’ah, that is in that thing. That is, the sho’ail, where all the benefit is his, upon him is placed to raise the aspect of the malchus through the chesed that is in holiness, through which one is saved from all damages. And therefore the thing is in his responsibility even for unavoidable circumstances. And likewise the shomer sachar, regarding theft and loss. And understand this matter well. And therefore the craftsmen are paid guardians. For the rectification of the craftsmen, who repair some thing, is through the aspect of chochmah tata’ah, which is the aspect of the master craftsman [uman] of every thing in the world. For the essential craftsmanship is through the saichel, which is the master craftsman that repairs every thing in the world. And therefore the holy Torah, which is the aspect of chochmah from which all the wisdoms in the world are drawn — it is the aspect of the master craftsman of the entire world, as it is written: “And I was with Him as an oman” — a master craftsman [uman] (Mishlai 8:30). And from there the chochmah chains down to all people, who also have wisdom to do craftsmanship, to repair all things. For all things need repair and craftsmanship — for so did Hashem, blessed be He, create the world through the Torah, which is the master craftsman — that all people should receive wisdom from the wisdoms of the Torah, and there should be in their hands also craftsmanship to make vessels and repair all things in the world through their wisdom, which they receive from the wisdoms of the Torah. And therefore Hashem, blessed be He, created all things so that they should need repair by people, as is brought in the Midrash (Beraishis Rabbah 11): that all things need repair by people. It emerges that all craftsmanship is through the aspect of chochmah — that is, through the aspect of chochmah tata’ah, which is the wisdom that directs the world. And therefore the craftsmen are paid guardians. For since he girded his loins to be a craftsman and to repair that thing, it emerges that he obligated himself to draw life-force to that thing. For craftsmanship is the aspect of chochmah that gives life to the thing and repairs it. And therefore he is liable like the shomer sachar — that is, he is liable for theft and loss, which depend on the completeness of the da’as, that is, through giving life to the aspect of the chochmah tata’ah, as above. For the craftsman — the essential craftsmanship is this very aspect: to draw life-force through the Torah, to give life to the chochmah tata’ah, through which is the craftsmanship and the repair of every thing. And therefore the responsibility of theft and loss is upon him, as above. But for unavoidable circumstances they are exempt — for from unavoidable circumstances one cannot guard except through the aspect of the chesed, as above. And this depends on the one who receives the benefit, who must raise the benefit and the love to the root of the chesed that is in holiness, through which one raises the malchus from the four kingdoms, from which come all the unavoidable circumstances, and raises it, etc. — through which one is saved from all types of damages. And this is the essential guarding, as above. Baruch Hashem l’olam, amain v’amain. And this is the aspect of Birchas Kohanim [the Priestly Blessing], the aspect of: “Koh [thus] shall you bless” (Bamidbar 6:23) — “koh” specifically, the aspect of malchus, as is known. For the Kohanim are the aspect of chesed, and therefore they are able to raise and bless and give life to the aspect of the malchus — which is the aspect of all of Israel — in the aspect of: “Koh [thus] shall you bless.” And this is the aspect of: “May Hashem bless you” — with money [b’mamon]. For money, that is, wealth, is the aspect of malchus d’k’dushah. And through the abundance of the money of holiness, illumination and life-force is drawn to the aspect of the malchus, as above. And this is: “and guard you” [v’yishm’recha] — from the damaging forces — that is, from the aspect of the four kingdoms, which are the damaging forces of the world, from which come all the damages, as above. For the Kohanim, who are the aspect of chesed, raise the malchus from them, in the aspect of: “reap according to chesed,” as above. And then they raise the malchus to the or hapanim, as above. And this is the aspect of: “May Hashem cause His countenance to shine upon you” [ya’air Hashem panav ailecha] — the aspect of the or hapanim, as above. Regarding Shmuel it is written (Shmuel I 1:28): “From Hashem I asked for him, and also I have lent him to Hashem; all the days that he lives, he is lent [sha’ul] to Hashem.” The Holy One, blessed be He, became a “borrower” [sho’ail] regarding him, as Rashi explained there. “And Shmuel cut [it] apart” [vay’shaseif Shmuel] — specifically.