נזקי ממון ג

According to the Torah teaching "And Hashem G-d built the tzela [rib/side]" — in Likutay Moharan, Part I, §67 — see the entire Torah there carefully from beginning to end.

And therefore the Torah warned to give the wages to the hired worker at his appointed time and in its proper time, and not to delay his wages, as it is written: "On his day you shall give him his wages," etc.; "for he is poor, and to it he lifts up his soul" (Devarim 24:15). For immediately when he completes his labor and goes out from the servitude, which is the aspect of forgetfulness, one must immediately give him his wages that he labored for, which is the aspect of the sifting of the sparks, the aspect of the tikun of his soul, which is the aspect of the tikun of the memory. For through this he immediately rectifies the blemish of forgetfulness that he descended into through the aspect of servitude, as above. And therefore the Torah warned very much to give his wages on his day specifically, not to delay from one day to the next. For the tikun of the memory — one must be very careful each and every day, to guard the memory each day specifically. That is, to remind oneself each and every day of the World to Come. For the essential forgetfulness is drawn through the abundance of time, as one sees through the senses — that through the length of time the thing is forgotten. As it is written in Koheles: "With the increase of days, everything is forgotten." For the essential aspect of forgetfulness takes hold from the aspect of the shinuyim [changes] that exist in the world each day and at every time. For Hashem, blessed be He, does wonders at every time, and in His goodness renews each day constantly the act of Creation. And each day the sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening, and no day is like its fellow. For there are great changes each and every day, for each and every day holy sparks are being sifted and ascend that have not yet been sifted since the beginning of the world, as is understood from the Kavanos [Writings of the Arizal]. And also in physicality, one who understands a little can see through the senses that there are changes every day, and no day whatsoever is like its fellow — whether in the nature of the day itself, that on this day it is colder and on this day there are clouds and rain, and the like — many changes in the matter of the air and the wind and the rest of the occurrences of time, in which there are many changes each and every day. For Hashem, blessed be He, changes the times in His wisdom. And likewise in the events of a person, and his movements, and his thoughts, and his conduct — there are many changes in them each and every day, for one who looks upon them. And from the abundance of these changes that occur each day, the forgetfulness is drawn. For they preoccupy the person from remembering the World to Come. And one can also see through the senses a little, that each day and time, the world speaks about the changes — that today it is colder, and today it is hot, and today we need rain, and today there is too much rain, and the like. And in these times, sustenance is difficult. And in particular the changes that each person has in his own personal matters: this one is preoccupied with his wealth and his business dealings; this one is preoccupied with his poverty and his financial pressure; this one is busy raising his many sons and daughters, for he has the pain of raising children; this one is childless; this one tells of the events of wars that are heard now in the world; and the like — changes and details that are many without end, that preoccupy a person each day, until it seems to him each day as if this day does not count for him as time of his life, and that on this day it is hard for him to serve Hashem, blessed be He, in completeness, because of the change and the confusion of that day. But in truth, Hashem, blessed be He, constricts Himself from the Infinite to the endless, all the way to the central point of this physical world where a person stands in his place on that day and at that hour specifically. And He arranges for him a thought, a word, and a deed each and every day, according to the day, according to the place, and according to the person. And He hints to him through them specifically, hints to draw close to His service. And whoever merits to enlarge his da'as and to understand each and every day these hints — this is the aspect of sh'miras hazikaron, as above. Or even when he does not have this intellect to enlarge his da'as in them — when at the very least he believes with complete emunah that in all the changes and events of time, of person, and of place, in all of them His Elokus, blessed be He, is clothed. For He, blessed be He, constricts Himself in them specifically, as it were, in order to draw him close to His service, as above. Then a new recognition and a new knowledge is added to him each day, and new and wondrous yearnings and longings at every time toward Him, blessed be He, and toward His service. And this is the aspect of sh'miras hazikaron, as is explained there — that one must guard the memory each day upon awakening from sleep, and afterward, etc. — see there. But "G-d has made one corresponding to the other" (Koheles 7:14), and the k'lipah precedes the fruit. Therefore the ba'al davar [the Adversary] takes hold of these changes and preoccupies the person and brings him to forgetfulness through the changes. For his essential hold is in the changes, for from there is the hold of the heresies [k'firos], which is the aspect of the yaitzer hara, as is known. And therefore a person must be very careful each day specifically to guard the memory well, as above. And therefore before K'rias Sh'ma, which is the aspect of zikaron — for we remember Hashem, blessed be He, and unify Him each day — and therefore all the five remembrances [chamesh z'chiros], which are the aspect of sh'miras hazikaron mentioned above, as is explained in another place (in Hilchos Talmud Torah), are all included in K'rias Sh'ma and its blessings, as is brought. And therefore before K'rias Sh'ma we bless the blessing of Yotzair Or [Who forms light], which is one of the blessings of K'rias Sh'ma. And at first glance it is difficult: what connection does the blessing of Yotzair Or have to K'rias Sh'ma? But in truth, everything is one. For each and every day that Hashem, blessed be He, renews the act of Creation and changes the times, we must then guard the memory well — to remember and to know and to believe that all the changes are drawn from Him, blessed be He, for the benefit of the person, to draw him close to His service, blessed be He. For He, blessed be He, "does great things beyond comprehension, and wonders beyond number" (Iyov 9:10) — all for the sake of drawing a person close to His service, to bring him to the eternal purpose, to the life of the World to Come, to eternal and true life. And about this we bless the blessing of: "Who forms light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates everything," etc.; "Who illuminates the earth," etc.; "and in His goodness renews," etc.; "How manifold are Your works, Hashem," etc. And then we unify Him and say K'rias Sh'ma: "Hear, O Yisra'ail, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One" — to know and to make known that all the changes of each and every day, everything is from Him, blessed be He. For all the varied actions of each day are drawn from the Simple One [Echad HaPashut]. And this is the essential aspect of the zikaron — to know and to believe that Hashem, blessed be He, constricts His Elokus in all the changes of every kind of thought, word, and deed that are in the world, on each day, in each person, and in each place, as above. And see on this matter in the Eitz Chayim, at its beginning, in Haichal Adam Kadmon, Sha'ar 1, Anaf 5 — what is brought there: "And moreover, each and every hour the worlds change, and no hour is like the next. And one who looks into the matter of the movement of the constellations and stars," etc. — see there, where it is elaborated on this. And it brings there the teaching of the Tikunim: "The garments that He wears in the morning He does not wear in the evening, and the garment that He wears on this day He does not wear on the next day." And through this you will understand how the state and standing of the worlds — which are the garments of the Ain Sof — change at every time and every moment, etc. — see there. And all these things are included in what Rabbainu of blessed memory wrote there in the Torah teaching mentioned above, in the matter of the zikaron — that Hashem, blessed be He, constricts Himself from the Infinite to the endless, and arranges for every person a thought, a word, and a deed according to the day, according to the place, and according to the person. And everything is in order to hint to him hints to draw him close to His service, etc. And in this are included all the changes mentioned above of all the worlds and the s'firos, etc., that change each day, time, and moment. For everything is according to the deeds of those below. And according to their deeds, so does Hashem, blessed be He, constrict Himself and hint to them various hints to draw them close to His service. For all the worlds and the s'firos, etc., are included in every person, for the person is comprised of everything, and everything is for the sake of the person — that is, for the sake of his returning to Hashem, blessed be He, and drawing close to His service. And Hashem, blessed be He, is full of mercy, and He turns about from situation to situation with His strategies, and constricts Himself in many different constrictions at every time, and hints to every person at every time and in every place various hints to draw close to His service, according to his deeds now. For certainly yesterday, when the person was at a different level — higher than now, or lower than now — he needed different hints. And now, according to his level now — whether he improved his deeds, or, G-d forbid, the opposite, that he ruined and blemished through some desire or transgression, may the Merciful One save us — therefore he needs now different hints to draw close to His service, according to his deeds now, in the place where he is at this time. And the general principle is that there is no excuse whatsoever to say that now, at this time and in this place, it is impossible for me to remember Hashem. For on the contrary — there specifically, in that place and at that time specifically, certainly there are hints that are designated for you specifically, according to your level now specifically, according to whether it is for praise or for the opposite. And you, in this place of yours at that time specifically, can now specifically remember Hashem, blessed be He, and return to Him, blessed be He. For Hashem, blessed be He, constricts Himself from the Infinite to the endless, from the beginning of the point of Creation, etc., and hints hints to every person each day and in every place, according to the person, according to the time, and according to the place specifically, etc., as above. And understand well these things for practice and for conduct and for good counsel, and it will be very sweet to you with the help of Hashem. For this is known in our words many times: that there is no despair in the world at all! For Hashem, blessed be He, is full of mercy, and He always desires the repentance of all the wicked, and "He thinks thoughts so that none shall be cast away from Him" (Shmuel II 14:14). And therefore every person, according to his deeds now — what he did, and descended, and went astray to the place where he descended and went astray — Hashem, blessed be He, constricts Himself and hints to him hints according to what is fitting for him now, in his place and his time. And one who does not have the intellect to delve deeply into this with his da'as, he must at the very least believe in this with complete emunah. And then he will be able to remember Hashem in every place and at every time and on all the levels in the world, whether above or below, G-d forbid. For Hashem, blessed be He, constricts Himself each day, in every place, and hints hints, etc., as above. נְנַח נַחְמָא נַחְמָן מֵאומָן

The general principle in brief, as it pertains to our subject: The soul is exceedingly precious, and one must guard it greatly. Therefore one must be very careful to receive honor in great holiness, for His Name blessed be He — for honor is the aspect of Em kol chai [Mother of all life], and it is the root of all souls. When the soul departs, it departs into the honor, which is its root, in the aspect of "Your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of Hashem shall gather you in" — for the departure and gathering of souls is into the honor, since there is their root, as above.

And therefore when new honor comes to a person, one must take care and be vigilant — for perhaps the honor has come, heaven forfend, on account of departure, so that the soul should depart to the honor which is its root, as above. However, the attribute of good is greater [than the attribute of punishment], and therefore in most cases the honor comes for good — that is, when a new soul comes to a person, it comes clothed within the honor, which is the Em kol chai, as above. One must see to it that there be a "face toward the honor," and this is attained through breaking the desire for eating, etc. — see there.

But when one blemishes, heaven forfend, through the desire for eating, then the honor is blemished and has no "face," etc. And then all the honor is seized by the impudent ones of the generation, etc. And when kingship and honor fall to the impudent ones, heaven forfend, then the kingship is in the aspect of tzedek [harsh judgment], etc., and then it is in the aspect of "her feet descend to death," etc.

One must raise the honor and kingship from them — that is, from the impudent ones who are the idolaters and the wicked, etc. — and this is accomplished through charity, in the aspect of "charity saves from death," etc., for charity is the aspect of the five Chassadim [Kindnesses], etc. And therefore through charity one raises and rectifies the kingship and honor, and transforms tzedek [judgment] into tzedakah [charity/righteousness]. Corresponding to this, the word tzedakah is mentioned five times in the Torah, etc. And then the honor returns to those of understanding mind, etc.