נזקי ממון ד

And regarding such wealth it is said: "Osher shamur liv'alav l'ra'aso" ["Wealth guarded by its owner to his detriment"] (Koheles 5:12) — this is the aspect of anger, which is called ra'ah [evil], as it is written: "V'haser ka'as milibecha v'ha'aver ra'ah mibs'arecha" ["And remove anger from your heart and remove evil from your flesh"] (Koheles 11:10), as Rabbainu z"l wrote.

And because of this, now most of the wealth is with the nations and the wicked, and the worthy members of Yisroel are mostly poor. For the worthy members of Yisroel can only merit wealth through subduing anger, for their wealth is wealth of k'dushah — the root of souls — which is drawn specifically through subduing anger. But the great wicked ones, the aspect of airev rav — all their wealth is itself anger, as above. And in truth it is not wealth at all, for all their days are anger and pain, and it is only temporary — like anger, which is charon af that swells and intensifies temporarily in the aspect of a stormy wind, and afterward it is consumed and lost. For "a hot-tempered person gains nothing but his temper," for their wealth — which is the aspect of rage and anger — does not remain in their hands; on the contrary, it uproots them from both worlds. For "he shall not lodge with his toil, and nothing shall he carry in his hand." But the wealth of k'dushah of Yisroel, which is drawn through subduing anger, is the root of the nefesh, and through this one merits both worlds — for he increases tz'dakah through his wealth, and also magnifies the nefesh and shem of k'dushah through the wealth, through which many souls are drawn near to Hashem Yisbarach, as above.

And regarding such wealth it is said: "Hon ashir kiryas uzo uch'chomah..." ["The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and like a wall..."] (Mishlai 18:11). And therefore "Rasha k'govah apo" is juxtaposed to the pasuk "Yachilu d'rachav" — which is the success of the wicked in great wealth — for his wealth is the aspect of anger, as above. And likewise the entire content of that psalm speaks of this — the greatness of the success of the wicked who is full of anger constantly, as it is written there: "Ki Atah amal vaka'as tabit lasais b'yadecha" ["For You behold toil and anger to place it in Your hands"] (T'hillim 10:14) — meaning that the pasuk expresses astonishment that the wicked one who is full of anger, yet nevertheless Hashem Yisbarach gives wealth into his hand, etc.

But at the end it concludes: "Lishpot yasom vadach" ["To judge the orphan and the downtrodden"] (T'hillim 10:18). For ultimately the fire of the mishpat of Mashiach Tzidkainu will prevail, "v'ya'arotz enosh min ha'aretz" ["and mortal man shall no longer cause terror from the earth"] — meaning he will break and subdue the wicked, and will save Yisroel — who are now poor — from their evil, and will bestow upon Yisroel all the wealth. For the main completeness of the mishpat will be through Mashiach, as it is written: "Yishpot aniyai am" ["He shall judge the poor of the people"] (T'hillim 72:4). And it is written: "V'shafat b'tzedek dalim" ["And he shall judge the poor with righteousness"] (Y'shayahu 11:4). And it is written: "Tziyon b'mishpat tipadeh" ["Tziyon will be redeemed through justice"]. And likewise many [such verses] — meaning as above. And study the aforementioned Torah well and understand.

And this is the aspect of the four cups of wine, corresponding to the four expressions of redemption, as Chazal said. For the main redemption is through the aspect of the aforementioned mishpat, through which the fire of the mishpat is aroused and burns and consumes the evil surrounding the souls that are the aspect of Haichal HaKodesh. And this is the main aspect of the redemption — that Yisroel were redeemed from Paroh and Mitzrayim. And so it is in every generation, as they said: "In every generation a person is obligated to see himself as if he himself went out of Mitzrayim" — meaning that the holy souls are redeemed from the aspect of Paroh and Mitzrayim, which are the aspect of the Sitra Achara and the k'lipos, which are the aspect of the aforementioned evil surrounding the Haichal HaKodesh — which are the souls that are brought out from the Sitra Achara and drawn near to Hashem Yisbarach. And the main element of their redemption from evil to good, to draw near to Hashem Yisbarach, is through the aforementioned fire of the mishpat — meaning through hisbod'dus and conversation between themselves and their Maker, whereby they pour out their entire heart before Him Yisbarach, and judge and evaluate themselves regarding all their deeds and matters and conduct, etc. And through this the heart is inflamed and the fire of the mishpat is aroused to burn all the evil surrounding their souls, etc., as above.

For even though there in the Torah [of Rabbainu] the matter of mishpat is stated regarding the one who engages in drawing souls near, nevertheless certainly all the souls being drawn near — the main element of their drawing near to Hashem Yisbarach, to eliminate and nullify their evil — is also the aforementioned mishpat, meaning hisbod'dus and conversation between themselves and their Maker, as above, as [Rabbainu] warned us about this times without number. For when the souls being drawn near also engage in the aforementioned mishpat, then they arouse and add ko'ach to the fire of the mishpat of the tzaddik who engages in drawing them near. And then the fire of the mishpat is aroused and burns all the evil surrounding their souls, so that it does not take hold in the heart of the tzaddik nor in their hearts, as above. For certainly in all matters one needs is'arusa dil'sata [an arousal from below] — meaning the arousal of the souls being drawn near, which are the aspect of is'arusa dil'sata relative to the tzaddik, who is, relative to them, the aspect of is'arusa dil'aila [arousal from above].

And also, we have already said above that all the souls being drawn near must also engage — each and every one — in drawing yet more souls near to Hashem Yisbarach, each one according to his level, so that they should not be "dry wood," chas v'shalom, as is explained in the words of Adoanainoo Morainu v'Rabbainu z"l many times. For this is a true sign — when more souls are drawn near through him. For there is a tree, and branches, and branches to the branches, etc. And the tzaddik is the gufa d'ilana [trunk of the tree], and the souls being drawn near are the aspect of branches, and more branches must emerge from them, etc., until many, many trees grow with them, until the face of the world is filled with produce, as it is written: "Vayizr'u sados vayit'u ch'ramim vaya'asu p'ri s'vu'ah vay'varchaim vayirbu m'od" ["And they sowed fields and planted vineyards and produced fruit of increase, and He blessed them and they multiplied greatly"] (T'hillim 107:37-38).

It emerges that the main drawing near of souls to Hashem Yisbarach — which is the aspect of the redemption from the galus of Mitzrayim, which encompasses all the exiles — the main thing is through the fire of the mishpat. And this is the aspect of: "Uv'ailohaihem asah Hashem sh'fatim" ["And upon their gods Hashem executed judgments"] (B'midbar 33:4). For the evil of the nations who hold the souls of Yisroel captive in galus — both physically and spiritually — is the aspect of their elohim achairim [other gods], from which derives the nourishment of their sar [heavenly minister]. And through the aforementioned fire of the mishpat, [Hashem] subdues and eliminates the aforementioned evil, which is the aspect of their gods, the idols — the aspect of "uv'ailohaihem asah Hashem sh'fatim," as above.

Likutay Halachos, Choshen Mishpat. Based on Likutay Moharan I:59. Translated from the Hebrew. Continued from Part 2.

And this is the aspect of the four cups of wine on the night of Pesach. For wine is the aspect of the ardor of the heart that is aroused through the aforementioned mishpat. For the mishpat — both for good and for the opposite — is called by the name of drinking a cup of wine, as it is written: "Ki Elokim shofait...ki kos b'yad Hashem v'yayin chamar" ["For G-d is the Judge...for a cup is in Hashem's hand, and the wine is foaming"] (T'hillim 75:8-9). And conversely, for good, salvation is called by the name "cup of salvations," as it is written: "Kos y'shu'os esa" ["I will raise a cup of salvations"] (T'hillim 116:13). And it is written: "Ta'aroch l'fanai shulchan neged tzor'rai...kosi r'vayah" ["You set a table before me in the presence of my enemies...my cup overflows"] (T'hillim 23:5). And the main receiving of reward that each person will receive on the day of din and mishpat is the aspect of "the wine preserved in its grapes," etc.

It emerges that wine is the aspect of mishpat. And this is the aspect of the redness of wine, as it is written: "Al taire yayin ki yis'adam" ["Do not look upon wine when it is red"] (Mishlai 23:31) — the aspect of din and mishpat. And therefore wine has two powers: "zacha — na'aseh rosh; lo zacha — na'aseh rash" ["if he merits — he becomes a head; if he does not merit — he becomes poor"] (Yoma 76b). For "zacha" — meaning one who merits to judge himself until the fire of the holy mishpat is aroused to burn and eliminate the evil surrounding the souls — which are also a fire of the Sitra Achara, the aspect of the heat and fire of all the evil desires that must be burned through the aforementioned fire of the mishpat, for "from fire they came forth and fire will consume them" — and one who merits the aforementioned fire of the holy mishpat, then the wine is in k'dushah, in the aspect of "zacha — na'aseh rosh," the aspect of rosh and mochin [head and mentalities]. For the mishpat is the aspect of the tikkun of the moach [brain] and the chochmah [wisdom] from which the mishpat is drawn, as is explained there in the aforementioned Torah, in the aspect of: "Ki chochmas Elokim b'kirbo la'asos mishpat" ["For the wisdom of G-d is within him to do justice"] (M'lachim I 3:28).