Happy Are the People Who Know the Teru’ah

35 - Happy Are the People Who Know the Teru’ah

[Note from English translator: This Torah explores teshuvah [repentance] as returning the soul to its divine source through guarding against external intellects and renewing the neshamah [soul] via sleep and peshata oraisa [plain meaning of the Torah].] [In the language of our rabbi, of blessed memory] Happy are the people who know the teru’ah [blast], Hashem, in the light of Your face they walk (Psalms 89:16). Know that this is a general principle: teshuvah [repentance] is to return the thing to the place from which it was taken. This is the aspect of zarka [cantillation mark זַרְקָא, symbolizing return to the divine source], as brought in the holy Zohar [Tikkunim Tikkun 21, page 43b; page 60a; Tikkun 64, page 86b; and Tikkunim at the end of the new Zohar, page 109b]. It is thrown to the place from which it was taken. That place is chokhmah [wisdom], for chokhmah is the root of all things, as it is written (Psalms 104:24): All of them in chokhmah You made. Therefore, everyone needs to guard his intellect from external intellects, called by the name bat Par’oh [daughter of Pharaoh]. For the main purpose of chokhmah to acquire perfection is only divine wisdoms. Other wisdoms are only null wisdoms, not wisdoms at all. The term bat [daughter בַּת] hints at the wisdom that is not wisdom, as our sages said (Talmud Bavli, Menachot 110a): Bring My sons from afar, and so on, and My daughters, these exiles that are in other lands, whose knowledge is not settled upon them like daughters. Par’oh [Pharaoh פַּרְעֹה] is a language of nullification, as it is written (Exodus 5:16): Do not nullify [tafre’u תַּפְרִיעוּ] from the people. External wisdoms are the aspect of kaneh [reed קָנֶה], for there is kaneh in holiness, which are holy wisdoms, as it is written (Proverbs 4:7): Acquire [kaneh] wisdom [see Zohar Pinchas 232b, 234b; Ecclesiastes 7a]. Corresponding to this, G-d made the kaneh that is in the klipot [shells, spiritual husks], as it is written (Psalms 68:31): Rebuke the beast of the kaneh. These are external wisdoms. Israel, they are a holy people (Deuteronomy 7:6, 14:2, 26:19, 28:9). Everyone from Israel has a portion of G-d from above, which is the aspect of chokhmah, as it is written (Psalms 104:24): All of them in chokhmah You made. On account of this, they are called reishis [beginning], as it is written (Jeremiah 2:3): Holy Israel to Hashem, reishis, and so on. But at the time of birth, the intellect is contracted for everyone. When they begin to use it in contemplation of the service of Hashem, blessed be He, then his intellect grows great, as it is written (I Kings 5:5): And the chokhmah of Solomon increased. When a man introduces within his holy intellect external thoughts, which are external wisdoms, the holiness of his intellect is diminished according to the grasping of the place of external wisdoms, external intellect, within the holy intellect. The external wisdom is stuck within the holy intellect like a kaneh, lacking the place of holiness. On this kaneh, that is, this intellect, all the evil and despised attributes gather and connect. This is (Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 21b): When Solomon married bat Par’oh, Gabriel descended and stuck a kaneh in the sea. That is, also above, from the chaining of the gevurot [strengths, divine judgments], which is the aspect of Gabriel’s descent, was made susfita de’dahava [golden reed-bed סוּסְפִיתָא דְּדַהֲבָא]. This is the aspect of klipot, which are external wisdoms, also called kaneh, stuck in the sea of chokhmah, lacking the place of holiness. It raised upon it a sirton [sandbank שִׂרְטוֹן], which is the aspect of despised attributes. Upon it was built the great city of Rome, that is, the nachash kadmoni [ancient serpent נָחָשׁ הַקַּדְמוֹנִי], which is coiled after holiness.

On account of this, it is called the great city, as our sages said (Talmud Bavli, Sukkah 52a): For he has done great [they expounded there, that the evil inclination incites Israel precisely, and the great ones precisely, as it is written there: And in disciples of sages more than all of them. On account of this, it is called the nachash kadmoni and the evil inclination great city]. It is coiled always after the great ones of the generation more than other people, building its structure on this external intellect. After that, when a man guards himself from external intellects, not only that, but he also needs to renew the intellect at every time. This is the aspect of: And in His goodness, He renews every day, continually, the work of creation. For the renewal of the reishis [beginning] is the renewal of chokhmah, as it is written: All of them in chokhmah You made.

The renewal of the intellect is the renewal of the neshamah [soul], for the intellect is the neshamah, as it is written (Job 32:8): The neshamah of Shaddai gives them understanding. As our sages said (Talmud Bavli, Berakhot 10a): What the Holy One, blessed be He, nourishes the world, so too the neshamah nourishes his body. It turns out that the neshamah gives life to the body, and it itself is the intellect, as it is written (Ecclesiastes 7:12): Wisdom gives life, and so on. The renewal of the intellect, that is, the renewal of the neshamah, is by means of sleep, as brought in the holy Zohar (Beraishis 19b): New in the mornings, great Your faith.

When the brains are tired, by means of sleep they are renewed, as seen in sense. This is what we bless: Who gives to the weary strength, for they were at first weary and now strengthened. At the time of sleep, the brains, that is, his neshamah, come within faith [emuna], in the aspect of: New in the mornings, and so on, as brought in the holy Zohar [there]. There are several aspects of sleep. There is sleep in physicality, which is rest for the brains. There is also the aspect of learning, which is called sleep regarding deveikus [cleaving to the Creator]. This is the learning of peshata oraisa [plain meaning of the Torah], which is the aspect of sleep [Zohar Pinchas 244a; see Beraishis Rabbah, Vayetze, parasha 69]. As our sages said (Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 24a): In darkness He has made me dwell—this is Talmud Bavli. This is the aspect of faith, as it is written (Psalms 92:3): And Your faith in the nights, And to the darkness He called night (Genesis 1:5). It is the aspect of the small luminary, as it is written (Ecclesiastes 9:17): City small [see Zohar Acharei 68a], and as it is written (Genesis 1:16): And the small luminary to rule the night. The main purpose of the brains received through faith [emuna] is only from the light of the faces, as it is written (Proverbs 16:15): In the light of the king’s face is life.

Life is the brains, as it is written: Wisdom gives life. They are received from the light of the faces through faith, called malchut [kingship], which is the aspect of Jerusalem, as it is written (Genesis 14:18): And Malki Tzedek [king of righteousness], king of Salem, and its Targum: king of Jerusalem. It is the aspect of faith, as it is written (Isaiah 1:21): City of righteousness, faithful town. It is the aspect of night, as it is written: And Your faith in the nights. It is the aspect of peshata oraisa, as it is written: In darkness He has made me dwell, and as it is written: And to the darkness He called night. It is the aspect of the small luminary, as it is written: City small, and as it is written: And the small luminary to rule the night. There are several aspects in the light of the faces. Some receive the intellect from the light of the faces of the Torah, for there are seventy faces to the Torah. Others receive from the light of the face of the tzadik. When the tzadik explains faces to him [see Talmud Bavli, Ta’anit 8a], he receives new intellect and a new neshamah. For the main purpose of the intellect is from the light of the faces, as it is written (Ecclesiastes 8:1): Wisdom of man illuminates his face. Also, there are several aspects in sleep. There is sleep that is the aspect of learning peshata oraisa according to deveikus. There is sleep that is the aspect of massa u’mattan [trade in faith], which is also peshata oraisa.

When one engages in massa u’mattan, the brains, that is, his neshamah, come into faith [emuna], in the aspect of: New in the mornings, great Your faith. They are renewed there and strengthened from their weariness. This is what our sages said (Talmud Bavli, Bava Batra 175b): One who wants to become wise should engage in monetary laws. That is, one who wants to renew his intellect, that is, his neshamah, should engage in monetary laws, that is, massa u’mattan. For one who engages in massa u’mattan certainly engages in monetary laws, for it is impossible to engage in massa u’mattan except if proficient in monetary laws, so that he should not stumble in them. This is the aspect of (Proverbs 31:14): She was like ships of merchant. That is, by means of massa u’mattan, that is, by means of peshata oraisa, then: From afar she brings her bread. He draws new intellect from the light of the faces, for intellect is called afar, as it is written (Ecclesiastes 7:23): I said I will be wise, but it is far. But when a man introduces his intellect, that is, his neshamah, into faith [emuna], that is, peshata oraisa, that is, massa u’mattan [trade in faith], in the aspect of: New in the mornings, great Your faith, then one needs to guard the faith so that the external forces do not suck from it. For it dwells within the external forces, in the aspect of (Ezekiel 5:5): This Jerusalem, I placed her in the midst of the nations and around her lands.

Jerusalem is the aspect of faith [emuna], as it is written (Isaiah 1:21): City of righteousness, faithful town. It is the aspect of night, as it is written: And Your faith in the nights. It is peshata oraisa, as our sages said: In darkness He has made me dwell, and: And to the darkness He called night. It is the aspect of the small luminary, as it is written: And the small luminary to rule the night. [And] One needs to draw the aspect of chashmal [protective entity חַשְׁמַל, in modern Hebrew electricity, drawing from its fiery properties] from the world of binah [understanding], to clothe the malchut [kingship], that is, faith, so that the nations and lands around her do not suck from it. When a man engages so much in massa u’mattan, like Rav Safra, and fulfills (Psalms 15:2): And speaks truth in his heart (as our sages said, Makkot 24a), this aspect is made chashmal, that is, a garment around the faith. And this is what fulfills And speaks truth in his heart, then the mother covers over her sons [Introduction Tikkunim], so that they do not suck from it. This is: If [im אִם, readable as mother] to binah you call (Proverbs 2:3), and binah is the heart [Introduction to Tikkunim]. And this is what Rav said to Rav Shmuel bar Shilat (Bava Batra 21a): When you hit the yanuka [child יַנּוּקָא], do not hit except with the araksa demesanay [strap of shoe עַרְקְתָא דִּמְסָנֵי], hit, a language of purity, as it is written (Isaiah 44:22): I have wiped out like a cloud your transgressions. Yanuka is the aspect of the small luminary, the aspect of sleep. Do not hit except with araksa demesanay, that is, straps of tefillin. As our sages said (Talmud Bavli, Sotah 17a): In merit that Abraham said from thread until the strap of the shoe, his sons merited two mitzvot: the thread of tekhelet [blue fringe] and the straps of tefillin. Until the strap of the shoe, its Targum: araksa demesanay. That is, when you want to guard the small luminary, that is, massa u’mattan, so that the external forces do not suck from it, you cannot guard the nanas [small luminary נַנָּס], that is, the yanuka, except with araksa demesanay, that is, straps of tefillin. That is, you draw chashmal from binah, the heart, to clothe the faith. This is the aspect of serving Shimon ben Nanas, as above, that is, that he fulfills And speaks truth in his heart. At the time of doing massa u’mattan, like Rav Safra, retzu’ah [strap רְצוּעָה] is gematria 370 [שְׁעַ = 300+70+1 with inclusive counting], to hint that by means of this chashmal, which is the aspect of: Speaks truth in his heart, the faith and the neshamah, that is, the brains within it, are guarded. It receives from the light of the faces, which is 370 lights of upper faces, drawn from the rectification of truth, as known.

And when a man engages in massa u’mattan [trade in faith], he engages in monetary laws, that is, peshata oraisa. This is the aspect of bringing the continual sacrifice and burning of the ketores [incense]. By means of the continual sacrifice, chokhmah, binah, and da’at [knowledge] of Asiyah ascend in Yetzirah. All the holy sparks that are in the klipah ascend in the secret of eleven spices of the ketores, in the aspect of malchut in massa u’mattan. The massa u’mattan is the aspect of monetary laws, that is, peshata oraisa. At the time of doing massa u’mattan, he engages in peshata oraisa, which is the aspect of Metatron [angelic prince מֵטַטְרוֹן] that nests in Yetzirah. It turns out that his chokhmah, binah, and da’at in the doing of massa u’mattan ascend in Yetzirah, that is, to peshata oraisa. All sparks of holiness within the nations and lands around Jerusalem ascend to the aspect of faith [emuna], called Jerusalem and malchut, when this one rises, that one falls [Rashi, beginning Toldot, on “And to mother full them will strengthen”]. The destruction of faith is called the destruction of Jerusalem, as our sages expounded (Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 119b): Jerusalem was not destroyed until men of faith ceased from it [see there, explained that their intention is on massa u’mattan]. When Jerusalem, that is, faith, that is, massa u’mattan, which is peshata oraisa, prevails, then these nations and lands fall, and all the holy sparks within them ascend in the secret of eleven spices of the ketores. And this is what our sages said (Sanhedrin 20b): Israel was commanded three mitzvot upon entering the land: appointing a king, destroying the seed of Amalek, and building the Temple. And this depends on that, for appointing a king is the aspect of faith [emuna], as explained above. And destroying the seed of Amalek is the sparks that ascend from among the nations and lands in the aspect of the eleven spices of the ketores, as brought in the Midrash (Ruth Rabbah, parasha 1): Why was the section of destroying the seed of Amalek juxtaposed to the section of weights? To say that due to the sin of weights, the war of Amalek came, and this is as is known. And building the Temple is the aspect of the light of the faces, which is the aspect of renewing the brains, renewing the neshamah, as our sages said (Berachos 33b): One who has knowledge is as if the Temple was built in his days. And this chashmal [protective entity חַשְׁמַל, in modern Hebrew electricity, drawing from its fiery properties] that is made from the aspect of And speaks truth in his heart and clothes the faith [emuna], it is the aspect of retzu’ah [strap רְצוּעָה], for the retzu’os [straps] are the 'makeefay' (encompassing/surrounding spiritual levels) of the malchut [kingship], that is, faith.

And this is what Rav said to Rav Shmuel bar Shilat (Bava Batra 21a): When you hit the yanuka [child יַנּוּקָא], do not hit except with the araksa demesanay [shoelace, strap of shoe עַרְקְתָא דִּמְסָנֵי], hit, a language of purity, as it is written (Isaiah 44:22): I have wiped out like a cloud your transgressions. Yanuka is the aspect of the small luminary, the aspect of sleep. Do not hit except with araksa demesanay, that is, straps of tefillin. As our sages said (Talmud Bavli, Sotah 17a): In merit that Abraham said from thread until the strap of the shoe, his sons merited two mitzvot: the thread of tekhelet [blue fringe] and the straps of tefillin. 'Until the strap of the shoe', its Targum (translation of Unkelos): araksa demesanay. When you wish to preserve the small light (me'or hakatan), which is honest commerce, so that external forces do not draw from it, you cannot protect the "nanas" (small person, i.e., the small light, the "infants") except through the "shoelace", i.e., the straps of the tefillin. That is, to draw chashmal from 'Binah (Understanding) heart' to clothe the emuna (faith), which is the aspect of "serving Shimon ben Nanas," as mentioned above. That is, to fulfill "and he speaks truth in his heart" during business dealings, like Rav Safra. The word "strap" (רְצוּעָה) has the numerical value (gematria) of 370, hinting that through this chashmal, which is the aspect of "speaking truth in his heart," faith and the soul - i.e., the intellect within it, are preserved, and receive the light of the divine countenance, which is 370 lights of the supernal countenance which are drawn from the rectification of truth ("Vi-Emess" - the 7th Tikun), as is known. This is what was said (there, Rav to Rav Shmuel, as mentioned above): "He who studies, studies; and he who does not study should be a companion to his friend." For this matter is difficult. It is understandable that if one is learned and engages in commerce with honesty, then his commerce is beneficial to him, as his intellect is renewed. But what benefit is there for one who is not learned yet engages in commerce? Know that one who conducts commerce with honesty does good to his friend, who is from the same root, as his friend's intellect is renewed through his honest commerce (massa umatan bi-emuna). This is the meaning of "he who studies, studies"—if he is learned, it is beneficial to him, as his intellect is renewed within faith, and he gains new intellect for study and attachment (devaikus) to the Creator. And "he who does not study should be a companion to his friend" means that he does good to his friend from the same root.

And this is the aspect of the teki’os [shofar blasts תְּקִיעוֹת] of Rosh Hashanah, for Rosh Hashanah is the aspect of sleep, as is known, that is, the aspect of massa u’mattan in faith, the aspect of peshata oraisa, the aspect of engaging in monetary laws.

And the teki’os are the awakening of the sleep [see Likutay Moharan 60:9], which is the renewal of the brains from the light of the faces. From this is the reddening of the face of the one who blows, for lights are awakened from the upper faces.