אות-יא

It is forbidden for a person to despair of himself, G-d forbid, and even if he has fallen to wherever he has fallen, G-d forbid, and is in the lowest depths, G-d have mercy — even so, let him not despair of Hashem, may He be blessed, in any manner, for even from there one can draw close to Him. For the whole earth is full of His glory. And the true Tzadik is not called by the name of Tzadik except when he has this power — to revive and raise those who have fallen very deeply, to strengthen and fortify them, to arouse and awaken them and reveal to them that Hashem is still with them and beside them and near them. And conversely, the Tzadik must show those who are at a great level that they still do not know anything of Hashem's knowledge. (ibid., Ois 7) It is explained in the writings of the holy Ari, of blessed memory, that the beginning of Creation was through many contractions — whereby, so to speak, He drew some light and afterward concealed it, and so many times in many ways. And through this specifically were formed the vessels that could receive the light. And all of this is the secret of the death of the kings and their tikun — specifically through the shattering and death was drawn afterward the World of Tikun with an addition of more wonderful light. But the essence of all depended on the human being with free choice — for he was to repair all through arousal from below. Therefore now too, everything depends on the teshuvah of the human being. For inevitably there must be some arousal at all, which is the aspect of isi'arusa d'l'tata. And therefore nothing stands in the way of teshuvah, and until the day of his death He awaits him. For even if he has sinned as he has sinned thousands of times, even so, each time he is aroused with any awakening to return to Hashem — no arousal is ever lost. As is written in the holy Zohar: leis re'uta tava d'is'abed — for through teshuvah sins are transformed into merits, for tikun is made through the very corruptions — for through the very fact that he drew the light to where he drew it, which is the essence of the corruption: afterward when he is aroused to teshuvah he fulfills everything, and through this specifically new vessels are made and new and wonderful light is drawn into them. For through his having drawn the light to coarse places — through this the vessels were thickened and can afterward be refined until all is transformed to good, and specifically through this wonderful vessels are formed to receive new light that could not have been received before. And all of this is possible only through the great Tzadikim who know this secret to its depth — they can arouse people to teshuvah and strengthen each person and elevate all manner of awakenings in the world — every good point and point — and through this form wonderful vessels, so that each person is rectified in an even greater measure. Therefore one must search greatly for such a Tzadik who can engage in one's tikun. And the very searching and seeking itself is a great eternal good — even if one has corrupted as he has. For the great Tzadikim merited what they merited through their own arousal from below in ultimate perfection. Therefore they made wonderful and awesome vessels that can repair all the corruptions of the world. (ibid., Halacha 7, Ois 32, 52)