Treasury of Awe (Oatzar HaYeerah) — Volume I

The essential holiness of the synagogue comes through "He declared the power of His deeds to His people etc." [Tehillim 111:6] — namely: that they know that Hashem created everything — and by His will He gave it [the Land] to them — and by His will He took it from them and gave it to us — as our Rabbis stated. For through this we have the power to sanctify all places in the world with the holiness of the Land of Israel and the Temple — in the aspect of a minor Temple [ mikdash me'at ] — which are called synagogues and houses of study — as our Rabbis stated. (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Synagogue, Law 3)

Through holy words of Torah and prayer engaged in at synagogues and houses of study with true awe — through this all the earthliness and physicality and the hold of the kelippos and impurity is nullified from the place of the synagogue. And the holy sparks ascend and are refined and joined together — and from them holy worlds are built — and the breaking of vessels is rectified. And through this this place is sanctified with great holiness — and divinity is revealed in it through the holy sparks that constantly ascend from there through the aforementioned holy words. And since the essential nullification of earthliness and physicality — which is the essential holiness — is through awe — therefore one must conduct oneself with great awe in the synagogue and house of study. This is the aspect of the awe of the Temple [ morah mikdash ] — the aspect of: "and you shall revere My Temple" [Vayikra 26:2] — the aspect of: "how awesome is this place" [Bereishis 28:17]. (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Synagogue, Law 4, section 2)

In the synagogue one should speak only words of Torah and prayer — for through this one raises the feminine waters [ mayim nukvin ] — and makes peace among all the holy sparks — and rectifies all the worlds — and draws the holiness of Hashem there. But through idle talk in such holy places — one blemishes greatly, G-d forbid — and it is as if one returns the world to chaos and void, G-d forbid — and reverts and strengthens the breaking of vessels again, G-d forbid. And therefore the blemish of idle talk in the synagogue and house of study is very great — as explained in the words of our Rabbis — particularly in the holy Zohar . (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Synagogue, ibid.)

All synagogues and houses of study — which are the aspect of a minor Temple — receive their holiness from Jerusalem — where the Temple stands. For there all the aforementioned rectifications are drawn in great completeness. And therefore Jerusalem is called from the language of awe and peace [ yirah and shalom ] — as our Rabbis stated. Because there they engage in nullifying earthliness and physicality through awe — through which all the hold of the kelippos is nullified from the holy sparks — and all the holy sparks are joined and built in the aspect of peace — which is the aspect of gathering all the displaced — the aspect of: "Hashem builds Jerusalem — He gathers the dispersed of Israel" [Tehillim 147:2]. And this is the aspect of: "for I scattered them among the nations and dispersed them among the lands — and I was to them a minor Temple" [Yechezkel 11:16] — and our Rabbis expounded: these are the synagogues and houses of study. For the synagogue and house of study — which are the aspect of a minor Temple — are the rectification and healing of the dispersal of Israel — which is the aspect of the dispersal of the holy sparks. And therefore our Rabbis were especially stringent about peace in the synagogue — as they stated: "the Kohen reads first etc. — so that there be no quarrel." For the essential holiness of the synagogue is in the aspect of peace — the aspect of the ascent and joining of the holy sparks in the aspect of peace. And therefore when dispute is stirred up, G-d forbid, in the synagogue — the blemish is extremely great — and one must be especially careful of this — for that is the place of peace. (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Synagogue, section 4)

The essential holiness of the synagogue flows from the holiness of the Land of Israel — where is the essential ascent of prayer — as it is written: "and they shall pray toward You through their land" [Melachim I 8:48]. And the essential holiness of the Land of Israel is through "He declared the power of His deeds to His people etc." — as our Rabbis stated: by His will He took it from them and gave it to us. Through this we have the power to sanctify all places in the world with the holiness of the Land of Israel as above. It emerges: the holiness of the synagogue flows from the aspect of the path of the conquest of the Land of Israel — for through "He declared the power of His deeds" they merited to conquer the Land. And therefore through building synagogues and houses of study for the sake of Heaven — through this one draws even now the aspect of the path that must be taken to go and return to our holy Land and conquer it from the Sitra Achra . (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Synagogue, Law 5)

The aforementioned "power of His deeds" — which is the aspect of the path of the conquest of the Land of Israel — from which the holiness of the synagogue flows as above — is the aspect of the unearned kindness [ chesed chinam ] that sustained the world before the giving of the Torah. This is the aspect of the treasury of free gift [ otzar matnas chinam ]. And therefore since the essential prayer must be only in the aspect of requesting a free gift — the aspect of: "and I beseeched Hashem" [Devarim 3:23] — as our Rabbis stated — therefore the essential completeness of prayer is in the synagogue — where the illumination of the holiness of the aforementioned unearned kindness flows. And therefore it is called Beis ha-Knesses [the house of gathering] — for it gathers and assembles all the displaced through their sins — may the Merciful One save us — and all the simple ones in the world — even as they are. For all can be rectified through the aforementioned unearned kindness that flows and illuminates in the synagogue. This is the aspect of: "and I — through the abundance of Your kindness — I come to Your house" — which is said upon entering the synagogue. (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Synagogue, section 5)

Building a synagogue is a very great mitzvah — one that endures for generations. For through having a fixed place for the holy assembly — where all gather together to pray — through this neighbors are added each time to this holy assembly — which is not the case when they are scattered. And it is already explained elsewhere about the great virtue of adding neighbors to the holy assembly — through which wondrous combinations are made — and the houses of prayer multiply greatly without number. Until through the multiplication of these houses all the very displaced souls can enter there — of whom it is said: "the holy stones are poured out at the head of every street" [Eichah 4:1]. And through this Jerusalem the holy city and the Temple and all the holy houses and palaces of Jerusalem are built. And through this His divinity and unity and sovereignty and glory will be revealed to all eyes — the aspect of: "G-d is known in her palaces as a stronghold" [Tehillim 48:4]. But one must be very careful in the synagogue and house of study to completely nullify one's own honor — only to magnify the honor of the Omnipresent. And all who engage in building the synagogue and house of study — and in their sustaining — and supplying their needs — and likewise all who enter them — let none of them have the intention, G-d forbid, for their own honor — only for His honor. For one whose intention in this is for one's own honor, G-d forbid, blemishes greatly. Especially when dispute comes from the pursuit of each person's honor — where each wants to be among the first called up etc. And all the more so when they dispute against the G-d-fearing who are in the synagogue — who toil to pray with concentration and great effort — and through this they sometimes cry out with unusual voices and make unusual movements in their prayer for the sake of Heaven — and they stand against them with their brazenness and dispute and confuse them. All these and the like are in the category of destroyers of the synagogue and house of study. For even the entire destruction of the Temple itself was only through baseless hatred and the pursuit of honor. And through this all the length of the exile to this day. And all this is alluded to in the words of our Rabbis who stated: it is forbidden to make one's house higher than the synagogue — meaning: one must not elevate one's own honor above the honor of the synagogue — only to surrender all honor to the synagogue — where is the honor of Hashem. And through this the aspect of receiving the Torah is drawn. (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Synagogue, Law 6, sections 1, 8, 9, 10)

There are synagogues for evil — and they are those synagogues that arose in our days — in our many sins — through the frivolous ones [ kalei olam ] who want to destroy the foundation of our holy faith and the foundation of our holy Torah, G-d forbid. And those who build these synagogues are in the category of the builders of the Tower [of Babel] — who also denied the faith in the renewal of the world — and wanted to cause the Name of Hashem and His glory to be forgotten. And through building holy synagogues for the sake of Heaven as above — one merits to uproot the opinions of the builders of the Tower — and to draw the aspect of the spirit of prophecy and the receiving of the Torah — and through this one merits in completeness to the faith in the renewal of the world — which is the essential holiness of Israel. (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Synagogue, section 10)

The holiness of the house of study is more stringent than the holiness of the synagogue — as explained in the halachic authorities. For since Torah is engaged in more there — through this the aspect of faith in the renewal of the world is drawn and revealed there even more — which is the essential holiness. And through this the aspect of the song that will be awakened in the future is drawn — and through this prayer is completed in greater light. And therefore Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Assi would pray only where they studied. (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Synagogue, sections 4, 6)

The greatness of the holiness of synagogues and houses of study — which are a fixed place for Torah and prayer — and which are the aspect of a minor Temple — and through them one can purify oneself from all the impurities and dirty garments. For the essential purification from all the above is through engaging in Torah — through which one draws upon oneself the illumination from the Torah study of the true Tzadik — through which he awakens and illuminates the roots of the souls of Israel — until the illumination reaches even the transgressors of Israel from the roots of their souls — until they return in teshuvah . And this holiness each person must draw upon oneself through joining oneself with the G-d-fearing and the wholehearted who are connected to the true Tzadikim. For certainly for an individual it is difficult to merit drawing this illumination upon oneself. But when many join together and build a house of study to engage in Torah — to be included through this in the true Tzadikim who have the power to illuminate and awaken all the souls — certainly the Mighty One does not despise — and the merit of the many is greater. Also since they are many — and each one has a root in the Torah — they therefore have even greater power to draw this illumination upon themselves. And therefore the house of study is named after the true Tzadik and teacher — as is common in the words of our Rabbis: "the house of study of Rabbi So-and-So." For this is the essential completeness of the house of study as above. Also — for an individual the dirty garments can prevail over him and cause him to fall from his service of Hashem. But the house of study established for the many — then anyone who is included in the members of this holy house of study — and does not separate himself from them completely, G-d forbid — certainly the holiness of the house of study will prevail — which comprises the Torah study of the many — through which they draw upon themselves the illumination from the roots of their souls through the true Tzadik as above. Until through this he too merits in their collective — to receive illumination from the root of his soul — and through this he too merits in their collective to be purified from all the dirty garments. And all this because there is a fixed place for the holiness — which is the aspect of the holiness of the Temple — which although it was destroyed — even so it remains in its holiness permanently in its place — as our Rabbis stated. And from there holiness flows to all synagogues and houses of study which are a minor Temple — through whose fixed holiness Israel will be purified from all impurities. And this is the aspect of: "how goodly are your tents, O Yaakov etc." [Bamidbar 24:5] — which speaks of the praise of the synagogues and houses of study of Israel. And this: "like streams flowing" [Bamidbar 24:6] — and our Rabbis expounded: they elevate the person from impurity to purity like streams. (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Cutting Bread, Law 5, section 17; and see there further sections 32, 44, 45, 46)

The synagogues and houses of study — and particularly those named after true Tzadikim — are the aspect of the Tabernacle that Moshe made in the desert. They are the aspect of the "treasury of Hashem's house" — where every person can store each and every good point they have — to bring it into the holy partnership of the totality of the holy assembly. Through this no damager or Sitra Achra can seize it, G-d forbid — the aspect of: "who would dare to pledge his heart to draw close to Me etc." [Yirmiyahu 30:21] — namely: in the houses of study which are the aspect of the Tabernacle and Temple — where Hashem is. Through this every person has the power to remain standing in the holiness of Israel — and to strengthen oneself each time to return to Hashem. And even if it happened to one as it happened — that things prevail over him each time as they prevail — even so: whatever good he grabbed previously — it has already entered and been stored in a very holy and awesome place — the aspect of the Tabernacle and Temple. And it was combined and included with the totality of the good points of the entire assembly — and wondrous rectifications were made from this — and they ascended to Hashem to wherever they ascended. Until through this strength he can begin fresh every time all the days of his life — until he returns to Hashem. (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of the Afternoon Prayer, Law 7, sections 11, 12; and see there further sections 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 83, 87)

The virtue of one who merits to be included in the assembly of synagogues and houses of study. See "Awe and Service," sections 31, 32.

Synagogues and houses of study are the aspect of a minor Temple — and there it is easier to strengthen the drawing force of holiness over the compelling force — even at the time of this great distancing of the present — in the time of exile — which flows from the aspect of the compelling force — the aspect of: "from afar Hashem appeared to me" [Yirmiyahu 31:2]. And the essential is the house of study of the true Tzadik — which is truly in the aspect of the holy dust [ afar kodesh ] — which is the essential drawing force of holiness. (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Festivals, Law 2, section 2)

It is known that when some holiness is drawn below as a hairsbreadth — then this holiness makes an impression above in thousands upon thousands of worlds — and how many wondrous rectifications are made through this. For this world is like the central point within the circle — as the parable brought elsewhere. And before one merits that the Temple be built below — it must be built above first — myriads upon myriads of holy houses — until below too there will be established such a holy building — which is the Temple. And this is the matter of why the first Temple was not built until 480 years after the Exodus from Egypt. And this is the greatness of the holiness of the synagogues and houses of study built now in our exile outside the Land — for the gathering of Israel for Torah and prayer — and to add neighbors there each time. For since there is some fixed place for the assembly — through this neighbors can be added to them. And therefore one who goes to the synagogue to pray is called a good neighbor — as understood from the words of our Rabbis. And through the neighbors added each time to the holy gatherings in the synagogues and houses of study — through this myriads upon myriads of holy houses multiply and are built — the aspect of the houses of prayer. Until the holy houses above will multiply in such enormous abundance — through which we will merit that the Temple be built below as well — in a permanent building — that will never be destroyed again. And this is the secret of the long exile — and all this so that during this long time the houses will multiply so greatly through the holy neighbors — until through this the Temple will be built and will endure forever. (Likutay Halachos, Halachos of Chol ha-Mo'ed , Law 4, section 13)