Oatzar HaYeerah — Emunah §§126–150

126. The Other Side begins with connection and ends with separation, while holiness is the reverse — as stated in the holy Zohar. For the Other Side — which is the serpent and falsehood — begins with connection: they say that the supernal light is joined together as one and it is impossible to contract it and divide it to draw it down below. And through this they end with complete separation — complete heresy. For they do not believe that all the vitality of the lower worlds is bound and connected on high — as if, G-d forbid, this world were separated from its supernal root. But holiness is the reverse: it begins with separation — dividing the thousands into hundreds and contracting the light — until one draws down the knowledge of the holy Emunah: that all of this physical world is bound and connected on high, for "His kingship rules over all" [Psalms 103:19]. And this is the essential completeness of the unification: when one knows that all the vitality and conduct of every particular of creation is bound and connected to Him — for He gives life to all. And this is "and ends with connection." Hil. Eidus 4:10

127. Just as one must believe in His existence and unity, so too one must believe that He is the Creator, the Former and Conductor — a King who rules, dominates, and watches over every matter from beginning to end. For one who does not believe, G-d forbid, that He rules over everything and that "His kingship rules over all" — is a heretic who "cuts among the plantings" (מְקַצֵּץ בִּנְטִיעוֹת) [a Talmudic expression for one who creates a heretical separation, Chagigah 14b] . Therefore the essential Emunah is in the aspect of "you shall know today… that Hashem is G-d in the heavens above and upon the earth below — there is none other" [Deuteronomy 4:39]. For one must crown Him above and below and believe that His kingship rules over all. And through this all creation returns and is included in His wisdom — which is the aspect of the orderly — from the aspect of the disordered. And the aspect of malchus which is the aspect of Elokim is unified with the Name of Havayah — which itself is the aspect of "Hashem is G-d" [the proclamation made at the end of Yom Kippur and of Eliyahu at Mount Carmel] . ibid. 5:8–9

128. The essential revelation of His kingship and sovereignty is through Emunah — for Emunah is the aspect of malchus as stated. For through intellect it is impossible to attain Him or the ways of His conduct — only through Emunah. And the essential Emunah is drawn through the holy Torah that we received in writing and orally. And the essential completeness of Emunah is through the Oral Torah — in which lies the essential distinction of Israel over the nations. For the nations also know the Written Torah and study it. But from the Oral Torah they are completely distant and deny it. And similarly regarding holy Emunah: in truth the nations all have Emunah in His existence, as our Rabbis said: "they call Him the G-d of gods." But in the particular details of Emunah — namely believing that Hashem conducts the world according to His will through His specific providence, and that all the changes that occur in the world at every moment derive from Him, for even nature itself is conducted only by His will — in this matter they are confused with foreign opinions and great heresies. So much so that among them are a few complete heretics — but they are nullified in the minority, and even in the eyes of the idolaters themselves they are despised like dogs. For all acknowledge the fundamental Emunah in Him in the general sense. But we the children of Israel — Hashem separated us from the stragglers and gave us the Torah of truth in writing and orally. And we merit complete Emunah in all its aspects, believing in Him and that all the governance of the world in its particular details derives entirely from Him. And this is the aspect of the Written Torah and the Oral Torah: the Written Torah is the aspect of the essential Emunah in the general sense — therefore the nations also know it. And the Oral Torah is the aspect of the completeness of Emunah in its particulars — and from this no one knows and believes in ultimate completeness except the holy people Israel. And in truth both are one — the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, which are the aspects of general Emunah and particular Emunah, are both one and neither can exist without the other. Therefore in truth the nations who deny the Oral Torah have no share at all even in the Written Torah — for they do not fulfill it. Only there are some among them who know it and study it and have a small foothold in it. And similarly, since they are distant from particular Emunah — their general Emunah is also naturally blemished. Only in great hiddenness there is some point of general Emunah in them that they have some foothold in. It emerges that the essential distinction and superiority of Israel over the nations is in the aspect of the Oral Torah which is the aspect of particular Emunah — from which they are completely distant as above. Hil. Halva'ah 4:5

129. All sins are the aspect of the blemish of Emunah, and according to the blemish of the sin — so the holy Emunah which is the aspect of malchus is blemished. And the essential blemish is in the aspect of particular Emunah — the aspect of the Oral Torah. For the root of the point of general Emunah always remains. This is what is stated in the sacred writings: that malchus is comprised of ten points — ten sefirot . And when there are blemishes in the world, those above-mentioned points depart from it. Sometimes the blemish is small and only one point departs from it; sometimes more — until sometimes the blemishes intensify so much, G-d forbid, that all nine points and nine sefirot depart from it, leaving only one point — namely as above: the root of the point of general Emunah always remains. And through repentance, it returns and is built up in completeness. ibid. §6

130. The essential sin of the Golden Calf was that they blemished the Emunah of the Oral Torah, as explained there. Therefore Moshe then shattered the Tablets before their eyes — to show them that since they had denied the Oral Torah, the Written Torah also has no sustaining. And Hashem agreed with him, as our Rabbis said: "well done that you shattered them" [Shabbos 87a] — so that the Other Side and the kelipas should have no sustenance from the aspect of the Written Torah. ibid. §9

131. When one blemishes the aspect of particular Emunah — which is the aspect of the Oral Torah as above — this is the aspect of the blemishing of the moon. And through this one comes to poverty, want, and debts. ibid. §10

132. The essential free choice a person has is because there is good and evil. But from where the root of good and evil derives — this it is impossible to know through human intellect in any way. We only believe that Hashem — who is entirely good — contracted Himself as it were through wondrous wisdom, through wondrous and varied contractions, until the root of judgment came into being, which is the root of evil — so that man should have free choice. For it is impossible to recognize and know Him except through free choice specifically, as is known. But to understand through intellect how this comes about — is impossible to understand in any way. And one who enters into this to understand it through the intellect specifically — this is the aspect of the blemish of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which caused death for generations. And the essential rectification for this is through the Tree of Life — which is the aspect of the living holy spirit drawn in its root from the aspect of prayer, which is the aspect of "Eden — an eye has not seen" [Isaiah 64:3, cited Berachos 34b] . It is the root of the spring that issues from the house of Hashem, and it is the aspect of "a path that the vulture does not know" [Job 28:7] — which cannot be attained through any intellect. One can receive from there only through prayer and supplication which is the aspect of Emunah. And then one merits to draw the spring of wisdom from there into the holy Torah — to clarify through this the ruling of halacha (פְּסַק הַהֲלָכָה) . And through this specifically one clarifies the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil — namely, clarifying the good from the evil, the permitted from the forbidden, and so forth. For the essential clarification is specifically through Emunah which is prayer. Hil. Oseh Shaliach 3:26

133. Through the Emunah of the will (אֱמוּנַת הָרָצוֹן) — namely, believing with complete Emunah that everything is conducted only by His blessed will — one thereby merits to the illumination of the will: that he yearns and longs for Hashem and His service with strong will and great yearning, as explained there. Hil. Arev 3:3

134. The essential thing is Emunah — and it is forbidden to enter at all into investigations, questions, and attempted answers regarding the conduct of the Creator and all similar matters. Only to strengthen oneself in Emunah alone. For if one wishes to resolve some question, a second question can arise afterward even stronger than the first — to the point where one can come through this to complete heresy, G-d forbid. Therefore it is forbidden to study even books composed by the great ones of Israel on these matters — only not to begin entering into investigations and questions at all. And if sometimes some investigation or question enters one's mind — one should push it away from one's mind and believe in Hashem that He is righteous and upright and it is impossible to understand His ways, for His thoughts are exalted, and so forth. And then if one always strengthens oneself in added Emunah and does not force the moment to specifically resolve one's question — through this one will merit reaching a higher level. And then the light of Hashem will shine upon him and he will automatically merit to understand well what he could not understand at first. For through Emunah one subsequently merits intellect, as stated elsewhere. Hil. Chazakas Metaltelin 3:3

135. It is impossible to know and believe in Hashem in truth except through two aspects of attainment together: the attainment of "where is the place of His glory?" (אַיֵּה מְקוֹם כְּבוֹדוֹ) [from the Kedushah prayer] and the attainment of "the whole earth is full of His glory" [Isaiah 6:3]. These are the attainments of son and student together. For Hashem is, as it were, hidden and revealed — hidden from the side of His essence, and revealed from the side of His acts. And "hidden and revealed" is the aspect of these two above-mentioned attainments. And one must include both of them together specifically — this is the essential knowledge of Him. And one who separates, G-d forbid, one from the other is "a whisperer who separates the prince" — who separates the Prince of the world. And from there all heresies, disbelief, all false beliefs, and idolatry derive. For through the attainment of "where is the place of His glory?" alone — one can fall to complete heresy and disbelief, since one sees that it is impossible to attain Him in any way. And all heresies and disbelief derive from this aspect: from separating the attainment of "where?" from the attainment of "the whole earth is full of His glory." And conversely: through the attainment of "the whole earth is full of His glory" alone — false beliefs and idolatry are drawn, G-d forbid, which derive from the excess of light and so forth, as explained there. Therefore one must truly include both these attainments together: to believe that the whole earth is full of His glory — and yet He is hidden and concealed in ultimate concealment, impossible to attain or know anything of Him. And it is forbidden for us to worship anything other than Hashem alone. ibid. §9

136. The entire world and its fullness is filled with very awesome and very sublime mysteries and secrets. And even one who is not such a great Tzadik — but is a genuine person of understanding and believes in the truth — can understand from afar the wonders and awesomeness of the Creator that fill the entire world. For there is deep and wondrous wisdom in every matter, as it is said: "all of them You made with wisdom" [Psalms 104:24], and it is written: "how great are Your works, Hashem — how very deep are Your thoughts" [Psalms 92:6]. For every matter receives vitality from the wisdom of the holy Torah. And the Torah is filled with secrets and secrets of secrets without end, and it is clothed in all the matters of the world. Therefore certainly in every matter in the world — in general and in particular — there are very, very sublime mysteries. And there is a wondrous and hidden reason for every particular of nature. For in truth there is no "nature" whatsoever — for nature is conducted through His wisdom through wondrous providence, through the letters of the holy Torah through which He created and conducts all in His awesome wonders. Therefore in every matter in the world — in general and in particular — there are the highest mysteries. But since all this is very much hidden from the world because of its physicality — no person knows what happens in the world at any time. Therefore the essential is faith in genuine Sages: the true Tzadikim who completely shattered their bodies until they merited to attain the mysteries of the world, to the point where all their deeds and all their words contain wondrous mysteries and nothing is simple or straightforward at all. For they know what they do and say. And through our believing in them — that all their words and deeds are not simple but contain mysteries — through this we also believe that in all the matters of the world there are mysteries, only we do not understand them because of the physicality of our bodies. For behold — this Tzadik who shattered his body knows genuinely what he does and says, and all his words and matters are filled with wondrous mysteries and secrets. And through this — that we merit to believe so greatly in the true Sages — through this is the essential unification of the Holy Blessed One and His Shechinah, the essential rectification of all the worlds, the nullification of all the harsh judgments, and upon this depends the sustaining of all the Torah. ibid. 5:2

137. "In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth" [Genesis 1:1] — and the Targum renders "bereishis" as "bechukmeta" — through wisdom. And certainly hidden in His wisdom are sublime mysteries in general and in particular: in every detail of creation, in every herb, and in every limb of every creature, and in every single particular. But "the earth was chaos and void…" [Genesis 1:2] — which alludes to the four kingdoms, as our Rabbis said. These draw sustenance from the fallen wisdoms which are the external wisdoms of the rationalists and philosophers, and the worthless, foolish, and false wisdoms of the rest of the world. Through this all the holy hints and all the sublime mysteries clothed in all creation in general and in particular are very much concealed and hidden. But "and the spirit of G-d" — this is the spirit of Moshiach, which is the aspect of the totality of all genuine Tzadikim. "Hovered over the face of the waters" — this is "the face of the Torah" (אַנְפֵּי אוֹרַיְתָא) [Zohar] . Through this: "and G-d said: let there be light" — "light" is called a mystery, as stated in the holy Zohar. Namely: through the true Tzadikim and through the revelation of their Torah innovations, the sublime mysteries in all creation are revealed and illuminated. And through this comes the entire essential rectification of creation — the aspect of "and there was light." ibid. §16

138. The matter of how the walls of the house derive from the aspect of silence — which is a fence for wisdom — and Emunah is the aspect of the doorway through which one enters the house of wisdom to draw holy da'as from there — see "Bayis" [House] §16. cross-reference

139. Hashem Himself — certainly He cannot be attained, as it is written: "no thought can grasp You at all, and none knows You at all" [Tikkunei Zohar] . But permission is granted to speak of His wonders and His attributes as far as each one can understand and speak — for even His attributes and His ways cannot be attained except up to the boundary each person has in his da'as . In the aspect of "her husband is known in the gates" [Proverbs 31:23] — each one according to what he assesses in his heart. And this cannot be told to another — nor can one even tell oneself from one day to the next, as stated elsewhere. Therefore our Rabbis warned: one does not expound the Merkavah (מֶרְכָּבָה — divine chariot) even to one person alone, unless he is a sage who understands on his own. For the attainment of His Divinity is the aspect of Ma'aseh Merkavah — which is impossible to speak about or reveal to another at all. About this it is said: "let them be yours alone, and not for strangers with you" [Proverbs 5:17]. For even though one must certainly also speak with one's fellow about this holy da'as — to know and recognize Him — one must speak and converse only about His wonders, in the aspect of "speak of all His wonders" [Psalms 105:2] and many similar verses. And through this the Emunah is automatically strengthened in one's heart and one's fellow's heart. But the very spark of knowledge of His Divinity according to what one assesses in one's heart — this it is impossible to tell to another at all. And the rationalists and philosophers are the exact opposite of all this — for they strive to remove from the da'as the general knowledge that everyone can know of His Divinity through the very wonders and awesome deeds He performed for us at the Exodus from Egypt, the Splitting of the Sea, and the Giving of the Torah. And similarly what He has done for us — wondrous miracles in every generation through the true Tzadikim of the generation. These above-mentioned rationalists deny all this — and instead wish to investigate the knowledge of His Divinity only through the attainment of da'as alone, entering therein to investigate specifically in public matters that cannot be attained at all. As our Rabbis said: "one who gazes at four things, it would have been better had he not come into the world…" [Chagigah 11b] . Therefore they are from the aspect of the Erev Rav (עֵרֶב רַב — the mixed multitude) — specifically " Erev Rav ": who mix the da'as of many of them together in the matter of the investigations of His Divinity. Whereas this knowledge in holiness is truly only for each one according to what he assesses in his heart — and one cannot speak of it at all, even one with another. All the more so in public — as our Rabbis said: "nor the Merkavah to one alone…" as above. And through this they went astray to where they went astray in their wisdom of investigation. And they are the precise opposite of the holiness of Israel, as explained there. Hil. Shutfim B'Karka 5:15, 17

140. All the errors and heresies of the earlier generations who worshipped idols, and of the current ones who are rationalists and philosophers — all of it derives through evil desires. Particularly the general desire, in which they are the most submerged, as is clearly seen. And therefore they incline after falsified and truth-inverted reasonings. And it is known how greatly our Rabbis warned with severe warnings not to meditate upon their books. And therefore it is true: in the earlier generations the philosophers denied the words of the Talmudic sages — and even now we know the truth that they completely deny the words of our Rabbis. But recently they have schemed with great craftiness, through words of foolishness and deceit, to equate even the views of the Sages of Israel in the holy Talmud with their evil opinions, G-d forbid — wishing to introduce the foolishness of their evil wisdom into the words of the holy Talmud and also into the holy Kabbalah books. All this is in order to sway the hearts of the children of Israel, G-d forbid, after their evil, bitter, impure, and falsified outlook. But who is the fool and simpleton who would not understand their craftiness? And the person who desires the truth — to remain in the point of his Jewish identity — will certainly not acquiesce to them nor listen to their words, their enticements and temptations. For Jacob's portion is not among these. ibid. §19

141. The unification of the Holy Blessed One and His Shechinah face to face is the aspect of the inclusion of after-creation in before-creation in the general sense. For know this general principle: Hashem Himself, as it were, is called the Holy Blessed One — and the drawing of His vitality by which He gives life to all the worlds is the aspect of the Shechinah. And in truth all is one — for "Hashem is One and His Name is One" [Zechariah 14:9]. For His vitality is cleaved to Him in complete unity. Only for the sake of free choice, Hashem as it were gave room for error so that free choice would exist — to the point where there are heretics and sectarians who do not believe in His providence. And they make, as it were, a separation between the Holy Blessed One and His Shechinah: between Hashem and the totality of the worlds that He gives life to through the Shechinah of His might, as above. And in truth this matter is impossible to understand: how Hashem who is exalted above all conducts and gives life to all this physical world. And similarly how the totality of creation is included in the aspect of before-creation in complete unity — in the aspect of father and son as one — and yet the creation will be sustained and not be nullified in existence. All this is very hard to attain, and even Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, was perplexed by this. And this is the secret of the Splitting of the Sea as explained there. And this matter we cannot attain through any da'as — only through Emunah alone. For through the free choice of a person — through our inclining our da'as to believe in the truth: that everything derives only from His unity, and that even now after creation everything is conducted only by His providence alone — through this very thing the light of His providence shines upon us in completeness. And through this, after-creation is included in the aspect of before-creation in great completeness. And this is the essential completeness of the rectification of all creation, as explained there. Hil. Sheluchin 3

142. The totality of the creation of the world is the aspect of the drawing of divine spirituality into contractions — and all of it is in order to reveal the holy Emunah which is the aspect of malchus . For this was all created, as it is written: "and all His works are in faithfulness" [Psalms 33:4]. But the Emunah of malchus cannot be revealed in completeness except after creation — through the acts of the lower beings. For there is no king without a people [Avos d'Rebbe Nosson] . And similarly Emunah is only applicable regarding a matter that is not seen and one must believe in it — which is only after creation has distanced itself from the Supernal Emanator. For then it is impossible to see and understand the Emanator, and one must believe in Him with complete Emunah. Therefore at the beginning of creation there was no completeness in the creation — since the attribute of Emunah had not yet been fully revealed. Therefore the north was created lacking [an allusion from the Midrash to an unfilled corner of creation, indicating incompleteness] — to show that creation was still lacking. Until the holy Tzadikim come, who draw divine spirituality into contractions (this is the aspect of the north wind — see there) . Through this the Emunah is rectified in completeness — which is the essential rectification and completeness of all the creation of Bereishis. Hil. Hefker veNichsei HaGer 4:4

143. Emunah is the aspect of the ayeles hashachar (אַיֶּלֶת הַשַּׁחַר — the doe of the dawn) . For Emunah is the aspect of darkness and blackness — since the essential Emunah is only in what one does not know. And a hidden and concealed matter is the aspect of darkness and blackness, in the aspect of "He made darkness His hiding place" [Psalms 18:12]. And there is the essential Emunah — where one must strengthen oneself in Emunah until the Emunah shines for one as if seeing with one's very own eyes. This is the aspect of the dawn's ascent, the aspect of "but the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn — going and shining…" [Proverbs 4:18]. For they strengthen themselves in complete Emunah from within the darkness of night — until it ascends and shines for them like the sun at noon. ibid.

144. Just as through holy counsels the holy Emunah is revealed — so too conversely: through evil counsels, the aspect of the counsel of the wicked, G-d forbid, through this the holy Emunah is weakened, G-d forbid, and false beliefs and heresies are drawn, Heaven have mercy. Therefore counsels require very great guarding. ibid. §8

145. When one knows and genuinely believes that Hashem is the place of the world and the world is not His place, and that only He knows the place of each and every individual — and judges each one according to his place — through this all the questions of "a righteous man and it goes well for him, a righteous man and it goes badly for him" [Berachos 7a] are nullified. For He certainly knows that this person cannot come to his eternal ultimate purpose except through having all good in this world. And conversely, the other cannot come to his eternal ultimate purpose except through great poverty and want in this world. And all according to the place of each person — which no human being knows, only He alone who is the place of the world, as above. ibid. §12

146. The essential daily renewal of the works of creation is only in the matter of the elevation and clarification of holy Emunah with wondrous renewal each and every day, and so forth. ibid. §19; see also Chiddush Ma'aseh Bereishis §9

147. There is the aspect of the very essence of the point of malchus -Emunah — this point endures forever and is never interrupted, in the aspect of "and His kingship and His faithfulness endure forever" . And this is the aspect of the divine overflow of holy Emunah that constantly flows down upon us from above — from there is the root of the Emunah implanted in the heart of each and every Jew. But one must still add additional illumination, vitality, and intellect upon the point of holy Emunah — to magnify it and build it up into the aspect of a complete countenance (פַּרְצוּף שָׁלֵם) . And this depends on the rectification of our deeds, as is all understood in the writings of the holy Ari. And from these two aspects derive the aspects of dew and rain, as explained there. ibid. §28; see also Tal uMatar §10

148. In the future there will be complete and holy academies in which the study of holy Emunah will be learned, in the aspect of "I will yet make you dwell in tents as in the days of the appointed time" [Hosea 12:10]. And Rashi explains: as in the days of the first appointed time — when Yaakov our Father, the wholehearted man, dwelt in tents. And all the academy of Yaakov our Father — in which he studied with his sons and students as our Rabbis said — was entirely the study of holy Emunah. For the commandments had not yet been given then. And the essential matter of their learning was in the subject of holy Emunah: to nullify all idol worship and heresies, and to draw and plant and establish within the heart of each and every one the holy Emunah in completeness. ibid. §32

149. In the future they will engage only in this: to give thanks to Him for all the wondrous kindness He performed for us in this world by instilling holy Emunah within us. And we must also now in this world draw upon ourselves this aspect — the aspect of the delight of the World to Come: to give thanks to Him each day and at every moment for all this wondrous kindness — that He arranged through His wonders to instill within us the holy Emunah. For it is our life and the length of our days and all our sustaining for ever and ever. ibid. §33

150. The essential vessel of the divine overflow (כֶּלִי הַשֶּׁפַע) that is completed through the words of prayer is through complete Emunah — which is the essential vessel to receive all goodness. Just as one must have complete Emunah in Hashem that He creates all, conducts, rules, and watches over, and it is in His power to change nature according to His will and to bestow all goodness — so too one must have Emunah in oneself: to believe with complete Emunah that Hashem hears, listens, and gives attention to every word of every single Jew — even the most lowly of the lowly. For He hears the prayer of every mouth. And there is power in every single Jew to effect his request mercifully before Him, if he prays to Him in truth, as it is written: "Hashem is close to all who call upon Him — to all who call upon Him in truth" [Psalms 145:18]. And as long as one does not have Emunah in oneself — that one too has the power to draw the divine overflow through one's prayer — one still has no vessel to receive the divine overflow. For one has no place or vessel in one's heart to receive the overflow — since according to one's own mind one is far from receiving and drawing the overflow, since one does not believe in oneself that one's prayer makes an impression. Therefore the essential formation of the vessel through prayer — to draw the overflow and effect one's request — is through complete Emunah in all its aspects: believing that He is all-powerful, dominant, conducting according to His will. And also that He is gracious and compassionate and hears the prayer of every mouth. This is what our Rabbis said: "a person should always arrange the praise of the Omnipresent first, and then ask for his needs" [Berachos 32a] . For through the arranging of the praise of the Omnipresent, the Emunah is strengthened in completeness in all the above aspects. And through this the Emunah is strengthened within us — that He will have compassion on us too and hear our prayer and bestow all goodness upon us, as He heard the prayers of our ancestors. And this is why one concludes the asking of one's needs with the blessing of "Who hears prayer" — for this is the essential: to believe with complete Emunah that Hashem hears the prayer of every mouth. Through this is the essential completeness of the vessel to receive the divine overflow as above. Hil. Nachalos 4:3–4