סימן י"ט-מאמר תפלה לחבקוק

Siman Nineteen — Tefillah L'Chavakukסימן יט — תפלה לחבקוק This discourse was said in the year [5]564, on Shavuos — which fell then on Wednesday and Thursday.

Section 2 — Letter ב — [on Letter Gimmel of the discourse] Section 2 — Letter ב — [on Letter Gimmel of the discourse]

There — the same Letter — regarding the perfection of the holy tongue: see the Kitzur Likutay Moharan and in Likutay Aitzos, Dibbur, Letter Gimmel — where it is explained that this means one should guard the tongue and speech from blemishing it with flawed speech, G-d forbid — of idle words, slander, lies, and the like — but on the contrary: to sanctify speech with holy words of Torah and prayer. And likewise the prayer that one prays between oneself and one's Creator — explaining one's conversation before Him in the vernacular language we speak [lashon Ashkenaz] — this too is counted within the perfection of the holy tongue. There — Letter Gimmel — "Living fiery creatures that speak [chayos aysh mamlalos] — living fiery creatures — the aspect of Chavah, a woman [chayos aysh b'chinas chavah ishah]" — this being the aspect of: she was named Chavah because she was the mother of all life — meaning: the aspect of the holy tongue. This means: for it is known that the category of Man — which is a speaking living being — corresponds to the element of fire. Therefore the complete speech — which is the holy tongue — is literally the aspect of living fiery creatures that speak. And through it the bonfire of the seventy luminaries is broken up and scattered — this being the aspect of: "burning coals shall fall upon them" — as is elaborated below in Letter Hay.

And see the Targum Yonatan there: "Hashem has hidden my shame — and in the future Yehoshua the son of Yosef will gather the shame of Egypt from the sons of Israel and circumcise them on the far side of the Jordan" — meaning: when he circumcised Israel at Gilgal, as it says: "today I have rolled away the shame of Egypt from upon you." And this is precisely relevant to our matter. And likewise regarding "for my mouth is speaking to you" — as elaborated in the discourse — see Rashi there: "and behold your eyes see in my glory — that I am your brother who is circumcised like you." And further: "for my mouth speaks to you in the holy tongue." The whole matter is elaborated — for the holy tongue and the rectification of the covenant [tikun habris] — which is the aspect of the mitzvah of circumcision — depend on each other. And through this comes honor. There — Letter Gimmel — "Living fiery creatures that speak [chayos aysh mamlalos] — living fiery creatures — the aspect of Chavah, a woman [chayos aysh b'chinas chavah ishah]" — this being the aspect of: she was named Chavah because she was the mother of all life — meaning: the aspect of the holy tongue. This means: for it is known that the category of Man — which is a speaking living being — corresponds to the element of fire. Therefore the complete speech — which is the holy tongue — is literally the aspect of living fiery creatures that speak. And through it the bonfire of the seventy luminaries is broken up and scattered — this being the aspect of: "burning coals shall fall upon them" [Psalms 140] — as is elaborated below in Letter Hay.

Section 7 — Letter ז — [on Letter Hay of the discourse] There: "And the Name Yosef — on account of… the aspect of: 'G-d has gathered [asaf] my disgrace'" — see the Rashbam who explained that he was named Yosef on account of "G-d has gathered" — only she added the yud of Yosef on account of "may Hashem add [yosef] for me another son."

Section 8 — Letter ח — [on Letter Vov of the discourse] There — the same Letter — regarding the perfection of the holy tongue: see the Kitzur Likutay Moharan and in Likutay Aitzos, Dibbur, Letter Gimmel — where it is explained that this means one should guard the tongue and speech from blemishing it with flawed speech, G-d forbid — of idle words, slander, lies, and the like — but on the contrary: to sanctify speech with holy words of Torah and prayer. And likewise the prayer that one prays between oneself and one's Creator — explaining one's conversation before Him in the vernacular language we speak [lashon Ashkenaz] — this too is counted within the perfection of the holy tongue.

Therefore when He chose us from all the nations and elevated us above all tongues — He also gave us the holiness of the Land of Israel — where the Shechinah dwells — which is the aspect of the holy tongue — the holy spirit. And therefore the Sages said that the essential holy spirit is in the Land of Israel. And see in the holy Zohar, Shemos, p. 152: that in the place of the Temple — which is the source of the holiness of the Land of Israel — there all the letters of the alef-beis shine — which are the aspect of the holy tongue. Therefore when the spies spoke slander about the Land of Israel they damaged the aspect of the holy tongue greatly. And when Moshe prayed to rectify this, he said: "and now may the power of Hashem be magnified" — so that through this the matter would be rectified. And this is what the Sages said : at the time when Moshe heard "slow to anger even for the wicked" he did not agree to this — and therefore he now said: "and now may the power of Hashem be magnified as You have spoken, saying — slow to anger even for the wicked." For in truth the essential meaning of patience with the wicked is only for this: perhaps they will return in repentance — or worthy children will come from them — and this is the essential perfection of holiness — the aspect of the holy tongue — when one elevates even the good within the translation [targum] into the holy tongue. And this is the aspect of what the Sages said : "in the place where penitents stand — even the completely righteous cannot stand" — for the completely righteous are the aspect of the holy tongue itself — and penitents are the aspect of the elevation of the good within nogah to the holy tongue — which is its essential completion. And therefore at the time of the sin of the spies — Moshe prayed that He be patient even with the wicked — so that through this the power of Hashem's holy tongue would be strengthened more — as above. There: "And the serpent — which is the comprehensive evil above — when there is no perfection in the holy tongue — it goes and rules over the holy tongue…" — Here is elaborated the secret of the serpent: that it is the aspect of the evil of the seventy tongues — the aspect of the three utterly impure kelippos. And it is the aspect of the foolish woman [eshes ksilus] who went and seduced Chavah — who is the aspect of the wise woman — the holy tongue. By causing her to stumble through eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil — which is the aspect of the Aramaic translation — which is mixed good and evil — which is the aspect of the kelipas nogah — which sometimes ascends and is included in holiness and sometimes the reverse, G-d forbid. And it is the aspect of the understanding woman [isha maskheles] which is the midpoint between the foolish woman and the wise woman — for maskhel with a left shin [sin] means understanding and wisdom — and with a right shin it means causing destruction, G-d forbid. Likewise this above aspect sometimes is included in holiness and sometimes the reverse, G-d forbid. And the essential completion of the building of the holy tongue is through elevating the good within the translation to the holy tongue and causing the evil within it to fall — for through this all the seventy tongues fall — in the aspect of: "a tongue falls upon a tongue" [lashon nofal al lashon] as is elaborated in the discourse.

Now: what Rabbainu wrote — that through this "the power of the letters is stirred and magnified" — meaning: the twenty-eight letters of the work of creation [kaf-ches osvan d'ma'aseh bereishis]. And also in this verse "and now may the power of Hashem be magnified" there are twenty-eight letters. And through this there is support for what is written in the note of the Rema, Siman 56 — and the root of the matter from the introduction to Tikkun HaZohar, p. 13 — to say at the time of reciting Kaddish: "and now may the power of Hashem be magnified." For the Kaddish was composed in the Aramaic translation — and it is very great and awesome praise — which is the aspect of the elevation of the good within the translation to the holy tongue — this being the aspect of "and now may the power of Hashem be magnified" — as is elaborated here. But it is brought in the name of the Holy Ari that he was not accustomed to saying it. And see in the kavvanot of the Holy Ari on the matter of the twenty-eight words and twenty-eight letters in the Kaddish. There: "And the Name Yosef — on account of… the aspect of: 'G-d has gathered [asaf] my disgrace'" [Genesis 30] — see the Rashbam who explained that he was named Yosef on account of "G-d has gathered" — only she added the yud of Yosef on account of "may Hashem add [yosef] for me another son." And see the Targum Yonatan there: "Hashem has hidden my shame — and in the future Yehoshua the son of Yosef will gather the shame of Egypt from the sons of Israel and circumcise them on the far side of the Jordan" — meaning: when he circumcised Israel at Gilgal, as it says: "today I have rolled away the shame of Egypt from upon you." And this is precisely relevant to our matter.

There — at the end of the discourse — "and between one who hears from the mouth of a Sage and one who learns from a book — the difference is very great — for a book is only for remembrance… and the remembrance is in the power of the imagination… and imagination is the aspect of tardaymah [deep sleep] — the aspect of translation [targum] as is known." This means: and midameh [imagination] is the aspect of tardaymah — the aspect of translation — as is known. Therefore: "things transmitted orally — you are not permitted to say them in writing" — and there are things within. This means: for this verse "write this as a memorial in the book" was said about the wars of Amalek — of which it says: "who encountered you on the way" — meaning: the stormy spirit draws sustenance from the holy tongue through the aspect of tardaymah — the aspect of translation — as elaborated in Letter Hay. And the translation is the aspect of writing — as above. And also because the Written Torah — which is the essential holy tongue — was written in writing specifically. And the translation was said orally specifically. And likewise most of the Oral Torah is in the Aramaic language [lashon targum]. But there are things within. [And see in Likutay Halachos, Laws of Evening Prayer, Halacha 2.] There — Letter Hay — "which is the stormy spirit — the spirit of foolishness…" — For the stormy spirit [ruach sa'arah] is the first of the three utterly impure kelippos — as it is written in Ezekiel 1: "And I saw and behold a stormy spirit coming from the north — a great cloud and flashing fire" — these are the three utterly impure kelippos, as is known — "and a brightness surrounds it — and from within it as the color of the chashmal from within the fire." And see Zohar Vayakhel p. 203 and in Mikdash Melech there.

Siman Twenty — Tes Tikkuninסימן כ — ט' תיקונין And likewise regarding "for my mouth is speaking to you" — as elaborated in the discourse — see Rashi there: "and behold your eyes see in my glory — that I am your brother who is circumcised like you." And further: "for my mouth speaks to you in the holy tongue." The whole matter is elaborated — for the holy tongue and the rectification of the covenant [tikun habris] — which is the aspect of the mitzvah of circumcision — depend on each other. And through this comes honor. There: "And the serpent — which is the comprehensive evil above — when there is no perfection in the holy tongue — it goes and rules over the holy tongue…" — Here is elaborated the secret of the serpent: that it is the aspect of the evil of the seventy tongues — the aspect of the three utterly impure kelippos. And it is the aspect of the foolish woman [eshes ksilus] who went and seduced Chavah — who is the aspect of the wise woman — the holy tongue. By causing her to stumble through eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil — which is the aspect of the Aramaic translation — which is mixed good and evil — which is the aspect of the kelipas nogah — which sometimes ascends and is included in holiness and sometimes the reverse, G-d forbid.

In this above discourse: "and whoever wishes to draw Torah interpretations" — meaning: now — after that soul above was removed and the Torah interpretations drawn through it were removed — therefore whoever now wishes to draw Torah interpretations must first draw warm words for himself — as is elaborated in the discourse. And likewise it is elaborated at the end of the discourse: "everything that was hidden will be found" — meaning: everything that used to be found through that soul which was removed — is now found through this beard [dikna] — as is elaborated there. There — Letter Vov — "And this is: 'And now may the power of Hashem be magnified — as You have spoken, saying…'" — In my humble opinion it appears to explain the juxtaposition of the matter: for then Moshe prayed for the sin of the spies who had spoken slander about the Land of Israel — and through this they damaged specifically the speech of the holy tongue — for the Land of Israel is also connected to the aspect of the holy tongue and the rectification of the covenant — for both of them depend on each other. And this is what Yehoshua said to them at Gilgal: that they could not inherit the Land until they circumcised themselves — as the Sages expounded on the verse: "and this is the matter of which Yehoshua circumcised" — "he spoke a word to them." And likewise this is elaborated in many places in the holy Zohar — that the Land of Israel is one aspect together with the rectification of the covenant — which is the aspect of the perfection of the holy tongue as above. And it is the aspect of the understanding woman [isha maskheles] which is the midpoint between the foolish woman and the wise woman — for maskhel with a left shin [sin] means understanding and wisdom — and with a right shin it means causing destruction, G-d forbid. Likewise this above aspect sometimes is included in holiness and sometimes the reverse, G-d forbid. And the essential completion of the building of the holy tongue is through elevating the good within the translation to the holy tongue and causing the evil within it to fall — for through this all the seventy tongues fall — in the aspect of: "a tongue falls upon a tongue" [lashon nofal al lashon] as is elaborated in the discourse. There — Letter Hay — "which is the stormy spirit — the spirit of foolishness…" — For the stormy spirit [ruach sa'arah] is the first of the three utterly impure kelippos — as it is written in Ezekiel 1: "And I saw and behold a stormy spirit coming from the north — a great cloud and flashing fire" — these are the three utterly impure kelippos, as is known — "and a brightness surrounds it — and from within it as the color of the chashmal from within the fire." And see Zohar Vayakhel p. 203 and in Mikdash Melech there. There — Letter Vov — "And this is: 'And now may the power of Hashem be magnified — as You have spoken, saying…'" — In my humble opinion it appears to explain the juxtaposition of the matter: for then Moshe prayed for the sin of the spies who had spoken sla nder abou t the Land of Israel — and through this they damaged specifically the speech of the holy tongue — for the Land of Israel is also connected to the aspect of the holy tongue and the rectification of the covenant — for both of them depend on each other. And this is what Yehoshua said to them at Gilgal: that they could not inherit the Land until they circumcised themselves — as the Sages expounded [Yalkut Shimoni on Yehoshua, ch. Section 11 — Letter יא — [end of the discourse] 5] on the verse: "and this is the matter of which Yehoshua circumcised" [Yehoshua 5] — "he spoke a word to them." And likewise this is elaborated in many places in the holy Zohar — that the Land of Israel is one aspect together with the rectification of the covenant — which is the aspect of the perfection of the holy tongue as above. Therefore when He chose us from all the nations and elevated us above all tongues — He also gave us the holiness of the Land of Israel — where the Shechinah dwells — which is the aspect of the holy tongue — the holy spirit. And therefore the Sages said that the essential holy spirit is in the Land of Israel. And see in the holy Zohar, Shemos, p. 152: that in the place of the Temple — which is the source of the holiness of the Land of Israel — there all the letters of the alef-beis shine — which are the aspect of the holy tongue. Therefore when the spies spoke slander about the Land of Israel they damaged the aspect of the holy tongue greatly. And when Moshe prayed to rectify this, he said: "and now may the power of Hashem be magnified" — so that through this the matter would be rectified. And this is what the Sages said [Sanhedrin 111]: at the time when Moshe heard "slow to anger even for the wicked" he did not agree to this — and therefore he now said: "and now may the power of Hashem be magnified as You have spoken, saying — slow to anger even for the wicked." For in truth the essential meaning of patience with the wicked is only for this: perhaps they will return in repentance — or worthy children will come from them — and this is the essential perfection of holiness — the aspect of the holy tongue — when one elevates even the good within the translation [targum] into the holy tongue. And this is the aspect of what the Sages said [Brachos 34b]: "in the place where penitents stand — even the completely righteous cannot stand" — for the completely righteous are the aspect of the holy tongue itself — and penitents are the aspect of the elevation of the good within nogah to the holy tongue — which is its essential completion. And therefore at the time of the sin of the spies — Moshe prayed that He be patient even with the wicked — so that through this the power of Hashem's holy tongue would be strengthened more — as above. And this too is what the Sages said [Shabbas 89]: when Moshe ascended on high — he found the Holy One tying crowns onto the letters. The Holy One said to him: "you should have helped Me." Immediately he said: "and now may the power of Hashem be magnified." And in Menachos p. 29, the Sages said that Moshe asked the Holy One: "Master of the World — what is holding back Your hand?" He answered: "in the future there will be… a man by the name of Akiva ben Yosef — and he will expound on every crown and crown." And all of the above is precisely aligned to our matter — for just as the whole world was created incomplete — because the holy tongue — which comes from above — is not perfect except when in this world one elevates the good within the translation — so too the complete rectification of all things is through the people of this world specifically. Likewise the totality of the Torah — which is the aspect of the holy tongue — its essential perfection is also only through the homiletical expositions [derashos] of the Sages of this world specifically. And therefore the Holy One was tying crowns onto the letters — and did not write everything explicitly — but left the completion of rectification for the derashos of Rabbi Akiva specifically. And this itself is also the matter of what the Holy One said to Moshe: "you should have helped Me" — meaning literally: to bless Him, as it were, at the time of the writing of the Torah. For the essential perfection is through this world specifically — and immediately he said "and now may the power of Hashem be magnified" — meaning: he truly said this at the time when he prayed for the sin of the spies — but the claim was: "as You have spoken, saying" — meaning: You hinted then that the essential perfection depends on this world specifically — for one must elevate even the good within the translation to the holy tongue — which is done in this world specifically. And according to this matter it is right that You be patient with them as above. It follows that the simple reading of the verse and the Sages' homiletical expositions on it all go to one place — according to what Rabbainu alluded to us in this verse as above. Now: what Rabbainu wrote — that through this "the power of the letters is stirred and magnified" — meaning: the twenty-eight letters of the work of creation [kaf-ches osvan d'ma'aseh bereishis]. And also in this verse "and now may the power of Hashem be magnified" there are twenty-eight letters. And through this there is support for what is written in the note of the Rema, Siman 56 — and the root of the matter from the introduction to Tikkun HaZohar, p. 13 — to say at the time of reciting Kaddish: "and now may the power of Hashem be magnified." For the Kaddish was composed in the Aramaic translation — and it is very great and awesome praise — which is the aspect of the elevation of the good within the translation to the holy tongue — this being the aspect of "and now may the power of Hashem be magnified" — as is elaborated here. But it is brought in the name of the Holy Ari that he was not accustomed to saying it. And see in the kavvanot of the Holy Ari on the matter of the twenty-eight words and twenty-eight letters in the Kaddish. There — at the end of the discourse — "and between one who hears from the mouth of a Sage and one who learns from a book — the difference is very great — for a book is only for remembrance… and the remembrance is in the power of the imagination… and imagination is the aspect of tardaymah [deep sleep] — the aspect of translation [targum] as is known." This means: and midameh [imagination] is the aspect of tardaymah — the aspect of translation — as is known. Therefore: "things transmitted orally — you are not permitted to say them in writing" — and there are things within. This means: for this verse "write this as a memorial in the book" was said about the wars of Amalek — of which it says: "who encountered you on the way" [Deuteronomy 25] — meaning: the stormy spirit draws sustenance from the holy tongue through the aspect of tardaymah — the aspect of translation — as elaborated in Letter Hay. And the translation is the aspect of writing — as above. And also because the Written Torah — which is the essential holy tongue — was written in writing specifically. And the translation was said orally specifically. And likewise most of the Oral Torah is in the Aramaic language [lashon targum]. But there are things within. [And see in Likutay Halachos, Laws of Evening Prayer, Halacha 2.] "The essential purpose." And so on. "For 'ki zeh kol ha'adam' [this is all of man]." Meaning: for every person can fulfill this — and attain the purpose through it. And so on. The meaning is: even though the Sages expounded [on the verse]: "ki zeh kol ha'adam" — as referring to: "the entire world was created only for this person's sake" — which refers to the greatest of Torah scholars — as is known. Even so: the explanation here is different. For the meaning here is: that every person — even the most ordinary — can fulfill this and attain the purpose through it. And so on — as elaborated in the discourse. There: "and this is the essential purpose for us — that prayer be included in His unity." And so on. In my humble opinion the meaning is: for according to the view of the philosophers — the purpose is for man to know Hashem — and to comprehend Him through philosophical inquiry. But according to the true purpose — which is the way of our Sages — of blessed memory — and as elaborated in the words of Rabbainu — the essential purpose is prayer. And the highest level of prayer is: that prayer be included in His unity — the aspect of: "He and His Name alone [hu u'shemo bilvad]." And so on — as elaborated in the discourse.