סימן כ"א-עתיקא טמיר וסתים

Siman Twenty-One — Atika Tamir v'Satimסימן כא — עתיקא טמיר וסתים This discourse was said on Shabbas Nachamu [the Shabbas of Consolation] of the year [5]564.

Afterwards I stood before him further until after sunset. In the meantime his servant entered and said in these words: "Rebbe, give money for candles" — and in Yiddish [lashon Ashkenaz]: "Rebbe, git gelt oyf lecht." He answered and said to me: "Did you hear what he said? — Remember this too — for this also is an answer to the question" — meaning: to the above question that was raised on high regarding the makifin — "if you will be an upright person you will merit to understand this." Before this — in that summer — I heard from him certain matters of the above discourse section by section. And afterwards he said it in completeness on the road on Shabbas Nachamu as above. And before this — I stood before him on the eve of Rosh Chodesh Menachem [Av] — on the first day, Shabbas, toward evening — and he was then very awesome and lay on his bed. [See the conversation that was then — on the matter that everything he wishes to do he is compelled to do with self-sacrifice.] And then he told me and said: "This Shabbas a question was raised on high — and I gave the answer to it. And the question is: there are surrounding lights [makifin] of the intellect and there are surrounding lights of the Torah — and what should one do so that the makifin enter within?" — as is printed at the end of the above discourse. Afterwards I stood before him further until after sunset.

And afterwards during the days of Elul I was with him personally — for when he arrived home I was not there myself — only all the above that happened at the time of his entering home I heard from my companion who was with him then. And immediately when I entered to him — and he was sitting with heaviness of head in sorrow — he immediately began to speak of life and death and answered and said to me: "The difference between life and death is only one cubit — for now a person is here and afterwards he dwells there." And he pointed with his hand toward the cemetery. Meaning: one who is a Tzaddik — even in death he is alive — what difference is there for him between life and death? Only: before he dwelt here — and now he has fixed his dwelling there, in the grave — and he lives there. And then he began to say: "Eternal life is only with Hashem — and whoever is included in Him is also alive with eternal life" — as all this is elaborated in the above discourse. [All of this is copied from Chayyay Moharan.] Afterwards he set out on the road — and said the discourse Atika above there on the road on Shabbas Nachamu as above. And while he was on the road — his small daughter Feigah passed away. And when he came home they concealed it from him and did not inform him at all — for she had not been raised at his home but in the nearby town of Ladizin — where she was with a wet-nurse — and therefore they were able to conceal it from him. And immediately when he descended from the wagon and entered his home — he found people from our fellowship [anash] who had come to him from the community of Nemirov. He then immediately said much Torah before them from the above discourse Atika — and he wove into his Torah the matter of the seven days of mourning — as is elaborated there in Letter Hay. And also on the road before entering the town — they understood from his words that he knew by his holy spirit that she had departed. And afterwards when he entered his home he asked and inquired of his household — and they concealed it from him. And he did not observe mourning at all — and he was not informed by any person until after Rosh Hashonoh. And then he observed one hour of mourning as required by law — for it was already after thirty days. And he said then: as long as one does not know through a person's mouth — one need not observe mourning — even though one knows through attainments.

There — Letter Gimmel — "and its growth is from the earth [gadlo min ha'aretz]" — for the one who receives must be wise — meaning: he must have a well-balanced material nature to receive wisdom and intellect — as is elaborated below in Siman 53. And as is elaborated elsewhere in the name of Rabbainu — that a person can be a Tzaddik even if he is not a Torah scholar — but to be a person of attainment — for this one must be a Torah scholar in Gemara, commentary, and Tosafos. And this is the aspect of "and its growth is from the earth" — meaning: that also the nature of his body and material substance — which is the aspect of earth [as is known and as is elaborated above in Siman 14] — should also be prepared and well-balanced for this. And see Midrash Rabbah, Bereishis, ch. 13: "and a mist rose from the earth" — Resh Lakish says: clouds come only from below [meaning: from the earth] — like one who said to his companion: "lend me a measure of wheat" — and he said: "bring your basket and measure." So the Holy One says to the earth: bring your clouds and receive rain. [Brought in Tosafos, Sukkah p. 12, s.v. b'pesoles.] And through this the entire above matter is elaborated even more. In the meantime his servant entered and said in these words: "Rebbe, give money for candles" — and in Yiddish [lashon Ashkenaz]: "Rebbe, git gelt oyf lecht." He answered and said to me: "Did you hear what he said? — Remember this too — for this also is an answer to the question" — meaning: to the above question that was raised on high regarding the makifin — "if you will be an upright person you will merit to understand this." Afterwards he set out on the road — and said the discourse Atika above there on the road on Shabbas Nachamu as above.

There — Letter Hay — "Every Tzaddik is scorched by his companion's canopy [chupah]" — For it has already been elaborated above in Letter Alef that through the speed of the movement of the intellect of the divine abundance — through this warmth is born in the heart. Therefore: since this one's surrounding light is greater than that one's — if one were to attain the greater surrounding light of one above one's level — one would literally be scorched through it — through the greatness of the light of the inflaming that would be born in one's heart — beyond one's level — to the point where one could not bear it at all — like one who is literally scorched. But when one attains the surrounding light according to one's level — through this the inflaming is born in one's heart according to one's level — and one can bear it. And see at the end of the discourse — it is elaborated on this in a somewhat different matter. And while he was on the road — his small daughter Feigah passed away.

Section 8 — Letter ח — [on Letter Vov of the discourse] And when he came home they concealed it from him and did not inform him at all — for she had not been raised at his home but in the nearby town of Ladizin — where she was with a wet-nurse — and therefore they were able to conceal it from him. And immediately when he descended from the wagon and entered his home — he found people from our fellowship [anash] who had come to him from the community of Nemirov. He then immediately said much Torah before them from the above discourse Atika — and he wove into his Torah the matter of the seven days of mourning — as is elaborated there in Letter Hay. And also on the road before entering the town — they understood from his words that he knew by his holy spirit that she had departed. And afterwards when he entered his home he asked and inquired of his household — and they concealed it from him. And he did not observe mourning at all — and he was not informed by any person until after Rosh Hashonoh. And then he observed one hour of mourning as required by law — for it was already after thirty days. And he said then: as long as one does not know through a person's mouth — one need not observe mourning — even though one knows through attainments. And afterwards during the days of Elul I was with him personally — for when he arrived home I was not there myself — only all the above that happened at the time of his entering home I heard from my companion who was with him then.

Section 9 — Letter ט — [on the same Letter] Section 6 — Letter ו — [on Letter Hay of the discourse]

To elaborate briefly on the connection of the matter of Letters Hay, Vov, and Zayin: for the essential man is intellect and Da'as — as is elaborated below. And the essential purpose of his creation was to attain the true Da'as of the attainment of His Divinity. And in the attainment of this Da'as there are two aspects — the aspect of: "behind and before You formed me" . Namely: the intellect that a person attains through preparation and prior study [hakdamos] — and this is called achor [backward] because it comes in delay of time — after the preparations. And there is an intellect that comes to a person only through divine abundance — and this is called kedem [forward] and panim [face]. And although both are needed by the world — for even one who merits divine abundance must sometimes also use the second type of intellect — in particular for the aspect of begetting children — so that one can clothe the light of one's attained intellect in garments in order that others in the world can also benefit from it and receive good from him [and this is also literally the plain meaning of "behind and before You formed me" — the aspect of the creation of man male and female — for the sake of begetting children through this — and so that she will be a helper to him] — nonetheless: the essential completion of man's ultimate goal is to merit the aspect of intellect through divine abundance — which is the aspect of panim — the aspect of drawing the light of the face into the world. And immediately when I entered to him — and he was sitting with heaviness of head in sorrow — he immediately began to speak of life and death and answered and said to me: "The difference between life and death is only one cubit — for now a person is here and afterwards he dwells there." And he pointed with his hand toward the cemetery. Meaning: one who is a Tzaddik — even in death he is alive — what difference is there for him between life and death? Only: before he dwelt here — and now he has fixed his dwelling there, in the grave — and he lives there. And then he began to say: "Eternal life is only with Hashem — and whoever is included in Him is also alive with eternal life" — as all this is elaborated in the above discourse. [All of this is copied from Chayyay Moharan.] There — Letter Gimmel — "and its growth is from the earth [gadlo min ha'aretz]" — for the one who receives must be wise — meaning: he must have a well-balanced material nature to receive wisdom and intellect — as is elaborated below in Siman 53. And as is elaborated elsewhere in the name of Rabbainu — that a person can be a Tzaddik even if he is not a Torah scholar — but to be a person of attainment — for this one must be a Torah scholar in Gemara, commentary, and Tosafos.

Now: one who dies childless, G-d spare us — it is found that there is no one who will now engage after him in the matter of drawing the light of the face into the world. And the Torah provided advice to have his brother perform levirate marriage with his wife — and then the deceased will reincarnate and engage again himself in this. And if his brother does not wish to perform levirate marriage with his wife — she must remove his sandal. [One can say this connects to what is written in the book Otzaros Chayyim p. 120 — regarding the sandal which is also drawn from the chashmal — and the chashmal is the secret of the garment of the aspect of the surrounding lights — as is elaborated at the end of this discourse. And see at the beginning of Pri Etz Chaim, Sha'ar HaTefillah.] And she spits in his face — and through this spit he is shamed — and the essential shame is in the face. And see at the end of Letter Zayin where it is written: the shame — azil sumka v'asi chivoura [the red goes and the white comes] — which is the aspect of birth — the aspect of blood that is disturbed and becomes milk. There — in the same Letter — elaborated regarding the seven days of mourning and the seven days of the wedding feast. And see Midrash Rabbah at the end of portion Vayechi — where it is elaborated that the seven days of mourning correspond to the seven days of the wedding feast.

And also in the begetting of children — which is only for the sake of drawing the surrounding lights of the light of the face — there is also this aspect of ibur, birth, and mochin. Now: when one begets children it is only in the aspect of drawing the surrounding lights of the light of the face from concealment to revelation — to the aspect of birth. But the aspect of drawing the mochin — this depends on the free choice of the children themselves — whether they merit to cry out to Hashem until the mochin are born and they sanctify the seven candelabra — until they draw the mochin within. Therefore: this brother-in-law who did not wish to perform levirate marriage with his brother's wife — damaged only in that he did not strive to draw his brother's soul into the world from concealment to revelation to the aspect of birth. But in the matter of drawing the mochin themselves — perhaps even had he performed the levirate marriage and drawn his brother's soul into the world — his brother still would not have merited to draw the mochin through his free choice. It follows that the essential damage of the brother-in-law was in the aspect of drawing his brother's soul from concealment to revelation — to the aspect of birth — the aspect of: azil sumka v'asi chivoura — blood that is disturbed and becomes milk. Therefore she spits in his face — and through this spit he is shamed — and the shame is azil sumka v'asi chivoura. [And see Likutay Torah, portion Ki Seitzay — that through the spit she spits — that spirit [rucha] departs from her. It follows that this itself is also the aspect of birth — for initially he was bound in her womb waiting to be rectified through his levirate brother — and now he exits from her and will be rectified through another means that Hashem will find for him. And through this one can say: this is why the Sages insisted that the spit be white and not blood — for the birth is in the aspect of azil sumka v'asi chivoura as above.] And this is the aspect of "and its growth is from the earth" — meaning: that also the nature of his body and material substance — which is the aspect of earth [as is known and as is elaborated above in Siman 14] — should also be prepared and well-balanced for this. And see Midrash Rabbah, Bereishis, ch. 13: "and a mist rose from the earth" — Resh Lakish says: clouds come only from below [meaning: from the earth] — like one who said to his companion: "lend me a measure of wheat" — and he said: "bring your basket and measure." So the Holy One says to the earth: bring your clouds and receive rain. [Brought in Tosafos, Sukkah p. 12, s.v. b'pesoles.] And through this the entire above matter is elaborated even more. There — Letter Hay — "Every Tzaddik is scorched by his companion's canopy [chupah]" — For it has already been elaborated above in Letter Alef that through the speed of the movement of the intellect of the divine abundance — through this warmth is born in the heart. Therefore: since this one's surrounding light is greater than that one's — if one were to attain the greater surrounding light of one above one's level — one would literally be scorched through it — through the greatness of the light of the inflaming that would be born in one's heart — beyond one's level — to the point where one could not bear it at all — like one who is literally scorched.

There — Letter Zayin — "whether in prayer or in Torah — when the mochin are hidden…" — This means: for there is intellect and mochin in the service of Hashem — which is the aspect of the mochin and vitality of prayer. And there is intellect and mochin of Torah — such as the intellect of Torah innovations. And perhaps this is also his intention at the end of the discourse — in what they questioned: "for there are surrounding lights of the intellect" — meaning: in the attainment and knowledge of the intellect in His Divinity and His attributes and His holy governance — which also includes the aspect of the mochin of prayer. "And there are surrounding lights of the Torah" — meaning: of the laws of the Torah and its secrets. But when one attains the surrounding light according to one's level — through this the inflaming is born in one's heart according to one's level — and one can bear it.

There — at the end of the same Letter — "Tzur yelad'cha teshi" ["the Rock that bore you — you forgot"] — its initials spell the word tzay'is — the aspect of: "our cry — the One who knows hidden things" — See in the book Bris Menuchah, Path 4 — where it is elaborated that the tzay'is in the Name of forty-two [Shem mem-beis] has its source from the verse "the Rock that bore you — you forgot" — this is relevant to our matter. And see at the end of the discourse — it is elaborated on this in a somewhat different matter. There — in the same Letter — elaborated regarding the seven days of mourning and the seven days of the wedding feast. And see Midrash Rabbah at the end of portion Vayechi — where it is elaborated that the seven days of mourning correspond to the seven days of the wedding feast. There — Letter Vov — "all of it proclaims glory [kulo omer kavod]" — One can say that honor [kavod] alludes to the aspect of wisdom — as is known and as is elaborated in his words. Namely: the attainment of the wisdom and intellect above — which is the aspect of surrounding lights — the aspect of the canopy [chupah]. And this is what is written: "for over all glory there is a canopy" [Isaiah 4]. And this is what is written afterwards: "and Miriam who damaged the honor of Moshe" — for the wise men of true attainment merit honor — as it is written: "the wise shall inherit honor" [Proverbs 3].

There — Letter Khes — "This is because the mochin and intellect of this Torah and this learning are in the aspect of ibur" — meaning: for if the mochin were already in the aspect of birth — at any rate: even though one had not yet merited to draw them within and they are still in the aspect of surrounding lights — nonetheless one would understand some innovation in one's Torah — for the inner intellect receives vitality from this surrounding light — as is elaborated in Letter Daled. And when one understands no innovation in it — presumably the mochin are not yet even in the aspect of surrounding light — but in the aspect of ibur — the aspect of makif l'makif — and then one should not expound it publicly. But when one merits to beget the mochin and bring them within — one is then obligated to reveal the treasure to the treasured people and give good to others. There: "a leper is considered as dead" — for the dead person after his death cannot draw the light of the face [sekhel hapanim] into the world — as is understood above in the discourse. And likewise: "a leper — this is the closing of the supernal light" — namely the light of the face as above. Only: the person who died and left a blessing after him — namely his sons who engage in drawing the light of the face into the world — through this his soul also ascends to the light of the face as above. But one who dies childless — G-d spare us — it is difficult for him to rectify the light of the face — as is understood above in the discourse. And although the Torah provided a remedy — to have his brother perform levirate marriage with his wife — and then the deceased childless person will return and reincarnate in this world — nonetheless: even then his wife is taken — for it is his brother's mother-in-law [imah of the brother-in-law] — and it is found that he lost his partner. And from whom will he have children now as well — unless he be in the aspect of: "lest another precede him with mercy" — as is elaborated in the discourse. And this is what it says: "let her not be like death — and like some dead one — who in exiting from his mother's womb ate half his flesh" — meaning: one who dies childless, G-d spare us — for such a death is the essential aspect of the closing of the supernal light, G-d forbid, as above.

There — at the end of Letter Tes — "'Comfort, comfort' — this is surrounding light and surrounding light of surrounding light — and knowledge is the essential comfort…" — This means: as above — for when they beget the mochin from the aspect of ibur — the aspect of makif l'makif — to the aspect of birth — the aspect of makif alone — this too is already the aspect of comfort. For some new knowledge is added — through the inner intellect receiving vitality from this surrounding light. And afterwards when one merits to draw the surrounding light within — which is the aspect of complete knowledge — then is the essential completion of comfort. In particular Moshe our teacher — who merited divine abundance — the aspect of the light of the face — in perfection — as it is written: "for his face's skin radiated" — and merited fully the holiness of the seven candelabra [menoras].

There — at the end of the discourse — "the 370 lights — numerically equal to twice El in full" — for El is the light of the face. This means: for twice Heh-Kuf [Hakkaf] equals 370 numerically — and two panim [faces] of Hakkaf — one can say alludes to the aspect of makif and makif l'makif above. And see in the kavvanot of Elul — where it is also elaborated on the matter of twice El — for the essential time for this is in the month of Elul. And through this is also understood the secret of Moshe's prayer for the healing of Miriam who was afflicted with leprosy — for having damaged, as it were, the honor of Moshe — who is the aspect of divine abundance — the light of the face. Therefore he prayed for her: "El na refa na lah" ["G-d — please heal her"] — El specifically — which is the aspect of the light of the face. And in this matter of Miriam there are additional great wonders — according to what is heard from our fellowship [anash] — that he alluded through this to his daughter Miriam — who was the daughter-in-law of the Gaon Rabbi of Woltshisk — and who traveled to the Land of Israel and underwent levirate marriage there. And this was several years after the passing of our holy Rabbainu. And there are many more matters in this — and I am not sufficiently certain of them — so I have copied only a brief allusion. Now: as long as the person lives — he engages in drawing the light of the face into the world through his good deeds. And after his departure he must leave his sons after him to engage in this — [male and female specifically, as above]. And therefore immediately at the time of the wedding — which is for the sake of begetting children — one engages then in this — being the aspect of kiddushin and chupah and seven days of the wedding feast — as is elaborated in the discourse. And when a person departs one mourns for him seven days of mourning — in order that through this his soul ascend to the light of the face. [And see Likutay Torah of the Holy Ari, portion Vayechi — that the seven days of mourning correspond to the seven aspects of surrounding lights.] And this too is the aspect of the tearing [kri'ah] that one tears for the dead — for the above surrounding lights are the aspect of garments — as is elaborated at the end of the discourse. And the word kra [torn] has the numerical value of 300 — corresponding to the 370 lights of the light of the face — the aspect of the surrounding lights above.

Section 20 — Letter כ — [on Letter Tes of the discourse] For he merited the holiness of the nose in perfection — which is the aspect of fear as above — and therefore merited to be humble, lowly, and patient — and his anger was not kindled over his own shaming — for fear is tied to humility as it is written: "the result of humility is the fear of Hashem" [Proverbs 22]. And the Sages said [Yerushalmi Shabbas 1:3]: "what wisdom made a crown for its head — humility made a heel for the sole of her sandal." And therefore in truth the Sages said [Brachos 33b]: "for Moshe — fear is a minor matter." And the Torah praised him here with the greatest quality — which is humility. And he merited the holiness of the mouth — so that it is said of him: "mouth to mouth I will speak with him" [Numbers 12]. And he merited the holiness of the eyes — so that it is said of him: "he beholds the image of Hashem". And he merited to sanctify his ears — so that it is said of him: "in all My house he is faithful" — that Hashem revealed all His secrets to him, as it were. There: "a leper is considered as dead" [Nedarim 64b] — for the dead person after his death cannot draw the light of the face [sekhel hapanim] into the world — as is understood above in the discourse. And likewise: "a leper — this is the closing of the supernal light" — namely the light of the face as above. Only: the person who died and left a blessing after him — namely his sons who engage in drawing the light of the face into the world — through this his soul also ascends to the light of the face as above. But one who dies childless — G-d spare us — it is difficult for him to rectify the light of the face — as is understood above in the discourse. And although the Torah provided a remedy — to have his brother perform levirate marriage with his wife — and then the deceased childless person will return and reincarnate in this world — nonetheless: even then his wife is taken — for it is his brother's mother-in-law [imah of the brother-in-law] — and it is found that he lost his partner.

📋 Translator's Summary — Siman 21 (Atika Tamir v'Satim) And from whom will he have children now as well — unless he be in the aspect of: "lest another precede him with mercy" — as is elaborated in the discourse.

The discourse Chosum B'soch Chosum was said on the second day — Thursday — of the Ten Days of Repentance — of the year [5]565. And Rosh Hashonoh fell then on Thursday and Friday. And on the Shabbas of Repentance following it — we were uncertain whether we would merit that he would come out of his room to sit with us at the third meal and reveal Torah to us — for it was not his custom to sit with us at the third meal except at known times. And we were standing and waiting near his room. And in the meantime he suddenly opened the door of his room with great urgency — and great fear fell upon all the people who stood near there — and they were very startled and astonished. And he first called for his elder daughter to come to him — and she immediately entered his room. And he began to speak with her about the passing of his small daughter Feigah — and she began again to deny and conceal it. And he said: "I already know the truth — that she has passed away." And she was compelled to tell him explicitly. And he did not enter to us because of this for the third meal. And he observed one hour of mourning at the end of Shabbas. And then he entered our large room and spoke with us as was his custom. And then he asked one of them whether he had cried on Rosh Hashonoh. And said then that the essential quality of crying is when it comes from joy. And he then revealed the wondrous matter: "b'shimcha yagilu kol hayom" — whose initials spell bechiyah [crying] — as is elaborated in Siman 175. And he said then that he had at that time — in Chassidic parlance — a great illumination [hara'ah] to say Torah — but through the above it was disturbed. And he recounted that his above-mentioned small daughter who had passed away came to him with a great complaint. And because of this he was compelled to ask until they informed him as above. And because of this the matter was disturbed — and he did not say the great Torah he had been prepared to say as above. And this is what it says: "let her not be like death — and like some dead one — who in exiting from his mother's womb ate half his flesh" — meaning: one who dies childless, G-d spare us — for such a death is the essential aspect of the closing of the supernal light, G-d forbid, as above. To elaborate briefly on the connection of the matter of Letters Hay, Vov, and Zayin: for the essential man is intellect and Da'as — as is elaborated below. And the essential purpose of his creation was to attain the true Da'as of the attainment of His Divinity. And in the attainment of this Da'as there are two aspects — the aspect of: "behind and before You formed me" [Psalms 139]. Namely: the intellect that a person attains through preparation and prior study [hakdamos] — and this is called achor [backward] because it comes in delay of time — after the preparations. And there is an intellect that comes to a person only through divine abundance — and this is called kedem [forward] and panim [face]. And although both are needed by the world — for even one who merits divine abundance must sometimes also use the second type of intellect — in particular for the aspect of begetting children — so that one can clothe the light of one's attained intellect in garments in order that

When he said then that all voices are the aspect of impudence [azus] — he said then that even the sound of clinking coins of charity-giving is also the aspect of holy impudence [azus d'kedushah]. others in

And see further in the above Chayyay Moharan — on the matters and events of that Shabbas after Sukkos — which was the celebration of the betrothal [farshpil] of his above-mentioned daughter Miriam. And it is elaborated there that he recounted that on that Rosh Hashonoh he was given expenses of a thousand red coins after all needs [meaning: he was given from on high this abundance in addition to his own annual needs] — and he was at the place he was — and it was a place where very high Torah was said — and he went there — and a gatekeeper stood there — and he gave him the thousand red coins — meaning: this abundance. And he entered there and heard what he heard. And the discourse Chosum B'soch Chosum above is from that Torah of that place — only it is a little and a portion of what he heard there. See there. the world can also benefit from it and receive good from him [and this is also literally the plain meaning of "behind and before You formed me" — the aspect of the creation of man male and female — for the sake of begetting children through this — and so that she will be a helper to him] — nonetheless: the essential completion of man's ultimate goal is to merit the aspect of intellect through divine abundance — which is the aspect of panim — the aspect of drawing the light of the face into the world. Now: as long as the person lives — he engages in drawing the light of the face into the world through his good deeds. And after his departure he must leave his sons after him to engage in this — [male and female specifically, as above]. And therefore immediately at the time of the wedding — which is for the sake of begetting children — one engages then in this — being the aspect of kiddushin and chupah and seven days of the wedding feast — as is elaborated in the discourse. And when a person departs one mourns for him seven days of mourning — in order that through this his soul ascend to the light of the face. [And see Likutay Torah of the Holy Ari, portion Vayechi — that the seven days of mourning correspond to the seven aspects of surrounding lights.] And this too is the aspect of the tearing [kri'ah] that one tears for the dead — for the above surrounding lights are the aspect of garments — as is elaborated at the end of the discourse. And the word kra [torn] has the numerical value of 300 — corresponding to the 370 lights of the light of the face — the aspect of the surrounding lights above. Now: one who dies childless, G-d spare us — it is found that there is no one who will now engage after him in the matter of drawing the light of the face into the world. And the Torah provided advice to have his brother perform levirate marriage with his wife — and then the deceased will reincarnate and engage again himself in this. And if his brother does not wish to perform levirate marriage with his wife — she must remove his sandal. [One can say this connects to what is written in the book Otzaros Chayyim p. 120 — regarding the sandal which is also drawn from the chashmal — and the chashmal is the secret of the garment of the aspect of the surrounding lights — as is elaborated at the end of this discourse. And see at the beginning of Pri Etz Chaim, Sha'ar HaTefillah.] And she spits in his face — and through this spit he is shamed — and the essential shame is in the face. And see at the end of Letter Zayin where it is written: the shame — azil sumka v'asi chivoura [the red goes and the white comes] — which is the aspect of birth — the aspect of blood that is disturbed and becomes milk. And through this one can understand the content of the matter — for it is elaborated in the discourse that there is the aspect of makif [surrounding] and the aspect of makif l'makif [surrounding of surrounding]. Meaning: at first one must draw the mochin [brain-lights] from concealment to revelation — from the aspect of ibur [gestation] to the aspect of birth. And then the mochin are still in the aspect of surrounding lights. And afterwards one must draw the mochin within — which is the aspect of fully attaining the surrounding lights. And also in the begetting of children — which is only for the sake of drawing the surrounding lights of the light of the face — there is also this aspect of ibur, birth, and mochin. Now: when one begets children it is only in the aspect of drawing the surrounding lights of the light of the face from concealment to revelation — to the aspect of birth. But the aspect of drawing the mochin — this depends on the free choice of the children themselves — whether they merit to cry out to Hashem until the mochin are born and they sanctify the seven candelabra — until they draw the mochin within. Section 16 — Letter טז — [on Letter Khes of the discourse] Therefore: this brother-in-law who did not wish to perform levirate marriage with his brother's wife — damaged only in that he did not strive to draw his brother's soul into the world from concealment to revelation to the aspect of birth. But in the matter of drawing the mochin themselves — perhaps even had he performed the levirate marriage and drawn his brother's soul into the world — his brother still would not have merited to draw the mochin through his free choice. Section 17 — Letter יז — [at the end of Letter Tes of the discourse] It follows that the essential damage of the brother-in-law was in the aspect of drawing his brother's soul from concealment to revelation — to the aspect of birth — the aspect of: azil sumka v'asi chivoura — blood that is disturbed and becomes milk. Therefore she spits in his face — and through this spit he is shamed — and the shame is azil sumka v'asi chivoura. [And see Likutay Torah, portion Ki Seitzay — that through the spit she spits — that spirit [rucha] departs from her. It follows that this itself is also the aspect of birth — for initially he was bound in her womb waiting to be rectified through his levirate brother — and now he exits from her and will be rectified through another means that Hashem will find for him. And through this one can say: this is why the Sages insisted that the spit be white and not blood — for the birth is in the aspect of azil sumka v'asi chivoura as above.] There — Letter Zayin — "whether in prayer or in Torah — when the mochin are hidden…" — This means: for there is intellect and mochin in the service of Hashem — which is the aspect of the mochin and vitality of prayer. And there is intellect and mochin of Torah — such as the intellect of Torah innovations. And perhaps this is also his intention at the end of the discourse — in what they questioned: "for there are surrounding lights of the intellect" — meaning: in the attainment and knowledge of the intellect in His Divinity and His attributes and His holy governance — which also includes the aspect of the mochin of prayer. "And there are surrounding lights of the Torah" — meaning: of the laws of the Torah and its secrets. There — at the end of the same Letter — "Tzur yelad'cha teshi" ["the Rock that bore you — you forgot"] — its initials spell the word tzay'is — the aspect of: "our cry — the One who knows hidden things" — See in the book Bris Menuchah, Path 4 — where it is elaborated that the tzay'is in the Name of forty-two [Shem mem-beis] has its source from the verse "the Rock that bore you — you forgot" — this is relevant to our matter. Section 18 — Letter יח — [end of the discourse] There — Letter Khes — "This is because the mochin and intellect of this Torah and this learning are in the aspect of ibur" — meaning: for if the mochin were already in the aspect of birth — at any rate: even though one had not yet merited to draw them within and they are still in the aspect of surrounding lights — nonetheless one would understand some innovation in one's Torah — for the inner intellect receives vitality from this surrounding light — as is elaborated in Letter Daled. And when one understands no innovation in it — presumably the mochin are not yet even in the aspect of surrounding light — but in the aspect of ibur — the aspect of makif l'makif — and then one should not expound it publicly. But when one merits to beget the mochin and bring them within — one is then obligated to reveal the treasure to the treasured people and give good to others. Regarding the makifin elaborated in the above discourse — that each person will attain in the future according to his labor in the service of Hashem — Rabbainu said that there are deeds in this world through which one merits that even in the World to Come one will each time ascend from level to level and attain new surrounding lights each time. There — at the end of Letter Tes — "'Comfort, comfort' — this is surrounding light and surrounding light of surrounding light — and knowledge is the essential comfort…" — This means: as above — for when they beget the mochin from the aspect of ibur — the aspect of makif l'makif — to the aspect of birth — the aspect of makif alone — this too is already the aspect of comfort. For some new knowledge is added — through the inner intellect receiving vitality from this surrounding light. And afterwards when one merits to draw the surrounding light within — which is the aspect of complete knowledge — then is the essential completion of comfort. There — at the end of the discourse — "the 370 lights — numerically equal to twice El in full" — for El is the light of the face. This means: for twice Heh-Kuf [Hakkaf] equals 370 numerically — and two panim [faces] of Hakkaf — one can say alludes to the aspect of makif and makif l'makif above. And see in the kavvanot of Elul — where it is also elaborated on the matter of twice El — for the essential time for this is in the month of Elul. And through this is also understood the secret of Moshe's prayer for the healing of Miriam who was afflicted with leprosy — for having damaged, as it were, the honor of Moshe — who is the aspect of divine abundance — the light of the face. Therefore he prayed for her: "El na refa na lah" ["G-d — please heal her"] — El specifically — which is the aspect of the light of the face. Siman Twenty-Two — Chosum B'soch Chosumסימן כב — חותם בתוך חותם And in this matter of Miriam there are additional great wonders — according to what is heard from our fellowship [anash] — that he alluded through this to his daughter Miriam — who was the daughter-in-law of the Gaon Rabbi of Woltshisk — and who traveled to the Land of Israel and underwent levirate marriage there. And this was several years after the passing of our holy Rabbainu. And there are many more matters in this — and I am not sufficiently certain of them — so I have copied only a brief allusion. And through Hashem's mercy and kindness — His kindness prevailed over us — and Hashem arranged afterwards that we did not lose this Torah — for we merited afterwards on the second day that he then revealed to us a high, long, broad, and very deep Torah — and it is the above discourse Chosum B'soch Chosum. And this discourse was said suddenly — for at first he sat and spoke with us as was his custom. And beforehand he commanded one person to bring him oil and a wick to prepare him an olive-oil candle. And then he himself lit the candle — for such was his way at times — that he would suddenly light an olive-oil candle. And the matter was understood that he was thereby sweetening judgments. And then close to the lighting — with the candle burning close to his table — he was speaking with us with great awe. And in the meantime he commanded a Selichah [supplication] booklet to be brought before him — and one was brought. And he opened it and recited some portion of a Selichah of Yom Kippur. And all this was before all of us who stood around him — and he sat on his chair close to his table in his room. And in the meantime he began to speak of Gehinnom and the Garden of Eden — that the Garden of Eden and Gehinnom are in this world — and entered from topic to topic until he completed the entire discourse Chosum B'soch Chosum. And the discourse lasted approximately four hours. And all that passed then is impossible to describe in writing. Fortunate the hour — fortunate the moments — that we merited to stand before him. And afterwards on the Shabbas after Sukkos he said that for this Torah he paid a thousand red coins [adumim] to the gatekeeper on high — at the place where he was — and so on — as is elaborated in its place. Regarding the makifin elaborated in the above discourse — that each person will attain in the future according to his labor in the service of Hashem — Rabbainu said that there are deeds in this world through which one merits that even in the World to Come one will each time ascend from level to level and attain new surrounding lights each time. There — Letter Tes — "'Hashem has done great things with us' [Higgdil Hashem la'asos imanu]" — meaning: the greatness that Hashem did with the nations — "Hashem did great things with these" — meaning: this greatness was for Israel [for then even the idol-worshippers would know and understand that their greatness was a greatness for us]. The author writes: I heard from my father — that he explained the Sages' teaching in tractate Avodah Zarah 2b: that in the future the nations will say: "Master of the World — we established many markets… we amassed much silver and gold — and we did all of this only for Israel's sake." At first glance it is difficult — how will they have the audacity to say such a blatant lie before Hashem Himself — that they did everything only for Israel's sake? But according to the above it is well resolved: for on the contrary — specifically then — through the increase of Da'as to the point that even they know and understand that everything was truly only for the good and greatness of Israel as above — therefore they will have the opening to say all of this. And the Holy One will say to them: true — everything was done only for Israel's good. But this was not your intention — for you did everything only for your own needs. As is elaborated there. Section 6 — Letter ו — [on Letter Hay of the discourse] There — at the end of Letter Hay — "this day is the aspect of the shofar voice — for its mitzvah is by day — in the aspect of 'Hashem will answer you on the day of distress'" — At first glance this is entirely not understood. And it is possible that it means: for in this Psalm there are seventy words — corresponding to the seventy voices of a woman in labor — which are the aspect of the totality of the holy voices. And as is understood in Siman 21 and in Siman 36. And therefore here too — where he elaborates that breaking the impudence of the Sitra Achra is only through the holy voices — this too is included in: "Hashem will answer you on the day of distress" through the above voices. Or: one can say that he relied on the end of this Psalm which concludes: "He will answer us on the day of our calling" — that we are answered through our calling out with the holy voices.