סימן נ"ד-מאמר ויהי מקץ

Now: here it is elaborated that through one who slanders [motzi dibah] — the kamatz — which is the aspect of the Kohen — is blemished. And see in Mishnas Chassidim, tractate Teshuvah: that one who slanders should say the verse : "Hashem has sworn and will not relent" — and intend in the holy Name that prosecutes the judgment of the one who slanders — which is Shin-Heh-Lamed-Nun — which are the second letters of these four words — and so on. And it is alluded in the verse: yom l'shanah [a day for a year]. And through this you will understand the conclusion of the verse: "Hashem has sworn — and so on — 'you are a priest forever.'" And through this the matter of shnasayim yamim [two years of days] — in the aspect of yom l'shanah as above — is further understood. Said on Shabbas Chanukah of the year [5]563.

Section 8 — Letter ח — [Note: this is the seventh section header in the source — Letter Zayin] And there are several wondrous accounts regarding this discourse — but this is not the place to elaborate on them — and they are well elaborated in Chayyay Moharan. I heard from Rabbi Nosson — of blessed memory — that he then mentioned the matter of: sometimes for headache remedies — they bleed the veins of the leg. [And I do not remember in connection with what he told this.] And in my humble opinion there is a connection between this account and what is elaborated there in Letter Beis — that the entire world is the clothing of the lower levels of holiness — namely: the aspect of the raglin [feet/walking] of holiness — the aspect of: "and the earth is the footstool of My feet" [Isaiah 66]. Even though the upper levels of holiness also have some revelation in this world — nonetheless the revelation does not clothe itself essentially in this world — only an illumination shines in the aspect of the feet. But the aspect of the feet reveals itself essentially in this world. And afterwards it also elaborates: how one must draw the mochin in the head — to deepen one's thought and to expand one's understanding — to understand the allusions — which are the aspect of the feet of holiness clothed in this world. But the expansion of the intellect must be in measure and contraction. And likewise one must have the quality of contentment [histapkus]. And see the discourse at its end — where he said then: that this is the aspect of the kindling of the Chanukah candle — the aspect of: "to draw the holy abundant oil [lameishkhah mishcha rabbas kudsha] — and to kindle the candle [l'adleka butzina]." And see in the kavvanot of Chanukah — where it is elaborated: for there are three unifications — one corresponding to Netzach-Hod-Yesod — for only until there does her height reach — and in this unification it is Haveye'ah-Adnut. And sometimes she is at the height of the chest — and then it is Haveye'ah-Elokim. And sometimes she is equal to his crown — and then it is Haveye'ah-Eheyeh. And these three unifications have the numerical value of ner [candle]. And on Chanukah one draws for her light from these three unifications. And this is the intention of the kindling. For on Chanukah she corresponds to Netzach-Hod-Yesod. And then one draws for her light from the head. And since the essential drawing is from that light which is drawn to her from the head — which is the unification Haveye'ah-Eheyeh — for when they are full with yuds they have the numerical value of regel [foot/leg] — and this light cannot be drawn to her except for a brief time — therefore also the mitzvah of kindling the Chanukah candle is only for a brief time.

📋 Translator's Summary — Siman 54 (Ma'amar Vay'hi Miketz) And this is: "until the foot ceases from the marketplace [ad sh'tichle regel min hashuk]" — and so on.

There — in the above discourse — Letter Khes — "and this is: [Psalms 37] 'hope to Hashem.'" And through this the juxtaposition of the verses is understood: "the wicked watches the righteous" — and so on — "Hashem will not leave him in his hand — and will not condemn him when he is judged" — as elaborated in this discourse above in Letter Gimmel. And adjacent to this is: "hope to Hashem" — namely: as elaborated in this discourse in the above Letter Khes. And therefore it is forbidden to make use of its light. See there in the kavvanot — and you will find that all of Rabbainu's words above are elaborated there. In any case it is explicitly elaborated: that the light of the unification that is in the aspect of the head has the numerical value of regel [foot/leg] — and one must draw it until the aspect of the feet as above. And this is also alluded in the matter of: "to draw the holy abundant oil [lameishkhah mishcha rabbas kudsha]" — namely: the aspect of the mochin in the head — of the memory of the holy World to Come — which is also the aspect of oil — as is known. And "to kindle the candle [l'adleka butzina]" — namely: the three above-mentioned unifications which have the numerical value of ner [candle]. And also because it is known from the writings of the Holy Ari that all the vav-extremities [kol ha'vav kitzavos] are called butzinin [candles].

There — Letter Tes — "and I ran after him three parsa'os" — meaning: the aspect of prayer — which is the three prayers. And through them the light of the three patriarchs shines — who are in the aspect of the legs of the Throne. This means: for parsah is the language of regel [foot/leg] — as is known. And it has already been elaborated above in Letter Hay — that regel is the aspect of prayer. And therefore the three prayers are here called three parsa'os. And through them shines the light of the three patriarchs — [as elaborated above in Letter Khes — and also as is known from the Sages' teaching: "the prayers were instituted by the patriarchs" — for the three patriarchs instituted the three prayers]. And the patriarchs are in the aspect of the legs of the Throne. And therefore they too are alluded in the matter of the three parsa'os. Connected to the above matter: that through slander the imagination [medammeh] — which is the aspect of Pharaoh — is strengthened. And through this one can explain what is said: "and Moshe saw and said: 'surely the matter is known'" — and Rashi explains: he saw that there were informers [daltorinim] among Israel — and said: perhaps they are not worthy of being redeemed. Meaning: as above — for through slander the aspect of the exile of Pharaoh is strengthened.

There: "for before the cutting off of the wicked — the face of Hashem was covered and concealed in those who do evil — in order to cut them off." This means: as is elaborated above in Letter Gimmel — that Hashem suppresses His judgment from the wicked and the wicked wins in judgment. And all of this in order to save the Tzaddik from the evil eye of the wicked — and to strengthen the light of the Tzaddik's eyes — until he sees and attains the righteousness of Hashem — and his faith is strengthened. And he merits to proper prayer — and to the inheritance of Eretz Yisrael. And through this: "and in the cutting off of the wicked you shall see." And then — when one sees in the actual cutting off of the wicked — immediately the face of Hashem is revealed to those who do good. And see in Likutay Halachos, Laws of Purim [Hil'chos Purim], Halacha 5. Namely: to draw the light of the mochin of the memory — to cleave one's thought to the World to Come — until one understands all the allusions — which are the aspect of the feet of holiness clothed in this world.

And see below in Siman 208 — also on the verse: "the wicked watches the righteous" — where he wrote: "but these wicked multiply strife — multiply the covering." And this is: "and seeks to kill him" — like when they cover a person from head to foot — until it is impossible for him to breathe. It follows that it is elaborated that the wicked wish to nullify the breath of the Tzaddik and his vitality entirely, G-d forbid. And likewise in this discourse above — Letter Daled — it is also elaborated: for at first his heart was bent [na'akam libo] — and so on — [and it is automatically understood that then it was hard for him to pray]. And afterwards — when he sees the righteousness of Hashem — and his heart was set straight with complete faith — he then strengthens himself and prays. This being the above aspect: that not only does the wicked not nullify the Tzaddik from his prayer and faith — which is his essential vitality and breath — as it is written: "and the righteous one lives by his faith" — and it is written: "prayer to the G-d of my life" — [as elaborated in his writings in the discourse Emor El HaKohanim, Siman 2; and in the discourse Tehomot, Siman 9; and in other discourses] — but on the contrary: it causes him to strengthen himself further in his prayer — even at the time of the wicked's success — when it is the aspect of: "the face of Hashem in those who do evil." This being the aspect of: what even at the time of the doubling of the breath that comes through the evil eye — the praise too must be doubled as above. In particular when one merits to be saved from this evil eye and sees in the cutting off of the wicked — and then the face of Hashem is revealed to those who do good — then certainly one must strengthen oneself further in prayer. This being the aspect of the doubling of the verse: "let all the soul praise" — from which emerges the initials of the holy Name KH"T. Through the power of this Name the Tzaddik looks upon the wicked and punishes them — in the aspect of: "only with your eyes shall you look" — as above. This being the aspect of: "who established all the ends of the earth?" [Proverbs 30] — brought at the end of the discourse. There — Letter Gimmel — "in the aspect of: 'his left hand under my head.'" See Midrash Rabbah Song of Songs, Ch. 2: "'his left hand under my head' — this is tzitzis — 'and his right hand embraces me' — these are tefillin." There: "'two years of days' — this is the aspect of the spreaders of slander [motzi'ay dibah] — about whom it is said: 'a day for a year — a day for a year' — for through them the blemishing and damaging of the aspect of holy love — which is the aspect of: 'the Kohen grasped with his handful [v'kamatz hakohen]'" — and this is Miketz — which is the aspect of the damaging of the kamatz. In my humble opinion it seems he alludes here to the reason for the punishment of the spies — the spreaders of slander about the Land — of whom it is said: "a day for a year — a day for a year" [Numbers 14]. The reason is: for through slander [lashon hara] — the holy Da'as is removed from one — and one falls into the love of animality — which is the aspect of the imagination [medammeh] — the aspect of a dream. And as is elaborated there — for one sees in a dream that time has stretched — for in a quarter of an hour it seems in one's dream that a long time has passed — a year and more. And therefore the punishment was also in this manner: a day for a year. And see in Likutay Tinyana, Siman 61 — and you will understand further. And also: for through love time is unified — for an entire year seems to him like one day — the aspect of: "and it seemed in his eyes like a few days — through his love" [Genesis 29]. Siman Fifty-Five — Ma'amar Abba Shaulסימן נה — מאמר אבא שאול But through slander — through which holy love [ahavah d'kedushah] is blemished — the aspect of: "the Kohen grasped with his handful" — and one falls into the love of animality — on the contrary: time stretches greatly. This being the aspect of: yom l'shanah [a day for a year] — which is itself the aspect of Miketz — the aspect of the overpowering of time — the aspect of acharit hayamim [the end of days]. See Likutay Tinyana, Siman 79. And in truth all the above is understood automatically and seen clearly: for when one falls, G-d forbid, from the holy Da'as — which is the aspect of the memory — to cleave one's thought to the World to Come — and falls into the loves of animality — and all one's thoughts are occupied with the vanities of this world — then one lives a life of suffering always — and all one's days are anger and pains. And every day is long to him like a year — because of the great troubles and tribulations and bitterness that pass over him each day — the aspect of: "and your life shall hang in suspense before you — at evening you shall say: 'who will give us morning?'" [Deuteronomy 28]. And indeed one is disgusted with one's life — as if one has already lived a hundred years and more. And in truth such a life is the aspect of shortening of days — the aspect of: "short of days and full of wrath — even if a thousand years he lives" [Job 14]. But one who merits the aspect of holy Da'as — and guards the memory — to cleave one's thought to the World to Come — then time is shortened and unified for him — because of the greatness of his attachment in the service of Hashem with great love — until it seems to him that an entire year has flown by and passed like a moment. [And this is the aspect of: "I have given birth to you today" [Psalms 2] — as in the above Siman 61.] And in truth his time in this world is included and unified in the aspect of the World to Come — which is truly above time — where the essential length of days is — the aspect of the day that is entirely long. And see in the Story Tales — in the story of the Seven Beggars — on the matter of the old man who boasted about the length of his days. And also: one who falls from holy Da'as — and does not cleave his thought to the World to Come in truth — but all his thoughts and schemes roam through the affairs of this world — truly lives very short lives. For all the days of the life of this world are vanity — "and what is the advantage to a person?" [Ecclesiastes 1] — as elaborated in many verses on the matter of the shortening of human life and existence in this world — "for he will not much remember the days of his life" [Ecclesiastes 5] — "our days are like a passing shadow" [Psalms 144]. And even so — because of the smallness of human intelligence — it seems to him as if it is a world of very long time. And he wishes to establish his dwelling in this world and to fulfill his desires in it. And all his days are occupied in his loves of animality. It follows that through the foolishness of his mind and his error — time seems long to him — as if it is known to him that he still has a long time to live in this world. And through this in the service of Hashem he pushes himself off from day to day — until through this he takes nothing with him in his toil, G-d forbid — the aspect of shortening of days, G-d forbid. But one who is attached to true Da'as — does not look at the vanities of time at all. For he knows that physical time is very short — and he attaches himself only to the World to Come — which is truly the day that is entirely long. Until he merits through this to understand even the holy allusions that Hashem hints to him — how to draw close to Him through them. And then he lives good lives — new lives at every moment. And the days of his life are great and wide and very long — since he attains the good hidden within them — as understood from the discourse: "with what did you lengthen your days?" Siman 84 — the aspect of: "and Avraham was old — he came with the days" [Genesis 24] — Avraham specifically — who merited to the holy love — which is the aspect of the perfection of Da'as — the aspect of: "from the side of the right — white brain like silver [mistara d'yemina mocha chavara k'kaspa]". Through this one merits to the aspect of the nullification of time and its unification — in the aspect of above time as above — which is the essential aspect of length of days. And see many wonders on the above discourse in Likutay Halachos, Laws of the Second Days of Festivals [Hil'chos Yom Tov Sheni], Halacha 5. Now: here it is elaborated that through one who slanders [motzi dibah] — the kamatz — which is the aspect of the Kohen — is blemished. And see in Mishnas Chassidim, tractate Teshuvah: that one who slanders should say the verse [Psalms 110]: "Hashem has sworn and will not relent" — and intend in the holy Name that prosecutes the judgment of the one who slanders — which is Shin-Heh-Lamed-Nun — which are the second letters of these four words — and so on. And it is alluded in the verse: yom l'shanah [a day for a year]. And through this you will understand the conclusion of the verse: "Hashem has sworn — and so on — 'you are a priest forever.'" And through this the matter of shnasayim yamim [two years of days] — in the aspect of yom l'shanah as above — is further understood. Connected to the above matter: that through slander the imagination [medammeh] — which is the aspect of Pharaoh — is strengthened. And through this one can explain what is said: "and Moshe saw and said: 'surely the matter is known'" [Exodus 2] — and Rashi explains: he saw that there were informers [daltorinim] among Israel — and said: perhaps they are not worthy of being redeemed. Meaning: as above — for through slander the aspect of the exile of Pharaoh is strengthened. [Siman 54 in the source contains only two further items after Letter Vov — here designated as the remaining two content sections corresponding to the Zohar and Kaneh discussion.] And see Midrash Rabbah Devarim, portion 1 — on the matter of Og — who was casting an evil eye upon Yaakov and his sons. And what is said of him: "for I have given him into your hand" — "already I established his judgment from the days of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov." For his subjugation was through the light of the merit of the patriarchs — and you will understand to our matter. There: "for before the cutting off of the wicked — the face of Hashem was covered and concealed in those who do evil — in order to cut them off." This means: as is elaborated above in Letter Gimmel — that Hashem suppresses His judgment from the wicked and the wicked wins in judgment. And all of this in order to save the Tzaddik from the evil eye of the wicked — and to strengthen the light of the Tzaddik's eyes — until he sees and attains the righteousness of Hashem — and his faith is strengthened. And he merits to proper prayer — and to the inheritance of Eretz Yisrael. And through this: "and in the cutting off of the wicked you shall see." And then — when one sees in the actual cutting off of the wicked — immediately the face of Hashem is revealed to those who do good. And see in Likutay Halachos, Laws of Purim [Hil'chos Purim], Halacha 5.