סימן נ"ה-מאמר אבא שאול

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. I heard that it was written in the holy community of Zaslov in the year [5]567.

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

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 — 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.

There: on the matter of the doubling of the verse: "let all the soul praise — and so on." See in Pri Etz Chaim — where it is elaborated that from the initials of these words emerges the holy Name KH"T [Kaf-Heh-Tav] — and so on. And the secret of: "only with your eyes shall you look" — with the four letters — totals KH"T. And the matter — and so on. Behold: KH"T = two eyes through which he looks. And through the power of this Name he looks upon the wicked and punishes them — and this is the secret of : "and the retribution of the wicked you shall see." And through this Rabbainu's holy words are further elaborated. And to bring the matters somewhat closer to the intellect — in my humble opinion: even though the Tzaddik prays his prayers every day — presumably properly. Nonetheless: when the wicked pursues him and watches him and seeks to kill him, G-d forbid — then when the Tzaddik sees the righteousness of Hashem — how through striking the wicked in judgment He is doing a great good for the Tzaddik — then he strengthens himself further in his prayer. This being the aspect of the parah d'kiblas mishur [cow that received from a bull] mentioned above. It follows that the evil eye of the wicked caused the Tzaddik to strengthen his prayer even more — until through this very thing the Tzaddik merits to see in the cutting off of the wicked as above. And then he strengthens himself yet further in his prayer — this being the aspect of the doubling of the breath that comes through the evil eye — and then the praise too must be doubled — meaning: further strengthening of the prayer as above. In particular since one must strengthen oneself in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving to Hashem — who saved him from this evil eye — and he sees in the cutting off of the wicked — and then the face of Hashem is revealed to those who do good. And so on — as elaborated in the discourse. There — Letter Tes — "and I ran after him three parsa'os" — meaning: the aspect of prayer — which is the three prayers.

And see in Siddur Kol Ya'akov — in the kavvanot of Uva L'Tziyon — where it is elaborated: to intend in the final letters of the verse "for You have not abandoned those who seek You — Haveye'ah" — in the holy Name Tav-Kaf-Heh — and it is a segulah to subdue the kelippos and to cut off the wicked. And in Pri Etz Chaim — it is elaborated that one who intends in this Name at that time is saved on that day from an evil person. And see in Megaleh Amukos, Section 195 — where this matter is also brought. And there it is elaborated that this is the secret of Moshe's prayer to enter Eretz Yisrael. See there. [And this is further elaborated according to Rabbainu's words in this discourse — that through the inheritance of Eretz Yisrael one merits to see in the cutting off of the wicked — the aspect of: "and He will exalt you to inherit the land — in the cutting off of the wicked you shall see."] And see there further — that this is also alluded at the end of the prayer: "therefore we hope to You" — "to see speedily the beauty of Your might [liros meheirah b'sif'eres uzecha]" — the final letters allude to the above holy Name. And according to Rabbainu's words the matter is further elaborated: for all our prayer now is that we strengthen ourselves in prayer even in the time of exile — and in the time of the success of the wicked — when it is as if the face of Hashem is covered and concealed — the aspect of : "the face of Hashem is against those who do evil." And we believe that Hashem is righteous — and that all of this is for our good. And it has already been elaborated that through proper prayer one merits to see in the cutting off of the wicked — and then the face of Hashem is revealed to those who do good. This being the aspect of: Metatron — the Prince of the Face — who is in Yetzirah — illuminating Asiyah. And it is already known what is elaborated in the holy Zohar — that Tiferes dwells in Yetzirah. And this is more inner still — the aspect of the actual revelation of the face of Hashem. And therefore at the end of the prayer we pray: "to see speedily the beauty of Your might" — for now the face of Hashem is concealed — as is understood also in the discourse Ais Lan Bira, Siman 31. And all this too is for our good. And we pray that we merit to see in the cutting off of the wicked — this being the aspect of: "and the idols shall be utterly cut off" — in the manner of what the Sages said : "it does not say chot'im [sinners] but chatim [sins]." And this is: "to turn to You all the wicked of the earth" — "before You, Haveye'ah our G-d, they shall bow and fall" — and so on. All of which is the aspect of the revelation of the face of Hashem to those who do good — the aspect of: "to see speedily the beauty of Your might — to see" — specifically — as above. And there the holy Name KH"T is alluded — which is the aspect of eyes — in the aspect of: "only with your eyes shall you look." And through this is also elaborated what Rabbainu wrote: "seek His face always" — for through tamid — which is the aspect of Eretz Yisrael — as it is written: "the eyes of Haveye'ah your G-d are upon it always" — through Eretz Yisrael you will merit to see in the cutting off of the wicked — as above. For since: "the eyes of Haveye'ah your G-d are upon it always" — and the eyes of Hashem are in the aspect of the holy Name KH"T as above — through which one sees in the cutting off of the wicked — and through which the face of Hashem is revealed. And see there in Megaleh Amukos, Section 195 above — on the matter of what Esther sent to Hasach — it also alludes that she strove through the power of this above holy Name. And this too is further elaborated according to what is elaborated in Likutay Halachos, Laws of Purim [Hil'chos Purim], Halacha 5 above. 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. And see Midrash Rabbah Devarim, portion 1 — on the matter of Og — who was casting an evil eye upon Yaakov and his sons.

📋 Translator's Summary — Siman 55 (Ma'amar Abba Shaul) There: on the matter of the doubling of the verse: "let all the soul praise — and so on." See in Pri Etz Chaim — where it is elaborated that from the initials of these words emerges the holy Name KH"T [Kaf-Heh-Tav] — and so on. And the secret of: "only with your eyes shall you look" — with the four letters — totals KH"T. And the matter — and so on. Behold: KH"T = two eyes through which he looks. And through the power of this Name he looks upon the wicked and punishes them — and this is the secret of : "and the retribution of the wicked you shall see." And through this Rabbainu's holy words are further elaborated. And to bring the matters somewhat closer to the intellect — in my humble opinion: even though the Tzaddik prays his prayers every day — presumably properly. Nonetheless: when the wicked pursues him and watches him and seeks to kill him, G-d forbid — then when the Tzaddik sees the righteousness of Hashem — how through striking the wicked in judgment He is doing a great good for the Tzaddik — then he strengthens himself further in his prayer. This being the aspect of the parah d'kiblas mishur [cow that received from a bull] mentioned above. It follows that the evil eye of the wicked caused the Tzaddik to strengthen his prayer even more — until through this very thing the Tzaddik merits to see in the cutting off of the wicked as above. And then he strengthens himself yet further in his prayer — this being the aspect of the doubling of the breath that comes through the evil eye — and then the praise too must be doubled — meaning: further strengthening of the prayer as above. In particular since one must strengthen oneself in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving to Hashem — who saved him from this evil eye — and he sees in the cutting off of the wicked — and then the face of Hashem is revealed to those who do good. And so on — as elaborated in the discourse.

Section 2 — Letter ב — [on Letter Gimmel of the discourse] And what is said of him: "for I have given him into your hand" [Deuteronomy 3] — "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.

There: on the matter of — that through Torah engagement — through which one draws length of days into Malchus — and this length of days is itself the aspect of Da'as. And through this Da'as — the concealments are revealed — and so on — as elaborated there in the discourse. This means: for the holy Malchus is the aspect of sof davar [end of the matter] — as elaborated in Letter Yud below — and as is known. And from it all the lower levels receive vitality — even those that are in the aspect of the concealment within the concealment — the aspect of: "and His sovereignty rules over all" — as is known. Only: since when Malchus is in the aspect of smallness [katnus] — and the light of the upper levels is not revealed within it — therefore the concealments can then strengthen and entirely obscure its light. And when the Tzaddik — who is in the aspect of Mordechai — draws through his Torah engagement the light of Da'as and intellect — which is the aspect of length of days — into Malchus — through this the light of Malchus shines with a great light — until this light of Da'as shines also within all the lower levels that receive vitality from Malchus. And through this all the concealments are revealed — and Torah is made from them — as elaborated in the discourse. And see in Siddur Kol Ya'akov — in the kavvanot of Uva L'Tziyon — where it is elaborated: to intend in the final letters of the verse "for You have not abandoned those who seek You — Haveye'ah" — in the holy Name Tav-Kaf-Heh — and it is a segulah to subdue the kelippos and to cut off the wicked. And in Pri Etz Chaim — it is elaborated that one who intends in this Name at that time is saved on that day from an evil person. And see in Megaleh Amukos, Section 195 — where this matter is also brought. And there it is elaborated that this is the secret of Moshe's prayer to enter Eretz Yisrael. See there. [And this is further elaborated according to Rabbainu's words in this discourse — that through the inheritance of Eretz Yisrael one merits to see in the cutting off of the wicked — the aspect of: "and He will exalt you to inherit the land — in the cutting off of the wicked you shall see."] And see there further — that this is also alluded at the end of the prayer: "therefore we hope to You" — "to see speedily the beauty of Your might [liros meheirah b'sif'eres uzecha]" — the final letters allude to the above holy Name. And according to Rabbainu's words the matter is further elaborated: for all our prayer now is that we strengthen ourselves in prayer even in the time of exile — and in the time of the success of the wicked — when it is as if the face of Hashem is covered and concealed — the aspect of : "the face of Hashem is against those who do evil." And we believe that Hashem is righteous — and that all of this is for our good. And it has already been elaborated that through proper prayer one merits to see in the cutting off of the wicked — and then the face of Hashem is revealed to those who do good. This being the aspect of: Metatron — the Prince of the Face — who is in Yetzirah — illuminating Asiyah. And it is already known what is elaborated in the holy Zohar — that Tiferes dwells in Yetzirah. And this is more inner still — the aspect of the actual revelation of the face of Hashem. And therefore at the end of the prayer we pray: "to see speedily the beauty of Your might" — for now the face of Hashem is concealed — as is understood also in the discourse Ais Lan Bira, Siman 31. And all this too is for our good. And we pray that we merit to see in the cutting off of the wicked — this being the aspect of: "and the idols shall be utterly cut off" — in the manner of what the Sages said : "it does not say chot'im [sinners] but chatim [sins]." And this is: "to turn to You all the wicked of the earth" — "before You, Haveye'ah our G-d, they shall bow and fall" — and so on. All of which is the aspect of the revelation of the face of Hashem to those who do good — the aspect of: "to see speedily the beauty of Your might — to see" — specifically — as above. And there the holy Name KH"T is alluded — which is the aspect of eyes — in the aspect of: "only with your eyes shall you look." And through this is also elaborated what Rabbainu wrote: "seek His face always" — for through tamid — which is the aspect of Eretz Yisrael — as it is written: "the eyes of Haveye'ah your G-d are upon it always" — through Eretz Yisrael you will merit to see in the cutting off of the wicked — as above. For since: "the eyes of Haveye'ah your G-d are upon it always" — and the eyes of Hashem are in the aspect of the holy Name KH"T as above — through which one sees in the cutting off of the wicked — and through which the face of Hashem is revealed. And see there in Megaleh Amukos, Section 195 above — on the matter of what Esther sent to Hasach — it also alludes that she strove through the power of this above holy Name. And this too is further elaborated according to what is elaborated in Likutay Halachos, Laws of Purim [Hil'chos Purim], Halacha 5 above.

There — in the above discourse: "[Esther 2] to know the well-being of Esther [lada'as es sh'lom Esther]" — "for through this he makes Da'as from the concealment within the concealment." This means: in the manner of what the Sages said : "Esther — where is she in the Torah? As it is said: 'and I will surely conceal My face [haster astir]'" . And see below in Letter Zayin — where it is elaborated that according to the greatness of the Da'as — so peace is multiplied. And this is what is written: "to know the well-being of Esther." 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. There: on the matter of the doubling of the verse: "let all the soul praise — and so on." See in Pri Etz Chaim — where it is elaborated that from the initials of these words emerges the holy Name KH"T [Kaf-Heh-Tav] — and so on. And the secret of: "only with your eyes shall you look" — with the four letters — totals KH"T. And the matter — and so on. Behold: KH"T = two eyes through which he looks. And through the power of this Name he looks upon the wicked and punishes them — and this is the secret of [Psalms 91]: "and the retribution of the wicked you shall see." And through this Rabbainu's holy words are further elaborated. And to bring the matters somewhat closer to the intellect — in my humble opinion: even though the Tzaddik prays his prayers every day — presumably properly. Nonetheless: when the wicked pursues him and watches him and seeks to kill him, G-d forbid — then when the Tzaddik sees the righteousness of Hashem — how through striking the wicked in judgment He is doing a great good for the Tzaddik — then he strengthens himself further in his prayer. This being the aspect of the parah d'kiblas mishur [cow that received from a bull] mentioned above. It follows that the evil eye of the wicked caused the Tzaddik to strengthen his prayer even more — until through this very thing the Tzaddik merits to see in the cutting off of the wicked as above. And then he strengthens himself yet further in his prayer — this being the aspect of the doubling of the breath that comes through the evil eye — and then the praise too must be doubled — meaning: further strengthening of the prayer as above. In particular since one must strengthen oneself in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving to Hashem — who saved him from this evil eye — and he sees in the cutting off of the wicked — and then the face of Hashem is revealed to those who do good. And so on — as elaborated in the discourse. 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. Section 2 — Letter ב — [on Letter Gimmel of the discourse] 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" [Habakkuk 2] — and it is written: "prayer to the G-d of my life" [Psalms 42] — [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. And see in Siddur Kol Ya'akov — in the kavvanot of Uva L'Tziyon — where it is elaborated: to intend in the final letters of the verse "for You have not abandoned those who seek You — Haveye'ah" — in the holy Name Tav-Kaf-Heh — and it is a segulah to subdue the kelippos and to cut off the wicked. And in Pri Etz Chaim — it is elaborated that one who intends in this Name at that time is saved on that day from an evil person. And see in Megaleh Amukos, Section 195 — where this matter is also brought. And there it is elaborated that this is the secret of Moshe's prayer to enter Eretz Yisrael. See there. [And this is further elaborated according to Rabbainu's words in this discourse — that through the inheritance of Eretz Yisrael one merits to see in the cutting off of the wicked — the aspect of: [Psalms 37] "and He will exalt you to inherit the land — in the cutting off of the wicked you shall see."] And see there further — that this is also alluded at the end of the prayer: "therefore we hope to You" — "to see speedily the beauty of Your might [liros meheirah b'sif'eres uzecha]" — the final letters allude to the above holy Name. And according to Rabbainu's words the matter is further elaborated: for all our prayer now is that we strengthen ourselves in prayer even in the time of exile — and in the time of the success of the wicked — when it is as if the face of Hashem is covered and concealed — the aspect of [Psalms 34]: "the face of Hashem is against those who do evil." And we believe that Hashem is righteous — and that all of this is for our good. And it has already been elaborated that through proper prayer one merits to see in the cutting off of the wicked — and then the face of Hashem is revealed to those who do good. This being the aspect of: Metatron — the Prince of the Face — who is in Yetzirah — illuminating Asiyah. And it is already known what is elaborated in the holy Zohar — that Tiferes dwells in Yetzirah. And this is more inner still — the aspect of the actual revelation of the face of Hashem. And therefore at the end of the prayer we pray: "to see speedily the beauty of Your might" — for now the face of Hashem is concealed — as is understood also in the discourse Ais Lan Bira, Siman 31. And all this too is for our good. And we pray that we merit to see in the cutting off of the wicked — this being the aspect of: "and the idols shall be utterly cut off" — in the manner of what the Sages said [Brachos 10]: "it does not say chot'im [sinners] but chatim [sins]." And this is: "to turn to You all the wicked of the earth" — "before You, Haveye'ah our G-d, they shall bow and fall" — and so on. All of which is the aspect of the revelation of the face of Hashem to those who do good — the aspect of: "to see speedily the beauty of Your might — to see" — specifically — as above. And there the holy Name KH"T is alluded — which is the aspect of eyes — in the aspect of: "only with your eyes shall you look." And through this is also elaborated what Rabbainu wrote: "seek His face always" — for through tamid — which is the aspect of Eretz Yisrael — as it is written: "the eyes of Haveye'ah your G-d are upon it always" [Deuteronomy 11] — through Eretz Yisrael you will merit to see in the cutting off of the wicked — as above. For since: "the eyes of Haveye'ah your G-d are upon it always" — and the eyes of Hashem are in the aspect of the holy Name KH"T as above — through which one sees in the cutting off of the wicked — and through which the face of Hashem is revealed. And see there in Megaleh Amukos, Section 195 above — on the matter of what Esther sent to Hasach — it also alludes that she strove through the power of this above holy Name. And this too is further elaborated according to what is elaborated in Likutay Halachos, Laws of Purim [Hil'chos Purim], Halacha 5 above. And see there further in the above Pri Etz Chaim — where it is written that the Name KH"T equals in number the word shemi'ah [hearing] — which is in the ear. And afterwards it writes: "behold — KH"T = two eyes" — and so on — as above. And through this the juxtaposition of the verses is elaborated: "the eyes of Hashem are toward the righteous — and His ears toward their cry" [Psalms 34] — all of this is the aspect of the holy Name KH"T as above. And: "the face of Hashem is against those who do evil — to cut off their remembrance from the earth." And through the aspect of this Name the face of Hashem is revealed to those who do good as above. There — in the above discourse: "[Esther 2] to know the well-being of Esther [lada'as es sh'lom Esther]" — "for through this he makes Da'as from the concealment within the concealment." This means: in the manner of what the Sages said : "Esther — where is she in the Torah? As it is said: 'and I will surely conceal My face [haster astir]'" . And see below in Letter Zayin — where it is elaborated that according to the greatness of the Da'as — so peace is multiplied. And this is what is written: "to know the well-being of Esther." And regarding the holy Name KH"T above — and according to what is elaborated above: that even before the cutting off of the wicked — when it is as if the face of Hashem is concealed in those who do evil — nonetheless the Tzaddik sees with his own eyes that this comes from the righteousness of Hashem — the aspect of: "Your righteousness is like the mountains of G-d — even though Your judgments are deep like the great deep" [Psalms 36]. And through this is understood what is cited in Sha'arei Tziyon — in the seventy-two verses intended for the seventy-two Names — [Psalms 119]: "I know, Haveye'ah, that Your judgments are righteous" — KH"T [acrostic of the final letters]. And this is why adjacent to this comes: [Psalms 88] "why, Haveye'ah, do You cast off my soul — do You hide Your face from me?" — for then the face of Hashem is still concealed as above. Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman