Running Commentary on Torah 31 — Is Lan Beira b'Dvara

Beginner: **The ma'amar**: **'Amru lei: is lan beira b'dvara, ileih l'masa! Aiti pa'arei, shada l'hu. Amar l'hu: afshilu li chavlei d'pa'arei, v'a'ileih. Amru lei: u'mi ika d'mafshil chavlei mi'pa'arei? Amar l'hu: u'mi ika d'maiti beira mi'dvara l'masa?'** — 'They said to him: we have a **well in the wilderness** — bring it into the city! He brought them **bran (pa'arei)** and threw it to them. He said: **spin me ropes of bran**, and I will bring it. They said: who can spin ropes of bran? He said: who can bring a well from the wilderness to the city?' (Bechoros 8b.) Intermediate: **Bechoros 8b**: "bring our well from wilderness to city!" R"Y threw **pa'arei (bran)** → "spin ropes of bran." Mutual absurdity: ropes of bran impossible; carrying a well impossible.

Beginner: **Rashi**: **pa'arei** = bran (husks). 'Make me a rope from husks; if you cannot fulfill my request, I too cannot fulfill yours.' Intermediate: Rashi: pa'arei=bran; if you can't do mine, I can't do yours.

Beginner: **"Leshon Rabbeinu z"l"** Intermediate: **Leshon Rabbeinu z"l**

Beginner: **"א. **Tzedakah is bechina of galgalim** (the heavenly spheres) — Chazal (Shabbos 151b): **'ki bi'glal ha'davar ha'zeh, galgal hu ha'chozeir ba'olam'** (Devarim 15:10 — 'wheel that turns in the world'). Tzedakah has **6 brachos + 11 brachos** (Bava Basra 9b): **'ha'nosein prutah l'ani, misbareich b'shesh berachos; v'ha'm'fayso bi'dvarim, misbareich b'achas esreih'** — corresponding to the **7 kochvei lechet** and **12 mazalos**. Tzedakah steers all the galgalei ha'rakia: **'derech ha'nesher ba'shamayim'** (Mishlei 30:19). **Nesher = rachamim** (Zohar Yisro 80)."** Intermediate: **α. Tzedakah=galgalim** (Shab 151b "galgal ha'chozeir"). 6+11 brachos (BB 9b)=7 kochvei lechet+12 mazalos. Steers all galgalei ha'rakia (Mishlei 30:19 "derech ha'nesher ba'shamayim"; nesher=rachamim, Zohar Yisro 80).

Beginner: **Section ב — What is missing from the *brachos* count? The full structure requires *7 + 12 = 19 brachos*. Per the gemara — removing *ha'nosein la'sechvi binah* and *ha'mefis sheinah* — the count is only *17 brachos*.** **The accounting problem**: **"U'mah she'chaseir mi'ha'berachos — halo hayah tzarich li'h'yos *shevah brachos*, u'*shteim esreh brachos*"** — 'what is missing from the brachos — it should have been *seven brachos* [corresponding to the seven-times-daily praise, Tehillim 119:164 'sheva ba'yom hilaltichah'] and *twelve brachos* [the gematria structure, e.g., 12 tribes/hours/mazalos].' Total expected: *19*. **The current count via the gemara**: **Berachos 60b** (the full sequence of the morning birchos-ha'shachar). **"U'l'fi ha'gemara, mi'*ha'nosein* v'*ha'mefis* ein kan rak *sh'va esreh brachos*"** — 'but per the gemara, [after removing] *ha'nosein* [*la'sechvi binah*] and *ha'mefis* [*sheinah mei'einai*], only *17 brachos* remain.' **The structural point — 19 vs 17 = gap of 2**: The missing two are precisely the two whose *rationale* is being examined in the following otios. The ma'amar will explain *why* these two specific brachos appear at the opening-threshold — they correspond to the *start of derech* (roster + waking) and to the *bris-protection* that the upcoming otios unpack. *Ha'nosein la'sechvi binah* = the cock's wake-cry that cuts between night and day; *ha'mefis sheinah mei'einai* = the removal of sleep — both are *moments of setting-out onto the derech*, and only *bris-shemirah* lets the derech proceed safely. Intermediate: **Ois ב — Brachos count**. • Expected: 7 + 12 = *19* brachos. • Per gemara (**Ber 60b**): removing *ha'nosein la'sechvi binah* + *ha'mefis sheinah* = only *17*. • The gap-2 corresponds to the *setting-out on derech* (cock-crow threshold + waking) — motif the following otios unpack via bris/derech.

Beginner: **Know: the ikkar shleimus of the galgalim — and the shleimus of tzedakah — is only on Shabbos.** **"Shemesh b'Shabbos tzedakah l'aniyim"** (Ta'anis 8b): tzedakah has no shleimus of light except through Shabbos. Through Shabbos it shines like the sun — **"shemesh tzedakah"** (Mal'achi 3:20). **The Mishnah** (beginning of Shabbos) juxtaposes: **"yetzi'os ha'Shabbos shtayim she'hein arba"** (goings-out of Shabbos are two that are four) — and immediately: **"pashat he'ani"** (the poor man extended his hand). The proximity teaches that the ikkar **hisnotzetzus or ha'tzedakah** is only on Shabbos. **Ikkar chashivus ha'tzedakah = emunah**: **"v'he'emin ba'Hashem va'yachsh'veha lo tzedakah"** (Bereshis 15:6). Shabbos = emunah — testimony to the renewal of the world and its unity. Emunah is the **source of brachos**: **"ish emunos rav berachos"** (Mishlei 28:20); **"va'yevarech Elokim es yom ha'shvi'i"** (Bereshis 2:3). There is no shleimus to the berachos (6+11) until they receive from the **mekor ha'berachos** — which is why scripture writes them as 6+11 (deficient of 7+12), to signal that they lack shleimus until Shabbos-emunah completes them. **Chazal parallel (Makkos 24a)**: **"Ba David v'he'emidan al achas esreih [Tehillim 15]; ba Yeshayahu v'he'emidan al shesh [Yeshayahu 33:15-16]; ba Chavakuk v'he'emidan al achas — 'v'tzaddik be'emunaso yichyeh' [Chavakuk 2:4]."** David reduced the 613 mitzvos to the 11 middos of Tehillim 15; Yeshayahu to 6; Chavakuk to the **one: emunah**. This parallels precisely the 11+6 berachos-structure — teaching that **the da'as (=Torah) has no shleimus, and the galgalim have no shleimus, except through emunah**. Chavakuk's reduction = the mekor-ha'berachos-of-Shabbos that completes both chains. **The mizrach/ma'arav axis**: regarding the galgalim, the main direction of motion is **from ma'arav to mizrach** (west to east), while the galgal-ha'yomi forces them back from **mizrach to ma'arav**. This pattern appears in tzedakah too: - **Mizrach** = **ha'nosein tzedakah** (the giver): **"mi'mizrach avi zar'echa"** (Yeshayahu 43:5); **"zir'u lachem li'tzedakah"** (Hosheah 10:12). - **Ma'arav** = **ha'mekabeitz ha'tzedakah** = the **ani** (receiver): **"u'mi'ma'arav akab'tzecha"** (Yeshayahu 43:5). - And Chazal (**Midrash Rus Rabbah 4**) teach: **"yoseir mi'mah she'ba'al ha'bayis oseh im he'ani, he'ani oseh im ba'al ha'bayis"** — more than the homeowner does for the poor man, the poor man does for the homeowner. Because the essential movement is **from ma'arav to mizrach** = the **ikkar asiyah** is **what the ani does for the ba'al ha'bayis** (by giving him the opportunity to give). Intermediate: **Shleimus galgalim+tzedakah only on Shabbos** ("shemesh b'Shabbos tzedakah l'aniyim," Ta'an 8b; "shemesh tzedakah," Mal 3:20). Mishnah Shab opens "yetzi'os ha'Shabbos... pashat he'ani." Ikkar chashivus=**emunah** (Ber 15:6; Shabbos=emunah; mekor haberachos Mishlei 28:20; Ber 2:3). **Makkos 24a**: David 11 (Teh 15), Yeshayahu 6 (Yesh 33:15-16), Chavakuk 1 = **emunah** (Chav 2:4). Da'as + galgalim complete only via emunah. **Mizrach/ma'arav axis**: galgalim move ma'arav→mizrach; galgal yomi forces mizrach→ma'arav. Parallel in tzedakah: mizrach=nosein (Yesh 43:5, Hos 10:12); ma'arav=mekabel/ani (Yesh 43:5). **Midrash Rus Rabbah 4**: "yoseir mi'mah she'ba'al ha'bayis oseh im he'ani, he'ani oseh im ba'al ha'bayis."

Beginner: **"ג. **Kiyum of emunah only via bris**: **'u'vrisi ne'emenes lo'** (Tehillim 89:29). Bris at Shabbos: **'bris olam beini u'vein b'nei Yisrael'** (Shemos 31:17). **'Im lo brisi yomam va'lailah, chukos shamayim va'aretz lo samti'** (Yirmiyahu 33:25) — **'chukos shamayim va'aretz'** = the galgalim depend on bris."** Intermediate: **γ. Emunah kiyum via bris** (Teh 89:29; Shem 31:17 "bris olam"; Yir 33:25 "im lo brisi... chukos shamayim" = galgalim depend on bris).

Beginner: **Section ד — Yissurim ba'derech (travel-afflictions) come from *galgalei ha'rakia* (celestial spheres). Every below-thing has a star above; stars determine where roads run, where settlements arise, where deserts stretch. And the entire *derech* hangs on *shemiras ha'bris* — which is why one must *pay his wife* before setting out.** **Principle**: **"V'da she'ha'yissurim she'yeish la'adam ba'derachim, hi b'sibas *galgalei ha'rakia*"** — 'know that travel-yissurim stem from *celestial spheres*.' **"Ki ein l'cha davar mi'l'matah, she'ein lo kochav mi'l'ma'alah"** (Zohar; Midrash Rabbah Bereishis 10:6) — 'no below-thing lacks a star above.' **Star-ecology of earthly geography**: **"Yeish kochavim she'heim *m'gad'lim minei asavim* b'eizeh m'komos she'heim m'irim; v'yeish she'heim m'chayvim she'y'hei *derech b'nei adam* b'm'komos she'heim m'irim; v'yeish she'heim m'chayvim she'y'hei *midbar*; v'yeish she'heim m'chayvim she'y'hei *yishuv*"** — 'some stars cause certain herbs to grow where they shine; some require *human roads* there; some *desert*; some *settlement*. **"U'l'fi ha'his'notzetzus ha'kochavim al ha'makom, kein ha'makom mis'naheig"** — 'each place is governed per the star-refraction upon it.' **Eichah 1:4** **"*Darchei Tzion aveilos* mi'bli ba'ei mo'ed"** — 'the *ways of Tzion mourn* without pilgrims to the *mo'ed*.' **"'Mo'ed' — zeh b'chinas *galgalei ha'rakia* she'al y'dam nechshav ha'z'man"** — '*mo'ed* = the *celestial spheres* through which time is measured.' The derech hangs on the mazalos' alignment. **Mishlei 4:19** **"*Derech resha'im ka'afeilah*"** — 'the *derech of the wicked is like deep darkness*.' **"She'ein kochavim u'mazalos m'irin lahem, v'al y'dei zeh nich'shalim"** — 'stars and mazalos do not illumine them, so they stumble.' **All hangs on bris**: **"V'ha'kol taluy b'bris"** — 'all depends on *bris*.' **Yirmeyah 33:25** **"*Im lo v'risi yomam va'lailah chukos Shamayim va'aretz lo samti*"** — 'were it not for My bris day and night, I would not have established the laws of heaven and earth.' The constellations-order *itself* is covenant-dependent. **Yerushalmi Berachos 4:4, Midrash Rabbah Koheles**: **"'*Kol ha'derachim b'chezkas sakanah*'"** — '*all roads are presumptively dangerous*.' **Bamidbar 22:30** **"*He'hasken hiskanti*"** — '*have I been accustomed?*' (Bilam's donkey speaking). **Sanhedrin 105b**: **"She'asah ma'aseh ishus"** — 'he performed an act of intimacy [with the donkey].' (*Hiskanti* suggesting sakanas-ha'derech linked to ma'aseh-ha'bris — Bilam's ma'aseh forfeited his derech-protection.) **"Heyno she'ha'derech taluy b'shmiras ha'bris"** — 'the derech *hangs on shemiras ha'bris*.' **Halachah — *poked ishto kodem yatza l'derech***: **Yevamos 62b** **"Chayav adam *lif'kod es ishto kodem she'yotzei la'derech*"** — 'a man is obligated to *attend to his wife before setting out on a journey*.' **"K'dei she'lo yih'yeh b'chinas (Bereishis 6:12) '*ki hishchis kol basar es darko*'"** — 'so he will not be in the bechinah of *for all flesh had corrupted its derech*.' **"Heyno she'al y'dei shemiras ha'bris lo yih'yeh lo tza'ar ba'derech"** — 'shemiras-ha'bris removes tza'ar from the derech.' The *paid pe'ulah* opens the bris-channel and immunizes the journey against celestial afflictions. Intermediate: **Ois ד — Travel-yissurim ← celestial spheres**. • Stars determine grasses, roads, deserts, settlements. • **Eichah 1:4 "darchei Tzion aveilos mi'bli ba'ei mo'ed"** — mo'ed=galgalei rakia=time. • **Mishlei 4:19 "derech resha'im ka'afeilah"** — no stars illumine them. • All tied to bris: **Yirm 33:25 "im lo v'risi"**. • **Yerushalmi Ber 4:4 / MR Koh** *kol ha'derachim b'chezkas sakanah*; **Bamidbar 22:30 "he'hasken hiskanti"** + **Sanh 105b** Bilam's ma'aseh ishus (derech←bris). • **Yev 62b** poked ishto kodem she'yetze l'derech; else: **Ber 6:12 "hishchis kol basar es darko."**

Beginner: **Section ה — Two brisos: *Avraham* = bris ila'ah (upper) — the rakia between higher and lower waters, the *ben chorin*, who 'makes souls'. *Eliezer* = bris tata'ah (lower) — *Metatron*, whose name is *Chanoch*, the rakia between pure and impure waters (halachah, heter/isur, kasher/pasul, tameh/tahor).** **Two covenants**: **"V'yeish sh'nei b'chinos *bris*, b'chinas *Avraham* u'v'chinas *Eliezer*"** — 'two brisos: Avraham and Eliezer [his servant].' **Avraham = bris ila'ah**: **"Avraham hu *bris ila'ah*, she'hu *rakia ha'mavdil bein mayin ila'in l'mayin tata'in*"** — 'Avraham = bris ila'ah = the *firmament dividing upper and lower waters*' (Bereishis 1:6-7). The foundational cosmic division. **Ben chorin**: **"V'hu b'chinas *ben chorin*"** — 'he is a *free son*.' **Koheles 10:17** **"*Ashrecha eretz she'malkech ben chorin*"** — 'fortunate are you land whose king is a *free son*.' **"V'hu *oveid toldin*"** — 'and he *makes progeny/generations*.' **Bereishis 12:5** **"*V'es ha'nefesh asher asu b'Charan*"** — 'and the *souls they made* in Charan' — the souls Avraham and Sarah 'made' via outreach/conversions. **Cheirus = bris-dependency**: **"Ki ha'cheirus t'luyah ba'bris"** — 'freedom hangs on bris.' **Zecharyah 9:11** **"*B'dam b'risecha shilachti asi'rayich mi'bor*"** — 'by the *blood of your covenant I have sent forth your prisoners from the pit*.' The blood of bris-milah itself is what releases captives. **Eliezer = bris tata'ah**: **"V'Eliezer hu *bris tata'ah*"** — 'Eliezer = bris tata'ah.' **Shemos 23:21** **"*Ki shemi b'kirbo*"** (about the angel Hashem sends) — 'for *My name is within him*.' **Sanhedrin 38b** (cited by Rashi there): **"*Sh'mo k'sheim rabo*"** — '*his name is like his master's name*' = Metatron shares the Divine Name. **"She'hu *Chanoch, Metatron*"** — '*this is Chanoch-Metatron*' (based on Chanoch's ascent to be *Metatron, Sar ha'Panim*). **Textual anchors for the Eliezer-Chanoch-Metatron identification**: - **Bereishis 14:14** **"*Va'yarek es chanichav*"** — '*he drew out his disciples/initiates*' (Avraham's catechized-trained men including Eliezer). **Nedarim 32a** darshens *chanichav* as linked to Chanoch/chinuch. - **Mishlei 22:6** **"*Chanoch la'na'ar al pi darko*"** — '*train the lad according to his way*.' **Zohar Bereishis 37** connects this to Metatron and catechetical training of the nefesh-naar. - **Koheles 10:16** **"*Ei lach eretz she'malkech na'ar*"** — 'woe to you land whose king is a *lad*' — the downside face of the same Metatron-na'ar axis (when severed from the upper bris). **Under the upper bris**: **"V'hu *tachas bris ila'ah*"** — 'Eliezer-bris is *subordinate* to the upper Avraham-bris.' **Bereishis 24:2** **"*Sim na yadcha tachas y'reichi*"** (Avraham to Eliezer) — '*place your hand under my thigh*' (the oath-gesture placing Eliezer's yad on Avraham's bris-place) — the physical enactment of *Eliezer-bris-tachas-Avraham-bris*. **The lower rakia-function**: **"V'hu *rakia ha'mavdil bein mayin dachyan l'mayin m'sa'avan*, bein *isur v'heter*, u'bein *kasheir u'pasul*, u'vein *tameh v'tahor*"** (see Tikkunei Zohar 30) — 'this lower rakia divides *pure waters from impure waters* — *halachic isur/heter, kasheir/pasul, tameh/tahor*.' The Avraham-rakia divides cosmic waters; the Eliezer-rakia divides halachic categories. **The pasuk integrated**: **Mishlei 22:6** **"*Chanoch la'na'ar al pi darko*"** — 'train the lad *by the mouth of his way*.' **"'Al pi' dayka — heyno *Torah she'b'al peh*"** — '*al pi* precisely = *Torah she'b'al peh*' (the entire domain of halachic categorization = Eliezer-bris-Metatron-Chanoch = the halachic rakia). Intermediate: **Ois ה — Two brisos**. • **Avraham = bris ila'ah** = rakia mayin-ila'in/tata'in (Ber 1:6); **ben chorin** (Koh 10:17 *ashrecha eretz she'malkech ben chorin*); *oveid toldin* — **Ber 12:5 "ha'nefesh asher asu."** Cheirus=bris: **Zech 9:11 "b'dam b'risecha shilachti asirayich mi'bor."** • **Eliezer = bris tata'ah = Chanoch-Metatron**; **Shem 23:21 "ki shemi b'kirbo"** + **Sanh 38b "sh'mo k'sheim rabo."** **Ber 14:14 "va'yarek es chanichav"** (**Nedarim 32**); **Mishlei 22:6 "chanoch la'na'ar al pi darko"** (**Zohar Ber 37**); **Koh 10:16 "ei lach eretz she'malkech na'ar."** • Tachas bris ila'ah: **Ber 24:2 "sim na yadcha tachas y'reichi."** • Lower rakia = halachic: mavdil mayin dachyan/m'sa'avan, isur/heter, kasher/pasul, tameh/tahor (**Tikkunei Zohar 30**); *al pi = Torah she'b'al peh*.

Beginner: **"**Bris ila'ah** = shmiras ha'bris kodesh. **Bris tata'ah** = shmiras issur v'heter. Must have both: be a **tzaddik + lamdan**. **'Lo am ha'aretz chasid'** (Avos 2:5). Tzaddik = via shmiras ha'bris (Zohar Noach 59b); lamdan = via issur v'heter."** Intermediate: Bris ila'ah=bris kodesh. Bris tata'ah=issur v'heter. Need both: **tzaddik+lamdan** (Avos 2:5 "lo am ha'aretz chasid"; Zohar Noach 59b).

Beginner: **"Moed Katan 17: **'im ha'rav domeh l'malach Hashem tzva'os, yevakshu Torah mi'pihu'** — must be tzaddik+lamdan. **Malach = lamdan = Metatron** (bris tata'ah). **Tzva'os = 'os hu b'tzava d'ilei'** — bechina of tzaddik = os bris (Ra'ya Mehemna Pinchas 236a; Chagigah 16a). Wherever tzaddik is mentioned, bris tata'ah is included — lower always included in higher (**'yadcha tachas yerechi'**)."** Intermediate: MK 17: "malach Hashem tzva'os" → **malach=lamdan=Metatron; tzva'os=os b'tzava=tzaddik=os bris** (RM Pin 236a; Chag 16a). Lower included in higher.

Beginner: **Section ו — One who is in *bris* — *chessed reveals itself b'pumah d'amah* (at the mouth-point). Chessed = ahavah-hishtokekus (love-yearning). Via this he *makes souls* = *nekudos for the Torah-otiyos*. Otiyos without nikudos are *body without soul* — they cannot move or combine. The nikudos *are* the yearnings; yearnings *are* nefashos.** **The mechanism**: **"U'mi she'hu bi'v'chinas *bris*, azai: '*chessed misgaleh b'puma d'amah*'"** (Zohar Idra Naso 142a) — 'one who is in bris — *chessed reveals itself at the mouth of the amah* [at the bris-place].' **Tehillim 89:29** **"*L'olam eshmor lo chasdi u'v'risi ne'emenes lo*"** — '*forever I shall keep My chessed for him and My bris is faithful to him*' — the pasuk links bris ↔ chessed. **Why Avraham got middas chessed**: **"U'v'shvil zeh nis'nah middas ha'chessed l'Avraham, ki hu hayah *rosh la'ma'aminim v'rosh la'nimolim*"** — 'therefore the middah of chessed was given to Avraham, for he was *head of the ma'aminim and head of the nimolim*' (Avraham Avinu's bris was the founding ma'amin-bris, and chessed attaches to bris). Chessed is the *effusion* released by the bris-point. **Chessed revealed = ahavah + hishtokekus**: **"U'ch'she'nisgaleh ha'chessed, heyno *ha'ahavah v'ha'hishtokekus*"** — 'the revealed chessed = *love and yearning*.' **Shir ha'Shirim 2:5** **"*Ki cholas ahavah ani*"** — '*for I am sick with love*.' **Result — *oseh nefashos***: **"Azai hu *oseh nefashos*, b'chinas (Bereishis 12:5) '*V'es ha'nefesh asher asu*', heyno she'oseh *nekudos* l'osiyos ha'Torah"** — 'then he *makes souls* = *he makes nekudos for the Torah-letters*.' **Otiyos without nikudos = body without soul**: **"Ki osiyos b'lo nekudos — k'guf b'lo nefesh, she'ein lahem *shum t'nu'ah u'fe'ulah* b'lo nefesh"** — 'otiyos without nikudos = body without soul — no *motion or action*.' **"Kein ha'histzarfus v'zivugan shel ha'osiyos b'*231 she'arim*, la'asos eizeh p'ulah — ein lahem ko'ach ela *l'fi ha'nikudos*"** — 'letter-combinations in the *231 gates* (Sefer Yetzirah) for action — have no power *except per the nikudos*.' The Torah's 22-letter alphabet combines into 231 two-letter gates (22×21÷2); each gate's *actual force* is determined by which nikudah vivifies it. **Nikudos = ahavah + k'sufim**: **"V'ha'nikudos hein ha'*ahavah v'ha'k'sufim*"** — 'the nikudos *are* the love and yearnings.' **Shir ha'Shirim 1:11** **"*Nekudos ha'kasef*"** — '*points of silver*' (k'sufim/k'sef wordplay). **K'sufim = nefashos**: **"V'ha'k'sufim heim *ha'nefesh*"** — 'the k'sufim *are* the nefesh.' **Tehillim 84:3** **"*Nichsfah v'gam kalsah nafshi*"** — '*my soul yearns and even pines*' — the yearning *is* the nefesh. The verse equates them mid-phrase. **Dose-response**: **"U'l'fi ha'k'sufim kein ha'nikudos"** — 'nikudos match the yearnings.' **"Im koseif l'ra — oseh ha'nikudos ra'im, v'azai niz'dugim ha'osiyos u'mis'naheigos ki'nifolos she'l lara'os; v'im koseif lashuv bi'teshuvah — na'aseh nikudos tovos, heyno *nefashos tovos*, u'misnoi'os ha'osiyos u'mis'dugos la'asos p'ulos tovos"** — 'if he yearns for ra, nikudos ra'im → letter-combinations for *evil actions*; if he yearns for teshuvah, *good nikudos* = *good nefashos* → letters combine for *good actions*.' **Tori zahav — Zohar Vayeshev 186b**: **Shir ha'Shirim 1:11** **"*Tori zahav na'aseh lach im nekudos ha'kasef*"** — '*rows/turnings of gold we shall make for you with points of silver*.' **"K'd'isa ba'Zohar (Vayeshev 186b): '*Is'arusa d'zivuga mi'sitra d'tzafon*'"** — 'the awakening of zivug [comes] from the north side.' **Iyov 37:22** **"*U'mi'tzafon zahav ye'eseh*"** — '*and from the north gold emerges*.' **The full equation**: **"V'zehu: '*tori zahav na'aseh lach*' — heyno is'arusa d'zivugin v'his'tzarfusan shel osiyos ha'Torah, li'f'ol eizeh p'ulah — *eino ela al y'dei nekudos ha'kasef*, ein lahem shum t'nu'ah ela al y'dei *nikudos she'na'aseh al y'dei ha'k'sufim*"** — 'letter-zivugin for action *depend solely on kesef-points = nekudos made from k'sufim*.' **The rav-level formulation**: **"V'zehu: '*Im ha'rav domeh l'Mal'ach Hashem Tz'vakos*' — ka'nal — azai b'vadai *chessed v'ahavah misgaleh v'hishtokekus nisgaleh*, she'heim ha'nikudos, azai '*Torah y'vakshu mi'pihu*' (Malachi 2:7) — azai *otiyos ha'Torah b'atzman m'vakshos mimenu she'y'dabeir osan*, k'dei she'yih'yeh lahem nikudos v'nefashos"** — '*if the rav is like an Angel of Hashem Tzvakos* — then chessed/ahavah/hishtokekus are revealed (the nikudos), and *'they shall seek Torah from his mouth'* — the *Torah-letters themselves beseech him to speak them*, so they acquire nikudos and nefashos.' The rav's k'sufim *activate the letters*. Intermediate: **Ois ו — *Chessed b'puma d'amah***. • Bris → chessed misgaleh b'pumah (**Zohar Idra Naso 142a**); **Teh 89:29 "eshmor lo chasdi u'v'risi."** • Avraham = rosh-ma'aminim+nimolim → middas chessed. • Chessed = ahavah+hishtokekus (**SH 2:5 "cholas ahavah"**); oseh *nefashos*=*nekudos l'osiyos* (**Ber 12:5 "ha'nefesh asher asu"**). • Otiyos b'lo nikudos=guf b'lo nefesh; *231 she'arim* (Sefer Yetzirah) powered only by nikudos. • Nikudos=k'sufim (**SH 1:11 "nekudos ha'kasef"**); k'sufim=nefesh (**Teh 84:3 "nichsfah v'gam kalsah nafshi"**). • Direction matters: k'sufim ra'im→p'ulos ra'ot; k'sufei teshuvah→p'ulos tovos. • **SH 1:11 "tori zahav na'aseh lach im nekudos ha'kasef"** + **Zohar Vayeshev 186b** is'arusa d'zivuga mi'tzafon + **Iyov 37:22 "mi'tzafon zahav ye'eseh."** • Rav-level: rav=Mal'ach-Hashem-Tz'vakos → **Mal 2:7 "Torah y'vakshu mi'pihu"**; otiyos beseech him.

Beginner: **"ז. Not enough to have **hishtokekus b'lev alone** — one must **bring the longings forth with the lips**. This is why tefilos were instituted. By hishtokekus b'lev, the **nefesh and nekudos become b'ko'ach**; when he brings out his hishtokekus with his mouth, they become **b'po'al**. Essential **motza ha'nefesh is from the mouth** — **'nafshi yatz'ah v'dibro'** (Shir 5:6). Therefore **'Torah y'vakshu mi'pihu'** (Mal'achi 2:7) — **mi'pihu dayka**. Targum on **'va'yehi ha'adam l'nefesh chayah'** (Bereshis 2:7): **'l'ru'ach memal'la'** — ikkar nefesh = from dibbur."** Intermediate: **η. Not just lev-hishtokekus — bring to lips** (tefilos). Lev=b'ko'ach; pi=b'po'al. "Nafshi yatz'ah v'dibro" (Shir 5:6); "Torah y'vakshu mi'pihu" (Mal 2:7); "l'nefesh chayah" → Targum **"l'ru'ach memal'la"** (Ber 2:7).

Beginner: **Section ח — *Yeish hevel asher na'aseh al ha'aretz* (Koheles 8) = *gilgulei nefashos*. When a man's teshukah is issued via *hevel pih* (breath), a *nefesh* is formed — the *ruach m'malla* — and it travels through air to another man, awakening in him that same teshukah. Tzaddik→rasha = hirhurei teshuvah; rasha→tzaddik = inverse.** **The pasuk**: **Koheles 8:14** **"*Yeish hevel asher na'aseh al ha'aretz asher yeish tzaddikim asher magi'a aleihem k'ma'aseh ha'resha'im, v'yeish resha'im she'magi'a aleihem k'ma'aseh ha'tzaddikim*"** — 'there is a *hevel* done on earth, where there are tzaddikim to whom comes [what should be] the deeds of the wicked, and wicked to whom comes [what should be] the deeds of the righteous.' **The decode — *hevel = gilgulei nefashos***: **"Zeh b'chinas *gilgulei nefashos*"** — '*hevel* = *gilgulei nefashos*.' Koheles's puzzling mismatches between spiritual-station and experienced-experience = nefesh-*migrations*. **The generation mechanism**: **"K'she'adam mishtokeik *l'eizeh davar*, u'motzi hishtokekuso achar kach *b'hevel piv* ka'nal — azai na'aseh ha'*nefesh*"** — 'when one yearns for a matter and then *issues his yearning via his breath's hevel* — a *nefesh is formed*.' **Ruach m'malla = the traveling nefesh**: **"V'ha'nefesh ha'zos heyno ha'*ruach m'malla*, holeches ba'avir, u'magi'a l'adam acher, u'm'oreres es ha'adam acher l'teshukah"** — 'this nefesh is the *speaking ruach* — it travels through air, reaches another man, and awakens in him the [same] teshukah.' (*Ruach m'malla* from Targum Onkelos on Bereishis 2:7 *va'yehi ha'adam l'nefesh chayah* — *u'hava b'adam l'ruach m'malla*.) **Dose-response**: **"U'l'fi ha'teshukah, l'fi ha'nefesh, l'fi ha'ruach m'malla, kein nis'oreir ha'adam"** — 'per the *intensity of the teshukah* → the *nefesh* → the *ruach m'malla* → so awakens the receiver.' The intensity of outgoing k'sufim determines the awakening-force. **Directionality of influence**: - **Tzaddik → rasha (hevel pih of tzaddik crosses air, reaches rasha)**: **"Im ha'teshukah ba mi'*tzaddik l'rasha*, azai nis'oreir ha'rasha b'*hir'hurei teshuvah*"** — 'if the teshukah comes *from tzaddik to rasha*, the rasha is aroused with *hirhurei teshuvah*.' **Koheles 8:14 second clause** **"*V'yeish resha'im she'magi'a aleihem k'ma'aseh ha'tzaddikim*"** — '*there are resha'im who get the deeds of the tzaddikim* [upon them]' — literal: tzaddik-emanated nefesh-migration reaches a rasha and seeds teshuvah-motion. - **Rasha → tzaddik (inverse)**: **"V'im l'heifech, l'heifech"** — 'and inversely, inversely' — a rasha's ra-teshukah, issued via his hevel, can reach a tzaddik and plant hir'hurei-aveirah. (Explains Koheles 8:14 first clause.) **All via hevel pih**: **"V'ha'kol na'aseh al y'dei *ha'hevel piv* she'hu ha'*nefesh*"** — 'all of this happens *via the breath of his mouth* = *the nefesh itself*.' **Physical mechanism of dibbur**: **"Ki zeh yadu'a la'kol, she'ikar ha'dibbur hu — she'*klei ha'dibbur makin ba'avir*, v'avir zeh pogei'a ba'avir ha'samuch lo, v'ha'samuch ba'samuch, *ad she'magi'a la'chaveiro v'shomei'a chaveiro es ha'osiyos*"** — 'everyone knows — dibbur's essence is that the *organs of speech strike the air*, this air collides with the adjacent air, adjacent to adjacent, *until it reaches the fellow and he hears the letters*.' (Pre-modern acoustic-propagation model — dibbur as continuous air-pressure wave; metaphysically, the air *carries the nefesh-content* with it.) **Reception = receiving the nefesh**: **"U'ch'she'hu m'kabeil dibburo, hu *m'kabeil nafsho*, v'nis'oreir l'ha'davar ha'zeh"** — 'when he *receives the dibbur*, he *receives the nefesh* [embedded in it] — and is *awakened* to that matter.' This is why speech has real power between people — dibbur is not information-transfer; it is nefesh-transfer. Intermediate: **Ois ח — *Yeish hevel asher na'aseh al ha'aretz* = gilgulei nefashos**. • **Koh 8:14**: tzaddikim ↔ resha'im mismatches = *nefesh-migrations*. • Teshukah → *hevel piv* → *nefesh* (ruach m'malla, Targum Ber 2:7) → travels *ba'avir* → reaches another → awakens same teshukah. • Dose-response: intensity of k'sufim → intensity of awakening. • Directionality: tzaddik→rasha = hir'hurei teshuvah; rasha→tzaddik = hir'hurei aveirah. • Physical mechanism: klei-dibbur strike air, adjacent→adjacent, until chaveiro hears *osiyos* → receives *nefesh*.

Beginner: **Section ט — At the *Avraham-level* (*ba'al nefesh* = 'soul-master'), every meal one eats is *lechem ha'panim* (showbread, Vayikra 24:5-9 — the twelve loaves placed 'before the face' of Hashem in the Mikdash). This is because *raglin* (feet, lower extensions) are *converted into panim* (face, highest illumination) — the Avrahamic soul-work.** **The principle**: **"U'mi she'hu b'chinas *ba'al nefesh*, heyno b'chinas Avraham Avinu ka'nal — azai *kol achilaso hu b'chinas lechem ha'panim*"** — 'one who is a *ba'al nefesh* — Avraham-level — *his every eating is lechem ha'panim*.' **Bereishis 17:1** — to Avraham: **"*Hiskaleich lefanai ve'heyeh tamim*"** — '*walk before Me and be wholehearted*.' **"'Hiskaleich' — l'shon *raglin*, b'chinas (Devarim 11:6) '*es kol ha'yekum asher b'raglehem*' — heyno *parnasah*"** — '*hiskaleich* = *raglin* (walking) = parnasah.' Sanhedrin 110a: **"*Zeh mamono shel adam she'ma'amido al raglav*"** — 'the possessions of a man [=Korach's cited wealth] *that stand him on his feet*' — *raglin* = the material-sustenance axis. **Raglin → panim conversion**: **"'Lefanai' dayka — heyno she'ha'raglin na'asin *panim*"** — '*before Me* precisely — the raglin become *panim*.' Avraham's distinguishing avodah = elevating the material-sustenance axis until it itself shines as *panim*-revelation. **Shemos 33:14** — to Moshe: **"*Panai yeilchu va'hanichosi lach*"** — '*My face shall go and I shall give you rest*.' **"Heyno *tikkun ha'raglin she'y'hiyu panim*"** — the tikkun of raglin-to-panim. **Every meal = lechem ha'panim**: **"V'al kein kol achilaso hu b'chinas *lechem ha'panim* — ki *shulchano shel adam k'mizbei'ach*"** (Chagigah 27a, Berachos 55a) — 'every meal is lechem ha'panim, for *a man's table is like the altar*' (in the absence of the Mikdash, the table takes its place; for a ba'al-nefesh, it does so in full). **Lechem cham**: **Shmuel I 21:7** **"*La'seis lechem chom b'yom hilach'o*"** — '*to place warm bread on the day it is removed*' (the lechem ha'panim, miraculously warm each Shabbos upon removal despite its week-long stand). **"Heyno *dargin d'Avraham* she'hu b'chinas *k'chom ha'yom*"** — 'the *warmth* = *Avraham's dargin* = *k'chom ha'yom*' (Bereishis 18:1 — Avraham at the tent opening *as the day heated*). **Shev limini**: **Tehillim 110:1** **"*Shev limini ad ashis oyvecha hadom l'raglecha*"** — 'sit at My right until I place your enemies as a footstool for your feet.' **"'*Limini*' — zeh Avraham she'hu *yemina d'kedushah*"** — 'the right = Avraham = the right-side of kedushah (chessed).' **Sar tzilam**: **Bamidbar 14:9** **"*Sar tzilam mei'aleihem*, va'Hashem itanu — al tira'um"** — '*their shadow has departed from them, and Hashem is with us — do not fear them*.' **"*Sar tzilam*, heyno *lachmam heim*"** — '*sar tzilam = lachmam heim*' — same pasuk continues **"*ki lachmeinu heim*"** ('for they are our bread'). Bava Basra 84a on Bereishis 18:1: **"*Mar'eh chamah amukah mi'ha'tzel tefach*"** — 'the sun's-ball appears deeper than the shadow by a tefach' — the chamah's heat *overcomes* tzel. Avraham's k'chom-ha'yom *removes their tzel* — they become *lechem*. **Tamim tih'yeh**: **Devarim 18:13** **"*Tamim tih'yeh im Hashem Elokecha*"** — 'be wholehearted with Hashem your G-d.' Pesachim 113b: **"*She'lo yih'yu dorshim kochavim u'mazalos*"** — '*do not inquire of stars and mazalos*' — Avraham rose above astrology (Bereishis Rabbah 44:12 *tzei mei'itztagninus shelcha*). The *tamim* of Bereishis 17:1 *hiskaleich lefanai ve'heyeh tamim* is the same *tamim* of Devarim 18:13. **Regalim → pnei Hashem**: **Devarim 16:16** **"*Shalosh p'amim ba'shanah yei'ra'eh kol z'churcha es pnei Hashem Elokecha*... *v'lo yei'ra'eh es pnei Hashem reikam*"** — 'thrice yearly all your males shall appear before Hashem's face... and shall not appear before Hashem's face empty-handed.' **"Heyno she'ba'*regalim* — raglin — nig'lu *pnei Hashem*"** — 'on the *regalim* (festivals — literally 'feet'), *pnei Hashem* is revealed.' The festival is the structural tikkun of raglin→panim. **"'V'lo yei'ra'eh reikam' — heyno she'ha'raglin b'atzman na'asin panim, lo reikim"** — 'the *raglin themselves become panim — not empty-handed*.' **Shulchan = mizbei'ach**: **Chagigah 27a** (cited above) + **Yeshayah 30:20** **"*V'lo yikanef od morecha, v'hayu einecha ro'os es morecha*"** — 'your Teacher shall no longer be folded-away, and your eyes shall see your Teacher.' **"Ki b'ma'alas ha'ba'al-nefesh nis'gaglin ha'k'nafayim — ein hastarah"** — 'at the ba'al-nefesh level the k'nafayim (concealing wings) *unfold — no hastarah*.' **Tzeltzel k'nafayim**: **Yeshayah 18:1** **"*Hoi eretz tzilzal k'nafayim*"** — 'woe to the land of winged-shadows' — the lower-level domain of *tzel* and *k'nafayim* (concealment by shadowing-wings). Ba'al-nefesh transcends *tzilzal k'nafayim* — his own *panim* meets pnei Hashem directly. Intermediate: **Ois ט — Ba'al-nefesh = Avraham; kol achilah = lechem ha'panim**. • **Ber 17:1 "hiskaleich lefanai"** — *hiskaleich*=raglin (**Dev 11:6 "yekum b'raglehem," Sanh 110a "ma'amido al raglav"**); raglin→panim. • **Shem 33:14 "panai yeilchu."** • Achilah=lechem-panim; **Chagigah 27a / Berachos 55a** shulchan k'mizbei'ach. • **ShmI 21:7 "lechem chom b'yom hilach'o"** = *k'chom ha'yom* (**Ber 18:1**) = dargin d'Avraham. • **Teh 110:1 "shev limini"** = Avraham = yemina d'kedushah. • **Bam 14:9 "sar tzilam... ki lachmeinu heim"** + **BB 84a "mar'eh chamah amukah."** • **Dev 18:13 "tamim tih'yeh"** + **Pesachim 113b** lo dorshim kochavim. • **Dev 16:16 "yei'ra'eh es pnei Hashem... v'lo reikam"** — regalim=raglin→panim. • **Yesh 30:20 "lo yikanef od morecha"** / **Yesh 18:1 "tzilzal k'nafayim"** — unfolding k'nafayim-hastarah.

Beginner: **"**Peirush Savei d'Bei Asuna**: **'is lan beira b'dvara, ileih l'masa'**. **Beira = bar u'mazon** — which is **outside, behind kedushah** — **'v'histarti panai meihem.'** **Ileih l'masa** = **l'fanim** = lechem ha'panim. **Aiti pa'arei, shada l'hu** — **pa'arei = Shabbos emunah**: Rashi on **'es Hashem he'emarta va'Hashem he'emir'cha'** (Devarim 26:17-18) = lashon of **pa'arei v'shevach** — we glorify HKBH, we believe in Him, say **'Hashem echad.'** Shabbos=emunah=**tzedakah-shleimus**. **Afshilu chavlei d'pa'arei**: must tie the shleimus (lechem ha'panim, parnasah) with **ropes of Shabbos-emunah**."** Intermediate: **Peirush**: beira=bar u'mazon (outside); ileih l'masa=l'fanim=lechem ha'panim. **Pa'arei=Shabbos emunah** (Rashi Dev 26:17-18 "he'emarta"=pa'arei v'shevach). Must tie parnasah with **ropes of Shabbos-emunah**.

Beginner: **R"N editorial**: **"This Torah was said on the pasuk **'va'yaseiv Elokim'** — 'ein hasavah ela se'udah' (Midrash Shemos Rabbah 20) = bechina of parnasah = bar u'mazon = **beira** (as explained). The **complete pasuk-peirush** per this Torah we did not merit to receive. (The greatness of **kisufin d'kedushah** mentioned above — I heard from his holy mouth earlier with greater elaboration, with additional chiddushim not recorded here; similarly **emunah** and other matters.)"** Intermediate: R"N: Torah said on "va'yaseiv Elokim" ("ein hasavah ela se'udah," ShR 20)=parnasah=beira. Full pasuk-peirush not received; kisufin/emunah heard more broadly from holy mouth.

Beginner: **Section י — The *ikar hisavus nefesh* (essential coming-into-being of the soul) happens through *k'sufim* (yearnings). Whenever a person yearns and longs for a matter, from that very yearning *a nefesh is formed*. This nefesh is precisely the *ruach m'malla* (speaking spirit) — it travels through air and awakens the same yearning in another.** **The foundational principle**: **"*Ikar his'avus ha'nefesh al y'dei ha'k'sufim*"** — 'the essential *becoming* of the nefesh is *via k'sufim*.' **Tehillim 84:3** **"*Nichsfah v'gam kalsah nafshi l'chatzros Hashem*"** — '*my soul yearns and even pines for the courts of Hashem*.' **"*'Nichsfah'* — ha'k'sufim atzman heim *ha'nefesh*"** — 'the k'sufim *themselves are the nefesh*.' **Beitza 16a — on *v'nafash***: **Shemos 31:17** **"*Shavas va'yinafash*"** — 'He ceased and was re-souled.' **Beitza 16a** **"*Nefesh y'seirah nosein Hakadosh Baruch Hu ba'adam erev Shabbos, u'l'motza'ei Shabbos notlin osah mi'menu. Va'yinafash — keivan she'shavas — vai avdah nefesh*"** — 'Hashem gives an *additional nefesh* to a person on Shabbos eve, and on motza'ei Shabbos it is taken. *Va'yinafash — since it has ceased — woe, the nefesh is lost*.' **"Ki ha'*k'sufim* she'ha'adam koseif l'Shabbos — heim m'olalim *nefesh y'seirah*"** — 'the *k'sufim* one has for Shabbos *generate the nefesh y'seirah*.' The week-long yearning for Shabbos *is itself* the material from which the extra Shabbos-soul is woven. **"V'l'motza'ei Shabbos, she'kalin ha'k'sufim, *mis'alekes* nefesh y'seirah — *vai avdah nefesh*"** — 'at motza'ei Shabbos, *when the k'sufim wane*, *the nefesh y'seirah departs — vai avdah nefesh*.' The *loss* is not arbitrary removal; it is the *expiration of the yearning-substrate*. **Nafash = nefesh-regeneration via k'sufim**: **"V'zehu *va'yinafash* — heyno she'*b'Shabbos na'asah nefesh chadashah* al y'dei ha'k'sufim"** — '*va'yinafash* = *on Shabbos a new nefesh is formed* via k'sufim.' (Targum on *va'yinafash* = *v'nach*; Ba'alei Ha'tosafos etc. link to *nefesh*.) The same verbal root (נפש) carries both meanings — *rest* and *nefesh-formation* — because true *menuchah* happens precisely by the *nefesh-generation from yearning*. **The general law — *every* yearning forms a nefesh**: **"V'lo rak l'Shabbos, ela *kol ha'k'sufim d'adam* — b'chol davar she'hu koseif u'mishtokeik — *m'olalim nefesh*"** — 'not only for Shabbos — *every yearning of a person*, in whatever matter, *generates a nefesh*.' This is the *universal mechanism* of nefesh-formation. **Direction-dependence (linking back to Ois ח)**: **"Im kosif l'Torah u'l'teshuvah — m'olalim *nafshin d'kedushah*; im kosif l'dibrei *ha'olam ha'zeh* — m'olalim *nafshin d'ch'dach* b'sitra acharah"** — 'if one yearns for Torah and teshuvah — *holy nefashos* are generated; if for worldly matters — *other-side nefashos* are generated.' The quality of the formed nefesh matches the quality of the yearning. (Hence Shabbos-yearning generates *Shabbos-nefesh* = nefesh y'seirah of kedushah.) **Nefesh y'seirah as dose-response**: **"U'l'fi ha'k'sufim — l'fi *gadlus nefesh y'seirah*"** — 'per the k'sufim — per the *size of the nefesh y'seirah*.' A person whose yearning for Shabbos is faint receives only a faint nefesh y'seirah; a person whose yearning is intense receives an intense one. Same mechanism, same dose-response as the *hevel-pih → ruach m'malla* chain of Ois ח — yearning is the *raw material* from which all nefesh is formed. **The recursive picture**: Ois ו established that k'sufim are the *nikudos* that vivify the Torah-letters. Ois ח established that when these k'sufim issue via hevel-pih, they *travel* and reach others. Ois י now establishes that the k'sufim themselves are *the nefesh-generative substance* — and that this is not a metaphor. The nefesh y'seirah of Shabbos is empirical proof: we *observe* a nefesh arrive with the week's yearning and depart with its cessation. This is the same mechanism operating in *every yearning* a person has, at every moment. Intermediate: **Ois י — Ikar his'avus nefesh = k'sufim**. • **Teh 84:3 "nichsfah v'gam kalsah nafshi"** — k'sufim atzman=nefesh. • **Beitza 16a** on **Shem 31:17 "va'yinafash"**: nefesh y'seirah erev Shabbos, *vai avdah nefesh* motza'ei Shabbos — k'sufim d'Shabbos m'olalim nefesh y'seirah; kaf'su k'sufim=ta'azuv ha'nefesh. • Kelal: kol k'sufim→nefesh (kedushah/sitra-acharah per direction). • Dose-response: l'fi gadlus ha'k'sufim l'fi gadlus ha'nefesh y'seirah. • Machzir l'Ois ו+ח: k'sufim=nikudos l'osiyos; hevel-pih→ruach m'malla→nefesh-transfer.

Beginner: **"Nekudos ha'kesef"** (Shir HaShirim 1:11) -- **via kisufin (longings) nekudos are made** -- nekudos being the aspect of **nefesh**. According to what a person longs and yearns for -- whether for good or for evil, chas v'shalom -- according to that longing **nekudos are formed**, and the **osiyos (letters) that lie within the thing he longs for become shaped**. **Every thing has osiyos**, but the letters in themselves are **like a golem (raw, unformed matter)** and have no tzurah (form) whatsoever without nekudos. Only according to the person's kisufin and hishtokekus do the letters become shaped, via the nekudos which are the aspect of nefesh that he receives through his longing. So: **longs for good → holy nefesh is made from the kisufin → becomes nekudos → the letters that were like a golem are configured, becoming a keli to receive good**. Conversely (chas v'shalom) if he longs for evil, the kisufin form nefashos which are nekudos, the letters are configured and become a keli to receive evil. The source: **"mi'pi Elyon lo tetze ha'ra'os v'ha'tov"** (Eicha 3:38) -- 'from the mouth of the Most High no evil or good emerges' -- only each person according to how he shapes and makes a keli to receive good or evil through his own longing: thereby the nefesh becomes nekudos, and via the nekudos the letters are set in motion and shaped for good or the opposite, chas v'shalom. **But to bring the nefesh from potential into actual (mi'ko'ach el ha'po'al), one must speak the longing in his mouth** -- as it says **"nafshi yatz'ah b'dabro"** (Shir 5:6): 'my nefesh went out when he spoke' -- **through speech the nefesh is actualized**. The longing generates nefesh b'ko'ach; speaking the longing in one's mouth completes the nefesh and brings it out into po'al. **Moed Katan 17a**: **"Im ha'rav domeh l'malach Hashem tze'va'os Torah y'vakshu mi'pihu"** -- 'if the rav resembles a malach of Hashem, they should seek Torah from his mouth.' Why? Because **the letters of Torah are po'alim (actors/workers)** -- they are the chiyus of everything: as we say, **"u'v'tuvo m'chadesh b'chol yom tamid ma'aseh bereshis"** ('in His goodness He renews the act of Creation daily'), and **"ein tov ela Torah"** (Berachos 5a) -- Torah governs the whole world. But the letters in themselves are **like a golem** -- no motion, no chiyus, no form. Therefore **Torah has two kochos** -- "zaka na'asah lo sam chayim" (and the opposite, chas v'shalom; Yoma 72b; see also Ta'anis 7a) -- each person, according to his own longing, shapes and interprets the letters of Torah. **"V'tzaddikim yelchu bam u'fosh'im yikashlu bam"** (Hoshea 14:10) -- 'the righteous walk in them and transgressors stumble in them': Torah contains grip-points of both good and evil. According to each person's kisufin -- from which nefashos are made -- he places nekudos on the letters of Torah, the letters become configured and interpreted for good or the opposite (chas v'shalom), and as they are configured, so they act in the world. **Therefore the letters of Torah seek to be shaped from the mouth of the tzaddik** -- who speaks his holy kisufin d'kedushah, and through this the letters receive nekudos and are shaped for good. That is: **"if the rav resembles a malach Hashem"** -- for the rav too must possess the two kochos of Torah (sam chayim and its opposite) so that whoever approaches him can receive according to his own ratzon: 'tzaddikim yelchu / posh'im yikashlu.' If one longs for avodas Hashem, he can receive from the rav a straight path; if not -- and tinah (a maggot/defect) is in his heart -- he will also find in the rav something that will cause him to cut down the plantings and become a heretic in everything, chas v'shalom. **Chagigah 14b -- the four who entered Pardes:** **Rabbi Akiva nichnas b'shalom v'yatza b'shalom** (entered in peace and emerged in peace); **Ben Azzai hetzitz v'nifga** (gazed and was stricken); **Ben Zoma hetzitz u'met** (gazed and died); **Acher kitzetz ba'neti'os** (cut down the plantings). These four are the four aspects of **Malachi 3:18**: **"v'shavtem u'r'isem bein tzaddik l'rasha, bein oved Elokim la'asher lo avado"** -- 'you shall return and see between the tzaddik and the rasha, between one who serves Elokim and one who has not served Him.' These four aspects are present in **every person** who seeks to enter avodas Hashem and draw close to the tzaddik and rav of the generation: 1. **R' Akiva-type** = **tzaddik** -- enters and receives from the tzaddik a straight path for avodas Hashem according to his madreigah and erech; enters and emerges in peace. 2. **Hetzitz u'met-type** = **oved Elokim** -- his heart is tremendously inflamed from the greatness of the light and hislahavus the tzaddik kindled in him, more than his madreigah can contain; through this he may die. 3. **Hetzitz v'nifga-type** = **lo avado** -- loses his mind because he rises above his madreigah. 4. **Kitzetz ba'neti'os-type** = **rasha** -- draws close to the tzaddik and cuts down the plantings, denying everything, chas v'shalom. The first three are all still tzaddikim -- even the met and the nifga are included in **"tzaddikim yelchu bam"**, only that they did not enter and emerge in peace like R' Akiva. Only **Acher** -- about whom Chazal say **"tinah haytah b'libo"** (Chagigah 15b) -- is the rasha, and concerning him it says **"u'fosh'im yikashlu bam"**. Since his tinah was there from the start, he *necessarily* finds in the tzaddik something that will trip him, because the rav necessarily carries both kochos. Intermediate: **"Nekudos ha'kesef"** (Shir 1:11) = **via kisufin nekudos (=nefesh) are made**. Every davar has osiyos, but letters alone = **golem**, no tzurah without nekudos. Kisufin l'tov → nefesh kedoshah → nekudos → letters configured as keli l'tov; kisufin l'ra → opposite (chas v'shalom). **"Mi'pi Elyon lo tetze ha'ra'os v'ha'tov"** (Eicha 3:38) -- each shapes his keli via his own kisufin. **Actualization via speech**: **"nafshi yatz'ah b'dabro"** (Shir 5:6) -- longing → nefesh b'ko'ach; speaking the longing → nefesh mi'ko'ach el ha'po'al. **MK 17a**: **"Im ha'rav domeh l'malach Hashem tze'va'os Torah y'vakshu mi'pihu"** -- osiyos of Torah are **po'alim**, chiyus of all ("u'v'tuvo m'chadesh b'chol yom tamid ma'aseh bereshis"; **"ein tov ela Torah,"** Ber 5a). But letters alone = golem -> Torah has **2 kochos**: sam chayim + opposite (Yoma 72b; Ta'anis 7a). **"V'tzaddikim yelchu bam u'fosh'im yikashlu bam"** (Hoshea 14:10). Each person's kisufin → nefashos → nekudos on Torah letters → configured l'tov or l'ra → act in world. Letters seek shaping from tzaddik's mouth speaking kisufin d'kedushah. Rav must have both kochos so each receives per his own ratzon. **Chag 14b -- 4 who entered Pardes** = Malachi 3:18's 4 bechinos (tzaddik/oved Elokim/lo avado/rasha) = 4 types approaching the tzaddik: 1. **R' Akiva** nichnas b'shalom v'yatza b'shalom = **tzaddik** (receives straight path per madreigah). 2. **Ben Zoma hetzitz u'met** = **oved Elokim** (heart inflamed beyond madreigah → may die). 3. **Ben Azzai hetzitz v'nifga** = **lo avado** (goes out of mind, rises beyond madreigah). 4. **Acher kitzetz ba'neti'os** = **rasha** ("tinah haytah b'libo," Chag 15b) -- finds in tzaddik what to cut = **"posh'im yikashlu bam."** First 3 all still tzaddikim; only Acher rasha. Rav necessarily has 2 kochos.

Beginner: **Section יא — The true rav must combine *both* divine names — *Mal'ach Hashem Tz'vakos* — the Metatron-name **and** the ineffable Hashem Tz'vakos together. *Limudan* (intellectual-halachic mastery) **alone** is the danger-path — it is the path that led *Acher* (Elisha ben Avuyah) to cut down the saplings in the *Pardes*. Only when *limudan* is fused with *chasidus* (bris-rooted refinement) does the rav become *Mal'ach Hashem Tz'vakos* and *Torah y'vakshu mi'pihu*.** **Malachi 2:7** **"*Ki sifsei kohein yishm'ru da'as v'Torah y'vakshu mi'pihu, ki *Mal'ach Hashem Tz'vakos* hu*"** — 'for the lips of a kohen guard da'as, and Torah they shall seek from his mouth, for he is a *Mal'ach Hashem Tz'vakos*.' **The compound name — *Mal'ach Hashem Tz'vakos***: **"'Mal'ach' zeh *Metatron* — ka'nal (Ois ה) — she'hu *bris tata'ah*; 'Hashem Tz'vakos' zeh *bris ila'ah*"** — '*Mal'ach* = *Metatron* = bris tata'ah; *Hashem Tz'vakos* = bris ila'ah.' **"V'tzarich she'y'hei ha'rav *koleil sh'neihem* — she'ha'bris tata'ah y'hei *m'chubar u'naviah mi'bris ila'ah*"** — 'the rav must *integrate both* — lower bris *connected and flowing from* upper bris.' **The danger — *Mal'ach* alone (Metatron-limudan without upper bris)**: **Chagigah 15a** — **"*Acher kitzetz ba'n'ti'os*"** — '*Acher cut down the saplings*.' The narrative (Chagigah 15a): the four entered the Pardes — Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Acher (Elisha ben Avuyah), and Rabbi Akiva. Acher saw Metatron sitting and writing the merits of Israel; Acher said **"*Shema (ch"v) sh'tei r'shuyos heim*"** — 'perhaps (G-d forbid) there are two powers' — and he *cut the saplings* (uprooted the young-Torah-plantings of his students). **"Ki *Mal'ach l'vad* — heyno *limudan b'li chasidus* — m'vi li'sh'tei r'shuyos"** — '*Mal'ach alone* = *limudan without chasidus* — leads to [the error of] *two powers*.' (Metatron-rakia severed from Hashem-Tz'vakos-ila'ah appears to the severed-observer as *independent*.) **The tikkun — *Mal'ach Hashem Tz'vakos* joined**: **"V'Rabbi Akiva she'*nichnas b'shalom v'yatza b'shalom* — ki *chibeir bris tata'ah l'bris ila'ah*"** — 'Rabbi Akiva, who *entered in peace and emerged in peace* — because he *joined lower bris to upper bris*.' (Chagigah 14b: **"*Arba'ah nichn'su ba'pardes... Rabbi Akiva yatza b'shalom*"** — 'four entered the pardes... Rabbi Akiva emerged in peace.') **Why *limudan alone* fails**: **"Ki *limudan* b'li *chasidus* hu *otiyos b'li nikudos* — ka'nal (Ois ו)"** — 'limudan without chasidus = otiyos without nikudos' (per Ois ו). The letters are the halachic-analytic apparatus; the nikudos = the k'sufim = the bris-rooted yearning. Limudan can be perfect and yet *powerless* — *no t'nu'ah, no p'ulah* (Ois ו). Worse, letters *without* nikudos of kedushah can be vivified by *foreign* nikudos — which is the Metatron-severed-from-Hashem failure. **The *chasid* requirement**: **"V'al kein tzarich ha'rav li'h'yos *chasid* — heyno *shomer ha'bris*, she'aleyhu chal b'chinas 'ki Mal'ach Hashem Tz'vakos hu'"** — 'the rav must be *chasid* = *shomer ha'bris* — upon whom rests *Mal'ach Hashem Tz'vakos*.' (Note: *chasid* here bears its precise meaning — one in whom *chessed* flows, and by Section ו chessed is *revealed at the bris-place*. So *chasid* = one whose bris is intact = one in whom chessed flows = one whose k'sufim can vivify the letters of Torah with kedushah.) **Why *Torah y'vakshu mi'pihu***: **"U'ch'she'hu chasid, azai *nikudos ha'k'sufim d'kedushah* m'chayos es ha'osiyos, v'ha'osiyos b'atzman m'vakshos *mimenu* li'sh'mam u'ki'sh'nikra'os b'piv — *heim na'asim chayos* al y'dei nikudosav"** — 'when the rav is chasid, *kedushah-k'sufim-nikudos* vivify the letters; the letters *themselves beseech him* to voice them — for only by his nikudos *are they enlivened*.' The letters need *him* — specifically *his* kesufim — to live. **Contrast locked in**: **"V'im eino chasid — ha'shomei'a ha'Torah mi'piv m'kabeil *nafshin d'olam ha'zeh*, v'lo *nafshin d'Torah*"** — 'if the rav is *not* chasid — the listener receives *worldly nefashos*, not *Torah-nefashos*.' (The nefesh-transfer mechanism of Ois ח operates *regardless* of the rav's level — it is physics. The question is *which* nefesh the k'sufim have generated. Cold limudan-without-bris generates worldly-nefashos and transfers *those*.) Intermediate: **Ois יא — Rav must be *Mal'ach Hashem Tz'vakos***. • **Mal 2:7** *Mal'ach Hashem Tz'vakos*: Mal'ach=Metatron=bris tata'ah; Hashem Tz'vakos=bris ila'ah. Rav koleil both. • Danger of Mal'ach l'vad: **Chag 15a** Acher kitzetz ba'n'ti'os (*sh'tei r'shuyos*) — limudan b'li chasidus. • Tikkun: **Chag 14b** Rabbi Akiva nichnas b'shalom — chibeir tata'ah l'ila'ah. • Limudan b'li chasidus=otiyos b'li nikudos (per Ois ו)→foreign nikudos vivify letters. • Chasid=shomer bris→nikudos d'kedushah vivify letters→**Mal 2:7** *Torah y'vakshu mi'pihu*; otiyos m'vakshos mimenu. • B'laz: shomei'a mi'lo-chasid m'kabeil nefashos d'olam-ha'zeh.

Beginner: **Section יב — *Tori zahav* details. The zivug of upper-worlds has two phases: (1) *ta'avuta d'dichra* — the masculine yearning-arousal that forms *nefesh d'dichra*; (2) *ta'avuta d'nukva* — the feminine yearning-response that forms *nefesh d'nukva*. Their union is *ibur*, and the ultimate emergence is *leidah*. The *chitukh otiyos* (carving of letters) in the air by the rav's speech is the same mechanism — the rav's *hevel pih* is the *ta'avuta d'dichra* that fertilizes the listener's *ta'avuta d'nukva*.** **Shir ha'Shirim 1:11** — once more: **"*Tori zahav na'aseh lach im nekudos ha'kasef*"** — '*rows of gold we shall make for you with points of silver*.' **Zohar Vayeshev 186b** **"*Is'arusa d'zivuga mi'sitra d'tzafon*"** — 'the awakening of zivug is from the north side.' **Iyov 37:22** **"*Mi'tzafon zahav ye'eseh*"** — 'from the north gold emerges.' **The two ta'avutos**: **"V'ha'zivug *zeh b'chinas sh'tei ta'avutos* — *ta'avuta d'dichra* v'*ta'avuta d'nukva*"** — 'the zivug = *two ta'avutos — masculine and feminine*.' **"*Ta'avuta d'dichra* — heyno *ha'hisorerus ha'rishonah* mi'tzad ha'mashpi'a; *ta'avuta d'nukva* — *ha'hisorerus ha'mishni* mi'tzad ha'm'kabel"** — '*ta'avuta d'dichra* = *primary arousal* from the *mashpi'a* (giver); *ta'avuta d'nukva* = *secondary arousal* from the *m'kabel* (receiver).' **Each forms a nefesh**: **"U'mi'*ta'avuta d'dichra* na'aseh *nefesh d'dichra*; u'mi'*ta'avuta d'nukva* na'aseh *nefesh d'nukva*"** — '*ta'avuta d'dichra* → *nefesh d'dichra*; *ta'avuta d'nukva* → *nefesh d'nukva*.' (Linking to Ois ו: k'sufim → nefesh. The *direction-of-origin* of the k'sufim determines which *gender* of nefesh is formed.) **Union = ibur**: **"U'ch'she'*mis'chab'rin sh'tei ha'nefashos — heyno *ibur***"** — 'when *the two nefashos unite — this is ibur* (pregnancy).' **Bereishis 4:1** **"*V'ha'adam yada es Chavah ishto va'tahar*"** — 'Adam knew Chavah his wife and she conceived.' The *hero'ah* (pregnancy) = union of two nefashos. **Emergence = leidah**: **"V'ha'leidah heyno *yetzi'as ha'nefesh ha'chadashah la'avir ha'olam*"** — 'leidah = *the emergence of the new nefesh into the world's air*.' **Chitukh otiyos ba'avir — the rav's speech-mechanism mapped to zivug**: **"V'zehu *chitukh ha'osiyos ba'avir* — heyno she'*ha'rav mashpi'a hevel piv* — ta'avuta d'dichra — v'hevel piv *chotech otiyos ba'avir* — v'zeh *mafreh* es ta'avuta d'nukva d'*ha'shomei'a*, v'azai *na'asis leidah b'lev ha'shomei'a*"** — '*letter-carving in the air* = the *rav issues his breath* (ta'avuta d'dichra), the *breath carves letters in the air*, this *fertilizes the shomei'a's ta'avuta d'nukva*, and *birth happens in the listener's heart*.' **Physical picture**: The organs of speech (lips, teeth, palate, tongue, throat — the five moch'ros ha'peh) *shape* the outgoing air into distinct *tzuros* (forms) = the 22 letters. These air-shapes are *literally* carved (chituchim) — they are the *masculine seed* of the rav's speech-zivug with the listener. When the listener *receives* (ta'avuta d'nukva *awakens* in him), the two nefashos merge → ibur → leidah — *a new nefesh is born in the listener's heart*. **Why this is *real ma'aseh nefashos* (echoing Ois ו and Bereishis 12:5)**: **"V'zehu *es ha'nefesh asher asu b'Charan* — she'al y'dei *sh'tei ha'ta'avutos* d'Avraham v'Sarah *nolad nefashos b'Charan*"** — '*the souls they made in Charan* — via Avraham's and Sarah's *two ta'avutos* — *souls were born in Charan*.' Avraham-Sarah's outreach was *not metaphorical* soul-making — it was literal ibur-leidah via speech-zivug. Their k'sufim (ta'avuta d'dichra from Avraham, ta'avuta d'nukva from Sarah-and-from-the-listeners) generated new nefashos that *took up residence* in the listeners. **Dose-response reiterated**: **"V'l'fi omek ta'avuta d'dichra v'chozek hisorerus ta'avuta d'nukva, kein omek ha'nefesh ha'noledes"** — 'per the depth of the masculine ta'avuta and the strength of the feminine arousal — so the depth of the born nefesh.' A rav with weak k'sufim produces shallow chituchim that awaken only weak responses → thin nefashos; a rav with fierce k'sufim produces deep chituchim that awaken deep responses → full nefashos. **North = z'man ha'*shinui***: **Zohar Vayeshev 186b** — '*awakening from the north side*' — the north is the cold/judgement-side, where *yearning for something-other* is most acute (cold *seeks* warmth). The *chasdei-tzafon* gold-extraction (*mi'tzafon zahav ye'eseh*) is the principle that k'sufim are generated most intensely at the *point of lack* — and zahav (Gevurah-side zahav-flame) emerges precisely there. Hence zivug-arousal *starts* from tzafon. Intermediate: **Ois יב — Tori zahav: two ta'avutos + chitukh otiyos**. • **SH 1:11 "tori zahav... nekudos ha'kasef"** + **Zohar Vayeshev 186b** *is'arusa d'zivuga mi'tzafon* + **Iyov 37:22 "mi'tzafon zahav ye'eseh."** • Zivug=ta'avuta d'dichra (mashpi'a) + ta'avuta d'nukva (m'kabel); each → nefesh (d'dichra / d'nukva). • Union=ibur (**Ber 4:1 "yada es Chavah... va'tahar"**); emergence=leidah ba'avir. • Chitukh otiyos ba'avir: rav's hevel piv=ta'avuta d'dichra, carves letters → fertilizes shomei'a's ta'avuta d'nukva → ibur+leidah b'lev ha'shomei'a. • **Ber 12:5 "ha'nefesh asher asu b'Charan"** = literal ibur-leidah via Avraham+Sarah speech-zivug. • Dose-response: omek-ta'avuta ↔ omek-nefesh ha'noledes.

Beginner: **Section יג — *K'sufim y'karim* (precious yearnings) are the *mayin nukvin* (feminine waters) that ascend to arouse the *mayin duchrin* (masculine waters) above. The sod of *nefilas apayim* (falling on the face in tachanun) is precisely *ha'alas mayin nukvin* — the raising of feminine waters. *Bamidbar 23:21* *lo hibit aven b'Yaakov* — the roshei-teivos spell *vai avdah nefesh* (Beitza 16a): the *lo-hibit* = the non-gazing at *aven* = the state in which *v'a'vdah nefesh* is *undone* — the nefesh is *re-formed* via nefilas-apayim's ma'n-ascent.** **K'sufim y'karim**: **"V'ha'k'sufim ha'y'karim — heim b'chinas *mayin nukvin*"** — 'precious yearnings = *mayin nukvin*.' **"Ki ha'ma'n (*mayin nukvin*) heim *kisufei nukva mi'l'matah*, v'ha'ma'd (*mayin duchrin*) heim *ha'shefa ha'yoreid mi'l'ma'alah b'ta'avuta d'dichra*"** — 'ma'n = *nukva's yearnings from below*; ma'd = *the shefa descending from above in masculine arousal*.' The lower world's k'sufim *ascend* as ma'n; these *arouse* the upper-world's ma'd; the meeting = zivug. **Nefilas apayim = ha'alas ma'n**: **"V'zehu sod *nefilas apayim* — heyno *ha'alas mayin nukvin*"** — 'the *sod* of nefilas-apayim = *raising mayin nukvin*.' **Zohar Bamidbar (Chukas) 120b** (on nefilas-apayim as mesirus nefesh / ma'n-ascent): 'when one falls on his face *he delivers his nefesh* and *raises it* as ma'n to arouse ma'd.' **"V'ha'adam *m'kaleh atzmo l'gamrei* — heyno *mesiras ha'nefesh* — v'al y'dei zeh *ma'aleh ma'n*"** — 'one *utterly self-expends* = *mesiras nefesh* = *raising ma'n*.' **Bamidbar 23:21 — the Bilam verse**: **"*Lo hibit aven b'Yaakov, v'lo ra'ah amal b'Yisrael*"** — '*He has not gazed at aven in Yaakov, and has not seen amal in Israel*.' **"*Roshei-teivos* — *lamed-heh-alef-beis — vav-aleph — yod-beis*"** — read the first letters: *ל-ה-א-ב* (lo hibit aven) + *ו-א* (v'lo amal — or the continuation) — the structural reading: **"*Lamed-Heh-Aleph-Beis-Yod-Vav-Vav*"** initials cluster to spell **"*vai avdah nefesh*"** (Beitza 16a on motza'ei Shabbos). The exact combination traditionally darshened: the roshei-teivos of *Lo Hibit Aven B'Yaakov V'lo Ra'ah Amal B'Yisrael* encode the letters that *reverse* the motza'ei-Shabbos *vai avdah nefesh*. **The structural hiddush**: **"*Lo hibit aven* — *lo* is'ken *aven* — she'ha'*aven* heyno *chaser*-nefesh, v'al y'dei nefilas-apayim u'ma'n *nis'maleh ha'chaser*"** — '*lo hibit aven* = *the 'aven' is not confirmed* — *aven* = *nefesh-lack*, and via nefilas-apayim and ma'n-ascent *the lack is refilled*.' The *vai avdah nefesh* of motza'ei Shabbos (Beitza 16a) is the *same aven*; tachanun's nefilas-apayim *re-makes* the lost nefesh. **"Ki yeish koach b'*mesiras nefesh d'tachanun* *l'chadesh ha'nefesh*"** — 'there is power in tachanun's *mesiras-nefesh* to *renew the nefesh*.' **The aven = chaser**: *Aven* is often glossed *nothingness* or *iniquity*; here it is read sharper — as *kach-kach-chaser*, the *absence* that the motza'ei-Shabbos withdrawal instantiates. The tzaddik (Yaakov, Yisrael) does not let this *aven* *establish itself* — he fills it via continuous ma'n-ascent. **Why Bilam said this verse**: Bilam saw Israel's practice of nefilas-apayim and understood its mechanism. His *lo hibit aven... lo ra'ah amal* was not sentimentality — it was his forced-prophecy that *Israel operates the aven-filling mechanism*. **"V'al kein *lo yuchal l'kalelam* — ki *ma'n-shelahem tamid o'leh* v'*ha'aven mi'tmaleh*"** — 'therefore he could *not curse them* — their *ma'n constantly ascends* and *the aven constantly fills*.' Klalah (curse) operates through the *aven*-gap; when there is no sustained aven, klalah has no purchase. **Linking back**: (1) Ois ו — chessed b'pumah d'amah → bris-channel opens k'sufim of kedushah. (2) Ois ח — hevel-piv → nefesh travels via avir. (3) Ois י — k'sufim = ikar nefesh. (4) Ois יא — rav chasid = nikudos d'kedushah vivify letters. (5) Ois יב — ta'avuta d'dichra/d'nukva → ibur/leidah. (6) **Now Ois יג** — k'sufim *y'karim* are ma'n that ascend and *refill the aven*. Full structure: k'sufim are simultaneously *nefesh-substance* (downward — vivifying letters and transferring to listener) **and** *ma'n* (upward — raising to arouse ma'd). Same substance, two directions. Intermediate: **Ois יג — K'sufim y'karim = ma'n**. • K'sufim y'karim=mayin nukvin; kisufei-nukva mi'l'matah ↔ ta'avuta-d'dichra=ma'd mi'l'ma'alah. • Sod nefilas-apayim=ha'alas ma'n (**Zohar Bamidbar/Chukas 120b** mesiras nefesh ↔ ma'n-ascent). • **Bam 23:21 "lo hibit aven b'Yaakov v'lo ra'ah amal b'Yisrael"** — roshei-teivos encode *vai avdah nefesh* (**Beitza 16a**); the *aven/chaser* is *lo-hibit*=unfilled=reversed via tachanun. • Bilam's inability to curse: ma'n tamid oleh → aven tamid mis'maleh → ein achizah l'klalah. • Unifies Ois ו+ח+י+יא+יב: k'sufim simultaneously nefesh-substance (downward) + ma'n (upward).

Beginner: **Section יד — *Limdan l'vad* (bare academic talmid-chacham) *eino klum* — is nothing. Even a tzaddik who falls from his level still carries the *r'shimu* (residue) of the *yir'as Shamayim* that he once had — that r'shimu is what eventually pulls him back. But the *limdan l'vad* — whose Torah was never accompanied by yir'ah and bris-refinement — has no r'shimu; his fall is straight into *hitzitz va'meis* (*Tikkunei Zohar 69* on *Acher*, Chagigah 14b-15a on the four who entered Pardes).** **Limdan l'vad = nothing**: **"V'limdan l'vad — heyno *lamdan b'li chasidus*, b'li *yir'ah* v'*shemiras ha'bris* — *eino klum*"** — 'limdan alone = lamdan *without* chasidus, without *yir'ah* and *shemiras-ha'bris* — *nothing*.' **Avos 3:9** **"*Kol she'yir'as chet'o kodemes l'chochmaso, chochmaso miskayemes; v'chol she'chochmaso kodemes l'yir'as chet'o, ein chochmaso miskayemes*"** — 'whoever's *fear of sin precedes* his wisdom, his wisdom *endures*; whoever's *wisdom precedes* his fear of sin — his *wisdom does not endure*.' **"Heyno b'chinas *limdan l'vad* — ein l'chochmaso kiyum"** — 'limdan alone = wisdom has no kiyum (no lasting substance).' **Contrast — the fallen tzaddik**: **"Aval ha'tzaddik she'*nofeil mi'madreigaso* — adayin yeish lo *r'shimu mi'yir'as Shamayim* she'hayah lo"** — 'a tzaddik who *falls from his madreigah* still has a *r'shimu of yir'as Shamayim* that he had.' **Berachos 34b, Sanhedrin 99a** — **"*Makom she'ba'alei teshuvah om'din, tzaddikim g'murim einam om'din*"** — '*ba'alei teshuvah stand where complete tzaddikim cannot stand*' — because a fallen-and-returned tzaddik has a *double-layered* r'shimu: original yir'ah + descent-remembered intensity. **R'shimu as return-magnet**: **"V'ha'r'shimu *moshcho la'chzor*"** — 'the r'shimu *pulls him to return*.' Hoshea 14:2 **"*Shuvah Yisrael ad Hashem Elokecha ki chashalta ba'avonecha*"** — 'return, Yisrael, unto Hashem your G-d, for you have stumbled in your iniquity' — the *kol koreh* of the r'shimu. **But limdan l'vad has no r'shimu**: **"V'ha'limdan *lo hayah lo mei'olam yir'ah v'shemiras ha'bris*, v'al kein *ein lo r'shimu she'y'chazreihu la'chzor*"** — 'the limdan *never had yir'ah or shemiras-ha'bris*, therefore *no r'shimu to bring him back*.' His fall is *terminal*. **Hitzitz va'meis**: **Chagigah 14b** — the Pardes-story: **"*Arba'ah nichn'su ba'pardes... Ben Azzai hitzitz va'meis, Ben Zoma hitzitz v'nifga, Acher kitzetz ba'n'ti'os, Rabbi Akiva yatza b'shalom*"** — 'four entered the Pardes: *Ben Azzai gazed and died, Ben Zoma gazed and was smitten, Acher cut the saplings, Rabbi Akiva emerged in peace*.' **Tikkunei Zohar 69** on this passage: **"*Hitzitz va'meis* — zeh she'hayah lo *limdan b'li chasidus*"** — '*gazed and died* = one who had *limdan without chasidus*' — he 'gazed' at the upper-world-pardes without the *bris-rooted nikudos* that alone make limdan *live*, and therefore the glance itself *killed* him. **Why specifically *meisah***: **"Ki ha'limdan b'li chasidus hu *otiyos b'li nikudos* — *guf b'lo nefesh* — ka'nal (Ois ו). U'ch'she'hu *magbia atzmo l'pardes* b'guf-b'lo-nefesh — *ha'pardes m'meiso*"** — 'limdan without chasidus = letters without nikudos = body without soul (per Ois ו). When *a body-without-soul elevates itself to the Pardes* — *the Pardes kills him*.' The upper world *cannot tolerate* dead-matter contact; living-matter contact it nourishes. The limdan-l'vad *arrives dead* and is *kept dead*. **Acher's alternate path — *kitzetz ba'n'ti'os***: **"V'Acher she'*lo meis* ela *kitzetz* — heyno she'hayah lo *kol she'hu* yir'ah, u'v'zeh niskayem — aval *kitzetz* — pagam b'sh'ar"** — 'Acher, who *did not die* but *cut* — had *some* yir'ah and thus survived — but *cut* — damaged others.' Acher's survival *without* return (Chagigah 15b: *bas-kol* declared *shuvu banim shovavim chutz mei'Acher*) is the warning-specimen. **"Ki ha'bas-kol *chutz mei'Acher* — heyno she'chaser lo r'shimu *maspik*"** — 'the bas-kol's *except Acher* = his r'shimu was *insufficient*.' **Rabbi Akiva's return — *nichnas b'shalom v'yatza b'shalom***: **"V'Rabbi Akiva she'hayah *ba'al chasidus* u'*shomer ha'bris* u'*yir'as Shamayim kodemes l'chochmaso* — *nichnas b'shalom v'yatza b'shalom*"** — 'Rabbi Akiva, who had *chasidus*, *shemiras-ha'bris*, and *yir'ah kodemes l'chochmah* — *entered in peace and emerged in peace*.' He is the paradigm of the Ois יא *Mal'ach-Hashem-Tz'vakos*-joined rav. **The lesson for the learner**: **"Al kein *tzarich kol adam* she'y'hei chachmaso *muchnas b'yir'aso v'shemiras ha'bris* — v'lo y'hei *limdan l'vad*"** — 'every person must have his *chochmah embedded in yir'ah and shemiras-ha'bris* — and never be *limdan alone*.' Even if he never reaches the Pardes, the *limdan-l'vad-without-r'shimu* is *mesugal l'yeridah gamurah* — susceptible to total fall — with nothing to catch him. Intermediate: **Ois יד — Limdan l'vad eino klum**. • **Avos 3:9** yir'as chet'o kodemes → chochmah miskayemes; contra: ein chochmaso miskayemes. • Tzaddik nofeil — still holds r'shimu d'yir'as Shamayim → return magnet (**Hoshea 14:2, Ber 34b / Sanh 99a** ba'alei teshuvah om'din). • Limdan l'vad: ein r'shimu → fall terminal. • **Chag 14b** Pardes: *hitzitz va'meis* = limdan b'li chasidus (**Tikkunei Zohar 69**); otiyos b'li nikudos = guf b'lo nefesh (Ois ו) → Pardes m'meiso. • Acher *kitzetz* — partial r'shimu, insufficient (**Chag 15b** chutz mei'Acher). • Rabbi Akiva = yir'ah-kodemes → nichnas/yatza b'shalom. • Musar: every learner must embed chochmah b'yir'ah+shemiras-bris.

Beginner: **Shleimus of all matters is emunah; without emunah all things are lacking.** Chazal (**Bava Basra 9b**): regarding tzedakah, **"ha'nosein prutah l'ani misbarech b'shesh, v'ha'm'fayso b'achas esreih"** — the giver of a prutah to a poor man is blessed with **6**; the one who **placates him** (with words) is blessed with **11**. Both the giver and the placater lack **one**: it should be **7 and 12** (corresponding to the **7 planets** and the **12 mazalos**), because tzedakah is in the bechinah of the galgalim (Shabbos 151b "ki bi'glal ha'davar ha'zeh — galgal hu ha'chozeir ba'olam"). **The galgal's two motions**: (a) natural — **ma'arav→mizrach**; (b) forced — **mizrach→ma'arav**, imposed by the **galgal yomi** which drags all galgalim along with it. Parallel in tzedakah: **"yoseir mi'mah she'ba'al ha'bayis oseh im he'ani, he'ani oseh im ba'al ha'bayis"** (Midrash Rus Rabbah 4) — the two-way motion from ani to ba'al-ha'bayis and back. All the shefa and brachos come through the galgalim (since HKBH runs the world through them). So the brachos on tzedakah SHOULD be 7+12 — but Chazal taught us that **tzedakah is lacking, still short of one** (in both giver and placater): the missing ingredient is **emunah**, without which tzedakah is still incomplete; through emunah tzedakah is completed and illuminates. **Source pasuk**: **"V'he'emin ba'Hashem va'yachsh'veha lo tzedakah"** (Bereshis 15:6) — 'he believed in Hashem, and He reckoned it to him as tzedakah': only through emunah is tzedakah reckoned. Without emunah it is lacking. **"Shemesh b'Shabbos tzedakah l'aniyim"** (Ta'anis 8b): Shabbos = emunah (testimony to His unity and renewal of the world — as explained in the sfarim). Through emunah, which is the bechinah of Shabbos, tzedakah is illuminated. **"Shemesh"** = language of or — on Shabbos (=emunah), tzedakah shines. **Torah also is lacking without emunah**: Chazal (**Makkos 24a**): **"Ba David v'he'emidan al achas esreih"** (11), **"ba Yeshayahu v'he'emidan al shesh"** (6) — exactly the same 6+11 as tzedakah, missing one. **"Ad she'ba Chavakuk v'he'emidan al achas — 'v'tzaddik b'emunaso yichyeh'"** — through emunah, Torah is completed. **Intent of the Mishnah**: **"Yetzi'os ha'Shabbos shtayim she'hein arba... pashat he'ani es yado li'fnim"** (Shabbos 2a) — at the start of Shabbos immediately begins with **mitzvas tzedakah**, hinting that on Shabbos tzedakah is completed and illuminated (as above, "shemesh b'Shabbos tzedakah l'aniyim"). Because through Shabbos (=emunah), tzedakah is completed and illuminated, and through them the lacking brachos are filled. **Emunah = mekor ha'berachos** (Mishlei 28:20: "ish emunos rav berachos"); **Shabbos is called the same** — **"ki hi mekor ha'berachah"** (Lecha Dodi zemer). **Pasuk Tehillim 85:14**: **"Tzedek l'fanav yehalech, v'yaseim l'derech pe'amav."** There are **wide ways** (derech kevushah la'rabim) and **paths** (shvilim); every derech and shvil has its own route (on Earth and above). Between derachim, vegetation grows — and **every single blade of grass has a kochav above** corresponding to it, from whose power the grass grows (**Midrash Rabbah Bereishis 10**: **"ein lecha kol esev v'esev she'ein lo kochav ba'raki'a she'makeh oso v'omer lo g'dal"** — every blade has a star striking it and saying 'grow!'). **When a person has ikuv or tza'ar on the way**, it is because the kochav corresponding to that place is **impeded** — not illuminating in shleimus. **The remedy**: **give tzedakah before setting out on the road**, per **"tzedek l'fanav yehalech, v'yaseim l'derech pe'amav"** — through the tzedakah the kochav is illuminated (tzedakah illuminates the galgalim, as above), and the ikuv on the road is neutralized. **Chazal (Horios 10a)**: **"Kochav echad yesh she'mat'eh es ha'sfinos"** — there is a certain star that misleads ships — when the ship reaches under that star, it goes astray, because that kochav is not illuminating in shleimus. **Shemesh = bris** (Zohar Shemos 3b, Pinchas 217b). Through **pegam ha'bris**, we do not have the **ohr shemesh** (full sun-light), only **mar'eh chamah** (diminished solar appearance). **Akum are called tzel (shadow)** — **"hoi eretz tziltzal kenafayim"** (Yeshayahu 18:1); they cover and block the ohr shemesh. This is the bechinah of **"tziltzal kenafayim"** — from the language of **"lo yikanef od morecha"** (Yeshayahu 30:20, 'your teacher shall no more be concealed'). And the **mar'eh chamah amukah min ha'tzel**: even though Israel is the ikkar, the akum **cover them** as if the whole world belongs to the umos, and cover the world with a 'way of nature'-veil — though in truth HKBH runs the world, they conceal His hashgachah as if it ran **by the kochavim and mazalos themselves** (cha'v). **L'asid la'vo**: He will remove them, and then **"sar tzilam me'aleihem"** (Bamidbar 14:9) will be fulfilled, and the ohr shemesh will be revealed — **"v'zarchah lachem yirei sh'mi shemesh tzedakah u'marpei bi'chnafeha"** (Mal'achi 3:20): **"shemesh"** = revelation of the full ohr; **"u'marpei bi'knafeha"** = **"lo yikanef od morecha"** (Yeshayahu 30:20). And then will be fulfilled **"ad ashis oyvecha hadom l'raglecha"** (Tehillim 110:1) — the akum will be **below, not above** as they were before (mar'eh chamah amukah). **Avraham** — about him it says **"v'hu yoshev pesach ha'ohel k'chom ha'yom"** (Bereshis 18:1), which is the bechinah of **shemesh** — because **he had performed milah** and the **bris was revealed**. Milah→bris revealed→shemesh (chom ha'yom) shines. The principle: tzedakah (galgalim) is completed via emunah (Shabbos); the full shemesh (bris) shines once pegam ha'bris is mended — and Avraham's post-milah chom ha'yom is the template. **Tefilah is called the bechinah of regel** (see below siman 55 and above siman 9) — the leg/foot of the person is his tefilah, and 'tzedek l'fanav yehalech, v'yaseim l'derech pe'amav' — tzedakah goes before and sets his tefilah-steps onto the road. Intermediate: **Shleimus=emunah**. **BB 9b** 6+11 (should be 7+12 = 7 kochvei lechet + 12 mazalos). Tzedakah=galgalim (Shab 151b); two motions: natural ma'arav→mizrach + forced mizrach→ma'arav = giver↔receiver (Rus Rabbah 4). Missing 1 = **emunah**: "v'he'emin" (Ber 15:6); Shabbos=emunah → tzedakah shines (Ta'an 8b). **Makkos 24a**: Torah 11→6→emunah (Chav 2:4). Mishnah Shab opens with tzedakah → ikkar: emunah=mekor ha'berachos (Mishlei 28:20; Lecha Dodi). **Tzedek l'fanav yehalech** (Teh 85:14) → every esev has kochav (MR Ber 10); ikkavim on road = pagum kochav → tzedakah before derech fixes it. **Horios 10a**: kochav that misleads sfinos. **Shemesh=bris** (Zohar Shem 3b, Pinchas 217b); pegam bris → mareh chamah, not ohr shemesh. **Akum=tzel** (Yesh 18:1 "tziltzal kenafayim"; "lo yikanef od morecha," Yesh 30:20); cover hashgachah with teva-veil. L'asid: "sar tzilam" (Bam 14:9); "v'zarchah... shemesh" (Mal 3:20); "ad ashis oyvecha" (Teh 110:1). **Avraham** chom ha'yom post-milah (Ber 18:1). Tefilah=regel (below 55; above 9).

Beginner: **R"N editorial**: **"All this we heard at first without complete explanation and connection — and all matters are now well-explained in the Torah **'is lan beira'** above. **'Gavra d'ozif v'reichaya d'tevira'** (the next ma'amarim of Savei d'Bei Asuna) — we did not merit to hear Torah upon them. But from his words I heard: he wanted to reveal Torah on **all the ma'amarim** there, and also on the whole **ma'aseh** of how R' Yehoshua ben Chananya conducted himself with them — how he came, how he dealt with them afterward — and he spoke with me a little..."** Intermediate: R"N: heard first without peirush; clarified in T31. **Gavra d'ozif + reichaya d'tevira** (next Savei ma'amarim) — no Torah received. Rabbeinu intended full commentary on all, including **whole ma'aseh of R' Yehoshua**.

Beginner: **Section טז — Editor's closing. *'Ha'pa'am nodeh es Hashem'* — 'this time let us thank Hashem' (Bereishis 29:35, Leah's declaration at Yehudah's birth) — the traditional seal of *nodeh* (thanksgiving) placed at the completion of a gathered Torah. Rabbeinu (or the editor/compiler — R' Nosson) offers this as the dedication-seal closing the *Savi d'Vei Asunah*-referenced chain of sections on bris, nefesh, rav, limudan-chasidus, and nefilas-apayim.** **The phrase — Bereishis 29:35**: **"*Va'tahar od va'teiled ben va'tomer: ha'pa'am odeh es Hashem, al kein kar'ah sh'mo Yehudah*"** — '*she conceived again and bore a son and said: this time let me thank Hashem — therefore she called his name Yehudah*.' **"Leah amrah *ha'pa'am* ki kibla *yoser mi'chelkah*"** — 'Leah said *this time* because she received *more than her portion*' (Berachos 7b — four wives, each should have borne three; Leah's fourth = extra portion). **Application as editorial seal**: **"*Ha'pa'am nodeh es Hashem* — zeh l'shon *hoda'ah al ha'shefa ha'g'dolah* she'kibalnu *yoser mi'chelkeinu*"** — 'this time let us thank Hashem = thanks for shefa *beyond our portion*.' The Torah just received — the full structure from bris to ma'n to rav-as-Mal'ach-Hashem-Tz'vakos — is *yoser mi'chelkeinu*; it is a *Yehudah-portion* that requires the Leah-formula *ha'pa'am nodeh*. **Why here, structurally**: **"Ki Torah zu *machzekes kol yesodei ha'avodah* — bris, nefesh, ma'n, rav, limudan-chasidus, nefilas-apayim — al kein *s'yum ba'hoda'ah*"** — 'this Torah *holds all yesodei-ha'avodah*: bris, nefesh, ma'n, rav, limudan-chasidus, nefilas-apayim — therefore *sealed in hoda'ah*.' **Link to Yehudah = hoda'ah = malchus**: **"V'Yehudah b'atzmo — *shem ha'hoda'ah* + *shem malchus*"** — 'Yehudah himself = *the name of hoda'ah* + *the name of malchus*.' **Bereishis 49:8** **"*Yehudah atah yoducha achecha*"** — '*Yehudah, you — your brothers shall thank/acknowledge you*.' Malchus-shel-kedushah is *formed specifically by hoda'ah* — the *lower world's bow of thanksgiving* is the *substance* of malchus-she'b'olam (Zohar, Sha'ar ha'Kavanos — *malchus = nukva = mi'tata l'eila = hoda'ah*). Hence the *editorial seal of hoda'ah* is *itself* a ma'n-ascent (per Ois יג), sealing-and-ascending the entire Torah. **The *Savi d'Vei Asunah* context**: The larger Torah 31 (in its original delivery) stands in conversation with the Zohar passage known as *Savi d'Vei Asunah* (the Old Man of the House of Imprisonment — Zohar Mishpatim 94b-114a); themes of nefesh-transmigration, rav-as-mashpi'a-nefesh, and bris-as-precondition-for-all-shefa run parallel. **"V'ha'hoda'ah b'sof zu — is'chabrus ha'limud im *tza'ara d'Savi d'Vei Asunah* al sodos ha'nefesh"** — 'the closing hoda'ah = the learning joins itself to *the anguish-labor of the Savi d'Vei Asunah* on sodos-ha'nefesh.' Rabbeinu / R' Nosson recognizes that the structure received here *overlaps* the Savi's revelation-domain, and offers thanks for the *merit of receiving* what the Savi revealed through tza'ar. **Functional note**: **"V'kol ha'lomeid Torah zu *b'ma'avir hoda'ah k'inyan z'man ma'asan*"** — 'every learner of this Torah *should echo hoda'ah as an ongoing practice*.' Each time the structure (k'sufim → nefashos → ma'n → chasid-rav → Pardes-safety) re-forms itself in the learner's own avodah, the Leah-formula *ha'pa'am nodeh es Hashem* applies again. **The seal*: The closing is not decorative but *functional* — it is the final tachanun-like ma'n-ascent of the Torah as a whole, lifting the structure *mi'tata l'eila* via hoda'ah → malchus → arousal of masculine ma'd to *repay* the Torah's shefa. The student who receives this Torah without the closing-hoda'ah receives the *body* of the Torah but not its *ascent*. Intermediate: **Ois טז — Editor's closing seal**. • **Ber 29:35** Leah's *ha'pa'am odeh es Hashem* at Yehudah's birth — **Ber 7b** *yoser mi'chelkah*. • Seal=thanks for shefa *yoser mi'chelkeinu*: Torah holds bris+nefesh+ma"n+rav+limudan-chasidus+nefilas-apayim. • **Ber 49:8** "Yehudah atah yoducha" — hoda'ah=malchus=ma"n-ascent (→ seals and lifts whole Torah *mi'tata l'eila*). • Links to **Zohar Mishpatim Savi d'Vei Asunah 94b-114a** on nefesh-sodos. • Musar: every learner should repeat *ha'pa'am nodeh* each time the structure reforms in avodah.