Running Commentary on Torah 37 — Dirshu Hashem v'Uzo

Beginner: **Opening pasuk**: ***'Dirshu Hashem v'uzo, bakshu panav tamid'*** — 'Seek Hashem and His strength; seek His face *tamid* (continually)' (Tehillim 105:4; the same verse in Divrei Ha-Yamim I 16:11 — David's song when the Aron was returned to Yerushalayim). The whole Torah will be a peirush of this single verse: each clause unlocked into a precise instruction. ***'Dirshu Hashem'*** — *by what means can you seek Him?* — answer (Ois ז): *v'uzo* — through Torah (the *oz* of HKB"H, =Torah, cf. Tehillim 29:11 *'Hashem oz l'amo yiten'*). ***'Bakshu panav tamid'*** — *and how do you merit the chochmah of Torah by which to seek Him?* — answer (Ois ד-ה): through *tzedakah of Eretz Yisrael* — for *'ein bakashas panim ela tzedakah'* (Bereshis Rabbah 44, Koheles Rabbah 1) and *'ein tamid ela Eretz Yisrael'* (Shochar Tov Tehillim 105). The verse encodes the entire avodah-line that Oisos א-ז will trace. Intermediate: **Opening pasuk**: 'Dirshu Hashem v'uzo, bakshu panav tamid' (Teh 105:4; DH"A 16:11). Decode (returned to in Ois ז): 'Dirshu Hashem' = b'eizo chochmah → answer 'v'uzo' = b'Torah; 'bakshu panav' = ein bakashas panim ela tzedakah (BR 44, KR 1); 'tamid' = Eretz Yisrael (Shochar Tov Teh 105; Dev 11:12 'tamid einei Hashem... bah').

Beginner: **Ois א — *The ikkar of the Briyah is so that they should *know* Him* (***bi'gin d'ishtam'd'un lei***)***. *Ki ikkar ha-briyah hi *bi'gin d'ishtam'd'un lei*** — 'for the essential purpose of the creation is *so that they should know Him*' — the famous phrase from the Zohar (Bo 42a) that Rabbeinu uses repeatedly as the foundation-statement. The whole created order — galaxies, history, this body — exists for one purpose only: that conscious creatures *come to know* the Creator. **Pasuk-anchor**: ***'kol ha-nikra bi-shmi, v'li-chvodi b'rasiv, y'tzartiv, af asisiv'*** — 'all that is called by My name, *for My honor* I created them, formed them, even made them' (Yeshayahu 43:7). The triple-verb (*creation, formation, action*) corresponds to the three lower worlds (Beriyah, Yetzirah, Asiyah), and *all three* serve the single purpose of *kavod Hashem* — which is operationally the same as *da'as Hashem* (since one cannot honor what one does not know). This sets the stake for everything that follows: Oisos ב-ז will all be variations on *how* a person comes to know Him through the body, the avodah of food and tzedakah, the Torah of children, and the kavod of those whose external surface conceals precious nefashos. Intermediate: **Ois א**: ***Ikkar ha-briyah = 'bi'gin d'ishtam'd'un lei'*** (Zohar Bo 42a). Pasuk: 'kol ha-nikra bi-shmi, v'li-chvodi b'rasiv, y'tzartiv, af asisiv' (Yesh 43:7) — sheloshes ha-olamos kulam l'shem kavod = da'as. Foundation-frame for all subsequent oisos.

Beginner: **Ois ב — *Guf and nefesh are bechinos of opposing pairs: adam-vs-behemah, chomer-vs-tzurah, chochmah-vs-siklus, ohr-vs-choshech, chayim-vs-missah, zikaron-vs-shich'chah***. ***V'guf v'nefesh, heim bechinas adam u-behemah, chomer v'tzurah, chochmah v'siklus, bechinas ohr v'choshech*** — *and body and soul are the bechina of [several pairs]:* (i) *adam vs behemah* (the human-image vs the animal-form within every person); (ii) *chomer vs tzurah* (matter vs form, the Aristotelian-medieval pair adopted into Jewish thought); (iii) *chochmah vs siklus* (wisdom vs foolishness); (iv) *ohr vs choshech* (light vs darkness). **Source-verses for the ohr/choshech axis**: ***'k'yisron ha-ohr min ha-choshech'*** — 'as light is excellent above darkness' (Koheles 2:13); and Chazal (Berachos 33a): ***'gedolah dei'ah she-nitnah bein shtei osiyos'*** — 'great is *dei'ah* (knowledge), which is placed *between two letters* (i.e., between two Names of HKB"H)' — the proof from ***'ki Kel dei'os Hashem'*** — 'for HKB"H is the G-d of *knowings*' (Shmuel I 2:3 — *Kel-dei'os-Hashem*, with dei'os bracketed by the two Names). Then ***'Kel Hashem va-ya'er lanu'*** — 'HKB"H illuminated us' (Tehillim 118:27); and the dark-side of those who lack: ***'lo yad'u v'lo yavinu, ba-chashechah yis'haleichu'*** — 'they do not know nor understand, they walk in darkness' (Tehillim 82:5). **(v) Chayim and missah** — ***'ha-chochmah techayeh es ba'aleha'*** (Koheles 7:12); and ***'yamusu v'lo b'chochmah'*** (Iyov 4:21 — they die not in chochmah; cf. Bereshis Rabbah 26, 31); and ***'b'machashachim hoshivani k'meisei olam'*** (Eichah 3:6). **(vi) Zikaron vs shich'chah** — ***'nishkachti k'meis mi-lev'*** (Tehillim 31:13 — to be forgotten is to be like a corpse in the heart); ***'zachar chasdo'*** (Tehillim 98:3). And Chazal (Avos 3:8): ***'ha-shokeach davar echad mi-mishnaso, k'ilu mischayev b'nafsho'*** — 'one who forgets a single thing from his mishnah is as if he made himself liable for his life,' from ***'rak hishmer l'cha u-shmor nafshecha me'od, pen tishkach'*** (Devarim 4:9). **(vii) The chochmos**: the *external chochmos* (philosophy, sciences pursued for their own sake) are *chomer v'siklus* — *bechinas behemah* — *vis-à-vis* the chochmos of Torah. The whole multi-pair architecture is one map: every person stands between two poles, and the avodah is to maximize one and minimize the other. Intermediate: **Ois ב**: Guf+nefesh = ***6 paired-bechinos***: (i) adam/behemah; (ii) chomer/tzurah; (iii) chochmah/siklus; (iv) ohr/choshech (Koh 2:13 'k'yisron ohr'; Ber 33a 'gedolah dei'ah bein 2 osiyos' Sh"A I 2:3; Teh 118:27; Teh 82:5); (v) chayim/missah (Koh 7:12; Iyov 4:21; B"R 26+31; Eichah 3:6); (vi) zikaron/shich'chah (Teh 31:13; 98:3; Avos 3:8 'shokeach mischayev nafsho' from Dev 4:9). (vii) Chochmos chitzoni'yos = chomer/siklus/behemah vs chochmos ha-Torah.

Beginner: **Ois ג — *Subdue the chomer (the body of the four yesodos) via *ta'anis*; this is *tzedakah*; tzedakah produces the form of *Adam****. ***V'tzarich kol adam l'hachni'a ha-chomer*** — *every person must subdue the chomer* (the matter of his body), heinu *bechinas missah, bechinas siklus shel ha-guf shel ha-arba yesodos* — *meaning the bechina of death/foolishness of the body composed of the four elements* (the medieval-kabbalistic four yesodos: aish, ru'ach, mayim, afar — fire, air, water, earth). **Source-Zohar (Bereshis 27a)** on ***'va-yikach Hashem Elokim es ha-adam'*** (Bereshis 2:15, 'Hashem took the man and placed him in Gan Eden'): ***'ma'an natal lei? Me'arba yesodin dilei, d'afrish lei mi-ta'avah dilhon'*** — *from where did Hashem take him? From the four elements of his (body), separating him from their desire*. Hashem's 'taking the adam' is the prototype of separating the human from the pull of the four yesodos. **The means**: ***v'zeh na'aseh al yedei ha-ta'anis*** — *and this is accomplished by way of *ta'anis* (fasting) — for ta'anis weakens the four yesodos*; ***v'nisbatel ha-chomer / choshech / shich'chah / behemah, v'nisgaber v'nisaleh ha-sechel / tzurah / ohr / zikaron / adam*** — *and the chomer/choshech/shich'chah/behemah is nullified, while the sechel/tzurah/ohr/zikaron/adam (the upper pole of every Ois ב pair) rises and overcomes*. **Crucial Chazal-tie (Berachos 6b)**: ***'agra d'ta'anisa tzidkasa'*** — *the reward of fasting is tzedakah* (i.e., the food one would have eaten is given to the poor; the fast and the tzedakah are one act). And tzedakah is *remez l'or*, the symbol for light: ***'v'zarchah lachem yir'ei sh'mi shemesh tzedakah'*** — 'the *sun of tzedakah* shall rise upon you, you who fear My name' (Malachi 3:20). **And tzedakah = Torah itself**: Zohar Lech Lecha 76b on ***'shim'u eilai abirei lev, ha-rechokim mi-tzedakah'*** — 'hear me, hard-hearted ones, far from tzedakah' (Yeshayahu 46:12) — *d'inun rechikin me-Oraysa* — *those who are far from Torah*. Tzedakah and Torah are one. ***V'hu bechinas adam*** — and *adam itself* is Torah, per ***'zos ha-Torah, adam'*** (Bamidbar 19:14) — 'this is the Torah of adam.' **The very letters of א-ד-ם encode the avodah**: (i) ***ם sosumah*** = bechinas ta'anis = bechinas olam ha-ba *d'leis bah achilah u-shesiyah* (where there is no eating or drinking — Tikkun 21); (ii) ***ד*** = remez to the four yesodos that are *lowered* by the ta'anis; (iii) ***א*** = the sechel that rises, per ***'va-a'alefcha chochmah'*** — 'I will teach you wisdom' (Iyov 33:33 — the verb *a'alefcha* shares the *aleph* root). **And the Hakdamas Ha-Zohar (13b)** on ***'na'aseh adam'*** — 'let us make adam' (Bereshis 1:26): the Zohar reads ***k'siv hacha 'na'aseh,' u-k'siv hasam 've-shem ha-ish asher asisi imo'*** (Rus 2:19, regarding Bo'az and Rus, in the tzedakah context) — *mah l'halan tzedakah, af kan tzedakah*. **Reb Nosson's gloss** (in the brackets): the Zohar there proves from this gezeirah shavah that *tzedakah* makes one stand in the *diyukna of adam*. ***V'Rabbeinu mevi ra'ayah me-zeh l'inyan ta'anis, ki tzedakah v'ta'anis heim bechina achas, ki 'agra d'ta'anisa tzidkasa' ka-na'l*** — *and Rabbeinu brings the same proof for *ta'anis*, since ta'anis and tzedakah are one bechina, as 'agra d'ta'anisa tzidkasa' above*. The whole letter-mechanism aligns: ta'anis = tzedakah → *na'aseh adam* → sechel/ohr/nefesh rises over chomer/choshech/behemah. Intermediate: **Ois ג**: ***Hachna'as ha-chomer (4 yesodos) = ta'anis*** (Zohar Ber 27a 'va-yikach Hashem... me-arba yesodin, d'afrish me-ta'avah'). Ta'anis machlish 4 yesodos → mevatel chomer/choshech/shich'chah/behemah → ma'aleh sechel/tzurah/ohr/zikaron/adam. ***'Agra d'ta'anisa tzidkasa'*** (Ber 6b); tzedakah = ohr (Mal 3:20 'shemesh tzedakah') = Torah (Zohar L"L 76b al Yesh 46:12 'rechokim mi-tzedakah = mi-Oraysa') = adam ('zos ha-Torah, adam' Bam 19:14). **Osiyos א-ד-ם**: ם sosumah = ta'anis (olam ha-ba bli achilah, Tik 21); ד = 4 yesodos shaflu; א = sechel oleh ('va-a'alefcha chochmah' Iyov 33:33). **Hakd Zohar 13b 'na'aseh adam'** — gez. shav. 'asisi imo' Rus 2:19 = tzedakah; Rabbeinu mosif ta'anis = tzedakah (= 'agra d'ta'anisa').

Beginner: **Ois ד — *Two kinds of tzedakah (chu"l vs EY); two kinds of Torah (hevel b'cheit vs b'li cheit); the avirah of Eretz Yisrael as the gateway***. ***Aval yesh shtei bechinos tzedakah*** — *but there are two kinds of tzedakah*: (i) tzedakah given *outside* Eretz Yisrael, and (ii) tzedakah given *in* Eretz Yisrael. ***V'tzedakas Eretz Yisrael, hi gedolah u-l'ma'alah mi-tzedakas chutz la-aretz*** — *and tzedakah of Eretz Yisrael is greater than and above tzedakah of chu"l* (see Hilchos Tzedakah 251:3 for the halachic ruling). ***V'chen yesh shtei bechinos Torah*** — *and similarly there are two kinds of Torah*: ***ki ein domeh ha-Torah ha-yotzeis me-hevel she-yesh bo cheit, l'ha-Torah ha-yotzeis me-hevel she-ein bo cheit*** — *for there is no comparison between the Torah that issues from a *hevel* (breath) that contains sin, and the Torah that issues from a hevel without sin* (Shabbos 119b). And ***ein ha-din nimtak, v'ein ha-olam miskayem ela al hevel pi'hem shel tinokos*** — *the dinim are not sweetened, and the world only endures, on the *breath of mouths of the children* (the schoolchildren learning Torah, whose breath has no taint of sin)* (Shabbos 119b; Zohar Hakdamah 1b). **The Zohar (Hakdamah 1b)** on Shir Ha-Shirim 2:12 ***'ha-nitzanim nir'u va-aretz, eis ha-zamir higi'a, v'kol ha-tor nishma b'artzeinu'*** — 'the buds appear in the land, the time of song has arrived, the voice of the *tor* (turtledove) is heard in our land': ***ha-nitzanim*** = *ileyn Avos ha-olam* (these are the patriarchs); ***eis ha-zamir higi'a*** = *kad ata idan l'kotzetza chayavi'a min alma* (when the time arrives to cut down the wicked from the world); ***v'kol ha-tor nishma*** = *da kala d'inuka d'ravya d'la'ei b'Oraysa* — *this is the voice of the schoolchild who labors in Torah*. As Shir 1:11 says ***'torei zahav'*** ('rows of gold') and Shemos 25:18 ***'v'asisa shnayim k'ruvim zahav'*** ('and you shall make two golden Cherubim'): ***al yedei kala d'inuka d'ravya, nisgalu ha-Avos ba-olam l'hagein*** — *through the voice of the school-children, the Avos are revealed in the world to shield it.* **The decoded operation**: when you want the Avos to be revealed *through you* in the world — to push away din, choshech, shich'chah, siklus from the world — you need a *hevel without sin*; and *via tzedakah of Eretz Yisrael*, you ***include yourself in the avir of Eretz Yisrael, which is the bechina of holy hevel without sin***. The avir of EY is itself the breath-without-sin atmosphere; tzedakah-of-EY is the gateway through which a chu"l-Jew can plug into it. **Verse-seal**: ***'v'zacharti es brisi Yaakov... v'es ha-aretz ezkor'*** (Vayikra 26:42) — peirush: *eimasai yisgalu ha-Avos ba-olam? Kad 'ha-aretz ezkor'* — *when the Land is remembered* — *al yedei avirah d'Eretz Yisrael, v'al yedei hevel she-ein bo cheit, she-hi bechinas hevel pi'hem shel tinokos.* And Yaakov's blessing of the children of Yosef: ***'hu y'vareich es ha-ne'arim, v'yikareh va-hem shmi v'shem avosai'*** — 'He shall bless the lads, and *let My Name and the names of My fathers be called upon them*' (Bereshis 48:16) — through the *ne'arim* (the children), the Avos are revealed. **And Chazal (Ta'anis 11b)**: ***'ha-yoshev b'ta'anis nikra chasid'*** — *one who sits in fast is called *chasid* — *she-ne'emar 'gomeil nafsho ish chesed' (Mishlei 11:17)* — for ta'anis is the *gemilus chasadim* a person does to his own nefesh — namely to his Torah, as ***'Toras Hashem temimah, meshivas nafesh'*** (Tehillim 19:8). The chasid-name belongs to one who fasts, because his fast nullifies din and choshech, and brings down chasadim into the world. Intermediate: **Ois ד**: ***Shtei tzedakos*** (chu"l vs EY; tzedakas EY gedolah, H.Tz 251:3). ***Shtei Toros*** (hevel b'cheit vs b'li cheit; ein olam miskayem ela al hevel pi'hem shel tinokos, Shab 119b). Zohar Hakd 1b al Shir 2:12 'nitzanim... eis ha-zamir... kol ha-tor' = Avos / kotzetza chayavi'a / kala d'inuka d'la'ei b'Oraysa. ***Tzedakas EY = nichlal b'avir EY = hevel b'li cheit*** = mefil din/choshech/shich'chah/siklus + magleh ha-Avos l'hagein. Pasuk: 'v'zacharti brisi Yaakov... v'ha-aretz ezkor' (Vay 26:42); Bereshis 48:16 ne'arim/Avos. **Chazal Ta'an 11b**: 'ha-yoshev b'ta'anis nikra chasid' (Mish 11:17 'gomeil nafsho') — gemilus chesed l'nafsho/Torah ('Toras Hashem temimah meshivas nafesh' Teh 19:8); mevatel din/choshech, mamshich chasadim.

Beginner: **Ois ה — *The three warnings of R' Yehudah ben Beseira (Sanhedrin 96a); the first: hizaharu b'zakein she-shachach talmudo me-chamas uniso***. ***V'zeh peirush (Sanhedrin 96a)*** — *and this is the peirush of* the gemara recording ***sheloshah haz-haros she-hizhir Rabbi Yehudah ben Beseira mi-Netzivin*** — *three warnings that R' Yehudah ben Beseira issued from Netzivin*: (i) ***'hizaharu b'zakein she-shachach talmudo me-chamas uniso'*** — *be careful (i.e., respect) the *zakein* (Torah-elder) who has forgotten his Torah due to circumstances beyond his control*; (ii) ***'v'hizaharu b'v'ridin k'R' Yehudah'*** — *be careful with the *vridin* (the jugulars during shechita) according to R' Yehudah's stringency*; (iii) ***'v'hizaharu bi-vnei amei ha-aretz, she-mei-hem teitzei Torah'*** — *be careful with the children of the unlearned, for from them Torah will go forth.* ***Eilu ha-shloshah bechinos, heim kulam romzim l'his'a'lus ha-nefesh, v'ha-sechel, v'ha-Torah, v'ha-zikaron*** — *all three of these allusions hint at the elevation of nefesh / sechel / Torah / zikaron* (the upper pole of Ois ב). **First warning unfolded**: ***'zakein she-shachach talmudo me-chamas uniso'*** is bechinas ***missah, siklus me-chamas shich'chah*** — death, foolishness, by way of forgetting (the lower pole of every Ois ב pair). ***Aval ones Rachmana patreih*** (Nedarim 27a — *the Merciful One exempts an ones case*); the gemara holds him blameless. ***V'hizhir Rabbi Yehudah l'chabdo*** — *and Rabbi Yehudah warned to honor him* — ***she-al yedei ha-kavod yisbatel mimenu ha-shich'chah, v'yisgaleh ha-nefesh, heinu zikron ha-Torah*** — *for through *kavod*, the shich'chah will be removed from him, and the nefesh — i.e., the memory of Torah — will be revealed.* **Why does kavod remove shich'chah?** ***Ki shoresh ha-Torah hi kvod Hashem yisbarach*** — *for the root of the Torah is the kavod of Hashem yisbarach* — as Yeshayahu 43:7 *'li-chvodi b'rasiv'* of Ois א — *and as Chazal (Avos 6:3): 'ein kavod ela Torah'* — 'there is no *kavod* but Torah.' Kavod and Torah are interchangeable; pour kavod onto a forgetful zakein, and you re-pour Torah back into him. Intermediate: **Ois ה (San 96a — R"Y ben Beseira 3 haz-haros)**: (i) ***'hizaharu b'zakein she-shachach talmudo me-chamas uniso'***; (ii) v'ridin k'R"Y; (iii) b'nei amei ha-aretz. Kulam romzim l'his'a'lus nefesh/sechel/Torah/zikaron. **Warning 1 unfolded**: zakein-shachach = missah/siklus/shich'chah; aval ones Rachmana patreih (Ned 27a); kavod l'zakein → mevatel shich'chah → magleh nefesh = zikron ha-Torah. ***Shoresh ha-Torah = kvod Hashem*** (Yesh 43:7 'li-chvodi b'rasiv'; Avos 6:3 'ein kavod ela Torah'). Kavod ↔ Torah interchangeable.

Beginner: **Ois ו — *Second warning: 'hizaharu b'v'ridin k'R' Yehudah'*; dam = nefesh in gilgul; the *shochet hagun* lifts the trapped nefesh; lack of parnasah in our generations comes from unworthy shochtim; the *cherev* of HKB"H is *malchus peh*; the alternative cry ***'b'nafsheinu navi lachmeinu'***. ***V'zehu: 'hizaharu b'v'ridin k'Rabbi Yehudah'*** — *and this is the second warning: be careful with the *vridin* (the jugulars in shechita) per Rabbi Yehudah's stringency* (the halachic position requiring extra care that the v'ridin be properly cut to allow full bleeding). **Why such severity?** ***Ki ha-dam hu ha-nefesh she-ba b'gilgul*** — *because the blood is the *nefesh* (soul) that has come back in *gilgul* (reincarnation)* — *v'tzarich ha-shochet l'chavein l'ha'alos ha-nefesh she-ba-dam* — *and the shochet must intend to *raise the nefesh that is in the blood*. The slaughter of an animal, done correctly with the right kavanah, is the *liberation* of a soul that had been demoted into animal-form by some prior aveirah; the shochet is its *go'el* (redeemer), lifting it back into kedushah by way of his own dibbur ha-berachah and the eating of the basar by a Jew who is then strengthened to do mitzvos. **Practical consequence**: ***ikkar chesron ha-parnasah she-nis'ma'eit ba-doros ha-lalu, ein zeh ela al yedei ha-shochtim she-einam meshu'gnim*** — *the main cause of the diminishment of parnasah in these generations is *unworthy shochtim*. Avos 3:21: ***'im ein Torah, ein kemach'*** — 'if there is no Torah, there is no kemach (flour/parnasah).' Rabbeinu reads: ***'Torah'*** = bechinas nefesh (per Ois ב); when the shochet does not lift the nefesh in the dam, then *'ein kemach'* — parnasah diminishes. **And therefore *the chalef* (the shechita knife) is called *ma'acheles*** — as in ***'va-yikach es ha-ma'acheles'*** (Bereshis 22:10, the Akeidah) — *because there is a worthy shochet who *feeds and sustains Yisrael*: when the shochet is hagun, he *clothes the nefesh* — the nefesh that was in *cha'i, b'midbar* (in the live animal, in the wilderness) — *into the *dibbur of the berachah* he recites*. **And the dibbur is the bechina of the Shechinah** — as the Pesach Eliyahu (introduction to Tikkunei Zohar) says: *Malchus = peh*; speech itself is the Shechinah-Malchus. **Verse-anchor (Yeshayahu 34:6)**: ***'cherev la-Hashem mal'ah dam'*** — 'a sword to Hashem, full of blood' — for ***ha-Shechinah niqra'as 'cherev la-Hashem'*** (as in Zohar Ha-Kadosh and Pardes — Malchus is the cosmic *cherev*-of-Hashem, the cutting/separating power); ***v'hi bechinas dibbur, she-hu bechinas cherev pifios, leshon peh*** — *and she is the bechina of dibbur, which is the bechina of *cherev pifios* (a *two-mouthed sword*)*, since *peh* (mouth) and *pi* of the sword share roots — as ***'rom'mos Kel bi-gronam, v'cherev pifios b'yadam'*** (Tehillim 149:6 — 'the praises of G-d in their throat, and a *cherev pifios* in their hand'). **And when the nefesh enters into the *cherev la-Hashem* (the dibbur)** — bechinas ***mayin nukvin*** (the female-waters of Lurianic Kabbalah, the lower-world arousal that draws down the male-waters from above) — ***azai ha-Shechinah mizdaweges al yedei ha-mayin nukvin she-yesh lah*** — *then the Shechinah unites by way of the mayin nukvin she possesses* — bechinas ***'chazi b'mah b'ra'as'avina'*** (Zohar Vayikra 13a — 'see, with what I have come to you'). And ***'cherev la-Hashem mal'ah dam'*** — *full of blood = full of nefashos rising in mayin nukvin*. ***V'al yedei ha-zivug, hi mekabbeles parnasah l'Yisrael*** — *and through the zivug, she receives parnasah for Yisrael.* The whole Torah's parnasah-flow runs through one shochet's kavanah at one moment of shechita. **Inverse case (Eichah 5:9)**: ***'b'nafsheinu navi lachmeinu, mi-pnei cherev ha-midbar'*** — 'with our nefesh we bring our bread, because of the *cherev of the midbar*'. The verse encodes the broken case: ***ha-shochet einu hagun*** — *when the shochet is not worthy*, he doesn't lift the nefesh as mayin nukvin; ***v'ke-she-omeid im ha-chalef li-shchot es ha-cha'i, hu omeid k-rotzeach nefashos*** — *he stands with the chalef like a *murderer* of souls* — ***v'ha-chalef shelo hu cherev ha-midbar, v'eino cherev la-Hashem, she-hu cherev ha-medaber*** — *his chalef is the *cherev of the midbar* (the wasteland), not the cherev of *medaber* (speech)*. The *medaber*-sword is the cherev of holy speech (Malchus-peh); the *midbar*-sword is the same instrument used without that speech, leaving only the wasteland. ***V'yesh tza'ar la-nefesh ha-cha'i, she-tzo'eches b'kol mar*** — *and there is suffering for the live nefesh, who screams in a bitter voice* — Shir Ha-Shirim 5:6: ***'nafshi yatzeah b'dabro, bikashtihu v'lo metzasiv, kerasiv v'lo anani'*** — 'my nefesh went out when he spoke; I sought him and did not find him; I called him and he did not answer' — for ***eino sham bi-sh'as ha-berachah, v'choshev machshavos pigul*** — *the shochet is not present at the moment of the berachah, thinking forbidden thoughts* — ***al yedei zeh, 'metza'uni ha-shomerim ha-sov'vim ba-ir, hikuni p'tza'uni, nas'u es redidi mei'alai'*** (Shir 5:7) — *the *shomerim* (the cosmic guards of pegam-bris, etc.) found me, beat me, took my veil from upon me*. The trapped nefesh is then re-trapped one level lower. The whole dam-shechita architecture is the inverse-mirror of the parnasah architecture. **Therefore *hizaharu b'v'ridin* is not just a halachic stringency — it is a cosmic injunction about the channel by which all parnasah of Yisrael flows.** Intermediate: **Ois ו (warning 2 — v'ridin)**: ***Dam = nefesh she-ba b'gilgul*** — shochet must l'ha'alos ha-nefesh she-ba-dam. Ikkar chesron parnasah ba-doros = shochtim einam meshu'gnim (Avos 3:21 'ein Torah, ein kemach'; Torah=nefesh). Chalef niqra ***ma'acheles*** (Ber 22:10) ki shochet hagun *ma'achil u-mefarnes* es Yisrael, malbish ha-nefesh she-cha'i b'midbar b'dibbur ha-berachah; dibbur = Shechinah = ***Malchus peh***. Yesh 34:6 'cherev la-Hashem mal'ah dam' = Shechinah=cherev=dibbur=cherev pifios (Teh 149:6); nefesh nichneses = mayin nukvin → zivug → parnasah l'Yisrael. **Inverse (Eichah 5:9 'b'nafsheinu navi lachmeinu mi-pnei cherev ha-midbar')**: shochet einu hagun = rotzeach nefashos; chalef = cherev ha-midbar (lo cherev *medaber*); tza'ar nefesh — Shir 5:6-7 ('nafshi yatzeah b'dabro... metza'uni shomerim, hikuni'). Shochet einu sham bi-sh'as berachah, machshavos pigul → nefesh ne'echezes b'klipah amok yoter.

Beginner: **Ois ז — *Third warning: 'hizaharu bi-vnei amei ha-aretz'; precious nefashos trapped in the *takla* of klipas nogah; their kavod releases the trapped Torah; full re-anchor of the opening verse 'dirshu Hashem v'uzo, bakshu panav tamid'***. ***V'zehu peirush 'hizaharu bi-vnei amei ha-aretz'*** — *and this is the peirush of the third warning, 'be careful with the children of the unlearned'*. ***Ki zeh yadu'a, she-ha-nefashos ha-nikhbados [ha-na'ashukos] b'soch ha-takla, ha-amur ba-Zohar (Sabba Mishpatim 113, u-vish'ar mekomos), b'klipos nogah*** — *because it is known that the *precious nefashos that are oppressed in the takla* (the kabbalistic 'scale' of judgment) — as discussed in the Zohar (Sabba d'Mishpatim 113, and elsewhere) — are *in klipas nogah*. ***V'klipas nogah rotzah she-yishtaka sham ha-nefesh, azai hi nosenes osan b'soch tipas zivugo shel am ha-aretz, k'dei she-yistanef ha-nefesh ha-hi b'yoseir*** — *and klipas nogah wants the nefesh to sink there, so she places it inside the *tipas zivug* of an am ha-aretz (the act of generation by an unlearned person), in order that this nefesh be all the more sullied*. The mechanism is precise: a *yakar*-nefesh that fell into klipas nogah's takla through some pegam in a previous gilgul is, in the next round, deliberately routed by klipas nogah into the most spiritually crude available human-conception, hoping thereby to bury it permanently. ***Nimtza she-bnei amei ha-aretz heim nefashos yekaros, ela she-heim k'tziparim 'achuzos ba-pach'*** — *it emerges that the children of the unlearned are *precious nefashos*, but they are *like birds caught in the trap*' (Koheles 9:12 — *'ka-tziparim ha-achuzos ba-pach'*). **How do we know their *hadar tif'arto*** (their hidden splendor)? ***Ela al yedei Torasam*** — *only by way of their Torah*: ***ke-she-anu ro'im she-heim talmidei chachamim, b'yadu'a she-yesh lahem nefesh yekarah*** — *when we see that they (the children of amei ha-aretz) become talmidei chachamim, we know that they had a precious nefesh*. The Torah they reveal is the very *gilui* of the precious nefesh that was being suppressed. ***V'kol ha-Torah she-heim megalim, hu ha-kol gilui l'shochet*** — *all the Torah they reveal is itself the gilui to the *shochet* (here = the upper-cosmic shochet, the tzaddik who lifts nefashos)* — ***ki ha-nefesh hi [bechinas Torah] ka-na"l*** — *for the nefesh is the bechina of Torah, as above*. ***V'ha-Torah she-heim megalim b'nei amei ha-aretz, heim bechinas nitzotzos, v'olah l'Shechinah b'bechinas mayin nukvin*** — *the Torah revealed by the children of amei ha-aretz is in the bechina of *nitzotzos* (sparks), and ascends to the Shechinah as mayin nukvin* (re-using the same Ois ו mechanism, this time for Torah-revelation rather than animal-slaughter). ***V'bish'vil zeh tzarich l'chabdam*** — *and therefore one must honor them* — ***ki al yedei ha-kavod yisgaleh b'yoser ha-Torah me-his'almutah*** — *for through the kavod, the Torah is more fully revealed from its concealment* — ***heinu ha-nefesh, ki shoresh ha-kol hu ha-kavod, kemo she-kasuv: 'li-chvodi b'rasiv'*** (Yesh 43:7 of Ois א again) — *and the nefesh longs to be included in its source, in the kavod itself*. ***V'zeh: 'hizaharu bi-vnei amei ha-aretz l'chabdam'*** — *and this is the meaning of the warning: 'be careful with the children of amei ha-aretz, to honor them'* — ***k'dei she-yishtokeik ha-Torah, she-hi ha-nefesh, l'hikalel b'shorsho, she-hu ha-kavod*** — *so that the Torah, which is the nefesh, will yearn to be reincluded in its root, which is the kavod* — ***v'al yedei zeh, 'mei-hem teitzei Torah'*** — *and through that, 'from them Torah will go forth.'* **Closing peirush of the opening pasuk** (***'Dirshu Hashem v'uzo, bakshu panav tamid'***): ***'Dirshu Hashem'*** — *seek Hashem* — *al yedei eizo chochmah tuchal lid'rosh oso?* (by what wisdom can you seek Him?) — *hadar mefaresh*: ***'v'uzo'*** — *answer: by Torah* — *v'lo al yedei chochmos acherim, she-heim siklus v'choshech k'neged chochmos ha-Torah* (and not by other wisdoms, which are foolishness and darkness compared to Torah). ***V'al yedei mah tizkeh l'chochmos ha-Torah?*** — *and through what will you merit the chochmos of Torah?* — ***'bakshu panav tamid'*** — *seek His face *tamid* — *al yedei tzedakah shel Eretz Yisrael*. As brought in the Midrash (Bereshis Rabbah 44; Koheles Rabbah, seder 1): ***'ein bakashas panim ela tzedakah'*** — 'there is no bakashas-panim except tzedakah' — ***kemo she-kasuv 'tzedek l'fanav y'haleich'*** (Tehillim 85:14 — *tzedek* walks before His *panim*). ***V'ein 'tamid' ela Eretz Yisrael*** (Shochar Tov Tehillim 105; cf. Reishis Chochmah, Sha'ar Ha-Teshuvah, perek 6): *kemo she-kasuv 'tamid einei Hashem Elokecha bah'* — 'continually the eyes of Hashem your G-d are upon her' (Devarim 11:12, regarding Eretz Yisrael). The whole Torah folds into the verse: *seek Hashem* (= the ikkar of Briyah, Ois א) *via Torah* (the Ois ב-ג axis of nefesh-Torah-Adam, won by ta'anis-tzedakah of Ois ג) *via the bakashas-panim that is tzedakah* (Ois ד) *davka tamid — in the avir of Eretz Yisrael* (Ois ד) — and the means to that whole flow are the three R"Y ben Beseira warnings (Oisos ה-ז): honor the forgetful zakein, attend to the v'ridin of shechita, and especially honor the children of amei ha-aretz from whom the precious trapped Torah will emerge. Intermediate: **Ois ז (warning 3 — bnei amei ha-aretz)**: Nefashos yekaros ne'eshakos ba-***takla*** = klipas nogah (Sabba Mishpatim 113); klipas nogah noseses osan b'tipas zivug shel am ha-aretz l'titanfan. ***Bnei amei ha-aretz = nefashos yekaros 'k'tziparim achuzos ba-pach'*** (Koh 9:12). Hadar tif'artam mis'galeh ke-she-na'asim talmidei chachamim — Torasam = gilui ha-nefesh, ola l'Shechinah k'mayin nukvin (= Ois ו). ***Tzarich l'chabdam → al yedei ha-kavod yisgaleh ha-Torah/nefesh me-his'almuto*** — ki shoresh ha-kol = kavod ('li-chvodi b'rasiv'). 'Mei-hem teitzei Torah.' **Closing peirush**: ***'Dirshu Hashem' — b'eizo chochmah? 'V'uzo' = Torah*** (lo chochmos chitzoni'yos = siklus). ***'Bakshu panav tamid' = tzedakas EY*** ('ein bakashas panim ela tzedakah' BR 44, KR 1; 'tzedek l'fanav y'haleich' Teh 85:14); ***'tamid' = EY*** (Shochar Tov 105; Reishis Chochmah Sh"T 6; 'tamid einei Hashem Elokecha bah' Dev 11:12).