Tikunim Chadashim - Tikun 16

"And for all the mighty hand and for all the great awe..." [Devarim 34:12]

Theme: The Shechina as the Hand of Hashem; the commandment of Shabbos; charity; the Nun kefufah [bent Nun] and Nun peshutah [straight Nun]; the three Regalim [pilgrimage festivals]

I. The Shechina — Yad Hashem and Di [Sufficient]

"The mighty hand" — this is the Shechina who is the Hand of Hashem — and through Her and through the prophets I spoke [cf. Hoshea 12:11]. "The mighty" — in exile — for all the impure forces cannot prevail against Her. And She is the Hand of which it is said: "And the hands of a man under their wings" [Yechezkel 1:8] — and it is expounded: "His outstretched hand under the Throne...to receive penitents" [Pesachim 119a]. This is the Shechina who is extended in exile to receive whoever returns to Her — to shelter in Her shadow. And in Her: "And in the shadow of My hand I covered you" [Yeshayahu 51:16].

She is the Palm of the Hand [kaf hayad] — of which it is written: "One Kaf [palm] of ten gold pieces" [Bamidbar 7:14] — and Kaf is one hundred. The mystery — ten truly, ten that ascend to one hundred. In Her: "better is one handful of quiet" [Koheles 4:6]. And She is the five fingers of the lower Hei. And She is the hand-palm [fas yada] that wrote the letters for Belshatzar — "Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin" [Daniel 5:25] — for wherever a miracle needs to be performed, the Shechina was first there. Therefore: "the mighty hand" — for the protection of Israel. "The great awe" — all the evil sides fear Her. For without this, they would obliterate the world. And She is the fear of Hashem — causing all to fear Her.

II. Rav Hamnuna Sava Speaks — Shabbos as the Border

Then the elder Rav Hamnuna Sava came — and many righteous ones around him — and opened, saying: R' R' — surely the Shechina is Hand and is Di [sufficient]. In Her: "You shall surely give him sufficient for what he lacks" [Devarim 15:8] — for She is the last of all and sets the borders. As it is said of Her: "Let no man go out from his place on the seventh day" [Shemos 16:29] — this is the Shabbos boundary [tchum Shabbos]. For all other days stand above — a place where there is no boundary. But Shabbos — there is a boundary there truly — not to go outside.

And one who is guarded on Shabbos is sanctified with the sanctity of his Master — not going out to mix with others. Therefore Shabbos all stands in guarding. The mystery: Zachor [Remember] and Shamor [Guard]. And one who is in Shamor is also in Zachor [Brachos 20b]. For one who guards himself and does not go out from the holy place through Shamor — then many supernal crowns are crowned upon his head from the supernal mystery. Then: "and the children of Israel shall guard the Shabbos" — through Shamor to guard it. "For their generations" — for their dwelling; "let no man go out from his place" — truly. Then: "between Me and the children of Israel"... with many lights, many supernal crowns.

And in it the Havdalah [separation] is made: "who separates between the holy and the mundane." For at the time Shabbos ends — and Israel was guarded in it from all kinds of outside [impurity] — they remained set apart from all nations. For that Shabbos ended, and the following days rise from there onward. And Israel likewise remain set apart from all of them — bound to the holiness of their Master.

And one who guards the Shabbos as is fitting — it is said of him: "I will feed you with the heritage of Yaakov your father" [Yeshayahu 58:14] — this is an inheritance without boundary [Shabbos 118a]. In the time to come — when the Sitra Achra is removed from the world — measure for measure: as he guards himself in holiness, in the time when the boundary appears — so will he merit supernal delight in the time when the boundary is no longer needed. And the heritage of Yaakov is without boundaries — for from the masculine side there are no boundaries — only from the feminine side. In the time to come: "the light of the moon shall be like the light of the sun" [Yeshayahu 30:26] — then the heritage shall be without boundary truly.

III. The Commandment of Charity — The Hand Extended

Furthermore — the Shechina is the Hand — in Her: "Do not close your hand" [Devarim 15:7] — this is the commandment to give charity. For one who gives charity to the poor causes that Tzaddik [Yesod] to be awakened toward the Shechina and fill Her with many blessings. Then it is said of Her: "Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your dwelling stretch out"... [Yeshayahu 54:2] — so that there should be room in Her for all. The mystery: "the desirable land" — that expands according to the time [cf. the teaching on Eretz HaTzvi]. And the mystery: "for your Maker is your husband — Hashem of Hosts"... [ibid. 54:5] — this is the Tzaddik — for just as he blesses Her — so He makes Her a vessel to receive him truly. Then it is said of Her: "You shall surely open your hand" [Devarim 15:11] — open [in relation to] the Tzaddik; you shall open [in relation to] the Shechina.

And one who does not want to give charity causes that Hand to remain empty and constricted — "do not close" — truly. At that time it is said of Her: "Do not look upon me because I am swarthy" [Shir HaShirim 1:6] — for the impoverished one stands in judgment before him. And one who does not give charity — of him it is said: "and you shall call out to Hashem and there shall be in you a sin" — this is the Samael that pursues him to darken the light. Furthermore: "and there shall be in you a sin" — a deficiency of light — that reverses upon him as he causes for others.

Furthermore — the Shechina is the Mighty Hand through which the Holy One strengthens Israel in exile — as it is written: "He will not loosen you and will not destroy you" [Devarim 4:31]. "The great awe" — of which one upon whom the Shechina rests — it is said: "And all peoples of the earth shall see that the Name of Hashem is called upon you and shall fear you" [Devarim 28:10]. All Moshe prepared from the beginning. Fortunate is his portion.

IV. Metatron Speaks — The Fallen Nun and the Rising Nun

Then the great Prince Metatron came and opened, saying: R' R' — here is a mystery: "Hashem supports all who fall and raises all who are bowed" [Tehillim 145:14] — this is the bent Nun [Nun kefufah] in which the fall stands. The mystery: the feet of the Shechina below truly reached — for on them hang all the lower worlds. As it is written: "Our feet were standing within your gates, O Yerushalayim" [Tehillim 122:2]. The mystery: "The heavens are My throne"... [Yeshayahu 66:1] — all the upper world is called Heavens. And all the lower worlds are called Earth.

Because of these feet, Israel ascends three times a year to the Beis HaMikdash — as it is written: "Three times you shall celebrate for Me in the year" [Shemos 23:14]. And these are like writings — from which the Ruach HaKodesh rests upon all Israel. When? — At the joy of Beis HaShoeva [the Water-Drawing Celebration] on the third Festival [Sukkos] — for by then the three Regalim [pilgrimage festivals] were completed to be bound in their places. The mystery: "And behold three flocks of sheep lying by it" [Bereishis 29:2]. Then: "for from that well the flocks were watered."

The Temple Mount — "one should not enter the Temple Mount with his staff...and not with his shoes" [Brachos 54a] — these are the shoes in which the dust stands — of which it is said: "and not even the dust on his feet" [ibid.]. The mystery: "Hashem shall make the rain of your land powder" [Devarim 28:24] — and this is the handful of carobs [as sustenance in poverty]. And dust — as in: "and the serpent's food is dust" [Yeshayahu 65:25]. For in the time of Tikun, the rain that descends is blessed rain — from the side of the Shechina. But at the time accusation is found, the Sitra Achra accuses before above — and all that flows according to accusation flows. For at another time, rain descends sweetly — and the mystery: clouds rise and take water from the ocean ["this great sea, wide of sides"..." — Tehillim 104:25] — then they are salty from the side of judgment. And when they ascend into the clouds they are sweetened by the mercy drawn from above. But at another time: powder and dust — according to the accusation — in the bitterness of severe judgment. Then: "from heaven it will descend upon you until you are destroyed" [Devarim 28:24]. Because of this dust, one must remove these shoes — as in: "Remove your shoes from your feet" [Shemos 3:5].

And there are other shoes of which it is said: "How beautiful are your feet in sandals" [Shir HaShirim 7:2] — for a species with its own species does not interpose — and all becomes a single body. But those other shoes that need to be removed — in order that the supernal feet should spread below — and not be gathered above. For at the time of destruction: "and the spirit shall return to G-d"... [Koheles 12:7] — this is the Ruach HaKodesh that spread in those feet — and then the feet were gathered above. As it is said: "Be exalted above the heavens, O G-d"... [Tehillim 57:6]. And then the worlds began to be destroyed — for these feet do not stand to support them. The mystery: "pressing the feet of the Shechina" [Brachos 43b]. Until the Shechina is strengthened to hold them with Her hand. The mystery: then the Shechina was strengthened in that left arm — of which it is said: "as a seal upon your arm" [Shir HaShirim 8:6]. And with Her left hand She strengthened them so they would not fall and be destroyed. The mystery of this: "and still His hand is outstretched over us." Therefore: "the mighty hand" — truly.