מעשה יא-מהבנים שנחלפו

An exceedingly awesome and wondrous story — a great wonder, as heard from his own holy mouth. And as explained at the end of the story, clothed within it are holy and wondrous secrets — supernal mysteries. It speaks of the secret of the world of Tikkun and the clarification of the holy souls and holy sparks that fell to the place where they fell and came to what they came through the intensification of the substitutions and exchanges of the Heichalos HaTemuros [the "Palaces of Substitution" — the spiritual chambers of confusion and exchange, where values are inverted and identities obscured]. Until — not only was the kingship given to the servant's son, and the true King's son handed over to the servant and raised in his house, distanced from the royal customs (even though by his nature he was very drawn to the royal customs, as explained within) — but the substitutions intensified even further, to the point where it is forbidden to even mention the subject of the exchange, to suggest that perhaps he is the true King's son. And anyone who speaks of this is punished and vengeance is taken from him. Not only this, but plans are made to eliminate the King's son entirely — G-d forbid — that his name not be remembered at all — in the aspect of "Come, let us destroy them from being a nation, and the name of Israel shall be remembered no more" [Psalms 83:5]. Until the King's son was compelled to uproot himself from his place and be a fleeing exile, driven and wandering. And actually this very matter — that the King [who was truly the servant's son] intensified against him so greatly — is itself only from the aspect of the confusions and falsehoods and substitutions of the Heichalos HaTemuros. For how did it enter his mind to do such a great injustice against the servant himself, who may actually be his father — and certainly against the son, since some say he is the King's son and the entire kingship belongs to him? Yet through the substitution and exchange, the dominion was given to the servant's son, in the aspect of "Under a servant who would reign" [Proverbs 30:22]. And it entered his mind to scheme to eliminate the King's son entirely — until he was compelled to flee and wander. And from either perspective, he did not deserve this — as the King himself later realized when he reflected that he had committed a great injustice, as explained within. But more than all the above, the substitutions intensified in the heart of the King's son himself — until he fell greatly in his own resolve and was drawn toward drunkenness and followed his heart's desire. This is worse than all the rest. And this too only from the aspect of the confusions and the false reasonings arising from the Heichalos HaTemuros — as he himself reflected afterward: if G-d can do such a thing, then how could I have done what I did? And he deeply regretted it, as explained there. Yet this very thing — that thoughts of repentance and remorse came to the King himself, and that such thoughts of repentance and remorse came to the true King's son — and all the events that were brought about through this until the complete rectification was accomplished — all of this is only from the kindnesses of the Holy One, Blessed is He, who illuminated some spark of holiness from wherever He illuminated it, until the substitutions began to somewhat clarify, until the world was rectified. (§17) What makes the world so far from G-d is only the lack of settled and composed mind — as explained elsewhere. For when the Heichalos HaTemuros intensify, not only do they exchange evil for good and good for evil throughout the world, and cause all the dominion and greatness to belong only to the servant's son — but even within the inmost thought of the servant's son himself the Heichalos HaTemuros intensified so greatly that they turned his mind and heart to commit such great evils against his own true father and to exile the King's son entirely. And yet even within the inmost thought of the true King's son himself the Heichalos HaTemuros intensified and exchanged his mind against the truth — until he fell so greatly in his resolve, becoming angry about his exile, that he took himself to drunkenness. Yet afterward, when even the servant's son came to some state of composed mind, he himself understood that he had committed a great injustice in exiling the King's son. And certainly the King's son — when his mind settled — understood the truth: that if G-d can do such a thing, how much more so could I have done what I did — and he repented deeply. And through these repentances of both of them the world returned to its rectification.

(§23) Sometimes a person pursues his livelihood or pursues other things he thinks he absolutely must pursue, and he pursues them his whole life and cannot attain them. And because of this he is always full of anger and pain. In truth, if he would take it to heart, he would see that he is only pursuing his own sins — for his sins are misleading him, leading him from one matter to the next and from cause to cause, until he pursues utter vanity his whole life. And perhaps he has already received his punishment for his sins more than enough, and the time for his rectification and rest has already arrived.

(§8) If a person merited to true and complete remorse — then even if he might afterward revert to his old ways and have done to him what may be done — nonetheless the thoughts of remorse and repentance would have already disturbed him many times until ultimately he would merit to come to his true rectification completely.