אות - קה

Faith is in the aspect of light, as it is written (Psalms 89:3): "And Your faithfulness in the nights." And faith that is based upon wisdom — through the wisdoms of Torah, when one attains Hashem and through this one has faith — even though this is good, even so the primary faith is that one believe in Hashem Yisburach without sign and wonder and wisdom. And this is the primary complete faith — the aspect of light, as is written there: "And Your faithfulness in the nights" as mentioned above. And there is a sage who is wise even in the wisdoms of Torah and yet has no faith in Hashem. And these sages who have no faith are called ba'alei ra'asan [those afflicted with a repellent skin disease]. For true wisdom — that is, with faith — is called "seeing" [reiyah], as it is written (Koheles 1:16): "And my heart saw wisdom" etc. And opposite to this — the sages who have no faith are called ba'alei ra'asan (232) — as Rashi explained: they have a creeping thing [sheretz] in their brain (233) — meaning they have impurity and heresy in their brain. And one must distance oneself from these people who are in the aspect of ba'alei ra'asan even from living near them — for even the breath of their mouth harms an upright person, causing him to fall into the desire of licentiousness. For the union of holiness is through the aspect of knowledge [daas] as it is written (Bereishis 4:1): "And the man knew." And these ba'alei ra'asan whose daas is corrupted and blemished and who have a creeping thing in their brain — therefore their union is seized by the kelipah, and therefore they are adulterous [noa'fim] — for licentiousness is connected to the eyes. For true wisdom which is the aspect of seeing as mentioned — the aspect of eyes — regarding these wise men it is said (Job 31:1): "I made a covenant with my eyes" etc. But the ba'alei ra'asan are adulterous. And this is what our Sages o.b.m. expounded (on Bamidbar 15:39): "That you not explore after your hearts" — this is heresy; "and after your eyes" — this is licentiousness (Berachos 12b) — for this depends on this as mentioned. And through wisdom with faith one is saved as mentioned above. 232. RAK: One of the twenty-four types of skin eruptions described in tractate Kesuvos 77b. It is possible that the reference is to syphilis. 233. RAK: See Kesuvos 77a.