אות - לט

Regarding the books of investigators,[70] it has already been explained by us many times that it is forbidden to engage with them, and one must keep very far away and not study them and not look at them at all — even the books of investigation by the great ones of Israel. Because it is a very great prohibition to study them. (And it is already explained in many books the great prohibition of studying them,[71] because this is not the portion of Jacob, for we have no connection with them. Because we believe in Him blessed He with faith alone, without any investigation — for He blessed He created all the worlds and sustains His world and will in the future renew His world, etc. And the way of these books is to raise objections that appear to be great objections while the answer is very weak — and one who wishes to investigate further and to raise objections against the answer can do so, and the answer will not satisfy him. Therefore it is forbidden to study them at all. And in truth all their objections are nothing and are all vanity and vexation of spirit. And what we see — that there are people whose minds are not drawn after the very holy and awesome books, such as the books of the Zohar and the books of the Ari z"l and the like, even though they have in them very, very awesome insights that illuminate the eyes and are sweeter than honey; and they are specifically drawn after other matters such as investigations — know that this is because of their constitution [mizug], because their constitution by nature is a bad constitution from birth: they were born with a bad constitution and cannot endure the truly holy matter.[72] And in truth they certainly have free will and the power to break their bad constitution. But since they were born with such a bad constitution, they must endure great bitterness to break their bad constitution and evil nature. And fortunate is one born in holiness. And found in their books are objections about the order of creation — what did the star merit to be a star, or the constellation to be a constellation? And what wrong did the lowly things do that they should be lowly — such as animals and beasts and the like? And why was it not the opposite? And similarly — why is the head the head and the foot the foot, and why is it not the opposite? And the like. As these objections are elaborated at length in their books. And in truth it is all vanity and vexation of spirit. And we do not need to investigate after Him blessed He, for He is righteous and upright. And know in truth that the entire world in its entirety is in the aspect of a spinning wheel, what they call a dreydel [spinning top]. And everything returns in a cycle and is reversed — from person to angel and from angel to person; and from head to foot and from foot to head; and similarly all other matters in the world — all of them go round in a cycle and revolve and are reversed from one to the other and from the other to the one, from the upper to the lower and from the lower to the upper.[73] Because in truth at the root everything is one. For there are the separated ones [nifdalim] — that is, angels who are completely separated from matter — and there are spheres [galgalim] which are matter but of very pure matter. And there is the lower world — that is, this lower world which is complete matter. And even though certainly each and every one of these three mentioned is taken from a specific place — even so, at the root there, all are one. And therefore the entire world in its entirety is in the aspect of the spinning wheel, and everything returns and is reversed — now this thing is in the upper aspect in the aspect of head, and another thing in the lower aspect in the aspect of foot, and afterwards it is reversed and cycles, and what was in the aspect of foot becomes the aspect of head, and from head foot; and similarly, reversed from person to angel and from angel to person, as we find that our Sages o.b.m. said[74] that angels were cast from the heavens to the lower world and entered into complete matter until they became masters of desires, etc. And similarly many times angels came in this world and clothed themselves in matter, as explained in many places.[75] And similarly in reverse — we find that from a person was made an angel. Because the world is in the aspect of the spinning wheel, and everything cycles as mentioned,[76] because in truth at the root everything is one as mentioned. (Also we find that the foot of this one is higher in level than the head of another. And similarly with the worlds — because the lower level of the upper world is higher in level than the upper level of the lower world below it. But in truth everything cycles as mentioned.) And this is the aspect of the game played on Chanukah with the dreydel [spinning top], because Chanukah is in the aspect of the Holy Temple. And the main building of the Holy Temple is this aspect mentioned — the aspect of the spinning wheel. Because in the Holy Temple it was the aspect of higher ones below and lower ones above,[77] because Hashem Yisburach caused His Shechinah to rest in the Mishkan and in the Holy Temple — which is the aspect of higher ones below. And similarly in reverse — all the designs of the Mishkan were all inscribed above.[78] And this is the aspect of lower ones above — which is the aspect of the dreydel, the aspect of the spinning wheel, that everything returns and is reversed as mentioned. Because according to investigation it is very far-fetched that Hashem Yisburach, Who is exalted and elevated above all spirituality — "for the heavens and heavens of heavens cannot contain You" etc. — would condense His Shechinah in the vessels of the Mishkan. And yet Hashem Yisburach showed the opposite of their view — for in truth Hashem Yisburach caused His Shechinah to rest below in the Mishkan and in the Holy Temple. And similarly in reverse, it is far-fetched according to investigation that a person, who is a lowly creature, should have the power to make an impression above; or that a lowly animal should be offered as a sacrifice to rise as a pleasing aroma, as a satisfying spirit before Him blessed He, Who said and it was His will — and how is will relevant to Him blessed He? But in truth Hashem Yisburach showed the opposite of their view — for in truth Hashem Yisburach caused His Shechinah to rest below in the Mishkan and the Temple, and the animal rose as a pleasing aroma etc. And this is the aspect of higher ones below and lower ones above — the aspect of the spinning wheel, the aspect of the dreydel. And behold, the hiyulani force mentioned[79] in their books is the aspect of the intermediary between the potential and the actuality. Because every matter is first in potential and afterwards emerges from potential to actuality. And when it emerges from potential, before it comes to actuality, there is the aspect of hiyuli which is the intermediary between potential and actuality — which is the root of all creatures, because all of them emerge from the potential of the hiyuli, for all of them were first within the aspect of the potential of the hiyuli. And all the creatures emerging from there — the three aspects mentioned above: separated ones, spheres, the lower world — all of them cycle around, and return and are reversed from separated to lower and from lower to separated and similarly all of them — because at the root everything is one as mentioned. And this is the aspect of the letters engraved on the dreydel which are nun, gimel, heh, shin — being acronyms of H'iyuli N'ivdal G'algal Sh'afal — the hiyulani, the separated, the spheres, the lower — which encompasses all of creation as mentioned, all of them cycling around and revolving and being reversed from the one to the other and from the other to the one as mentioned. This is hinted at in Chanukah, which is in the aspect of the Chanukah of the Holy Temple — where was the aspect of higher ones below and lower ones above — which is the aspect of the dreydel, the aspect of the spinning wheel that reverses from this aspect to that aspect and from that to this as mentioned. And this is the aspect of the redemption. Because this is the essence of the redemption: that the aforementioned aspect will be — that is, the cycling aspect as mentioned — the aspect of higher ones below and lower ones above, as was in the Holy Temple. Therefore when they went out from Egypt, immediately in the Song at the Sea they said: *"Bring them in and plant them on the mountain of Your inheritance"* [Exodus 15:17] etc. — they prophesied about the building of the Holy Temple, because this is the essence of the redemption: the building of the Holy Temple where was the aspect of the spinning wheel as mentioned — the aspect of higher ones below and lower ones above (which is the main purpose). Because in truth everything is one, for at the root everything is one as mentioned. And this is also the aspect of the aforementioned letters — nun, gimel, heh, shin — acronyms of "G'alta Sh'evet N'achalatecha H'ar Tzion" [Psalms 74:2] — in the aspect of "Bring them in and plant them on the mountain of Your inheritance," in the aspect of the Holy Temple where was the aspect of the spinning wheel — which is the essence of the redemption as mentioned. And see in the Torah-teaching (Likutay Moharan vol. 2, ch. 7) said on Chanukah, beginning with "Vayhi mikaitz" — *"For He Who has compassion on them will lead them"* etc. There too is explained the matter of higher ones below and lower ones above and the matter of Chanukah which is the Chanukah of the Holy Temple, see there. And this is the aspect of the surrounding lights [makifim] mentioned in that Torah-teaching — that is, the aspect of the spinning wheel, the dreydel as mentioned, which surrounds and goes round. And see there and understand. (Wisdom is in the aspect of hiyulani.) And let us return to the main matter. Because we have no need to enter into investigations at all — for it is a very great prohibition — rather, we believe in Him blessed He with faith alone: that He blessed He created all the worlds and sustains all of them and will in the future renew His world.