אות - נט

The holy discourse of Rabbainu o.b.m. (115) at the time when there occurred an incident in the holy community of Breslov: a young girl was injured in a house where they had dug and were making new constructions. Also several souls were in great danger. Then I heard from his holy mouth this matter. Concerning constructions, I have studied and examined this matter. And I saw that all who engage in buildings and walls — not one of them emerges clean, even among the nations of the world. And yet the world engages in this, for it is the sustenance of the world — it is impossible to be without it. And therefore of necessity there must be people who have a desire for it. And there are many aspects and distinctions in this matter, but at the end of it all one does not emerge clean. And it would appear that this is the interpretation of the Gemara (Yevamos 63a; Sotah 11a): "Whoever engages in building becomes impoverished." The word "miskain" means poverty and also means danger (115). And in the Midrash it is explained (Shemos Rabbah 1:14) on the verse "And he built storage cities for Pharaoh"* (Shemos 1:11): "One says they impoverish their owners, and one says they endanger their owners." And the essential matter is the laying of the foundation — which they call in the vernacular "zaklashchina" [the laying of the cornerstone]. And one must know at what time to lay the foundation, and from what type of wood to lay it, for there are trees that are not fit to serve as a foundation — but it is impossible to know all this. And also the fact that fruits do not grow in these lands is also due to this — for there are many fruits that are unable to grow here. And this too is because the aforementioned matters are not known. For the Even Shetiyah (116) — the Foundation Stone from which the world was founded — from it issue veins to all the lands. And King Solomon peace be upon him, who was a great sage and knew all the veins in their particulars, would plant every kind of fruit tree, as our Sages o.b.m. expounded (Koheles Rabbah 2:7). And also in these lands, if one knew the path of the veins in their fine particulars, one could plant here too those fruits that do not grow here — for here too, even though the vein going to this land has a special affinity for a particular fruit, even so all the veins intermingle and connect together. And therefore here too in these lands it can be that when one moves a slight distance one can plant other fruits that do not grow here. There is also the possibility that if one were to open a well on a certain side, one could plant those aforementioned fruits at a distance from there. Also one must know the ascents and descents of the Even Shetiyah and know according to the time what aspect and level the Even Shetiyah is in at that time. And according to that aspect of the Even Shetiyah at that time, one will know how to conduct oneself in the aforementioned matters. But all this is hidden and concealed from the world, for there are matters that it is forbidden to reveal. And the matter is: the world says that with each generation the world becomes wiser. But in truth certainly the earlier generations were very much wiser and they revealed the essence of wisdom. But since they prepared everything, therefore later generations come to greater wisdoms — for the later generations came to something already prepared, since the wisdom is already prepared by the earlier generations who revealed the essence of wisdom, and therefore the later generation adds a little and becomes wiser. As we find in the words of our Sages o.b.m. (Yevamos 92b; Bava Metzia 17b) who said: "If not that you lifted the pottery shard, you would not have found the pearl beneath it." And therefore, even though the first one accomplished nothing — for the essence is the pearl — even so the first one is the essential one, for he lifted the pottery shard, meaning he revealed and dug the foundation and essence of wisdom, through which the second one easily comes to the full extent of wisdom. And therefore there are matters that it is forbidden to reveal, for if he were to reveal them, later generations could come to idolatry through them. For in that matter there are many things and particulars that need to be done, and if that wisdom were revealed in the world and people knew those particulars that need to be done for that matter, later generations could come to idolatry through them — for later generations keep adding wisdom as mentioned above, and sometimes later generations err in their wisdom which they add upon the earlier ones. Therefore if those aforementioned matters were revealed and later generations kept wanting to add their wisdom upon them, they could err in their additions until idolatry could evolve from those hidden matters, Heaven forbid — for it would seem to them according to their erroneous wisdom that it must be so, Heaven forbid. As is brought regarding the law of orlah [the first three years of a fruit tree's produce] (Vayikra 19:23). For it is stated in the Zohar (117) that during those three years a kelipah [husk] rests upon the tree, and earlier generations erred in this until they had idolatry in this — specifically at the initial planting of the tree, precisely at the time when the aforementioned kelipah rests. For since they knew well the matter of planting the tree and what results from it, it seemed to them according to their error that certainly they needed to perform that idolatrous worship, Heaven forbid, which they practiced — for it seemed to them it was straightforward, according to what they erred in their wisdom. Therefore it is forbidden to reveal such matters. 115. RAK: One of the great disciples of Rabbi Dov Ber the Maggid of Mezeritch. Leader of the great aliyah of Chassidim in 5537. He settled in Tiberias and from there led the Chassidic community in the Holy Land. 116. RAK: See Likutay Moharan 49. 117. RAK: The tractate dealing with the laws of sacrifices. A tradition in our hands that the Rashi mentioned is on folio 45b, on the words "Hilchasa leMeshicha."