KEY CONCEPTS FROM LIKUTEY MOHARAN A person should strengthen himself like a lion to rise up in the morning … so that it is he who awakens the shachar, dawn. [Gloss: “I set HaShem before me always” (Tehillim 16:8)—this is a major principle in fulfillment of the Torah] (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 1:1).
This discourse is based on the lesson Meishra d’Sakina, LM I, 30, in which Rebbe Nachman discusses attaining a perception of Godliness. Study well the entire lesson there.
The general rule derived from the Rebbe’s lesson is that every person must persistently seek out and search for a true rav, one of such superlative greatness that he will be capable of enlightening him with a perception of Godliness.1“Perception of Godliness” refers to daat, the internalized knowledge that HaShem’s Immanence fills all of creation. This awareness fills a person, according to his spiritual level, with a deep inner sense of HaShem’s immediate closeness and everlasting love. Elsewhere, Reb Noson writes that this is the meaning of “to know that HaShem is Elohim” (I Melakhim 8:60)—dispelling the illusion that a God exists other than HaShem, and knowing intimately that whatever one experiences in life comes from the hand of HaShem for one’s benefit (LH, Geviyat Chov MeiHaYetomim 4:1).
For perceptions of Godliness are impossible to attain except through many constrictions of Divine wisdom.2Implicit in Rebbe Nachman’s use of the term tzimtzum, constriction, is its kabbalistic meaning as the constriction of the Light of Ein Sof at the very first stages of Creation (see Appendix A, p. 226). For wisdom, and Divine wisdom in particular, is associated with light (see Peirush Ramban al Sefer Yetzirah 1; see also following note) and with Creation, as in “HaShem, how great are Your works! You created them all with wisdom” (Tehillim 104:24)—alluding to the sefirah of Chokhmah., 3See LM I, 1:2, where Rebbe Nachman teaches that a Jew should always focus on the seikhel, intellect, that inheres in all things in creation. Attaining this seikhel, which is Divine wisdom, will enable him to come closer to HaShem through that thing. Thus the Rebbe refers to Divine wisdom as “a great light that shines for a person in all his ways.” However, as he explains here, Divine wisdom is incomprehensible unless its profundity is channeled through constriction into lower seikhel/lower wisdom. This involves simplifying that wisdom through the indirect explanations and hakdamot, introductory principles, that typically precede the presentation of any complex material. It is comparable to the pedagogical methods employed by the teacher who teaches a young child.
Therefore with regard to Divine wisdom, the further a person is from HaShem, the greater the constriction he requires to attain that wisdom. The more immature his spiritual level, and, homiletically speaking, the more spiritually ill he is, the greater the “doctor” he requires—that is, the greater the rav he requires. This ravhas to be so great that he can cure even him. He must be able to explain the essential matter to him in indirect ways—through the constriction of Divine wisdom into lower wisdom—until he succeeds in instilling into him perceptions of Godliness; their attainment being the main purpose for which man was created.
In his lesson4See §3 and §4 there. the Rebbe clarifies that these constrictions, which are the hakdamot that enable a person to attain perceptions of Godliness, correspond to lower wisdom, the holy and uncomplicated understanding of Godliness that can be found in the simple Jew. Lower wisdom equates with the sefirah of Malkhut,5Malkhut (lit. “Kingship” or “Sovereignty”) is the lowest and last of the ten sefirot (see Charts, p. 252), and as such interfaces with this physical world. which functions as a conduit to bring down higher wisdom to the lower realm. In this role, Malkhut corresponds to the se’arot, hairs, of the head. Kabbalistic teaching conceptualizes the se’arot of the head as narrow channels leading to the mind,66 Kabbalah depicts Divine wisdom as a radiant light that descends through the hair to provide the mind with mochin, mental faculties (Zohar III, 129a). As elements of consciousness, mochin are man’s primary means for drawing perceptions of Godliness. The Arizal explains that the hairs of the head (and beard) serve as narrow conduits for constricting Divine wisdom, whose radiance would otherwise be too bright for the human mind to absorb (Shaar Maamarei Rashbi, Peirush Sifra d’Tzniuta, ch. 1). comparable to constrictions. Thus the Tikkuney Zoharlikens them to “shiurim, measurements, of the letters of Torah,” in the sense that the letters and also the mitzvot that the letters articulate are measured and calculated constrictions of Divine wisdom.7The shapes of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are not incidental, but rather precise expressions of the light of Divine wisdom within form and measure. Similarly, each mitzvah in the Torah is an expression of Divine wisdom within form and measure. In context here, this is synonymous with lower wisdom, the reduction of the light for the benefit of those on the lower levels. Like the hair, letters and mitzvot serve as channels for constricting Divine wisdom in order to further man’s perception of Godliness. Tikkuney Zohar (#70, p. 122a) highlights their connection by pointing to the etymological similarity between the words Sei’AR(שֵׂעָר, hair) and ShiUR (שִׁעוּר, measurement).
Two additional concepts that the Tikkuney Zohar links with Malkhut, “black hairs” and “surrounding hairs,”8The Zohar (II, 70-78) teaches that it is possible to accurately detect a person’s character and personality traits from his hair, facial features, and the lines of his fingers and hands. This is the art of chokhmat ha-partzuf (physiognomy). The Tikkuney Zohar (#70, p. 122a-124a) speaks of this as well, identifying hair that is black and hair that surrounds the head as indicative of the qualities associated with Malkhut. similarly represent constriction. Just as the image of large objects is reduced and constricted in the blackness of the pupil, Divine wisdom is constricted in the blackness of the hair. The same is true of the hairs that encircle the head; they signify constriction and the indirect explanations that transform Divine wisdom into lower wisdom. The link between Malkhut and blackness is alluded to in the verse “I am shachor but pleasing.”9The Tikkuney Zohar (#70, p. 124a) teaches that a worthy person with black hair possesses traits similar to the Shekhinah, namely Malkhut, of whom it is written, “I am black but pleasing.” In context here, the Shekhinah declares, “I am black”—in this world I manifest through constriction, as lower wisdom—“but pleasing”—for my essence is actually Divine wisdom.This relates to the teaching of Chazal that “Avraham instituted Shacharit.”10Berakhot 26b teaches that each of the Patriarchs instituted one of the three daily prayers., 11The word ShaChaRit (שחרית) is etymologically related to ShaChaRut (שחרות, blackness), and so likewise alludes to constriction. For Avraham was the first to constrict Divine wisdom in order to instill perceptions of Godliness into the common people.
And after constricting Divine wisdom into lower wisdom we have to infuse that wisdom, thesefirah of Malkhut, with vitality.12While constriction is indispensable to attaining perceptions of Godliness, there is a danger that the lower wisdom it produces will lack vitality—i.e. be narrow and uninspiring. The way to invigorate Malkhut is through the Ohr HaPanim, the Light of the Supernal Countenance,13The PaNiM (פנים, face) of anything is an expression of its PeNiMiyut (פנימיות, innerness and essential-being). The light of the panim is thus a manifestation of that inner essence. Kabbalah teaches that HaShem’s Ohr HaPanim (see Bamidbar 6:25) is the Light that shines from the sefirah of Keter (the Divine persona of Arikh Anpin; see Appendix A, p. 233), a level even more exalted than perceptions of Godliness from Chokhmah. See notes 55 and 56 to LM I, 30, that this Light of the Supernal Countenance shines into and invigorates Malkhut; see also LM I, 23, which links the Ohr HaPanim with joy, as Reb Noson does here.which shines when we are joyous on the Shalosh Regalim.14See §5 of the Rebbe’s lesson that the reason for the pilgrimage to the Beit HaMikdash on each of the Shalosh Regalim is to receive illumination from the Light of the Supernal Countenance, as in “Three times a year all your males shall see the Panim of HaShem your God” (Devarim 16:16, translation based on Chagigah 2a; see also note 116 below).
But sometimes thesefirah of Malkhut falls. Malkhut is synonymous with the letter dalet, which has a numerical value of four and can be read as d’let, the Aramaic word for “that has no.” The Zohar says of the sefirah of Malkhut that it has no light of its own.15Eitz Chaim 6:6: “It [Malkhut] has no light of its own”—only what which it receives from the other sefirot. Thus the light that illuminates Malkhut is one that has been reduced by repeated constriction. This “impoverishment” is reflected in Malkhut being When spelled .(ד) associated with the Hebrew letter dalet it can alternatively be vowelized ,(דלת) out, as DaLeT poverty), and so relates to ,דלות) as the word DaLuT as in “that has no light of its ,(דלית) the Aramaic D’LeiT own.” Malkhut’s connection to the dalet links it as well to the dalet’s numerical value of four (see Charts, p. 259). This lack renders Malkhut susceptible to the rule of the Four Kingdoms.16Bereishit Rabbah 44:19; Rashi on Bereishit 15:14. See §6 of the Rebbe’s lesson that just as there are Four Kingdoms of holiness, one for each of the Four Worlds (see Appendix A, p. 235), there are Four Kingdoms of evil, represented by the four empires under whose rule the Jewish people have been subjugated (Babylon, Medea/Persia, Greece, and Rome). We know too that wherever the Jews were in exile, the Shekhinah, which is Malkhut, was there with them (Megillah 29a). This is the sefirah of Malkhut, namely lower wisdom, falling amid the Four Kingdoms. These Four Kingdoms of evil incorporate all the powers of impurity and the kelipot, the forces of evil. As relates here, they are associated with extraneous wisdom, the alien thoughts and godless philosophies that keep man from attaining perceptions of Godliness.17In §6 of his lesson the Rebbe writes, “The wisdom of the nations is inferior to lower wisdom and draws from it. But when, chas ve-shalom, extraneous wisdom draws more than it should, it overpowers Malkhut. This creates the rule of the Four Kingdoms, the four exiles.” in ba-kesilim is generally (בַ)ּ ”
And who can bear the sound of wailing when Malkhut falls under the rule of the Four Kingdoms and is caught in their midst? This is as in “the shouts of a ruler ba-kesilim”—the screaming that ensues when Malkhut, the manifestation of sovereignty and rule, falls amid the foolish.18Although the prefix “ba rendered as “over,” in context here it suggests “amid.” The “ruler,” namely Malkhut, is trapped “amid” the kesilim, namely the Four Kingdoms. It cries out because when the foolish want to become clever, they draw from lower wisdom/Malkhut, but twist that wisdom in accord with their foolishness. To redeem lower wisdom, we must sever Malkhut from them. This relates to the incident in which the prophet Shmuel killed King Agag of Amalek and “cut him into four.”19Commenting on the verse “Shmuel severed Agag,” Rashi explains that Shmuel cut the Amalekite king into four. Shmuel cut and severed the dalet—namely the Malkhut of holiness—from Agag, the embodiment of the Four Kingdoms of evil.20The Biblical nation Amalek was not only the first nation to attack the Jewish people after their departure from Egypt, but also remained Israel’s primary enemy historically. Notorious for its exceptional cruelty and denial of HaShem, Amalek has come to symbolize the irredeemable root of all evil in the universe. In context here, Amalek is representative of all Four Kingdoms, and Agag, the Amalekite king, is the personification of all their impurity and evil. For us, this severing of Malkhut from the realm of the kelipottakes place by means of the revelation of chesed, loving-kindness, occasioned by the rebuke of the tzaddikim. Study all this well in the Rebbe’s lesson.21In §7 of the Rebbe’s lesson he teaches that we should accept the rebuke of the tzaddikim, even if occasionally we are humiliated by it. The wisdom contained in their words of rebuke reveals chesed, as in “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the Torah of chesed is on her tongue” (Mishlei 31:26). Reb Noson will expand on this in §8 below.
Reb Noson has highlighted some key concepts from Rebbe Nachman’s lesson on attaining perceptions of Godliness. This requires a tzaddik capable of constricting Divine wisdom into lower wisdom, the uncomplicated understanding of Godliness found in a simple Jew. While indispensable, such constriction leaves lower wisdom, which equates with Malkhut, with two faults in need of rectification. The first is that, for some, lower wisdom fails to inspire; it feels limiting and insufficiently spiritual. Constriction has, as it were, robbed lower wisdom of its light, so that like Malkhut, it has no light of its own (see note 15). To rectify lower wisdom, we need to infuse it with Ohr HaPanim (see §3-§5 below). Lower wisdom also has no response to heresy and the godless ideologies that would confound it. Herein lies its second deficiency. For if a person’s emunah is not strong, lower wisdom’s artlessness, its innocence, leaves him defenseless against the attraction of extraneous wisdom, the secular studies and philosophical inquiry foreign to Torah and Jewish tradition. The rectification for this is the revelation of chesed, the uncovering of the love concealed within the tzaddik’s rebuke, through which he brings back to HaShem those who have grown distant from Him (see §4 and §8 below).
RISING BEFORE DAWN Reb Noson opens his discourse by explaining that lower wisdom—our gateway to perceptions of Godliness—is renewed every morning. He then links the renewal of lower wisdom with the mitzvah of rising early to “awaken the shachar” through Torah study and service of HaShem.
Now, all this—the rectification of Malkhut and the building of a person’s intellect through lower wisdom—occurs every morning. At the time of Shacharit, the Shekhinah, in Her identity as Ayelet HaShachar, ascends.22When the first rays of dawn burst forth out of the ,איילה) darkness, they resemble the antlers of an AYaLah mountain deer); see Bekhor Shor on Shemot 34:30. Thus איילת) the light of shachar is called AYeLet HaShachar In the kabbalistic lexicon, Ayelet HaShachar .(השחר is an appellation for the Shekhinah (Zohar II, 19b), Whose rectification and return to wholeness comes with the morning’s dawn.This is indicated by the ascension of the first ray of shachar, dawn.23At the break of dawn HaShem delights with the Shekhinah and with all those whose spiritual devotions in the night ensured Her ascent (Zohar II, 46a). It is also symbolic of the lowest sefirah, Malkhut, in its aspect of lower wisdom—meaning as the light of Divine wisdom constricted to our low level, as discussed previously. This lower wisdom is itself called shachar, because it constricts vision, just as the shachor, blackness, of the eye constricts the large objects that appear in the pupil. It is only through this that all perceptions of Godliness come about.
Therefore a person must greatly strengthen himself to rise early in the morning, before daybreak, in order to study Torah and serve HaShem. By doing so, he will magnify, elevate and awaken the shachar in its aspect of lower wisdom. This is as in “Awake 24 The Zohar (II, 42b) teaches: There is only one God, my soul … awaken the shachar”—so that one will wake up from sleep, and through the lower wisdom from his Torah study merit a perception of Godliness and gain awareness of HaShem. It is for this that we were created! This is not the reserve of the tzaddikim. Each person must attain this awareness. It is the only reason he has come into this world. The Supernal Worlds too were created only for this, as the Zohar states, “in order that they should know Him.”24The Zohar (II, 42b) teaches: There is only one God, yet He is called by different Holy Names—El, Elohim, etc.—so that we might know Him in each and every characteristic; how He directs the world through chesed and din, loving-kindness and judgment, in accordance with a person’s actions.
13
וְזֶה בְּחִינַת הִתְעוֹרְרוּת הַשֵּׁנָה.
THE BENEFIT OF SLEEP Before explaining the devotion of strengthening oneself to rise early in the morning, Reb Noson clarifies how sleep, in the sense of removing one’s conscious intellect, plays a role in the attainment of perceptions of Godliness.
And this idea, that perceptions of Godliness are attainable only through lower wisdom, is related to waking up from sleep.
The primary reason for sleep is to counteract the kelipot. These negative forces arise because Malkhut, namely lower intellect,25In this section Reb Noson substitutes “lower wisdom” (chokhmah tataah) with “lower intellect” (seikhel tachton), which is the term Rebbe Nachman uses in his lesson to signify what is essentially the same thing (and see note 3 above).is adjacent to the impure extraneous forces. As is known from Kabbalah, Malkhut is the last outpost of holiness.26As the lowest of the sefirot, Malkhut functions as the boundary between all that is inherently holy and the realm of the Sitra Achra “below” it. For those who acknowledge HaShem’s kingship, Malkhut becomes the gateway into the spiritual realm, enabling them to perceive the light of Godliness. But for those who reject the yoke of Heaven, Malkhut becomes a barrier preventing their entry into the spiritual realm.On account of this Malkhut sometimes falls into their domain. It falls among the impure forces identified with the Four Kingdoms, particularly in their manifestation as extraneous wisdom. These forces seek to pull this holy lower intellect towards themselves, to gain strength by appropriating it into their extraneous wisdom, as explained there.27See §6 of the Rebbe’s lesson.And so, to prevent the kelipot from overpowering the intellect, we need to completely relinquish our conscious intellect in sleep.
Reb Noson now clarifies when sleep contributes to our spiritual progress and when it does not.
To elaborate: As long as a person can use his intellect in a holy fashion, sleep is unnecessary. As long as he can continue to attain a perception of Godliness by indirect means—through the indirect explanations and hakdamot that constrain the highest levels of daat—it is a great mitzvah for him to use his intellect as much as he can, each person according to his spiritual level.
But when the intellect begins to decline and confusing thoughts overwhelm a person, sleep becomes absolutely necessary. This confusion is caused by the aforementioned element of extraneous wisdom, namely the Four Kingdoms that seek to gain power by pulling this holy intellect towards themselves. A person must sleep then, for sleep is the departure of daat. He must completely relinquish his daat, this being the fundamental element of sleep.28See above, p. 114 ff.
Reb Noson explains how a person must give up his intellect for emunah, faith in HaShem, at the time of sleep, and how this emunah then protects him while he sleeps.
And this is why during sleep the neshamah, which is the higher intellect, enters into emunah. This is as in the verse “They are new in the mornings; your emunah is great,” alluding to the emunah of the person himself.29In the verse, “Your emunah” refers to HaShem’s faithfulness. Reb Noson’s reading here follows Rebbe Nachman’s reading of this verse in LM I, 62:5, as referring to a person’s faith emerging anew each morning.Emunah is renewed every morning as a result of the intellect’s inclusion into it during the preceding night. This inclusion is necessary because at the time of increased confusion, a person must completely set aside his intellect and rely solely on emunah.
And so during sleep the power of death holds sway, as cited in the holy Zohar.30Zohar I, 207b; see also above, p. 91, note 32.For at that time, the vitality drawn from the Ohr HaPanimto invigorate lower wisdom31See §1 and note 13 above.disappears, and the Four Kingdoms/extraneous wisdom, which are associated with the power of death, take control. Thus at that time, with higher and lower wisdom concealed, the world exists mainly through emunah—on the strength of our reciting Kriat Shema al HaMitah, a declaration of our emunahin HaShem’s absolute unity, with kavanah, focused intent.
Thus sleep is necessary whenever the influence of extraneous wisdom increases. This wisdom includes all the many kinds of mental confusion that everyone in the world experiences at one time or another, all the negative and strange thoughts, untoward musings and ideas. All these derive from that aspect of the kelipot that is the Four Kingdoms/extraneous wisdom. When this wisdom, in any of its manifestations, begins to overwhelm the intellect, one must completely remove daat and rely on emunah. This is the reason for sleep, which is the departure of daat, when the neshamah, namely the intellect, enters into emunah, as explained elsewhere.32Rebbe Nachman discusses this in LM I, 35:3.
Reb Noson now concludes his explanation of the importance of strengthening oneself to rise early in the morning, and why Rama juxtaposes this law with the verse “I set HaShem before me always.”
Now, even though sleep is of great benefit in preventing the reinforcement of the kelipot, one must nevertheless be strong-willed to avoid sleeping too much. For the goal is not to suppress the intellect, but to expand it with perceptions of Godliness. To this end, a person needs “to strengthen himself like a lion to rise up in the morning.” He must break the grip of sleep and rise to engage in Torah study and prayer. This in order to sever and elevate Malkhut/lower wisdom from the Four Kingdoms/extraneous wisdom and thereby merit attaining perceptions of Godliness.
This is why the gloss “I set HaShem before me always” immediately follows the opening statement in the Shulchan Arukh that one should strengthen himself to get up early in the morning. The purpose of strengthening is so he will merit awareness of HaShem—that is, attaining perceptions of His Godliness—to the extent that he is ever mindful of HaShem’s presence, not forgetting Him for a moment.
JOYS OF THE PANIM Reb Noson now expounds a number of verses from Tehillim 16 in line with the concepts he has discussed thus far in his discourse. He begins with the verse just cited from Rama’s gloss.
This, then, is the explanation of this verse. “I set HaShem before me always”—that is, I can set my mind on perceptions of Godliness—and “because He is at my right hand, I will not stumble.” One achieves these perceptions and is protected through the “right hand,” since Malkhut—i.e. lower wisdom, through which perceptions of Godliness are attained—is built mainly by way of the right side of the sefirahconfiguration, especially through the revelation of chesed, as the Rebbe writes there in his lesson.33Kabbalah depicts the sefirot as positioned along three parallel vertical axes. The sefirah of Chesed (Loving-kindness) is situated along the right axis of this configuration (see Charts, p. 252). The Rebbe discusses this in §6 in his lesson; see also notes 84-86 there.For through acts of chesed we sever Malkhut from the Four Kingdoms of evil and then elevate it to the Ohr HaPanim that shines during the Shalosh Regalim. This light arises from the joy of the heart engendered by the mitzvot that we perform throughout the year. Study Rebbe Nachman’s words there.34In §5 of the Rebbe’s lesson.
This is “because He is at my right hand, I will not stumble”—meaning that through the aspect of the right side, which is chesed, “I will not stumble.” On account ofchesedI will not stumble or allow my intellect to fall to the Four Kingdoms, under the influence of extraneous wisdom, chas ve-shalom. Rather, I will merit elevating my intellect, until through it I will be able to attain perceptions of Godliness—this being “I set HaShem before me always.”
Reb Noson expounds the next verse of Tehillim 16, which speaks of joy and glory, showing how both these subjects relate to attaining perceptions of Godliness.
And this is the explanation of the next verse in Tehillim, “Therefore my heart rejoices and my glory elates.” “My heart rejoices” is an expression of the heart’s joy in fulfilling the mitzvot, which is related to the Ohr HaPanim that shines during the Shalosh Regalim. From the Ohr HaPanimcomes the vitality that invigorates Malkhut, namely the aspect of glory identified with HaShem, Who is “the Melekh of glory.”35The revelation of MaLKhut is the revelation (מלכות) King). Rabbeinu ,מלך) of the glory of the MeLeKh Bachya (on Shemot 29:43) identifies HaShem’s glory (kavod) as the Shekhinah, which, as HaShem’s Indwelling Presence, equates with Malkhut.This is the import of “Therefore my heart rejoices.” It refers to receiving the Ohr HaPanim of the Shalosh Regalim, as indicated in “A joyful heart makes a cheerful panim,” as the Rebbe writes in his lesson.36See §5 there.And through this, “My glory elates.” This alludes to the revelation of HaShem’s glory, in that joy and vitality are drawn to thesefirah of Malkhut, which is synonymous with the glory of HaShem.
Reb Noson explains the role of the tzaddik in enlightening one’s body, which, like one’s soul, needs to be infused with awareness of HaShem through perceptions of Godliness.
And as a result of the joy and vitality revealed in Malkhut, “my flesh too rests secure”—namely the gross flesh of the body. It too will be infused with perceptions of Godliness. For mankind was created for this purpose: that through toil and effort in studying Torah and doing mitzvot, a person disciplines his body and infuses it with awareness of HaShem. As Chazal teach, “‘Man was born to toil’—This refers to toiling in Torah.”37See Sanhedrin 99b, where Chazal explain these words from Iyov 5:7 as referring to man’s obligation to toil with his mouth to study and teach Torah (see Maharsha, loc. cit.).For one must labor in Torah and service of HaShem, and strive to sanctify and purify himself so much that he merits enlightening even his body with a perception of HaShem’s Godliness.
We achieve this sanctity and purity because of the great and true tzaddikwhom Rebbe Nachman encourages us to find. This tzaddikguides us around lofty insights with such awesome, indirect explanations and such wondrous constrictions until he enlightens us with a perception of Godliness even while we are still spiritually constrained in our bodies. He does this so that the body too will be enlightened by this. For this is the essence of spiritual perfection: to impart spiritual awareness even to the body, so that it too benefits from all the illuminations and perceptions of Godliness that the neshamah attains, as explained in the lesson Chotem be-tokh Chotem.38The Rebbe discusses this at length in LM I, 22:5, where he teaches, “It is necessary to show great compassion for the body, to see to purify it, and thus to be able to inform it of all the insights and perceptions that the soul perceives.”This is the significance of “my flesh too rests secure.” This verse alludes to the idea that even the flesh of a person’s body will rest securely when during his lifetime, while still in his body, he merits awareness of his Creator through the true tzaddik who enlightens him with perceptions of Godliness.
Reb Noson now expounds the next verse of Tehillim 16, showing how the tzaddik saves us from spiritual destruction.
And this is the meaning of “For You will not abandon my nefesh to the grave.” Nefesh, the lowest part of the soul, is related to Malkhut, the lowest of the sefirot, as is known.39See Tikkuney Zohar #21, p. 49a. Malkhut is synonymous with the aforementioned lower wisdom. This is implicit in the verse “For You will not abandon my nefesh to the grave”—that is, the portions of my Malkhut, the aspect of my lower wisdom, which is “my nefesh,” will not fall. “You will not abandon them, chas ve-shalom, or let them descend “to the grave,” namely to extraneous wisdom, which stems from the Sitra Achra and the kelipot. These are the forces that constantly contrive to overwhelm man’s nefesh, namely his intellect, which he requires if he is to attain perceptions of Godliness.
However, I am certain that “You will not abandon my nefesh to the grave,” because “You will not allow Your pious one to see destruction.” “Your pious one” here refers to the rav, the true tzaddik, who is devoted to my spiritual rectification. In his merit and through his power, I am certain that “You will not abandon my nefesh to the grave.” For “You will not allow Your pious one,” namely the ravand the true tzaddik, “to see destruction”—in order that he not witness the destruction of his followers’ souls in Gehennom. You will save us, so that he will not have to always see and look at that place from which he seeks to elevate us.
For if I should be in the grave or Gehennom, chas ve-shalom, certainly the tzaddik, who is the true rav, will always look there with great anguish in order to elevate me from that place, since he is constantly occupied with my spiritual rectification. And so, on account of his merit and through his power, I am certain that “You will not abandon my nefesh to the grave,” in order to “not allow Your pious one”—the true tzaddik—“to see destruction.”
Reb Noson concludes this section with his exposition of the final verse of Tehillim 16, showing how David HaMelekh’s request of HaShem encapsulates several of the topics discussed thus far in his discourse.
And this is also our request of HaShem, “Let me know the path of life, the fullness of the joys in Your Panim.” We ask that You make known to us the path and the way to achieve genuine life, to draw vitality in order to invigorate the aspect of Malkhut/lower wisdom. This vitality comes through the Ohr HaPanim that shines during the Shalosh Regalim, corresponding to the heart’s joy, as in “the fullness of the joys in Your Panim.”
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וְזֶה בְּחִינַת קִימַת חֲצוֹת.
THE OHR HAPANIM AND THE BEIT HAMIKDASH Having shown that rising early to “awaken the shachar” effects a rectification of lower wisdom, Reb Noson now explains that reciting Tikkun Chatzot invigorates Malkhut / lower wisdom with the Ohr HaPanim that shines in the Beit HaMikdash.
This rectification of lower wisdom is a characteristic of rising at midnight, as will now be demonstrated.
32
שֶׁצְּרִיכִין לְהִתְגַּבֵּר מְאֹד לָקוּם בַּחֲצוֹת לַיְלָה לְהִתְאַבֵּל מְאֹד עַל חֻרְבַּן בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה עִקַּר עֲלִיַּת הַמַּלְכוּת מִן הַחִצּוֹנִים וְהַקְּלִפּוֹת הַנַּ״ל, כַּיָּדוּעַ בַּכַּוָּנוֹת (פרי עץ חיים חצות פרק א).
For a person must strengthen himself greatly, exerting utmost willpower to rise from sleep at midnight and greatly mourn the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. This is the primary means for elevating Malkhut from the impure extraneous forces and the kelipot, as is known from the Kavanotof the Arizal.
Malkhut ascends through this because when one mourns over the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, it is considered as if he is quite literally engaging in its rebuilding. Chazal expressed this in their statement “Whoever mourns [over Yerushalayim] merits to see her rejoicing.”40Taanit 30b.And through this mourning one draws upon himself the sanctity of the Beit HaMikdash, which is the primary source of the Ohr HaPanim that one draws down during the Shalosh Regalim. This is why we were required to make the pilgrimage to the Beit HaMikdash on the festivals, in order to, as written in the Torah, “see the Panim of HaShem”41See Devarim 16:16 and 31:11.—in order to receive the Ohr HaPanim.42Rebbe Nachman addresses this in §5 of his lesson.
It follows that the Ohr HaPanim is mainly revealed in the Beit HaMikdash. Therefore one must rise at midnight and greatly mourn over its destruction. Through this he will merit, according to his spiritual level, “to see her rejoicing,” and to draw vitality upon himself from the Ohr HaPanim that shines there. With this he will be able to invigorate Malkhut/lower wisdom, in order to merit attaining perceptions of Godliness.
This connection between mourning and the festivals is why we mention the festival pilgrimage to the Beit HaMikdash in the Tikkun Chatzot prayer, in the psalm KeAyal Taarog.43This is Tehillim 42.The verse states, “These do I recall [and pour out my soul]: how I passed with the throng when I would walk in the procession to the House of God.” This refers to how the Jewish pilgrims would ascend to the Beit HaMikdash on the festivals, as Rashi expounds the verse there.
And this is the reason that we mention the word panim three times there.44In Tehillim 42:6 and 12, and 43:5. Although not identical, all three verses mention the panim, which Reb Noson links here to the Ohr HaPanim.As it is written there, “Why are you downcast, my soul … for I will yet thank Him for the salvations of His Panim.”Panimis accordingly mentioned three times, corresponding to the three times of pilgrimage during the year, namely the Shalosh Regalim on which the Jewish people would ascend to receive the Ohr HaPanim.
Therefore after reciting Tikkun Chatzot and drawing vitality from the Ohr HaPanim, we need to now study Torah at midnight. For all the letters of the holy Torah are holy measurements and constrictions of Divine wisdom through which we are able to attain a perception of His Godliness,4545 See §3 of the Rebbe’s lesson. as the Rebbe writes there in his lesson.
And, as Chazal teach: Through the Torah a person studies at that time of night, “he is endowed with a touch of chesed during the day.”46Chagigah 12b states, “Whoever engages in Torah study at night, HaShem endows him with (lit. ‘draws upon him a string’) of chesed during the day, as it is written, ‘By day HaShem will command His chesed, [because] in the night His song [of Torah] is with me’” (Tehillim 42:9).By means of this chesed we are able to sever and disconnect Malkhut from extraneous wisdom, and build it to perfection with the arrival of dawn. This is alluded to in the verse “A throne is established with chesed.”47This refers to King Chizkiyah, whose malkhut, sovereignty, was firmly established because he performed many acts of kindness, as Rashi on this verse explains. In context here, this alludes to the power of chesed to invigorate Malkhut / lower wisdom.As stated in the Rebbe’s lesson and inferred from the Kavanotof the Arizal, this refers to the enthronement of Malkhut.48See Rebbe Nachman’s discussion in §6 of his lesson; see also Shaar HaKavanot, Drushei HaLailah 4, where the Arizal teaches that Torah study before daybreak rectifies Malkhut.
MOURNING THE TRUE TZADDIKIM Reb Noson now introduces an added dimension to the midnight service: mourning the loss of the tzaddikim, who devote themselves to enlightening each Jew with perceptions of Godliness and to achieving a rectification for his soul.
And so, in order to perfect Malkhut and lower wisdom, a person must cry out bitterly and wail greatly at midnight over the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. This is so that he might sympathize with the Shekhinah and with all those who are pained by Her suffering. For it is impossible to bear the sound of the screaming and wailing at the time that Malkhut falls into the midst of the Four Kingdoms / extraneous wisdom. This is as the Rebbe writes in his lesson, “Who can bear the sound of the wailing…”49See §6 there.
But mainly our wailing needs to be intensified over the passing away of the true tzaddikim, who were engaged in instilling us with a perception of Godliness. Now that they are gone, we have been left as ‘orphans, with no one to connect us to our Heavenly Father.’50This is a paraphrase of Eikhah 5:3; the translation here follows Kitzur Alshikh on the verse. Finding a rav is very difficult. We must actively seek out and search for a true tzaddik such as this. Therefore we need to weep and cry out profusely to HaShem about this, so that He will have mercy and compassion on us and ‘restore our former glory.’51Lit. “restore the crown to its former state.” Chazal teach that the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah, Men of the Great Assembly, were so called because they restored HaShem’s crown of glory to its former magnificence; see Yoma 69b.And we must plead with Him to quickly send us once again true tzaddikim who will dedicate themselves to our spiritual rectification and enlighten us with perceptions of Godliness, so as to bring us to the ultimate good, whose attainment is the reason we were created. For this good is attainable only through the true tzaddik of superlative greatness. He alone has the power to heal the sick, those who are oppressed with the sickness of the soul—as we are today, in this era preceding the coming of Mashiach, which each of us knows in the depths of his soul.
SEARCHING FOR THE TZADDIK Reb Noson now interprets a number of verses from the Book of Mishlei as referring to searching for the tzaddik, whose closeness enables a person to attain whatever he is missing in life, both materially and spiritually.
To find the true tzaddik, one has to “shrug off sleep from his eyes and slumber from his eyelids.”52Chemdat HaYamim (Chodesh Elul, ch. 2) uses this expression, a rewording of Mishlei 6:4, in connection with rising at midnight. He must wander about in search of him, and offer many prayers and supplications that he will merit finding the true tzaddik who can heal him and instill in him a perception of Godliness, in order to save his soul from destruction.
Shlomo HaMelekh, peace be upon him, cried out about this in Mishlei, “Give your eyes no sleep, your eyelids no slumber. Save yourself like a deer from the hand [of the hunter] and like a bird from the clasp of the trap.” This advice is fulfilled through a person’s searching until he finds the tzaddik, the true leader who will draw him close to HaShem. This is the meaning of what is written in the verse immediately preceding this, “Do this, then, my son, and be saved, for you have fallen into your friend’s hand. Go humble yourself and bolster your friend,” which Rashi explains as meaning “Bring many friends who will pray to Him on your behalf.” In other words, bring true tzaddikim, who are called “brothers” and “friends” of HaShem.53Yalkut Shimoni, Vayikra 19:17 (remez 613).For a person must humble himself, like a doorstep that is trodden and stepped upon, in order to seek out the true tzaddikimwith every ounce of his energy, until he merits finding them.54The subject in Mishlei is a person who has pledged security for another to a moneylender, but cannot honor his pledge. Rashi reads this homiletically as referring to someone who has not honored his pledge at Sinai to keep the mitzvot, but instead has gone in the ways of heretics and nonbelievers. He should humble himself like a doorstep that is stepped and trodden upon, and bring many friends to plead with HaShem on his behalf. Reb Noson reinterprets this here as referring to someone who seeks greater closeness to HaShem. He should bring many true tzaddikim to pray to HaShem on his behalf.
This is also the subject of what which is written further on, “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to recline, and your poverty will arrive like a strider, your lack like a defender.” For a person must minimize his sleep and slumber in order to seek out the true tzaddik, who is called a “strider” and a “defender.” Tzaddikim are called “striders” because they constantly go from one spiritual level to another, higher level,55See Baal Shem Tov al HaTorah, Va’etchanan 4.as it is written, “I will let you be one who strides among the stationary.”56,עומד) 56 Angels and seraphim are called omeid stationary), because they are created complete and can ascend no higher. Man, on the other hand, is created spiritually incomplete, but by striving can advance to ever higher levels of holiness, and so is called strider) (Shnei Luchot HaBrit, Hagahot ,מהלך) mehaleikh le-Mesekhet Chullin 7).The tzaddik is also called a “defender” because he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.57This is a stylistic usage of II Shmuel 22:31 and Tehillim 18:31. The Zohar (III, 71b) teaches, “The tzaddikim protect the world during their lifetimes, and even more so after their deaths.”
This is now a restatement of the verse in the affirmative: “Sleep little, slumber little …” until you merit the arrival of “your poverty like a strider.” Rashi explains this to mean that the things you are wanting and lacking will be provided in full. In other words, whatever impoverishes you, and whatever you lack materially and spiritually, will come to you quickly, like one who strides swiftly and like a defender who is nimble. Consistent with this explanation, this means: According to the greatness of the tzaddik that you merit finding—the one who is called a “strider” and a “defender”—all that you lack and your poverty, meaning that which makes you poor, will come to you. For all lacks are filled through the tzaddik, because he draws all physical and spiritual bounty by instilling awareness of His Godliness into his followers. Through this, all lack is filled, as it is written, “If you have acquired daat, what do you lack?”58Vayikra Rabbah 1:6.
Reb Noson concludes that given the great benefit of closeness to a true tzaddik, a person must make every effort to “shrug off sleep from his eyes” and rise at midnight to mourn the loss of the tzaddikim from the world.
Therefore one must break the grip of sleep and rise at midnight in order to copiously mourn, lament, weep and cry out over the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and the overpowering bitterness of the exile, both physical and spiritual. Even more than this, one must weep and cry out profusely over the loss of the tzaddikim, which is many times worse than the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, as Chazal teach. All that we suffer, may HaShem spare us, is on account of this, as in a rereading of the verse as “The tzaddik is gone, but no one takes it to heart … that because of evil the tzaddik has been gathered in.”
Therefore whoever pities his soul needs to cry out greatly to HaShem that even now he should merit finding a true rav and leader. This must be a tzaddikwho can instill in him awareness of HaShem’s Godliness, namely the daatthrough which whatever he lacks will be filled, all suffering will be eliminated, and all that exists will be rectified.
SHOES AND LOWER WISDOM A person should put on the right shoe first but not tie it. Then he should put on the left shoe and tie it. After that he should tie the right shoe (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 2:4).
We have seen that our devotions during the night—including breaking the grip of sleep and then engaging in prayer and Torah after midnight—sever and elevate Malkhut / lower wisdom from the Four Kingdoms/extraneous wisdom and so bring to perceptions of Godliness. Reb Noson now relates this to dressing in the morning, in particular to our putting on shoes to protect the feet—that is, to protect lower wisdom from the extraneous forces, alien thoughts and godless philosophies that keep us from attaining those perceptions.
Now, this procedure for rectifying lower wisdom is reflected in the manner in which we put on shoes. Jewish law states that we put on the right shoe first, and then, after donning the left shoe, tie the left shoelace first. This derives from the law of donning tefillin, as Chazal state, “As with tefillin, so with shoes.”59Rabbi Yochanan teaches that just as we give preference to the left by tying the strap of the armtefillin onto it (and not onto the right arm), so too when tying one’s shoes: we give preference to the left by tying the left shoelace first (Shabbat 61a).
For shoes are a protection for the feet. This is also true on a spiritual level. As the lowest part of the body, the feet require extra protection to elevate them from the extraneous forces that are adjacent to them.60See Pri Eitz Chaim, Shaar HaTefillah 3.For the feet are conceptually associated with Malkhut and lower wisdom, the purpose of the aforementioned constrictions of Divine wisdom.61See §1 above.We must sever the “feet” from the Four Kingdoms and elevate them to the aspect of the Ohr HaPanim that shines during the Shalosh Regalim. And from the Ohr HaPanimwe draw protection, the concept of shoes, which protect the feet from the extraneous forces.
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וְזֶהוּ: ״כִּתְפִילִין״, שֶׁהֵם אוֹר הַפָּנִים, כַּיָּדוּעַ (פרי עץ חיים שער התפלין פרק ג), ״כָּךְ מִנְעָלִים״, כִּי מִשָּםׁ נִמְשַׁךְ בְּחִינַת הַמִּנְעָלִים, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת שְׁמִירָה לָרַגְלִין (ועין כל זה באריכות בהלכות חליצה הנכללת בהלכות גטין הלכה ד׳).
This is the meaning of “As with tefillin”—which are a revelation of the Ohr HaPanim, as is known from Kabbalah62Pri Eitz Chaim, op. cit.—“so with shoes.” From the Ohr HaPanim associated with tefillin, which protects Malkhut / lower wisdom, is drawn the concept of shoes as the protectors of the feet.63A parenthetical source citation here reads: Study this further in the laws pertaining to chalitzah that appear in LH, Gittin 4:10.
Therefore a person must put on the right shoe first, since the right side, which is chesed, is primary. With it we sever Malkhut from the Four Kingdoms and build it up.64See §1 and §4 above.
Thus with regard to the tying, the left is given precedence; similar to tefillin, where one begins by tying the strap of the arm-tefillin on the left arm. The reason tying the arm-tefillin on the left precedes donning the head-tefillinis that receiving chesed is possible only through the tzaddik’srebuke. See the Rebbe’s lesson, where this is explained.65Study §7 of the Rebbe’s lesson. Although the tzaddikim generally restrain their reproach of the Jewish people (see LM I, 22:1), Rebbe Nachman teaches that the suffering that Jews cause a tzaddik by sinning occasionally brings him to dispense rebuke that humiliates his audience. Reb Noson will address this next.And rebuke corresponds to gevurot, severities, which are associated with the left side.66Commenting on the verse (Mishlei 27:5) “Open rebuke is better than concealed love,” the Arizal teaches that “open rebuke” refers to gevurot, the root elements of the sefirah of Gevurah (Shaar HaPesukim, Mishlei). Gevurot (also known as dinim, judgments) are associated with the left side, as is rebuke (Sanhedrin 107b and Maharsha, s.v. s’mol docheh).
This relates to Chazal’s exposition of yadkhah as teaching that we should don the arm-tefillin on the yad keihah, the weak or left arm.67Regarding donning the arm-tefillin, the Torah states (Shemot 13:16), “It shall be a sign upon yadKhaH ,ידכה) rather ,(ה) your arm)”—spelled with an added heh Chazal .(ידך) than the more common spelling yadKha expound this as teaching that the arm-tefillin are worn weak arm), which for the ,יד כהה) on the yad KeiHaH majority of people is the left arm (Menachot 37a). means “rebuke.” (כהִָה)Study the Rebbe’s lesson, where he teaches that this alludes to rebuke. Occasionally, rebuke involves humiliation—it makh’heh, turns pale, the other’s panim, as in what is written about Eli not rebuking his sons, “He did not khihah them.”68The Hebrew word KhiHaH from the root KaHaH ,(מַכהְהֶ) The word maKh‘HeH means “weaken” or “cause to turn pale.” The ,(כּהָָה) verse Reb Noson quotes from the Book of Shmuel can thus be read as “Though his sons were disgracing themselves, he did not humiliate them.”
Now, in kabbalistic teaching, the tefillin signify mochin, the elements of consciousness which are the primary means for drawing a perception of Godliness, as discussed in the Rebbe’s lesson. Essentially, such perception entails the constriction of Divine wisdom into lower wisdom, and so it is conceptually related to tefillin, as those who comprehend the Rebbe’s words know. For the tefillin of the head and the arm correspond to upper wisdom and lower wisdom. The blackness of the tefillinboxes and straps likewise alludes to this constriction, similar to the blackness mentioned previously, in the above outline of that lesson.69See also note 11 above.
Therefore we need to begin by tying the arm-tefillin on the left arm, the yad keihah, which hints to makh’heh. This is in order to draw the aspect of rebuke, through which chesed, from the right side, is revealed. With thischesedwe sever Malkhut/ lower wisdom from the Four Kingdoms, and by doing so merit perceptions of Godliness.
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וְעַל־כֵּן אָסוּר לְקַנֵּחַ בְּיָמִין מִפְּנֵי שֶׁקּוֹשֵׁר בָּהּ תְּפִלִּין (שלחן ערוך סימן ג׳, סעיף י׳).
EXPELLING THE EXTRANEOUS A person should not wipe himself using the right hand (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 3:10).
Having explained that the spiritual purpose of wearing shoes is to protect Malkhut / lower wisdom from the extraneous forces, Reb Noson shows how keeping the laws in the Shulchan Arukh that are associated with other morning activities—particularly our conduct in the bathroom—similarly accomplishes this goal.
And so, because the right side is synonymous with chesed, Jewish law states that after a person relieves himself he may not wipe himself using the right hand, since he uses that hand to tie the tefillin.70Berakhot 62a. Using the right hand to remove fecal matter impedes it from drawing the rebuke-of-chesed aspect of tying tefillin that severs Malkhut from extraneous wisdom.
The explanation is as follows. Food consists of two elements, the absorbable nutrients and the waste product. Extraneous wisdom, through which heresy proliferates, is associated with the extraneous component of food, the waste that is termed “vomit and excrement, with no [clean] place.” Conversely, true wisdom is likened to the nutrients, because the food a person eats gives him life, and when he eats in holiness, it illuminates his panim. An allusion to this can be found in the verse “he ate and drank, and his heart was happy,” as explained elsewhere.71See LM I, 60:6, where Rebbe Nachman cites this verse as proof that food’s main purpose is to revive the heart, whose rectification brings light to the panim. See also LM I, 19:7.
The essence of this life-force—namely the illumination of the panim that a person receives from food—stems from the spiritual aspect of the food, which is the good that the food contains. Only this spiritual element gives a person real life, as in “that not on bread alone does man live, but on every utterance from the mouth of HaShem does man live.” However, the material aspect of the food, to which evil attaches itself, becomes complete waste and is expelled out of the body. It is akin to the extraneous wisdom / heresy, which is termed “vomit and excrement.”
Therefore “whoever wishes to accept upon himself the yoke of Heaven’s malkhut in a complete manner”—which corresponds to the rectification of lower wisdom/Malkhut—“should relieve himself and wash his hands.” “He should relieve himself” in order to expel the waste, which is synonymous with extraneous wisdom. And then he should wash his hands with water, symbolic of the waters of Chesed.72Kabbalah teaches that the sefirah of Chesed signifies outflowing and expansiveness, and thus is associated with the element of water. Washing one’s hands symbolizes the drawing of the root elements of Chesed, the chasadim (benevolences), from Daat (see above, p. 122, note 75) in order to “cleanse” lower wisdom / Malkhut. This is in order to evoke chesed through which to sever Malkhut and purify it from the Four Kingdoms.73A parenthetical source citation here reads: Study this in the laws pertaining to the sotah that appear in LH, Gittin 4:15.
After that “he should don tefillin, recite Shema and pray,” all of which relates to the rectifications accomplished through the prayer that he recites in the morning. All these rectifications—namely waking from sleep, relieving oneself, washing one’s hands, donning tzitzit and tefillin, reciting Shema and prayer—serve the purpose of elevating Malkhut.74Pri Eitz Chaim, Shaar HaTefillah 4 and 8.This elevation of Malkhut each morning is paralleled in lower wisdom, whose rectification is alluded to by the teaching “Avraham instituted Shacharit,” as explained in the Rebbe’s lesson.75See §6 there; also §1 and note 10 above.
And so, because one wipes oneself to remove the waste associated with the extraneous wisdom of the Four Kingdoms, one should not wipe with the right hand, since he uses it to tie the tefillin, one of the morning rectifications that elevates Malkhut. Tefillinsignify the revelation of the Ohr HaPanim, the source of Malkhut’s essential vitality that enables it to ascend and become purified from the Four Kingdoms.
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וְעַל־כֵּן אָסוּר לְפַנּוֹת מִזְרָח וּמַעֲרָב (ארח חיים סימן ג׳, סעיף ה׳), מֵחֲמַת שֶׁהוּא נֶגֶד יְרוּשָׁלַיִם שֶׁשָּׁם הַבֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, שֶׁשָּׁם עִקַּר אוֹר הַפָּנִים, וְכַנַּ״ל.
This is also the reason a person may not relieve himself positioned between east and west,76Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 3:5.since he would then be facing Yerushalayim, the site of the Beit HaMikdash, where the main Ohr HaPanim is revealed.77See §5 above.
CHANUKAH LIGHT Here and in the ensuing sections Reb Noson extends his discussion of perceptions of Godliness to a connection with the Chanukah candles. In this section he explains how the Chanukah lights are representative of drawing the light of a perception of Godliness by means of constrictions, both into oneself and into one’s home.
Now, all of this relates to Chanukah. For lighting the Chanukah candles corresponds to drawing a perception of Godliness by means of constrictions. In fact, this is at the root of lighting all lights and candles associated with the holiness of a mitzvah. Correspondingly, the illumination arising from a mitzvah is expressed in the Zoharas “to light candles” and “to kindle lamps.”78These examples from the Zohar depict illumination through mitzvah performance as lighting a light (see Zohar II, 166a). Reb Noson will next show how the act of lighting a candle or kindling a lamp represents constricting Divine wisdom in order to perceive Godliness.
This drawing of a perception of Godliness by means of constrictions is also the concept of tefillin, whose constrictions—the boxes and straps79See §8 above.—illuminate the mochin, which are the main perceptions of Godliness.80This is as Chazal state, “ ‘Let your head never lack oil’ (Kohelet 9:8)—this is tefillin” (Shabbat 153a). The Arizal teaches that tefillin symbolize the light of the mochin bursting forth from the brain (Eitz Chaim 29:7). This is reflected in the prayer that we say at the time of donning tefillin, “And pour the good oil over the seven branches of the Menorah.”81The “good oil” alludes to the mochin (see previous note). In likening the human body to the Mishkan, Kabbalah associates the head with the seven-branched Menorah (Tikkuney Zohar, Introduction, p. 13b). The seven apertures of the head are the seven lamps, which when sanctified brighten the panim of the menorah (see LM I, 21:2 and notes 18 and 19 there). This is as in “A person’s wisdom illuminates his panim” (Kohelet 8:1). We mention oil because drawing a perception of Godliness by means of constrictions is akin to drawing “the good oil”—the “oil of sacred anointing,” namely holy daat82Shemot 30:25: “You shall make of it oil for sacred anointing.” Kabbalah teaches that kodesh, the Hebrew term for “holy” or “sacred,” refers to wisdom (Zohar III, 61a). In LM II, 8:12, the Rebbe teaches that just as oil is drawn up to the flame, the fatty fluids of the body are drawn up to fuel the mind. After teaching LM I, 54, Rebbe Nachman said, “I have now spoken of how to kindle the Chanukah light—meaning how to draw the oil of great holiness and kindle the lamp with ‘oil for sacred anointing.’ This is daat, as is known.”—into vessels and constrictions.83The Zohar (III, 109b) links the “oil for sacred anointing” with the left side and the gevurot, which in context here represent constrictions.These vessels and constrictions are the physical oil, lamp and wick required for the light to burn. As for the light itself, it is derived from the aspect of a perception of Godliness, the origin of all lights, for He is the Light of all lights, as it is written, “HaShem is my light and my salvation.”
Next Reb Noson discusses the uniqueness of the miracle of Chanukah, especially as a “weekday” festival with the power to illuminate even those in the deepest darkness in order to bring them back to HaShem.
This also relates to the power of the miracle of Chanukah, for at that time “the wicked Greek Empire rose up to make the Jewish people forget Your Torah and transgress.”84This is excerpted from the Al HaNissim prayer recited on Chanukah.The wicked Greek Empire referred to here is the personification of all extraneous wisdom, termed “Greek wisdom” by Chazal since the Greeks were the ones most involved in disseminating extraneous wisdom to the world. This is the main weapon used by the Malkhut of evil—namely the Four Kingdoms—for overwhelming the Malkhut of holiness.
Consequently, it was a time of terrible distress, since the Greeks wanted to make the Jewish people completely forget the Torah. Apart from decrees against performing mitzvot, they wanted to prevent the Jews from attaining perceptions of Godliness by strengthening extraneous wisdom, the very antithesis of Torah.
For the Torah and mitzvot serve as measures and vessels through which we can draw a perception of Godliness, as explained previously. The Greeks wanted to cause the Torah and mitzvot to be forgotten by strengthening extraneous wisdom—this being the concept of the Malkhut of evil associated with the Four Kingdoms overcoming the Malkhut of holiness/lower wisdom.
This is similar to what is happening nowadays, when due to our many sins, heretics are gaining prominence and seeking to draw extraneous wisdom into the world in order to cause the Torah to be forgotten completely. As we see empirically, whoever is drawn to their ways completely casts off religious observance. He shaves off his beard and peiyot, drinks the wine of non-Jews, and eventually becomes completely irreligious, may HaShem save us.
Nevertheless, HaShem, in His abundant compassion, prepared the cure ahead of the injury. He performed for us a great and wondrous miracle during the time of Mattityahu ben Yochanan the Kohen Gadol. The Jewish people not only subjugated and soundly defeated the wicked Greek Empire, but also, through the power of the miracle, drew wondrous spiritual light into the world for all generations. HaShem performed this miracle so that each individual Jew, in his own home, would have the power to draw this light—that is, the light of perceptions of Godliness attained through the constrictions, namely the oil, the lamp and the wick required for the light to shine.
This corresponds to the rectification explained in the Rebbe’s lesson, that the greater a person’s spiritual illness, the greater the rav he requires. This would be the kind of master and sage who is able to produce the wondrous constrictions required to instill a perception of Godliness even into such a person. This influence is drawn upon us during Chanukah by way of the superlatively great tsaddikim who instituted the kindling of Chanukah lights. As a result of this mitzvah, it is now possible to draw illumination to every individual, in his home, regardless of how spiritually ill he is. For the Arizal similarly clarifies in the Kavanot of Chanukah that the mystical idea of Chanukah is that we draw the wondrous light—the light that encompasses all the yichudimof HaShem’s Names85Yichudim, unifications, are a form of kabbalistic meditation designed to unify the potencies of the different Names of HaShem through the permutation and combination of their letters. The Arizal teaches that when lowering our hand to light the Chanukah candles, we should have in mind that we are drawing light from the head downward. The yichudim that pertain to this act entail unifying YHVH with ADoNaI and ,(י־הוה + אלהים) YHVH with ELoHIM ,(י־הוה + אדני) The numerical value .(י־הוה + אהיה) YHVH with EHYeH of all the letters of these Holy Names totals 250, the candle) (Pri Eitz Chaim, Shaar ,נר) same as that of NeR Chanukah 4; see Charts, p. 256).—downwards, to below a height of ten handbreadths.86Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 671:6, states regarding placement of the Chanukah menorah, “It is a mitzvah to position it below ten tefachim (31-38 inches)” from the ground.
Kindling the lights below ten handbreadths distinguishes Chanukah from Shabbat and Yom Tov. We light candles of mitzvah on Shabbat and Yom Tov because at those times thesefirah of Malkhut/lower wisdom has its primary ascent. This is the meaning of “a mitzvah is a candle.” Due to the holiness of Shabbat and Yom Tov, the kelipot—which are synonymous with the Four Kingdoms— fall away completely. The Malkhut of holiness then ascends from among them, shining with a bright Divine light. This is reflected in the law of lighting candles in honor of Shabbat and Yom Tov. We kindle them in their place, above ten handbreadths, where the Malkhut is situated at the time of its ascent.
But on Chanukah, the essence of the lighting is by way of a wondrous miracle, since Malkhut has no significant ascent at that time. For the days of Chanukah are regular weekdays, when the kelipot/the Four Kingdoms are not completely eliminated as on Shabbat and Yom Tov. In spite of this, we kindle this holy light that encompasses all yichudim, bringing the Divine light downwards into the vessels, which represents the drawing of a perception of Godliness through constrictions.
This is the idea mentioned above, that the very great tzaddikim draw such wondrous rectifications into the world to the point that they are able to instill perceptions of Godliness through constrictions even into the very lowest spiritual level, to below ten handbreadths, a place to which the Shekhinah has never descended.87Sukkah 5a.
Thus now, on account of the power of the miracle, we kindle the holy and awesome Chanukah light specifically there, below ten handbreadths. This corresponds to drawing a perception of Godliness through constrictions all the way down, in order to illuminate every single Jew who wants to receive it—even if he is the worst of the worst, and even if his soul is exceedingly tormented on account of his many sins. Even he can be illuminated with the light of a perception of Godliness thanks to the tremendous strength of the great tzaddikim who draw the power of the Chanukah miracle into the world. Even on a weekday, when we cannot yet elevate Malkhut/lower wisdom completely, these tzaddikimnonetheless draw the light of a perception of Godliness through constrictions downwards, even to the lowest level. For their great power enables them to shine even into those at the lowest level and to heal even the most spiritually ill, which equates with kindling the Chanukah lights below ten handbreadths.
This is alluded to in the verses “Even though I walk in the valley of the deepest darkness, I will not fear evil, for You are with me” and “although I sit in the darkness, HaShem is a light to me.” We draw the light of perceptions of Godliness downwards, into the depths of “the darkness,” into “the valley of the deepest darkness,” in order to illuminate the very lowest so that illumination and awareness of His Godliness reaches them as well, so that it might heal and rectify them, and bring them back to Him.
BEIT HILLEL AND BEIT SHAMMAI Reb Noson next shows that the halakhic dispute between the students of Shammai and the students of Hillel over how many lights one kindles each night of Chanukah is fundamentally a dispute over the appropriateness of drawing down a perception of Godliness to those on the lowest spiritual levels.
This relates to the dispute between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel regarding the order of lighting the Chanukah candles. Beit Shammai contends that on the first day of Chanukah we should kindle eight lights and thereafter “keep decreasing” the number of lights until, on the last day of Chanukah, we kindle a single light. Conversely, Beit Hillel contends that on the first day we should kindle one light and from there on “keep increasing” the number of lights until, on the last day, we kindle eight lights.88Shabbat 21b.
The ruling of Beit Shammai is consistent with Shammai’s personality and perspective. Chazal say that Shammai was strict and exacting, and therefore would distance potential converts, even pushing them away with a builder’s ruler.89Shabbat 30b, 31a.But Hillel, due to his great humility and gentleness, would compassionately draw them near to HaShem, despite their inherent unsuitability. Even if they would suggest strange and absurd things, such as that he teach them the entire Torah while standing on one foot, he would not push them away. Rather, through his wisdom and wondrous humility, he would draw them near. Consequently, Beit Shammai, being the students of Shammai, ruled in the way that they did. Owing to his intense piety and holiness, Shammai was unable to tolerate the people who were spiritually distant from HaShem, those who were sullied by the sins of their youth and the like. Therefore Beit Shammai ruled that we should “keep decreasing” the number of lights.
Now, the truth is that Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel both agree that we ought to add and increase the light with each succeeding day. For certainly this would be an appropriate reflection of the nature of the miracle during the days of Chanukah, when the candle remained lit—a light that should have lasted for only one day burned for eight days. With each subsequent day the miracle was certainly greater and more wondrous, and so without question we need to mark this with ever greater light by kindling more lights on each succeeding day.
Nevertheless, Beit Shammai maintains that it is precisely for this reason—due to the ever increasing light that is drawn as the days pass—that we need to “keep decreasing” the number of lights that we kindle, since the wicked and spiritually distant are unworthy of making use of this wondrous light. This is similar to Chazal’s teaching that HaKadosh Barukh Hu saw that the world was unworthy of using the light of the seven days of Creation and so proceeded to store it away for the tzaddikim.90Chagigah 12a; Bereishit Rabbah 12:6. With this light Adam was able to see from one end of the world to the other. But HaShem foresaw the corruption and depravity of the early generations and so concealed the light to keep them from exploiting it. Reb Noson cites this teaching here as another example of light being hidden from the wicked, but also to teach that sparks of the light of Creation are revealed in the lights of Chanukah (see Rokei’ach, Hilkhot Chanukah; also B’nei Yissachar, Maamarei Kislev-Tevet 2).Therefore Beit Shammai maintains that even in our time, when the tzaddikimare able to attain great spiritual light, they must hide it away. And the more light they are able to attain, the more they must conceal it, so that the wicked and spiritually distant from HaShem will not benefit from it. Correspondingly, they maintain that the lights should “keep decreasing.”
On the other hand, Beit Hillel, being students of Hillel, ruled consistent with his outlook. Hillel engaged in drawing closer those very distant from HaShem, and so his students followed his reasoning in saying that the lights should “keep increasing.” For on the contrary, the greater and brighter the light the tzaddikim draw into the world, the more they need to illuminate the world—to enlighten every human being so as to draw near all those who are exceedingly distant. The tzaddikim must try to enlighten even the very smallest and lowest spiritually, to heal even the most seriously ill, may HaShem save us.
For as we learned above, the greater a person’s spiritual illness, the greater the rav he must seek out for himself. This is also true for the rav and tzaddik. The higher the spiritual level he attains, the more he must reach down to and enlighten the very smallest and lowest spiritually. This is the essence of the tzaddik’svirtue and greatness: drawing near to HaShem those who are the furthest from Him. In fact, bringing them closer is the essence of HaShem’s greatness and glory, as Rebbe Nachman writes elsewhere.91See LM I, 10:2.
And this is true even though the tzaddikimmust unquestionably conceal the great light of spiritual awareness, particularly when they reach such prodigiously lofty levels and perceptions of Godliness. Certainly in such a case, they are forced to conceal and store away the light, since the world is unworthy of using it. Nevertheless, they devise such ingenious plans, effect such potent rectifications, and clothe the light with such wondrous garments and constrictions—until they enlighten even those on the very lowest spiritual level. In this way, the tzaddikimgradually increase the light and cause it to radiate below more and more every single day, in consonance with Beit Hillel’s ruling to “keep increasing” the number of Chanukah candles with each succeeding day.
According to Chazal, Beit Hillel’s ruling is based on the principle “In matters of sanctity we elevate to a higher level and we do not downgrade.”92Shabbat 21b.But the question is: Would anyone even think of downgrading holiness, chas ve-shalom?! However, this relates to what we said above, that there are tzaddikim of truly great spiritual stature who nonetheless, on account of their outstanding holiness, are unable to tolerate the world. Owing to the intensity of their sanctity, they distance some people and, by getting angry at them, bring them down, chas ve-shalom, since these tzaddikimare incapable of tolerating their reprehensible behavior.
However, HaShem does not desire this attitude, “for He desires chesed.” He wants the tzaddikim to always have compassion for the Jewish people and draw them near, even if they are as they are. And even if He Himself is actually very angry with them because of their wrongdoing, He wants the tzaddikim to pray for them to repent and to bring them closer to Him. This is how Chazal explain the verse “Moshe would take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far from the camp,” since the people had sinned so greatly with the golden calf. Chazal tell us that in response to Moshe’s action, HaShem said, “I am angry at the Jewish people and you are angry at the Jewish people. If so, who will draw them near?”93Cf. Shemot Rabbah 45:2.Rashi cites this Midrash in his commentary.94See Rashi on Shemot 33:11.
Similarly, we find concerning various prophets and tzaddikim that HaShem Himself complained to them, telling them about His considerable distress, as it were, from the many sins of the Jewish people. When they supported His words instead of advocating on behalf of the Jews, He was very strict with them. We find this in connection with Hoshea, as reported in the Gemara,95Pesachim 87a.and also regarding Eliyahu, who said, “I have been zealous.” HaShem said to him in response, “Anoint Elisha ben Shafat … as a prophet in your stead.” Chazal interpret this as HaShem saying to Eliyahu, “I have no wish for your prophecy, since you are accusing the Jewish people.”96Mekhilta, Parashat Bo, Introduction; see also Rashi on I Melakhim 19:16.
For HaShem wants only that we speak favorably about the Jewish people and show them compassion—even the worst ones—in order to draw all of them closer to Him. Just like Moshe Rabbeinu, who sacrificed his life for the Jewish people and said, “But if not, pray, blot me out.”97If he could convince HaShem to forgive their sin with the golden calf, good. But if not, Moshe pleaded with HaShem to erase his name from the entire Torah (Rashi, loc. cit.).
This role of the tzaddikim in drawing near to HaShem those who are distant from Him relates to the principle “In matters of sanctity we elevate to a higher level.” The more the tzaddikimachieve and the more they become absorbed in sanctity, attaining a greater perception of Godliness, the more they need to elevate souls by drawing them near.
In contrast, “and we do not downgrade the degree of sanctity” means that the tzaddikimmust be careful not to bring down souls by pushing them away by virtue of their own great sanctity. That is, they must not allow their great sanctity and perception of Godliness to make them strict and exacting with the Jewish people. This can leave the tzaddikimunable to tolerate the worst people, to the point of becoming so angry with them that they bring them down, chas ve-shalom. This is in consonance with the ruling of Beit Shammai to “keep decreasing” the number of Chanukah lights with each succeeding day.
For this is not the correct way. Rather, it must be that “in matters of sanctity we elevate to a higher level, and we do not downgrade.” The higher the spiritual level a person reaches and the greater perception he attains, the more he must astutely devise marvelous new constrictions. Then he will be capable of drawing near more and more souls, and healing even the worst people and the most spiritually ill.
All of this relates to the Chanukah light that we kindle below ten handbreadths from the ground, to bring the great light of perceptions of Godliness even to the spiritually lowly. This is why the light must be in consonance with Beit Hillel’s ruling to “keep increasing,” in order to add to the spiritual light in the world and so elevate more and more souls closer to HaShem.
CHANUKAH AND THE BEIT HAMIKDASH Having earlier taught that chesed frees Malkhut from the malkhut of the Greek Empire—i.e. freeing lower wisdom from the influence of extraneous wisdom—so it can be invigorated with the Ohr HaPanim, Reb Noson here links chesed and the Ohr HaPanim with two key components of the Chanukah miracle: the Kohanim and the Beit HaMikdash.
Therefore the miracle of Chanukah, the triumph of the Malkhut of holiness over the Four Kingdoms, came about specifically through the Kohanim. For the Kohen represents chesed, corresponding to Avraham, the personification of this trait. As discussed previously, through this revelation of chesedwe sever Malkhut from the Four Kingdoms and vitalize it with life from the Ohr HaPanim that shines during the Shalosh Regalim.98See §4 above.
Therefore this holiday is called Chanukah, after the chanukah, dedication, of the Beit HaMikdash that took place during that period.99Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the Second Beit HaMikdash at the time of the Maccabean revolt against the Greek/Seleucid Empire. It is also linked to the dedication of the Mishkan in the desert (Mishneh Berurah on Orach Chaim 670).For the main revelation of the Ohr HaPanim is in the Beit HaMikdash, to which the pilgrims would ascend on the Shalosh Regalim in order to receive the Ohr HaPanim.100See §5; also note 14 above.This is the concept of Chanukah, namely to infuse vitality into Malkhut from the Ohr HaPanim and thereby merit a perception of Godliness—this being the essence of lighting the Chanukah candles.
A MITZVAH IS A CANDLE, TORAH IS LIGHT Reb Noson next shows that the Torah, synonymous with light, represents perceptions of Godliness; while the mitzvot, synonymous with a candle, the containment of light in physicality, represent the constrictions needed in order to reveal those perceptions.
Meriting a perception of Godliness through constrictions is also alluded to in the verse “For a mitzvah is a candle and Torah is light; and moral rebuke is the path of life.” As explained there in Rebbe Nachman’s lesson, chesed is revealed through rebuke. This in turn causes Malkhut/lower wisdom to be rectified and we thereby merit perceptions of Godliness. Study the Rebbe’s words there, that through chesed we sever Malkhut from the Four Kingdoms and animate it with life from the Ohr HaPanim.101LM I, 30:5-6. This enables us to merit such perception.
This is the meaning of “For a mitzvah is a candle and Torah is light.” This alludes to attaining a perception of Godliness by means of constrictions, from which all lights and kindling of all holy candles—the concept of “Chanukah candles”—derive. We merit this through “moral rebuke is the path of life.” In other words, through “moral rebuke,” the aforementioned rebuke by the tzaddik, we merit chesed and so are able to invigorate Malkhut.
And this is the meaning of “moral rebuke is the path of life.” By means of moral rebuke we draw the Ohr HaPanim, which is called “life,” in order to infuse vitality into Malkhut/lower wisdom. Through this we merit attaining a perception of Godliness via constrictions, as expressed in “a mitzvah is a candle and Torah is light.”
This is why Scripture identifies a mitzvah as a “candle,” a lesser illumination, and Torah as “light,” a greater illumination. This nomenclature conveys that although both the Torah and the mitzvah are considered constrictions for perceiving Godliness, there are many, many aspects and different levels when it comes to constrictions and conceptualizations. For we have to radiate Divine wisdom downwards, from conceptualization to conceptualization and from constriction to constriction. Therefore the Torah relative to the mitzvah is like light relative to a candle, because so many levels of constrictions and conceptualizations are needed in order to attain perceptions of Godliness, which are themselves a “light” and a “candle” that illuminate a person. Fortunate is one who merits this.
VISITING THE SICK Having earlier explained that the defining feature of the exalted light of Chanukah is its power to illuminate even those on the lowest levels with perceptions of Godliness (see §10 and §11), Reb Noson shows how this idea connects with visiting the sick. Chazal teach that the light of the Shekhinah appears above the head of the sick person. Reb Noson likens the Shekhinah’s light to the light of the tzaddik that illuminates the spiritually ill.
This also relates to the mitzvah of visiting the sick. We are required to visit the sick person and show him a cheerful countenance. In practice, this means that people should call on him, help supervise his affairs, and see to all his needs, as stated in the Shulchan Arukh.102Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh Dei’ah 335:1-8; Tur, ibid.This is the concept of an “illumination of the panim.” People do not hide their panim from him or seclude themselves in their homes, but instead visit him, tend to his needs, and chat with him. All this is termed an “illumination of the panim.” In this way, they invest him with new life, drawing from the dimension of the illumination of the Supernal Panim. For the vitality that gives life to the sick comes mainly from there, as in the verse cited in the Rebbe’s lesson, “In the Light of the Panim of the King there is life.”103See §5 of LM I, 30, where the Rebbe cites this verse as proof that life-force for lower wisdom / Malkhut comes mainly from the Light of the Panim. As explained in note 55 there, this refers to light from the highest sefirah, Keter.
Therefore Chazal teach, “The Shekhinah is present above the head of one who is ill,”104104 Shabbat 12b; Rashi on Bereishit 47:31. as expressed in the verse “HaShem will sustain him on his sickbed, [even though] You have wholly disturbed his repose…” This relates to our point above, that precisely because one is ill, the light of the Shekhinah is drawn over him. This light conceptually equates with the light of the true tzaddik who looks after all the spiritually ill, especially the most ill, who are in the category of “You have wholly disturbed his repose with his illness.” The tzaddiklooks after them the most, to bring them healing and invigorate them physically and spiritually, in a manner that enables him to infuse them with perceptions of Godliness. This is the essence of the tzaddik’s greatness and his virtue: he strives to heal the most spiritually ill. And so, precisely because a person is so ill and his repose has been wholly disturbed, the Shekhinah is present above his head. This refers to the Indwelling Presence of HaShem, which is identified with the light of the tzaddik, because the tzaddikim are the shekhinah, dwelling place, of the Omnipresent One.105This is based on the Zohar (II, 163b), which teaches that seeing the panim of the tzaddik is like seeing the Panim of the Shekhinah, the Indwelling Presence of HaShem. In context here, HaShem, as the Omnipresent One (HaMakom), dwells with the tzaddik and thereby enables him to illuminate people with the Light of the Panim.
This is the meaning of Rashi’s comment on the verse regarding Avraham, “‘HaShem appeared to him’—to visit the sick.” For it is precisely because one is ailing and people need to visit him that “HaShem appeared to him.” This alludes to perceptions of Godliness that the sick merit as a result of the light of the tzaddik, which is representative of the Shekhinah.
Reb Noson next shows how Chanukah and Purim—the “exile” festivals of the Jewish people—symbolize visiting the sick and drawing the Ohr HaPanim upon ourselves and into our homes.
This illumination of the sick with the light of the tzaddikrelates to the revelation of light on Chanukah and Purim. These festivals are associated with the mitzvah of visiting the sick in the sense that, despite being very holy and special days, they are nevertheless “weekdays,” since they are not times when work is prohibited.106Unlike the Yomim Tovim, when the melakhot, creative works, are prohibited (other than for okhel nefesh, food preparation), the festivals of Chanukah and Purim carry no such restrictions. All melakhot are permitted, as on regular weekdays when, as mentioned above (§10), Malkhut/lower wisdom cannot be elevated completely. The explanation for this is that they both possess the abovementioned characteristic— the capacity to enlighten even the most ill people with perceptions of Godliness by means of the great power of the tzaddik, who can fashion such marvelous vessels and constrictions.
This can be explained by way of analogy. When a person is healthy, the king will certainly not go to him to show him his panim. Rather, whoever wants to greet the king and bask in the radiance of his panim must first cleanse and purify himself very well, and put on appropriate attire. Then he has to position himself at the king’s gates and beg the king’s personal guards107Lit. “those who see the king’s panim.”to obtain permission for him to enter. He will have to employ all the relevant strategies, until he is finally allowed to appear before the king, in accordance with his status—whether this means being granted entry to the royal courtyard, or to the palace, or to the inner chamber—so that the king should shine into him the light of his radiant panim.
But it is a different story when one of the king’s entourage falls ill and is confined to his sickbed, may HaShem save us. Then, when the king’s compassion is aroused to revive that person with the light of his panim, the king is compelled to go visit him in his home in order to shine into him the light of his panim and revive his spirits. This is the idea that “the Shekhinah is present above the head of one who is ill.”
This relates to Chanukah and Purim in the sense that they are holy festivals that were given to us in order to revive us until this very day—in this time of bitter exile when, as the holy Zohar writes, the Jewish people are called “sick,” as alluded to in “Sustain me [in exile] with dainty cakes, drape me in [the fragrance of] apples, for I am sick with love.”108Zohar III, 40a.
And owing to the immense severity of our spiritual illness, we are unable to make the pilgrimage, to appear and prostrate ourselves in worship before HaShem on our Shalosh Regalim. We are unable to enter His sacred House, the Beit HaMikdash, to receive the Ohr HaPanim, as we say in the Mussaf prayer for the festivals, “Because of our sins we have been exiled from our land and distanced… We are unable [to ascend to appear and to prostrate ourselves before You].”
And so, in His tremendous compassion, the Master of Compassion took pity on us. For our benefit He added these two holy days of Chanukah and Purim— instituted for us by the great tzaddikim, the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah—in order to draw the Ohr HaPanim upon us and into our homes, even in the depth of our exile. He did this so that on Chanukah each person, in his home, can merit kindling the Chanukah light. This light corresponds to the Ohr HaPanim, as expressed in “He brightens the panim with oil,” which alludes to a perception of Godliness.109See §10 above.
The same is true regarding Purim. Each person merits drawing upon himself an aspect of the receiving of the Torah, which one does anew every year on Purim, even in the depths of exile. This renewed acceptance of the Torah is alluded to in “[The Jews] confirmed and accepted.”110See Shabbat 88a, where Chazal teach that in the days of Achashveirosh the Jewish people voluntarily re-accepted the Torah; they confirmed what they had long before accepted under duress when they received the Torah at Sinai.
Now, Kabbalah identifies Chanukah and Purim with the concept of feet,111Each of the festivals corresponds to a particular part of the human form (see Shaar HaKavanot, Inyan Rosh Chodesh). An editorial insert to the text here adds: Chanukah and Purim “parallel the sefirot of Netzach and Hod, which correspond to the raglin” (Tikkuney Zohar, Introduction, p. 17a; see Charts, p. 257). the lowest levels of spirituality. This corresponds to the mitzvah of visiting the sick, a mitzvah we fulfill with the feet by going to be with the sick person. And this relates to what we said above, that on Chanukah and Purim, HaShem shows us compassion. He comes to visit us and illuminates us with His holy Panim, even in the depths of our exile, for we are so spiritually ill, as each of us knows in his soul. In His mercy, He visits us and revives us with the light of His holy Panim through the sanctity of these holy days that He gave us, namely Chanukah and Purim. For these are holy festivals celebrated specifically on weekdays, which are akin to the days of exile, when we are incapable of ascending to Him, of going up to the Beit HaMikdash in order to receive the Ohr HaPanim. Rather, HaShem draws down the Ohr HaPanim to us, into our homes, so that we may be invigorated by the true and great tzaddikim in every generation who are engaged in our spiritual rectification—those who endeavor mightily to revive the most spiritually ill.
CHANUKAH TZEDAKAH TO THE POOR Here Reb Noson will connect Chanukah, the Ohr HaPanim, and the mitzvah of tzedakah, charity.
This also relates to the custom on Chanukah for the poor to go around from house to house collectingtzedakah that is called “Chanukah money.”112This custom, commonly known by its Yiddish name “Chanukah gelt,” is brought in Shulchan Arukh, Magen Avraham 670.This is an expression of the illumination of the Supernal Panim—that HaShem shines His Panim towards us, into our homes. For the only way to receive “the Light of the Panim of the Living King”113Based on Mishlei 16:15. This verse is alternately translated in §14 above as “In the Light of the Panim of the King there is life.” righteous- ,צדק) is by giving tzedakah, as it is written, “With tzedek I shall behold Your Panim.”114114 Reb Noson is here equating tZeDeK charity). ,צדקה) ness) with tZeDaKah
Therefore on the festivals, when the Jewish people are required to make the pilgrimage to the Beit HaMikdash to receive the Ohr HaPanim, “[each] man” must bring “according to what he can give.” This means that he must bring the olat re’iyah-offering,115115 In addition to the required chagigah (festivaloffering) for each of the Shalosh Regalim, every adult male was to bring an olat re’iyah (a burnt-offering upon appearing) in the Beit HaMikdash.as it is written, “the Panim of HaShem shall not be seen empty-handed,”116116 Translation of these verses from Devarim is based on Chazal’s teaching that HaShem comes to the Beit HaMikdash to see the festival pilgrims, just as He appears there to be seen by them (Chagigah 2a; see also Rashi on Shemot 34:20: “It is your obligation to bring the olah-offering of ‘seeing the Panim’”). because it is impossible to receive illumination from HaShem’s Panim without a personal contribution.
However, there is a distinction between the Shalosh Regalim and Chanukah. On the festivals, when one must ascend to the House of HaShem to receive the Ohr HaPanim, one must bring up the offering, which as the contribution of one’s heart correlates to tzedakah. Personal effort is required in order to bring it up to the House of HaShem.
In contrast, on Chanukah the poor come into one’s home. The Zohar refers to them as “[HaShem’s] broken vessels,”117Zohar I, 10b. signifies the manifestation of (שכינה)in whom manifests the shekhinat, dwelling place, of the Light of His Panim, as in “Eshkon with the despondent.”118SheKhiNah HaShem’s Presence dwelling in this world. In likening this here with the Zohar’s depiction of the poor as “HaShem’s broken vessels,” Reb Noson proves that it is with the poor and despondent that HaShem says dwell)—they are His SheKhiNat ,אשכן) He will eShKoN dwelling place). ,שכינת)
Therefore when HaShem loves someone and wants to shine His Panim upon him, He sends him a poor person through whom he can gain merit. This is as the holy Zohar teaches, “To the one for whom HaKadosh Barukh Hu has compassion, He sends a poor person as a gift.”119Zohar I, 104a.For Chanukah is a time when HaShem shines His Panim into our homes. Therefore in His compassion He sends the poor into our homes, so that we might attain merit through them, so that through them we might receive the Ohr HaPanim that shines into our homes at that time.
INCREASING THE LIGHT Earlier (§11), Reb Noson explained that the basis of the dispute between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel concerned the appropriateness of drawing down a perception of Godliness to those on the lowest spiritual levels. He now applies this subject to the opposition raised against the tzaddikim in his time—especially Rebbe Nachman—who devoted themselves to bringing even the most spiritually distant closer to HaShem.
Now, the aforementioned dispute between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel concerned drawing near to HaShem those people who are so very spiritually distant from Him that, strictly speaking, it would be unseemly to draw them close. There we saw that Beit Shammai states that we “keep decreasing” the number of lights in order to conceal the light from the spiritually distant so they will not be drawn closer to HaShem. Beit Hillel, however, states that we “keep increasing” the number of lights, because we need to fashion appropriate vessels and constrictions so as to illuminate with His light even the spiritually distant, so that they too will be drawn near.
The matter of their dispute is related to a more general polemic in every generation regarding the perfect tzaddikim who engage in drawing near those who are spiritually distant from HaShem. For a great many rise up against them. Even many of the great tzaddikim oppose them, due to the attribute of judgment that has embedded itself inside them. This causes them to harbor enmity in their heart towards such a tzaddik, until it appears to them as if he is acting inappropriately and so they openly oppose him. It has been this way for ages, in almost every generation, yet especially so in our time, in this era preceding the coming of Mashiach, when vilification among Torah scholars has become commonplace.120Ketuvot 112b teaches: The generation in which the son of David comes will see vilification among the Torah scholars. And the greatest opposition has been against our great and awesome Rebbe, may the memory of the righteous and holy be a blessing. This was because he sacrificed himself and spent all his days showing compassion for the Jewish people— drawing closer to HaShem all those spiritually distant from Him.
Reb Noson shows that the issue of drawing closer those who are distant from HaShem was also the reason Yosef’s brothers, the Shevatim, opposed Yosef, who inherited this practice from their father Yaakov.
This corresponds to the opposition raised against Yosef HaTzaddik by the Shevatim. For Yosef is comparable to the tzaddik who is occupied with drawing people near to HaShem; he mosif ve-holeikh, “keeps increasing,” the Divine light every day. Each time, according to the need, he makes marvelous constrictions and vessels so that anyone in the world who wants to come near can do so. For this reason he is called “Yosef,” which is etymologically related to the word mosif—indicating that he is mosif ve-holeikh.121Scripture states that Rachel called her son Yosef, saying, “May HaShem yosef to me another son” (Bereishit He will add) and moSiF ,יוסף) 30:24). The words yoSef .(יסף) adds) share the same Hebrew root, YSF ,מוסיף)But the Shevatim, although they were all holy individuals— since they were all great tzaddikim—took issue with him over this practice.
This effort by Yosef to bring people closer to HaShem is reflected in the verse “Yaakov settled in the land of his father’s megurei.” Chazal interpret this to mean that he would megayeir geirim, convert proselytes, as cited by the Rebbe Nachman elsewhere in his teachings.122Bereishit Rabbah 84:4. Rebbe Nachman cites this in LM I, 228.And this was also true of Yosef, as in “These are the chronicles of Yaakov: Yosef,” meaning that Yosef followed the path of his father Yaakov. He too engaged in converting proselytes and drawing near those who are spiritually distant from HaShem, because “whatever happened to Yaakov, happened to Yosef.”123See Rashi on Bereishit 37:2, s.v. eileh toldot.This is the explanation of “These are the chronicles of Yaakov—Yosef,” as Rashi elucidates there: “All the wisdom that Yaakov received from studying at the yeshivah of Shem and Ever, he transmitted to Yosef,”124See Rashi on Bereishit 37:3, s.v. ben zekunim.and so too whatever else happened to Yaakov, also happened to Yosef.
All this—both explanations of Rashi—is needed to explain why “the chronicles of Yaakov” is juxtaposed with the first verse, “his father’s me-gurei,” which informs us that Yaakov would convert proselytes. Scripture immediately follows “his father’s megurei” with “These are the chronicles of Yaakov: Yosef,” the explanation of which is that Yaakov transmitted to Yosef all his wisdom, including the wisdom needed to megayeir geirim.
This is as we said above. Just as Yaakov converted proselytes through his superior wisdom—for he knew how to make such great constrictions that he could heal the most spiritually ill—similarly, Yosef HaTzaddik was always involved with this. For Yaakov had transmitted to him all his wisdom, the main purpose of which is to bring perceptions of Godliness into the world, “to make known to the sons of man His mighty deeds.”
This role is alluded to in “Yosef, at the age of seventeen, would tend the flock with his brothers.” “Tending flock” signifies the role of the leader of the generation, who in all places is called a “shepherd.”125See, for example, Yechezkel 34:2 and Yirmiyahu 17:16.This is also the meaning of “at the age of seventeen.” The Midrash teaches that seventeen is the gematria of tov, good.126Tanchuma, Korach 12; see also Siftei Kohen on Bereishit 47:28.That is, Yosef was good towards everyone, and was himself entirely good. Through this he was able to draw everyone near, because he found good points even in the very worst sinners, and by means of this drew them near to HaShem.127See p. 33 above, where Reb Noson similarly teaches Notes & Sources that Moshe Rabbeinu was the embodiment of good and so was always able to find the good in everyone. is etymologically sugges- (בלהה)
This is also why “he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah,” who, as the children of the maidservants, are identified with the lowliest of Jewish families. These are the sort of people to whom Yosef would lower himself most, befriending them in order to draw them closer to HaShem.
For this reason, those who are distant from HaShem are called “the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah,” hinting to the fact that the Evil One and its forces have a tight grip on such people. “Sons of Bilhah” alludes to “I will make you into balahot,”128128 The name BiLHah .(בלהות) tive of BaLaHot is etymologically sugges- (זלפה) which Rashi interprets as “demons,” meaning the forces of the Yetzer Hara. These are the demons and kelipot that terrify, confuse and bring a person to evil. Similarly, “sons of Zilpah” alludes to “zalaphah has gripped me on account of the wicked.”129129 The name ZiLPaH .(זלעפה) tive of ZaLaPhaHThe forces of the Yetzer Hara are synonymous with balahot and zalaphot, fright and rage, and so all those drawn after them are called “the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah.” But the great tzaddik, represented by Yosef, engages with these people. He lowers himself to their level in order to draw them near to HaShem.
And this is the meaning of “And [Yosef] was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah.” Rashi explains, “He would act childishly.” For the true tzaddik, with his mighty wisdom, lowers himself to them so much that it appears as if he is acting childishly. He speaks with them about mundane matters, he eats and drinks with them, and occasionally he even takes leisure strolls and plays games with them. His entire intention is to draw them near to HaShem through this. This idea is understood from Rebbe Nachman’s words in a number of places, just how much the tzaddik lowers himself to engage with the world. With respect to his exalted level, all of this is reckoned as acting childishly. However, the tzaddik’sintention is nothing but pleasing to HaShem, because he does all this in order to draw the very distant closer to HaShem. There is no other way to draw them near. This is the meaning of “And [Yosef] was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah.”
YOSEF, THE TZADDIK OF COMPASSION In this section Reb Noson brings further proof that Yosef HaTzaddik is identified with bringing everyone nearer to HaShem and illuminating them with perceptions of Godliness.
This is why he is called Yosef, as alluded to in “God asaf my shame.” Yosef gathers in and eliminates all disgrace and embarrassment from the Jewish people, since he brings them to teshuvah and so closer to HaShem. This is the meaning of “May HaShem yosef for me another son,” on account of which he is called Yosef. This means that the tzaddik always works le-hosif, to add, and to draw close new souls each time.130130 The word asaf is formed of the three root letters (יוסף) meaning “gather.” The name Yosef ,(אסף) ASF are formed of the (להוסיף) and the word le-hosif meaning ,(יסף) etymologically similar root letters YSF “add.” The tzaddik, personified by Yosef HaTzaddik, serves HaShem by gathering in those who have grown distant from Him and thus adding to the souls who serve Him. He constantly requests this of HaShem, as alluded to in “May HaShem add for me another son,” in the sense that each time HaShem should add for him a new student—since a student is called a son, because “whoever teaches Torah to his friend’s son is considered as if he fathered him.”131Sanhedrin 19b.He constantly searches and seeks to add new people and bring them near, as in “May HaShem yosef for me another son.”
Therefore the verse states, “Now, Yisrael loved Yosef more than all his sons, for he was the son of his zekunim.”132This reflects Chazal’s teaching that “zakein” denotes someone with wisdom (Kiddushin 32b). Yisrael loved him greatly because of this—because Yosef desired to show compassion for everyone and to design ways to bring everyone near. This is the meaning of “for [Yosef] was the son of his zekunim.” Zakein, elder, denotes the trait of very great compassion, as in the midrashic depiction of HaShem at Sinai as “a zakein full of compassion.”133Mekhilta, Parashat Beshalach 4. Kabbalistic teaching states that the Thirteen Rectifications of the Zakan, the Supernal Beard, similarly signify very great compassion.134As mentioned above, Ohr HaPanim is the Light that shines from the Countenance of the Divine persona of Arikh Anpin (see note 13 above). The Arizal teaches that the channels through which this Light descends are the hairs of Arikh Anpin’s Countenance, otherwise known as the Thirteen Rectifications of the Beard (Sefer HaLikutim, Toldot). The Zohar (III, 131a) associates these Thirteen Rectifications with the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy through which we evoke Heaven’s compassion, as brought in Shemot 34:6-7 (see also Eitz Chaim 13:9 and LM I, 27:3, note 12). This connection is intimated ,זקָָן) by the resemblance between the words ZaKaN elder). In the kabbalistic ,זקֵָן) beard) and ZaKeiN lexicon, Arikh Anpin is the “Elder,” whose defining quality is great compassion.Thus Yosef received from Yaakov all the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, the concept of zakein, through which the great tzaddikshows compassion for everyone and brings them all closer to HaShem.
This is why Targum Onkelos renders “for he was the son of his zekunim” as “for he was his wise son.” Yosef certainly would have needed to be a wise son since one needs great wisdom for this—amazing and exceedingly profound wisdom in order to be able to create the appropriate vessels and constrictions that would enable him to draw near such distant souls, such spiritually ill people, and infuse them with perceptions of Godliness.
Thus the Torah states that “he made him a cloak of passim.” The explanation of passimis “a fine woolen garment of many beautiful colors,” as Rashi comments on the words “karpas and sky-blue wool.”135This is a combination of Rashi’s commentary on Esther 1:6, where he explains “white, karpas and skyblue wool” as many different colored fabrics, and his commentary on Bereishit 37:3, where he interprets to mean a fine woolen garment “such (פסים) PaSsim green) and sky-blue wool.” See also ,כרפס) as karPaS Megillah 12a.In other words, because Yaakov saw that Yosef engaged in drawing near to HaShem the spiritually distant, he made for him wondrous garments of amazingly beautiful colors—the concept of “a cloak of passim,” meaning marvelous constrictions, which are vessels and garments through which to extend a perception of Godliness even to the most spiritually distant. Conceptually, the constrictions, which correspond to lower wisdom, are inclusive of all the colors. These colors are the entirety of the vessels and garments of holiness through which one perceives His Godliness, as is written in the holy Zohar several times about Malkhut/lower wisdom, that “it is inclusive of all the colors.”136Zohar I, 91a; ibid. III, 296b.
YOSEF, THE TZADDIK OF VALOR Here, Reb Noson expounds Yosef’s dream as alluding to his unique ability to create the constrictions that enable others to perceive Godliness. Reb Noson also shows how this is alluded to in the verses from the Book of Mishlei in praise of the “woman of valor.”
This relates to what Yosef dreamed: “Look, we were binding alumim in the field,” where the explanation of the word alumimis “binds.” This signifies the concept of constrictions, which are synonymous with bindings, because a constriction is a binding. In other words, Yosef dreamed that all of the Shevatimengaged in this; they were “binding alumim” and creating bindings and constrictions in order to draw through them a perception of Godliness.
Nevertheless, Yosef HaTzaddik’s constrictions and vessels surpassed all of theirs, as in “look, my sheaf arose and even remained standing”—his binding and constriction arose and even remained standing forever and for all eternity. “And look, your sheaves encircled my sheaf and bowed down to it.” This indicates that everyone, including the Shevatim, must receive perceptions of Godliness from him, by means of the wondrous constrictions that he creates with his profound wisdom. As a result of his having constantly engaged in drawing souls near to HaShem, he merited that even the great tzaddikim who engage in attaining perceptions of Godliness via constrictions also need to receive from him.
This idea that the tzaddik’s perceptions and constrictions rise above everyone else’s is expressed in “Many women have excelled, but you surpass them all.” This verse from the Book of Mishleispeaks of the greatest true tzaddik—the one who engages in creating vessels and garments, and in drawing Torah with such genuine wisdom that everyone can come closer to HaShem. This dovetails with the praise inMishleifor the “woman of valor,” as “she looks for wool and flax” alludes to the vessels and garments required for perceiving Godliness.137See §17 above, where Reb Noson connects wool with constrictions. This is as Rebbe Nachman teaches in LM I, 29:12, that the letters of the word tZeMeR ,מצר) wool) can be rearranged to spell MeitZaR ,צמר) constriction).
This connection to the tzaddik is also expressed in “She is like the merchant ships, [bringing her food] from afar. She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household.” This means that in the deepest darkness of the night of exile for Jewish souls, she provides them with food—that is, the tzaddik provides them with perceptions of Godliness. And so on for the rest of the holy praise in Mishlei for the “woman of valor”/tzaddik.
This also relates to “Her husband is renowned in the she’arim.” The word she’arimalludes to the “shiurim, measurements, of the letters of Torah.”138See §1 and note 7 above.This signifies the idea of constrictions of the Torah as manifested in its letters, which the tzaddikdraws with his wisdom. By dint of these constrictions, HaShem, “Her Husband,” is renowned in the world. This then is the meaning of “Her husband is renowned in the she’arim”—Her Husband is known through the constrictions, i.e. the shiurim of the letters.
And this is “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the Torah of chesed is on her tongue.” Interpreting this homiletically, Chazal state, “This refers to the one who studies Torah in order to teach it.”139Sukkah 49b.This is the tzaddik, who teaches his torah to others in order to draw them near to HaShem.
And this is “She oversees the ways of her household.” For the tzaddikoversees the ways of his household—how he should always conduct himself so that his light will never be extinguished, so that a vestige of his wisdom remains for generations to come, forever. For “she does not partake of the bread of idleness”—his bread and his torah are not “the bread of idleness,” chas ve-shalom, since the tzaddikhas always been extremely alacritous in serving HaShem.
Therefore “her children rise and laud her.” These are the students, who are called “children”—those whom the tzaddikhas drawn near to HaShem. “[Also] her husband, and he praises her.” This refers to HaShem, because He approves of this devotion of the tzaddik. HaShem yearns for the tzaddikto draw everyone close to Him, “because He desires chesed.” And so HaShem praises the tzaddik, saying, “Many women have excelled, but you surpass them all.”
THE SUN, THE MOON, AND THE DISTANT STARS Lastly, Reb Noson shows that Yosef’s second dream too alludes to his being the great tzaddik who “turns the many to righteousness” by instilling them with perceptions of Godliness.
And this is the meaning of “Look, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars are bowing down to me.”
“Sun” and “moon” represent giver and receiver, upper intellect and lower intellect, rav and student. For the tzaddik, who is the rav, is called “sun,” as it is written, “The sun rises and the sun sets.” Interpreting this homiletically as alluding to the tzaddik, Chazal state, “Before the sun set …”140Chazal state, “A tzaddik does not depart from the Notes & Sources world until another tzaddik like him is created, as it is written, ‘The sun rises and the sun sets.’ Before the sun of Eli set, the sun of Shmuel of Ramah rose” (Kiddushin 72b).And the moon is likened to a student, who receives the spiritual light from his rav just as the moon receives its light from the sun.
“And the eleven stars” referenced in Yosef’s dream alludes to the spiritually distant people who are brought near to HaShem. These are very holy souls, who nevertheless were initially trapped in the depths of the kelipot. Yet they ascended from there, akin to the fallen sparks of holiness redeemed from the depths of the kelipot by the eleven spices of the ketoret, incense-offering.141Eitz Chaim 39:3.This representation of the “eleven stars” as distant souls brought near to HaShem by the tzaddikis alluded to in “Those who teach righteousness to the masses [will shine] like the stars.”
All of them “are bowing down to me.” For the great tzaddik draws such wondrous insights that all the spiritually great and small, and all those who are distant from HaShem, want to draw near. Everyone needs to receive from him. It was already explained above142See §13 above.that even within the constrictions themselves there is the aspect of upper intellect and lower intellect. For they contain so many levels, including the aspects of rav and student, sun and moon, and so on. Therefore everyone must submit and bow and set aside his ego in the presence of the greatest tzaddik, represented by Yosef, because he is the one who instills perceptions of Godliness into all of them.
יִתְגַּבֵּר כַּאֲרִי לַעֲמֹד בַּבֹּקֶר שֶׁיְּהֵא הוּא מְעוֹרֵר הַשַּׁחַר. ״שִׁוִּיתִי ה׳ לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד וְכוּ׳״ (שלחן ערוך ארח חיִים סימן א׳ סעיף א׳).
KEY CONCEPTS FROM LIKUTEY MOHARAN
A person should strengthen himself like a lion to rise up in the morning … so that it is he who awakens the shachar, dawn. [Gloss: “I set HaShem before me always” (Tehillim 16:8)—this is a major principle in fulfillment of the Torah] (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 1:1).
עַל פִּי הַתּוֹרָה ״מֵישְׁרָא דְסַכִּינָא וְכוּ׳״ בְּסִימָן ל׳, עַיֵּן שָׁם כָּל הַתּוֹרָה.
This discourse is based on the lesson Meishra d’Sakina, LM I, 30, in which Rebbe Nachman discusses attaining a perception of Godliness. Study well the entire lesson there.
וְהַכְּלָל, כִּי צָרִיךְ כָּל אָדָם לְבַקֵּשׁ וּלְחַפֵּשׂ מְאֹד מְאֹד אַחַר רַבִּי אֲמִתִּי הַגָּדוֹל בְּמַעֲלָה מֻפְלֶגֶת מְאֹד, שֶׁיּוּכַל לְהָאִיר בּוֹ הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת.
The general rule derived from the Rebbe’s lesson is that every person must persistently seek out and search for a true rav, one of such superlative greatness that he will be capable of enlightening him with a perception of Godliness.1“Perception of Godliness” refers to daat, the internalized knowledge that HaShem’s Immanence fills all of creation. This awareness fills a person, according to his spiritual level, with a deep inner sense of HaShem’s immediate closeness and everlasting love. Elsewhere, Reb Noson writes that this is the meaning of “to know that HaShem is Elohim” (I Melakhim 8:60)—dispelling the illusion that a God exists other than HaShem, and knowing intimately that whatever one experiences in life comes from the hand of HaShem for one’s benefit (LH, Geviyat Chov MeiHaYetomim 4:1).
כִּי הַשָּׁגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת אִי אֶפְשָׁר לְהַשִּׁיג כִּי אִם עַל־יְדֵי כַּמָּה צִמְצוּמִים וְכוּ׳, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת סִבוּבִים וְהַקְדָּמוֹת, כְּמוֹ הַמְלַמֵּד שֶׁלּוֹמֵד עִם הַתִּינוֹק וְכוּ׳.
For perceptions of Godliness are impossible to attain except through many constrictions of Divine wisdom.2Implicit in Rebbe Nachman’s use of the term tzimtzum, constriction, is its kabbalistic meaning as the constriction of the Light of Ein Sof at the very first stages of Creation (see Appendix A, p. 226). For wisdom, and Divine wisdom in particular, is associated with light (see Peirush Ramban al Sefer Yetzirah 1; see also following note) and with Creation, as in “HaShem, how great are Your works! You created them all with wisdom” (Tehillim 104:24)—alluding to the sefirah of Chokhmah., 3See LM I, 1:2, where Rebbe Nachman teaches that a Jew should always focus on the seikhel, intellect, that inheres in all things in creation. Attaining this seikhel, which is Divine wisdom, will enable him to come closer to HaShem through that thing. Thus the Rebbe refers to Divine wisdom as “a great light that shines for a person in all his ways.” However, as he explains here, Divine wisdom is incomprehensible unless its profundity is channeled through constriction into lower seikhel/lower wisdom. This involves simplifying that wisdom through the indirect explanations and hakdamot, introductory principles, that typically precede the presentation of any complex material. It is comparable to the pedagogical methods employed by the teacher who teaches a young child.
וְכָל מַה שֶּׁהוּא קָטָן בְּמַעֲלָה בְּיוֹתֵר, וְכָל מַה שֶּׁהוּא חוֹלֶה בְּיוֹתֵר, הוּא צָרִיךְ רוֹפֵא גָּדוֹל בְּיוֹתֵר, דְּהַיְנוּ רַבִּי גָּדוֹל בְּיוֹתֵר, שֶׁיִּהְיֶה גָּדוֹל בְּמַעֲלָה כָּל־כָּךְ עַד שֶׁיּוּכַל לְרַפְּאוֹת אוֹתוֹ גַּם כֵּן, וְיוּכַל לְסַבֵּב עִמּוֹ גַּם כֵּן עַד שֶׁיַּכְנִיס בּוֹ הַשָּׁגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת, שֶׁזֶּה עִקַּר הַתַּכְלִית וְכוּ׳.
Therefore with regard to Divine wisdom, the further a person is from HaShem, the greater the constriction he requires to attain that wisdom. The more immature his spiritual level, and, homiletically speaking, the more spiritually ill he is, the greater the “doctor” he requires—that is, the greater the rav he requires. This rav has to be so great that he can cure even him. He must be able to explain the essential matter to him in indirect ways—through the constriction of Divine wisdom into lower wisdom—until he succeeds in instilling into him perceptions of Godliness; their attainment being the main purpose for which man was created.
וּמְבֹאָר שָׁם, שֶׁאֵלּוּ הַצִּמְצוּמִים, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת הַהַקְדָּמוֹת וְכוּ׳, שֶׁעַל יָדָם בָּאִים לַהַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת, הֵם בְּחִינַת חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה, בְּחִינַת מַלְכוּת, בְּחִינַת שְׂעָרוֹת, בְּחִינַת (תקון ע): ״שִׁיעוּרִין דְאַתְוָון דְּאוֹרַיְתָא״.
In his lesson4See §3 and §4 there. the Rebbe clarifies that these constrictions, which are the hakdamot that enable a person to attain perceptions of Godliness, correspond to lower wisdom, the holy and uncomplicated understanding of Godliness that can be found in the simple Jew. Lower wisdom equates with the sefirah of Malkhut,5Malkhut (lit. “Kingship” or “Sovereignty”) is the lowest and last of the ten sefirot (see Charts, p. 252), and as such interfaces with this physical world. which functions as a conduit to bring down higher wisdom to the lower realm. In this role, Malkhut corresponds to the se’arot, hairs, of the head. Kabbalistic teaching conceptualizes the se’arot of the head as narrow channels leading to the mind,66 Kabbalah depicts Divine wisdom as a radiant light that descends through the hair to provide the mind with mochin, mental faculties (Zohar III, 129a). As elements of consciousness, mochin are man’s primary means for drawing perceptions of Godliness. The Arizal explains that the hairs of the head (and beard) serve as narrow conduits for constricting Divine wisdom, whose radiance would otherwise be too bright for the human mind to absorb (Shaar Maamarei Rashbi, Peirush Sifra d’Tzniuta, ch. 1). comparable to constrictions. Thus the Tikkuney Zohar likens them to “shiurim, measurements, of the letters of Torah,” in the sense that the letters and also the mitzvot that the letters articulate are measured and calculated constrictions of Divine wisdom.7The shapes of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are not incidental, but rather precise expressions of the light of Divine wisdom within form and measure. Similarly, each mitzvah in the Torah is an expression of Divine wisdom within form and measure. In context here, this is synonymous with lower wisdom, the reduction of the light for the benefit of those on the lower levels. Like the hair, letters and mitzvot serve as channels for constricting Divine wisdom in order to further man’s perception of Godliness. Tikkuney Zohar (#70, p. 122a) highlights their connection by pointing to the etymological similarity between the words Sei’AR(שֵׂעָר, hair) and ShiUR (שִׁעוּר, measurement).
בְּחִינַת: ״שַׂעֲרָא אוּכְמָא״, ״שַׂעֲרָא בְּעִגּוּלָא״, בְּחִינַת (שיר־השירים א, ה): ״שְׁחוֹרָה אֲנִי וְנָאוָה״, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת: ״אַבְרָהָם תִּקֵּן שַׁחֲרִית וְכוּ׳״ (ברכות כו:).
Two additional concepts that the Tikkuney Zohar links with Malkhut, “black hairs” and “surrounding hairs,”8The Zohar (II, 70-78) teaches that it is possible to accurately detect a person’s character and personality traits from his hair, facial features, and the lines of his fingers and hands. This is the art of chokhmat ha-partzuf (physiognomy). The Tikkuney Zohar (#70, p. 122a-124a) speaks of this as well, identifying hair that is black and hair that surrounds the head as indicative of the qualities associated with Malkhut. similarly represent constriction. Just as the image of large objects is reduced and constricted in the blackness of the pupil, Divine wisdom is constricted in the blackness of the hair. The same is true of the hairs that encircle the head; they signify constriction and the indirect explanations that transform Divine wisdom into lower wisdom. The link between Malkhut and blackness is alluded to in the verse “I am shachor but pleasing.”9The Tikkuney Zohar (#70, p. 124a) teaches that a worthy person with black hair possesses traits similar to the Shekhinah, namely Malkhut, of whom it is written, “I am black but pleasing.” In context here, the Shekhinah declares, “I am black”—in this world I manifest through constriction, as lower wisdom—“but pleasing”—for my essence is actually Divine wisdom. This relates to the teaching of Chazal that “Avraham instituted Shacharit.”10Berakhot 26b teaches that each of the Patriarchs instituted one of the three daily prayers., 11The word ShaChaRit (שחרית) is etymologically related to ShaChaRut (שחרות, blackness), and so likewise alludes to constriction. For Avraham was the first to constrict Divine wisdom in order to instill perceptions of Godliness into the common people.
וּצְרִיכִין לְהַחֲיוֹת אֶת הַמַּלְכוּת וְכוּ׳ עַל־יְדֵי אוֹר הַפָּנִים הַמֵּאִיר בְּשָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים וְכוּ׳.
And after constricting Divine wisdom into lower wisdom we have to infuse that wisdom, the sefirah of Malkhut, with vitality.12While constriction is indispensable to attaining perceptions of Godliness, there is a danger that the lower wisdom it produces will lack vitality—i.e. be narrow and uninspiring. The way to invigorate Malkhut is through the Ohr HaPanim, the Light of the Supernal Countenance,13The PaNiM (פנים, face) of anything is an expression of its PeNiMiyut (פנימיות, innerness and essential-being). The light of the panim is thus a manifestation of that inner essence. Kabbalah teaches that HaShem’s Ohr HaPanim (see Bamidbar 6:25) is the Light that shines from the sefirah of Keter (the Divine persona of Arikh Anpin; see Appendix A, p. 233), a level even more exalted than perceptions of Godliness from Chokhmah. See notes 55 and 56 to LM I, 30, that this Light of the Supernal Countenance shines into and invigorates Malkhut; see also LM I, 23, which links the Ohr HaPanim with joy, as Reb Noson does here. which shines when we are joyous on the Shalosh Regalim.14See §5 of the Rebbe’s lesson that the reason for the pilgrimage to the Beit HaMikdash on each of the Shalosh Regalim is to receive illumination from the Light of the Supernal Countenance, as in “Three times a year all your males shall see the Panim of HaShem your God” (Devarim 16:16, translation based on Chagigah 2a; see also note 116 below).
וְלִפְעָמִים נוֹפֶלֶת הַמַּלְכוּת, שֶׁהִיא בְּחִינַת ד׳, לְהָאַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיּוֹת, שֶׁהֵם חָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת.
But sometimes the sefirah of Malkhut falls. Malkhut is synonymous with the letter dalet, which has a numerical value of four and can be read as d’let, the Aramaic word for “that has no.” The Zohar says of the sefirah of Malkhut that it has no light of its own.15Eitz Chaim 6:6: “It [Malkhut] has no light of its own”—only what which it receives from the other sefirot. Thus the light that illuminates Malkhut is one that has been reduced by repeated constriction. This “impoverishment” is reflected in Malkhut being When spelled .(ד) associated with the Hebrew letter dalet it can alternatively be vowelized ,(דלת) out, as DaLeT poverty), and so relates to ,דלות) as the word DaLuT as in “that has no light of its ,(דלית) the Aramaic D’LeiT own.” Malkhut’s connection to the dalet links it as well to the dalet’s numerical value of four (see Charts, p. 259). This lack renders Malkhut susceptible to the rule of the Four Kingdoms.16Bereishit Rabbah 44:19; Rashi on Bereishit 15:14. See §6 of the Rebbe’s lesson that just as there are Four Kingdoms of holiness, one for each of the Four Worlds (see Appendix A, p. 235), there are Four Kingdoms of evil, represented by the four empires under whose rule the Jewish people have been subjugated (Babylon, Medea/Persia, Greece, and Rome). We know too that wherever the Jews were in exile, the Shekhinah, which is Malkhut, was there with them (Megillah 29a). This is the sefirah of Malkhut, namely lower wisdom, falling amid the Four Kingdoms. These Four Kingdoms of evil incorporate all the powers of impurity and the kelipot, the forces of evil. As relates here, they are associated with extraneous wisdom, the alien thoughts and godless philosophies that keep man from attaining perceptions of Godliness.17In §6 of his lesson the Rebbe writes, “The wisdom of the nations is inferior to lower wisdom and draws from it. But when, chas ve-shalom, extraneous wisdom draws more than it should, it overpowers Malkhut. This creates the rule of the Four Kingdoms, the four exiles.” in ba-kesilim is generally (בַ)ּ ”
וּמִי יוּכַל לִסְבּוֹל אֶת קוֹל הַצְּעָקָה כְּשֶׁנּוֹפֶלֶת הַמַּלְכוּת בֵּינֵיהֶם, בְּחִינַת (קהלת ט, יז): ״זַעֲקַת מוֹשֵׁל בַּכְּסִילִים״, שֶׁהַכְּסִיל רוֹצֶה לְהִתְחַכֵּם וְכוּ׳. וּצְרִיכִין לְחָתְכָהּ מֵהֶם, בִּבְחִינַת ״חֲתָּכוֹ לְאַרְבַּע״, וְזֶה עַל־יְדֵי הַחֶסֶד שֶׁמִּתְגַּלֶּה עַל־יְדֵי הַתּוֹכֵחָה וְכוּ׳. עַיֵּן שָׁם כָּל זֶה הֵיטֵב.
And who can bear the sound of wailing when Malkhut falls under the rule of the Four Kingdoms and is caught in their midst? This is as in “the shouts of a ruler ba-kesilim”—the screaming that ensues when Malkhut, the manifestation of sovereignty and rule, falls amid the foolish.18Although the prefix “ba rendered as “over,” in context here it suggests “amid.” The “ruler,” namely Malkhut, is trapped “amid” the kesilim, namely the Four Kingdoms. It cries out because when the foolish want to become clever, they draw from lower wisdom/Malkhut, but twist that wisdom in accord with their foolishness. To redeem lower wisdom, we must sever Malkhut from them. This relates to the incident in which the prophet Shmuel killed King Agag of Amalek and “cut him into four.”19Commenting on the verse “Shmuel severed Agag,” Rashi explains that Shmuel cut the Amalekite king into four. Shmuel cut and severed the dalet—namely the Malkhut of holiness—from Agag, the embodiment of the Four Kingdoms of evil.20The Biblical nation Amalek was not only the first nation to attack the Jewish people after their departure from Egypt, but also remained Israel’s primary enemy historically. Notorious for its exceptional cruelty and denial of HaShem, Amalek has come to symbolize the irredeemable root of all evil in the universe. In context here, Amalek is representative of all Four Kingdoms, and Agag, the Amalekite king, is the personification of all their impurity and evil. For us, this severing of Malkhut from the realm of the kelipot takes place by means of the revelation of chesed, loving-kindness, occasioned by the rebuke of the tzaddikim. Study all this well in the Rebbe’s lesson.21In §7 of the Rebbe’s lesson he teaches that we should accept the rebuke of the tzaddikim, even if occasionally we are humiliated by it. The wisdom contained in their words of rebuke reveals chesed, as in “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the Torah of chesed is on her tongue” (Mishlei 31:26). Reb Noson will expand on this in §8 below.
Reb Noson has highlighted some key concepts from Rebbe Nachman’s lesson on attaining perceptions of Godliness. This requires a tzaddik capable of constricting Divine wisdom into lower wisdom, the uncomplicated understanding of Godliness found in a simple Jew. While indispensable, such constriction leaves lower wisdom, which equates with Malkhut, with two faults in need of rectification. The first is that, for some, lower wisdom fails to inspire; it feels limiting and insufficiently spiritual. Constriction has, as it were, robbed lower wisdom of its light, so that like Malkhut, it has no light of its own (see note 15). To rectify lower wisdom, we need to infuse it with Ohr HaPanim (see §3-§5 below). Lower wisdom also has no response to heresy and the godless ideologies that would confound it. Herein lies its second deficiency. For if a person’s emunah is not strong, lower wisdom’s artlessness, its innocence, leaves him defenseless against the attraction of extraneous wisdom, the secular studies and philosophical inquiry foreign to Torah and Jewish tradition. The rectification for this is the revelation of chesed, the uncovering of the love concealed within the tzaddik’s rebuke, through which he brings back to HaShem those who have grown distant from Him (see §4 and §8 below).
וְכָל זֶה נַעֲשָׂה בְּכָל בּקֶֹר, שֶׁאָז בְּשַׁחֲרִית עוֹלָה אַיֶּלֶת הַשַּחַׁר (תהלים כב, א וברש״י), שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת עֲלִיּוֹת עַמּוּד הַשַּׁחַר (יומא כט.; ירושלמי ברכות ד:), שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת מַלְכוּת (זהר משפטים קיט:), חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁנִּקְרָא ״שַׁחַר״, כִּי הוּא מְצַמְצֵם הָרְאוּת, שֶׁכָּל הַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת עַל־יָדָהּ.
RISING BEFORE DAWN
Reb Noson opens his discourse by explaining that lower wisdom—our gateway to perceptions of Godliness—is renewed every morning. He then links the renewal of lower wisdom with the mitzvah of rising early to “awaken the shachar” through Torah study and service of HaShem.
Now, all this—the rectification of Malkhut and the building of a person’s intellect through lower wisdom—occurs every morning. At the time of Shacharit, the Shekhinah, in Her identity as Ayelet HaShachar, ascends.22When the first rays of dawn burst forth out of the ,איילה) darkness, they resemble the antlers of an AYaLah mountain deer); see Bekhor Shor on Shemot 34:30. Thus איילת) the light of shachar is called AYeLet HaShachar In the kabbalistic lexicon, Ayelet HaShachar .(השחר is an appellation for the Shekhinah (Zohar II, 19b), Whose rectification and return to wholeness comes with the morning’s dawn. This is indicated by the ascension of the first ray of shachar, dawn.23At the break of dawn HaShem delights with the Shekhinah and with all those whose spiritual devotions in the night ensured Her ascent (Zohar II, 46a). It is also symbolic of the lowest sefirah, Malkhut, in its aspect of lower wisdom—meaning as the light of Divine wisdom constricted to our low level, as discussed previously. This lower wisdom is itself called shachar, because it constricts vision, just as the shachor, blackness, of the eye constricts the large objects that appear in the pupil. It is only through this that all perceptions of Godliness come about.
וְעַל־כֵּן צְרִיכִין לְהִתְגַּבֵּר מְאֹד לַעֲמֹד בַּבֹּקֶר הַשְׁכֵּם כְּדֵי לַעֲסֹק בְּתוֹרָה וַעֲבוֹדָה, כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּגַדֵּל וְיַעֲלֶה וִיעוֹרֵר בְּחִינַת הַשַּׁחַר הַנַּ״ל, בְּחִינַת חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה הַנַּ״ל, בִּבְחִינַת (תהלים נז, ט): ״עוּרָה כְבוֹדִי וְכוּ׳ אָעִירָה שָׁחַר״, כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּזְכֶּה לִבְחִינַת הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת, לְהַכִּיר אוֹתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ, אֲשֶׁר לְכָךְ נוֹצָרְנוּ, כִּי כָל אָדָם מֻכְרָח שֶׁיָּבֹא לָזֶה, כִּי רַק בִּשְׁבִיל זֶה בָּא לָעוֹלָם, וְכָל הָעוֹלָמוֹת נִבְרְאוּ רַק בִּשְׁבִיל זֶה, ״בְּגִין דְיִשְׁתְּמוֹדָעִין לֵיהּ״ (זהר בא דף מב:).
Therefore a person must greatly strengthen himself to rise early in the morning, before daybreak, in order to study Torah and serve HaShem. By doing so, he will magnify, elevate and awaken the shachar in its aspect of lower wisdom. This is as in “Awake 24 The Zohar (II, 42b) teaches: There is only one God, my soul … awaken the shachar”—so that one will wake up from sleep, and through the lower wisdom from his Torah study merit a perception of Godliness and gain awareness of HaShem. It is for this that we were created! This is not the reserve of the tzaddikim. Each person must attain this awareness. It is the only reason he has come into this world. The Supernal Worlds too were created only for this, as the Zohar states, “in order that they should know Him.”24The Zohar (II, 42b) teaches: There is only one God, yet He is called by different Holy Names—El, Elohim, etc.—so that we might know Him in each and every characteristic; how He directs the world through chesed and din, loving-kindness and judgment, in accordance with a person’s actions.
וְזֶה בְּחִינַת הִתְעוֹרְרוּת הַשֵּׁנָה.
THE BENEFIT OF SLEEP
Before explaining the devotion of strengthening oneself to rise early in the morning, Reb Noson clarifies how sleep, in the sense of removing one’s conscious intellect, plays a role in the attainment of perceptions of Godliness.
And this idea, that perceptions of Godliness are attainable only through lower wisdom, is related to waking up from sleep.
כִּי עִקַּר הַשֵּׁנָה נִמְשָׁךְ מֵחֲמַת שֶׁזֹּאת הַבְּחִינָה, שֶׁהִיא בְּחִינַת מַלְכוּת – הַשֵּׂכֶל הַתַּחְתּוֹן הַנַּ״ל, הִיא סְמוּכָה לַחִיצוֹנִים, כִּי הִיא מַדְרֵגָה הָאַחֲרוֹנָה שֶׁל הַקְּדֻשָּׁה, כַּיָּדוּעַ, עַל־כֵּן לִפְעָמִים הִיא נוֹפֶלֶת אֲלֵיהֶם כַּנַּ״ל, דְּהַיְנוּ שֶׁנּוֹפֶלֶת לְתוֹךְ בְּחִינַת הָאַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיּוֹת, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת חָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת, שֶׁהֵם רוֹצִים לְהַמְשִׁיךְ זֶה הַשֵּׂכֶל אֲלֵיהֶם, לְהִתְגַּבֵּר עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה הַשֵּׂכֶל בְּחָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת שֶׁלָּהֶם וְכוּ׳, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב שָׁם. וַאֲזַי צְרִיכִין שֵׁנָה.
The primary reason for sleep is to counteract the kelipot. These negative forces arise because Malkhut, namely lower intellect,25In this section Reb Noson substitutes “lower wisdom” (chokhmah tataah) with “lower intellect” (seikhel tachton), which is the term Rebbe Nachman uses in his lesson to signify what is essentially the same thing (and see note 3 above). is adjacent to the impure extraneous forces. As is known from Kabbalah, Malkhut is the last outpost of holiness.26As the lowest of the sefirot, Malkhut functions as the boundary between all that is inherently holy and the realm of the Sitra Achra “below” it. For those who acknowledge HaShem’s kingship, Malkhut becomes the gateway into the spiritual realm, enabling them to perceive the light of Godliness. But for those who reject the yoke of Heaven, Malkhut becomes a barrier preventing their entry into the spiritual realm. On account of this Malkhut sometimes falls into their domain. It falls among the impure forces identified with the Four Kingdoms, particularly in their manifestation as extraneous wisdom. These forces seek to pull this holy lower intellect towards themselves, to gain strength by appropriating it into their extraneous wisdom, as explained there.27See §6 of the Rebbe’s lesson. And so, to prevent the kelipot from overpowering the intellect, we need to completely relinquish our conscious intellect in sleep.
הַיְנוּ כָּל זְמַן שֶׁיְּכוֹלִין לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ עִם זֶה הַשֵּׂכֶל בִּקְדֻשָּׁה, שֶׁיּוּכַל לְסַבֵּב עַל יָדוֹ לָבאֹ לְהַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת, הוּא מִצְוָה גְּדוֹלָה לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ עִמּוֹ כְּפִי מַה שֶּׁיּוּכַל – כָּל אֶחָד לְפִי עֶרְכּוֹ.
Reb Noson now clarifies when sleep contributes to our spiritual progress and when it does not.
To elaborate: As long as a person can use his intellect in a holy fashion, sleep is unnecessary. As long as he can continue to attain a perception of Godliness by indirect means—through the indirect explanations and hakdamot that constrain the highest levels of daat—it is a great mitzvah for him to use his intellect as much as he can, each person according to his spiritual level.
אֲבָל כְּשֶׁהַשֵּׂכֶל מַתְחִיל לִפּוֹל, וּמִתְגַּבְּרִים עָלָיו בִּלְבּוּלִים, שֶׁזֶּה נִמְשָׁךְ מִבְּחִינָה הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁבְּחִינַת הַחָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת שֶׁהֵם הָאַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיּוֹת רוֹצִים לְהִתְגַּבֵּר לְהַמְשִׁיךְ זֶה הַשֵּׂכֶל אֲלֵיהֶם, אָז צְרִיכִים לִישַׁן, שֶׁהוּא הִסְתַּלְּקוּת הַדַּעַת, דְּהַיְנוּ לְסַלֵּק דַּעְתּוֹ לְגַמְרֵי, וּמִשָּׁם עִקַּר בְּחִינַת הַשֵּׁנָה.
But when the intellect begins to decline and confusing thoughts overwhelm a person, sleep becomes absolutely necessary. This confusion is caused by the aforementioned element of extraneous wisdom, namely the Four Kingdoms that seek to gain power by pulling this holy intellect towards themselves. A person must sleep then, for sleep is the departure of daat. He must completely relinquish his daat, this being the fundamental element of sleep.28See above, p. 114 ff.
וְעַל־כֵּן בִּשְׁעַת שֵׁנָה, הַנְּשָׁמָה, שֶׁהִיא הַשֵּׂכֶל, בָּאָה בְּתוֹךְ אֱמוּנָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (איכה ג, כג): ״חֲדָשִׁים לַבְּקָרִים רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ״, כִּי אָז צְרִיכִים לְסַלֵּק הַשֵּׂכֶל לְגַמְרֵי וְלִסְמֹךְ רַק עַל אֱמוּנָה לְבַד.
Reb Noson explains how a person must give up his intellect for emunah, faith in HaShem, at the time of sleep, and how this emunah then protects him while he sleeps.
And this is why during sleep the neshamah, which is the higher intellect, enters into emunah. This is as in the verse “They are new in the mornings; your emunah is great,” alluding to the emunah of the person himself.29In the verse, “Your emunah” refers to HaShem’s faithfulness. Reb Noson’s reading here follows Rebbe Nachman’s reading of this verse in LM I, 62:5, as referring to a person’s faith emerging anew each morning. Emunah is renewed every morning as a result of the intellect’s inclusion into it during the preceding night. This inclusion is necessary because at the time of increased confusion, a person must completely set aside his intellect and rely solely on emunah.
וְעַל־כֵּן בִּשְׁעַת שֵׁנָה – סִטְרָא דְמוֹתָא שַׁלִּיט, כַּמּוּבָא בַּזֹהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ (במדבר קיט.). כִּי אָז מִסְתַּלֵּק הַחַיִּים שֶׁנִּמְשָׁךְ מֵאוֹר הַפָּנִים, וּמִתְגַּבְּרִים בְּחִינַת הָאַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיּוֹת שֶׁהֵם סִטְרָא דְמוֹתָא. וְאָז עִקַּר הַקִּיּוּם עַל־יְדֵי אֱמוּנָה, עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁקּוֹרִין קְרִיאַת־שְׁמַע שֶׁעַל הַמִּטָּה בְּכַוָּנָה, שֶׁהִיא בְּחִינַת אֱמוּנָה.
And so during sleep the power of death holds sway, as cited in the holy Zohar.30Zohar I, 207b; see also above, p. 91, note 32. For at that time, the vitality drawn from the Ohr HaPanim to invigorate lower wisdom31See §1 and note 13 above. disappears, and the Four Kingdoms/extraneous wisdom, which are associated with the power of death, take control. Thus at that time, with higher and lower wisdom concealed, the world exists mainly through emunah—on the strength of our reciting Kriat Shema al HaMitah, a declaration of our emunah in HaShem’s absolute unity, with kavanah, focused intent.
כִּי בְּעֵת שֶׁחָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת, שֶׁהֵם כְּלַל כָּל מִינֵי בִּלְבּוּלִים שֶׁיֵּשׁ לְכָל אָדָם שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם, וְכָל הַמַּחֲשָׁבוֹת רָעוֹת וְזָרִים וְהִרְהוּרִים וְרַעְיוֹנִים רָעִים, שֶׁכֻּלָּם נִמְשָׁכִין מִבְּחִינַת הַקְּלִפּוֹת, שֶׁהֵם הָאַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיּוֹת, שֶׁהֵם חָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת, כְּשֶׁהֵם מַתְחִילִים לְהִתְגַּבֵּר עַל הַשֵּׂכֶל, אֲזַי צְרִיכִין לְסַלֵּק הַדַּעַת לְגַמְרֵי וְלִסְמֹךְ עַל אֱמוּנָה. שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת שֵׁנָה, שֶׁהוּא הִסְתַּלְּקוּת הַדַּעַת, שֶׁאָז בָּאָה הַנְּשָׁמָה בְּתוֹךְ אֱמוּנָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר (לקוטי מוהר״ן חלק א׳ סימן לה).
Thus sleep is necessary whenever the influence of extraneous wisdom increases. This wisdom includes all the many kinds of mental confusion that everyone in the world experiences at one time or another, all the negative and strange thoughts, untoward musings and ideas. All these derive from that aspect of the kelipot that is the Four Kingdoms/extraneous wisdom. When this wisdom, in any of its manifestations, begins to overwhelm the intellect, one must completely remove daat and rely on emunah. This is the reason for sleep, which is the departure of daat, when the neshamah, namely the intellect, enters into emunah, as explained elsewhere.32Rebbe Nachman discusses this in LM I, 35:3.
וְאַף־עַל־פִּי שֶׁהַשֵּׁנָה הִיא טוֹבָה גְּדוֹלָה, אֲבָל צְרִיכִין לְהִתְגַּבֵּר שֶׁלֹּא יִישַׁן יוֹתֵר מִדַּאי, וְעַל־כֵּן צְרִיכִין לְהִתְגַּבֵּר כַּאֲרִי לַעֲמֹד בַּבֹּקֶר – לְשַׁבֵּר הַשֵּׁנָה, וְלַעֲסֹק בְּתוֹרָה וּתְפִלָּה, כְּדֵי לַחְתּוֹךְ וּלְהַעֲלוֹת אֶת הַמַּלְכוּת חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה מֵהֶם, כְּדֵי לִזְכּוֹת עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה לְהַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת כַּנַּ״ל.
Reb Noson now concludes his explanation of the importance of strengthening oneself to rise early in the morning, and why Rama juxtaposes this law with the verse “I set HaShem before me always.”
Now, even though sleep is of great benefit in preventing the reinforcement of the kelipot, one must nevertheless be strong-willed to avoid sleeping too much. For the goal is not to suppress the intellect, but to expand it with perceptions of Godliness. To this end, a person needs “to strengthen himself like a lion to rise up in the morning.” He must break the grip of sleep and rise to engage in Torah study and prayer. This in order to sever and elevate Malkhut/lower wisdom from the Four Kingdoms/extraneous wisdom and thereby merit attaining perceptions of Godliness.
וְזֶה (הַגָּ״ה): ״שִׁוִּיתִי ה׳ לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד״ – שֶׁיִּזְכֶּה לְהַכִּיר אֶת הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ, דְּהַיְנוּ שֶׁיַּשִּׂיג אֱלֹקוּתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ, עַד שֶׁיְּשַׁוֶּה אוֹתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ לְנֶגְדּוֹ תָמִיד, וְלֹא יִשְׁכַּח אוֹתוֹ כְּרֶגַע.
This is why the gloss “I set HaShem before me always” immediately follows the opening statement in the Shulchan Arukh that one should strengthen himself to get up early in the morning. The purpose of strengthening is so he will merit awareness of HaShem—that is, attaining perceptions of His Godliness—to the extent that he is ever mindful of HaShem’s presence, not forgetting Him for a moment.
וְזֶה פֵּרוּשׁ הַפָּסוּק הַזֶּה (תהלים טז, ח): ״שִׁוִּיתִי ה׳ לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד״ – הַיְנוּ הַשָּׁגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת, כַּנַּ״ל. כִּי מִימִינִי בַּל אֶמּוֹט – כִּי עִקַּר בִּנְיַן הַמַּלְכוּת, חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה הַנַּ״ל הוּא עַל־יְדֵי בְּחִינַת יָמִין שֶׁהוּא חֶסֶד, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב שָׁם, כִּי עַל־יְדֵי הַחֶסֶד קוֹצְרִין אוֹתָהּ מֵהָאַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיּוֹת, וּמַעֲלִין אוֹתָהּ אֶל אוֹר הַפָּנִים שֶׁבְּשָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת שִׂמְחַת הַלֵּב עַל־יְדֵי הַמִּצְוֹת שֶׁעוֹשִׂין בְּכָל הַשָּׁנָה וְכוּ׳, עַיֵּן שָׁם.
JOYS OF THE PANIM
Reb Noson now expounds a number of verses from Tehillim 16 in line with the concepts he has discussed thus far in his discourse. He begins with the verse just cited from Rama’s gloss.
This, then, is the explanation of this verse. “I set HaShem before me always”—that is, I can set my mind on perceptions of Godliness—and “because He is at my right hand, I will not stumble.” One achieves these perceptions and is protected through the “right hand,” since Malkhut—i.e. lower wisdom, through which perceptions of Godliness are attained—is built mainly by way of the right side of the sefirahconfiguration, especially through the revelation of chesed, as the Rebbe writes there in his lesson.33Kabbalah depicts the sefirot as positioned along three parallel vertical axes. The sefirah of Chesed (Loving-kindness) is situated along the right axis of this configuration (see Charts, p. 252). The Rebbe discusses this in §6 in his lesson; see also notes 84-86 there. For through acts of chesed we sever Malkhut from the Four Kingdoms of evil and then elevate it to the Ohr HaPanim that shines during the Shalosh Regalim. This light arises from the joy of the heart engendered by the mitzvot that we perform throughout the year. Study Rebbe Nachman’s words there.34In §5 of the Rebbe’s lesson.
וְזֶהוּ ״כִּי מִימִינִי בַּל אֶמּוֹט״ – הַיְנוּ עַל־יְדֵי בְּחִינַת יָמִין שֶׁהוּא חֶסֶד, עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה ״בַּל אֶמּוֹט״, עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה לֹא אֶמּוֹט וְלֹא אֶפּוֹל בְּשִׂכְלִי אֲלֵיהֶם, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, לִבְחִינַת חָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, רַק אֶזְכֶּה לְהַעֲלוֹת שִׂכְלִי, עַד שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה עַל יָדוֹ לְהַשָּׁגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת ״שִׁוִּיתִי ה׳ לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד״, כַּנַּ״ל.
This is “because He is at my right hand, I will not stumble”—meaning that through the aspect of the right side, which is chesed, “I will not stumble.” On account of chesed I will not stumble or allow my intellect to fall to the Four Kingdoms, under the influence of extraneous wisdom, chas ve-shalom. Rather, I will merit elevating my intellect, until through it I will be able to attain perceptions of Godliness—this being “I set HaShem before me always.”
וזְֶהוּ (שם) ״לָכֵן שָׂמַח לִבִּי וַיָּגֶל כְּבוֹדִי״; ״שָׂמַח לִבִּי״ – זֶה בְּחִינַת שִׂמְחַת הַלֵּב שֶׁל הַמִּצְוֹת שֶׁעוֹשִׂין, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת אוֹר הַפָּנִים שֶׁבְּשָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים, שֶׁמִּשָּׁם חִיּוּת הַמַּלְכוּת, שֶׁהִיא בְחִינַת כָּבוֹד, בְּחִינַת ״מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד״. וְזֶהוּ ״לָכֵן שָׂמַח לִבִּי״ – שֶׁהוּא אוֹר הַפָּנִים שֶׁל שָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים, בְּחִינַת (משלי טו, יג): לֵב שָׂמֵחַ יֵיטִב פָּנִים, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב שָׁם. וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה ״וַיָּגֶל כְּבוֹדִי״ – שֶׁנִּמְשַׁךְ שִׂמְחָה וְחִיּוּת לְהַמַּלְכוּת, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת כָּבוֹד.
Reb Noson expounds the next verse of Tehillim 16, which speaks of joy and glory, showing how both these subjects relate to attaining perceptions of Godliness.
And this is the explanation of the next verse in Tehillim, “Therefore my heart rejoices and my glory elates.” “My heart rejoices” is an expression of the heart’s joy in fulfilling the mitzvot, which is related to the Ohr HaPanim that shines during the Shalosh Regalim. From the Ohr HaPanim comes the vitality that invigorates Malkhut, namely the aspect of glory identified with HaShem, Who is “the Melekh of glory.”35The revelation of MaLKhut is the revelation (מלכות) King). Rabbeinu ,מלך) of the glory of the MeLeKh Bachya (on Shemot 29:43) identifies HaShem’s glory (kavod) as the Shekhinah, which, as HaShem’s Indwelling Presence, equates with Malkhut. This is the import of “Therefore my heart rejoices.” It refers to receiving the Ohr HaPanim of the Shalosh Regalim, as indicated in “A joyful heart makes a cheerful panim,” as the Rebbe writes in his lesson.36See §5 there. And through this, “My glory elates.” This alludes to the revelation of HaShem’s glory, in that joy and vitality are drawn to the sefirah of Malkhut, which is synonymous with the glory of HaShem.
וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה ״אַף בְּשָׂרִי יִשְׁכֹּן לָבֶטַח״ – שֶׁהוּא בְּשַׂר הַגּוּף, כִּי בִּשְׁבִיל זֶה נִבְרָא הָאָדָם – שֶׁיְּבַטֵּשׁ גּוּפוֹ עַל־יְדֵי עָמָל וִיגִיעָה בְּתוֹרָה וּמִצְוֹת. כִּי ״אָדָם לְעָמָל יוּלָּד״ (איוב ה, ז) – זֶה עֲמַל תּוֹרָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל (סנהדרין צט:), כִּי צְרִיכִין לַעֲמוֹל בְּתוֹרָה וַעֲבוֹדָה וּלְקַדֵּשׁ וּלְטַהֵר עַצְמוֹ כָּל־כָּךְ, עַד שֶׁיִּזְכֶּה לְהָאִיר גַּם בְּגוּפוֹ הֶאָרוֹת מֵהַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ.
Reb Noson explains the role of the tzaddik in enlightening one’s body, which, like one’s soul, needs to be infused with awareness of HaShem through perceptions of Godliness.
And as a result of the joy and vitality revealed in Malkhut, “my flesh too rests secure”—namely the gross flesh of the body. It too will be infused with perceptions of Godliness. For mankind was created for this purpose: that through toil and effort in studying Torah and doing mitzvot, a person disciplines his body and infuses it with awareness of HaShem. As Chazal teach, “‘Man was born to toil’—This refers to toiling in Torah.”37See Sanhedrin 99b, where Chazal explain these words from Iyov 5:7 as referring to man’s obligation to toil with his mouth to study and teach Torah (see Maharsha, loc. cit.). For one must labor in Torah and service of HaShem, and strive to sanctify and purify himself so much that he merits enlightening even his body with a perception of HaShem’s Godliness.
כִּי הַצַּדִּיק הַגָּדוֹל הָאֲמִתִּי מְסַבֵּב עִמָּנוּ בְּסִבּוּבִים נוֹרָאִים כָּאֵלֶּה וּבְצִמְצוּמִים נִפְלָאִים כָּאֵלֶּה, עַד שֶׁיָּאִיר בָּנוּ הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת גַּם בְּעוֹדֵינוּ בְּגוּפֵנוּ, כְּדֵי שֶׁיַּגִּיעַ גַּם לְהַגּוּף הֶאָרָה מִזֶּה, כִּי זֶה עִקַּר הַשְּׁלֵמוּת, לְהוֹדִיעַ גַּם לְהַגּוּף מִכָּל הַהֶאָרוֹת וְהַהַשָּׂגוֹת שֶׁהַנְּשָׁמָה מַשֶּׂגֶת, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּהַתּוֹרָה ״חוֹתָם בְּתוֹךְ חוֹתָם״ (סימן כב). וְזֶהוּ בְּחִינַת ״אַף בְּשָׂרִי יִשְׁכֹּן לָבֶטַח״ – שֶׁגַּם בְּשַׂר הַגּוּף יִשְׁכֹּן לָבֶטַח, עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁיִּזְכֶּה בְּחַיָּיו, בְּעוֹדוֹ בְּגוּפוֹ לְהַכִּיר אֶת בּוֹרְאוֹ, עַל־יְדֵי הַצַדִּיק הָאֱמֶת שֶׁהֵאִיר בּוֹ הַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת, וְכַנַּ״ל.
We achieve this sanctity and purity because of the great and true tzaddik whom Rebbe Nachman encourages us to find. This tzaddik guides us around lofty insights with such awesome, indirect explanations and such wondrous constrictions until he enlightens us with a perception of Godliness even while we are still spiritually constrained in our bodies. He does this so that the body too will be enlightened by this. For this is the essence of spiritual perfection: to impart spiritual awareness even to the body, so that it too benefits from all the illuminations and perceptions of Godliness that the neshamah attains, as explained in the lesson Chotem be-tokh Chotem.38The Rebbe discusses this at length in LM I, 22:5, where he teaches, “It is necessary to show great compassion for the body, to see to purify it, and thus to be able to inform it of all the insights and perceptions that the soul perceives.” This is the significance of “my flesh too rests secure.” This verse alludes to the idea that even the flesh of a person’s body will rest securely when during his lifetime, while still in his body, he merits awareness of his Creator through the true tzaddik who enlightens him with perceptions of Godliness.
וזְֶהוּ (תהלים טז, י): ״כִּי לֹא תַעֲזֹב נַפְשִׁי לִשְׁאוֹל״; ״נֶפֶשׁ״ הוּא בְּחִינַת ״מַלְכוּת״, כַּיָּדוּעַ (תקוני זהר מט.), הַיְנוּ בְּחִינַת חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה הַנַּ״ל. וְזֶה כִּי לֹא תַעֲזבֹ נַפְשִׁי לִשְׁאוֹל – שֶׁלֹּא יִפּוֹל חֶלְקֵי הַמַּלְכוּת שֶׁלִּי, בְּחִינַת חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה שֶׁלִּי, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת ״נַפְשִׁי, לֹא תַעֲזֹב לִשְׁאוֹל״, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, שֶׁהֵם הַחָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת, שֶׁהֵם הַסִּטְרָא אַחֲרָא וְהַקְּלִפּוֹת שֶׁחוֹתְרִים לְהִתְגַּבֵּר בְּכָל עֵת עַל נֶפֶשׁ הָאָדָם שֶׁהוּא שִׂכְלוֹ, שֶׁצָּרִיךְ לָבֹא עַל יָדוֹ לְהַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת וְכַנַּ״ל.
Reb Noson now expounds the next verse of Tehillim 16, showing how the tzaddik saves us from spiritual destruction.
And this is the meaning of “For You will not abandon my nefesh to the grave.” Nefesh, the lowest part of the soul, is related to Malkhut, the lowest of the sefirot, as is known.39See Tikkuney Zohar #21, p. 49a. Malkhut is synonymous with the aforementioned lower wisdom. This is implicit in the verse “For You will not abandon my nefesh to the grave”—that is, the portions of my Malkhut, the aspect of my lower wisdom, which is “my nefesh,” will not fall. “You will not abandon them, chas ve-shalom, or let them descend “to the grave,” namely to extraneous wisdom, which stems from the Sitra Achra and the kelipot. These are the forces that constantly contrive to overwhelm man’s nefesh, namely his intellect, which he requires if he is to attain perceptions of Godliness.
אֲבָל אֲנִי בָּטוּחַ ״כִּי לֹא תַעֲזֹב נַפְשִׁי לִשְׁאוֹל״, כִּי ״לֹא תִתֵּן חֲסִידְךָ לִרְאוֹת שָׁחַת״. ״חֲסִידְךָ״ זֶה בְּחִינַת הָרַבִּי הַצַּדִּיק הָאֱמֶת הָעוֹסֵק בְּתִקּוּנוֹ, שֶׁבִּזְכוּתוֹ וְכֹחוֹ אֲנִי בָּטוּחַ ״כִּי לֹא תַעֲזֹב נַפְשִׁי לִשְׁאוֹל״, כִּי ״לֹא תִתֵּן חֲסִידְךָ״ – שֶׁהוּא הָרַבִּי הַצַדִּיק הָאֱמֶת ״לִרְאוֹת שָׁחַת״, כְּדֵי שֶׁהוּא לֹא יִרְאֶה הַשַּׁחַת, שֶׁלֹּא יִצְטָרֵךְ לִרְאוֹת וּלְהִסְתַּכֵּל לְשָׁם בְּכָל עֵת לְהַעֲלוֹתֵינוּ מִשָּׁם.
However, I am certain that “You will not abandon my nefesh to the grave,” because “You will not allow Your pious one to see destruction.” “Your pious one” here refers to the rav, the true tzaddik, who is devoted to my spiritual rectification. In his merit and through his power, I am certain that “You will not abandon my nefesh to the grave.” For “You will not allow Your pious one,” namely the rav and the true tzaddik, “to see destruction”—in order that he not witness the destruction of his followers’ souls in Gehennom. You will save us, so that he will not have to always see and look at that place from which he seeks to elevate us.
כִּי אִם, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, אֶהְיֶה בִּשְׁאוֹל וְשַׁחַת, בְּוַדַּאי יִהְיֶה הַצַּדִּיק הָרַבִּי הָאֱמֶת מִסְתַּכֵּל שָׁם בְּכָל עֵת בְּצַעַר גָּדוֹל כְּדֵי לְהַעֲלוֹתֵינוּ מִשָּׁם, כִּי הוּא עוֹסֵק בְּתִקּוּנִי בְּכָל עֵת. וְעַל־כֵּן בִּזְכוּתוֹ וְכֹחוֹ אֲנִי בָּטוּחַ ״כִּי לֹא תַעֲזֹב נַפְשִׁי לִשְׁאוֹל״, כְּדֵי ״שֶׁלֹּא תִתֵּן חֲסִידְךָ״ – שֶׁהוּא הַצַּדִּיק הָאֱמֶת – ״לִרְאוֹת שַׁחַת״, וְכַנַּ״ל.
For if I should be in the grave or Gehennom, chas ve-shalom, certainly the tzaddik, who is the true rav, will always look there with great anguish in order to elevate me from that place, since he is constantly occupied with my spiritual rectification. And so, on account of his merit and through his power, I am certain that “You will not abandon my nefesh to the grave,” in order to “not allow Your pious one”—the true tzaddik—“to see destruction.”
וזְֶהוּ (שם): ״תּוֹדִיעֵנִי אֹרַח חַיִּים, שֹׂבַע שְׂמָחוֹת אֶת פָּנֶיךָ״ – שֶׁתּוֹדִיעֵנִי הָאוֹרַח וְהַדֶּרֶךְ לָבֹא לְחַיִּים אֲמִתִּיִּים, לְהַמְשִׁיךְ חִיּוּת לְהַחֲיּוֹת אֶת בְּחִינַת הַמַּלְכוּת, חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁהוּא עַל־יְדֵי אוֹר הַפָּנִים שֶׁבְּשָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת שִׂמְחַת הַלֵּב, בְּחִינַת ״שֹׂבַע שְׂמָחוֹת אֶת פָּנֶיךָ וְכוּ׳״, כַּנַּ״ל.
Reb Noson concludes this section with his exposition of the final verse of Tehillim 16, showing how David HaMelekh’s request of HaShem encapsulates several of the topics discussed thus far in his discourse.
And this is also our request of HaShem, “Let me know the path of life, the fullness of the joys in Your Panim.” We ask that You make known to us the path and the way to achieve genuine life, to draw vitality in order to invigorate the aspect of Malkhut/lower wisdom. This vitality comes through the Ohr HaPanim that shines during the Shalosh Regalim, corresponding to the heart’s joy, as in “the fullness of the joys in Your Panim.”
וְזֶה בְּחִינַת קִימַת חֲצוֹת.
THE OHR HAPANIM AND THE BEIT HAMIKDASH
Having shown that rising early to “awaken the shachar” effects a rectification of lower wisdom, Reb Noson now explains that reciting Tikkun Chatzot invigorates Malkhut / lower wisdom with the Ohr HaPanim that shines in the Beit HaMikdash.
This rectification of lower wisdom is a characteristic of rising at midnight, as will now be demonstrated.
שֶׁצְּרִיכִין לְהִתְגַּבֵּר מְאֹד לָקוּם בַּחֲצוֹת לַיְלָה לְהִתְאַבֵּל מְאֹד עַל חֻרְבַּן בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה עִקַּר עֲלִיַּת הַמַּלְכוּת מִן הַחִצּוֹנִים וְהַקְּלִפּוֹת הַנַּ״ל, כַּיָּדוּעַ בַּכַּוָּנוֹת (פרי עץ חיים חצות פרק א).
For a person must strengthen himself greatly, exerting utmost willpower to rise from sleep at midnight and greatly mourn the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. This is the primary means for elevating Malkhut from the impure extraneous forces and the kelipot, as is known from the Kavanot of the Arizal.
כִּי כְּשֶׁמִּתְאַבֵּל עַל חֻרְבַּן בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ כְּאִלּוּ עוֹסֵק בְּבִנְיָנוֹ, כִּי ״כָּל הַמִּתְאַבֵּל וְכוּ׳, זוֹכֶה וְרוֹאֶה בּשְִׂמחְתָהָּ״ (תענית ל.), וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה מַמְשִׁיךְ עַל עַצְמוֹ קְדֻשַּׁת הַבֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, שֶׁשָּׁם עִקַּר אוֹר הַפָּנִים שֶׁמַּמְשִׁיכִין בְּשָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים, שֶׁהָיוּ צְרִיכִין לַעֲלוֹת אֶל הַבֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ לִרְאוֹת אֶת פְּנֵי ה׳ כְּדֵי לְקַבֵּל אוֹר הַפָּנִים, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב שָׁם בְּהַתּוֹרָה הַנַּ״ל.
Malkhut ascends through this because when one mourns over the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, it is considered as if he is quite literally engaging in its rebuilding. Chazal expressed this in their statement “Whoever mourns [over Yerushalayim] merits to see her rejoicing.”40Taanit 30b. And through this mourning one draws upon himself the sanctity of the Beit HaMikdash, which is the primary source of the Ohr HaPanim that one draws down during the Shalosh Regalim. This is why we were required to make the pilgrimage to the Beit HaMikdash on the festivals, in order to, as written in the Torah, “see the Panim of HaShem”41See Devarim 16:16 and 31:11.—in order to receive the Ohr HaPanim.42Rebbe Nachman addresses this in §5 of his lesson.
נִמְצָא, שֶׁעִקַּר אוֹר הַפָּנִים בְּבֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, וְעַל־כֵּן צְרִיכִין לָקוּם בַּחֲצוֹת וּלְהִתְאַבֵּל מְאֹד עַל חֻרְבַּן בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה יִזְכֶּה לְפִי בְּחִינָתוֹ לִרְאוֹת בְּשִׂמְחָתָהּ וּלְהַמְשִׁיךְ עַל עַצְמוֹ מִשָּׁם חִיּוּת מֵאוֹר הַפָּנִים שֶׁמֵּאִיר שָׁם – לְהַחֲיוֹת בְּחִינַת הַמַּלְכוּת, בְּחִינַת חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה, כְּדֵי לִזְכּוֹת לְהַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת וְכַנַּ״ל.
It follows that the Ohr HaPanim is mainly revealed in the Beit HaMikdash. Therefore one must rise at midnight and greatly mourn over its destruction. Through this he will merit, according to his spiritual level, “to see her rejoicing,” and to draw vitality upon himself from the Ohr HaPanim that shines there. With this he will be able to invigorate Malkhut/lower wisdom, in order to merit attaining perceptions of Godliness.
וְזֶה שֶׁמַּזְכִּירִין עֲלִיַּת רְגָלִים בְּתִקּוּן חֲצוֹת, בַּמִּזְמוֹר ״כְּאַיָּל תַּעֲרֹג״ (תהלים מב), כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (שם ה): ״אֵלֶּה אֶזְכְּרָה וְכוּ׳ כִּי אֶעֱבֹר בַּסָּךְ אֶדַּדֵּם עַד בֵּית אֱלֹהִים״; שֶׁהוּא מַה שֶּׁהָיוּ עוֹלִין בָּרֶגֶל לְבֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁפֵּרֵשׁ רַשִׁ״י שָׁם.
This connection between mourning and the festivals is why we mention the festival pilgrimage to the Beit HaMikdash in the Tikkun Chatzot prayer, in the psalm KeAyal Taarog.43This is Tehillim 42. The verse states, “These do I recall [and pour out my soul]: how I passed with the throng when I would walk in the procession to the House of God.” This refers to how the Jewish pilgrims would ascend to the Beit HaMikdash on the festivals, as Rashi expounds the verse there.
וְזֶה בְּחִינַת שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים ״פָּנִים״ שֶׁמַּזְכִּירִין שָׁם, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב שָׁם: ״מַה תִּשְׁתּוֹחֲחִי נַפְשִׁי וְכוּ׳ כִּי עוֹד אוֹדֶנּוּ יְשׁוּעוֹת פָּנָיו וְכוּ׳״. וְכֵן שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים (שם יב, ובמזמור מג, ה), כְּנֶגֶד שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים בַּשָּׁנָה, שֶׁהֵם הַשָּׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים שֶׁהָיוּ עוֹלִין בָּהֶם לְקַבֵּל אוֹר הַפָּנִים, כַּנַּ״ל.
And this is the reason that we mention the word panim three times there.44In Tehillim 42:6 and 12, and 43:5. Although not identical, all three verses mention the panim, which Reb Noson links here to the Ohr HaPanim. As it is written there, “Why are you downcast, my soul … for I will yet thank Him for the salvations of His Panim.” Panim is accordingly mentioned three times, corresponding to the three times of pilgrimage during the year, namely the Shalosh Regalim on which the Jewish people would ascend to receive the Ohr HaPanim.
וְעַל־כֵּן צְרִיכִין לַעֲסֹק בַּתּוֹרָה בַּחֲצוֹת, כִּי כָּל אוֹת וְאוֹת שֶׁל הַתּוֹרָה הַקְּדוֹשָׁה כֻּלָּם הֵם שִׁעוּרִים וְצִמְצוּמִים קְדוֹשִׁים לְהַשִּׂיג אֱלֹקוּתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב שָׁם (באות ג׳).
Therefore after reciting Tikkun Chatzot and drawing vitality from the Ohr HaPanim, we need to now study Torah at midnight. For all the letters of the holy Torah are holy measurements and constrictions of Divine wisdom through which we are able to attain a perception of His Godliness,4545 See §3 of the Rebbe’s lesson. as the Rebbe writes there in his lesson.
וְעַל־יְדֵי הַתּוֹרָה שֶׁעוֹסְקִין אָז בַּלַּיְלָה נִמְשָׁךְ עָלָיו חוּט שֶׁל חֶסֶד בַּיּוֹם, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל (חגיגה יב:), וְעַל־יְדֵי הַחֶסֶד הַזֶּה קוֹצְרִין וְחוֹתְכִין אֶת הַמַּלְכוּת וּבוֹנִין אוֹתָהּ בִּשְׁלֵמוּת בַּעֲלִיַּת השַַּׁחַר, בִּבְחִינַת (ישעיה טז, ה): ״וְהוּכַן בַּחֶסֶד כִּסֵּא״, כַּנַּ״ל בְּהַתּוֹרָה הַנַּ״ל (אות ו), וְכַמּוּבָן בַּכַּוָּנוֹת (פרי עץ חיים שם).
And, as Chazal teach: Through the Torah a person studies at that time of night, “he is endowed with a touch of chesed during the day.”46Chagigah 12b states, “Whoever engages in Torah study at night, HaShem endows him with (lit. ‘draws upon him a string’) of chesed during the day, as it is written, ‘By day HaShem will command His chesed, [because] in the night His song [of Torah] is with me’” (Tehillim 42:9). By means of this chesed we are able to sever and disconnect Malkhut from extraneous wisdom, and build it to perfection with the arrival of dawn. This is alluded to in the verse “A throne is established with chesed.”47This refers to King Chizkiyah, whose malkhut, sovereignty, was firmly established because he performed many acts of kindness, as Rashi on this verse explains. In context here, this alludes to the power of chesed to invigorate Malkhut / lower wisdom. As stated in the Rebbe’s lesson and inferred from the Kavanot of the Arizal, this refers to the enthronement of Malkhut.48See Rebbe Nachman’s discussion in §6 of his lesson; see also Shaar HaKavanot, Drushei HaLailah 4, where the Arizal teaches that Torah study before daybreak rectifies Malkhut.
וְעַל־כֵּן צְרִיכִין לִזְעוֹק מָרָה וְלִצְעוֹק מְאֹד בַּחֲצוֹת עַל חֻרְבַּן בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ וְכוּ׳, כְּדֵי לְשַׁתֵּף עַצְמוֹ עִם הַשְּכִׁינָה וְעִם כָּל הַמִּצְטַעֲרִים בְּצָרָתָהּ, אֲשֶׁר אִי אֶפְשָׁר לִסְבּוֹל קוֹל הַזְּעָקָה וְהַצְּעָקָה שֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁם כְּשֶׁנּוֹפֶלֶת הַמַּלְכוּת בֵּינֵיהֶם, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב שָׁם בְּהַתּוֹרָה הַנַּ״ל: וּמִי יָכוֹל לִסְבּוֹל אֶת קוֹל הַצְּעָקָה וְכוּ׳, עַיֵּן שָׁם.
MOURNING THE TRUE TZADDIKIM
Reb Noson now introduces an added dimension to the midnight service: mourning the loss of the tzaddikim, who devote themselves to enlightening each Jew with perceptions of Godliness and to achieving a rectification for his soul.
And so, in order to perfect Malkhut and lower wisdom, a person must cry out bitterly and wail greatly at midnight over the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. This is so that he might sympathize with the Shekhinah and with all those who are pained by Her suffering. For it is impossible to bear the sound of the screaming and wailing at the time that Malkhut falls into the midst of the Four Kingdoms / extraneous wisdom. This is as the Rebbe writes in his lesson, “Who can bear the sound of the wailing…”49See §6 there.
וְעִקַּר הַצְּעָקָה צְרִיכִין לִצְעֹק בְּיוֹתֵר עַל הִסְתַּלְּקוּת הַצַּדִּיקִים הָאֲמִתִּיִּים, שֶׁעָסְקוּ לְהַכְנִיס בָּנוּ הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת, וְנִשְׁאַרְנוּ יְתוֹמִים וְאֵין אָב, כִּי צְרִיכִין לְבַקֵּשׁ וּלְחַפֵּשׂ מְאֹד אַחַר צַדִּיק אֱמֶת כָּזֶה כַּנַּ״ל, עַל־כֵּן צְרִיכִין לִבְכּוֹת וְלִזְעוֹק מְאֹד מְאֹד לִפְנֵי הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ עַל זֶה בְּיוֹתֵר, שֶׁיָּחוּס וִירַחֵם עָלֵינוּ וְיַחֲזִיר לָנוּ הָעֲטָרָה לְיוֹשְׁנָהּ, שֶׁיַּחֲזֹר וְיִשְׁלַח לָנוּ מְהֵרָה צַדִּיקֵי אֱמֶת שֶׁיִשְׁתַּדְּלוּ בְּתַקָּנוֹתֵינוּ, וְיָאִירוּ בָּנוּ הַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת, לַהֲבִיאֵנוּ אֶל הַתַּכְלִית הַטּוֹב אֲשֶׁר לְכָךְ נוֹצָרְנוּ, אֲשֶׁר אִי אֶפְשָׁר לִזְכּוֹת לָזֶה כִּי אִם עַל־יְדֵי הַצַּדִּיק הָאֱמֶת הַגָּדוֹל בְּמַעֲלָה מְאֹד מְאֹד, שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ כֹּחַ לְרַפְּאוֹת חוֹלִים מְדֻכָּאִים בְּחֳלְיֵי הַנֶּפֶשׁ, כָּמוֹנוּ הַיּוֹם בְּעִקְּבוֹת מְשִׁיחָא, כַּאֲשֶׁר יוֹדֵעַ כָּל אֶחָד בְּנַפְשׁוֹ, וְכַנַּ״ל.
But mainly our wailing needs to be intensified over the passing away of the true tzaddikim, who were engaged in instilling us with a perception of Godliness. Now that they are gone, we have been left as ‘orphans, with no one to connect us to our Heavenly Father.’50This is a paraphrase of Eikhah 5:3; the translation here follows Kitzur Alshikh on the verse. Finding a rav is very difficult. We must actively seek out and search for a true tzaddik such as this. Therefore we need to weep and cry out profusely to HaShem about this, so that He will have mercy and compassion on us and ‘restore our former glory.’51Lit. “restore the crown to its former state.” Chazal teach that the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah, Men of the Great Assembly, were so called because they restored HaShem’s crown of glory to its former magnificence; see Yoma 69b. And we must plead with Him to quickly send us once again true tzaddikim who will dedicate themselves to our spiritual rectification and enlighten us with perceptions of Godliness, so as to bring us to the ultimate good, whose attainment is the reason we were created. For this good is attainable only through the true tzaddik of superlative greatness. He alone has the power to heal the sick, those who are oppressed with the sickness of the soul—as we are today, in this era preceding the coming of Mashiach, which each of us knows in the depths of his soul.
כִּי צְרִיכִין לְנַדֵּד שֵׁנָה מֵעֵינָיו וּמֵעַפְעַפָּיו תְּנוּמָה, לְשׁוֹטֵט לְבַקֵּשׁ וּלְהַרְבּוֹת בִּתְפִלָּה וְתַחֲנוּנִים, שֶׁיִּזְכֶּה לִמְצֹא הַצַּדִּיק הָאֱמֶת שֶׁיּוּכַל לְרַפְּאוֹתוֹ וּלְהַכְנִיס בּוֹ הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת, כְּדֵי לְהַצִּיל אֶת נַפְשׁוֹ מִנִּי שַׁחַת.
SEARCHING FOR THE TZADDIK
Reb Noson now interprets a number of verses from the Book of Mishlei as referring to searching for the tzaddik, whose closeness enables a person to attain whatever he is missing in life, both materially and spiritually.
To find the true tzaddik, one has to “shrug off sleep from his eyes and slumber from his eyelids.”52Chemdat HaYamim (Chodesh Elul, ch. 2) uses this expression, a rewording of Mishlei 6:4, in connection with rising at midnight. He must wander about in search of him, and offer many prayers and supplications that he will merit finding the true tzaddik who can heal him and instill in him a perception of Godliness, in order to save his soul from destruction.
כְּמוֹ שֶׁצָּעַק עַל זֶה שְׁלֹמֹה הַמֶּלֶךְ, עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם, בְּסֵפֶר מִשְׁלֵי, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (ו, ד–ה): ״אלַ תִּתֵּן שֵׁנָה לְעֵינֶיךָ וּתְנוּמָה לְעַפְעַפֶּיךָ, הִנָּצֵל כִּצְבִי מִיָּד וּכְצִפּוֹר מִיַּד יָקוּשׁ״. וְזֶה עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁיְּבַקֵּשׁ עַד שֶׁיּמִצְאָ אֶת הַצּדִַּיק הַמַּנהְִיג הָאֱמֶת שֶׁיּקְָרְבהֵוּ להְַשֵּםׁ־יתְִבּרַָךְ, כּמְוֹ שֶׁכּתָוּב שָׁם בּמִַּקְרָא הַקּוֹדֵם הַסָּמוּךְ לָזֶה (פסוק ה׳): ״עֲשֵׂה זֹאת אֵפוֹא בְּנִי וְהִנָּצֵל, כִּי בָאתָ בְכַף רֵעֶךָ לֵךְ הִתְרַפֵּס וּרְהַב רֵעֶיךָ״; וּפֵרֵשׁ רַשִׁ״י: ״הַרְבֵּה רֵעִים שֶׁיִּתְפַּלְּלוּ עָלֶיךָ לְפָנָיו״, הַיְנוּ צַדִּיקֵי אֱמֶת, שֶׁהֵם נִקְרָאִים אַחִים וְרֵעִים לְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ, שֶׁצְּרִיכִין לְהַכְנִיעַ אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְּאַסְקֻפָּה הַנִּדְרֶסֶת וְנִרְפֶּסֶת לְבַקְּשָׁם בְּכָל תַּמְצִית כֹּחוֹ, עַד שֶׁיִּזְכֶּה לְמוֹצְאָם, (וכעין שפרש רש״י שם על ׳לך התרפס׳, עין שם).
Shlomo HaMelekh, peace be upon him, cried out about this in Mishlei, “Give your eyes no sleep, your eyelids no slumber. Save yourself like a deer from the hand [of the hunter] and like a bird from the clasp of the trap.” This advice is fulfilled through a person’s searching until he finds the tzaddik, the true leader who will draw him close to HaShem. This is the meaning of what is written in the verse immediately preceding this, “Do this, then, my son, and be saved, for you have fallen into your friend’s hand. Go humble yourself and bolster your friend,” which Rashi explains as meaning “Bring many friends who will pray to Him on your behalf.” In other words, bring true tzaddikim, who are called “brothers” and “friends” of HaShem.53Yalkut Shimoni, Vayikra 19:17 (remez 613). For a person must humble himself, like a doorstep that is trodden and stepped upon, in order to seek out the true tzaddikim with every ounce of his energy, until he merits finding them.54The subject in Mishlei is a person who has pledged security for another to a moneylender, but cannot honor his pledge. Rashi reads this homiletically as referring to someone who has not honored his pledge at Sinai to keep the mitzvot, but instead has gone in the ways of heretics and nonbelievers. He should humble himself like a doorstep that is stepped and trodden upon, and bring many friends to plead with HaShem on his behalf. Reb Noson reinterprets this here as referring to someone who seeks greater closeness to HaShem. He should bring many true tzaddikim to pray to HaShem on his behalf.
וְזֶה שֶׁכָּתוּב שָׁם בְּסָמוּךְ (פסוקים י-יא): מְעַט שֵׁנוֹת מְעַט תְּנוּמוֹת מְעַט חִבֻּק יָדַיִם לִשְׁכָּב. וּבָא כִמְהַלֵּךְ רֵאשֶׁךָ וּמַחְסֹרְךָ כְּאִישׁ מָגֵן – שֶׁצְּרִיכִין לְמַעֵט בְּשֵׁנָה וּתְנוּמָה כְּדֵי לְבַקֵּשׁ הַצַּדִּיק הָאֱמֶת שֶׁנִּקְרָא ״מְהַלֵּךְ וְאִישׁ מָגֵן״, כִּי הַצַּדִּיקִים נִקְרָאִים מְהַלְכִים, עַל שֵׁם שֶׁהוֹלְכִים מִדַּרְגָּא לְדַרְגָּא תָּמִיד, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (זכריה ג, ז): ״וְנָתַתִּי לְךָ מַהְלְכִים בֵּין הָעֹמְדִים וְכוּ׳״, וְגַם נִקְרָא הַצַּדִּיק ״אִישׁ מָגֵן״, כִּי הוּא מָגֵן לְכָל הַחֹסִים בּוֹ.
This is also the subject of what which is written further on, “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to recline, and your poverty will arrive like a strider, your lack like a defender.” For a person must minimize his sleep and slumber in order to seek out the true tzaddik, who is called a “strider” and a “defender.” Tzaddikim are called “striders” because they constantly go from one spiritual level to another, higher level,55See Baal Shem Tov al HaTorah, Va’etchanan 4. as it is written, “I will let you be one who strides among the stationary.”56,עומד) 56 Angels and seraphim are called omeid stationary), because they are created complete and can ascend no higher. Man, on the other hand, is created spiritually incomplete, but by striving can advance to ever higher levels of holiness, and so is called strider) (Shnei Luchot HaBrit, Hagahot ,מהלך) mehaleikh le-Mesekhet Chullin 7). The tzaddik is also called a “defender” because he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.57This is a stylistic usage of II Shmuel 22:31 and Tehillim 18:31. The Zohar (III, 71b) teaches, “The tzaddikim protect the world during their lifetimes, and even more so after their deaths.”
וְזֶהוּ ״מְעַט שֵׁנוֹת מְעַט תְּנוּמוֹת וְכוּ׳״, עַד אֲשֶׁר תִּזְכֶּה שֶׁיָּבֹא כִמְהַלֵּךְ רֵאשֶׁךָ, וּפֵרֵשׁ רַשִׁ״י: ״דְּבָרִים שֶׁאַתָּה רָשׁ מֵהֶם וּמַחְסֹרְךָ יִתְמַלֵּא וְכוּ׳״, הַיְנוּ כָּל הַדְּבָרִים שֶׁאַתָּה רָשׁ מֵהֶם, וְכָל מַה שֶּׁחָסֵר לְךָ בְּגַשְׁמִיּוּת וְרוּחָנִיּוּת – הַכֹּל יָבֹא לְךָ מְהֵרָה כִּמְהַלֵּךְ וּכְאִישׁ מָגֵן, הַיְנוּ כְּפִי מַעֲלַת הַצַּדִּיק שֶׁתִּזְכֶּה לִמְצֹא שֶׁנִּקְרָא ״מְהַלֵּךְ וְאִישׁ מָגֵן״, כְּמוֹ־כֵן יָבֹא לְךָ כָּל מַחֲסוֹרְךָ וְרֵאשֶׁךָ, דְּהַיְנוּ הַדְּבָרִים שֶׁאַתָּה רָשׁ מֵהֶם, כִּי כָּל הַחֶסְרוֹנוֹת נִתְמַלְּאִים עַל־יְדֵי הַצַּדִּיק, כִּי הוּא מַמְשִׁיךְ כָּל הַהַשְׁפָּעוֹת בְּגַשְׁמִיּוּת וְרוּחָנִיּוּת עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁמַּכְנִיס יְדִיעַת אֱלֹקוּתוֹ בְּהַנִּלְוִים אֵלָיו, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה נִתְמַלְּאִים כָּל הַחֶסְרוֹנוֹת, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (נדרים מא.): ״דַּעַת קָנִיתָ מַה חָסַרְתָּ״.
This is now a restatement of the verse in the affirmative: “Sleep little, slumber little …” until you merit the arrival of “your poverty like a strider.” Rashi explains this to mean that the things you are wanting and lacking will be provided in full. In other words, whatever impoverishes you, and whatever you lack materially and spiritually, will come to you quickly, like one who strides swiftly and like a defender who is nimble. Consistent with this explanation, this means: According to the greatness of the tzaddik that you merit finding—the one who is called a “strider” and a “defender”—all that you lack and your poverty, meaning that which makes you poor, will come to you. For all lacks are filled through the tzaddik, because he draws all physical and spiritual bounty by instilling awareness of His Godliness into his followers. Through this, all lack is filled, as it is written, “If you have acquired daat, what do you lack?”58Vayikra Rabbah 1:6.
וְעַל־כֵּן צְרִיכִין לְשַׁבֵּר הַשֵּׁנָה וְלָקוּם בַּחֲצוֹת לַיְלָה, לְאוֹנֵן וּלְקוֹנֵן וְלִבְכּוֹת וְלִצְעֹק מְאֹד עַל חֻרְבַּן בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ וְתֹקֶף מְרִירוּת הַגָּלוּת בְּגוּף וְנֶפֶשׁ, וּמִכָּל שֶׁכֵּן וְכָל שֶׁכֵּן לִבְכּוֹת וְלִצְעֹק מְאֹד מְאֹד עַל הִסְתַּלְּקוּת הַצַּדִּיקִים, שֶׁקָּשֶׁה כִּפְלַיִם כְּחֻרְבַּן בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל (מדרש איכה-רבה א, לז), אֲשֶׁר כָּל הַצָּרוֹת, רַחֲמָנָא לִצְלָן, אָנוּ סוֹבְלִים עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (ישעיה נז, א): ״הַצַּדִּיק אָבָד, וְאֵין אִישׁ שָׂם עַל לֵב... כִּי מִפְּנֵי הָרָעָה נֶאֱסַף הַצַּדִּיק״.
Reb Noson concludes that given the great benefit of closeness to a true tzaddik, a person must make every effort to “shrug off sleep from his eyes” and rise at midnight to mourn the loss of the tzaddikim from the world.
Therefore one must break the grip of sleep and rise at midnight in order to copiously mourn, lament, weep and cry out over the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and the overpowering bitterness of the exile, both physical and spiritual. Even more than this, one must weep and cry out profusely over the loss of the tzaddikim, which is many times worse than the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, as Chazal teach. All that we suffer, may HaShem spare us, is on account of this, as in a rereading of the verse as “The tzaddik is gone, but no one takes it to heart … that because of evil the tzaddik has been gathered in.”
עַל־כֵּן כָּל מִי שֶׁחָס עַל נַפְשׁוֹ – צָרִיךְ לִצְעקֹ מְאדֹ שֶׁיִּזְכֶּה גַּם עַתָּה לִמְצאֹ רַבִּי וּמַנְהִיג אֲמִתִּי, שֶׁיּוּכַל לְהַכְנִיס בּוֹ יְדִיעַת אֱלֹקוּתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה יִתְמַלְּאוּ כָּל הַחֶסְרוֹנוֹת וְיִתְבַּטְּלוּ כָּל הַצָּרוֹת, וְיִתְתַּקֵּן הַכֹּל.
Therefore whoever pities his soul needs to cry out greatly to HaShem that even now he should merit finding a true rav and leader. This must be a tzaddik who can instill in him awareness of HaShem’s Godliness, namely the daat through which whatever he lacks will be filled, all suffering will be eliminated, and all that exists will be rectified.
וְזֶה בְּחִינַת לְבִישַׁת הַמִּנְעָלִים, שֶׁצָּרִיךְ לִנְעֹל שֶׁל יָמִין תְּחִלָּה וְלִקְשֹׁר שְׂמֹאל תְּחִלָּה (שלחן ערוך סימן ב׳ סעיף ד׳). וְלָמְדוּ מִתְּפִלִּין, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל: ״כִּתְפִילִין כָּךְ מִנְעָלִים״ (שבת סא.).
SHOES AND LOWER WISDOM
A person should put on the right shoe first but not tie it. Then he should put on the left shoe and tie it. After that he should tie the right shoe (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 2:4).
We have seen that our devotions during the night—including breaking the grip of sleep and then engaging in prayer and Torah after midnight—sever and elevate Malkhut / lower wisdom from the Four Kingdoms/extraneous wisdom and so bring to perceptions of Godliness. Reb Noson now relates this to dressing in the morning, in particular to our putting on shoes to protect the feet—that is, to protect lower wisdom from the extraneous forces, alien thoughts and godless philosophies that keep us from attaining those perceptions.
Now, this procedure for rectifying lower wisdom is reflected in the manner in which we put on shoes. Jewish law states that we put on the right shoe first, and then, after donning the left shoe, tie the left shoelace first. This derives from the law of donning tefillin, as Chazal state, “As with tefillin, so with shoes.”59Rabbi Yochanan teaches that just as we give preference to the left by tying the strap of the armtefillin onto it (and not onto the right arm), so too when tying one’s shoes: we give preference to the left by tying the left shoelace first (Shabbat 61a).
כּיִ הַמִּנעְלָיִם הֵם שְׁמִירָה לרַָגלְיִן (שער הכונות דרושי ברכת השחר), כִּי הָרַגְלִין צְרִיכִין לִשְׁמֹר בְּיוֹתֵר לְהַעֲלוֹתָן מֵהַחִצּוֹנִים הַסְּמוּכִים אֲלֵיהֶם, כִּי הָרַגְלִין הֵם בְּחִינַת חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה, בְּחִינַת תַּכְלִית הַצִּמְצוּמִים הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁצְּרִיכִין לְחָתְכָן מֵהָאַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיּוֹת וּלְהַעֲלוֹתָן לִבְחִינַת אוֹר הַפָּנִים שֶׁבְּשָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים כַּנַּ״ל, וּמִשָּׁם נִמְשָׁכִין בְּחִינַת מִנְעָלִים שֶׁהֵם שׁוֹמְרִין אֶת הָרַגְלִין מֵהַחִיצוֹנִים.
For shoes are a protection for the feet. This is also true on a spiritual level. As the lowest part of the body, the feet require extra protection to elevate them from the extraneous forces that are adjacent to them.60See Pri Eitz Chaim, Shaar HaTefillah 3. For the feet are conceptually associated with Malkhut and lower wisdom, the purpose of the aforementioned constrictions of Divine wisdom.61See §1 above. We must sever the “feet” from the Four Kingdoms and elevate them to the aspect of the Ohr HaPanim that shines during the Shalosh Regalim. And from the Ohr HaPanim we draw protection, the concept of shoes, which protect the feet from the extraneous forces.
וְזֶהוּ: ״כִּתְפִילִין״, שֶׁהֵם אוֹר הַפָּנִים, כַּיָּדוּעַ (פרי עץ חיים שער התפלין פרק ג), ״כָּךְ מִנְעָלִים״, כִּי מִשָּםׁ נִמְשַׁךְ בְּחִינַת הַמִּנְעָלִים, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת שְׁמִירָה לָרַגְלִין (ועין כל זה באריכות בהלכות חליצה הנכללת בהלכות גטין הלכה ד׳).
This is the meaning of “As with tefillin”—which are a revelation of the Ohr HaPanim, as is known from Kabbalah62Pri Eitz Chaim, op. cit.—“so with shoes.” From the Ohr HaPanim associated with tefillin, which protects Malkhut / lower wisdom, is drawn the concept of shoes as the protectors of the feet.63A parenthetical source citation here reads: Study this further in the laws pertaining to chalitzah that appear in LH, Gittin 4:10.
וְעַל־כֵּן צְרִיכִין לִנְעֹל שֶׁל יָמִין תְּחִלָּה, כִּי עִקָּר הוּא בְּחִינַת יָמִין שֶׁהוּא חֶסֶד, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה קוֹצְרִין אוֹתָהּ מֵהֶם וּבוֹנִין אוֹתָהּ כַּנַּ״ל.
Therefore a person must put on the right shoe first, since the right side, which is chesed, is primary. With it we sever Malkhut from the Four Kingdoms and build it up.64See §1 and §4 above.
וְעַל־כֵּן בִּקְשִׁירָה – שְׂמֹאל תְּחִלָּה, כְּמוֹ תְּפִלִּין שֶׁקּוֹשֵׁר שֶׁל יָד בִּשְׂמֹאל תְּחִלָּה, כִּי קְשִׁירַת הַשֶּׁל־יָד בִּשְׂמאֹל תְּחִלָּה, זֶה מֵחֲמַת שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לְקַבֵּל הַחֶסֶד כִּי אִם עַל־יְדֵי תּוֹכֵחָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב שָׁם, עַיֵּן שָׁם. וְתוֹכֵחָה הוּא בְּחִינַת גְּבוּרוֹת, בְּחִינַת שְׂמֹאל.
Thus with regard to the tying, the left is given precedence; similar to tefillin, where one begins by tying the strap of the arm-tefillin on the left arm. The reason tying the arm-tefillin on the left precedes donning the head-tefillin is that receiving chesed is possible only through the tzaddik’s rebuke. See the Rebbe’s lesson, where this is explained.65Study §7 of the Rebbe’s lesson. Although the tzaddikim generally restrain their reproach of the Jewish people (see LM I, 22:1), Rebbe Nachman teaches that the suffering that Jews cause a tzaddik by sinning occasionally brings him to dispense rebuke that humiliates his audience. Reb Noson will address this next. And rebuke corresponds to gevurot, severities, which are associated with the left side.66Commenting on the verse (Mishlei 27:5) “Open rebuke is better than concealed love,” the Arizal teaches that “open rebuke” refers to gevurot, the root elements of the sefirah of Gevurah (Shaar HaPesukim, Mishlei). Gevurot (also known as dinim, judgments) are associated with the left side, as is rebuke (Sanhedrin 107b and Maharsha, s.v. s’mol docheh).
וְזֶה בְּחִינַת יָד כֵּהָה, עַיֵּן שָׁם, בְּחִינַת הַתּוֹכֵחָה שֶׁהִיא לִפְעָמִים בְּדֶרֶךְ בִּזָּיוֹן שֶׁמַּכְהֶה פָּנָיו, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּעֵלִי (שמואל-א, ג, יג) שֶׁלֹּא הוֹכִיחַ אֶת בָּנָיו: ״וְלֹא כִהָה בָּם״.
This relates to Chazal’s exposition of yadkhah as teaching that we should don the arm-tefillin on the yad keihah, the weak or left arm.67Regarding donning the arm-tefillin, the Torah states (Shemot 13:16), “It shall be a sign upon yadKhaH ,ידכה) rather ,(ה) your arm)”—spelled with an added heh Chazal .(ידך) than the more common spelling yadKha expound this as teaching that the arm-tefillin are worn weak arm), which for the ,יד כהה) on the yad KeiHaH majority of people is the left arm (Menachot 37a). means “rebuke.” (כהִָה) Study the Rebbe’s lesson, where he teaches that this alludes to rebuke. Occasionally, rebuke involves humiliation—it makh’heh, turns pale, the other’s panim, as in what is written about Eli not rebuking his sons, “He did not khihah them.”68The Hebrew word KhiHaH from the root KaHaH ,(מַכהְהֶ) The word maKh‘HeH means “weaken” or “cause to turn pale.” The ,(כּהָָה) verse Reb Noson quotes from the Book of Shmuel can thus be read as “Though his sons were disgracing themselves, he did not humiliate them.”
כִּי תְּפִלִּין הֵם מחִֹין (סימן נד), הֵם עִקַּר הַמְשָׁכַת הַשָּגַׂת אֱלֹקוּת הַנֶּאֱמַר בְּהַתּוֹרָה הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁעִקָּרָהּ הוּא בְּחִינַת תְּפִלִּין, כַּיָּדוּעַ לַמֵּבִין דְּבָרָיו, כִּי תְּפִלִּין שֶׁל רֹאשׁ וְשֶׁל יָד הֵם בְּחִינַת חָכְמָה עִילָּאָה וְחָכְמָה תַּתָּאהָ (זהר ואתחנן רסב.). וְזֶה בְּחִינַת שַׁחֲרוּת שֶׁל תְּפִלִּין, בְּחִינַת שַׁחֲרוּת הַנַּ״ל בַּתּוֹרָה הַנַּ״ל.
Now, in kabbalistic teaching, the tefillin signify mochin, the elements of consciousness which are the primary means for drawing a perception of Godliness, as discussed in the Rebbe’s lesson. Essentially, such perception entails the constriction of Divine wisdom into lower wisdom, and so it is conceptually related to tefillin, as those who comprehend the Rebbe’s words know. For the tefillin of the head and the arm correspond to upper wisdom and lower wisdom. The blackness of the tefillin boxes and straps likewise alludes to this constriction, similar to the blackness mentioned previously, in the above outline of that lesson.69See also note 11 above.
וְעַל־כֵּן צְרִיכִין לִקְשֹׁר שֶׁל יַד תְּחִלָּה בִּשְׂמֹאל – בְּיַד כֵּהָה, כְּדֵי לְהַמְשִׁיךְ בְּחִינַת הַתּוֹכֵחָה, שֶׁעַל־ יְדֵי־זֶה נִתְגַּלֶּה הַחֶסֶד, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה קוֹצְרִין אֶת הַמַּלְכוּת, חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה הַנַּ״ל.
Therefore we need to begin by tying the arm-tefillin on the left arm, the yad keihah, which hints to makh’heh. This is in order to draw the aspect of rebuke, through which chesed, from the right side, is revealed. With this chesed we sever Malkhut/ lower wisdom from the Four Kingdoms, and by doing so merit perceptions of Godliness.
וְעַל־כֵּן אָסוּר לְקַנֵּחַ בְּיָמִין מִפְּנֵי שֶׁקּוֹשֵׁר בָּהּ תְּפִלִּין (שלחן ערוך סימן ג׳, סעיף י׳).
EXPELLING THE EXTRANEOUS
A person should not wipe himself using the right hand (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 3:10).
Having explained that the spiritual purpose of wearing shoes is to protect Malkhut / lower wisdom from the extraneous forces, Reb Noson shows how keeping the laws in the Shulchan Arukh that are associated with other morning activities—particularly our conduct in the bathroom—similarly accomplishes this goal.
And so, because the right side is synonymous with chesed, Jewish law states that after a person relieves himself he may not wipe himself using the right hand, since he uses that hand to tie the tefillin.70Berakhot 62a. Using the right hand to remove fecal matter impedes it from drawing the rebuke-of-chesed aspect of tying tefillin that severs Malkhut from extraneous wisdom.
כִּי חָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת, שֶׁעַל יָדָם נִמְשָׁכִין כְּפִירוֹת הֵם נִקְרָאִים ״קִיא צֹאָה בְּלִי מָקוֹם״ (ישעיה כח, ח), כִּי הַמַּאֲכָל מְחַיֶּה אֶת הָאָדָם וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה מֵאִיר פָּנָיו, כְּשֶׁאוֹכֵל בִּקְדֻשָּׁה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (רות ג, ז): וַיֹּאכַל וַיֵּשְׁתְּ וַיִּיטַב לִבּוֹ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר (לקוטי מוהר״ן חלק א׳ סימן יט).
The explanation is as follows. Food consists of two elements, the absorbable nutrients and the waste product. Extraneous wisdom, through which heresy proliferates, is associated with the extraneous component of food, the waste that is termed “vomit and excrement, with no [clean] place.” Conversely, true wisdom is likened to the nutrients, because the food a person eats gives him life, and when he eats in holiness, it illuminates his panim. An allusion to this can be found in the verse “he ate and drank, and his heart was happy,” as explained elsewhere.71See LM I, 60:6, where Rebbe Nachman cites this verse as proof that food’s main purpose is to revive the heart, whose rectification brings light to the panim. See also LM I, 19:7.
וְעִקַּר הַחִיּוּת בְּחִינַת הֶאָרַת פָּנִים שֶׁמְקַבְּלִים עַל־יְדֵי הַמַּאֲכָל הוּא עַל־יְדֵי רוּחָנִיּוּת הַמַּאֲכָל, שֶׁהוּא הַטּוֹב שֶׁבַּמַאֲכָל, שֶׁרַק זֶה מְחַיֶּה אֶת הָאָדָם, בִּבְחִינַת (דברים ח, ג): ״כִּי לֹא עַל הַלֶּחֶם לְבַדּוֹ יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם, כִּי עַל כָּל מוֹצָא פִּי ה׳ יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם״. אֲבָל גַּשְׁמִיּוּת הַמַּאֲכָל שֶׁנֶּאֱחַז בּוֹ הָרַע – נַעֲשֶׂה פְּסלֶֹת גָּמוּר וְנִדְחֶה לַחוּץ, כִּי הוּא בְּחִינַת חָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת – כְּפִירוּת, שֶׁהֵם ״קִיא צוֹאָה״, כַּנַּ״ל.
The essence of this life-force—namely the illumination of the panim that a person receives from food—stems from the spiritual aspect of the food, which is the good that the food contains. Only this spiritual element gives a person real life, as in “that not on bread alone does man live, but on every utterance from the mouth of HaShem does man live.” However, the material aspect of the food, to which evil attaches itself, becomes complete waste and is expelled out of the body. It is akin to the extraneous wisdom / heresy, which is termed “vomit and excrement.”
וְעַל־כֵּן (ברכות טו.): ״הָרוֹצֶה לְקַבֵּל עָלָיו עוֹל מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם שְׁלֵמָה״ – שֶׁהִיא בְּחִינַת חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה הַנַּ״ל, הוּא בְּחִינַת מַלְכוּת כַּנַּ״ל, ״יְפַנֶּה וְיִטֹּל יָדָיו וְכוּ׳״. ״יְפַנֶּה״ – לִדְחוֹת הַמּוֹתָרוֹת, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת חָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת כַּנַּ״ל. וְאַחַר־כָּךְ ״יִטֹּל יָדָיו״ בְּמֵימֵי הַחֶסֶד, לְהַמְשִׁיךְ הַחֶסֶד הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה חוֹתְכִין הַמַּלְכוּת וּמְטַהֲרִין אוֹתָהּ מֵהֶם, (ועין מזה בהלכות סוטה הנכללת בהלכות גטין הלכה ד׳).
Therefore “whoever wishes to accept upon himself the yoke of Heaven’s malkhut in a complete manner”—which corresponds to the rectification of lower wisdom/Malkhut—“should relieve himself and wash his hands.” “He should relieve himself” in order to expel the waste, which is synonymous with extraneous wisdom. And then he should wash his hands with water, symbolic of the waters of Chesed.72Kabbalah teaches that the sefirah of Chesed signifies outflowing and expansiveness, and thus is associated with the element of water. Washing one’s hands symbolizes the drawing of the root elements of Chesed, the chasadim (benevolences), from Daat (see above, p. 122, note 75) in order to “cleanse” lower wisdom / Malkhut. This is in order to evoke chesed through which to sever Malkhut and purify it from the Four Kingdoms.73A parenthetical source citation here reads: Study this in the laws pertaining to the sotah that appear in LH, Gittin 4:15.
וְאַחַר־כָּךְ יַנִּיחַ תְּפִלִּין וְיִקְרָא קְרִיאַת־שְׁמַע וְיִתְפַּלֵּל – כִּי כָל זֶה הוּא בְּחִינַת תִּקּוּנֵי הַתְּפִלָּה שֶׁבְּשַׁחֲרִית, שֶׁכָּל הַתִּקּוּנִים, שֶׁהֵם: הִתְעוֹרְרוּת הַשֵּׁנָה, וִיפַנֶּה, וְיִטֹּל יָדָיו, וְצִיצִית, וּתְפִלִּין, וּקְרִיאַת שְׁמַע, וּתְפִלָּה – הַכֹּל בִּשְׁבִיל עֲלִיַּת הַמַּלְכוּת, כַּיָּדוּעַ, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת ״אַבְרָהָם תִּקֵּן שַׁחֲרִית״, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּהַתּוֹרָה הַנַּ״ל (אות ו).
After that “he should don tefillin, recite Shema and pray,” all of which relates to the rectifications accomplished through the prayer that he recites in the morning. All these rectifications—namely waking from sleep, relieving oneself, washing one’s hands, donning tzitzit and tefillin, reciting Shema and prayer—serve the purpose of elevating Malkhut.74Pri Eitz Chaim, Shaar HaTefillah 4 and 8. This elevation of Malkhut each morning is paralleled in lower wisdom, whose rectification is alluded to by the teaching “Avraham instituted Shacharit,” as explained in the Rebbe’s lesson.75See §6 there; also §1 and note 10 above.
וְעַל־כֵּן אֵין מְקַנְּחִין בְּיָמִין מִפְּנֵי שֶׁקּוֹשֵׁר בָּהּ תְּפִלִּין, שֶׁהֵם אוֹר הַפָּנִים, שֶׁמִּשָּׁם עִקַּר הַחִיּוּת שֶׁל הַמַּלְכוּת שֶׁעוֹלָה וְנִטְהֶרֶת מֵהֶם כַּנַּ״ל.
And so, because one wipes oneself to remove the waste associated with the extraneous wisdom of the Four Kingdoms, one should not wipe with the right hand, since he uses it to tie the tefillin, one of the morning rectifications that elevates Malkhut. Tefillin signify the revelation of the Ohr HaPanim, the source of Malkhut’s essential vitality that enables it to ascend and become purified from the Four Kingdoms.
וְעַל־כֵּן אָסוּר לְפַנּוֹת מִזְרָח וּמַעֲרָב (ארח חיים סימן ג׳, סעיף ה׳), מֵחֲמַת שֶׁהוּא נֶגֶד יְרוּשָׁלַיִם שֶׁשָּׁם הַבֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, שֶׁשָּׁם עִקַּר אוֹר הַפָּנִים, וְכַנַּ״ל.
This is also the reason a person may not relieve himself positioned between east and west,76Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 3:5. since he would then be facing Yerushalayim, the site of the Beit HaMikdash, where the main Ohr HaPanim is revealed.77See §5 above.
וְזֶה בְּחִינַת חֲנֻכָּה, כִּי הַדְלָקַת נֵר חֲנֻכָּה הוּא בְּחִינַת הַמְשָׁכַת הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת עַל־יְדֵי הַצִּמְצוּמִים, שֶׁמִּשָּׁם עִקַּר הַדְלָקַת כָּל הָאוֹרוֹת וְהַנֵּרוֹת דִּקְדֻשָּׁה, בְּחִינַת (זהר שמיני לז.): ״לאְנַהְ רָָא שׁ רְַגיִן וּלְאַדְלָקָא בּוּצִינִין״.
CHANUKAH LIGHT
Here and in the ensuing sections Reb Noson extends his discussion of perceptions of Godliness to a connection with the Chanukah candles. In this section he explains how the Chanukah lights are representative of drawing the light of a perception of Godliness by means of constrictions, both into oneself and into one’s home.
Now, all of this relates to Chanukah. For lighting the Chanukah candles corresponds to drawing a perception of Godliness by means of constrictions. In fact, this is at the root of lighting all lights and candles associated with the holiness of a mitzvah. Correspondingly, the illumination arising from a mitzvah is expressed in the Zohar as “to light candles” and “to kindle lamps.”78These examples from the Zohar depict illumination through mitzvah performance as lighting a light (see Zohar II, 166a). Reb Noson will next show how the act of lighting a candle or kindling a lamp represents constricting Divine wisdom in order to perceive Godliness.
שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת תְּפִלִּין מֹחִין, שֶׁהֵם עִקַּר הַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת, שֶׁאוֹמְרִים אָז: ״וְשֶׁמֶן הַטּוֹב תָּרִיק עַל שִׁבְעָה קְנֵי הַמְנוֹרָה וְכוּ׳״. כִּי הַמְשָׁכַת הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת עַל־יְדֵי הַצִּמְצוּמִים, זֶה בְּחִינַת שֶׁנִּמְשָׁךְ שֶׁמֶן הַטּוֹב – ״שֶׁמֶן מִשְׁחַת קֹדֶשׁ״ (שמות ל, כה), שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת הַדַּעַת הַקָּדוֹשׁ, לְתוֹךְ כֵּלִים וְצִמְצוּמִים, שֶׁהֵם הַשֶּׁמֶן וְהַכְּלִי וְהַפְּתִילָה, שֶׁבָּהֶם נִתְלֶה הָאוֹר, שֶׁנִּמְשָׁךְ מִבְּחִינַת הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת שֶׁמִּשָּׁם כָּל הָאוֹרוֹת, כִּי הוּא אוֹר כָּל הָאוֹרוֹת, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (תהלים כז, א): ״ה׳ אוֹרִי וְיִשְׁעִי״.
This drawing of a perception of Godliness by means of constrictions is also the concept of tefillin, whose constrictions—the boxes and straps79See §8 above.—illuminate the mochin, which are the main perceptions of Godliness.80This is as Chazal state, “ ‘Let your head never lack oil’ (Kohelet 9:8)—this is tefillin” (Shabbat 153a). The Arizal teaches that tefillin symbolize the light of the mochin bursting forth from the brain (Eitz Chaim 29:7). This is reflected in the prayer that we say at the time of donning tefillin, “And pour the good oil over the seven branches of the Menorah.”81The “good oil” alludes to the mochin (see previous note). In likening the human body to the Mishkan, Kabbalah associates the head with the seven-branched Menorah (Tikkuney Zohar, Introduction, p. 13b). The seven apertures of the head are the seven lamps, which when sanctified brighten the panim of the menorah (see LM I, 21:2 and notes 18 and 19 there). This is as in “A person’s wisdom illuminates his panim” (Kohelet 8:1). We mention oil because drawing a perception of Godliness by means of constrictions is akin to drawing “the good oil”—the “oil of sacred anointing,” namely holy daat82Shemot 30:25: “You shall make of it oil for sacred anointing.” Kabbalah teaches that kodesh, the Hebrew term for “holy” or “sacred,” refers to wisdom (Zohar III, 61a). In LM II, 8:12, the Rebbe teaches that just as oil is drawn up to the flame, the fatty fluids of the body are drawn up to fuel the mind. After teaching LM I, 54, Rebbe Nachman said, “I have now spoken of how to kindle the Chanukah light—meaning how to draw the oil of great holiness and kindle the lamp with ‘oil for sacred anointing.’ This is daat, as is known.”—into vessels and constrictions.83The Zohar (III, 109b) links the “oil for sacred anointing” with the left side and the gevurot, which in context here represent constrictions. These vessels and constrictions are the physical oil, lamp and wick required for the light to burn. As for the light itself, it is derived from the aspect of a perception of Godliness, the origin of all lights, for He is the Light of all lights, as it is written, “HaShem is my light and my salvation.”
וְזֶהוּ בְּחִינַת תֹּקֶף הַנֵּס שֶׁל חֲנֻכָּה, כִּי אָז עָמְדָה מַלְכוּת יָוָן הָרְשָׁעָה לְהַשְׁכִּיחָם תּוֹרָתֶךָ וּלְהַעֲבִירָם וְכוּ׳, כִּי מַלְכוּת יָוָן הָרְשָׁעָה זֶה עִקַּר בְּחִינַת חָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת, שֶׁהֵם חָכְמַת יָוָן, מֵחֲמַת שֶׁהֵם עָסְקוּ בָּזֶה בְּיוֹתֵר לְהַמְשִׁיךְ הַחָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת בָּעוֹלָם, כַּיָּדוּעַ (ויקרא רבה יג, ה), שֶׁזֶּה עִקַּר הִתְגַּבְּרוּת מַלְכוּת הָרְשָׁעָה, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת הָאַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיּוֹת, עַל מַלְכוּת דִּקְדֻשָּׁה כַּנַּ״ל.
Next Reb Noson discusses the uniqueness of the miracle of Chanukah, especially as a “weekday” festival with the power to illuminate even those in the deepest darkness in order to bring them back to HaShem.
This also relates to the power of the miracle of Chanukah, for at that time “the wicked Greek Empire rose up to make the Jewish people forget Your Torah and transgress.”84This is excerpted from the Al HaNissim prayer recited on Chanukah. The wicked Greek Empire referred to here is the personification of all extraneous wisdom, termed “Greek wisdom” by Chazal since the Greeks were the ones most involved in disseminating extraneous wisdom to the world. This is the main weapon used by the Malkhut of evil—namely the Four Kingdoms—for overwhelming the Malkhut of holiness.
וְעַל־כֵּן הָיְתָה אָז עֵת צָרָה גְּדוֹלָה, כִּי רָצוּ לְהַשְׁכִּיחַ הַתּוֹרָה לְגַמְרֵי עַל־יְדֵי הִתְגַּבְּרוּת הַחָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת, שֶׁהֵם הֵפֶךְ הַתּוֹרָה.
Consequently, it was a time of terrible distress, since the Greeks wanted to make the Jewish people completely forget the Torah. Apart from decrees against performing mitzvot, they wanted to prevent the Jews from attaining perceptions of Godliness by strengthening extraneous wisdom, the very antithesis of Torah.
כִּי הַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוֹת הֵם בְּחִינַת שִׁעוּרִים וְכֵלִים לְהַמְשִׁיךְ עַל יָדָם הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת כַּנַּ״ל, וְהֵם רָצוּ לְהַשְׁכִּיחַ הַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוֹת עַל־יְדֵי הִתְגַּבְּרוּת חָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת מַלְכוּת הָרְשָׁעָה שֶׁל הָאַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיּוֹת, שֶׁהִתְגַּבְּרוּ עַל מַלְכוּת דִּקְדֻשָּׁה, שֶׁהוּא חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה הַנַּ״ל.
For the Torah and mitzvot serve as measures and vessels through which we can draw a perception of Godliness, as explained previously. The Greeks wanted to cause the Torah and mitzvot to be forgotten by strengthening extraneous wisdom—this being the concept of the Malkhut of evil associated with the Four Kingdoms overcoming the Malkhut of holiness/lower wisdom.
כְּמוֹ עַכְשָׁיו, בַּעֲוֹנוֹתֵינוּ הָרַבִּים, שֶׁמִּתְגַּבְּרִים הָאֶפִּיקוֹרְסִים וְרוֹצִים לְהַמְשִׁיךְ חָכְמוֹת חִיצוֹנִיּוֹת בָּעוֹלָם וּלְהַשְׁכִּיחַ הַתּוֹרָה לְגַמְרֵי, כְּמוֹ שֶׁרוֹאִין בְּחוּשׁ, שֶׁכָּל מִי שֶׁנִּמְשַׁךְ אַחַר דַּרְכֵּיהֶם הוּא פּוֹרֵק עוֹל לְגַמְרֵי וּמְגַלֵּחַ זְקָנוֹ וּפֵאוֹתָיו וְשׁוֹתֶה יַיִן נֶסֶךְ, עַד שֶׁפּוֹרֵק עוֹל לְגַמְרֵי, רַחֲמָנָא לִצְלָן.
This is similar to what is happening nowadays, when due to our many sins, heretics are gaining prominence and seeking to draw extraneous wisdom into the world in order to cause the Torah to be forgotten completely. As we see empirically, whoever is drawn to their ways completely casts off religious observance. He shaves off his beard and peiyot, drinks the wine of non-Jews, and eventually becomes completely irreligious, may HaShem save us.
אֲבָל הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ בְּרַחֲמָיו הַמְרֻבִּים הִקְדִּים רְפוּאָה לַמַּכָּה, וְעָשָׂה עִמָּנוּ נֵס גָּדוֹל וְנִפְלָא אָז בִּימֵי מַתִּתְיָהוּ בֶּן יוֹחָנָן כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל, עַד אֲשֶׁר לֹא דַּי שֶׁהִכְנִיעוּ וְהִפִּילוּ מַלְכוּת יָוָן הָרְשָׁעָה מַפָּלָה גְּדוֹלָה, אַף גַּם עַל־יְדֵי תֹּקֶף הַנֵּס הִמְשִׁיכוּ אוֹר נִפְלָא בָּעוֹלָם לְדוֹרוֹת, שֶׁיִּהְיֶה לָנוּ כֹּחַ עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה לְהַמְשִׁיךְ אוֹר הַנַּ״ל כָּל אֶחָד בְּבֵיתוֹ, דְּהַיְנוּ אוֹר הַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת עַל־יְדֵי הַצִּמְצוּמִים הַנַּ״ל.
Nevertheless, HaShem, in His abundant compassion, prepared the cure ahead of the injury. He performed for us a great and wondrous miracle during the time of Mattityahu ben Yochanan the Kohen Gadol. The Jewish people not only subjugated and soundly defeated the wicked Greek Empire, but also, through the power of the miracle, drew wondrous spiritual light into the world for all generations. HaShem performed this miracle so that each individual Jew, in his own home, would have the power to draw this light—that is, the light of perceptions of Godliness attained through the constrictions, namely the oil, the lamp and the wick required for the light to shine.
שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת תִּקּוּן הַמְבֹאָר שָׁם בְּהַתּוֹרָה הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁכָּל מַה שֶּׁהַחוֹלֶה גָּדוֹל בְּיוֹתֵר – הוּא צָרִיךְ רַבִּי גָּדוֹל בְּיוֹתֵר, שֶׁיִּהְיֶה אֻמָּן וְחָכָם כָּזֶה, שֶׁיּוּכַל לַעֲשוֹת צִמְצוּמִים נִפְלָאִים שֶׁיָּאִיר גַּם בּוֹ הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת כַּנַּ״ל. וּבְחִינָה זֹאת נִמְשֶׁכֶת עָלֵינוּ בַּחֲנֻכָּה עַל־יְדֵי הַצַּדִּיקִים הַגְּדוֹלִים הַמֻּפְלָגִים בְּמַעֲלָה שֶׁתִּקְּנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר חֲנֻכָּה, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה יֵשׁ כֹּחַ לְהַמְשִׁיךְ בְּחִינַת הֶאָרָה הַנַּ״ל עַל כָּל אֶחָד בְּבֵיתוֹ, אֲפִלּוּ אִם הוּא כְּמוֹ שֶׁהוּא. כִּי מְבֹאָר בְּכַוָּנוֹת חֲנֻכָּה (פרי עץ חיים חנכה פרק ד), שֶׁעִנְיַן חֲנֻכָּה הוּא, שֶׁמַּמְשִׁיכִין הָאוֹר הַנִּפְלָא, שֶׁכּוֹלֵל כָּל הַיִּחוּדִים – שֶׁמַּמְשִׁיכִין אוֹתוֹ לְמַטָּה, הַיְנוּ לְמַטָּה מֵעֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים.
This corresponds to the rectification explained in the Rebbe’s lesson, that the greater a person’s spiritual illness, the greater the rav he requires. This would be the kind of master and sage who is able to produce the wondrous constrictions required to instill a perception of Godliness even into such a person. This influence is drawn upon us during Chanukah by way of the superlatively great tsaddikim who instituted the kindling of Chanukah lights. As a result of this mitzvah, it is now possible to draw illumination to every individual, in his home, regardless of how spiritually ill he is. For the Arizal similarly clarifies in the Kavanot of Chanukah that the mystical idea of Chanukah is that we draw the wondrous light—the light that encompasses all the yichudim of HaShem’s Names85Yichudim, unifications, are a form of kabbalistic meditation designed to unify the potencies of the different Names of HaShem through the permutation and combination of their letters. The Arizal teaches that when lowering our hand to light the Chanukah candles, we should have in mind that we are drawing light from the head downward. The yichudim that pertain to this act entail unifying YHVH with ADoNaI and ,(י־הוה + אלהים) YHVH with ELoHIM ,(י־הוה + אדני) The numerical value .(י־הוה + אהיה) YHVH with EHYeH of all the letters of these Holy Names totals 250, the candle) (Pri Eitz Chaim, Shaar ,נר) same as that of NeR Chanukah 4; see Charts, p. 256).—downwards, to below a height of ten handbreadths.86Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 671:6, states regarding placement of the Chanukah menorah, “It is a mitzvah to position it below ten tefachim (31-38 inches)” from the ground.
כִּי בְּשַׁבָּת וְיוֹם טוֹב מַדְלִיקִין נֵרוֹת שֶׁל מִצְוָה, כִּי אָז הוּא עִקַּר עֲלִיַּת הַמַּלְכוּת חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת נֵר מִצְוָה, שֶׁאָז מֵחֲמַת קְדֻשַּׁת שַׁבָּת וְיוֹם טוֹב נוֹפְלִים הַקְּלִפּוֹת, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת אַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיּוֹת, וּמַלְכוּת דִּקְדֻשָּׁה עוֹלָה מִבֵּינֵיהֶם, וְאָז מְאִירָה בְּאוֹר גָּדוֹל, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת הַדְלָקַת נֵרוֹת שַׁבָּת וְיוֹם טוֹב שֶׁמַּדְלִיקִין אוֹתָהּ בִּמְקוֹמָהּ בְּעֵת עֲלִיָּתָהּ.
Kindling the lights below ten handbreadths distinguishes Chanukah from Shabbat and Yom Tov. We light candles of mitzvah on Shabbat and Yom Tov because at those times the sefirah of Malkhut/lower wisdom has its primary ascent. This is the meaning of “a mitzvah is a candle.” Due to the holiness of Shabbat and Yom Tov, the kelipot—which are synonymous with the Four Kingdoms— fall away completely. The Malkhut of holiness then ascends from among them, shining with a bright Divine light. This is reflected in the law of lighting candles in honor of Shabbat and Yom Tov. We kindle them in their place, above ten handbreadths, where the Malkhut is situated at the time of its ascent.
אֲבָל בַּחֲנֻכָּה – הַהַדְלָקָה הוּא בְּדֶרֶךְ נֵס נִפְלָא, כִּי אָז אֵין לָהּ עֲלִיָּה כָּל־כָּךְ, כִּי הֵם יְמֵי הַחוֹל, כִּי אָז אֵין מִתְבַּטְּלִים הַקְּלִפּוֹת שֶׁהֵם הָאַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיּוֹת לְגַמְרֵי כְּמוֹ בְּשַׁבָּת וְיוֹם טוֹב, וְאַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן אָנוּ מַדְלִיקִין הַנֵּר הַקָּדוֹשׁ הַזֶּה שֶׁכּוֹלֵל כָּל הַיִּחוּדִים, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת הַמְשָׁכַת הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת עַל־יְדֵי הַצִּמְצוּמִים.
But on Chanukah, the essence of the lighting is by way of a wondrous miracle, since Malkhut has no significant ascent at that time. For the days of Chanukah are regular weekdays, when the kelipot/the Four Kingdoms are not completely eliminated as on Shabbat and Yom Tov. In spite of this, we kindle this holy light that encompasses all yichudim, bringing the Divine light downwards into the vessels, which represents the drawing of a perception of Godliness through constrictions.
הַיְנוּ בְּחִינָה הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁהַצַּדִּיקִים הַגְּדוֹלִים מְאֹד מַמְשִׁיכִין תִּקּוּנִים נִפְלָאִים כָּאֵלֶה, עַד שֶׁמְּאִירִין בְּחִינַת הַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת עַל־יְדֵי הַצִּמְצוּמִים גַּם לְמַטָּה בַּדִּיּוּטָא הַתַּחְתּוֹנָה מְאֹד, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת לְמַטָּה מֵעֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים, שֶׁמֵּעוֹלָם לֹא יָרְדָה הַשְּׁכִינָה לְשָׁם (סכה ה.).
This is the idea mentioned above, that the very great tzaddikim draw such wondrous rectifications into the world to the point that they are able to instill perceptions of Godliness through constrictions even into the very lowest spiritual level, to below ten handbreadths, a place to which the Shekhinah has never descended.87Sukkah 5a.
וְעַתָּה עַל־יְדֵי תֹּקֶף הַנֵּס מַדְלִיקִין שָׁם דַּיְקָא הַנֵּר חֲנֻכָּה הַקָּדוֹשׁ וְהַנּוֹרָא, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת הַמְשָׁכַת הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת עַל־יְדֵי הַצִּמְצוּמִים לְמַטָּה לְמַטָּה, לְהָאִיר בְּכָל אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, לְכָל מִי שֶׁרוֹצֶה לְקַבֵּל, אֲפִלּוּ אִם הוּא הַגָּרוּעַ שֶׁבַּגְּרוּעִים, אֲפִלּוּ הַחוֹלֶה הַגָּדוֹל בְּיוֹתֵר בְּחֳלָיֵי הַנֶּפֶשׁ עַל־יְדֵי רִבּוּי עֲוֹנוֹתָיו – לְהָאִיר גַּם בּוֹ הֶאָרָה מֵהַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת, עַל־יְדֵי גֹּדֶל כֹּחַ הַצַּדִּיקִים הַגְּדוֹלִים שֶׁמַּמְשִׁיכִין תֹּקֶף הַנֵּס שֶׁל חֲנֻכָּה בָּעוֹלָם, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה אֲפִלּוּ בִּבְחִינַת יְמֵי הַחוֹל, שֶׁאֵין יְכוֹלִין עֲדַיִן לְהַעֲלוֹת בִּשְׁלֵמוּת בְּחִינַת הַמַּלְכוּת, חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה הַנַּ״ל, אַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן מַמְשִׁיכִין הָאוֹר שֶׁל הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת עַל־יְדֵי הַצִּמְצוּמִים לְמַטָּה אֲפִלּוּ בַּמַּדְרֵגָה הַתַּחְתּוֹנָה, כִּי מִגֹּדֶל כֹּחָם – יְכוֹלִים לְהָאִיר אֲפִלּוּ בַּמַּדְרֵגָה הַתַּחְתּוֹנָה, כִּי מִגֹּדֶל כֹּחָם – יְכוֹלִים לְהָאִיר אֲפִלּוּ בְּהַקְּטַנִּים בְּמַעֲלָה מְאֹד, וּלְרַפְּאוֹת אֲפִלּוּ הַחוֹלִים הַגְּדוֹלִים בְּיוֹתֵר, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת הַדְלָקַת נֵר חֲנֻכָּה לְמַטָּה מֵעֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים וְכַנַּ״ל.
Thus now, on account of the power of the miracle, we kindle the holy and awesome Chanukah light specifically there, below ten handbreadths. This corresponds to drawing a perception of Godliness through constrictions all the way down, in order to illuminate every single Jew who wants to receive it—even if he is the worst of the worst, and even if his soul is exceedingly tormented on account of his many sins. Even he can be illuminated with the light of a perception of Godliness thanks to the tremendous strength of the great tzaddikim who draw the power of the Chanukah miracle into the world. Even on a weekday, when we cannot yet elevate Malkhut/lower wisdom completely, these tzaddikim nonetheless draw the light of a perception of Godliness through constrictions downwards, even to the lowest level. For their great power enables them to shine even into those at the lowest level and to heal even the most spiritually ill, which equates with kindling the Chanukah lights below ten handbreadths.
וזְֶה בְּחִינַת (תהלים כג, ד): ״גַּם כִּי אֵלֵךְ בְּגֵיא צַלְמָוֶת לֹא אִירָא רָע כִּי אַתָּה עִמָּדִי״, בְּחִינַת (מיכה ז, ח): ״כִּי אֵשֵׁב בַּחשֶׁךְ ה׳ אוֹר לִי״, שֶׁמַּמְשִׁיכִין הָאוֹר שֶׁל הַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת לְמַטָּה בְּעֹמֶק הַחֹשֶׁךְ, בִּבְחִינַת ״גֵּיא צַלְמָוֶת״, לְהָאִיר לְהַנְּמוּכִים מְאֹד מְאֹד, שֶׁיַּגִּיעַ גַּם אֲלֵיהֶם הֶאָרָה וִידִיעָה מֵאֱלֹקוּתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמוֹ, כְּדֵי לְרַפְּאוֹתָם וּלְתַקְּנָם וְלַהֲשִׁיבָם אֵלָיו.
This is alluded to in the verses “Even though I walk in the valley of the deepest darkness, I will not fear evil, for You are with me” and “although I sit in the darkness, HaShem is a light to me.” We draw the light of perceptions of Godliness downwards, into the depths of “the darkness,” into “the valley of the deepest darkness,” in order to illuminate the very lowest so that illumination and awareness of His Godliness reaches them as well, so that it might heal and rectify them, and bring them back to Him.
וְזֶה בְּחִינַת הַפְּלוּגְתָא שֶׁבֵּין בֵּית שַׁמַּאי וּבֵית הִלֵּל (שבת כא:), שֶׁבֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים: ״פּוֹחֵת וְהוֹלֵךְ״, וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים: ״מוֹסִיף וְהוֹלֵךְ״.
BEIT HILLEL AND BEIT SHAMMAI
Reb Noson next shows that the halakhic dispute between the students of Shammai and the students of Hillel over how many lights one kindles each night of Chanukah is fundamentally a dispute over the appropriateness of drawing down a perception of Godliness to those on the lowest spiritual levels.
This relates to the dispute between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel regarding the order of lighting the Chanukah candles. Beit Shammai contends that on the first day of Chanukah we should kindle eight lights and thereafter “keep decreasing” the number of lights until, on the last day of Chanukah, we kindle a single light. Conversely, Beit Hillel contends that on the first day we should kindle one light and from there on “keep increasing” the number of lights until, on the last day, we kindle eight lights.88Shabbat 21b.
כִּי בֵּית שַׁמַּאי לְטַעֲמֵיהּ, כִּי אָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל (שם לא.): שַׁמַּאי הָיָה קַפְּדָן, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה הָיָה מְרַחֵק הַגֵּרִים מִלְּהִתְגַּיֵּר וּדְחָפָם בְּאַמַּת הַבִּנְיָן. אֲבָל הִלֵּל עַל־יְדֵי גֹּדֶל עַנְוְתָנוּתוֹ קֵרְבָם בְּרַחֲמִים, אַף־עַל־ פִּי שֶׁלֹּא הָיוּ הֲגוּנִים לְהִתְקָרֵב, וְאָמְרוּ דְּבָרִים זָרִים וְשִׁגָּעוֹן – לְלַמְּדָם כָּל הַתּוֹרָה כְּשֶׁעוֹמְדִים עַל רֶגֶל אַחַת וְכוּ׳, אַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן לֹא דְּחָפָם, וְקֵרְבָם בְּחָכְמָתוֹ וְעַנְוְתָנוּתוֹ הַנִּפְלָא. וְעַל־כֵּן בֵּית שַׁמַּאי, שֶׁהָיוּ תַּלְמִידֵי שַׁמַּאי, שֶׁמִּגֹּדֶל צִדְקָתוֹ וּקְדֻשָּׁתוֹ לֹא הָיָה יָכוֹל לִסְבֹּל אֶת הָרְחוֹקִים הַמְלֻכְלָכִים בְּחַטֹּאת נְעוּרֵיהֶם, וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּהֶם, עַל־כֵּן אָמְרוּ: ״פּוֹחֵת וְהוֹלֵךְ״.
The ruling of Beit Shammai is consistent with Shammai’s personality and perspective. Chazal say that Shammai was strict and exacting, and therefore would distance potential converts, even pushing them away with a builder’s ruler.89Shabbat 30b, 31a. But Hillel, due to his great humility and gentleness, would compassionately draw them near to HaShem, despite their inherent unsuitability. Even if they would suggest strange and absurd things, such as that he teach them the entire Torah while standing on one foot, he would not push them away. Rather, through his wisdom and wondrous humility, he would draw them near. Consequently, Beit Shammai, being the students of Shammai, ruled in the way that they did. Owing to his intense piety and holiness, Shammai was unable to tolerate the people who were spiritually distant from HaShem, those who were sullied by the sins of their youth and the like. Therefore Beit Shammai ruled that we should “keep decreasing” the number of lights.
כִּי בֵּית שַׁמַּאי וּבֵית הִלֵּל, שְׁנֵיהֶם מוֹדִים, שֶׁצְּרִיכִים לְהוֹסִיף וּלְהַרְבּוֹת אוֹר בְּכָל יוֹם שֶׁבָּא אַחֲרָיו, כִּי בְּוַדַּאי הַנֵּס שֶׁל יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה שֶׁדָּלַק הַנֵּר שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה בּוֹ לְהַדְלִיק כִּי אִם יוֹם אֶחָד וְדָלַק שְׁמוֹנָה יָמִים, בְּוַדַּאי כָּל יוֹם שֶׁבָּא אַחֲרָיו – הַנֵּס גָּדוֹל וְנִפְלָא בְּיוֹתֵר, וְעַל־כֵּן בְּוַדַּאי צְרִיכִין אוֹר גָּדוֹל בְּיוֹתֵר בְּכָל יוֹם שֶׁבָּא אַחַר־כָּךְ.
Now, the truth is that Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel both agree that we ought to add and increase the light with each succeeding day. For certainly this would be an appropriate reflection of the nature of the miracle during the days of Chanukah, when the candle remained lit—a light that should have lasted for only one day burned for eight days. With each subsequent day the miracle was certainly greater and more wondrous, and so without question we need to mark this with ever greater light by kindling more lights on each succeeding day.
אַךְ בֵּית שַׁמַּאי סוֹבְרִים שֶׁמֵּחֲמַת זֶה בְּעַצְמוֹ, מֵחֲמַת גּדֶֹל הָאוֹר שֶׁנִּמְשַׁךְ בְּכָל יוֹם בְּיוֹתֵר, מֵחֲמַת זֶה בְּעַצְמוֹ ״פּוֹחֵת וְהוֹלֵךְ״, כִּי אֵין הָרְשָׁעִים וְהָרְחוֹקִים כְּדַאי לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ עִם זֶה הָאוֹר. וּכְעֵין שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל (חגיגה יב.): שֶׁרָאָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁאֵין הָעוֹלָם כְּדַאי לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ עִם הָאוֹר שֶׁל שִׁבְעַת יְמֵי בְּרֵאשִׁית וְעָמַד וּגְנָזוֹ לַצַּדִּיקִים וְכוּ׳, עַל־כֵּן הֵם סוֹבְרִים, שֶׁגַּם עַתָּה כְּשֶׁהַצַּדִּיקִים מַשִּׂיגִים אוֹר גָּדוֹל – צְרִיכִים לְהַעֲלִים הָאוֹר, וְכָל מַה שֶּׁמַּשִּׂיגִים יוֹתֵר וְיוֹתֵר – צְרִיכִים לְהַעֲלִים הָאוֹר יוֹתֵר וְיוֹתֵר, כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יֶהֱנוּ מִמֶּנּוּ הָרְשָׁעִים וְהָרְחוֹקִים כַּנַּ״ל, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת ״פּוֹחֵת וְהוֹלֵךְ״.
Nevertheless, Beit Shammai maintains that it is precisely for this reason—due to the ever increasing light that is drawn as the days pass—that we need to “keep decreasing” the number of lights that we kindle, since the wicked and spiritually distant are unworthy of making use of this wondrous light. This is similar to Chazal’s teaching that HaKadosh Barukh Hu saw that the world was unworthy of using the light of the seven days of Creation and so proceeded to store it away for the tzaddikim.90Chagigah 12a; Bereishit Rabbah 12:6. With this light Adam was able to see from one end of the world to the other. But HaShem foresaw the corruption and depravity of the early generations and so concealed the light to keep them from exploiting it. Reb Noson cites this teaching here as another example of light being hidden from the wicked, but also to teach that sparks of the light of Creation are revealed in the lights of Chanukah (see Rokei’ach, Hilkhot Chanukah; also B’nei Yissachar, Maamarei Kislev-Tevet 2). Therefore Beit Shammai maintains that even in our time, when the tzaddikim are able to attain great spiritual light, they must hide it away. And the more light they are able to attain, the more they must conceal it, so that the wicked and spiritually distant from HaShem will not benefit from it. Correspondingly, they maintain that the lights should “keep decreasing.”
אֲבָל בֵּית הִלֵּל, שֶׁהֵם מִתַּלְמִידֵי הִלֵּל, שֶׁהָיָה עוֹסֵק לְקָרֵב הָרְחוֹקִים מְאֹד, עַל־כֵּן אָזְלֵי לְטַעֲמַיְיהוּ, וְאוֹמְרִים: ״מוֹסִיף וְהוֹלֵךְ״. כִּי אַדְּרַבָּא! כָּל מַה שֶּׁהַצַּדִּיקִים מַמְשִׁיכִין אוֹר גָּדוֹל וְנוֹסָף בְּיוֹתֵר וְיוֹתֵר, כְּמוֹ־כֵן צְרִיכִין לְהָאִיר בְּהָעוֹלָם יוֹתֵר וְיוֹתֵר, לְהָאִיר לְכָל בָּאֵי עוֹלָם, כְּדֵי לְקָרֵב כָּל הָרְחוֹקִים מְאֹד מְאֹד, לְהָאִיר בְּהַקְּטַנִּים וְהַנְּמוּכִים מְאֹד, לְרַפְּאוֹת כָּל הַחוֹלִים הַגְּדוֹלִים בְּיוֹתֵר, רַחֲמָנָא לִצְלָן.
On the other hand, Beit Hillel, being students of Hillel, ruled consistent with his outlook. Hillel engaged in drawing closer those very distant from HaShem, and so his students followed his reasoning in saying that the lights should “keep increasing.” For on the contrary, the greater and brighter the light the tzaddikim draw into the world, the more they need to illuminate the world—to enlighten every human being so as to draw near all those who are exceedingly distant. The tzaddikim must try to enlighten even the very smallest and lowest spiritually, to heal even the most seriously ill, may HaShem save us.
כִּי כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּל מַה שֶּׁהַחוֹלֶה גָּדוֹל בְּיוֹתֵר צָרִיךְ לְבַקֵּשׁ לְעַצְמוֹ רַבִּי הַגָּדוֹל בְּיוֹתֵר כַּנַּ״ל, כְּמוֹ־כֵן הָרַבִּי וְהַצַּדִּיק, כָּל מַה שֶּׁמַּגִּיעַ לְמַעֲלָה גְּדוֹלָה יְתֵרָה בְּיוֹתֵר – הוּא צָרִיךְ לְהָאִיר גַּם בְּהַקְּטַנִּים וְהַנְּמוּכִים בְּיוֹתֵר, כִּי זֶה עִקַּר מַעֲלָתוֹ וּגְדֻלָּתוֹ – לְקָרֵב הָרְחוֹקִים בְּיוֹתֵר, שֶׁזֶּהוּ עִקַּר גְּדֻלַּת הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ וּכְבוֹדוֹ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר (לקוטי מוהר״ן חלק א׳, סימן י׳).
For as we learned above, the greater a person’s spiritual illness, the greater the rav he must seek out for himself. This is also true for the rav and tzaddik. The higher the spiritual level he attains, the more he must reach down to and enlighten the very smallest and lowest spiritually. This is the essence of the tzaddik’s virtue and greatness: drawing near to HaShem those who are the furthest from Him. In fact, bringing them closer is the essence of HaShem’s greatness and glory, as Rebbe Nachman writes elsewhere.91See LM I, 10:2.
כִּי אַף־עַל־פִּי שֶׁבְּוַדַּאי צְרִיכִים לְהַעֲלִים הָאוֹר הַגָּדוֹל, וּבִפְרָט כְּשֶׁמַּגִּיעִים לְמַעֲלוֹת וְהַשָּׂגוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹת וַעֲצוּמוֹת, בְּוַדַּאי בְּהֶכְרֵחַ לְהַעֲלִים וְלִגְנֹז הָאוֹר, כִּי אֵין הָעוֹלָם כְּדַאי לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בָּהֶם, אַךְ אַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן הֵם עוֹשִׂים תַּחְבּוּלוֹת כָּאֵלֶּה, וּמְתַקְּנִים תִּקּוּנִים כָּאֵלֶּה, וּמַלְבִּישִׁים הָאוֹר בִּלְבוּשִׁים וְצִמְצוּמִים נִפְלָאִים כָּאֵלֶּה, עַד שֶׁמְּאִירִים גַּם בְּהַקְּטַנִּים בְּמַעֲלָה מְאֹד כַּנַּ״ל, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה הֵם מוֹסִיפִים וְהוֹלְכִים וּמְאִירִים הָאוֹר לְמַטָּה בְּכָל יוֹם וָיוֹם יוֹתֵר וְיוֹתֵר, בִּבְחִינַת ״מוֹסִיף וְהוֹלֵךְ״.
And this is true even though the tzaddikim must unquestionably conceal the great light of spiritual awareness, particularly when they reach such prodigiously lofty levels and perceptions of Godliness. Certainly in such a case, they are forced to conceal and store away the light, since the world is unworthy of using it. Nevertheless, they devise such ingenious plans, effect such potent rectifications, and clothe the light with such wondrous garments and constrictions—until they enlighten even those on the very lowest spiritual level. In this way, the tzaddikim gradually increase the light and cause it to radiate below more and more every single day, in consonance with Beit Hillel’s ruling to “keep increasing” the number of Chanukah candles with each succeeding day.
כִּי ״מַעֲלִין בַּקֹּדֶשׁ וְלֹא מוֹרִידִין״ (שבת כא: עין שם). וְקָשֶׁה, וְכִי יַעֲלֶה עַל הַדַּעַת לְהוֹרִיד הַקְּדֻשָּׁה, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם? אַךְ זֶהוּ בְּחִינַת הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁיֵּשׁ צַדִּיקִים שֶׁהֵם גְּדוֹלִים בְּמַעֲלָה בֶּאֱמֶת, אַךְ מֵעצֶֹם קְדֻשָּׁתָם אֵינָם יְכוֹלִים לִסְבּוֹל הָעוֹלָם, וְעַל־כֵּן עַל־יְדֵי תֹּקֶף קְדֻשָּׁתָם הֵם מְרַחֲקִין וּמוֹרִידִין, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, אֵיזֶה אֲנָשִׁים, מֵחֲמַת שֶׁכּוֹעֲסִים עֲלֵיהֶם, מֵחֲמַת שֶׁאֵינָם יְכוֹלִים לִסְבּוֹל מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם הַמְּגֻנִּים.
According to Chazal, Beit Hillel’s ruling is based on the principle “In matters of sanctity we elevate to a higher level and we do not downgrade.”92Shabbat 21b. But the question is: Would anyone even think of downgrading holiness, chas ve-shalom?! However, this relates to what we said above, that there are tzaddikim of truly great spiritual stature who nonetheless, on account of their outstanding holiness, are unable to tolerate the world. Owing to the intensity of their sanctity, they distance some people and, by getting angry at them, bring them down, chas ve-shalom, since these tzaddikim are incapable of tolerating their reprehensible behavior.
אֲבָל הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ אֵינוֹ חָפֵץ בָּזֶה, כִּי חָפֵץ חֶסֶד הוּא, וְרוֹצֶה שֶׁהַצַּדִּיקִים יְרַחֲמוּ עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל תָּמִיד, וִיקָרְבוּ אוֹתָם, אֲפִלּוּ אִם הֵם כְּמוֹ שֶׁהֵם. וַאֲפִלּוּ אִם הוּא עַצְמוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ בְּכַעַס גָּדוֹל עֲלֵיהֶם מֵחֲמַת מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם הָרָעִים, הוּא רוֹצֶה שֶׁהַצַּדִּיקִים יִתְפַּלְּלוּ עֲלֵיהֶם וִיקָרְבֻם, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל (שמות רבה מח, ב) עַל פָּסוּק (שמות לג, ז): ״וּמֹשֶׁה יִקַּח אֶת הָאֹהֶל וְנָטָה לוֹ מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה הַרְחֵק מִן הַמַּחֲנֶה״, מֵחֲמַת שֶׁחָטְאוּ כָּל־כָּךְ, אָמַר הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ: ״אֲנִי בְּכַעַס וְאַתָּה בְּכַעַס, אִם כֵּן, מִי יְקָרְבֵם? וְכוּ׳״, כַּמּוּבָא בְּפֵרוּשׁ רַשִׁ״י (שם יא).
However, HaShem does not desire this attitude, “for He desires chesed.” He wants the tzaddikim to always have compassion for the Jewish people and draw them near, even if they are as they are. And even if He Himself is actually very angry with them because of their wrongdoing, He wants the tzaddikim to pray for them to repent and to bring them closer to Him. This is how Chazal explain the verse “Moshe would take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far from the camp,” since the people had sinned so greatly with the golden calf. Chazal tell us that in response to Moshe’s action, HaShem said, “I am angry at the Jewish people and you are angry at the Jewish people. If so, who will draw them near?”93Cf. Shemot Rabbah 45:2. Rashi cites this Midrash in his commentary.94See Rashi on Shemot 33:11.
וְכֵן מָצִינוּ בְּכַמָּה נְבִיאִים וְצַדִּיקִים, שֶׁהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ בְּעַצְמוֹ קָבַל לִפְנֵיהֶם וְסִפֵּר לָהֶם גֹּדֶל צַעֲרוֹ, כִּבְיָכוֹל, שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ מֵעֲוֹנוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל הַמְּרֻבִּים, וּכְשֶׁהֵם חִזְּקוּ דְּבָרָיו וְלֹא הִמְלִיצוּ טוֹב עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל -הִקְפִּיד עֲלֵיהֶם מְאֹד, כְּמוֹ שֶׁמָּצִינוּ בְּהוֹשֵׁעַ הַנָּבִיא. וּבְאֵלִיָּהוּ שֶׁאָמַר (מלכים-א יט, י): ״קַנֹּא קִנֵּאתִי וְכוּ׳״, שֶׁאָמַר לוֹ (שם פסוק טז): ״וְאֶת אֱלִישָׁע בֶּן שָׁפָט תִּמְשַׁח לְנָבִיא תַּחְתֶּיךָ״, וּפֵרְשׁוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל (מכילתא בא בהקדמה, והובא בפרושׁ רש״י שם), שֶׁאָמַר לוֹ: ״אִי אֶפְשִׁי בִּנְבוּאָתְךָ עַל שֶׁאַתָּה מְקַטְרֵג עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל״.
Similarly, we find concerning various prophets and tzaddikim that HaShem Himself complained to them, telling them about His considerable distress, as it were, from the many sins of the Jewish people. When they supported His words instead of advocating on behalf of the Jews, He was very strict with them. We find this in connection with Hoshea, as reported in the Gemara,95Pesachim 87a. and also regarding Eliyahu, who said, “I have been zealous.” HaShem said to him in response, “Anoint Elisha ben Shafat … as a prophet in your stead.” Chazal interpret this as HaShem saying to Eliyahu, “I have no wish for your prophecy, since you are accusing the Jewish people.”96Mekhilta, Parashat Bo, Introduction; see also Rashi on I Melakhim 19:16.
כִּי הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ רוֹצֶה רַק שֶׁיַּמְלִיצוּ טוֹב עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל, וִירַחֲמוּ עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲפִלּוּ עַל הַגְּרוּעִים -לְקָרֵב כֻּלָּם אֵלָיו יִתְבָּרַךְ, כְּמוֹ מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ, עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם, שֶׁמָּסַר נַפְשׁוֹ עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַר (שמות לב, לב): ״וְאִם אַיִן מְחֵנִי נָא וְכוּ׳״.
For HaShem wants only that we speak favorably about the Jewish people and show them compassion—even the worst ones—in order to draw all of them closer to Him. Just like Moshe Rabbeinu, who sacrificed his life for the Jewish people and said, “But if not, pray, blot me out.”97If he could convince HaShem to forgive their sin with the golden calf, good. But if not, Moshe pleaded with HaShem to erase his name from the entire Torah (Rashi, loc. cit.).
וְזֶה בְּחִינַת: ״מַעֲלִין בַּקֹּדֶשׁ״ – שֶׁכָּל מַה שֶׁמַּגִּיעִין וּבָאִין בַּקֹּדֶשׁ יוֹתֵר וְיוֹתֵר, וּמַשִּׂיגִין הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת יוֹתֵר – צְרִיכִין לִהְיוֹת מַעֲלִין נְפָשׁוֹת יוֹתֵר וְיוֹתֵר.
This role of the tzaddikim in drawing near to HaShem those who are distant from Him relates to the principle “In matters of sanctity we elevate to a higher level.” The more the tzaddikim achieve and the more they become absorbed in sanctity, attaining a greater perception of Godliness, the more they need to elevate souls by drawing them near.
וְלֹא מוֹרִידִין – דְּהַיְנוּ שֶׁיִּזָהֲרוּ שֶׁלֹּא יִהְיוּ מוֹרִידִים הַנְּפָשׁוֹת עַל־יְדֵי גֹּדֶל קְדֻשָּׁתָם, דְּהַיְנוּ שֶׁלֹּא יַגִּיעוּ לִכְלַל קְפֵידָא עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵחֲמַת גֹּדֶל קְדֻשָּׁתָם וְהַשָּׂגָתָם אֶת הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ, שֶׁמֵּחֲמַת זֶה אֵינָם יְכוֹלִים לִסְבּוֹל אֶת הַגְּרוּעִים, עַד שֶׁכּוֹעֲסִים עֲלֵיהֶם, עַד שֶׁיְּכוֹלִים לְהוֹרִיד אוֹתָם, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת ״פּוֹחֵת וְהוֹלֵךְ״ שֶׁאָמְרוּ בֵּית שַׁמַּאי וְכַנַּ״ל.
In contrast, “and we do not downgrade the degree of sanctity” means that the tzaddikim must be careful not to bring down souls by pushing them away by virtue of their own great sanctity. That is, they must not allow their great sanctity and perception of Godliness to make them strict and exacting with the Jewish people. This can leave the tzaddikim unable to tolerate the worst people, to the point of becoming so angry with them that they bring them down, chas ve-shalom. This is in consonance with the ruling of Beit Shammai to “keep decreasing” the number of Chanukah lights with each succeeding day.
כִּי לֹא כֵן הוּא, כִּי צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת ״מַעֲלִין בַּקֹּדֶשׁ וְלֹא מוֹרִידִין״ – כִּי כָל מַה שֶּׁמַּגִּיעַ לְמַעֲלָה יְתֵרָה וְהַשָּׁגָה גְּדוֹלָה בְּיוֹתֵר, צָרִיךְ לְהִתְחַכֵּם וְלַעֲשׂוֹת צִמְצוּמִים חֲדָשִׁים בְּתַחְבּוּלוֹת נִפְלָאוֹת, עַד שֶׁיְּכוֹלִים לְקָרֵב נְפָשׁוֹת רַבּוֹת יוֹתֵר וְיוֹתֵר, וּלְרַפְּאוֹת אֲפִלּוּ הַגְּרוּעִים וְהַחוֹלִים מְאֹד מְאֹד כַּנַּ״ל.
For this is not the correct way. Rather, it must be that “in matters of sanctity we elevate to a higher level, and we do not downgrade.” The higher the spiritual level a person reaches and the greater perception he attains, the more he must astutely devise marvelous new constrictions. Then he will be capable of drawing near more and more souls, and healing even the worst people and the most spiritually ill.
שֶׁכָּל זֶה הוּא בְּחִינַת נֵר חֲנֻכָּה שֶׁמַּדְלִיקִין לְמַטָּה מֵעֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים, וְעַל־כֵּן צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת ״מוֹסִיף וְהוֹלֵךְ״, כַּנַּ״ל.
All of this relates to the Chanukah light that we kindle below ten handbreadths from the ground, to bring the great light of perceptions of Godliness even to the spiritually lowly. This is why the light must be in consonance with Beit Hillel’s ruling to “keep increasing,” in order to add to the spiritual light in the world and so elevate more and more souls closer to HaShem.
וְעַל־כֵּן הָיָה הַנֵּס שֶׁל חֲנֻכָּה עַל־יְדֵי הַכֹּהֲנִים, כִּי הַכֹּהֵן הוּא בְּחִינַת חֶסֶד (זהר נשא קמה:), בְּחִינַת אַבְרָהָם, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה חוֹתְכִין אֶת הַמַּלְכוּת מֵהָאַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיּוֹת, וּמְחַיִּין אוֹתָהּ מֵאוֹר הַפָּנִים שֶׁמֵּאִיר בְּשָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים, כַּנַּ״ל.
CHANUKAH AND THE BEIT HAMIKDASH
Having earlier taught that chesed frees Malkhut from the malkhut of the Greek Empire—i.e. freeing lower wisdom from the influence of extraneous wisdom—so it can be invigorated with the Ohr HaPanim, Reb Noson here links chesed and the Ohr HaPanim with two key components of the Chanukah miracle: the Kohanim and the Beit HaMikdash.
Therefore the miracle of Chanukah, the triumph of the Malkhut of holiness over the Four Kingdoms, came about specifically through the Kohanim. For the Kohen represents chesed, corresponding to Avraham, the personification of this trait. As discussed previously, through this revelation of chesed we sever Malkhut from the Four Kingdoms and vitalize it with life from the Ohr HaPanim that shines during the Shalosh Regalim.98See §4 above.
וְעַל־כֵּן נִקְרָא חֲנֻכָּה – עַל שֵׁם חֲנֻכַּת בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ שֶׁהָיָה בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם, כִּי עִקַּר אוֹר הַפָּנִים הוּא בְּבֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, שֶׁלְּשָׁם עוֹלִין בָּרְגָלִים לְקַבֵּל אוֹר הַפָּנִים כַּנַּ״ל, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת חֲנֻכָּה – לְהַחֲיוֹת הַמַּלְכוּת מֵאוֹר הַפָּנִים, כְּדֵי לִזְכּוֹת עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה לְהַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת, שֶׁזֶּה עִקַּר הַדְלָקַת נֵר חֲנֻכָּה, כַּנַּ״ל.
Therefore this holiday is called Chanukah, after the chanukah, dedication, of the Beit HaMikdash that took place during that period.99Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the Second Beit HaMikdash at the time of the Maccabean revolt against the Greek/Seleucid Empire. It is also linked to the dedication of the Mishkan in the desert (Mishneh Berurah on Orach Chaim 670). For the main revelation of the Ohr HaPanim is in the Beit HaMikdash, to which the pilgrims would ascend on the Shalosh Regalim in order to receive the Ohr HaPanim.100See §5; also note 14 above. This is the concept of Chanukah, namely to infuse vitality into Malkhut from the Ohr HaPanim and thereby merit a perception of Godliness—this being the essence of lighting the Chanukah candles.
וזְֶה בְּחִינַת (משלי ו, כג): ״כִּי נֵר מִצְוָה וְתוֹרָה אוֹר, וְדֶרֶךְ חַיִּים תּוֹכְחוֹת מוּסָר״. כִּי מְבֹאָר שָׁם בְּהַתּוֹרָה הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי הַתּוֹכֵחָה מִתְגַּלֶּה הַחֶסֶד, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה נִתְתַּקֵּן הַמַּלְכוּת חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה זוֹכִין לְהַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת, עַיֵּן שָׁם, כִּי עַל־יְדֵי הַחֶסֶד חוֹתְכִין אוֹתָהּ מֵהָאַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיּוֹת וּמְחַיִּין אוֹתָהּ מֵאוֹר הַפָּנִים וְכוּ׳.
A MITZVAH IS A CANDLE, TORAH IS LIGHT
Reb Noson next shows that the Torah, synonymous with light, represents perceptions of Godliness; while the mitzvot, synonymous with a candle, the containment of light in physicality, represent the constrictions needed in order to reveal those perceptions.
Meriting a perception of Godliness through constrictions is also alluded to in the verse “For a mitzvah is a candle and Torah is light; and moral rebuke is the path of life.” As explained there in Rebbe Nachman’s lesson, chesed is revealed through rebuke. This in turn causes Malkhut/lower wisdom to be rectified and we thereby merit perceptions of Godliness. Study the Rebbe’s words there, that through chesed we sever Malkhut from the Four Kingdoms and animate it with life from the Ohr HaPanim.101LM I, 30:5-6. This enables us to merit such perception.
וְזֶהוּ ״כִּי נֵר מִצְוָה וְתוֹרָה אוֹר״ – זֶה בְּחִינַת הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת עַל־יְדֵי הַצִּמְצוּמִים, שֶׁמִּשָּׁם כָּל הָאוֹרוֹת וְהַדְלָקַת כָּל הַנֵּרוֹת הַקְּדוֹשִׁים כַּנַּ״ל, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת נֵר חֲנֻכָּה כַּנַּ״ל. וְזֶה זוֹכִין עַל־יְדֵי ״וְדֶרֶךְ חַיִּים תּוֹכְחוֹת מוּסָר״; הַיְנוּ עַל־יְדֵי תּוֹכַחַת מוּסָר, בְּחִינַת תּוֹכֵחָה הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה זוֹכִין לְחֶסֶד כַּנַּ״ל, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה יְכוֹלִין לְהַחֲיוֹת אֶת הַמַּלְכוּת כַּנַּ״ל.
This is the meaning of “For a mitzvah is a candle and Torah is light.” This alludes to attaining a perception of Godliness by means of constrictions, from which all lights and kindling of all holy candles—the concept of “Chanukah candles”—derive. We merit this through “moral rebuke is the path of life.” In other words, through “moral rebuke,” the aforementioned rebuke by the tzaddik, we merit chesed and so are able to invigorate Malkhut.
וְזֶהוּ ״וְדֶרֶךְ חַיִּים תּוֹכְחוֹת מוּסָר״ – שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי תּוֹכַחַת מוּסָר מַמְשִׁיכִין חַיִּים לְהַחֲיוֹת הַמַּלְכוּת, חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה זוֹכִין לְהַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת עַל־יְדֵי הַצִּמְצוּמִים, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת ״כִּי נֵר מִצְוָה וְתוֹרָה אוֹר״, כַּנַּ״ל.
And this is the meaning of “moral rebuke is the path of life.” By means of moral rebuke we draw the Ohr HaPanim, which is called “life,” in order to infuse vitality into Malkhut/lower wisdom. Through this we merit attaining a perception of Godliness via constrictions, as expressed in “a mitzvah is a candle and Torah is light.”
וְזֶהוּ שֶׁמְּכַנֶּה אֶת הַמִּצְוָה בְּשֵׁם ״נֵר״, וְהַתּוֹרָה בְּשֵׁם ״אוֹר״, כִּי אַף־עַל־פִּי שֶׁהַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוָה שְׁנֵיהֶם הֵם בְּחִינַת צִמְצוּמִים לְהַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת כַּנַּ״ל, אֲבָל גַּם בְּעִנְיַן הַצִּמְצוּמִים וְהַשִּׂכְלִיִּים יֵשׁ גַּם כֵּן כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה בְּחִינוֹת, כִּי צְרִיכִין לְהָאִיר מִשֵּׂכֶל לְשֵׂכֶל וּמִצִּמְצוּם לְצִמְצוּם כַּמּוּבָן שָׁם. וְעַל־כֵּן הַתּוֹרָה לְגַבֵּי הַמִּצְוָה הִיא בִּבְחִינַת אוֹר לְגַבֵּי נֵר, כִּי צְרִיכִין כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה צִמְצוּמִים וְשִׂכְלִיִּים כְּדֵי לִזְכּוֹת לְהַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת אוֹר וְנֵר שֶׁמְּאִירִין לָאָדָם מַה שֶּׁמְּאִירִין, אַשְׁרֵי הַזּוֹכֶה לָהֶם.
This is why Scripture identifies a mitzvah as a “candle,” a lesser illumination, and Torah as “light,” a greater illumination. This nomenclature conveys that although both the Torah and the mitzvah are considered constrictions for perceiving Godliness, there are many, many aspects and different levels when it comes to constrictions and conceptualizations. For we have to radiate Divine wisdom downwards, from conceptualization to conceptualization and from constriction to constriction. Therefore the Torah relative to the mitzvah is like light relative to a candle, because so many levels of constrictions and conceptualizations are needed in order to attain perceptions of Godliness, which are themselves a “light” and a “candle” that illuminate a person. Fortunate is one who merits this.
וְזֶה בְּחִינַת מִצְוַת בִּקּוּר חוֹלִים, כִּי צְרִיכִין לְבַקֵּר אֶת הַחוֹלֶה וּלְהַסְבִּיר לוֹ פָּנִים, דְּהַיְנוּ מַה שֶּׁבְּנֵי אָדָם נִכְנָסִין אֶצְלוֹ וּמְפַקְּחִין עַל עֲסָקָיו וְעוֹשִׂין לוֹ כָּל צְרָכָיו, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּשֻׁלְחָן עָרוּךְ (יורה דעה סימן שלה, סעיף ח׳). שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת הֶאָרַת פָּנִים, כִּי אֵין מַסְתִּירִים פְּנֵיהֶם מִמֶּנּוּ, וְאֵינָם נִטְמָנִים בְּבָתֵּיהֶם, רַק בָּאִים אֵלָיו וְעוֹשִׂין לוֹ צְרָכָיו וּמְדַבְּרִין עַל לִבּוֹ, שֶׁכָּל זֶה בְּחִינַת הֶאָרַת פָּנִים. וְעַל־ יְדֵי־זֶה מַמְשִׁיכִין עָלָיו חִיּוּת מִבְּחִינַת הֶאָרַת פָּנִים שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה, שֶׁמִּשָּׁם עִקַּר הַחִיּוּת לְהַחֲיוֹת אֶת הַחוֹלֶה, בִּבְחִינַת (משלי טז, טו): ״בְּאוֹר פְּנֵי מֶלֶךְ חַיִּים״, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּהַתּוֹרָה הַנַּ״ל.
VISITING THE SICK
Having earlier explained that the defining feature of the exalted light of Chanukah is its power to illuminate even those on the lowest levels with perceptions of Godliness (see §10 and §11), Reb Noson shows how this idea connects with visiting the sick. Chazal teach that the light of the Shekhinah appears above the head of the sick person. Reb Noson likens the Shekhinah’s light to the light of the tzaddik that illuminates the spiritually ill.
This also relates to the mitzvah of visiting the sick. We are required to visit the sick person and show him a cheerful countenance. In practice, this means that people should call on him, help supervise his affairs, and see to all his needs, as stated in the Shulchan Arukh.102Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh Dei’ah 335:1-8; Tur, ibid. This is the concept of an “illumination of the panim.” People do not hide their panim from him or seclude themselves in their homes, but instead visit him, tend to his needs, and chat with him. All this is termed an “illumination of the panim.” In this way, they invest him with new life, drawing from the dimension of the illumination of the Supernal Panim. For the vitality that gives life to the sick comes mainly from there, as in the verse cited in the Rebbe’s lesson, “In the Light of the Panim of the King there is life.”103See §5 of LM I, 30, where the Rebbe cites this verse as proof that life-force for lower wisdom / Malkhut comes mainly from the Light of the Panim. As explained in note 55 there, this refers to light from the highest sefirah, Keter.
וְעַל־כֵּן: ״שְׁכִינָה לְמַעְלָה מְרַאֲשׁוֹתָיו שֶׁל חוֹלֶה (שבת יב:), כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (תהלים מא, ד): ה׳ יִסְעָדֶנוּ עַל עֶרֶשׂ דְּוָי, כָּל מִשְׁכָּבוֹ הָפַכְתָּ וְכוּ׳״. הַיְנוּ בְּחִינָה הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁדַּיְקָא מֵחֲמַת שֶׁהוּא חוֹלֶה, עַל־כֵּן נִמְשָׁךְ עָלָיו אוֹר הַשְּׁכִינָה, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת אוֹר הַצַּדִּיק הָאֱמֶת שֶׁמַּשְׁגִּיחַ עַל כָּל הַחוֹלִים וּבִפְרָט עַל הַחוֹלִים בְּיוֹתֵר, שֶׁהֵם בִּבְחִינַת ״כָּל מִשְׁכָּבוֹ נֶהְפַּךְ בְּחָלְיוֹ״, שֶׁעֲלֵיהֶם מְפַקֵּחַ בְּיוֹתֵר לְהַמְשִׁיךְ לָהֶם רְפוּאוֹת – לְהַחֲיוֹתָם בְּגַשְׁמִיּוּת וְרוּחָנִיּוּת, בְּאֹפֶן שֶׁיּוּכַל לְהָאִיר בָּהֶם הַשָּׁגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת כַּנַּ״ל, כִּי זֶה עִקַּר גְּדֻלַּת הַצַּדִּיק וּמַעֲלָתוֹ – שֶׁמִּשְׁתַּדֵּל לְרַפְּאוֹת הַחוֹלִים בְּיוֹתֵר. וְעַל־כֵּן דַּיְקָא מֵחֲמַת שֶׁהוּא חוֹלֶה וְכָל מִשְׁכָּבוֹ נֶהְפַּךְ וְכוּ׳, מֵחֲמַת זֶה דַּיְקָא הַשְּׁכִינָה לְמַעְלָה מְרַאֲשׁוֹתָיו, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת אוֹר הַצַּדִּיק, כִּי הַצַּדִּיקִים הֵם שְׁכִינָתוֹ שֶׁל מָקוֹם (זהר תרומה קסג:).
Therefore Chazal teach, “The Shekhinah is present above the head of one who is ill,”104104 Shabbat 12b; Rashi on Bereishit 47:31. as expressed in the verse “HaShem will sustain him on his sickbed, [even though] You have wholly disturbed his repose…” This relates to our point above, that precisely because one is ill, the light of the Shekhinah is drawn over him. This light conceptually equates with the light of the true tzaddik who looks after all the spiritually ill, especially the most ill, who are in the category of “You have wholly disturbed his repose with his illness.” The tzaddik looks after them the most, to bring them healing and invigorate them physically and spiritually, in a manner that enables him to infuse them with perceptions of Godliness. This is the essence of the tzaddik’s greatness and his virtue: he strives to heal the most spiritually ill. And so, precisely because a person is so ill and his repose has been wholly disturbed, the Shekhinah is present above his head. This refers to the Indwelling Presence of HaShem, which is identified with the light of the tzaddik, because the tzaddikim are the shekhinah, dwelling place, of the Omnipresent One.105This is based on the Zohar (II, 163b), which teaches that seeing the panim of the tzaddik is like seeing the Panim of the Shekhinah, the Indwelling Presence of HaShem. In context here, HaShem, as the Omnipresent One (HaMakom), dwells with the tzaddik and thereby enables him to illuminate people with the Light of the Panim.
וזְֶהוּ בְּחִינַת (בראשית יח, א): ״וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו ה׳״ – ״לְבַקֵּר אֶת הַחוֹלֶה״ (רש״י שם), כִּי דַּיְקָא מֵחֲמַת שֶׁהוּא חוֹלֶה וּצְרִיכִים לְבַקְּרוֹ, עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה דַּיְקָא: ״וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו ה׳״, בְּחִינַת הַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת שֶׁזּוֹכִין הַחוֹלִים עַל־יְדֵי אוֹר הַצַּדִּיק שֶׁהוּא הַשְּׁכִינָה, וְכַנַּ״ל.
This is the meaning of Rashi’s comment on the verse regarding Avraham, “‘HaShem appeared to him’—to visit the sick.” For it is precisely because one is ailing and people need to visit him that “HaShem appeared to him.” This alludes to perceptions of Godliness that the sick merit as a result of the light of the tzaddik, which is representative of the Shekhinah.
וְזֶה בְּחִינַת חֲנֻכָּה וּפוּרִים, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת מִצְוַת בִּקּוּר חוֹלִים. כִּי הֵם יָמִים קְדוֹשִׁים וְטוֹבִים מְאֹד, וְאַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן הֵם בִּימֵי הַחוֹל, כִּי אֵינָם אֲסוּרִים בִּמְלָאכָה, וְהֵם בִּבְחִינָה הַנַּ״ל, בִּבְחִינַת הֶאָרַת הַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת עַל הַחוֹלִים בְּיוֹתֵר, עַל־יְדֵי גֹּדֶל כֹּחַ הַצַּדִּיק שֶׁיָּכוֹל לַעֲשׂוֹת כֵּלִים וְצִמְצוּמִים נִפְלָאִים כָּאֵלֶּה וְכוּ׳, כַּנַּ״ל.
Reb Noson next shows how Chanukah and Purim—the “exile” festivals of the Jewish people—symbolize visiting the sick and drawing the Ohr HaPanim upon ourselves and into our homes.
This illumination of the sick with the light of the tzaddik relates to the revelation of light on Chanukah and Purim. These festivals are associated with the mitzvah of visiting the sick in the sense that, despite being very holy and special days, they are nevertheless “weekdays,” since they are not times when work is prohibited.106Unlike the Yomim Tovim, when the melakhot, creative works, are prohibited (other than for okhel nefesh, food preparation), the festivals of Chanukah and Purim carry no such restrictions. All melakhot are permitted, as on regular weekdays when, as mentioned above (§10), Malkhut/lower wisdom cannot be elevated completely. The explanation for this is that they both possess the abovementioned characteristic— the capacity to enlighten even the most ill people with perceptions of Godliness by means of the great power of the tzaddik, who can fashion such marvelous vessels and constrictions.
וְהוּא כְּמוֹ לְמָשָׁל: כְּשֶׁהָאָדָם בָּרִיא, בְּוַדַּאי אֵין הַמֶּלֶךְ בָּא אֶל הָאָדָם לְהַרְאוֹת לוֹ פָּנָיו, רַק כָּל מִי שֶׁרוֹצֶה לְקַבֵּל פְּנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ וּלְהִתְעַדֵּן מֵאוֹר פָּנָיו, הוּא צָרִיךְ לְנַקּוֹת וּלְטַהֵר עַצְמוֹ יָפֶה יָפֶה, וּלְקַשֵּׁט עַצְמוֹ כָּרָאוּי, וְלִשְׁקֹד עַל דַּלְתֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ, וּלְבַקֵּשׁ מֵאֵת רוֹאֵי פְּנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ שֶׁיְּקַבְּלוּ רְשׁוּת שֶׁיִּכְנוֹס, וְלַעֲשׂוֹת כָּל הַתַּחְבּוּלוֹת הַשַּׁיָּכִים לָזֶה, עַד שֶׁיִּזְכֶּה לָבֹא לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ כְּפִי מַדְרֵגָתוֹ, אִם לִכְנֹס לַחֲצַר הַמֶּלֶךְ, אוֹ לַבַּיִת, אוֹ לַהֵיכָל וְכוּ׳, כְּדֵי שֶׁיָּאִיר בּוֹ הַמֶּלֶךְ פָּנָיו הַמְּאִירוֹת.
This can be explained by way of analogy. When a person is healthy, the king will certainly not go to him to show him his panim. Rather, whoever wants to greet the king and bask in the radiance of his panim must first cleanse and purify himself very well, and put on appropriate attire. Then he has to position himself at the king’s gates and beg the king’s personal guards107Lit. “those who see the king’s panim.” to obtain permission for him to enter. He will have to employ all the relevant strategies, until he is finally allowed to appear before the king, in accordance with his status—whether this means being granted entry to the royal courtyard, or to the palace, or to the inner chamber—so that the king should shine into him the light of his radiant panim.
אֲבָל כְּשֶׁאֶחָד מֵאַנְשֵׁי הַמֶּלֶךְ חוֹלֶה, וּמֻטָּל עַל עֶרֶשׂ דְּוָי, רַחֲמָנָא לִצְלָן, אֲזַי כְּשֶׁנִּתְעוֹרְרִין רַחֲמֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ לְהַחֲיוֹתוֹ מֵאוֹר פָּנָיו, אֲזַי מֻכְרָח הַמֶּלֶךְ לֵילֵךְ אֶצְלוֹ לְבֵיתוֹ לְהָאִיר בּוֹ פָּנָיו וּלְהַחֲיוֹתוֹ. וְזֶה בְּחִינַת: ״שְׁכִינָה לְמַעְלָה מְרַאֲשׁוֹתָיו שֶׁל חוֹלֶה״, וְכַנַּ״ל.
But it is a different story when one of the king’s entourage falls ill and is confined to his sickbed, may HaShem save us. Then, when the king’s compassion is aroused to revive that person with the light of his panim, the king is compelled to go visit him in his home in order to shine into him the light of his panim and revive his spirits. This is the idea that “the Shekhinah is present above the head of one who is ill.”
וְזֶה בְּחִינַת חֲנֻכָּה וּפוּרִים, שֶׁהֵם מוֹעֲדִים קְדוֹשִׁים שֶׁנִּתְּנוּ לָנוּ לְהַחֲיוֹתֵנוּ כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה, בִּימֵי הַגָּלוּת הַמַּר, שֶׁכְּנֶסֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל נִקְרֵאת חוֹלָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ (שמיני דף מ.), בִּבְחִינַת (שיר־השירים ב, ה): ״סַמְּכוּנִי בָּאֲשִׁישׁוֹת רַפְּדוּנִי בַּתַּפּוּחִים, כִּי חוֹלַת אַהֲבָה אָנִי״.
This relates to Chanukah and Purim in the sense that they are holy festivals that were given to us in order to revive us until this very day—in this time of bitter exile when, as the holy Zohar writes, the Jewish people are called “sick,” as alluded to in “Sustain me [in exile] with dainty cakes, drape me in [the fragrance of] apples, for I am sick with love.”108Zohar III, 40a.
וּמֵעֹצֶם חֳלְיֵינוּ הַכָּבֵד – אֵין אָנוּ יְכוֹלִים לַעֲלוֹת וְלִרְאוֹת וּלְהִשְׁתַּחֲווֹת לְפָנָיו בְּשָׁלֹשׁ פַּעֲמֵי רְגָלֵינוּ לִכְנֹס לְבֵיתוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ, שֶׁהוּא הַבֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, לְקַבֵּל אוֹר הַפָּנִים, כִּי ״מִפְּנֵי חֲטָאֵינוּ גָּלִינוּ מֵאַרְצֵנוּ וְנִתְרַחַקְנוּ וְכוּ׳ וְאֵין אָנוּ יְכוֹלִים וְכוּ׳״.
And owing to the immense severity of our spiritual illness, we are unable to make the pilgrimage, to appear and prostrate ourselves in worship before HaShem on our Shalosh Regalim. We are unable to enter His sacred House, the Beit HaMikdash, to receive the Ohr HaPanim, as we say in the Mussaf prayer for the festivals, “Because of our sins we have been exiled from our land and distanced… We are unable [to ascend to appear and to prostrate ourselves before You].”
עַל־כֵּן חָמַל עָלֵינוּ בַּעַל הָרַחֲמִים בְּרַחֲמָיו הָעֲצוּמִים, וְהוֹסִיף לָנוּ שְׁנֵי הַיָּמִים הַקְּדוֹשִׁים הָאֵלּוּ, שֶׁהֵם חֲנֻכָּה וּפוּרִים, שֶׁתִּקְּנוּ לָנוּ הַצַּדִּיקִים הַגְּדוֹלִים, שֶׁהֵם אַנְשֵׁי כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה, כְּדֵי לְהַמְשִׁיךְ לָנוּ אוֹר הַפָּנִים לְתוֹךְ בֵּיתֵינוּ בְּתֹקֶף גָּלוּתֵינוּ, שֶׁיִּזְכֶּה כָּל אֶחָד בְּבֵיתוֹ בַּחֲנֻכָּה לְהַדְלִיק נֵר חֲנֻכָּה, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת אוֹר הַפָּנִים, בְּחִינַת (תהלים קד, טו): ״לְהַצְהִיל פָּנִים מִשָּׁמֶן״, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת כַּנַּ״ל.
And so, in His tremendous compassion, the Master of Compassion took pity on us. For our benefit He added these two holy days of Chanukah and Purim— instituted for us by the great tzaddikim, the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah—in order to draw the Ohr HaPanim upon us and into our homes, even in the depth of our exile. He did this so that on Chanukah each person, in his home, can merit kindling the Chanukah light. This light corresponds to the Ohr HaPanim, as expressed in “He brightens the panim with oil,” which alludes to a perception of Godliness.109See §10 above.
וְכֵן בְּפוּרִים, כָּל אֶחָד מַמְשִׁיךְ עַל עַצְמוֹ בְּחִינַת קַבָּלַת הַתּוֹרָה, שֶׁמְּקַבְּלִין אָז בְּכָל שָׁנָה בְּתֹקֶף הַגָּלוּת, בִּבְחִינַת (אסתר ט, כז): ״קִיְּמוּ וְקִבְּלוּ״.
The same is true regarding Purim. Each person merits drawing upon himself an aspect of the receiving of the Torah, which one does anew every year on Purim, even in the depths of exile. This renewed acceptance of the Torah is alluded to in “[The Jews] confirmed and accepted.”110See Shabbat 88a, where Chazal teach that in the days of Achashveirosh the Jewish people voluntarily re-accepted the Torah; they confirmed what they had long before accepted under duress when they received the Torah at Sinai.
וְעַל־כֵּן חֲנֻכָּה וּפוּרִים הֵם בִּבְחִינַת רַגְלִין [כִּי הֵם בְּחִינַת נֶצַח וָהוֹד (פרי עץ חיים חנכה פרק ד), שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת רַגְלִין, כַּיָּדוּעַ (תקוני זהר יז.)]. וְזֶהוּ בְּחִינַת מִצְוַת בִּקּוּר חוֹלִים שֶׁהַמִּצְוָה בָּרַגְלִין, הַיְנוּ בְּחִינָה הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ מְרַחֵם עָלֵינוּ וְהוֹלֵךְ לְבַקְּרֵנוּ, וּמֵאִיר לָנוּ פָּנָיו הַקְּדוֹשִׁים בְּתֹקֶף גָּלוּתֵינוּ, שֶׁאָנוּ חוֹלִים כָּאֵלֶּה, כַּאֲשֶׁר יוֹדֵעַ כָּל אֶחָד בְּנַפְשׁוֹ, וְהוּא בְּרַחֲמָיו מְבַקְּרֵנוּ, וּמְחַיֶּה אוֹתָנוּ בְּאוֹר פָּנָיו הַקְּדוֹשִׁים עַל־יְדֵי קְדֻשַּׁת הַיָּמִים הַקְּדוֹשִׁים הָאֵלּוּ שֶׁנָּתַן לָנוּ, שֶׁהֵם חֲנֻכָּה וּפוּרִים, שֶׁהֵם מוֹעֲדִים קְדוֹשִׁים בִּימֵי הַחוֹל, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת יְמֵי הַגָּלוּת, שֶׁאָז אֵין בָּנוּ כֹּחַ לַעֲלוֹת אֵלָיו לְבֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ לְקַבֵּל מֵאוֹר הַפָּנִים, רַק הוּא יִתְבָּרַךְ מַמְשִׁיךְ לָנוּ אוֹר הַפָּנִים לְתוֹךְ בֵּיתֵינוּ כְּדֵי לְהַחֲיוֹתֵנוּ עַל־ יְדֵי הַצַּדִּיקִים הַגְּדוֹלִים הָאֲמִתִּיִּים שֶׁבְּכָל דּוֹר שֶׁהֵם עוֹסְקִים בְּתִקּוּנֵנוּ, שֶׁהֵם מִשְׁתַּדְּלִים בְּיוֹתֵר לְהַחֲיוֹת הַחוֹלִים בְּיוֹתֵר וְכַנַּ״ל.
Now, Kabbalah identifies Chanukah and Purim with the concept of feet,111Each of the festivals corresponds to a particular part of the human form (see Shaar HaKavanot, Inyan Rosh Chodesh). An editorial insert to the text here adds: Chanukah and Purim “parallel the sefirot of Netzach and Hod, which correspond to the raglin” (Tikkuney Zohar, Introduction, p. 17a; see Charts, p. 257). the lowest levels of spirituality. This corresponds to the mitzvah of visiting the sick, a mitzvah we fulfill with the feet by going to be with the sick person. And this relates to what we said above, that on Chanukah and Purim, HaShem shows us compassion. He comes to visit us and illuminates us with His holy Panim, even in the depths of our exile, for we are so spiritually ill, as each of us knows in his soul. In His mercy, He visits us and revives us with the light of His holy Panim through the sanctity of these holy days that He gave us, namely Chanukah and Purim. For these are holy festivals celebrated specifically on weekdays, which are akin to the days of exile, when we are incapable of ascending to Him, of going up to the Beit HaMikdash in order to receive the Ohr HaPanim. Rather, HaShem draws down the Ohr HaPanim to us, into our homes, so that we may be invigorated by the true and great tzaddikim in every generation who are engaged in our spiritual rectification—those who endeavor mightily to revive the most spiritually ill.
וְזֶה בְּחִינַת מַה שֶּׁמְּסַבְּבִין הָעֲנִיִּים בַּחֲנֻכָּה לְקַבֵּל מָעוֹת חֲנֻכָּה (מגן אברהם סימן תרע), זֶה בְּחִינַת הֶאָרַת פָּנִים מִלְמַעְלָה, שֶׁהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ מֵאִיר פָּנָיו לָנוּ לְתוֹךְ בֵּיתֵנוּ כַּנַּ״ל, כִּי אִי אֶפְשָׁר לְקַבֵּל אוֹר פְּנֵי מֶלֶךְ חַיִּים כִּי אִם עַל־יְדֵי הַצְּדָקָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (תהלים יז, טו): ״אֲנִי בְּצֶדֶק אֶחֱזֶה פָנֶיךָ״.
CHANUKAH TZEDAKAH TO THE POOR
Here Reb Noson will connect Chanukah, the Ohr HaPanim, and the mitzvah of tzedakah, charity.
This also relates to the custom on Chanukah for the poor to go around from house to house collecting tzedakah that is called “Chanukah money.”112This custom, commonly known by its Yiddish name “Chanukah gelt,” is brought in Shulchan Arukh, Magen Avraham 670. This is an expression of the illumination of the Supernal Panim—that HaShem shines His Panim towards us, into our homes. For the only way to receive “the Light of the Panim of the Living King”113Based on Mishlei 16:15. This verse is alternately translated in §14 above as “In the Light of the Panim of the King there is life.” righteous- ,צדק) is by giving tzedakah, as it is written, “With tzedek I shall behold Your Panim.”114114 Reb Noson is here equating tZeDeK charity). ,צדקה) ness) with tZeDaKah
וְעַל־כֵּן בָּרְגָלִים שֶׁצְּרִיכִין לַעֲלוֹת לָרֶגֶל לְבֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ לְקַבֵּל אוֹר הַפָּנִים, עַל־כֵּן צָרִיךְ אִישׁ כְּמַתְּנַת יָדוֹ לְהָבִיא עוֹלַת רְאִיָּה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (דברים טז, טז): ״וְלֹא יֵרָאֶה אֶת פְּנֵי ה׳ רֵיקָם וְכוּ׳״.
Therefore on the festivals, when the Jewish people are required to make the pilgrimage to the Beit HaMikdash to receive the Ohr HaPanim, “[each] man” must bring “according to what he can give.” This means that he must bring the olat re’iyah-offering,115115 In addition to the required chagigah (festivaloffering) for each of the Shalosh Regalim, every adult male was to bring an olat re’iyah (a burnt-offering upon appearing) in the Beit HaMikdash. as it is written, “the Panim of HaShem shall not be seen empty-handed,”116116 Translation of these verses from Devarim is based on Chazal’s teaching that HaShem comes to the Beit HaMikdash to see the festival pilgrims, just as He appears there to be seen by them (Chagigah 2a; see also Rashi on Shemot 34:20: “It is your obligation to bring the olah-offering of ‘seeing the Panim’”). because it is impossible to receive illumination from HaShem’s Panim without a personal contribution.
אֲבָל בָּרְגָלִים שֶׁצְּרִיכִין לַעֲלוֹת לְבֵית ה׳ לְקַבֵּל אוֹר הַפָּנִים, צְרִיכִין לְהַעֲלוֹת הַקָּרְבָּן, שֶׁהוּא נִדְבַת לִבּוֹ, בְּחִינַת צְדָקָה, וּצְרִיכִין לִטְרוֹחַ בּוֹ לְהַעֲלוֹתוֹ לְבֵית ה׳.
However, there is a distinction between the Shalosh Regalim and Chanukah. On the festivals, when one must ascend to the House of HaShem to receive the Ohr HaPanim, one must bring up the offering, which as the contribution of one’s heart correlates to tzedakah. Personal effort is required in order to bring it up to the House of HaShem.
אֲבָל בַּחֲנֻכָּה בָּאִים הָעֲנִיִּים לְתוֹךְ הַבַּיִת, שֶׁהֵם ״מָאנִין תְּבִירִין דִילֵיהּ״ (הקדמת הזהר י:), שֶׁבּהָםֶ שְׁכִינַת אוֹר פָּנָיו, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (ישעיה נז, טו): ״אֶשְׁכֹּן אֶת דַּכָּא״.
In contrast, on Chanukah the poor come into one’s home. The Zohar refers to them as “[HaShem’s] broken vessels,”117Zohar I, 10b. signifies the manifestation of (שכינה) in whom manifests the shekhinat, dwelling place, of the Light of His Panim, as in “Eshkon with the despondent.”118SheKhiNah HaShem’s Presence dwelling in this world. In likening this here with the Zohar’s depiction of the poor as “HaShem’s broken vessels,” Reb Noson proves that it is with the poor and despondent that HaShem says dwell)—they are His SheKhiNat ,אשכן) He will eShKoN dwelling place). ,שכינת)
וְעַל־כֵּן כְּשֶׁהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ אוֹהֵב אֶת אֶחָד וְרוֹצֶה לְהָאִיר לוֹ פָּנָיו – שׁוֹלֵחַ לוֹ עָנִי לִזְכּוֹת בּוֹ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ: (זהר וירא קד.): ״מָאן דְּקֻדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא רָחִים לֵיהּ – שָׁדַר לֵיהּ דּוֹרוֹנָא מִסְכְּנָא״. וְעַל־כֵּן בַּחֲנֻכָּה, שֶׁאָז הוּא בְּחִינַת שֶׁהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ מֵאִיר פָּנָיו לְתוֹךְ בֵּיתֵינוּ, עַל־כֵּן בְּרַחֲמָיו שׁוֹלֵחַ לָנוּ הָעֲנִיִּים לְתוֹךְ בֵּיתֵינוּ, כְּדֵי לִזְכּוֹת בָּהֶם, כְּדֵי לְקַבֵּל עַל יָדָם אוֹר הַפָּנִים שֶׁמֵּאִיר אָז לְתוֹךְ בֵּיתֵינוּ, וְכַנַּ״ל.
Therefore when HaShem loves someone and wants to shine His Panim upon him, He sends him a poor person through whom he can gain merit. This is as the holy Zohar teaches, “To the one for whom HaKadosh Barukh Hu has compassion, He sends a poor person as a gift.”119Zohar I, 104a. For Chanukah is a time when HaShem shines His Panim into our homes. Therefore in His compassion He sends the poor into our homes, so that we might attain merit through them, so that through them we might receive the Ohr HaPanim that shines into our homes at that time.
וְהִנֵּה עִנְיַן מַחֲלֹקֶת בֵּית שַׁמַּאי וּבֵית הִלֵּל הַנַּ״ל בְּעִנְיַן הַהִתְקָרְבוּת הַנְּפָשׁוֹת הָרְחוֹקוֹת מְאֹד מְאֹד שֶׁאֵין רָאוּי מִן הַדִּין לְקָרְבָן, שֶׁבֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים: פּוֹחֵת וְהוֹלֵךְ – לְהַעֲלִים הָאוֹר מֵהֶן שֶׁלֹּא יִתְקָרְבוּ. וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים: מוֹסִיף וְהוֹלֵךְ – כִּי צְרִיכִין לַעֲשׂוֹת כֵּלִים וְצִמְצוּמִים כָּאֵלֶּה, בְּאֹפֶן שֶׁיּוּכְלוּ לְהָאִיר גַּם בָּהֶם אוֹרוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ, כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּתְקָרְבוּ גַּם הֵם וְכַנַּ״ל.
INCREASING THE LIGHT
Earlier (§11), Reb Noson explained that the basis of the dispute between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel concerned the appropriateness of drawing down a perception of Godliness to those on the lowest spiritual levels. He now applies this subject to the opposition raised against the tzaddikim in his time—especially Rebbe Nachman—who devoted themselves to bringing even the most spiritually distant closer to HaShem.
Now, the aforementioned dispute between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel concerned drawing near to HaShem those people who are so very spiritually distant from Him that, strictly speaking, it would be unseemly to draw them close. There we saw that Beit Shammai states that we “keep decreasing” the number of lights in order to conceal the light from the spiritually distant so they will not be drawn closer to HaShem. Beit Hillel, however, states that we “keep increasing” the number of lights, because we need to fashion appropriate vessels and constrictions so as to illuminate with His light even the spiritually distant, so that they too will be drawn near.
הִנֵּה עִנְיַן מַחֲלֹקֶת זֹאת זֶהוּ בְּחִינַת כְּלַל הַמַּחֲלֹקֶת שֶׁבְּכָל דּוֹר עַל הַצַּדִּיקִים הַשְּׁלֵמִים הָעוֹסְקִים לְקָרֵב נְפָשׁוֹת הָרְחוֹקִים לְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ, שֶׁרַבִּים מְאֹד קָמִים עֲלֵיהֶם, וְגַם רַבִּים מִגְּדוֹלֵי הַצַּדִּיקִים חוֹלְקִים עֲלֵיהֶם, מֵחֲמַת שֶׁמִּדַּת הַדִּין מִתְלַבֵּשׁ בָּהֶם, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה נִכְנַס בְּלִבָּם טִינָא, עַד שֶׁנִּדְמֶה לָהֶם כְּאִלּוּ אֵינוֹ מִתְנַהֵג כָּרָאוּי וְחוֹלְקִים עָלָיו, כַּאֲשֶׁר כְּבָר הָיָה לְעוֹלָמִים בְּרוֹב הַדּוֹרוֹת. וּבִפְרָט בְּיָמֵינוּ בְּעִקְּבוֹת מְשִׁיחָא שֶׁנִּתְרַבֶּה הַקָּטֵגוֹרְיָא בֵּין הַתַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים מְאֹד (כתבות קיב:), וּבְיוֹתֵר עַל רַבֵּנוּ הַגָּדוֹל וְהַנּוֹרָא, זֵכֶר צַדִּיק וְקָדוֹשׁ לִבְרָכָה, עַל אֲשֶׁר מָסַר נַפְשׁוֹ מִנֶּגֶד, וְעָסַק כָּל יָמָיו לְרַחֵם עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל כָּל הָרְחוֹקִים לְקָרְבָם לְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ.
The matter of their dispute is related to a more general polemic in every generation regarding the perfect tzaddikim who engage in drawing near those who are spiritually distant from HaShem. For a great many rise up against them. Even many of the great tzaddikim oppose them, due to the attribute of judgment that has embedded itself inside them. This causes them to harbor enmity in their heart towards such a tzaddik, until it appears to them as if he is acting inappropriately and so they openly oppose him. It has been this way for ages, in almost every generation, yet especially so in our time, in this era preceding the coming of Mashiach, when vilification among Torah scholars has become commonplace.120Ketuvot 112b teaches: The generation in which the son of David comes will see vilification among the Torah scholars. And the greatest opposition has been against our great and awesome Rebbe, may the memory of the righteous and holy be a blessing. This was because he sacrificed himself and spent all his days showing compassion for the Jewish people— drawing closer to HaShem all those spiritually distant from Him.
וְזֶה בְּחִינַת מַחֲלֹקֶת שֶׁל הַשְּׁבָטִים עַל יוֹסֵף הַצַּדִּיק, כִּי יוֹסֵף הוּא בְּחִינַת הַצַּדִּיק שֶׁעוֹסֵק לְקָרֵב לְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ, עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁמּוֹסִיף וְהוֹלֵךְ הָאוֹר בְּכָל יוֹם, כִּי עוֹשֶׂה בְּכָל פַּעַם צִמְצוּמִים וְכֵלִים נִפְלָאִים בְּאֹפֶן שֶׁיּוּכְלוּ לְהִתְקָרֵב כָּל מִי שֶׁיִּרְצֶה בָּעוֹלָם, וְעַל שֵׁם זֶה נִקְרָא ״יוֹסֵף״, בְּחִינַת ״מוֹסִיף וְהוֹלֵךְ״ כַּנַּ״ל. וְהַשְּׁבָטִים, אַף־עַל־פִּי שֶׁכֻּלָּם קְדוֹשִׁים, כִּי הָיוּ כֻּלָּם צַדִּיקִים גְּדוֹלִים, חָלְקוּ עָלָיו בִּשְׁבִיל זֶה, וְכַנַּ״ל.
Reb Noson shows that the issue of drawing closer those who are distant from HaShem was also the reason Yosef’s brothers, the Shevatim, opposed Yosef, who inherited this practice from their father Yaakov.
This corresponds to the opposition raised against Yosef HaTzaddik by the Shevatim. For Yosef is comparable to the tzaddik who is occupied with drawing people near to HaShem; he mosif ve-holeikh, “keeps increasing,” the Divine light every day. Each time, according to the need, he makes marvelous constrictions and vessels so that anyone in the world who wants to come near can do so. For this reason he is called “Yosef,” which is etymologically related to the word mosif—indicating that he is mosif ve-holeikh.121Scripture states that Rachel called her son Yosef, saying, “May HaShem yosef to me another son” (Bereishit He will add) and moSiF ,יוסף) 30:24). The words yoSef .(יסף) adds) share the same Hebrew root, YSF ,מוסיף) But the Shevatim, although they were all holy individuals— since they were all great tzaddikim—took issue with him over this practice.
וזְֶה בְּחִינַת (בראשית לז, א): ״וַיֵּשֶׁב יַעֲקֹב בְּאֶרֶץ מְגוּרֵי אָבִיו״; וְדָרְשׁוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל (בראשית רבה פד, ד): שֶׁהָיָה מְגַיֵּר גֵּרִים, כַּמּוּבָא בִּדְבָרָיו זַ״ל (לקוטי מוהר״ן, חלק א׳, סימן רכח). וזְֶה (שם לז, ב): ״אֵלֶּה תֹּלְדוֹת יַעֲקֹב יוֹסֵף״ – הַיְנוּ שֶׁיּוֹסֵף הָלַךְ בְּדֶרֶךְ אָבִיו יַעֲקֹב, וְהָיָה עוֹסֵק גַּם כֵּן לְגַיֵּר גֵּרִים וּלְקָרֵב נְפָשׁוֹת הָרְחוֹקוֹת. כִּי כָּל מַה שֶּׁאֵרַע לְיַעֲקֹב – אֵרַע לְיוֹסֵף, שֶׁזֶּהוּ פֵּרוּשׁ ״אֵלֶּה תֹּלְדוֹת יַעֲקֹב יוֹסֵף״, כְּמוֹ שֶׁפֵּרֵשׁ רַשִׁ״י שָׁם: שֶׁכָּל מַה שֶּקִּׁבֵּל מִשֵּםׁ וָעֵבֶר מָסַר לוֹ, וְכָל מַה שֶּאֵׁרַע לְיַעֲקבֹ – אֵרַע לְיוֹסֵף וְכוּ׳.
This effort by Yosef to bring people closer to HaShem is reflected in the verse “Yaakov settled in the land of his father’s megurei.” Chazal interpret this to mean that he would megayeir geirim, convert proselytes, as cited by the Rebbe Nachman elsewhere in his teachings.122Bereishit Rabbah 84:4. Rebbe Nachman cites this in LM I, 228. And this was also true of Yosef, as in “These are the chronicles of Yaakov: Yosef,” meaning that Yosef followed the path of his father Yaakov. He too engaged in converting proselytes and drawing near those who are spiritually distant from HaShem, because “whatever happened to Yaakov, happened to Yosef.”123See Rashi on Bereishit 37:2, s.v. eileh toldot. This is the explanation of “These are the chronicles of Yaakov—Yosef,” as Rashi elucidates there: “All the wisdom that Yaakov received from studying at the yeshivah of Shem and Ever, he transmitted to Yosef,”124See Rashi on Bereishit 37:3, s.v. ben zekunim. and so too whatever else happened to Yaakov, also happened to Yosef.
וְכָל זֶה נִסְמַךְ לַפָּסוּק ״מְגוּרֵי אָבִיו״, שֶׁהוּא מַה שֶּׁהָיָה יַעֲקֹב מְגַיֵּר גֵּרִים, וְתֵכֶף נִסְמַךְ ״אֵלֶּה תֹּלְדוֹת יַעֲקֹב יוֹסֵף״ – שֶׁפֵּרוּשׁוֹ, שֶׁמָּסַר לוֹ כָּל חָכְמָתוֹ כַּנַּ״ל.
All this—both explanations of Rashi—is needed to explain why “the chronicles of Yaakov” is juxtaposed with the first verse, “his father’s me-gurei,” which informs us that Yaakov would convert proselytes. Scripture immediately follows “his father’s megurei” with “These are the chronicles of Yaakov: Yosef,” the explanation of which is that Yaakov transmitted to Yosef all his wisdom, including the wisdom needed to megayeir geirim.
הַיְנוּ כַּנַּ״ל, כְּמוֹ שֶׁיַּעֲקֹב גִּיֵּר גֵּרִים עַל־יְדֵי עֹצֶם חָכְמָתוֹ שֶׁהָיָה יוֹדֵעַ לַעֲשׂוֹת צִמְצוּמִים כָּאֵלֶּה עַד שֶׁיּוּכַל לְרַפְּאוֹת הַחוֹלִים בְּיוֹתֵר, כְּמוֹ כֵן הָיָה יוֹסֵף הַצַּדִּיק עוֹסֵק בָּזֶה תָּמִיד, כִּי יַעֲקֹב מָסַר לוֹ כָּל חָכְמָתוֹ, כִּי עִקַּר הַחָכְמָה הוּא לְהַכְנִיס הַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת בָּעוֹלָם – ״לְהוֹדִיע לִבְנֵי הָאָדָם גְּבוּרֹתָיו וְכוּ׳״ (תהלים קמה, יב).
This is as we said above. Just as Yaakov converted proselytes through his superior wisdom—for he knew how to make such great constrictions that he could heal the most spiritually ill—similarly, Yosef HaTzaddik was always involved with this. For Yaakov had transmitted to him all his wisdom, the main purpose of which is to bring perceptions of Godliness into the world, “to make known to the sons of man His mighty deeds.”
וזְֶהוּ בְּחִינַת (בראשית לז, ב): ״יוֹסֵף בֶּן שְׁבַע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה, הָיָה רֹעֶה אֶת אֶחָיו בַּצֹּאן״ – ״רוֹעֶה צֹאן״ זֶה בְּחִינַת מַנְהִיג הַדּוֹר שֶׁנִּקְרָא בְּכָל מָקוֹם בְּשֵׁם רוֹעֶה צֹאן. וְזֶהוּ ״בֶּן שְׁבַע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה הָיָה וְכוּ׳״, שְׁבַע עֶשְׂרֵה בְּגֵימַטְרְיָא ״טוֹב״, כַּמּוּבָא (זהר סתרי תורה ג), הַיְנוּ שֶׁיּוֹסֵף הָיָה טוֹב לַכֹּל, וְהָיָה כֻּלּוֹ טוֹב, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה הָיָה יָכוֹל לְקָרֵב הַכֹּל, כִּי מָצָא בְּהַגָּרוּעַ שֶׁבַּגְּרוּעִים נְקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה קֵרְבָם לְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ.
This role is alluded to in “Yosef, at the age of seventeen, would tend the flock with his brothers.” “Tending flock” signifies the role of the leader of the generation, who in all places is called a “shepherd.”125See, for example, Yechezkel 34:2 and Yirmiyahu 17:16. This is also the meaning of “at the age of seventeen.” The Midrash teaches that seventeen is the gematria of tov, good.126Tanchuma, Korach 12; see also Siftei Kohen on Bereishit 47:28. That is, Yosef was good towards everyone, and was himself entirely good. Through this he was able to draw everyone near, because he found good points even in the very worst sinners, and by means of this drew them near to HaShem.127See p. 33 above, where Reb Noson similarly teaches Notes & Sources that Moshe Rabbeinu was the embodiment of good and so was always able to find the good in everyone. is etymologically sugges- (בלהה)
וְזֶהוּ ״וְהוּא נַעַר אֶת בְּנֵי בִלְהָה וְאֶת בְּנֵי זִלְפָּה וְכוּ׳״ – שֶׁהֵם בְּנֵי הַשְּׁפָחוֹת, הֵם בְּחִינַת מִשְׁפָּחוֹת הַיְּרוּדוֹת שֶׁבְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁהָיָה מוֹרִיד אֶת עַצְמוֹ אֲלֵיהֶם בְּיוֹתֵר כְּדֵי לְקָרְבָם.
This is also why “he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah,” who, as the children of the maidservants, are identified with the lowliest of Jewish families. These are the sort of people to whom Yosef would lower himself most, befriending them in order to draw them closer to HaShem.
וְעַל שֵׁם זֶה נִקְרָאִים הָרְחוֹקִים ״בְּנֵי בִלְהָה וּבְנֵי זִלְפָּה״, זֶה רֶמֶז שֶׁנֶּאֱחַז בָּהֶם בְּיוֹתֵר הַבַּעַל דָּבָר וְחֵילוֹתָיו, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת ״בְּנֵי בִּלְהָה״, בְּחִינַת (יחזקאל כו, כא): ״בַּלָּהוֹת אֶתְּנֵךְ וְכוּ׳״, וּפֵרֵשׁ רַשִׁ״י: ״שֵׁדִים״, הַיְנוּ חֵילוֹת הַיֵּצֶר הָרַע, שֶׁהֵם שֵׁדִים וּקְלִפּוֹת, שֶׁהֵם מְבַהֲלִים וּמְבַלְבְּלִים וּמַרְשִׁיעִים אֶת הָאָדָם. וְזֶה בְּחִינַת ״בְּנֵי זִלְפָּה״, בְּחִינַת (תהלים קיט, נג): ״זַלְעָפָה אֲחָזַתְנִי מֵרְשָׁעִים״, כִּי חֵילוֹת הַיֵּצֶר הָרַע הֵם בְּחִינַת בַּלָּהוֹת וְזַלְעֲפוֹת, וְכָל הַנִּמְשָׁכִים אַחֲרֵיהֶם נִקְרָאִים ״בְּנֵי בִלְהָה וּבְנֵי זִלְפָּה״. וְהַצַּדִּיק הַגָּדוֹל, בְּחִינַת יוֹסֵף, עוֹסֵק עִמָּהֶם וּמוֹרִיד אֶת עַצְמוֹ אֲלֵיהֶם כְּדֵי לְקָרְבָם לְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ.
For this reason, those who are distant from HaShem are called “the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah,” hinting to the fact that the Evil One and its forces have a tight grip on such people. “Sons of Bilhah” alludes to “I will make you into balahot,”128128 The name BiLHah .(בלהות) tive of BaLaHot is etymologically sugges- (זלפה) which Rashi interprets as “demons,” meaning the forces of the Yetzer Hara. These are the demons and kelipot that terrify, confuse and bring a person to evil. Similarly, “sons of Zilpah” alludes to “zalaphah has gripped me on account of the wicked.”129129 The name ZiLPaH .(זלעפה) tive of ZaLaPhaH The forces of the Yetzer Hara are synonymous with balahot and zalaphot, fright and rage, and so all those drawn after them are called “the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah.” But the great tzaddik, represented by Yosef, engages with these people. He lowers himself to their level in order to draw them near to HaShem.
וְזֶהוּ ״וְהוּא נַעַר אֶת בְּנֵי בִלְהָה וְאֶת בְּנֵי זִלְפָּה וְכוּ׳״, וּפֵרֵשׁ רַשִׁ״י: ״שֶׁהָיָה עוֹשֶׂה מַעֲשֵׂה נַעֲרוּת וְכוּ׳״. כִּי הַצַּדִּיק הָאֱמֶת בְּעֹצֶם חָכְמָתוֹ מוֹרִיד אֶת עַצְמוֹ אֲלֵיהֶם כָּל כָּךְ, עַד שֶׁנִּדְמֶה כְּאִלּוּ עוֹשֶׂה מַעֲשֵׂה נַעֲרוּת, כִּי מְדַבֵּר עִמָּהֶם שִׂיחַת חֻלִּין, וְאוֹכֵל וְשׁוֹתֶה עִמָּהֶם, וּפְעָמִים מְטַיֵּל וּמְשַׂחֵק עִמָּהֶם, וְכָל כַּוָּנָתוֹ כְּדֵי לְקָרְבָם עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה לְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ, וְכַמּוּבָן בִּדְבָרָיו זַ״ל בְכַמָּה מְקוֹמוֹת (סימן פא, צא ועוד), כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה הַצַּדִּיק מוֹרִיד אֶת עַצְמוֹ אֶל הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁכָּל זֶה נֶחְשַׁב אֶצְלוֹ מַעֲשֵׂה נַעֲרוּת, אֲבָל כַּוָּנָתוֹ רְצוּיָה לְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ לְבַד, בִּשְׁבִיל לְקָרֵב הָרְחוֹקִים מְאֹד לְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ, שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לְקָרְבָם כִּי אִם עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה. וְזֶהוּ בְּחִינַת ״וְהוּא נַעַר אֶת בְּנֵי בִּלְהָה וְאֶת בְּנֵי זִלְפָּה וְכוּ׳״, וְכַנַּ״ל.
And this is the meaning of “And [Yosef] was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah.” Rashi explains, “He would act childishly.” For the true tzaddik, with his mighty wisdom, lowers himself to them so much that it appears as if he is acting childishly. He speaks with them about mundane matters, he eats and drinks with them, and occasionally he even takes leisure strolls and plays games with them. His entire intention is to draw them near to HaShem through this. This idea is understood from Rebbe Nachman’s words in a number of places, just how much the tzaddik lowers himself to engage with the world. With respect to his exalted level, all of this is reckoned as acting childishly. However, the tzaddik’s intention is nothing but pleasing to HaShem, because he does all this in order to draw the very distant closer to HaShem. There is no other way to draw them near. This is the meaning of “And [Yosef] was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah.”
וְעַל־כֵּן נִקְרָא ״יוֹסֵף״, בְּחִינַת (בראשית ל, כג): ״אָסַף אֱלֹקִים אֶת חֶרְפָּתִי״ – שֶׁמְּאַסֵּף וּמְבַטֵּל כָּל הַחֲרָפוֹת וּבוּשׁוֹת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, כִּי מַחֲזִירֵם בִּתְשׁוּבָה וּמְקָרְבָם לְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ. וְזֶה בְּחִינַת (שם): ״יֹסֵף ה׳ לִי בֵּן״, שֶׁעַל שֵׁם זֶה נִקְרָא ״יוֹסֵף״. הַיְנוּ שֶׁהַצַּדִּיק עוֹסֵק תָּמִיד לְהוֹסִיף וּלְקָרֵב נְפָשׁוֹת חֲדָשׁוֹת בְּכָל פַּעַם, וּמְבַקֵּשׁ תָּמִיד מֵהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ עַל זֶה, בְּחִינַת ״יֹסֵף ה׳ לִי בֶּן אַחֵר״, שֶׁיּוֹסֵף ה׳ לוֹ בְּכָל פַּעַם תַּלְמִיד חָדָשׁ שֶׁנִּקְרָא בֵּן, כִּי ״כָּל הַמְלַמֵּד בֶּן חֲבֵרוֹ תּוֹרָה כְּאִלּוּ יְלָדוֹ״ (סנהדרין יט:). וְהוּא מְחַפֵּשׂ וּמְבַקֵּשׁ תָּמִיד לְהוֹסִיף וּלְקָרֵב חֲדָשִׁים, בִּבְחִינַת ״יֹסֵף ה׳ לִי בֵּן אַחֵר״.
YOSEF, THE TZADDIK OF COMPASSION
In this section Reb Noson brings further proof that Yosef HaTzaddik is identified with bringing everyone nearer to HaShem and illuminating them with perceptions of Godliness.
This is why he is called Yosef, as alluded to in “God asaf my shame.” Yosef gathers in and eliminates all disgrace and embarrassment from the Jewish people, since he brings them to teshuvah and so closer to HaShem. This is the meaning of “May HaShem yosef for me another son,” on account of which he is called Yosef. This means that the tzaddik always works le-hosif, to add, and to draw close new souls each time.130130 The word asaf is formed of the three root letters (יוסף) meaning “gather.” The name Yosef ,(אסף) ASF are formed of the (להוסיף) and the word le-hosif meaning ,(יסף) etymologically similar root letters YSF “add.” The tzaddik, personified by Yosef HaTzaddik, serves HaShem by gathering in those who have grown distant from Him and thus adding to the souls who serve Him. He constantly requests this of HaShem, as alluded to in “May HaShem add for me another son,” in the sense that each time HaShem should add for him a new student—since a student is called a son, because “whoever teaches Torah to his friend’s son is considered as if he fathered him.”131Sanhedrin 19b. He constantly searches and seeks to add new people and bring them near, as in “May HaShem yosef for me another son.”
וְעַל־כֵּן ״וְיִשְׁרָאֵל אָהַב אֶת יוֹסֵף מִכָּל בָּנָיו, כִּי בֶן זְקֻנִים הוּא לוֹ״ (בראשית לז, ג) – שֶׁאָהַב אוֹתוֹ בִּשְׁבִיל זֶה מְאֹד, כִּי הוּא חָפֵץ בָּזֶה לְרַחֵם עַל הַכֹּל וְלַעֲשׂוֹת תַּחְבּוּלוֹת לְקָרֵב הַכֹּל. וְזֶהוּ ״כִּי בֶן זְקֻנִים הוּא לוֹ״ – ״זָקֵן״ זֶה בְּחִינַת רַחֲמִים גְּדוֹלִים מְאֹד, בְּחִינַת (רש״י שמות כ, ב): ״זָקֵן מָלֵא רַחֲמִים״, בְּחִינַת תְּלֵיסַר תִּיקּוּנֵי דִיקְנָא (זהר נשא קלא.), שֶׁהֵם רַחֲמִים גְּדוֹלִים מְאֹד, הַיְנוּ שֶׁקִּבֵּל מִמֶּנּוּ כָּל הַשְּׁלֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה מִדּוֹת שֶׁל רַחֲמִים שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת זָקֵן כַּנַּ״ל, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה הוּא מְרַחֵם עַל הַכֹּל וּמְקָרֵב כֻּלָּם.
Therefore the verse states, “Now, Yisrael loved Yosef more than all his sons, for he was the son of his zekunim.”132This reflects Chazal’s teaching that “zakein” denotes someone with wisdom (Kiddushin 32b). Yisrael loved him greatly because of this—because Yosef desired to show compassion for everyone and to design ways to bring everyone near. This is the meaning of “for [Yosef] was the son of his zekunim.” Zakein, elder, denotes the trait of very great compassion, as in the midrashic depiction of HaShem at Sinai as “a zakein full of compassion.”133Mekhilta, Parashat Beshalach 4. Kabbalistic teaching states that the Thirteen Rectifications of the Zakan, the Supernal Beard, similarly signify very great compassion.134As mentioned above, Ohr HaPanim is the Light that shines from the Countenance of the Divine persona of Arikh Anpin (see note 13 above). The Arizal teaches that the channels through which this Light descends are the hairs of Arikh Anpin’s Countenance, otherwise known as the Thirteen Rectifications of the Beard (Sefer HaLikutim, Toldot). The Zohar (III, 131a) associates these Thirteen Rectifications with the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy through which we evoke Heaven’s compassion, as brought in Shemot 34:6-7 (see also Eitz Chaim 13:9 and LM I, 27:3, note 12). This connection is intimated ,זקָָן) by the resemblance between the words ZaKaN elder). In the kabbalistic ,זקֵָן) beard) and ZaKeiN lexicon, Arikh Anpin is the “Elder,” whose defining quality is great compassion. Thus Yosef received from Yaakov all the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, the concept of zakein, through which the great tzaddik shows compassion for everyone and brings them all closer to HaShem.
וְזֶהוּ שֶׁתִּרְגֵּם אוּנְקְלוּס: ״כִּי בֶן זְקֻנִים״ – ״כִּי בַּר חַכִּים הוּא לֵיהּ״, בַּר חַכִּים וַדַּאי, כִּי צְרִיכִין לָזֶה חָכְמָה גְּדוֹלָה, חָכְמָה נִפְלָאָה, חָכְמָה עֲמֻקָּה מְאֹד מְאֹד, כְּדֵי שֶׁיּוּכַל לַעֲשׂוֹת כֵּלִים וְצִמְצוּמִים כָּאֵלֶּה, שֶׁיּוּכַל לְקָרֵב נְפָשׁוֹת רְחוֹקוֹת כָּאֵלֶּה, חוֹלִים כָּאֵלֶּה, וּלְהַכְנִיס בָּהֶם הַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת וְכַנַּ״ל.
This is why Targum Onkelos renders “for he was the son of his zekunim” as “for he was his wise son.” Yosef certainly would have needed to be a wise son since one needs great wisdom for this—amazing and exceedingly profound wisdom in order to be able to create the appropriate vessels and constrictions that would enable him to draw near such distant souls, such spiritually ill people, and infuse them with perceptions of Godliness.
וְזֶה ״וְעָשָׂה לוֹ כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים״ – שֶׁפֵּרוּשׁוֹ, כְּלֵי מִילַת שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהֶם גְּוָנִין יָפִים, בְּחִינַת כַּרְפַּס וּתְכֵלֶת (רש״י שם). הַיְנוּ מֵחֲמַת שֶׁרָאָה שֶׁעוֹסֵק בָּהּ לְקָרֵב נְפָשׁוֹת רְחוֹקוֹת, עַל־כֵּן עָשָׂה לוֹ לְבוּשִׁים נִפְלָאִים שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהֶם גְּוָנִין יָפִים וְנִפְלָאִים, בְּחִינַת ״כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים״, הַיְנוּ בְּחִינַת צִמְצוּמִים נִפְלָאִים, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת כֵּלִים וּלְבוּשִׁים כְּדֵי שֶׁיּוּכַל לְהַמְשִׁיךְ עַל יָדָם הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת אֲפִלּוּ לְהָרְחוֹקִים מְאֹד וְכַנַּ״ל, כִּי בְּחִינַת הַצִּמְצוּמִים הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה הַנַּ״ל, הֵם כְּלוּלִים מִכָּל הַגְּוָנִין, שֶׁהֵם כְּלַל כָּל הַכֵּלִים וְהַלְּבוּשִׁין שֶׁל הַקְּדֻשָּׁה שֶׁעַל יָדָם מַשִּׂיגִין אֱלֹקוּתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ כַּמָּה פְּעָמִים (זהר חלק ג׳ רעז.; תקוני זהר יב.): ״דְּאִיהִי כְּלִילָא מִכָּל הַגְּוָנִין״.
Thus the Torah states that “he made him a cloak of passim.” The explanation of passim is “a fine woolen garment of many beautiful colors,” as Rashi comments on the words “karpas and sky-blue wool.”135This is a combination of Rashi’s commentary on Esther 1:6, where he explains “white, karpas and skyblue wool” as many different colored fabrics, and his commentary on Bereishit 37:3, where he interprets to mean a fine woolen garment “such (פסים) PaSsim green) and sky-blue wool.” See also ,כרפס) as karPaS Megillah 12a. In other words, because Yaakov saw that Yosef engaged in drawing near to HaShem the spiritually distant, he made for him wondrous garments of amazingly beautiful colors—the concept of “a cloak of passim,” meaning marvelous constrictions, which are vessels and garments through which to extend a perception of Godliness even to the most spiritually distant. Conceptually, the constrictions, which correspond to lower wisdom, are inclusive of all the colors. These colors are the entirety of the vessels and garments of holiness through which one perceives His Godliness, as is written in the holy Zohar several times about Malkhut/lower wisdom, that “it is inclusive of all the colors.”136Zohar I, 91a; ibid. III, 296b.
וְזֶה שֶׁחָלַם (שם לז, ז): ״וְהִנֵּה אֲנַחְנוּ מְאַלְּמִים אֲלֻמִּים בְּתוֹךְ הַשָּׁדֶה״, שֶׁפֵּרוּשׁוֹ: קְשָׁרִים. הַיְנוּ בְּחִינַת צִמְצוּמִים הַנַּ״ל שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת קְשָׁרִים, כִּי הַצִּמְצוּם בְּחִינַת קֶשֶׁר, הַיְנוּ שֶׁכֻּלָּם הָיוּ עוֹסְקִים בָּזֶה, שֶׁהָיוּ מְאַלְּמִים אֲלֻמִּים וְעוֹשִׂים קְשָׁרִים וְצִמְצוּמִים כְּדֵי לִמְשֹׁךְ עַל יָדָם הַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת.
YOSEF, THE TZADDIK OF VALOR
Here, Reb Noson expounds Yosef’s dream as alluding to his unique ability to create the constrictions that enable others to perceive Godliness. Reb Noson also shows how this is alluded to in the verses from the Book of Mishlei in praise of the “woman of valor.”
This relates to what Yosef dreamed: “Look, we were binding alumim in the field,” where the explanation of the word alumim is “binds.” This signifies the concept of constrictions, which are synonymous with bindings, because a constriction is a binding. In other words, Yosef dreamed that all of the Shevatim engaged in this; they were “binding alumim” and creating bindings and constrictions in order to draw through them a perception of Godliness.
אֲבָל הַצִּמְצוּמִים וְהַכֵּלִים שֶׁל יוֹסֵף הַצַּדִּיק עָלוּ עַל כֻּלָּם, בִּבְחִינַת (שם) ״והְִנּהֵ קָמָה אֲלמָֻּתִי וגְםַ נִצָּבָה וְכוּ׳״ – שֶׁהַקֶּשֶׁר וְהַצִּמְצוּם שֶׁלּוֹ קָמָה וְגַם נִצָּבָה לָעַד וְלָנֶצַח. ״וְהִנֵּה תְסֻבֶּינָה אֲלֻמֹּתֵיכֶם וַתִּשְׁתַּחֲוֶיןָ לַאֲלֻמָּתִי״ – שֶׁכֻּלָּם צְרִיכִין לְקַבֵּל מִמֶּנּוּ הַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת עַל־יְדֵי הַצִּמְצוּמִים נִפְלָאִים שֶׁעָשָׂה בְּחָכְמָתוֹ הָעֲמֻקָּה, עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁעָסַק לְקָרֵב נְפָשׁוֹת תָּמִיד, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה זָכָה, שֶׁאֲפִלּוּ הַצַּדִּיקִים הַגְּדוֹלִים שֶׁעוֹסְקִין בָּזֶה – לְהַשִּׂיג הַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת עַל־יְדֵי הַצִּמְצוּמִים, גַּם הֵם צְרִיכִין לְקַבֵּל מִמֶּנּוּ.
Nevertheless, Yosef HaTzaddik’s constrictions and vessels surpassed all of theirs, as in “look, my sheaf arose and even remained standing”—his binding and constriction arose and even remained standing forever and for all eternity. “And look, your sheaves encircled my sheaf and bowed down to it.” This indicates that everyone, including the Shevatim, must receive perceptions of Godliness from him, by means of the wondrous constrictions that he creates with his profound wisdom. As a result of his having constantly engaged in drawing souls near to HaShem, he merited that even the great tzaddikim who engage in attaining perceptions of Godliness via constrictions also need to receive from him.
כִּי שֶׁלּוֹ עוֹלֶה עַל כֻּלָּם, בִּבְחִינַת (משלי לא, כט): ״רַבּוֹת בָּנוֹת עָשׂוּ חָיִל וְאַתְּ עָלִית עַל כֻּלָּנָה״, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר עַל הַצַּדִּיק הָאֱמֶת הַגָּדוֹל בְּיוֹתֵר הָעוֹסֵק לַעֲשׂוֹת כֵּלִים וּלְבוּשִׁים וּלְהַמְשִׁיךְ תּוֹרָה בְּחָכְמָה אֲמִתִּית כָּזֹאת, עַד שֶׁיּוּכְלוּ לְהִתְקָרֵב הַכֹּל לְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת הַשֶּׁבַח שֶׁל ״אֵשֶׁת חַיִל וְכוּ׳״, בְּחִינַת (שם פסוק יג): ״דָּרְשָׁה צֶמֶר וּפִשְׁתִּים״ – שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת כֵּלִים וּלְבוּשִׁים לְהַשָּׂגַת אֱלֹקוּת וְכוּ׳.
This idea that the tzaddik’s perceptions and constrictions rise above everyone else’s is expressed in “Many women have excelled, but you surpass them all.” This verse from the Book of Mishlei speaks of the greatest true tzaddik—the one who engages in creating vessels and garments, and in drawing Torah with such genuine wisdom that everyone can come closer to HaShem. This dovetails with the praise in Mishlei for the “woman of valor,” as “she looks for wool and flax” alludes to the vessels and garments required for perceiving Godliness.137See §17 above, where Reb Noson connects wool with constrictions. This is as Rebbe Nachman teaches in LM I, 29:12, that the letters of the word tZeMeR ,מצר) wool) can be rearranged to spell MeitZaR ,צמר) constriction).
וזְֶהוּ בְּחִינַת (פסוק יד): ״הָיְתָה כָּאֳנִיּוֹת סוֹחֵר מִמֶּרְחָק וְכוּ׳, וַתָּקָם בְּעוֹד לַיְלָה וַתִּתֵּן טֶרֶף לְבֵיתָהּ וְכוּ׳״. שֶׁבְּתֹקֶף חֶשְׁכַּת לֵיל הַגָּלוּת שֶׁל נַפְשׁוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל הִיא נוֹתֶנֶת לָהֶם טֶרֶף וְכוּ׳. וְכֵן הוֹלֵךְ וְסוֹבֵב כָּל הַשֶּׁבַח הַקָּדוֹשׁ הַזֶּה.
This connection to the tzaddik is also expressed in “She is like the merchant ships, [bringing her food] from afar. She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household.” This means that in the deepest darkness of the night of exile for Jewish souls, she provides them with food—that is, the tzaddik provides them with perceptions of Godliness. And so on for the rest of the holy praise in Mishlei for the “woman of valor”/tzaddik.
וזְֶה בְּחִינַת (פסוק כג): ״נוֹדָע בַּשְּׁעָרִים בַּעְלָהּ״ – שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת ״שִׁעוּרִין דְּאַתְוָון דְּאוֹרַיְתָא״ (תקוני זהר דף קכב.), הַיְנוּ בְּחִינַת צִמְצוּמִים הַנַּ״ל שֶׁהוּא מַמְשִׁיךְ בְּחָכְמָתוֹ, עַל יָדָם נוֹדָע הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ בָּעוֹלָם, בְּחִינַת ״נוֹדָע בַּשְּׁעָרִים בַּעְלָהּ וְכוּ׳״.
This also relates to “Her husband is renowned in the she’arim.” The word she’arim alludes to the “shiurim, measurements, of the letters of Torah.”138See §1 and note 7 above. This signifies the idea of constrictions of the Torah as manifested in its letters, which the tzaddik draws with his wisdom. By dint of these constrictions, HaShem, “Her Husband,” is renowned in the world. This then is the meaning of “Her husband is renowned in the she’arim”—Her Husband is known through the constrictions, i.e. the shiurim of the letters.
וְזֶהוּ: ״פִּיהָ פָּתְחָה בְּחָכְמָה וְתוֹרַת חֶסֶד עַל לְשׁוֹנָהּ״, וְדָרְשׁוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל (סוטה מט:): ״זֶה הַלּוֹמֵד תּוֹרָה עַל מְנַת לְלַמְּדָהּ״, הַיְנוּ כַּנַּ״ל, שֶׁמְּלַמֵּד תּוֹרָתוֹ לַאֲחֵרִים לְקָרְבָם לְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ.
And this is “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the Torah of chesed is on her tongue.” Interpreting this homiletically, Chazal state, “This refers to the one who studies Torah in order to teach it.”139Sukkah 49b. This is the tzaddik, who teaches his torah to others in order to draw them near to HaShem.
וְזֶהוּ: ״צֹפִיָּה הֲלִיכוֹת בֵּיתָהּ״ – שֶׁצּוֹפֶה הִלּוּךְ בֵּיתוֹ אֵיךְ יִתְנַהֵג לְעוֹלָם בְּאֹפֶן שֶׁלֹּא תִכְבֶּה נֵרוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד, שֶׁיִּהְיֶה נִשְׁאַר הַשְׁאָרַת חָכְמָתוֹ לְדוֹרֵי דּוֹרוֹת לָנֶצַח. כִּי: ״וְלֶחֶם עַצְלוּת לֹא תֹאכֵל״, כִּי לַחְמוֹ וְתוֹרָתוֹ אֵינוֹ לֶחֶם עַצְלוּת, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, כִּי הָיָה זָרִיז מְאֹד מְאֹד בַּעֲבוֹדָתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ.
And this is “She oversees the ways of her household.” For the tzaddik oversees the ways of his household—how he should always conduct himself so that his light will never be extinguished, so that a vestige of his wisdom remains for generations to come, forever. For “she does not partake of the bread of idleness”—his bread and his torah are not “the bread of idleness,” chas ve-shalom, since the tzaddik has always been extremely alacritous in serving HaShem.
עַל־כֵּן: ״קָמוּ בָּנֶיהָ וַיְאַשְּׁרוּהָ״ – הֵם הַתַּלְמִידִים שֶׁנִּקְרָאִים בָּנִים שֶׁקֵּרְבָם לְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ. ״בַּעְלָהּ וַיְהַלְלָהּ״ – זֶה הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ, כִּי הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ מַסְכִּים עַל זֶה, כִּי חָפֵץ בָּזֶה שֶׁיְּקָרֵב כֻּלָּם אֵלָיו, ״כִּי חָפֵץ חֶסֶד הוּא״. וְעַל־כֵּן: ״רַבּוֹת בָּנוֹת עָשׂוּ חָיִל וְאַתְּ עָלִית עַל כֻּלָּנָה״, וְכַנַּ״ל.
Therefore “her children rise and laud her.” These are the students, who are called “children”—those whom the tzaddik has drawn near to HaShem. “[Also] her husband, and he praises her.” This refers to HaShem, because He approves of this devotion of the tzaddik. HaShem yearns for the tzaddik to draw everyone close to Him, “because He desires chesed.” And so HaShem praises the tzaddik, saying, “Many women have excelled, but you surpass them all.”
וְזֶהוּ (בראשית לז, ט): ״וְהִנֵּה הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְהַיָּרֵחַ וְאַחַד עָשָׂר כּוֹכָבִים מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים לִי״.
THE SUN, THE MOON, AND THE DISTANT STARS
Lastly, Reb Noson shows that Yosef’s second dream too alludes to his being the great tzaddik who “turns the many to righteousness” by instilling them with perceptions of Godliness.
And this is the meaning of “Look, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars are bowing down to me.”
שֶׁמֶשׁ וְ״יָרֵחַ״ הֵם בְּחִינַת מַשְׁפִּיע וּמְקַבֵּל, בְּחִינַת שֵׂכֶל עֶלְיוֹן וְשֵׂכֶל תַּחְתּוֹן, בְּחִינַת הָרַב וְהַתַּלְמִיד. כִּי הַצַּדִּיק, שֶׁהוּא הָרַב, נִקְרָא שֶׁמֶשׁ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (קהלת א, ה): ״וְזָרַח הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וּבָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ״, וְדָרְשׁוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ״ל (קדושין עב:): ״עַד שֶׁלֹּא שָׁקְעָה וְכוּ׳״. וְהַיָּרֵחַ בְּחִינַת הַתַּלְמִיד, שֶׁמְּקַבֵּל הָאוֹר מֵרַבּוֹ כְּמוֹ הַלְּבָנָה מֵהַחַמָּה.
“Sun” and “moon” represent giver and receiver, upper intellect and lower intellect, rav and student. For the tzaddik, who is the rav, is called “sun,” as it is written, “The sun rises and the sun sets.” Interpreting this homiletically as alluding to the tzaddik, Chazal state, “Before the sun set …”140Chazal state, “A tzaddik does not depart from the Notes & Sources world until another tzaddik like him is created, as it is written, ‘The sun rises and the sun sets.’ Before the sun of Eli set, the sun of Shmuel of Ramah rose” (Kiddushin 72b). And the moon is likened to a student, who receives the spiritual light from his rav just as the moon receives its light from the sun.
וְאַחַד עָשָׂר כּוֹכָבִים – זֶה בְּחִינַת הַנְּפָשׁוֹת הָרְחוֹקוֹת שֶׁמְּקָרְבִים אוֹתָם לְהַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ, שֶׁהֵם נְפָשׁוֹת קְדוֹשׁוֹת מְאֹד, אַךְ הָיוּ תְּחִלָּה בְּעִמְקֵי הַקְּלִפּוֹת וְעָלוּ מִשָּׁם, בִּבְחִינַת אַחַד עָשָׂר סַמְמָנֵי הַקְּטֹרֶת, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת אַחַד עָשָׂר כּוֹכָבִים, בְּחִינַת (דניאל יב, ג): ״וּמַצְדִּיקֵי הָרַבִּים כַּכּוֹכָבִים״.
“And the eleven stars” referenced in Yosef’s dream alludes to the spiritually distant people who are brought near to HaShem. These are very holy souls, who nevertheless were initially trapped in the depths of the kelipot. Yet they ascended from there, akin to the fallen sparks of holiness redeemed from the depths of the kelipot by the eleven spices of the ketoret, incense-offering.141Eitz Chaim 39:3. This representation of the “eleven stars” as distant souls brought near to HaShem by the tzaddik is alluded to in “Those who teach righteousness to the masses [will shine] like the stars.”
וְכֻלָּם ״מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים לִי״ – כִּי הַצַּדִּיק הַגָּדוֹל מַמְשִׁיךְ שִׂכְלִיּוֹת כָּאֵלֶּה, עַד שֶׁכָּל הַגְּדוֹלִים וְהַקְּטַנִּים וְכָל הָרְחוֹקִים רוֹצִים לְהִתְקָרֵב, וְכֻלָּם צְרִיכִים לְקַבֵּל מִמֶּנּוּ. כִּי כְּבָר מְבֹאָר לְעֵיל, שֶׁגַּם בְּהַצִמְצוּמִים בְּעַצְמָן יֵשׁ בְּחִינַת שֵׂכֶל עֶלְיוֹן וְשֵׂכֶל תַּחְתּוֹן, כִּי יֵשׁ בָּהֶם כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה מַדְרֵגוֹת, וְיֵשׁ בָּהֶם בְּחִינַת רַב וְתַלְמִיד, שֶׁמֶש וְיָרֵחַ וְכוּ׳. וְכֻלָּם צְרִיכִים לְהַכְנִיעַ וּלְהִשְׁתַּחֲווֹת וּלְהִתְבַּטֵּל לִפְנֵי הַצַּדִּיק הַגָּדוֹל בְּיוֹתֵר, בְּחִינַת יוֹסֵף, כִּי הוּא מַכְנִיס הַשָּׂגוֹת אֱלֹקוּת בְּכֻלָּם, וְכַנַּ״ל.
All of them “are bowing down to me.” For the great tzaddik draws such wondrous insights that all the spiritually great and small, and all those who are distant from HaShem, want to draw near. Everyone needs to receive from him. It was already explained above142See §13 above. that even within the constrictions themselves there is the aspect of upper intellect and lower intellect. For they contain so many levels, including the aspects of rav and student, sun and moon, and so on. Therefore everyone must submit and bow and set aside his ego in the presence of the greatest tzaddik, represented by Yosef, because he is the one who instills perceptions of Godliness into all of them.