נר מצוה ותורה אור; שער היחוד 38

והנה מעתה יש להבין דרך פרט יותר בענין הלבושין דמחשבה דבור ומעשה כו', כמו שכתוב לבושין תקינת לון כו'

We must now understand the matter of the garments of thought, speech and action, in a manner of more particulars, as it states,¹Introduction to Tikkunei Zohar 17a “You have fashioned garments for them etc.”

ולזה יש להקדים תחלה שרש ומקור לבחינת האותיות, ומה שלפעמים נקראו בשם כלים ולפעמים בשם לבושין כו'

However, in order to understand this, we must preface with the explanations of the source and root of the aspect of the letters, and why at times they are called “Vessels – Keilim”²Etz Chayim, Shaar 6 (Shaar HaAkudim), Ch. 1; Also see Shaar HaYichud VeHaEmunah, end of Ch. 4; Shaarei Teshuvah, Vol. 1, pg. 38b. and at times they are called “Garments – Levooshin.”³See Sefer HaMa’amarim 5562, Vol. 2, pg. 391; Sefer HaMa’amarim 5563, Vol. 1, pg. 249, and 261.

ואחר כך יתבאר דרך פרט בבחינת רחל ולאה, ומלכות דתבונה ובינה, עד רום המעלות כו'

We will afterwards explain, in a manner of particulars, the aspects of Rachel and Leah, and Malchut of Tevunah and Binah, all the way to the highest of levels etc.

דהנה שרש אותיות הוא בעצם הנפש ממש, שהנפש מלאה אותיות כידוע, והיינו מתחלת עצם התהוותה

Now, as known, the source of the letters is literally in the essence of the [human] soul,⁴Etz Chayim (Shaar TaNT”A) Shaar 5, Ch. 3; Also see Ma’amarei Admor HaZaken, Parshiyot HaTorah, Vol. 2, pg. 639 and pg. 730; Ma’amarei Admor HaEmtza’ee, Bamidbar, Vol. 1, pg. 309. for “the soul is full of letters,” that is, from the very beginning and essence of its coming into being.⁵See Ma’amarei Admor HaEmtza’ee, Vayikra, Vol. 2, pg. 922-924; Sefer HaMaamarim 5665, pg. 194; Sefer HaMaamarim 5665, Hosafot pg. 309-310.

ובב' אופנים, באותיות המחשבה ואותיות הדבור

They [the letters] are [there] in two ways; as letters of thought, and as letters of speech.⁶See Sefer HaMa’amarim 5666, p. 483; Sefer HaMaamarim 5665 pg. 195.; Maamarei Admor HaEmtza’ee, Vayikra, Vol. 2, pg. 922-924.

דהיינו מיד שתתהווה עצם הנפש מיוחדים בה אותיות מחשבה

In other words, immediately upon the existence of the essence of the [human] soul, the letters of thought are unified in it.

וכלולים בה בעצם, כמו שכלול תנועת החי בחי כו'

They are essentially included in it, just as the power of movement is included in an animal etc.

ויוצאים ובוקעים לגלוי מחשבה בג' מדריגות

Now, they come out and burst forth into revealed thought on three levels.

דמיון וציור בלא אותיות כלל, ואותיות פשוטים מבולבלים בלי צירוף וחיבור ענין דבר מה, ואותיות מצורפים על פי מחשבה עיונית כו'

There is imagination and imagery without letters at all. There are simple, disjointed letters without combining or being connected to any particular matter, and there are letters that combine according to analytical thought.

וכך יש בעצם הנפש בחינת אותיות הדבור

Likewise, in the essence of the soul there [also] is the aspect of letters of speech.

שהרי נקראת נפש המדברת או רוח ממללא

In that the [human soul] is called,⁷See Genesis 2:7 and Targum Onkelos there. “The Articulate Soul – Nefesh HaMedaberet” or “The Speaking Spirit – Ruach Memalela.”

וכלולים בה בעצם, ויוצאים לגלוי כתנועת החי וכהאי גוונא

They [too] are included there in an essential manner, and come out into revelation like the movement of an animal, or the like.

כדבור של המלאכים דכתיב וקרא זה אל זה כו'

This is like the speech of the angels, about which it says,⁸Isaiah 6:3 “They call one to another [and say] etc.”

והוא גם כן בג' מדריגות: חומר פשוט של כל אות ואות, ונקרא הבל רוח הדבור

In this there are likewise three levels. There is the simple substance of each particular letter. This is called the breath of the spirit of speech.

ואותיות א''ב ג''ד מיוחדים בלי צירוף

Then there are the individual letters Aleph-א, Beit-ב, Gimel-ג, Dalet-ד etc., without combination [into words].

וחיבור האותיות, שנקרא צורה שבדבור ברוח ממללא

Then there is the combination of the letters [into words] which is called the form of speech in the “speaking spirit.”⁹See Tanya, Igeret HaKodesh, Epistle Five.

כמו ב' רוחות מספרות, וכדבור המלאכים וכו':

This is similar to,¹⁰See Talmud Bavli, Brachot 18b – It happened that a certain Chassid (pious man) gave a dinar of charity to a poor man on the eve of Rosh Hashanah during a year of famine. His wife was angered over this, so he went and spent the night in the cemetery. While he was there, he heard two spirits of two deceased children conversing with each other. One said to the other, “My friend let us roam the world and hear from behind the curtain what misfortune is to come upon the world this year.” Her friend replied, “I cannot come with you, as I am buried in a reed mat. You go, however, and come back and tell me whatever you hear.” So, she went and roamed and returned. Her friend said to her, “What have you heard from behind the curtain?” She replied, “I heard that the crops of anyone who plants this year at the time of the first rains will be destroyed by hail.” Hearing this, the Chassid went and planted at the time of the second rain. Everyone’s crops were destroyed except for his. The next year he again went and spent the night in the cemetery, and he heard the same two spirits talking with each other. One said to the other, “Let us roam the world and hear from behind the curtain what misfortune is to come to the world this year.” She replied, “My friend, did I not already tell you that I cannot come with you because I am buried in a reed mat? You go and come back and tell me whatever you hear.” So she went and roamed and returned, and her friend said to her, “My friend, what have you heard from behind the curtain?” She replied, “I have heard that the crops of anyone who plants this winter at the time of the second rain will be blasted by a dry wind.” Hearing this, the Chassid went and planted at the time of the first rains. Everyone else’s crops were blasted except for his. His wife said to him, “Why is it that last year everyone else’s crops were destroyed by hail except for yours? And why is it that this year everyone’s crops were blasted except for yours?” So he told her the whole story. It was not more than a few days later when a quarrel broke out between the wife of the Chassid and the mother of the child whose spirit was overheard in the cemetery. In the course of that quarrel his wife said to the mother, “Come I will show you your daughter buried in a reed mat etc.” The next year he again went to spend the night in the cemetery, and heard the same two spirits conversing. The one said to the other, “My friend let us roam the world and hear from behind the curtain what misfortune is to come to the world this year.” She replied, “My friend, leave me be. The words that we spoke between ourselves in the past few years have already been heard amongst the living.” “Two spirits conversing,” and to the speech of the Angels etc.¹¹See Maamarei Admor HaEmtza’ee, Vayikra, Vol. 2, pg. 923.

והנה גם טרם שמתהוה מקור לרצון פשוט ותענוג פשוט, כבר יש אותיות הכלולים בעצם הנפש

Now, even before the coming into being of the source of the simple desire and the simple pleasure, there already are letters included in the essence of the soul.

רק אחר התהוות הרצון יוצאים להיות בחינת גלוי לרצון, ונקראו אותיות דרצון

However, only after the coming into being of the desire, do [these letters] come out to be the aspect of the revelation of the desire. They are then called “the letters of desire.”

שהוא בחינת גלוי הרצון ליש ודבר מה במציאת רצון, שזהו עיקר ענין האותיות בעצם הנפש

This is the aspect of the revelation of the desire as a “something” with a tangible existence as a desire, this being the principal matter of the letters of the essence of the soul.

שאינו רק בחינת גלוי אור עצם הנפש בכל איזה בחינת יש ומציאת דבר מה

That is, they only are the aspect of the revelation [and expression] of the light of the essence of the soul in every aspect and manner of “somethingness” and tangible existence.

על ידי האותיות יוצא בגלוי מבחינת היולי הנעלם כו'

[In other words,] it is through the letters that it comes forth into revelation from the aspect of the concealed Heyulie etc.

(וכמו שכתוב בלקוטי אמרים בכ''ב אותיות שקבועים בנפש, שהן כ''ב כחות, כ''ב תנועות הנפש כו')

(This is in accordance with what is written in Likkutei Amarim,¹²See Tanya, Shaar HaYichud V’HaEmunah, Ch. 11-12; Iggeret HaKodesh, Epistle 5. regarding the twenty-two letters that are embedded in the soul, that they are twenty-two powers or twenty-two movements of the soul etc.)

ועל ידי זה יוכל הרצון לבא בגלוי באור השכל

It is through this [matter of the letters] that it is possible for the desire to come into revelation in the light of the intellect.

ולולי התגלות הרצון בבחינת אותיות, דהיינו מה שנראה למהות ומציאת רצון, לא היה בא הרצון העצמי הנעלם בלבוש אחר ממהות למהות

If not for the revelation of the desire in an aspect of letters, that [by means of the letters] it appears as a tangible existence of desire, then the essential concealed desire would not come into any other garment, from one state of being to another state of being.

שהוא בחינת הרצון הנראה ונגלה בשכל וטעם לרצון כידוע, ודי למבין

[This is to say, there would be no descent into the] aspect of a desire that is felt and revealed in the “intellect and reasoning for the desire,” as known. This will suffice for the understanding.

וכך בשכל וטעם לרצון, שנקרא חכמה שברצון

This also is the case with the intellect and reasoning for the desire, which is called the Chochmah of the desire (Ratzon).

מה שנראה למציאת טעם לרצון הוא בחינת אותיות שבו

The fact that it appears as a tangible existence of “reasoning for the desire” is from the aspect of the letters that are in it.

על ידי זה יורד ממהות למהות המדות שברצון

It is through this [the matter of the letters] that it descends from [its] state, to the state of the emotions of the desire.

כמו האהבה שברצון, שגם הוא אינו רק מציאת רצון, אלא שמלובש במהות אהבה, שמצד הרצון הוא אוהב

An example of this is [the aspect of] love (Ahavah) that is in the desire. It too is only the existence of desire, except that it is vested within the existence of love, that because of his desire he loves etc.

(אהבה לשון אבה, והה''א ה' חסדים המתפשטים מחכמה ובינה כו')

(“Love-Ahavah-אהבה” is of the root “desire-Avah-אבה,”¹³See Shoresh Yesha, section on “Avah-אבה,” cited in Sefer HaChakirah, 92a; Sefer HaShorashim of the RaDa”K, section on “Avah-אבה”; Also see Ma’amarei Admor HaEmtza’ee, Hanachot 5577, pg. 264. and the Heh-ה [which is additional to the root, represents] the “Five Kindnesses-Heh Chassadim” that spread forth from Chochmah and Binah etc.)

ואותו הרצון עצמו הוא בשכל וטעם לרצון, והוא עצם הרצון בהיותו עדיין למעלה מהשכל וטעם כו'

Now, this desire itself, even as it is in the intellect and reasoning for the desire, still refers [only] to the essence of the desire as it transcends [actual] intellect and reasoning.

ואמנם על פי האותיות נשתנה ונראה בלמעלה מן השכל ובשכל ובמדות כו'

Nevertheless, it is through the letters that it transforms and is seen as transcending the intellect, to [being] within the intellect, to [being] within the emotions.

וכן יש אותיות למדות, שהוא מה שנראה האהבה שברצון במציאת יש כו'

Similarly, there are letters for the emotions as well. This refers to the fact that the love that is within the desire has an apparent tangible existence etc.

עד הרצון שבמחשבה דבור ומעשה, לכולם יש בחינת אותיות, עד אותיות הרצון שבמעשה כשהמעשה עולה ברצונו, שיש לזה אותיות מיוחדים

This continues until the aspects of the desire of thought, speech and action. Each of these has the aspect of letters, all the way to the aspect of the desire for action, that is, when the action arises in his desire. There are specific letters for this.

וכן על דרך זה בשכל שאחר הרצון

This is likewise the case with [actual] intellect that follows the desire.

שאם לא היה השכל במציאת אותיות השכל, שהוא בחינת גלוי השכל במציאת, איך היה השכל בא בשינוי המהות בהתפעלות האהבה הנולד מצד השכל

For if the intellect did not have a [tangible] existence in letters of intellect, which is the aspect of the revelation of the intellect as a [tangible] existence, then how would it be possible for the intellect to come forth with a transformation of being to an [emotional] arousal of love which is born of intellect?

שגם שם הוא אותו השכל שהיה טרם שהוליד האהבה

For, even there [in the emotional arousal] it is the [very] same intellectual [point] that there was before the birth [of the emotion] of love.

רק שנתלבש במהות אהבה כו'

It is only that [now this intellect] vests within the [emotional] existence of love.

אין זה רק על ידי האותיות שבו

This is only possible by means of the letters that are within it.

וכן על דרך זה אותיות דמדות במחשבה

Likewise, it is in this manner that the letters of the emotions [come] into thought.

אם לא היה המדה במציאת יש באותיות, איך מתלבשת במהות מחשבה וכו', וכן אותיות המחשבה בדבור כו'

If the emotion did not have a tangible existence of letters, how could it possibly vest within the existence of thought etc.? The same is true of the letters of thought within speech etc.

ונמצא על ידי האותיות יש בחינת השתלשלות עילה ועלול מעצם הנפש עד סוף מעשה, ושרש האותיות הוא בעצם הנפש ממש

We thus find that it is through the letters that there is an aspect of a chaining down from cause to effect, from the essence of the soul until the end action, and that the source of the letters is literally in the essence of the soul.

ומכל זה יובן בשרש ומחצב האותיות בעצם הנפש, שמתהווים עם עצם אור הנפש כאחד

It is also understood from all the above that in the source from which the letters are hewn, that is, in the essence of the soul, the letters come into being as one with the essential light of the soul.

כמו שמתהווה בחי כח התנועה עמו כו' וכהאי גוונא ודי למבין.

This is similar to how the power of movement [of an animal] comes into existence with it [that is, with the existence of the self of the animal] etc., and the like. This will suffice for the understanding.

והנמשל מכל זה הרי מובן ממילא, דאותיות שבטהירו עילאה שאמר גליף גליפו כו', היינו בחינת אותיות העצמיים דמחשבה ודבור שבעצמות אור אין סוף

Now, the analogue to all this is automatically understood: That is, the letters of the Upper Purity (Tehiru Ila’a), about which it states,¹⁴Zohar I 15a “He engraved an engraving,” refer to the aspect of the essential letters of thought and speech in the Essential Self of the limitless light of the Unlimited One (Ein Sof), HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He.

כמו על דרך משל אותיות הקבועים בעצם הנפש דיחידה כו' בג' מדריגות הנזכר לעיל

This is analogous to the letters that are embedded in the essence of the [human] soul, in the Yechidah, on the three above mentioned levels.

ואותיות הללו משתלשלים ממהות למהות, כמו מרצון הפשוט שעלה במחשבה אנא אמלוך שלפני הצמצום, עד גם ברצון ושכל ומדות דאדם קדמון ועתיק יומין ואריך אנפין ואבא ואמא וזעיר אנפין ונוקבה דאצילות

These letters chain down from one state of being to another state of being, such as from the simple desire of “I will rule” which arose in His thought before the Tzimtzum, until even the desire, intellect and emotions of Adam Kadmon, Atik Yomin, Arich Anpin, Abba and Imma, Zeir Anpin and Nukvah of Atzilut.

הכל נמשך ויורד מזה לזה דרך עילה ועלול בשינוי מהות למהות על ידי בחינת האותיות של כל מהות

All this is drawn forth and descends from one to the other in a manner of cause and effect with a transformation from one state of being to another state of being, by means of the aspect of the letters of each of these states of being.

שהוא בחינת גלוי היש שלו במציאת כנזכר לעיל

For, this [matter of the letters] is the aspect of the revelation of the “somethingness” [of that state of being,] giving it tangible existence, as explained above.

עד בחינת סוף מעשה דמלכות דאצילות, שהוא בחינת אותיות דמעשה דמלכות דאצילות, עד מלכות דמלכות דעשיה, שרש התהוות העולם השפל שלנו (כמו שיתבאר בסוף הקונטרס)

[This continues] until the aspect of the “end action” of Malchut of Atzilut, which is the aspect of the letters of action of Malchut of Atzilut, and continues [all the way] to Malchut of Malchut of Asiyah, [which is] the root of the existence of our lowly world (as will be explained at the end of this treatise).

שנכלל הכל במה שכתוב כל אשר חפץ יהו״ה בעצמותו ממש, עשה בפועל ממש, ודי למבין:

This is all included in the verse,¹⁵Psalms 135:6 “[Everything that HaShem-יהו״ה desired, He has done.” That is,] “Everything that HaShem-יהו״ה desired” within His Essential Self, “He has done” in actuality. This will suffice for those of understanding.