Chasidut zu Tehillim 84:78

2. And when da'at disappears, as seen above - in other words, no one knows, G-d forbid - that everything {in the world} runs only on the providence of Hashem Yisbarach, and {they} believe that things take their natural course, G-d forbid, this is the aspect of sleep, which is the absence of da'at, the aspect of night and darkness. The essence of the light of day is the aspect of da'at, as shown. In other words, light is only {from} Hashen Yisbarach, so to speak, in the aspect of (Psalms 27:1) "The Lord is my light and my salvation", corresponding to (Psalms 118:27) "The Lord is G-d, and He gave us light". This is the essence of the sun's light, the aspect of (Psalms 84:12) "For a sun and a shield is the Lord G-d". In other words, when one knows that Hashem Yisbarach rules the world only with providence, this is the essence of light. For the essence of light, in every place where light is found, like the light of the sun and similar {places}, is only the Light of Hashem Yisbarach, so to speak, that illuminates us, as explained above. When we fall, G-d forbid, from this knowledge and we attribute things to nature, G-d forbid, this is the aspect of the absence of light. Then it corresponds to night and darkness, G-d forbid. And this is the aspect of (Isaiah 13:10) "the sun has become dark in its going forth", etc., the aspect of (Joel 2:10) "the sun and moon darken", etc. and other similar verses like these. All of them were said regarding the time of the exile; in other words, because in exile it seems like the light of the sun has darkened because the exile is similar to night, as explained by Rashi. In other words, in the time of the exile, which is evoked only because we attributed things to nature, G-d forbid. Then 'the sun has become dark in its going forth' because immediately when we relied on nature, G-d forbid, then the light escaped from the sun, as if the sun actually darkened. For in reality, the sun has no light at all except from Hashem Yisbarach, as explained above. Therefore the exile resembles night and darkness. For the essence of the exile is only because we attribute things to nature, G-d forbid. The it is the aspect of night and darkness, the disappearance of the light, as explained above. This corresponds to sleep, the disappearance of da'at to know that everything is divine providence, which is the essence of the light, etc., as explained above. Therefore, at the time of sleep, the forces of evil descend upon a person, and the essence is on the hands, as is written in the Holy Zohar (Vayeshev 184b). For the essence of the Other Side is the aspect of the gentiles as is known, who draw nourishment only from the aspect of heresies, which is the essence of the Evil Inclination, which is called 'going after atheism', as is brought; in other words, they attribute {everything} to nature, as explained above. Then the aspect of the gentiles increases, the aspect of power of the exile which resembles night and sleep and which they absorbed from the aspect of the strengthening of nature, as explained above. This is the aspect of the spirit of impurity which rests upon a person {at night}. Therefore, the essence of the rectification of sleep in holiness is through faith, as is brought in the words of Rabbeinu, z"l (Likutei Moharan 35). In other words, when da'at disappears, corresponding to sleep, when man sees that his knowledge is confused and is not perfect, and he is not able to ascertain and to understand that everything is by divine providence from Hashem Yisbarach alone, as it is now in exile amidst the gentiles who resemble night and darkness, and when the knowledge of natural science has increased, G-d forbid - then it is incumbent upon every Jew to cast out and to remove his knowledge completely and to strengthen himself in faith alone, to believe with perfect faith that everything is only through divine providence alone and there is no nature in the world at all. This is the aspect of rectifying sleep through faith. In other words, at the time of sleep, as explained above one must enter into the midst of the aspect of faith, to rely on faith alone after his da'at has fled, just as now in the exile. We must always strengthen ourselves in faith alone, since now we have not elevated da'at perfectly to know that everything is done with divine providence. Therefore, one must clear his mind and rely only on faith alone, in the aspect of (Psalms 92:3) "and Your faith at night". And since at night, at the time of sleep, the disappearance of knowledge strengthens the knowledge of natural science, G-d forbid, which is the aspect of darkness, as explained above, in the aspect of (Genesis 15:12) "and a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and behold, a fright, a great darkness...", etc. This is demonstrated by the power of the exile. In other words, at the time of sleep, and deep sleep, the disappearance of da'at strengthens the power of the exile, from which they nourished, in the aspect of the strengthening of natural science, as explained above. And this is why a spirit of impurity rests upon a person at the time of sleep, as explained above. Therefore, as soon as one awakens from sleep one must wash his hands with water, because the spirit of impurity rests mainly upon the hands, as it is written in the Holy Zohar. For the hands corresponds to heaven, שָׁמַיִם - fire and water, אֵשׁ וּמַיִם, on the right side and left side, corresponding to (Deuteronomy 32:40) "For I raise up My hand to heaven" as is brought in the words of Rabbeinu in another place (Likutei Moharan 56). This is the aspect of the grasp of the Other Side, the aspect of natural science, the aspect of hands, for they attribute causes to the arrangement of constellations, which corresponds to 'hands'. Therefore the essence of the strengthening of the Other Side is at the time of sleep, which corresponds to nature and is with the hands specifically, as explained above. Because the hands have 28 phalanges which correspond to the 28 letters of the act of creation, through which the heavens and the earth were created, in the aspect of (Isaiah 48:13) "Even My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand measured the heavens". And therefore the main way to subdue the forces of evil, represented by the gentiles of the world, the aspect of natural science through which they are strengthened, as explained above, the aspect of their submission is only through the hands of holiness, when one merits to elevate them to da'at. And this is the aspect of (Exodus 17:11) "It came to pass that when Moses would raise his hand, Israel would prevail, and when he would lay down his hand, Amalek would prevail", etc. which was said regarding the war with Amalek. Because Amalek is in general all of the gentiles and the other side, in the aspect of “Amalek was the first of the nations“ (Numbers 24: 20). And Amalek was the essence of atheism and completely attributed everything to nature, G-d forbid. They would discern the hours based on their astrology as is brought in the explanation of Rashi and as shown in the words of Rabbeinu z"l. Therefore, the essence of their subjugation is through the raising of the hands. The raising of the hands, the 28 phalanges that are in the hands, to the head, in the aspect of (Psalms 134:2) "Lift your hands in the holy place". In other words, when the hands, with their 28 phalanges, are raised to da'at to know that all is divine providence, because Hashem Yisbarach created everything through the 28 letters of מַעֲשֵֹה בְרֵאשִׁית, which are the aspect of the 28 phalanges, as explained above. And then they are elevated - the aspect of heaven, because they are also the aspect of the hands, as explained above - to their root which is in knowledge, in the aspect of the 28 letters, as seen above. Because everything was created by G-d with the 28 letters and He gives life and established the heavens and all of their hosts and the land etc. through His divine providence alone and there is absolutely no nature or influence of the arrangements of the constellations at all. And then Amalek and the Other Side are subdued, as seen above. And this is the aspect of (Exodus 17:12) "so he was with his hands in faith until sunset". The essence of the subjugation of Amalek is through faith in divine providence which is drawn down through raising the hands, as explained above. Therefore at the time of sleep da'at disappears, for then nature is strengthened, G-d forbid. This is the root of the Other Side that is on a person. Therefore the essence of its grasp is with the hands, as seen above. Then, immediately after one wakes from sleep one must wash his hands with water with corresponds to the waters of da'at, the waters of Chesed/Loving-kindness, the aspect of (Isaiah 11:9) "for the land shall be full of knowledge of the Lord as water covers the sea bed". In other words, through the washing one brings down the purifying waters of the waters of knowledge, in the aspect of "The whole world will know that then the world is filled with knowledge like water covers the sea bed". Then everyone will know that everything is only through divine providence alone, for {the concept of} nature will be nullified completely. And even now, at any time when one needs salvation and purification, to be saved from the midst of the Other Side, which is nourished from the aspect of the knowledge of nature, one draws down divine providence from the ends of the earth, as explained above in the lesson, as seem above. This corresponds to the water of washing the hands, which draws down the waters of knowledge from the ends of the earth, in the aspect of 'The whole world will know that then the world is filled with knowledge', etc. This is the aspect of Mikveh, which corresponds to the World of the Future (because Mikveh, מִקְוֶה, in Gematria is 151, corresponding to Binah, the World of the Future, as is brought). This corresponds to (Jeremiah 14:8) "O hope, ,מִקְוֶה of Israel, his Savior at time of trouble". Because all of the troubles and tribulations are only due to the lack of knowledge, in the aspect of the knowledge of nature, as explained above. In other words, they do not know, G-d forbid, that everything is divine providence, etc. This is the essence of the impurity, as seen above. Therefore the salvation from the trouble and the purification from the impurity is through Mikveh, which is the aspect of 'the World of the Future', the aspect of the waters of wisdom, the aspect of 'for the land shall be full of knowledge of the Lord as water', etc. Through entering the mikveh and occluding the eyes it blocks out the world and one ignores {the world} and covers himself there in the waters of the mikveh, which is the aspect of the waters of knowledge, the aspect of 'the Future World'. Through this one is included within the aspect of da'at, in the aspect of providence for he covers his eyes to the world which strengthens the errors of the wisdom of nature, from whence comes all trouble and impurities. Through this the eyes are damaged, whose root and vitality are from the aspect of the Eyes of G-d, which are the aspect of divine providence, as is understood in the lesson above. And when one falls from da'at and believes that there is nature, G-d forbid, this is the aspect of the damaging of the eyes and from this come all the troubles, etc., as seen above. Therefore one must cover his eyes completely from what goes on in this world and to lose himself and be included in the waters of the mikveh, which is the aspect of the knowledge of the World of the Future. For then the divine providence will be revealed and nature will disappear completely. And through this divine providence will be drawn down from the ends of the earth, in the aspect of mikveh. And through this salvation will come to him, for everything that he needs, the aspect of 'Hashem is the hope of Israel, his Savior in times of trouble', etc. This is the aspect of the washing of the hands in the morning, which draws down purified water which comes from the aspect of mikveh. Through this he purifies his hands, which are the aspect of the 28 phalanges, the aspect of the 28 letters of the act of creation. The essence of the defect of the aspect of the knowledge of nature, which is strengthened through sleep at night, and darkness afflicts them specifically, as seen above. For through the knowledge of nature the 28 letters are flawed, as seen above, and one associates with the order of the universe, G-d forbid, as seen above. This is the aspect of impurity which takes hold in the hands specifically at the time when da'at flees; in other words, at the time of sleep, as seen above. Therefore, we purify them through the waters of knowledge drawn down from the aspect of 'the World of the Future', etc., as explained above.

[Regarding] the statement in the Holy Zohar, “Come to Pharaoh (Ex. 10:1) – it should have said ‘go to Pharaoh!’” (cf. Zohar Bo, 2:34a), as well as the question posed by the commentators, which I wrote above – the miracle of the Exodus from Egypt was that the Awareness was in exile with wicked Pharaoh in Egypt; and therefore Israel was exiled there to bring the Awareness from there. And the difficulty of the servitude made it whole, as is stated in Tikkunei Zohar: “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve… in mortar [be-homer] (Ex. 1:13-14), that is [the logical argument of] ‘…and certainly…’ [kal ve-homer]; and in brick [oo-vil’venim] (Ex. 1:14), that is the heating [libbun] of halakhah; and in all manner of service in the field (Ex. 1:14), that is the external sources; in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor [b’farekh] (Ex. 1:14), that is argumentation [pirkha]” (Tikkun 9, Supplement 147a), which is to say that all of this was in exile in Egypt. And through their servitude they took the Awareness, which is the Torah, out of the exile. When they served in mortar they brought [the logical argument of] “…and certainly…” out of the exile, and so on for all the other servitudes as we have stated. And therefore when Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him, said, Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me [ – How then shall Pharaoh listen to me] (Ex. 6:12), and Rashi explained, “This is one of ten ‘…and certainly…’ [arguments] in the Torah,” that is to say that when [Moses] said this “…and certainly…” [argument] he brought the “…and certainly…” [argument] in the Torah out of the exile. For the all of the Torah was in the Egyptian exile, since the Awareness was in exile; and the Awareness is the Torah. Now, the Torah begins with [the letter] bet, In the beginning [God] created etc. (Gen. 1:1); but why didn’t the Torah begin with aleph, which is the first of all the letters? Because [if that were the case] the world would not be able to exist for even one hour, and would be nullified from existence because of the letter aleph’s great brightness, since it alludes to the Champion [aluf] of the World, who is Blessed God in [God’s] Glory and [God’s] Essence, as if it were possible. But because the LORD God is a sun and shield (Psalm 84:12) – which is to say just like one can not look at the sun because of its great brightness, only by way of a shade or a shield can one look at the sun’s light – so too, as if it were possible, with a thousand thousands of thousands of distinctions without end or boundary, would it be impossible to exist because of the letter aleph’s great brightness, since it is the Champion of the World. Only by way of a shade or a shield, which is the letter bet – [only] through it does it become possible to constrain the letter aleph so that it can also be in the Torah. For after the letter bet in bereshit we find several alephs, in the word bereshit and in the words bara elohim, once it was constrained by the letter bet. And that is [the meaning of] Come [בא] to Pharaoh, which is to say through the bet the aleph will be in the Torah. And since now the Torah is in exile, therefore I have hardened his heart and [the heart of his servants] (Ex. 10:1) so that Israel will serve in mortar and in brick (Ex. 1:14) to bring the Torah out of exile. And as is stated in Tikkunei Zohar, “… in mortar [be-homer] (Ex. 1:13-14), that is [the logical argument of] ‘…and certainly…’ [kal ve-homer],” as we said above – through this they brought [the argument of] “…and certainly…” out of the exile, and so on for the other servitudes. And that is [the meaning of] that I may show these signs [otot] of mine among them (Ex. 10:1), that the letters [otiot], which belong to the Torah, must be taken out of exile. And the verse concludes, that you may tell … how I have toyed (Ex. 10:2), which is to say that I made Myself small since the Awareness was in smallness. And now you may know (Ex. 10:2), as was stated above.

In Maor vaShemesh, Parshat Shemot, it says that this [sanctification] was acquired by traveling to [be under] the shade⁴⁸⁷See Psalms 84:11. of the rebbe. He says that “the essence of all avodah is to understand that there is a God, Who rules and guides all the worlds with individualized providence, and that there is no place devoid of Him. However, this requires great effort. To truly understand this, one must meditate alone and examine oneself in all matters, to oversee oneself in each and every movement; and one’s heart must be aflame like a burning fire in enthusiasm and yearning for the Creator. Through this he may come to truly know of His divinity. This is the essence of everything...and this is the essence of travel to the rebbe, to stand in the generation’s tzaddik’s shade in order to come through this to know that He is the essence and root of all worlds.”

Rabbi Shimon admits the awesome sanctity of the teachings which preceded him, such as the Sefer Yetzira, the Sefer haMalbush, and the Sefer of Hanokh. Rabbi Shimon was expert in them and quoted them many times in the Zohar. In the Zohar (Pinhas, 217a) Rabbi Shimon mentions the holy covenant called, “Shemesh (sun).” Elsewhere in the Zohar it says (Shemot, 3b), “Sun and shield (from Tehillim, 84:12) is a holy covenant.” So too, the Zohar calls the attribute of Malkhut (Divine Sovereignty), “Tsedek (righteousness).” “‘He met righteousness wherever he set his foot,’ (Yeshayahu, 41:2) this is the lower firmament. (Lech Lcha, 86a)” See also the Zohar, Parshat Nasso (145b), “The word v’Zot (and this) is called righteousness.” In all of these instances, when the Zohar uses these expressions for God, it is doing so only in the context of a homily, or to hint at something. In the early teachings, however, they were expressions for God. Before the giving of the Torah, God’s names were not yet revealed. At this time, God would reveal his name according to the level of the particular generation. This is as it is said (Shemot, Ch. 6), “And I appeared to Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov as ‘E-l Shaddai (the Almighty).’ “ This is because the appearance of Avraham in the world heralded in what our sages call, “the two thousand years of Torah.” Truly, there are many discourses in the Tikkunei Zohar on why God is called, “Shamayim (Heavens),” and it is learned from this very verse, “And I appeared.” Yet in these discourses, no active Godly force is ascribed to the name, “Shamayim.” Notwithstanding, we know that God’s name is hidden in every force. Yet for something to be called a name of God, meaning a name which expresses the force of God, the light must be totally revealed and seen clearly as separate from any created force. That is to say, God’s name represents a direct expression flowing from God’s essence. Anything that hides God’s light, and could be considered as a separate force cannot be termed as a Godly force or a name of God.⁷⁹This chapter is essentially clarifying the difference between Monotheism and idolatry. Idolary is defined as identifying any created force as the source of power or object of veneration. The author taking great care in this passage as a misunderstanding of verses like, “Your God is a sun and a shield,” could be problematic if not properly understood. This is why the Talmud only mentions the term, “Shamayim,” referring to God in a context where it does not want, for some reason, to mention God’s name directly. When the Talmud discusses the transgression of mentioning God’s name in vain, or for no good reason, it calls it, “mentioning the name of Heaven (Shamayim) in vain.” Here the Talmud does not say God’s name out of respect. From this, it is well for one to admonish those who are accustomed to saying, “Heaven help me.” In a situation where one is simply mentioning God, it is fitting to say, “Heaven.” Yet it is forbidden to call God, “the Heavens,” in a context where one is evoking God’s force of power and influence, because the Heavens are not Godly. One could instead say, “may He be merciful from the Heavens.” “From the Heavens,” is referring to God who dwells in the Heavens, and not to the Heavens themselves. It seems that there is an error in understanding the above mentioned Zohar where Rabbi Yehuda says that the Holy One, blessed be He, is called, “The Heavens.” Yet it must be clear that when Rabbi Shimon concludes, “we are not following these early teachings, we are following the way of the Torah,” he was correcting the statement of Rabbi Yehuda.

Genesis 31,13. “I am the G’d of Betel to Whom you have ‎vowed, etc.” The spelling of the word ‎ביתאל‎ both here and in ‎‎35,1 suggests that a house may serve more than one function. It ‎may serve a person to dwell in, just as clothing serves the body as ‎a “house” to surround him with a feeling of security and ‎familiarity. When you see the clothes a person wears, this serves ‎as a preparation to making the acquaintance of the personality ‎behind these clothes. When you see the house a person lives in, ‎you get an initial impression of what kind of a person lives in ‎such a house.
‎When a person prepares to “meet” his Creator, in prayer, etc., ‎he also has to prepare himself for what to expect, by performing ‎certain commandments that serve his soul, much as his clothing ‎serves his body. One of the most appropriate “introductions” ‎prior to addressing G’d is to do so in a house designated for this ‎purpose, i.e. a synagogue. The type of “preparations” used, ‎depend on the importance of the “interview” one expects to have ‎with one’s Creator. Issues involving life and death, obviously ‎deserve a more careful preparation.‎
In psalms 84,2 and 84,3 respectively, the authors (sons of ‎Korach) describe their yearning for entering either the dwellings ‎of G’d on earth, or at least to be allowed to enter the courtyards ‎of these dwellings. They speak of both their body (flesh) and their ‎‎“heart,” (spirit) yearning for this. They hope that admission to ‎these sites will enable them to shout for joy to the living G’d. ‎Their yearnings reflect the fact that they are in exile, and they ‎pray that they not be treated worse than birds that always can ‎return to their nest. They are aware that in order to really come ‎close to G’d, they must first make the appropriate preparations, ‎i.e. build a Temple with the courtyards surrounding it. The ‎psalmist clearly suggests, at the end of verse 3, that only after ‎these preparations have been made can his heart and body rejoice ‎having come closer to His Creator. He can then approach G’d ‎being certain that he, on his part, has made the appropriate ‎preparations.‎
Our author sees in the word ‎נכספה‎ at the beginning of verse 3 ‎an additional spiritual plus of the psalmist, as he made plain that ‎he had made the necessary preparations that would entitle him to ‎have the desired “interview” with Hashem, but he ‎emphasizes, that contrary to performing such a commandment ‎as putting on phylacteries, an act that does not involve ‎pleasurable sensations of his body, what he did when building a ‎courtyard and temple for G’d involved him emotionally on the ‎highest level. He was literally yearning for the spiritual ‎experience no less than the body on occasion yearns for satiating ‎physical urges.‎
On folio 40 in Kidushin 40, where the Talmud deals with ‎the relative moral/ethical value of appropriate intentions when ‎compared to performance, but not necessarily with appropriate ‎intentions, we are told that if someone planned sincerely to ‎perform a certain commandment but was prevented from ‎carrying out his intention by forces beyond his control, he is ‎credited with having performed the commandment. In ‎emphasizing the value of a constructive attitude, the Talmud ‎adds that planning to commit a transgression, and carrying it ‎out, brings in its wake a penalty only for the execution, not for ‎the planning that preceded carrying out the foul deed. ‎‎[The planning of idolatry is the only exception to this ‎rule. ibid. Ed.]‎
This is also the meaning of Deuteronomy 6,6: ‎והיו הדברים האלה ‏אשר אני מצוך היום על לבבך‎, “these matters that I command you this ‎day shall be on your heart.” Even commandments that are not ‎capable of being fulfilled in exile should remain part of our ‎constant consciousness through discussion between father and ‎son, pupil and teacher, so that we are not deprived of receiving a ‎reward for them as if we had actually performed them. The desire ‎to be able to perform the respective commandments in reality is ‎the principal criterion used by G’d to judge our mitzvah ‎performance. Even King David in Chronicles I 22,14 already ‎referred to this when he said (concerning his desire to build a ‎Temple) ‎והנה בעניי הכינותי לבית ה' זהב ככרים מאה אלף כסף וגו'‏‎, “and ‎here through denying myself, I have set aside for the house of the ‎Lord one hundred thousands talents of gold, and one million ‎talents of silver, etc;” what David meant was that the ‎commandment of charity cannot only be fulfilled by the actual ‎handing out of sums of money, but can also be carried out by ‎preparing such monies to be ready when the need arises. David ‎adds that even while he was not able to hand out sums that were ‎needed because he was temporarily short of even bare essentials ‎for himself, i.e. ‎בעניי‎, his sincere desire to be of help would be ‎accounted for him as if he had actually carried out his desire, as ‎we know from psalms 119,106 ‎נשבעתי ואקימה לשמור משפטי צדקך‎, “I ‎have sworn to keep Your just rules.” [As soon as the ‎opportunity will arise. Ed.] Yaakov had similar thoughts ‎when he vowed that if G’d would be with him and grant him even ‎minimal comforts he would turn what is now merely a stone into ‎a building designed to serve G’d. G’d reminds him (31,13) of this ‎vow by describing Himself as ‎אנכי הא-ל ביתאל‎, saying that His ‎presence will not only be with him in his heart, but that he can ‎now carry out his desire to convert the stone he had anointed ‎into a house of G’d.‎

The speech of a Jew comes from the upper world of Speech, which gives life to the world. So too, the thought of a Jew is from the upper world of Thought, a world that derives the letters that become speech through the divine attributes of Chesed, Din and Rachamim - Kindness, Judgement and Mercy. Because the world we inhabit has space and limitations, it can only receive through the channel of these attributes. It is like the sun, which can not be looked at directly on account of the intensity of its brightness, yet you can look at the light that comes from it, and enjoy and benefit from it because of its diminished intensity. Were it at the intensity of the sun itself, you would not be able to comprehend it at all. This is the meaning of (Psalms 84:12) "For God is sun and shield."