Chasidut sur L’Exode 34:8

For, the essence of tefillin is the flashing of the brains in the face, which is the aspect of Light of the Face, which is drawn from the aspect of Tiqunei Diqna Qadisha/Repair or Features of the Holy Beard, which is the essence of Dignity of the Face, as is known, which is the aspect of the aforementioned Elder in Holiness, as mentioned. And the Tiqunei Diqna are the aspect of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, the essence of which are the aspect of subjugating anger and sweetening harsh decrees and the Charon Af/Burning Nose (Anger), which is the aspect of Erekh Apayim/Extending Nose (Patience), which is the main thing, and therefore Chazal said (Sanh. 111) regarding the verse “Waymaher Moshe wayqod artzah/And Moshe made haste and bowed his head toward the earth” etc. [Ex. 34:8]: What did he see? He saw Erekh Apayim. For, the essence of the Thirteen Attributes are the Thirteen Tiqunei Diqna which H"Y [Hashem Yithbarakh] revealed to him then, the essence of which is Erekh Apayim, which is the aspect of subjugating the Panim/Interior (Face), and therefore Moshe became excited by this specifically, as also explained regarding the loftiness of Erekh Apayim in the words of Rabbeinu z"l (LM #155, see there), in the lesson that begins, “Sadness is a very worst trait” etc., see there the entire interest until the end, for it is a wondrous path in serving the Creator, and if you gaze and look thoroughly there, you can get very wondrous advices and great encouragement, endlessly, for His blessed service. And the rule is that a man needs to cling to Hashem Yithbarakh's attributes, as explained in the words of our Rabbis and in all the holy books. Therefore one most see to it that he should have the trait of Erekh Apayim, that is, extending his patience for everything, not getting angry, not being annoyed at anything, not looking at any obstacle or confusion in his devotions, whether they be confusions, obstacles and trials that he has from people of the world, such as his father, father-in-law, wife, relatives or the rest of mankind. As is known and seen tangibly, that every time some person wants to enter the service of Hashem, to begin praying with intent etc. and so forth, immediately he has great obstacles, without end, and then every one needs to “be bold as a tiger... and strong like a lion to perform the will of his Heavenly Father, to prevail against the obstacles and get through them, to not look at them at all, and to fortify himself a great deal to his part, to delve in Torah and prayer with intent and power etc. And this is the aspect of Arikhath Apayim, to not be short spirited, God forbid, to stop his devotion, God forbid, due to the obstacles and trials he has from them, but only strengthen himself and extend his patience for everything, and not gaze at any obstacle at all. And likewise, even the obstacles he has from himself, his evil and strange cravings and thoughts pursuing him constantly every moment, especially during prayer time, and he has great trials from them. And the main thing is the Erekh Apayim, which is the aspect of Emunah, as explained there, that the essence of Erekh Apayim one attains through Emunah, that is, having perfect Emunah in Hashem Yithbarakh and the True Kosher Tzaddiqim, and to strengthen himself in His service and not fall from anything, and to be indifferent, and not become short tempered on account of the evil deeds and faults that he has committed until now. For, one needs to not look at this at all, as explained in the words of Rabbeinu z"l and in our words many, many times regarding this, just how much a man needs to be strong. For, there is no despair at all in the world, and however it is, even though he has already fallen such a descent in himself many times, without bound, nevertheless there is no despairing at all in the world, and all the days he is alive on the face of the earth he needs to strengthen himself and each time begin new, and not fall into oldness of the Sitra Achra at all. For, all the descents in the world are the aspect of oldness of the Sitra Achra, as it seems in his eyes that he is already old in his mistakes and deeds that he is accustomed in, such that he cannot get out of them in any fashion, God forbid. But in truth, he needs to know and believe that every day, moment, and time, the power is in a man's hand to be new and be an actual new creation, for Hashem Yithbarakh is “doing new things” at all times, and no day or hours is like another etc. as mentioned. Therefore one needs to every time strengthen himself and begin every day anew, and sometimes even in one day one needs to begin many times, as explained elsewhere. And even if it will be that way for a long time, however it may be, every time and every hour he needs to remind himself of Hashem Yithbarakh and completely forget all the past until now, and really begin now from new, as much as he can, and not look at any confusion or weakness of mind at all. And all this is the aspect of Erekh Apayim, that one needs to extend his spirit and pass over the confusions and obstacles and not look at anything and let nothing affect him and not let his heart grow soft and not let his tempter get short from anything that happens to him, but only strengthen himself in Hashem Yithbarakh in whatever he can. For Hashem Yithbarakh is always full of compassion, and the mercies of Hashem are not finished and his compassion is never ceased. And we have already spoken about this many times — but such a matter needs to be repeated many times, without bound, for “it is your life,” for the majority of the world being far from Hashem Yithbarakh and losing what they lose, true everlasting life, is virtually all only on account of weakness of mind, being downcast, on account that most of them have experienced many times that they began a little in serving Hashem and then fell into what they fell, each person according to his fall, the Merciful One save us; and thereby they became discouraged from beginning again. And some of them once or a few times became somewhat aroused and began anew, but then when they saw that nevertheless fell afterwards, they became discouraged, since they saw themselves trying so much to get into serving Hashem and then falling in what they fell, the Merciful one save us, thus it seemed to them that their strength is exhausted to now begin any more. But really all this is the work of the Ba`al Davar himself, who is the aspect of the elder of the Sitra Achra, for he is called the “old and foolish king” [Eccl. 4], as he wants to cast a man down into oldness and exhaustion, God forbid, as if he already so aged in his mistakes and deeds that he can no longer change. And really it is not so, for every day a man is a new creature, just as we say the benediction every day over Netilath Yadayim and the rest of the benedictions, “Who has not made me a heathen.. a slave.. a woman” etc., where the codifiers have written the reason being because a man is made like a new creature every day, as explained in the Shulchan `Arukh. And similarly the benediction, “Who gives strength to the weary” we say over renewal of the brains and vitality every day, as brought in the Kawanoth. And therefore a man needs to be very careful to not fall into this oldness of the Sitra Achra, but only be strong and renewed all the time, as mentioned. And let it seem in his eyes every day and every hour that he is born today, and as if today he receives the Torah anew, as our Rabbis z"l have said, “every day let them be like new in your eyes,” as mentioned, which all of this is the aspect of Erekh Apayim, as he extends his patience for every thing, obstacle, and confusion in the world, and passes over everything, and strengthens himself each time in His service etc. as mentioned. And this trait of Erekh Apayim is the essence of the aspect of Tiqunei Diqna, which is the aspect of the Zaqen/Elder in holiness, who is truly old, for he truly lives long life, for every time he begins living anew. And precisely this is the aspect of holy elderliness, the aspect of long life, for when one falls in oldness of the Sitra Achra, that is, when his devotion becomes old for him, and all the more so when he falls from his devotions, God forbid, since it seems that he is so old in his mistakes that he can no longer go back, God forbid. Such “elderliness,” God forbid, is the essence of shortness of days, as mentioned in Rabbeinu z"l's words, that “elders” like this who do not add vitality and additional service all the time, are called “short of days and full of trouble” etc. (Job 14). (See the Torah “Uv'yom haBiqurim,” LM II #4).