Hassidout sur Les Psaumes 102:10

And for that reason the composition of the halakhot and the novelties are called “masekhet” (lit. tractate), as this is the behina of “v’Shikuvai b’v’Khi masakhti,” “and mixed (masakh) my drink with tears” (Psalms 102:10); that one must blend the drink with crying, because one must cry beforehand, as stated.

And this is the behina of: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, sat and wept” (Psalms 137:1)—this is the behina of the Babylonian Talmud, that was composed at the yeshivot (seminaries/houses of study), from which rivers are made, as stated. And hence: “and wept” — because one must cry beforehand, in the behina of: “and mixed (masakh) my drink with tears” (Psalms 102:10), as stated.

4. When some new Torah book is printed, the crying through which the book was created -- in the aspect of "and my drink I mixed (“musachti” -- close to “meseches” meaning tractate) with tears”, this crying braces up against the decrees of the nations, that they should not overpower us. Furthermore, the main power of their sovereignty is only from the crying of Eisov. A sign of this (Hosea 2:1): "And the number of the children of Israel will be as the sand of the sea." (The acronym of the words of this passage spell "crying" in Hebrew, and the Hebrew word for “number” can also be interpreted as “from the book”. This is further explained in Likutay Moharan (30), just like the sand of the sea banks the ocean from wiping out the world, so too the tears cried when compiling a book protect the children of Israel from the decrees of the nations)(t.n. Also see Likutay Moharan Torah 262).