Chasidut su Isaia 11:78

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.

The prophet Isaiah says about the messiah (Isaiah 11:4) “He shall strike down a land with the rod of his mouth, and slay the wicked with the breath of his lips.” He will not utter mere words, but rather will fill the whole world with holiness and purity; divine light will flow through the spirit of his lips, all evil will be destroyed and all sinners will return from their sins and be purified before God.

And therefore, when we are waking from sleep, we must wash our hands with water. Water represents knowledge, as in, "the earth will be filled with knowledge as the waters cover the sea bed". Isaiah 11:9. We must evoke the waters of knowledge to evoke order and banish impurity, which is attached to disorder, which has become attached to the hands. The entire power of the forces of evil is only from disorder, when a person is not receiving perfect sustenance from order. This is represented by the darkness of night, by sleep, when the body, which corresponds to night, remains without sustenance from the intellect, which corresponds to day. During this time, the forces of evil are sustained from there, from disorder, become attached specifically to the hands. This is because the above rectification of binding and bridging disorder into order is represented by the Yud, which corresponds to the Kaf, which represents the hands, as in, 'you formed me backward and forward and placed your hand upon me', as brought on the verse "Open your hand". The entire world compared to G-d is in the category of disorder. G-d is exalted beyond all spiritual worlds, and all the worlds are in disorder before Him, since all the worlds are guided by Malchut as explained in the lesson as mentioned above, and the Malchut corresponds to disorder, and said above. This corresponds to "the world was created in the month of Tishri". Rosh Hashanah 27b. Tishri represents tav-shin-resh-kuf, disorder, Malchut. The world was created mainly so that we come to know G-d Zohar II 42B, so that we acquire perfect knowledge, which is knowing G-d. That is the true essence of knowledge, and only that is considered knowledge, as written, "you shall know today and restore to your heart that G-d is the Lord". Deuteronomy 4:39. The main purpose of creation was to bring disorder into order, to elevate all worlds to their root, so that disorder, representing the totality of all worlds, will become brought into order, which is knowledge, specifically the knowledge of G-d. That is the main purpose and what will remain at the very end. Everything else will become nullified into it. But how does one achieve this, binding and elevating all worlds corresponding to disorder, to the roots, into order, which is wisdom and knowledge? This is only possible in this world of action, by means of observing the practical commandments of the Torah. The Torah, as a whole, is held in the hands, which are the tools of action, as in "today to do them". Deuteronomy 7:11. This is alluded in "the two tablets of the covenant are in my two hands". Deuteronomy 9:15. Torah, represented by the two tablets of the covenant, is held within the two hands, which represent the tools of action, for the hands place all things where they are needed. This is true regarding the world as a whole: by means of the hands, the tools of action corresponding to the totality of the Torah, we take all the worlds, corresponding to disorder, elevating them and bringing them to G-d, so that they are absorbed within their root in order. This is why the Zohar tells of Rabbi Eliezer who lifted his two hands as he was about to die and said "woe that two Torahs are about to disappear from the world". Zohar I 99a. The two hands represent the totality of the Torah, represented by the written Torah and the oral Torah, which is why holiness is evoked mainly through the sanctity of the hands. This is represented by the washing of the hands in the morning. When we sleep, the life sustenance disappears and the forces of evil that are attached to disorder become attached specifically to the hands, for they are always seeking to be nourished from holiness. And since holiness – bringing all worlds to the root, bringing disorder into order - is by means of the hands, the main attachment of the forces of evil that always seek division and to separate disorder from order is specifically to the hands, the main site of sanctity. The hands are the main tools by means of which we are able to bind and elevate disorder into order, and therefore, they are also the main place where the forces of evil are attached. That is why we must wash our hands with water immediately upon awakening, to evoke the waters of knowledge and evoke order, so that the forces of evil attached to disorder will be banished. This is what our Sages said, "the evil spirit that rests on the hands as a princess and is particular not to leave unless the hands are washed properly". Shabbat 109a. This force of evil is rightly called a princess, for it is attached to a blemish of the Malchut caused by separating Malchut and saying 'I shall rule', which causes everything to be disordered, which is the source of judgments and evil forces. That is why it is called a princess.

It is written in the Zohar (Idra Rabbah, 128b): And the appearance of the dew³²⁶A kabbalistic concept of the energy descending from the higher spiritual spaces. is white, like the white appearance of crystal in which all the colors of the spectrum are seen. The Zohar does not say here that it includes all colors, but that all colors are seen within it. That occurs by means of the veil of separation. For example, when light is pass through a filter, then the form of the filter will determine man’s perception of the light that he sees. If a different filter is moved before the light, the form seen will change in accordance with the color of the new filter. The different appearance only depends on the differences in the veil of separation, yet at the source of the light, there is no change whatsoever. The light is exactly the same. It is further written in the Zohar (Bereshit, 52a): The ocean³²⁷Again, this is a kabbalistic notion of the source of all emanating from the Infinite. is one. It is the supernal ocean which contains all of the seven days. These seven supernal lights enter into the ocean, striking it, and producing seven sides. Each side divides into seven streams, as it is written (Yeshayahu, 11), “and it struck it, forming seven streams.” Meaning, from the perspective of the ocean, all of the divisions are really one, and only from the division of the streams do we perceive a division in the resulting lights. This passage in the Zohar continues: They emerged from the supernal unity. Just as the ocean receives, so does are the waters divided into these days and lights. All of man’s perceptions and understanding are lower³²⁸That is, lower, in the unfolding sequence of worlds. than the division of attributes. Therefore, our understanding is only according to what was allocated from above, as previously explained. So the logical notion that there is neither form without matter nor matter without form is merely a created understanding. Yet above, before the division, whether in time, or in terms of cause and effect, the form is abstract. The division, which is below, receives from the form which is undivided wisdom. It is within the division resulting from the veil that form is changed from a total abstraction to one dressed in garments.³²⁹That is, human understanding, which “clothes” and conceals the divine realm of Hokhmah, thus perceiving it in its own, relative terms.

This corresponds to the immersing of vessels: a vessel that is purchased from a non-Jew must be immersed in the ritual bath so that a Jew will be able to eat with it. (Yoreh Deah 120:1). When a vessel is in the possession of a non-Jew, who corresponds to nature, to the essence of impurity, the vessel cannot leave it to enter into the possession of a Jew, into holiness, other than by immersion in a ritual bath, corresponding to providence, to knowledge, as in (Isaiah 11:9) "for the earth will be filled with knowledge as the sea". This is because the food of a Jew must be very holy, and food is sanctified mainly by knowledge, which is a revelation of providence. This corresponds to eating matzo on Passover, because we reveal providence specifically by eating matzo. Adam caused a blemish when he ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which corresponds to natural sciences, which are comprised of good and evil. This knowledge is of the realm of evil, a blemish of holy knowledge. This blemish was caused mainly by eating, for the main rectification of eating is specifically through faith, as in "remain faithful" (Psalms 37:3) as mentioned elsewhere. LM I 62. When a person does not eat with sanctity, knowledge, which corresponds to Providence, is blemished and the person falls into the mistaken belief of natural science, as written, (Deuteronomy 8:12) "lest you eat, be satiated and your heart becomes haughty and you forget G-d your Lord and you say in your heart my power and the might of my hand have accomplished this for me". In other words, the person attributes it to nature, as if his sustenance comes from his own power in the mind of his hand and he does not acknowledge Providence. This is the meaning of 'my power and the might of my hand', a blemish in the hands, in the 28 phalanges of the hands, in the 28 letters of creation. This is the meaning of (Deuteronomy 8:18) "remember G-d your Lord for He gives you power". Indeed, everything is the providence of G-d, who created everything with the 28 letters of creation, who oversees everything at all times, and who gives power, for G-d oversees and sustains the world through the 28 letters of creation. Therefore the Jewish people must greatly sanctify their food and eating. This is represented by many Commandments connected with eating and drinking, for the revelation of providence is mainly dependent upon the sanctity of foods. Thus, 'and be satiated and blessed G-d your Lord over the good land': bless G-d after eating, through knowing that everything is from His providence. And over the good land, for the land of Israel corresponds to Providence, as written (Deuteronomy 11:12) "the eyes of G-d your Lord are always upon it". This corresponds to the eating of the manna, as in (Exodus 16:4), "I will rain down for you bread from heaven", for it came down slowly through Providence each and every day, besides other miracles connected with it. Believing that sustenance comes only from G-d, solely in His providence, without any natural causes at all, for He gives power - this is eating manna, as in, the Torah was only given to those who eat manna. Mekhilta B’Shalach 17:17. Therefore when the Israelites first came near to their Father in heaven during Passover of the Exodus from Egypt, they had to eat matzoh, which represents the mind, knowledge, corresponding to manna for by eating matzoh on Passover great knowledge is evoked and we come to know that everything is only providence. This is the essential closeness of the Jewish people to their Father in heaven. And therefore a vessel that has been in the possession of a non-Jew, who represents the realm of impurity, for they attribute things to nature, which is from where judgments and the forces of evil draw their main power, that vessel is unusable for a Jewish meal unless it has been immersed in a ritual bath. In this way, the vessel leaves the realm of nature and enters the realm of knowledge, of providence, of the world of the future, represented by the ritual bath, as explained above. This corresponds to the purification of vessels (Numbers 31:23) "whatever passes through fire you shall pass through fire, for they emerged from fire and fire will consume them". Since forbidden food, which is impure, has been absorbed into the vessel, corresponding to nature, for all impurities and forbidden things are drawn from heresies, that vessel has no purification other than by fire, which is the source of nature, as said, for they have emerged from fire. But as long as forbidden food has not been absorbed into the vessel but has only left the possession of a non-Jew, thereby also leaving his knowledge, for a person's greatest possession is his knowledge, with which he aquires all of his belongings, as in "if you have acquired knowledge what do you lack"? (Nedarim 41a), therefore when the vessel leaves the possession, the knowledge, of a non-Jew, representing the realm of nature, then immersion in a ritual bath is sufficient. A ritual bath represents the world of the future, from where providence is drawn to break and eliminate the realm of nature, through which we move from impurity to purity, from the possession of a non-Jew to the possession of a Jew, who is above nature.

Another approach to the paragraph commencing with ‎אלה תולדות השמים והארץ‎: Originally, man as ‎G’d’s final act of creation, and therefore the most sophisticated creature in the universe, was ‎perceived as superior to the angels even by the angels themselves. However, this was before man ‎had sinned. Ever since, the angels are viewed as superior to man. When the psalmist in psalms ‎‎148,13 speaks of ‎הודו על ארץ ושמים‎, “His splendour covers earth and heaven,” in that order, he ‎draws attention to the condition of man on this earth as it will be when man has attained his true ‎stature prior to the ultimate redemption. Up until then, due to his sin and consequently residing in ‎an imperfect part of the universe after having been expelled from Gan Eden, he had not ‎yet attained the stature envisaged for him by his Creator. Hence the psalmist, quite realistically, ‎describes G’d’s glory as it is on earth before describing it as it is in the heavens. It is only after the ‎redemption, when the prophet describes the state of man with the words: ‎כי מלאה הארץ דעה את ‏ה‎' , “when the earth will be full of knowledge of the Lord,” (Isaiah 11,9) that the vision of the ‎psalmist will be realized. The word ‎תולדות‎ in the verse under discussion means the same as ‎תכלית‎, ‎objective, purpose. The purpose of the creation of the lower parts of the universe was that on the ‎day when the messiah comes, earth, where G’d wishes to make His permanent home, will rank ‎higher in the hierarchy of the universes than the celestial regions. Once Israel will attain that rank ‎they will have reached the level known as “ayin,” ‎אין‎, a level higher than that of the angels in the ‎heavenly hierarchy. [The author had explained earlier that the level of ‎אין‎, is a state that existed ‎before G’d began with creating anything that contained an element of “substance,” three-‎dimensional matter. Ed.]‎

And now I must give awareness, education, and understanding regarding the matter of the three wells and their names, for the Ancestors looked through their great mind’s eye to the end of all the generations, with the tribulations that would befall them. It is known that during the time that the Temple stood there was an expansion of true awareness, how to draw close to the boundary in order to attach themselves to the aspect of a well of living water, more and more than in a time of exile; and even the Nations of the World would recognize a slight recognition, and would bring sacrifices as is written in the prayer of King Solomon, peace be upon him, And when the foreigner shall come etc. (1 Kings 8:41), and as we find that even just before the Destruction the Caesar sent them a sacrifice, as is known (cf. Gittin 55b-56a). However, even in the time of the Temple the aspect of Good and Evil was still in the world, until on account of Israel’s sins Evil overpowered [Good] and the Temple was destroyed. And therefore the aspect of the well was called Esek. And afterward they dug another well (Gen. 26:21), which is the Second Temple of Ezra’s days, when this awareness again expanded until they knew how to dig to the aspect of “well.” And they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah (Gen. 26:21) on account of the Satan’s accusation, for the power of materiality had overcome the awareness until he moved from there (Gen. 26:22) in the aspect of the passage of time, which is the lengthy exile, and dug another well (Gen. 26:22), which is the coming of our Righteous Messiah, speedily in our days, when there will be no Evil accusation at all as is written, I will remove from the land … the spirit of uncleanness (Zechariah 13:2), for then the world will be entirely Good. So he called its name Rehoboth (Gen. 26:22), for then will be expansion of awareness as the verse says, for the earth shall be full of awareness of the LORD (Isaiah 11:9). And we will merit to attach to the light of Blessed Infinity, to comprehend Blessed [God’s] Nature and to attach to Blessed God with eternal attachment. And that is [the meaning of] what is written after this, From there he went up to Beersheba (Gen. 26:23); for the Shekhinah is called “Beersheba,” we will merit to be on a high level, and understand this. However, every person must strengthen himself even in the times when Evil obstructs him and does not allow him to rise up to the aspect of “well;” nevertheless he should see through his mind’s eye that even in that place is a contraction of Blessed [God’s] Divinity, as we have said in a different place. And he should look at the obstruction and understand from it what is the root of his life-force, from which characteristic it is, whether from the aspect of Mercy [hesed] or Strength [gevurah]. And he should see to bring it to its root, for through this characteristic, which he arouses to bring it close, through it he begins to serve the Blessed Creator, whether in thought or in word or in deed; for these characteristics are Divinity, but they fell from their place in the breaking. And then Good will be made out of them as well. And similarly, if obstructions come to him from the side of judgments – coming to him from his root Above, the characteristic of Strength [gevurah], which is the characteristic of Isaac – he should understand through his awareness that these judgments are from the Upper Holy Place, except that they fell through the descent of the levels to the place of judgments, which is the place of broken cisterns (Jeremiah 2:13). And he should hold to the characteristic of Strength [gevurah], to revere Blessed God and to serve Blessed God immediately through this [characteristic], and to bring them to their roots and sweeten the judgments. For this is the secret: the judgments can only be sweetened at their roots, which is the characteristic of Isaac. For immediately when, through these judgments that came on account of his sins, he strengthens himself and serves with them at the root of their hold until they arrive at their root; for in that place is only absolute Divinity, the judgments are nullified and sweetened.

And that which appears to me is from that which we say in the prayer of Rosh Hashanah, “And every created being will know, etc. and Your rulership is over all of the dominion (mashalah). And [the last word] is the initials of (Psalms 92:1), “A psalm – a song for the day of Shabbat (Mizmor Shir Leyom HaShabbat).” And likewise is it said (in the Shabbat morning prayers}, “This is the song of praise of the Shabbat day… ‘It is good to praise the Lord (Tov hehodot laShem)’ (Psalms 92:2)” – the explanation of the matter is that these three words are the three names [represented by], “He scatters frost like ashes (kefor ke’effer yifazer)” (Psalms 147:16, see Mekor Mayim Chayim on Baal Shem Tov, Vayigash 6:4): And that is that tov [has a numerical equivalent of] seventeen, which is the name of aleph-hay-vay-hay], the initials of et hashamyim ve’et haaretz (the heavens and the earth), which indicates the past. And the [four-letter] name of the Lord indicates the present. And hodu [has a numerical equivalent of] twenty-one (the name, aleph-hay-yod-hay), which indicates the future, as I have explained about the verse, “I will be what I will be” (Exodus 3:14). And this name indicates the ‘sweetening of harsh judgements’ at their root. And that is that when we observe all of the Creator’s oversight over all of His creatures; such that even if we do not feel the good now, nevertheless, good will come out of it in the future. And one who considers this will take good counsel from it, to accept everything with love – as he will not concentrate on the apparent bad, but rather on the good in the future. And through this, he will ‘bless the bad just like the good,’ and bring the thing back to its root. As above (in its roots), everything is good, such that the matter will automatically be sweetened. And understand this. For, in my humble opinion, this is the intention of Nachum, the man of Gimzo (Taanit 21a; see further, Parashat Tzav, p. 162.). And hence this name is composed of the letters, hey-vav-dalet-vav, an expression of raising, such as “his hand he shall place above (hadah)” (Isaiah 11:8); “voices raised joyfully (hed) on the hills.” For the matter must be raised to its root; and it will automatically be sweetened.

In introducing the Beit Yaakov, the foundation of the faith in God, I will say that it is the finest of sifted flour in God’s portion, the culmination of the divine service of our masters and teachers. It contains the teachings and fundamentals established by the shepherds of Hasidism, whose faith and fear of sin preceded their wisdom and understanding. Their teachings contain knowledge clarified from all manner of impurity, wholly refined, and what remains is akin to the service vessels of the Holy Temple. “They shall come into the treasury of God,” (Yehoshua, 6:19), and they are a treasure house of the fear of God.
In conclusion, R. Gershon Henokh has traced the history of Jewish esoteric wisdom from the very creation of man until his own day – a roller-coaster ride of revelation and concealment, of faith and intellect. Underlying all is the movement from above to below, from a transcendent vision of Divinity to its God’s immanent manifestation on earth. This is the messianic process, which strives for the day when “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God as waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). It was the goal of the Baal Shem Tov and all his followers, who sought to invest quotidian existence with an awareness of God, and it was realized, above all, in the line of Izhbitzer Hasidism, whose founder and disciples explained the most recondite Kabbalah concepts in a way that was universally understandable and applicable. All this is preparation for Part 2 of the book, in which the author discusses the Izhbiter understanding of the fundamental questions of religious life: faith, providence, love and fear of God, mystical awareness, the commandments, and much more.