Chasidut su Isaia 48:63

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.

And this is, "Bless G-d, all servants of G-d, who rise in G-d's house at nights" (Ps. 124:1); specificallt 'who rise at nights', for rising at night to study Torah and pray is the main rectification, for that is how we bind night with day, disorder with order, which is the main rectification of all worlds. This is the juxtaposition of 'Raise your hands in holiness and bless G-d': 'raise your hands', for elevating and binding night with day, disorder with order, is accomplished specifically by the hands, the tools of action, the totality of the Torah. They raise all worlds to their root, as in, 'Raise your hands in holiness and bless G-d', as in, "When I raise my hand to heaven" (Deut. 32:40), which is the raising of the hands spoken about in the Zohar, for the totality of all worlds are held in the hands, as in, "My hand founded the earth and my right hand measured the heavens" (Isaiah 48:13). Therefore, holiness is mainly in the hands, for by fulfilling the Torah and the mitzvot that are held in the hands, the tools of action, we elevate all worlds, which represent disorder, raising and bringing them back to their source, to G-d, to order, represented by wisdom, which is called holiness, as is known. And this is, 'raise your hands with holiness' and it connects well with the previous verse, 'Bless G-d, all G-d's servants, who rise at nights'

[Notes Following the Story]
[Rabbi Nachman said:] This story is very hard for me to tell, but because I've already begun telling it, now I have to finish it. [But he did not actually finish telling it.] In this story there is not one word that will be void of meaning, and whoever is adept and versed in sefarim [mystical Judaic texts] can at least understand some of the hints. And the arrows — of which that [character] boasted he could pull back arrows — this is found in the verse, "[Im shanothi beraq charbi/ If I have twofold [unleashed] My sword [like] lightning {i.e. as lightning flashes from one end of the sky across to the other end, against My people in retribution}, wethochez bemishpat yadi/ My hand will yet have hold on [strict] justice..." [Deut. 32:41], and as Rashi explains, "Flesh and blood shoots an arrow and cannot retrieve it, but the Holy One, Blessed be He, shoots an arrow and does have the ability to retrieve it [as if He were holding them in His hand]." And the charity which safeguards against the walls of water — this is also found in a verse: "[Lu hikshavta lemitzvothai; wayhi kanahar shelomekha/ If you would listen to My commandments then your peace would be as a river] wetzidkathekha kegalei hayam/ and your charity (righteousness) as the waves of the sea." [Isa., 48:18]. And the wind — his grasping it in is hands — this is found in, "Mi asaf-ruach bechofnaw/ Who has grasped the wind in his fists?" [Prov. 30:4] (Which is an aspect of producing melody, as explained elsewhere [Likutei Moharan #54].) And the ten types of pulses and ten kinds of melody — this is already explained in the Zohar [and see LM IIpg. 32a (#24)]. [Rabbi Nathan adds:] All this we heard explicitly. But who, when and what? (Beyond this he said nothing more, that is to say, who they all are, what this is, and when this all took place — this is unknowable.)

The blemish of the moon reflects the deficiency that God programmed into the very fabric of creation. God saw the necessity for such a deficiency in order to give man the possibility of serving Him. This is as it is written in the Zohar (Tetsave, 184a): Man only serves God from amidst darkness… This is as it is written (Yeshayahu, 48), “You are called a criminal from the womb.” God concealed the good that results from this type of service until the final redemption, to that special day known only to Him. This is as it is written in the Talmud (Shevuot, 9a) concerning the goat offered of the new moon (Bamidbar, 28:15), “‘And one goat for a sin offering for God.’ Why does the verse here say, ‘for God,’ which is not said after other offerings? It is as if God is saying, ‘Bring a sacrifice for Me, in order to atone for My own sin of diminishing the moon!’”⁴⁴⁵Chulin, 60b: Rav Shimon ben Pazzi pointed out a contradiction between two verses. One verse says, “And God made the two great lights,” and immediately the verse continues, “The greater light . . . and the lesser light.” [In other words, are they both great, or are they great and small?] The moon said unto the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the Universe! Is it possible for two kings to wear one crown?” [I.e. can there be two great lights?] God answered, “So go and make yourself smaller.” The moon cried, “Master of the Universe! Since I have suggested that which is proper, I have to make myself smaller?” He replied: “Then you will go and rule by day and by night.” [I.e. the moon can be see both at night and by day.] “What is the value of this?” cried the moon; “What is the use of a lamp in broad daylight?” God answered, “Go. By you will Israel calculate the days and the years.” “But it is impossible to calculate the seasons without the sun!” said the moon, “as it is written, And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.” “Go, for the righteous shall be named after you, as we find, Yaakov the Small, Shmuel the Small, David the Small.” On seeing that the moon would not be consoled, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: “Bring an atonement for Me for making the moon smaller.” This is what Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish meant when he said, “Why is it that the he-goat offered on the new moon is phrased differently in that after it, it is said, ‘a sin offering for G-d’? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘Let this he-goat be an atonement for Me for making the moon smaller.’” It is hinted at here that a person should not complain angrily to God, but rather, should accept everything with love. This is what the Zohar meant when it quoted the verse, ““from new moon to new moon… all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the Lord.” The word, “flesh,” hints at the deficiency which exists in the very nature of the creation, as the Talmud states (Sotah, 5a), “the word, ‘flesh – basar,’ is an acronym for ‘busha – shame,’ ‘sruha – stench,’ ‘rima –worm.’” Thus, “flesh” is the root of all deficiencies. Yet, the future renewal will be built from this deficiency and raised up out of this shame. This is as our passage in the Zohar continues (Tetsave, 184a): He opened and said (Yeshayahu, 52:13), “Behold, My servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and he shall be very high.”⁴⁴⁶This is a prophecy concerning the righteous in the messianic era. Fortunate is the portion of the righteous to whom the Holy One, blessed be He, reveals the way of the Torah and how to live by it! Come and see how this verse is a sublime mystery. “My servant shall prosper,” has been explained. Yet come and see! When God created the world, He created the moon, and then made her light smaller. In this way, she would not have any light of her own. Since she made herself smaller, she only reflects the light she receives from the sun and the power of the supernal luminaries. In the days of the Holy Temple, Israel was assiduous in bringing sacrifices together with all the other services performed by the Cohanim, Levi’im, and Israelites. Their service wove bonds of union and caused an intense illumination. After the Temple was destroyed, the lights were darkened, and the moon no longer shined from the light of the sun. Ever since the sun withdrew from her, the days are fraught with curses, affliction, and pain.⁴⁴⁷This is a metaphor for creation in its present, exilic state, in which the light of the son (G-d) no longer shines upon the moon (our world). Thus, it is a period of suffering and pain. But of the time when the moon will shine with her original light, it is said of her, “Behold, my servant shall prosper.” This is the mystery of emunah (faith). At that time, there will be an awakening in the upper realms, like someone who, upon catching a sweet scent, wakes up and looks out at the world. “He shall be exalted,” from the side of the most exalted of luminaries. And as in the verse (Yeshayahu, 30:18), “And He will be exalted that He may have mercy upon you.” “Lifted up,” is from the side of Avraham. “He shall be (very) high,” is from the side of Yitzhak. Whereas “very” is from the side of Yaakov. in the mystery of wisdom. At that time the Holy One, blessed be He, will cause an awakening on high in order to allow the moon to shine in her full splendor, as it is written (Yeshayahu, 30:26), “Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of the seven days.” For this reason, an exalted spirit will be added to the moon which will rouse the dead who sleep in the dust. This is the meaning of “My servant,” who has the key of the Master in his hand.